More host families needed for exchange students

Wanted: 15 more host families for French and Spanish teenagers.
Interested? Sherree Bowman hopes so.
Deadline is Saturday.
The local program leader for Education First’s Homestay Programs, an exchange student nonprofit, is bringing in 50 youths, ages 13-19, from France and Spain to the Bradenton/Sarasota area between July 6- 31.
But she’s only got 35 host families lined up to date.
“I’m stressing out trying to find more,” Bowman said, half-kiddingly. “We especially need families who can host boys. We also have two adult chaperones who travel with the students. So maybe there are families who would enjoy hosting an adult. Everyone is welcome to apply — families, single parents, retirees.”
Host families are not paid, but if they have a high school teenager, they will earn 60 community service hours.
EF exchange students are fully insured and bring their own spending money. Host families have 24/7 support from EF staff.
Call 941-545-7300.

Read more Friday on Bradenton.com.

Turning cheeseburgers into grassburgers made easy

Sister-in-law Chris Manring with the evidence.

Everything was going so beautifully last Sunday.
The family was relaxed, lounging around our pool deck, the Rays were winning on TV and my wife was in the kitchen getting the rest of the fixin's ready for supper with the help of her sisters and niece.
Then when the holiday meal was ready to be served, I dropped the ball.
The cheeseburgers, that is.
I'll explain.
A master BBQer I may  not be, but I love to work our grill, which is outside the house.
Haven't had any complaints, either.
I put that to the test Sunday.

There I was, firing up eight burgers for the team and, after slapping a slice of cheese on each and letting them melt, I carefully scooped each cheeseburger onto a plate.
Then I turned and tried to open the pool screen door, a maneuver I've made countless times.
Except Sunday.
F-U-M-B-L-E!
The plate slipped out of my hand and eight cheeseburgers fell with it onto the backyard lawn.
It was like watching one of those slo-mo scenes.
This ... can't ... be ... happening.
But it did.
With an assist from snickering family members, I piled the burgers back onto the plate and deposited it on the table.
Voila! Grassburgers!
They ate every one.
It was an entertaining meal with a lot of  laughter, even if it was at my expense.
"Hey, roughage is good for you."
"Bet you can't do that again."
"Mmm, it actually tastes better with grass."
It will be a long time before I live it down.

P.S: I did ribs Monday evening for Sherri and I and dropped nary a one.

Remembering our heroes beyond Memorial Day

Hundreds of small American flags align both sides of Ninth Street East as you drive by Tropicana.
A granite marker with a metal name plate catches your attention in a quiet church garden.
You dust off the desk photo of a longtime friend who gave his life on 9/11.
Memorial Day is here.
Not long ago there was a prevailing sentiment the real meaning of this solemn holiday had been lost among all the other events that traditionally take place this weekend.
Big barbecues.
Bonanza car sales.
Beachgoers up north celebrating the unofficial start of summer.
Perhaps Memorial Day’s meaning is missing for some people.
Not in this community.
It’s in our DNA.

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

Southeast junior gets highest Girl Scout honor

It’s good to be Gillian Palino these days.
She received her Gold Award, the Girl Scouts’ highest award, at last Sunday’s Young Women of Distinction Luncheon in Port Charlotte.
The Southeast High School junior was also named assistant drum major for the Marching ‘Noles.
Congrats from Judy, Hayden, Dawn and Kyle.

• The Principal’s Wall of Honor at Lincoln Middle School has its first 10 names, including principals spanning the era from Lincoln Memorial High School in 1949 through the transition to a middle school in 1970 to the present day.
The honorees were Carlos E. Haile, James L. Gant, James Tillman and Joseph T. Bivens, whose tenure bridged the high school-to- middle school conversion during integration, followed by James L. Dupree, Richard A. Bills, Ronald K. Hirst, Reid E. Wallace, Curtis J. Davis and Ronnie L. King.
The Wall of Honor was unveiled at Thursday morning ceremonies.

• KC and the Sunshine Dancers host “Breaking Ground 2013,” showcasing talented high school dancers from Manatee School for the Arts, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto and Bayshore as well as Lee Middle School and SCF.
Showtime is 7 p.m. Tuesday at MSA, 700 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

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

BBQ sauce anniversary in time for holiday weekend

I'm a sucker for different barbecue sauces.
Got a favorite, but I like to sample what's out there.
Picked up something from New Orleans when Sherri and I visited last year.
Ditto for another from a street fair in Mount Dora.
Brought some home from Mississippi, too.
Haven't had the pleasure of trying some homegrown sauce.
May have to give Elmer Hilker's concoction a try, especially with Memorial Day weekend on tap.
See what all the fuss is over his Smoky Mountain Finishing Sauce and Smoky Mountain Killer Finishing Sauce.
Sounds like the Palmetto resident is on a roll.
Good for him.
Laid off as a government defense contractor 13 months ago, Elmer and wife Jan, who works for tax collector Ken Burton Jr., took a chance on bottling and selling their own BBQ sauce.
The Palmetto Meat Shop was the first to stock E's concoction.
It's got a lot of company now.
E's Best Barbecue is now sold in 37 retailers, including stores in Manatee, Tampa Bay, the Orlando area, Tallahassee, six cities in North Carolina and a chain in Cleveland, Tenn.
Couldn't happen to better folks.
They'll celebrate their first anniversary 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday with a tasting at The Chop Shop, 5906 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
I may have to drop by and get some.

'SAVE OUR TEACHERS! SAVE OUR TEACHERS!'

Their numbers were small, but their message was writ large.
Nearly 100 people lined the sunbaked sidewalk along Manatee Avenue West in front of the Manatee School District administration building on behalf of teachers in the face of looming staff cuts.
The rally included parents and students from elementary schools like Anna Maria, Ballard, Oneco, Orange Ridge and Rowlett, as well as Palmetto High.
Most of them held up colorful posters that shouted their ardent support:
"1-2-3-4, WE COULD NOT  LOVE OUR TEACHERS MORE"
"I LOVE MRS. MCDONOUGH."
"HONK FOR TEACHERS!"
That one and ones just like it had the desired effect, with motorists leaning on their car horns, demonstrating their solidarity as they drove by.
Folks did more than wave signs.
Children chanted:
"SAVE OUR TEACHERS!
"SAVE OUR TEACHERS!
"SAVE OUR TEACHERS!"
Unfortunately, the chorus fell on deaf ears.
One Oneco parent said 12 teachers and seven aides will lose their jobs.
Another parent said her daughter, a young teacher at Ballard, has also been notified she won't be back.
A Palmetto High teacher wondered aloud how the school district could still be in such bad shape financially even after all the pay cuts, furloughs and other financial sacrifices teachers have had to make these last few years.
Now this.
When asked where their anger was directed, several people turned and pointed toward the top floor of the admininstration building, where the suits work on the fifth floor.
"Why Must Teachers Pay For Their Mismanagement," another sign read, appropriately.
After 30 minutespeople in the rally left Manatee Avenue to make their presence felt in front of the administration building.
One person dangled a sign whose words, albeit unappreciated in these times, still ring so true:
"IF YOU CAN READ THIS, THANK A TEACHER."

Mother's Day mementoes make magical memories

Mother’s Day mementoes.
All of us have them, something to remind us of mom and cherish year ‘round, not just on this day.
Especially if she’s gone.
Like my mother, Eileen, who passed in 2008.
Keepsakes?
I’ve got plenty.
Framed snapshots on our living room wall of her with Sherri and I at my sister’s backyard pool one of our last summers together.
Another picture in our hallway of Mom and Dad on their wedding day 65 years ago last week.
A photo on my work desk of the two of us silhouetted by a sunset we gazed upon from Fort Myers Beach.

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