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FREE • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014
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SPORTS
Businesses don pink for cancer cause.
At 4-1, the F.I.S.H. Hawks are flying high this season.
INSIDE
PAGE 10
PAGE 12
PAGE 8
Turkey Creek alumni enjoy annual reunion.
update by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor
OUR TOWN
Joe Keel files complaint against Al Higginbotham
+ Families needed for Santa Sled fest
In the complaint, the owner of Keel and Curley Winery said the Hillsborough County Commissioner violated a statute that discloses guidelines for the misuse of public position.
Applications are now available for the annual Santa Sled Festival, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20., at Sam Cooper Park. Hosted by Plant City Black Heritage and Des’ Aimes Social Club, and sponsored by Kiwanis Club and Evangelic Deliverance Ministries, the organizations will be giving away toys, bicycles, groceries, turkeys and clothes. Horseback riding and pictures with Santa are part of the fun. More than 200 families will be served in the community, ages 3 to 10. To obtain an application, visit the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, 106 N. Evers St. or call (813) 453-7134, or contact Dorothy Smith at (813) 754-3141 or Sharon Moody (813) 4537134. Applications must be received by Nov. 30.
Shortly after filing lawsuits against several Plant City residents for slander and libel, the owner of Keel and Curley Winery issued two ethics complaints to the Tallahasseebased Commission on Ethics against Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbo-
tham and Ray Young, a former county planning commissioner and winery neighbor who opposed the rezoning. Owner Joe Keel said in the Sept. 14 complaint that Higginbotham used the weight of his position to persuade people to oppose the winery’s
rezoning late this summer. Keel and Curley Winery fought for a modification to its zoning to allow its new brewery, Two Henrys Brewing Company, to operate. Ultimately, the commission voted unanimously for the rezone, ending in a victory for the
Thonotosassa Road winery. Higginbotham made the initial motion for approval. But, even before the rezoning hearings, Keel said Higginbotham had acted against the winery in attempt to cause problems for the small business. In the complaint, Keel said Higginbotham, who also lives near the winery, approached neighbors last year who lived
SEE COMPLAINT / PAGE 4
, 3&
This week’s winner is
Julie Hasting
See her photo on PAGE 15.
Amber Jurgensen
Clark Smith comes pretty close to being Clark Kent in his Superman cape.
P.C. Relay for Life issues new Cupcake Challenge The Cupcake Challenge is similar to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. But, it will raise money for Plant City’s Relay for Life event.
+ Women’s group to meet in P.C. The Florida Commission on the Status of Women will host a meeting in Plant City from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, 106 N. Evers St. The commission will discuss women’s issues in its report, “Your Voice Matters: Conversations With Florida Women and Families.” The final report will be released during the 2015 Florida Women’s Day at the Capitol to be held March 24, 2015, in Tallahassee. “We are excited to have partnered with women’s organizations from across the state with the common goal of publishing an inclusive report that encapsulates and addresses the status of women in our state,” says Yvonne Fry, organization chair. “It is our hope that women across Florida will look to these Conversations as an opportunity to shape the future of Florida women and families.”
SWEET SUCCESS
by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor
PEE WEE POWER Justin Kline
Jourdan Anderson spent his Saturday breaking tackles as the Plant City Dolphins and Turkey Creek Trojans met Oct. 4, on the gridiron. For more photos, see page 13.
agriculture by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Plant City FFA student chosen as one of 13 National Delegates from Florida Anna Conrad has been chosen as one of 13 National Delegates from Florida. Anna Conrad has stood out consistently among Plant City students who participate in FFA, but her accomplishment this fall will top the rest. She will represent the state of Florida as a National Delegate for FFA’s annual conference. Based on her family’s history, Conrad seemed destined to enter the world of agriculture. She grew up on a cattle ranch, raised by parents who had also excelled in FFA when they were younger.
“My family was really big into (FFA),” Conrad said. “I grew up going to the state convention, and I grew up watching the national convention on TV. My family has always done it — my mom, my dad, my uncle, my granddad. They didn’t force me to do it, but because I was so used to it, I joined.” Conrad joined FFA when she was in sixth grade. Now, she is a junior in high school. She is
SEE CONRAD / PAGE 4
Photo by Melissa Nichols Photography
Anna Conrad shows cattle for FFA and the Junior Florida Cattlemen’s Association.
INDEX Calendar.......................2
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s … a sugary cupcake headed straight for you. And it’s all part of Plant City’s newest fad, The Cupcake Challenge. At the Superhero-themed Plant City Relay for Life Kickoff party Oct. 6, event chair Linda Herman challenged her committee to complete the challenge to help raise money for the 2015 walk to fight cancer. Each member lined up to have a cupcake smashed in their face by this year’s honorary survivor, Ava Raab. The elementary student jumped up and down in excitement before getting the go-ahead to cream the committee in front of a packed room of relay team captains, survivors, caregivers, and, of course, cameras. As she went down the line, she took each cupcake from committee members’ hands and pied them on their faces. They, in turn, donated $10 each to the Relay cause. After the mess was wiped off, committee members challenged every attendee at Kickoff to complete The Cupcake Challenge and go out in the community to challenge more. If you are challenged, you have two options: take the cupcake and donate $10 to the person or team who challenged you, or skip the sugar and donate $20 to the person or team that challenged you. “As far as getting involved, we would love for everybody,” Herman said. “We would love to see the mayor doing The Cupcake Challenge, we would love to see city people doing The Cupcake Challenge. Getting everybody involved. Schools getting involved. It will be a blast.” Relay for Life Specialist Al-
SEE RELAY / PAGE 4 Vol. 2, No. 12 | One section
Crossword...................15
Obituaries...................11
Opinion ........................6
Sports.........................12
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