Warren James Pearson, a 1994 graduate of Hernando High School, was recently appointed as an assistant attorney general in the civil litigation unit for the state of Florida in Tallahassee. He was previously appointed an administrative law judge, conducting unemployment hearings in Tallahassee.
Pearson received a law degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and has a bachelor's degree in economics from Florida State University. He is the son of Bonnie and James Pearson of Brooksville.
Nine students from Wider Horizons School were selected to participate in the school's international field trip, March 23-31. This year's destination was Ireland.
The students landed at Shannon Airport and then toured the entire island by bus. Places visited included: Kilarney, where the students visited the Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone; Ennis; the Waterford Crystal factory; the Kilkerry Medieval Castle; Dublin; the Cliffs of Mohr, and Galway Bay.
The last night of the trip was spent at Bunratty Castle. As part of a medieval show, student Ryan Browning was to be thrown into the dungeon unless he led the crowd in singing his favorite song. He chose to sing God Bless America instead of the visiting the dungeon.
Cub Scout Pack 303 had its awards night during the monthly pack meeting March 29 at the Knights of Columbus, St. Jude Council 6383, in Spring Hill.
The meeting opened with the presentation of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, and then members of the Bear Den led the pack in the Cub Scout Promise.
The theme of the awards ceremony was the American Indian. Decorations were crafted by the Bear Den and included decorated animal hides and a tepee. Indian drum and flute music played in the background as the awards were handed out.
Alec Lund received his Tiger Cub badge, and Ian Kelly, Logan Brown and Ryan Kelley received their Bobcat badges.
Earning their Wolf badges were Jordan Nein, Scott Wilkins, Spencer Van Ommeren, Zachary Mitchell, Ryan Kelly, Ethen Kraus, Logan Brown, Dylan Bent and Michael Smith.
Earning their Bear badges were Erik Carlson, Eric Barnes, Mark John Kraus, Tyler Jones and Ian Kelley.
The ceremony concluded with the award of the Arrow of Light to Ryan Malone, Joshua Baker, Lee Phipps, Andrew Lund, Patrick Stier, Trent Jones and Shawn Swanger.
The Arrow of Light is the highest award a boy can earn in Cub Scouts, and is the only award that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform once a Cub Scout crosses over into the Boys Scouts.
Bryan Malone, den leader for the boys receiving the Arrow of Light, and his wife, Valerie, presented them with a plaque bearing an arrow and inscription commemorating the event. The seven boys recently crossed over into Boy Scouts during a ceremony at the Sand Hill Scout Reservation.
Cub Scout Pack 303 meets at 7 p.m. every Monday at Knights of Columbus, St. Jude Council 6383, in Spring Hill. For information, contact Dave Nelson at 683-6204.
Tiffany Nicole Brijbag, 14, of Spring Hill recently competed in the St. Petersburg Teen USA pageant. The competition is an official preliminary for the state-televised 2005 Miss Florida Teen USA and included more than 40 contestants.
Tiffany took third place in the Top Five division in beauty, swimwear and stage interview. She is now eligible to compete at the state level for Miss Florida Teen USA in Miami in October.
The Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants are sister systems which are owned and operated by NBC television and Donald Trump Productions. Each offers a $50,000 cash prize package and a four-year college scholarship.
Tiffany won the title of Miss Florida Teen All-American in 2003-04. She has spent the past year doing interviews and making appearances. She also attended a Christmas fundraiser for children whose parents were serving in Iraq.
Tiffany has been sponsored in her pageants primarily by Dr. Arya Moti of Masada Healthcare, Dr. James Murray of Nature Coast Ob/Gyn and Maria McDonald of Moore Sun Tanning Salon.
She is a freshman at Springstead High School and a junior varsity cheerleader. She is the daughter of John and Diana Brijbag and the granddaughter of Placidus Dagrella of Spring Hill.
CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
On April 22, the Southwest Florida Water Management District celebrated the district's eighth annual Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day.
Students from 9 to 18 years old spent the day at district headquarters and service offices learning about activities and daily tasks of their parents/guardians.
In Swiftmud's Brooksville office, the children were able to have their picture taken with the "Ripply the Water Drop" mascot. Group tours of district departments included mapping and GIS, the print shop, the chemistry lab, communications, information resources and operations.
A special morning program was arranged for teens age 15 to 18 where they received advice on interviewing skills, career information and job search techniques.
During the afternoon, the children were able to "shadow" their parents/guardians. Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is a nationwide learning program that allows children to explore the opportunities available to them in the workplace. The program began as "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" in 1994 and has since grown to include sons.
On March 25, the Hernando Audubon honored local residents during its conservationist of the year awards dinner.
Honored were: Cynthia "Sid" Taylor, government official of the year; Sue Blakeman of Brooksville Elementary School, teacher of the year, and Virginia Edwards, citizen of the year.
NOTES OF THANKS
The Foster Parent Association of Hernando County would like to thank everyone for their continuous support of donations and gifts throughout the year.
To make donations, please contact Mary Jane Khun, president, at 796-8339, or Kathy Corbett, vice president, at 684-2734.
D'Marie Szvetecz, secretary
Foster Parent Association
My name is Ashley Mundreanu, and I am 10 years old. I want to tell everyone about my neighbors, Joann and James Beasley.
The Beasleys own Beasleys Farm on Camp Castle and Preston roads in Brooksville, and they are the greatest neighbors. They sell produce from their farm. They have squash, onions, spinach, beets, green beans and more.
They work early in the morning until late at night. They water every day and work on their farm at least 12 hours a day, if not more. They are out there with tractors. They work hard and sweat. But no matter what, they'll give you good service.
Ashley Mundreanu, Brooksville
As 2003-04 president of the Brooksville Ladies of the Elks Lodge 2582, I would like to recognize and extend my sincere thanks to the hard working members of my executive board and board of directors.
Members of the my executive board included: Peggy Toughy, secretary; Mary Owens, treasurer; Ethel Cherry, parliamentarian; Dorthy Schuette, chaplain, and Terry Pomponio, historian.
Members of the board of directors included: chairwoman Dorthy Schuette, Emma Breneman, Jenny Horton, Inge Malone and Charlotte Hite.
Without their help and dedication, the success of the past year would not have been possible. I would also like to extend special thanks to past presidents Rose Luczak and Mary Jane Rhodes, who worked alongside me in the kitchen preparing food for the weekly bingo games.
Over the past year, these wonderful ladies helped put on the following events that I am proud to say helped raise more than $8,000: the ladies Christmas party luncheon (Dec. 10), the Christmas dinner-dance (Dec. 13), the country-western dinner-dance (Jan. 17), the style/fashion show (Jan. 24), and the St. Patrick's Day dinner-dance (March 14).
It was a successful year, and I thank them for all their support.
June Subka, immediate past president, Brooksville Ladies of the Elks Lodge 2582
