WEEK OF MARCH 12, 2025
VOLUME 63, NUMBER 17
Refuge, DDWS to present final lecture in series
Incumbents retain seats on city council
T
he annual “Ding” Darling Lecture Series will come to a close with a visit and free lectures from the “conservation president” on March 13 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at The Roost at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel. Joe Wiegand has been bringing President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt to life for more than a decade and has performed in all 50 states and overseas, including a White House performance in honor of Roosevelt’s 150th birthday in 2008. A refuge regular, “Teddy” provides a lively and factual reprisal of the 26th president of the United States. Wiegand will deliver a “bully” performance focusing on the history of the president’s strong connection with conservation, Sanibel and Captiva islands, and “Ding” Darling. He will also touch on the forthcoming Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library being built in North Dakota and a new hardcover book about the president, “Theodore Roosevelt: The Women who Created a President” by Edward O’Keefe. It is currently available for purchase in the Refuge Nature Store. Formerly a veteran political consultant and elected public servant in his native Illinois, Wiegand is a political science graduate of The University of the South — Sewanee in Sewanee, Tennesse; a former graduate assistant at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Governmental Studies; and a Harry S. Truman Scholar and Thomas Watson Jr. Fellow. The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge is co-hosting the program with the refuge and sponsorship from Heather and Bill O’Keefe. Limited bench seating will be available, and attendees are welcome to bring their own lawn chairs. Early arrivals can check in after 9 a.m. and after noon and obtain an entrance wristband so they can explore Wildlife Drive and the trails beforehand. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before the lecture or risk being reassigned. For more information, visit dingdarlingsociety.org/lecture-series. The refuge is at 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel.
By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
All three incumbent Sanibel City Council candidates were re-elected to the dais on March 4. In the city of Sanibel’s Regular Election, Vice Mayor Mike Miller and Councilmembers Laura DeBruce and John Henshaw were running to retain their seats against one challenger, Lyman “Chip” Welch. Miller won the top vote-getter spot with 1,051 votes — 29.87% of the total ballots counted. DeBruce came in behind him, earning 978 votes — 27.79% of the ballots cast. Henshaw secured the last seat with 781 total votes — 22.19%, and Welch earned a close fourth with a total of 709 votes — 20.15%. Miller, DeBruce and Henshaw will each serve a four-year term. In addition to the three council races on See CITY COUNCIL, page 18
ISLANDERINSIDE
Joe Wiegand will present his always-popular reprisal of Teddy Roosevelt. REFUGE/DDWS
Student cell phones to stay on ‘off’ next school year
By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers.com
The 2025-26 Code of Conduct for the School District of Lee County was approved on March 4, which includes a provision that all personal wireless communication devices must be turned off and in a student’s backpack. The new code, passed by the Lee County School Board without discussion, states
that “Students may possess personal wireless communication devices while on school grounds during regular hours. This includes, but is not limited to cell phones, and/or auxiliary/ancillary devices such as watches, earbuds, or smart glasses. At all levels, all personal WCDs must be turned off and in the student’s book bag at all times.”
It further states that they are permitted, when approved, to monitor a health condition that is documented through medical records and indicated as needed in a health plan. In other business, the board also approved a short-term incentive to address the critical school bus operator/transportation support needs. It is applicable from now through Feb. 26, 2026. The first incentive is to pay the hiring costs associated with becoming a school bus operator/transportation support person at $192.25 per bus operator. It See CELL PHONES, page 20
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