E A ST COUNTY
Observer Call for help Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Mixon patriarch leaves a sweet legacy PAGE 5A
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FREE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016
VOLUME 18, NO. 12
Only 5% of Manatee EMS calls in a year are life threatening, yet unpaid ambulance bills continue to bog down budgets. Can a new program trim 911 expenses? PAGE 3A
YOUR TOWN
Ingenuity bridges gap in a bind
One hundred and counting
FDOT, Prince Contracting improvise with hydraulic lift to keep Acrow Bridge project on schedule.
Kindergartner Zoe Rio got an early glimpse of what she might look like at 100 years old. When she woke up Feb. 8, Rio and the rest of Cristina McCrone’s class dressed up to celebrate Braden River Elementary’s 100th day of school this school year. “I like the number 100,” Rio said, laughing. “I like big stuff, like houses and big dogs. I also get to wear glasses, and that’s really fun.”
Spring cleaning The Lakewood Ranch Community Garage Sale has a rosy future because of the Lakewood Ranch Garden Club. With the event in danger of being canceled because it didn’t have a group to organize and run it, Garden Club members stepped forward and have announced this year’s first sale will be April 2. Will the sale be different from years past? Participants who fail to pay the $5 pre-registration free will be charged $10 to participate. Garage sales will be monitored the day of the event to ensure compliance. Proceeds earned from the event will support the club’s charities of choice, including Save the Earth Environment Through Knowledge, Ronald McDonald House and Pennies for Pines.
PAGE 8A
Jessica Salmond
A Prince Contracting crew member cuts out a piece of metal to help the bridge hit the roller platform at the right angle. From midnight to 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 2, crews worked to install a temporary bridge on Interstate 75 over University Parkway for the new diverging diamond intersection.
Color with purr-sonality Local artist’s love of drawing felines catapults her firmly into the adult coloring market.
JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR
The question was whether the brightest designs were in her newly purchased book, or in her mind. Sixty-four-year-old Judith Black Horn had attended her friend Carole Stevens Bibisi’s adult coloring book party at the Elixir Tea House in Sarasota and it was fair to say the activity filled her mind with memories. “Oh my gosh, no,” Black Horn said when asked if she ever expected to be playing with a coloring book again. “It reverts me back to my childhood. Those were happy times.” Jay Heater
Carole Stevens Bibisi creates a work of art in her home studio.
SEE COLOR CRAZE PAGE 6A
BLACK TIE Having a ball for conservation. INSIDE
Health Matters INSIDE