By Times online staff
Published September 2, 2004
Listed below are local closings, canceled events and other effects from Hurricane Frances.
Schools:
- All public schools in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota, Hardee and De Soto counties will be closed Friday so some can serve as hurricane shelters for evacuees from other parts of the state.
- Pasco, Citrus and Hernando counties will keep its schools open.
- The University of South Florida Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses will be open as usual on Friday. USF's Lakeland campus will be closed Friday. Classes will be canceled at the USF Sarasota/Manatee campus Friday. Personnel
should report to the campus Friday morning but the campus will close at noon.
Also, USF's football game with Pittsburgh set for Monday, September 6 at 4:30 p.m. in Raymond James Stadium will be played as scheduled. Any necessary changes in time or date will be made Sunday morning.
- Sunstate Academy wll be open Thursday evening, but will close Friday and Saturday. It will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, after Monday's Labor Day holiday.
- Trinity College in New Port Richey has cancelled all classes and activities for Friday.
Court/Government:
- Current information on Florida state court closings can be obtained at www.flcourts.org or the duplicate website www.firn.edu/supct.
- Florida Dept. of Transporation has directed all road and bridge contractors statewide to temporarily suspend all operations on construction projects effective noon today with the exception of work in conjunction with hurricane preparedness.
- The city of Pinellas Park government offices and services will operate business as usual.
- Citrus County government offices, as well as Crystal River and Inverness offices, will be open.
- The Citrus County courthouse building will be open, but the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the State Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office and judicial offices will be closed.
Entertainment:
- Ozzfest, scheduled for West Palm Beach Saturday, is canceled. Refunds available at point of purchase.
- Hanson, scheduled for Saturday at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, is postponed. A new concert date has not be set.
- WUSF-FM 89.7 ended its fund drive early, stopping at noon Thursday because of the hurricane.
- The Polk Museum of Art will be closed today through Tuesday and plans to reopen at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
- The Tom Joyner Family Reunion, schedule at Walt Disney World today through Monday, has been canceled. Guests who bought reunion packages will get automatic refunds. Those who bought tickets to the Tom Joyner Reunion Party Saturday should contact the point of purchase for refunds.
- The Pioneer Florida Days Festival scheduled at the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City Saturday through Monday has been postponed to Sept. 11 and 12.
- The Iron Girl 5K, scheduled for Saturday at John Chestnut Sr. Park in Palm Harbor, has been rescheduled for 8 a.m. Sept. 12.
- The "Doing the Deuces" street festival, scheduled for Saturday along 22nd Street S in St. Petersburg, has been canceled.
- The "Feet on the Street" weekend photography project in St. Petersburg has been rescheduled for Sept. 10-12.
- The Pagan Festival scheduled for Saturday in Pinellas Park has been postponed until Sept. 18.
Malls:
- Tyrone Square: business wil continue as usual unless there is an issuance of a hurricane warning by local authorities, than it will close.
Libraries:
- The Oldsmar Library, 101 State St. W, will be closed Saturday.
- Citrus County libraries will be open today and closed Saturday.
Business closings:
- Hand Tax Advisory Group Inc. in Trinity will be closing at noon Friday and will reopen Tuesday.
Events:
- "Celebrate Oldsmar" has been postponed from Saturday, Sept. 4 and re-scheduled for Friday, October 1, from 5:00-9:00 PM at R.E. Olds Park, Oldsmar
