The voting lines at Bruton Memorial Library have been out the door for two weeks. Plant Citians have been inundated with political ads on TV, YouTube, texts, and phone calls. The tight national polls, missteps, and highly contentious presidential race added drama in the buildup until November 5. Now it is all over. The effects […]
Continue ReadingFORMER PCPD OFFICER BEFRIENDS VETERAN
Right out of high school, Clemente (Clem) Fiol started working in the prison system, first at Hillsborough Correctional, then the Florida State Prison. He met his wife, Karen, in jail (she wasn’t a prisoner, though—she worked as a nurse in the facility). After these stints, Fiol became a deputy for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office […]
Continue ReadingNews Briefs 11.07.24
WISH FARMS HARVESTS FIRST STRAWBERRY FLAT IN FLORIDA Strawberry season is finally here… Wish Farms, a Plant City-based, international grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and pineberries, is pleased to announce that its farm has harvested the first strawberry flat in the state of Florida! Chris Parks, the Farm manager, announced this […]
Continue ReadingCops Corner 11.07.24
October 25 Keep Your Pants On – Trespass After Warning 500 block of N. Alexander St Officers responded and met with a complainant who stated a subject known to her came to the pool area and exposed his genitals to her before fleeing the area. Based on the investigation, the complainant elected to sign a waiver […]
Continue ReadingCOMBAT MP TO DIVISION CHIEF
Bill Thomas graduated from Plant City’s Marshall High School where he played trombone. He attended Bethune-Cookman College on a music scholarship, and planned to become a music teacher. But Thomas’s number came up in the draft lottery in 1969. He landed in Vietnam in April, and served his year there as a combat military police […]
Continue ReadingCHARITY BUILD FALLS SHORT
On April 4, the Plant City Observer published a glowing article about a three-bedroom, two-bath home built by Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay (RTTB) for veteran Geoffrey Black. Six months later the glow has faded. Today, according to Black, the structure suffers in several places from substandard materials and shoddy workmanship. The house was incomplete when […]
Continue ReadingHELPING VETERANS HEAL
Chad Landrey served as a combat military police soldier in the Army National Guard from 2001 to 2008. He was sent to Afghanistan in 2004, and stationed at Bagram Air Force Base. After he returned to the U.S., he worked as a police officer in Sebring, Lake Wales, and Lakeland. Landrey got his first police […]
Continue ReadingCOMMUNITY BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS HONOR VETERANS
“About 10 years ago, I was asked to be the Veterans Chairman for the Elks Lodge,” Judy Wise tells the story of the how the Veterans Luncheon came to be. “When I became the District Veterans Chairman. I wanted to do something for our Elks Veterans, and so I had a steak dinner for each […]
Continue ReadingAround Town 11.07.24
We asked Plant City: What is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish? My mom’s (Wendy) broccoli casserole. Rebecca Weaver Turkey and stuffing Michelle Karen Cambridge My homemade dressing that my grandmother taught me how to make. Lisa Prevatt Dressing Bud Olliff Brussels sprouts and sweet corn casserole Lisa McGrath Hungry Howie’s pizza Jeff Tillman Sausage and […]
Continue ReadingObituaries 11.07.24
David Lee Gilley, Jr. David Lee Gilley, Jr., known as “Country” by friends and family, 60, of Seffner, Fla., born on Dec. 17, 1963, in New Orleans, Louisiana, beloved son of David L. Gilley, Sr. and Ada Spina, entered into eternal rest on Nov. 1, 2024. Expressions of condolences at www.HopewellFuneral.com. Mona Faye Jimison Mona Faye Jimison, 90, […]
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