FGCU softball team helps Habitat for Humanity build three homesHome Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans
LEHIGH ACRES FGCU softball team helps Habitat for Humanity build three homes The Florida Gulf Coast University softball team helped Habitat for Humanity build three homes Saturday.
ESTERO Home Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans Veterans hit the green at the Copperleaf Golf Course on Saturday. This was part of the Home Base golf tournament.
FORT MYERS At least one person dead after propane truck collides with golf cart Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that has left one person dead and another injured Saturday morning.
Scattered storms ahead for your Saturday plans The Weather Authority is tracking weekend temperatures in the low to mid-90s this weekend with a chance for scattered storms this afternoon.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 3 Thunderstorms tried to put a stop to week three of high school football on Friday Night, but gridiron action prevailed.
Man accused of plotting murder-for-hire denied bond A man suspected of being involved with a murder-for-hire plot will stay behind bars. Ryan Toranzo had his renewed motion to set bond denied today in Collier County Court.
LABELLE Two dead after crash on State Road 80 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, there was a crash on State Road 80 that has left at least one person dead Friday evening.
DeSoto County looks to recruit more teachers While it can sometimes be easy to fill a classroom with students, it is not so easy for teachers. Schools across the nation and locally in Southwest Florida are still dealing with the challenges of teacher shortages. With class back in session, so is teacher recruiting for DeSoto County schools. The assistant superintendent, Jake Reynolds, […]
IMMOKALEE ROAD Push for change after deadly crash on Immokalee Rd. We’re told the woman was driving with two kids in the car when a semi ran a red light and hit her Thursday morning.
FORT MYERS BEACH Mobi-Mats deployed on Fort Myers Beach A walkway to paradise! Brand new and blue, the Mobi-Mat is making things easier for Fort Myers Beachgoers.
NAPLES Women of Steel business conference inspiring and empowering women Focused, hardworking, empowered. These women have made a name for themselves as Women of Steel.
NAPLES Beloved Collier County bus driver retires after 20 years After 20 years of getting kids to school safely, a beloved Collier County bus driver is retiring.
Wade Wilson has new death row mugshot Convicted double-killer Wade Wilson has a new death row mugshot.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Sizzle Dining is back in SWFL It’s Sizzle Season! Local restaurants are ready to welcome new faces by offering exclusive menu deals to attract new customers.
PORT CHARLOTTE Player of the Week: Logan Flaherty Port Charlotte’s QB found the endzone twice himself and had two passing touchdowns in the Pirate’s week two victory over North Fort Myers.
LEHIGH ACRES FGCU softball team helps Habitat for Humanity build three homes The Florida Gulf Coast University softball team helped Habitat for Humanity build three homes Saturday.
ESTERO Home Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans Veterans hit the green at the Copperleaf Golf Course on Saturday. This was part of the Home Base golf tournament.
FORT MYERS At least one person dead after propane truck collides with golf cart Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that has left one person dead and another injured Saturday morning.
Scattered storms ahead for your Saturday plans The Weather Authority is tracking weekend temperatures in the low to mid-90s this weekend with a chance for scattered storms this afternoon.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 3 Thunderstorms tried to put a stop to week three of high school football on Friday Night, but gridiron action prevailed.
Man accused of plotting murder-for-hire denied bond A man suspected of being involved with a murder-for-hire plot will stay behind bars. Ryan Toranzo had his renewed motion to set bond denied today in Collier County Court.
LABELLE Two dead after crash on State Road 80 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, there was a crash on State Road 80 that has left at least one person dead Friday evening.
DeSoto County looks to recruit more teachers While it can sometimes be easy to fill a classroom with students, it is not so easy for teachers. Schools across the nation and locally in Southwest Florida are still dealing with the challenges of teacher shortages. With class back in session, so is teacher recruiting for DeSoto County schools. The assistant superintendent, Jake Reynolds, […]
IMMOKALEE ROAD Push for change after deadly crash on Immokalee Rd. We’re told the woman was driving with two kids in the car when a semi ran a red light and hit her Thursday morning.
FORT MYERS BEACH Mobi-Mats deployed on Fort Myers Beach A walkway to paradise! Brand new and blue, the Mobi-Mat is making things easier for Fort Myers Beachgoers.
NAPLES Women of Steel business conference inspiring and empowering women Focused, hardworking, empowered. These women have made a name for themselves as Women of Steel.
NAPLES Beloved Collier County bus driver retires after 20 years After 20 years of getting kids to school safely, a beloved Collier County bus driver is retiring.
Wade Wilson has new death row mugshot Convicted double-killer Wade Wilson has a new death row mugshot.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Sizzle Dining is back in SWFL It’s Sizzle Season! Local restaurants are ready to welcome new faces by offering exclusive menu deals to attract new customers.
PORT CHARLOTTE Player of the Week: Logan Flaherty Port Charlotte’s QB found the endzone twice himself and had two passing touchdowns in the Pirate’s week two victory over North Fort Myers.
As Tim O’Hara leaned on the fence in his next-door neighbor’s backyard and stared at the filled-in ditch and new berm, he couldn’t believe the damage it had done in less than two weeks. After one developer’s actions, the filled-in swale’s water floods acres of Buckingham neighbor’s properties. “Put this back the way it was. Let’s figure out the problem. And then we can go find a solution from there. But don’t ruin our lives,” said O’Hara. The swale, or what neighbors call “the ditch,” sat on the developer GL Homes’ property. Lee County said, “The Buckingham 345 project filled the swale on their own property as part of the construction work permitted by the County and the South Florida Water Management District.” Permit or not, neighbors say those actions wreak havoc for them. It hasn’t rained in days, but with nowhere for that water to go, everything is soaked. Michelle Sullivan has to use a four-wheeler to get around her 10 acres. “The ground is saturated, it stinks, we have more mosquitoes and my poor horses who shouldn’t be standing in water are standing in water,” said Michelle Sullivan, “I wish the viewers could smell what we’re smelling … because it absolutely stinks because it’s just been sitting for days.” Tim and Michelle called up the South Florida Water Management District. An inspector came out Wednesday and told neighbors he had more research to do. One of his unanswered questions is, who is responsible for managing the ditch? Before the inspector could tell neighbors that, the developers and county got one. In a statement to WINK News, a representative for GL Homes said, “Based on a review of the Lee County Property Appraiser’s aerial photographs, it appears that a previous property owner illegally dug a ditch on our property sometime in 2012 and used the dirt from the ditch to fill their property on the south side of the ditch.” That previous owner no longer lives on that property, Tim O’Hara does. When asked if they would step in, Lee County said in a statement in part, “The situation is a civil matter between private property owners. The engineer of record for Buckingham 345 is working with the property owners to pursue a solution.” “We had a meeting with Lee County Staff and our engineer this morning to discuss options to alleviate or at least minimize the drainage problems,” said GL Homes in a statement, “It was agreed that we will meet with the property owner, Lee County Staff and SFWMD Staff in the field later this week. The County and GL Homes are in agreement that some form of a drainage swale can be created near the common property line. The exact location or who will maintain has not been determined.” O’Hara told WINK News that the County called him and advised that a swale be placed on his property. He believes it should be placed on land between the two. No matter who put the illegal ditch in, Michelle Sullivan hopes the county can provide a solution for all parties. For now, Buckingham neighbors have flooded property and fear a solution won’t come before the next big rain when the problem could get worse. Full Statement from GL Homes “First and foremost, GL Homes of Florida always wants to be a good neighbor when we start new communities adjacent to existing homes. In this case with our new community in Buckingham our engineer studied all the available data from historical maps, surveys, lidar (topography) data, etc., reviewed Lee County and SFWMD files, and obtained our own survey and topography data. The ditch behind the Ohara property did not show up in any of our research. We assume the ditch was missed by the surveyors and our field inspections because it was completely covered with dense Brazilian pepper that was so thick that no one could move through it. After learning about the drainage complaints on Monday we researched the history of the drainage in this area and the ditch in question. Based on a review of the Lee County Property Appraiser’s aerial photographs, it appears that a previous property owner illegally dug a ditch on our property sometime in 2012 and used the dirt from the ditch to fill their property on the south side of the ditch. Please refer to the image below from 2012. Our property for the new community is north of the yellow boundary line and the Ohara property is south of the yellow line. It is obvious that the Ohara property is being cleared and the ditch has just been cleared and dug (without permission) on the property to the north. As you are aware, we had a meeting with Lee County Staff and our engineer this morning to discuss options to alleviate or at least minimize the drainage problems. It was agreed that we will meet with the property owner, Lee County Staff and SFWMD Staff in the field later this week. The County and GL Homes are in agreement that some form of a drainage swale can be created near the common property line. The exact location or who will maintain has not been determined. There are also questions on the impact to overall drainage patterns for the area and the permitting requirements. Thus the involvement of SFWMD. It appears from the unrecord subdivisions to the east that the drainage for the properties south of the new development are supposed to drain to the south, not the west, because there are drainage easements set aside for that purpose along with some existing drainage ditches. The problem appears to be that those drainage ditches have not been maintained by the property owners.”