YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
INSIDE
EXCLUSIVE
SPORTS
PAGE 3
PAGE 7
SEE PAGE 11
Christmas came early for children at Bruton library.
OUR TOWN
FREE • THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014
education
Community crowns 2014 Little Miss Plant City.
te Editor sen | Associa n e rg Ju r e b by Am
Payton Astin named 2014 Miss Cougar.
NOM NOM
by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
JYQUIS THOMAS
New P.C. eateries opening soon
EDUARDO CABRALES
Jake’s Wayback Burgers and Firehouse Subs both should open in the next three to four months, at Lake Walden Square.
, 3& 3ODQW&LW\2EVHUYHU FRP
+ Observer snags newspaper awards
The Plant City Observer/ Plant City Times & Observer this week won five awards in the Local Media Association’s 2013 Editorial Contest, a national competition. Our awards include: First place: Best Sports Section First place: Best Feature — “A Chance to Change” Second place: Best Front Page Second place: Best Special Section — Summer Bucket List 2013
Her mother was coming at her with it, threatening to burn her. Pate kept her at bay, struggling to rip the cord out of the wall. She managed to avoid being singed. After that, she had had enough abuse. She resolved to run away. Pate is the second-born out of 11. When she was born, her mother was
Plant City resident soon will be enjoying some new dining options at Lake Walden Square. Jake’s Wayback Burgers and Firehouse Subs both will open this summer, adding sizzle and spice to the city’s growing menu of dining options. Jake’s Wayback Burgers franchise owner James Payne hopes to open his 1950s-diner-inspired restaurant within three to four months, “It was important to me that the franchise or brand fit in with the community,” Payne said. “That’s what I love about Plant City ... the community spirit. I wanted to make sure that it fit in.” “Wayback Burgers does very well in smaller communities, where we can connect with the local community and embrace fundraising, local sponsorships with the community, etc.,” said Jakes Franchising Director of Marketing Gillian Maffeo. “(Plant City) is the perfect community for this type of franchise — and about serving the pastime favorite foods and embracing the future.” Within the community, Lake Walden Square proved to be a great location for the restaurant. “The location has been vacant for a long time, and we saw an opportunity for an end cap that we can customize with our décor,” Maffeo said. “It is a great selection for community opportunities. There is a high school about 200 yards away, a dentist and other offices that are in the area and a movie theater. The daytime population in the center is high as well. The area is the ‘unofficial’ heart of Plant City.” Payne has been looking into opening the restaurant for about a year and used local banks and insurance companies to help in the process. Construction will begin this month.
SEE EDUCATION / PAGE 4
SEE EATERIES / PAGE 5
MARQUASHA PATE
+ Resident plans event for veterans
Plant City resident Sharon Flowers is organizing a group for Flags of Fallen Vets. The group will travel Saturday, May 25, to Florida National Cemetery, in Bushnell, to place flags at graves.The deadline to sign up is April 21. For more information, call Flowers at (813) 7646440.
+ Scouts earn Eagle status
Many years of hard work paid off for five Boy Scouts on March 24, when they received the award of Eagle Scout. Chase Dunn, Michael Hahn, Isaac Rivers, Christopher Tatum and Spencer Tatum, along with their families, were honored in a ceremony at American Legion Post 26.
, 3&
This week’s winner is
Ashlee Bradberry See her photo on PAGE 15.
ALBERTO GOMEZ
IMPRESSIVE TURNAROUND Four Plant City-area students overcame incredible obstacles to make it to graduation day.
Sometimes, an incredible student isn’t the one with the highest GPA. Sometimes, a student can really make an impact when they are quite the opposite of the valedictorian. The annual Turn Around Student Awards, held April 4, in Tampa, showcased the amazing 180-degree flips students from throughout the district have completed. Four students from Plant City-
area high schools were honored this year. Each has come from a different background. Each has had overwhelming obstacles. And each has triumphed his or her own demons.
Marquasha Pate, 18
Simmons Career Center The steaming metal of a hot iron stared Marquasha Pate in the face.
relay for life by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Ceremony illuminates heart of annual event The luminarias are a touching way to remember someone who has lost his or her battle with cancer. Beth Odom choked back tears as she gripped a tall purple pillar candle at the Relay for Life Survivor Dinner March 24. Her husband, Steve, helped her light it, and the flame flickered and swayed to the vibrations of her voice.
It was in honor of her grandmother, Mable Fouts, who had just been diagnosed with cancer. Odom hoped she would be able to pull through, although the outlook wasn’t positive. Odom’s worst fear came true on April
1. Fouts died after a week fighting for her life in a hospice facility. “Everything this year is so fresh to me,” Odom said. Fresh — but not new. Odom is no stranger to cancer. Nine family members have battled cancer. And Odom herself survived cervical cancer.
SEE LUMINARIAS / PAGE 4
INDEX Calendar.......................2
Vol.1,No.37 | Onesection Crossword...................15
Obituaries...................10
Sports.........................11
Weather......................15
3ODQW&LW\2EVHUYHU FRP