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Neighborhood notebook

Really big surprise for Armwood football team

By LETITIA STEIN, BILL COATS, ANDREW MEACHAM and BILLIE SMITH
Published April 8, 2005

Coach Sean Callahan, along with Armwood High football standouts Jameel Williams and Dougie Thompson, got a surprise Wednesday on their way to the County Commission meeting.

The trio were headed west on Interstate 4 to accept an honor from the County Commission for the Hawks' second straight Division 4A championship when they saw workers erecting a billboard on the interstate, near the Florida State Fairgrounds in their honor. The sign is emblazoned with a team photo and the words "Pride of Hillsborough County."

Viacom donated the billboard space; it will be up through the end of April.

At the meeting, Commissioner Ken Hagan gave Callahan a proclamation that cited the team's 722 total points in 14 games as the highest point total ever for the county.

Callahan said the success of 2003 set the tone for 2004.

"Once you win a state championship, you can't lower your expectations or goals away from that," Callahan said he told his players at the start of the season. The coach credited team patience and perseverance for the second championship.

Representatives of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce persuaded county officials this week to examine how to improve the two-lane Lithia Pinecrest Road.

George May IV, the chamber's chairman, told county commissioners Wednesday that the 260 accidents recorded on Lithia Pinecrest last year was "an alarming number."

Sandy Murman, chairman of a chamber task force and a former state representative, noted that more than 1,000 trucks a day use the road in the midst of numerous neighborhoods.

"There's a lot of safety concerns that go with that," Murman said.

Murman asked that the county begin studying how Lithia Pinecrest should be improved, and produce a report within 45 days.

County Administrator Pat Bean said her staff would follow up.

The County Commission voted Wednesday to add ambulances to fire stations in Thonotosassa and Town 'N Country that currently have only firetrucks.

The change, which will cost $1.3-million a year, adds eight positions to the staff at each station.

Ray Yeakley, spokesman for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, said the additions will help the county achieve response times within five minutes in urban areas and nine minutes in rural areas.

Although the firetrucks are staffed by paramedics, their backups consist of units from other stations, which have slowed response times when the firetrucks were on other calls, he said.

Last year, the county recorded 1,146 emergency calls around Thonotosassa, and most response times exceeded eight minutes, according to a Fire Rescue report. The Thonotosassa crews were backed up by stations in Seffner, the University of South Florida area and East Lake.

Of the eight new positions, two apiece will be assigned to the stations' three shifts; the remaining two will cover for other firefighters taking sick time and leave time, Yeakley said.

RUSKIN - Learn more about a proposal to build a boat complex off the Sunshine Skyway bridge when the Cockroach Bay Users Group meets on Wednesday.

Volunteers with the nonprofit organization, which is working to add boat ramps around Tampa Bay, will gather at 6:30 p.m. at the Ruskin Library, 1 Dickman Drive.

Members of the public are welcome to attend. Local crabber Gus Muench will discuss his work designing artificial reef habitats in the Ruskin and Apollo Beach canals.

There also will be a presentation regarding C-BUG's initiative to add a boating complex east of the fishing pier along the Sunshine Skyway bridge. The complex would include additional boat ramps and provide safe harbor for boats caught on the water during storms.

"A lot of boats in that situation coming in during the storm period have no place to go between Egmont Key and the gulf," said Charlie Feldschau, who is organizing the C-BUG meeting.

The proposal could cost between $500,000 and $2-million. It has not been funded or approved. For more information, call Feldschau at 634-5592.

Trendy Teens, a local consignment shop for teenagers, has teamed up with Signature Cleaners to offer local teenage girls a way to earn community service hours while helping their peers.

Girls donating formal gowns in good condition earn three hours of community service for each dress. Trendy Teens sends the gown to Signature Cleaners for a thorough cleaning, then the local YMCA will see that it goes to a deserving girl in one of their teen programs.

Rhonda Martinez, owner of the consignment shop, donates her time to this program, and Ted Wilson of Signature Cleaners donates his dry-cleaning services that usually start at $15 per gown. Trendy Teens is at 164 N. Parsons Ave. For more details, call 571-2611.

RIVERVIEW - The Tampa Bay Conservancy will hold a dedication ceremony for the Myron and Helen Gibbons Nature Preserve on April 16. The event begins at 10 a.m. at the preserve.

Local residents can hike through the 60-acre wooded preserve, including about one-half mile fronting the Alafia River. Bell Creek also crosses the property. The entrance is located on the north side of Boyette Road about one-half mile west of Bell Shoals Road.

The Gibbons Nature Preserve marks the first successful preservation project for the Tampa Bay Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust.

[Last modified April 7, 2005, 08:55:10]