Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 11-27-15 Edition

Local
West Tampa Homeless To Get Special Treat
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
The homeless population of Tampa tends to stay close to the facilities they depend on daily for assistance.
Programs like the Salva- tion Army, Metropolitan Min- istries, The Well, Homeless Helping Homeless and oth- ers, including Deeper Life Ministries on Nebraska Av- enue have drawn the home- less to their institutions for decades.
Lost in all of this are homeless people who tend to stay within certain communi- ties, and one of those areas is West Tampa.
The area of West Tampa between Rome Avenue and Howard Avenue has long been a thoroughfare for homeless people who depend on handouts from the busi-
nesses and residents along Main Street and the sur- rounding area.
A group that sponsors therapy fairs has gotten to- gether, and on Thursday at 11 a. m., they will be gathering at Kuluwn Studios, 1609 North Albany Avenue.
Ken Anderson, who is working with the group, said it all started with an effort to get people in low income areas to take advantage of haircuts that are either free or drastically discounted.
“This time, we want to pass out dinners, umbrellas, socks, blankets and other items that will help make the lives of the homeless people in West Tampa more tolerable.
“We also want to put a support system in place to help them get back on their feet, and become self sustain- ing.”
Group Raises $60,000 To Benefit Historic Catholic School
Among those helping to raise funds for St. Peter Claver Catholic School are shown seated from left to right: Kendra Goosby, Darlene Johnson, Vivian Heyward, and Rosa Webster. Shown standing are: Reggie Lofton, Paulette Walker, Cynthia Cochrane, Ann Jenkins, Joseph Capitano, Sr., Krystal Davis, Deborah Barr, Marvin Knight, Scott Hardy, and Rev. Willie Dixon.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
During the summer, a group of concerned citizens learned that the historic St. Peter Claver Catholic School was in need of financial assistance. The school has educated children for more than 120 years.
Marvin Knight and sev- eral individuals came together and created The Friends of St. Peter Claver Catholic School Committee. The group then launched a fundraising cam- paign that culminated with a gala entitled, “Jazz ‘N At The Ritz,” on October 4th.
Knight said the group raised funds and matching funds in the amount of $60,000. The check was pre- sented to representatives of the
school at the gala.
Knight said, “Through
fundraising and matching do- nations for this historic school, it was a great community effort and I would like to thank every- one who participated, from the volunteers to those who made contributions. The funding will be used to help in several areas including improvements, school supplies, and tuition.”
Doug Belden said, “I was able to raise about $17,000 for the school and there is nothing more gratifying than to help this school that has been educating young men and women receive their education for more than 100 years.
“When Marvin Knight called, I was more than happy to help participate in this event.”
Joe Capitano, Sr., said,
“Marvin Knight and the Friends of St. Peter Claver did an outstanding job in stepping up and helping. It was a fantas- tic event.
“I was more than happy to lend a hand to help this school. I feel this was an opportunity to help these young people reach their educational goals.”
Other members of the com- mittee were: Kendra Goosby, Darlene Johnson, Vivian Heyward, Rosa Webster, Reggie Lofton, Paulette Walker, Cynthia Cochrane, Ann Jenkins, Krystal Davis, Deborah Barr, Scott Hardy, and Rev. Willie Dixon.
Ms. Donna Douglas, Ms. Sonja Wise, Rock-It-Rod, and Shawn Brown provided entertainment at the gala.
5 Nurseries Approved To Grow Marijuana In Florida
Florida has selected five nurseries across the state to grow and distribute a weak form of cannabis, and a Winter Gar- den nursery will distribute it for the Tampa Bay area.
Knox Nursery in Winter Garden will distribute Charlotte’s Web to help children with seizures and patients with advanced cancer.
Almost a year behind sched- ule, Florida health officials Mon- day selected five dispending organizations to grow, process, and distribute non-euphoric medical marijuana for a select group of sick patients.
Many in the industry believe the biggest challenge in the drawn-out process is yet to come.
Selected to grow marijuana in Florida were:
Hackney Nursery (Quincy, Florida) in the northwest region of Florida
Chestnut Hill Tree Farm (Alachua Florida) in the northeast
Knox Nursery (Winter Garden) in the Central Re- gion
Alpha Foliage (Home- stead, Florida) in the south- west region
Costa Nursery Farms (Miami-Dade) in the
southest region
Parents of children with se- vere epilepsy pushed for a 2014 law to legalize the non-euphoric- inducing tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, and high in cannaba- diol, or CBD, and contended that it can end or dramatically reduce life threatening seizures.
The Florida Department of Health is requiring the new dis- tributors to request cultivation authority within 75 days. The state wants them to start grow- ing medical marijuana by June of 2016.
The state requires a $5 mil- lion performance bond be paid before any nursery is approved to grow medical marijuana.
The rules have family owned landscaping growers wondering if they want to get into the pot field. Some would-be entrepre- neurs complain they are being unfairly shutout by state sanc- tioned regional monopolies.
Under the Charlotte’s Web bill, Florida’s new medical mari-
juana industry would be limited to horticultural growers that have been in business for at least 30 years, are already growing at least 400,000 plants, and have the financial means to start up the new, highly regulated crop.
Those requirements were added to make sure any newly starting medical marijuana busi- ness in Florida would involve time-tested companies. The De- partment of Agriculture reports that just 21 Florida companies meet the first two criteria. There are 7,001 nurseries registered in Florida.
Under Senate Bill 1030, the State Department of Health will issue one medical marijuana li- cense in each of five regions. The licenses will have exclusive rights to grow, process and sell medical marijuana products in the regions selected. At least three qualified companies have operations in Central Florida: Pecketts in Apopka; Jon’s Nurs- ery in Eustis, and Costa Farms, a South Florida-based company that reported purchasing a large greenhouse in Apopka Monday.
Statewide, almost all of the qualified companies are family- owned, though a couple, includ- ing Costa, have grown into multi-national plant growers.
PAGE 10-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015