This space available. 11¢ YOUR BACKYARD? Mosquito trial locations to be secret | P.12 PRIVATE DINING INSIDE Card opens novel eatery in Marathon | P.36 ASKING AXFORD School leaders talks COVID, reopening | P.4 YOUR INVESTMENT PROPERTY SPECIALIST MAGGIE CROWLEY, BROKER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN INVESTMENT/INCOME PRODUCING PROPERTIES IN ALL OF THE KEYS www.floridakeysrealtygroup.com Florida Keys Realty Group, LLC | 305.923.5658 2 MARATHON WEEKLY / FEBRUARY 25, 2021 WE’VE GOT YOU HOME Is More Important Than Ever COVERED BRAND NEW WIGGINS FORKLIFT ON SITE, RATED FOR 30K LBS Locally owned and operated family business for over 60 years. Whether ready to remodel, searching for the perfect piece of furniture, or looking to design your dream STORE YOUR BOAT home—D’Asign Source knows what it takes to design, build, finish and furnish your space. Inside and out. WITH US! BEST PRICES IN TOWN! NEW COVERED DRY RACK STORAGE FULL SERVICE MARINA CERTIFIED YAMAHA MECHANIC Architecture • Construction • Landscapes Interior Design • Furniture Local, Fully Licensed #CGC026675, #AA26001284, #B26000844, #LA6667217 WHARF MARINA Home Decor & More! 305.240.9739 11500 Overseas Hwy, Marathon | MM 53 | 305-743-7130 | DAsignSource.com 4681 Overseas Highway, Marathon MARATHON WEEKLY / FEBRUARY 25, 2021 3 4 MARATHON WEEKLY / FEBRUARY 25, 2021 NUMBER OF THE WEEK ON THE COVER Students are dismissed from Sug- Guess which state is leading the nation in vaccination? West arloaf School in the Lower Keys. Virginia. Or Alaska. It depends on the day. But West Virginia made COVID-19 infection rates are still the news this week with another interesting statistic: Based on not low enough to open schools the percentage of the population vaccinated, if West Virginia were fully, summer “quarter” planned 9709 Overseas Hwy. a country, it would rank third in the world, according to npr.org. for struggling students. See story, Marathon, FL 33050 below. LANCE HILL/Keys Weekly Office: 305.743.0844 www.keysweekly.com Publisher Jason Koler [email protected] Britt Publishing Partner Britt Myers [email protected] Marathon Editor Sara Matthis [email protected] WHEN WILL SCHOOLS REOPEN? DISTRICT PLANS ON ‘FIFTH’ QUARTER TO HELP Staff Writers Jim McCarthy STRUGGLING STUDENTS [email protected] Mandy Miles [email protected] SARA MATTHIS Tiffany Duong [email protected] [email protected] arlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Copy Editor Mike Howie the next section of the population prioritized [email protected] for vaccines are teachers and law enforcement officers age 50 or older. Account Executives EAccording to DeSantis, teachers can be vaccinated Patti Childress [email protected] at four FEMA-run locations around the state — Or- lando, Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami — that will open Production Manager soon. Anneke Patterson “I think we’re going to have the ability to do that [email protected] between these federally supported sites and some of Masked students leave Sugarloaf School on Feb. 23. Office/Circulation Manager the new vaccine that may be coming online, very, very LANCE HILL/Keys Weekly Charlotte Hruska soon,” DeSantis said during a news conference. [email protected] That’s good news, but it doesn’t mean the Monroe Question: Are there plans to return to full-time, in- County School District intends to open schools fully by person schooling before the end of the school year? Design / Pre-Press the end of the year. In fact, Keys schools will be offer- We are reviewing the new CDC guidelines with Javier Reyes Answer: [email protected] ing a “fifth” quarter over the summer to help struggling the Health Department as we work toward bringing students. more students back to a full five days a week schedule. Irene de Bruijn “We must continue to follow CDC guidelines and As you know all of our students are back on the A/B [email protected] put safety first,” said Superintendent Terri Axford. “We day in grades 6-12 except those who chose to stay com- Design / Web Master have been extremely careful in the Monroe County pletely virtual. All Pre-K – 5 students are attending full- Travis Cready School District. All you have to do is time. In many buildings additional students have been [email protected] look at our COVID-19 dashboard to attending five days a week based on need. Those needs see that. It’s an amazing tribute to our have been analyzed by each individual school and usu- Classifieds Anneke Patterson administration and teachers and all ally stem from students needing additional support due [email protected] of our staff who have been vigilant in to poor performance with grades or other issues such 305.743.0844 following the rules and adhering to as inability to use technology successfully. them without fail.” One of the clear guidelines set by the CDC man- Se habla español Across the country, COVID cases dates that the number of cases per 100,000 in popula- THE MARATHON WEEKLY (ISSN 1944-0812) IS PUBLISHED Superintendent have fallen 44% over the past two tion must be between 20 and 49 new cases within two WEEKLY FOR $125 PER YEAR Terri Axford weeks. Last week, the Keys Weekly weeks to bring everyone back in the yellow (moderate BY WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS, INC., reported that since Jan. 3, cases have transmission zone). Monroe County is well over 100. 9709 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, MARATHON FL 33050. APPLICA- fallen by 55% in Florida. The same holds true for Florida … We are, obviously, monitoring this closely. (Editor’s TION TO MAIL AT PERIODICALS schools (one of only four states where schools have note: In the past 14 days, there have been 197 new POSTAGE RATES IS PENDING AT been ordered to reopen). According to data from the cases for the Keys population of 76,325.) FORT LAUDERDALE FL AND AD- DITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. state Department of Health, and reported by florida- We are examining all possibilities to bring addition- phoenix.com, cases in schools have been dropping al students back by the end of the year. For instance, All stories, photos, and graphics are consistently across the entire state in recent weeks. some high school classes may have available space copyrighted materials. The Monroe County School District has been keep- in them because students are participating in other POSTMASTER: ing a COVID-19 tally since Aug. 31, 2020. Since then, 172 options for classes, such as dual enrollment. We are SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO students have been marked positive for the coronavi- going to look for every space and fill those spaces when THE KEYS WEEKLY, 9709 rus, plus 29 teachers and 32 staff members. Since Feb. possible. OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, MARA- THON FL 33050 8, MCSD reports 12 new student cases in the district. It’s important to note even with the new guidance, The Keys Weekly Newspaper posed a series of the CDC still requires social distancing, mask wearing News Deadline questions to Axford about coronavirus in the schools. Tuesday Noon Advertising Deadline Tuesday 2 p.m. MARATHON WEEKLY / FEBRUARY 25, 2021 5 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK MON - FRI 9AM TO CLOSE • SAT - SUN 8AM TO CLOSE SUSHI • HAPPY HOUR and the avoidance of crowds. We’ve been doing all of these things all along which is what has enabled us to be success- ful with our efforts to date. HAPPY HOUR DAILY 2-6 • 35¢ Wings VETERAN OWNED & OPERATED Q: How many Keys students are in danger of failing their current grade? • Fried Chicken Livers! A: We don’t have that number yet, as we are still within the • 32 beers on tap 1/2 OFF from 3pm-5pm third nine weeks of school and students have the rest of this nine weeks and the last nine weeks to be evaluated. • $2 Pints of Yuengling and Bud Light! • $7 Happy Hour Menu - 24 Delicious Selections Q: How does that compare with prior, non-pandemic • Sashimi & Nigiri - Bigger Happy Hour Portions! years? And what is the district’s plan to deal with it? A: We are planning an extensive summer program to sup- PM port our students. We will have two four-week sessions for BREAKFAST SERVED DAILY UNTIL 2 summer. Each of these four-week sessions will be designed • Unique & interesting menu to support students who have academic needs and as an en- • $3 Mimosas • $5 Breakfast Shots richment program allowing students who want to add classes and activities to their schedules during the summer. We anticipate a lot of participation. It will be like an additional LUNCH & DINNER fifth quarter (we usually have four) to provide remediation • Lobster Enchiladas and enrichment. • Diver Speared Local Fish One session will run from June 7-July 2 and the second four-week session will run from July 6-July 30. • Prime Rib • Local Lobster • Cook Your Own Catch Q: What are our attendance and absenteeism numbers • Great Seafood Selections like? We’ve been hearing nationally about significant absenteeism rates and about kids who are just absent or “missing” from online classes. Is that happening here SUSHI as well, and what’s being done to prevent or manage it? • Toro • Lionfish • Poke • Hamachi collar A: Our average daily attendance rate for 2019-20 was • Fresh Uni arrives on Wednesdays 94.52%; for 2020-21 it is 93.5%. Q: Finally, how are things looking for in-person events, such as prom and graduation in the coming months? A: We are planning all of our year-end events to be held in person with social distancing guidelines, mask wearing and handwashing in place. Amber Archer Acevedo, former principal of Key West 32 High School, will now serve the MCSD in the new role of BEERS coordinator of professional development and commu- ON TAP nity relations, effective immediately.