Naming contest for Cart-to-Curb trucks open
Do you remember when “Boaty McBoatface” went viral?
If that gave you a good laugh and made you want to enter another naming contest someday, you’re in luck: the City of Plant City Solid Waste Department is sponsoring a Name That Truck! contest for its fleet of Cart-to-Curb trucks.
“Plant City is getting new garbage trucks in August 2021,” the department said in a press release. “They can pick up your trash cart and dump it all by themselves! These smart, strong trucks need names. What do you want to call them?”
In addition to bragging rights, the four lucky winners will receive $50 restaurant gift certificates, a meeting with Mayor Rick Lott and city commissioners and more prizes, and their names will be printed on the trucks.
The contest is open to residents of all ages and the deadline for submissions is May 28. Each entrant should send their truck name suggestion, their own name, age, their parent’s name (if entry is for a child), address, phone number and email address to NameThatTruck@PlantCityGov.com or via USPS to Solid Waste Department Name Contest, 1802 Spooner Drive, Plant City, FL 33563.
To learn more about Cart-To-Curb and when it is coming to your neighborhood, visit plantcitygov.com/mycart, call (813) 757-9208 or email solidwaste@plantcitygov.com.
Hope Lutheran Church to raise new steeple Friday
Hope Lutheran Church will hit a big milestone in the construction of its new sanctuary this week and the public is invited to see the moment firsthand.
The church, located at 2001 N. Park Road, announced Monday its new steeple will be raised onto the sanctuary in a public ceremony scheduled for 8 a.m. Friday. All are invited to attend the dedication event as the church “lifts high the cross,” Senior Pastor Rev. Dean Pfeffer said in a press release.
The new sanctuary, which Jenkins Construction began building in the summer of 2020, is expected to be completed in late June or early July 2021. A special dedication service will be held this summer “once all construction is 100 percent complete.” It will mark the end of the first portion of a three-phase plan to improve the church’s facilities over the next few years. After the sanctuary is completed, Hope will then turn its attention to replacing and remodeling the fellowship hall and offices. The third and final phase will be to remodel the classrooms.
HCSO announces changes to JAAP program
Hillsborough County youths now have greater Juvenile Arrest Avoidance Program (JAAP) access thanks to a series of changes proposed by Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, which all county law enforcement agencies have agreed to adopt.
The goal of the JAAP program is to give eligible youths who commit certain crimes a chance “to avoid having an arrest record and… get necessary support services,” though it previously excluded some misdemeanor offenses and not all citations were mandatory. Now, according to HCSO, “enrollment in JAAP will now include all first-time misdemeanor offenses and be mandatory, absent certain extraordinary circumstances.”
“The Juvenile Arrest Avoidance Program is designed for first-time misdemeanor juvenile offenders who have not previously been adjudicated delinquents, had an adjudication of delinquency withheld, participated in a pre-arrest or post-arrest juvenile diversion program or otherwise been placed under physical arrest for a criminal offense,” HCSO said in a press release. “When the child is a first-time offender and the offense is a misdemeanor, the law enforcement officer will issue a civil citation. This citation requires the juvenile to complete a structured community diversion program that includes services that target specific risk factors that will benefit the child and their family. After the juvenile has completed the terms and conditions set forth by the JAAP, their misdemeanor criminal case is closed without any referral for prosecution.”
The work to be completed by JAAP participants to ensure success in the program varies based on the individual and may include community service hours, attending classes or counseling, refraining from contact with a victim and more. Those who do not complete their program requirements will have their case referred to the State Attorney’s office for criminal prosecution.
“Juvenile justice requires us to balance the needs of a child and our unyielding commitment to public safety,” Chronister said in a press release. “Our kids, our deputies, our police officers, and our community have made this program a success, so we are able to take these next steps. A civil citation instead of an arrest represents a chance. It is our community saying to a child, ‘Stop going down the bad-decision-making path, because we believe in you. We want you to make better choices. We will help you and hold you accountable.’”
FDOT Tampa Bay to add bulb-outs on Reynolds Street
Florida Department of Transportation Tampa Bay is planning to make a series of improvements to the curbs along a section of Reynolds Street.
The area between Evers and Palmer streets will receive curb extensions (bulb-outs) in a project slated to start this month and wrap up sometime this summer. FDOT listed the construction cost at $86,342.04.
The bulb-outs will be built to enable future landscaping projects in five locations along that stretch of road.