Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016
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SQUAWK
ON A ROLL
COMPETITION
Unusal birds have been sighted in P.C.
The Lady Raiders basketball team has ballin’record.
See the ladies in the Strawberry Queen Pageant.
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GOVERNANCE by Emily Topper |StaffWriter
Keel won’t seek re-election Business owner Nate Kilton has announced his candidacy for the vacant seat.
Emily Topper
Plant City Commissioner Billy Keel, with his wife, Donna Keel, announced Monday he will not seek re-election for his commission seat.
OUR TOWN + Internships available The Plant City Photo Archives and History Center has announced that its Intern Program is open for applications for the 2016 spring and the summer terms. The program is designed to provide students the opportunity to learn museum, archives and history center skills in a real-life setting. The Intern Program was initiated in 2010 and has provided high school-level students, college undergraduate students and graduate students learning opportunities in institution operations, accession and documentation procedures, historical research and writing and archiving techniques. The program is structured to be flexible in scheduling and each intern will be monitored by both a mentor and by the organization’s executive director, Gil Gott. Programs of work are set out in advance and interns are provided with formats for daily journal entries and checklists. After the completion of the schedule the intern is presented with an evaluation and a final report. Applications may be submitted beginning Jan. 25 for the spring term and May 31 for the summer term. Interested students can obtain additional information and an application form by visiting the Photo Archives, 106 S. Evers St., or by emailing the executive director at gil@plantcityphotoarchives.org. The office is open for business Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The office telephone number is (813) 754.1578 and the website is PlantCityPhotoArchives. org.
City Commissioner Billy Keel announced at the City Commission meeting Monday, Jan. 11, that he will not seek re-election for his Commission seat in June. Nate Kilton, Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce immediate past chairman, announced his candidacy for Keel’s seat following the meeting. “I have always tried to make
decisions on what I truly believed to be the best for this community, which I love so much,” Keel said. “It has been an honor to do so.”
Keel has served on the City Commission for four years, but his service to Plant City goes far beyond the walls of City Hall. Keel served eight years on the
“I have always tried to make decisions on what I truly believed to be the best for this community, which I love so much. It has been an honor to do so.”
City of Plant City’s Planning Board and is the owner of W. J. Keel Holdings LLC. On Monday, Keel’s company was announced as one of the newest general members for the Plant City Economic Development Corp. Keel, who turns 47 next month, decided not to seek
— Plant City Commissioner Billy Keel
SEE KEEL / PAGE 4
HOMETOWN HERO by Emily Topper |StaffWriter
Victories for Vets
Abby Baker
Pauline Haskins’ birthday is Jan. 7, 1917.
Plant City woman turns 99 Pauline Haskins celebrated her birthday at Stone Ledge Manor.
Rob McGregor stands under the green light outside of the American Legion. McGregor, who served in the Army National Guard, has focused his retirement on helping veterans in Plant City.
Rob McGregor’s service in the military led him to his newest profession: helping fellow vets.
T
he front doors of the American Legion building on Baker Street are marked by two green light bulbs: a nationally recognized sign of thanks and appreciation for veterans. In Plant City, the service organization is known for helping vets through fundraisers and community projects. Inside, finance officer Rob McGregor is hard at work making sure veterans are taken care of outside the Ameri-
can Legion’s walls. McGregor is a family assistance coordinator and technology guru for the Florida National Guard Family Program, an organization dedicated to helping veterans and their families with financial assistance, legal issues and medical benefits. He began working with the program after his wife, Pam, became a volunteer. Often, military veterans have
SEE HERO / PAGE 4
Emily Topper
“Sometimes peoplehavetrouble understanding activedutyNational Guard. They don’t understand their benefits, they don’t understand their entitlements. … ” Rob McGregor
SEE HASKINS / PAGE 4
CHAT TIME
What memory is most important to you? Having my children.
HOMETOWN HERO
INDEX Calendar........................................2
Many family members and friends gathered around Pauline Haskins Saturday, Jan. 9, to celebrate Haskins’ 99th birthday and almost a century of memories. Though Haskins has lived at Stone Ledge Manor, an assisted living and memory care center in Thonotosassa, since 2011, she was born in Madison, Florida Jan. 7, 1917. Haskins’s father worked in the strawberry packing business, causing Haskins and her siblings to move frequently through the state of Florida. But when she was 19, she insisted on staying on a family farm with her cousin. She had just acquired a position as a nanny and didn’t want to lose the job. When she was 22, Haskins attended a dance in Lakeland. There, she caught sight of Hen-
What is your secret to life? I don’t know, the Lord just blessed me I guess.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Hometown Heroes is a recurring feature in the Plant City Times & Observer in which we profile veterans from Plant City. If you have a loved one currently serving or who has served in the past, please contact Managing Editor Amber Jurgensen by email at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com or by phone at (813) 704-6850.
Courtesy of the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center
99 AND COUNTING
by Abby Baker | Staff Intern
Favorite food to cook? Chicken and dumplings.
Vol. 3, No. 23 | One section Crossword.................................15
Obituaries..................................11
Sports...........................................12
Weather......................................15
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