STUART — John E. Pierson, owner of Toyota of Stuart, in court Monday was granted a temporary restraining order against his estranged wife Amy, after alleging that she’d abused their two young boys, including accusations of repeatedly striking their toddler son.

An emotional Amy Pierson, 37, who denied ever harming her children, left the courthouse in tears.

Following the contentious three-hour hearing, John Pierson, 55, immediately left court and later couldn’t be reached for comment.
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By Alexi Howk

FORT PIERCE — Holly, the dog dragged for nearly 2 miles behind a pickup truck in December, has a new home and a new playful brother.

A photo taken by the Humane Society of St. Lucie County shows Holly as she began to heal from her injuries from being dragged by a truck last December.

Nancy Fiorenza and Daniel Dunseath of Vero Beach adopted Holly, an 18-month-old pit bull/lab mix, late Wednesday from the Humane Society of St. Lucie County.

The couple had been looking for a playmate for their pit bull, Stealer, who they also adopted from the Humane Society on Valentine’s Day of last year.

“We had read about Holly’s situation in the newspaper and saw her on TV, but we figured she had already been adopted,” Fiorenza said. “We stopped in the shelter on Tuesday just to see who was there, and she happened to be there.”

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By Alexi Howk

Sara Matthews, veterinarian at the Humane Society of St. Lucie County, checks on Holly as shelter manager David Robertson, helps out at the Humane Society of St. Lucie County. Photo by Eric Hastert/TCPalm

FORT PIERCE — Holly, the dog dragged for nearly 2 miles behind a pickup truck in mid-December, now needs a happy home where no one will hurt her again, said David Robertson, operations manager at the St. Lucie County Humane Society.

After undergoing about seven weeks of extensive medical treatment at the Animal Hospital of West Port St. Lucie, Holly, an 18-month-old pit bull/lab mix finally is available for adoption.

Up until last week, Holly has been staying at the home of Robertson, whose 14-year-old daughter, Gillian, has been taking care of her. She will now be at the Humane Society on Savannah Road until she’s adopted, Robertson said.

“She’s great with people,” he said. “She’s a wonderful dog. Since she’s gotten better, she’s rediscovered her puppyhood. She bounces and plays all day. She loves to chase cats, in a playful way, and has quite an appetite for shoes.”

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STUART — Former popular Stuart musician “Jerry D” is smooth on his saxophone, but where wives are concerned, it could be a rocky ride as he battles a felony bigamy charge out of North Carolina.

Gerald Leon Doyle Jr., 48, who for a decade lived and performed music across the Treasure Coast until 2006, on Friday turned himself into the Moore County, N.C., Sheriff’s Office following a two-month bigamy investigation conducted by the Southern Pines Police Department. (more…)

OKEECHOBEE — A California petroleum company is acquiring an existing production facility in Okeechobee, creating new jobs while increasing the region’s presence in the biofuels market, the company announced in a news release Wednesday.

LS9, a South San Francisco company that bills itself as “the Renewable Petroleum Company,” said it anticipates 15 to 20 operations jobs will be created throughout a demonstration period.

The project also is expected to generate approximately 30-50 construction jobs over the six month retrofit period, as well as preserving job opportunities in the Okeechobee region through the company’s of use local suppliers and contractors.
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Norman seems to tell Evert to take a hike in September at the US Open tennis. The two were divorced last month.

The court papers in Monroe County cite a pre-nuptial agreement between the two, and a source said neither Norman nor Evert paid any money in alimony.

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Lured by its proximity to race tracks, a sports car racing team has opened up shop in Martin County.

Extreme Speed Motorsports, owned by veteran race car driver Scott Sharp, will run his team out of a building on Jack James Drive in Stuart.

The team will race a Ferrari 430 GTC in the American Le Mans series, which is a sports car racing series in the United States and Canada in which drivers participate in endurance and sprint races that last from 100 minutes to 12 hours. (more…)

Martin Memorial Health Systems opened a fitness center last week at the Port St. Lucie Community Center, replacing another in that location run by its rival, HCA Inc.

The center, which is located at 2195 S.E. Airoso Blvd, opened Thursday.

HCA, a national corporation with two hospitals in St. Lucie County, ran a fitness center in the city-owned building for years, but told city officials in November that it would be closed because of budget cuts. They reversed course after Martin Memorial made a pitch to move into the site.

The city council voted to accept Martin Memorial’s proposal. (more…)

At Stuart’s Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, doctors have seen first-hand the effects of a bad economy.

More patients. More repeat visits. The top two maladies treated at the nonprofit clinic are depression/anxiety and high-blood pressure. Diabetes is third.

“This year, we’ve just seen a lot more patients because of the economy,” said Tanya Spain, the clinic’s spokeswoman. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — St. Lucie Medical Center has received the highest designation for excellence in nursing from The American Nurses Credentialing Center.

The HCA Inc.-owned hospital is the first on the Treasure Coast to get the prestigious Magnet Designation and the 23rd in the state.

The ANCC, of Silver Spring, Md., gives the designation to health care organizations that demonstrate the highest quality in nursing practices and adherence to national standards. (more…)