E A ST COUNTY
SEASON FA L L 2 0 17
Observer
THE OBS ERV
Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
E R ’S G U IDE TO T HE ARTS AND SOC IETY
Season magazine
INSIDE
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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FREE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2017
VOLUME 19, NO. 45
Boatload of fun
World Rowing event ends its run. SEE PAGE 14
YOUR TOWN
Berkley Mason
Apple seeds of learning It was an “A” kind of day in the kindergarten class of Tara Elementary School teacher Jo Johnson. Instead of having her students read about “apples,” she helped them bake apple pie. Student Levi Harrell was happy to become an apple expert. “I know they grow on trees,” he said. “The stems grow and then the apples fall. I made an apple pie once before at my cabin far away in the mountains. I like apples.”
GRACED WITH GLORY Local senior represents Florida in Ms. Senior America Pageant. JAY HEATER MANAGING EDITOR
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litting about her Lakewood Ranch home, Lorraine Robertson looked down at the floor and felt compelled to apologize. “You will have to excuse the glitter,” Robertson said with a smile. “I’ve been putting it on my shoes.” She also has been sprinkling it on her life. SEE PAGE 8 Courtesy image
Pam Eubanks
Back in the boat
Palm Aire resident Bill Sproat spent last week greeting guests entering the VIP section of the 2017 World Rowing Championships — and making sure non-ticket holders did not gain entry to the finish tower. What the fans didn’t know is that Sproat was a rower during the 1949 and 1950 seasons at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Wisconsin. So he loved every minute. “I wanted to help,” he said. “This is the finest facility in the world.”
A+E
Painting on a living canvas. INSIDE
County’s decision: ‘Ride on’ No-cycling signs come down on Hidden River Trail. SEE PAGE 2 Pam Eubanks