Season 8 of Fireball Run has arrived and Sarasota has a horse in the race. Hunter Norton, an attorney at Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick, and his father Roger Norton will be competing as Team Hunter in this live reality show/cross-country trek/charitable endeavor, pitting two-person driving teams against each other in a test of endurance and ingenuity and raising awareness for missing children.

“I thought this would be a really neat way to spend some with my dad,” said Norton, who places a premium on family, but is limited in the time he can spend with his father. “And then we noticed that the race ended in Independence, Missouri, and that happens to be where my dad lives, and that the race started the day after my dad’s 64th birthday, so it was like ‘Oh, we’re definitely going to bid on this.’”

Norton’s was the winning bid at the Forty Carrots Firefly Gala and he put the proposal before his father, who was “shocked” and “emotional” but ultimately excited for the opportunity. Since then, the older Norton has been the “man on the ground” for the team, securing their chariot, a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro donated from a local dealer, coordinating the badging (sponsored graphics on the car itself) and wrangling in fuel sponsors.

Over the course of eight days, Team Hunter will travel roughly 2,000 miles, from Frisco, Texas to Independence, Missouri, stopping in a new town each day, through Arkansas and Oklahoma, solving puzzles, deciphering clues and collecting points. An on-board device monitors their speed for safety’s sake, and excessive speeding results in point deduction.

But the Fireball Run is about more than fun; it has, since its inception, been an effort to raise awareness for missing children. Each team is racing for a child and that child’s face and pertinent information is prominently displayed on each car as it passes through town after town. Team Hunter will be racing for Juliana Jimenez, who has been missing since November 2013.

“It’s a privilege,” said Norton, a father of three kids, of the opportunity to aid in the search. “Everywhere we drive, this child’s image will be out there, from Texas to Missouri, in little towns where they might not otherwise have exposure. It’s a real honor to be able to do this. I can’t imagine what these people are going through.”

At this point, it’s a lot of preparation for Team Hunter. A former racer informed them that they would need western wear and a swimsuit, so Norton’s got his cowboy hat, his boots and swim trunks, but other than that he seems ready to take it as it comes. But is he the road-tripping sort?

“I was when I was a lot younger. I haven’t done it in a long, long time,” said Norton chuckling. “I guess if I wasn’t, I’m about to become one again.”

The race begins in Frisco, Texas on Sept. 26 and ends in Independence, Missouri on Oct. 5. Watch it live at www.fireballrun.com/live and follow Team Hunter at the team’s page below, which will be going live very soon. (‘Likes’ earn the team points, so feel free to show your support). 

TEAM HUNTER

Applicants applying to represent District 3 on the Sarasota City Commission come from fields in law, technology and publishing, but now look toward service on the board as a potential next step in their lives. The group of people looking for the appointment to the board include: attorney Shelli Freeland Eddie, publisher and retired nurse Maryellin Kirkwood, retired tech support analyst Charles Senf and retired journalist Stan Zimmerman.

The seat is being vacated in November by Shannon Snyder, who under Florida's Resign-to-Run law had to submit an irrevocable resignation in order to run for Sarasota County Commission. He lost the Republican primary for the county seat in August, but did not apply for appointment to serve out the remainder of his term. Whoever gets the appointment will serve until May, at which point the winner of a city election will be sworn in.

Eddie, who serves on the Newtown Community Redevelopment Area Advisory Board, hopes to bring her leadership abilities from Freeland Eddie Law Group into the Commission chambers. "I saw an opportunity to provide new leadership and abilities," she said. She has closely followed issues with the homeless and wants the city to move forward in a way that keeps the community safe while making sure businesses are able to operate. She also strongly believes the CRA needs to be extended past its expiration in 2016, and is ready to have conversations with the county on that subject. 

Kirkwood, also a Sarasota Police Department volunteer, said she wants to restore a cooperative spirit on the Commission that "hasn't been there the last few years." She said the city's biggest issue right now is the fact it had to increase the city tax rate this year even while falling short to pay for assets like the Bobby Jones Golf Course. "We need to start being more creative in how we attract private funds, foundations funds, grant monies, just being aggressive in attracting addition funds," she said. "People have different concepts of what is benevolent and charitable but that also has to be constrained by what is possible financially."

Senf, president of the Terrace Gardens Neighborhood Association, has been a regular commenter on city issues for decades. He said he has been frustrated by a lack of transparency in processes like discarding city property. He is known for founding SarasotaVoices. "The uneven transparency evident over the course of hundreds of significant transactions our City Manager brings to the Commission for those essential three votes together with, as often as not, the relatively short notice the Commissioners are provided prior to being called upon to decide to spend a million here and another million there," he said, was one of the reasons he applied for the post.

Zimmerman, a long-time reporter in the area who most recently worked at The Sarasota News-Leader, is ready to move to the other side of the dais. “It’s not a decision to be taken lightly," he said. Zimmerman said he wants the city to be more forward-looking, and not spend as much effort doing postmortem analysis of past mistakes, noting an information technology investigation that led to a past city manager's resignation but did not conclude criminal wrongdoing. He has watched issues like the recent Bayfront discussions and has thoughts on preserving waterfront parts of that land for public uses.

Zimmerman said he intends to run for the Commission seat in the Spring whether he gets the appointment or not, while Senf has said will only serve to the end of the appointment in May and won't run on principle. Eddie and Kirkwood have made no decision yet on whether they will run in the Spring. An appointment will be made Nov. 19. 

New York Slice Company, a pizzeria featuring gourmet, hand-tossed, New York-style pizza, celebrates its Grand Opening Friday in the Town and Country Shopping Plaza in Sarasota. Among the specialty items offered are "Harvest Special" pizzas featuring locally sourced produce and meats. The restaurant also serves calzones, strombolis, pastas, appetizers, salads and desserts. 

New York Slice Company

Each year, the Florida Sheriffs Association recognizes state legislators who have made significant contributions to criminal justice and public safety through their leadership. Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight and Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell presented state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, with the Legislative Champion Award at a ceremony held at her Venice office, in recognition for sponsoring FSA legislation creating efficiency in the civil process laws from the service of process to its execution, enhancing protection for sheriffs as they perform their essential duties. 

Sarasota County Sheriff