TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Lots Happened While Snowbirds Flew

ADVERTISEMENT

By LOIS KINDLE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2007

Updated: 11/05/2007 11:11 pm

RUSKIN - Every year about this time, snowbirds return en masse to South Shore from their summer homes up North. Here's a recap highlighting some of the stories that appeared in the paper from June through September:

June

Capt. John Marsicano was named to replace Maj. John York as commander of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's District IV. Marsicano, a resident of Apollo Beach, officially assumed responsibility for policing the 468-square-mile district in mid-July.

Members of the county's Citizen's Environmental Advisory Committee checked out restoration projects in Gibsonton, Apollo Beach and Ruskin to prepare for a review of $1.1 million in upcoming project requests to tap a county pollution recovery fund.

After more than 26 years with SunTrust Bank in Sun City Center, Charlotte Clark moved to SouthShore Community Bank in Apollo Beach.

Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union announced plans to open a 3,150-square-foot branch in Ruskin.

Workers began moving utility lines in preparation of the long-awaited widening of a mile-long stretch of Boyette Road from Balm-Riverview Road to Donneymoor Drive.

Eloise Hurst, branch librarian for the SouthShore Regional Library, was named the 2007 Library Staff Member of the Year by the Tampa-Hillsborough Friends of the Library.

The county announced plans to demolish the 75-year-old Gardenville School building in Gibsonton.

With a cart and umbrella, a South Shore resident opened a hot dog stand across from the Ruskin post office.

The county hosted a public meeting to discuss its plans to purchase 1.5 acres for a fire station in Ruskin.

Once a convenience store, the Portales market in Gibsonton was transformed into a supermarket offering Spanish and American foods.

County commissioners granted St. Joseph Health Care Center permission to build a 60,000-square-foot medical complex at Big Bend Road and Simmons Loop.

Nine-year-old Dillon Seagraves scored perfectly on both sections of his FCAT test. The Collins Elementary School student was the son of Wayne and Tracy Seagraves of Riverview.

Carol Dunn's fifth-graders at Cypress Creek Elementary School won the second annual Ruskin History Preservation Award for making timeline scrolls of the community's history.

Sixty volunteers turned out to help Tampa Electric Co. and several environmental agencies transform a former fish farm into a 12-acre estuary at Newman's Branch.

Jacksonville-based developer Business Condos USA began marketing 101,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space near MiraBay in Apollo Beach.

The Mosaic Coastal Education Center at Fiddler's Cove in Gibsonton was named the 2007 Conservation Educator of the Year by the Florida Wildlife Federation.

Habitat for Humanity volunteers built a home for a Wimauma single mother and her four children.

Johanna Poll was named honorary mayor of Apollo Beach.

July

Hillsborough County Code Enforcement demolished a 3,500-square-foot, two-story home in Ruskin that county officials said was being used for criminal activities.

Cedar Grove Church in Keysville celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Despite a housing market slump, at least 20,000 new homes are slated to be built in South Shore's residential communities.

The Ruskin Chamber of Commerce kicked off its annual honorary mayor's race. MaryAnn Wilhelm, Anne Madden, Kenneth Kuchar-Haas, Ron Simpson and Fred Jacobsen announced their candidacies.

Cleto "Sundy" Chaves, principal of the South County Career Center in Ruskin, was unexpectedly called upon to deliver his newborn son when his wife went into labor in the wee hours of the morning.

Grandma's takeout lunch and breakfast stand reopened in Wimauma.

The Friends of the SouthShore Regional Library and the John Crawford Art Studio sponsored the Family Fun Fossil Hunt at Camp Bayou for 35 South Shore families.

Area residents attended two public meetings aimed at updating Hillsborough's South County Transportation Plan. Since those meetings, we reported on a number of proposals, including two bridges over the Alafia River, extending 19th Avenue as a four-lane road east to Balm-Wimauma Road and a number of new roads to ease traffic congestion.

County officials hosted a hurricane preparedness forum at the Ruskin Community Service Center. Sixty area residents attended.

A second Arreola Bros. nursery opened in Wimauma.

Ruskin residents complained about illegal dumping along Villemaire Road.

About 40 residents turned out for a meeting at the SouthShore Regional Library to raise questions about changes, exceptions and the overall effectiveness of the county's long-range plans to address growth.

State Sen. Ronda Storms hosted a community forum in Apollo Beach on the property tax overhaul.

A Parrish real estate broker announced plans to build an 8,000-square-foot plaza on State Road 674 in Wimauma. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2008.

Tampa Bay Water applied for a renewal permit to discharge wastewater into Hillsborough Bay from its troubled desalination plant in Apollo Beach.

Upset about busing cutbacks, several hundred parents packed the Good Samaritan Mission in Balm to voice their concerns to school district officials. Of particular worry was the elimination of routes within two miles of Wimauma Elementary School.

Give A Dog A Bone, a new dog and cat specialty retailer, and the China Star restaurant opened in the Waterside Shops of Apollo Beach.

Representing the South Shore Ministers Association, the Rev. Donald Tanner spoke at the quarterly meeting of the SouthShore Roundtable to object to the county's proposed plan to build a fire station on U.S. 41 in Ruskin.

August

Kids 'R' Kids School of Quality day care center opened in Gibsonton.

Camp Cristina sought financial support for a full-service YMCA in Riverview.

The Back-To-School Coalition of Hillsborough County hosted its annual health fair at Beth Shields Middle School in Ruskin. About 400 area schoolchildren were served.

The Ruskin Incorporation Committee tabled its plan but promised to review the issue in 2008.

The Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union opened its Ruskin facility.

Tampa Bay Water announced plans to petition the state to reclassify the Alafia River to meet higher drinking water standards.

The Balm post office celebrated 100 years in the rural community.

Community Service Officer Donna Budd was recognized by the South Shore Chapter of the American Business Woman's Association as its 2007 Business Associate of the Year for her involvement and work with Deputies' Darlins.

More than 1,000 children attended the Good Samaritan Mission's annual back-to-school fair.

The county approved an amendment to the land-use code to allow paintball fields in agricultural zones. Despite the vote, owners of the Legends Paintball Complex in Balm will need a special-use permit to continue operating.

County commissioners awarded $13,100 toward hurricane protection for the A.P. Dickman House, a designated national and local historic landmark. Owner Arthur "Mac" Miller agreed to match the grant. The home was built in 1911.

Susan Brill was promoted to principal of Ippolito Elementary School in Riverview. Farther south, Roy Moral was named principal of Wimauma Elementary School.

Master Collision Repair opened in Ruskin.

The Apollo Beach Working Community Plan Committee Working Committee met with county officials and consultants to discuss the results of a $79,000 study that yielded three alternatives for retrofitting Apollo Beach Boulevard.

The Ruskin and Riverview chambers of commerce hosted breakfasts to welcome about 250 new teachers from 28 area schools.

HCA Health Services announced plans to seek state permission to replace its 112-bed South Bay Hospital on State Road 674 in Sun City Center with a 112-bed facility at a site the company owns on Big Bend Road between Interstate 75 and U.S. 301.

The Apollo Beach Chamber of Commerce won top honors at the Florida Festivals and Events Association's annual convention and trade show for a television spot promoting the Manatee Arts Festival's Culinary Arts Competition.

A 51,037-square-foot Sweetbay Supermarket opened in the Shoppes of South Bay on Big Bend Road.

Hillsborough County officials backed off plans to study the development potential of some county-owned land in the Sun City Center area of South Shore. The land was previously nominated as a preservation site.

September

Work continued on the $16 million South Shore campus of Hillsborough Community College, which is expected to be finished in May.

After years of planning, the Florida Department of Transportation announced bids for the first phase of widening U.S. 301 from Gibsonton Drive south to County Road 672 will be accepted in the fall.

Three nights of gospel music drew 2,400 people to Wimauma for the Florida Gospel Music Association's 18th annual convention.

Waste Management backed off its plan to stack construction and storm debris up to 158 feet high on a 137-acre site near Port Manatee.

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit board targeted South County bus stops to address budget cutbacks.

Three new hotels were proposed or approved near Interstate 75 along Gibsonton Drive.

In Riverview, Symmes Elementary School students filled and delivered 50 gift baskets of donated cookies, drinks and snacks to area first responders in memory of Sept. 11.

Developer Lavin Hospitality LLC proposed building a 100-room Hampton Inn at I-75 and College Avenue in Ruskin.

Thanks to a grant from the Interfaith Council of Sun City Center, 95 fifth-graders at Wimauma Elementary School were treated to a day of Mad Science.

East Bay High School students struggled with the unexpected death of Brent Bennett, 18.

A task force trying to hammer out a proposal on a pole-or-troll zone for Little Cockroach Bay failed to reach a consensus but agreed to keep meeting. The Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission approved an overall seagrass management plan but agreed to work out details for the regulatory zone later.

St. Joseph Hospital officials prepared for an appeal hearing scheduled for October on a June decision by the Agency on Health Care Administration that rejected the hospital's application to build a 90-bed hospital on Big Bend Road.

The Florida Home partnership sought to amend Wimauma's Comprehensive Plan in response to a proposed density bump by county planners.

About 150 volunteers removed 500 to 600 pounds of trash at Apollo Beach Nature Park as part of the county's annual coastal cleanup.

State officials pushed back plans by a few months to take bids for the $83 million project to widen U.S. 301 from two lanes to six from Gibsonton Drive to County Road 672.

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT