Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
SPOTLIGHT
NOVEMBER 11
VETERANS DAY
Area church hosts annual Antioch Days.
Thank you to all Plant City veterans for your service.
PAGE 7
OUR TOWN + Wasabi set to open next week Residents may have noticed that Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar didn’t open in October. But, those who have been craving authentic Asian cuisine have nothing to fear: It is set to open Nov. 13. “Building inspections took a little longer than planned,” owner Franky Wu says. “It can take up to seven months to get everything done, and we have spent about five months getting the building inspected. Sometimes, the contractors don’t come on time.” Wasabi will have regular dining tables, eight hibachi tables, a full sushi bar and a special hibachi room for 22 guests. Along with traditional Japanese steakhouse favorites, the restaurant will feature a number of unique sushi rolls on the menu. Wasabi is located at 203 W. Alexander St., in the Lake Walden Square shopping plaza.
FROM THE GROUNDUP With the plants in the ground and cool, dry weather, Plant City strawberry farms are hoping for a fruitful season. Although it will be another six months before Plant City’s farmers will be able to evaluate this year’s strawberry season, so far, the weather has treated the community’s famous crop favorably. “The weather is delightful,” said Ted Campbell, executive director for the Florida Strawberry Growers Association. “It’s perfect right now. There have been no monsoon rains. “We’re always optimistic,” Campbell said. “Farmers are always optimistic.” In the past month, strawberry plants have found their new homes within the long beds throughout the community. The weather — cool and dry — has been kind to this early, delicate stage, but the forecast is just one of many factors that can make or break a strawberry season. Several local farmers already have had to replant their crops because of disease. Plants must be irrigated heavily in the beginning stages for the roots to grow.
The Health Center of Plant City will host a Vintage Car Show from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at the center, 701 N. Wilder Road. The event will feature refreshments, live entertainment and, of course, plenty of classic rides. For more information, call (813) 752-3611.
Disease is spread more easily during irrigation. Still, Campbell said he already has seen blooms in some of Hillsborough County’s 11,000 acres of strawberry fields. Once plants bloom, they are about 30 to 35 days from being picked. When they are ready to be harvested, workers can pick the plants about every three days. Farmers hope the weather stays consistent — and that Plant City avoids a devastating cold snap similar to the one that occurred in 2010. It lasted about 12 to 14 days in January, killing or stunting crops. “We had the freeze of all freezes,” Campbell said. But, warm temperatures also can have a detrimental effect. The last two years have been unusually warm, which made the plants produce much faster. This led to oversupply and depressed prices. And, of course, there still are concerns regarding competition from Mexico. Companies have been moving to Mexico to escape labor costs and regulations. Furthermore, Mexican strawberries enter the market during the same time
SEE STRAWBERRIES / PAGE 4
+ Car washes offer free service to vets
, 3&
This week’s winner is
DonnaRae Stitzel See her photo on PAGE 14.
SPORTS Broome sets sights on Plant City sack record. PAGE 11
business
STRAWBERRY SEASON by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
+ Health center to host car show
Grace For Vets, a national organization of car wash operators, will provide free car washes for veterans and service personnel on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Locally, two car washes will be offering the services: • Octopus Car Wash, 1503 S. Collins St. • Walden Lake Car Wash, 1414 S Alexander St. For more information, visit graceforvets.org.
FREE • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Armor Products moves to new P.C. facility
THE PLANTING
PROCESS
In the age of mechanization, the process of planting strawberries is quite the opposite. A whopping 200 million plants have to be planted each year — all by hand — in a two- to three-week window. The fields are prepared in September, with the soil being treated for fungus, weeds and other pathogens. During this time, the strawberry plants are on their way to Florida, shipped from northern nurseries in refrigerated trucks. The beds are formed using a tractor, which raises the soil up about a foot in long rows. Everbearing strawberries, in contrast to June-bearing strawberries, require their feet to not be wet, so they must be high. Plastic is wrapped over the beds. It is then perforated by a tractor and equipment to ensure proper spacing. About 19,000 plants are planted per acre. Like machines, laborers take a pile of plants, sliding them along the beds and pushing each one into the perforated holes into the soil below. The semi-dormant plants have bare roots and a few leaves at the beginning. Farmers must water them heavily for new root growth to start. It’s a dangerous time in the plant’s life. The transplants could dehydrate in the 80- and 90-degree fall weather. After two weeks of nurturing, new leaves begin to appear, and the plants are on their way to producing the winter strawberry crop.
The company creates bags for the scuba industry, shopping chains and even for use in the military. Armorbags and DocksLocks have combined with Armor Products in a new location at 2610 Airport Road. The companies held a celebration Nov. 4, at the new facility. The companies have been in Plant City since 1998 but have rented various facilities. Armor Products closed in May on the current location. The offices have been gutted and updated, and an additional building has been added to the lot. Eight new employees were hired in August to keep up with production. “It’s exactly what we needed,” President David Carmichael said. “We had to have a large, air-conditioned space for workers.” Armor Products specializes in textile production, making a variety of bags from backpacks to packaging. About 30 to 50% of its sales comes from the diving industry. Armor Products manufactures diving bags, bait bags, mesh bags and more. The company’s biggest trade show, sponsored by the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association, took place this week, in Orlando. Armor Products isn’t limited to just Central Florida. It sells to about 300 to 500 dealers across the United States and Canada under its brand. The company also manufactures a variety of bags for other companies. These can include anything from gear bags for the rodeo and off-shore oil industries to suitcases, from military backpacks to Victoria’s Secret shopping bags.
SEE ARMOR / PAGE 4
miracle by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Failed abortion survivor to speak at Pregnancy Care Center Banquet The Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City will host Melissa Ohden as the guest speaker at the annual banquet. Melissa Ohden was supposed to die. It was a dismal day on Aug. 24, 1977. A 19-year-old college student went to a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital for an abortion. The unmarried woman was a taboo. She was forced into the option by family members.
The unwanted baby was Ohden. It didn’t matter that Ohden had eyelids. Or that she could suck her thumb. At less than five months, Ohden wasn’t going to be given a chance to live. Her mother underwent a saline infusion abortion.
The toxic salt solution was injected into the amniotic sac. The poison was meant to scald the fetus to death. But, somehow, Ohden survived. She was delivered at just 2 pounds and 14 ounces. “I am one of the few people that can say they survived an
abortion,” Ohden said. Ohden will be sharing her amazing life journey at the Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City’s annual banquet, Nov. 12, at Plant City’s First Baptist Church. The banquet, themed “Chosen by God,” will begin at 6 p.m. “There will be a couple of bombshells that I will drop
SEE OHDEN / PAGE 4
INDEX Calendar.......................2
Courtesy photo
Melissa Ohden will share her story at the 2013 Pregnancy Care Center Banquet.
Vol. 1, No. 15 | One section Cops .............................5
Crossword...................14
Obituaries...................10
Sports.........................11
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