The sea of red at the Trinkle Center at Hillsborough Community College on Tuesday night wasn’t a Florida Strawberry Festival Board of Directors meeting but a throng of Walden Lake residents opposing a request by Walden Lake, LLC to rezone approximately 319 acres of vacant land (a former golf course) inside its community to make way for new development pods for 154 single family detached dwellings, 98 villas and 200 townhomes.
Planning Board Chairman Art Wood, who lives in Walden Lake, said he had the blessing/bad luck of being the chairman for the request. “The Planning Board’s decision will be based on the evidence of this hearing,” he said. “We all share the same ambition to have the best possible Walden Lake.”
After speakers were sworn in for the quasi-judicial public hearing, Planning and Zoning Manager Julie Ham gave a 30-minute presentation about the request and shared her professional opinion about whether the request complies with city land development codes and the comprehensive plan. “We find it consistent with the Imagine 2040 plan and have no objections,”
LOCAL FOOD TRUCK UMAMI SMOKE CLAIMS FIRST PLACE IN PEOPLE’S CHOICE CATEGORY.
When Plant City-based Umami Smoke food truck owner/chef Kevin Ware, who was hoping the judges at last weekend’s ChiliFest competition would give his Dragon’s Fire chili top marks in the spicy category, heard the announcer congratulating Scooby’s Outdoor Adventures for winning the category, he plopped down in his camping chair, feeling defeated. Ware and his team, who had competed in all three categories at last year’s event and had placed second in the spicy category, thought they were a shoo-in for an award even though they had only brought one chili to be judged this year.
Then, he realized there was one more category he could win: People’s Choice
Award. When the announcer said Umami Smoke was the category winner, he was elated. “I heard someone say ‘and the winner is Umami Smoke’ and I don’t know if I stood up or leapt up, I was so excited,’ he said. “I was flabbegasted that out of all those chilis the crowd chose ours as the best one.”
Ware’s chili recipe, which he made with his right-hand man Bill Bowers, included chopped smoked beef brisket in a complex sauce of chiles and spices. He topped the chili with a cilantro lime garlic cream sauce. “Every spoonful of chili created a layering of flvors in your mouth,” he said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
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To make an appointment, please call:
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The Elks National Soccer Shoot competition is an annual contest where kids from around the country are able to showcase their talents through contests that test their skill levels, with fi e different age groups included for both boys and girls.
The Soccer Shoot consists of two different contests based on the age group of the participants. For those in the U-8 age group, the event features a “Five Goal Contest” that includes a series of fie goals at which the participants aim, decreasing in size from 48 inches to 17 inches. For the four older age groups ranging from U-10 to U-16, the event features a “Grid Goal Contest” in which participants shoot at a full-size goal that is sectioned off, with different point totals awarded for different sections. In the Grid Goal Contest, participants rotate throughout three different rounds where they take fie shots, resulting in 15 shots total, and the highest-scoring athlete advances.
Ben Edgemon has been a member of the Plant City Elks Lodge since 2009, organizing the local event since 2016 and seeing it grow to a level where Plant City has 144 individual athletes participate in this year’s preliminary round across all fie age groups in both gender divisions.
Following the local and district rounds, Plant City’s remaining representatives took to the Central Florida regional level competition in Umatilla, Fla. where seven of the 10 age groups were won by local Plant City athletes, earning their spot in the state round, also to be held in Umatilla on Dec. 10. Once at the state round, six Plant City kids advanced to the southeastern regional round — once again held in Umatilla.
The southeastern regional round played host to 30 total kids from Florida, South Carolina and Georgia across all fie age groups, with three finalits in each group. From that group, Plant City’s Trotter Richardson won the Boys U-16 group, Jiovanni Rosales won the Boys U-10 group, Julia Ocampo-Cruz won the Girls U-10 group and Thiago Pena won the Boys U-8 group. Additionally, Richardson and Ocampo-Cruz were the event’s highest overall scorers for the boys and girls divisions, respectively.
All winners at the state and regional level will now have their scores sent to the national level where national champions will be determined for each of the age and gender groups.
The Golden Train will take you all over historic downtown and make its trip through some incredible places. If you are the lucky one to find i, treasure will be yours!
Visit https://www.plantcitymainstreet.org/goldentrain to see the list of participating businesses. These are the Golden Train's scheduled stops. It could be ANY of these businesses! Your quest is to search inside these businesses and see if the train has stopped there. The Golden Train will not move from its location until it has been found and no purchase is necessary to participate.
Once the Golden Train has been located, the winner will be photographed at the found location with the Golden Train and their reward. Winners will be shared on our social media and highlighted on our website.
Once the Golden Train has been found, it will then move on to the next stop and the Golden Train will not return to the same stop until it has visited all of the other stops on the list. This is a continuous hunt so the fun and exploration will never end.
Stay tuned to the Plant City Main Street Facebook page and website at www.plantcitymainstreet.org for Golden Train updates and to keep up with their efforts throughout historic downtown Plant City!
The program, offered by the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, is in response to the growing need for emotional and spiritual care among law enforcement officers.
Through all types of natural and manmade disasters,fist responders,who are held to high standardsofphysical,socialandmentalfitnss, are always there for the community. But who is there for fist responders? In response to the growing need for emotional and spiritual care to law enforcement officers, Billy Graham’s Rapid ResponseTeam Ministry (BG-RRT) has developed a four-day/32-hour Law Enforcement Chaplain Training Program (LECTP) to train citizens, typically former officers, to become chaplains, who can be deployed where they’re needed to provide spiritual guidance, pastoral counseling and offer stabilizing support during critical times involving grief and loss.
The Plant City Police Department (PCPD) hosted a training program for 19 participants last week. The department knows fist-hand how beneficialchaplains can be during times of crisis. A team was deployed to Plant City in December 2018 after Hillsborough County Sheriff ’s Office Deputy Terry Strawn shot and killedhiswife,daughterandsix-year-oldgranddaughter before killing himself in front of three
deputies in close proximity to Plant City High School.
Billy Graham Law Enforcement Ministry Manager David Rutledge said that’s exactly the type of situation the chaplains are prepared to help officers cope with traumatic events.“It goes beyond challenges to your faith,”he said. Rutledge, a former police officer who worked homicides for a signifiant portion of his 30year career.“For me it wasn’t a single incident but years of absorbing other people’s pain and trauma and that sticks with you the rest of your life,” said Rutledge. After he retired and didn’t have a daily workload of calls and cases, the years of pigeonholing his emotions brought an onslaught of feelings, which he said can manifest in a myriad of ways, from high blood pressure to substance abuse to suicidal thoughts.
He said chaplains are deployed immediately following traumatic events to help officers deal with their emotions.“Studies show that if there’satraumaticincidentandyougetofficers talking about it as soon as it happens that can help and officers are more apt to open up to otherofficers,”hesaid.“We’reteachingtheministry of presence,simply to be there and listen.”
He recalls getting a call around lunchtime about an officer death in South Carolina. By dinner, he had four chaplains deployed to the small community, where they set up a room where officers could talk about what had hap-
pened, had ride-alongs with deputies during shifts,attendedthememorialserviceandwere available afterwards to talk and took the deputies who worked shift with the fallen officer and their wives out to dinner.“There’s no easy fixin that situation but it’s amazing how just listening to people provides comfort,”said Rutledge.
The BG-RRT began in 2001 when Franklin Graham was in New York after the 9/11 terrorist attack. He received a vision of a core of crisis-trained volunteer chaplains that could be deployed at a moment’s notice. There are now more than 2,200 volunteer chaplains throughout the world. The LECTP program wasstartedin2014,whenGraham’sleadership team wanted to findways to better support law enforcement.
PCPDChiefBradford’swife,SusanBradford, became a crisis-trained chaplain two years ago after retiring from Hillsborough County Sheriff ’s Office.“There were shifts where I went from death to death to death and those are things you don’t forget,” she said.“I had some anger come out just from the accumulation of it all but by the grace of God I was able to correct it with the Lord’s help.”Bradford credits her personal relationship withJesus Christ as a key component to coping with grief and loss associated with her duties as a law enforcement officer.
She’s been deployed as a chaplain to two different grief events,both involving the death of an officer. “It seems to help to have someone there to pray with them and be there to listen,” she said. This weekend she’s going to Englewood to work alongside people who are still, months after Hurricane Ian, mucking out homes. Her reward for the service isn’t a paycheck. “My fulfillmentis seeing God work miracles,” she said.
CourseattendeesreceivedaBG-RRTLECTP certifiate upon completion of the training. While completion of the LECTP meets some of the requirements for BG-RRTchaplaincy,an approved application along with further training is required in order to deploy as a BG-RRT chaplain.
The next LECTP will be offered Feb. 6 - 9 at Florida International University Police DepartmentinMiami.Registrationisfreebutstudents pay for transportation,lodging and meals.For moreinformationortoregisterfortheprogram visit www.billygraham.org.
COPS CORNER
istock
2400 block of W. Reynolds St. Burglary / criminal mischief: An officer responded to the listed location and met with the complainants who advised that they discovered two trailers in the parking lot had been occupied by unknown individuals, with large amounts of trash and clothing inside.
CROSS-COUNTRY CRIME
Stolen vehicle recovery: An officer responded to the business at the listed location and met with the victim who advised that the vehicle they purchased had been reported stolen out of Pennsylvania. The vehicle was recovered and the reporting agency was subsequently notified
JUMPING CARS
1100 block of W. Ball St. Warrant arrest: An officer made contact with an individual after responding to a report that they were jumping on cars at the listed location. The individual stated that they jumped on a car because they were being chased by a dog and a records check of the individual revealed an active warrant issued on Jan. 19 out of Hillsborough County Sheriff ’s Offie. The warrant was verified and the individual was subsequently arrested and later transported to Orient Road Jail. The officer then additionally made contact with a separate individual who advised that their car was the one jumped on. Upon inspection, it was noted that no new damage was observed as a result.
JANUARY 21
CAUGHT RED-HANDED
2600 block of James L. Redman Pkwy. Felony retail theft: An officer
responded to a business at the listed location and met with loss prevention employee in reference to theft. One individual was subsequently arrested for felony retail theft and transported to Orient Road Jail without incident.
HOME GOODS
1100 block of GranfieldAve. Grand theft: An officer responded to the residence at the listed location and met with the victim who advised that fie boxes of faucets, lights and fans, valued at $1,800, was stolen.
JANUARY 22
SHED ACHE
1100 block of Mendonsa Rd. Burglary to a structure: An officer responded to the residence at the listed location and met with the victim who advised that the shed located in the southwest corner of the backyard was entered sometime between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20, resulting in an unknown
amount of mechanics power and hand tools, along with an unknown amount of Christmas ornaments, being taken without permission.
UNLOCKED AND LOADED
Griffin Bd. / Turkey Creek Rd. Criminal mischief: An officer responded to the listed location and met with a security officer contracted by the local homeowners association who reported a broken lock on the trafficate.
DOUBLE CHECKED
100 block of W. Baker St. Uttering a forged instrument: An officer responded to a financial institution at the listed location in reference to an individual attempting to cash a fraudulent check for $800. The individual was subsequently arrested and transported to Orient Road Jail without incident.
JANUARY 26
BROKEN TO BITS
4300 block of Sterling Commerce
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THE HEARING, WHICH SPANNED FOUR A HALF HOURS, WILL RECONVENE FEB. 8 AT 5:30 P.M.
During her presentation, audience members in disagreement of her statements were vocal, with a couple residents muttering “bull****” under their breath.
Cross examination of witnesses by board members and party interveners was allowed after each person testified and board members peppered Ham with questions about transportation studies, right-of-ways, special exceptions and the impact on schools.
The next presenter was Jake Cremer, a land-use attorney with Stearns Weaver Miller, who spoke about the hard truths of the project. “Folks, golf is not coming back and no public recreation is coming to this property without some development to offset that,” he said. “The only way we can bring recreation back on this property is with high-quality housing to pay for it.”
He stated that since appearing before the Planning Board in February, 2022, the developer addressed the 42 specific concerns board members had about the project.
“The landowner has a legal right to develop this property,” he stated. “People want to invest here and people want to live here so with that I’d ask for your approval.”
Cremer was then cross examined by board members and party interveners, who wanted clarifiation about wetlands, trail systems within the new development, buffering, traffic sues during the construction process and parking for townhome residents.
Scott Collins, Vice President of Walden Lake Community Association, was the next presenter and a party intervener. He spoke briefly but eded his remaining time to Frances Marino, owner of Femme By Design, a planning advisory company and
retained by Walden Lake Community Association to prepare a written report relative to her findins and present them to the board. Her opinion? “It’s not complete compatibility and it’s inconsistent with the comprehensive plan and will destroy the character of the area,” said Marino amidst scattered applause by members of the audience.
Walden Lake resident Nick Brown, another intervener, was next up to the podium. “I represent more than 600 Walden Lake resident households that petitioned the city to deny this zoning application,” he said. “There is unanimous opposition to the project by those neighboring the project and emphatically recommend zoning denials.”
At the conclusion of Brown’s remarks shortly before 10 p.m., Wood ended the hearing. Several scheduled speakers still have to share their comments. “We’ll
continue where we left off on eb. 8,” said Wood.
Despite the large number of residents that have objections to the project, Walden Lake, LLC developer Carmine Zayoun remains determined to see the project to completion. “It’s been a long road getting to this point, we’ve been at this almost four years now and have been through several iterations of the plan, heard residents’ comments and made changes to the plan in the hopes of accommodating those requests,” he said. “We know we can’t make everyone happy but we’re trying to make as many people happy as we can.”
The hearing will continue on Wed., Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the HCC Trinkle Center, at which time the Planning Board will make its recommendation. The request will then go before the city commission who’ll make the final decision on the mater.
Plant City’s community and business leaders donned legwarmers, miniskirts, and parachute pants and teased their hair to sky-high heights for The Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Chamber Gala last Thursday night. At the 80’s-themed event, held at the John R. Trinkle Center at Hillsborough Community College, last year’s Board of Directors was recognized, the gavel was passed to the 2023 Chairman of the Board, new board members were sworn in and local businesses recognized as the “berry best” in our community.
Outgoing Chairman of the Board Irene Castillo expressed gratitude for being able to serve Plant City’s small businesses in 2022 and highlighted some of the Chamber’s accomplishments last year, including being instrumental in the Florida Legislature’s passage of a bill designating the strawberry shortcake as Florida’s officia dessert, unveiling the updated Plant City Map & Guide at its Florida Strawberry Festival booth, the addition of two new membership programs (Connect & Grow and Small Business of the Month Award), an August Candidate Forum so the community could meet candidates running for office
and the relaunching of Schmoozapalooza, New Teacher Coffee and Leadership Plant City. It also organized the Chamber Nonprofit eadership Roundtable that helps connect nonprofit oganizations in the local community. Started by Chamber CEO Christine Miller, the event was so successful it’s being instituted county-wide.
“The Plant City Chamber of Commerce is here to be the voice of Small Business, our motto is “Business Building a Better Community,” said Castillo. “Through the support of our membership, trustees, ambassadors and board we are building a better Plant City through our daily work.”
In a time-honored tradition, Castillo passed the gavel to the 2023 Chairman of the Board, Wesley Joyner. The sixthgeneration Plant City resident’s remarks to the audience focused on how great it is to live, work and raise a family in Plant City.
“The Chamber will continue to provide leadership that will improve Plant City’s businesses and our community,” he said. “It will be the leading force promoting the commercial, agricultural, industrial and civic interests of Plant City and East Hillsborough County.”
After the passing of the gavel, 2023 Best of Plant City awards were presented to local citizens and businesses. Winners of the 2023 Best Of Plant City Awards included:
Spirit of the Chamber Award: Deanna Hurley
Chairman’s Award: Nick Thurston
Ambassador of the Year: Jason Jones
Visionary Award: Jake Austin
Economic Development Award: Dan Sudler of Sudler Real Estate
Downtown Enrichment Award: Norma’s Sandwich Shop
Community Service Award: Bikes for Christ
Customer Service Award: The Barber Company
Best Community Event: Plant City Honors Our Veterans & Active Military
Health, Wellness & Fitness: V.E.V. Fitness & Nutrition
Non-Profit f the Year Award: Hillsborough Cattlemen’s Foundation
Employer of the Year: Patterson Companies
Entrepreneur of the Year: Kristi Grooms- Fancy Farms Market
New Business Award: Bruton’s Cigar Shop
Small Business of the Year: Pelican’s SnoBalls
Emerging Leader: Ryan Gill
Ware and other amateur and professional chefs gathered at the Robert W. Willard Railroad Museum to compete in this year’s annual ChiliFest. The event, which was sponsored by The Arts Council of Plant City and combined with Railfest, featured teams that cooked up 21 different chili recipes that hundreds of attendees paid fie bucks each to sample all of them.
Three independent judges voted for their favorites. In addition to People’s Choice award winner Umami Smoke, category winners included:
MILD CATEGORY WINNERS:
1st Place- Scooby’s Outdoor Adventures
2nd Place- Felton’s Meat & Produce
SPICY CATEGORY WINNERS:
1st Place- Scooby’s Outdoor Adventures
2nd Place- Hillbilly Chili
NOVELTY CATEGORY WINNERS:
1st Place- Krazy Kup LLC
2nd Place- Plant City Observer
Plant City Observer Sports Editor Taylor Jenkins was ecstatic when he learned he had placed in the novelty category. His recipe, a cherry-wood smoked chuck roast chili, was made with love. “I’d never really
made chili from scratch before but I love every opportunity to break out my smoker and try out a new recipe,” he said. “I was a little surprised to hear my chili got second place but glad that everyone seemed to like it.’
The Arts Council of Plant City President Marsha Passmore said combining the Arts Council’s ChiliFest with the Robert Willard Railfest was a positive effort and the two events complemented each other nicely. “Even though we were competing with Gasparilla, there was a huge crowd in attendance and there was lots to see and do,” she said.
Event organizer Frank Cummings agrees, calling the event a success. “The weather was just perfect and it was just ‘chili’ enough that it worked out,” he joked.
He is thankful for everyone who participated, including the students from Drawdy’s Dance School and Chris Welbon Karate Clubs who performed for the crowd. He’s also thankful for the judges and everyone who came out to support the event. Although not an official jue, he did sample plenty of chili. “I ate so much chili I had to take some Pepto Bismol at the end of the day,” he said.
While the proceeds from the event haven’t been calculated yet, the money will benefitThe Arts Council of Plant City scholarship program.
For more information about The Arts Council of Plant City visit www.plantcityarts.com.
In a society where employees change jobs as often as they change their hairstyle, Plant City resident Patsy Frier has proven she has staying power. According to a 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study, the median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 4.1 years.
Frier has been employed by The City of Plant City for 45 years. She and other city employees were recognized for reaching major service milestones at an awards ceremony last week.
Frier, who currently works as an administrative assistant II in the Streets & Stormwater Department, started working for the city in Oct. 1977 when she was 20 years old. She was newly married, lived in Plant City and was looking for a job that would be closer to home. “I was working for Watson Clinic in Lakeland and didn’t want to make the drive,” said Frier. A friend told her about the job opening in Plant City government. She applied and was offered the job as a secretary for former city engineer Salvador “Bud” Nabong. She worked for him for 17 years. In 1994 she transferred to the Utilities Department and then in 2003 she left to work for the Water Resource Management team. A year later she was transferred to Utilities Operations, the department where she currently works. During her career, she had two daughters, a stepdaughter and six grandchildren.
She had her first daughter while working for “Bud” and appreciated his flexibility, always accommodating her time-off requests when she had a sick child. “City government really offers a good work/life balance,” said Frier. “I still have time to be Nana to my grandchildren.”
Over the years, she considered switching
employers, but when she factored in the extra gas and longer commuting time to get to another job (Frier works a mile from her home) she’d decide it wasn’t worth it. “When I think about how quickly time goes by, when I think about 45 years it’s so hard to comprehend but it’s been a blessing to work for the city,” she said.
“They’re my extended family and home away from home.”
Does Frier plan to work another 45 years? No, she laughed. She already has a countdown clock running on her phone. “I’m retiring in less than two years and look forward to volunteering, spending time with my grandkids, traveling and working in my yard,” she said.
Other city employees recognized for reaching major service milestones include:
Dale Geller, Streets & Stormwater, Foreman II- 35 years
Felicia Broom, Library, Circulation Service Assistant- 25 years
Candace Holding, Police, Records Tech II25 years
Fred Baxter, Trafficperations, Manager20 years
Mark Woodward, Environmental Compliance, Water Conservation Coordinator- 20 years
Jeffey Griggs, Fire Rescue, Captain/Medic20 years
Justin Lee, Police, Sergeant- 20 years
Dave Millich, Police, Captain- 20 years
John Carter, Fire Rescue, Battalion Chief/ Medic- 20 years
David Stevens, Utility Operations, Plant Operator IV- 20 years
Durant girls soccer moved to 15-3 on the year and advanced to their district championship after a 6-0 semifinal win over Winter Haven on Monday night.
Durant controlled possession from the opening whistle, earning a corner kick opportunity in just the second minute following a run up the right side from junior striker Rachel Horn, but the Cougars were unable to capitalize. And in the fifth minute, despite Durant’s significant advantage in possession, Winter Haven was able to counter with an opportunity of their own but the Cougars’ defense was able to stand tall and quickly shut down one of Winter Haven’s few meaningful offensive opportunities on the night. Over the next 10 minutes Durant had their chances, with shots from senior captain Katlyn Levasseur and junior captain Kassidy Oliver turned away and a shot from sophomore forward Mykala Ulrich rattling off the post.
In the 21st minute Durant was finally able to find the back of the net as Ulrich led the charge with a run up the right side, only for her
attempted cross to be sent out of danger’s way for a throw in. On the ensuing throw, Ulrich put the ball in the box where it rattled around goal area before Horn was finally able to put the chance away and give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Despite continued possession in their offensive third throughout the remainder of the first half, Durant was unable to tack on another goal as the whistle sounded for halftime and the Cougars clung to their 1-0 lead.
Horn had another opportunity in front of goal early in the second half, the chance saved by Winter Haven’s keeper to hold the deficit at one for the time being, but Durant broke through again in the 49th minute. On another run up the right side Ulrich sent a beautiful cross into the box and just past the outstretched foot of her awaiting teammate, but Winter Haven was unable to clear the ball as it was gathered at the top of the box by Oliver, passed outside to Ulrich and sent back in where it was finished by freshman Addison Kapustiak to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
At that point the floodgates opened for the Durant offense. Freshman midfielder Kendal Vician
added a third goal on a shot from the top of the box in the 52nd minute, followed by a goal from Ulrich in the 56th minute, followed by a goal from Horn off of a great cross from the left wing by Vician in the 60th minute. With time winding down and less than 15 minutes remaining in the contest, Levasseur sent a ball into the box that was deflected by Horn right to the foot of freshman Emily Hein who put the Cougars up 6-0 and sealed Durant’s semifinal victory, earning them a spot in the district finals against Newsome on Wednesday.
Newsome is a familiar foe for Durant, ending the Cougars’ postseason run with a 2-0 victory in the district semifinals last year before the two teams split their regular season series this year, with Durant taking a 3-1 victory over the Wolves in early December before falling 2-1 against them on Jan. 19.
Not only is Newsome a rock solid opponent — finishing the year at 15-3 — but the Cougars were additionally forced to enter the contest without two strong starters in Karlie Collins and Emma Harnage as Collins suffered an ACL injury against Steinbrenner on Jan. 13 and Harnage tends to a head injury.
TAYLOR JENKINS SPORTS WRITER
After amassing a 15-3-1 regular season record, the Plant City Raiders entered the 7A District 6 tournament as the second seed, earning a first-round bye and an automatic spot in the semifinal round. After six-seed Ridge Community upset Strawberry Crest in a 0-0 contest that was ultimately decided by penalty kicks, the Bolts made their way to Plant City on Tuesday where the elimination game once again went down to penalty kicks in a scoreless contest, with the Raiders escaping victorious and advancing to the district championship.
Plant City was able to open the contest with offensive pressure. The Raiders saw their first scoring opportunity come in just the second minute as senior Manny Nava bolted up the right side on a beautifully sent through ball, cutting back and finding senior forward Angel Guerra at the top of the box. But despite the opportunity, the first-touch shot was sent just wide of frame. In the fourth minute the Raiders were threatening again with another run from Nava, this time steered back to the middle of the pitch before he sent a 25-yard shot just inches outside of the left post. For the next several minutes the offensive chances for both clubs were scarce, with Ridge Community settling for one deep shot from well outside of the 18-yard box, saved without much trouble by Plant City keeper Francisco Miranda. But in the 22nd minute Ridge put together a dangerous opportunity with a well-timed run into the 18-yard box, only for the chance to be thwarted by a sliding clear from sophomore defender Miguel Hernandez-Garcia.
In the 28th minute Plant City answered back with another pair of great opportunities, led by Nava beating his defender to create space, passing the ball up the left side to Fredi Trejo who raced his way into the goal area and ripped a shot on frame that was just sent out of play off of the outstretched hand of Ridge Community’s keeper. On the ensuing corner kick, Guerra managed to put his head on the cross but the ensuing shot was sent a foot over the bar. Throughout the remainder of the half Ridge Community was finally able to start mounting some meaningful offensive chances of their own, but it was a handful of stellar saves from Miranda that kept the contest knotted at 0-0 as the whistle marked an end to the first half.
The Raiders nearly pulled ahead with another great opportunity early in the second half as the ball was brought into the offensive third through midfield, dropped off to senior Jose Hernandez and ripped inches outside of the right post from 30 yards out. But alas, the game remained tied. The remainder of the second half was tightly contested as defenses adjusted and stayed behind their opposing offenses, forcing difficult shots from outside of the 18-yard box as space near the goal was cut off effectively. At the end of full time, the game remained even at 0-0 and the two
teams prepared for two 10-minute extra time periods with the hope of pulling ahead to avoid penalties. Ridge was able to take advantage of quick counter attacks early in the first extra time period, but Plant City’s back line stood strong to avoid conceding any chances that were overly concerning for Miranda. And the best scoring opportunity for Plant City came in the final seconds of the second extra time period as Hernandez created space on the right side, just outside of the 18-yard box, and sent a cross into the goal area where an unmarked Noah DeFrancesco leapt to put a head through the pass, only for the storybook ending to fall inches short as the resulting shot soared just high over the crossbar.
With the Raiders season on the line, they huddled together ahead of their win-or-go-home penalty shootout, deciding as a team which players wanted to step up in the biggest moment of the year.
“You dance with who brought you,” head coach Ben Henderson said. “They may not be the best pure PK guys that we have on the squad and admittedly we may have a couple of guys that may be better at PKs, but when it’s a pressurepacked situation, your career and season is on the line, you also have to have poise in that moment. Our team talk was just, ‘who wants to take it?’ In your head you know guys that you want to take it but truth be told, the guys picked it themselves. I didn’t point at guys. It was asking who wanted to take it and five guys stepped up.”
To begin penalties, Guerra stepped up to the line first and tucked a perfectly-placed shot into the lower corner to immediately give Plant City a 1-0 lead, but Ridge Community’s first shooter quickly drew the shootout even with a goal on the Bolts’ attempt. Then it was Nava’s chance to pull Plant City ahead, doing so with ease as he buried his attempt, and once again the pressure was back on Miranda in net. In a huge moment, Miranda rose to the occasion as he made a diving save on Ridge Community’s second attempt and gave Plant City a crucial advantage. Sophomore Kameron Kropp scored on the Raiders’ third attempt and as Ridge Community’s third shot missed the frame wide right, DeFrancesco stepped up with a chance to seal the contest and clinch a spot in the district championship, just minutes after narrowly missing a chance to win the game in extra time. With poise, the senior midfielder converted and the celebration began for the Raiders.
“What we knew coming into this game from watching the film was that Ridge Community has a very solid keeper and that they are very organized in the back,” Henderson said. “So even though we had scoring chances and we can look at opportunities that we should have had, we could probably claim a goal or two, but when a team is organized in the back with a good keeper you have to come up with quality yourself to score and we knew that coming in. That’s why we didn’t panic necessarily, because we felt confident about our back side. We didn’t feel like we were under duress so we kept pushing but we just couldn’t find a goal. Honestly,
having watched their tendencies on film, I think we also felt confident going into the shootout. We took notes, we knew where they liked to go and so it really helped our confidence level — and shootouts are all about confidence. They have a good keeper but we felt confident in our plan. Then, as we saw, Francisco was pretty accurate in his predictions of where they would go.”
Plant City will now face Newsome in the district championship, a Wolves team that handed the Raiders one of their three losses on the year by way of a 6-0 final on Dec. 22. With a plan in place, Plant City will look to get revenge and lift their second district trophy in three years on Thursday.
“Newsome is the cream of the crop, there’s not getting around that, but if you want to win the district title you have to beat someone good at some point,” Henderson said. “So we’re going to watch film tomorrow and we’re going to come up with a game plan of formation-wise what we want to do, tactics-wise what we want to do and then you have to follow through with the plan. Don’t go rogue, trust the plan, trust what we see on film. I will say this about Newsome, structure-wise they have mostly stayed in the same structure for four years so we know what to expect, but they just execute at a very high-quality level. It’s going to be a game where we probably just have to capitalize on one or two mistakes in the back for them if we want to get through but I told the boys, it’s the same expression as in football, flags fly forever. So we have an opportunity to get a trophy and get a picture that will be in the hallways forever and I hope they don’t miss out on that opportunity.”
In a game that ultimately came down to penalty kicks, the Raiders were able to claim victory over Ridge Community.
Durant girls basketball made a long trip over to Sickles on Friday to face a tough Gryphons squad, ultimately heading home with a convincing 76-43 win as the Cougars now prepare for district tournament play this week on the heels of an 18-4 regular season record and a 10-game win streak to finish the year.
After seven consecutive dominant victories throughout the month of January, Durant faced some stiffer competition in 15-10 Steinbrenner last week, narrowly escaping with a 59-53 win over the Warriors. Following the contest, head coach Al Mitchell spoke about the importance of consistency and remaining focused as playoff basketball creeped closer, and how those hurdles can be tough for a young team when they face stretches where the competition on their schedule isn’t quite as challenging. He added that he was grateful to have a pair of tougher opponents on the back end of their schedule and Sickles — entering Friday night at 17-5 — provided an ideal matchup for the Cougars to rise to the occasion and regain focus.
From the opening tipoff it was clear that Durant was playing some of their best basketball of the year, opening the scoring with crisp ball movement as senior Maggie Lauber found senior Ki’Ajanae Gordon open, followed up by a pass inside to senior Sophia Flair where she finished at the rim to give Durant a quick 2-0 lead. On the ensuing defensive possession, senior Miani Mejia came up with a steal on the defensive end and found sophomore Elani Randall in transition for another score. Sickles got on the board and cut into the Cougars early lead with a three, but Gordon immediately answered with a three of her own for a 7-3 advantage. On their next trip down the court, Randall kept the ball in Durant’s hands with a pair of offensive rebounds that led to a floater from the free throw line from Gordon. Sickles answered with another three to
make it 9-6 and Flair forced another Sickles turnover into points as she raced down the court and finished the layup herself as the Cougars went up 11-6. A bucket for Sickles was followed up by a tough layup from Mejia, finishing through the foul and hitting the lone free throw to give Durant a 14-8 lead before the Gryphons’ shooters caught fire for the remainder of the quarter. In a run that would be underestimated if it was called “red-hot,” Sickles hit four three-point shots throughout the remainder of the first to take a 20-14 lead in the second on the heels of a 12-0 run to end the period.
“That’s the run and it’s like boxing,” Mitchell said. “You have to take that flurry, you cover up, protect, protect, protect and when they run out of gas, that’s when you go to work and that’s what we did. We took all their blows and once they ran out we went to work.”
Gordon finally ended the Cougars’ cold stretch with a three to start the second quarter, cutting the Gryphons’ lead to 20-17, but Sickles responded with a pull-up jumper on the other end to make it 22-17. Flair found Gordon for a layup to cut the Cougars’ deficit to one score, but the Gryphons once again caught fire and rattled off an 8-0 run to take a 30-19 lead before Durant punched back. A free throw followed by a corner three followed by a layup, all from Gordon, quickly had Durant back within single digits at 30-25 before Lauber came up with a steal and layup in transition to make it 30-27. Two more buckets from Lauber at the end of the half effectively erased the deficit and put the Cougars back on top 31-30 heading into half time.
In the third quarter Durant took complete control of the matchup, outscoring Sickles 23-4 in the period to take a 54-34 lead where they were able to cruise to a decisive 76-43 victory by way of an absolutely dominant second half.
“After a couple days of practice the girls were able to refocus and get themselves back together,” Mitchell said. “We struggled
a little bit in the first half, we were a little out of sync, but we went into the locker room, had a little conversation and they came out ready to play. They put the wheels on and we played much better. We aren’t there yet, but we’re back on the road.”
Gordon led all Durant scorers with 19 points on 60 percent shooting from behind the arc and 56 percent shooting from the field while adding a team-high eight assists. Lauber followed with 18 points on 56 percent shooting as well, adding six assists of her own, and Flair notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds while adding six assists and four steals. Behind the senior trio all in double-digit scoring, Mejia had nine points with eight rebounds, five assists and a team-high six steals.
“I loved that we were able to show what the girls are capable of and I’ll say, this isn’t their best ball,” Mitchell said. “We can play much better than that and it’s what we’ll have to
do. I keep pushing them and I keep telling them, ladies, we must continue to improve every single game. You can’t say that we’ve arrived, we haven’t arrived, we’ll never arrive because we can always find something to improve upon and that’s what we’re striving for. We know that we’ll never be perfect but we’ll strive for perfection every game.”
As the second seed in the 7A District 9 tournament behind top-seeded Winter Haven, the Cougars opened tournament play in the district semifinals against Haines City on Wednesday night. On the other side of the bracket, Winter Haven faced fourthseed George Jenkins. The winner of both semifinal matchups will meet in the district championship on Friday, Feb. 3.
While district semifinal games were played on Wednesday, the games concluded after the Plant City Observer had gone to press. Further coverage will be provided.
The Cougars ended their regular season with an 18-4 record following a 76-43 win over the Gryphons.
“Jurassic Park.” - Ashley Saunders
“Brooklyn, Home Alone, The Notebook, Sandlot, My Girl.” - Letanya Sutton
“Sweet Home Alabama.” - Sandra Johnson
“Laura; Double Indemnity; 12 Angry Men; Dirty Dancing; Gilda; Witness for the Prosecution (the old one); It’s a Wonderful Life; all of the Jurassic Park movies.” - Stacy Sydenham
“The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, The Titanic.” - Cynthia Davis Van Camp
“Lawrence of Arabia.” - Earl Truman
“Grease, Dirty Dancing.” - Jo Anne
“Fried Green Tomatoes, Coal Miner’s Daughter.” - Wesley Ezekiel
“Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman, The Devil Wears Prada.” - Cori Na
“Where the Crawdads Sing.” - Mary York Davis
“Back to the Future.” - Edwin Alexander
Mejia
“Grease!” - Mary Alexander Rabon
“Citizen Kane. Period.” - Gary Hughes
“Second Hand Lions” - Rita Hewitt
Sumner
“The Wizard of Oz, Ten Command-
PlantCityObserver.com
Arthur ‘Sonny’
Franklin Buchanan, Jr.
Arthur “Sonny” Franklin Buchanan, Jr., 68, of Plant City, born on April 22, 1954, in Orlando, entered into eternal rest on Jan. 24, 2023.
Expressions of condolences at www.HopewellFuneral.com.
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Gunter
Mavis “Frances” Gunter, 78, of Lakeland, Fla., born in Frostproof, on Feb. 26, 1944, entered into eternal rest on Jan. 25, 2023. Expressions of condolence at www.HopewellFuneral.com.
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Mary E. Sanders
Mary E. Sanders, 100, of Plant City, Florida, born in Moultrie, Ga. on Dec. 24, 1922, entered into eternal rest on Jan. 26, 2023.
Expressions of condolence at www.HopewellFuneral.com.
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William ‘Bill’ E. Simons
William “Bill” E. Simons, Jr., 92, of Plant City, born on Jan. 4, 1931, in Bartow, entered into eternal rest on Jan. 22, 2023.
Expressions of condolences at www.HopewellFuneral.com.
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Brenda Ann Cuthbertson
Brenda Ann Cuthbertson died of complications from frontotemporal dementia in New Port Richey on Jan. 24, 2023.
Expressions of condolences at www.HopewellFuneral. com.
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Hernandez
Andres Bautista Hernandez, 44, passed away on Jan. 27, 2023.
Friends and family will be received Feb. 3, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Haught Funeral Home, 708 W. Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd Plant City, FL 33563. Funeral Services will follow at 1 p.m. Online condolences can be made at www.haught. care.
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ALL OBITUARIES ARE SUBMITTED AND EDITED BY FAMILIES OR FUNERAL HOMES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
MOVIE ON THE LAWN
6 p.m. at 302 W. McLendon St. The Bruton Memorial Library will host their Movie on the Lawn event, where the whole family can attend and enjoy a screening of The Princess Bride. Attendees are invited to bring comfortable chairs, blankets and snacks. If you have questions or are in need of more information, please contact the library at 813-757-9215.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
BEGINNING RUMBA CHOREOGRAPHED BALLROOM
DANCE LESSONS
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 4401 Promenade Blvd. Head down to the Strawberry Square Dance Center for Beginning Rumba Choreographed Ballroom Dance Lessons. No experience is required and each lesson will cost $7 per person, per lesson. For more information or to register, text Cindy at 864-723-6965.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
BLUEGRASS JAM!
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd. This is an open invitation for local Bluegrass musicians and fans to come to the Krazy Kup loft and jam, clap hands, stomp feet and enjoy! Krazy Kup holds their Bluegrass JAM on the fist Saturday of every month.
BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES
2 p.m. at 303 N. Lemon St. Plant City residents will have an opportunity to see the Budweiser Clydesdales at the Strawberry Festival Grounds while helping a good cause. Parking and attendance is free, with Corvette Raffle tiets and beverages will be for sale, raising money for Unity in the Community.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
PIANO CONCERT
6 p.m. at 1318 E. Calhoun St. Eastside Baptist Church of Plant City will host a piano concert, with a performance from Dr. Teofil“Teo” Kulyk. The event is free for all to attend and will begin at 6 p.m. in the sanctuary at Eastside Baptist.
HEART SMART
11 a.m. at 302 W. McLendon St. Show your heart some love and join the Bruton Memorial Library as they host this special event to raise awareness for heart health in collaboration with the University of Florida / IFAS, the American Heart Association and City Furniture. For more information, please contact the library at 813-757-9215.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
FREE ASSISTANCE FOR MILITARY VETERANS
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Federal, state and local opportunities are constantly changing. If you’ve served any time in the military, retired or non-retention, and would like to review your benefis please take advantage of free assistance at the Bing House Museum, 205 Allen St., every Wednesday. Walk-ins welcomed or call 813-704-5800 to set a specific tim.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10
MOVIE TRIVIA NIGHT
7 to 8:30 p.m. at 101 E J. Arden Mays Blvd. Bring your friends and family to grab a cup of coffee and head up to the loft to show off our movie knowledge, or just to cheer on your loved ones, with a chance to win a prize at this month’s Movie Trivia Night. As always, the event is family-friendly and free.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
OPEN MIC NIGHT
7 to 8:30 p.m. at 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd.
Open Mic Night is back at Krazy Kup. Join them for a fun night where you get to be the star of the show. Come out, strut your stuff and shw everyone what you’ve got.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
1914 HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEETING AND WORKSHOP
5 p.m. at 302 W. Reynolds St. The City of Plant City will be holding a Community Meeting and Workshop to discuss the future of the 1914 High School. While the format of the workshop has not yet been announced, Plant City is providing the opportunity for all community members to attend and ensure that they have an opportunity for their voices to be heard. The workshop will be held at the Plant City Commission Chambers at City Hall.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18
STRAWBERRY CLASSIC CRUISE-IN
3 to 6:30 p.m. at 102 N. Palmer St. The Plant City Strawberry Classic Cruise-In is back on Saturday, Feb. 18, rain or shine. Cars and trucks of all makes, models and years can register for free starting at 3 p.m. Live music by DJ John Paul Gasca.
Send your photo submissions to staff writer Taylor Jenkins at tjenkins@plantcityobserver.com or hashtag #iloveplantcity on Instagram for @igersplantcity to feature.
