English biker hitting road to visit 49 state capitals

Nick Gilroy, of England, has always wanted to visit the United States and see what 49 state capitals have to offer.

His dream recently became a reality when Gilroy e-mailed Gulf Coast Motorcycles of Fort Myers while in England and purchased a BMW motorcycle that he is currently riding on this way to Tennessee.

"He is a pretty adventurous guy and he picked us out of other dealers in Florida and ordered a specific bike for the trip," said Jeff Gallo, the sales manager at Gulf Coast Motorcycles who sold Gilroy the motorcycle. " It's a pretty strenuous trip to do all 49 states on the bike ... ."

Gilroy purchased the motorcycle over the phone and had the shop customize it to include heated hand grips, a GPS navigation system, anti-lock breaks and extra lighting. He also installed a sturdy, lockable luggage system that would keep his gear safe.

"We tailored it for him because he knew exactly what he needed ... Nick did a similar trip in Europe using a similar bike," Gallo said about the bike that was picked up in early February. "It cost him about $24,000 with everything he needed but he said it was worth it."

Gilroy himself was unavailable for comment as he rides through the country but is keeping a blog online at www.globalgilroy.com to give readers the exclusive on his adventure.

"So that's the first service done and now hot to trot for 6,000 miles ... maybe new (tires) at the same time. Should get me on the route east of California or there abouts-somewhere in that parish," said Gilroy in a Feb. 8 entry when leaving Fort Myers for Tallahassee. "... The journey just has to be done on a bike! The time is now right to do this trip and after a year of planning, 2008 is the year!"

Gilroy's trip is mapped on his website and according to his chart he's approximately on his way to Tennessee and Arkansa.

"He is zigzagging all over the place and it's cool to be involved in something special like this," Gallo said about the trip Gilroy decided to do after a conversation with a friend years ago.

In the process of his trip, Gilroy plans to raise money to support the United States Wounded Warrior Project and the United Kingdom's Help for Heroes.

"The wounded returning from Afghanistan and Iraq need our help for the remainder of their journey," Gilroy explained on his blog that includes links for contributions. "Remember that life is a journey, travel it well! "

Students donate hair for cause

The ponytails of students and teachers at Villas Elementary are on their way to changing the lives of cancer patients via the Locks of Love program.

Addy Jackson planned the Valentine's Day event in which students donated their ponytails to the organization that creates wigs for patients losing their hair and undergoing chemotherapy.

"My hair was very long and all the children commented on how much hair I had so I wanted to give it away," said Jackson, the school's media specialist.

"I've known a lot of people here who have relatives who have suffered from cancer and I thought that it was time to give my hair to people who don't have any."

Giving away the hair was easy for Jackson who after informing the school, got so many people interested that they asked local hair stylists to help with the event.

"Mostly we did a simple bob and they trimmed it after cutting the ponytails and we had a lot of help and support from everybody in the community," said Jackson, noting that each piece had to be at least 10 inches long.

"There were a lot of children that had long hair and we ended up with a nice collection of colors, shapes, and lengths."

Villas Elementary collected 31 ponytails and sent a box to Locks of Love with notes from each donor.

"My mother is a breast cancer survivor so anything that is involved with supporting cancer research and helping people that have cancer, I always like to help if I can," said Holly Beasley, a PTA member who helped Jackson organize the event and get the community involved.

"By having this event at the school, we help spread awareness of how easy it is for you to give back and all you are doing is getting your hair cut."

Spreading awareness about what it's like to have cancer and helping children relate and help led to a more successful event than the organizers expected.

"This is the school's first time and we want it to be a tradition and some children and teachers were disappointed that their hair was long enough," said Jackson, who has told everyone to grow their hair and prepare for next years event.

"This is good because you don't just throw away the hair, you can recycle it and give somebody hair that they can use."

Red Sox give time to area kids

Red Sox mascot "Wally" helps Red Sox fan Bobby Hurst get an autograph from Red Sox players like Jed Lowrie and Manny Delcarmen.

Major League baseball is the major sponsor of the Boys & Girls Clubs around the nation and recently the local Red Sox took some time to show Lee County children that they care.

Several team members including now-retired Dwight Evans and current manager Terry Francona joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County for the third annual "Evening with the Red Sox Dinner and Auction."

"This is a great opportunity to partner with the Red Sox and raise funds to help support our programs," said Greg Brock, a board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County and an organizer of the event. "There is such a big need in the community and (the money) will go straight to the kids."

Being able to better serve the children in Lee County prompted the club to host the dinner and auction in hopes of raising $60,000.

"All the money raised helps offset the kids' memberships and we only charge them $10 a year for our programs," said Bill Gunnin, a board member of the club. "We don't turn any kid away because of financial need and having the Red Sox help us with that is great."

Event attendees gathered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Bell Tower and spent an evening that included a visit from "Wally" the Red Sox mascot.

"It's always great to do something like this and the kids is what it's all about," said Evans, a retired Red Sox player who lives in south Fort Myers and helped the club organize the event."

A silent and live auction was held throughout the evening and more than 160 pieces were sold including jersey's, cards and trips.

Ninety percent of the night's proceeds were donated to the club that garnered $50,000 during last year's event.

"I wanted to do something where I could raise money for disadvantaged kids because that's God's work," said Rob Hurst, the club's board member and life-long Red Sox fan who approached the team with the idea for a dinner three years ago. "In season, we have a lot of people from the Boston area who come to visit for spring training."

"This is a great opportunity to partner with the Red Sox and raise funds to help support our programs. There is such a big need in the community and (the money) will go straight to the kids."

New system saves old sea walls

Paradise Docks crews work with owner Mike Kelly to install a DSMS system that saves sea walls using stainless steel rods and a plate that anchors the wall to the existing yard.

Saving sea walls on the back of people's waterfront homes is the new mission of Paradise Docks.

The company, which opened in 1985, is now focusing its efforts on informing the public about a new system that will save them money, their landscaping and the threat of having their backyards erode into the waterway.

"This will work down here because sea walls are getting older and the old system of tearing them out and replacing them is very expensive," said Mike Kelly, the owner of the company that is the only authorized dealer of the product.

The DSMS system was invented by Jim Timmerman, a Naples native who designed the product that uses stainless steel rods to anchor failing sea walls that would cost as much as $180,000 to replace.

"I can come and using this system, do the same thing for a fraction of replacing a sea wall that may just need some support," said Kelly, who offers free estimates and uses an underwater camera to film sea walls for an additional fee. "This system will also last a minimum of 50 years because there is no concrete that eventually breaks down."

A seawall that is crumbling, leaning or cracking has to be replaced because homeowners can be fined for polluting, have their backyards slowly leach into the waterway and have property value loss as well.

That's why Paradise Docks can come out to a home and install the DSMS system in a day depending on weather and the amount of rods needed.

"We have a 12-foot rod and a 16-foot rod. The price is slightly different but we make suggestions based on what is best for the client, not for us," said Kelly, who has been installing the new system for more than a year. "I'm always looking for innovative products that best serve my customer and this is it 100 percent."

The innovation in the system, Kelly said, is that it's simple for a work crew to install in as little as a day.

"Sometimes weather is hard on us but usually we hook up to the wall with our barge, set up a framing mechanism and drill through the concrete and install the rods," said Eric Kelly, who runs the barge that the company also uses to install dock pilings. "It's easy to do a few rods quickly and it's always up to what the homeowner wants."

Paradise Docks also installs docks, piers, boat lifts and floating ramps for commercial and residential projects.

"We can do the whole project and we know this system will work very well for many homes," Kelly said. "We get in their early and knock them out."

Drought keeping Gulf waters 'crisp,' 'beautiful'

This story was written on deadline for the metro section.

Sanibel and Captiva are experiencing the best water quality in 10 years on their beaches but area water officials are working to remind the public that it's Mother Nature's resilience that is currently keeping the water so clear.

The Purre Water Coalition of Fort Myers held its second annual Restore Our Water Forum on Sunday to inform the public about ongoing efforts to restore local ecosystems and deal with urban pollution.

"We are one storm away from the water woes of the past and we are here to say that we still need to be active and pay attention to water quality," said Sanibel Mayor Mick Denham to a crowd of more than 60 that gathered at the Sanibel Community House. "The water is crisp and beautiful but that's only because of the lack of water."

Paying attention to the quality of the water is especially important to Charles Dauray who was one of the six members of the panel assembled by Purre for the forum.

"As a generation - and I'm 65 ... we've been somewhat spoiled and considered water a right and privilege," said Dauray, the governing board member of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. "We have to now realize that our resource is limited and work to find solutions."

The complex issue elicits discussions about sewer, waste water and fertilizer run-off, said Denham, noting that the solutions will take time and effort.

"We realized that it was time to talk more than just about Lake Okeechobee and find solutions by getting these organizations to talk," said Mike Valiquette, the Purre chairman who organized the event. "We meet with them to see what money they need to complete projects and change things."