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ON THE ISLAND

THIS WEEK

See JULY 4 on PAGE 11

 W HA T  L I G H T  IS

  T O  T H E  E Y ES 

-  W HA T A I R  IS

  T O  T H E  L U N GS

 -  L I B E R T Y  IS 

 T O  T H E S O U L  O

 F MA N.

 Vol. 36, No. 27 Boca Grande, Florida Your Locally Owned Weekly Newspaper July 3, 2015

50¢

Stop by The SandBar on Sundayand help Jimmy

 

STAFF REPORT

  STAFF REPORT

 

    

      

 

 

   

 

 

  

  

 

 

F

undraising for Capt. JimmyRobertson continues on Sun-

day, July 5 at The Sand Bar.There will be a fish fry at 2 p.m., and

more auctions and raffles will be held.There will also be a corn hole tourna-ment.

The cost to get in the fish fry is $12per person. Call (352) 586-0480 withquestions.

All you need toknow about theisland’s 4th of July

This year, the 4th of July festivi-ties will begin bright and earlyat 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 4,

as all participants in the 3rd annual4th of July golf cart and bicycle paradewill congregate in the parking lot nextto PJ’s Seagrille.

Decorate as you will, just keep itfestive and 4th of July-ish. Please, nomotorized vehicles in the parade forthe safety of the younger participants.Bring your own water, it will be hot!

Then, at 10 p.m. that night, BocaGrande Marina will sponsor a fire-works extravaganza. Best viewing will

Sheriff’s Office topatrol Bike Paththis weekend

T

he Gasparilla Island Conserva-tion and Improvement Associa-

tion (GICIA) encourageseveryone to have a safe 4th of Julycelebration this year. Undoubtedly,there will be increased usage of theGICIA Bike Path over the holidayweekend.

In its ongoing efforts to maintain asafe path for all users, the GICIA hascoordinated with the Lee CountySherriff’s Department to run bike pathsafety details throughout the 4th ofJuly weekend.

The GICIA’s ability to have thedeputies working the detail over thebusy weekend is possible due to agenerous grant by the Boca Grande

Woman’s Club.“Even though the island is not asbusy during the summer, we antici-pate increased usage of the Bike Pathover the long holiday weekend,” saidDeb Martin, GICIA Bike Path Chair-man.

Summer is a fun time to be in BocaGrande, and the GICIA encourageseveryone to be courteous when utiliz-ing the Bike Path.

It is also important to remember thateven though there may be less trafficin July, it is illegal for anyone underthe age of 14 to operate a golf cart(even under the supervision of anadult).

Please have a wonderful freedomcelebration and be courteous and safewhen using the GICIA Bike Path.During the safety detail, deputies willensure that users are implementingthe following rules of the Bike Path:1. Persons under age 14 are pro-hibited by law from operating golfcarts.2. Electric golf carts must yield toall other path users.3. Gas powered vehicles (includinggas powered golf carts) are prohib-ited from traveling on the bike path.4. All users of the bike path mustyield to traffic where the path inter-

sects with public roads and streets.5. The jogging path is for pedes-trian use only.6. Bicycles and golf carts must ob-serve the 15-mile per hour bikepath speed limit.7. Golf carts operating on the pathafter dark must have adequatehead and taillights.

Intrigue in Australia leads back toFlorida and Boca Grande

Bill Caldwell remem-bers him as astraight-laced,

hard-working fisherman,not as a smuggler and in-

ternational fugitive.The Tampa Bay Times

recently broke a storyabout a man who died in atraffic accident in Australia,and was revealed to beRay Stansel, wanted forsmuggling marijuana intoFlorida during the 70s.Stansel was living in Aus-tralia under the last name“Lafferty” and had been reported deadin 1975 in a scuba accident off theHonduras, according to a June 19TBT article.

Law enforcement offi-cials believe Stansel con-tinued to smuggle beforefleeing to Australia, wherehe was known as a muchmore subdued, community

and environmentally-minded individual, said theTampa Bay Times.

That is considerablycloser to the man Caldwelldescribed. He spent thebetter part of his youthworking for Stansel, whostill went by Stansel at the

time. Caldwell met Stanselwhen he was an adoles-

cent with his family in St. Pete, whereStansel lived.

BY JACK SHORT

See INTRIGUE on PAGE 11

■ Islander Bill Caldwell.

An item stricken from the 2015-2016 Florida budget thatwould have sent $1 million to

the Gasparilla Island State Park con-tained little information about how themoney would have been used, otherthan that it was marked for “the as-sessment and evaluation” of lands forpurchase inside the optimum parkboundary.

No one else is saying much about iteither, as it turns out.

A representative of the SenateBudget Committee responded to re-

quests for more information but wasunable, in a week, to discover any-thing.

The office of State Senator LizbethBenacquisto, who touted the item be-fore it was vetoed, along with othersearmarked for projects in Lee andCharlotte Counties, in an email to con-stituents, has not returned repeatedrequests for information or comments.

The Florida Department of Environ-

mental Protection, who would have re-ceived the entirety of the $1 million

Little information available about

$1 million that would have gone toGasparilla Island State Park 

Minimum wakeexpansion proposedby Charlotte MAC

Aproposed minimum-wakezone expansion that began asan effort by a small group of

homeowners has passed its firstmajor hurdle.

The Charlotte County Marine Advi-sory Committee heard presentationsover the last two months from thepublic representing homeowners inBoca Grande North and in housesalong Gulf Shores Drive, as well as

members of the Charlotte CountySheriff’s Department, and have rec-ommended an expansion of the mini-mum wake zone in place near thesouthernmost of the three bridgesleading onto Gasparilla.

According to Jason Ouimet, trafficengineering superintendent for Char-lotte County, the minimum wake zoneproposed by the MAC is actually a

 

BY JACK SHORT

See WAKE on PAGE 13

See $1 MILLION on PAGE 11

  BY JACK SHORT

 

STAFF REPORT

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BOCA BEACON - July 3, 2015 Page 11

Friday hours9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

4th til Oct - Closed

941-964-0614

ENTIRE STORE

50% off Thanks for a

great season!

*excepthomemade foods

L A S T D AY

of the Season

Friday July 3th

July is . . .National Baked Beans Month, National Ice Cream Month, Na-tional Tennis Month, Read An Almanac Month, Anti-Boredom

Month and Hitchhiking Month

be from the mid-section of theisland, and from the harbor. Please,no coolers.

Lemon Bay Sunrise Rotary will pres-

ent the annual Englewood FirecrackerFestival and block party, followed bythe largest fireworks show in South-west Florida. The fun begins on Dear-born Street at 11 a.m. on Saturday,July 4, where more than 60 craft ven-dors will be lining the streets along

with the area’s largest muscle carshow, and a kids game area with wa-terslides and bounce houses. Livebands will be taking the stage, includ-ing Smoked Mullet, Echo Matrix andthe Boca Bande.

Fireworks will be shot off from Mid-dle Beach on Manasota Key at 9 p.m.

Venice fireworks will be shot fromthe South Jetty just after sunset on the4th of July.

July 4

From PAGE 1

Johns Knight Jr. is one of the only realtors born andraised on the island, giving him a wealth of knowledge

to assist you in making good decisions whenbuying Real Estate in the Boca Grande area.

Call Johns today at 941.855.0263michaelsaunders.com

420 East Railroad Ave.

Boca Grande, FL 33921

381 Palm Ave. Boca Grande, FL

This historic inn located in Boca Grande has been updated to meet

building codes and comfort levels desired by guests, while keeping

the old Florida charm that makes Boca Grande what it is today. A

new roof was done in 2004 as well as plumbing and electrical up-

grades. Building is surrounded by a beautifully done brick paver

landscaping. The inn has 10 bedrooms, 5 baths and could be used

as an inn, private home, or commercial such as restaurant or offices.

Located near the post office, shops, beach, docks, marina, golf, and

bicycle/golf cart path. $1,200,000

They met in 1965, when Bill beganworking on Stansel’s boat in St. Pete.Over the next three years he wouldspend weekends and summers work-ing for Stansel in St. Pete, Texas, andin 1968, in Boca Grande, whenStansel brought his boat here to runcharters.

Caldwell continued his work for

Stansel even during his studies at theUniversity of Florida.

“He was heavy down here in ’68,’69, and ’70,” Caldwell said. “The(guides) all knew him. Ray Stanselwas the kind of person that everybodylikes.”

Caldwell said he never knew aboutStansel’s illegal activities until longafter the fact, when he heard some ru-mors from local captains.

“He completely shielded me fromthat,” he said. “He didn’t want to ruinmy life.”

Caldwell described Stansel as an in-telligent, temperate individual with a

strong work ethic. Caldwell remem-bers a man who, in so many years ofacquaintance in employment, onlydrank to excess one time.

He also said he didn’t think Stanselwas the thrill-seeking type, and wasn’tsure why the man might have turnedto illegal activities.

“I was disappointed he chose to gothat route,” Caldwell said.

He had heard, though, of peoplebeing paid as much as $25,000 for anight’s work unloading illegal cargofrom smuggling boats.

After Stansel disappeared, Caldwellsaid, Bonnie Stansel was left withoutmuch, and one of the Stansel’s three

boys, Terry, was a hard working manwho did his best to help his family.Caldwell later secured a job for himwith Bill Miller, who ran a charter outof Tarpon Springs.

Stansel’s other two boys, Raymondand Ronnie, were in prison for similar

criminal activity, according to the TBT.Terry has become a successful cap-

tain working out of Costa Rica, Cald-well said, and though they have beenin touch since it was discovered thathis father had still been alive and liv-ing in Australia, Terry refrained fromsaying too much. He described Terry,compared to the other Stansel boys,as more bitter about what his fatherhad done.

“He told me, ‘I tried to put this be-hind me, and it comes back to hauntme,’” Caldwell said. “He’s still trying to

process this.”

Intrigue

From PAGE 1

 An excerpt from the Evening

Independent of St. Petersburg from

December 9, 1976.

from Florida’s general fund, was un-able to comment on the appropriationbecause, according to a representa-tive, it was not part of their legislativebudget requests.

In his veto message, Scott said hedid struck the item because “ … exist-ing resources are available to deter-

mine the feasibility of purchasingadditional lands.”Generally, the optimum boundary,

according to the GISP 10-year man-agement plan, depends in part onpublic or private land that may, if ac-quired, improve the continuity of or ac-cess to the park itself, provide forexpansion of recreational activities oradditional resource protection.

GISP’s optimum boundary includesthree major areas it does not currentlyown: the parcel of land south of theSandspur use area including the Rear

Range Light, the 10-acre parcel at thesouth end of the island owned by FPL,and submerged lands 25 seawardfrom the mean high waterline alongthe Gulf of Mexico and Boca GrandePass.

That 10-year management plan wasapproved in July, 2014, and the DEPhas since abandoned plans to annexthe land surrounding the Range Light,including the structure itself. Instead,its citizen support organization, the

Barrier Island Parks Society, will leasethe structure from the United StatesCoast Guard.

The FPL parcel, according to theplan, is considered a brownfield be-cause of oil silos that once stood on it,and may require restoration prior touse.

The DEP was not able to commentas of press time on common costs as-sociated with assessment and evalua-tion of lands for purchase, for stateparks.

$1 million

From PAGE 1