PLANT CITY TIMES &
Observer
Raiders run the field .
SEE PAGE 12
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 4, NO. 30
FREE
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Ulta Beauty: Coming soon to Plant City The store is set to open in the second half of 2017 in the Lake Walden Square plaza. SEE PAGE 4
YOUR TOWN
‘SOLDIERS ARE MADE’ After getting injured in Baghdad, Iraq, in July 2007, retired U.S. Army Cpl. Jonny Flores was awarded a Purple Heart Medal. Now, the Plant City resident lives for those who didn’t get a second chance.
Local Lovebirds Joseph Wayne Mattair and Sue Ann Barbee are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Bryan Wayne Mattair, of Plant City, to Sharon Flowers, the daughter of Geraldine Flowers and the late John Flowers, also of Plant City. The couple met at Westside Baptist Church nine years ago and became friends over the years. While volunteering for the Glaros family during Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail and The Christmas Trail, the couple grew close. “God began to work on me over the last four years,” Bryan Mattair said. “Sharon never gave up on me or stopped loving me. In fact, she prayed often for God to step in and He did in His perfect timing. She is my best friend, my life and my love, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.” Bryan Mattair proposed to his new fiancée Saturday, Jan. 28, at Grandpa Johnson’s Barbeque in Plant City as part of his birthday celebration. “Johnson’s was so great to us,” Bryan Mattair said. “They even gave us a bowl of strawberry shortcake. We loved every moment of it ... but more importantly, we love each other so much and we thank God for bringing us together.”
EMILY TOPPER MANAGING EDITOR
I
n the spring of 2005, Jonathan “Jonny” Flores was a new father trying to make ends meet. “I was working two jobs,” Flores, now 30, said. “Carpentry during the day and Boston Market at night.” He hadn’t thought about joining the military until he was approached by a recruiter for the United States Marine Corps who asked him about a plan for his life. This is it, Flores told him. But curiosity tugged at the corners of his mind. A few days later, he walked into the recruiter’s office. He was redirected to the United States Army, and sent before a judge to clear his record. “I wasn’t the best kid,” Flores said. “When I was 16, I thought I was getting jumped. It was late at night. I hit the guy, but it turned out he was an undercover cop.” The judge, a United States Air Force Vietnam veteran, wiped Flores’ record clean in order to give him a fresh start. Then four years into the War on Terror, the judge’s reasoning was simple. “He said that what I would be enduring over there would be more than any punishment here,” Flores said. Soldiers, as he would learn, aren’t born. They’re made.
Emily Topper
Retired U.S. Army Cpl. Jonathan “Jonny” Flores was awarded a Purple Heart Medal after being injured in Baghdad, Iraq in July 2007.
SEE HEROES PAGE 3
Black Heritage Festival set for next weekend United Food Bank seeking volunteers The United Food Bank of Plant City is seeking weekday volunteers. Volunteer shifts take place between 12 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, and between 12 to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The mission of the United Food Bank and Services of Plant City is to provide assistance for the needy and help them reach a state of sufficiency, empowerment and self-reliance. Those interested in volunteering can contact the United Food Bank of Plant City at (813) 764-0625. The United Food Bank of Plant City is located at 702 E. Alsobrook St., Plant City.
This year’s festival will run from Friday, Feb. 10, through Sunday, Feb. 12, and will include a banquet, youth summit and gospel concert. DANIEL FIGUEROA IV STAFF WRITER
For the 14th year, Plant City residents will gather to celebrate Black Heritage Month in February with a weekend full of events more expansive and inclusive than ever before — especially for youth. Sharon Moody, chair of the Plant City Black Heritage Celebration Inc., said there will be a number of changes to this year’s 14th Annual Plant City Black Heritage Festival. “This year we are happy to
announce that we are partnering with Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tampa Black Heritage Festival and the Florida State Fair in order to recognize students and provide scholarships to nine winners of the 2017 LEAD Student Contest,” Moody said. LEAD stands for learn, empower, advocate and dream, qualities that the organization aims to instill in future leaders. “(The contest) challenged students to create an artistic interpretation of how he or she has been inspired by a local black leader.” Through the partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools and the Plant City Black Heritage Festival, $4,500 was raised to be distributed among the nine winners of the contest. Three students will be picked from each of three categories of literature, performance and visual File Photo
SEE HERITAGE PAGE 5
Sharon Moody is the chair of the Plant City Black Heritage Celebration Inc.