Plant City Times &

Observer

INDEX

OUR TOWN

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. A PARTNERSHIP WITH

This week’s winner is Tori Lumley

See his photo on PAGE 15.

Calendar .......................2 Crossword ...................15 Obituaries ...................11 Sports .........................12 Weather ......................15

FREE • FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

+ Daylight SavingDon’t forget to “spring

forward” Sunday, March 8, for Daylight Savings Time.

+ YMCA hosts swim lessons

Just in time for spring break, the Plant City YMCA will be holding swim lessons for SPLASH! Week March 9 to 12.

Lessons are open to swimmers and non-swim-mers, ages 3 to 12 years. The free classes include a 40-minute water safety les-son taught by certified swim instructors. Classes will focus on water familiariza-tion, pool rules, water safety rules, safe water entry and exit, front and back floating, basic front and back pad-dling, treading water and personal safety/rescue skills.

Participants are grouped by ages. YMCA membership is not required, however, pre-registration is required due to limited space. Participants must bring their own swimsuit and towel. Times vary based on each YMCA branch. Contact the Plant City branch at (813) 757-6677.

+ Chapter celebrates 30th

On Feb. 21, the Benjamin DeVane Chapter of the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 celebrated its 30th anniversary. The Chapter was founded Jan. 13, 1985. The Charter mem-bers were:

Nancy Johanna AulMrs. Howard BeynonMrs. Thomas BillipsMrs. Thomas BurnettMrs. James CastMrs. Ralph DurranceCatherine LewisMrs. Fuller SimmonsMrs. Harry Lee Smith

+ Chili cook-off rescheduled

The Arts Council of Plant City has rescheduled its Chili Cook-off, “Promoting the Culinary Arts through

HAVING A BALLLittle League opening day ahome run. PAGE 13

TRACKEDRailFest to chuginto downtownnext weekend.PAGE 3

OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNER OF THE FLORIDA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

OUR TOWN / PAGE 4

FAMILY RECORDMiltners knockcoaching out of the park. PAGE 12

Commissioner of Agricul-ture Adam Putnam joined Farm Credit of Central Florida directors, Florida Strawberry Festival directors and the Strawberry Queen at the an-nual Strawberry Salute Break-fast Monday, March 2.

This is the 19th year in a row the Bartow native has at-tended. This year, he spoke of his goals for the upcoming legislative session.

“As we step into that vortex there are a couple of things I

The Florida Strawberry Fes-tival is known as one of the safest, most family-friendly events in the state. But making sure that it stays this way takes an intensive, collaborative ef-fort among the Plant City and Temple Terrace police depart-ments, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and much of their work is behind the scenes.

As festival-goers drive up to the grounds, they are directed by PCPD officers.

“The responsibility of traffic flow outside of the gates falls

A Time to Celebrate

It’s been quite a birthday celebration for the Florida Strawberry Festival. After 80 years of fun, the festival has declared the 2015 “Come Join the Party!” And the thousands of guests who at-

tended, both natives and out-of-towners, certainly did party. From the Grand Parade to livestock shows, the Florida Strawberry Festival never disappoints. For more pictures, open up this week’s edition or visit PlantCityObserver.com.

AGRICULTURE by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor

Amber Jurgensen

Adam Putnam spoke about the upcoming legislative session.

Putnam speaks at annual fruit saluteThe commissioner of agriculturehas attend the Strawberry Salute breakfast for 19 years in a row.

BEHIND THE SCENES:FESTIVAL SECURITYSafety is a joint effort among the Plant City and Temple Terrace police departments, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

safe and sound by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

IN THIS ISSUE

GRAND PARADE ............................... PAGE 5 BABY CONTEST .................................PAGE 8

MOONLIGHT MAGIC .........................PAGE 10YOUTH STEMMING ............................PAGE 8

The midways are a big draw for festival guests.

Vol. 2, No. 32 | One section

The Strawberry Queen and Court danced with guests on opening day.

Moooo! Livestock shows are part of Plant City’s heritage.

Left: Mr. Berry attended the parade again this year.

SEE SAFETY / PAGE 4

SEE BREAKFAST / PAGE 4

COMMUNITYCALENDARFRIDAY, MARCH 6Circus Mutt Live! — takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Keel and Curley Winery, 5210 Thonotosassa Road. (813) 752-9100.Boyz II Men — takes place beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, March 6, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Wish Farms Soundstage.Acoustic Happy Hour — music takes place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, at O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant, 1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.Corner Store Happy Hour — takes place from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 6, at The Corner Store, 121 E. Reynolds St. Enjoy craft beer and san-gria in a relaxed environment. Kitchen stays open late for dinner. (813) 754-0900.Christian Contemporary Music — takes place from 6:33 to 8:13 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd. (813) 752-1220.Live Music — takes place from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, March 6, at O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant, 1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.Loretta Lynn — takes place beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Friday, March 6, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Wish Farms Soundstage.Moonlight Magic — takes place from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, March 6, at the Florida Strawberry Festival. The mid-way stays open for this special event.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7Dan + Shay — takes place beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Wish Farms Soundstage.John Legend — takes place beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Wish Farms Soundstage. Skip Frye Blues Live! — takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at Keel and Curley Winery, 5210 Thonotosassa Road. (813) 752-9100.Young Adult Nite — takes place from 7:33 to 10:33 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd. Enjoy live music from local artists. (813) 752-1220.

SUNDAY, MARCH 8Coca-Cola Family Day — takes place beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 1, at the

Florida Strawberry Festival. Present any Coca-Cola brand can product at the entry gate to receive a voucher for $5 off the $25 ride wristband. Daylight Savings Time — takes place at 2 a.m. Don’t forget to “spring forward” and set your clocks. Divorce Care: The Road to Healing/Finding Help — takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at Plant City Church of God, 2103 Mud Lake Road. Parmalee — takes place beginning at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Wish Farms Soundstage.REBA — takes place begin-ning at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Wish Farms Soundstage. Second Time Around Marching Band — takes place begin-ning at noon Sunday, March 8, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Morrow Steel Free Grandstand.Stingray Chevrolet Corvette Drawing — takes place begin-ning at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at the Florida Strawberry Festival.

MONDAY, MARCH 9Weight Loss Surgery Information Session — takes place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, at Ed and Myrtle Lou Swindle Medical Arts Center Conference Room, 1601 W. Timberlane Dr. Registration is required. The event is free. (813) 644-6720.

TUESDAY, MARCH 10Got You Covered: The Fine Art of Bookfacing — takes place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St. Bookfacing is a trick of photography where people blend themselves posing into a cover. Gather

some library books and see if you can master the art of Bookfacing. For grades 6 to 12. (813) 757-9215.GriefShare — takes place beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at Hope Lutheran Baptist Church, 2001 N. Park Road. Each GriefShare session includes a video seminar and group dis-cussion to help cope with the death of a loved one. (813) 752-4622. Heart Health Screenings — takes place from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at the Community Resource Center of South Florida Baptist Hospital, 301 N. Alexander St. High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload, causing the heart to enlarge and weaken over time, and the risk of coronary heart dis-ease rises as blood cholesterol levels increase. Get both your blood pressure and cholesterol checked on a regular basis. No appointment necessary. Free. (813) 644-6720.The Recovery for Life — takes place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at the Lorena Jaeb Rainbow House, 504 N. Palm Drive. It is a 12-step Bible-based program

to help free individuals from all forms of addiction. Debbie Ray, (813) 763-1562.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11Open Mic Night — takes place beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, at O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant, 1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.Plant City Local Harvest Farmers Market — takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, at McCall Park, 100 N. Collins St. PCLocalHarvestFarmer sMarket.com. Read with Bonnie the Therapy Dog — takes place from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, at Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W. McLendon St. Reading with Bonnie can help children improve read-ing, communication skills and build confidence. For children of all ages. (813) 757-9215.

FRIDAY, MARCH 13Plant City Social Dance Club — dance takes place from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 13, at the Florida National Guard Armory, 4004 Airport Road.

For more information call Ken Miller at (863) 409-7714.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14Friends of the Library Book Sale — takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St. Hardbacks will be $1 and paperbacks with be 50 cents. From 2 to 4 p.m. there will be a bag of books for $1 sale. Bags will be provided. There will be numerous categories of books for sale, as well as membership forms to join the Friends of the Bruton Memorial Library. The Friends of the Bruton Memorial Library helps to support the library’s children and adult programming throughout the year. RailFest — takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum, 102 N. Palmer St. Enjoy music and games, take a tour of a vintage caboose, train platform and the train museum, and get a special edition coloring book or puzzle. The event is free. For more information call (813) 719-6989 or go to WillafordRailroadMuseum.com. Second Chance Boxer Rescue Carnival — takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15, at 6106 Knights Griffin Road. The parking and admission is free. Lure course is $5 for one run or $10 for three runs. Food, games, entertainment and vendors. facebook.com/events/698388510281662. Wish Farms Annual Charity Strawberry U-Pick — takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Wish Farms, 37381 State Road 62, Duette. Proceeds will go to the Redlands Christian Migrant Association. The cost is $5 per flat. WishFarms.com/upick.

To publicize your event in our Community Calendar, please send by mail: 110 E. Reynolds St., Suite 100-A, Plant City, FL 33563; or by email: ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com. Photos are welcome. Deadline is noon Thursday.

BEST BETBaby Parade — takes place beginning at 10:15 a.m. Saturday March 7, at the Morrow Steel Free Grandstands at the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds.

RailFest is chugging its way into Plant City for its second year, and there will be activi-ties and learning opportuni-ties for railroad enthusiasts of all ages.

Last year, the City of Plant City hosted RailFest. But now that the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum has been established as an indepen-dent, nonprofit organization, the museum society will be organizing the event.

New this year, the museum directors will be hosting the Golden Spike Awards, which they hope will become an an-nual tradition.

The awards are for people who have gone above and beyond to demonstrate their commitment to the museum. The honorees will be revealed at RailFest.

RailFest will be collaborat-ing with the Central Florida Bluegrass Association, which has planned a bluegrass jam for the same day and time, in McCall Park.

“We’re real big about sup-porting local stuff anyway, so that’s one of the things we decided to do together,” mu-

seum board president Eric Barber said.

Since the Christmas season, directors of the museum have been working on plans for a museum-themed puzzle and an original coloring book to teach children about railroad safety. These items will be available for the first time at RailFest.

The puzzle, on sale for $16, features a photograph of the museum’s red caboose, do-nated by Robert Willaford. Only 105 puzzles have been created, making them an ex-clusive collector’s item. The museum directors hope to release a puzzle with a new

photo annually. The coloring books, intend-

ed for elementary-age chil-dren, were designed by a local high school student and artist Mina Geist.

“She’s an amazing artist,” Barber said.

Geist’s drawings will be in the style of Japanese manga, which Barber thought would make a unique coloring book, because it’s not a style that is used often.

RailFest will also have a trackless train and other ac-tivities that children will love.

“We’re going to have a lot of giveaways for kids. It’s defi-nitely going to be kid-orient-ed,” Barber said.

Visitors to RailFest will be able to take one last look at the museum tower before it is ren-ovated and its termite damage is repaired. If so desired, they can make donations to put to-ward its upkeep.

For more information about RailFest, visit the museum’s newly unveiled website at Wil-lafordRailroadMuseum.com.

Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.

RailFest on track for second yearchoo-choo by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

IF YOU GORAILFESTWhen: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 14 (Most activities will occur before 2 p.m.)Where: Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum, 102 N. Palmer St., Plant CityCost: FreeMore Information: (813) 719-6989, Willaford RailroadMuseum.com

The family event is hosted by the Robert W. Willaford Museum.

File photo

+ Marathon gas station catches fire

An electrical issue sparked a fire at the Marathon gas station at McIntosh Road and Highway 92 in Seffner, Thursday, Feb. 26.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue responded to a report of a commercial structure fire at 5:30 a.m. Upon arrival, HCFR found smoke and flames coming from the exte-rior of the gas station. The fire was contained to the exte-rior and extinguished.

All employees and patrons were evacuated prior to HCFR’s arrival. There were no injuries to civilians or per-sonnel. The cause of the fire was electrical.

+ Motorcyclist dies in head-on collision

A motorcyclist died after a head-on collision on U.S. 92 east of Turkey Creek Road early Feb. 25.

At 4:50 a.m., a 2010 Dodge Avenger driven by Cristal Elisa Higareda, 21, of Plant City, was traveling east on U.S. 92 when it crossed the center line into the westbound lane for an unknown reason. The front of the vehicle collided with a 2003 Suzuki G7250 driven by Marcelo Cruzes-Tovar, 30, of Plant City.

Cruzes-Tovar died at the crash site. Higareda and the two-year-old child in her car suffered minor injuries.

+ Detectives find moonshine still

Donnie Jones, 26, of Plant City, was arrested Feb. 19, after detectives found a moonshine still and drug paraphernalia on his prop-erty.

Detectives responded to 3501 Edwards Road to locate a possible meth lab. The moonshine still was dis-covered under an overhang that was part of a shed.

Detectives found a red plastic, 50-gallon barrel, which contained fermenting corn mash and strawberries. They also found a white plastic barrel that contained a copper (worm) tubing.

In addition, they found some meth lab-mak-ing items, but did not find an operational lab on the property.

Jones was arrested on charges of resisting law enforcement officer without violence, possession of a controlled substance, pos-sesion of marijuana and possession of drug parapher-nalia. Additional charges for the still are pending.

When a dog named Circles was rescued in Polk County, he had a fractured spine and an even more badly broken spirit. His owner had swung him around by his tail, thrown him into a wall and then left him alone in the backyard for six months.

But because of Second Chance Boxer Rescue and its sister organization, Second Chance Friends, Circles was given all of the care he needed to recover. Months later, he was adopted by a loving family.

“We’re a last-resort rescue. ... We take dogs off the euthanasia list. They’re normally just medi-cal trainwrecks,” said Bill Gray, director of SCBR, who person-ally took Circles to New Orleans for rehab and supervised his year-and-a-half-long recovery.

SCBR will be hosting a carni-val March 14 and 15 as a fun-draiser, to ensure that more dogs like Circles can be res-cued, rehabbed and ultimately embraced by new families who will care for them properly. Cir-cles will even be at the carnival to meet all who attend.

This will be the carnival’s second year. It was so success-ful last year that it has now been expanded to an entire weekend.

“I really was shocked at the turnout. It was amazing,” Gray said. “The cars just kept com-ing.”

The carnival will have all of the usual attractions, such as food, music, children’s activi-ties and games. There will also be a number of rescued bas-set hounds dressed as clowns and vendors selling pet-related items. But the big draw is the lure course.

In a lure course, dogs run at top speeds to chase a bright, motorized object. There are competitions for lure coursing, but at the SCBR carnival, any dog can run the course for fun. No experience is necessary.

“Almost any dog can do it,” Gray said. “It’s like they can’t wait to do it. And once in a while, you have one that’s so thrilled, they’re screaming while they run, and I laugh so hard, I cry.”

Anyone can bring his or her dog to the carnival. Gray asks that owners keep control of their dogs and do not use re-tractable leashes.

Gray started SCBR after serving as president of Florida Boxer Rescue. Though Florida Boxer Rescue is a large and ef-fective organization, Gray saw a need for a smaller, local orga-nization to save boxers in the Tampa Bay area.

“They’re little clowns — goofy, goofy dogs, very affec-tionate,” Gray said. “We raised our kids with boxers. They’re really family dogs.”

But Gray often came across dogs of other breeds that also were desperate to be rescued. So he formed a division of SCBR, Second Chance Friends, for all dogs, cats or any other kind of pet.

When Gray finds that a res-cued pet is unlikely to be ad-opted because of old age or extreme anxiety issues, he welcomes them into his own home.

“They come and live out their lives at the Boxer Ranch,” Gray said. “There’s never a minute that there’s not a hu-man in the house.”

For more information about SCBR or to apply for adoption, visit saveaboxer.org.

Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.

Community Chorale chooses new director

NEWSBRIEFS

When Claudia Bolaño con-ducts a choir, it is as though her baton is not just a tool, but it becomes an extension of her very being. Her move-ments mirror the music’s depth, as she urges the vocal-ists to interpret and express the emotive nature of the piece.

Plant City Community Cho-rale has seen some ups and downs in recent years, but as its new artistic director, Bola-ño has a vision to help the en-semble reach its full potential.

PreludeBolaño and her husband

are from Bogotá, Colombia. Bolaño studied instrumen-tal and choral conducting, as well as piano performance, at Pontific Javeriana University.

But her husband, Ernesto, was looking to advance in his engineering career, and the United States seemed to of-fer big opportunities in his field. After he was offered a position in central Florida, the couple moved to Lakeland in 1998 with their son, then just 8 months old.

The move was a big adjust-ment for Bolaño. It is com-mon for families to be served by maids in Colombia, so she had to learn how to be a homemaker, while taking care of a baby and trying to learn a new language.

“I come from a very close family,” Bolaño said. “It was really hard for me to detach from them.”

After about a year, Ernes-to worried that Bolaño was bored and lonely, and though she taught piano lessons, she was not engaged in her pas-sion for vocal music. He did some research and found the Lakeland Choral Society, which Bolaño joined as a vo-calist.

The choral society practiced at Florida Southern College, which helped Bolaño con-nect with students and faculty at the school. She enrolled as a music education student, with the dream of becoming a music teacher.

“It was hard, intimidat-ing, taking all these classes in English with all these Ameri-can people who knew the language really well,” Bolaño said.

But she excelled in her pro-gram and earned not only a bachelor’s degree, but also an honorable award for Student Teacher of the Year.

First MovementBolaño began teaching at

Lakeland High School, where she worked for five years. She was valued for her success in building a choral program from scratch.

Mulberry High School soon invited Bolaño to develop a new choral program there, just as she had done at LHS.

“It was harder there. It took me longer. But I left that school when my women’s en-semble got superiors at state,” Bolaño said. “That’s when I said, ‘Ok, I’ve done what I needed to do. I’m ready to go back to school.’”

Bolaño again became a full-time student, this time at Uni-versity of South Florida. After completing her master’s de-

gree in conducting, she began working as a voice teacher at Harrison School for the Visual and Performing Arts, which her son and daughter both at-tend.

ModulationWhile she was studying

at USF, Bolaño met another master’s student, Joe Mendo-lia, who had founded Plant City Community Chorale and was its director at the time. Mendolia invited Bolaño to PCCC concerts and asked her to conduct a Christmas con-cert one year.

“I did not know that was going to mean anything later on,” Bolaño said. “I just went one day, conducted them, had a great time, left, and I forgot about it.”

In 2013, the executive board let Mendolia go from PCCC after he had been arrested on charges unrelated to the choir. PCCC’s next conductor, Ken Watts, was a mater of mu-sic with more than 40 years of experience. Watts served until January 2015, but then had to step down because of illness.

Soon after that, Bolaño got an unexpected letter from PCCC.

“The letter said, ‘Would you consider being our director, because we remember how you worked with us. We need a director. You are the person that we want,’” Bolaño said. “Very similarly to my schools that I had worked in, they were kind of in crisis.”

At Bolaño’s first rehearsal as director of PCCC, the choir had just 14 members. Its only tenor was a woman who usu-ally sang in the alto section.

But the executive directors had an idea to bring life back to the choir, and with Bolaño’s help, the plan worked. The choir hosted an open rehears-al and invited anyone who had been involved with PCCC in the past.

At the open rehearsal, the choir more than doubled. And all 16 guests returned and signed up to join long-term.

“All these people gave me a chance,” Bolaño said. “I’ve been extremely lucky, and I’m very happy.”

CrescendoBolaño hopes that under

her leadership, PCCC’s mem-bers will become more profes-sional and skillful than ever.

“I just want to raise the bar, so eventually they can sing major works. Why not?” Bo-laño said. “I would love to pro-vide them with a better level of musicianship than they have right now.”

In the spring concert, PCCC will be singing a piece in Latin. And at this week’s rehearsal, for the first time ever, they began working on a piece in Spanish.

“They’re not scared. And they’ve told me, ‘Push us as hard as possible, because we want to do it well,’” Bolaño said.

“I’m very grateful for these people,” Bolaño said. “The fact that they have fought so much to not let their choir die, even with all the difficul-ties they have come through. They’re willing to do pretty much anything.”

Catherine Sinclair

Claudia Bolaño leads weekly rehearsals for Plant City Community Chorale.

Claudia Bolaño has years of performance and teaching experience, three musical degrees and a passion for conducting.

CANTATE CANTICUM NOVUM by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

IF YOU GOCARNIVALWhen: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15Where: 6106 Knights Griffin Road, Plant CityCost: Free admission and parking. Lure course is $5 for one run of $10 for three runs. Food prices vary.More information: facebook.com/events/ 698388510281662

Courtesy photo

In addition to the dogs, volunteers are the heart and soul of Second Chance Boxer Rescue.

NEW LEASH ON LIFESecond Chance Boxer Rescue and Second Chance Friends rescue pets throughout Tampa Bay and are hosting a fundraising event in Plant City.

man’s best friend by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

want to address,” Putnam said to the packed roomed at Plant City’s First Baptist Church.

Putnam said he would like to integrate local produce into school nutrition to create healthier meals, stimulate the Florida economy and reduce diet-related illnesses.

“How would it be if Straw-berry Crest High School was eating Mexican strawberries or Orange County schools were drinking Brazilian or-ange juice?” he asked.

He also touched on his proj-ect Operation Outdoor Free-dom. This fall, he will roll out Peace River State Forest, a 5,000-acre hunting camp de-

signed for veterans who have been wounded in war. There will be a lodge and range, all handicap accessible.

“It’s a small thank you — that they can do what they grew up doing, take their families, their kids,” Putnam said.

But perhaps the biggest topic is to implement a proac-tive water policy. Because of Florida’s diversity, its regions haven’t been cohesive in the past to create a united and for-malized water policy. Putnam highlighted those many re-gions, including the St. Johns River in Jacksonville down into central Florida, Apala-chicola and its oyster harvest, and the Florida Everglades.

Putnam warned against be-

coming like California in its recent droughts, which have caused industries difficulties.

“We need an overreaching, statewide water policy with emphasis on springs, the Ev-erglades … water quality and water supply,” Putnam said. “When you have a good rain year and good legislative lead-ers, you need to address it … We need to deal with this not in a reactionary way.”

In addition to Putnam, Strawberry Festival President Jim Jeffries thanked Farm Credit for its service to the fes-tival. He encouraged attend-ees to visit its farming display near the Stingray Chevrolet tent, calling it a “mini farm.”

The 2015 Strawberry Queen,

Samantha Sun, thanked Farm Credit for hosting the court.

“We’re so thankful to Farm Credit and the farmers … be-cause without them, we would not be who we are — and that is the Winter Strawberry Capi-tal of the World.”

Also in attendance were Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee, Plant City Police Department Chief Ed Dun-can, Plant City Mayor Rick Lott, City Manager Mike Herr, County Commissioner Al Hig-ginbotham, State Represen-tative Dan Raulerson, State Attorney Mark Ober, and the Grimes Family.

Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.

on the PCPD,” Police Chief Ed Duncan said. “Our guys are out there all day long. They start at 9 in the morning and they leave at 11 at night.”

Or, on the nights of Moon-light Magic, PCPD stays until 2 a.m. or later.

PCPD has 17 to 22 officers directing festival traffic at any given time while the festival gates are open, but these num-bers alone wouldn’t be quite enough personnel. If more Plant City officers were sent to do off-duty work at the festi-val, there might be a deficit in staffing for general service calls around the city.

So some officers from the Temple Terrace Police Depart-

ment come to Plant City help with festival traffic. There are mutual aid agreements in place so that these two municipal departments, along with the Tampa Police Department, can offer help to one another when big events are scheduled.

“It’s a benefit. The guys get to be more familiar with each other, and it builds those part-nerships,” Duncan said.

The PCPD and TTPD person-nel who help with traffic con-trol are off-duty officers, and they are paid by the Strawberry Festival.

But safety and security with-in the gates is up to a different office.

“We could not put on the Strawberry Festival without the Sheriff’s office,” Duncan said.

The work of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office actually starts before the first festival-goer even steps foot onto the grounds. Each year, they in-spect the carnival games to make sure they are operating in accordance with Florida stat-utes.

“There’s rules that regulate those, so they’re somewhat fair. You’re obviously not guar-anteed to win, but there has to be a chance of winning,” Cap-tain Kyle Robinson of HCSO said.

For example, in Florida, a game cannot be called “basket-ball” unless the hoop is the size of a regulation basketball rim. The game has to go by a differ-ent name, such as “hoop shot.”

In addition to wording and signage, Florida has specific rules about the dimensions and designs of certain games, to increase the likelihood of winning.

“Belle City is very compli-ant with most of that, and just like in past years, there were no major issues in all of that,” Robinson said about this year’s games inspection.

The biggest concern for HCSO during the festival is crowd management, Robinson said.

Some of the deputies’ com-mon responsibilities are reunit-ing families with their lost chil-dren, and helping the elderly with minor medical issues.

Even with between 85 and 105 deputies on the festival grounds at any given time, they cannot be everywhere at once. They employ technology to help them identify problems as quickly as they sometimes oc-cur.

“There are visible and co-vert cameras on the grounds to protect the fairgoers,” Rob-

inson said. “They’re basically designed to be in high-traffic areas ... so the deputies can re-act in a timely manner.”

Not all of the HCSO depu-ties who work at the festival grounds are there to help with security. A few officers are sta-tioned at a community out-reach booth in the Parke Ex-hibit Hall.

A lot of visitors from out of state — or even out of the country — stop by the booth to ask about Florida laws. HCSO also uses the booth to pass out sheriff badge stickers to chil-dren, recruit for open positions and promote a raffle fundraiser for Special Olympics Florida.

“(The festival) is a great event that has very few problems, and the deputies enjoy working it,” Robinson said.

Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.

Chili and Chocolate.” The new date is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Robery W. Willaford Railroad Museum in downtown Plant City.

It has been brought back after several years because of many requests. The best of the best can compete in categories mild, spicy and novelty.

For $5, guests can sample various types of chili and choco-late from Neumeister’s Candy Shoppe. Entertainment will be provided by Dance Connection.

To register, call Marsha Passmore at (813) 245-2244, Edith Kidde at (904) 465-1764, or Dodie White at (813) 927-0595.

OUR TOWNCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

BREAKFAST / PAGE 1

SAFETY / PAGE 1

Catherine Sinclair

Chris DePolis and other depu-ties passed out stickers to children at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office booth at the festival.

STATE REPRESENTATIVES MAKE DONATIONState Reps. Dan Raulerson and Ross Spano donated two $500 checks to the Plant City Boys &

Girls Club Feb. 24. They took a tour of the club with Program Director Mary Pearson and spoke with excited students on the playground.

A small light pole fell into two children on a ride at the Florida Strawberry Festival Sunday, March 1.

The spotlight was anchored to the perimeter rail at its top and base with clamps at the clown ride. The rides are inspected by a bureau of Florida’s Department of Agriculture at the beginning of the festival. The rides are then inspected every day by trained Belle City Amusement employees.

Belle City said the brace might have come loose after someone leaning over the perimeter fencing kicked it.

“We’ve had so many people leaning over the fence,” John Manno, safety manager for Belle City, said. “Any injury to a child we take very, very seriously. As careful as we are, things happen. Our main

concern is the safety and well being of the children.”

The light is no taller than 8 feet and is about as thick as a broomstick. Its two glass bulbs did not break.

EMS responded from a sta-tion on the grounds only 300 yards away, before fair officials even got to the ride.

“It’s a reminder that when you have crowds of people, you have to be very vigilant of safety,” Paul Davis, festival manager said.

Belle City’s insurance policy will cover the expenses of the children’s hospital visit. Manno said EMS did not transport the children to the hospital. Their mother took them herself.

In the festival’s 80-year his-tory and Belle City’s 67 years in operation, both cite bruises and bumps, but no seri-ous injuries.

LIGHT POLE FALLS INTO RIDE

Scouts, Berry honored at friends of scouting dinnerScouting organizations are a

pretty big deal around the Plant City area, and on Thursday, Feb. 19, local Boy and Eagle Scouts were honored at the Friends of Scouting banquet dinner.

The event, which was held at Hillsborough Community College’s John R. Trinkle Cen-ter, included a speech from a guest speaker, Police Chief Ed Duncan, and Florida Straw-

berry Festival director emeri-tus Al Berry was honored with the Boy Scouts’ Dean Snyder Soaring Eagle Community Ser-vice Award for all his hard work around town.

HONORS by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

Al Berry poses with his Boy Scouts’ Dean Snyder Soaring Eagle Community Service Award.

Right: Boy Scouts Troop 734 was on hand for the event.

From pageant queens to funny clowns, the Florida Strawberry Festival Grand Parade had something for every-one. The almost two-hour parade trekked through downtown and ended at the festival.

STRAWBERRY FESTIVALGRAND PARADE

The Lions Club helped the PCHS Leo Club dress like clowns for the parade.

Bands from three area high schools performed.

Al Berry led the parade as this year’s Grand Marshal.

High school ROTCs marched in the parade.

Families watched the parade, like Terry Strawn, Londyn Strawn and Courtney Broda. Strawberry Festival Queen Samantha Sun adored the crowd.

The freebies made many smile on the sidelines.

Focus 4 Beauty repped their funny green costumes.

TRADITION by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor

General Manager/Executive Editor / Michael Eng, meng@PlantCityObserver.comGeneral Manager/Advertising / Stacey Hudson, shudson@tampabay.comManaging Editor / Amber Jurgensen, ajurgensen@PlantCityObserver.comAssistant Managing Editor / Jess Eng, jeng@PlantCityObserver.comStaff Writers / Justin Kline, jkline@PlantCityObserver.com; Catherine Sinclair, csinclair@PlantCityObserver.comAdvertising Executives / Veronica Prostko, vprostko@PlantCityObserver.com; Joanna Verga, jverga@tampabay.comCirculation/Office Manager / Linda Lancaster, llancaster@PlantCityObserver.com

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CONTACT USThe Plant City Times & Observer is published once weekly, on Fridays.

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“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.” — Friedrich Hayek, “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

THIS WEEK’S CROSSWORD ANSWERS

THIS WEEK’S CRYPTOQUIZ ANSWERS1) Speed 2) Power 3) Moby Dick 4) Ludwig 5) Led Zeppelin.John Bonham

Paul Coletti spent six years trying to make last summer’s Plant City edition of Camp In-vention happen. Since it went so well, he’s brought it back for 2015 — and it sounds bigger and better than before.

As the only camp of its kind in the Winter Strawberry Capi-tal of the World, Camp Inven-tion is a four-day program that teaches its campers how to use critical thinking within the four STEM fields: science,

technology, engineering and math. When everything goes according to plan, the appeal of the camp is that the kids don’t even realize how much they’re learning.

“You’re wearing goggles, us-ing tools, getting your hands dirty and working collabora-tively,” Coletti said.

This summer’s camps will revolve around the theme, “Il-luminate.” This consists of several modules that campers will work in, learning differ-ent skills as they progress. The “KartWheel” module, for ex-ample, will have campers build their own functioning racing cart from scratch. “Design Stu-dio” will teach kids how to take a concept from blueprint pa-per to reality, and then market it as entrepreneurs. “I Can In-vent: Next Level Gamers” will have kids taking apart recycled appliances and building physi-cal game models.

The program has been around for 25 years, but it’s only the second year Plant City will play host.

The camp is partnered with the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and includes videos and exercises that tie in with the organization in the “In-

ducted” module.“It inspires, makes students

create, innovate, push their limits and get after problem solving,” Coletti said.

Last summer, First Baptist Church of Plant City hosted the 51 campers and their in-structors near the end of June. Those students learned how to make everything for cars to pinball machines, and then showcased their creations for their parents on the camp’s fi-nal day.

This year, Coletti was able to move to a bigger location: the John R. Trinkle Center at Hills-borough Community College. The space will allow Coletti and the staff to set up four classrooms and a large main room for the event, so they’re hoping to bump that number

of 51 students up closer to 90 in the coming months.

Coletti said the move wouldn’t have been possible without help from the church.

“I am so thankful that Plant City First Baptist got our feet in the door here,” he said. “I tried for six years to get one established, and now here we are, working on our second year.”

The camp is open to all students, from kindergar-ten through sixth grade, and will take place from June 15 to 19. In addition to any high schoolers who choose to vol-unteer, the camp’s staff will consist of hand-picked, certi-fied teachers — “only the best of the best,” as Coletti put it. Visit CampInvention.org for more information.

Camp Invention returns to Plant CityThe only STEM-centered camp in Plant City is coming back, and campers can get $25 off if they register before March 20.

INFORMATIONCAMP INVENTION 2015Where: John R. Trinkle Center, Hillsborough Community CollegeWhen: June 15-19, 2015; 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Cost: $230 per camper; $25 off if registered before March 20.To register: visit CampInvention.org, or call 1-(800) 968-4332.For more information and for high schoolers interest-ed in volunteering, contact Paul Coletti at (813) 951-6266, or by email at pac-man1988@hotmail.com.

File photo

HANDS-ON LEARNING by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

Perhaps the most ador-able event of the the Florida Strawberry Festival, the an-nual baby contest was Sun-day, March 1. From creative diapers to prettiest girl and most handsome boy, the ba-bies were all smiles.

Some father-and-son duos dressed alike.

DO BE A BABY by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor

BABY CONTEST

Left: She couldn’t wait to see the judges.

Right: Those big blue eyes lit up the stage.

Their dresses were flouncy and sweet. Many of the babies didn’t shed a tear.

YOUTH STRAWBERRY STEMMING CONTEST

The Youth Straw-berry Stemming Con-test was held Satur-day, Feb. 28, in the Stingray Chevrolet Entertainment Tent. Competitors were di-vided into age groups and given a pack

of berries. The first stemmer to remove all of their berries’ green tops was the winner. Kindergar-teners had help from their parents, but the older stemmers com-peted independently.

A LITTLE OFF THE TOP by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

Leah Burklew, of Gainesville, was the champion stemmer in the fifth and sixth grade division.

Parents had advice for their kids.

Right: Katie Burklew, of Gainesville, was the champion in the kin-dergarten age division.

The first competitor to finish stemming and put his or her hands up was the winner.

MOONLIGHT MAGICFrom glowing games to a hauntingly neon ferris wheel, the midway at the

Florida Strawberry Festival was lit up for Moonlight Magic. The midway was open until 2 a.m. for the event. It will be open again until 2 a.m. Friday, March 6.

Special prizes and trinkets glowed in the dark.

Families came out to enjoy the sights and sounds at night.

Left: The ferris wheel was a popular attraction.

PCHS Band sold strawberry cheesecake at their booth.

Left: Even at night there were still many food options.

‘ROUND MIDNIGHT by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor

Cheree ByrdCheree Byrd, 58, died Feb.

28, 2015, from cancer.She was born in Ken-

tucky and raised in Daytona Beach. She came to Plant City through her job as a manager of customer service with Graybar Electric, where she worked for 30 years. She loved to shop almost as much as she loved to spoil her children and grandchil-dren. She was an excellent listener, the best person in the world to get advice from, and she helped everyone in any way that she could. Her heart was bigger than Texas, and she was never afraid to tell the truth.

She is survived by her hus-band, Randy Byrd; daugh-ters, Renee Getchell, Kelly Collier and Krista Byrd; grandchildren, Blake Getch-ell, Madisyn Getchell and Gwendolyn Collier; and sis-ter, Terrie Ledbetter.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at Wells Memorial. Online condolences may be made at WellsMemorial.com.

Ruby M. HamRuby M. Ham, 94, of Do-

ver, and formerly Fernandi-na Beach, died Feb. 28, 2015.

She was a caregiver to ev-eryone touched by her life. She is survived by her grand-children, Jennifer (Ronald) Lynn, Owen (Judy) Gor-don, Karen (Tim) Ketchie and Shane Lester; 13 great-grandchildren; and many other nieces, nephews, fam-ily and friends. She was pre-ceded in death by her hus-band, Virgil Ham; daughters, Freida Gordon and Joyce Mixon; and nine siblings.

A celebration of life was held Thursday, March 5, at Hopewell Funeral Home. In-terment at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell. Online condolences may be made at HopewellFuneral.com.

Dolores PhilportDolores Philport, 87, of

Plant City, died Feb. 28, 2015, at Country Manor Assisted Living.

A native of Wyandotte, Michigan, she was the daughter of the late August and Katherine Birdsall Tice. She was an assistant manag-er of food services for Wyan-dotte Public Schools before retiring and a member of the Eastern Star.

Survivors include sister-in-law, Paulette Philport Southwick; brother-in-law, Dale Philport; niece, Leigha Hernandez; nephew, Aaron Philport; and siblings, Bud-dy, Carol and Phyllis.

A graveside service was held Wednesday, March 4, at East Shiloh Cemetery. Online condolences may be made at HaughtFuneral-Home.com.

Carlos TaylorCarlos Taylor, 87, of Plant

City, died Feb. 26, 2015.He was a member of La-

borers Local 1240, Orlando. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Faye Juanita Taylor; children, Harold (Debbie) Taylor, Wade (Denise) Tay-lor, Joanne (Eugene) Hart-line and Tony (LaFay) Taylor; siblings, Dan Taylor, Willie (Lorraine) Taylor, Lucille (LG) Sanderfur and Rachel Driggers; 13 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life was held Tuesday, March 3, at Hopewell Funeral Home. Interment at Hopewell Me-morial Gardens. Online con-dolences may be made at HopewellFuneral.com.

Maurine Juanita TindleMaurine Juanita Tindle,

84 of Plant City, died Feb. 24, 2015, at Sun City Center Hospice House.

Born June 6, 1930, in Plant City, she was the daughter of the late William and Alma Collins Ham. Ms. Tindle was a member of Northside Bap-tist Church and retired from Florida Blood Services.

Surviving are sons, James and Paul Tindle II; sister, Kathryn Mann; eight grand-children; and nine great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by daughter, Phyllis Richards. The fam-ily will be having services at a later date. Online con-dolences may be made at HaughtFuneralHome.com.

Marcelo TovarMarcelo Tovar, 30, of Plant

City, died Feb. 25, 2015.A native of Guanajuato,

he was the son of Miguel Esquivel and Silverio Ran-gel. Mr. Tovar was a mem-ber of St. Clement Catholic Church.

Survivors include wife, Juana Magueyal; children, Brayan, Evelin and Yoselyn Cruzes-Magueyal; brothers, Rocendo, Arturo and Juan Cruzes; and sisters, Maria and Rosa Cruzes.

Funeral services were held Tuesday, March 3, at St. Clement Catholic Church. Online condolences may be made at HaughtFuneral-Home.com.

Bryce “Dale” WeaverBryce “Dale” Weaver, 69,

of Dover, and born in Opp, Alabama, died of cancer Feb. 25, 2015.

He was a retired salesman with Goodyear (Wingfoot) Truck Tire Center. He loved his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lynda West Weaver; children, Stacy (Keith) Platt and Stephen (Jenny) Weaver; grandchil-dren, Jeremy Platt, Cait-lin Platt, Casey Platt, Dar-ian Weaver and Cameron Weaver; siblings, Lowell

(Cara) Weaver, Clovis “Red” (Velma) Weaver, Larry (Deb-bie) Weaver, Gene (Katrina) Weaver, Betty Jo Baggett and Rita (Hansel) Griffin; sister-in-law, Lillian Weaver; and many other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his brother, Collis “Carl” Weaver.

A celebration of life was held Monday, March 2, at Hopewell Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to LifePath Hospice, Devel-opment Dept., 12470 Tele-com Drive, Suite 300, Tem-ple Terrace, Florida, 33637. Condolences may be made at HopewellFuneral.com.

James N. Yates Sr.James N. Yates Sr., 90, of

Balm, and formerly Iron-ville, Kentucky, died Feb. 23, 2015.

He was a vet-eran of the U.S. Air Force, and a retired electrician with Al-lied Chemical in Ashland, Kentucky. He is survived by his children, James N. “Jimmy” (Donna) Yates Jr., Marcia (Chuck) Forrest and Debbie (Brian) Ratliff; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Yates; and daughter-in-law, Phyllis Yates.

A celebration of life was held Friday, Feb. 27, at Hopewell Funeral Home. Interment at Hopewell Me-morial Gardens. Online con-dolences may be made at HopewellFuneral.com.

OBITUARIESOBSERVER

Nora Lehman RobertsonNov. 19, 1927 — March 24, 2012

It’s been three years ago this week

Since Jesus called your name,

And took you home to heaven

Out of all your earthly pain.

We so miss your precious laugh

and your special unique ways

To love and share and hugEach and every day.

You are forever missed. There’s a hole within my

heart. For we’ve missed you every

daySince we’ve had to be

apart.

So watch the eastern sky, dear one

For we’ll soon be raptured home.

And what a grand reunionWe’ll have around God’s

throne.

Til then, forever loved, for-ever missed.

Your daughter, Nora Louise

I’ve been thinking a lot about losses lately.

No, I’m not talking about my beloved Buffalo Sabres’ attempt to tank and draft rising star Connor McDa-vid. I’m talking about per-sonal losses because, for me, several things came up last month.

The first was Buddy Bennett, who became the first person I’d ever met through work that I had to write a tribute for. I wrote

plenty about Bennett and the great things he did for Plant City and, if you missed it, you can find the full article on PlantCi-tyObserver.

com. The Dolphins are cur-rently working on a way to pay tribute to the man next season, which will prob-ably come in the form of a uniform accessory.

Shortly afterward, I celebrated the birthday of a close friend and col-lege roommate who, one year ago, didn’t survive being struck by two cars. We celebrated Jesse’s life around this time last year and, because he was such a hardcore Pittsburgh Steelers fan, everyone who attended wore the team’s gear as we shared our best stories about our time with him. (If you see me wearing a Steelers t-shirt around town in a few days, that’s why.)

And, the morning of this past Valentine’s Day, I learned that a fraternity brother of mine died in an accident. Although I wasn’t able to attend the service, which was held in South Carolina, I’m helping fam-ily and friends work on several tributes to Will.

I’ve noticed that many of the ways society pays tribute to the deceased is done through, or at least inspired by, sports. Maybe it’s because that person was such a huge fan that any other way to do it just wouldn’t work as well, or perhaps it’s because sports and strong visuals work so

Y O U T H | H I G H S C H O O L | G O L F | C O M M U N I T Y

SportsDo you have a good

sports scoop for us? Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com, or Tweet us at @PCTOSports.

HIGH SCHOOLS

+ PCHS to host poker tourney

In a joint effort to raise some money for Plant City High School athletics, the Raider baseball and football teams are joining forces to host a Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament this month.

On Saturday, March 28, any local poker stars will be able to play for the benefit of the teams at Walden Lake Golf & Country Club. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the tournament will start at 7 p.m.

The buy-in will be $100 per seat, with re-buys avail-able, and tables can be sponsored for $150 per table. Prizes will be award-ed for the first, second and third-place finishers.

There will be a limited number of seats at the event, so all who are inter-ested are encouraged to sign up and reserve their spot as soon as possible. For more information, call Armand Cotnoir at (813) 967-7417.

COLLEGES

+ Spring training games coming

Who’s ready for Plant City to host 150 colle-giate baseball and softball games over the course of this month?

Hopefully, that applies to everyone. The NCBA and NCSA tournaments, annual Plant City staples, are about to come to the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World for the 10th consecutive year.

Throughout March, these college teams will use the fields at Mike Sansone Park, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center and Plant City High School. Full schedules can be found online at ncbaspringtraining.weebly.com and ncsaspringtrain-ing.weebly.com.

For more informa-tion, contact Director of Operations Savannah Ahrens at savannah.ahrens@collclubsports.com.

FISHING

+ Youth Fishing Derby set for March

This spring’s Youth Fishing Derby has been set for Saturday, March 21, though it will be missing an important part.

Longtime title sponsor T.J. Vail, who sponsored the event for 18 years, has since died, so the upcom-ing derby will be held in his memory. He was last able to attend the March 2014 event, before health problems prevented him from catching the fall derby.

“T.J.’s passion was, ‘Keeping Kids Fishing,’” program manager Deborah Haldane says.

As always, the derby is open to anyone ages 5 to 15, and participants will fish at Plant City Stadium’s back parking lot on Gordon Food Service Dr. from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. For more information, contact Haldane at dhaldane@plantcitygov.com, or visit PlantCityGov.com.

SIDELINES

ATHLETE OFTHE WEEK Jonah Scolaro

led the win against Strawberry Crest.14

SPONSORED BY COURTNEY PAAT | STATE FARM

WHAT’S ON KLINE’S MIND?

JUSTINKLINE

There’s no tribute like a sports tribute

Ashley Prescott isn’t in it for the glory and recognition. In fact, that’s the very last thing she wants to bring upon her-self as a YMCA volunteer.

So, when she won the Tam-pa Metropolitan Area YMCA Association’s 2015 Communi-ty Impact Award last month, she wasn’t too thrilled about literally being in the spotlight.

The members of the Plant City Family YMCA staff de-cided that Prescott’s efforts could no longer go unherald-ed and were pleased to give her something to show for all of her hard work.

“For us, this was a quick

decision,” Membership Di-rector Reagan Thomas says. “There are a lot of people who volunteer, but I think she re-ally stuck out over this past year. She doesn’t want the recognition, really. She tries to fly under the radar, but she doesn’t.”

FITNESS INITIATIVEWhat initially drew Prescott,

a Plant City native, to the YMCA was its personable, family-friendly nature. Com-pared with more traditional gyms, where members just go to work out and call it a day, Prescott loved the idea of a

place that put an emphasis on helping others, especially as someone with young chil-dren who are also a part of the Plant City Y’s family.

“It’s like family,” Prescott says. “Everything is for a cause. It’s always benefitting someone, never just the Y. I love to give back.”

As staying healthy is a pri-ority for her family, Prescott enjoys helping with the Plant City Y’s fitness-oriented events. If there’s a 5K to be run in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, and the YMCA is involved in some way, Prescott will be there.

She especially enjoyed work-ing the 2014 Turkey Trot.

One of her favorites has been the Dean’s Ride event, in which she also participated this year.

“I figured, if I can do it, any-body can do it, since I don’t ride bikes,” she says. “I did the 38-mile course, and I thought I was gonna die.”

Fortunately, she survived the course and has lived long enough to tell about it. Whether she’ll ride again next year isn’t known, but she en-joyed this past experience ei-ther way.

“I want to be healthy,” Prescott says. “It makes a dif-ference, especially for my kids. I love what they teach there, and all the stuff they have to offer.”

GIVING BACKBeyond the YMCA’s sports

and fitness programs, Prescott can be found everywhere else. She’s passionate about work-ing with the senior citizens, organizing appreciation days, back-to-school supply drives and much more. Lately, she’s been busy helping with Flor-ida Strawberry Festival park-

Plant City YMCA names Ashley Prescott its volunteer of the yearFor her contributions to the Plant City Family YMCA’s many fitness and social programs, the branch awarded volunteer Ashley Prescott with its 2015 Community Impact Award.

STRAWBERRY CREST’S COACHING TREE

It’s fitting that, for the Milt-ner family’s current coaching opportunity, the family was able to go back to where it all started.

Jack Miltner and his daugh-ters, Mindy and Morgan, are currently working just a few minutes from the family home off of Gallagher Road near Strawberry Crest High School — the school the girls would have attended if it were open 15 years ago. Ask them, and they’ll say they never expected it to be like this.

They’ll also say it’s been a blessing.

LAYING DOWN ROOTSJack is doing retirement on

his own terms: taking it easier than before, but not letting his loves of softball and working with youths become things of the past.

A coach in the Tampa Bay area for over 30 years, Jack may be best-known for opening up and running his own baseball school at the family home in 1990. The seven-plus acre plot

of land held just about every-thing a young player could ask for in a local training facility, from batting cages and wall ball areas to practice fields. The coach also fielded several travel teams, the Team Miltner Buzzards, for competition.

“You could have 80 kids there, easy,” Jack says. “It was magnifi-cent. I was working really hard, watching the young kids, and I wanted to see how I could help and motivate them. I wanted to give back to the community and do something fun.”

But some of his favorite con-cepts to pass on to his students were the mental intangibles.

“Teaching life lessons, most-ly,” Jack says. “Respect for the game, and all of that.”

He coached at Blooming-dale High School for a while, finishing with a 40-15 record and back-to-back district titles in two seasons as head coach (1993 and 1994), and was an assistant on the 1991 state run-ner-up team.

After the time came for Jack to move on from his school in

2003, he eventually returned to the high school game. He helped open up Lennard High in 2006 and, to his delight, was able to do so with his daugh-ters.

STICKING TOGETHERMindy and Morgan grew

up playing sports and attend-ing camps together, so it was natural that they eventually found their way into coaching together.

Mindy began playing soft-ball at about 5 years old and also played volleyball. She’s more into softball these days, with her role as the Lady Char-gers’ head coach. But it was in volleyball that she won the 2000 FHSAA state champion-ship at Durant, before con-tinuing to play both sports at Florida Southern College. She then transferred to St. Leo to continue her softball career.

“I liked playing volleyball, because it gave me something different to do, but softball was always my first love,” Mindy says.

Morgan, on the other hand, gave up softball in the sixth grade after a medical issue took her out of the game for a short time. When she was ready to play sports again, volleyball season came first — and she was hooked.

She was also on Durant’s 2000 state championship team with Mindy and picked up an-other title in 2002 before going to play at the University of Ten-nessee. Morgan says that, after college, neither sibling expect-ed to be coaching for a living

SEE MILTNERS / PAGE 14

Mindy, Jack and Morgan Miltner run Strawberry Crest High’s softball and volleyball teams.

RECOGNITION by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

Justin Kline

As many local families are defined by their lines of work, the Miltner family is known for coaching young athletes. Jack, Mindy and Morgan have coached together for the last nine years.

Courtesy photo

Ashley Prescott is a prolific volunteer for the Plant City Family YMCA.

SEE PRESCOTT / PAGE 13

SEE KLINE / PAGE 13

PLANTCITYOBSERVER.COM FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

CATCH A GAMEAfter Tuesday’s softball

game against Tampa Bay Tech, the Lady Chargers officially entered their spring break period. The girls will be back in regu-lar-season action on March 17, and will enter a four-game home stretch.All games start at 7 p.m.3/17: vs. Wharton3/20: vs. Brandon3/24: vs. East Bay3/27: vs. Plant City

family business by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

ing, a way that the Plant City Y raises scholarship money for local students.

“Whatever you need, she’s there to help with,” Thomas says. “We have our hands full with day-to-day operations, so it’s helpful to have some-one who can take charge of these things.”

Every year, the entire staff chooses the Community Im-pact Award recipient by con-sensus, basing the choices on the YMCA’s core values.

“Somebody who gets the Y, gets the Y values and sees the good that the Y does personal-ly, for people and the commu-nity,” Thomas says. “It’s a way for us to say, ‘Thank you.’”

As shy from the spotlight as she may be, Prescott was glad to know that her co-workers appreciate what she’s done for the Plant City Y, even though she believes she’s just one cog in the machine.

“There are a lot of volun-teers, and I don’t think I did anything different,” she says. “It takes a lot of people to help.”

Prescott is excited for what the YMCA will do in 2015.

“They have this huge poster of me in the middle of the Y,” she says. “I guess it’ll be there all year. I’m pointing at num-bers, like we’re trying to reach a goal. I try not to look at me.”

well together that things just seem to click that way.

For Jesse, it was the former. There was even a subtle nod to the Steelers in the first shirts that were made for the annual sport fishing tour-nament held in his honor. (Which, I’m pleased to say, raised $14,000 this year for an FGCU scholarship in his name.)

With Will, who was a huge Gamecocks fan, it will be the latter. There won’t be any ex-plicit USC visuals in his case but, as his family has said, everything has to be done in garnet, white and black to make it feel like Will.

I would imagine that many of you would request similar things, especially because two out of every three Plant City residents I encounter seem to be huge Florida Ga-tor fans. And I would hope that anything done for me in-volves my Bills in some way.

On TV, or in person, it’s always moving to see what teams and players do when they’re mourning a loss. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a uniform patch or something written on footwear. But other times, we’ll see a full-on gesture that goes beyond that — something that sticks with us for a while.

For example, I loved the North Carolina basketball team’s tributes to legendary coach Dean Smith, who also died last month. The Duke and UNC players kneeling together at center court in Cameron Indoor Stadium spoke volumes of Smith’s reputation, but I especially loved the Four Corners play the Tar Heels ran at the start of their Feb. 21 home game against Georgia Tech. Smith was famous for running that offense and, fittingly, the play worked.

But, my all-time favorite happened in a high school game in 2002. Just one day after future NBA super-star Chris Paul accepted a scholarship to Wake Forest, his grandfather was brutally murdered. In the very next game he played, he planned to try and score 61 points — one for each year of his grandfather’s life — without telling anyone of his idea. Paul hit his mark in the fourth quarter when he drew and and-one with two min-utes to go. Realizing that he had reached 61, he threw up an airball and left the game. As he collapsed into his fa-ther’s arms, his team won the game soundly and everyone in the gym realized what Paul had just done.

This is part of the reason why I love sports as much as I do. They give us imagery that sticks with us for the long run and stories that can bring out our emotions like noth-ing else out there, even if it seems trivial that something like basketball or football can have such a strong effect on a person.

PRESCOTT / PAGE 12

KLINE / PAGE 12

Plant City Little League celebrates opening day

PLAY BALL! by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

On Saturday, Feb. 21, Plant City Little League celebrated its Opening Day at Mike San-sone Park. After a series of speeches, a plaque presen-

tation and the Strawberry Queen’s traditional first pitch ceremony, local youngsters couldn’t get back on the fields they love fast enough.

Mayor Rick Lott.

Right: Rhett Rollyson, as usual, was the emcee for the event. Kids and coaches took part in the March of Players during the ceremony.

JONAH SCOLAROATHLETE OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY COURTNEY PAAT | STATE FARM

Durant High’s baseball team has been on a tear lately, winning six of its last seven games (as of press time). Among those wins was a big 13-2 statement win at Strawberry Crest Friday, Feb. 27, and sophomore Jonah Scolaro led the way by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases.

You all got a big win over Crest on Friday night, and you played well in that one. How are things going for you out there?

Good, we’re on a roll right now. It’s all about the team — I can’t just talk about me that much.

You’re stepping into a pretty big role on this team as a sophomore. What’s that like for you?

It’s good. I’ve been playing my whole life, and it’s just a game. You can’t re-ally think about that stuff too much. Can’t let it get to your head.

Do you have any personal goals for this season?

I’ve got to lower my ERA. That’s what I’m working on right now.

What was the first posi-tion you ever played in baseball that you really liked?

First base, but I don’t play that any-more. I got bad at it.

How did you do that?

I don’t know. I couldn’t really catch the ball at first base, so I moved to the outfield. Which, that doesn’t really make sense, but, yeah.

You’re also a pitcher. What made you try that out?

I always pitched a little bit, but I was never that good at it. Then, when I was 13, that’s when I re-ally started to develop. I got better. I like pitching best now.

What’s your best pitch?

My two-seam fastball.

If you could play an-other sport you’ve never tried before, what would it be?

I wouldn’t play any oth-er sport — I’d just stick with baseball. It’s just, no other sports really interests me. This is the best sport.

Who’s your MLB team?I don’t have a favorite team. I just follow

the sport more, stay up with who’s doing good and stuff.

Favorite player?Dustin Pedroia. Just the way he plays —

he’s a beast.

I know you don’t have a favorite pro team but, if you could get called up to any

team in the bigs right now, where would you go?

Oh, the Yankees. They’ve got a lot of money, and everything else. The legacy — it’s the Yan-kees. Everyone knows the Yan-kees.

What’s the best baseball movie of all time?

“The Sandlot.”

I see you guys have Mario Baseball here in the clubhouse. What other video games are you big on?

“Super Smash Bros. Brawl.”

Who’s always get-ting whooped at Mario

Baseball in here?Sully. Definitely Jake Sul-

livan, he’s awful. (Ed. note: a nearly-full clubhouse im-mediately backed-up this claim.)

If you could be either rich or famous, what would it be?

Rich, because I could get whatever I want. And, you can get famous for being rich.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

To be able to fly, because that would be awesome.

What’s the most-played song in your iPod right now?

“Thinking Out Loud,” by Ed Sheeran.

Do you have a message for all the Cougar fans who are going to read this?

— let alone coaching with their father.

“I don’t think either one of us ever really said we wanted to be a coach,” Morgan says. “Coaching chose us. It’s in our blood. It’s in our family. It’s our life. We’ve always been around educators and coaches and, next thing we knew, we’re nine years in.”

Both Miltner girls got their coaching start at Lennard, starting the softball and volley-ball programs. When Crest was built, and looking for coaches, the family just couldn’t pass up on the chance to start another new project.

“We wanted to come back home,” Mindy says. “This is where we were used to. These were the kids we were used to. This felt comfortable.”

Although Jack is a veteran of the boys game, he’s been hav-ing a blast since moving to the softball diamond to work with his daughter.

“It’s mainly because of Mindy,” Jack says. “I started coaching her when she was 6 years old, and through her career. The game is faster. It’s funner.”

He doesn’t get involved with the volleyball team, but Mindy does serve as Morgan’s assis-tant coach.

The softball team may have

gotten off to an uncharacter-istically slow start, but Crest fans won’t see Jack and Mindy as anything but upbeat. After all, this family has had an op-portunity that many don’t get: to be able to pursue a shared passion together and create something with staying power from scratch.

“To go and work with their two daughters that know as much as you do, and working with all of the kids — changing lives here — that’s just remark-able,” Jack says. “To be able to do what we do with kids that you love so much, it doesn’t get any better.”

Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.

MILTNERS / PAGE 12

SUNRISE SUNSETFriday, March 6 6:49 6:31Saturday, March 7 6:48 6:32Sunday, March 8 7:47 7:32Monday, March 9 7:45 7:44Tuesday, March 10 7:44 7:34 Wednesday, March11 7:43 7:34Thursday, March 12 7:42 7:35

MOON PHASES

PLANT CITY WEATHER HIGH LOWFriday, March 6 77 58Saturday, March 7 80 59Sunday, March 8 76 60Monday, March 9 80 61Tuesday, March 10 82 63Wednesday, March 11 85 65Thursday, March 12 81 64

TEMPERATURES

RAIN

March 27

SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

April 4

March 13

(INCHES)

March 20

Tori Lumley snapped this shot of Coach Gottman, Mavrick Carter and her son, son Austin Lumley, captains for the jv game against Bloomingdale. She calls it “Boys of Fall.”

The Plant City Times & Observer and Grimes Hardware have partnered to host the I Love Plant City Photo Contest. Winners will have their photo featured and receive a $15 gift certificate to Grimes Hardware’s Strawberry Town Cafe! To enter, email your photo, along with a caption, to Editor Amber Jurgensen, ajurgensen@plantcityob-server.com; subject line: I Love Plant City. Winners can pick up their prize at Grimes Hardware.

THURS. Feb. 260.56

FRI.Feb. 270.01

SAT. Feb. 281.37

SUN. March 10.00

MON. March 20.00

TUES. March 30.00

WED. March 40.00

7.86(2014: 1.34)

MARCHTO DATE0.00

YEARTO DATE

(2014: 0.00)

STRAWBERRIES

$6.90-8.90Courtesy of the

United States Department of

Agriculture

SHIPPING POINT: Orlando

CROSSWORD A T-OUGH PUZZLE by Richard Auer

ACROSS 1 Witches’ brews8 Hangs on a line13 Rapscallion18 Be a resident of 19 “The Treasure of the ___ Madre”20 Recorded books, e.g.22 Like the king of the jungle23 Cargo ship24 TV type25 Balloon filler26 Albatross, e.g.28 Remove, as from office30 Bleacher creature31 Hoopster’s ref-baiting move33 With cunning (var.)34 Plane-swatting King36 General helper37 Chimney parts39 Bit of body art, slangily40 Much in demand43 Sales meeting diagrams45 Novels have them46 Some strands in a cell47 Buddy-buddy48 End the business day49 Less delicate53 Deep voices54 Throat-soothing lozenge56 Lennon’s bride57 Carpet layer’s calculation58 Campus building, for short59 “___ got it!”60 Ballerina’s garment61 Kind of exam or history62 Batman alter ego Bruce63 Old King and Nat King65 Makes a mistake66 They’re not good to be behind67 Bart Simpson is one68 “Stop!”69 Big John’s way out70 Circle segment71 Stereotypical snacks for cops75 They save the day77 Oil-rich land80 Court hearings81 Satellite radio giant82 Big-eared equine83 Barfly84 Honoring, in a way85 Engaged in disorderly play89 Car-grille covering90 Fred’s wife on “I Love Lucy”93 Persuade94 Combatant or contestant95 Cat chatter97 Slender woodwind98 Cosmetic safety org.99 Castle’s waterway101 Places for taking off103 Electronics giant, once104 Auto assembly-line add-on106 2002 animated movie109 Certain Native American homes111 Pain-loving person112 Where to pull the plug

113 Cast a spell over114 Tibetan monks115 Scrawny chicken parts116 Has a dwelling

1 Eastern dish of meat and rice (var.)2 Playwright Eugene3 It follows a warrant showing4 “At Seventeen” singer Janis5 “The Mikado” sashes6 Dressed to the ___7 Cat-footed8 “Dear” book9 Split apart10 Aggravate11 Before, back and forth12 Island wear13 Easy marks14 Unorthodox sect15 Org. on toothpaste tubes16 Maladjusted person17 Fragrant hair dressing19 Long-legged shore bird21 Comparatively rational27 Partiality29 “That’s disgusting!”

32 Careful examinations34 ___ ball (hot toy of 1988)35 Revealed, in slang36 Worshipper’s distance?38 “It’s all the ___ to me”40 Maneuver through the mud41 Figures of speech42 Santa ___, Calif.44 Prime-time hrs.45 Bird of paradise feature47 Italian marble48 Succotash ingredient49 A “shalt not”50 It’s made by a long fermenta-tion51 Contest submissions52 Awakens suddenly53 Tropical African tree54 Aquatic rodent55 Brooks58 Matt of Hollywood60 Attack aggressively62 Somewhat broad63 Grasshopper’s trill64 Feed-bag contents72 Christmas dinner bird73 “Active” start

74 “No ___ to apologize”75 Single or homer, e.g.76 Lake bordering Buffalo78 Rush furiously, as a river79 Campfire remnant81 Salt source83 The price of education84 ___ A to Z85 Starched and pleated collars86 Severe experience87 It’s south of South Sudan88 Women’s reproductive cells89 Special Forces headwear91 Epoch when mammals ap-peared92 Minimal amounts95 Wizards96 ___ of the crime99 Clifflike, flat-topped elevation100 Food for Fido101 Type of daytime show102 Min. fractions105 Lacking brightness107 Conductor’s signal108 And so forth (abbr.)110 ___ Beta Kappa

SUDOKUSolve the puzzle by placing the numbers 1 through 9 in each row, column and box.

CRYPTOQUIZEach of the following cryptograms is a clue to the identity of an esteemed musician. Using the hints A=E and X=D, decipher the clues to name the musician.

1. L R A A X

2. R Y K A N

3. J Y V C X W B Q

4. U E X K W T

5. U A X H A R R A U W M

This musician owned many drum kits but preferred the one with green sparkle:

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