Garry Overbey

Port Charlotte

Editor, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda at Charlotte Sun

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Articles

At 100, Madeleine Ibberson has much to reflect on

3 weeks ago | charlottecounty.floridaweekly.com | Garry Overbey

Days shy of her 100th birthday, Madeleine Ibberson wonders if it’s finally time to lose her French accent. “Yesterday we had a friend coming … from Germany,” she said. Her voice carries a musical lilt. “The whole time, I understood not a word he said, and I kept thinking: ‘Poor people in America, they have to listen to me.’”She’s kidding. But then she tells a story about how she gets surprised looks from people when she pronounces the word “sheet.”“So, I don’t buy bedding,” she said with a laugh.
New Wellen Park emergency room boosts North Port’s health care

4 weeks ago | townchronicle.com | Garry Overbey

Wellen Park’s first free-standing emergency room opened in March. HCA Florida Wellen Park Emergency is an 11,300-square-foot facility open 24 hours a day, where residents can go for ailments ranging from broken bones and upper respiratory infections to chest pains and strokes. “This is a great opportunity for HCA Florida Englewood Hospital to be able to serve the community of South Sarasota County with access to emergency care,” hospital CEO Kelly Lindsay said.
One Shell At A Time

4 weeks ago | townchronicle.com | Garry Overbey

Some people look at a plate of oyster shells and see only dinner. But the young men and women of the Sarasota-based nonprofit Oyster Boys Conservation see a way to keep the region’s waterways clean and sustain habitats vital to marine life. The Oyster Boys have visited the Rotary Club of Wellen Park a few times to discuss their mission to restore the area’s oyster reefs. At their recent talk in January, the organization received a $500 donation from the club.
North Port mayor’s “State of the City” address touts Wellen Park

4 weeks ago | townchronicle.com | Garry Overbey

North Port Mayor Phil Stokes delivered the “State of the City” address to a standing-room-only crowd at Downtown Wellen Park’s Solis Hall in March. In addition to telling residents about progress made in the sectors of health care, education and economic development, Stokes pointed the way forward with a litany of projects slated for coming years, including many in Wellen Park.
The Life of Riley

1 month ago | charlottecounty.floridaweekly.com | Garry Overbey

Mike Riley’s first rock star was his mother. At the age of 18, Margaret Stapleton marriedRoy G. Riley, a paper mill worker in Hamilton,Ohio. Sixteen years later, Riley, their second child, was born. The course of his life changed when he was 10 years old. That’s when his sister, Patricia, with her husband, Ed “Whitey” Shackelford, exposed him to the sounds of Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Lonnie Mack and Troy Seals.
Charlotte County Florida Weekly

2 months ago | charlottecounty.floridaweekly.com | Garry Overbey

Tomorrow’s workers are in today’s classroom. That was the sentiment shared by Charlotte County Superintendent Mark Vianello as the district recently broke ground on an airplane hangar at Charlotte High School. Along with the groundbreaking ceremony, Charlotte County Public Schools officially joined the state’s new Space Florida Academy Program, an initiative to train students to work in the aerospace and aviation industries. “Today’s celebration is more than just breaking ground,” said Vianello.
Wellen Park again ranks among top sellers in nation

2 months ago | townchronicle.com | Garry Overbey

For the ninth consecutive year, Wellen Park ranked among the best-selling master-planned communities in the nation. The rankings, conducted each year by national real estate consultants RCLCO and John Burns, are based on sales data from 2024. Wellen Park ranked sixth based on 960 new homes sold last year, a 10% increase from 2023. Florida dominated the rankings, with six Sunshine State communities placing in the top 10.
Wellen Park, builders team with Salvation Army for “Cottages for Kids”

2 months ago | townchronicle.com | Garry Overbey

You don’t often see children’s playhouses with features like cantilevered roofs and dormer windows — but, then again, you don’t often see community collaborations like the recent one between Wellen Park, its builders and The Salvation Army. Anyone taking a stroll through Downtown Wellen’s Solis Hall during the holidays probably saw the elaborately designed and decorated playhouses on display.
Going Underground

Feb 13, 2025 | charlottecounty.floridaweekly.com | Garry Overbey

During major storms, above-ground power lines can fall prey to broken branches and toppled trees. In fact, falling vegetation is a leading cause of power outages, according to Florida Power & Light. As part of its strategy to harden the state’s power grid and prevent or minimize power disruptions,FPL launched the Storm Secure Underground Program in 2018 — an effort to place power lines underground (FPL.com/Undergrounding).
A Different Kind of Normal

Feb 13, 2025 | charlottecounty.floridaweekly.com | Garry Overbey

What was the first word Nicole Jacobs ever spoke? She doesn’t know — her parents couldn’t hear it. But she knows the first word she ever signed. It was “milk.”Nicole learned sign language before she could speak. Even though she had normal hearing, it was the only way she could communicate with her mother and father. Sitting in the dim interior of Downtown Kava in Punta Gorda, Nicole, 18, spoke to Florida Weekly about her life.