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Festival once sought Michael Jackson and brothers

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CITY UPDATE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 8, 2009

Festival once sought the Jackson 5

The Florida Strawberry Festival is largely known as a venue for country music, but there was a time when the festival had its eye on bringing a young Michael Jackson to its stage.

Early in the singer's career, when he was part of the Jackson 5, the festival looked at trying to sign the group for a performance at the annual strawberry festival. But no deal was reached, said Joe Newsome, a longtime festival board member and entertainment committee head.

Newsome said he can't recall whether the Jackson brothers wanted too much money or they couldn't make it on the available date, which is frequently a challenge when the festival tries to sign entertainers.

"The pieces of the puzzle didn't fit," Newsome said.

As the late Jackson's star skyrocketed with a solo career, the festival never made another attempt to book him.

Dave Nicholson

Plant City High grad earns scholarship

A Plant City High graduate who exemplifies the criteria of the Betty Chambers Memorial Scholarship has been named its first recipient.

Ali Boggs was in the top 3 percent of her class, was a Tampa Tribune Scholar, lettered in basketball and volleyball, was named a senior superlative and was crowned prom queen.

Chambers established the scholarship before her death, telling daughters Pec McGinnes and Sherrie Mueller: "I want to establish a scholarship for a female student who has outstanding grades, excels in sports and has family values."

The late Betty Chambers was salutatorian of her graduating class and a four-year letterman on her high school basketball team. She went on to be active in her church and community while raising a family.

Chambers' daughters presented the $1,000 scholarship at the Plant City High School awards ceremony.

George Wilkens

Karate team wins big at national tournament

A local team has returned from the Amateur Athletic Union Karate National Championship with 40 medals, including 18 gold.

Chris Welbon Karate Clubs sent 28 members, ages 8 to 51, to the June 16 to 20 AAU event in Fort Lauderdale. This was the largest number of members the local club has sent to a national tournament, a right earned by excelling at the February state championship in Fort Pierce.

Sensei Chris Welbon, whose studio is at 602 S. Collins St., Plant City, said 24 of his 28 students placed in the top three nationally in at least one event.

The team, one of the largest in the competition at the Broward County Convention Center, collectively won 18 gold medals, 14 silver and eight bronze.

Winners of multiple gold medals were Ruby Aman, age 48 (3 medals); Brent Frye, 15 (2); Billy Poorman, 17 (2); and Shari Mitchell, 31 (2)

Also receiving gold medals were Kyle Austin, 12; Anyssa Castillo, 8; Yih-Ching Gallagher, 8; Emmarie Gaudet, 8; Clark Smith, 41; Michael Wilson, 16; Tyler Ritchart, 11; Abigail Wolford,10; and Holly Wolford, 13.

The national karate championship, which has been held annually since 1972, drew 1,500 competitors from as far as Hawaii and Ireland.

Welbon's school received an award for being among the top 20 competing at the national tournament.

Welbon, who started his martial arts training at age 8 and began teaching at 16, has a first-degree black belt in tae kwon do and a third-degree black belt in Shotokan karate.

Some of Welbon's students will complete in the 43rd AAU Junior Olympics this summer in Des Moines, Iowa.

George Wilkens

Youngsters can fish and win prizes

Registration is under way for the Youth Fishing Derby, a biannual contest open to ages 5 to 15.

The event, sponsored by Landshark Charters in cooperation with the Plant City Recreation and Parks Department, will begin at 8 a.m. July 18 at the pond off Albertsons Drive behind Plant City Stadium,1810 E. Park Road

The event is free, but registration is required.

Pre-registration will continue until 5 p.m. July 16 at the Planteen Recreation Center, 301 N. Dort St. Registration will also be accepted from 7 to 8 a.m. at the pond on the day of the derby.

Fishing will be from 8 to 10:30 a.m., and prizes will be awarded after the catches are measured. In addition to a prize for the largest fish by weight, prizes will be awarded for the first catfish and first bass caught and the most fish caught.

Participants must be accompanied by an adult and must bring their own pole and bait. The pond contains nine varieties of fish.

The popular derby, now in its 14th year, draws a large number of young anglers, said Deborah Haldane of the Recreation and Parks Department.

"We usually range anywhere from 80 or 90 to over a hundred," she said. "It just depends on the weather."

Landshark, title sponsor of the event, is a Plant City fishing charter company that helps monitor fish populations in the pond.

For information, call Haldane at (813) 659-4200, ext. 4343.

City seeks bids on sidewalk project

The city is soliciting bids for a contractor to build 2,310 feet of sidewalk along the north side of Charlie Griffin Road.

The city hopes that construction will finish by late this year on the 5-foot wide walkway, which will go from the James L. Redman Parkway (State Road 39) intersection west to Park Springs Apartments, 300 Park Springs Circle.

Local money was used for design of the project, which includes drainage improvements, but $100,000 toward construction will come from the state Department of Transportation, city Public Works Director Willie Nabong said.

The city is advertising for sealed bids, due by 2 p.m. Aug. 5.

Once the city commission awards the contract, construction can begin, he said.

"We're hoping it can be done is less than 90 days," Nabong said of the project.

The new sidewalk will link up with one at Charlie Griffin and the parkway, on the south end of the city.

George Wilkens

George Wilkens

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