bserver O EAST COUNTY FREE • Thursday, AUGUST 15, 2013
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
ROCKIN’ ROBOT
Risen Savior children enjoy robot-inspired vacation Bible school. PAGE 18
OUR TOWN
spirit Week
Braden River’s varsity cheerleaders develop team spirit at ‘pageant.’ PAGE 17
community hub
sports
Kayla Gray proves a game changer in Jamaica. PAGE 13
CLOSING TIME
by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer
by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer
Support dominates bridge meeting
Courtesy photo
+ Faith family honors new royal addition Faith United Church of Christ held an English tea and baby shower Aug. 3, in honor of the newest member of the British royal family. Ladies of the church provided scones, breads, cookies, finger sandwiches and other delectable goodies — and, of course, there was tea — for the event, which raised donations of baby items for Healthy Start, an organization in Manatee County that supports low-income families.
Members of The Food Bank of Manatee team are Kenny Doran, Morgan Gallian, Jerry Gironda, Joe Stoddard, Haskell Gates, Suzie Doran and Brian Bjork.
+ Oncologists hit the court for charity A group of oncologists are “digging” deep for charity. On July 20, 21st Century Oncology Radiation Therapy Services hosted its second annual charity volleyball tournament, which raised more than $500 for The Food Bank of Manatee. Held at Tarpon Pointe Grill, the tournament had more than 80 participants from different backgrounds and skill levels, mostly from various health care-related businesses in town.
+ Stick a fork in it! The American Cancer Society is inviting East County residents to eat out for a cause. The organization will host its first Stick a Fork in Cancer restaurant dining fundraiser Aug. 25. For more information and a list of participating East County restaurants, visit facebook.com/stickaforkincancermidcoast.
The U.S. Coast Guard let Manatee County residents get in a last word about the Fort Hamer Bridge project.
Josh Siegel
Jim Purdy has been the director of operations for Manatee County YMCA’s four branches, including Lakewood Ranch, for only eight months, but you wouldn’t know it by his lively interactions with customers.
YMCA celebrates
10 years With expansions and ever-growing product offerings, the Lakewood Ranch YMCA has shown an intense focus on customers who have made it a community staple.
LAKEWOOD RANCH — Charlie Morse grew up at YMCAs as a child in Indiana. When he came in 1986 to Lakewood Ranch, however, there was no YMCA here. When he traveled to other places in Florida, he looked for YMCA branches. The few he found lacked a sense of community. He’d return home to Lakewood Ranch and see his community growing, becoming a place to do business, retire and raise a family. But, he thought, it needed a tie.
“A lot of areas in the state have lost the community,” Morse said. “In Lakewood Ranch now, we have the business. We have the families. We have the schools, and we have the Y.” As the Lakewood Ranch YMCA celebrated its 10-year anniversary with an open house Aug. 10, Morse, a fifth-year board member, noted the organization has become that hub for community activities he envisioned more than a decade ago. Jim Purdy, director of operations
SEE YMCA / PAGE 9
Milestones March 2003
— Lakewood Ranch YMCA opens with 500 members
2009
EAST COUNTY — Since 1999, Marty Peate, a senior project manager at URS Corp., a contractor assigned to study the impact of a bridge being built across the Manatee River, has measured nearby wetlands and combed for endangered species. An Aug. 7 public meeting the U.S. Coast Guard chaired signaled the end of debate on the proposed Fort Hamer Bridge that has spanned decades marked by delays and economic jolts. Manatee County officials say the two-lane bridge, which would connect Fort Hamer Park to Upper Manatee River Road, will provide an alternative north-south transportation route between areas east of Interstate 75. Nearly 400 people came to the Bradenton Area Convention Center to comment — mostly in
SEE BRIDGE / PAGE 11
—
Branch reaches capacity with 2,200 members
2012
— Branch undergoes expansion to accommodate more members. Facility grows from 27,000 to 47,000 square feet.
2013 —
Branch has more than 2,900 members
Josh Siegel
Ken Bumgarner, chairman of the Waterlefe CDD, said he is not opposed to the bridge and believes Manatee County has the right to do what it pleases, as long as there is communication with the public.
INDEX Briefs......................6 Classifieds ...........25
Cops Corner..........10 Crossword.............24
Neighborhood.......17 Real Estate...........22
Sports...................13 Weather................24
Vol. 14, No. 33 | One section YourObserver.com