- April 29, 2024
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Growth and politics dominated the news scene, but East County residents had plenty of time to enjoy festivals and events, and the heart to use their energy to raise money for nonprofits.
The East County Observer was along for the ride, and here’s a taste of what we saw through the camera lens during a fascinating 2023.
TerraNova Equestrian Center in Myakka continued to grow its reputation by hosting the $50,000 Sarasota Grand Prix in January. Among the competitors was Kristen VanderVeen, who showed some style clearing an obstacle aboard Jasmijn. VanderVeen eventually won the competition, but it was aboard another of her horses, Jireh.
When Lakewood Ranch’s Sisterhood for Good was seeking another event that would provide plenty of fun, along with raising funds for area nonprofits, Fundraising Co-Chair Becca Towery suggested a Gatsby-themed party. So the Gatsby Speakeasy Soiree was planned for February. It ended up earning more than $70,000 for charity.
Jerry Dakin told the East County Observer that 2023 would be filled with challenges if his Myakka City dairy farm would survive. Hurricane Ian crushed Myakka City and especially the dairy, which saw more than 200 cows die in the storm and the related flooding. Dakin said he was using his savings to keep his farm afloat. Eventually, he decided to put one of the county’s last dairy farms up for sale.
Andy Guz, CEO of the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, announced in January that the hospital was adding a five-story, 170,000-square-foot multiphase addition to keep up with the growth in the Lakewood Ranch area. The $120 million addition is being built on the existing hospital campus. Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2024 and the addition is expected to open in 2025.
Although DJ Jose Ramirez, clown Chuck Sidlow and event Chair Annemarie Neubecker were having a laugh during the afterparty of the inaugural Run for the Beads at Waterside Place, the funds raised were not a laughing matter. They went to benefit the race’s host, the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund. The race drew almost 300 runners who seemed to enjoy the Mardi Gras theme.
B.D. Gullett Elementary student Kylah Scheetz competes at a School District of Manatee County robotics event. Robotics has become popular among students in the district, which has incorporated programs at many of its schools. At the district’s VEX competition, more than 160 teams participated representing 27 schools. Ten Manatee middle schools have VEX programs.
St. Petersburg’s Jill Ryan gets some stretching help from the goat Dolly Parton during Corinn Smith’s Blissful Goat Yoga class in Myakka City. The class gives the participants a chance to enjoy nature while getting up-close-and-personal with goats. The class also includes four donkeys, but they don’t stand on your back. Smith calls her five-and-a-half acres her “little slice of heaven.”
Bradenton’s Joe Presley shows kids a fossil and then leads them on a nature walk at the annual Community Campout at the Greenbrook Adventure Park. Once again, the Lakewood Ranch Community Activities event was a hit as more than 50 campsites were sold out in less than 10 days. While the campout’s setting is not exactly in the wild, it has the usual camping joys such as sleeping in a tent under the stars and sitting beside a campfire.
Vincent DiMartino highlighted the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble’s Spring Concert with a cornet solo. DiMartino, who has performed with legends such as Chuck Mangione, Doc Severinsen and Lionel Hampton, was an example of the talent the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble has drawn. The nonprofit group continued to grow in 2023.
Yard House General Manager Richard Sauceda shows that the new UTC restaurant would have plenty of beer to go around. It was just one of many new offerings on the East County culinary scene in 2023. Sauceda said employees at the Yard House call themselves “Yardies” and said the workers have to consider themselves part of an extended family.
More than 600 residents of the Lorraine Lakes community were concerned that a cell phone tower was planned to be built close to their neighborhood children’s play area. The group was worried that cell phone towers emit radio frequency signals, which are being studied by worldwide health organizations to see if there is a risk from long-term exposure. The community builder — Lennar — listened and scrapped the project.
Derek DiPasquale talks to the Manatee County Commission about the importance of building an aquatics center that can host meets that will draw competitors from all over the state and beyond. The commissioners approved a $39 million plan to build a facility that would have a competitive pool with 50-meter lanes, a warm-up pool/diving pool, and a kids/therapy pool. However, in December, the commissioners cut back on their plan, eliminating the warm-up/diving pool.
Retired Army Col. Gill Ruderman was selected as the grand marshal of the 2023 Tribute to Heroes Parade in Lakewood Ranch. The two-time Purple Heart recipient has been an active member of VFW Braden River Post 12055 and he has been a volunteer for organizations that support veterans such as Southeastern Guide Dogs and Tidewell Hospice.
Peter Moore, a Cypress Springs Gracious Retirement Living resident, gets ready to take off on his Dream Flight with Darryl Fisher, the founder and president of Dream Flights, in a Boeing-Stearman biplane. Nine Cypress Springs residents, all veterans, were treated to a free flight for their service. The flights went out of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.
Lakewood Ranch High’s Morgan McCabe shows her joy at receiving her diploma during graduation ceremonies at LECOM PARK. Lakewood Ranch, Braden River and The Out-of-Door Academy all had emotional graduation celebrations. The graduates shared their appreciation for their education and their goals for the future.
The June 1 issue of the East County Observer featured the Tribute to Heroes Parade, which once again packed Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. Rich Greenberg, president of the Association of Veterans and Military Supporters at Del Webb of Lakewood Ranch, held his salute during the “Star Spangled Banner.” The parade drew thousands of spectators.
Lakewood Ranch Communities’ Morgan Bettes-Angell and Nicole Hackel have done a lot of work to make sure the Lakewood Ranch Farmers Market is known as one of the absolute best around. The market has averaged between 8,000 and 10,000 visitors every Sunday for more than a year. The market in September was named the top farmers market in Florida during the America’s Farmers Market Celebration, hosted by American Farmland trust.
Patricia Petruff, an attorney for East Manatee Preservation Inc., speaks to the Manatee County commissioners about the East River Ranch development project, which she pointed out was over the Future Area Development Boundary and unwanted by those trying preserve a country lifestyle in East County. The project plans 5,378 residential units and eventually was passed.
The long-waited opening of Owens Fish Camp became a reality at the Center Point development on University Parkway. Although the restaurant had a different look than its older sister, a Sarasota landmark on Burns Court, people still lined up to check it out. Waits were more than two hours when it first opened. The restaurant features an oyster grill, a stage for live entertainment and remote control boats to play with on the pond.
Shortly after midnight on July 5, the Greenbrook Adventure Park’s pavilion burst into flames and was a total loss. The ensuing investigation found that neighborhood kids had started the fire by accident, cleaning up the fireworks they had shot off and putting them into a garbage can, which caught on fire. Greenbrook will replace the pavilion with a similar structure.
London’s Jadie Metcalf, the 88-year-old nephew of Jiggs Landing founder Al “Jiggs” Metcalf, came back to the area for what he called his “final trip.” Metcalf, who lived at Jiggs Landing for a few years as a teen, talked about what the area was like before it became a county park. He went on a couple of fishing trips to relive his childhood memories.
Colton Lawson, the Myakka City kid who lost part of both of his legs in a mowing accident in 2018, continued to blaze new trails. Now 7, Lawson won the Quad Pewee B Championship of the Sarasota Area Dirt Riders Association. He now has set his sights on competing on a higher-class of four-wheeler.
The East County Observer took a look at how Manatee County uses red star chickens to provide information on whether mosquitoes are spreading diseases. The Manatee County Mosquito Control District maintains 11 flocks of chickens for that purpose. Entomology Department Manager Max Dersch checks on one of the flocks in Myakka City.
Manatee County commissioners and dignitaries took a ceremonial first trip across the Braden River on the new 44th Avenue Bridge. It was Project 5 in the overall plan to extend 44th Avenue from west Bradenton to Lakewood Ranch. The project cost $68 million. Project 6 will take the roadway over Interstate 75 to Lakewood Ranch Boulevard.
Manatee County Stormwater Section workers Clint Rimer, Early Peters and Dustin Certain took a break from their work cleaning and reforming the Cypress Strand canal in East County to explain the importance of their work in keeping stormwater flowing in the county. Development has forced the county to clear new access points to the canals.
With his wife, Debbie, at his side, new Manatee County Commissioner Ray Turner takes his oath of office. Because of family issues, Vanessa Baugh resigned her commission post after a decade leading District 5. Turner was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Turner will run for the District 5 seat in 2024.
Averleigh Cross had a little fun at a Freedom Elementary School event that welcomes new kindergarten students and their families. Parents talked about how sending their kids off to kindergarten offers a mix of emotions — from celebrating their growth to a sense of loss.
Charlie Bishop said the addition of District 5 Commissioner Ray Turner was one of the reasons he decided to pursue the Manatee County administrator job. Bishop, who was a last-minute, surprise candidate after commissioners decided to ignore the candidates compiled by a search committee, talked to the East County Observer about his decision to become a candidate. “It’s a different direction, a different mindset,” he said.
Residents of East County are big on finding ways to improve the environment, which was the case as Nick Calise adds plants to the shoreline in Heron’s Nest Nature Park during the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch’s microforest project. Microforests have been found to mature quickly and therefore have been deemed an important tool in the fight against global warming.
The series has been one-sided, but the rivalry still exists. Students who live down the street from each other often attend different high schools, choosing either Lakewood Ranch or Braden River. That makes the annual football game between the two special. And even though Braden River won easily, Lakewood Ranch High School seniors Ryan Donnelly and Lucas Anthony didn’t miss an opportunity to show their spirit.
What tells a story better than pure emotion? Braden River Elementary second graders Charlotte Ferris and Juliet Fernandez react to the python presentation being offered by John Kenyon (aka Gator John), who is an educational outreach programmer for Big Cat Habitat. The students also were introduced to other snakes, along with an alligator, a turtle and a tortoise.
The East County Observer loves to tell the stories of fascinating people, and the perfect example was the feature on Lakewood Ranch’s Grayson Tullio and Monika Oberer. Oberer wanted to help Tullio persevere through Duchenne muscular dystrophy and what has followed is a decade of friendship.
Wallace the Warthog became a TikTok sensation and local celebrity in Myakka City. Greg Para treats Wallace like the family dog and let’s him have run of the house. The 2-year-old warthog, who has almost 100,000 followers on TikTok, weighs about 300 pounds and likes belly rubs. Para adopted the warthog at 3 weeks old and therefore Wallace follows him wherever he goes.
Gunner the horse not only is a first-rate volunteer at Sarasota Manatee Association of Riding Therapy, but he has become a first-class dressage horse working with owner Ellie Blitz. The two combined to win a slew of awards at the Western Dressage Association of America’s Championship Show. At SMART, he is used for therapeutic riding lessons. “He has helped so many people with all types of different disabilities,” Blitz said of Gunner.
District 5 Commissioner Ray Turner checks out the new books at the soon-to-open Lakewood Ranch Library with Tammy Parrott, Manatee County’s library services manager. Turner was checking out the library during a Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance tour of the facility. The library, located at 16410 Rangeland Parkway, is scheduled for an early January opening.
Keith Pandeloglou, the president and CEO of Lakewood Ranch Community Activities, pulled down a major award at the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance’s annual Sandies Awards at the Grove. Pandeloglou was named “Best Rancher.” The event goes to a member who is most dedicated and highly motivated, and who has invited or referred the highest number of new Alliance members.
Ted Lindenberg of Books for Kids is shown working with Oneco Elementary School kindergarten student Cosette Smart and volunteer Marla Perlstein. The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund selected Lindenberg as its 2023 C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian Award winner. The award was presented during the fund’s Soiree at the Ranch at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club.
Lakewood Ranch’s John and Susan Rapp drop off 249 shoeboxes made by the Acts of Kindness Group for the Meals’ on Wheels Plus of Manatee’s annual Shoebox Collection. The collection and celebration was held at the Lakewood Ranch Elks Lodge. Meals on Wheels Plus expected to collect more than 1,000 shoeboxes from the community.
Professional golf brought another big event to East County as The Concession Golf Club hosted the inaugural World Champions Cup. Steve Stricker, Jerry Kelly, Bill Andrade, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard, Brett Quigley, and David Toms led Team USA to victory over Team International and Team Europe. It was another example that The Concession has a world-class facility and can handle the biggest events.
Manatee County Commissioners said they couldn’t keep the planned Premier aquatics facility within its $39 million budget without making a cut. So the 25-meters-by-25-yards pool, which was intended to host diving events and act as a warm-up pool, was scrubbed. The change in plans also leads to another delay in getting the first amenity delivered to Premier Park.
