Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
ON CAMPUS
Jack Falter goes to his first day of school virtually.
Junior Corey King to prove himself as PCHS’ quarterback.
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TRIBUTE by Patty Ryan | Tampa Bay Times
TIMES SQUARE STAR by Emily Topper | Staff Writer
Community remembers John Germany
Mr. Germany, who grew up in Plant City, was a driving force behind Tampa’s downtown library.
+ Family presented proclamation
His diagnosis came last month. Incurable cancer. At 92, John F. Germany began to say his goodbyes. Young lawyers and old friends dropped by to see him, and his family gathered around. But there were final instructions from the man who founded downtown Tampa’s public library and remembered it in his waning hours, as he shared the beginnings of a plan to expose more children to books. “He wants people to love
Courtesy photo
John Germany moved to Plant City from Alabama when he SEE GERMANY / PAGE 4 was in infant, in 1923.
WHODUNNIT by Abby Baker | Staff Intern
Tickets on sale for mystery dinner Plant City caps off the summer with its 16th mystery dinner theater showing. Emily Topper
Easton Chandler, 4, will be featured in a video in Times Square Saturday, Sept. 19, to bring awareness to Down syndrome and support acceptance.
A Little Extra
LOVE
+ ALDI to host hiring events Plant City and Brandon residents looking for a new job opportunity in the retail industry can head to one of two hiring events in September for the grocery chain ALDI. The chain is looking for store associates, shift managers and manager trainees. Plant City’s hiring event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Plant City ALDI, 3201 James L. Redman Parkway. Brandon’s hiring event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at the Brandon ALDI, 620 E. Brandon Blvd.
Four-year-old Easton Chandler’s picture will be shown in the bright lights of Times Square Saturday, Sept. 19, along with 450 people who have the chromosomal condition Down syndrome. Jen Chandler’s favorite thing about her 4-year-old son Easton Chandler is his jubilant smile — a smile that will be seen by thousands in a video in Times Square Saturday, Sept. 19, one week after Easton turns 5. Easton has Down syndrome, a chromosomal condition that is found in more than four million people across the globe. His picture was one of 450 selected out of 2,000 submissions for the annual video event, which is sponsored by the National Down Syndrome Society. “I found a favorite picture of him and decided to submit,” Jen Chandler said. She first came across the
Interested applicants must be at least 18 years
I PC
This week’s winner is
Danielle Vinciguerra See her photo on PAGE 15.
RISING STAR
ORIENTATION
Joshua Blair is PCHS’ new band director.
OUR TOWN
Charlie and Ruth Bell, along with their daughter, Francis Bell Monticello, were presented with a proclamation by Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham at the County Commission meeting Wednesday, Aug. 19. The Bells started the first volunteer fire station in Springhead in the 1960s. They owned an air-conditioning company when they witnessed a fire near their business in the early 1960s. At that time, the closest fire rescue team was located in Valrico. It took too long for rescue teams from the Valrico and Brandon areas to arrive at the scene, and the building burned down. That incident gave the Bells the motivation to create a volunteer fire department. They kept the fire truck in their backyard, and many of the Bell’s employees worked as volunteer firefighters. This summer, a new fire station replaced the 41-year-old building near Coronet Road that housed the volunteers at one point. Station 25 now belongs to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. It is located at 2606 E. Trapnell Road, and is about 9,000 square feet.
FREE • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
SEE EASTON / PAGE 4
Some theater rehearsals are formal occasions, with the actors concentrating on the seriousness of their craft. The rehearsals for this annual mystery dinner theater are nothing like that. At St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Monday, Aug. 24, cast and crew sat around a table laughing and exchanging interpretations of each other’s characters. “We don’t take anything too seriously,” Dodie White, play director, said. On Sept. 12, the group will star in a performance that also includes dinner and audience participation at Hill-
WHEN: Doors open at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 WHERE: John R. Trinkle Center on Hillsborough Community College Plant City campus, 1206 Park Road. TICKETS: $45; Dodie White, (813) 927-0595 sborough Community College’s John R. Trinkle Center, on the Plant City campus. The show is “A Fatal Night at the County Fair,” and the
SEE MYSTERY / PAGE 5
GLITZ & GLAMOUR by Emily Topper | Staff Writer
Strawberry Ball event date changes One of the most upscale events of the season now will be held after the annual Florida Strawberry Festival.
Courtesy photo
Easton and his dad, Scott Chandler, go to T-ball games.
For as long as Plant City residents can remember, the Florida Strawberry Festival kicks off with one of the most glamorous events of the season: the Strawberry Ball. But this year will be different. The Strawberry Ball will be held in April, after the 11-day festival has ended, instead of its usual January date. The change in date will serve as a trial run in 2016, Festival Manager Paul Davis said. If successful, the board
INDEX Calendar........................2
IF YOU GO
of directors may choose to permanently hold the Strawberry Ball after the festival is over. In the past, the committee for the ball has worked around the clock to ensure a successful event. Days lasting until 11 p.m. leading up to the ball were not uncommon. The individuals who build the backdrops to the ball, such as a full-size riverboat stage, also serve on
SEE BALL / PAGE 4 Vol. 3, No. 5 | One section
Crossword....................15
Obituaries....................10
Opinion.........................6
Sports..........................11
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