Three people receive award for rescue in Thonotosassa
On April 10, a young girl drove off the road, lost control of her vehicle and plunged into a pond where her car flipped and rested on its roof. Frank Font, who was driving by as the accident occurred, immediately responded, diving into the body of water and attempting to open a door. When the driver door refused to budge he swam to the other side and was able to successfully open the door and free Emily McDarby, the driver.
Brian and Kelly Willey heard the accident from their nearby residence and ran to the scene where they were able to provide immediate medical assistance to McDarby. She was cold, wet and injured from the accident and was wrapped in towels and stabilized until the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived and took her to the hospital.
On June 21, all three were honored at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office 2nd Quarter Awards Ceremony where McDarby was also present. Though only Font was able to attend, all three were given the award.
Local Animal Rescue Faces Closure
Apache Way Farm Rescue Sanctuary, a nonprofit located in Plant City, may soon have to close its doors.
The owner, Lori Matta, is a former NFL cheerleader for the New England Patriots who opened a forever home sanctuary over 29 years ago. She moved to Plant City for weather that was kinder to her animals and opened Dance Carousel and Stallions Cheer, which provided the means to successfully run her nonprofit.
However, she was in a car accident in 2014 and had to give up her dance and cheer studios. Finances have been tight and the recent drought has made feeding the animals difficult. She is asking for help.
“I’m no different than the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals),” Matta said. “I just don’t have the money for a commercial or to buy the Sarah McLachlan music. But the paperwork we have is the same.”
The nonprofit aims to rescue, rehab and provide a home for animals that were mistreated or unable to be cared for any longer. In her care she has dogs, horses, pigs, donkeys, a llama and a cow. One animal was severely burned multiple times with a cigar by its previous owner, others were at the point of starvation when she took them under her wing.
Since this organization is a 501c3, donations are tax deductible. She has an account at Bliss Feed at 3669 Paul Buchman Hwy in Plant City. You can purchase feed for the animals and she will be contacted. She also has a PayPal account, which can be found on the rescue’s Facebook page.
Plant City artist lands exhibit at Museum of Art Deland
John Briggs has been a painter for over 50 years. His first big break came with the “Artists in Schools” program that offered him a grant, which led him to Plant City. He opened a studio out of Cork Elementary School where students were able to come in and see art work from beginning to end and not just a final project. He painted two murals in Plant City and has shown his work across the country, including in New York and Miami.
His current collection, “Casting for the Unknown,” is based off a photo he took at a beach in South Florida of people seine fishing. Briggs said this collection is unlike any of his prior work.
“Primarily I’m a realist, but I’ve started this new group of paintings and they’re a little bit different than my earlier work,” Briggs said. “These new paintings, though, I left more open, I wanted the viewer to come to the meaning themselves. I didn’t want to make them all spelled out, I wanted them open ended.”
The show will feature five large paintings and around 11 or 12 smaller paintings. The museum will have two other exhibits there at the same time, however his is a one man show.
The plan is for Briggs’s exhibit to travel, so anyone who wishes to may purchase a painting but it will have to be kept with the others until the exhibition is through.
Correction
An article in last week’s paper titled, “A veteran volunteer,” incorrectly stated that Fran Johnson volunteered 2,700 hours at South Florida Baptist Hospital. Johnson has volunteered 27,000 hours. The article has been updated online.