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SPORTS PAGE 1 AN EDITION OF THE SUN VOL. 121 NO. 235 AmericA’s Best community DAily FRIDAY AUGUST 23, 2013 www.sunnewspapers.net $1.00 Cruel life for pit bull Animal rights advocates aim for tougher penalties in abuse cases By ADAM KREGER pit bull at his former without bond due to a unfortunately, plenty a few last year that went caller in December Staff Writer home on Aqui Esta Drive. probation violation. of (animal cruelty) out to the State Attorney’s reported “a thin dog be- The dog had to be put Charlotte County there,” she said, add- Office and charges were ing kept on the property” PUNTA GORDA — A down. Animal Control officer ing most callers do not pressed.” after the pit bull was former local man was Michael John Castaldi, Rondelle Moore has provide their name. Castaldi faces counts spotted outside. arrested Wednesday 21, now of Lehigh Acres, seen plenty of similar Moore has been with of animal cruelty and “Basically, the dog was afternoon following is the third person to occurrences. She hopes Animal Control since animal abandonment. emaciated and living in a an anonymous call to be charged in connec- such activities continue 2004. He was living on Aqui separate room … and liv- Charlotte County Animal tion with the incident. to be reported, even if “We still do get our Esta Street in Punta ing in her own urine and Control that led to the He is being held at the anonymously. fair amount of cases,” Gorda less than a year discovery of a neglected Charlotte County Jail “There’s still, she said. “We had quite ago, and an anonymous CRUEL | 11 O ° O 0 a rA) ° Chinese offered at PuntaP MMa gGordaU MiddlehR c By IAN ROSS and can theoretically be Staff Writer continued in Charlotte High School’s Chinese Chinese is pretty program. y easy. At least that’s what “Some people might Anthony Harvey, a Punta say, ‘Oh, that’s weird, why f Gorda Middle School would you study Chinese seventh-grader, thinks. in Florida?’” said Ellen In fact, he prefers it to Harvey, the curriculum Spanish. and instruction special- “I wanted to speak ist for Charlotte County another language,” Public Schools. “It’s obvi- Anthony said, “and I’ve ously not for the child tried Spanish before and who’s going to be staying it seemed a little too in Florida. It’s going to hard.” be for somebody who’s a However, when asked global thinker.” whether he found The school’s Chinese Chinese difficult, he said summer camp, which “not really.” He feels like was set up to promote the he’s ahead of the curve new classes, apparently because “I took the camp succeeded in sparking in the summertime.” some students’ interest. Punta Gorda Middle Seventh-grader Angie started offering Chinese Ceppaluni said she joined classes this year to sixth- Chinese classes because and seventh-graders, she “took it in summer the newest facet of a camp and I really liked it, Ili larger Chinese program and I thought it’d be fun.” in Charlotte County Others were more schools. The classes are SUN PHOTO BY IAN ROSS forward-thinking in their designed to encourage reasons for joining the Liang Wang and Jaleisa Dabney, teacher and seventh-grade student in Punta Gorda Middle School’s Chinese class, sing a mnemonic exploration into Chinese song. culture and language, CHINESE | 11 Boca Grande home lost to fire Charter By TOM CHANG SUN PHOTO BY Staff Writer TOM CHANG The Boca Grande school aims BOCA GRANDE — A fire de- Fire Department stroyed one home and damaged responded to a another on Pilot Point Lane in residence fire Boca Grande Thursday morning. at Pilot Point There were no reported injuries. for innovation Lane in Boca “We were dispatched at roughly Grande Thursday By GARY ROBERTS stolen, then replaced. 6:35 a.m.,” said Boca Grande Fire morning. The Staff Writer He is also an accom- Chief C.W. Blosser. “When our BGFD was later plished pianist, which crews arrived, it was a one-struc- joined by the 7 77' In many ways, the taught him discipline ture, multi-story home with flames Englewood Fire and focus. through the roof.” Department and people behind the movement to open a “I became a good Blosser said the fire spread to the Charlotte County doctor because I adjacent home to the north, causing Fire/EMS. The new charter school in Charlotte County had my music,” said some damage while crews protected fire consumed Asperilla, who helped the adjacent home to the south. the home reflect the goals of the innovative program. plant the seed for Crews worked through the day to and damaged the proposed charter douse the remnants of the fire. another. The Dr. Mark Asperilla is a man of many school and is a board “There was nobody in the home cause is under member. “Studies FIRE | 11 investigation. talents and interests, similar to what SAIL have shown music is (Superior Adventures like brain exercise. In Learning) Arts The public schools are Academy would pro- cutting the arts and Man may lose leg after wreck duce in its students. those are needed for An infectious disease the development of the By ADAM KREGER condition Thursday afternoon at Tampa General Hospital. physician, Asperilla brain.” He is also a big Staff Writer Tampa General Hospital. The driver of the jeep — Nanette is well-known for his Joslyn was riding his Harley- Leonard, 63, of Punta Gorda — did community involve- believer in setting A Port Charlotte man could Davidson — which Kirdy said not appear to suffer any injuries, ment with a volunteer rigorous academic lose a leg after a motorcycle appeared to be a Sportster — toward according to the PGPD. AIDS clinic, the Golden standards. crash Thursday in Punta Gorda, U.S. 41 on Olympia Avenue around Joslyn and Leonard were the Glove boxing program “You need to push according to the Punta Gorda 12:20 p.m. when he was struck on only two involved in the crash. and, more recently, a the students to their Police Department. his left side by a Jeep Wrangler at the The wreck was still under in- significant donation limits to become better Jimmy Joslyn, 71, faces “pos- intersection of Olympia and Shreve vestigation Thursday afternoon, to the Charlotte students,” he said. sible amputation” of his leg as a Street. but authorities said neither County YMCA to These principles are result of the wreck, according to Charlotte County Fire/EMS alcohol nor drugs appeared to be purchase a storage integral to SAIL Arts Punta Gorda Police Department Lt. spokeswoman Dee Hawkins- a factor. shed to protect kayaks Academy, which is Jim Kirdy. Joslyn was listed in stable Garland said Joslyn was airlifted to Email: [email protected] and canoes that were SCHOOL | 11 INDEX | THE SUN: Police Beat 4 | Obituaries 5 | Viewpoint 8 | Opinion 9-10 | THE WIRE: Nation 2 | State 3 | World 5,8 | Business 6-7 | Weather 8 | SPORTS: Lotto 2 | CLASSIFIED: Comics 9-12 | Dear Abby 12 | TV Listings 13 Daily Edition $1.00 ........ Look inside for valuable coupons ............ HARLIE SAYS … High Low This year’s savings to date ... C SUN COUPON CALL US AT I’ll take a swamp buggy t 92 74 941-206-1000 ride over your fancy theme IU I IMIIU it VALUE METER $63,716 7 05252U 00025 8 60 percent chance of rain parks any day! Our Town Page 2 C www.sunnewspapers.net The Sun /Friday, August 23, 2013 Boca chamber executive to help poorest in nation By STEVE REILLY Staff Writer BOCA GRANDE — As the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce executive director, Lew Hastings works in one of the more affluent communities in the na- tion. But all next month, Hastings will be assisting people living in one of the poorest. He will be working with the Okiciyapi Tipi Habitat to Humanity on the Cheyenne Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, S.D. Hasting said the reservation is located in Zeibach County and PHOTO PROVIDED BY MELINDA JANE MYERS that county is deemed one This home may look too far gone to rehabilitate but for the the Okiciyapi Tipi Habitat to the poorest counties — if Humanity on the Cheyenne Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, S.D., it will be. The reservation is not the poorest — in the in one of the poorest counties in this nation and Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce executive United States, according director Lew Hastings is doing what he can to help. to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal Fiddler coming to Boca service in South Dakota. one,” Hastings said. and other sources. Grande and talking Because they became “But it is also a good “God has blessed about Okiciyapi Tipi’s close friends, Hastings representation of Boca me to put me in Boca work. They decided was named as one of Grande; a representative Grande, arguably one of Fiddler would come Fiddler’s honorary casket of one of the richest the richest communities to Boca Grande in bearers. Hastings also communities in the in the country,” Hastings November.