Manatee's Got Talent win sweet birthday gift

Manatee High’s Randi Jackson celebrated her Sweet 16th in boffo fashion last Monday evening. She won the Manatee’s Got Talent school competition singing Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All” at the Davis Performing Arts Center.
Holly Rizzo took second singing “Gimme Gimme” from “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”
Cellist Luis Garcia and pianist Jun Cho collaborated on Yiruma’s “River Flows Through You” for third.
Faculty members had a blast strutting their stuff, too.
Spoofing “Physical,”  “Eye of the Tiger,” and “Chariots of Fire” were Kelly Althof, Linda Boone, Vicki Duquette, Nanette Johnston, Charles Kennedy, Katy Knowles, Jennifer Lages, Karen Marshall, Michelle McCarthy, Cyndi McMahon, Lori O’Leary, Michael Perez and Pat Zalo.
Not to be outdone, five Manatee men went drag as the Spice Girls. Performing “Wannabe” and “Spice Up Your Life” were Ray Briggs as Ginger Spice, Anthony Losada as Scary Spice, Vince Trinci as Sporty Spice, Colby West as Posh Spice and Steve Gulash, the Hurricanes burly defensive line coach, as Baby Spice.
Judges were Tess Chawi, Paul Fournier and Rick Kerby
Melissa Trippy was emcee.

The Community Coalition on Homelessness urgently needs volunteers to work its reception center. Call Cheryl Hedger at 941-747-1509, ext. 334. Or email: chedger@cchomeless.com.

The Manatee School For the Arts will put on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical classic "Oklahoma" Oct. 18, 19, 26 and 27.
Performances are 7 p.m.
Tickets are $5 for students and seniors and $10 for general admission to MSA, 700 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.
For details, contact Kelly Hillman at 941-721-6800, ext. 1095 or khillman@msfta.org.

The Manatee County Gator Club is sponsoring a charter bus to Gainesville Oct. 20 for what is shaping up to be a monster SEC East showdown between South Carolina and Florida at the Swamp.
The tariff is $40 per person, but does not include a game ticket.
Seats are limited and are first come, first served.
For details, visit www.manateegatorclub.com. Or email Dave Bolen at manateegatorclub@gmail.com.

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

Get jump on Halloween at Palmetto Historical Park

 

Want to get a jump on Halloween with the kids?

Check this out.

Palmetto Historical Park and Manatee County Agricultural Museum will be celebrating Halloween 4:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Oct. 20. There will be trick-or-treating, crafts, games, face painting, a tattoo parlor, fortune telling and lots of other spooky happenings.

While in the park, you can visit the Wild West and train to be a Super Hero.

There will be a costume contest sponsored by Palmetto Publix at 6:30 pm.

Test your skill at the Pirates-Marauders Speed Pitch, proceeds to benefit family programming in the park. Decorated buildings in the park will be sponsored by the Ellenton-Parrish Lions Club, North River Kiwanis and the Manatee Riverside Rotary Club.

Demetrio’s will be selling $2 pizza and drinks and Alex’s Lemonade Stand will be raising funds for childhood cancer research with baked goods and lemonade.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.

Call 941-721-2034 or 941-723-4991.

Signs, fines should get horse riders attention

Remember the last time the issue of critters on the Palma Sola Causeway beaches and walkways and the mess they're prone to leave came to a head?
It was about seven years ago and the issue involved dogs, primarily.
One City of Bradenton council member's suggestion was to post disposable sanitary bags for folks to use and clean up after their pets.
Not a big problem to get one's hands on -- or around -- when you consider it.
This time that same problem is a little bigger.
A lot bigger, actually.
Horse manure on the causeway.
Monday a group of state and local officials decided it's time to ramp up implementation of anti-littering laws in order to deal with riders who fail to clean up after their horses along the causeway and its beaches.
That includes putting up signs for horseback riders to do the right thing.
Evidently enough of them need reminding.
Pictures taken by area residents of horse manure on causeway beaches and walkways offer graphic proof.
That doesn't account for the business the horses leave behind them in the water.
What to do?
Providing disposable shovels is impractical, but riders should get the idea.
If not, the slapping offenders with some hefty fines should do it.

Citrizens has homeowners in real predicament

Caught between a rock and a hard place.
Never has the idiom rung so true than now for homeowners in our community who are policyholders with Citizens Property Insurance.
The insurer of last resort.
Ah, yes.
Once upon a time that was a comforting premise to those of us who couldn’t get homeowner’s coverage otherwise.
Not so much anymore.

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

Saturday events going on around community

North Manatee Kiwanis’s first 5K Run/Walk-and-NFL Play 60 Children’s Event is 8 a.m. Saturday at Palmetto’s newly restored Sutton Park. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. There will be food, music, raffle drawings and awards, too.
For details call Barbara Barnett at 941-526-7750. Or email Barbara @lightreno.com.

The annual Kiwanis Classic Kar-B-Q will be cranking 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Manatee County Fairgrounds in Palmetto.
Hosted by the Manatee Sunrise Kiwanis Club and sponsored by the Early Learning Coalition, there will be classic cars, children’s events, food, craft vendors and live music from a boffo lineup that includes the Groove, Venturas, Big Daddy, Crushing Myrna, Katalyst, Whiskey Blind, Wikked Jester and Gypsy King Band.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children.
For details, email manateesunrisekiwanis@gmail.com, or visit www.kiwanisagainsthunger.com.

There’s a 6 p.m. paddle-out Saturday at Manatee Beach in memory of Rich Salick, a surfing legend from Anna Maria Island who, despite a series of medical issue, co-founded the successful National Kidney Foundation Pro Am Surf Festival in Cocoa Beach with brother Phil and won induction into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.
He died last July at 62.

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

AARP can wait for my renewal check

AARP is a trip.
The American Association of Retired Persons, a nationally known advocacy organization for folks aged 50,  mailed me a membership card about the time I hit that milestone.
That was 12 years ago, coming up on 13.
I paid the dues, signed the petitions, read the periodic magazines and tried to stay current on the issues they brought to its membership's attention.
Wish I could say the same about them keeping current on its own membership.
Several months ago, probably longer, AARP was mailing me notices that my membership was about to expire and it was time for me to re-up.
But it wasn't time.
My membership doesn't expire until December.
The AARP card in my wallet says so.
So I'd toss their mail in the garbage.
Yet it kept coming, each form letter more urgent than the one before.
I got tired of it.
One day I photocopied my membership card, circled it and drew an arrow to the expiration date and mailed the copy to AARP.
It didn't do any good.
Not long ago I got another form letter from them.
AARP was cancelling my membership.
I guess it didn't matter I still had three months to go, according to my AARP card.
To heck with them, I decided.
Sure enough, I've begun receiving more mail seeking my renewal signature and check, too.
Got one just the other day, in fact.
Don't hold your breath, AARP.

Pumpkin Patch another sign October's here

What tells you October is here?
Cooler temperatures and breezes like we enjoyed Monday.
Blue skies with wispy clouds carrying the feel of fall.
The third annual Pumpkin Patch, Oct. 13-31 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 3200 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
Nearly 2,000 pumpkins of all shapes and sizes with a variety of autumn decorations will be on sale. Proceeds benefit youth ministries and services to the hearing impaired in partnership with the Sertoma Club of Bradenton.
Senior Pastor Jim Rosenburg invites families and groups to check out the inventory of pumpkins and bring cameras to the harvest-themed patch. 
Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Call 941-747-3704 for more details.
Or visit www.TrinityBradenton.com.