FLW 2010

Watched the sunrise this morning over Lake O and the FLW fishermen begin the tournament. It was chilly out and my hands were numb after taking pictures, but it was well worth it.

The Happiest Moment in Life

What was the happiest moment in your life? (On stage question last night at Ms. Sugar pageant)

The happiest moment in my life was when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the one who strengthens me. (Angela's reply to the question).

Registered and Ready to Go

Glades and Hendry county are cooperating to put on the Big "O" Birding Festival on the Southwest shores of Lake Okeechobee on April 3 - April 6. I have heard about the festival but have never attended, but that is not the case this year. I'm registered and ready to go. My friend, Kathy, and I registered yesterday for one tour on Saturday (you can choose to do all the tours, but that is somewhat expensive). We choice to do the "Premier Loop Tour" with Dr. Paul Gray, Florida Audubon. The tour is straight out of Peterson's Guide with a local guide. We will have the opportunity to see other birding spots in and around Clewiston.

It should be fun to see to spend the morning outdoors taking pictures of all the birds. Not that I'll remember which bird is which, but maybe I will surprise myself and remember a few of them.

Sonny's Burns

This morning one of our favorite restaurants in town caught on fire. No more baby back ribs.

Lake Okeechobee on Fire

The last two weeks we have been experiencing smoke from a muck fire on Lake Okeechobee. Depending on the direction of the wind some days are worse than others. More than 11,000 acres have burned at Lake Okeechobee, and the organically rich muck could burn for weeks. Officials say the only solution for the muck fires is rainfall, but none is expected in our area until at least Saturday. In the meantime we are taking Zyrtec and praying for rain.

Clewiston falls to Bulldogs in Triple Overtime

On Saturday afternoon, Angela and I met up with the Walkers, the Crawfords, the Ramers and Sean Moore to travel to Dolphins Stadium for a tailgate party prior to the Class 2A State Championship game. We all arrived at the Stadium safely (Sean did have a flat on the way) and got things all set up for the tailgating. We even got to see a former teacher of Angela's (Jackie & Blake Wilson). They were here because Blake is a coach at North Florida Christian (the team that Glades Day defeated for the Class 1A State Championship).

Around 6:30 p.m. we went in the stadium to get our seats. I was happy to see the turn out on Clewiston's side. As I heard someone say, "It would have been a good night to rob Clewiston." From the time the Tigers came on the field you could feel the love and support this town has for the team. That support carried over well after the game ended in a loss for the Tigers. The game was 0-0 until the 3rd quarter when Collin Rickets scored a 6 yard touchdown with 9:12 left in the quarter. It only took one play for the Bulldogs to even the score. Clewiston stayed in game and had a chance to win the game with a field goal with 15 seconds left on the clock only to be blocked by a Bulldog player. This sent the game into overtime. After battling it out in three overtimes the Bulldogs won 27-24.

It was sad watching the Tigers in their first defeat of the season. They played a terrific game and with determination. They can hold their heads high knowing they gave it their all.

Jeri Lynne, Cheyenne, Brittany and Angela

Jackie & Blake Wilson

The Tigers prior to kickoff

Tiger Pride

Chris, Tommy, Danielle & David

It's all about football this weekend in the Glades (known as the Muck). There are currently four teams around the Glades that are hoping to win a State title either this weekend or next. Three of those teams will be playing in State Championships games this weekend at Dolphin Stadium. The other team, Glades Central, played last against Bartow in hopes that they would be playing next weekend for the Class 3A state championship. Their hopes and determination payed off as they dominated Bartow with a 48-0 win! Glades Day (shown above with Coach Pete Walker, a good friend of ours,after winning the title) also won the class 1A state championship against North Florida Christian in Dolphin Stadium last night. Pahokee Blue Devils are playing,as I type this post, at Dolphin Stadium in hopes of bringing home the state championship title for class 2B against Ocala Trinity Catholic. Then finally, the Clewiston Tigers will take on the Jacksonville Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. determined to bring home the class 2A state championship. It be will awesome if all these teams bring home a state championship! Come on Muck sweep it up!!!

All Around the World

Clewiston Performing Arts Center presented their annual Spring Recital, "All Around the World", yesterday afternoon at the Clewiston High School Auditorium. Children ranging from 3 years old to 15 years old performed tap, jazz, ballet and tumbling. These children are amazing to watch as they perform for their parents and the community. Their adult instructors and teenage assistants work diligently all year and their dedication shows each year at the recital.

Spring Cleaning 2006

The City of Clewiston sponsored their first Spring Cleaning today. Over 150 people came together in our community to pick up trash from the roadsides in our "sweet town". We all met at the youth center at 7:30 this morning to receive our assignment, trash bags, and breakfast. Then we headed out to our various destinations to pick up trash until 11:00 a.m. Various groups from the community included some of First Baptist Church Youth Group, a Senior Adult Sunday School Class from First Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, Sugar Realty, Lions Club, Camp E-Tu-Makee, Clewiston High School Students, and City Employees. After cleaning up our assigned areas we returned to the youth center for lunch, a drawing for tickets to the local movie theatre (donated by the owner), and the awarding of a prize for the most unique trash collected. Dana Jo Alley won the prize for the most unique piece of trash (a 1961 Mountain Dew bottle).

I joined our youth group for the day. My hat goes off to this young group of men and their hard work this morning. It was wonderful to see them out participating in a community event and giving back to the community. They demonstrated service to others as well as their humor. Laughter could be heard from all of them instead of grumbling. I think they think twice now before throwing something along the roadside.

A big thank you to Sean Scheffler for organizing this event. And to quote Rick Miller, City Commissioner, "this is what a community is all about. . . people coming together."

First Baptist Church Youth Group

Sugar Festival

Saturday was the 20th annual Sugar Festival. It was a beautiful day to get out and enjoy the entertainment, arts and crafts booths, and food. The kids enjoyed walking around visiting with friends, watching the bed races, eating the food and checking out all the antique cars. Bubba and I, along with Steve and Pearl enjoyed just sitting around listening to Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton.

Heart Ball

The Lions Club hosted the Heart Ball on Saturday night. All proceeds from the event went into the Dan McCarthy Scholarship Fund. Dan McCarthy served as a Lion Club member for numerous years prior to his passing last year. Bubba and I got all dressed (semi-formal) up for the Ball and had a wonderful time. Many of our friends were there and we had a great time. The Jukebox Band was awesome and we enjoyed getting to dance the night away. I just need someone to teach me to do the Electric Slide before I go dancing again. I have to admit. . . I had the best looking date for the night!

Skeet Shoot & Super Bowl

Saturday was the 10th annual Camp E-Tu-Makee Skeet Shoot. This event helps raise money for the Educational Program at Camp E-Tu-Makee. This just happened to be the first year that it has rained on the day of the shoot. But that didn't keep shooters from coming out and shooting. The rain held off until about 10:00 a.m. and shooters did get in some time, but didn't get to complete all the stations. Thus, the advisory board committee and camp personnel decided it wouldn't be fair to hold the competition. So after lunch the shooters had the opportunity to receive a refund on their entry fee and to stay in the drizzling rain to shoot for fun. Several people stayed to just shoot, but some chose to return next year to compete. I don't think anybody requested a refund. Camp still served the delicious lunch and held the drawing for door prizes and two raffles. It is always a good time seeing everyone that comes out for the shoot. This was my third year being at the shoot, hopefully next year will be sunshiny skys for the shoot.

Sunday was the big day! "Superbowl Sunday". Not that I'm a big NFL fan, but whatever it's an excuse to get together with friends and eat as well as watch a football game. Bubba and I went over to Chief Steve's and his wife, Pearl's house to watch the game. Several camp personnel were there and some old friends stopped by as well. David hung out with Tommy, Nick, and Ryan at Tommy's to watch the game and play their favorite game. . ."Balderdash". Angela went with Jeri Lynne to New Harvest Church for the Superbowl Night there. I picked Angela and Jeri Lynne up from New Harvest around 9:00 p.m. and they hung out with the rest of us at Chief Steve's.

Best Steak of the Year

Bubba and I enjoyed the best steak of the year tonight at the Hendry County Cattlemen's Dinner at the Civic Center in LaBelle. The cattleman do a fabulous job cooking the steaks, baked potatoes and preparing a salad. The steaks are so tender you can cut them with a plastic knife! Can't wait for next year! We also enjoyed seeing our friends and getting acquainted with people we haven't had the chance to socialize with.

Mike & Shelia

Gary & Tabitha

Terry & Mali

Kevin & Debbie