Our South West Florida Summers are renown for their heat and humidity.  Growing up, during Summer our gardening efforts ceased except for a few tomatoes and heat loving okra (I love okra pickles.)  Today I liken going outside on a hot summer day to “opening the oven door.”   But I also know that even before Summer truly arrives, the sky tells me what is on the way by showing me the constellations and their bright stars overhead and there is a point in the dead of Summer that I can go outside, early before sunrise, and greet the assurance of the coming Winter constellations and attendant bright stars such as Sirius. (more…)

Are you registered to vote yet?

No problem if you live in Lehigh Acres because you can stop by the front of Winn-Dixie on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. That’s right the word today from Mohamed Yasin, a member of FEVRR, otherwise known as Foundational Education for Voters’ Rights and Responsibilities.

Yasin noted that over the past several months, FEVRR has helped to sign up 1,670 Lehigh residents so they can vote at the polls.

Yasin said Doug Patterson, another member of FEVRR, will be in front of Winn-Dixie on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon to sign up new voters. FEVRR is making plans to have members at other sites in Lehigh, Yasin said. (more…)

By John  Fry
Special to the Gazette
On Saturday July 7, 2012, the Seminole Casino Immokalee will host the King of Casino Mixed Martial Arts event. Doors open at 7pm. The event starts at 8pm.

Lehigh Acres’ Joel Bayon takes on Fort Meyers’ Shawn Fields at the ‘King of the Casino’ mixed martial arts match
in Immokalee July 7.

Lehigh Acres local gym Pitt’s Pen ‘s Joel Bayon  will take on Shawn “Lights Out” Fields of Fort Myers Fight Zone.

The Seminole Casino of Immokalee has been hosting Mixed Martial Arts events for the past two years. Bayon is an instructor at Pitt’s Pen located at The Gunnery Road Plaza on Gunnery Road in Lehigh Acres. He owns a fight record of 6-2. Fields has a record of 3-3. Bayon is the current King of the Casino champion, with Fields the opponent.

Mark Shopp, the owner/operator of Pitt’s Pen in Lehigh Acres, was in the first legally sanctioned Mixed Martial Arts Fight in the United States back in February 2000 at Atlantic City, New Jersey, which is still one of the biggest Mixed Martial Arts events on the East Coast.

For ticket and additional information, contact the Seminole Casino Immokalee’s Casino Event Pavilion at 1-800-218-0007. The Seminole Casino Immokalee is located at 506 South First Street, Immokalee, Fla.

Irmgard Frohmann, 92, of Lehigh Acres Florida passed away on Friday, June 29, 2012.

She was born on December 10, 1919 in Germany. She was the daughter of Paul and Gertrude (Jacobe) Krause.

Funeral plans are private.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Anderson-Patterson Cremation and Funeral Services, 2701 Lee Boulevard, Lehigh Acres, Florida 33971, (239) 368-7080.

Dorthea Lois Doehring, 83, of Lehigh Acres Florida passed away on Friday, June 29, 2012.

She was born on April 8, 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Evar E. and Lois A. (Hill) Thorsell.

Funeral Arrangements are private. Interment will take place at Whitehaven Memorial Park in Mayfield Village, Ohio at the convenience of the family.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Anderson-Patterson Cremation and Funeral Services, 2701 Lee Boulevard, Lehigh Acres, Florida 33971, (239) 368-7080.

Danny Stephenson

The Danny Ray Stephenson Memorial Service will begin at 11 am  Saturday, June 30, 2012 at Veteran’s Park in Lehigh Acres. It will also serve as a day-long fundraising event that ends at 7pm.

Steve Clayton, fellow Golden Road band mate, will be officiating the service. It will be outside at the main stage. Tents and chairs will be set up. People will be given the opportunity to share  stories and pay tributes during this service, as well as throughout the day.

Immediately following the Memorial Service, there will be a celebration of Stephenson’s Life Benefit, with food, games for the kids, games for the adults, and, of course, live music – all starting around noon.

This fund raising event is a tribute to Stephenson. The family is trying to get a somewhat accurate count as to how many people are attending, just to make sure there is plenty of food, so readers of this article are encouraged to comment about  how many people you expect to be attending  using this Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/448943941797172/

As I was reflecting on the upcoming 4^th of July Holiday I began to think about what it means to be free. There are so many freedoms that we take for granted every day; The right to free speech, the right to worship as we choose, the right to bear arms and protect our families and homes,  the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. These are all “unalienable rights” that most people in other countries are deprived of. God given privileges that many have, and would, risk their lives in order to obtain.

With that being said, why are so many willing to surrender these rights? In fact, where do our rights come from? The Government, business, or world religions?

Let’s see…The Declaration of Independence says,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

According to our founding Fathers, these “rights” come from our Creator. And if these rights come from our Creator, then no man, or established Government, has a “right” to take them away. In fact, according to the Declaration of Independence, “to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men,                                                                                                                    deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

This document, along with the faith of our founding fathers, was the foundation of our Constitution. President John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (more…)

Researchers have studied pool pump energy use and found that it is the second largest user of electricity for the typical home, averaging 4,200 kWh of electricity each year. Pool pumps can amount to $1 or more a day based on current electricity rates in Southwest Florida.

• LCEC recommends setting your thermostat no higher than 84 degrees, which uses approximately six to eight kW per hour of run time. Each degree higher adds about 8-12 percent of your energy costs. You can also cut costs by lowering the thermostat to 70 degrees when the pool will be unused for three or four days. Less energy is utilized to reheat a pool for a weekend or special occasion than to maintain a constant temperature all week. (more…)

Mikki Marbra

Mikki Marbra said she may just have found a new calling in the world of film. She said she started her first career as a television news reporter but it was not for her.

Marbra is a Riverdale High School graduate and is  promoting her feature film debut in “Truly Everlasting,” which was just released by Warner Bros. on DVD.

In “Truly Everlasting,” Marbra plays the lead female role. The story, a film adaptation of a romance novel by Brenda Jackson, follows the character Felicia, played by Marbra, who finds loves in the arms of best friend Trask, played by Kenny Rogers. The couple is brought together through a Christmas wish from Felicia’s son Austin, who is portrayed in the film by Marbra’s real son Makhi.

The film was shot totally in Jacksonville.

Shortly after the film’s video release, Marbra’s mother, Lillian Johnson, found a copy in the Lehigh Acres Walmart. She took photos immediately and emailed them to Makhi, the actress recalled.

Johnson said she has been boasting about her daughter’s success ever since. “You don’t hear enough about the folks who make it from here,” Johnson said. “You always hear a lot of negative stories come from Riverdale, but a lot of good things have come from people in Lehigh.”

Click on the more button to see preview of movie.

(more…)

CLASAC members looking over Lehigh Spring

CLASAC members meet at Lehigh Spring Thursday and walked the property and had discussions with the landowner. Through it was open to the public only other stakeholders attended. The next CLASAC meetings that will discuss Lehigh Spring will be 3 p.m. on September 4 and 5:30p.m. on September 12.

Dock – File Photo

In an effort to improve service levels, East County Water Control District (ECWCD) has been conducting a review of the docks, decks and piers on district-owned lands since March. This review is part of the district’s ongoing efforts to ensure safe, efficient operation and maintenance of its system.

On Monday, June 18, 2012,the District Board of Commissioners approved a list of decks/docks/piers for immediate removal and charged ECWCD staff with the task to remove the identified structures by Thursday, July 19, 2012. (more…)

by Debra J. Mitchell – United States Postal Service
Special to the Gazette

Mail a Smile Forever Stamps

First-class forever Mail a Smile stamps are available in a sheet of 20 stamps.  They feature popular Disney-Pixar characters and are a sequel to the Send a Hello forever stamps issued in 2011.  125 million stamps have been printed.  The stamps feature:

• Flik and Dot from “A Bug’s Life” (1998)
• Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) and Dashiell “Dash” Parr from “The Incredibles” (2004), with “Dash” also shown running in the background
• Nemo and Squirt from “Finding Nemo” (2003)
• Woody, Bullseye and Jessie from “Toy Story 2” (1999)
• Boo, Mike Wazowski and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan from “Monsters, Inc.” (2001)

These stamps lift spirits and touch hearts and remind us that technology is no match for the mail when it comes to connecting with loved ones.

The Disney•Pixar Forever stamps appear on Facebook and Twitter @USPSstamps. The stamps also are available for viewing at Beyond the Perf, the Postal Service’s online site for background information on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.