EAST COUNTY
Observer
Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
A safe house for goats
PAGE 6B
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024
VOLUME 25, NO. 29
YOUR TOWN
SHHHHH!
The Lakewood Ranch Library is open An estimated 500 people attend the grand opening of the $17.7 million library. SEE PAGE 3A
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Hallmark has nothing on these students The students at Myakka Elementary School are on a roll, earning money for the school’s art department. First, their entry in UTC’s Holiday Greeting Card Contest won third place and $150. Their card competed with more than 50 other entries from local schools and organizations. Then, with the help of the Myakka City Co-op, students sold $200 worth of Wallace greeting cards at the Silver Star East restaurant. Wallace is a local warthog who has become a TikTok sensation. Every student in the school decorated a card. Matthew Diaz-Alvarado (above) took the top spot for the kindergartners. A winner was chosen among each grade, and each winner took home a Wallace mug.
Lesley Dwyer
Patrons browse the collection of 45,000 books, audiobooks and DVDs after the Lakewood Ranch Library opened Jan. 12
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Tara comes up aces in terms of donations For six years, Tara Golf and Country Club’s Fitness and Recreation Committee has been dedicated to raising money for Oneco Elementary School. The committee has a business partnership set up with the school to ensure all of the money raised goes to the 600-student, Title I school and its students and teachers. In 2023, the goal was no different. Oneco Elementary School Principal Nicole Williams accepted a check of $4,380 from Tara Golf and Country Club members Camille Pawlic and Sandy Coffman. The money came solely from membership donations.
Welcome addition impresses LWR High students The $18.2 million structure gives students 22 classrooms and a lot more space for a better learning environment. SEE PAGE 5A
A+E
Liz Ramos
Students walk around the quad that connects Lakewood Ranch High School’s new 22-classroom addition to the rest of campus.
Sarasota inherits a new ‘Wind.’ INSIDE