MHS seniors vying for Mr. Sugar Cane

The 11 handsome young men vying for the title of Mr. Sugar Cane are Manatee High seniors Rider Bilter, Hershel Caywood, Ryan Harris, Wyatt Hoffman, Tate Jernegan, Jacob Jordan, Chase Sandberg, Jacob Sperko, Matt Stevens, Nick Tankersly and Ricky Terrell.
The show returns to Manatee’s new Davis Building Performing Arts Theater Nov. 5.
Krystal Weaver, a USF senior and former Sugar 'Cane, will emcee.

Norma Lloyd

The Southeast Seminoles will have a moment of silence at Kiker Stadium before tonight’s Sarasota game for Norma Lloyd, a longtime member of the school’s advisory council.
The matriarch of Little League baseball in Bradenton, Norma passed away last Sunday at 79.


Charlie McCullough is back in business!
The former Philadelphian proprietor has taken over the Longwood Grill & Pub, 5802 Longwood Run Blvd., Sarasota.
It’s a neat sports bar just off University Parkway.
Call 388-7613.

Jerry Koontz

After all those years in a suit, retired United Way honcho Jerry Koontz joked about his new getup:

Knee high black socks, slippers, shorts and a T-shirt that reads, “Beer and Cigars. Not Just for Breakfast Anymore.”

Jill and Josh McGarry named their first bundle of love Finnegan Daniel McGarry.

A grand Irish name.

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

Playing 'Grandpa' for a day. Or two.

The sticker given out by the receptionist at Gene Witt Elementary School Monday morning was cool.

It read, "Grandparents Make Smiles Happen"

Even when they may not really be grandparents.

Like yours truly.

Leah James, a Witt kindergartener, thinks of me as Uncle Vinny.

Her sister, Brooke, a second-grader, does, too.

They are the darling daughters of my wife Sherri's boss Jon James and his wife Jen.

It was Grandparents Day at the school, but the girls grands live in Michigan and wouldn't be able to make it.

When we heard how disappointed they were, we decided to do something.

I volunteered to be a "Grandpa" for a day.

It turned out great.

Leah was surprised and gave me a big hug when Jen and I walked into the Witt cafeteria.

I had fun making sure two of her classmates finished their hot dog and hamburger, respectively, after they'd already enjoyed their red-white-and-blue popsicles.

The one with the hot dog finished, anyway.

When our half hour lunch was up, we returned to Leah's classroom where I got another hug and drove back to work.

I get to play Grandpa all over again Thursday for Brooke.

Can't wait.

9/11's aftermath resonates decade later

My glasses were almost ready that morning at the Eye Center on Cortez Road and the overhead TV was tuned to BayNews 9.

It was just before 9 a.m. when the anchor said they were switching to New York for breaking news.

We were transfixed by what we saw:

A gaping, smoking hole in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Must be an accident, I figured.

Probably a puddle jumper, a twin-engine airplane like one I’d flown on a few years earlier from Newark to Cape Cod.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.


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

Ex-Cane holds own in Ole Miss debut

Chris Conley’s first game as starting holder and backup punter for Ole Miss went smoothly. The former Manatee Hurricane, No. 94 for the Rebels, held for two field goals and an extra point.
Unfortunately, Ole Miss lost 14-13 to BYU.

Suzanne Seagle finished two years working for SOAR, a Wyoming camp for special needs children, in high style. The Saint Stephen’s and FSU alum climbed Grand Teton, the highest mountain in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park at 13,775 feet.

Braden River High School will hold a special ceremony honoring Army Spc. 4 Patrick Lay and a presentation will be made to his family before its Sept. 16 home game with Palmetto.
The BRHS 2008 graduate and former Pirate tight end was killed in Afghanistan Aug. 11 and is buried at Sarasota National Cemetery.

Manatee Memorial Hospital and Shake Pit are double-teaming the “Manatee Football Is In My Blood Drive” for Suncoast Communities Blood Bank.
The drive is 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Pit, 3801 Manatee Ave. W.
The first 100 blood donors get a free ticket to the MMH/SCBB Challenge Sept. 16 at Hawkins Stadium pitting Manatee against No. 1 ranked Don Bosco Prep of Ramsey, N.J., at 6 p.m. and Tampa Plant against Bergen Catholic of Oradell, N.J., at 8:30 p.m.
MHS cheerleaders will also be at the Pit selling tickets to their 4th Annual Lee Roy Selmon's Tailgate BBQ.


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

Marjory Stoneman Douglas is spinning in her grave

Drilling for oil where?

When Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachman recently put forth the idea of drilling in the Everglades, I thought --- what a great idea.

Great, that is, if you want to torpedo any support you might have for your candidacy in this state.

Now the Guv supports this inane idea?

OK, many of did not know there is a small oil drilling operation in Collier County, but it doesn't produce the kind of high grade we put in our rides.

It's low grade oil for tarring roads, among other uses.

So why even consider fooling with this?

"We have to be very cautious on any oil drilling, whether it’s already in the state or in our beaches or in the gulf because we aren’t going to ruin our environment," Scott said. "With regard to the Everglades, we have to be very cautious if there’s going to be any more drilling. It’s my understanding, we haven't had any problems to date so my goal would be to be very cautious."

Don't do it, Guv.

It isn't enough that our beautiful beaches are under siege every year by the "Drill, Baby, Drill!" gang.

Now Scott thinks it'd be OK to do so in the pristine Everglades?

Slick Rick, indeed.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the sainted environmentalist and author of "The Everglades: River of Grass." is spinning in her grave.

Photo, friendship endures long past 9/11



Jay Rentz, yours truly and Bill Ruth in June 1991.

 The framed photo is one of my favorites and it is never far from sight.

It was taken outside Bill Ruth’s home in Wheaton, Md., where there was a mighty party going on that June in 1991.

A teacher, Bill had just returned from Desert Storm where he’d served as a helicopter pilot with the Maryland National Guard and his wife, Georgette, wanted to celebrate.

I wasn’t going to miss it and flew up from Florida.

Jay Rentz, another longtime pal and Washington D.C. detective who’s also in the photo, was there, too.

What a great weekend, a remembrance I cherish more than ever as years go by.

It was the last time I saw Bill alive.

He was killed on 9/11.


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

Bradenton Nine Devils celebration Oct. 22

How many of you remember or heard of the old Bradenton Nine Devils?
They were our town’s black baseball team that thrived during segregation in the independent Florida State Negro League from 1937 to 1956.
Waymon Armstead, James “Son” Copeland and Morris Paskell are among those surviving Nine Devils, whose home games at long gone Roush Field, as well as McKechnie Field, were festive affairs in the community.
On Oct. 22 at the 13th Av Dream Center, there will be a celebration, “Innings Ago,” honoring those players, that team and their legacy.
Families of deceased Nine Devils, the ballclub’s fans and public are invited to attend and reminisce about that bygone era.
Call 779-3598 for details.

Outgoing United Way honcho Jerry Koontz was runnerup in the Women’s Leadership Initiative’s second annual Bling Fling celebrity bartender competition.
Joltin’ Jerry’s potent “Appletini” was nosed out by Bling Fling King John Moyer’s funky Caribbean concoction, “All Day, All Night Marianne,” named for his wife, a self-proclaimed beach bum.
The event helped raise $1,500 at the Dan and Corrine McClure Center in Lakewood Ranch.

Welcome back to the “pilgrims” from Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, who were among the estimated 1.5 million people attending World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain.
The pilgrims included Joshua Audet, Logan Jones, Spencer Jones, Andrew Kurutz, Shari Kurutz, Celeste Matthews, Luke Smith, Kandice Steele and Gina and Jeff Young.

Don’t forget Manatee High’s spanking new Davis Building Performing Arts Theater if you want to watch the Hurricanes play nationally ranked Good Counsel tonight in Olney, Md., on three big screens and hear it on surround sound.
Tickets are $10.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
 
Read more Friday in Vin's People on Bradenton.com.