Delia Herrera Martinez Dies At 68

Delia Herrera Martinez was a woman of singular purpose and profound heart. Born on February 28, 1958, she walked through this life leaving the imprint of her care upon everything she touched.

Her legacy is written in the meticulous details she poured into her home and her family. Delia was a woman of strength, holding a will as steady as her devotion. She loved deeply and without reservation, and she carried a steadfast belief in God that guided her path. For forty-nine years, she walked alongside her husband, Gumaro Martinez Sr., building a life in Clewiston that was centered entirely on the people she held most dear.

She leaves behind a family that carries the echoes of her love. She is survived by her husband, Gumaro Martinez Sr., and her sons, Greg Martinez and Gumaro Martinez Jr., along with her daughters-in-law, Melisa Martinez and Marisela Martinez. She found her greatest joy in her seven grandchildren, Greg, Izac, Third, Goel, Gelisa, Gisela, and Israel.

Her memory remains cherished by her brother, Domingo Herrera, and her sisters, Olga Garcia, Melida Lopez, Corina Rodriguez, and Angelita Gomez. She has now been reunited with her sister, Juana Hernandez, who preceded her in death.

May she rest in the peace of the Lord, knowing her life was a testament to love and faithful service.

A Lodge Called Folkestone by Bob Kranich

A Lodge Called Folkestone

The Dream, The Challenge, The People
 by Bob Kranich

(Excerpt 27)

Now we’re off to England, Wales, and Scotland with my good army buddy, Ed Clement.

England, Wales, and Scotland

When June arrived, we drove across country from Rochester to Chicago. We left our vehicle at Ed’s dad’s car lot, and had his brother drop us four off at the Chicago O'Hara airport. It was a non-stop flight to Frankfort, Germany. We arrived at the airport and unloaded. We were sent to an elevator, and when the elevator door opened, they threw our luggage out. No fancy carousels like today. After going through customs, we went and exchanged American dollars for German money.

Regarding our luggage, we were traveling very light. We each had sleeping bags which had shoulder straps attached to the stuff sacks. These were wore on our shoulders like backpacks. There were four small pannier saddle bags, one for each of us which had handles. In addition, we also had brought two small backpack tents.

We found a bus, and got on it heading towards the main downtown of Frankfurt. Ed wanted to find a motorcycle shop so he could initiate his plan to buy some motorbikes. He wanted to travel on the Rhine River bike path. If we could find motorbikes with small enough engines, we would be allowed to ride both without required driver’s licenses, and on the bike path.

While we were driving on the bus, Ed said that we needed to get directions to a motorcycle shop. None of us could speak German, and Irene who was fluent in Spanish, found a man who could speak Spanish and German. This man found a German person who knew where we would find a motorcycle shop. The German man told Irene in Spanish who translated to us in English. What an international event!

The bike path along the Rhine River was great, and what beautiful scenery with castles along the sides, and even on islands in the center of the river. Those on the islands were castles built by river barons in ancient history. They charged a fee for boats going both ways on the river. If you didn’t pay, you didn’t pass.

We stayed at “pensions”, which is another name for bed and breakfasts, every evening. We had to be careful on the roads because of the slower speed of the motorbikes. In France, we came upon the remains of Second World War military bunkers along the side of the road. We finally made it to Calais. We bought our tickets, and loaded both us and our motorbikes on the ferry.

The Channel crossing was memorable. It was so impressive when we viewed looming up ahead, the white chalk Cliffs of Dover. Back on the road, we were in dangerous company. The road was a main artery, and next to the big trucks and the speeding cars, we were incremental nothings.

When we got to London, Irene and I decided that we wanted to tour the entire United Kingdom, and it would take a car. We found a car lot, and for $300 dollars American money, a Scottish salesman sold us a Morris Mini. We then left our motorbikes with Ed’s wife’s parents. That evening we took a bus to the car lot and picked up our vehicle.

We got the car in the evening because in England you drive on the left side of the road, and we wanted to practice without much traffic around. Talk about a shock. Every time you make a turn, you must end up on the left side. One side note is that when you are a pedestrian, you must be very careful to look both ways before crossing, or just stepping out. You might look the wrong way first. We got our practice in, and the next day headed out on our tour of England, Wales, and Scotland.

We had about 6 weeks, and we were to meet Ed and his wife at her brother’s house in Edinburgh, Scotland.

We started stopping at every castle. I found it so interesting. I am of the age of Prince Valiant in the newspaper comics. However, there are so many castles in England that we finally had to just pass them by, do other things, and get on with our travels and adventures. You might say, we were castled out!

In England, we stayed at bed and breakfast locations. Occasionally, we visited state or government parks, and put up the small backpack tent I had brought. Since we had thought Ed’s wife was going to be our tour guide, we had not done any prior research on places to visit. But now we were on our own, and had to rely on brochures and any map we might find as we traveled about. That is how we stumbled upon “Hadrian’s Wall.”

Just before we got into Wales, which is across the border from England, we came upon the Wall. It seems that the Romans could not subdue the wild Scottish clansmen, so they built a wall at a narrow place between the North Sea and the Irish Sea. Hadrian’s Wall was begun in 122 AD, built under the guidance of three Roman legions. It took about six years to complete the basic wall. The wall was composed of a stone base and wall filled with earth. The wall measured from eight to ten feet wide, and from eleven to twenty feet high. There were observation turrets and forts scattered along the wall. Many of the forts had cavalry that could move quickly to other locations as needed. Today, many places are reconstructed and preserved. There is a hiking path for tourists.

We then went into Wales. One day we were traveling on a road that had a great view down into some grazing fields. We stopped to look. Below us, we saw three horsemen. They were giving commands by whistling to black and white Welsh sheepdogs, who in turn were herding a large flock of sheep. It was fascinating to watch.

From the Author:

“The Lodge Called Folkestone”. You may wonder why the first half of the book is about my many adventures throughout the USA. Well, this first part explains just why my interests changed from hot rodding cars to backpacking. How the idea of a lodge came about, and just how the lodge came to be in North Carolina and next to the Smoky Mountain National Park, Deep Campground to be exact.

Aerial Mosquito Flights Start September 11 In Wheeler Estates

LABELLE, FL. -- Hendry County will be conducting aerial adult mosquito control operations over the Wheeler Estates community Friday, September 11th, 2026, weather permitting, through Tuesday, September 15th, 2026.

These operations will continue throughout the remainder of the year as mosquito levels warrant. The insecticide to treat for adult mosquitoes is approved for application by the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Florida.

This operation will be conducted by Clarke.

How Social Contagion Affects Political Choices

In politics, social contagion shifts voting behavior, party loyalty, and policy support from a process of logical platform evaluation to an experience of collective emotional alignment. When political ideas and moods spread like a virus through social networks, voters heavily rely on immediate peer validation and shared outrage rather than independent fact-checking. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Social contagion fundamentally alters political choices through several key mechanisms:

1. The Amplification of "Moral Outrage"

Politicians and media algorithms frequently use moral-emotional language because it triggers rapid "moral contagion". [4]

The Mechanism: When a political leader displays intense anger or disgust, that emotion quickly spreads to their followers through affect linkage—a form of emotional contagion where a group mirrors the leader's emotional state. [2]

The Impact: Highly emotional posts are shared at drastically higher rates online, meaning voters are exposed to a constant loop of collective anger. This outrage bypasses careful policy evaluation and encourages voters to make choices based on defeating an "enemy" rather than choosing a platform based on its long-term societal merit. [4, 5, 6]

2. Drive-by Social Voting (Turnout Contagion)

Voting itself is highly socially contagious. If a person's immediate social circle or high-frequency conversation partners are enthusiastic about a candidate or a cause, the individual is statistically much more likely to adopt the same views and show up at the polls. [1, 7, 8, 9]

The Mechanism: This is driven by normative social influence, 

the deep human desire to conform to the group to maintain approval and fit in. [3]

The Impact: Rather than spending hours researching a candidate’s economic or foreign policy, an individual frequently adopts the political identity of their "pack" to feel socially safe and connected. [3, 7]

3. Escalation of Affective Polarization

Social contagion creates intense "us versus them" dynamics, known as affective polarization. [10]

The Mechanism: In highly clustered online spaces or echo chambers, a single piece of partisan disinformation or an extreme opinion can rapidly cascade through a group. [5, 11]

The Impact: Because the idea is reinforced by hundreds of peers simultaneously, it hardens into an unquestioned group truth. Anyone within the group who attempts to introduce rational nuance or counter-evidence is viewed as a threat to the tribe, effectively shutting down moderate, logical political discourse. [11, 12]

4. Bottom-Up Policy Diffusion

Social contagion among the public can force the hands of political elites. [13]

The Mechanism: As detailed in The Social Contagion Model by political scientists, public opinion on specific issues (such as smoking bans or green energy adoption) can ripple outward from one state or community to another simply because residents copy the changing norms of neighboring regions. [13, 14]

The Impact: When a policy mood catches fire among the public via social contagion, politicians are forced to adapt and pass matching legislation to avoid being voted out of office—meaning laws are sometimes passed to appease a sudden wave of public sentiment rather than a calculated, objective need. [13, 14]

Summary

When political choices are governed by social contagion, ballots become an expression of social identity and emotional solidarity rather than an objective evaluation of governance. Rational policy debates are replaced by emotional cascades, making modern electorates highly reactive to the prevailing mood of their chosen political tribe. [2, 7, 10, 13]

[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
[2] https://journals.sagepub.com
[3] https://open.ncl.ac.uk
[4] https://osf.io
[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
[6] https://huber.research.yale.edu
[7] https://journals.sagepub.com
[8] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
[9] https://journals.sagepub.com
[10] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
[11] https://www.tandfonline.com
[12] https://www.nature.com
[13] https://www.journals.uchicago.edu
[14] https://papers.ssrn.com

FHP Hiring Law Enforcement Dispachers

FORT MYERS, LEE COUNTY FLA. – WE'RE HIRING STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DISPATCHERS

The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for dedicated individuals to join our regional communications center and become the critical link between the public and our Troopers.

STREAMLINE HIRING EVENT:

WHEN:
Friday, October 9, 2026 - 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Saturday, October 10, 2026 - 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

WHERE:
Fort Myers Regional Communication Center
10041 Daniels Parkway
Fort Myers, FL 33913

Applicants must be 18 years old or older and bring:Resume
Government-issued Photo ID

Salary:
Base $37,936.80
+$5,000 Critical Market Pay for those who live in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties ($42,936.60)

Shift Hours:
Dayshift: 5:30AM - 1:30PM
Evening: 1:30PM - 9:30PM (15% Shift Differential)
Midnight: 9:30PM - 5:30AM (10% Shift Differential)

Qualified applicants will have the opportunity to complete the Critical Skills Assessment. Those who successfully pass will move forward to an interview, and background investigators are also available on-site to begin the background investigation process.

Don't miss this opportunity to start your career with the Florida Highway Patrol. Every call matters and every second counts.

Visit website to learn more: link