02.14.13 plant city observer

FREE • thuRsday, FEBRuaRy 14, 2013

SPORTSexclusiveStrawberries teach lessons at Turkey Creek.PAGE 12

PLANT CITYObserveryou. youR nEighBoRs. youR nEighBoRhood.

insideAnnual poloclassic gallopsinto Plant City.PAGe 3

Raiders, Chargersrenew rivalryon the diamond.PAGE 15

Crossword ......... 19 Obituaries ......... 14 Opinion ................8 Sports ............... 15vol. 1, no. 32 | One section

PlantCityObserver.com

+ library celebrates Black History Month

Bruton Memorial Library is celebrating Black History Month with several programs.

The Suncoast Blues Society will present the gary Brown Band at 7 p.m. Feb. 18, at the library, 302 W. McLendon St.

Then, the Books into Movies Book Discussion Group will be discussing “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora neale hurston, from 1 to 2 p.m. Feb. 26, at the library. The group also will screen a movie from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 27.

All programs are free and open to the public.

For more, call (813) 757-9215.

+ Optimist clubhonors orators

Six students participated in the annual Plant City Optimist Club Oratorical Contest Feb. 4, at the Plant City Recreation & Parks Department administra-tive office.

First-place winners included ashlyn yarbrough (girls) and Mario Leon (boys). Second place went to Emmalise hunter and arie Fry, and third place to Katherine Ruppert and Chase Lott.

+ church sizzleswith sausage supper

The members and staff of Hope Lutheran Church invite the community to the church’s 19th annual Whole Hog Sausage Supper from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 17, at the church, 2001 N. Park Road.

This meal will feature of whole-hog sausage, sauerkraut, corn, green beans and more. Cost is $9 for adults and $5 for children. To pre-purchase tickets, call (813) 752-4622.

OUR TOWN

index

Road renamed to honor educator

in memory by amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor

Last week, Simmons Career Center renamed its access road Leslie Morris Lane, after its founding principal, who died last August.

Leslie Morris’ passion always had been education, but she took a special liking to ESE stu-dents. Her passion led her to be-come the first principal of Sim-mons Career and Exceptional Center in 2004. After she died suddenly at age 69 last August, the center decided to name the access road in front of the school after her.

The center unveiled the new street signs for Leslie Morris Lane Feb. 8, in a special presen-tation.

“She was passionate about her job,” Simmons principal’s secretary Belinda Robinson said. “She was passionate about her students and faculty. She was just a unique lady who had a lot of class.”

Robinson had been Morris’ secretary from almost the be-ginning of the school.

“She made a great impact in education,” Robinson said. “Within Hillsborough County, she just made a positive impact in everything she was involved in.”

The district agrees. Not only did they allow the road to be named after Morris, but also the board named an award after her, the Leslie Morris Commu-nity Impact Award. The award is given to any group or individual that supports ESE students in the county.

“That is just awesome,” Rob-inson said. “To have that honor in the school district — that’s as big as we get.”

Morris was born July 29, 1943, in Tennessee. When she was a child, she moved to Parkers-burg, W. Va. In 1971, she earned her associate’s degree from Hill-

see ROAd / PAGe 6

Strawberry HeavenA MAtcH MAde in

For the winners of our love story contest, Kelli and Thomas smith, it was love at first sight. The location:

the Florida strawberry Festival, of course!

LOVE STORY by amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor

CHECk OUT OUR ViDEO iNTERViEW WiTH THE WiNNiNG COUPLE AT PLANTCiTYOBSERVER.COM.

There’s nothing quite like a good love-at-first-sight story.

It was 1997, and Kelli Lott, then just 15 years old, had gone to the Florida Straw-berry Festival with a group of friends. They were seeking good food and fun.

Little did she know she’d also find the love of her life.

That same day, Thomas Smith, then 19, had stopped by the festival to visit his grandfather and his food wagon, Blue Jay.

The two had a running joke.

Grandpa, are you going to find me a girlfriend? Thomas would ask.

That day, he said: ‘Yeah, sit down on that picnic table, and she’ll be back here in a second.’”

Thomas went along with the ruse and sat down at the picnic table. Within 10 minutes, a group of friends walked up to him to say hello. In the group was Kelli Lott.

“I noticed her right away,” Thomas says. “That cute freckled face. I’m a sucker for freckles and Southern ac-cents. She was just beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”

“He followed me around

see lOve sTORY / PAGe 6

Amber JurgensenKelli and thomas smith say their love has grown deeper over the years.

Kelli and thomas smith were mar-ried in 2001.

Plant city observerTHURSDAY, febRUARY 14, 20132 PlantCityObserver.com

Know Your Heart During Heart Month

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Registration and prepayment are required. Space is limited.

Register today:(813) 402-2311

Day & Date Screenings Location Time

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Saturday, February 16 CT Heart Score Main Hospital 8am-12pm

Saturday, February 16 Prostate Cancer Main Hospital 8am-12pm

Saturday, February 16 Mammogram Main Hospital 8am-12pm

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PlantCityObserver.com 3 Plant city observerTHURSDAY, febRUARY 14, 2013

The secret is out: Plant City’s 2013 Citizen of the Year is Joseph E. Sedita.

And he almost missed his own cer-emony.

Sedita had planned to go out of town for a short vacation in Tennessee the day of the ceremony. His partner, Nate Kilton, at Sedita Kilton & Co. told him he had to stay for the awards ceremo-ny, because one of their clients was be-ing honored.

But, Sedita still wanted to go out of town. So Sedita’s wife, Paula, who also knew of the award, helped him pack the car. They were scheduled to leave after the ceremony.

Little did Sedita know that not only was he the recipient, but also fam-ily members flew in from as far away as Boston and Minne-apolis to be here.

“I had shaking knees, but it is a great honor,” Sedita said. “It’s kind of over-whelming.”

Sedita said he had no idea he was set up.

“I can’t say it didn’t seem fishy, but I took it at face value,” Sedita said.

Before the announcement, his fam-ily waited backstage to surprise him with their arrival.

“Joe is someone that I’d have to say I’ve admired my whole life,” Fran Par-nell, his sister, said. “I always went to him for advice and encouragement.”

Parnell, wife Paula, brother Frank Sedita, mother Dolly Sedita, sons Jeff Sedita and JP Sedita and their wives, Meghan and Elizabeth, all were pres-ent for the ceremony.

“He’s a quiet, humble man of integ-rity and wants to help others be all that they can be, an encourager,” Paula said.

Sedita is a first-generation American who moved to Tampa when we was a toddler from Gary, Ind. His father, Jo-seph Sedita, immigrated to the United States from Alessandria Della Rocca, Sicily, when he was 3.

After graduating high school, Sedita continued his schooling at the Univer-sity of South Florida, earning a degree in accounting.

In 1977, Sedita opened Joseph E. Se-dita & Company, in Plant City. Later, he added financial services to the firm’s offerings. He earned his certified fi-nancial planner designation in 1985. He also earned his personal financial services designation from the Ameri-can Institute of Public Accountants.

When Kilton joined the firm as a partner, the name changed to the cur-rent title, Sedita Kilton & Co. Kilton purchased the firm in 2012, but Sedita continues to actively serve his clients, community and colleagues.

In addition to his professional acco-lades, Sedita has been involved in many community organizations, including

the South Florida Baptist Hospital Foundation, Jackson Elementary PTA, Boy Scouts of America, Plant

City’s Toastmasters International, Boys and Girls Club, and a member of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Com-merce. He has received other awards, including Jaycees Outstanding Young Man Award, in 1979, Paul Harris Fel-low Rotary Foundation Award and Trail Blazer Award from 1st Global Capital Corp.

Contact Amber Jurgensen at [email protected].

Joseph Sedita named Citizen of the YearPlant City’s civic clubshonored Sedita at the54th Citizen of the Year luncheon feb. 13.

One of the world’s most fas-cinating sports will gallop into Plant City for the second Charity Polo Classic Feb. 23, at DI Polo Club.

This year’s event will include all the sport’s on- and off-field traditions — the stomping of the divots, women dolled up in sun dresses and derby hats and a full exhibition game featuring talent-ed players.

Last year’s inaugural event at-tracted about 450 people and raised $75,000 in total revenue, with all net proceeds — about 70% last year — benefiting the Children’s Cancer Center and other charities.

According to Chris Gannon, a former professional polo player and one of the event organizers, this year’s event expects to bring in $150,000, with proceeds once again going to the Children’s Cancer Center — the event’s title sponsor — along with Wheels for Success and Starting Right Now, all Tampa Bay-area charities.

“Our goal for our second year was to double the net revenue from our first year, and we’re al-ready close to that,” Gannon said, noting that around $110,000 al-ready has been raised.

Last year’s event was planned in just three months.

“We didn’t know if we were even going to break even, but it turned out to be a huge success,” he said.

According to Gannon, this year’s event is already nearly sold out.

This year’s event also will feature celebrity appearances from John Walsh, host of “Amer-ica’s Most Wanted,” and Lauren Thompson, from the Golf Chan-nel. Walsh, an avid polo player himself, is set to play in the match.

UNIQUE EVENTWhen a group of young profes-

sionals from Tampa Bay got to-gether to brainstorm for a char-ity event, they wanted to take a different approach.

“You see so many golf tour-naments and banquets, but we thought that having a polo match would be something unique,” said board member Kelly Ross, CFO of Morgan Auto Group.

Ross also thought the idea would appeal to women, giving them a chance to dress up for the occasion.

“I think of movies like ‘Pretty Woman,’ and I had recently gone to the Kentucky Derby and re-membered seeing all the pretty dresses and big hats and thought that a polo match would give women here a chance to dress the part,” she said.

With the event attracting so many professionals, from doc-tors and lawyers to CEOs of small and large businesses, the clas-sic also has become a great net-working event.

“There’s a lot of small-business owners who attend, and be-ing able to raise money for local charities is something that hits home to a lot of people,” Ross said.

THE MATCHThe sport of polo has been

around for thousands of years, dating back to the Chinese and Persian empires. Nicknamed the “sport of kings,” polo is played on horseback and consists of two teams of four players. Each player is assigned a position, designated by Nos. 1 through 4.

Players score by driving a small ball into the opposing team’s goal using a long-handled mallet.

“It’s a much rougher and in-tense sport than what you some-

times see on TV and in movies,” Gannon said, noting that horses will run up to 35 mph and the ball can travel over 90 mph. “There’s a lot of strategy involved. It really is an exciting game.”

Players ride on what are called ponies, but polo horses are full-sized and often thoroughbreds.

Matches are played on a field that is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide, about the size of nine football fields. Unlike American football or baseball, tailgating for polo occurs on the sidelines of the field before and during the match, making it a social affair.

The sport also encourages fan interaction, including the tradi-tion of stomping the divots at halftime, where spectators go onto the field and fill in holes made by the horses.

“It’s a great tradition and fun for the fans, and it actually really does help the players as it helps the footing of the horses,” Gan-non said.

This year’s classic will feature plenty of gourmet food, signature cocktails, beer and wine, and spectator activities, including a silent a u c -tion.

“ T h e w o m e n really get into it,” Gannon said. “It’s a fun event.”

C o n -tact Matt Mauney at [email protected].

The SporT of KingSPlant City’s DI Polo Club will host its second Charity Polo Classic Feb. 23.

if YoU gocharity Polo classicWhen: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. feb. 23 Where: Di Polo Club, 1003 Cowart Road, Plant CitysPecial GUests: John Walsh, host of “America Most Wanted,” and the golf Channel’s Lauren Thompson beneFiciaries: The exhibition polo match raises money for three Tampa bay area chari-ties: Children’s Cancer Center, Wheels of Success and Starting Right Now.

inForMation: charitypolo-

classic.com or

(813) 833-1644

SADDLe UP! by Matt Mauney | Associate editor

Courtesy photos

THe big ReveAL by amber Jurgensen | Associate editor

Joseph sedita


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City officials expect work on Men-donsa Road will be complete by April 30, about five months later than origi-nally planned.

Additional utility work by Verizon caused most of the delay, but now that that work has been completed, recon-struction of Mendonsa can recom-mence, City Manager Greg Horwedel told city commissioners at their Feb. 11 meeting.

Horwedel released a revised sched-ule, which notes the installation of a water line under the road is set for completion this week. Later this month, crews will connect existing water services and remove the old line. Beginning in March, workers will connect existing sewer lines and install new drainage systems, which will solve the flooding problems that caused Mendonsa to deteriorate.

Grading should begin March 13, with the completion date set for the end of April.

Horwedel said he hopes to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the project’s completion.

In June 2012, the City Commission accepted a bid from Marlon Dunn Contracting, of Plant City, for amount of $1,288,758.19. It originally was ex-pected to be finished Nov. 28, 2012.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTHillsborough County Deputy

County Administrator Lucia Garsys presented to the City Commission the county’s Economic Prosperity Stake-holder Committee’s Final Report.

The report details 30 recommen-dations the 21-member committee is proposing to help boost economic de-velopment within the county.

Garsys and Economic Development Director Ron Barton are presenting the report to Hillsborough munici-palities and other organizations to so-licit feedback before the Hillsborough County Commission considers adopt-ing it.

Although Plant City commissioners applauded the county for its proactive efforts to stimulate the local economy, they questioned why the committee did not include representatives from Plant City. Garsys assured the com-mission that as the discussion pro-gresses, the county would seek input from other municipalities.

“We want to be invited to the table; we want to contribute to the plan,” City Commissioner Rick Lott said. “We are looking forward to the day someone from our group can contrib-ute to this plan. ... We’re much stron-ger working together than apart.”

Lott noted Plant City currently has about 4,000 acres of land already planned and zoned for use.

City Commissioner Bill Dodson agreed and hopes the committee will consider the importance of agricul-ture and agro-business.

Mayor Mike Sparkman indicated the City Commission and city staff would respond with comments in a single letter.

Contact Michael Eng at [email protected].

The East Hillsborough Art Guild will present its own take on this year’s Florida Strawberry Festival theme, “Our Master-piece of Fun,” during its 18th an-nual Strawberry Festival Fine Art Show.

The show will feature up to 700 submissions — 500 from adults and up to 200 from youths. The gallery, which will be located at gate five, will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the 11-day festival.

Artists will compete for more than $3,000 in prizes, as well as ribbons from business leaders.

“This is our biggest project for the year, because the money we take in goes toward the scholar-ships we give away and some of our art programs and trips,” art show chair Debra Bryant said.

Last year, the EHAG was able to give away $1,000 in scholar-ships to the MacDonald Training Center and VSA Florida at its an-nual Christmas Art Show.

In addition, local artist Jossie Azorin has donated two pieces — a beach scene and an oil or-chid — to the show for a raffle fundraiser.

Before she was the chair, Bry-ant participated for 13 years as an artist. She always submitted with one award in mind — the Strawberry Theme Award, giv-en by a member of the Florida Strawberry Festival committee.

“I think it’s the most presti-gious award, even more than best in show,” Bryant said.

This year’s show will feature 10 adult divisions, including four professional divisions, and eight youth divisions.

The children’s division has been unified for the first time. No frames will be allowed, and art will all be matted with white. All children get a participation ribbon, as well.

“We don’t want anything to distract from the art,” Bryant said.

The show still is accepting sub-missions through Feb. 22. Those wishing to enter should down-load and complete an entry form at ehagfinearts.com.

For more, contact Debra Bry-ant, [email protected].


IN OTHeR bUSINeSS

• City commis-sioners postponed until March public hearings to demol-ish the structures at 1107 W. Granfield St., 1109 W. Granfield St. and 503 S.W. Drane St. The Tampa Tribune failed to advertise the public hearings, so legally, they had to be rescheduled, Sparkman said.

• The commission rescheduled the sec-ond public hearing regarding amending the language regard-ing the C-1A zoning code designation. The amended language specifies more clearly what businesses are allowed under that code. The second hearing will be at 7:30 p.m. feb. 25, at the Sadye Gibbs Martin Auditorium at City Hall, 302 W. Reynolds St.

• Horwedel report-ed Palmer Street would be closed near the railroad crossing just east of downtown until feb. 28. Crews are working to repair a gas line along the road. However, the road will be open for traffic during the Strawberry Classic Car Show feb. 16.

Officials revise schedule for Mendonsa Road completionBecause of necessary utility work performed by Verizon, the new completion date is April 30.

GOVeRNANCe by Michael eng | Managing editor

Art Guild creates own festival masterpieceThe guild will be accepting submissions for its annual art show through feb. 22.

calling all artists by amber Jurgensen | Associate editor


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CopS CoRneRPLANT CITY

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

JAN. 25bAD DeCISIon

1200 block of West Grant street. Battery on a School Official. One juvenile arrested for battery involving a fight with another student and a second juvenile battery on the school security officer.

TeCH TRoUbLe

3620 block of Fancy Farms road. Residen-tial Burglary. Unknown suspect(s) entered the unoccupied residence by an unlocked window next to the front door of the mobile home. The suspect(s) stole a 32-inch TV, 19-inch TV, Compac laptop, and 12-inch stereo speakers. Total value is about $938.

STILL VISIbLe1500 block of yMca Place. Vehicle Bur-

glary. The victim parked her vehicle in the parking lot and put her purse under shirts on the front seat. When she returned, she discovered someone had pried open and broken the passenger’s door window and stolen the purse and wallet.

SAD DISCoVeRY3500 block of West baker street. Death

Investigation. Officers responded to a pos-sible intoxicated male sitting in a chair at the laundromat, holding a beer. Once on scene, police officers and Plant City Fire Rescue officials determined the victim was deceased. There were no signs of foul play, and a medical examiner’s report is pending.

HoW DID THAT GeT THeRe?4610 block of state road 574. Drug Ar-

rest. Officers responded to a possible intoxi-cated male attempting to drive at the con-venience store. The suspect was arrested after he revealed a small bag of marijuana.

SToLen CeLL1900 block of east Dr. Martin luther King

Jr. boulevard. Theft. The victim advised he left his Metro PCS Galaxy phone, valued at $250, in his softball bag. When he returned to the bag, the phone was missing.

JAN. 26LoCK YoUR DooRS

2700 block of Holly bluff court. Vehicle Burglary. The victim reported that her purse was stolen from the unlocked car. To-tal value is about $55.

DRUG DISCoVeRY

3700 block of Magnolia Green street. Drug Arrest. Officers met with the suspect while responding to a suspicious vehicle call. While interviewing the suspect, it ap-peared he was attempting to hide items in the door panel. The suspect gave consent to search the vehicle, and officers discovered drug paraphernalia.

JAN. 27ALMoST GoT AWAY WITH IT

3100 block of sammonds road. Attempt-ed Auto Theft. The victim reported someone attempted to steal his red 2007 Dodge SLT. The rear window and steering column were broken.

beeR RUn

2200 block of north Park road. Theft. An unknown white male wearing gray tank top, jeans and baseball cap stole three cases of Bud Light (18-bottle packs), a total value of $46.47. The male fled in a silver or gray four-door car.

Deep poCKeTS

1800 block of James l. redman Park-way. Retail Theft. The suspect concealed

merchandise, valued at $131.91, in his pants and attempted to exit the store. He was charged with felony theft based on prior convictions and transported to Ori-ent Road Jail.

JAN. 26CLeAneD oUT

100 block of Magnolia street. Theft. The victim said someone stole several items off his back porch. Stolen items included a black Napa battery jump box, a gray Memorex por-table radio, one-half gallon of Dawn dish soap and one gallon of Windex cleaner.

Visit our website to read more real estate transactions.www.YourObserver.com


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Bring This Ad In For Free Play

When Plant City Connections member Marina Baker saw the Lakeland Business Leaders’ Facebook Page, she knew she wanted to start one like it for Plant City Connections.

Lakeland Business Leaders group page has 1,382 mem-bers with an active community posting on the page daily. Baker was impressed and knew Plant City Connections, a network-ing group for small businesses, also could benefit from an ac-tive page on which people could post about their business. Baker started the Facebook page in January.

“I’m really excited about it,” Baker said. “I didn’t expect it to catch fire like it did.”

The page has 127 members and is growing.

“We have businesses from florists to mechanics to Deese Scrubs,” Baker said. “We have lawyers; we have CPAs. It’s just a whole hodgepodge. Basically, all the businesses for a small city to function.”

But Baker doesn’t want the conversation to be limited only to businesses. She encourages non-profits, such as churches, to join as well.

Baker hopes the page will help keep business in Plant City. When people visit the page, they will be able to see the businesses in Plant City and have a conver-sation online with others who may know about additional ser-vices and products.

“The thing that bothers me is that pretty much everything you need is here, but you just don’t know about it,” Baker said. “There’s an inner circle of old-town people who know where everything is, but the rest of us don’t.”

Baker gives an example: When she needs organic food, she treks all the way to Tampa to go to Whole Foods. She re-cently discovered that some of her neighbors have eggs and others grow vegetables. If there were a common forum where they could share they had those goods, then she would have kept her business in Plant City a long time ago.

“Once the conversation starts, it will go outside of the virtual world and into the actual world,” Baker said.

Baker knows the value of us-ing technology. She was a tech-nical writer for a software com-pany that developed programs for the newspaper industry.

She has seen technology change throughout her career and understands social media can create a new conversation.

Plant City Connections, start-ed by Lori and Libby Libhart, has been around for years. For those who want to network, or want to know more about the online conversation, weekly meetings are held at 8 a.m. Tuesdays, at Focus 4 Beauty Career Center.

“I would love to see numbers like on Lakeland’s page,” Baker said. “I would be over the moon. Just join and start talking about who you are and what you can offer.”


Group plugs in with new Facebook presencePlant City Connections hopes its networking page will go viral.

PlAnT CiTY ConneCTionSFacebooK: facebook.com/groups/pcityconnections/Website: plantcityconnec-tions.comMeetinGs: 8 a.m. Tuesdays, at focus 4 beauty Career Center, 1805 James l. Redman Parkway

b2b by amber Jurgensen | Associate editor

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sborough Community College and then received her bach-elor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Florida.

Just three years later, Morris was immersed in the education field as an E.M.H. teacher, trans-ferring to Dover Exceptional Center and teaching there until 1981, when she was appointed

as its administrator. In 1999, she was appointed principal at Caminiti Exceptional Center and served there until 2004.

She left Caminiti Exeptional Center to be the first principal at Simmons Career and Excep-tional Center, retiring from that position in June 2010.

Even though she had retired, Morris continued being a pres-ence in the ESE community. She

volunteered as a surrogate par-ent for exceptional children in the Hillsborough County School District and donated her time to the MacDonald Training Center, serving on its board of directors.

For the past three years, Mor-ris also enjoyed what she called “adventures.” Longtime friend Lisa Wilkinson accompanied her on trips to Carlsbad Cav-erns, in New Mexico, San Anto-

nio, New Orleans and Thailand, among many other places.

“She used to say we were Thelma and Louise,” Wilkinson told the Plant City Observer in August.

Morris also loved her family. Her two grandchildren, Evan Hill and Shayla Morris, were the light of her life. She is sur-vived by two sons, Donald J. Morris and Michael E. Morris;

her daughter, Julie; son-in-law, Erthel Hill; along with her sis-ter, brother and nephews and nieces. Her husband, Donald E. Morris preceded her in death.

“She just had a way with peo-ple, with anyone who needed help, she went out of her way,” Robinson said.


all night, begging for a phone number,” Kelli says, teasing.

Thomas left the festival that night with more than just a stom-ach full of strawberries. He left with Kelli’s phone number.

Now married for 11 years, Kelli and Thomas Smith won over the hearts at the Plant City Observer, and today, Valentine’s Day, we honor the couple as our first Love Story Contest winner.

PATIENCE PAYS OFFAt just 15 years old, Kelli wasn’t

yet allowed to date someone four years older than her. For months, Thomas went to all her softball games and tried to charm her parents.

It worked. “My dad was very strict, be-

cause he had two girls to raise and to look after,” Kelli says. “But, my parents are a good judge of character, and they knew that he was a nice guy. So, they felt safe and comfortable with letting their little girl go on a date with him finally.”

“I was raised really old-fash-ioned, and that was one prereq-uisite in our family, where I had

to ask her dad’s permission, be-fore I would get to take her out,” Thomas says. “So when he said, ‘Yes,’ I was ecstatic.”

The duo kept their first date as traditional as their families — a movie date to see “Fools Rush In,” a romantic comedy.

“After a couple months of us being together, I just knew it was meant to be,” Kelli says.

So did Thomas. During their first Christmas later that year, Thomas made her a wooden hope chest, engraving it with the date they met, March 14, 1997. Stuffing it with miscellaneous Christmas presents, at the bot-tom he hid the most important one — a promise ring.

That promise was carried out March 17, 2001, when Kelli and Thomas were married in a fai-rytale ceremony at Plant City’s First Baptist Church.

THE PROPOSALThomas’s proposal was a com-

plete surprise. He told her to come visit him while he was do-ing landscaping at his uncle’s condo, and he wanted to take her to dinner. When she got there, they walked down to the beach, where a giant sign was waiting for her: “Kelli Will You Marry Me.”

“He must have known I’d said, ‘Yes,’ because he didn’t put a question mark on it,” Kelli says.

THE FAMILYToday, the couple has two

young sons, Judson, 8, and Bron-son, 3, who both take up most of their time.

When Kelli saw the Plant City Observer’s Love Story Contest on-line, she decided to enter.

“I was excited to know that, ‘Hey, we might have the chance to win something and actually take that time out for each other,’” Kelli says. “I was always hopeful. You always hope you’ll win. But I didn’t (think we’d win), because we’ve never won anything like that, but everybody always tells us we’re a good couple and just excited to see us be together for so long, because we were just ba-bies when we met.”

Kelli and Thomas will be cel-ebrating their 12th anniversary next month and they plan to use

the one-night stay and dinner for two at the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport Westshore.


RoMAnTiC GeTAWAY

Kelli and Thomas Smith will celebrate their 12th anni-versary with their love Story prize — a one-night stay at the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport Westshore and dinner at St. James Restaurant.

THe finAliSTSWe received dozens of great

entries. Here are some of our favorites:

• shelly barfield. My husband and i met when we were 13 at Tomlin Middle School. He had his sister introduce us. We started dating for a few weeks and broke up the day after Valentine’s Day. We remained best friends for another four years. Then, when we were 17, we went out with a group of friends and we started dating again. When we were 18 he left for the U.S. Army. We talked all the time, and i went to differ-ent states to see him. When he got back, we got married, and this year, will be 13 years we have been married (but 20 we have known each other). i am so happy i married my best friend, we look forward to growing old together, and our kids enjoy hearing the story of how we met.

• James Wiggins. i started working in the warehouse of McCrory’s five and Dime in 1958, when i got out of the U.S. Army. i stopped to eat lunch one day at the food counter in McCrory’s, and that’s when i spotted her — the young woman behind the counter. clara Mae cook was her name. i immediately knew i was going to marry her, and little did i know at the time, she had told the other two waitresses to “stay back; he’s mine.” That was 54 years ago, and this love story of “love at first sight” continues strong today.

• les scates. in July 1959, i met a beautiful young lady — for me, it was love at first sight. Two years later, on June 11, 1961, she became my bride. Her name you ask — carole Joyce valentine. We’ve been married now for almost 52 years, and for me, every day is Valentine’s Day.

thomas and Kelli smith married March 17, 2001.

love story/PaGe 1

roaD/PaGe 1


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+ Thonotosassa Roadrenamed after a hero?Dear Editor:

I am emailing you in reference to the renaming of a segment of Thonotosassa Road.

My son, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Dep. David An-thony Abella, died in the line of duty April 21, 2004.

He graduated from Plant City High School. He played foot-ball and was on the wrestling

team. After graduating, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard for four years. He met his wife in New Orleans and then moved back to Plant City to start a family. He always served his country proudly and wanted to be a law-enforce-ment officer since he was a boy.

We were all blessed to have him as a part of our lives for almost 27 years. If just half the people in this world had a passion for living and a purpose to serve like he did, this world would be a better place.

Pamela Abella Plant City

+ Story capturesson’s serviceDear Editor:

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for a beautifully written article about my son, Daniel Taylor. I appreciate the time and effort you put into the article. It was quite comprehen-sive, and I can tell you spent a lot of time doing your homework.

The Plant City Observer is a wonderful hometown paper.

Diane TaylorPlant City

Silence is golden — until you have children. Then, silence means trouble is lurking.

As a stay-at-home mom, I always am looking for inexpensive activities to engage my children, and, of course, keep them from tearing the walls of our home down to the studs. A few weeks ago, I was scouring the aisles of Walmart and discovered tiny white clay pots that were $1 apiece, and I had one of those ah-ha mo-ments.

Spring is just around the cor-ner, and that means it’s grow time!

In the same section, I grabbed a tray of paints for $1, a pack of paint brushes for $1, and then, I headed to the garden department for a bag of Miracle Grow potting soil for $7.33 and two seed pack-ets for $1.28 each. I chose chive seeds, because they can be grown in a window, with minimal sun.

When the kids were both home

from school, the first task was to paint their pots. I can’t speak for your children, but

mine love to paint. After school the fol-

lowing day, we took the project outdoors, and the kids proceeded to plant and water their seeds. Note: Be sure to fill the pots three-fourths full of soil, sprinkle the seeds and then cover with dirt. I made the mistake of planting the seeds too low, and they never

grew. I never have had a green thumb!

Every day after school, the kids knew they had to water their plants. Often, they would be excited to come home and see if a tiny piece of chive had pierced the surface.

The part I love most about this craft is the virtues it is teaching them in a fun, non-assuming way.

They are learning responsibility.

Often, I notice my kids are in the “all about me” stage. This teaches them to think about giving their time and attention to something other than themselves.

Through the daily watering, the kids are learning to nurture and care for their plants. One day, they will have to nurture adult relationships, such as a marriage or friendship. Those require the same amount of love and care

to keep them alive as it does their little plants.

Patience is something my children, or really, most children, lack. They want everything right now. Even as adults, we often want quick fixes. This is not life, and I think it’s great for the kids to have to see that, with daily responsibility and nurturing, their plants will grow in due time.

Planting seeds of virtue is my most important task as a mother, as I’m sure is true for most moms.

I hope this activity finds a place in your home, and together, we can grow a future garden of respectable adults.

Please post a picture of your children with their plants to my Pajama Mama Facebook page.

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

Planting seeds of virtue in your children

eMILIePLANTS

lettersto tHeeDITOR

emilie Plants

The planting project proved to be a hit with scarlett and cooper.

“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

Founding Publisher / Felix Haynes

General Manager and Managing Editor / Michael Eng, [email protected]

Assistant Managing Editor / Jess Eng, [email protected]

Associate Editors / (Community) Amber Jurgensen, [email protected]; (Sports) 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 / Peter Carlson, [email protected]; 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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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.

Years ago, my wife, Jess, and I found one of those online sur-veys. It displayed several images and asked the question: Which of these best depicts love?

One was a couple walking hand-in-hand on the beach. Another was of a husband and wife on their wedding day. Still another was of a romantic can-dlelit dinner for two.

Of course, they all were beauti-ful images and worthy depictions of life’s greatest mystery. But for me, the choice was simple: an image of an older couple hold-ing onto each other, laughing in hysterics.

The reason is simple: They reminded me of Harry and Molly Lim, my grandparents. Harry, our Goong Goong (Chinese for Grandpa), died suddenly May 12, 2008. At that time, my family asked that I write and deliver his eulogy. In perhaps the toughest writing task of my life, I relayed my most vivid memories: Goong Goong teaching me how to swim and our family’s Wednesday night dinners. I wrote about his work ethic and business ventures. He taught me how to seize my days, how to commit to a family.

And how to love.Molly Lim, my grandmother,

never was the same after that day. She lost the love of her life with-out warning. In an instant, she seemed smaller, fragile, lost.

Just two weeks ago, Molly, our beloved Poa Poa, died Jan. 28 —also suddenly. She was 87.

It is impossible to overstate the example our Goong Goong and Poa Poa set for us. Theirs always will be the most spectacular love story I have ever heard.

Family lore has it that Goong Goong, while serving in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and stationed in China, went to a military ball with another girl by his side. There, he saw Poa Poa across the ballroom. She, too, had come with a date.

It didn’t matter. At the end of the night, Goong Goong and Poa Poa left together.

At the end of the war, Goong Goong returned to the U.S. and married his sweetheart. The day they married, Poa Poa made local history as Houston’s only G.I. bride from the Far East. A Hous-

ton Chronicle article and photo from that day sit on my desk as a constant reminder that I am a part of something much bigger.

“East Meets East as Mrs. Molly Lo Lim, wife of Harry Lim, seeks congratulations from her hus-band just after becoming an American citizen,” the caption reads. “Mr. Lim, born in Canton, is an American citizen — served with the United States Army during the war when he was stationed in China, where he met his wife. She is believed to be Houston’s only G.I. bride from the Orient.”

Their love deepened as they planted roots to raise a family. They had their three daughters and, later, five grandchildren.

To our knowledge, Goong

Goong and Poa Poa were sepa-rated only once during their entire marriage. As my mom and aunts began sifting through Poa Poa’s belongings, they discovered a letter Goong Goong had written to her during that time.

“I can’t seem to be able to go to sleep at night,” Goong Goong wrote to his bride at 3 in the morning. “It’s not because I’m not sleepy. It’s because I missed you so much that I wish September gets here the very next morning, and I could hold you in my arms every chance I get.”

Even after more than six de-cades of marriage, Goong Goong and Poa Poa still glowed like high school sweethearts. They still held hands, still looked lovingly into each other’s eyes. Like my Aunt Jenny said when Goong Goong died, they were bookends: bookends that held each other up — with the rest of us tucked in-between.

Today, our family grieves. We miss our Poa Poa, and her loss also reminds us of the one we endured five years ago.

But, we do take comfort. Com-fort in knowing our Goong Goong finally can put his head down and rest. We know he’s been waiting for his bride.

And we know these two — who somehow took life’s greatest mystery and unraveled it into an extraordinary example for all of us to see — are together again, in the perfect ending to our family’s perfect love story.

Grandparents set shining exampleobserved | in loving memory

following World War II, Molly and Harry lim arrived stateside in June 1946, in San francisco. They recreated the photo in 2003.

PAJAMA MAMA


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It was a memory Thích Giác Ngo could not get out of his head, a memory that changed his life. It caused him to leave his Southern Baptist roots and embrace Bud-dhism, not only as a believer but also as an ordained monk.

“I came to know the memories of reincarnation,” Thích Giác Ngo said. “I had experiences of a past life — vivid memories.”

Thích Giác Ngo had visions of a past life in college, but his most vivid didn’t come until decades later. As part of the Society of Cre-ative Anachronisms, an interna-tional organization that recreates skills and arts of pre-17th-centu-ry Europe, Thích Giác Ngo was reenacting a unique Irish liturgy one day in the early 1990s with his group.

As he was speaking, it hit him — a waking dream that put him in a church in Ireland.

“All of a sudden, I wasn’t in the woods in Florida anymore,” he said.

He looked around at the con-gregation and realized he knew all of them. Thích Giác Ngo viv-idly remembers peering through the crowd to the back wall of the church.

Thích Giác Ngo believes the liturgy was a stimulus that awak-ened him to his past life, just like a smell or music can trigger a memory.

Born John Missing, he used

to get into heated debates with his sister who was Buddhist long before Thích Giác Ngo. The two always argued about the tenant of reincarnation. But Buddhism seemed like the answer to him on that day in the woods.

“Buddhism made sense,” he said. “It was built to be logical. The Buddha said, ‘Don’t trust what I said. Test it.’”

It wasn’t until 2006 that Thích Giác Ngo went to his first Bud-dhist retreat and later converted.

While he was in the grocery store one day, another Buddhist

saw him in his robes and asked if he would be willing to teach classes about the Buddha in Eng-lish to children at a Vietnamese monastery in Tampa. He agreed and started to visit the monastery more frequently. There, he found a small house of communal living and a great teacher.

In 2008, Thích Giác Ngo was di-agnosed with prostate cancer but was in remission by 2011.

“I had faced a lot of death in my life,” he said. “The best way I can live the rest of my life was to be-come a monk.”

True, Thích Giác Ngo is no stranger to death. He was born with a heart defect and collapsed many times as a child, but doc-tors could not diagnose him. In 1983, he was in a car accident in which he ripped open his aortic artery. Thích Giác Ngo should not have survived the injury. In the process, doctors finally were able to diagnose his heart defect. They told him he shouldn’t have grown up because the defect restricted organ growth.

Now an ordained monk, Thích Giác Ngo is temporarily moving

out of his monastery and back to his hometown, Plant City, to make room for the founding nun and her attendants.

In January, Thích Giác Ngo started his own meditation class-es at Unity Christ Church, with the permission of his teacher. He teaches the most basic funda-mentals of meditation, such as the seven-point posture.

“It’s about getting your mind in the present moment and not let-ting it wander all around,” Thích Giác Ngo said.

He also teaches the dharma, or the teachings of the Buddha, which include reincarnation im-permanence and karma.

Thích Giác Ngo encourages those who aren’t Buddhists to come. Meditation is linked to many health benefits. Further-more, he said his classes won’t conflict with those who already subscribe to other faiths.

“In mainstream Christianity, there is no place for past lives,” Thích Giác Ngo said. “But you can still be Christian; you don’t have to accept all tenants of Bud-dhism.”


if YoU goMeditation classesWHen: 8 p.m. ThursdaysWHere: Unity Christ Church, 1911 N. gordon St.inForMation: Thích giác Ngo for more information, [email protected]

Plant City native offers Buddhist meditation classesThích Giác Ngo’s class focuses on the basic tenants of Buddhism.

om by amber Jurgensen | Associate editor

Amber Jurgensen

born John Missing, thích Giác ngo says buddhism “just makes sense.” He offers a weekly meditation class.

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Regional bands, local dignitaries and even a group of cowboys on horseback were a part of the annual Black Heri-tage Parade Feb. 9, in Plant City.

The parade traveled down Martin Luther King Boulevard, ending at the MLK Jr. Recreation Center, where a carnival featured food, vendors and children’s activities. The parade was part of a weekend of events for the 10th annual Black Heritage Education and Cultural Festival.

The festival coincides with Black History Month and provides an op-portunity for the Plant City commu-nity to honor the rich cultural history of African-Americans, both nationally and locally.

The festival also included a gospel concert, which featured the Durant High School choir and other regional choirs, and the Heritage Banquet, which featured keynote speaker Ma-chelle Maner, vice president of com-munity development at Wells Fargo.

Black Heritage Parade marches down MLK

celebRATion by Matt Mauney | Associate editor

Vice Mayor Mary thomas Mathis

choo choo charlie carted kids around on the Mickey Mouse Train.

Right: The Kingz Angelz dance group showed off its moves.

left: Grand marshal sarah Govenor

DJ slow Motion brought along his snake, Jynx.

The Mighty Marching lions put on a great show.


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Plant City High School hosted 47 winter color guard teams for its annual competition Feb. 9, at the school.

This was the third year PCHS has held a large indoor color guard competi-tion. The Raiderettes par-ticipated in the event, taking first place in the B Class.

“They are all just a hard-working group of girls,” says coach Abraham Sabastine Jarrell. “They are all dedi-cated and strive to be the best.”

According to Jarrell, who returned as coach of the indoor team this season,

most of the teams are new to the indoor competition season but are pushing to improve.

“We’ve about doubled the amount of people on our team from last year, so we want to con-tinue to grow,” he says.

Plant City High Schoolhosts winter guard contest

STYle AnD gRAce by Matt Mauney | Associate editor

This is the first indoor season for many members of the Raiderettes.

Kendale sellars enjoyed the competition.

Bras, boas and plenty of pink were seen at Country Meadows Feb. 6, as a golf cart parade weaved through the streets of the 55-plus community as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign.

The event was one of several last week at Country Meadows, including a wom-en’s golf tournament Feb. 7, at the club course. This is the fourth year Country Meadows has raised money for the Su-san G. Komen for the Cure.

According to event organizer Nancy Williams, the event raised more than $5,400 last year.

All funds raised goes to the founda-tion, with 75% staying with local chap-ters.

According to Williams, 85 women par-

ticipated in the golf tournament. That was the third event this week, with a men’s tournament Feb. 5.

golf cart parade raises money for breast cancer

pink power by Matt Mauney | Associate editor

Helen Ploard and nancy Williams rode in style.

lynne Maines found an interesting way to use a bra.


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It takes one look at Turkey Creek Middle School to know that they are serious about their agricul-ture department. The school has a beautiful view of a strawberry field, which the students have been tending to for decades. Be-hind the school are four commer-cial heifers and a flock of sheep. In Allison Sparkman’s classroom, a lop-eared bunny cleans itself un-derneath her desk.

Sparkman and Buddy Cole-man, both FFA advisers and agri-science teachers, are instrumen-tal in carrying on a tradition that dates back before their time. Until 1956, Turkey Creek was a straw-berry school, which closed for the three-month strawberry-picking season so students could work the fields.

Throughout the year, Sparkman and Coleman lead the school’s Strawberry Project, through which students learn about strawberries, the process of planting and pick-ing and how to sell their product.

Every year, students plant strawberries in the fall and then pick in the winter. They sell their crops to earn money to fund the school’s 170-student FFA chapter, which dates back to 1936.

TEACHING A TRADITION“You want to pack only the ber-

ries you would eat,” Sparkman tells her students. “Don’t pick any green ones and when you pack them, make sure that mostly red is showing. That’s what the custom-ers want to see.”

The tips have sunken into most of the students. Seventh-grader Baylee Astin gives the same tips.

“Don’t pick the ones that have

any green and think, ‘Would I eat this?’” Astin says.

Of course, Astin has experi-ence with picking strawberries. Her family owns Astin Farms. Her father, Sam Astin, has kept the Strawberry Project alive by pro-viding materials such as flats and clamshells and taking excess ber-ries to the market for the school.

“It’s definitely been a fam-ily tradition for them,” Sparkman says. “People always tell us we do a good job, but it’s not just us, it’s him.”

In addition to selling berries and an array of vegetables to the public, three schools are buy-ing strawberries to serve in their lunchrooms. Last year, Turkey Creek raised $17,000 from selling strawberries, plants and hay.

“The students look forward to it all year long,” Coleman says. “Then they get so excited when the buds grow. But by the time they’re done picking, they are tired and asking, ‘When are we done?’”

The record number of flats col-lected in one day was 122. It was the first day that Sparkman intro-duced punch cards to keep track of the number of clamshells the students collected. The yellow cards are the same ones used in the field by farmworkers. The students earn incentives, such

as ice cream parties, for collect-ing the most. So far, the students have picked 937 flats since Dec. 17.

“Some of them work their butts off the whole time,” Sparkman says.

OUT IN THE FIELDIt’s hard work. Some students

stoop over in the sun, while others get dusty sitting on the ground. The shed offers the shelter of shade when the students bring their clamshells to be examined from the field.

Two students man the shed, selling berries to the public and inspecting the clamshells, mak-ing sure the berries are accept-able. That means no green and no mushy meat.

“You have to have just the right ones,” Astin says while inspect-ing the strawberries. “It’s kind of frustrating, sometimes, when you have to go back.”

Astin and her friend, Chloe Tew, work the shed but say they prefer picking.

“I like picking better, because you get to eat the strawberries,” Tew says.

Out in the field, Coty Deluca picks strawberries with his friends

Fredi Ventura and Daeton Chess-er.

“It’s kind of fun, because you get to be with our friends and be out-side,” Deluca says.

“It’s just kind of fun being out-side,” Ventura says. “You get to re-lax and just talk.”

Shortly after the boys get back to picking, Astin and Tew, who sneaked out of the shed, walk by eating some strawberries.

Another group of students nearby yell out “strawberry fight!” But the students know they can’t waste the precious produce. It’s the middle of the season, and the berries are ripe. Astin says at the end of the season, when some of the unpicked berries are rotting, her family gets into strawberry fights on their farm, throwing the mushy masses and staining their clothes red.

Back at the shed, Sparkman helps a customer, Armellia An-drews. Andrews is a volunteer at Robinson Elementary, next door to Turkey Creek Middle. She has come to buy produce at the school three times a week for the past four years.

“This is the best place,” An-drews says. “I like it because of the school. I believe in giving back

to the school. I know that they’re fresh, and they’re always good.”


FIELD DAYSWith a rich history in farming, Turkey Creek Middle School continues its tradition each year through its Strawberry Project.

eDUCATION by amber Jurgensen | Associate editor

“It’s kind of fun, because you get to be with our friends and be outside,” coty Deluca says.

If YOU GOrelay for life U-PickWHen: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. feb. 23 WHere: Turkey Creek Middle School, 5005 S. Turkey Creek Road contact: [email protected]

Student alyx Maddox’s grandfa-ther, Don Hicks, lives next door to the field and helps with the school’s agriculture program. “He’s our eyes around here,” buddy coleman, ffA adviser and agriscience teacher, says.

Visit PlantCityObserver.com for more exclusive photos of the strawberry field.


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The Plant City Garden Club set sail with its pirate-themed Flower Show Feb. 7, at Walden Lake Golf and Country Club.

This year’s show featured 36 designs

and 143 pieces of horticulture. Attend-ees voted for their favorites by putting a plastic gold doubloons in cups next to the displays.

Jack Wolff and Dee clark dressed for the occasion.

flower show blossomsat Walden Lake C.C.

in bloom by amber Jurgensen | Associate editor

Phil baader and larry nennoJudy Glorioso and cassandra banning enjoyed browsing through the flowers.

Hundreds of men enjoyed a night of fellowship at the Plant City Elks Lodge #1727 Wild Game Cookout Feb. 9, at the Hillsborough County Cattle-men’s Association building.

It was the 25th anniversary of the event, which featured a variety of foods, a full bar and a raffle, in which participants had the chance to win great prizes, including grills, rifles and a flatscreen television.

This men’s night out raises money for the Elks Lodge, which then benefits philan-thropic efforts in the Plant City community.

Plant City Elks Lodge Wild Game Cookout celebrates its 25th year

robert Griffin, craig brown, Jim scott, brian Griffin, Mac McGrath and Paul labarbero

gUYS nigHT by Matt Mauney | Associate editor

Michael alexander ,right, the winner of the Plant City Observer’s Wild game Cookout Contest, enjoyed the night with his dad, bill, and his brother, Howard.


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Mattie ‘Lou’ BrittMattie “Lou”” Britt, 92, of Lake-

land, died Feb. 7, 2013. She was born in 1920, in Dub-

lin, Ga. She taught second grade at Turkey Creek School in the early 1940s and moved in 1952, to Me-dulla. She was a member at Trinity Baptist Church, Lakeland.

She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Gordon Britt; children, Franklin G. Britt (Yvonne), Bruce E. Britt (Linda) and Janice L. Shiv-er (Jim); four grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and many loving family and friends.

A Celebration of Life was held Feb. 11, at Hopewell Funeral Home, Plant City. Interment fol-lowed at Hopewell Memorial Gar-dens

Condolences may be made at hopewellfuneral.com.

Irma L. Barry GarnerIrma L. Barry Garner, 96, of Du-

rant, died Feb. 6. She was a member of Pleasant

Grove Assembly of God, Durant. She was preceded in death by

her husband, Joseph I. “Bill” Gar-ner; and great-grandson, Ricky Turner.

She is survived by daughters, Ann Porter (Carl) and Sue Brown (Eldon); sisters, Joyce Emerine and Winfred “Red” Dean; grand-children, Wally Porter (Rebecca), Rhenda Booth (Carmen) and Dana Andrew (Chris); great-grandchildren, Heath (Joy), Dal-las, Mandi (David), Michael, Chase, Capri and Caelynn; six great-great-grandchildren; and numerous family and friends.

A Celebration of Life was held Feb. 9, at Hopewell Funeral Home,

Plant City. In lieu of flowers dona-tions may be made to Pleasant Grove A/G Building Fund, P.O. Box 278, Durant, FL 33530.


Warren HookWarren Hook, 72, died Feb. 1, at

home.He is survived by his sons, Don

(Norma) and Jeff; brother, Bob; sisters, Linda and Pat; six grand-children; and three great-grand-children.

A memorial mass was held Feb. 8, at St. Clement Catholic Church.

Gladys Mae KiddGladys Mae Kidd, 84, of Plant

City, died Feb. 7. She was preceded in death by

her husband, Clarman Kidd, and son, Rodney W. Kidd.

She is survived by her children, Randy Edward Kidd, Ronald Hayes Kidd, James Daniel Kidd and Cathy Kidd Elliott (Scott); siblings, Jack Harville (Carol) and Alma Johnson; 12 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and many other loving family and friends.

The family received friends Feb. 12, Hopewell Funeral Home, Plant City. A graveside service followed at Hopewell Memorial Gardens.


Willie Mae ‘Bill’ KilgoreWillie Mae “Bill” Kilgore, 88, of

Plant City, died Feb. 6. She was born in Granville Coun-

ty, North Carolina. She and her husband, James, moved to Plant City on their honeymoon in 1961.

She earned her degree as a reg-

istered nurse from Roanoke Rap-ids School of Nursing. She was an OB/GYN nurse at South Florida Baptist Hospital for 17 years and completed her career at Forest Park Nursing Home.

She is survived by her daughter, Annette Kilgore; sisters Edna “Sis-sie” Brooks and Betsy Hobgood (Raymond); brothers, Stephen Murray (Elva) and Foy Murray; her beloved puppy, Sophie; and many other loving family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James V. Kilgore; and siblings, Adelle Townsend, Shirley Murray, Johnny Murray, Thomas Murray, J.B. Murray and Oscar Murray.

A graveside service was held Feb. 11, at Hopewell Memo-rial Gardens, Plant City. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Relay for Life Fund, Springhead Elementary School, 3208 Nesmith Road, Plant City, FL 33566.


Albert James PouAlbert James Pou, 51, of Val-

rico, died Feb. 10.Born April 25, 1961, he was the

son of Alberto Pou Novoa and Maria Andrea Benitez. He was the husband of Dianne Pou.

Mr. Pou was a proud member of the U.S. Air Force, worked at URS, where he was an I.T. manager. He had been a Girl Scout leader, member of The Boy Scouts, and one of his true passions in life was playing the trumpet.

Survivors include his wife, Di-anne Pou; daughters, Maria Pou, Kelli Wheeler, Rebeca Pou, Rebec-

ca Wheeler and Isabel Pou; grand-daughter Madyson Schomaker; brothers, William Anthony Pou and Joseph Michael Pou; nieces Arleny Baez, Daisy and Alee Judge; and Allen Bingham and Arturo Su-arez.

The family has requested that everyone wear red to the memo-rial service. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 14, at Cross Creek Ranch, 12950 Wheeler Road, Do-ver.

Online condolences may be made at haughtfuneralhome.com.

Charles D. RhinehartCharles D. Rhinehart, 78, died

Jan. 12. Mr. Rhinehart was born May 4,

1908, in Buffalo, N.Y. He served from October 1952 to July 1954, in the U.S. Marines.

Wells Memorial and Dignity Provider networks are commit-ted to handling services for our homeless veterans. Mr. Rhinehart will have a full military honors service at 11 a.m. Feb. 15, at Wells Memorial, 1903 W. Reynolds St., Plant City. The public is invited to celebrate his life and pay our respects to a man who served our country.

Burial will follow at 1:30 p.m., at Florida National Cemetery.

Condolences may be made at wellsmemorial.com.

Marion Othal SchoonoverMarion Othal Schoonover, 90,

of Plant City, died Jan. 30.Born Jan. 31, 1922, in Adrian,

Mich., he was the son of the late Clyde Schoonover and the late Mary Brown Schoonover. He was the husband of the late Vera Mae Schoonover.

Mr. Schoonover was a World War II U.S. Army veteran, serving in the 38th United States Infantry,

Second Infantry Division.

S u r v i v o r s include sons, Ronald (Claire), Jerry (Claudette) and Timothy S c h o o n o v e r ; daughter, Mari-an Langley; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was Feb. 8, at Bethany Baptist Churc, Plant City. Interment followed in Memorial Park Cemetery.


Franklin Carroll SuiterFranklin Carroll Suiter, 81, of

Plant City, died Jan. 29.Mr. Suiter was a U.S. Air Force

veteran and a former employee of Miller’s Trailer Transport.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Goldie Suiter; and son, Mark Suiter.

Survivors include sons, Freddie (Barbara Jeanette) Suiter and Ter-ry Lee Suiter; daughter, Carolyn Sue Korynas; and brother, Johnnie Bill Suiter.

Online condolences may be made at wellsmemorial.com.

Gary Carl WilkersonGary Carl Wilkerson, 56, of Plant

City, died Feb. 10.Born Dec. 4, 1956, in Plant City,

he was the son of the late Carl Wilkerson and the late Dollie Mik-los Wilkerson. He was the hus-band of Felicia Wilkerson.

Survivors include a son, Derek Wilkerson; sisters, Cathy Dav-enport and Cherry Bailey; and three grandchildren, Madalyne, Brayden and Landyn.


OBSERVEROBITUARIES

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“Holy Grounds”

Harrison and Spencer Heysek both plan to play in college. Harrison is con-sidering Florida Atlantic, South Florida or Central Florida, and Spencer is committed to Southeastern University, in Lakeland.

We’re more than a week re-moved from National Signing Day, but some story lines are still at the forefront of sports media.

Signing Day is just the beginning of a continuous high school football recruiting process where players, includ-ing several local players, will ink with colleges in the com-ing weeks, mostly with smaller schools.

While community-minded newspapers such as the Plant City Observer will cover these commit-ments, most will go over-looked across the country as the top col-lege recruits already have

made their announcements official.

With National Signing Day in the books, it is important to look at the crazy progression college recruiting has experi-enced over the years, espe-cially during NSD.

There was a time — just a few years ago — when only the most die-hard fans and niche media outlets covered NSD. It wasn’t until my sophomore or junior year in college that I began to notice all the hoopla that surrounds the day when top high school prospects make commitments.

Signing-day ceremonies used to consist of just the recruits, high school coaches, families and friends and pos-sibly a reporter from a local

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 WEEKWrestler Lance

Dounges qualifies for states. 18

THURSDAY, FEbRUARY 14, 2013PLANTCITYObServer.COm

SEE MAUNEY / PAGE 16

SHOW ME THE MAUNEY

MATTMAUNEY

Signing Day hoopla a slippery slope

Heysek brothers lead Raiders teamHarrison Heysek remembers

playing tennis with his mother, Mary, when he was just 6 years old.

“We would hit back and forth in the driveway,” he said. “It just expanded from there.”

Harrison is one of a set of triplets. His broth-ers, Alex and Spen-cer, also grew up

playing tennis, gaining in-terest from their mom.

All three brothers played through their sophomore year of high school, with Harrison and Spencer now seniors on the Plant City High team, holding the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots, respectively.

In addition to high school, Harrison and Spencer regularly compete in trav-el tournaments, where they gained the notice of college suitors. Harrison cur-rently has an offer from Florida Atlantic University, in addition to interest from South Florida and Central Florida, while Spencer is verbally committed

to play for Southeastern University, in Lakeland.

SIBLING RIVALRYOne may think that brothers, espe-

cially two of a set of triplets, would be a cohesive force on the tennis court.

But that wasn’t always the case. Al-though they have played together practically their whole lives, includ-ing holding the No. 1 doubles spot for Plant City High, it wasn’t until their ju-nior season that they found a perfect relationship on the court.

Two of a set of triplets, seniors Harrison and Spencer hope to lead the Raiders to another postseason berth.

brotherly love by matt mauney | Associate Editor

The Plant City High baseball team kicked off the 2013 season and the Mike Fryrear era with a 7-1 win Tuesday, at Strawberry Crest. Kevin Long picked up the win on the mound for the Raiders, going five innings and allowing just one earned run.

Plant City took a 1-0 lead in the third before breaking the game open in the middle innings. All of the Raiders’ runs came with two outs.

“With the system we have in place, as soon as we get runners on, we put the pressure on other teams,” said Fryrear, who began

his first year as a head coach with a win. “With Long on the mound for us, he can beat anybody in this county and anyone in this state, and with him on the mound, it brings a different presence for us. Even if we’re down 1-0 or 2-0, we can still win, but the thing is, our guys have to buy in and they’re starting to do that.”

The win for Plant City came after back-to-back preseason losses to Durant and Bloomingdale.

“I scheduled those two games on purpose,” Fryrear said. “They’re

DIAmOND rIvALS One Plant City High team picked up a historic win Tuesday, while another suffered a rough loss to the Strawberry Crest Chargers.

PLAY BALL! by matt mauney | Associate Editor

Plant City High assistant coach mike valerius, new head coach mike Fryrear and base runners Sergio Garcia (3), mike Diaz and Zack mondoux (27) talked things over during a pitching change. below: Plant City shortstop Kristen Wyckoff and the rest of the Plant City defense was busy dealing with Kasey Locke and other Strawberry Crest base runners Tuesday.

SEE RIVALS / PAGE 16

SEE TENNIS / PAGE 17


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two of the best in eastern Hills-borough County, and we faced two excellent pitchers, so I want-ed to see where we were at. We’re going to surprise a lot of people this year, and if the guys buy into it, and I think they have, we’re go-ing to do some damage in the dis-trict.”

Friday will be the home-opener for Plant City, as the Raiders host Armwood.

For Strawberry Crest and head coach Eric Beattie, the Chargers have to improve execution mov-ing forward.

“They executed in some tough situations and we didn’t, both de-fensively and offensively,” Beattie said. “You flip around two or three

executions there, and it’s a lot closer of a game.”

SCHS will be looking for its first win of the season Friday when the Chargers head to Chamberlain for a non-district game.

LADY CHARGERS DOMINATEFor the second consecutive

game, the Strawberry Crest soft-ball team came away with a lop-

sided shutout win, this time beat-ing rival Plant City 14-0 in five innings.

Sammy Tyler held Plant City to just three hits, while Straw-berry Crest racked up 13. The Lady Chargers put up six runs in the first and never looked back. Megan Reed led SCHS with three RBIs, while Savannah Bradley went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.

SCHS had four triples — Reed, Bradley and Aly Masessa (2) — in its four innings at the plate Tues-day. The win followed a 16-0 sea-son opening blowout of Spoto.

Lady Chargers head coach Min-dy Miltner knows her team will be put to the test Friday, as it faces Chamberlain, last year’s Class 7A state champ, in a non-district match.

“We’ve got to come out strong against Chamebrlain,” she said. “Tonight was our preparation.”

For new Plant City head coach Amanda Sawyer, her 0-3 Lady Raiders will have to come out more focused against Armwood Friday if they want to pick up their first win. PCHS committed four errors against Strawberry Crest.

“We need to get more cohesive

as a team, and, obviously, we have to work more on our hitting,” she said.

Contact Matt Mauney at [email protected].

newspaper or TV station.Since then, it has grown into

a huge spectacle. Reporters and camera crews of regional and even national media now fill high school gymnasiums and libraries for the announcements.

Recruits used to come to these ceremonies with their minds made up and their college choice known and documented. Now recruits, especially the top-billed ones, will play the shell game with hats of college suitors, while

coaches at those colleges wait on the edges of their seats to see if the recruit picks their school.

This carries a unique perspec-tive for me. On one hand, the whole recruiting process has gotten out of control. It is the athletes that should be vying and pleading for colleges to pick them, not the other way around. After all, these kids are getting the opportunity many don’t have — the chance to play football at a big-time university and get a free quality education to boot.

With injuries, off-the-field

troubles and more, many players fall off the grid and their only time in the spotlight ends up be-ing on NSD. Players should earn publicity in college by what they do in the college ranks — not on Friday nights in high school.

I’m fine with local and regional media covering signings, but they shouldn’t be the leading story on Sportscenter or on the cover of national newspapers or maga-zines.

Conversely, the sports fan in me loves NSD and all the drama that goes with it. Although I don’t

appreciate or respect the cat-and-mouse game some recruits play with colleges, you have to admit it is entertaining for most college football fans, especially if your team is one of the suitors.

Heck, after I finished with work Feb. 6, including covering a sign-ing ceremony at Plant City High School, I fired up my laptop and watched a replay Georgia South-ern’s (my alma mater) signing class. All two hours of it.

The die-hard fan in me couldn’t wait to see what kind of talent we pulled into our program and

from what larger schools, includ-ing ACC and SEC programs, we stole prospects.

It comes down to finding a balance. There should be less soap opera with NSD and more football. It’s fine to have signing-day specials for your college of choice, and it’s great to be informed on the direction your favorite school is headed, but signing day should be left to local media and fans of the game.

We don’t need ESPN and others giving 18-year-olds big heads before they even get to college.

Plant City shortstop and South florida commit Kristen Wyckoff dived back safely to avoid the pickoff tag from Strawberry Crest’s savannah bradley.

MaUney/PaGe 15

Photos by Matt Mauney

Plant City’s Kevin long pitched an excellent game, allowing just one earned run.

rivals/PaGe 15


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CROSS_ANS_021413

This week’s Cryptogram answers

This week’s Crossword answers

2013

1. Here’s a candid saying straight from my favorite philosopher: never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid all together.

2. When I retired, I remembered a happy way to greet my fine new life: “goodbye tension, hello pension.”

“We’re both extremely competitive people,” Spen-cer said. “We used to get in arguments a lot. There was a time that we couldn’t play each other, because we would fight, but now, we get along better than ever, and I think it comes down to just being older and more mature.”

Harrison said he really enjoys playing doubles with Spencer for the Raiders.

“We complement each other well,” he said. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and know how we like to play. That helps out a lot and works out better than playing doubles with just a ran-dom person.”

Despite being identical twins born mere minutes apart, Harrison’s and Spencer’s playing styles couldn’t be more different. Harrison relies on his power and strong serve to control the pace of the game and keep his opponents on their toes, while Spencer likes to play more of a finesse game.

“Our fitness levels are similar, but his playing style is different,” Spencer said of Harrison. “I mix my play-ing style up with a slice or different kinds of shots, and he’s just a lot of power. He has a strong serve and a powerful forehand. His forehand is probably his best shot.”

According to Plant City head coach Dale Rice, who has coached at PCHS for 28 years, Harrison has pro-gressed in the last four years.

“He is still powerful, but I’m seeing him be smarter with his play and not just relying on his strength,” Rice said. “His placement on shots has gotten a lot better.”

Rice describes Spencer as a student of the game. “I sometimes refer to him as Mr. Meticulous, be-

cause he’s extremely focused when he’s on the court and has a high attention for detail,” he said.

Spencer also admitted the talent difference between the two.

“He is a better player than me, and that’s something that I used to could never say or admit,” he said. “I don’t think our talents are too far apart, and we defi-nitely push each other to be better players.”

ON A MISSIONWith the Heysek brothers being integral parts in the

success, Plant City has made regional appearances the past two years, making it to that stage for the first time in a decade in 2011.

Rice hopes with Harrison and Spencer, along with fellow senior Jake Cole and younger brother Kyle Cole, the Raiders once again will make a postseason ap-pearance.

“We’ve been fortunate to have good talent come through our program the last few years,” Rice said.

The Raiders have finished as district runners-up for the past two seasons. Last year’s Class 4A District 5 champ, Wiregrass Ranch, will be the main school standing in the way of Plant City’s first district title in boys tennis in recent history, and the Raiders know what that competition will be like.

The top player for Wiregrass Ranch, senior Courage Okungbowa, practices in Plant City with his father, Stanley, a Nigerian native. Okungbowa is a prime tal-ent and Harrison has had the opportunity to play and practice with him regularly.

“We always have crazy matches,” Harrison said. “I might barely win, or he might barely win, and then I might kill him one match, and he’ll beat me badly in our next match. We both hit hard and fast, and we kind of push each other in practice and matches.”

Harrison has been battling a strained back but is set to return to the lineup Thursday against Chamberlain.

“Our goal this year is a state championship, individ-ually and as a team,” he said. “Our top three players are seniors, so we should have a pretty good team.”

Contact Matt Mauney at [email protected].

tennis/PaGe 15


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LAnce DoUngeS ATHLeTe of THe week by Matt Mauney | Associate editor

Plant city junior Lance Dounges decided to take up wrestling this season to help with conditioning for football. He ended up getting a lot more out of the sport. Dounges finished as runner-up at both the district and region wrestling tournaments in the 285-pound heavyweight class to become the only Plant city wrestler to qualify for the state tournament, held this weekend in Lakeland. His record entering state is 41-7.

Why did you get into wrestling?Some of the coaches and some of the

football players were trying to get me to do it. They thought I would be good at it, because of my build. So, I decided to give it a shot.

How long have you been playing football?

Since fourth grade

What kind of expectations did you have about wrestling?

I thought I would have to kind of grow into it and that it would take a couple years to get good at it, because I know there’s a lot to it. I guess I just kind of picked it up fast. It turned out a lot better than I expected.

What’s the toughest aspect of it?

With heavyweights, it’s a lot of upper body. I think that’s what helped me a lot, because I have a higher level of up-per body strength. Who is condi-tioned more is important, too, because the person that gets tired first is probably going to lose the match.

How do you relate it to football?

There’s a lot of similarities. You have to be well positioned and have good balance.

Were you surprised how you did at districts and regions?

I’ve been surprised since the county meet. I did really bad that first day and lost to a kid from Middleton that I knew I could beat. I came back the next day more aggressive and, ever since, it’s been turned on.

What do you expect the state meet to be like?

Some of the coaches told me that it’s like being in the center of everything, be-cause it’s in a huge stadium and you’re down on the floor in the center. They said

I could relate it to the football games. I’m going to go

there on Thursday to get the feel

of it.

Besides sports what to you like to do for fun?I like

to hunt and fish,

and I like to ride dirt bikes.

When I go up north to visit my dad in Michigan, we go hunting and

fishing and stuff like that.

fooTbALL

+ Chargers rising senior stands out

Strawberry crest wide receiver alex carswell performed well at a 7-on-7 All-Star game between Unsigned Preps and the next Level nighthawks feb. 10, at ferrell Middle School.

The rising senior is having a great offsea-son at camps, combines and workouts, and at 6-4, 200 pounds, he already has gained notice by some colleges, most notably kentucky and Auburn.

Plant city defensive back Jyquis thomas and Durant running back cris atkins also had strong showings in the game, accord-ing to reports.

bASkeTbALL

+ Season ends for Strawberry Crest girls

for the fourth time this season, the Strawberry crest girls’ basketball team came up short against district rival Sickles, this time in the region semifinals.

The Lady chargers fell 51-49, losing on a Sickles basket with just 10 seconds to play after ScHS took a 1-point lead.

Strawberry crest ends its best season to date with a 20-8 record, after advancing to regionals for the first time in the program’s four-year history.

“I couldn’t be prouder with the way the girls fought tonight,” head coach latosha

lewis said after the loss. “I’ve coached a lot of games, and this was the best one I’ve coached.”

Strawberry crest is a young team with no seniors. They will return everyone next season, along with some talented incoming freshmen, according to Lewis. The Lady chargers’ two standouts, Maiya trigg and aliyah Gregory will be a junior and senior, respectively, next season.

gregory led ScHS Tuesday with 13 points, while Trigg had 12.

“we definitely feel like we can make a run at a state championship next year,” Lewis said. “everyone will be back, and playing in regionals was a great learning experience for our team, especially our younger players.”

wReSTLIng

+ Two area grapplers qualify for state meet

Durant’s austin Haley and Plant city High’s lance Dounges both qualified for the class 3A fHSAA State wrestling championship, which will be held feb. 15 and 16, at the Lakeland center.

Haley placed second in the 126-pound weight class for the cougars at the class 3A Region 2 championship last weekend at osceola High School, in St. cloud. He was the only wrestler out of the 10 Durant sent to regionals to make it to state.

Haley enters the state tournament with a record of 44-8.

In his first season wrestling, Dounges is headed to state (see Athlete of the week above). Dounges finished as runner-up in the 285-pound heavyweight division, falling to fellow junior Darren lester, of brandon.

SIDELINES


O B S E RV E R C RO S S WO R DEdited by Timothy E. Parker

CRYPTOGRAMS

1. G R S R ’ Q N T N AV Z V Q N O Z A H Q L S N Z H G L B S W P P O B N E W S Z L R

X G Z D W Q W X G R S : A R E R S X M L W B B M A L Z D L W P W S S W J J G N L

O W M T N A N E W Z V N D D L W H R L G R S .

2. V L K B C P K E C P K S , C P K Q K Q Z K P K S U L U O O J V U J E T M P K K E Q J

W C B K B K V F C W K : “ M T T S Z J K E K B G C T B , L K F F T O K B G C T B . ”

ACROSS 1 Candle store

choices 7 1980s computer 12 Cake often flavored

with orange 17 Abandon one’s

principles for money

18 Iron-poor blood condition

19 Former president of Nicaragua

21 Archbishop, e.g. 22 Features of

shepherds’ workplaces

24 Not yet on the sched.

25 Cowboy greetings 27 Inhabitants of a

noted sci-fi planet 28 Clever comment 29 Jagger and

McCartney, e.g. 31 18 holes, for

example 32 Cries loudly 34 Trig ratio 35 Not yet up 37 Act like a couch

potato (with “out”) 38 Fruity bread topper 41 Summa cum ___

(top grads) 43 Overused, as a

saying 44 Find a function for 45 Computer desktop

pointer 46 Army uniform

material 47 Fishing net 51 Puts up, as a

skyscraper 52 Picnic feasts 54 Ten percent of a

sawbuck 55 Munch between

meals 56 Flatten in the ring

57 Place of therapeutic waters

58 Increases (with “to”)

59 Autumn tool 60 Far from

fashionable 61 Transparent, as

hosiery 63 Works with needle

and thread 64 Elevator company 65 Partook of 66 For ___ (available

to work) 67 Cheese at Cannes,

perhaps 68 Tell a tall tale 69 Cage-free fliers 73 Fold, as paper 75 Cheesy pasta dish 78 View anew 79 “Valse ___” 80 “Lost” actor Daniel

___ Kim 81 Appealingly

shocking 82 Beverly Hills home,

typically 83 They often follow

divorces 87 School support

grp. 88 Some tennis shots 90 Cause for

cramming 91 Dermatological

concern 92 Billy goat feature 94 Ladies of Spain, for

short 96 Barrister’s

headpiece 97 “Flee, fly!” 99 More like Shirley

Temple’s hair 101 180 deg. from WSW 102 Final resting place

of heroic souls, in Greek myth

106 Lack of sophistication

108 Opposite of a surplus

109 Search for provisions

110 Seville tourist attraction

111 Hangs on a clothesline

112 Napped leather 113 Fur wraps

dOwn 1 Belgrade is here 2 They’re free of

clouds 3 Plumbing pipe with

a right angle 4 Ancient ark builder 5 After-class aide 6 Fret about 7 “Lady ___” (1986

hit) 8 Busy buzzers 9 Bovary or Butterfly

(Abbr.) 10 Grenade part 11 Up to the task 12 Big name in

speakers 13 Painting and

sculpting 14 A/C unit of

measure 15 Henson amphibian 16 Tot’s milestone 17 Aquatic hubs, for

short 18 Getting on in years 20 Fall bloomer 23 Vaulted altar area 26 Country club

charges 30 Frisks 32 Movie maker Lee 33 Eye-related 34 Rose supporter 36 Furniture buildup 38 Jidda resident 39 College VIP 40 “Anytown, ___” 42 Uno + uno 43 Spasm of pain 45 Nation formerly

part of Yugoslavia 46 Strikeout symbols,

in baseball

47 Blackfoot’s abode 48 Fair amount of

wind 49 Along the length 50 Apartment dweller 51 Enlist 52 Rhine River city 53 Selfish folks 56 “The Sons of ___

Elder” 58 Construction

material no-no 60 Hockshop patron 61 Measure of dignity? 62 Hole up 70 Apothecary

offerings 71 Artist’s cap,

perhaps 72 Tut’s fertility

goddess 73 Old-style computer

monitor, briefly 74 Omani money 76 Being number one? 77 Fish with a long

snout 79 Queens’ Russian

counterparts 81 Downsizing

consequences 82 List lengthener 83 Said “I do” a second

time 84 Banished 85 Language of

Hungary 86 Desktop item 87 In and of itself 89 Year-end temps 92 Move a little 93 Apportioned 95 Divination

practitioner 97 Location 98 Cries of derision 99 Decked out 100 Puerto ___ 103 Respectful title in

India 104 Borrower’s note 105 Preposition in

poetry 107 “Batman Forever”

actor Kilmer

THE GREAT OUTdOORS by Rob Lee

3

CROSSWORD_021413

Runners lace up for annual challenge

Hundreds of runners hit the track for the 2013 Strawberry Distance Challenge 5K Feb. 9, at Walden Lake Golf and Country Club.

More than 400 runners partici-pated in this year’s race, coming from around the Tampa Bay area, across the state and even through-out the country.

Mike Stewart from Redmond, Wash. was the overall winner, with a time of 19:07. Stewart is in Florida visiting his parents and training for this year’s Boston Marathon.

Runners of all ages and skill levels participated in the race. A 1-mile fun run/walk, called the Strawber-ry Dash, followed the 5K. Money raised benefited the Florida Youth Alliance.

on your mark by Matt Mauney | Associate editor

ben Jensen, 9, luke nielsen, 5, and Zach Jensen, 6, participated in the 1-mile fun run.

Mike stewart, 49, came all the way from Redmond, Wash., to win the Strawberry Distance Challenge. Stewart is qualified for the prestigious boston Marathon.

Plant City resident Kenneth Winter, 55, had one of the more interesting hats for the race. It was his second Strawberry Distance Challenge.

crystal Harris, with sons Gavin, Peyton and ty. Crystal was the first female finisher, while Gavin and Peyton, 9-year-old twins, finished together.

The Huddlestons made it a family affair. from left: father ross, mom lori and kids evelyn, Holly and callie.


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02.14.13 plant city observer

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