E1 THE NEWS-PRESS » SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016 » 3A

www.GetBest.com

(239) 204-5658See for yourself, Call us to schedule your free A/C estimate

You Won’t BelieveYour Eyes!

A/C Savings so BIG

$78 a monthrebatesUp to $500 in utility rebates

Save Up to$1,700 on a

New AC System*

Save Up to$1,700 on a

New AC System*

SALE EXTENDED!SALE EXTENDED!

FREE WATER HE

As low as$78 a month

manufacturer b t

A lUp to $1,200 in

f tU t $1 200 i

F WATER HEATERWITH NEW AC!

*16 Seer unit or higher, cleaning limited to new A/C system duct work only. Call for details. License EC13005154, CA1816868, CFC1429126. Expires 3/1/16

Financing Available

A prosecutor said Saturday his office is concernedthe husband of a slain doctor could try to post bond byusing life insurance policies that are under his wife’sname and total at least $4.43 million.

Assistant State Attorney Hamid Hunter askedJudge John Duryea to set a bond for Mark Sievers, 47,in the same amount as the policies during a court hear-ing Saturday. The judge granted the request.

“The source of funds used to post bail or procurebond are of relevance to the court, and here the sourceof funds could potentially be proceeds from the al-leged crime — that being life insurance policies,”Hunter said, citing a state law.

Mark Sievers was arrested Friday and charged withsecond-degree murder in the June 28 killing of hiswife, Dr. Teresa Sievers, 46. Saturday’s hearing wasMark Sievers’ first court appearance as a defendant.

Mark Sievers appeared in court via video. He didnot say anything during the hearing. He remained injail as of Saturday morning.

CRIME

Sievers’ bond set at $4.4M Husband of slain doctorremains in jail; daughtersplaced in Naples residencepending custody hearingTHYRIE BLANDTBLAND@NEWS-PRESS.COM

KINFAY MOROTI/THE NEWS-PRESS

Mark Sievers makes a court appearance Saturday via a livefeed at the Lee County Justice Complex Center in Fort Myers.Sievers was arrested Friday and charged with second-degreemurder in the June 28 killing of his wife, Dr. Teresa Sievers, 46.

Mark Sievers, left, ischarged in the death of hiswife, Dr. Teresa Sievers,who was found dead inJune.

See Sievers, Page 13A

Ed Fitts & Deb Whitman, proprietors of BRANDNapa Valley, are past participants in the festivaland were presenting their cabernet sauvignon.“We are philanthropists first,” Whitman said.“When Ed opened the winery, it was a great way todovetail philanthropy and wine.”

Chefs were busy preparing plates and explain-ing their culinary creations. Chef Jason Grasty, ofRoy’s in Bonita Springs, offered fresh oysterstopped with a grapefruit caviar. This was his fifthyear participating. “Over the years, we’ve tried tofocus on one to two charities we can really help,”Grasty said. “This one is really cool because yousee the mega impact immediately.”

It was a “Celebration of Gracious Giving” Satur-day at the 2016 Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest,as an estimated $2.5 million was raised for SWFLChildren’s Charities Inc.

Last year’s auction raised a record $3.53 million.The money is distributed to three beneficiaries:Golisano Children’s Hospital, Florida Gulf CoastUniversity College of Health Professions and So-cial Work and the School of Health Professions atFlorida SouthWestern State College.

Saturday’s events began with the grand tastingstaged around the pool at Miromar Lakes Beach &Golf Club. Vintners from Northern Californiapoured everything from cabernets to chardonnays.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINE & FOOD FEST

A taste, a toastand gracious gifts

KINFAY MOROTI/THE NEWS-PRESS

Cancer survivor Avery McCaskill, 6, and auctioneer Scott Robertson celebrate during the Southwest Florida Wine &Food Fest auction on Saturday at the Miromar Lakes Beach and Golf Club.

Live auction raises $2.5 millionfor Golisano Children’s Hospital,other causes that help kidsANNE REEDAREED@NEWS-PRESS.COM

See Fest, Page 5A

See more of the SWFL

Wine & Food Fest.

news-press.com

When buyers with $120,000 in cash take pos-session of the vintage home at 1402 S. Grove Ave.in Fort Myers, they’ll have to deal with mold, aleaky roof and a crumbling garage.

One thing they won’t have to worry about: thelandmark God is Love sign on the 1925 house’sMcGregor Boulevard side, though they mustagree to pay the $15-or-so monthly electric bill tokeep its green neon lit.

Refurbished in 2013 by a community effort ledby the late T.Wainwright Miller Jr., who usedmoney from the private nonprofit Price Founda-tion he headed to fund the repairs, the sign hasbeen a beacon to boulevard travelers since 1943.

After foreclosure proceedings began on theproperty, the foundation stepped in again with a$41,000 down payment to buy it in 2014.

Miller died in January and the foundation hassince backed out of the deal because the askingprice is too high, said board Chairman Dennis

REAL ESTATE

AMY BENNETT WILLIAMS/THE NEWS-PREESS

The private nonprofit Price Foundation will keep thesign lit until new owners can take over.

Landmark ‘Godis Love’ housefor sale, buyersmust keep signAMY BENNETT WILLIAMSAWILLIAMS@NEWS-PRESS.COM

MELANIE PAYNETELLMEL@NEWS-PRESS.COM

See Sign, Page 6A

No Tell MelMELANIE PAYNE

Her column will return soon.

E1 THE NEWS-PRESS » SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016 » 5A

GETTING TO THE POINT

Damasks Silks Sheers Cotton PrintsVelvets Toiles Chintzes LinensSunbrella Upholsteries Matelasse

FT.MYERS 3645 Fowler St.(239) 274-0000

Mon. - Sat. 10-5:30 Closed SundayLike us for specialpromotions

20%any newworkroom

order of $500or more

Off

Ft. Myers location only. Limit 1 per customer. Expires 3/5/16. sn

Thousands of rolls in stock.Millions of possibilities.

www.bocabargoons.com

Now is the perfect time to start your interior decorating projects and

Boca Bargoons is the perfect place!

There youwill find the nation’s largest in-stock selection of theworld’s

finest decorative fabrics and trims and a quality customworkroom to

get the job done.

SaleendsSaturday,

3/5

Ft. Myers location only. Cannot be combined with any other fabric discount orcoupon. Expires 3/5/16. sn

The year’s biggestdecorative fabric saleIf you have never been to aBoca Bargoons fabric store,now is a perfect time to visit.Every roll amongst the thou-sands of rolls in stock is abrand new arrival. All thefabrics have been replacedfor the new season and everyroll is absolutely beautiful!This is not your ordinary fab-ric store! Thousands of rollsare meticulously coordinatedin showroom fashion to makeyour shopping experience re-warding and effortless. Thereis also a complete designcenter driven by the talentof fabric specialists that canhost any project from uphol-stery to custom bed spreads,to drapes and valences. Thisfabric giant is worth a visit asthe majority of fabrics BocaBargoons carries are one-of-a-kind true fabric treasuresthat will enhance any deco-rating project.But wait, there’s more! Out-door fabrics are truly the newfabric phenomenon and BocaBargoons has more than youcan shake a stick at. Fromthe latest of fashion outdoorprints to the rough and tum-ble 3000 hour in direct sun-light Sunbrella fabrics, BocaBargoons carries them!Home owners and design-ers are increasingly usingoutdoor fabrics indoors. Itmakes complete sense tothe fabric specialists at BocaBargoons decorative fabricoutlet. Outdoor fabrics aredurable and low-mainte-nance and are often a greatfabric option for inside thehome, especially on heavilyused upholstered pieces.Outdoor fabrics havechanged over time and lookmore like indoor fabrics

each year. Newer outdoor fab-rics are very functional, whichhas to do with how the fabricis put together. The processused now is far closer to theprocess used in making interi-or fabrics. The supply is great-er and the choices of colors,styles, textures and weightshave been greatly expandedand Boca Bargoons decora-tive fabric outlet has the larg-est selection of in-stock out-door fabrics in the state.One of the most importantqualities of outdoor fabrics istheir light fastness. If a sofa isin a location where there isa lot of light, an outdoor fab-ric is going to hold its colorlonger than a fabric madestrictly for indoors. This isbecause outdoor fabrics arevery durable and fade resis-tant high solution dyed acryl-ics and polyesters.Another plus when decorat-ing with outdoor fabrics isthat they are easier to clean.A lot of indoor fabrics haveto be professionally cleaned,but outdoor fabrics naturallyrepel stains better and canbe topically cleaned with wa-ter and soap. They are alsobleach cleanable, so you canlift mold out of the fabricseasily. A lot of people withchildren and pets very muchlike outdoor fabrics becausethey are so easy to clean andthere is a lower cost of main-tenance. Outdoor fabrics maycost a little more but, overtime, they prove to be an eco-nomical choice.No other fabric store com-pares to boca Bargoons forquality, selection and value!They are located at 3645Fowler St. and can be reachedat (239) 274-0000.

Charity was at the forefront. BrianKelley and his wife, Shari Skinner, host-ed a vintner dinner on Friday, their firsttime hosting and their first year partici-pating in the festival.

“We wanted to get involved with rais-ing money for Golisano Children’s Hos-pital,” Kelley said. The couple also be-lieve their home, set along the Caloosa-hatchee River, was the perfect settingfor a vintner dinner. Their dinner, Coco-nut Grove, featured wines from SaintHelena Winery and culinary talents ofTodd Johnson from Rumrunners in CapeCoral, with Ryan Love presenting thedessert course. “The part that was reallynice was seeing who came to the dinnerto support this great charity,” Kelleysaid.

A performance by children from theHeights Center concluded the grandtasting as guests moved inside for thelive auction.

Auctioneer Scott Robinson was joinedby celebrity emcee Kellie Burns. Thefirst lot up for auction was a dinner for40, featuring a team of local celebritychefs who presented an exclusive diningexperience at the James Beard Houselast year. Six couples bid $2,500, making

the total for the lot $15,000.Once-in-a-lifetime vacations, wine

collections and culinary experienceswere included in the 40 auction lots. Twoof the items up for bid had connections toGolisano Children’s Hospital.

Each year, a work of art is created by apatient, auctioned during the festivaland donated back to the hospital. Thisyear’s child artist was Avery McCaskill,who created ‘The Wise Owl’ with artistEllen Sheppard and new art mentor Joe-lene Black. McCaskill, a 6-year-old for-mer patient who battled leukemia, stoodnext to her mother as she shared an in-spirational story with the crowd. Thepainting raised $150,000 for GolisanoChildren’s Hospital, one of three benefi-ciaries of the festival.

Lot 24, ‘A Million Reasons to Give,’provides funds for purchasing the spe-cialized pediatric equipment needed inthe new hospital. Last year, the lot raised$455,000 for pediatric and neonatal care,and this year the total was close to $1mil-lion.

The final lot of the evening was ‘Passthe Hat,’ a collection of items donated bythe crowd. A Rolex, double strand ofpearls and Tiffany bracelet rested in theblack top hat alongside scholarships toFlorida Gulf Coast University and Flori-da SouthWestern State College. The win-ning bid on the contents of the hat was$60,000, bringing the total raised duringthe live auction to about $2.5 million.

FestContinued from Page 3A

PHOTOS BY KINFAY MOROTI/THE NEWS-PRESS

Retta Singer, center, celebrates her winning bid during the Southwest Florida Wine & Food Festauction on Saturday at the Miromar Lakes Beach and Golf Club.

Scenes from theSouthwest FloridaWine & Food Fest

auction onSaturday at theMiromar LakesBeach and Golf

Club.

“We wanted to get involved with raising money

for Golisano Children’s Hospital. The part that was

really nice was seeing who came to the dinner to

support this great charity.” BRIAN KELLEY

SWFL Wine & Food Fest:By the lotLot 1: James Beard House Celebrity Chefsof SWFL $150,000Lot 2: The City That Never Sleeps $20,000Lot 3: Sonoma Dinner, Wine, Flight, TeeOff! $17,500Lot 4: In the Spirit of Aloha $12,500Lot 5: Machu Picchu and the AmazonIn-Style $55,000Lot 6: Fabulous Fifteen- A collection of100-point Wines $40,000Lot 7: Prime Time Emmy Awards Show-You be the Judge $40,000Lot 8: Grape Escape $22,500Lot 9: Island State of Mind $50,000Lot 10: The Wise Owl Painting $150,000Lot 11: Legends and Loughs $40,000Lot 12: Big Time, Big Wine $20,000Lot 13: Australian Adventure of the LandDown Under $40,000Lot 14: Winemaker for a Day $40,000(two winners at $20,000)Lot 15: The Greatest Spectacle in Racing$40,000Lot 16: Like No Place on Earth $30,000Lot 17: Seas the Day in Alaska or theMediterranean $40,000Lot 18: Great Friends, Fresh Food, anUnforgettable Evening $30,000Lot 19: Beauty and the Boutiques, NapaValley $100,000 (two winners at $50,000)Lot 20: Sea of Your Dreams $25,000

Lot 21: A Culinary Ride with Chef Hyde$22,500Lot 22: Kill the Lights with Luke Bryan$30,000Lot 23: Made for Spain $50,000Lot 24: A Million Reasons to Give $1million (approximate)Lot 25: Boating, Bleu Provence andBRAND $7,500Lot 26: Great Wines, Great Music, GreatTimes $25,000Lot 27: A European Celebration of Wine$30,000Lot 28: The Art of Wine $40,000Lot 29: Beautifully Organic, RightfullyFresh $20,000Lot 30: Get Hooked! $60,000Lot 31: From Vines to Wines $45,000Lot 32: Kenya & Tanzania: A Classic AfricaSafari $55,000Lot 33: 96 Bottles of Wine in Your Closet$15,000Lot 34: Tee Time at the 2016 Ryder CupTournament $27,500Lot 34b: Surprise Lot- Bahamas trip withJustin Rose $100,000Lot 35: The Best High Above the Rest$30,000Lot 36: The Riches of Mekong $35,000Lot 37: Let There Be Rock with Cliff Wil-liams and Mark Loren $140,000Lot 38: A French Retreat $35,000Lot 39: Up and Away- Sonoma In June$17,500Lot 40: Pass the Hat $60,000

Lux LotsLot 1: James Beard Celebrity Chefs of Southwest FloridaA recreation of the dinner presented by local award-winning chefs at the James BeardHouse last year, the dining experience created a lot of pre-auction buzz. The culinarytalents include Chef Todd Johnson of Rumrunners, Chef Norman Love of Norman LoveConfections, Chef Harold Balink of Harold’s and Chef Fabrizio Aielli of Sea Salt, wherethe dinner will take place on Oct. 30. The winning bid was split among six couples whoeach paid $2,500 for a total of $15,000.Lot 34b: Surprise LotThe crowd was surprised as the auctioneer announced a late addition, auction lot 34b.The lot included a trip to the Bahamas, a round of golf with Justin Rose and a fishingtrip on his private yacht. Rose had a special video message for bidders, explaining hissupport for the charities benefiting from the event. The winning bid was $100,000.Lot 37: Let There Be RockOne of five bass guitars played by Cliff Williams, bassist for AC/DC, was up for auctionand presented to the crowd by Billy Dean, a country songwriter and artist who kickedoff the auction with a song and was scheduled to perform at the after-party. In addi-tion to the guitar, a one-of-a-kind necklace designed by Mark Loren with a reversiblependant featuring one of Williams guitar picks was offered. The bidding came to a stopat $140,000.