On this Memorial Day, veterans groups throughout southwest Florida are taking part in ceremonies to remember fallen soldiers. Vietnam vet—and Fort Myers resident—Bill Fields saw lots of fellow soldiers die on the front lines. Fields was in Vietnam for 2 years—where his duties ranged from machine gunner and grenade launcher to radio operator and map reader.
What may be most compelling about Fields’ experience is that he’s a pacifist. He was back then. Yet, he found himself in the second most active outfit in Vietnam. We asked Fields to share his unique perspective on Memorial Day…

He holds a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam. These days, he runs a solar energy company. You can read more about him in this month’s “Expressions…” WGCU’s member magazine.

Executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless – Michael Stoops was the featured speaker at Southwest Florida Homeless Coalition annual conference in Ft. Myers Friday. Stoops has been an advocate for the rights of homeless people for more than 35 years. His efforts have helped bring about federal legislation and funding aimed at alleviating poverty, housing shortages and other factors that contribute to homelessness. Stoops has lived among the homeless – and met with some Ft. Myers homeless residents.

“Generally in tourist areas homeless people are viewed with a lot more scorn and disdain. I was with a group of homeless people the other night and we passed out some mosquito repellant – they grabbed it just like that because they were living outside and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes – so it’s not easy being homeless anywhere in this country”

Stoops estimates there are 850 thousand homeless people in this country every night. 25 percent of the homeless are children, 23 percent are mentally ill. He says the primary causes of homelessness are a lack of affordable housing, low paying jobs, no health insurance and domestic violence. Michael Stoops says homeless can be eradicated – with affordable housing – and jobs.

The lack of affordable housing is the major factor behind the region’s growing homeless population. The Southwest Florida Coalition for the Homeless held its annual conference Friday at Florida Gulf Coast University. Representatives from many agencies attended – the general consensus was – until the housing issue is addressed the number of people living in shelters, in cars and on park benches will only increase. Valerie Alker has more. (AUDIO)

To reduce under-age drinking, there has to be a change in how young people view alcohol use. That’s according to the Florida Office of Drug Control. Surveys in the state reveal 90 percent of students think smoking or doing drugs is “un-cool,” while only 60 percent think drinking is un-cool. Yet statistics show drinking is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined. Director of the Office of Drug Control in Florida, James McDunna, says there needs to be a focus on middle school students.

“We find that the break point is in middle school. For the most part, children enter middle school and not doing other substances, either—smoking or drugs. But, the sixth grader runs into the 8th grader. And he’s saying ‘Hey, why don’t you try some of this stuff?” So, if you track the percent of use, it really increases dramatically between 6th grade and 8th grade.”

McDunna cites drunk driving, brain damage, and risky sexual behavior as reasons his office wants to curtail underage drinking. Although all under age drinking is illegal… there appear to be major differences in how parents approach the issue. In some homes, there’s zero tolerance for alcohol use. In others, parents introduce children to alcohol in moderate amounts— in hopes of teaching them to consume responsibly. Still some parents don’t discuss alcohol use at all.

The Florida Firecats had more than 6000 paid attendance Saturday night for their winning game at Germain Arena in Estero. The arena football 2 league team donated 8 dollars of every ticket sold to the Lee County Sheriff's office fallen heroes fund. Amy Tardif was there. (AUDIO)

Three recently fallen soldiers from Lee County were honored at the Old County Courthouse in Fort Myers Friday. The ceremony was attended by a number of officials, friends and family members. The names of the men - all 3 from Cape Coral – will be added to the Veterans Memorial Plaque in front of the courthouse. Hear from: Lee County Commissioner, Doug St. Cerny – Dr. Eleanor Scricca, Chair of the Lee County School Board - Junior ROTC instructor at Cape Coral High School, Major Donald Best – and Kira Lopez, wife of Corporal Manuel Lopez the third. Mike Kiniry is our producer. (AUDIO)

Lee County’s stray cat population is exploding. Homeless felines are becoming the county’s number one animal control issue. Valerie Alker has more. (AUDIO)

People move to southwest Florida for all sorts of reasons… sunshine, water, gainful employment. All three are true for commentator Debbie Jamieson. But the real reason she chose Punta Gorda: its connection to history. A former newspaper editor, Debbie Jamieson now teaches a self-development course and is learning to play the harp. She lives in Punta Gorda. Learn more about the highs and lows of that community’s history tonight on WGCU Public Television. “Punta Gorda: Florida Frontier Town”—makes its debut this evening at 8:30. (AUDIO)

A group working toward rebuilding Punta Gorda after Hurricane Charley hopes to deliver its new Master Plan to the city council by the end of the month. The non-profit Team Punta Gorda is a public/private partnership whose mission is to help create an environmentally attractive and commercially viable city. Members raised money to hire a well-known urban planner Jaime Correa to help create the new master plan, which they say builds on existing city and county plans. Team Punta Gorda co-Vice President Cecily Truett says the plan comes from a community-wide collaboration—brought about by a series of public workshops.

“This is the citizens’ master plan for Punta Gorda. We accessed the best and the brightest minds…we had specialists in housing and waterfront, we had landscape architects there, all under the leadership of Jaime Carrea consulting with and working next to members of the community. So our master plan is really the vision of the people who live there, in consultation with the experts.”

Truett says she expects the plan will be well received by city and county leaders because many have played a role in devising it. Others have expressed concern about the Master Plan… and fear it’s overly optimistic at best— or a doorway to over-development, at worst.

A group of law enforcement professionals finished up 2 days of training on so-called “less lethal weapons” today in Fort Myers. Twenty-one officers – some from as far away as Georgia – participated in the Taser Instructor course at the San Carlos Park Fire Department. Tasers fire 2 probes attached to wires, which pass 50,000 volts of electricity into a suspect, thus immobilizing them. They’re considered a less lethal way for law enforcement to stop suspects who refuse to surrender. Taser aren’t completely without risk. The manufacturer says about 1 in 900 people stunned will die. FGCU Criminal Justice Professor - Charlie Mesloh – says Tasers—like all less lethal weapons present risks…

“There was a time when pepper spray had almost the same mortality rate when they were being used as frequently. The problem we have now is because so many agencies are using them, and they’re being deployed so often all over the country. We’re starting to have so many deployments, statistically people are going to die.”

Training includes a series of scenarios involving Taser use. It also teaches officers to look for indications people might die from being stunned…

“One of the things they’re teaching at this class today is what are some of the warning signs of the people that are having excited delirium…which is the medical term they’re using now. Hopefully this additional training will help people identify this issue, and then get people the treatment they need very, very fast.”

Officers who received the training become certified instructors – then train others within their home agencies. According to the Manufacturer, at least 50 people have died after being hit by a Taser in the past 4 years. The company says those victims died from drug use and other complications not related to being shot by the stun gun.