STUART — Have you ever wondered why some of those markers on the water are red and some are green?

And why are they different shapes, anyway? Why shouldn’t I just wait until I need my life jacket to put it on?

What is the minimum length of boat that requires a second fire extinguisher — or a third?

Answers to these and many other questions will be yours just for taking the time to attend the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s program, About Boating Safely.
(more…)

A former Jupiter Island Town Commissioner died Monday in Rhode Island in what police there are investigating as a possible suicide.

Finn Caspersen, 67, was found dead Monday at the Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Westerly, R.I. from what police believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Westerly police Capt. Edward St. Clair.
Caspersen a philanthropist, was first elected as town commissioner in Jupiter Island in 2005. He resigned on Aug. 4. Caspersen also had a home in the Shelter Harbor Golf Club where he died.

“As a public servant, policy-maker and overall gentleman, Finn Caspersen exceeded every standard of good measure,” said Jupiter Island Mayor Charles Falcone. “Stoic and soft-spoken, he did a lot of listening during town meetings before carefully weighing in with insight and informed expertise.”

An assistant reached at Knickerbocker, LLC said the family did not want to comment. No funeral information was available.

Caspersen served as the chief executive officer for the Beneficial Corp., a major financial holding company, from 1976 to 1998. More recently he was serving as the chairman of Knickerbocker, a private management company that oversaw numerous trusts and foundations. Caspersen personally donated money to Harvard Law School in Massachusetts as well as the Morristown Memorial Hospital, and schools such as the Peddie School and the Drew University Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, all in New Jersey

Longtime friend Tom McNicholas described Caspersen as “approachable and genuine” and said: “Each time I would refer to him as Mr. Caspersen he would peer over his glasses, softly chuckle and say, ‘Call me Finn.’ He was a friend and always fair to everyone.”

As a town commissioner, Caspersen was pushed for a town referendum on whether to bury power lines on the island underground. He also got involved in Martin County’s contentious debate over real estate development, paying $17,000 out of his own pocket in 2006 to bankroll a phone survey of 500 Martin County residents about their views of population growth. He also created a political action committee, Keep Martin green, that ran advertisements opposing rapid growth in the county.

“Finn had strong convictions towards protecting our environment and he invested a lot of his own money and time to support local causes like Keep Martin Green which focused on smart growth and environmental protection,” McNicholas said.

This is the second longtime Jupiter Island official to die in recent months. Town Manager Joe Connolly, a friend of Caspersen, died of Lou Gehrig’s disease just days after Caspersen resigned from the town commission in August. Deputy Town Manager Gene Rauth said the town is considering a memorial to Caspersen.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — After weeks of police officer training in a classroom, Indian River State College students move on to a small platform that provides a high-tech simulation of how they react in a real-life situation.

They’re given a weapon that only emits lasers and equipped with a belt that zaps them if they put themselves in danger.

“It teaches consequences if they make bad decisions,” Stephen Huntsberger, associate dean of Public Service Education for IRSC, said of the VirTra Systems simulator at the complex.

The simulator is one of the planned demonstrations at Friday’s public open house at the new Indian River State College Public Safety Complex.
(more…)

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A Tallahassee law firm has put the school district on notice that it will be taken to court if it doesn’t promptly produce public records first requested in June about a contract with a computer software company.

Attorneys Edwin Bayo and Bill Furlow declined to say who they represent in their attempt to get documents and e-mails between St. Lucie County schools and Skyward Inc., a Stevens Point, Wis.-based supplier of school administrative software. The district began seeking a contractor in 2007 and Skyward’s software came online this summer. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — The Treasure Coast Opera Society will not perform for the 2009-2010 season. Finances are to blame.

“The New York State Opera closed. The Baltimore Opera closed. The Orlando Opera has closed,” said TCOS co-founder Anne Abood. “Everyone is skating on thin ice.”
(more…)

An initiative to help Spanish-speaking parents get more involved in their children’s education took off Thursday at the Cassidy Community Center in Golden Gate

“Bienvenidos a los padres de los estudiantes de Martin County High School” (Welcome, parents of Martin County High School students) read a sign at the meeting, which was conducted entirely in Spanish as part of the school’s ongoing outreach program to Spanish-speaking families.

Martin County High School Spanish teacher Heldie Moore said she hopes the program will inspire Hispanic students at her school to achieve greater academic success. Since many Hispanic parents in the area don’t speak English, they are often reluctant to come to their children’s schools – but parental involvement is key, Moore said. (more…)

Since her employer began closing on Fridays, Dawn Gilmore has turned her photography hobby into a money-making business that is helping to offset her lost income.

Without a lot of new real estate development, business has been slow for the Houston Cuozzo Group, a landscape design firm in Stuart. After laying off one-third of the staff of 18 last year, the firm started closing on alternate Fridays last September as a way to reduce workers’ hours and cut costs. In March, the firm started closing every Friday.

Across the Treasure Coast, many residents who have avoided layoffs are facing reduced hours — which means less money in their wallets. Some are spending their new-found spare time with family, home improvement projects or hobbies. Others are looking for ways to make up the lost income, such as a side business or a second job.
(more…)

STUART — More than a century ago, shipwrecked sailors who washed up on the Treasure Coast immediately looked for mile markers nailed to trees and posts to direct them to safety.

These markers were designed to be easily understood by men from every country and education level. Over time they were lost to history, but replicas are currently on display at the House of Refuge at Gilbert’s Bar. (more…)

The United Way of Martin County Board of Directors approved its annual funding to local agency programs, distributing more than $1.5 million raised during the 2008-09 campaign.

Funding is focused on priority areas addressing the community’s needs such as helping children and youth achieve their potential, providing stability and independence for families and individuals in crisis and increasing access to health care services.

About 70 volunteers on citizen review panels examined applications for United Way support and chose who would received money, United Way Executive Director Jim Vojcsik said.

The 2008-09 United Way of Martin County campaign raised almost $2.1 million. Of the remaining total, $100,000 is set aside for unfulfilled pledges. About 16 percent is used by United Way of Martin County for fund-raising and administrative expenses. The balance will support community research, planning and initiatives such as the Earned Income Tax Credit program and the Shared Services Network mobilization to reduce youth substance abuse. (more…)

More Treasure Coast students soon will be able to ditch classes at bricks-and-mortar schools.

Instead, they’ll head to class without leaving the house.

Starting with the new school year in August, all Florida school districts are required to offer virtual schools because of a 2008 law created to give parents more choice over how their children are educated. (more…)