FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herselfSurrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
CAPE CORAL, Fla. – WINK News investigators continue to stand up for our veterans, uncovering another group of local veterans, who can’t believe how the VA is treating them. Fort the past 18 months Dennis Simon and other veterans he calls his “brothers” have been meeting for peer-to-peer counseling at the Cape Coral VA once a week. Like Simon, most of the veterans in his local group fought in Vietnam and all of them suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “You have survivor’s guilt and it really has a depressing result on me,” he explained. “Like the fellas will tell you, before the group I was going through periods of serious deep suicidal depression quite honestly.” Luis Casilla is a volunteer trained to oversee the group. Also a veteran, he started out as a patient then transitioned to working at a VA office in Boston for more than a decade. “We’re there, we’re there for each other,” explained Casilla of the group. But the veterans group said last Friday everything changed. When they went to the VA clinic for their meeting, they were all escorted off the property and written citations for trespassing. “Here we are senior citizens, we’re veterans, one of our members is 82-years-old and they said you must leave this area immediately it’s restrictive,” recalled Simon. “They issued us citations, calling it trespass. How do you trespass in a facility that was supposedly built for you?” The men say they asked to speak with the medical director about why they weren’t able to meet anymore and were told she was not available. Simon says that’s when the VA police escorted them off the property and gave them all citations. “We’ve all be assigned by psychologists to this group and we just want to know why this groups been canceled with no notice…. It was total humiliation, total disrespect,” said Simon. WINK News Call for Action called and emailed the Bay Pines VA in St. Petersburg, who oversees the three local VA clinics. According to a spokesman, they are implementing changes which were part of a 2008 law which calls for specific groups to be led by certified peer specialists. They also sent us this statement: “In an effort to ease this transition, volunteer leaders of these groups began being notified about this change 2-3 months ago during face-to-face meetings with mental health leadership. Mental health professionals continue to work with these groups to ensure successful transitions and continuity of care. One volunteer-led group at the Lee County Healthcare Center in Cape Coral refused the transition, clinical supervision and presence of a peer specialist during their sessions and have subsequently stopped meeting at the facility. The group leaders were first notified about the transition on October 3, 2014. Since that time, we have continued to try to work with the leaders to elicit their cooperation in the new group setting and have also offered assistance to relocate them to a community setting outside of the VA. On December 5, this group of Veterans presented at the facility unscheduled and unannounced and indicated that they wished to hold a meeting. In the absence of orders, a staff member decided to allow them to meet in a conference room. Shortly after the meeting began, the Veterans left the conference room to conduct a protest about the dissolution of their group outside the administrative offices on the fourth floor. Due to this activity and conduct of the group, VA Police were dispatched to the area and the Veterans were escorted to the parking lot. Each Veteran was issued a courtesy notice and left the property without further incident. Just like all of our peer support groups, it is our goal to continue providing this service to Veterans in accordance with policy and the evidence-based practice recognized by VHA. It is important to note that mental health professionals at the Lee County Healthcare Center welcome the continuation of this group with appropriate presence of clinical staff. We will continue working with Veterans that participate in these groups to ensure they understand how peer specialists and clinical supervision supports better health care outcomes and continuity of care. ” The veterans we talked to claimed they were told about possible changes but never given a date when the meetings must stop and they feel the VA handled the whole situation poorly. “We can’t believe the country that we served so honorably we treat us so dishonorably,” explained Simon. When WINK News spoke with the VA spokesman by phone Wednesday afternoon, he did apologize for the way the situation was handled. However, he reiterated that because of the newly implemented law, mental health groups meeting on VA property must be overseen by a veteran who is licensed and employed by the VA. He also tells us that they will reach out to the veterans group again to try to reach an agreement. We also cleared up that the citation the veterans got was just a warning and that they are still allowed on property.