LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 42, NO. 9
FREE
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Getting granular
Kiwanis Club has a new leader. PAGE 6B THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019
YOUR TOWN
Town leaders talk details of beach planning’s next round. PAGE 3A
‘Like a second father’
BLESS YOU Church’s first pet event attracts dogs, humans and a cat (sort of). PAGE 1B
Casa Del Mar’s manager mourns the passing of his mentor, D.M. Williams, 88. NAT KAEMMERER STAFF WRITER
Beyond his former job as general manager of Casa Del Mar, D.M. Williams was known on Longboat Key for many things. Chief among them his clogging, his philanthropy, his green thumb and his popularity with resort guests, who would often write poems about him at the conclusion of their stays. Mark Meador, who today holds the job Williams once did, adds one more quality. “He was like a second father to me,” he said. Williams died Saturday, Oct. 5 after a 12-day hospital stay. He was 88. “He was a mentor to me, not only work-wise, but after my father passed 20 some years ago, he kind of stepped in as a secondary father figure and with no shortage of advice,” Meador said. SEE WILLIAMS, PAGE 2
A+E Pretty Dirty music. INSIDE
Courtesy photo
Jeff Bullock and Lt. Alan Jenkins display the department’s shirts
Seeing pink The Longboat Key Fire Department continues its tradition of pink-tinged shirts to raise awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month as it has for the past five years. They look like the department’s normal on-duty shirts, but the words and logo are in pink, and it says “Firefighters for a Cure” instead of the name and title of the person. The Firefighters Association purchases the shirts every year, so the money doesn’t come out of the town’s budget, fire liaison Tina Adams said. This year, the tradition hits home because a fire marshal for the town was recently diagnosed with the cancer.
Nat Kaemmerer
The Rev. Dave Marshall blesses Reba at All Angels Episcopal Church’s pet blessing event Oct. 3. Courtesy photo
Alvin’s Attic is located at 462 Ringling Blvd.
The flip side of the job First responders spend time with dispatchers to gain perspective. PAGE 4A
Growing vertically
Eric Garwood
Dispatcher Pam Manning works with Longboat Key firefighter/paramedic Jamison Urch.
The one-stop shop for all things memorabilia is closed, but not for forever. Alvin’s Island, on the John Ringling Parkway arm of St. Armands Circle, closed in August after a remodeling sale. The store will reopen with a new restaurant deck up top, though an estimated date was not available. However, more deck dining space is always appreciated.