By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor Marshall Middle School’s robotics team, Future Innovative Robotics Engineers, or F.I.R.E., brought the heat during the regional qualifier of the Florida First LEGO League Dec. 8, at Sleepy Hill Middle School, in Lakeland.
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Inspire Quilting to hold raffle for Plant City teen
By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor Today at 2 p.m. Inspire! Quilting and Sewing, 101 N. Collins St., will host a raffle to help 15-year-old Jacob Meachum who was injured June 3 after a sport-utility vehicle hit the ATV he was riding on.
Continue ReadingWoman, a Durant grad, threatens to blow up elementary school
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested a Lithia parent who had threatened to blow up her child’s school. According to Sheriff’s Office reports, Jessica Schauer, 26, who attended Durant High School, made comments Dec. 19, that she was planning to blow up Pinecrest Elementary School.
Continue ReadingPlant City schools add precautions after Sandy Hook tragedy
By Amber Jurgensen and Matt Mauney Hillsborough County schools have taken extra precautions in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. All Hillsborough County schools, including those in the Plant City area, are operating under modified lockdown procedures, which started Dec. 17. Principals have been directed to […]
Continue Reading‘Paw’sitive Environment
By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor With the Christmas season upon us, many have been busy bustling from store to store, picking up gifts, stocking stuffers and decorations. But, unlike massive chain stores and corporate retailers, five shops in Historic Downtown Plant City have a special furry friend greeting the customers — a shop pet. […]
Continue ReadingPlant City junior wins essay contest
Chase Dunn, a junior at Plant City High School, was the grand-prize winner of the the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society’s statewide essay contest.
Continue ReadingSeat belt demo clicks with Durant students
By Matt Mauney | Associate Editor If you visited Durant High School last week, you may have noticed something strange. A wrecked car sits in front of one of the busiest student entrances to the school. Nearly 2,800 miniature crosses — signifying the number of teenagers who die in car crashes annually in the United […]
Continue ReadingManger scene inspires grandson
Donna Barr, a resident of Plant City’s historic district, sent us this lovely photo of her grandson, Cameron, hugging baby Jesus in her outdoor manger scene.
Continue ReadingPlant City family cultivates giant poinsettia
By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor It’s massive. Red blooms flower bigger than a man’s fists. The bushy body monopolizes a section of fence about 19 feet long. It’s not a monster. It’s a poinsettia plant.
Continue ReadingTrapnell students compete in speech contest
By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor If any of the eight speakers at Trapnell Elementary’s speech contest Dec. 14 were nervous, they certainly didn’t let it show. There was no fidgeting, no rocking back and forth, and no freeze-ups. The contestants — all fifth-graders — spoke with poise, confidence and knowledge well beyond their years.
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