Plant City celebrated our nation's founding and a Plant City baseball player was picked 54th overall in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Guardians.
The town’s Fourth of July celebration brought out the masses to enjoy the festivities at the Plant City Stadium. It was the 16th annual event which avoided the rain experienced at last year’s celebration and had a spectacular fireworks show. Not only was July 2022 a celebration of Independence Day, but it was also the 10-year anniversary since the Plant City Observer released its first issue. It began with a vision from the newspaper’s co-owner, Ed Verner, who wanted hyperlocal news coverage for Plant City.
Despite moving forward with the deconstruction of Walden Lake’s former golf course’s facilities, development plans were still in limbo as the most recent plan was opposed by the Plant City Commission with a unanimous vote of 7-0 in March.
Strawberry Crest FFA was represented at the 2022 Florida FFA State Convention & Expo in Orlando, where their team of seven freshmen competed and later came away victorious in their Agriculture Issues Forum Leadership Development Event.
Former Plant City High School pitcher Parker Messick was selected 54th overall in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, making him the highest draft pick in Plant City history. Former Durant High School and Florida State pitcher Jonah Scolaro signed with the Chicago White Sox as a nondrafted free agent on July 21, following the conclusion of the 2022 MLB Draft.
Not all news was good this month. A shooting left two dead in the Parkwood Estates in Plant City and a homicide occurred in Dover on July 18.
