4.16.20 PLCO

Plant City Observer

y Observer

YO UR HOMETOW N. YO UR NEWSPAP ER .

VOLUME 6, NO. 92

YOUR HOMETOWN. YOUR NEWSPAPER

YO UR NEWS PAP ER .

AUTOMATED TRASH PICKUP COMING TO PLANT CITY

FREE

•

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

City commissioners agreed Monday evening to ease Plant City into a new, fully automated trash pickup program in the next two years.

SEE PAGE 5

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS’

GRAB AND GO GETS A MAJOR OVERHAUL

JUSTIN KLINE SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Hillsborough County Public Schools’ Grab and Go program has been extremely important for food insecure families since schools have been closed, as it’s provided kids who visit pick-up sites with two free meals, five days a week.

This week, HCPS announced its first major change for the program since expanding the number of pick-up sites.

All 147 sites, from schools to places where buses carrying food park and distribute, will now only be open on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and kids will be given enough meals for the week with that one stop.

“It would be nice to still do it five days a week but, with what’s going on, it’s understandable they’re not taking that chance of getting us exposed more, and it’s less exposure for the children and parents getting their meals,” Area 6 field inspector Terri Godwin said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Justin Kline

Plant City High School dealt with a high volume of families Wednesday morning when the HCPS Grab and Go program started its new phase.

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

|

PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

NEWS BRIEFS

2

Courtesy of Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Suspension of disconnecting city utility services extended City commissioners agreed Monday evening to expand the suspension of disconnecting utility services. Originally, City Manger Bill McDaniel announced April 6 no City utility service would be disconnected for non-payment through April 16. Commissioners voted to extend that through May 31.

This does not eliminate the resident’s responsibility to pay for utility services, but the city is waiving late fees for residents with a past due balance on or prior to May 31, 2020. Late fees will resume starting June 1.

The city will also establish payment plans for those with accumulated past due balances. You can contact the city’s customer service team at customerservice@ plantcitygov.com or (813) 659-4222 with any of your questions.

UFBPC seeking volunteers, donations The City of Plant City announced April 10 it’s seeking volunteers for the United Food Bank of Plant City as part of its Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP).

As stated in the Plant City Observer’s March 26, 2020 article “United Food Bank weathering new storm,” UFBPC is seeing more than double the usual amount of traffic at this time due to increased demand created by the novel coronavirus.

The food bank is “in dire need” of additional volunteers at this time to help with sorting and organizing produce, bakery and non-perishable food donations, sweeping, mopping, cleaning, stocking food pantry shelves, distributing food boxes to clients or preparing grocery bags for families in need.

Shifts are typically scheduled for the following days and times: • Mondays 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Tuesdays 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Wednesdays 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Thursdays 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Fridays 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The food bank is also looking to turn

around its current food donation situation, which it has said is “critically low at this time.” Non-perishable canned foods, dry goods, peanut butter, granola bars, spaghetti sauce and more are requested.

For more information about volunteering or donating, visit ufbpc.org or facebook. com/UnitedFoodBankPC, call 813-7640625 or email Gayle Tindle at gtindle@ ufbpc.org.

Stolen pony found in Plant City after month-long search Penny the pony is back home at Turkey Creek Stables now that the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Agricultural Crimes Unit was able to find her.

Penny was reported missing on March 7 and HCSO deputies identified Joel Johnathan Lopez, 18, as a person of interest.

They found Lopez on April 8 and he confessed to stealing Penny from the stables.

Lopez was transported to Orient Road Jail and charged with grand theft (animal).

"This is one example of the diligent work our Agricultural Crimes Unit does to not

only protect the people of Hillsborough County but also their animals," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "I am disgusted that someone would steal a horse for their own monetary gain. I again commend these hard-working deputies for their diligence to return this mare back to her home unharmed."

Supervisor of Elections encourages remote operations Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections offices are closed through April 30 following Governor Ron DeSantis’ Executive Order Number 20-91, but Craig Latimer wants the public to know they can still prepare for the upcoming 2020 elections remotely.

If you need to register to vote, confirm your voter information is up to date or request Vote By Mail ballots, you can do so online at VoteHillsborough.org, by calling 813-612-4180 or by emailing voter@hcsoe. org. If you wish to file or qualify to run for office, call 813-384-3944.

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

3

IT’S TIME TO DON THE

K S S A M A vote this afternoon will determine if the county will mandate the use of facial coverings in public. Regardless of whether the motion is approved, the CDC recommends all to begin practicing the safety technique.

BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

A vote most anticipated to see weeks ago has finally arrived.

This afternoon, members of the Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group will vote on whether to mandate the use of facial coverings in public. If approved, anyone who wants to run out to get groceries or go pick up some medicine must wear some type of mask. However, it doesn’t have to be a surgical-grade product. In fact, members of the EPG are asking residents to make their own rather than purchase the masks that are in short supply for medical personnel.

The idea was brought up by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor during Monday’s EPG meeting. She said it is the next step to ensuring everyone is working together to flatten the curve of COVID-19 and get the community through to the other side safely.

“I would propose that we pass an order for the mandatory wearing of masks,” Castor said. “As medical personnel said, we have only diagnosed 10 percent of the population… two things that

show an incredible effect on flattening the curve are social distancing and wearing of masks in public.”

Castor said when it comes to enforcement, the county would take a similar perspective as it did with the safer-at-home order. It would require a focus on education first. Then a large portion of the responsibility would lie with the employers that will interact with the public.

There has been some confusion on where and when you would need to wear the mask, but Castor said all in all common sense would prevail. Instances like going to the grocery store, a pharmacy, a restaurant or to perform an essential service would require the mask.

She said if you’re doing yard work or performing an activity that is not within six feet of someone else, like boating or riding a bike, you would not be required to have one on.

Melissa Snively, chair of the Hillsborough County School Board, asked to postpone the vote from Monday to Thursday so the group would have more time to educate the public on the changes headed their way. Castor said she would have clearly liked to start

the rule that day but was willing to wait as long as they could put it into effect immediately if approved Thursday.

Luckily, there are variety of recommended methods for making masks out of materials most people already have at home. Medical experts with the University of South Florida said that medicalgrade masks block 95 percent of particles and should be reserved for those working in the medical field since there is such a high demand and a low supply. Cloth masks, however, are still capable of blocking approximately 50 percent of particles.

The masks are semi-effective at keeping you safe from contagion from others, but their main purpose is to keep others safe.

There are many people who are asymptomatic. They may carry COVID-19 and not have any symptoms, or have minimal ones and thus not realize they are sick.

However, they can still spread the virus and infect someone who could potentially get very sick.

Masks keep your particles contained and go a long way toward flattening the curve if everyone gets on board and wears them.

Bandana Cloth Face Covering (no sew method) Materials

• Bandana (or square cotton cloth approximately 20”x20”) • Rubber bands (or hair ties) • Scissors (if you are cutting your own cloth)

There are a few options for you to get your hands on a mask of your own. If you don’t feel like making them, there are websites selling large quantities of cloth masks. Amazon has a few left, but Etsy is full of homemade masks in a variety of patterns and colors. If you can, look for one with a filter pocket. You can then put a coffee filter or a HEPA vacuum bag filter in the slot for extra protection.

You can use a variety of items at home to make your own mask.

Three of the more popular methods are either the t-shirt mask, the bandana mask or the pillowcase mask. If you want an intricate mask, there are many sew-mask guidelines out there, including a step-by-step tutorial by the CDC at cdc.gov. You can easily Google others to fit your specific needs.

The no-sew masks are some of the more common routines. If you have a bandanna you can finish a mask in six steps. First, fold the bandana in half. Then fold the top down and the bottom up.

Next, place rubber bands or hair ties about six inches apart around the bandana. Then fold the side to the middle and tuck. Pull slightly at your hair ties to make sure the

bandana remains tucked in and then don the mask.

If you have a t-shirt — cotton is preferred — the only other supplies you’ll need are some scissors and a ruler. Cut off the bottom seven inches of the t-shirt, which will make a two-layered rectangle. Using your ruler and scissors, cut a smaller rectangle across six or seven inches of the width of the fabric. The leftover cloth will make the face covering and the strings for the makeshift mask.

From here, you can either use safety pins or simply cut the middle of the fabric strips to make strings and tie one set behind your neck and the other around your head.

Regardless of whether the EPG mandates the usage of masks this afternoon, the CDC is strongly recommending everyone begin practicing the technique. If you’re hoping to have a more colorful experience, many local quilting and craft stores are still shipping orders online, including a variety of fabric patterns.

Quick Cut T-shirt Cloth Face Covering (no sew method) Materials

Tutorial

• T-shirt • Scissors

1.

Tutorial 2.

1.

Fold top down. Fold bottom up.

Fold bandana in half.

7–8 inches

4.

2.

3.

6–7 inches

Fold side to the middle and tuck .

cut out

Place rubber bands or hair ties about 6 inches apart.

5.

6. cut tie strings

3.

Tie strings around neck, then over top of head.

4

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

|

PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

COPS CORNER

PLANT CITY

Observer Publisher / Karen Berry KBerry@PlantCityObserver.com Managing Editor / Sarah Holt SHolt@PlantCityObserver.com Associate Editor / Sports Editor / Justin Kline JKline@PlantCityObserver.com Staff Writer / Breanne Williams BWilliams@PlantCityObserver.com

This week on Cops Corner:

Advertising Graphic Designer / Juan Alvarez

Plant City Police investigated

Circulation/ Office Manager / Linda Lancaster LLancaster@PlantCityObserver.com

phone scams, home vandalism, dollar store theft, a hold-up and more.

TO ADVERTISE Call (813) 704-6850

Advertising / Richard Brame richard@plantcityobserver.com

APRIL 3

PORCH PIRATE 3200 block of Stevenson Street Theft: Officers met with this victim, who advised someone took two of his packages from the front of his porch.

retrieved from a tampon dispenser. The employees requested she be trespassed from the location as a result. When officers checked her via NCIC/FCIC, they found she had an outstanding Hillsborough County warrant and was arrested for the same upon confirmation. A search prior to to arrest found her also to be in possession of multiple pills, which were classified as a controlled substance. She was transported to HCSO ORJ without incident.

APRIL 4

APRIL 5

WRONG NUMBER 20th block of B. Street Fraud: This victim reported to PCPD an unknown person called and scammed him out of $8,000.

APRIL 6 MOVING WITH THE BREEZE 1800 block of Wilkins Court Burglary residence (waiver): This complainant reported an unknown suspect entered her residence through an open window between 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 6, while she was away from the residence, and removed $60 in cash from her wallet and approximately $100 in change from a shoebox that was on the kitchen counter. She told the officers she just wanted the incident documented and signed a waiver of prosecution.

BLACKMAIL BLUES EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER 2900 block of 1100 block of APRIL 7 Hampton Place Court West Reynolds Street Attempt to extort: This victim Criminal mischief: This victim DOLLAR HEIST Edited

by David Steinberg April 16, 2020 reported someone online tried to reported his home was vandalized 1400 block of South Collins Street extort him for money. with graffiti and his cable cord was Theft: A woman stole $40 worth ACROSS 54intentionally Cerulean cut. 10 Pumpkin pie 39 2019 of merchandise from Family Dollar.

STEP AWAY1FROM She was arrested transported Grp. THE thatWAWA or navy spice Superand Bowl 2700 block of Thonotosassa Road57TOUR FORCE 11 Arthur ___to Orient Road Jail. finances WhatDE you champs Warrant and Drug arrest: A wom- Paul Buchman campaigns may buy forHighway/ Stadium 40 Muscle an was found have taken items Monroe Street 4 toImaginary a cellar 12 “You can power into a bathroom at WaWa, where 58Robbery: This victim reported 10 Perform Hobbits’ count on 42 Unneeded she opened and discarded them he was riding perfectly realm, or his bike on North me!” extra before exiting and being conWheeler Street when13 he was 14 Bride’s vow a hint to Lad’s 43 Conk out fronted by officers and employrobbed of his wallet, bike and 15 Loud kisses the word heartthrob, 45 Not in ees. She told them she would be phone.

16 West Point hidden in perhaps agreement purchasing the items, which were

Universal Crossword

Advertising / Karen Berry kberry@plantcityobserver.com

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.

APRIL 9 SLEAZY RIDER 1300 block of West Risk Street Vandalism: This victim reported to officers an unknown suspect smashed his motorcycle’s mirrors and dented his mirror mounts sometime during the morning of April 9.

If you wish to discontinue home delivery or if you wish to suspend home delivery temporarily, call Linda Lancaster at 704-6850.

ALL THAT EFFORT FOR NOTHING 700 block of West Ball Street Vehicle trespass and criminal mischief: This victim reported an unknown suspect broke her vehicle’s door hinge to make entry during the night of April 8, but nothing was taken.

To contact us, send your information via: Email: Sarah Holt, SHolt@ PlantCityObserver.com.

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We want to hear from you. Let us know about your events, celebrations and achievements.

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

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GOT AN ACE 900 block of South Woodrow Wilson Street Theft: This victim reported that a 16-foot Bray double-axle trailer with a Florida tag was stolen from Ace Contracting between April 1 and 3.

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

5

CITY BEGINS TRANSITION TO

AUTOMATED TRASH PICKUP

In a unanimous vote Monday evening city commissioners agreed to begin the two-year process of transitioning the city to having a fully automated trash pickup program.

BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

Though the commission room looked a little different this week as commissioners and the public tuned in from living rooms all over the city, the message came across loud and clear: Plant City is still in business.

One of the three votes that evening sparked a passionate discussion at the virtual dais and, despite the hefty price tag attached, city leaders eagerly embraced the future.

Jill Sessions, Solid Waste Director, laid out the basics of the plan. Essentially, the new Pay-As-You-Throw program is structured based on the volume of garbage generated by the household. They project cost savings from an automated collection with its new rate structure to be approximately $200,000 per year.

“It’s something that’s been thought about for quite some time,” City Manager Bill McDaniel said. “Over the last five years it’s been a major topic of discussion. We’ve had a lot of work to go through to research it and see how it’s being done in other areas.

We’ve identified pitfalls, pros, cons. We found out what we could change and what we should keep. We looked at other implementation models. Then we had several meetings with commission and detailed one-on-one meetings to bring them up to speed. There are so many benefits to this switch, but it took a lot of work for us to get to the vote this week.”

There were a list of issues with the current system in place the city hoped to eliminate with a switch. Right now, there is a higher exposure risk to employees who handle the trash, a higher potential for injuries, a greater level of manpower is needed to perform the job, there’s higher employee turnover, a reduced longevity of the workforce and an unsightly streetscape.

Under the new program, families can choose what size trash they want to have at their residence. The city will provide those roll carts and then the resident will be charged per month for the size of their container. A 95-gallon cart has a proposed monthly rate of $27.50, a 65-gallon cart is $25.50 and a 35-gallon cart is $23.

The plan is to spend the next few months educating the public on the transition and then begin implementing the program in the next fiscal year. Solid waste trucks used for manual collection are scheduled for replacement in fiscal year 2022 anyway, so that helps reduce the initial cost for the city. Commissioners agreed to purchase four fully-automated trucks in fiscal year 2020 for $1,060,000 with the plan to purchase three more in 2021 for $795,000, which is a cost increase of $30,000 per truck.

Purchasing all of the roll carts — approximately 12,000 — will run the city $689,000 in fiscal year 2021. The total net additional capital costs of $899,040 will be paid from Solid Waste reserve funds.

The first phase will convert three of the six residential garbage routes and the other three will be finished in the next fiscal year.

The new program will also cater to those who are unable to roll the carts to the street.

If they fill up the carts, Sessions said, they will have someone take it to the truck and then return it to the door.

With COVID-19 launching the issue of safety with potentially contaminated projects to the forefront of everyone’s mind, having a program in place where employees don’t have to touch the garbage seemed like an asset for all at the dais. It also helps with the physical safety of those in the truck.

“This dramatically improves the safety of our workers,” McDaniel said. In the obvious way where you don’t have your employees jumping on and off the truck in roadways, take for example the routes along

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Park Road. That really drives it home. You’ve got two guys jumping off the truck with that 45-mile an hour traffic whizzing by three feet away from them. Then you’ve got the less obvious ways like the hazards they deal with when they’re touching all of those bags. Plus these guys are lifting those often very heavy bags all day long every day, so they’re dealing with a lot of back strain. It’s physically intensive work and its oftentimes hard to find people.”

There have also been numerous traffic crashes over the years involving garbage trucks. Some of the worst are when the truck is in a neighborhood where two employees are on the back doing collection and they’re rear-ended. McDaniel said recently, in a similar situation, one employee was doing something while on

the back of the truck and ended up slipping off and getting run over by the wheel of the truck.

Commissioner Bill Dodson voiced his support during the meeting of transitioning to keep their employees safe and many others at the dais echoed the sentiment.

McDaniel said while overall there will be a reduction of staff over time for that department, there will not be an elimination of positions. They will either merge with the new program or be reassigned to another position.

6

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

|

PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY ADAPTS TO CURFEW Residents have been under the new curfew for three days now and are adjusting to the new reality. Members of the EPG said they hope the curfew will keep people home, as recent developments have shown many are no longer practicing self-isolating.

BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

While the Emergency Policy Group often speaks with one voice, a spontaneous vote on Monday led to a large divide in the group.

EPG Chair Les Miller started the conversation voicing his frustration upon learning members of the community were disregarding the call to self-isolate and were engaging in large gatherings. Citing calls to HCSO along with a few specific gatherings that were brought to their attention, he implored the group to give some serious thought on how to let the public know they were serious about staying home.

The answer came in the form of a curfew.

Over the weekend, there were nearly 40 calls concerning large gatherings.

Sheriff Chronister said Plant City Police Department arrested someone throwing a large party who refused to comply. He added that, as of Monday, his department received 214 complaints about violations of the county’s social distancing rules.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor shared a story of a gathering with more than 100 people in Tampa last week. She said their community is filled with individuals that have the social media influence to Instagram a location and get two to three hundred people to gather there together within a matter of minutes.

Chronister said when his deputies show up to these large groups, for the most part, they educate them on why this is not acceptable and the group disbands. However, the problem then becomes the question of what they are bringing back to their families. With many living in multigenerational homes, large gatherings will inevitably lead to another spike in COVID-19 patients.

“I think we just have to tighten down a little more,” Commissioner Sandra Murman said. “People are saying to me, ‘Oh, we don’t have that many cases. They’re relaxing their whole opinion or overview of the situation… they don’t understand it can break open or break loose at any moment.”

Miller summed up his fear in one analogy: the community will face a u-turn in positive cases if the EPG didn’t do something soon.

However, some of the data brought forth during the meeting contradicted the timing of the curfew. Chronister said the majority of the cases they are dealing with are in the afternoons and early evenings. The curfew goes into place each night from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Plant City Mayor Rick Lott was the first to voice his opposition to the curfew. He said every time the group made a decision, there were unintended consequences.

In his mind, this curfew would place one order on top of another order and would cause more confusion than good.

He cited the numbers the county sees of those diagnosed and said, as a whole, we were seeing them start to slow and peak.

To him, that indicated the majority of the public was listening and obeying the guidelines.

“I think our citizens would be outraged that for their good conduct, they are being charged with a curfew due to the actions of a small group,” Lott said.

Two others agreed and the vote ended up splitting five to three. Chronister added a curfew would essentially be about restricting movement and messaging will still be the key to pulling this off successfully.

The penalties for violating the curfew are exactly the same as the ones that were in place for the Safer at Home order. It’s con-

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sidered a second degree misdemeanor and will have a fine up to $500 or up to 60 days in jail.

The curfew will remain in place until the EPG feels the county has a handle on its cases and can safely drop it.

File photos

Above: The EPG is bracing for higher infection rates in the county.

Below: Plant City continues to lock down and adhere to the Safer at Home order.

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT PROMOTES ONLINE ENGAGEMENT

As a way to keep kids educated, engaged, connected and even moving, the department rolled out new programming on Facebook last week.

Thanks to the novel coronavirus, Plant City’s annual Citywide Easter Egg Hunt didn’t happen last week. It would have been impossible to host under social distancing guidelines with hundreds of kids turning out annually to hunt for eggs, even with a big field to roam around.

Despite the loss of one of the city’s most popular annual kids’ events, the Parks and Recreation Department still had a plan.

Last week became “Easter Week” on Facebook and the department updated the page daily with all kinds of content for kids and their families. Fun facts, a “bunny hop” exercise challenge, educational videos, crafting tutorials and even an online Easter egg hunt — where Facebook users could guess how many eggs were hidden in photos of a PCPRD conference room and garden — were posted throughout the week leading up to the holiday.

Easter may now be over, but the department is only just beginning.

Last week’s Easter theme was the first of many to hit the PCPRD Facebook in the coming months. This week, for example, is “Parks Week” and those who check the Facebook page every day have learned a thing or two about state and national parks.

Coming soon are themes like “Flowers

Week,” “Exercise Week,” “Animals Week,” “Weather Week,” “Oceans/Marine Life Week,” “Insects Week,” “Rocks and Volcanoes Week,” “Pokémon Week,” “Farm Week” and more.

“I’ve been tracking a lot of our data through Facebook insights and I think the response has been pretty positive,” Special Events Coordinator Kristen Self said. “I see a lot of people sharing it and engaging. We had that one post where we hid Easter eggs in our conference room and our gardens, it reached over 1,000 people and a lot of people commented on it. I would say overall, it seems like people are enjoying what we have. I think people are excited to see there’s something they can do that inspires them intellectually and creatively.”

The position of Special Events Coordinator was revived for the current budget year “due to the increased amount of special events that we host each year,” department director Jack Holland said, and Self joined the PCPRD team in February to fill that role.

When she started, it was business as usual. The department was working on the Citywide Easter Egg Hunt, putting together another Youth Fishing Derby, planning for the Fourth of July celebration and preparing for Bike with the Mayor when the pandemic forced state and local governments to issue safer at home orders and

encourage social distancing. Most of those events have since been canceled, though the Fourth of July celebration at Plant City Stadium is still in the works. Less than one month into her new job, Self and the department were forced to completely restrategize.

“I was ecstatic coming into a great environment with great people,” Self said. “I was excited to get on board and get to work, so when the pandemic hit I found it as a way to get inspired.

Working together with Holland, Deborah Haldane and the rest of the department, Self has planned out enough Facebook programming for the department to use through August 7. If COVID-19 cases decline enough before then to where social distancing guidelines and safer at home orders can safely be eased or lifted, the programming will continue on a smaller scale than the weekly format it’s in now.

“The idea is to give our community some hope,” Self said. “People are getting discouraged not being able to live their normal lives.”

No one knows for sure when society can get closer to being normal again and when events can bring people back together. Self said the Parks and Rec department is working to make sure that when everything does come back, city events will be “10 times better” than they have been.

“It’s kind of a bummer because we had all these cool events,” Self said. “But even though we’re not having them now, we can plan to have them bigger and better next year.”

Courtesy photo

Kristen Self was hired in February as the Parks and Recreation Department’s newest Special Events Coordinator.

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2019

PCPD ARRESTS SUNOCO SHOOTING SUSPECT Plant City Police Department took Emarjai Tyrel Walker into custody in connection with the April 6 incident that hospitalized a clerk.

ARRESTED

OBSERVER STAFF

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office booking photo (2017)

Four days after a Sunoco gas station clerk was shot during a robbery, Plant City Police Department was able to locate and arrest a suspect at his residence.

At approximately 2:50 p.m. Friday afternoon, PCPD made contact with Emarjai Tyrel Walker, 23, and arrested him. Walker is facing one count of attempted first degree murder with firearm causing great bodily harm and robbery (less than $300) with firearm causing great bodily harm.

According to PCPD, the incident occurred at approximately 12:01 a.m. April 6. Officers received a 911 call that a store clerk at the Sunoco gas station, 2911 James L. Redman Parkway, was shot. Two witnesses found the injured clerk behind the counter with a gunshot wound before police arrived.

When the responding officers arrived at the scene, they looked the clerk over, assessed his injuries and observed the man sustained a gunshot wound to the face. They also found there was no readily apparent exit wound, according to PCPD. Shortly thereafter, Plant City Fire Rescue

arrived on the scene and transported the 22-year-old man to the hospital.

Police said the clerk gave the suspect the cash he demanded, but the gunman shot him anyway. The clerk is listed in critical but stable condition, according to PCPD.

Emarjai Tyrel Walker was arrested on charges of attempted murder with a firearm causing great bodily harm and robbery of under $300 with a firearm causing great bodily harm, according to Plant City police. This photo is from a 2017 arrest.

Though Walker has been arrested, the investigation is still ongoing and anyone with additional information is asked to contact PCPD at 813-757-9200.

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

HCPS GRAB AND GO PROGRAM MAKES BIG CHANGE Hillsborough County Public Schools’ service, which provided families with two free meals five days a week, is cutting most pick-up days but providing more food in one stop. FROM PAGE 1

Courtesy of Terri Godwin

Children are able to pick up a week’s worth of free meals from participating area schools or designated bus stops around Hillsborough County.

The program started shortly after schools were forced to close in March with a limited number of pick-up sites, which for the Plant City area was all three public high schools. Now, nearly every public school in the Plant City area is a pick-up site and they distribute up to thousands of meals each week.

Meal bags have typically included milk, juice, fruit and cereal or protein bars for breakfast, plus hot entrees like hamburgers, pizza and chicken nuggets for lunch. With Wednesday’s changes, families will now get to take home a loaf of bread, a pound of lunchmeat, snacks, milk, juices, cereal and more to help them get from Wednesday to Wednesday.

At the schools themselves, cafeteria staff works behind the scenes to prepare and pack hot, cold and room-temperature meals each day.

They run the bags to schools’ bus ramps for school staffers to hand to families through their car windows, but the switch now means school staff will have to put the big meal bags in trunks or back seats since they can’t easily be passed through a passenger or driver window.

The only requirement for getting the meals is for parents or guardians to bring their children with them, and they’ve been coming out in droves.

“It’s been crazy — crazy good,” Plant City High School principal Susan Sullivan said. “We’ve been serving on the ramp and last week we did 1,600 to 1,800 on the ramp, plus another four to five hundred with our buses.”

Buses from each school also travel to several designated sites each day

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to distribute the meals. They stop at each location for 30 minutes or more depending on their supply, and pass out meals to whoever comes up to them (with kids present, of course).

Each bus is staffed with two drivers, one school security officer, a nutritionist and an ESE attendant.

In the event the buses run out of food before they’ve finished making their rounds, someone on the bus will contact a school’s cafeteria workers and arrange for more to be delivered to them.

Beth Rountree, an area 6 bus driver, said many parents didn’t know about the bus stops at first but have been quick to take advantage of the mobile meals once they did learn about it. Some of her stops include Speer Park, where she said 113 lunches were served on April 9, and Keel Farms, where families visiting for U-picks have been surprised to see the buses there and end up using the service.

“When we go to Speer Park, we get there before 9,” Rountree said.

“We pulled in at 8:50 (on April 9) and they were already waiting on us. We stayed till 9:40 to make sure everyone got their bags.”

Godwin, who works in Strawberry Crest High School’s area, said its seven buses handed out nearly 2,000 meals last week. In three days this week, her drivers handed out 1,686.

“I had one mom about made me cry, she came up to get the meals and kept saying ‘God bless y’all,’” Godwin said. “That makes it worth it.”

Though lowering the risk of infection among HCPS workers and families who receive food is undoubt-

edly a good thing, the move to cut down to one pick-up day per week may have created a logistical problem for families in need of food.

On April 9, as the April 10 nonstudent holiday was still to be observed, schools and buses had to hand out two sets of meals at once to make up for Grab and Go taking the day off. Sullivan said that was the only day PCHS ran out of food, but that it would be “interesting to see” what happens with food supply now that families only have one pick-up day per week.

It was, indeed, an interesting Wednesday. At PCHS, dozens upon dozens of cars snaked along every inch of the bus ramp from start to finish, sometimes spread only six inches apart from bumper to bumper. Smiling school staff members organized the week’s worth of food items into four bags per child and was able to pass them through the window while others ran supplies to and from the cafeteria on a John Deere Gator. By 11 a.m., Sullivan said, she heard both Marshall Middle Magnet and Knights Elementary had already run out of food.

To ease that potential burden on its own clientele, Sullivan said earlier this week PCHS staff will now provide information on-site about the United Food Bank of Plant City to help families fulfill their needs in the event they need more than what the Grab and Go sites are now able to provide for a week.

For a full list of Grab and Go schools and bus stops, visit HillsboroughSchools.org.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

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APRIL 16, 2020

SPORTS THE DEATH OF A DREAM QUICK HITS

AREA ANGLER NAMED B.A.S.S. ALL-STATE HONORABLE MENTION B.A.S.S. released Tuesday its list of allstate high school team members and honorable mentions, and Strawberry Crest senior Chase Hubble made the cut.

Hubble was one of 54 honorable mentions among students in 33 states that participate in the Bassmaster High School All-American program. Forty-nine high school anglers were named to the team itself.

To qualify for the all-state team or become an honorable mention, students must have been nominated by a parent, coach, teacher or other school official, be in 10th grade or higher and carry a GPA of at least 2.5.

TCYFCC EXPANDS TO 18 TEAMS The Tri-County Youth Football and Cheerleading Conference grew by two last week, adding the Polk City Jaguars and the North Tampa Titans into the mix for the upcoming 2020 season.

The additions bring the TCYFCC’s count up to 18 teams in two divisions.

AMERICAN DIVISION: Brandon Broncos Brandon Cowboys Dover Patriots East Bay Bucs Lakeland Gators Lakeland Hurricanes New Tampa Wildcats North Lakeland Legends Pinecrest Pilots NATIONAL DIVISION: Central Florida Panthers Lakeland Eagles North Tampa Titans Plant City Dolphins Polk City Jaguars Seffner Seahawks Southwest Saints Turkey Creek Trojans Wesley Chapel Coyotes The 2020 season schedule has not been released yet, though the fall seasons typically start in August.

One of COVID-19’s latest victims is the XFL, which suspended operations and underwent a massive round of layoffs on April 10.

JUSTIN KLINE SPORTS/ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Three months ago, the XFL finally burst onto the scene with its fresh take on football and all the optimism in the world. Two months ago, many of us who watched realized this league had the potential to make football on the whole a better game, even if the league itself wouldn’t stick around forever.

One month ago, the XFL followed suit with every other major sports league in the world in hitting the pause button amidst COVID-19 concerns. There was hope then that it would come back at some point this year or, the league said, in 2021 if need be.

Less than one week ago, that dream died.

The XFL announced April 10 it was suspending all league operations and laying off pretty much everyone involved with the league. That idea of coming back for 2021 looks like it’s been canned, too, even though the XFL didn’t explicitly say it was walking that one back. I’ve seen no optimism on that front from people who were laid off that day and, honestly, I don’t see how a league that made a point to show us how much more stable its funding was than the Alliance of American Football’s could have any intention whatsoever of coming back after laying off so many people.

Could they give it another go next year?

Knowing things went fairly well with a sustainable business model that doesn’t need to be re-established, it’s possible.

But if we’ve learned anything from the novel coronavirus, it’s that anything could change at any time.

I hope it comes back eventually, but I’m preparing for the worst.

The virus has taken a toll on businesses all over the country. Small businesses in Plant City have had to close their doors because of it, and not all of them are guaranteed to reopen when we’re finally given the all-clear to stop practicing social distancing. No matter how young or old a small business is, it’s killing someone’s dream every time they’re forced to turn the lights off and lock the doors for what could be the last time. You and I definitely have friends here who have poured their hearts and souls into

their work, only to have that taken away from them by something we weren’t prepared for — something we were told we wouldn’t have to prepare for by people who weren’t prepared to be wrong.

The XFL is by no means a small business in practice, but it is in theory as a smaller-scale alternative to a global corporate product. Was it perfect? No way. But it got a lot more right than it got wrong, and that’s what happens when you hire people who are truly passionate about something to build from the ground up. They were committed to avoiding all the things that made the original XFL such a flop, and I don’t think anyone can say they didn’t succeed.

The passion was out in plain sight every time I talked to anyone in the Tampa Bay Vipers organization, be it a player, a coach or someone off the field. Winning was important for them, obviously, but establishing the team and the league as being the real deal was just as important.

That meant being organized in operations from the ground up. That meant getting out into the community and making it home rather than just the place for games and practices. I believe the Vipers were for real and that their presence could have been increasingly great for Plant City had it been able to continue. A lot of passionate people are now without jobs or certainty in their lives, and it’s a shame it happened so early in the existence of a truly promising league.

I believe it’s good mental health practice for everyone to take any bad situation and dig deep for positives, then give those positives a time to shine. What

good things can we take from the XFL’s brief existence?

For starters, it did leave blueprints for the game to evolve. I wrote about this at length in a column we ran several months ago, but the XFL established a decent amount of rules that were surprisingly effective at either speeding the action up or giving us more of it. Of course, there were other rules that were not so good and ultimately helped ensure the league couldn’t keep its promise of having shorter games than the NFL. But the NFL and NCAA could both benefit from taking pages from the XFL’s book sooner than later.

On a local level, I think the Vipers were able to prove Plant City is more than capable of hosting professional sports teams in some capacity. The Plant City Stadium experiment worked, in my opinion, and I think we now know it’s possible for the city to get creative with the ways in which it can utilize the property beyond the annual Fourth of July celebration and the occasional baseball event.

The sports world is worse off for having lost the XFL so soon. Here’s hoping, at the very least, its spirit can live on and make our games better when we can play again.

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

Email: jkline@plantcityobserver.com.

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

PlantCityObserver.com

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

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YOUR AROUND TOWN SPONSOR We asked Facebook: What is the biggest change you’ve had to make in your life since the social distancing and safer at home orders started?

“Not going to Stone Ledge Manor to visit my mom (99 years old) is difficult. On the plus side, more reading time with grandchild in Kansas via FaceTime.”

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14

OBITUARIES

PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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PlantCityObserver.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

Helen J. Foland

James M. Gates

Brenda Liz Corpes

Helen J. Foland, 99, of Plant City, formerly of Binghamton, New York, born in Hallstead, Pennsylvania on Dec. 25, 1920, entered into eternal rest on April 4, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

James M. Gates, 67, of Hilton, New York, born on Aug. 23,1952 in Hilton, New York, entered into eternal rest on April 11, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

Brenda Liz Corpes, 49, of Tampa, born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on June 12, 1970, entered into eternal rest on April 14, 2020 in Plant City.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Annette Velez

Nancy Jordan Settle

Annette Velez, 78, born in Plant City, on Feb. 2, 1942, entered into eternal rest on April 8, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

Nancy Jordan Settle, 55, of Seffner, born on March 26, 1965 in Plant City, entered into eternal rest on April 12, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM

Grace Catherine Schriener Cross

John Lorenzo English

Earnie Totherow English, 80, of Dover, passed away on April 11, 2020.

The family received friends Wednesday, April 15, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Haught Funeral Home, 708 W Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd., Plant City, FL 33563. Funeral services followed at 11:00 a.m.

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

John Lorenzo English, 90, of Plant City, passed away on April 13, 2020.

John was a United States Army Veteran who served during the Korean War. Services will be held privately on Friday, April 17, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. and can be viewed online, please see the link below for the livestream site.

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

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Phyllis E. McCullers

Grace Catherine Schriener Cross, 87, of Lithia, born on Oct. 7, 1932 in Mobile, Alabama, entered into eternal rest on April 9, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

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Earnie Totherow English

Phyllis E. McCullers, 76, of Plant City, born in Pierce on Oct. 2, 1943, entered into eternal rest on April 12, 2020.

Expressions of condolence at HopewellFuneral.com.

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Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg April 15, 2020 PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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4/15

FORECAST THURSDAY, APRIL 16 High: 69 Low: 65 Chance of rain: 60%

FRIDAY, APRIL 17 High: 84 Low: 71 Chance of rain: 40%

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SUNDAY, APRIL 19 High: 89 Low: 73 Chance of rain: 10%

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30 Dad 31 Was the leader of 32 “Tainted Love” band (1 to 5) 36 List-ending abbr.

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58 From around here 60 Stud poker?

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Thursday, April 16

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Friday, April 17

7:01a

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Saturday, April 18

7:00a

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Sunday, April 19

6:59a

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Monday, April 20

6:58a

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Tuesday, April 21

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Wednesday, April 22

6:56a

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MOON PHASES

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

Pronunciation Guide by Alex Rosen

ACROSS 1 Fort Knox has gold ones 5 Unfreeze 9 Sailboat poles 14 Loads and loads 15 Org. for rocket scientists 16 Swell up 17 California wine country 18 Former Russian ruler 19 Entertain 20 Prepared for knighthood 22 Snowballs, in a snowball fight 24 Start the pot 25 Resident of the Hamptons, e.g. (see letters 1 to 5) 28 Not mono, perhaps

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

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Apr. 22 New

Apr. 27 First

May 6 Full

Apr. 18 Last

RAINFALL Monday, April 6

0.00

Tuesday, April 7 0.00 Wednesday, April 8

0.00

Thursday, April 9 0.00 Friday, April 10

0.01

Saturday, April 12 0.00 Sunday, April 12

0.00

YEAR TO DATE:

MONTH TO DATE:

2020 03.16 in.

2020 0.31 in.

2019 04.29 in.

2019 0.68 in.

WEATHER

26 Homer’s 43 Like every ACROSS 52 Revise, neighbor prime except 1 Fort Knox has as text 27 Like the two gold ones 53 Cheeky name Matt, 44 Borscht 5 Unfreeze comments for a yogi need 9 Sailboat poles 54 Entice Rogen 14 and submissions 45 Uncommon 58 From aroundEditor28 SendLoads your photo to Associate Justin Klineor at jkline@PlantCityObserver.com Meyers loads precious here or hashtag #iloveplantcity Instagram for @igersplantcity to feature.

29 Food you 15 Org. for stone 60onStud poker? might eat on rocket 47 Not out and 62 Strong wind a Tuesday scientists about 63 Purple 31 “___ Just 16 Swell up 48 Hagar the candy’s Not That 17 California Horrible’s flavor, often Into You” wine country wife 64 Maker of 32 Down in the 18 Former 49 Decorate detergent dumps Russian ruler 50 Puerto ___ PODS 33 Like the 19 Entertain (resident of 65 Where Adam serpent in 20 Prepared for San Juan, met Eve 65-Across knighthood e.g.)

66 Building 34 They made 22 Snowballs, 51 Bolt who add-on Pinocchio’s in a snowball bolts 67 Small bills nose grow fight 55 Created 68 What an 35 Name within 24 Start the pot 56 “Not guilty” Impossible “Valentina” 25 Resident or “no Burger 37 Temporarily of the contest” eschews in the Hamptons, 57 Sleeping bag DOWN possession of cover? e.g. (see 1 Vault’s place 40 Excessive 59 Luthor in letters 1 to 5) 2 Rickman forms and 28 Not mono, “Superman” who played such perhaps 61 “___ MiseraSnape 41 “You’re it!”

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PLANT CITY OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

PlantCityObserver.com