WEEK OF FEBRUARY 22, 2023
VOLUME 61, NUMBER 14
Forum set for council candidates By STAFF REPORT
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
The League of Women Voters of Sanibel will host a Public Candidate Forum for the city of Sanibel's election on Feb. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. at BIG ARTS, which will also be What Public Candidate livestreamed Forum on Facebook. The elecWhen tion for two Feb. 23 from seats on the 5 to 7 p.m. Sanibel City Council will Where be held on BIG ARTS, March 7. 900 Dunlop Road, Four candiSanibel dates have been certified Details to run for the Sanibel City seats. They Council seats include incumbents Mayor Holly Dineen Smith and Vice Mayor Richard Johnson, and challengers Jude Sincoskie and Troy Cobb Thompson. The league reported that the forum's moderator will be professor Roger Green, head of Florida Gulf Coast University's Political Science Department. The quesSee FORUM, page 5
If you go
Winners of amateur nature photo contest announced n Feb. 6, the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge held an official judging for its 30th annual “Ding” Darling Amateur Nature Photography Contest. The 2022 winners were to be announced in October at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge's inaugural Art in the Wild festival, but Hurricane Ian in September canceled the event and judging. Judges selected three winners and 10
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honorable mentions out of 140 entries from 22 states and three countries. All photograph entries were shot at the Sanibel refuge complex. “Despite the disruption from Hurricane Ian, the contest generated much excitement and nostalgia among photographers and our judges,” contest coordinator and DDWS Associate Executive Director Sierra Hoisington said. “Our refuge may not look the same as it did when these photos were created,
but the wildlife is still here, and nature's resilience promises to return to its former beauty captured in these works.” First place went to Frank Brinker, of Oberageri, Switzerland, for his portrait of a least tern hatchling titled “Speedy.” “I love the movement portrayed in See PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS, page 10
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First place winner “Speedy.” FRANK BRINKER
Busy week for crews at Sanibel, Captiva fire districts By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
Island fire crews responded to separate incidents involving a store and a residence last week. The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District responded to a structure fire on Feb. 13 at about 11:30 p.m. at Jerry's Foods, at 1700 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel. Fire Chief Kevin Barbot reported that police officers were conducting a routine check of the area on their patrol and went around the rear of the building. “They saw flames coming from a wall AC unit,” he said. It was mounted to the side wall of the structure. Crews arrived on scene and located the source of the fire inside of a storage room. Barbot reported that the unit caught on fire, catching the wall on fire. “We showed up and put the fire out in about 30 minutes,” he said. See BUSY WEEK, page 11
alsOInsIdetOday Guest Commentary........................4 Web Poll.........................................4 Captiva Current..........................6-7 Business......................................8 Preserving Paradise.....................12 Island Living................................13 Sports.........................................14 SANIBEL FIRE AND RESCUE DISTRICT
The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District responded to a structure fire on Feb. 13 at Jerry's Foods, at 1700 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.
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