News Briefs

+ Substitute teacher charged with child abuse
A substitute teacher at Nolan Middle School was arrested Dec. 12 for allegedly abusing a 13-year-old student.

A police report states Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Kenneth Machol, 56, after he allegedly grabbed a student by the arm and shoulder and dragged him from a classroom Dec. 12, at the school.

After interviewing the student and an assistant principal, deputies learned the teacher had become upset with the student over his schoolwork.

The student was not injured.

Machol was arrested at his home.

Nolan Middle School is located at 6615 Greenbrook Blvd., in Lakewood Ranch.

+ John Neal Homes hires new president of building
John Neal Homes, a Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder, has hired Randy Turkovics as its new president of building.

A Venice High School graduate, Turkovics has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.

“Randy Turkovics brings a solid industry reputation and a wealth of experience to our established team,” said John Neal, president of John Neal Homes.

Turkovics has a degree in construction management from the University of Florida and has worked for several national and regional homebuilding companies, including Arthur Rutenberg Homes, Mattamy Homes and Morrison Homes. His new job calls for him to continue John Neal Homes’ growth and expansion in the luxury home market in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

“I’ve followed Neal Communities for many years,” Turkovics said. “What this company has done over the past few years to adjust through the downturn and come out of it stronger is amazing. To work for a company like this with forward thinking and an innovative vision is very exciting. I look forward to leveraging my experience to grow and expand the John Neal Homes brand in this market.”

John Neal Homes is currently building in The Concession and University Park.

New Main Street health foods store opens
Healthy Living Organic & Natural Market opened on Lakewood Ranch Main Street Dec. 1.The organic food store, owned by Maria Rosabal, a Lakewood Ranch resident, sells supplements, lotions, fresh fruits and veggies, frozen food, such as ice cream and fish, bulk items and more.

The store also has a made-to-order juice bar. 

“I believe the community needed this,” said Rosabal, a first-time business owner who spent 25 years in the banking industry. “We want to educate people (on how) to live a healthy lifestyle.” 

Healthy Living Organic will also host seminars to educate the public on a variety of health topics.

The store’s roughly 2,500-square-foot space, at 10671 Boardwalk Loop, is substantially smaller than the 12,000-square-foot space occupied by Good Earth Natural Foods, a previous health-food store to open on Main Street. Good Earth Natural Foods closed in 2011.

School district graduation rate improves
The graduation rate in the Manatee County School District continues to rise, while the number of students who drop out of school falls, according to data released Dec. 11 by the Florida Department of Education.

The district’s graduation rate was 76.8% for the 2012-13 school year — 14.3% greater than the district’s graduation rate for the 2007-08 school year.

Last year’s figures also exceeded the statewide graduation rate of 75.6%.

Only 1.6% of Manatee County students dropped out of school last year, a 2.8% decrease from the district’s dropout rate in 2007-08.

The 1.6% dropout rate from 2012-13 bettered the statewide dropout rate of 2%.

“The consistent, positive trend in the Manatee School District’s graduation and dropout rates is great news for our students and community,” said Superintendent Rick Mills. “I want to thank everyone inside and outside of the school district who has worked so hard to achieve these impressive results.”

Mike McCann, the Manatee County School District’s supervisor of dropout prevention, credited a number of factors for the positive trends.

He cites an increase in academic options, including career academies and career-readiness programs, at district high schools.

Additionally, the district’s Learning is For Everyone program has given at-risk students the ability to obtain credit recovery courses to make up for time they might have missed in school.

See data from the past six school years below:

Manatee School District Graduation Rate
2012-13    11-12     10-11     09-10     08-09      07-08
76.8%        76.2%    64.7%    67.9%    64.4%     62.5%

Manatee School District Dropout Rate
2012-13    11-12     10-11      09-10      08-09     07-08
1.6%          1.8%       3.1%       4.3%       3.6%      4.4%