VERO BEACH — An autopsy is scheduled Friday for a 5-month old male infant found dead inside a hot SUV Thursday evening, said Vero Beach Police spokesman John Morrison.

Gannon Werking died Thursday after his mother Stephanie Werking of Sebastian left him inside a parked vehicle, according to a police department news release.

About 5 p.m. Thursday, a passerby called 911 when he saw a woman “screaming hysterically” in the parking lot of First United Bank at 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard, Morrison said.

“The child was obviously deceased at the scene,” he said, adding the cardiopulmonary resuscitation was not performed on the infant. (more…)

FELLSMERE — A 1-year-old boy will be buried Friday as authorities continue the investigation into his death.

Family members found Aiden Alvarado unconscious inside a sports utility vehicle parked in the 100 block of Oak Street about 5 p.m. Saturday, Indian River County Sheriff’s Sgt. Thom Raulen said Thursday. Paramedics from Indian River County Fire Rescue arrived and declared the boy was dead, Raulen said. Family members told investigators the boy was in a car for at least a couple of hours.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office said heat was a prime factor in the boy’s death, Raulen said. Saturday’s high temperature reached 86 degrees in Vero Beach. (more…)

More than three years after Hurricane Wilma tore the roof off Island Water Sports’ building in downtown Jensen Beach, the 27-year-old surf shop is finally celebrating its reopening.

The owners are restocking kayaks, surfboards and skim boards — and slowly watching their customers return to their old location on the shore of the Indian River Lagoon.

“It was very hard,” said co-owner Chris Cea. “We lost a lot of the following.”

In the years since Wilma struck in October 2005, the business has operated out of four different locations.

The moves drained the resources of the owners, who didn’t get any assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Small Business Administration, said Kristen Nielander, who co-owns the shop with Cea and her husband, Ted.

“We got turned down completely,” Kristen said. (more…)

INDIANTOWN — Wildfires had consumed more than 2,000 acres in Martin County by Tuesday morning, and firefighters were working to contain the fires that were burning for a third day, officials said.

There were as many as 10 fires that firefighters had to contend with late Monday and overnight, according to Melissa Yunas, spokeswoman for the state Division of Forestry.

Three single-engine air tankers were called in late Monday to battle the main fire that threatened the Indianwood mobile home community, according to Melissa Yunas, spokeswoman for the state Division of Forestry.
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By JASON SCHULTZ

INDIANTOWN— Fires that broke out near Indiantown in western Martin County over the weekend continued to burn last night and have charred more than 1,400 acres while crews tackled another large fire near Palm City, according to fire officials.

Residents from the Indianwood Mobile Home Park were evacuated and the American Red Cross has opened its shelter on Kanner Highway in Stuart for fire evacuees, according to a Martin County press release last night.

Three of the four brush fires that burned hundreds of acres near Indiantown, closed roads and prompted authorities to cut power in the Treasure Coast Sunday continued to burn overnight.

Two flare-ups occurred this afternoon.

The one between the Booker Park fire and the Lincoln Park fire was about 3 acres, said Melissa Yunas, a wildfire specialist with the state Division of Forestry.

The second flare-up, near the Indian Trail fire, jumped over a canal and headed toward three homes in the Little Ranch Estates neighborhood.

Firefighters took up positions around the homes.

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Before you turn on that sprinkler, check the time, check the date and check over your shoulder.

The water management districts covering the Treasure Coast are revving up efforts to catch illegal lawn waterers.

But they’re going at it in different ways:

The South Florida Water Management District, which includes Martin and St. Lucie counties, is relying on local governments for enforcement. The St. Johns River Water Management District, which includes Indian River County, plans to hire private contractors.

At a workshop Thursday, officials with the South Florida district, gave a pep talk to local law enforcement officials charged with enforcing watering restrictions. Representatives from the Stuart and Port St. Lucie Police departments, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and the Jupiter Island Public Safety Office attended. (more…)

Martin County firefighters have spent more than a dozen hours battling a mulch fire that sparked west of Hobe Sound last night.

The fire has been contained to an area of about 1 1/2 acres off Bridge Road and Powerline Avenue, Martin County Fire Rescue spokesman Jon Belding said this morning.

Now crews are working with the Martin County engineering and solid waste departments to haul in heavy equipment to separate unburned tree branches from burning material, Belding said.

Firefighters were called at about 8:30 p.m., Belding said. What sparked the blaze is unknown.

The blaze is located on a roughly 40-acre parcel recently acquired by the county, Belding said.

The National Weather Service has canceled a tornado warning for the cities of Okeechobee, Fort Pierce Inlet, White City, the Port St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, Indrio and Walton.

The warning was extended to 2:45 p.m. but cancelled shortly before 2:30, according to the National Weather Service.

Severe thunderstorms barreling through the area at about 35 mph were creating the potential for tornadoes as well as coin-sized hail and straight-line winds, according to forecasters in the Melbourne office which oversees the Treasure Coast.

FORT PIERCE – The fifth anniversary of Zora Fest this year, “Zora Fest! Dust Tracks in Florida,” features some new ventures in recognizing the literary achievements of the late author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston.

The festival kicks off on Tuesday with a “Rent” party and re-dedication of the Hurston grave site at the Garden of Heavenly Rest Cemetery at 17th Street and Avenue S in Fort Pierce. The event is at 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. In the tradition of the Harlem Renaissance, guests are asked to bring food to this party.

On Thursday, Women with Words will provide its annual book review at 5 p.m. at the Sunrise Theatre. The topic of the book review is “I Love Myself When I Am Laughing, Zora Neale Hurston Reader” edited by noted The Color Purple author Alice Walker. There is no fee for this event.

Zora Neale Hurston's grave site in Fort Pierce

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Thursday, March 5, 2009

LAKEWOOD PARK — “Hundreds and hundreds” of dead fish in Lake Ruce in this northern St. Lucie County neighborhood could be the result of a drier-than-normal dry season.

Patti Espiritu began noticing sick fish in the shallow water at the southern end of the lake behind her house on Arthurs Road. On Sunday, she started seeing dead fish, large-mouth bass at first, then almost exclusively tilapia.

“In the last couple of days, there have been hundreds and hundreds of them,” she said.

Tim Conwell and Anthony Sanchez of the Lakewood Park maintenance crew began picking up the dead and dying fish Thursday afternoon.

“There must be close to 1,000 of them,” Conwell said, “and more keep dying. We’ll probably be here all day today and tomorrow.”

An 18-year Lakewood Park resident, Conwell said fish aren’t dying at other lakes in the community, “but this has happened before at other lakes.” (more…)