7 September 2021 Volume 19, Issue 9 Ph: 657-2418

CELEBRATING 19 YEARS OF PUBLISHING POSITIVE COMMUNITY NEWS COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO

SUPPORT SIMMONS BOYS & GIRLS CLUB

By Libby Hopkins

Te Simmons Boys & Girls Club of Riverview staf and Senior

Program Specialist Samori Hayden, along with the Riverview community, are the perfect combination that makes the club awesome for all of its children.

When Delicia Hargrove became the new club director of the Sandy & George Simmons Family Riverview Boys & Girls Club, she didn’t realize how supportive the Riverview community is when it comes to supporting their local businesses and organizations. “I came from Plant City and I truly didn’t know much about the Riverview community,” Hargrove said. “When it came to needing help for the Boys & Girls Club, all I had to do was ask and the Riverview community was there to help.”

Hargrove wanted to have a backpack drive to help the children who are a part of her club. “I told the Riverview Chamber of Commerce I wanted to have a backpack drive and they made it happen,” Hargrove said. “They got Coca-Cola, Herzing University and Hess Orthodontics to donate backpacks. We were able to give out the backpacks and school supplies the week before school started.”

Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay serves more than 22,000 youth in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties annually at its 22 clubs in the area. The staf diligently work with students who fall into the learning gap due to the disparity in academic performance creating an opportunity gap which is dependent on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and other factors that contribute to academic limitations. Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay has been a strong thread in the fabric of the Tampa Bay community for more than 90 years. In 1926, the Tampa Rotary Club established the first club, the West Tampa Boys Club. After successfully financing and operating the club for almost 20 years, the Rotarians recognized a need for expansion and thus began the growth of an organization dedicated to serving young men and women in our community. “The Riverview community fully supports the Simmons Boys & Girls Club,” Hargrove said. “Without the help of the Riverview community and my assistant, Samori Hayden, we would not have been able to provide our kids with backpacks for school.” Hargrove is extremely proud of Hayden. “This fall, Samori will be a member of the USF marching band, the Herd of Thunder,” Hargrove said. “He balances his school and band schedule all while working at the Riverview Boys & Girls Club as a senior program specialist, where he has been working since 2020. He enjoys mentoring and participating in activities with the members of the club.” The Simmons Boys and Girls Club is located at 6809 Krycul Ave. in Riverview.

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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BREAKS GROUND ON APOLLO BEACH FIRE STATION 29

Staf Report

Work is underway on a new fire station to serve the growing communities in Apollo Beach. Hillsborough County formally broke ground on Fire Station 29 in Apollo Beach last month, replacing a much smaller, outdated fire station down the street.

The station will be located at 6720 N. U.S. 41 in Apollo Beach and will help serve the fast-growing communities of Apollo Beach, MiraBay, Waterset and Adamsville.

According to the county’s Chris Wilkerson, the new location provides the crews with quick access to U.S. 41 to help improve response times.

“The new, 10,000-square-foot station will have three drive-through apparatus bays for a fire engine, an ALS rescue truck and a tanker truck capable of delivering 3,000 gallons of water directly to a fire scene,” said Wilkerson. “The station also will be home to a battalion chief’s vehicle and 21 or more firefighters/paramedics working three 24hour shifts.”

Station 29 also is the home of Hillsborough’s Marine Rescue Crew. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue’s 38-foot Fire Boat 29 (FB 29) responds to nautical emergencies and can spray up to 3,500 gallons of seawater a minute from deck guns, put out fuel fires with foam retardant and is docked nearby at Lands End Marina. Launched in 2018, FB 29 responds to boat fires, medical calls and other nautical emergencies, providing critical protection in a waterfront community with a major port and thousands of recreational boaters.

Working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies, the craft and its crew cover a 42-mile shipping channel and surrounding waters from Port Tampa Bay to

west of Egmont Key. Powered by four 250-horsepower Yamaha outboard engines, FB 29 has a top speed of 49 mph. With twin hulls and a draft of just 28 inches, the craft can navigate shallow waters and pull up to beaches and islands with a bow that drops forward, landing craft-style, to load incapacitated patients Hillsborough County formally broke ground on Fire Station 29 in Apollo Beach last month, replacing a much smaller, outdated fre in medical need. The station also includes station down the street. the latest in architectural safety measures, such as laundry and showers between the apparatus bays and the main part of the station so that firefighters can decontaminate before entering the station’s living quarters. Eliminating carcinogens is critically important in keeping firefighters healthy from cancer-causing smoke common in modern fires. To learn more, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org.

IN THIS ISSUE:

CONCERTS FOR A CAUSE..................PG 3 MOTORING TAMPA BAY ................... PG 5 EYE ON BUSINESS.............................PG 25 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ..............PGS 36-39