Upper Keys Weekly 20-0604

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Say my name.

TIFFANY DUONG/Keys Weekly

NOW OPEN CHECKPOINTS END | P. 8

SUMMER STRUGGLE ENHANCING EDUCATION CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO CANCELED CAMPS | P. 12

BUILDING A NEW SCHOOL IN KEY LARGO | P. 24

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Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Chapman & Cardwell Capital Management is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

A huge thank you to our community for their generous donations to help give the Coral Shores’ Class of 2020 a memorable and special graduation. To honor the graduates, personalized bricks will be installed in the school’s courtyard and a class reunion will take place during their winter break.

Dannel’s Jewelry Captain’s Imports Tammy Gargiolo

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Key Largo Chocolates Keys Life Magazine Key Largo Yoga Jim & Alicia Kubida Lion’s Lair Lorelei Restaurant & Cabana Bar Brian & Jude Lindback Mangrove Mike’s McLaughlin Photography Ocean View Olive Morada Karen Prince Pattican Academy Provident Hotels & Resorts Publix Key Largo Quiescence Dive Center Captain Randy Stallings Robbie’s Marina Royal Furniture Key Largo Shear Paradise Snook’s Bayside Restaurant Starbuck’s Key Largo Sundowner’s Restaurant & Bar Sunset Inn Patricia & Karyn Theile Tiki Charters - Captain Roy Lindback Tropical Optical Dr. Eileen Turbessi Unleashed Charters - Captain Zane Albury Veronica’s Art & Glass

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COMMUNITY NEWS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

9709 Overseas Hwy. Marathon, FL 33050 Office: 305.743.0844 www.keysweekly.com

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The number of patients who have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies in Monroe County as of May 29, according to the state Department of Health. That translates to a 4.59% positivity rate of the 1,184 patients who were tested for the coronavirus antibody. The state rate is 4.43% although some counties have tested as high as 21% (Hardee County) and 25% (Liberty County).

TAX COLLECTOR CANDIDATE GALVAN DROPS OUT OF RACE JIM McCARTHY

jim@keysweekly.com

Christina Valdes christina@keysweekly.com Patti Childress patti@keysweekly.com Lisa Wojciechowski lisa@keysweekly.com

Marathon Editor

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Upper Keys Editor

Jim McCarthy jim@keysweekly.com

Key West Editor

Mandy Miles mandy@keysweekly.com

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Classifieds

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Se habla español

THE MARATHON WEEKLY (ISSN 1944-0812) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY FOR $125 PER YEAR BY WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS, INC., 9709 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, MARATHON FL 33050. APPLICATION TO MAIL AT PERIODICALS POSTAGE RATES IS PENDING AT FORT LAUDERDALE FL AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. All stories, photos, and graphics are copyrighted materials.

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Advertising Deadline Tuesday 2 p.m.

Steele and Galvan: Democratic candidate Aileen Galvan announced on June 1 that she’d be dropping out of the race for Monroe County Tax Collector.

That currently leaves Republican Sam Steele as the lone candidate in the race. CONTRIBUTED

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Monroe County tax collector race is contested no more, at least for the time being, after Democratic candidate Aileen Galvan announced an end to her campaign.

In a June 1 statement via Facebook, Galvan said she’ll support Republican Sam Steele as the county’s next tax collector. She also said she’ll continue to work at the tax collector’s office, where she serves as director of operations.

Galvan is Key West-born and -raised, and has worked in the tax collector’s office since 1993. She announced her run during the summer 2019 in a bid to replace Danise “DeeDee” Henriquez, who’s running for the District 1 County Commission seat against Craig Cates.

“It’s been such a pleasure going up and down the Keys, and meeting so many amazing people in our community,” Galvan’s statement said. “It’s been a very humbling experience and I’m so grateful for all the support along the way.

“Words can’t express how grateful I am for all of your support throughout this entire process and believing in me,” she continued. “I would like to thank my family, friends and all of my supporters, for your continued support on the campaign trail.”

The announcement leaves Steele as the lone candidate in the race. There’s still time, however, for potential candidates to file and run for tax collector, but the June 12 deadline is approaching.

Steele serves as tax manager within the tax collector’s office. He kicked off his campaign in August 2019, and while he currently isn’t opposed, Steele said he can’t let his guard down.

“Anybody who would jump in is going to be behind the eight ball right now.

They’d have to pay the close to $7,000 fee because the petition deadline has passed.

To campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s tough, but I have to get out there and meet all the voters and residents and build relationships. It’s not going to stop.”

Steele, who works with Galvan in the tax collector’s office, said he appreciates that she ran a clean and respectful campaign.

“She does have 26 years of knowledge in the office, and that’s invaluable. I’m happy to know she’s going to stay and work,” he said. “We work great as a team. It’s all about unity in the office and that we’re stronger together.”

FOR UPDATES, WATCH THE WEB Events related to the coronavirus are changing rapidly as national, state and local governments make decisions aimed at controlling the spread of the virus. For updated information, please see keysweekly.com.

BARS, THEATERS CAN REOPEN FRIDAY MOST OF FLORIDA HEADS FOR PHASE 2 OF REOPENING

Caribbean Club, top, is in Key Largo and Schooner Wharf Bar is in Key West. CONTRIBUTED

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overnor Ron DeSantis announced on June 3 that bars, movie theaters and bowling alleys in most of the state, including the Florida Keys, can reopen on Friday, June 5. The order does not apply to the counties hit hardest by the coronavirus — Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

Under the latest executive order, bars can operate at 50% capacity indoors, and at full capacity outside as long as space allows for proper social distancing of 6 feet between tables.

Entertainment businesses such as movie theaters and bowling alleys can open at 50% capacity beginning on Friday as well. Personal service businesses such as tattoo parlors may reopen as well, and people can begin gathering in groups of 50 or less, starting Friday, the order states.

DeSantis said restaurants and retail shops, which are currently limited to 50% capacity, could open up to full capacity as long as they have space to practice social distancing.

Restaurants can serve food and drinks at bars with chairs at least 6 feet apart, but bars will only be allowed to serve people who are seated, the governor said during a press conference in Orlando.

— Weekly staff report

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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SEEN AROUND TOWN

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

MANDY MILES

mandy@keysweekly.com

PEACEFUL WALK, URGENT MESSAGE HUNDREDS MARCH IN KEY WEST FOR GEORGE FLOYD AND FOR CHANGE

T

he march was peaceful; the message was urgent: Racial injustice and police brutality cannot continue and will not be tolerated.

Nearly 1,000 Key West residents, visitors and military personnel, as well as local law enforcement officers, gathered downtown on the evening of June 1 for a peaceful protest of George Floyd’s suffocating death at the hands of Minneapolis police while in custody.

“No one hates a bad cop more than a good cop,” Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg assured the appreciative crowd.

“The Key West Police Department in no way condones excessive use of force. We take pride in our close bond with this community.”

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin now faces charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after video showed him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

Sheriff Rick Ramsay echoed the chief’s commitment to the community.

“We’re going to stand side by side with you,” Ramsay emphasized.

“We’re divided as a country right now, but we don’t have to be divided as a community,” Key West Mayor Teri Johnston said.

“Let’s show the world tonight what a community looks like, how a community acts … what Key West is.”

City Commissioner Clayton Lopez also urged peace, but not patience.

“The peace we seek should not be mistaken for patience,” Lopez said. “We’ve about run out of patience.”

The crowd then marched up Amelia Street to Duval, where it stretched for blocks to Caroline Street.

Marchers carried signs and chanted ‘Black Lives Matter,” “George Floyd” and “I can’t breathe” — Floyd’s documented plea to police.

Black, white, Hispanic, gay, straight, rich, poor, male, female, young and old marched peacefully behind police motorcycles that led the way.

Several hundred protesters gathered June 1 in Key West for a peaceful march in memory of George Floyd, the African-American man killed while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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MONROE COUNTY

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies stand in the median at the checkpoint in Key Largo. ANDY NEWMAN/Florida Keys News Bureau

JIM McCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

CHECKPOINTS CONCLUDE STAFF FACED CHALLENGES, SAFEGUARDED COMMUNITY

T

wo checkpoints that kept nonresidents out of the Florida Keys to mitigate coronavirus spread ceased on June 1. While the islands are back open to visitors, the threat of the virus hasn’t faded away.

In all, 19,982 vehicles were turned away from the time the checkpoint began on March 27 to when the post ended, according public information officer Kristen Livengood.

Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said the office has operated a number of checkpoints over the years, but none of this magnitude in terms of the number of posts, length of operation and manpower involved.

“The checkpoint was needed. It completed its mission and did what it was supposed to do,” Ramsay told the Keys Weekly. “The reality is our numbers for the most part stayed low because of that checkpoint.”

On March, 24, county officials announced a measure to implement checkpoints at MM 112.5 and on Card Sound Road in Key Largo. Some 400 cars were turned around in the first 24 hours, but the checkpoint originally was to last only through the weekend until March 29.

It didn’t take long for a county team to decide to keep the posts in place as local concern grew over the pandemic, which brought more positive cases in the state and throughout the country. The operation took some 22 deputies to staff with no state assistance, but local municipalities provided support with their employees to ease the burden on the sheriff’s office.

“We needed 12 officers during the day and 10 at night, so about 22 people per day were needed to staff the two checkpoints,” Ramsay said. “That’s a lot of manpower for two and half months to have to pull and find those resources without adversity and affecting day-to-day law enforcement services.

That made it harder. We just don’t have an extra group of guys hanging out doing nothing.

“We always appreciate the partnership we experienced throughout this pandemic at the checkpoint,” Ramsay continued. “Our cities and the county were good partners.”

Checkpoint staff kept busy checking forms of identification that were required in order to gain entry into the Keys. They discovered many fake stickers and placards on vehicles along the way.

In early April, deputies discovered counterfeit Upper Keys hurricane reentry stickers on car windshields. That led the checkpoint staff to require more concrete forms of identification than a sticker, like a deed or tax bill, to be allowed past the checkpoint.

Ramsay, who requested the county stop issuing hurricane re-entry stickers upon the discovery, said he was shocked to see how many were pulled from cars “who had nothing to do with the Keys.” Stickers for residents to re-enter following a storm are generally stuck inside the car. But Ramsay said some stickers were placed on the outside of the window. Counterfeit stickers could be spotted by disparities in fonts and color.

Then came fake COVID-19 day-worker placards. It was also discovered that people were making changes to their mailing addresses and driver’s license address just days before their attempt to get through.

“It was frustrating for us,” Ramsay said.

“It’s hard for officers at the checkpoint to track down every person who gave us a note saying they had a job to go to. We couldn’t just call every person or send a patrol car to ensure that job existed. We were trying to use common sense, some honor system.”

Only a few major incidents were witnessed at the checkpoint, most notably a 56-year-old Miami man who allegedly drove his truck through the post after supplying insufficient documentation, according to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office report. The man, Joao Roman Perez, reportedely refused to turn around at the request of deputies and drove by. After driving a short way, the sheriff’s said he ended up stopping and was arrested for charges of fleeing and eluding police and violating a disaster preparation order.

More recently, a Florida man was arrested after allegedly threatening a 17-year-old to drive him through the checkpoint. Alexander Sardinas, 37, and a 43-year-old woman identified as Michelle Peterson were reportedly denied access through the checkpoint at MM 112.5 as passengers in a taxi. They then went back to Florida City, where they allegedly forced the teen, whom they spotted at a Publix parking lot, to drive them through the checkpoint. Sardinias and Peterson were located not long after they were let in to the Keys as the young teen made a call to police.

Sardinas was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment.

MONROE COUNTY

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

FROM HOT TEMPS AND TEMPERS, CHECKPOINT STAFF DESERVES THANKS

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office picks up barriers to mark the ending of the checkpoint at MM 112.5 in Key Largo. ANDY NEWMAN/Florida Keys News Bureau

The checkpoint, however, is still facing a legal challenge of its constitutionality and the authority of county officials to establish and maintain it.

Homestead attorney Angelo Martin and Key West attorney Alan Fowler filed a 53-page lawsuit on May 14 on behalf of Key West residents and business owners Jessica and Jonathan Haim and Jonathan’s mother, Bettina Haim, who lives in Seminole County, Florida and thus could not enter the Florida Keys on her own. The lawsuit names as defendants Monroe County, the Board of County Commissioners, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Rick Ramsay, County Mayor Heather Carruthers and Emergency Management Director Shannon Weiner.

The Haims are not seeking any financial damages in the lawsuit, Jessica Haim emphasized.

“We are only focused on our ability to earn our own living down here, and allow others to do the same in a smart and safe manner,” she said on May 15, acknowledging the public backlash she received from a vocal group of concerned residents.

Circuit Judge Timothy Koenig scheduled a June 9 evidentiary hearing, which is still slated to take place — eight days after the checkpoint ended and visitors were welcome back into the Florida Keys.

With checkpoints down, Monroe County waits to see what impacts will arise as visitors venture down. And with the reopening will come opportunities for more crime. Ramsay said it’s likely that people will be coming down looking to commit what he calls “crimes of opportunity.” Ramsay is urging local residents to lock house and car doors. He’s also recommending that personal belongings and items shouldn’t be left out in plain view.

“With people not having any jobs, people become more desperate to try and take what you have,” Ramsay said. “That’s when you see smash-and-grabs.”

Ramsay said the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office will have extra officers out in the first week to monitor the influx of visitors.

“There will be some impacts from this checkpoint,” he said.

“Some people will say thank god and some are going to be angry.

When it’s after a week or two and there’s a ton of cars coming to the Upper Keys, and grocery stores overwhelmed, we’re going to have a large outcry from those people saying put the roadblock in place.

There will be some counter-push to re-implement the checkpoint.

It’s not the decision of the sheriff.

It’s the decision for cities and the county to make.”

With the checkpoints’ ending, traffic is beginning to pick up in the Keys as visitors frequent hotels, fishing charters, restaurants and parks. Regardless of the measures being taken to relax restrictions, the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County is telling residents to continue safe practices to prevent COVID-19.

“Now, more than ever, residents are asked to follow measures to prevent the spread of infection,” said Bob Eadie, health officer for Monroe County.

Residents should continue to practice social distancing and keep 6 feet from others; wear a cloth face covering in public; avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth; cover coughs and sneezes; stay home when sick; and clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces.

T

here were times of intense heat, high humidity and hot tempers. There was even a day or two when it JIM wasn’t only the McCARTHY wind blowing past checkpoint serves as editor staff at MM of the Upper Keys 112.5 and Card Weekly. A TaverSound Road in nier resident, he believes in comKey Largo. munity reporting, The men giving back and and women life on the waters. staffing the checkpoint braved elements while handling many situations that were thrown at them. For that, we sincerely say thanks.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, with help from municipalities up and down the islands, were at the front lines for two and a half months following an order from county officials to set up two posts in a bid to prevent a major spread of coronavirus.

They interacted with thousands of motorists through the duration of the checkpoints.

They dealt with fake stickers and counterfeit placards. They heard every story possible from those trying to make their way into the Keys, including “my friend’s getting out of jail today and I have to pick him up.”

Nearly 20,000 cars that had no business or residency in the Keys were turned away as a result. And it’s good to note that — with proximity to what’s been the hot spot for cases in the state, Miami-Dade County — not one person who worked at the checkpoint tested positive for COVID-19.

It was no small task with the sheer staffing required to operate the checkpoint efficiently and safely. Led

by Sheriff Rick Ramsay, Don Fanelli, incident commander and sheriff’s captain out of Key Largo, and Col. Lou Caputo, the mission set forth by county leaders was executed and completed.

Not many days were spent away from the checkpoint for Fanelli and Caputo, who closely monitored the operation day-in and day-out for some 12 hours a day. Ramsay could be spotted checking IDs and directing cars to turn around.

To that, we say thank you for all the work and dedication.

A great deal of gratitude and appreciation was shown throughout to the many who stood checking IDs and ensuring the community’s safety.

It came in the form of water, lunches, buffs, masks and other gifts of thanks. Community members, chefs and nonprofit organizations all took time to drive up to checkpoints to show gratitude.

As Ramsay notes, the collaboration among municipalities from Key Largo to Key West, which supplied staffing help at the checkpoint, was integral. It was a team effort, with assistance from, among others, Monroe County public works employees, Key Colony Beach officers and the state attorney’s office investigator.

For a while now, the Weekly has highlighted a “frontline hero of the week” that’s touched on just a few of the many in the Keys through the pandemic, including nurses and staff who’ve been at the forefront of this pandemic. Those who’ve worked to keep the community and its residents safe are true heroes.

Saying thanks, handing out gifts and writing this column don’t go nearly far enough to express just how grateful we are for all the work put forth by the frontline workers in these times.

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10

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

The Center for Peace at St. Columba is proud to announce the winner of its 2020 Peace Scholarship,

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS THE COLLEGE OF THE FLORIDA KEYS UPPER KEYS CENTER

Maizie Egan. Congratulations!

Thank you to all who help support The Center for Peace at St. Columba through generous donations given at The Incredible Fruit Stand every Saturday.

106004 Overseas Highway Key Largo, Florida 33037 Thornton Construction Company, Inc requests subcontractor sealed bid proposals for the mentioned project Upper Keys Center for The College of The Florida Keys. The project is the development of a new 42,461 Gross Square Feet Two-story Tilt-up Construction Building and Full Site Development, for a Higher Education Facility. The building program will include multiple STEM Programs such as Allied Health & Nursing, Apprenticeships, Business Administration, Engineering Technology & Public Safety. The building construction will be per SREF, FBC, and Monroe County Code Standards.

Thornton Construction Company, Inc. requests all interested bidders to pre-qualify with Thornton Construction for participation in the bid process. All interested parties shall complete the prequalification form located at https://thornton-inc.com/subcontractors/. The information you will provide will be analyzed to confirm that the company has experience with this type of construction as well as experience with projects of a similar size.

Bid Documents – All documents will be available through the Building Connected Plan via invitation only. For documents request, please contact Floyd Smiley at 305-649-1995x2019 or email floyd@thornton-inc.com

We wish to congratulate all the 2020 Marathon High School Graduates on their success! May God's graces be with you all as you step ahead towards your dreams.

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13 NRSV

Be Faithful in Prayer and Focus on God's Love.

WE OFFER A COMMUNITY OF PEACE, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING.

St. Columba Episcopal Church

Prebid Meeting & Site Walkthrough: Date, Time (TBD). The Prebid meeting will be held remotely as a video conference. Based on the CDC Social Distancing Guidelines, we don’t foresee having a formal, physical walkthrough, but we will post recent photos from the job site and its surroundings.

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MBE Utilization: The College encourages MBE firms to compete for College contracts, and also encourages all vendors and contractors to use MBE firms as subcontractors. Contractors, and vendors should take all necessary and reasonable steps to ensure that minority businesses have the opportunity to compete for and perform contract work for The College in a nondiscriminatory environment. The contractor/vendor will be asked to submit quarterly reports showing actual expenditures with MBE subcontractors used. This project will be in compliance with the MBE Provisions for Monroe County, Florida. Goals for minority participation for each trade is 30.4% and goals for female participation for each trade is 6.9%.

Buy America Act – This project will utilize to the greatest extent practicable purchase of American made equipment and products with funding provided under this EDA financial assistance awarded projects.

Davis Bacon Wages Rate – Applies to all work scopes for this project that utilizes labor, and must be included in bid proposals provided for this project

- KEYS

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12

SUMMER CAMPS 2020

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

By Sara Matthis, Jim McCarthy and Mandy Miles

The summer SOME PARENTS STILL SEARCHING FOR CHILD CARE

W

hen the school year ended this past week, many Keys parents sighed with relief; no more supervision of virtual school.

Unfortunately, there’s another stumbling block.

Summer months in the Florida Keys typically are filled with steamy sunshine and assorted summer camps for Keys kids. But nothing is typical in the time of coronavirus, and parents are struggling this summer to find child care and daytime activities for their little ones.

Some day cares have yet to open, and the number of summer camps is very reduced. And that snag coincides with the full opening of the Florida Keys and parents’ need to get back to work. It’s a problem nationwide and in the Keys.

“We still have employees who cannot find child care or summer camps so they can come back to work,” said Christine Hurley, assistant county administrator in Monroe County. “Our Employee Services has sent information on available locations, but it seems some are canceling still.”

Many of the summer camps that are operating have switched to online programming, which means a parent must still be home to supervise young children.

“Parents are really struggling this summer to find options, especially for the younger kids, say 5 to 10 years old,” said Susan Archer, assistant executive director of the Southernmost Boys and Girls Club, which operates at Reynolds School in Key West.

CAMPS

Melissa McDonald, who works for the City of Marathon, relied on the municipal summer camp for reliable childcare during the summers.

The camp has been canceled.

“I’m fortunate that my youngest daughter’s day care — Banana Six-year-old Zofia says she likes camp at Crane Point Hammock in Marathon … and balloons! BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly

Cabana— never closed. But I’m looking for a place for my 11-year-old daughter,” she said. Virtual camps or “camps in a box” kits aren’t going to cut it, McDonald said. “Who is supervising? The kids can’t be left to their own devices, even the most mature ones. They’re kids.”

And while The Art Studio of Marathon still has a few openings, Jessica Tippler’s 7-year-old daughter won’t be going. The Key West mom said, “I just don’t feel comfortable putting her out there. We’ll wait until July and see where this ‘thing’ is going,” said Tippler, referring to the coronavirus. “In the meantime, we might do some online dance classes or whatever we can find.”

Of the 10 summer camps that normally operate in Marathon, only six are open and most of the camps only have a few spots left (see sidebar).

Dolphin Research Center just added a third week for Monroe County kids only. “It’s good news,” said DRC’s Mary Stella.

Upper Keys resident and Ocean Studies Charter School principal Trisha Woods said her kids will be doing a lot of fishing this summer.

For Upper Keys resident Jennifer Webb, she said her four kids aren’t going to any camps this summer, but they will be spending some time with grandparents in Port St. Lucie and Ocala.

“In July we are hoping to get up to north Georgia to do some camping,” she said. “Otherwise, we will just be hanging out around here and enjoying the Keys.”

The Weekly’s own Stephanie Mitchell said she had to get creative this summer to find activities for their 10-year-old son, Jack, in Key West.

“I’ve been reaching out to people I know with interesting jobs and expertise — a DJ, a robotics teacher and a chef — to see if they’d be willing to do a small camp for a week or

SUMMER CAMPS 2020

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

struggle so this summer with maybe three kids,” she said. “There are so many creative people in this community, and many of them are happy for the opportunity to make some extra money by sharing their knowledge and skills with a few kids for a week.”

A few camps are still on for the summer in the Upper Keys, including MarineLab’s summer camp and the Mark Sorenson Youth Sailing Program in Key Largo.

The Southernmost Boys and Girls Club in Key West typically serves 150 to 200 kids a day in its summer camp. But due to capacity restrictions and social distancing requirements, it can only accommodate 50 to 60 kids, Archer said.

“I’m happy to report that the kids who are here — and especially their parents — are so happy to be here, to be out of the house and around other kids,” she said.

“We’ve taken them to the parks that have reopened, and they’re having a great time. The kids are wearing masks and we’re constantly sanitizing their hands.”

DAY CARE

Marathon’s Community Co-op School and the Grace Jones Community Center have yet to open.

The co-op will open next week, hopefully, after director Brandi Jordan makes some speedy modifications to room size, spending thousands of dollars to do so.

“The two rooms I have now can normally accommodate 16 kids in one room, and 17 in the other. I am putting up a firewall and updating my fire alarm system so I can put 9 kids in each room,” she said.

Teachers will have to wear masks, and Jordan believes she has the experience to coax children as young as 3-year-olds, maybe even 2-year-olds, to wear masks too.

The co-op’s priority, she said, is to re-enroll the youngest children first

— kindergarten and first-grade age groups because they are the most vulnerable.

“But we can’t mix groups, not even on a split playground,” she said.

Failure to comply with the rules set down by the CDC could result in fines, she said.

Grace Jones Community Center won’t open until July 1. That’s when repairs to the air conditioning and roof will be complete. The day care conducted a survey of parents to assess the need.

“We have 31 kids coming back on July 1, and we will be up to 48 children by August 1,” said Mallory Morton, a board member.

And even with a full complement of children, the day care’s summer session won’t look the same: no field trips to an Upper Keys pool, not even “water day” on the playground.

Both Kreative Kids and Marathon Lutheran School are open in Marathon with limited capacity.

Martin Luther usually has about 20 children in its center, about half the normal enrollment.

“It’s a slow start,” said Pastor Tony Mandile, “but that’s good for the start of all the new routines that have to be learned for proper hygiene.”

Lisa Wojciechowski, a Keys Weekly employee, said her daughter has re-enrolled in Islamorada Day Care, owned by Linsey Alba.

Wojciechowski described a dropoff and pickup procedure that has everyone waiting six feet apart, the kids’ temperature taken at the door, sanitizing everyone’s hands (parents and kids) before the parents sign in and the kids walk in, among other precautions.

“They are doing an amazing job, and taking every single precaution,” Wojciechowski said.

13

The Keys Weekly has updated the summer camp listings.

To see the camp descriptions and dates, visit keysweekly.com.

KEY WEST BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB - FULL WITH WAIT LIST Key West and Big Pine Key 305-296-2258 | Facebook: @bgckeysarea COFFEE MILL DANCE STUDIO - SPACES AVAILABLE 305-296-9982| coffeemilldance.com | email: coffeemilldance@aol.com.

CAMP BRAVO - SPACES AVAILABLE 305-296-9982 | keyscommunityschoolofthearts.org | email: bravotheatre@aol.com KEY WEST SAILING CAMP - FULL WITH WAIT LIST 804-832-4731 or 314-349-9929 | keywestsailingcenter.org KEY WEST SPORTS ACADEMY - FULL WITH WAIT LIST 305-896-2458 | keywestsportsacademy.com REEF RELIEF’S CORAL CAMP - FULL WITH WAIT LIST 305-294-3100 | email: reefrelief@gmail.com.

ST. MARY’S BASILICA SCHOOL MARINER SUMMER CAMP FULL WITH WAIT LIST 305- 294-1031 | basilicaschoolkeywest.com

LOWER KEYS SEACAMP - LIMITED SPACE FOR LOCAL CAMPERS 1-877-SEACAMP | www.seacamp.org

MARATHON CRANE POINT HAMMOCK - LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE 395-393-9501 | email: cranepointmuseum@gmail.com ART STUDIO CAMPS - LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE 305-289-9013 | email: jesse@theartstudiomarathon.com to reserve a spot.

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DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER - LIMITED SPACE FOR LOCAL CAMPERS www.dolphins.org/dolphinday_camp | email: education@dolphins.org MARATHON REC CENTER - FULL WITH WAIT LIST 305-393-0903 | email: marathonreccenter@comcast.net FLORIDA KEYS AQUARIUM ENCOUNTERS - SPACES AVAILABLE 305-407-3262 | email: info@floridakeysaquariumencounters.com

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

SPOTTSWOOD COMPANIES TO OPEN HOTELS & RESTAURANTS ON JUNE 26

JUST IN TIME TO WELCOME VISITORS FOR THE 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND! We will be carefully following governmental orders and all of the best scientific and medical guidance to keep our employees, guests and customers safe. We are revisioning our hotel and restaurant offerings to match with the new times ahead while delivering on the highest expectations of our guest and customers. Now that we have done so much to protect our health and safety, we have to get our economy going again! We want to do our part to put everyone back to work and help our community get back on its feet. We are looking for the best and the brightest people to join our team. Spottswood Companies has been here through many tough times in the past and we are dedicated to being here for generations to come.

We also have some housing options available for existing employees and new hires!

Please contact Teresa at 305.294.6100 to apply to become a member of our team.

We thank everyone in our community for all you have done during this latest crisis and look forward to serving you again soon!

15

16

COMMUNITY NEWS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

TIFFANY DUONG

tiffany@keysweekly.com

KETTLEBELLS AND PALM TREES BOUTIQUE GYM ADAPTING TO NEW NORMAL AS KEYS REOPEN

P

rofessional training and a paradise state of mind.

That’s all that was on Chris Merrell’s mind when he opened his boutique fitness center, Beyond Traditional Wellness (BTW), in Islamorada in September 2019.

“BTW is all about the idea that fitness is better than wellness,” Merrell said. “When people think of traditional wellness, they think of a big gym. I worked at a YMCA for six to seven years as the front desk guy, and I’d see the same people come in three to five times a week for years and never make gains or shifts in their health.”

Merrell wanted to offer something different — targeted, personalized training that helps his clients maximize results and improve their lives. He began offering group boot camp and circuit training at Founders Park in Islamorada in 2018, before eventually opening his storefront. It was a big step for the coach, and business was “growing before the pandemic for sure.”

Then coronavirus hit.

“Even prior to the pandemic, but so much more now, health is wealth,” he said. “When we couldn’t go in to work or cash a paycheck, we slept better knowing we used our day’s worth of energy and still took care of ourselves.”

Gyms closed, and many, including Merrell, experimented with the idea of virtual training.

“Being closed has been very difficult in terms of offering quality training for my clients,” Merrell said.

“One of the things that separated my fitness center from others is the equipment and variety in training.

Being limited to an exercise mat and dumbbells took away a lot of effective training tools.”

Merrell tried offering a live Zoom training class but felt the virtual platform left a lot to be desired.

He tailors exercise regimes to clients’ specific needs and fitness goals and never uses “cookie-cutter programs,” which made pre-recorded trainings unrealistic.

“I’m a hands-on, critical coach. I don’t want to play a guessing game.

I want to see and help my clients, and doing it with one perspective just wasn’t the way to go,” he said.

Left: Chris Merrell wants his son, Ethan, 7 months, to come to training sessions regularly to learn about healthy lifestyles. CHRIS MERRELL/Contributed Right: Chris Merrell helps client J.D. Reinbott tweak his form to be safer and more efficient. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys Weekly

“I didn’t want to sacrifice quality just to stay busy. I’ve had an injury in my life and I would never wish that on anyone, especially from improper form during training.”

Merrell also found it difficult to keep up because day cares were closed.

“Not having day care made it really hard. It’s hard to multitask like that. I had to transition to being a stay-at-home dad for a 7-month infant,” Merrell said. “That was my hardest pivot, to prioritize my family over my business. I would brainstorm daily about how I could keep BTW going. I even went through the thought of ‘Should I turn my gym into a day care?’”

Ultimately, the fitness coach adapted by closing his boutique indoor gym space but increasing outdoor, socially-distant circuit training classes. Clients brought their own mats and used their own dumbbells or body weight to train. He also focused more on one-on-one training.

It wasn’t ideal, but the process helped Merrell reframe how he views and runs his business. Because BTW is a small space, it can be personalized and kept free of others during personal training, Merrell said. He also thoroughly sanitizes each piece of equipment personally after every use.

“As we reopen, I’m rebuilding in a sense. I’m going to focus more on what’s best — one-on-ones or smaller groups,” the trainer said. “I’m not gonna try to get 10 people in ev-

ery time to fill up to capacity. I’m not gonna do that. Instead, I’m offering a light-risk, safe space for exercise.”

BTW, by design, doesn’t include “membership” or “open gym” use time, which helps limit exposure to others.

“BTW is structured to be more of a value-based gym than a volumebased gym,” Merrell said. “I want to be able to dedicate time to correct forms, give tips and educate. This could actually be an advantage in the ‘new norm;’ workouts are by appointment only and the environment is controlled.”

While Merrell noted that it’s still too early to tell, he is hopeful the post-quarantine world may mean he’s busier than before because people will be more comfortable in his small, controlled setting than in a big gym.

He is offering a “re-grand opening special” since he was only open six months before the shutdown.

The first 20 new clients to commit to 10 sessions will get 20% off. He’s also opening the BTW space to other trainers who may need a home base, trying to find new clients and business models, stay within safety guidelines and still allow him to spend time with his son.

“My mission was always to build stronger, happier and healthier communities through fitness training,” he said. “Nothing’s changed about that.”

More information is at www. btwfitness.com or 305-395-2316.

3RD CANDIDATE ENTERS MAYOR’S RACE RICK HASKINS IS COMMITTED TO KEY WEST

R

ick Haskins plans to be a full-time mayor.

The real estate broker and Key West native filed paperwork on June 1, officially entering the Key West mayor’s race. Haskins faces incumbent Mayor Teri Johnston and former city commissioner Mark Rossi, who owns Rick’s/ Durty Harry’s entertainment complex on Duval Street.

“I’m confident Key West will win on Aug. 18,” Haskins, 47, told the Weekly on June 2. “I know I’m the man for the job, but whether I’m Mayor Haskins, or just Rick Haskins, I know I can bring enough attention to the issues that are most important to our residents to ensure that Key West wins in August. I’m with the residents 100%.”

Haskins said he plans to spend the summer meeting with and listening to island residents.

“But listening means nothing if you don’t hear people, and then take action to get things done,” he said, adding that he doesn’t need to take a position on the city’s cruise ship debate, “because the voters will decide that issue, and whatever they decide is what I will fully support.”

He resigned his position with Vacasa vacation rental company and intends to campaign — and then, he hopes, serve as mayor full-time and nonstop.

His priorities include improving the city’s affordable and public housing developments; protecting the Key West Wildlife Center, where he worked and volunteered for years; and bringing business back to Key West.

“I want to bring the Key West Housing Authority full circle,” he said.

“We need to take more pride in those neighborhoods. We need a better plan than what we have now. My platform starts with those three priorities, but will include anything that’s important to the people of this town.”

The Haskins family name has been in the Keys for generations. Haskins’ uncle, Henry Haskins, served as sheriff in the 1960s; the Senior Citizen Plaza on Kennedy Drive now bears his name. His brother, Tommy, heads up the family’s plumbing business, Haskins Plumbing.

Haskins said he will always be reachable. His cell phone number is 305-916-9020 and email is RickHaskinsForMayor@gmail.com.

17

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

Not one of us should disgrace the historic significance of these powerful words, along with their author—who gave his life fighting for equality and peace. To squander the meaning of Dr. King’s message under the pretense of ignorance makes us as complicit as the agents of hate, prejudice and bigotry.

... And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking from the Lincoln Memorial, August 28th, 1963.

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CRIME

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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A

n Upper Keys teenager accused of killing his brother with a knife and injuring his father in the early-morning hours of May 7 is being charged as an adult, the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office announced on May 28.

Assistant State Attorney Gail Conolly said that Daniel Weisberger, 17, is facing charges of second-degree murder in the homicide of his younger brother, first-degree attempted murder, aggravated battery and false imprisonment.

The charges stem from the incident that occurred at the family’s apartment at Executive Bay in Islamorada earlier between 4 a.m., when a neighbor heard a disturbance at the family’s apartment, and 6 a.m. when the father, 43-year-old Ariel Poholek, came to the neighbor’s door looking for help.

Weisberger fled and remained on the run throughout the day as law enforcement agencies searched. The younger brother, Pascal Weisberger, 14, was pronounced dead at the scene.

It wasn’t until some 15 hours later that Weisberger was spotted alongside U.S. 1 near Executive Bay Apartments.

That’s when he ran into traffic and hit the side of a truck in an attempted suicide. He was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami where he was treated up until last week.

Conolly said several factors determine whether to charge a teenager as a juvenile or an adult. Weisberger turned 17 in February.

“One of the main things is obviously the seriousness of the offense,” Conolly said. “But it’s also his age because there wouldn’t be much time left for the Department of Juvenile Justice to supervise him.”

Weisberger was released from the hospital on May 28 and was moved around for some five hours between a juvenile facility and Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, an adult facility, in Miami. On June 2, he was transported to the Monroe County Detention Facility on Stock Island.

Following the announcement of charges, Weisberger’s family said they find it inappropriate and distressing that Weisberger is not in a juvenile detention center or a psychiatric institute, knowing the teen’s struggles that led to the tragedy. The family said Weisberger has faced child abuse and personality disorders, and he was diagnosed with neuroleptic malignant syndrome as a result of antipsychotic medicine

Daniel Weisberger. CONTRIBUTED

and severe trauma brain injuries.

During his younger years, Poholek said, Weisberger was a good student who attended school in Martin County before coming to Monroe County, where he attended Ocean Studies Charter School for a year, Plantation Key School for two years and Treasure Village Montessori for three years. He was well liked by teachers and students; he played soccer, participated in scouts and did taekwondo.

“He was a fully functional member of the community. He won the science fair the first year they had a district science fair when he was at PKS in fifth grade,” Poholek said. “He wasn’t some juvenile delinquent kid who had bad behaviors.”

It wasn’t until high school that Weisberger started to suffer emotional and health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder from the abuse he took from his mother at a young age, Poholek said. Interventions were attempted, but didn’t seem to reach Weisberger as he became involved in the legal system due to his violent behaviors.

“It was all related to mental health issues,” Poholek said.

Weisberger was placed in residential treatment facilities, which Poholek said only made matters worse. While residing at a facility in Miami last year, Poholek said Weisberger suffered a broken hand due to inadequate safety supervision of kids. And weeks later, he got into an altercation where his glasses were broken.

Poholek said his son needs a comprehensive mental health evaluation to determine if he’s fit to stand trial.

But that hasn’t happened, he acknowledged.

A second-degree murder charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, under sentencing guidelines for a person with a clean record, if convicted. A first-degree attempted murder charge carries up to life in prison, if convicted.

It’s unknown when the case will go to trial.

KEY WEST BUSINESS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

D

SNEAK PEEK

espite 10 weeks without visitors and the temporary or permanent closure of many local businesses, there is plenty of good news on the horizon.

Several new Key West businesses — resorts, restaurants, retail shops, bars, banks, boutiques and a South Jersey-inspired sub shop — are now open or soon will be.

Though not a comprehensive list, the Weekly offers a sneak preview of some newly opened enterprises and coming attractions:

mandy@keysweekly.com

NEW BUSINESSES LAUNCH IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ a casual, island atmosphere in the building that formerly housed the Rum Barrel.

Edwards and his team have completely reconfigured the building and bar to accommodate a large indoor stage. The secondfloor patio will host acoustic musicians and will be available for private events, Edwards said. He’s hoping to open in July.

The menu features a traditional Italian sub, as well as a “Thanksgiving dinner on a sub,” complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry aioli and mashed potatoes. There’s also a turkey sub, a meatball sub with a Jersey family recipe for the sauce, pulled pork, Cuban pork, a blackened snapper sub and a vegetarian sub. Woerner’s partner, Joy Terwilliger, also bakes gourmet cupcakes for the shop.

The shops at Galleon Square, 218 Whitehead St., have welcomed three new tenants to feed, clothe and protect Key West residents and visitors:

LITTLE WHITEHOUSE SUBS Micah Woerner was tired of going on vacation and spending his time looking for a decent sub shop and old-school deli. So he decided to open his own in Key West, where he has worked in the restaurant industry for more than two decades.

Woerner’s grandmother is from South Jersey, where every neighborhood boasts its own mom-and-pop deli and sub shop.

“I’m getting my bread from a bakery in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and all our meats are Boar’s Head,” Woerner said, adding that Little Whitehouse Subs also will sell meats and cheese by the pound. “I want to compete with Publix deli prices, not Duval Street prices. I’m just waiting on a final city permit, so we should be open in the next couple weeks.”

MANDY MILES

KIRBY’S CLOSET Longtime local radio personality Kirby Myers is launching Kirby’s Closet, an upscale resale boutique featuring women’s clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories and yes, Fantasy Fest costume apparel. She hopes to open the first week of July at 218 Whitehead St. “My concept of ‘upscale’ doesn’t mean inaccessible or prohibitively expensive,” Myers emphasized. “Everything in here is pre-loved, but in excellent condition. Kirby’s Closet will feature all sizes and styles for all women — sundresses, blazers, palazzo pants, and island-style tops, shoes, bags and small home decor items.”

Myers’ new venture differs from a traditional consignment shop in that she pays cash up front for gently used clothes, rather than waiting for the item to sell and then paying the original owner.

“I want this to be a place where women can come in, relax, have a glass of wine and enjoy shopping here,” she said. “And I’ve already started collecting for Fantasy Fest costumes, which will be a lot of fun.” Message Myers on Instagram @kirbysclosetkw to make an appointment.

(Kirby Myers’ husband, Britt, owns the Key West Weekly.)

HIDDEN GEMS BOTANICA Stina Worsley describes her new retail shop, Hidden Gems Botanica, as a “spiritual store for people of all denominations, beliefs and backgrounds.”

The shop at 218 Whitehead St. opened May 4 and features “candles to take care of people’s chakras, as well as cleansing baths, love baths, protection and prosperity baths.

“We cater to everyone, no matter what you practice — Santeria, Hoodoo, pagan, Christian, Buddhism and everything in between,” Worsley said. “We have books on religion, dreamcatchers, incense burners, incense sticks, gemstones, gemstone jewelry, amethyst, quartz and jade, as well as small gift items such as handbags, wallets, and decor items.

Hidden Gems is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offers a 15% discount for locals. Visit them online for more information.

Also in Old Town: SCOTTY’S FRONT STREET STAGE Scotty Edwards is putting his musical heart and soul into Scotty’s Front Street Stage at the corner of Front and Simonton streets. The new bar and restaurant will emphasize live music and

Meanwhile, on North Roosevelt Boulevard: GULF ATLANTIC BANK Peter E. Batty Jr. and Jeff Searcy on April 13 opened the fullservice Gulf Atlantic Bank, 2222 North Roosevelt Blvd.

“We’ve been able to incorporate some of the most updated technology to better serve our customers,” Batty said. Gulf Atlantic Bank does not depend on servers for data storage, but rather is entirely cloud-based, making the institution less vulnerable to hurricanes. “We can be back up and running in two days after a storm, regardless of what the building looks like.”

The bank offers traditional accounts as well as commercial and residential lending, SBA loans, debit Mastercards and a userfriendly mobile app. The timing worked out well, Batty said, as the new bank had no existing loans on which customers defaulted due to the pandemic.

THE CAPITANA RESORT Ocean Properties continues construction on its new Capitana Resort that’s taking shape on the former Banana Bay Resort property.

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

To our BUYERS and SELLERS. We hope you enjoy your new homes.

Alicia represented the Buyers of: 350 46th Street Gulf Marathon, FL 33050

To our BUYERS and SELLERS. We hope you enjoy your new homes.

Karen represented the Sellers of: 1001 W. Ocean Dr. #1-304 Key Colony Beach, FL 33051

A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC •

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To our BUYERS and SELLERS. We hope you enjoy your new homes.

Brenda represented the Buyers & Sellers of: 8 Ocean East, Marathon, FL 33050

A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC •

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To our BUYERS and SELLERS. We hope you enjoy your new homes.

A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC

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Lindsay represented the Sellers of: 109 Santa Barbara, Marathon, FL 33050

A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC •

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To our BUYERS and SELLERS. We hope you enjoy your new homes.

Ginger represented the Sellers of: 864 Copa D Oro Marathon, FL 33050

A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC •

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To our BUYERS and SELLERS. We hope you enjoy your new homes.

Lynn & Jody represented Buyers of: 864 Copa D Oro, Marathon, FL 33050

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SEEN AROUND TOWN

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

CORAL SHORES SENIORS CELEBRATE IN STYLE 1

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n their caps and gowns, the Coral Shores Class of 2020 rode up Islamorada’s Old Highway in a graduation celebration unlike any other. Beginning at Treasure Village Montessori, the parade, led by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish & Wildlife and Islamorada Fire Rescue, went three miles north to the high school, where students received a bucket of gifts for their achievement.

Family and friends stood along the road cheering on their loved ones as they drove by with big smiles.

— Weekly staff report

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JIM McCARTHY/Keys Weekly 1. Class of 2020 graduate Robbie Valenzuela brings his two furry friends along for the ride.

2. A large American flag, hung by a Florida Keys Electric Cooperative truck and an Islamorada Fire Rescue truck, waves gently in the wind as graduates drive up to the high school to retrieve a bucket of gifts.

3. Monroe County Sheriff’s Capt. Corey Bryan leads the procession of graduates up Old Highway en route to Coral Shores High School.

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4. Coral Shores valedictorian Lauren Hack rides up to the high school as family and friends cheer her on.

5. Seniors Lina Coole and Caroline Althouse ride in style in an old Mustang.

6. Senior Julien Baidet celebrates through the sunroof as the parade proceeds up Old Highway.

For more photos, visit the Keys Weekly’s Facebook page.

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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KEYS SCHOOLS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

JIM McCARTHY

jim@keysweekly.com

CONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE NEW CHARTER SCHOOL EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETE BY SUMMER

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he future of Ocean Studies Charter School in Key Largo is in motion as renovations at its new facility are well underway.

Work to turn a former multi-office facility at MM 100, bayside, into a state-of-the-art, next-generation school is expected to be complete by the end of July, according to principal Trisha Woods.

The school year concluded last week as students waved goodbye to their teachers for the summer. The last day also marked the end of the students’ time at the school in Tavernier.

Construction crews have been working for the past few months to transform the former Fountain Plaza building into classrooms, a marine lab, offices and hallways.

The new facility will be hurricane-proof and provide a safe educational environment indoors and outdoors.

“It’s awesome,” Woods said as she looked around at the progress inside the facility. “We come here once a week on Mondays. Each time we come in, it’s incredible how quickly things are moving.”

Work to bring a new school for students, teachers and staff began in November 2018 with a capital campaign kickoff in a bid to buy a facility, build classrooms and equip a marine science lab and an outdoor space to learn and play. The K-5 school is also looking to incorporate a middle school so students can continue the passion for the environment to high school. That phase isn’t expected to be completed until August 2021.

By December 2019, Ocean Studies had scoped out various sites and decided to buy the Fountain Plaza building. Renovations started in March. Project costs are around $3 million.

1

2 With the construction of classrooms also comes a new, upgraded marine lab to provide students with an innovative learning experience. The school’s success lies in its marine science program and weekly field labs that ensure all students explore and interact with the natural environment around them.

Jessica Martinez, school and community programs coordinator, said students will be met with a Florida Keys environment theme when they enter the new school. Some of the furniture will even be environmentally friendly with seating made from recycled plastic.

“The opportunities that this building will provide to Upper Keys kids is absolutely amazing,” Martinez said.

Plans are in the works on school property to build a controlled hammock playground site. Woods said school officials have been looking at constructing a natural playground.

“We can have it be a cool play place and a site for experiments,” Woods said.

“We can establish trails and let kids identify what trees are there and the birds that come through here and the animals they’ll see.”

With goals to preserve and protect a fragile South Florida environment, Ocean Studies Charter School is providing a foundation to encourage students to become scientists, writers, free thinkers and guardians of the water. The school is nationally designated as an Ocean Guardian School by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s also listed as a Green School by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

“The school board is laser-focused on doing the best we can for the kids,” said David Thompson,” Ocean Studies School Board president. “We’re just super glad to be part of making education more accessible to more Upper Keys students. That’s why we’re moving to this space.”

1. An artist’s rendering of the new Ocean Studies Charter School. CONTRIBUTED 2. Standing inside the new school, Principal Trisha Woods looks out to a preserve where there are plans to bring interactive instruction to students. JIM McCARTHY/Keys Weekly 3. A hallway leads to two spacious classrooms inside the Ocean Studies Charter School that’s being built.

4. In this December 2019 photo, Ocean Studies Charter School students pose in front of a small replica of what will be their new school for the upcoming year.

KEYS WEEKLY FILE PHOTO

KEYS SCHOOLS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

SWEET SENDOFF AT OCEAN STUDIES

1. Young Isla waves to teachers while celebrating the completion of kindergarten.

2. Principal Trisha Woods, teachers and staff stay socially distant as they wave to students in cars.

3. Students hand out treats to teachers as a thank-you for all they’ve done throughout the school year.

4. Ocean Studies Charter School teachers wave to students in the back of a truck as they celebrate the end of what’s been an unprecedented school year.

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M

ay 29 marked the final day of school for students at Ocean Studies Charter School at MM 92, oceanside, in Tavernier.

While students have seen teachers and staff through the computer screen, it’s been a while since they met in person. As a final sendoff, teachers and staff stood 6 feet apart in front of the school to wave goodbye to students, who sat in their parents’ cars, for the summer.

— Weekly staff report

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SCIENCE

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

TIFFANY DUONG

tiffany@keysweekly.com

DEEP RESEARCH

EXPLORERS CLUB UNDERWATER MISSION HAS SCIENTIFIC IMPLICATIONS FOR DIVING AND SPACE EXPLORATION

The crew on the NEPTUNE project surfaces after a successful six-day, five-night mission at Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo. They are holding an expedition flag for The Explorers Club. CONTRIBUTED

“T

o Succeed, You Must Descend.”

This was the motto of the NEPTUNE Project when it successfully completed experiments in extreme work and living last October.

NEPTUNE is an acronym for Nautical Experiments in Physiology, Technology & Underwater Exploration. The Explorers Club-flagged expedition brought five researchers and explorers from the U.S. and Canada to Key Largo to complete groundbreaking research on working and living in extreme environments.

“My overriding goal in life is to make aquanauts and astronauts safer, so I do research to that effect,” said mission commander and principal investigator Joe Dituri. “I’m a retired navy special ops diver. I lost a guy to hypercapnia (build-up of carbon dioxide), and I said, ‘We’re smarter than this, we can fix this.’ So, everything I do is to make extreme explorers safer.”

Jules Undersea Lodge (JUL) is an underwater hotel that sits completely submerged in 25 to 27 feet of water in a Key Largo lagoon. The former underwater research laboratory is fully stocked with a kitchen, radio communication to the surface and wifi. The habitat is considered an isolated and confined environment, or ICE. The term is often used by astronauts and arctic researchers who spend long periods of time living and working in tight quarters cut off from a harsh outside environment.

Because researchers can only enter using scuba gear and can dive in the surrounding lagoon freely without surfacing, JUL became a great stepping point for Project NEPTUNE. The crew spent six days and five nights completely submerged, performing cutting-edge science experiments and technology demos with implications for diving and space exploration.

“We investigated the physiological and psychological effects of living in a saturated environment for six days,” said mission executive officer Paul Bakken. “It was great. It actually surprised me a little. I didn’t think I’d sleep as well as I did, but I slept just fine. I think I even gained weight.”

Bakken spoke to the Keys Weekly while mission specialist Doug Campbell unplugged from an “evoked response” test that measured cognitive speed and function.

“We’re doing groundbreaking research in diving — underwater EEG, EKG, cortisol testing, sleep diaries, sleep studies and stress diaries,” said Dituri. “This is really cool science stuff. This is the first time your brain waves have been checked underwater. Nobody has ever done that before, not even the U.S. Navy. Frankly, the technology didn’t exist to do it before this.”

Dituri said the tests measure psycho-social resilience, sleep and stress reactions to ICE stimuli and conditions.

Shawna Pandya, the physician and crew medical/safety doctor, pointed out her ISANSYS Lifetouch vital sign sensor, a portable, lightweight patch that monitors heart rate and respiration rate that all crew wore throughout the mission. It documented their bodies’ reactions to prolonged saturation, multiple daily dives and social isolation. The crew additionally tested ways to retrofit the sensor to work with wetsuit dives, using plastic wrap and silicone grease.

Dituri described several other technology demonstrations that the mission undertook.

Pandya used virtual reality to consult with a remote radiologist in Canada to diagnose and repair a simulated shoulder fracture. The virtual medical suite allows for decision-making support for long-duration missions and remote/ resource-limited environments, Dituri said.

“This was just like if Dr. Pandya was in a spaceship far away and couldn’t come out for treatment. This is tele-medicine,” he said.

“When you can be in a VR space, she can point a wand in space and ask how she should reset this fracture, how she should splint it. Then, the remote doctor can give instant feedback.”

Partnering with a Japanese anesthesiologist-researcher, the team also tested 3D-printed inhalation/ventilation devices for remote emergencies.

Bakken noted that the goal of the mission was to learn how to live and work better in an undersea or another analog environment. He agreed that the undersea habitat at JUL was a “very good analog” for a space environment like the International Space Station (ISS) and that the technology demonstrations would support the eventual deployment of similar equipment to the ISS. “It felt better than I thought it would,” said Campbell. “I wasn’t claustrophobic at all, but I felt like I had a cold the entire time because of the extra pressure.”

The mission specialist also pointed out the applications for space travel, saying, “As people go towards the moon and maybe Mars one day, the more we can learn on earth about what happens to the body in these long saturation situations, the better and safer.”

The mission completed, the team is eagerly sorting through data while setting sights on the next, longer endeavor: Dituri wants to spend 100 days in an ICE to test the limits of the human body and new technology.

Laughing, Bakken noted, “This isn’t my profession, by the way; I’m an attorney. That’s what I do to pay the bills, but this is what I love.

I’ve always been interested in space and space exploration, and now, we’re making it safer.”

Doug Campbell completes an evoked response test after successfully exiting Jules Undersea Lodge. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys Weekly

Dr. Joe Dituri administers the P300 evoked response test to Dr. Shawna Pandya while confined in Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo. CONTRIBUTED

SHARE THE GOOD VIBES

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

27

IS IT OK TO BE SAD?

MELINDA VAN FLEET

MINDSET SHIFT CAN LEAD TO POSITIVITY

We all cry.

What makes you cry? The list may be longer than usual.

Even though I believe, practice, speak and coach about positivity, it is healthy and OK to acknowledge when you are sad.

That’s right. Recognize it, sit with it, see if you can figure out why you are sad and aim to move past it. Sometimes, however, crying can be therapeutic and release tension from other factors. It can be helpful.

Does anyone else watch “America’s Got Talent?” My husband Ryan and I have watched it since the beginning. It’s one of the few shows we do watch together. Why? Because for the most part it’s happy, positive and shows that what you put your mind to, you can do. You can achieve it.

I don’t want to be a spoiler if you haven’t watched the new season’s first episode yet. So, warning if you need to look away. I cried twice. Let me be honest, more than cried … I bawled my eyes out.

The first tears-inducing act was a gentleman named Archie Williams, who had been wrongly convicted and spent 37 years incarcerated. Can you believe that? He spent 37 years in jail for a hideous crime he did not commit. Finally, a DNA test using new technology freed him. Imagine trying to build a life after 37 years in prison. Think of all you have or can do in 37 years. He wasn’t in the Caribbean on vacation; he was in jail.

During that time, he focused on his mindset and singing. He watched AGT and dreamt and visualized being on the show someday. And yep, here he was singing an Elton John song, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” so amazingly

is a consultant, coach and speaker who helps sales executives and their teams navigate change and strengthen their communication skills to maximize their potential.

that everyone had tears in their eyes. I challenge you to sit with this and process what he went through. But, instead of focusing on the negative, he used his mind to push through. Archie is now sharing his gift with the world.

The second act that deeply touched my heart and soul was a choir, Voice of the City. The choir is made up primarily of homeless people in San Diego, California. Steph Johnson organized the choir in 2016.

I can only imagine the hope, inspiration, purpose and community this choir provides to this beautiful group of people.

The sound was incredible, the song was original, and we loved the spoken-word section by member Patricia Gaines: “Hopeful eyes searching, restless arms reaching. Our battles going down with chaos all around. And the mother reassures herself everything will be all right as she steps in rhythm to the sounds of the sidewalk.”

The performance received The Golden Buzzer from the host Terry Crews and was the first Golden Buzzer of the season. The choir deserved it, and we will be anxiously awaiting their return in August for the live finale.

We watched the episode on the night of May 26 right before all the riots and looting started. How poignant in this time, that her verse was about the sidewalks? How chilling in how affected so many people are?

Both of these performances were born from challenging situations. These situations were sad, downright wrong and out of control. But they all kept positive mindsets and focused where they could. They found ways to share, help others and realize the meaning they have in their lives.

I only hope I can do the same.

Dr. George vonHilsheimer, M.D.

How Often Should You Get A Skin Exam?

Dermatologists recommend that you schedule a skin exam once every year. This yearly exam enables your dermatologist to thoroughly check your body for the presence of any suspicious spots. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S., but annual exams can help detect it at its earliest and most treatable stages. This allows your dermatologist to find and remove precancerous lesions before they develop into skin cance This is especially true if you have one or more of the cancer. following risk factors: blonde or red hair, light eye color, skin that freckles or sunburns easily, family history of melanoma, tanning bed use, or if you have more than 50 moles.

After your first exam, the results of subsequent exams will also be compared to the one before it to look for any changes.

Your dermatologist may also make a note of a suspicious spot so it can be monitored over time. Photos may be taken so this skin exam can be compared with the next one. Your doctor may also want to take a small tissue sample of the lesion (a biopsy) to send to a lab for testing.

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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SEEN AROUND TOWN

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

SENIORS GET THEIR PAPERS

DRIVE-BY GRADUATION IS A PRETTY FUN ALTERNATIVE 4

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O

n May 29, Marathon High School graduates assembled in their decorated vehicles in the Kmart parking lot for a parade down Sombrero Beach Road to the beach and then back to the high school. They road singly, and in pairs, and in the back of pickup trucks to loud music, honking horns and the blare of sirens from the lead-off emergency vehicles. To the seniors of 2020, congratulations!

— Weekly staff report

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2 SARA MATTHISS/Keys Weekly 1. Delania Ross is headed off to study at University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus.

2. Family and friends find a spot of shade in front of the school to watch the parade.

6 3

3. Jordyn Wilson and Alberto Aguirre are joining the U.S. Air Force.

4. Wendy McPherson, right, Liz Logan and Christine Paul — MHS’ top three administrators — hand out diplomas to students in vehicles.

5. The Egan twins poke their heads through the top of a SUV. 6. Cory Bisson wins “best ride” — atop the family boat festooned with balloons and streamers.

7. Bella Gonzalez picks up her diploma.

COMMUNITY NEWS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

WE MOVE YOU RELAX

OBITUARIES

ROBERT O’BRIEN

R

obert (Bob) O’Brien, 73, of Marathon passed away on May 23, 2020 at an assisted living facility in Homestead.

Bob was a captain of private sailing and motor yachts. He sailed from New England to Florida and throughout the islands. A long-time Marathon resident, Bob was best known for his outstanding wit and sense of humor. He was a fisherman extraordinaire, from deep sea to fly fishing. He was an avid hiker, and spent several summers camping, fishing and hiking in Alaska and the lower 48 states.

Originally from Scarsdale, New York, Bob graduated from Scarsdale High School, drove a taxi, and sailed in Long Island Sound whenever he could. He served in the Army, earning distinction as a sharpshooter, and was honorably discharged in 1970, and then from the Reserves in 1974. In 1980, Bob purchased Irish Coffee, the Morgan 34 sailboat which became his home base for the next 39 years. He sailed south to the Keys, where he could indulge in his love of fishing and boating. Bob leaves behind his sisters, Irene O’Brien White and Jonnie O’Brien Woodward, his brother-in-law Robert Woodward, and several loving nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister Kathleen O’Brien Coleman and his brother Richard. Bob was a much-loved brother, uncle and friend. He will be sorely missed by all who treasured knowing him.

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nnie Frances Styron, 90, passed away peacefully on April 21, 2020 at Crystal Health and Rehab in Tavernier, Florida after dealing with an illness for some time. Annie was born on November 11, 1929 in Plymouth, North Carolina to loving parents Louis and Amanda Paul.

In Annie’s later years, she and her husband Nathan — who passed in 1991 — moved to Marathon, Florida. They had one daughter, Gloria Jean Styron, who passed away at the young age of 16. Annie spent her time in Marathon working at Herbie’s as a seafood prep cook.

Annie is the ninth sibling of 14 to have passed away, leaving five surviving: Alma Kelly of Monroe, Virginia; Retha Davis of Port Smith, Virginia; Linda Daniels and Jitterbug of Marathon, Florida; Elbert Paul of Duden, Florida; and Harry Paul of Sound Beach, New York.

Annie lived a full life which was filled with many friends who traveled far and wide to visit her. She was loved by many friends and family and will be missed dearly.

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COMMERCE CORNER Bealls Outlet, an outgrowth of Bealls Inc. established in 1915, takes satisfaction in offering great products at great prices. New products are delivered three times a week to keep the stock fresh.

“We strive to do the best for the customer with exceptional prices and great customer service,” said the manger of the Marathon store, Eugene Gilson. “We pride ourselves in a wide variety of goods for the home, shoes and apparel for the family, plus hair care and beauty products as well as items for pets.”

Store management is always looking for the best associates. There are four Bealls Outlet locations in the Florida Keys, part of 430 nationwide.

Location: 10950 Overseas Highway, Marathon Phone: 305 743-5543 Website: Beallsoutlet.com Email: Str30230@beallsinc.com

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COOL STUFF

Mainstreaming

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

NOW TRENDING BUY | UV WAND This $65 device is made in the U.S.A. and uses a UV-C light (short-wavelength ultraviolet light) to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA. The makers say it’s been laboratory-tested and proven. It’s as easy to use as swiping over the object or surface to be sterilized. Visit uvsanitizinglight.com.

READ | THEN SHE WAS GONE Warning: Lisa Jewell’s book includes disturbing content but it’s a good psychological thriller.

It’s based around a young girl’s disappearance and picks up 10 years later when her mother meets a young woman who is remarkably similar. One reviewer wrote: “You have villains, victims, heroes and sometimes a bizarre mix of all three in the same characters.” Find “Then She Was Gone” on amazon.com.

SUMMER CAMPS NOT RECOMMENDED

BY THE KEYS WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS: The Florida Keys offers some of the most rewarding summer camps in the country with great programs from Key Largo to Key West. They play an important part in our kids’ summer and many offer an exciting taste of marine biology or find unique ways to build confidence.

However, our crack team of researchers also discovered a few camps whose name alone gives us cause to pause.

10. Camp Wuhan-a-Bat

5. Camp Whatinthehell

9. Wisteria Island Eviction & Restoration Camp

4. Epstein Island Camp

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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HISTORY

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

THE BUM FARTO FILES:

THE PERFECT STORM

Headlines from the Miami Herald and Miami News reveal several factors that created a perfect storm in the 1970s and paved the way for Key West to become America’s narco-trafficking pipeline.

DAVID SLOAN is a Key West storyteller, publisher and producer.

Key West Fire Chief Joseph “Bum” Farto disappeared on Feb. 16, 1976, while awaiting sentencing for a drug trafficking conviction stemming from Operation Conch – a sting operation that found Farto allegedly selling cocaine from the city’s fire station. Bum became the Jimmy Hoffa of Key West, and the island has swirled with rumors of his fate since he disappeared. David Sloan and Quincy Perkins have launched an unparalleled investigation into Chief Farto’s life, legends and disappearance in an attempt to find the truth. Each week they will share elements of their research here in the Keys Weekly while working to solve one of the greatest mysteries in the history of Key West. Share your Bum Farto tips and stories at www.findbumfarto.com.

A

popular bumper sticker calls Key West a drinking town with a fishing problem. It’s good for a laugh today, but the fishermen weren’t laughing in 1969, when conservation agents from the Department of Natural Resources boarded their boats with machine guns and seized the shrimpers’ bounties of “pink gold.” The Tortuga Shrimp Grounds that fueled Key West’s economy were permanently closed. It was the beginning of a perfect storm.

Drugs were not an issue in Key West before the Tortuga Shrimp Wars erupted.

A local newspaper reported kids sniffing glue in 1968, but in 1969 there was “furor over marijuana,” with over 100 possession arrests by April 8 of that year. The Island City’s first heroin arrest occurred on Apr. 20, 1970, and cocaine wasn’t far behind. Key West was changing, and the drug trade helped usher in a new era for the island.

Hard drugs became a major industry in Key West. In 1972, the sale of heroin alone brought in an estimated $4.2 million ($26.3 million value in 2020 dollars).

Santo Trafficante Jr. and the Tampa Mafia already controlled the local bolita rackets, and it was suspected they had a hand in heroin distribution routes as well. On Oct. 11, 1972, a Miami Herald article by Stan Windhorn reported, “A man highly placed in law enforcement concedes there is strong evidence that bolita money finances hard drug operations here. ‘Proving it,’ he says wryly, ‘is another matter.’“ In October 1973, the U.S. Navy decommissioned the submarine USS Amberjack, thus leaving the Key West Naval Station without a single ship. The station was formally disestablished the following year and the local economy took another hit. Many fishermen still made a living harvesting lobster, but once the Bahamians gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, Bahamians implemented strict and far-reaching regulations on the crawfish.

The fishermen were again devastated.

For a second time, these men who made a living on the ocean were held hostage by new rules as their boats were seized with force by low-caliber officials carrying high-caliber guns.

So what are fishermen to do in a profession that regulators have turned into a crime when their boats sit empty and their families are hungry? In Key West, they survive.

A fleet of shrimp boats designed to handle large cargos on long journeys sat idle at local docks. A new drug culture swept the country at the same time, and Americans developed an insatiable appetite for Colombian products such as marijuana, methaqualone and cocaine. Key West was America’s closest entry port to Colombia, and the U.S. Naval Base closure left shipping channels between the two locations largely unpatrolled.

The Miami Herald reported, “Major dealers bear the names of some of the oldest Key West families. The only outsiders are street corner and restroom pushers who sell drugs to finance their own habits and occupy the lowest rung of the dope-dealing ladder.” The purity of local cocaine neared 100%, and some high-profile residents became part of the island’s new trafficking industry as the Florida Keys became a pipeline fueling America’s appetite for drugs.

It was a perfect storm, and it helped define a decade. But it wasn’t the only one. Another storm was brewing on the horizon, and this one was going to sting.

35

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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ENVIRONMENT

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

TIFFANY DUONG

tiffany@keysweekly.com

INSURANCE FOR THE

REEF

NEW MARKET-DRIVEN, NATURE-BASED POLICY MAY PROTECT REEF, COASTLINE DEVELOPMENT DURING STORMS

ENVIRONMENT

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

A

t the end of the last hurricane season, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) began assessing the potential of implementing an innovative insurance program for Florida’s coral reefs.

Reef insurance is exactly what it sounds like — an insurance policy covering a coral reef.

Unlike car insurance, which reimburses for damages assessed after a car accident, reef insurance will finance repairs and restoration of a coral reef when a triggering event, like a major storm or hurricane, occurs.

“This is an insurance policy for natural assets,” said Rod Braun, TNC’s climate and coastal resilience program manager in Florida. “It’s a parametric policy, meaning it pays out on a ‘trigger’ and not based on damages assessed by an adjuster after a hurricane. It allows a team to get out and repair the reef quickly after a storm, so the reef can bounce back much more quickly and be more resilient,” without going through traditional insurance adjustment and assessment procedures for loss calculation.

In this way, skilled “triage” work and cleanup of hurricane damage to reefs will be financed by sufficient and rapid funding, allowing immediate, large-scale repairs to occur as soon as possible. TNC worked with several other agencies and university partners after Hurricane Irma to do similar work without the insurance funding.

“In the Keys, we might have to reattach branches of branching corals, upright coral heads or reattach coral nursery setups,” Braun said. “In Irma, large pieces of reef collapsed and moved around, so we might be looking at also correcting structural damage. Structure plays a big role in breaking down wave energy.”

Braun suggested that the “brigade” of restoration workers who might be deployed in the event of a storm in Florida could include TNC, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Commission, state agencies and independent contractors.

The insurance program will also be market-driven.

Globally, coral reefs play a vital role in protecting valuable coastline and stopping storm erosion, Braun said. A recent study by TNC and the U.S. Geological Survey found that reefs break down wave energy and protect some $1.5 billion worth of coastline assets in Florida and $675 million in Hawaii.

“A category 3 or higher storm damages the reef,” Braun told the Weekly. “A policy like this would add one more layer of protection to our coral reefs.

If we bring more attention here, we can bring more money to the management of coral reefs and help make our reefs more resilient against threats like hurricanes.”

To move the effort forward, Bank of America made a $1 million grant to TNC in September 2019 to fund a feasibility study and TNC’s research to support the expansion of a nature-based insurance plan in Florida and Hawaii.

“We’re going through the process right now to see how we can insure against a threat like a hurricane,” said Braun.

“We’re talking to different insurance companies to see if we can insure a natural asset in Florida.

We know we can’t just buy a policy on a reef in Florida, so we’re doing our due diligence.”

The feasibility study is exploring whether there are enough enabling conditions and interest to move toward a policy in Florida. TNC’s scientists hope the feasibility study will result in an innovative and cost-effective solution to coastal flooding and other risks related to major storms.

“TNC is reaching out to potential partners and stakeholders to gauge interest,” Braun said. “Initial response has been pretty good overall. People generally feel like the reefs are important and that management is underfunded.”

The study will look into

potential financing or funding sources, and will explore state, county, hotel industry and more.

This novel approach to shoreline protection is actually the second joint effort between TNC and Bank of America. Last fall, they partnered with the local government, scientists and tourism industry to establish the first-ever reef insurance policy in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Funds from an existing fee paid by beachfront property owners and other sources were funneled into a trust that continues to finance regular repair and maintenance of Quintana Roo’s local reef and beaches in addition to paying for the Mexican reef’s new insurance policy.

Under the Mexican policy, when wind speeds exceed 100 knots in a predefined area, an insurance payout is made quickly to the trust fund to finance swift damage assessments, debris removal and initial repairs, a TNC press release said. Longer restoration and recovery work can then follow to bolster the reef’s ability to act as a coastal barrier.

The more intense the storm, the higher the payout percentage. Maximum payout nears $3.8 million under the Mexico policy for a major storm event.

The goal of the Florida feasibility study is to get really close to where interested parties can implement a policy like in Mexico, Braun added. TNC is looking to wrap up the feasibility study for Florida and Hawaii later this year.

“It makes sense to invest in reefs that protect beaches and shorelines with a policy like this to fortify the economy,” he said.

“We’re going to look at who really benefits from the reefs, who has an interest in the reefs, and see if this can be a good return on investment for them.”

37

“Reef insurance is a promising model allowing countries to simultaneously protect residents, nature and property. By safeguarding the natural infrastructure coral reefs provide, lives and livelihoods of countless people around the globe can be protected — as well as potentially billions of dollars of infrastructure.”

— The Nature Conservancy

38

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

City of Marathon City Council Agenda Tuesday, June 9, 2020 5:30 P.M.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, Monroe County Emergency Directive 20-06 and Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) social distancing guidelines established to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, this meeting will be held virtually via Zoom Meetings.

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Members of the public who wish to view the City Council Meeting may do so by watching local via the web at: www.youtube.com/channel/UCFimq7DjLHNolPgqbKTaftQ/live Members of the public who wish to comment on matters before the City Council may do so by either: (1) Calling (305) 289-4130, or emailing cityofmarathon@ci.marathon.fl.us with your name, address, and phone number where you can be reached during the meeting on June 9th by 4:00PM; or (2) Calling (301) 715-8592, and upon receiving voice prompt, dialing Meeting ID: 917 9713 6932 and Password: 925920. Members of the public who participate in the meeting through this option must mute themselves until called upon to speak.

Public comments on agenda items

5-6:30 pm

City Council Items *A. Approval of Minutes B. 40th Annual 7-Mile Bridge Run Request C. Army Corp of Engineers Presentation - Florida Keys Coastal Storm Risk Management Draft Feasibility Study

MEMBERSHIPS

AVAILABLE

City Manager Report A. July 4th Fireworks Discussion

annual, monthly and seasonal

Ordinances for Third Public Hearing and Enactment A. Ordinance 2019-12 Amending The City’s Comprehensive Plan To Modify Comprehensive Plan, Chapter 1, “Future Element, Goal 1-3, “Manage Growth;” Objective 1-3.2, “Regulate Density And Intensity;” Policy 1-3.2.5; “Maximum Height Limitation,” Increasing The Maximum Building Height To Forty-Two Feet (42) To Provide Compensation For Increases In Required Elevations For The New FEMA Firm Maps; Providing For Severability; Providing For The Repeal Of Conflicting Provisions; Providing For The Transmittal Of This Ordinance To The State Department Of Economic Opportunity After Final Adoption

By The City Council; And Providing For An Effective Date.

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B.

Ordinance 2019-13 Amending The City’s Land Development Regulations, Chapter 103, Table 103.15.2, “Density, Intensity And Dimensions For Zoning Districts, Chapter 107, Article 5, “Setbacks And Height,” Section 107.40, “Maximum Height” And Figure 107.40.1, “Building Height Measurement,’ Increasing The Maximum Building Height To Forty-Two Feet (42 To Provide Compensation For Increases In Required Elevations For The New FEMA Firm Maps; Providing For Severability; Providing For The Repeal Of Conflicting Provisions; Providing For The Transmittal Of This Ordinance To The State Department Of Economic Opportunity After Final Adoption By The City Council; And Providing For An Effective Date.

C.

Ordinance 2019-16, Amending The City Of Marathon’s Comprehensive Plan Modifying Chapter One, “Future Land Use,” “Table 1-1, Future Land Use Densities And Intensities,” And Intending To Modify Policy 1-3.3.4, “Encourage Redevelopment Of Tourist/Resort/Campground Facilities,” To Allow Uses Designated As “Permanent RVs” To Be Utilized As “Transient Residential Units” (RV Lots), Meeting All Requirements Of Such Uses, And That Hold No Monetary Value As Transient Units, And Cannot Be Transferred As Transient Units, To Be Allowed On Properties With a FLUM designation of Residential High (RH) or Mixed Use Commercial (MUC) That Also Allow Permanent Florida Building Code Compliant Residences; Providing For Severability; Providing For The Repeal Of Conflicting Provisions; Providing For The Transmittal Of This Ordinance To The State Department Of Economic Opportunity For Final Adoption; And Providing For An Effective Date.

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Ordinances for First Public Hearing A. Ordinance 2020-02 Amending The City Of Marathon’s Land Development Regulations, Chapter 103, Article 3, Table 103.15.2, To Allow Uses Designated As “Permanent RVs” To Be Utilized As “Transient Residential Units” (RV Lots), Meeting All Requirements Of Such Uses, And That Hold No Monetary Value As Transient Units, And Cannot Be Transferred As Transient Units, To Be Allowed On Properties Zoned Residential Mobile Home (R-MH) or Mixed Use (MU) That Also Allow Permanent Florida Building Code Compliant Residences; Providing For Severability; Providing For The Repeal Of Conflicting Provisions; Providing For The Transmittal Of This Ordinance To The State Department Of Economic Opportunity For Adoption; And Providing For An Effective Date.

Resolutions for Adoption *A. Resolution 2020-17, Confirmation Of A City Council Approval As Disseminated In Resolutions 2018-116 & 117, Of A Request By GEM Homes LLC For A Conditional Use Permit And A Development Agreement, Pursuant To Chapter 102, Articles 8 And 13 Of The City Of Marathon Land Development Regulations (“The Code”) Entitled “Development Agreement” And “Conditional Use Permits” Respectively,” With Proposed Densities Of Approximately 15 Affordable Housing Units Per Acre; Located At 250 Gulf Terrace; Which Is Legally Described As Part Of Lot 2 & Lots 8, 9 & Part Of Lots 7 & 10 Schmitt Subdivision, Section 2, Township 66, Range 32, Key Vaccas, Marathon, Monroe County, Florida; Having Real Estate Numbers 00101340-000000 And 00101340-000200 (As Stated In The Resolution), Nearest Mile Marker 51. (Removed from March 10th Agenda) *B.

Resolution 2020-31, Authorizing A Work Authorization For Reynolds Construction For An Emergency Upgrade Of The Area 4 Air Pipeline In An Amount Not To Exceed $101,622.82; Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into Agreements In Connection Therewith, Appropriating And Expending Budgeted Funds; And Providing For An Effective Date

TOUGH ON BUGS - SAFE FOR PETS!

*C. Resolution 2020-32, Approving The Ranking of Debris Removal Monitoring Firms, and Entering into Contracts With The Top Ranked Firm, Tetra Tech, Inc., For Emergency Disaster Debris Removal Monitoring Services On An As Needed Basis. Authorizing The City Manager To Execute The Agreement On Behalf Of The City And To Expend Reimbursable And Necessary Funds As Needed; And Providing For An Effective Date

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*D. Resolution 2020-33, Approving A Contract With Crypsis To Protect, Detect, And Respond To Cybersecurity Threats In An Amount Not To Exceed $52,835 Annually; Authorizing The City Manager To Execute The Agreement, Appropriate Funds And Providing For An Effective Date.

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL LICENSED & INSURED

All interested persons are invited to attend the virtual meeting and participate in the discussion; or, written comments may be sent to the City of Marathon, c/o City Clerk, 9805 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050.

CALL TODAY TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT AND PUT THOSE BUGS ON THE MARCH!

Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes, if a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council with respect to any matter considered at such hearing or meeting, one will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose that person may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made; such record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. Please contact the City Clerk at clavierd@ci.marathon.fl.us if you would like to receive any of the items on the agenda by email.

PAULA BARRY • 305.304.1119 • paulaspestcontrol1@gmail.com

40

BUSINESS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020 SARA MATTHIS

sara@keysweekly.com

VIRTUAL SALES

REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY EMBRACES DIGITAL WORLD

L

ooking for a pandemic real estate deal? No dice. Just as the Florida Keys real estate market weathered Hurricane Irma nicely, industry leaders say real estate prices have held during the COVID-19 shutdown. In fact, the average sales price was up more than $101,000 over 2019 prices. But, the pandemic has changed how Realtors are doing business.

“We actually did sell a few properties without the new owners stepping foot inside,” said Will Langley, principal broker of Berkshire Hathaway in Key West. “The common denominator was the clients were all very familiar with the Keys. They come every year. They know the neighborhood. They know the market.”

Langley and Joy Martin, broker of American Caribbean Real Estate in the Upper Keys, both used high- and low-brow technology to seal the deals.

The 360-degree virtual tours were an essential selling tool, they said.

“When it became apparent that the Keys were closing back in March, the first thing we did was send out our marketing staff to video all our properties,” said Martin. In addition, the brokerage created an interactive magazine where users can click on an digital newsletter to view a virtual tour of a property or a short video.

“We used this time to get better at this aspect of our business,” said Martin. The brokerage continued to have its regular office meetings via Zoom, and incorporated guest speakers and meditations to stay connected.

Langley said his brokerage invested in tech early, before the pandemic. “We were pretty prepared for this day with our virtual marketing system. We had these tools and we pushed them out to all our Realtors who embraced and implemented them.”

While the 3D virtual tours are very informative, buyers wanted something more. “We did a Facetime call with all our buyers, taking them through the property,” said Langley. “For example, they had questions about whether a room was as big or small as it seemed on the video. They wanted boots on the ground, a human for scale.”

While the virtual selling has been successful in a limited fashion, Realtors are eager to get back to the “new normal.” In comparing May 2019 to May 2020, there were 98 fewer home sales in the Keys and 173 fewer new listings.

Still, the outlook is good: prices are holding steady, sellers aren’t desperate and demand is coming back, Langley said.

“We knew that demand was going to slow down until people can get back down here to look in person,” said Langley. “We were just making sure the inventory didn’t skyrocket and that didn’t happen.”

Both Martin and Langley believe there is still plenty of pent-up demand for second-home buyers ready to invest in the Florida Keys.

“I think what the pandemic has done is create more of an urgency to buy in the Keys,” said Martin. “They are looking for quality of life. People who were working in cities have learned how to work remotely and the idea of continuing to work remotely is now more acceptable.”

Real estate by the numbers: Sold: 160 Avg. sales price: $691,706 New listings: 345 Total listings: 2,518 — source: Florida Keys FlexMLS

COMMUNITY NEWS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

DESPAIR, GRIEF, OUTRAGE THE CRIME? LIVING WHILE BLACK.

JOHN BARTUS is a City of Marathon councilman. He also is a musician who performs around town. For more see johnbartus. com

“We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

— The Declaration of Independence

T

hese are inspirational words … except for the fact that in modern America, all men are not “created equal.” Try explaining to the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery about how they were treated “equally” by their fellow Americans. And how can their fellow Americans committed to equality not be angry about the fact that this is happening in the America of the 21st century?

How does an American committed to equality condone Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the back of George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds? How does an American committed to equality ignore Chauvin’s taunting of Floyd, telling him to get up while Floyd is pinned by the officer kneeling on his neck? How does an American committed to equality not be angry as a fellow American can’t breathe and dies at the hands of a law enforcement officer sworn to protect?

How does an American committed to equality tolerate the de facto lynching of Ahmaud Arbery by white men in Brunswick, Georgia? How do Americans committed to equality accept the hunting down, assault and shooting of a black man jogging — all while being videorecorded by another white man?

How can Americans committed to equality agree with a no-knock warrant that results in police officers barging into Breonna Taylor’s home in Louisville, Kentucky, in the middle of the night and discharging a spray of bullets that struck and killed the 26-year-old EMT? How is it that so many Americans — who profess to believe in equality — refuse to see that some aren’t as equal as others?

Whether you want to admit it or not, racism is alive and well in these United States. White privilege exists, and many unarmed African-Americans have lost their lives for simply being black in the wrong place at the wrong time. Imagine the reaction by our fellow Americans if

a white jogger was murdered on the street for just jogging in a neighborhood. Imagine the outrage if the Louisville no-knock warrant had been executed in a white neighborhood and cops had mistakenly killed a white EMT. This is why people of color and conscience have demonstrated for years. It’s why Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players peacefully protested by taking a knee during the National Anthem. A lot of people were outraged at this peaceful form of protest, one that didn’t involve looting or burning. So if this form of protest isn’t acceptable in bringing attention to the issue, what is?

If we as Americans can’t understand why other Americans just might be angry, then we have work to do. There are, however, no easy answers. In the somewhat segregated society we live in here in the Keys, these issues become way too easy to put aside.

Perhaps the first thing we all can do is acknowledge that this is a deadly problem. Look for places we can help each other. If we see acts of bigotry and racism, don’t ignore them. Call them out. As Edmund Burke once wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Being more understanding of our fellow human beings is a great start.

Instead of condemning those who stand up and protest, try to see their side of this issue. Be mindful of ways to challenge and change. Have the important conversations — but be sure to listen.

It was encouraging to see Sheriff Rick Ramsay and Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg join the peaceful protest in the Southernmost City this past Monday — a stark contrast to some of our urban areas where protests were hijacked and turned into violent events. Nationwide, there is a lot of healing and a lot of work to be done. But that work has to start within each of us.

I’ll close with the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who 57 years ago wrote in his letter from the Birmingham jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Let’s keep this in mind if we truly are to be Americans committed to equality.

Catch John Thursdays at Sparky’s Landing, and Fridays at his Social Distancing Concerts on Facebook Live. Music available on CDBaby.com and iTunes, and wherever you get your streaming music. www.facebook.com/john.bartus

LOCAL CLUBS SUPPORT MHS SENIORS

T

he Marathon Garden Club awarded its 2020 scholarship to Marathon High School senior Delaina Ross. She will be attending University of South Florida and studying sustainability and environmental policy.

She is currently involved in planting mangroves to assist in restoration efforts aimed at aiding in ecosystem recovery following Hurricane Irma.

She also is training to be a scientific diver with DiveN2Life, where she is collecting water quality samples and participating in experiments with NOAA, MOTE and the National Marine Sanctuary. She said, “Bringing my knowledge of ecology and sustainability to the Keys will help ensure that all life is respected, nature

is conserved and human interaction with nature is safe and nondestructive.”

The Marathon Garden Club scholarship is renewable during undergraduate studies.

The Marathon Women of the Moose also presented five MHS seniors with scholarships, broadcast at the virtual class night.

The recipients were Holly Frederick and Taylor Sokolosky, who each received $1,000; and Vanessa Martinez, Kayleigh Reed and Luana Salgado, who each received $500. “We congratulate them and all graduating seniors,” said a spokesperson. “This year has been like no other for all of you but you will go forward stronger than you were before. #MarathonStrong!”

— Contributed

41

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES • LEGAL NOTICES FICTITIOUS NAME NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of CHICKEN WALK, located at 3841 N ROOSEVELT BLVD, KEY WEST, FLORIDA 33040, intends to register said name with the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

By: SPOTTSWOOD MANAGEMENT, INC. Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Wheatons Towing gives Notice of Foreclosure of Lien and intent to sell these vehicles on 06/26/2020, 10:00 am at 101500 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL 33037, pursuant to subsection 713.78 of the Florida Statutes. Wheatons Towing reserves the right to accept or reject any and/all bids.

JTDDR32T630161487 2003 TOYOTA Publish: May 28 & June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers PUBLIC NOTICE On May 13, 2020, Philip Von Kahle, assignee for the benefit of creditors, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission seeking consent to assign the license of station WKEZ-FM, 96.9 MHz, Tavernier, Florida, from Philip Von Kahle to Magnum Broadcasting, Inc..

Michael Stapleford is the President and 100% owner of Magnum Broadcasting, Inc. A copy of this application is available for public inspection on the FCC’s public inspection website at: https:// publicfiles.fcc.gov/.

Publish: May 21, 28 & June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers LEGAL NOTICE Pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the South Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee (SoFlaLEPC) announces the availability of the following information: Hazardous Chemical Inventory (Tier2) Forms, Hazards Analyses for Facilities with Extremely Hazardous Substances, SoFlaLEPC Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan, How-to-Comply Information for Hazardous Materials Users and other public education materials. The SoFlaLEPC serves Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe Counties. To obtain information, please contact the SoFlaLEPC Coordinator at (954)924-3653.

Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING Florida Keys Council of the Arts Notice of Upcoming Meetings The Florida Keys Council of the Arts will hold the following committee and Board of Directors meeting via Communications Media Technology using a ZOOM webinar platform. The access points to view the meeting or for members of the public to provide public input will be: For each meeting, JOIN ZOOM via the Zoom app at the weblink: https://us04web. zoom.us/j/ 75348937408?Pwd =RnA0NWQ5U056 U2xYNXdsc GV4UUZHQT09 And use each meeting ID and password listed.

Membership Committee Meeting Jun 12, 2020 11:00 AM

LEGAL NOTICES Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 841 4666 7516 Password: 586998 Cultural Umbrella Committee Meeting Jun 17, 2020 11:00 AM Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 817 6085 7928 Password: 795765 Art in Public Places Committee Meeting Jun 23, 2020 03:00 PM Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 825 0453 9118 Password: 514878 Board of Directors Meeting Jun 25, 2020 05:00 PM Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 893 5130 5119 Password: 856768 Meetings are open to the public and all are invited to attend.

Questions, or to RSVP, please call the Arts Council office at 305-295-4369.

Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING The District I Advisory Committee (DAC I) of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. via Communications Media Technology using a Zoom webinar platform.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, Monroe County Emergency Directive 20-06, and the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) social-distancing guidelines established to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the June 24, 2020 meeting of the District I Advisory Committee will be conducted via CMT, using a Zoom Webinar platform.

Executive Order 20-112 extends EO 20-69. If the Governor issues a subsequent order changing directives for Local Government Public Meetings, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will provide updates on the County Website at MonroeCounty-FL.Gov. The access points to view the meeting or for members of the public to provide public comment will be: By joining the Zoom Meeting via weblink: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/81778151572 Meeting ID: 817 7815 1572 • By joining the Zoom Meeting via one tap mobile: One tap mobile +19292056099,, 81778151572# US (New York) +13017158592,, 81778151572# US (Germantown) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 817 7815 1572 Please contact Maxine Pacini or Ammie Machan to submit written information or for additional information by writing MCTDC, 1201 White Street, Suite 102, Key West, FL 33040, by email at PaciniMaxine@monroecounty-fl. gov, or by calling (305)296-1552 between the hours of 9:00 a.m.

– 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Documents must be received no later than Friday 5:00 P.M. on June 19, 2020 All District Advisory Committee Meetings of the Tourist Development Council Meetings are open to the public and one or more TDC Member or County Commissioners may be in attendance.

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the County Administrator’s Office, by phoning (305) 292-4441,

LEGAL NOTICES between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., no later than five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING The District II Advisory Committee (DAC II) of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. via Communications Media Technology using a Zoom webinar platform.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, Monroe County Emergency Directive 20-06, and the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) social-distancing guidelines established to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the June 23, 2020 meeting of the District II Advisory Committee will be conducted via CMT, using a Zoom Webinar platform.

Executive Order 20-112 extends EO 20-69. If the Governor issues a subsequent order changing directives for Local Government Public Meetings, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will provide updates on the County Website at MonroeCounty-FL.Gov. The access points to view the meeting or for members of the public to provide public comment will be: By joining the Zoom Meeting via weblink: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/89325827664 Meeting ID: 893 2582 7664 One tap mobile +13017158592,, 89325827664# US (Germantown) +13126266799,, 89325827664# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 893 2582 7664 Please contact Maxine Pacini or Ammie Machan to submit written information or for additional information by writing MCTDC, 1201 White Street, Suite 102, Key West, FL 33040, by email at PaciniMaxine@monroecounty-fl. gov, or by calling (305)296-1552 between the hours of 9:00 a.m.

– 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Documents must be received no later than Friday 5:00 P.M. on June 19, 2020 All District Advisory Committee Meetings of the Tourist Development Council Meetings are open to the public and one or more TDC Member or County Commissioners may be in attendance.

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the County Administrator’s Office, by phoning (305) 292-4441, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., no later than five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING The District III Advisory Committee (DAC III) of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. via Communications Media Technology using a Zoom

305.743.0844

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

webinar platform.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, Monroe County Emergency Directive 20-06, and the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) social-distancing guidelines established to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the June 24, 2020 meeting of the District III Advisory Committee will be conducted via CMT, using a Zoom Webinar platform.

Executive Order 20-112 extends EO 20-69. If the Governor issues a subsequent order changing directives for Local Government Public Meetings, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will provide updates on the County Website at MonroeCounty-FL.Gov. The access points to view the meeting or for members of the public to provide public comment will be: By joining the Zoom Meeting via weblink: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/88345063229 Meeting ID: 883 4506 3229 One tap mobile +13126266799,, 88345063229# US (Chicago) +19292056099,, 88345063229# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 883 4506 3229 Please contact Maxine Pacini or Ammie Machan to submit written information or for additional information by writing MCTDC, 1201 White Street, Suite 102, Key West, FL 33040, by email at PaciniMaxine@monroecounty-fl. gov, or by calling (305)296-1552 between the hours of 9:00 a.m.

– 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Documents must be received no later than Friday 5:00 P.M. on June 19, 2020 All District Advisory Committee Meetings of the Tourist Development Council Meetings are open to the public and one or more TDC Member or County Commissioners may be in attendance.

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the County Administrator’s Office, by phoning (305) 292-4441, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., no later than five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers

MonroeCounty-FL.Gov. The access points to view the meeting or for members of the public to provide public comment will be: By joining the Zoom Meeting via weblink: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/83397623853 Meeting ID: 833 9762 3853 One tap mobile +13017158592,, 83397623853# US (Germantown) +13126266799,, 83397623853# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 833 9762 3853 Please contact Maxine Pacini or Ammie Machan to submit written information or for additional information by writing MCTDC, 1201 White Street, Suite 102, Key West, FL 33040, by email at PaciniMaxine@monroecounty-fl. gov, or by calling (305)296-1552 between the hours of 9:00 a.m.

– 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Documents must be received no later than Friday 5:00 P.M. on June 19, 2020 All District Advisory Committee Meetings of the Tourist Development Council Meetings are open to the public and one or more TDC Member or County Commissioners may be in attendance.

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the County Administrator’s Office, by phoning (305) 292-4441, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., no later than five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 810 5027 4729 Please contact Maxine Pacini or Ammie Machan to submit written information or for additional information by writing MCTDC, 1201 White Street, Suite 102, Key West, FL 33040, by email at PaciniMaxine@monroecounty-fl. gov, or by calling (305)296-1552 between the hours of 9:00 a.m.

– 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Documents must be received no later than Friday 5:00 P.M. on June 19, 2020 All District Advisory Committee Meetings of the Tourist Development Council Meetings are open to the public and one or more TDC Member or County Commissioners may be in attendance.

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the County Administrator’s Office, by phoning (305) 292-4441, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., no later than five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING The District IV Advisory Committee (DAC IV) of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. via Communications Media Technology using a Zoom webinar platform.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, Monroe County Emergency Directive 20-06, and the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) social-distancing guidelines established to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the June 23, 2020 meeting of the District IV Advisory Committee will be conducted via CMT, using a Zoom Webinar platform.

Executive Order 20-112 extends EO 20-69. If the Governor issues a subsequent order changing directives for Local Government Public Meetings, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will provide updates on the County Website at

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING The District V Advisory Committee (DAC V) of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. via Communications Media Technology using a Zoom webinar platform.

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, Monroe County Emergency Directive 20-06, and the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) social-distancing guidelines established to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the June 23, 2020 meeting of the District V Advisory Committee will be conducted via CMT, using a Zoom Webinar platform.

Executive Order 20-112 extends EO 20-69. If the Governor issues a subsequent order changing directives for Local Government Public Meetings, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council will provide updates on the County Website at MonroeCounty-FL.Gov. The access points to view the meeting or for members of the public to provide public comment will be: By joining the Zoom Meeting via weblink: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/81050274729 Meeting ID: 810 5027 4729 One tap mobile +13017158592,, 81050274729# US (Germantown) +13126266799,, 81050274729# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF COUNTY ORDINANCE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN that on June 17, 2020 at 1:30P.M., or as soon thereafter as may be heard, in the Murray E. Nelson Government Center, 102050 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, Monroe County, Florida, the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida, intends to consider the adoption of the following County ordinance: AN ORDINANCE BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, MANDATING THAT INDIVIDUALS WEAR A FACE COVERING IN PUBLIC IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM COUNTY-WIDE REQUIREMENT, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT OF A MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVE AND SUNSET DATES. Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes, notice is given that if a person decides to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered at such hearings or meetings, he will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the County Administrator’s Office, by phoning (305) 292-4441, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., no later than five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

Live Closed Captioning is available via our web portal @ http://monroecountyfl. iqm2.com for meetings of the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners.

Dated at Key West, Florida, this 28th day of May, 2020.

KEVIN MADOK, Clerk of the Circuit Court and ex officio Clerk of the Board

LEGAL NOTICES of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida Publish: June 4, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 20-CP-000044-P IN RE: ESTATE OF CHARLES W. LAFFOON, JR., Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of CHARLES W. LAFFOON, JR., deceased, whose date of death was April 25, 2020; is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division; File Number 20-CP000044-P; the address of which is 88820 Overseas Highway, Tavernier, FL 33070. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are set forth below.

All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, and who have been served a copy of this notice, must file their claims with this court WITHIN THE LATER OF THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court WITHIN THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. THE DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE IS: June 4, 2020.

Personal Representative: BARBARA S. SIBLEY 24 Dockside Lane PMB 455 Key Largo, FL 33037 Attorney for Personal Representative: JOHN MICHAEL LYNN, ESQ. Florida Bar No. 0147273 Turner & Lynn, PA 7 Barracuda Lane Key Largo, Florida 33037 Telephone: (305) 367-0911 turnerlynnpa@gmail.com Publish: June 4 & 11, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA Case No.: 20-DR-35-M Division: Family CLAUDETTE SUE-ANNE MCLAUGHLIN, Petitioner and ANTWON PIERRE HOLMES Respondent.

NOTICE OF ACTION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE TO: ANTWON PIERRE HOLMES Respondent’s last known address: 835 W DAVIS PARKWAY, FLORIDA CITY, FL 33034 YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an action for dissolution of marriage has been filed against you and that you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on: CLAUDETTE SUE-ANNE MCLAUGHLIN, whose address is 605 SOMBRERO BEACH RD,

COMMUNITY NEWS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

43

RAISING AWARENESS KWPD TRAINS ALL OFFICERS TO RECOGNIZE AUTISM

Officer Mike Wolf astride Lou, School Resource Officer Monica Calvert, Lt. Matt Haley, SRO Cyndi Williams, Chief Sean Brandenburg, SROs Mike Malgrat, Kathie Hansell, Janeth DelCid, and Officer Matt Johnson astride Onyx. ALYSON CREAN/ Key West Police Department

MANDY MILES

mandy@keysweekly.com

T

BOAT RAMP TO REOPEN IN TWO WEEKS

I

t will take about a month to rehab the boat ramp at the east end of Marathon. “We were already going to do some work on the boat ramp, but we put a little more money aside to also re-pave the parking lot,” said Carlos Solis, the city’s public works director. The $244,000 project includes digging out the old parking lot base, laying a new one and repaving it. The lot will be re-striped to organize the parking. The City of Marathon is considering parking meters for the boat ramp, with a big discount for local residents. If it’s successful, the parking meters will also be implemented at the boat ramp on 33rd Street. SARA MATTHIS/ Keys Weekly

he puzzle pieces were falling into place for the Autism Society of the Keys (ASK) and its unprecedented partnership with the Key West Police Department.

Six police cars were wrapped with the society’s puzzle-piece logo. Police horses have blankets with the logo. Officers could wear blue badges (the color of autism awareness) in April. And Chief Sean Brandenburg had ensured that all 94 officers were skillfully trained to recognize autism, a spectrum disorder that varies in severity and symptoms, but now affects one in 59 people.

The society had events and fundraisers planned for Autism Awareness Month in Key West and Marathon.

But that was back in February, before coronavirus closed the country, covered our faces and kept the community apart.

The commitment of Brandenburg and Lt. Matt Haley, whose 13-year-old daughter is autistic, continues despite the pandemic.

Haley’s wife, Hope, is heavily involved in ASK, the Keyswide support group started by Craig and Jill Campbell for parents of autistic children. Hope Haley has worked tirelessly with her husband and the police chief to increase awareness, education and acceptance for children who often interact differently and respond unpredictably to stimuli such as loud noises and flashing lights.

In addition to training all officers to recognize and better handle autism, Brandenburg created a method for parents to register their address and alert police

to the presence of an autistic child at an address.

“It’s entirely voluntary,” Brandenburg said, but for parents who want to participate, the KWPD can “flag” their address in its dispatch software and include notes about a child’s triggers. “That way, if a 911 call comes for that address, the responding officers will see specific notes about the child, and the police perhaps can approach without sirens and flashing lights, which can cause seizures in some people on the autism spectrum,” Hope Haley said.

Brandenburg also agreed to keep all five police cars used by school resource officers in Key West schools wrapped with the society’s logo.

“We’ve seen that it works, the training and the recognizable cars,” Brandenburg said. “So we’re happy to continue it.”

Matt Haley witnessed firsthand the efficacy of the designated police cars when a man with autism wrecked his bike on North Roosevelt Boulevard near the autism-marked patrol car Haley was driving.

“He wasn’t seriously injured, but was having trouble explaining what had happened,” Haley recalled. “He saw the puzzle pieces on my car and approached me, saying, ‘I saw the puzzle and knew you’d understand.’”

But he didn’t know just how familiar Haley is with autism.

His daughter bolts when startled or upset. She’s a skilled artist, but struggles with math and verbal communication.

“People on the spectrum exhibit all sorts of behaviors, called stimming,” Hope Haley said. “They’ll flail their hands or hit themselves or others. Our daugh-

ter will just run away at top speed when alarmed.”

Untrained police often mistake these stimming behaviors as being drug-induced, Hope Haley said, which is why the police training is so crucial.

The Haleys and Brandenburg are committed to continuing the department’s relationship with ASK despite the global interruption by the pandemic.

Events will be rescheduled and the society still meets virtually every month. When in-person meetings resume, Campbell hosts a monthly meeting in each region of the Keys.

The Autism Society of the Keys is also a priceless resource for parents who often need support from their peers as well as tools to help their children, such as fidget toys to direct focus, headphones to block loud noise or iPads to help them concentrate. Campbell, Hope Haley and the society have helped dozens of local families obtain these tools through donations and sponsorships. Campbell also has arranged and financed summer camps for kids with special needs as well as medical appointments with specialists.

Local businesses have sponsored the wrapped police cars and the Rotary Club of Key West is donating a collection of “sensory kits” containing helpful items.

Haley, the police department and Signs Unlimited are also selling items such as KWPD iron-on patches, stickers and collectible coins that bear the society’s logo.

The items are for sale at the police station Tuesday through Saturday, and Hope Haley sells them through eBay.

44

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES 305.743.0844 • CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES • •305.743.0844 LEGAL NOTICES APT 308, MARATHON, FL 33050, on or before July 2, 2020 and file the original with the clerk of this Court at Monroe County Clerk of Court, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, 3117 OVERSEAS HWY, MARATHON, FL, 33050 before service on Petitioner or immediately thereafter. If you fail to do so, a default may be entered against you for the relief demanded in the petition.

The action is asking the court to decide how the following real or personal property should be divided: None Copies of all court documents in this case, including orders, are available at the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office. You may review these documents upon request.

You must keep the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office notified of your current address.

(You may file Designation of Current Mailing and E-Mail Address, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.915.) Future papers in this lawsuit will be mailed or e-mailed to the address(es) on record at the clerk’s office.

WARNING: Rule 12.285, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, requires certain automatic disclosure of documents and information. Failure to comply can result in sanctions, including dismissal or striking of pleadings.

Dated: May 18, 2020 Kevin Madok, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Shakia Mitchell Deputy Clerk Publish: June 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 20-CP-000095-K IN RE: ESTATE OF DAMON H. RODGERS, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Damon H. Rodgers, deceased, whose date of death was April 8, 2020, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 500 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are set forth below.

All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is: June 4, 2020.

Personal Representative: Carol L. Miller 2490 Harbor Dr Marathon, Florida 33050 Attorney for Personal Representative: Robert K. Miller, Esq. Florida Bar Number: 0359173 Cunningham Miller Rhyne PA

LEGAL NOTICES 10075 Overseas Hwy PO Box 500938 Marathon, FL 33050 Telephone: (305) 743-9428 Fax: (305) 743-8800 E-Mail: Service@ floridakeyslaw.com Secondary E-Mail: RMiller@ floridakeyslaw.com Publish: June 4 & 11, 2020 The Weekly Newspapers

AUTOS WANTED ALL YEARS! Junk or Used. Cars - Vans Trucks- Running or Not. $CASH$ 305-332-0483

BOATS FOR SALE 1965 Bruiel Express Sportfish - Built for Charter Fishing in the Keys. $14,000 or Best Offer. Excellent hull condition. 2 Detroit 6V53 engines one fresh rebuilt.

Twin Disk 506 transmissions one fresh. We’ve just installed: 1 New trany, 2 new 1 1/2 in shafts,2 new shaft logs, 2 new rebuilt struts, 2 new props nibril, New bottom paint, 1 engine new rebuild 5hrs.

Located in Marathon. Call 305-481-3259 for details.

EMPLOYMENT Boat Rental company in Marathon hiring Boat Cleaning & Detailing Person.

Call 305-481-7006 Come Join Our Family and Have Fun At Work! Hiring: Host, Hostess & Servers Full &/or part-time. AM & PM Shifts. Apply in person at Castaway Restaurant, end of 15th Street, Oceanside, Marathon or email: lobstercrawl@gmail.com.

WESLEY HOUSE FAMILY SERVICES is seeking Child Care Teachers at our Inez Martin Child Development Center in Key West. This position has the primary responsibility for the health, safety, intellectual activity social interaction and overall development of the children in the program ages 2-5 years old. High School Diploma required plus 45 hours of DCF Child Care Training.

Position pays $15.00/hour and we offer competitive benefits: 80% paid medical and dental insurance, 12 paid holidays, Birthday paid day off, retirement plan with employer match and much more.

Interested candidates can email resume to HR@wesleyhouse.org or stop by 1304 Truman Ave. Key West.

Wesley House is an EEOC employer and Drug Free Workplace.

Shelter Bay Marine in Marathon hiring Qualified Mechanics.

Contact Steve at 305-743-7008 Security Guard needed Full-time in Islamorada. Keys Security, Lic# B2000155.

Call 305-684-0033.

Key Colony Inn now hiring AM/PM Servers. Apply in person. 700 Ocean Dr, Key Colony Beach or call 305-7430100.

City of Marathon - Job Openings: Wastewater Plant Operator Trainee , Street Maintenance and Utilities Maintenance.

EOE, FULL BENEFITS www.ci.marathon.fl.us

EMPLOYMENT

HOUSING FOR RENT

OFFICE SPACE

Front Desk Help need in Medical Office in Key Largo.

Experience preferred, parttime. Excellent Customer Service a must. Call 305-8523232 or apply in person at 97840 O/S Hwy, Key Largo.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN MARATHON. Furnished apartment available for rent. $1,800/ mo. F/L/$900 Security. 3 Bedrooms, Full bath, Full kitchen with all utensils.

Apartment completely furnished. Bedrooms sleep two and contain dresser, desk, partial closet and bunk beds. Shaded back yard, tables, chairs and BBQ grill.

Limited inside living area.

Coin operated washer & dryer on property. Available June 6, 2020. For information call Bob Brayman 305-743-5929 or bbrayman@hallsdiving.com.

FOR RENT in Marathon: Office/Retail Space, 1500sf w/ additional 2 covered porches incl. Open water views, US-1 frontage, $2700/month.

Also small Office Space $500/month. Wifi & Utilities included. Onsite storage & or yard space available - prices by size. Call 305-743-7277

HOBBIES/COLLECT. PRIVATE COLLECTOR WANTS Rolex, Dive Watches and Pilot Watches. Old Model Military Clocks & Watches.

Call 305-743-4578

HOUSING FOR RENT 2BR/2BA Large Apt for Rent. 10828 5th Avenue Gulf, Marathon. $1,850/month plus utilities. F/L/S. Taking a p p l i c a t i o n s .

Call (305) 394-4545 AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN MARATHON. Shared rooms available for short or long term rentals.

Single: $720/month; Double: $1,150/month; Plus tax; F/L/S. Units provide an Ideal option for temporary or long term housing.

Furnished with bunk beds, full kitchen with all utensils, tables, desks, coin operated washer & dryer. Residents share the kitchen, bathroom and dining areas. Linens, towels, consumables are not provided. For information: Bob Brayman 305-743-5929 bbrayman@hallsdiving.com

Small office space available for rent. Great location on U.S. 1 in Tavernier.

Conveniently located to everything.

3 0 5 - 3 9 4 - 0 5 3 0

2BR/1.5BA Single Family Home for rent available in Marathon. On canal, dockage available. $2,200/ month F/L/S 508-958-2590 RENTED!!

PART TIME HOUSEKEEPER 20-30 hours/week. Must be able to work Saturdays & some Sundays.

Also looking for Saturday only housekeepers.

Call: 305-743-0240 or 305-587-0359 to apply.

MARATHON GARBAGE SERVICE D’Asign Source is seeking the following professionals. Overtime and benefits are available. For full details & additional openings, please visit DAsignSource.com/careers

Finish Carpenter Framing & drywall repairs, kitchen & bathroom remodeling, etc. Must present high attention to detail; the finish work must be perfect!

We are now hiring for the following positions:

Diesel Mechanic Truck Helpers CDL Drivers Applicants must apply in person to be considered.

4290 Overseas Hwy, Marathon

IMS Systems Technician Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has an opening for an Information Systems Technician. This job requires advanced technological skills with a thorough knowledge of Windows and Office Suite. The successful applicant must have excellent troubleshooting and communication skills. The job involves primarily end-user support and problem solving.

Qualifications required: Technical and computer support experience including hardware. Van transportation provided as work is performed out of the Upper Keys Offices and travel required. Starting pay $51,434.00.

Applicants must fill out the MCSO online preliminary application at www.keysso.net . Please email resumes to cslebodnick@keysso.net or fax resumes to (305) 292-7159. Charles Slebodnick may be contacted at (305) 292-7044. EOE/AAP

Short Notice Auction Ft. Lauderdale’s Iconic Sage French Café & Q Bar Tuesday June 9th @ 11AM 2378 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33305

Complete Sound System, Booths, Tables, Chairs, Keg Coolers, Bottle Coolers, Bar Stools, Hostess Stand, Décor, TV’s, Lighting, Sinks, S/S Tables, Draft Beer System, Coolers, Freezers, POS System, Pot Rack, Prep Tables, China, Small Wares & MORE…

www.neverettauctions.com Toby Neverett Auctioneers 561-706-7218 * au872 ab628

Want a fresh start? Need a new career?

NOW HIRING Competitive wages for all levels of experience Local and family oriented Apply in person 1-305-289-9515 to schedule an appointment

CROSSWORD

SOLUTION

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC && LEGAL NOTICES • • 305.743.0844 • CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC LEGAL NOTICES 305.743.0844 The Guidance/Care Center, Inc. a division of

“Uplifting the human spirit since 1973”

NOW HIRING FRONT DESK AGENT PUBLIC AREA ATTENDANTS HOUSEMEN ROOM ATTENDANTS BELLMEN EXPERIENCED LINE COOK EXPERIENCED BAKER

If you have a passion for guest service and hospitality, please apply

THE GUIDANCE/CARE CENTER, Inc.

IS STILL HIRING! KEY WEST

Behavioral Health Therapist (Children & Adult) Case Manager (Forensic & Adult) Substance Abuse Counselor

MARATHON

RNs and LPNs (3 shifts) (PT& FT) *Behavioral Health Technicians (3 shifts) (PT/FT) Peer Support Specialist *Assisted Living Direct Care Worker (2 shifts) (PT/FT) Drop In Technician (PT) Research Assistant

*No experience necessary. Will train.

A caring heart & helpful hands required.

Ability to work some evening or weekend shifts a plus.

If you’ve wanted to get into the medical field but don’t have the education, this is the job for you!

bungalowskeylargo.com/careers

Background and drug screen req.

GREAT BENEFITS!

Bungalows Key Largo is an EOE

Check out all available positions at: www.westcare.com EEOC/DFWP THEME: TONY WINNERS

NOW HIRING HOUSEKEEPERS Experience preferred, not required.

Competitive wages. FT/PT. Email resumes to reservations@grassyflats.com or stop by to fill out an application.

58182 Overseas Hwy, Grassy Key

NOW HIRING

Marathon, Big Pine Key & Stock Island Locations $15 per hour to start

Immediate opening for a HVAC Service Technician Upper & Middle Keys.

Great Pay • Paid Holidays • Sick Pay • Medical Insurance • Paid Vacation

Apply in person 171 Hood Ave • MM 91.5 • Tavernier p 305-852-2960 • f 305-852-0656

FT Employees are eligible to participate in our health, dental, vision, Life Insurance. PTO and Profit Sharing is available to every member of our team (conditions apply).

HOW TO APPLY: Go to mytomthumb.com or call Cleveland (786) 295-5307.

ACROSS 1. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” beginning 5. Clock std.

8. U-____ 12. *Webber’s “Evita” collaborator 13. Away from wind 14. Boy Scout rank 15. Picnic invaders 16. Digestive aid 17. Change, as in the Constitution 18. *Like Tony Awards 2020 20. Entry document 21. Fill with spirits 22. 10 decibels 23. *”Kiss Me, Kate” composer/ lyricist 26. Sound of leaves in wind 29. Before, archaic 30. Admirer 33. “My bad” 35. Garments 37. Barbie’s beau 38. Annoy a bedfellow 39. Result of too many drinks 40. Type of tunic 42. F in FWIW 43. Brown’s beagle 45. *M in “M. Butterfly” 47. Bar association 48. “Mack the ____” 50. *Tony winner David ____ Pierce 52. *Musical with the most wins, with The 56. *Jellicles’ cries 57. Vietnam’s neighbor 58. Flu symptom 59. Pond buildup 60. Sunrise point 61. “Just ____ ____” 62. *4-time winner Tom Stoppard’s output 63. Tap choice 64. Tallest volcano in Europe

DOWN 1. Catch-22, e.g.

2. Brown bagger 3. *Before and after intermission 4. Final six lines of a sonnet 5. Sparkle 6. More than a scuffle 7. Like a ball ready for a drive 8. *Musical with most nominations 9. *Tony nominee, “Rock of ____” 10. Longer forearm bone 11. Bulb type 13. “All ____!”

14. Roof overhang 19. Humble requests 22. Pesky, clingy plant 23. Cribbage pieces 24. Un-written exams 25. Old episode 26. *”La BohËme,” reimagined 27. Shower accessory 28. Erasable programmable read only memory 31. Thumbs-up 32. Gridiron official, for short 34. Blood fluids 36. *Coveted destination 38. Mix-up 40. Typically has April 15th as deadline 41. In the thick of 44. Falstaffian in body 46. Base of the decimal system 48. Cattle enclosure in African village 49. Pirate’s “necklace” 50. *Setting of Tony winner ‘Hadestown’ 51. Vinyasa workout 52. #19 Down, sing.

53. *The Grand Slam of showbusiness, acr.

54. The Colosseum, today 55. Pura ____, or pure silk 56. Atlas page

46

COMMUNITY NEWS

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

PRODUCE BOXES HANDED OUT TO FEED LOCALS

Coast Guard officers Jon Harrington, Charles O’Connor and Christopher Vita hold their honor Conch proclamations. DAVID GROSS/Contributed

A

free drive-through food distribution was held on May 28 at St. Justin Martyr Church at MM 105 in Key Largo. As locals drove up, volunteers placed USDA produce boxes that contained vegetables and salads into trunks. People also received a gallon of milk and watermelon as well as hot meals courtesy of Mangrove Mike’s Endeavors. The

feeding event was a collaboration among Feeding South Florida, Monroe County, SOS Foundation, Ocean Reef Community Foundation and United Way of Collier and the Keys.

“We are pleased to be a part of this collaborative effort to help our Keys friends and neighbors in need during this crisis,” said Leah Stockton,” UWCK Keys area president.

— JIM McCARTHY/Keys Weekly

OFFICERS HONORED AS THEY BID FAREWELL

T

hree members of the command at Coast Guard Station Islamorada are departing for their next station.

Members of CG Auxiliary Flotillas 13-4 (Ocean Reef) and 13-8 (Islamorada) presented the three officers with Honorary Conch proclamations from the mayor of Monroe County.

From left, officers Jon Harrington,

Charles O’Connor and Christopher Vita hold their proclamations as they are surrounded by fellow officers. Harrington, O’Connor and Vita are completing four-year tours at Station Islamorada and have made an incredible contribution to protecting the Florida Keys as well as our country.

Welcome Back…

We are here for YOU while doing our part to keep us safe and the Keys open!

• Private showings

• Social distancing • Mask/buff required • Always sanitizing/disinfecting SALES / LONG TERM RENTALS / PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT

©2020 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Amy Guevara, Realtor (305) 522-0711

amy@becomelocals.com Seanna Lindback, Realtor (305) 923-4582

seanna@becomelocals.com www.becomelocals.com

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KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

LET’S DO BUSINESS - 305.743.0844 MARATHON • KEY COLONY OWNERS

START EARNING 305 3902315

WWW.KEYSRENTALSONLINE.COM OFFER YOUR ENJOY EXPERT MAXIMIZE GUESTS A VIP PROPERTY YOUR INCOME EXPERIENCE MAINTENANCE POTENTIAL

NEW & REPAIR

305-664-0099 www.TikiHuts.com

Karen Raspe

Realtor 305-393-9010 karenraspe@bellsouth.net

9141 Overseas Highway Marathon, FL 33050 www.karenraspe.com

STATE CERTIFIED THATCHING CONTRACTOR CYC 000002

Petersen Repair & Maintenance Serving Monroe, Dade & Broward Including Airports & Ports.

SUV, Van & Limousine options available Call us for special events.

305-743-7454

fkes2011@gmail.com floridakeysexpressshuttle.com

• Flooring • Inside Trim Work • Door Replacement • Landscaping • Fencing

• Plastering & Stucco • Masonry & Spalling Repair • Waterproof & Roof Painting • Interior & Exterior Painting • Parking Lot Striping

SP# 4434, 4435, 4436, 4437, 4438. 4439. 4448, 4449, 4450, 4451

Charlie Petersen 920-371-3107 | PetersenRepair@yahoo.com

y’s www.KeysSlidingGlassDoorRepair.com And Sliding Glass Door Repair Roller Maintenance Track Maintenance Door Alignment Security Pins Safety Locks Handles

Barbara Sanchez Home & Offices Expertly Cleaned Fast Dependable Service “We Clean Your Place, Like it Was Our Place”

We Also Repair & Replace Patio Door Screens

305-998-8953 Insured • Professional • Reliable

Excellent References Upon Request

305-766-0819 305-924-0179

Nails by Ivis

Manicures • Pedicures Acrylics • Gelish • Facials • Waxing

When It Rains It Pours!

Need 7” Gutters? We have 6” & 7” Seamless • Copper Specialists MARATHON

305-743-0506 KEY LARGO 305-852-5356 rainsavergutters@gmail.com

Rachel Sanderson Rachellynnes94@gmail.com 305.393.3076

5177 Overseas Highway

(Between Office Depot & Main Post Office)

Marathon, FL 33050 305-289-1631

www.marathonhairandnailsalon.com

The Weekly Newspapers

Specializing in Color and Highlights Haircuts Keratin Treatments 5177 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050

SALES

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

(Between Office Depot and Main Post Office)

305-289-1631

www.KeysWeekly.com

305-743-0844

www.marathonhairandnailsalon.com

QUICK & RELIABLE OPEN WATER MARINE SERVICES JARED FRANK

OWNER

(305) 289-1551 towboatusmarathon.com

Only $50 Puts Your Business Card Here

48

KEY WEST / MARATHON / UPPER KEYS WEEKLY / JUNE 4, 2020

See it all here