EAST COUNTY
Observer
Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
Dog-day morning
PAGE 3B
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023
VOLUME 25, NO. 22
Bike safety still major county issue
YOUR TOWN
Manatee County has had 34 bicycle fatalities since 2018. SEE PAGE 3A
Liz Ramos
Meeting royalty
Taylor Blatchford (above with student Artem Varshavsky) walked into the orchestra room at The Out-of-Door Academy Nov. 16 with her Miss Nevada crown and sash on. She borrowed a violin and showcased her talent to a group of sixth graders. She played “Millionaire’s Hoedown” before sharing the various opportunities she’s had from being able to play an instrument. Brooke Allen-Bernstein, the associate director of development at ODA, is a co-executive director of the Miss Nevada Scholarship Organization and invited her friend, Blatchford, to visit campus. Varshavsky enjoyed meeting Miss Nevada and hearing her performance. “I didn’t quite expect the song to be the way it was,” he said. “It was fast and impressive.”
Manatee schools form budget strategy New commissioner formulates future plans after doing 100 days of research in his new post. SEE PAGE 4A File photo
Superintendent Jason Wysong values the feedback he receives from his principals like Scott Cooper, principal at R. Dan Nolan Middle School.
Commissioner no longer man in the middle
Lesley Dwyer
Couple likes their day in court With the Thanksgiving break in full swing, Mill Creek residents Sarah and Garrett Harp sipped coffee and enjoyed a quiet moment under a tree at Summerfield Park as their kids took tennis lessons. Normally, the lessons are at the Country Club. The Harps were both born and raised in Florida, but neither play tennis, so their 7- and 11-year-old kids, Owen and Olivia, are learning and teaching them. “I try to keep up. I want to be able to hit the ball with them,” Garrett Harp said. “I keep my skill level based on their skill level. When they’re 18, I’ll play like an 18-year-old.”
George Kruse says he doesn’t mind being the lone dissenting vote on some key issues for Manatee County. SEE PAGE 8A
File photo
George Kruse
A+E Holiday horns. INSIDE