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PLANT CITY

“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.” Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

Publisher / Felix Haynes, fhaynes@ PlantCityObserver.com Managing Editor / Michael Eng, meng@PlantCityObserver.com Assistant Managing Editor / Jess Eng, jeng@PlantCityObserver.com Staff Writers / Amber Jurgensen, ajurgensen@PlantCityObserver.com; Matt Mauney, mmauney@PlantCityObserver. com Advertising Executives / Veronica Prostko, vprostko@PlantCityObserver.com; Ronda Kyler, rkyler@PlantCityObserver.com Advertising Coordinator / Linda Lancaster, llancaster@PlantCityObserver.com Accounting Manager / Petra Kirkland, pkirkland@PlantCityObserver.com Advertising-Production Operations Manager / Kathy Payne, kpayne@ yourobserver.com Advertising-Production Coordinator / Brooke Schultheis, bschultheis@ yourobserver.com Advertising Graphic Designers / Monica DiMattei, mdimattei@yourobserver. com; Marjorie Holloway, mholloway@ yourobserver.com; Luis Trujillo, ltrujillo@ yourobserver.com; Chris Stolz, cstolz@ yourobserver.com

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The Plant City Observer is published once weekly, on Thursdays. It provides free home delivery to several neighborhoods in Plant City. The Plant City Observer also can be found in many commercial locations throughout Plant City and at our office, 110 E. Reynolds St., Suite 100-A. If you wish to discontinue home delivery or if you wish to suspend home delivery temporarily, call Linda Lancaster at 704-6850.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

update

By Amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer

Leaking pipe caused Silvermoon Drive damage The city opened the left side of Silvermoon Drive last week after it was completely closed during Hurricane Isaac because of a leaking pipe. A stormwater pipe on Silvermoon Drive in Walden Lake is leaking from high pond levels, causing the road to become saturated and distressed. Last week, three of the four barricades blocking both sides of the road were removed, leaving one remaining on the right side where the road is cracked. Residents in four homes now can drive on

Mail: The Plant City Observer, 110 E. Reynolds St., Suite 100A, Plant City, FL 33563

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President / Felix Haynes Directors / Nate Kilton, Ed Verner, Matt Walsh

riorate until it is fixed. City staff is sending out letters to the four affected residents documenting a timeline and plan for the repair, said City Manager Greg Horwedel. The city has contacted VacVision to inspect the pipe, but it is estimated that it will be two weeks before the company can examine the road. The likely fix

OUR TOWN CONTINUED FROM 1

+ Plant City Sonic staff earns kudos The Sonic Drive-In on James L. Redman Parkway has been keeping customers happy since it opened. Now, it can lay claim to being one of the best Sonic locations in the nation. According to General Manager Thomas Neu, the Plant City location competed in a national competition with Sonic’s across the nation. Employees competed in seven different stations, including speedy food prep and car hop challenges. Although it was Plant City’s first time competing in the competition, the local staff made it all the way to the semifinal round, beating out more than 3,000 competing restaurants. Although Plant City did not make the final 12, which will compete for the honor of top Sonic in the nation later this month in San Antonio, Texas, Neu said the experience was still rewarding for his team. “The majority of our staff are teen-agers, so entering in this type of competition is a unique experience for them and gives them the chance to compete both individually and as a team and travel to places they might not ever get to go to otherwise,” Neu says. Neu said the local staff will be competing again next year.

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We want to hear from you. Let us know about your community events, celebrations and family member achievements. To contact us, send your information via: Email: Michael Eng, meng@plantcityobserver.com

the left side of the road after being blocked from their driveways and having to battle for a parking space down the road for a week. “We’re just concerned, because now the city says it’s safe to drive on, but nothing was done to the road,” Phalen Redmond, a resident on Silvermoon Drive, said. City officials said the road is safe but will continue to dete-

will be to clean and seal the pipe. Once the water table lowers, the saturated section of the roadway will be excavated, compacted and resurfaced. Although the current budget for stormwater pipe rehabilitation is exhausted, some funds are available in the stormwater contractual account. The cost to repair Silvermoon Drive is expected to be under $20,000, Horwedel said. Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.

+ Registration open for Twirlettes The Hillsborough County Twirlettes will be kicking off their 53rd year of classes with registration at two locations. Registration and classes will be from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. Wednesdays, at Shiloh Charter School, 905 W. Terrace Drive; and 4:45 to 5:15 p.m. Mondays, at The Foundation Christian Academy, 3955 Lithia Pinecrest Road, Valrico. All twirling classes are for all girls in kindergarten through middle school. The students will learn one-baton, two-baton and flag skills. The group will participate in area parades. Registration is $15. For more, call Charla Capps Kerwin, (813) 634-7988.

Courtesy photo

Bruce Shwedick and his son, Graham, love this endangered Tomistoma named Pip. Graham and Pip are both 12 years old.

GATORS/PAGE 1 ties full of crocs in central Florida? Shwedick got his start working with reptiles when he was just 12 years old. “I started out as just a kid staring at the crocs through the glass windows in the National Zoo’s reptile house alongside my older brother,” Shwedick says. “Eventually, they let me come inside. They helped me to receive training, to learn and to become a crocodile specialist and a zoo professional. For that, I am eternally grateful, and it is a debt that I am working hard to repay.” It was his older brother who first sparked the duo’s interest in these scaly creatures. His brother was allowed to keep reptiles in his teacher’s class. In the early 1970s, he began to travel to summer camps and do presentations. Shwedick started to tag along as an assistant. By 1975, other state programs were requesting the brothers’ presentations. So, Shwedick split off from his brother to take over his own educational programs for parks and schools. “Both my parents went through a lot of unnecessary stress,” Shwedick says, laughing. “But, they let us do what we loved.”

WORLD TRAVELER

Shwedick’s programs soon earned him international attention. In 1978, he received an invitation from the National Zoo to go to Africa for a meeting of crocodile biologists. He was the only person from outside of Southern Africa to attend. There, he trained as a crocodile specialist and was part of a discovery that found that egg collection doesn’t cause extinction as long as the nesting grounds are protected. Venturing to Africa again in 1982, he ended up in Victoria Falls, where biologists from all over the world met to discuss crocodiles.

He met Wolfgang Waitkuwait, who invited him to visit the Ivory Coast. Together, they worked at the National Zoo, moving more than 50 crocodiles. During one move, Shwedick sustained a bite. The crocodile had latched onto his finger. “Luckily, I had studied a little French before I went, because I had to explain to the other workers in French how to get my finger out,” Shwedick says. In total, Shwedick has been to Africa five times to seven different countries, including St. Lucia, Liberia and Kenya. His favorite location is a remote lake in the desert of Kenya, named Lake Turkana. “Africa has always been closest to my heart,” Shwedick said. “If I hadn’t ended up raising so many crocs in the United States, I would have gone to Africa.”

HOME SWEET HOME

In the U.S., Shwedick has managed to raise 60 crocodiles. He is currently taking care of 14 captive-born crocodiles at his Dover facility and a 44-year-old West African Dwarf Crocodile name Mzima, which is Kiswahili for “Alive.” Shwedick also has hatched eggs eight times. Since 1991, he’s been loaning crocodiles he has raised to the Portland Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, Maryland Zoo and Zoo Miami. He also receives crocodiles from zoos. “Most zoos have a display area and then an extra holding space for other crocodiles,” Shwedick says. “When those area get full, they send the crocodiles to me.” Shwedick also travels from zoo to zoo to train aquarists, zookeepers and handlers about crocodiles, their care, husbandry and handling. One zoo employee once told him, “If you want to hang with us, you can’t be the barefoot bushman anymore.” “I have to do things safely when I train, and it’s boring,” Shwedick

says, laughing. “I have to handle the reptiles in a way zookeepers and aquarists could handle safely. I have to create a proper protocol.” In 1993, Shwedick moved to Plant City to work at Gator Jungle, which is now Dinosaur World. When Gator Jungle closed, he worked as a reptile curator at the Florida Cypress Gardens from 1996 to 2001. While at Cypress Gardens, Shwedick bought a nearly 14-foot alligator that trappers caught in Lake Talquin with a harpoon. The trappers had 48 hours to find someone to take the gator, or else, by law, it had to be destroyed. Shwedick displayed it at Cypress Gardens, naming it Mighty Mike. Since then, Mighty Mike has gained national attention and has been displayed at a variety of zoos during all seasons. Mighty Mike, whose head measures 23 inches, travels in a 430-pound box around the country. “He’s become a very popular ambassador for his species,” Shwedick says. At Cypress Gardens, Shwedick also hatched Tomistoma eggs. As part of the Tomistoma Task Force, Shwedick works to protect the slender snouted species which is found in Borneo, Sumatra and Malaysia. They are under threat because of the deforestation by palm oil companies. “We’re interested in crocodilians not for the value of their skin, but because we find them fascinating,” Shwedick says about the crocodilian groups. So what’s up next for this crocodilian master? “I have yet to be invited to participate in the Strawberry Festival,” Shwedick says. “I feel that I could make a contribution through the educational programs I do. I would love that.” Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver. com.