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Local
Funding Available For Home Repairs
Children’s Board Develops Mobile Interactive Literacy Opportunity
The East Tampa Business and Civic Association and HBI have joined forces to assist seniors with minor home re- pairs. To qualify for the fund- ing, the applicant must be a homeowner, must be income qualified, and be 65 years of age or older.
The service will be provided by youth of the HBI’s pre-ap- prenticeship training program. The program provides at-risk and the underserved an oppor- tunity to learn the building
trade through experience.
The repairs include land- scaping, replacing light bulbs, painting, replacing molding, carpentry, clean up (contractor debris), build shelves, hanging pictures, moving furniture, shampoo carpet, installing dry wall, outlet repair, install ceil- ing fans, replace or repair toi- lets, faucets, and other minor
repairs.
For additional information
about the program call (813) 248-3977.
KELLY PARRIS Children’s Board Executive Director
The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, Tampa- Hillsborough County Public Library, the Junior League of Tampa, and WEDU PBS have partnered to develop a Mobile Interactive Literacy Opportu- nity known as (MILO). MILO was developed to encourage family reading, and led to higher educational success for the children of Hillsborough County.
Studies have shown that the presence of books in the home is one of the greatest in- fluences on a child’s academic success. However, the U. S. Census Bureau estimates that nearly 25% of children in Hillsborough County live in
MILO
Supporters Sue Over Design Of Civil War Memorial
VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK
poverty – which means that the children who need these books the most may not have regular access to them, and as a result may struggle on their path toward school readiness.
“Literacy is the foundation for success in life, and this program will further support our efforts to make sure chil- dren in Hillsborough County are ready to learn and suc- ceed,” said Kelley Parris, Executive Director for the Children’s Board of Hillsbor- ough County.
The MILO initiative will consist of monthly Saturday programs to be held at com- munity locations (primarily public libraries and Children’s
Board Family resource cen- ters) throughout the area, tar- geting rural and urban neighborhoods that have been designated as at-risk or un- derserved. The program fo- cuses on children ages three to eight years old and their caregivers.
The events will be held the first Saturday of each month beginning Saturday, May 7th which was at the Spring Hill Community Center in Sulphur Springs.
For more information, please contact Lorie Tonti, Manager of Learning Experi- ences, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library at (813) 273-3638.
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
It appears that a war that ended 151 years ago has been rekindled, and now will be fought inside a Hillsborough County Courtroom.
A group of Southern Her- itage supporters have sued the county and the Veterans Me- morial Park and Museum over a planned Civil War Memorial.
The lawsuit seeks reinstate- ment of a subcommittee that had come up with a design for an exhibit at the Veterans Me- morial Park off U. S. 301. They also want reinstatement of the original design.
According to the lawsuit, unidentified people at the park and the county trashed the de- sign, that included a Maltese cross, a symbol associated with the Confederacy, and summar- ily tossed the four members of the subcommittee and dis- solved the committee.
The memorial design was unveiled in 2013. It was to be named the War Between the
States Memorial instead of the Civil War Memorial. The con- cept included a ship sitting atop a concrete structure sur- rounded b y concrete slabs, forming a pattern resembling the Maltese cross.
David McCallister, Com- mander of a Tampa chapter of Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the executive committee never gave a reason why they deiced to reject the original de- sign.
“I’m very disappointed we had to do this. They knew we weren’t going to five up and go away. This is a very serious issue. The county needs to look into the corporation that was hired to do the job.
“We hope the county will de- fend the subcommittee. I’ve never seen this kind of action taken before.”
McCallister said the sub- committee members have not met with the executive board.
Executive Board President, David Braun, said he couldn’t comment because of the impending litigation.
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