Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
SPORTS
INSIDE
Meet your commission candidates.
OUR TOWN
SPOTLIGHT
Tom Anderson recalls life in the squared circle.
Hope Lutheran sets sail with 2014 VBS.
PAGE 11
PAGES 8-9
FREE • FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014
PAGE 10
education by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Elia introduces Florida Standards at workshop Superintendent MaryEllen Elia believes testing aligned with Florida Standards will benefit Hillsborough students, but her presentation spurred debate among parents and teachers.
Felix Haynes and Gil Gott battled for the top spot in the spelling bee. In the end, Gott prevailed.
+ Gil Gott wins adult spelling bee The executive director of the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center has some new hardware on display. Gil Gott was crowned the winner of the Plant City Kiwanis Club’s Second Annual Business Spelling Bee Aug. 5, at the 1914 Plant City High School Community Building. Gott’s grasp of the English language defeated representatives from 15 other organizations. Second place went to Plant City Times & Observer Founding Publisher Felix Haynes, who represented the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce. Other spellers included Caitlyn Chandler (All A Bloom Florists); Linton Jackson (Americare Ambulance Service); Bob Hughens (In the Field magazine); Oscar Herrera (Family Care Pharmacy); Katherine Wolf (Haught Funeral Home); Dawn Cline (Master Craft); Vickie Nguyen (PCHS Key Club); Kayla Clenney (Strong Tower Insurance); Derek Yates (Suncoast Credit Union); Cheryl Johnston (Focus Magazine); Michael Eng (Plant City Times & Observer); Edwena Haney (Hopewell Funeral Home); and Mary Davis (Kaleidoscope Educational Services).
+ Hope launches fall GriefShare Hope Lutheran Church will host a new GriefShare class beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the church, 2001 North Park Road, Plant City. Anyone who is struggling following the recent death of a family member or friend or with a death that occurred some time ago is welcome. Each GriefShare session includes a video seminar and group discussion. For more information, call (813) 752-4622.
, 3&
This week’s winner is
Samantha Tindale See her photo on PAGE 15.
Hillsborough students will take assessments aligned with Florida Standards this school year, but some parents, teachers and students in Plant City expressed deep concerns about the program at an informational presentation July 30. Hillsborough County Public
Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia addressed a full auditorium at St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church to explain what she believes to be the benefits of Florida Standards. Elia repeatedly said a major advantage to Florida Standards was that they would be more
rigorous than the previous curriculum. “Our students have to be competitive across the world,” Elia said. “What we’re doing with Florida Standards is raising what we can expect of our students, so they can be better prepared when they leave high
Catherine Sinclair
MaryEllen Elia presented her support for Florida Standards July 30, at St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church. school to go to college or career.” She explained how math and language arts questions would be updated to emphasize logic and critical thinking to pre-
pare students for life after high school. For example, an “old” language arts problem for first
SEE STANDARDS / PAGE 4
DARE TO DANCE
HERO’S WELCOME by Michael Eng | Executive Editor
by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
Dance teacher takes leap of faith Macie’s School of Dance and Yoga offers children’s classes and lessons in a variety of genres. With her hair in a perfectly balanced bun and her arms outstretched gracefully, Macie Zimmerhanzel leaps across her dance floor. Her poise is matched by her positivity and perseverance. For years, she dreamed of starting her own dance business, and this summer, she followed that dream and opened Macie’s School of Dance and Yoga. Macie’s School of Dance and Yoga opened July 7, at 605 E. Alexander St. in Plant City. As a certified instructor of dance and yoga, Zimmerhanzel offers classes in a variety of styles, for children ages 3 to 18. Zimmerhanzel earned a bachelor’s degree in dance and secondary education in 2011, from Texas Tech University. After graduating, she continued dancing professionally and teaching. While teaching dance at Manzano Middle School in Brownsville, Texas, Zimmerhanzel established the school’s
Michael Eng
U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas Adair told his wife and daughter he wouldn’t be home for a few more weeks. But, on Aug. 4, he gave them a surprise that was even sweeter than a plate of Fred’s Market pancakes.
HOME FOR GOOD Last weekend, breakfast diners at Fred’s Restaurant witnessed a touching moment — U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas Adair surprising his wife, Lauren, and 2-year-old daughter, Autumn, after completing a yearlong deployment to Southeast Asia. Two-year-old Autumn Adair doesn’t say a word. But, her eyes — and her arms firmly wrapped around her father’s neck — tell the whole story. For most of her life, Autumn knew her father — U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas Adair — primarily through regular Skype chats and photo albums. She was born Sept. 21, 2011, in a military hospital in Okinawa, Japan, and later, while her father completed his
yearlong deployment, Autumn got to know Thomas through regular Skype chats. When she missed him, she’d climb up on the couch to talk to a wedding photo of Thomas and his wife, Lauren. But in this moment — at 10 a.m. Aug. 4, at Fred’s Market — Autumn needs no computer to see
SEE ADAIR / PAGE 4
SEE STUDIO / PAGE 4
what’s goin’ on by Catherine Sinclair | Staff Writer
We heard it through the grapevine: WIN to host revue for Glover School Proceeds from the Aug. 9 Motown Revue will go toward the restoration for the historic Glover School, in Bealsville. A unique concert by local performers will combine history and entertainment while supporting restoration efforts for the Glover School in Bealsville.
Women’s Interest Network in Eastern Hillsborough County, an organization that promotes quality of life for women in Plant City, will host a Motown Revue from 7 to 11 p.m. Satur-
day, Aug. 9, at the Glover School auditorium. Performers will include Velvet Williams, a vocalist based in Tampa, and Music Makers, a Motown group from Lakeland.
Bonnie Carr, who has served as chairwoman of WIN since 2011, has followed Williams’ music for years. “She captures your attention because she has an outstanding voice,” Carr said. “She sings a wide range of types of music,
SEE MOTOWN / PAGE 4
INDEX Calendar.......................2
Courtesy photo
Velvet Williams is one of the musicians who will perform at this weekend’s Motown Revue in Bealsville.
Vol. 2, No. 2 | One section Crossword...................15
Obituaries...................10
Sports.........................11
Weather ......................15
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