Rumors About The Blogmeister

I heard there were rumors floating around about David Scott Banghart's new life in Lutz, so I thought why not give you an update from someone close to the source. The rumor about Scott now being president of our neighborhood board is true. And yes, that happened at the first meeting he attended. How does a person manage this, you may ask. First you have to find out when these semi-secret meetings take place, which took some doing. Then, you show up, sit down and try to figure out what's being discussed and how the heck a taxing district operates. Finally, as the meeting winds up, the long time president resigns and amid body squirming and total silence, you volunteer to take his place. Where did Scott get the audacity to take on such a challenge? Why, from the feisty neighborhood of Seminole Heights! He was a baby activist when we moved to Southeast Seminole Heights in 2000. He considers his seven years there a training camp for community activism.


The weekend after his new role as head scapegoat in Windemere started, we gathered at the front entrance to clean up the neglected landscaping and decorate for the holidays. While we were busy hanging lights on a wall, some enthusiastic volunteers wiped out years of undergrowth, including ferns, plumbago, and groundcovers. It was unhealthy and scraggly, but where once was a thick, overgrown garden, was now dirt under an oak tree, a small palm and two leafless crepe myrtles. When a concerned board member roared up and informed Scott that not only was removing landscaping against the taxing district rules, but the plants that were taken out were planted years ago to prevent runoff, Scott had no problem taking full responsibility, because bless his heart, he had faced angry transvestites and belligerent drug dealers in the hood. What was one angry neighbor and missing landscaping compared to that?


Despite that calamitous start, he's busy listening to neighbors who are excited about making this community a more desirable place to live. They want community building activities and they want a voice to discuss issues. He's prepared to help that happen thanks to all the fantastic people he met and the things he learned in Seminole Heights. Besides his involvement in the subdivision. we've applied to be "Friends of the Lutz Dogpark". That way, we'll be official when we pick up dung and trash. Scott's been gathering names and emails from a hoard of enthusiastic dog lovers at the park, so who knows where this will lead. We learned dogpark etiquette at the Giddens dogrun, which was a project instigated and pushed through by people like Sherry Simons and Maria Garcia Guiterrez.


So there you have it. David Scott is following in the footsteps of his Seminole Heights mentors. You can be proud of the education you gave him. Just don't show up in Windemere until the landscaping's been replaced!