2017 in Bradenton: We mourned the death of Snooty. Irma? Not so much

Can’t remember everything that happened this year? Don’t worry, we did it for you.

A lot happened in 2017 in Manatee County, from a new sheriff being sworn to a frightful accident during a Circus Sarasota rehearsal to the unfortunate death of our favorite manatee, Snooty.

There were a lot of national and international news that happened too, from President Donald Trump’s inauguration, monstrous hurricanes and April the giraffe finally giving birth.

Buckle in and relive the highlights Bradenton Herald readers were most drawn to this year.

January

▪ There’s a new sheriff in town. The son of former Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells was sworn in on Jan. 3 in front of a crowd of friends, family and fellow law enforcement officers.

▪ The story of a man’s best friend of 17 years being euthanized after escaping his house clearly tugged the heartstrings of several thousand readers.

▪ Tourists from Missouri got a real Florida experience when an alligator jumped into their boat in Orlando. The action was caught on Facebook Live.

February

▪ The School District of Manatee County was subject to a phishing scheme in February, releasing the personal information of more than 7,700 school employees to hackers posing as Superintendent Diana Greene. One employee was transferred to a position where she would not have access to sensitive information and another received a formal warning letter.

▪ An accident during Circus Sarasota rehearsals injured five performers. Famed performer Nik Wallenda was confident that the show would go on (and it did) and credited God for the “miracle.”

▪ After several drawn out meetings, during which nearby residents and environmentalists contested, the Mosaic Company’s wish to expand mining operations was approved by two 5-2 votes.

March

▪ Tragedy struck the DeSoto Speedway when veteran race car driver David Steele crashed and died of his injuries during the Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series. He was 42.

▪  Cancer concerns at Bayshore High School came back into the limelight after nearly 10 years. This led to a joint meeting between county commissioners and school board members, and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County starting a health study.

▪ The story of Palmetto High School sophomore Myquarios Kelly, 15, who was killed after he was hit by a car, was heartwrenching. Later, his family questioned why he had to cross busy U.S. 41 every day to get to school.

April

▪ The most-read story of April was after the news broke that the Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would allow for alleged offenders to be charged with manslaughter for distributing drugs that lead to someone’s death. The bill was eventually signed into law.

▪ The second most-read story was when gunman Glenn Watenpool, 68, took a hostage at the Pescara Lake mobile home park clubhouse. The SWAT standoff lasted several hours and deputies killed Watenpool after he opened fire.

▪ Extremely dry conditions earlier this year fueled wildfires throughout the state. Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency, and eventually Manatee County followed suit. There were three times as many wildfires in Manatee County in the first five months of 2017 compared to the same time in 2016.

May

▪ A five-alarm fire at Callaghan Tire raised the alarm for readers. It destroyed thousands of tires and, at the time, the Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations had not found any evidence that the fire was suspicious.

▪ Andres “Andy” Avalos, 34, was convicted and sentenced to three life prison terms for the 2014 murders of his wife, Amber Avalos, his neighbor, Denise Potter, and the Rev. James “Tripp” Battle. He was also sentenced to an additional 15 years for the attempted murder of a fellow inmate.

June

▪ School was out for the summer, but some 249 students learned that their advanced-placement English test results wouldn’t count because there was an unauthorized person in the room. To get credit, students had the option of retaking the test two weeks after the announcement.

▪ Manatee School of the Arts alum Reggie Williams Jr., also known as R.Lum.R, was featured in the Rolling Stone’s list of the “10 Artists You Need to Know.” He released his first EP and went on an international tour.

July

▪ A shot straight through to the hearts of all Bradentonians, Snooty the oldest manatee in captivity died one day after his 69th birthday celebration. He gained access to the life support maintanence tube, couldn’t turn around and drowned.

▪ The infamous shark-dragging video emerged in late July, gripping the world and Bradenton Herald readers alike. After a months-long investigation, charges were filed against three men, two of them who are sons of Manatee County government officials.

August

▪ Some neighborhoods in the Whitfield area experienced disastrous floods in late August, about two weeks before Hurricane Irma hit. Then-Florida Emergency Management Director Bryan Koon made a visit to the Centre Lake subdivision as residents emptied their destroyed homes.

▪ The 2017 solar eclipse definitely lived up to the hype, especially if you were in the path of totality. Locally, residents were treated to about 80 percent coverage and temperatures dropped by about three degrees.

▪ A violent three days in August claimed the lives of six. First, Melquisedec “Tito” Betancourt was found shot to death in a car on Tamiami Trail. The suspected shooter, Karrie Lee Sanderson, was arrested. A robbery turned double homicide left Timothy Hurley and Kevin Carter dead, and later Darryl Hanna Jr. was arrested. Rodney Williams and Keith Lamar Jones were shot during a home invasion in Bayshore Gardens, and Andre Bryant was found dead nine miles away.

▪ As protests mounted about the place of Confederate statues in public places, an overnight bungled attempt to move the Confederate war veteran memorial ended up breaking the statue in two.

September

Hurricane Irma dominated the news in September. Some of the best read stories included a deaf interpreter saying the county’s ASL signing during one update was “horrible and embarrassing”; Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said that we “dodged a bullet”; two manatees were carried back out to open water after finding themselves stranded in extremely low tide; and Anna Maria City Pier was found to be damaged by the storm.

October

The October 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas hit home as the parents of one of the 58 victims, Hannah Lassette Ahlers, reside in Bradenton. Shooter Stephen Paddock died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino.

Fear of a serial killer in the Tampa neighborhood Seminole Heights gripped the nation. Eventually the deaths of four — Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naioba and Ronald Felton — would be connected to 24-year-old Howell Emanuel Donaldson III. More recent developments include Donaldson’s parents being ordered to appear before the court in January and the couple who provided the surveillance video want a cut of the reward money, which went to the McDonald’s manager who reported Donaldson’s gun to a nearby police officer.

November

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Medical Examiners Commission’s annual report was released in November, describing how many people across the state died as related to various drugs. In Manatee County, cocaine, fentanyl and carfentanil were key players in the opioid epidemic in 2016, although the sheriff’s office says drug busts have helped decrease overdoses.

Notorious serial killer Charles Manson died in November of natural causes at age 83. His alleged grandson, Jason Freeman of Bradenton, said he wants to fly to California, cremate Mason’s body and bring his ashes to Florida.

A teen in Myakka City told their mother that they saw large cats. The sheriff’s office reports that it could possibly be tigers. Chaos ensues.

December

A run over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is finally coming to a traffic jam near you. After attempts for the same event on New Year’s Day never came to fruition, officials announced a 10K in March that would be the first foot traffic on the bridge since it opened in 1987. Make your alternative route plans now.

This story was originally published December 26, 2017 at 7:13 AM with the headline "2017 in Bradenton: We mourned the death of Snooty. Irma? Not so much."