Plant City Times &

Observer

INDEX

OUR TOWN

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. A PARTNERSHIP WITH

This week’s winner is Caroline Pacheco

See his photo on PAGE 15.

Calendar .......................2 Crossword ...................17 Obituaries ...................13 Sports .........................14 Weather ......................17

FREE • FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015

+ Get your strawberries

Wish Farms will be holding its annual Charity Strawberry U-Pick from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Wish Farms, 37381 State Road 62, Duette.

Proceeds will go to the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, an organization that pro-vides quality child care and early education for children of migrant farm workers and rural, low-income families through-out Florida.

The cost is $5 per box, which includes the dona-tion and crate cost. Food banks may pick for free if containers are sup-plied. Documentation is required.

Organic strawberries are not available. The u-pick event is for conventional strawberries only. For more information and a map to the farm visit WishFarms.com/upick.

+ Play opens at PCE

Plant City Entertainment and The Frenzie Life Theatre are presenting “Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical” in March.

Opening weekend runs March 13 to 15 at Plant City Entertainment, 101 N. Thomas St. The play will be shown March 19 to 21, as well. All show-times start at 8 p.m. except for March 19, which is a matinee begin-ning at 2 p.m.

This amusing musical comedy pokes fun at the curiosities and inevitabil-ity of middle age. The hilarious songs cover reading glasses, going bald, acid reflux, mood swings, double chins, prostate exams and hot flashes.

Purchase tickets at Hardee’s Fashions, 1501 N. Wheeler St., or at the door. PCEShows.com.

REAL ESTATEColson Acreshome topsFebruary sales.PAGE 10

NEW COACHPlant City HighSchool names itsnew football coach. PAGE 14

AG LIFE See our list of winnersfrom the Strawberry Festival livestock shows. PAGE 8

Vol. 2, No. 33 | One section

City Manager Mike Herr announced Monday, March 9, that Michael Schenk has been chosen as the new per-manent city engineer, fol-lowing former city engineer Brett Gocka’s termination in December.

“Mr. Schenk has both pub-lic and private sector experi-ence,” Herr said. “He has a lot of experience doing en-gineering work with utilities, and also the review and de-velopment of site plans.”

Herr said it is also valuable that Schenk owned an engi-

neering firm, M.A. Schenk and Associates Inc., for about 10 years.

Schenk is currently the di-rector of utility engineering for JSK Consulting, where he has been employed since April 2014.

Schenk holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from University of Central Florida. He is registered as a professional engineer in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, and he is a certified

Herr namescity engineerMichael Schenk’s report date is March 16. The hiring process for an assistant engineer is ongoing.

HOMETOWN HERO by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

HOMETOWN HEROESEDITOR’S NOTE: Hometown Heroes is a recurring feature in the Plant City Times & Observer in which we profile veterans from Plant City. If you have a loved one currently serving or who has served in the past, please contact Managing Editor Amber Jurgensen by email at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com or by phone at (813) 704-6850.

Hundreds of Plant City residents marched, danced or rode in this year’s Florida Strawberry Festival Parade. But tucked in the back of First Baptist Church of Mid-way’s float was Daryl Sturgis, a woman with a unique claim among parade participants: She is 101 years old.

“It was fun, and it was tire-some. I had a good time,” St-urgis said.

Sturgis moved from Geor-gia to Winter Garden in 1925, when she was about 12. She remembers working in the orange packing facilities, always dressed as a proper lady.

“Three-inch heels, I packed oranges all day in,” she said.

In 1935, Sturgis’ family relocated to Plant City. She worked in the strawberry fields, as well as at Hooker’s Department Store, the Plant Hotel and some other busi-nesses that have been well known throughout the ages.

Sturgis has had quite a few

memorable moments at the festival in her lifetime.

She doesn’t remember her very first time at the Straw-berry Festival, but she knows she went back when it was held at the site that is now

On Sunday, March 8, Trace Woolverton thought that she and boyfriend Willie Hunt would leave the Reba McEntire concert with nothing but good memories. In the end, she did get them — and also a ring.

Hunt, working with opening act Caroline Kole, proposed

to Woolverton in front of tens of thousands of people at the Florida Strawberry Festival’s Wish Farms Soundstage. She was shocked, and nearly over-whelmed, but quick to say, ‘Yes.’

“I had no idea this was gonna happen, and I’m glad it hap-pened, and I could not have

shared it with better people, a beautiful young lady (Caroline Kole) and her boss now, Reba,” Woolverton said.

For Hunt, this was a project three months in the making. When he learned that Wool-

Couple gets engaged at concertTrace Woolverton wasn’t expecting boyfriend Willie Hunt to propose, but that’s exactly what he did on the last day of the Florida Strawberry Festival.

101-year-old rides in Strawberry Festival Parade for first time

governance by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

An army life always seemed to run through Clayton Browder’s veins. In Veterans’ Memorial Park in Plant City, six bricks bear the names of his father, mother, uncle and other relatives who served in the military. And recently, his mother, Lisa Browder, proud-

ly purchased a seventh brick with Clayton’s name on it.

“All my family had done it, so I figured I might as well do it also,” Clayton said. “It makes my family proud.”

Browder is about halfway through his five years of active duty service in the U.S. Army,

and last week, he returned to U.S. soil after two years in Ger-many.

Starting OutBrowder graduated from

Plant City High School in 2012,

Destined for DutyWith Clayton Browder’s family history, it’s no surprise that he joined the U.S. Army almost immediately after

graduating from Plant City High School.

Justin Kline

Trace Woolverton was overcome with emotion when Willie Hunt asked her to marry him.

love in the air by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

Daryl Sturgis has lived in Plant City since 1935 and has made many memories at the festival.

MAKING HISTORY by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

Courtesy photo

Daryl Sturgis rode in the parade next to her friend Christine Holzhauer.

SEE STURGIS / PAGE 4

SEE ENGINEER / PAGE 4

SEE HERO / PAGE 4

SEE ENGAGED / PAGE 4

Courtesy photo

Clayton Browder’s mother, Lisa, and the rest of his family like to celebrate his visits home in big ways.

COMMUNITYCALENDARFRIDAY, MARCH 13Acoustic Happy Hour — music takes place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 13, at O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant, 1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.Christian Contemporary Music — takes place from 6:33 to 8:13 p.m. Friday, March 13, at Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd. (813) 752-1220.Girls Night Out — takes place from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 13, in McCall Park and Historic Downtown. Live Music — takes place from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, March 13, at O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant, 1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.Plant City Social Dance Club — dance takes place from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 13, at the Florida National Guard Armory, 4004 Airport Road. For more information call Ken Miller at (863) 409-7714.Uncork Your Friday! — live music takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 13, at Keel and Curley Winery, 5210 Thonotosassa Road. (813) 752-9100.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14Friends of the Library Book Sale — takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St. Hardbacks will be $1 and paperbacks with be 50 cents. From 2 to 4 p.m. there will be a bag of books for $1 sale. The Friends of the Bruton Memorial Library helps to sup-port the library’s programming.

Grand Opening — takes place Saturday, March 14, at 508 N. Michigan St. Browse through top-of-the-line mat-tresses, bicycles, lawn equip-ment, collectibles and more. $1 empanadas and refresh-ments.

Hoyt Hughes — live perfor-

mance takes place begin-ning at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Uncle Mike’s Smokehouse Grill, 106 State Road 60 E. (813) 737-4444.

Mark Barrios Live! — takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Keel and Curley Winery, 5210 Thonotosassa Road. (813) 752-9100.

Plant City Block Party — takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Ellis Park, 601 E. Laura Street. Hope in Action ministry is sponsoring the outreach to help families with food, clothing, shoes and information from local resources, including Plant City Pregnancy Care Center and Helping Hands Thrift Store. There will be puppets drama teams performing and free, hot meals. Hope in Action was started after Hopewell Baptist Church began spon-soring students from Jackson Elementary School by provid-ing them with packed lunches for the weekends they are at home. Contact Youth Minister Walt Thompson at (813) 842-5199.Second Chance Boxer Rescue Carnival — takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15, at 6106 Knights Griffin Road. The parking and admission is free. Lure course is $5 for one run or $10 for three runs. Food, games, entertainment and vendors. Facebook.com/events/698388510281662.Young Adult Nite — takes place from 7:33 to 10:33 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd. Enjoy live music from local artists. (813) 752-1220.

MONDAY, MARCH 16Blood Drive — takes place from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, March 16, at Bruton Memorial Linbrary, 302 McLendon St. All donors will receive a free wellness screen-

ing and a free gift, such as a t-shirt or movie ticket. CPR and Basic Life Support Recertification — takes place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, at South Florida Baptist Hospital, 301 N. Alexander St. (813) 644-6720.Crafternoon: Strawberries! — takes place from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, at the Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St. Plant City Garden Club Meeting — takes place begin-ning at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 16, at the Walden Lake East Community Center, 1304 Teawood Drive. The public is welcome. Dr. Echevarria will speak on Coral Reef Restoration that is currently ongoing in South Florida. (813) 661.3963.

TUESDAY, MARCH 17GriefShare — takes place beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at Hope Lutheran Baptist Church, 2001 N. Park Road. Each GriefShare session includes a video seminar and group dis-cussion to help cope with the death of a loved one. (813) 752-4622. PaddyWagon St. Paddy’s Celebration — takes place until 2 a.m. Tuesday, March 17, at PaddyWagon, 1852 James L. Redman Parkway. Music, deejay, drink specials, costume contest, giveaways and corned beef & cabbage. (813) 704-5902. The Recovery for Life — takes place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at the Lorena Jaeb Rainbow House, 504 N. Palm Drive. It is a 12-step Bible-based program to help free individuals from all forms of addiction. Debbie Ray, (813) 763-1562.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18Open Mic Night — takes place beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, at

O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant, 1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.Plant City Local Harvest Farmers Market — takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, at McCall Park, 100 N. Collins St. PCLocalHarvestFarmer sMarket.com.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19Savvy Women Seminar — takes place beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at Buddy Freddy’s, 1101 Goldfinch Drive. Balancing your goals with your current needs, along with education planning, retirement and care for aging parents will be dis-cussed. Seating is limited. RSVP to (813) 759-1491. Storytime — takes place begining at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 19, at the Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St. Enjoy an inter-active story that involves dancing, rhyming and songs. For children 18 months to 5 years. Tax Assistance — takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the

Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McLendon St. Sign up is limit-ed to 25 people and begins at 10 a.m. Participants are asked to bring a copy of their previ-ous year’s taxes, identification all relevant tax documents. Applicants are eligible for assistance if they made less than $53,000 in 2014.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20Acoustic Happy Hour — music takes place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 20, at O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant, 1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.

Christian Contemporary Music — takes place from 6:33 to 8:13 p.m. Friday, March 20, at Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd. (813) 752-1220.

Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner — takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 28, at the Olin S. Wright Lodge #79, 304 Acadia Drive. A $15 donation includes dinner, a drink and dessert.

Live Music — takes place from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, March 20, at O’Brien’s Irish Pub and Family Restaurant,

1701 S. Alexander St. (813) 764-8818.

Plant City Social Dance Club — dance takes place from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 20, at the Florida National Guard Armory, 4004 Airport Road. For more information call Ken Miller at (863) 409-7714.

Skip Frye Blues Live! — takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 20, at Keel and Curley Winery, 5210 Thonotosassa Road. (813) 752-9100.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21Blueberry Pageant — takes place all day at Keel and Curley Winery, 5210 Thonotosassa Road. Admission is $10. (813) 752-9100.Night of Rockstars — takes place 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at The Barn, 4810 Deshong Drive, Plant City. Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day with dancing, food, games and more. Young Adult Nite — takes place from 7:33 to 10:33 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at Krazy Kup, 101 E. J. Arden Mays Blvd. Enjoy live music from local artists. (813) 752-1220.

To publicize your event in our Community Calendar, please send by mail: 110 E. Reynolds St., Suite 100-A, Plant City, FL 33563; or by email: ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com. Photos are welcome. Deadline is noon Thursday.

BEST BETRailFest — takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum, 102 N. Palmer St. Enjoy music and games, take a tour of a vintage caboose, train platform and the train museum, and get a special edition color-ing book or puzzle. The event is free. For more information call (813) 719-6989 or go to WillafordRailroadMuseum.com.

ARTPHOTOGRAPHY CONTESTBest in show: AnnMarie Picinic

ANIMALFirst: Jo UptonSecond: Kevin PyfromThird: Jordan ArterburnAwards of merit: Ashley Phelps, Cheryl Price

BLACK AND WHITEFirst: Kevin PyfromSecond: AnnMarie PicinicThird: Ashley AmmenAward of merit: Keri Mizell, James Anderson

HUMANFirst: Charlena HitzgesSecond: Stacey PeacockThird: Melissa SurrencyAward of merit: Summer Pradera, DeeDee Davidson

MISC.First: AnnMarie PicinicSecond: Kevin PyfromThird: Jeff ElmhurstAward of merit: Linda Myers, Ashley Phelps

PLACEFirst: Jeff ElmhurstSecond: Allison TracyThird: Farrah MooreAward of merit: Sarah Walton, Sarah Stowe

PLANTFirst: Morgan EavesSecond: Kayla Jo TurnerThird: Priscilla DavilaAward of merit: Logan Soria, Chad Byrd

THEMEFirst: James LisbonSecond: Brandi ShiversThird: Kayla Jo TurnerAward of merit: Kami Catherman, Elizabeth McIntosh

KIDS First: Avery SurrencySecond: Taylor HallThird: Devan Jefferson Award of merit: Olivia Miller (two)

YOUTHFirst and second: Kiersten DunnyThird: Michaela BerticAward of merit: Alexis Walton, Mackenzie Luke

FINE ARTSBest in Show: Charles A. RagerStrawberry Theme Award: Leroy WestSuncoast Credit Union Purchase Award: Kim Wells

PROFESSIONAL OILSFirst: Gale R. LeeSecond: Jose Eliu VazquezThird: Sharon BurgerFourth: M. Tiffany Gullage

PROFESSIONAL ACRYLICSFirst: John BrennanSecond: Alan MetzgerThird: Lynn RattrayFourth: Evelyn M. Portuguez

PROFESSIONAL WATERCOLORSFirst: Colleen JustinSecond: Sue TihanskyThird: Nelida DilorenzoFourth: Deborah Lulei

PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS/MIXEDFirst: Sheryl UnwinSecond: Pat LeggettThird: Jane LewisFourth: Barbra Joan Araneo

AMATEUR OILFirst: Nadine CooleySecond: Elizabeth CoreyThird: Anita Estrada ZorrillaFourth: John Paul Jones

AMATEUR ACRYLICSFirst: Susan GreerSecond: Scott LawsonThird: Carrie HorneFourth: Georgia Mazanet

AMATEUR WATERCOLORSFirst: Peggy HartSecond: Leona SchonherThird: Deborah BiasettiFourth: Carol McSpadden

AMATEUR GRAPHICS/MIXEDFirst: Sharon HesterSecond: Terrence ParmegianiThird:Annie DwyerFourth: B.B. Blackwelder

MINIATURESFirst: Gunni Nilsson PriceSecond: Peggy LittleThird: Carlene EarlFourth: Antoinette Gaynor

ADULT SCULPTURESFirst: Ira McEachernSecond: Leland WilliamsThird: Diane NewsomeFourth: Aleksandra Vargas

YOUTH DRAWING/PAINTING 15-17First: Robert TindaleSecond: Samantha CovilleThird: Jamiee SalcidoFourth: Emily Burgess

YOUTH DRAWING/PAINTING 12-14First: Kaydee JonesSecond: Darryl SmithThird: Zeni CoffeeFourth: Eric Zarycki

YOUTH DRAWING/PAINTING 9-11First: Domanic BetancourtSecond: Akshat PantThird: Aarushi PantFourth: Zachary Trammell

YOUTH DRAWING/PAINTING 6-8First: Aiden AlfordSecond: Harnoor KaurThird: Carlos MooreFourth: Shelby Livingston

BUSINESS LEADER’S CHOICE AWARDSOsprey Observer, Kathy Collins: Joan SupkaySt Clement Catholic Church, Fr. Mike O’Brien: Deborah BiasettiDesco Printing Company Inc., Tom Westlake: John Paul JonesO’Brien’s Irish Pub, Mike Goodwin: Scott LawsonState Farm, Tony Lee: Kate OsborneNadine Clark Hairstyling, Nadine Clark: Heidi Kelly PhillipsHopewell Funeral Home, Marsha Passmore: Voncille BoanCenter Place Fine Arts & Civic ASSN., Dawn Galia: Brien HockmanPlant City Entertainment Inc., Paul Hetrick: Petera SemplePlant City Arts Council, Audrey Montella: Morgan MinnickTampa Tribune, Rita Logan: Curtis WatkinsOracle Home Heath Care, Jackie Goddard-Wycoff: Evelyn M. PortuguezEzstreet Studio, Jane Murray-Lewis: Richard WagnerCannon Automotive, Terry Cannon: Jose Eliu VazquezThe Cottage in Plant City, Michaela Messer: John BrennanPeyton & Associates Inc., Dennis Peyton: Libit Jones

BABY CONTESTDECORATED DIAPERCome Join the Party: Raelynn Rose TorbertFunniest: Hagen Lee MeiersStrawberry: Jisselle Marie Salinas Cartoon: Tucker Russell Brown

FEATURES CONTESTSBiggest eyes: Jameson William RobertsMost hair: Jisselle Marie Salinas Chubbiest cheeks: Gemma Jean Bauer Look-alike twins: Presley Suzanne Arman and Paisley Alina Arman

PRETTIEST GIRL6- to 9-months: Ainslee Elizabeth Creel 10- to 12-months: Tiftyn Raelynn Gill 13- to 15-months: Abigail Sue Smith 16- to 18-months: Kendall Mae Gee

MOST HANDSOME BOY6- to 9-months: Austin Christopher Bowman 10- to 12-months: Tucker Russell Brown 13- to 15-months: Wyatt Joseph Best 16- to 18-months: Blake Michael Tolley

DIAPER DERBY:6- to 8-months: Brennan Scott Jenkins9- to 12-months: Brantley Cain Newsome

HORTICULTUREYOUTH PLANT SHOWGrand champion: Estrella QuirinoReserve grand champion: Camryn WineingerChampion woody ornamentals: Sarah Treadway Champion foliage plants: Kaitlyn Halter Champion hanging planters: Rebecca Cant Champion miscellaneous plants: Riley Buttorff Champion liners: Carver WineingerChampion plant in size No.1: Ann Grable Champion plant in size No. 3: Riley Newlin Champion plant in size No. 7: Camryn WineingerAward of distinction: Reagan Brown, Madison Smith, Rylee Moorman

GARDEN CLUBJuniorBest in show: Brooks BrownBest in show hanging: Devan JeffersonCactus: Isaiah WilsonBromeliad: Aidan BerringerDish garden: Nathan GouldSucculent: Payton TuckerAward of merit: Adam Cruz, Spencer Gould, Payton Tucker

Intermediate Best in show/cactus/dish gar-den/award of merit (2): Riley ButtorffBest in show hanging basket: Raegan TuckerAward of merit: Wesley Gould

ADULTBest in show: Margie MenefeeBest in show hanging basket: Kathryn BowersAfrican violet: Bess TreadwellBromelaid/cactus/succulent: Jan GriffinOrchid/award of merit: Mary CollinsAward of merit: Mikie Snyder, Bess Treadwell

STINGRAY CHEVROLET RAFFLEAnn Trinkle

EATING CONTESTSCORN ON THE COBBrian Engel, James Holder

MASHED POTATOMitch Wisz

NATHAN’S FAMOUS HOT GO EATING QUALIFIERMen: Nathan BillerWomen: Mary Bowers

SHORTCAKEAugie Sierra

STRAWBERRY SPAGHETTI Justin Cowart

SUPER DOG MEGA CORNDOGMatthew Shefter

GRAND PARADEBEST ANTIQUEFirst: Ron WetheringtonSecond: Plant City FFAThird: Robert W. Willaford Train Museum Society

SPECIAL FEATUREFirst: Mulberry JROTCSecond: Strawberry Crest JROTCThird: Fierce Athletics

CIVIC/CHURCHFirst: J.S. Robinson PTASecond: Eastside Baptist ChurchThird: Shiloh Baptist Church

MARCHING BANDFirst: SCHSSecond: DHSThird: PCHS

SCHOOL CLUBS/SPORTSFirst: PCHS Calendar GirlsSecond: DHS FFAThird: TCMS Calendar Girls

BUSINESS/COMMERCIALFirst: Stepps TowingSecond: South Florida Baptist HospitalThird: Krewe of Carnival

NEIGHBORHOOD VILLAGEYOUTHGrand champion: Ashley Avery, Meredith Beatty, Moriah Beatty, Sarah Collins, Kaitlyn Cox, Cade Dinhoff, Ivy Belle Garner, Gracie Garner, Anna Gibbs, Jordyn Gibbs, Tara Mecum, Shawn Mecum, Katie Reitemeyer, Leah Richards, Landon Richards, Gideon Storms, Hope Storter, Taryn Storter, Megan Todd, Caleb WalkerBlue ribbon: Brian Anderson, Kaci Anderson, Tobias Beatty, Meredith Beatty, Mercy Beatty, Sarah Collins, Colt Connell, Kenley Connell, Ella Connell, Jennifer Cox, Grace Denhoff, Gracie Garner, Tucker Garner, Ivy Belle Garner, Hailey Jefferson, Devan Jefferson, Jordyn Lanier, Josiah Lanier, Tara Mecum, Jenny Reitemeyer, Peter Reitemeyer, Landon Richards, Leah Richards, Lane Spears, Cole Starling, Gideon Storms, Roxanna Storms, Taryn Storter, Hope Storter, Aaron Thompson, Megan Todd, Caleb Walker, Elizabeth West, Natalie ZaryckiRed ribbon: Brian Anderson, Mercy Beatty, Meredith Beatty, Gibbs Beatty, Moriah Beatty, Tobias Beatty, Austin Black, Hope Denhoff, Jordyn Lanier, Shelby Livingston, Emma Livingston, Shawn Mecum, Landon Richards, Leah Richards, Jerrilynn Rodriguez, Aaron Thompson, Caleb Walker, Avery Young, Natalie Zarycki, Joslyn RodriguezWhite ribbon: Moriah Beatty

QUILTSGrand champion: Jean Zabel, Claudia Ingram, Polly Horne, Christine Sudberry

HOME DECORATION Grand champion winners: Margaret Beach, Nancy Monagham, Joy DeMarco, Karol Nicherson

WEARING APPAREL AND ACCESSORIES Grand champion: Claudia Ingram, Toni Gould

PHOTO SCRAPBOOKINGGrand champion: Sarah Walkerm, Jennifer Wolfgang

NEEDLEPOINT, NEEDLEWORK AND PLASTIC CANVASGrand champion: Shirley Hammock, Joy DeMarco

TOYS AND DOLLSGrand champion: Linda Daugherty

FOOD PRESERVATIONDehydrated: Donna ArringtonFruits: Judy Hoover Jellies, james and preservers: Coleen Ross/Bill Asher Pickles and relishes: Katye Blackman Meats/vegetables: William Grosser

BAKINGBread: Karol Hughes, Debra Bershak Cakes: Jacqueline Ryan Cookies: Peggy Sciara Candies: Gary Krotz

CAKE DECORATINGProfessional: Tamara DoyleIntermediate: Chrissie JohnsonBeginner: Kelly B. Everhart

SHOEBOX FLOATFIRST AND SECOND GRADEFirst: Jackson Trapnell Second: Easton Morrow Third: Caleb Benitez Fourth: Kyleigh Meiers Fifth: Adriana Asencio

THIRD AND FOURTH GRADEFirst: Caden Trapnell Second: Ayla SteinestelThird: Skyler Grooms Fourth: Olivia Little Fifth: Sarah Rogers

FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADEFirst: Linzie Alred Second: Emily Little Third: Kagen Alred Fourth: Kyle Berdy Fifth: Avery Surrency

EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS First: Sharrell Smith Second: Myia Myall Third: Daniela Ruiz Fourth: Enelys Rivera Fifth: Christian Gamble

STEMMING CONTESTSYOUTHKindergarten: Katie Jane BurklexyFirst and second grade: Zachary MarriottThird and fourth grade: Blessing EllisFifth and sixth grade: Leah Burklew

ADULTKim Croslie

EXHIBITSARTS AND CRAFTS First: Anita’s Keepsakes Second: Village Glassblowers Third: Montana Antlers

COMMERCIAL CONCESSIONS First: You Name IT Toys Second: Denise Young Third: L’Paige Cosmetics

OUTSIDE CONCESSIONS First: SignMaster Second: Polar Bear Third: Spivey’s Concessions

EDUCATIONALFirst: School District of Hillsborough County Second: Hillsborough County 4-H Council

CIVIC CLUBS First: St. Clement Catholic Church Second: East Hillsborough Historical Society Third: Turkey Creek Assembly of God

AGRICULTURALFirst: Parkesdale FarmsSecond: Brandon FarmsThird: Parkesdale Greenhouse

Award of distinction: Spivey’s Concessions

517,000‘join the party’

From rain, to sunshine, to cool and breezy nights, weather in Plant City has been unpredictable for the last few weeks. But it didn’t stop more than 517,000 people from spending at least one day at the Florida Strawberry Festi-val.

“If we get to half a million, we’re thrilled,” Paul Davis, the festival’s general manager, said.

The closing weekend, March 7 to 8, had particularly high attendance. St. Clement Catholic Church, Turkey Creek Assembly of God and the East Hillsborough Historical Soci-ety even sold out of shortcake Sunday, March 8.

“We’ve had a bigger Satur-day and a bigger Sunday, but not two days in a row like that in recent past,” Davis said.

He said it helped make up for the somewhat low num-bers during the first weekend, Feb. 28 and March 1.

The rain continued to pour out both blessings and curses.

“When it rains, our inside vendors do very well,” Davis said. “Many of our vendors broke records this year.”

But a rainy morning Satur-day, Feb. 28, led to the can-celation of the Civitan Youth Parade. Some of the parade participants, including grand marshals Kevin O’Hare and Jackson Hardee, were invited to join the Grand Parade the following Monday.

The musical entertain-ment this year was as popu-lar as ever. Tickets for REBA, the headliner for the festival’s final concert, sold out, and tickets for John Legend came close to selling out.

Even daytime performers such as Oak Ridge Boys and Loretta Lynn attracted a big crowd.

“Our free seats were totally full, just about, on both of those. The days were beauti-ful, people really came out and we had great events those days,” Davis said.

Sometimes, on busy, crowd-ed days at the festival, visitors tend to stay only a few hours. But this year that quick turn-around wasn’t as frequent, Davis said. Attendees stayed longer than usual on the clos-ing weekend, and likely other days, as well.

Davis, a former Hillsbor-ough County Sheriff’s Office investigator, also was pleased

with the way law enforcement officers at the festival handled traffic and safety.

“I thought the law enforce-ment people did a phenom-enal job getting the crowds in, keeping them safe and getting them back out,” he said.

Traffic flow around the fes-tival grounds was smoother than last year, but jams on In-terstate 4 were still a problem. The festival staff, Plant City Police Department, HCSO and the Department of Trans-portation will be meeting to strategize for improvement on the interstate next year.

In addition to offering feed-back about traffic flow, Davis said some festival goers have suggested the festival provide more benches and cellphone charging stations.

It was another year of mak-ing lifelong memories, cele-brating Plant City’s hometown pride and saluting Florida’s long history of agriculture. Now that the excitement has subsided, the town will look forward to the festival’s 81st birthday being every bit as sweet as its 80th.

“It’s just remarkable that 2,500 volunteers show up ev-ery single day, to make that a successful event,” Mayor Rick Lott said at this week’s City Commission meeting.

“Each year, I admire the in-credible amount of effort and work, time, and dedication ... that it takes to put that event on. It’s pretty impressive, and that’s why it has the outstand-ing support of the commu-nity,” City Commissioner Bill Dodson added. “It’s the one time of year where every-body’s pulling in the same di-rection.”

Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.

Despite a few days of less-than-ideal weather, attendance at the Strawberry

Festival stayed strong this year.

STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS

DAILY ATTENDANCEFeb. 26 ...............26,027Feb. 27 ...............24,224Feb. 28 ...............23,072March 1...............72,623March 2...............39,897March 3...............26,486March 4...............33,564March 5...............39,879March 6...............47,179March 7...............89,485March 8...............94,991Total..................517,427

FESTIVAL RECAP by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

Catherine Sinclair

and a few months later, found himself stepping off a bus into Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for basic training.

“They call it ‘Fort Lost-in-the-Woods’ because it’s in the middle of nowhere,” Lisa said.

Adjusting to a town even smaller than Plant City was a new experience for Browder, but he was already familiar with the Army lifestyle be-cause of his parents’ military careers. They had done their best to prepare him.

“We tried to do little drills with him before he went in so he’d be prepared,” Lisa said. “Little stuff that’s so easy to learn before you go in.”

Browder excelled in basic training. He was one of just three soldiers from his whole unit who were promoted by graduation.

After nine weeks of ba-sic training, Browder had six months of schooling for his Military Occupational Special-

ty: 12-T, which is the designa-tion for technical engineers.

Browder returned to Plant City for a while to do home-town recruiting. He visited dif-ferent schools in the area to tell students about his experience.

“After that, I started the long journey to Germany,” Browder said.

Faraway PlacesBrowder had never traveled

internationally before, except a cruise to Mexico. His first look at Germany when he ar-rived in February 2013 was a bleak, snow-covered city.

“It was a culture shock be-cause he’s a country boy,” Lisa said.

Browder said the most dif-ficult part was the language. Though his mother was able to take German language class-es when she was stationed abroad, funding allotments have changed since then, so Browder was not as fortunate.

There is only one construc-tion battalion in Germany, and

it serves the whole continent. “There’s no point to deploy

us because if you take the only construction out of Europe, they can’t build anything else,” Browder said.

Because of the high demand for this kind of work through-out Europe, Browder was sent out for assignments in other countries, such as a tempo-rary project in Latvia. But in addition to contributing to new structures, he got to visit plenty of historical ones, such as the Parthenon, Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace.

“My photo album of him looks like ‘Where’s Waldo.’ He did Italy, Greece, Spain, France, England,” Lisa said.

Halfway ThereAfter two years in Germany,

Browder came back to the United States. He will be sta-tioned at Fort Stewart, Geor-gia, until July 2017. But first, he enjoyed two weeks on leave, and there was no better place for him to spend it than right

at home in Plant City.His family thought he would

be returning on a Wednesday, but he surprised them by ar-riving the Monday before. He was trying to head off the yard signs and excitement that would welcome him home.

Lisa joked that the surprise was her son’s own loss — she didn’t have time to prepare the sweet tea and chocolate-cov-ered raisins that he loves.

“There’s pros and cons to ev-erything,” Browder said.

When he finishes his ser-vice, Browder hopes to go on to a four-year undergraduate program, likely at the Univer-sity of Florida, and transfer in the credits he has managed to earn during his time in the army.

But until then, Browder will be just a five-hour drive from home, and even closer to some of his friends and family in Gainesville.

“He’ll definitely be putting some miles on that big old truck,” Lisa said.

verton had gotten the con-cert tickets for Christmas, he realized that Kole, a local fa-vorite, would be the opening act. Since he and Woolverton are friends of the Koles, Hunt decided to try and make his proposal a special one.

“It was a little bit after Christmas,” Hunt said. “I talk-ed to her mother and gave her the idea of what I wanted to do, and she said it shouldn’t be a problem. That’s what we did.”

After Kole had finished playing several songs, she announced to the crowd that she had been contacted by some of her friends and asked to play “Guy I’m Gonna

Marry,” specifically for this moment.

“It was so funny because, when she said, ‘I was contact-ed by some friends of mine, and he’s gonna propose to his girlfriend,’ that’s when I looked over like, ‘Could this be,’” Woolverton said. “I’m like, ‘No, he wouldn’t do this.’ And I look, and there he is with a ring in his hand. I’m like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I couldn’t even breathe.”

She describes her fiance as a “very private person,” and it sounds as though that helped him keep the proposal idea a secret for three months. Even Woolverton’s parents had no idea it was going to happen until Kole started the song, and thousands of heads turned in

the couple’s direction.“The song that Caroline

sang, it’s taken a real special place in my heart,” Woolver-ton said. “I guess he knew this, and here we are.”

Hunt was pleased that his idea went exactly as planned — especially the end result.

“It takes a little while, when you get to know someone, and then you start planning,” Hunt said. “You just have to put your cards on the table and go for it.”

And Woolverton couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the couple’s Strawberry Festival experience.

“I guess I’ve got 50,000 new fans,” she said.

Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.

stormwater inspector.In recent years, Schenk

served as the director of utility engineering for ECON, a firm based in Lakeland that has served clients such as LEGO-LAND, USF Polytechnic, Wat-son Clinic and a number of municipalities in central Flor-ida. At that time, Herr was also at ECON, serving as president.

There were 59 candidates for the City of Plant City engi-neer. The selection committee interviewed nine of the can-didates, and then narrowed it down to two. An assistant city engineer has not been chosen yet, but interviews were con-ducted this week.

David Buyens, who has been working as the interim project manager for the engi-neering department, did not wish to apply for the perma-nent position. He has worked at Chastain Skillman Inc. for 23 years and is loyal to the company.

“With looking at having maybe three years left of my career, it just didn’t make

sense,” Buyens said.Herr and other city employ-

ees had made it clear to Buy-ens that they were pleased with his work in Plant City and would have liked him to apply.

“If we’re going to recognize people in the future, there

ought to be a David Buyens Award for what it means to be a top-notch engineer, and I mean that sincerely,” Herr said.

Schenk will start Monday, March 16, with an annual sal-ary of $90,000.

Plant City’s downtown court-house.

Sturgis has had a knack for Sturgis makes dolls and cro-chets their outfits. One of her dolls won first place at the fes-tival, and it is still displayed proudly with its blue ribbon at her son Wayne’s house.

Another time, she volun-teered at the festival, dressed up in a historical costume. She still has the dress she wore that year.

But one of her favorite mem-ories was when she got to see Mel Tillis perform at the festi-val. Tillis lived in Dover, and he and Sturgis were friends. After one of his concerts, she got to go backstage with him.

Another time, she was out-side of the concert venue gates, but that didn’t stop Til-lis from saying hello.

“He reached over the fence and kissed me,” Sturgis said.

At age 101, Sturgis is still adding memories to her list, as 2015 was the first time she had the opportunity to par-ticipate in the Grand Parade. She has attended First Baptist Church of Midway since 1980, and the church invited her to ride on its float.

Sturgis’ longtime friend, Christine Holzhauer, sat next to Sturgis on the float.

Sixteen years ago, a friend of Sturgis moved from Plant City to Lakeland. Holzhauer pur-chased her Plant City home on the condition that she look out for Sturgis.

“She’s a pistol. She speaks her mind,” Holzhauer said.

Even with all of the years and experiences she has lived through, and all of the rela-tionships she has built, Sturgis said she doesn’t feel her age.

“If somebody asked me, I’d tell them maybe 75,” she said.

Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.

IN OTHER NEWS• The city will be host-

ing “Plant City Right Now,” an event to introduce the city’s strategic sites for job creation, this May. Invitees will be real estate agents and other people who are interested in devel-oping Plant City. Guest speakers will include CEOs of local agribusi-nesses.

• Donna Smithhas been appointed to the Plant City Housing Authority Board.

• Mayor Rick Lott

presented a proclamation to Patricia Carr, president of Plant City Toastmasters, declaring April 2015 as Toastmasters International Month in Plant City.

HERO / PAGE 1

ENGAGED / PAGE 1

Catherine Sinclair

Patricia Carr accepted Mayor RickLott’s proclamation of April 2015 as Toastmasters International Month.

ENGINEER / PAGE 1

STURGIS / PAGE 1

General Manager/Executive Editor / Michael Eng, meng@PlantCityObserver.comGeneral Manager/Advertising / Stacey Hudson, shudson@tampabay.comManaging Editor / Amber Jurgensen, ajurgensen@PlantCityObserver.comAssistant Managing Editor / Jess Eng, jeng@PlantCityObserver.comStaff Writers / Justin Kline, jkline@PlantCityObserver.com; Catherine Sinclair, csinclair@PlantCityObserver.comAdvertising Executives / Veronica Prostko, vprostko@PlantCityObserver.com; Joanna Verga, jverga@tampabay.comCirculation/Office Manager / Linda Lancaster, llancaster@PlantCityObserver.com

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“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

ONE-YEAR-OLDMOST BEAUTIFUL First: Zoey LugoSecond: Izabella DiehlThird: Georgia Sue Ann Hunter

MOST HANDSOMEFirst: Dayton DavisSecond: Easton Jackson VokatyThird: Maddox Eisenbach

BEST PERSONALITYFirst: Izabella DiehlSecond: Dayton DavisThird: Lyla Lavella Jimenez

BEST COSTUMEFirst: Abigail Sue SmithSecond: Zoey LugoThird: Elisia Annjanett Rodriguez

FLOATFirst: Georgia Sue Ann HunterSecond: Brady PeaceThird: Ariana Morales

TWO-YEAR-OLDMOST BEAUTIFULFirst: Presley HaySecond: Sutton Kaye DuncanThird: Addisyn Danielle Wise

MOST HANDSOMEFirst: Scott William TerrellSecond: Frank Simmons D’AmicoThird: Evan Eisenbach

BEST PERSONALITYFirst: Sutton Kaye DuncanSecond: Scott William TerrellThird: Callen Hartline

BEST COSTUMEFirst: Rowen Ashford MorganSecond: Madison PerryThird: Mila Mclellan

FLOATFirst: Cade Brock

THREE-YEAR-OLDMOST BEAUTIFULFirst: Giselle McDowellSecond: Kinsley TereannThird: Autumn MaKenzie Adair

MOST HANDSOMEFirst: Easton GoffSecond: Brexten MaxwellThird: Caden Warren Roberts

BEST PERSONALITYFirst: Mason SingletarySecond: Easton GoffThird: Cooper Allen Newman

BEST COSTUMEFirst: Hailey GroomsSecond: Aaron GaonaThird: Peyton Chisholm

BEST FLOATFirst: Everett DelvalleSecond: Gracelynn DavisThird: Cheyenne Davis

FOUR-YEAR-OLDMOST BEAUTIFULFirst: Kennedy Iris DuncanSecond: Sydney GouldThird: Eleana Maldonado

MOST HANDOMEFirst: Gavin HartlineSecond: Dylan BrewingtonThird: Shaz Simmons

BEST PERSONALITYFirst: Avalynn Mclellan

BEST COSTUMEFirst: Aubrey Ellis DuncanSecond: Annslea Grace WoodyThird: Isabella Brooke Pippin

BEST FLOATFirst: Jesus Emilio Gutierrez

COURT: queen Kennedy Iris Duncan, king Gavin Hartline and court members Avalynn Mclellan, Aubrey Ellis Duncan and Jesus Emilio Gutierrez.

2015 BABY PARADE WINNERS

The 2015 Baby Parade, orga-nized by the Junior Woman’s Club of Plant City, was held Saturday, March 7, at the Flor-ida Strawberry Festival. Con-testants between the ages of 1 and 4 competed in five cat-egories: Personality, Costume, Float, Most Handsome and Most Beautiful.

The 2015 Baby Parade King and Queen were Gavin Hart-line and Kennedy Iris Duncan.

BABY PARADE

Left: Kennedy Iris Duncan wascrowned Baby Parade Queen after her dad escorted her past the judges.

Aaron Gaona wore a festive sombrero.

Left: Gavin Hartline won the title of Baby Parade King.

Rowen Ashford Morgan and her dad were dressed as Mary Poppins and Burt.

ArianaMoraleshada tea partyon her float.

PAGEANT by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer

FFA EXHIBITSFirst: Plant City FFASecond: Turkey Creek FFAThird: Tomlin FFAFourth: MarshallAward of distinction: Brandon FFA, Durant FFA, Strawberry Crest FFA

DAIRYGRAND CHAMPIONAyrshire grand champion: Aidan Heidt

Brown Swiss grand champion: Aaron Bingham

Guernsey grand champion: Caleb Allen

Holstein grand champion: Gracie Lee

Jersey grand champion: Kyleigh Glenn

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPIONReserve grand champion: Aaron Bingham

Brown Swiss reserve grand champion: Gracie Lee

Guernsey reserve grand cham-pion: Hunter Fioretto

Holstein reserve grand cham-pion: Brandon Carey

Jersey reserve grand champion: Ty Hamilton

JUNIOR CHAMPIONAyrshire junior champion: Aaron Bingham

Brown Swiss junior champion: Blane Rogers

Guernsey junior champion: Michael Fioretto

Holstein junior champion: Jake Braglin

Jersey junior champion: Isaiah Allen

RESERVE JUNIOR GRAND CHAM-PION

Ayrshire reserve junior cham-pion: Cierra Ellis

Brown Swiss reserve junior champion: Ashley Bingham

Guernsey reserve junior cham-pion: Siera Linton

Holstein reserve junior cham-pion: Carlie Braglin

Jersey reserve junior champion: Ashleigh Denney

SENIOR CHAMPIONAyrshire senior champion: Aidan Heidt

Brown Swiss senior champion: Aaron Bingham

Guernsey senior champion: Caleb Allen

Holstein senior champion: Gracie Lee

Jersey senior champion: Kyleigh Glenn

RESERVE SENIOR CHAMPIONAyrshire reserve senior cham-pion: Zoe Wallace

Brown Swiss reserve senior champion: Gracie Lee

Guernsey reserve senior cham-pion: Hunter Fioretto

Holstein reserve senior cham-pion: Brandon Carey

Jersey reserve senior champion: Ty Hamilton

RICHARD KAHELIN ALL-BREEDS CHAMPION AWARD AND PREMIER EXHIBITORKyleigh Glenn

JUNIOR ALL BREED BRED-BY EXHIBITORAshley Bingham

SENIOR ALL BREEDS BRED- BY EXHIBITOR Aidan Heidt

JUNIOR HERDSMANIsaiah Allen

SENIOR HERDSMAN Caleb Allen

CHARLIE HUNTER MEMORIAL SPORTSMANSHIPCharlie Hunter

PREMIERE SHOWMANSHIPPee wee: Garrett LintonNovice: Max AshtonJunior: Kyleigh GlennIntermediate: Sarah CarterSenior: Aaron BinghamAdult: Megan Braglin

PREMIERE SHOWMANSHIPAaron Bingham

COSTUME BALLFunniest: Nicholas and Andrew Hammer

Prettiest: Aiden and Finley HeidtMost original: Jared UpthegroveMost colorful: Austin HardyOverall: Tytan Watson

POULTRYGrand champion: Teresa PaulReserve grand champion: Jared Upthegrove

Best opposite sex exhibition: John Banks

Best opposite sex production: Ally Rae Black

RABBITGrand champion: Emma PooleReserve grand champion: Jada Citarella

SWINEGrand champion: Chance ChristieReserve grand cham-pion: Hillsborough County FFA Federation, shown by Rayne Smith

CLASS 1First Place: Ashlyn BarrorSecond Place: Mary Catherine Stephens

Third Place: Marissa ZolnaFourth Place: Kenneth HattwayFifth Place: Meghan SoddersSixth Place: Tyler HewettSeventh Place: Gerald WilliamsEighth Place: Olivia Whitman

CLASS 2First Place: Siera LintonSecond Place: Grace GainerThird Place: Tyson GriffinFourth Place: MaryBeth StewartFifth Place: Madilyn StoneSixth Place: Carlie BraglinSeventh Place: Mackenzie WeeksEighth Place: Tyler Harris

CLASS 3First Place: Emma McConnellSecond Place: Reagan TearsThird Place: Reagan BrownFourth Place: Rebecca HolcombFifth Place: Cade FitzpatrickSixth Place: Nathan HoodSeventh Place: Autumn MillerEight Place: Luke Patten

CLASS 4First Place: Rylee WoodySecond Place: Ashton BoatwrightThird Place: Shalee ConradFourth Place: Alyssa GrimesFifth Place: Aaron Pellegrini, Jr.Sixth Place: Russell ButlerSeventh Place: Nicole PattenEighth Place: Kiara ReeseNinth Madison Smith

CLASS 5First Place: Hillsborough County FFA Federation, Rayne Smith

Second Place: Sophie AtenThird Place: Tiffany WilsonFourth Place: Frankie VitelliFifth Place: Ashlynn FlackSixth Place: Zachary StahlSeventh Place: Samantha Hampton

Eighth Place: Corbett Wyatt

CLASS 6First Place: Elise GriffinSecond Place: Emily LintonThird Place: Ava HastingFourth Place: Gabriel MaxwellFifth Place: James GraySixth Place: Kyleigh GlennSeventh Place: Carlos Curnow IIEighth Place: Cassandra Fincher

Class 7First Place: Garrett GouldSecond Place: Chase CampbellThird Place: Jonah SpiveyFourth Place: Luke WilliamsFifth Place: Samuel SandsSixth Place: Reagan MessickSeventh Place: Ashley SwintEighth Place: Meghan White

CLASS 8First Place: Chance ChristieSecond Place: Trevor HintonThird Place: Kagen AlredFourth Place: Emily PhillipsFifth Place: Charles WatsonSixth Place Kasey KleinatlandSeventh Place: Nolan CampbellEighth Place: Meghan White

CLASS 9First Place: Jade BankSecond Place: Paul FerlitaThird Place: Augie WilkensFourth Place: Emily SmithFifth Place: Shylen DenmarkSixth: Madison WorsfoldSeventh Place: Morgan PierceEighth Place: Matthew McCullers

CLASS 10First Place: Morgan SoddersSecond Place: Easton KicklighterThird Place: Yohannes KicklighterFourth Place: Matthew DyerFifth Place: Cheyenne HancockSixth Place: Hayley DucksonSeventh Place: Anna FutchEighth: Madison Dowdy

SHOWMANSHIPSENIORFirst: Carlos Curnow IISecond: Morgan SoddersThird: Reagan Messick

INTERMEDIATEFirst: Grace FainerSecond: Madison Smith Third: Marissa Zolna

JUNIORFirst: Chance ChristieSecond: Rebecca HolcombThird: Elise Griffin

STEEROverall grand champion: Jarrett Gillman

Overall reserve grand champion: Clay Joyner

LIGHTWEIGHT Grand champion: Anna Conrad Reserve grand champion: Ethan Vaughan

MIDDLEWEIGHT Grand champion: Cheyenne Lopez Reserve grand champion: Brett Love

HEAVYWEIGHT Grand champion: Jarrett Gillman Reserve grand champion: Clay Joyner

CLASS 1First: Kayla MishlerSecond: Madi Conrad Third: Zachary Campbell

Fourth: Haley Flack Fifth: Joshua Lewis Sixth: Cassidy Dossin Seventh: Raelyn Hudson

CLASS 2First: Ethan VaughanSecond: Meredith Delcastillo

Third: Noah Rebman Fourth: Ashley Denslow Fifth: Chase LingoSixth: Jake Fitzpatrick Seventh: Destinee Miller

CLASS 31st Place: Anna ConradSecond: Mariah EdwardsThird: Kaylee StallardFourth: Amber BoykinFifth: Tanner JurniganSixth: Alex AponteSeventh: Bernard BentzEighth: Allison Pierce

CLASS 4First: Lane HarrellSecond: Luke Coggins Third: Jacob Ross Fourth: Kiersten Struth Fifth: Haley Riley Sixth: Ashley Sanchez Seventh: Kailee Triner Eighth: Megan Todd

CLASS 51st Place: Cheyenne Lopez

Second: Dakota Allen Third: Abigayle Almon Fourth: Matthew Delcastillo

Fifth: Lexie JettSixth: Bekah GiuajardoSeventh: Trey Fletcher Eighth: Kade Taylor

CLASS 6First: Margaret HoltSecond: Chloe TewThird: Landon MessickFourth: Selena BerriosFifth: Joshua KnoxSixth: Jacob MurphySeventh: Kaleb Tew

CLASS 7First: Brett Love Second: Nicole Rice Third: Kyla Oneal Fourth: Kairstin Rollins Fifth: Jessica Kaye Sixth: Bryar Christian Seventh: Cameron Diem

Eighth: Allison Lane

CLASS 8First: Jonathan Rowell Second: T.J. Hutchinson Third: Shannon Gill Fourth: Kennedy Sewell Fifth: Gresham Stephens

Sixth: Delaney Lloyd Seventh: Dustin Jacobs

CLASS 9First: Jake Stines Second: Morgan LeeThird: Alyssa CooperFourth: Dalton McMathFifth: Jessica TillisSixth: Linda SanchezSeventh: Levi EdwardsEighth: Allison Lane

CLASS 10First: Jarrett GillmanSecond: Clay JoynerThird: Autumn TarltonFourth: Keylee ChristieFifth: Dalton McHenrySixth: Cassidy HastingSeventh: Amaiah Williamson

SHOWMANSHIPJUNIORFirst: Kaylee Stallard Second: Madi ConradThird: Jake Stines

INTERMEDIATEFirst: Anna ConradSecond: Ethan VaughanThird: Cassidy Hasting

SENIOR First: Cassidy DossinSecond: Margaret HoltThird: Lane Harrell

SHEEPSHOWMANSHIPJUNIORFirst: Emma Leiss Second: Ava Hasting Third: Eric Zimmerman

INTERMEDIATEFirst: Leah Reinhardt Second: Cole Hanson Third: Brenna Sturgis

SENIORFirst: Stephanie Carter Second: Sarahann Sweeney Third: Morgan Higgins

JUMPING CONTESTSSHORT-LEGGEDFirst: Morgan HigginsSecond: Kaley FelbergThird: Kelly Cribb

LONG-LEGGEDFirst: Kelly Cribb, Gabriella Hernandez

Third: Dalton Vanderford

SHEEP SHOWOverall grand champion: Aubrey Davis

GRAND CHAMPIONBlack face ewe: Elizabeth EakinsBlack face ram: Chase FarrisWhite face ewe: Cassidy HastingWhite face ram: Aubrey DavisCrossbred ewe: Sarahann Sweeney

Crossbred ram: Charli DavisRare breed ewe: Morgan HigginsRare breed ram: Emily Linton

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPIONBlack face ewe: Jasmine McWhite’

White face ewe: Kendall ReedWhite face ram: Cassidy HastingCrossbred ewe: Cheyenne Sommer

Crossbred ram: Cheyenne Sweeney

Rare breed ewe: Abby StewardRare breed ram: Savannah Jenkins

COSTUME CONTESTBest overall: Jessica SquitieriFunniest: Kelly Cribb Most original: Harlie Katrein Most elegant: Haven FutchMost creative: Eric Zimmerman Most colorful: Sarah Rogers

BEEFGRAND CHAMPIONAll breeds heifer: Meagan Meredith

All breeds bull: Casey Harper Bred and owned heifer: Kaleb Williams

Bred and owned bull: Kaleb Williams

Angus heifer: Clayton BrockAngus bull: Kendall Locke Brangus Heifer: Cassidy PolstonGrand champion brangus bull and reserve grand champion brangus bull: Casey Harper

Other breeds heifer: Meagan Meredith

Other breeds bull: Jesse Bibby Commercial (English) heifer: Wyatt Hinton

Commercial (Brahman) heifer: Ashley Denslow

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPIONAll breeds heifer: Wyatt Hinton All breeds bull: Jesse BibbyBred and owned heifer: Madi Conrad

Bred and owned bull: Kendall Locke

Angus heifer: Bailey BuchanonAngus bull: Jesse BibbyBrangus heifer: Kaleb WilliamsOther breeds heifer: Madi ConradOther breeds bull: Kaylee HudsonCommercial (English) heifer: Sophia Aten

Commercial (Brahman) heifer: Mary Davis

SHOWMANSHIP SENIORFirst: Meagan Meredith Second: Anna Conrad Third: Cassidy Polston

INTERMEDIATEFirst: Madi Conrad Second: Kendall Locke Third: Clayton Brock

JUNIOR First: Sophie Aten Second: Shalee Conrad Third: Payge Dupre

JUNIOR HERDSMAN CONTESTFirst: Sophie Aten Second: Payge Dupre Third: Trevor Hinton

INTERMEDIATE HERDSMAN CONTESTFirst: Wyatt Hinton Second: Katie Harwell Third: Elizabeth Bazemore

SENIOR HERDSMAN CONTESTFirst: Hunter Dupre Second: Katie Lopez Third: Katherine Byrd

GREENHAND AWARDMikenna Thomas

JUSTIN GILL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Taeler Dupre

JIM THOMPSON SENIOR AWARD AND BILL MCCLELLAND SCHOLARSHIPMaegan Meredith

The Florida Strawberry Festival wouldn’t be the Florida Strawberry Festival without its rich history of livestock showing. Dairy, steer, swine and many other shows were held at the Grimes Family Agricultural Cen-ter throughout the 11 days of the fes-tival.

ANIMAL HOUSE

LIVESTOCK SHOWS by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

The swine show was held Thursday, Feb. 26.

The Strawberry Queen was an inspira-tion again this year for a costume in the lamb ball.

From Alice to Duck Dynasty, the lamb costume ball is always a ruckus.

The steer show was held Wednesday, March 4.

Left: Mosaic sponsored the youth swine show.

In the show, each steer is placed in one of ten classes based on the animal’s weight.

AGRICULTURE WINNERS

The home at 2307 Gainer Lane sold Feb. 20, for $339,000. Built in 2007, it has four bed-rooms, four and one half baths and 4,004 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $84.67.

Alexander WoodsThe home at 182 Alexander

Woods Drive sold Feb. 6, for $115,000. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, two and one half baths and 1,789 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $64.28.

The home at 233 Alexander Woods Drive sold Feb. 18, for $100,000. Built in 2013, it has two bedrooms, two and one half baths and 1,466 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $68.21.

Avondale GrovesThe home at 1625 Avondale

Ridge sold Feb. 10, for $215,000

(REO/bank owned). Built in 2007, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,467 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $87.15.

Blue Sky AcresThe home at 4541 Keene

Road sold Feb. 23, for $245,500. Built in 2004, it has four bed-rooms, two baths and 2,334 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $105.18.

Bracewell HeightsThe home at 1202 E. Cherry

St. sold Feb. 27, for $120,000.

Built in 1979, it has three bed-rooms, two baths and 1,473 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $81.47.

Cameron AcresThe home at 2810 Lampp

Road sold Feb. 12, for $56,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,512 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $37.04.

Carolyn GardensThe home at 2505 Franklin St.

sold Feb. 27, for $104,000. Built in 1976, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,296 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $80.25.

ClarksThe home at 1707 N. Burton

St. sold Feb. 27, for $101,800. Built in 1994, it has three bed-

rooms, two baths and 1,185 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $85.91.

Cooks CoveThe home at 5210 Peebles

Road sold Feb. 19, for $65,700 (REO/bank owned). Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms,

two baths and 1,296 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $40.74.

Country HillsThe home at 4702 Breeze Ave.

sold Feb. 24, for $217,150. Built in 1997, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 2,029 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $71.69.

The home at 4516 Tina Lane sold Feb. 20, for $127,000. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,690 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $100.

Four SeasonsThe home at 2205 N. Warnell

St. sold Feb. 9, for $119,000. Built in 1986, it has three bed-rooms, two baths and 1,645 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $72.34.

Gordon OaksThe home at 1607 N. Gordon

St. sold Feb. 13, for $180,000. Built in 1909, it has five bed-rooms, two and one half baths and 2,414 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $74.57.

GrimwoldThe home at 905 N. Burton St.

sold Feb. 9, for $115,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,287 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $89.36.

HillsboroughThe home at 4812 Charleston

Ave. sold Feb. 24, for $55,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,728 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $31.83.

The home at 3403 County Line Road sold Feb. 5, for $160,000. Built in 1990, it has four bedrooms, two and one half baths and 1,560 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $102.56.

The home at 808 W. Risk St. sold Feb. 18, for $107,000. Built in 1937, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,456 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $73.49.

The home at 3504 E. Trapnell Road sold Feb. 27, for $77,000. Built in 1923, it has two bed-rooms, one bath and 1,297 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $59.37.

The home at 5015 Vaughn Road sold Feb. 13, for $115,000. Built in 1974, it has three bed-rooms, two baths and 1,440 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $79.86.

Island Pond EstatesThe home at 3407 Speer Road

sold Feb. 6, for $84,500 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1969, it has two bedrooms, one bath and 864 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $97.80.

JenkinsThe home at 4904 Calhoun

Road sold Feb. 25, for $98,475 (REO/bank owned). Built in

1940, it has three bedrooms, one bath and 1,979 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $49.76.

Kentwood Park The home at 2301 Maki Road

sold Feb. 27, for $34,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1987, it has two bedrooms, one bath and 920 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $36.96.

Kings VillageThe home at 801 N. Gordon

St. sold Feb. 11, for $49,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1950, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,104 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $37.19.

Laurel Lake The home at 2761 Golf Lake

Drive sold Feb. 27, for $143,500. Built in 1995, it has two bed-rooms, two baths and 1,264 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $113.53.

Marshall TerraceThe home at 1812 E. Ohio St.

sold Feb. 24, for $28,000 (short sale). Built in 1963, it has three bedrooms, one bath and 816 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $34.31.

Magnolia GreenThe home at 3203 Azalea

Blossom Drive sold Feb. 24, for $108,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1950, it has two bed-rooms, two baths and 1,104 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $37.19.

The home at 3704 Crystal Dew sold Feb. 27, for $184,900 (REO/bank owned). Built in 2007, it has four bedrooms, two and one half baths and 2,968 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $62.30.

ManningThe home at 1525 Cowart

Road sold Feb. 23, for $270,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1996, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 3,745 square feet of living area on two acres. The price per square foot is $72.10.

Oakwood EstatesThe home at 1715 Oakwood

Estates Drive sold Feb. 20, for $162,500 (short sale). Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,163 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $73.13.

Orange HeightsThe home at 1604 N. Ferrell

St. sold Feb. 16, for $68,500. Built in 1950, it has three bed-rooms, two baths and 1,602 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $42.76.

OsborneThe home at 1006 N. Wills St.

sold Feb. 27, for $65,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,200 square feet of living

Colson Acres home tops sales in FebruarySNAPSHOTMinimum: $25,600Maximum: $339,000Average: $130,215Median: $115,000

REAL ESTATE by Amber Jurgensen | Managing Editor

Courtesy photo

This home, which has four bedrooms, four and one half baths and 4,004 square feet of living area on one acre, sold for $339,000.

REAL ESTATE / PAGE 12

area on one acre. The price per square foot is $54.17.

Plant City HeightsThe home at 603 W. Tever St.

sold Feb. 23, for $145,000. Built in 1946, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,586 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $56.07.

Reynolds RidgeThe home at 4308 Reynolds

Creek Ave. sold Feb. 25, for $150,000 (short sale) Built in 2006, it has four bedrooms, two and one half baths and 2,430 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $61.73.

Seminole Lake EstatesThe home at 3206 W. Reyn-

olds St. sold Feb. 11, for $65,000. Built in 1985, it has three bed-rooms, one bath and 1,008 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $64.48.

Stockwell The home at 560 E. Mc-

Donald Road sold Feb. 27, for $77,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,792 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $42.97.

Trapnell RidgeThe home at 3900 Trapnell

Ridge Drive sold Feb. 6, for $125,000 (short sale). Built in 2007, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,626 square feet

of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $76.88.

Walden LakeThe home at 2702 Barret Ave.

sold Feb. 12, for $270,000. Built in 1992, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 3,222 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $83.80.

The home at 2406 Clubhouse Drive sold Feb. 13, for $320,000. Built in 1995, it has four bed-rooms, three baths and 2,986 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $107.17.

The home at 3205 Kilmer Drive sold Feb. 27, for $230,000. Built in 1995, it has four bed-rooms, two baths and 2,422 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $94.96.

The home at 2710 Laurel Oak Drive sold Feb. 20, for $208,000. Built in 1989, it has four bed-rooms, two baths and 2,870 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $87.18.

The home at 3315 Silverpond Drive sold Feb. 16, for $122,564 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, one bath and 1,838 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $66.68.

The home at 3503 Sandburg Loop sold Feb. 6, for $205,000. Built in 1997, it has three bed-rooms, two baths and 1,989 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $103.07.

The home at 3023 Spring Hammock Drive sold Feb.

20, for $193,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 2000, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,019 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $95.59.

The home at 3214 Stevenson St. sold Feb. 26, for $202,000. Built in 1992, it has four bed-rooms, two baths and 2,412 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $83.75.

The home at 1456 Walden Oaks Place sold Feb. 26, for $177,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,839 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $96.25.

Walden Lake Fairway VillasThe home at 306 Valencia

Court sold Feb. 24, for $72,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1979, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,329 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $54.18.

Washington Park The home at 801 N. Gordon

St. sold Feb. 27, for $33,000 (REO/bank owned). Built in 1926, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,263 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $26.13.

Walden PointeThe home at 1814 Via Chianti

St. sold Feb. 13, for $214,625. Built in 2014, it has three bed-rooms, two baths and 2,183 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $97.86.

The home at 3016 Via Siena

St. sold Feb. 14, for $241,999. Built in 2014, it has four bed-rooms, two baths and 2,780 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $87.05.

Walden WoodsThe home at 769 Ashentree

Drive sold Feb. 6, for $149,990. Built in 2014, it has three bed-rooms, two and one half baths and 1,483 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $101.14.

The home at 1864 Green-wood Valley Drive sold Feb. 12, for $124,990. Built in 2013, it has three bedrooms, two and one half baths and 1,581 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $79.06.

Wayne TerraceThe home at 1709 Charles

Ave sold Feb. 23, for $29,900. Built in 1958, it has two bed-rooms, two and one bath and 728 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $41.07.

Whispering WoodsThe home at 2630 Holly Bluff

Court sold Feb. 4, for $215,000. Built in 2012, it has four bed-rooms, two and one half baths and 2,748 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $78.24.

Woodards ManorThe home at 1204 Pamela

Sue Court sold Feb. 27, for $92,500. Built in 1986, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,645 square feet of living area on one acre. The price per square foot is $56.23.

REAL ESTATE / PAGE 10

THIS WEEK’S CROSSWORD ANSWERS

THIS WEEK’S CRYPTOQUIZ ANSWERS1) Experience 2) Wah-Wah Pedal 3) Electric Ladyland 4) Monterey 5) Woodstock. Jimi Hendrix

Rosa AcostaRosa Acosta, 82, of Plant

City, died March 5, 2015, at South Florida Baptist Hos-pital.

A native of Miami, she was the daughter of the late Arturo and Estela Her-nandez Moya. Survivors include her beloved hus-band, Ildefonso L. Acosta; children, Luis Acosta, Sonia Fernandez, Norma Escalo-na and Rosa Alvarez; and three sisters, two brothers, eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchil-dren. She was preceded in death by her son, Idelfonso O. Acosta.

Funeral services were held Sunday, March 8, at Haught Funeral Home Chapel. Online condolenc-es may be made at Haught-FuneralHome.com.

Raymond BlueRaymond Blue, 67, of

Plant City, died March 6, 2015, in Temple Terrace.

Mr. Blue was born and raised in Plant City. He worked in construction and was a brick layer. He played cards and enjoyed spending time with his family.

Loving family who sur-vive are son, Andre Blue; daughters, Teresa Blue and Cassandra Johnson; brothers, Thaddeus Blue (Carolyn), Billy Blue (An-nie) and Russell Goodwine (Peggy); sisters, Mary Blue and Gwendolyn Good-wine; grandchildren, Sha-kia Blue, Jasime Blue, Ed-die Blue and Kevin Blue; and great-grandchildren, Raymond Fitzgerald and Seaven George. Mr. Blue is predeceased by brothers, Oscar Goodwine and Ru-dolph Goodwine; and his parents, Raymond Otis and Ola Mae (McClothan) Blue.

A celebration of life will be at 11 a.m. Friday, March 13, at Wells Memorial, fol-lowed by a memorial ser-vice at 12 p.m. Online con-dolences may be made at WellsMemorial.com.

Summer Lynn BoothSummer Lynn Booth, 6,

of Plant City, died March 3, 2015.

She is an angel who will forever smile upon us. She is survived by her parents, Jennifer Hobbs and David and Janelle Booth; siblings, Addison Gainey, Brenden Booth and Aaron Booth; and grandparents, Jessie Hobbs, James Booth and Annette and Tom Marr.

A celebration of life was held Saturday, March 7, at Hopewell Funeral Home. Interment at Hopewell Memorial Gardens. Online condolences may be made at HopewellFuneral.com.

Dorothy “Dot” Futch Conerly

Dorothy “Dot” Futch Conerly, 81, of Plant City, died peacefully March 3, 2015.

She was the daughter of Rev. Clyde and Florence Futch and was an active member of First Baptist Church. After a long ca-reer as corporate secretary for a major oil company, she enjoyed many years of retirement. She found joy surrounding herself with friends and family, and par-ticipating in outdoor activ-ities with her husband.

She is survived by daugh-ter, Deborah Wright (Wal-ter); granddaughter, Lind-say Wright (Curtis); and many loving family and

friends. She is preceded in death by her beloved hus-band of 60 years, Robert “Don” Conerly. A celebra-tion of life was held Friday, March 6, at Hopewell Fu-neral Home. Interment at Springhead Cemetery. On-line condolences may be made at HopewellFuneral.com.

Melissa Ann CookeMelissa Ann Cooke, 34,

of Plant City, died unex-pectedly Feb. 28, 2015, at her home.

She was born April 2, 1980. Ms. Cooke attended the University of South Florida until she was diag-nosed with a rare auto-im-mune disease, Goodpas-ture Syndrome, in January 2003. She battled this dis-ease like a mighty warrior. Some of her greatest joys came from counseling oth-ers with this rare disease, and reaching out to those newly diagnosed and shar-ing her journey and suc-cesses. Some of her favorite moments were spending time coaching softball, lis-tening to live music with friends, becoming an aunt, snuggling with her little dachshunds and telling jokes. Ms. Cooke was a per-son that was so amazing and generous of heart. She cared for people deeply. She loved watching and going to Bucs, Lightning and Rays games, and also rooted for the Florida Ga-tors. Her courageous spirit will live within her family. She is truly inspirational and one of the toughest girls that they knew.

She is survived by her parents, Philip A. Cooke and Patricia A. Clark Cooke, of Plant City; sister, Mary A. Martel (John); nephews, Brody and Laurel; mater-nal grandmother, Joan Enriquez; paternal grand-father, Allen Cooke (Roz); and other aunts, uncles, cousins and relatives. Ms. Cooke’s parents would like to extend a special thank you to the team of doctors that helped them through the last 12 years: Dr. Robert Oliva, Dr. Azhar Malik, Dr. Keith Kapatkin, Dr. Rafael Martinez, Dr. Andrianus DeRuijter and all of their kind staff members. They would also like to recognize Mrs. Ahn, Ms. Marybeth and Ms. Denise from the Publix Pharmacy at Valrico Commons. You all gave her an enormous amount of kindness and strength.

A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 14, at Wells Memori-al Funeral Home. The fam-ily requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay in Melissa’s honor: HumaneSociety-Tampa.com. Online con-dolences may be made at WellsMemorial.com.

David A. FitzpatrickDavid A. Fitzpatrick, 72,

of Lithia, died March 6, 2015.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, having served in Viet-nam, and he was a member of Kingdom Christian Min-istries in Lithia. He loved his family, and he enjoyed carpentry, reading, praying and helping others.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Kathy Ward Fitzpatrick; children, Da-vid II (Lisa), Jesse (Mo), Ja-son, Shannon (David) and Shad (Stacy); grandchil-

dren, Sam, Autumn, Britta-ny, Kaleigh and Noah; sib-lings, Cindy and Mitchell; and many other family and friends.

A celebration of life was held Tuesday, March 10, at Kingdom Christian Minis-tries. Interment at Pelote-Alderman Cemetery, Lith-ia. Online condolences may be made at Hopewell-Funeral.com.

Robert Elmer HornRobert Elmer Horn, 95,

of Plant City, died March 5, 2015.

Mr. Horn was a member of St. Clement Catholic Church, a re-tired Air Force captain and plant manager for Continental Can Cor-poration.

Survivors include sons, William Horn (Debbie), John Horn (Sharon) and Richard Horn (Shawn); daughter, Barbara Horn; brother, Sherman Horn Jr.; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his wife, Verna; sons, Robert Horn and James Horn; daughter, Jeanne Don-nelly; and grandchildren, Tiffany Russell and Joshua Horn.

A memorial Mass will be held in April at St. Clem-ent Catholic Church. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to LifePath Hospice, 12470 Telecom Drive, Suite 300 W., Temple Terrace, 33637, or St. Clement Cath-olic Church, 1104 N. Alex-ander St., Plant City, 33563. Online condolences may be made at WellsMemorial.com.

Pamela Kay TrowellPamela Kay Trowell, 65,

of Plant City, died March 1, 2015 at her home.

A native of Tampa, she was the daughter of the late Wesley and Willie Whittle Trowell. Ms. Trowell at-tended Springhead Meth-odist Church and Church on the Rock.

Survivors include son, Stacy Chasteen; daughter, Eugenia Chasteen; broth-ers, Wesley and Randall Trowell; sister, Delores Lit-tle; and five grandchildren and and great-grandchil-dren.

The family will be hav-ing services at a later date. Online condolences may be made at HaughtFuner-alHome.com.

Mae Goff WebsterMae Goff Webster, 77,

died Feb. 27, 2015.She was born Oct. 2,

1937, in Plant City, the daughter of the late John-nie McWilliams and Alice Waitman Bell. Mrs. Web-ster was formerly married to the late Luther D. Goff. Years later, she married the late Benjamin D. Webster III. She was employed with the Tandet Center until re-tirement.

Her memory and legacy of love will be cherished by daughter, Pastor Patricia Goff McKinney (Kelvin); sons, Gregory D. Goff and Michael D. Goff (Liene); grandchildren, Nakina, Kimberly and Kelvin Jr.; sister, Juanita Bynes; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Visitation and a service of celebration were held Friday, March 6, in Stam-ford, Connecticut.

OBITUARIESOBSERVER

Reach Plant Citylocals.

To advertise, call 813-704-6850.

When things for a sports team aren’t going com-pletely bonkers, I’m a big fan of continuity.

Especially so when it comes to coaching posi-tions: A team can have all the talent in the world, but without a leader the players can trust, things can quickly go awry. (2012-13 New York Rangers and former Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella, I’m looking at you.)

The Plant City High football players were shocked, to say the least, when they learned that six-year head coach Wayne Ward resigned from the position last month. The PCHS alum said that he needed to attend to some personal matters, and stepping down would be best for him at this time.

Ward led the Raiders program to new heights, putting Plant City on the map for many big-name college programs and according to many Raider fans I’ve heard from, was an excellent role model for his players. Plant City may not have won a state title in Ward’s tenure, but he’s still going to be a hard act to follow.

Which is why I’m of the opinion that promoting Greg Meyer was the best move for the program go-ing forward.

Meyer, who will jump right into his second head coaching gig, hasn’t been with the program for as long as Ward had before he was named head coach six years ago. But he’s al-ready accomplished quite a bit.

Tasked with running the defense the entire time he’s been in town, Meyer helped produce some of the area’s top stop units. What Raider fans can forget the excellent 2013 defense, studded with stars like Montel McBride,

Y O U T H | H I G H S C H O O L | G O L F | C O M M U N I T Y

SportsDo you have a good

sports scoop for us? Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com, or Tweet us at @PCTOSports.

SOFTBALL

+ Lady Raiders heat up

This prep softball season is turning out to be a bit of a surprise: For the first time in a while, neither Durant nor Strawberry Crest are in first place in the district.

Instead, the Plant City Lady Raiders are perched atop the 7A-7 standings with East Bay. Not bad for a team undergoing its third consecutive coaching change.

Plant City (8-5; 4-1 district) has won six of its last seven games, and that loss — a 5-4 defeat at the hands of Durant (4-8; 3-2 district) happened in eight innings. The Lady Raiders have outscored their district opponents, 66-12, in that span.

Edmilly Molina currently leads all batters (15 plate appearances or more) with a .421 average, 16 hits, 14 RBI and runs, four triples and two doubles. The sophomore, who had a breakout season last year under coach Maggie Feix, has shown no signs of slowing down and, along with Durant junior Selena Bezares (.405, 15 H, 18 RBI, 9 R, 4 HR), is looking like one of the top players in the district.

The team went into spring break with a 15-0 win over Spoto on March 5, and will begin play in the Sarasota Spring Slam tournament Friday, March 13, with a game against Sarasota High at 3 p.m.

BASEBALL

+ Area teams in Saladino Tourney

The Saladino Tournament is a pretty big deal in the Tampa Bay area, and all three Plant City-area high schools got a piece of the action this week.

So far, the area teams have performed fairly well.

Durant picked up a handful of 11-1 wins in its first two games, beat-ing Chamberlain and Middleton, and took a 2-0 loss to Plant on Tuesday, March 10. In those two wins, Jonah Scolaro led the way with six hits and a double.

The Cougars had a rematch with the Plant Panthers in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, for which results weren’t available at press time.

Plant City got things started with a 3-0 win over King on Saturday, March 7, and followed up with a 2-1 loss to Alonso that went nine innings. Fortunately, the Raiders were able to rebound Tuesday with a 13-7 win over Tampa Bay Tech, in which Dalton Wingo, Peyton Collins, Connor Slagill and Trey Matthews combined to go 11-for-19 with 10 RBI.

Strawberry Crest has reported several wins thus far, a 4-1 win over Robinson to open the tour-nament, a 5-3 win over Freedom Monday, March 9 and a 6-0 win over Jefferson Tuesday, March 10. The Chargers had not reported any statistical information by press time.

The championship game will take place today at 4 p.m.

SIDELINES

ATHLETE OFTHE WEEKEvan Crowell excels at two

sports.16SPONSORED BY COURTNEY PAAT | STATE FARM

WHAT’S ON KLINE’S MIND?

JUSTINKLINE

For Raiders, Meyer is the right hire

There have been several big changes made within the Plant City Vipers organization, but the one thing that remains the same is its vision for the future.

As always, it’s about doing as much for the kids as pos-sible.

The small travel ball orga-nization just got a little bigger in 2015, making some person-nel changes. It will be adding a competitive junior varsity team before its season begins at the end of the month. On the board of directors, Jenni-fer Rhoads now serves as the team president. Lili Armatrout now serves as the treasurer. Amador Reyes has also been

brought onto the board.As for the teams, both have

new coaches with plenty of lo-cal experience.

“We started over,” Vipers Vice President Reggie Rivers says. “The coaches that we had, we decided to make the change and start over from scratch. We know Wade (Rog-ers) from way back, and knew that he would be excellent as a coach. Then, we got a recom-mendation for Terry (“T.J.”)Thompson Jr., and we’ve also got his father, Terry Thomp-son Sr., over there.”

TIGERS TO VIPERSRogers, who has coached in

rec leagues around the area

for most of the past decade, started the Plant City Tigers team with his wife, Robin, last year.

“I started the Tigers to try to keep the local, Plant City, high school kids together,” he says. “Basically, the only op-

tion was to go to Brandon or go to Lakeland to really get any structure, so it was the recommendation of parents and coaches, all together, to try and keep the kids together as best as possible.”

The team competed in four

tournaments at the 10th-grade level, winning two, and Rogers says that the experi-ence was a good one.

However, it was also a daunting task for the Rogers to

P.C. Vipers expand teams, hoop dreamsThe Plant City Vipers youth basketball program has a big vision for the future, and it’s recently started expansion by adding a second team.

Plant City High got a sur-prise when head coach Wayne Ward resigned in February. Fortunately for the Raiders, the school didn’t have to look far at all to find the new man for the job.

Greg Meyer’s third season on the Raiders staff will be his first as the team’s head coach, and the second head job of his coaching career.

“It’s incredibly exciting,” Meyer says. “The amount of support from students, faculty and the community has been overwhelming.”

Although it will be Meyer’s second role as a head coach, he says that this experience will be one unlike anything he’s ever been a part of before.

EARLY SUCCESSMeyer, a Tampa native, got

the opportunity to join the

coaching staff at his alma ma-ter, Plant High, at a good time. As an assistant under long-time coach Bob Weiner, he worked with the defense dur-ing the Panthers’ successful 2008 state championship run.

“I can’t say enough about learning from the guys at Plant,” Meyer says. “The guys on that staff have been togeth-er for a long time. You really got a chance to see what it was to be a part of something big-ger than yourself, in the truest sense, when it comes to high school ball.”

Meyer says that he learned one of the most important lessons of his coaching career there, before he left Plant for another job in Jacksonville.

“They’re committed to the program — to the kids — for all the right reasons,” he says. “The core philosophy I’ve ad-

opted from that is to make it about the kids 100% of the time, and you’ll never go wrong.”

When the opportunity for another coaching job arose in north Florida, Meyer jumped on it.

LEARNING EXPERIENCEIn 2008, Wolfson High was

still going with longtime head coach and athletic director Frank Jenkins at the helm of the football program. Meyer joined the staff as Jenkins’ defensive coordinator, a po-sition he held for three years before Jenkins departed to open up Orange Park-Oakleaf High.

Meyer was named the team’s head coach in 2010 and posted a 4-17 record there

SEE MEYER / PAGE 15

BASKETBALL by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

SEE VIPERS / PAGE 15

SEE KLINE / PAGE 15

PLANTCITYOBSERVER.COM FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015

WHAT TO WATCHAccording to Greg

Meyer, Raider fans will have plenty to be excited about in the upcoming 2015 season. What’s in store? Take it from the coach himself:

“With the defensive side of the ball, the bulk of our guys are coming back,” Meyer says. “We had some good young guys behind Quay (Young), Sawyer (Dawson) and Patrick (Colleran) that are coming up. On offense, Antoine Thompson, Corey King, Markese Hargrove, Ge’Sean Parker and Sterling Day performed well. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, going forward.

“It starts with Markese Hargrove. To have a 1,300 yard rusher coming back is a wonderful advantage. We’ve got Corey King com-ing back at QB, and we like how he developed later in the year. Antoine Thompson, his consistency grew later on — we’re excited about him. He’s explosive.

“We’ll have a young, good O-line. We feel con-fident we’ll be able to get the O-line jelling as we go through the spring.”

family business by Justin Kline | Staff Writer

Justin Kline

The Plant City Vipers’ varsity squad is excited to get back on the court in a few weeks.

RUNNING THE RAIDERSPlant City High promoted Greg Meyer to head coach of the football team late last week.

Justin KlineGreg Meyer has been with the Raider program since 2012.

run a travel ball team by them-selves — especially in an area where the Vipers were also ac-tive.

With that in mind, Rogers and the Vipers made what ap-peared to be the most logical move where everyone could win.

“We decided to pool our resources,” Rogers says. “It made a lot of sense. We were fighting for the same turf, and it didn’t make any sense. Me and my wife did it last year, on our own, first time doing travel ball. We tried to do it all.

It was fun, but tiring.”Last year’s Tigers will play

on the varsity team. Wishing to help younger ballers tran-sition from middle school to high school, Rogers volun-teered to coach the JV team, a squad full of new players.

“It’s all brand-new kids to me, and to the Vipers,” he says.

UPPERCLASSMENOn the varsity side, Thomp-

son Jr. is moving up after coaching at Marshall Middle School this year.

He’s coached on the AAU level before, and spent sev-eral years with the Plant City

Panthers seventh and eighth-grade teams. Thompson Jr. is a fairly recent UCF graduate who plans to become a social studies teacher in the near fu-ture.

Although he does coach at Marshall Middle, Thompson Jr. opted to work with the high schoolers this year.

“I’d rather help the kids in high school — to help them get better,” he says. “Get the kids more fundamentally sound.”

Thompson was specifically recommended to the Vipers program, which recruited him at a team function in 2014. He’ll be coaching the Vipers with his father, who will be the team’s assistant coach this year.

“This is my first time coach-ing with my dad,” Thompson Jr. says. “I’ve been coached by him before, but never with him. It’s different. I’m still get-ting used to it. He does most of the motivational stuff.”

THE FUTURERivers says that the Vipers

are not done growing yet, though more big moves will take plenty of time and plan-ning. As a part of the team vi-sion, he says that the board hopes to one day field a girls team.

But, for now, everyone seems to be pleased with the way things have turned out, especially on the coaching end.

“Our vision is large, and they bought into the vision,” Rivers says. “We’re very happy with the coaches that we have.”

Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.

over two seasons. Coaching at Wolfson didn’t come with the universal support that Meyer saw in programs like Plant, and even Plant City, but he says he was still able to draw some positives from his time there.

“The experiences learned there were invaluable,” Meyer says. “Program organization, delegating with staff, all that. Surviving in an environment where there wasn’t a whole lot of support.”

He left the program in 2012 to return to the Tampa Bay area, as his mother had fallen ill, and joined the Raiders in the offseason as Wayne Ward’s defensive coordinator.

FRESH PERSPECTIVEMeyer’s work with play-

ers like Montel McBride, Se-drick King, T.J. Chase, John Broome and Sawyer Dawson — all NCAA Division 1 college prospects — spoke for itself shortly after joining the staff. He was able to help develop a talented squad that, in 2013, boasted one of the Tampa Bay area’s best front sevens and an up-and-coming sec-ondary unit. In 2014, he got results from a much younger defense. Thanks to great play from Dawson, Patrick Colle-ran, Steven Ogletree and Cory Cotnoir, Plant City turned into something of a linebacker fac-tory.

Most importantly, from his perspective, Plant City pro-vided the kind of football environment that Wolfson lacked: a program with the full

support of both the school ad-ministration and the commu-nity as a whole. Therefore, the Plant City head job was the only one he ever considered applying for during his time here. When the opportunity presented itself, Meyer imme-diately threw his name in a full hat.

“This is the only one I was going to apply for,” Meyer says. “Tampa Catholic and all the other ones that have had openings are appealing on certain levels, but this is defi-nitely unique.”

With what he feels is the right culture already in place, and a roster full of players that already know and trust him, Meyer is much more comfort-able stepping into this role than when he took the Wolf-son job in 2010.

The coaching staff won’t see too many changes, though Meyer has confirmed that he and the school are currently in

the later stages of bringing a new offensive coordinator on board.

“I think there’ll be some similarities, offensively, be-cause of our personnel,” he says. “We’re building our sys-tem around our kids. We will have a spread attack, but we’ll have a strong run identity be-tween the tackles. We want to get back to the old school Plant City ways of being able to mash it up front.”

Football season is still many months away, but no one is more excited to get back on the field already than the Raiders’ new head coach.

“Plant City as a whole is just a unique community when it comes to football,” Meyer says. “Kids here have aspira-tions and solid work ethic — it’s definitely a special place when it comes to high school football.”

Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.

ABOUT THE VIPERSThe Plant City Vipers program fields two travel basketball

teams, both of which compete under the Youth Basketball of America organization’s umbrella. The varsity team also plays against United States Specialty Sports Association competition.

Both teams are going to begin their seasons, which will consist of four to five tournaments, Friday, March 27.

Sedrick King, John Broome and Sawyer Dawson? And, even though last year’s team wasn’t quite as successful as the 2013 team, Meyer still got the most out of players who had previously flown under the radar — Patrick Colleran, Javaris Whitsett, Steven Ogle-tree, etc. Keeping that same defensive mind in the field house is the right way to go.

He’s also helped send a lot of kids to college, serving as the team’s recruiting liai-son between PCHS and the universities. That’s helped

schools such as Alabama, Nebraska, Purdue and more learn that Plant City is more than just a place that exists on a detailed map of Florida.

All of that, combined with the fact that Meyer is well-liked by the players, bodes well for Plant City’s program going forward. I’m not suggesting that this is an immediately transformative hire, though, because it’s way too early to tell.

Perhaps Meyer’s biggest challenge will be finding a way to make the offense click — that unit was arguably the team’s biggest concern in

2014, other than the con-sistently stellar play it got from running back Markese Hargrove.

Developing quarterback Corey King will be especially crucial to the team’s success, and the young QB did show promising flashes of talent while splitting snaps with graduating senior Austin Carswell.

It’ll be a challenging year for Meyer, but in a district that hasn’t had a repeating champion in the last few seasons, there’s definitely potential for success in the near future.

Justin Kline

Greg Meyer spoke highly of the Raider seniors at the school’s 2015 National Signing Day ceremony.

VIPERS / PAGE 14

MEYER / PAGE 14

KLINE / PAGE 14

EVAN CROWELLATHLETE OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY COURTNEY PAAT | STATE FARM

Now that Evan Crowell’s high school football career is over, the Plant City High senior needed something to do in the offseason. He joined the track and field team for the spring and, in last week’s Hillsborough County meet at Leto High, Crowell placed first in the county in the shot put.

What events do you normally compete in?

I do shot put and discus.

How long have you been doing track and field?

I did track my sophomore year, but I didn’t do the whole season. I was just kind of messing around with it. This is the first year I’ve actually been serious about it, and did it because I wanted to compete.

What made you want to come back?As a senior, football in high school’s over.

Right now, until college, I’m just kind of sitting around, doing nothing. Track’s the perfect opportunity: It’s in the offseason, it gives me something to do, and I like it a lot.

So on Saturday, you won the shot put event. What about discus?

I’m not sure what place I got. I don’t think I got top three, but I’m not sure. In the shot put, I threw it 45 feet.

What other sports do you play, besides football and track?

Football and track are enough for me. I don’t really have time for anything else, really.

I know you had a lot of football offers from the Ivy League schools, and Air Force Academy. How high is your GPA right now?

It’s 5.5, I think. All of my classes this year are AP classes.

What made you pick App State over one of those schools?

I went to App State over the summer, to do football camp, and I fell in love with the cam-pus. That campus is literally in the mountains, and it’s beauti-ful up there. Plus, Ivy League schools, they can’t really give a lot of money to middle-class kids. It’s really, really expensive. App State was just the right fit for me. It felt right.

You played on the offensive and defensive lines for Plant City football. What will you be playing at Appa-lachian State?

In college, I’ll be playing on the D-line. I know one of the key reasons why they loved me is because I’ll be playing D-line for them, but when we switch to scout they can use me as an offensive lineman because I have experience there. I’ll be able to help the team.

What do you plan to major in?

Medicine. I want to do the pre-med program. I like ortho-pedic medicine — sports medicine.

What’s your favorite subject in school?

I like my science classes. I have AP physics and AP environmental science right now, and those are fun. And I need those

credits for my doctorate anyway, so I might as well knock them out of the way right now.

The Plant City football team just made a big coaching change. What was your reaction to that, even though your Raider playing days are over?

I love Coach Ward a lot. He’s been my coach the past four years. Honestly, I was surprised to hear that he stepped down at the end of the season. But, I’m really, really happy that Coach Meyer got chosen as the head coach. To me, he’s the next logical choice: He’s well-equipped for it and he knows what he’s doing. He’s got a lot of connections at the college level, and he’s got experience with a state championship program at Plant.

How are the younger guys taking the news?

They like it a lot. All of them, all of us, we love Coach Meyer. He makes the task of going to football practice every day and grinding enjoyable. He makes it more than just going to practice.

What else do you like to do in your free time?

When I’m not playing football or track, usually I’m just staying at home, relaxing, reading books, playing video games.

What books are you reading for fun?The “Game of Thrones” series. I’ve seen

the whole series, but I just started reading. I’m on the first book now.

What’s better: the book or TV show?So far, probably the book. It does

go a lot more into detail, and it’s more interesting.

What’s your team in Madden?The Buccaneers, all the way. I can

beat some people with the Buccaneers now. They’re lethal in Madden.

Who’s your favorite athlete of all time?

Mike Alstott. My dad, he’s a photographer, and he had a photoshoot with Alstott a while back, when we were kids. We got to meet him and he signed us

autographs. Really, really nice guy.

If you could be either rich or famous, what

would it be?Famous, because if you’re

rich, you can just buy stuff. If you’re famous, you can make an impact. People know who you are, they listen to what you say and you can influence people for the better. I wouldn’t want to

be famous just for every-body to be like, ‘Oh, Evan

Crowell, he’s awesome!’ I’d want to be famous to make an impact for something.

What’s the most-played song in your iPod right now?

Probably an Ellie Gould-ing song. “Explosions.” That song’s awesome.

That was unexpected.I love Ellie Goulding a lot.

A lot of people give me crap for it, because I’m a big football player who loves Ellie Goulding, but I can’t explain it.

SUNRISE SUNSETFriday, March 13 7:41 a.m. 7:35 p.m.Saturday, March 14 7:40 a.m. 7:36 p.m.Sunday, March 15 7:30 a.m. 7:36 p.m.Monday, March 16 7:38 a.m 7:37 p.m.Tuesday, March 17 7:37 a.m. 7:38 p.m.Wednesday, March 18 7:36 a.m. 7:38 p.m.Thursday, March 19 7:34 a.m. 7:39 p.m.

MOON PHASES

PLANT CITY WEATHER HIGH LOWFriday, March 13 87 65Saturday, March 14 86 64Sunday, March 15 85 63Monday, March 16 80 54Tuesday, March 17 81 56Wednesday, March 18 81 57Thursday, March 19 79 57

TEMPERATURES

RAIN

March 27

SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

April 4

March 13

(INCHES)

March 20

Troop1157 gave back to the community and provided the homeless with snacks and toiletries behind Bruton Memorial Library. Caroline Pacheco snapped the good dead.

The Plant City Times & Observer and Grimes Hardware have partnered to host the I Love Plant City Photo Contest. Winners will have their photo featured and receive a $15 gift certificate to Grimes Hardware’s Strawberry Town Cafe! To enter, email your photo, along with a caption, to Editor Amber Jurgensen, ajurgensen@plantcityob-server.com; subject line: I Love Plant City. Winners can pick up their prize at Grimes Hardware.

THURS. March 50.00

FRI.March 60.00

SAT. March 70.00

SUN. March 80.00

MON. March 90.00

TUES. March 10

0.00

WED. March 11

0.00

7.86(2014: 2.30)

MARCHTO DATE0.00

YEARTO DATE

(2014: 0.96)

STRAWBERRIES

$6.90-8.90Courtesy of the

United States Department of

Agriculture

SHIPPING POINT: Orlando

CROSSWORD JAM SESSION by Lewis Forte

ACROSS 1 Nearby7 “The Flintstones” setting14 Hanging loosely19 Waterproofing topcoat20 Midwife’s exhortation21 Without principles22 Let your winnings ride23 Tape-recorder spindle24 Something in your eye25 Lavishes affection (on)27 ___ up (absorb)28 Level of accomplishment29 Population growth factors32 Registered to vote35 Much36 Actress Gilpin of “Frasier”37 ___ wait (prepare to ambush)38 Some kitchen gizmos41 “To the max” suffix42 Paternity test factor43 Chop-chop, to Byron48 Seize an opportunity50 When it’s high, it causes health problems53 Act theatrically56 PC data-sharing acronym57 Cambodia neighbor58 ___ donna (opera star)62 Contain, as emotions64 “___ death do us part”65 Spelling or Amos66 City north of Carson City67 Music genre69 “What ___ is new?”70 China or European intro71 “That’s so cool!”72 Aromatic 2-Down73 More unusual74 Immobilizer76 “I’m quoting this, errors and all”77 Pharaoh’s land79 Waterproof raincoats81 Colleague of Calliope86 Hibernation87 “Silent Night” adjective88 Farm female91 Corcoran of “Bachelor Father”92 Napa Valley wine variety94 Some animal shelters96 ___-inflammatory97 Margarita order102 Just-eaten105 One worthy of emulation106 Defective107 “For Whom the Bell Tolls” character108 Bowled over109 Tree-shaded113 RNA component116 First grade time out?117 Sweet-talk118 Basic monetary unit of Canada119 Risky rendezvous120 Exchange political favors121 “A Streetcar Named Desire” character

DOWN1 Deadly snake2 Oolong, for one3 High-decibel form of 67-Across4 One given a portion5 Below, to poets6 Washer partner7 Major TV network8 Pencil ends9 Bank action10 Mobster’s speech, in stereotypes11 Mel, the Giant slugger12 Half a dance’s name13 Boy doll14 Do some finger-painting15 Gambling with ping-pong balls16 The Little Mermaid17 Erie or Panama18 Actor Kinski21 “Over the Rainbow” composer Harold26 Syrup, before processing28 21st letter of the Greek alphabet29 Brewers’ yeast30 Pelvis parts31 Driving range peg32 Seasoned pros33 Curtain fabric

34 A shade of blue39 “Cheers” actress Perlman40 “Green Eggs and Ham” guy43 Had a meal44 Enjoyed the children’s zoo45 “Happy Days” malt shop owner46 Lacking refinement47 With more of a certain shade tree49 John Lennon’s wife50 Doctor’s facilities51 Harmful look52 Place for a pot54 Software expert55 “A mouse!”58 Light refractors59 You can’t keep it forever60 Persuade61 Unification Church member nickname, once63 Whom psychiatrists see64 Chinese mafia67 Extremely easy victory68 “Norma ___” (1979 movie)73 Conductor Klemperer75 A country’s output, for short76 Trembled78 Wordplay groaner

80 Lip-___ (pretend to sing)82 Not permanent, as ink83 Building manager’s schedule84 Sampras of the courts85 The wife of Geraint in Arthurian lore88 Conductor Mata89 Oliver ___ Holmes90 “30” to an editor92 Gives the goad-ahead?93 “... and ___ the opposite shore will be”95 Sample, as wine97 Eyeball-bending drawings98 Finger-pointer99 Square-jawed detective Dick100 Visibility hindrances101 Discharge, as lava103 Encircles with a belt104 “Cats” poet T.S.106 Anglo-___ War (1899-1902)109 Punching tool110 Greek “P”111 ___, borrow or steal112 Word with “Rio” or “Mar”114 “Do the Right Thing” pizzeria owner115 Important time in history

SUDOKUSolve the puzzle by placing the numbers 1 through 9 in each row, column and box.

CRYPTOQUIZEach of the following cryptograms is a clue to the identity of an esteemed musician. Using the hints S=E and J=R, decipher the clues to name the musician.

1. S C Q S J O S F M S

2. T U K - T U K Q S Z U R

3. S R S M W J O M R U Z E R U F Z

4. Y A F W S J S E

5. T A A Z I W A M V

This musician owned many guitars, including one nicknamed Black Beauty:

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