PLANT CITY TIMES &
Observer
Home run proposal.
SEE PAGE 16.
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 5, NO. 6
FREE
YOUR TOWN
Breanne Williams
Mary Heysek and Sandee Sytsma
UFB of Plant City receives over $22,000 donation Florida Strawberry Festival presented the United Food Bank with a check of $22,900 from proceeds from its Strawberry Ball. Mary Heysek, executive director of UFB, said the proceeds will be used directly in the Plant City community to expand its services and make sure that the most needy have food. Heysek said the UFB is completely dependent on community support and volunteers as they only have four paid employees.
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017
PUTTING THE TOP ON Grandstand construction reaches structural milestone at the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds. SEE PAGE 3
Turkey Creek Middle School to receive marker A marker detailing the early history of Turkey Creek Middle School, which was formerly a high school, will be installed soon at the school. The plaque will also explain how it became known as a “strawberry school.” A dedication ceremony will be held Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. at Turkey Creek Middle School. The marker was sponsored by the Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council and Turkey Creek High School Alumni.
Sam Allen Road widening closer to construction Once widened, the road will be able to accommodate the twenty year projection of twice the traffic volume and encase the ‘heart’ of the city in a four-lane loop.
Daniel Figueroa IV
Denver Lee and Dustin Pannell of Knowles Construction place the final piece of structural steel on the Strawberry Festival’s grandstand.
Local realtor thanks HS teachers Teachers from Durant and Plant City High Schools were treated to barbecue lunches this week, courtesy of Colette McEntire.
DANIEL FIGUEROA IV DANIEL FIGUEROA IV
STAFF WRITER
A decades-old plan to wrap the heart of Plant City in a four-lane loop is getting closer to completion as a project to widen Sam Allen Road gets closer to the construction phase. Sam Allen Road will be transformed from a two-lane rural road to a fourlane divided urban roadway for two miles running from Paul Buchman Highway to east of Park Road. The project is expected to begin construction toward late spring 2018, Kevin Lee, project manager for the Florida Department of Transportation, said. There’s no expected completion date, Lee said, but a project like the Sam Allen widening could take between 700 and 900 days. Once completed, the project will help to complete a loop around the city, something Mayor Rick Lott said has been a consistent goal of the City SEE ROAD PAGE 3
STAFF WRITER
Colette McEntire felt that teachers were underpaid and under appreciated. So, for this week at least, she made sure they were well fed. McEntire, a Plant City-based realtor, spent her Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons feeding about 400 local high school teachers. Tuesday, she provided lunch to about 200 Plant City High School teachers and fed another 200 from Durant High School the following day. McEntire had Plant City’s First Choice Barbecue provide food for the teachers. The event was a first for her. “I was trying to give back to the community,” McEntire said. “Teachers are really not very appreciated. I wanted to do something to kick off the school year and say thanks for everything they do.” McEntire spoke with her friend, Nia Ramo, about what she might be
able to do to help the community. McEntire is also a client of Ramo’s social media and content marketing agency, Graphite Media. After working together for a bit, the two became fast friends, Ramo said. She was eager to help McEntire plan. Ramo said when conversations about giving back to the community began, teachers were at the top of the list. “Events like this need to happen more often,” she said. “They get our children and they shape our future. We need to make sure they feel appreciated. It’s important to me. I’m glad it was equally important to her.” McEntire said she wanted to start with high school teachers because they have to deal with teens who can be “difficult” to deal with. “I mean, I wasn’t,” she said. “But my daughter was.” High school teachers hold a special place for Ramo, a PCHS grad herself. Now a mom of four, two of whom have also passed through the halls of PCHS, she said she wouldn’t be the woman she is today without the help of Ms. Warner, a history teacher she had at PCHS. “She helped shape who I am,” Ramo said. “She taught me I could be misSEE LUNCH PAGE 4
Daniel Figueroa IV
Colette McEntire speaks with teachers from Plant City High School’s world languages department.