Climb aboard the Book Bus for a summer full of reading fun. The Juvenile Welfare Board’s Book Bus is traveling throughout Pinellas County neighborhoods, giving away books to curtail summer reading loss. 

To date, the Book Bus has given away more than 5,000 books. 

Upcoming stops include:

• NFC: Clearwater 900 N MLK Ave. Clearwater, July 11 at 10 a.m.
• Ross Norton Recreation Center (Camp AWESOME) 1426 S MLK Jr. Ave, Clearwater, July 11 at 9 a.m.
• NFC: HOC, 612 Franklin St, Clearwater, July 12 at noon.
• NFC: CAP Center, 401 E Martin Luther King Jr Drive, Tarpon Springs, July 12 at 9 a.m.
• TS: Cops & Kids, 555 E Harrison St., Tarpon Springs, July 12 at 9:45 a.m.
• TS: YMCA Elementary School, YMCA 555 E Pine St., Tarpon Springs, July 12 at 10:30 a.m.
• Rclub: East Lemon, 1019 E. Lemon St., Tarpon Springs, July 12 at 11:15 a.m.
• TS: Boys and Girls Club, 111 W. Lime St., Tarpon Springs, July 12 at 1 p.m. 
• Dunedin Public Library, 223 Douglas Avenue, Dunedin, July 13 at 11 a.m. 
• YMCA Suncoast – Dunedin Bridge, 900 Union St., Dunedin, FL 34698 7/13/2022 12:00
• YMCA Suncoast – Curlew Creek Bridge, 3030 Curlew Road, Palm Harbor, July 14 at 11:45 a.m.
• Tarpon Springs Public Library, 138 E Lemon St., Tarpon Springs, July 13 at 12:30 p.m. 
• YMCA – Lake St George Bridge, 2855 County Road 95, Palm Harbor, July 14 at 12:45 p.m.
• Largo Public Library, 120 Central Park Drive, Largo, July 12 at 10 a.m. 
• Coral Heights, 3718 139th Ave. Largo, July 13 at 1 p.m.
• YMCA Fuguitt Elementary & Starkey, 13010 101st St. SE, Largo, July 12 at 9 a.m.
• NFC: GRAYDI, 13420 Adams Circle, Largo, July 13 at 10 a.m. 
• B&GC: Ridgecrest, 13420 Adams Circle, Largo, July 13 at 10 a.m.
• YMCA: Ridgecrest/Tuskegee YMCA, 1801 119th St. N, Largo, July 13 at 9 a.m. 
• Barbara Ponce Library, 7770 52nd St. N, Pinellas Park, July 11 at noon. 
• Broderick Recreation Center, 6101 66th Ave. N, Pinellas Park, July 13 at 9 a.m. 
• Forbes Recreation Center, 6401 94th Ave. N, Pinellas Park, July 14 at 10 a.m. 
• B&GC: Pinellas Park, 7790 61st St. N, Pinellas Park, July 14 at 9 a.m. 
• Johnson Community Library, 1059 18th Ave. S, St. Petersburg, July 11 at noon. 7/11/2022 12:00
• Pinellas PAL – Landings, 6835 54th Ave. N, Building F, St. Petersburg, July 11 at 10 a.m.
• Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg 1450 16th St. N., St. Petersburg, July 13 at 11 a.m. 
• NFC: Sanderlin, 2335 22nd Ave. S, St. Petersburg, July 13 at 1 p.m. 
  Magnolia Day School, 2701 54th Ave. S, St. Petersburg, July 14 at 10 a.m.

Click here for more information. 

Read the article on Patch.com: https://patch.com/florida/clearwater/calendar/event/20220711/1894551/book-bus-travels-pinellas-county

A school bus filled with books is rolling through the Bay Area giving away thousands of publications to children. 

The buses are part of the Summer Book Bus, a partnership between Pinellas County Schools and the Juvenile Welfare Board. The goal is to encourage summer reading by giving away thousands of books. 

“Just over half of our kids are reading on grade level by third grade, and that number really needs to change,” Hintz said. 

Over three weeks, the buses will visit 70 sites, servicing 5,000 kids and giving away more than 10,000 books. The sites vary from libraries and child-care centers to schools and community centers. 

“If you start early enough, and we start with really little children and get them to want to be read to or to read, then it becomes part of who they are and what they are doing each day,” stated Juvenile Welfare Board community collaborations manager Danielle Hintz.

The new books also help combat what teachers call “summer learning loss.” 

“Some don’t have books in their homes, or maybe they can go to the library to borrow books, but to be able to pick out a brand-new book to take it home and start to build their own library is just wonderful,” Hintz said. 

LINK: Click here for more information and to see where the Summer Book Bus schedule. 

Read the article and watch the video here: https://www.fox13news.com/news/childrens-library-on-wheels-cruises-through-bay-area-giving-out-10000-books

Drownings in Florida reached a somber record in 2021 with 98 children across the state. In 2022, 21 children have already drowned in Florida and we haven’t even reached the peak summer months. Now, local and state leaders are on a mission to combat the growing numbers and make swim safety more accessible to kids.

At the North Greenwood Recreation Center in Clearwater Tuesday, 6-year-old Aliyah Bonilla Turcios slowly dipped herself into the pool. The kindergarten student, like many of her classmates, is a little timid around water. Yet, within just a few seconds, her smile widened as she clutched onto a kickboard and slammed the top of her feet and calves across the water’s smooth surface.

Turcios is one of 350 Clearwater students from Belleair Elementary School who traded their physical education classes for two weeks of swim safety.

“Swimming lessons are fun,” she said.

Clearwater Parks and Recreation leaders have spent at least five years helping students get acclimated to the water during the late spring months leading up to summer break, but they skipped the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the kindergarten through fourth graders are getting their first experience in a pool.

Belleair Elementary School PE teacher Luis Ramos said he loves watching his students enjoy the experience.

“Just after one or two weeks of lessons, the confidence you see in so many of them makes it all worth it,” he said.

The lessons may not be long enough to truly teach the kids to swim, but lifeguards are able to focus on teaching the kids what to do if they fall into a pool, how to help a friend or sibling in trouble and how to use safety equipment like life vests.

Thomas Heine, the Aquatic Coordinator at North Greenwood Recreation Center, said those are critical lessons.

“If you think about Pinellas County, we are a peninsula on a peninsula surrounded by water, and drowning statistics here in Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay area are really frightening,” he said.

ABC Action News dug through DCF reports of the 98 drownings in Florida in 2021. Of those, 24 were in the Tampa Bay region. Many of the reports indicated a pattern: kids “wandering away from home,” ”Getting out of the home undetected” and sadly, many “left unattended,” according to paperwork filed with the state.

The Red Cross said adult supervision is the most important factor, but swim lessons can reduce the risk of a child drowning by 88%.

Shaun Beasley said that’s what makes their partnerships with the Juvenile Welfare Board, Clearwater for Youth, Stingray and ION Physical Therapy Network, to provide the swim lessons during the school day so important.

“This is something that literally gives me goosebumps when I watch it,” Beasley said. “We will potentially never know the impact we are having but if we can teach a kid who falls into the pool to get to the side without panicking then we are doing our jobs in these classes.”

Clearwater, like many cities, offers extremely affordable swim lessons. Just $10 total will provide kids with between six and eight classes. They also hope to expand the classes during the school day to every rec center.

State leaders are also stepping up to prevent drownings.

The “Every Child a Swimmer Law” takes effect for the 2022-2023 school year and requires public schools to ask parents if their kids have taken swim lessons. If the answer is no, schools must provide swim safety education materials.

The YMCA is also offering a long list of summer swim courses.

Watch the newscast and read the full article at https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/98-children-drowned-in-fl-in-2021-tampa-bay-leaders-are-on-a-mission-to-save-childrens-lives

Living in Clearwater, a city surrounded by the Gulf and containing numerous lakes and thousands of swimming pools, knowing how to swim and the basics of water safety is essential.

As part of National Swim Month in May, 172 Belleair Elementary School students are trading their gym clothes for swimsuits and spending their physical education classes at the North Greenwood Recreation Center, 900 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

The students are learning how to swim, tread water and be safe in and around the pool as part of a city partnership with Pinellas County Schools, the Juvenile Welfare Board, Clearwater for Youth, Stingray and ION Physical Therapy Network.

“This program recently took place for the first time at the Long Center. It was amazing to see so many children learn how to swim,” said recreation division manager Sandy Clayton.

She noted this is especially critical in Florida where children are around the water so often. More children under the age of 4 drown in Florida than anywhere else in the nation. She said data shows formal swim lessons cut the risk of drowning by 88 percent.

During the two-week program, children hop on a bus during their regularly scheduled PE time and ride to the North Greenwood Recreation Center for their swim lessons, then return to school for their other courses.

Starting Monday, each Belleair Elementary student in grades first through third will participate in two weeks of swim lessons with a certified swim instructor and receive a pair of goggles, a swim cap and a T-shirt from Stingray and ION Physical Therapy Network.

The local agencies’ goal is to add a new school to their list each year.

The partners held a pilot program from April 25 to 29 for Skycrest Elementary School who spent their physical education period at the pool at the Long Center, 1501 N. Belcher Road.

“Providing and including water safety classes as part of elementary education curriculum has always been a goal for the Clearwater Parks & Recreation Department,” said recreation manager Shaun Beasley. “The challenge for years has been finding a way to transport children from school to the recreation center pools.”

Clearwater for Youth, a local nonprofit organization that provides resources to ensure children can participate in athletic and recreation programs, stepped in and provided the needed funding for the transportation.

“Drowning is fast, silent and can happen to anyone,” said Long Center aquatic coordinator Jill Sparks. “We want to give these kids the tools they need to be safe in the pool this summer and for the rest of their lives.”

Read the full article at https://patch.com/florida/clearwater/clearwater-students-trade-gym-clothes-swimsuits-during-school-day

Since he arrived in Florida 40 years ago, Loc Nguyen has watched the Vietnamese community grow from a handful to a population of more than 10,000 in the Lealman area.

“The population of the Asian community I think is exploding now,” the 66-year-old said. “We like to support the Asian communities.”

Nguyen fled to Florida from his native country in 1982, after the Vietnam war broke out. He escaped in a small boat that he described as overfilled.

“The first thing, when I see the people on the boat, I was panicked,” said Nguyen. “Such a small boat with 60 people, we barely have enough food and water.”

Nguyen said on the first day, a big storm hit he was certain they would all die. Miraculously, they survived and were rescued on their third day at sea by an oil research ship from Japan.

Nguyen said the ordeal made him believe in God for the first time.

“No human can survive such a situation. Must have something else. At that time, I don’t believe in God at all,” he said. “Eventually, I think, yes, there’s a creature, a power of supernatural. He helped us.”​

Nguyen was sent to Florida because he had a cousin living in Pinellas County. His girlfriend was sent to live with relatives in Minnesota. Nguyen said he brought his girlfriend to Largo and they were married.

Florida’s weather reminds them both of Saigon, he said.

Nguyen said he was one of the first volunteers at the Lealman Asian Neighborhood Family Center. It offers services in multiple languages, for job applications, citizenship and after school programs for children.

“We try to serve not only the Asian people, the Asian children, but also the people around here,” he said. “The local people too.” 

Nguyen has since become a board member and taught a smart phone class before the pandemic began.

“At that time, I don’t have smart phone yet,” he said. “I learned it by using it. When I’m using it and (there’s) something I don’t understand, I have to Google it to do research.”​

Recently, Nguyen helped organize the installation of a monument that honors all the American and South Vietnamese service members who were killed in the war. He wants younger generations to remember their roots.

“They see the monument, they will recall why we’re here, why we’re in the states,” he said. “That’s the reason why we’re here.”​

The permanent monument sits on the corner of Little Saigon Plaza in Clearwater. Victor Pham, 36, owns the Tea Lounge in the plaza. Pham said the plaza owners bought it three years ago.

“They decided to open up Little Saigon Plaza just to have the community come here,” he said. “Now we are very happy to have a place that we can call the center of the Asian community.” 

Nguyen said it’s important to support the businesses in Little Saigon Plaza.

“We know when the Asian community opens a business they struggle at first,” he said. “We have to support them so they can survive.”

​Nguyen’s story is part of Spectrum Bay News 9’s continuing coverage of Asian American Pacific Islander Month, which runs through May 31.​

Read the full article at https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2022/04/21/vietnamese-lealman-asian-month

Tallahassee Community College announced honorees from the third annual Heroes in Public Safety celebration. Heroes in Public Safety was created to recognize TCC alumni who have trained at the Florida Public Safety Institute or the Ghazvini Center for Healthcare Education, or individuals who are members of public safety in our community. 

This celebration recognizes personnel in the following areas: law enforcement officers, firefighters, fish and wildlife officers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, juvenile justice officers, corrections officers and communications personnel who put their lives on the line or provide direct support for the safety and protection of Florida’s residents and visitors in Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla Counties.

The Public Safety Hall of Fame distinction is reserved for individuals, making a difference within our community, and have demonstrated extraordinary service to their community, state, and/or nation through their continued leadership in the public safety field.

The following people have been inducted into the Public Safety Hall of Fame class of 2022:

• Chris Corbitt, Sergeant, Tallahassee Police Department 
• Arthur Kirby, Public Safety Communications Officer, Consolidated Dispatch Agency 
• Bill Martinez, Sergeant of the Patrol, Florida Highway Patrol 
• Nick Roberts, Detective, Tallahassee Police Department 
• Alice Sims, Assistant Secretary for Prevention Services, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice 

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to those who have dedicated years of service during a distinguished career, advancing the public safety profession through their leadership roles. Lifetime Achievement honorees are committed and have made extraordinary contributions through their work, which has had a positive impact on the community.

The following individuals have received the Lifetime Achievement Award:

• Michael Anderson, Executive Director, Florida Department of Corrections 
• David Brand, Law Enforcement Coordinator, Florida Sheriff’s Association 
• Annette Brown, Division Chief, Tallahassee Fire Department 
• Craig Carroll, Operations Captain, Leon County Sheriff’s Office 
• David Coffman, Retired Director of Forensic Services, Florida Department of Law Enforcement 
• Albert “Al” Gandy, Retired Chief Investigator, State Attorney’s Office Second Judicial Court 
• Jeanine Gauding, Retired Director, Consolidated Dispatch Agency 
• William Pascoe, Sergeant, Florida Highway Patrol 
• J.M. “Buddy” Phillips, “The Sheriff of Florida” *Awarded Posthumously 
• Dr. Jim Sewell, Retired Assistant Commissioner, Florida Department of Law Enforcement
• Kermit Washington, Fire Standards Coordinator, TCC Florida Public Safety Institute 

Read the full article at https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/chronicle/2022/02/22/tcc-honors-2022-group-honorees-heroes-public-safety/6776438001/