Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first timeDeadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
Harns Marsh Middle School in Lehigh Acres. Credit: WINK News. A student was found with a loaded gun at Harns Marsh Middle School in Buckingham at the end of 2019, and the assistant principal who first responded to the incident received a demotion following her actions. Community members are now speaking out on her behalf. Thousands of people signed a petition on behalf of Vivian Gutierrez recently after she was demoted from her position within the School District of Lee County. Gutierrez was the assistant principal at Harns Marsh Middle when a student brought a loaded gun to campus in December 2019. She was the one to safely separate the student from the weapon. Gutierrez’s daughter Haylie started a petition to help her mom. “She loves her job,” said Haylie Gutierrez. The district said it suspended Vivian and then demoted her to a teaching position because of her handling of the gun threat. “Her actions in my opinion and the opinion of several thousand people according to the petition is that she reacted reasonably and effectively,” Haylie said. “No one was hurt.” But the district said Vivian did not follow proper procedure. Documents from the school district say that Vivian responded to reports of a student with a gun within minutes, escorting the student out of class herself. She then performed a search in the main office, all without the knowledge of the principal or school resource officer. That’s when Vivian had the student pull the gun from his backpack. Her attorney said, before this moment, Vivian never knew the student had a lethal weapon. He said she was told it was a BB gun. “The fact of the matter is it was a report of a non-lethal weapon,” said Benajamin Yormack, a labor and employment attorney. “She went. She took custody of the student, took custody of what she thought was a non-lethal weapon until it turned out it was an actual gun when it came out of the bag.” “What the district is doing here is trying to cover up,” Yormack said. “It did not have any policies that covered this.” But the district said Vivian violated four of the school board’s policies related to her lack of initial reporting to the Harns Marsh principal and other professional standards. Haylie said her mother’s quick actions may have saved lives. She said a group will be attending the next school board meeting to voice their concerns over Vivian’s demotion. The district said safety and security is its top priority, and it must take action when that priority is compromised. Haylie said the outcome of her mother’s actions should be what matters most. “That could have been a horrific incident,” Haylie said. “And, because of her actions, it was not.” School District of Lee County Statement “In December 2019, a student at Harns Marsh Middle School brought a gun to school. An extensive investigation found that the assistant principal did not follow proper procedure from the time she was notified a weapon was in the school to the time the weapon was secured. Even so, Harns Marsh employees along with the sheriff’s office of Lee County worked together to successfully deescalate a situation that could have ended in a much different way. The safety and security of our students, staff and visitors is of highest priority and it is incumbent upon us to take action when that priority is compromised.”