Marathon Weekly 24-0118

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Is this what they mean when they say we’re in a pickle?

Jan. 18, 2024

HOW MANY MORE UNITS? Marathon request draws county’s ire | P.4 REDEVELOPMENT RISKS Council zeroes in on zoning, hotel projects | P.6 VACATION RENTAL CRACKDOWN Tax collector making strides | P.17

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

WE’VE SOLD MORE PROPERTIES OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS THAN THE NEXT FOUR COMPANIES COMBINED CALL US TO FIND OUT HOW • 305.743.5181 JUST SOLD! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SELLER!

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Helping Keys Residents since 2002. The Coldwell Banker Schmitt Charitable Foundation was created in April 2002, and is dedicated to helping Keys’ residents whose critical needs are not being met through other means. The funds are donated to the Foundation through the generous hearts of the Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate agents, staff, associates, business partners, and the public. www.gooddeedsinthekeys.org

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

MARATHON | $1,095,000 | LISTING ID: 607834

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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

Publisher / Jason Koler jason@keysweekly.com

Publishing Partner / Britt Myers britt@keysweekly.com

Marathon Editor / Alex Rickert alex@keysweekly.com

Staff Writers

Jim McCarthy jim@keysweekly.com Mandy Miles mandy@keysweekly.com

Copy Editor / Mike Howie mike@keysweekly.com

Digital Editor / Gwen Filosa gwen@keysweekly.com

Director of Sales

Manuela Carrillo Mobley manuela@keysweekly.com

Business Development Patti Childress patti@keysweekly.com

Production Manager

Anneke Patterson anneke@keysweekly.com

Executive Administrator Charlotte Hruska char@keysweekly.com

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Javier Reyes javier@keysweekly.com Irene de Bruijn irene@keysweekly.com Diana Striker

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Se habla español

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

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Television ads for the jaw-dropping Royal Caribbean cruise ship “Icon of the Seas” have aired for months.

On Jan. 10, the largest cruise ship in the world arrived for trips to the eastern and western Caribbean. The $2 billion cruise ship can hold 10,000 people. Prices for a single person begin at $1,700.

A recent draft of a bill sent by Marathon City Manager George Garrett to Rep. Jim Mooney requesting 8,000 building allocations for the Florida Keys accomplished its goal to “start the conversation” on a plan for expiring BPAS units. But the request has its share of opponents. See below.

GETTING THE CONVERSATION STARTED

Marathon request for building allocations, hurricane evacuation change meets county opposition ALEX RICKERT alex@keysweekly.com

A

draft of a bill that could provide up to 8,000 new building allocations to the Florida Keys, written by Marathon City Manager George Garrett and submitted to state Rep. Jim Mooney, seems to have accomplished its goal of “starting the conversation” on future development in the Keys – but not without drawing the ire of some officials and residents throughout the island chain.

The resolutions At its Jan. 9 meeting, the Marathon City Council passed resolution 2024-01 on consent, intended to outline the city’s stance on changes of statutes governing mandatory hurricane evacuation times in the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern – and the resulting building allocations that could be bestowed on the island chain, should that mandatory clearance time increase. The resolution includes the city’s support for adding the Keys’ mobile homes to Phase 1 of hurricane evacuations (48 hours in advance of a storm) and Key West residents not living in mobile homes to Phase 2 (24 hours).

At the council’s Dec. 12, 2023 session, City Attorney Steve Williams advised the council to pursue as many additional allocations as possible from the state to use in the Building Permit Allocation System as a defense against takings cases from property owners of vacant but otherwise buildable lots.

Recent estimates from Marathon city staff indicate that the city has 1,026 vacant lots, including 556 buildable lots and 215 waterfront properties. The city’s final BPAS allocations will expire in July 2024, but it currently holds applications for 81 market rate and 40 affordable allocations, 48 of which have reached a point that they could request to use the city’s 12 remaining Administrative Relief allocations.

“When the day ever comes that you don’t have a (BPAS) permit to give out, you can go on the record and say, ‘Dear state of Florida, please defend this, because we asked for all the units we could and you said no to us,’” he said.

However, Resolution 2024-01 contains only general provisions seeking a remedy for potential takings cases, simply urging the Legislature to “collectively and collaboratively work with Monroe County and other municipalities this year and during this Legislative Session to develop a Legislative solution to the continuation of BPAS (ROGO) and the cessation of the ‘takings’ dilemma.”

As predicted by Williams in December, Marathon’s third provision contrasts a portion of a resolution passed Dec. 13 by the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners. While supportive of the same Key West and mobile home provisions in hurricane evacuation changes, the county resolution instead asks the legislature to “hold off on any further related actions until the public has time to consider the related issues and make thoughtful recommendations.”

Monroe County Mayor Holly Raschein repeated that the county was not “under the gun,” stressing the need for greater collaboration among municipalities, and further analysis of environmental and infrastructure concerns as well as total liabilities, before pursuing a legislative goal in the 2025 state session. Commissioner Craig Cates said he hoped to take the question of additional allocations to a voter referendum, whether binding or not, in the November 2024 election.

Addressing the county commission in December, Williams said Marathon would seek “as many units as necessary to cover our takings exposure,” but would not seek to receive all the units immediately, stretching a distribution over a period of up to 50 years. Acknowledging the need to “go to Tallahassee with one voice,” Williams added that “(Marathon) run(s) out (of units) in 2024. … Our takings cases ripen before yours do.”

“We definitely need to move forward,” Garrett added in the same meeting. “We’ve been just talking about it. We need to get together and talk about this, but the imperative is there, from our perspective.”

The addition Though Resolution 2024-01 did not contain specifics of a desired “fix” for Marathon’s takings liability, those concerns were addressed in draft bill language sent by Garrett to Mooney, County Administrator Roman Gastesi and County Attorney Bob Shillinger in the days following the Jan. 9 meeting.

The draft proposed modifications to Florida state statute 380.0552(9)(a) and section 28-36.004(3) of the Florida Administrative code, which govern the Florida Keys and Key West Areas of Critical State Concern (ACSCs), respectively. Among other items, the amendments propose a move from 24 to 31 hours for hurricane evacuation clearance times, along with a distribution of 8,000 residential allocations across both ACSCs, to be split among jurisdictions based on the numbers of vacant lots within each. continued on page 26

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

HOTEL REDEVELOPMENT LANGUAGE CONCERNS MARATHON COUNCIL Jan. 9 session approves public marina for Marlin Bay, denies 105th Street zoning change

Pictured here in early conceptual plans, a resort planned for Sombrero Boulevard drew questions from the Marathon City Council for its connection to a proposed hotel redevelopment ordinance. CONTRIBUTED

ALEX RICKERT alex@keysweekly.com

A

fter a presentation on a possible county charter and a vote to remove the structure at Marathon’s controversial Kmart bus stop, the remainder of the Marathon City Council’s evening on Jan. 9 zeroed in on development projects and zoning changes around the island.

Hotel ordinance tabled, draws criticism Following strong concerns from councilmen Kenny Matlock and Jeff Smith, an ordinance that would expand redevelopment rights for hotel and motel units was once again tabled for future discussion.

Ordinance 2023-15, originally reviewed by the council in August 2023, contains increased provisions for affordable housing, requiring redeveloped hotel rooms to pair with on- or offsite employee housing with living space equal to 25%, versus the previously-required 20%, of the space in the redeveloped units.

However, where previous redevelopment of hotel and motel rooms was restricted to new units of up to three bedrooms, the text of the ordinance as proposed Tuesday night would allow a single-bedroom unit to redevelop as a four-, five- or six-bedroom unit, in exchange for a reduction of total units on the site – 90% of the previous total for two-bedroom units, or 85%, 80%, 75% and 70% for three-, four-, five- or sixbedroom units, respectively.

Though council opinions varied on what the final number should be, redeveloped units would likely have a maximum size between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet, as discussed that evening.

“At this point (these units) are like 24-hour vacation rentals,” said Matlock. “You’re basically renting a house.”

He pointed to plans currently in place for the Florida Keys Resort, a “150-key luxury boutique hotel” set for development on the Florida Keys Country Club property on Sombrero Boulevard, adding that he questioned whether the proposed change was aimed at specifically assisting that project, rather than “cleaning up” city ordinances, as it was originally framed.

As proposed Tuesday, the provisions for redeveloping five- and six-bedroom units would only apply “within the (Parks and Recreation) Zoning District.” Within the city, the Florida Keys Resort property is one of only two Parks and Recreation-zoned areas with transient building rights, and the only one set for development of a hotel. The other is Curry Hammock State Park, with sites for tents and RVs. “They’re going to have a project there no matter what,” Matlock admitted. “(But) why would we take the reins off of this and set a precedent for other hotels and motels in town? … My question is, what does the town gain in redoing this ordinance?”

Smith said that while the redevelopment provisions have been used sparingly in the past, “my concern is what would happen as these (transient units) are moved off of older hotels, ported somewhere else, and all of a sudden we have six bedrooms?”

Councilman Luis Gonzalez agreed that “there need to be a whole lot of changes that need to be made, and there needs to be a lot more light,” and the council unanimously tabled the ordinance for the second time, seeking further discussion on the percentage reductions, a tentative cap on redeveloped bedrooms at four, and a potential cap on the square footage of each redeveloped unit.

In other news: • With a third amendment to the development agreement for Marlin Bay Yacht Club, a portion of the marina will be opened for public use.

The reconfigured site plan includes 92 dwelling units, some of which will be elevated to allow for parking underneath the structures, along with 99 wet slips. Speaking on behalf of the yacht club, attorney Bart Smith said the reconfigured site plan would allow more open parking areas to service the marina, while still maintaining two parking spaces per residential unit and one parking space per two wet slips. With direction from the council, long-term boat leases and vacation rentals of boats within the marina will be prohibited.

• Unanimously approved in its second hearing, Ordinance 2023-23 allows law enforcement officers to issue a trespass warning at the time of a first violation for consumption of alcohol or smoking at the city’s public parks and beaches.

At the request of the Sheriff’s Office and approval of the council, the ordinance will include an appeal process for violations.

• In a 4-1 vote, with Smith as the lone “no,” the council denied a request to alter the zoning of a property at the north end of 105th Street Ocean from Residential Medium to Mixed Use in order to create an outdoor storage and parking area. Though recommended for approval by city staff, the conversion was recommended for denial 4-0 by Marathon’s planning commission. Public commenters from the neighborhood opposed the change, citing concerns of traffic and congestion along with child and animal safety. Matlock and Gonzalez immediately spoke against the proposal, offering similar traffic and community character concerns, while Smith said community character concerns worried him less than traffic issues as there are existing adjacent commercial properties.

• Ordinance 2024-03, unanimously approved, modifies the city’s Existing Building Recertification (EBR) process by expanding the pool of engineers qualified to perform inspections under the ordinance. Under the text of the original ordinance, inspection of existing buildings for recertification purposes could be performed by “licensed, qualified professionals who have submitted written proof, accepted by the Building Official, of experience in the recertification of multiple story buildings.” With the new change, inspections are now open to be performed by “licensed, qualified professional engineers.” Building Official Gerard Roussin confirmed that the city still maintains criteria for structural and electrical engineers involved in the mandated inspections, but that the ordinance change would allow local engineers heavily familiar with particular buildings to perform their recertifications.

“We have multiple EBRs out there (that) have not done the reports yet, and the number one issue you hear is, ‘I can’t get anyone on the EBR list to return a call right now,’” Roussin said. “My number one concern is that I want to make sure we are not lowering our standards for what’s required. It’s based on life safety.”

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

COLLISIONS ON U.S. 1 CAUSE SERIOUS INJURIES, FULL ROADBLOCK Four crashes were reported by MCSO in the Lower Keys over the weekend GWEN FILOSA gwen@keysweekly.com

F

our crashes on U.S. 1 in the Lower Keys over the weekend – including two head-on collisions – sent multiple people to hospitals with serious injuries, caused temporary full roadblocks and backed up traffic on the only major highway that runs through the island chain.

One small stretch of U.S. 1 seemed cursed over the weekend. Three instances of vehicles smashing into each other happened between mile markers 11-14 of Overseas Highway within the 48 hours, on Jan. 13-14.

The Trauma Star helicopter air ambulance was called to at least two incidents, including the first head-on crash of the weekend reported by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, Jan. 13.

At 11:20 a.m., a pickup truck driven by a 28-year-old man from Lynn Haven, Florida, was southbound approaching MM 13 when the truck entered the northbound lane “for an unknown reason,” and collided head-on with a van, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

“No skid marks were noted at this scene,” the FHP’s brief report said.

Five people were sent to hospitals and Trauma Star responded to airlift patients. Details on those taken to the mainland weren’t provided in the FHP crash report and conditions weren’t available.

FHP refuses to release names of people involved in crashes, whether or not they are injured, citing a crime victims’ rights amendment known as Marsy’s Law. Voters approved the amendment in 2018 and it took effect in January 2019.

The pickup truck driver was critically injured and a male passenger from Panama City, whose age was not provided, had serious injuries. Both were wearing seat belts, FHP said.

Inside the van were a 43-year-old man behind the wheel and two passengers: a 35-year-old woman and a 4-year-old girl. All three people in the van live in Melbourne, Florida.

The female passenger – the only one FHP said was not wearing a seat belt – suffered critical injuries, while the driver had serious injuries. The girl’s injuries were listed as minor in the FHP report.

A full roadblock closed the road for about a half an hour and lanes weren’t completely reopened until nearly 1 p.m.

But then, just after 1 p.m., MCSO reported another crash at MM 11 that delayed traffic even further. FHP said deputies handled this one because troopers were tied up near MM 13.

At 1:18 p.m Saturday, MCSO posted on Facebook that the road was open at MM 11. No injuries from this crash were reported.

Another head-on crash On the morning of Jan. 14, a second head-on collision on U.S. 1 was reported by law enforcement, this time at MM 14.

At 8:45 a.m., a 2022 Ford Mustang headed north with a 57-year-old driver and an 8-year-old passenger, both from Sweden, crossed the double yellow center line and smacked into the guardrail on the southbound shoulder, according to FHP. But the Mustang didn’t stop there.

The Mustang “then entered back into the southbound travel lane” right into the front of a southbound 2005 Hyundai Accent driven by a 28-year-old from Key West with three other people inside.

After the collision, the back end of the Hyundai collided with the concrete barrier on the northbound shoulder.

The two Swedish travelers in the Mustang were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center with minor injuries.

Meanwhile, the driver and two others in the Hyundai were airlifted to Miami with serious injuries. Both the driver and the backseat passenger went to the Kendall Regional Medical Center, while the front seat passenger was flown to Jackson South Medical Center.

A fourth passenger in the Hyundai’s backseat was treated for minor injuries at Lower Keys Medical Center.

“All occupants are in stable condition,” FHP said in the crash report released the day after the crash.

Jeep rolls over twice A fourth crash over the 48-hour period on the Overseas Highway in the Lower Keys happened Sunday at MM 5.5. But no one was taken to the hospital.

This time, it was a single vehicle that rolled over, leaving the 16-year-old driver shaken and badly bruised by the seat belt she wore. She returned safely to her family, who declined medical treatment.

The teen was driving a Jeep Wrangler when she went to change lanes only to find a vehicle approaching “super fast” behind her in the lane she was trying to enter, her mother, Kristen Livengood, told Keys Weekly.

The teen moved back into her lane but she overcorrected and the tires went into a skid, Livengood said. The Jeep then flipped over completely – twice – and landed on the tires. Photos of the Jeep showed it coated in scratches and that it appeared to be smeared with mud.

Livengood credited her daughter surviving the crash with scratches and major bruises to seatbelts, the Jeep’s roll bars, “and a smart girl who knew to cross her arms when it started spinning and flipped,” she wrote on Facebook.

A head-on collision on U.S. 1 between a pickup truck and a van on Saturday, Jan. 13, sent five people to hospitals and caused a road block. MCSO/contributed

A Trauma Star helicopter ambulance responded to this head-on car crash between a pickup truck and a van on Jan. 13 on U.S. 1 in the Lower Keys. MANDY MILES/ Keys Weekly

The driver of this Mustang caused a head-on crash on Jan. 14 on U.S. 1 near MM 14, after crossing the double yellow line, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

MCSO/Contributed

A 16-year-old Keys girl walked away from a singlevehicle crash in this Jeep Wrangler on Jan. 14. KRISTEN LIVENGOOD/Contributed

9

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

MARATHON COUNCIL WORKSHOP TO ADDRESS BUILDING UNITS REQUEST Second meeting shifts to Monday, Jan. 22

T

he Marathon City Council will hold its normal workshop on Monday Jan. 22. The date has been shifted to Monday as the city council and staff will be heading north to Tallahassee for Florida Keys Day. The city will take advantage of the week to speak to state legislators as the legislative session enters its third week.

Subjects for this coming Monday’s meeting will be: 1. A discussion of recent hurricane evacuation modeling by the state and the consequences of that modeling on future Building Permit Allocation System residential units; and 2. Revisions to the Quay boat ramp and park project to potentially provide for two boat ramps at that site.

The city has significant concerns related to “takings” liability in light of recent decisions rendered by the 3rd District Court of Appeals for the state. The city holds applications for 81 market rate BPAS allocations and 40 affordable BPAS allocations. Among the 121 applications for BPAS allocations, 48 have reached a point at which they could potentially request Administrative Relief BPAS allocations, of which there are only 12.

Recent estimates in Marathon indicate that there are about 1,026 vacant parcels within the city, 556 of which are estimated as buildable, with 215 of those 556 being waterfront properties. The city is committed to working with Monroe County and each of the other municipalities to develop a positive future scenario for BPAS (ROGO).

Concerning the Quay property, the city had developed a plan to develop the property as a community park. The city council in review of that plan requested that staff realign the plan to provide two boat ramps at the site while continuing to plan for a park function.

City staff has developed two options that may work to accomplish the council’s request These options will be presented and potential costs for each will be provided.

– Contributed

HOW’S THIS SOUND: JIMMY BUFFETT MEMORIAL HIGHWAY State lawmakers want to honor music legend with A1A naming and license plate GWEN FILOSA gwen@keysweekly.com

F

lorida lawmakers want to honor the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett by christening State Road A1A the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.

The bill reads: “All of those portions (of State Road A1A) located in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Brevard, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Duval and Nassau counties,” would be named after Buffett, who died Sept. 1, 2023, at age 76.

The bill had its first reading on Jan. 10. An identical bill was filed in the state Senate. A Senate filing says the renaming would cost the state $23,400.

State Rep. Chuck Clemons, a Republican from Newberry, proposed “an honorary designation” to stamp Buffett’s name on the iconic coastal highway that spans 340 miles from Fernandina Beach down to Key West, where an unknown Buffett lived in the 1970s.

Though Buffett was born in Mississippi and raised in Alabama, Florida is where he created a new genre, now dubbed “Trop Rock,” with party anthems like “Fins,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” along with introspective ballads “Come Monday,” and “Son of a Son of a Sailor.”

Buffett’s 1974 album, “A1A” includes “A Pirate Looks at 40, “Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season” and “Tin Cup Chalice.”

When it was released, Buffett released this note: “A1A is the beach access road that runs occasionally on and off U.S. 1. It can take you to some of the prettiest beaches in Florida east of St. Augustine, right through the middle of ‘Wrinkle City,’ better known as Miami Beach, and ending suddenly 90 miles north of Havana and four blocks from my house.”

If approved this legislative session, the law would order the Florida Department of Transportation to put up road signs designating the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway by Aug. 30.

Jimmy Buffett performed in Key West in recent years. FLORIDA KEYS NEWS BUREAU/ Contributed

Buffett went on to build a fortune with his Margaritaville brand, inspired by his humble beginnings in Key West.

In his last four years, Buffett struggled with Merkel cell skin cancer, according to the obituary on the singer’s website.

But he didn’t disclose his illness publicly and continued performing.

Seven months before his death, Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band played four shows in Key West, including two intimate concerts at the Key West Theater.

“Jimmy was love,” his wife Jane wrote in an online message to the public days after Buffett died. “Every cell in his body was filled with joy. He smiled all the time, even when he was deeply ill. And his sense of humor never wavered. Jimmy was always the optimist, always twinkling, always making us laugh.”

‘Margaritaville’ license plate In addition to the A1A proposal, state lawmakers will consider creating a “Margaritaville” specialty license plate, after the name of his signature and most successful single.

If approved, the Florida Margaritaville plate would cost a driver $25 per year.

Proceeds from the plates would go to Singing For Change, a nonprofit Buffett founded in 1995 that supports small and large nonprofits to help people living in poverty “achieve sustainable self-sufficiency through vibrant, diverse communities,” according to its mission statement.

The nonprofit’s website quotes Buffett as having said, “Have fun, make money and leave the world a better place.”

The state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles estimates adding the specialty plate will cost $7,680. If approved, it would take effect Oct. 1.

11

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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My name is Olivia Diemel, I am a new Florida Keys local and I can not wait to meet you! I have always had a true passion for helping others feel beautiful in their own skin.

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Book on Vagaro (scan QR code) or by phone: 850-776-6666 Town Square Mall 11400 Overseas Hwy, Ste 205 Marathon

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Just what you have been waiting for. Direct ocean building, 2 bedroom & 2 bath. First level corner unit. Nicely updated and furnished. Just steps to Tiki and pool. $650,000 MLS #605922

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Tickets $20.00 On Sale Now at The Nearly New Thrift Store and Nearly New Furniture Store Or Call 305.743.6412 May the peace of the Lord be always with you WE OFFER A COMMUNITY OF PEACE, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING.

St. Columba Episcopal Church 451 West 52nd St, Marathon Fl

12

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

JOB FAIR Please come out Monday, January 22nd between 10:00-2:00 pm at Grassy Flats Resort for a 2024 Job Fair!

Learn about joining our team of hospitality and watersports professionals at one of the last locally owned and operated resorts in the middle keys!

Competitive pay, opportunities for advancement, great work environment!

Hiring immediately for the following positions at:

Grassy Flats Resort and Beach Club Front Desk & Guest Services Administrative Assistant Social Media Marketing - Content Creator - Graphic Designer Housekeeping Events Coordinator and Sales Maitre D Bellhop Hotel Manager Retail Manager

The Rhum House and Palm Deck Server Bartender General Manager Breakfast Server Sushi Chef

The Lagoon on Grassy Key Keys Cable Park Wakeboard Coaches (basic experience neccesary) Rhum Runner Aqua Guide Retail Manager Garden Volunteers Pottery Manager

BLUE BEAR 7-year-old labrador mix.

Looking for: I’m a big snuggle bug that loves being with people.

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MOCHACHINO 2-month-old male domestic shorthair.

Looking for: Let’s play and eat snacks together.

Turnoffs: Nothing! I’m just a kid.

Bongos Botanical Beer Garden Line Cook Dishwasher Prep Cook Bartender Please bring resume and two forms of ID. Must be able to legally work in the United States.

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JOIN US FOR A CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR FERNANDO BRIONES

January 27, 2024 3pm - 6pm American Legion Post 154 4115 Overseas Highway, Marathon 305.393.1222 for more information

SWIPE RIGHT

Adorable furry faces are waiting for families at the Florida Keys SPCA

Keys Weekly is thrilled each week to showcase some “furever” friends that are ready, waiting and available for their perfect adoption “match” at the Florida Keys SPCA’s Marathon campus – complete with their best qualities, preferences and turnoffs to ensure the best fit.

From cats and dogs to Guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, reptiles and birds, the perfect addition to your family is waiting for you at one of the SPCA’s two campuses, in Key West and Marathon. The SPCA’s knowledgeable staff will help with advice and care tips while working to ensure a good fit between each pet and its people. The SPCA’s Golden Paw program also provides special assistance with vet bills and medications for special-needs and older animals that require a little extra TLC. See all the animals waiting for a home at fkspca.org. To contact the Marathon campus, call 305-743-4800 or visit at 10550 Aviation Blvd.

OHANA 2-year-old male rabbit.

Looking for: It’s lonely without a friend. Will you be my friend?

Turnoffs: I’m new here, so the nice people are just getting to know me.

13

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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15

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

Karen Represented the Buyers of: 490 11th Street, Key Colony Sold for $2,035,000

JUST SOLD Karen Raspe 305-393-9010 Cell 305-743-7636 Office KarenRaspe@bellsouth.net

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Michael Grant 305-432-1690 MyKeysCM.com CGC 1534775

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16

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

1022 E. 75th Street Marathon, Florida Keys

946 E. 75th Street Ocean Marathon, Florida Keys

Kim’s Luxury Listing Just SOLD!

LISTED & SOLD BY LARA RUTSKIN MARTIN!

Kim Rabito-Show's Listing Just Sold in Marathon! This beautifully remodeled 5 Bedroom 4 Bathroom home offers a 75' of dockage, it sits on a large fenced lot with tropical mature landscaping, oversized high impact windows that overlook the canal and a large paver driveway, and a swimming pool with a heater! SOLD for $1,775,000!

If you are considering buying or selling a property, give Kim a call today at 305-304-8591 or email at Kimmieinthekeys@gmail.com

Lara Listed and Just SOLD in Marathon! This 3 Bedroom 2 Bathroom canal front home offers a 75ft concrete dock, boat lift and a clean wide canal, 3 car garage, open concept living room, and a screened in balcony overlooking the sparkling blue canal.

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I am dedicated to helping you BUY or SELL your piece of paradise in the Florida Keys!

Call me today!

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Kim Rabito Show

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11050 Overseas Hwy., Marathon

kimmieinthekeys@gmail.com 11050 Overseas Hwy., Marathon ©2018 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. All rights reserved. ®,TM and SM are registered trademarks licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. An equal opportunity company. Equal housing opportunity. Each office is independently owned and operated, except offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated.

©2018 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. All rights reserved. ®,TM and SM are registered trademarks licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. An equal opportunity company. Equal housing opportunity. Each office is independently owned and operated, except offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated.

2650 Manor Lane Marathon, Florida Keys

LISTED & SOLD by Michelle & Kim!

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Michelle and Kim got this gorgeous Sunset Point home in Marathon under contract in just 40 days. That is 44 days quicker than the Middle Keys Market is performing!

If you are on the fence about selling, give us a call for a complimentary equity analysis. We can help you determine what your home might sell for in today's market.

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MICHELLE WININGER & KIM RABITO SHOW, REALTORS® MICHELLE—860-707-5389 | MICHELLEWININGERSELLS@GMAIL.COM KIM—305.304.8591 |KIMMIEINTHEKEYS@GMAIL.COM 11050 Overseas Hwy., Marathon

©2018 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. All rights reserved. ®,TM and SM are registered trademarks licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. An equal opportunity company. Equal housing opportunity. Each office is independently owned and operated, except offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated.

17

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

TAX COLLECTOR TAKES AIM AT FRAUDULENT VACATION RENTALS Failure to pay this tax could lead to liens and even jail time KELLIE BUTLER FARRELL www.keysweekly.com

M

onroe County Tax Collector Sam Steele is used to being lied to; it comes with the territory.

“It’s hard to believe everything that’s said to you, especially being a government official, because people say whatever they can to not pay something,” Steele said.

That’s why since taking office, Steele has stepped up public outreach efforts to clear up any ambiguity when it comes to local tax obligations for properties being rented for six months or less.

Besides giving presentations to community organizations about the required tourist development tax, or bed tax as it is sometimes called, Steele has also taken out newspaper advertisements, increased his office’s social media presence, and taken to the radio airwaves.

“We’re trying to inform and educate property owners as much as possible,” said Steele, who took the reins of the Monroe County Tax Collector’s office in 2021 at the age of 33, becoming the youngest tax collector to be elected in Monroe County’s history. Steele is currently the youngest tax collector in Florida.

Like other popular tourist destinations, Monroe County has seen an increase in properties being used as vacation rentals. But many property owners either don’t understand the local tax obligations, or simply choose to ignore them.

Last year, along with their property tax bills, Monroe County property owners received a color brochure titled “A Guide to Tourist Development Tax,” detailing rental requirements for property owners and managers.

“In the past our office used to send out this one-page orange flier that didn’t have quite as much information on there,” Steele said.

The new brochure explains, in detail, state and local tax obligations for short-term rental properties; 7.5% sales tax must be remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue, another 5% in tourist development tax (TDT) must be remitted to the Monroe County tax collector.

Monroe County Tax Collector Sam Steele holds up a copy of the ‘Guide to Tourist Development Tax.’ Steele created the brochure last year and sent it to all property owners in Monroe County along with their tax bills. CONTRIBUTED

“We’re very lenient with other things,” Steele said. “Tourist development tax is one thing we’re very firm on. We have a very strict policy.”

In fiscal year 2022, a whopping $90 million in TDT was collected in Monroe County. Fiscal year 2023 saw a decline of $9 million, with $81 million being collected.

“I think there’s going to be a downward trend. I don’t know how fast it’s going to go,” predicted Steele.

Besides widely distributing the brochures, Steele also uses a software program called RentalScape to identify rental properties not in compliance with TDT requirements. The software cross-references and mines information from roughly 80 different online platforms, including VRBO and Airbnb. Steele says it works.

“When these property owners try to say ‘I just started renting a week ago’ and we find out that they’ve been renting for over a year, I have no leniency for them,” said Steele.

When noncompliant rentals are identified, Monroe County certified fraud examiner Pamela Sellers rolls up her sleeves.

“Once you’re on my radar, there’s no getting around paying back taxes,” said Sellers, adding the tax collector’s office can go back 36 months to recover unpaid taxes.

“We do have teeth when it comes to enforcement on fraudulent vacation rentals.”

— Sam Steele, Monroe County tax collector

18

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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20

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024 A common ground-dove seen in Key West. MARK HEDDEN/Keys Weekly

I

was sitting on the porch the other morning, drinking my coffee at a surprisingly early hour, considering what a late night it had been, when I heard it – a common ground-dove.

The call sounds like the world’s least urgent alarm — MARK a low, soft clarion that’s been HEDDEN turned from 11 down to ... is a photograone. It is a persistent single pher, writer, and syllable in a low register that semi-professional sounds borderline subsonic birdwatcher. He and tends to get repeated, has lived in Key according to the data, one to West for more than 25 years and 13 times, though sometimes may no longer it can seem like forever. The be employable in call is so unaccented and so the real world. He devoid of intensity, you’re is also executive not sure you’re hearing director of the Florida Keys Audu- anything first. It works its bon Society. way into your consciousness slowly, like water carving out a canyon.

Using anything but vowels to spell it out seems overly dramatic and maybe a little disrespectful, though opinions on that may vary, as the Sibley guide describes it as a hoooip hoooip hoooip, and Cornell University’s “Bird of the World” goes with woot woot woot. If you ever decide to track down a recording of it, keep in mind it was produced using a parabolic mic in close quarters, so that’s not how it sounds in the real world.

Once you hear it, though, once you know what it is, it tends to underscore things, like swelling violins in a movie, or a half-formed thought you can’t quite shake.

It was a sound that vexed me when I first took up birding. I kept hearing it in the parking lot over at the Harris School, where I used to have an office, and for the longest time I wasn’t sure it was even a bird. Or, again, if I was even hearing anything. And even after I got close to what I was pretty sure was the source, then saw a common ground-dove low in the bushes, I did not firmly believe the connection. It took a couple times and maybe seeing their throat move.

I suppose the fact that I can now recognize the call so readily could be taken as empirical proof that I do occasionally learn things from experience.

I’ve been reading a lot of John le Carré over the last few years, mostly the George Smiley novels. The character Smiley is pretty much the anti-James Bond – short, round and nebbishy, with thick glasses, so unassuming that most people don’t take him seriously, or even notice him, until he gingerly pulls the string that unwinds their evil scheme. (When he drinks it’s not for bravado, but often because his wife is cheating on him with other spies.)

Almost as much as the novels, I love the film versions, among them the two mini-series from the 1980s with Alec Guinness, who was trying to shed his Obi Wan persona, and the 2011 version of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” starring Gary Oldman and an all-star cast of British

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, DOVE

actors, or at least an all-star cast of white, male British actors. (The spy service was apparently not all that diverse back in the day.)

The 2011 movie is interesting for its complexity, but also its near-pornographic love of analog spy equipment and all the switches, wires, microphones and spinning tape reels that come with it. The film also has an amazing color palette, a fantasia in brown, beige, sepia, nutmeg, ecru and taupe.

Which gets me back to common grounddoves. I’ve been thinking of them lately as the George Smileys of the dove world, not because of their spying skills – though who knows what information they collect – but because everything about their persona, as a species, seems designed to make them underestimated and largely unnoticed. They are short, round, nebbishy and unassuming. And their color palette is also a fantasia in brown, beige, sepia and nutmegs, etc., accented by a blur of warm rust color in their primary feathers when they fly.

Common ground-doves are not the smallest doves in the world, but I’m pretty sure they are the smallest doves found in the U.S., and they are definitely the smallest doves found in the Keys – about 6 inches long and weighing just a little more than an ounce.

They tend to stick to the ground or the low bushes. They tend not to respond to possible threats overly quickly, as if not wanting to draw attention in case the possible threats turn out to be not actual threats. Sometimes, if you are not paying attention, it’s possible to confuse them with rocks.

The bird was first described to science in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who classified it in the genus Columba. Later it was reclassified into the genus Columbina, a category of smaller doves, which was created in 1825 by Johann Baptist von Spix. I mention this mostly because Johann Baptist von Spix is just such an excellent name.

The species’ two colloquial names were the tobacco dove – not for their tobacco-like color-

ing, but for their fondness of nesting near the crop – and the moaning dove.

Birds vocalize for a few reasons: to attract or entice a mate, to stake out territory, to warn each other about predators, or to tell each other where they are.

In the Keys, common ground-doves tend to make their oh-so-subtle call year round. Which would maybe make you think they do it to hold territory. But their calls are really all about finding love and getting some.

Common ground-doves generally live in warm weather places that have a plentiful supply of food – in their case, mainly the seeds of weeds and wild grasses, but also insects, fruits and berries. Predominantly they don’t migrate, which means they can breed any time of year.

And they do. A common ground-dove pair can hatch up to four two-egg clutches in a single year. Most of the year, the only time they get quiet is when they are incubating eggs.

The call they make is actually considered an advertisement for courtship. Common grounddoves have a thriving and active sex life.

It’s come out in recent months – largely due to a book chronicling all the details – that John le Carré (real name: David Cornwell) was a serial philanderer, and that much of the tradecraft he depicted in his books he employed while having affair after affair during the combined 66 years of his two marriages. And it might be tempting to draw some parallels between le Carré’s proclivities and the romantic stealthiness of common ground-doves.

But this is the thing: common grounddoves are hardcore monogamists. Not like most species, where monogamy is something that may only last a season. Common grounddoves form pair bonds that last a lifetime. And once a bond is established, they embrace the roles of homebodies, working very hard to avoid everyone else’s business.

Unlike George Smiley or John le Carré, they seem to have a pretty satisfactory home life.

They might just be the real romantics after all.

21

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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23

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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24

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

IGNORANCE REALLY IS BLISS Dunning-Kruger, anyone?

T

here’s an age-old bit of conventional wisdom in the corporate world called the Peter Principle. This principle states that in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence. The logic behind the principle is that an employee is promoted so long as he performs in a competent manner. When the employee is promoted to a position at which the competent performance ceases, so do the promotions. And there the employee remains, according to Dr. Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull.

Believe it or not, there’s also a corollary to the Peter Principle, which states that, “In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out his duties,” and adds that, “Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.” It’s such an incredibly optimistic and positive view of life.

A similar yet different bit of conventional wisdom is something I’ve observed in the worlds of regular and music business from time to time: actual talent is inversely proportional to ego. Most of the genuinely talented professionals and amateurs I’ve known and worked with are quite humble about what they do, while the less talented ones are those “special” cases who loudly proclaim just how good they are.

A musician posting in an online recording and performance forum I occasionally visit put it this way: “How can someone who is so bad not know how much they suck?” Well, dear readers, there is now scientific evidence that those who do indeed suck are the ones who are the least likely to know just how incompetent they are.

In a paper published in the December 1999 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Cornell University professor Dr. David Dunning and graduate student Justin Kruger suggest a possible reason for the seeming contradiction. The incompetent are often the most blissfully self-confident because the skills required for competence are the same skills needed to recognize competence.

Jimmy Kimmel referenced the Dunning-Kruger effect when blasting (deservedly) Aaron Rodgers for his insinuations about a non-existent association between Kimmel and Jeffrey Epstein. Kimmel said of Rodgers, “He’s too arrogant to know how ignorant he really is.”

The researchers studied test subjects in logic and English grammar. They found that the subjects who scored the lowest were the ones most likely JOHN to overestimate BARTUS how well they had performed. SubJohn Bartus is a jects who scored singer-songwriter in the 10th and and the former 12th percentiles mayor of Marabelieved that they thon. had scored in the 67th and 62nd percentiles.

Even more amazing, when the low scorers were asked to evaluate the tests of those subjects who earned high scores, they were still unable to recognize the competence of others who took the same test.

Some lower-scoring subjects actually left the exercise with an even higher opinion of their own competence after seeing the high-scoring tests.

On the other side of the coin, the test subjects with the highest scores often underestimated their own competence. Absent any information on how well other test subjects performed, the more competent subjects simply assumed that others had done as well as they had. When they got to evaluate the tests of the lower scoring subjects, however, the higher scoring subjects were quick to reevaluate their own performances.

Dunning and Kruger’s research has given greater credibility to my original hypothesis of talent being inversely proportional to ego. Plus, it explains why incompetent people don’t know that they suck. That’s why certain people constantly show up at karaoke nights and jam sessions, musical gods and goddesses, raging superiority complexes in tow. And that’s why Simon Cowell will always have a job.

So the next time you see a karaoke act and hear the singer massacre one of your favorite songs, don’t judge too harshly (save that for Simon). They truly know not what they do!

— Catch John live Wednesdays at Brutus Seafood, Thursdays at Sparky’s Landing, and Sundays at the Skipjack Resort Tiki Bar. Find his music anywhere you download or stream your music. www.johnbartus.com • johnbartus.hearnow.com

JUST THE TIPS

GO WHERE IT DOESN’T BLOW

When the wind isn’t a factor, trolling for wahoo can bring home what some consider to be the fish of a lifetime. NICK BORRACCINO/Contributed

W

ell, spin the wheel and see what the wind forecast lands on. It’s been all over the place the last few weeks, coming from every direction.

Keep checking that forecast to help you plan your next outing.

If you’re unfamiliar with how it works around here, the long and the short of it is: Head the way the wind is going. When a cold front comes through, and the wind is blowing out of the north, it’s nicer on the ocean side.

Even at velocities of 20-plus, it’s still usually pretty nice in close on the Atlantic side.

Hawk Channel and inside patch reefs can be very fishable and productive. That being said, the further out you go, the rougher it will get. Find a bump or lump in the channel, get up current of it and anchor in the sand with a Danforth or plow style anchor.

Stay off of it far enough to not get stuck every cast. The fish will move off of it into the chum.

Live shrimp and pilchards with a light wire and light jig head or no weight at all should get plenty of attention from mackerel. Fresh cut bait and live baits on the bottom will get snapper, grouper and jack bites. If you venture out deeper in search of yellowtail,

the dirty green CAPT. NICK water is your BORRACCINO friend.

Conis the owner and operator of versely, wind from the south Noreaster Sport Fishing in Maramakes it pretty thon. A Massachuswelly pretty setts native, Nick quickly on the fished for bluefin tuna and striped ocean side, bass before movso if you’re ing to the Keys in hoping for 2005. a smoother outing, head north into the bay on those days.

From five to 15 miles is a very active area. Mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel live in the grassy areas, and the dirtier water further out should have plenty of kingfish, runners, various jacks and more on any type of structure. I like to put a blue runner on a balloon or kite with a wire out there for a shot at a big kingfish.

If the wind is not an issue, the big prize lately has been wahoo. It seems particularly good around the full moon in 150 to 350 feet of water. Last week there were lots of nice fish caught trolling diving plugs and ballyhoolure combinations at 6-9 knots.

I’ll sure be ready for the next big bite!

25

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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26

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

TRUSTS • WILLS POWERS OF ATTORNEY LADYBIRD DEEDS Whether you are a resident or a snowbird, it is important to have your assets properly titled in a way that will avoid those assets going through probate.

KATHLEEN HENDRICKSON ATTORNEY AT LAW MASTERS OF LAW, ESTATE PLANNING 5701 Overseas Hwy • 305 393 2598

Ginger Represented the Buyers of: 246 Guava Avenue, Marathon Sold for $405,000

JUST SOLD Ginger Perreault 305-731-8148 Cell 305-743-7636 Office gingerperreault@keysrealestate.com A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC

NEVER BOUGHT. NEVER SOLD. ALWAYS LOCAL. CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF LOCAL MEDIA UPPER KEYS WEEKLY 91760 O/S Hwy Tavernier 305.363.2957

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KEY WEST WEEKLY 5450 MacDonald Ave, Ste 5 Key West 305.453.6928

from page 4

GETTING THE CONVERSATION STARTED

The draft proposes a 30-year distribution of the units, additionally limited by adopted Level of Service standards within each jurisdiction, but includes a critical distinction that “any individual jurisdiction may borrow residential allocations forward from future years if those allocations will be utilized for affordable housing development.” It’s unclear why the provision was included in an amendment otherwise aimed at defending takings cases from single buildable lots.

While early reports stated that both the resolution and draft bill language were sent as a request to Tallahassee, multiple Marathon officials confirmed to the Weekly that only the approved resolution was transmitted to the state.

The reaction Speaking with the Weekly by phone, Garrett said that while the draft language was not part of the approved Jan. 9 resolution, it had been reviewed with each council member individually prior to the meeting as the “start of essential dialogue” on the issue of building allocations and takings liability. While he said he understood the 8,000-allocation request could raise eyebrows, in order for Marathon to receive its necessary units, a distribution would need to include all jurisdictions governed by the pertinent statute.

Asked directly if Marathon would pursue the opportunity to add the draft language to an existing bill during the 2024 state legislative session, Garrett said, “I don’t think that’s going to happen this year. … (But) if somebody jumped up and said ‘we want to do this,’ I think we would work with them, but not to the exclusion of the county and the other municipalities.”

All five Marathon council members confirmed to the Weekly that they had seen the draft prior to the Jan. 9 meeting, with four adding that they viewed the language as an extension of the direction the council previously had provided to Garrett.

However, in a phone interview, councilman Kenny Matlock said that while he was briefly shown the draft, he was not allowed to leave from his meeting with Garrett with a copy of it, adding he felt “deliberately misled” about the city’s intent to request a specific number of units or hurricane evacuation time change. He said he would have pulled the Jan. 9 resolution from the consent agenda for discussion if he had known a specific request for additional allocations would be sent to state legislators.

Mooney said by phone that although he was initially shocked by the request, he had since discussed the draft with Garrett.

“I think George thought, let’s just get the ball rolling. But this isn’t a decision that one person is going to make,” Mooney said. “I think in hindsight he realized he probably should have reached out to everybody first, instead of just sending off their priorities.”

Mooney added that he didn’t agree with the “fear factor” of takings liabilities, saying that such cases were “not a slam dunk – they’re a full-court, three-point try.” He said the “borrow forward” provision in the draft was concerning as well.

“Here’s the problem: If I’m a developer and I come to you and say that I’m going to build 100 affordable units, I’m not going to build those on 100 lots,” he said. “That still leaves me with a whole bunch of vacant lots that aren’t going to get permits somewhere down the line. It could be next year or 30 years, but I’ll be back to the same scenario as I was before.”

County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln, who had in December suggested that Marathon stretch its remaining administrative relief allocations to cover the city’s liability until 2025, reiterated the need for extensive discussions among leaders and officials in different jurisdictions and conversations with residents before pursuing a specific evacuation change and allocation request.

“We’re still crunching our numbers,” she said. “I thought, if anything, (Marathon) might have asked for a few (allocations) to get through if they were afraid of having a takings case.”

Nearly a dozen Keys officials interviewed by the Weekly floated mounting developer pressure and the impending 2024 election as factors influencing municipalities’ willingness to pursue additional allocations in 2024 versus 2025.

The Marathon City Council is set to further discuss its stance on allocations and evacuation times at its workshop on Monday, Jan. 22 at Marathon City Hall. The workshop is set for 5:30 p.m.

But regardless of stances and methodology, as Marathon Vice Mayor Lynn Landry put it, the draft “did exactly what it was supposed to do. It has everybody talking about this.”

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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George Poveromo, host of “George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing” on Discovery network, will preside over the event. CONTRIBUTED

A

fter a three-year inperson absence due to COVID-19, the Salt Water Sportsman National Seminar Series will return to the Florida Keys live Saturday, Jan. 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Coral Shores Performing Arts Center, MM 89.9 oceanside in Islamorada.

The event will cover the “how-to” and “where-to” aspects of catching the Keys’ inshore, nearshore and offshore saltwater gamefish.

Set to preside over the event are George Poveromo, host of “George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing” on Discovery network, and captain Mark Schmidt, a Key West light tackle guide and International Game Fish Association world record holder.

“Entering our 37th year, the seminar series has become the nation’s longest-running and most popular educational course on recreational angling tactics and techniques,” Poveromo said.

“Its success has always been about the vast amount of cuttingedge and pertinent how-to information shared on catching more and bigger gamefish within the waters at each respective Seminar Series stop.

“This information is explained in great detail by some of the best saltwater anglers, and

each session is backed by elaborate visuals that include video, technical- and action-oriented images and onstage demonstrations,” he added.

Also set to appear are South Florida and Keys professionals including Liane Lopez, Clay Cowart, Jimmy Gagliardini, Dr. John Stieglitz, Scott Wenzel, Ryan Wenzel, Alan Wenzel, Diego Toiran, Jim Willcox, Abie Raymond and Chris Hanson.

The $65 ticket price covers five hours of instruction, a 2024 course textbook, a one-year subscription or extension to Salt Water Sportsman magazine, one Roff’s Ocean Fishing Forecast Analysis, boat care products, a Bass Pro Shops discount card and chances to win thousands of dollars in door prizes.

The grand prize at the conclusion of the seminar is a guided Florida Keys fishing trip with accommodations. The super grand prize, to be awarded two weeks after the conclusion of the 2024 series, is a new Mako Pro Skiff 17.

An after-seminar party is set for attendees beginning at 5 p.m.

Saturday at World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada.

To purchase tickets and learn more about the seminar, visit nationalseminarseries.com.

— Contributed

29

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

11 GAMES, 11 WINS The Marathon Middle School basketball team has yet to suffer a loss this season, going 11-0 in its matchups thus far. The Marathon community has two opportunities remaining to support the squad in home games, both against county rivals: Tuesday, Jan. 23 versus Sigsbee Charter School and Thursday, Jan. 25 against Sugarloaf School. Both games begin at 7 p.m. SEAN McDONALD/Keys Weekly

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30

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

WRECKERS BATTLE IT OUT A ship salvage leads to tussle in court Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series.

W

orking with history is always a learning process. I think it is pretty safe to say that when it comes to history, you only know as much as the last thing you read. It is one of the reasons the pursuit of history can be testing, wonderful and never exactly boring.

The insights and fallout from spending weeks reading and re-reading through surviving copies of the Florida Keys’ first newspaper, The Key West Register and Commerical Advertiser, continue. The print is small and clustered, making for strained reading through already strained and bespectacled eyes. Still, it is intriguing and must feel like gold panning — you spend time sifting through the regular dirt, hoping to uncover some really cool nugget.

The shiniest nugget for me, as a lover of all things relating to Indian Key, my favorite island in the chain, was discovering a juicy story involving Jacob Housman. Not only does it indirectly involve

Indian Key and tell a great Housman story, but it also alleges a little act of wrecker-on-wrecker crime.

While there are many Housman stories to tell, one has always stood out for me, and probably because, as I had heard it, read about it, and learned it from others, something about it never quite added up. The story printed in the paper’s April 30, 1829 edition was actually an official action from the United States of America, Southern Judicial District of Florida, directed to the district’s marshal.

The story involved the salvage of the brigantine Vigilant, $30,000 in silver specie (coins), and a windfall for the notorious wrecker Jacob Housman.

As I have always told the story, Housman and the French captain of the Vigilant entered into a deal after the vessel had grounded and its captain feared navigating the local shallows, shoals and reefs.

Housman was paid a 75% salvage award for duties performed as a wrecker.

According to Captain Daniel C. Mellon and the complaint he relayed to Judge Webb in Key West, there was a little more to the story. According to Mellon, on or about July 1, 1828, while accompanied by a single gentleman sailing in a smack, he discovered a two-masted ship wrecked in bad weather near Rachels Key. To lend aid, Mellon attempted to approach the stranded vessel, but foul weather prevented a safe approach, and he was forced to seek refuge at the Sister Keys.

There, Mellon discovered the captain and crew of the wrecked ship.

He also discovered that neither the captain nor the crew spoke English. To remedy the situation, and knowing that a

Frenchman on Rachels Key could act as a translator, Mellon sailed the ship’s captain to the island where their communication could be clarified.

According to Mellon’s testimony, the following was communicated at Rachels Key. The brig was named Vigilant.

FLORIDA Her captain requested Mellon’s KEYS assistance, engaging him to take HISTORY charge of the brig and its cargo of WITH silver specie, “Dye wood, Fustic, BRAD and Sassaparilla (sic).”

Reading through the account, BERTELLI I recognized that specie referred Brad is a local to coins, and $30,000 is a large historian, author, number today, but it represented speaker and a significantly greater number in Honorary Conch who loves sharing 1828. While I am not a huge fan the history of the of sarsaparilla, my favorite of the Florida Keys. colas is sarsaparilla’s cousin, root beer, so I understood the specie and sarsaparilla. Having no idea what fustic was, I did a little research. The “Dye wood” could have been Chlorophora tinctoria, a tree from the mulberry family. It is from the wood of this kind of tree that fustic, a yellowish dye, is created.

What is also attested to in Mellon’s account was that, having been engaged as the wreck master of the Vigilant, Mellon and his partner diligently worked “together with the crew of the Brig, with great difficulty and danger, saved the said vessel and cargo from total loss.” What was also said was that Mellon intended to sail the brig to Key West “to receive the amount for which he was entitled for the great service he rendered.”

And then, at some point, the wrecking schooner Sarah Isabella, manned by Captain Housman and his crew of seven, entered the scene. According to Mellon and the court action, Housman’s actions were of a criminal nature, and an action had been ordered by Judge Webb on April 6, 1829, “to take the body of Jacob Housman, & require of him to give bail in the full sum of ten thousand dollars, to insure his personal appearance at the Court House in Key West on the first Monday in May next.”

Next week, the story will continue, and we will discover the nature of the wrecker-on-wrecker crime Captain Housman was alleged to have committed.

31

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

City of Marathon City Council Agenda 9805 Overseas Hwy., Marathon

Monday, January 22, 2024, 5:30 P.M.

Tracy Represented the Sellers & Buyers of: 799 W Ocean Drive 301, Key Colony Sold for $1,375,000

JUST SOLD Tracy Chacksfield 312-350-4601 Cell 305-743-7636 Office Tracy@thebeautifulkeys.com A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC

30-60% OFF STOREWIDE CLEARANCE 10875 OVERSEAS HWY, OCEAN (TURN AT 107TH) MARATHON

• Casual, Beach & Career Wear • Certified Fair Trade & Designer Brands • Sizes XS to 3X • Family Swimwear • Jewelry & Accessories HOURS: OPEN TUES - SAT 9AM TO 6PM CLOSED SUN & MON

• Call to Order • Pledge of Allegiance • Roll Call • Quay Boat Ramp Discussion • BPAS and Hurricane Evacuation Study Discussion

ADA Assistance: Anyone needing special assistance at the City Council hearing due to disability should contact the City of Marathon City Attorney at (305) 289-4130 at least five days prior thereto. Please contact the City Clerk at clavierd@ci.marathon.fl.us if you would like to receive any of the items on the agenda by email.

Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes, if a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council with respect to any matter considered at such hearing or meeting, one will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose that person may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made; such record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. ADA Assistance: Anyone needing special assistance at the City Council hearing due to disability should contact the City of Marathon City Attorney at (305) 289-4130 at least five days prior thereto. Please contact the City Clerk at clavierd@ci.marathon.fl.us if you would like to receive any of the items on the agenda by email.

32

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

2024’S LITERARY FORECAST THE HEIRESS

By Rachel Hawkins Most people haven’t heard of the tiny town of Tavistock, North Carolina.

But if you were from these parts, you most certainly knew the McTavish family. When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore passes away, her long-lost son Camden returns, after a decade of living his life withdrawn from the family drama. Ruby was North Carolina’s richest woman. She was famous for being kidnapped as a child and later was mysteriously widowed four times. Her adopted son Camden is the sole heir to her estate, leaving other family members extremely unhappy. The clan resides in Ashby House, a place that does not hold many good memories for Camden. When he was old enough to escape, Camden moved to the west coast. He married young and lived a quiet existence as a teacher in Colorado. His pretty wife Jules encourages him to return when the family begs to repair the crumKAREN NEWFIELD bling home and decipher the fortune left in his First and foremost name. Jules is a little too a reader, she has eager to meet this conreviewed hunniving bunch and quickly dreds of books on her blog www. manipulates the twisted readingandeating. secrets that come to light. com. And, more Narrated by Cam, Jules recently, this new and Ruby’s letters, this Keys resident has is a suspenseful thriller. also begun writJanuary 2024. ing.

THRILLER, DRAMA AND ROMANCE. CHECK OUT THREE OF THE HOTTEST NEW RELEASES

A GREAT COUNTRY

By Shilpi Somaya Gowda The sun is shining, the sky a brilliant blue – just another beautiful day in Southern California.

The Shah family worked hard to build a business, buy a home and provide the best American life for their three children. One Saturday while attending a dinner, the Shahs receive an alarming call that their youngest, Ajay (12), is being held at the Orange County jail. Tall for his age, with no ID (why would a 12-year-old have an ID?) and on the spectrum, Ajay struggled to explain to the police why he was near the airport with a backpack of electronics. Roughed up because he “resisted” arrest, Ajay’s frantic parents find him battered, frightened and mute. In order to defend their actions, the overzealous officers push charges and the Shah family is set on an unimaginable roller coaster that changes everything they believed about the American dream. Supported by friends, they navigate the complicated system their child faces and racism that they held themselves apart from.

This book faces the challenges of holding onto treasured cultural values while trying to assimilate and succeed in America. Releases March 2024.

EXPIRATION DATES

By Rebecca Serle Every time Daphne meets a potential love interest, a message meanders into her life. The paper has a name on it and a number. The number represents how long their romance will last. Since Daphne was a young girl, these notes have never been wrong. She remains open-minded but knows exactly when each relationship will end. One day Daphne is preparing to go on a blind date and receives a note with no number. Finally, she will find her forever match. Excited and nervous, she takes extra care getting ready to meet Jake.

He is adorable and smart and they get along perfectly. There is no doubt Jake must be the one. Hugo, her charming once-boyfriend and current best friend, is not pleased, and suddenly his jealousy and suspicions get the better of him. Daphne begins to reminisce through her past and realizes what went wrong each time. As the truth comes to light, she must decide if it is fate or ultimately our own manipulations that bring two people together. With a little bit of magical realism and a lot of love, this romance is filled with heartbreak and hope. Releases March 2024.

#WORTHWATCHING: “Expats” follows the complicated lives of an affluent expatriate community in Hong Kong. Fragile friendships, questionable marriages and cryptic drama tangle the characters in a web of mystery. Watch on Prime Video Jan. 26. The book was outstanding.

33

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS Highland Sponsors

Bagpipe Sponsors Guinness | Million Air Rainbow Sponsors Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices | Keys Real Estate Blue Bistro by Skipjack The Owl Library & Bookstore US 1 Graphics Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Herbies' Bar & Chowder House Flowers by J & J Keys Audio Party Rentals Keys Fisheries Restaurant Market & Marina Keys AHEC Health Centers Marathon Garbage Service Marathon Electric Sign & Light Dr Michelle

Shamrock Sponsors Aquarium Encounters Castaways Against Cancer Dolphin Research Center First State Bank Irish Kevins Island Restroom Suite Key West Adventures Royal Furniture and Design Sweet Savannah's Keys Animal Hospital Winn Dixie

Thistle Sponsor 3rd Generation Plumbing AM Electric Centennial Bank Discount Rock & Sand Lindholm Roofing Dot Palm Inc Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce Terminix Marathon Lumber & Building Supply

A special Thank you to Cub Scout Troop 901 MHS Drama Club MHS Interact Club The Marathon Theatre The Monroe County Sheriff's Dept.

The City of Marathon The City of Marathon Parks & Rec Dept.

Trash Patrol

Financial Contributors Rainbow Sponsors Roger and Stephanie Gill • Janet and Dan Griffin • Ron and Mary Helms • Sarah Jones Bill & Nancy Lorimer • Debra and Kirk McConaughey • St Columba Episcopal Men’s Club Greta Schneider • Peter Sehlinger • Nancy Talbott and Steve Cole • Steve and Cathy Walters Shamrock The Gillyberg’s • Richard & Suzy Curry • Tom & Lynn Schwiebert Thistle Sponsors Phil and Grace Bailey • George Calder • Loyal & Bonnie Eldridge Robert and Tammi Hoback • Gary and Carol Kramer • Lawrence & Edith Wagner Contributors Food for Thought • Sea Level Spa • Salon Blanco • Franks Restaurant • West Marine LewAnn Cahill & Stan Kuzemech • Alan Jenkins • Tarun Johns • Richard & Sylvia McKean Robert Young • St. Columba Knitters & Crocheters • Midas Touch • Island Town Events Skin Institute • Bay Shore Clothing

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34

Capricorn CHRIS season is coming to a close McNULTY this weekend, so is an astrologer, finalize your goals wanderer, barfor the year and tender and begin gatheradvocate for queer justice. He ing your crew to is a loquacious achieve them.

Gemini with a Before we sauncozy Cancer rising. Find him at ter into Aquarius hearthandherald- season this Satastrology.com urday, however, we have some dynamic planetary entanglements to navigate. Thoughtful Mercury forms a friendly 120-degree trine with boisterous Jupiter in the wee hours of Friday morning, indicating a time of happy conversations, abundant ideas, and big travel opportunities. If you have some pixie dust handy, this weekend is a great time to fly with a plethora of happy thoughts. Simultaneously, however, beautiful Venus squares off with nebulous Neptune, indicating a time of murkiness in our relationships and a challenge of hyper-romanticism. In other words, we might experience a bit too much idealism in our relations by wearing the proverbial rose-colored glasses.

Things might just not be as they seem when it comes to our relationships with other people. So, have all of the stimulating conversations and dream big, but maintain a healthy dose of skepticism if you feel as though things are too good to be true.

Here are your horoscopes for the Mercury-Jupiter trine and the Venus-Neptune square. Read for your rising and sun signs.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22 - Jan. 19 You are probably feeling a bit isolated because you’re having a hard time communicating clearly, like you have important things to say but they’re just coming out all jumbled.

Fear not, because it is a fantastic time for you to focus on yourself rather than other people. Turn your mind toward getting to know yourself better and express yourself

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

without boundaries. You’ve got some big inspiration in the works.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 Prepare for some financial confusion when it comes to your friends.

For example, a friend is in charge of splitting the bill and you feel like you paid more than your fair share.

Don’t tire yourself attempting to get clarity in this type of situation right now. Rather, take the time to let your mind rest. A personal retreat is in the stars for you, so let your private space get much bigger for you this weekend.

PISCES Feb. 19 - March 20 Party time! Excellent! You have quite the jovial weekend ahead. It feels like returning home and reconnecting with all of your old friends from high school. There’s a big, familiar, chatty, friendly energy in the air for you, Pisces, so relish in the nostalgic happiness now. There is, however, some murkiness in your relationships at work. By all accounts, you are the source of the confusion, so take a moment to change your perspective.

ARIES March 21 - April 19 Dreaming of quiet alone time is a challenge when you have friends and loved ones who are inviting you to participate in big adventures. How will you manage this dissonance?

One thing you do not have to worry about, however, is how your ideas at work are bringing in beaucoup bucks. Material abundance is all but certain if you can focus your mind on your work in the public sphere.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20 You have causes that you love, Taurus, just like everyone. There are group projects and missions that make your heart sing. Right now, however, it might be difficult to clearly see who your comrades in service are. If you’re confused about your compatriots, fear not. Now is a great

time to dream up who your perfect partners would be. Exploring new lines of thinking will bring nothing but ample joy.

GEMINI May 21 - June 21 You’re usually one to let your thoughts flit about from one idea to another, Gemini, but right now it is time to let your thinker dive deep.

What are the deep thoughts that your mind is contemplating? Are they existential, political, spiritual, scientific, or philosophical? Whatever your line of thought right now, giving it time will provide you with significant rest and solitude. Lack of clarity at work is probably challenging your love life, but it will pass.

CANCER June 22 - July 22 Thinking about partnership and communicating end goals clearly will bring about a copious amount of supporters right now. What does it mean to be in partnership with another person? Ruminate on that and see how people show up to help you out. Be mindful about how dreams of faraway places get in the way of doing the work that you love.

Dreams only become reality when you put them into action.

LEO July 23 - Aug. 22 You’re having a challenging time right now, Leo, particularly related to your health and your habits. Fear not, however, because these difficulties are offering you a new lease on life. You just need to get to the other side in a few days. Focusing your thoughts on healthy routines and life patterns will bring a lot of joy and bounty at work right now.

VIRGO Aug. 23 - Sept. 22 Creative thinking will literally take you on a big adventure, Virgo. Talk to people about your innovative ideas and see where it takes you. Sometimes, just saying the words opens avenues for you to stroll down, and

BIG THOUGHTS AND MURKY BONDS now you have the opportunity to manifest interstates to your dream goals. Be mindful about some confusion between your family and your partner, and see if you can attempt to keep things crystal clear.

LIBRA Sept. 23 - Oct. 23 There’s some difficulty present regarding a love for things that are familiar and a dream of new ways of doing things. It’s like you have a deep appreciation for your day-today reality, but a gnawing desire to change everything up. Rather than try to clear up this conundrum, I recommend focusing your mind on your most intimate family and friends because this will bring about bountiful returns.

SCORPIO Oct. 24 - Nov. 21 Desire for financial stability vs. a dream of being a creative person: This appears to be a particular battle that you are waging with yourself.

Not to worry, this frustration shall pass and the dream will remain.

Right now, pay particular attention to your familiar surroundings and try to articulate them. This will help you find great joy in a partnership.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22 - Dec. 21 Training your mind on your system of values will help you to turn your hard work into bountiful returns.

Make sure that you are infusing every action with meaningful purpose, and watch the benefits multiply. “Home” may seem particularly elusive right now, making it difficult to feel self-love. The love is there regardless of the hazy roots, however.

35

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024 Exhibit “A” TO MEMBERS OF FLORIDA KEYS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOC., INC. NOTICE OF ELECTION OF TWO DIRECTORS

CITY OF MARATHON

th ANNUAL

The Board of Directors of Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association, Inc. (FKEC) has set the following date(s) for the District Elections for two positions on the Board of Directors: District 1 March 14, 2024

Key Largo area northeast of the section line common to Sections 6 and 7, TWP-62S, R. 39E, southerly of Mandalay Subdivision - Dade/Monroe County Line on U.S. 1 (including Ocean Reef) to Mile Marker 97.7

District 2 March 14, 2024

Tavernier area southeast of the section line as established southerly of Mandalay Subdivision and northeast of Snake Creek

The incumbent directors of the two districts have decided to stand for re-election. In the event only one qualified member from a district for each position is so nominated, that member shall be declared elected.

Elections may be conducted on the designated election date, by mail ballot, and/or by electronic means.

The notice of election and the election ballot and informational materials shall be mailed to every member residing or doing business in the district not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the election date. All ballots returned by mail must be received by the Cooperative or the Cooperative’s contracted third-party election management provider no later than one day prior to the official election date.

Directors elected at the district elections shall serve for a period of three years and will take office at the first regular or special meeting to be held on or after Saturday, April 13, 2024.

Members interested in becoming candidates and placing their names in nomination for membership on the Board of Directors are hereby notified of the qualifications and election procedures prescribed by the Bylaws of Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association, Inc.

CONDUCTED BY SCOUT TROOP 901 ALONG WITH CUB SCOUTS The American Creed states…

We retire flags with dignity and respect when they become worn, torn, faded or badly soiled.

Please join the City of Marathon & Scout Troop 901 as we properly retire our flags on

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2024 6:00pm at Oceanfront Park behind Marathon City Hall

Please bring flags to:

MARATHON CITY HALL, PUBLIX AND HOME DEPOT

BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3 2024.

Further info:

Rob Christensen 305.481.5165

A candidate for director must be a member of FKEC and a bona fide resident of the district he/she represents and have 12 months of residency in the area served by the Cooperative. The candidate must not be a minor. No candidate may in any way be employed by or have a substantial financial interest in a competing enterprise or a business selling electric energy or supplies to FKEC or be the incumbent for an elective public office in connection with which a salary or compensation is paid.

Candidates must submit a nominating petition with fifteen (15) or more signatures of members residing in the voting district no less than forty-five (45) days prior to the date of the district election specified above. Nominating petitions for District 1 must be received by FKEC by Noon on Monday, January 29, 2024, and petitions for District 2 must be received by FKEC by Noon on Monday, January 29, 2024.

(Please allow time for verification of signatures).

Nomination petition forms may be obtained from the FKEC Tavernier Headquarters.

A copy of the FKEC bylaws may be obtained from FKEC offices.

The election will be given widespread publicity prior to the election date.

By Order of the Board of Directors Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association, Inc.

BOOK SALE

COMING IN FEBRUARY, 2024!

The Marathon Friends of the Library are looking for donations of gently used books.

Please drop off at the Marathon Library or for pick up of larger donations, call Bruce at 912.634.6277 All proceeds from the sale go directly to the Marathon Library to support many special events and programs!

36

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

Having Fun in the Middle Keys

RECONNECT WITH NATURE • 63 ACRES OF TROPICAL HARDWOOD HAMMOCK • 1.4 MILES OF WALKING TRAILS • NATURAL FISH PEDICURE STATION • BUTTERFLY GARDENS

• NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM • THE HISTORIC ADDERLEY HOUSE • BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF THE BAY • HISTORIC CRANE HOUSE • SNORKEL, KAYAK & EXPLORE THE GULF

PROUD TO BE LISTED ON THE NATIONAL HISTORIC REGISTRY! 305.743.9100 • 5550 Overseas Highway • Marathon MM50 at the stoplight • Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon-Sat Noon to 5 p.m. Sundays • cranepoint.net

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

OBITUARY

BRIEFLY Taoist Tai Chi Society offers February introductory sessions The Taoist Tai Chi Society, a nonprofit organization with the goal of improving its participants’ health, body, mind and spirit through practice of a Chinese martial art, will hold two introductory sessions in February: Thursday, Feb. 1 at 9 a.m. and Monday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. Both sessions will be held at St. Columba Episcopal Church parish hall, located at 451 52nd St. Gulf in Marathon. These sessions coincide with the society’s session times yearround.

Singers wanted for community choir The Lower Keys Community Choir, in partnership with the Keys Chamber Orchestra, is seeking singers to join the group. The community choir’s Easter concerts are on the evenings of March 18, 19 and 21 from Cudjoe Key to Marathon. Rehearsals are on Sunday evenings at the Big Pine Methodist Church from 4:30 to 6 p.m. beginning Feb. 4. All experience levels are welcome. For information or to join, please email keyschamberorchestra@ gmail.com.

Marathon man arrested for video voyeurism A 46-year-old Marathon, Florida man was arrested Jan. 14 for allegedly using a cell phone to illegally videotape a woman. Lazaro M. Alonzo Martinez was charged with video voyeurism.

The Sheriff’s Office was called to the Publix in Marathon, Florida on Jan. 8 around 2:30 p.m., where the manager provided security video footage showing Martinez using a cell phone to take pictures/video under or up a 46-yearold female victim’s dress while she was shopping, authorities said. A warrant was obtained for Martinez’s arrest and he was booked into jail on Sunday.

MCSO Animal Farm holding silent auction The Sheriff’s Office will be selling abandoned property items to benefit the MCSO Animal Farm by silent auction bids. The auction is scheduled from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 8.

All bids must be posted by 2:30 p.m. A list of items to be sold and more information about the auction is available at www.keysso.net. Bidding instructions are available on the website or can be picked up at the reception area on the first floor of the Sheriff’s Office headquarters building at 5525 College Road in Key West. The Sheriff’s Office makes no representation or guarantee of mechanical condition. All sales are as is, where is. All sales are final.

KCB’s Coconut Crawl returns Saturday, Jan. 20 The Key Colony Beach Community Association’s Coconut Crawl will be Saturday, Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. benefiting the KCB and Marathon communities. The Coconut Crawl is a combination poker run and pub crawl, with all locations easy to walk to in or near Key Colony Beach. Entrants receive a Coconut Crawl 2024 T-shirt, a light meal at the awards afterparty and a chance to win prizes for best and worst poker hands, best themed costume and best team spirit. Pre-register online at KCBCA.org or in person at the KCB post office on Saturday, Jan. 20 from 9 to 11 a.m. The cost is $30 for KCBCA members, $35 for non-members and $40 for day-of registration.

Coast Guard Auxiliary offers safe boating classes The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will host a safe boating class on Saturday, Jan. 20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Coast Guard Station Marathon. Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive a Coast Guard Auxiliary completion certificate, a Coast Guard Auxiliary boating safety card and a Florida state boater education ID card. Most insurance companies will discount boat insurance up to 15% with these certifications. The fee for course materials is $20, payable at the door. Course materials are free for students under 18. Contact Bob Carew at carewbob@gmail.com to register.

Students should bring a bag lunch to class.

Marathon Library to host jazz trio concert The Monroe County Public Library Marathon branch will present an afternoon of music with acclaimed jazz trio the Daniel Bennett Group on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. Hailed by NPR as “synergistic jazz” and voted “Best New Jazz” by NYC Hot House Magazine, the trio is led by saxophonist Daniel Bennett with percussionist Koko Bermejo and bassist Kevin Hailey. The show is free and open to the public. The trio will also perform the same evening at the library’s Key West branch at 6 p.m. and on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the library’s Big Pine Key branch.

Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.

FERNANDO C. BRIONES 1959-2023 MARION LLOYD WINNER 1932-2023 Captain Marion Lloyd "Chubby” Winner of Marathon passed away peacefully at home Aug. 6, 2023 due to heart disease.

Chub was born Aug. 17, 1932 in Wilmington, North Carolina to his loving parents David Carl and Marguerite Winner. He was a Navy veteran, private pilot and master seaman with a life full of adventure. As a licensed Ocean Master, he had a major hand in bringing party/head boat fishing to the Keys.

The Captain is survived by his loving wife Rylan as well as his children Zoe Ann Winner, Capt. M. Lloyd (Connie) Winner, Celeste (Danny) Radcliffe, Richonda (Jess) Winner-Manson, Capt. Carl Winner and Jeanean Winner and many amazing grand- and greatgrandchildren.

He loved his family deeply and is deeply loved. Many, many thanks to Chapters Health Hospice for their wonderful care.

Fernando C. Briones went to be with his Lord on Nov. 17, 2023. He was born Jan. 23,1959 in Galveston, Texas and has been a lifelong resident of Marathon. His wife of 35 years, Cheryl Ann (Dusty) will continue to keep his memory alive. Fernando and Dusty were married on Aug. 14,1988. Together they lived life to the fullest.

They would be seen all over the Florida Keys singing karaoke and dancing. He was an avid fisherman.

Fernando served his community as captain of the Color Guard with American Legion Post 154.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Amador and Maria Briones; mother-in-law, Patsy Ann Lawrence; and brothers, Armando and Ernest Briones, Jr. Survivors include his son, Jason and wife Kellie; grandchildren Liam, Delanie and Owen; brothers Amador Briones Jr. and Ernest Briones Sr.; sisters Maria Rios and Lonjina Hernandez; and in-laws John, David, Nathan and Rick McManon, Linda Pomeroy, Denise Simala and Diana Anderson.

The family would like to thank niece Jessica Lami for being with Fernando and Dusty through these trying times. A special thanks to JJ's Dog House and John and Michelle Brobyn for their love and support.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the American Legion Post 154 from 3 to 6 p.m.

38

MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

LET’S DO BUSINESS - 305.743-0844 I come to you!

Leslie Christensen OWNER

phone 305-743-6881 AmericanCoastalRentals.com Leslie@AmericanCoastalRentals.com 9141 Overseas Hwy, Marathon

Helping Paws Grooming Services

330.727.6264 Janet White

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Lighthouse Pilates Arlene Mirabella

Align • Stretch • Strength • Control Classical Pilates Instructor & Fitness Coach 305.481.7922 lighthousepilates8@gmail.com

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

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

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MARATHON WEEKLY / JANUARY 18, 2024

TROPIC CINEMA ANNOUNCES

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January 18, 2024

LINING THEM UP, KNOCKING THEM DOWN Key West boys on seven-game streak | P.4

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3

JANUARY 18, 2024 / KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP

JAN. 18

THE SCOREBOARD

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Team

Sport

Opponent

Date

Result

Coral Shores

Boys Basketball

Keys Gate

1/8

L, 46-42

Marathon

Boys Basketball

Palmer

1/9

L, 59-56

Marathon

Girls Soccer

Florida Christian

1/9

L, 2-1

Marathon

Boys Soccer

Florida Christian

1/9

L, 8-0

Coral Shores

Boys Soccer

South Homestead

1/9

L, 3-2

Key West

Boys Soccer

St. Thomas Aquinas

1/9

W, 2-0

Key West

Boys Basketball

Somerset Academy

1/10

L, 88-56

Marathon

Boys Basketball

Keys Gate

1/10

L, 68-41

Coral Shores

Girls Soccer

Gulliver

1/10

L, 3-0

Coral Shores

Boys Soccer

Ransom

1/10

T, 2-2

Marathon

Girls Basketball

Keys Gate

1/10

W, 54-9

Coral Shores

Boys Basketball

MAST Academy

1/11

W, 62-47

Coral Shores

Girls Basketball

Key West

1/11

W, FF

Marathon

Girls Soccer

Key West

1/11

L, 6-0

Key West

Boys Soccer

Silver Palms

1/11

W, 4-2

Coral Shores

Girls Soccer

Marathon

1/12

T, 3-3

Key West

Girls Basketball

Ransom

1/12

L, 42-26

Marathon

Boys Soccer

Coral Shores

1/12

W, 4-3

Key West

Girls Soccer

Gulliver

1/12

L, 1-0

Coral Shores

Girls Basketball

Keys Gate

1/12

W, 53-19

Key West

Boys Basketball

Westminster Christian

1/13

L, 46-70

Key West

Boys Soccer

Bolles

1/13

W, 3-2

Marathon

Girls Basketball

Ransom

1/13

L, 67-24

Key West

Girls Basketball

Archbishop McCarthy

1/13

L, 56-36

THIS WEEK

Kieran

SMITH

Sophomore Key West

He is one of the captains who goes about his business in a manner that instills confidence in the team.

He’s unselfish, working for the team above all else.”

– Conchs head coach Nic Farrar

JAN. 18

THIS WEEK IN KEYS SPORTS Date

School

Sport

Opponent

Start Time

1/18

Coral Shores

Wrestling

Key West

5 p.m.

1/19

Marathon

Girls & Boys Basketball

Pace

4 & 6:30 p.m.

1/19

Marathon

Girls Soccer

Lemon Bay

5 p.m.

1/20

Marathon

Girls Basketball

St. Brendan

1 p.m.

1/20

Key West

Girls Soccer

Lemon Bay

11 a.m.

1/22

Marathon

Girls & Boys Basketball

Posnack

4 & 5:45

1/23

Coral Shores

Girls Basketball

LaSalle

4 p.m.

1/24

Marathon

Girls & Boys Basketball

Key West

5:30 & 7 p.m.

ON THE COVER Loubins Fleuridor and the Key West Conchs have been on a tear since mid-December, winning their last seven straight. See page 4.

GRACE ANDREW/Keys Weekly

A team does not go on a lengthy win streak by accident; it takes hustle, hard work and, above all, an element of leadership to keep the team going in the right direction. Key West’s Kieran Smith is just that element. Coach Nic Farrar describes his center back as “one of the pillars of the defensive line that has been integral in our win streak with his ball-winning skills and heading ability.”

Smith is an integral part of Key West’s defensive unit who also has two assists this season, a testament to his strong clearing skills. For his willingness to give his all on the field, Kieran Smith is the

Photo by GRACE ANDREW/Keys Weekly

4

KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP / JANUARY 18, 2024 SPORTS WRITER

The Keys Weekly Sports Wrap is proud to be the only locally-owned publication providing prep sports coverage from Key Largo to Key West.

Together with our writers and photographers, we are committed to providing a comprehensive overview of the world of Keys sports with photography that allows our readers to immerse themselves in game action.

tracy mcdonald fled to the Keys from the frozen mountains of Pennsylvania hours after graduating from college and never looked back. She is a second-generation coach and educator, and has taught in the public school system for over 25 years. She and her husband met at a beginning teacher meeting in 1997 and have three children born and raised in Monroe County. In her free time, McDonald loves flea markets, historical fiction and long runs in the heat.

PODCAST HOST

Publisher / Jason Koler jason@keysweekly.com

Publishing Partner / Britt Myers britt@keysweekly.com

Managing Editor / Alex Rickert alex@keysweekly.com

Copy Editor / Mike Howie mike@keysweekly.com

Director of Sales

Manuela Carrillo Mobley manuela@keysweekly.com

Business Development

Patti Childress patti@keysweekly.com Jill Miranda Baker jill@keysweekly.com Stephanie Mitchell stephanie@keysweekly.com

Production Manager

Anneke Patterson anneke@keysweekly.com

Executive Administrator Charlotte Hruska char@keysweekly.com

Graphic Design

Javier Reyes javier@keysweekly.com

sean mcdonald grew up in Miami and moved to the Keys in 1997. He has spent the last 25 years teaching physical education and coaching virtually every sport for Florida Keys kids ages 4 to 18. If you are reading this and live or lived in the Florida Keys, he has probably taught, coached, or coached against someone you know.

MARKET EDITORS

Marathon - Alex Rickert alex@keysweekly.com

Web Master / Travis Cready travis@keysweekly.com

Classifieds / Anneke Patterson anneke@keysweekly.com 305.743.0844

Se habla español

THE MARATHON WEEKLY (ISSN 1944-0812) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY FOR $125 PER YEAR

BY WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS, INC., 9709 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, MARATHON FL 33050.

APPLICATION TO MAIL AT PERIODICALS POSTAGE RATES IS PENDING AT FORT LAUDERDALE FL AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. All stories, photos, and graphics are copyrighted materials.

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SEVEN’S A STREAK Key West soccer mows down opponents with districts next week

5

JANUARY 18, 2024 / KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP

A

fter a disappointing start which did not see a win for the team until Dec. 11, Key West’s boys have caught fire. Since then, the team has set up shop in the W column, including a trio of victories last week to make it a seven-game streak.

On Jan. 9, they headed to St. Thomas Aquinas to play the larger 6A Raiders in Fort Lauderdale. Key West managed to topple the fifth-ranked team in 6A with a Wyatt Gibson header in the first half assisted by Sebastian Camargo. Nico Sulak put in the insurance goal with an assist by Loubins Fleuridor, and Sebastian Cruz locked things down in goal to preserve the win.

Coach Nic Farrar credited defender Finn McKnight with making several clutch saves and Bruno Barrios with a goal-line clearance to secure the shutout. The victory was number five for the Conchs, with number six coming on Jan. 11 against Somerset Silver Palms in The Backyard. Key West sent the Stallions home after beating them 4-2 with just two days to prepare for their final regular-season home game that weekend.

The next victim was Bolles, who traveled all the way from Jacksonville to play the Conchs. The Bolles Bulldogs are a perennial powerhouse on the pitch, and they did not lie down to hand Key West their seventh straight victory on senior night.

“Both teams started brightly, and it was Key West that took the lead midway through the first half after good work from Loubins Fleuridor,” said Farrar. “(He) won the ball in the midfield and drove at the heart of the Bolles defense and calmly finished to give the Conchs the lead.”

Key West held on to the lead through halftime, when the Conchs’ tempo as well as the weather changed and, according to Farrar, wind became a factor. Freshman Sonny Bowden found the back of the net for his first varsity goal in

Above: The Key West Conchs take on perennial powerhouse Bolles on Jan. 13. Key West won the match 3-2. Photos

by GRACE ANDREW/Keys Weekly. See more game photos at keysweekly. com.

Left: The Coral Shores Hurricanes battle Ransom Everglades to a 2-2 tie on Jan. 10. MARC SEROTA/Contributed

just his second start this season. Bolles answered back not long after Bowden’s goal, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Soon after, Camargo took advantage of a Bolles goalkeeper miscue and was able to score in the unsecured goal from 25 yards out. Late into the second half, Bolles scored again, narrowing Key West’s lead to just one for the second time, and both teams battled for the final moments of play.

Farrar credited McKnight with an early second-half penalty save as well as “easing the pressure with several key highball claims to secure the Conchs’ 3-2 victory.” The rest of Key West’s matches will be on the road this regular season, but they are as close to home as the Conchs get; they play Marathon and Coral Shores before focusing on districts.

Key West’s girls headed to Marathon on Jan. 11 for a rainy, yet decisive, win. The Conchs dominated the Fins 6-0 with help from a hat trick by Kaitlyn Franco. Grace Andrew, Jazzy Dieguez and Maicee Gage added one goal each in the district match. Coming off of their in-county win, the Conchs played at home in The Backyard against Gulliver Prep, losing 1-0. Both teams could meet again later this month in playoff action, giving the Conchs a chance at redemption against the Raiders. Key West will play two on the road this week before returning home to play their final regular-season match of the season against Lemon Bay on Jan. 20.

Marathon’s boys suffered a mercy-rule 8-0 loss at the hands of Florida Christian Jan. 9 and returned home to regroup. Neighboring rival Coral Shores would feel the full extent of their frustration on Jan. 12 when the Fins stormed the field and stole away a win on the Hurricanes’ senior night.

Mikail “Jay” Marshall struck first before the ’Canes put two into the net to take the lead. Marshall scored two more for a hat trick and Oscar Cardona had one goal in the Fins’ big win. continued on the next page

6

KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP / JANUARY 18, 2024

from page 5

“Marathon played their best game to date,” said coach Shannon Wiley, praising his defense for not giving up when they were down. “Defender Sebastian Stasiewicz and goalkeeper Tiago Rivero had numerous huge saves in the box,” he added, calling their efforts “nothing short of incredible.”

The Lady Fins of Marathon played three matches last week, beginning with a Jan. 9 road loss to Florida Christian.

Mackenzie Budi scored the lone Fin goal on a Jordan MacDonald assist in the 2-1 loss, which looked more like a rugby match than soccer.

“The other team had seven yellow cards and a blue one,” head coach Cathy Warner said, adding that she was proud of her team for holding their composure and showing some grit after some pushing and shoving went unchecked and a goal was reversed in a questionable offsides call.

After the Jan. 11 loss to Key West, the Lady Fins hit the road for a trip up to Coral Shores and a second chance to play their closest neighbor – and their coach’s old stomping grounds. The Fins showed marked improvement from their 5-1 loss earlier in the season. Both teams battled for 80 minutes, resulting in a 3-3 tie. Budi, Rain Banks and Sara Strama each scored one for the Fins, with MacDonald assisting on two of Marathon’s goals. Though the ’Canes were without starters Jenna Mandozzi and Sophia Jans for their senior night, Kai Redruello found the net twice and Mya Champigny scored on a penalty kick to keep Coral Shores in the game.

Warner, who is in her first year coaching for the Fins after formerly coaching the Hurricanes, was delighted with the outcome, saying the game “will leave the girls hungry and give them that drive to push even harder for the win when we play (Coral Shores) in districts.”

The ’Canes and Fins will most likely match up for the first round of the FHSAA District 16 3A quarterfinals later this month.

“Our girls have come a long way this season,” Warner said, “and everything we are working for is coming to fruition.”

Coral Shores’ boys started the week off with a loss to Somerset South Homestead on Jan. 9. Following the 3-2 district loss, the ’Canes tied Ransom the following night 2-2.

They ended their week with the 4-3 loss to Marathon.

Districts for boys and girls soccer begin Jan. 24 and run through Feb. 1.

Left: The Coral Shores Hurricanes and Marathon Dolphins do battle on Jan. 12. Marathon emerged victorious, 4-3. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly. See more game photos at keysweekly. com.

Right: The Lady Fins and Lady Conchs meet for an in-country rivalry match on Jan. 11. Key West had the upper hand, 6-0. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly. See more game photos at keysweekly. com.

JANUARY 18, 2024 / KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP

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8

KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP / JANUARY 18, 2024

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JANUARY 18, 2024 / KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP

CORAL SHORES GIRLS IMPROVE TO 9-1 Lady ‘Canes cruise to blowout senior night win

O

n Jan. 11, the Lady ’Canes picked up a win against Key West via forfeit, giving them just one opportunity to play last week. They made the most of it, defeating Keys Gate on Jan. 12 and giving the Hurricanes a massive district win on senior night. Senior captains Makayla Hahn and Brooke Mandozzi did not disappoint; Mandozzi had the hot hand, scoring 14, and Hahn led the team in steals with 5 in abbreviated minutes of play.

The starters turned the court over to the underclassmen early in the lopsided victory. Ten ’Canes in total logged points, with several athletes reaching exciting career milestones in the 53-19 win. Junior Gabby Thomas recorded her first double-double with 10 points and rebounds. Alex Burson had a career-high 10 points and freshman Caylee DePauw went 3-3 and scored 6. Abby Vogt had 10 assists. The 9-1 Lady ’Canes have a three-game road streak before returning home Jan. 23 to play LaSalle.

Coral Shores’ boys split the week, starting with a Jan. 8 road loss at Keys Gate. The ’Canes lost 46-42 against the Knights. On Jan. 11 they hosted MAST Academy. Despite getting off to a slow start and trailing 27-23 at the half, the ’Canes put it into overdrive after halftime and rallied for the win. AJ Putetti had the hot hand with 18 points. Donovan Thiery scored 15 with 7 assists and 6 steals. Isaac Rivera added 13 with 4 rebounds. Keegan Fish scored 6, Ayden Lane had 5 and Corey Dickerson added 4 to his stats. The ‘Canes end their regular season with a three-game road series before heading into the postseason.

Key West played the Somerset Academy Panthers in Pembroke Pines on Jan. 10. The 4A Conchs played with heart but the 5A Panthers are ranked sixth in their class for a reason.

DeMarcus Deroche earned another doubledouble, scoring 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. James Osborne scored 12, Josue Thanus scored 9 and Kameron Roberts scored 8 in the 88-56 loss. On Jan. 13 the Conchs suffered another loss, this time at home against Westminster Christian. Roberts was the high scorer for Key West with 20 points and Osborne added ten in the 70-46 loss. A third game scheduled to be played against Coral Shores was postponed with details not yet available.

The Lady Conchs are still searching for win number one this season after a series of losses last week. On Jan. 11 Key Left: The Key West Lady Conchs take on Ransom Everglades and Archbishop McCarthy. GRACE ANDREW/Keys Weekly. See more game photos at keysweekly.com.

West was slated to host Coral Shores, but forfeited the game.

The following night, Ransom made the trip to Bobby Menendez Gymnasium, defeating the Lady Conchs 42-26. On Jan. 13, the young team fell to Archbishop McCarthy 56-36. Despite a slow start to their season, Key West has several winnable games on its schedule and could finish the

season on a high note.

Marathon’s boys suffered a pair of losses last week as well. On Jan. 9, the Fins hosted Palmer Trinity and gave the Falcons a run for their money, narrowly losing 59-56. A trio of seniors led the charge in scoring, with Yaniel Garcia and Xavier Grant scoring 17 each and Adrian Cruz adding 15. The following night, Marathon made the trip to Keys Gate, losing 68-41. Grant scored 9, with 7 points coming from Cruz plus 6 each from Garcia, Andrew Suarez and Daeshawn Holmes in the district matchup.

The Lady Fins made short work of Keys Gate in a 54-9 road win Jan. 10. Elena Eubank scored 17 with 13 points from Marti Kilbourne, 11 from Payton Junker and 9 from Daysi Williams. The score became so lopsided that head coach Andra Garvey sent in his reserves. At a small school like Marathon, that meant playing time for multiple sixth-graders, who may not have scored any points but held their own. On Jan. 13, Ransom came to Marathon and gave the Fins a tougher time.

Williams put up 11 points and Eubank scored 9 in the 67-24 loss.

Daysi Williams, left. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly Abby Vogt, right. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly

10

KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP / JANUARY 18, 2024

KEYS IRONWOMEN CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON FHSAA State Championships are just one month away

199

O

154 lb. weight class winner

n Jan. 10, the Coral Shores Lady ’Canes made the trip to Marathon for both teams’ final regular-season meet. The Dolphins bested the ’Canes in both events, 57-31 in traditional lifting and 56-32 in Olympic.

Coral Shores had three double winners, lifting the most in both events. Rachel Rusch won the 110 lb. class, Grace Patterson was a dual winner at 169 and Vanessa Gabriel won both events in the unlimited category. At 183 lbs., Karla Guitierrez picked up a win in the traditional event.

Marathon posted double wins in the 101 lb. class with Ella Dunn, 119 with Sierra Earnhardt, 129 with Mikkel Ross, 139 with Cami Wrinn, 154 with Marquisha Abraham and 199 with Sabrina Schofield. Justice Lee won the Olympic lift event in the 183 lb. class. Ross was back on top, yielding the highest Sinclair score in both events. The Sinclair score uses a mathematical equation to determine who, pound for pound, was the highest performer.

The next time the teams meet, it will be at districts held on Jan. 27 at Doctors Charter School at 10 a.m. Key West will travel to Lake Worth’s Dr. Joaquin Garcia High School on Jan. 25 for their first round of postseason lifts. With the numbers Keys’ lifters have been putting up this season, there is no doubt many athletes will move on to regionals on Feb. 3. The state meet will be held in Lakeland Feb. 16-17.

Marquisha Abraham, left, and Sabrina Schofield, right.

BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly

lb. weight class winner

11

JANUARY 18, 2024 / KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP

CFK TUGAS SQUARE OFF WITH TRUMAN STATE Swimmers record personal record times in only home meet

T

he College of the Florida Keys welcomed swimmers from Truman State University for a meet on Jan. 8 at the college’s aquatic center on the Key West campus. Three swimmers from CFK men’s and women’s swim teams competed with 26 swimmers from the Missouri-based school who were visiting the Keys to train in the warm weather.

While the TSU Bulldogs bested the CFK Tugas in numbers, the home team gave a strong performance in their only home meet of the season. Notably, Isabella Oliverio achieved personal best times in the 50 yard backstroke and 50 yard freestyle for the women's team. Kaemon Fagley achieved personal best times in the 50 yard butterfly and 50 yard freestyle while Eddie Kertis achieved personal best times in the 50 yard breaststroke and 50 yard freestyle for the men's team.

Fagley and Kertis also qualified to compete in three events at the National Junior College Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championship in March.

“The pool was filled with energy,” said coach and CFK Athletics Director Lori Bosco. “Our team benefited from the additional competition and the visiting teams appreciated being able to swim outdoors in January.

All the swimmers had a great time.”

The Tugas will next compete at the 2024 TYR SoFLo Open Swim Meet, on Jan. 19, 20 and 21 in Pembroke Pines.

— Contributed

Top: Shel the Tuga poses with athletes from the CFK and Truman State University swim teams. COLLEGE OF THE FLORIDA KEYS/Contributed

Bottom: CFK and TSU swimmers compete in the butterfly. COLLEGE OF THE FLORIDA KEYS/Contributed

THE REGAN ROTH TEAM IS HERE TO PROTECT YOU...

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12

KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP / JANUARY 18, 2024

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES •

305.743.0844

LEGAL NOTICES

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FICTITIOUS NAME NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of Keys Wok N’ Roll located at 102840 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, Florida 33037 intends to register said name with the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

By: M B Food Services LLC Publish: January 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SOLICITATIONS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at 3:00 P.M., the Monroe County Purchasing Office will receive and open sealed responses for the following: KEY LARGO III ROADWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT KEY LARGO, MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA Monroe County is seeking the services of a roadway and drainage construction firm for the Key Largo III Roadway and Drainage Project (Harris Ocean Park Estates, Ocean Park Village, Palma Sola and Burton’s Yacht Basin subdivisions – approximately mm 94).

The scope of work includes drainage installation, milling and resurfacing, establishing crowns, re-grading roadway shoulders, bicycle lane construction, pavement markings, and signage.

This project is partially funded by an FDOT Small County Outreach Program (SCOP) grant and requires adherence to the SCOP agreement and FDOT construction standards.

Pursuant to F.S. § 50.0211(3) (a), all published competitive solicitation notices can be viewed at: www. floridapublicnotices.com, a searchable Statewide repository for all published legal notices. Requirements for submission and the selection criteria may be requested from DemandStar

by Onvia at www. demandstar.com OR www. monroecountybids.com. The Public Record is available upon request.

The Monroe County Purchasing Department has implemented a new electronic process for reviewing and opening sealed bids. Please do not mail or attempt to deliver in person any sealed bids. Mailed/ physically delivered bids/ proposal/responses WILL NOT be accepted.

The Monroe County Purchasing Department hereby directs that bids be submitted via email to: OMB-BIDS@monroecounty-fl. gov, no later than 3:00 P.M. on February 20, 2024. Please submit your confidential financial information in a SEPARATE EMAIL from your bid and required documents.

Your subject line on both emails must read as follows: KEY LARGO III ROADWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT 02/20/2024 Files that do not contain this subject line WILL BE REJECTED. Please note that the maximum file size that will be accepted by email is 25MB. Please plan accordingly to ensure that your bid is not rejected due to the file size.

Should your bid documents exceed 25MB or otherwise be rejected or undeliverable to OMB-BIDS@monroecounty-fl. gov, in advance of the bid opening, please email: ombpurchasing@monroecounty-fl. gov so accommodations for delivery of your bid can be made prior to the bid opening. Please be advised that it is the bidder’s sole responsibility to ensure delivery of their bid and waiting until the bid opening to address or confirm your bid submission delivery will result in your bid being rejected.

The bid opening for this

solicitation will be held virtually, via the internet, at 3:00 P.M., on February 20, 2024. You may call in by phone or internet using the following: Join Zoom Meeting https://mcbocc.zoom. us/j/4509326156 Meeting ID: 4509326156 One tap mobile: +16465189805,,4509326156# US (New York) +16699006833,,4509326156# US (San Jose) Dial by your location: +1 646 518 9805 US (New York) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Publish: January 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

One tap mobile: +16465189805,,4509326156# US (New York) +16699006833,,4509326156# US (San Jose) Dial by your location: +1 646 518 9805 US (New York) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Publish: January 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

ARTHUR R. SZEGLIN Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Arthur R. Szeglin, deceased, whose date of death was August 8, 2023, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 502 Whitehead St, Key West, FL 33040. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are set forth below.

All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN SECTION 733.702 OF THE FLORIDA PROBATE CODE WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is: January 18, 2024.

Personal Representative: Gladys M. Szeglin 1061 Bay Drive Summerland Key, Florida 33042 Attorney for Personal Representative: Nichole Scott, Esquire Florida Bar Number: 520691 Gordon Streisand, Esquire Florida Bar Number: 1010880 Primary E-Mail: Nichole.

Scott@hklaw.com Secondary E-Mail: Diana.

Musa@hklaw.com Primary E-Mail: Gordon.

Streisand@hklaw.com Secondary E-Mail: miapwsservice@hklaw.com HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP Attorneys for Petitioning Personal Representative 701 Brickell Ave, Suite 3300 Miami, Florida 33131 Telephone: (305) 374-8500 Fax: (305) 789-7799 Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

attorney are set forth below.

All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, and who have been served a copy of this notice, must file their claims with this court WITHIN THE LATER OF THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court WITHIN THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. THE DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE IS: JANUARY 11, 2024.

Co-Personal Representatives: KIMBERLY K. CLARK 253 W Shenandoah Street Tucson, Arizona 85737 SUSAN M. KAZMAIER 51 Plainfield Road Concord, Massachusetts 01742 Attorney for Personal Representative: JOHN MICHAEL LYNN, ESQ. Florida Bar No. 0147273 Turner & Lynn, P.A. 7 Barracuda Lane Key Largo, Florida 33037 Telephone: (305) 367-0911 turnerlynnpa@gmail.com Publish: January 11 & 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

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: JANUARY 11, 2024.

Personal Representative: JOHN MICHAEL LYNN 7 Barracuda Lane Key Largo, Florida 33037 Attorney for Personal Representative: SANDRA T. LYNN, ESQ. Florida Bar No. 827177 Turner & Lynn, P.A. 7 Barracuda Lane Key Largo, Florida 33037 Telephone: (305) 367-0911 sturnerlynn@gmail.com Publish: January 11 & 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

FICTITIOUS NAME NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of VB4AD located at 5409 Overseas Highway, #1165, Marathon, Florida 33050 intends to register said name with the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

By: Valerie Bonzer Foundation For The American Dreamer, Inc. Frederick Kohler Publish: January 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers FICTITIOUS NAME NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of KEY WEST PROPOSALS located at 1107 Key Plaza, PMB 114, Monroe County in the City of Key West, Florida 33040-4077, intends to register the said name with the Division of Corporations of the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

Dated at Key West, Florida this 15th day of January, 2024.

By: EME GROUP, LLC Publish: January 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers DISTRICT II ADVISORY COMMITTEE (DAC II) (From the city limits of Key West to the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge) of the MONROE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL has an opening for a LODGING INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE – shall be owners or operating/general managers of motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, or other tourist accommodations which are subject to bed tax in the tax collection district for which they are applying.

Any person wishing to participate on the District II Advisory Committee of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council within the district so noted above, may request an application by emailing sydney@fla-keys. com. Completed applications should be emailed to sydney@ fla-keys.com or may be sent via U.S. mail to the address below: Department DAC Monroe County Tourist Development Council 1201 White Street, Suite 102 Key West, FL 33040 Deadline for receipt of application at the above address is 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 16, 2024. A resume may be attached to the application.

Publish: January 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SOLICITATIONS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 3:00 P.M., the Monroe County Purchasing Office will receive and open sealed responses for the following: Big Pine Community Park Amphitheater Monroe County, Florida Pursuant to F.S. § 50.0211(3) (a), all published competitive solicitation notices can be viewed at: www. floridapublicnotices.com, a searchable Statewide repository for all published legal notices. Requirements for submission and the selection criteria may be requested from the County’s electronic bidding platform at https://monroecounty-fl. bonfirehub.com OR www. monroecounty-fl.gov/ BonfireBids. The Public Record is available upon request.

Monroe County Purchasing Department receives bids via the Bonfire electronic bidding platform. Please do not email, mail or attempt to deliver in person any sealed bids.

Emailed/mailed/physically delivered bids/proposals/ responses WILL NOT be accepted.

The Monroe County Purchasing Department hereby directs that bids be submitted via the Bonfire electronic bidding platform at https://monroecounty-fl. bonfirehub.com, no later than 3:00P.M. on February 15, 2024.

There is no cost to the bidder to use the Bonfire platform.

Please do not submit your confidential financial information as part of your proposal. There are separate uploads for each set of documents, including confidential financial information. All proposals will be made public on the platform after an intended decision or 30 days, whichever is earlier, unless the bids/ proposals are rejected in accordance with F.S. 119.071.

If your proposal document includes financial information, that information will not be considered confidential and will be available and viewable to the public in accordance with public records law.

The bid opening for this solicitation will be held virtually, via the internet, at 3:00 P.M., on Thursday, February 15, 2024. You may call in by phone or internet using the following: Join Zoom Meeting https://mcbocc.zoom. us/j/4509326156 Meeting ID: 4509326156

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 24-CP-000007-P IN RE: ESTATE OF TIMOTHY ALAN DORSEY, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Timothy Alan Dorsey, deceased, whose date of death was November 26, 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 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 PERIOD 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 January 18, 2024.

Personal Representative: Erin Appleton-Dorsey 9402 12th Avenue SW Seattle, WA 98106 Attorney for Personal Representative: Steven L. Hearn, Esquire Florida Bar No. 350801 Frederick L. Hearn, Esquire Florida Bar No. 105987 STEVEN L. HEARN, P.A. 600 S. Magnolia Ave., Ste. 200 Tampa, FL 33606 Telephone: (813) 222-0003 E-Mail: slh@estatedisputes. com Secondary E-Mail: flh@ estatedisputes.com Secondary E-Mail: melr@ estatedisputes.com Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 2023-CP-0303-K IN RE: ESTATE OF

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 23-CP-000141-PK IN RE: ESTATE OF PATRICIA H. KAZMAIER Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of PATRICIA H. KAZMAIER, deceased, whose date of death was October 19, 2023; is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division; File Number 23-CP-000141PK, the address of which is 88820 Overseas Highway, Tavernier, FL 33070. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 23-CP-000142-PK IN RE: ESTATE OF PHYLLIS E. DALIA Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of PHYLLIS E. DALIA, deceased, whose date of death was December 6, 2023; is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division; File Number 23-CP-000142-PK, the address of which is 88820 Overseas Highway, Tavernier, FL 33070.

The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are set forth below.

All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, and who have been served a copy of this notice, must file their claims with this court WITHIN THE LATER OF THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court WITHIN THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION FILE NO.: 23-CP-000123-P IN RE: ESTATE OF BARBARA MARY PRIESTMAN, Deceased.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of BARBARA MARY PRIESTMAN, deceased, File Number 23-CP-000123-P, whose date of death was April 23, 2023 and whose social security number is XXX-XX-8225, is pending in the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 88770 Overseas Highway, Ste.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 WITHIN 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 SECTION 733.702 OF THE FLORIDA PROBATE CODE WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIOD 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: January 11, 2024.

Signed on January 3, 2024.

Personal Representative BRADLEY PRIESTMAN, Petitioner Attorney for Personal Representative: VINCENT J. OWOC, ESQ. Florida Bar Number 794449 Attorney for Petitioner Vincent J. Owoc, P.A. 4801 S. University Dr., Ste. 203 Davie, FL 33328 Telephone: (954) 680-8000 Email: vincentowoc@msn.com Publish: January 11 & 18, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

13

JANUARY 18, 2024 / KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES •

305.743.0844

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

EMPLOYMENT

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 16TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 24-DR-7-K DIVISION: FAMILY SHANIN OURADA Petitioner, and, ROBERT OURADA, JR. Respondent.

NOTICE OF ACTION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE TO: ROBERT OURADA, JR. RESPONDENT’S LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: 19442 CANAL DRIVE, SUGARLOAF KEY, FL 33042 YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an action for Dissolution of Marriage has been filed against you and that you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on Shanin Ourada, whose address is 50 Sands Road, Big Pine Key, FL 33043 on or before February 10, 2024, and file the original with the clerk of this Court at 500 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040, before service on Petitioner or immediately thereafter.

If you fail to do so, a default may be entered against you for the relief demanded in the petition.

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

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

WARNING: Rule 12.285, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, requires certain automatic disclosure of documents and information.

Failure to comply can result in sanctions, including dismissal or striking of pleadings.

Dated: January 5, 2024 Kevin Madok, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Destiny Johnson Deputy Clerk Publish: January 11, 18 & 25 and February 1, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

recorded in Official Records Book 1803, Page 844, Public Records of Monroe County, Florida, and all exhibits thereto, and any amendments thereof (the “Declaration”).

Pursuant to IN REM FINAL JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE AFTER DEFAULT entered in a case pending in said Court, the 15TH day of December 2023 Syle of which is: WINDWARD POINTE II, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Plaintiff vs.

KIM BYRDRIDER, et.al Defendant And the Docket Number of which is Number 2022-CC310-K WITNESS my hand and the Official Seal of Said Court, this 29TH day of December 2023.

KEVIN MADOK, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Shonta McLeod As Deputy Clerk Florida Statute 45.031: Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens must file a claim within 60 days after the sale.

Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

As Deputy Clerk Florida Statute 45.031: Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens must file a claim within 60 days after the sale.

Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

Monroe County, in the City of Key West, Florida, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for CASH the Following described property situated in Monroe County, Florida, to wit: Unit 5312, Week 35, Annual Windward Pointe, a Leasehold Condominium (“Condominium”), according to the Declaration of Condominium thereof recorded in Official Records Book 1803, Page 844, Public Records of Monroe County, Florida, and all exhibits thereto, and any amendments thereof (the “Declaration”).

Pursuant to IN REM FINAL JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE AFTER DEFAULT AS TO COUNT(S) I entered in a case pending in said Court, the 8TH day of December 2023 Syle of which is: WINDWARD POINTE II, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Plaintiff vs.

JAMES KEFFER, et.al Defendant And the Docket Number of which is Number 2022-CA511-K WITNESS my hand and the Official Seal of Said Court, this 29TH day of December 2023.

KEVIN MADOK, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Shonta McLeod As Deputy Clerk Florida Statute 45.031: Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens must file a claim within 60 days after the sale.

Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

JAMES KEFFER, et.al Defendant And the Docket Number of which is Number 2022-CA511-K WITNESS my hand and the Official Seal of Said Court, this 29TH day of December 2023.

KEVIN MADOK, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Shonta McLeod As Deputy Clerk Florida Statute 45.031: Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens must file a claim within 60 days after the sale.

Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

within 60 days after the sale.

Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspapers

Marathon Auto Air looking for Shop Help - full or part-time. Pay based on experience.

Apply in person at 2525 Overseas Highway, Marathon.

305-289-9884

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 2022-CC-310-K NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

BY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT Notice is hereby given that the undersigned, Kevin Madok, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, Florida, will, on the 1st day of February, 2024 at 11 o’clock a.m., at 500 Whitehead Street, Monroe County, in the City of Key West, Florida, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for CASH the Following described property situated in Monroe County, Florida, to wit: Unit 5111, Week 46, Odd Year Biennial Windward Pointe, a Leasehold Condominium (“Condominium”), according to the Declaration of Condominium thereof

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 2022-CA-511-K NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

BY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT Notice is hereby given that the undersigned, Kevin Madok, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, Florida, will, on the 1st day of February, 2024 at 11 o’clock a.m., at 500 Whitehead Street, Monroe County, in the City of Key West, Florida, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for CASH the Following described property situated in Monroe County, Florida, to wit: Unit 5712, Week 2, Annual Windward Pointe, a Leasehold Condominium (“Condominium”), according to the Declaration of Condominium thereof recorded in Official Records Book 1803, Page 844, Public Records of Monroe County, Florida, and all exhibits thereto, and any amendments thereof (the “Declaration”).

Pursuant to IN REM FINAL JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE AFTER DEFAULT AS TO COUNT(S) IX entered in a case pending in said Court, the 8TH day of December 2023 Syle of which is: WINDWARD POINTE II, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Plaintiff vs.

JAMES KEFFER, et.al Defendant And the Docket Number of which is Number 2022-CA511-K WITNESS my hand and the Official Seal of Said Court, this 29TH day of December 2023.

KEVIN MADOK, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Shonta McLeod

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 2022-CC-223-K NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

BY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT Notice is hereby given that the undersigned, Kevin Madok, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, Florida, will, on the 1st day of February, 2024 at 11 o’clock a.m., at 500 Whitehead Street, Monroe County, in the City of Key West, Florida, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for CASH the Following described property situated in Monroe County, Florida, to wit: Unit 5834, Week 16, Annual Windward Pointe, a Leasehold Condominium (“Condominium”), according to the Declaration of Condominium thereof recorded in Official Records Book 1803, Page 844, Public Records of Monroe County, Florida, and all exhibits thereto, and any amendments thereof (the “Declaration”).

Pursuant to IN REM FINAL JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE AFTER DEFAULT entered in a case pending in said Court, the 14TH day of December 2023 Syle of which is: WINDWARD POINTE II, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Plaintiff vs.

CHRISTOPHER RAY GRAY, et.al Defendant And the Docket Number of which is Number 2022-CC223-K WITNESS my hand and the Official Seal of Said Court, this 29TH day of December 2023.

KEVIN MADOK, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Shonta McLeod As Deputy Clerk Florida Statute 45.031: Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens must file a claim within 60 days after the sale.

Publish: January 18 & 25, 2024 The Weekly Newspaper IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 2022-CA-511-K NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

BY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT Notice is hereby given that the undersigned, Kevin Madok, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, Florida, will, on the 1st day of February, 2024 at 11 o’clock a.m., at 500 Whitehead Street,

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 2022-CA-511-K NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

BY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT Notice is hereby given that the undersigned, Kevin Madok, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, Florida, will, on the 1st day of February, 2024 at 11 o’clock a.m., at 500 Whitehead Street, Monroe County, in the City of Key West, Florida, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for CASH the Following described property situated in Monroe County, Florida, to wit: Unit 5134, Week 34, Annual Windward Pointe, a Leasehold Condominium (“Condominium”), according to the Declaration of Condominium thereof recorded in Official Records Book 1803, Page 844, Public Records of Monroe County, Florida, and all exhibits thereto, and any amendments thereof (the “Declaration”).

Pursuant to IN REM FINAL JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE AFTER DEFAULT AS TO COUNT(S) IV, V entered in a case pending in said Court, the 8TH day of December 2023 Syle of which is: WINDWARD POINTE II, LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Plaintiff vs.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 2022-CC-61-K NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

BY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT Notice is hereby given that the undersigned, Kevin Madok, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, Florida, will, on the 1st day of February, 2024 at 11 o’clock a.m., at 500 Whitehead Street, Monroe County, in the City of Key West, Florida, offer for sale and sell at public outcry to the highest and best bidder for CASH the Following described property situated in Monroe County, Florida, to wit: Unit 221, Week 39, Sunset Harbor Resort, a Condominium according to the Declaration of Condominium thereof recorded in Official Records Book 1376, Page 1093, Public Records of Monroe County, Florida, and all exhibits attached thereto, and any amendments thereof (hereafter the “Declaration”).

Pursuant to IN REM FINAL JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE entered in a case pending in said Court, the 15TH day of December 2023 Syle of which is: SUNSET HARBOR RESORT CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., A NONPROFIT CORPORATION UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA Plaintiff vs.

ANY AND ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES WHO CLAIM AN INTEREST AS SPOUSE, HEIRS, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES, ADMINISTRATORS OR AS OTHER CLAIMANTS, BY, THROUGH, UNDER OR AGAINST JUDITH K. WHITE, DECEASED, et.al Defendant And the Docket Number of which is Number 2022-CC61-K WITNESS my hand and the Official Seal of Said Court, this 29TH day of December 2023.

KEVIN MADOK, CPA Clerk of the Circuit Court Monroe County, Florida By: Shonta McLeod As Deputy Clerk Florida Statute 45.031: Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the Lis Pendens must file a claim

AUTOS WANTED

AUTOS ALL YEARS! Junk or Used Cars, Vans, Trucks.

Runs or Not. $CASH 305-332-0483 BOAT SLIP FOR RENT

Boat Dockage for rent in Marathon. Private bay bottom, up to 40' boat, self containing, offshore water, car & dingy parking space provided.

305-610-8002 Place your BOAT SLIP FOR RENT ad here. $25.00/week for up to 5 lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844 today!

CAMP SITE

Camping site at marina available in Marathon.

305-610-8002 EMPLOYMENT

Pigeon Key in Marathon is seeking a Customer Service Rep/ Ramp Attendant. to join our island team.

Position includes greeting customers, giving information and taking admissions.

Outgoing professionals can contact pigeonkey@aol.com for additional details.

Hiring: Lead Gutter Installer - EXPERIENCE REQUIRED – valid Driver’s License - must be comfortable with heights - located in Tavernier. To apply, please call or text Jay 305-587-1581.

Looking for happy personality with good customer service skills to complete staff in fun Keys Gift Shop in Marathon. Part time to start. Call 305 731 6947 for appointment.

City of Marathon Current Job Openings: Administrative Asst.

Fire Department and Right of Way Technician.

Full Benefits. EOE Please see City website for details www.ci.marathon.fl.us

Boat rental company in Marathon needs an Outboard Mechanic.

Some general marina work, and boat experience a plus.

Call 305-481-7006 The Housing Authority of the City of Key West now hiring the following positions: PT Receptionist, Assistant to Director of Housing, Housing Assistant-Key West, Occupancy & Admissions AssistantKey West, Protective Service Aide, Housing Manager-Middle Keys, HVAC Maintenance Mechanic, and M a i n t e n a n c e M e c h a n i c (Maintenance Worker). 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. $25.00/week for up to 5 lines of copy.

Call 305-743-0844.

HOBBIES/COLLECT.

P R I V A T E C O L L E C T O R WANTS Rolex, Dive Watches and Pilot Watches. Old Model Military Clocks & W a t c h e s .

Call 305-743-4578 HOUSING FOR RENT

LONG TERM Key Largo 2BR/2BA Spacious Doublewide, 1400 sq ft modular on canal w/40’ dock, direct ocean access.

Very nice community. $3500/month 786-258-3127

14

KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP / JANUARY 18, 2024

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES 305.743.0844 • CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES • •305.743.0844 HOUSING FOR RENT

PERSONALS

VACATION RENTAL

2 BR/2.5 BA, Key Largo, furnished, boat slip included up to 28' boat, dockage right behind the unit.

Long term or vacation rental. $4,800/ month 305-202-1030

BEACH HOUSE VACATION! Caretaker couple needed for Bahamas Beach House for 3-4 months. Call or text 305-439-9991

Large One Bedroom Suite, Conch House, carpet, tile, appliances, fully furnished in Marathon.

Available now. $2,000/month includes electric, water, sewer, cable, internet.

No Pets. 305-610-8002

Large RV Waterfront Lot with Dockage for rent in Marathon.

Full hook up. $1950/ month plus utilities.

F/L/S 305-731-5042

Key West House For Rent 28 day minimum.

Recently renovated. 2 Units: 3BR/3BA or 2BR/2.5BA. 1 block to Schooner Wharf @ Historic Seaport. Starting $214/ night. Sweet Caroline S e a p o r t . c o m

2 Bedroom 1 Bath house in Marathon.

Tile & carpet floors, new appliances, gated property. No pets.

305-610-8002 Place your Housing For Rent ad here. $25.00/week for up to 5 lines of copy.

Call 305-743-0844.

RV LOT FOR RENT

Large RV Lot for Rent in Marathon.

Full hook up. $1600/ month plus utilities.

F/L/S 305-731-5042 Place your RV LOT For Rent ad here. $25.00/week for up to 5 lines of copy.

Call 305-743-0844.

YARD SALES

GARAGE SALE Saturday, January 20 from 8 am - 2 pm.

131 Zane Grey Creek Dr, Layton MM68

The Turtle Hospital in Marathon

Join our team! Full and part-time

Educational Program Guides/ Gift Shop Sales. Public speaking & retail sales experience helpful. $17.00/hour to start. Send resume to: TurtleHospitalMarathon@gmail.com

Place your YARD SALE ad here. $25.00/ week for up to 5 lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844 today!

IS HIRING IN THE UPPER KEYS

FULL TIME PROJECT MANAGER BOOKKEEPER

VACATION RENTAL

PERSONALS

Send resume to: admin@cbtconstruction.com Or call: 305-852-3002

SUNSET GRILLE IS HIRING

• Bussers • Hosts • Line Cooks • Waitstaff • Bartenders • Dishwashers • Bar Backs Apply in person at Sunset Grille & Raw Bar, 7 Knight’s Key Blvd, Marathon

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 field required. Bilingual preferred, not required. Office located in Marathon. Contact Marcia at 305-704-0117.

$$$ OFFICE ASSISTANT $$$

DYNASTY MARINE ASSOCIATES, MARATHON, FL Duties to include invoice and inventory entry, creating and filing paperwork for international shipments, scheduling inspections needed for international shipments, customer communication and tracking, creating and maintaining customer accounts and some customer service.

Must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel.

This position requires high attention to detail and the ability to multitask.

Competitive compensation plus benefits.

Benefits package including vacation, sick days, holidays and 401K PSP retirement plan. Please send cover letter and resume to sales@dynastymarine.net for consideration. No phone calls please. dynastymarine.net

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

HEAVY DIESEL MECHANIC We are hiring a heavy diesel mechanic with experience working on John Deere, Caterpillar, Kubota, etc.

Monday-Friday with some overtime available.

Please apply at Charley Toppino & Sons, Inc. 129 Toppino Industrial Dr, Key West – ask for Cheryl 305-296-5606 extension 126

WE ARE HIRING! Assistant Plant Store Manager (FT) 40-hr/wk Good social/business skills, above average computer skills required (knowledge of POS a plus). Knowledge of tropical plants is helpful. Requires a lot of manual labor, must be able to lift at least 50 pounds. Must be able to work weekends and evenings as the season requires.

FL driver’s license w/good driving record, references and background screening required.

Plant Store/Nursery Associate (PT) Sat–Tues 9AM–5 PM Position requires a min. of high school completion and 1 yr. exp. Must be knowledgeable in tropical plants and have good social/business skills, above average computer skills (knowledge of POS a plus). Must be able to lift at least 50 pounds. English language, speaking and writing, proficiency is a must. FL driver’s license w/good driving record, references and background screening are required.

Direct Care Staff /Driver at Adult Day Training Program KW (FT&PT) Mon-Fri This position is available at our Adult Day program. Providing direct care service and support to our clients in the day program. Position requires the minimum of high school completion or GED. FL Driver’s license w/clean driving record, English language, speaking and writing, proficiency is a must. Pre-employment training on-line and in person required.

MARC | 1401 Seminary St, Key West | www.marchouse.org

Come join our family! EOE

MARATHON GARBAGE SERVICE We are now hiring for the following positions:

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

4290 Overseas Hwy, Marathon

15

JANUARY 18, 2024 / KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP

• CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC && LEGAL NOTICES • • 305.743.0844 • CLASSIFIEDS, PUBLIC LEGAL NOTICES 305.743.0844 OPENINGS AVAILABLE TAVERNIER MARINERS HOSPITAL

PAPA JOE’S WATERFRONT in Islamorada is in final stages of construction and looking forward to an end-of-January opening!!

- Customer Service Coordinator - Medical Technologist, $15k Sign-on Bonus* - Medical Technologist, Laboratory - Multi-Modality Imaging Tech, Radiology, $20k Sign-on Bonus* - Multi-Modality Imaging Tech, Ultrasound, $20k Sign-on Bonus* - MH Multiplace Hyperbaric Tech - Pool Group Exercise Instructor - Pool Physical Therapist - Registered Nurse, $25k Sign-on Bonus*

Work with the BEST!

• Health, Dental, Vision & Life Insurance • Tuition Reimbursement • Paid Holidays, Vacation & Sick Time • 401K Employer Match • Quarterly Cash Profit Sharing • Fun, Fast-Paced Environment • Great Hours

Voted Best Bank 2014 - 2023 Key West

MARATHON FISHERMEN’S COMMUNITY HOSPITAL - Cook, Dietary, $5k Sign-on Bonus* - Emergency Department Team Coordinator - Environmental Tech, $5k Sign-on Bonus* - Manager Food Service - Medical Technologist, $15k Sign-on Bonus* - Multi-Modality Imaging Tech, Radiology, $20k Sign-on Bonus* - Patient Care Manager, Emergency Department, $20k Sign-on Bonus* - Patient Experience Advocate - Pharmacy Tech, $4k Sign-on Bonus* - Phlebotomist, Laboratory - Pool Physical Therapist - Registered Nurse, Oncology-Outpatient, $15k Sign-on Bonus* - Registered Nurse, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, $15k Sign-on Bonus* - Security Officer All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. *Sign-on bonuses are available only for select full-time positions based on candidate experience.

APPLY AND LEARN MORE careers.baptisthealth.net or call 786-243-8507

DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER

IS HIRING! Volunteer Resources Administrative Assistant (Full-Time, Permanent)

Facilities Maintenance Apprentice

Now accepting applications via email for the following positions: Admin/Office-Manager Assistant General Manager Restaurant/Floor Manager(s) Beverage/Bar Manager Sous Chef(s) Kitchen Manager/Supervisor(s)

Please be sure to attach your resume, contact info, & position(s) of interest.

Please No calls, No walk-ins at this time.

Thank you.

“Uplifting the human spirit since 1973”

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 LARGO KEY WEST

Media & Marketing Assistant (Full-Time, Permanent)

Benefits include medical, life & disability insurance, 401(k) plan, paid vacation, sick time & holidays.

Full job descriptions available at www.dolphins.org/career_opportunities Email cover letter, DRC application & resume to drc-hr@dolphins.org EOE

Peer Support Specialist Prevention Specialist Advocate Behavioral Health Therapist (Child, Adult) Behavioral Health Counselor (Child) Case Manager (Adult)

MARATHON

Housekeeper Prevention Specialist Admission Specialist Care Coordinator (PT) Driver (CDL) Behavioral Health Therapist (Child, Adult) RNs/LPNs - 3 shifts (also Per Diem) Peer Support Specialist *Support Worker – Assisted Living (PT) *Behavioral Health Technicians 3 shifts (also Per Diem)

DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER

*No experience required for this position. Will train.

A caring heart & helpful hands required.

Teaching... Learning... Caring

Background and drug screen req.

COMPETITIVE PAY! EXCEPTIONAL BENEFITS!!!

Check out all available positions at: www.westcare.com (search by zip code) EEOC/DFWP

58901 O/S Hwy - Grassy Key, FL

Apply Online at KeysBank.com/Careers

Equal Housing Lender

EOE-M/F/V/D

CS FIELD REPRESENTATIVE

The Guidance/Care Center, Inc. a division of

Education Program Host Staff Photographer

Information Technology Technician II

Member FDIC

Advocate (PT) Behavioral Health Counselor (Child)

(Full-Time, Part-Time, Seasonal)

Customer Service Representative/ Online Banking

We are now beginning to assemble our management team.

If you’re interested in any of these listed employment opportunities, please email your resume to FrankS@PapaJoesWaterfront.com

(Full-Time, Permanent) (Full-Time, Permanent)

Full Time Teller

LOCATION: MARATHON

The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority is looking for a Customer ServiceField Rep. to work out of our Marathon Office. This position acts as a liaison between the FKAA and customers out in the field and at the customer’s property. Work involves managing meter reading data and minor repairs to the water distribution system.

Must have a High School; Diploma or GED and valid Florida Driver’s License. Must obtain a FDEP Level 3 license w/within 18 mos. of hire date. Salary: $50,376.48 annually. Excellent benefits.

Apply online at www.fkaa.com/212/opportunities EEO, VPE, ADA, DFW

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OPERATORS LOCATION: MARATHON

The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority is looking for Distribution System Operators to perform semi-skilled work, involving the repair and maintenance of FKAA water distribution and transmission systems. We provide on the job training for qualified applicants. Requires a High School, Diploma or GED and valid Florida Driver’s License. Salary: $48,909.19. Excellent benefits and opportunities for advancement.

Apply online at www.fkaa.com/212/opportunities EEO, VPE, ADA, DFW

FKAA EMERGENCY WATER PLAN STORE WATER

FILL BATHTUB AND LARGE CONTAINERS WITH WATER FOR WASHING AND FLUSHING ONLY. FOR DRINKING AND COOKING WATER, STORE IN CONTAINERS FOR 7-10 DAYS. 1 GALLON PER PERSON PER DAY IS RECOMMENDED.

FOLLOW PRECAUTIONARY/ MANDATORY BOIL WATER NOTICES IF A NOTICE IS ISSUED, DISINFECT YOUR WATER BY EITHER BOILING FOR 1 MINUTE, OR ADDING 1/8 TEASPOON OF BLEACH, OR USING PURIFICATION TABLETS.

EVACUATING? HERE'S WHAT TO DO SHUT OFF THE HOME'S WATER VALVE (TYPICALLY FOUND ON THE EXTERIOR WALL OF THE HOME). SOME WATER HEATERS MAY ALSO NEED TO BE SHUT OFF. CHECK WITH THE MANUFACTURER. Should you require assistance in turning off your water, FKAA will be happy to come out and turn it off for you, as a courtesy (time permitting).

CUSTOMERS WITH LOW PRESSURE SEWER PUMP ON THEIR PROPERTY ARE ASKED TO SHUT OFF THE BREAKER TO THEIR GRINDER PUMP (LOCATED IN THE DEDICATED ELECTRIC BOX OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOME).

STAY INFORMED REGISTER FOR "PRIORITY CALL" @FKAA.COM TO RECEIVE NOTICES VIA PHONE, TEXT, & EMAIL. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, FKAA.COM AND THE RADIO CALL US @ 305.296.2454