PLANT CITY TIMES &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. VOLUME 5, NO. 29
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Junior Royalty gets new queen and court.
SEE PAGE 10 •
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018
Golf course heads to auction The Tampa judge’s decision signals the end of Lynn Archibald and Visions Golf’s chapters with the Walden Lake Golf and Country Club. DANIEL FIGUEROA IV STAFF WRITER
The new year could signal new ownership for the Walden Lake Golf and Country Club, which has been marred with false hopes and broken promises for more than a decade, as it heads to the auction block next month. Judge Emmett Battles granted a final judgment of foreclosure on the embattled golf course Jan. 2, with a
foreclosure auction date of Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. The court determined the actual value of the club to be $2.5 million, more than $400,000 over the initial estimated value. Once the foreclosure sale is complete, Steven Mercer’s financially burdened Visions Golf and the starry-eyed plans of Lynn Archibald’s Professional Golf Global Group will lose all interest in the club, assuming one of the two parties does not buy it back.
Residents in Walden Lake, Plant City’s largest housing community, once celebrated the 36-hole course. When the country club opened in the 1970s, media outlets reported the anticipation for the course on par with the opening of Disney World. And, for a time, the course proved to be a Central Florida destination, attracting professional golfers and boasting a bustling club house. But for years now, the clubhouse and course have devolved to dystopian levels of SEE WALDEN LAKE PAGE 8
YOUR TOWN
Courtesy of Marsha Passmore
Unity in the Community starts off new year with a bang Unity in the Community received a $6,000 check Monday from the Tampa Bay Vettes Club. Ralph Girard, president of the Tampa Bay Vettes club, said they organization appreciated what Unity in the Community represents in Plant City. The organization is comprised of more than 200 members and they voted to donate a portion of their fundraising over the past year to Unity in hopes it will aid in continuing to make a difference in the lives of those in need.
Elks support occupational therapists The Ladies of the Elks for the Plant City Elks Lodge started the new year off with a donation to help children through the Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services. The women held a fundraiser to purchase therapeutic listening equipment, which will assist children in walking and talking for the first time through therapy. The Angel Tree Project features a Christmas tree with clear ornaments full of fake currency. The ornaments on the tree added up to the total funds needed to purchase all of the equipment. Members chose their ornaments and gave a cash donation. Through this program, $825 was raised and another $570 was donated by the Ladies of the Elks. The group then presented a check for $1,395 to Colleen Gallent, director of Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services, and Paula Tarver, occupational therapist, on Jan. 10 for the district to purchase equipment for their therapeutic services. The equipment will be used by therapists and patients in the district and is estimated to help more than 100 children.
The annual Strawberry Queen pageant on Saturday will select five girls to represent the festival and Plant City. The new royals will soon be shepherding in the Strawberry Festival and immersing themselves in the community. BREANNE WILLIAMS | STAFF WRITER
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he 83rd annual Strawberry Festival wouldn’t be complete without its famed Strawberry Queen Scholarship Pageant. This year, 29 girls will compete at the Charlie Grimes Family Agricultural Center Saturday night for a chance to wear the crown. A queen and four court members will be chosen, lives forever changed after joining the strawberry family. SEE QUEEN PAGE 2 — 6
PCPD investigate home invasion The robbery occurred in the Clubhouse Woods neighborhood of Walden Lake early Tuesday morning. DANIEL FIGUEROA IV STAFF WRITER
Breanne Williams
Two suspects robbed a family and threaten their lives in the Clubhouse Woods section of Walden Lake Tuesday morning.
A 63-year-old woman saw two men riding bicycles past her as she returned to her Walden Lake home early Tuesday morning. When she leaned into her car to unload something, one of the men grabbed her, forcing her into the house and threatening to kill her if she didn’t listen, the Plant City Police Department said. PCPD is looking for two suspects, a white male described as approximately 5-foot-11 with short brown
hair wearing a black jacket and khaki pants, and another white male described as wearing dark clothes and a black beanie. The robbery occurred around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday on the 2700 block of Barret Avenue in Walden Lake’s Clubhouse Woods neighborhood. The woman said she might have heard one of the suspects use the name “Aaron” but is unsure. According to police, the woman was forced to lie face-down on her couch as the suspects ransacked the room, later forcing her into another SEE INVASION PAGE 9