PLANT CITY TIMES &
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YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
PLANT CI
VOLUME 5, NO. 8
FREE
Crest football: will the streak end with Spoto?
SEE PAGE 12. •
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017
HS football kicks off Get the inside scoop on area teams with the new Football Guide. INSIDE
YOUR TOWN SENIOR OF THE MONTH
Walking her way
Plant City YMCA has a new app The Plant City YMCA just released a new mobile app. Type ‘Tampa YMCA’ in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store to download. Some features are still being worked out and suggestions and feedback can be sent directly to the ‘Y’ at appfeedback@tampaymca.org. The app allows users to check out the schedules at the ‘Y’ as well as check who the instructors are for each class. You can do class reservations and membership check-ins from the app as well. Location, pool and Jr. Kid Zone/ Zeno Zone hours can also all be accessed from the app.
Margie Gonzalez spends her 87th birthday raising money for Operation Smiles by walking a mile for each year of her life. SEE PAGE 7
Daniel Figueroa IV
Turkey Creek School receives new marker On Aug. 19 Turkey Creek High School received an official marker detailing the history of the school. The plaque was sponsored by the Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council and the Turkey Creek High School Alumni. The school operated under the “Strawberry School” concept, which allowed students to attend school from March until December so their annual vacation would fall during strawberry season. Many of the students would use that vacation to work in the fields or packing houses.
Zoom zoom
Highly-attended Plant City Strawberry Classic Cruise-In. SEE PAGE 9.
Breanne Williams
Margie walks around her neighborhood in Walden Lake each week to reach her 87-mile goal.
C.W. Roberts opens asphalt plant in Plant City The company’s newest site went operational Aug. 16. DANIEL FIGUEROA IV STAFF WRITER
Nearly ten years and a few million dollars after purchasing 43 acres of land on Jim Johnson Road, C.W. Roberts opened its fifth asphalt plant Aug. 16. in Plant City. C.W. Roberts kicked off its opening with a tour of the facility led by company president Bob Flowers. The plant creates hot mix asphalt, one of the strongest, most flexible forms of the compound and the most commonly used asphalt type in the United States, often used for road projects. The plant currently uses two silos, each holding about 200 tons of asphalt and taking an hour each to fill. The plant, Flowers said, is capable of producing 1,000 tons of asphalt per day and 200,000 tons per year. It’s also capable of running around the clock, he said. “When we have customers and it’s not broken down, we run it. We expect this plant to serve about 60 to
Daniel Figueroa IV
70% outside customers where some of our plants are 90% internal.” Flowers said being an environmentally friendly facility is a priority. The plant is currently using diesel and burner fuel to heat its
mixture, but will be switching over to natural gas in the coming weeks. “We hope to switch over to natural gas. It’s not cheaper, but it’s SEE ASPHALT PAGE 5
City commissioners Nate Kilton and Mike Sparkman, C.W. Roberts President Bob Flower, Plant City EDC CEO Jake Austin and Mayor Rick Lott