Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 12-10-19

Feature
Resident Makes Sure Positive Light Shines On East Tampa: Annual Tree Lighting Sparks The Light
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Denese Meteye-James has been an active participant in East Tampa for more than 40 years. Be- cause the news media sheds so much ‘light’ on anything negative in East Tampa, she wanted to do something that would make a difference.
Ten years ago, she was awakened in a dream about 2:30 a. m., with an idea to do a Christmas Tree Lighting event.
“The week earlier I had attended the similar event in Curtis Hixon Park. And, I thought it would be nice to have something like this in our community (East Tampa),” she ex- plained.
The first year, the Tree Lighting Ceremony was held at the Tampa Po- lice Dept. Sector Station on N. 22nd St., on the side of the building where newly constructed murals stand. Area school children had their art work on display around the murals.
“I started the giving off by pur- chasing 100 teddy bears for the gift bags that Santa would give to the children that attended. That has now grown from 100 to 400, and this is not enough. As this is a family cele-
we moved it inside.”
Ms. Meteye-James is asking
everyone to wear a Santa hat.
Ms. Meteye-James has been the Chair of the Aesthetics & Beauti- fication Committee of the East Tampa Community and Revitaliza- tion Partnership (ETCRP) for 11 years. She served as the Vice-Chair of the committee at least 4 times and re- cently termed out in October this
year in that role.
“We have several visible products
the community enjoys: nature trails, murals in a school and in the neigh- borhood.”
Accident
Over the years, several notable persons from the community have been guest speakers for the event.
“This community celebration is among the positive events that take place in this area of town at this time of year and has come to be something that the City looks forward to. Area school students showcase their artis- tic skills by entertaining the audi- ence,” she said.
Among the items to be given away this year will be an Invicta Watch.
Ms. Meteye-James invites the community to come out on Friday, December 13th.
DENESE METEYE-JAMES
bration, registered adults receive hol- iday food boxes, gift cards and other holiday items,” Ms. Meteye-James said.
The 2019 Christmas Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, December 13, 2019, 5 p. m., and will be held in the gymnasium of Nathan B. Young Middle School.
“In the past, we’ve held the event at Cyrus Greene Park, but it always seems to be inclement weather on the 2nd Friday in December. So this year,
Pedestrian Struck At Busy Intersection
Tampa Police are investigating a traffic accident that left a pedestrian in- jured. The accident took place at the intersection of E. Hillsborough Avenue and N. Armenia.
The unidentified pedestrian was transported to a local hospital in serious condition.
The eastbound traffic lanes on E. Hillsborough Avenue were closed for sev- eral hours during the investigation.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9