Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
WINNING
ONTAPE
SPOTLIGHT
PAGE 16
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SCHS Cheer Team makes history.
OUR TOWN
+ Arts Council takes over exhibit
The Arts Council of Plant City has become the primary sponsor for the future “Man on the Street” sculptures exhibit that will visit Plant City. Previous exhibits of the internationally acclaimed artist J. Seward Johnson, in 2012 and 2014, were under the primary sponsorship of the Photo Archives & History Center. The exhibit, which included eight to 10 of the life-size bronze sculptures, were obtained from The Sculptures Foundation of Santa Monica and were placed around the downtown area this summer. The Arts Council has sponsored visual and performing arts in the Plant City area for over 35 years and looks forward to bringing more of the exciting sculptures to the historic downtown area in the years to come. The Photo Archives will continue to partner with the Arts Council in the promotion of the sculptures.
FREE • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Chase Lott videos outdoor adventures.
Dub McGinnes is the 2015 Citizen of the Year.
teen leaders by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Civitan Club selects grand marshals The students who will be honored in the 42nd annual youth parade are Jackson Hardee and Kevin O’Hare.
Two successful students and loyal leaders have been chosen as the grand marshals of this year’s Civitan Club Youth Parade at the Florida Strawberry Festival, and their credentials are nothing short of impressive. The grand marshals will be Jackson Hardee, a senior at Plant City High School, and Kevin O’Hare, a senior at Du-
rant High School. “They’re just outstanding,” Pat Pogue, president of the Plant City Civitan Club, said. “The community selected them for several reasons — their leadership abilities and scholastic achievements.” Hardee has a GPA of 5.3, and has received numerous honors for academic success, as well as community service.
As president of Junior Civitans at PCHS, Hardee has established a monthly event at which the club gives food to the homeless. He also initiated the club as a member of the Wounded Warriors project, to which the club gives a monthly donation and looks for other ways to help veterans. Under Hardee’s leadership, the PCHS Junior Civitans have their biggest membership ever this year, with about 40 students in the club, as well as about 100 Civinettes.
Catherine Sinclair
Kevin O’Hare and Jackson Hardee were honored at the Civitan Club meeting last week.
SEE PARADE / PAGE 4
FLIGHT OF FANCY
BE MINE by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Chamber takes flight in annual event
Planes, Trains and Automobiles provides something for enthusiasts of all ages.
+ Call to artists
The East Hillsborough Art Guild is making a call to artists for the open exhibit at the Florida Strawberry Festival Fine Art Show. Entry day is from 12 to 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20. There is over $4,000 in cash prizes. Best in show receives $300. Divisions include four youth divisions and 10 adult divisions, four of those being professional. For an application or to see rule changes visit EHAGFineArts.com or contact Debra Bryant at STFestArtsShow@gmail.com.
Destiny, Dolphins & Devotion This Valentine’s Day, Yolisma Machado and Aaron Vasquez will celebrate their fated romance and the family they have built together.
+ Club donates to Wheelchairs 4 Kids
The Plant City Optimist Club secured a $500 donation to Wheelchairs 4 Kids to help a local 3-year-old with cerebral palsy. Angelina was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a 1-year-old. She can’t walk and has low muscle tone. Wheelchairs 4 Kids gave her a special seating device called Tumble Forms 2 Corner Chair and a Tumble Forms 2 positioning wedge. The equipment will help her to have home therapy and increase her ability to play with friends and family.
, 3&
This week’s winner is
Heather St Onge See his photo on PAGE 19.
Catherine Sinclair
Yolisma Machado and Aaron Vasquez were married at Hollis Garden in Lakeland in 2011.
Editor’s note: We asked for your love stories for the 2015 Valentine’s Day Love Story contest, and we received some beautiful submissions. But Yolisma Machado and Aaron Vasquez’s story of destiny captured our hearts this holiday. It was a nearly 2,000 mile journey that brought Yolisma Machado and Aaron Vasquez together. The two met on a mission trip in Mexico. Ironically, unknown to either Machado and Vasquez, they were
both from Plant City. But the journey didn’t end there. It stretched for another six years of missed opportunities and chance encounters to finally end in happily ever after. This is one love story of
destiny our readers will not soon forget. Congratulations to the winners of our 2015 Valentine’s Day Love Story contest.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
2005, Machado was just glad to have survived herfreshman year of high school at Plant City. Looking for “the one” was hardly on her mind. With her church and other central Florida churches, Machado went on a twoweek mission trip to Mexico. The group traveled to
debut by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Dance club moves and shakes to armory The future of the Plant City Social Dance Club was in peril after its longtime venue, Stardust Dance Center, shut down earlier this year. But the club has found a new home. Last Friday, a committee
within the club voted to move the dances to the National Guard Armory on Airport Road in Plant City, which has a multipurpose room that is often rented out for receptions and other events.
The club hosted weekly dances at Stardust since 1999. It had to stop when Stardust closed after its neighbor, Bealls Outlet, wanted to expand into its space. Executives for the anchor store in the shopping
center where Stardust was located threatened to leave the center unless they could take over Stardust’s space. The property manager agreed. The owners of Stardust had to move out. Ken Miller, president of the club, refused to let the obsta-
IF YOU GO
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 Where: Plant City Airport, 4007 Airport Road, Plant City Cost: Free admission; $5 parking Information: PlantCity. org, Facebook.com/ PlanesTrainsAutos, or call (813) 754-3707.
SEE DANCE / PAGE 4
INDEX Calendar.......................2
SEE PLANES / PAGE 4
LOVE STORY / PAGE 4
During the summer of
The Plant City Social Dance Club met at Stardust Dance Center for years, but was forced to move after Stardust closed last month.
Plane enthusiasts, prepare for takeoff. Train buffs, take to the tracks. And car lovers, start your engines. Because Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce event, is returning Saturday, Feb. 21. Though this is the event’s fifth year, the abundance of things to see and do will be anything but stale. “We’re always bringing in new planes, different displays each year,” Marion Smith, president of the chamber, said. One of the biggest highlights each year is the opportunity for young people to take real flights. There will be 14 pilots on site, and the first 150 kids and teens (ages 8 to 17) to sign up before 1 p.m. can test ride their planes for free. But if your child misses the cut off for flights, don’t worry. He or she can still check out the computer flight simulators, or any of the other displays and
Vol.2,No.29 | Onesection Crossword...................19
Obituaries...................15
Sports.........................16
Weather......................19
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