Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village DriveJake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
A new program in Central Florida is training everyday people to stop potential school shooters. School safety guardians have the job of protecting students and teachers on campuses that do not have their own school resource officers or sheriff’s deputies. A state law passed after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School gives districts the option to arm teachers, school staff or school safety guardians. The guardians – who are normal citizens, not officers of the law – train from morning ’til night. Many told CBS News’ Adriana Diaz they’re doing it because they have kids in the school system, whose safety they worry about. Guardians will earn $30,000 per year, which is less than school resource officers. That difference will allow every school in Polk County to have an armed guard. Armed with real guns and real bullets, everyday people like a minister, former teacher and a former police officer are training to take down a potential school shooter. “I’m tired of hearing teachers having to give their lives to protect students. … We’re going to be there to engage. You will not have to. We will run to that threat while you take care of what you need to,” Kimberly Hall, a former teacher, said. Asked why that burden shouldn’t fall to law enforcement, former police officer Johnny Thomas said, “We need more people to step up and get into this function of protecting our children.” For minister Stephen Bolden, the calling has to do with his own family. “I have three small children in the school system. My wife is a teacher….I want to make sure that those children have the safest, best quality education,” he said. Candidates for the guardian program have to pass background and psychological checks before an intensive six-week course that includes firearms training, precision shooting, and both virtual and live active shooter scenarios. Only the candidates who score high enough on tactical and written tests will be placed in one of Polk County’s 85 elementary schools this fall. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the Parkland shooting, has been involved from the start. “These kids are going to be safer for now, from what I accomplished and hopefully the rest of the country is going to see what we did in Polk County and they’re going to lead by example,” Pollack said. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and school superintendent Jacqueline Byrd created the program. To the parents who are uncomfortable with having more guns on campus, Judd said, “Those parents need to wake up and understand this is a new normal.” “This is the last, best chance to save your child when all the different layers of security have failed and their job is simply this: to be well-trained, to react within seconds, to find the active shooter and kill him graveyard dead before he can hurt your child with a gun,” Judd said. “These folks are starting as civilians but when they finish their training, they’re going to be better trained with more hours and a higher proficiency than a state certified police officer.” “When you see what’s happening around our nation in our schools, you just wonder is it ever going to be here in Polk County,” explained Superintendent Byrd. “I know I have to do something to ensure that as each parent sends me their child I have someone there to make sure they’re safe.” But some parents, like Annette Rising, are concerned. “I come from a time and era where we didn’t have to worry about guns,” Rising said. “Schools weren’t on lockdown. And things I know have evolved.” Rising said she’ll probably be a “little anxious” when she drops her daughter off for her first day of school this fall knowing there is someone carrying a gun there. To critics, former teacher and guardian-in-training Kimberly Hall says, “I kindly remind them that guns are already being brought into school and that’s much more dangerous.” Despite his background as a minister, Stephen Bolden believes he’ll be ready to do whatever he has to do — including killing someone — to stop the threat of a school shooter. “I’m human. I have to protect my family as anyone does. And I’m gonna protect life the best way that I can,” he said. The program was named after Aaron Feis, the assistant football coach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who died while protecting his students. Feis’s wife will meet the men and women working to become guardians in the name of her husband on Wednesday. This story was originally published on June 13, 2018, 7:54 AM