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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

DRAWS HESITATIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS

During Monday evening’s commission meeting a presentation regarding North Park Isle caused commissioners to pump the brakes and left the developer with four weeks to clarify its plan before they will consider moving forward.

BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

North Park Isle is one step closer to becoming a reality after the developer agreed to take a continuance, clarify its planned district and address the concerns commissioners raised during Monday night’s meeting.

The room was packed. Approximately a quarter of those in attendance were patiently waiting to learn about the NPI presentation. When the time finally came, however, the developer didn’t get past the first slide of his presentation.

“It just seems incredible that we are even considering this,” Commissioner Bill Dodson said. “So I don’t have any desire at all, whatsoever, to approve a plan that calls

for 40-foot lots and I will continue that position because for me it’s a question of being entrusted with a community and we are required to provide a quality product, not something we will live to regret. The quantity required in this proposal far outreaches the quality that we’re coming from.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

HILLSBOROUGH

4-H HOSTS 13TH ANNUAL U-PICK FUNDRAISER Fancy Farms hosted the annual u-pick on Feb. 22.

2020 STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL GUIDE IS INSIDE! JUSTIN KLINE

SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR

JUSTIN KLINE SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Plenty of Plant Citians came out to Fancy Farms on Feb. 22 to load up on fresh strawberries and help Hillsborough County 4-H at the same time. The 4-H program hosted its 13th annual Strawberry U-Pick from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day at the strawberry farm, located at 3524 Futch Loop. Though cold weather kept the early birds at home, the sun brought the temperature

up before noon for perfect picking conditions and dozens took advantage.

Strawberries cost $1 per quart to pick or $1.50 per quart if pre-picked, and proceeds from the event will be used for scholarships for 4-H summer camp, 4-H University and 4-H Legislature, the Southeast Dairy Youth Retreat and other 4-H programming, as well as area food banks.

SEE MORE PHOTOS ONLINE

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

NEWS BRIEFS

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2020 Queen’s Exhibit revealed Florida Strawberry Festival royalty was celebrated Monday night at the Neighborhood Village building, where the current Queen and her Court got the first look at the newest Queen’s Exhibit.

The regal gallery, impossible to miss, houses photos, crowns, sashes and other items curators Marsha Passmore and Dodie White have collected over the years and is a grand tribute to every woman that’s ever been Queen or on a Court.

The giant row of plaques for each year’s royalty is bookended by two special sections: one for the newest Queen and one for a past Queen the sisters choose to highlight. When Queen Meghan White, First Maid Kennedy Sapp and Court members Denim Hughes, Lacie Collins and Emma Miller walked in, Meghan White’s gown from that evening was the first thing they saw. They also spent a lot of time at the other end of the exhibit. This year’s featured past Queen is Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who reigned in 1993. Moody was unable to make it to the reveal, but by the end of the night her cell phone was full of pictures of the current Queen and Court admiring the display and posing next to it.

After the Queen and Court were finished checking out the exhibit and taking photos with the other attendees, they were given gift bags and big hugs.

Proclamations for area youth During Monday night’s city commission meeting, proclamations were issued for both Mary-Catherine Stephens and the 2020 Junior Royalty court.

Stephens, a Plant City High School student, is the Grand Marshal of the upcoming Strawberry Youth Parade. She has a weighted GPA of 5.2, more than 100 hours of community service, is a member of the varsity tennis team and is heavily involved in several clubs and organizations within PCHS. The 2020 Junior Royalty court members are Queen Gracie Ashlyn Garner, Princess Madelynn Marie Hardwick, Duchess Sutton Kaye Duncan and Baroness Olivia Pilar McDowell. They, like their older counterparts in the Florida Strawberry Festival Queen’s Court, will represent Plant City at various parades and events during the year.

Camp Invention dates announced Nationally-recognized STEM program Camp Invention will be back in Plant City this summer, the National Inventors Hall of Fame announced Tuesday morning.

The camp is an NIHF program in a partnership with the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office that makes learning the core STEM values — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — as fun as possible for kids in grades K-6. The cur-

riculums are designed by NIHF inductees and will now include a flight lab with gliders, rockets, heliballs and hand copters, a Design Thinking Project that challenges kids to design their own inventions from sketch to sales pitch, a Rescue Squad event to teach energy conservation and how to be more environmentally-friendly and a sports-focused Camp Invention Champions program. Also, every camper will get to bring home their very own robot.

This year’s camp in Plant City will be held from June 8-12 at the Arthur Boring Civic Center at the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds. Visit invent.org/camp to register and get more information.

Get ready for Florida Bike Month The City of Plant City is promoting Florida Bike Month in March with a handful of upcoming events scheduled for the morning of March 14.

The annual Bike with the Mayor event will return for its fourth year. The ride, featuring Mayor Rick Lott, follows a 3.5mile course starting and ending at the HCC Trinkle Center, 1206 N. Park Road.

This free event is open to riders of all ages, though those under 16 are required to wear a helmet. The first 50 riders will get t-shirts. This event is BYOB — bring your own bike — and assembles at 6:30 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. start.

Bike with the Mayor is coordinated by the Plant City Recreation and Parks Department.

The other event is the eighth annual Dean’s Ride, sponsored by the Plant City Family YMCA. That will start at 7:30 a.m.

March 14 at the parking lot of the Trinkle Center at Hillsborough Community College’s Plant City campus, 1206 N. Park Road. This year, riders have four paths to choose from at distances to 19, 39, 46 and 62 miles.

Register online at caamevents.com/ event/deans-ride/. You only have to pay $45 if you register by March 1. Check-in and ride registration on-site begins at 6:30 a.m. March 14 and the staggered starts begin at 7:30 a.m. Contact Jerilyn Rumbarger at 813-401-1477 or visit the Plant City Family YMCA, 1507 YMCA Place, for more information.

Voting precinct location changed The voting location for Precinct 753 in Plant City has moved for the upcoming presidential primary, which will be held March 17.

The new location is the Olin S. Wright Masonic Lodge at 304 Acacia Drive, right in the middle of the merger of Reynolds Street and Thonotosassa Road east of Alexander Street.

Early voting for the presidential primary will take place at the Bruton Memorial Library from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 2-15.

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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JOHNSON POINTE PLAT FINALLY APPROVED DESPITE EMOTIONAL BACKLASH FROM NEIGHBORS For more than a year, residents of the Walden Pointe subdivision have watched in frustration as the Johnson Pointe development came to life in their backyard. With it came many problems.

After the developer finally got SWFWMD approval, the plat was sent to commissioners for their approval.

Courtesy photos

Flooding has been a major concern among Walden Pointe residents since work on Johnson Pointe’s site development began.

BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

For the first time in months, City Hall had an interesting problem come commission night: there was hardly an empty chair in the house.

Between the proclamation for the Strawberry Youth Parade Grand Marshal and Junior Royalty and two controversial public hearings, the room was filled to near capacity. The very first quasi-judicial public hearing tackled an issue that’s filled the city with tension for more than a year.

Residents of the Walden Pointe subdivision have watched with rising frustration as flooding continued to pour into their backyards during months of heavy rain.

Some residents of Walden Pointe directed the blame toward the Johnson Pointe Planned Development District, which did in fact have multiple issues. A shoddy contractor failed to properly create the grading needed on the site, which led to “several acres of dirty water” pouring into the backyards of some of the homes in Walden Pointe, according to the engineer of the Johnson Pointe and Walden Pointe projects. It was then determined, however, that the swale required at Walden Pointe was not correctly in place either.

“I designed the Walden Pointe Project and I designed the Johnson Pointe project,” Wayne Griffin, project engineer, said.

“There’s probably around 900 projects that I have designed and the contractor that worked on this project was probably the worst that I have ever dealt with.The original problem was the grade was incorrect. The contractor didn’t do it right and then we had a huge rainfall event and several acres of dirty water went into Walden Pointe. At that point, we figured out the swale that was part of the original design for Walden Pointe had not been built.

There was no place for the water to go, so it went into backyards. We went through to SWFWMD and corrected the design and we had significantly less draining coming into the area.”

Back when the troubles began, the onslaught of corresponding issues kept the development returning to the city’s Planning Board time and again. Every time it floated up on the agenda, a dedicated and passionate group of Walden Pointe residents showed up in full force armed with photos and videos of the extensive flooding to prove there was an issue.

The contractor in question also continued to disobey city rules and would begin work long before the city allowed, waking up the neighbors in Walden Pointe and keeping them up long into the night. The

upset homeowners, who have frequently SWFWMD declared the drainage problems night where the commission was basically been represented by Dianne Silliman, were no longer a factor to consider. approving the plat,” City Manager Bill acknowledged they were in SWFWMD “I do think it’s important that we rely on McDaniel said. violation with the swale issue, but claim the judgment of the agency of SWFWMD, Upon hearing the commissioners they did not know of the problem when whose sole responsibility is to deal with intended to approve the plat, several in they built. At Monday’s meeting, Silliman water matters in our community,” Kilton the audience rose and walked out before said she has reached out to SWFWMD to no said. “In preparation of this evening, I the vote came to pass. McDaniel said there avail in an effort to learn what they must do also reached out to our city attorney and were strong emotions on both sides and to correct the issue. with his direction was able to also obtain while the answer may not have been what The issue is full of literal months’ worth the new permit that was issued for them everyone wanted to hear, he believed it was of twists and turns. Every time the devel- addressing the noncompliance issues and obvious to all in attendance that Plant City oper had a new issue arise, the city reached knowing the changes that were made were has a “strongly ethical and professional out and he then went about fixing the prob- satisfactory to them. The opinion of a third city commission that understands their lem. But the initial grade mistake led to a party specific to these issues that has no role.” domino effect on the property. Several of bias in the matter is very important to me.”

Lott echoed that sentiment following those in the audience went to the podium Michael Lawrence, the applicant and the public hearing and said that it was Monday evening to reiterate that fact and developer, was also in attendance at Mon- obvious everyone, including the commisshared stories of the issues they have faced day’s meeting and admitted to commis- sioners, were frustrated, but that he hoped over the past year. sioners that the water that left his project going forward this type of issue would not As the issues arose, the Planning Board should not have, and that there were sever- occur again. continued to have SWFWMD address the al issues with the contractor. He continued “Obviously I’m going to vote ‘yes’ on the violations, as it is the overarching agency, to add that the issues that were brought to plat tonight because it meets the requireand would then address the topic based on their attention were fixed and he believes ments of the plat… but just because we’re whether or not the involved parties have “the situation is over.” He said this was going to vote ‘yes’ on it doesn’t mean that corrected what SWFWMD required. the most scrutinized project he had ever we are happy with what we’ve heard,” Lott On Jan. 14, SWFWMD issued a letter been a part of and believes they did every- said. “I’m not going to repeat it, but in this that noted the Environmental Resource thing they were supposed to and followed public hearing we heard you, we underPermit had been approved. With the cor- instructions to the letter. The compliance stand and, Mr. Lawrence, I can’t tell you rections handled, the Planning Board then issues have been addressed and he said he’s what to do but I sure hope that moving unanimously proposed on Jan. 22 that the ready to move forward with the develop- forward with Johnson Pointe, there’s as Johnson Pointe subdivision plat was con- ment. little disturbance as possible with Walden sistent with the Plant City Zoning Ordi“The developer cleared all of the hurdles Pointe because I think there’s some mendnance, Subdivision Regulations and the with these other outside regulating agen- ing that has to be done there.”

Imagine 2040 Comprehensive Plan. This cies — SWFWMD and (Florida Departagreement forwarded the topic to the city ment of Environmental Protection) — so commission where commissioners were that brought us to where we were (Monday) asked to weigh in on the plat approval.

After listening to the public hearings all evening, the commissioners repeatedly had City Attorney Ken Buchman lay out the requirements of those at the dais. They weren’t there to comment on the prior ruling of SWFWMD, nor were they able to intervene on the issues that had taken place over the course of the past year. They simply were being asked to approve or reject the Johnson Pointe final plat.

The plat would create a 55-lot single family subdivision on the north side of Johnson Road, east of Mud Lake Road and west of Sam Astin Road.

Vice Mayor Nate Kilton stated that he thought it was important the city was listening and having this disCourtesy of Yvonne Fry cussion on draining issues, but that as of that evening Monday night’s city commission meeting was packed with upset Walden Pointe residents.

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COPS CORNER

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

PLANT CITY

Observer

This week on Cops Corner: Plant City Police investigated stolen wallets, home invasions, vehicle break-ins

Publisher / Karen Berry KBerry@PlantCityObserver.com

and much more.

Managing Editor / Sarah Holt SHolt@PlantCityObserver.com Associate Editor / Sports Editor / Justin Kline JKline@PlantCityObserver.com Staff Writer / Breanne Williams BWilliams@PlantCityObserver.com Advertising Graphic Designer / Juan Alvarez

FEB. 14

FEB. 15

FEB. 17

FEB. 19

EVERY DAY I’M RUSTLIN’ 1200 block of Goldfinch Drive Vehicle burglary and theft: This victim reported to officers that an unknown subject entered his unlocked 2009 Ford F-150 and swiped various tools, which were valued at $270. While rummaging through the truck, he found the keys to the victim’s black 2005 Ford Mustang (Roush Edition) with a Florida tag. The subject then stole the Mustang.

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT 900 block of East Cherry Street False name (arrest)/Warrant arrest: Officers made contact with a man in the park after official hours. The man had an active warrant for FTA, DUI, NVDL and resisting arrest without violence. He was placed under arrest for false name and an additional ECRA was completed for the active HCSO warrant.

WIPED OUT AT WINN-DIXIE 200 block of West Alexander Street Theft: Officers met with this victim, who told them her wallet was removed from her purse while she was shopping at Winn-Dixie.

EASY MONEY 500 block of Waller Street Vehicle burglary: This victim left her 2004 Ford F-150 truck unlocked. During the night, someone entered the open vehicle and removed her wallet, which also contained her passport and Social Security cards.

SIP ‘N’ SHOP 1500 block of Sammonds Road Beverage violation: Officers found a man drinking alcohol inside the United Food Mart that also came from the store. He was arrested and released with an ROR court date.

CHAIN REACTION Clubhouse Drive/Masters Way Vehicle burglary: Officers responded to 2500 block of Clubhouse Drive, the 2400 block of Clubhouse Drive and the 1900 block of Masters Way in reference to a string of vehicle burglaries.

FEB. 16 THREE STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT Park Road/I-4 DWLSR: A man was stopped for a traffic violation. Officers then found out this was his third subsequent offense of driving with knowledge of a suspended drivers license. He was arrested and transported to Orient Road Jail.

FEB. 18 STUDENT VS. TEACHER 1200 block of West Grant Street Felony battery on teacher: Officers responded to the school at the above listed location in reference to a battery on a teacher. A juvenile was arrested.

LEFT IN A HUFF 3700 block of Trapnell Grove Loop Burglary residence: This comFIVE-FINGER DISCOUNT plainant reported that while she 1500 block of East Baker Street was away from her residence Robbery: Officers met with this IT’S (NOT SO) FUN TO STAY AT Edited by David 2020 between 7:20 a.m. and 5 p.m., victim, whoSteinberg stated that February she made 28, THE YMCA someone entered the home and contact with someone through the 1500 block of YMCA Place ACROSS Speaks 11 cell Chef 40 Territories stole a 50-inch Sony TV, a 32-inch47 Offer Up app to sell her phone. Theft: Officers met with this Some are purple Instead, scratchily protector victim, whowithin Insignia TV 1 and a women’s the phone was stolen. told them his wallet Huffy 10-speed bike. of logs was taken from inside a locker at made 49 Attacks 12 River territories 6 Sound of 53 Lion sign mentioned the YMCA. 44 Porous

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BAD HOUSEKEEPING 2000 block of South Frontage Road Theft: This victim reported that money was missing from his hotel room. The victim signed a waiver of prosecution.

CONTACT US

The Plant City Observer is published once weekly, on Thursdays. The Plant City Observer also can be found in many commercial locations throughout Plant City and at our office, 1507 S. Alexander St., Suite 103.

ALABAMA SLAMMER North Park Road/I-4 Recover stolen vehicle out of Alabama: Officers responded to the above listed location in reference to a report of a crash at the scene. A white Toyota at the scene was discovered to have been stolen from Alabama.

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ALL ABOUT THAT BASS 1900 block of East Calhoun Street Vehicle burglary/criminal mischief: This complainant reported that two unknown subjects entered his vehicle in an attempt to take his car stereo.

Mail: The Plant City Observer, 1507 S. Alexander St., Suite 103, Plant City, FL 33563

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

GAIL LYONS TO LEAD GRAND PARADE

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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Courtesy photo

The 2020 Grand Parade will be led by Grand Marshal Gail Lyons, the director of the Grand Parade’s board and chairman/director of the Florida Strawberry Festival Queen Scholarship Program.

BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

The Strawberry Grand Parade has been interwoven with Plant City’s festival traditions since the 1930s.

The parade weaves through downtown before heading over to the festival grounds and the streets are packed with eager onlookers who wish to catch a glimpse of the many floats, bands and local celebrities that make up the berry entourage. Each year, one person is selected to ride in the seat of honor as the grand marshal of the festivities.

In the past, the parade always featured some of the headline entertainers for that day at the Florida Strawberry Festival.

When the performers’ schedules shifted, there was a switch toward highlighting local residents who have made an impact in the community. Some former grand marshals include Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, local legend Al Berry, who was a key member of the Florida Strawberry Festival as well as a radio icon throughout the area, and Helen Parke, the matriarch of the Parkesdale Farms family who played an instrumental role in making strawberries synonymous with Plant City.

This year, Gail Lyons, vice president of Regions Bank, was selected for the honor.

Lyons is also the past president of the Plant City Lions Club, Past Exalted Ruler of the Plant City Elks Club, Past President of the Friends of the Library and currently serves as Director with the Friends of the Library and the Plant City Lions Club. She has also served with Ducks Unlimited of East Hillsborough County.

On top of serving as the chairman/ director of the Florida Strawberry Festival Queen Scholarship Program, Lyons has also been the director of Berry Fine Productions for the past 10 years. Berry Fine Productions is responsible for managing the Grand Parade. She has served on

the parade’s board since 2010. As president of the Grand Parade board, she is also one of the three members of the parade’s nominating committee along with Florida Strawberry Festival President Paul Davis and Plant City Commissioner Mike Sparkman, who is also a director emeritus of the Strawberry Festival.

Every year, the nominating committee comes together and decides who will have the honor of leading the upcoming parade.

Sparkman said it was his idea to nominate Lyons and Davis agreed. Lyons joked she didn’t really have a vote or a choice in the matter as she was outnumbered this year.

“Gail has worked real hard for the Strawberry Festival. Her and her husband Gene that passed away have worked behind the stage and behind the scenes for years,” Sparkman said. “They’ve done hundreds and hundreds of hours of work for the Grand Parade and everything else in the community: the Lions Club and Queen’s Court with the pageant. She’s the one that doesn’t want any recognition and so I decided it was time we recognize her. I told her ‘It doesn’t matter what you think, we have a majority vote and we voted you in, so get ready.’”

Though Lyons said she couldn’t recall another instance where a board member had received the honor while still serving, Sparkman said he’s nominated several festival staff members over the years.

“She just has the passion for this community and the passion for the festival and the passion for the people here,” Davis said.

“She absolutely devotes her life to this. She runs our Strawberry Queen Pageant for the Lions Club and she runs the parade. She’s out there in the cold and the rain and she doesn’t miss a meeting. She tries to make everyone feel special and happy and let me tell you what, Gail was totally surprised when we told her we were nominating her.”

When the Grand Parade begins its trek through town, it brings the entire city to a halt. Businesses and government offices

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close early, streets are shut down well in advance and the entire community gathers with their friends along the parade route.

The floats congregate on Prosser Street, Evers Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and then head north on Evers Street toward Reynolds Street. From Reynolds it turns west before hopping over toward the festival grounds where it disperses on Sammonds Street.

The parade will begin promptly at 1 p.m., though streets will begin closing at 10:30 a.m. in preparation of the event. Lyons said the trick to a successful parade day is simply to get there early. The weather is

expected to be bright and sunny and she said anyone who wants to find a great spot should come early to Reynolds Street or by South Florida Baptist Hospital.

“This year, it will be kind of fun to ride on the back of a vehicle and get to see that perspective for the parade,” Lyons said.

“You know, I did some research and back when the parade began, it went to the festival grounds and then had the Queen’s pageant. I think it’s kind of ironic that I direct both of them today and have been chosen for this honor.”

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

ELKS ACT AS

BLESSING

TO LOCAL YOUTH The Elks Lodge of Plant City has acquired a grant that allows them to provide aid to Everyday Blessings.

BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

The Elks Lodge of Plant City took a leap of faith and applied for a highly exclusive grant in hopes of developing a new program to help local youth.

Members of the group have worked off and on with Everyday Blessings, Inc. — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that cares for children up to age 17 as they wait for permeant placement in a home — for years. It’s an organization the Elks hold dear to their hearts, and when they heard of the many changes coming to the program, they decided to step in and help even though they weren’t sure where to start.

Shelly Carol, grant coordinator for the Plant City Elks Lodge, said they visited the Everyday Blessing facility back when it was in Thonotosassa and learned the property had been sold as the group was relocating to Lithia. The list of needs was extensive: the property needed upgrading, they needed assistance with moving and they were searching for stability inside the organization.

“This particular grant requires a lot of ongoing interaction with the population at need, and as we were looking at Everyday Blessings, we thought that group of children and their caretakers was a great group to qualify for this larger impact grant from

Breanne Williams the Elks National Foundation because they just needed everything the grant was made Plant City’s Elks Lodge and Everyday Blessings have partnered up to make kids’ lives better. to help with,” Carol said. “It was also a good fit because we have a volunteer cook night will eat that evening, but also a massive but I know Everyday Blessings still needs once a week on Wednesdays, so on the batch of food to store and deliver to Every- some assistance what with the move and same evening we can go ahead and prepare day Blessings. their other changes. There’s definitely a meal for them for the weekend.”

Carol said they are meticulous in plan- other ways for different organizations to The children who currently call the ning how the meals are prepared. They only get involved if others wish to help.” facility home are governed by a handful cook food that will last for a few days, as of caretakers. They receive routine meals the food is delivered on Thursday or Friday throughotu the week, but on the week- and will be eaten over the weekend by the ends the caretakers are in charge of cook- children. If the menu for the Wednesday ing for the youth. The Elks decided to assist night event is not “kid-friendly” or will not with easing the burden and applied for a keep long, the Elks use their weekly money $10,000 grant through the national Elks to purchase “fun food” like pizza or pasta organization. It’s a highly sought-after from a local restaurant to be delivered Frigrant and while several lodges around the day night. nation receive it every year, very few new When cooking for the group, some grants are issued. members do the cooking and chilling and However, in a fortunate turn of events, a handful of others deliver the meals over Plant City was awarded the funds. That the course of the following two days. allows them to spend anywhere from $100 The group is approximately eight weeks to $125 a week providing meals for the into the project so far and Carol said everychildren and they can also use the budget thing is running smoothly. They’ve started to provide three celebrations a year. The to receive some feedback from Everyday plan is to have Thanksgiving, Christmas Blessings and they have extended their and Easter parties for all involved and give thanks to the group as well as shared some out gift cards so they can purchase items of their favorite parts. Fresh products like that are not normally donated, like hygiene fruits and vegetables have been crowdproducts. pleasers, so they’ve made sure they send FOR MORE INFORMATION Every Wednesday afternoon, a handful as much as possible every week. visit everydayblessingsinc.org or of Elks volunteers file into the kitchen and “The grant will last us for a full year,” call 813-982-9226. promptly get to work. They spend hours Carol said. “We’re not really in need of cooking not only the meals the members any assistance with this particular activity,

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

NORTH PARK ISLE

DRAWS HESITATIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS

FROM PAGE 1

Prior to NPI taking the podium, Robyn Baker, senior planner for the City of Plant City, ran through a summary of what the potential modifications to the NPI Planned Development District entailed.

There were eight items that would potentially be altered following the vote that evening.

The North Park Isles Planned Development District would be changed to North Park Isle Planned Development District — the ’s’ would be dropped. The district would increase the total acreage from 460.19 to 694.8 acres, which would in turn increase the total residential units from 1,350 to 3,308.

Because of the addition of so many new homes, the developer wanted to reduce the minimum lot width from 45 feet to 40 feet and reduce the minimum lot area from 4,950 square feet to 4,400 square feet.

The developer also wished to have commissioners agree to the increase of open space acreage, but also allow the decrease of overall open space percentage.

They wanted to have the village detail that showed lot width and unit counts removed as well and add an another access point to the district from Wilder Road.

The traffic study by Hillsborough County called for the addition of two turn lanes into the district, which the developer would be responsible for adding, and one day further down the road

the district would need to provide for a school site either within the district or nearby on an off-site location.

There were two red flags in Baker’s summary presentation that caused commissioners to hash out a variety of concerns from the dais. First, the question of reducing lot sizes from 45 feet to 40 feet is one that did not sit well with at least Dodson and Mayor Rick Lott. While Lott said it could be done well, it was something that caught him by surprise and he pushed for further explanation as to why that reduction was being presented.

Baker explained the city code didn’t currently have anything in it that could restrict staff from approving the development based off of the proposed reduced lot-

size so, from a legal standpoint, staff had to analyze the project and say this technically could be approved according to the code.

It was up to the commissioners to act as judges of the vision of the city to determine if the proposed plan aligned with where they wanted to see the city in 10, 20 or even 30 years.

The second — and far more alarming to the entire commission board — flag that arose that evening was verbiage in the ordinance that essentially would have ceded control of the future plans in the development from the city to the developer.

The developer presented a fraction of the preliminary plans for NPI and asked commissioners to look over and then approve that initial concept. However, if they had done so then essentially any say on the rest of the development would have been out of their hands.

“My number one issue is the unknown,” Lott said. “If we vote on this tonight, there is a lot of uncertainty about what can be and will be done in this development in the future. I don’t like that… What you’re hearing from us tonight is this development in our northeast master plan, which we’ve spent a lot of time getting to this point, this development will set the standard. So someone will build a little better or a little less, but I doubt they’ll go a whole lot better. When you look at the standard, I think that’s where it gets to the quality versus quantity. We need homes for people to live in, but it’s that quality issue

that I’m concerned about. When I see homes that are 40 foot lots and the red flag where it is possibly unlimited, that all of the sudden strikes me as, ‘Wow, are we just going after quantity or are we really trying to build a quality project that sets the standard for the community we are very proud about?’”

The applicant was in the room and told commissioners they were listening and taking notes of all the concerns those at the dais held. They asked for a continuance until March 23 and promised they would come back with a more in-depth presentation so commissioners could see a full plan and decide from there what they thought about NPI. “What it comes down to is they were looking to make these concept modifications without providing a lot of detail of what they wanted to do with them and that’s really what the whole conversation was, and I think it’s very positive on their part that they were willing to get up and say ‘Hey, we hear you and we will bring you back the details,’ and they just asked for the continuance,” City Manager Bill McDaniel said. “I think that reflects well on them as a developer that they were willing to do that and didn’t try to argue or debate it. They understood and I’m looking forward to getting that much more detailed view on what they plan to do with all of that land.”

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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9

PCHS REINTERPRETS SHAKESPEARE Students from Plant City High School Theatre Troupe 1449 presented “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]” last week in a three day production that had the audience laughing and reexamining what they remember of the classic tales.

The sophomore played a character in nearly every play and jumped back and forth between aggressively obtuse and charmingly passionate all night long.

The fast-firing comedy did eventually run through all 37 plays and even tossed in a few soliloquies for good measure. Clad in neon socks, elaborate wigs and mis-matched period pieces the young actors proved that the core of humanity that runs through Shakespeare’s creations will ensure the works remain a cornerstone of society’s interpretation of love and tragedy for years to come.

BREANNE WILLIAMS

Courtesy photos

Plant City High School Theatre Troupe 1449’s creativity took a new twist with a recent production lampooning all things Shakespeare.

STAFF WRITER

Shakespeare has crafted a legacy that has lasted hundreds of years and woven itself into the very core of modern society.

His plays are tragic, filled to the brim with wit and often feature unexpected turns — see “exit, pursued by a bear.”

However, the literary mastermind is by no means renowned for his brevity. Which is why when students from Plant City High School attempted to perform a parody of all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in under two hours last week, the community eagerly buckled in for what was sure to be a wild ride.

And what a ride it was.

Titus Andronicus was presented in the style of a cooking show. Shakespeare’s entire collection of Histories ran through its chronological journey via a rough-and-tumble football game. The actor portraying Ophelia from Hamlet engaged the audience in a Freudian analysis of the character in hopes of “better capturing their mindset,” with audience members literally acting as the id, ego and super-ego.

While many of the faces that appeared on stage are by now familiar to PCHS fans — like Kaitlyn Gomez and Tyler Stanaland — there were several new actors gracing the stage as well. It made for a unique dynamic as the sometimes silly, sometimes hyper-dramatic cast plucked on the many stereotypes woven into the classic works and attempted to make them relevant to the modern high school student while constantly breaking the fourth wall to keep the audience engaged.

And while the concept of a Shakespearean parody is by no means new material, the intricacies were exaggerated for all to see and made the show one those who popped in for the two-hour production will remember.

After all, who could foresee a monologue being presented via an interpretive dance that also featured puppets? Stanaland once again proved he has a natural gift for making storytelling seem natural, even while embracing the absurd.

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

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The WLCA, Walden Lake’s Community Association Board, has indicated that it will put forth a “3 choice poll/vote at the April Annual Meeting” in cooperation with the Miami developers.

Similar to earlier “WLCA surveys”, the essence will be: A. We will build only in your neighbors’ backyard.

B. We will build only in your backyard.

C. We will build in your neighbors’ backyard and your backyard.

These “choices” represent no choice at all. In fact, these “surveys/polls” that the WLCA board continues to put forward are divisive and dishonest. They intentionally pit neighbor against neighbor and are counterproductive — nobody wins, not you, not your neighbor and not the community. They are promoting an agenda.

I will remain steadfastly opposed to any and all development that violates the implied property rights of any resident in our master planned community. I will vote for new people to the WLCA board in April. I will not participate in any faux poll/vote.

The city needs to know that these “WLCA polls/votes” do not represent our community at large. Our voices will not be stifled, our choice is “no to rezone.”

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SPORTS Quick Hits ROBINSON ELEMENTARY Jarod Wingo pitched a near-perfect game against Alonso last week.

See Page 13

AREA PARKS HOSTING EVENTS This weekend, Florida Youth Soccer Association will host its Florida Premier League showcase at Ellis-Methvin Park from Saturday through Sunday with start times between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday. This tournament is for boys and girls teams in U15 through U19 age groups.

GSA Baseball is back with its March Madness Super Regional tournament, which will use fields at Ellis-Methvin Park, the Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex and Snowden Park from Saturday through Sunday. Games start between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The National Club Baseball Association and National Club Softball Association will host their annual Spring Training Showcase tournaments at Mike Sansone Park and the MLK ball field over the course of four weeks. Visit ncbaspringtraining. weebly.com/ for baseball schedules, team information and more, and visit ncsaspringtraining.weebly.com/ for softball schedules, team information and more.

Next weekend, the Plant City Dolphins will host Youth Spring Football League 8-on-8 tackle league play. Games start between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. March 7 at the Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex.

Greater Orlando Baseball/USA Travel Ball will host its Baseball Lessons 101 tournament at Ellis-Methvin Park on March 7 and 8. Games start between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. in this 11U and 12U tournament.

GSA Baseball will use fields at the Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex for league play on March 7 and 8, with games starting between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

DISTRICT WRESTLING TOURNEYS Durant wrestler Hendon Haley is once again bound for regionals after winning the 138-pound bracket in the Feb. 22 3ADistrict 6 tournament.

Haley beat East Bay’s Elijah Ketchup Jr. and Newsome’s Devan Belcher by fall in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds to set up a championship match against Armwood’s Hamzah Mohamad. But Mohamad, who made it to the finale with a 10-5 semifinal decision over Bloomingdale’s Chase Richie, was injured, giving Haley the championship.

Teammate Josh Cannon, wrestling at 182 pounds, also made it to the championship round after beating Lennard’s Benjamin Carranza by fall and East Bay’s Ivan Rusado by decision, but lost

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

BRINGS BACK SPECIAL OLYMPICS EVENT

The school hosted its second annual Special Olympics day of games on Feb. 21.

Photos by Justin Kline

Robinson Elementary School’s second annual Special Olympics event nearly doubled last year’s in size and participation.

JUSTIN KLINE SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The morning of J.S. Robinson Elementary School’s latest Special Olympics game day was freezing cold, but the athletes’ smiles were as warm as could be once they started to play.

Close to 100 students participated in this year’s Special Olympics game day, which is open to students in all of the school’s grade levels with activities that vary depending on the age group. Students in the pre-K though first grade tested their foundational skills, such as jumping, catching, throwing and running.

Students in second through fifth grade, who get to pick their events each year, chose to do football and track and field activities. Everything took place on the school’s track and pavilion areas.

The idea was born last year and inspired by similar programming at Strawberry Crest High School, where Robinson ESE 1 teacher Maria Garcia previously worked.

“When I worked at Strawberry Crest High School, we did it there and I had

heard of other schools doing it,” Garcia said. “But it was always mainly older kids participating, so our school reached out to have a Special Olympics representative talk to us about programs they offered for younger children. We thought it was a great way for our kids to do other things than academics at our school.”

Last year, roughly 50 students participated in events and around 30 spectators came out to watch. The two sports picked by older students for last year’s event were basketball and soccer.

Student-athletes from Durant and Plant City High Schools stopped by Robinson on Feb. 21 to help with the games and encourage the elementary school’s athletes as they competed. Others who helped make the event possible include Robinson’s PlayPals and volunteers, Dr. Neil Weisman, Steve MacDonald, O’Brien Food Service, Florida Southern Roofing, Mariah Jones of Apple Eye Photography and Domino’s of Plant City.

BING HOUSE MUSEUM HOSTS CHEVELLE HALLBACK EVENT

The Plant City native talked boxing for more than an hour in a free event over the weekend.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a boxer with better stories to tell than Plant City’s own Chevelle Hallback.

Hallback, who has been fighting professionally since 1997, shared plenty of those stories on Feb. 22 with everyone who came out to the Bing Rooming House Museum’s “Conversation with a Champion”

event. That Q&A session, hosted by Improvement League President William Thomas Jr., was a part of the museum’s Black History Month programming and was free for anyone to attend.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Quick Hits

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11)

PLANT CITY LITTLE LEAGUE

2020 OPENING DAY

Plant City High School Track/Twitter

Jackson Knotts is the second-ranked javelin thrower in the state class 4A.

Celebration’s Joshua Lizano by fall after a first-round bye and followed it up with another win by fall over George Jenkins’ Jalen Williams for the 145-pound title.

Jeremiah Smith and Celebration’s Kyler Peraza, the only two wrestlers in the 113-pound bracket, duked it out for the championship but Peraza picked up the win by fall. Blake Johnson got to the end of the 126-pound bracket with a first-round bye and a win over Celebration’s Kaluv Peterson by fall, but then lost to Winter Haven’s Deaven Sinnett by 14-10 decision.

Caleb Turner made it to the 195-pound final round with wins over Ridge Community’s Nathan Walsh and Jenkins’ Nathan Peoples, but Bartow’s Colby Trudeau ended Turner’s win streak in the championship match.

All three schools will compete at regionals this weekend at Osceola High School.

KNOTTS SHOOTS UP STATE JAVELIN RANKINGS Plant City High School’s success with the javelin continued at the Feb. 22 Steinbrenner Invite, which senior Jackson Knotts won in that event.

Knotts recorded a 44.45-meter throw that day, which secured him first-place honors at the invite by a margin of 1.9 points. That also helped him climb up to second place in the Class 4A state rankings.

The league’s annual ceremony was held Feb. 22 and featured two guest speakers.

JUSTIN KLINE SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR

It’s time to “play ball” at Plant City Little League.

The league kicked off its 2020 spring season with its annual Opening Day ceremony at 9 a.m. Feb. 22. After the parade of teams lined up around the horn, the Little League pledges and invocations were given and the 2020 Florida Strawberry Festival Queen and Court introduced themselves, it was time for a round of Q&A with pro players.

This year, PCLL featured two guest speakers. One was former Major League Baseball outfielder Jason Michaels, who played in the bigs from 2001-11 and spent five of those years with the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a Tampa native who now owns and operates a baseball academy, The Big League Approach, in the area. The other special guest was former Florida Gators closer Michael Byrne, who holds the UF record for career saves and won the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award in his final collegiate season. Byrne was drafted in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB Draft and is currently in the Cincinnati

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Reds organization. Several PCLL baseball and softball players took turns asking Michaels and Byrne about their careers and experiences.

After the Q&A, the first pitches of 2020 were thrown by Michaels, Byrne and Strawberry Festival Queen Meghan White and emcee Rhett Rollyson declared it was time to play ball.

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to Newsome’s Michael Nunn by an 8-4 decision. Austin Bovee, who earned a first-round bye in the 195-pound bracket, beat Lennard’s Anthony Cruz by fall in the semifinal but then lost to Riverview’s Josh Francavilla by fall in the championship round.

Strawberry Crest wrestler Aaron Ortiz now has two district championships to his name after winning the 3A-6 113-pound bracket.

Ortiz got the job done this year by beating Bloomingdale’s Zach Allison by 12-5 decision in the championship round.

It was his only win by decision of the tournament, as he previously beat Newsome’s Cam Valenti and Lennard’s Yaideliz Lorenzo by falls.

Several of Ortiz’s teammates also got to championship rounds. Carter Willis made it to the championship round at 120 pounds by beating Durant’s Chris Perez in the semifinal, but lost by fall to Luke Allison of Bloomingdale. Jarrett Affronti made it to the 132-pound championship but lost by 9-3 decision to Lennard’s Daegan Buzbee. Jacive Sheppard made it to the 145-pound finale but lost by fall to Newsome’s Parker Drake.

Plant City competed in the 3A-District 5 tournament on Feb. 22 and two Raiders won titles. Brent Ruedeman walked away a district champion at 132 pounds after his championship opponent, Osceola’s Jaekus Hines, had to forfeit the finale. Jermarian Jackson, on the other hand, quickly beat

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

Chevelle Hallback visited the Bing Rooming House Museum on Feb. 22 to talk all things boxing in a free event.

FROM PAGE 11

Know someone who deserves an Athlete of the Week feature? Email Justin Kline at JKline@plantcityobserver.com by the Friday before the next issue.

Jarod Wingo, Plant City High School’s ace, showed exactly why he earned the job in the Raiders’ Feb. 18 season (and home) opener against Alonso.

Wingo struck out 16 of the 22 batters he faced through seven innings and came extremely close to throwing a perfect game, settling for a no-hitter after the Ravens reached base and scored on two fielding errors in the seventh inning. Luckily for Plant City, which held a 2-0 lead going into that inning, Wingo wasn’t rattled and finished the job. He also had an RBI in the game.

You came so close to a perfect game.

How were you feeling that night?

said that number directly relates to her last remaining goals as a pro fighter: to fight for a WBC title, fight in the contractually-obligated rematch and later end her career with a fight in Plant City. Her dream is to fight at the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds, perhaps even at the Wish Farms Soundstage in an outdoor fight like the classic Rumble in the Jungle.

Hallback was grateful for the opportunity to tell her stories at the Bing House.

Events like this are actually part of what Hallback has in mind for her post-fighting career. She recently joined the Plant City chapter of Toastmasters and is honing her craft as a motivational speaker.

“I love this type of stuff,” Hallback said.

“I think I was born for this.”

Anyone interested in booking her to speak at an event can contact her at chevellehallback@gmail.com.

When I was in the bullpen, I noticed everything was feeling good. I was a little bit sore but I knew my pitches were working, so I was like “Maybe this will be a good game.”

After the first two innings I noticed the slider was working, the cutter was working and the fastball was working. I was hoping I could go all seven (innings) and I did.

As someone who just won a state championship last season, what’s been your mindset going into this one?

Win. That’s all we want to do. We want to go 1-0 every game. That’s the whole goal. We just now went 0-1 (Feb. 20 at Bloomingdale, a 6-3 loss), but it happens. It’s baseball.

Everybody’s gonna lose. In Hillsborough County, a lot of teams are 1-1 right now, so it’s not a big problem to us. But the main thing is to hop back on it and forget about the L.

Which games are you looking forward to most this season?

The Sickles game, they’re always a competitor and they beat us last year, it got taken away (The Gryphons had to forfeit their win) but they’re a big team to play.

What are your goals for this season?

To bat over .300 and have no losses pitching.

Who on this team might be an unsung hero and make an impact this year, but doesn’t get a lot of spotlight?

Our starting shortstop right now, Tre Ragan, I think he’s gonna make a big impact filling in for Alex Rodriguez until he’s back.

What are your college plans looking like right now?

I think I’m gonna stay home, stay local and go to HCC. I’m planning to see how I do in the first year and later stay local, maybe USF, UCF, FAU or FSU, whatever’s close.

How do you get ready for a game?

I run up to the RaceTrac and get my daily blue Gatorade and Snickers bar. I come back, put my headphones in and it’s straight from there.

Where do you think you’ve improved the most since last season?

My hitting has been a lot better since last year and I feel really good at the plate now.

I’m taller than last year, I feel like I can rope a ball this year, my swing feels good and I’m looking at curveballs good.

How do you feel about this year’s team?

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Feola Insurance Agency 813-752-2556 1003 S. Collins St. a026519@allstate.com 287497-1

Discounts are subject to terms, conditions and availability. Actual savings will vary. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Co.

Northbrook, IL. © 2013 Allstate Insurance Co.

Time for New Glasses?

Dr. Jeremy H. Gaffney O.D. Dr. Barry M. Gaffney, O.D. PA Dr. Daniel G. Gaffney O.D.

www.drgaffney.com

813.754.3593 2002 S. Alexander St. Plant City, FL 33563

The struggle between fashion and function is officially declared a tie!

Never before have eyeglass frames been offered in so many stylish choices. Yet, you’ll be amazed at how many options are at your fingertips to help you see well and protect your vision!

CAMERON FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

110 W. Reynolds Street | Suite 109, Plant City, FL 33563 michael@cameronfm.com | CAMERONFM.COM Securities Offered Through LPL Financial

Members FINRA/SIPC

Michael S.Cameron Financial Advisor

813.759.8485

287857-1

Justin Kline is the Sports Editor at the Plant City Observer.

Email: jkline@plantcityobserver.com.

I feel like last year was obviously a strong team with good chemistry, but the seniors that have come up this year have worked their butts off and they’re ready to play. I feel like it’s gonna be good.

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The event came one day after women’s boxing legend Laila Ali gave Hallback a shout-out on ESPN’s First Take as a female fighter to watch, and Thomas opened the event by playing that clip for the audience.

The two then launched the Q&A session with Thomas asking questions he had prepared in advance and Hallback responding with hard lessons learned or funny stories from throughout her career. The audience was also invited to ask her questions during the event.

Hallback went deep on just about everything.

She talked at length about how she became inspired to box at 7 years old, watching Muhammad Ali fight Michael Spinks, then started to chase that dream at 24 after watching Christy Martin and Deirdre Gogarty fight on the undercard of Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno II in 1996. She talked about starting training in Tampa as the only woman in her boxing gym, studying greats like Ali and Roy Jones Jr. in depth. She told the story of her first fight, in which she beat Connie Plosser in 30 seconds by TKO in 1997, and then talked about her first championship win the following year. She talked about the peaks of her career winning championship gold and making good on her “Fists of Steel” nickname, as well as the valley of going without a fight for five years as no one would challenge her. She talked about her comeback fight last September and the November rematch, both of which she won by unanimous decision and got back into the top 10 among female welterweights (Hallback is currently ranked fourth overall). She also discussed the business behind boxing, how management works, how title ownership works and how she’s been able to stay active in the sport for so long when many who started around the same time as her left the sport long ago.

“A person that doubts me, a person who tells me what I cannot do, that’s motivation in itself to me,” Hallback said. “You have to have a strong mind. It starts with the mind. You can’t allow anyone to tell you what you can and you can’t do because at the end of the day, there’s greatness in all of us.”

One of the audience questions, asked

by James McDaniel, was about her plan for exactly three more fights and if the number held any significance. Hallback

SPONSORED BY SPORT CLIPS

Jarod Wingo

13

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

‘CONVERSATION WITH A CHAMPION’ AT BING HOUSE

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14

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

FOCUS ON FITNESS:

RAIDERS WIN 2019 STATE TITLE REMATCH, 3-2

THERE IS STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Plant City used a late rally to beat Strawberry Crest in extra innings Tuesday night.

It is true that a group of people has more influence than one person, but is more really “merrier” when it comes to fitness?

There are so many groups of people who come together to exercise, whether it’s a mountain biking club, running group or group exercise class. Heck, we are even doing yoga with goats! So, what is it about working out in a group setting that has so many people ditching their solo gym sessions?

Working out in a group or with a partner, not only gives you a competitive edge and accountability, but it also can boost your mood, add variety and increase confidence.

My friend and the Wellness Coordinator for the Spurlino Family YMCA, Athena Reed, joined a run group a few years ago after being a solo runner for years. The group has helped her with accountability and consistency but, beyond that, she says she loves running with the group. Reed says they are always there for each other to motivate and support all the women in the group, no matter how fast or slow they run.

They even show up to races they are not running just to cheer on other runners from the group.

She says she has become faster over the past year without even trying. Reed loves the community, and that she can run and laugh at the same time. Though she still occasionally goes on solo runs, she says “they are boring.”

In a gym session, working out with others can add variety to your workout.

You will always have a spotter and you can do some partner-assisted moves. It is also a good idea to have each person contribute to the workout to vary exer-

JUSTIN KLINE SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR

inning, Hardin came in to pitch and relieve starter Bryan Boully. Boully finished the game with five strikeouts, two hits allowed and one unearned run. Cole Cothren hit a single to move Wingo to third base, which also led to Rodriguez getting out at second on an attempted double play. Robinson then ripped a single to left field to score Wingo and bring Plant City right back into the game.

After Robinson kept a free-swinging Crest team from getting on base in the top of the eighth, Cothren hit a one-out double and Dowdy later stepped up to the plate with two outs. Crest fielded the hit well enough and nearly threw Cothren out at home, but the catcher lost control of the ball as Cothren slid in and was called safe.

Angela Fulgieri is a Program Director for the Tampa Metropolitan YMCA. Write her at observerfitness@ gmail.com.

OMG IT’S WEDNESDAY! PLANT CITY FARM AND FLEA MARKET Highway 39 North at Sam Allen Road—1 mi. N. of I-4 Exit 21

WEDNESDAY FLEA MARKET OVER 40 ACRES . . . MORE THAN 500 VENDORS

OP EN

PM 7A M T O 1 708 W. SAM ALLEN RD. 1 MILE NORTH OF I-4 EXIT 21

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LIKE KMART WITHOUT A ROOF!

287682-1

A little rain couldn’t stop the reigning state champions on Tuesday night.

Plant City and Strawberry Crest met at 1 Raider Place for a rematch of the 2019 Class 8A state championship game and Tyler Dowdy’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Raiders a 3-2 win over the Chargers.

Crest wasted no time making a statement as Alex Mussenden hit a leadoff double to start the game and Colby Fanning drove him in with an RBI single, giving the Chargers a very early 1-0 lead.

Mario Williams scored from third base on a fielding error at first base to bring the game to a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the first inning.

The Chargers took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth when Arjun Nimmala, Anthony Grasso and Tyson Hardin loaded up the bases with one out, then Ruben Saucedo singled to score Nimmala. Jarod Wingo struck out Christian Bolt and J.T. Hancovsky to end the inning and get out of that jam.

Wingo had a productive outing, striking out 14 batters through seven innings before he was relieved by Ryan Robinson.

Robinson was also crucial to Plant City’s success: not only did he keep the Chargers off the scoreboard in the top of the eighth with an induced groundout and two strikeouts, but he was also the one who tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Shortly after Wingo and Chris Rodriguez drew walks to start the

cise selection. You might learn something new, or challenge your body in a different way.

When exercising with others, we also tend to put in more effort, especially when working out with someone that we perceive as fitter than us. Beginners learn from the more experienced ones in the group, and that can lead to more confidence in the gym.

It is only natural to talk about things other than exercising when meeting up with the same people on a regular basis.

This is why we see so many friendships develop in group exercise classes. When I moved to Florida and joined the YMCA, I made so many friends through a boot camp class I attended every week. Now, 15 years later, not only are we still friends but our children have grown up together and I consider many of them family.

Here at the YMCA, we see so many diverse groups of friends, both young and old, that have built relationships with each other through group exercise.

Our Silver Sneakers members come for fitness, but stay because of the meaningful friendships they’ve created.

That increased socialization has health benefits well beyond what you gain from exercising alone.

PLENTY OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

WWW.PLANTCITYMARKET.COM

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

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15

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

YOUR AROUND TOWN SPONSOR AROUND TOWN

289704-1

We asked: What’s the first thing you’re going to do at the Florida Strawberry Festival?

“I’m definitely going to Brandon Farms for a strawberry milkshake.”

— Erica Kelley

“I’ve never been. I can’t wait to try the lemonade.”

— Jamie Bizzarro

“Getting the Amish doughnut.” “I’m gonna make my own — Chase Kelley strawberry shortcake.”

— Shannon Bell

“Get a Sweetheart doughnut.”

— Claire Taylor

16

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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THURSDAY,FEBRUARY 27, 2020

REAL ESTATE

JANUARY 2020 REAL ESTATE

PlantCityObserver.com

The year 2020 started off with a much hotter real estate market in Plant City than 2019 did.

Last month, 63 single-family homes sold with an average sale price of $208,632 and a median of $200,000. Compared to last January, that represents a 14.5 percent increase in sales (vs. 55 homes sold in 2019), an 8.6 percent increase in average sale price (vs. $192,072 in 2019) and an 8.7 percent increase in median (vs. $184,000 in 2019). The highest home sale price for January 2020 was $385,000 for the home at 3822 Ralston Road.

Local January 2020 sales and trend information courtesy of The Crawford Group. Permit information was obtained from the City of Plant City.

TOP BUILDING PERMITS Local January 2020 sales and trend information courtesy of The Crawford Group. Permit information was obtained from the City of Plant City.

Address

Permit

Amount

3304 Sydney Road

Mechanical change-out/repair

$1,038,070

2727 Henderson Way

Roof

$882,000

809 S. Woodrow Wilson St.

Alteration

$850,000

2727 Henderson Way

Plumbing

$788,569

2302 W. Baker St.

Offices/banks/professional

$500,000

1001 W. Reynolds St.

Occupancy

$140,000

109 Maki Road

Occupancy

$127,680

2264 Pixie Way

Accessory structure

$125,000

1312 E. Spencer St.

Occupancy

$125,000

3304 Sydney Road

Commercial addition

$114,422

4181 Rice Road

Alteration

$100,000

1805 N. Park Road

Roof

$100,000

13 S. Thomas St.

Residential addition

$100,000

4111 Rice Road

Plumbing

$92,225

3340 Sydney Road

Plumbing

$87,700

2708 S. Fairway Drive

Solar

$86,577

110 E. Reynolds St.

Alteration

$80,000

1805 N. Park Road

Alteration

$78,000

1709 Charleston Woods Court

Solar

$75,000

1911 S. Wiggins Road

Plumbing

$65,749

102 N. Collins St.

Roof

$63,370

2501 Paul Buchman Highway

Mechanical/HVAC

$54,500

4109 Concord Way

Alteration

$52,065

208 E. Terrace Drive

Accessory structure

$51,375

4504 Sydney Road

Occupancy

$51,220

4021 S. Frontage Road

Plumbing

$47,465

CRAWFORD & ASSOCIATES CRAWFORD & ASSOCIATES

Outstanding Agents.

Outstan Outstanding Agents. Outstanding Results.

Outstanding Agents.

Outstanding R Outstanding Agents. Outstanding Results.

CRAWFORD & ASSOCIATES

CRAWFORD & ASSOCIATES

(813)967-0168 or (813)305-1616

2803-4 James L. Redman Parkway, Plant City Florida 33566 (813)967-0168 or (813)305-161 (813)967-0168 (813)305-1616 (813)967-0168 or (813)305-1616 (813) 967-0168 or (813) 549-9412 Office: (813) 305-1616 | Fax: (813) 754-8099 Email: Malissa.Crawford@Gmail.com

James L.Plant Redman Parkway, Plant 33566 City Flor 2803-4James James2803-4 L. Redman Parkway, City Florida 33566 2803-4 L. Redman Parkway, Plant City Florida Office: (813) 305-1616 |Office: Fax: (813)(813) 754-8099 Email: Malissa.Crawford@Gmail.com 305-1616 | Fax:Email: (813)Malissa.Crawford@Gmail.com 754-8099 Email: Malissa.Crawford@G Office: (813) 305-1616 | Fax: (813) 754-8099

288047-1

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

Melba Hill Kabrich Foster, 91, of Lithia, born on Oct. 27, 1928 in Lithia, entered into eternal rest on Feb. 18, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Joan K. Justice Joan K. Justice, 83, of Plant City, born on Aug. 4, 1936 in Tampa, entered into eternal rest on Feb. 22, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Louis Eugene ‘Gene’ Gunn III Louis Eugene “Gene” Gunn III, 56, of Lakeland, born on Oct. 17, 1963 in St. Petersburg, entered into eternal rest on Feb. 16, 2020.

Expressions of Condolences at HopewellFuneral.com.

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Howard Lee Lois Ophelia Clemons Livingston Niswanger Lois Ophelia Clemons Livingston was born in Sarasota, on Jan. 26, 1933. She went home peacefully to be with her Lord on Feb. 22, 2020.

Expressions of Condolences at HopewellFuneral.com.

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Michael Luis “Mike Lu” Tamayo

Howard Lee Niswanger, 84, of Plant City, born on July 4, 1935 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, entered into eternal rest on February 19, 2020 in Lakeland.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

Lexi Rae Lapointe

Lexi Rae Lapointe passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Those whose lives Lexi touched are welcome to join us for a Celebration of Life at Eastside Baptist Church, 1318 E Calhoun St Plant City, on March 1 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. with a service to follow at 3:00 p.m.

Online condolences can be left at haught.care.

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Mark Carroll James

Mark Carroll James, 65, of LakeMichael Luis “Mike Lu” Tamayo, 38, land, passed away on Feb. 23, of Dover, born on February 4, 1983 2020.

A graveside service will take in Tampa, entered into eternal rest place Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 at on February 23, 2020.

11:00 a.m. at Oakhill Burial Park Expressions of condolence at 4620 US Hwy. 98 S, Lakeland, FL HopewellFuneral.com.

33812.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.haught. care.

HAUGHTFUNERALHOME.COM

Teresa Kay Pitts Teresa Kay Pitts, 64, of Plant City, passed away on Feb. 18, 2020.

Services will be held privately.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.haught. care.

Wilma Jean Bell

Wilma Jean Bell, 87, of Plant City, passed away on Feb. 20, 2020.

Services will be held privately.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.haught. care.

HAUGHTFUNERALHOME.COM

HAUGHTFUNERALHOME.COM

HAUGHTFUNERALHOME.COM

ALL OBITUARIES ARE SUBMITTED AND EDITED BY FAMILIES OR FUNERAL HOMES

YOUR COMMUNITY FUNERAL HOME AND CEMETERY. FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1971 HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Charles A. Parker Sr.

Charles A. Parker Sr., 81, of Lakeland, passed away on Feb. 9, 2020.

Charles served in the United States Army.

Services were held Feb. 12, 2020.

Online condolences may be left for the family at Lanier.care.

James “Jamie” Donatiello James “Jamie” Donatiello, 55, of Seffner, passed away on Feb. 17, 2020.

Services will be held privately.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.haught. care.

HAUGHTFUNERALHOME.COM

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

17

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

OBITUARIES

Melba Hill Kabrich Foster

|

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

Taking care of William Arlin Futch each other is what

OBITUARIES

MAHJONG CLASS

community

William Arlin Futch, 66, of Plant City, passed away on Sunday Feb. 23, 2020.

William was born Aug. 25, 1953 in Plant City. we’re dedicated helping families create a P R O U D TO S E RV E our community Services to beto held Friday Feb. unique and meaningful memorial that truly sonal, compassionate care since 1896.

28, 2020 at Mt. Primitive celebrates the lifeEnon it represents.

Dignity Memorial professionals, > 100% Service Guarantee > National Plan Transferability Baptist Church. > Bereavement Travel Assistance > The Compassion Helpline® Expressions of sympathy may beR shared at www.WellsMemorial.

Proudly supportingcom the Plant Strawberry forCitythe FutchFestival. family.

2 to 4 p.m. Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St., hosts a Mahjong Class on Thursdays.

Whether you’re a first-time player or a seasoned expert, join them every week to play American Mahjong.

is all about.

®

YOUR HOSPITAL STAY AND POSTPARTUM ISSUES CLASS

6 to 8 p.m. South Florida Baptist Hospital is hosting a Your Hospital Stay and Postpartum Issues Class. This class covers hospital policies regarding hospital stay, emotional changes and adjusting to the new parent role.

This class is held the fourth Thursday of every month. Participants may bring one guest to classes. Please bring a notepad to take notes. Snacks will be provided.

The event is held in the ICU Conference Room, 2-South. Registration is free, but required. Call 1-855-269-4777.

WELLSMEMORIAL.COM

Taking care of each other is Wilson what Doreen 813-752-1111 WellsMemorial.com

Wells MeMorial & event Center PlanT CiTy

community Dowis

isDoreen all about.

Wilson Dowis, 62, of Plant

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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YOUR CALENDAR

18

10/27/15 10:42 AM

City, passed away on Wednesday Feb. 19, we’re 2020.

Doreen dedicated to helpingwas familiesborn create a E P ROU D TO S E RV E our community unique and meaningful memorial that truly ersonal, compassionate care since 1896. 22, Sept.

1957. celebrates the life it represents. ur Dignity Memorial professionals, memories and expres> 100% Service GuaranteeFond > National Plan Transferability > The Compassion Helpline® > Bereavement Travel Assistance sions of sympathy may be shared at www.WellsMemorial.com for R the Proudly supporting the Dowis Plant City family.

Strawberry Festival. ®

FRIDAY, FEB. 28 DUPLICATE BRIDGE

1 p.m. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 302 Carey St., is now hosting a weekly Duplicate Bridge game, the most widely used variation of contract bridge in club and tournament play. Contact Walt Arnold at 813-752-1602 for more information.

WELLSMEMORIAL.COM

Taking care of each other is what 813-752-1111 WellsMemorial.com Marsha Lynn Wells MeMorial & event Center PlanT CiTy

community Switzer

PNT_Comm_7-25x9-75_C.indd 1

10/27/15 10:42 AM

Lynn Switzer, 73, of Dover, is Marsha all about.

AMVETS POST 44 FRIDAY NIGHT DINNERS

entered into rest on Tuesday Feb. 18, 2020. Marsha was born April we’re to helpingIndiana. families create a E P ROU D TO S E RV E our community 19, 1946 indedicated Portland, unique and meaningful memorial that truly ersonal, compassionate care since 1896. the life it represents. ur Dignity Memorial professionals, Fondcelebrates memories and expres> 100% Service Guarantee > National Plan Transferability sions of sympathy may be shared > Bereavement Travel Assistance > The Compassion Helpline® at www.wellsmemorial.com for theR Switzer family.

6 p.m. The AmVets Post 44, 5521 FL-60, Plant City, FL 33567, is hosting a weekly dinner on Friday nights. The fourth Friday of every month is a menu of Philly cheese steaks and sides for $8. For more information visit amvetspost44.org.

®

Proudly supporting the Plant City Strawberry Festival.

2ND VEIL

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Join Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd., in the loft for an evening of worship led by 2nd Veil. A love offering will be collected.

TakingWELLSMEMORIAL.COM care of each other is what Wells MeMorial & event Center

Beverly B. Butler community Beverly B. Butler, 78, of Plant City, PlanT CiTy

SATURDAY, FEB. 29

813-752-1111 WellsMemorial.com

PNT_Comm_7-25x9-75_C.indd 1

is passed all about. away on Tuesday Feb. 18,

HOBART WELDERS AT TRACTOR SUPPLY CO.

10/27/15 10:42 AM

2020.

Beverly was born March 8, we’re dedicated to helping families create a P R OU D TO S E RV E our community unique and meaningful memorial that truly ersonal, compassionate care since 1896.

1941. celebrates the life it represents. r Dignity Memorial professionals, memories and expres> 100% Service GuaranteeFond > National Plan Transferability The Compassionmay Helpline® > Bereavement Travel Assistance sions of>sympathy be shared at R www.WellsMemorial.com for Butler family.Festival.

Proudly supportingthe the Plant City Strawberry

9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Come on out to Tractor Supply Co., 1803 James L. Redman Parkway, to meet a Hobart trainer, demo equipment and have your welding questions answered.

®

BREAKFAST AND BUILD: LAMBORGHINI

WELLSMEMORIAL.COM Wells MeMorial & event Center

NT_Comm_7-25x9-75_C.indd 1

PlanT CiTy THURSDAY, FEB. 27

813-752-1111 WellsMemorial.com

STORY TIME (PRE-K)

10/27/15 10:42 AM

10:30 a.m. Stories and interactive activities make up this engaging 30-minute program at Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St. The program highlights early literacy skills and encourages reading readiness and social interaction. For children age 3-5 and their caregivers.

BEST BET THURSDAY, FEB. 27 RETRO MOVIE NIGHT: LADY AND THE TRAMP

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Join Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd., in the loft for a free screening of the 1955 animated Disney classic “Lady and the Tramp.” Stop and grab a sweet treat from their pastry case, a special drink and enjoy the show with family and friends. Retro Movie Night is held the fourth Thursday of every month.

BORN LONESOME

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. You won’t want to miss this electrifying evening of great Bluegrass from Florida’s own, Born Lonesome.

Born Lonesome is a Bluegrass band consisting of some of the best talent that Florida has to offer with decades of experience. They’ll be performing at Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd., and toilets are $15 on Eventbrite.

MONDAY, MARCH 2 PLANT CITY DAYBREAK ROTARY CLUB 7 to 8 a.m. The Plant City Daybreak Rotary Club holds a meeting every Monday morning. Now the group will be meeting in the Community Meeting Room of the Plant City Family YMCA, 1507 YMCA Place. Guests are welcome.

PLANT CITY AREA DEMOCRATIC CLUB

6 p.m. The Plant City Area Democratic Club will meet at the Plant City Community Resource Center, 307 N. Michigan Ave, Plant City, FL 33566 (entering from Baker Street Parking). Eligible members will be voting on the election of Board Member openings.

TUESDAY, MARCH 3

10 a.m. Brick City Bricks, 107 E. Reynolds St., is hosting a LEGO Speed Champions Lamborghini Breakfast and Build. The event is $10 and includes the build as well as donuts and drinks. Please call 813-7566256 or message the store’s Facebook page to reserve a spot for the build.

SHUFFLEBOARD CLUB

OUR HERITAGE: PAST & CURRENT

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4

12:30 to 2 p.m. Mt. Olive Baptist Church, 5100 Horton Road, presents Our Heritage: Past & Current. Join the church for a special Black History Program presented by the Christian Education Department.

Lunch will be served.

9 a.m. Come on out to the Planteen Recreation Center, 301 Dort St., each Tuesday to play Shuffleboard. You’ll be an expert in no time. The club is hosted by Anita Balch and she can be contacted at 808-7225821 for more information.

BIRTH CENTER TOUR

5:30 to 6:30 p.m. South Florida Baptist Hospital is offering a chance for soon-tobe mothers to visit the hospital’s birth suites, mother/baby unit and other key

WHEN SCHOOL’S OUT

UP N G I S AY!

TOD

areas of the facility to help familiarize you with the surroundings and help you prepare to give birth. Register the expectant mother plus one guest. The tour will show the labor and delivery floor and the mother/baby unit. The tour does require standing in one place for short periods of time and walking relatively long distances.

Comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Registration is free, but required.

Call 1-855-269-477. On the day of, meet in the main lobby of the hospital.

THURSDAY, MARCH 5 PLANT CITY COMMUNITY LADIES BIBLE STUDY

11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It’s strawberry time for the Plant City Community Ladies Bible Study. Come for this monthly strawberry luncheon and Bible Study and bring a covered dish. The Bible study is held at the Plant City Planteen Recreation Center, 301 Dort St., and all ladies are welcome.

There is a $1 suggested donation.

MAHJONG CLASS

2 to 4 p.m. Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St., hosts a Mahjong Class on Thursdays. Whether you’re a first-time player or a seasoned expert, join them every week to play American Mahjong.

HAVE A HEALTHY PREGNANCY CLASS

6 to 8 p.m. South Florida Baptist Hospital is offering a Have a Healthy Pregnancy Class. This class covers recommendations for a healthy pregnancy and will be held the first Thursday of every month.

Participants may bring one guest to classes. Please bring a notepad to take notes. Snacks will be provided. The class is held in ICU Conference Room, 2-South.

Registration is free, but required. Call 1-855-269-4777.

FUN IS IN!

Bring your kids to the Plant City YMCA on most school holidays* for an exciting, enriching experience while you’re at work or out and about!

PLANT CITY FAMILY YMCA 1507 YMCA Pl., Plant City | 813 757 6677 | tampaymca.org

SPRING BREAK

IS AROUND THE CORNER!

*See website for available dates.

Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg February 27, 2020 PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

I LOVE PLANT CITY

2/27

FORECAST THURSDAY, FEB. 27

26 Assume responsibility for ... testing, testing ... forget it, try this clue: Become very popular 28 “Really?”

29 Yellowfin tuna 32 Coffee shop top 33 “Be ___ way!”

34 Mishandle 36 Cattle call?

39 SWAT team command ... testing, testing ... aargh, try this clue: Begin successfully 42 Bill in a tip jar 43 Viola’s love 44 Said “Guilty,” say 45 Hit show letters

46 Compose 47 Latin list ender 48 Readily available ... testing, testing ... rats, try this clue: Casual, as a remark 52 In a weird way 54 Substantial 55 Seek advice 58 D.C. fundraising group 59 Vogue alternative 60 “Challenge accepted!” ... testing, testing ... gah, try this clue: Carry out a plan 64 General idea 65 Furry frolicker 66 Taken by mouth 67 Ice rink jump 68 Utter

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Sunrise Sunset

Thursday, Feb. 27

6:55a

6:27p

Friday, Feb. 28

6:54a

6:28p

Saturday, Feb. 29

6:53a

6:28p

Sunday, Mar. 1

6:52a

6:29p

FRIDAY, FEB. 28

Monday, Mar. 2

6:51a

6:30p

Tuesday, Mar. 3

6:50a

6:30p

Wednesday, Mar. 4

6:49a

6:31p

High: 64 Low: 45 Chance of rain: 0%

MOON PHASES

SATURDAY, FEB. 29 High:66 Low: 39 Chance of rain: 10%

SUNDAY, MAR. 1 High: 71 Low: 46 Chance of rain: 10%

STRAWBERRY Shipping point: Central Florida $6.90-$8.90

69 “Ratatouille” rat DOWN 1 Woman in Progressive ads 2 Cry after a punch 3 Enrage 4 Opera text 5 Ga. airport code 6 Mom’s mom 7 Zilch 8 Florida theme park 9 “Didn’t I tell you?”

10 Pulled (in) 11 Caveman- style diet 12 Annoying criticism, informally 13 Gobble (up) 18 ___-rock 22 One may go downhill 23 Oil company with a triangular logo 24 Very pale 25 Paella spice 27 Completely used up 30 Humble homes 31 “You dig?” reply 35 Nota ___ 36 Kind of processor 37 Oscar winner Tatum 38 “Strange to say ...”

40 Venture 41 Zero personality?

45 “Yentl” setting 48 Greek alphabet ender 49 “The Odd Couple” neatnik 50 F on a test?

51 Villainous Vader 53 Lead-in to “center” 56 Location 57 Something to take in protest 60 Red Sox, on sports tickers 61 (Get off my lawn!)

62 Your peeps 63 ___ in the ointment

19

SUNRISE/SUNSET

High: 60 Low: 39 Chance of rain: 0%

Is This Thing On? by Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

ACROSS 1 Kiss wrapping 5 Dancer de Mille 10 Dungeons & Dragons and others, in brief 14 Actress Anderson 15 Jump scare, for one, in horror movies 16 Make, as a living 17 All things considered ... testing, testing ... never mind, try this clue: Unstable 19 Pelvic bones 20 www.example.com, e.g.

21 “The Matrix” hero 22 Look of contempt 23 ^^

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Mar. 23 New

Feb. 28 First

Mar. 9 Full

Mar. 19 Last

RAINFALL Monday, Feb. 17

0.00

Tuesday, Feb. 18 0.00 Wednesday, Feb. 19

0.00

Thursday, Feb. 20 0.00 0.10

Friday, Feb. 21

Saturday, Feb. 22 0.00 0.00

Sunday, Feb. 23 YEAR TO DATE:

MONTH TO DATE:

2020 01.81 in.

2020 1.05 in.

2019 02.80 in.

2019

1.11 in.

WEATHER

ACROSS 43 Viola’s love 9 “Didn’t I tell 41 Zero 1 Kiss 44 Said “Guilty,” you?” personality? wrapping say 10 Pulled (in) 45 “Yentl” 5 Dancer de 45 Hit show 11 Cavemansetting Mille letters style diet 48 Greek 10 46 Compose Annoying alphabet SendDungeons your photo&submissions to Associate Editor12 Justin Kline at jkline@PlantCityObserver.com Dragons and 47 Latin list criticism, ender or hashtag onender Instagram for @igersplantcity to feature. 49 “The Odd others,#iloveplantcity in brief informally 14 Actress 48 Readily 13 Gobble (up) Couple” Anderson available 18 ___-rock neatnik 15 Jump scare, ... testing, 22 One may go 50 F on a test? for one, in testing ... downhill 51 Villainous horror movies rats, try this 23 Oil company Vader 16 Make, as clue: Casual, with a 53 Lead-in to a living as a remark triangular “center” 17 All things 52 In a weird logo 56 Location considered way 24 Very pale 57 Something ... testing, 54 Substantial 25 Paella spice to take in testing ...

55 Seek advice 27 Completely protest never mind, 58 D.C. used up 60 Red Sox, try this clue: fundraising 30 Humble on sports Unstable group homes tickers 19 Pelvic bones 59 Vogue 31 “You dig?”

61 (Get off my 20 www.examalternative reply lawn!) ple.com, e.g.

60 “Challenge 35 Nota ___ 62 Your peeps 21 “The Matrix” accepted!”

36 Kind of 63 ___ in the hero ... testing, processor ointment 22 Look of testing ...

37 Oscar winner contempt gah, try this Tatum 23 ^^ clue: Carry 38 “Strange 26 Assume out a plan to say ...” responsibility 64 General idea 40 Venture for ... testing, 65 Furry frolicker testing ...

66 Taken by PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER forget it, try mouth Instagram user @beachkowgirl pass up this shot of Walden Lake on a beautiful, sunny this clue: 67 Icecouldn’t rink jump morning.

Become very 68 Utter popular 69 “Ratatouille” us on social media: @PCObserver on Instgram, ON L I N E Follow 28 “Really?” rat @PlantObserver on Twitter and Plant City Observer 29 Yellowfin tuna on DOWN Facebook.

32 Coffee shop 1 Woman in top Progressive 33 “Be ___ way!” ads 34 Mishandle 2 Cry after 36 Cattle call? a punch 39 SWAT team 3 Enrage command ...

4 Opera text testing, 5 Ga. airport testing ... code aargh, try this 6 Mom’s mom clue: Begin 7 Zilch 2/26 © 2020 Andrews McMeel Universal successfully 8 Florida www.upuzzles.com 42 Bill in a tip jar theme park

20

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

PlantCityObserver.com