News Briefs 06.30.11

+ Community Fund seeks nominations
The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund now is accepting nominations for the seventh annual C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian of the Year Award.

The award, named after Clarke for his lifelong dedication to humanitarian ideals, will honor an individual or individuals who have made outstanding, sustained and unselfish contributions to community enrichment and whose commitment and dedication exemplify the idea of service to the community.
Past recipients include John Clarke, Don O’Leary, Pat Neal, Dick and Lorraine Vitale, Darrell Turner and Stuart Roth.

Nomination forms can be downloaded from the fund’s website, www.LWRFund.org. All nominations must be mailed to Lakewood Ranch Community Fund, c/o Manatee Community Foundation, 3103 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, FL 34205 and must be received by 5 p.m., Aug. 10.

The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund is a donor-advised fund under the umbrella of the Manatee Community Foundation and is governed by a board of volunteers. For more information, contact Marilyn Howard at [email protected].

+ Suspect robs East County CVS
Authorities are searching for a man who walked into an East County CVS location and robbed the store of $670 worth of prescription medication.

A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report states the incident occurred at 4 p.m., June 26, at the CVS at 5310 Lockwood Ridge Road.

The suspect, described as a white male with a shaved head, weighing between 160 and 180 pounds and wearing a black shirt and khaki pants, walked into the pharmacy and demanded a list of prescription pills and stated someone would get hurt if he didn’t receive them quickly, the report states.

The suspect did not show a weapon.

After the suspect received the items, he fled west from the store. No one was injured.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-634-8477.

+ International group hunts for ‘Caregiver of the Year’
Homewatch CareGivers, one of the largest international providers of full-service home care, has launched its National Family Caregiver of the Year award campaign and accepting nominations from the public through July 29.

The winner of the local Sarasota Family Caregiver of the Year award earns eight hours of respite care, a scholarship to Homewatch Caregivers University, where he or she will be able to take courses specific to their loved one’s needs and become a semifinalist for a $10,000 grand prize and the title of National Family Caregiver of the Year.

Nominations can be made online on the organization’s website, www.homewatchcaregivers.com/sarasota, under the “News & Events” tab.

+ Ranch teacher to run for school board
Robert Moates, a government and economics teacher at Lakewood Ranch High School, filed papers today announcing his campaign for the Manatee County School Board District 2 seat.

“I am running for school board because I believe we need new people in charge in order to change the direction of our educational system,” Moates said in a prepared statement. “We need accountability in the classroom and accountability downtown if we are to deliver the high quality education we promise our children and which they deserve.”

Moates is a native of Manatee County and a product of the Manatee County Public Schools.

He spent 10 years working in the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee and the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., before returning to Manatee County in 2003 to teach.