VIN'S PEOPLE: Terra Ceia Reef & Beach Cleanup nets 25,770 pounds of trash ... and a church pew
A bow to all those volunteers who made the recent Suncoast Aqua Ventures seventh annual Reef and Beach Cleanup in Terra Ceia successful.
Sixty-five teams, including Haile Middle FFA, Manatee Key Club, Palmetto Key Club, Sea Scouts and Boy Scout Troop 2019, gathered 25,770 pounds of trash, raising the event’s seven-year total to 81,767 pounds.
Divers cleaned up reefs while others cleaned up mangroves and land.
The wildest thing they found? A church pew!
Teams collecting the most included Trash Can Slam in trash (3,524 pounds), recyclables (259 pounds) and shoes (44 shoes), along with Team Trident in rope, line and tackle (521 pounds) and anchors (124 pounds). Then there were the Chuck It Dumpsters in chain and metals (607 pounds) and So Tired in tires (28 tires).
That church pew won Most Unique Find by Land for Slo-Motion, while Florida Underwater Sports won Most Unique Find by Sea with a telescope.
· Three-time Super Bowl champ Henry Lawrence is 72 years young.
· Stuff the Bus is today at all Manatee Publix stores, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers are still needed. For details, visit volunteersuncoast.org/stuffthebus.
· Ruth Lawler is 39. Again.
· Our family’s heartfelt thanks to Blake Medical Center’s ER staff, doctors and fourth-floor nurses, as well as Tidewell Hospice on 26th Street for their care and compassion toward Sue Manring, who passed Sept. 13 at the age of 86.
· Terry Wilson is 64 years young.
· Lakewood Ranch High’s Logan Catlett and Southeast’s Matthew Maurer are semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship program.
· Speaking of Lakewood Ranch High, Principal Dustin Dahlquist, Assistant Principal Thomas Bellantonio and Athletic Director Kent Ringquist added a funky wrinkle to their job descriptions.
After Mustangs football coach Scott Paravacini ran his horse onto the gridiron with his team before their homecoming game on Sept. 22, the administrators grabbed shovels from Student Government sponsor Tommy Cuervo and scooped the horse’s “souvenirs” off the field.
“The horse’s good luck gift,” Dahlquist joked.
Maybe.
The Ranch won, 22-12, over Longwood Lyman.
· The World Communion Drum Circle is 5 p.m. today at Peace Presbyterian Church, 12705 State Road 64 East.
“This is the time of year when we focus on our unity across the boundaries of nation and race,” said church member Jill Mullins. “Drumming connects all cultures and peoples from tribal villages to city parks.”Everyone’s invited. Instruments will be provided, although folks are welcome to bring their own.
Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@gmail.com. Or call 941-962-5944. Twitter: @vinmannix.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIN MANNIX: Volunteers net 25,770 pounds of trash at Terra Ceia cleanup
