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Regional News: Pumpkins Carve Place In Church's Annual Rite

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2008

BRANDON - An annual autumn rite has heads and steering wheels turning into the grassy lot at a local church, where piles of pumpkins and other fall fare will be on sale through October.

Volunteers barely finished unloading pumpkins from a tractor-trailer before residents were scurrying to claim the best of the batch at the St. Andrew's United Methodist Church pumpkin patch.

The patch is open from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 7 p.m. Sundays.

Children can give their Halloween costumes an early debut when the children's fellowship team hosts a patch bash from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The seasonal grand finale will be a live jazz concert under the stars with old favorites and fresh mixes starting at 6 p.m. Nov. 2. Families are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy coffee and other drinks donated by local vendors.

All events are free. St. Andrew's is at 3315 Bryan Road, Brandon. For details, visit www.standrewsbrandon.org or call (813) 689-6849.

Pickin' and Grinnin': The Opry Is Back

PLANT CITY - The Florida Opry, a down-home, country music crowd-pleaser for nearly a decade, returns next week, more than a year after the opry stage went dark.

The Dallmans, a local musical family whose members performed in the concert series at the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center, bought the production from founder Myrle Henry, who remains onboard as emcee and consultant.

Heeding tradition, the 7 p.m. Oct. 18 season opener features the Southern Star Bluegrass Band, a regular at the Florida Strawberry Festival and Florida State Fair. Also on the bill are vocalists Tina Dallman and Randy Scott. The community center is at 605 N. Collins St.

Tickets are $12 at the door; for $15 reserved seats, call (813) 659-1849.

No More Rotten Eggs? Water Company Is Sold

NEW PORT RICHEY - Customers of Aloha Utilities could see some relief in the coming months from the smelly, black water that has fouled their sinks and stained their bathtubs.

Pasco County commissioners this week approved the sale of Aloha - a private water supplier whose customers say its water and customer service stink - to the Florida Government Utility Authority, a public group created to buy private utilities across the state.

Aloha has about 25,000 customers in the Seven Springs and Aloha Gardens areas of southwest Pasco.

Financial News Is Bad For Schools As Well

LAND O' LAKES - Bad news that the Pasco County School Board heard this week surprised no one.

The outlook for school district budgets is bleak, and relief is nowhere in sight.

"It's what we've been telling them," Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said.

Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, led the Pasco board in a workshop on the state budget, saying that in 34 years he has never seen anything as financially dismal as what school districts now face.

Districts across the state are struggling to cut expenses, most school employees have seen little or no raises, and hopes of riding out the storm could be dashed by a 2009-10 budget projection that looks to be even worse, he said.

Local Filmmaker Pays Giant-Sized Tribute

CLEARWATER - Homegrown filmmaker Andreas Rokki Archontakis - also known as Rokki James Hollywood - will reveal his theatrical tribute to oversized wrestler Andre the Giant tonight at Clearwater Cinema Cafe.

"Andre: Heart of the Giant," written and directed by Archontakis, tells the story of the early career of the 7-foot-4 professional wrestler. Archontakis will participate in a talkback session 30 minutes before the 11 p.m. screening.

The film originally was written for friend and tall guy Matthew McGrory ("Big Fish," "The Devil's Rejects"), who died shortly after production began in 2005, said Archontakis, a 1988 Countryside High School graduate. A replacement was found, 7-foot stage actor Daniel Gilchrist, and filming was completed.

Tickets are $6.50 for adults and $5 for children, students and senior citizens. The cafe is at 24095 U.S. 19 N. For information, call (727) 797-9808.

Reporters D'Ann Lawrence White, Kevin Wiatrowski, George Wilkens, Sarah Hoye and Ronnie Blair contributed to this report.

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