Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 8-22-17

Features
Commissioner Grateful To Donors For Funds To Remove Statue
Progress Village Family To Appear On Game Show Next Season
The Davis Family of Progress Village auditioned April 1, 2017 and was selected to play Family Feud with game show host Steve Har- vey. They traveled to Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles, Cal- ifornia to film the show which will air in the next season of Family Feud.
The team consisted of
Regina Davis-Hightower, Devyni Hightower, Bran- don Hightower, Ryan Mc- Call, and Dwayne Sanders, Jr., with Jackie Davis-Mix as the alternate.
Family and friends who accompanied them both to Atlanta and Los Angeles were: Marilyn Davis-Hamilton, Gail Davis-McCall, Deanna Miner, Jocelynn Townsend, Aleshia Campbell, Shirley Davis, Coletta Henry, Sandra Jackson, Ruth Hires and Christopher Hightower. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will for-
Members of the Progress Village Davis Family who will appear on ‘Family Feud’ are: Brandon Hightower, Regina Davis-High- tower, Devyni Hightower, Ryan McCall and Dwayne Sanders, Jr.
ever cherish and remember! Also, while in L. A., former Progress Village resident, Javarro Ray and Lakeisha Michelle (cousin of the Davis family) were hosts to them during their stay. The Progress Village community
is proud of our hometown celebrities and will keep you posted when the show airs!
BY LINDA WASHINGTON Writer, Progress Village News
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
In June, Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller, Jr., made a motion to remove a Confederate Statue that sat in downtown Tampa. His motion was de- feated in a 4-3 vote.
Commissioner Miller was supported by Commis- sioners Pat Kemp, and Al Higginbotham.
Commissioners Stacy White, Ken Hagan, San- dra Murman, and Victor Crist voted against the re- moval.
But, Commissioner Miller would not give up and raised the issue again. On July 19th, more than 100 peo- ple from all walks of life spoke at the County Commis- sioner’s meeting. Those indi- viduals supported Commissioner Miller’s opinion that the statue should be relocated.
Last Wednesday during the regular County Commis- sioners meeting, Commis- sioners White, Hagan, Murman, and Crist once again teamed up to prevent the removal of the statue. They voted to require the pri- vate sector to raise $140,000 within 30 days to remove it.
In less than 30 hours, do- nations poured in exceeding the required amount needed. Some donors remained anonymous; some did not disclose the amount they do- nated, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Tampa Bay Lightning organizations.
The three organizations released the following state- ment: “This monument does not reflect the values of our community.”
The Greater Chamber of
LES MILLER, JR. County Commissioner, District 3
Commerce donated $70,000, Bob Gries, the former owner of the Tampa Bay Storm donated $50,000, Coach Tony Dungy do- nated $5,000, Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Alex Sink donated $1,000, respectfully, to the cause, etc. Donations were also given by several local elected officials.
In response to the out- pouring of donations, Com- missioner Miller, said, “I am grateful to the public for such an outpouring of sup- port. Your collective efforts helped to surpass our target goal of $140,000.
“Your contribution whether $5 or $50,000, is so appreciated! For those who were unable to contribute, thank you for your prayers, emails, letters and phone calls of support. To Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Coach Tony Dungy, The Business Community, The Greater Tampa Chamber, The Tampa Bay Rays, The Tampa Bay Lightning and The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Organiza- tions, thank you for your ded- icated funds and your efforts to help move Hillsborough County and the City forward, Again, THANK YOU!”
The monument will be placed in a private cemetery in Brandon. It will be relo- cated by November 15th.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3