E A ST COUNTY
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
Gold medal moments.
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YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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FREE THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019
VOLUME 21, NO. 37
More room for middle schoolers Opening of Mona Jain Middle School lightens the enrollment load at East County schools. PAGE 3
YOUR TOWN
Pam Eubanks
Fast camper After a sprinting game July 23 inside the Lakewood Ranch YMCA gym, 12-yearold Isabelle Kelley proved she was the fastest YMCA camper. So 21-year-old Nate Gross, the camp’s assistant director, challenged her to a race — and lost. “As a 6-foot-3 man, I’m a little defeated,” Gross said with a laugh. “I have more than a foot on her.” Kelley, a student at Haile Middle School, is only 4 feet, 11 inches tall.
Jay Heater
Barb Green, Diane Brune, Judy Balmer, Marilyn Schugg, Jennie Buehner, Dianne Emmermann and Ginny Kaseman met at Balmer’s Lakewood Ranch home to pack almost 600 backpacks for children in need as they head back to school.
Packed with passion Lakewood Ranch woman spearheads fundraising drive to provide children in need with back-to-school supplies. SEE PAGE 8
Courtesy photo
Top of her class Braden River High School graduate Grace Hill has earned top academic honors and become the third Manatee County recipient this year of the 2019 National Merit Scholarship. Hill was one of more than 1,000 high school seniors nationwide to receive the corporate-sponsored award. She earned the PepsiCo Foundation Scholarship. Hill will attend the University of Florida.
A+E
Waves of change
Savory summer menus INSIDE
Manatee YMCA alters financial strategies, heads in positive direction. SEE PAGE 4
Photos by Pam Eubanks
Emma Drehobl, 7, bounces a ball toward a fitness room at the Lakewood Ranch YMCA. Manatee YMCA CEO Sean Allison said the Y has righted its financial ship.