BY JILL FELTON CHATHAM - Barbara Chatham left this world on March 21, 2012. We all lost a treasure. She was laid to rest today beside her beloved husband, Pete, and son, Grady, neither of whom I had the pleasure of meeting.

Oh, but the stories she told me of them. That was our favorite thing to do ... tell stories. We spent a lot of time alone together so we would fill the time with story telling. Her stories were always better than mine. And I was glad to hear them.

BY LIZA STROUT - If you have spent any time on the north end of the island recently, you have probably noticed some very full drainage ditches and, occasionally, a lingering scent.

The water from Tropical Storm Debby and before that fills the ditches that line the road has turned stagnant ... and slimey ... and stinky.

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - When Capt. Jimmy Robertson was wheeled into surgery at Peace River Regional Hospital on July 12, he thought he would wake up without a leg. When he did come to, he found out that wasn’t to be the case ... at least so far.

Jimmy was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis earlier this month, after sustaining a simple injury which led to infection in his left foot and leg.

Several meetings of local government organizations will take place next week, which is a bit of an oddity this time of year.

On Monday, July 23 the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority are going to have three meetings in one day.