New appliances' arrival averts football crisis

My wife had been hankering for quite awhile about getting a new dryer.
I’d nod, grunt in agreement and keep right on watching whatever game was on TV.
So it took another 45 minutes or longer for clothes to get done every Sunday. As long as my stuff got dry, I was good.
Naturally, Sherri doesn’t see it quite that way. Especially since she’s the one who does the laundry, despite my offers to help.
Ahem.
Anyway, the dryer finally crapped out two weeks ago and off we went shopping for a new one.
Oh, joy!
We decided to go ahead and get a new washing machine, too, rather than have to eventually make the same trip twice.
Duh!
Well, we found what we wanted for quality and price on the second stop of our first night looking. So, thankfully, this was not going to drag out.
There was only one problem, though not a big one it seemed at the time.
The delivery date.

Read more Sunday in Mannix About Manatee on Bradenton.com.

ReadingPals looking for 200 volunteers for kids

Michael Ohlman receives props  from Carolina League.

United Way’s ReadingPals program is looking for a few good people.
Approximately 200 volunteers are needed to read one hour weekly to kindergarteners at four Manatee Disrict schools — Ballard, Blackburn, Daughtrey or Rogers Garden.
Subsidized by the Barnett Earl Literacy Initiative and supported by the Women’s Leadership Initiative, ReadingPals pairs volunteer readers with students to work on building vocabulary and increasing comprehension.
Interested? Call Sandra Holmes at 941-748-1313. Or email: sholmes@uwmc.net. Or visit www.uwmc.net.
• Big ups to Michael Ohlman. The Frederick Keys catcher made the post-season Carolina League All-Star team. The Lakewood Ranch alum is batting .307 with 13 homers and 52 RBI. This is his fifth year in the Baltimore organization.

Carl Weeks with Commissioner Michael Gallen.

• Carl Weeks Day is Saturday, proclaimed by the Manatee County Commission in recognition of the retiring president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County.
Don’t forget Friday’s social honoring the man, 5-7 p.m. at Pier 22, 1200 First Ave., W., Bradenton.
Call Valerie Nelson at 941-761-2582.
• Josh McCoy is now a financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments.
Read more Friday in Vin's People on Bradenton.com.

Rays honor 8th-grade scholars, mentors, families

 What do Giancarlo Gamboa-Barrios,  Lisbeth Gorgonio, Scarlett O’Hara, Kevin Townsend and Alexander Turner have in common?
They're the five Manatee District Take Stock In Children scholars, who were honored before last Saturday night's Tampa Bay Rays game at the Trop, along with their mentors and families.
That winning lineup included:
• Giancarlo Gamboa-Barrios, a Nolan Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Rob Hendrickson.
• Lisbeth Gorgonio, a Harllee Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Robin Thompson.
• Scarlett O’Hara, a Nolan Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Violet Huesman.
• Kevin Townsend, a Sugg Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Dr. Dwight Fitch.
• Alexander Turner,  a Nolan Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Dr. Chuck Fradley
The students are recipients of the partnership between The Rays Baseball Foundation, the Helios Education Foundation and Take Stock in Children. The initiative – “Doubling Up for Education” – results in a $600 donation being made by the Helios Foundation and the Rays Foundation every time a Rays player hits a double during the season.
This partnership is expected to produce a cash total of approximately $200,000 for Take Stock in Children during the 2013 season and more than $1 million over the past five years.
The funds help Take Stock in Children programs in Manatee, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Pasco counties.

Rays honor 8th-grade scholars, mentors, families

 What do Giancarlo Gamboa-Barrios,  Lisbeth Gorgonio, Scarlett O’Hara, Kevin Townsend and Alexander Turner have in common?
They're the five Manatee District Take Stock In Children scholars, who were honored before last Saturday night's Tampa Bay Rays game at the Trop, along with their mentors and families.
That winning lineup included:
• Giancarlo Gamboa-Barrios, a Nolan Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Rob Hendrickson.
• Lisbeth Gorgonio, a Harllee Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Robin Thompson.
• Scarlett O’Hara, a Nolan Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Violet Huesman.
• Kevin Townsend, a Sugg Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Dr. Dwight Fitch.
• Alexander Turner,  a Nolan Middle eighth-grader, with mentor Dr. Chuck Fradley
The students are recipients of the partnership between The Rays Baseball Foundation, the Helios Education Foundation and Take Stock in Children. The initiative – “Doubling Up for Education” – results in a $600 donation being made by the Helios Foundation and the Rays Foundation every time a Rays player hits a double during the season.
This partnership is expected to produce a cash total of approximately $200,000 for Take Stock in Children during the 2013 season and more than $1 million over the past five years.
The funds help Take Stock in Children programs in Manatee, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Pasco counties.

Overeaters Anonymous meets at Trinity Lutheran

Overaters Anonymous?
You heard right.
It has been in existence since the early 1960’s, though many folks are only familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous.
With the increased focus on the problem of obesity in our society, there is free help available to compulsive overeaters in our community.
Overeaters Anonymous welcomes all those who want to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members. Overeaters Anonymous is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology or religious doctrine.
Two Overeaters Anonymous meetings are held 7 p.m. Monday and Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2200 26th St. W., Bradenton.
For more details, visit www.oa.org.

AMI conflicted by blessings of tourism

Too many tourists! Too much traffic! Too little parking!
Oh, my!
It seems life has become burdensome on Anna Maria Island for many of the good folks who reside along that seven-mile stretch of paradise, especially on its northernmost point.
Like Anna Maria Mayor SueLynn, who spoke out during a recent meeting of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council at Holmes Beach City Hall.
“Greed is running the island,” she said.
You don’t say.
So what else is new?
That’s the way business is done in a lot of towns around Florida.
They just don’t have our beautiful beaches.
Beaches that make Anna Maria Island an immensely popular destination.
For snowbirds.
For Europeans.
For other Floridians beyond Manatee County.
Even for day-trippers.
Guess that would include people like me.

Read more Sunday in Mannix About Manatee on Bradenton.com.

Hunsader will be on the minds of many at festival

Connie and Jim Hunsader were married 55 years.

When Manatee County farming patriarch Jim Hunsader passed last Saturday, Marie Gentle reminisced about good times shared by their families.
Especially the annual Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival.
“Cathy (Hunsader) Raye was our neighbor whose boys grew up with ours until high school,” Marie wrote. “I always knew it was festival time when I saw Cathy and the boys crossing the yard with poster board and markers for me to draw all the signs to sell Coke and bakery items. I even drew the logo for the tomato boxes. That was way, way back in the day.
“That festival has exploded over the years. I’m sure the Hunsader brothers were always so proud. Jim will be missed, but I’m sure (he) will still be seen in the eyes of many — riding his tractor-cart hauling his grandsons and one lanky neighbor kid across the fields!”
• That’s 70 years of wedded bliss for Bill and Dot Nuttle. They moved to Bradenton in 1947 from Baltimore and still live in the house he built on Riverview Boulevard.
• The Carl Weeks Farewell Tour stops 5-7 p.m., Aug. 30 at Pier 22, 1200 First Ave. W, Bradenton, for a retirement social.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee chief is retiring this fall.
Call Valerie Nelson at 941-761-2582 for details. Or email valerie.nelson@bgcmanatee.org.
Read more Friday in Vin's People on Bradenton.com.

What is state doing to our corner of paradise?

The state of Florida wants to do WHAT?!
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to sell a number of state parks or parcels of same.
Why?
They are considered "surplus."
Among the properties on the list are some in Manatee County.
Like 19.4 acres at Lake Manatee State Park.
Like 13.1 acres at Terra Ceia Preserve State Park.
According to Herald colleague Sara Kennedy's story, the land at Lake Manatee State Park comprises a strip along the park’s far western border on the west side of Dam Road.
The land at Terra Ceia constitutes several parcels separated from the main body of the park by Interstate 275 and U.S. Highway 19 as they approach the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
What gives?
DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. said his department has prioritized buying conservation land that protects springs, water quality and water quantity sources and buffers military areas.
Which I presume leaves Lake Manatee and Terra Ceia out.
Unless Uncle Sam is planning to build an Air Force facility around here.
Right.
There's enough land in Manatee County suitable for development without making parts of our state parks available for same.
Unless Manatee County has some spare change lying around to buy back that land.
Eric Draper doesn't like this move at all.
Objections?
Oh, yeah. He's got some.
 “You will see objections from people like me, but it also will get objections from recreational users --- hunting, picnicking, bird watching," said the executive director of Audubon Florida. "In most cases, there’s people using the land."
The proposed surplus sites in Manatee County are just some of those scattered across many counties in Florida.
What's also bothersome about this deal is it comes at the same time we've got our guard up about a proposed private development in north Terra Ceia called “Skyway Preserve.”
That's the ominous proposal for a land swap with the state at the south end of the Skyway Bridge.
It is separate from the DEP plan involving our two state park properties and state officials say nothing has been decided.
Yet.
Still, its juxtaposition makes you want to scream, what in blue blazes is the state trying to do to our little corner of paradise?

Lakewood Ranch senior's Ireland trip a 4-H winner

A bow to Katie Ciemniecki.
Late last month, the Lakewood Ranch High School senior took first place in the Leisure and Performing Arts category of the Florida 4-H State Congress in Gainesville.
Her presentation was surely to be a winner.
Its title: “My Trip to Ireland.”
Having been there a few times, I was fascinated by the account of her weeklong journey, which she took during the summer of 2012 with her mother, sister and maternal grandmother.
Here it is:
"We flew into Shannon Airport. I was amazed at how beautiful and green everything was. We rented a car and headed towards Limerick (and) it was so funny to see everyone driving on the left side of the road. We explored the scenic views in Limerick and stayed in a town called Adare, where there were lots of little shops and parks.
"Out of all the places we ate my favorite as Sean’s Pub, but the medieval banquet was a close second. Actors dressed in medieval clothes entertained us with traditional Irish songs while we ate in a castle.
"The Cliffs of Moher were breathtaking.. Mom and I hiked all the way to the end of the cliffs and laid down in the soft grass just listening to the waves crash and the gulls sing.
"Kissing the Blarney stone was an adventure all on its own. I had to lie down on my back to kiss the stone that supposedly brings luck and riches to those who kiss it.
"On our last day we went to a traditional Irish heritage center where we watched performances of Irish songs, poems, dancing and music. I was chosen to learn an Irish dance and performed in front of everyone with the band playing.
"We had to leave the next day, but I am so thankful I was able to have this wonderful experience."

Southeast golf sports fundraiser Aug. 24 at Tara

Katie DiGirolamo is flanked by Trevor Gooby, the Pittsburgh Pirates director of Florida operations, and Marty the Marauder at McKechnie Field.

Big ups to Katie DiGirolamo, a sales/marketing intern with the Bradenton Marauders, was one of 12 recipients of a $1,500 Florida State League educational scholarship. She’s a Stetson University senior, a general business administration major and sports business minor, and was Atlantic Sun Academic All-Conference in sand volleyball.

• The Southeast High School Sports Booster Club’s 25th annual golf tournament is Aug. 24 at Preserve at Tara. Registration deadline is Aug. 20.
Call coach Paul Maechtle at 941-741-3366, ext. 2194. Or 941-920-0713.

• The annual O’Connor Bowling Tournament, benefiting the Anna Maria Island Community Center’s sports complex, is 5 p.m. Aug. 24 at AMF Bradenton Lanes, 4208 Cortez Road.
Pre-register by Aug. 22 at Duffy’s Tavern, 5808 Marina Dr., Holmes Beach.
The awards party is at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar, 6696 Cortez Road.
Call Sandee Pruett at 941-778-1908 for details.

Read more Friday in Vin's People on Bradenton.com.

ReadingPals looking for 200 volunteers in 2013-14

Want to make a difference in a child’s life?
Join ReadingPals, a program in its second year with the United Way of Manatee County and its Women’s Leadership Initiative in partnership with the Manatee County School District and the Children’s Movement.
Funded by Carol and Barney Barnett of the Barnett Early Literacy Initiative, it targets the reading skills of Manatee County kindergarteners and requires only one hour a week from volunteers.
“With only 60 minutes a week, each of us can help transform the lives of our community’s children through a mentor/teacher relationship that can be life-altering by increasing the probability of success in school,” said Philip Brown, United Way’s chief executive officer. “Do you remember an adult who had a major impact on your life as a child just because they cared about you so authentically? Become one of those adults to our children as a ReadingPal.”
It takes place from September through May and is a one-on-one, guided reading program for kindergarteners attending four of the county's Title I elementary schools.
The site locations and times are:
• Ballard Elementary School, 912 18th St. W., Bradenton; Tuesdays or Thursdays, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
• Blackburn Elementary School, 3904 17th St. E., Palmetto; Tuesdays, 9:20-10:20 a.m.
• Daughtrey Elementary School, 515 63rd Ave. E., Bradenton; Tuesdays or Thursdays, 8:15-9:15 a.m. (awaiting approval).
• Rogers Garden Elementary School, 515 13th Ave., W., Bradenton; Tuesdays, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
The goal is to enlist 200 volunteers for this 25-week program.
Each volunteer will be matched with two students and divide their hour-long session between each student to give them one-on-one attention.
Interested?
Contact Sandra Holmes at 941-748-1313 or via e-mail at sholmes@uwmc.net.

Big assist helps Trojan cagers win national title

National champions!
That’s the Palmetto Youth Center’s Trojans basketball team, now the USSSA 17-and-Under Division 2’s best team in America. Coach Reggie Bellamy’s charges shining moment came at the USSSA National Tournament of Champions last weekend in Kansas City, Mo.
In the title game, the Trojans defeated Topeka, Kan., 58-50, the only team they lost to in round-robin play.
They qualified for nationals by winning the USSSA Southeast Regional Championships in Suwanee, Ga.
The national champions Trojans are:
Nick Buto, Tre Clark, Terry Collins, Brandon Drake, Kyle Edwards, Kahlil Garcia, Keiwon Jackson, Jarrid Rhodes, Stepvon Saunders, Christian Zanders and Dequon Washington.
“This was a huge undertaking in a very short period of time, but the experience these young men had was well worth all of the effort,” said Chris Lukowiak, the PYC executive director. “They have created life-long memories and have grown in countless ways.
“Their demeanor on and off the court reflected well upon themselves, the Palmetto Youth Center, and Manatee County. We could not be more proud of them.”
Lukowiak and Bellamy also expressed heartfelt gratitude for all the donors and volunteers who helped make the trip possible.
Approximately $15,000 had to be raised within two weeks in order to fly the team to Kansas City.
“This truly was a community effort,” Bellamy said
Among those donors were:
Medallion Homes, Neal Communities, Sheriff Brad Steube, County Commissioner Larry Bustle, Commissioner Michael Gallen, The Bike Shop in Bradenton, Attorney Cliff Walters, Battalion Chief Mike Williamson and the North River Fire Fighters Association, Bob Davis and The Panda Foundation, Reverend L.C. Livingston of Eternity Temple First Born Church in Palmetto, Brenda Rogers, Ted and Mary Tillis, Josh Baker and Amanda Fister, Frankie Craddock, Eddie Shannon, Rich Higgins, Palmetto Dentistry, Kevin and Gale Garcia and several anonymous donors.
“We cannot thank them enough,” Lukowiak said.

Senseless shootings harm boy and community

At Sunday Mass at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Pastor Joe Connolly always blesses the children gathered near the altar.
It’s moving to watch the procession of innocents.
Four-year-old Davien Martinez was usually among them.
The same Davien Martinez who is recovering in All Children’s Hospital after being shot in the head by a stray bullet following an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles near the boys’ home off 26th Street West.
That was July 27.
Such a senseless act of violence is heartbreaking, especially on a little boy.
Yet little did we know.
It would be the first salvo of a series of outrageous shootings over a nine-day period that have rocked our community.

Read more Sunday in Mannix About Manatee on Bradenton.com.

Trio of longtime pals to become Eagle Scouts

William (Willy) Kidd, Wyatt Lewis and Allan (AJ) Baily.

Congratulations to Allan (AJ) Baily, William Kidd and Wyatt Lewis.
The three young men, who started as Tiger Cubs in first grade at Kinnan Elementary School, will become Eagle Scouts Monday at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church.
An honors Braden River High School graduate, Baily earned the rank by building a bird-of-prey instructional platform at Crowley Nature Museum. He’ll go to the University of Florida.
Also a Braden River grad, Kidd built a seeing eye dog training platform for Southeast Guide Dogs. He’ll attend State College of Florida.
Lewis upgraded a playground for South Trail Church of Christ, adding safety features and sustainable landscaping. He is a Braden River senior.
• Big ups to Wyatt McLeod, the Lakewood Ranch High School tight end who verbally committed to Miami University of the Mid-American Conference.
Not only is Miami tradition rich academically and athletically, but it has to be the prettiest college campus in Ohio.
• The Krewe of Jolly Rogers and Barefoot Tiki Bar are collecting school supplies and gently used children’s clothing to give to Turning Points for Manatee County’s estimated 1,684 homeless students.
Donations can be dropped off at Barefoot Tiki, 5704 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Or Turning Points, 701 17th Ave. W,, Bradenton.


Read more Friday in Vin's People on Bradenton.com.

Will more shoes drop in district investigation?

Bob Gagnon

What a juxtaposition of events Monday.
A.) Bob Gagnon and Scott Martin  were put on paid leave by Manatee County Schools Superintendent Rick Mills.
B.) Attorney Ed Mulock filed to have seven of 10 counts dismissed against Rod Frazier.
C.) Manatee High School began football practice.
Coinicidental or otherwise, Monday's series of events point toward some kind of closure at last to an episode that has been ongoing and been investigated by three separate agencies over the past nine months:
1.) Boca Raton Police Department.
2.) State Attorney's office.
3.) Manatee School District.
Gagnon, an assistant superintendent, and Martin, a staff attorney, made their abrupt exit from the school administration building because of information obtained in an internal investigation into the case involving Frazier, formerly an assistant football coach for the Manatee Hurricanes and parent liaison at the school.
On July 19, Frazier was charged with seven counts of misdemeanor battery involving allegations of improper conduct involving students and staff members at Manatee.
Frazier denied the charges, but he resigned from the school district July 26.
Now another shoe has dropped.
Gagnon was principal at Manatee during a portion of Frazier's time there, but the extent of his involvement in this episode is unclear.
The same goes for Martin, who took over the district probe before Bradenton police began their investigation in early February.
It's possible other names will be forthcoming before Troy Pumphrey, the district's new investigator who reopened its investigation two weeks ago, is done.
Stay tuned.

Korean War vet looks back at forgotten war

The scars are remnants of a war Dale Long dismissed from memory.
The bayonet mark near his throat.
The indentation on his head from a mortar attack.
Then there was the mysterious shrapnel the surgeon found during a procedure for colon cancer.
Think the doctor was surprised?
Long was even moreso.
“I didn’t even know I had it in there,” he said. “It was a piece of steel I got 30 years ago.”
Thirty years ago...
The Korean War.
America’s forgotten war.
It took place between World War II and Vietnam.
We didn’t win it, we didn’t lose it and it ended in a stalemate that cost 36,516 American lives.
Six decades later the Korean peninsula remains a flashpoint instigated by North Korea’s calculating Stalinist regime.
“It’s like we didn’t do a thing there,” Long said. “But we had a rough time.”
Now an 81-year-old widower, he served in 1953 from January through September, primarily in the infantry.
Yet when the 60th anniversary of the Korean armistice arrived July 27, he paid no attention to it or the televised scenes of North Korea’s orchestrated military celebration in Pyongyang.
A forgotten war, indeed, for Long.

Read more Sunday in Mannix About Manatee on Bradenton.com.

Palmetto Youth Center cagers still need an assist

The players on the Palmetto Youth Center Trojans USSSA Southeast Region 17&-Under basketball champions are Nick Buto, Tre Clark, Terry Collins, Brandon Drake, Khalil Garcia, Keiwon Jackson, Jarrid Rhodes, Stepvon Saunders, Brandon Thomas, Tyler Thomas, Dequon Washington, Paul Wiggins, Jordan Young and Christian Zanders. Coach Reggie Bellamy’s staff are James Bacon III, Jacob Durrance and Travarius Woodie.
The team is still trying to raise money to pay for nationals in Kansas City, Aug. 9-11.
Want to help? Call 941-722-0783.

• Cedar Hammock Battalion Chief  Leigh Hollins is retiring after 37 years. There’s a celebration 7-11 p.m. Aug. 31. Call 941-224-1716.

• Southeast High School graduate Tiana Smith received a $1,000 Dolphin Aviation Scholarship and will attend Florida Gulf Coast University.

Read more Friday in Vin's People on Bradenton.com.