Saint Edward’s names Activity Center for Joanie and Bruce Wachter

Fertilizer restrictions to go into effect next month

A reminder from the Indian River Neighborhood Association to residents of Indian River County, City of Vero Beach, Sebastian and Orchid. We are coming into our rainy season when more nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous are likely to be washed from our lawns, driveways and roads into the storm water system and, ultimately, into our local waterways such as the Indian River Lagoon. The fertilizer ordinances passed by our communities goes into effect June 1st. It prohibits the use of lawn fertilizer between June 1st and September 30th. No fertilizer containing Phosphorous is to be used anytime. All fertilizers must contain at least 50% slow release Nitrogen. Finally, no fertilizer is to be applied within 10 feet of any ...

Mom ‘not giving up’ after losing everything in Vero house fire

VERO BEACH — It seemed like forever. Vero Beach mother Sabby Hightower had just gotten out of the shower, watching in horror as flames burst forward from her garage, forcing her, her four kids and her own mother to frantically run to safety. The Nov. 3 blaze destroyed the home, but the family escaped unharmed. "I'm not giving up," said Hightower, a single mother who was recently widowed. "I do not want my kids to ever give up on life." The community is now coming together to help Hightower and her family. It is a story of resilience as Hightower lost her father and husband in recent years, and then watched her home erupt in flames nearly two weeks ago. The ...

Mother of slain teen: ‘Find who killed my son’

Hours before Christard Hicks was shot and killed along a street in Gifford, he was talking with his sister on the phone about going to his mother's home. It was just nearly a week shy of what would've been his 20th birthday - edging closer to adulthood. But instead of a party, family members are now mourning the loss of a young man they said was full of life with dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. "We both said we love each other," said the teen's sister, Ernecia Hicks, 23, of Melbourne. " We were pretty close and talked everyday." Christard Hicks, 19, was only three classes short of earning his high school diploma before his life was cut ...