Photos from July 16, 2006

  • Firecats head coach Kevin Bouis reacts after his team held the Albany Conquest offense on a fourth down conversion play during the second half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15.
  • Firecats receiver Ethenic Sands gives gives a football to the fans after a touchdown reception during the second half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15.
  • Firecats kick-returner Brittney Tellis, center, nearly returns a kick-off for a touchdown during the second half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15. Tellis was tackled five yards short of the end zone by Albany Conquest defender Pete McBride.
  • Albandy Conquest quarterback Ryan Vena, right, tries to get rid of the ball as he is sacked by Firecats linebacker Chris Morant during the first half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15. Vena was called down on the play.
  • Fans celebrate a touchdown by Firecats fullback Clenton Crossley, bottom-right, during the first half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15. The touchdown was called called off by a holding penalty on the Firecats.
  • Firecats fullback Clenton Crossley, center, tries to find a way around Albany Conquest defenders Pete McBride, left, and Jose Harris during the first half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15.
  • Albany Conquest kick-returner Kenneth Williams, center, is tackled near the endzone by Firecats defenders Cory Bailey and Alfred Peterson on a kick-off by the Firecats during the first half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15.
  • Firecats receiver Brent Burnside, left, battles with Albany Conquest defender Brandon Tinson following a reception by Burnside during the first half of their game at Germain Arena Saturday night, July 15. Tinson was called for a face-mask penalty on the play.
  • Firecats receiver Magic Benton tries to control a pass as he is hit into the wall by Albany Conquest defender Pete McBride during the first half of Saturday night’s game at Germain Arena. McBride was called for pass interference on the play, which ended with Benton flipping over the wall.
  • Snacks made from Black Sapote, also known as the chocolate pudding fruit, are served to summer camp children during a tour of a backyard orchard in North Naples.
  • Juvenile Black Sapote fruit hang from a tree in the backyard of Frank DeNardis in North Naples. The fruit, also known as the chocolate pudding fruit, is used in various foods and deserts because it’s chocolate-like taste.
  • Dulce Vasquez, left, laughs as she is put on the spot by Hollie Anno, camp coordinator for Naples Botanical Gardens, second from left, and gardener Tom Betts, right, about what she learned Wednesday at a backyard orchard in North Naples. Frank DeNardis, who owns the orchard and just has a love for fruit trees, donated money for this week’s camp, which is on the rainforest and the plants that grow there. He insisted that the kids come out to see the trees, some of which are grown in the rainforest.
  • Assistant director of heath education, Kim Walsh talks about the effects drugs have on brain cells to a group of participants of the Lee County Parks and Recreation summer camp program at Wa-Kehatchee Park.
  • Campers view photos depicting the effects drugs and alcohol have on the body during a presentation on the dangers of drugs at the Kleist Health Education Center on FGCU's campus in Estero.
  • Asian green mussels were found under the Naples Pier. 
  • Allie, an 8 week-old Catahoula leopard dog mix looks around the children’s reading room of Collier County headquarters library as Michael Ashley, 9, reads “Happy Birthday, Danny and the Dinosaur!” Saturday afternoon. The program brings in dogs from the Collier County Humane Society to help children who are shy about reading aloud in front of people.
  • Leslie Carr of Valdosta, Ga., grooms “Mango,” a 1-year-old smoke Persian cat, before she is taken to the judge’s stand to be judged during the Platinum Coast Cat Fanciers Association Championship and Household Pet Show held at the Lee Civic Center in Fort Myers on Saturday. Carr has attended the show before, considering it a local show. “Believe it or not, this is local, anything within an eight-hour drive,” Carr said.
  • Diane Connell laughes along with the children as she holds Pepsi, a teacup poodle Saturday morning at the annual Collier County sumer picnic for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization at Fleischmann Park in Naples.
  • From left, Chase Beasley 14, Vanessa Taylor 13, Garrison Daceus 12, Izaiya Williams 6, and Jerome Latyon 4, play video games after lunch was served Saturday morning at the annual Collier County sumer picnic for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization at Fleischmann Park in Naples.
  • “I love you more,” said Sharlyn Sanchez, 6, as she hugs her big sister Mary Ely on Saturday morning at the annual Collier County summer picnic for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization at Fleischmann Park in Naples.
  • Maddy Cusano, 12, tries to block a soccer ball during practice drills Friday morning at the Bonita Springs YMCA soccer camp. The Bonita Springs City Council fired the contractor, Bradanna, working on the YMCA soccer fields because the company was behind on the project. Bradanna has filed a breach of contract lawsuit, and the City Council has yet to hire a new contractor to finish the project.
  • Herbert Cojulun, left, of Fort Myers, enrolls his children, Herbert David Cojulun, 11, middle, and Irina Cojulun, 14, in Lee County schools for the first time with the assistance of student assignment specialist Yolanda Rodriguez at the central Parent Information Center in downtown Fort Myers on Friday.
  • This drawing represents Calusa influence over peninsular Florida during the tribe’s heyday. Calusa kings controlled all of Southwest Florida and sent warriors by canoe to tax other native societies as far away as Cape Canaveral, Miami and the Keys.
  • This conception of the Calusa king’s house on Mound Key is considered to be accurate. Although many Americans view native societies as sometimes crude and simple, the Calusa (like many native groups) were skilled architects and builders. They also developed a complex political system that influenced nearly all of Florida.
  • An artist’s rendering of Mound Key based on written descriptions by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. The Calusa were a highly-advanced society that built structures on Mound Key with a capacity of more than 2,000. The cross in the background is typical of Calusa markings and patterns found on clothing.
  • This photo was taken by members of the Marco Island Historical Society when the Key Marco Cat was on loan from the Smithsonian Institute in 1995. The sculpted cat is probably the most famous Calusa artifact. “It seems to have caught people’s fancy,” says Betsy Perdichizzi, a historical society member. “It’s something some people have actually seen in person. Most of the Calusa artifacts are in museums in (Washington) D.C. or Gainesville.”
  • This portrait of Mary “Grandma” Johnson was taken on Mound Key on an unknown date. Grandma Johnson was the matriarch of Mound Key, letting other families live on the island. She taught families how to fish and how to build houses that would survive Florida’s severe climate.
  • A photo taken March 27, 1909, on Mound Key shows Buck Fernandez and his wife, Alma, near their wooden shack. The Fernandez family moved to Mound Key from Portugal in 1898 after being robbed by a pirate on Fort Myers Beach. The family fished for decades before moving to Estero, where Tom Fernandez, Buck’s nephew, lives today.

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