Five Things We Learned on Patch this Week

: The row of sheriff's cruisers and a fire truck by a loading dock, Thursday afternoon was not because of a traffic accident but the annual loading of holiday meals for 105 families in the community.

: Driving along Gulf Boulevard, locals and tourists get a boost of holiday cheer from the decorative street lights. Figures of the season include Christmas trees, candy canes, presents and … a dreidel. 

: Madeira Beach is looking to clean up the town from any sort of troublesome tenant. In a decision reached last Tuesday, the city commission unanimously agreed to enact a new nuisance ban in Madeira Beach, according to Tampabay.com.

t: A quick-thinking teacher may have saved the life of a young poodle mix named Sox, who was found with a rubber band embedded in its jaw and holding its mouth shut. The poodle-Yorkshire Terrier mix is now recovering at SPCA Tampa Bay and a charge of animal cruelty is pending against the owner, the animal rescue agency said in a news release today.

: While many college football fans are gearing up for the big Beef 'O Brady Bowl game going on at the Tropicana later today, visitors to St. Pete Beach got a treat in the form of a musical throwdown between the two marching bands yesterday.