Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 11-17-15 Edition

Features
Council Members Select Final 8 For West Tampa CRA Citizens Advisory Council
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
What started in July with the announcement that there would be 11 seats on the West Tampa CRA’s (Community Redevelopment Area) Citizens Advisory Council (CAC), has finally resulted in all 11 mem- bers being selected.
On Thursday, the Council selected the West Tampa Al- liance (Dee Jackson), North Hyde Park Civic Association (Benjamin Buckley), North Hyde Park Alliance (Carlos Ramirez), West Tampa Chamber Of Commerce (Ed Turanchik), West Tampa CDC (Joe Robinson), West Riverfront Neighborhood and Crime Watch Association (Delphine Jones), Project LINK (Tina Young), and the West Tampa Community Council (Walter Smith, II) as the neighborhood organiza- tions that will be on the CAC.
A representative from each of those organizations will join Jeff Rhodes, Marvin Knight, and Ken Perry to comprise the 11-member CAC for West Tampa.
After West Tampa Devel- opment Manager, Jeanette Fenton, made the announce- ment in July of the 8 groups, the process was put on hold by the Council.
Council Chair Frank Reddick, who had been on sick leave when the announce-
DEE JACKSON
TINA YOUNG
ment was made in July, said he wanted to make sure other organizations in West Tampa had the opportunity to apply for a seat on the CAC. Those initial applicants consisted of 7ofthe8votedinbythe Council Wednesday.
Replacing the Old West Tampa Neighborhood Associ- ation was Project LINK, an or- ganization under the leadership of Tina Young.
Now that the CAC is in place, all that’s left is for all of the members to be approved, and for the West Tampa CRA to start moving forward with meetings and setting up its in- ternal structure.
BENJAMIN BUCKLEY
WALTER SMITH, II
CARLOS RAMIREZ
JEFF RHODES
ED TURANCHIK
MARVIN KNIGHT
JOE ROBINSON
KEN PERRY
group among the 11 members, and it was passed unani- mously.
CRA Chair, Yolie Capin explained that the CRA Board can increase or decrease the size the CAC groups whenever they want.
Council Chair Reddick
said he made the motion to in- clude the Old West Tampa group, because in his opinion they are the most deep-rooted group in West Tampa.
“The even number of members won’t have an im- pact in the voting process as long as they get a majority vote.”
Residents of West Tampa have been adamant about what they’d like to see come out of the CRA, and at the top of their lists was a pharmacy, senior center, and a substance abuse treatment facility. Resi- dents also said they’d like to have some kind of job skills or job development center in the area.
City of Tampa Economic Opportunity Administrator, Bob McDonaugh, said the next step will be for the 11 members to meet to generate a Strategic Action Plan for West Tampa.
“Mrs. Fenton will coordi- nate the date, time and loca- tion of those meetings and notify the CAC members.”
The initial 8 applicants for the CAC included the Old West Tampa Neighborhood Associ- ation. However when the ap- plications were resubmitted, that group didn’t because they are in the process of reorgan- izing and electing a new presi- dent.
With that information, and after the suggestion from Ed Turanchik, Council Chair Reddick made the motion to include the Old West Tampa
An Interview With Clarence Carter
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
On Saturday, November 28th as a part of your Thanks- giving Weekend, 1828 Enter- tainment will be presenting the “1828 Southern Soul Music Festival.
The festival will feature powerful artists Betty Wright, Shirley Murdock the bay area’s own Bishop Bullwinkle, and the leg- endary Clarence Carter.
In a conversation with the Alabama native, Carter said he’s going to be “live and in liv- ing color for the show.”
“Blind from birth, I started performing in 1964.
“Looking back when I was attending college at Alabama State, I wanted to either be a lawyer or teacher. I was a his- tory major, and when I went to apply for a job at the school, they wanted me to be in charge of the girl’s physical education class. I guess since I couldn’t see them, no one saw that as a problem.”
Growing up in Mont- gomery, Alabama, Carter said he attended a lot of civil rights meetings during that time, and Dr. Martin Luther King,
CLARENCE CARTER
Jr. was his hero.
“Because of my blindness, I
could participate in the capac- ity I wanted.”
Carter said he started playing music when he was 11. “My mother bought me a raggedy guitar, and she was so anxious to give it to me, she didn’t’ wait for me to unwrap it. I later learned to play piano, but I taught myself how to play
the guitar.”
Carter said he will be 80
years old on January 14, 2016, and he can’t believe he’s made it this far, and he has no plans of stopping.
“People with 8-to-5 jobs save all year to go to places
other people are paid to go to. “I’ve been to Tampa several times, and I’ve met a lot of
wonderful people there.” Carter said he’s been mar- ried 5 times in his life, and he
has 8 living children.
“Every chance I get, I’m in
the studio composing music, because I truly love what I do.
“Contrary to what a lot of people think, most artists are real down-to-earth people. I’ve done a lot of shows with B.B. King, and we’d sit and talk for hours. I also met Bobby Bland, and I never thought that would happen. When I first got into the industry I booked studio time at Muscle Shoals in Alabama, and I haven’t looked back since.”
Carter said when he comes to Tampa, he wants everyone to know his favorite food is fried chicken, although his doctor said he needed to stop.
“I’m not going to stop what tastes good to me, no matter what the doctor says.”
Carter said he hopes everyone will come to the show and he promises everyone will have the kind of fun they will talk about long after the show is over.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015