English Cafe’s popularity results in added classes

Ramiro Sandoval, 50, of Cape Coral listens while Edna Dachs, a volunteer at the Lakes Regional Library English Cafe, explains the concept of Halloween.

Anatoli Shpilevoi, 59, moved to the United States four months ago, but unless he attempts to speak English you wouldn’t know he is from Moldova in Eastern Europe.

He takes his time, speaking slowly and often conjugates English verb tenses aloud while trying to get his point across in conversations.

Shpilevoi is just one of a group of students who attends weekly sessions of the English Cafe at Lakes Regional Library in south Fort Myers.

“I speak very bad (English) but I will try better,” said Shpilevoi, who moved to south Fort Myers because his daughter lives in Naples. “I think learning English is hard but I just need more time.”

The library began offering the weekly Monday night sessions in August after discovering that students just needed a comfortable place to practice.

“People know they need to improve their skills so they can live here and gets jobs or just get along in the stores,” said Barb Coons, the Literacy coordinator for the Lee County Library System.

She runs all of the English Cafe programs and has seen its popularity rise.

“We aim to make people comfortable with using English they know and using it with people they see,” said Coons, about the program that has grown to include an additional three sessions at other libraries. “They can talk in small groups if they want also.”

Topics of conversations are usually based on what is on everyone’s mind or topics pulled from an envelope.

“Today, we took out a card and the topic was holidays,” said Janice Miller, the cafe’s teacher, adding that current events often infiltrate the conversations. “But we talk about anything really.”

Volunteer and English speaking native Edna Dachs said she has learned a lot about other cultures.

Students at the sessions have come from Mexico, Turkey, Croatia, Switzerland and Lithuania.

“It’s a light hearted environment and it hits home because everyone speaks English and don’t lapse back into their native language,” said Dachs, who explained the concept of Halloween to Shpilevoi, who had never heard of it. “We get a good cross section of people and it’s fun.”

Canine lovers eat at Clancey’s

Yves is a 5-year-old miniature poodle who has been diagnosed with juvenile cataracts and needs your help to get the costly operation.

Clancey’s Restaurant in south Fort Myers is giving patrons a chance to uncloud his sight and eventually find him a home.

“Anybody that comes in can ask for a cash register receipt and we will donate 10 percent to the organization,” said Bill Walker, the owner of Clancey’s, about the donation that will go to Pekes and Pals Canine Rescue, Inc. in Bonita Springs. “We adopted a dog and we do these fundraisers all the time.”

Pekes and Pals rescued Yves from an animal shelter in Miami where he was in line to be put down because of his condition.

“He is a sweet, loving little guy and is very affectionate but he needs surgery,” said Kelly Chasnov, a volunteer with Pekes and Pals. “Depending on the degree of the cataracts he could be almost blind but everything can get clear, and he will have much better vision.”

Chasnov said Yves, who currently has trouble moving around and is likely to bump into things, unless he gets surgery and is then adopted by a loving family.

“He is a great pet and very smart because he is a poodle,” said Chasnov adding that Yves is great with kids.

The surgery will cost approximately $2,800 but the rescue center is hoping an ophthamologist will help them with the surgery.

“We wanted to help them in this fashion because we had a good experience when we adopted our dog,” said Walker, about Seusette, a 11⁄2-year-old pomeranian mix who was also rescued from the streets of Miami. “We had Harley, our other dog, but she passed away, we think, from a buffo toad.”

That’s why they wanted to allow people to collect money for Yves and help her.

“We understand because we missed the pitter patter of little feet,” said Walker adding that all receipts must be taken to Pekes and Pals and they will be returned by the organization to him in exchange for a donation.

Bonita Beach cleanup bags 5 tons of garbage

Story ran as the lead centerpiece story for Local & State. It was written on deadline for the Sunday paper.


Rebecca Johnson, 29, of Fort Myers Modern Service for Home and Business cleans up Bonita Beach during the International Coastal Cleanup Day on Bonita Beach as beach goers read and sleep in their beach chairs.

Chuck Noonan, 51, volunteered to help clean up the Bonita Beach shoreline as part of a International Coastal Cleanup Day but he was hoping to find much more than trash on Saturday.

“I’m looking for treasure ... gold rings, jewelry,” said Noonan, of Fort Myers, while hunched over collecting aluminum shards.

Noonan didn’t find valuables but pitched in alongside more than 100 volunteers who collected plastic bottles, fishing line and cigarette butts.

“You do it to bring attention to the importance of cleaning up the beach and it makes Bonita a better community,” said Councilman Ben Nelson who sponsored the event after the Bonita Beach Improvement Association cancelled it in August.

“They just needed somebody to be here and semi-organize it,” said Nelson who got Buffalo Chips, Royal Scoop and Doc's Beach House to provide volunteers with food and snacks.

“I’m a boater and I’ve seen how bad the water has become in the last 10 years,” said Renee Byars, 38, who sits on the Keep Lee County Beautiful board that organizes cleanups and documents what is found. “Collecting the trash will keep the waterways clean and remind people to do their part.”

Last year, an estimated 5 tons of garbage and 300 pounds of recyclables were collected at the cleanup, according to Keep Lee County Beautiful. Final totals from Saturday weren’t available but organizers expected to do as well this year as last.

Elizabeth Lind, 18, is passionate about the environment and felt compelled to help.

“It will help the animals and people because some of the things I found can be dangerous,” said Lind, a sophomore at Florida Gulf Coast University who collected five pounds of trash including cans, an old T-shirt and socks. “Things that shouldn’t be here.”

Keeping the trash off the beach also is important for tourism and local beachgoers. “I can see a big difference and it’s great that they are helping clean up,” said Joanne Welsh, 60, of Bonita Beach while sunbathing and reading a book.

She has visited the beach a few times a week for four years. “We live here year round and it matters to everyone,” she said.

Since its inception 21 years ago, the coastal cleanup, which also includes Lovers Key State Park’s beaches, has become an annual event in the city.

Marge and Dave Ward began Bonita Beach's coastal cleanup in 1986 as a way to improve the somewhat neglected beach. Marge Ward handed over the volunteer project to the BBIA last year.

“This is fun ... we should come out here on our own and do it,” said cleanup volunteer Gale Rymarczuk, 26. “This really makes a difference.”

Cypress Lake students hope to make 'Made'

Anxious chatter filled the Cypress Lake High auditorium recently as students lined up for a spot on a popular MTV teen show.

The show, entitled “Made,” takes students and uses personal trainers or life coaches to boost their confidence and make them football players, dancers or dirt-bike riders.

“It’s taking kids that have dreamed of being something and haven’t been able to achieve it yet,” said Shannon Kanady, the school’s cheerleading coach and activities coordinator.

Kanady, who worked with MTV to coordinate the open casting, spent Tuesday afternoon keeping more than 50 students quiet while others talked to show producers.

“We are an arts school and we do a lot of art-related (programs) so it helps to have casting calls like this,” said Kanady, who made certain all students had their parents’ permission to be filmed.

Show hopefuls were interviewed on camera for 15 minutes about their goals, reasons for wanting to be on the show and how it would change their lives.

“I want to be a hip-hop dancer ... never really had the chance to do it or had someone to teach me,” said Kevin Gordon, 17, of Cape Coral.

The senior was in line for almost an hour before he was allowed to audition. “I can only do one type of dance ... and that’s it.”
Being made into a dancer, Gordon said, is his dream but he is still a little embarrassed to admit it to his fellow students.

“It’d be quite an experience and my brother would be shocked. He is obsessed with MTV,” said Gordon.

Jay Fager, 17, was also in line hoping to convince show producers that she just needed to become a saxophone player.

“I had a dream that whenever I watch jazz performance ... I’ve always had a desire to play,” said Fager, a senior, about finally having a shot at it.

Fager was “extremely nervous” and anxious while awaiting her turn to audition.

“It’s a little embarrassing. I didn’t think that they’d come to Cypress Lake High but it’d be cool to be on TV,” Fager said.

Producers from the MTV network were unavailable for comment but Kanady said four other schools in the state would have open castings as well.

“It will be three weeks to a month before we find out if one of our kids is chosen,” said Kanady about the show, which will take up to five months to produce, including shooting parts of a student’s day at the school and at home. “It’s a great opportunity for kids who wouldn’t normally try something and support them to achieve their goal.”

New medical offices abound

Medical specialists are in high demand in Bonita Springs and Estero and health-care professionals are doing all they can to get care to those who need it most.

The lack of chiropractors, arthritis specialists and pediatric oral surgeons is leading to an influx of medical practitioners opening offices throughout the area.

"I was in Cape Coral and ended up in Bonita Springs because of the new growth and the newness of the area," said Brian Olitsky, of Smile Design Studio. He moved to the area more than two years ago. "I could just tell from the growth ... and planning on this area to be a boom."

The boom Olitsky saw has continued over the years and so has his number of patients.

"I started from scratch ... and I now open four days a week, which is full time for us," said Olitsky about the office that was only open two days a week at the beginning.

Christopher Green saw a similar patient and area growth pattern when he moved to Estero from upstate New York.

"It was apparent that the area was growing and would continue ... being from upstate New York, you don't see things like that," said Green, of Chiropractic Care and Rehab Center. "I've seen a need for more providers for certain (insurance carriers)."

The need for health professionals has also spurred a growth in office spaces throughout the area.

At least, that's what Tiffany Luongo is seeing as she works to fill the medical offices on the north side of Corkscrew Road.

"We are starting to see a lot of specialists starting to fill in and I know that there is more needed," said Luongo, who is the sales and marketing director with Select Real Estate by Stephanie Miller.

"The Bonita Community Health Center, they were busting at the seams and it's obvious that there's need."

But the need will really be felt, said Orthodontist Maryann Kriger, as more and more doctors find office space and patients come out of the woodwork.

"I definitely feel like there are a lot of families moving in," said Kriger, of Kriger Orthodontics of Bonita Springs.

Kriger adds that dentists notice growth in an area because patients are more likely to see a dentist than a medical doctor.

"It was growing quite a bit before the drop in the real estate market, and although now it's slower, it's still growing," said Kriger who often has problems referring younger patients locally. "I think it's because Bonita is the unwanted stepchild in a sense ... it's not quite in Fort Myers and not quite in Naples."

That leaves areas such as Estero as well in shortages, she said.

Luckily, though, big retail shops are opening up and bringing more of everything to the area.

"Coconut Point Mall is doing a great job in terms of either bringing in new people because they open up shops ... or just people that are going (through the area) for the first time because there is a mall to go to," Kriger said.

But, the influx of seasonal residents doesn't do much in terms of the patient count.

"Although it's a transient area there is still a lot of full time residents," he said of his 500 patient practice. "This time of year a lot of people come out to see medical providers because its not season."

Luongo feels that part of the lack of specialists may be nothing more than just people waiting for the market to get better locally.

"The cautionary type of feeling in our area about seeing what happens before they move forward is going away," said Luongo who is seeing more and more of her office spaces being rented. "To spite the slow down, we have done really well and people are coming here anyway, so any practice can be successful."