Local families scramble for supplies

DONALD PAUL LIETAERT

Donald Paul Lietaert died at home on April 12, 2022, surrounded in love by his family. He was born in Mt. Clemens, Michigan on Oct. 1, 1963 to Robert and Mildred (Houthoofd) Lietaert. Donnie was the 14th of their 14 children, and played the role of the youngest very well. He attended Mt. Clemens High School.

After graduation, he moved to Key Largo, where he had a job working at Winn Dixie in Tavernier Towne. An opportunity came open at Florida Keys Electric Cooperative. Don worked to become a lineman and served FKEC for 13 years.

Next, he took a job at Comcast for 19 years, making many friends along the way. Known to his family and friends as ‘Don Ho,’ he loved to hunt, fish, shoot off fireworks and spend time with his family. He always claimed his niece Stephanie and nephews, Rob, John and Boo Boo (Bernie II) as his own children.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Mildred, sister Kathleen Milodrowski, brothers Robert and James, and his niece Laura. He is survived by siblings Mary Williams, Thomas Lietaert (Julie), John Lietaert, (Wayne Milodrowski), Marguerite Reinhard (John), Christine Houvouras (Larry), Joseph Lietaert (Susan), Patrick Lietaert (Bethany), Charles Lietaert (Angela), Mark Lietaert (Dawn), Bernard Lietaert, as well as many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass was held at St. Justin Martyr in Key Largo on April 29. Mass was followed by a celebration of life at The Catch restaurant. Don’s final place of rest will be in Michigan, with his parents and siblings. At Don’s request, he will get one last fishing trip on his birthday, one last cast, for the spreading of some of his ashes.

BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE CAUSES STRESS FOR KEYS PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS

KELLIE BUTLER FARRELL

www.keysweekly.com

Tomoe Ventura's year-old grandson Kairo has a milk protein allergy. Recently, the frustrated Marathon grandmother found herself scrambling to find baby formula. "We didn't have it in Marathon and I called CVS in Big Pine and they didn't have it and they told me they did not have anything hypoallergenic," said Ventura. She finally found it at the Winn Dixie in Big Pine. "I was prepared to drive to Florida City yesterday."

Tavernier pediatrician Dr. Stanley Zuba has been hearing similar stories every day from patients. He said the nationwide formula shortage is hitting home, challenging parents and caregivers up and down the Florida Keys. "It's definitely an issue, especially when it comes to the special formulas, like the hypoallergenic formula specifically," said Zuba. "If we have any samples we always will give them out, but unfortunately now, we're out of samples."

Supply chain issues compounded by the closing of an Abbott factory in Sturgis, Michigan have left shelves looking pretty bare. That is putting stress on new parents, like Key Largo residents Daniella and Natasha Rodriguez. "It's been scary; it's been pretty tough because at the beginning we were trying different formulas and she wasn't liking any," said Daniella Rodriguez. "We had to try out the formulas and finally she liked this one and here we are with a shortage."

Their daughter, 5-month-old Luna Izabella, is thriving on a product that closely resembles breast milk. Rodriguez's wife tried to breastfeed Luna but was unable to do so because of a medical condition. "She couldn't produce breast milk. She was really sad."

Arianna Nesbitt is the CEO of the Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition, which unites people and resources to improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant women, children and their families. "Our goal is to keep babies healthy," said Nesbitt.

In 17 years with the organization, she has never experienced anything like this. "We had one family that called and said ‘I've been to every store in Marathon and in Key West.’ She was panicked and we happened to have two cans in our office. So that was an easy fix."

Nesbitt said Keys community members are taking care of each other through this formula shortage. "Today we had a family in the Upper Keys frantically looking for a kind and we're fortunate enough that we have a family in the Lower Keys that ordered too much." The two families were connected and the problem was solved, at least for now.

Many parents and caregivers are also turning to social media, like Facebook groups, to help each other find hard-to-come-by types of formula. Nesbitt urges anyone who is having a problem finding formula to reach out to the coalition for help. "You're not alone. You don't have to be sitting there in your kitchen panicking that you don't know how to feed your baby." If you are having problems finding formula, visit www. keyshealthystart.org/requests-needhelp.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has also issued tips to keep babies safe during the shortage. Among them: never dilute infant formula. Diluting formula with water or other liquids can be dangerous and even life-threatening for babies, leading to a serious nutritional deficit and health issues. Also, the department says not to use homemade formulas, which often lack or have inadequate amounts of critical nutrients.

Zuba has been a pediatrician in the Upper Keys for 25 years and believes when it comes to the shortage, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. "I'm hopeful that this is going to improve in the short term rather quickly." For starters, plans are underway to reopen the Abbott factory in Michigan and the FDA is looking to ease restrictions on importing foreign-made formulas.

When supply does return to normal, Zuba said, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends store brand formulas over the name brands. He says they are made in the same factories and during these tough economic times, could provide a little relief to parents. "They are exactly the same formulations, they have hypoallergenic brands, they have sensitive brands, and Gentlease brands and they are about half the price."

For now, the Rodriguezes are relieved they found one box of their daughter's formula brand at the Key Largo Publix and a friend secured another at a Miami Publix. "It's been very scary for us, for sure."

Key Largo residents Daniella and Natasha Rodriguez struggle to find formula for their 5-month-old daughter, Luna Izabella. CONTRIBUTED Several types of baby formula are missing from shelves of an Upper Keys store. KELLIE FARRELL BUTLER/Keys Weekly Pediatrician Dr. Stanley Zuba cradles a one-month-old patient. He is hopeful the formula shortage will ease soon. CONTRIBUTED

SIPS & LICKS

A wine tasting is set for Tuesday, May 24 to benefi t MarrVelous Pet Rescues.

Wine tasting supports adoptable pets

Hi friends! Reef the fox here with your weekly Reef Report.

From dolphins to lovable pets, the Florida Keys communities care about the animals that call this island chain home. And we engage in fundraisers to support the cause and their well-being. One such event coming up is a wine tasting to benefit adoptable pets. REEF Known as Sips & Licks, patrons can enjoy a THE FOX selection of wines for a $20 donation to benefit MarrVelous Pet Rescues on Tuesday, May 24 Reef is a red fox that was saved at 6 p.m. at 68 Silver Springs Drive, Key Largo (park on Rock Harbor behind Tower of Pizza and from a fur farm. Meads AC). Adoptable pets will also be onsite. He now lives in RSVP to 305-453-1315 or info@MPRescues.org Key Largo with his human, Nicole You may also donate online. www.MPRescues. org/donate (Write in Note - Wine Tasting) Round up your friends and get your taste buds ready.

At Pawsitive Beginnings, we have a very special fundraiser coming up, and it’s a Zoom event. I will talk about it more next week, but if you want to take a look ahead of time you can go to pawsitivebeginnings.org and the event will pop right up for you.

On to some fox news. Do you ever just sit and contemplate life? I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how unfair it is that I don’t have my own room. I mean. I am the superstar around here and I deserve my own “dressing room,” so to speak.

These other foxes just get to lie around and look cute all day but me, no, I have to keep the public happy on social media and in my weekly column here. It’s a lot of pressure, you know?

I need my beauty sleep to be able to come up with the creative wording to keep my audience captivated and engaged week after week. I mean the other night, Coral got a new bed? Coral? What did she do to deserve a new bed? I mean, mom didn’t say it was specifically for Coral. I think her exact words were “this is for everyone to share” but we all know what’s theirs is mine and what’s mine is mine so there.

Anywho, that’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed the deep dive into my thoughts.

Until next time, Reef, over and out!

MOO MOO

Moo Moo is a 4-year-old female black and white cat. She’s a very sweet and lovable cat that loves to be petted. She loves cuddling up in blankets too. Moo Moo was born at the Upper Keys Humane Society and still lives there with her three other sisters. If you would like to make Moo Moo a part of your family, or to learn more about other pets available for adoption, give the Upper Keys Humane Society a call at 305-451-3848. The Upper Keys Humane Society is a not-for-profi t no-kill shelter that provides food, shelter, medical care and adoption services for unwanted and abandoned animals.

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday, May 19

• Third Thursday Art Walk from 6 to 9 p.m. at Morada Arts & Cultural District.

Friday, May 20

• Habitat for Humanity of the Upper Keys dedication of Esslinger Heights from 4-6 p.m. at 88670 Overseas Hwy., Tavernier • Coral Shores High School’s senior parade at 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 21

• Beach cleanup hosted by Upper Keys Young Republicans from 10 a.m. to noon at Harry Harris Park, Tavernier.

Tuesday, May 24

• Sips & Licks wine tasting event benefiting MarrVelous Pet Rescues at 6 p.m. at 68 Silver Springs Dr., Key Largo • Coral Shores High School senior night at 6 p.m. at the Coral Shores High School Performing Arts Center.

Wednesday, May 25

• Coral Shores High School graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. at the football field.

Friday, May 27

• Florida Bay Forever’s Breakfast By the Bay at Green Turtle Hammock Preserve, Islamorada.

May 28-29

• 24th annual Afro Roots Fest at Florida Keys Brewing Co.

Monday, May 30 • Memorial Day

June 3-4

• Coral Restoration Foundation’s Coralpalooza. Visit coralrestoration.org.

Friday, June 3

• Sizzling Summer Fashion Show at 6 p.m. at Village Square at Trading Post.

June 4-25

• Art Guild of the Purple Isles Members’ Summer Show from Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Our Place in Paradise Gallery, Tavernier.

June 6-12

• REEF’s Fish out of Water 5K. Visit REEF.org/5Kregistration to learn more.

Sunday, June 12

• Virtual childbirth class hosted by Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition from 10 a.m to 1:30 p.m. Call 305-293-8424.

Part 3

THE WARNING SIGNS OF THE INDIAN KEY ATTACK

Suspected Seminole sympathizer’s arrival elevates concern

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a four-part series on the attack at Indian Key.

During the Seminole War, the attack on Indian Key was not an isolated event. In 1836, the threat of an Indian attack in the Florida Keys was running high.

In mid-March, the people of Indian Key observed an older Spanish man approaching the island in a canoe. Had the old man paddled up to the island six months earlier, not a single resident on Indian Key would have so much as batted an eye. He would have been considered another man coming to trade at the general store – just another customer coming to the island.

Current conditions, however, required a more guarded response, and when the men of Indian Key’s militia Company B witnessed his approach, they suspected he was a Seminole sympathizer. No sooner had the canoe touched the edge of the island and the old man set foot on land than the men of Company B took him into custody.

At first, he said he was just a fisherman who had simply come to the island to trade. The longer he was interrogated and the more aggressive the techniques became, the more cracks appeared in his story. Suddenly, he told a different story about how he had not been the only one in the canoe and that two other men had traveled with him. The other two men, Indians, had been dropped off at nearby Lignumvitae Key.

After his admission, Company B armed a group of men, a posse if you will, to go out and apprehend the hideaway Indians. Instead of some western-style posse racing across the prairie on horses, this group set off from Indian Key using more conventional means of transportation, shallow-draft vessels. Perhaps using the old Spaniard as bait, the men of Company B captured the Indians and brought them back to Indian Key for questioning.

Unlike the old Cuban fisherman, these two men had no problem coming right out and admitting what they were up to. The Indians reportedly told the men that many of their people had gathered at Cape Sable and were going to attack all of the major settlements in the islands: Indian Key, Key Vaca and Key West. The news was alarming, and the three men were shackled and held in custody. After receiving the intelligence, Captain Jacob Housman dispatched a letter containing information about the capture of the two Indians to Commodore Dallas at Pensacola, where Navy headquarters had recently moved. Indian Key’s Housman had sent letters to government authorities asking for protection from the Indian threat before. Prior requests had been ignored, which is one reason he formed and financed the Company B, 10th Florida Militia. With the revelation of this imminent threat, Housman again requested some kind of government response to help protect the community.

After hearing the reports and reading the letter, Dallas ordered the Revenue Cutter Dexter to set a course for the Keys. In the months that followed, a series of Indian attacks, each reported to be closer and closer to Indian Key, haunted the outpost community. In July, Key Biscayne’s Cape Florida Lighthouse was attacked. In October, lightship captain John Whalton’s Key Largo fruit and vegetable garden was ransacked. Three days later, a schooner anchored at Tavernier Key was attacked, and while the ship’s sailors escaped, the schooner was lost.

The following summer, on June 25, 1837, Captain Whalton and four of his men from the lightship Florida arrived at Key Largo’s Garden Cove. Indians were waiting for them. Whalton and one of the crew would not survive the encounter. Their bodies were later recovered and brought to Indian Key, bringing the blood of the Indian threat to the community. Many of the island’s residents, afraid for their safety, began to move away from the island.

In July 1840, a man appeared at Fort Dallas on the banks of the Miami River and claimed to have been held captive by the Seminole Indians for four years. He said he had intelligence about the Spanish Indian Chekaika and an impending attack on Indian Key. Fort officers did not believe him because he was a black man, thought he was a spy, and put him in a cell.

When Lt. McLaughlin, in command of the Tea Table Key’s Fort Paulding, heard of the arrest, he traveled to Fort Dallas with the hope of hiring the prisoner as a guide. McLaughlin wanted to eliminate the Indian threat and attack the enemy at their camp hidden away in the Everglades. At Fort Dallas, McLaughlin was denied his request, though he could meet with the prisoner who was more than willing to give as many details as he could remember.

McLaughlin launched an expedition into the Everglades to find Chekaika’s island hideaway. The military expedition into the Everglades proved futile as the troops became lost and exhausted, and turned around. It would not be the last time Navy personnel would venture out into the Everglades searching for the Indians.

From his ship at Key Biscayne, Lt. McLaughlin wrote to Secretary of the Navy Paulding dated Aug. 4, 1840: “Lt. Rogers in the Wave, sailed today with 18 canoes for Cape Romano, on the western coast, touching on his passage at Tea Table Key for provisions and to take off all the people capable of quitting the hospital, for another attempt to cross the Everglades from the vicinity.”

Rogers sailed away from Tea Table Key and Fort Paulding on Aug. 6 with all but a handful of able-bodied men left behind. In the early morning hours of Aug. 7, Chekaika and his warriors paddled out to Indian Key under the dark of night.

Indians in the Everglades during the Seminole War. FLORIDA MEMORY PROJECT/Contributed

BRAD BERTELLI is an author, speaker, and Florida Keys historian. His latest book, “The Florida Keys Skunk Ape Files,” is a fun blend of two of his favorite subjects — Florida Keys history and the Skunk Ape.

LIVING HAPPY & HEALTHY

From left, Joe Rifi ce, Debbie Martin, Emily Hopkins and Maureen Vogt. MELINDA VAN FLEET/Keys Weekly

MELINDA VAN FLEET

www.keysweekly.com

Star of the Sea provides more than just food

The Star of The Sea (S.O.S.) Foundation’s healthy food pantry in Key Largo is serving a need within the community. A location in Key West opened in 2006 and the second location in Key Largo opened in 2014. The Keys Weekly recently sat down with manager Emily Hopkins, who oversees the Key Largo location, for details on the pantry and how they help our community.

I moved here from Richmond, Virginia, and it’ll be two years this month, May, that I have been with S.O.S. I started first in Key West and then relocated to the Upper Keys location in September 2021. I was first with S.O.S. through a COVID-19 grant as a special projects manager and then became full-time. In this role, I run the pantry, which encompasses Upper Keys education, ordering, managing deliveries and working with the volunteers.

We currently have two education programs — the YMCA after-school program and Plantation Key and Key Largo School (KLS). We teach them nutrition and get them immersed in healthy foods. It’s a 16-week curriculum where we talk about fruits, vegetables and meats.

At the YMCA, we have a community garden, and we share information on how they grow and grow herbs on our own. It’s really fun, and I like it a lot. The kids learn about fruits, leaves, flowers and living a healthy lifestyle. They also try various snacks such as guacamole or “ants on a log.” Healthy snacks are a great way to get them to try new foods. I was trained in nutrition when I started at S.O.S.

We work with the fifth grade at the schools because they are at an age to enjoy putting the snacks together, making decisions and remembering the information. Therefore, we can go deeper in the fifth grade without being too intense. Kids say, “Oh, I never tried this!” Or they comment on the flavors.

The YMCA is a great opportunity because they have an after-school program throughout the school year and a summer camp. The YMCA has about 30 kids; about 25 at the two schools.

The classes are usually for an hour. Another fun aspect is the tower garden at the YMCA. We learn about what we are growing, and we always use it in what we are eating.

We are open on Mondays from 1:30 to 5 p.m. for our weekly pantry for families. We operate out of St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church and are so grateful to Father Hilley and everyone involved to be able to use this shared space. The unique thing about the food distribution is that it’s the “client’s choice.” They can come in and pick what they want, which is good. The choice helps cut down on waste that may happen if a pantry is pre-bag.

We offer canned goods, meat, produce, sometimes we can get milk, dairy and eggs. And we also give out clothes, books and kids toys. The food has set limits — two cans of certain things. This week we had whole chicken, fruits and vegetables. They pick up a bag and go around and get whatever they want.

Since most clients come back every week, we get to know them and know how large their family is. Most of them are very respectful and good about not overtaking. The Key West location is open Monday through Thursday, but still, clients can only come once a week, to be fair. Ours is only once a week because we use a shared space with the church — St. Justin’s.

If you come in and it’s your first time, you fill out your name, address, and the number of people in your household. We also need the information each week for our grants.

We order each week through Feeding South Florida. They have the basics, and we order as much variety as possible. We can get salmon, peanut butter and canned chicken, to name a few protein items. We also accept donations as long as it’s prepackaged. The food gets delivered Monday morning, and then we set everything up.

About 120 people come through a week. It’s funny how the word gets out when the “good” product is gone. We were fortunate last month as we had milk and eggs.

I love the sense of family it is with volunteers or clients. Even if someone starts coming here. We get to know them, and it’s nice to recognize them and see them. Everyone is very nice and comfortable. Some of the kids I teach at the school.

I am so appreciative of our volunteers. We have 10 volunteers on average that come every day, and they all come each week. The first hour or two is the busiest. So it’s great to have everyone here.

It’s amazing to realize that COVID-19 led me down this path. I love the kids and being with the clients. It’s a blessing in disguise. I love it here, and everyone’s amazing. I initially thought it would be six months, but it’s been a couple of years, which is great.

S.O.S. accepts donations such as cold/dry/nonperishable food, books, toys and clothes.

The website is https://www.sosfoundation.org/, and Facebook page is sosflkeys.