Brandon/Winthrop 25-33
7
April 2022
Volume 17, Issue 4
Ph: 813-657-2418
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF PUBLISHING P OSITIVE COMMUNIT Y NEWS
BRANDON CHAMBER LAUNCHES ERNEST FERNANDEZ JR. SCHOLARSHIP
BRANDON HIGH AND LIMONA ELEMENTARY IN LINE FOR PEDESTRIAN SAFETY UPGRADES
By Brad Stager
By Linda Chion
Photo courtesy of Linda Chion
The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce recently announced a new scholarship to honor longtime community leader and educator Ernest Fernandez Jr.
education. Born on December 2, 1938 in Ybor City, the lifelong Tampa resident attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Academy, The University of Tampa and the University of South Florida. Fernandez served as a Brandon Academy administrator from 1973 through 1986 and was active in the Brandon community, including as a past chamber chair. Recognizing the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce’s Dr. Earl J. Lennard Scholarship Fund, Snively said she got behind a similar scholarship fund for Fernandez. “When we started meeting as past chairs every month, after my one-year tenure as chair starting in 2011, that’s when I met Ernest,” Snively said. “He always wanted to talk about education, and especially so after I was elected to the school board. He was always very passionate about education and what we could do as a chamber to help our schools.” To learn more, contact the chamber at 813-689-1221.
Osprey Observer 2109 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. Valrico, FL 33596
This map from the Hillsborough County website shows the student transportation pathways for Brandon High School and Limona Elementary School that are under review for safety upgrades.
Improvement Project 69676009, is accessible via the Hillsborough County website. Details about the project, which has cost $30,277 so far, are available there, as is a public survey and comment section that was open from March 28 until April 10. Comments on the portal during the engagement period are anonymous, but among those left there
Students who walk or ride bicycles to attend two Brandon public schools will benefit from improvements being planned for the routes they travel. The Hillsborough County School Route Safety Improvement Program identifies routes that have a lot of Photo courtesy of Hillsborough County students using their legs to travel between home and school and that Limona Elementary School students navigate the intersection of Telfair and Windhorst Rds. also could benefit from safety improvements. Brandon High School at 1101 were common concerns, such as the general Victoria St. and Limona Elementary School need for engineering improvements and the at 1115 Telfair Rd., about 1 mile south of the behavioral problems of distracted or speedhigh school, are among locations identified ing drivers, as related by one commenter as candidates for pedestrian corridor up- who identified as living near the intersection grades. of Lumsden Rd. and Parsons Ave. The two schools are paired for what the “It’s overdue and certainly needed. The county is calling the Brandon High School population is increasing and Brandon Bouand Limona Elementary School Routes Pe- levard and Lumsden Road are major roads, destrian and Bicycle Safety Improvement and it does need the improvement for chilProject because of the close proximity they dren safety to be able to get to school. Also, have to each other and also because they the speed limit on Lumsden Road needs to share many of the same pedestrian path- be changed from 45 to 35 mph. Cars comways used by students. ing from Lumsden/Lithia intersection flying Among the hazards that officials consider over 45 mph,” said the commenter. are if incomplete or poorly maintained sideFor more information call 813-635-5400 walks exist as well as whether traffic con- or visit the Hillsborough County Engagetrols like signs and signals or more lighting ment Hub at hcflgov.net. can help improve safety, making nonautomotive travel to school more appealing to families. Traffic volume, vehicle crashes and MEALS ON WHEELS .............................PG 3 number of students walking or bicycling are PG 15 also considered, as is input from residents. JULESTARZ GOES TO MACYS The improvements are currently in the EYE ON BUSINESS ...................PGS 38-39 planning stage. A public engagement por- SUMMER CAMPS......................PGS SEC 2 tal for the project, also known as Capital
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A posthumous honor for longtime community leader and educator Ernest Fernandez Jr. kicked off in March at the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, where money was raised for a namesake scholarship program to benefit Brandon High School graduates. Spearheaded by past chamber Chairs Sandra Murman and Melissa Snively, the Ernest Fernandez Jr. Scholarship Program was introduced to the chamber membership at the group’s annual meeting on March 31 at the Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel. There, Snively of FishHawk, a State Farm insurance agent and school board member, got the ball rolling with requests from the podium for donations. In response, thousands of dollars were committed, a gesture that Brandon High Principal Jeremy Klein, in attendance, recognized in warm and thankful remarks. Snively, in an interview after the meeting, said she went ‘rogue’ in asking for donations and had anticipated receiving at least $1,000 to get the scholarship
established. Instead, about $4,000 was raised, “which means we might be able to award four or five seniors from Brandon High with this namesake scholarship,” she said. Fernandez died in December 20 at age 83, leaving behind a career in education that spanned 42 years with Hillsborough County Public Schools, where he worked as a teacher, principal and administrator with an eventual focus on adult and community
The Thinking Money for Kids exhibit is now at the Arthenia L. Joyner University Area Community Library. The exhibit explores financial literacy topics for kids ages 7- 11 and their parents, caregivers and educators. See full story on Page 15.
813-689-8131 • 3159 E. State Road 60 - Valrico