Bloomingdale/FishHawk
See Coupon On Page 29 C E L E B R A T I N G
November 2018 Volume 17, Issue 11 Ph: 657-2418 1 6
Y E A R S
O F
P U B L I S H I N G
County To Start Work On $65 Million Widening Of Bell Shoals Road By Kate Quesada Residents gathered at a public meeting at Bloomingd ale High School last month to learn about the Bell Shoals Rd. widening project expected to start soon.
inform residents of the timeline and specific phases of the project, although current data suggests that the widening will not be complete until 2022. Plans include widening the stretch from two to four lanes with landscaped medians and a bike lane and sidewalk in each direction. The existing bridge over the Alafia River will be widened and upgrades are also planned for several traffic signals and storm water drainage areas. A new traffic signal will be installed at Starwood Ave. and pedestrian safety features will be enhanced,
Story Continued On Page 6
C O M M U N I T Y
N E W S
10th Annual FishHawk Turkey Trot Is Seeds Of Hope Signature Event
By Nicole Heubusch
with the biggest smile,” said Jayce Elliott, a runner from last year’s event. The FishHawk Turkey Trot proceeds will once again support local charity Seeds of Hope, Inc., which provides weekly distributions of food through a food bank, a school backpack of food program and a mobile pantry. In addition to providing food, Seeds of Hope also provides meaningful community service hours for students and many local students have received Bright Futures scholarships based on the work they have done through the charity. Packet pickup will be available on Tuesday and Erica Monroy, smiling with the Turkey Trot mascot last year. Wednesday, November 20 and 21, from 12 p.m. – 7 Looking for a new tradip.m. at the Palmetto Club. tion to add to your Prices for the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving holiday? Burn are as follows: 10k - $35, calories before your turkey dinner and earn a medal with Sam Elliott, after compet- 5k (timed) -$30, 5k ing in the one-mile fun (untimed) - $25, Run/Walk the FishHawk Turkey Trot. run, all smiles. - $20 and - Fun Run (1 This family-friendly race will be held on Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, Mile or 250 yd.) - $20. Registration pricing will increase on November 17, so make November 22. sure to register early. The race began in 2009, and now in For more information, and to register, its 10th year it has grown to over 2,500 please visit sohopefl.org/events. participants. This all-road course offers five options for participants. Choose from the timed 10k (6.2 miles) course, a certified 5k course (both timed and untimed), In This a 1-mile Fun Run loop and a 250-yard Issue dash minicourse for preschool kids. “I love supporting a local community cause and running. The bonus is that it’s DISABILITY BALL NEEDS HELP ............PG 4 an event for the whole family, and it doesNOVEMBERFEST ..............................PG 10 n’t hurt that it gets you a head start on Thanksgiving eating either!” said Erica HOA HOT TOPICS ............................PG 19 Monroy, a runner from FishHawk. VEHICLE PILOT PROJECT ..................PG 22 Every participant, including kids, will receive a Dri-fit FishHawk Turkey Trot EYE ON BUSINESS .....................PGS 25‐26 shirt. Medals will be given out to 10k, 5k, CHALKLINES .....................................PG 38 and Fun Run runners and walkers, and the top three runners of each age group HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE ................PGS 45‐51 for the timed 5k and 10k will receive a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place medal. READ MORE LOCAL NEWS ONLINE “I love how family-friendly it is. My www.ospreyobserver.com son ran the one-mile fun run last year
Osprey Observer 918 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. Brandon, FL 33511-6121
Postal Customer
ECRWSS EDDM
PRSTD STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID TAMPA, FL PERMIT #2397
Work is expected to begin this month on the much anticipated project to widen Bell Shoals Rd. between Bloomingdale Ave. and Boyette Rd. County representatives spoke to residents about the $65-million project at a public meeting at Bloomingdale High School last month, emphasizing the goals of the project, especially to improve safety and mobility along the heavily traveled 3.1-mile stretch of road. “This project has been 15 years in the making,” said Project Manager Tommy Rawls with the Hillsborough County Public Works Department. “Our number one priority is the safe completion of the project in the most reasonable time frame possible.” According to Rawls, the county is planning to start relocating utilities in the area in the next month while construction companies bid for the widening project. The actual widening is expected to begin in spring 2019. At that time, another public meeting will be scheduled to
P O S I T I V E
54
While participating in Pepper’s Walk on October 20, Linda Weronik receives water from the firefighters at the Bloomingdale Fire Station 7. More than 180 participants raised over $4,000 benefitting the Campo YMCA’s LIVESTRONG program during this year’s 5k walk.
Serving Our Customers in 4 Locations: Lithia • Big Bend, Riverview • 301, Riverview • Sun City Center
Buy online and see our ads at acehardware.com