East County 03.21.13

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bserver O EAST COUNTY FREE • Thursday, MARCH 21, 2013

You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.

NEIGHBORHOOD

East County celebrates all things Irish at Celtic Festival. PAGE 1B

WINEFEST

HEALTH MATTERS

special section

special section

Florida Wine and Balloon Festival descends on the area.

Volunteer provides care to cancer patients through transportation.

opening soon by Josh Siegel | Staff writer

OUR TOWN

River Club Plaza takes shape Texas Roadhouse is the latest business to sign on to the project off State Road 70.

+ Fallen owlet returns to nest Wildlife rehabilitator Justin Matthews returned a baby barred owl to its home in Panther Ridge Monday, March 18, after the bird fell from its nest Sunday, March 17. “He fell about 40 feet, because his nest has fallen apart,” Matthews said. “I kept him overnight to make sure he had no injuries.” Matthews constructed a new nest for the bird and returned it to its mother, who had been crying for the owlet all night. Matthews said birds, except for vultures, have no sense of smell, so babies that have fallen from their nests can be returned, even if handled by a human.

+ Primrose book drive benefits needy Preschoolers at Primrose School at Lakewood Ranch helped provide books for local children in need, in honor of Read Across America Day March 2. Students looked through the books they had at home to see which they believed would most benefit needy children. Families also donated new books. Donations benefited Mothers Helping Mothers, a local nonprofit that supports local families by providing basic necessities, including school supplies, books, baby items and more. The book donation drive was part of Og’s Bountiful Books, a Primrose reading program designed to encourage parents to read to their children at home and send their favorite books to school to share with their classmate.

SEE OUR TOWN / PAGE 4A

Josh Siegel

Texas Roadhouse restaurant will occupy one of the five standalone buildings at River Club Plaza on State Road 70.

EAST COUNTY — The developer for River Club Plaza, a 245acre project at the southeast intersection of State Road 70 and Interstate 75, expects the project to be fully leased by this summer. “This is a neighborhood center with a mix of service uses,” said Casto’s John Hutchens, asset manager for the project. “When you have a great location, with visibility from major road-

HOMEWARD BOUND

ways and combine that with a Walmart, you have a great draw for other retailers.” Home to a Walmart Supercenter since April, the project, which runs parallel to I-75 and extends south to Linger Lodge Road and east toward the Braden Woods community, recently added Texas Roadhouse to its list of tenants. The restaurant will occupy one

of five stand-alone buildings, said Hutchens. Based in Louisville, Ky., the chain, known for steaks, chicken, ribs and more, signed a lease for the 2.62-acre site in early March, and construction is well under way with an opening slated for May. It will join Tire Choice and Hungry Howie’s Pizza, which is expected to open in its new location next month, as occupied stand-alone buildings.

SEE PLAZA / PAGE 8A

by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer

Different pasts,

same future

Two East County families each adopted a child with extremely different backgrounds from Uganda last month.

EAST COUNTY — Inside an orphanage in Kamala, Uganda, two children with different pasts, but forced into the same hopeless future, stared into the eyes of their means to get out — their future adoptive parents. On a mission trip with 15 others in June, Matt Leake, who lives in GreyHawk Landing with his wife, Kaitlyn, and biological son, Mason, 20 months, played with a 6-month old, 15-pound boy with a runny nose in an intensive care unit. His name was Isaiah. At 2 weeks old, during a heavy rainstorm, Isaiah’s mother had brought him to a charcoal stall to shop. That is where she left him. At the same orphanage, Tony and Georgia Gamelin spent time with Brielle, a 2-year-old whose mother, also an orphan, had turned to prostitution as a way out. After

SEE ADOPTION / PAGE 8A

Above: Georgia, Brielle, Bryce, Brittany, Bryan, Brianne and Tony Gamelin are enjoying their time together as a family.

ADOPTION MINDED Tony and Georgia Gamelin are working to turn Bridge a Life, an adoption ministry they helped start with Matt and Kaitlyn Leake and Danny and Ann Marie Jones, into a 501(c)(3), as a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. In doing so, it could sponsor orphaned Ugandans. A sponsorship would pay for a school uniform, public school and, at least, one meal a day. Left: Kaitlyn, Isaiah, Mason and Matt Leake returned from Uganda March 15.

INDEX Business............ 16A Calendar.............. 8B

Classifieds ........ 17B Cops Corner....... 10A

Crossword.......... 14B Real Estate........ 12A

Sports................ 19A Weather............. 14B

Vol. 14, No. 12 | Four sections YourObserver.com


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