Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
RECOGNITION
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+ Raulerson hosts chili cook-off Raulerson & Company had its first Halloween chili cook-off Friday, Oct. 31. A few clients stopped by to be judges: David Galloway, of David H. Galloway, P.A.; Mark Poppell, of Poppell Insurance; Tom Kern and Robert Ladd, of Plant City Produce; and a few staff members of Dr. Christopher Berchellmann’s office. The majority voted for a recipe from April Messick, of Raulerson & Company. Raulerson & Company is at a new location, 1907 S. Alexander St., Suite 2. It moved from its previous office off of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in October.
SPORTS
REAL ESTATE
PAGE 12
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Two Plant City schools take on playoffs.
Students rope in success at National FFA Convention.
OUR TOWN
FREE • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014
A home in Walden Lake topped the list in October.
m.i.a. by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Four-wheeler missing after Romp in the Swamp The Plant City Police Department has been working on the case, but has not yet made an arrest. A fundraiser for the South Florida Baptist Hospital Foundation could end up cutting into proceeds instead. After this year’s Romp in the Swamp mud run, equipment belonging to South Florida Baptist Hospital was stolen. It will cost
the hospital more than $6,000, if staff decide to replace it. Each year, the 5K course is full of natural and man-made obstacles, and many participants run in costumes. This year’s event was Saturday, Nov. 1, at 2302 Henderson Way, a
water truck. The water truck belongs to Wetherington Tractor Service, but the hospital had owned the ATV. “Everything was locked up,” said Beverley Littlejohn, a spokeswoman for the hospital. “The site where the event took place covers hundreds of acres and it’s locked and gated,
field owned by Sunrise Homes. When hospital staff went back to the site to collect equipment the morning of Monday, Nov. 3, they discovered that a Husqvarna ATV was missing, along with some batteries that had been on the
SEE THEFT / PAGE 4
CRIME
THANK YOU
by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor
Plant City officer shoots, kills man
Trung Thanh Do, 31, was seen stabbing Maria De Los Angeles inside a house thought to be set on fire by him.
+ Dogs paw way onto fairgrounds The Brandon Florida Kennel Club’s Sixth and Seventh Shows were held on Oct. 25 and 26 at the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds. Best in Show Oct. 25 went to Grand Champion Ne Orageux’s Flash Point, a female briard owned by Merry Jeanne and Tommy Millner. She was show by handler, Joan Scott. The briard won over an entry of 756 dogs. The judge was David Bolus. Best in Show Oct. 26 went to Grand Champion Cragsmoor Good Time Charlie, a male skye terrier owned by Victor Malzoni Jr. and Cragsmoor Kennels Reg. He was shown by professional handler, Larry Cornelius. The skye terrier won over an entry of 773 dogs. The Judge was James R. White. The trophy presenter for both shows was Don Meyer, the son of Bill Meyer, photographer. Both shows were dedicated to Bill Meyer’s memory.
, 3&
This week’s winner is
Ana Boxtha
See her photo on PAGE 15.
Courtesy photo
A small security vehicle owned by the hospital has disappeared since it was seen at Romp in the Swamp.
Plant City police officers were able to do more than just save two children from a residential fire off Maryland Avenue Tuesday, Nov. 11. Officer James Burchett arrived at the scene of a house fire early Tuesday and shot and killed Trung Thanh Do, 31, who was stabbing Maria De Los Angeles Romano, 43, inside the home. At about 4 a.m., the Plant City Police Department received a 911 call referencing a residential structure fire at 107 Maryland Ave. S., across the street from Marshall Middle School. Details from the caller indicated that four people were inside of the home. Upon police arrival, the car port and a portion of the home were ablaze. Police entered the residence through the front door. Once inside, two females — an 18-year-old woman and 13-year-old girl — were found and taken to safety. They told officers that Romano was being assaulted by Do inside a locked bedroom. Burchett went outside and walked around the home to the bedroom window, where he observed Do stabbing Romano. Burchett gave repeated commands for Do to stop. Those commands were ignored, and Burchett fired a single shot that killed Do, Chief Ed Duncan said. Romano was in stable condition at a local hospital with stab wounds. The teenage girl and 18-year-old woman were uninjured. Joining the Plant City officers at the scene were agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Amber Jurgensen
Women from all branches of the military came to a ceremony honoring their service on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Veterans’ Memorial Monument Park. Veterans Day was Tuesday, Nov. 11. For more Veterans Day coverage go to page 6.
inner beauty by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor
Turkey Creek Middle School preps for its first Calendar Girls pageant The pageant will give students an opportunity to shine as well as raise funds for school programs. The Calendar Girls pageant popular at area high schools will now be brought to Turkey Creek Middle School. The first pageant will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the school’s multipurpose room. “Why should all the high schools have all the fun? This will get them going,” organizer Julie Hasting said. Hasting and Amanda Duncan are organizing the pageant. The idea started as an FFA sweetheart pageant. But they wanted to have an event where the whole student body could participate. “It’s great,” Duncan said. “It prepares them for high
TURKEY CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL CALENDAR GIRLS When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 Where: Turkey Creek Middle School, 5005 S. Turkey Creek Road Cost: $10 school, but (also with) a lot of local pageants going on. They can use their dresses more than once.” Not only will it give them practice for the high school Calendar Girls, its main function is a fundraiser. One of the
things organizer would like to use the money raised for is end of the year sports banquets, which the school has not been able to fund. To make it affordable for all contestants, they will only have to sell four business card ads for $15 each and 10 calendars at $15 each. Hasting and principal Fredda Johnson both have bought business sponsors. Hasting stressed the affordability aspect of the pageant. “Some of the girls won’t be able to do this in high school because it’s expensive,” Hasting said.
Johnson was a little hesitant about the pageant at first. But Hasting has taken a liking to calling it a “Confidence Pageant.” “I’m not from a pageant background,” Johnson said. “But once they laid it out, I felt comfortable. I want it to be fair. This is something that helps the girls realize it’s not just their
SEE CALENDAR / PAGE 4
INDEX Calendar.......................2
SEE SHOOTING / PAGE 4 Vol. 2, No. 17 | One section
Crossword...................15
Obituaries...................11
Weather ......................15
Sports.........................12
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