LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. -?Three people were found dead in a Lehigh Acres home Thursday evening on East Lake Drive.
Deputies say a woman, a man, and a baby boy are dead.?
The woman is Lisa Forde (2-3-77), the man is Winselio Forde (8-27-71), and son is?Caleb Forde (7-29-09).?
The Lee County Emergency Medical Services family is wearing black ribbons over their badges honoring Lisa Eddy-Forde, an employee.
It appears to be a double homicide and suicide.
The?couple has a history of domestic violence.
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LEE COUNTY, Fla – Lee Housing officials have run out of stimulus money to buy up foreclosed homes for low-income families.
The county meeting an 18th month deadline to spend $18 million as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Project. More than 122 single family homes were bought and the average price of each home is $74,000.
The homes have all been renovated and include new a kitchen complete with green appliances.
The program is being hailed a success by buyers and the county.
Housing officials say they expect to get $5 million in October to continue the program.
Lee County runs out of millions in stimulus dollars to buy up foreclosed homes
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. – Have you ever seen a tortoise with braces? One reptile in Charlotte County recently had some emergency orthodontic work… but it wasn’t to fix his smile.
An attempt to cross a Punta Gorda street nearly cost a gopher tortoise his life. “It looked like he’d been clipped just by a car,”? Peace River Wildlife Center Veterinarian Dr. Robin Jenkins said.
Part of the tortoise’s shell had been crushed into pieces.
“Every time he moved his leg, the shell would move and rub against his internal organs, very painful for him,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins cleaned him, stabilized him, and, “I put a call into Dr. O’Leary, my daughter’s Orthodontist.”
“Dr. Jenkins called up and said we have a car who met a turtle and the turtle lost,” Orthodontist Dr. Kay O’Leary said.
Turns out, acrylic used for retainers also sticks to shells. “It took four of us to to hold the pieces, there were four pieces, to get the pieces all lined back up so we could actually apply some brackets to hold some wires to pull those pieces together,” O’Leary said.
It’s not the first time Dr. O’Leary has come to the rescue. The reason orthodontics work so well is they add stability and hold the shell together, which speeds up the healing process. They also allow the injury to breathe so bacteria can be washed out more easily.
In honor of the doctor who put him back together, the recovering tortoise now goes by the name O’Leary. Soon he’ll be set free, and eventually, O’Leary’s “braces” will fall off. “When you’re living right next to I-75, that’s not a good place for a tortoise, so we’ll find him a new place,” Jenkins said,
Next time he crosses the street, he might look both ways.
The Humane Society of the United States recommends that if you happen to see a turtle or tortoise crossing a road, gently pick him up and carry him across in the direction he was headed.
ESTERO, Fla. – Hundreds showed up for a N’awlins style feat at the Grape Restaurant to remember Hurricane Katrina and raise money for Gulf relief efforts.
Shrimp & crawfish covered the plates, and zydeco and cajun music filled the air at the Grape Restauant in Estero Sunday night.
The event fell on the 5th anniversary of hurricane Katrina, and helped raise money towards cleanup efforts on the Gulf coast.
“The Shrimp & Crawfish Boil is an event dedicated to the distressed areas of our beloved Gulf Coast,” said Joseph Sofia, owner of The Grape at Coconut Point.
“We are very excited to be able to donate funds to the rescue and restoration of the environment.”
Abita Beer, a Louisiana-based beer, recently established ‘SOS – A Charitable Fund’ and donated 75? of each SOS bottle sold to assist with the rescue and restoration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive the disastrous oil spill.
“I guess its just something you’ll never get over, i’ve visited the city a couple of times since then and unfortunately there still is a lot of devastation,” said Lisa Hatch, who grew up near New Orleans.
The event raised nearly $3,000.
A 2-year-old boy was found drowned in a lake at Daniels Preserve in Fort Myers on Saturday night, Lee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Schall reported on Sunday.
The Sheriff’s Office received a call of a missing 2-year old from the family’s home at 12159 Country Day Circle at about 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Schall said.
Deputies and neighbors began searching the neighborhood and the boy was found in the lake at about 9 p.m., he said.
The lake is about 30 yards behind the family’s home, Schall said.
“It appears to be a tragic accident. Some how the toddler was able to get out of the lanai,” he said.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate, Schall said.
The name of the boy was not immediately available, he said.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla.- It may be beautiful weather at the beach, but you may need to steer clear of the water in some areas this weekend.
The Charlotte County health department? is issuing a swimming advisory for a number of Southwest Florida beaches, after recent water samples revealed a dirty dilemma.
For James Williams and family, a vacation to enjoy Southwest Florida beaches isn’t quite panning out as planned. Swimming advisories are now in affect at a handful of Charlotte County beaches, thanks to unusually high levels of two different types of bacteria.
“It’s a shame for the kids, but if it happens, it happens,” Williams said Saturday.
The bacteria traces back to human and animal fecal matter. It’s washing up at beaches in Englewood, Palm Island, Port Charlotte and Boca Grande.
“I’ll go home and play with a hose before I get in there, you couldn’t pay me to get in there,” Williams said.
Health department officials say the surge in bacteria is likely linked to the recent heavy rainfall. Either way, many beach go-ers are being forced to take in the scene from a distance.
“I won’t even touch it, I won’t even walk my feet in there. I don’t want that stuff on me,” said Jeff Vincent, who was surprised by the signs during his visit to Port Charlotte beach on Saturday.
Still, some are ignoring the yellow warning signs lining the shore at Port Charlotte beach. They say they’re taking their chances, in an effort to cool off from the summer sun.
“Nine times out of ten, not everybody’s going to get sick from it. We just went in and had fun. Spent a few minutes in, few minutes out,” said Rllan Wood, who took to the water despite the warnings.
The health department says normally, Mother Nature clears up the problem within one to two weeks. In the meantime, some swimmers just learning of the advisory say they’re taking a break from the beach.
“That’s disgusting. Ok, I don’t think I’m going again then,” said Zach Davenport, after learning about the water sample results.
For a complete list of Charlotte County beach water conditions, visit this link:
http://esetappsdoh.doh.state.fl.us/irm00beachwater/beachresults.aspx?county=Charlotte
Health Department says stay out of the water at some Southwest Florida beaches
