venice city e-news

VENICE CITY E-NEWS
A PUBLICATION FOR THE CITIZENS OF VENICE, FLORIDA
Vol. V No. 6
INSIDE
•Calendar.................................2
• Message from the Mayor........4
• Green Scene: Clean Beach......6
• Get Toilet Rebate....................7
• Legacy Awards........................8
• Historical Lord-Higel House....9
• 85th Anniversary: Aviation...10
• Photo Album.........................12
• Children Conserve Water......15
• Bulletin Board.......................16
Mayor
John Holic
Vice Mayor
Kit McKeon
Council Members
Jim Bennett
Emilio Carlesimo
Bob Daniels
Jeanette Gates
Dave Sherman
Charter Officers
City Manager Edward Lavallee
City Clerk Lori Stelzer
City Attorney Bob Anderson
For questions, or to be placed
on the distribution list, call
Marketing and Communications
Officer Pam Johnson:
(941) 486-2626, ext. 24005
or e-mail:
[email protected]
www.venicegov.com
June 2012
Preserving History
Venice is almost old enough to have its own history museum
Venice Archives and Area Historical
Collection received accreditation from the
American Association for State and Local
History.
The designation means the city can apply
for local, state and national grants and
makes it more competitive with other applicants.
It is the first accredited museum in Venice. Nationally, more than
400 facilities are enrolled in the program. Venice is the only museum to
earn the accreditation in Florida.
The archives are located in the historic Triangle Inn building, 351 S.
Nassau St. The collection was first stored in a closet in the Venice Public
Library, and was moved to City Hall in 1987. The collection was moved
to the Triangle Inn in 1996, shortly after the building was moved to its
current location and restored.
Julia Cousins Laning, whose father served as mayor in 1943-45 and
whose mother operated the Triangle Inn as a tea room, provided seed
money of $1 million to build an adjacent building that will someday
house many displays illustrating the history of the Venice area.
Historic Resources Director James Hagler and his staff worked on the
qualifications for the accreditation for more than a year. He hopes to
change the name of the facility to Venice Museum and Archives to better identify the purpose of it.
A new facility would better serve the public, school children studying their heritage and visitors interested in Venice history. Recently, a
new display, showing the impact Dr. Fred Albee had on this community
as well as his contribution to medical science, was added to the museum. It is just an example of the kind of displays a modern facility would
allow for all the many eras of Venice’s colorful history.
When fundraising allows the construction of a new facility - a goal
that is about $3 million in the future - the Triangle Inn could be
returned to use as a tea room, meeting facility and even a place to hold
small wedding receptions, especially considering its location across the
street from the Blalock Park Gazebo.
Other historical preservation projects in the work include the LordHigel pioneer house and a small aviation museum at Venice Municipal
Airport.
June 2012
• Special Government
Meetings
• Holidays
• Special Events
COMING UP
Venice City E-News
Wednesday, June 13, Public Art
Advisory Board, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 14, Architectural
Review Board, 9 a.m.
Friday, June 15 Historic Preservation Board, 9 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday,
June 16-17, Miami Avenue Craft
Festival, downtown on Miami
Avenue, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
All meeting and event dates and
times are subject to change.
Government meetings take place
at Venice City Hall, 401 W. Venice
Ave., unless otherwise stated.
Friday, June 1, Hurricane Season
begins. Time to fine-tune your
plan and stock up on supplies.
Saturday,
June
2,
85th
Anniversary Chalk Fest, downtown, sponsored
by Venice MainStreet and Venice
Art Center.
Tuesday, June 5, Planning Commission, 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 7, Municipal Code
Enforcement Board, 9 a.m.
Monday, June 18, Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board,
3 p.m.
Tuesday, June 19, Planning Commission, 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 20, Environmental Advisory Board, 2:30 p.m.
Friday, June 22, Friday Night Live
free concert by Bandana,
Centennial Park Gazebo, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 26, City Council,
canceled.
Wednesday, June 27, Charter
Review Committee, 9 a.m.
Thursday, June 28 Architectural
Review Board, 9 a.m.
Friday, June 8, Friday Night Live
free concert by Velvet Hammer,
Centennial Park Gazebo, 7 p.m.
Monday, June 11, City Council
Consent Agenda Workshop,
9 a.m.
Tuesday, June 12, City Council, 9
a.m.
Venice Farmers Market
takes place every Saturday
in the 200 block of Tampa
Avenue, downtown, from 8
a.m. - noon.
Page 2
City Council on TV
The city council meetings
are aired on television.
Comcast Channel 189 airs
the first four hours of the meeting on the Saturday following
the meeting at 9:30 a.m. and
about two weeks later on the
Wednesday that follows the
next meeting.
Sarasota County Access TV
airs the meeting during the following week on Comcast
Channel 19 and Verizon
Channel 32. This airing is the
entire meeting regardless of its
length and the time of the airing is determined the Friday before. Check:www.scgov.net.
In the grey box on the left,
click on Access Sarasota
Television, then click on the
dates of the week to view the
schedule.
Venice Views will feature
the Public Works Department,
Solid Waste Division in June.
Venice Views airs Wednesdays at 3 and 6:30 p.m. on
Comcast Channel 189.
Follow us on Facebook. Go
to City of Venice, Florida. “Like”
us to get messages almost daily
about things to do in Venice,
safety and city news. Then,
“share” us with your “friends.”
The Facebook page is designed
to provide information. The city
is not receiving posts.
Follow on Twitter. You can
also receive “tweets”on Twitter.
June 2012
• Special Government
Meetings
• Holidays
• Special Events
COMING UP
Venice City E-News
free concert in Centennial Park,
7 p.m.
Monday, July 16, Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board, 3
p.m.
Tuesday, July 17, Planning Commission, 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 18, Economic
Development Advisory Board,
3:30 p.m.
All meeting and event dates and
times are subject to change.
Government meetings take
place at Venice City Hall, 401 W.
Venice Ave., unless otherwise
stated.
Tuesday, July 3, Planning Commission, 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 4, Independence Day, City Hall is closed.
Garbage, yard waste and recycling will not be collected.
Fireworks Display begins at
sunset, sponsored by Sertoma
Club of Venice and the City of
Venice.
Friday, July 20, Historic Preservation Board, 9 a.m.
Monday, July 23, City Council
Consent Agenda Workshop,
9 a.m.
Tuesday, July 24, City Council, 9
a.m.
Thursday, July 26, Architectural
Review Board, 9 a.m.
Friday, July 27, Friday Night Live
free concert in Centennial Park,
7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 11, Public Art
Task Force, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 12, Architectural
Review Board, 9 a.m.
Friday, July 13, Friday Night Live
Friday, Aug. 10, Friday Night
Live free concert in Centennial
Park, 7 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 13, City Council
Consent Agenda Workshop,
9 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 14, City Council, 9
a.m.
Friday, Aug. 17, Historic Preservation Board, 9 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 20 Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board, 3
p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 21, Planning
Commission, 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 22, Environmental Advisory Board, 3:30
p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 23 Architectural
Review Board, 9 a.m.
Friday, Aug. 24, Friday Night
Live free concert in Centennial
Park, 7 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 27, City Council
Consent Agenda Workshop,
9 a.m.
Thursday, July 5, Municipal
Code Enforcement Board, 9
a.m.
Tuesday, July 10, City Council,
canceled.
Page 3
Thursday, Aug. 2, Municipal
Code Enforcement Board,
9 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 7, Planning Commission, 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 9, Architectural
Review Board, 9 a.m.
For agendas and more special
events, see the calendars at:
www.venicegov.com. Audio of
the past two city council regular meetings are posted on the
meetings calendar page under
the corresponding meeting.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 4
Summer promises lots to do in Venice
Season might be over but the
activities and fun are just beginning.
May was full of events for
young and old alike. There was
plenty to keep us occupied, such
as concerts in the park, cover-tocover Bible reading, the 85th
Anniversary celebration at Venice
Municipal Airport, Cyclovia's inaugural ride of the 11-mile bicycle
island loop, the Venice Brew Bash
and the Memorial Day ceremonies. They were all successful,
well attended, fun and appreciated by all who participated.
I mention these events
because there are policies your
city council is developing, which
affect these events. Your feed
back helps us guide the city in the
proper direction.
Council has had numerous requests to increase parking spaces
in the downtown area and to
reduce the use of parking spaces
for concerts at Centennial Park.
We are working on a variety of
methods to increase parking for
patrons.
We looked at studies done
over the years regarding this subject. Some suggestions include
changing Tampa Avenue to one
way westbound and Miami
Avenue to one way eastbound.
That would nominally increase
parking.
Another study encourages use
of a parking garage, but it is a
costly alternative and might mean
charging for parking. The City of
Sarasota found that alternative
was unattractive to users of the
system.
We received a grant to do a
downtown mobility study. It will
provide the first new
must continue to supMessage
information since U.S.
port the modernization
from the
41 Business was wiof the airport. Once the
Mayor
dened. In the meantime,
current improvements
we hope downtown
are completed, the airemployees park in
port should be much
remote locations and
safer for the community
use a shuttle service at
and the pilots as well as
their expense. A simple
an asset that is easier to
thing
like
having
use.
employees park away
Cyclovia's Saturday get
from the downtown
together in May kicked
area can free up to 400
off the new 11-mile
John W. Holic
spaces for patrons bike route, starting at
seems like a logical first step!
the Historic Venice Train Depot
The third annual cover-tousing portions of both sides of the
cover Bible reading took place in
Venetian Waterway Park, the
May. I was honored when asked to
Circus Bridge, parts of Caspersen
start the reading with the first
Beach, past Sharky's on the Pier
three chapters of Genesis, which
restaurant, through Golden
was followed by 90 hours of addiBeach, on Laguna Drive along
tional reading out loud.
Roberts Bay, over Hatchett Creek
At a related event in Bridge and back to the train
December, I was honored to light
depot. This route crosses U.S.
a giant Menorah in Centennial
Business 41 twice, but the riders
Park to celebrate Hanukkah. I never have to deal with the traffic
think these are proper celebra- if they follow the route. Riders
tions to remind us of the Judeo actually cross the street by going
Christian heritage of our great
under the bridges and then are
country. We must remain tolerant
able to ride the sidewalks over the
of others. Being politically correct
bridge to stay on the route. This is
doesn't mean we can't celebrate helping make Venice a bicycle
and reinforce the principles of our
friendly city. To accomplish that
founding fathers. Council must
goal, council will have to provide
continue to take a stand to let the
funding for adequate signage for
city display things such as our
this and other routes.
“Noel” signs and the Menorah. I
Venice MainStreet organized
am glad that “In God We Trust” is
the inaugural Import and Craft
becoming more than words on
Beer Festival. More than 86 craft
our currency.
beers were served, live music and
The 85th Anniversary celebra- food were available and a good
tion at Venice Municipal Airport
time was had by all.
emphasized the importance of
More than 1,000 people
our airport to the community. We
attended and I heard nothing but
are proud of this city asset that
positive comments. This event
does not require city tax dollars to
Continued on Page 5
maintain and improve. Council
June 2012
Continued from Page 4
brought a younger crowd, many of
whom never visited Venice before.
With many people certain to
return to explore the shops and
restaurants, I think Venice
MainStreet accomplished its
objective with flying colors.
Council must promote these
types of innovative economic
engines so that we continue to
have the smart growth our community needs.
Finally, Venice had two
Memorial Day ceremonies. One
on Friday, May 25, at Memorial
Venice City E-News
Gardens and one on Monday, May
28 at Patriots Park. Both ceremonies were well attended and I
was honored to speak to our veterans and guests. We are losing
our World War II vets rapidly and
the Korean and Vietnam vets are
not far behind. It is humbling to be
able to address these heroes. We
must continue to let them know
we will never forget the sacrifices
they made for us so that we can
live in the best country the world
has ever known. Make sure you
thank a veteran, not just on
Memorial Day, but any day that
you happen to meet one.
Page 5
We have a new group to honor
-- those men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
These young people are working
diligently to allow us to move
about freely and keep the liberties
so many have already fought for.
Please make sure to honor these
heroes as well.
There will not be a message
from the mayor in the July
newsletter as City Council is taking
a recess for the last half of June
and the first half of July. I will present my next update in the August
newsletter.
Code Enforcement Appreciation Week is June 4 - 8
Since the earliest days of civilization, humans found that living
close to one another required
some rules. As society developed
more structured communities,
those living in close proximity
began to jointly determine how
they wanted their community to
look and feel. Such is the case in
the city of Venice.
Venice was created by a master
city planner, John Nolen, with the
idea that the physical layout of a
community leads to interaction of
its inhabitants and reflects their
values. That is the very reason the
city of Venice has codes that preserve the nature of the city, promote property values, safety and
good health.
Sometimes people do not
appreciate code enforcement officers. After all, like many authorities, they are the ones who tell
people they cannot lawfully do
something they want to do. But
they are necessary to maintaining
the welfare of the community.
In Venice, code enforcement is
reactionary to complaints. With
only two code enforcement
inspectors, the city does not have
enough staff to monitor code
compliance. Therefore, their
charge is to respond to complaints
of code infractions with an investigation and determination.
If a resident complains about a
neighbor’s grass being more than
a foot in height, or adding a room
onto the property without a permit, or placing objects in the city
right of way, as examples, the
complaint is investigated by a
code enforcement inspector.
If the inspector finds the complaint a valid violation, the alleged
violator is informed of the infraction. If the problem is brought into
compliance with the law, no further action is taken.
If not, the property owner is
informed that the infraction will
be heard by the code enforcement
board. The volunteer board of
Venice residents will determine
what happens after that - a fine or
other result.
All of this is done to protect
neighborhoods from degradation,
to keep our city beautiful and safe
to live in.
June 4 - 8 is Code Enforcement
Officers Appreciation Week.
Citizens advise
Advisory boards serve the
city. Mayor John Holic, with the
consent of City Council,
appointed the following people
to serve on city boards:
Alex Glanville to the Public
Art Advisory Board to complete
the unexpired term of Rick Tacy
until Oct. 31, 2013.
Helen Kirchner Moore to
Planning Commission to complete the unexpired term of
Marshall Happer until Jan. 31,
2013.
Currently, there are no
board vacancies.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 6
The Green Scene
Recreational beach water is complicated to keep clean
James Clinch, P.E.,
City of Venice Stormwater Engineer
Considering recent media exposure regarding Venice Beach
water quality, I want to reinforce
to our residents and visitors that
during the past five months we
have had one beach advisory. It
was issued in January and lasted
only a few days. Since then, all
Venice area beaches have
remained clean, safe and open for
business.
It is important to understand
that bacteria are natural elements
in our waters. We are fortunate to
live in a time when the amount of
bacteria in a given place can be
measured and advisories issued if
it is at a health-threatening level.
Prior to August of 2000, there
was no program to monitor bacteria along the Florida Gulf Coast.
Essentially people swam at their
own risk. Now, the Sarasota
County Department of Health performs testing on a weekly basis to
ensure the continued quality of
recreational beach water.
Browse the Florida Healthy
Beaches website and you will see
that all of our neighboring communities have experienced beach
advisories in recent years and are
struggling with the same complex
issue. Although it is easy to
assume there is pollution in
stormwater drains, the real challenge is to provide empirical evidence that identifies both the
bacteria source and the most
affected locations.
Through vigorous efforts of
city staff and consultants, we are
doing just that. The information
we have gathered from extensive
inspections, bacteria sampling
and DNA tracking has allowed us
to clearly define both short-term
management strategies and permanent water quality projects
that will reduce beach bacteria.
The Stormwater Enterprise
Fund is the funding mechanism
that supports beach outfall monitoring and maintenance. Its revenue comes from user fees.
Without increasing these fees, we
are proposing to double the allocation to the monitoring and
maintenance of the beach outfalls.
These projects will provide
major bacteria reduction at four
of the city’s most problematic
stormwater beach outfalls. It will
take some time to get these
improvements in place. We need
the support of the Venice community to make these projects succeed. In the meantime, we hope
you are confident that the frequent and thorough water quality
testing is keeping you safe and
informed.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Be green and save some green
Page 7
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 8
Venice Legacy Awards honor those who left their mark
Every year the
Venice
Historic
Preservation Board
recognizes individuals who have made
an historical impact
on Venice and
helped preserve its
history.
This
years
posthumous Venice
Legacy
Awards
went to James
Thomas and Ethel
Blalock, and Finn
Caspersen.
Jim Tom, as he
was called, and his
wife, Ethel, came to
Venice
at
the
request of Dr. Fred Mayor John Holic presents the Venice Legacy Award posthumously to Jim Tom and Ethel Blalock.
Albee to become Receiving the award are descendants of the Blalocks, from left, Bill and Carol Blalock, Mary Ellen Blalock
and Kathy Blalock Hersey.
the first president
of the Nokomis
Bank, later Venice
Services for 50 years and was States Army Air Corps in the early
Nokomis Bank, located on West
active in United Way, Visiting
stages of World War II with the
Venice Avenue. He maintained the
Nurses Association, Minority Weloffer of some land along the
position until his death in 1957.
fare Home of Sarasota, and the
southern portion of the beach. In
In 1929, he was the first elect- YMCA.
1942, the Venice Army Air Base
ed mayor of the young city and
The Blalocks were known for was built on 1,660 acres of land.
held the post for 13 years. He also
their generosity of money and
About 20,000 service men were at
founded
Blalock
Insurance
time and served as mentors and
the base at one time or another
Company.
caretakers for many people in throughout the war.
The couple was active in the
Venice.
In 1967, the Caspersen family
Venice-Nokomis
Methodist
Finn Caspersen was recognized
sold the rest of the beach land to
Church, where Ethel initiated the
for his efforts to rebuild and safethe county to be used as a passive,
Christmas pageants. They also
guard Venice after the Great natural parkland, now known as
taught Sunday school.
Depression.
Caspersen Beach.
Jim Tom was a member of
Caspersen moved to Venice in
The Caspersen family gave a
Rotary Club, Masonic Lodge and
1937 and started a real estate sizable donation to help found the
Elks, and served as the chairman
agency. His brother, O.W., and sisVenice hospital.
and treasurer of the Anti
ter-in-law, Freda, and their chilFinn founded the Venice
Tuberculosis Society.
dren John and Finn II, also had a
Taxpayers League, a city hall
Ethel was active in the
winter home in Venice.
watchdog group in 1955.
Women’s Society of Christian
Caspersen wrote to the United
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 9
News from the Friends of the Lord-Higel House
From left, Judie and Jack
Bauer accept a check for
$1,559.34 on behalf of the
Friends of the Lord-Higel
House from Historic Spanish
Point Questers Chapter 1477
members Jane Morgan,
Helen Dennis and Pam Holic.
The money, which was
raised at the Questers’ backyard sale held in April, will
be used for the restoration
of the historic pioneer
home.
From left, Venice Myakka Chapter Daughters
of the American Revolution Regent Barbara
DeRiemacker; Florida State DAR Registrar
Ramona Glenn of Sebring, Fla., representing
the National Society of Daughters of
American Revolution headquarters in
Washington, D.C. present a grant for $10,000
to Judie and Jack Bauer, representing the
Friends of the Lord-Higel House, as Myakka
Chapter DAR Vice Regent Judy Lindauer looks
on. The money will be used to replace the
roof and gable. The roof replacement is Phase
I of the 5-phase restoration project of the oldest existing house in Venice. Built in 1896 by
pioneer Joseph Lord, it was the home of pioneer George and Abigail Higel and their six
children. Funding for this project was made
possible through the sponsorship of the
Venice Myakka Chapter DAR, National Society
Daughters of the American Revolution.
From left are directors of the Friends of the Lord-Higel House, Jim Middleton,
Claire Suter, Lois Steketee, Marge Buchanan, Jack Bauer, Bill Jervey, Judie
Bauer, Dorothy Korwek, Barbara Dein, Mickey Higel and Joyce Higel Norton.
Jervey presented a check for $4,320.34 to the Friends of the Lord-Higel House
as part of his promise to match donations to the renovation of the building
throughout 2012.
The Mission/Vision of the Friends of Lord-Higel House is to
restore, create, establish, and operate a pioneer living history museum depicting the Pioneer Era of the Venice area to be enjoyed by residents and visitors for many generations.
One way you can help is to have dinner at the DQ Grill and Chill,
1465 E. Venice Ave., June 13, from 5 - 8 p.m. Ten percent of your bill
will be contributed to the restoration of the 1896 Lord-Higel House.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 10
85TH ANNIVERSARY: ARMED FORCES DAY
From left, Owen Swartz, Doug Holder
and Danny Bilyeu applaud as Dylan
Oakes presents his great-grandfather,
Stephen Deans Sr., with a United States Attendees got a glimpse of the Sheriff’s modern helicopter
flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol, as alongside a vintage Stearman and BT 13, both used for training during World War II.
Mayor Holic watches.
State Sen. Nancy Detert says a few
words about the role of the Venice
airport in the city and the nation’s
history.
Bethany Saunders
sings the National
Anthem.
Mayor John Holic addresses the crowd before presenting flags to three veterans
who served at the venice Army Air Base during World War II. Seated, from left,
are Owen Swartz, veteran; State Rep. Doug Holder; Danny Bilyeu, field representative for Congressman Vern Buchanan; Stephen Deans Sr., veteran; Bruno
Mollica, master of ceremonies; State Sen. Nancy Detert; Airport Administrator
Chris Rozansky; Claire Suter, longtime Venice resident and daughter of former
Mayor Louis Suter; and Mike Flanagan, veteran.
A combined color guard that spanned
all ages introduces the program.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 11
85TH ANNIVERSARY: ARMED FORCES DAY
Vintage Army vehicles owned by Dave Farley and the auto once owned by Theodore Roosevelt Jr, now owned by John Bailey,
were among the vintage vehicles on display.
Veteran fighter pilot Owen Swartz stands next to a display by the
Venice Archives and Area Historical Collection.
Left, Old Betsy stands before the building that
once served as the Student Pilots Officers Club,
while (above) inside dancers warm up to 1940s
music played by Bill and Rob Millner.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 12
Photo Album
Utilities Director Len Bramble and Plant Operator Jim
Petrosky accept the 2012 David W. York Water Reuse
Award from the Florida Water Environment Association.
ABC Channel 7 meteorologist Bob Harrigan speaks to
about 40 people in the audience about how to deal with a
hurricane if one strikes our area. He was one of seven
speakers at the city's annual Hurricane Information
Seminar May 11. The event helps residents prepare for the
hurricane season, June 1 - Nov. 30.
Mayor John Holic designates May “National Preservation
Month” and presents a proclamation to Jean Trammell,
chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Board and James
Hagler, historical resources director.
Mayor John Holic designates May “National Bike Month”
and presents a proclamation to Steve Christian and Monty
Andrews, who are working on the Bike-Friendly Community
Application for Venice.
Mayor John Holic presents a proclamation designating May “Florida
Building Safety Month” to the city’s
building official, Vince LaPorta.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 13
Photo Album
Code Enforcement Officer John Patek receives a
proclamation from Mayor John Holic declaring June 4 8 Code Enforcement Officers’ Appreciation Week.
Mayor Holic
recognizes the 50th
anniversary of the
Friends of Venice
Library, the 500member volunteer
fundraising arm of
Venice Public
Library. Jane
Morgan accepts the
proclamation.
Mayor Holic presents a proclamation declaring May 20-26
National Public Works Week to Judy DiFabbio. Applauding are
Council Member Dave Sherman and City Manager Ed Lavallee.
A ribbon cutting at Caspersen Beach in May celebrated the opening of new restrooms and other
accommodations at Caspersen Beach as well as the
completion of the final segment of Venetian
Waterway Park. VWP is a 5-mile trail on both sides
of the Intracoastal Waterway that is for bicycling and
walking. Venice Area Beautification Inc. took the
lead in its construction by partnering with the City of
Venice and Sarasota County Parks and Recreation.
Cutting the ribbon from left are Greg Vine, VABI;
Mayor John Holic; Monty Andrews, VABI; Sarasota
County Commissioner Jon Thaxton; Terry Redman,
VABI; Venice Vice Mayor Kit McKeon; Venice Council
Members Dave Sherman and Bob Daniels; and
Sarasota County Interim Director of Community
Services John McCarthy.
Below, the new restrooms at Caspersen Beach,
built by the county, were architecturally designed to
fit into the beach environment.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 14
Students share their artistic talents while teaching the value of conserving water
Garden Elementary School poster contest winners are, from
left, fifth-grader Rosalia Warren and fourth-grader Alexandra
Colton. In back are Council Member Emilio Carlesimo, contest
coordinator Dorothy Tary and Lead Water Plant Operator Jim
Anderson.
The City of Venice Utilities
Depart-ment held its annual
water poster contest for elementary school children in May.
Students at Venice, Garden and
Epiphany Cathedral elementary
schools were invited to create
posters that show the importance
of water conservation. This year’s
theme was “Be Smart – Use
Water Wisely.”
This year’s winners from
Venice Elementary are fifthgraders Jessica Greenberg and
Trinity Bombard, both first place;
and finalists Hannah Robertson,
Charles
Stephens,
Caitlin
In front, poster contest winners are Venice Elementary School
fifth-grader Jessica Greenberg, Epiphany Cathedral School fifthgrader Hannah Picot, and fourth-grader Cooper Callahan. In back
are Venice Mayor John Holic and coordinator of the contest
Dorothy Tary.
M o n t g o m e r y,
Karenna DiPillo and Mia Hamill.
Winners at Garden Elementary
are fifth-grade students Alexandra
Colton, first place; and finalists
Morghan Copeland, Calysta Angel
Voorhess, Isabella Starr and Paige
Godfrey. Fourth-grade winners
are Rosalia Warren, first place;
and finalists Kailey Wojdula,
Andriana
Kruzhinsky
and
Chrysteena Lutz.
Epiphany Cathedral School
fifth-grade winners are Hannah
Picot, first place; and finalists
Raina
Chin-Yee,
Claudia
Hassler,
Courtney Priede
Mayor John Holic leads a group of
bicycle riders on a 10-mile trek
through the city from the Historic
Train Depot at Cyclovia on May 19.
Photo by Jean Louis Dumaine
and Megan Grace Bettley. Fourthgrade first-place winner is Cooper
Callahan. Fourth-grade finalists
are Lauren Ham, Sara Mackey,
Maria Erquiaga and Emmallee
Brown.
All participants received goody
bags. The winners received certificates and each first-place winner
received a t-shirt with her winning
poster on it. The winning posters
were displayed at Venice Public
Library, May 4 – 14 and at Venice
City Hall, May 15 – 25.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 15
BULLETIN
BOARD
Trinity Bombard, a 5th grader at Venice Elementary
School, created this award-winning poster to remind
us to conserve water.
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 16
Plenty for kids to do in Venice
Other places to find things
for kids to do:
• Venice Symphony Summer Music Camp
July 16 to 27, 2012, at Island Village Montessori
School, 2001 Pinebrook Road, Venice. Fee is
$110. Call (941) 716-3313 for information.
www.thevenicesymphony.org
• South County Family YMCA, 701 Center Road,
(941) 492-9622
www.southcountyymca.org
• Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave.,
(941) 488-1115
www.venicestage.com
June 2012
Venice City E-News
Page 17