Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 12-29-17

2017 In Review
Members of the Greater Palm River Westside Neigh- borhood Watch hosted their monthly meeting at the Palm River Library, 7625 Palm River Road. One of the topics of discussion at the meeting is the new Winston Park Recreation Center.
Jamal Sowell was named Director of Special Projects to the President & CEO of the Tampa Port Au- thority.
On Sunday, August 6th, Ms. Tonya Lewis, and Children With A Vision, Inc., hosted their 17th Annual Back-To-School Bash. The event was held at Ragan Park, 1200 E. Lake Avenue.
Through the Renisha Foundation, Ray De- moulin and his wife, Chai, owners of Whoos Nexxt Bar- bershop, 13753 N. Nebraska Avenue, provided 100 free haircuts for back to school.
Chester Gregory made his big debut 17 years ago in Chicago mimicking the hip gyrations and velvet sounds of balladeer Jackie Wilson in “The Jackie Wilson Story.” Gregory visited Tampa with his tour- ing production of ‘Motown: The Musical’, playing iconic record label founder, Berry Gordy.
Members of the Tampa chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., hosted their Annual Black & White Ball Scholarship Fundraiser. The event took place at the T. Pepin Hospitality Centre, 4121 N. 50th Street, Tampa, 33610.
Gary Onzy, owner of Bounce Boy, hosted a Back- To-School giveaway. It was held at Bounce Boy, 5008 E. 10th Avenue.
The community cele- brated the Second Anniver-
sary of the Robert W. Saun- ders, Sr., Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Avenue, the site of the former Ybor City Library. The library is named in honor of the late Robert W. (Bob) Saunders, Sr., a Tampa native, Civil Rights activist, and author.
Several schools welcomed new principals. Derrick McLaughlin relocated from Summerfield Elementary to become principal of newly opened Dawson Elementary School.
The student population at Cahoon Elementary School and its neighbor, Van Buren Middle School were merged to become a K-8 school. Ovett Wilson assumed the role of principal. Chantel Angeletti was chosen as the principal of Sulphur Springs K-8 School.
New leadership assigned to other schools included: Cimino Elementary, Joanne Griffiths; James Elementary, Debra Fitz- patrick; North Tampa EPIC3 Center, Mickey Boddie; Colson Ele- mentary, Orestes Mendez; South County Career Center, Jennifer Davis; Clair Mel Elementary, Gloria Waite; Brandon EPIC3 Center, Cor- nelius Bobo; MOSI Part- nership Elementary, Renel Mathurin; Orange Grove Middle School, Lydia Sierra; Plant High School, Johnny Bush; Egypt Lake Elementary, Julie Scardino; Woodbridge Ele- mentary, Sarah Jacobsen Capps; and Corr Elemen- tary, Kristi-Lynn Rick- etts.
Tampa native Nichelle Watson, 28, a seven-year veteran of the U. S. Army, graduated from Drill Ser- geant School. Drill Sgt. Watson is the daughter of Johnny Watson and Mr. and Mrs. James and Michelle Harris.
Demetrius “D.J.” Jenkins, 10, participated in the AAU Junior Olympics in Detroit, Michigan. For the second time, he returned home with the gold in the 9 and 10-year-old boys shot putt competition.
His parents, Demetrius Jenkins, Sr., and Ms. Chyna Walker, were very proud of him.
The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Of- fice and the Hillsborough County City-County Plan- ning Commission will host several meetings to discuss redistricting. City Council Districts 4 and 5 were af- fected by the boundary changes.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Tampa on November 19, 1961. The 56th anniver- sary of his visit is approach- ing. African Artifacts and Museum Exhibition and community pioneers, a group of retired African American leaders, educators and historians planned an African American Summit to recognize his visit to the city.
Clarence Davis and Clint Glover, both of Lake- land, are among those doing the ground work to make sure the event is successful.
Ms. Yulita Howard
graduated from Florida A & M University and completed an internship in the office of City Councilman Frank Reddick.
Messiah Hector, 13, was killed in a traffic acci- dent. His family had moved to Hillsborough County 3 weeks before the tragedy.
Tampa Park Apartment’s manager, Yolanda An- thony happily announced that the Department of Housing and Urban Devel- opment (HUD) has approved Tampa Park’s 208 rent sub- sidy vouchers through the end of 2018.
Troy Taylor leveraged his love of Coca Cola into a business, and today owns the fifth-largest independent Coca-Cola bottling business in the country, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida. It was the first time since the company opened its doors to a new bottling business, when Tay- lor, the only African Ameri- can owner, started in 2015.
Ms. Victoria Jack- man, and Ms. Zoya Whitehead became the first two recipients of the Positive SPIN, Inc., scholar- ships. The scholarships were named in honor of Mrs. Harriett L. Scott.
Two retired Hillsborough County high school princi- pals passed away.
Coleman Bell, 72, died following a brief illness. Ms. Carolyn Hill died sud- denly.
Members of the commu- nity raised funds overnight to have a Confederate Statue removed in downtown Tampa. Commissioners Stacy White, Ken Hagan, Sandy Murman, and Vic- tor Crist teamed up to pre- vent its removal by requiring the private sector to raise $140,000 within 30 days.
A DNA test identified the remains of Ms. Brenda Joyce Williams. The 21- year-old mother of two had been missing for 39 years.
Mrs. Quiana Tolliver
had been waiting to meet her son. And, as scheduled, Roger Tolliver, V, arrived on schedule. However, the world watched as the moon eclipsed the sun on the same date and close to the time of his birth. It was the first time that type of eclipse had taken place in 99 years.
Ms. LaJoyce Houston,
a former Tampa Police Ser- geant, pleaded guilty to com- mitting tax fraud. The plea draws to a close that has lin- gered in the federal court system for nearly 5 years.
Mrs. LaJoyce Cald- well Houston, 51, of Riverview, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen govern- ment property.
Elder Mary Helen
Brown, a popular Tampa mother and church elder, passed suddenly. She was 74-years-old.
A consultant team hired to help develop the strategic action plan for the West Tampa Community Redevel- opment Area (CRA) sought the community’s input. Rep- resentatives from urban planning firm, Kimley Horn planned a series of meetings where residents can express what changes they’d like to see in the historical neigh- borhood with the TIF dollars collected through a special tax fund.
Ms. Patricia Wingo
has made it her life’s work to help the homeless and that is because she was once home- less herself. Now, she works with the Tampa Housing Au- thority as an Outreach Man- ager to help the homeless.
A partnership between
Rev. Dr. Glenn Dames
and members of Allen Tem- ple A. M. E. Church and Ms. Angela Livingston, princi- pal of Broward Elementary School proved positive. The school improved its grade froman“F”in2015toa“C” in 2017.
On the last Friday of each month, members of the Ragan Park Shuffleboard Team hosted their monthly competition. The first and second place winners were recognized by team Director and Trainer, Steve Scott. Each winner receives a gift certificate from Scott. His goal was to obtain a perma- nent shuffleboard for East Tampa.
Members of the Tampa Housing Authority learned that the agency was named as the recipient of 18 awards. They received 12 national awards and 6 state awards.
PAGE 4-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2017