News Briefs

+ Garden Club restores historical sculpture
After months of rummaging, research and restoration, a historical sculpture given to the Sarasota Garden Club in the 1930s is again standing off of U.S. 41.

The sculpture of a Japanese lantern was a gift from Ralph and Ellen Caples, and it stood on the premises for decades before an unknown incident left it broken and submerged in Tuttle’s Puddle, a pond on the Garden Club property.

On Monday morning, a team began work on re-erecting the lantern after nearly all the pieces had been found over the course of the year. An hour and a half later, the sculpture was in place on the edge of the pond.

+ The Legacy Trail to receive beacon sign at crossing
The Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously at last week's meeting to install a flashing beacon stop sign along the Legacy Trail.

The new sign, similar to those used in locations on Siesta Key, will flash red when activated by a trail user to alert motorists.

The crossing at Legacy Trail and Central Sarasota Parkway is currently marked with a caution sign and a “Bike X-ing” directed at motorists; a stop sign on the trail tells trail users that motorists do not stop. The contradictory markings have been a source of confusion since 2012.

According to an email from County Commissioner Nora Patterson, the installation of the new sign will occur soon, because the money for the installation is within the 2015 fiscal year budget.

+ USF Sarasota-Manatee selects regional chancellor
A new leader will take over at University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee later this year. On Friday, Sandra Stone was announced as the campus’ next regional chancellor.

Stone is currently the vice president for academic affairs at Dalton State College, a public school in northwest Georgia. She will step into the role of regional chancellor on Nov. 1, succeeding Arthur Guilford following his July retirement.

Meetings & agendas
Siesta Key Association meeting — 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, St. Boniface Episcopal Church, Community Room, 5615 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key

Regular City Commission meeting  — 2:30 and 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St., Sarasota

Siesta Key Village Association meeting  — 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, Daiquiri Deck, 5250 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key

Sarasota County Commission meeting — 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, Commission Chambers, Administration Building, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota