FOCUS PC 04-09 Sept 2005 by Floyd Publications

LOCAL • REAL ESTATE • BUSINESS • SPORTS • DINING • ENTERTAINMENT

FOCUS

VOLUME 4 NUMBER 9 • SEPTEMBER 15 - OCTOBER 15 • 2005

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WIN ONE FOR THE GiBBER SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH DOUG GIBBS FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 1

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contents LOCAL 7-30

Read the miraculous story of Jackson Douglas, who survived a freak accident (pg 16). Thanks to the immediate assistance of the ﬁre department, his life was saved. Also, get a heads up about exciting events coming to our area, such as the Annual Fall Fun Festival and Classic Car Show at Valrico State Bank (pg 22) and the upcoming Taste of Plant City (28). Multiple people earned special awards, such as Jason Taylor (30), Michelle Tucker (27) and Colleen Bennett (14) who deserve to be recognized.

FEATURE 32-45

As promised, we have the continuation from last month’s issue featuring the surrounding communities of Plant City. This month, Bealsville, Knights Station, Turkey Creek, Midway, and Pinecrest get their ﬁfteen minutes of fame. Learn about their history, unique characteristics, and what is left of them today.

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW 48-50

Known for his comical, jovial personality and his active involvement in the community, we sit down with Doug Gibbs for a chat. Doug, more commonly known as “Gibber,” shares with us his hobbies, interests and other facets of himself that make it obvious why he is so loved.

DID YOU KNOW? 56

Look at pictures from the grand opening of McCrory’s, a once regularly visited store that is now just a memory. Part of that store is now the Chamber of Commerce and another will be part of the new Plant City Photo Archives building.

HOME GUIDE SECTION 59-81

This is a section dedicated to buyers, sellers, and owners.

SPORTS 91-92

The 2005 Fall Youth Baseball League of Plant City got oﬀ to a great start as they all came together on a Saturday for Opening Day. The champs are all ready to play for another season and gain experience playing the sport loved by so many.

DINING & ENTERTAINMENT 103-116 Have you ever eaten at Apple Tree? If not, our writer will give you a synopsis of the experience she received while eating there. Apple tree is a small, local restaurant loved by many around town. Entertainment wise, you missed out if you missed Summer Rhapsody. Those who attended enjoyed both dinner and the entertainment of a bag pipe player. This third annual event was hosted by the First Baptist Church of Plant City.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION

PUBLISHER Mike Floyd mike@ﬂoydpublications.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Linda Floyd linda@ﬂoydpublications.com

MANAGING EDITOR Sophia Dedon sdedon@ﬂoydpublications.com

OFFICE MANAGER DeDe Floyd dede@ﬂoydpublications.com

CREDIT MANAGER Bob Hughens bob@ﬂoydpublications.com

SALES Tania Summers tsummers@ﬂoydpublications.com

Suzanne Gross sgross@ﬂoydpublications.com

Darsey Tyler dtyler@ﬂoydpublications.com

Lisa Grimes ART DIRECTOR Phil Ransdell philrand@ﬂoydpublications.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN Stefanie Burlingame sburlingame@ﬂoydpublications.com

DISTRIBUTION Tony DeVane PHOTOGRAPHER Billy Friend STAFF WRITERS Sherri Robinson, Brian West, Amy Ellis, Brenda Paul, Kristen Toney, Lynne Warren, Ken Lawrence, Laverne Stevens, Kathy Smith, Connie DuBois, Sherry Baldwin, Devin Dygert, Dawn Marie Simpson CONTRIBUTORS Sherry Nueesch, Gil Gott, Jim Brown, Shelton Keely, Shelton Keely, Michael Cameron, Al Cohen

FOCUS Magazine is published monthly and is available through local Plant City businesses, restaurants, and many local venues.

ON THE COVER:

Doug Gibbs- A man of many hats.

Letters, Questions and Comments can be sent to us at SDEDON@floydpublications.com. Advertisers warrant and represent the descriptions of their products advertised are true in all respects. Focus Magazine assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. All letters and their contents sent to Focus Magazine become the sole property of Floyd Publications, Inc and may be reproduced thereof. All views expressed in all articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Floyd Publications, Inc. Use or duplication of material used in this publication is prohibited without approved written consent from Floyd Publications, Inc.FOCUS Magazine is published monthly and is available through local Plant City businesses, restaurants, and many local venues. It is also distributed to 10,000 homes.

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ﬂoyd publications, inc. 702 West Mlk Jr. Blvd. Plant City, Florida 33563 Phone 813.707.8783 Fax 813.764.0990

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 4

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 5

letter

FROM THE

editor

“If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything. You’re a leaf that doesn’t know it’s part of a tree.” Michael Crichton in Timeline (Knopf)

y only niece got married this month. She’s just like my sister in that she doesn’t have a sentimental bone in her body. Neither one of them keeps mementos or is concerned about tradition in any way. That’s so strange to me; I still have my two grown-up sons’ baby gowns and little outfit the oldest one used to wear. I have a vacuum cleaner box full of their little papers from kindergarten, elementary school and Bible school. Their baby books (especially the oldest one’s) are gaped wide from all the stuff I kept. Of course, taken to extremes this could be a problem, but that box is up in a closet, out of the way, and it’s not hurting anything. Families’ traditions are very important, even if ceremonial ones are not to some people. I always loved history and tried to instill that love in my sons, but I don’t think I was very successful. Only time will tell, I guess. My father’s family used to have a big family reunion every year that I really enjoyed, but those have been discontinued because of logistics and the increasing age of the one who did the coordinating. That was pretty much the only time most of us got to see any of our extended family, unless there was a funeral, of course. I really miss those reunions, and I have no excuse for not planning them myself. One of them was in Zephyr Park in Zephyrhills. I always liked that park because we grew up knowing that it was on the little concrete bridge there where my father proposed to my mother. Of course, at that time it was wooden. We used to go eat at a truckstop on Hwy. 39 at the interstate and a couple times at Snellgroves. Many times we’d stop at the Farmer’s Market on Alexander and pick up some vegetables to take to granny’s for Sunday dinner. I can never walk barefooted on red clay crunchy from tractor tire tracks without immediately being transported in my mind back to Granny’s big white house. I’ve just completed the massive job of sorting my mother’s pictures and putting all of them in photo albums, chronologically. My mother-in-law died a couple years ago and my husband just brought back a few of her albums from West Virginia. So I decided to do the same with our pictures, merging those of hers with ours, but I wasn’t as successful with the chronological part. But while attempting it, I was awed by the old pictures she had of her family back in England. It took me longer than it probably should have, because I had to look at all of them and hope that when we’re no longer here, one of my son’s families’ will treasure them as she did, and I do. In our Business Profile this month we tell you about a company with a long-standing tradition of supplying quality transmission work for a fair price, Remco Transmissions, which has been open since 1975 in Plant City and has one of the best reputations in the business. In our Local section, we report on Valrico State Bank’s tradition of organizing the 8th Annual Fun Festival & Classic Car Show. We also spotlight the YMCA’s tradition of honoring a strong leader in our community, with this year’s choice being Randy Larson. We hope you enjoy these, and all the rest of the articles, and, as usual, thanks for your readership and support.

Linda Floyd

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 6

Talk of l a c lo the Town We are going to be formatting “The Talk of the Town” diﬀerently beginning next month. We would like a better idea of what is actually happening in the lives of our readers. In order to obtain this information from you at both your convenience and ours, we will be placing notepads and drop boxes around the community. Look for these “Talk of the Town” pads at local restaurants and retail stores and ﬁll one out to share your exciting news in next month’s “Talk of the Town”!

McGrath Poppell & Co., for earning the prestigious Certiﬁed Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) Designation presented by the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers. The CRB is recognized industry-wide as the measure of success for real estate brokers and managers. The August Beautiﬁcation winners, Paul and Kathleen Wood, for their beautiful garden at their home located at 812 West Mahoney Street. This garden will be one of the stops on this year’s Garden Tour held on October 29.

Congratulations to… Edwards, Platt, Raulerson & Company CPA’s and Consultants, a local business consulting firm, for recently announcing the successful completion of an independent peer review of the accounting and auditing practice. Look for the firm to open the doors at their new location in mid November. The new officers of the Plant City Junior Woman’s Club. The new officers are as follows: President, Jodi Smith; 1st Vice President, April Langston; 2nd Vice President, Sheri Dusse; 3rd Vice President Michelle Wegner; 4th Vice President, Kim Witt; Treasurer, Racquel Sturgis; Recording Secretary, Tracee Missildine; Corresponding Secretary, Susie Redd. Louis Ryan ‘MAC’ McGrath, Plant City Real Estate Broker of Walden lake Realty, Inc. and

Brian Dodd, who was just appointed as the Athletic Program Manager for the Recreation Division of the City of Plant City Recreation & Parks Department. Dodd is ﬁlling the position vacated by Rocky Ellingsworth, who recently resigned to pursue other opportunities. The Plant City Photo Archives for completion of their new oﬃce and exhibition gallery. Check out the event calendar to see when the new building will be open to the public. Plant City Photo Archives is also still on the search for a replacement for Gil Gott, who is retiring as Executive Director of the Photo Archives at the end of this year. He will become the Chairman of the Advisory Council.

Check out Part 2, the continuation of our Feature from the August issue! Pg. 32-45

BACK TO OUR

ROOTS Be sure to send in your comments, as we will be running a follow-up to “Back to our Roots” parts 1 and 2.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 7

l a loc AROUND TOWN

Jackson Elementary Ribbon Cutting ADDING COLOR TO LUNCH

Story by Sherri Robinson

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hat to do with the plain white wall in the Jackson Elementary lunch room was a concern that turned into a project. Painting a mural on it seemed to be the perfect solution, so they set oﬀ to do a little brainstorming about what they needed to do. They called a wonderful artist, Mar Harrer, to do the work. Before she began they had to ﬁgure out what was going to be the theme that best depicted what the school was all about, as well as adding a little bit of history. It was decided that the words “Achieving Excellence” best summed up their goal at Jackson and the red bricks, strawberries and the library added into the mural would be the history part.

All of the children had something good to say about the beautiful new addition to the school. Comments ranged from, ‘Can’t touch it” and “Awesome, it’s better than a plain wall” to “I wish it had a volcano on it.” A grant made all of this possible. If not for a grant that was awarded to the school, the mural and many other things may not have been possible. Grant writer, Sharon Everidge, and historian, Jackie Everidge, used their talents to get the monies the school needed.

The mural is only part of what the funds go toward. Monies are used for the following programs; Visual Arts, musical concerts and Dance Education. Special thanks to those who also contributed to the mural: Jackson PTA 2003-2005, Plant City Arts Council 2003-2005, Phillip Williams & Sons and Sunshine Wholesale Nursery.

Harrer worked very hard to capture the spirit of what the school was about. She completed the masterpiece in 175 hours. To celebrate, a ribbon cutting ceremony took place at 9 a.m. on a Friday in August in the lunch room where the mural could be viewed. Everyone was thrilled to now have something that not only looked beautiful, but would be there for years to come. Some of those who attended Jackson Elementary are now working for the school and also have children who have or are attending. What a great legacy to be part of. Supporters, contributors, friends and some of the students of Jackson Elementary.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 8

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l a c lo AROUND TOWN

The Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce has a Growth & Planning Division that is chaired by Jennifer Closshey. There are three sub-committees in the Division: Residential, which is chaired by Ed Vernor; Commercial/NonResidential, which is chaired by Phil Waldron and Transportation, which is headed up by Bill Ulbricht. The Growth & Planning Division has been working closely with the City of Plant City to develop recommendations for the future growth of our great city. As our city grows, we need to be prepared to meet the needs this growth will bring.

Chamber of Commerce After Hours and one Chamber Committee meeting. The program is under the direction of the Chamber Board of Directors and is managed by Leadership Alumni and coordinated by the Chamber President and staﬀ. For information about joining this great program, call Jane at the Chamber oﬃce 813-754-3707.

 It’s SOFTBALL TIME again. The Plant City Recreation Department has a Monday night Co-Ed League. Participating teams include Kazbors, Beefs Misﬁts, Plant City Chamber of Commerce, Family & Friends, South Florida Baptist Hospital, Hair Bandits, Circles At Lands End Marina , PC Slammers, Beef O Brady’s and Bobber Bob’s Beach Club.

Among a few of the issues being developed by the Growth & Planning Division are the creation of Written Residential Guidelines, supporting an inter-local agreement with the County to foster communication and awareness inside boundaries of concern, review the current structure of commercial and industrial zoning classiﬁcations for consistency, applicability and currency, establish regulations for mixed development in downtown Plant City and designated gateways, solidify transportation prioritization and planning to be prepared for future growth by providing solid infrastructure.

The season opened on August 15th and will continue through October 17th. On October 24th a tournament will start with all teams qualifying for the tournament. The tournament will be divided into two divisions based on league standings at the end of the season, October 17th. The league officials will determine which division each team will qualify for. All games are played at the Randy Larson Four-Plex off Park Road. The games start at 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM with the exception of August 29th when Family & Friends face off against the Plant City Slammers at 9:00 PM. This is a great program and great family fun. Come on out to the ball game and cheer for your favorite team.



On September 23rd the LEADERSHIP PROGRAM of the Chamber will get underway with an orientation starting at 8:00 AM and concluding with dinner at 6:00 PM. The goal of the Leadership Program is to prepare current and future leaders of the Greater Plant City Community for decisions that must be made as our city grows and develops. For class members to better understand the elements that make up our community, leadership sessions take place at various locations throughout Greater Plant City. The informative monthly sessions include the history of Plant City, Education, Arts & Media, business, tourism, law enforcement, transportation planning, environment, healthcare and wellness and city government. In addition to attending the seven classes which are held each month, all participants must complete four hours of volunteer service to the Chamber of Commerce; complete a minimum four-hour law enforcement ride-along and attend one City Commission meeting, one Chamber Contact Breakfast, one Chamber Business

Make plans to attend the ninth annual DIAMONDS & DENIM GALA sponsored by the South Florida Baptist Hospital. This event will take place Thursday evening, September 22nd at the Arthur Boring Building on the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds. The festivities get started at 7:00 PM and last until 10:00 PM. This year’s event beneﬁts the hospital’s community outreach programs. There will be great food, dancing, and a silent auction. Dressy denim is the suggested attire. For further information, call Judy Martin at 813-7571277. Here is a date you will not want to miss….. Saturday, October 1st. That is the date of the THIRD ANNIVERSARY BIKE FEST in historic downtown Plant City. Show hours have been extended. The festivities will get underway at 5:00 PM and continue till 11:00 PM. Information regarding this great family event can be obtained by calling the Chamber oﬃce at 813-7543707. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!



Now that school has started you can keep up with important dates and events that are happening in the Hillsborough County School District. Log onto http:// apps.sdhc.k12.ﬂ.us. You can even sign up for a weekly newsletter.

 On Sunday, October 2nd the First United Methodist Church of Plant City is offering a free kick-off concert entitled “JAZZ, JESUS & JAVA”. Led by David Pruyn, the evening will feature 17 of the finest professional instrumentalists in Florida performing great big band jazz favorites. Also offered will be a variety of coffee and dessert selections. This event gets underway at 7 PM and will take place in the Wesley Centre, 303 North Evers Street, Plant City. The new Director of Music at the First United Methodist Church, Michele Pruyn has a fantastic season of concerts planned. On November 6th the Sounds of the Harry James Orchestra and the Andrews Sisters will perform. On December 4th there will be a tribute to Frank Sinatra starring Walt Andrus and the Paramount Swing Orchestra. January 8th will feature Jo Ann Castle of the Lawrence Welk Show. On February 5th you will not want to miss the John Davidson show. March 5th the Pied Pipers of Tommy Dorsey fame will perform and the wrapup concert on April 2nd will feature the fabulous Diamonds. For more info and an ’05-’06 season brochure, contact Michelle Pruyn at 813-754-3519 or via e-mail at musicmin@ tampabay.rr.com

Meet A Few Chamber Members: UPS STORE located next to Kash N’ Karry on Alexander Street. Owners Debbie and her husband Bradley Seibenthal offer UPS shipping, faxing, copying, notary service, mailbox services, binding, laminating, office and shipping supplies, as well as passport photos. FLEETWOOD HOME CENTER, located on Thonotosassa Road, Plant City. Jim Longwell heads up sales and financing for new modular and manufactured homes. In September Fleetwood will be breaking ground for their new facility which will be located across from Bill Heard Chevrolet. ENGLAND’S ANTIQUES, located at 114 North Collins Street, Plant City. David, Pat and their son Michael have just moved to Plant City from England. This 2500 square foot shop is full of quality antiques bought and shipped directly from England. Stop in and look over the wonderful antiques in this unique shop.

Story By Bruce Rodwell

Dates To Put On Your Calendar: Sept. 17 – Strawberry Classic Car Show, downtown Plant City 4-9 PM Sept. 17 – Unity In The Community Blue Grass Blast, 1914 High School, Starts at 7:00 PM. Sept. 22 – Diamonds & Denim, Arthur Boring Building, 7:00 PM. Sept. 22 – Learning Heart 4-H Fundraiser, Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Call Debra Schreﬄer at 813737-4027 for information. Sept. 24 – Somebody Cares “Care Fest” Call Norm Blanton at 752-4671. Sept. 26-30 – Ninth annual Commuter Choices Week. For information call Bay Area Commuter Services 813-282-8200. Oct. 1 – Third Annual Bike Fest, downtown Plant City, 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Oct. 6 - Grand Opening of the new location for Plant City Photo Archives, 119 North Collins Street, Plant City. Starts at 4:00 PM. Oct. 8 – South Florida Baptist Hospital Children’s Health Fair, Arthur Boring Building Strawberry Festival Grounds. 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. October 8-10 – International Softball Federation World Cup Slo-Pitch. Plant City Stadium. Call ISF at 864-0100. October 14 – Plant City Lion’s Club Golf Tournament at Walden Lake Golf & Country Club. Call Michael Cameron at 759-1491 for details. October 14 – 16 – Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival, Lakeland. For information call 863-683-1540. October 15 – Taste of Plant City. This year’s event will be held at Plant City Stadium and promises to be big and better than ever! Call Casey Hardee at 478-1454 for additional information. October 22 – Florida Opry – 1914 High School. Starts at 7 PM. Call Merle Henry 813-752-4094 for information.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 10

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l a c lo ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Betsy Cook CREATING PERSONALIZED MURALS

Story by Sherri Robinson

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rtist Betsy Cook is familiar with the challenges life can bring. She raised three children practically alone, making sacriﬁces to be around as much as possible for them. Her job at the Walden Lake Country Club gave her the ﬂexibility she needed, while her painting and teaching skills helped to bring in the extra income she needed to make ends meet. Now that her children are grown, she is being presented with a welcome opportunity to make painting a more full time endeavor, thanks to her daughter, Christine. They have made a great team to create a career that is on its way up. Betsy appreciates Christine taking on the responsibility of the business end allowing her to concentrate on what she loves most, painting. She has been painting murals in residences in and around Plant City for quite some time. Contacts for work come from word of mouth referrals and return customers. Painting a mural for someone is not only very creative, but requires a lot of work even before she gets started. “Sometimes people know what they want and sometimes they don’t.” She feels it is important to take the time to look around someone’s home and spend time talking to the client to get an idea of what kind of

painting they will be happy with. Currently she is working on an amazing mural that has a Key West theme in Christine’s home. It is full of amazing bright colors that bring her white walls to life. The great thing about a mural is it can be personalized to include even a picture of the family pet or something unique and special. Betsy has been creating some wonderful Aromatherapy products and jewelry she hopes to put in local stores. She is looking to do a mural to display in one of our local public buildings and do business murals. Her website will soon be up at www. LilithStudios.com. For more information, or to book Betsy Cook, call 813-654-6261 or her cell at 813-600-8418. New Mural in progress at Christine’s home.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 13

l a c lo AROUND TOWN

Colleen Bennett RECIPIENT OF THE CRYSTAL SUMMIT AWARD Story and Photos by Sophia Dedon

olleen Bennett of Poppell Insurance was named a recipient of the 2005 Crystal Summit Award. Summit is a leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance and is located in Lakeland, FL. Ms. Bennett is one of 12 insurance Customer Service Representatives (CSR’s) from over 600 nominations in 9 states to receive the 2005 Crystal Summit Award from Summit. The Crystal Summit Award is given by the Summit as part of their SummitUP CSR appreciation program. This award is given to customer service

representatives who have exhibited outstanding work performance, extraordinary commitment to the insurance industry and contributes positively to the insurance community as a whole. The award includes a lovely engraved trophy and a $200.00 cash prize. Ms. Bennett chose to donate $100.00 to Welcome Baptist Church and $100.00 to the Angela Musette Russo Foundation c/o the Moffitt Cancer Center for breast cancer research. Ms. Bennett has been recognized for her professionalism and dedication with other awards, as well. Sedgwick presented her with a Certificate of Achievement for completing the Total Expectation Account Management Institute at Sedgwick University in 1996. She also received the 1990 ABI “President’s Award” (Now Acordia). Prior to moving to Florida she was named “Insurance Woman of the Year” and “Employee of the Year” in upstate NY and has numerous “Perfect Attendance” and “Employee of the Month” awards from her past employers. Ms. Bennett earned her Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) designation in 1995 and her Certified Professional Insurance Woman designation in 1994. She currently is working on other continuing education and designations. Mark Poppell, Vice President of Poppell Insurance, nominated Ms. Bennett for this award for her professionalism and dedication to the agency and their clients. She has worked in the insurance industry for over 30 years, the last 3 years being at Poppell Insurance. She is known for going the extra mile

on a daily basis and her customers praise her performance. Mark Poppell referred to her as the “bell cow” and inspirational leader in the agency. Her positive attitude is so strong that it has an impact on everyone in which she comes in contact. Colleen is always very thoughtful and considerate in remembering birthdays, special occasions and people who are ill, with greeting cards. She still keeps in contact with her ﬁrst employer and some of her clients from when she ﬁrst started in the business! As a breast cancer survivor she sends cards and special breast cancer pins with encouraging words to other breast cancer patients and survivors, some of whom she has never met. She always has uplifting words

of encouragement to other cancer survivors. Ms. Bennett is a member of the Tampa Association of Insurance Professionals and serves as their employment chairperson; she also is a member of the Business & Professional Women’s Association (BPW). She has served on the Executive Board for the Independent Insurance Agents of Greater Tampa (IIAGT) for several years, holding positions of Secretary and Treasurer, and has also chaired several committees. Ms. Bennett volunteers at The Spring of Tampa Bay and Friends In Need and is a member of Welcome Baptist Church in Lithia, FL.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 14

l a loc AROUND TOWN

A Brave Little Girl ASHTON BASS Story by Sherri Robinson Photos courtesy of Bass family

s a parent, it is inconceivable to think that your beautiful healthy child would suddenly be ﬁghting for life. For the Bass family this has been reality since April 20th of this year with their 3 year old , Ashton. She had been suﬀering from consistent headaches and other symptoms, so her parents, Russell and April, took her to get

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medical attention. They learned that their baby had a brain tumor, which is known as Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor, or AT/RT. Though the tumor has now been removed, she is going through a tough treatment regime, which includes chemotherapy and weekly trips to Shands Hospital in Gainesville for radiation treatments. The trips have been very difficult on the whole family because they have had to be separated. Russell and April take turns, one making the trip to Gainesville and the other staying home with their other two children, Brittany and Brooke. Russell is a Plant City police officer who has had to miss a lot of work. The generous people at the PCPD have done much to help out, such as donating 1,000 sick leave hours for him to use when he needs it. $3,000 has also been collected from the officers and civilians working there. The community has also been very supportive, raising $300 at the Car Show and $1500 from the Bike Fest. The businesses around Plant City have also gotten in on the spirit by putting donation jars on the counters. Ashton still has a lot to face, as she is finishing up some of her treatments.

Ashton’s father, Russell Bass, holding her, prior to the illness.

She will continue to get monthly MRI’s. The Bass family wants to extend their thanks to everyone who has helped, especially Chief Bill McDaniel. Coming up is the 2005 Sparky’s Golf Invitational Benefit on Friday, September 16th at the Walden Lake Country Club. If interested in donating to help Ashton and her family, please leave a donation in the jars that are placed around Plant City. To find out more about Ashton and her progress, log onto www.nationalchild renscancersociety.com, click on “find a child” and then Ashton’s name. Ashton at All Children’s Hospital in St. Pete during chemo treatments.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 15

l a c lo

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AROUND TOWN

He Can’t Sing, But He’ll Still Praise God! JACKSON DOUGLAS SURVIVES FREAK ACCIDENT Story & Photos by Dawn Marie Simpson

family in Plant City is learning firsthand how the community bonds together when there is a need. In a film that came out not long ago, Robert Redford played the character of a news anchor and in the movie he uttered the line, “If it bleeds, it leads.” This type of headline captures the attention in modern news today because horrific accidents sell papers. But often the heart of an interesting story begins below the headline. Such is the case of Jackson Douglas. Jackson and his fiancée’ Kim were in the midst of opening a fragrant evergreen nursery with aromatic plants on their homestead when tragedy hit this past June. Jackson had been working on the roof when he was struck by a 2.5-ton hydraulic lift. He incurred a fractured larynx, severed trachea (windpipe), multiple facial fractures and his neck was broken in five places. In a flash, his life changed as he knew it. He would have died on the spot had it not been for a seasoned Aero Med Paramedic who inserted an airway tube through his trachea. (This is also known as a tracheotomy) Jackson’s Periodontist had shared with him in his early years that he wasn’t permitted to be anesthetized. At the time of this

Jackson Douglas next to his mate, Kimberley Barlow.

interview, Jackson couldn’t recall the rationalization of that advice but it had been blazoned in his head. When he fell, the Paramedic had absolutely no choice but to put him under anesthesia immediately. It was paramount thinking – and it was that millisecond decision that saved Jackson’s life. Jackson is unable to speak. His jaded 6 foot frame still retains a tracheotomy which he hopes will soon be removed so the folds in his vocal chords can begin to heal, allowing him the ability to one day speak again. One of the best things about living in Plant City (Jackson barely whispered to me) was the way the community rallied to his aid and continues to seek ways to support him. Jackson is without medical insurance and is unable to work. The medical bills are phenomenal and the ﬁnancial burden compounds the emotional impact on him. While an account hasn’t been set-up for this family at a local bank, they have faith that God will

provide for their every need. Jackson and Kim would like to extend their appreciation to everyone, especially the angel they believe that was sent to perform the tracheotomy. The physicians conclude the Aero Med Paramedic that performed this difficult maneuver - without a shadow of a doubt, saved his life. Jackson and Kim hope to one day meet him in person to share their deep gratitude. A warm thanks goes out to Hillsborough’s finest from Engine 26 and Rescue 23. These teams were assisted by the men and women of Aero Med II, and then turned over to the Tampa General ICU Trauma Center. There, a team of experienced surgeons, led by Dr. Thomas V. McCaffrey and Dr. Donald Smith, pulled Jackson through the intricate procedures. But this story doesn’t conclude with the work performed by the medical personnel. Once out of the

hospital, Jackson was inundated with encouragement and support from the community. There is the dubious retired RN Patricia Grimmer who took Kim to the hospital while Jackson was airlifted by helicopter to the trauma center and has oﬀered transportation in a moments notice. There is the Stine family who tries to maintain Jackson’s plants, which is his current livelihood. The Cason’s, who have helped by mowing Jackson’s 3.5 acres of land, and Pandy Zogofos, who has spent countless hours at the hospital with Jackson and Kim. While Jackson might never fully recover, this is a story that will continue long after the pain of the accident heals. That’s because this is a story of unselﬁsh compassion, friendship, and a community banding together to help out one of its own. Godspeed your recovery, Jackson!

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 16

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A Super Hero Among Us DEBRA HILL

Story & Photos by Dawn Marie Simpson

ou’ll see Debra Hill cruising around Plant City in her Nissan. She is ubiquitous and can turn up anywhere. Like a superhero she battles for truth, justice and a tiny portion of the American way. She does this by monitoring “atrisk” juveniles. Unlike a superhero with supernatural abilities, Debra works long hours and spends a lot of drive time. She has to rely on her keen instincts to keep one step ahead of the game. While some troubled teens might view her with disdain, she reminds them that she’s there to keep them on the right side of the law.

Debra’s official job title is that of Case Manager working for A.C.T.S. (Agency for Community Treatment Services) in their Intensive Conditional Release Program. Her “kids,” as she refers to them, range in age from 13-19 years. These are juveniles who have been convicted of crimes and have been committed to residential programs. Some of these kids have been away from home for up to 3 years and are in need of being mainstreamed into the community. When not patrolling the area, Debra spearheads and implements Supervision Plans, which provide structure to each juvenile. Often times she finds herself counseling, scrounging for employment opportunities, or arranging for the kids to get back into a school setting. Like all superheroes, Debra cares and her compassion shines through. While Debra hasn’t yet received a superhero costume, she has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and was a police officer for 14 years before accepting this challenging role. You see, like any well-known superhero, Debra entered law enforcement because she was optimistic in making a difference in her community. Indeed Debra was successful in her past efforts, but she felt driven to accomplish more - beginning with the youth in her community. And ultimately, isn’t that what superhero work is all about?

Those that she serves have come to affectionately know her as “Miss Deb.” While the title “Miss Deb” is less flashy than a superhero name such as: “Wonder Woman,” it nevertheless has the air of respect that she has earned in her fight to serve the community.

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Leader of the Pack RANDY LARSON HONORED BY Y.M.C.A.

Story & Photos by Dawn Marie Simpson

very city cries out for leadership, but how leadership is deﬁned within a community is always up for debate. Often citizens disagree greatly on hot issues within a community, but they generally tend to have similar expectations when it comes to leadership. The ﬁrst area of common interest is that of the general public’s stand on “vision.” By and large, leaders of a community tend to have their own vision before taking on the undaunting task for their community. The winwin solution for a great leader is to combine what the public at large expects and integrate their own perception and skills on vision. With this insight they are able to provide the framework for the positive and fruitful direction that the community expects.

Randy believes the ﬁrst generation plants the trees and the second generation beneﬁts from the shade.

Stuart, Florida. His boyhood was spent in a family that valued and implored hard work and discipline, both of which formed the foundation for hegemony in his life

Closely associated with the vision that a leader must have for his community - is the blueprint he will comprise to bring about economic stimulation, growth, and a better quality of life for its citizens.

Randy was roasted at Ramada Inn’s Red Rose Ballroom on August 25th. Family, friends, and citizens from near and far came to honor Randy Larson as the Strong Leader of 2005, hosted by the Y.M.C.A. While everyone dined on nectarous delights such as lightly sautéed fresh summer veggie medley, Beef Wellington and Chicken Marcela that Jodi Smith, the ViceChair woman orchestrated; everyone was enlightened, entertained and moved by speakers who could only tell phenomenal stories and highlights about Mr. Larson.

Embracing these ideals is Randy Larson, a distinguished member and leader of the Plant City community. Though he was born in Jamestown, New York, Randy Larson grew up in

If you’re new to Plant City and would like to know more about our new “Strong Leader of 2005,” take note of these exciting highlights: Randy Larson went on to receive a Bachelor

of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida and began a career in the construction industry that has spanned twentyfive years. In 1987, Larson joined Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, a leading national engineering and consulting firm, where he is an Executive Vice President and National Director for its Construction Service. Randy currently serves on the Board of Directors for Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, Inc. As Director, he was able to hone his leadership skills, overseeing construction activities for the firm nationwide. Those leadership skills that were developed throughout his career have come to serve him well in his continual efforts to provide a longterm vision for our community. As an active member of the community, Randy served three terms as a City Commissioner for Plant City. He also served as Mayor of Plant City for three consecutive one-year terms from 1996

to 1999, as well as a term as Chair of the Plant City Chamber of Commerce. Today, Randy Larson continues to work with city officials and other community leaders to shape the policies that will continue to guide the growth of the city for the future. His continual community involvement includes membership in Plant City’s Gourmet Society, an organization that has benefited local charities over the past thirteen years. He is also actively involved and personally committed to the rebuilding efforts that are taking place in Plant City’s historic neighborhoods. And as if that isn’t enough, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) and on the Board of Lakeland Christian School. Randy Larson’s family is proud of him and so is the Plant City community. Kudos to Mr. Randy Larson!

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 18

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 19

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War on Terrorism Continues ANOTHER PLANT CITY NATIONAL GUARD UNIT IS DEPLOYED

Story and Photos by Ken Lawrence

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heir minds were likely oﬀ in Mississippi or Louisiana in the wake of hurricane Katrina, but duty has called from elsewhere for more than 200 members of the 116th Field Artillery-Florida National Guard-Plant City. A call-up by the Pentagon earlier this year reached fruition recently when the unit was sent to Fort Dix in New Jersey for additional training before going overseas. They are the second group being dispatched, the ﬁrst having completed its training in Indiana and followed by deployment to Kuwait.

This latest group will be part of a Military Police Company that is expected to include among its duties guard duty at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, site of alleged mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. FOCUS Magazine knows of at least one of the Plant City National Guard members who has lengthy prison guard experience, having worked for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at the Falkenburg Road detention facility. On the day of departure, there was hardly a dry eye at the armory as loved ones said farewell for at least the next fifteen months. The entire city commission, led by Mayor John Dicks, was in attendance,

along with state and federal politicians and senior military oﬃcers. State Representative Rich Glorioso, a veteran of 27 years in the air force, told the assemblage that “I’d love to be going with you”. Glorioso promised to be available for any guardsman’s family if there is ever a problem for them, including monetary. “We have $5 million in a fund if any family has a hardship and please note that we’re the most military friendly state in the country”.

If the timing works out, it’s likely that many of the Plant City, Florida National Guard will be eating their Christmas turkey somewhere in the desert of Iraq or Kuwait.

Brigadier General Steven Villacorta, head of the Florida National Guard, was on hand to tell the soldiers that they are some of the best national guardsmen in Florida and were “absolutely rock solid in carrying out their duties during four hurricanes last year.” The general went on to tell the large audience that ﬁlled the armory drill hall that the Plant City guardsmen are a very well trained and motivated group. A local Plant City resident, Sgt. Phillip Orrico waits for the ceremony to begin.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 20

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Horsing Around MICHELLE TUCKER WINS CHAMPIONSHIP Story & Photos by Dawn Marie Simpson

ichelle Tucker has the ability to harness her nerves and keep her wits about her when it comes to competing in World Class Shows. Shows such as the APHA Paint World Championship or the Pinto World Championship, where there were 4,700 entries and in which she won “Top Five.”

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It’s quite apparent Michelle is an expert trainer and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the training of horses. Michelle is a Professional Horse Trainer residing in our own backyard of “Plant City.” She enjoys her homestead which she shares with twelve outstanding horses, just chomping at the bit for some direction from Michelle. When asked to be interviewed and shed some light of her winning trade secrets in the championship arena, Michelle was more then willing to jump in the saddle and whinny up. Michelle feels the most important secret to keep under your cowgirl hat is: ‘Knowledge is power”. People who take this information to heart will be the most conﬁdent and successful in the show ring. When you know your horse well, you know what he’s going to do, right or wrong, almost before he does.

horses in the same way. And that takes lots of time in the saddle. When you do it, though, you can ride oﬀensively, rather than defensively, which puts you in control. When you’re in control, you feel conﬁdent. Another key point is to realize that there is no such thing as a “loser.” You may think of showing in terms of winning and losing, but Michelle warns against this thinking. Think of it in terms of

winning and learning. Any time you win, it’s a result of what you’ve learned. If you don’t win, you’re still learning how to make it happen next time around. Michelle currently has a waiting list for her training expertise, but we’ve all heard that “Good things come to those who wait,” so if you’re interested in having your horse trained by a seasoned trainer, give her a call at (813) 478-6758. Armed with apples, peppermint treats and lots of praise, Michelle’s technique has always focused the positive, not negative, reinforcement of the desired action.

That’s one tip that has earned Michelle the prestigious awards of “World Champion” in the two-year old Western Pleasure, World Champion Yearling Lunge Line and Senior Hunter Under Saddle. Her goal, aside from metamorphosing horses with bad habits and a lack of horse sense, is to know the horse inside and out before she shows. Michelle stresses to the horse owners that they know their

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�� FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 22

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Semper Fi Buddies A NEWER TRADITION FOR THOSE ALWAYS FAITHFUL

Story and Photos by Kristen Toney

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ne year ago, the Marine Corps League inducted 12-year-old Evan Gales into their Semper Fi Buddies program, encouraging him to grow into a faithful young man. As the year has passed, Evan has been in constant contact with his Buddy, and has met the qualifications of the program. With flying colors, Evan was promoted as the Kid’s Church at Plant City Church of God looked on in admiration. Not only did Evan advance, but another young man, Jake Bettis, was initiated into the program for the first time!

regular basis, checking to see if there’s anything else we can do to help.” The Marine Corps League is a national organization boasting nearly 56,000 members. Including male and female oﬃcers, it is made up of those who were honorably discharged, are currently on active duty, are reserve with more than 90 days served, or are retired. The League is a nonproﬁt organization, encouraging its members to participate in activities such as assisting hospitalized

veterans, awarding college scholarships and sponsoring national youth ﬁtness programs. Greg Davis is the Children’s Pastor at Plant City Church of God. Having worked with the League for Evan’s beneﬁt, Davis commented, “As this older generation of Marines look into their eyes and mentor these young boys, they are saying, ‘I will carry you now!’ These boys look back with their hearts and say, ‘I will carry you later.’”

The boys grinned and waved to friends in the audience as they proudly displayed their new shirts and hats, while allowing their mothers to pin on their honorary badges. The ceremony was performed by three members of the Marine Corps League: Carl Dekle, Bill Hunter and John Dean. “We telephone and visit with our Buddies at least once a month,” said Dekle, who served as a Sergeant in the Marines from 1940-1945, and joined the League in 1999 as Past Commandant. “We place a big emphasis on making sure he stays faithful to his church, his family and his friends. We also make sure he is doing his best in school and we communicate with the parents on a Evan Gales (left) and Jake Bettis salute their families on their special day!

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 23

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Once upon a time there was a young high school freshman named Ashley Davis who had a crush on a senior at Plant City High School named Rob Galloway. Before the year was over, the two were an oﬃcial couple. Rob and Ashley were “high school sweet hearts” seeing as they were together even after Ashley graduated. More than two years out of high school the time came for Ashley to walk down the aisle with the love of her life.

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Very few couples receive the blessed opportunity bestowed upon these special sweethearts. One day, they saw an ad in the Focus Magazine for a wedding giveaway sponsored by the Ramada Inn Plantation House and applied. With the help of many participants and much gratitude to the Ramada Inn Plantation House, on August 6, 2005, Ashley Davis and Rob Galloway received their… The wedding bands were provided by Cresent Jewelers and the bouquets were provided by Creative Flowers by Glenn (in addition to the corsages and boutonnieres as well).

Dream Wedding Bride, Ashley Davis, with her bridesmaids. Brides gave a 15% discount on the wedding gown and De Ja’Vu Boutique gave a 10% discount on the bridesmaids dresses.

Top left: The groom’s cake was provided by Sweetie Pies Bakery. Bottom left: The Red Rose Dining Room provided this wonderful treat for all the chocolate lovers.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 24

Groom, Rob Galloway, with his groomsmen. After Hours gave a 50% discount on all tuxedos.

The table of honor was decorated by the staﬀ at the Ramada Inn Plantation House as well as all the other tables in the Red Rose Ballroom.

The beautiful wedding cake was provided by Sweetie Pies bakery.

Rob Galloway is given permission to “kiss the bride.”

The Artistry provided full makeovers for the bride, groom, and bridesmaids.

Special thanks to everyone who helped make their day memorable: The Ramada Inn Plantation House, Focus The Ice Sculpture was provided by Ice Magic of Tampa. Magazine, The Artistry, Martin’s Place, Creative Flowers by Glenn, A Premier Entertainment, Crescent Jewelers, Sweetie Pies Bakery, Brown Photography, Patriot Limousine, Excel Printing Center, Ice Magic of Tampa, Brides by Demetrios, Connie Duglin, De Ja Vu, After Hours Tuxedos, Al Berry-Video Productions, and Dave Wright at TheWrightVoice.com.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 25

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 26

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Giving Back to the Community THE 8TH ANNUAL FALL FUN FESTIVAL & CLASSIC CAR SHOW Story by Kathy Smith Photos by Judith A. Hamblin

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n afternoon of FREE fun for area residents, while beneﬁting various local non-proﬁt organizations, is the goal behind Valrico State Bank’s Annual Fall Fun Festival and Classic Car Show to be held on Saturday, Oct. 15th from 1 – 5 PM at 1815 East S.R. 60, Valrico Judy’s Dance Academy will be there. So will the “Frogman” and his racing frogs. “Reptile Discovery” will be escorting, among other reptiles, a 16-foot python and a 40 year old tortoise. Woody & Friends, a ventriloquist act, will be on hand. Over by the Classic Car Show, 50’s & 60’s music will be blasted out by Klassix Tunes with DJ “Starvin Darvin”.

This all mixed in with The Caribbean Canines trick dog and bird show, pony rides and a petting zoo. Face painters and balloon twisting clowns, moon walks and a giant slide, along with Hillsborough County Sheriﬀ’s Dept.’s cruisers, motorcycles, and mounted posse. The Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Station 11, ﬁre engine and ambulance, plus their ‘Fire Safety House’ will also be there. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will be dishing up hot dogs, pizza slices and soft drinks…all for only 50 cents each! Horizon Christian Church Youth Ministry will have home-made baked goods and ice cream for dessert. With Valrico State Bank and some of their sponsors supplying most of the food, drinks and essentials, the cost for refreshments has been kept to a minimum, allowing everyone the opportunity to enjoy the day to the fullest. Some generous sponsors include Hungry Howie’s in Valrico, Reddy’s Ice Company,

Culligan Bottled Water, Coca Cola, Flowers Discount Bakery and others. “It’s our way of giving back to the community that has supported us over the last sixteen years.” was the collective sentiment of the core planning committee. It is a sentiment shared by Valrico State Bank’s entire staff, who volunteers their time to make the Fall Festival a success each year. The grunt work, the planning, the putting up and taking down of tents and structures, the coordination efforts and clean up, is all a cumulative effort by the officers and staff of Valrico State Bank. Festival Coordinator and Head Cheerleader, Judy Hamblin, starts her planning notebook in March. In this 8th year of the Annual Fall Festival, she is capitalizing on experience and learning new methods to keep the process running smoothly. Glenn Chasteen has watched the Classic Car Show grow each year. This year he is expecting 70 to 80 participants who will be given an opportunity to win one of 4 generators. Those interested in participating in the car show should plan to arrive between 11:30 to 12:30 on the day of the festival at the Valrico State Bank located at 1815 East State Road 60 in Valrico. Among those benefiting from this charity event is the Child Protection Education of America, this year’s recipient of

a 50/50 Per Chance Drawing. Tickets for the 50/50 drawing are available from customer service at any Valrico State Bank branch or during the Festival. The sale of refreshments will beneﬁt the Boy Scouts of America Troop #89, the Girl Scouts of America Troops #110 & 142, and Horizon Christian Church Youth Ministry. Southeastern Guide Dogs and The Humane Society of Tampa Bay Mobile Adoption Unit will also be on site. The Festival will be held Saturday, October 15th, from 1 to 5 PM, although, according to one bank oﬃcer, “with so many activities, people are usually still walking around while we are tearing down.” For further information on the Festival, contact Judy Hamblin at (813) 689-1231, X-222. For information regarding the Car Show, contact Glenn Chasteen at (813)643-1911.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 27

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The Taste of Plant City

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taste dishes from some of your favorite restaurants, and some you haven’t experienced yet. The cost is $25 per person. No additional charges will be added, except for purchasing beer and wine. The entertainment for the evening will be the band, JT Curtis and the Silver Eagle Band from Nashville, Tennessee. Last year $15,000 for the Food Bank was raised, but It is hoped that they will exceed that this year and bring in $25,000. Another great thing about this year’s event is that they are teaming up with us here at FOCUS Magazine. Since the event is about helping the Food Bank, let’s talk a little bit about them. The United Food Bank is an organization of great importance to many of those who would go hungry right here in Plant City. It is diﬃcult for us to realize that while most of us are lucky enough to have a great job, a cozy home and plenty of food in our pantry

that there are those amongst us who don’t have enough and may even have been going hungry for long periods of time. Hunger is not just a problem for the poor, sick, elderly or those out of work. It is also a problem for those who are working and trying to make ends meet. Imagine being a parent and you have just gotten your paycheck and discover you just didn’t make enough, despite the fact that you’ve worked all you can and maybe even have been working two or three jobs. There isn’t enough to pay your bills, much less buy food and get gas. It was the same situation last time so you got extensions on your bills and bought food. What do you do now? Everything is due. This is a familiar scenario for many families and single individuals. It is deﬁnitely disturbing to think about. The food bank knows all too well how true it is and they want people to know they are a place where those in need

can come. They work tirelessly to help. Currently they have 60 partners in their agency and take clients by referral only from them. The referrals are to make sure they are helping people who actually need the help. Some of their great concerns are for those who have fallen between the cracks and have no where else to go, as well as for those who don’t know how to work the system. “They oﬀer a hand up, not a hand out,” says Linda Lawson. In the last 6 years they have assisted approximately 34,000 individuals. They are thankful for their wonderful supporters. If it weren’t for them, they wouldn’t be able to continue. The volunteers are the other people they wouldn’t be able to do without. They always need help, so if you’re interested, you can contact them at 813-764-0625. If you are in need of help, please feel free to contact them.

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Even the kids love to sit down to some good cookin’.

Clowns at last year’s Taste of Plant City gooﬁng oﬀ.

Story by Sherri Robinson

lant City is a community which is full of heart and compassion. When there is a need, we are there. Feeding the hungry in Plant City is deﬁnitely a worthy cause. The United Food Bank of Plant City is an organization that does just that. A beneﬁt for them is going to be held at The 7th Annual Taste of Plant City on October 15th at the Plant City Stadium in the Plaza area from 6p.m. - 11p.m. The area will be covered, so whether rain or shine the show will still go on. There will be approximately 20-25 vendors available, sharing their cuisine. Most are from Plant City, but a few from surrounding areas such as Brandon and Lakeland have been invited to come. This will be a fabulous opportunity for the public to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and The United Food Bank of Plant City holds an annual Taste of Plant City to raise money to feed the hungry.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 28

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Jason Taylor at Jr. Olympics PLANT CITIAN COMPETES IN GAINESVILLE

Story by Sherri Robinson

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he air is electric with a ﬁne line of nervousness and excitement. This event is like no other for these competitors. It’s the Jr. Olympics and the young people who are competing are the best in their sport. Amongst them is Jason Taylor, a 14 yr. old Plant City resident. He has been swimming since he and his family moved here from Atlanta when he was 7. The heat was one contributing factor to his decision to get involved in swimming. He soon realized how much he loved it. After that he was in it for the duration. He has been training under Coach Peter Banks, who is turning out a lot of tough competitors and winners. Jason has a full schedule, getting up before most of us would even consider rolling out of bed. He arrives at the Brandon Sports and Aquatics Center at 5 a.m., swimming until 6:30, when he heads oﬀ for a full day of school at Newsome High School. He then returns to the Center after school, swimming for two more hours Monday - Friday.

he came in 2nd and 3rd for the 100 Meter Backstroke. Congratulations, Jason! The tough thing about the sport of swimming is that there is never a break. Training is yearround. Jason takes it all in stride and just does what he needs to do. Though he competes on a team, it is also an individual competition against himself, always trying to cut his own time. Jason feels the sport has done a lot for him “giving me lots of conﬁdence and keeping me busy.” He hopes to earn a scholarship for college, but until then, he is just going to keep working hard. Jason Taylor sporting Jr. Olympics T-shirt by the pool

He even sacriﬁces part of his weekend to trek back over and work with Coach Peter on Saturday for a couple more hours. His dedication has paid oﬀ, especially this year at the Jr. Olympics. He placed 1st in the Mile with a time of 16.47, which placed him 6th in the nation. For the 800 Meter Freestyle, Jason Taylor swimming the 1500-meter Freestyle.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 30

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 31

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elcome back to the second month and the continuation of our series featuring the rural communities surrounding Plant City. Again this month we have had a great time talking to residents and non-residents alike to ﬁnd out what they know about our area. As we mentioned last month, the information we have gathered comes from talking with people who live in and around these communities, or visit them often: maybe they have lived there a long time, maybe generations of their family lived there before them, or maybe they have only been in the area a short time. Whatever the case, it is interesting to hear what they have to say, and we want to share it with you.

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When we came up with the idea to run this series, we were sure it would generate a lot of reader response – and boy were we right. We have had probably the largest response to any single story, interview, or article as a result of the communities featured last month. As with anything you do, you can not please everyone. Two people seeing exactly the same thing will view it differently. It is no different with history and memories. The folks we interviewed may remember an event or an era in one way, and others who lived through the same experiences and times may remember it differently – that is simply human nature. Because of this, and in an effort to share all of the information we can on the communities we are featuring, we encourage you to provide us with feedback. Give us your thoughts on the articles, and let us know if you remember something differently or have a different viewpoint. Our plan is to share your feedback with our readers, so we will be publishing your responses next month. Again, we hope you enjoy reading about these communities as much as we have enjoyed gathering and presenting the information to you. INTRODUCTION

LYNNE WARREN

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BACK TO OUR

ROOTS

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For most of these communities there are no formal history books, no record-keepers. To ﬁnd out how places like Antioch, Midway, Cork, and the like came to be, and how they have evolved to be what they are today, you must gather the stories from those who lived them. These stories and old memories are what we bring you in this series, with respect for and gratitude to those who shared them with us.

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Focusing on the Founding Communities of Plant City

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 32

 BEALSVILLE  The Foundation Still Stands

STORY & PHOTOS

KRISTEN TONEY

t the close of the Civil War, freed slaves in the South were overwhelmed with possibilities.This area was no exception. One dozen former slaves left plantations in Springhead, Hopewell, Knights and other surrounding communities, dreaming of merging their talents together in order to shape a brand new place they could call their own. We now know that place as Bealsville.

Seven miles south of Plant City, around the present intersection of Horton Road and State Road 60, Bealsville was originally named Howell’s Creek on December 24, 1865.The site was selected by three men and one woman: Bryant Horton, Peter Dexter, Roger Smith and Mary Reddick. After deciding on the location, eleven men and one woman led their families towards a future they believed would be bright and centered around religion, education and farming. The ﬁrst church founded was the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. Begun with the congregation sitting on logs in a cleared out area,

it eventually moved into a palmetto-covered lean-to until around 1900, when a full wooden structure was built. In the late 1920’s the church was moved to its present-day location on Horton Road. In the 1930’s, Bealsville residents raised $1,000 dollars and donated over ten acres of land for a new school.The county school board assisted in the construction of the wooden three-room school, adding additional classrooms later on. Closing as a school in 1980, it re-opened in 1981 as the non-proﬁt organization, Bealsville Inc. Today, this landmark building still stands and continues to serve residents as a community center. The children of those original pioneers were taught to give their all to their community. Mary Reddick gave to two sons by two different fathers: Alfred’s father was a white man with the last name of Beal, and William’s father was a black man with the last name of Glover. The half brothers became incredibly inﬂuential men in the community. Alfred Beal was a very wise investor who bought the land from the

blacks when they were unable to carry the cost of maintaining it. He would hold their land for them until they were able to regain financial control, and then he would sell it back.Thus, in 1923, the community itself was named Bealsville in his honor. William Glover contributed land and money for the original log cabin school, which is why the present building still holds the name Glover School. Bryant Horton, another original pioneer, would be proud to know that his grandson Sam became a Hillsborough School administrator and president of the NAACP.The influence these original homesteaders had was lasting: Horton Road runs through the center of the area, reminding all who call it home of the sacrifices their ancestors made to create a better life for those who would follow. 89-year-old Ida White and 83-year-old Rena C. Turner are sisters, and their brother is 80-yearold G.S. Cunningham. Life-long friend Leola

CONTINUED ON

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Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, original to Bealsville, still stands today.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 33

BEALSVILLE continued

Ruby Williams is a folk artist native to Bealsville. Her fruit and art stand can be seen from Highway 60.

McDonald is 87, and even though life has taken them in various directions, they still come together with laughter, tears, and most of all, memories. All three ladies were teachers at one time, benefiting from scholarships and help from their families to make it through school.“I used to watch Ida walk down the road to the school to teach, while I was in the field picking strawberries,” said McDonald, who was first a hairdresser. “She wore these beautiful white shoes, and I used to say,‘I’m gonna be a teacher like her some day!’ Back then, you worked for everything you got.” “Some of the best times we had was when we had those barbecues,” Cunningham commented, who made his living for 38 years working in phosphate.“The biggest ones were always on May 20th, which is when we celebrated our freedom from slavery. And the best thing you could use to barbecue was bedsprings. We’d dig a big pit, put a fire in the bottom, put rails across that and then put the bedsprings in with the meat on ‘em all night long.”

The original section of Glover School, now functioning as Bealsville, Inc. and Community Center.

Turner remembered how inﬂuential religion was in the community.“Our parents taught us the Ten Commandments.That was God’s law! We didn’t even think of doing anything that went against God’s Law! And church, you had to be in church.That was all there was to it.” The present day is bringing expansion to Bealsville. New houses and full subdivisions are seen popping up around every corner, now outnumbering those structures original to the area. “It was a wonderful place to grow up, and it’s still a wonderful place,”White said, smiling at those seated around the table, and all agreed. “But back then, everybody knew everybody, and we were all there for each other.There was a lot of love, and a lot of togetherness. We were all just one big family.”

From left to right: Rena C. Turner, Ida White, G.S. Cunningham, Leola McDonald.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 34

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 35

 PINECREST  Centered Around Education S

T O R Y

H O T O S

B Y

R I S T E N

O N E Y

n the early 1930’s, a new dream was initialized 12 miles south of Plant City. A school was needed, one main school, to serve the areas of Welcome, Lithia, Keysville, Picnic, and Johnson A. Members of the community came together with one question on their minds: what should the new school be named? After taking suggestions from dozens of people, one name, given by a teacher at Welcome named Geneva Bateman, seemed to ﬁt the vision: Pinecrest.

“The school was Pinecrest!” exclaimed Fred Norman, who has lived in the area since his youth.“It was only after the school got going that the area around it became known as Pinecrest, as well.”The school at Pinecrest was dedicated in 1936 by Congressman J. Harden Peterson of Lakeland.Those who live in the community remember the dedication as an exciting event, attended by many and celebrated with huge pots of chicken and yellow rice! Housing Kindergarten through 12th Grade, Pinecrest began as a Strawberry School. “The women of the area would pick the strawberries in those days,” said Jeana Sistrunk, head of the Media Center at Pinecrest Elementary. “My mom would write her name and address on the bottom of the crates full of strawberries before they were sent up north, and that’s how she would get pen-pals!” In the early days of the school, before county bussing, the kids would either walk or ride their horses to the school. A beautiful back road in a less-developed area of Pinecrest. CONTINUED ON

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 36

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One of the community residents, a Mr. Harris, owned an old international truck, complete with sides of canvas and benches filling the bed. When he was not busy transporting seamen to and from the Port of Tampa, he would drive through the community and pick up the children, taking them to school. The first graduating class was in 1939, when William Elmer Harker was the principal. A few years later in 1944, the first football team was formed. Mr. Evers was the principal in the 1940’s, and known for his involvement with the kids, the boys especially. He coached baseball, football, transported boys to sporting events, and even played marbles with them! Some of the boys claimed that he was just trying to “get into their heads”, however, he was a principal of whom many children have fond memories. The Pinecrest area has been very industrial from the beginning. In the old days, there was a large sawmill in the neighborhood, complete with its own community buildings and commissary. In 1966, three men (Henderson Varnum, Raymond Conrad, Al Bates) started Central Maintenance and Welding, now one of the larges industrial maintenance companies in the state of Florida. It has literally been passed down through the family, and is currently owned by Scott and Conrad Varnum. Local political rallies were often held at Alderman’s Ford Park, referred to as “tree stump rallies”, because the candidates would actually stand on the tree stumps to give their speeches to those in attendance. 1902 was the first record of a political rally.The campaigns remembered the most by those in the community were those for county commissioners and sheriffs.These were the ones

which dealt with the conditions of the roads, which was a concern for the people of Pinecrest! The Pinecrest Sports Complex was started in early 1960’s by local men with no funding from the county. These men leased, cleared and built on the land all on their own. Only within the last year has the county taken over and re-furbished the entire facility. Currently, land is being cleared in many areas in Pinecrest, making way for new housing and other structures to come to the area. Pinecrest Elementary is still the center of the community, currently a Grade A K-5 school with over 700 kids enrolled. C. W. Davis is 66 years old, and has lived in Pinecrest all of his life.“I remember back when the whole community revolved around the school.The High School, the Junior High and the Elementary were all in the same place, and we really ﬁlled up for the football games and the whole community supported them together.There was a deeper sense of community then.” On all the new developments in the area, Davis isn’t too thrilled.“Every time they knock down more trees for a new subdivision, it just breaks my heart. I hate to see the trees knocked down, but that’s just progress, I guess.” Fred Norman and his wife Velma have been married for 63 years. Fred brought Velma to the Pinecrest area from Lakeland in October of 1942.“At ﬁrst, I really didn’t care for it too much,”Velma admitted.“But now, if someone built me a new house, paid for it completely and offered it to me if I would move away from here…I wouldn’t do it for anything.”

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A current view of Pinecrest Elementary

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 38

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 39

 MIDWAY Just how did it get that name? STORY AND

LYNNE WARREN. PHOTOS BY LYNNE WARREN OF GRACE WILLIAMS AND MIDWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

COURTESY

n the 1890’s, a community existed northeast of Plant City and was known as the Wilder Community - so named for the Wilder family, who owned a large amount of land in the area.The patriarch of the inﬂuential Wilder family at that time was said to have been involved in politics in the state capitol.

There are at least two versions of how the community eventually became known as Midway.The first is that Native Americans traveling between the two areas now known as Orlando and Tampa would stop and camp at what was approximately the mid-point in the trip – thus the name Midway. The second and more widely accepted version is that until 1899 most residents in and around the Wilder Community worshipped at either Shiloh Baptist in Plant City (currently First Baptist of Plant City) or the Baptist church in the community of Griffin, on the northeast side of what is now Lakeland.The long trip required to attend worship services was an ordeal, considering the modes of transportation – primarily horseback, horse drawn buggy or wagon, or on foot. Factor in the weather conditions, bugs, and resident ‘critters’ in this part of Florida, and getting to worship services was inconvenient at best, impossible at worst. Several Wilder Community residents saw a need for their own church, and at the first meeting of the group, moderator, Mr. S.Walden, announced “A baby is born, what shall we name it?”The community and the proposed site for the church was approximately mid-way between the two other churches residents had been attending, so it was suggested that it be named Midway Baptist.The name stuck, both for the church and the community. Originally the group held services in the elementary school adjacent to the property where the church would eventually be built. Mr. and Mrs. Calffrey Wilder donated an acre of land for the church to build, and in 1901 construction began.

Original Midway Baptist Church, built in 1901.

Midway Baptist Church as it appears today. Construction of the current sanctuary was completed in 1961.

Making room for the new sanctuary.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 40

Midway Williams Home, The ﬁrst home of Floyd and Grace Williams now sits across Wilder Road from it’s original location.

The original wooden structure remained in service, with a few additions over the years, until 1958 when it was moved for construction of the present day sanctuary- which was completed in 1961.With no baptistery until 1944, baptisms were held in streams, ponds, phosphate pits, and in Dover’s Moores Lake. In 1935, as a child, Grace Dove (now Mrs. Grace Williams) moved here from Arcadia with her family. Her father had heard that a man could get rich in the area around Plant City if he had several children who could be put to work picking strawberries. So, with his family of ﬁve children in tow, he set out for Plant City and ended up in Midway. Unfortunately, his plans for wealth never quite panned out. In those days a trip to town was an event and you went once a week - on Saturday. If you didn’t get everything you needed on that trip, you had to wait until the next week to get it. When Grace and her husband Floyd Williams married, they remained in the Midway area. Floyd was sent to ﬁght in WWII, and Grace rented a small frame house on Wilder Road for $6 a month. Eventually the Williams bought that house, and in 1963 they moved it across the road to additional property they owned, to make room for their new house.The house they purchased in ’63 was owned by the Ellis family,

and was located on Highway 92 next to where the bowling alley now sits. Prior to the Ellis’s, the home was owned by the Grifﬁn family, and was already fairly old when the Williams moved it to their property on Wilder Road. Midway had only a few local, family owned stores. One, on Wilder Road, about a half a mile or so north of what is now Interstate 4 was owned by the Robinson family.The best thing about the store, at least according to the children of the day, was the glass candy case that held penny candy. Another was on Wilder Road a little south of where I-4 is now located, and was owned by the Firestone family. Later, the Cox family is said to have owned a community store near the corner of Midway and Wilder roads. Midway residents attending elementary school in the 1940’s and 50’s went to the school at Mt. Enon. By this time, the old school where Midway Baptist held its ﬁrst worship services was gone. The Mt. Enon School was a strawberry school, and is remembered as being old even at that time. It had no lunch room, so children brought their own lunches, which they ate along with the milk provided by the school, on the playground. A couple times a year the school children were let out of classes in order to clean up the Mt. Enon Cemetery, which has been around since the 1800’s and is still in use today.

The Midway Volunteer Fire Department was established as a result of a fire in the 1950’s.The Robinson family, who owned one of the local stores, was building a new home at the end of Lampp Road.The house was nearing completion, and the interior was being painted.The weather was cold, and a gas heater was set up to keep workers warm.The paint fumes and the gas heater were a bad combination, and an explosion resulted.As folks were carrying buckets of water from a nearby pond to douse the fire, ammunition from guns stored in the home began firing in all directions. Needless to say, the water carriers took cover, and the fire consumed the house.The Firestones never even got to live in their new home. It is said everything happens for a reason – but the Firestones probably weren’t thrilled about their burned out house being the reason behind the new fire department. As in the beginning, Midway is still primarily a farming community. However, as with most other rural communities in our area, development is beginning to take hold. It has not happened yet in Midway on quite the scale it has in other places surrounding Plant City, but it is coming.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 41

STORY BY LYNNE WARREN. PHOTOS BY LYNNE WARREN AND COURTESY OF JAMES JONES AND TURKEY CREEK FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

ometime in the late 1800’s people began settling an area known for the creek that ran through it, and the abundance of turkeys that resided there.The settlement, southwest of Plant City, soon took on the logical name of Turkey Creek. As with most of the communities around Plant City, this one too was built around farming, and those farm families had to have a strong faith.They began gathering to worship and share that faith, and soon a church was formed.Thomas H. Jaudon, a member of the old East Thonotosassa Missionary Baptist Church saw a need for a place of worship, and led a group of men in clearing a spot and building a brush arbor.

This open-air place of worship, followed by another larger arbor built a little later, served the community until 1876.This early church was a mission of East Thonotosassa Baptist Church, where Jaudon was a deacon. Soon ordained by the church, and granted license to preach, Jaudon ofﬁcially became the pastor of the mission church in Turkey Creek.The original arbor under which the congregation gathered in 1875 was just south of where the church stands today. In 1876, a log cabin was erected to serve as the house of worship, and over the years, property was donated for expansion of the church; ﬁrst by John and Olive Mooney in 1884 and later by Angie Hooker and family in 1939.

TURKEY  CREEK  One of the oldest settlements in this part of Florida

Jaudon served as pastor until 1893, and during his tenure, a second church building was erected in 1890 to house the growing congregation. During this time, the roads were little more than dirt trails, and getting to services could prove a great challenge. According to Fannie Jaudon, daughter of the late pastor, pine logs were split in half and laid across low spots to keep the roads passable. Sunday was both a time for relaxation and an opportunity to visit, both of which were rarities for the hard working farm families of the time. So people did whatever was necessary to make it to church. Fording ﬂooded streams and pushing wagons through deep mud were just some of the difﬁculties encountered on the way to weekly worship services. As with many other communities in the early to mid 1900’s, small family run stores were commonplace, and corners were known by the name of the family who ran the store there. At Turkey Creek and Trapnell Roads, there were several such establishments: Beaty’s on the southwest corner, Wetherington’s on the northeast corner, and in the mid

to late 40’s, the Wansley family operated a store on the northwest corner. At the intersection of Highway 60 and Turkey Creek Road, there were at least two stores:Tillis Grocery on one corner and on the southeast corner another owned by the Jones family. James ‘Sonny’ Jones, the son of the original proprietor, recalls the changes his community has undergone over the years. His parent’s store was rebuilt twice - once in the mid 1940’s and again in 1961, both times due to the widening of Highway 60. In 1951, soon after he married, the younger Jones, along with his new wife, took over daily operation of the store. In 1947, the elder Jones started a restaurant and service station on the northeast corner of Highway 60 and Turkey Creek Road, in the building that now houses Turkey Creek Bait and Tackle. Highway 60 has long been considered the southern boundary of Turkey Creek, with the community of Pleasant Grove lying to the CONTINUED ON

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Brick building erected in 1927 to house the school at Turkey Creek.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 42

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�� FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 43

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TURKEY CREEK C O N T I N U E D

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south. In the late 1800’s, the elementary school of Pleasant Grove, one named Bledsoe, located at Hilltop (South Dover Road and Highway 60), and Turkey Creek Elementary were consolidated into a single school. It was located south of Highway 60, near Pleasant Grove. In the early 1900’s the school was moved to the location north of Highway 60 where Turkey Creek Jr. High stands today. Later, the elementary school in Alaﬁa was also combined with the school at Turkey Creek.The ﬁrst principal, Quincy English, served from 1903 and later became a physician. Sometime in the late 30’s or early 40’s, the school expanded to include both junior high and high school. At the time there were elementary and middle ‘strawberry schools’, but Turkey Creek was one of the few schools in Hillsborough County to provide strawberry sessions for high schoolers. As such, the facility attracted students from many other areas in and around Plant City. Strawberry high school classes ceased here in December, 1956, and 1972 was the last year any high school classes were held at the school in Turkey Creek. Wood Frame church building erected in 1890 to replace the log cabin where Turkey Creek First Baptist held services since 1876.

Railroad tracks still run east and west through Turkey Creek, roughly paralleling what is now Sydney Road, but in the railroad’s heyday, there was also a set of tracks that ran north and south. This second set of tracks generally ran along the path of Jerry Smith Road, and carried both passenger and freight railcars to and from Sarasota. At the junction of these two tracks, not far from where Forbes, Jerry Smith, and Sydney Roads now intersect, there was a freight station and a post ofﬁce – both of which were gone by the early 1940’s. Another lesser known facility at this junction was a hotel of sorts: a boarding house where weary travelers could spend the night and have a meal while waiting to board or change trains. Turkey Creek, like the other rural communities surrounding Plant City, has seen its share of changes – some for better, some for worse.Today, probably the biggest change for these areas is the insatiable demand for land to be developed and subdivided. The challenge is to make sure the history and the community of Turkey Creek are not lost or forgotten in the path of progress.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 44

 KNIGHTS STATION  A Community of Change

BY KRISTEN TONEY

ften referred to as Knights or Knights Settlement, you guessed it, Knights was named for the Knight family: particularly William Knight, who arrived in the area in the 1880’s.The Knight and Summerlin families migrated from Lowndes County, Georgia to Fort Drane,Alachua County, Florida in 1843 seeking better rangeland for their cattle.Along with the family slaves, they hit the road again and moved to Hillsborough County in 1844.Throughout the years, the families acquired 1200 acres of property in what would become known as Knights Settlement.

In the early 1850’s, the area grew large enough to support a general store—run by Tampan M.C. Brown. Jacob Summerlin took over operations of the store in 1855 and added a cotton gin and grist mill and served as the community’s ﬁrst postmaster.

The second school ever built in Knights Station still stands today

In 1903 the Seaboard Air Line Railroad built a station and the community became known as Knights Station. In those days, life revolved around the railroad.A ticket to downtown Plant City could be purchased for ten cents, and a ticket from downtown Plant City to Tampa was fifty cents. Community members would order items from the Sears catalog and it would be shipped in to Knights Station by train.The train was also used for shipping things to other locations.Watermelons were grown in the area, and the farmers would load them up on their wagons, bring them to the station and ship them off. Cattle were also rounded up on occasion and shipped out to far-away places such as Texas. Trains carrying the community mail would come through Knights Station without stopping, grab the bag of outgoing mail off a pole that it hung on and throw the incoming mail out the window of the train onto the ground as they passed through.The County Commission designated School Number 6 in the Knights settlement in 1854.The school was originally a small frame building, but later a brick building was constructed, still standing today at the intersection of Knights Griffin Road and State Road 39. Mary Griffin (known as “Aunt Mary”) came to Knights Station when she was one year old in 1926. Growing up, she and her family worked on the Wilder’s land picking strawberries. She married Frank Griffin, who made his living building and selling homes, and together they had eight children. Before integration, their children had to go to school in Bealsville, but after desegregation, they were allowed to attend school much closer to home, at the Knights Station School. “There are a lot of good people here,” Griffin said.“We take care of each other, and it’s a good community and a good place to raise a family.”

Three stores, a turpentine still operated by the Johnsons, and the Hillsborough Naval Stores Company, which produced raw materials used in making ships, continued to operate in Knights from the early 1900’s through 1925. The post ofﬁce was discontinued in February of 1957.Today, Knights is still quite rural, with only a few businesses operating in the area—the result of desecrated land by the turpentine and naval stores industries. Domnick Ercoli is currently the oldest living man in Knights Station, born on November 10, 1917. “We moved to Knights Station from Archibald, Pennsylvania, on October 21, 1919,” Ercoli stated precisely.“We came because we wanted to leave the accidents of the coal mines behind and start a new life.At that time, my father bought 40 acres of land from Vernon Hawthorne for $4,000!” He and his wife, Goldie, still live in the area. Henry (Buck) Carlton was born and raised in the area, as well, marrying his wife Ella (Geneva) and making a home for their family close to Knights. Carlton’s grandfather was William Samuel

Carlton, and he delivered mail in Knights Station for 21 years. Carlton’s father was William Henry Carlton, and he delivered mail in the Knights area for 41 years. “Good memories of those days!” Carlton laughed. “I remember going ﬁshing every Sunday night with the boys in the area at Knights Creek.And Saturday nights! Everyone would go into town and park in the downtown area, and just get out and socialize…every Saturday night. Getting the best parking spot was a big deal!” Barbara Jean Dixon, the daughter of Mary Grifﬁn and owner of B & B Barbecue, was born and raised in the area.“This community has changed in the way it looks, but not in the attitudes of the people who call it home.We’re all still there for each other, just like we used to be. If there’s a death or someone is ill, it gets around: one neighbor will tell another, and then that one will tell another, and we’ll see if we can do anything for them.That’s something that will never change.”

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 45

a r t ex DISTANT DIARY

Letters from a Soldier Away from Home

SEND QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO SDEDON@FLOYDPUBLICATIONS.COM

ecause Lt. Olan Stephens is in a new location under diﬀerent circumstances, he was only able to give his wife a brief update on the troops for this month. She, in return, updated us their current standings. The 3-116th has made it safely to Southwest Asia. All seems to be going well, and they are adjusting to the new climate and time change. The heat there is unimaginable. I have heard from my soldier on a frequent basis, and although the situation is not ideal, it is comforting to have that contact and know he is safe! It is so encouraging to have all of you reading about and supporting the soldiers. As a family of a deployed soldier, the best support we can receive from you as a community is your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully, next month, my husband will be writing this article again! Thanks again for all the community support!

Submitted by Lt. Jamie Stephens

S/Sgt Steven Martin-Dover-Spec Brandon Senger, Tampa-Spec Christian Morales-Arcadia-Spec. Anibal Nieves-Tampa, S/Sgt Keith Lee-Tampa are some of the troops that are in Lt. Olan Stephen’s battalion.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 46

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 47

An intimate look at the man known affectionately as ...

” R e B b i “G

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 48

Spotlight Interview with...

DOug GibBs I N T E R V I E W

B Y

B R I A N

W E S T .

Doug Gibbs and his family have roots as deep, or deeper, than any in Plant City. A lifelong resident, Doug is one of those people who may not be in the spotlight, but he can always be found working with others to help make Plant City better for the rest of us,or playing tennis on the court in the back yard of his home on Mobley Street. If you don’t know him, you’re definitely in the minority. Doug seems to know everyone and he’s easily one of the most approachable people I know. Doug’s comical and jovial character are part of the reason he’s loved by everyone.

Tell me about your family’s history in Plant City. Well, the first group came here in 1860 and the rest followed through the turn of the century. My mother’s side basically all settled in Keysville and Dad’s side were here in Plant City. Within the last couple of weeks a couple a people have told me they remember my great granddad selling fishing worms. He was a line foreman for TECO and had the only line truck from 301 to Polk County. In his spare time he sold fishing worms out of an old refrigerator, where people would get their worms and put their money in a cigar box on the honor system. Do you have any brothers or sisters? I have one brother, Ken. He and his wife, Debbie, have seven children, five boys and two girls. Can you name all seven children in order from oldest to youngest?

Yes and I probably know their ages, too. Sara is the oldest and she is eighteen, Andrew is ﬁfteen, Paul is fourteen, Luke is twelve, Nathaniel is ten, Anna is four-and-a-half, and Phillip is two-anda-half, give or take a couple of months. Focus: Do you get to spend much time with your nieces and nephews? Yes, I do. I try and stop to see them every other day, if not every day. Sometimes I’ll pick one or two of them up to go with me somewhere. They will help me do work around the house like yard work or I’ll pick them up and take them with me when I know I’m going to be out of the oﬃce for a while looking at property. How did your family get involved in the Real Estate business? My grandfather, Jack Gibbs, Jr., had an appliance business in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. His back was getting bad so he decided to get into Real

P H O T O S

B Y

M I K E

Estate back in 1954. My dad, Jack Gibbs III, came into the business in 1963 when he was nineteen. At the time, you had to be 21 years old to sell real estate, so Dad went to court to get an exemption to allow him to get his real estate license. I started working in the office while I was in high school in 1985. My brother and I got our Real Estate licenses in 1987. What’s your favorite memory of your grandfather? I think just remembering all the time we spent together. I could talk openly with him about anything and he could talk openly about anything with me. When he had cancer I ended up being his chauffer in the Scottsdale for about 4 months and he didn’t give directions, he’d just point which way I needed to go and he’d be sure to remind me if I missed a pot hole or something. He passed away in 1988. (Doug’s grandfather bought the Scottsdale in 1985 and after his grandfather passed away, Doug continued to drive it daily until just over a year ago. Most people that know Doug still look for the Scottsdale that most are used to seeing him drive around town). Does Gibbs’s Real Estate have a specialty? We’re a general brokerage. We do a little bit of everything. Our focus has changed in the last five to six years. We’ve always handled acreage, commercial, residential, and industrial, but we’ve gotten more involved in developments. How is Gibbs Real Estate different from other realtors in town? Probably our business knowledge and we have built our office on honesty, integrity and confidentiality over the past 51 years. How did Gibbs Real Estate get involved in development?

F L O Y D

Actually, Dad and Granddad did quite a bit of development years ago. Recently, though, we had some investors that needed to turn some orange groves and vacant lands around, so we studied it to see what the best use would be; residential or commercial development. How often do you attend the city commission meetings? My attendance at the meetings has been more frequent recently than in the years past. Our oﬃce tries to stay in touch with what’s going on with the city’s issues. We’re currently annexing 40 acres for an 85-acre industrial site and my brother is working on annexing some land northeast of town for residential development. How are you involved in the community? I’m a board member and Past President of the Plant City Lions Club and I’ve been involved with the club for 15 years. I’ve been a board member since I joined the club and my dad was a Lion for 20 years. I’m currently the Treasurer for the East Hillsborough Law Enforcement Appreciation Association and I’ve been involved with them for about 9 years. I’m also a board member of the Plant City Chamber of Commerce. I’ve been actively involved with them for about 8 years and I’m currently the Membership Chairman. For the chamber, I’ve served on committees for the golf tournament, the Margarita Ball and Pig Jam. Going into this year we had 684 members and our goal was 705. We’re currently at 714 members, so we’ve already made the goal. But the thanks goes to the committee. They’ve worked very hard. In fact, Rick Lott approached me the other day to ask if we wanted to make another goal. Recently, the chamber has taken an active role working closely with the city to help determine

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 49

Spotlight Interview with... DOug GibBs what the city should look like in the coming years. With all the new construction; residential, commercial and industrial that are coming into the area, the chamber has set up committees to develop ideas and suggestions for the city. The chamber has been very proactive in this eﬀort. How would you describe the participation within the chamber? We’ve got a lot of great people involved. We’re getting people involved that have been here and who do understand the community in order to preserve what we have here and knowing that it’s changing. What do you like most about being involved in the Lions Club? With the Lions Club, I really enjoy seeing how the funds we raise are helping people. Kids from the Central Florida Lions Camp in Lake Wales came to one of our club meetings a few weeks ago. It’s nice to see our monies going to good causes. What accomplishment are you most proud of with the Lions Club? Probably the 4 Presidents Awards I received. (A President’s Award is given each year by the outgoing President to recognize the person he or she believes helped them the most during the year). It was also nice being recognized by Bob Lastinger, Past International Director, during our 75th Anniversary dinner last year. I was recognized for the service I’ve provided to the Lions organization. It was special

for me because the others being recognized had been involved in the club twice as long as I had. Given the time you’ve been in the Lions Club, are there any funny stories that come to mind? I remember the first board meeting I ever attended. One of the Lions members turned to another and said, “Well, you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re still a new Lion. You’ve only been in the club 10 years.” That just struck me as funny. Given all the things you’re involved with in the city, where would you like to see Plant City in the next 10 to 20 years? I think that most people that were born and raised in Plant City would like to see it stay the same, but I realize that’s not a reality. That’s one reason that I am glad to be on the Chamber Board; we’re trying to take proactive steps rather than be reactive. There are 7000 homes on the books slated for development. Now, whether or not they all come may be a different story. There’s talk now of building a 400 acre amateur sports complex just north of town on the east side of highway 39. The impact to Plant City could be significant. I once heard Mayor John Dicks recognize you for your consistency in voting for city elections. Can you explain that? [Laughing] When he was running for his first term as City Commissioner, he

came up to me and said, “I want to talk to you. I pulled the list of regular voters and noticed that you were one of 4 people who have never missed an election. But there was an age diﬀerence between you and the others of 30 to 40 years. So basically, you’ve never missed an election.” I never thought anything about it until he told me. So now I have to keep the streak alive. But I’m more interested in helping to get the right people in there; those with good leadership abilities who have the best interests of the city in mind. You have a tennis court in your back yard. How long have you been playing and have you ever been competitive? I’ve been playing since I was about 4 or 5 years old. My parents started playing and my brother and I picked it up from them. At the time, there were only 4 courts in town and my parents got tired of waiting to play so they put the court in the back yard. I played in the Walden Lake league for several years and some tournaments, and I also played in high school. In fact, during high school, Tim Shuﬀ and I were once playing a doubles match against the number one seeded team at the time. We were really putting a whipping on them and then I blew out my other knee. [Gibbs had blown out one of his knees a short time before this incident.] I still play today about once a week with a group of friends. Tell me about the Gibber sandwich at Beef O’Brady’s.

Jim Melody is the owner of the Beef O’Brady’s here in town and we became friends years ago. When I’d visit the restaurant, I use to order a turkey sandwich with mushrooms, onions and cheese on rye bread. At some point Jim started calling it the Gibber. It’s been a while, but I’m sure Jim would remember. If you could make a wish, what would it be and why? I was lucky enough to have known two great grandmothers and four of my grandparents, but I’d wish I had spent more time with them; asking more questions of them about their lives. I still have one grandmother alive. She just had her 80th birthday and is doing well. I mentioned earlier that Doug is easily one of the most approachable people I know. Donna Keel once joked with Doug that he’d been named Mr. Congeniality during a cruise vacation to the Bahamas. At the end of the cruise, people from the cruise would see Doug and yell, “Gibber!” Seems Doug had spent his time during the cruise getting to know everyone on board the ship. But that’s just the kind of person he is. People who know Doug know he’s made another friend when they hear someone they’ve never met yell, “Gibber!” Doug is proud of his family, the time he gets to spend with them, the fact that he and his dad have been able to eat breakfast together for the past 17 years, and all the great things the future will bring for Plant City. Thanks, Doug.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 50

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 55

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l a loc DID YOU KNOW?

Grand Opening at McCrory’s Story & Photos By Plant City Photo Archives, Inc.

In the photo collection at the Plant City Photo Archives we found these photos, and many more, of the Grand Opening of McCrorys 5-10-25 store on North Collins Street in the bustling downtown Plant City on April 4, 1957. It was a big day in Plant City and crowds thronged the streets and ﬁlled the store with shoppers and lookers. McCrorys was the spot to shop for Plant City area residents, and the luncheonette crowd ﬁlled this popular eatery daily. The luncheonette featured the ubiquitous counter and nearby booths for 2 to 4 diners. And it ran daily specials that drew “regulars” from the area. McCrorys is now a memory, and part of the old facility now serves as the Chamber of Commerce, and part will be reborn in the shape of the Plant City Photo Archives. The Self Service area shown in the photo of the inside of the store will soon become the Exhibit Gallery of the Plant City Photo Archives. The nearly 1,000 square foot space has been painted and cleaned up, and will shortly be the home of a rotating series of photos of the greater Plant City area and area residents, wherever they may have been.

The oﬃcial Grand Opening of the Photo Archives is scheduled for Thursday, October 6, beginning at 5PM, and will feature a selection of the various collections the Photo Archives holds, including a sampling of the WWII photos. The Grand Opening is open to the public and all interested citizens are invited.

Also on the schedule is the Salute to Veterans set for Friday, November 11, and this public exhibit will feature all the photos from the Photo Archives WWII collection. A special invitation is extended to all veterans. Refreshments will be served and the time will be announced shortly.

Last, the Photo Archives is still in search of a new executive director, and is in need of docents and volunteers to meet the demands of the new schedule and the expanded facility. For information, call the oﬃce at 754-1578, or stop in at 119 North Collins Street in historic downtown Plant City.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 56

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 62

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 64

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 66

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 67

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 68

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 69

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 71

s e P m o h

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THE WALDEN LAKE REVIEW

The Walden Lake Review

Story by Ken Lawrence

retty soon the hay field, better known as the polo grounds off Griffin Boulevard East, will start to be mowed again on a regular basis. The Walden Lake Community Association has signed off on its side of an agreement with WCI, owners of the field, to take possession and operate it for a variety of community purposes. Jan Griffin, Association President, tells FOCUS that all that is required are signatures from the appropriate WCI executives, and by the time you read this article, it may already be a done deal. Meanwhile, the community association has formed a committee to study ideas as to how best to use the polo field, once it has control over it. One likely plan is to build a maintenance building, down on the east side of the field, where a barn now exists. It

would store equipment not only for the polo field but for the overall maintenance of Walden Lake. The polo field will be used for soccer, softball, track and field and other sports. The association plans to pass strict rules about dog owners who allow their animals to do their “business” on the field and do not clean it up. It’s a health issue that must be enforced. The community association is working on next year’s budget. Association Manager Tom Daramus says it’s too early to say whether there will be a rate increase for 2006. He says they’re trying to hold the line. There are still “numbskulls” who are trying to crash the barrier at Griffin and Mud Lake Roads late at night. The latest two incidents damaged the gates again. One driver tried

to break through but failed and another, at mid-morning, sideswiped the open gate and a witness said, continued on weaving down Charlie Griﬃn road. Guess what condition that person was in, and early in the day? So the association has approved the expense of a new gate that Tom Daramus says is so strong “it will deploy airbags if someone hits it”. The cameras are also in use at Mud Lake and Turkey Creek entrances. And ﬁnally, our best wishes to Realtor Carl Seigel who has sold his home in Walden Lake and moved to a retirement community on the east side of Polk County. ‘till next month!

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 72

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 73

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 74

s e m ho THINGS SHOULDTIPS KNOW HOMEYOU COMPUTING

Home Selling Mistakes Story By Shelton Keely

he difference between a profitable, smooth transaction and a breakeven, miserable experience is a fine line. By utilizing the knowledge of a well trained Real Estate professional, you’ll ensure a quick, profitable sale of your home. This report is designed to arm you with the knowledge to avoid 10 common mistakes that can cost sellers serious money.

1. Refusing to Make Proﬁt Inducing Repairs: It always costs you more money

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to sell “as is” than to make repairs that will increase the value of your home. Even minor improvements will often yield as much as three to five times the repair cost at the time of sale. Your agent will be able to point out what repairs will significantly increase the value of your home. Seemingly small fix up jobs can have quite an impact. 2. Not considering Other Financing Terms: Cash is not always the most advantageous transaction. Income level, tax benefits and current legislation are all critical factors when considering purchase terms. Professional Real Estate Investors are experts at home transactions and can lead you down the path that will give you the highest yield. 3. Provide Easy Access for Showings: Accessibility is a major key to profitability. Appointment only showings are the most restrictive, while a lock box is the least. The more accessible your home is, the better the odds of finding a person willing to pay your asking price. You never know if the one that couldn’t get a viewing was the one that got away. 4. Priced Too Low/Priced Too High: One critical reason to find an experienced professional real estate professional is to make sure the property is priced appropriately for a timely and profitable sale. If the property is priced too high

it will sit and develop the identity of a problem property. If it’s priced too low it could cost you considerable proﬁts. The real estate market has subtle nuances and market changes that should be re-evaluated by your representative every 10-14 days to help you maximize your return.

professional and eliminate negotiating with unqualiﬁed prospects.

5. Relying Solely on Traditional Methods To Sell Your Home: The real estate professional who is innovative and willing to oﬀer new strategies of attracting home buyers will always outperform those who rely on traditional methods. Demand around the clock advertising exposure, innovative lead generation methods and lead accountability. These services exist and should be oﬀered on your home sale.

9. Believing You are Powerless to Make a Diﬀerence: Be a part of a team! Take an active role with your real estate professional to see what you can do to facilitate your sale. Networking with professional peers and personal friends often results in the sale of a home. It’s surprising how many homes are sold this way.

6: Refusing to Make Cosmetic Changes: The prospective home buyer’s first impression is the most important. Hundreds of thousands of home sales have been lost to unkempt lawns, cluttered rooms, bad stains, unpleasant odors...all the seemingly little things. Imagine you were the home buyer and clean your place from top to bottom. 7. Wasting Time with an Unqualified Prospect: Your Realtor’s responsibility is to screen a prospect’s qualifications before valuable time is lost. Be sure to align yourself with the right

8. Don’t Test The Market: Never put your property on-line to sell unless you are serious. The right professional will ﬁnd you buyers and if you are harboring indecision…you will blow the sale.

10. Believing All Realtors, Brokers & Others are the Same: With all the intricate details and critical decisions to be made concerning your home sale, should you rely on anyone but an experienced real estate professional? Many friends and family members have been estranged as a result of failing to meet expectations. Your home sale is a time consuming, effort related, difficult task. Maximize your profit by utilizing an experienced real estate professional. Shelton Keely Broker-Associate, Walden Lake Realty, Inc. 813-752-2087

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 77

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 79

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 80

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a r t ex AL RUECHEL

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h yes. Isn’t college wonderful? It’s that time of year when you come to appreciate the simple things in life, like a good hot meal, a good night’s sleep and a dorm room that isn’t crawling with God-awful, mutated growths of, as yet, unclassified living organisms that escaped from the biology department. Consider the conditions of the housing area at my son’s college. I’m withholding the institution’s name because, well, paybacks are heck. This is part of the historic section of the University. Perhaps that means it was one of the first buildings to be constructed at this school, which was founded just before the civil war. It’s got that stone thing going on, and bricks, and cute little miniature bay windows, and stone arches, and little nooks and crannies everywhere. It looks wonderful! Kind of like a Curry and Ives greeting card. It’s wrapped around a lovely tree-filled courtyard that, at one time, probably had real grass and flowers growing before the students started running over everything with their bikes and cars. Now most of the area is compacted soil littered with cigarette butts and occasional genetically deformed bushes trying to scratch out an existence.

Ode to Mold & Other Campus Fungi! Story By Al Ruechel

That’s on the outside. If there was any doubt about the historic nature of this area it was completely erased once I stepped inside. No way was this building ever designed as a dormitory, maybe an oﬃce building, but not a housing area. Yet, according to the housing brochure, these rooms in this “unnamed hall” are actually suites, which is a fancy way of saying we are going to charge you more than the typical two person rooms. For your extra two hundred dollars per semester you and two roommates will be sharing two spacious sleeping rooms and one common room. This is a total of three rooms to house your personal belongings and enjoy the camaraderie of dormitory living. Let me paint you a picture, and you’d better hold your breath! Upon entering the common room I was struck in the face with the smell of an old wet blanket. Did I say room? It’s a stinking hallway with windows. To accommodate air conditioning at least half of the ceiling was lowered to a height of about seven feet. The intake vent looked like something from a rusted out World War II submarine. The mold was so thick on the ventilation louvers blowing about a foot above the bunk bed it looked like broccoli heads. The wood around the windows was covered with a slimy black ﬁlm that reminded me of crank case oil on an old engine block. I’m not talking somebody forgot to dust for a couple of weeks or months. I’m talking major league, toxic super fungi that have been around so long they probably remember the days this school didn’t have a football team. (One note: Mold and mildew are not just inconveniences. These nasty fungi are

responsible for a myriad of respiratory problems that can manifest themselves into long-term chronic illnesses. Hundreds of buildings and homes in the state have been condemned as a result of something called Sick Building Syndrome of which mold and mildew is the primary cause. A building in this same complex was demolished recently because of mold and mildew.) Architecturally, the place looks like it was built for Umpa-Lumpa’s or the mayor of Munchkin land. One of the rooms is so small the already undersized bed will only fit on one wall. There is room for a desk and that’s it. The holding cells in the Pinellas County jail are bigger. This is no joke. You can be sitting on the bed and reach out and touch the opposite wall. The chest of drawers and the makeshift closet are out in the common area partially blocking the entrance. The other sleeping area is bigger with a bunk bed and two makeshift closets and one desk. My son’s desk was, naturally, missing. I was later told that many students opt not to have a desk because it takes up too much room and they would rather just study on their beds. Hello? Hummm! I can see it now. My son peacefully sleeping, his 6’4” frame curled around his computer with his printer and scanner at his feet, his CD burner and speakers at his back, his biochem and physics and business management books gently caressing his head. For crying out loud, if the rooms aren’t big enough to accommodate the necessities of dorm life than they aren’t dorm rooms. Since when is a desk considered a frill? When housing finally decides to get around and find him a desk it will undoubtedly partially block the entrance to the room. So for now, as classes begin, his computer will be sitting on a couple of boxes on the floor and his roommate will have to vault over him being careful as not to smash his head into the seven foot ceiling, thereby dislodging some of that historic mold. Yes, my son and his roommates complained. They were told to fill out a form and wait for someone to get back to them. That was six days ago. And when I called the custodial staff to complain they must have thought I was a student because the woman told me, “So who do you think you are, some one special? There are about 150 other people ahead of you?” I reminded her that I was a parent and not a student and a financial supporter of the University. She said, “Yes, everybody says that.” In all fairness to the people that work at this school, I’m sure they will try to correct the problems as best they can. The shortage of on-campus housing is an issue all over this great nation. I’ve screamed before and they’ve listened. They still send

me those monthly alumni letter asking for money so I haven’t ascended to the ranks of the most dreaded parent in the universe. I’m, sure this ode to mold could be written about most any other college dorm in America. And this university does have some new dorms that are absolutely first class, IF you don’t mind paying out the nose. And no, I haven’t forgotten offcampus housing which, in many cases, resembles the suburbs of Bangladesh. But, on campus housing IS the university. We parents have a higher level of expectation of this institution, which has such a wonderful academic reputation. My taxes go to support this school, not to mention the thousands I’ve already paid the university for housing. It just galls me to see millions of dollars being spent on luxury boxes at the football stadium that will be used 8 times a year and millions on an alumni center and yet, these old dorms are allowed to exist in their pathetic state of disrepair. Truth is, most of us don’t make enough money to be able to afford the cost of those new first class dorms, $2,640 per semester. Besides, I’m not sure it’s healthy for the development of a well-rounded, balanced child to give them the absolute top of the line before they can appreciate the concept of delayed gratification and having to work hard to get the best. Coach class is just fine as long as it’s clean and adequate. Actually, my son has decided to attack this mold thing quite scientifically. He calls his room “The Petri Dish”. He’s convinced the cure for cancer might be lurking somewhere on the ceiling. He says if he could teach the mold to recognize speech the CIA might be interested in training it. He also pointed out that at some point when the environment, which supports the mold, runs out of food the fungi will eventually turn on itself and die of natural causes. Oh great. I’ll just send him a Canary so at least he’ll have a couple of minutes warning before the black crud depletes his entire living area of oxygen. P.S. The University did get back to me once I told them who I was and that I was going to write a commentary for a nationally syndicated radio program. They did wash and scrub the room and will replace all the vents with new ones. “They were the nicest people, Dad! What did you say to them?” my son asked. The nice young gentleman who called me admitted this building should never have been turned into a dorm in the first place. He promised to personally make sure my son’s needs were met. And ever the salesman, he suggested if I made a small contribution to the University it could be used to help build more affordable housing in the future. DO I REALLY LOOK THAT STUPID? Don’t answer that!

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 82

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 83

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 84

y e n mo BUSINESS & FINANCE

Financial Focus SMART FINANCIAL MOVES FOR NEW PARENTS Submitted by Edward Jones

f you are a new parent, you’re probably enjoying one of the happiest times of your life. And you’ll ﬁnd it’s easy to get absorbed in the day-to-day activities of your child. Yet, with the addition of a child, your family has a whole new set of ﬁnancial needs - so you’ll want to plan and prepare for them. Here are a few ideas to consider: Draw up a simple will -By drawing up a simple will, you can designate, within limits, how you want your assets distributed, and you can identify a guardian for your child, should anything happen to you and your spouse. If you die without a will (“intestate”), the courts may have to make all sorts of decisions regarding your estate and the future of your child - and there’s no guarantee that these actions will be what you would have chosen.

enough insurance to cover both your mortgage and your child’s college education. And make sure your beneficiary designations are up to date. Open a Section 529 college savings plan - For the past several years, college costs have increased much faster than the general rate of inflation. If you have a newborn, who knows how much he or she will have to pay for college in 18 years? That’s why you may want to open a Section 529 college savings plan. Your earnings will have an opportunity to grow tax-free, as long as the money is used to help pay for college, although the money will appear as income on the child’s tax return. (Unless the laws change, this tax benefit is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2010.) Keep saving for your own retirement - Even if you do open a Section 529 plan or another college-savings vehicle, you’ll still need to continue saving for your own retirement. Try to “max out” on your IRA and your 401(k) or other type of employer-sponsored retirement plan. If your child has to take out a loan to go to school, he or she has many years to pay it back, but if you run short of retirement income, you won’t get a second chance. Take advantage of tax breaks for new parents - Once you have a child, you get a dependent exemption and, depending on your income, a child tax credit. But you can get other tax advantages, too, such as potential deductions for child care expenses. See your tax advisor to make sure you’re getting all the breaks you’re entitled to as a parent. Enjoy these days when you’ve got a new child. But at the same time, keep your eye on the future - it will be here before you know it.

Set up a trust - If you have sizable assets, you may want to set up a family trust, which, among other advantages, gives you signiﬁcant control over how you want your estate’s assets distributed; for example, you can decide to leave money to your children in increments, rather than all at once, when they reach 18. Review your insurance coverage - As soon as you become a parent, you’ll need suﬃcient life insurance to help provide for your child, should anything happen to you. You may want to take out

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Time: 6:15pm Date: Thur., Oct. 20 Location: 2501 Thonotosassa Rd. Plant City, FL R.S.V.P.: 813-759-1491

Michael Cameron 2501 Thonotosassa Rd. Plant City, Fl. 33563-1464 (In Publix Shopping Center) 813-759-1491 www.edwardjones.com

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S E N D Q U E S T I O N S A N D CO M M E N T S TO S D E D O N @ F LOY D P U B L I C AT I O N S . CO M FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 85

y e n mo BUSINESS PROFILE

It’s a Pain in the Axle A REPORT ON THE AUTO TRANSMISSION REPAIR BUSINESS

S E N D Q U E S T I O N S A N D CO M M E N T S TO S D E D O N @ F LOY D P U B L I C AT I O N S . CO M

Lube business next door. Both have flourished since, along with another Pennzoil shop in Zephyrhills on North Road. In an interview with FOCUS, Chris Macca says he learned how to repair transmissions at high school in New York and noted that he does not see that many trained transmission people entering the job market today. “They all want to be computer experts”, he says. His main transmission repair person has been with REMCO for the past 20 years. Chris says it’s amazing how the industry has transformed since he started work, more than 30 years ago. “They’re better in terms of technology, the improvements are phenomenal and they perform better”, says the transmission expert. Even an R and R person (remove and replace the transmission from the vehicle) is difficult to find. “The R & R guy really has to know his stuff” says Macca, who says that high schools do not seem to be training auto repair students like they used to.

Chris Macca says there are still problems with some franchise transmission companies and the best way for a customer to know if it’s a legitimate business is to ask them for references and check them out. He says he’s seen and heard stories of people being charged hundreds of dollars for a simple $75 sensor. Mind you, a major overhaul of a transmission can cost $2000 to $3,000, if it’s legitimate work. Macca says it’s not only a case of fraud, but some transmission shops have poorly trained mechanics and “they simply do not know”. Speaking of that $75 sensor, Chris Macca says that repairing today’s transmissions is mainly centered on the electronics. To locate any problems requires the use of some very expensive tools. Chris showed your reporter a new device that he had just purchased that costs more than $7,500, and when attached to the vehicle can read what the issues are with the transmission.

REMCO repairs transmissions that run between 3 and 10 years of age. With some vehicle manufacturers oﬀering warranties up to ten years and 100,000 miles, there is less business from that perspective, but still plenty of it. Reason is that people put many more miles on their vehicles than they used to. Not too many years ago, the average was 8-10,000 miles a year. Today, it’s more like 15,000 miles or more. We could not resist asking Chris if today’s young drivers cause more transmission damage than older folk. He laughed and said “Absolutely not. I don’t see that many young people come in here at all. Today’s transmissions can take quite a bit of abuse by anyone”. As for the oil change business, Chris Macca, who now has his four sons in his various operations, Chris Jr., David, Brian and Kevin, he has a simple statement. “Change your oil regularly and make sure it’s a top quality product”.

Story & Photos by Ken Lawrence

ransmission repair can cause a great deal of anxiety for people. That’s because it usually doesn’t happen too often and when it does, you can be presented with a bill that can run into the thousands for work that you really don’t know too much about. Combined with past incidents of unscrupulous repair shops, the auto transmission repair industry has had to conduct a lot of public relations eﬀorts over the years. Enter Chris Macca, a Brooklyn, New York native who moved to Plant City in 1975 and started his own transmission repair operation that has one of the best reputations in the area. Starting out by himself in an old building at the corner of Baker and Gordon Streets as REMCO Transmission, a name from his uncle in New York, Chris Macca has become somewhat of an entrepreneur in the auto repair business in the area. He was one of the ﬁrst shops to open in his present location on Jim Redman Parkway in the auto mall plaza across from Publix. That was in 1988 and he later added a Pennzoil Oil and

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 86

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 87

s l o o sch & EDUCATION

Student of the Month AMBER KELLY

Story and Photos by Devin Dygert

hances are you’ve heard of Amber Kelly, or her remarkable trials. If not, read on. Amber is like any normal sixteen year old girl; well, sort of. She loves skateboarding and spends a lot of her waking hours at the Plant City Skate Park, watching and chatting with friends. Amber would be skating if she could, but for now she’s content on just walking. On November 12, 2004 Amber was told by doctors that she would be paralyzed from the belly button down due to scoliosis. She laughed and told them that she would be walking again and there was no reason to worry.

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But Amber’s road to recovery was not an easy one. She was in the hospital from November 12th to January 2nd. Throughout her time there she inspired many people and kept the nurses laughing. While there she met a 15 year old boy who snapped his neck on a bike ride. His attitude wasn’t as positive about his condition as Amber’s. During her time there, though, they both inspired each other and showed that they could overcome just about anything. Amber’s mother was in the worst state of all, she prayed each night that God would bring her daughter home safely to her.

because she still wasn’t well enough to attend Plant City High School. She continued, as always, to visit the Skate Park and friends, and even picked up a boyfriend. Her life was about as normal as it could be, except for her condition, which was slowly getting better every day.

all normal classes and visiting the skate park more than ever. Through everything, Amber trusted that God would see her through and regularly takes part in services at Knights Baptist Church. She got her life back, but in her own words, “It was never gone, just giving me obstacles to make me stronger.”

Presently, Amber attends Plant City High School; she walks faster than I do, and without support. She is taking

While Amber had been going through therapy, one day she was asked what she wanted to do, “I just told them I want to be walking, and they were like, okay, whatever, we can do this.” Amber, with therapy, slowly started moving her legs and eventually walking with the support of someone. January 12th Amber came home in a wheelchair and was able to function just like any other person. And just like anyone else, Amber got back to her normal life. She went to the movies and the skate park to hang out with friends. She met tons of new people and got back to the routine of her normal life. In March of 2005, I asked Amber what it was like, being conﬁned to a wheelchair. She told me that life has its ups and downs, and there was no way this was her down. She would have to go a lot further. She told me that she completely believed that she would walk again. She smiled and made jokes, and let nothing tear her apart. In May of 2005, Amber was walking slowly, but surely, without support. She was taking courses at home,

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 89

a r t ex AROUND TOWN

I Can Do It! (Part 3)

Story by Bob Hughens (formerly Bob the Limo Driver)

ello everyone! I’m really excited about this month’s article! I have several events to share with you in my quest to lose weight and get back into shape. At my weekly weigh-in on August 14, I weighed in below 300 pounds!! I tipped the scales at 296 and I have not been below 300 pounds in 15 years. It was a pretty emotional feeling to see where my progress had taken me. My wife even got emotional over the fact that I had turned a major corner in getting myself back in shape.

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Weighing in at 296 represents a 40 pound weight loss since I began my program on June 13. What this means to me is that not only is my program working, but also the weight is coming oﬀ gradually and steadily. I didn’t want to be one of those people that went on a crash diet program and lost a bunch of weight, only to put it back on as rapidly as I lost it. This program I’m on is for life. It is a total lifestyle change for the better and I’m so happy with the results so far.

a week without fail and continue my cardio routine throughout the week. Mike Gartz, my trainer, has broken my workouts into two phases: (1) Lower body workouts early in the week (I hate this part!) (2) Upper body workouts later in the week. I am starting to enjoy my own cardio workouts which consist mainly of walking/running. I strap on my MP3 player, crank up the music and hit the track. It really is therapeutic to tune out the world, break a sweat and enjoy the fresh air. I think if more people would just try it, they would see that it is not only healthy, but it also gives you a release from all the pressures and stress of whatever is going on in your life. I would like to, again, thank my personal trainer, Mike Gartz of Elite Home Fitness. Without Mike’s help, I would never have been able to take this journey back to fitness. I would also like to thank my personal physician, Dr. Brian Korte of the Family Practice Center. Dr. Korte is an outstanding physician who is very involved with all his patients and continues to monitor me in my pursuit of fitness. For those of you who have finally made the decision to get yourself back in shape, I urge you to call Mike Gartz of Elite Home Fitness at (813) 786-1541. He will design a fitness program that is custom tailored for your personal lifestyle. Get on the program today. See you next month!

I also recently returned from the Focus Magazine cruise to Cozumel and I’m happy to report that, despite the temptation of all that food, I didn’t gain any weight back. I took advantage of the gym and jogging track on board the ship and that was a big help. I continue to make my workout appointments twice SEND QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO SDEDON@FLOYDPUBLICATIONS.COM

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 90

s t r o sp

S E N D Q U E S T I O N S A N D CO M M E N T S TO S D E D O N @ F LOY D P U B L I C AT I O N S . CO M

Tee Ball Season Kicks Off With A Bang!

Story and photos by Bob Hughens Players get last minute instructions.

he 2005 Fall Youth Baseball League kicked oﬀ its season with a grand start at the baseball ﬁelds at Sansone Park on Saturday, August 20. It was a beautiful day at the ball parks and there were a multitude of activities planned for the families and players. There was face painting stations set up for the kids by volunteers from Bryan Elementary School and clowns making animal balloons for everyone. The concession stands were busy selling drinks and food as the teams started their opening games.

The Plant City Rotary Club worked extremely hard cooking over 800 hamburgers and hot dogs for the fans on opening day. James Johnigean of ServPro and Mike Gartz of Elite Home Fitness did the cooking with help from David Miles and Jimmy Carapezza of Central Florida Custom Homes.

second season the league has been in existence. The teams are sponsored by local businesses in the area. The teams and their sponsors are:

For those of you who have not seen or heard of the Fall Youth Baseball League, it is comprised of teams of young men and women in the 5 to 14 year old age brackets. This is the

The Krushers (Tim Griﬃn Construction) The Big Sticks (American Auto Service)

TEE BALL DIVISION

The Maniacs (Billy Herold’s Auto) The Hammers (Gatemasters Distributors, Inc.) The Fireballs (Phillip Williams & Sons Trucking) The Meteors (Focus Magazine)

Continued on page 92

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 91

. Tee Ball Season Kicks Off With A Bang! Continued

MACHINE PITCH DIVISION The Big Sticks (Universal Structure) The Hammers (Mutual Automotive) The Rustlers (Rolls Axle) The Krushers (Bank’s Air Conditioning) The Fireballs (Phillip Williams & Sons Trucking)

The Mad Dawgs (Amazing Autos) The Meteors (Vantage Tool Source) The Twisters (Grove Equipment Service, Inc.)

MINORS DIVISION The Hammers (Advance Auto Parts) The Big Sticks (Serv-Pro) The Slashers (Pediatric Dental Care) The Explosion (Blind’s Express) The War Horses (Huﬀ Muﬄer)

The Bomb Squad (Olin Wright Lodge #79) The Twisters (Phillip Williams & Sons Trucking)

MAJORS DIVISION The Indians (Dr. Vinyl of West Coast Florida) The Athletics (Tarmac) The Rangers (Banks A/C) The Mets (Buddy’s Auto Repair) The Phillies (Phillip Williams & Sons Trucking) The Jays (Law & Order-Employees of HC Courthouse)

We encourage everybody to come out and support theses players with your attendance at the games, as well as supporting the businesses that have so generously sponsored them. Games are played Saturdays and weeknights, as weather allows, at Sansone Park between Park Road and Wilder Road, just south of Interstate 4. The season runs through the middle of October, pending weather delays, with playoﬀs scheduled for October 24 through November 5. Watching these youngsters is so entertaining and so much fun for the whole family, so come on out and enjoy the games. You’ll be glad you did!

It was a beautiful day at the ball park.

Who doesn’t love getting their face painted?

The kids loved the balloon animals.

The Cooking Crew: David Miles, James Johnigean, Jimmy Carapezza and Mike Gartz

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 92

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 93

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�� FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 94

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h t l a he & FITNESS

their number one prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. You really would have to be living in a bubble not to know that exercise is one of the most beneﬁcial things we can do for our health. Having said all that, I wanted to share with you some of the real results of exercise on day to day living. That is, after all, what gets our attention. Our day to day life is in front of us. If we do get Heart Disease, Cancer or Alzheimer’s, it is “down the road”. It is not so in your face. So below are some of the answers we got to the question, what has exercise done for you, how has it impacted your day to day life? Since exercising regularly I have stopped having panic attacks. Dawn T.

Real Women, Real Results Submitted by Sherry Nueesch

I could write paragraphs about the beneﬁts of exercise. From arthritis to diabetes and heart disease, exercise has been shown to have a major impact on the prevention and the management of disease. Weight bearing exercise is the leading prevention of osteoporosis. Exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of most cancers, including breast cancer and colon cancer. The Johnny Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Center recommends exercise as

Exercising has given me stamina. I can now run up the hill at the George Jenkins football ﬁeld. S. Dodds Arthritis pain in my wrist disappeared since working out. F. Mendez

I am able to get out of my truck without my knees giving me a ﬁt. Linda H. The nurse at the Doctor’s oﬃce said I have great gams!!!!! Leah C. I can put my shoes on without grunting. Judy P. My husband likes my butt!!! Pat G.

It keeps me moving and ﬂexible. Sue H.

Initially I started exercising to lose weight. After I started exercising, it felt so good my priorities have changed. I now exercise for the energy and health beneﬁts. I will NOT give it up. Sharon C.

I now shower and undress in front of my husband. Sherry N.

I am stronger and I have better balance. Kay S. 85 years young!!!!! It’s the mental beneﬁt I noticed right away. It has taken away my depression and it relieves my stress. Ina B.

I have lowered my blood pressure medicine and also my cholesterol and arthritis medicine. Trish M. I’ve lost weight. Donna T. It just keeps me healthy. Helen R. (88 years young) Feels like I am doing something for myself. I have better self esteem. Ampy W.

I now have the energy to come and exercise. Lorrie S. My husband compliments me now. Brenda A.

I decreased my blood sugar level. Anne M.

After an 8 hour day, I work out and it gives me energy for the rest of the day. Sherry W. I just had a bone density test and my numbers have increased. Cheryl H. I have more energy for my grandchildren. Pat M.

I have cut my blood pressure medicine in half. Liz. V.

I have been exercising for two months. I have lost 9.5 inches and 11.5 pounds and my blood pressure is down. Gina R.

I am addicted to the rush I get after I exercise. Carol. D.

I feel like getting up in the mornings. Janice C.

I feel 100% better and my clothes ﬁt better. Linda L.

I have fallen twice this year without injury. Faye P.

Since starting to exercise, the tendons in my elbows have healed, allowing me to pick up things. I sleep better, it helps with my restless leg syndrome and I have better upper body strength. J. Futch.

I have been exercising five months now. My chronic fatigue is gone. My bad back is improved and my once atrophied muscles are strong and defined, nothing but benefits. Lisa G. (Fibromyalgia patient)

My husband likes the tone!!!!!! Lizette B.

I can feel my hip bones again. Trina A.

My back is much better. When I wake up and get up, I can tell if I worked out the day before. If I didn’t, I know it!!! Rae T.

I started a new way of eating and I have no more indigestion. I can sleep all night with no gastric inﬂux and no Tums. M. Jones. I would like to thank the ladies at our three Curves for helping with this little informal survey. As you can see, there are many varied and valid reasons to exercise. These are real women and these are their real results. Maybe one of their stories will ring a bell for you. As always, to your health, Sherry Nueesch.

My sex drive is better. Bonnie G. I have a waist line again. Debbie T.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 95

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h t l a he & FITNESS

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Submitted by Susan M. Ott D.O. Sand Hill Bone & Joint

arpal Tunnel Syndrome is a very common problem that affects millions of people and causes a great deal of pain, discomfort and lost productivity. It is a medical condition that affects the major nerve to the hand and results in symptoms such as numbness, tingling, pain that radiates up the arm, clumsiness, and significant dysfunction of the hands and fingers. Often progressive, this very simple to understand affliction, if left untreated, can lead to permanent nerve damage in the hand. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome falls into a class of conditions known as Compressive Neuropathies. Very simply, the nerve involved – the Median nerve – is compressed or squeezed as it enters the hand. The Median Nerve is the

major nerve of the hand. It’s formed by the coalition of several nerves in the neck and it travels to the hand via the forearm. As it passes into the hand it travels through a tunnel that is made up of bony structures on three sides and a ligament on the fourth side. Also in the Carpal Tunnel are nine tendons, a small artery and a lining tissue known as Synovium. In the normal condition there is plenty of room for all of these structures. If for some reason the space available for the structures diminishes, the problems occur. For example, arthritis may cause the build up of bony spurs. These spurs take up room and thus there is less room for all of the structures to pass freely into the hand. Other conditions can cause there to be less room in the Carpal Tunnel, as well. These include Rheumatoid Arthritis, which causes an increase in the amount of Synovium; Thyroid dysfunction and kidney failure, which both cause excessive swelling within the Carpal Tunnel; Gout, which causes a deposition of unnecessary material into the Carpal Tunnel; and any other condition that causes a decrease of the space available for the structures to pass into the hand. When the space diminishes something has to give. The bony and ligamentous tunnel is too strong to relax so it cannot enlarge to make up for the underlying problem. The tendons are also quite ﬁrm and they can absorb the pressure well. The Median Nerve however is very soft and is quite susceptible to excessive pressure. So in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome the pressure builds up and causes damage to occur to the Median Nerve and this is manifested by the typical symptoms of Carpal tunnel: numbness, tingling, pain, and clumsiness. Typically, these symptoms occur in a very consistent and recognizable pattern. People often complain that

they occur at night as they sleep. Frequently those with this problem will wake up several times and they will complain that their ‘hands have fallen asleep’. They say that they have to rub them together, shake them, or rinse them under warm running water to get relief. Other typical times for Carpal Tunnel symptoms to develop are while reading, talking on the telephone or while driving. Motorcycle riders frequently develop the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel. Many people also believe that Carpal Tunnel syndrome can be affected by activities at work. There are those who will insist that repetitive use of the hands such as when people type at computers or are exposed to vibratory machinery will cause Carpal Tunnel syndrome, but that relationship is very controversial. Actually the most common reason for Carpal Tunnel to develop is for no reason at all!! Once the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel have become intolerable, most people will visit their doctor or a surgeon who does Carpal Tunnel Surgery. Initial treatment can range from observation to nighttime splinting, anti-inflammatory medication, vitamin supplementation or Cortisone injection. All these treatments are often very effective in the early stages of the problem. However, if the person has an underlying medical problem such as those mentioned previously, the Carpal Tunnel symptoms are often more severe and rapidly progressive. Once the early treatments have become ineffective or they start to rapidly progress, it is time to visit the surgeon.

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Many times patients will undergo a nerve test prior to getting a surgical recommendation. The nerve test can tell exactly where the nerve compression is occurring and will assist the surgeon in making the appropriate recommendation for treatment. Some very experienced surgeons who see patients with typical Carpal Tunnel will in some cases be able to make the diagnosis without a nerve test. With worsening symptoms that interfere with normal activities, it is time to consider surgery. Carpal tunnel surgery is one of the most common operations done in the United States today and in most cases it is very eﬀective. In a good surgeon’s hands, over 99% of people undergoing Carpal Tunnel surgery will obtain signiﬁcant if not complete relief. While complications can and do occur in any operation, Carpal Tunnel surgery has become a very reliable surgery with a very predictable outcome in most cases. This operation is most often done as an outpatient and there are a variety of techniques available from traditional release to endoscopic minimal incision techniques. Laser techniques have been used in the past but their relative advantage over the other techniques has become less clear in recent years. Following surgery, most people are doing light activities immediately with a relatively rapid return to normal activity within a few weeks. If you have symptoms that sound like Carpal Tunnel you can feel free to call one of the surgeons at Sand Hill Bone and Joint. Combined, Dr Carrozzella and Dr Ott have done several thousand of these operations and they have the experience necessary to evaluate, diagnose and treat this very common problem.

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 96

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 97

a r t ex HOME COMPUTING TIPS

Home Computing Tips:

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HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM OF PHISHING!

� 1803 JIM REDMAN PKWY. 754-1550 ��

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Story By Jim Brown

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have written about this many times before, but it has become so widespread, I thought we should take an in-depth look at phishing. First of all, let’s get the basics out of the way. Phishing is the fraudulent misrepresentation of a website to gain your personal information. (An example is the e-mail you receive telling you that your E-bay account information is about to be suspended and follow this link to verify your information, when in fact it is not E-bay the hyper-link is taking you to, but a phishers website, trying to get your personal information.) Many of you online now are also getting e-mail’s appearing to be from banks, which you may not even do business with. Be very careful if you get one that appears to be from your bank; you may want to call them to verify. According to recent statistics, 44% of people have already been the victims of some sort of Identity theft; therefore you need to be aware of phishing tactics. Also, a whopping 85% of people surveyed have gotten e-mails from banks that are not theirs. However, phishing attacks are coming in many forms now, not just from banks. E-mail spooﬁng comes from outside of your organization, but appears to be

coming from within your organization. (An example is aaa@aol.com gets an e-mail from bbb@aol.com and becomes very angry at friend bbb@aol.com, only to find out later that bbb@aol.com did not send the e-mail, this is a form of spoofing.) Pharming is another form of phishing in which you type in a website, for example www.bankofamerica.com, and you appear to arrive at www. bankofamerica.com; however, you may have fat fingered and typed www. bankoamerica.com and you now wind up at a pharming site which is waiting for you to put in your user information. (This is not the case, just an example of what can happen!) Most of the phishing attacks that ultimately cause us problems are our own faults, from not paying attention and giving out information that is not going to whom we intended it. If you get to a page that has words misspelled and doesn’t look just right, close out the page and don’t go back to it. When you go to certain websites now they have added extra levels of security to let you know you are at their site. Bank of America, for example, has now added a site key as an extra level of security that goes beyond your user name and password. E-commerce hasn’t been affected greatly by the phishing and pharming problem, but companies are spending a great deal of money to keep their customers safe. Companies now have to take the extra steps to keep you safe that they haven’t had to do before. Viruses are also taking a part in phishing now because they are involved in spam and many other areas that create problems not only for your computer, but for you personally, if your personal information winds up in the wrong hands. To keep your personal information safe, just don’t give it out on the Internet, unless you know who you are giving it to and why. Do not, under any circumstance, send out personal information from an unsolicited e-mail. My motto is if I have to ask myself “is this a problem”, then it probably is a problem. Keep safe on the Internet and I’ll keep you posted of the increasing changes. Until Next time, Happy Computing. Jim Brown Product Consultants Unlimited, Inc. 601 N. Michigan Ave. Plant City, FL 33566. 813-717-7717 www.pcustore.com www.plantcity.com www.whatsupplantcity.com e-mail:jimb@plantcity.com

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 98

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a r t ex AUTO REVIEW

SHIFTing into a New Generation 2005 NISSAN FRONTIER GETS A FRESH NEW LOOK

Story by Brian West Photos courtesy of Nissan

ver the past several years, Nissan has worked hard to make its product line more competitive. To the average consumer, changes in body style and/or performance measures may be all that’s noticed. But Nissan has also worked hard on improvements in eﬃciency in its design and manufacturing processes, such as using the same engine, with slight variations, in more than one vehicle. Couple these improvements with an innovative marketing campaign, “SHIFT,” and you get the new 2005 Nissan Frontier; the latest in the product line to see these changes.

look on the front grill and the same lines around the fenders. Basically the truck looks much more athletic than its predecessor. Again, think Titan, just more compact.

Anyone familiar with the older Frontier models quickly notices the change in the body style. Nissan took the same philosophy in this re-design as it did with the Altima just a few years ago. Today, it’s easy to get the Altima confused with the Nissan Maxima. Prior to the change, Altima sales were struggling and now they’re one of Nissan’s best selling vehicles.

Under the hood, buyers get a choice of two diﬀerent engines. There is a 2.5L 4-cylinder with 154 horsepower and 173 lb0ft torque and a 265-hp, 4.0-L DOHC 24-valve V6. This V6 is the same one Nissan uses in the Xterra. The lightweight aluminum block allows for 284 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm, all of which is very competitive in the compact truck market. In fact, the V6 is the most powerful V6 engine available in any truck, including full-size trucks. The new Frontier also comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission. Frederick Knight, Sales Consultant, Jenkins Nissan, said, “The 6-speed is deﬁnitely a popular option with younger buyers.” The Frontier also boasts a towing capacity of 6,500 lbs, which ties it with the Toyota Tacoma for the top spot.

Similarly, now the 2005 Frontier looks like a little brother to the Nissan Titan; much better than the 2004 Frontier’s redheaded-second-cousinrelationship when the Titan was introduced last year. On the exterior, the new Frontier is strikingly similar to the Titan, just smaller. It has the same

Nissan even went to the extent of oﬀering the same rail system for the cargo bed as they did with the Titan. The rail system features 5 rails; 2 mounted to the ﬂoor of the bed, 1 on each side of the bed and one on the back of the bed against the cab. The rail system allows items such as

tie-downs to be moved to any point they could be needed, rather than the standard corner points oﬀered on other trucks. The rail system also has a bed extender. The unique thing about this extender is that it doesn’t just ﬂip over and stay at the back end of the bed, it rides in the rail system and can be stored up against the front of the bed next to the cab so it’s out of the way when you’re hauling. The interior of the truck features plenty of room for adults. The 4-door model has ample room for 4 large adults, but could snuggly seat 5. The seats are wrapped in a combination of perforated fabrics that provides a distinct look. Up front, the dash on the passenger side has a dual glove box with one above the other. I really liked the innovation in the cup holders. The Frontier cup holders come with inserts for typical sized drinks. But once the inserts are removed, you could probably slide in one of those big gulp drinks from the convenience stores. The new Frontier is a welcomed improvement from the old version and I’m sure Nissan will do well with this model. If you’re interested, visit Jenkins Nissan in Lakeland and tell them you read the article in Focus Magazine.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 99

a r t ex TRAVEL

Warbird Adventures EXOTIC AIRCRAFT FLIGHTS

Story by Brandon Hyde Photos by Sophia Dedon and courtesy of Warbird Adventures

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estled amongst rusted airplane hulls, broken concrete, and bustling Kissimmee, lays an aeronautical enthusiast’s dream. Warbird Adventures can give a child the thrill of a lifetime, or bring back memories for veterans with their collection of World War II planes. What sets them apart from other historic aircraft collections around the country is they put their antiques in the air. More so, the controls of these magnificent planes become yours once off the ground. In order to enhance the already unbelievable experience, the very knowledgeable staff of Warbird Adventures is able to assist any desire that might arise. For some, coasting amid the clouds is their choice. For others, it is the thrill of learning aerobatics. Whatever the longing of the heart, this hidden gem of Kissimmee has got something for everyone.

Just arriving at Warbird Adventures, your mind immediately recognizes this is not an everyday excursion. Zipping through traﬃc, past stores and restaurants, further traveling away from I-4 only to turn onto tiny little Hoagland Road. Winding into what seems like the back country of Kissimmee, Warbird Adventures appears on your left at Kissimmee Gateway Airport. Upon arrival, one is faced with a very laid back, yet enthusiastic staﬀ that consists of three

people. The briefing on the day’s flight and any need-to-knows are discussed by the flight instructor, and any questions are addressed. A run down of the plane, the specifications and its history are then presented. The realization of what this plane, the Texas 6, actually means to America begins to seep in; the fact that nearly 70 percent of the pilots that flew in the war were trained using this aircraft. It is even called the “Pilot Maker” by many historians. The heart beat begins to quicken as the legs are strapped in almost to the point of circulation loss. All of a sudden, the heart drops as the 600 horsepower engine roars to life, just the same as it would have done sixty years ago. The plane is positioned on the dead center runway and the tower has cleared it for takeoff. The Texas 6 needs very little to lift its 4,000 pound aluminum body off the ground. At around 75 miles an hour, liftoff occurs and it quickly climbs to 1,000 feet. At this point, everything in the plane is under your control. The instructor in the back cockpit directs on how to properly pilot the plane into an ascent. At nearly 4,000 feet the co-pilot describes descending and rushes you into a little dive, surpassing 120 miles an hour. Next, slight right and left turns are added to the new piloting skills one has acquired. The surrounding area is beautiful as the

instructor relaxes a moment to take in the landscape. Off to the left is Downtown Tampa and to the right is the wonderful play land of Disney. The real fun begins now as the aerobatic training commences. The ever so smooth wing-over is first introduced. A slow ascent, slight left turn, and then a quick drop “over the wing” towards earth seems easy enough. At nearly 5,000 feet altitude and 160 miles an hour, a barrel loop is thrown in. For the final aerobatic, the plane goes into a dive, breaching 190 miles an hour and pulled straight back for an infamous loop. The flight is over; the hard part is still to come. Heading back to the airport, strafing left and right trying for the perfect angle, a pass over is required to correctly align for landing. When the wheels touch down, the bearings of the mind return, and one realizes this was way more than a flight. Warbird Adventures is open seven days a week from nine to five. They are open every day of the year, except Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s. Reservations are not required, but highly recommended, as everything is on a first come, first serve basis. For more information on Warbird Adventures, call (800) 3861593 or visit their website at www. warbirdadventures.com .

Brandon Hyde, with instructor behind, is doing a mid-air barrel role during the aerobatic portion of the ﬂight.

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 100

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 101

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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 102

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d o fo DINING REVIEW

Apple Tree “OOOOHHH IT’S SO GOOD!”

Story by Sherri Robinson The fabulous beef rib dinner.

he Apple Tree is a favorite of many folk in Plant City. On any given weekday you will find lunch hour brimming with Firemen, Police Officers and many other people who find this quiet little restaurant a “haven at lunch time.” Location may have something to do with it, as it is right around the corner from the Fire Station, the new Police Department and many local businesses. The real reason they all go there is the food. Not only is it tasty, but the portions are generous. During the week expect to see a great buffet that includes a wide variety of delicious foods like Beef Tips, Chicken N Dumplings, Pork N Rice, Fried Chicken, Catfish and the list goes on. Shepherd’s Pie is one of the real favorites that they get lots of calls about. If you are not really into eating buffet, you can still order from a menu. They have a wide variety of sandwich items that include hot dogs, burgers, BLT, Chicken, Tuna, Club, BBQ and Steak. The Club is a tasty choice and one of Apple

Tree’s popular items. It is a more than generous portion of club sandwich, onion rings and pickle. You might want to share or take half back to the oﬃce for an afternoon snack. No matter how full you are, it’s hard to resist their desserts. The Mandarin Orange cake is delightful, as is their list of other desserts, like their banana pudding, cobbler and much more. If you are an early bird you don’t have to wait until lunch to enjoy a great meal at the Apple Tree. They open Monday - Friday at 6 a.m. for breakfast, and they serve lunch until 2 p.m. If you’re looking for a place to eat on Saturday you’d have to get up pretty early to beat the staﬀ to breakfast, since they open their doors at 6 a.m. and will be happy to serve you lunch if you like to do a little sleeping in on the weekend. They stay open until 2 p.m. The breakfast menu has just about everything you can imagine; from their egg menu they have one egg and two egg dishes that include grits and toast or bread. For an additional

charge you can add a meat. For a heartier breakfast, order the N.Y. Strip Steak and Eggs, Corned Beef Eggs or the Combo that includes eggs, large pancake and a meat. Two Egg Omelets are great plain or you can add a variety of meats and/or veggies. Everyone loves the Griddle. Hotcakes and French toast can also be ordered by themselves or you can add a meat. The best deal is the Hotcake Special for $2.99, which includes hotcakes, bacon or sausage and coﬀee. Maybe you’re not really in the mood for a breakfast meal; that’s okay. You may order up a bagel with cream cheese, eggs or numerous meats. Biscuits and sandwiches always make a quick and easy meal. Choose from one or two biscuits with gravy or maybe add some meat, egg or cheese. Don’t forget their one egg special. It comes with grits or potatoes, toast or biscuit and your choice of bacon or sausage. Unfortunately, there are no add-ons or substitutions with this yummy special. Okay, kids. Thought I forgot you? No way. At the Apple Tree you have your own Kid’s Menu. For $1.99 you can choose 1 Pancake and 1 Sausage or 1 Egg with

2 pieces of Bacon, Grits & Toast. Next lunch hour drop by the Apple Tree and eat lunch. You’ll be glad you did. A special thank you to Lunch Cook Debbie Laughter for doing a great job.

CRITICAL INFORMATION Apple Tree 2218 Jim Redman Pkwy Plant City, 33566 813-707-8109 Owner: Betty Messick Manager: Dennis Hilliard Hours: Monday - Friday 6 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Saturday 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. They have a Breakfast and Lunch Child’s Menu and specials that range from $1.99 - $2.49. Breakfast menu items range from $1.45 - $6.00. To-Go orders will cost an additional $ .35 Check out their menu online at ouronlinemenu.com

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 103

n u f

Word to the Wise: Vindicate: To set free

Sage Advice:

Do not confuse fear with caution.

Crossword:

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Fax resumé to:

813-764-0990

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 104

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12409 N. FLORIDA AVE • TAMPA • 813.931.HOME FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 105

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n u f DINING & ENTERTAINMENT

3rd Annual Summer Rhapsody Event BENEFIT FOR THE CORNERSTONE CENTER Story by Sherri Robinson

t was a hot balmy night, as usual, in Plant City on Saturday, August 20th, as residents and visitors from surrounding communities approached the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 503 N. Palmer. This night was special, so everyone donned their Sunday best to partake in “The 3rd Annual Summer Rhapsody.” Upon entering, we found the tables had been set and were waiting for us to be seated and enjoy a delicious dinner. Soon the building ﬁlled and people began to mix and mingle, greeting friends and making new acquaintances. Some spent time making small talk while others conversed intently. Finally a warm welcome was given by Jim Pollard who explained the reason for our gathering and the events that would be taking place throughout the evening. Prayer was oﬀered and a fabulous dinner was served, starting with a crisp green salad and ending with one of Plant City’s favorites, Strawberry Shortcake. The food was catered by the Committee and prepared by the chef from the Orange Blossom Tea Room. The hard working servers were from the Board Members and families of the Board Members. All of us would have loved to linger on a little longer if it weren’t for the reason we were all there, The Cornerstone Center.

Gathering near the exit we made a procession line toward the center, crossing Baker Street to the music of the talented Brett Clancy, bagpipe player. Filing into the historic building with great expectations we took our seat and anxiously waited the evening entertainment by Cheryl Worsham and Company. The four singers presented the program “The Best of Broadway” with passion as the audience tapped their feet and clapped their hands to hit songs such as “Age of Aquarius” and “Let The Sun Shine In.” It was a wonderful evening that came to an end too soon. The only consolation is in knowing that there is more to come in the future. This year’s event brought in approximately $5,000. Over 80 people attended the dinner and about 20 more joined us for the entertainment. It is the vision of the First Baptist Church to preserve the Cornerstone Center, one of Plant City’s most important buildings and to be able to oﬀer it to the community for our use. The Cornerstone Center is a beautiful building with character and history. Those who are aware of its beginnings know how important it was to those who attended church there and now to those who love her for her history. To restore and keep her in good shape

takes money and time. That’s why events such as the annual “Summer Rhapsody” are so important. Some grants have been received to help with the renovation, but more is needed. The windows are beginning to be worked on and the next project which they plan to tackle is getting the rooms ready for renting out. The prices for renting will be kept reasonable and competitive with other places in town, so people will get a good value for their dollar. Look for these upcoming events where all are welcome. In October there will be an Annual Hoe Down, November a Sing will be held and New Years Eve a breakfast will be served just after midnight in celebration of 2006. A luncheon and card party is being held on September 16 from 11:30a.m. - 3p.m. The cost is $15 and reservations need to be made to attend by calling Jennie Leitner at 813-752-5822. Also plan to attend a fundraiser country ﬁsh fry on Oct 29th at the Violet Massey Barn and a BBQ and gospel sing on Nov. 12th at Cornerstone. For more information on renting any of the rooms or donating funds, contact Jim Pollard at 813-752-6760 or Marsha Passmore at 813-754-2301.

One highlight of the evening, the procession to The Cornerstone Center led by Bagpipe player Brett Clancy

FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • September 15 - October 15 • 2005 PG 106

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Randy Larson Softball Four-Plex Stadium Plant City • 6PM-11PM To benefit the United Food Bank Services of Plant City