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VOL 16 No. 40
August 3, 2016
Egmont fire leaves scorched earth
Center Affaire to evolve The event will fit The Center’s new motto: the community’s gathering place.
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Above, palm trees are left charred and the ground barren following the Egmont fire last week. Below, a massive plume of smoke towers over the island preserve last Tuesday afternoon.
BY PAT COPELAND SUN STAFF WRITER | pcopeland@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA – As Mark Twain once said, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” So it is with reports of the demise of The Affaire, The Center’s annual fundraiser gala held in the spring. “Last year’s Affaire didn’t go as well as planned.” Executive Director Kristen Lessig said. “It made $60,000 and our goal was $100,000. An event like that takes a very dedicated effort and one person driving it.” Lessig said she met with Trudy Moon, who headed The Affaire committee for is most successful years, and Pierrette Kelly, the Center’s former executive director, who was at the helm for the majority of The Affaire events. “We agreed that the community wants a different event, and The Affaire had run its course. We heard from the community, and people don’t want The Center to be an executive club.” So what’s ahead? “The community has changed, and so has the mission of The Center,” Lessig explained. “This is the community’s gathering place with a more casual atmosphere. “We are still brainstorming about what kind of event and what to call it. It’s an evolution to fit a new center, and we want to make it fun and exciting, a party atmosphere.”
Officials are still determining the damage done to wildlife from the Egmont Key fire. BY CINDY LANE SUN STAFF WRITER | clane@amisun.com
EGMONT KEY – Egmont Key has reopened to the public after a fire sparked by lightning last Tuesday burned until Friday. Visitors are asked to stay on marked trails and roadways and avoid the burned areas of the key, a state park and national wildlife refuge north of Anna Maria Island at the mouth of Tampa Bay. The fire burned 80 acres, about a third of the key’s acreage, and was slowed down significantly by a backburn on Wednesday, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer Stan Garner said. A tactic to suppress wildfire, the backburn removed vegetation between the fire and a narrow line that was cleared of vegetation with shovels, Florida Forest Service spokesman John Saddler said. Seabreezes fanned the fire, which was doused with buckets of saltwater dropped MIKE FIELD | SUN
see center, page 35
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a Journey
brings closure to one Island local. 4
Anna Maria Island, Florida
see egmont, page 35
Day dock future on Thursday’s agenda in Bradenton Beach. 3
Pet friendly hotels listed in The Sun’s Pet Evacuation Guide. 15-16
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