E A ST COUNTY
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Daddies dance with daughters. PAGE 6B
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FREE THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
VOLUME 22, NO. 11
Census provides growth tally You knew East County grew, but census tells you how much by each ZIP code. PAGE 3A
YOUR TOWN
Liz Ramos
Student raises cane at Witt Finley Phillips, a kindergartner at Gene Witt Elementary School, wasn’t quite herself Jan. 24. Her hair turned gray over night, and she walked with a cane at school. Phillips (above) went from being 5 years old to 100. With her cane in hand, she slowly walked around her classroom as her class celebrated the 100th day of school.
Big day for Gray The Doggies for Duchenne Run benefits Another Day for Gray and the Humane Society. SEE PAGE 1B Jay Heater
Race organizers Monaka Oberer and Rebekah Boudrie join Grayson Tullio (center) at the Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch in preparation for Doggies for Duchenne Run on Feb. 1.
Pam Eubanks
Slice of kindness
All washed up Twelve-year-old Mia Gonzalez (shown above with 14-year-old Kayla Sthreshley) did not mind grabbing a towel or a hose and helping to wash cars Jan. 25 in the parking lot of Crowder Bros. Ace Hardware. Sthreshley, after all, had earned the title of “expert” car washer of the Carlos E. Haile Middle School Technology Student Association group, which was raising funds for the state TSA competition Feb. 26-29 in Orlando. “The secret is using lots of soap,” Sthreshley said.
Jay Heater
Tara’s Marsha Wright gives Petrosino’s owner Brenda Edens a big hug for finding her wallet containing precious rings.
Lost wallet and $15,000 worth of rings returned by Italian deli owner. SEE PAGE 8A
A+E A much wider perspective INSIDE