E A ST COUNTY
Health Matters OCTOBER 2021
Observer
EAST COUNTY
Observer
Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
INSIDE Your sleep choices affect more than you might realize — and weekend catch-u ps won’t help. PAGE 2
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
MEAL PREP
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Food delivery doesn’t always need to be your dinner backup.
NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY
Your diet likely isn’t giving you all you need.
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT
Ophthalmologist talks lens tech advancements.
FREE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2021
VOLUME 23, NO. 49
YOUR TOWN
New barn at Myakka City Elementary provides handson experiences. SEE PAGE 8
Courtesy photo
Math program adds to creativity Leylah Blanc, a fifth grader at William H. Bashaw Elementary School, had fun putting her own spin on a pumpkin Oct. 5. As a reward for achieving her math goals in the school’s Acaletics club, Blanc (above) joined dozens of other students to paint pumpkins. Acaletics is a program to help students improve in math. Each fourth and fifth grade student sets a goal, and if they’ve achieved their goal at the end of each month, they attend a special celebration.
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Pandemic delays CASTO project Supply chain shortages have put the Center Point project several months behind. PAGE 3
Wake up to learning File photo Liz Ramos Scott Lockwood
Amazing activity at the park Several children spent Oct. 15 enjoying the playground and Halloween-themed hay maze at Nathan Benderson Park. One of those enjoying the maze for the first time was 21-month-old Tyson Stelfox (above). Stelfox was just a whisk taller than the bales of hay and ran wildly through the stacks. Stelfox did stop at times to check out the Halloween decorations. The hay maze has become an annual tradition at Benderson Park. It was constructed with the help of volunteers from the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance as part of the organization’s Alliance Gives Back event. The maze is open through Halloween.
Grace Lockhart, a fifth grader, will show a rooster at the Manatee County Fair. She cares for the rooster at the school’s new barn, which was built for an agriculture sciences program.
New wave breaks on Main Street Jay Heater
Sergio Di Sarro says his patrons have given him positive feedback since he took over Main Street Trattoria.
Former surfer brings Argentinian flair to Main Street Trattoria. SEE PAGE 6
Brett Casto, the principal for CASTO, stands at the Center Point project in Lakewood Ranch.
A+E
Small but mighty. SEE PAGE 13