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FREE • thursday, NOVEMBER 29, 2012
in THIS ISSUE
sports
EXCLUSIVE
Durant Cougars’ Al Higginbotham historic season brings circus comes to an end. to commission.
Tomlin Middle School celebrates garden completion.
PAGE 15
PAGE 9
OUR TOWN
TRAGEDY
PAGE 3 by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
No charges filed in shooting
Hillsborough detectives say Plant City resident Channing Thorpe, 17, shot his father, Christopher, when he found him choking his mother, Jill, two days after Thanksgiving.
+ Raulerson a man of his word
A bonfire burns in the backyard of the home at 7427 Burnt Barn Ave. It crackles and flickers — much like the bonfire the Thorpe family started on Nov. 24. That was the night Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office received a call from 17-year-old Channing Thor-
pe, who reported he had just shot his father, Christopher Thorpe, to stop him from beating his mother, Jill Thorpe. According to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reports, Channing Thorpe called 911 at about 10:15 p.m.
When officers arrived, they discovered Christopher Thorpe, 36, dead in the master bedroom of the home. Family members, including Channing Thorpe and Christopher Thorpe, mother Jill Thorpe and grandmother Dorothy Wil-
liamson, along with two friends, were outside enjoying a bonfire earlier in the evening. Jill Thorpe went into the home, and then Christopher Thorpe followed her. Once inside, the two began ar-
SEE SHOOTING / PAGE 6
For newly elected Florida state Rep. Dan Raulerson, a bet is a bet. The former mayor and city commissioner — a diehard Florida State University fan — appeared at Monday’s commission meeting sporting a Gator blue-and-orange tie. He and City Attorney Kenneth Buchman had made a friendly wager on last weekend’s Florida-Florida State game. After the Gators trounced the Seminoles 37-26, Raulerson made good on his bet — much to the delight of Buchman and Gator fans in City Hall this week. “I am a broken individual,” Raulerson said, obviously uncomfortable sporting his rival’s colors.
+ Plant City choir kicks off Christmas The Plant City Community Choir will usher in the Christmas season with its Christmas by Candlelight concert at 6 and 8 p.m. Dec. 8, at Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 1107 Charlie Griffin Road. Christmas by Candlelight is an hour-long concert, with 15 standard holiday songs such as “Joy to the World” and “Come All Ye Faithful.” Evangelical Presbyterian Church Pastor Scott Lingle and Commissioner Bill Dodson will be the celebrity narrators. Tickets are $10 in advance; $12 at the door. The $20 VIP package includes prime parking, seating and a meet-andgreet reception For more information, call (813) 444-8863.
FUN AND GAMES Michael Eng
Inomi Ortiz, 7, was a fierce tic-tac-toe competitor during Springhead Elementary School’s annual Harvest Festival. For more photos, see page 14 or visit PlantCityObserver.com.
BROTHER IN BLUE
by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Former inmate inspires incarcerated Glenn Long uses his story of addition and prison to share his faith. “I became an addict in an instant,” Plant City native Glenn Long says without blinking. The matter-of-fact delivery echoes in the room. He is used to sharing his story. Today, Long, whose past includes a crack cocaine addiction and convictions for a bank and
store robberies, runs Shiloh Baptist Church’s Kairos Club. Through the club, Long uses his stories to share the Christian faith with prison inmates. And because he’s been there, because he’s lived it, his message is one that can reach beyond the bars.
DOWNWARD SPIRAL
Long’s story starts on a night in his past. He was 24 years old. Like many young professionals, Long was a social drinker who spent weekends in bars with his friends.
SEE LONG / PAGE 6
INDEX Cops.....................7
Amber Jurgensen
Glenn Long runs Shiloh Baptist Church’s Kairos Club.
Vol. 1, No. 21 | One section
Crossword.......... 19
Obituaries.......... 12
Sports................ 15
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