State officials on Friday gave South Bay Hospital permission to move out of this retirement community to a site eight miles north along Big Bend Road in Riverview. ...more

December 15, 2007

SEBRING — Maybe it was because he was in great shape. Maybe it was Darrel Smith's helmet that made the difference and saved his life after a car struck his bike in August. Perhaps, Smith thought, it was the thousands of prayers given for him from other park rangers, his fellow bicyclists and the entire community. In a little more than three months, Smith came out of a month-long medically induced coma, regained 20 pounds of lost muscle and just last Thursday took a two-mile ride on his tricycle for the first time since the accident. "Yes, it hurt like hell... I got nine pieces of stainless steel (in me) right now. Two of them are cables," he said, showing his right hip. His smile and his beaming optimism goes against the grain of the aches he described. Smith's trainer, Keith A. Bowyer Jr., thinks it was Smith's drive that got him where he is now. Smith's hoping by Friday that he will get back on his job at Highlands Hammock State Park. By Christmas, Smith's hoping he can try out a bicycle. ...more

December 11, 2007

BRANDON - The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce is seeking community participation for branding the Brandon area. ...more

December 5, 2007

It was a red, white and blue kind of day Nov. 10 as hundreds of people turned out for the annual Veterans Day parade along U.S. 41. ...more

November 15, 2007

The United Methodist Women of Brandon don't mind telling you they are going nuts. In fact, they would like the entire community to know. ...more

October 20, 2007

Heroes come in many forms, though most work too far from camera range for most of us to notice. ...more

September 5, 2007