Photos from January 11, 2006

  • Marco Island Outdoor Artists member Bob Nelson of Naples works on a watercolor as other members work in their own media during an outing at the Marco Island Inn and Suites on Wednesday afternoon. The group, consisting of more than 100 members, meets each Wednesday at various locations throughout the county to document the region. The group is designed to help promote the arts in the community, according to group organizer Phyllis Pransky.
  • Lt. Bill Rule, top left, of the Victim Services Bureau of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, talks with Liri Elezi (far right) as her daughter, Regina, comforts her at the scene of an accident Wednesday morning that injured Andres Rivera, 2. The boy was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital after the accident at 11 a.m. at Santa Barbara Boulevard and 16th Street Southwest in Golden Gate, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Troopers say Christopher Carroll, 20, was making a left turn into the eastbound lane of 16th Street when the rear right door of his car opened and the child was thrown from the car. A car driven by Liri Elezi, 56, of Golden Gate, stopped suddenly to avoid hitting the child and Elezi’s Dodge Neon struck the rear of Carroll’s car. The boy was not in a child restraint seat and Carroll was cited for that infraction.
  • Marvie Runeberg shouts a final countdown before finishing her workout at a low-impact aerobics class at the Karl J. Drews Center in San Carlos Park on Wednesday morning. Because the center will be closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day next week, the class, which normally is held at the center on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m., will be held at Gold’s Gym in Fort Myers on Monday.
  • An eagle flies to a nest located in conservation easement land for the state of Florida next to a new home in Audubon Country Club in Collier County on Wednesday. According to Colin Flinn, vice president of Audubon Joint Venture, the developer of Audubon Country Club and largest landholder there, the pair of birds has been building nests in the club for 16 years and started building this new nest on Oct. 25, 2005, right after Hurricane Wilma hit the area. He thinks eggs were laid a couple of weeks ago and it is possible that they already have hatched.
  • The Andrews' next door neighbor, Dean Harris, talks about his reaction to the announcement of an arrest for the double homicide in the Cypress Pointe neighborhood of Gateway in south Fort Myers on Wednesday. The Andrews house is seen at left.
  • Two candles burn in memorial for the Andrews on their front steps at 12221 Eagle Pointe Circle following the announcement of an arrest for the double homicide in the Cypress Pointe neighborhood of Gateway in South Fort Myers on Wednesday.
  • Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott declines to make additional comments after holding a press conference Wednesday at the Lee County Sheriff’s Stockade to announce an arrest for the double homicide in the Cypress Pointe neighborhood of Gateway in south Fort Myers.
  • Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott holds a press conference Wednesday at the Lee County Sheriff’s Stockade to announce an arrest for the double homicide in the Cypress Pointe neighborhood of Gateway in south Fort Myers.
  • In this 1964 photo, Doris Reynolds, right, is seated with Ben Parks and Peg Bradley, who worked with her on a library funding campaign.
  • Longtime Naples resident Doris Reynolds stands in front of Palm Cottage, a Naples landmark built in 1895. Reynolds is a local author, journalist and unofficial historian of Naples who will be presenting a lecture series called 'A Walk Down Memory Lane with Doris Reynolds,' beginning Jan. 18.
  • Greg Bearden, center, the Freedom Boat Club director of sales, talks with John Strattos, left, and Kiki Anderson, both of Marco Island, about benefits of being a member of the boat club. Cedar Bay Marina on Marco Island hosted an open house for the club Wednesday.
  • Fort Myers couple Steven and Michelle Andrews, both 28, were found dead in their Gateway home in December 2005.
  • Fred Cooper, 27, of Bonita Springs
  • <strong>Sylwia Kapuscinski</strong> — One of the most memorable acts of love I experienced this year was while shooting the Toughman Contest at TECO Arena in Estero. Susan Lindenmuth of Punta Gorda gives a massage to her husband Chris in the locker room before his first fight ever as Alex Murray of Naples, left, wraps his fists in athletic tape. Although Lindenmuth did not approve of her husband's decision to fight and was terrified and shaking while her husband was getting punched in the face, she still came to support him. 'He's a gentle giant. It's a side of him I've never seen before,' she said.
  • <strong>Romain Blanquart</strong> — Alexis Bracken, 3, of Lehigh Acres, almost looks out of place on the steps of the old Lee County Courthouse in Fort Myers, holding a sign made by her grandfather that reads 'I'm not a cry baby Mr. Gore, why are you?' during a Republican rally of support for presidential candidate George W. Bush on Dec. 2.
  • <strong>Lisa Krantz</strong> — As the sun rises on the first day of the year 2000, Chris Intagliata of Orange, Calif., stays up with thousands of Phish fans to watch the band play its last few songs, concluding an all-night jam session that began at midnight on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. Photographing the Phish festival was one of the best times I have had while working here. I wandered the grounds for hours photographing and talking to people of all ages from all over the country. Live music was everywhere, from Phish's five concerts to drum circles with a hundred people beating drums in a rhythm all their own, created from the collective unending beat of hands.
  • <strong>Donn Brown</strong> — This photo was not what I had envisioned when I was assigned to photograph a new shopping center being built in North Naples. I had expected to see dump trucks and bulldozers, but when I spied a man walking on roof beams with steel supports swinging back and forth, I composed the shot, and right on cue, a flock of black birds flew in behind him.
  • <strong>Matthew Ratajczak</strong> — This photograph was taken on the Fourth of July at Residents Beach on Marco Island. I was looking for a different way to show how the community was celebrating, as well as make an interesting visual statement about the meaning of the holiday. I like this photograph because for me, the flag blowing in the wind and the young boy running on the beach symbolize the freedom and independence that we enjoy and often take for granted in this country.
  • <strong>Cameron Gillie</strong> — During a time-out at the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers game fans poke fun at the legal battle waged between the presidential candidates. Most Florida residents continued on with life normally as these two did, concerning themselves with the numbers on the scoreboard more than the ballots being counted.
  • <strong>Erik Kellar</strong> — This photo of the bus drivers' contract negotiation in September is the best news photo I shot in 2000. The photo illustrates the exhausting task of fighting for what you believe in. Being a native of the area and having gone through school here, I had the same bus driver for years — Mrs. Wright. On my first bus ride, coming home from kindergarten, I did not get off the bus right away. My grandmother, who was waiting at the bus stop, boarded the bus and, with the help of Mrs. Wright, my grandmother found a scared little boy. From that day forward and all through kindergarten, she would drop me off in front of my house. This photo of a bus driver, the protector of our children from school to home, is my favorite.
  • <strong>Michel Fortier</strong> — One of the joys of being a photojournalist at a daily paper is shooting big community events year in and year out. But there is no rewind button. If we miss a particular photograph, it's gone. Annual events, however, give you a second chance to get it right. This can also be a curse, however, as I always try to outdo the previous year's photograph. This image was taken near the end of the show. I had been struggling to come up with something different, a tough thing to do at a fireworks show. Unusually low tides surrounding the pier presented what I felt was a unique opportunity as spectators waded 100 yards out into the knee-deep water. Combine the exploding spectacle of the fireworks, the lights from the pier, shimmering water and a long time exposure, and you have a photograph that would be hard to duplicate anywhere else. It's uniquely Naples, and that's the reason this is my favorite photo from 2000.
  • Juan Gomez of GGHS competes faces off against a Gulf Coast opponent, Dec. 15, at the Titan gymnasium.
  • Joe Consolino, Golden Gate Boy’s Basketball
  • Collier County Library Director Marilyn Matthes stands next to a preliminary floor plan for the new 30,000-square-foot South Regional Library slated for completion in 2008.
  • Christiana Chiang is joined by her daughter, Jean, at the new Charlie Chiang’s restaurant adjacent to the Doubletree Guest Suites.
  • A newly hatched Monarch butterfly is assisted by Zebra butterflies in drying its wings after emerging from its chrysalis at the Naples Botanical Gardens.
  • Pedro Vasquez, like many other Marco Island residents, addressed the City Council about whether the city should continue a plan to replace septic tanks with sewers. Many Islanders spoke against a referendum because they felt they did not have enough information to cast a sound vote.
  • Lauren Embree shows her unusual trophies for placing second in singles and first in doubles competition at the USTA National Winter Championship in Phoenix. Arizona. In keeping with tradition of the Southwest, winning players received Patang Kachina trophies representing the chief of the Pumpkin Clan, the most moral and ethical of the Kachinas.
  • Marine Cpl. Andres Lazo, 27, is an intelligence and imaging analyst stationed in Iraq.
  • Tommie Barfield Elementary teachers Melinda Fregeau, left, and Deborah Lambert go over writing lessons for their pupils Jan. 6 during a teacher in-service day. The children returned to school Jan. 9 after their holiday break, which began Dec. 22.
  • George Abounader, left, and George Majdalani, members of the Marco Island Rotary, laugh during a conversation at the annual joint social event Jan. 6 between the Marco Island Rotary and the Marco Island Sunrise Rotary at the Hideaway Beach Club.
  • Rose Majdalani, left, of Marco Island, and Betty Storie, a seasonal Marco resident, talk during the joint Rotary social event at the Hideaway Beach Club. The husbands of both women are members of the Marco Island Rotary.
  • Musician Wakay of Nashville, Tenn., plays a tribal flute for Marco Islanders on Jan. 6 during an arts and crafts festival at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Wakay, a member of the Inkae tribe who has been playing native instruments for six years, was selling his music on CDs.
  • Craft designer Ron Strickland of Panama City Beach straightens his copper art Jan. 6 during an arts and crafts festival at St. Mark's Episcopal Church.
  • An artist’s rendering of the Casa Marina condominium hotel being built on San Marco Road next to the Goodland Bridge.
  • Michael LaGrand with Kay Stinchcomb at her home at Christmas. The Stinchcombs treated LaGrand as one of the family. He lived with them for most of the past two years. LaGrand committed suicide following a high-speed police chase.
  • Michael LaGrand wrote his reflections in a notebook on spending Christmas with the Stinchcombs before his death.
  • Michael LaGrand wrote his feelings about sharing Christmas with Tim Stinchcomb. LaGrand lived with Tim and Kay Stinchcomb and family before his death.
  • This is one of Michael LaGrand's last writings in a private notebook he kept under his pillow where he was staying with the Stinchcomb family before his death.
  • The Shops of Olde Marco complex is flanked by a five-story wing of the Olde Marco Island Inn & Suites.
  • Lois Zehnder enjoys a breakfast bite and some winter sunshine in the courtyard of the Shops of Olde Marco.
  • Lauren Feinman, left, and Roxanne Shadrick are helpers at The Chefs' Express, one of the businesses at the Shops of Olde Marco. Steve Hackman and Ed Cleland hope to bolster the complex, which they bought from Pat and Marcy Kruchten, by luring business professionals rather than retail stores.
  • Jack Nortman, left, and Murray Hendel, middle, co-presidents of the Southwest Florida Holocaust Museum in Naples, look around in one of the rooms at the museum while they give Aaron Sagui, Consul for Political Affairs for the Consulate General of Israel, a tour. Sagui came to Naples to speak to a group about Israel and to visit the museum on Tuesday.
  • A firefighter from Golden Gate Fire and Rescue fights a fire in a home at the corner of 21st Avenue Southwest and 39th Street Southwest in Golden Gate Estates on Tuesday. A neighbor called the fire in at 2:54 p.m., and about two dozen fire personnel from Golden Gate Fire and Rescue and backup from the East Naples Fire Department put out the blaze. The fire started in a bedroom but its cause is unknown.
  • Angel Kornuc looks over seating arrangements during a music rehearsal inside the auditorium at Estero High School on Tuesday afternoon. Kornuc is directing and choreographing the play “Guys and Dolls,” which will be performed by students March 30-31 at 7 p.m. in Estero High School’s auditorium.
  • Florida Gulf Coast University's Marcus Watts goes for a tip-in against Lynn University's Danny Ryan in the first half of their game at Alico Arena Tuesday night.
  • Leon Woodstock of the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles puts up a shot over Sheldon Edwards of the Lynn University Fighting Knights in the first half.
  • Langston Anderson of the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles blocks the shot of Sheldon Edwards of the Lynn University Fighting Knights in the first half.
  • Brendan Rooney of the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles looks to pass around Sheldon Edwards of the Lynn University Fighting Knights in the first half.
  • FGCU sophomore Casey Wohlleb tries to put back a rebound against Lynn University defenders Hans Schur, left, and Marcus Hayes during the first half Tuesday night at Alico Arena
  • Stephen Havens, 4, of Marco Island, looks towards his father, Lt. Eric Havens, with Collier County EMS, during the Phoenix Awards at the Collier County Government Center on Tuesday. Havens and about 29 others from the Sheriff's Office, area fire departments, and Collier County EMS were recognized for resuscitating patients in full cardiac arrest during the awards ceremony.
  • Eddie Kiernan, 2, rides down a slide at the park outside the Bonita Springs Recreation Center on Tuesday morning. The city recently ruled that it is too expensive to purchase the land needed to build enough parks and recreation facilities. The council is trying to come up with ways to build small parks in the area.
  • Kenya, a female African lion, gets a piece of meat from keeper Heidi Hauch during a 'meet the keeper' show at the Naples Zoo on November 18.

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