WEEk of auguSt 2, 2023 FLIER INSIDE
Special honor Matlacha Hookers’ Julia Gaylor receives 2023 Outstanding Woman Award — INSIDE pINEISlaND-EaglE.com
VolumE 47, NumbEr 13
FruitScapes growing back stronger than before By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Stephen Cucura said although they had to close FruitScapes for a couple of months after Hurricane Ian, recovery is going very well and he is happy to announce that they have decided to build back stronger than they were before. He and his business partner, Jesus Avalos, have co-owned FruitScapes fruit market for 15 years (since 2008). “We were so vulnerable before. We lost the experience of Hurricane Charley — after several years, you forget the damage a real hurricane can do. We kind of lost track of that memory and after this one hit, we decided, if we’re gonna rebuild, we’re gonna have to rebuild stronger,” Cucura said. Put simply, he explained, the infrastructure has to be stronger, such as reconstructing the nursery’s greenhous-
PHOTO PROVIDED
FruitScapes’ fruit varieties on display. es and keeping the current trees short and stout, so they can resist high winds. According to Cucura, they may have overdone them-
selves, as they now have more trees, perhaps, than they should, but he feels that it’s better to have an overabundance of trees rather than a lack, to keep customer satisfaction in their stock. FruitScapes was represented at the recent MangoMania Event, as Cucura and others gave presentations on the known history of mangoes on Pine Island. Cucura coordinated the seminar group, he said, which included 5 separate presentations. “I could go on for a day just talking about mangoes in general, but I wanted to concentrate on the history of mangoes in Pine Island. There’s a lot to know about mangoes if you do it for a living. Mangoes have been grown in Pine Island for over 100 years — that we have documentation to prove — but mangoes have probably been See FRUITSCAPES, page 16
Waterzway Work Boats helping clean local waters By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Islander John Meeks has owned and operated Waterzway Work Boats for 6 years now. After Hurricane Ian, Meeks, a disabled veteran, said he came in on the backside of clean up, sometime in late January. “I have 2 little machines, and basically what we do is remove materials like doors, windows, sheds — anything that blew in the water, we were trying to remove. We can see stuff a lot of people can’t see,” Meeks said. The type of machines Meeks owns makes it much easier to locate and remove anything that may be polluting See WATERZWAY WORK BOATS, page 16
Sugar Sand Beach RV Resort recovering after Hurricane Ian By PAULETTE LeBLANC pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
eah Brantingham of Sugar Sand Beach RV Resort said after Hurricane Ian they were able to assist the Coast Guard, as well as the Cajun Navy, in getting supplies out to the island by using the resort as a hub. “As soon as we were done helping the community, we were able to get back in and start doing recovery on own property and I’m happy to say that we’ve come a long way and it’s nearly complete. We’re still renovating the interior and finishing up our seawall and dock,” Brantingham said. Immediately following the storm, she said, there
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were locals who needed somewhere to go. This encouraged the resort to open its doors, which they did, although the resort was not yet fully operational. “At that time, we didn’t even have the power and water back on the island yet — we had people boondocking with generators, just to give them a place to set up until the road was open,” Brantingham said. Finally back to water, power and full utilities, she See RESORT, page 14 The Sugar Sand Beach RV Resort in Matlacha. PHOTO PROVIDED
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JOHN MEEKS
A Waterzway Work Boats employee removing a portable toilet from a canal.
insidetoday Commentary....................4 From the Firehouse..........6 On the Water....................15 Classifieds & Obituaries Beacon of Hope...............10
Dolphin Tales.....................7
Island Mahjongg.............10