WEEk oF APRIL 12, 2023
VOLUME 61, NUMBER 21
Assessment testing season is approaching By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
Chamber announces Islands Night, annual meeting
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elebrating 30 years of the Islands Night tradition held at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce has set the date for May 3. This year, the chamber will combine Islands Night with its Annual Meeting and present annual awards between innings. For the game, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels will face the Dunedin Blue Jays for an evening of baseball and island camaraderie. A parade will precede the game starting at 6 p.m. and will feature businesses and organizations from Sanibel and Captiva. It will be one of three “specialty jersey” games of the Mussels' season. Team
players will wear a custom jersey designed by Sanibel artist Rachel Pierce that features the island's iconic lighthouse — in its three-legged, post-hurricane stance — against a colorful swirl of sunset sky. The chamber will auction off the players' jerseys after the game, with the proceeds to benefit island civic organizations. “We are super stoked to bring on Sam Bailey's Islands Night once again, despite the upheaval the island experienced this past year,” chamber President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai said. “Originally named for an island father, Islands Night remembers Sam Bailey, a sports star in his own right. As the late co-owner of the now fourth-gen-
eration Bailey's Store on Sanibel, his name lives on as an island legend. We have every reason to celebrate together and honor our beloved lighthouse that still stands for island strength and stability. Thanks to Rachel and to all our sponsors.” Sponsors to date include: Sanibel Captiva Community Bank at the homerun level; J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Servpro of North
The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking — FAST — testing season for pre-K through 10th grade students is fast approaching for students. Pushed back because of Hurricane Ian, FAST will be administered starting on May 15. There are brand new curriculum and assessments for elementary, middle and high school English language arts and math. “We were originally earlier in the window as a district,” School District of Lee County Elementary Teaching and Learning Director Dr. Bethany Quisenberry said of the testing schedule. “We adjusted it to the end of the window to give our students more time.” See TESTING, page 17
IslanderInsIde
See ISLANDS NIGHT, page 17 Islands Night at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers has been happening since 1993. FORT MYERS — ISLANDS, BEACHES AND NEIGHBORHOODS
Man charged with cutting employer with box cutter By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
A man is accused of slicing his employer with a box cutter while on a job site on Sanibel. Eligao Alberta Sivira Hernandez, 40, of 360 Beach 13th St., Far Rockaway, New York, was arrested and charged on April 5 with one count of aggravated battery cause bodily harm or disability. According to booking records, he remained in custody at the Lee County Jail as of Aug. 7 with a $25,000 bond. At about 1:30 p.m., the Sanibel Police Department responded to a 911 call on
the “C” span of the Sanibel Causeway. The caller said one person had stabbed another person and both were onsite. According to a police report, Hernandez and his employer were involved in a verbal dispute at a job site at 1212 Sand Castle Road. He used a silver box cutter to cut his employer's arm in two spots. Police reported that Hernandez fled the scene in
a vehicle, and his employer and a witness left in another vehicle to head to the hospital. Both vehicles then stopped on the “C” span of the causeway. The report states that both stopped on the causeway and waited for the police to show up. In a prepared statement, the Sanibel police reported that the vehicles stopped at Eligao Alberta Sivira Hernandez
See MAN CHARGED, page 17
alsOInsIdetOday Guest Commentary........................4 Web Poll.........................................4 Captiva Current..........................6-7 Business......................................8 Preserving Paradise.....................12 Island Living................................14 Sports.........................................16 Classifieds 26