EAST COUNTY
Observer
Buddy system
Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
PAGE 17
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2023
VOLUME 25, NO. 18
YOUR TOWN
Does it pay to be elected? Salaries for elected officials in Manatee County are tied to population. SEE PAGE 3
Liz Ramos
Braden River students on a roll Brixtyn Murphy, a first grader at Braden River Elementary School, pulled double duty on the school’s Walk and Roll to School Day on Oct. 19. Because she usually is running late in the mornings, Murphy is dropped off at school most days by her mom, Brittni Murphy (shown above with Brixtyn). Her mom brings her bike to school in the afternoon so Brixtyn can ride it home. On Oct. 19, Brixtyn rode her bike both ways. Penny Stilson, a physical education teacher at Braden River Elementary, said Walk and Roll to School Day came after a week-and-a-half of teaching students about bike and pedestrian safety. “Now we’re practicing what we teach,” Stilson said on the day hundreds of the school’s students and family members walked, biked or rollerbladed to school. The class with the most Walk and Roll to School Day participants earned the Golden Shoe Award, which is a gold painted tennis shoe that will stay in their classroom all year.
PATCH OF SUNSHINE
Peace Presbyterian Church in Lakewood Ranch prepares for Halloween with the perfect pumpkins. SEE PAGE 26
Jay Heater
Temple Terrace 3-year-old Thea Stinson picks the perfect pumpkin during Peace Presbyterian Church’s annual Pumpkin Patch event in Lakewood Ranch on Oct. 21. The church also offers its Peaceful Path, a free, short hike that will have not-so-scary decorations and will be open every day through Halloween.
Baked goods rise to the occasion
Lesley Dwyer
Fore the dogs
With 228 attendees, the 10th annual Putts-Fore-Mutts tournament teed off to a good start on Oct. 23 at the Ritz-Carlton Members Club in Lakewood Ranch. Putts-Fore-Mutts benefits the Humane Society of Lakewood Ranch, and this year’s event was the biggest turnout yet. “We have a lot more female golfers this year,” Co-chair Rebekah Boudrie (above with volunteers Shayna Resnick and Lauren Kleinfeldt) said. “It’s always been 90% male, but it’s about 60/40 this year.” Each year, attendees enjoy lunch and dinner, plus a round of golf, a helicopter ball drop, a raffle and silent auction.
Liz Ramos
Baking is a passion for Madelin Oran-Gonzalez, a Manatee Technical College baking and pastry arts student.
MTC baking and pastry arts students work in a pressure cooker to prepare for Suncoast Food and Wine Fest. SEE PAGE 6
A+E
Sound of a masterpiece. INSIDE