WEEk of DEcEmbEr 25, 2024 FLIER INSIDE
‘Re-Pine Pine Island’ Effort to replant native trees on the island receiving support from the community — INSIDE pINEISlaND-EaglE.com
VolumE 48, NumbEr 34
Celebrating Pine Islanders: Nancy Koucky By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Nancy Koucky said she loves her work in graphic design. In fact, she admits she loves it so much she could bore the living daylights out of people with technical terms from the industry. She said her true desire is simply to stay informed about any changes or major influences in the field overall. “I don’t want to say I’m ambitious in a bad sense, but I want to continue to explore and not let myself get behind the times in the world of graphic design. I like to stay on top of what’s happening, but I also love my clients, who tend to be independent business owners or independent authors. They are very very interesting people,” Koucky said. She admits that although she has not met all of her
Holiday House fundraiser celebrates 15th year for Beacon By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
he Holiday House at the Tarpon Lodge has become a tradition on Pine Island to be sure. This year was no different, as the Beacon of HOPE served up its 15th occasion of holiday shopping at Tarpon Lodge to the benefit of Pine Island. The Beacon continued the beloved event Dec. 6-8 of this year with live music, performed by the Joe Yeoman Band, and all the fixings Tarpon Lodge had to offer. According to Beacon of HOPE Board member, Elsie Stearns, this was another fantastic event. “We had more vendors than we’ve ever had, and also brought in a wine sampling this year, which I think a lot of people really enjoyed,” Stearns said. Shoppers were able to meet the authors who attended the event (John Mills and Lanie Wulkan) and have their books signed, she said. This year, fundraising was especially important, she explained, due to the Beacon’s call to be a continuous help and presence with the weather activity in our
T
See HOLIDAY HOUSE, page 16 A Mel Meo decorated Christmas tree drew the highest bid of the night. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ELSIE STEARNS
clients face to face, such as authors whose book covers she has designed, she feels they have become her friends, due to the frequent communication. In fact, working remotely, as has become commonplace for so many, has left Koucky feeling as though she sometimes should venture out more. “I have found that, it’s sometimes 3 or 4 days before I get in my car,” Koucky said. The upside of working so diligently from home, she said, is that throughout the hurricanes of this past year and watching so many of her friends suffer at the hands of the weather, she has been able to take solace in the comfort of her home office, where she can look out a window to find nothing has been destroyed. Despite
Islander Nancy Koucky. PHOTO PROVIDED
See NANCY KOUCKY, page 10
After the storms GatorCorps members, UF Gulf Scholar students help clean up Randell Research Center after Helene, Milton Special to THE EAGLE
news@breezenewspapers.com
The Florida Museum’s Randell Research Center was hit by two major hurricanes this year. Helene rolled along the Gulf Coast in September, and less than a month later, Milton slammed into the peninsula between Tampa and Fort Myers at a nearly 90-degree angle. The area was subjected to 120 mph winds and storm surge that flooded houses and cultural heritage sites. But the Randell Research Center has experienced many such storms throughout its long history, and when the skies cleared from Helene and Milton, people got to work. “Our staff and volunteers conducted an onsite evaluation, identified and removed hazards, cordoned off damaged areas and removed storm surge debris, which was a huge effort,” said Michelle LeFebvre, curator of South Florida archaeology and ethnography at the Florida Museum of Natural History and director of the Randell Research Center. “Scrubbing down flooring and decking from storm surge mud deposits that made it into the classroom and gift shop was another big task.” The Randell Research Center was established in 1996 to ensure the preservation of a historically significant area. The site’s nearly 70 acres is located on Pine Island in Southwest Florida and encompasses several Indigenous shell mounds created over hundreds of years by the Calusa. Most of South Florida’s mounds were demolished and used as construction material for roads in the early 20th century. The mounds at Randell are among the few that remain. Later in November, a team of GatorCorps members and UF Gulf Scholar students visited the center to lend a helping hand. GatorCorps is a branch of the AmeriCorps program with headquarters at the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER) at the University See AFTER THE STORMS, page 13
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