Bloomingdale/FishHawk
35
January 2023
Volume 22, Issue 1
Ph: 813-657-2418
Y EIAN R REVIEW See Pages 30-34
CELEBRATING 21 YEARS OF PUBLISHING P OSITIVE COMMUNIT Y NEWS
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SUPPORT EMPLOYEE DURING CHALLENGES
BLOOMINGDALE GRAD HELPS CREATE REPLICA OF THE CAPITOL BUILDING
Newsome custodian in High School’s any way posstudent body sible. During came togeththe final week er to support of Novemtheir head ber, students custodian collected doahead of the nations from holidays after parents and hearing about students in the the challenges Newsome car she was going line. through out“I didn’t realside of work. ize there were Newsome High School’s student government raised money W a n d a so many people to support head custodian Wanda Butler. Butler has that cared that worked at would do this Newsome for for me and my 22 years. Earhusband,” said lier this year, Butler. her husband Other students was diagnosed were going home with stageto their famifour metastatlies, asking their ic lung and parents to help brain cancer them make a and the Butdonation to suplers heard that port the Butlers the home they had been renting was being as well. sold and so they had to move out by the “Wanda means so much to this school. first of the new year. She’s been here for 20 years and she’s alBearing the full weight of these chal- ways providing dedication and love,” said lenges, Wanda confided in friend and co- SGA President Yasmine Ofiara. worker Corynn Cusson. The money will be given to Wanda as her “When I found out about her husband, I husband undergoes cancer treatments and just felt like she was such a big support to they search for a new home. Wanda said me that I needed to be supportive of her as one of their priorities is to buy a house so well because that’s what good friends do,” they no longer have to deal with the chalsaid Cusson. lenges of renting. Moved to help her friend of three years, “Don’t bottle it up. Talk to somebody,” Cusson started a GoFundMe page and advised Wanda to others who are dealing shared a little of Wanda’s story on Face- with challenges in their personal lives. “Bebook. The link was shared with the facul- cause if you express what situation you are ty and staff at Newsome High School and in to at least one person, that one person eventually reached the Student Govern- will pay it forward to the next person.” ment Association (SGA) sponsor. To read Wanda’s story or donate to the When the student government students fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/ found out, they wanted to help their head rally-for-the-butlers.
The nation’s flat. This year’s Capitol Building house is 100 perwas made more cent plant-based, festive this holiday using chickpea waseason by a 2021 ter, instead of egg Bloomingdale Sewhites, and plantnior High School based butter. The graduate, Molly construction took Donahue, who about 55 hours was on the team from start to finthat created the ish and consisted sixth annual Ginof 73 pounds of gerbread Capitol. various sugars, 65 Donahue grew pounds of flour up baking with From left to right: Lovely Casey, Saipin Kumlor, Fred and 5 pounds of Johnson, Molly Donahue and Faith Weber. her mom. In high cinnamon, among school, she joined other ingredients. Bloomingdale The dome was High School’s culikept separate until nary program. She the building was credits chef Jormoved from the dan Hoeffner at Rayburn house to Bloomingdale for the Capitol. encouraging her “I have never to pursue culinary worked on a projschool. ect of that large “She just really scale. Seeing it helped and encome together couraged me to pursue culinary school, and was really incredible,” Donahue said. I am so glad she did. I love it,” Donahue exDonahue will graduate in May from The plained. Disney School of Culinary Arts at Valencia In October, Donahue and her college College in Orlando. She aspires to work at a friend, Faith Weber, received an invitation Disney hotel. from Fred Johnson III, Sodexo district manThe 2022 Gingerbread Capitol building ager at the U.S. House of Representatives, was on display on the first floor of the Capto complete the gingerbread-house Capitol itol building from November 29 to January replica. They were given creative design and 2. To see a video showing how the house decided to make the design elegant and tra- was put together and to view pictures of the ditional. Donahue and Weber spent three Capitol gingerbread houses since 2017, visit days completing the house. Those three days @capitolgingerbread on Facebook. were spent listening to Christmas music in Donahues’ advice to bakers: “Don’t be the Rayburn house, which is adjacent to the afraid to try new things with baking. Even Capitol Building; baking; piping icing; and if it seems scary, just try it and see how it putting the house together. They went back turns out. You never know. Maybe it will be at the end of November in 2022 to do the your new favorite recipe.” final touches before the 2022 Capitol Gingerbread House was presented. Pulling the house together in a short amount of time was impressive. Every step STRAW FEST CONCERTS ............... PG 3 of creating the house was intricate. Beneath MOTORING TAMPA BAY ................ PG 5 the house is a wooden frame. The pieces were cut out by hand. To make them fit to- DRONE PARK ........................................ PG 6 gether, some pieces had to be sanded. Piping EYE ON BUSINESS ................PGS 25-26 of the icing was done when the pieces were YEAR IN REVIEW .................... PG 30-34
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01/31/2023
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01/31/2023