Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast UniversityMissing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Ian.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Ian.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
In this Sunday, March 12, 2017 photo, Syrian refugees Aya al-Souqi, left, smiles as receiving her first hearing test by Zaineb Abdulla, right, the Vice President of “Deaf Planet Soul” Chicago hearing charity at Joub Jannine village in the Bekaa valley, east Lebanon, Sunday, Sunday, March 12, 2017. The proudly named “Deaf Planet Soul” Chicago hearing charity is bringing smiles to hard of hearing Syrian children and their parents in Lebanon on a two-week long mission to treat hearing loss. It is, for many of their young patients, the first time they sit with audiologists and therapists for formal treatment. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) BAR ELIAS, Lebanon (AP) Six-year-old Aya al-Souqi, a Syrian refugee, held the camera phone up to her gaze and listened to hear her mother. “I hear you!” she exclaimed. It was only the second time she’d spoken to her mother in Beeskow, Germany since getting fitted with a hearing aid by a Chicago-based charity to treat an invisible wound of the Syrian war. Aya, timid and diminutive, was a little over a year old in 2012 when a rocket struck her family’s house in the Eastern Ghouta countryside, outside the Syrian capital, Damascus. The strike killed Aya’s father and, the family believes, damaged her right ear. Shortly afterward, the family moved to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of other Syrians now live as refugees, to wait out a war whose conclusion is still a speck on the horizon. “She used to respond to her name and play with other children,” said her grandmother, Hayan Hashmeh. “When we came to Lebanon, we noticed that her hearing was very limited.” The proudly named “Deaf Planet Soul” charity is bringing smiles to hard-of-hearing Syrian children and their parents in Lebanon on a two-week long mission to treat hearing loss. Most, though not all, have been affected by the Syrian war. But for many of the young patients, it’s the first time they have sat down with therapists and audiologists for treatment. “When people think of refugees, they think of cut-off limbs and brain injuries, and all these visible things,” said Zaineb Abdulla, a therapist and the vice president of Deaf Planet Soul. “They don’t think about the invisible results of war. They don’t think that this kid who can’t hear really needs help.” The team of five audiologists, therapists, and a student met with children in clinics around Lebanon in the charity’s first humanitarian relief mission. In a makeshift clinic above a gas station in al-Marj, Gregory Perez, a mental health professional and the president of the group, used sign language to communicate with deaf, seven-year-old Jana Faour, a Syrian-Palestinian girl raised in Lebanon. Her parents don’t have the funds to enroll her in a school for deaf children, so her mother is teaching her Arabic Sign Language from what lessons she can find online through Google. Jana, who usually depends on her doting younger sister to be her voice, was thrilled to be able to sign with someone new. Though Perez signs in American Sign Language, the two found they knew many words in common, and they began to communicate silently and excitedly. Jana looked up at her parents and beamed. “It’s the first time someone sees to what I want, which was to have Jana meet with a therapist, to work with her personality instead of just her hearing,” said her mother, Samar. Perez said he founded the charity last year to “empower the deaf and help the deaf community be more independent.” He was working “16 hours a day” in two mental health jobs in Chicago when one closed down. “It was a group home for emotionally disturbed deaf kids, and when the company shut down, the kids were dispersed across the state,” said Abdulla on Perez’s behalf. Perez and Abdulla are both deaf. Perez can speak only haltingly, but Abdulla, who lost her hearing in adolescence, speaks fluently. They are role models for their young patients, many of whom have never met a deaf professional before. Aya’s mother, Kinaz Khatib, set off for Germany in 2015, crossing the Mediterranean to southern Europe by boat, hoping to secure the right to bring her children over. Aya, sitting in a pumpkin-colored sweater with her siblings and cousins in an unfurnished apartment, said the family was waiting for the “papers” to be allowed to reunite. Her hearing loss has made the separation especially difficult. She had been having a hard time hearing her mother on the phone, her grandmother Hayan said. She was also doing poorly in school. But with her hearing aid, and her hair tied back in purple band, Aya cracked a smile. “How are you?” Aya asked her mom. “I miss you.” Her mother told her the hearing aid looked very nice on her. They talked a little longer, then Kinaz said goodbye. It was time for Aya to pack her bag and go to school. The Deaf Planet Soul team held workshops for children over 10 days in different locations in Lebanon. They returned to Chicago on March 16 and say they want to raise funds for another mission. “This is a forever project,” said Perez.