Plant City Observer 08.02.12

FREE • thuRsday, auGust 2, 2012

Turkey Creek Trojans to honortheir first coach.PAGE 13

SPORTSart attackPlant City’s BettyJones celebratesexhibit opening.PAGE 7

PLANT CITYObserveryou. youR nEiGhboRs. youR nEiGhboRhood.

+ resident sharesObserver namesake

Lifelong Plant City resident nancy McLean stopped by the Plant City Observer office July 30 bearing one special gift: a copy of the old Plant City Observer, circa July 1982.

Although our newspaper is not connected with the original in any other way than its name, we had an absolute blast taking a trip down mem-ory lane with McLean. She says she didn’t quite know why she saved the newspaper, but we’re so glad she did.

News Briefs .........5 Cops Corner .........6 Crossword ......... 15 Sports ............... 13INDEX Vol. 1, No. 5 | One section

PlantCityObserver.com

OUR TOWN

SHOW OF FaItHPlant City’s First

Baptist Church hosts Cowboy Church.

PaGE 10

Thanks to a new partner-ship between Plant City Family Care and South Florida Baptist Hospital, as many as 400 more births annually may take place at the Plant City hospital.

That increase would double the current number of births at South Florida Baptist.

Plant City Family Care is one of seven clinics operated by Suncoast Community Health Center. For years, Plant City Family Care contracted a group of midwives based in Tampa to provide prenatal care to its pa-tients.

“The previous contractor did a fantastic job, but all the ba-bies were being born at Tampa General,” Brad Herremans, Sun-coast Community Health Cen-ter CEO, said.

Last year, 415 women with Plant City zip codes delivered at Tampa General Hospital, be-cause the midwives referred pa-tients there.

Steve Nierman, COO at South Florida Baptist Hospital, ap-

Friday began as a normal day at Neumeister’s Candy Shoppe for employee and building owner Julie Young. She made sure the temperature was a sol-id 70 degrees, attended to cus-tomers and managed the store.

Then, she got an interesting call.

Academy Award-winning director Cynthia Wade was in town from New York City to film a documentary about a Plant City resident with a rare liver disease. In one interview, the resident said the effects of the disease on the ability to talk was like pulling taffy apart.

The film crew asked if Neu-meister’s made taffy so they could illustrate the subject’s point.

Young immediately called owner Glenn Nicholas.

“Right when Julie called me, I came over and tried to figure out how to do what they were asking,” Nicholas said.

Although he doesn’t make taffy, Nicholas makes many things at Neumeister’s from scratch, such as chocolate turtles and caramel. He began experimenting with taffy, treat-ing it the same way he does caramel. He figured out a way

to melt the taffy mixture and then knead it to the right con-sistency.

Once Nicholas, his daughter, Taylor, and Young got a good feel for the taffy, Wade visited the candy shop.

“They brought props, bubble wrap, camera equipment — you name it,” Nicholas said.

The film crew and Wade got their hands dirty playing with the taffy to figure out how it stretched. The film crew also was inspired by all the differ-ent plastic chocolate molds

SEE FILM / PaGE 4

SEE HOSPItaL / PaGE 4

Partnership will boostbaby births at hospitalSouth Florida Baptist Hospital has entered into a partnership with Suncoast Community Health Center.

academy award-winning director cynthia Wade shot a scene at Neumeister’s candy Shoppe for a

short film that will be released in October.

Photos by Amber Jurgensen

Pete Mychalcewycz, left, and bill dunkle, right, filmed part of a scene at Neumeister’s Candy Shoppe, with the assistance of employee and building owner Julie young and taylor nicholas, daughter of Neumeister’s owner Glenn nicholas. Top: taylor nicholas pulled the taffy apart to prepare it for filming.

Sweet Surprise

SILVER SCREEN by amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer close to home

by amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer

+ Bucs cheerleadervisits Plant city

The Plant City Family YMCA hosted a cheer/dance mini clinic July 24.

The clinic was led by Tampa Bay Buccaneer cheer-leader and squad co-captain Karen bittinger, who taught the group of young girls several cheers and dance routines.

The clinic was an outreach program for the Buccaneers to promote their Junior Clinic. This August, the Bucs will host the 15th annual Junior Cheer/Dance Clinic and game-day performance.

+ Police promotesofficer to sergeant

Plant City Police Department officer barry Maurer was promoted to ser-geant July 21.

Maurer has been with the department since January 2005 and has served within the department’s Uniformed Patrol Division, Investigative Services Division and, most recently, as the department’s training coordinator and crime prevention officer.

Amber Jurgensen

South Florida Baptist Hospital expects to double its number of baby deliveries.

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PlantCityObserver.com 3 Plant city observerTHURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Ronda StoRmSage: 46Family: Happily married (most days), 25 years! Two kids, a teenage daughter and a preschool sonHometown: Valrico education: Bachelor’s de-gree in English education; law degree from Stetson University Col-lege of LawexpeRience: State senator, county com-missioner, attorney and Value Adjust-ment Board memberwebSite: www.rondastorms.com

What would be your top priorities if elected?

My top priorities, if elected, include restoring confidence in the office, cut-ting the salary of the property appraiser and implementing metric-based policies in the office.

What are some of the current chal-lenges of the Hillsborough County prop-erty appraiser position, and what are your solutions to those problems?

Some current challenges facing the property appraiser’s office include the lack of fairness and due process in the appraisal process for property owners. Every customer of the office deserves an unbiased appraisal and fairness in apply-ing Florida statutes. I would implement proper standards for the fair application

of the entire process — from appraisal to appeal.

Further challenges include the lack of performance-based policies in the of-fice. Every employee should be evaluat-ed on professional standards and his or her performance as a professional. I will implement merit-based performance measures for all employees, regardless of race or gender.

What are some of the current chal-lenges facing Greater Plant City, and if elected, how would you address those concerns as Hillsborough County Prop-erty Appraiser?

The biggest challenge facing Plant City is the rotten economy, and I would ad-dress that concern by making sure the property appraiser is fair in appraisals and not punitive or hostile to the prop-erty owner, whether a homeowner, busi-ness owner or agricultural operation.

What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?

I have the budgeting expertise and management skills necessary to perform my official duties. But perhaps more im-portantly, I am a woman committed to serving our community with honesty, fairness and faithfulness.

Other thoughts/comments? I would be honored to receive your

vote in the Aug. 14 primary.

Rob tuRneRage: 60Family: Married; four grown childrenHometown: Born in Ports-mouth, Va.; raised in Vir-ginia Beach, Va.education: Bachelor’s de-gree in business admin-istration, University of Central Florida; graduate degree from School of Bank Management, University of VirginiaexpeRience: State-certified general real estate appraiser since 1994; senior vice president in real estate banking with 23 years of banking experience, certified Florida appraiser since 1998; recom-mended by former Senate President Tom Lee and appointed by then Gov. Jeb Bush to the 2006 Property Tax Reform Com-missionwebSite: www.re-electrobturner.com


The Property Appraiser’s Office man-ages an $86 billion tax roll with more than 500,000 parcels to assess annually and is a vital component of our local gov-ernment. Every resident of Hillsborough County has benefited from the outstand-ing performance I have demonstrated the last 16 years in leading this office. My education, training, skills, abilities, expertise and experience have positively improved this office in our appraisal ac-

curacy, fiscal frugality and general man-agement.

What are some of the current chal-lenges of the Hillsborough County prop-erty appraiser position, and what are your solutions to those problems?

Fair and equitable assessments and proper management of exemptions. Given the state of our economy and real estate recession, it is even a greater chal-lenge to ensure a thorough and profes-sional analysis of the transactions in the market.

We also must professionally manage the exemptions provided to property owners, such as the homestead exemp-tion and greenbelt classification.

What are some of the current chal-lenges facing Greater Plant City, and if elected, how would you address those concerns as Hillsborough County Prop-erty Appraiser?

Fiscal focus. Every county agency has a responsibility to professionally manage their budget to provide the most cost ef-fective and efficient service to the public.


My prior qualifications in appraisal and management, which I have con-tinued to improve, shows directly in the outstanding demonstrated performance of this office.

Primary election Q&aPRIMARY

ELECTION

2012

Editor’s Note: As the Aug. 14 pri-mary 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 week’s issue, read about the

candidates for Florida State Senate District 24 and the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s Office.

In the Florida Senate primary, Rachel Burgin and Tom Lee will vie for the Republican nomination. The winner of the Aug. 14 primary will

face Democrat candidate Elizabeth Belcher.

The seat is being vacated by State Sen. Ronda Storms, who is running for Hillsborough County property appraiser.

For Hillsborough County Property

Appraiser, embattled incumbent Rob Turner is seeking re-election over his challenger, Storms.

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

For complete responses, visit PlantCityObserver.com.

FLORIDA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 24RacHel buRginage: 30Family: Burgin’s grandfa-ther, Fletcher Burgin, came to Plant City in December 1946. He took early retire-ment in the late 1970s and started the family business, which has been located on the Plant City Farmers Market ever since. She is the daughter of Thomas and Ricky Burgin and the third of seven childrenHometown: Plant City education: Bachelor’s degree in biblical studies, Moody Bible InstituteexpeRience: Served as a legislative aide to a county commissioner and a state rep-resentative; interned at the White House under George W. Bush in the Office of Faith Based Initiatives before running for the Florida House in 2008 webSite: www.rachelburgin.com


No. 1: The Food Stamp Integrity Act. Florida’s food-assistance program repre-sents taxpayers’ compassion for families in need of a temporary hand up. Legis-lators have a responsibility to make sure the tax dollars funding this program are not abused.

No. 2: The Abortion Accountability Act. Rachel Burgin is a tireless advocate for the unborn and will continue fighting to protect them. But as long abortion is legal in Florida, the health and safety of women receiving an abortion must re-main a priority.

No. 3: The Empty Houses to Happy Homes Initiative. Florida has been hit

hard by the housing bust. More than 218,561 Florida houses are in foreclosure (13,370 in Hillsborough County) alone. These foreclosures are dragging down property values and hurting the local economy.

What are some of the current chal-lenges in the Florida Senate, and what are your solutions to those problems?

The Florida Senate is just not conser-vative enough. More than anything else, the Senate needs principle-based lead-ers, who will stand on their conservative convictions rather than looking to the blowing winds of popular opinion.

What are some of the current chal-lenges facing Greater Plant City, and if elected, how would you address those concerns in Tallahassee?

Plant City is facing bureaucratic ob-stacles to converting part of the Midtown project into a park. This would seem to be a relatively simple issue, but to date, the issue remains unsolved. If I am elect-ed, we will put together the legislative and grassroots teams needed to get this done once and for all.


Local support. My campaign has liter-ally hundreds of small donors and grass-roots volunteers who live right here in District 24. My opponent is relying on deep-pocketed political insiders from Miami, Jacksonville and Tallahassee. So, if you want someone who will represent the needs of this community, then please vote for me.

tom leeage: 50Family: Wife, Laurel; chil-dren, Regan and BrandonHometown: Brandoneducation: Brandon High School; associate’s degree; Hillsborough Community College; bachelor’s degree, University of TampaexpeRience: From 1996-2006 served East Hillsborough as a member of the Flor-ida Senate; elected to Senate president in 2004. Vice chair, board of trustees of Tampa Bay History Center; member, board of directors for A Kid’s Place (foster care facility in Brandon); honorary mem-ber of the Brandon ’86 Rotary Club; for-mer president, Greater Brandon Cham-ber of Commerce webSite: VoteTomLee.com


Improving the regional economy, en-hancing Florida’s education system, encouraging investment in Florida’s universities, airports and seaports and promoting fiscal discipline and limited regulation as a key ingredient neces-sary to attract industry to our region.

What are some of the current chal-lenges in the Florida Senate, and what are your solutions to those problems?

As a small and historically collegial in-stitution, the Senate serves as the upper branch in Florida’s bicameral legislature. Some of the Senate’s challenges are inter-nal. Battles over future leadership have splintered the Republican caucus. Exter-

nally, Florida has experienced the great-est economic downturn since the Great Depression. More now than ever, the Senate needs mature and experienced statesmen, who can help shift the focus away from internal differences and en-courage a coordinated effort to stimulate economic activity in our state.

What are some of the current chal-lenges facing Greater Plant City, and if elected, how would you address those concerns in Tallahassee?

Plant City is well positioned for eco-nomic growth. Located between Or-lando/Lakeland and Tampa, Plant City offers opportunities for business reloca-tion and expansion. As Florida’s econo-my improves, Plant City stands to see sig-nificant economic development activity.

For me, the biggest challenge for the community is balancing its economic development goals with the need to pre-serve the rich history and traditions that define the character of the historical and business district of Plant City. I look for-ward to working with Mayor Mike Spark-man and the city commission to identify community goals and objectives and to ensure the Legislature is a partner in helping those plans come to fruition.


It’s never been my style to talk about my opponent. I’ve always felt that candi-dates should run on their record and let the voters decide.

That said, I believe my résumé reflects a lifetime of conservative leadership and a battle-tested ability to solve problems.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER’S OFFICE


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pinned to a wall in the back of the store. They played around with the light that reflected through the molds to make an abstract background.

“*(They were) things we never thought of,” Nicholas says.

On Saturday morning, two of the members of the film crew, Bill Dunkle and Pete Mychalcewycz,

returned to shoot at Neumiester’s. They taped bubble wrap to a glass window, placed a red film filter over the bubble wrap and shined a light through on one side. This created an abstract background that resembled red sequins. In front of the background, they stretched the taffy and pulled it apart.

“It does perfectly illustrate what someone in the interview is

talking about,” Nicholas said. “I had some extra time and

thought I would try out this ex-perimental shot,” Mychalcewycz said.

It took about an hour to get a 30-second shot that may or may not be used in the documentary.

The untitled documentary is going to be about 15 to 30 min-utes long and involves two differ-ent production companies and a pharmaceutical company that wants to raise awareness about a particular liver disease. The film crew would not disclose the name of the subject.

Plant City was the last stop be-fore the crew returned to New York. The crew made stops before in Sacramento, Calif.; Tenafly, N.J.; and Woodward, Okla., where the crew filmed other family interac-tions and B-roll. In all, the crew shot 60 to 80 hours of video in two weeks.

The documentary is scheduled to be released to the public in late October.

For more information on Cyn-thia Wade, visit cynthiawade.com.

Contact Amber Jurgensen at [email protected].

proached Herremans about a year ago to discuss a new model. Nierman suggested using two midwives employed with South Florida Baptist Hospital, Carolyn Reneau and Carol Thompson, instead of contracting out to the Tampa midwives group.

Reneau and Thompson worked under Dr. Chumphol Mahapau-rya for 15 years in South Florida Baptist’s Focus program, which provided midwifery training

and services. When Mahapaurya died last year from cancer, the midwives were employed on the obstetrics floor as nurses.

But beginning Sept. 1, the midwives will be contracted out to Plant City Family Care to pro-vide prenatal care and will refer patients to South Florida Baptist. The model is similar to another partnership between Brandon Community Health Center and Brandon Regional Hospital.

“The real advantage to that is that we are able to involve our

medical staff doctors in the pre-natal care that is being provided by our midwives and then sched-ule the delivery right here with our doctors,” Nierman said. “So, these women now will get their prenatal care just like they al-ways did from a nurse midwife, but when it comes time to deliv-er, first off, they will be delivered by a doctor, and it will be right here in Plant City.

“We’re excited about it,” he said. “That’s our mission: to im-prove access to quality care and

services. We have a hospital right here that provides that.”

Under the former model, some expectant mothers could not make the trip to Tampa General Hospital in time to deliver. This caused an estimated two women per month to have an unplanned delivery at South Florida Baptist.

“We have a perfectly good hospital here,” Herremans said. “There’s no reason expectant mothers should be going to Tam-pa.”

Plant City Family Care, locat-

ed on North Maryland Avenue, provides inexpensive care to mi-grant and lower-income families. Recently, 3,000 square feet were added along with a radiology de-partment and pharmacy, making it a one-stop clinic. A pediat-rics clinic, also part of Suncoast Community Health Center, is lo-cated on Mobley Street. The Sun-coast Community Health Center network is federally funded.


GREECE. Plant City residents ed and amanda verner, right, and their children, robert, vaviel and David, took the Plant City Observer all the way to Spetses, Greece.

IT’S READ EVERYWHERE

If you’re going on vacation, remember to grab a copy of the Plant City Observer to take with you. Snap a photo of you with the paper at your destination of choice and email it to Managing Editor Michael eng, [email protected]. Make sure you include your full name and where the photo was taken.

Amber Jurgensen

The crew used some interesting lighting

and filters to film the taffy scene.

FilM/PaGe 1

HosPital/PaGe 1


t takes more than luckto become Plant City’soldest and largesthometown financial

institution...

...It also takes hard work and a steadfast commitment to

the people of Plant City who make this such a great place to

live, work and play.

We’ve had over 58 years to perfect our hometown

approach to financial services. Visit us and see how easy and

friendly hometown banking can be.

“Banking on a First Name Basis”

PLANT CITY – Main Office, 102 W. Baker Street, 752-6193 • WALDEN WOODS – 2400 Jim Redman Parkway, 754-1844

Also offices in: BRANDON, RIVERVIEW and ZEPHYRHILLS

I87

802

Kiwanis Club of Plant City’s Anna Reitz carries a thick note-book filled with columns of num-bers and figures all scrawled in her handwriting.

The notebook looks like the elaborate work of a bookie, but it’s something far better: the records for the Kiwanis Club’s annual Stuff the Bus campaign.

For the past three years, Reitz has organized and piloted the campaign, which raises money to purchase school supplies for children in need throughout Plant City.

This year’s campaign runs through Aug. 13, and although the fundraising portion of the drive is complete, those interested in helping still can donate supplies at drop-off sites, including Sweet-bay, 205 W. Alexander St., and Stingray Chevrolet, 2002 N. Front-age Road.

So far, Reitz has received $7,000 through sponsors, which also include Unity in the Commu-nity and South Florida Baptist Hospital. She just cut a check for $3,299.50 for backpacks and will use the rest for a variety of other supplies.

“I have a ball doing this,” Reitz said of purchasing the supplies. “I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”

Kiwanis International intro-

duced the Stuff the Bus campaign in 2008; and the Plant City chap-ter adopted it a year later. To date, the chapter has raised more than $23,000 for supplies, which have benefited more than 3,800 Plant City children.

The chapter focuses on Plant City’s 16 elementary schools, as well as four high schools: Du-rant, Plant City, Strawberry Crest and Simmons Career Center. The supplies are distributed equally among the schools, where prin-cipals and guidance counselors donate them to the students who need them the most.

“It is really heartbreaking to know how many kids are home-less and hungry,” Reitz said. “They also don’t have school supplies, and hopefully, this helps out just that little bit.”

Following the Aug. 13 deadline,

Reitz and her fellow volunteers will organize and sort all the sup-plies. Then, on Aug. 20, the day before school begins, they will drive the supplies to all 20 schools for distribution.

“Every once in a while, I get to see a child with one of the back-packs,” she said. “And that just makes me cry.”

Contact Michael Eng at [email protected].

+ Plant City policeadds six new officers

The Plant City Police Department welcomed six new police officer recruits July 23.

The recruits, whose experi-ences range from service in the military to prior law enforcement, is the largest group to be hired by the police department in several years. The six positions filled are not newly created positions but positions left vacant by recent retirements and separations.

The officers include clemente Fiol, Jason Fowler, Jeffrey Hilsman, christian lopez, christopher schairer and thomas velez.

+ Police arrestgun-carrying teen

Plant City police arrested a juvenile carrying a 9-mm hand-gun and drugs July 26, in Walden Lake.

According to police reports, officers responded to the area in reference to a suspicious white male in a maroon Nissan Pathfinder. A witness said the juvenile was acting suspicious and had computers inside his vehicle.

Officers located the Nissan speeding in the neighborhood and conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Silver Pond and Silver Spring drives. The driver was found to be in possession of a 9-mm handgun, marijuana, unprescribed prescription drugs, three opened bottles of an alco-

holic beverage, computer equip-ment, the wallet and identifica-tion of someone other than him-self, a Nintendo Wii, a Playstation and various video games.

The driver was arrested for pos-session of a firearm by a minor, possession of marijuana and un-prescribed prescription drugs. The suspect was later transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center. The suspect’s vehicle was towed to the police department, and all of the items were placed into police inventory. During that process, detectives discovered a portion of the property inside the suspect’s vehicle was taken dur-ing a burglary earlier in the day.

+ Early voting beginsin Hillsborough County

Early voting for the 2012 Primary Election began July 30, in Hillsborough County.

In Plant City, Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W. McLendon St., is an early-voting site. The polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., July 30 through Aug. 11.

Voters will be asked to provide a valid photo and signature ID. Accepted examples include: a current Florida driver’s license; Florid ID Card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; U.S. pass-port; debit or credit card; military ID; student ID; retirement center ID; neighborhood association ID; or public assistance ID.

Locations and hours of opera-tion of all sites are available at www.VoteHillsborough.org.

NEWSBRIEFSKiwanians launch Stuff the BusThe local chapter of Kiwanis Club is raising funds and school supplies to assist Plant City children in need.

HOW TO HELPDonate school supplies

such as loose-leaf paper, crayons and markers at Sweetbay, 205 W. Alexander St., and Stingray Chevrolet, 2002 N. Frontage Road.

For more information, call anna reitz, 759-9546.

Michael Eng

Stingray Chevrolet is accepting school-supply donations in the bed of this pickup in the showroom.

SHOW OF SUPPORT by Michael eng | Managing Editor


Vote Republican Tom Lee foR State Senate, DiStRict 24.Visit www.VotetomLee.com to Learn more.Paid by tom Lee, rePubLican, for state senate.

tom Lee Is the BattLe-tested ConserVatIVe Who has suCCessfuLLy defended tradItIonaL VaLues

ProteCtIng LIfe• VotedtobanpartialbirthabortionsinFlorida(SB

160,2000)

• PassedFlorida’scurrentparentalnotificationlawduringhisSenatepresidency(HB1659,2005)

• Sponsoredtheoriginal“ChooseLife”LicensePlatebillthatpassedtheFloridaLegislature(SB1430,1998)

• Sponsoredaconstitutionalamendmenttorequireparentalconsentbeforeaminorcanobtainanabortion(SB2140,1998)

PromotIng famILIes• Votedtodefinemarriageastheunionofone

manandonewomanasaSenator(HB147,1997)

• Sponsoredandhelpedpassbillstorepealthe“intangiblestax”onsavingsandinvestments

• Sponsoredlegislationtostrengthentherightsofparentstohomeschooltheirchildren(SB2110,1998)

• Votedforandhelpedpassnumerousbillstosupportthecreationofcharterschools,virtualschools,andschoolvouchers

defendIng our freedoms• VotedfortheReligiousFreedomRestorationAct(SB296,1998)

• Cosponsoredlegislationtopreventhomeowner’sassociationsfrombanningdisplaysoftheAmericanflag(SB148,2002)

• EndorsedandratedA+bytheNationalRifleAssociation

• PassedFlorida’slandmark“StandYourGround”lawduringhisSenatePresidency

endorsed By• MayorMikeSparkman

• FormerMayorDanRaulerson

• CommissionerAlHigginbotham

“tom lee has provided valued leadership for Hillsborough county as a private sector job-

creator and as an accomplished conservative public servant...”

- commissioner al Higginbotham

“our city and our Senate District will greatly benefit from the leadership and experience

tom lee can offer.”

- former Mayor Dan Raulerson

879

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8782

5Plant City Office

1804 James L. Redman Pkwy., Plant City, FL 33563Telephone (813) 659-1234 | Fax (813) 659-9134

Other Locations: Brandon, Lakeland, Tampa, and Winter Haven

Lobby Hours: Monday –Thursday 9:00am – 4:00 pm Friday 9:00am – 6:00pm

Drive Thru Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00am – 6:00 pm24 hour ATM in the Drive Thru

Member FDIC

www.platinumbank.com

BANKING THE WAY IT USED TO BE.

The following information was gathered from incident and arrest reports obtained from the Plant CIty Police Department.

JULY 21 THAT’S JUST LOW

100 block of east spencer street. Vehicle Burglary. The victim said she left her purse in her 2001 Toyota SUV. While she attended a graveside funeral service, someone stole her purse from her SUV. The purse con-tained her cell phone and other items.

CAUGHT RED-HANDED1600 east spencer street. Vehicle Bur-

glary, Loitering and Prowling. Two juve-niles were arrested after they were found in possession of a stolen speaker box, a purse and other miscellaneous items from three separate vehicle burglaries. The subjects were transported to the Juvenile Assess-ment Center after arrest.

NIC FIT500 block of north Plant avenue. Bur-

glary. Unknown suspect(s) made entry by breaking glass in the front door of the busi-ness. Several boxes of Newport cigarettes and White Owl cigarillos were stolen. The cigarettes and cigarillos were valued at about $600. The damage to the glass door was estimated at $350.

JULY 22 HANES HER WAY

2600 block of James l. redman Parkway. Retail Theft. The suspect was arrested for theft of $58 in miscellaneous undergar-ments.

JULY 23 FREE MEAL

700 block of south collins street. Fraud. An unknown customer passed a counter-feit $20 bill, which was later turned into the Plant City Police Department and placed into evidence.

FAST HANDS2800 block of Forest

Hammock Drive. Vehicle Burglary. The vic-tim said she left her orange wallet/purse inside an unlocked 2008 Dodge van for just a few minutes while she went inside the house. When she came back out around 8:20 a.m., her wallet and $200 cash had been stolen.

POTTY PROBLEM1400 block of crystal terrace. Criminal

Mischief. Unknown suspect(s) broke the sliding glass door, bathroom window, bath-room mirror and toilet, causing about $850 damage.

SHOPPING SPREE2600 block of James l. redman Parkway.

Retail Theft. The suspect was arrested for shoplifting $110.47 in property.

July 24 HOT MAKEOVER

610 block of east langford Drive. Resi-dential Burglary. Unknown suspect(s) entered the home by removing a win-dow. Once inside, the suspect(s) stole two dresses, a pair of shoes and $20.

JULY 24HAMBURGLAR

1400 south collins street. Retail Theft. An unknown suspect stole hamburger meat from the grocery store and fled prior to being detained by employ-ees.

COPS CORNERPLANT CITY

See more Cops Corner reports online.www.PlantCityObserver.com


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This week’sCryptogram answers

1. The horses’ council wasmeeting to decide theissue of oats rationing.Theleadhorsewasbrief:“Let’s stable thatmotion.”

2. A quirky Siamese catdeveloped a taste forlemons.Notsurprisingly,hequicklychangedfroma friendly animal to averysourpuss!

This week’s Crossword answers

2012

Nobody missed Betty Jones’s fiery red hair when she walked into an intimate reception for her art exhibit at the Photo Archives and History Center July 27. But it was the hat she wore that made an even bigger state-ment.

She calls it the “Photo Ar-chives Hat.”

The top hat is a mono-chromatic masterpiece with a quirky sense of humor. Black-and-white stripes contrast against a polka-dot ribbon. Strips of film tangle and inter-twine on the crown and hang down to the brim. A miniature art easel sits on the front of the brim with a Photo Archives business card resting against it.

Jones’s hats and hair ac-cessories, called “fascina-tors,” are unique creations straight from the wild imagination of the talent-ed artist. Jones considers them her art form and not fashion designs.

Throughout August, select hats will be on display along with a photo essay in a dual exhibit at the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center and the Bruton Memorial Library. The exhibit, titled “Sculptures of Fi-ber and Bronze: A One-Woman Exhibit and Journey with Sculpture Artist Betty Jones,” was inspired by J. Seward Johnson’s “Man in the Street” bronze statues currently located in McCall Park in downtown Plant City.

Jones has a loyal following. Patrons have paid up to $300 for the handsome hats and have worn them to the Kentucky Derby, the Swan Derby in Lakeland, the Classic Car show in Lakeland, church, tea parties and even a 1920s-themed benefit in Texas.

“When people are buying a hat, they ap-preciate it because they are buying art and something they can wear,” Jones says.

Jones didn’t know she was an artist until later in life. A former pharmaceutical rep, she always knew she was creative but didn’t take her first at art class until 2004. She wanted to learn how to do cartooning to deco-rate cards. From there, she discovered assemblage, a process that involves mak-ing three-dimensional and two-dimensional artistic compositions together with found objects.

Jones created her first hat in the fall of 2008. While mulling around a thrift store, Jones was cap-tivated by a Halloween costume with a bold, black-and-white striped print. Gripped by inspiration, she bought the costume for $7 and went to work, twisting the hoop skirt into a frame and then a hat.

“Everything I look at, I see a hat,” Jones says.

Jones has made hats out of any material imaginable, including cardboard, jewelry, evening gowns, beads, watches and feathers, which she gets from suppliers around the country. Among her clever creations is a helmet-like piece that resembles a strawberry and a whimsical top hat with rabbit ears peeking out of the crown.

Although Jones considers the hats to be art, every hat she makes is wearable.

“The most difficult part about making a hat is the engineering,” Jones says. “I want it to stay on their heads, to wear it and dis-play it.

“I would say I’m brave and courageous,” Jones says. “As an artist, I keep moving for-ward. I’m doing things very few artists do because I’m unconventional.”


EXHIBITSPlant city Photoarchives and history centerWhen: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through SaturdaysWhere: Plant City Photo Archives and History Center, 106 S. Evers St. Phone: (813) 754-1578

bruton MeMorial libraryWhen: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays; 1 to 5 p.m., Sundays. Reception at 2:15 to 4 p.m. Aug. 19Where: Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W. McLendon St. Phone: (813) 757-9215

ART ATTACK by amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer

Hats off to Betty Jones

Amber Jurgensen

betty Jones has made hats out of any material imaginable, including cardboard, jew-elry, evening gowns, beads, watches and feathers.

Betty Jones’ art will be displayed at the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center and Bruton Memorial Library.


THEN&NOW

Plant City Park (McCall Park), circa 1990. Originally dedicated in 1971; today, the park is the hub for many downtown events. According to the Plant City Photo Archives and “Plant City: Its Origins and History,” by Quintilla Geer bruton and D.e. bailey, the park was named for theodore Jeffers Mccall (1906-1990). An aviator in the 1920s, McCall worked as a firefighter in the early 1920s and a motorcycle police officer in 1929. In 1939, he was appointed chief of police and later served as city manager for nearly 27 years (January 1941 to December 1967).

It was like I was watching real life in slow motion. I eased my foot off the accelerator as the pickup in front of me began to fishtail. Two other cars were in the lanes to my right — directly in the path of the out-of-control truck.

After my windshield wipers made another pass, the pickup was fac-ing me, then away, then back at me. The truck rotated three full times as it drifted toward the guardrail.

Somehow, the truck missed every car on the highway at that moment, finally coming to rest in the shoulder. I could hear my heart pumping against the seat belt, but I bet it was nothing like what that driver was experiencing in that moment.

It seems the past few weeks were particularly deadly in Plant City and the surrounding area. We can blame the daily thunderstorm or ongoing road construction, but truthfully, most of these crashes can be

attributed to driver error. We hope the following reports

will serve as a reminder to take extra care whenever you pull your car onto the road.

• tractor-trailer crash kills one. One Lakeland man died when a tractor-trailer struck the vehicle in which he was riding July 18, at the intersection of Knights-Griffin Road and State Road 39.

According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, driver Bronson Rodri-guez and passenger John Michael Case, both of Lakeland, were traveling

south on S.R. 39 in a 1999 Dodge minivan. Rodriguez attempted to make a left turn onto Knights-Griffin Road and drove into the path of the northbound tractor-trailer driven by William Richard Ray Jr. Ray struck the van’s pas-senger side.

Case, 35, died at the scene. Ro-driguez suffered serious injuries and was transported to Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Neither were wearing seat belts.

• Gasoline tanker overturns on interstate 4. Lucius Lawrence, 33, of Winter Garden, fell asleep as he was driving a 2004 Kenworth tractor-trailer towing an Eagle Transport Corporation gasoline trailer at about 5 a.m. July 18, as he was traveling eastbound on I-4 just west of Kathleen Road, in Lakeland. Lawrence lost control of the vehicle and collided with the guardrail. The vehicle, which was filled with 8,700 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, over-turned and leaked about 1,100 gallons onto the highway.

Lawrence was transported to Lakeland Regional Medical Cen-ter with minor injuries. The spill forced FHP to close eastbound I-4 until 1:30 p.m. July 18.

• two motorcyclists die in Plant city crash. Two Plant City motor-cyclists were killed when their motorcycle collided with a truck July 19, at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and McIntosh Road.

According to the FHP, Brian Rhoades, 35, and Jennifer Jean Rainbolt, 39, were southbound on McIntosh Road on a 2009

Honda motorcycle. They ap-proached a red light at the inter-section of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard but did not stop.

David Colby, driving a 2005 Dodge pickup, was traveling eastbound on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. He entered the intersection and collided with the motorcycle.

Rhoades and Rainbolt were pronounced dead at the scene. Colby and a passenger, Karen Raburn, suffered minor injuries.

• Pedestrian dies on i-4. An Or-lando man standing on I-4 was struck and killed July 20, near County Line Road.

FHP reported Christopher Warren, 26, was standing in the outside lane of I-4 near County Line Road when he was struck by a 2008 Kenworth T600 driven by Elihu Cabrera, of Brandon. Two additional cars, a 2010 Ford Fusion driven by Damian Rum-bough, and a 2012 Ford Focus driven by Linda Hughes, both of Lakeland, also struck Warren’s body. He died at the scene.

• Plant city man dies in Polk city crash. A Plant City motorcy-clist died in a crash July 29, near Polk City.

Kyle R. Ammerman, 25, of Plant City, was driving his mo-torcycle north on State Road 33 when he struck a vehicle enter-ing S.R. 33 from Deen Still Road.

Ammerman was not wearing a helmet.

rash of traffic crashes a sobering reminder

observed | be careful out there

MICHAELENG

A high percentage of Plant City’s businesses are small busi-nesses, started by one or more entrepreneurs and providing jobs to their fellow citizens.

President Barack Obama recently called into question who should get the credit for all our small businesses.

“If you own a business, you didn’t do that,” he said. “Someone else did that. Someone else built the roads your trucks drive on. A teacher taught all your employees.”

Whether intended or not, Obama’s remarks landed in the middle of a political fault line. No doubt, many liberals believe what the president said. Conservatives, on the other hand, and particularly conservatives who own their own businesses, disagree vehemently.

A recent Rasmussen poll of these questions sheds light on how Americans feel about this disagreement. Rasmussen found that 72% of Americans believe

entrepreneurs should get most of the credit for their business, and 77% of Americans believe busi-ness owners work harder than the rest of us.

There are certainly some similarities between an employee and a busi-ness owner. Both likely received a public-school education at taxpayer expense. Both drive on roads paid by the taxpay-ers. Both enjoy services provided by the govern-ment, starting with na-tional defense and local police protection.

Entrepreneurs and employees receive those benefits equally, and both pay taxes to support them. Some entrepreneurs, whose businesses make a profit, carry a tax burden higher than those of many employees.

There, the similarities end.Every business owner had to

come up with an idea for a new product or service for his busi-ness to be successful. Every busi-ness owner has to find the capital

to initially fund the business. Whether it is harder to find an “angel” willing to fund the busi-ness or for the businessperson to draw upon his or her own savings or take out a second mortgage on his or her home can be debated. Not only are these steps difficult, but also they are things a regular employee never has to do.

Every business owner has to go through the steps necessary to stand the business up, start-ing with how the business will be organized and developing the all-important business plan. Implementing the plan involves making many more decisions — creating jobs and hiring people to fill those jobs.

Yes, it’s nice to have the sole power to make these decisions, but with that power comes the ultimate accountability.

All these characteristics of ownership involve a vital concept that employees do not have to incur — risk. Employees have the luxury of not having to carry the risk of maintaining and building the business. Yes, if the business fails, the employee will be out of a job, but to the nine-to-five worker, that risk is a distant thing. For the business owner, it is a

bear to wrestle every day. Many employed in the public

and private sectors describe re-sponsibility this way: “I like it that when I leave work at the end of the day, I can turn it off until the next morning. I don’t worry about my job until the next day, and I can sleep like a baby at night.”

Business owners do not have this luxury. They carry their lead-ership responsibilities on their shoulders constantly. Perhaps the most important result of all these ownership responsibilities is that the business provides jobs. For most Americans, 72% according to Rasmussen, business owners should get credit. They should not have their assumption of risk and creation of jobs for the rest of us denigrated or minimized.

For our economy to work, it is necessary to find more of us who are willing to start our own busi-nesses. If we make the assump-tion of risk and the creation of jobs so unattractive and unher-alded that few want to carry those responsibilities, we will continue to be mired in 8.2% unemploy-ment nationally and nearly 10% statewide.

And that is not in anyone’s best interest.

Who gets the credit?

FELIXHAYNES

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

“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

www.PlantCityObserver.com

The Plant CityObserver LLC

Locally OwnedPublisher of the Plant City Observer and

PlantCityObserver.com

©Copyright Plant City Observer LLC 2012 All Rights Reserved

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.

Courtesy of the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center


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NeighborhoodPLANTCITYOBSERvER.COM THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012

Riviere Thomas, Dusty Willis and Greg Kingen added that extra cowboy flair, greeting the congregation as they entered.

Rex Rothman, 2, pretended he was a cowboy outside of the agri-cultural center.

A newly baptized parishioner stepped out of the trough with a smile on her face.

Right: Two brothers shiver in the cold water before being baptized together.

Caris Schneider, 6, looked like a true cow-girl in her hat, boots and belt.

COwBOY CHURCH By Amber Jurgensen | Staff writer

Liliana Lewis, the Rev. Michael Lewis’ wife, was busy greeting the congrega-tion in her hat and boots.

Right: Never Fade Bluegrass Band played before and during the service.

Farm-style FaithBefore walking into the doors of the Ev-

elyn and Batista Madonia Sr. Agricultural Center July 29, members of Plant City’s First Baptist Church knew they were in for more than just a normal church celebra-tion.

Rows and rows of dusty trucks filled the parking lot. The smell of barbecue wafted through the air. Three men sat atop ma-jestic horses greeting those who entered the building. The riders weren’t the only ones dressed like cowboys. Both visitors and members of Plant City’s First Baptist Church put on their cowboy hats, pulled on their boots, rolled up their sleeves and tied up their shirts for the first off-site ser-vice in more than a year.

More than 100 people attended Cowboy Church, and more than 30 people were bap-tized in two metal troughs. Among the bap-tized was Judy Glorioso, Florida state Rep. Rich Glorioso’s wife.

“I really believe we had a great attendance, and it was probably a little more than we anticipated (because) it is summer, and we knew a lot of people were out of town,” the Minister of Senior Adults Claude Walker says. “It was a great time of fellow-ship and renewal.”

The church had per-formed off-site wor-ship services before, including a similar service on the festival grounds in 2009.


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Dedication Ceremony

Saturday, August 4, 2012 • 11:45 am

Dan McMullen FieldTurkey Creek Trojan’s Football Facility

5937 Connell Road, Plant City, FL 33567

Press Box will be dedicated to Clarence “Junior” CliftonPlayers and parents alike, please come honor Coach Junior Clifton

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Fictitious Name Notice

Pastor’s Dr. John & Gladys m. epps of Full Gospel tabernacle of Plant city, inc.

will now be doing business as

templo christiano La Hermosawith Pastor Velia Carreon

at 712 e. alsobrook street, Plant city, FL 33563

For more information call 813.754.3843

Bruce crumptonBruce Crumpton, 82, of Plant City,

died July 28.He was born Aug. 11, 1929, to the late

Wesley and Mildred Dolloff Crumpton. Mr. Crumpton was a veteran of the

U.S. Navy, serving during the Korean conflict. He also was an educator for more than 38 years, retiring from Plant City High School in 1990 after 28 years of service as an industrial arts teacher.

He was an active member of the Plant City Lions Club, where he was a Grand Lion. As a final gift to Lion’s Eye Research, he was an eye donor. Mr. Crumpton was also a member of Plant City’s First Baptist Church.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Clara H. Crumpton; son, Paul Wesley Crumpton; and brother, Roland Crumpton.

He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Ann Palmer Crumpton; daughter, Nancy Sue (Bill) Gerhard; stepchildren Rick, Gary, Arthur and John Greene, and Debra Rivett; grandchildren Wil-liam and Alison; and four step-grand-children: Kade, Kenzie, Sidney and An-drew.

In lieu of flowers, the family has re-quested that donations be made to the PAWS program of Southeastern Guide Dogs, 4210 77th St. E., Palmetto, FL. 34221, or the South Florida Baptist Hos-pital Foundation, 301 N. Alexander St., Plant City, FL. 33563-4303.

Funeral Services were Aug. 2, at Haught Funeral Home Chapel, 708 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Plant City. Interment was at Memorial Park Cemetery. Online condolences may be left at haughtfuneralhome.com

Jacqueline elspeth cudmore Grace

Jacqueline Elspeth Cudmore Grace, 74, formerly of East Aurora and Elma, N.Y., currently of Plant City, died July 5, in Ontario, Canada.

She was born on Oct. 12, 1937. She was predeceased by her parents, Ottelie and John Cudmore, her four siblings, and her granddaughter, Janet Elspeth Gonzalez.

Mrs. Grace will be remembered for the years she shared her gifts and talents with others. In New York, she was a Sun-day School superintendent and teacher at St. Matthias Episcopal Church; a life member of the Order of the Eastern Star; a volunteer at the Elma Public Library; a Girl Scout leader; a member of the Silver Spur Riding Club; and or-ganizer of their annual Arabian Horse Show. In Florida, she volunteered at the local hospital. She sang in the choir at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. She gave the gift of reading as a literacy volun-teer and the gift of compassion as a Hospice volunteer.

Mrs. Grace’s life was made complete by the many animals she loved and cared for — large and small.

Mrs. Grace is survived by her hus-band of 56 years, Edward “Ned” Grace; and children: Powel Crosley and his children, Andrea, Milena, and Sophi; Victoria Halstead (Preston) and their children Katherine, John, and Justin; and Meredith and her son, Jarrod Gon-zalez.

Memorial donations may be directed to the Decorah Eagles Raptor Resource Project at www.raptorresource.org and the Bruton Memorial Library of Plant City.

The American Heritage Girls Troop FL1107 has earned the Gold Presidential Service Award for serving more than 1,000 hours of community service last year.

Of the 29 girls in the troop, 11 earned the award. They volunteered at 24 different organizations in Lakeland and Plant City, including several schools and churches, Roosevelt Regatta, Relay for Life and the Crystal Springs River Clean Up.

“I think the girls were just flabbergasted,” Ann Doak, vice coordinator of FL1107, says of the honor. “I don’t think they realized they had that many hours.”

“I was surprised,” Aria Bell, a recipient and Doak’s granddaughter, says. “It was awesome. I was working really hard for it.”

The troop will receive certificates for the award Aug. 14.

Bell, 14, posted more than 100 hours of community service by volunteering with different churches at Vacation Bible School programs. She also helped with tutoring at Advantage Academy.

Bentley Rae Roberts, 13, earned more than 50 community-service hours by vol-unteering at the Strawberry Festival, help-ing with check-in day and setting up.

Last December, the troop sold wreaths for $15 that were taken to the Florida Na-

tional Cemetery in Bushnell and placed on graves of veterans.

“They were really touched by that par-ticular service,” Doak says.

Bell has always been involved in the scouting world. Her older brother, Taylor, has been a Boy Scout for years. But there was no organization for Bell to join in Plant City. Doak and Missy Bell, Aria Bell’s mother, started the only troop in Plant City in 2008. Sponsored by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Plant City, they had planned for eight to 10 girls to attend the first meeting. Forty girls came. Troop members enjoy a variety of experiences, including camping, tubing and community service, while earn-ing badges and bonding.

“I like earning badges and doing com-munity service, but mainly, I like being with my friends,” Roberts says.

“My favorite thing is to watch the girls do things they never thought they could do,” Missy Bell says. “They build leadership skills, experience the outdoors, (and) learn about science and history.”

The American Heritage Girls is a national Christian-based group that teaches girls in-tegrity and leadership skills.


Amber Jurgensen

From left: aria bell, Hailey caylor, Dominique cook, brooke Hammack, autumn Hames, Megan Herring, bentley roberts, Katie scott, Grace sharpe, Molly sharpe and elizabeth Watson. The girls will receive their certificates during a squad-planning meet-ing Aug. 14, at Doak’s home.

American Heritage Girls troopearns top award for area service

Above AnD beYonD by amber Jurgensen | Staff WriterOBSERVEROBITUARIES

There will be many new names and faces on the sidelines this year at Plant City High School.

Eight sports will have new head coaches at PCHS for the 2012-13 school year. Six of those positions — volleyball, baseball, girls soc-cer, swimming (boys and girls) and cross country — have been filled, Athletic Director Traci Dur-rance said. The search for the new Raiders softball and girls track coaches is ongoing.

Fall sports will feature four new coaches: Jessica Thorton (vol-

leyball), Elizabeth Rheaume and Gerold Yoder (swimming), and Luke Beevor (cross country). For the winter season, Caleb Roberts will lead the girls soccer team, and for spring, Mike Fryrear will assume the reins for the baseball program.

Of the six new hires, Thorton and Rheaume are the only ones with previous head-coaching ex-perience.

“We like to look at their experi-ence in the sport itself,” Durrance said, pointing out that experience

can and has come from all levels in the past, from middle school and youth coaches to players and coaches in college and even professional ranks. “We want to make sure that they fit into our culture here and look for coaches

that want to be here long-term and not only be good for our teams, but be good role models for the kids.”

Thorton brings five years of head coaching experience with her most recent stint coming at

Cyprus Lake High in Fort Myers. She is familiar with many of the teams in district, having previ-ously coached at East Bay. She will take over for an improving

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 WEEKPlant City’s Devyn

Salmon commits to Michigan State. 15

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012PLANTCITYObSERvER.COM

Plant City High School hires six new coachesnew kids on the block By Matt Mauney | Staff Writer

On a usual Saturday in the fall, high school football players are recuperating from doing battle the night before, but at least for the season opener this year, area players will be preparing for that first game on Saturday — and licking their wounds on Sunday.

The Hillsbor-ough County Public Schools Athletics Office announced last week all high school football games originally scheduled for Friday, Aug. 31, will now be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

1. This is because of the Repub-lican National Convention that will take over Tampa that week and a fear that law enforce-ment resources will be spread too thin to patrol games as well as handle their responsibilities with the RNC.

This comes after the Hills-borough County School District announced in June that no sporting events would be held the week of the convention.

Looks like it will be Saturday Night Lights for week one.

This shouldn’t change much when it comes to the teams preparing for season-opening games. It will be the first game of the season for Plant City, Du-rant and Strawberry Crest, so no school will have an advantage when in comes to preparation. If anything, it could benefit the teams, giving players Friday afternoon to go through walk-

Openersmoved to Saturday

SHOW ME THE MAUNEY

In 1966, on a stop in New Jer-sey during his route as a trucker, Clarence “Junior” Clifton was un-loading his truck when his atten-tion was turned to a nearby foot-ball practice.

“I remember making a com-ment to one of the other men there of how small they looked to be high school players,” Clifton said.

The man explained to Clifton they weren’t high school players but rather a youth football team.

“I was not aware at the time that they had that,” he said. “I knew that they had Little League baseball but didn’t know about youth football. It just kind of stuck with me.”

Two years later, back at home in the Sydney/Dover area, Clif-ton got in contact with the Police Athletic League in Tampa, which governed a youth football pro-gram. He wanted to create a team that served the area where he called home, but the PAL board

had reservations about “starting a team out in the country.”

After some convincing, Clifton got his wish, and soon, the first rendition of the Turkey Creek Tro-jans formed.

Clifton could not have guessed then that he would be involved with the Trojans for the next 12 years and that they would forever become a part of his life. He also could not have known the pro-

FOREVER A TROJANThe Turkey Creek youth football program became a big part of Clarence ‘Junior’ Clifton’s life. Saturday, the program will honor its original head coach.

YOUTH FOOTbALL By Matt Mauney | Staff Writer

Matt Mauney

Clarence Clifton has given most of his Turkey Creek Trojans memorabilia to his daughter, Kim, but he still has a framed picture and a signed football of the inaugural 1968 team.

SEE MAUNEY / PAGE 14 SEE TROJAN / PAGE 14

SEE COACHES / PAGE 14

Six of eight open positions have been filled. Softball and girls track remain vacant for now.

Courtesy photo

Clarence Clifton coached the Trojans for 12 years and served as the athletic director until 1982.

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PCHS volleyball program that ad-vanced to region last year for the first time in 29 years.

Rheaume and Yoder will share head-coaching responsibilities for the girls and boys teams. Rheaume is currently on staff as a math teacher at PCHS but will be getting involved with the swim program for the first time. Yoder comes to PCHS from Eisenhower Middle and will be taking his first crack in the high school coaching ranks.

Beevor will bring plenty of rel-

evant experience to the PCHS cross country program. Origi-nally from England, Beevor was a standout runner, including tak-ing a silver medal at a national competition. He also ran cross country for Florida State. In addi-tion to leading both the boys and girls teams, he will teach math at PCHS.

Roberts, the older brother of Cameron Roberts, a recent graduate and former standout at PCHS, will take over the girls soc-cer program this winter. He, too, is a PCHS alum, graduating in 2004 and continuing his playing

career at Palm Beach Atlantic. The Raiders girls soccer pro-

gram has seen recent success, including making it to region the past two seasons.

Fryrear is a 2000 graduate of Durant High and was a four-year starter under coach Gary Gra-ham. Fryrear played his college ball for the University of North Florida, where he was a four-year starter as a second baseman for the Ospreys.

After graduating in 2004, Fryrear became a graduate as-sistant at UNF under College Hall of Fame coach Dusty Rhodes in

2006 and later became the direc-tor of baseball operations in addi-tion to being an assistant coach. He graduated with a master’s de-gree in educational leadership in 2007 and was hired as an assistant at Flagler College in St. Augustine, where he remained until 2009. Most recently, he was an assistant at Wiregrass Ranch High before a brief stint with Windermere Prep in Orlando.

“I’m looking to create a good baseball atmosphere here,” Fryrear said. “We’re hoping to get the students and parents excited to bring the whole family out to

games. That starts with winning, so that’s our top priority, but we want to get everybody excited about the future of this program.”

Fryrear also will be teaching at PCHS, as well — something Dur-rance expects to bring stability to her roster of coaches.

“We had one of the highest amounts of coaches that were not teaching here, (because of) a lack of teaching positions being avail-able,” she said, noting that five of the team sports coaches previ-ously were off-campus.

Contact Matt Mauney at [email protected].

gram would still be thriving to-day. The Trojans prepare to face the rival Plant City Dolphins at noon Saturday, at Turkey Creek Stadium off Connell Road in Plant City.

Clifton’s youngest grandson, Ben, will be playing for the Dol-phins. Saturday also will be spe-cial for Clifton: He will be hon-ored during a ceremony before kickoff. He will be receiving a framed Trojans jersey along with naming the press box after him.

FAMILY AFFAIRClifton always has loved the

game of football and said he en-joyed coaching young players of the sport. When Clifton was growing up, the only football to be played was in junior high and high school. Clifton played in high school as well as a year while serving in the U.S. Army. Later, as a coach, he used football to teach life lessons and instill discipline.

“Give me 15 minutes with them, and I could have them cry-ing,” he said. “I had a way to really get them whipped up and ready

to play football. I think with a lot of the teams we played early on were better caliber, but because we got them so pumped up, they would go out there and just really get after it.”

Clifton also noted winning was appreciated but not necessary.

“I loved to win and hated to lose, but I didn’t preach winning to the kids,” he said. “I always told them that there was two games to play: the game of football and the game of life.”

Clifton’s daughter, Kim, re-members going to games and sit-ting in her dad’s truck as he drove all over town to pick up players who didn’t have a ride.

“I remember always wanting to sit in the back with everyone,” she said.

Kim also was involved with the Trojans program as she was a member of the Trojanettes, a cheer team that performed danc-es, cheers and stunt routines dur-ing halftime.

“Growing up, the Trojans were my dad’s life,” she said. “His eyes light up when he talks about it.”

The love for the sport carried over. Kim has been involved

on the board of the Plant City Dolphins, another area youth squad, and her husband, Steve, has coached the Dolphins for 11 years.

“We wanted to go neutral,” said Kim, explaining that her husband grew up in Antioch, home of the Redskins.

MEMORIESThe aspect of youth football

Clifton cherished the most was the chance for all players of vary-ing sizes and abilities to compete.

“Nowadays, the focus is too much on winning,” he said. “Back then, it was about giving young boys the chance to play football when they might not ever be able to play again after that.”

Only three of his players on the original 1968 team went on to play in high school.

“One of the boys I always think of is Tony Proctor,” Clifton said. “He was a linebacker and wasn’t more than 118 pounds, but he would explode and hit you harder than anything. It’s kids like Tony that defined what the program was all about.”

After joining the National

Youth Football Federation in 1970, the Turkey Creek program quickly grew and peaked at more than 500 kids, separated into sev-eral teams depending on age and size. Clifton coached the varsity Trojans until 1980 and served as the athletic director of the Turkey Creek program until 1982, when his job as a truck driver trans-ferred him to Tennessee.

“I didn’t have any desire to coach up there and was ap-proached several times even when I got back and retired to coach again,” he said. “There are a lot a younger guys now, and I don’t think I can keep up with them as good anymore.”

Clifton turns 80 in September. The impact Clifton had on his

players is clear. Many of the play-ers on the original Trojans team still keep in contact with him.

“It’s amazing looking back now and these guys are grandparents and will still tell me how they ap-preciated what I stood for and the honesty I always gave them,” he said. “It’s so good to work with people like that.”

Contact Matt Mauney at [email protected].

throughs or study film or even take the day off to get plenty of rest for Saturday’s games.

I’m sure the players also will enjoy being able to sleep in on game day, opposed to waking up early and sitting in class all day.

What this date change may affect is game attendance. Only one area school — Strawberry Crest — opens the season at home (against Plant City; Du-rant travels to Freedom High in Tampa), so it will be interesting to see how gate revenues are affected. Sept. 1 happens to be the first weekend of college football.

This change also gives an interesting early storyline to a season that should be full of them. In a way, it is almost as if the first week of games is on a “special night,” much like the college games played on any day other than Saturday. This can mean a lot to a high school player who may never get the opportunity to have that experi-ence.

coMMent/PaGe 13 troJan/PaGe 13

coacHes/PaGe 13


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

Edited by Timothy E. Parker

CRYPTOGRAMS

1. L Z Y Z P C W Y W ’ K P V H K F N S I W B Y Y L F H T L P Q Y K F Q Y L Z Y

F W W V Y P U P I L W C I L F P H F H T . L Z Y N Y I Q Z P C W Y S I W A C F Y U :

“ N Y L ’ W W L I A N Y L Z I L B P L F P H . ” .

2. P B D M W E T G M P N C G C J P F Z C S C H L K C Z P F P G F C Q L W H C N L O G .

O L F G D W K W M G M O A H T , I C B D M J E H T J I P O A C Z Q W L N P

Q W M C O Z H T P O M N P H F L P S C W T G L D W K D G G !

ACROSS 1 Flora’s partner 6 Bath towel word 10 So-so grades 14 More likely (to) 19 “___ of God” (Meg

Tilly movie) 20 Baldwin of TV and

film 21 Silent come-on 22 Refrain syllables 23 Start riding, to a

surfer 25 Survive elimination 27 Home run hitter’s

gait 28 Quarterback

Roethlisberger 29 Doesn’t just want 31 Extend a shoe’s life,

in a way 32 Impersonated 34 Christmas mailings 35 Eat off the good

china 36 Earth pigments 39 Dangerous eel 40 More

curmudgeonly 44 Nelson Mandela’s

mother tongue 45 Rogers once

married to Tom Cruise

46 “___ Flux” (Charlize Theron movie)

47 Gilbert of “Roseanne”

48 Boring item 49 Retro salon

offerings 54 Post-wedding title 55 Tip jar bills 57 Miner matters 58 Sobs 59 R2-D2 or C-3PO 61 Easy win 63 Shoes that add

inches 64 Muhammad’s flight 65 Cornelius and Zira,

in a 1968 sci-fi film

66 Tilts to one side 67 Trig. function 68 Low-cost lodging 71 Medicinal shrub 72 Like some creamers 76 Change the

hemline, e.g. 77 Puppeteer Lewis 78 Word with “block”

or “house” 79 Pouting look 80 It’s not to be

believed 81 Chemical-based

hair colorer 85 Store-bought locks 86 Days before special

days 88 Needle holes 89 Days in Barcelona 90 Trolley bell sound 92 They’re cold-

blooded 94 Anthony who

played Zorba 96 Whatchamacallits 97 “National Velvet”

author Bagnold 98 Continental cash

units 99 Train-whistle sound 100 Musical range 103 Industrial building 104 Output from

Lichtenstein 105 “Or ___!” 109 Arctic soil

phenomenon 111 Chatterbox’s

utterance 114 Made an attempt 115 Film ___ (dark

movie genre) 116 Boat propellers 117 Presidential Seal

animal 118 Put away in a

warehouse 119 Nonwindy side 120 Opening day? 121 Lotion botanicals

dOwn 1 Cold hard thing? 2 Lab culture 3 “Do ___ others as

...” 4 Bee attractors 5 Cigar residue 6 Hemmed partner 7 Sparkling spirit 8 Gun, as the engine 9 Outline for a

screenplay 10 Funny business? 11 Old-style “Yikes!” 12 Many wapiti 13 “Get the point?” 14 Capital of Greece 15 Favorite radio

stations 16 Tex-Mex snack 17 Av follower on the

Hebrew calendar 18 Hourly charge 24 Burrows and

Lincoln 26 Holy Trinity, e.g. 30 Unforgettable time

for historians 33 They may be

strained for a baby 34 Casino benefits for

big spenders 35 Metalworker’s waste 36 “The ___ Incident”

(Fonda Western) 37 Beijing’s country 38 Monopoly item 39 Speechless actor 40 Relinquishes 41 Metric poetic feet 42 Computer message 43 Dreadlocks sporter,

for short 45 Fillies, when grown 46 Indigo-yielding

shrubs 50 Ramshackle

residence 51 Fictional airline on

“Lost” 52 Site of conflict 53 What a graph may

illustrate 56 Participate in the

Ice Capades 60 Old Irish alphabet

62 Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” e.g.

63 Painting Matisse 64 Good with fixing

things 66 Thumbs (through) 67 Princes in disguise? 68 In better health 69 Martini garnish 70 Highly inclined 71 Recoils (with

“away”) 72 Ryan in

Cooperstown 73 Dubuque resident 74 Having second

thoughts about 75 Hoods with safe

jobs? 77 Penned up, like pigs 78 More than drizzles 82 What a remedy

brings 83 TV set, derogatorily 84 Twice-heard sound 87 Paddle-wheel craft 91 Not figurative 93 Enter forcibly, as a

country 94 Huit halved 95 Banquet coffeepot 96 Two-year-olds 98 Pitcher of milk? 99 Lock of hair 100 Comes to a decision 101 Dick Francis

mystery “Dead ___” 102 Group of three

singers 103 You can make a big

splash here 104 Certain quality

about a person 106 Toy building-block

brand 107 Inventory-reduction

method 108 ___ out a living (just

gets by) 110 Letters after

“messenger,” “ribosomal” or “transfer”

112 Flee hastily 113 Drink thrown into

Boston Harbor

SALOn VISIT by Paul Jenn

2

CROSSWORD_080212

ATHleTe of THe week by Matt Mauney | Staff writer

What made you choose Michigan State?It felt like a family between me and the

alumni, recruits and commits. I just felt at home, even though I haven’t visited yet, just from talking with the alumni and people like that.

Are you planning to visit this fall?I’m planning on going up there Sept. 15.

I know they’re playing Notre Dame that day, so I’ll have a chance to go to that. I’m planning on visiting up there at least two or three times, and I think each time will be better.

Other than Michigan State, what

schools did it come down to?Cincinnati, West Virginia and

Missouri.

Do you have any con-nections at Michigan State?

Yes. Denzel Drone plays with them al-ready. He’ll be a junior with them and played here at Plant City. I talk to him almost every week.

Have you always played defensive tackle?

Actually, my freshman year I played a little run-ning back and lineback-er at East Bay. I wasn’t really fast enough to play running back

and didn’t really have the stamina for linebacker, so they moved me to defensive tackle, and I’ve been loving it.

What do you like most about that posi-tion?

Honestly, the defensive tackles get all the tackles, so it makes your stats go up. Also, in the trenches, that’s the most important part of the defense. I just love playing defense.

Do you play any other sports? I wrestle and do shot put for track.

Was going as far away as Michi-gan State a concern for you?

I know it’s a long way from home, but I think it will be all worth

it in the long run. I look at Jerel Worthy, how he got

drafted and everything (NFL, Green Bay Pack-ers), and he and I play the same way.

What’s your favorite movie?

“The Blind Side.”

Do you have an idea of what you want to study at MSU?

I’d like to study psychology. If that doesn’t work out, then nursing, and if that doesn’t work out, then sports medicine. So that’s my A, B and C plan.

Devyn Salmon The recipient of a long list of offers, Devyn Salmon recently came to the decision to

play his college ball at Michigan State. The 6-foot-1, 285-pound defensive tackle is about to begin his senior season with Plant City High School, but he has a solid verbal with the Spartans. Some of the other schools that offered the prospect include Iowa State, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Missouri and Cincinnati, where 2012 PCHS graduate Bennie Coney is fighting for spot on the depth chart at quarterback.

+ Plant City 11-12 All-Stars win state

The Plant City 11-12 little league All-Stars won the florida state championship by defeating windemere 5-3 July 30.

The team will now head to warner Robins, Ga., for the Southeast Region Tournament and a chance to advance to the little league world Series in williamsport, Pa. The 11-12s became the second Plant City Majors team to make it to the little league Southeast Region Tournament and the first since 1995.

This will be the first visit by the All-Stars to warner Robins, because the 1995 team stayed close to home at the florida little league headquarters in St. Petersburg.

The All-Stars went 2-1 in pool play during the state tournament, losing the opening game to Bayshore 9-5 before outscoring Boynton Beach and South fort Myers 33-5 in the next two games. In the semifinals July 29, Plant City beat Merritt Island 17-2, setting up the final with windemere.

The Southeast Tournament begins friday. Plant City (representing florida) will face Alabama at 1 p.m.

+ Plant City 10-11s still alive at regionals

The 10-11 Plant City Baseball All-Stars advanced to the finals of the 2012 Tournament of State Champions July 31, with a 8-6 win over Virginia, in Greenville, N.C.

The All-Stars advanced to the semi-finals with a 9-1 win over the same Virginia team July 30.

The win Tuesday eliminated the Virginia state champions, who advanced to the semifinals out of the loser’s brack-et, topping North Carolina 7-4.

The florida All-Stars (Plant City) faced Tennessee at 6 p.m. Aug. 1. The cham-pionship game was played after press time, but the full recap of the game can be found on PlantCityobserver.com.

+ District reschedulesfirst football games

The Hillsborough County Public Schools Athletics office announced that all high school football games originally scheduled for friday, Aug. 31, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, because to the Republican National Convention Aug. 27 to 30, in Tampa.

The district announced in June it would not hold any sporting events that week.

Concerns were raised about security for friday night football games, because local law enforcement officers likely still would be on RNC-related assignments and would not be available to serve as off-duty security.

After almost two months of discus-sions and negotiations, Athletic Director lanness robinson informed schools wednesday there would be sufficient numbers of law enforcement officers and game officials to work Saturday night games.

Plant City will begin its 2012 foot-ball season Sept. 1, at Strawberry Crest, while Durant visits freedom High (Tampa).

+ Strawberry Crest wins 7-on-7 tourney

The Strawberry Crest High School football team took top honors at the Polk County fellowship of Christian Athletes 7-on-7 tournament July 28, going unde-feated in the process.

The Chargers went 5-0, beating 15 schools, including lake Region in the final 28-24.

Strawberry Crest was the only school representing Hillsborough County.

SIDELINES


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Plant City Observer 08.02.12

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