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IN FOCUS SPORTS
NEWS
Bob Willaford’s caboose moves to new home.
Plant City relives the good ol’ days at annual event.
+ Hill earns firefighter award Plant City Fire Rescue announced firefighter paramedic Dustin Hill as its 2013 Firefighter of the Year. His selection was founded not on one single act but rather on several facets of his career. Most recently, Hill was selected as one of the department’s Emergency Response Team members. Hill also serves as a field training officer and is responsible for teaching new personnel the skill sets required to perform as paramedics. In addition to his duties with Plant City Fire Rescue, Hill also serves as a reservist in the U.S. Army and earned a Bronze Star while deployed in Afghanistan. “In my short tenure with the department, (Hill) has most definitely left a positive impression,” says Fire Chief Dan Azzariti. “The great pride he takes in his career, and our department really shines through in every aspect of his performance.”
Aliyah Gregory adds special goal to 2013 season.
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OUR TOWN
FREE • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2013
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meat meet
IN FOCUS by Michael Eng | Editor
by Michael Eng | Editor
Strutting their Stuff More than 450 people packed the HCC Plant City John R. Trinkle Center Nov. 15, to cheer on the 11 couples who took the spotlight at the sixth annual Dancing With the Locals. The dance competition featured everything from swing and line dancing to the Charleston and an elegant waltz. The competition, one of the Plant City Noon Rotary Club’s main fundraisers of the year, raised money to purchase automated external defibrillators for the Plant City Police Department. Dancers vied for top honors before a panel of judges, which included Paul Davis, James Surrency, Traci Walding and Michelle Wegner. Organizers also awarded the couples who raised the most money from audience donations and sponsorships. Judges awarded three couples with perfect scores: Dr. Ray Gutierrez and Luly Bonilla; Dr. Daniel and Arienne Middlebrooks; and Steve Bonds and Natasha Davis. After deliberating, judges named Gutierrez and Bonilla their top couple. The top fundraising couples included Olan Deguzman and Amy Glover; Dr. Derek and Katie Busciglio; and Bonds and Davis. Other participating couples included: father/daughter duo LaRoyce and Maddy Keene; Matt Maloney and Amber Kosinsky; husband and wife Barry and Krisha Maurer; Beau Walden and Plant City Times & Observer Associate Editor Amber Jurgensen; father/daughter team Rick and Ericka Lott; and Cliff Brown and Shana Mitchell.
Plant City primed for BBQ throwdown Eighty-three teams from as far as South Dakota, California and Utah are scheduled to appear at the 11th Plant City Pig Jam.
Luly Bonilla and Dr. Ray Gutierrez won first-place honors from the judges.
+ Durant FBLA hosts fundraiser November is Prematurity Awareness Month, and the Durant High Future Business Leaders of America let it be known last week. The FBLA hosted “Prematurity Week,” in conjunction with March of Dimes, donating all proceeds earned to the charity. Students and teachers participated to show their support for the cause. “Looking forward as a club, we look forward to participating in Prematurity Awareness Month and making a strong impact in our community by bringing attention to this issue,” chapter President Kurt Trussell says. To donate, call (813) 287-2600.
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This week’s winner is
Deborah Gonzalez See her photo on PAGE 14.
Katie and Dr. Derek Busciglio performed a line-dancing routine.
Dr. Daniel Middlebrooks and his wife, Arienne, and earned a perfect score.
Noon Rotary Club President Aaron Davis with Olan Deguzman and Amy Glover
Maddy Keene danced with her father, LaRoyce.
Father/daughter team Steve Bonds and Natasha Davis performed a fun routine.
SEE MORE PHOTOS AT PLANTCITYOBSERVER.COM
Walden Lake golf course rezone request could be filed next month Visions Golf Managing Partner Steve Mercer discussed his plans during a special workshop organized by the Walden Lake Community Association. Community Association workshop Nov. 19, at Plant City Church of God. The highlights: • Visions Golf LLC, the owner of the country club
and golf courses, could be ready to submit its rezone request to the city as soon as next month. • Visions Golf has no plans to reopen the Hills course
before or during the rezone process. • Visions Golf Managing Partner Steve Mercer said his
PLANT CITY PIG JAM WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 WHERE: Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex, 1500 S. Park Road, Plant City DETAILS: The competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, and this year, Pig Jam also will feature the Smithfield Rib Super Series. COST: Admission is free; parking is $5. INFO: plantcity.org or (813) 754-3707
SEE COURSE / PAGE 4
INDEX Calendar.......................2
SEE PIG JAM / PAGE 4
IF YOU GO
DEVELOPMENT by Michael Eng | Editor
Several new pieces of information regarding the future of Walden Lake Golf & Country Club and its two golf courses were made public during a special Walden Lake
When you arrive at the Randy L. Larson Four-Plex this weekend for the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce’s 11th annual Plant City Pig Jam, your senses will be bombarded with all the sights, sounds and smells one of the area’s largest barbecue competitions. You’ll see lavish RVs sporting custom, barbecue-themed paint jobs. The sauces — from tangy to spicy to sweet — will flow freely, and participating teams will serve up enough ribs, pork, brisket and chicken to sate even the most colossal of appetites. With all the Davy Miles smoke coming off the sizzling grills of Pig Jam’s most formidable competitors, it may be easy to miss the smaller competitors. But, if Plant City resident Davy Miles’ recent track record is any indication, that would be a mistake for any barbecue connoisseur. Miles and his team, Smokin’ N The Boys Room, is returning to Pig Jam following a third-place finish in the pork division at last year’s competition. Last month, Miles and his teammates, Lea Anne Leitner and Randy Light, took second in brisket, second chicken, fifth in pork and sixth in ribs at the Grillin’ and Chillin’ at Lake Alfred competition. And all of this from food cooked inside a contraption that more closely resembles a portable toilet than a competition-grade smoker (hence the team name). Built from an old clothing- and shoe-donation receptacle, Miles’ smoker won’t be the most impressive machine to pull into Pig Jam. But, competition-grade barbecue doesn’t necessarily require the latest technological innovations. Moreover, smoking meat is more art than science, Miles said.
Vol. 1, No. 15 | One section Crossword...................14
Obituaries.....................9
Sports.........................10
Weather ......................14
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