Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 12-25-15 Edition

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St. Mark United Methodist Church Holds Kwanzaa Celebration
Former Tampa Youth Is ‘Youth Usher Of The Year’
Kameron with the plaque he received at the Ushers’ Ministry Awards Banquet.
Kameron Hayes has been an usher at Fountain of Faith Baptist Church, Fayetteville Rd., in Riverdale, GA, for 3 years.
Last week, his dedication to the ministry was rewarded when he was named “Youth Usher of the Year” at the min- istry’s Awards Banquet. One of the requirements was to write an essay on why he wanted to be a part of the Ushers’ Min- istry.
Kameron, 11, eyed the other youngsters to see what he had to do to earn the reward. He made sure his mother, Kas- myene Hayes, had him at church by 7 a. m. for the 7:30 and 10:45 a. m. services; when- ever his team had to accom- pany the pastor to an outreach service, he was there; and he even served at funerals, if his team was called upon. The only time he’d be off his post is when he came to Tampa to visit his maternal grandparents, James and Gwen Hayes.
Kameron is a 5th grader at Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. He’s a Cub Scout, sings in the Youth Choir and is a member of the First Tee in Atlanta and Tampa. He is also the son of Ian (Danielle) Nesbeth of Tallahassee and his paternal grandmother is Pansey Young of Miami.
Police Launch New Campaign To Combat Crime
Members and friends of St. Mark United Methodist Church will hold an inform- ative Kwanza Celebration. Kwanza is an African- American Cultural Festival celebrated from December 26 to January 1, 2016.
The program is being presented Saturday, De- cember 26, 2015, 6 p. m.
and will feature guest artists Timothy Graddy, tenor and Anthony Troutman, poet.
The church is located at 1640 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., Lakeland. The public is invited.
For additional informa- tion, call the church at (863) 686-8975.
CHIEF ERIC WARD
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Next week, a new mech- anism to fight crime will be launched in East Tampa. The idea behind the cam- paign, entitled “Light Up The Night,” is to deter crime in neighborhoods. The initiative will kick off at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, Decem- ber 29th, at the home of Mrs. Sheliah Young- blood, 1709 E. Genessee.
Mrs. Youngblood, an East Tampa resident and business owner will host the inaugural event by passing out light bulbs to residents. “My street is to- tally dark and I think this is a good idea. The more light- ing, you have, you have less potential for crime.
“I am inviting anyone who wants to come, to join us and then take the idea back to your own neighbor- hoods. We have to do some- thing to stop crime.”
Mrs. Youngblood also said this provides a perfect opportunity for people to meet police officers and begin to build trust with them. “There is good and bad in everything. But, when we need help, who do we call?
“We need the police offi- cers to get out of their cars and meet with the people and get to know them. We have to stop sitting back and watching. We have to take a stand. All life matters to me. And, it’s praying time. It’s time for all of the warriors to come out of their glass houses and be about the Lord’s work,” she said.
Officials believe that if residents keep their outside lights on overnight, it will illuminate the area and help reduce crime.
The police department
SHEILAH YOUNGBLOOD
has partnered with Tampa Electric Company and local residents to launch the pro- gram. The partnership has resulted in free, energy effi- cient front porch light bulbs for the residents.
Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward said, “This is a great example of how po- lice-community relations work in our city. The police department identified a public safety concern and we worked with our busi- ness community members to help create a solution. Now, thanks to TECO’s generosity, we are able to handout free light bulbs to residents who live in partic- ularly dark areas as part of our action plan for address- ing overnight crimes.”
The goal of this new safety campaign is to en- courage residents to leave their lights on overnight.
The concept was spear- headed by District Three Lieutenant Anna Richardson, with assis- tance from the District’s Crime Prevention team. During the next few weeks, the police department will host front porch roll calls in various neighborhoods throughout the city to get residents involved in the new safety initiative.
The community roll calls are an opportunity for the department to strengthen relationships with residents while providing them with information and a tangible tool they can use to help re- duce nighttime crime. Pa- trol officers will also have free light bulbs in their cars to give out during routine calls for service and when they come across a home that could benefit from hav- ing a well-lit front porch.
Mrs. Youngblood said she will serve refreshments at the event.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2015