Page 10 - 3-27-15 Friday's Edition

Local
New Oakhurst Apartments Owner Says
Nothing Will Change
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Since the sale of the Oakhurst Square Apartments in West Tampa was an- nounced, residents in the sur- rounding community have feared it would be taken over by students from the Univer- sity of Tampa.
West Riverfront Neighbor- hood Association President, Mrs. Ruth McNair, said for the past three years, they have had to endure students moving into rented apartments and houses throughout their com- munity.
“They moved into these places, held wild parties, and left trash up and down our streets. We had to deal with people urinating in our yards, late night traffic, large crowds, and disrespect from the stu- dents.”
When Mrs. McNair found out that the Soho Capi- tal Group had purchased the Oakhurst complex, rumors im- mediately spread that they were going to convert them into dorm-like units to attract the University of Tampa stu- dents.
Adam Harden, a princi- pal of Soho Capital, said they acquired Oakhurst Square as a strategic investment in Tampa’s urban core.
“We value the existing res- idents at Oakhurst and have no IMMEDIATE plans for rede- velopment of the property. The buildings were constructed in the late 1960s as a suburban form of garden apartments.
“Oakhurst occupies a key position at the western gate-
MRS. RUTH MCNAIR
way to downtown, As North Hyde Park and West Tampa continue to grow and rede- velop the type and form of im- provements on the Oakhurst site may evolve to better suit the location. Our first commit- ment is to our current resi- dents. Any long term planning for the site will involve the res- idents and adjacent neighbor- hood from the beginning.”
Mrs. McNair said she and her group will remain vigilant, because with all the develop- ment projects going on in West Tampa, they know something will happen at the Oakhurst.
“When they say nothing will happen in the immediate future, that tells us they are planning to change something. Their statement doesn’t clearly say they aren’t going to convert the apartments into dorms.
“I’ve lived in this commu- nity for more than 50 years, and I can tell you none of us want a bunch of college kids sitting in our laps. This would be a bad move for this commu- nity, and we’ve lived here for too long to be disrespected that way.”
Former Belmont Heights Little League Player Returns As Manager
Growing up in Ponce DeLeon-College Hill Public Housing, Quesley Fields found that his greatest outlet was playing baseball with the Belmont Heights Little League.
Fields started playing baseball at BHLL as a T-Ball player and continued to play until he aged out when he turned 15. But, he still contin- ued to want to be a part of BHLL. After aging out, Fields would go to the park and help maintain the fields, help with the official scorebook and help coaches whenever needed.
Fields is a 2013 graduate of Hillsborough High School and was the recipient of the 2013 Belmont Heights Little League Scholarship.
In 2014, Fields ap- proached the Belmont Heights little League Board asking to coach his own team. The Board initially thought he lacked the maturity to manage a team of 13-to-15 players, managing a coaching staff, dealing with parents, a prac- tice schedule, playing schedule and knowing the complete rules of little league baseball.
Fields was placed with an experienced coach so he could learn every aspect of managing a team.
BHLL President, Artis Gambrell, Jr. said they were very impressed with Fields’ level of dedication to the play- ers. So for the 2015 season, Fields was given his own minor league tam, the Cole’s Barbershop Cardinals.
BHLL Vice-President, Sonja Alexander, describes Fields as an impressive young man who is a student at Hills- borough Community College studying business and has a full time job with Winn Dixie.
“He is one of the most de- dicated young coaches I’ve
Quesley Fields and his Cole’s Barbershop Cardinals.
Belmont Heights Little League President, Artis Gambrell, Jr. and Quelsey Fields.
ever met,” said Alexander. The Cardinals won their first game, with Fields man- aging when Belmont Heights Little League kicked of the
2015 season.
Fields said he remembers
back when BHLL was a power- house in Little League.
“That was when everyone wantedtobeapartofit.Ire- member the coaches, board, players and parents caring
about the kids and wanting them to be more than what people expected of kids from the housing projects.
“Things have changed, but the mentality is still there at Belmont Heights. Someone cared for me and now it’s time for me to give back. I want to be a part of the positive part that is Belmont Heights Little League.”
Harram Court 96, an Aux- iliary of the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of North and South America and its Juris- dictions, Inc., cordially invites female youth to join their youth group.
Membership in the Har- ram Court No. 96 Youth Group is opened to all girls who are between the ages of 7 and 17, regardless of fraternal affiliation, race, creed, or color. There will be two groups: Juniors (ages 7-12) and Seniors (ages 13-17).
The Harram Court No. 96 Youth Group is service ori- ented and not a secret society. It is a fellowship with a pur-
pose, designed to cultivate and encourage high scholastic achievement through: 1) lead- ership development; 2) educa- tional enrichment; 3) civic engagement; 4) development of interpersonal skills which are needed to function in and contribute to a variety of so- cial settings; 5) development of pride and self, through cul- tural and educational pro- grams; 6) involvement in community, religious and civic activities; and 7) devel- opment of character-building, sense of values and self-wor- thiness.
Meetings will be held the 4th Saturday of the month at Seminole Heights Branch Li-
brary, 4711 Central Ave., Tampa, FL 33603 from 12 p. m.—2p.m.
Students and their parents are encouraged to participate. Applications and consent forms can be found on the Court website at www.har- ram96.org. Please print the appropriate forms and bring with you to the first meeting, April 25, 2015.
For further information, please contact the Directress, Mrs. Margaret Butler at 813-526-6054 or mbut- ler05@aol.com, or contact Mrs. Cynthia Bowden- Jolly at 813-695-0183 or Cynthia.bowden@yahoo.com.
Girls Invited To Join Masonic Youth Group
PAGE 10-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015