Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 1-3-17 Online Edition

2016 In Review
The City of Tampa hosted a preview of the artwork at Perry Harvey, Sr., Park, 900 E. Scott Street. The skills of James Simon, Rufus Butler Seder, Michael Parker, and Joel Randell, captured the history of Central Avenue.
Each year, a member of the Gamma Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Soror- ity, Inc is selected as the Miss Teenage Tampa Appreciation Honoree because of her dedi- cation, commitment, and serv- ice to the Pageant and to the Sorority and community.
The 2016 Miss Teenage Tampa honoree was Mrs. Di- anna Allen-Quin, a long- time member of the chapter. Mrs. Allen-Quin served as President of Gamma Theta Omega Chapter from 2010- 2011.
The Corporation to De- velop Communities of Tampa, Inc. (CDC) held a celebration to recognize the first class that graduated from its Tampa Vo- cational Institute (TVI) Green Construction Class. The 7 stu- dents attended classes, com- pleted a 6-week course.
APRIL
N’Jhari Jackson submit- ted his application and was given a full scholarship to at- tend the Space Camp at the U. S. Space & Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama. The camp was held the week of July 24-30, 2016. He will also spent an additional 12 days completing requirements to obtain a college credit in Sci- ence from the University of Al- abama Huntsville, as well as a High School Honors Science credit.
A Tampa man serving life for drug offenses was one of 61 drug offenders granted clemency by President Barack Obama.
Anthony Lee Lewis, 50, who studied to be a paralegal behind bars, prepared and submitted his own clemency petition. Lewis was incarcer- ated in August 1993 and will be released by March 2017. He will have served more than 22 years.
Governor Rick Scott
signed legislation authorizing interment compensation for the families of deceased vic- tims of the Arthur B. Dozier School for Boys. The bill also allows for the creation of a me- morial in memory of the de- ceased children sentenced to serve time at the facility. It went into effect immediately.
A former Middleton High School Drum Major passed away on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Edward Baldwin, a resident of Torrance, Califor- nia, died following a brief ill- ness.
After years of planning and months of construction, Perry Harvey, Sr. Park finally opened to visitors.
Members of the Harvey family welcomed visitors to Tampa’s newest greenspace that was created to celebrate the city’s African American history and named after one of its most prominent leaders.
Fred Hearns, a local his- torian, began conducting walking tours of Tampa’s His- toric Central Avenue District. The tours – for adults and youth -- covers six blocks dur- ing two-hour sessions that begin near the historic St. Paul AME Church at Harrison and Marion Streets and end at the Robert W. Saunders Public Li- brary and at Booker T. Wash- ington Elementary School on Estelle Street.
Tampa Hillsborough Ac- tion Plan's (THAP) 5508 Co- Working and Collaboration Exchange is an East Tampa based collaborative business hub designed to help startup companies grow more rapidly. The organization hosted an event for startup businesses and entrepreneurs.
Nichelle Watson, grand- daughter of Sentinel em- ployee Johnny Watson, graduated from 88M Motor Transportation Operator Ad- vanced Leaders Course at Fort Lee, Virginia.
The completion of this course was a promotion re- quirement in order to pin the rank of Staff Sergeant in the United States Army. Nichelle graduated as one of the only females in her class out of 39 other male soldiers.
Members of the Hillsbor- ough County School Board ap- proved a plan to reorganize the upper level of the Superinten- dent’s Cabinet. This is the sec- ond time the Superintendent has made changes in less than a year.
Superintendent Jeff Eakins told Board members
that the proposed changes were “not about people, this is about looking first at what do our kids need, what do our schools need.” His plan calls for the elimination of two cab- inet positions. Additionally, other positions will be elimi- nated, added, merged, or re- classified.
Pastor Laytecia McKin- ney became an author, pub- lishing her first book, Living Single God’s Way – A Sin- gle Woman’s Guide to Wholeness.
Mr. Russell White, 66, a Tampa native died after being struck by a hit and run driver. The accident took place in a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
Popular roofer Isaac Godwin passed away after a longtime illness. He was 75 years old.
The Chief of Police at the University of South Florida ap- pointed Ms. Renna Reddick as Communications and Mar- keting Officer. Her primary roles include serving as a pri- mary media contact for the de- partment.
Ms. Linda Walker was presented the Director’s Com- munity Leadership Award from the Federal Bureau of In- vestigation (FBI), Tampa Divi- sion.
The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), re- leased the findings of their in- vestigation alleging discrimination by the Tampa Police Department.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Chief Jane Castor re- quested the investigation after an article in the Tampa Times focused on racial dis- parities pertaining to stopping and ticketing bicycle riders.
The Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation presented its 44th Lightning Community Hero of the 2015-16 season. Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, presented the Community Hero Award to State Senator Arthenia Joyner.
Florida State Representa- tive, Ed Narain, crowned Miss Tori Briana Brown as the 2016-2017 Miss Teenage Tampa. She is the daughter of Nadalee McLean and a student at C. Leon King High School.
MAY
Mrs. Arsie L. Sims, the
MRS. ARSIE L. SIMS
wife of popular East Tampa minister Rev. W. D. Sims, died after a brief illness. She was 67-years-old.
Nate Johnson and his wife, Carmen, made prepara- tions to host their 25th Annual BAYTAF (Bay Area Youth Track & Field) Classic Event May 27th through May 29th. The event was held on the campus of the University of South Florida.
Eighteen-year-old La Tray Johnson was observed by her Guidance Counselor dancing at her prom. Typi- cally, this is what is expected of teenagers.
However, her journey to that moment in her life was anything but typical for this young lady who survived hav- ing a tumor the size of a soft- ball in her head.
Ms. Angela Robinson, who plays Veronica Har- rington, the manipulative cut-throat attorney on Tyler Perry’s popular “The Haves and The Have Nots,” spoke at an event hosted by her sis- ter, Tampa Attorney Pamela Robinson.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars, (VFW) Post 1339, Post 10140, American Legion Post 167, and the Buffalo Soldiers held their Annual Memorial Day Program. The event took place at the Rest Haven Me- morial Park Cemetery, 4615 E. Hanna Avenue.
Tampa native Marc McCoy represented Ten- nessee State University in the Men’s Track and Field Compe- tition. The event was held at Edward S. Temple Track on the campus of Tennessee State University.
McCoy finished third in the competition with 133 points. In the outdoor compe- tition, McCoy placed 6th in the Decathlon, Javelin and Long Jump. He placed 5th in the Triple Jump. He continues to hold the school record in the Javelin.
Joseph W. J. Robinson
was invited to deliver the keynote address at the Univer- sity of South Florida. How- ever, he was surprised when
JOE ROBINSON
he received the “Alumni of the Year Award” during the 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony of the National Society of Black Engineers, University of South Florida Chapter.
The U. S. Department of Justice found no discrimina- tion in an investigation into ticketing Blacks on Bicycles, released a report of its find- ings. The report acknowledged that while a disproportionate number of Blacks were given citations, there was no evi- dence of discrimination.
The report did state, how- ever, that the number of tick- ets written were unfair and ineffective at reducing crime.
In response to the report, Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward hosted three commu- nity forums to address the issue of Blacks being ticketed. The forums were designed to gather information and feed- back from the community.
The Men of Gamma Zeta Lambda (Tampa Alumni) Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. presented “Ocean’s 06 – Casino Royale,” their Annual Black and Gold Scholarship Ball, held on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at the Hilton Hotel – Down- town Tampa.
JUNE
Ms. Bessie Rodriguez,
who turned 100 on May 25th, celebrated her 100th birthday with a party. The party was held at the Tampa Park Re- source Center. She closed out her career as an educator after 47 years.
Cristo Rey Tampa High School hosted an Open House as part of its grand opening. The opening of this campus marked the 32nd institution in the nation designed strictly to educate children from low in- come families.
CONTINUED IN FRIDAY, JANUARY 6TH EDITION.
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