Best of August 2023: Back-to-school, last month of summer and more (2024)

Janie Tausch, a media specialist for Allapattah Flats K-8 School in Port St. Lucie, demonstrates how she organizes the libraries books, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023.

Officer Steve Sobon shows Jason Nihal, 12, of Fort Pierce, a 40mm less-than-lethal impact weapon during Fort Pierce Police Department's National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at the River Walk Center, 600 Indian River Dr., in Fort Pierce. National Night Out is an annual community-building event that promotes law enforcement and community engagement. The event featured vehicle displays, fingerprint station, meet-and-greets with specialized units, refreshments and more.

St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer Maegan Richardson (right) talks with Ryleigh Ingram, 5 (left), and her sister Armani Ingram, 8, while getting them outfitted with backpacks and school supplies during the Back-to-School Party and School Supply Giveaway at the Police Athletic League building on Orange Avenue Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Fort Pierce. The free event featured the backpack and supplies giveaway for students entering pre-K through high school, along with food and fun, hosted by the St. Lucie Parks & Recreation Department, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Police Athletic League and Dunn’s Kids Foundation. "Today we're giving away 500 backpacks, partnering with our community and Howard Dunn of Dunn's Kids Foundation, to kids in need," said Jarret Romanello, executive director of the St. Lucie Sheriff’s Police Athletic League.

Round Island Beach Park at sunrise, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023.

Martin County School Superintendent Michael Maine (second from right) stands with Martin County School Board members (from left) Amy Pritchett, Jennifer Russell, Marsha Powers, and Christia Roberts after a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the new Jensen Beach Elementary School on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, in Jensen Beach. School Board member Michael DiTerlissi was not able to attend the event.

Charles (second from left) and Sandra Johnston are given a gift from Timothy Moore, Indian River State College president, for their $10 million donation to build Indiantown High School during the ribbon-cutting and building dedication ceremony, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, at 19000 S.W. Citrus Blvd. in Martin County. In attendance were their son Charles "Chip" Johnston (left) and grandson Evan Butler (second from right). The Johnstons are longtime supporters of the Indiantown community, beginning with their relationship with the Indiantown Hope Rural School, which provides immigrant families with elementary education.

Markavion Burgess, 10 (bottom center) watches the candy fall after cracking open a pinata during the Back-to-School Splash Jam hosted by the St. Lucie County Parks and Recreation Department at the Arthur Lee Boatwright Pool in Fort Pierce on Avenue M and 13th Street, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. "It's a lot of fun," Markavion said about the free event.

Sheriff Eric Flowers speaks during a press conference regarding skeletal remains that were found in December 14, 2022, during an unrelated police pursuit near Grand Harbor community.

"GYAC (Gifford Youth Achievement Center) loves you," yells Amyria Williams, 9, to families as they receive backpacks filled with supplies during the Gifford Youth Achievement Center's 25th annual Back-to-School Bash on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, at 4875 43rd Ave. The event was open to all Indian River County students in need of supplies.

Steven Braun, Florida Department of Transportation's district secretary, speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new I-95 interchange at Oslo Road in the southwest portion of Indian River County, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. Around 50 people gathered, including county officials and FDOT representatives, in anticipation for the construction to begin Aug. 14, 2023. Improvements include partial cloverleaf ramps and replacing the bridge that will connect Oslo Road and I-95.

A look at the Pine Grove Cemetery, at the intersection of Avenue I and North 10th Street on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, in Fort Pierce.

Toxic algae is polluting the C44-Canal at the Timer Powers Park boat ramp in Indiantown, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, at 14100 S.W. Citrus Blvd. The state found 800 micrograms per liter of microcystis aeruginosa in the cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, according to water samples the Department of Environmental Protection took Aug. 3.

CSE Apollo adult patient simulator is seen in the foreground as Indian River State College student Michael Otero (left) explains the new technology to guests touring the surgical suite during IRSC’s grand opening of their School of Nursing expansion on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Port St. Lucie. "It's going to be helpful because it gives you a sense of what's going on inside the human body” Otero said.

Sonia Aguilar, of Fellsmere, volunteers with Treasure Coast Food Bank’s monthly mobile pantry outside of Revelation Truth Church, located at 100 Mesa Park Blvd., Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Fellsmere. Participants arrived to get in line with open trunks a couple of hours before the food, donated from national grocery and retail stores, was dispersed. In order to participate in the distribution, you must fill out a form claiming your household size, address and yearly gross income for each family size.

Mike LeCompte, of Indiantown, walks near toxic algae at the Timer Powers Park boat ramp during his routine walks, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, at 14100 S.W. Citrus Blvd. in Indiantown. "It concerns me," said LeCompte. "I saw the first signs a couple weeks ago, it's nasty." The state found 800 micrograms per liter of microcystis aeruginosa in the cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, according to water samples the Department of Environmental Protection took Aug. 3.

Deilonys Gonzalez, 5, chats with Port St. Lucie Police Officer Willis Tumblin as she waits at the car drop-off to start her first day of school at Morningside Elementary on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Port St. Lucie.

Emma Pineda, 7, blows a kiss goodbye, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, at Indian River Academy in Vero Beach, on the first day of school. Students were greeted by teachers, first-year principal Kimberly Rahal and Indian River County Superintendent David Moore.

Waltine "Walt" Nauta walks up the steps of the Federal Courthouse in Fort Pierce on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, to enter his plea to new charges added July 27 to an indictment in the classified documents case.

Fifth graders Payton Hamric (left) and Suri Smith (right) play rock-paper-scissors with friends Yaylin Mercado (left center) and Cara Reid (right center), all age 10, after their teacher read the book “The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors” by Drew Daywalt on the first day of school at J.D. Parker Elementary School in Stuart, Fla., on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

John Carroll Catholic and St. Edward's participated in a referee clinic on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 in Fort Pierce as both teams prepare for their preseason kickoff classics next week.

Clover Anderson (left) and her friend Naarl Richard, both of Fort Pierce, clean and place fresh flowers at the gravesite of Anderson's son, Akiefe Jamal Anderson, on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, at Riverview Memorial Park in downtown Fort Pierce. "This is my weekly life," said Anderson. "We keep him clean because that's the person he was, neat and clean and good." Akiefe, 22, was found with a gunshot wound about 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2021 on Avenue M Extension east of U.S. 1 north in Fort Pierce. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has not announced any arrests but said they are trying to find a 2012 silver Ford Focus in connection with the homicide.

Larry Donald "Donnie" Murrell, Jr., (right) exits the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, after representing Carlos De Oliveira who entered a plea of not guilty to criminal charges in the classified documents case.

Martin County Fire Rescue's Special Response Dive Team and Ocean Rescue teams practice rescue and recovery responses to simulated drowning in Jensen Beach August 15, 2023. The first responders practiced what would be a worst-case scenario, said Capt. Robert Udzinski.

Dirt is thrown by city and county leaders during the St. Lucie County Fire Station 18 groundbreaking ceremony, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023, at 5160 N.W. Milner Dr. in Port St. Lucie. "Yesterday we broke 40,000 calls," said Chief Jeff Lee. "So we're on track to do 64,000 calls and our station ensemble today is the same as it was in 2008 ... Everybody knows the growth (of the county) is here, at this point we are playing catch up. We want to get to the point we're not playing catch up."

A purple flag warning beachgoers of potential moon jellyfish is seen on the beach at Fort Pierce Inlet State Park on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Moon jellies started to appear in the ocean at St. Lucie County beaches about four weeks ago, according to Ocean Rescue Chief Andrew Ritchie.

A drone image showing the new synthetic turf football field in the Citrus Bowl at Vero Beach High School, 1707 16th St. It's the first high school football field on the Treasure Coast to have synthetic turf. The Fighting Indians' first home game on the new field, the 2023 Kickoff Classic versus William T. Dwyer High School's Panthers from Palm Beach Gardens, is Thursday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. The $2.4 million project, paid for from the school district's capital budget, includes the turf and building new beach sand volleyball courts at the Freshman Learning Center.

Fort Pierce Westwood ATH Jaylyn Monds is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Vero Beach senior ATH and Western Kentucky commit Xavion "Tutu" Griffin is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Treasure Coast offensive lineman and FIU commit Knajee Saffold is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Martin County senior defensive lineman and Bowling Green commit Joe Shimko III is on TCPalm's Super 11 list of top high school football senior recruits.

Treasure Coast safety Shamir Sterlin is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Scenes of a Piper PA28 aircraft which crashed through a utility building, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, and into an RV in St. Lucie County. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, Aug. 18, 2023.

Vero Beach hosts William T. Dwyer in a high school preseason football game, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023.

Jensen Beach running back Dennis Palmer, Jr. is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Treasure Coast DL Jahari Grant is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

South Fork hosts Somerset Academy Canyons in a high school preseason football game, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Martin County.

Vero Beach ATH and Illinois commit Amar Reynolds is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school senior recruits.

Vero Beach quarterback and SMU commit Tyler Aronson is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Fort Pierce Westwood ATH Braylon Vincent is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Indian River County NAACP President Anthony Brownspeaks during the second town hall meeting in Gifford, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. “If you look at Gifford, Fla., the stories we could tell y’all in this room you couldn’t even envision about what Gifford used to be. You couldn’t even in your wildest imagination,” Brown said. “You talk about Tulsa, Ok., and all these other black towns that were thriving. The only thing that Gifford, Fla., did not have was a grocery store. We had a drive-in theatre, a movie theatre. We had laundry mats, we had funeral homes, we had service stations, we had gas stations, we had restaurants and we had a post office. We had all of these things. So, when I tell the story and I look back, I don’t have time to be nice no more. I don’t have time to worry about your feelings. If you are not on this train, we ain’t stopping you. You can jump off. I’m not being malicious, but i’m just at a point in my life where i’m looking at our children.” The topics discussed during the town hall meeting included strategies to discuss at the next school board meeting, African American AP standards, book banning and ‘slaves benefiting from slavery’.

Stuart Fire Rescue Lt. Chris Watson pulls a dummy firefighter to safety during a 'down firefighter' exercise, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, in the former Ayco*ck Funeral Home at 505 S.W. U.S. 1. "On any fire scene, we establish a rapid intervention crew," said Jon Huneycutt, the operations chief. "Their sole task is to rescue a firefighter if they go down in a building."

St. Lucie West Centennial's Shayla Henry (7) attempts a kill in a volleyball match against Martin County on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, in Port St. Lucie. Centennial won in five sets.

Kathleen Gronowski, the local community captain for Team Depot Foundation and an assistant store manager for Home Depot in Fort Pierce, paints an inside door at the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 113, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Port St. Lucie. "Home Depot is very supportive of the veterans," Gronowski said. "I'd say 65% of the projects that we do in the community are for veterans." Chapter and Home Depot volunteers painted, replaced ceiling tiles, lighting fixtures and ceiling fans during Home Depot Foundation's beautification day. "The associates you see here, today's their day off. So, we choose a day a month and everybody volunteers their time. We provide the sweat equity," Gronowski said.

Jensen Beach's Elvick Privelma celebrates returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Fort Pierce Central on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023 at Lawnwood Stadium in Fort Pierce. The Falcons won 28-0.

Vero Beach wide receiver Isaiah Roberts is one of TCPalm's Super 11 top high school football senior recruits.

Vero Beach’s Efrem White (11) catches the ball against Miami Northwestern in a high school football game, Friday, Aug. 25, 2023.

Treasure Coast's Lance Stone (44) attempts to stop Osceola running back Elijah Melendez's (10) first down during a high school football game, Friday, Aug. 25, 2023 in Port St Lucie.

Beau Yeiser, of Stuart, competes in a 3.5 doubles match during the first day of the two-day Paddle Tap Pickleball Tournament on Saturday. Aug. 26, 2023, at Whispering Pines Park in Port St. Lucie.

John Amanchukwu is escorted out of an Indian River County School board meeting after attempting to read passages from a school library book that were sexually explicit, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.

Mario Melendez of Tampa, on a hydrofoil, rides the wind and waves crossing the inlet at the Fort Pierce Jetty as Hurricane Idalia works its way up the Gulf Coast of Florida, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. On Treasure Coast beaches, Hurricane Franklin, which is passing hundreds of miles offshore to the northeast, is causing higher swells leading to increased rip tide risks and coastal erosion. Wind and waves are expected to intensify Wednesday as Idalia cuts across Florida into Georgia and along the East Coast north of Florida.

Mary Ruth Whitty, of Stuart, sits among fallen palm fronds, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at Flagler Park in downtown Stuart. Wind gusts up to 40 mph and storms with a potential 1 to 2 inches of rain are what a meteorologist said Treasure Coast residents can expect Wednesday as Hurricane Idalia pushed northeast after landfall in the Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm.

Rick Traficant, of Stuart, surfs Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at Walton Rocks Beach in St. Lucie County. "It's not good (surfing conditions), but we're gonna give it a shot," said Traficant. Wind gusts up to 40 mph and storms with a potential 1 to 2 inches of rain are what a meteorologist said Treasure Coast residents can expect Wednesday as Hurricane Idalia pushed northeast after landfall in the Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm.

Erinc Akture, of Daytona Beach, takes advantage of the winds produced from Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, while he kite boards on the Indian River Lagoon just south of Sebastian Inlet State Park in Indian River County. "There is cleaner and safer wind here," Akture said adding he came south to avoid potentially dangerous weather north of Indian River County. Hurricane Idalia produced gusty winds on the Treasure Coast, but the region overall was spared of damage from the hurricane that reached a category 4 overnight Tuesday and landed as a Category 3 in the Big Bend area of the state.

Alex Introcaso, of Vero Beach, catches a wave in front of his daughter Julia, 13, during an afternoon of surfing offshore from Fort Pierce Inlet State Park on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm in the Big Bend region of northern Florida.. "I've been doing it [surfing] since I was a kid and I fell in love with the ocean and I was lucky enough to keep doing it throughout my life," Introcaso said. "Excellent, the conditions. There's one out in the Atlantic [Hurricane Franklin] and one coming across the Gulf [Hurricane Idalia] mashing the swell with the right wind, so things are lining up pretty good."