Plant City Times &
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH
SPORTS INSIDE
SPOTLIGHT
The Peacemakers gaining popularity in Plant City.
Plant City’s Cody YMCA throws Colding earns Under old-fashioned Armour accolade. pool party. SEE PAGE 11 SEE PAGE 8
PAGE 6
OUR TOWN
+ Bluegrass greats strum into P.C. The Central Florida Bluegrass Association will host a two-day camping and bluegrass event April 25 to 26, at Boone’s Nursery, 1111 E. Sam Allen Road, Plant City. Camping and jamming begins Friday April 25. Music takes place April 26, beginning with JR & Cecil and Friends at 3 p.m.; The Cotton -Eyed Does at 4 p.m.; Little Girl & The Dreadful Snakes at 5 p.m.; The Florida State Bluegrass Band at 6 p.m.; and The Roys at 7 p.m. Camping costs $45 for sites with water and electricity or $25 for no utilities. Admission is $5 for April 25 and $12 for April 26. For more information, call (863) 397-4497.
+ St. Mary’s hosts springtime event
St. Mary’s Community Church will celebrate the season with its Springtime at Tiffany’s event at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the church, 907 E. Laura St., Plant City. The event will feature Denesha Bradley, the Rev. Timothy Knighten and Hillsborough County Public Schools’ Peggy Adams. Tickets are $10 for adults; children 10 and under are free. For more information, call the church, (813) 7541616.
FREE • THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2014
DOODLE BUG by Michael Eng | Editor
SEARCH-ENGINE
OPTIMIZATION Plant City homeschool student Kristyn Ardrey is one of 50 finalists in the Doodle 4 Google 2014 Contest. She already has won a trip to Google’s San Francisco headquarters, and her artwork could end up on the search engine’s home screen.
Kristyn Ardrey awoke noticed, and neither in a panic. For the past did a panel of judges two weeks, she had that included, among operated on just two others, author Rick hours of sleep a day. Riordan; Rosanne SomThe rest of her time was erson, president of the spent crafting and perRhode Island School of fecting her submission Design; astronaut Ron for Doodle 4 Google Garan; and Phil Lord 2014 Contest. and Christopher Miller, Every time she directors of “The LEGO looked at the piece, she Movie.” saw more issues. The Last month, Kristyn, shading wasn’t right on 18, was named Google’s that leaf in the corner. winner from Florida The butterflies needed (and one of 10 in her more color. Does that age category) and joins red snake pop enough? 49 other state finalists. Michael Eng On the night before Kristyn Ardrey is almost completely self-taught, save from her The accolade already the deadline to enter, weekly acrylics classes with LouAnn Watson, at the Art Lounge has earned her a trip to Kristyn again burned Gallery, in Historic Downtown Plant City. Google’s headquarters, her already-burnt canGoogle Mountain View, Gone! it out. That’s Mother-of-the- in California. Public votdle at both ends — finally Kristyn’s mother, Angela, Year material right there, ing, which begins at noon succumbing to exhausthought she was doing her she thought. tion. April 29, and runs through Even today, Kristyn in- 8 p.m. May 9, will deterWhen she opened her daughter a favor. She coleyes, the sun was shining. lected the piece, completed sists the piece is incom- mine the winner of each of And she realized her piece the entry form, packages plete. And perhaps it is. everything up and shipped But, if so, no one at Google SEE KRISTYN / PAGE 4 was gone.
+ Durant High presents comedy
Durant High School’s thespians will present “Captain Fantastic” at 7 p.m. April 24 to 26, in the high school auditorium, 4748 Cougar Path, Plant City. Tickets are $5. For more, call (813) 757-9075.
+ Plant City Entertainment
Plant City Entertainment will present “Sin, Sex, and the C.I.A.” from May 2 to 4, at the theater, 101 N. Thomas St. Doors open at 8 p.m. For more information, visit pceshows.com.
, 3&
This week’s winner is
Tyler Smith
See his photo on PAGE 15.
This year, Google challenged student artists to express the theme, “If I Could Invent One Thing to Make the World a Better Place ...” Kristyn Ardrey’s submission depicts a solar-powered robot that protects nature from harm.
hero’s fight
by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Burn pits blamed for P.C. Marine’s cancer Sean Terry died April 19 of cancer, which his family believes came from his work with the U.S. Marines.
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Sean Terry put on his dress blues. Once, a muscular Marine had filled the fabric. Now, his 33-year-old body had withered in size, and he couldn’t really stand. But, he had made it his final mission to attend a father-daughter dance with his three girls. It would be their last. Terry, a former Plant City resident, had been battling HOW TO esophageal HELP cancer. In Although S e p t e m b e r, the Terrys live he went on a in Denver, high advenwhere all the ture mountain fundraisers vacation, river will be held, rafting and Plant City camping. Just residents still 12 days later, can support he was diagthe family nosed. by visiting At his DenGoFundMe. ver home April com/saving19, he took his sean. final breaths while his wife, Robyn, kissed his forehead, cheeks and mouth. He finally could pass in peace. Since his diagnosis, Terry had been trying to get 100% of benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs, so that he could take care of his family following his death. To do so, he had to prove that his cancer was caused from his service with the military, particularly his exposure to burn pits. The saga to help his family involved a vivacious band of motorcycle riders, one very important letter and a resilient spirit that would not settle for defeat.
BURNING SERVICE
Terry was living in Plant City when he first joined the Marines
SEE TERRY / PAGE 4
TAKING OUT THE TRASH by Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Winter Haven church assists family WellSpring of Central Florida helped a local family clean up years of plant growth.
Vines twisted and writhed among the dry leaves that were piled high in the Hicks’ lot off North Gordon Street. An old, rotten shed leaned to the side. Ferns were waist-high. The jungle of the back yard was out of control — and too daunting a task for elderly siblings Harriet, Robert and William Hicks. They didn’t know what to do about the overgrowth, until their neighbor Jerry Vinnedge, approached his church, WellSpring of Central Florida, about the problem. The small congregation of about 25
loved the idea of helping the family. On April 12, six members spent almost four hours cleaning up the Hicks’ back yard. “I think it was great,” Harriet Hicks said. “Those young-uns came out there and came all the way from Winter Haven.” The volunteers took care to work around the family’s pet cemetery that holds all their beloved former dogs. They manicured the memorial, before taking down the wooden shed and ripped up its foundation.
They also cleared out all the brush in the yard, piling trash bag after trash bag on the sidewalk. All the while, and much to their relief, they only saw one snake. “The congregation did such a good job,” Associate Pastor Jason Deshazo said. “It was an honor for us to do it. They are a sweet family. It was for the glory of God.” Now that the yard is cleared, Harriet Hicks, 70, said she can take care of the
SEE CLEANUP / PAGE 5
INDEX Calendar.......................2
Courtesy photo
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Sean Terry was able to attend a fatherdaughter dance before he died.
Vol.1,No.38 | Onesection Crossword...................15
Obituaries...................10
Sports.........................11
Weather......................15
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KRISTYN / PAGE 1 the five age categories as National Finalists. From there, one will be named the National Winner of Doodle 4 Google. Should Kristyn win the contest completely, she will receive a $30,000 college scholarship, a $50,000 Google for Education grant for Plant City High School and more. Best of all: Her doodle, titled, “ECO-BOT: Nature’s Caretaker,” will be featured on
the U.S. Google homepage on June 9. Not bad for a home-grown Plant City girl who hasn’t yet been on an airplane.
MASTERPIECE THEATER
Kristyn only pulls out her art supplies after darkness has overcome her country home. She waits for everyone else to fall asleep, for the dog to finally stop yipping. Only then will she pull out her art supplies from under the bed. Art professors would cringe
at Kristyn’s preferred posture when she draws. There’s no easel, no stool, no proper lighting. Sitting on the floor of her bedroom, Kristyn hunches over the masterpiece-inthe-making, her hand clawed unnaturally around her colored pencil or pen to accommodate the unusual perspective. “I learned on my bedroom floor,” she says. “And I can see more; I can see everything.” Today, Kristyn is fully stocked with professional-level pencils,
pens, markers — anything she needs to create. But, her foray into arts started — quite simply — with crayons and any writing utensil she could find in the junk drawer. Kristyn’s early works included creating her own storybooks — complete with custom illustrations — and calendars. “I grew up with a big imagination,” she says. “I didn’t watch much TV. I had a bunch of toys, and I built things. ... I’m the artist of the family. It’s been a lifelong passion.”
TERRY / PAGE 1 in 2001. He had seen the battlefield, completing two tours in Iraq. But, even combat couldn’t break him. While in Fallujah, he was taking a break next to a truck on a dusty road when his unit was attacked with mortars. Shrapnel speckled his body on impact, but he survived. The military wanted to give him a medical discharge, but he refused. For his courage and strength, he received the Purple Heart. Although he faced insurgents during his time in the military, another type of fight was taking place — inside his own body. Terry was exposed to burn pits during his deployments. The military uses burn pits to rid camps of waste, such as chemicals, paint, medical and human waste, metal/aluminum cans, munitions and other unexploded ordnance, petroleum and lubricant products, plastics and Styrofoam, rubber, wood and discarded food. At the VA’s request, the National Academy of Sciences, a non-governmental organization, conducted a study to determine whether burn pits caused long-term health issues to those exposed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the 2011 report, the IOM found “inadequate or insufficient evidence of a relation between exposure to combustion products and cancer, respiratory diseases, circulatory diseas-
Amber Jurgensen
Members of the Devil Dogs Motorcycle Club have been big supporters of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Sean Terry and his family. es, neurological diseases and adverse reproductive and developmental outcomes.” But, there still was “suggestive evidence of a link between exposure to combustion products and reduced lung function in various groups thought to be similar to deployed service-members, such as firefighters and incinerator workers.” Although there is no conclusive evidence, the VA is continuing to look into claims and conduct studies. Terry wondered if his cancer had come from burn-pit exposure.
DIAGNOSIS
For years after he left the Marines, Terry thought he was suffering from acid reflux. He popped TUMS tablets
like candy. It became so bad that his doctor gave him pain pills to ease the symptoms. When he started vomiting blood after taking the pills, he went to a VA doctor for a second opinion. He wasn’t expecting to get a stagethree cancer diagnosis. From there, the cancer spread around his body. He had tumors in his brain. Then, it drifted back into his lungs and lymphatic system. All the while, he had one concern on his mind — his family. Terry didn’t have 100% of his benefits with the VA. That meant his family wouldn’t get benefits if he died from his cancer. It was frustrating for Terry. But luckily for him, he had Devil Dogs at his side.
Like many artists, she prefers to keep her work private for as long as she can. She wants to get every line, every hue and every thought just right, before she shares it with her parents or four sisters. By the end of the two-week marathon she endured to complete her Doodle 4 Google submission, she had covered the floor in eraser dust. “It’s hard to see, but there are so many layers in this piece,” she says. “It takes so much to make it look like that.”
The Devil Dogs are a motorcycle club comprising military veterans, including Terry. Over the last two years, he had become best friends with two of the members, Julie and Wes Neville. When they found out about his diagnosis, they knew they had to do something to help. After speaking with the VA, they discovered Terry could get full coverage if he obtained a written letter from aVA doctor that stated his cancer had a 50% chance of being caused by the burn pits in Fallujah. “We’ve been trying to get the VA to take responsibility for this,” Julie Neville said. “The information has to be passed along,” Wes Neville said. “I know he’s not the only one who had to be exposed.” As Terry’s time ticked away, Devil Dogs members worked like ants to submit the paperwork and get the letter that could change his family’s life. On March 28, they finally got it. “Given his very young age at diagnosis and his very aggressive cancer type, I believe there is more than a 50% likelihood that this cancer was caused by exposures during his military service,” Dr. Christopher Sumet wrote. “This may have been either due to his exposure to burn pits or related to tobacco and alcohol use during his service used to treat symptoms of his post-traumatic stress disorder.”
RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK
Although he received the letter, the
Today, her portfolio showcases a wide range of styles in pen, marker, colored pencil and acrylics. “I’ll use anything that make a mark,” she says. “You can even use barbecue sauce.” Many of her pieces take inspiration from her love of science and mathematics, while others hint at Kristyn’s more whimsical, childlike side. Her piece for the 2014 Florida Strawberry Festival Art Show,
SEE KRISTYN / PAGE 5
VA still had to approve all the paperwork. While the Devil Dogs worked on sorting the paperwork, they also planned multiple fundraisers for the Terrys, including motorcycle rides. “He said his only regret he had was that he hadn’t set up college funds for the girls,” Julie said. “Our focus is the girls and his wife.” Before he died, the Devil Dogs hoped he would be able to attend an April 26 fundraiser. The ride will take supporters to different restaurants and end with a barbecue and after party. They were going to pick him up and let him ride in a sidecar. It was one of his last wishes — to ride again. He didn’t make it. The day before Terry died, the paperwork still hadn’t been approved. A Devil Dog member went to the VA to convince them of the urgency. Finally, 12 hours before he passed, his benefits were approved. “Part of me is relieved,” Julie Neville said. “He went in peace, knowing his family was taken care of.” Terry was the center of attention at Devil Dogs’ meetings. From a crackling phone call across the United States, Wes Neville couldn’t describe his friend without crying. But, Julie Neville mustered up the strength. “He was just the funniest person,” she said. “It couldn’t have happened to a worse person. He was outgoing, funny, he’ll sing — do anything.” Contact Amber Jurgensen at
[email protected].
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KRISTYN / PAGE 1 titled “Blinded by Science,” features a man lost in thought, with paper airplanes, an astronaut, octopus and train all surrounding him. She once drew a strawberry with a mustache and monocle for her aunt. And, she harbors a fascination of fairies. But, perhaps her most important piece is a coloring book she created for Dylan Martin Racing. The team uses the book to bring joy to children at Shriners Hospital for Children, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Sunshine Foundation for Dream Village and Anchor House Ministries. To date, more than 1,000 coloring books have been given to children battling illnesses.
DO THE ROBOT
Kristyn shrugs her shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t care if I win or not,” she says, sincerely, of the Google contest. “Just getting to go (to San Francisco) — that’s a prize all on its own. Winning would just be beyond my wildest imagination.” Although blessed with the talent and determination to excel in art school, Kristyn has other plans post-high school. This fall, she’ll be attending Florida Polytechnic University, in Lakeland. Her major? Mechanical and aerospace engineering. Sounds completely non-creative, right? Not so fast. “I want to build robots,” she
3ODQW&LW\2EVHUYHUFRP says. “I love anything that takes imagination to create. And math — like colored pencils or pens — is just another tool. Creating a robot and then having it move — that’s just taking it (art) to the next level.” Kristyn says her favorite website is the homepage for Boston Dynamics, a company that builds robots for DARPA, the U.S. military, Sony and more. Oddly enough, Kristyn’s favorite artist isn’t some obscure science-fiction illustrator who has brush-stroked his or her way to a career painting galaxies far, far away. “Norman Rockwell,” she says. “I love him so much. He’s so traditional, and my art is so crazy. But, he’s the best. “He was so good at what he did,” Kristyn says. “I really appreciate the work that goes into a piece. I can see the talent in the lines.” Next week, Google will send representatives to Plant City to present Kristyn with a framed copy of her Doodle 4 Google submission. She says she can’t fathom what the next few weeks will bring. She’s still in shock that she’s a finalist at all. “I was putting my makeup on to go to the movies,” Kristyn says of the day her mother called her with the news. “I flipped out. I think I ran out of the house with only one eye with makeup. My hair wasn’t done. I didn’t want to talk about it at all, because to me, it didn’t even seem real.” And although her budding
VOTE FOR KRISTYN The U.S. public will vote for the favorite doodle from the 50 State Winners. Online voting will take place from noon April 29, to 8 p.m. May 9. The highest-ranking doodler from each grade group will be named as a National Finalist. The five National Finalists (one per grade group), will be announced at an awards ceremony May 21, at Google Headquarters, in California. When voting opens, you can vote for Kristyn Ardrey’s artwork online at doodle4google.com.
PARTY TIME
Google will present Kristyn Ardrey an 11-inch-by-17-inch reprint of her 2014 contest submission during a party April 29, at Wishing Well Barn, in Plant City.
engineering career likely will take most of her time in college, Kristyn says she already has plans to start an on-campus art club. Furthermore, she insists her art supplies never will be far from her hand. “I’ll draw until I’m in the ground,” she says. Contact Michael Eng at
[email protected].
CLEANUP / PAGE 1 mowing herself. The home belongs to her adopted twin brothers, Robert and William, 74. They are on a fixed income and couldn’t pay for the labor. But, they did supply the trash bags and other materials to the church. “We all stay here and take care of each other,” Harriet Hicks said. “I am happy with it.” The house itself also needs a lot of work, including pressure washing, painting, and screen and door replacements. WellSpring members said they would be happy to help again in the future. “If someone donated materials, we would provide the
Amber Jurgensen
The Hicks siblings say they are pleased with their newly cleaned back yard. work,” Deshazo said. “It was an honor to be able to work in the community and be there.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at
[email protected].
FAITHFUL SERVANTS
Michael Eng
Church on the Rock hosted its first Redneck Reality event April 12, on the church grounds. First Choice Southern Bar-B-Que’s Kenneth Jordan served up some delicious barbecue chicken for attendees.
