Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County
PUNTA GORDA Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park Crews are working to remove derelict boats from Gilchrist Park after several of them washed ashore during Hurricane Milton in October.
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther was killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking cold morning conditions before temperatures warm up to the low 70s this Thursday.
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 motherβs 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 Milton.
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 nearΒ Bowmanβs 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.
PUNTA GORDA Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park Crews are working to remove derelict boats from Gilchrist Park after several of them washed ashore during Hurricane Milton in October.
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther was killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking cold morning conditions before temperatures warm up to the low 70s this Thursday.
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 motherβs 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 Milton.
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 nearΒ Bowmanβs 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.
Heather Walsh-Haney, FGCU professor and forensic anthropologist, responded to New York City after the planes hit the World Trad Center on 9/11. She shared her story of investigating the remains of ground zero and the impact the attacks on our nation had on her family 20 years ago. Credit: WINK News. Forensic anthropologist Dr. Heather Walsh-Haney spends her career as a forensic anthropologist piecing together puzzles, identifying the dead, who they were, how they lived and how they died. “What I do is basically piece together the 206 bones of an adult to read their story, and hopefully, what I’m reading that is grounded in science matches how that person saw themselves and how their immediate neighbors and family saw them,β Walsh-Haney explained. Many times, Walsh-Haney has responded in the aftermath of disasters to start picking up the pieces to find answers. She did it after the 1996 ValuJet crash, when a plane plummeted into the Everglades. She did it decades after the 1921 Tulsa massacre. And she did it after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. “As a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, the DMORTs, we were tasked by President Bush to be deployed to ground zero,β Walsh-Haney said. On Sept. 11, 2001, doctor Walsh-Haney was a graduate student at the University of Florida. She remembers the moment she got the news in a meeting with her mentor and former Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell. βIn her meeting room, she had huge television monitors up on her walls, and I remember the news report showing a plane had hit the World Trade Center,β Walsh-Haney said. βI remember the smoke billowing from the plane, and right away, I know in my mind I was trying to understand the scale of the plane that had hit and immediately Dr. Falcetti had said, βThat’s a jetliner. There’s a jet that has hit the World Trade Center. We’re going to be deployed to this mass fatalities event. Be ready, Heather. I’m sure you’ll get your orders.ββ Walsh-Haney got her orders the night of Sept. 11. By daybreak, she was on the road, driving from Gainesville to ground zero. “I felt being a part of it privileged to be able to use my training, education and experience to help our country,β Walsh-Hanye said. βI was also married and wondering, you know, I was leaving my husband behind. When would be the next time that I would see him?” The site at ground zero was too dangerous, so her team worked at the Staten Island landfill. “As I remember, the debris just started coming to the landfill, and it was our job to help identify evidence from firefighter’s jackets with their names on it, to fire hats, to biological materials that would come through, trying to determine whether the material in front of us was human or non,β Walsh-Haney said. The mission included 12-hour days and lonely nights Walsh-Haney worked for three weeks straight. βIt’s not until I myself was up in the plane, and I could still see ground zero smoking and smoldering that it hit me,β Walsh-Haney said. But that was not the only way the aftermath of 9/11 hit her. After her deployment to ground zero, her brother, Nicholas Rudolph Walsh, was deployed to Iraq. “Our response to those attacks, was a war, and so my brother was there,β Walsh-Haney said. Walsh died in the war when he was shot by a sniper. He was 27 years old and left behind two children. Twenty years after 9/11, Walsh-Haney’s emotions are still raw, still palpable. She is still trying to piece together a painful puzzle, one she feels will never really make sense. “I have a very hard time thinking about it and the direction that we are going and where we’ve been,β Walsh-Haney said.