Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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FREE • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2014
ELECTIONS
SPORTS
GOP takes key wins on 2014 Election Day.
Twins tackle familiar foe in Friday’s game.
SPOTLIGHT
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OUR TOWN + Photo Archives revises board The Plant City Photo Archives and History Center begins its 2014-15 season with new members on its Board of Directors and changes in its Advisory Council. Added to the Board of Directors are: Bill Thomas, director at the Improvement League of Plant City, and Marion Smith, current President of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce. The Advisory Council Executive Committee has added: Cassandra Banning, of the Plant City Garden Club; Charles Harris, owner of Holiday Inn Express; Jim McDaniel, retired from the City of Plant City; and Darcy Stottlemyer, owner of All A Bloom Florist. New to the Advisory Council this year is David Wolf, proprietor of Haught Funeral Home. For the season an ad hoc committee, the Select Committee on Sustainability, has been formed, and participants not listed above include David Miller, James Chancey and Al Berry.
PCHS student makes holidays merry for veterans.
awareness by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Cemetery trend affecting P.C. plots Families with plots must provide documentation before burial as to which relatives should be buried there. When Plant City resident Timothy Nelson and his family prepared Oct. 27 burial plans for a relative, they had no idea they were going to be required to show documentation to whom legally was allowed to be buried in the family’s plot. The family did not possess official records. The city also did not have the required records because they had been lost in a 1950 fire. The trend has been growing
steadily over the past several generations around the U.S. But city officials and area funeral home directors say there has been recently a higher number of cases in Plant City than usual. When families own cemetery property but have numerous members of the same generation, they sometimes have more heirs than cemetery plots. They must officially determine who will be buried in specific plots, because each member
of the inheriting generation legally has the same claim to the plots. Without official documentation, city officials will not allow the family to bury any potential heir in those plots. Usually, the family member who purchased the plots years ago did not outline in the deed, nor in his or her will, who exactly should inherit them. “They don’t think about it,” Catherine Sinclair
SEE PLOTS / PAGE 4
The city manages numerous cemetaries, including Oaklawn.
HOMETOWN HERO by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
local eats
by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Winn-Dixie recognized for local ag support The company was named Merchandiser of the Year for its focus on local produce.
+ Optimist Club honors students
, 3&
Catherine Sinclair
No one who sees Ralph Bradley’s truck would doubt that his faith is of the highest importance in his life.
CLOSER TO HOME There was one particular May day during the Vietnam War that Plant City native Ralph Bradley will never forget. As North Vietnamese fighters approached, they begun dropping bombs on an airstrip near where Bradley was positioned. Bradley and another soldier dug a foxhole and took cover. “Me and my buddy that were in the foxhole, we thought it was kind of funny,” Bradley said. “We were watching them and they were missing the airfield. All of a sudden, one of them hit the airfield, and a piece of shrapnel landed between me and my buddy in the foxhole. You could warm your hands from it.” Because he was in possession of the group’s only op-
erational radio, he had to stay amongst the fire until the captain left. He was one of the last soldiers to leave. “We left equipment behind,” Bradley said. “All we had was the clothes on our backs when we got on that plane.” Bradley was never the same after returning from combat in Vietnam, but the one thing that has stuck with him through the trials and trauma is his Christian faith.
LADY LOVE BACK HOME
Bradley grew up in Plant City and graduated from Plant City High School in 1967. He immediately joined the U.S. Army, and in 1968, he was sent to Vietnam, as part of the 196th infantry brigade.
He was initially glad to leave Plant City and join the Army, but when he got to Vietnam, he was lonely. His lack of companionship did not last for long, however. A young Plant City woman named Barbara was listening to the radio that summer and heard an address to which she could send letters for a Vietnam solider. Bradley was the recipient of those letters, and they meant the world to him. In the third letter he wrote back, Bradley asked the her to marry him. Before she could write back and answer the proposal, Bradley had bought rings and a suit in Vietnam and was on his way
SEE HERO / PAGE 4
I hear, ‘Welcome home, Vietnam vet,’ or someone tells me, ‘I appreciate what you’ve done,’ I feel I’m that much closer to home. — Ralph Bradley
The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association selected Winn-Dixie as Merchandiser of the Year at a ceremony Sept. 18, honoring the company for its dedication to supporting local agriculture. Winn-Dixie stores throughout Florida sell produce from 60 Florida farms. From six Plant City farms, Winn-Dixie offers strawberries, blueberries, vegetables and canteloupes, as well as from others in Lakeland, Bartow and Ruskin. Bob Denomme, Winn-Dixie’s vice president of produce, was present to receive the award. “We have a local strategy when it comes to supplying our stores with products so we can meet the diverse needs of our customers in each neighborhood we serve,” Denomme said. Denomme said he did not recall any previous years when Winn-Dixie had been honored as Merchandiser of the Year. One new way the company visually demonstrated its commitment to local agriculture this year was by featuring photographs of Florida farm families in stores around the state. Meredith Holland, a public relations manager working on behalf of Winn-Dixie, said the photographs were intended to help customers make connections with the real people behind the produce.
SEE WINN-DIXIE / PAGE 4
HOMETOWN HEROES EDITOR’S NOTE: Hometown Heroes is a recurring feature in the Plant City Times & Observer in which we profile veterans from Plant City. If you have a loved one currently serving or who has served in the past, please contact Managing Editor Amber Jurgensen by email at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com or by phone at (813) 704-6850.
This week’s winner is
Ana Boxtha
See her photo on PAGE 15.
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Ralph Bradley joined the U.S. Army right after graduating from Plant City High School, and served in Vietnam and Germany. Every time
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The Plant City Optimist Club recently held their annual Youth Appreciation Ceremony recognizing 10 local high school students for their outstanding accomplishments. A banquet in their honor was held Monday, Oct. 27. Eight students from the 2015 senior class at Plant City High School and two from the 2015 senior class at Lakeland Christian school were selected. Each student received an award for their deeds. The students are: Reid Adams, Cole Arn, Noelle Dietrich, Mary Futch, Jarrett Gillman, Jackson Hardee, Carly Knox, Carson Knox, Brittany Nesbitt and Kellie Pernula. The Plant City Optimist Club has been honoring local youth through the Youth Appreciation program for over 50 years. Youth Appreciation events are one of its most popular programs.
INDEX Calendar.......................2
Vol. 2, No. 16 | One section Crossword...................15
Obituaries.....................9
Weather ......................15
Sports.........................12
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