Bloomingdale/FishHawk
27
September 2023
Volume 22, Issue 9
Ph: 813-657-2418
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CELEBRATING 21 YEARS OF PUBLISHING P OSITIVE COMMUNIT Y NEWS
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY FLAG By Linda Chion FLYS HIGH ABOVE BEVIS AFTER ALMOST $10,000 FUNDRAISER By Meghan Reyes
HILLSBOROUGH’S DENNIS JONES NAMED FIRE CHIEF OF THE YEAR
Osprey Observer 2109 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. Valrico, FL 33596
CongratGeorgia came ulations to in second Tu s ke g e e with $3,840 University for raised. winning BevBut the flag is Elementafor Tuskegee ry School’s University, a Fly Your Flag private HBCU Competition (historically for the second black colleges year in a row. and universiThe school ties) in Tuskerecently held gee, Alabama, a flag-raising re p re s e n te d Amirah Spicer with members of her family and HBCU ceremony to an astoundcelebrate the alumni at the flag-raising ceremony for Tuskegee University, ing $4,499 the winner of Bevis Elementary’s Fly Your Flag fundraiser. Tuskegee vicin fundraistory. The Tuskegee University flag will ing, thanks to the efforts of fifth grader continue to fly for the 2023-24 school Amirah Spicer. year; it was also flown as the victor for “I loved telling everyone how much I the 2022-23 school year. appreciated them participating and also The Fly Your Flag Competition is an letting them know about HBCUs. And it annual fundraiser for the Bevis Elemen- is great to be able to help teachers with tary Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) supplies,” said Spicer. that takes place in spring of the school Spicer networked and even did a Faceyear. The premise is simple and operates book Live video with her family to help similar to a GoFundMe. Students and reach her goal of winning again this year. faculty work together to get people to In last year’s competition, she raised an donate to the flags of their college alma impressive $5,411 in just two short days. maters. Participants pay $10 to add Spicer was present with her family, the their college’s flag to the competition. president of the local Tuskegee Alumni “The Fly Your Flag fundraiser has not Association and other HBCU alumni to only been a great fundraiser for its fun celebrate and help raise the flag at the and competitive nature but also the op- celebration while the Tuskegee fight portunity it’s provided our students to song played. The PTA also presented her learn the value of networking and team- with the flag from last year signed by all work,” said PTA President Amanda Win- the teachers. Spicer now has it proudly emiller. displayed in her room. Every penny raised through this The Bevis PTA plans to continue this friendly competition is put back into the fundraising competition next year. To school to provide teachers, classrooms find out how to further support Bevis and students with additional resources, Elementary, visit www.bevispta.com. which in turn support efforts to give students the best education possible. This year, a total of $9,955 was raised, with a total of 18 colleges entered into NEW BAND DIRECTOR....................PG 3 the competition. Aside from the many MOTORING TAMPA BAY ................PG 5 Florida schools, there were several outof-state schools represented, including BRUCE MARSH.................................PG 12 The Ohio State University and the Uni- EYE ON BUSINESS................PGS 25-26 versity of Georgia. The University of GET THE DIRT...................................PG 40
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At the Naples compassion,” Grande Beach Hillsborough Resort in July, County AdminDennis Jones istrator Boncelebrated a nie Wise said. grand moment in “With more his momentous than 40 years career, which of experience since 2015 has in fire service, involved leadchief Jones has ing Hillsborough the steadfast County Fire Resrespect and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Dennis Jones, cue and its more admiration of front and center, with HCFR members in attendance than 1,200 career the first reat the 2022 Patriot Day Remembrance at Hillsborough firefighters, parasponders in his County Veterans Memorial Park. medics and staff. charge, and as Named Florida Career Fire Chief of the a founding member of Florida Task Force 3, Year at the July 18 event, Jones said he was there is nobody I would rather have at my “truly humbled to receive this recognition” side during times of crisis.” and that he was “extremely proud to be a Notable achievements under Jones’ tenmember of Hillsborough County Fire Res- ure include the addition of 12 advanced life cue,” which this year celebrates 50 years of support ambulances, a second heavy rescue service. unit, a new fireboat, a new rescue boat, two With more than four decades of firefight- personal watercraft and an aerial truck. The ing experience himself, Jones joined Tampa summer youth fire academy, cadet program Fire Rescue in 1978, rising up through the and fire academy were either instituted or ranks to Tampa Fire Rescue fire chief. He revamped under his direction, and as a result retired in 2010 after five years in that role. allowed for a more diverse workforce. Now, going into his ninth year as HillsAs for his heart for service, it was clearly borough fire chief, Jones leads the state’s evident in 2022 — during the 21st anniverfourth-largest fire department and the larg- sary remembrance for the September 11, est on Florida’s west coast. Hillsborough’s 46 2011, terrorist attacks — at Hillsborough stations cover more than 909 square miles County Veterans Memorial Park and Rear and last year answered nearly 140,000 Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. Veterans Museum alarms for service. To meet the demands of in Tampa. a growing population, Jones has called for “In just two and a half hours that mornan additional two stations a year for the ing, our lives and our world were changed next 10 years. forever,” Jones said. Jones is a founding member of Florida Through it all, and the disasters and panTask Force 3, an urban search-and-rescue demic that were to come, Jones has stood team of trained firefighters from Hillsbor- as a constant, being deeply moved and ough County, Tampa and St. Petersburg, committed in his role now as chief first rewhich assists in disasters statewide and sponder. For his career commitment and nationally. Jones in 2021 deployed the task achievements, Jones received career fire force in response to the partial collapse of chief award recognition from the Florida the Champlain Towers South condominium Fire Chiefs’ Association, which specializes in in Surfside, a suburb of Miami. promoting and supporting excellence in fire “He is a man of integrity, fortitude and and emergency services management.
The Bloomingdale Senior High School Drumline was invited by the Hillsborough County School Board to participate in Performance On The Plaza Tunes and help kick off the new school year. Read more about new BSHS band director Jordan Fraze who is dedicated to making sure the Bloomingdale Band stays successful. He is setting the tone by establishing a focus on loving music. According to him, having a love and passion for music will yield top-level performances. See the full story on Page 3.
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