WEEk of fEbruarY 8, 2023 FLIER INSIDE
Race ready 24th Annual Great Calusa Rubber Duck Raffle set for March 4 — INSIDE pINEISlaND-EaglE.com
VolumE 46, NumbEr 40
GPIA happy to have high-level advocates By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Representatives from FEMA, as well as Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane and Emergency Management Representative Glen Hammers attended the weekly Greater Pine Island Alliance meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The GPIA group formed shortly after Hurricane Ian caused so much damage, in an effort to be proactive, should Pine Island suffer a future catastrophe.
According to group founder Jay Sanderson, the biggest priority this week was assessing what will be necessary to rebuild the Matlacha Civic Association Center building. “The main building has been completely gutted and is ready for rebuild. The smaller auxiliary building still needs to be gutted, so we are working with the county to at least start phase 1 of the rebuild,” Sanderson said, adding that this should be coming quickly in the next few weeks.
The rebuilding of the community center building is a big priority for both the GPIA as well as the county, as they are working directly with Ruane’s office, not only to rebuild but to get Matlacha Park cleaned up and get the playground repaired, cofounder Aaron Bareda said. Ruane is set to report back to the GPIA with any financial assistance the state is planning to provide Pine Island. “They’re trying to set their budget. He (Ruane) is advocating for us to be part of
that budget … Lee County, too, but specifically Pine Island. He’s been able to come into our community and see what our specific needs are so he can speak directly to the greater Pine Island area. We’re very fortunate to have that representation. We’re not forgotten — we want to make sure people know that we do have representation at the highest levels of government. People know we’re here and things See ADVOCATES, page 8
Onofrio D Oro Fine Jewelry Boutique back open after Ian By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Buccaneer Island mobile home park is now open after Hurricane Ian.
Island mobile home park owner repairs, reopens four different sites By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Hugh Reid, owner of Tropical Waters in Bokeelia, Fantasy Island in St. James City, Buccaneer Island and Dolphins Resort, both in Matlacha, is very happy to finally have all four sites back up and running, since Hurricane Ian hit four months ago. Tropical Waters was the first of the parks to reopen, Reid said, after having been closed for 2 months, while Buccaneer Island and Fantasy Island reopened in January. Dolphins resort, which received a lot of local attention,
reopened on Feb. 1. Insurance issues were the first thing Reid had to deal with, as the hurricane was classed by local meteorologists as a category 4, which was not covered. In order to secure lending, Reid said he was instructed by his attorney to have a plan in place. “I said, my plan is to clean them (the parks) and after I clean them, to get the electrical up, then do the water and sewer, where needed,” Reid said. He also said while the sites were
It’s taken four months to get back up and running for master jeweler Onofrio D Oro, whose fine jewelry boutique was another small business nearly destroyed by Hurricane Ian. He did most of the recovery work himself, he said, tackling the exterior first. “There were people who wanted to help me, but I was so depressed, I used the work as therapy,” D Oro said. Reworking the exterior was a priority to D Oro, he said, because everything inside the store was ruined and needed much attention, but also because he wanted to uplift the spirits of those who could see the devastation of Matlacha. D Oro lost all the jewelry inside the store showcases, he said, roughly 25 percent in all, including pocket watches from the 1920s, such as a Tiffany platinum pocket watch with diamonds. “I’m a master jeweler, I fix these things and there’s no way to fix this one. This one’s gone,” D Oro said. The inside of the store took in 3 to 4
feet of water and mud, rendering the showcases useless until D Oro took them apart, cleaned and rebuilt them, he said. The particle board in a showcase is sensitive enough that it can be destroyed by even a droplet of water, he said, which is why they are roughly $1,500 when they are new. Having had 8 showcases, D Oro said, it would have been quite an expense to purchase all new ones to replace them. Having a background in construction, he set out to fix whatever he could. “I had the knowledge to do this and it was very therapeutic. Every time I accomplished one, it inspired me to do another one, another one, another one, until finally, I was finished,” D Oro said. It was a long four months of blood, sweat and tears, he said, explaining that every electrical tool was ruined by the saltwater, forcing him to begin by purchasing all new tools. “I wanted to take an eyesore and make it nice. We need everyone to come back — we need all our neighbors to come See BOUTIQUE, page 10
See MOBILE HOME PARK, page 12 Master jeweler Onofrio D Oro outside of his repaired boutique in Matlacha. PHOTO PROVIDED BY ONOFRIO D ORO PHOTOS PROVIDED BY HUGH REID
The Fantasy Island mobile home park in St. James City has reopened.
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