The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Strenuous Bike Hikes at the T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve Led by Larry Robbins Looking for experienced adult off-road bicyclists that are physically fit! Not for the faint of heart! Larry Robbins from Friends of the Carlton Reserve will lead you on a strenuous bike adventure through the beautiful but rugged T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve on Sunday, October 3, 2010 from 8:00 am for approximately 3 to 5 hours. Expect to see lots of wildlife! The T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve was purchased in the 1980's for public water supply source and for conservation/ recreation purposes. Participants should bring their own (Off road/mountain trail type) bicycle with wide tires, spare tube, bike helmet (required for all participants), sun glasses, sun screen, insect repellent, snack, and plenty of drinking water. To reach the reserve located at 1800 Mabry Carlton Parkway in Venice, drive south from Sarasota along I-75 to Exit 193 (Jacaranda Boulevard). Turn left (...

Permanent Pharmaceutical Drop Boxes Installed Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight today announced the installation of permanent pharmaceutical drop boxes to give citizens the opportunity to turn in controlled substances and unused or expired prescription medications year-round. The drop boxes are located in the lobby of the Criminal Justice Center, 2071 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, which is open 24-hours a day, and at the south county office, 4531 State Road 776, Venice, where the lobby hours are 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. When the Sheriff’s Office launched its Pharmaceutical Diversion Investigative Unit last year it held Operation Medicine Cabinet® throughout the county. The successful turn-in event underscored the need for permanent drop boxes. At today’s unveiling in Venice, Sheriff Knight also announced the expansion of the investigative unit. “A North Port Police Department detective has joined our Pharmaceutical Diversion team full-time,” said Sheriff Knight. “Resource-sharing is an efficie...

From Community Connections: Public Invited to Legacy Trail Trestle Opening Tuesday, Sept. 21 Family-oriented activities will mark the official opening of the Dona Bay and Roberts Bay trestles on Tuesday, Sept. 21, on the Legacy Trail. The trestles have been the missing links in the county's premier recreational trail.  (MORE)   Florida Housing Help Workshop Oct. 2 Florida Housing Help is designed to educate and assist families facing foreclosure. The workshop will include opportunities to meet with mortgage lenders, HUD-certified housing counselors, local housing authorities, legal assistance, credit counseling services, and many other foreclosure assistance programs.  (MORE) Avoid mistaking algae blooms for oil Algae bloom, NOT oil The Deepwater Horizon oil well is capped and oil is no longer leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the fact that oil from the accident never reached the beaches of Sarasota County, residents and visitors remain vigil...

With the onset of Autumn people will be out harvesting. Here's a site with lots of places around Florida where you can pick fruits or veggies, sorted by region . It had only one place in Sarasota County - anyone know of any more? Sarasota County Fruitville Grove inc.  - Pick Oranges from their trees, restrooms, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, picnic area, petting zoo, farm animals, birthday parties, school tours 7410 Fruitville rd, Sarasota, FL 34240. Phone: 941-377-0896. Email:  fruitvillegrove@aol.com . Open: Monday to Saturday from 9am-6pm. Directions: See their website for directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa/MasterCard, SFMNP Vouchers .  (Suggested by a visitor, ADDED: September 08, 2010) A visitor writes on September 08, 2010:  "They grow non certified organic citrus have a playground and animal farm for the children while you shop in their farmers market. They have a beautiful assortment of fresh fruits and veggies: many of which a...

Sarasota County seeks volunteers for Coastal Cleanup on Sept. 25 Sarasota County is seeking sponsors and volunteers to help clean coastal and other areas during the 2010 International Coastal Cleanup, 8 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Sept. 25 at sites throughout Sarasota County.   "This is one of our most popular events every year because so much of the Sarasota community lifestyle revolves around the beaches. It has gotten so big that the cleanup effort has begun to move to many inland waterways as well," said Sandra Washington, Keep Sarasota County Beautiful manager. The International Coastal Cleanup is the world's largest one-day volunteer effort that supports the marine environment, according to Washington. The cleanup will include coastal areas and interior sites at a number of locations. For more information on volunteering or sponsorship opportunities for the Keep Sarasota County Beautiful Coastal Cleanup contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000 or visit ...

IF you're wondering what to do today... Celebrate Adult and Family Literacy Month at Oscar Scherer State Park Make reading second nature and celebrate Adult and Family Literacy Month at Oscar Scherer State Park, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.   on Saturday, Sept. 11.   Fun, free, family activities and free admission by showing a library card or library book or by donating a gently used book.  For more information click here.     By the way, this and more info comes to emails in the form of a very nicely designed weekly newsletter entitled Community Connections from the County - you can subscribe for free: Greetings!   Welcome to Sarasota County Community Connections eNewsletter. We hope that you will tell family, friends and neighbors about this great new free service provided by Sarasota County. Contact us if you have questions, ideas for featured articles, or feedback on the new system at e-mail   pubcom@scgov.net .  

Several items of interest came up. (I was unable to attend, and this is pieced together from those there (thanks!). If anything else of importance is not here, please let me know (lakesarasota @ gmail.com)) Crime is up UPDATE: Ted provided actual stats from the August crime report, see below: I got the August '10 Sheriff's Dept. report in time to present it at the meeting. Here it is in summary. There were 19 incidents reported for the month: 3 vandalism incidents, 6 burglaries, 9 thefts (mostly auto), and one juvenile disturbance. Sixteen reported incidents occurred during two time periods: eight between the 11th and the 19th, and eight between the 23rd and 28th. By day of the week: Monday-2, Tuesday-3, Wednesday-7, Thursday-2, Friday-3, Saturday-1, and Sunday-1. By street: Allen-1, Berkshire-2, Bikini-2, Jarvis-1, Java-1, Lago-1, Lancaster-5, Mauna Loa-1, Palau-2, Samoa-1, Tarawa-1, and Westminster-1. The Lancaster incidents consisted of four thefts and one ...

The Lake Sarasota Community Group meets Thursday at 7 p.m., at Sarasota Alliance Church. Besides the usual items, there will be some planning of future events, including the Neighborhood November Garage Sale. Try to make the meeting. Also, Ted needs volunteers for Citizens Patrol for this week and next. 941 379-075.

We are pleased to offer our nature events for the month of September. Please read each press release below for the date, time, location, directions and registration information. Thank you volunteer guides and staff! Stay safe and stay cool! ON-LINE REGISTRATION  - Go to  www.scgov.net . Click Calendar of Events on the left. Click the 'All Events' drop down, choose 'Nature Walks' and click 'go'. Scan the calendar for the event and date of your choice and click. Towards the bottom of each nature walk event is information with either a bolded area to click for on-line registration, supplying your name, email and phone number or a contact person and phone number to call for registration.  (Please note: Your registration information will not be shared and will be used only for contact purposes for the event of inclement weather or walk cancelation only.) Please, remember to respect our fellow participants, animals, lands and air space.  To further enhance the experie...