Plant City Observer 08.09.12

FREE • thuRsday, auGust 9, 2012

Plant City ralliesbehind its Little League All-Stars.PAGE 13

SPORTSexclusivePlant City’s karatekids learn ancientFar East art form.PAGE 10

PLANT CITYObserveryou. youR nEiGhboRs. youR nEiGhboRhood.

+ celebrating a new bundle of joy?

If so, the Plant City Observer would like to cel-ebrate with you!

We welcome your birth announce-

ments for publica-tion.

Please send your baby’s name, parents’ and siblings’ names,

birth date, birth weight and length, and hospital to Managing Editor Michael Eng, [email protected]. You may also include a photo.

+ church offerssupport group

Plant City’s First Baptist Church is now offering a Christian cancer support group.

Sharing Our Burdens meets at 4:30 p.m. the fourth Sunday of each month, at Plant City’s First Baptist Church, Room 136, 503 N. Palmer St.

For more, call diane Mabry, 365-0554.

Crossword ......... 15 Neighborhood ... 10 Obituaries ......... 12 Sports ............... 13iNDex vol. 1, No. 6 | One section

PlantCityObserver.com

OUR TOWN

For the first time, Plant City will have fluoride added to the mu-nicipal water supply, thanks to a $386,000 grant from the state, which includes a supplemen-tal grant from the Hillsborough County Health Department.

“We’ve debated about it a couple times before, but the cost was prohibi-tive,” Mayor Mike Sparkman said.

The pro-ject has gone through the engineering stage and has received permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Bidding will begin after the city posts a notice in the next few months.

The project includes installing a small pump, which will meter the fluoride distributed into the water. The project is expected to be finished by January.

According to the FDLE, 76.7% of people served by community water systems receive optimal-ly fluoridated water, reaching 69.5% of Florida’s population. Fluoride is used to prevent tooth decay and cavities in children.

“Water fluoridation has (more than) 50 years of proven, evi-dence-based research to reduce decay by 40% to 60%,” said Kim Herremans, a dental consultant with the Florida Department of Health.

Herremans and her husband, Bradley Herremans, CEO of Sun-coast Community Health Center, were involved from the begin-ning to advocate for the project.

“Tooth decay is a big problem in this community,” Bradley Her-remans said.

One look at the Preti family’s cozy apartment says a lot about the family. Family pictures hang above a sofa that has colorful children’s books spread across the cushions. A baby boy coos as he crawls around, following his older sisters wherever they go. Some toys have been abandoned on the floor, including a beaded homemade bracelet, a rattle.

JJ, a Beta fish, watches the family from a spot on the coun-ter. The family just had a play date and a pool outing. Hair still wet, three sisters sit obe-diently on the couch next to their mother, Blair. She sits each girl in front of her to comb out the tangles and make the girls more presentable. When she’s finished, Blair picks up 9-month-old son, Everett. The girls — Chayce, 8, Payton, 6, and

see ceNTeR / PAGe 6 see WATeR / PAGe 6

Fluoride to be added to Plant Citywater supply The city obtained a grant to install new equipment that will pump fluoride into the water. The project will be finished by January.

Photos by Amber Jurgensen

Mother blair Preti loves spending time with her children, Payton, Ryleigh, Everett and Chayce. However, it wasn’t long ago that the Preti family found itself in a financial struggle. They turned to Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City for help.

from the tap by amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer

FAMILY FIRSTAlready a mother of three, Blair Preti learned she was pregnant just

months after her husband was laid off. The parents didn’t know where to turn — until they discovered Pregnancy care center of Plant city.

HELP IS ALWAYS HERE by amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer

RENOVATIONSThe Pregnancy Care Center

of Plant City is nearing com-pletion of its 2,614-square-foot building at 304 N. Collins St.

“Before, we were a bland little building,” Executive

Director Darlene Davis said. “Now, we have an interior decorator that is going to do a modern flair that will appeal to younger people.”

The renovations also will

see ReNOvATiON / PAGe 6

+ lions clubpresents donation

The Plant City Lions Club presented a $1,000 check to the Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City at the club’s meet-ing Aug. 7.

Executive Director darlene davis said the center will use the donation to purchase win-dow treatments at the facility, 304 N. Collins St.

+ TOPsoccer nowopen for registration

The Brandon TOPSoccer Program, which is open to Plant City residents, will host registration from 6 to 8 p.m., Aug. 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, and Sept. 7, and 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 8, at J.C. Handly Park, 3104 S. Kings Ave., Brandon.

The program is designed for children ages 5 and up with special needs to learn, play and enjoy soccer.

For more, call Ken Muzyk at (813) 657-5271.

back to schoolFrom school supplies to bus rides, Plant City is ready for the new year.

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PlantCityObserver.com 3 plant city observerTHURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012

CAROL WILLIAMS KURDELLAGE: 67 FAMILY: Husband, son (deceased), stepson, brothers, nieces HOMETOWN: TampaEDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, human development EXPERIENCE: LifetimeWEBSITE: carolkurdell.com

What’s the biggest challenge the School Board faces, and what are your solutions?

Finance, evaluations and technology are some challenges for the next four years. It is going to take a clarity of purpose, data and communication skills to pull the School Board toward reasonable solu-tions for our employees.

Are teachers paid adequately? Why or why not? Compensation comes in many forms, but in

Florida, the salaries need to improve.

What is your position on the FCAT and account-ability testing?

The issue of testing needs to be addressed as a whole. Accountability is essential, but assess-ment is what will carry a student/teacher for-ward.

What skills and experiences make you the best

candidate for School Board? I am knowledgeable, nonpartisan, dedicated,

independent, inclusive, innovative and insight-ful. Ten years as a volunteer and five terms as a

ROBERT MCELHENYAGE: 64FAMILY: Married to Bonny, 44 years; two grown daughters (both teachers); five grandchildrenHOMETOWN: MiamiEDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, educa-tion, University of TennesseeEXPERIENCE: Taught school out of col-lege then entered the business world. Have been in the automotive field for 37 years; currently vice president at Gator Ford; served as city commissioner and vice mayor for Anna Maria IslandWEBSITE: www.robertmcelhenycampaign.com


Biggest challenge is adequate funding. Make sure all budget items are evaluated completely to see if there is any room for saving dollars.

Are teachers paid adequately? Why or why not?We are moving in the right direction with teachers’

pay. This has been a difficult time for all. If we can survive this downturn, I would expect to see some change to teachers’ pay and be more performance based in the future.


FCAT is going to be with us in some shape or form. We are all accountable to doing better in our jobs. We need a measuring system to gauge our progress. FCAT has presented some problems, which will

Primary election Q&aEditor’s Note: As the Aug. 14 prima-

ry election draws closer, the Plant City Observer will be publishing profiles and Q&As from each of the candidates who will represent Plant City and its constituents.

In this final edition before the primary, we introduce the six candi-dates for Hillsborough County School Board District 7, a countywide seat.

The candidates include Joseph W. Jordan-Robinson Jr., Terry Kemple,

Carl Francis “Captain Carl’’ Kosi-erowski, Carol Kurdell, Robert McEl-heny and Michael Weston.

Responses have been edited ac-cording to space, not content.

Because this is a non-partisan seat,

the winner of the primary will win the election. All registered voters, regard-less of party affiliation, can vote in non-partisan races.

For complete responses, visit PlantCityObserver.com.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 7

‘JOE’ JORDAN-ROBINSON JR. AGE: 58FAMILY: Mother, Thelma A. Robinson; daughter Aeriell B.J. Robinson; two sisters; one brotherHOMETOWN: TampaEDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, mechani-cal engineering, University of Iowa, 1977EXPERIENCE: Professional engineer since 1982; President and CEO, RHC and Associates Inc.WEBSITE: Votehillsborough.org


Increasing student learning has to be the biggest challenge the School Board faces. It is unacceptable that when spelling, grammar and composition were graded, that the numbers of students passing Florida Writes flipped.

To directly address this issue, I would recommend the district go back to teaching the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic in kindergarten through grade three.

Are teachers paid adequately? Why or why not?When one considers that teachers are the shapers

of our children and help to provide this country with doctors, lawyers, physicists, engineers and all other workers, one cannot honestly say that teachers are adequately paid.


FCAT testing is on the way out in terms of its singular impact on promotion and graduation. With the coming Common Core State Standards, schools will have end-of-course exams designed by one of the two consortiums to which the states belong.

Apart from the make-or-break nature of the FCAT, accountability testing is not necessarily bad. It allows

TERRY KEMPLEAGE: 65FAMILY: Married, five daughters, 17 grandchildrenHOMETOWN: BrandonEDUCATION: Attended U.S. Naval Acad-emy and Newark College of EngineeringEXPERIENCE: Twenty-five years of busi-ness management and ownership, 17 years advocating for parents, children and families. WEBSITE: www.Vote4TerryKemple.com


The biggest challenge is to implement policies that will improve our students’ educational outcomes.

1. Protect parents’ rights to make decisions regard-ing their children’s educational priorities.

2. Establish active accountability for everyone in-volved in the education process: School Board, staff, teachers, parents, students and the community.

3. Encourage transparency, so parents and other taxpayers know how their tax dollars are being spent.

4. Promote community collaboration to involve groups in supporting struggling students.

Are teachers paid adequately? Why or why not? Teachers aren’t paid enough for what they do.

Theirs is one of the most important jobs that exists.


I think accountability (standardized) testing is important. There are two sides to the FCAT. It was initiated for two purposes:

1. Reduce the disparity between the educational outcomes of white and minority students; and

2. Increase the number of students who are per-forming at grade level.

On the good side, the FCAT has been and is being

CARL FRANCIS ‘CAPTAIN CARL’ KOSIEROWSKIAGE: 62FAMILY: SingleHOMETOWN: ChicagoEDUCATION: MBA, 1982, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale; bachelor’s degree, 1981; eight years as a school bus driver for Hillsborough County; five years at Brandon Family YMCAWEBSITE: [email protected]


Safety of our school children and teachers is of par-amount importance. I would like to have the district implement a fingerprint-identification system for our students on all our school buses, later to be expanded to all school sites as well. Parents want to know where their children are and that they are safe.

Are teachers paid adequately? Why or why not? Teachers as well as school bus drivers, custodial

workers, kitchen workers, school security personnel and all our education support personnel are under-paid. It seems the only individuals being paid at or above a respectable salary are the superintendent and school administrators. Given the economic chal-lenges presented at the local, state and federal levels, providing pay increases for those deserving it will not be an easy task for the School Board, but (it) must be addressed.


If not FCAT, then what standard will be used to measure how our students are progressing in school? No Child Left Behind also has a measuring standard, but that seems to be raised and lowered arbitrarily.

MICHAEL WESTONAGE: 56 FAMILY: Wife, Jennifer; children Joanna, Rees and Erin HOMETOWN: Washington, D.C. EDUCATION: Master’s degree in ocean-ography EXPERIENCE: College instructor; 25-year career in information technology, mathematics and special-education teacherWEBSITE: michaelweston.org


The School Board has become largely ineffective and ceremonial. (Board members) are supposed to dictate policy to the district administration, yet it is the district who dictates policy to the board. The challenge faced by the School Board is to get out of its own way.

Are teachers paid adequately? Why or why not?Teachers are not paid enough. More is demanded

of teachers every year, yet salaries have been flat and expenses continue to rise. Unfortunately, this is the case for many Americans today. I understand that district expenses must drop before salaries can increase. We should aggressively look for these cuts.


The focus on FCAT, FCAT II and school grades has created an overwhelming culture where teach-to-the-test is not only expected, it is demanded. We are

SEE JORDAN-ROBINSON / PAGE 7 SEE KEMPLE / PAGE 7 SEE KOSIEROWSKI/ PAGE 7

SEE KURDELL / PAGE 7 SEE MCELHENY / PAGE 7 SEE WESTON / PAGE 7

PRIMARYELECTION

2012

4 PlantCityObserver.com plant city observer

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In two days Elijah West will be gradu-ating from a summer pre-kindergarten program at Bryan Elementary and moving on to bigger things — kindergarten.

The 5-year-old is excited to learn to read and play games with his friends. But there’s one thing Elijah can’t wait to do.

“I want to sing my ABCs,” Elijah says. Elijah is no stranger to the education

world. His mother, Jennifer, is the new principal at Lincoln Elementary. Previously principal at Riverview Elementary, this will be her first year at Lincoln, too, along with her daughter, Elizabeth, who will be in fourth grade.

“I’m excited to get him started and get him in school,” Jennifer says. “He’s ready for the transition.”

With enthusiasm, Elijah is already tack-ling the art of spelling with the help of his family.

“R-A-Y-S,” Elijah says, counting the past trips he took to a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game. “I went to two games, but didn’t stay until the end last time.”

Compared to his other siblings, which also includes 1-year-old baby brother,

Emory, and Elizabeth, Elijah is laid-back and quite the joker. He popped out of his room dressed as a pirate, complete with a skull bandana and eye patch.

“Arrrrrr,” he says as he made a hook with his finger.

“He definitely comes up with some quotes that make us laugh,” Jennifer says.

Elijah also loves to play with his Hot Wheels. His favorite movie is “Cars 2,” and he likes Mater and Lighting McQueen the best. He also likes building with his LEGOs.

“I’m excited,” Elijah says about starting kindergarten.

— Amber Jurgensen

Lindsey Coyne and Tara Vaughn are both enthusiastic about their new posi-tions at Bailey Elementary in Dover.

Both will be first-time teachers this fall, teaching the fifth grade, and they both bring a hands-on approach to teaching.

“I just look around at all these great supplies, and I’m just so excited to interact with the kids and use interac-tive ways of teaching,” says Coyne, a graduate of Southeastern University in Lakeland.

Vaughn brings a similar philosophy.“I’m not going to be wearing high

heels; I’ll be in flats, because I’ll be moving around the room and want to be involved,” says Vaughn, a graduate of South Florida who has lived in Antioch all her life. “I’m not going to be a teacher that just stands up and lectures.”

Both have been substitutes in the past and recently held tutoring positions at Bailey, where they both fell in love with the school.

“One thing I noticed here is that all

of the teachers are very welcoming and make you feel like part of a family, where other schools that I would go into would just give you your stuff and tell you to do what you do,” Coyne says. “The adminis-tration is really involved here.”

At first, Coyne had reservations about teaching the older elementary students — a traditionally more difficult group. However, both are excited and ready for the challenge.

“The more I worked with the older kids, the more I absolutely loved it,” she says.

— Matt Mauney

After driving a school bus in Plant City for 18 years, Alan Register has certainly seen seen it all.

From the shy kindergartners who are scared to get on the bus to high-schoolers that want to create their own rules, Regis-ter has seen the good, the bad and the ugly during his tenure behind the wheel.

Through it all, however, he keeps a posi-tive attitude.

“I do find it rewarding,” he says, explain-ing how some his passengers, on the last day of school, tell him how they hoped he we be their bus driver the following year. “Things like that make you feel good.”

Register first took a route for an extra in-come while working for the land-clearing business he and his father owned.

After the business got to be too much, Register took on more routes. He still cuts lawns and does other lawn-care jobs between routes but stays busy with at least three routes per day — Springhead Elementary, Randall Middle and Durant High — in addition to picking up col-leagues’ routes when he is able.

After making headlines when a group of unruly middle-schoolers verbally attacked a bus driver in New York, the way students treat bus drivers is under the spotlight more than ever. Although every now and then, Register has to be firm with his rid-ers, for the most part, things go smoothly.

Some of the best memories he has hap-pened when he couldn’t make his routes.

“I would hear that some of the kids wouldn’t want to get on the bus and didn’t want to ride because they were scared,” he says, smiling. “I’m going to keep going as long as I can.”

— Matt Mauney

Casey Hamilton sounded like seven dif-ferent people on the phone. The Plant City High School senior switched between an Irish accent to a posh British accent. His laugh mimicked the voice of his favorite TV character, Peter Griffin, from the show “Family Guy.”

“It just takes practice,” Hamilton says, playing the role of a sun-tanned Australian surfer and then switching to the persona of a southern gentleman.

Hamilton is the president of Plant City High School’s drama club and aspires to be a voice actor. Now a notable comedic character on campus, the rising star only had experience in elementary school plays before his first audition during his fresh-man year.

“It was terrifying,” Hamilton says about his auditioning experience. “My knees were shaking. I had to pick a song only 10 minutes before.”

Since then, he’s nabbed a major sup-porting role in “Seussical the Musical,” the leading role in “The Giver,” Sonny in “Grease” and the Cowardly Lion in

“The Wizard of Oz.” His favorite roles are when he played himself in “Hollywood” and “The Complete History of America Abridged” and when he played the Cow-ardly Lion.

“The costume was most challenging,” Hamilton says.

During the drama club’s first trip to the Florida State Thespian Festival last year, Hamilton received the honor of best male supporting comedic actor.

“Nothing really amounts to the feeling you get when 400 people are laughing at something you said or did,” Hamilton says.

— Amber Jurgensen

Bus route information is availaBle online at sdhc.k12.fl.us/transportation/routes.asp.

THE KINDERGARTNERTHE FIRST-TIMERS

THE BUS DRIVER THE ACTOR

tara vaughn and lindsey coyn

PlantCityObserver.com 5 plant city observerTHURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012

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Students at five Plant City-area schools will notice several changes to their campus-es when they return to school Aug. 21.

Durant and Strawberry Crest high schools, Marshall and Turkey Creek middle schools and Wilson Elementary School all received upgrades during the summer.

Durant High School students will enjoy working with a new $52,111, 1,500-square-foot shade house for the agricultural pro-gram. The house is a walk-in structure used for growing plants that are sensitive to sun.

At Strawberry Crest, student athletes will find new netting on their softball and base-ball fields. The need arose because of safety issues. The bleachers for the softball and baseballs field face away from one another, forcing spectators to be facing away from one field.

“There were a couple of balls that came over to the side,” Athletic Director Melvin Williams says. “We wanted to make sure that fans weren’t going to get hit while their backs were turned.”

Other projects include a brand new full color LED sign for Wilson Elementary School and HVAC renovations for Marshall and Turkey Creek middle school.

Furthermore, the Sydney Road water line

project, which started this month, will feed reclaimed water to two schools, Tomlin Middle School and Bryan Elementary, spur-ring construction on both sites that won’t start until next March.

The Hillsborough County Public Schools Facilities Management Department is al-ready planning for the next five year. On July 17, the facilities management department submitted the 2012-2016 tentative work plan to the school board which was then sent out to all the cities in the county and the planning commission for review and recommendations. The cities have 45 days to respond. On Sept. 11, the school board will consider adoption of the revised plan.

Proposed items include resurfacing Du-rant High School’s track and a complete renovation of Trapnell Elementary’s air-con-ditioning system. However, in former years schools saw more maintenance and repairs.

“There’s not a whole lot of work going on because we don’t have a lot of money,” Cathy Valdes, chief facilities officer, says.

The budget for maintenance and renova-tions has been greatly reduced in the past few years, forcing the district to devote most of its resources to needs, Valdes says.

— Amber Jurgensen

Durant High School Spanish teacher Virginia Miller’s classroom is abuzz with nervous laughter. It’s still weeks before the first official day of school, but the lessons in this class — the Greater Access Plan camp — are critically important for this particular group: incoming freshmen.

Hillsborough County Public School’s GAP camp utilizes the expertise of current high school students to help rising ninth-graders integrate into their new school. On the first day of Durant’s camp, the freshmen embarked on a scavenger hunt through the campus to help them find their bearings.

Then, back in Miller’s classroom, the veteran high-schoolers teamed up with the freshmen to help construct a map of the school campus.

“I learned what the school looked like,” says incoming freshman Emily Stitt following the exercise.

In addition to school geography, the first day of GAP featured a “What Not to Wear” fashion show detailing Durant’s dress code and learning some

of the school cheers. The goal, Durant’s GAP lead teacher Courtney Singletary says, is to give incoming freshmen a head start on high-school life that, ulti-mately, will allow them to concentrate more fully on academics.

“The program is designed to ease the transition from middle to high school and acclimate the students to Advance Placement courses, student life and college options,” Singletary says.

Singletary has run the Durant pro-gram for the last six years.

“I see a need to reach freshmen so they avoid the pitfalls and can be suc-cessful,” she says. “(In addition), it is so much fun. Lastly, I’m competitive and proud of Durant. Our numbers top other schools year after year. We’ve built a hugely popular and successful program.”

Plus, Miller says, it instills a sense of belonging.

“Once they come through this (GAP), they have much more of a connection with the school,” Miller says.

The GAP camp is offered at 27 Hills-borough high schools, including Plant City and Strawberry Crest.

— Michael Eng

PROJECTSschool project start Date end Date costDurant High Greenhouse Replacement June 12 Aug. 12 $52,111Marshall Middle HVAC Renovation April 17 Aug. 12 $4.64 millionStrawberry Crest High Ball field Netting June 14 Aug. 10 $60,000Turkey Creek Middle HVAC Chiller Replacement May 1 Aug. 12 $244,876Wilson Elementary Canopy Extension June 11 Aug. 10 $42,922Wilson Elementary Marquee May 1 Aug. 17 $29,731

2012-2013 SCHOOL YEAR

WELCOME BACK!Five Plant City-area schools received upgrades and renovations during the summer. Classes resume Aug. 21.

THE FRESHMEN

Bus route inFormAtion is AvAilABle online At sdhC.k12.Fl.us/trAnsPortAtion/routes.AsP.

Incoming freshman bryce smith says he is excited to start high school this year.

6 PlantCityObserver.com Plant city observer


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If you’ve lost someone close to you, or know someone who has, please call us to find out more information about our weekly GriefShare seminar / support group.We know it hurts, and we want to help.

According to Kim Herremans, through the WIC Smiles 4 U dental outreach pro-gram, the mobile dental coach surveil-lance has found that 16% of their cases required urgent care. These cases involve children that have abscesses or are in pain. Thirty percent have been found to have ac-tive decay and need immediate follow-up dental care. The population was found to

have a 46% unmet dental need in the Plant City area, according to Kim Herremans.

“We thought it was important to do it for our children,” Sparkman said. “It is the thing to do, and I’m excited about it.”

The city commission debated the proj-ect for more than five years. In 2010, com-missioners voted to pursue the state grant, which was obtained last summer.

Contact Amber Jurgensen at [email protected].

Ryleigh, 3 — find a way to occupy them-selves.

The family is happy, smiling and content. Little would an outsider know that the Pre-tis recently had serious struggles that sent them looking for help.

In 2010, husband and father James Preti was laid off from his job at Virginia Sprin-kler Co., in Tampa.

“Out of the blue they just said, ‘Sorry, we’re downsizing,’” Blair says.

The parents had their hands full with three children.

“It was really hard,” Blair says. “Espe-cially hard on him being the provider. It was rejection after rejection, coming home night after night with disappointment after disappointment. We loved hearing, ‘You’re over-qualified.’”

When Blair suspected she was pregnant with Everett at the beginning of 2011, it was bittersweet. The former wedding pho-tographer always knew she wanted to be a mother with a big family. Blair had two sib-lings, her husband had six. She was used to the madhouse that big families can be and was ready to have a brother for her girls.

But James still did not have a job, and he was devoting many hours to getting a drafting degree at Southwest Florida Col-lege in Tampa.

“As a stay-at-home mom, I was devastat-ed because I didn’t bring in any income,” Blair says.

And that’s when the Pretis found Preg-nancy Care Center of Plant City.

GODSENDSince 1992, the center has offered free

services, parental counseling, abstinence education and material assistance. The center also offers assistance, called “baby bucks,” to those who attend classes, which can be used at the on-site store to purchase items such as diapers, cleaning supplies, clothes and toys.

Shortly after the family found out Blair was pregnant, James got a job in Lakeland, but it was in air conditioning (not his ca-reer field). Furthermore, James was work-ing for far less pay, and the difficult hours that made it hard for the family to have dinner together, or even see James that of-ten in the first place.

“He had never been in AC before so it was like starting over,” Blair says.

So, Blair continued to go to classes to earn her “baby bucks.”

“It was a godsend,” Blair says of the cen-ter. “It helped us stay on our feet.”

Although she was having her fourth baby, Blair says the classes still were help-ful. The center offers practical classes such as car-seat safety and what to expect when you’re expecting. Blair’s favorite classes were theories of discipline and those deal-ing with child behavior.

“I liked learning about what stages chil-dren learn different things,” Blair says.

The center also offered other intangi-ble benefits — since she started attended classes, Blair has become close with one of the employees.

“I know if I needed anything outside of the Pregnancy Care Center, I could call her,” Blair says. “They’re really encourag-ing and helpful. It can be difficult with multiples.”

ON THEIR FEETThese days, the Preti family is having a

little easier time. James found another job that allows him to spend more time with his family. They are involved with their church, First Baptist Church of Midway. They also go to the Bruton Memorial Library and YMCA and are getting involved in tee ball.

“For me, I look at motherhood quite dif-ferently,” Blair says. “It’s a ministry in itself for me. They are a blessing from God. My favorite things are to see them come into their own personalities.”

Although Blair still attends classes, she is ready to start volunteering at the center now that the family has found more stabil-ity.

“I want to give back the way they gave to us,” Blair says.

Contact Amber Jurgensen at [email protected].

make the building more private for the patients. Before, patients had to enter each room from outside. Now, the five patient rooms have been sectioned into 12 rooms with access from within the building. The Baby Boutique will be moved from across the street into the main building. A waiting room and board room which can double as a staff training room has been added. All the plumbing, electrical wiring and air conditioning has been replaced.

“We’re all going to be under one roof,” Davis says. “I’m so excited. We’re in the home stretch.”

The Pregnancy Center raised $80,000 for the renovations with help by anonymous donors. Plant City’s First Baptist Church donated the building.

“There is going to be a whole new group of people that will hear about us and come to know where we’re out,” Davis says.

As part of Lowe’s Hero project, 12 employees will be come to the center Aug 11, to paint the exterior of the building. Fourteen members from Plant City’s First Baptist Church also have volunteered to paint.



2012



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PlantCityObserver.com 7 Plant city observerTHURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012

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denying our students the means by which to develop creativity, innovation and critical-thinking skills.

Hillsborough County should be taking the lead in speaking out against Tal-lahassee’s ideas of education reform. Hillsborough County must cease to award any administrative bonuses based on attainment of FCAT scores or school grades.

What skills and experiences make you the best candidate for School Board?

I have experience on all sides of the education picture: parent, taxpayer and teacher. Most of my career has not been in

public education, so I carry no institution-al baggage such as “because that’s just the way we do things.” I am a problem-solver. I believe in total transparency.

What are some of the issues facing schools in Plant City, and what are your proposed solutions?

Much of the county, Plant City included, must deal with a large percentage of students who are not prepared for high school work. Many of these students are not going to graduate; they will drop-out long before acquiring the skills necessary for employment.

We must increase the availability and ac-cessibility of career and vocational-train-ing opportunities for these students.

teachers, parents, students and adminis-trators to evaluate a child’s performance as compared to a national average.


Engineering taught me to study prob-lems, search for and analyze potential solutions, and then apply a given process to achieve the best possible results.


It has been recently reported that the diversity at Plant City High School has changed as well as its academics. Plant City was known for agriculture, but because to the change in students over the years, an emphasis on both agricul-ture and academics can be offered and achieved simultaneously.

College-level Advanced Placement class-es at Plant City High is at 47%. By having a districtwide approach on academics, Plant City schools were able to adapt.

It is necessary that these types of solu-tions to ever-changing demographics serve both our children and our commu-nity at large.

successful in fulfilling these two pur-poses. On the bad side, the tremendous focus on the test creates a high-stress environment (in which) the need for a robust education gets displaced by the need to “teach to the test.”


I’ve been active in the community for years, successfully advocating on issues that many would consider controver-sial. The only way to achieve success on controversial issues is to find points of

commonality and build on those areas of agreement.


The issues facing schools through-out the county are similar. One of the key areas of need to improve students’ educational outcomes is to get more parental involvement. This can be done by reaching out to parents and by making it easier for parents who do want to be more involved to find the correct “path” to get to the answer (for which) they are looking.

board member make me the best candi-date for the District 7 (at-large) seat.


We must protect the agricultural pro-grams for our future farmers. Agriculture is an essential part of who we are.

The continued cooperation with police on gang activities.

Attracting teachers to some areas re-mains a challenge. Stipends for distance, etc., to remote locations would help.

What immediate steps or actions do

you feel are critical to take to improve education in Hillsborough County?

Communication continues to be a challenge. Getting the correct facts to many groups is essential.

Any other thoughts/comments?Thanks.

evolve over time and eventually become a workable testing system for teachers, students and parents.


I have an education background and a family of educators. I have business expe-rience in dealing with large million-dollar budgets and payroll. I have a common-sense approach, which seems to be elusive with our decisions today.


Certain schools within Plant City have challenges with ELL students (English Language Learners). This requires some adjusting within the schools to make sure the learning process is effective.

The FFA programs need to be reinforced and improved to create more participa-tion, because Plant City is in the farming area.

What immediate steps or actions do you feel are critical to take to improve educa-tion in Hillsborough County?

We should focus in on the testing and evaluation going on currently in our schools. We should determine which tests are necessary and required and which are not.


As far as I can determine, never before in the history of Hillsborough County has a education support per-son, especially one with a bachelor’s degree (decision analysis concentra-tion) and a MBA (specialization in leadership and organizational behav-ior), been a candidate for the School Board. I am bringing a unique perspec-tive based on my eight years of being on the inside of the system as a school bus driver.


Overall, the challenge for schools in Plant City is the same for all our schools in the Hillsborough County school system — leadership. I will bring leadership to the School Board, specifi-cally, leadership in three areas: Chris-tian values, accountability and bully intolerance. Through leadership of my Christian values by example, I hope to demonstrate a high dosage of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis and expect to be held accountable for my actions.

JorDan-robinson/PaGe 3

KeMPle/PaGe 3

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McelHenyPaGe 3



I realized one profound truth in the time between my chil-dren’s last day of preschool and their first day of summer break: Teachers are grossly underpaid.

This past year was the first time my children had ever left my side in four years, except for the occasional trip to Nana’s.

Scarlett was in voluntary pre-kindergarten every day from 9 a.m. to noon, while Cooper spent three days, three hours per week in a 3-year-old class.

Those nine hours a week that were all mine were glorious!

I didn’t revert to the days of old, where I drank Starbucks and had pedicures. Instead, I did housework in peace, without cartoons play-ing or children arguing. Trips to the grocery store alone were like mini-vacations.

Entertaining these little people over the summer has been challenging, especially on a one-income budget, no pool and outdoor temperatures

climbing close to 100 degrees.NickJr.com and I became

friends early on, and I copied thousands of learning activities and crafts. The only problem was that the kids would tire of them quickly, and I was left with the other hours to figure out what to do to keep them from tearing the house down to the studs.

As soon as Cobb The-aters posted their free summer movie schedule, I was on it.

Now, this was very dar-ing of me, because we had one particular episode just before their last day of preschool in which I thought I would never take them to see a movie again.

Ever.The dreadful movie

experience was Disney’s “Chim-panzee,” which seemed like a good choice for an animal-loving brood.

We have three dogs living in-doors. I volunteer at the S.P.C.A. and even wound up adopting a shelter dog. My 5-year-old

daughter even says she wants to be a “dog keeper” when she grows up.

As soon as the movie began, my daughter demanded to know why the chimpanzees aren’t talking. I quietly explained to her that these were real monkeys, and monkeys don’t talk. Unsatis-fied with non-talking monkeys, she proceeded to cover her ears as a sign of protest. I chose to ignore the act — something that mommies learn to do early on.

My son was much easier to please, as long as he was sitting in my lap.

Everything was under con-trol until the first few monkeys showed their back sides, to which Cooper yelled out, “Booties,” fol-lowed by bursts of laughter.

Every mother knows that chil-dren live to embarrass you.

At this point, I had to take charge. The children and I went to the bathroom and had what I like to call a “Coming-to-Jesus” meeting. We returned to finish the movie and left before the credits rolled; I was scared to show my face.

Our movie experience since has been a good one. The free showing of “Dolphin Tale,” even led the whole family to the Clear-water Marine Aquarium to meet the real dolphin, “Winter.”

My children stood about 10 feet from the tailless dolphin as she tweeted to them, just as she had done in the movie. It was one of those memories that you cata-log for the rocking-chair days.

Scarlett will soon start kinder-garten, and Cooper will enter pre-kindergarten. School sup-plies have been bought, and their book bags hang by the door.

They are excited to go back to school.

And me? I’m dreaming about my next

vacation — down the cereal aisle, of course.

Emilie Plants, a Plant City na-tive, is a stay-at-home mother of two, freelance journalist and a former Florida Strawberry Festi-val Queens Court member.

Movies and monkey bootiesPAJAMA MAMA

EMILIEPLANTS

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The Plant City Chamber of Commerce honored agricultural leaders during its an-nual Salute to Agriculture Contact Break-fast Aug. 8, at the Evelyn & Batista Madonia Ag Show Center on the Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds.

Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida, the breakfast celebrated the 2012 winners, which included Joel Connell (Young Agriculturist of the Year), Jane Bender (Ag Educator of the Year), Ed and Myrtle Lou Swindle (Supporters of Youth in Agriculture); Hillsborough County Farm Bureau (Agri-Business of the Year) and Michelle Williamson (Agriculturist of the Year).

In addition the Chamber named Darcy Stottlemyer its Good Egg of the Month, and the Plant City Observer’s Petra Kirk-land won the $100 jackpot drawing.

For more information, visit the chamber website, plantcity.org.

Wesley Joyner, center, presented the Supports of Youth in Agriculture Award to ed and Myrtle lou swindle.

Hillsborough County Farm Bureau received the Agri-Business of the Year award.

Michelle Williamson was named the 2012 Agriculturist of the Year. stephan Gran pre-sented the award.

Jane bender received the Ag Educator of the Year award from pam Walden.

Dan Walden, right, presented the Young Agriculturist of the Year award to Joel connell.

chamber salutes ag leadersSPoTLIGHT by the plant city observer staff

Representing Durant High School, Future Farmers of America members Jacob belisly, Morgan belsley and Haley smith chowed down on breakfast.

“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

ObserverPLANT CITY

Publisher / Felix Haynes, [email protected]

Managing Editor / Michael Eng, [email protected]

Assistant Managing Editor / Jess Eng, [email protected]

Staff Writers / Amber Jurgensen, [email protected]; Matt Mauney, [email protected] Advertising Executive / Veronica Prostko, [email protected]

Advertising Coordinator / Linda Lancaster, [email protected]

Accounting Manager / Petra Kirkland, [email protected]

Advertising-Production Operations Manager / Kathy Payne, [email protected]

Advertising-Production Coordinator / Brooke Schultheis, [email protected]

Advertising Graphic Designers / Monica DiMattei, [email protected]; Marjorie Holloway, [email protected]; Luis Trujillo, [email protected]; Chris Stolz, [email protected]

President / Felix HaynesDirectors / Nate Kilton, Ed Verner,

Matt Walsh110 E. Reynolds St., Suite 100A

Plant City, Fla. 813-704-6850

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The Plant CityObserver LLC

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to aDvertiseCall veronica prostko at 704-6850.

senD Us yoUr neWsWe want to hear from you. Let us know

about your community events, celebrations and family member achievements. To contact us, send your information via: Email: Michael Eng, [email protected]

Mail: The Plant City observer, 110 E. Reynolds St., Suite 100-A, Plant City, FL 33563

contact UsThe Plant City observer is published once weekly,

on Thursdays. It provides free home delivery to several neighborhoods in Plant City. The Plant City observer also can be found in many commercial locations throughout Plant City and at our office, 110 E. Reynolds St., Suite 100-A.

If you wish to discontinue home delivery or if you wish to suspend home delivery temporarily, call linda lancaster at 704-6850.

PlantCityObserver.com 9 PLANT CITY OBSERVERTHURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012

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Dozens of Plant City kids kicked, punched and jumped their way through Chris Welbon Karate Club’s Karate Camp July 26, at Mike E. Sansome Park.

The weeklong camp featured a variety of activities, including a field trip to the park to play a bat-tlefield game with foam swords and protective gear and show off their moves in the open field.

BUSINESS | PLANT C ITY L IFE | OBITUARIES | GAMES | RELIGION | SPORTS

NeighborhoodPLANTCITYOBSERvER.COM THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012

KARATE KIDS

ANCIENT ART FORM By Amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer

Ashlyn Cardona, 9, Kristyn Robbins, 7, and Kayla Robbins, 10, enjoyed a water break before heading back to the field to throw some punches.

Right: Jakob Arnold, 14, showed off his moves during a group exercise.

Camp helpers Emma Arkins, 13, and Abigail Wolford, 14, gathered foam swords and safety gear for a battlefield game.

James Timberlake, 9, learned his karate moves fast.

Left: Cody Phelps, 8, worked on his form.

Brothers Joey and Robbie Spitler had fun dur-ing the battlefield game.

Below: Joshua Harvey, 9, Sean Previty, 8 and Patrick Previty, 10, were prepared for battle.

Emmarie Guadet, 12, showed the other campers how it’s done.


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You owe it to yourself, to call us before you make a mistake that could

cost your family hundreds or thousands of dollars, on a cremation or a funeral.

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Kyle R. AmmeRmAnKyle R. Ammerman, 25, of Plant City,

died July 28.Born Dec. 3, 1986, in Tampa, he was

the son of Nicholas Ammerman and Margaret Parrish.

Survivors include fiancee, Mandy Ow-ens; daughter Haylie Lynn Ammerman; brother, Trenton Ammerman; paternal grandparents, Donald and Carol Am-merman; and maternal grandparent, Martha Parrish.

A memorial service was Aug. 3, at Haught Funeral Home Chapel.

Online condolences may be left at haughtfuneralhome.com.

RicKy e. BRAdfoRdRicky E. Bradford, 50, of Plant City,

died Aug. 1, 2012, at Sun City Center Hospice.

He was born Feb. 3, 1962, to the late Robert Bradford and Dolly Griffin.

Survivors include one brother, Mi-chael Griffin; and one sister, Donna An-ders.


BeRthA K. GAschleRBertha K. Gaschler, 74, of Plant City,

died July 30.Born Aug. 28, 1937, she was the daugh-

ter of the late Andrew Haili and Elizabeth Kinolau Haili. She was the wife of the late Wil-liam Gaschler.

She was a member of Shiloh Baptist Church, spent years as a nurse’s aide, serving at Lowes Nursing Home and Forest Park and Community Convales-cent, and was an avid bingo player.

Survivors include sons, Andrew Jo-seph, Robert Allen and David Wayne

Gaschler; daughters, Debra Ann Thompson and Marlene Leilani Shov-er; 10 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by daughter, Al-berta Perkins.

A funeral service was Aug. 2, at Haught Funeral Home Chapel Interment fol-lowed at Hopewell Memorial Gardens, Plant City. Online condolences may be left at haughtfuneralhome.com.

sAndRA Annette nAveSandra Annette Nave, 70, of Plant City,

died July 21, at Brandon Regional Hos-pital.

Born July 17, 1942, in Tampa, she was the daughter of the late Leon Childers and the late Shirley Lisbeny Childers. She was the wife of John Nave, Jr.

Survivors include sons, Michael and David Bachman; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.


Joseph Allen WeyAndJoseph (Joey) Allen Weyand, of Clarks-

ville, Tenn., died July 25. He was 42.Mr. Weyand was born Jan. 14, 1970, in

Plant City, to the late John B. Weyand Sr., and Ann Weyand. He was an active member of the Vineyard Chris-tian Fellowship, an employee of the city of Clarksville and an avid Gator fan.

He is survived by his wife, Terry Weyand; son, Justin Weyand; daughter, Courtney Weyand; mother, Ann Weyand; brother, Johnny Weyand; sisters, Charlotte Con-way, Patty (Jim) Waldron, Lynda (Troy) Feustel and Lisa Wilkins; and numerous nieces and nephews.

OBSERVEROBITUARIES STORE AROUND THE CORNER

When a customer brought a Clyde Butcher photograph through the door of Walden Lake Art and Frame about a month ago, owner Michael Kidde was ecstatic. He was even more thrilled to know the customer was trying to sell it.

“It was a very unusual piece that I was happy to purchase,” Kidde says.

Butcher is famous for tak-ing black-and-white pho-tographs of the Florida Ev-erglades. But this particular photo of what looked like a Caribbean beach was in col-or. Kidde framed it, and now, it sits on display in the front window as a testimony to his skill.

Walden Art and Frame has been around for 20 years in the same shopping strip off South Alexander Street. Kid-de assumed ownership of the longtime business in June.

Kidde has a history work-ing as a licensed landscape artist. Several years ago, he started framing art out of his garage for his friends and family. He jumped at the op-portunity to own his own framing business.

The framing process is a simple — but involved — one. First, the customer and Kidde will consult on the dif-ferent color combinations available through mattes and frame samples. They also discuss different types of protection for the piece. After ordering the final supplies,

Kidde cuts the glass, matte and backing. Then, he puts the frame together, pull-ing all the materials together to create a presentable hanging piece.

Kidde can frame anything from di-plomas and certifi-cates to photos and posters. He frames mostly fine art, but once in a while, a quirky request comes in. Recently, Kidde donated his framing services by framing a series of pro wrestling posters for a charity. The posters were to go to children.

“It’s one of those things that makes me want to come to work,” Kidde says. “I’m happy to give back to the

community. It’s a small gesture on my part, but I am happy to do it.”

Kidde loves art and in the future wants to work with local artists and join some of the art guilds in the area. In the front room of Walden Lake Art and Frame, Kidde displays several fine art pieces that the previous owner painted with Kidde’s frames

polishing them off. Kidde also is an artist him-

self and creates stained glass. He also builds furniture such as cabinets, benches, wine racks and tables.

— Amber Jurgensen

Walden Lake Art and Frame

New Walden Lake Art and Frame owner Michael Kidde says he loves it when an unusual piece comes through the door.

BASICSWalden laKe art and FraMeaddress: 1514 S. Alexander St., Suite 104PHone: (813) 752-7460HoUrs: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; appointments available.

As the final out was recorded, the crowd at Beef O’ Brady’s in Plant City erupted on Aug. 1, as they gathered around a TV show-ing a live webcast.

There was no sound, much less color commentary, and the picture certainly wasn’t in high

definition, but that didn’t stop 50 or so parents, brothers, sisters, and fellow Little League players from showing their support from hundreds of miles away, as the Plant City 10-11 Little League All-Stars

won the Southeast Tournament of State Champions in Green-ville, N.C.

It was a scene that depicted clearly the hometown feel of Plant City. Throughout my five-plus years in sports reporting, I always have been aware of the closeness of Little Leaguers and their support system.

I saw the two come together last week, when the community of Plant City gathered to cheer one of its teams to victory.

This week, the favor was returned, as the 10-11s, along with their parents and fans, kept a close eye on the 11-12 Majors, playing in their own region tour-nament in Warner Robins, Ga.

Unfortunately, the Majors didn’t take a top-two spot out of their pool, so they missed out on the chance to play in the

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

SportsATHLETE OF

THE WEEKConnor Rogers

anchors defense for10-11 All-Stars. 15

THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012PLANTCITYObSERvER.COM

MATTMAUNEY

learning on the links By Matt Mauney | Staff Writer

SHOW ME THE MAUNEY

Since 1999, The First Tee of Tampa Bay has been providing more than 25,000 children each year the opportunity to learn the game of golf.

On Aug. 11, the program will come to Walden Lake Golf and Country Club in Plant City.

As a branch of the Tampa YMCA, The First Tee provides children ages 5-18 a chance to learn the game while providing them with other quality lessons, such as promoting academic success and positive self esteem. This is the first year that the Plant

City Family YMCA has become involved with The First Tee.

“It’s a great thing to have in our own backyard,” said Eric Poe, ex-ecutive director of the Plant City YMCA.

Poe said many Plant City par-ents enrolled their children in the First Tee program in Lakeland in the past. Poe even convinced his two children to take part in the program in Tampa.

“One of the benefits of this is that it gives kids a sport they can play for the rest of their lives,” Poe said.

And for $84 for a seven-week session, it’s also an affordable op-portunity to introduce children to an otherwise expensive game.

“We have ways to work with parents to ensure that anyone in-terested can participate,” said Ian Baxter, executive director of First Tee of Tampa Bay. “We want to be able to work with parents so no child is held out of this opportu-nity for any reason.”

Various scholarship opportuni-ties are available, he said.

First Tee coming to Walden LakeThe program provides young people an affordable opportunity to learn about the game of golf — and life lessons that come with it.

Plant Cityrallies forits LittleLeaguers

Courtesy photo

First Tee has been teaching life lessons through the game of golf for more than a decade.

IF YOU GOFIRST TEEWHEN: Aug. 11 WHERE: Walden Lake Golf and Country Club, 2001 Clubhouse DriveAGES: 5-18COST: $84 for a seven-week, once-per-week sessionEQUIPMENT: All equipment is provided by First Tee, but participants may bring their own clubs if they have them.REGISTRATION: visit www.thefirstteetampabay.org or contact First Tee at [email protected] or (813) 238-7320 for more information

The All-Star season for Plant City Little League officially came to an end this week — but not without some fireworks.

The 11-12 baseball Majors got off to a good start in the South-east Region Tournament, but back-to-back close losses put them out of reach of one of the top two spots in their pool. The Majors did end on a winning

note, however, beating West Vir-ginia 14-6 in a cross-pool conso-lation game Aug. 7.

The 10-11 All-Stars still are rev-eling in their win in the Southeast Tournament of State Champions last week in Greenville, N.C. The TOSC is as far as that age group can go, so that group will have to wait until next year to have a shot at advancing to the coveted Little

League World Series, played an-nually in Williamsport, Pa.

10-11s get it doneThe 10-11 All-Stars, represent-

ing the state of Florida, won the 2012 Tournament of State Cham-pions Aug. 1, in Greenville, N.C., defeating Tennessee 4-1, but it was the game prior to the finals that set the tone for Plant City.

The All-Stars advanced to the final July 31, with a thrilling, come-from-behind 8-6 win over Virginia.

Down to the final out, trailing 4-6 with two outs in the top of the sixth, Hunter Emrine, Con-nor Rogers and Braxton Plunk all reached base on two hits and a Virginia error (Plunk), loading the bases. Bryar Christian then delivered with a two-run flare to right center, tying the game 6-6.

SEE WARRIORS / PAGE 14 SEE COMMENT / PAGE 14

SEE FIRST TEE / PAGE 14

Making Their MarkBoth Plant City Little League All-Star teams represented their city and the state of Florida well in the Southeast tournaments.

ROAD WARRIORS By Matt Mauney | Staff Writer

Courtesy photo

The 10-11 All-Stars avenged an early loss to Tennessee in pool play to win in the finals 4-1, taking the Southeast Tournament of State Champions title Aug. 1, in Greenville, N.C.



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In addition to learning the game, First Tee also teaches life-enhancing values, such as con-fidence, perseverance and judg-ment, along with life skills such as goal-setting and personal skills.

“Our philosophy here isn’t to

create the next Tiger Woods or Michelle Wie, but to teach life skills — both on the course and off,” Baxter said. “Things such as shaking hands when you meet someone or after a game and looking them in the eye. These things go beyond golf.”

Baxter also noted that all equipment is provided by First

Tee; however, participants are welcome to bring their own clubs.

The sessions are taught in small groups by trained golf pro-fessionals to allow for plenty of one-on-one attention. The First Tee program also has advanced levels, in which children can later qualify for other programs.

“Our goal is for kids to not just take one seven-week session but continue to take more advanced sessions,” Baxter said. “As kids pass certain golf skills and life skills, meeting the criteria, they are allowed to move on to more advanced lessons.”

Contact Matt Mauney at [email protected].

semifinals or the finals, both of which are broadcast by the ESPN networks, complete with play-by-play commentary. They also fell short of punching a ticket to the Little League World Series, something the 10-11s will have an opportunity to do next year.

Let me tell you, this job keeps you busy. There is always some-thing going on, and as a young newspaper, we are all learning and growing together, trying to get things flowing as routinely as possible. After taking pictures at a Vacation Bible School at Hope Lutheran Church Aug. 1, I hurried over to Beefs to catch the final few innings of the 10-11 All-Stars final with Tennessee.

A few things ran through my mind immediately.

The first was, admittedly, my hunger, as the aroma of hot wings reminded me I hadn’t had din-ner. The second thought was the amount of people that showed up to support the 10-11s.

When I finally settled in and found a seat — thanks to some friendly parents who accommo-dated me in their booth — I got a chance to watch the game, but I quickly discovered that it wasn’t so much about everyone intently watching — but rather showing up to show their support.

I bumped into John Moore, the president of Plant City Little League, and he said the com-munity has shown their support in more ways than just cheering teams on to victory. According to Moore, $10,000 to $15,000 has been raised for both the 10-11s and 11-12s to help them with travel costs.

It’s great to see a community rallying behind their local youth teams and helping any way it can.

In extra innings and after a scoreless seventh, Dylan Robin-son and Emrine hit back-to-back solo home runs in the eighth to go up 8-6. Andrew Long put forth a quality performance on the mound in the semifinal, throw-ing six innings and striking out eight Virginia batters.

“That game was by far the big-gest moment for us,” head coach T.J. Messick said. “The boys just found a way to win and did ex-actly what they needed to do.”

The All-Stars carried that mo-mentum into the finals, where they got a rematch with Tennes-see, which handed Florida its only loss of the tournament dur-ing pool play.

J.J. Gonzalez got the start on the mound in the final, pitching the whole game and allowing just one run to the Tennessee state champions from Goodlettsville, Tenn.

Florida, playing as the visiting team, put two runs on the score-board in the first. Plunk started things off with a double, before Christian reached on a base hit. After Christian stole second, leav-ing both runners in scoring posi-tion, a bad throw from Tennessee pitcher Hunter Crawford on Em-rine’s bunt allowed both Plunk and Christian to score.

Rogers picked up an RBI in the

second, and Gonzalez picked up one in the third to give himself all the cushion he needed.

“Everybody on this team just played a huge part,” Messick said.

Crawford, a hard-throwing right-hander, shut down Florida through three innings in the first meeting of the two teams be-fore being pulled to save him for a potential finals appearance. Messick said his coaching staff worked with the team to be better prepared this time around.

“We got in a hitting session and threw from half the distance of normal batting practice to make sure their timing was right,” he said.

The plan worked. Florida got several timely hits and forced Crawford out of the game early.

“We got up there and weren’t scared a bit,” Messick said.

The 10-11s are coming off win-ning a TOSC title last year as the 9-10 All-Stars, making this sea-son’s championship the second in a row for the team.

The team will have an oppor-tunity to advance further next year as the 11-12 All-Stars, with a chance to move past regionals to the coveted Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

11-12s fall in regionalsThings looked promising for

the 11-12 Majors as they opened the Southeast Tournament Aug. 3 with a 13-0 dismantling of Ala-bama.

Plant City, representing Flor-ida, first got on the board in the third and added one in the fifth before blowing things wide open in the sixth with 11 runs.

Benji Hidalgo went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and Christian Laird had three RBIs. Austin El-dridge and Cody Ginther added two RBIs each. Tavaris Gayner and Ginther combined for the complete game shutout.

The following day, the Ma-jors found themselves in a tight one with Warner Robins, Ga., the tournament host. Florida jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Georgia put up three runs in the third and fourth and held on late to take the 7-6 win.

Trying to bounce back, Flori-da faced North Carolina Aug. 6 for a shot at one of the top two spots out of Pool B. Florida once again got on the board first, when Christian Laird and Cody Cribbs scored on Austin Eldridge’s dou-ble in the first inning. Florida went up 4-0 in the third, when Tate Whatley delivered a two-run homer, driving in Laird. North Carolina responded, with three runs in the bottom half of the in-ning, before taking the lead in the fifth and holding on for the 6-4 win.

Florida left the tournament on a winning note, beating West Vir-ginia 14-6 in a cross-pool game Aug. 7. Whatley again delivered, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Cody Cribbs also came through with a three-run homer in the fourth.

North Carolina and Georgia took the top two spots out of Pool B, while Virginia and Tennessee advanced to the semifinals in Pool A.


coMMent/paGe 13

First tee/paGe 13

Warriors/paGe 13

Matt Mauney

austin eldridge batted .364 in the Southeast Tournament for the 11-12 Majors. Eldridge was credited with the loss in his only appearance on the mound in the Aug. 4 game against Georgia, where Florida fell 7-6.


CROSSWORD_080912

O B S E RV E R C RO S S WO R D

Edited by Timothy E. Parker

CRYPTOGRAMS

1. L Z L B H D Z N J X Q Q S O X N Y Z D M D H Z N D Q S D R N Y L J Z . L Z ’ B H D Z

Q R M W D N K D L H K I L Z O Z O J G Q D I , J L Z O J N . L Z ’ B D H Q S

I L B O G R Q B O N L H W L H K .

2. I W X D F F D I L N G S A O E N K X I U Z D Y K U D N Y C E A I L E Y K X : R S N S

Z K X D B Q W X I D L S L F D L K . G S A I L U N C K L R S N S

N D A K N S G S A A K L N . G S A W K B S X K S O K L D L R Q S E X A S E N C .

ACROSS 1 Talked like a Texan 8 Messy situation 13 It may top a tortilla

chip 18 Bring shame upon 20 Ahab’s ship, for one 21 Some Alberta

natives 22 Irish greeting for

early birds 24 Big name in

garbage bags 25 Absolutely detest 26 “What more ___

say?” 27 Term from tennis,

golf or poker 28 Photographic finish 29 Youngest of Alcott’s

March sisters 31 Victorian or Big

Band 33 Sprinted or dashed 34 Taste or smell 36 Like the dog days of

summer 37 Tricked cunningly 39 Ill-___ gains 42 Jeweled crown 44 “Just a little off” at

the barber 45 Cards with photos 46 Make inquiries 49 Soak 52 Pilots’

guesstimates, for short

53 Getting on in years 54 Hand-washer of the

Gospels 56 Normandy invasion

start 57 Decay 58 Prompt on stage 59 Some payments for

rides 61 Six years for a

senator 62 Closes in on

64 Programmer’s output

65 Triple ___ (orange liqueur)

66 Half of a German resort town?

67 Lowest place 71 Stable bedding 74 Clairvoyance,

briefly 75 “Beg pardon” 76 Gets ready for

surgery 79 Seed’s covering 80 Don’t forget 82 Martini ingredient 83 “And so forth ...” 85 ___ dancer (disco

performer) 86 Gets melodramatic

on stage 87 Curving path 88 Sport involving

swords 89 Word before

“minority” or “cuisine”

91 Game, ___ and match

92 Double standard? 93 Did the same as 94 They may be

pitched 96 Shun 99 Buscemi or Martin 100 Resort hotel 102 Thermos lunches 105 First word of a

question, sometimes

106 Thai neighbor 108 Beet-colored 109 One who celebrates

Diwali 111 “Peel me a grape”

lady West 112 Dublin’s isle 114 Desdemona’s

handkerchief, e.g. 116 Rage

117 Pathway of the politically moderate

122 “Prosequi” lead-in 123 Totally swamp 124 Madame’s

grooming ritual 125 Attacked jointly? 126 Orchestra section 127 Eventful trip

dOwn 1 Infamous

insecticide 2 Lead-in for

“Branco” or “Bravo” 3 Suffocate 4 Horse-halting word 5 Threw high in the

air 6 “Come on in” 7 Play-___ (kids’ clay) 8 The Alamo, for one 9 Palindromic

Bobbsey 10 Crook’s other

identity 11 Stolen goods buyer 12 Top-priority 13 Bagel spread 14 Calculus

computation 15 Like a southpaw 16 Heated conflict 17 Up to the present

time 19 Alt. to “play” or

“stop” 20 Was victorious in 23 Trading centers 29 Time ___ time

(repeatedly) 30 Jelly Roll of jazz 32 Like a ballerina 35 Square’s four 38 Type measures 40 Like 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. 41 Inexperienced

person 43 Bureaucratic waste 47 Gory film 48 ___ Abdul-Jabbar 50 “See if I ___!” 51 Sunday song

53 Remove from power

54 Economical homes 55 Type of support 58 Boast 59 Go for the gold, e.g. 60 “And now, without

further ___ ...” 63 Mother-of-pearl

source 64 Orderly universe 66 Place for a country

dance 68 Swarm 69 Down-stretch link 70 Sweeping saga 71 Wise guy 72 Certain race pace 73 One of four in a

square 77 Spicy stews 78 Stow in a hold 80 Verso opposite 81 Dole (out) 82 Sound from

Stephen King’s Cujo 84 Relinquished, as

territory 87 Reverent

astonishment 88 Do this before you

drink and be merry 90 Covered by a policy 92 Complete (var.) 95 It goeth before the

fall? 97 Puffs up 98 Tribe leader 99 How some are

missed 100 Hit a golf ball

poorly 101 Attach a tail to a

donkey 103 U.S. patriot Thomas 104 Marsh growth 107 Ladybug’s lunch, at

times 110 Take-out order? 113 Little amphibian 115 Metallic rocks 118 Unpopped

firecracker 119 ___ close for

comfort 120 Had a meal 121 Susan of “L.A. Law”

ALL OVER THE PLACE by dame Copperfield

2

ATHleTe of THe week By Matt Mauney | Staff writer

What went through your mind when your team won the title?

It was pretty awesome to win two years in a row. I don’t think that’s ever happened here.

Your coach, T.J. Messick, said he consid-ers you the defensive MVP for the tourna-ment. How do you feel about that?

I didn’t know that. I was making some plays, but my whole team was out there making plays and working just as hard as I was.

What do you like most about playing third base?

It’s the hot corner. I usu-ally play really close to the plate, and the ball comes at you fast, but I just try to knock it down and make the play. I really like playing it.

Do you play any other positions?

Not in All-Stars. I either played third base or would pitch sometimes, if they let me. I pretty much stayed at third base.

Did you follow the 11-12 Majors?We were watching their games and

would sit in the lobby of the hotel and watch and cheer for them.

Are you excited about the chance to repeat as region champions next year

— with a chance to go to the Little League World Series?

It would be really awesome. I know the 12-year-olds didn’t make it out of region this year, but maybe we can make it next year.

What was your favorite memory of your trip to North Carolina for the regional tournament?

It would definitely be making a diving catch in foul territory against Virginia.

Who is your favorite pro baseball player?

Evan Longoria.

Do you have other hobbies?I like to go hunting and fish-ing. Just really anything out-

doors. As long as I’m outside doing something.

How do you plan to spend the end of your summer?

I’m in Alabama now with my grandparents until Aug.

19.

Do you have a favorite movie?

“The Perfect Game.” It’s about how a team that has never

done anything from Mexico and

didn’t have any money went on to win the Little League World Series.

CONNOR ROGERSConnor Rogers made a big impact in the 10-11 Southeast Tournament of State Cham-

pions, not only with his bat but also with his glove. The 11-year-old third baseman made some standout plays in the regional tournament, where the 10-11 Plant City team took the championship with a 4-1 win over Tennessee. Here’s a look at this week’s Athlete of the Week.

Anthony Abramson has had his hand in a few benefit softball tournaments in the past, but the one Aug. 18 at Plant City Stadium is personal.

Abramson, 40, of Riverview, is put-ting together the MADD Softball Benefit Tournament in memory of his mother, Jean McCarthy, who was killed by a drunken driver on Dec. 17, 2011, in Toms River, N.J.

“I want to show people that this is happening more and more every day and that’s it’s not OK to drink and drive,” Abramson said.

The benefit tournament is being sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and 1N3, an organization that focuses on drug and alcohol awareness, along with addiction recovery and grief recovery. Batting Zone Sports, where Abramson is a bat representative, is also a sponsor of the event.

“We want to use this tournament as a way to recognize Anthony’s mom and raise awareness, not just with softball players, but for anyone this event touch-es, that may know of someone or have lost a loved one to a (drunken) driver,” said Amber Saltzman, the MADD state development officer for Florida. “We want people to have a plan before they go out and have a good time and never drink and get behind the wheel.”

The man charged with McCarthy’s death recently pleaded not guilty to two charges — vehicular homicide and flee-ing the scene of a crime. However, driv-ing while under the influence is not one

of the charges. He currently faces five to 10 years, a sentence Abramson is hop-ing to change, if not in this case, then in others with alcohol-related vehicular homicides.

“The laws need to be changed,” he said. “There have to be stricter laws to prevent this happening so often.”

Abramson, who has been an umpire for nearly five years, helped organize the Curtis and Kocab Benefit Tourna-ment in August 2010, after the Tampa-based officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab were killed in the line of duty in June 2010. The tournament was held at Randy Larson Park in Plant City.

Abramson again got involved with an-other benefit tournament last Decem-ber to raise money for Morgan Pierce, a 7-year-old girl who was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma in November 2008.

As of Tuesday, six men’s teams and 10 coed teams are signed up, but Abramson is hoping for 15 of each.

The cost of tournament entry is $250 per team if registration is made by Aug. 10. After that date, the cost increases to $300 per team. The tournament will consist of games in the coed and men’s divisions, along with a home run derby and various raffles and giveaways.

For more information, or to sign the petition for stricter laws, visit the MADD Softball Benefit Tournament in Memory of Jean McCarthy Facebook page.


MADD tournament swings into to Randy larson Park

worthy cause By Matt Mauney | Staff writer

Money raised at the softball tournament will help raise awareness against drunken driving.

PLANT CITY OBSERVERTHURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 201216 PlantCityObserver.com

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Plant City Observer 08.09.12