DDWS Welcomes First Refuge Summer Intern Special to the REPORTER Public Relations
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WEEK OF JULY 14, 2011 Gardening P Gardening f class offered at U GreenMarket - Page 13 SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA, FLORIDA VOLUME 49, NUMBER 27 VISIT US ONLINE AT CAPTIVASANIBEL.COM 750 Plan approved to raise Village Shop buildings By JEFF LYSIAK jlysiakCibreezonewspapers.com In her application to the city's A resolution that will allow the own- "Hopefully, we'll start work on this by the end of the summer or early Department of Planning, Bramm wrote ers of The Village Shops to elevate a in the fall." that The Village Shops property has pair of office buildings at the rear of never thrived since its inception in the property, which will create 33 addi- — Lisa Bramm, Royal Shell Property Management and RLR Investments, LLC 1985-86,-the primary reason cited tional parking spaces underneath those being the lack of a take-out restaurant. buildings, was unanimously approved "Since there isn't a take-out busi- by the Planning Commission at their LLC on behalf of the Village of Sanibel Planners approved variances to ness, the facility doesn't draw as much Tuesday meeting. Commercial Condominium allow the maximum fand area to be traffic as we'd like to see at the shop- Following last month's hearing, dur- Association, Inc., requesting two vari- covered with impermeable surfaces to ping center," Bramm said after ing which commissioners heard the ance to the city's Land Development exceed 45 percent of the lot area, and Tuesday's session. "We had done a application submitted by Lisa Bramin Code, the six-member panel - with to allow the maximum land area to be land use study, and the problem was from Royal Shell Property Chuck Ketteman excused — voted 6-0 used as developed area to exceed 50 our need for additional parking." Management and RLR Investments, in favor of Resolution 11 -10. percent of the lot area. See BUILDINGS, page 8 DDWS welcomes first refuge summer intern Special to the REPORTER public relations,. social media, Holding some of the In its mission to support the J.N. fresh organic produce "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, advocacy, non- sold at the island "Ding*" Darling Wildlife Society-Friends profit retail Nutrition Center, Beth of the Refuge (DDWS) has taken on a operations, Burns encourages summer intern for the first time in its near- fundraising and more islanders to ly 30-year history. development. become members of Lydia Templin, a junior this fall at "Social the Sanibel-Captiva Colorado State University in Fort Collins, media is a vital Food Go-Op. Co. is pursuing a degree in journalism and part of Lydia's technical communications with a concen- internship," said JEFF LYSIAK tration in public relations, and a business Vertesch. "As a administration minor. Lydia Templin typical young, technologically Templin will be assisting DDWS 1 Executive Director Birgie Vertesch with savvy student, she is working to increase volunteer management, marketing and See INTERN, page 13 Friends Who Care to benefit Showing concern for owner's health, from store's fifth anniversary community rallies behind local store By SHANNEN HAYES Schuyler about celebrating Lily & Co.'s By JEFF LYSIAK cate as much time or energy to her [email protected] upcoming anniversary. [email protected] business as she would like to. She has •Within the first year of opening their This business fairytale began once Several years ago, when Carol been battling cancer, quietly and business, Lily & Co. Jewelers was named upon a time when two friends, bonded by Simontacchi opened the Island- bravely. Top Designer by Jewelers Circular a passion for both fine jewelry and Nutrition Center, she brought with During this time, her fans and fol- Keystone, the industry's leading trade canines, met for a cup of coffee. After her a wealth of knowledge about per- lowers may have wondered what had publication. Karen Bell, one of Southwest Florida's sonal wellness, weight management become of their favorite health guru InStore Magazine named it "Top Dog" most experienced realtors, procured a pair and holistic health. Her loyal legion or why she hasn't been around the in June 2009 for the artistic Lily ad cam- of exquisite diamond earrings from skilled of readers - from her weekly col- store, located at 2330 Palm Ridge paigns — featuring Lily, the curly-locked jeweler Schuyler, the two agreed to form a umn in the Sanibel-Captiva Islander, Road. There, she would often engage Labradoodle - as well as "America's called "Holistic Health Notebook" - her customers in conversation, about Coolest Store." See ANNIVERSARY, page 7 spread the word around town about their lives or her experiences, offer- So by now, the world knows what her business, which quickly became ing friendly advice or simply sharing islanders already are well aware of: Lily & the island's top destination for nutri- a laugh. Many of them never knew of Co. is "Best of the Islands," a title it's held tion-conscious consumers, the struggle she now faces. for the past five years. 9 WflSSSt Id "B9NVS However, for more than a year, "It's been above and beyond what we Simontacchi hasn't been able to dedi- See STORE, page 10 could have imagined," said co-owner Dan Editorial .4 Letters to the Editor 5 Business News .11 INSIDETODAY Word on the Island .4 Police Beat . 6 Preserving Paradise .....13 01 0£ Snakes perform valuable benefit for O Sanibel Historical Museum & Village Submitted by CAROL ZELL white warblers shooting up and down live oak trees, Unlike the Emerald Isle, Sanibel Island is home to pileated woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, armadillos, a variety of snakes, many of which • have been the ubiquitous raccoons and a variety of songbirds. observed on the grounds of the Sanibel Historical Cardinals flocked to the Heritage Garden sun- Museum & Village. flower patch in June and picked the giant flowers Yellow rat snakes and black racers predominate at dean of seeds. The Village is also a habitat for native I the Historical Village's three-acre property, which is and specimen plants and trees, which are labeled and L surrounded on three sides by city-owned wetlands described on weatherproof signs. property. Fortunately, neither of these species are Admission to the Historical Village is $5 for H poisonous - they actually perform a much needed adults, 18 and older. Children and members are free. function, helping to keep rodents and anoles in check. The Sanibel Historical Museum & Village is located It is not unusual to find snake skins on the at 950 Dunlop Road (next to BIG Arts) and will be Historical Village grounds. Just this past week, avis- open through Aug. 6 on Wednesday through Saturday itor found a beautiful specimen and presented it to the from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Museum will then be museum tn become a temporary exhibit in the closed until Wednesday, Nov. 2. Rutland House science room, It is a four-foot yellow Seven historic buildings are centered around the rat snake skin — intact in one piece — and offers, Heritage Garden. Visitors learn about island history young people an interesting, lesson in herpetoiogy. through exhibits and audio recordings which high- The snake, which lives in an undergrowth of heavy light pioneer families and agriculture, fishing and vegetation behind a replica outhouse, is developing a tourism. The Rutland House science room features new skin to fit its growing body. artifacts from the earlier occupation of the Calusa and While the main mission of trie Historical Museum Spaniards. Why not "step back in time" for a lesson in island & Village is to preserve and share Sanibel history, CONTRIBUTED every once in awhile, the museum is able to offer vis- Docent and SHMV board member Gayle Pence history, and as an added bonus, enjoy an interesting itors something extra - an up-close environmental shows off the museum's latest acquisition, a encounter with nature? experience. There are nesting soft-shelled-turtles, yellow rat snake skin, found by a tourist on the croaking tree frogs, lime green iguanas, black and grounds of the Historical Village. F.I.S.H. seeks donations to restock food pantry Special to the REPORTER uate their needs. Once the interview • Peanut butter operation, under the overall direction I \ F.I.S .H. (Friends In Service Here) of stage and the USDA forms are com- • Juices (apple, orange, etc.) of Dick Schreck and the day-to-day Sanibel urgently needs to restock the pleted, clients are issued an ID card. • Coffee operations of Maureen Valiquette. food pantry. We are in need of food, This card is updated annually and • Shampoo F.I.S.H. thanks their food stackers, cleaning and paper products. Over the F.I.S.H. clients must re-qualify and • Laundry detergent shoppers, sorters of food delivery, past month, the demand for food and sign new USDA forms each year. • Toilet paper recipe writers, Harry Chapin food other items has grown steadily and we Once clients have their ID card, they If you can help with any of these ordering volunteers and drivers to the need your help. can come to the F.I.S.H. Walk-In products or any unopened, unexpired Salvation Army off island. We also When clients come to F.I.S.H. for Center and collect the food they will food items, which are delivered direct- thank all the neighbors and local busi- the first time to use the food pantry, need for that week. Typically, clients ly to island families in need, we would nesses who kindly donate their unused they are asked to complete the USDA come once per week and choose the be most grateful.