Key West Weekly 21-0819

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U.S. Customs and Border Patrol recently seized more than 120 packages containing just over 3,000 fake vaccine cards at the port of Memphis. Officials said they come in suspicious packages from China. “If you do not wish to receive a vaccine, that is your decision. But don’t order a counterfeit, waste my officers’ time, break the law and misrepresent yourself,” said Michael Niepert, area Port Director of Memphis.

Upper Keys resident Nick Hodge served in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, First Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

CONTRIBUTED

WHAT ABOUT FANTASY FEST? KEY WEST OFFICIALS WANT INPUT & SAFETY IDEAS BEFORE SEPT. 1 DECISION MANDY MILES

mandy@keysweekly.com

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he topic of Fantasy Fest didn’t appear anywhere on the city commission agenda, but it dominated a discussion at Tuesday’s meeting about the safety of city-approved special events in light of increasingly dire COVID statistics.

To be clear, the city commission did NOT cancel Fantasy Fest or any other events during their meeting Tuesday evening. But the topic will be discussed and likely decided when the commission meets again on Sept. 1.

Mayor Teri Johnston directed business owners and event organizers to “come on Sept. 1 with solutions and suggestions about how to protect our residents, our workers and our visitors. Don’t just come in angry and ask us not to cancel events, because we WILL protect our community.

“Do we want to talk about requiring proof of vaccinations or a negative test?” Johnston asked.

“Are those measures worth it to keep our service industry healthy?”

But Commissioner Greg Davila reminded his colleagues that Gov. Ron DeSantis has handcuffed cities by prohibiting such measures.

Mike Morawski, whose family owns the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, urged the commissioners to hold that meeting in the afternoon, “so our workers, who make their rent during these October events, can have their voices heard.”

Commissioners Billy Wardlow, Mary Lou Hoover, Sam Kaufman and Clayton Lopez all acknowledged that the city’s control over Fantasy Fest is limited to the three or four events it specifically permits on city streets, including the parade, street fair and Masquerade March.

“I know everyone’s concerned, but we’re late in the game here and the crowds are still gonna come to the hotels and to the events in private businesses. I’d like to see the city at least put signs back up encouraging masks,” Wardlow said.

Online forums and casual conversations have included suggestions that the parade route could be stretched to spread out crowds. The number of floats also could be limited to reduce the number of participants.

The 2019 Fantasy Fest parade features costumed revelers in the halcyon days before COVID. FLORIDA KEYS NEWS BUREAU/Contributed

Lopez said he wants to protect both the economy and the people of Key West, and urged the commission to act as soon as possible with their decisions.

“We are three to four times more affected now than we were at this time last year and we’re doing even less to protect people,” Lopez said. “Last year we were shut down. Eventually there’s going to be hard decisions to make.... It’s all about our safety; that’s just the reality. But we also have to consider that we have no jurisdiction over most events on private property. There are also tremendous costs associated with putting on Fantasy Fest and we need to give people an answer.”

Speaking of costs…

Fantasy Fest producers under Nadene Grossman Orr received $120,000 in tourism funds to promote Fantasy Fest.

Tourist Development Council Director Stacey Mitchell told the Keys Weekly on Wednesday that event coordinators sign a contract agreeing to include a specific scope of services for each event.

In the case of Fantasy Fest, that scope includes: a street fair; a Masquerade March, a Duval promenade and a parade, Mitchell said.

“If the city does not permit A,B,C and D to happen, then the organizers need to put in writing a request to reduce their scope of services,” Mitchell said, adding that the Key West District Advisory Committee for the TDC, known as DAC 1, would consider the request at their meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

“They can either reduce the funding to reflect the reduced services, or they could say, ‘Hey, we get it, these are extraordinary circumstances. There will be events happening, so keep the funding in place.’

“Whatever the DAC members decide will have to be approved by the full TDC board on Oct. 19.”

But before any of that happens, the city commission will get its say on Sept. 1.

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021 MANDY MILES

mandy@keysweekly.com

COVERING ALL BASES

CITY COMMISSION TALKS TRASH, CRUISE SHIPS, HOUSING & MORE

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he Aug. 17 city commission meeting had it all: cruise ship angst, Fantasy Fest in the face of COVID, affordable housing at Truman Waterfront (yet again) and plenty of trash talk (mostly about the city’s garbage collection contract with Waste Management).

Commissioners chastised residents.

Residents reprimanded the politicians (and the city attorney), and officials disagreed with each other about how quickly to proceed on projects that have been in the works for decades.

So let’s dive right into the nearly fivehour meeting.

It started benignly enough, with a presentation by Rams Head owner Bill Muelhauser, who wants to transform the old diesel plant at Truman Waterfront into an $11 million brewery, restaurant, event space, museum and playground. The proposal asks that the city invest about $2 million for environmental cleanup on the property it received from Keys Energy Services. But, Muelhauser said, most, if not all of it, could come from federal and state grants.

“We could get on this right away once the cleanup occurs and are expecting it to take about 18 months,” he said.

Most officials were pleased with the proposal, but Mayor Teri Johnston said she wants to see what comes of the RFP the city is drafting to solicit housing proposals for the remaining 3.2 acres of Truman Waterfront.

Developers have the option of including plans for the diesel plant in those proposals, or limit it to the 3.2-acre parcel.

“This property has been sitting for 40 years,” Commissioner Jimmy Weekley said.

“Let’s not kick something down the road again; I think we ought to move forward.”

“I don’t know why we’d limit our options,” Johnston said. “Our intent is to attract the most competition for this project.”

CRUISE SHIP CRITICISM Then came the cruise ships.

City Attorney Shawn Smith told the commission he interviewed four law firms to help draft cruise ship limits that can withstand a legal challenge. Three firms declined and one, Radey Law Firm, is interested.

Rams Head proposes a restaurant, brewery, museum and event space at the old diesel plant at Truman Waterfront. CONTRIBUTED

Commissioner Billy Wardlow then chastised members of the community. “We’ve all received emails with personal attacks against our city attorney, many of them seeming to be copied and pasted into an email. I don’t think people understand what we’re trying to do. Leave the personal attacks out.”

Commissioner Greg Davila agreed, saying, “We need to take the temperature down. We also need to move as quickly as possible.”

Johnston said, “Disrespect has no place anywhere, but this is undoubtedly the most important issue to come before us. I think we got off on the wrong foot when you, Shawn, indicated that you’d have something on Aug. 3. There is a sense of urgency and this whole community is on edge.”

ABOUT THOSE 3.2 ACRES AT TRUMAN WATERFRONT...

That was the next discussion and disagreement.

City employees indicated the RFP for that parcel would be ready in a month or so.

But development can’t happen unless and until voters approve in a referendum a longterm lease of that land to the developers. No developers will touch a project unless they’re assured of a 50- or 99-year lease, commissioners have long been told.

Attorney Smith recommended having a proposal in place before asking the voters to approve the long lease. “Citizens are going to want to know who’s doing this project and if you don’t have those answers, you run the risk of them voting no. The sooner you get the RFP done, the better off we are.”

“What else would they need to know?

We’re going to build housing there,” Johnston said. “I can’t imagine there’s a person on this island who hasn’t heard our intentions.”

Weekley said, “People will want to know who’s doing this project to feel confident. I wouldn’t want to roll the dice without knowing. There’s a lot of questions the public may have.”

Then Commissioner Sam Kaufman reminded his colleagues the city had already received “an excellent proposal from AH

Monroe. Why complicate this with an RFP? We have to act, you guys. Let’s not wait. We won’t get a better proposal.”

Weekley agreed, saying, “If there’s a way to move forward with the AH proposal, I’m all in. Let’s move on this.”

They never did settle on whether to continue with the RFP. That’ll come up again at the Sept. 1 meeting.

THEN CAME THE TRASH TALK… Waste Management, the city’s garbage and recycling company, wants a slight rate increase due to increased costs, many related to the pandemic, but its previously negotiated contract is still in place.

Regional director Greg Sullivan has been meeting with city manager Patti McLauchlin and utilities director John Paul Castro. Sullivan has lowered the amount of his initial request.

Johnston and Kaufman were critical of Waste Management’s performance, particularly with regard to mandatory recycling by businesses. But Commissioner Mary Lou Hoover reminded them that the city has not done its part to implement it. “Waste Management isn’t perfect, but they do a good job most of the time. And we’ll have a hard time finding a partner like them moving forward.”

Other commissioners and several members of the public pointed out how involved Sullivan and the company are in the community.

“What they want makes total business sense,” former city commissioner Margaret Romero told the commissioners. “For certain people to continually pick at them is ridiculous. Accept these changes to their contract and let’s get away from the bickering, pettiness and emotion.”

After nearly two hours of discussion, the item was postponed until mid-September.

WHAT ABOUT FANTASY FEST? That’s a whole different story. See page 4.

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021 MANDY MILES

mandy@keysweekly.com

AIR TRAVEL HITS TURBULENCE COVID LABOR SHORTAGES CONTRIBUTE TO COMPLAINTS & DELAYS

“There should be a light at the end of the tunnel — or runway.”

— Richard Strickland, County’s Airports Director

The overcrowded departure area at Key West International Airport, seen here on Aug. 5, reiterates the need for the upcoming concourse expansion, says Airports Director Richard Strickland. BRITT MYERS/Keys Weekly

The above graphic shows the 15 cities served by nonstop flights from Key West, as of 2020. CONTRIBUTED

he skies have been less friendly than usual for air travelers nationwide and at Key West International Airport, where COVID-related staffing shortages have caused significant delays in recent months.

Monroe County commissioners and Key West city commissioners have been hearing complaints from travelers about fully loaded planes sitting on the tarmac and an overcrowded departure lounge.

County Commissioner David Rice asked the county’s airports director Richard Strickland for an update and explanation.

At the July 21 county commission meeting, Strickland acknowledged the issues and explained their causes.

“I know several of you have received complaints from passengers who have had to wait on the aircraft and in the departure lounge,” Strickland said, attributing many of the delays to the COVID labor shortage, both locally and nationally.

And as for the packed departure area, or “hold room,” Strickland said, “that’s why we’re moving forward with the new Concourse A as quickly as possible.”

An $80 million airport expansion is planned over the next three years, with a targeted completion date in October 2024.

“I thought it was important for us to hear this,” Rice said. “It falls under the category of nothing is as simple as it seems, and it’s clearly not just a Key West problem.”

T

“The problem is industry-wide; it’s not company specific, and it’s across all airline disciplines, from ground crews to flight crews,” he said. “When that labor shortage hit, we were missing key employees of both the airport and the airlines. Employees literally couldn’t marshal an airplane into Key West because, by law, they needed five employees to do it, and oftentimes only had four. The complaints really ratched up in June.”

In addition, Strickland said, the air traffic controllers in Miami manage the airspace around South Florida and have the authority to order a “ground stop,” meaning a pilot cannot move a plane, even though it’s fully loaded and ready. The delays may have nothing to do with what’s happening in Key West, but can cause domino-like delays.

There should be a light at the end of the tunnel — or runway, Strickland said.

“When the [additional federal unemployment] checks ended in Florida on June 26, we’ve already seen 48 new employees hired in Key West,” Strickland told the county commissioners on July 21. “They’re going through training and the delays should be all but gone by the end of August, but it certainly is a challenge.”

The county commissioners thanked Strickland for the explanation.

As for the expansion project...

Strickland presented plans for the new concourse at a meeting on April 27. The project will include a new security checkpoint, new gates, a new “hold room” for departing passengers, new concessions, a new baggage claim area and glass-enclosed jet bridges, or jetways, to connect the planes with the building.

“There will be much more space to spread out. People won’t all be crunched together and on top of each other while waiting to depart or while waiting for their baggage,” Strickland said.

“It’s the right amount of facility for the projected numbers of passengers we’re dealing with.”

He estimated the final price tag of the new concourse to be “south of $80 million,” but none of it will be from local taxpayers, Strickland said.

“That’s important,” Monroe County Mayor Michelle Coldiron told the Keys Weekly the morning after the meeting. “This project will be funded entirely with federal aviation grants and user fees paid by airline passengers.”

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

The Monroe County Tourist Development Council has funding available to governmental entities and non-profit organizations for capital projects within DAC’s II, IV and V. The facility must have the primary purpose of promoting tourism and must fall into one of the following categories:

Passengers arrive at Key West International Airport, which will soon undergo an $80 million expansion that will include enclosed jetways to eliminate people walking across the tarmac. MONROE COUNTY/Contributed

Convention Center, Sports Stadium, Sports Arena, Coliseum, Auditorium, Aquarium, Museum, Zoological Park, Nature Center, Fishing Pier, Beach or Beach Park Facility, Channel, Estuary or Lagoon, Public Facilities in Accordance with Conditions Set Forth in the Florida Statute The deadline for receipt of applications is September 21, 2021 and applications must be downloaded from Demandstar (www.monroecountybids.com) For more information please call the TDC Administrative office at 305-296-1552 and ask to speak with Ammie or Maxine.

LORI MARSHALL ANCHORS AWEIGH CLUB

Architectural renderings presented at an April community meeting show the new concourse at Key West airport that is slated for completion in October 2024.

CONTRIBUTED

“I completely understand. We all don’t want things enclosed, and we like our small-town airport, but it really is a liability issue, having people walk outside and across the tarmac,” Coldiron said.

Concerns from the audience at the April 27 meeting centered on the impacts of the guest experience during construction, as well as general concerns about the constant increase of tourists and airplanes coming to Key West.

“How much is too much?” former city commissioner and Duval Street bar owner Mark Rossi asked during the meeting. “It’s a quality of life issue, Mr. Director, and I’m putting you on notice. I feel like I live at an airport with planes coming and going constantly. When is enough going to be enough? I’m not opposed to tourism, obviously, but come on.”

Strickland acknowledged that “phasing will be critical to minimize the impacts during construction,” and said that “air travel is considered interstate commerce, which is protected by federal law. So I can’t tell an airline, ‘No, you can’t fly in here.’”

Another attendee complained that planes never used to take off before 7 a.m., “but now I’m woken every morning at 6:08 a.m.”

Strickland said, “We don’t get to tell the airlines when they can come and go, but we can try to work with them. And we’re going to be holding noise meetings in the coming months to look at maps and noise impacts.”

WANT TO HELP OUR KEYS COMMUNITY? FIND OUT HOW AT CFFK.ORG

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

MORE CASES AND MORE HOSPITALIZTIONS

A health worker administers a test during a clinic in July 2020 at the Douglass Center in Key West. KEYS WEEKLY FILE PHOTO

JIM McCARTHY

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jim@keysweekly.com

ew COVID-19 infections increased yet another week throughout the state and the Florida Keys. While hospital beds throughout the South Florida region are filled with patients, recent data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is showing a decline in COVID-19-related deaths in the state.

A latest Florida Health Department COVID-19 report, published weekly every Friday, showed 151,415 new positive cases in the state from Aug. 6 to Aug. 12. That’s up from the prior week when 134,711 new cases were reported.

Monroe County reported 504 new cases, which is up from 388 the previous week. Bob Eadie, Monroe County’s top health officer, said a report he received Wednesday morning showed 95 positive cases. Thirteen of those cases involved individuals 17 and under.

Cases among those between 20 and 40 are increasing, Eadie said.

New infections among those 65 and older are in the single digits.

Thirty-six patients with COVID-19 were being cared for at Keys hospitals as of Aug. 18.

At Lower Keys Medical Center, 20 patients with COVID-19 were being treated on the afternoon of Aug. 18.

Five of those are in the intensive care unit, and one is receiving ventilator care.

“We continue to provide care for many conditions and encourage patients experiencing medical emergencies to seek care immediately,” said David Clay, CEO for Lower Keys Medical Center. “We encourage everyone to follow CDC guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19 and to get a vaccination if eligible.”

Baptist Health South Florida says 16 patients with COVID-19 are being treated in Monroe County. Across its South Florida system, 927 patients are currently being treated.

“I can’t emphasize enough vaccinations are the true key to getting out of it,” Eadie told county commissioners during an Aug. 18 meeting.

But Eadie said there are positive cases, albeit small, involving those who are vaccinated. A key piece missing during the county commission meeting was Mike Forster. Mayor Michelle Coldiron kicked off the meeting in Marathon by acknowledging that he contracted COVID-19 recently.

He’s currently in stable condition at a hospital on the mainland. Forster received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“On behalf of the commissioners, we’re all praying for you, Mike,” Coldiron said. “Stay strong for us.”

A Monroe County School District COVID-19 dashboard is back online with students returning to the classroom last week. Data from the first week of school showed 20 students and one staff member confirmed positive with COVID-19. Five stu-

dents confirmed positive were from Sugarloaf School, four from Horace O’Bryant School, three from Key West High School and two from Coral Shores High School. Fellow students in contact with positive cases are being told to quarantine as a result.

“We have no pediatric hospitalizations or deaths, which is a ray of hope,” Eadie said.

A decision by the Monroe County School Board last week requires facial coverings inside schools and buses for two weeks. Officials will reexamine the COVID-19 status on Aug. 24.

Parents and guardians have the ability, however, to opt out of the requirement. Becky Herrin, school district communications coordinator for COVID-19 response, said roughly 1,058 opt-out forms were received, as of Aug. 18, out of the 8,700 students enrolled.

With confirmed cases increasing, death tallies in the state related to COVID-19 appear to be on a downward trend. Per data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Florida reported 119 deaths on Aug. 5. Fortyfive new deaths were reported on Aug. 11, and 10 deaths were reported between Aug. 14 and Aug. 16.

Eadie said there was one COVID19-related death in Monroe County this week. It came out of Lower Keys Medical Center.

Baptist Health South Florida system announced that it would be requiring COVID-19 vaccines for its employees, medical staff and vol-

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

MAXIMEUTOPIX FROM PIXABAY/Contributed

“However, we recognize that in order to beat this virus together and fully protect our patients, employees, medical staff and community, we all need to be vaccinated for COVID-19,” —Bo Boulenger, president and chief operating officer

unteers by Oct. 31. Baptist Health South Florida, which serves patients from Miami to the Keys, said a recent survey of employees found a majority were vaccinated.

“However, we recognize that in order to beat this virus together and fully protect our patients, employees, medical staff and community, we all need to be vaccinated for COVID-19,” Bo Boulenger, president and chief operating officer, wrote in an email.

A petition on change.org is requesting Baptist Health to amend their policy and give employees and staff the choice.

Some 3,500 signatures were gathered as of Wednesday.

“We believe the threat of losing employment if not vaccinated could be interpreted as a form of implied coercion,” the petition reads. “A considerable number of our employees are rooted in this diverse community and will essentially be forced into a decision to get vaccinated against their wishes.”

New state-sponsored monoclonal antibody treatment sites are popping up, following a press conference by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week. Monoclonal antibody treatments can be prescribed by health care providers to individuals 12 years of age and older who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and are at high risk for severe illness and hospitalization.

“Early monoclonal antibody treatment keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives,” DeSantis said. “We look forward to continuing to open these sites throughout the state and hope awareness about the treatment continues to spread.”

Many hospitals are already providing monoclonal treatment, including Mariners Hospital and Lower Keys Medical Center.

While the treatment works well, Eadie said there are some side effects that include lowering blood pressure, extreme nausea and dizziness.

“It’s not an easy treatment for everyone,” he said.

A standing order in Florida signed by the state surgeon general allows patients to receive this treatment without a prescription or referral, if administered by an eligible health care provider. Such referrals are not required at any of the state monoclonal antibody treatment sites and treatments are available at no cost to patients.

Just over 980 vaccines were administered to Monroe County residents between Aug. 6 and Aug. 13. That brings the total number inoculated to 50,586, or about 74% of the county population.

“We’ve done a good job of people who live here getting vaccinated. That goes a long way to being OK,” Eadie said.

Eadie added that the department of health is working to bring additional vaccination sites to the Upper Keys, as well as two testing sites with one at Islamorada’s Founders Park and the other at Bernstein Park on Stock Island.

Commissioner David Rice told Eadie that he’d like to see daily COVID-19 reports showing the situation in Monroe County.

The report, which started as the pandemic progressed in March 2020 and ended several months ago, detailed everything from new cases by area in the Keys to mortality totals.

“I feel like we have suddenly entered the ‘Twilight Zone.’ Because decisions made out of this county, we’re not able to share in current, daily reports that allow all of us to work together to respond quickly,” he said. “This is a disease that acts quickly.”

Eadie said health departments throughout the state are pushing for daily reports from Tallahassee.

‘JUST WEAR THE DAMN MASK’ BOCC votes to require masks in county buildings CHARLOTTE TWINE

charlotte@keysweekly.com

A

t the Aug. 18 Monroe County Board of County Commissioners meeting, “Just wear the damn mask” became a mantra among officials after hearing from the county’s board of health that COVID cases are rising, plus news that Commissioner Mike Forster was absent due to being in a hospital after testing positive for the virus.

As a result, the four board members present voted to require staff members and the public to wear facial coverings inside all county buildings. Exceptions are being made for when social distance is possible and also when medical conditions prevent mask wearing.

A county press release published immediately after the decision stated, “These buildings include, but are not limited to, county government buildings, libraries, and building and permitting offices.”

The board recognized exceptions for when people are able to socially distance 6 feet or more or for those with a documented medical condition or disability that prevents the wearing of masks. This applies to visitors and staff regardless of vaccination status and takes place immediately.”

The commissioners carefully discussed the type of language to use in their ruling, such as “requesting” masks versus “mandating” them, and also the finer points of adjusting the mask rule for people

who have medical reasons for not wearing them, such as asthma.

Occasionally, officials would erupt in frustration at tiptoeing so delicately around a mask requirement in the face of the health department’s report a few minutes prior that showed a spike of positive cases.

“There's a reason why we're talking about this,” said County Administrator Roman Gastesi. “This is a fast-moving problem. I’m looking at the numbers, and it's not good — 72, 74 cases a day?

We've never been there. Something’s going on. Just to wear a darn mask? I mean, come on.”

“The more you can keep infected people from infecting others, the better we are. And a mask works,” interjected Bob Eadie, administrator for Monroe County Department of Health.

“Just wear the damn mask.”

Kevin Wilson, assistant county administrator, stood up to say, “Wear the damn mask. Seriously...this is the time to step up and be leaders.”

The commissioners and staff also talked about meeting again soon to monitor the situation closely, following the example of the school board.

“I was impressed by the school board. They didn’t want to do it,” said Gastesi about the school board’s recent mask mandate. “They didn’t want to do it, you know that. I watched that meeting. And they got a little spooked.

And they said, ‘Well, you know, let’s see it for two weeks, and then readdress it.’”

Mayor Michelle Coldiron suggested readdressing the mask requirement again in two weeks, at the Sept. 8 budget hearing.

Commissioner David Rice responded, “Let me say this. For something potentially as fast moving as we’re observing right now, I’m available for a meeting whenever we need to.”

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

NEW SCHOOL COMING TO SUGARLOAF

OFFICIALS BREAK GROUND

The new elementary wing of Sugarloaf School is scheduled for competition in spring 2023. A JAX BUILDING/Contributed

S

ugarloaf School will be getting a new elementary wing.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place Aug. 16 with Monroe County School District officials, local dignitaries, building company representatives, parents, staff and students present.

This project consists of a two-story, 35,000-square-foot classroom addition with state-of-the-art learning environments, incorporating flexible learning spaces, technology and security. Additional elements will include a revised campus entrance, renovations to the existing administration building, campuswide fire alarm system replacement and the addition of a modular transportation building with new bus parking.

There will be 14 temporary portable classrooms to house the displaced classrooms from the spaces that will be demolished from the original portion of the elementary campus.

All the work will occur while the existing K-8 school is occupied, requiring extensive coordination, planning and sequencing done with school district staff.

Before the ceremonial shovels hit the dirt, the students cheered as special Shark remote-control cars, donated by Ajax Building Company, raced across the field in honor of the school’s mascot.

The new elementary wing will house students from prekindergarten through second grade. Principal Brett Unke welcomed those in attendance and thanked the Monroe County School Board for the project that will provide a stateof-the art facility for their youngest learners. Superintendent Theresa Axford, a former Sugarloaf principal, thanked the school staff and parents who have been involved with the planning stages of the project.

Ajax gave each student a hard hat and a remote-control shark car.

The project also includes renovations to the office area.

Students are currently housed in portable classrooms until the anticipated completion in spring 2023.

— Contributed

Sugarloaf student David races remote control shark cars, donated by Ajax Building Co., with architect Steve Johnson and school district director Pat Lefere.

AMBER ACEVEDO/Monroe County School District

School district and county officials, architects and construction executives from Ajax Building Co. officially broke ground Monday on the new Sugarloaf School.

On hand for the event was Ajax President Bill Byrne, Harvard Jolly architect Steve Johnson, County Mayor Michelle Coldiron, board member Sue Woltanski, board chairman John Dick, board member Mindy Conn, Superintendent Theresa Axford, Principal Brett Unke, executive director Christina McPherson, assistant principal Leslie Holmes and executive director Pat Lefere. AMBER ACEVEDO/Monroe County School District

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021 Principal Larry Schmiegel takes the helm at Key West High School this year. He had previously served as after principal at Poinciana Elementary since 2016. MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly

MEET THE NEW KEY WEST HIGH SCHOOL T PRINCIPAL

MANDY MILES

mandy@keysweekly.com

LARRY SCHMIEGEL HAS BIG PLANS FOR THE KEYS’ LARGEST SCHOOL

his isn’t Larry Schmiegel’s first rodeo. The new Key West High School principal may have come most recently from Poinciana Elementary School, but he’s no stranger to the “big kids” — nor the often bigger issues that often face high school students and staff.

Schmiegel came to the Florida Keys in 2016 from New York state, where he earned two master’s degrees, a doctorate, and state certifications to be both principal and superintendent.

“But I started as a high school teacher in New York and I loved it,” he said. “I left the classroom in 2006 to become a principal and administrator in high school and K-8 schools in New York. I became what they called a ‘turnaround principal,’” changing schools every two years or so to turn around struggling schools that were in danger of state sanctions.

“I’ve always been attracted to underdog situations, and to those who don’t think they have a voice,” Schmiegel told the Keys Weekly on Friday, Aug. 13, the second day of school for Monroe County students.

Superintendent of School Theresa Axford announced this summer that Schmiegel would take the reins at Key West High School after former principal Christina McPherson became the director of teaching and learning at the district headquarters.

“Dr. Schmiegel puts students first in everything he does,” Axford told the Keys Weekly on Monday.

“Schools in some cases put adult

needs over those of the students.

That’s not the case with Larry. His heart and his head are focused on the right priorities and I think KWHS will grow under his leadership.”

Schmiegel recalled his arrival at Poinciana in 2016.

“My biggest challenge was that Poinciana Elementary had always been an A-rated school. But then its demographics changed and we had more students and families that were struggling — more low-income students, more exceptional students and more English language learners. It had dropped to a C grade when I arrived, but when I left it was back to being an A school.”

Schmiegel increased the focus on Exceptional Student Education, increasing the number of teachers and providing supplementary instruction for students who needed it.

He plans to do the same at Key West High School.

“I’m here for the students,” he said. “My job is to make sure we’re meeting the needs of all students.

I’m not opposed to tradition, but we have to equitably allocate resources. For example, I had more ESE (exceptional student education) teachers at Poinciana than I do here at Key West High School,” which welcomed approximately 1,350 students back the first week of school.

He knows the job won’t necessarily be easy, but Schmiegel said, “I love coming to work and sending there’s a purpose. While we’re doing some things really, really well, there’s also some things we can do a little differently, instructionally.

“For instance, we have 108 students here at Key West High who are in danger of not graduating due to their English/Language Arts performance,” a subject heavily dependent on a student’s reading proficiency, Schmiegel said. “And we have 60 students in danger of not graduating due to their math performance. So I’ve already created a graduation task force of teachers and staff who will focus on getting those students where they need to be.”

Despite the school’s tight grip on long-held traditions, Schmiegel said he’s been more than pleased with the staff’s and faculty’s willingness to embrace change.

“Their energy has been so positive; I really haven’t gotten the sense that they’re opposed to change, especially when there’s a clear destination that we’re trying to reach.

There’s so many opportunities and potential here. I don’t want to be just a figurehead; I want to know these students and make a real difference.”

Schmiegel is also a single father to two sons he adopted in New York.

His younger son is in third grade at Poinciana; the other is a freshman at Key West High.

“One thing I learned is that afterschool tutoring here at KWHS typically started in January,” Schmiegel said. “But I want to start it soon, as in now. And I already have teachers eagerly signing up to participate.”

Schmiegel has sent a survey to parents and students asking what their hopes are for the school, and what they’d like to see change. He’s also created a theme for the year of “Rising Strong! Conch Strong!”

Finally, Schmiegel plans to implement, over the next two years, the PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) program at Key West High School.

As of October 2019, PBIS has been implemented in more than 27,000 schools nationwide. Florida has the second highest number of participating schools, with more than 2,000 schools trained in it across 60 school districts.

Key West High School has been the only public school in Monroe County that doesn’t utilize the behavior-improvement program that teaches students to achieve their desired outcomes, prevents problem behaviors, provides relevant incentives for good behavior and tailors consequences to the behavior.

“I’m really looking forward to this year and subsequent years here at Key West High School,” he said.

“The staff and faculty have energy, momentum and plenty of out-ofthe-box thinking that’s been so encouraging to see.”

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

SAVE THE DATE

SPORTS & MORE

Friday night lights ready for Conchs

F

ootball returns to Key West High School on Friday night, Aug. 20, when Monsignor Pace arrives.

The 7 p.m. pre-season game will ... a veteran sports be played at the school’s new Backyard columnist, says the only sport as will all Conch football and soccer he doesn’t follow games for the next two years as Tommy is cricket. That Roberts Memorial Stadium gets refurleaves plenty bished to the tune of $15 million. of others to fill The team practiced and played at his time. ralphmoro1936 TRMS last year before practicing at the @gmail.com Backyard before that.

Coach John Hughes now has scheduled five home games, including the pre-season game, to go along with five away games.

Hughes began at Key West in 2003 as offensive line coach and after a two-year hiatus, he became head coach in 2012.

His son, Zack, after playing at Jacksonville University, will be a line coach for the second year.

Oh, if all the games could actually be played!

Such was not the case last year as Hughes was a busy bee, scheduling and rescheduling as the virus took over. The result was a six-game schedule. “It was a fluid situation,” said Hughes. The Conchs won five, which was certainly presentable, and advanced to the state playoffs.

The playoffs will be the goal again this year, but it will be difficult. Key West will again be a member of District 16-5 along with Killian, Miami Jackson and St. Brendan. Last year, it was Northwestern, Killian and second-place Key West. Runner-up may not be good enough this year. Only the champion goes automatically to the state playoffs. The runner-up could go, based on a point system, explained Hughes.

The pre-season game will give Hughes an opportunity to make decisions on his starting lineup.

“We’ve had 55, 56 players out each day,” said Hughes. “That’s not bad. We’ll see how many stick around.”

Thirty-eight of them were following a daily regimen in the well-equipped weight room.

“That was good. They were able to hit the ground running,” said the coach.

Friday night, he’ll play a pair of seniors at quarterback. Henry Audette will also play at defensive back. Preston Herce did not play last season, but played running back two seasons ago when he was named County Player of the Year, said Hughes. The coach said the player who isn’t playing quarterback will play another position. “We’ll find a spot for him.”

Another senior, Jeremiah Osborne, “a 200-pound wrecking ball,” said Hughes, is a running back candidate. Osborne is coming off shoulder surgery. James Reynolds, a 200-plus pounder, “had some nice carries filling in at running back last season,” he added.

RALPH MORROW

Aug. 19 • Turtle release at Higgs Beach, noon, behind Salute restaurant.

• Moray Bay Studios & MJK Films Present: Live From Moray Bay, 7 p.m. at Key West Theater, 512 Eaton St. Aug. 20 • Key West Chamber of Commerce member orientation meeting to maximize your membership, 9 a.m. via Zoom. Visit keywestchamber.org.

Aug. 21 • Rams Head Presents comedian Paula Poundstone, 8 p.m. at Key West Theater.

Aug. 25 • Fee-Free Day at Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks to commemorate National Parks’ Birthday.

• Key West Theater Presents Comedy Coven w/Kathy Gilmour, Gwen Filosa & Amanda Anderson, 8 p.m. at Key West Theater.

Aug. 29 • Soul of Key West Presents Coffee Butler & Friends, 8 p.m. at Key West Theater.

Aug. 31 • Casting call: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 5:30 p.m. at The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton St.

Key West High School football coach John Hughes discusses his players and positions for the upcoming season that begins with a pre-season home game on Friday, Aug. 20. RALPH MORROW/Keys Weekly

At slot back is senior Cam Watson, 6’3”, 180 pounds. He hurt his ankle and missed the end of last season. Sophomore Clerf Alexandre is a pretty dynamic player who played defensive corner, said Hughes.

Let’s play ball.

More on Lionel Messi, from the Spanish daily “El Mundo”: Messi signed a contract for the past four years with Barcelona that paid him $168 million a year — the most paid to any athlete in the world. For Paris Saint-Germain, Messi, who spent 21 of his 34 years with Barcelona, settled for $41 million a year on a two-year contract.

Sept. 1-5 • Key West Womenfest at venues all over town.

Sept. 15- Nov. 30 • Scarecrows in the Forest art exhibit at Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden.

Sept. 2-6 • Key West Brewfest presented

by Key West Sunrise Rotary at Southernmost Beach Resort. Visit keywestbrewfest.com for a complete schedule.

Sept. 18 • 37th annual Underwater Music Festival at Looe Key, aboard various dive and snorkel boats.

Oct. 2 • Rams Head presents Brett Eldredge, 7:30 p.m. at Key West Amphitheater.

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

By Mandy Miles and Jim McCarthy

FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS FROM AFGHANISTAN VETERANS KEYS VETERANS RESPOND TO AMERICA’S CRUDE EXIT

T

hey were there. On the ground. In Afghanistan. The veterans and active duty service members interviewed below saw what was happening in real life, in real time, a half a world away.

They knew what was going wrong — and what was going well. But folks in Washington rarely asked them.

They befriended many Afghans. They buried best friends. They woke many mornings covered in three inches of dust, dirt and sand. They heard the horrors of prior Taliban rule and fought to resist its return.

For 20 years, American military personnel — and other foreign soldiers — fought a war in, but not against, Afghanistan. The enemy was always the Taliban, a militant sect of extremist Muslims known for allowing terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda to operate in areas the Taliban controls.

“Most of the Taliban aren’t even from Afghanistan,” said retired Army Colonel Abe Conn, who served three one-year tours in Afghanistan and has lived in Key West for more than a decade. “The Afghan people are some of the nicest, most sincere, trusting people in the world.”

American troops protected the Afghan people. They built schools and supplied orphanages. They constructed power plants.

They trained the Afghan army. They kept the Taliban at bay.

But this war was untenable — and expensive. President’s Barack Obama started downsizing America’s boot print on the ground there. Then President Donald Trump negotiated an agreement with the Taliban in February 2020, promising them American troops would be out of Afghanistan this year.

And making the Taliban promise to minimize violence and more importantly to prohibit terrorist groups from targeting America within its borders.

American troops knew we weren’t winning the war. They knew the Afghans’ ability to go it alone was limited and they knew the financial faucet that poured $2 trillion into the effort wasn’t sustainable.

Upper Keys resident Nick Hodge served in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, First Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. CONTRIBUTED

But many agree, the end of America’s involvement over the past month was illplanned and potentially lethal to Afghan allies — soldiers’ interpreters and friends who are left behind. The speed with which the Taliban reclaimed Afghanistan cities was alarming to many, but not surprising to those who had been there; those who had warned the politicians of the Taliban’s continuing presence and increasing strength, as well as the vulnerabilities of the Afghan military and government.

“I don’t believe the Taliban have changed,” Conn said. “They’ve been told to stand down and have been threatened with death if they kill anyone while America pulls out. But in six to eight months, it’ll be back to business as usual under the Taliban. And that’s what’s so heartbreaking.”

The Keys Weekly asked several veterans of the war in Afghanistan and some still serving how they felt about the American withdrawal and the future of Afghanistan.

Their comments are below.

(Editor’s note: The names of those still in active duty have been omitted at their request.)

“It’s tough to stomach. I lost a couple classmates over there. I actually put one in Arlington in 2007. It’s unfortunate we spent 20 years with loss of life to American soldiers, and as soon as we pulled out, the trained Afghani National Army, the police and other agencies there lasted 10 days. It’s tough to stomach that when people have given life, limb and eyesight over there in the tens of thousands.

I personally can tell you that we changed a lot of lives. When you look at Afghanis in the face, the need was there. When I was there in 2005, it was a real surge event because they never voted before. That’s when Hamid Karzai was in. Some polling stations were hit and blown up. Women couldn’t vote. There was pushback on all that stuff.

We dropped 20,000 pounds of school supplies out of C-130s to a place called Malistan. We put clothes and shoes and stuff on what orphanages there were. We held these babies and kids and they would run up to us. They don’t know war. They don’t know any of that stuff. That was the human side of things.”

— Nick Hodge, of Islamorada, U.S. Army, First Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021 MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com

‘THESE PEOPLE ARE GONNA GET SLAUGHTERED’ Keys veteran laments the Afghans we left behind

H Upper Keys resident Nick Hodge with a fellow service member during his time in Afghanistan. CONTRIBUTED

“It’s very disheartening. We’re leaving a lot of very, very good people. My interpreters are going to die. They’ve been turned down twice now for visas. They’ll be killed because they can’t get out of Afghanistan. We were there for 20 years. We could’ve stayed one more year and gotten everyone out. We left them and they’re gonna get slaughtered.”

— Abe Conn, retired colonel, U.S. Army, completed three one-year deployments to Afghanistan “A lot of soldiers have died for that country to be free of Taliban rule. Our military trained Afghanis, and for them to just give it up so easily is heartbreaking. You can’t train grit and determination.”

— Senior Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force “We all knew it was coming.

Everyone that served over there knew it was coming. Though the timeline was a lot sooner than most thought, this is no surprise.”

— Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army “If I hear one more pundit say soldiers died for no f-ing reason…..

Every soldier I served with felt they were part of something special, freeing an entire nation under tyranny. The way it looks now, that won’t be happening, but who knows what the future holds. It’s a sad day for America and a sadder day for Afghanistan.”

— First Sergeant, U.S. Army “I can’t say, I just tear up and cry. I lost some good friends, brothers. This is painful. I got no words today.”

— Master Sergeant, U.S. Army

“Way more than an embassy evacuation. This is light years beyond a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO). This is the complete collapse of U.S. resolve. You have already heard ‘pathetic, dismal and weak.’ Our current administration has told the world that the statute of limitations for murdering thousands of U.S. citizens is 19 years, 11 months, 4 days.

By word and deed, the administration has told all the victims of 9/11 and their families, to include the 1st responders that died that day and those that continue to suffer and die from the effects, all the service members who served, died, were wounded, maimed, continue to suffer and die from the effects and all of their families, ‘You don’t matter.’ Now watch the veteran suicide rate go through the roof. Pray hard. Think of this: A service member who enlisted or was commissioned in June through September 2001 is at their retirement mark. That complete 20 years has been wrapped in one way or another around 9/11, Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Now, we just quit.”

— Chris Hoguet of Tavernier, LTC US Army (Ret.) deployed in Afghanistan in 2003 “The women! All the gains made for women in that country.

Gone, done, overnight. No more!

Doctors, business owners, going to college. It’s over. The Taliban will end all their freedoms. Bloodshed to follow for those that disobey.”

— Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army

is son was just four days old in 2002, when then-Major Abe Conn boarded a military plane and landed half a world away in Afghanistan, his home for the next year.

“At the end of my first deployment, I’d lived in Kabul longer than I’d lived in the Florida Keys,” he said.

“We had just moved here when I got deployed after 9/11.

“We were one of the first units in Kabul. It was just us and Special Forces guys,” he said. “In fact, I hoisted the American flag on Sept.

11, 2002 at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. “When I landed in Afghanistan, the wind was blowing 40 mph,” he said. “I awoke the first morning covered in two to three inches of dirt.

“It was an interesting time and place, but it was also the safest time over there because we had just liberated them from the Taliban and the 10th Mountain guys were in the mountains of Tora Bora looking for bin Laden.”

Conn, who would later retire from the Army as a full colonel, was deployed to various parts of Afghanistan in 2002-03, 2006-07 and finally in 2012-13.

“We lost because although we fought this war for 20 years, we were fighting the same war every year,” Conn told the Keys Weekly on Monday as the world watched the Taliban reclaim the country that American troops had defeated and kept at bay for 20 years.

With each deployment, years apart, Conn said, he’d ask the generals in command, “How many Taliban are up in those mountains?

How many bad guys are we after?”

“The first time I was there, they told me, ‘About 5,000.’ I thought, great, we’ll be done by Christmas.”

But when he returned three years later and then five years after that, his question was the same.

Unfortunately, so was the answer: “About 5,000.”

“You’d scratch your head and ask yourself, ‘What are we doing here?’” Conn said. “It’s just dumb.

We have politicians calling the

Abe Conn, who served three one-year deployments in Afghanistan as a lieutenant colonel and then a full colonel, worries his closest Afghan friends and interpreters will be killed by the Taliban for helping the United States. ABE CONN/Contributed

shots instead of the people who know what’s really going on. Our grandfathers walked across Nazi Germany and through the Pacific Islands during World War II fighting strong armies of the world. And in five years, we won. We’ve got 5,000 bad guys and we’re there for 20 years. And 90% of the Taliban aren’t even from Afghanistan.”

Like so many of his fellow service members who spent time in Afghanistan, Conn’s heart has broken in recent weeks, for the nation, its women and for his Afghan friends, U.S. allies, who were left behind.

“These people are gonna get slaughtered,” he said. “My interpreters are gonna die. They’ve been turned down twice now for visas.

“How we left is just a disaster.

Middle of the night, we just picked up and left. We were there for 20 years. We could’ve stayed one more year and gotten everyone out. But we left them. What we’ll also see next is a huge spike in veteran suicides. We’re already losing 22 vets a day to suicide. It’ll get worse.

“The Afghans are some of the nicest, most honest and trusting people I’ve ever met,” he said.

“And the Taliban haven’t changed. The word has been put out to them not to kill, so they’ll wait until we’re gone. In six, eight, 10 months, it’ll be back to business as usual for them,” Conn said. “It’s just so disheartening.”

18

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

WHAT THE STARS HAVE IN STORE

REDA WIGLE While the first half of August has been, astrologically speaking, a trying sort of dumpster fire, the remaining weeks are bound for glory. Five celestial bodies —the sun, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune — are giving us a much-needed dose of power and possibilities. Adding to this planetary good, the 22nd brings a blue moon. Full moons are related to endings and energy shifts.

This blue moon will conjoin with gregarious, dice-rolling, planet of luck Jupiter, which should lend the whole lunation an air of good fortune.

To harness the energy of summer’s last act, be clear about what you want and what you want to leave behind. Ask humbly but surely, and believe without doubt that you are, deserve and will become better.

is a middle child and Taurus Fire Tiger named after a stigmatic saint.

She divides her time and affections between New Orleans and Key West.

LEO July 23 to August 22 The word indulgence has Catholic origins. The term refers to the church’s withholding of punishment and promise of forgiveness for sins committed or planned. A kind of get-out-of-jail- (or hell)-free card. You may feel inclined to engage in some indulgences of your own. As god of yourself, Leo, take your sinning seriously; regulate it carefully and enjoy it thoroughly.

Notable Leo: Alexis Arquette / July 28, 1969 VIRGO August 23 to September 22 Activist and fellow Virgo Temple Grandin writes, “People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is no single magic bullet.” Action hero planet Mars is invigorating you with energy and renewed purpose. Mars won’t hand you a magic bullet, but it will

grant you access to the hallowed arsenal of your own empowerment.

Notable Virgo: Dolores O’Riordan/ September 6, 1971 LIBRA September 23 to October 22 With lover planet Venus in your sign for the next several weeks an impatient energy surrounds you. Expand and eliminate professionally and socially. Actress, space regent and fellow Libra Carrie Fisher said, “No motive is pure. No one is good or bad, but a hearty mix of both. And sometimes life actually gives to you by taking away.” Keep a balanced view of others, a healthy hold on yourself and know that rescinded gifts and absent people are blessings in drag.

Notable Libra: Anthony Mackie / September 23, 1978 SCORPIO October 23 to November 21 Punk rock sucker punch planet Uranus is prompting reflection and reckoning. What are your relationship patterns and needs? Are you able to see the former and meet the latter? Author and fellow Scorpio Sarah Fielding writes, “Agreeable then to my present inclination, I formed the object of my own worship, which was no other than my own understanding.” May you seek to discover and aim to venerate your own self-knowledge.

Notable Scorpio: Willow Smith/ October 31, 2000 SAGITTARIUS November 22 to December 21 Muralist and fellow Sagittarius Jose Clemente Orozco writes, “Errors and exaggerations do not matter.

What matters is boldness in thinking, in speaking out about things as one feels them in the moment of speaking; in having the temerity to proclaim what one believes to be true without fear of the consequences….” Illuminate, distill, dispel and disseminate the truth as you see it and as you see fit.

Notable Sagittarius: Ozzy Osbourne / December 3, 1948

CAPRICORN December 22 to January 19 Fellow Capricorn John DeLorean lived large and failed spectacularly.

While his DeLorean sports car was a failure, it became an iconic collector’s item. He was later arrested for cocaine trafficking, but acquitted.

When DeLorean died at 80, he was buried in a motorcycle jacket with a pair of sunglasses. When facing the dark weather of ruin, prison or death, anticipate sunny days ahead.

Notable Capricorn: LeBron James / December 30, 1984 AQUARIUS January 20 to February 18 The forecast for the full moon this week is heightened emotions and a chance of scattered epiphanies.

Novelist Lisa Jewell writes, “She felt like a creature born to reside on the bottom of the ocean floor, dark and flat and half-blind, slowly rising through the icy water to the glittering light above.” For you, water bearer, there has never been a more auspicious time to turn in and look up.

Notable Aquarius: Chris Farley / February 15, 1964 PISCES February 19 to March 20 Writer and fellow Pisces Khaled Hosseini writes, “I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.”

May you allow the pains of the past, and their purveyors to take their leave and leave you lighter.

Notable Pisces: Tyler The Creator / March 6, 1991 ARIES March 21 to April 19 Poet, fellow Aries and abuse survivor Maya Angelou didn’t speak for five years. After revealing the name of her attacker, he died in prison and Angelou believed her voice contained the power to kill. Blessedly, Angelou not only spoke again, but wrote some of the most valu-

able words in literature. Call forth your own power. Let the words you choose kill what you were and make way for the truth you will tell.

Notable Aries: Kristen Stewart / April 9, 1990 TAURUS April 20 to May 20 Fellow Taurus Roy Orbison had a strategy for getting what he wanted: Whenever he saw a car he wanted he’d follow the driver and offer cash for the keys. There is no record of him ever being turned down.

Adopt a similarly straightforward approach to identifying, cleanly pursuing and fairly claiming exactly what you want.

Notable Taurus: Emperor Hirohito / April 29, 1901 GEMINI May 21 to June 20 The latter half of August centers around the home and immediate family, Gemini, energizing you to alleviate discord. While action is called for, caution is urged. You will not solve old problems with old approaches. Comic book character Father Lantom said “Guilt can be a good thing. It’s the soul’s call to action….The only way to rid your heart of it is to correct your mistakes and keep going until amends are made.”

Progress is promised so long as you keep going.

Notable Gemini: Elena Mukhina/ June 1, 1960 CANCER June 21 to July 22 Famed widow and fellow Cancer Courtney Love writes, “I keep looking for saviors and looking for saviors, but the truth is, nobody’s gonna pull up in a limousine and say they’re going to save you. That’s not how it happens. You save yourself from drowning; that’s how you do it.” While you may not have the keys to the proverbial limousine, you are your own getaway car and that gas tank is full, baby.

Notable Cancer: Liv Tyler / July 1, 1977

19

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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20

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

Mainstreaming

W

ith the start of the NFL season just under a month away, the players are back on the practice field and fantasy football managers are devouring daily news feeds to gain a leg up on their competition. For those who compete in fantasy leagues, the season can’t begin soon enough. For those who don’t, the eye-rolling has already begun.

10. Your husband has suddenly lost interest in the Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne scandal.

9. Your wife’s safe words are, “Omaha! Omaha!”

8. You’ve canceled a kid’s birthday party, family vacation or cardiology appointment to attend a fantasy football live draft.

SIGNS FANTASY FOOTBALL IS HERE

7. You can’t name the last five U.S. presidents but you can rattle off the top 10 fantasy football kickers.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

WATCH | UNORTHODOX Esty, a 19-year-old Jewish woman, is living unhappily in an arranged marriage among the Satmar sect of the ultraOrthodox community in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. She flees to Berlin, where her estranged mother lives, and tries to navigate a secular life, discovering life outside her community and rejecting all the beliefs she grew up with. Her husband, who learns she is pregnant, travels to Berlin with his cousin, by order of their rabbi, to try to find her. The four-part miniseries is inspired by Deborah Feldman’s 2012 autobiography, “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots.”

Watch now on Netflix.

6. You called HR to report a “hostile work environment” after your employer blocked Yahoo Sports in the office.

5. You traded a monthly Child Rescue Plan check for an additional third-round pick in your fantasy draft.

4. You failed pre-algebra twice in high school, but developed an algorithm using Chaos Theory mathematics to determine your pre-draft fantasy football rankings.

3. You’ve applied the “Zero RB” philosophy to your company’s hiring process.

2. You warned your 7-year-old that the next time he underperforms at school he’ll end up on the waiver wire.

1. You find yourself concerned about the eating and sleeping habits of fantasy football expert Matthew Berry.

LISTEN | GOOD THINGS “We think we delivered our best album of our career so far,” Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers told Apple Music. Fans of the duo’s infectious take on commercial country will have plenty to dig into on the latest album, “Good Things,” thanks to Smyers’ production and musicianship.

The album features singles such as “Glad You Exist,” “10,000 Hours” and “I Should Probably Go To Bed.” Listen now on Apple Music.

READ | FAILING An unsuspecting pilot must make a terrible choice in “Falling,” the debut novel from former flight attendant T.J. Newman. After taking off from LAX on a flight to JFK, Captain Bill Hoffman learns that his wife and children have been kidnapped... and that’s not even the worst part. Not only will these criminals murder Bill’s family if he speaks up, but the captors are also threatening to kill their victims unless Bill goes through with the unthinkable: intentionally crash his plane. Purchase on Amazon or Google Play.

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

School officials agree that students did their best on standardized tests during a chaotic school year. CONTRIBUTED

SCHOOL TEST SCORES DROP District officials agree pandemic slump was expected — and understandable CHARLOTTE TWINE charlotte@keysweekly.com

T

he state has released its 202021 school year standardized test scores, and they are down for all Monroe County grades, according to a presentation from Dave Murphy, executive director of assessment & accountability, at the school board meeting on Aug. 10.

“I would say that it’s down a little further than I would have liked it, relative to other counties,” Murphy said. However, pointed out that the dip was to be expected in such an unusual, unstandardized year.

“Every single teacher, every single staff member in this district did their best last year,” he noted. “Everybody did their best. And it simply wasn’t a condition where we would expect the same highlevel outcomes in our district and in any other district.”

Murphy screened charts that detailed the downward trend of the county’s scores as compared to other counties.

He showed that in school year 2018-19, the last time the state released standardized assessments, Monroe County was the 10th highest performing district in the state for English language arts for all grades. This year, the district was 18th for ELA. In 2018-19, Monroe County was the 15th highest performing district for all grade levels combined in mathematics; this year, the county was 27th in the state.

As for science, Murphy told Keys Weekly that compiling the testing data is a little different due to different subjects like biology being taught in different grades.

However, “if I had to ballpark it,” he said, “we were the 10th highest performing school district in 2019 and 10th or 12th this year. We stayed relatively high performing in science.”

Murphy was also concerned about the drop off in 2021 advanced placement students taking tests this year, pointing out that only 1,433 AP tests were given.

This was a 12% decrease from 2020.

“So not just vulnerable students were affected,” he said about the chaotic pandemic year. “It affected the high-flying students as well.”

After his presentation, administrative staffer Christina McPherson explained the district’s plan for “Mitigating Learning Loss”: Additional support includes interventionists in all pre-K to 8th grade schools, two additional social workers, guidance assistants at all schools, nurse tech assistants at all schools and graduation coaches at all high schools.

School board chairman John Dick said, “We knew this was going to happen, but I think you’re on top of it.”

Murphy also said that the usual procedure for each school getting a grade is “out the window.” Normally at this time of year, he would be providing the state’s provisional school grades and a 30-day window to appeal.

“Not just vulnerable students were affected.”

— Dave Murphy, executive director of assessment & accountability

Per the Florida Department of Education website, “School grades provide an easily understandable way to measure the performance of a school. Parents and the general public can use the school grade and its components to understand how well each school is serving its students. Schools are graded A, B, C, D, or F.” But this year, Murphy said at the meeting, “Our marching order is: Figure it out.” In other words, deciding to take the state-issued grade is optional for every school.

“No decisions have been made yet about school grades,” Murphy told Keys Weekly about Monroe County’s stance.

“There’s very little incentive to do it because the state is not funding school recognition. It hasn’t been budgeted by the governor’s office.”

Board member Sue Woltanski is cautious about the idea of using standardized test scores from an unusual year to determine performance.

“Every child in every school in every district was affected differently,” she said.

“Using test scores to guide education going forward: totally appropriate. But using the test scores to compare one group of students to another in a completely unstandardized year doesn’t make sense to me. You’re evaluating COVID… I don’t put much stake in school grades. That’s pitting educators against educators, and that’s not helpful.”

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

DOLPHINS GET 40s FLAB, TOO

Rainbow, an older male dolphin believed to be in his early 40s, was one of the study participants at Dolphin Research Center.

DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER/Contributed

HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY SPECIES WHOSE METABOLISM TENDS TO SLOW DOWN WITH AGE

I

f you feel like your metabolism just isn’t what it used to be, no matter how many hours you spend in the gym, dolphins can relate.

A Duke University-led study finds that bottlenose dolphins burn calories at a lower rate as they get older, just as we do. Dolphin Research Center, on Grassy Key, and Dolphin Quest, in Hawaii, collaborated on this research.

It’s the first time scientists have measured an age-related metabolic slowdown in another large-bodied species besides humans, said author Rebecca Rimbach, postdoctoral associate in evolutionary anthropology at Duke.

Rimbach has studied energy expenditure and other aspects of physiology in animals ranging from mice to monkeys. But data on the inner workings of marine mammals such as dolphins and whales have been scant, she says. That’s because these ocean giants are notoriously difficult to recapture for repeat measurements. “It can be very tricky to get the animal back when you need it,” Rimbach said.

The researchers studied 10 bottlenose dolphins aged 10 to 45 living at Dolphin Research Center and Dolphin Quest.

To measure their average daily metabolic rate, the researchers used the “doubly labeled water method.” Used to measure energy expenditure in humans since the 1980s, it’s a method that involves getting the animals to drink a few ounces of water with naturally occurring “heavy” forms of hydrogen and oxygen added, and then tracking how long the animals take to flush them out.

“The dolphins already cooperate in their own health care and are accustomed to receiving water through a tube down their throats to their stomachs. They don’t have a gag reflex, and this process is comfortable and commonplace to them,” said Emily Guarino, director of Research Training and Data Collection for Dolphin Research Center.

“They voluntarily give blood, urine, and other

samples.” Like humans present their arms for a blood draw, the dolphins allow themselves to be positioned in the water so that their caregivers can collect samples as part of their regular checkups.

By analyzing the levels of heavy hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the blood or urine, the team was able to calculate how much carbon dioxide the dolphins produced each day, and thus how many calories they were burning as they went about their lives.

What they found surprised them.

The researchers expected dolphins to have revved-up metabolisms, since dolphins are warm-blooded just like people, and keeping warm requires more energy in water than in air.

But despite living in a watery world, they found that bottlenose dolphins burn 17% less energy per day than expected for a marine mammal of their size.

The scientists also noted some of the same signs of metabolic aging common in people. The oldest dolphins in the study, both in their 40s, used 22% to 49% fewer calories each day than expected for their body weight. And similar to humans, more of those calories ended up as fat rather than muscle. Dolphins in their 40s had body fat percentages that were 2.5 times higher than their under-20 counterparts.

It wasn’t for lack of exercise, Rimbach said. Dolphins are amazing athletes, capable of leaping 10 feet into the air and swimming alongside power boats at speeds that would crush Michael Phelps.

The dolphins in the study were observed doing flips and spins, walking on their tails, jumping clear out of the water and going fast enough to leave a wake as often as six to 18 times an hour, and they remained active into their 40s. But the pattern remained no matter what their activity level.

“And it’s not because they’re eating too much either,” Rimbach said. The researchers recorded how much herring and other fish the dolphins gobbled up, and they found

The dolphins, like Talon, learn to voluntarily accept water through a tube gently inserted to their stomachs.

that the older, fatter dolphins in the study actually ate fewer calories.

The researchers say such work could shed light on factors besides diet and lifestyle that underlie age-related weight gain in people.

“Further studies into this commonality we share with dolphins may help us understand why human metabolism slows as we age,” said co-author Hannah Salomons, a graduate student in professor Brian Hare’s lab at Duke.

“Having access to healthy dolphins under human care made this study possible,” said co-author Austin Allen of the Duke University Marine Lab. “We need more data, especially for younger dolphins, since we only looked at 10 individuals,” Rimbach said. “But I think it’s an exciting first study.”

This work was supported by Duke University and an International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) Research Grant.

— This contributed article is based on “Total Energy Expenditure of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of Different Ages,” Rebecca Rimbach, Ahmad Amireh, Austin Allen, Brian Hare, Emily Guarino, Chana Kaufman, Hannah Salomons, Herman Pontzer. Journal of Experimental Biology, Aug. 5, 2021. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242218

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

GOING HOME RESCUED SEA TURTLE TO BE RELEASED IN KEY WEST

C

ome meet Trapper, a healthy, juvenile green sea turtle, and join The Turtle Hospital staff in cheering on Trapper as he returns to his ocean home at noon on Thursday, Aug. 19 at Higgs Beach in Key West.

In May, Capt. Stan Miles found Trapper entangled in a trap line with tumors while he was participating in Ocean Aid 360’s Ghost Trap Rodeo to remove derelict line and traps from the waters. (Hence the turtle’s name.)

Miles rescued the marine turtle in distress and brought him to shore after contacting the Turtle Hospital, whose staff transported Trapper to the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

Treatment included broad spectrum antibiotics, wound care, tumor removal surgery, vitamins and a healthy diet of greens and mixed seafood.

Trapper is now tumor-free and back to good health.

The Turtle Hospital ambulance will arrive at Higgs Beach in Key West (behind Salute restaurant) with Trapper at 11:45 a.m. with the release scheduled promptly for 12 p.m.

— Contributed

Capt. Stan Miles rescues a sea turtle in May while removing derelict lobster and crab traps from local waters in May. The Turtle Hospital responded and rehabilitated the turtle that Miles named Trapper. CONTRIBUTED

Trapper the sea turtle was found with tumors on his abdomen, but is now tumor-free and in good health after being rescued by a Key West captain and treated by the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

TURTLE HOSPITAL/Contributed

Veterinarians remove several tumors from Trapper the sea turtle, who will be released back into the ocean on Thursday, Aug. 19 at Higgs Beach. TURTLE HOSPITAL/Contributed

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

PRO-CRUISE SHIP ALARMISTS SPREAD MISINFORMATION Dear Editor, It is quite alarming and sad that the anti-local, pro-developer mouthpieces have taken to the papers with such breathless vigor. These are the same people who aligned themselves with outside dark money to spread misinformation, sued to have any cruise ship items removed from the ballot (they lost), and when they saw the legal avenues they were pursuing were not likely to succeed, they had their developer friend who controls Pier B pony up almost a million bucks to get the governor to sign some terrible legislation (and they barely got that, the stand-alone law they recruited non-local state reps to sponsor and push for was withdrawn, and they had to tuck the bad bill language into a transportation amendment at the 11th hour).

These same people who have been so eager to misinform, to distort the truth, are now delighting in the idea that our city attorney has chosen not to consider Safer Cleaner Ships’ counsel to assist in drafting defensible legislation to uphold the will of a huge majority of the citizens of Key West. This should tell our city commissioners an awful lot about how prepared SCS is and has been. Those same attorneys have won three times in court and were successful in getting the developersponsored bills in the state House and Senate defeated.

It is also interesting that the authors of these alarmist editorials can’t understand that a dedicated group of locals, along with a team of experts and attorneys, can and did become proficient in the areas of discussion. Perhaps Capt. Maguire and Mr. Wells deal with groups who consist of only rich guys who feel it’s their right to destroy a place, so long as they make lots of money, and that takes years to get the hang of?

These men should have more confidence in their town, and see how busy we are right now. Even staunch pro-cruise businesses agreed some limits would be needed (letters to Chamber of Commerce in 2020). What we are seeing now will continue, because Key West represents the ideal to many, many people, and large cruise ships are not needed to fulfill that dream for our guests. Revenues are $4 million higher than in 2019, when we had a ton of ships, so a tax hike cannot be blamed on the lack of

cruise ships. As these people know, by law, a port cannot collect more from cruise ships than they spend to support ONLY the cruise ships, not other city projects like ball fields and roads.

The shrieking heads that Pier B operators have pushed to speak for them claim a $100 million lawsuit is imminent. Well, that amount is patently absurd and they know it.

They are using the threat of a lawsuit to manipulate the city attorney into carving out Pier B from the new cruise ship limits, which would allow 365 large ships to churn up our sea bottom and drag a silt plume several miles with each visit. The threat of this mega lawsuit is so flimsy they ran off to the state legislators to write a bill specifically for them rather than file a claim in court. And as I mentioned above, they couldn’t get a law passed so they tucked the developer friendly language into a massive transportation bill. Oh, Discovery in this ominous lawsuit would be quite the bonanza, and they know that, too. Pier B operators has been threatening to sue since the beginning, and the mere threat of a lawsuit is not a good reason to not do the will of the citizens.

I recall in 2013 when we had lots of discussions (and a vote!) about ships, the same Chicken Littles claimed all ships would stop coming if we didn’t dredge the channel.

Ships longer than 1,000 feet were already prohibited, they said.

But in recent years we routinely had ships over 1,000 feet calling here, and more of them every year, and we’ve had enough of that nonsense.

Pier B operators should be looking to recruit smaller ships, the fastest growing segment of cruising. City Attorney Smith should consider the facts and listen to the SCS attorneys, who happen to be some of the most qualified legal minds in the state and indeed the entire country, and whose agenda is to protect the will of the citizens and not a handful of developer lackeys. And Commissioners should heed the will of the people and not listen to the very small minority of doomsday shriekers. Key West is great and will continue to be great, and we don’t succumb to fear mongering.

Your neighbor, Jolly Benson Vice president, Key West Committee for Safer Cleaner Ships

BRIEFLY DECEASED DIVER IDENTIFIED The man who died after diving in waters off Key West Tuesday afternoon has been identified as 71-year-old Timothy Lee Jayne of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Jayne was found on the Vandenberg wreck. He was found by a group of good Samaritan commercial divers assisting in the search.

The group diving with Jayne initially told the U.S. Coast Guard they had been on the nearby Joe’s Tug wreck, but that was not the case. They were over the Vandenberg wreck on a private rental 45-foot catamaran called the Free Bird.

It remains unknown what led to Jayne’s issue in the water.

The good Samaritan divers brought Jayne to the surface where Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officers placed him aboard their boat. CPR was administered en route to Stock Island Yacht Club & Marina. Jayne was pronounced dead at 5:27 p.m. Tuesday at the marina.

Foul play is not suspected. Autopsy results are pending.

MAN ARRESTED FOR FENTANYL POSSESSION A 50-year-old Key West man was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 17 for possessing Fentanyl following a traffic stop.

Christopher Scott Gazzale was a passenger in a Cadillac that was stopped on U.S. 1 in Marathon at approximately 1 p.m. for impeding the flow of southbound traffic on U.S. 1 and texting while driving.

Gazzale was asked if he had anything illegal and he stated he had some heroin and a needle. The needle was found in his pocket as well as two plastic bags containing a substance that tested positive for Fentanyl.

There was a total of four grams of Fentanyl. Gazzale was taken to jail.

The driver was not charged.

MAN ARRESTED FOR RECEIVING COCAINE VIA MAIL A 26-year-old Key West man was arrested Monday after a package addressed to him was intercepted by the Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service containing an ounce of cocaine.

Zachary David Houle was charged with trafficking in cocaine.

Two Sheriff’s Office detectives were conducting some package interception training with U.S. Postal Service inspectors earlier this month in Fort Lauderdale when they came across a package addressed to Houle. Sheriff’s Office K9 Coral alerted to the presence of drugs in the package.

On Aug. 16, a Sheriff’s Office detective, a U.S. Postal inspector and a U.S Homeland Security Investigations special agent went to Houle’s residence with the package.

Houle stated he was expecting about an ounce of cocaine in the mail. He agreed to open the package and it contained approximately an ounce of cocaine. Houle stated he had received similar packages in the mail in the past. Houle was taken to jail.

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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… and other fun and gross health and history facts

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s my wife and I were reviewing topics for this column, we decided to see what health observances were in August. I never knew that we observed peaches, zucchini AND watermelons all in the same month. Did you know the 26th is International Dog Day? (My poodle lets me know EVERY day is dog day…) While a 500 word essay on the benefits of zucchinis is tempting, I decided maybe I should talk about a more public health oriented topic — all while trying to avoid the current third rail that is COVID; that’s right, August is also Immunization Awareness Month.

Sometime around 1000 AD it appears the Chinese began to inoculate against smallpox by using the pus from cowpox lesions. (Editor’s note: Yuck!)

While not widespread then, by the late 1500s during the Ming Dynasty, powdered scabs were blown into the nostrils of healthy people (double yuck!) and the patients would develop a mild case of smallpox with only a .5-2% mortality rate – vs 20-30% from a wild smallpox infection. These techniques appear to have spread across Asia into the Middle East and Africa by the early 1700s. A British ambassador’s wife in the Ottoman empire learned of this, had her own kids inoculated, and the Royal family, upon learning of this, ran a trial on a group of prisoners.

(It was successful, much to the delight of the royal family and I assume the prisoners also.)

By the late 1700s, a British physician was able to effectively prove that inoculation with cowpox promoted smallpox immunity. The practice was spread worldwide throughout the 1800s including into the young United States. Immunology continued to advance and we learned of bacteria and

its disease causing abilities. Many different diseases were identified as well as their specific pathogens: cholera, whooping cough, poliovirus, HIB, Typhoid and DR. JOHN others, and conWOLTZ tinued work was … is a preventative spent developing vaccines. Polio vachealth physician with Baptist cine was developed Health Primary by the 1950s, and Care in Marathon. many others followed, not without a few horrible failures, such as when nearly 120,000 children were given a vaccination of live poliovirus instead of the attenuated version which they should have received. Ten died, hundreds more were paralyzed, and 40,000 developed mild polio which did not affect their central nervous system.

Even with the setbacks, many diseases have effectively been reduced to oddities, if not eliminated completely (smallpox) through the use of vaccines.

We now have the capability to vaccinate against numerous pathogens.

In the United States there are over 60 licensed vaccines for nearly 30 different diseases. Some are recommended for everyone, others are more targeted populations.

It’s taken us 1000 years to get where we are today, and while many of us received our recommended vaccines as babies and were updated as schoolchildren, not all of us have kept up with immunizations as we have gotten older. Many significant diseases can be prevented or minimized by staying up to date on immunizations.

Go see your primary care provider, have the discussion, and make sure you make an informed decision.

Have a great week, and be healthier today than you were yesterday!

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

FEDERAL GRANT RECOGNIZES KEY WEST ART & HISTORICAL SOCIETY FUNDS WILL ASSESS THE WPA COLLECTION

7 COVID-19 QUESTIONS ANSWERED The Florida Department of Health in Monroe County continues to disseminate information regarding frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine clinics and CDC policy: I’m vaccinated. Why do I need to wear a mask?

Vaccinated individuals may be able to carry the COVID-19 virus, thus giving it to unvaccinated individuals.

Key West Guidebook distributed by the Works Progress Administration as a way to promote the island as a tourist destination during the Great Depression. KEY WEST ART & HISTORICAL SOCIETY/Contributed

T

he National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded a Preservation Assistance Grant to the Key West Art & Historical Society (KWAHS). The grant will support the very first preservation assessment of KWAHS’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) collection by a professional paper conservator.

The WPA intervention during the Great Depression in the 1930s was instrumental in re-inventing bankrupt Key West as a tourist destination. Guides, brochures and postcards were distributed nationally in the hopes of drawing visitors to the struggling island. Echoes of the program reverberate today: tourism remains the island’s leading industry.

The conservator’s report and recommendations will provide a framework to increase accessibility of collection items, to move systems toward optimal levels of standards and practices and to address climatic concerns specific to South Florida. Recommendations will be integrated into KWAHS’s long-range plans to safeguard WPA objects for future generations. Additionally, it will enable the development of a digital humanities archive of WPArelated material that will connect to KWAHS’s public platform in order to promote community engagement.

“The Society houses the largest collection of WPA-era art on paper, paintings, photographs and ephemera that document the interwar period in Key West when works produced under the WPA’s

Federal Art Project played a central role in preserving cultural life on the island,” says Cori Convertito, curator for the KWAHS. “With over 250 objects spread across an array of mediums, the WPA collection represents a broad cross-section of the island’s diverse community and the foundations of its current economic pursuits.”

The process of working alongside a consultant to discuss the details of the KWAHS’s current conservation and storage system and future strategies will be invaluable.

The project will lead to a deeper understanding of the needs and principles of digital preservation and will support the Society’s mission to preserve and share historical resources with the community.

For more information regarding the recent grant awards, read the NEH’s official press release and view the complete list of 2021 NEH Humanities Grant recipients on its website: www.neh.gov/news .

About the National Endowment for the Humanities Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.

— Contributed

It’s their choice not to get vaccinated. Why should I wear a mask?

There are several individuals who may not be able to receive the vaccine. This includes children, infants, those who are immunocompromised, and those with certain severe allergic reactions.

My child is at school.

Should they wear a mask?

Due to the circulating and highly contagious Delta variant, CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless

of vaccination status. Visit www.keysschools.com to learn about the Monroe County School District’s mask policy.

Are we in an area of high transmission?

The entire State of Florida is considered high transmission. Visit the CDC Data Tracker for more information: covid.cdc.gov/coviddata-tracker Does the vaccine protect against variants?

All COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available offer protection against variants.

Why get the vaccine if there will just be more variants?

The more people receive the vaccine there will be less risk of severe illness if vaccinated.

Where can I find information on variants in Florida?

The CDC tracks this data.

For more information visit covid.cdc.gov/covid-datatracker — Contributed

The CDC updated COVID-19 mask guidelines, based on recommendations on the latest data — new data equals new guidance. When the CDC revised its guidance in May, the delta variant represented 1% of all cases. Today that number is more than 90%. The CDC continues to recommend that policies be based on local transmission rates.

These recommendations include: • Due to the circulating and highly contagious Delta variant, CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.

• All individuals, regardless of vaccine status, should wear a face mask in indoor public spaces in areas where COVID-19 is considered high transmission. This includes vaccinated individuals.

• CDC now recommends that people whose immune systems are compromised moderately to severely should receive an additional dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after the initial 2 doses. Widespread vaccination is a critical tool to help stop the pandemic.

— Contributed

32

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

WALTER MALONEY AND OTHER INDIAN KEY OBSERVATIONS

D

arien, Georgia, is the second oldest planned city in Georgia. Located on the Atlantic coast, Darien is situated at the mouth of the Altamaha River. It is approximately halfway between Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida.

Walter Cathcart Maloney was born in Darien on Feb. 7, 1813. Walter was the younger of two sons who grew up on the family’s Georgia plantation. A Catholic priest educated the boys.

After the death of their parents, the two boys were left to run the plantation; only that was not the life Walter wanted to live. When his older brother asked him to stay in Georgia and help work the plantation, Walter had other plans and told his brother that he “…was determined not to be a negro driver.” In 1837, at the age of 24, Walter Maloney climbed aboard a schooner and sailed to the West Indies.

He settled on the island of Key West.

Not long after arriving on Key West, Walter began courting 18-yearold Mary Elizabeth Rigby, the daughter of one of the early Bahamian families that relocated to Key West. Their marriage would result in a fruitful union that brought six sons and one daughter into the world. Shortly after their marriage, in the early months of 1839, Walter and Mary moved to Indian Key, where Walter was employed as a clerk by the island’s predominant businessman, Jacob Housman. While living on the island, Walter and Mary would have their first child, Walter C. Maloney, Jr., born June 9, 1839.

Also living at Indian Key during the Maloney tenure was Dr. Henry Perrine, his wife, and three children. The Perrine family history is a tragic one. Dr. Perrine would be killed at the hands of

Indians during the Aug. 7, 1840, attack on Indian Key. Perhaps because of that tragedy, two of the Perrine children, Hester and Henry Jr., wrote about their experiences during their 20-month stay on the island. The pages they would write provide insights into island life during that period that would have gone otherwise unrecorded.

Two events recorded by Hester are not particularly relevant to meaningful histories associated with Indian Key, but they are remarkable observations in their own way. Hester described seeing two dark shadows moving quickly through the clear Atlantic pass separating Indian and Tea Table keys in one event. What she saw was a large shark, described as 16-feet in length, chasing a baby sperm whale. The shark was faster, caught the whale by the tail, and chomped it off. A bloody cloud swirled in the shallows in front of the house where the Perrine’s lived during their time on the island.

Another interesting event was the response by island residents when one day, three waterspouts formed off Indian Key. According to Hester, some of the men took control of one of the cannons situated around the island, pointed it toward the three waterspouts spinning, and fired at them, thinking the cannonball could disrupt the forces of nature. The enemy, though fired upon, did not respond to the assault but churned past Indian Key toward Lower Matecumbe. Before they reached the island, the waterspouts fizzled out and dissipated.

Storms, however, if even just metaphorically, would still be brewing on Indian Key’s horizon. Through the entirety of Maloney’s stay on the

island and for some time after, Maloney served as Jacob Housman’s clerk.

Though Housman and the men who worked for him had a reputation for operating beyond the scope of the law, Maloney did not fit that description.

Rather, he benefited Housman in another way as Maloney was recognized as a “neat and accurate record keeper.”

It would not be Maloney’s only job. In 1839 he served as clerk of the superior court for a few months when, yearly, it served its single term at Indian Key. As of 1840, Maloney served as the island’s justice of the peace and the auctioneer. In the summer of 1840, Maloney and his family decided to pack up and leave Indian Key. Moving back to Key West was a fortuitous decision. Walter packed up his house, wife, and baby boy, boarded a schooner, and sailed to Key West.

That August, Maloney was sailing back to Key West after a trip north to Key Biscayne’s Cape Florida. The schooner stopped at Indian Key on Aug. 6, 1840, but did not stay overnight. Hours after the schooner and Maloney left Indian Key and continued sailing for Key West, Indian war canoes would begin paddling away from Lower Matecumbe and arriving on Indian Key. Dr. Perrine would be one of six people who would die as a result of the event.

Walter C. Maloney would go on to write one of the first histories of Key West. He would also become the namesake of Stock Island’s Maloney Avenue.

Maloney gravesite at Key West/ Thamas A. Hawkins, Find a Grave

BRAD BERTELLI ... is the curator for Islamorada’s Keys History & Discovery Center.

A published author of six books, his favorite subjects are Indian Key and skunk apes.

33

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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34

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

FOR THE BOYS TROPICAL HEAT SIZZLES IN KEY WEST

A

s if summer in Key West wasn’t hot enough, the Key West Business Guild just wrapped up its annual Tropical Heat, a five-day festival for gay men ages 21 and up in Key West and the Florida Keys.

Events included all-male themed parties, pool parties, clothing-optional events, drag shows, boat trips and brunches.

— Weekly staff report

1 2

4

Photos by LARRY BLACKBURN/ Keys Weekly 1. Equator Men’s Resort hosts a refreshing — and revealing — pool party.

3

2. There was plenty of humor, high heels and cocktails at Mangoes Drunken Drag Brunch.

5

3. The sign at Poke in the Rear is a popular selfie spot during Tropical Heat.

4. Mangoes restaurant hosts a Drunken Drag Brunch during Tropical Heat.

5. Key West Business Guild executive director Kevin Theriault and board member Dorian Patton (the ones wearing shirts) enjoy the Tropical Heat pool party at Equator Resort.

6

6. Former Fantasy Fest King Paul Murphy canoodles with Bubba Award winner Jenn Stefanacci, owner of 22 & Co. and Poké in the Rear.

35

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

FROM MAURA AND DANNY HUGHES TO OUR AMAZING STAFF AT TWO FRIENDS PATIO

THANK YOU

TWO FRIENDS WAS NAMED BEST HAPPY HOUR, BEST BREAKFAST, BEST MOJITO AND BEST BLOODY MARY AT THE 2021 BUBBAS: KEY WEST PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS

TO SHOW OUR GRATITUDE. We offer benefits already, but in some circumstances, employees decline or opt out. However, KeysKares is another option. And with the Delta variant threatening our way of life, we are offering a medical screening and a 2-month supply for Ivermectin; the KeysKares, Screening, and Ivermectin will be free to our Staff. This is the same medicine that has protected us for over 8 months.

Thank you Two Friends Family!

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39

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

Participants gather at Rowell’s Waterfront Park for the finish of the bridge run.

BRIDGE RUN IS BACK Half marathon and 5K race

Wendy Aguirre of WSP, left, Chelsea Lyons of Coral Construction, Monroe County Mayor Michelle Coldiron, Monroe County Project Manager Jordan Salinger, and Project Management Director Cary Knight take a tour of the Big Pine Key Swimming Hole construction site. KRISTEN LIVENGOOD/Monroe County

A

renowned race over an iconic bridge is back. The 2021 First State Bank Key Largo Bridge Run Half Marathon & 5K Run/Walk returns to Gilbert’s Resort.

The Key Largo Bridge Run will take place on Nov. 14 with an estimated race start time of 6:30 a.m. for the half marathon and 5K distance. The start and finish line for the race will be located on the access road leading to Gilbert's Resort, and the course will run over the beautiful Jewfish Creek Bridge while overlooking Blackwater Sound in the Key Largo Bay. Half marathon participants will get an added bonus of running next to the ocean as they approach and depart Manatee Bay. “Returning to Gilbert’s Resort has been a blessing in disguise,” said Henry Menendez, HNO Productions president. “Due to renovations at our home from the 2019 race, Rowell’s Waterfront Park, we will now reroute our runners to return to Gilbert’s Resort for the post-race festivities and continue providing a fun-filled experience with breathtaking views.”

A thank you goes out to Ken Frost and Murray Franklin from Gilbert’s Resort for working with the Key Largo Bridge Run management team in order to make this happen.

Josef Serrano, of Miami, stretches beneath Jewfish Creek Bridge before running during the 2019 bridge run.

SWIMMING HOLE GETS A FACELIFT Project is led by women SARA MATTHIS

sara@keysweekly.com

T

Aidan Althouse and Kai Guth talk to each other before the start of the First State Bank Key Largo Bridge Run in November 2019. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly

The race will be timed. All participants will receive a shirt and will be awarded with a medal after crossing the finish line. There will also be overall and age group awards.

To stay up to date with upcoming information about the race, like the First State Bank Key Largo Bridge Run’s Facebook page or visit keylargobridgerun.com.

— Contributed

he Big Pine Key Swimming Hole and Nature Center at the Lower Keys Scenic Viewing Area, an extension of the Overseas Heritage Trail, is under construction with an estimated completion date in summer 2022. The area will have 17 parking spaces, bike racks, restrooms, a kayak and canoe hand-launch area, 9,500 square feet of boardwalk, tiki huts, picnic areas with tables, benches, and barbeque grills, and an 11-foot raised viewing deck. The park will be fully ADA accessible.

For safety measures, the park's exit will be a right turn only for safety when leaving the park.

This project would not have come together without an immense amount of coordination with Monroe County's partners at FDOT. The project is fully funded through infrastructure sales tax, the Tourist Development Council and the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT).

"I am beyond excited about the transformation this property has undergone to become a new community park right in my District," said Monroe County Mayor Michelle Coldiron. "On top of being a new outdoor meeting place for our residents and visitors, it provides direct access to our waterways and will be a destination for outdoor enthusiasts."

40

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

The Islamorada Coffee Roasters are proud to serve brews from their truck and their new storefront in Islamorada. TIFFANY DUONG/Keys Weekly

Islamorada Coffee Roasters opened up their new brick and mortar shop in Islamorada. ROBERT KING/Untethered Photography

TIFFANY DUONG

tiffany@keysweekly.com

H

eads up, Florida Keys’ coffee fans: There’s a new java spot that you should know about.

Farmers’ market favorites Islamorada Coffee Roasters have set up a permanent shop in a small, oceanside plaza just south of the Morada Way Arts District in Islamorada, where they continue to serve up rich roasts and local love.

ORGANIC, FAIR-TRADE & LOCALLY ROASTED Coffee roasters open new brick & mortar

“Danny had been wanting a brick and mortar, but we weren’t looking. It fell into our lap during the pandemic,” said Sharon Sealy of her husband and co-owner, Danny Ganim, and their new shop.

Since 2018, the food-loving pair have been serving the Keys community with their custom, air-roasted coffees.

They’ve done so, with great success, from their boutique coffee truck, which makes stops up and down the island chain to bring addicts and aficionados their fresh brews and hand-roasted coffee beans. You can also pre-order, and your coffee fix will come to you.

“Our technique is a little different,” Ganim explained to the Keys Weekly.

“We ‘air roast,’ so hot air blows through the beans similar to a popcorn machine. This is different than traditional tumble-drum roasting.” Sealy called the innovative process “the main aspect” of their entire business. It’s “super fresh — like roasted while you wait,” she added.

The pair also ensure their beans are organic and fair-trade, sourced through a women’s coffee cooperative supporting small women farmers.

Their bags are 100% compostable, as are their cups, lids and straws. In mid-2020, they even created an I.CARE blend, sourced from countries with coral reefs, with $10 from each bag (from a $25-, 1-pound bag of “I.CARE Blend” beans) going to help restore local Islamorada reefs.

Their value-driven, locals-supporting business flourished on four wheels.

Now, with four walls and a ceiling to the mix, the couple has expanded their offerings to include everything from coffee-scented soy candles (handmade in the Florida Keys by Little Torch Candle) to Pirate Hat soap made with brewed coffee grounds for exfoliation to the couple’s infamous spiced hot cocoa. You can even get a “coffee flight,” served in the beer flight tasting glasses from the two local breweries.

Pro Tip: the Keys Weekly staff favorite is the cascara tea, made from the berry of a cherry plant. The outer cherry skin is dried, and then stepped into a syrup. Add either sparkling water to make a “sparkling sweet tea soda” or distilled for a “light bergamot, tea-like experience.” It’s not heavy and not light — just refreshing and divine.

The store also services all the company’s commercial accounts, which include everything from small B&Bs to the Square Grouper, Florida Keys Brewing Co. and Islamorada Beer Company. Most of these have crafted unique blends for their properties and businesses.

Individual coffee cravers can stop in for some custom-roasted coffee and more, as well as find the truck, which still runs up and down the Keys daily.

Now that doors are open, wordof-mouth is getting around. People who’ve met Sealy and Ganim in the Lower Keys stop on their way up, said Sealy. Visitors and snowbirds also have become a large part of their foot traffic.

“They stop in and follow us. Now, we think we’ve got a client for their entire visit,” she added. “People from Maryland who met us in Sugarloaf come by on their way back to the airport and ask if we can mail-out. We do, of course.”

Ganim added, “We hit a niche of people who truly love a quality cup of coffee. It’s fresh, organic, fair-trade, and as local as it gets. That’s what gets them.”

As for what’s to come from the space, Sealy hopes to eventually do monthly “cocoa and chill” nights, with people sitting around the courtyard listening to a poetry jam or open mic night. She also intends to keep supporting local artisans in their merchandising section.

“Not everyone gets the opportunity to do what they want to in life, because that’s life,” Sealy said. “We feel very lucky to be able to say we did this.

We built this. This is ours. And we’re gonna keep doing what we’re doing. It’s a great feeling.”

The new shop offers everything from cold brews to pour overs.

ROBERT KING/Untethered Photography

41

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES • LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

FICTITIOUS NAME NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of Garden View Apartments located at 5220, 5224, 5228, & 5230 College Road, Key West, Florida 33040 intends to register said name with the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

By: The Housing Authority of the City of Key West, Florida Publish: August 12 & 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers

any person requiring special accommodations at this meeting due to a disability or physical impairment, and any related questions or inquiries concerning this meeting should be directed to Vanessa Naranjo at the Health Council of South Florida, Inc. at (305) 592-1452 at least 72 hours prior to the date of the meeting.

Publish: August 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Notice of Seizure Please take notice that in accordance with Florida Statutes 328.17, 713.78, 715.109, Tavernier Mini Storage Inc, will sell or otherwise dispose of the contents on the following unit to satisfy the delinquent storage lien: All contents of unit: B-13 Tim Swann Sale of all goods to be sold on September 7, 2021 at 10:00 am at Tavernier Mini Storage Inc 135 Hood Ave, Tavernier, FL 33070.

Tavernier Mini Storage Inc reserves the right to accept or reject any and/all bids.

Publish: August 19 & 26, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Wheatons Towing gives Notice of Foreclosure of Lien and intent to sell these vehicles on 09/05/2021, 10:00 am at 101500 Overseas Hwy Key Largo, FL 33037, pursuant to subsection 713.78 of the Florida Statutes.

Wheatons Towing reserves the right to accept or reject any and/ or all bids.

1FMRU17W62LA32041 2002 FORD 2GTEC19K1S1522926 1995 GENERAL MOTORS CORP Publish: August 19 & 26, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING QUARTERLY MEETING NOTICE: LOCAL COORDINATING BOARD FOR THE TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED The Monroe County Local Coordinating Board (LCB) will be holding its regularly scheduled quarterly meeting on Friday, September 3, 2021 from 10:00 am – 11:30 am. at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050.

The primary purpose of the Coordinating Board is to provide information and advice to the Community Transportation Coordinator on the coordination of services provided to the transportation disadvantaged population of Monroe County, pursuant to Chapter 427.0157, Florida Statutes. Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: MONROE COUNTY CONSTRUCTION BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT & APPEALS MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA Notice is Hereby Given to Whom it May Concern that on September 7, 2021, the Monroe County Construction Board of Adjustment & Appeals (CBAA) will hold a special meeting at 9:30AM at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Highway, Second Floor, BOCC Room, Marathon, Florida. Communication Media Technology (“CMT”) using Zoom Webinar platform will be available during the scheduled meeting.

Zoom Webinar information will be made available on the Monroe County Web Calendar.

This meeting is to hear the following: Sandy Esterle, Doug Stitgen & William Clemens, 100 Coral Way, Key Largo: An appeal by the property owner to the CBAA concerning an administrative decision of the Building Official dated 1/29/21 denying the After the Fact building permit application for a homemade cargo lift installed without permits. The subject property is legally described as: The Southerly 51 feet of Lot 28 and the Northerly 39 feet of Lot 29, Less and Except the Northerly 4 feet of Lot 28, THE HARBORAGE, according to the map or plat thereof as recorded in Plat Book 6, Page 46, of the Public Records of Monroe County, Florida. (RE00555011002800).

PURSUANT TO FLORIDA STATUTE SECTION 286.0105, be advised that, if a person decides to appeal the decision made by the Contractors’ Examining Board with respect to any matter considered at today’s hearing, that person will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, he or she 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 recommendations 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

LEGAL NOTICES are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

NOTICE: It shall be the responsibility of each Respondent or other person addressing the Board to have an interpreter if the party is not able to understand or speak the English language.

Rick Griffin, Building Official/ Board Secretary Maria Partington, Senior Coordinator – CEB Board Monroe County Building Department Publish: August 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: MONROE COUNTY CONTRACTORS EXAMINING BOARD MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA Notice is Hereby Given To Whom it may concern, that on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 the Monroe County Contractors Examining Board (CEB) will hold a scheduled meeting at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Highway, Second Floor, BOCC Room, Marathon, Florida immediately following the CBAA scheduled meeting which will be commencing at 9:30 A.M. This meeting is to hear the following: any person(s) to come before the board; any reports from Monroe County Assistant Attorney; any reports from Monroe County Building Official; any reports from Staff.

The Monroe County Contractors Examining Board (“CEB”) will review Certificate of Competency Trade Applications and public participation in this meeting may be conducted via Communication Media Technology (“CMT”) using Zoom Webinar platform, during the scheduled meeting.

Zoom Webinar information will be made available on the Monroe County Web Calendar.

PURSUANT TO FLORIDA STATUTE SECTION 286.0105, be advised that, if a person decides to appeal the decision made by the Contractors’ Examining Board with respect to any matter considered at today’s hearing, that person will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, he or she 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 recommendations 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”.

NOTICE: It shall be the responsibility of each Respondent or other person

Meeting Notice Monroe County Land Authority The Monroe County Land Authority Advisory Committee will meet in the Monroe Regional Service Center (State Building) located at 2796 Overseas Highway, Suite 104, Marathon, Florida on August 25, 2021 beginning at 9:00 AM. The agenda is available online at www.monroecounty-fl.gov or by contacting the Monroe County Land Authority office at 305-295-5180.

ADA ASSISTANCE If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in these proceedings, 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".

305.743.0844

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

addressing the Board to have an interpreter if the party is not able to understand or speak the English language.

Rick Griffin, Building Official/ Board Secretary Maria Partington, Senior Coordinator – CEB Board Monroe County Building Department Publish: August 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers

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 August 12, 2021.

Personal Representative: Mary Jo Geopfert Estate of MARTHA ROSE GEOPFERT c/o Cynthia F. Civil, Esq. CYNTHIA F. CIVIL, P.A. 5196 Overseas Highway Marathon, Florida 33050 (305) 743-5884 cfc@ccivillaw.com Attorney for Personal Representative: CYNTHIA F. CIVIL, ESQ. Florida Bar No.: 0082988 CYNTHIA F. CIVIL, P.A. 5196 Overseas Highway Marathon, Florida 33050 305-743-5884 Email: cfc@ccivillaw.com Publish: August 12 & 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA KEY WEST DIVISION “IN ADMIRALTY” CASE NO. 4:21-cv-10083-JLK SAMUEL C. STOIA And ALANA STOIA, Plaintiffs, v.

DOUBLE CROWN, LLC a Florida Limited Liability Company, In Personam Defendant and Motor Vessel REEF ROAMER, Her Engines, Tackle and Appurtenance O.N. 986487, in Rem Defendants.

NOTICE OF ACTION IN REM AND ARREST OF VESSEL In accordance with Supplemental Rule C(4) for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Action of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and Local Admiralty Rule C(4), notice is hereby given of the arrest of the M/V REEF ROAMER, in accordance with the Warrant of Arrest issued on the 12th day of August, 2021.

Pursuant to Supplemental Rule C(6) and Local Admiralty Rule C(6), any person having a claim against the vessel and/ or property shall file a claim with the Court not later than fourteen (14) days after process has been effected, and shall file an answer within twenty-one (21) days from the date of filing their claim.

Dated at Miami, Florida, on this 17th day of August, 2021.

Respectfully submitted, HORAN LAW, LLLLP 608 Whitehead Street Key West, FL 33040 (305)294-4585 DAVID PAUL HORAN Attorney of Plaintiffs David@horan.law FL Bar No. 142474 Publish: August 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 2021-CP-000012-M IN RE: THE ESTATE OF MARTHA ROSE GEOPFERT, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the Estate of MARTHA ROSE GEOPFERT, deceased, whose date of death was October 14, 2020, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, File No.: 2021-CP000012-M, the address of which is 3117 Overseas Highway, Marathon, Florida 33050. 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, on whom a copy of this notice is served must file their claims with this Court WITHIN THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE 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 the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is served must file their claims with this Court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 2021-CP-0000153-K IN RE: THE ESTATE OF MARIANNA Z. MARIN, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the Estate of MARIANNA Z. MARIN, deceased, whose date of death was December 14, 2019, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, File No.: 2021-CP0000153-K, the address of which is 500 Whitehead Street, Key West, Florida 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, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is served must file their claims with this Court WITHIN THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE 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 the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is served 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 August 12, 2021.

Personal Representative: David G. Marin Estate of MARIANNA Z. MARIN c/o Cynthia F. Civil, Esq. CYNTHIA F. CIVIL, P.A. 5196 Overseas Highway Marathon, Florida 33050 (305) 743-5884 cfc@ccivillaw.com Attorney for Personal Representative: CYNTHIA F. CIVIL, ESQ. Florida Bar No.: 0082988 CYNTHIA F. CIVIL, P.A. 5196 Overseas Highway Marathon, Florida 33050 305-743-5884 Publish:

LEGAL NOTICES August 12 & 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY,FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 2021-CP-000155-K IN RE: ESTATE OF BARBARA G. MUELLER, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS TO ALL PERSONS HAVING CLAIMS OR DEMANDS AGAINST THE ABOVE ESTATE: The administration of the estate of Barbara G. Mueller, deceased, whose date of death was November 3, 2020, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 500 Whitehead Street, Key West, Florida 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 the 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 SECTION §733.702 OF THE FLORIDA PROBATE CODE 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 the first publication of this notice is August 12, 2021.

Personal Representative: DENNIS BUCKLEY 10101 NW Maple Rd. Stewartsville, MO 64490 Attorney for Personal Representative: ROBERT B. TRUMBO, JR., ESQUIRE Florida Bar No. 283088 340 North Causeway New Smyrna Beach, Florida 32169 Tel: (386) 423-1110 Email: baileyandtrumbo@gmail. com Attorney for the Personal Representative Publish: August 12 & 19, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION CASE NO.: 21-CP-000060-P IN RE: ESTATE OF JOSEPH CHARLES GUENTHER, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Joseph Charles Guenther, deceased, whose date of death was May 16, 2021, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is Plantation Key Government Center, 88820 Overseas Highway, Plantation Key, 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 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

AUTOS WANTED 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: August 19, 2021.

Personal Representative: Thomas Guenther 59 Tarpon Avenue Key Largo, FL 33037 Attorney for Personal Representative: VICTORIA MIRANDA, ESQUIRE Florida Bar No. 1015363 E-Mail: VMiranda@HLYlaw.com JAMES S. LUPINO, ESQUIRE Florida Bar No. 244481 E-Mail: JLupino@HLYlaw.com HERSHOFF, LUPINO & YAGEL, LLP 9350 S Dixie Highway, Suite 1470 Miami, FL 33156 and 88539 Overseas Highway Tavernier, FL 33070 Publish: August 19 & 26, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA DIVISION: PROBATE CASE NO.: 21-CP-000209-K IN RE: ESTATE OF CRAIG H. WICKLUND, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of CRAIG H. WICKLUND, deceased, whose date of death was April 4, 2021, 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: August 19, 2021 Personal Representative: Jacob Wicklund 1084 Winborne Road Davis, IL 61019 Attorney for Personal Representative: IRAMA VALDES, P.A. IRAMA VALDES, ESQUIRE Florida Bar No. 85543 11020 N. Kendall Drive, Suite 204 Miami, FL 33176 T (305) 477-1111 (786) 441-4404 ivaldes@probatelawmiami.com Publish: August 19 & 26, 2021 The Weekly Newspapers

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KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES •

305.743.0844

AUTOS WANTED

BOATS FOR SALE

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

HOMES FOR SALE

ALL YEARS! Junk or Used.

Cars - Vans - TrucksRunning or Not. $CASH$ 305-332-0483

1999 World Cat 27' with twin 175 Suzuki motors.

Runs good.

Dual stations. Located on Duck Key. $40,000 OBO 305-481-1316

Gulf Atlantic Bank in Key West is growing and is looking to hire a Loan Operations Specialist.

This position generally requires understanding of booking loans including managing related insurance and appraisal duties, processing loan payments, and creating loan documentation along with other responsibilities.

Word and Excel knowledge is required.

Prior Banking experience a benefit but not needed.

Competitive pay, health benefits, and positive work environment with room to grow within the company Please send resumes to SBriening@ GulfAtlanticBank.com

Marathon Auto looking for full-time general laborer. Apply in person at 2525 Overseas Highway, Marathon. 305-289-9884

Immediate openings for experienced plumbers and helpers (with or without experience - we will train the right person).

Must have a valid driver's license & clean driving record. Please apply in person at 10700 5th Avenue Gulf, Marathon or email resume to: eerpinc@gmail.com

Fl Keys Diesel - Marathon now hiring: Diesel Technician -Competitive compensation package.

Exp in the marine field preferred but not necessary. Exp w/ Caterpillar and Cummins Marine Engines a plus.

Diesel Mechanic Assistant position available.

Motivated candidate willing to learn a new trade or expand current skills.

Company willing to train.

Qualified applicants please call 305-2892070 or email resume to neil@allkeysdiesel. com . Drug Free and valid Drivers License a must.

MARATHON -2 duplexes For Sale. Non Waterfront, Year round rentals, each building 4 Bedrooms 2 Baths, good rent roll. Close to shopping, Post Office & restaurants. 305-664-1286

BOATS FOR SALE 39' Key West #1 Hull SportsFisherman Detroit 871 Twin Turbo Northern Lights Genset 6.5 kw. Located in Key West. $40,000 All offers considered. 305-360-3538 12' Jon Boat w/ 6 hp Nissan motor, and trailer.

Located in Marathon. $1,600 305-395-1015

Place your BOAT FOR SALE ad here. Only $25.00/ week for up to five lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844 today and Sell Your Boat!

EMPLOYMENT All Keys Yamaha hiring Retail Parts/Counter Help. Marine outboard knowledge a plus.

Quickbook experience a plus. Hours M-F 8a5p. Apply in person at 2001 Overseas Highway, Marathon. 305-743-3530

NOW HIRING: Hosts Waitstaff Bartenders Bar Backs Bussers Line Cooks Dishwashers

Apply in person at Sunset Grille & Raw Bar, 7 Knight’s Key Blvd, Marathon

Shell World Key Largo, seeking engaging, dependable, experienced person(s) to work with the team at Mile Marker 97.5, Full-time and part-time opportunities available, some weekend and evening hours. Opportunities for advancement, great benefits, competitive salary and flexible hours.

Please stop by and fill out application or Fax resume to 305-852-9639.

NOW HIRING Floor Manager Daytime Host Experienced Servers Experienced Bartenders High volume restaurant in Key Largo.

Apply in person at Snooks Bayside, 99470 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL

CENTENNIAL BANK IS HIRING! MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATOR MARATHON/KEY WEST GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Solicits residential first mortgages through contacts with Realtors, builders, and developers.

Interview loan applicants and makes credit decisions.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Broad knowledge of such fields as accounting, marketing, business administration, finance, etc. Equivalent to a four year college degree, plus 4 years related experience and/or training, and 2 years related management experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

To apply, please visit our careers page: www.my100bank.com/ careers

The Marathon Yacht Club is looking to hire a Line Cook. Please call us at 305-743-6739 to schedule an interview.

RN’s needed for Crisis Stabilization Unit. PT/FT/ per diem. Open 24/7. Day & night avail with shift diff.

Drug screen. w e s t c a r e . c o m Night Monitor - The Heron. FREE HOUSING/ food stipend vs. salary.

Must be onsite 10p-8a.

Sleep OK. 5 days on 5 days off. Drug screen required. w e s t c a r e . c o m Support Worker for group home. Aid residents w/ Meals, Meds, Shopping.

No Exp req. 3 shifts (PT) $16 + eve or weekend differentials. westcare.com NOW HIRING: Sweet Savannah's is now hiring for all shifts. Please apply in person at 8919 Overseas Highway in Marathon.

NOW HIRING TOP PAY & BENEFITS Experienced Electricians & Low Voltage Techs E m a i l : c h e c k @ checkelectricllc.com Call: 305-292-3369

FLORIDA KEYS MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT

is accepting applications for the following positions:

(2) FIELD INSPECTORS LOWER KEYS MECHANIC – MARATHON ON-CALL PILOTS EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT For more information visit: keysmosquito.org/current-openings

MARATHON GARBAGE SERVICE 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

The Cabana Club, an ocean front private swim club, is seeking a part time line cook. Club is open 10am - 7pm daily. Located in Key Colony Beach.

Hourly pay commensurate with experience. Beautiful environment, small friendly staff, open year round. Apply in person, email resume or call 305 393-0631 ask for April Charter Captain / Mate Busy fishing charter business in Marathon looking for experienced fishing Captain/Mate.

Busy boats and location.

Offshore, Inshore, Reef/ Wreck. Also part-time Boat Cleaner needed for afternoons. Send text or call 305-481-3259 Come Join Our Family and Have Fun At Work!

Hiring: Host, Hostess & Servers - Full &/or parttime. AM & PM Shifts.

Apply in person at Castaway Restaurant, end of 15th Street, Oceanside, Marathon or email: lobstercrawl@gmail.com.

Serve/Bartend on the ocean FT/PT Ocean front private swim club is seeking customer service oriented Server/Bartender.

Serve on pool deck, beach and/or bar lounge. Open year round, 10am-7pm daily. Full time/Part time.

Small friendly staff. Above average hourly wage plus tips. Apply in person at Cabana Club, 425 E. Ocean Dr. Key Colony Beach or call April (305) 393-0631 Place your EMPLOYMENT/ HELP WANTED ad here for only $25.00/week for up to five lines of copy.

Call 305-743-0844 today!!

HOBBIES/COLLECT. PRIVATE COLLECTOR WANTS Rolex, Dive Watches and Pilot Watches.

Old Model Military Clocks & Watches.

Call 305-743-4578

Marathon - For Sale: 1.5 acre - House & Duplex and Mobile Home rights.

Waterfront - oceanside, dock possible, gated.

Appraised $1.9 million.

3 0 5 - 6 1 0 - 8 0 0 2

HOUSING FOR RENT Marathon - For Rent Small bedroom efficiency Conch House. Furnished, gated. $1,350/month year lease includes all utilities.

F/L/S No Pets. 305-610-8002 Lower Sugarloaf 2BR/2BA w/den stilt home w/dock on oceanside, paved parking under home, open living roomdining-kitchen w/vaulted ceiling and tile floors.

Access to large balcony.

W/D No Pets. $3500/mo + util. F/L/S 305-747-1700 Place your HOUSING FOR RENT ad here. Only $25.00/week for up to five lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844 today!

LOBSTER TRAPS & CERTIFICATES Lobster Traps & Certificates For Sale. Lobster Certificates $150.00 each - Lobster Traps available.

305-289-0792 Leave message if no answer.

TOUR GUIDES NEEDED BE A PART OF KEYS HISTORY Pigeon Key Foundation seeks part time historic tour guide. Upbeat, friendly and confident professional with ability to multi task and work outdoors in all seasons. Pigeon Key is a drug free work place. Please complete application at pigeonkey.net or email chris@pigeonkey.net.

43

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

“This hurts!!!” BRENDA BUSH/ Contributed

Elise Mucha Reid and Scott Reid, of Wicked Charters and Brutus Restaurant, catching food with Wicked, taking it to Brutus to be cooked! DIANA MUCHA/Contributed

Captain Johnny Maddox, of Johnny Maddox Sportfishing Adventures, doing his thing!

CHAR HRUSKA/Keys Weekly

Ella Stuart, 8, caught her first fish while on vacation in Key West.

MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly

Feeling reel ready. CARLOS BEALE/Contributed

Mandy’s first mahi, caught in 2008, with the best catch of her life, Capt.

Stan Miles. MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly

Lionfish hunting is always a good idea in the Keys. KURT TIDD/Contributed

Buddha the barracuda hung out under Keys Weekly photographer Barry Gaukel’s dock for months. He would follow Barry as he walked along the dock, looking for handouts. One day he disappeared, never to return. A classic case of cupboard love. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly

TIFFANY DUONG

tiffany@keysweekly.com

I

n AUGUST, we highlighted FOOD AND FISHING! In SEPTEMBER, we’re celebrating the people who are amazing at what they do!

In honor of LABOR DAY, we’re shining a spotlight on anyone in the Keys who’s doing an excellent job. Love your local teacher/ fishing guide/mailman/nurse/newspaper reporter? Send us a picture of them and a sentence about why they rock!

Photos, captions and photo credit can be emailed to tiffany@keysweekly.com.

Rules, schmules: All photos must be original work and feature something in the Keys.

Photos can be images that have been published before.

No third party may own or control any materials the photo contains, and the photo must not infringe upon the trademark,

copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person.

Any person agrees, by submitting photos, that photos submitted can be used by the Keys Weekly for any and all purposes, including but not limited to advertising, charity work, sales, future editorial, print in the newspapers or online or on social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and any other social media platforms as may come about.

44

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES 305.743.0844 • CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES • •305.743.0844 LOT FOR SALE LOT FOR SALE 100' x 100' - Venetian Shores, MM 86, Snake Creek Bridge views. Asking $1.3 Million. Call 561-579-8399

SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS NEEDED! Monroe County School District

Ralons Security Key West

MISC. FOR SALE Web Domain/Existing Site for Sale. Owned for 25 years - retiring. Can't beat the "key words". Please visit www.DiveFloridaKeys.com and call Julie for more i n f o r m a t i o n .

3 5 2 - 6 0 1 - 1 4 5 4 Gently used major appliances from renovated condos in Key West.

Dishwashers, Stoves/ Ovens, Microwaves, Sinks/Faucets, Garbage Disposals, and more.

Prices starting at $25.

3 0 5 - 7 4 7 - 1 7 0 0 Place your MISC. FOR SALE

ad here for only $25.00/ week for up to five lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844 today and Sell Your Stuff!

OFFICE/COMMERCIAL

Commercial Building with US 1 frontage for lease in Marathon. 2550 sq ft of office & warehouse space w/overhead door.

Parking in front and secured parking & storage area with secured fencing in back. Call 305-743-4400 Beautiful Office Space available for rent now on US1 in Tavernier @MM92.

Call 305-394-0530

Salary $17.15 – $24.15/hour Key West, Sugarloaf, Marathon and Upper Keys (4 work locations) No Experience Required, Benefits, CDL Training Provided – work as a Bus Aide while training, Full Time or Flexible, Part Time Hours - 6 to 9 am or 1 or 2 to 5 pm Apply online: www.keysschools.com

Immediate Hire $16-$17/hr Class D License

Ralons Security 786-615-5522 Lic# B1500167

CHARLEY TOPPINO & SONS IS HIRING Begin an exciting career with one of the most established and reputable companies in the Keys

EQUIPMENT OPERATORS Loader, Dozer, Excavator, Grader TRUCK DRIVERS W/ CDL CLASS A SKILLED LABORERS EXPERIENCED CONCRETE FINISHERS

Part time & Full time Opportunities!

Sous Chef Housekeeping Room Attendant Line Cook Bell/Valet Front Desk Agent Reservations Agent Relief Night Security Dinner Busser/Runner - Hot Tin Roof Dinner Greeter - Hot Tin Roof LMT, Esthetician or Nail Tech.

Apply online at: www.noblehousehotels.com/careers Apply in person at: Zero Duval St.

COMPETITIVE PAY  SIGNING BONUSES AVAILABLE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER For more information and inquiries, call 305-296-5606 or email Reym@charleytoppino.com

Great pay, amazing benefits & an awesome team!

Ocean Key Resort and Spa is EOE.

1,082 SF office space.

Renovated Corner Unit for rent in Islamorada. $ 3 , 0 0 0 / m o n t h Call 305.712.8888 Place your Office/ Commercial Space for lease ad here. Only $25.00/ week for up to five lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844.

RV SITE FOR RENT RV Site For Rent in Marathon. Full Hookup. No pets. $1600/mo F/L/S 3 0 5 - 7 4 7 - 1 7 0 0

PT CASHIER PT DOCKHAND Apply in person Pancho’s Fuel 1280 Oceanview Avenue, Marathon

305-743-2281

NOW HIRING:

F/T and P/T Bartenders & Servers for BlueWaters Pool Bar and Wedding Event Bartenders $10/hour Great Tips Health Benefits & Room Discounts Sign-on bonus Poolside setting with Gulf View Apply in Person, Start Today!

Courtyard Marriott Marathon 2146 Overseas Hwy • 305-289-2100

Our award winning resort is

currently hiring for the following hourly positions:

FRONT DESK SUPERVISOR

Previous hotel experience required.

ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR

Hotel experience preferred.

Risk Management Assistant Monroe County Attorney’s Office has a full-time opportunity available for a highly motivated individual to support the Risk Administrator. This position is responsible for the review and analysis of insurance documentation for compliance with county contracts and use of county property; processing claims for general liability, auto physical, county property and auto liability. Assistant will maintain current insurance records, perform daily administrative duties and a variety of office support tasks.

Associates degree with minimum 2 years of experience working in Risk Management or Safety required. Salary range $38,030 - $58,947 depending on qualifications and experience. Contact Human Resources at Careers@monroecounty-fl.gov or at (305) 292 – 4557. Applications are available at www.monroecounty-fl.gov.

Deadline – Open until filled, E.O.E.

ROOM ATTENDANTS $500 Bonus after 90 days.

Great Pay, Health & Travel Benefits.

Apply in person at:

Courtyard Marriott Marathon, 2146 Overseas Hwy, Marathon FL 33050 or email resume to jtyson@shanercorp.com • 305-289-2100

45

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC && LEGAL NOTICES • • 305.743.0844 • CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC LEGAL NOTICES 305.743.0844

NOW HIRING BOGIE & BACALL'S SEA SENOR Restaurant Host Servers Bartender Food Runner

Restaurant General Managers

KITCHEN TEAM Pastry Chef Chief Steward Overnight Cook Fine Dining Chef Restaurant Chef

HOUSEKEEPING TEAM

Day & Overnight Houseman Room Attendant Public Area Attendant AM & PM Supervisors

OPERATIONS TEAM

Bellman Watersports Reservations/Front Desk Agents AM & PM Shifts Available Apply At: www.bungalowskeylargo.com/ careers

Join Our Team!

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 Must present high attention to detail; workmanship must be very high quality.

Landscape Architect Seeking a detail orientated and organized individual. Site design experience and License a plus. Must know Revit and AutoCAD.

Lead AV Technician AV and Home Automation installations. Knowledge of electrical/ electronic components.

Warehouse & Delivery Crew Must have reliable transportation, a valid driver’s license (CDL a plus) and be on time.

KeysBank.com

Key West Full Time and Part Time Tellers Maintenance Technician CSR - Online Banking Administrative Assistant Accountant I Landscape Designer Business Development Specialist An outdoor design specialist Call Center Manager that works well with clients— Accountant I producing designs, Treasury selections, and processing sales.

Big Pine

Full Time Teller Lead AV Technician AV and Home Automation Marathon installations. Knowledge of electrical/ Assistant Branch Operations Manager electronic components.

Key Largo Warehouse & Delivery Full Crew Time Teller

Must have reliable transportation, be on time and organized. a Apply OnlineMust at have KeysBank.com/Careers valid driver’s license. CDL a plus.

We offer 401k, profit sharing, educational reimbursement, health/dental plans, life insurance, holidays and paid time off for full time employees.

Member FDIC

EOE-M/F/V/D

Equal Housing Lender

Bungalows Key Largo is an EOE The Guidance/Care Center, Inc. a division of

“Uplifting the human spirit since 1973”

THE GUIDANCE/CARE CENTER, Inc.

IS HIRING! KEY LARGO

Substance Abuse Counselor (PT)

KEY WEST

Prevention Specialist Behavioral Health Therapist (Children) Peer Support Specialist Crisis Counselor Case Managers (Adult, Forensic, Children ) Motivational Support Specialist Substance Abuse Counselor Behavioral Health Counselor Engagement Specialist (Suicide Prevention)

MARATHON Admissions Specialist

Care Coordinator Maintenance Specialist Housekeeper Engagement Specialist (Suicide Prevention) Behavioral Health Therapist (Children) RNs and LPNs (3 shifts) (PT/FT & per diem) Advocate (PT) *Assisted Living Night Monitor (FREE HOUSING!) *Assisted Living Support Worker (PT) *Behavioral Health Technicians (3 shifts) (PT/FT & per diem) *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!

Background and drug screen req.

COMPETITIVE PAY! EXCEPTIONAL BENEFITS!!!

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

NOW HIRING

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

Alonzo’s Oyster Bar in Key West is searching for a General Manager to take leadership of an iconic, high volume, award winning seafood restaurant located on the water of a bustling boardwalk.

It is a full-time position requiring 40+ hours per week and requires a flexible schedule. Leadership duties include, but aren’t limited to the following; budget management and planning, hiring/firing and team building and management, including that of both management and hourly staff, inventory ordering and management, among many other key operational requirements. In addition to these administrative duties, you must have excellent customer service and an astute sense of teamwork, be able to work quickly and efficiently on the floor for long periods of time and knowledgeable of each roll within the operation. Restaurant management experience required.

For more details on duties, the competitive pay and benefits being offered, please inquire with Travis Doll at tdoll@abmarinacomplex.com

Busy Key Largo Dive Center has immediate openings for

BOAT CAPTAINS $1,500 SIGNING BONUS

Experience Required. Paid per trip plus tips & sales commission.

Send resume to resumes@rainbowreef.com

46

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

LET’S DO BUSINESS - 305.453.6928 Licensed & Insured #SP33799

GENERAL CONTRACTORS & ENGINEERS

SPALLING

ALL KEYS GLASS

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL Windows • Doors

305-743-7800

Authorized Dealer

Sales & Installation • Tub & Shower Enclosures Safety & Tempered Glass • Mirror & Mirror Walls Plexi-Glass & Lexan

EXPERTS

2728 North Roosevelt Blvd.

Overseas Market Key West

NOW HIRING!

Sewer Connections 305

872-1876

• New Construction • Remodeling • Irrigation

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

We Also Repair & Replace Patio Door Screens

305-998-8953

305

296-BLUE

• Heavy Equipment • Solar Lic## RF11067168

PC 606

Proud member of:

INTERNATIONAL

CONCRETE REPAIR INSTITUTE

Kitchen Cabinets Sales REAL Wood Cabinets at Particle Board Prices KitchenKorner/Fred's Beds 1333 O/S Hwy, MM 53.5 • 305-743-7277

Appliance and Air Conditioning

Sales - Service - Installation 1700 N. Roosevelt Blvd #2, Key West 305-294-0090 • www.kolhages.com

Insured • Professional • Reliable

Sportfishing Adventures

Dolphin-Tuna-Wahoo-Billfish-Snapper-Grouper-Shark Deep Sea –Off Shore-Reef-Wrecks-Gulf

info@johnnymaddoxcharters.com

305-481-3259

Keys Fisheries Market & Marina Mile Marker 48.5, Marathon End of 35th Street Bayside

SOLAR DONE RIGHT!

Tewes Mortgage

Your local, residential lending expert!

CALL US FOR A FREE HOME ESTIMATE

Call 305.495.6000

When it comes to solar and power storage for your home in the Florida Keys, turn to the Florida Keys Local Experts at SALT Energy.

for a FREE Consultation

Brian Tewes

A division of SALT Service, serving The Keys since 1989

Customer service is my strength Brian@tewesmortgage.com

305-289-1150

NMLS# 375025 Tewes Mortgage NMLS# 1453791 NMLSConsumerAccess.org Florida Solar Contractor CVC 56734 Florida Electrical Contractor EC13008657

www.TewesMortgage.com

Serving Key Largo to Key West

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

Lic No. SP1481

Only $50 Puts Your Business Card Here

When It Rains It Pours!

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

Key West 305-292-2666

MARATHON

305-743-0506

KEY LARGO

305-852-5356

rainsavergutters@gmail.com

Cell: 305-363-8330 Office: 305-735-4626 will@cecflk.com www.CECFLK.com

www.saltenergy.net 2992 Overseas Highway Marathon, FL 33050

Will Campbell President

P.E. Lic. No: 79269 5800 Overseas Hwy. Unit 32 Marathon, FL. 33050

47

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

6810 FRONT STREET STOCK ISLAND

305-293-4041

WWW.HOGFISHBAR.COM 5620 MACDONALD AVE KEY WEST

305-296-4999

WWW.ROOSTICA.COM

1 305-293-404t ee r t S t n o r F 0 1 8 6 L F , d n la s I k c o t S

WHERE KEY WEST LOCALS GO HOGFISH BAR & GRILL WINNER FOR BEST LUNCH 2021 ROOSTICA WINNER FOR BEST PIZZA 2021

THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES Second Annual

48

KEY WEST WEEKLY / AUGUST 19, 2021

FAMILY, FOOD & FUN

Join us daily 4-6pm for $3 small plates, domestic drafts, wine & liquor!

And don’t miss our Live Music! Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 5-8pm