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Mulrennan Middle School's Patriotism Shines Bright

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By BARBARA ROUTEN, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 24, 2007

Updated: 11/21/2007 06:56 pm

VALRICO - The student body of Mulrennan Middle School became the stars and stripes Nov. 9 "to show their appreciation for those that have served our nation in the armed forces," said seventh-grade geography teacher James W. Pope.

Parents were invited, and those serving in the military were asked to attend in uniform. Skip Mahaffey and Les McDowell of WFUS, 103.5 FM, broadcast their morning show from the roof of the school.

Sixth-grade students wore white shirts, seventh-graders wore red and eighth-graders wore blue. The students formed "a living, breathing American flag," Pope said. Then everyone present said the pledge of allegiance and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Armwood Student's Dream Comes True

BRANDON - Eighteen-year-old Brandon resident and Armwood High School student Christopher Goff's dream of attending a NASCAR race came true the weekend of Oct. 27, thanks to the Dream Factory of Florida and NASCAR race car driver Carl Edwards. Goff said the trip to Georgia was "wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of it."

"We got to watch the qualifying race Friday evening from the top of Carl Edwards' hauler. We had a great view. I also got some autographs from some of the other drivers and ... my picture with a couple of other drivers," Goff wrote in a letter to the Dream Factory.

"Importunely, Carl came up just one spot short of winning the race Sunday. I and my mom stood down in his pits the last 40 laps of the race. Near the end of race I started shaking in my shoes! I was standing there thinking that he was going to win the race."

The Dream Factory, a national nonprofit organization, grants wishes for critically and chronically ill children ages 3 through 18. Goff, who has cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus, was the second dream recipient of the local chapter.

The agency started recently to help ill children in Hillsborough County and its environs and granted its first wish in June. For information, visit www.dreamfactoryflorida .com or contact Julie Duncan, area coordinator, at (813) 654-7673 or florida@dream factoryinc.com.

Nature Writers Group Begins At Camp Bayou

RUSKIN - People interested in writing about nature may join a quarterly writers meeting beginning at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 1 at Camp Bayou, 4140 24th St. S.E.

Beautyberry Books' Diane Alvarez, a Florida master naturalist who has a doctorate in literature, will speak to the group about Florida nature writers.

Some nature writing is nonfiction prose and essays, and some is infused into fiction or poetry. The Peace River Center for Writers in Punta Gorda, for example, produced a 2005 anthology of nature prose and poetry about the 2004 hurricanes called "Summer of the Storms."

All writers are invited to attend.

"Fiction writers, for instance, may need the services of naturalists to provide descriptive details for their Florida settings," said Dolly Cummings, nature center education director. "Those who work with children may want to design writing projects around their shared observation of nature, ... and some of our best nature writers turn out to be the journalists who capture those natural experiences for the public. Welcome, all."

For information, call Cummings at (813) 363-5438.

Toy Drive Shifts Into High Gear

SUN CITY CENTER - South Hillsborough County Toys for Tots will shift into high gear Dec. 1 as the Sun City Center Roamin' Oldies car club hosts its fourth annual Toys for Tots car show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Wal-Mart Supercenter parking lot, 4928 S. R. 674, Wimauma. The entry fee is $10 per vehicle, plus a toy.

Admission is free for spectators. They "will be allowed to vote for their favorite entry in return for the donation of a toy," said Paul Courter, publicity chairman for the car club. "Last year we filled four vintage trucks with donated toys."

The Marine Corps Reserve has distributed more than $272 million worth of toys to more than 133 million children nationwide through the Toys for Tots campaign since its founding in 1947. Volunteers collect the toys.

"Many are Marine veterans, like our Leathernecks Club members," Courter said.

He said Marines provide supervision and administrative assistance, distribute collection boxes and posters and attend Toys for Tots functions when they can.

"Unfortunately, none can be spared for our car show. Many from the unit are currently deployed in harm's way, and the rest are stretched very thin," he said.

Collection boxes are in stores throughout the area. For information, call Courter at (813) 633-8540.

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, e-mail neighbors@tampabay .rr.com or call (813) 657-4531.

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