The one that’s great for boating
Set on a rare corner waterfront lot in the heart of Boot Key Harbor. With direct ocean access and deep sailboat-friendly waters, this two-bedroom home is your gateway to the ultimate Keys lifestyle. Sold fully furnished and rental-ready, it's perfect as a lucrative vacation rental or a private escape. Inside, warm cedar accents and pine siding bring a cozy coastal feel, balanced by modern upgrades like smart TVs, ceiling fans, and a Ring security system. Outside, tropical landscaping sets the stage for fun and relaxation. Banana trees sway beside manicured planters with a water system. The tiki hut complete with a black granite bar top, fan, and string twinkle lights invites entertaining at any hour. Grill your fresh catch, rinse off in the outdoor shower, or gather at the 65-ft concrete dock to watch the harbor lights shimmer. Boaters will love the 8,000-lb lift with new Gem control box, extended courtesy dock, stainless fish-cleaning station, bait freezer, and even an antique ship's bell to mark the day's end. With quick, deep-water access to both the Atlantic and Gulf, this home captures everything that makes Keys living unforgettable boating, sunsets, and a relaxed sense of adventure. Whether you're looking to generate income or anchor your island lifestyle, this Boot Key Harbor gem is ready to welcome you home.
9709 Overseas Hwy.
Marathon, FL 33050
Office: 305.743.0844 www.keysweekly.com
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STRUYF, STILL & LANDRY WIN THE DAIS
Marathon City Council election returns two incumbents, adds a newcomer
As final precincts reported in the 2025 Marathon City Council election, voters delivered a mixed bag of support for incumbents and a desire for new faces, electing newcomer Debbie Struyf as the top finisher along with current councilwoman Robyn Still and Mayor Lynn Landry.
Struyf, seen every morning for nearly two weeks at the Sombrero Beach Road intersection to cap off an aggressive months-long campaign, finished with 939 votes (21.18%) to lead the tightly-contested field. She celebrated the win with family, friends and supporters at a watch party at the Stuffed Pig restaurant, together with candidate David Perry.
“Thank you for all the amazing support. I remain committed to my
I’m proud of the work we’ve done over the last three years, and I respect the will of the voters. I know there’s still more work to be done, and I look forward to continuing to support this community.”
promise of accessibility, transparency and accountability,” Struyf told the Weekly. “Your questions and concerns matter. I invite you to bring questions and concerns to me and we will work on them together.”
Awaiting results with her supporters at the Marathon Elks Lodge, Still finished her second successful campaign with 761 votes of her own (17.16%).
"I want to thank the voters for their continued trust in me,” she told the Weekly the following morning. “Serving on Marathon’s City Council is an honor and I'm looking forward to working with my fellow council members to continue the progress that has already been made and to continue to find new ways to improve our residents' quality of life while addressing ongoing problems faced by our community.”
Marathon’s current mayor chose to watch results roll in at home with his family, paying the Weekly a visit the following morning to thank his backers.
“I want to thank everybody for their support, from the people who supported me in my campaign both financially and with advice, to the voters who voted for me,” he said. “And now it’s time to get back to work for
ALEX RICKERT
Candidate Debbie Struyf, who earned a seat on the council as the top vote-getter on Nov. 4, makes her final push for votes.
Incumbents Lynn Landry, left, Jeff Smith and Robyn Still go to work on U.S. 1 on election day.
Photos by Alex Rickert and Natalie Danko.
“Congratulations to Debbie, Robyn and Lynn, and thank you to everyone who voted for me. I appreciate all the support, and we gave it our best shot. I hope these three get the city going in the right direction.”
— Dave Perry
the entire city of Marathon.”
Perry finished as the race’s top runner-up, earning 683 votes. Current councilman Jeff Smith was fifth at 661, Greg Robinson earned 419 votes and Gerrit Hale finished with 252.
With mail-in and early votes reportedly shortly after 7 p.m., along with day-of results from three of five Marathon precincts minutes later, final results were delayed until just after 8 p.m. Speaking to the Weekly via text message after her first election in her new post, Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies said the delay was due to a phone line outage at Marathon City Hall, which housed precincts 21 and 23 for election-day voting.
Tuesday’s race featured 1,670 ballots cast from 5,628 registered voters – 522 mail-ins, 314 early votes and 835 election-day tallies, for a total voter turnout of 29.76%. While falling far short of the 86.07% turnout from the 2024 general election, the number closely mirrors Marathon’s last standalone council election in 2021, which saw a 29.37% turnout from 6,293 voters.
Struyf, Still and Landry will be sworn in at the Tuesday, Nov. 18 Marathon City Council meeting, beginning
I extend my sincere congratulations to Debra Tyner Struyf on her election to the Marathon City Council, and to Lynn Landry and Robyn Still on their successful re-elections. While tonight’s result was not the outcome I hoped for personally, the ideas we shared during this campaign remain vital: ensuring our workforce finds housing, keeping our waters clean, protecting neighborhoods, preparing infrastructure for hurricanes, and guiding growth responsibly, all with transparent oversight and public accountability. Although I’m stepping back from this race, I’m not stepping away from this city. I will continue to show up, contribute, listen, and advocate because Marathon is our home, and progress never waits.”
–
Gerrit
Hale
“I wish the best to the newly elected, and I hope they deliver for the city in ways in which delivery has not to date occurred so that our city flourishes.”
– Greg Robinson
MARK WILSON ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR CIRCUIT JUDGE
Judge seeks to succeed retiring Mark Jones
Monroe County Judge Mark Wilson on Nov. 3 announced his candidacy for Sixteenth Circuit Judge, Group 1. The seat will be open following the retirement of Judge Mark H. Jones, who will conclude his three-decade career on the bench when his current term ends in December 2026.
“Judge Jones has been a pillar of our judicial system for many years, and a stalwart example of professionalism and steady leadership,” Wilson said. “His service as a circuit judge has strengthened our courts and deepened public confidence in the justice system. I intend to continue my judicial service to the citizens of Monroe County by succeeding him in that role.”
Wilson was appointed to the Monroe County Court in 2017 by then-Gov. Rick Scott. He has since been elected without opposition. Before taking the bench, he served for 12 years as a Monroe County assistant state attorney, prosecuting public corruption crimes and other felony offenses.
WIlson also served for many years as the legal adviser to the Monroe County Grand Jury. He spent four years as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, where he prosecuted federal crimes. Wilson finished his prosecutorial career as chief assistant state attorney.
He is qualified by the Florida Supreme Court to preside over death penalty cases and has handled thousands of criminal and civil matters throughout the Florida Keys in eight years as a county judge.
Wilson has been a law professor at Penn State and Widener
University law schools, a Wyoming state trooper and a U.S. Army paratrooper in the Republic of Panama and at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the famed 82nd Airborne Division.
He earned a bachelor’s degree with highest honors from Rutgers University, a law degree magna cum laude from Penn State, and a postgraduate law degree from Yeshiva University.
“I’ve always believed that justice should be firm when it needs to be and compassionate when it ought to be,” said Wilson. “The goal of our justice system is to seek the truth and apply the law fairly to everyone. As a judge, my duty is to ensure the rights of all parties are respected, the laws are faithfully applied, and that the decisions we reach are grounded in justice and reason. I intend to continue this as a circuit judge.”
Wilson said he has been endorsed by Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay, Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward and the South Florida Police Benevolent Association.
The election for Circuit Judge, Group 1, takes place Aug. 18, 2026. Jones will retire four months later in December.
— Contributed
Monroe County Judge Mark Wilson on Nov. 3 filed paperwork to become a candidate for Sixteenth Circuit Judge, Group 1. He seeks to replace longtime Circuit Judge Mark Jones, who will retire in December 2026. CONTRIBUTED
Candidate Dave Perry takes to the streets on election day. Perry finished fourth in the 2025 council race, missing a council seat by a narrow margin of 36 votes.
IT’S A TRAP!
Marathon High School drama club brings whodunit to the stage
ALEX RICKERT www.keysweekly.com
There’s no fourth wall in the Marathon High School drama club’s fall production of “Trap” by Stephen Gregg. But there are unconscious bodies all over the place, and the audience is in on the investigation.
In Menachap, California, the 241-person audience, cast and crew of a high school play inexplicably fall unconscious – that is, all but one. Told through evidence and a series of “on-camera” interviews of witnesses, friends and family, first responders and detectives assigned to unravel the phenomenon, the cast and audience dig deeper to find the truth, unraveling more of the theater’s twisted history en route to a shocking end.
Speaking to the Weekly three days before opening night, the show’s leads were necessarily tight-lipped when discussing their most anticipated scenes.
“I’m the detective (Heche), and I’m just trying to keep my job,” said senior and 7-year drama club veteran Soph Hutchins. “My boss puts me in the ‘dead end, nothing’s going to happen’ pile, and then I suddenly get something.”
“The girl who survives makes a 911 call, and I’m the person who responds to it,” said fellow senior Cameron VanHoose, who plays fireman Ephrain Salas. “I guess you could say I’m the emotional side of the show, staying with the bodies while everyone tries to figure out what’s going on.”
“He actually cares about them,” laughed Hutchins.
Asked about the defining feature of “Trap” compared to past MHS productions, both Van Hoose and Hutchins refused to give up much.
“The ending,” they said. “You’ll have to show up and find out.”
Directed by Rhonda Crutcher, “Trap” runs from Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 6 to 9. The curtain rises on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students at the door, payable with cash or credit. The show may be frightening for young children; parental discretion is advised.
Reagan Vance, left, Hailey Diaz-Borrego, Cameron VanHoose and Soph Hutchins pore over the scene of unconscious bodies littered throughout a theater in ‘Trap,’ playing only this weekend at Marathon High School.
Soph Hutchins plays struggling detective Heche in the Marathon High School drama club’s performance of ‘Trap.’
Billy Roberts presides over the courtroom. Photos by Cathy Walters and Alex Rickert
We are proud to be opening the doors to our new Paint & Blind store on November 10th Stop in and say Hi to Jereme, Kelly & Mazzy!
30% off select Benjamin Moore Premium paint lines.
20% off your overall purchase of Graber blinds
NOVEMBER 10TH TO NOVEMBER 15TH
ELECTIONS OFFICE LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
The Monroe County Supervisor of Elections office on Oct. 6 launched a redesigned website with a new web address: votemonroeflkeys.gov. CONTRIBUTED
Upgrades unveiled in time for Marathon races & new campaigns
MANDY MILES
mandy@keysweekly.com
Are you registered to vote?
Are you sure? Did you update your address when you moved last year? Do you know your new polling place?
Want to know who’s running for office — and who’s funding their campaigns?
Is your ballot coming in the mail? (Not if you haven’t renewed your request, as those now expire after every election.)
All this information and more is available on the Monroe County elections website, which has a new look, a new online address — and a new web hosting company.
“We are no longer being hosted by VR Systems,” Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies said on Nov. 4, referring to the Tallahassee-based company that, until this year, had hosted 64 out of 67 Florida counties’ elections websites. In 2024, as millions of users visited 64 county websites to check election results, the digital demand overwhelmed the hosting platform, and dozens of counties fielded frantic calls from candidates and voters as online results weren’t updating and websites were crashing, forcing users to find election results elsewhere.
“So instead of using the same hosting company that everyone does, we spread out the traffic,” Hodies said. “We worked with Iowa Computer Gurus to redesign the website, which took about three months, and it’s hosted by Azure, so we shouldn’t have any freeze-ups or blackouts. And the ones that happened last year weren’t the fault of my predecessor or anyone here.”
Hodies added that while the website upgrade was her priority, the new web address — votemonroeflkeys.gov — was not.
“The state made a rule years ago that all election websites had to end in .gov,” Hodies said. “But our site had never been updated for that requirement.”
So the former keyselections. org is now votemonroeflkeys.gov. The old address will automatically redirect users to the correct one until March 2027, Hodies said, but encouraged users to update their bookmarks and saved sites.
The new site went live on Oct. 6 and launched “without a hiccup,” she said, hoping for the same smooth operation for Marathon’s city council elections on Nov. 4.
“Those election results for Marathon will be the test,” she said the day before the election. As of 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, the Marathon results were posted on the site’s home page.
“Transparency and trust have been folded into this website and into our new social media series, ‘Election Connection’ and ‘Behind the Ballot,’” Hodies writes in a letter to voters on the website’s home page.
“For the first time ever, the Monroe County Supervisor of Elections office is on Facebook and Instagram, and I’ll be launching a monthly newsletter later this month,” she said, adding that people can opt in to receive the newsletter via email on the elections website. Hodies credited the county’s election employees for their experience, knowledge and commitment to ensuring clean and accurate elections in Monroe County.
“I’m surrounded by amazing people, and I’ve been attending training and education sessions around the state,” she said.
REEL RECS
Staff from your Monroe County Public Library recommend some of their favorites from the collection.
What: “WarGames” (1983)
Why: I dislike and distrust AI, and now I wonder if part of the reason is that I saw this movie at an impressionable age (15). Matthew Broderick stars as a supersmart teen computer nerd a decade before connecting to another computer became common. He thinks he’s sneaked into a new gaming system – but it’s actually the new autonomous missile control system installed by the U.S. armed forces. So when he tells it he’d like to play “global thermonuclear war,” bad things start popping up on giant screens at missile command. With Ally Sheedy as his love interest/partner in trying to avert World War III and Dabney Coleman as the computer system’s director, this is a time capsule that feels uncomfortably prescient. And, not for nothing, it’s the rare ’80s teen movie that is not all about adolescent relationships and bad behavior. If you’d like to see it on the big screen again or for the first time, it’s scheduled to be shown as the free “Movie Under the Stars” on Eaton Street in front of the Tropic Cinema in Key West on Saturday, Nov. 8. Where: This film is available on Kanopy, the library’s streaming app. How: You can browse and request DVDs online by logging in to your account at keyslibraries.org. To view our collection of streaming movies and TV, go to kanopy.com/keyslibraries and set up an account with your library card. If you don’t have a card, you can visit your local branch or register online to get one. Questions? keyslibraries.org/contact-us. Recommended by: Nancy Klingener, community affairs manager.
See previous Reel Recs at keyslibraries.org/post/reel-recs.
MAN ARRESTED AFTER HE ALLEGEDLY COMMANDEERS TAXI IN MARATHON
AFlorida City man was arrested by sheriff’s deputies after he reportedly got behind the wheel of a taxi in Marathon and drove it to the Upper Keys.
Deputies say the report of a stolen taxi came in at 11:15 a.m. on Nov. 2 at the 5500 block of the Overseas Highway in Marathon. The taxi’s keys were left inside with the doors unlocked, and that’s when 43-year-old Misael Asaria Bocio allegedly got inside the vehicle and went for a ride.
The taxi was spotted driving erratically by deputies in Islamorada. Deputies stopped the vehicle and later identified the driver as Bocio. He was arrested and charged with grand theft auto and driving with a suspended license.
The sheriff’s said Bocio is a habitual offender and had just been released from prison on charges of robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment and burglary with assault on an occupant.
— Keys Weekly staff report
Misael Asaria Bocio. MCSO/Contributed
COMMERCE CORNEr
Established in 2001, Womankind is a non-profit medical center providing family planning, gynecology and prenatal care to women across their lifespan. With a focus on preventative care in a supportive environment, Womankind accepts all health insurances including Medicaid and Medicare, and provides a sliding scale to financially eligible patients. If you yearn to be treated like a whole, adult human person when you go for a medical visit, Womankind is the place for you. Our patients receive personalized care from a team of dedicated invested professionals. Our best client is one who leaves her appointment feeling empowered in her health care decisions. Womankind is thrilled to open our Marathon location after many years of consideration. With the expansion to prenatal care, we are excited to offer this critical service to an area with no OB options. Our continued collaboration with the Monroe County Health Department allows us to treat teenagers for gentle first exams in a trusted, supportive atmosphere.
Located at 5800 Overseas Hwy, #36, Marathon and 1511 Truman Ave, Key West 305-294-4004 info@womankindkeywest.org www.womankindkeywest.org
GREATER MARATHON CHAMBER OF COMMERECE 305.743.5417 • 1.800.262.7284 visitus@floridakeysmarathon.com www.floridakeysmarathon.com 12222 Overseas Highway • Marathon, FL 33050
$7 Menu
• Chicken wings, chicken livers and More!
• 32 beers on tap 1/2 off 2pm - 3pm
uengling
$2 Pints of Yuengling and Bud Light! BREAKFAST SERVED UNTIL
• Unique & interesting menu • $3 Mimosas • $5 Breakfast Shots LUNCH & DINNER • New Sandwich Options
Speared Local Fish
Prime Rib • Lobster
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Great Seafood Selections SUSHI
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SCHOLARS SIGNED
Take Stock in Children inks a record 84 students
Take Stock in Children of Monroe County has accepted 84 new students into its scholarship program, which now serves 382 students across 14 schools in the Florida Keys. This year marks a significant milestone for the program, reflecting a 5% increase in enrollment compared to last year.
The newly-accepted students, ranging from sixth through 10th grade, join a community of learners dedicated to academic success and personal growth. The enrollment includes 176 students from the Lower Keys, 74 from the Middle Keys and 132 from the Upper Keys.
“We are very proud of our new students who have joined our awardwinning mentorship program in Monroe County,” said Chuck Licis-Masson, executive director of Take Stock in Children of Monroe County. “These students will be a part of a 26-year history of providing college scholarships to nearly 1,200 students.”
Take Stock provides Florida Prepaid college scholarships that cover up to 120 tuition credits and local fees at any of the 12 state universities or 28 state colleges. Take Stock students may also apply their scholarship toward a career technical certificate.
“We have a track record of success with nearly 70% of our scholarship recipients earning a college degree or a career certificate,” said Licis-Masson.
Monroe County Education Foundation board president Ron Saunders
CRABBY BELLIES
Marathon locals top the team podium in Keys Fisheries’ annual claw-eating contest
emphasized the importance of, and his appreciation for, the Take Stock mentors who meet weekly with Take Stock Monroe students.
“We are very appreciative of our volunteer mentors who give time each week to meet with their Take Stock mentee, providing guidance and support that truly makes a difference in their lives,” he said.
This year has seen growth particularly at Coral Shores and Plantation Key schools, which experienced close to a 20% increase in enrollment.
Additionally, Marathon Middle High School reported a 12% rise in student participation. With new applications being considered after Jan. 1, the program anticipates reaching nearly 400 students in the near future.
To accommodate this expected increase in enrollment, Take Stock in Children is seeking additional mentors. Volunteers play a vital role in this program, offering support and guidance that help students navigate their academic journeys and prepare for future success.
The Monroe County Education Foundation congratulated the families and students for their commitment to education and expressed gratitude to the mentors who help make these opportunities possible.
More information is available from Licis-Masson at chuck.licis@monroecountyedfound.com or 305-293-1546. — Contributed
Fifty contestants. Ten teams of two. Twenty-five fresh stone crab claws. And one ticking clock.
In the Florida Keys last weekend, a tasty tradition to kick off stone crab season proved there is indeed a method to chomping your way through dozens of stone crab claws in record time … and it’s not just a good appetite.
Stone crab connoisseurs donned their best crab couture on Nov. 1 for the 14th annual Stone Crab Eating Contest at Keys Fisheries. The goal? Crack and consume 25 tasty stone crab claws and pick them completely clean in the fastest time possible. Participants received a penalty for each piece of claw meat left behind.
And contestants came prepared. From hammers to mallets to nut crackers, they raided their utensil drawers and toolboxes to help them crack open and chow down the succulent stone crabs. But in the end, it was a spoon — a very large spoon — that helped a Florida man take the top prize.
“So, my strategy was a spoon – a lot bigger of a spoon,” said first-place winner Jonathan Martinescu of Fort Myers. “Two years ago, I actually used a smaller spoon so this year the secret was a bigger spoon.”
This was the second time Martinescu entered the contest. He said his winning time of 9 minutes and 46 seconds was even sweeter because it happened on his four-year wedding anniversary.
In the team competition, Tom Zajac and Ryan Beckett of Marathon
took first prize with a time of 6 minutes and 15 seconds. In 2023 and 2024, Zajac won in this same category with another teammate.
The top three winners and teams took home commemorative awards including a Keys gift basket.
The Keys are responsible for 40% of the state's stone crab harvest. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, that averages about 2 million pounds annually. Stone crabs are also considered a renewable resource because of the crabs' ability to re-grow harvested claws.
Keys Fisheries, who hosted the contest, is the largest processor of stone crab claws in Florida. Stone crab harvest season runs from Oct. 15 to May 1 each year.
Proceeds from the event’s entry fees benefit the Florida Keys Hope Walk.
Take Stock in Children of Monroe County accepts 84 news students to its scholarship program. JIM McCARTHY/Keys Weekly
Bonzi Xaykosy of Fort Lauderdale works at a feverish pace to extract stone crab meat during the 14th annual Stone Crab Eating Contest at Keys Fisheries. Xaykosy earned second place in the quirky competition that marks the start of stone crab season. NATALIE DANKO/Florida Keys News Bureau
Ryan Beckett, left foreground, and Tom Zajac, with “M” cap in background, polish off their 25 claws for first place in the team contest. STEPHANIE ZAJAC/CONTRIBUTED
THANKSGIVING DAY AT HAWKS CAY!
Thursday, November 27th
Open to the Public
Turkey Trot 5K | 7am
Starting at Angler & Ale, the course winds through the scenic beauty of Duck Key, offering the perfect way to get moving before indulging in your Thanksgiving feast.
Register by November 9th
Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet 12pm-4pm
Let us handle the cooking & clean up while you make the memories. Enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast with a few Key’s favorites.
YOUR HUSBAND CALLED & SAID, BUY
303 Sadowski Causeway Key Colony Beach
Monday - Saturday 10AM - 5:30PM Sunday 11AM - 4PM
THIS WEEKS ENTERTAINMENT
THURSDAY, NOV 6
NOV 8
8PM
NOV 9
Reserve your table early!
MONDAY, NOV 10
MCCABE 5:30PM TUESDAY, NOV 11 TACO TUESDAY ALL
7:30PM
WEDNESDAY, NOV 12 LUKE SOMMERS 8PM
Animal rescue and rehabilitation organizations around the Keys are seeing their helping hands repaid, thanks to grants supplied by Florida’s Protect Marine Wildlife license plate. Created by the Protect Wild Dolphins Alliance, the specialty plate in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina uses money raised from vehicle registrations to directly support activities that contribute to the conservation and protection of marine mammals and other marine wildlife species. Since August 2023, the alliance has awarded more than $275,000 in grants. On Oct. 24, representatives from the alliance made a visit to the Marathon Wild Bird Center to present the latest in a string of donations: a $10,000 check to support the activities of founder Kelly Grinter’s team. Grant monies will fund an additional staff member to care for non-releasable ambassador animals, along with support for the center’s general operating fund, Grinter told the Weekly. Pictured, from left: alliance executive officer Dr. Brian Joseph, Wild Bird Center board member Wendy Gates, Grinter, alliance founder Steve McCulloch, and Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder’s Nicole Sears and Brieanna Wagler. ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly
GRACE HUBBARD
Marlin Bay Resort
How long have you been in the Keys and what brought you here? I’ve lived here since 2016. My parents moved down first while my brother and I were in college. I was the first to run out of money, so I came to live with them in 2016. Eventually, I got my own place, and the rest is history.
What is your favorite thing about living in the Keys? The people! You kind of have to be a little crazy or quirky to call this place home and I definitely fit right in!
What’s a local business you couldn’t live without? Marlin Bay Resort. They supply my health insurance, rent money and 401(k).
What is your greatest fear? Snowbirds in November.
Which living person do you most admire? My mother because she’s put up with me for so long and hasn’t disowned me (yet).
What is your favorite book, movie, or TV show right now? “Interview with a Vampire.” It’s a modern TV show based on Anne Rice’s books.
What is your greatest extravagance? Art supplies! Any and all kinds.
What is your most marked characteristic? I genuinely care about everyone, no matter their race, gender or abilities, and I always try to see the good in people.
No matter how many individuals appear in the pages of each edition of Keys Weekly, there are always so many more of our community members who deserve to be recognized. In an effort to shine a spotlight on more of the incredible individuals who live and work in these islands, Keys Weekly is proud to present our Neighbor of the Week feature, dedicated to celebrating a community member with each issue.
Our neighbor of the week is Grace Hubbard, who is the owner of a babysitting business called Amazing Grace Seaside Sitter and serves as the concierge and activities coordinator at Marlin Bay Resort & Marina. She loves kids and creates unique activities based on their ages and interests.
If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? I’d probably go with a koala. They’re always napping, and they look so adorable and fluffy. But if you bother them, they can get pretty fierce and protective.
What’s a habit you’d love to break? Definitely messiness.
What is your most treasured possession? Photographs. They tell a story nothing else can tell.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Just keep going; live one day at a time.
What are your favorite & least favorite smells? I love men’s cologne, and “ocean breeze” or “beach day”themed candles. I hate the smell of a stinky low tide.
What was in your last Amazon package? Realistic-looking fake human teeth, grey body paint and four pounds of root beer barrels hard candy.
What’s one of your all-time favorite movie quotes? “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore
What’s something you’re really proud of? When I was 14, I won a National Geographic Kids photography and essay contest. I won a Nikon camera and a trip to Australia, which was an amazing experience.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH 11am - 2:30pm
Regular menu available and BRUNCH items including chorizo breakfast burrito, guava French toast, crab benedict and BOGO mimosas & glasses of sparkling wine
MESSAGE SHERIFF FROM THE
I’m happy to announce the Sheri ’s O ce will be returning a total of $5,435,536.17 in excess funds that it did not spend the last fiscal year.
Fiscal responsibility remains one of my priorities and this last fiscal year was no di erent. I will always treat public funds as I would treat my own and continue to be the best financial steward I can be knowing how hard each of you work every day.
Nearly $5 million will be returned to Monroe County and the remaining excess funds returned to the Village of Islamorada, the City of Marathon, and Key West International Airport.
It’s an honor to serve as your Sheri !
Monroe County Sheriff, Rick Ramsay
HALLOWEEN SCENES
One last spooky weekend in Marathon
The Middle Keys made the scariest holiday of the year a bit sweeter with three options for trick-or-treaters this Halloween. Kids made the rounds on Grassy Key and at Gulfside Village with their families before the sun set, while the nighttime belonged to the streets behind the Marathon airport. Dodging middle and high school students armed with shaving cream, hundreds of visitors enjoyed the annual DJ at the Gonzalez residence and the Tuna Drive foam pit under the watchful eye of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
For the ‘big kids,’ the Boo Bash at Havana Jack’s restaurant in Key Colony Beach gave revelers the chance to sport their best costumes while raising money to help bring holidays to underprivileged children this December through Presents in Paradise.
1.
2.
3.
4,12.
6,7,8,9,11. Grassy Key trick-or-treaters load up their bags and buckets.
10.
13.
Alyssa Perry, left, Lisa Ziels and Patrick Stevens of Wolfe Stevens PLLC pass out candy at Gulfside Village.
The Zonta Club of Marathon awaits trickor-treaters.
Sea Level Spa’s Heather Rouse, left, hands out candy to the Freeman minions.
Costumes seen behind the airport range from elaborate Jaws displays to just plain adorable.
5. Key Colony Beach commissioners Kirk Diehl, left, and Freddie Foster, right, serve as Boo Bash celebrity judges along with master of ceremonies John Bartus.
JJ Mills joins the Addams Family as Uncle Fester.
Nick Colella keeps the bubbles flowing at the Tuna Drive foam pit.
Photos by Alex Rickert, Robyn Still and contributed images.
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FLORIDA KEYS HISTORY WITH BRAD BERTELLI
Brad is a local historian, author, speaker and Honorary Conch who loves sharing the history of the Florida Keys.
Driving along the Overseas Highway, vehicles roll over islands and past islands. Crossing over the Seven Mile Bridge offers a rare opportunity to pass over an island. Well, it used to.
Railroad piers supporting the Key West Extension of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway were erected on Pigeon Key, allowing the train to roar 22 feet above it.
The Jan. 21, 1912, edition of the Indianapolis Sunday Star printed a story mentioning Pigeon Key: “The camps are in charge of a resident or division engineer with the one at Pigeon Key presently the most active. At high tide, Pigeon Key is about two acres in extent and perhaps three acres at low tide. There are four bunkhouses, each designed to hold 64 men; one of them for the foremen, who are housed apart from the laborers. Each has a reading room with good lights. Good mattresses are provided on standard double-decked bunks, with plenty of clean bedclothes; all laundry work being done by the company. Once a week all beds are washed and thoroughly disinfected to keep any parasites from getting a start.”
The following day, Henry Flagler rode his train from the mainland to Key West for the very first time. When the train rambled over Pigeon Key, passengers were given a bird’s eye view of Pigeon Key and the little community calling it home.
The island was surveyed in 1908, and a construction camp was established for railroad workers, including dormitories, a mess hall and a cement warehouse. Tents were also erected to house as many as 400 workers, assigned to build the bridges linking Knights Key to Pigeon Key and Little Duck Key.
A PIGEON KEY STORY
While the train reached Key West in 1912, daily railroad service was established through the Upper Keys and the Middle Keys in 1908. Essentially, the railroad was delivered in two parts. The first part ended at a temporary terminus just offshore off Knights Key, the small island at the foot of what is today the Seven Mile Bridge. It took several additional years to complete the section stretching between Knights Key and Key West.
One of the most ambitious railroad projects was bridging the roughly 7-mile gap separating Knights Key and Little Duck Key. The feat was accomplished by constructing a series of bridges to cross the watery span where the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico mix. Four spans were constructed; one of them was not like the others. The Knights Key Bridge, Pigeon Key Bridge, and the Moser Channel Bridge were built on piers like those erected on Pigeon Key. The Pacet Channel Viaduct used formed arches as its support system.
The train chugged over Pigeon Key for 23 years, until Sept. 1, 1935. Sept. 2 brought the Labor Day Hurricane, which destroyed 40 miles of track and officially ended the railroad’s operation. With the railroad finished, the state purchased the right of way. In 1938, when the second version of the Overseas Highway opened, some of Flagler’s abandoned railroad bridges were widened to accommodate automobile traffic, including the four bridges linking Knights Key to Little Duck Key.
When they were incorporated into the highway, the pass became known as the Seven Mile Bridge. It cost a great deal of money to convert them. In 1937, the Public Works Commission approved a $3.6 million loan for the project. To recoup the costs associated with the highway improvements, the new section was established as a toll road. Two toll booths were erected, one near the old automobile ferry landing at Lower Matecumbe Key and one at Big Pine Key. The toll was $1 for drivers and an additional quarter for each passenger. It was not cheap. That $1 price in 1938 would equal almost $22 in 2025.
Included in the purchase of the F.E.C. right of
way was Pigeon Key. The island became the headquarters for the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District. All of the toll booth money collected was counted at the Pigeon Key headquarters until 1954, when the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District closed. On April 15, 1954, all tolls were lifted, and the booths were picked up and hauled away. Signs popped up along the side of the road that declared the highway was now the “Florida Freeway.” The communities in the Florida Keys protested the “renaming” of their road. Their voices were heard, the signs removed and the road once again became known as the Overseas Highway.
Eventually, Monroe County was given possession of Pigeon Key where, today, the old wooden railroad buildings stand like a sort of ghost town – but a kind of living ghost town. When the modern Seven Mile Bridge opened in 1982, it skirted the island. However, when driving over it and passing Pigeon Key, you can still look down on the island and see some of the oldest buildings in the Florida Keys outside of Key West.
The Seven Mile Bridge still offers a bird’seye view of the island, but also the old railroad bridges, including the Pacet Channel Viaduct that ends at Little Duck Key. The viaduct is where Fred the Tree resiliently grows. For anyone who doesn’t know Fred’s story, his Australian pine roots, which had dug into the asphalt and concrete sometime after 1982, took hold and grew because, when given the chance, life will fight to survive.
In 1990, Pigeon Key was listed as a National Historic Landmark. Two years later, the Pigeon Key Foundation was formed to “protect the island’s long-standing history from the Henry Flagler era.”
It is still possible to get that same view of Pigeon Key that Henry Flagler saw when he was riding his train. The old bridges stretching between Knights Key and Pigeon Key are still open to pedestrians and bicyclists. You can also ride the tram operated by the Pigeon Key Foundation that goes out to the island. Be prepared: visiting the island can feel a bit like stepping back in time.
Pigeon Key from the bridge circa 1930. FLORIDA KEYS HISTORY CENTER/Monroe County Library
WATERFRONT RESTAURANT
Enjoy our daily specials like Homemade Soup or Chowder, Fresh Fish Sandwich or One of our Daily Specials while overlooking Florida Bay! Open for Lunch & Dinner Every Day!
RETAIL STORE
Fish, Soups and Chowders & Key Lime Pie!
GROUPS TACKLE
GHOST TRAP PROBLEM IN THE KEYS
Lurking in the waters off the Florida Keys, a haunting presence is luring marine life to their untimely demise and trapping their spirits in an underwater purgatory.
This isn’t the plot of a new Halloween blockbuster, it’s the unfortunate impact of derelict fishing equipment known commonly as “ghost traps.”
To help tackle the problem, Ocean Aid 360 was awarded $150,000 through the National Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment and Prevention (TRAP) program administered by William & Mary’s Batten School & Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Beginning in 2026, they will mobilize commercial fishers alongside dedicated trap data collectors and volunteer coastal residents and local watershed groups to detect and remove derelict spiny lobster and stone crab traps in the Florida Keys. This intervention will include a robust pre- and post-removal monitoring component to measure natural resources and economic benefits related to the removal efforts.
Each year in the United States, commercial fishing traps are lost due to vessel-gear interactions, storms and gear degradation. These ghost traps become inaccessible to fishermen but continue to function, resulting in mortality of both target and non-target species, habitat damage and reduced fishery landings. A 2016 report found that removing just 10% of derelict crab pots and lobster traps could result in an additional $831 million in global landings annually.
This is the second year that Ocean
Kommando 5-year-old male American bully.
Looking for: I’m a loving family dog that just has a tough look.
Turnoffs: Don’t be scared of my ears – I promise I’m a sweetheart.
Aid 360 has received clean up funding through the TRAP program, which is supported by an initial $8 million, four-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program. Their firstyear efforts focused on the removal of marine debris and derelict traps in the Tampa Bay estuary — an area that is critically important for commercial and recreational fishing. These efforts resulted in the removal of 3,478 derelict spiny lobster and stone crab traps. Ocean Aid 360 will now shift focus south to target the Keys.
Data from each TRAP program partner is fed into a national database to evaluate the environmental and economic benefits of the removal efforts and to inform future policies.
“We are thrilled with the initial results from our inaugural TRAP program recipients. Their success is a testament to the impact that locallydesigned solutions can have on global issues,” said Kirk Havens, director of the Batten School & VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management, which administers the TRAP program under the direction of co-principal investigators professor Donna Bilkovic and associate professor Andrew Scheld. “Our second round of recipients have demonstrated that same creativity, thoughtfulness and local community engagement in their project proposals, and we are proud to support them as they work for the benefit of their communities and marine ecosystems.”
More information is at trapprogram.org.
Rufio
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.
See all the animals waiting for a home at fkspca.org. To contact the Marathon campus, call 305-743-4800 or visit 10550 Aviation Blvd.
Hurricane fosters needed. With hurricane season upon us, the SPCA needs volunteers and fosters in case of a storm. Over 100 animals would need to be evacuated, so it is crucial they all have homes in place before an impending storm. The SPCA pro-
2-month-old male kitten.
Looking for: Trouble! I’m one crazy orange kitten full of mischief.
Turnoffs: Not a thing. I’m always happy, no matter what.
Olaf 6-month-old male dwarf rabbit.
Looking for: I’m small, gentle and just perfect for families.
Turnoffs: Bunnies don’t actually like being in a cage. We love to hop and bop.
vides everything you need; all you do is give an animal a safe haven during the storm and return them to the shelter once it’s safe – that is, if you don’t fall in love. More information is at fkspca.org/volunteer/become-a-fostervolunteer/ or 305-743-4800.
Divers use dual lift bags to extract a ghost commercial fishing trap from the waters. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION/Contributed
NONFICTION NOVEMBER: MEMOIRS THAT MATTER
INTIMATE ENDINGS AND NEW BEGINNINGS — HOME, HEALTH AND THE HALLS OF POWER
By Jen Hatmaker
First and foremost a reader, she has reviewed hundreds of books on her blog www.reading andeating.com. And, more recently, this new Keys resident has also begun writing.
A bestselling author, speaker and podcaster known for her honest, funny, big-sister voice on faith, family and social justice, Jen Hatmaker is a mom of five and long-time church leader. She drew a wide audience with practical, humorous books about everyday small-town life and Christianity, then – not to everyone’s liking – evolved into an outspoken advocate for empathy and inclusion. In 2020, after 26 years of marriage, her husband confessed to an ongoing affair. With a house full of kids, she was overwhelmed at the idea of him leaving, understanding that things would never be the same again. Married since age 19, Hatmaker didn’t know how to be alone; many household duties they’d shared would now fall on her shoulders. As if that were not enough — along with the humiliation and shame of a failed marriage — Hatmaker wrongly assumed she could rely on her church community. When her personal life turned into nasty online commentary, she leaned on family and a few devoted friends. Hatmaker writes openly about rebuilding and reimagining her home, identity and belief system — with warmth, wit and straight talk that keep readers and listeners coming back for more.
WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR
By Paul Kalanithi
A man who loved both brains and books, Dr. Paul Kalanithi studied literature and biology at Stanford, philosophy at Cambridge, and attended medical school at Yale before returning to Stanford for a neurosurgery residency. When stage 4 lung cancer interrupted his career, he wrote with rare clarity about purpose, love and the fine line between doctor and patient. Kalanithi describes what it feels like to watch everything you’ve dreamed of and worked for crumble overnight — and to rearrange the unthinkable when, at only age 36, you receive a terminal diagnosis. He faces time head-on: “If only I knew how many months or years I had left.” With three months, he’d choose family; with a year, he’d write; with 10, he’d return to work. He ultimately chose to write and have a child, knowing he would not see his book on the shelf or his daughter grow up. That’s the ache at the heart of this memoir: choosing meaning when the clock comes into view. Exceedingly wellwritten and published after his death, this heartbreaking, thoughtful account of illness and life is one I will be thinking about for a long time.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER
By Jacinda Ardern
As the world’s youngest female head of government at age 37, Jacinda Ardern notched a string of “firsts”: the first elected national leader to take maternity leave while in office, the first New Zealand prime minister to give birth while serving, the first head of government to bring her baby to the United Nations General Assembly, and the first New Zealand prime minister to march in a Pride parade, to name just a few. Throughout her memoir, she explains that if her leadership had to be distilled to a single word, it would be “kindness” — not as niceness or sentimentality, but as a governing method that centers on dignity, fairness and inclusion for all. Ardern was in office during tragic volcanic eruptions, the unprecedented Christchurch shootings and the COVID pandemic. She remained an optimist, even though she’s a worrier by nature. Ardern could be tough and act fast, but is also a well-known hugger. Every chapter of this memoir introduces the reader to a different facet of her life, both personal and professional. Ardern is a natural-born leader and a woman to follow.
#WORTHWATCHING
“Prime Minister”: An intimate, behindthe-scenes portrait of Jacinda Ardern — delivered mostly straight to the camera by Ardern herself, with footage and select interview snippets woven in. A clear-eyed account about the cost of leadership both personally and professionally. Now streaming on HBO Max.
AWAKE
KAREN NEWFIELD
VISIT WITH CARE
Come to the Keys, but don’t trash
Ah, the sweet sound of crashing waves, squawking gulls and the soft crunch of a Styrofoam cooler lid being ripped from its base by a light coastal breeze.
Paradise can be a place where your vacation trash comes to retire. Let’s be honest. You’ve probably thought about it and maybe even said it aloud while chucking an empty water bottle into a trash can: “What does it matter? I’m only one person, and it’s my vacation anyway.”
Yes, you are. And you know what? So is every other person who said the same thing right before tossing their unrecycled soda can, plastic bag or fishing line into the nearest mangrove, rock ledge or ocean breeze. When 8 billion of those “I’m only one person” decide their waste doesn’t matter, we get floating islands of garbage, choking sea turtles and more microplastics than plankton in our oceans.
And if a recycling bin isn’t immediately visible, your car has cupholders for eight but seats for five — you could bring your trash with you until you find the proper bin.
Remember when seat belts were annoying? They wrinkled your shirt, pinched your gut and made it hard to reach the radio dial. But we adapted, didn’t we? Now, we instinctively “click it” before reversing out of the driveway. Waste reduction is the same — it starts as a hassle and becomes a habit.
For those on vacation, you’re visiting someone else’s home. This charming seaside island you’re visiting is not a rental car with unlimited miles — it’s an ecosystem teetering on the edge of collapse. That “inconvenient” broken umbrella you left next to the overflowing trash barrel? It’s now airborne and en route to the nearest dolphin nursery.
And that chum box you crammed half-shut with old tackle is leaking a symphony of stink into
the sand, ready to turn your last fishing line into a pelican’s next medical emergency.
CONTRIBUTED
MELODY TUSCHEL
is the Monroe County recycling coordinator and outreach liaison.
Many of us in the Keys rely on tourism to make a living. We want you to come, enjoy, relax and maybe even fall in love with our corner of paradise. But love is a two-way street. It means respecting the place you’re visiting enough to leave it better — or at least not worse — than you found it.
It’s not about shaming. It’s about setting a standard. Locals, businesses and community leaders all share the responsibility of modeling good stewardship. This involves providing access to proper waste and recycling receptacles, educating visitors and setting an example. If you’re a resident reading this, ask yourself: Are you doing everything you can to make waste diversion as normal as buckling your seatbelt?
As the busy season approaches, let’s be clear: We welcome visitors. But we also expect them to treat this place like more than just a backdrop for Instagram photos.
Let’s show them what it means to care for the environment — one water bottle, one fishing line and one trash bin at a time. Because while you may not be alive when the worst of the consequences rolls ashore, your choices today are writing tomorrow’s headlines..
As a resident, take the time to greet visitors and offer some information about the area and the delicate environment. Demonstrate stewardship by picking up trash and choosing reusable shopping bags and water bottles.
And to that, we say: Welcome to paradise. Don’t trash it.
CHECK IT OUT: LIBRARY LAUNCHES NEW PHONE APP
Beyond books, library cards unlock free movies, magazines, music & more
The Monroe County Public Library’s new phone app “makes it even easier to get the most from your library card,” said Kimberly Matthews, the county’s director of libraries. “We’re always looking for ways to empower patrons — and we remain committed to helping you get the information you need, whether that’s in person, over the phone or online.”
Available for Apple and Android devices, the app is available by searching the Apple Store or Google Play for Monroe County Public Library, or visit keyslibraries.org and click the link for the new app.
With the app, you can use your phone or tablet to manage your account, search the catalog and reserve books. Just scan your library card, and you’ll be connected. You can even use it to check out items at the library, at the desk or the self-checkout station. You can also use it at the library’s Lending Machines and Pickup Lockers.
And it has links including an events calendar, Kanopy (for video streaming), Libby (for ebooks, e-audiobooks, and digital magazines) and other online resources.
If you’re out and about and see a book you’d like to read, you can scan the ISBN code and find out right away if it’s in the library collection.
To get the app, find out about getting a library card and more go to keyslibraries.org. To download the app, you can also go directly to yourlibraryapp. co.uk/MonroeCountyPublicLibrary. If you have questions, call or stop by your local branch or contact us online at keyslibraries. org/contact-us.
The Monroe County Public Library is South Florida’s oldest public library with documented roots to 1892. It has branches in Key West, Big Pine Key, Marathon, Islamorada and Key Largo, along with Lending Machines in Key Largo and Stock Island.
The library’s mission is to deliver a broad range of resources, services and programs that meet the educational, informational and personal enrichment needs of the Keys community.
— Contributed
The new Monroe County Public Library app is available at keyslibraries.org as well as at app stores for Apple and Google. A library card lets users read books, stream movies, browse magazines, even learn a foreign language — all for free. CONTRIBUTED
TWO CONCHS BAIT & TACKLE AND MARINA SHIPS STORE
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*See Terms and Conditions for coverage, inclusions, exclusion, and applicable conditions. Restrictions may apply. Keys Federal Credit Union is NCUA insured.
Dolphin Research Center salutes veterans on Nov. 11
To honor the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, Dolphin Research Center will offer free general admission to veterans, active-duty military personnel and their immediate family members on Tuesday, Nov. 11 in celebration of Veterans Day. Military guests and their families can enjoy a day at the nonprofit marine mammal facility by showing a military ID or proof of service upon arrival. Visitors can experience educational narrated behavior demonstrations, featuring DRC’s family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. The center also offers a variety of interactive experiences, providing guests with opportunities to learn about marine life and the importance of ocean conservation.
Dolphin Research Center will be open on Veterans Day from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The center is located at MM 59 in Grassy Key.
MHS Champions for Change enter Red Ribbon Week contest
The Marathon High School Champions for Change’s Red Ribbon Week photo has been entered into the National Family Partnership National Red Ribbon Week photo contest. The Marathon High School Red Ribbon Week celebration was made possible through collaboration with the Educational Coalition for Monroe County, MHS Champions for Change, Monroe County Coalition, Guidance Care Center Inc., the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the city of Marathon, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Marathon Elks Lodge. The celebration included lunch-and-learn activities, a proclamation from the city of Marathon and a presentation from the DEA to students. Locals can help Champions for Change win the contest by scanning the QR code and voting once per 24 hours through Nov. 16. Champions for Change will use any winning funds to support students facing poverty and other special circumstances along with future prevention efforts. Please contact christina.belotti@keysschools.com with any questions.
Aquarium Encounters hosts manatee naming contest
Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters in Marathon is hosting a two-part naming contest for a male manatee that arrived at
the facility without a name. A first round of suggestions is open until Nov. 15, at which time aquarium staff will choose a group of finalists from the suggestions for a second round of voting. Tm2529, as the manatee is currently known, was rescued from South Sound Creek in Key Largo on May 5. He suffered from natural buoyancy issues. He weighed 340 pounds at the time of his rescue, but gained weight up to 450 pounds at his most recent checkup. He will continue to heal and gain weight at Aquarium Encounters until his eventual release back in South Sound Creek.
To submit a name suggestion, scan the QR code and fill out the Google form:
Free election sign recycling at Long Key transfer station
Monroe County, the city of Marathon and the Supervisor of Elections are working together this election season to help recycle corrugated plastic election signs, the metal posts that support them and other campaign materials by providing a drop-off station at the Long Key transfer station, mile marker 68, to dispose of them. These signs require special handling because their shape makes them unfit for processing in the normal recycling stream at the recycling plant. Election sign dropoff is free for Florida Keys residents and will be available through Monday, Dec. 15 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Be sure to remove the metal posts from the signs as they will be placed in separate containers. Other election materials, like mailers, can also be recycled at this time. For any questions, please email tuschel-melody@ monroecounty-fl.gov or call 305-509-0325.
Department of Health shares mental well-being website
The Florida Department of Health in Monroe County in partnership with CredibleMind Inc. is sharing keyshealthymind. org, a free, confidential website offering thousands of mental health and wellbeing resources. The site brings together expert-rated and vetted videos, podcasts, apps, online programs, books and articles. Use of the site is confidential, private, virtual and available 24/7. By signing up on the site, visitors can learn new skills, understand their own mental health and take a mental health assessment. They can access past assessment results to track improvement, save favorite resources and hand-picked CredibleMind resources sent directly to their emails.
Lazy River Luau supports Forgotten Felines
Forgotten Felines of the Florida Keys will host a Lazy River Luau for the Paws on Saturday, Nov. 29 to benefit the nonprofit’s efforts to feed, care for and protect the Middle Keys’ community cats. From 5 to 8 p.m. at the Lazy River Vaca-
tion Rental, 575 105th Street Ocean West in Marathon, the event will feature chefprepared hors d’oeuvres, a DJ and a fire dancer performance along with a cash bar and access to the pool. “Uncaged” 2026 boudoir art calendars will be available for purchase. Tickets are $50 per person, available by scanning the QR code.
Pets for Vets seeks qualified fosters
The nonprofit Pets for Vets is seeking volunteers in the Middle Keys to serve as foster homes for animals in training. Pets for Vets is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between traditional health care and holistic supplemental treatment options. The group uses specifically selected and trained rescue pets to enhance care for veterans struggling with daily challenges and who could benefit from a well-trained companion animal or service animal. The primary role of a foster home is to provide a safe, stable and caring temporary home for an animal prior to joining their chosen veteran’s home. While in foster care, animals will be trained by the staff at Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key. Fosters will work closely with their trainer to prepare the animal for its new home with a veteran. This can include house training, leash manners, house manners, basic obedience skills and more advanced behaviors when necessary. Potential foster homes will need to submit an application and be interviewed prior to housing a Pets for Vets animal. All costs are covered for foster homes including food, supplies, veterinary care and reasonable grooming. More information is available via email to sarah.ivkovich@dolphins.org.
Seeking volunteers for tax season
United Way of Collier & the Keys is looking for residents in Monroe County to help with a free tax preparation program. Greeters and tax preparers are needed for the upcoming tax season. Training is free. Call 305-563-1470 or email vita@uwcollierkeys.org.
Come take a class at the Marathon library
The Marathon library has a wide variety of class offerings, ranging from photography to book clubs, robots, virtual reality and more. Scan the QR code here to see the schedule and get involved.
SANDRA LEE PHOTOGRAPHY/Contributed
Having Fun in the Middle Keys
CHRIS McNULTY
is an astrologer, wanderer, bartender and advocate for queer justice. He is a loquacious Gemini with a cozy Cancer rising. Find him at hearthandheraldastrology.com
This is a week to check in with ourselves. A very special full moon in Taurus took place on Nov. 5. Ancient astrologers tell us the moon is exalted in the sign of Taurus, which means it is considered an honored guest in this earth sign ruled by Venus. The full moon in Taurus takes place in Scorpio season every year, and is a reminder to check in with our basic needs and get really clear on what we value. How do you find your stable ground, especially in a time of seemingly continuous chaos? What practices do you use to create or maintain balance when things seem out of whack? What core values help you make important decisions? This full moon is all about checking in with your body and putting your self-care plans into practice. Simplify. In addition, Mercury is stationing retrograde on Nov. 9, which means we’re entering a three-week period of recollection, reconnection and rethinking. Now is a time to slow our minds, distance ourselves from the rat race of constant information, and review the past few months to see if our plans have been properly formulated. This week is a time for assessment with fresh eyes and clear values. Here are your horoscopes for the full moon in Taurus and Mercury stationing retrograde. Read for your rising and sun signs.
SCORPIO
Oct. 23 - Nov. 21
As we continue to celebrate your birth season, this full moon helps you find clarity in partnership. How do you let the significant people in your life regulate your nervous system? Let go of the need for absolute certainty and allow
yourself to feel safe with a trusted other. Think about what you value and use the next three weeks to make decisions that align.
SAGITTARIUS
Nov. 22 - Dec. 21
For you, Sag, this season is about clarifying your meditative and reflective practices. This full moon, however, compels you to imbue your actions with meditative stillness. What routines bring you comfort and help you ground? Hone in on one or two actions that fulfill your core needs and build them into your daily practice. Think about how you have or have not been showing up for yourself.
CAPRICORN
Dec. 22 - Jan. 19
During this highly social time, the full moon is about fulfilling your own creative endeavors. How do you express your creative spirit? Choose a practice that sparks your inner joy and dedicate yourself to it. Share it. Let your mind enter a phase of deep reflection and rest so your dreams, whether sleeping or waking, can reveal their truths.
AQUARIUS
Jan. 20 - Feb. 18
How do home and family make you feel safe, Aquarius? Use this full moon to nourish your roots and invest in your own sustainability. Home and family mean something different to everyone, and yet they are parts of life that we all experience. Clarify your home comforts and sink in. Think about the people who support you, and reconsider how you engage with friends.
PISCES
Feb. 19 - March 20
The manner in which you communicate is sometimes more important than the content. How do you communicate your needs to others, and do you do so in a way that lets others respond appropriately? This
full moon invites you to simplify your messages. As Mercury turns retrograde, is your career on the right path? Readjust if necessary.
ARIES
March 21 - April 19
How do you feel safe and secure, particularly when it comes to finances and home comforts? Does the means by which you make and spend money align with your core values? This full moon asks you to simplify your material needs to ensure you are tending to the basics first. Take time to consider everything you’ve been learning lately so you can put the lessons into action.
TAURUS
April 20 - May 20
The full moon invites you to blossom, Taurus. You have generosity to share, but enforcing boundaries is crucial to protecting your own peace. Practice self-care by putting yourself first and sharing any excess. Reconsider how you share resources with others and make changes where necessary. Avoid depletion by making smart choices.
GEMINI
May 21 - June 20
Solitude is increasingly harder to find in our hyperconnected world, but the full moon is inviting you to unplug. Remember how to be alone and appreciate your own company. Seek stillness and quiet reflection. Let go of something that has been weighing on you. Reflect on agreements you’ve entered into and decide if any need to be renegotiated.
CANCER
June 21 - July 22
Our networks of supportive people radiate outward from our closest friends to distant admirers. This full moon invites you to focus on your core circle of support. Spend time with your besties and allow yourself the space for vulner-
STEP BACK AND ASSESS
ability among safe people. Review your daily routines and make adjustments that serve you better.
LEO
July 23 - Aug. 22
We all spend a lot of time working, so it is important that we take the time to make our career and other public-facing activities work for us. The full moon asks you to consider your comfort and safety at work, and to make changes if work is too stressful. Even small changes can make big impacts. Turn your attention back to any creative projects that may have been set aside and look at them with a fresh vision.
VIRGO
Aug. 23 - Sept. 22
This full moon is about committing to your core beliefs and letting go of any philosophies that do not feel true. Whether religious, spiritual or intellectual, your belief system determines your actions and adventures, so use this full moon to hone in on the basics. Also, take time to reconsider or rethink some decisions that you’ve made related to home and family.
LIBRA
Sept. 23 - Oct. 23
Sharing is caring, and this full moon is about how you pool your resources with others. Are your needs being met, or do you feel overtaxed by giving too much? Take time to check in with yourself to make sure you feel grounded when it comes to investing in and with others. Revisit some old conversations to ensure nothing has been left hanging.
Founded by Betty Debnam
Breathe Easy
SMART CHOICES
Don’t smoke! If people don’t start smoking, the risk of lung cancer and other deadly diseases will go down a lot. Smoking marijuana and vaping can also seriously harm the lungs.
Take a deep breath in, then let it out. That feels really good, doesn’t it?
We need air to live. Our lungs have the important job of making sure we get the air we need.
But what happens if the lungs aren’t working well? Sometimes, people develop lung cancer, which causes more deaths than any other type of cancer in the United States.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. This week, The Mini Page learns more about how our lungs work and how we can keep them healthy.
IMPORTANT ORGANS
We each have two lungs, one on each side of our chest. Lungs are stretchy, almost like balloons. When we breathe in air, lungs inflate, or puff out. When we breathe out, our lungs deflate, or grow flatter.
The lungs’ main jobs are to deliver oxygen to our blood and to get rid of carbon dioxide. When we breathe in, or inhale, lungs fill with air. Oxygen from the air enters our lungs and then goes into the bloodstream.
When we breathe out, or exhale, the lungs push out carbon dioxide waste from our bodies. Lungs also help protect us against dangers
in the environment. When special cells in the lungs detect threats, such as germs, they trigger the immune system to fight them.
WHAT IS CANCER?
Cells are growing and changing in our bodies all the time. The body controls how much normal cells grow. But cancer cells don’t have any brakes. They grow and grow.
Cancer starts when the lungs’ DNA changes. These changes are usually caused by smoking. Once cancer starts growing in one spot, blood can carry the cancer cells to other parts of the body. When cancer cells spread, we say they metastasize (muhTAS-tuh-size).
Cancerous cells keep reproducing until there are a bunch of cells packed together, forming a tumor. A lung cancer tumor can range from grape-sized to apple-sized.
SMART TREATMENT
Because each person’s cancer is different, researchers are working to figure out how to target treatment to each person’s cancer.
Cancer treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy are like flamethrowers. They wipe out everything, even healthy cells. Scientists are trying to find smart cancer weapons that target only the cancer.
Words that remind us of lung health are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
ADDICTED, AIR, BLOODSTREAM, BREATH, CANCER, CELLS, CRAB, DAMAGE, DEFLATE, DELIVER, EXHALE, INFLATE, INHALE, LUNG, METASTASIZE, OXYGEN, QUIT, SMOKE, VAPING.
About 2,500 kids try cigarettes for the first time every day. About 400 of those kids will stay addicted for the rest of their lives. The good news is, the number of high school students who smoke is down 74% from those who did 30 years ago.
Even people who have stopped smoking may still have damage to their lungs. If they don’t develop lung cancer, they will probably develop other problems, such as heart trouble. Of course, if people stop smoking, they are in far less danger than those who keep it up.
Many kids who start smoking believe they’ll be able to stop easily, but they don’t know how difficult that might be. The best thing to do is to never, ever start.
HELP TO QUIT
If you smoke and want to quit, there are many resources to help you. Visit the American Lung Association’s NOT for Me program for kids at notforme.org.
RESOURCES
On the Web:
• bit.ly/MPlungs
• kids.kiddle.co/Lung_cancer
At the library:
• “Heart and Lungs” by Andrew Solway
ECO NOTE
A new study has shed light on why parts of Siberia’s tundra have been erupting in giant methane explosions, leaving craters more than 150 feet deep. Since the first blast was recorded in 2014, at least a dozen have been identified. Researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway found that the Yamal and Gyda peninsulas have unique geological faults that allow gas to rise and collect in sealed cavities beneath the surface. As warming weakens the permafrost seal, pressure builds until the cavities explode, ejecting earth and gas.
Mini Fact: The Latin word cancer means crab, a name that might have come from cancerous tumors having veins spreading from the tumor like crab claws.
photo by Gene Bisbee
Lung cancer cells
photo by Anne Weston, Francis Crick Institute
