Izbella Bronson, 2, of Plant City, died Wednesday, March 18, after falling out of her great-grandmother’s van. At about 2:30 p.m., Alice Barber of Plant City, Izbella’s great-grandmother, was driving on the private dirt driveway of her residence on S.R. 60. She had just picked up Izbella’s two older brothers from the school bus stop […]
Continue ReadingPlant City man points laser at HCSO helicopter
A Plant City man was arrested after pointing a laser at a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office helicopter. At about 11 p.m. Friday, March 13, the helicopter was conducting routine flight operations near the Plant City Airport, when it was struck by a green laser. Pilots pinpointed the laser’s location within the Walden Lake community. They […]
Continue ReadingPCHS students place in essay contest
Three Plant City High School students recently excelled in an essay contest sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars and received awards for their hard work. Each year, VFW holds an award ceremony for Florida District 4. This year’s banquet was in Winter Haven, and the theme for the essay contest was “Why Veterans are Important to […]
Continue ReadingMobile home fire kills Plant City woman
One woman was killed and a man was injured in a mobile home fire that occurred at about 2 a.m. Sunday, March 15, at 1319 Candy Cane Lane near Plant City. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrived and found the home fully engulfed by flames. Edwin Jose Chico, 56, suffered severe burns and […]
Continue Reading101-year-old rides in festival parade for first time
Hundreds of Plant City residents marched, danced or rode in this year’s Florida Strawberry Festival Parade. But tucked in the back of First Baptist Church of Midway’s float was Daryl Sturgis, a woman with a unique claim among parade participants: She is 101 years old. “It was fun, and it was tiresome. I had a […]
Continue ReadingHerr names city engineer
City Manager Mike Herr announced Monday, March 9, that Michael Schenk has been chosen as the new permanent city engineer, following former city engineer Brett Gocka’s termination in December. “Mr. Schenk has both public and private sector experience,” Herr said. “He has a lot of experience doing engineering work with utilities, and also the review […]
Continue Reading517,000 ‘join the party’
From rain, to sunshine, to cool and breezy nights, weather in Plant City has been unpredictable for the last few weeks. But it didn’t stop more than 517,000 people from spending at least one day at the Florida Strawberry Festival. “If we get to half a million, we’re thrilled,” Paul Davis, the festival’s general manager, […]
Continue ReadingHometown Hero: Destined for Duty
An army life always seemed to run through Clayton Browder’s veins. In Veterans’ Memorial Park in Plant City, six bricks bear the names of his father, mother, uncle and other relatives who served in the military. And recently, his mother, Lisa Browder, proudly purchased a seventh brick with Clayton’s name on it. “All my family […]
Continue ReadingObituary: Raymond Blue
Raymond Blue, 67, of Plant City, died March 6, 2015, in Temple Terrace. Mr. Blue was born and raised in Plant City. He worked in construction and was a brick layer. He played cards and enjoyed spending time with his family. Loving family who survive are son, Andre Blue; daughters, Teresa Blue and Cassandra Johnson; […]
Continue ReadingObituary: Rosa Acosta
Rosa Acosta, 82, of Plant City, died March 5, 2015, at South Florida Baptist Hospital. A native of Miami, she was the daughter of the late Arturo and Estela Hernandez Moya. Survivors include her beloved husband, Ildefonso L. Acosta; children, Luis Acosta, Sonia Fernandez, Norma Escalona and Rosa Alvarez; and three sisters, two brothers, eight […]
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