SARASOTA/SIESTA KEY
Fun run tradition.
Observer
PAGE 8B
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2023
VOLUME 20, NO. 3
YOUR TOWN
Board presses Ziegler to resign Bridget Ziegler gave no indication she’d step down from school board. SEE PAGE 5A
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James Lewis, president of NSHSS, and Henry Zhou
Smart solution
As the founder of the Entrepreneur Club at his school, Pine View School senior Henry Zhou knows something about how to fill a niche with an idea. When he learned from a firefighter friend about the dangers of residential fires — that they result in about 16,000 injuries a year — he created a fire extinguisher to solve the problem. The box-like SmartVolly (“Volly” stands for volunteer firefighter) suited the problem so well, in fact, that it could even be disguised as an object, such as a book or a painting. The project went on to receive a $10,000 grant from the Be More Fund by National Society of High School Scholars. The device can be placed in fire-prone areas around the home and operates by dispersing a fire extinguishing powder. Its circuitry allows it to connect to a user’s phone to provide notifications and to activate when the area reaches a temperature set by the user.
REINDEER GAMES The annual Holiday Boat Parade lights up with a tribute to a classic Christmas film. SEE PAGE 1B
Ian Swaby
“Reindeer” dance aboard Radiant II, which was captained by Zac Oppenheim. Courtesy image
Tom and Marilyn Farello at the Bird Key Yacht Club’s Blessing of the Fleet
Holiday kickoff
More than 180 members and guests of Bird Key Yacht Club participated in the annual Blessing and Lighting of the Fleet and Holiday Party on Dec. 2 at the club. The age-old maritime tradition kicks off the holiday season each year for BKYC. Commodore Steve Horton led the ceremony, with Pastor Don Roser delivering the blessing. Members enjoyed a flotilla of beautifully decorated vessels, colorfully lit, which filled the yacht club’s marina. Just a few days later, the club hosted Seraphic Fire, a Grammy-nominated Florida ensemble, which performed a holiday concert on Dec. 5 as part of the BKYC Seafarers Speakers Series. Grammy Award-winning Conductor James K. Bass led the performers through seasonal classics as the audience enjoyed Seraphic Fire’s performance with just the power of their voices in harmony.
A+E
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New College has agreed to buy 30.9 of the 34.8 acres it leases from Sarasota’s airport.
Let’s make a (land) deal New College is set to buy $11.5M of land from SRQ. SEE PAGE 12A
Butcher’s block: Florida’s wild. INSIDE