East County Observer 6.2.22

EAST COUNTY

SEASON

SEASON SUMMER 2022

Observer

Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998

1

T H E O B S E R V E R ’S G U I D E TO T H E A R TS AND SOCIETY

INSIDE

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

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YOUR TOWN

County brouhaha grows Commissioners clash on county administrator’s job performance. SEE PAGE 3

Sweet repeat

Liz Ramos

Aloha to education Robert E. Willis Elementary School students lined up in back of the school May 25 with leis around their necks, waiting for the guest of honor.

Rhonda Mau, the assistant principal, was shocked to see the hundreds of students chanting her name as she drove around in a decorated golf cart with Principal Katherine Price during the “Luau for Mau” celebrating Mau’s retirement.

Mau retired May 26 after spending 23 years in education, including two at Willis Elementary School.

“It was definitely surprising,” Mau said. “It was amazing. It couldn’t be a better send-off.”

Price (above left, with Mau) said Mau wanted a “low-key” retirement celebration, and a drive around the back of the school with all the students was as “low key as they could make it while still having fun.”

“It’s hard (to say goodbye),” said Price.

Offense carries Lakewood Ranch High’s softball team to a secondstraight state title. SEE PAGE 18

Ryan Kohn

The Mustangs, led by senior Sydney McCray (20), sophomore Ella Dodge (6) and junior Peyton Knight (19), celebrate with their Class 7A state championship trophy after beating Lake Brantley High 8-2 on May 28.

Ian Swaby

Despite calendar, summer’s here It’s not quite summer, but most preschools and schools are out, and children are finding ways to enjoy their vacation.

Summerfield 4-year-old Giulia Basher (squatting in photo), 5-year-old Nolan Basher and 4-year-old Amelia Putianto finished their semester at Little Ranchers Learning Center and were enjoying Summerfield Park. They were waving sticks as if they were swords and climbing on the playground equipment.

Moms Mona Putianto and Alessandra Basher took the kids to the park. With school out, Alessandra Basher said she is glad Lakewood Ranch has lots of fun parks. She said she has been to them all because her kids love to be around other kids.

After the kids finished playing at Summerfield Park, it was off to get ice cream.

50 years, from the ground up File photo

Willis Smith executives Dave Sessions and John LaCivita with Howard Tibbals at the groundbreaking of the Circus Museum Tibbals Learning Center at The Ringling in 2003.

Willis Smith Construction celebrates half-century of building regional landmarks.

SEE PAGE 8

A+E Selections to savor.

PAGE 13

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EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

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Lakewood Ranch’s Melodie Marchena and her husband, Sanddy, said they can’t wait to make an impact on children as the new owners of Kiddie Academy of Lakewood Ranch.

Ranch preschool changes hands LIZ RAMOS STAFF WRITER

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akewood Ranch’s Melodie Marchena remembers being in middle school in Jersey City, New Jersey, and having trouble with math.

Any time her teacher would ask a question, Marchena recalled shrinking in her chair so she wouldn’t be called upon, and her teacher noticed.

She said the way her teacher went out of her way to help made a great impact. Now as the new owner of Kiddie Academy of Lakewood Ranch, Marchena wants to be a part of those moments that make an impact on her students’ education.

“It’s amazing to see a child grow, develop and learn new things,” she said. “Just like a parent has a huge impact, the teachers have impacts on the children, and they take that with them throughout their life.”

After 14-1/2 years, Marina WolfSchmidt and her husband, William Schmidt, who are the founders of Kiddie Academy of Lakewood Ranch, decided they wanted to retire.

“We are in our 60s, and we looked at some of our friends and family members who did not make it to retirement due to health issues,” Wolf-Schmidt said. “We said we want to enjoy it. We don’t know what the future holds, and we wanted to

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Melodie Marchena and her husband, Sanddy, took over as new owners May 20. The Marchenas come from New Jersey, where they own Kiddie Academy of Cedar Knolls.

Wolf-Schmidt said the Marchenas’ experience eased her worries about leaving.

“They’re going to be such a great match for our school,” Wolf-Schmidt said. “As something we built from the ground up, it’s important for us that we have the right owner. They have the experience. They’re younger than us. They’re going to bring the center to the next level.”

Melodie Marchena looks forward to knowing the families at Kiddie Academy of Lakewood Ranch.

The Marchenas are considering capital improvements for the school, including a new playground area.

Wolf-Schmidt said she and her husband will miss being a part of Kiddie Academy of Lakewood Ranch, and they’re grateful for the time they’ve had at the school.

“It’s been such an amazing experience and such a great opportunity to put our center in a community that’s growing,” she said. “It’s just amazing the friendships we’ve established in the community and people trusting us with their children.”

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EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

TIMELINE OF EVENTS FEBRUARY 26, 2019 Cheri Coryea, a county employee of 30 years, is confirmed as Manatee County administrator.

NOVEMBER 19, 2020 The possibility of firing County Administrator Cheri Coryea is raised at a commission meeting.

DECEMBER 10, 2020 Commissioners say they won’t pursue any action to fire Coryea.

FEBRUARY 9, 2021 Commissioners instruct County Attorney William Clague to negotiate a separation agreement with Coryea.

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 Commissioners approve a severance package for Coryea of about $204,000.

Karen Stewart becomes interim administrator.

Photos by Ian Swaby

Reggie Bellamy was among three commissioners to favor an investigation into Administrator Scott Hopes following the county clerk’s claims.

More commission chaos

County clerk’s allegations place additional stress on county panel.

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

“As chairman of the Manatee County Commission, I will not sit idly by while an elected official (Colonneso) abuses the status of her office to attack one of our county employees.”

— Kevin Van Ostenbridge

COLONNESO’S LETTER

On May 20, setting the stage for Hopes’ contract discussion, Manatee County Clerk of Court Angel Colonneso sent a scathing letter about Hopes to Manatee County Commission Board Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge.

Colonneso’s letter said, “Given my observations, these matters and those yet to be discovered, could create a significant cost to the taxpayers that are unquantifiable at this time.”

She listed “lack of communication, lack of transparency, and lack of fiscal responsibility” as areas of extreme concern.

Then, before the meeting, Deputy County Administrator and Chief Financial Officer Jan Brewer fired off a resignation letter outlining other concerns about Hopes.

“It has come to my attention that the county administrator has directed staff to withhold information from me as it relates to employees,” Brewer wrote in her resignation letter. “... I now find myself in staff meetings wondering who has been told to keep information from me and if they are doing this action because of the fear of losing their job.”

Van Ostenbridge called Colonneso’s email/letter politically motivated and released his response to the public before the meeting.

“As chairman of the Manatee County Commission, I will not sit idly by while an elected official (Colonneso) abuses the status of her office to attack one of our county employees,” Van Ostenbridge wrote.

“The clerk’s letter is strategic and politically motivated.”

CALL FOR INVESTIGATION

Once the meeting began, Commissioner Misty Servia made a motion to place Hopes on paid leave so some of the claims made about him could be investigated. Whitmore and Commissioner Reggie Bellamy voted in favor, while Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, George Kruse, James Satcher and Van Ostenbridge voted against.

The focus then turned to employee turnover in the county. Servia and Whitmore emphasized an increase in staff departures (593 since Hopes was named administrator).

“I want to understand what are the reasons that we’re losing 600 employees over the last year? That is a terrible loss of brain power,” Servia said. “Here we are, struggling to hire employees at this very time, and to

MAY 11, 2021 Commissioners vote to negotiate a resolution that would move Hopes from interim administrator to permanent administrator, canceling the search for an administrator.

MAY 25, 2021 Commissioners confirm Hopes as permanent administrator.

JUNE 7, 2021 Commissioners confirm Robert Reinshuttle as second deputy administrator.

A

lthough Manatee County’s officials have been severely at odds, they say the government can continue to function.

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” said At-Large Commissioner Carol Whitmore. “You can’t do your job if you dwell on something that you’re not going to win. You’ve got to work with everybody, whether you agree with them or not.”

The divide in county government might never have been broader than May 24 when the commission met to consider an extension of County Administrator Scott Hopes’ contract, along with a raise.

APRIL 1, 2021 Commissioners hire Scott Hopes, then a Manatee County School Board member, as interim administrator.

DEC 17, 2021 County Attorney William Clague says Hopes’ performance is graded highly by the commissioners.

Commissioners including Kevin Van Ostenbridge, James Satcher and George Kruse voted against any kind of investigation as a result of the county clerk’s claims against the county administrator.

lose employees is a detriment to the business of the county.”

Baugh, in a letter to the East County Observer, noted that while 593 people had left their jobs in the 14 months since Hopes was hired, 426 had left in the 14 months before Hopes’ hiring. She noted that Hopes was operating at a time that included the pandemic and in which greater turnover was being experienced throughout the nation.

Hopes said he will continue to concentrate on doing the job the county needs while working with all of the county officials, regardless of whether they favor him.

He said the clerk is aware of the scheduling of those public meetings, and the clerk also staffs those meetings. He said the clerk is an attorney and former public defender, but not an expert in organizational design or business management.

Although her letter arrived only four days prior to the commission meeting, Colonesso said at the time she began drafting the letter, she was unaware Hopes’ contact was an agenda item. She said that since she is not part of the process of creating the commission’s agendas, she does not know any details of them until they are released to the public.

POLITICAL POSTURING

CONTRACT TERMS

“I understand politics; I understand political posturing,” Hopes said May 26. “I try not to engage in that. But obviously, as the county administrator, I am subjected to those that do engage in that behavior, especially during a competitive election cycle.

And it’s important for me to isolate and shield and protect our 2,200 employees from that kind of activity and behavior.

“I’m confident of my skill, experience and ability to rise above it and protect the organization from those that may want to create chaos for political gain.”

Hopes cited his experience, including four years as an elected official on the Manatee County School Board, eight years on the State Republican Executive Committee and two years on the executive board of the Republican Party of Florida, as contributing to his ability to manage the situation and work with his detractors.

Hopes said he would continue to work to reorganize departments to improve efficiency following an inspector general’s report that supported allegations of favoritism in the former Building and Development Services Department.

While reorganization can be painful, he said claims that the effort was having a detrimental effect on the county were baseless.

“Evidence will show that,” he said.

He said the county had taken about 14 months to reorganize four of its 10 departments, which he said was “not a rapid pace.”

“It’s an evolutionary process, not a revolutionary process,” Hopes said.

“It’s being done strategically, and we have been having special meetings to inform the board and require the board’s approval, in public.”

When the terms of Hopes’ contract became the focus of the commission meeting, the initial proposal was to raise his salary from $206,752 to $230,000 and extend it two years.

Whitmore made a motion to not give Hopes a raise, which failed.

Commissioners eventually passed a raise to $215,000 with an extension through September 2023.

A survey of Florida counties by Manatee County found that the salary of other administrators included $234,374 for Sarasota County and $276,994 for Hillsborough County.

Hopes said he is satisfied with the terms of his contract. “I care about this community,” he said. “I certainly am not going to leave the community with a void of administrative leadership over $15,000.”

While no investigation was ordered at the commission meeting, Colonneso said her concerns were audit material, not investigative in nature. She said she was handing the information she had gathered to the county’s inspector general.

“The clerk of the circuit court and comptroller, as an elected person, has the highest integrity in the county,” Servia said. “When she writes a letter to the board and says, ‘I have grave concerns,’ we need to pay attention. Those are serious allegations, and I don’t know if they are true, false or otherwise. But they deserve our complete and utter respect and attention, to find the answers as to whether or not they are credible.”

After the proceedings, commissioners said they could efficiently get the work of the county done.

Whitmore said that meeting was part of the process of democracy.

“The majority of the board chose

MARCH 29, 2022 Hopes details reorganizations in the Development Services Department, such as a split of the duties of code enforcement, which he says were designed to combat favoritism.

MAY 20, 2022 Clerk of Court Angel Colonneso sends a letter to the commissioners detailing concerns over Hopes’ actions.

MAY 24, 2022 Commissioners extend Hopes’ contract.

Deputy County Administrator and CFO Jan Brewer resigns, citing concerns about Hopes.

to go another route, but I made my feelings known, and I’m just going to move on from there,” she said. “This kind of stuff does happen. It’s never easy when you have to do it in front of the public.”

She said she has a personal friendship with Hopes, and also said that Hopes would have taken the same actions had he not supported an administrator during the past when he served on the Manatee County School Board.

PART OF THE PROCESS

Kruse said it’s all part of the process.

He said that during Hopes’ initial confirmation as a full-time administrator in May 2021, he and Commissioner Reggie Bellamy had opposed the confirmation and favored a national search for the position, while the rest of the board voted to the contrary.

“We overcame it,” Kruse said.

“Reggie and I said, ‘The majority of the board spoke; we were not on it.’

We moved forward with our lives.”

He also said that the board agreeing on a smaller raise for Hopes than originally was proposed was no big deal. He said the board disagrees on topics that amount to tens of millions of dollars.

“So disagreeing on $8,000 or $9,000 isn’t a hurdle that this board needs to overcome relative to continuing to move forward,” Kruse said.

“I do my best to stay out of office politics,” Commissioner James Satcher said. “It makes us all shortsighted and makes us make bad decisions. So, I try to leave all that aside and continue to be professional, do what I think is the best thing.

“I think we would all be better served if we didn’t level serious accusations against others without knowing all the facts and the truth beforehand.”

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eep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House will fill the final anchor restaurant opening in Waterside Place, Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty announced May 26.

The release describes Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House as an “upscale causal dining experience” that offers seafood such as hog fish, black grouper, snapper, oysters and a “chill seafood tower.”

Signature cocktails and an expansive wine list also will be offered.

The restaurant, which is scheduled to open in 2023, will have inside and outside dining and bars and offer lake views.

Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House is part of a chain with locations in Naples, Fort Myers and Marco Island. It is owned by parent company Phelan, which operates Pincher’s, Texas Tony’s Rib and BrewHouse, The Bay House Restaurant, Phuzzy’s BoatShack and the Island Crab Company.

Lakewood Ranch Commercial also announced three other new tenants for Waterside Place: Monkee’s at Waterside, Florida Provisions Co. and Tim’s Wine Market.

According to the release, Monkee’s is an upscale women’s boutique specializing in shoes, clothing and accessories. The chain store, operating in 12 states, has a location in Sarasota.

Florida Provisions Co. is a new retail and bar concept that will feature clothing, flip-flops, sunglass and fishing gear, along with local foods and hot sauces. The enterprise is being launched by Boaters Republic of St. Petersburg.

The release described Tim’s Wine Market as a family-owned business that will feature handcrafted, smallproduction wines. The company includes four other Florida locations and more than 1,000 wine club members. It will be the first Tim’s

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Companies open for business at Waterside Place include restaurants Kore and Good Liquid Brewing Company, Kilwins, 3Form Fitness, Paint Nail Bar, Body Bar Pilates, Lakewood Ranch Medical Group, Smith Law and M/I Homes.

Businesses that have signed leases and are on the way include restaurants Agave Bandido and Osteria 500, along with Marmalade Waterside Boutique, John Cannon Homes, Integrity Sound, Capstan Financial, Shore Rejuvenation Day Spa, Modish Salon, O&A Coffee Supply, CROP Juice, The Yoga Shack, Man Cave for Men, Bay Area Aesthetics, Duck Donuts, Forked at Waterside and Good Liquid Distillery.

“We’re thrilled to expand Waterside Place’s diverse culinary offerings with the opening of Korê Steakhouse and the signing of Deep Lagoon Seafood and Oyster House,” said Kirk Boylston, president of Lakewood Ranch Commercial, in the release.

“Waterside Place’s large restaurant spaces are fully leased, a testament to the town center’s waterfront appeal.”

Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House has locations in Fort Myers, Naples and Marco Island.

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BY THE NUMBER

The School District of Manatee County reported the number of positive COVID-19 cases for employees and students from when school began Aug. 10 to the last day of school May 26.

Total for East County Confirmed cases: 1,951 Employees positive: 239 Students positive: 1,712 Total for School District of Manatee County Confirmed cases: 5,594 Employees positive: 911 Students positive: 4,683

Join us for an upcoming

Tara Elementary kindergarten teacher Josephine Johnson was able to host the Banana Leaf Restaurant event for her students, including Joey Jobst, as pandemic restrictions eased.

The district saw spikes in reported positive COVID-19 cases at schools in the beginning of the school year and January, prompting the district to continue to make adjustments to protocols.

“As of right now, we are hoping we can start next year on a stronger footing than we did this school year when it comes to COVID,” Chapmann said.

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shlie Fulmer, a school support specialist at Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School, watched her son Preston perform in the first in-person fifth grade talent show the school has been able to have since spring 2019.

McNeal Elementary hosted several in-person events at the end of this school year that had to be done virtually the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the fifth grade “moving on” ceremony, Leadership Day and a talent show.

“It feels like we’ve ended the year in normalcy,” Fulmer said. “We don’t take things for granted.”

Although the School District of Manatee County reported 5,594 positive COVID-19 cases in the district during the school year, Kevin Chapman, chief of staff for the district, said schools were able to end the year back to normal.

Popular celebrations and events returned, including high school proms, and Parent-Teacher Organization events, such as father-daughter dances.

As the school year ended, Chapman said the district continued to report positive cases on the dashboard on the district’s website and notify parents of their choice to keep exposed students at home or send them back to school if they were symptom free.

The district also continued to coordinate weekly with the Florida Department of Health Manatee.

“We stayed the course all the way to the last day,” Chapman said.

To help address any learning loss students might have had as a result of losing class time to the pandemic, Chapman said teachers and staff have used benchmark assessments that are conducted throughout the school year to measure progress.

“We’re confident that students, through their hard work and through their teachers’ hard work, ended the year strong and caught up from two years of high COVID numbers,” Chapman said.

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Celebration of Life Center is set to open in Lakewood Ranch with a rousing open house.

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

The organ definitely will be a thing of the past when Robert Toale & Sons hosts an open house for its new 7,000-square-foot Celebration of Life Center in Lakewood Ranch.

Those heavy, deep — and somewhat depressing — tones will give way to the rock and blues of the popular regional band Kettle of Fish.

Those who visit will be treated to craft beer, spirits and barbecue. The party is on.

Jeff Toale, vice president of business development, said it is an excit-

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It’s also the first of its kind that has been built from the ground up for Robert Toale & Sons, which broke away four years ago from Toale Brothers Funeral Homes to join Dignity Memorial and go a new direction. Robert Toale & Sons has three other locations — two in Sarasota and one in Bradenton — but those existing buildings were transformed to a new concept.

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EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

“It’s a challenge to step forward when people want to step back. Grief can be an interesting thing. My dad’s attitude always has been, ‘We’re here to help.’ This is my mindset.”

— Jeff Toale

This one was built with the new image in mind.

Owner Robert Toale said he had heard about other funeral homes’ move to more of a “celebration of life” offering and thought, “What are they doing?”

But after seeing the switch to the “celebration of life” concept over the traditional services, he decided it was the way to go.

“It is what the people want,” he said. “It was a matter of seeing so many people satisfied.”

The Lakewood Ranch building, at 4310 Solutions Lane, has high ceilings and lots of natural light. All the modern electronic gadgets and sound systems allow clients to design a service in any manner they choose. The Celebration of Life Center’s biggest room for a celebration is filled with round tables (if needed), which prompts those visiting to mingle and tell stories. Areas for vignettes allow families to present items that tell every aspect of their loved one’s story.

And while that story is being told, the new center will have catering capabilities so people can enjoy food right on the spot.

“People can celebrate a life, and food is a big part of it,” Robert Toale said.

Jeff Toale said those who visit the open house will immediately notice the changes.

“Everyone knows what an old funeral home looks like,” he said.

Although the Celebration of Life Center opened this month, Jeff Toale said his intention was to introduce the building to the public with a bang after the construction was finished, the contemporary furniture

was moved in and the multimedia features were online.

“I felt like we had something special here,” Jeff Toale said. “It’s a different feel altogether.”

Jeff Toale emphasized that Robert Toale & Sons will have the capability to offer any type of services the clients desire. If a more-traditional service is desired, the building has the space to accommodate it.

“We do a lot more cremation now (no cremation actually will occur at the Lakewood Ranch site), but there still is a lot of burial,” Jeff Toale said.

“We can offer a more traditional service, or we can incorporate the celebration of life aspect, present an uplifting service, offer tributes, and catering and more. We can create it however the family wants it to be set up. We like to think we are on the modern edge of funeral service.”

The location will also increase in visibility in the next few years as work finishes on 44th Avenue and connects west Bradenton with Lakewood Ranch.

“It’s going to be a major thoroughfare,” Jeff Toale said of their decision to build just off 44th Avenue. “And Lakewood Ranch is such a great spot.”

While the look of the Celebration of Life Center will be different, Jeff Toale said the work ethic that is required to run a funeral home remains. He said that although stated hours for the center are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, the phones are monitored 24/7.

“One of us always is available,” he said. “Even in the middle of the night.”

He said his father’s work ethic made him want to get into the business.

“There was something to be said about working for my father,” he said. “When people were struggling at the toughest time of their life, I would see him make an impact. It’s a challenge to step forward when people want to step back. Grief can be an interesting thing. My dad’s attitude always has been, ‘We’re here to help.’

This is my mindset.”

Now it’s just a matter of learning everything about their new home.

“We still are trying to figure out where the light switches are,” Jeff Toale said.

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EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

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YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

EAST COUNTY

Built to last

“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

Willis Smith makes its mark with construction for the ages.

Friedrich Hayek

“Road to Serfdom,” 1944

JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR

T

he landmarks are all over the region, from the Sarasota Opera House renovation and Waterside Place in Lakewood Ranch to Patriot Plaza at the Sarasota National Cemetery and The Lodge in Country Club East.

More are on the way, including the Mote Science Education Aquarium, the Lakewood Ranch Library, more work at Selby Gardens and a new dining hall at the Ringling College of Art and Design.

But when the shareholders of Willis Smith Construction talk about 50 years of success, they don’t tell stories about the impressions made by the company with its brick and mortar work.

Their conversation focuses on people.

As Willis Smith gets set to celebrate its 50th anniversary on June 6, every story about building projects was preceded by a tale about a fellow employee.

HIT THE SNOW

For instance, the trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, in 2005 by company executives.

For some background, majority owner David Sessions and then Vice President John LaCivita began organizing company trips for the project managers in the mid-1990s with the thought it would promote bonding.

Since most of the executives loved skiing, the company rented a vacation home in Breckenridge.

On the 2005 trip were four impressive young executives who eventually became minority shareholders: Taylor Aultman, Nathan Carr, David Otterness and Brett Raymaker. Admittedly, they were young 20-somethings fresh out of the University of Florida’s construction management program who were all about having fun.

While most of the project managers loved skiing, Carr enjoyed snowmobiling and convinced Raymaker and Aultman to join him.

“He told me not to get the insurance (on the snowmobile) because anything we broke would be less than the deductible,” said Aultman, who’d never been on a snowmobile. “So Brett and I went to the top of the mountain, and we took off to see how fast we could go. Brett told me to be careful because there was a large ditch (a ravine) that was clearly marked.

“I floored it, and I looked back to see Brett standing and waving. Next thing I know the bottom had fallen out of the world. I was flying through the air, so I jumped off.”

Aultman’s body was driven into a snowbank and the snowmobile was destroyed when it hit the ground.

Raymaker rushed to the edge of the ravine, yelling, “Taylor!”

“I could hear Brett yelling my name, so I knew I wasn’t dead,” Aultman said.

“His sled went into the rocks,” said Raymaker, who saw that Aultman wasn’t seriously hurt. “His helmet had turned 90 degrees. He was looking out his ear hole.”

The story is now a moment of Willis Smith lore and something everyone laughs about in an all’s-wellthat-ends-well kind of way. But the magic came after the accident.

“There were 14 of us (in Breckenridge), and we all offered to pay for the snowmobile,” said Sessions, who said all his company’s future snowmobilers took out the insurance. “It tells you what a trip does: It creates bonding. You get much closer.”

Aultman turned down the $7,000 it cost for the snowmobile because “I did it,” but he noted, “Everyone looks out for everybody.”

Sessions started to make sure “everyone looks out for everybody” when he joined the company in 1988, after his previous job dried up when E.E. Simmons Construction of Sarasota went out of business.

Willis Smith Construction was a small company that did $2.8 million in revenues in 1988. That didn’t justify the hiring of another project manager.

“I knew that (Willis Smith CEO) Leighton Hunter was planning on retiring. He was looking for someone who could take over the company. I was 28.”

BUILT OVER 50 YEARS

Publisher and President / Emily Walsh, EWalsh@YourObserver.com

WILLIS SMITH CONSTRUCTION Based: Lakewood Ranch Established: 1972 by founder Willis Smith in Sarasota Early leader: CEO Leighton Hunter took control of the company from 1979 to 1999 Next in line: David Sessions joined the company in 1988 and became majority owner, CEO and president in 1999 Key addition: Current company President John LaCivita joined the company in 1996 and became an owner in 2004 Promotions: Taylor Aultman, Nathan Carr, David Otterness and Brett Raymaker became minority shareholders in 2015 2021 revenue: $101 million

Associate Publisher — East County Observer / Lori Ruth, LRuth@YourObserver.com

File photos

Above:John LaCivita and David Sessions at Willis Smith’s 40th anniversary celebration Left: Willis Smith’s Angel Ortiz and Nathan Carr during construction of Waterside Place in 2020

Hunter wanted to make sure Sessions had the right goals and work ethic, so he took about a year to evaluate before cutting him a deal.

“At the University of Florida, they used to have guest speakers who were owners of construction companies,” Sessions said. “I would listen to their stories, but I didn’t know anything about what it took to run a company.”

He had mortgaged everything he had to buy into the company, and on Jan. 1, 1989, he was a co-owner.

SESSIONS IN CHARGE

“The reality hit that I had made all these commitments and there was a great burden I didn’t think about,” Sessions said. “Oh, my gosh. I have all these employees, and they all are depending on me. I had better be successful.”

Fortunately for Sessions, the small company had a great reputation. He said founder Smith and then Hunter were known for their integrity.

The year Sessions was hired, Willis Smith Construction had only $2.8 million in revenue.

“The company couldn’t justify paying me,” Sessions said. “Leighton told me not to worry about it.”

Hunter had confidence things would take off with Sessions in charge, and it did, doing $6 million in revenue the next year. Sessions hired some of his former coworkers from E.E. Simmons as the company gained projects.

“The challenge was getting in front of more clients and architects,” Sessions said.

The company began to diversify into the religious market along with schools. Sessions said once they did a job, they differentiated themselves from the competitors by not “nickel and diming anyone” and not looking for excuses.

“I tried to put myself across the table in my clients’ seats,” Sessions said. “We created an environment where people wanted to work with us. Leighton Hunter always was client oriented, and we continued that.

I had the same values as he did, and I learned from him. Running a business is about how to treat people fairly. Our philosophies were incredibly aligned: Hire bright, intelligent people, and in the first few years, build character, ethics and integrity.

We started doing that in 1996 with (project manager) Wade Wolfe.”

That same year, John LaCivita, who in 2004 became a co-owner and now is company president, joined Willis Smith Construction.

LACIVITA ARRIVES

“When I first started, it was, ‘Here is your office; go find a job,’” LaCivita said. “They gave me enough rope to hang myself, but I was doing what I loved, and the people were like a family. I saw this as a life career job. I couldn’t get it better anywhere else.”

The message was the same for Aultman, Carr, Otterness and Raymaker when they joined the company in the early 2000s. Sessions told them to learn from their mistakes.

“You get hard lessons and each one is a blow,” he said. “But if you don’t learn from them, shame on you.”

All the executives were the result of long-term planning, as Sessions knew he had to maintain his leaders for years. He made it possible for all of them to become partners.

“I came to Willis Smith with the intention of starting my own company,” Aultman said. “At the time, it was a small company. But I loved coming to work, and Dave and John gave us the chance to succeed and fail. I always felt that this was my company, and now it can be.”

Raymaker started working for Willis Smith in August 2003 and was assigned to The Ringling’s Visitors Pavilion, which when constructed would include a space for the His-

Willis Smith owner and CEO David Sessions and Mote President and CEO Michael Crosby talk about plans for the Mote Science Education Aquarium in 2020.

toric Asolo Theater. Preserving the theater was part of The Ringling Master Plan of 2000 to save the 18th century artifact and include 21st century auditorium seating and ambient lighting.

“It was baptism by fire,” said Raymaker, who said his first project was the project of a lifetime.

LaCivita didn’t shield Raymaker from pressure.

“John had a lot of trust in us,” Raymaker said. “I was 24, and in 2005 and 2006, we had huge supply issues. Steel, concrete, metal framing. It was an interesting market, and we had price increases. John tasked me to talk to Florida State (the owner) about the cost overruns.

It instills confidence in you. We had the authority to run a job the way we wanted to run it.”

Raymaker said he spent his first four years with Willis Smith working out of a trailer next to the visitors pavilion in a climate of bonding.

“That was where we grew up,” said Aultman, who started in 2004 and also worked out of that trailer. “It was just like you would expect from 20-something UF grads who were all single. It was a frat house, but it bonded us all together.

“Brett was the best man at my wedding. When you go to work with your best friends, it’s fun. It makes you want to come back.”

Liz Brookins, a three-decades employee who started as a receptionist and is now senior marketing coordinator, has watched the family atmosphere develop over the years at Willis Smith.

“I had been in construction previously, and I had a low opinion of contractors,” Brookins said. “I was told these guys were different, that all subs always would be paid. That was Smitty’s (Willis Smith’s) philosophy.”

She has watched the executives bond.

“They grew up together here,” she said. “I remember they were fresh out of college. I watched them become polished professionals. I watched them get married, have kids.”

Company headquarters moved to Lakewood Ranch in 2008 from the Hyde Park office off Tuttle Avenue in Sarasota.

So what has made Willis Smith so successful?

“Integrity,” Brookins said. “When the sub-contractors always want to work for you, there is not a better compliment.”

Executive Editor and COO / Kat Hughes, KHughes@YourObserver.com Managing Editor / Jay Heater, JHeater@YourObserver.com Sports Editor / Ryan Kohn, RKohn@YourObserver.com Staff Writers / Liz Ramos, LRamos@YourObserver.com; Ian Swaby, ISwaby@YourObserver.com Digital & Engagement Editor / Kaelyn Adix, KAdix@YourObserver.com Copy Editor / Shawn Candela, SCandela@YourObserver.com Editorial Designers / Melissa Leduc, MLeduc@YourObserver.com; José Valle, JValle@YourObserver.com A+E Editor / Spencer Fordin, SFordin@YourObserver.com Black Tie Editor / Harry Sayer, HSayer@YourObserver.com Director of Advertising / Jill Raleigh, JRaleigh@YourObserver.com Sales Manager / Penny Nowicki, PNowicki@YourObserver.com Regional Digital Director / Kathleen O’Hara, KOHara@YourObserver.com Senior Advertising Executive / Laura Ritter, LRitter@YourObserver.com Advertising Executives / Richeal Bair, RBair@YourObserver.com; Beth Jacobson, BJacobson@YourObserver.com; Jennifer Kane, JKane@YourObserver.com; Honesty Mantkowski, HMantkowski@YourObserver. com; Toni Perren, TPerren@YourObserver. com; Brenda White, BWhite@ YourObserver.com Classified Advertising Sales Executive / Lexi Huelsman, LHuelsman@ YourObserver.com Sales Operations Manager / Susan Leedom, SLeedom@YourObserver.com Sales Coordinator / Account Manager Lori Downey, LDowney@YourObserver.com Digital Fulfillment Specialist / Emma Burke, EBurke@YourObserver.com Tributes Coordinator / Kristen Boothroyd, Tributes@YourObserver.com Director of Marketing / Robin Lankton, RLankton@YourObserver.com Director of Creative Services / Caleb Stanton, CStanton@YourObserver.com Creative Services Administrator / Marjorie Holloway, MHolloway@ YourObserver.com Advertising Graphic Designers / Luis Trujillo, Taylor Poe, Louise Martin, Shawna Polana Digital Developer / Jason Camillo, JCamillo@YourObserver.com Director of Information Technology / Adam Quinlin, AQuinlin@YourObserver.com Chief Financial Officer / Laura Strickland, LStrickland@YourObserver.com Controller / Rafael Labrin, RLabrin@YourObserver.com Office and Accounting Coordinator / Donna Condon, DCondon@ YourObserver.com

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EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

SIDE OF RANCH

|

9

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

JAY HEATER

Jay Heater

Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes has become the target of some county employees who don’t like the direction the county is going.

Voting only way to reverse county’s squabbling M ost 8-year-olds could correctly figure out the reason for squabbling among those in Manatee County government.

It would take a Rhodes scholar, though, or at least a few extremely concerned citizens, to fix it.

Last February, I wrote a column warning that Manatee County commissioners couldn’t afford botching the search for a new administrator, especially after dumping Cheri Coryea from the position in a way that suggested it was a done deal after commissioners James Satcher,

Kevin Van Ostenbridge and George Kruse were elected in November.

Along with District 5’s Vanessa Baugh, who earned a third term as commissioner in November 2020, it formed a block of conservative Republicans who shared many of the same values. Do the math. A seven-person commission and you have a block of four votes.

Considering Baugh had been pounding her head against the wall the previous eight years in attempts to get things done, it made sense the new commissioners and Baugh

would form an alliance to take the county in the direction they felt was best for the citizens. The other commissioners, Carol Whitmore, Reggie Bellamy and Misty Servia, were left to pick up the table scraps.

Of course, that was the direction the Block of Four felt was best, and the voters, who overwhelmingly elected them, felt was best too.

Arguably, this was exactly the scenario most voters wanted, so damn the Queensbury rules.

All was well and good with the plan except for the timetable. The

timetable could best be described as “in your face.”

Coryea was dispatched without a chance to work with the new commissioners, angering many county employees. Coryea was well-liked.

Then, after a bit of jostling to find a new administrator who would do the bidding of the controlling group of commissioners, Hopes became the clear choice of the Block of Four.

Obviously, those commissioners didn’t see it was a problem to drop the job search they had promised the voters. They had their man, and it was time to get moving. And, shucks, nobody could be better than our pick. Right?

Maybe so, but even if they had gone through the motions and still picked Hopes, it would have given both the voters and county employees the perception that they were, at the very least, trying to show they were open to options.

Instead, it was in your face, and now they are paying the price, if you consider hours and hours of valuable commission time spent squabbling, infighting and considering motions nobody expects have any chance of passing.

Now let’s ask an 8-year-old on the street to explain it.

Hey, Tommy, these county employees over here are saying bad things about those county employees over there, and they can’t seem to settle their differences and get things done. Why is that, Tommy?

“Because they don’t like each other,” Tommy answers.

Bingo.

So it shouldn’t be of any big surprise that those who liked Coryea, a longtime civil servant, are mad at those responsible for getting rid of her. Is it a surprise that Deputy County Administrator and CFO Jan Brewer resigned right before a commission meeting to extend Hopes’ contract? Is it a surprise Clerk of Court Angel Colonneso sent a scathing letter outlining the administrator’s faults a few days before that same meeting?

They’re mad at the bulldozer way the Block of Four and their appoint-

ed leaders are governing, but that’s what happens when you take the wagon train in a new direction.

So now it comes to the second part, about the Rhodes scholars, or the extremely concerned citizens, in an effort to fix it.

If there is an intelligent answer to all this, I would love to hear it. I have attended government meetings much of my life, and this is at a much greater level of being dysfunctional. I simply don’t see where the zoo is going to close up shop.

Now, when I talk about dysfunctional, I am talking about interacting and not making a public spectacle of the proceedings.

It appears hopeless to think this commission can concentrate on getting our roads built, our parks constructed, our open lands protected, without wasting huge amounts of time bickering.

The only way out of this is by voting, and that brings us to the extremely concerned citizens. We need compelling candidates.

Three commission races are being held this year, but I doubt if it is likely the contenders can match the incumbents. Carol Whitmore has raised $107,683 in campaign funds to Jason Bearden’s $70,682. Misty Servia has raised $124,562 to Mike Rahn’s $48,405. Reggie Bellamy has raised $66,670, more than five times that of any opponent.

It is up to you, the voter, to steer your government in the direction you desire.

But I doubt the direction will be any different for years to come.

If you need support in watching years worth of these meetings, just bring your 8-year-old.

Jay Heater is the managing editor for the East County Observer. Contact him at JHeater@ YourObserver.com.

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YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

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Seeing the impact a Montessori philosophy in education had on her four children, 14-year-old Austin, 8-year-old Evan, 7-year-old Ethan, and 5-year-old Eli, she decided to transition to owning and operating a preschool.

“We love the Montessori philosophy,” Carr said. “It’s very much child-led, driven by what their interests are. It allows children to move at their own pace, and the model works well for so many students.”

Carr is opening Ivybrook Academy, a Montessori and Reggio Emilia-inspired half-day preschool, for the 2022-2023 school year. The school will be a new location for the national franchise that has at least 50 schools across the country.

Ivybrook Academy is taking over a space behind the Whole Foods on University Parkway and Honore Avenue that currently is a day care. The preschool’s lease will start in June when Carr, the owner and director of admissions, will have some renovations completed before opening the school for tours in July.

She said most preschools in the area force parents to commit to fullday or year-round programs.

“There’s definitely a demand for a part-time program that is education focused and prepares your child for elementary school,” she said.

Carr said she knows parents who are on waitlists of six to nine months to obtain a spot at a local preschool.

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“Ivybrook is going to fill a gap in the preschool offerings in our community,” Carr said. “There’s a real need for families who have a stay-athome parent or have a caregiver but still want a preschool experience for their child. They don’t want to have to commit to a year-round preschool.”

The school will follow a similar calendar to the School District of Manatee County, with a targeted first day of school of Aug. 10.

The school will start with only a morning session, but Carr said the school will add an afternoon session if there’s demand. Ivybrook Academy can serve 200 students.

Carr said Ivybrook Academy will offer individualized learning as teachers will adjust to the student’s level.

Children will be broken down into smaller groups based on their abilities.

“The Montessori method is very much customized to the child, and the teacher works alongside the child instead of standing up in front of the classroom teaching,” Carr said. “If a child is interested in dinosaurs, for example, the teacher will use that interest in dinosaurs to help them learn letters or sight words or help them with their math.

“It keeps the child engaged because it’s something they’re interested in

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“AS A PILATES INSTRUCTOR, A SUCCESSFUL REPAIR FOR MY BADLY DAMAGE ROTATOR CUFF WAS CRUCIAL. I AM THRILLED TO REPORT THAT I HAVE FULL USE OF MY SHOULDER AND AM PAIN FREE SO I CAN CONTINUE TO ENJOY MY VERY ACTIVE LIFESTYLE” - Susan Landsman

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Greenbrook’s Bethany and Nathan Carr are opening Ivybrook Academy after seeing the impact a Montessori school can have on their children: Austin, 14; Eli 5; Evan, 8; and Ethan, 7.

ABOUT BETHANY CARR Residence: Greenbrook Family: Husband, Nathan, and boys Austin, Evan, Ethan and Eli Previous occupation: Certified public accountant New title: Owner and director of admissions at Ivybrook Academy Favorite subject in school: Math Favorite animal: The family cats, Lotus and Blair Dream job: Marine biologist Fun fact: Carr started out as a music major in college and had threequarters of a piano performance degree before deciding to change majors.

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and yet they’re learning the skills they need at the same time.”

The Reggio Emilia approach focuses on children being active participants in their growth and developmental process. Carr said the approach is hands-on and collaborative.

The classrooms won’t look like typical classrooms either, Carr said.

Classrooms can often have bright primary colors to try to provide a fun, welcoming environment, but Carr said that environment can sometimes be too stimulating for children. So, at Ivybrook Academy, the classrooms will have muted color schemes with natural materials to bring the outside world inside.

“It’s a much-calmer environment that allows the children to cut out the excess noise and the excess stimulation and settle in and learn,” Carr said.

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“Soulful Strings: An Evening of Harp Music”

Tuesday, June 7 @ 8pm Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Downtown Sarasota) Award-winning harpist Ashley Jackson, praised by Musical America for her “soulful” and “eloquent” playing, will present a concert featuring works from across her extensive repertoire.

Made possible by the Ruby E. Crosby Alumni Music Initiative at the Hermitage

“Visual Art: New Ways of Seeing” Friday, June 17 @ 6:30pm Hermitage Beach (Manasota Key)

Acclaimed visual artists Aram Han Sifuentes and Amanda Williams will discuss their creative process and share examples of their work. At the center of both of their practices is the mission to change the way we see the world around us and forge new communities in shared spaces.

Junior Dylan Jackson said receiving certifications through the Unmanned Safety Institute will open doors to various career opportunities.

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to use the curriculum.

Next school year, students who passed the Drone Safety Level 1 course will move onto the second course, which focuses on piloting drones.

Upon completion of the Unmanned Safety Institution’s program, students can fly drones commercially.

Dylan Jackson, a junior who passed the course this past semester, said having the certifications from the Unmanned Safety Institute will open doors to various career opportunities that involve drones.

“There’s a lot of potential for drone usage,” Jackson said.

Potential jobs using drones could include real estate photography, construction, video photography and digital photography.

Patula said the Unmanned Safety Institution has a portal in which companies can seek applicants who have received their certifications.

Sophomore Kyler Wade said his favorite part of the semester was when the class spent time making videos using drones.

“It was cool because me and my partner (sophomore Jordan Janeck) got to come up with ideas,” Wade said. “It was like what you’d actually see in a movie theater or in a professional video.”

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Austin Bankuty received a drone when he was 10 years old, and he spent lots of time flying it.

But he didn’t have the training or knowledge to do anything with the drone other than fly it straight, so eventually he put it away.

Now Bankuty, a sophomore at Braden River High School, has passed the Unmanned Safety Institute’s Drone Safety Level 1 course, so flying a drone is a lot more interesting and fun. Bankuty knows how to safely and successfully operate a drone, including more difficult exercises like flying a figure eight or taking videos with it.

Bankuty and 15 other Braden River High students passed the safety course, which brings them one step closer to being able to fly drones commercially.

Mark Patula, an engineering and robotics teacher at Braden River, said the school’s drone program was able to take off this year after struggling from its inception three years ago. Patula said the curriculum was too difficult for students who were beginners, so they changed it.

Then the pandemic hit, and the school couldn’t offer the drone course at all.

This school year, after students who were interested practiced on their own, Patula helped them through the course, which taught all the safety rules and regulations. “(The class) gives them another new opportunity to do something they could possibly do in the industry or in their future careers,” he said.

Patula said Braden River High School is the only school in the School District of Manatee County providing students the opportunity

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JUNE 2, 2022

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Photos by Spencer Fordin

Above: The team behind The Reserve Retreat, owner Jessica Simmons, General Manager Sarah Edwards and chef Richard Smith, are excited to welcome patrons to Savor.

Below: Reserve Retreat’s Ringling Salad

For two weeks, dozens of local restaurants will be putting their best meals forward at fixed prices.

SPENCER FORDIN A+E EDITOR

Y

ou might have seen the quaint, 100-yearold cottages resting on the east side of Tamiami Trail, just beckoning you in for a bite to eat or a glass of wine. And now you’ve got the perfect reason to make a reservation.

The Reserve Retreat, housed in two buildings from the old Ringling Estate, is one of dozens of restaurants taking part in Savor Sarasota, a two-week extravaganza that takes local restaurants and puts them in the forefront of the consciousness of the local consumer.

Savor, which runs from June 1 to June 14, will give restaurant customers a chance to sample a prix-fixe, multicourse menu for lunch and dinner at affordable prices. Participating Lakewood Ranch area restaurants are The Bistro at the Concession and Libby’s.

Lunch at any of the participating restaurants will cost $20, and dinner will run $35.

“It’s just as much for the locals as it is for the visitors,” says Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County. “There’s that chance to try restaurants you really haven’t gone out to try in the last couple years.

It’s important for us because if locals know more about our restaurants, when they bump into a visitor, they’re able to give good recommendations.”

And it’s equally important for the restaurant community to get their names in circulation.

For the Reserve folks, it’s a chance to introduce themselves to the public in a new capacity. Jessica Simmons, owner of the Reserve, says the last couple years have been a time of reinvention. The eatery opened in 2017 as more of a boutique hotel with a coffee and wine bar. The hotel is still part of the business, but in February 2020, Simmons hired chef Richard Smith, who had worked in Sarasota restaurants like Quay and the Bayou Tavern.

Smith helped design a new menu, and the restaurant did well upon opening. But then came COVID, and the Reserve had to figure out how to get customers through the door. Simmons and General Manager Sarah Edwards had to temporarily shelve the reinvented menu and do whatever they could to stay afloat during the pandemic.

“The team was amazing,” says Simmons. “We didn’t close; we were able to do barbecue and delivery. Customers and people in the neighborhood were so supportive. They kept calling.

“That’s really when we learned that the brand we have here at the Reserve is higher quality. Instead of having a lot of people and volume going through, we learned that it’s better to have beautiful food and a much-smaller menu. It really handed us an opportunity to figure out what would work and what could be special to make people want to come here.”

Smith, born and raised in Sarasota, operates a oneman kitchen and makes everything at the restaurant from scratch.

Simmons says the interior of the Reserve is meant to evoke a living room complete with a bookshelf, and she wants customers to get comfortable while they wait for Smith’s creations to come out of the kitchen.

“We had been on Savor a while ago, but it was with a much smaller lunch menu,” says Simmons. “Now we have the chef, and we can be proud of every meal that comes out the door. Savor has always been terrific SEE FEAST, PAGE 14

Above: Tripeltail Dinner Right: The Reserve Gazpacho

The Reserve’s Asian Delight

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Feast FROM PAGE 13

to the community. I’ve been a part of the community for many years, and as a consumer, I love when Savor comes out. I go to all the restaurants in town. When I saw the opportunity, I said, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s showcase what we can do.’”

Smith’s Savor dinner menu has plenty of options for its hungry guests. Visitors can choose between the Ringling Salad, Pesto Pasta with Chicken, the Asian Delight or the Chicken Marsala as their main courses; Smith says that the Ringling Salad is a classic, with mixed greens topped with candied walnuts, bacon, strawberries and blue cheese.

But his Asian Delight is something that comes straight out of his own mind. It’s a choice of blackened salmon or seared tuna served with Asian veggies and fried rice.

“I tweaked it here and there with spices to give it that Asian flair,” says Smith. “I enjoy garnishing my plates.

That’s always going to be a highlight of my dishes. With the salmon, you don’t want to overcook it and dry it out. It’s probably one of the easier fish to cook. You can get away with the cooking time on it if you’re not a skilled cooker. Just a little spice; it absorbs spice. Salmon is a great dish no matter what you’re doing with it.”

Another newcomer to the Savor game is Tripletail Seafood and Spirits, an offering from the team that brought you the Gecko’s Grill & Pub franchise. Tripletail opened in February 2021, so it didn’t have an opportunity to participate last year.

Executive chef Trae Peavey, who worked as a kitchen manager at Gecko’s for 10 years, has been presiding over the development of Tripletail. He says much of the menu is an elevated take on its sister restaurant, Dry Dock, and the restaurant is housed in the original location of Gecko’s at The Landings Plaza.

“It’s really fun to see people that have been to Gecko’s come here,” he says. “They walk in for the first time and see the change, and you can see their eyes light up at how different it is.”

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IF YOU GO

When: From June 1 to June 14 Where: Restaurants all over Sarasota County Info: VisitSarasota.com/savorsarasota/restaurants

Peavey, who has been working in kitchens since he was 16 years old, says the restaurant got its name from one of the area’s signature offerings.

The Atlantic tripletail is a fish known to local fisherman as one of the more plentiful and tasty in the Sarasota waters.

All of Tripletail’s fish come from Lockhart Seafood in Tarpon Springs, and Peavey says his servers are quizzed on how many tails the tripletail actually has.

It’s a trick question: The fish has only one tail, but it has two fins that appear to be tails.

“They don’t congregate like tuna or snapper would,” says Peavey of the top-feeding fish. “You can’t just go to a hole and pull out a bunch of tri-

pletail. People often overlook them because it looks like a plastic bag.

They like to hang out around buoys and crap traps; crab season is the heavier season for tripletail because there are crab traps everywhere.”

The tripletail dinner, of course, is one of the signature offerings on the restaurant’s menu.

Peavey also added a seafood pasta, chicken marsala, bourbon-glazed salmon and coconut shrimp dinner.

The shrimp, he says, comes with a pina colada sauce so good that he’s seen bar patrons ask for extra sauce and then tell the bartender to make it into a drink.

But it’s the tripletail, the fish that lent its name to the restaurant, that stands out. Peavey says the dish by itself represents 12% of his restaurant’s sales, which makes it a perfect thing to put on the menu and attract new customers.

“We put it over our yellow rice,” says Peavey. “It has a lot of umami, that savory, slightly sweet and slightly salty flavor. It’s a turmeric yellow rice, not saffron. The tripletail gets a light coating of flour, pan

seared. Then it goes on top of the rice, and it gets a lemon beurreblanc on top. We use a citrus syrup; it has lemon juice, orange juice and pineapple juice. Then we reduce that with sugar and white wine. We take that, mix it with heavy cream and add butter to it.”

Haley, who has seen Savor grow and mature over the years, says that this year is special because it marks a return to full capacity.

In 2020, Savor was switched lastminute to carry-out only, and last year it was a blend of sitting down and taking food to go. This year, she hopes that restaurants return to full dining rooms at a time of year that used to be pretty barren.

Haley says that the best part of restaurant week is trying new dishes and new restaurants, and she revels in hearing positive feedback.

“My favorite was a couple probably 10 years ago who emailed us,” she says. “They said they think of this as being on Cruise Ship Sarasota, and they tried a different one every night.

They loved it and looked forward to it every year, and I love that image.”

Chef Trae Peavey of Tripletail.

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Connie Schindewolf is excited to be participating in Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festival.

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IF YOU GO

TEN-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL When: 7:30 p.m. June 9-11; 2 p.m. June 12 Where: Jane B. Cook Theatre, 5555 Tamiami Trail Tickets: $28 Info: TheatreOdyssey.org

play, and how is it different from a full-length work? Schindewolf has had lots of time to think about the complexities of playwriting.

“A 10-minute play can be a germ for something bigger, but usually not a full length,” she says. “I have expanded 10 minutes into a one-act play, and I have changed one-acts into 10 minutes. The full-length plays that I write, it’s a difference of having much more depth to the characters and more subplots that have to be worked out. But there’s certainly a comparison: A 10-minute play has a beginning, middle and an end, and so does a full-length play. They both have to have a main character who is facing a main conflict.”

Schindewolf’s latest play, “Ancestry,” is based on her daughter’s reallife decision to take a genetics test.

The play is a comedy, she says, but she doesn’t want to give away too much of the plot.

“My brain just kept working about what her results were going to be,” she says. “My poor daughter, who goes to these plays and sees them.

She knows that most of it isn’t true, but that I got the idea from something she’s been through.”

Now that she’s no longer teaching, does Schindewolf ever hear from her students? Of course she does.

In fact, she had one student resurface on an online group called The Playwright’s Marketing Binge.

“A student came back, and I recognized his name,” she says. “He says, ‘I don’t think you’re going to remember me, but I was one of your drama students, and I gave you a hard time.

But I just want you to know you were influential to me, and I’m in New York trying to make it as an actor and playwright.’

“It kind of blew me away. He admitted it, but he must not have been too bad. I remembered him, but I didn’t remember him as being particularly difficult in class.”

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onnie Schindewolf isn’t about to take the same advice she gave her students.

A drama teacher for 25 years and now a Bradenton resident, Schindewolf has enjoyed a productive second act as a playwright and come to the conclusion that a lot of writing advice is bad advice.

The dramatist has written more than 50 10-minute plays and eight full-length dramas over the past 15 years and owes her transformation in part to a local organization.

Schindewolf says she drew strength and confidence from participating in Theatre Odyssey’s TenMinute Play Festival, which will celebrate its 17th iteration next week.

“They did my first performance of a 10-minute play in 2007,” says Schindewolf. “That really gave me the courage to send my work out. So, I sent started sending my work out and had quite a bit of success, mostly with 10-minute plays.”

The playwright says that she’s had 10-minute plays produced in 26 states, and her work has been performed in such far-flung places as London, Dubai and Australia.

The strange part, she says, is she could never find the time to write as a drama teacher in St. Louis.

“Teachers had summers off, and most of the summer I would spend reading scripts looking for something to direct or looking for something for my students to direct,” she says. “I read so many plays where I thought, ‘Wow, some of this is just junk. I can write better than this.’

It was a goal of mine for a long time before I started. And when I look back, I think, ‘You know what? If I’d have wanted to do it that bad, I should’ve just made the time.’”

Schindewolf’s latest play, “Ancestry,” is one of eight plays that will be mounted by Theatre Odyssey’s TenMinute Play Festival, and she’s won best play on two occasions at the festival. When she looks back on the things she taught her students, she’s not sure there’s any utility in trying to impose structure on a dramatist.

“I actually don’t teach any play writing, nor do I want to,” she says.

“I just feel like it’s not an art you can put rules to and ask people to follow.”

The Ten-Minute Play Festival is open to writers throughout Florida, but Theatre Odyssey works to mine local candidates. One of the writers lives in Lakeland, and two are transplants to Sarasota or Bradenton. Tom Aposporos, co-founder and director emeritus of Theatre Odyssey, says the quality of playwright seems to improve every year.

“We can see from the plays that we’re attracting very good playwrights,” he says. “We think that playwrights from all over the country must be bookmarking the Theatre Odyssey website. We’re getting plays submitted almost before we’re calling for plays publicly.”

The first festival was a singlenight event in 2006. Now it’s grown to the point that it takes four days, and the plays will be performed at the Jane B. Cook Theatre.

For Schindewolf, who has had 14 plays produced by Theatre Odyssey, it’s becoming old hat.

What makes a good 10-minute

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THIS WEEK THURSDAY

and they’ll be bringing their pop cover hits from the ’70s to today.

The streets will be lined with food vendors and beer trucks, and proceeds will benefit Friends of the East Manatee Library.

THAI RIVERA 7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd. $25 Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

He’s claiming superlatives for himself. Thai Rivera’s official website bills him as the “Absolute Best LGBTQ Comedian in the World,” and he’ll be gracing the McCurdy Comedy stage for six shows between Thursday and Sunday. Rivera has honed his act in front of hostile audiences, and he’s made people laugh in Australia, Singapore, China and beyond.

DIEGO FIGUEIREDO 8 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court Tickets $20 members, $22 nonmembers Visit WSLR.org/fogartyville.

This man plays guitar so well that he inspires other guitarists. Figueiredo has been called one of the world’s greatest guitarists by jazz virtuoso George Benson, and he was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2020 for his arrangement, instrumentation and vocals on his track “Marry Me A Little.” Settle in and watch him work the frets at Fogartyville.

FRIDAY MUSIC ON MAIN 6 p.m. at Lakewood Ranch Main Street, 8100 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.

Free Visit LakewoodRanch.com It’s the first Friday of the month, which means Lakewood Ranch Main Street will be the scene of another block party. FUSE will be the featured act for Music on Main,

‘HOOD’ Asolo Repertory Theatre 8 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $33 Visit AsoloRep.org.

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The show’s official opening night is June 11; it will run until June 26.

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Artist Mohsen Azar will speak about his work with photography and metadata as exemplified in the Ringling exhibition entitled Metadata: Rethinking Photography from the 21st Century. Azar takes images and uploads and downloads them to Instagram thousands of times, and eventually, the images transform into unrecognizable abstractions.

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The Austin, Texas-based improv crew will also hold a few workshops while they’re in town for the FST audience, passing on pointers on succeeding at improvisation.

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Scott Moreau stars as The Man in Black in this musical tribute to the music of Johnny Cash. More than two dozen of Cash’s songs will be featured in this play, which was conceived by William Meade and created by Richard Maltby Jr.

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It’s a folk artist with incredible dexterity and skill at playing guitar.

Christie Lenée is known for her fingerstyle playing, and she was named the Acoustic Guitarist of the Year by Music Radar Magazine in the United Kingdom in 2019. She’s playing at Fogartyville for one night only, so here’s your chance to appreciate a virtuoso up close.

‘RING OF FIRE’ 2 and 7 p.m. at Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St. $46 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org

Don’t try this at home. Expert improv troupe Available Cupholders will come to Florida Studio Theatre and make up a Shakespeare play on the spot. This will be the first time the troupe has performed this show in public. They’ll improvise new characters, dialogue and plots, and the audience will tell the performers when to jump into and out of Shakespearean style.

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The Bishop’s Planetarium is hosting Laser Light Nights three nights a week all the way into mid-August, which means you’ll have a chance to see some of your favorite bands playing with a dazzling array of lights supporting the music. Led Zeppelin’s Friday night show is sold out on June 3, but there are still tickets for you to hear the guitar heroics of Van Halen with laser lights to boot.

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EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

DON’T MISS OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION: REGIONAL JURIED SHOW It’s the best of art from artists all around the Sarasota region. Join Art Center Sarasota for the opening night reception of their Regional Juried Show, entitled Faces and Places.

The Art Center regularly showcases local and regional artists in one of its four galleries; each of the artworks at the show is available for purchase, and while there is a theme to the show, the artists are free

Hermitage Fellow Ashley Jackson will display her dexterity on the harp at this outdoor Selby Gardens event.

Jackson’s performance is the first show in the new Ruby E. Crosby Alumni Music Series at the Hermitage. Jackson is prepping to release her first solo album, “Ennanga,” and she is committed to diversifying the classical musical canon.

JIM BREUER 7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd. $36 Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

Jim Breuer probably won’t tell you the story of Goat Boy, but he’ll launch new bits and dredge up old laughs from his decades in standup comedy. Breuer, a former regular on “Saturday Night Live,” is perhaps best known from his role in the film

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

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to choose their own subjects.

Amanda Cooper, chief curator at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, will select the winner of the regional juried show, and visitors to Art Center Sarasota will have an opportunity to visit the exhibit all the way until Aug. 6.

IF YOU GO When: 6-8 p.m. June 2 Where: Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: Free Info: ArtSarasota.org

“Half Baked,” but he’s been touring the country and making audiences crack up for decades.

WEDNESDAY ‘RABBIT HOLE’ 7:30 p.m. at The Players Centre for Performing Arts, Studio 1130, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail $26.50 Visit ThePlayers.org.

The Players is heading down the “Rabbit Hole.” This play, written by David Lindsay-Abaire, concerns a couple trying to recover from the tragic and unexpected death of their young son. What happens when grief manifests in very different ways?

Will it ruin a relationship or ultimately make it stronger? Runs through June 19.

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1

Jaden Blank, a Lakewood Ranch gymnast who trains at EVO Athletics, finished 10th in the all-around of the 2022 Junior Elite National Championships’ age 17 division.

The event was held May 14 in Mesa, Arizona. Blank’s finish qualified him for the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, to be held Aug. 18-21 in Tampa.

2

Former Lakewood Ranch High softball player Jillian Herbst, a freshman at Colgate, was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Northeast Region Second Team on May 19. Herbst, who hit .365 with nine doubles, four triples, two home runs and 20 RBIs, was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year on May 10.

3

Braden River High senior running back/defensive back Nehemiah Jenkins signed with Wilmington College (Ohio) on May 25.

4

Joan Campbell, Cindy Stelter, Barbara Romig and Carolyn Roberts (28) won the Nine Hole Ladies Golf Association Best Ball event held May 26 at University Park Country Club.

5

Vilas Rasmussen sank a hole-in-one May 18 on the No. 7 hole at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club’s Royal Lakes course. Rasmussen used a pitching wedge on the 138-yard hole.

MANY THRILLS IN 2021-22. PAGE 19

“There is just something about running with the pack that I enjoy.”

— Ellen Jaffe Jones SEE PAGE 20

TWICE AS NICE The Mustangs crush Lake Brantley 8-2 to build a softball dynasty.

RYAN KOHN SPORTS EDITOR

T

he Lakewood Ranch High softball team crushed the ball and an old adage on the way to its second-consecutive Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A state title.

“Usually good pitching shuts down good hitting, right?” Mustangs Head Coach T.J. Goelz said. “But we are so deep hitting-wise now, it doesn’t matter. We have a lot of kids who live for the (big) moment.”

Just like in 2021, the Mustangs dominated the big moment with offense, bludgeoning their opponents with an attack dangerous enough to rattle the sharpest of pitchers. Lakewood Ranch (30-2) capped its season with an 8-2 win over Lake Brantley May 28 at Legends Way Ball Fields in Clermont.

Over the last four years, the team’s record is 98-5.

Relying on its offense is an approach that has worked since the team had its 2018 and 2019 seasons end in state playoff shutout losses, first a 1-0 decision to Oakleaf in the 2018 state semifinals, then a 3-0 defeat to Winter Springs in the 2019 state championship game.

“Ever since then, we have put a premium on getting our bats potent,” Goelz said.

The 2021 team cruised to the championship but arguably didn’t face a pitcher like Lake Brantley senior Hannah Marien, who led the Patriots (25-5) to 11-0 and 5-3 wins over Lakewood Ranch in March.

Marien had pitched 10 scoreless innings in handing the Mustangs their only two losses of the season and entered the state title game with a 0.14 season ERA. Goelz, usually the epitome of confidence, was a bit nervous going into the title game because of those regular season games.

But he also insisted the Mustangs were on a tear and a much better team than the Patriots faced in March.

Still, Goelz took time to admire the scoreboard after the Mustangs posted their second-consecutive state title. Eight runs.

“I kind of want to enjoy this one,” Goelz said, shaking his head. “I didn’t know what to expect. I really didn’t. That was awesome.”

Goelz was right, though. The Mustangs were a different team.

Lakewood Ranch knocked Marien around for all eight runs in five innings. Of the Mustangs’ 10 hits, six went for extra bases. The Mustangs were led by senior Grace Hogie, who hit two triples, and junior Addyson Bruneman, who hit a triple and a double and collected three RBIs. “We’ve practiced hitting so much lately,” Bruneman said. “This weekend my swing just felt good, smooth.

I went into this game trying to swing

Photos by Ryan Kohn

The Mustangs pile on pitcher Ella Dodge (facing the camera) after defeating Lake Brantley High 8-2 to win their second-straight Class 7A state championship.

Lakewood Ranch High softball Head Coach T.J. Goelz holds up the team’s Class 7A state championship trophy.

hard and not focus too much on what pitch I thought was coming. I was attacking the pitch as it came.”

The Mustangs scored all of their runs after the third inning. Lakewood Ranch sophomore pitcher Ella Dodge kept the Mustangs in the game while the team’s offense warmed up. Dodge pitched a complete game and allowed two runs on five hits and four walks.

She also recorded the final out of the game in unique fashion. With Lake Brantley freshman Jaiden Griffith on second base, Dodge faked a pickoff throw to second. The rest

of the Mustangs acted as though the ball went past shortstop Bruneman and into the outfield. Griffith bought it and broke for third base; Dodge easily chased her down and tagged her out.

The celebration was on, with Dodge leaping for joy as the rest of her teammates ran to pile on her.

“They got two runs in the fourth inning, and I was just like, ‘whatever,’” Dodge said. “Obviously you don’t want that to happen, but there was no doubt in my mind that our bats were going to come alive because they always do. Then we got five runs (in the bottom of the fourth).”

Mustangs senior Sydney McCray said there was no secret to beating Lake Brantley and scoring off Marien. She said the Mustangs simply played better. It was all in the preparation.

However, the Mustangs also were patient, more willing to wait for the perfect pitch to hit against Marien, who was ahead in the counts the first two games. That patience fit with what McCray said she will remember most about her time with the program. It’s not just about on-field results with Goelz and company, she said. It is about the process. It is about class and composure, about doing things the right way and being the best person you can be.

“The environment that Coach T.J. (Goelz) provides, it dictates people’s love for the game,” McCray said.

The Lakewood Ranch High softball team defeated Lake Brantley High 8-2 on May 28 in Clermont to win the 7A state title.

The program has now won back-to-back championships.

THIRD TIME A CHARM Can the Lakewood Ranch High softball team win a thirdconsecutive state title in 2023?

Head Coach T.J. Goelz is not making any predictions, but he’s not ruling it out, either.

“That’s always the plan,” Goelz said. “We lose six seniors, five who have been on the field the entire time, but we have some kids who have been patient and waiting for their opportunity. So, we will enjoy this, and then we will start thinking about next fall and the preparation it will take to keep this thing going.”

Lakewood Ranch is losing key contributors in outfielder Sydney McCray (.446 average, two home runs, 18 RBIs), catcher Grace Hogie (.393 average, six home runs, 36 RBIs), outfielder Ella Coiner (.442 average, two home runs, 25 RBIs), second baseman Kelsey Vogel (.385 average, 34 RBIs), first baseman Taylor Shepherd (.385 average, two home runs, 28 RBIs), as well as catcher/outfielder Jayla Daoust, who was used mainly as a pinch hitter, hitting .500 with five RBIs. The departures might give young players like sophomore Grace ShawRockey higher spots in the lineup.

Shaw-Rockey is the No. 70 outfielder nationally as ranked

by Extra Innings. She hit .348 with 20 RBIs from the bottom half of the order in 2022.

With another year of experience and a move up in the order, Shaw-Rockey could have a big 2023.

The Mustangs will also return University of Florida commit Cassidy McLellan, a junior outfielder who hit .563 with 37 RBIs; sophomore pitcher Ella Dodge, who set a program record with 25 wins; junior shortstop Addyson Bruneman, who hit .373 on the season and went 5-6 with four RBIs in the state tournament; and junior third baseman Amanda Lee, who hit .356 with 13 RBIs.

YourObserver.com

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

PROSE AND KOHN

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

19

RYAN KOHN

Local teams produce moments to remember S

o what do we do now?

I always consider that thought at this time of year because the school sports season is over.

With the Lakewood Ranch High softball team finishing its season May 28 with a state championship, that’s it.

When I’m not visiting an area school at 7 p.m. on a Friday night, it feels wrong.

Like any past season, I do have some personal favorite moments from the just-completed school year. These often are not championships or important wins, though they could be. They are a collection of moments that stood out to me for one reason or another.

Let’s start with Braden River High football, which is always fun.

Head Coach Curt Bradley and his staff always get maximum effort out of their players, which makes games a joy to cover, and it was more of the same this year. After sophomore quarterback Nick Trier went down with a leg injury, senior wide receiver Bryan Kearse stepped into his role, a role he had not undertaken since middle school.

The Pirates made it work, like they always do. Braden River went 9-2 in 2021, including a road playoff win over Countryside High, 30-16.

Kearse finished the year with 651 passing yards, a 57.1 completion percentage and 11 touchdown passes to just one interception.

It was not just Kearse who filled a void. Multiple Pirates starters went down with injuries, and their teammates rose to the occasion, like sophomore running back Trayvon Pinder, who finished with 1,190 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns when pushed into action at running back. Instilling that type of resiliency can be special to watch.

Speaking of injuries, Lakewood Ranch High senior wrestler Ran-

File photos

Left: Cardinal Mooney High junior Olivia Davis and the Cougars girls basketball team were exciting to watch in 2022, as they finished second in the state in the 3A division.

Above: Lakewood Ranch senior Ranson Coons looks to Coach Pat Ancil for advice during the FHSAA state tournament. Coons took third place in the Class 3A 182-pound division despite a shoulder injury.

son Coons, who competed at 182 pounds, fought through an injury to the sternoclavicular joint in his left shoulder to take a bronze medal at the Florida High School Athletic Association Class state tournament in March. The injury left Coons unable to lift his left arm above his shoulder, yet he managed to win the consolation bracket, finishing his high school career with an 18-2 win over Newsome’s Peyton Turner, the wrestler who injured Coons’ shoulder in a district tournament match two weeks earlier. Coons finished the year with a 54-4 record.

It’s difficult enough to medal at states while fully healthy. Coons doing it while fighting through a

substantial amount of pain is one of the more-impressive feats I have seen. Coons might have wished for a gold medal, but I bet bronze felt quite good after some reflection.

Coons gave 100% of his heart to wrestling and was rewarded for it.

It was fun to learn about all of the mental health initiatives The Out-of-Door Academy girls lacrosse team implemented this season, like “crocodile breathing” and yoga sessions. The players said it helped them, and the team’s on-field results backed up that assertion. ODA went 15-2 in 2022, and only one of those losses was to a team from Florida. Unfortunately, that was a 7-6 home loss to Saint

Stephen’s Episcopal in the FHSAA Class 1A regional semifinals.

The Thunder will be back, though. ODA does lose two of its top seniors, Dani Taraska (57 goals) and Megan Dowdell (52 goals), but returns sophomores Aubrey Robbins (56 goals) and Emma Arrigo (46 goals), as well as junior goaltender Emma Bonacuse. I’m excited to see where the team’s positive approach takes it next year.

Watching the Cardinal Mooney girls basketball team, which features a number of players from the Lakewood Ranch area, including leading scorers Olivia Davis (16.2 points per game), Kali Barrett (11.7) and Jordyn Byrd (9.3), come within a few

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buckets of a state title for the second year in a row was enthralling. The program’s games have an electric atmosphere to them and the girls care so much about the game and one another. They play with tenacity.

It makes for a joy to watch, even when — as in this year’s Class 3A championship game — it ends in Mooney heartbreak. The Cougars lost 44-41 to Westminster Academy.

Davis, Barrett and Byrd return, meaning Mooney will have a shot at another run in 2023 if no one transfers and they stay healthy. I hope the energy of their games sticks around, too.

All of the above things were impressive, but sometimes the best sports moments are not about sports at all.

Getting to write about what the Lakewood Ranch High baseball team did for Lakewood Ranch resident Chris Olander, a parent of someone on an opposing team, as she dealt with the fallout of breast cancer treatments was inspiring.

The idea was kickstarted by senior Ryan Combs and his mother, Angela Combs, but all of the Mustangs deserve applause for surprising Olander with flowers handdelivered to her front door. You can tell from the photos how much the gesture meant to her.

There has been a lot of bad national news as of late. It’s nice that a local sports story could make us smile.

Ryan Kohn is the sports editor for the East County Observer. Contact him at RKohn@ YourObserver.com.

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The adrenaline rush. There is just something about running with the pack that I enjoy. There are great community events and 5Ks in the area.

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I always say my favorite event is the one with the least people competing in it. It gives you the best chance to do well. Usually that is the 1,500-meter run, but this year it was the 800-meter run.

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Ellen Jaffe Jones

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If you would like to make a recommendation for the East County Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Ryan Kohn at RKohn@ YourObserver.com.

What is your favorite memory?

I always love running in the Skyway 10K over the bridge. It is exhilarating.

What are your goals?

I am on the way to 300 races of a 5K distance or longer. I am at 254 right now. I want to hit 300. I am competing in a race basically every weekend during running season. I want to blow up the myth that vegans are weak and don’t have the stamina to run this much.

What is your favorite food?

That is like asking me to pick a favorite child. I make a great chocolate mousse with silken tofu. You cannot tell the difference between it and a heavy cream mousse.

What is the best advice you have received?

Try not to have any regrets. That is easier to say than to do, but I do think people should try.

Finish this sentence: Ellen Jaffe Jones is ...” … high-stamina.

Classifieds 33 Games 28 Real Estate 25 Weather 28

JUNE 2, 2022

YOUR NEIGHBORS RIVER STRAND

MODELS SPARKLE

— IAN SWABY

Above: Attendees applayd the outfits as the models make their way down the runway.

Right: Betsy Chartier and Judy Woods of Stonybrook were invited to the event by River Strand’s Eloise Eckler.

Photos by Ian Swaby

Event coordinator Eloise Eckler joins models (clockwise from Eckler) Ellen Hunt, Katheen Link, Joan Clowser, Anastasia Tess Magoulas, Patricia Harper, Nancy Morgan and Christine Nichols-Brown.

Above: Eloise Eckler is the organizer of the fashion show, and Jodi Frauhiger is general manager of Foxy Lady.

Left: Anastasia Tess Magoulas reacts to the crowd as she shows off her necklace and outfit.

Nancy Morgan finishes her turn on the runway.

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lthough many of the participants at the Sparkle on the Runway fashion show May 24 at the River Strand Golf and Country Club had never worked as models, their many friends in the neighborhood made the job easier.

When River Strand’s Joan Clowser originally was asked to be a model, she said no. Then she thought about all her friends and figured it would be fun.

“And then, some of the money goes to the Manatee County Food Bank,” she said.

Fellow River Strand resident Patricia Harper agreed that it would be fun with all her friends in the audience.

“This is a wonderful event,” she said. “Eloise Eckler does a spectacular job, and it’s so nice to see everybody dressed and enjoying themselves.”

River Strand’s Eckler recruits other community members to help her put on the event, which has no club sponsoring it, just local residents who want to make a difference.

The event was the third fashion show by the residents but the first since 2019. It was the second to feature Foxy Lady clothes, with a percentage of the proceeds going to Manatee County Food Bank. In addition to residents of River Strand, the audience included residents of neighboring Stoneybrook.

Foxy Lady General Manager Jodi Frauhinger matched the models with clothes that fit their style.

Eckler said the bottom line was that the food bank could feed more people because of the effort.

“Our community is very giving,” she said. “We all come together, as you can see.”

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

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Lower carbon footprint; how cool is that?

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MANAGING EDITOR

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t can be hard to put a price on a dream, unless you are paying for rent and the materials to make one come true.

Lakewood Ranch’s Eric Coffin said he can almost touch his dream now that he has been building a 3-ton, natural gas-driven air-conditioner for a residential application called Quad-Gen. He said the system, being built at his office/shop on Lena Road, will reduce by 50% the carbon footprint of current electrical air conditioners and can be operated at a quarter of the cost.

Coffin is a professional engineer, holds a worldwide license as a certified energy manager and is president of his company, Green Energy Engineering.

His office is filled with research for the ages. He is surrounded by more than 2,000 books, notebooks and papers on energy. He has two bankers boxes filled with more than 350 U.S. patents that deal with energy, engines, air-conditioning and heat transfer. The number of charts he has is off the chart.

In the back of his shop is a prototype that can demonstrate the QuadGen concept. It is a mix of prevailing engineering, used parts and Coffin’s ingenuity. Those who want to check out his theories can gather all the information they need on site.

Unfortunately, Coffin said he needs help to take his endeavor to the finish line. That means investment capital.

“I know the capital is out there because reading the Wall Street Journal for over 30 years, I see all these stories about money, billions, looking for an investment vehicle.

My problem is, I run with engineering birds, and investors run with investor birds. I just need the investor birds or donors to visit my nest and take a look at this prototype and see for themselves how this can help

ERIC COFFIN Lives: Lakewood Ranch What: Building a prototype air-conditioning system that will reduce the carbon footprint from electric air conditioners currently in use by 50% and substantially cut the energy cost. The invention, a 3-ton, natural gas-driven air-conditioner for residential application, is called Quad-Gen His company: Green Energy Engineering Where: His shop is located in Unit 103, 5002 Lena Road, Bradenton Phone: 727-742-7276 Did you know?: Eric Coffin was the speaker of note at the 42nd annual Clearwater Conference in 2018 About Eric: Graduated from the University of South Florida in 1978 with a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering. He has specialized in thermodynamic fluids and process control and has experience in the electric utility, large industrial and heavy commercial markets. His company, Green Energy Engineering, has specialized in energy and financial studies for large energy consuming plants around the world.

More information: Eric Coffin can be contacted at EricCoffinEngineer@gmail.com

save the planet.”

Coffin said it will take about $4.4 million to finish the prototype and get the company running.

He said concepts of his invention are relatively simple but have been ignored by current residential airconditioning companies. His inven-

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Lakewood Ranch’s Eric Coffin says his Quad-Gen system can reduce the carbon footprint made by current air-conditioners by 50%.

at all the 20-ton dump trucks driving around Lakewood Ranch. If my Quad-Gen invention were installed in just 10% of existing homes in Florida, we could reduce our carbon footprint by 25 billion pounds per year. That is enough to fill 625,000 dump trucks. I think it would be a great epitaph for my tombstone: ‘He filled dump trucks with carbon dioxide to save the planet.’”

It’s his way of giving back.

“I have been thinking of this concept of a residential Quad-Gen machine for 25 years, and in my ‘retirement’ decided to put form to function.”

Coffin said he can build a system that will run for 10,000 hours before it needs maintenance, and his blueprint for a better air-conditioning system for home use breaks the mold of the typical system purchased in Florida.

Those who want to use his system would be making monthly payments to his company as opposed to buying a system outright. He said the monthly payments compare favorably with the price of buying a unit and paying for annual maintenance.

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tion is an adaption of Thermo King equipment used for transport refrigeration. The “quad-generation” system would provide four useful energy streams: air-conditioning, dehumidification, potable hot water and refrigerator assist.

In an address to the 42nd annual Clearwater Conference in 2018, Coffin wrote an apt description on “the fifth fuel,” or energy efficiency.

“Consider the traveling salesman who puts 300 miles on his car each week and buys $4 per gallon gasoline,” he wrote. “By trading in that 13 miles-per-gallon car for a new 35-miles-per-gallon car, he would save over $3,000 per year. Air-conditioners have a miles-per-gallon, and it is called the energy efficiency ratio and is defined as BTU per hour of enjoyed cooling divided by watts of electricity painfully purchased at an outside temperature of 95 degrees.

The higher the EER the better.”

His papers can be read at GEEINTL.com.

Obviously passionate about his field, Coffin said falling asleep on his desk is a common occurrence.

Much of that passion is related to helping the environment.

“People talk about climate change, but I want to do something tangible to reduce our carbon footprint. In 2018, according to the World Data Atlas, Florida emitted 510 billion pounds of CO2. To put this in perspective, look

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

BRADENTON 20706 79th Avenue E 4 Beds 4/1 Baths 5,077 Sq. Ft. Chris Baylis 941-735-4713 A4531620 $3,650,000

MYAKKA CITY 25008 67th Avenue E 4 Beds 3/1 Baths 3,510 Sq. Ft. Chris Baylis 941-735-4713 A4534475 $1,700,000

UNIVERSITY PARK 8171 Abingdon Court 2 Beds 2/2 Baths 2,609 Sq. Ft. Rachel Benderson 941-376-0218 A4525357 $1,650,000

LAKEWOOD RANCH 7410 Mizner Reserve Court 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 3,648 Sq. Ft. Tina Ciaccio 941-685-8420 A4534317 $1,590,000

BRADENTON 13707 Palazzo Terrace 4 Beds 3/1 Baths 2,726 Sq. Ft. Stacy Haas 941-587-4359 A4535668 $1,575,000

BRADENTON 115 65th Street Court Nw 5 Beds 3 Baths 2,968 Sq. Ft. Patty Brooks 941-545-1194 A4534150 $1,500,000

PARRISH 16003 39th Glen E 4 Beds 3 Baths 3,225 Sq. Ft. Laura Navratil & Mary Pat Pihl 941-806-7436 A4532572 $1,295,000

BRADENTON 2112 51st Street W 4 Beds 3 Baths 3,805 Sq. Ft. Jodene Moneuse 941-302-4913 A4529879 $998,000

LAKEWOOD RANCH 7184 Whitemarsh Circle 3 Beds 3 Baths 2,544 Sq. Ft. Kati K Connell 314-616-1860 A4535544 $899,999

LAKEWOOD RANCH 10302 Tamo Shanter Place 3 Beds 3 Baths 2,412 Sq. Ft. Victoria Turner 662-614-2783 A4534997 $875,000

SARASOTA 1752 Sugarberry Trail 4 Beds 3 Baths 2,314 Sq. Ft. Drew Russell 941-993-3739 A4532704 $760,000

BRADENTON 2301 64th Street W 4 Beds 3/1 Baths 2,477 Sq. Ft. Fran DeDona & Pam Goodwin 941-812-5023 A4535719 $750,000

BRADENTON 13805 18th Place E 3 Beds 2/1 Baths 3,155 Sq. Ft. Nicole Ryskamp 941-807-1766 A4532960 $749,000

BRADENTON 3701 54th Drive W 101 3 Beds 3 Baths 1,439 Sq. Ft. Adam Cuffaro 941-812-0791 A4534190 $699,000

BRADENTON 15642 Sacile Lane 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,533 Sq. Ft. Barbara A Milian, PA 941-504-0660 A4535785 $629,000

LAKEWOOD RANCH 6113 35th Court E 4 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,697 Sq. Ft. Jefferson Payne 857-350-0089 A4533196 $600,000

BRADENTON 2525 Avolet Court 3 Beds 2/1 Baths 1,926 Sq. Ft. Carroll Couri 813-727-1630 A4532679 $599,999

BRADENTON 15737 High Bell Place 5 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,868 Sq. Ft. Stacy Hanan 941-266-0529 A4533236 $599,000

BRADENTON 11523 Rolling Green Drive 3 Beds 2/1 Baths 1,807 Sq. Ft. Sandi Dietrich 941-704-0697 A4531465 $550,000

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SARASOTA 4975 79th Avenue Drive E 3 Beds 2/1 Baths 1,910 Sq. Ft. Amy Carrington 941-720-2538 A4536369 $500,000

PALMETTO 130 Riviera Dunes Way 406 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,750 Sq. Ft. Gloria Totti-Cervoni 941-544-7746 A4536127 $495,000

LAKEWOOD RANCH 7187 Boca Grove Place 203 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,431 Sq. Ft. Douglas Parks 941-400-9087 A4534349 $380,000

BRADENTON 4115 53rd Street W 2 Beds 1 Baths 828 Sq. Ft. Deborah Nelson 941-266-5900 A4536416 $350,000

SARASOTA 5350 Hyland Hills Avenue 2513 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,324 Sq. Ft. Anja Deichmann 941-284-7987 A4530313 $311,000

TERRA CEIA 109 Michiana Drive 2 Beds 2/1 Baths 1,818 Sq. Ft. Debbie Vogler 941-705-3328 A4527498 $1,999,000

BRADENTON 575 Fore Drive 3 Beds 3 Baths 3,085 Sq. Ft. Sandi Dietrich & Denise Gagne 941-704-0697 A4535890 $1,980,570

LAKEWOOD RANCH 17012 Verona Place 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 2,629 Sq. Ft. Deborah Angelo O'Mara 941-730-0777 A4535097 $1,950,000

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EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

RESEARCH EDITOR

A

home in the Concession topped all transactions in this week’s real estate. Cynthia Hill, of Sarasota, sold her home at 20910 Parkstone Terrace to Jamie Worden, of Lakewood Ranch, for $4 million. Built in 2014, it has four bedrooms, fourand-a-half baths, a pool and 5,082 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.05 million in 2017.

MOORINGS AT HERITAGE HARBOUR

Dennis James Weinberger, of Alberta, Canada, sold his home at 8707 Rum Runner Place to Randy and Cynthia Mills, of Bradenton, for $1,995,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,815 square feet of living area.

It sold for $1.18 million in 2020.

HENLEY

Lynn Johnson, of Sarasota, sold her home at 7002 Lancaster Court to Yan and Rosemary Wang, of University Park, for $1,625,000. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,730 square feet of living area. It sold for $745,000 in 2007.

ESPLANADE

Benedikt Edmund Kalkert and RaeAnna Gail Kalkert sold their home at 4827 Cabreo Court to James Perry Croak and Marit Marie Croak, of Bradenton, for $1,544,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,008 square feet of living area.

It sold for $810,000 in 2019.

Robert and Ronda Luker, of Bradenton, sold their home at 4714 Cabreo Court to Barry Hess, of Pasadena Maryland, for $1.2 million. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, threeand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,898 square feet of living area. It sold for $670,600 in 2017.

RIVERWALK RIDGE

Timothy Pearson and Carlos Polo sold their home at 6910 Honeysuckle Trail to Mine Turhan and David William Gile, of Bradenton, for $1,199,000. Built in 2002, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,767 square feet of living area.

It sold for $485,000 in 2019.

GREENBROOK

Mark and Laura Horner, of Sarasota, sold their home at 13339 Swallowtail Drive to Justin and Lisa Berning, of Lakewood Ranch, for $1,159,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,381 square feet of living area.

It sold for $605,000 in 2018.

John and Karen Pruim, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 6470 Indigo Bunting Place to Sheena Jordan and Aaron Verschoyle Jordan, of Castroville, Texas, for $975,000.

Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,038 square feet of living area. It sold for $450,000 in 2013.

Paul and Sarah Alexander, of Bradenton, sold their home at 14107 Nighthawk Terrace to A.K. Gunnar Aberg and Laurie Aberg, of Sarasota, for $870,000. Built in 2003, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,012 square feet of living area. It sold for $439,000 in 2015.

Torin Wilding and Priscilla Seixas Brum Wilding, of Long Beach, California, sold their home at 6511 Blue Grosbeak Circle to Erick and Audrey Cole, of Lakewood Ranch, for $510,500. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,073 square feet of living area. It sold for $270,000 in 2020.

BRADEN RIVER LAKES

William and Brenda Flach, of Bradenton, sold their home at 4112 14th

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

MAY 16-20

Ave. E. to Adrian Alanis Arredondo and Desiree Michelle Alanis, of Bradenton, for $959,000. Built in 1992, it has four bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,268 square feet of living area. It sold for $195,000 in 1997.

COUNTRY CLUB

Stephen Satir, of Bradenton, sold his home at 7336 Riviera Cove to Steven and Dana Saraniero, of E. Setauket, New York, for $930,000.

Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,412 square feet of living area. It sold for $600,000 in 2006.

Claude and Alma Abshier, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, sold their home at 7732 US Open Loop to Michael Gautier, of Nokomis, for $660,000. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,455 square feet of living area. It sold for $459,900 in 2004.

Karen Gorden-Sluman and Wayne Sluman, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 8122 Spring Marsh Drive to Cristian Rodriguez and Alejandra Zaninovic, trustees, of University Park, for $895,000.

Built in 2002, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,996 square feet of living area. It sold for $305,000 in 2011.

INDIGO RIDGE AT UNIVERSITY PLACE

Marvin Mark Davidson, of Tarzana, California, sold their home at 7914 Indigo Ridge Terrace to Frederick Ryan Memmelaar and Nicolle Marie Memmelaar, of Bradenton, for $875,000. Built in 2003, it has four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,647 square feet of living area. It sold for $513,000 in 2007.

RIVERWALK RIDGE CYPRESS BANKS

Jay Heater

This Greenbrook home at 13339 Swallowtail Drive sold for $1,159,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,381 square feet of living area.

SAVANNA

Farooq Mohammed Safvi and Lubna Khan, of Aurora, Illinois, sold their home at 13717 Saw Palm Creek Trail to Erasmi Babatsia, of Plantation, for $810,000. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 3,067 square feet of living area. It sold for $440,000 in 2020.

Thomas and Liliana Parziale, of Parrish, sold their home at 14217 Flat Woods Terrace to Lewis Hendrickson and Lorna Brown-Hendrickson, of Bonney Lake, Washington, for $710,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,251 square feet of living area. It sold for $347,500 in 2019.

Kevin and Kristy Jewell, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their home at 12315 Greenbrier Way to Jeanne Diane Sizemore and Bradley Charles Sizemore, of Miamisburg, Ohio, for $865,000. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,485 square feet of living area. It sold for $360,500 in 2011.

MILL CREEK

Patty and Don Ingle, of Clarksville, Tennessee, sold their home at 14011 18th Place E. to Steven Craig Clarkson and Tessa Lynn Boissoin, of Bradenton, for $765,000. Built in 2004, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,662 square feet of living area. It sold for $551,500 in 2021.

EATON PLACE

John Montgomery Ruffner and Cynthia Jean Ruffner Beloff, trustees, of Clinton, Connecticut, sold the home at 7400 Eaton Court to SEE REAL ESTATE, PAGE 26

In with the new NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION

MALLORY PARK

Mark and Julia DeMartino, of Lakewood, Colorado, sold their home at 3359 Anchor Bay Trail to Shawn and Jennifer Warthling, of Lakewood Ranch, for $853,400. Built in 2020, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 2,859 square feet of living area. It sold for $550,000 in 2021.

Longboat Key

MOTE RANCH

Robert and Carol Macphee, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the home at 6739 Coyote Ridge Court to Kevin Walsh and Maryalice Walsh, trustees, of Bradenton, for $850,000.

Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,907 square feet of living area. It sold for $435,000 in 2014.

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Donna Fitzpatrick-Conrad and John Conrad, of University Park, sold their home at 6516 Copper Ridge Trail to Linda and David Evanoff, of Cleveland, Georgia, for $691,200.

Built in 2000, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,053 square feet of living area. It sold for $337,000 in 2004.

Downtown St. Petersburg

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GREYHAWK LANDING

Jewell Bednarz, of Venice, sold the home at 12114 Aster Ave. to Brian Edward White and Megan White, of Bradenton, for $830,000. Built in 2007, it has five bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,905 square feet of living area. It sold for $561,500 in 2007.

Downtown Sarasota

Justin and Jennifer Ready sold their home at 12582 Cara Cara Loop to Lee and Allison Pappas, of Bradenton, for $690,000. Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,854 square feet of living area. It sold for $490,000 in 2021.

Todd and Cara Laney, of Venice, sold their home at 12263 Lavender Loop to Jeffrey James Ivester, of Bradenton, for $673,500. Built in 2007, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,117 square feet of living area. It sold for $339,000 in 2014.

The Collection | 941.232.2868 | From the $2MM’s | Call for appointment. | thecollection1335.com

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373589-1

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

REAL ESTATE

Concession home tops sales at $4 million

|

MichaelSaunders.com/New-Homes | 844.591.4333 | Sarasota, Florida Prices as of February 2022.

Licensed Real Estate Broker

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

Real estate

ROSEDALE ADDITION

FROM PAGE 25

TCMAX LLC for $750,000. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, two baths and is 2,435 square feet.

SUMMERFIELD

Kenneth Madsen and Katherine Getzen, of Elizabeth, Colorado, sold their home at 11715 Soft Rush Terrace to Joshua and Jensine Fitzmorris, of Bradenton, for $730,000.

Built in 1999, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,587 square feet of living area. It sold for $355,000 in 2017.

Wednesday, June 8th 4:00-7:00 p.m.

PLEASE JOIN US TO CELEBRATE OUR

GRAND OPENING

CENTRAL PARK

Joshua and Denise DiGregorio, of New Port Richey, sold their home at 4918 Mission Park Lane to Stacy and Jose Ramirez, of Fulton, Maryland, for $700,000. Built in 2013, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,044 square feet of living area. It sold for $365,000 in 2019.

Enjoy Food, Fun, and Music!

To introduce ourselves to the area we’ve planned a delicious way to celebrate with a massive cookout-style picnic! Bring the entire family to enjoy our hospitality

Floyd and Alice Davis, of Auburn, Alabama, sold their home at 4613 Claremont Park Drive to Stephen Lawrence Dargan and Karen Thompson Dargan, of Lakewood Ranch, for $598,000. Built in 2015, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,844 square feet of living area. It sold for $333,000 in 2019.

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Thomas and Mary Lou Lefferson sold their home at 6409 Turners Gap Road to Randall and Glenda Watson, of Idaho Springs, Colorado, for $690,000. Built in 1995, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,887 square feet of living area. It sold for $75,000 in 1995.

RIVER CLUB SOUTH

Brock and Kay Renshaw, of Bradenton, sold their home at 9811 Royal Lytham Ave. to Norman Semerjian and Ruth Semerjian, trustees, of Sharon, Massachusetts, for $675,000. Built in 2003, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,982 square feet of living area. It sold for $335,000 in 2019.

4310 Solutions Lane, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34211

Michael and Hannah Hodgin, of Bradenton, sold their home at 10015 Marbella Drive to Gary and Susan Matter, of Ft. Myers, for $625,000.

Built in 2018, it has three bedrooms, three baths and is 1,840 square feet.

It sold for $334,600 in 2018.

PERIDIA

Michele Brennan and Mary Ann Sprinkle, of Miami, sold their home at 4989 Clubview Court E. to Barbara Ann Vinar, of Faribault, Minnesota, for $596,000. Built in 1988, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,217 square feet of living area.

It sold for $230,000 in 2018.

COPPERLEFE

Donald Bruce Tracy and Dana Ann Tracy, of Bradenton, sold their home at 621 Fire Bush Court to Cheryl Seneck, of Bradenton, for $575,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,006 square feet of living area.

INDIGO

Curtis and Anna Maria Gsell, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, sold their home at 2960 Sky Blue Cove to James and Susan Covino, of Bradenton, for $575,000. Built in 2021, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,617 square feet of living area. It sold for $374,100 in 2021.

Eric and Koleen Hoonhout, of Bradenton, sold their home at 12660 Coastal Breeze Way to Kathleen Grizzle, of Bradenton, for $560,000. Built in 2019, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,495 square feet of living area. It sold for $306,200 in 2020.

STONEYBROOK AT HERITAGE HARBOUR

Jack Petersen sold his home at 8972 Stone Harbour Loop to Mary Kay Ford, of Bradenton, for $550,000.

Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, two baths and is 2,000 square feet.

It sold for $294,500 in 2017.

ONLINE See more transactions at YourObserver.com

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Duracell is a registered trademark of Duracell U.S. Operations, Inc., used under license. All rights reserved. All registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Factory Showroom: 1847 61st St., Sarasota Near the corner of 301 & University Pkwy State License C-GC151684

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382708-1

26

PROOF O.K. BY:___________________________

O.K. WITH CORRECTIONS BY:________________________

YourObserver.com

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

BEST BET

THURSDAY, JUNE 2

CAREER FAIR Runs from 3-6 p.m. at Manatee Technical College, 6305 E. S.R. 70, Bradenton. Manatee Technical College and CareerSource Suncoast are hosting a career fair and open house on the MTC Main Campus. More than 100 companies will be represented. Instructors and students will showcase MTC programs with hands-on demonstrations. Financial aid officers and career counselors will be present. To register, go to CareerSourceSuncoast.com.

MONDAY, JUNE 6 TO FRIDAY, JUNE 10

KAMP KODIAK Runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at Bearadise Ranch Bear Preserve, 6908 245th St. E, Myakka City. Bearadise Ranch hosts Kamp Kodiak for children ages 7-11. Campers will enjoy bear education, crafts, outdoor activities and games and special speakers. The cost is $300 for the week or $75 per day.

For information, call 322-2462.

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

27

YOUR CALENDAR

COMMUNITY

|

SATURDAY, JUNE 4

SOCCER CAMP Begins at 7 a.m. at Premier Sports Campus, 5895 Post Blvd., Lakewood Ranch. The College Coaches Skills Camp is for high school soccer players who want to work on their skills directly with college coaches, who will provide immediate feedback.

Players can attend a morning session, an afternoon session or both, at varying registration costs. For more information or to register, visit CollegeSoccerProspects.com.

File photo

ZUMBA CLASS Begins at 10 a.m. at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota. The zumba class taught by instructor Yael Campbell meets at the base of the finish tower.

The workout, set to Latin music, combines all elements of fitness, including cardio, muscle conditioning, balance and flexibility. The class costs $5, due before the session begins. For more information visit NathanBendersonPark.org or call 358-7275.

MUSIC ON MAIN Runs from 6-9 p.m. at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. The monthly free concert series spotlights FUSE, which offers high energy pop and rock music as it plays hits from the 1970s to current. A DJ also will be playing as well. This month’s event benefits Friends of the Lakewood Ranch Library. For more information, go to MyLWR.com.

SUNDAY, JUNE 5

FARMERS MARKET Runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on

Lakefront Drive in Waterside Place at Lakewood Ranch. The Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch will run year- round every Sunday. Vendors will be offering seafood, eggs, meats, and dairy products, among other items. Other features are children’s activities and live music. For more information, go to MyLWR.com.

New Listing 7228 LISMORE COURT | LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB $985,000 | 3 BR, 2.5 BA, 2,642 SF

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 12

YOUTH ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS Begins at 8 a.m. at Nathan Benderson Park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, Sarasota. The annual Youth Rowing Championships regatta features more than 2,000 rowers racing for medals in 32 events, including rowers from local clubs like Sarasota Crew and Sarasota Scullers. Spectator ticket information will be available at a later date at USRowing.org.

For more information on the event, visit USRowing.org or NathanBendersonPark.org.

PAY LESS TO SELL YOUR HOME Only 2-4% Commission 941-718-1770 savewithjared.com

Under Contract 12334 THORNHILL COURT | LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB $843,000 | 3 BR, 2 BA, 2,598 SF

“Gloria is professional, knows her product. Wonderful to have in one’s company. We are extremely satisfied with the diligence she showed in finding the right home for us. Would recommend Gloria to anyone.” – Phillip H.

Providing concierge service and extensive knowledge of the Suncoast

Call me today for a complimentary consultation.

Gloria Bracciano Global Real Estate Advisor 941.229.4000 Gloria.Bracciano@PremierSIR.com

Sotheby’s International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission.

Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity. Property information herein is derived from various sources including, but not limited to, county records and multiple listing services, and may include approximations. All information is deemed accurate and neither suggests nor infers that Sotheby’s International Realty participated as either the listing or cooperating agent or broker in the sale or purchase of the properties depicted.

381627-1

PremierSothebysRealty.com

382390-1

382316-1

Jared Salzman REALTOR

28

WEATHER

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

|

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

FORECAST THURSDAY, JUNE 2 High: 91 Low: 71 Chance of rain: 24%

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 High: 88 Low: 72 Chance of rain: 63%

SUNRISE / SUNSET Sunrise Sunset Thursday, June 2

6:34a

8:20p

Friday, June 3

6:34a

8:21p

Saturday, June 4

6:34a

8:21p

Sunday, June 5

6:33a

8:22p

Monday, June 6

6:33a

8:22p

Tuesday, June 7

6:33a

8:22p

Wednesday, June 8

6:33a

8:23p

MOON PHASES

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 High: 89 Low: 73 Chance of rain: 65%

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 High: 91 Low: 73 Chance of rain: 24% Gordon Silver captured this dragonfly feeding in Del Webb of Lakewood Ranch.

June 14 Full

June 20 Last

June 28 New

July 6 First

RAINFALL Monday, May 23

0

Tuesday, May 24

0.43

Wednesday, May 25

0.01

Thursday, May 26

0.02

Friday, May 27

0

Saturday, May 28

0.64

Sunday, May 29

0.01

*Rainfall totals from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

Submit your photos at YourObserver.com/Weather. All submissions will be entered for the 2022-23 Weather and Nature photo contest. In February 2023, you will vote for your favorite photo, and the submission with the most votes will win a $500 gift card.

YEAR TO DATE: 2022 8.73 in.

2021 9.11 in.

MONTH TO DATE: 2022 3.10 in.

2021 0.29 in.

MANASOTA FLOORING INC KARASTAN, MOHAWK, ARI. O, SMARTSTRAND, ALL PET 941.748.4679 | Venice

941.493.7441 | www.manasotaonline.com

celebrity cipher

A CUT ABOVE THE REST by Drew Schmenner. Edited by David Steinberg 58 Bar on “The Simpsons” 59 People who may chop onions DOWN 60 Helpful computer whiz 1 Iroquoian people 62 Gin mixer 2 Pizzeria herb 65 Gooey campfire treat 3 Rigid bracelets 67 Oak or elm 4 Arose 69 A-lister 5 Get 100% on 71 Cupid’s counterpart 6 Neither this ___ that 72 What a shallow person 7 Word before “period” or lacks “offer” 74 Pop-ups, e.g.

8 Emcee’s deliveries 76 Beatnik’s acknowledg9 Crazes ment 10 Eating regimens 77 Michael Jordan’s org.

11 “Curiously strong” mint 79 “Bad Moon Rising” band, 12 Japanese beef type familiarly 13 Standing order?

80 Finalize, as plans 14 Handheld organizer, for 81 Mined material short 83 QBs’ triumphs 15 Bench press target, 84 Medical sampling aid briefly 86 Like some intramural 16 “Lost” artifact sought by teams Indiana Jones 87 Sis, bro and the ‘rents, 19 Ginnie ___ say 23 Like a grocery store 88 Name in parliament? sample 90 In the past 24 Killer whale 92 Delivers, as a rant 26 Hot temper 95 “You almost tricked me!”

28 Explosive letters 96 Where cargo ships 30 Playwright Beckett cruise 34 Paper for a self-playing 97 Bumbling person instrument 99 “It’s a shame” 35 Prefix with “dynamic” 100 Convertible, in slang 37 Haagen-___ 102 Entranced 39 Cigarette waste 103 Scratch (out) 40 “Today” co-host Hoda 104 Many a show with a 42 “The Wire” actor Elba laugh track 43 ID often assigned at 106 Certain blood vessel birth 107 Tell a whopper 46 Early consumer of 110 It’s part of an act tamales 112 Lance Bass’ former 48 Sch. in Greenwich band Village 115 Miami basketball team 50 Garment with a hook 116 Canned at work 51 Molten flow 117 Unburden 52 Bullets on an agenda 119 Actress Long 53 What comes before “X,” 120 Draw to a close “Y” and “Z” 121 Colgate tube org.

54 Goofs 123 Half-___ (coffee order) 55 “You ___ My Sunshine” 124 Rapper ___ Nas X 57 Short albums (Abbr.) surname 133 Blabber

©2022 Universal Uclick

ACROSS

31 Solitary 32 (Not my mistake!)

1 Unruly crowd 33 Hoppy libation 4 “Won’t you let me?”

36 Skateboarder’s safety 9 Vaccine-approving org. accessory 12 Phi Beta ___ 38 Rare treat, perhaps?

17 Singer Rita 41 Flowers in chains 18 Squirrel’s snack 19 What ponies once helped 44 Rescue plea 45 Goat’s utterance deliver 47 Certain child 20 Partner of “wiser” 49 Sweeties 21 Egg layer 50 *Pixar toy who said “To 22 Deserve infinity and beyond!”

23 *Conclude, as a film (Note the first word of each 56 ___ sequitur starred clue’s answer, plus 57 Phrase on old New York the letters below that word) license plates 61 Filling, wrapped food 25 Texas A&M student 27 One who brings a paint- 63 Entryway 64 18 numbers in roulette ing back to life 66 Cabo or Cancun 29 Tusked Arctic beast 68 Bleed (through)

69 Swindler’s scheme 70 Pharmacy purchases, for short 73 Director Ephron 75 Run like a cheetah 78 Earn points 80 Thwarted, as wicked plans 82 Battles 85 *Alien attempts at agriculture?

87 Progressive spokeswoman 89 Where a DIYer might get supplies 91 Garlicky mayo 93 Droop 94 Tailor’s edge 95 Rejections 98 Sink a putt after missing a birdie

101 Uninteresting people 105 “Levitating” singer 108 Winter hrs. in Denver 109 Vegas opener?

111 Related (to) 113 Determined the cost of 114 *Thick floor coverings 118 Some freezing temps 119 What a flight attendant asks passengers to find 122 Lunar or laundry sequence 125 Airport grp.

126 Where New Delhi is 127 Linear, briefly 128 Broadcasting 129 ___ room (pool table’s spot) 130 Acclimate 131 ___ XING 132 “Back to the Future”

By Luis Campos Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.

Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

“DHXU HA CX NTZ BDLTBXHEZP MJ XHDZUWBEF. SZ’TZ IBKBEF BE PNTVEZXX CEUBI XHDZUWBEF AIBLX HE UWZ XSBUYW.”

– SJEHEEN RCPP

“RGLD GI NYTADD, NYDB, PDKRGHD; RGLD GI PDNFU -- NHP DSDWXFUGHA DRID GI TYDH FT PGIKZIIGTH.” – KTRGH LNWWDRR

“JUG RU GN MJVOIN EJN GUDTR? UON DVORUA VME UP LZORONWW VE V – AUDIVO PDNNAVO

EZAN.”

Puzzle Three Clue: T equals L

crossword

383121-1

941.355.8437 | Bradenton

Puzzle Two Clue: S equals V

Sarasota

Puzzle One Clue: V equals K

CARPET

© 2022 NEA, Inc.

sudoku Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

©2022 Andrews McMeel Syndicate

6-2-22

YourObserver.com

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

|

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

29

YOU CHOOSE

INVISIBLE or RECHARGEABLE ™

SILK X

Invisible. Comfortable.

READY-TO-WEAR.

Walk-in and Walk-out with your Silk ™ Hearing Aids!

Hearing That YOU Control!

The new Signia app made for your smartphone.

Compatible with Android and iOS. The app is free of charge.

• Wirelessly adjust with your smartphone (Android™ or iPhone®) • Wirelessly stream music from your smartphone • Nearly invisible, custom-style hearing aid for any ear canal • Crystal-clear sound in noisy restaurants, parties, family gatherings and more!

PURE

™

Changing Hearing Aid Batteries IS A THING OF THE PAST!

AX

4 HOUR CHARGING • Lasts up to 24 hours • Storage case acts a portable charger with a built in battery backup!

WIRELESS STREAMING • Connects to your Android™, iPhone® or TV

SIGNIA TELECARE • Gives us the ability to remotely adjust your hearing aids anywhere in the world!

L A I C SPE !

R E F OF

Get One of the BEST HEARING AIDS in the World for See inside for details.

$

1 381983-1

SPECIAL EVENT • June 6th - 10th

30

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

|

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

SILK X ™

Invisible. Comfortable.

READY-TO-WEAR.

SPEC I OFFE AL BUYO NE:G R! ETON FOR $ E 1

Walk-in and Walk-out with your Hearing Aids on the SAME DAY.

Total DISCRETION. Total COMFORT. Total CONVENIENCE with Silk™.

One of the CLEAREST SOUNDING hearing aids in the world

Discreet, NEARLY INVISIBLE solution for your hearing loss Smartphone connectivity with FULL REMOTE CONTROL ACCESS

Hear What You’ve Been Missing!

Try Silk X by for 30 DAYS ABSOLUTELY FREE! ™

AT OUR

5 DAY SPECIAL EVENT

MONDAY, JUNE 6TH – FRIDAY, JUNE 10TH

NO COST! NO OBLIGATION!

WE ALSO PROVIDE THESE FREE SERVICES

FREE

HEARING AID CHECK UP

It is important to have your hearing checked at least once a year.

FREE

HEARING EXAM & CONSULTATION! NO OBLIGATION!

Our Video Otoscope can detect if ear wax may be the reason you are experiencing hearing difficulty.

FREE

VIDEO EAR SCAN MAKES SURE IT’S NOT EAR WAX

381984-1

Real Ear Measurements allow the clinician to measure and record the patient’s hearing aids’ performance while they are actually being worn.

YourObserver.com

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

|

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

31

RECHARG E HEARING ABLE AID NOW WIT 60 HOUR H S BATTERY OF LIFE

PURE

™

Rechargeable. Charged up+.

ON A SIN GLE CHARGE !

READY-TO-GO.

NOW AVAILABLE Rechargeable Signia Pure™ AX hearing aid.

TRY IT FOR 30 DAYS ABSOLUTELY FREE! Are you hearing the full picture?

AUTOMATIC

The Pure AX can adapt to every sound automatically.

ZOOM REVOLUTION

Imagine zooming in any voice, wherever it’s coming from. Hear every passenger clearly while driving and hear a single conversation in a noisy restaurant.

with REMOTE TELECARE

PURE

™

Remote programming in the comfort of your home or office, anytime, anywhere!

Elite Hearing Centers of America

Rated

OTHER DIGITAL SPECIALS 100% Digital Open-Fit BTE (Open Fit Behind-the-Ear)

Digital ITE (In-the-Ear) Fits up to 40db loss

WAS $795

NOW 395 each

100% Digital CIC (Completely -in-Canal)

100% Micro CIC (Completely -in-Canal)

Fits up to 40db loss

Fits up to 40db loss

Fits up to 40db loss

WAS $995

WAS $995

WAS $1995

NOW 395 each

$

$

Authorized

Dealer

Elite Hearing Centers of America

Rated

NOW 495 each $

OUR PROFESSIONAL STAFF OF DOCTORS OF AUDIOLOGY & LICENSED HEARING AID SPECIALISTS

OVER 50 OVER 50 LOC AC TA LO IO NS TIO NS NAT NIO ATN IOW NID WID E!E!

ALL LOCATIONS CDC COVID COMPLIANT

OPEN NOW: SARASOTA 941-210-4310

2807 University Pkwy In Publix Plaza at University Walk

NOW 595 each $

BRADENTON 941-201-6076

DELRAY BEACH 561-501-4392 4900 Linton Blvd #3 (In between Poppies Restaurant and Kristi Cleaners)

ROYAL PALM BEACH 561-631-8757 11985 Southern Blvd (Publix at Crestwood Square - next to Carter Healthcare)

(Bradenton Pain and Wellness Center)

BOYNTON BEACH 561-619-9274 4739 N Congress Ave (In between Dollar Tree and Fon Shan Chinese)

JUPITER 561-529-3011 6725 West Indiantown Rd Bay 39 (In Jupiter West Plaza)

2001 Manatee Avenue E. Ste 104

SOUTH CAROLINA LICENSE NUMBERS: HTP-1029, HTP-1024, HTP-1031, HTP-1023, HAS-0573, HAS-0642, HAS-0637, HAS- 0638, HAS-0633

GEORGIA LICENSE NUMBERS: HADS000995, HADS000996, HADS001001, HADS001003

381985-1

100%

32

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

|

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

5 DAY SPECIAL EVENT MONDAY, JUNE 6TH – FRIDAY, JUNE 10TH

Try Silk ™ or Pure ™ AX by

FOR 30 DAYS ABSOLUTELY FREE!

NO COST! NO OBLIGATION! WE’LL TEST AND FIT YOU FOR FREE! FREE HEARING EXAM!

A HEARING CHECK-UP IS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU… • Hear but find it difficult to understand clearly • Find yourself turning up the television • Need others to repeat what they are saying

• Have difficulty hearing in noisy environments

THE BEST HEARING AIDS • THE BEST PRICES • THE BEST SERVICE

CALL US TODAY TO SCHEDULE A FREE DEMONSTRATION! Rating BBB Rating: A+ As of 5/11/2022

Dealer

Elite Hearing Centers of America

Rated

OUR PROFESSIONAL STAFF OF DOCTORS OF AUDIOLOGY & LICENSED HEARING AID SPECIALISTS

OVER 50 OVER 50 LOC AC TA LO IO NS TIO NS NAT NIO ATN IOW NID WID E!E!

ALL LOCATIONS CDC COVID COMPLIANT

OPEN NOW: SARASOTA 941-210-4310

2807 University Pkwy In Publix Plaza at University Walk

1,036 Reviews

BRADENTON 941-201-6076

DELRAY BEACH 561-501-4392 4900 Linton Blvd #3 (In between Poppies Restaurant and Kristi Cleaners)

ROYAL PALM BEACH 561-631-8757 11985 Southern Blvd (Publix at Crestwood Square - next to Carter Healthcare)

(Bradenton Pain and Wellness Center)

BOYNTON BEACH 561-619-9274 4739 N Congress Ave (In between Dollar Tree and Fon Shan Chinese)

JUPITER 561-529-3011 6725 West Indiantown Rd Bay 39 (In Jupiter West Plaza)

2001 Manatee Avenue E. Ste 104

SOUTH CAROLINA LICENSE NUMBERS: HTP-1029, HTP-1024, HTP-1031, HTP-1023, HAS-0573, HAS-0642, HAS-0637, HAS- 0638, HAS-0633

GEORGIA LICENSE NUMBERS: HADS000995, HADS000996, HADS001001, HADS001003

381986-1

Authorized

5.0

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

RED PAGES INFORMATION & RATES: 941-955-4888

SELL YOUR STUFF HERE!

redpages@yourobserver.com • yourobserver.com/redpages DEADLINES: Classifieds - Monday at Noon

Advertise items less than $200 for FREE!

Service Directory - Friday at 3PM • PAYMENT: Cash, Check or Credit Card

941-955-4888

Business Opportunities BE YOUR Own Boss! As Low As $ 800.00 Down. We Get You Clients! We Have Accounts Now! (941) 907-3200 www.cleaningbutlers.com

Homes for Sale

RED PAGES AD RATES First 15 words ................... $ 15.00 per week Each add’l word .........25¢

YourObserver.com/RedPages

5’ MIRROR, white wicker $60.

Hawaiian plant, pink flowers $15.

2’ Mexican pottery planter $75.

Garden trellis $15. 941 359 8460 BEAUTIFUL WOOD dining table, 6 chairs, 2 leaves, and pads.

Excellent - $100. Brown leather couch, loveseat & footstool. Great $50. CASH ONLY (941)-780-3123 CHINA CABINET walnut, modern design with glass shelves. FREE. 618 304 4977. Leave a message DINING ROOM set, glass top, 4 chairs, plus bakers rack, all matching rattan, $199.

941-914-1498 GLASS-TOP COFFEE table, excellent- $10. Blonde wood desk & file cabinet, excellent-$30. Black wood desk, worn-$5. Beige fabric couch & chair, great-$20 . Wood TV cabinet, great-$20.

(CASH ONLY) 941-780-3123 INSANT POT used twice $50.

KitchenAid 12 cup food processor $50. (678)371-4534 PAINTING- FRAMED/OIL on canvas “coquina beach surf fisherman". $125. Vintage Toy - 15" tall battery operated walking/action Robot. $50.

941-776-0034 ROOM DIVIDER sturdy, Asian print. 1 side, beige, 1 side black.

8’HX 64”W. Folds into 3 hinged sections. $165. Leave message 941-322-9063 SPECIALIZED MOUNTAIN bike, mens. Hardrock FS 21 speed, ex. cond. $199 941-914-1498 VINTAGE FRIGIDAIRE 1940’s Refrigerator, works. $50.

(941) 720-5655

Appliances GE WASHER/DRYER, electric, front loader, oversized, nearly new, dark grey. $1,100 pair (813)748-5515

Furnishings OFFICE FURNITURE- All matching, custom made, dark wood with brass trim. Large desk with glass top, book case, file cabinet, custom chair and trash can. You move it and name your price. (410)751-8784

Merchandise Wanted BUYING BASEBALL card collections! Looking to free up space and make $$? Need to sell sports cards? Collector looking to expand collection.

Pay top dollar. Text/call 941 548 6492 with photos.

SENIOR LOOKING to purchase precious metals, diamonds, time pieces, coins, jewelry, antique and estate jewelry, and collectors plates. Personal and confidential. Please call Marc: 941-321-0707.

SELL YOUR STUFF HERE!

Sporting Goods

Beach’ N Rides Electric Bike Shop eBike Sales and Rentals Ride easy on an eBike with as much exercise or assistance as you want. Leave traffic and parking problems behind!

13 models available.

Daily and weekly rentals available We also repair other Brands Open 10 to 5 daily except Sundays and holidays 12208 Cortez Road, Cortez, FL

15% DISCOUNT FOR 4-WEEK RUN

CASH FOR YOUR CAR We come to you!

Ho Ho Buys cars.

941-270-4400.

STORAGE FACILITY Boat/ RV/ Trailer. Secure facility, low monthly rentals, Clark Rd area.

941809-3660, 941-809-3662.

SELL YOUR STUFF

Color background: $ 5 per week Ad border: as low as $3 per week

PLACE YOUR AD: Call: 941-955-4888 Email: RedPages@ YourObserver.com Online: YourObserver.com /RedPages

GARAGE

SALE

Advertise as low as $17.50 per week!

941-955-4888 YourObserver.com/RedPages

FIND BUYERS & SELLERS HERE!

WE BUY cars. top $$ paid for your vehicles.

Call Hawley Motors: 941-923-3421.

You’re only cheating yourself.

ADVERTISE YOUR MERCHANDISE with the total value of all items $200 or less in this section for FREE! Limit 1 ad per month,15 words or less. Price must be included next to each item. No commercial advertising.

Ad runs 2 consecutive weeks in 1 Observer.

Call 941-955-4888 Or Email ad to: classified@yourobserver.com (Please provide your name and address) Or Online at: www.yourobserver.com Or mail to: The Observer Group 1970 Main St. - 3rd Floor Sarasota, Fl 34236

Autos Wanted

peekers’ place

Items Under $200

Adult Care Services PERSONAL CARE GIVER- Private care: Meal preparation, errands, shopping, and more.

Affordable hourly rates, available weekdays, weekends, and holidays.

Minimal shift 5 hours can also provide overnight care.

Temporary or long term care.

Over 10+ years experience.

References available. No new faces, one consistent caregiver.

COVID Negative.

Call Kati: 941-536-7706.

OUR ONLINE TOOLS MAKE IT EASY TO PLACE YOUR AD

LONGBOAT KEY Incredible views Private boat dock Pet friendly condo Owner/agent $650,000 The Lake Club LWR 4 bed 4.5 bath Pool/Spa Dazzling with upgrades 2.5 Million Buy or Sell with Brooke O’Malley as your Realtor, and CLUB REALTY will Pay your title insurance.

Call 941-726-2677.

SELL IT FAST HERE! POST YOUR AD WITH EASE YourObserver.com/ RedPages

This week’s Crossword answers

YourObserver.com/RedPages

Auto Transport SHIP YOUR car, truck or SUV anywhere in the United States.

Great rates, fast quotes. Call Hawley Motors: 941-923-3421.

Cleaning BRAZILIAN CLEANING Service

by Maria. Residential. Meticulous Cleaning. Excellent References.

Free Estimates. Reliable. Lic./Ins. 941-400-3342. www.braziliancleaningbymk.com

CLAUDIA C. Cleaning Services.

Experienced, dependable, and ready to begin!

Residential.

Excellent references.

941-773-6895.

Painting CARLO DATTILO Painting Licensed & insured. Interior/ Exterior painting including drywall repair and retexturing.

Wallpaper installation & removal, pressure washing. Residential & commercial, condos. Honest & reliable.

Free estimates. 941-744-1020.

35+ years experience.

This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers Puzzle One Solution: “Most of us are imprisoned by something. We’re living in darkness until something flips on the switch.”

Wynonna Judd Puzzle Two Solution: “Life is apogee, apex, decline; life is death -- and everything else is open to discussion.”

Colin Farrell Puzzle Three Solution: “How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.”

Morgan Freeman

This week’s Sudoku answers

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home services

Made for where you live. Here!

EAST COUNTY OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

Aluminum

Furniture Repair

Kitchen/Bath Remodeling

Patio Furniture Repairs.com

Custom Granite Services, llc

Furniture Sales & Repairs Cushions • Slings • Re-powdercoating

381780

941-504-0903

FREE PICKUP / DELIVERY • FREE ONSITE QUOTES

941-400-4912

Health

“Specializing inin6” Gutters” “Specializing 6” Seamless Seamless Gutters”

CustomGraniteServicesLLC@gmail.com 382769

GET YOUR LIFE BACK!

Dustin Yoder

Dustin Owner Yoder/ Operator

941.650.9790 941.650.9790 YoderAluminum.com

Auto Service

YoderAluminum.comDo You Have Neck or Low Back Pain?

Do You Want To Avoid Surgery?

GRAB BARS GRAB BARS

Give Us a Call - We Can Help

SELL YOUR CAR!

FREE CONSULTATION 941.358.2224

COMPLETE INSTALLATION PACKAGE

WE COME TO YOU

Board Certified in the specialty of non-surgical spinal decompression

5-Star Rated

382453

Beauty

LIFETIME GUARANTEE • LICENSED • BONDED • INSURED COVERAGE AREA: RANCH TO S. VENICE COVERAGE AREA:LAKEWOOD PARRISH TO NORTHPORT

University Health Park 2415 University Parkway Bldg. 3, Suite 216 Sarasota, FL 34243

The Only Thing You Have To Lose ... Is The Pain!!

Home Services

381779

DRGRABBARS.COM

THE GRAB BAR GUY

www.SarasotaDiscCenter.com DrCifra@SarasotaDiscCenter.com

SERVING YOU IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME

INCLUDES22MOEN MOEN STAINLESS INCLUDES STAINLESS STEEL STEELANTI ANTISLIP SLIP CONCEALED PEEN CONCEALED SCREW GRAB BARS (16”BARS & 24”)(16” & 24”) SCREW GRAB

941.966.0333

DR. DAVID CIFRA, DC

HoHoBuysCars.com

249 235 235

$$

$

Recognized Among the Best Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Physicians in America

FAST • EASY • SAFE

941.270.4400

CALL BEFOREYOU YOU FALL CALL BEFORE FALL

382755

382460

Owner /Insured Operator Insured

CJ COOLEY OWNER/OPERATOR

382766 364556

34

GLENN KROECKER

954-1878 (cell) 780-3346

• Dryer hot but clothes still wet after (1) drying cycle?

• Dryer gets hot to the touch or doesn’t heat up at all?

424-333-0713 | rockstarmobilehair@gmail.com www.rockstarmobilehairsalon.com

Take a simple test to see if your vent is clogged. Unhook your dryer vent & compare drying time.

Residential

941-705-5468

Commercial

Cleaned - Regrouted - Caulked - Sealed

Specializing in Cleaning Exterior Home, Windows, Roofs, Solar Panels, Driveways, Sidewalks, Garbage Cans and Gutters. Paver Sanding and Sealing.

Doors

SHOWER & BATH MAKEOVERS

382768

382472

AMANDA

Licensed & Insured

382765

Are You Having Dryer Difficulties?

Call John 941.377.2940

Free Estimates • Sarasota Resident Since 1974

www.showerandbathsarasota.com

Sliding Glass Door Repair

Landscaping & Lawn

FULLY INSURED

RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL

GARDENS BY ALLISON No Job is too Small!

“FIX IT - DON’T REPLACE”

Now Booking Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Sarasota

gulfcoastestateauctions.com Free Consultations 941-274-6537

CREATE BUZZ!

Personal Gardening Services | Designer

ED’S RAIN MAKER IRRIGATION IRRIGATION (941) 725-8100 REPAIR edsrainmakerirrigation@gmail.com MAINTENANCE Insured Servicing LWR, Parrish and NE Bradenton

Advertise your business in the Red Pages.

Call 941-955-4888

941.400.0431

gbyallison@yahoo.com gardensbyallison.com

Painting

UNIQUE PAINTING & PRESSURE WASHING SERVICES Complete Interior & Exterior Painting

Homes - Driveways - Sidewalks - Tile & Shingle Roofs - Pool Cages & Decks

FREE ESTIMATES - Call Joel, Owner 30 Years Exp. Cell 619-405-7650 Home/Office 941-758-4840

382456

Specializing in Estate Sales, Downsizing, Liquidations

Allison J. Abizaid, M.A.

382770

Gulf Coast Estate Auctions 382582

Irrigation

381784

Estate Sales

Design • Garden Beds Landscape • Courtyards Clean-Up • Makeovers Weeds • Trimming

381658

Call or text: 941-900-8111 | Email: Newparrishfl@gmail.com

382754

New Deluxe Rollers Will Make Your Doors Roll Better Than Ever Call Mark 928-2263 proslidingglassdoorrepair.com

Doors

Personal Services

382760

DON’T let your PATIO DOORS be a DRAG or your WINDOWS be a PANE!!

Window Repairs • Sliding Glass Door Repairs Sliding Glass Door Deadbolts Plumbing

Call us today! 941.628.8579

Mark’s Plumbing Service

FREE IN-HOM ESTIMATEE S

Small plumbing repairs. Replace toilets, faucets, water filters, water softeners and repair leaks.

RELIABLE • INSURED 381504

382764

www.ezslider.com

941-920-8221

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Power Washing $100 COUPON

House Washing, Roofs, Screen Cages, Pavers, Driveways and Walkways.

FREE INSTANT ESTIMATES when you Call RICK for SCHEDULING

$100 COUPON $100 COUPON

382660

941-CLEAN IT 2 5 3 - 2 6 4 8

Screening

• Pool Cage Restoration • Rescreening Specialists • Specialty Screens • Paint • Doors and more!

Satisfaction guarantee Satisfaction Guarantee Pool cage Restoration/ Rescreening specialists Manufacture and Workmanship Warranties

941-345-5264

specialty screens / screw replacement / paint Doors and more!

Roofing

Manufacture and workmanship Warranties

Bisson Roofing Inc. (941) 345-5264

382208

PRESSURE WASHING

Specializing in Reroofs and Repairs FREE Estimates • 30 Years Experience

$100 COUPON

Rescreening & Repairs

Windows Res./Com.

RC0067420 • Lic. & Ins. Owner Supervises Every Job

381785

Building & Roofing Contractor

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25

ws

140

$

INCLUDING SCREENS, TRACKS, MIRRORS & FANS

382209

Licensed & Insured CCC - 058059 CBC - 1253936

found here.

Serving Longboat Key Since 2005

STANDARD WINDOWS

941-626-3194

382210

941-270-1561

For

UP TO

• Aluminum, Vinyl, & Wood Soffit & Fascia Repair & Installation • Roofing Repair & Installation • Metal Roofing & Tile Roof Repair Specialists

Insured

Lic./Ins.

& Pressure C Window lean t e s i Sun merly known as Sunrise Windo ng

www.bissonroofing.com

Kenneth Fuhlman Inc.

Eldridge Re-Screen “No Job Too Small”

382771

941 - 748 - 7400

Licensed

35

SPECIAL 00 5

$

senior citizen discount. www.sunsetwindowcleaningsrq.com

Purified water window cleaning available!!

Call Tibor for FREE ESTIMATES | 941- 284 - 5880

382763

SOFT WASH

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

382762

WE ARE THE SOFT WASH PRESSURE WASHING PROS

$100 COUPON

$100 COUPON $100 COUPON

$100 COUPON $100 COUPON

$100 COUPON

Rescreening & Repairs

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

YOUR REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE

LISTING

THE LAKE CLUB

8372 Catamaran Circle

Offered at $3,365,000 3 beds / 3.5 baths, 5,150 sq ft, Luxurious Lakefront Living

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS LISTING, SCAN THIS QR CODE.

Our Experience is Your Best Asset Contact us Today to Discuss Your 2022 Homeownership Goals HOLLY PASCARELLA, PA 941.225.3218 Holly.Pascarella@CBRealty.com

KATINA SHANAHAN, PLLC 941.702.0437 Katina.Shanahan@CBRealty.com

KENNETH SHANAHAN, PLLC 941.702.0443 Kenneth.Shanahan@CBRealty.com

379761-1

36