Bonita school coated for compassion

Students at Bonita Springs Elementary can take pride in their school portables thanks in part to the Bonita Partnership for Compassion.

The group assembled a team of volunteers who spent two days painting the four auxiliary buildings that house the adult education programs, after-school care and other elective classes.

The project was the first for the partnership since its inception in February.

“We wanted to have an impact on the community, and we believe that this project would help us help a lot of people,” said Sam Hernandez, 30, of Naples.

Hernandez is a community ministry pastor for Summit Church and helped organize the volunteers needed for the project. “We believe that if as a church, we stay within the four walls of the building, we wouldn’t be doing what we should be doing.”

But the volunteers didn’t stay anywhere near their church in Naples. They drove up to the school and started taping off, priming and painting the buildings before 8 a.m.

Student volunteers from FGCU and local churches also came out to help.

“We had to get here early because there is a lot to do,” said the organizer’s elder father, Sam Hernandez, 52.

He has been a painter by profession for the last 18 years and spent much of the morning mixing the paint and showing the volunteers how to use a paint gun.

“I’m excited because I’ll get to learn something new,” said Megan Weems, 24, a student volunteer from FGCU. “I’ve never done a project with painting, but it’s exciting to have a new experience.”

The Bonita Partnership for Compassion is a coalition of agencies and nonprofit organizations that “want to continue to make Bonita Springs a compassionate and caring community,” said Linda Fahnestock, director of the Bonita Partnership for Compassion.

Fahnestock was made aware of the need for painting the buildings at the elementary by the city Assistance Office who helps coordinate donors and needy recipients.

“There was a lot of interest in this project from the community so we got in and saw the opportunity to involve the university students,” she said.

A fall festival is planned at the school for Oct. 20 and the Parent Teacher Organization, which also helped support the project, wanted the buildings painted before then.

“I heard they got everything done but the trim … it will get done,” Fahnestock said.

Big Al's building sold but not going anywhere

The Big Al’s Restaurant building on U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs has been sold but the restaurant isn’t going anywhere.

Investor Joseph Boulos bought the 7,043-square-foot restaurant for $3,675,000 from Big Al’s parent company, Mel’s Diner.

Owners are hoping to take their all-American food menu, which features wings, sandwiches and burgers, into other areas such as Naples and as far north as Sarasota.

Mel’s Diner owners say they recently completed a sale leaseback in which the Big Al’s restaurant building was sold to an investor in order to free up money to expand the business.

“The Big Al’s concept is going to grow. It has been very successful so we are opening a story in Sarasota and looking for a potential location in Naples,” said Stephen Karakosta, the president of Creative Restaurant Concepts, which owns the Mel’s Diner and Big Al’s.

But Bonitans who are as passionate about Big Al’s food as the sports memorabilia hanging on the restaurant’s walls won’t have to find a new place to enjoy sports and a good beer.

Owners say the sale of the building won’t change anything about the restaurant that has been in Bonita Springs for more than three years.

“Big Al’s isn’t going anywhere. Nothing will change expect for the name on the lease,” said David Stevens, the broker who negotiated the transaction.

The transaction is a win-win situation for everyone involved, Stevens said.

“This gives Boulos another option to have investment property in the area and Mel’s Diner and Big Al’s get a chance to put the money back into the business.”

Oktoberfest celebrated at Spring Creek Elemenatary

Children at Spring Creek Elementary got a taste of German culture recently during the school’s Oktoberfest — a three day celebration in which kids learn about the culture, food and customs of Germany.

As part of the celebration, Lynn Gratton, the multicultural teacher at the school, dressed up in authentic lederhosen and a green hat with a feather.

“I created this character Monika based on a close friend that I have in Germany. The kids don’t know it’s me but they have a lot of fun anyway,” said Gratton, who put on her fifth Oktoberfest this year.

During the celebration children are served typical German foods such as sausages, pretzels with mustard and apple strudel.
“We want them to get that feel for how different other people live from us (in the United States),” she said. “The way we live is not the way the rest of the world lives and (the children) need to know that different cultures contribute to that.”

Gratton puts together the festival as part of the fifth grade curriculum that focuses on Asian and European studies.
They begin learning about southern Germany and later expand into other parts of Europe and important events throughout the course of history.

“I show them a piece of the Berlin wall, the difference between the two sides and they do some role playing too,” Gratton said. “I try to immerse them as much as I can in the culture.”

Oktoberfest is a German tradition that is celebrated every year between September and October to celebrate the love between a Bavarian prince and a princess.

Because the prince had a love of horses and his wife-to-be held a large party and horse race, the festival now attracts millions of visitors to Munich, Germany.

“We are very global now a days and we need to learn how to appreciate each other,” Gratton said. “I believe children can learn if they are motivated, entertained and given a chance to immerse themselves in culture.”