Upper Keys Weekly 23-0706

Welcome to 'Ocean Oasis', a private oceanfront estate with sandy walk-in beach, pool, outdoor bar and a hammock retreat where you may enjoy rocking your cares away under the coconut palms while gazing at the ever-changing ocean colors. The perfect setting for unforgettable celebrations, romantic get aways or family gatherings, the Islamorada Beach House residence includes two living levels with three bedrooms, two baths, living, dining, kitchen and laundry upstairs and offers two bedrooms, two baths and kitchenette with laundry on the lower level. Convenient lockout owners closets found on each level provide plenty of storage for a turn-key experience. Huge area for parking and room for RV. This estate offers best of both worlds as a private residence or a turn-key successful wedding venue/vacation property with a fully booked calendar for a substantial income.

ISLAMORADA | $4,490,000 | Listing ID: 602942

91760 Overseas Hwy. Tavernier, FL 33070

Office: 305.363.2957

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That’s the estimated number of hot dogs consumed by Americans on the Fourth of July. Their popularity may predate the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest that started more than 100 years ago on Coney Island, New York.

LAW OF THE LAND

PERMITLESS CARRY & OTHER MEASURES TAKE EFFECT IN FLORIDA

Apacked Florida legislative session yielded a little more than 200 new laws which took effect this month.

In 60 days, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a number of measures targeting immigration, education, public safety and affordable housing, to name a few. Those bills were signed into law by 2024 presidential hopeful and Gov. Ron DeSantis before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

Among the contentious items passed and signed into law was legislation allowing a person to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. The bill passed through the Florida House and Senate during session. It was signed by DeSantis on April 3. Those carrying a concealed gun may not need a permit, but they must have valid identification on them at all times in the event a law enforcement officer requests it. And they can’t carry a weapon in schools, government facilities and businesses that don’t allow guns on their property.

Out-of-state residents can also carry a gun without a concealed-carry permit in Florida, so long as they’re a U.S. citizen and 21 years of age or older.

For people who are serious about carrying a concealed weapon, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay recommends that they take a gun safety class.

“It’s important that you’re familiar with your gun. It’s also important to understand when you can legally use a gun, the Stand Your Ground law and where you can and can’t go with a gun,” he said. “The one thing I don’t like about this new law is that it takes away the educational portion.”

Ramsay added that law enforcement will likely encounter more people with concealed firearms on them — a concern for the safety of deputies. While Ramsay said he’s trying to keep an open mind, there’s concern that people will lack proficiency and familiarity with a gun.

“Sometimes it can be more dangerous if you’re not familiar with your gun. It’s more likely the gun can be taken and used against you,” Ramsay said. “If you carry a gun, it’s important you go to the range and shoot on some regular basis because shooting is a motor skill. If you don’t do it, you lose it.”

Florida became the 26th state that allows people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Laws are still in place, however, that prohibit a person who’s not in law enforcement, the military or engaged in activities such as hunting from openly carrying a firearm.

Giffords Florida, the gun violence prevention organization led by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, called the new law “reckless,” as it will allow anyone to carry a gun in public without a background check or training.

“Instead of trying to enact policy to keep Floridians safe, Governor DeSantis shoved through a reckless permitless carry law that will allow almost anyone with a gun to carry in public, to please the gun lobby and help his presidential bid. He has failed our state and our children,” said Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, former Congresswoman and Florida senior advisor for Giffords Florida.

Coral Shores freshman shortstop and All-Keys Softball selection Ivy Tiedemann reaches home plate in a 17-1 win over Somerset Academy South Homestead on Feb. 24. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly

A new law is targeting undocumented migrants in Florida in a bid to counteract what DeSantis has called a “Biden Border Crisis.” As of July 1, private employers with 25 or more workers must verify that their new, permanent employees are authorized to work in the U.S. through the E-Verify system. For those who fail to use the system to verify employment eligibility and don’t comply within 30 days, fines begin July 1, 2024 at $1,000 per day. Undocumented immigrants who are unable to prove lawful presence in the U.S. but have a driver’s license from another state won’t be allowed to drive on Florida roads, per the new law. Law enforcement and authorized representatives with the Department of Motor Vehicles can issue a citation to the driver for driving without a license.

Hospitals that accept Medicaid are required to ask a question on their admission forms as to whether the person being admitted is a lawful U.S. citizen. Hospitals must also submit a quarterly report to the state agency on health care administration that details emergency department visits or admissions by patients who responded to the question.

continued on page 5

Gov. Ron DeSantis signs an immigration bill during a gathering in Jacksonville in May. GOVERNOR’S OFFICE/Contributed

JIM McCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

“In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country,” DeSantis said during a signing of the bill in May. “The legislation I signed today gives Florida the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country, fighting back against reckless federal government policies and ensuring the Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration.”

In addition, $12 million was provided for the current fiscal year for the state’s “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program” — a DeSantis initiative sparked by the border crisis. Last year, the governor loaded two planes with migrants from San Antonio, Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The move brought outcry and questions over whether DeSantis violated state law.

Another law bars transgender people from using public facilities that align with gender identities. And House Bill 1069 was signed into law by DeSantis that bars public K-12 schools from using a student’s personal title or pronouns if they do not align with the person’s sex. The bill also expands existing prohibitions on instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade to include pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The bill creates exceptions to the prohibition for required instruction in abstinence and HIV/AIDS.

A bill by State Rep. Jim Mooney that provides for a fee in lieu of a security deposit option for landlords and their tenants also took effect. Fronting a security deposit for housing can be difficult for families on modest incomes, especially those in the Keys who put up thousands of dollars for first and last months’ rent. Now, landlords have the choice to offer their tenants a monthly fee to pay their security deposit.

Mooney’s legislation provides an avenue to secure a place without needing to pay the full security deposit. The fee doesn’t go toward the security deposit, as the funds can be used by the landlord to purchase insurance. However, a landlord can also offer the tenant who’s participating in the fee program the option to pay the security deposit on a monthly basis.

“This gets you and your family where you need to be at that moment,” Mooney said.

In 2022, the Florida Legislature established a 12-year term limit for local school board members elected on or after Nov. 8, 2022. Legislators further modified the term limits to eight years last session. It was signed by the governor in May.

The state’s “Move Over” law was expanded this year, requiring Florida drivers to slow down and move over for broken-down vehicles on the side of the road. Previously, drivers were required to move over for first responders on the roadside.

MOTORIST ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

A35-year-old Cape Coral woman was arrested June 30 for multiple drug-related charges following a traffic stop.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Cecilia Theresa Armas was charged with possession of fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving without a valid driver’s license. She also had a warrant for her arrest out of Polk County.

Armas was stopped on U.S. 1 southbound near MM 55 at 9:42 p.m. following calls of a reckless driver in a white Dodge sedan who was weaving in and out of traffic. Armas was the lone occupant. Deputies said they quickly learned her driver’s license was suspended. Armas

NEW HOME BUILDS IN LIMBO

ISLAMORADA COUNCIL TO CONSIDER MORATORIUM ON NEW RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS

JIM McCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

Building permits for new market rate residential construction are just about gone in the village of Islamorada. During a meeting on Thursday, July 6, village officials will mull a proposed ordinance that places a moratorium on any new applications entering the system.

In a bid to safely evacuate those in the Keys, the Florida Administration Commission adopted the building permit allocation system, better known as BPAS, and capped the number of permits issued for new residential structures. In July 2013, some 3,550 allocations were given to the Keys over a 10-year span. With the BPAS expiring this month and many applications still pending, village officials are seeking to cut off any new potential applications.

Only 11 market rate residential allocations were made available to those in the system for 2023. Five were given to applicants at the close of the first quarter of 2023, leaving only six allocations to be awarded for the rest of the year. According to a village staff analysis, 62 market applications and six market applications with a land dedication remain in the queue.

tions currently in any of the approval process for a building permit.

Another ordinance before the dais would grant administrative relief for applications in the building permit allocation system that earned additional points for land dedication prior to July 6. The BPAS administrative relief pool is composed of unused market rate allocations. According to a staff analysis, there are 29 available allocations in the administrative pool. Per the ordinance, administrative relief would also be given to individuals in accordance with a court order or settlement agreement.

Council members will discuss and mull the employment contract of Village Manager Ted Yates that expires after July. In June 2022, the previous village council embarked on a national search for a manager and hired Yates. His hiring came after the resignation of Village Manager Greg Oravec in early 2022.

Yates began on the job on Aug. 1, 2022. With his contract set to expire, the council will decide whether to renew the contract or not renew and begin the search for a new village manager. Yates’ contract details a salary of $200,000, a $4,000 housing allowance and $15,000 in moving expenses. With the exception of cost of living increases, there are no salary increases for 18 months. Yates was offered health insurance benefits for his spouse, eligible children and himself for $125 per pay period.

A village charitable contributions program saw a number of nonprofit submitting applications for funds. The council will examine those applications during the discussion portion of the meeting.

stated there were illegal narcotics in the vehicle.

Deputies say a search of her vehicle yielded 1.8 grams of fentanyl, 6.8 grams of methamphetamine, 11.5 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia including syringes and pipes.

— Contributed

“The utilization of the moratorium as a temporary measure to facilitate governmental decision making, study and the adoption of comprehensive plan amendment and/or land development regulations is a useful governmental tool to temporarily prohibit the acceptance of new market rate BPAS applications, with or without land dedication,” a staff analysis reads.

While a temporary moratorium will be placed on new market rate residential BPAS allocations, with or without land dedication, new affordable residential BPAS and new nonresidential BPAS applications won’t be cut off. The ordinance also doesn’t prohibit the continuation of applica-

The dais will also get an update on the Fills. In May, the council decided that the Fills should be a rightof-way and not a park with amenities such as picnic tables and parking. It came after a survey found residents overwhelmingly against any park-like amenities on three small islands that connect Upper and Lower Matecumbe Keys.

The dais will consider approval of a resolution to go with Sea & Shoreline LLC to conduct a backfill restoration project at canal 116 on Plantation Key. The cost of the project is $1.5 million. Resolutions will also go before the council to approve debris monitoring services with Tetra Tech and debris management services with AshBritt.

Items deputies say they found in the car driven by Cecilia Theresa Armas. MCSO/ Contributed

WHAT’S NEXT FOR A POPULAR PIECE OF COUNTY LAND IN KEY LARGO?

DISCUSSIONS OVER NORTH BAY HARBOR DRIVE PLANNED FOR SEPTEMBER

JIM McCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

Aplan to potentially abandon a county rightof-way with access to the water in one Key Largo neighborhood was put on hold at a recent meeting of the Monroe County commissioners. A possible solution to an ongoing neighborhood problem will be addressed by officials in the fall.

A public hearing on a proposed ordinance to remedy issues on North Bay Harbor Drive was originally scheduled for a June 21 meeting. It was tabled after County Attorney Bob Shillinger informed county commissioners of another solution he’d like to explore with the local homeowner’s association. The matter will be heard at the county commission’s September meeting in Key Largo.

Containing a small sandy beach and views of the bayside waters, this unpaved, grassy section of right-of-way on North Bay Harbor Drive has attracted residents and visitors over the years. It’s located next to a large park owned by the local homeowners’ association.

Once a hidden gem, this right-of-way that is 60 feet wide and 200 feet long eventually became a popular daytripping destination. Overwhelming traffic and parking all over the neighborhood, as well as overcrowding and trashing, soon followed on North Bay Harbor Drive.

By June 2021, complaints about the property came to a breaking point. As the Fourth of July approached, county commissioners closed the space through Labor Day in a bid to quell the massive crowds witnessed during weekends and holidays. It also gave staff time to concoct a management plan.

Commissioners also banned parking on the rights-of-way around the Bay Harbor and Sunset Point subdivisions. “No parking” signs with $200 fines were posted around the neighborhood.

Eventually, the county commission reopened the property to the public, albeit on a limited basis. People can only frequent the area by foot, bike or dropoff every Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The move mitigated massive crowds, while still giving local residents who don’t live in the neighborhood access to the water.

An ordinance that came before county commissioners on June 21 detailed an exception to the county’s longstanding rule that bans the abandonment of rights-of-way ending in water. Specifically, language within the ordinance would allow the county to let go of a right-of-way in a recorded residential subdivision plat, so long as abutting property owners dedicated it to open space for use by residents in the subdivision. Those owners would convey their reversionary interests to a homeowners’ association made of up at least 75% of owners in an abutting residential sub-

division. The homeowners’ association would need to be a nonprofit in good standing and hold power to levy and collect assessments for routine and periodic major maintenance.

Shillinger said the ordinance would require a change to the comprehensive plan, which could take a year.

County officials and the homeowners association sought a replat as a possible solution before seeking a potential change to the comprehensive plan. A replat requires 100% buy-in from property owners within the subdivision. Shillinger said one property is holding out on the replat.

“I sent him letters in English and in German to try and get his response. It doesn’t look like the replat is going to overcome that obstacle as long as that gentleman still owns the property or is still not responsive,” Shillinger said.

Through the many conversations over possible remedies, Shillinger said one citizen proposed the idea of leasing a 10-foot-wide section of the 60-foot county right-of-way to the homeowners’ association. It would give them control over access to the beach. Shillinger said he handed the proposal to the homeowners’ association.

“I think it’s worthy of a conversation,” he said, adding that he believes it could provide an immediate solution.

Ty Harris, attorney representing the Bay Harbor and Sunset Point homeowners’ associations, told county commissioners that it’s not about preventing residents from accessing the water. The problem

seen on North Bay Harbor Drive is unique to the Upper Keys, however, as hundreds of day trippers invaded a residential neighborhood.

“This neighborhood already has a public park. It’s the Mike Forster park a block-and-a-half down the road that already provides access to the water,” Harris said. That park is located at 20 Sunset Road. It was named after Forster, a county commissioner, shortly after he died from COVID-19 in September 2021. Park amenities include a small ramp for boats and watercraft and a few parking spots for boat trailers.

Barbara Overton is a Tavernier resident who frequently bikes to North Bay Harbor Drive to view the birds. She said it’s one of a few places in Key Largo with access to the bay.

“There should be a creative way to make it more accessible to people in the Keys,” she said.

Matthew Matteliano said there aren’t many opportunities where residents of the Upper Keys can experience the water in a way that’s available on North Bay Harbor Drive. He said a dangerous precedent could be set with passage of the proposed ordinance.

“Actions like this from the board and community as a whole will limit the places where citizens in this community can enjoy natural resources that make the Florida Keys special and unique,” he said.

Mayor Pro Tem Holly Merrill Raschein said following the item’s tabling that conversations will continue.

“This is a very important topic that affects a lot of people,” she said.

County right-of-way on North Bay Harbor Drive remains open to the public Tuesday through Thursday from sunrise to sunset. KEYS WEEKLY FILE PHOTO

FLORIDA KEYS’ 200TH ‘BIRTHDAY’ FEATURES WORLD’S LARGEST KEY LIME PIE

MEMBERSHIP SOCIAL LUNCHEON

Thursday, July 13, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

PILOT HOUSE 13 SEAGATE BLVD

GUEST SPEAKER: Leah Stockton, United Way of Collier & the Keys A.L.I.C.E. Report

The Florida Keys’ bicentennial was celebrated on July 3 during a 200th “birthday party” featuring the creation of what is believed to be the world’s largest Key lime pie.

The once-in-a-lifetime festivities saluted the 200th anniversary of the Florida Territorial Legislature’s establishment of Monroe County, which encompasses the entire Keys island chain, on July 3, 1823.

Exactly 200 years later, the preparation of the Key lime pie — measuring a whopping 13.14 feet in diameter — highlighted Monday night’s patriotic bicentennial gathering at Big Pine Community Park, located beside the Gulf of Mexico in the Lower Keys.

Key West chefs Kermit Carpenter and Paul Menta spearheaded creation of the pie, a gargantuan version of the Keys’ signature dessert, and spread the creamy filling over a traditional graham-cracker crust.

“In order to make a really good Key lime pie, you must have the perfect graham cracker crust; you must surround it and fill it with con-

densed milk and the juice of fresh Key limes,” said Monroe County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln.

The giant pie required more than 16 gallons of Key lime juice, almost 100 gallons of sweetened condensed milk and some 125 pounds of graham crackers.

After its diameter was measured and confirmed, officials served the pie to attendees and intend to have it recognized as the world’s largest.

Key lime pie has long been identified with the Keys island chain and its heritage. Believed to have originated in Key West in the late 1800s, it was designated Florida’s official pie in 2006 by the state legislature.

Presented by the county and the Rotary Club of the Lower Keys, the bicentennial celebration also featured live music, games for kids, and a laser light show and fireworks extravaganza.

Previous “Keys 200” events included a large-scale concert in Key West and a sunset commemoration on Marathon’s restored Old Seven Mile Bridge.

RIBBON-CUTTING & OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, July 15, Time TDB BUFFALO STEAKHOUSE &

Big Pine Community Park was a record-breaking bakery on July 3 as county officials, chefs and families gathered for an evening of music, games, food, fireworks and a world record Key lime pie measuring more than 13 feet in diameter. ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald

THE 2023 KEYS WEEKLY ALL-KEYS SOFTBALL TEAM

Key West’s Lady Conchs put the gentlemen on notice the past two seasons, and the Southernmost City is now a double diamond dynasty. The Conchs finished their season 19-4, winning their district and regional championships and making their way to the final four teams in the state for the second consecutive year. Three from the Lady Conchs’ roster signed letters of intent to play collegiately next spring. Marathon finished with a winning 8-6 record, but lost in the first round of district playoff action. The Dolphins split with the Coral Shores Hurricanes, each winning one at their home field, while Coral Shores finished 6-7. The independent ’Canes do not participate in district postseason play.

From our staff at the Keys Weekly, congratulations to the 2023 All-Keys Softball Team.

MIESHA HERNANDEZ Senior, Key West 3B/Pitcher

On a team of standout players, Key West’s Miesha Hernandez found a way to shine even brighter. The St. Thomas University-bound Hernandez led her team in multiple categories, including RBIs with 27 and home runs with three this season. Hernandez scored 28 runs on 28 hits, which included seven doubles and three triples in addition to balls she sent over the fence. Her .385 batting average stands by itself as a solid stat, but her big bat boosted her slugging percentage to .684, leading wise opponents to pitch around her and giving her the team’s top spot in walks with 11 this season.

ELENA EUBANK Sophomore, Marathon Infielder

Elena Eubank amassed a .421 batting average and on-base percentage of .511 while also chalking up 13 RBIs. The hard-hitting sophomore slammed five triples this season, making her one of the Dolphins’ top hitters. Defensively, Eubank makes big plays while holding down the infield for Marathon.

ALLISON

GARCIA Junior, Marathon Pitcher

Team captain and starting pitcher

Allison Garcia won six games on the mound for the Fins this season, chalking up 96 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched. Garcia batted .342 and drove in 17 runs, making her both an offensive and defensive threat.

SAGE BROWN Junior, Marathon Infielder

Sage Brown moved to Marathon just in time for softball season and made an immediate impact. The junior stole eight bases this season, scored 23 runs, batted .361 and had an on-base percentage of .511.

Freshman, Coral Shores Shortstop

Tiedemann’s fielding skills made her a reliable shortstop for the Hurricanes defensively. Offensively, she led the ’Canes in hitting, batting .350 on the season. The freshman phenom has three more years to develop further for Coral Shores.

IVY TIEDEMANN

MVP

Marathon photos by Barry Gaukel. Key West photos by Ella Hall. Coral Shores photos contributed.

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald

MIRA JONES

Freshman, Coral Shores

Left Fielder

Hurricane outfielder Mira Jones gave her team everything she had this season, improving both offensively and defensively as the season progressed. The hard-working freshman made huge strides, making her an asset to the ’Canes’ roster.

DHARMA MURRAY

Senior, Key West Catcher

Dharma Murray did a stellar job covering the plate this season with a nearperfect .984 fielding percentage. The USF-bound catcher batted .306 this season, racking up 22 hits including five doubles and 21 RBIs.

SCARLET NILES

Junior, Key West Center Fielder

Niles led the Lady Conchs in hits this season with 37, including five doubles and three triples. Her .457 batting average struck fear in opposing teams’ pitchers, and once she made it to base, that fear transferred to the rest of the defense – Niles stole 16 bases in her 2023 campaign.

NEVAEH ARNOLD

Junior, Key West Pitcher

Arnold boasts a 2.70 ERA, winning nine games for the Lady Conchs this season. She led the team in strikeouts with 55, and on the rare occasion that she was called to the plate, Arnold delivered there as well, earning one hit and a season batting average of .500.

ISABELLA FRANCO

Senior, Key West Second Base

Isabella Franco batted .475 this season, logging a whopping 29 hits for the Lady Conchs. Her .536 on base percentage was one of the team’s best and in the field, she earned a .958 fielding percentage including a double play this season.

MADELYN PERUSSE

Senior, Key West Right Fielder

Perusse was a skilled outfielder for the Conchs, but it would be her offensive play that made her a standout this season. With six doubles, a triple and a home run to her credit, the .403-hitting senior also stole 10 bases and is credited with 17 RBIs. Her extra base hits boosted her slugging percentage to .567.

CHLOE GILDAY

Junior, Key West Pitcher

Gilday was perfect on the mound this season for the Conchs, winning all six of her outings. Her 2.07 ERA was Key West’s best, and of the 229 batters brave enough to face her, 54 of them struck out.

TY MARIE CERVANTES

Senior, Key West Shortstop

With 26 hits including a home run to her name, it is not surprising that Cervantes was signed by Miami Dade College to play ball there next spring. Her .382 batting average included five doubles, and she stole five bases this season.

The Upper Keys celebrated Independence Day with a “Celebrating Freedom” parade and a pair of fireworks displays above Florida Bay. Some 100 parade participants dressed in red, white and blue hopped on floats, prepared the water guns and tossed candy to onlookers along U.S. 1 in Key Largo during the morning. By the evening, Rowell’s Park in Key Largo and Founders Park in Islamorada welcomed local residents and visitors to view the fireworks. In Islamorada, the festivities included an apple pie baking contest and red, white and blue parade for the pups.

— Weekly staff report

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

PARADE & FIREWORKS HIGHLIGHT JULY 4TH FESTIVITIES

1. A bicyclist decked in red, white and blue waves to the crowd. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly. 2. Mote Marine Laboratory engages in a water battle. 3. Water wars were among the parade highlights on a hot and steamy morning. 4. A dog gets a ride on a dump truck. 5. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office’s Traffic Enforcement Unit rides ahead of Capt. Spenser Bryan and Det. Darnell Durham. 6. Sheriff Rick Ramsay stops for a picture. 7. Key Largo Fire Rescue ride up U.S. 1. DAVID GROSS/ Keys Weekly

Full gallery at keysweekly.com.

DOLING OUT SCHOLARSHIPS

AARP offers class on driver safety

Those over the age of 50 who are looking to save some money on their car insurance can attend the AARP safe driving class on Tuesday, July 11 at the Roth Building, located at 50 High Street in Tavernier. The cost of the class is $20 for AARP members (bring your card) and $25 for nonmembers. You will need to bring your own lunch. Call your insurance company to see what your savings will be (it should be good for three years). Call Mary Lou Wilkinson at 305-394-3878 to reserve a seat or get on the list for a future class.

Homeowner Associations meeting welcomes Mel Montagne

The Island of Key Largo Federation of Homeowner Associations will be holding its general membership meeting Wednesday, July 12 at the Key Largo library community room (101485 Overseas Highway) at 6 p.m. The meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom. The Zoom link is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8934

UPPER KEYS BPW AWARDS MORE THAN $4,000 TO LOCAL WOMEN

The Upper Keys Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) organization recently presented scholarships to four women from the community totaling $4,305.65, including a scholarship in collaboration with the Holly Given Fund.

The spring 2023 scholarship awardees are Hayley Anne Colarusso, a nursing student at the College of the Florida Keys; Nicole Blanche, a Key Largo School teacher enrolled in a master’s program for school counseling; Yaniuska Gilmore, pursuing a teaching certificate in Spanish; and Gabrielle Comeforo, a nursing student at the College of the Florida Keys (supported by Holly Given Fund).

Scholarship cycles run in the spring and fall. BPW received a record number of applications for this cycle. Requirements for consideration are a high school diploma or GED, Florida Keys resident for three

years and three years of post-high school work experience.

BPW’s scholarship committee seeks women who demonstrate strong character and desire to have a positive impact on those around them, a commitment to collaboration with other women through active community involvement and define clear professional goals, making them strong role models for the current and next generation of working women.

“Our members’ generous support of education and training for local women makes a real difference to their professional advancement,” said Jill Kuehnert, BPW president. “I’m very proud we’re able to empower these amazing women, their families and our entire community.”

Upper Keys BPW was established in 1957 and continues empowering women in the 21st century. More information is at upperkeysbpw.org or bpwupperkeys@gmail.com.

— Contributed

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The guest speaker will be Mel Montagne of Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe. The meeting is open to the public.

John Nordt presents Elliott Key history

The Matecumbe Historical Trust’s presentation on Monday, July 17 welcomes John Nordt to discuss the Florida Keys’ northernmost home in Elliott Key. The event will be held at Island Community Church, located at 83250 Overseas Highway, Islamorada, at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

Nordt will speak about the history of the development and settlement of Elliott Key. His grandfather sold real estate and purchased 18 acres on Elliott Key in the 1920s. Later, his mother wanted a place to live on the island and the young

John Nordt was fascinated with the history. The island had been home to wreckers, then farmers growing pineapples and Key limes, then land speculators. It had been its own school district with 14 or 15 kids. Nordt is a board-certified specialist in orthopedic surgery. He was a full-time instructor at the University of Miami and worked with the Miami Dolphins. He is active in the Historical Museum of Miami and the Map Fair. He also lived in Islamorada when he was a young boy. His practice includes the Keys, one day a month in Tavernier, and he flies his own plane to Marathon to care for his patients there.

Islamorada

Resort Collection welcomes new team

The Islamorada Resort Collection, a collection of four boutique resort experiences in the Florida Keys, announces the appointment of a new executive team: Scott Dawson as vice president and managing director; Ian Millington as complex director of finance; Erin Benbrika as complex director of people and culture; and Matt Skaletsky as resort manager of Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina and Pelican Cove Resort & Marina. This new team will oversee operations of the four properties, Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina, Amara Cay Resort, La Siesta Resort & Villas, and Pelican Cove Resort and Marina, and lead them into new culinary and experiences. Dawson began his career with a 15-year tenure at Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts in a variety of leadership positions. Millington has held roles with leading hospitality companies including Driftwood Hospitality, Sandals Resorts and Starwood. Most of his career has been spent in the Caribbean and South Florida. Benbrika held multiple human resource positions, including with Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in Texas. Skaletsky began his hospitality career in the kitchen, after earning a degree from Johnson & Wales University. Serving as a chef across several luxury properties under the Ritz-Carlton and Montage umbrellas, he quickly worked his way up to executive chef at Moonlight Basin in Montana.

From left, Jill Kuehnert, Upper Keys BPW president, Hayley Anne Colarusso, scholarship recipient; Nicole Blanche, recipient and Key Largo School teacher; Gabrielle Comeforo, Holly Given Fund recipient; and Leslie Leopold, representing the Given Fund. Not pictured is scholarship recipient Yaniuska Gilmore. NADA KHALAF JONES/ Contributed

BRIEFLY

FACTS FROM THE TAX COLLECTOR

BASEBALL DEVELOPMENT

• Local business tax may be renewed beginning on July 1, 2023. The 2023 business tax expires on September 30, 2023.

• Property tax installment bills must be paid by July 31.

• There were 1,764 certificates sold during this year’s tax certificate sale for the amount of $8,646,753.90. In the previous year, there were 1,651 certificates sold.

• The spiny lobster sport season (“mini-season”) begins at 12:01 AM on July 26 and ends at 12:00 AM on July 27. The bag limit for Monroe County is six per person per day.

• A property that is being rented out for six months or less must have a tourist development tax account.

• To sign up for electronic bills, please visit our website or call our o ce for assistance.

• Specialty license plates and pre-sale vouchers are now available for purchase directly through our website.

• Thank you for nominating us for Best Customer Service and Best Elected O cial for the 2023 Bubba Awards! We would be honored to earn your vote!

CELEBRATING 200 YEARS

MONROE BECAME FLORIDA’S SIXTH COUNTY

Editor’s note: This is the first in a four-part series on Monroe County’s 200th year.

Mathew Perry planted the American flag at Key West in 1822. Commodore David Porter was instructed to establish a military depot on the island the following year unless he could identify a more suitable locale.

Porter could not and, in a General Order issued from the USS Peacock on April 6, 1823, he wrote: “A Salute of 17 guns is to be find (fired) at 8 o’clock this morning from the Battery in front of the Town, and the American Ensign is to be hoisted at the Flag Staff… The Town is hereafter to be called Allenton, and The Battery, Thompsons Battery.”

On July 2, 1823, Monroe County was established as the Florida Territory’s sixth county and named after the then-sitting and fifth president of the United States, James Monroe. County boundaries originally extended north to the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee and west to Charlotte Harbor.

Two days later, the 1823 Wrecking Act was passed by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida; George Murray was president. Among the act’s 14 parts were statutes requiring the salvaged property to be reported to the nearest justice of the peace or notary public. Additionally, it would prove the officer’s duty to oversee the assembly of a fivemember arbitration jury to decide all fees for the salvage operation. Section 14 of the act stated, “Be it further enacted, That if any person shall within this territory, make or hold out any false lights, or make any device, or do any other act or thing with intent to mislead, bewilder or decoy the mariners of any vessel on the high seas, whereby such vessel may be cast ashore, or get aground, such person or persons so offending, and every accessory thereto, shall on conviction thereof be deemed guilty of Felony, and shall suffer death.”

BRAD BERTELLI

is an author, speaker, Florida Keys historian and Honorary Conch. His latest book, “Florida Keys History with Brad Bertelli, Volume 1,” shares fascinating glimpses into the rich and sometimes surprising histories of the Florida Keys.

Tales of skullduggery and “false lights,” while pervasive in wrecker lore, were rarely documented. When Dr. Benjamin B. Strobel, a physician, and writer who traveled extensively through the Keys in 1828, observed the wreckers, he wrote: “From all that I heard of wreckers, I expected to see a parcel of low, dirty pirate looking crafts, officiated and manned by a set of black whiskered fellows, who carried murder in their very looks. I was, however, very agreeably surprised to find their vessels fine large sloops and schooners, regular clippers, kept in first rate order, and that the Captains were jovial, good humored sons of Neptune, who manifested every disposition to be polite and hospitable, and to afford every facility to persons passing up and down the Reef. The crews were composed of hearty, well dressed, honest looking men.”

On the back of the wrecking industry, Key West grew into the wealthiest city per capita in the developing United States. In 1828, the southernmost city became the first in Monroe County to become incorporated. At the time, a second community was beginning to flourish in the Upper Keys on the relatively small 11-acre Indian Key. A general store, the only one found along the island chain outside Key West, opened in 1824. From there, Indian Key developed into the most important island in the Florida Keys, not named Key West.

By 1835, Indian Key was home to a community of as many as 140 people. It was 1835, too, on Dec.

28, when separate Indian factions attacked encampments at the Withlacoochee River, located northeast of Tampa, and at Fort King, located at what is today Ocala, and ignited the second escalation of the Seminole War. Between 1836 and 1840, Monroe County experienced several acts of hostility, including attacks at the New River (Fort Lauderdale), Cape Florida Lighthouse (Key Biscayne), Key Largo and Tavernier Key.

The southernmost attack during the second escalation of the Seminole War occurred at Indian Key on Nov. 7, 1840. Six lives were lost. When that tragic event occurred, Indian Key was no longer a part of Monroe County. In 1836, Dade County was carved out of the existing boundaries of Monroe County and included land from the shore of Lake Okeechobee to Bahia Honda in the Lower Keys. Because Indian Key was the largest community in the new district, it was assigned as the county seat.

Indian Key did not remain a part of Dade County for long. The vast majority of the Florida Keys were returned when county lines were redrawn in 1866, and the modern demarcation, at least in the Florida Keys, became Broad Creek. Broad Creek is found in the Northern Keys, and flows between the Swan Keys and a collection of small islands immediately north of Key Largo.

By 1885, Monroe County was still an extensive piece of real estate and included what are today southwest Florida’s Lee and Collier Counties. While we could go on for pages, chapters and books about the last 200 years, it is going to take more than a single column to encapsulate two centuries of local history, which is why I am going to spend the entire month of July highlighting just a smidge of it.

The year 1885, by the way, is when the second city was ever incorporated in Monroe County.

That city was Fort Myers, the county seat of what is now Lee County.

A sketch showing half of Key West by William Whitehead from Tift’s cupola looking north in June 1838. MONROE COUNTY LIBRARY COLLECTION/Contributed

A SWAN SONG FOR WOODY’S

CLOSING OF THE ICONIC ISLAMORADA STRIP CLUB SIGNALS THE END OF AN ERA IN THE FLORIDA KEYS

On Friday night at Woody’s strip club in Islamorada, owner Michael Pinter stood against a wall with his arms crossed. He was looking at a crowd surrounding a dancer — a barely controlled chaos of booty popping, flying dollar bills and yelling against a backdrop of neon palm trees and earsplitting hip-hop music.

In his late 70s, Pinter wore a ponytail and, with his eyes half closed, an unreadable expression on his face — a pose that has probably been honed over his five decades of owning allnude exotic dance establishments.

But tonight, he was sad, he told Keys Weekly. This was the last weekend that Woody’s Adult Entertainment Club would be open.

“I feel like my left arm has been cut off,” he admitted. He had just sold his business to a trio of owners who would probably keep the name “Woody’s” but turn it into a sports bar.

“It was just time to move on,” he said. “My partner passed away, and the drive down from Orlando was getting longer.”

Pinter, who lives in Altamonte Springs, had owned Woody’s for 36 years. He reminisced about the Florida Keys from back in the day —“We used to be able to lie down on U.S. 1 in the middle of the night”— and about Big Dick & the Extenders, his house band for more than two decades.

He is proud of his legacy. His family has been running strip joints in Florida since the 1960s, he said, starting with a club called Club Juana in Orlando.

“I was the first to introduce nudity to bars in the state of Florida,” he pointed out.

Pinter had announced the club’s closing on social media a few days before, and the word was slowly getting out to locals.

“The end of an era,” one commenter had said on the Facebook group “What’s Happening Key Largo/ Islamorada.” Other commenters had asked friends to snag them a Woody’s T-shirt before they were sold out.

Back on the floor of the club, the crowd was getting hyped. Manager Jason Jarocki weaved efficiently around the partiers, bringing bottles to the high rollers and whispering directions to bouncers wearing black “Staff” T-shirts. The “clients” included silver-haired businessmen and couples dropping by during date night. And groups of young men wearing T-shirts, shorts and baseball caps sauntered around —possibly, they were members of boat crews after a day on the water; one of the men had a giant gold lobster charm on his necklace.

But the demographic was 50 percent women, who had traveled in packs that were clearly on a ladies’ night out. The dancers would often pull a female onto the stage, while the males roared approval.

Yet the customers were always under control. When one took pictures of her friend gyrating on the stage, a bouncer suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Politely yet firmly, he asked her to delete the photos from her phone. She complied without an argument.

A sign on the front door says, in all capital letters, “If total nudity offends you do not enter.” Case in point: A

dancer wearing the stripper outfit du jour— fishnets, seven-inch-tall platforms called “Pleasers” and little else — assumed a position on the stage’s tiprail that would make a gynecologist blush. A young woman, dressed in a long and modest sundress that would have been appropriate in church, approached and tucked a folded bill into the dancer’s fishnets.

That young woman in the sundress was from Tampa and declined to give her name. She dropped her jaw in surprise when told that Woody’s was closing.

“That’s so sad,” she exclaimed, yelling to be heard over the crowd. “We used to come here to be ‘in the Keys,’ and now it’s just a bunch of resorts.

“Our family would bring our trailer on the weekends, and now that trailer park is Isla Bella,” she said with a shrug.

Meanwhile, in a tiny dressing area just off the stage, a dancer named Miata was packing her bag to go home and discussing the bar’s closing with Jarocki.

“This was my last set. I made this outfit just for tonight,” she said, pointing at her bikini, which was made entirely from bandages with Chanel logos on them.

“I’m devastated,” she said. Her eyes welled up. “There’s no place like Woody’s. The people are so nice. They come back on vacation to say that they have great memories. Miami is cutthroat, and the girls are dirty.”

“I run a clean operation,” said Jarocki.

“I don’t know where I’ll go from here,” said Miata. She sighed and stood up straight. “But I’ll be ok.”

CHARLOTTE TWINE www.keysweekly.com

No cameras were allowed inside the nude dancing establishment, seen here. CONTRIBUTED

On the last Friday night before Woody’s Adult Entertainment Club closed, former owner Michael Pinter, right, stands in front of the establishment with club manager Jason Jarocki. CHARLOTTE TWINE/Keys Weekly

The news of the closing of Woody’s had many locals running to get T-shirts before they were sold out; seen here is a typical Woody’s logo. CONTRIBUTED

FROM CANADA TO THE KEYS

Couple’s hike of the Eastern Continental Trail brings connections

Itook my backpack off to rest on the steep, rock-strewn incline toward Wildcat D Peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to talk with my mom on the phone. It was Aug. 5, 2022, her birthday, a celebration I was missing since I was 1,872 miles into a 2,194-mile hike of the Appalachian Trail. As we talked, I heard a woman climbing down the nearly vertical rock face just above me. When she made it to where I sat after a few minutes of treacherous descent, I saw that she was young, bright and cheerful, despite the rocks. She commented how strikingly comforting it was to see another young woman having a normal conversation with her mom at the base of a terrifying climb. I was thrilled to know another woman around my age had successfully conquered those 300 miles still ahead of me.

When we parted ways, I felt an invigoration and drive that I could finish this long journey. Exactly 20 days later, I did.

I had nearly forgotten that day until I saw a bearded man with a pin-wheel flag sticking out of his large backpack and a woman pushing a covered stroller down the shoulder of U.S. 1.

Perhaps a normal response would have been fear for their safety as I zoomed past at 50 mph. Instead, I turned around in the parking lot of Lorelei, crossed the street and parked in front of the Sandal Factory in Islamorada. The woman was inside the store looking at sunglasses, so just the man and the covered stroller stood outside as I approached.

“I just have two oranges. Do you want them?” I asked the man.

His reddish beard was even longer than I’d thought, and so was his hair, tied up beneath an orange baseball cap. I looked down and saw the head of an elderly dog poke through the top of the covered stroller.

“Well, I guess so. I can never say no to fresh fruit,” the man responded.

The door to the store opened, and the woman came outside and grabbed one of the oranges. It took a few moments to place the familiarity of her face, but suddenly we were hugging like old friends. Standing in front of me was the same cheerful face from the mountainside in New Hampshire.

Since that day in August, she had been hiking south toward Key West.

Now, as we talked near the Sandal Factory, 32-year-old Owen “At Home” Eigenbrot and 33-year-old Ally “Spice” Russell, stood 83.4 miles away from completing a through-hike of the Eastern Continental Trail (ECT), a backpacking trip of more than 4,400 miles,

from Quebec, Canada to Key West. Eigenbrot and Russell, who have also hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, are among only hundreds who have completed the ECT since John Brinda first hiked the route in 1997.

Over the last year, Eigenbrot and Russell hiked 400 miles of ATV roads, overgrown trails and oceanside in Canada, where they hardly saw other hikers but walked alongside swimming whales, lounging seals and a plethora of moose and beavers. They traversed some of the east coast’s highest peaks and most beautiful overlooks between Maine and Georgia on the 2,194-mile Appalachian Trail, which Eigenbrot completed northbound, and Russell completed southbound. They hiked 72 miles on the Benton MacKaye Trail and the 335-mile Pinhoti Trail and the 175-mile Alabama Road Walk. They walked alongside the alligators and cypress trees decorating the 1,400-mile Florida Trail until their feet hit pavement on U.S. 1.

“There's a stream of our footprints all along the Appalachian Mountains,” Russell said.

During the past year, they carried everything they needed in their backpacks, slept beneath the stars, woke up to singing birds, summited mountain peaks, walked through rainstorms and only trekked back into civilization every few days to resupply food and shower. And it was coming to a close in the never-ending ocean views and traffic of the 106-mile Overseas Heritage Trail that parallels U.S. 1 through the Florida Keys.

“It seemed like a weird thing to be doing in the first place, like it was even going beyond the natural ending point,” Eigenbrot said. “But what a cool bonus to add on to the end of this. How lucky that we get to leave the mainland and hop on all these little islands. How unique is that? How fortunate for the infrastructure to be able to walk because the Keys are really beautiful.”

The Keys provided many once-distant amenities: grocery stores for food, gas stations to use the bathroom in and water from a faucet. The paved road allowed Russell to bring her elderly dog, Tango, on this final section of trail by pushing him in a stroller.

But as an ending to a journey marked predominantly by wilderness, the Keys provided a harsh juxtaposition.

“It’s really busy out here. That was impossible to ignore or to remove from the narrative of the ECT and the Keys,” Eigenbrot said.

“And not even busy in a human way but busy with cars. We saw more cars than humans,” Russell said. “We get up an hour or two before sunrise and walk with the traffic and walk until sunset and sleep with the traffic noise.”

To change sides, they’d wait for a break in traffic and quickly scurry across the street. At night, they’d go to a state park or find a space in the mangroves alongside the road to sleep. Instead of high peaks, the Seven Mile Bridge stood as a formidable foe. After walking within feet of rushing traffic on a small shoulder for seven miles, Russell and Eigenbrot crashed on the beach at Veterans Memorial Park just south of the bridge.

“I said, ‘Watch for fins and crocs. I'm going in,’ and I just floated on my back forever and just grounded myself,” Russell said. “I grabbed chunks of sand and put them in my hands. I needed Earth in my hands and water on my body. I just need to be with all the elements because that was so wild.”

On March 18, four days after I met them in front of Sandal Factory, Russell and Eigenbrot took a final left turn onto South Street in Key West and slowly plodded another half-mile behind an elderly woman on a Saturday morning stroll.

“You feel that magnetic pole when you get to the terminus,” Eigenbrot said.

Finally, they heard the sound of waves crashing against the concrete and the red, yellow and black-striped Southernmost Point buoy marking 90 miles to Cuba came into view.

There was nowhere else to walk. The land definitively disappeared into the sea.

They got in line with all the other tourists to take a picture on the busy street corner that marked the end of their wilderness journey. And, as Russell described it, they returned to the buoy several times like kids on a rollercoaster to take a different combination of photos with new lighting as the sun rose higher in the sky.

“It was easy to feel like we weren't tourists, but we were. We’d just taken a really hard way to get there,” Russell said.

But, unlike most tourists, they returned to the buoy one final time simply to stand in that spot. To touch the buoy. To feel the distance in their feet. To remember this moment and all the ones before it and every moment in between.

To feel, here, in this spot, a union of Canada, the Appalachian Mountains and this street corner in Key West. A union unphotographable and inexplicable, only to be seen and understood by those who traversed it at less than 3 miles per hour.

This union they noticed down the coast was certainly physical in nature. Though the foliage changed through the seasons and new trees appeared in each state, beech trees stood along

their path from Canada to Alabama. Everywhere, logging trucks drove empty going one way and coming back full. In each state they traversed over a similar rock formation that looked like a book sitting on its spine.

“It made me really feel like I was in that string of mountains,” Russell said. “Sure, there are human borders, but the mountains are the same mountains.”

Canada and Florida, though at opposing ends of a large continent and a long trail, shared an abundance of wildlife. The beach replaced the trail in stretches, though the ocean fronts in Canada were abandoned but for a fisherman just off the coast and the Florida beaches were lined with hotels and sunbathers. Similarly, the trail’s terminuses, one at the Cap Gaspé Lighthouse and one at the Southernmost Point buoy, both stood at busy tourist locations.

“This was a similarity and yet a difference. There were a lot of people on both ends of the ECT but after the haze of five days of cars walking down the Keys, I was a lot more grateful and appreciative of the people in Key West than I think I was with the people at Cap Gaspé because, thank God, they're just people, not cars now,” Russell said.

I picked Russell and Eigenbrot up a few hours after they hit the southern terminus in Key West, and they showered and relaxed in my air-conditioned apartment. The next morning, we sat around the living room eating vegan yogurt and granola while Tango snoozed on Russell’s lap, and they shared the stories and wisdom gained from Canada to Key West.

The ECT unites two countries and two different worlds, the woods of the Appalachians and the highway of ocean views in the Keys. But this moment on my couch reflected another unity down the east coast. The union between north and south was not only in the physical landscape, but also in the people – those they met and the lives they inspired with their story. A strange union that, somehow, people who only briefly met many months ago could feel like old friends.

Around 9 a.m., another hiker from Homestead came to pick them up and bring them back to their van, which they drove out to Colorado to begin work and a new life.

“It’s been a year of my life out here and then many years of dreaming about it as a whole before coming out,” Eigenbrot said. “It’s one of those things where we've done it for so long, what does getting on the other side of it actually feel like? I think it'll take some time to figure out.”

4

1: Eigenbrot and Russell arrive at the Southernmost Point buoy in Key West on March 18, marking the end of their Eastern Continental Trail through-hike. CONTRIBUTED

2. Eigenbrot hikes Mont-Albert in Gaspésie National Park, one of the couple’s favorite viewpoints on the entire Eastern Continental Trail.

3. Owen Eigenbrot and Ally Russell stand at the northern terminus of the Eastern Continental Trail at Cap Gaspé, Quebec.

4. The author, Jacqueline Hale, stopped near the Sandal Factory in Islamorada when she saw two hikers walking alongside U.S. 1. They soon discovered they’d met many months before on the Appalachian Trail.

ISLAMORADA, VILLAGE OF ISLANDS REGULAR VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING

Founders Park Community Center

87000 Overseas Highway

Islamorada, FL 33036

Thursday, July 6, 2023 - 5:30 PM

The Village Council has resumed the in-person regular meeting format. Virtual participation is still available to the public. Please see the bottom of the agenda for participation details.

AGENDA

I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. AGENDA: Requests for Deletion / Emergency Additions

IV. REPORTS, PRESENTATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. South Atlantic Fishing Environmentalists - Jon Reynolds, Artificial Reef presentation

V. PUBLIC COMMENT (This is general public comment. It provides an opportunity for the public to speak about matters not scheduled elsewhere on the agenda. The mayor opens public comment on agenda items throughout the meeting.)

VI. CITIZENS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Near Shore Water Regulations Citizens Advisory Committee

B. Parks and Recreation Citizens Advisory Committee

C. Historic Preservation Commission

VII. MAYOR / COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS

A. Vice Mayor Mahoney - Discussion of Standardizing the Number of Members for Citizen Advisory Committees

VIII. VILLAGE ATTORNEY / VILLAGE MANAGER COMMUNICATIONS

A. Update on Charitable Contribution Applications

B. Update on the Fills - Meeting with DEP

C. Comprehensive Plan Amendment - Market Rate, Affordable and Non-Residential BPAs - Additional Allocations

IX. CONSENT AGENDA (All items on the Consent Agenda are considered routine by the Village Council and will be approved by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Council member so requests, in which event, the item will be moved to the Main Agenda.)

A. Meeting Minutes: May 16, 2023 Fills Workshop and May 18, 2023 Special Call Land Use Council Meeting -TAB 1

B. Resolution Approving Change Order No. 1 to the Construction Agreement with CBT Related to the Green Turtle Hammock Preserve Handicap Access Project - TAB 2 (Peter Frezza, Environmental Resources Manager)

C. Southeast Florida Local and Tribal Government Climate Action Pledge - TAB 3 (Peter Frezza, Environmental Resources Manager)

D. Resolution Requesting that the Monroe County Land Authority Prioritize Purchase of Selected Properties within the Village for Habitat Protection and Conservation - TAB 4 (Peter Frezza, Environmental Resources Manager)

E. Approving & Ratifying FY 22-23 Purchases from Ferguson Waterworks for Wastewater Department - TAB 5 (A.J. Engelmeyer, Public Works Director)

F. Resolution Approving Marcum Agreement for Wastewater Audit - TAB 6 (John Quick, Interim Village Attorney)

X. RESOLUTIONS

A. Resolution Approving Non-Renewal of Village Manager Contract - TAB 7 (John Quick, Interim Village Attorney)

B. Resolution Approving an Agreement with Sea & Shoreline, LLC for Canal 116 Backfill Restoration Project - TAB 8 (Peter Frezza, Environmental Resources Manager)

C. Resolution Approving Purchases from SHI International Corp. for FY 2022-2023 - TAB 9 (Vince Tarves, Systems Engineer)

D. Resolution Approving Work Authorization No. 5 with CPH for Professional Engineering Services for Certification of Founders Park Solar Street Lights - TAB 10 (Maria Bagiotti, Founders Park Director)

E. Resolution Approving Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement with Tetra Tech, Inc., for Debris Monitoring Services and Adding Financial Recovery Assistance Services - TAB 11 (Terry Abel, Fire Chief)

F. Resolution Approving Amendment No. 3 to the Agreement with Ashbritt, Inc., for Debris Management Services - TAB 12 (Terry Abel, Fire Chief)

G. Resolution to Adopt Second FY 2022-2023 Budget Amendment - TAB 13 (Maria Bassett, Finance Director)

H. Resolution Determining the Proposed Millage Rate for Fiscal Year 2023-2024, Establishing the Current Year Rolled-Back Rate, and the Date, Time, and Place for the First and Second Budget Hearings - TAB 14 (Maria Bassett, Finance Director)

I. Resolution Approving Award of Contractual Services Agreement for Residential and Commercial Solid Waste, Yard Waste and Recycling Collection and Disposal Services Effective January 1, 2024 - TAB 15 (Ted Yates, Village Manager)

XI. ORDINANCES

A. Amending Administrative Relief Under the Building Permit Allocation System (BPAS)1st Reading - TAB 16 (John Quick, Interim Village Attorney)

B. Moratorium on Building Permit Allocations (BPAS) - 1st Reading - TAB 17 (John Quick, Interim Village Attorney)

XII. MOTIONS

A. Motion to Approve Members of Auditor Selection Committee - TAB 18 (Maria Bassett, Finance Director)

B. Motion to Accept Funds Appropriated by the 2023 Florida Legislature for Purchase of 2024 Freightliner Ambulance - TAB 19 (Maria Bassett, Finance Director)

XIII. ADJOURNMENT

Options for Viewing the Village Council Meeting: The public is encouraged to watch the meeting on Monroe County’s MCTV Comcast Channel 77. Alternatively, the public may view the meeting streamed live on the Village website from their personal computer, tablet or phone via the following link: www.islamorada.fl.us/departments/communications/live_village_broadcast_meeting.php

ADA Assistance: These meetings are open to the public. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, all persons who are disabled and who need special accommodations to participate in this meeting because of that disability should contact the ADA Coordinator at (305) 664-6448 or by email at ADA@islamorada.fl.us at least 48 hours before the scheduled meeting

NEW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT KEY LARGO SCHOOL

Monroe County schools Superintendent Theresa Axford recently announced that Tiffany Zepeda will serve as an assistant principal at Key Largo School for the 2023-2024 school year. Zepeda, who has taught at KLS since 2009, will take the place vacated by Debra Ward’s move to Coral Shores High School.

“Tiffany Zepeda’s successful experience in leadership roles at Key Largo School strongly suggests that she will make an outstanding assistant principal,” Axford said. “I am delighted that principal Darren Pais selected her to join the administrative team.”

“I look forward to supporting our students, teachers and families on a larger scale,” Zepeda said. “I have an abundance of pride in the home of the Tornados, and I am excited to share that in everything we do as we strive for continuous growth and success.”

Zepeda is a Key Largo native who attended Key Largo School as a child. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and followed with a master’s degree in education from the University of Florida. She earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from American College of Education in 2022.

In 2009, she rejoined the Key Largo School family as an educator to teach in both the elementary and middle school. In 2015, she became the middle school AVID site coordinator. In that capacity, she helped to support the school achieve the AVID National Demonstration School status and has since become an AVID staff developer.

Zepeda has supported and facilitated professional development both at Key Largo School and throughout the school district. She was named District Inclusion Teacher of the Year in 2014, KLS Teacher of the Year in 2018, and was named “Best Educator in the Upper Keys” by Upper Keys Weekly in 2022. She has also been the head volleyball coach at KLS for 12 years. In the community, she is the chairperson for the Teen Intervention Prevention Services nonprofit organization, which provides scholarship and financial support for athletics and summer camp opportunities for children in the Upper Keys. She has also enjoyed her involvement as a leader for her daughter’s girl scout troop since 2020.

— Contributed

Tiffany Zepeda will take her new position as assistant principal at Key Largo School during the 2023-2024 school year. CONTRIBUTED

SAFETY FIRST

COAST GUARD VISITS LOCAL YOUTH SAILING SUMMER CAMP

Young sailors participating in the Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program summer camp received some water safety tips from the experts. An Islamorada-based crew from the United States Coast Guard stopped by the Upper Keys Sailing Club and discussed safety basics, including the proper way to wear a lifejacket. UKSC Commodore Dewey Jackson is with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and arranged the USCG visit.

KELLIE FARRELL BUTLER/Keys Weekly

KEYS ROTARIAN BECOMES ‘KENTUCKY COLONEL’

Keith Douglass, past president of the Rotary Club of Marathon and past Rotary assistant governor, became the 11th Kentucky Colonel in Monroe and Miami-Dade counties. Rotary International and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels have much in common. The “toast” to new colonels reflects what the order, started in 1813 by a colonel in the Kentucky Regiment, stands for. Worldwide, it has thousands of members, who must have distinguished themselves in local, state, national and foreign activities. Membership is granted by the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Andy Beshear. Presenting the award are, from left, Colonel Jeffrey Berger; Colonel Roberto Munoz, scout executive/CEO of the South Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America; Colonel Keith Douglass, commander of the South Florida Chapter of the Kentucky Colonels and president of the South Florida Council Boy Scouts of America; and Colonel Roy Gonas, past district governor of Rotary District 6990. CONTRIBUTED

PROTESTING FUR IN FASHION

A DESIGNER HAT DRAWS IRE

PEANUT

Peanut is a female Jack Russell mix, about 1-2 years old. She is very sweet and loving, house trained, friendly, gentle with children and good with other dogs. Peanut is easy and low maintenance. She just needs lots of love and plenty of exercise. To apply for Peanut or see more available dogs, go to www.mprescues.org.

Hi friends.

Reef the fox here with your weekly “Reef’s Report.” I am going to switch gears and talk about something that is pretty disappointing.

fashion, it’s violence. The fur industry is responsible for the death of roughly 100 million animals per year. That is an incomprehensible number. I mean, can you imagine? Taking the lives of millions of animals for a designer item that serves no real purpose other than to make someone look good?

Thursday, July 6

• Islamorada Village Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Founders Park Community Center.

classes from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Visit justolderyouthinc.org for a complete schedule.

Reef is a red fox that was saved from a fur farm. He now lives in Key Largo with his human, Nicole Navarro.

Recently, the well-known designer, Marc Jacobs, went back on his word regarding the use of real fur in fashion and released a hat that is made entirely out of white fox fur. To top that off, a well-known celebrity, Kim Kardashian, posted photos of herself in that hat supporting real fur. The white fur fox hat currently retails for $1,948.

That particular celebrity had announced in 2019 that she had all of her real furs re-created using fake fur. I find it extremely grotesque that people with such influence can use their voice to help, but instead, they use it to hurt.

The world we live in these days has a lot to do with power, money and influence. When the world sees these famous people promoting animal cruelty, it somehow diminishes the severity of the problem because they make it look “glamorous.” It’s not

Living down here in the Keys where animal abuse, neglect and cruelty is practically non-existent, I think we tend to forget that in some parts of the world, even right here in the United States, this is not only common, it is widely accepted. The fact that farming animals for their fur is still legal in the U.S. is pretty mind-boggling. It seems that certain designers are doubling down and holding their ground or even going back on their word to not use fur because at the end of the day, to them, every dollar matters, not every life. And that, my friends, is sad.

So please, for my sake and for the sake of the millions of animals across the globe that suffer needlessly for something so unnecessary, vote with your wallet. It may take some minutes of your day to go the extra step and research the companies you purchase from. Even if you don’t buy fur, if the stores and businesses you buy from are complicit in cruelty towards animals, find an alternative product.

Anywho, I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Fourth of July. Until next time, Reef, over and out.

• MarrVelous Pet Rescue’s Yappy Hour at 6 p.m. at Caribbean Club, Key Largo.

Saturday, July 8

• I.CARE dive and coral transplant at Key Dives, Islamorada. Visit icareaboutcoral.org to learn more.

Tuesday, July 11

• Mote’s Islamorada coral nursery tour at 2 p.m. at Bud N’ Mary’s Marina. Visit mote.org/keystours.

• Florida Keys Toastmasters hybrid meeting at 6 p.m. at Keys History & Discovery Center, Islamorada. Call 305-923-6546 for more information.

• REEF Fish & Friends lecture series welcomes Tom Matthews, lobster research scientist with Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission at 6:15 p.m. at REEF campus, 98300 Overseas Highway, Key Largo.

Wednesday, July 12

• Just Older Youth (JOY) Center

• Master gardener volunteers host a plant clinic from 9 a.m. to noon at Key Largo library. Learn to identify plants, diagnose diseases and more.

• Island of Key Largo Federation of Homeowner Associations’ general membership meeting at 6 p.m. at the Key Largo library community room. The meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom. (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89345 241101?pwd=aFkwM1lxTGhmYjd5 NGl1aWpRK2dTdz09)

Thursday, July 13

• Adult craft program: Upcycled Bottle Centerpieces from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Key Largo library. Bring your own 16- to 20-ounce glass bottle or vase (optional). Supplies provided. Registration encouraged.

Saturday, July 15

• I.CARE dive and coral transplant at 8:30 a.m. at Islamorada Dive Center. Visit icareaboutcoral. org to learn more.

A picture of Reef and foxes that found sanctuary in Key Largo is held up during a protest against fur in fashion in New York City in 2021. CONTRIBUTED

CONTAGIOUS WINS CAPTAINS CUP DOLPHIN TOURNAMENT

Nine-tenths of a pound separated the first-throughthird-place teams in the 23rd annual Islamorada Fishing Club’s Captains Cup Dolphin Tournament in Islamorada on June 28.

Forty anglers headed out to capture three mahi — the largest combined weight of three fish would win the tournament’s $11,000 prize money and unique porthole trophies. When the scales closed at 5 p.m., all the stories were the same. There were lots of fish out there but no big ones.

Coming out on top was Captain Brian Cone aboard his charter boat Contagious with Justin Matson, mate, and anglers Don DeLeon of Miami, along with Travis Bennett and Andy Cone from Tavernier. The team weighed in three fish at 8, 6.8 and 6.2 pounds, totaling 21 pounds to win the $11,000 grand prize. They also received first-place trophies sponsored by Caribee Boat Sales and Yamaha outboards.

“The porthole first-place awards were very cool,” said DeLeon. “When you opened the porthole our picture with our winning fish was inside.”

The Executive Decision team and Captain Chris Ware were close on the heels of team Contagious with a total

of 20.8 pounds. Anglers Jill and John Paglia from Ocala, Mike Kasten of St. Petersburg, and Sam Milazzo from Tavernier weighed fish at 8.4, 7.2 and 5.2 pounds to take the second-place trophies sponsored by TD Bank and Baker Mitchell Plumbing.

Anglers Tyler Kelly from Auburndale, KC Spaulding of Islamorada, along with Digger Rodamer and Joe Marino from Marathon weighed in fish at 7.6, 6.8 and 5.7 pounds. Fishing aboard the Killbox, with Captain Cody Darbie at the helm, the team’s total was 20.1 pounds, winning them third-place trophies sponsored by Regan Roth and Travis Bennett Dentist.

The largest fish of the tournament was 9.2 pounds caught by Brandon Mitchell from Charlotte, North Carolina. He was fishing aboard the Heavy Guns with Captain TJ Zinkand.

The fishing tournament was presented by Island Arms and Indoor Range. Next year’s event will be the last Thursday in June. For more information on the tournament and the Islamorada Fishing Club call the club at 305-664-4735 or visit www. theislamoradafishingclub.com.

— Contributed

Team Contagious wins the annual Islamorada Fishing Club’s Captains Cup Dolphin Tournament on June 28. CONTRIBUTED

Team Killbox finished third in the tournament.

Team Executive Decision finished second.

LEGAL NOTICES

FICTITIOUS NAME

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that

the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of ORESTES SERVICES located at 1337 Ocean Breeze Ave. Lot 49, Marathon, FL 33050-2134 intends to register said name with the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

By: Orestes Lopez

Publish:

July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE

U-HAUL COMPANY OF MIAMI

Notice is here by given that on July 17th, 2023, Leonard Richford Jr. Storage Auctioneer, Executive Administrator for U-Haul Company of Miami, Will be offering for sale under the Judicial Lien Process, By Public Auction, the following storage units. The Terms of the sale will be cash only. U-Haul Company does reserve the right to refuse any bids. The sales will Begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue day by day until all units are sold. The names of whose units will be sold are as follows:

103530 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL 33037

Alex Murgas Unit 1580

$710.60

James Fleischmann Unit 1001

$561.35

James Fleischmann Unit 1619 $1,275.69

Curtis Williams

Unit 1536

$966.00

Brian Long Unit 1504-51

$995.45

Dennis Nicholson Unit 1185

$978.40

Publish:

June 29 & July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN,THAT

THE CITY OF KEY COLONY BEACH WILL BE HOLDING

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON:

DATE/TIME:

Planning & Zoning Hearing: July

19th, 2023, 9:30 A.M.

City Commission Public Hearing: Thursday, August 17, 2023, 9:30 A.M.

LOCATION:

City of Key Colony Beach

Temporary Meeting Place at the Key Colony Inn Banquet Room

700 W. Ocean Drive, Key Colony Beach, Florida 33051, to hear a Variance Request from the City of Key Colony Beach, owners of the property located at Lot 8, Parcel-ID 0079873-000800, Sunset Park, Key Colony Beach, Florida 33051. This meeting will be available virtually via Zoom Meetings. Members of the public who wish to attend virtually may email cityclerk@ keycolonybeach.net or call 305-289-1212, Ext. 2 for further instructions on attending via Zoom Meetings.

Applicant requests a review and confirmation of no variance requirements to the City of Key Colony Beach Land Development Regulations Article III, Section 101-19, for the replacement of the current Tiki Hut with dimensions of 9’ x 9’, to a Tiki Hut with the dimensions of 15’ x 20’ at Sunset Park, Key Colony Beach, Florida 33051. Interested parties may attend the Hearing and be heard with respect to the requested variance.

If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Commission of the City of Key Colony Beach with respect

to any matter considered at the Variance Hearing, that person will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose 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.

If you are unable to attend the Hearings on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, or Thursday, August 17, 2023, but wish to comment, please direct correspondence to P.O. Box 510141, Key Colony Beach, FL 33051, or cityclerk@ keycolonybeach.net and your comments will be entered into the record.

City Clerk, City of Key Colony Beach

Publish:

July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, THAT THE CITY OF KEY COLONY BEACH WILL BE HOLDING

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON:

DATE/TIME:

Planning & Zoning Hearing: July 19th, 2023, 9:30 A.M.

City Commission Public Hearing:

Thursday, August 17, 2023, 9:30 A.M.

LOCATION:

City of Key Colony Beach

Temporary Meeting Place at the Key Colony Inn Banquet Room, 700 W. Ocean Drive, Key Colony Beach, Florida 33051, to hear a Variance Request from James and Jane Walther, owners of the property located at 521 9th Street, Key Colony Beach, Florida 33051. This meeting will be available virtually via Zoom Meetings. Members of the public who wish to attend virtually may email cityclerk@ keycolonybeach.net or call 305-289-1212, Ext. 2 for further instructions on attending via Zoom Meetings.

Applicant requests a variance to the City of Key Colony Beach Code of Ordinances Chapter 101, Section 26 (11), to allow the installation of a pool within the 10’ setback to 5’ on one side of the lot. Current setback requirements are 10’ feet. Interested parties may attend the Hearing and be heard with respect to the requested variance.

If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Commission of the City of Key Colony Beach with respect to any matter considered at the Variance Hearing, that person will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose 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.

If you are unable to attend the Hearings on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, or Thursday, August 17, 2023, but wish to comment, please direct correspondence to P.O. Box 510141, Key Colony Beach, FL 33051, or cityclerk@ keycolonybeach.net and your comments will be entered into the record.

City Clerk, City of Key Colony Beach

Publish:

July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, THAT THE CITY OF KEY COLONY BEACH WILL BE HOLDING

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON: Planning & Zoning Hearing: Wednesday, July 19,

appealing the Building Official’s decision pursuant to Sec. 2-2, Sec. 6-14, and Sec. 101-170, for the denial of a building permit for the property located at 1295 Coury Drive, Key Colony Beach, Florida 33051.This meeting will be available virtually via Zoom Meetings. Members of the public who wish to attend virtually may email cityclerk@ keycolonybeach.net or call 305-289-1212, Ext. 2 for further instructions on attending via Zoom Meetings.

Applicant appeals the decision of the Key Colony Beach’s Building Official pursuant to sec.2-2, Sec, 6-14 and Sec. 101170 for the denial of a building permit for the property located at 1295 Coury Drive, Key Colony Beach, Florida 33051.

Interested parties may attend the Hearing and be heard with respect to the requested appeal.

If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Commission of the City of Key Colony Beach with respect to any matter considered at the Variance Hearing, that person will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose 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.

If you are unable to attend the Hearings on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, or Thursday, August 17, 2023, but wish to comment, please direct correspondence to P.O. Box 510141, Key Colony Beach, FL 33051, or cityclerk@ keycolonybeach.net and your comments will be entered into the record.

City Clerk, City of Key Colony Beach

Publish:

July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA

PROBATE DIVISION

FILE NUMBER: 23-CP-79-P

IN RE: ESTATE OF GREGORY DOWELL, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The administration of the estate of GREGORY DOWELL, deceased, whose date of death was 13 June 2023, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 88820 Overseas Highway, Plantation Key, Florida 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 THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED.

The date of first publication of this notice is: June 29, 2023.

Personal Representative: Julia Ogilvie 1180 N. Columbus St. Lancaster, OH 43130

Attorney for Personal

Representative: Tom Woods, Esq. Florida Bar No.: 0525197 116 Porto Salvo Drive Islamorada, Florida 33036 Phone: 305.664.2200 Fax 2205

Primary Email: tom@ tomwoodslaw.com

Secondary Email: eserve@ tomwoodslaw.com

Publish:

June 29 & July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION

FILE NO.: 23-CP-000071-P IN RE: ESTATE OF STEVEN LARSEN Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The administration of the estate of STEVEN LARSEN, deceased, whose date of death was April 21, 2023, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 88770 Overseas Highway, Plantation Key, Florida 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 THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED.

The date of first publication of this notice is: June 29, 2023.

Personal Representative: TOMAS LARSEN 71 Auburn Street Medford, MA 02155

Attorney for Personal

Representatives: STEVEN H. LINDE, ESQUIRE Florida Bar Number: 72089 LINDE LEGAL, PLLC 2332 Galiano Street, 2nd Floor Coral Gables, Florida 33134

Telephone: 305-722-5533

Primary E-Email: steven@ lindelegal.com

Primary E-Email: info@ lindelegal.com

Publish:

June 29 & July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA

PROBATE DIVISION

FILE NO.: 44-2023-CP000115A-001KW IN RE: ESTATE OF CLEVELAND MCKINLEY MATHIS, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The administration of the estate of CLEVELAND MCKINLEY MATHIS, deceased, File Number: 44-2023-CP000115A-001KW, whose date of death was November 21,

2022, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division, 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, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is required to be 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 decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED.

The date of first publication of this Notice is: June 29, 2023.

Personal Representative: KARREN CORNELIUS

1920 Griffins Green Drive Bartow, FL 33830

Attorney for Personal

Representative: ALLAN L. CASEY, ESQUIRE Florida Bar No. 150809

Law Offices of Allan L. Casey 395 Avenue C, N.W. Post Office Box 7146 Winter Haven, FL 33883-7146

Telephone (863) 294-4468

Publish: June 29 & July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA

PROBATE DIVISION

FILE NUMBER: 23-CP-56-P

IN RE: ESTATE OF DONALD BRUCE IRWIN, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The administration of the estate of Donald Bruce Irwin,

deceased, whose date of death was April 14, 2023, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 88770 Overseas Highway, Suite 2, 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 THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED.

The date of first publication of this notice is: June 29, 2023.

Personal Representative:

China Alexis Irwin Galissard de Marignac 5017 Little Turtle Drive Birmingham, AL 35242

Attorney for Personal

Representative: BAKER, DONELSON, BEARMAN, CALDWELL & BERKOWITZ, PC 100 S.E. Third Avenue, Suite 1620

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33394 Tel: (954) 768-1600

Fax: (954) 333-7636

Counsel for Petitioner: Duane Pinnock, Esq. Florida Bar No. 0568139

Josh A. Kravec, Esq. Florida Bar No. 1025518 dpinnock@bakerdonelson. com jkravec@bakerdonelson.com breid@bakerdonelson.com

Publish:

June 29 & July 6, 2023

The Weekly Newspapers

NOW HIRING IN ISLAMORADA

BOAT RENTAL STAFF

FLEXIBLE HOURS & COMPETITIVE WAGES

Need to have experience driving boats and a working knowledge of the Islamorada area by water. Duties include taking reservations, giving captains lessons and routine boat maintenance.

Email Ma at eliteboatrentalsma @gmail.com. Please include contact information and any relevant experience.

SUDOKU SOLUTION

AUTOS ALL YEARS!

Junk or Used Cars, Vans, Trucks. Runs or Not.

$CASH 305-332-0483

EMPLOYMENT

Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Marathon, Florida, seeks motivated individual knowledgeable on commercial fisheries management including spiny lobsters, stone crabs and finfish. Duties include travel and participation in Local, State and Federal fisheries management meetings and management of annual seafood festival held in Key West. Public speaking, written position papers and other correspondence are required skills. Salary based on knowledge and experience. Send Curriculum Vitae and contact information to kwjosh86@gmail.com no later than July 20, 2023.

HEALTH INSURANCE

NAVIGATOR - Enrollment

Assistance, Outreach, Education and Community Events. Paid Training and equipment. Bi-lingual a plus. Call 305-767-3883

Coast to Coast Pizza Company in Marathon is looking for Front of the house cashier, part time, and Back of the house kitchen staff, part and/or full time. Will train, but should be self-motivated, quick learner, and team player. Salary commensurate with experience and includes tips and 401k. Please call Nicole at 305-4330515, or email nicole@ themoongroupfl.com.

SS Wreck and Galley Grill on Grassy Key is looking for Line cooks, full or part time, and Servers/Hosts. Will train, but should be self-motivated, quick learner, and team player. Salary commensurate with experience and includes 401k. Please call Nicole at 305-4330515, or email nicole@ themoongroupfl.com.

City of Marathon Current Job Openings: Right of Way Technician. Full Benefits. EOE Please see City website for details www.ci.marathon.fl.us

Groundskeeper/ Maintenance person, KCB, Sea Isle Condominium, 20 - 40 hrs. per week, $25 per hr., apply by e-mail to HardingThomasL@aol.com, text or call 734-476-0531.

The Cabana Club, an ocean front private swim club is seeking a CustomerService Oriented Server for the pool deck, beach and/ or bar lounge. Open year round, 10am-7pm daily. Small friendly staff. Above average hourly wage plus tips. Apply in person at 425 E. Ocean Dr. Key Colony Beach or call 404-2193359 and ask for Dave.

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

Boat rental company in Marathon needs an Outboard Mechanic. Some general marina work, and boat experience a plus. Call 305-481-7006

Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder now hiring Guest Service Representativeresponsibilities include assisting guests at our Key Largo and Islamorada locations, making reservations and/or answering questions over phone and in-person, taking and processing photos, and checking-in and out guests visiting our facility. To apply, please send your resume to andreaw@dpmmr.org.

MAINTENANCE POSITION w/ busy Non-profit. FT with benefits. Longterm position w/room for growth. Valid DL required. Must have maintenance or related experience, computer skills and relate well with people. Very physical position, heavy lifting, heat, etc. Drug-free workplace. EOE Please send resume and cover letter to sholt@ fkoc.org NO phone calls.

The Housing Authority of the City of Key West now hiring the following positions: Cook, Maintenance Administrative Assistant (bilingual preferred) Maintenance Mechanic (Maintenance Worker), Med Tech (caregiver), and Grounds Caretaker. To apply, please contact Human Resources at: martinezm@kwha.org or 305-296-5621 Applications are available at the Administrative Office located at 1400 Kennedy Dr., Key West, FL 33040 or online at www. kwha.org - EOE & Drug Free Work Place. This opportunity is covered under Section 3 of the HUD Act of 1968.

Place your Employment Ad here for $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

LOT FOR SALE Oceanside-Lot with building permit in Tavernier $399K OBO 305-933-9594 OwnerAgent [3% to selling office]

TRUCK DRIVERS CDL CLASS A

We are hiring CDL CLASS A Drivers, Monday-Friday with overtime available. Hazmat not needed.

Apply at Charley Toppino & Sons, Inc.

129 Toppino Industrial Dr., Key West (ask for Cheryl) 305-296-5606 ext 126.

DUI EVALUATOR/ INSTRUCTOR

The Advocate DUI Program is hiring for part time positions. DUI instructors and evaluators - 2 days a week, Bachelors or Masters degree in substance abuse eld required. Bilingual preferred, not required. Of ce located in Marathon. Contact Marcia at 305-704-0117.

Keys Energy Services, in Key West, Florida, is accepting applications for the following position in its Executive Department:

TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

T&D ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

Starting pay rate for this position, depending on qualifications and experience: $108,332/annually$111,365/annually

For more information, including job duties and required qualifications, and to apply for the job, please visit their website at www.KeysEnergy.com.

KEYS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

KEYS promotes a Drug-Free Workplace. Certain service members, veterans, the spouses and family members of service members and veterans, receive preference and priority in employment, and are encouraged to apply for positions being filled.

Keys Energy Services, in Key West, Florida, is accepting applications for the following position in its Transmission & Distribution Department:

SUBSTATION ELECTRICIAN

Starting pay rate for this position, depending on quali cations and experience: $40.35/hr. - $45.19/hr. For more information, including job duties and required quali cations, and to apply for the job, please visit their website at www.KeysEnergy.com.

KEYS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

KEYS promotes a Drug-Free Workplace. Certain service members, veterans, the spouses and family members of service members and veterans, receive preference and priority in employment, and are encouraged to apply for positions being lled.

THE GUIDANCE/CARE CENTER, Inc. IS HIRING!

GCC offers excellent benefits for full-time employment, but we realize some would prefer part-time to enjoy the Florida Keys lifestyle more. All positions can be considered for full or part-time unless notated. Apply at westcare.com and enter your availability.

KEY WEST

Behavioral Health Therapist (Child, Adult)

Behavioral Health Counselor (Children)

Case Managers (Adult, Forensic)

Substance Abuse Counselor

Peer Support Specialist

Prevention Specialist

MARATHON

Driver (CDL required)

Care Coordinator

Behavioral Health Therapist (Child, Adult)

EXPERIENCED ELECTRICIANS AND HELPERS NEEDED

Experience is required. Must have a valid driver’s license. We offer 401K, medical insurance, paid holidays and paid vacation. Positions available in Key West and Marathon. 305-292-3369

RNs/LPNs - 3 shifts (also Per Diem)

Maintenance Specialist

*Behavioral Health Technicians

3 shifts (also Per Diem)

Peer Support Specialist

*Support Worker – Assisted Living

*No experience required for these positions. Will train. A caring heart & helpful hands required.

(search

THEME: MOVIE ANIMALS

ACROSS

1. Deli side

5. *”Breakfast at Tiffany’s” animal

8. Songs for one

12. What formica and biochemical have in common

13. Prefix for partly

14. Dark

15. Crew equipment, pl.

16. Steinbeck’s “East of ____”

17. Golf shirt

18. *”Marmaduke” animal

20. *”Away & Back” animal

21. Game “field”

22. Slightly insane

23. Casual top

26. Vending machine

30. Rocks, to a bartender

31. Bowling prop

34. Lush

35. Trots and canters

37. Broadcasting medium

38. Inflammatory swelling

39. Highland tongue

40. Sock pattern

42. Bring into play

43. Go back over

45. Theater passages

47. Part of a cheer

48. Lump of anything

50. Milo and Otis, e.g.

52. *”Dunston Checks In” animal

56. Wheel on a spur

57. CISC alternative

58. Private theater box

59. Resembling wings

60. MacFarlane or Rogen

61. Go-____

62. *Bullseye, Hamm and Lotso

Bear, e.g.

63. Lyric poem

64. Immediately, doctor’s jargon

DOWN

1. Air quality concern

2. Fibber

3. Farm measure

4. Sushi condiment

5. Natural moth repellent

6. To change, as in the U.S. Constitution

7. Fork prong

8. *”Harry Potter” animal (2 words)

9. Earthenware pot

10. *”Born Free” animal

11. I in T.G.I.F.

13. Administer diazepam

14. When Cinderella wins

19. Civil wrongs

22. “Some Nights” band

23. *”Life of Pi” animal

24. Close call

25. Bank job

26. Gossamer

27. Cry like #5 Across

28. Liquorice flavored herb

29. Hues

32. Backgammon predecessor

33. *”Babe” animal

36. *”Anchorman” and “The Wizard of Oz” animals

38. Kundera’s “Unbearable Lightness of ____”

40. “That feels good!” exclamation

41. Set in motion

44. Like a go-getter bird

46. Lies in ambush

48. Wept

49. It makes waste?

50. Singular of #17 Across

51. Home versus ____ game

52. Guesstimate phrase (2 words)

53. To perfection (3 words)

54. Taj Mahal city

55. As opposed to gross

56. *”Willard” animal

SIPS OF DRAGON FRUIT MOJITO BY THE SEA

Playa Largo can be found tucked away at MM 97. It’s a gorgeous, high-end resort that sits right on the bay with all the best views.

NEIGHBOR OF THE WEEK

SPOTLIGHTING THE AMAZING INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THE UPPER KEYS

No matter how many individuals appear in the pages of each edition of Keys Weekly, there are always so many more of our community members who deserve to be recognized. In an effort to shine a spotlight on more of the incredible individuals who live and work in these islands, Keys Weekly is proud to spotlight our Neighbor of the Week feature, dedicated to celebrating a community member with each issue. This week’s neighbor is a Tavernier resident who’s spent many years getting young explorers out on the water in Key Largo.

What’s one thing people don’t know about you? I love to garden.

What can people find you doing when you’re not working? Pulling out weeds, nursing my plants, fertilizing my grass, hiking and traveling.

What would you do if you won the lottery? Buy a Mac Daddy, tricked-out RV and visit as many national parks as I could.

is a Keys native who has a passion for all things food. She runs the local food blog, “Florida Keys Eats.”

Many Keys residents aren’t aware that it is home to Sol By The Sea, a restaurant that welcomes locals and the public. On boat days that I venture from north Key Largo to Islamorada, I stop midway at Playa Largo. They have dockage and a dock attendant available. Right next to the boat slips is where you’ll find Sol By The Sea. I run upstairs and get my usual, the dragon fruit mojito.

This drink is what the kids nowadays would call “instagrammable.” The neon pink libation definitely turns heads. They accomplish the vibrant color with fresh dragon fruit. Get it to go or get it served in a glass that sits tall and is topped with fresh mint and lime. The bright green colors are the perfect contrast to the dragon fruit fuchsia and really give a visual pop. Everything about this beverage looks like it would be extremely sweet, but I promise it is not. It hits all the notes of the simple ingredients of a classic mojito with a fun twist.

Any time I or someone else orders this, you see patrons pointing and asking their waiter, “what cocktail is that?” If you weren’t already aware, one of Cuba’s most famed drinks is the mojito. What better way than to have one made from scratch by a Havana native and Sol By The Sea bartender, Javier. I jump with joy every time I see Javi tending to the bar. The funny thing is, I’m not the only one. I noticed every time cocktails at Sol By the Sea are the topic of discussion, someone always mentions “make sure to ask for Javi, he makes the best drinks,” and he really does.

I also want to warn you: sip slowly. This is one of those refreshments you could easily end up saying another one and another one. So do yourself a favor, shake things up a little bit. Order the fun drink for once and soak in the views at Sol By The Sea.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be? Crazy as it sounds, but I would have loved to have met Princess Diana. I was 12-13 when the whole romance with Charles and the royal wedding happened, and she just made such an impact on me as a teenager and later as an adult.

What is the best and worst part of the Keys? Love all the fantastic places we have to eat and drink, but absolutely detest how limited our shopping options are.

If you could improve one thing in the Keys, what would it be? More useful stores where we can buy things for our home.

What is your spirit animal? I’m a total dog person.

The title of my autobiography would be? “I did it MY WAY.”

Your favorite movie: “Master and Commander” with Russel Crowe.

Favorite app on your phone? Sudoku.

Rosa Lamela Director, Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program

FLORIDA KEYS EATS

SAMANTHA DELLILO

The dragon fruit mojito at Sol By The Sea. SAMANTHA DELLILO/Keys Weekly