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'Sister city' in Japan is group's destination
By ANDREW MEACHAM
© St. Petersburg Times, ST. PETERSBURG -- Fossil Park teens, city officials and parents are gearing up for a big trip to celebrate the 40th anniversary of St. Petersburg's "sister city" relationship with Takamatsu, Japan. The group of 46 leaves Aug. 8 for Osaka, Japan, where they plan some sightseeing before boarding a bus for Takamatsu. The crowning event in the weeklong stay is a baseball doubleheader between hand-picked members of the Fossil Park Little Major League and a Japanese league. The event joins, if only momentarily, Fossil Park baseball interests and members of the neighborhood association, who have clashed over playing space in Fossil Park. The city is hosting a forum Aug. 21 to present a site plan for a new field in the park. Neighbors have argued that baseball creates too much traffic and that another field will eliminate too many trees. But for now, all eyes are on the St. Pete Rays of Fossil Park, a group of 13- to 15-year-olds picked for their social skills as much as athletic prowess. "It wasn't important that they go over there and win, although that would be nice," said Tina Boveing, an active neighborhood association member and a board member of the Fossil Park Little Major League board, which selected the coaches. Coaches then chose 15 players. "The most important thing is that they win the hearts of their hosts and represent the city well," she said. The league has a strong pool from which to choose. A minor-major team just won the state championship in Panama City. Other teams are playing in post-season tournaments in Tallahassee and Pensacola. Some players, who could return from tournament play as late as Aug. 6, will then have only two days before flying to Japan. Pat Rees played catcher for the Fossil Park Yankees, which won the city championship among 13- and 14-year-olds. He will go out for the team at Boca Ciega, which he enters as a freshman in the fall. "I just can't wait to go," Rees said. "I've heard most of the kids speak English, so it will help us a lot." The visitors will stay in host homes, and have gone through two seminars with city social services manager Virginia Rowell, who heads the staff for the International Relations committee. "We're going to buy their families gifts and stuff, because that's some custom," Rees said. Rowell also taught the group of teens and parents about bowing, removing shoes and other customs. The group includes City Council members Bill Foster and Earnest Williams, as well as civic leader Mary Wyatt Allen and Rowell. Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association president Clifford Holensworth, who was stationed in Sasebo, Japan, while in the Navy from 1993 to 1997, heard about the trip and asked Foster if he could come, too. Holensworth and Allen will pay their own expenses. The weeklong trip includes participation in a summer festival, the most extensive of four festivals in Takamatsu. A Japanese group (not including a baseball team) will visit St. Petersburg in October. The Council of Neighborhood Associations voted this month to present the visitors with a plaque. Conference includes tours of Orlando neighborhoodsThose interested in attending this year's Florida Neighborhoods Conference in Orlando have less than two weeks to register early and save $20. The conference Sept. 7 and 8 at the Expo Center costs $35 until Aug. 10, including a choice among 10 "mobile workshop" tours of Orlando or neighboring areas such as Winter Park, Eatonville or Celebration. After that date, the cost including the tour is $55, or $35 without the tour. The package includes admission to Universal Studios. Conference brochures are available at the city's Neighborhood Partnership office in the City Hall Annex, 440 Second Ave. N. The conference offers several tracks, or themes, to choose from, including building and maintaining a neighborhood association; grant writing and other tools of the trade; neighborhood aesthetics and code enforcement; working with city officials and others; responding to crime; and the environment. MeetingsEUCLID-ST. PAUL: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. St. Paul's Catholic Church school cafeteria, 1900 12th St. N. Historic designation. GARDEN MANOR: 7 p.m. Thursday. Palm Lake Christian Church, 5401 22nd Ave. N. Traffic calming, election of officers.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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