E A ST COUNTY
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
ON S A E S
WIN
TER
THE
201
8
OBS
ERV
GUID E R ’S
THE E TO
A R TS
AND
SOC
IETY
MUSIC E DANC T R A TER THEA K TIE C BLA
INSIDE
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
•
FREE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017
VOLUME 20, NO. 6
YOUR TOWN
2017
SNAPSHOTS Pam Eubanks
Crunch time The holiday baking season has been a joy for Meg Maus (above), a client at The Haven who has been working in the Heavenly Haven Bakery Program designed for adults with disabilities. Maus works weekdays at the bakery and has earned a reputation for her chocolate chip cookies. “I make it with my love,” Maus said. “I like doing the cookies because it’s in your heart and it feels good making them for people to enjoy.”
Courtesy photo
Home-cooked meal for the win The infection control staff at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center combined with the quality and risk employees to earn first place in the hospital’s gingerbread house building contest. The team won with — what else? — a health-related theme. They made a replica of the medical center itself (above).
BLACK Best of 2017. INSIDE
TIE
H
eartache, triumph, adversity. East County residents persevered at times through a tough year but also made plenty of advances toward building an even more prosperous community. The unique talents of the residents also took center stage. Here is a recap of 2017, in photos. SEE PAGE 3
File photos
Top: Hurricane Irma turned the lives of East County residents upside down, or at least some of the signs on Blackberry Lane in Lakewood Ranch’s Summerfield. Above: Switzerland’s Patricia Merz collapses after her fourth-place finish in the Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls during the 2017 World Rowing Championships in September. Left: Blue Oyster Cult was the headline act at Thunder by the Bay in January, which was one and done in Lakewood Ranch before deciding to return to Sarasota in 2018.