Bloomingdale/FishHawk
PGS 47-56
36
July 2017 Volume 16, Issue 7 Ph: 657-2418 C E L E B R A T I N G
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Families Enjoy Treasure Hunts For Painted Newsome Grad Fulfills Dream And Competes On American Ninja Warrior Rocks Throughout Neighborhoods By Kate Quesada
FishHawk residents Braydon (5) and Grace (9) Kenny and (right) Max Quesada, often take bike rides and walks on the FishHawk Ranch trails looking for rocks.
ninjas Drew Drechsel and Reko Rivera. Last year, Bouton sent in a video submission to be on a college version of the show and although he was not chosen, the casting crew encouraged him to keep submitting applications. In early May, he received a phone call asking him to fly to Denver, Colorado later in the month for a filming. Due to his contract, rother Noah Bouton, Bouton cannot talk Matt Iseman the American Ninja host, about what happened and Taylor Bouton during the taping which took place at 3:30 a.m. "All I can say is that that I was there When FishHawk residents tune into it was the trip of a life time," he said. and the hit television show American Ninja As for advice to anyone with dreams Warrior on July 17, they will have a of making it on the show, Bouton keeps it hometown hero to cheer on. simple. Taylor Bouton, a 21-year-old student "Just have fun," he said. "And learn at Brigham Young University in Utah who to fall. You're going to fall a lot, but you grew up in FishHawk Ranch, filmed an just have to keep on trying and keep havepisode of the show in late-May in which ing fun." athletes are timed attempting to complete Tune into NBC at 8 p.m. on Monday, a course made up of high skill obstacles. July 17 to see Bouton in action. The Newsome High graduate called Visit www.nbc.com/american-ninja-warrior. his trip the culmination of a lifelong dream. "I started watching American Ninja Warrior with my family when I was eight years old and it has turned into somewhat of an obsession for us," said Bouton, the oldest of five siblings. "I spent hours training on the equipment in Ibis Park." Training became such a hobby to the Bouton family that they built 13 obstacles similar to those found on the show, including a Salmon Ladder, in their backyard. At the age of 17, Bouton began training at Life Training Center in Palmetto and despite not being old enough to compete on the show, he participated as a tester for an official course in Orlando two years ago. It was during his role as a tester that he completed the well-known Salmon Run obstacle and earned his nickname "The Nerdy Ninja" from veteran
In This Issue HOA HOT TOPICS ...............................PG 7 WOODEN SPOON DINER. ................PG 13 VIRAL VIDEO ....................................PG 15 MOTORING ......................................PG 27 SPORTS CONNECTION...............PGS 32‐33 CHALKLINES .....................................PG 37 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT................PG 42 EYE ON BUSINESS...........................PGS 45
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Walking around local parks, pathways and walking trails over the last couple of months, residents may have noticed brightly decorated rocks hidden in various spots. These works of art may have been created by members of the local groups including the #FishhawkRocks group which has joined in on a phenomenon sweeping the nation, rock painting and hiding. FishHawk resident Kim Santucci created the FishHawk Rocks Faceook page in April after a relative added her to the “Palm Harbor Rocks” group in Pinellas County. “I had no idea what it was all about, I had never heard of doing this,” said Santucci. “It turned out this was actually a nationwide movement going on simply to make people smile.” After Santucci created the group, she
asked about 30 people to join right away and within hours membership grew, reaching 850 by mid-June. Santucci’s directions to members are simple. “You take a rock, paint it however you’d like and write on the back of it ‘FishHawk Rocks’ and then hide it in a public place somewhere in the area,” she said. “When you find a rock, you take a picture of it to post it on the group page, then you can choose to keep it or re-hide it. It is as simple as that. It is so much fun to see how excited kids get when they find a rock. Most of them choose to keep them, but then they go home and paint their own to hide.” The Facebook page is very active with daily posts from members with pictures of rocks they have hidden and hints on locations in addition to smiling pictures of the finders of the beautiful rocks. Another way members have embraced the trend is with rock painting parties with preschools, moms’ groups and scout troops. Some people also post on social media with the hashtag #fishhawkrocks, so that rock pictures are easily searchable. “I think the FishHawk Rocks idea is awesome,” said FishHawk resident Kristin Kenny, mother to Braydon (5) and Grace (9). “The kids and I regularly go out for walks or bike rides hunting for hidden rocks. It definitely creates a sense of community and is just another reason why I love living in FishHawk.” Search “FishHawk Rocks” or #FishHawkRocks on Facebook to join the group or for more information.
By Kate Quesada
LITHIA
Photo By Tamas Mondovics
Members of a Brandon area youth cheerleading squad wave to the crowd during the Brandon Fourth of July procession. Expecting nearly 100 groups and an estimated 30,000 spectators, the annual parade scheduled for Tuesday, July 4, is said to be Florida’s largest, organized by the Brandon Community Roundtable.
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