Custodians
Story & Photo by Sophia Dedon While sitting in their desks, students tend to be listening to the teacher or daydreaming, rather than realizing the fact that someone cleaned the desktop so they wouldn’t become ill from the germs. On rainy Florida days, the mud in the hallways doesn’t disappear on its own, someone has to come behind and mop up the mess. The list goes on for the many tasks included under the title “custodian.” Carlos Velez has been a custodian at Marshall Middle School for 14 years and is all too familiar with the job description. “We do everything,” said Velez, “It’s like an under-appreciated housewife; you rarely notice the work they do, but they keep everything running.” Too often, the jobs no one else will do fall in the custodians’ lap, whether it’s cleaning up vomit or checking for bombs. However, without them, the living conditions would be uninhabitable, therefore we extend to them our gratitude. Carlos Velez has been a custodian at Marshall Middle School since 1992.
Electricity
Story by Kristen Toney
If you awake one morning to a dark room and a dead alarm clock, most likely your power has gone out. No blow dryer, no microwave breakfast…we rely so much on our electricity! Tampa Electric Company (TECO) provides power for all of Plant City. With crews on either 16 or 24 hour shifts each day, Field Supervisor Carmen Booth says all the work TECO’s employees do is based on the customer’s needs. “We want people to know we are there for them,” Booth stated. “It’s not just a job for us.” During this time of year it’s especially pertinent residents keep an eye out for downed power lines during or after storms, and if you are running a generator, make sure you disengage it when you see TECO out working on your lines. An improperly-hooked generator for a lineman is as lethal as a downed power line for you.
Firefighters
Story & Photo by Ken Lawrence A firefighter today spends very little of his or her time at the scene of a conflagration. More than 80% of a firefighter’s job is responding to accidents, especially traffic. Meet Chip Sorensen, whose family moved from Chicago to Plant City several years ago. Chip dreamed of being a fireman since he was a toddler. “It’s been a family tradition,” he tells Focus. His father, uncle, grandfather, great uncle and other relatives were traditional ‘smoke-eaters.’ One of his duties is that of a driver. Whether it’s an ambulance or the long ladder truck, Chip is behind the wheel when an emergency is called-in. “This job has much meaning to me,” he says. “A firefighter is there to help people when they need it and we all understand there are risks involved each time we’re called out.”
Chip Sorensen with the PCFD Ladder Truck.
Letter Carriers
Story & Photo by Sophia Dedon
In 1977, Bill Newsom began his job as a clerk at the Plant City Post Office. Two years later he became a letter carrier, riding his bike around downtown, delivering mail. Over the years, he witnessed the industry change. Whereas he used to be able to get to know the residents and add a personal touch to the job, now most of the delivery work is fast-paced and time driven. “I like my job because I feel like I can serve,” said Newsom, “I deliver letters from other countries, especially soldiers writing home from the Middle East, and people writing from prison.” We don’t realize how the mail provides a form of communication to unite us with those who are distant. The unofficial motto, “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” describes the many workers just like Newsom. Bill Newsom has been working for the Plant City Post Office for 28 years.
FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • August 15 • 2006 - September 15 • 2006 PG 42