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- Churches Find Creative Ways To Attract Members
- Apple Pancakes Warm Fall Mornings
- Code Violation Citation Quiets Restaurant Racket
- Letters to the editor
- Candidly Dawn
- Bud Mulrennan Dies At Age 93
- Lake Hutto Goes Before New Commission
- Company Transforms Trash To Treasure
- County To Analyze Complex Road Improvement Needs
- Homes For The Holidays
- Goodbye, Cello Man
- ‘Nutcracker’ Ushers In Holiday Season
- Here’s An Apology From A Christian
- Surviving On Prayers And Blessings
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TEMPLE TERRACE - The Temple Terrace Community Development Agency will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, to consider a downtown redevelopment proposal by The Vlass Group.
Immediately after the CRA meeting, the Temple Terrace City Council will consider the redevelopment proposal. Both meetings are open to the public and will be held in the council chambers at the Temple Terrace City Hall, 11250 N. 56th St.
I don’t have any great retrospective to offer as I turn out the lights on my time as a professional reporter in Polk County. I am encouraged by my discussions with Tribune and TBO higher-ups about their intentions for future reporting from Polk. But it will take some time for actual staffing decisions to be worked out.
Mostly, I want to thank you, the people who took time to read and think and comment about my reporting. You are the people who will save journalism by continuing to value it.
And I am extremely proud of having a small role in building the Polk-focused online reporting infrastructure now in place. I think we far exceed what I’ve seen from other counties. And that’s important, I think. Too much of what our neighbors along I-4 know about us focuses on the crime their TV stations cover. Covering Polk for a major news organization headquartered outside the county has made me far more of a Polk nationalist than I ever was working for the Ledger.
We’re a big, interesting, important county. Period. I’ve been proud to make that case to whoever would read. And I hope to continue to do so however I can.
Thanks.
By JULIE WHITNEY
Something we can always count on in life is change. It is a constant that keeps us all on our toes and wondering what might be around the next corner. It is a source of dislike for many individuals yet some welcome it with open arms.
Sometimes change brings with it sadness, loss and disappointment, and other times it provides us with a surprise of which we could never dream.
Such is the case I have found in the past few years since becoming friends with people that have devoted their lives to being in the military. They can count on being reassigned every 36 months in most cases.
They must pack their household belongings, say goodbye to friends and move to another base, often times, to another country. Perhaps they must move their children to a new school which comes with making new friends and getting settled in new surroundings. All this, to turn around and do it all again in the coming years.
One comment that has been repeated to me time and time again is how warm and wonderful the people of Tampa have been to the members of our military and their families. They say in all the many cities in which they have lived, never has there been a community that has made them feel as welcomed. Thank you Tampa!
New leadership
It was bittersweet for me to recently attend two change of command ceremonies. Col. Maggie Woodward passed the 6th Air Mobility Wing flag to Air Force Maj. Gen. James Hawkins. He in turn, passed the flag to Col. Robert Thomas, MacDill’s new base commander.
Thomas and his wife, Mari, have two young children and have come from Travis Air Force Base in California, where he was commander of the 572nd Contingency Response Group, a unit that rapidly establishes air bases in combat areas.
Col. Woodward has become the new commander of the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., maintaining the presidential fleet of aircraft including Air Force One. Becoming a brigadier general is also in the stars for Maggie.
Another major plus is reuniting with her brigadier general husband, Dan, who is currently stationed in Washington, D.C., at the Pentagon. They have been separated by duty and bases throughout the past seven years.
I will miss her and her exuberance for life and love of country. She has commanded MacDill flawlessly and with grace, in a world dominated by men. At her farewell dinner, her staff and officers showered her with love and good wishes and obviously appreciated her leadership. Now, she is off into the wild blue yonder to break yet another glass ceiling.
Farewell to Abazaid
During the United States Central Command change of command ceremony, Army four-star General and Commander John Abazaid passed the U.S. Central Command Flag to Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. Gates in-turn passed the flag to Navy Adm. William Fallon.
The position has never been held by an admiral before. Fallon and wife, Mary, have four grown children and have come from United States Pacific Command located on Camp Smith, Hawaii.
Abazaid and his wife, Kathy, are retiring to Gardnerville, Nev. They have put this event on the back burner two years ago when Abazaid agreed to serve one last tour of duty. They have built their dream home and plan on enjoying their children and grandchildren. I will miss them greatly but know they are looking forward to this chapter in their lives.
Citizen of the Year
At the Centcom change of command, I sat down behind my friend Sue House and her husband, Joe. It gave me a chance to chat with her about her most recent award, Citizen of the Year from the Tampa Bay Sports Club.
The club, established in 1961, has given this most prestigious award to only four women since its inception, and Sue is most deserving since she has been promoting sports in Tampa through the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, her work on Legends Field, the Ice Palace, saving the Bucs and building the new stadium.
A member of the Tampa Bay Sports Authority, she was the second woman to be chairman in 1998, the opening year of Raymond James Stadium. Sue, a former model in her earlier years, is an elegant powerhouse that has fearlessly guided sports in Tampa.
Congratulations Sue, for many jobs well done!!!
See ya’ll around town!
By HAROLD VALENTINE
A weeklong celebration of the 50-year period that saw Tampa’s population explode nearly 100-fold will begin
April 5.
From 1875 to 1925 were Tampa’s “Boomtown years,” said director of Reclaiming Our Heritage Devin Ridley-Marks, who is coordinating the second annual Florida Heritage Celebration in Tampa. The event takes place during the last week of a statewide recognition of Florida heritage.
This year’s theme is similar to Marks’ focus for last year’s event, celebrating citrus, cigars, cattle and the other industries that put Tampa on the map.
“That’s where we got the theme for our festival ‘From Cracker to Flapper,’” Marks said. “In that period there are a myriad of stories that are full of boom, spice, vinegar, failure and success.”
Reclaiming Our Heritage is a nonprofit organization celebrating Tampa Bay’s history through events and by searching for, preserving and sharing surviving articles from Southern Florida’s first daily newspaper, the Tampa Daily Times, which evolved into the Tampa Tribune. Publications from the paper’s first 20 years – vital years chronicling Tampa’s growth – are largely missing.
One of the events Marks is excited about could include cattle herded onto Franklin Street in front of the Tampa Theatre. The hubbub of hoofs would be for a Tampa Theatre event about Carlton Ward Jr., whose photography captures Florida’s rich ranch and cattle heritage.
“Carlton’s photography is bringing to life the overlooked, exotic story that’s right underneath Mickey Mouse’s ears,” Marks said. “The story of ranching and cattle dates back to our earliest days as a community.”
Marks said the cattle for the $12 event, which takes place April 10 from 6 to 9 p.m., is still yet to be confirmed.
Marks said the Tampa Bay area has several crevices in it filled with history. As well as having successful industries in phosphate and lumber, which will be focused on April 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Pioneer Florida Museum of Dade City, a film star from St. Petersburg was discovered during Tampa Bay’s first boom period. Marks said Colleen Moore was the Marilyn Monroe of her time, from 1915 and throughout the 1920s.
Those are the kind of factoids that get Marks excited about the area’s history, but he is not originally from Tampa Bay. He has lived in Tampa – South Tampa – for only a year and a half.
About four years ago Marks said he was running a successful marketing business in Washington D.C. That’s when he said he learned from his grandmother about his rich family history in Tampa. He found out about his great-great-grandfather, Silas Armistead Jones, who had created the Tampa Daily Times.
Marks said that’s when he realized – while his grandmother spoke about Jones – that unless history is recorded, it will be forgotten.
“We’re a culture, community and generation that is geared around instant gratification, instant messaging and instant online relationships,” Marks said. “But in this disposable culture and mentality, there are incredible depths of stories, lessons, mentors and role models of our past that can guide us through our fast-paced lifestyle that’s wounding to our soul.”
Another event celebrating heritage week also touches Marks’ personal life. On April 9 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. there will be a parlor discussion at the historic Peter O. Knight house, 245 South Hyde Park Ave. The event is hosted in part by the Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute and will discuss ways a community can know more about its architectural landscape.
Marks, whose mother is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, said the subject can be a starting point for conversations for family members with the disease.
Marks said this technique can not only help patients with Alzheimer’s disease but can jump-start the oral tradition within families that have largely been abandoned.
Marks said to know history, particularly of one’s community, is important to residents to better understand who and where they are.
“Unless you have a sense of the place and heritage that you call home,” Marks said, “you’re a stranger in your town.”
For information about the event, visit www.reclaimingourheritage.org.
5 Deputies Cleared In Shooting
By JOE SEELIG
SEBRING — Five deputies were cleared in the Feb. 16 shooting of a man who shot his wife and fled the scene.
Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Lt. Gus Garcia said Friday he cleared the deputies in the shooting of Charles Schmidt, who shot his wife which led to a half-day manhunt that ended in his death.
Schmidt died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, according to the medical examiner.
Garcia said he submitted his report on March 1 for the sheriff’s review. It was several days later that Garcia said he received his report back indicating that Sheriff Susan Benton concurred. The report was forwarded to the state attorney’s office.
To add to the deputies’ good news, Assistant State Attorney Stephen K. Houchin delivered a letter dated March 8 to Sheriff Benton clearing them of any wrong doing.
After discussing the case with State Attorney Jerry Hill, the state found the actions of the officers involved were justified and no further legal action will be taken.
Schmidt, 46, of 5226 Barnum St., DeSoto City, reportedly shot and wounded his wife Christine during an argument and was pursued at about 10 a.m. into a series of orange groves by nine Special Response Team members along with a K-9 deputy.
Deputies believed he was armed. It turned out they were right.
At about 2 p.m. the deputies and a second tracking K-9 unit, finally caught up with Schmidt, who reportedly was seen behind a tree by a deputy about 30 yards away east of County Road 17.
The deputy ordered Schmidt to drop his 45-caliber handgun, but he did not. Instead, Schmidt raised his weapon in the direction of the team, according to reports.
Believing their lives were in danger the deputies opened fire, firing 59 rounds and hitting Schmidt six to seven times. Schmidt died at Highlands Regional Medical Center within the hour.
Those five team members were on temporary paid administrative leave until the shooting review was conducted. The K-9 officer did not fire his weapon.
They were returned to desk administrative duty on Feb. 28 and as of Friday they will all be able to resume their regular duties, said Sheriff’s Maj. Mark Schrader.
Weapons discharged included three MP-5 machine guns for a total of 44 rounds, a Glock model 22 fired 12 rounds, an H&K G36 .223-caliber submachine gun fired three rounds.
2nd FHP Shooting Suspect Headed To Georgia
By CHRIS BUTLER
SEBRING — Florida Highway Patrol troopers said he broke the law by fleeing into an orange grove after his friend shot and killed Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile in January.
Quintin Jerome Kinder, 21, is now on his way back to his native state of Georgia to face a violation of probation charge.
Kinder was arrested and charged with illegal trespass of the orange grove around the same time Sebring resident Joshua Lee Altersberger, 19, was arrested and charged with Sottile’s murder. The illegal trespass was a misdemeanor charge.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said Kinder and Altersberger were riding in the same automobile when Sottile pulled them over.
Assistant State Attorney Stephen Houchin said Thursday that a judge put off Kinder’s sentencing on the trespass charge and ordered him back to Georgia to face the violation of probation charge.
“We will eventually bring him back from Georgia after he’s finished up there,” Houchin said.
Houchin said he was unable to confirm reports of a Decatur County, Ga., squad car in Highlands County transporting Kinder
back to his native state. But Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton confirmed those reports Thursday afternoon.
Kinder’s court-appointed attorney Derek Christian issued a not-guilty plea in court on his client’s behalf last month.
Kinder had been in the Highlands County Jail since January, held separately from both Altersberger and other inmates.
Highlands County court officials last month appointed Christian, a private attorney, for the Georgia suspect.
Houchin said in January that the Highlands County Public Defender’s Office had withdrew itself from representing Kinder. That’s because public defenders are already representing Altersberger.
“There’s an obvious conflict of interest,” Houchin said at the time, adding one suspect may give public defenders information that could incriminate the other.
According to records from Georgia’s Decatur County Jail, Kinder has an extensive criminal background there, including charges of theft, burglary and possession of marijuana, among many others.
Houchin said last month that Kinder isn’t being given immunity in exchange for testifying against Altersberger.
2nd FHP Shooting Suspect Headed To Georgia
By CHRIS BUTLER
SEBRING — Florida Highway Patrol troopers said he broke the law by fleeing into an orange grove after his friend shot and killed Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile in January.
Quintin Jerome Kinder, 21, is now on his way back to his native state of Georgia to face a violation of probation charge.
Kinder was arrested and charged with illegal trespass of the orange grove around the same time Sebring resident Joshua Lee Altersberger, 19, was arrested and charged with Sottile’s murder. The illegal trespass was a misdemeanor charge.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said Kinder and Altersberger were riding in the same automobile when Sottile pulled them over.
Assistant State Attorney Stephen Houchin said Thursday that a judge put off Kinder’s sentencing on the trespass charge and ordered him back to Georgia to face the violation of probation charge.
“We will eventually bring him back from Georgia after he’s finished up there,” Houchin said.
Houchin said he was unable to confirm reports of a Decatur County, Ga., squad car in Highlands County transporting Kinder
back to his native state. But Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton confirmed those reports Thursday afternoon.
Kinder’s court-appointed attorney Derek Christian issued a not-guilty plea in court on his client’s behalf last month.
Kinder had been in the Highlands County Jail since January, held separately from both Altersberger and other inmates.
Highlands County court officials last month appointed Christian, a private attorney, for the Georgia suspect.
Houchin said in January that the Highlands County Public Defender’s Office had withdrew itself from representing Kinder. That’s because public defenders are already representing Altersberger.
“There’s an obvious conflict of interest,” Houchin said at the time, adding one suspect may give public defenders information that could incriminate the other.
According to records from Georgia’s Decatur County Jail, Kinder has an extensive criminal background there, including charges of theft, burglary and possession of marijuana, among many others.
Houchin said last month that Kinder isn’t being given immunity in exchange for testifying against Altersberger.
DELI PILES BEEF ON KUMMELWECK BREAD
By CAROLE DICKEY
There aren’t too many – if any – restaurants this side of Buffalo, N. Y., that serve “beef on Weck.” That makes Weck’s Deli, which opened in June in Village Lakes Shopping Center in Land O’ Lakes, the place to go for the sandwich. On the menu, it is described as “a true tradition of Western New York, slow roasted, thinly sliced roast beef piled high on a Kummelweck roll served with au jus and fresh horseradish.”
John Miller, who co-owns the full-service restaurant with Alex Altenhoff, said the idea for the name Weck’s Deli, and their signature sandwich, came from the Buffalo area, where sandwiches made with roast beef on Kummelweck bread are popular.
“But in Buffalo everybody calls it beef on Weck, so we decided that’s different, and so the name Weck’s Deli,” Miller said.
The sandwich isn’t the only thing they brought from Buffalo. The sandwich offerings on their menu are named after streets in Buffalo. Main Street is baked ham, roasted turkey breast, roast beef, cheddar and Swiss cheese piled high on a fresh Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato and mayo.
Allentown is thinly sliced corned beef, havarti cheese and Weckslaw piled on pumpernickel swirl and pressed.
Niagara is tuna salad; Hertel Avenue is ham, salami and provolone.
And those are just a few of their specialty and house sandwiches.
Their menu includes soups and salad dressings, homemade desserts and fresh salads made in the restaurant using family recipes dating back through four generations. Customers have even brought in their own recipes and asked that they make them, which they do. Every recipe has been taste tested before being added to the menu, Altenhoff said.
Before deciding on their Cuban sandwiches – which meat to buy, which bread to use – Altenhoff and Miller invited friends to a taste testing.
“The taste testing was at the house and we tested lots of different products and different ways of making certain things,” Altenhoff said.
When it was time to test the Cuban sandwiches, they realized they didn’t have a sandwich press. Altenhoff improvised by using a cast iron skillet, but that wasn’t enough weight, so he piled pots and pans on top of that.
“That still wasn’t enough, so I get the footstool out and I’m pressing on them,” he said. “We didn’t like this particular kind of bread; it wasn’t flattening the way I wanted it to flatten, so it took another whole layer of pots and pans and a little more pressure, but finally we got it down pat.”
Now, in Weck’s Deli, they have a sandwich press, and it’s much easier – and not as comical, he said.
Customers not interested in taking a walk down Buffalo streets can request their own combination of meats, cheese and bread for sandwiches. Prices range from $5.95 to $7.25 for their piled-high sandwiches. Weck’s also caters sandwich trays, salad trays and full course meals.
Hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, call 948-1615.
City Picks Up Tab For Harder Hall Bills, Taxes
By MANDY SHEETS
SEBRING — The city will foot the bills for security, electricity and insurance at Harder Hall, as well as pay about $150,000 in real estate taxes.
Marsha Rydberg, attorney representing the city in the bankruptcy case, said if taxes remain unpaid at the site, the Highlands County tax collector could sell tax certificates for the property. By paying the taxes due, the city will prevent the sale of such certificates.
Bills for security, electricity and insurance will cost the city about $13,000 per month, city attorney Michael Swaine said.
Rydberg said the taxes and bills will be paid with money from the city’s loan, which the city is authorized to use for this capacity.
“The loan is not unlimited though,” Rydberg said. “We can do it at this point, but we do need a conclusion in the near future.”
Councilman Jeff Carlson said he supports the city paying the bills because it is no cost to taxpayers.
“We are not out any money because we will get our money back through the sale of the property,” Carlson said. “This is not costing the taxpayers any money, in fact, by doing this we are protecting the taxpayers’ money.”
Brian Gant, an attorney representing Kenwhite, a New York-based investment company said, at a Feb. 14 hearing in Miami, that Kenwhite would cease payment of these bills after Judge Laurel Myerson Isicoff denied its plan to take over the project.
Bankruptcy trustee Ken Welt, of Hollywood, Fla., has assumed management of the case. Welt has administered more than 30,000 Chapter
7 and Chapter 11 cases, according to his Web site.
The trustee will work with potential buyers to try to sell the property for a profit that will repay about 160 creditors who have filed claims against the hotel, including 63 Sebring businesses and 11 businesses and contractors in Highlands County.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28 to hear a motion that would allow the city to foreclose on the property. Rydberg said she is unsure whether she will still argue for this motion because the situation could change before the hearing.
Shooting Leads To Sebring High Lockdown
NO ONE WAS INJURED
By JOE SEELIG
SEBRING — Students and staff at Sebring High School were under a three-hour lockdown Monday morning after someone used a pellet or BB gun to shoot a hole in a classroom window.
School Resource Supervisor Sgt. Monica Sauls said there were students and a teacher in the classroom at about 8:55 a.m. when the projectile broke through the glass.
“The teacher thought a light bulb had broken,” Sauls said.
A short time later during the class change a student coming into the classroom found a small piece of broken glass on his desk top and brought it to her attention.
“She reported it immediately,” Sauls said.
School Resource Officer deputy Manny Gonzalez, Principal Toni Stievender and the administration reacted and the school was placed on lockdown “for the safety of the students and staff,” Sauls said.
“Administration accompanied by law enforcement checked all classrooms,” Sauls said. “Deputy Louis Pratts-Martinez and his K-9 Blue searched the area from which investigators believe the shot came from.
“It was impossible to get a scent because so many children had walked over the scene,” Sauls said. “Checks were made of the school’s perimeter to no avail.”
No one had reported seeing anything and the school’s video system is being reviewed by school officials and deputy Gonzalez, as well as crime scene investigators.
The actual projectile that broke the glass has not yet been recovered, Sauls said. Because of the location
on the window that was hit, the shot had to have been fired from school property.
During the student search, one 15-year-old male sophomore was arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon (a hunting knife) on school property.
A female student was also found by a teacher to be in possession of a pocket knife, but she left the school property when the lockdown was lifted and before she could be charged, Sauls said.
Several cellular telephones were also confiscated and those students will face disciplinary action in the near future, but the main focus at the time was locating the weapon used.
“I was pleased we did not find anything more in the way of weapons or drugs,” Sauls said. “Students were asked to empty their pockets and to exit the room. In the portables students remain in the room.
“Staff acted quickly and did what they were trained to do as teachers and administration, in the search.”
Local Patients
May Be Linked To Salmonella Outbreak
By MANDY SHEETS
SEBRING — Since ConAgra Foods Inc. recalled certain jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter Wednesday, more than 20 patients have visited Florida Hospital with gastrointestinal illness.
Three of those cases have direct links to the questionable peanut butter, said Cathy Albritton, director of marketing and public relations for Florida Hospital.
Blood and stool samples were collected from the patients. It will take at least 72 hours for the results, which could show whether the patients have salmonella.
Kay Mollenkopf, public information officer for Highlands County Health Department, said no cases of salmonella have been confirmed in the county.
Highlands Regional Medical Center hasn’t had any patients presenting with gastrointestinal illness.
Officials suspect more people experienced symptoms before the recall was announced and did not seek medical attention.
Linda Blackwell spent about 48 hours last week “sick as a dog,” and it wasn’t until she found out about the peanut butter recall that she
understood why.
“I heard about the recall and found out I had the winning product code,” Blackwell said.
Blackwell eats peanut butter and crackers nightly, but she hasn’t had an appetite for it lately.
“I’ve had food poisoning before, so I knew it had to be something I ate,” Blackwell said. “But I’ve never had peanut butter make me sick like that.”
Nearly 300 people in 39 states have fallen ill since August, and federal health investigators said they strongly suspect Peter Pan peanut butter and certain batches of Wal-Mart’s Great Value house brand – both manufactured by ConAgra Foods Inc.
Shoppers across the country were warned to throw out jars with a product code on the lid beginning with “2111,” which denotes the plant where it was made. Lids of the peanut butter can be returned to the company for a full refund at: ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, NE 68103.
Many stores that sold the peanut butter, including Wal-Mart, also are offering refunds.
Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis, as the infection is known, kills about 600 people annually.
Symptoms can include diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
CDC officials believe the salmonella outbreak to be the nation’s first stemming from peanut butter. The most cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri. As of Friday, one case of salmonella has been reported in Florida, in Alachua County, Mollenkopf said.
About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized, and there were no deaths. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED ADULTS FIND A HOME
By STEPHEN HAMMILL
For the seven residents of 4041 Stall Road in Carrollwood, life goes on just as it does in other families. They get up in the morning. They go to work. They go on walks. They eat meals together.
Perhaps here, it’s more exceptional than typical.
The McClain house on Stall Road is an assisted living facility that has been around for more than a generation, becoming part of fabric of Carrollwood Village.
McClain Incorporated is a nonprofit ecumenical organization founded in 1977 through the joint efforts of parents and members of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in an effort to build a group home for adults with developmental disabilities.
There are three McClain group homes in Tampa: the Carrollwood house on Stall Road, a men’s home and two women’s homes, one located on Emerald Avenue near Jesuit High School and another on Woodlawn Avenue close to St. John’s Presbyterian Church.
Timeka Caleb has been on staff at the McClain house on Stall Road since 2001, and became resident manager this year. Caleb previously worked for Hillsborough County schools. Her motivation for working with the developmentally disabled is simple.
“It’s probably the residents that keep you here,” she said. “Seeing them happy and the progress they make – it’s inspiring.”
“They have a good rapport with her,” said Faye Gordon, program director for McClain Inc. “She’s like a member of their family.”
“We provide residential habilitation services for them – transportation services. We take them to their medical providers,” said Gordon, who has been providing services to less-heralded segments of society for years. She worked with abused and neglected children as a caseworker in New York City. After Sept. 11, commuting from her home in New Jersey to the city became too hectic.
“I encountered families with children with disabilities in that job, and it provided me with the groundwork to do this,” she said.
She sees it as her mission to go beyond basic services, to help integrate the residents of the homes into the community and enable them to function in the real world.
The hopes for the men and women of the McClain houses is independence. Gordon recalled a recent resident of the Stall Road house who, after years there, left to live alone.
“When you see a resident move out on his own, that makes you feel good,” she said. “It makes the staff feel good – that you can make a difference.”
The large house at Stall Road features a common area, with a television and a pool table. The dining room is big enough for everyone to eat together. The staff prepares meals from the kitchen every day. Most dinners at the McClain house are shared meals, according to Gordon. It is not an enforced rule, but a habit the residents embrace.
There are seven residents living there now, with room for one more. Each bedroom houses two residents. Jason Roche currently has a room to himself while the home looks to fill the vacancy.
“I’m looking forward to a roommate – I think I’d like to have that,” said Roche, who graduated from Gaither High School.
Resident Chris Spaulding is another Gaither graduate. He’s been going to work at the McDonalds in Northdale for 18 years now, Mondays through Saturdays. Spaulding likes to get his exercise, taking walks during the day. He also enjoys catching movies with his buddies.
“I like it here, it’s nice,” he said. Spaulding is a big Florida State University Seminoles fan, and his room is decorated with sports memorabilia. The residents of McClain house are encouraged to decorate the rooms to their liking.
Daniel Shanahan has been living at the McClain house since it opened. He’s a baseball fan, and an avid bowler, having competed in the Special Olympics.
Shanahan recognizes the challenges of trying to attain independence.
“I know that it’s hard outside. You have to pay the bills,” he said.
There are always staff on hand at the McClain house. They aim to do more than provide comfort for these men. They want to make them more self-reliant, and that means sending them out into the world every day.
“They either go to a day program or they go to a job – they all do something in the community,” Caleb said. “They’re working towards independent living skills.”
Whether or not each of them reaches that goal is less important to the staff than the journey they take toward it, incrementally gaining responsibility and some sense of independence.
The money they make from the jobs is theirs to spend, Gordon said, and they can do with it what they like. Gordon stressed that McClain focuses on assimilating residents into society, not in shielding them from it.
“You have to remember, we’re preparing them to become more involved in their own lives,” Gordon said. “Every one at our home during the day is off at work or an activity, not at the home.”
Paolo Guida is a full-time staff member at the Stall Road house. He moved here from Italy four years ago, where he served as a policeman. Now he’s a student learning English, and serving others once again.
“In Italy I helped people – I do the same here,” Guida said. “It’s very fulfilling.”
Hilda Abreu works part time at the McClain Woodlawn Avenue women’s house. She moved here four years ago from New York.
“I have a history working with the disabled and homeless,” she said. “This is a passion. It’s something to do because you like it.”
The house on Stall Road shares property with St. Paul’s Church, and Gordon said the church has been actively involved in its upkeep. The donations they receive from it and various other private sources help keep the home going.
The homes exist on funding from the state, from community support and from personal donations.
McClain Inc.’s history dates back to 1977, when church members of St. John’s Presbyterian with developmentally disabled children of their own were asked by their pastor what provisions they were making for their children as they grew older. The organization was born that year, and some of those same children reside at McClain house to this day.
There is a feel of a close family in the house, with communal dinners and group activities. The residents involve themselves in each others’ lives, sharing experiences over the course of years, all the while becoming a recognized part of the community.
The home is involved with the Best Buddies program. Over the holidays last year, the residents celebrated Christmas by opening gifts that came from private donations.
“In the past it was stigmatized; there were no services for them in place,” said Gordon. Residents of McClain houses now work in Publix Supermarkets, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A, while others train in area programs teaching computer and financial skills.
McClain Inc. is monitored by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities in Florida. In 2004, APD became a state agency separate from the Department of Children and Families. Prior to that time, it existed as the Developmental Disabilities Program.
Gordon said Social Security payments to the residents often cover their room and board, while private donations help with the home’s upkeep and secondary costs.
McClain’s board of directors is responsible for fundraising. Some of the board members are parents of residents.
“It’s a very small agency, but we have a lot of family involvement and support,” said Gordon.
Applicants to McClain houses often come to McClain Inc. through the APD.
“Then, we meet with the family and see if that person is a good fit for our home,” Gordon said.
“We take pride in our homes,” Gordon said. “We want to make a difference.”
The Stall Road home for men, along with the home on Woodlawn Avenue for women, can each house eight residents. Both currently have a vacancy. Gordon said anyone looking for a home for their developmentally disabled family member could contact her directly about McClain house.
Donations can be made to McClain Inc. by calling 930-0088 or via e-mail to .
ALL SPORTS GRADUATES GIVE BACK
By STEPHEN HAMMILL
When Tyrone Keys founded All Sports Community Service in 1993, he envisioned a program where kids could find the opportunity to pursue higher education through community service and mentoring.
Fourteen years, $20 million and hundreds of college graduates later, he has achieved just that.
K
AVON PARK — A steady procession of cars pulled up to the family home Tuesday on W.L. Kirkland Street to pay their respects to the family of Andrew Actavous Brown, 28, after he succumbed to his injuries Monday from a motorcycle crash.
Avon Park resident Frank Lyle Shearer, 33, was heading west on W.L. Kirkland approaching a stop sign in his Pontiac sedan as Brown approached the intersection headed south on Waldron Avenue. Waldron Avenue has no stop sign at W.L. Kirkland.
At about 6:50 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 19 Avon Park police say Brown hit the Pontiac broadside.
Brown’s mother, Marjorie Brown-Sewell, was in her home that night doing laundry when a girl she didn’t remember banged on her door yelling that Andrew Brown was in a crash at the corner and was badly hurt.
“Miss Marjorie, Miss Marjorie, somebody hit Andrew,” Brown-Sewell said, describing the bearer of bad news as jumping up and down with a cell phone raised above her head. “I don’t know, somebody took the laundry out of my hands and I ran out there.”
Neighbor Alvin Moore was sitting in his living room when he heard the the crash. His front door is about 20 feet from where they found Brown, badly injured, laying on the ground. He came outside to see what was going on. It was getting dark. There was a street light but the light had gone dim.
“The motorcycle was still running – wide open,” Moore said Tuesday. “I walked right up to him. We couldn’t tell who he was because there wasn’t enough light.”
There’s a street light directly over the spot, but it hasn’t been working very well for some time now, Moore said.
He’s known the Browns about 16 years and his wife Carol has known Andrew Brown since he was a baby.
A girl with a cell phone held it close to his face. In the light from the phone, she said it was Andrew, Moore said. “I saw Andrew a million times walking past here, coming, going, he was a real quiet type. He was one of those kids who was never in a hurry.”
It was a fateful decision to take a dirt bike with no lights and no helmet for a ride at dusk, which set events into motion.
Moore, who works as a mechanic for Jahna Concrete, heard from a friend of Brown’s that the motorcycle may have had mechanical troubles that contributed to an already bad situation.
“I talked to a friend of Andrew’s who told me the bike wasn’t running that good,” Moore said. “It had problems with the throttle - it was sticking - and the brakes weren’t that good.”
The stop sign at that corner is stained with drippings from Spanish moss growing in the tree above, and is difficult to read. It is unknown if that was a factor, as Shearer was not charged with running it.
Avon Park Police Chief Frank Mercurio said Tuesday the crash investigation is ongoing. So far, no charges had been filed against Shearer.
Shearer was not injured, and there were no other passengers or pedestrians involved.
Brown’s stepfather, Eric Sewell, said Tuesday there has been a non-stop procession of cars visiting the home since news got out of Andrew Brown’s death. The family living room was adorned with floral arrangements from loving friends and family.
Brown is survived by his mom, stepfather and his daughter A’nya, almost 2, his brothers Earnest, 38; Cleo, 36; Kevin, 34; and Edgar, 23; half sister, Rosemary Brown, 46; and grandmother, Daisey Martin, lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins, plus 17 nieces and nephews with two more on the way.
“Andrew was a soft-hearted young man – very loving and yes, yes, yes, he had a lot of friends,” Brown-Sewell said.
“Every time he walked up to you he’d give you a big hug, no matter who you were,” said VerKosha Hamilton, a family friend. Brown’s mother is godmother to her daughter. “He was a big hugger. He was sweet.”
“Yes he liked to hug and kiss, kiss,” his mom added. “He was very loving.”
Her next stop was to make the funeral arrangements for a week from Saturday.
“Funeral arrangements to bury my son,” she said. “Yes, that’s the hardest thing.”
“I just feel so fortunate to be in this place at this time,” he said, “working at the chamber but also living in Brandon where there’s such pride in community.”
Reagin said the Brandon community stands in sharp contrast to his home in Terra Haute, Ind.
“There you see boarded up buildings and struggling businesses,” he said. “The difference is so apparent. I feel good to live in Brandon where people are passionate about their community and help those who are less fortunate – it really feels good to be a part of that.”
As vice president for sales, Reagin oversees membership at the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce (GBCC).
“We’re kind of the customer service department,” he said. “Our main concern is keeping members happy and of course recruiting. We want their experience to be valuable – not just in business but personally.
“I can offer a lot of avenues for promoting members’ business,” Regain said, “and also a lot of personal connections. We give business a voice. We help speak for things that are important to your business such as government advocacy and quality of life issues. We help people get involved in the community and make the community better.”
Reagin draws his energy from the membership. With close to 1800 member businesses and organizations Brandon’s chamber is unusually active.
“Our members are passionate about Brandon,” he said. “I think people who participate in the chamber have a real love for their community.”
And he feels that this is not just a center for business, but also a gathering place.
“We’re not a social organization,” Reagin said, “but people really do enjoy those events.”
Reagin first came to the chamber in 1995 to work in directory sales and has held his current position six years.
“Before then at a small AM radio station in Dade City (WDCF),” he said. “I’d previously worked in advertising in Indiana.”
Reagin’s dad was career Air Force, a veteran of three wars, and the family lived in Maryland, Hawaii, Ohio, and then Indiana.
“I did most of my growing up around Terra Haute,” he said. “I studied biology at Concordia College then went to Indiana State where I earned my degree in communications. I did on-air announcing for a while before going into sales at WBAK, the local ABC affiliate.”
In 1994 Reagin’s wife, Lynn, landed a teaching job in the Brandon area. The young family moved south.
“She teaches fourth-grade at Alafia Elementary,” he said. “In Indiana the schools were laying off teachers. She heard about the Great Florida Teach-in and got all kinds of job offers.
“It’s was definitely a great move for us,” Reagin said, “professionally as well as personally.”
Brandon, Reagin tells his friends up north, is unique.
“The heart of Brandon is not what you see, it’s the people,” he said. “The service groups and the churches and the charities are all so active trying to make the community better.”
One way to achieve a better community, he believes, is through a strong active chamber.
A conscientious worker, Reagin admitted he needs to add some balance.
“I do enjoy reading,” he said, “but I don’t have much of a recreational life at this time. I could certainly use one. Then as a family we do the typical things folk with 6-year-olds do. Theme parks, piano lessons, local parks, going to the beach.”
Asked to pinpoint Brandon’s immediate challenges, Reagin fingered affordable housing.
“The folks our members need to hire can’t afford to live in Florida,” he said. “It’s hard to find qualified people but when out of state folks find out about the housing costs it’s really difficult to recruit them.
“The other challenge,” he said, “is making sure that our growth is responsible.”
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