The MULLET RAPPER What’s Happening in the Everglades & 10,000 Islands! News, Stories, Classifieds & Tide Table
25¢
June 12, 2021 - June 25, 2021 CONGRATULATIONS EVG CLASS OF 2021! © 2021, K Bee Marketing, Inc.
P. O. Box 134, Everglades City, FL, 34139
New Museum of the Everglades Display Features the Work of Everglades City School Students Inspired by the Bank of Everglades Building
Volume XIII
•
Issue # 392
Everglades City Receives $4.3 Million Grant for New Wastewater Treatment Plant
The Museum of the Everglades is showing its support of the community and area history with a beautiful new student display inspired by a contest about the historic Bank of
Everglades Building. The work of the student entries will be on display through August 28th. Mayor Howie Grimm was present for the awards ceremony that included a delicious selection of sandwiches and all the fixings. Museum Manager Thomas Lockyear, Friends of the Museum of the Everglades president Jaye Brunner and the rest of the “Friends” were present to make the evening a very special one. Thank you to Thomas Lockyear and the Collier County Museums for their support of our students!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More Inside! For contest results please see the article on page 6. Meet two long-time Everglades City School teachers, article on page 6. RAPPER TABLE OF CONTENTS Calendar
p. 2
Event Calendar
p. 3
NPS Update
P. 4
Coral Disease Action Taken
p. 5
Student News Pastor Bob
Museum News
P. 8
Local News/ Capt. Merritt My Slice/ Recipe/ X word Biz listings/ Tides/ Parks
P. 10
p. 6
Obituary
p.11
p. 8
Classifieds
p.12
P. 9
p.11
FEAT UR E D: STU DE NT A RTI STS, P. 6
Everglades City residents and officials received some great news when Governor Ron DeSantis signed the new budget on June 2, 2021. The $.4.3 million grant that the City needs to replace their aging sewer plant was not on the “veto list” meaning it was approved! The sewer plant saga has been a thorn in the City’s side for several years as news about the failing plant made media headlines. In an April 2016 report, WINK news covered the story by citing a Department of Environmental Protection’s fine against the City and the potential environmental impact of a catastrophic failure. The existing City sewer plant was purchased used in the early 1990’s and is well past its useful life. Under Mayor Howie Grimm’s leadership, the City has taken steps to bring the current plant into compliance while working on a long-term, permanent solution. According to Mayor Howie Grimm, the new plant, once operational, can be expanded as needed to bring neighboring communities online. Currently, unincorporated Collier County’s Plantation Island, Chokoloskee Island, Jerome, Copeland, and Ochopee are utilizing septic tanks. The hope is that the new plant will eventually clear the area of septic tanks, especially in areas that abut sensitive lands and national preserves and parks. With a population of only 425 residents, some may wonder why such a tiny community would “need” such a facility. However, when you consider the number of tourists that visit the area each year (Big Cypress and Everglades National Park draw between 800,000 and 1.2 million tourists per year), it is easy to see that the resident population clearly does not represent the number of individuals such a plant will serve, and thankfully, Governor DeSantis understood this too. From the day Mayor Howie Grimm took over, just four days before Hurricane Irma, he vowed to straighten out the sewer plant problem. From that moment on Mayor Grimm, City Clerk Dottie Joiner, Assistant Karen Cochran, City Bookkeeper Tammie Pernas and the City’s Law Firm Woodward, Pires, & Lombardo have worked tirelessly, along with many others, to find a way to get it done. Now is a good time to say, “job well done.” Next, the focus shifts from finding funding sources to approving construction plans...something we can all be happy about.
SWFL Coast tide predictions, maps, tours & more at www.visitevergladescity.com! Call us @ 954-662-7003
