Areas of Port Charlotte flooded due to heavy rainThe Greater Pine Island Alliance is seeking volunteers to help recovery efforts
PORT CHARLOTTE Areas of Port Charlotte flooded due to heavy rain Some areas of Port Charlotte are underwater after heavy rain Wednesday evening.
PINE ISLAND The Greater Pine Island Alliance is seeking volunteers to help recovery efforts The Greater Pine Island Alliance is looking for volunteers, and age or skill set does not matter; if you want to help, they have a job for you.
FORT MYERS Whiskey Creek residents frustrated by worsened flooding Whiskey Creek residents do not know why flooding has worsened, but they said they want something done about it.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs firefighters rescue a bulldog in Helene’s aftermath In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Bonita Springs Fire Station 27 received a guest: a sweet little bulldog.
FGCU professor speaks on port worker strike 45,000 port workers on the East and Gulf Coasts are officially on strike as of Wednesday after their labor contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance expired.
CAPE CORAL Oasis head football coach leading the Sharks after 22 years with Cape Coral Police Oasis High School head football coach Brice Bearman in his first season after retiring from the Cape Coral Police Department after 22 years.
NAPLES Naples City Council votes to repair Naples Pier Though Helene did cause further damage to the Naples Pier, the city manager said it would not get in the way of its reconstruction.
Florida voter registration deadline upcoming Monday, Oct. 7, is the deadline to register to vote in November’s general election.
FORT MYERS BEACH The future of Church of the Ascension after Helene One of the hardest hit churches by Hurricane Ian is on Fort Myers Beach. Church of the Ascension got more water from Helene, but there wasn’t much left to damage.
HARLEM HEIGHTS How were Harlem Heights residents affected by Helene? A community filled with water nearly two years ago is dry two years later, even after the storm surge of Helene, and now residents told us why.
PUNTA GORDA Harbor Belle residents in Punta Gorda on day 7 with no power after Helene Hurricane Helene’s impact on an RV park in Punta Gorda has left the community in the sweltering heat with nowhere else to turn.
Lee County Sheriff implementing new bus stop signs to improve safety The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has installed three bus stop signs throughout Lee County.
NORTH PORT What’s next for the Rapkins? Family sues Heritage Insurance A family is paying for a mess they didn’t ask for or create.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood neighborhood drying out ahead of potential heavy rain Debris on front lawns, homes gutted, and roofs in need of repair. People in one Englewood community say they are not ready for another bout of rain, let alone another tropical storm.
New AirTag tracking law goes into effect This week, a new state law went into effect, cracking down on tracking devices like AirTags and increasing criminal penalties for people who track others without their consent.
PORT CHARLOTTE Areas of Port Charlotte flooded due to heavy rain Some areas of Port Charlotte are underwater after heavy rain Wednesday evening.
PINE ISLAND The Greater Pine Island Alliance is seeking volunteers to help recovery efforts The Greater Pine Island Alliance is looking for volunteers, and age or skill set does not matter; if you want to help, they have a job for you.
FORT MYERS Whiskey Creek residents frustrated by worsened flooding Whiskey Creek residents do not know why flooding has worsened, but they said they want something done about it.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs firefighters rescue a bulldog in Helene’s aftermath In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Bonita Springs Fire Station 27 received a guest: a sweet little bulldog.
FGCU professor speaks on port worker strike 45,000 port workers on the East and Gulf Coasts are officially on strike as of Wednesday after their labor contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance expired.
CAPE CORAL Oasis head football coach leading the Sharks after 22 years with Cape Coral Police Oasis High School head football coach Brice Bearman in his first season after retiring from the Cape Coral Police Department after 22 years.
NAPLES Naples City Council votes to repair Naples Pier Though Helene did cause further damage to the Naples Pier, the city manager said it would not get in the way of its reconstruction.
Florida voter registration deadline upcoming Monday, Oct. 7, is the deadline to register to vote in November’s general election.
FORT MYERS BEACH The future of Church of the Ascension after Helene One of the hardest hit churches by Hurricane Ian is on Fort Myers Beach. Church of the Ascension got more water from Helene, but there wasn’t much left to damage.
HARLEM HEIGHTS How were Harlem Heights residents affected by Helene? A community filled with water nearly two years ago is dry two years later, even after the storm surge of Helene, and now residents told us why.
PUNTA GORDA Harbor Belle residents in Punta Gorda on day 7 with no power after Helene Hurricane Helene’s impact on an RV park in Punta Gorda has left the community in the sweltering heat with nowhere else to turn.
Lee County Sheriff implementing new bus stop signs to improve safety The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has installed three bus stop signs throughout Lee County.
NORTH PORT What’s next for the Rapkins? Family sues Heritage Insurance A family is paying for a mess they didn’t ask for or create.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood neighborhood drying out ahead of potential heavy rain Debris on front lawns, homes gutted, and roofs in need of repair. People in one Englewood community say they are not ready for another bout of rain, let alone another tropical storm.
New AirTag tracking law goes into effect This week, a new state law went into effect, cracking down on tracking devices like AirTags and increasing criminal penalties for people who track others without their consent.
Hurricane Helene’s impact on an RV park in Punta Gorda has left the community in the sweltering heat with nowhere else to turn, as they’re going on day 6 with no electricity. The president of the company who owns the property tells WINK News they’re working to get power restored, but it may take some time as they will likely have to go house by house to see how each property was uniquely impacted by Helene’s floodwaters. Helene is now in the past for many people, but for those living in the Harbor Belle Park RV Resort, Helene is still causing a world of issues. Many of them lost cars due to floodwaters, others lost everything inside their house. WINK News anchor Annette Montgomery went to Punta Gorda to hear from the community and find out why they feel as though they have nowhere else to turn. There are over 150 different lots in the RV resort, each with a person with a different story and struggle post-Helene. All you will see is pile after pile of what they own out in front of their homes. On Wednesday, they are going on day six without power, so in addition to questions about what’s next, they are also worried about the present. Terry Thompson, a resident of the RV park, said, “I’m sitting here looking at my wife’s feet, and all this water was coming in, and she started taking towels, trying to wring them out, and dumping them in the sink. I said, ‘You’re not going to win. You’re not going to win this.'” As Dorothy Thompson watched the floodwaters rise in her home during Hurricane Helene, she made a bold statement to her husband. “When it was ankle deep, I just turned and looked at him, and I said, ‘I’m not going to drown in this house,'” she said. “I mean, I got two little puppies here. I’ll wade through the waters. It was chest deep at that point, and I’ll wade through the waters. I’m trying to get out of here.” They’re taking it one day at a time, and said they have been receiving assistance from Legacy Communities the company in charge of the park. Neighbors said they’re just trying to manage without power, and relying on generators while they wait. “There’s water inside the car. It burnt the wires off of the ignition or starter. I just put a new starter in trying to get up around. We’ve had friends taking us to get gas for the generator and ice,” Terry explained. It is day seven, and there is no power, and the Thompsons and other Harbor Belle RV Resort residents must decide what to do next. “The outside fridge was floating. It was floating. Our gas dryer was floating. All my work tools. Everything’s just shot,” Terry said. Now, just like other parts of Florida were wrecked by Helene, these neighbors are taking it one day at a time, one pile at a time. “It’s the worst ever. And I’ve been through five major hurricanes ever since [Hurricane] Andrew down in Miami. So we’re just going to try and do what we can do,” said Dorothy. Neighbors we spoke with said they have questions all relating to power. When can they expect it to be on? How much of this RV park actually has power at this time? And what is the holdup? We contacted the president of the company, Andrew Fells spoke with us and said they are working to get power restored in this community, but there is no telling at this time how long this may take. “The process we’re taking right now is to analyze all of the infrastructure within the community. The pedestals that provide the power, the underground infrastructure, the meters, the entire structure that is the responsibility of the community to be able to provide power to these homes, because of the amount of surge, and the high water mark within the community. A lot of that infrastructure was underwater, and until we can do a full assessment of that system, what repairs need to be made, which repairs are already underway, but we’ve got to be able to get through the entire community and understand what impact there is to the full infrastructure before we can start energizing the park safely,” Fells said. He said they hope to have a plan by Monday.