WEEk of march 20, 2024 FLIER INSIDE
Your Money “How to” Financial Rescource Guide featured in today’s Eagle — INSIDE pINEISlaND-EaglE.com
VolumE 47, NumbEr 46
Roof of the St. James City Civic Center repaired by Story Roofing - free of charge By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Ted Allen, owner of Story Roofing, said although he’s only been on the island for 4 years, in the old Chamber of Commerce building, the company has been in business for over 52 years. After Hurricane Ian, former St. James City Civic Association President Cindy Bickford reached out to other roofers to get the work on the damaged building done, only to be let down by folks who failed to show up, Allen said.
“There were multiple tries with roofing companies and nobody ever pulled through. They needed a new roof, so between me and an associate of mine, we procured material and put on the roof free of charge. We pulled the permit and got them a new high-quality, metal roof — that’s what we do,” Allen said. The main body of the roof, along with repairs, was done for free, he said, simply as an effort to be a part of the community. Allen made a decision years ago to support veterans, he said.
“We do six veteran roofs a year for free. It’s Owens Corning, which is a roofing manufacturer, and it’s called ‘the Roof Deployment.’ We’ve been a team member with them on this for years. Every branch I have does two free veterans roofs a year. That’s our give back to the community, but we also look for other opportunities and that’s what we did with the Civic Center,” Allen said. To nominate someone you think may be eligible for help with a roof, call Ted Allen at Story Roofing at 239443-5564. The business address is 3640 S.W. Pine Island Road, Cape Coral
Celebrating Pine Islanders: Tonya Player By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Team completes Okeechobee Waterway Crossing for Clean Water By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
On Sunday, March 10, Jake Portwood, Packet Casey and Blake Carmichael completed a dream to paddleboard for the good of the Okeechobee Waterway that’s been in the making for the past 15 years. According to Portwood, this adventure --the Okeechobee Waterway Crossing for Clean Water -began with a starting point in Stuart, Florida, that ended in Fort Myers. “We would start every day at sunrise and we would paddle for around 10 hours a day, taking short breaks to switch out our hydration packs and eat some food and stretch our legs a bit and then we’d continue. The main goal for this adventure was to raise awareness and fundraise for Captains for Clean Water,” Portwood
said. He also said someone asked the three paddlers once they hit the beach how it felt to be finished. The answer to that question, he admitted, is that this is not the finish line. Fundraising for the non-profit Captains for Clean Water was made easier by their Go Fund Me page as well as having gained sponsors who were willing to get involved, not only on a financial level but also by supSee CROSSING FOR CLEAN WATER, page 33 Jake Portwood, Packet Casey and Blake Carmichael riding their paddleboards on the journey from Stuart, Florida, to Fort Myers. PHOTO BY LOGAN GRAHAM, LOCALE FILMS
Tonya Player loves being an islander, evidenced by the many things she’s done to make Pine Island a better place, coupled with the fact that she usually enters a room smile first. Her parents came to Lee County from Georgia in the mid-1950s and landed in Pine Island not long after. The reason her parents came here to begin with was that Player’s great uncle was spending a lot of time out at Billy Creek in Fort Myers. “They were crabbing and fishing and kind of migrated out to Pine Island where it was easier to get to the water, I guess,” Player said. Having been born at Lee Memorial Hospital, Player said, although she was local at a young age, it was in living in South Carolina for 10 years after getting married that it occurred to her that her children needed to be at Pine Island Tonya Player Elementary School. “My kids were in school up there and the schools were horrible and I said, we’ve got to go back to Pine Island so the kids can go to Pine Island Elementary,” Player said. Player made her start at the school as the media assistant for minimum wage and decided then that she should go back to school to become a librarian. “So I started college at the age of 28 with a full-time job and two kids,” Player said. Although school for her now meant completing homework assignments while sitting in the Little League stands, she said, with a full-time job while raising a famSee PLAYER, page 32
Athlete of the Week.........17 Cat of the Week...............32 Island Mahjongg.............22 insidetoday Bridge Beat......................19 Cribbage Corner..............33 On the Water....................19 Classifieds & Obituaries