E A ST COUNTY
Health Matters APRIL 2020
EAST COUNTY
Observer
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
INSIDE
KEEP MOVING
Whether you’re stuck at home or constantly on the go, staying active is importan t for your physical — and mental — health. PAGE 2
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
STREAMING FITNESS
Instructors say no excuse to pause regimen.
PAGE 3
SPINE FAQ
PICTURE OF HEALTH
Slowing and healing the inevitable back pain.
It’s never too late to start working out.
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
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FREE THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020
VOLUME 22, NO. 23
Healthy reaction
Kids get crackin’
YOUR TOWN
Egg hunts shift to backyards in East County. SEE PAGE 13
Community steps up to support Lakewood Ranch Medical Center during COVID-19 crisis. PAGE 3
Courtesy photo
Help from a smart cookie Lakewood Ranch’s Scott McKay wanted to support health care workers, so he talked to the Girl Scouts about helping him. He and fellow members of his F3 Suncoast group pooled money to buy 130 boxes of cookies and donate them to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. The Girl Scouts needed to sell their cookies to fund activities, and health care workers would have something yummy to enjoy. “The Girl Scouts were relieved, and the health care workers were thrilled,” McKay said. “It was a winwin for sure.”
Pam Eubanks
BubbaQue’s BBQ Owner Jason Kazbour delivers food purchased for the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.
Courtesy photo
One-year-old Niko Rossi Sharma finds Easter eggs on the No. 3 hole of the King’s Dune Course in Lakewood Ranch. He is the grandson of Gloria Bracciano and Greg Van Natter.
Show us the money Area business owners worry government funds won’t be delivered in time to help. SEE PAGE 5
Teacher by default Courtesy photo
Marcie Hackman helps her third grade daughter Kinley, who attends Gene Witt, with an assignment.
Home-school parents offer teaching tips to those thrust into unfamiliar territory. SEE PAGE 8
Pam Eubanks
Special delivery Lakewood Ranch 14-yearold Carter Edwards’ former dog, Libby, loved to retrieve the East County Observer each week, so when he got a new dog, he made sure to teach it the same trick. Now his 1-year-old yellow lab, Brady, rushes to pick up the newspaper when it’s thrown on the driveway and delivers it to his owners, who quickly begin to flip through its pages. “We love to read it,” said Carter’s dad, Gregg.