Jason McKibben

Editorial: Singles

Barack Obama is greeted by thousands of supporters at a campaign rally at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida.
  
Though diagnosed with Leukemia seven months ago, Livvie Evans-Theiler remains very much an active six-year-old who loves school, art and swimming in her backyard pool with toy fish.
  
Jude Flannelly, right, rehearses a humorous interpretation of "Dracula vs. Grampa at the Monster Truck Spectacular" as his father and dog watch.
     
  
Ballet instructor Stacy Wright, center, helps students with their form as they stretch at the Lully MAC Ballet School in Osprey, Florida.
  
Patricia Reginald, left, looks through contacts that have helped her and her sister, Margaret Schell, right, navigate the intricacies of receiving financial aid. The sisters live together on fixed incomes and nearly had their electricity cut off after they got behind on payments.
  
Joel Sherrer, 17, of Venture Crew 39 in Arcadia, Florida, apprehensively falls backwards into the hands of other scouts during a Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience (C.O.P.E.) course. About 30 teen scouts took part in the team and trust building course.
     
  
Dawn Surak and her brother Alan Laskowski paint letters on the sign of their Lucky Dog Diner in Venice, Florida, as Surak's son Ollie, 4, plays below them .
  
About 20 ladies, including Marguerite Leavitt (pictured) of Punta Gorda, donned their fancy duds and headed to the Charlotte County Cultural Center for the grand opening of The Old English Tea Room Thursday, July 5, 2007.
  
A Nokomis volunteer firefighter works a mobile home fire at 116 Ruby Ave. Wednesday, July 11, 2007. The department sent 26 firefighters, two engines, a tanker and a ladder truck to the blaze which is currently being ruled arson; no one was injured. Set up in the 1950s and sustained by dues and donations, Nokomis' fire department might soon be absorbed by the fire department of Sarasota County because of population growth.
     
  
Leif Bjaland, Florida West Coast Symphony's artistic director, conducts the orchestra through a rehearsal of "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky. Bjaland is celebrating 10 years with the symphony, which will premiere its Masterworks series in November.
   
Tamra Soto and her son Brandon Soto, 12, share a moment on the boat during the 22nd Annual Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix Fishing Tournament. An estimated 65 physically and mentally challenged individuals took part in the catch and release tournament which was sponsored by the International Union of Police Associations and held in the Sarasota Bay.
  
Mary Kleiss packs her belongings as she prepares to move from the house she has lived in for 30 years. Circumstances including increased insurance rates, the ecomonic downturn and the death of her husband 2 years ago have resulted in her no longer being able to afford her mortgage payments.
     
  
Campers at TheatreFest hosted by the Venice Little Theatre use their fingers and straws to create "bubble paintings" in the technical theatre class. Students at the camp split their time between singing, technical theatre, acting and dancing classes taught by professionals.
   
A young girls sleeps on a pew during the Rite of Dedication of a New Church at the Ave Maria Oratory in Ave Maria, Florida.
   
Riders rehearse moves with their horses in the practice ring at a Florida Reined Cow Horse Association competition held Saturday, January 12, 2008 at the Triple J Ranch in Sarasota.