Walden Lake residents may remember playing tennis with Bill Roetzheim sometime since 1985. Like many people, Mr. Roetzheim chose to retire in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World after a long career in teaching and coaching at the high school and college levels. Unlike many people, however, there was much more to the “Chief” […]
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Anglers to cast lines at Youth Fishing Derby
It wouldn’t be March without Plant City’s bi-annual Youth Fishing Derby. On March 22, kids ages 5 to 15 can load up their tackle boxes and bust out their favorite poles for a little friendly competition. As always, the event will be sponsored by Lakeland-based Landshark Charter and held behind the Randy L. Larson Softball […]
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BASKETBALL + Tigers travel team takes title Plant City travel ball recently added another team to its ranks, the Tigers, and they got started by making an on-court statement. They won the Spring Fest Shootout last weekend, in Orlando, after entering the tournament as a the lowest seed. The Tigers lost their first two pool-play games […]
Continue ReadingWHAT’S ON KLINE’S MIND? Strawberry shortcake showdown
I remember the first time I tried a St. Clement Strawberry Shortcake very well. It was just a couple of weeks ago, at the Florida Strawberry Festival’s media party. We had just eaten dinner, and I made sure to save some room for one of those bad boys. When I took my first bite, I […]
Continue ReadingATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Garrett Wright
Durant High School has been focusing more on its hitting in 2014, and one of the seniors at the forefront of the movement is Garrett Wright. The center fielder sports the Cougars’ third-best batting average, at .435, but leads the team with eight RBI and nine runs scored. This past week, he went 1-for-3 with […]
Continue ReadingDurant Baseball: Life after Tyler Danish
Sometimes, as the 80s hair rockers Cinderella once sang, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” That’s not the case with Durant baseball, though. It knew exactly what it had with star pitcher Tyler Danish. But, now that he and two other pitchers have graduated, the Cougars have had to adjust to playing […]
Continue ReadingDedication fuels Plant City karate master, Chris Welbon
It’s hard to compete with the Florida Strawberry Festival for attention, but Chris Welbon and members his karate club were hard to miss last Saturday. They gathered outside of Welbon’s Collins Street storefront early in the afternoon and hosted a “yard sale” to raise money for the club team’s impending travel expenses. With an extra […]
Continue ReadingWHAT’S ON KLINE’S MIND? Learning is part of the job
When I’m not on assignment, I sometimes find myself fielding questions about my job. A lot of the time, the question is something along the lines of, “How do you find your stories?” Other times, it’s something like, “How is such-and-such team doing, and how far can they go this year?” I don’t normally surprise […]
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BASEBALL/SOFTBALL + Cougars, Raiders renew rivalry On the boys’ side, March 4’s renewal of the Redman Rivalry was fairly close. Durant pulled away in the fourth inning and held on for a 3-0 victory at home, thanks to strong pitching from seniors Ryan Barfield and Jacob Scolaro. Together, they gave up three hits and one walk, […]
Continue ReadingATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Casey Decatur
There were a few notable performances in both of Durant’s first-ever lacrosse home games, but nobody took over quite like Lady Cougars freshman Casey Decatur. She torched Jefferson’s defense to the tune of seven goals, securing a 12-4 lead and killing the Lady Dragons’ momentum spurts at all the right times. You were on fire […]
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