The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

B.C. Manion

This coffee shop serves more than coffee

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The coffee shop at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch calls itself a Dash of Salt ‘n Pepper, but its customers say the foods this shop offers go far beyond those basic spices.

Tawnika Green, a 20-year-old full-time student at the Porter Campus, set to graduate May 6, said she has enjoyed the convenience of being able to grab a meal on campus.

Kelly Ramos, playing the role of Pepper, and Ghada Jadallah, chef for Dash of Salt ‘n Pepper, celebrate at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch last month. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Kelly Ramos, playing the role of Pepper, and Ghada Jadallah, chef for Dash of Salt ‘n Pepper, celebrate at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch last month.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

She had two classes on campus, so she didn’t want to leave to go get something to eat, because she would miss her other class.

The young woman, who plans to pursue a career in nursing, gave high marks to the coffee shop’s mac ‘n cheese.

Desiree Harding, who works at the campus, said she routinely gets breakfast at the coffee shop.

“Oh, my gosh, the food is delicious,” Harding said.

Biko Claxton, who works as a trainer, said the menu has plenty of healthy options.

“How many trainers do you know that send people to a restaurant?” Claxon asked.

Stan Giannet, provost of the Porter Campus, said the coffee shop opened earlier this year and has been a welcome addition.

“We’ve received very positive feedback from students, staff and faculty,” Giannet said. “It’s going very well. They have a good variety of healthy, fresh meals for students.

“We’re happy to have them on our campus,” Giannet said.

Chef Ghada Jadallah is delighted to offer her company’s foods at the Porter Campus.

“It’s an amazing experience,” she said. “It seems like this is the nicest thing that’s ever happened to us.”

She and her husband, Lutfi, own Dash of Salt ‘n Pepper, which has its main location at 10353 Cross Creek Blvd., in New Tampa.

Their son, Sami, manages the coffee shop at the college, and their daughter, Elyanna, is the head baker at the company’s main location. Kelly Ramos also works for the company, creating customized cookies.

Dash of Salt ‘n Pepper does catering for occasions up to 800 people. It has a private party room, which can accommodate 50 people.

The company also offers a service that allows customers to choose meals from a menu, which the company prepares and customers pick up. Some entrees are heat and serve. Others may require a short cooking time.

To find out more about Dash of Salt ‘n Pepper, visit DashOfSaltnPepper.com, or call (813) 376-6689.

Published May 6, 2015

Wiregrass Ranch graduate gets Ivy League offers

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Antonio Medina wanted to give himself the best chance he could to attend the college of his choice, so he applied to several places.

“You can be a top candidate but still, it’s really tough to get in. They get more top candidates than they can accept. Sometimes, it comes down to luck,” said Medina, who will be graduating soon from Wiregrass Ranch High.

Sandra, Antonio and Alfredo Medina pose for a photo after Antonio is named salutatorian of the class of 2015 at Wiregrass Ranch High School. (Courtesy of the Medina family)
Sandra, Antonio and Alfredo Medina pose for a photo after Antonio is named salutatorian of the class of 2015 at Wiregrass Ranch High School.
(Courtesy of the Medina family)

So, he applied to scores of schools, including the University of South Florida, the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida, as well as to such colleges as Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Harvard and Yale.

Brown University sent him a letter saying he would likely be accepted, Medina said.

“We were so excited about the letter. That was so amazing. We were happy with that,” he said.

On the day that the colleges announce their decisions, Medina and his mom, Sandra, were sitting at three computers, waiting.

“So, I checked Brown. I got accepted, so I was happy,” Medina said.

“We checked Penn and Columbia and Princeton. None of those.

“Then I checked Yale and got in. I was super surprised.

“I checked Harvard last. I was like, ‘Let’s just see.’ ”

And he got into Harvard, too.

“I was speechless,” his mom said. “I’m never going to forget that day.”

Medina also received full-ride offers from USF, UCF and UF.

So, then it was a matter of choosing where he would go.

He and his dad, Alfredo, visited Harvard and Yale.

Then, Medina made his final choice.

“They’re both great schools. You can’t go wrong with either school,” Medina said. “It came down to, which school did I feel better at?”

He chose Yale.

“I was more at home there,” said the Wesley Chapel resident.

He is excited about his academic future.

“The caliber of education is through the roof,” said Medina. “You have world-class professors. I could be a roommate with a future president.”

Medina ranked second in the class of 2015 at Wiregrass and also was named the school’s Most Outstanding Senior.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, he was catcher on the school’s baseball team, drum major for the marching band and a member of the jazz band.

On top of all that, he has worked for his mom and dad’s business, Gator Fred’s, a fun and party center in Carrollwood.

“I helped them since I was 7. I’ve seen what it is like to manage a business, to work in a service — entrepreneurial, all that stuff, since I was a child,” Medina said.

That work has left an indelible impression on him.

“Probably because of the influence of my family, I want to go my own way, work for myself, create something that could be my own business, or create something new that would be completely under my wing,” he said.

He describes what he has gained by working in the family business in one of the essays he wrote for his college applications.

He details how the business started at the family’s home and has evolved into its own location, Gator Fred’s, a fun and party center in Carrollwood. He then explains the impact that working in the family business has had on him.

“The establishment of Gator Fred’s didn’t just enhance what my childhood had been. The store engraved in me a vital essence of my character,” he wrote.

“With my own bare hands, I helped my family turn an enormous, empty shell of what was once a Bealls Outlet into a beautiful playground of colors and bounce houses and train rides and joy.

“This experience taught me how to manage a business before I was even a teenager. “More importantly, it showed me how to take pride in building something bigger than myself.

“Every weekend that I spent there, instead of with friends, I remained aware that this place was what provided for our food, our house, our lives.

“I never took for granted what I had. I knew the value of hard work and persistence.

“My parents taught me the dangers of taking risks but also the courage needed to make the leap. For them, I will always be grateful,” Medina’s essay says.

The young man’s success in academics began when he was young.

He said he’s always been a good student, except for during kindergarten.

“We had just moved here (from Venezuela). I was 5 and I just learned English.

“The only problem was now, I wouldn’t shut up. I just kept talking. I’d get in trouble for being too talkative,” he recalled.

His mom recalls finding out about the problem.

“The lady called me and said, ‘He is too talkative,’ ” she said. “He would talk with an empty chair.”

His mom decided to nip the problem in the bud.

She put his toys in a bag and pretended to throw them out.

“I did better in school,” Medina said. “And my toys magically reappeared.”

Apparently, the lesson stuck.

“Being good in school is good. Learning for the sake of learning is good,” he said.

Medina is graduating from Wiregrass Ranch on May 31. His younger brother, Andres, will be attending the high school next year.

Medina’s mom is clearly ecstatic about her son’s academic accomplishments.

His dad is proud, too.

“My dad has worn the same Yale shirt for the past four days,” Medina said. “It says ‘Yale Dad’.”

Published May 6, 2015

Pasco district cancels end-of-course exams

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Superintendent Kurt Browning has cancelled the Pasco County Schools’ requirement for end-of-course exams, including second-grade and fifth-grade art, music and physical education exams.

While removing that requirement, the superintendent said each teacher must administer a standards-based assessment in each class in all levels.

To give teachers more flexibility, they are allowed to choose a teacher-developed and principal-approved instrument or a district-developed end-of-course exam, according to a school district news release.

“I realize that this decision may not meet everyone’s needs, but it alleviates the pressure associated with the current end-of-course assessments,” Browning said in the release. He also noted that it “allows our district time to develop a more reliable and balanced system of student assessment.”

Browning noted that he did not reach that decision easily and added that it came after extensive conversations with secondary principals across the district and district staff.

 

Operation Green Light is success in Pasco

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Lots of people took advantage of the chance to save money when paying for traffic tickets during a one-day special offered by the Office of the Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller.

Under a program called Operation Green Light, people who had overdue Pasco County traffic tickets, as well as court costs and fines could pay those costs in full, restore their driving privileges and receive a 25 percent reduction in the collections surcharge.

During that one-day event, held on April 18, the clerk’s office collected $81,351.

That total included 170 people assisted in person and 132 assisted through call centers. There were 136 customers who were eligible to have their driver’s license reinstated in Pasco County.

Learning how to police the ‘teenage brain’

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Jeff Golden
Jeff Golden

When it comes to de-escalating aggressive behavior — different methods are needed for juveniles than the ones that work on adults, said Jeff Golden, who teaches criminal justice classes at Saint Leo University.

Golden and other experts in law enforcement and criminal justice will be sharing their knowledge in a Summer Institute Course on juvenile aggression at Saint Leo University, May 5 through May 7.

In addition to Golden, other experts who will be leading instruction are Lt. Tim Enos, who currently works for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office; Norm Miller, an investigator assigned to gang prosecutions; and Deputy Dave Cappel, a school resource officer for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

The class is being offered both for credit and for noncredit. Those who are not seeking credit can attend for free, provided there are still seats available.

Besides exploring issues involved with policing the teenage brain, the experts will cover:

  • Tools for de-escalating and preventing juvenile aggression
  • Techniques for communicating with troubled youths and building trust
  • Youth gangs and violence, impacts and opportunities
  • Crisis intervention teams and school resource offices, and what they do
  • Federal and Florida laws and agencies relating to juvenile
  • Causes of juvenile aggression and schools and solution
  • Bullying, harassment, violence and cyber bullying

The vast majority of police academies spend little to no time training patrol officers on effective techniques for policing juveniles, Golden said.

Most patrol officers have been taught restraints that work well on adults, but that can actually escalate aggression in juveniles, said Golden, who teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in criminal justice, juvenile justice and law at Saint Leo University.

“Most law enforcement agencies rely on some type of pain-inducing restraint to control someone physically,” he explained. “Adults understand: Stop what you’re doing and the pain will stop.

“Their rational thinking will take over and they generally will comply,” he said.

Not so for juveniles.

“Pain for a juvenile — and on a teenage brain — is like throwing kerosene on a fire,” Golden said. “The pain is going to make them scream louder, fight harder, and they are not going to listen.”

If there are other juveniles nearby, they’ll become more hyperactive.

“Juvenile aggression is contagious,” Golden said, “so we need to isolate it as quickly as we can.

If parents are watching and their child becomes more agitated in response to an officer, the parents may get upset and tensions could ratchet higher.

Proper training can help officers de-escalate tense situations, Golden said.

“When juveniles are screaming, we need to speak softly. We need to say things that distract them or that cause them to no longer focus on their anger.

“Anger takes an incredible amount of energy to maintain. Aggression takes an enormous amount of energy to maintain.

“The sooner we can teach officers to de-escalate a juvenile by diverting their attention from that anger or aggression, the faster the juvenile is going to de-escalate.”

At the same time, there’s no instant solution.

“I can’t flip a switch and turn them off, but I can definitely dial them down. We teach officers how to do that,” Golden said.

Police officers need to learn to distinguish between different kinds of aggression. Is the youth being aggressive deliberately, or is the youth displaying emotional aggression?

It’s important to understand the distinction because the tools to de-escalate the behavior are dramatically different, Golden said.

“Every incident an officer is called to — it’s an opportunity to reach out and help a youth.

“The more they know how to identify potential problems, real problems, and actually get through to the youth and establish a connection … Once we’ve got them calmed down … we can begin to communicate with them,” he said.

The real answer to root out what’s causing the juvenile’s behavior and to address that, Golden said.

“This isn’t some kid acting out for no reason whatsoever,” he said.

In some cases, the anger and aggression may stem from a juvenile not getting the medications that they need, he said.

“I’m not asking officers to become social workers,” Golden said, but addressing this issue requires a multifaceted response.

“We try to prevent things from escalating, or exploding. We’re not going to arrest our way out of this,” Golden said.

To register for the class, contact Karin May by email at .

Published April 29, 2015

Phonographs, flowers and antique Fords

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You’ll find them all at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates

If you’re looking for a family friendly place to spend a day, or want to show out-of-town guests a side of Florida other than an amusement park, the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers is worth the trip.

On the 20 acres of this attraction, you’ll find historic buildings, botanical gardens, the Edison Botanic Research Lab and the Edison Ford Museum.

Visitors to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates can enjoy the attraction’s beautiful grounds, historic estates, antique cars, museum and labs. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Visitors to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates can enjoy the attraction’s beautiful grounds, historic estates, antique cars, museum and labs.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

You can meander around the property on your own, take self-guided audio tours or join a tour led by a historian.

You can peek into buildings and see where Thomas Edison and Henry Ford spent their winters and can imagine the two of them, joined by Harvey Firestone, of Firestone tire fame, discussing the need to find a new source of rubber.

In fact, the trio was so concerned about America’s dependence on foreign sources for rubber that they formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation in 1927.

Under Edison’s leadership, the corporation sought a source of rubber that could be grown and produced quickly in the U.S., in the event of a shortage in the foreign supply.

The banyan tree was among the more than 17,000 plant samples that were tested for Edison’s research.

One of those banyan trees still standing on the property today was planted in 1927. It is understood to be one of the largest banyan trees in the continental United State.

For those who are more drawn to nature than to inventions, the spacious grounds feature orchids, bougainvillea and other flowering plants, as well as towering bamboos and palms. The estate straddles the Caloosahatchee River.

Of special note is a Moonlight Garden designed in 1928 by renowned landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman. The garden features fragrant white flowers and a small pool, intended to reflect the night sky’s moonlight.

The Edison Ford Museum includes galleries that interpret the lives and inventions of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and their families. It is chock full of photographs, inventions, special exhibits and artifacts from the inventors’ days at their winter retreat in Fort Myers.

The Edison & Ford Winter Estates
When: Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving and Christmas. The last guided tour starts at 4 p.m. There are self-guided audio tours and maps available in several languages.
What: A 20-acre attraction including the historic winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, botanical gardens, labs and the Edison Ford Museum.
Where: 2350 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers, Florida 33901
How much: $20 for adults and $11 for children ages 6 to 11, includes audio tour and admission to the museum and lab.
More info: EdisonFordWinterEstates.org

Published April 29, 2015

Florida Medical Clinic’s expansion story continues

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Florida Medical Clinic is continuing to expand at a brisk pace, with an 85,000-square-foot facility expected to open near Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel in March 2016, and a 15,000-square-foot expansion at its facility on State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes now under way.

The new projects are part of a story that dates back to 1993, when four practices in Zephyrhills decided to merge to gain advantages they could not secure independently, said Chris Alvarez, the health care provider’s chief financial officer.

Florida Medical Clinic’s new 85,000-square-foot location in Wesley Chapel will be a three-story building. It is expected to open in March 2016. (Courtesy of Florida Medical Clinic)
Florida Medical Clinic’s new 85,000-square-foot location in Wesley Chapel will be a three-story building. It is expected to open in March 2016.
(Courtesy of Florida Medical Clinic)

Since then, Florida Medical Clinic has grown to have 43 locations totaling 550,000 square feet, with 750,000 patient encounters each year. It has 235 providers, representing 33 medical specialties, Alvarez said.

It also has ambitious plans.,

The five-year vision is to have 70 locations, with 1.3 million patient visits a year, Alvarez told those gathered at an economic development briefing organized by the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. Alvarez spoke at a luncheon meeting at Hoosiers Grille at the Heritage Isles Golf and Country Club on April 23.

Florida Medical Clinic will be building the new 85,000-square-foot structure in Wesley Chapel at 2352 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., north of State Road 56.

“Obviously, the location is perfect for us. It’s very close to the hospital,” Alvarez said. “It’s a great location from a visibility standpoint.”

There will be 60 physicians and 200 employees in that building, Alvarez said.

“Everything we’re going to do at Wiregrass is going to be practices that already exist in the Wiregrass area or new providers that we’re going to bring in, or have already brought in, in anticipation of that opening,” Alvarez said.

The new facility will provide a convenient one-stop shop for patients, as patients will be able to see their doctor and pick up prescriptions at the same location, he added.

In Land O’ Lakes, Florida Medical Clinic is building a 15,000-square-foot addition, at a location it opened in 2009.

There’s room for another building there, which the clinic may construct sometime relatively soon, Alvarez said. When that occurs, Florida Medical Clinic’s total presence at that site will be 75,000 square feet.

Just two years ago, Florida Medical Clinic expanded its main campus in Zephyrhills at Market Square to open a new urgent care facility. It also built a 12,000-square-foot office on Eiland Boulevard that it shares with DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc.

Deciding when and where to build and consolidate is an organic process for Florida Medical Clinic, usually based on the number of doctors and specialists the company has partnered with, and where they are located, according to Alvarez.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to grow,” Alvarez added.

“We don’t really grow through acquisition,” Alvarez said. Instead, it grows as medical practices approach them with an interest to join.

“We just kind of merge their practice in. If you bring a practice, you become a shareholder.

“In a perfect world, we build one large building, based on primary care. We have some some specialists that are based and fixed at that building, others that rotate through a couple of days, as necessary, to provide support. And then we have the ancillary services, diagnostic imaging, potentially pharmacy, things of that nature.”

Florida Medical Clinic’s model for growth seems to be effective, Alvarez said.

“It’s been, obviously, quite successful,” he said.

Published April 29, 2015

Construction crews give shape to Pasco’s first magnet

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Construction crews are fully engaged in the project to give Pasco County its first magnet school, which is set to open this fall in Land O’ Lakes.

Jason Petry, principal of Sanders Memorial Elementary School, has been immersed, too, in the task of hiring teachers for the school, which will focus on science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.

Interest in the district’s first magnet is evident.

Principal Jason Petry, left, has been working to get staffing lined up for the inaugural year of Pasco County Schools’ first magnet school, which will be housed at Sanders Memorial Elementary School in Land O’ Lakes. Jeff Wright, of Ajax Building Corp., is the project manager who is overseeing construction work on the project. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Principal Jason Petry, left, has been working to get staffing lined up for the inaugural year of Pasco County Schools’ first magnet school, which will be housed at Sanders Memorial Elementary School in Land O’ Lakes. Jeff Wright, of Ajax Building Corp., is the project manager who is overseeing construction work on the project.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

There were more than 1,689 applicants for its 762 student seats.

Most of those seats have been filled, but some of those initially chosen have opted out, leaving some available for students lower on the list, Petry said.

Students aren’t the only ones expressing a desire to be at Sanders.

The school drew 180 to 200 applicants for its teaching staff.

The vast majority came from Pasco County Schools, but there were also applicants from Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois and Arizona, Petry said. He was surprised by the out-of-state applications, since the openings were only posted on the district’s website.

Hiring was nearly completed, as of last week.

“We’ve hired our 40 teachers. We’re working on P.E. (physical education), music and art this week,” Petry said on April 24.

While work is wrapping up on selecting the school’s staff, construction crews are still hard at work to complete the building.

Sanders’ roots in Land O’ Lakes date back to 1948.

The school district funded the redesign of Sanders in 2008, but the project was put on hold because the housing market crashed. The initial plans had to be updated because of changes in codes and to address the school’s curriculum needs.

When completed, Sanders — located at 5126 School Road — will be almost entirely new. Just three of the former school’s buildings remain on site. The rest were demolished.

Besides being the district’s first magnet, Sanders also will benefit from an agreement between the school board and Pasco County. The arrangement aims at providing more recreational opportunities for school children and the community at large, while also broadening learning opportunities and providing a venue to accommodate community gatherings.

In keeping with the school’s educational mission, classrooms will have wireless technology and large-screen televisions. There’s also a space designed to foster collaboration between students and between classrooms. And, there is storage space for student projects and sinks in classrooms, to accommodate experiments.

The school also will equip each student with technology. Kindergarteners and first-graders will have iPads, and second-graders through fifth-graders will have laptops.

While the district moves forward with its academic preparations for the school, considerable construction progress has been made.

Still, much work remains.

Jeff Wright, project manager for Ajax Building Corp., is confident the project will be finished on time.

“The stuff that makes it look done — that’s the easiest part,” Wright said. “There’s a lot that happens very quickly in the finishing steps.”

Initially, Sanders’ lottery system gave preference to students living in the Connerton and Oakstead elementary schools to help relieve overcrowding at those schools.

In the coming year, the school will be serving primarily Central Pasco, but there will be students coming from as far away as Zephyrhills and New Port Richey, Petry said.

“I’m real excited about this school,” Petry said.

“This school is like a pillar in the community. Everybody that I come across is like, ‘I used to go to Sanders’ or ‘My grandmother used to go to Sanders’ or ‘My dad went to Sanders.’ ”

Petry said he’s looking forward to leading a school that will emphasize the four Cs: collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking.

Students need to learn how to work in teams, share ideas, take chances, and when they fail at something, to persevere, Petry said.

Being willing to take chances and to fail is part of how the world works, he said. The important thing is to learn from failure and be persistent.

“People who create ideas at Google and Apple, they get shot down a lot. They just keep on having to move forward. Even though their ideas aren’t making it, they’re still persevering,” Petry said.

Seeking expert help

Sanders Memorial Elementary School is gearing up to become Pasco County’s first magnet school. The school, which will open this fall in Land O’ Lakes, will have a curriculum focusing on science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.

It is seeking experts in those subject areas to help enrich the learning experience for its students.

At the moment, the school is specifically looking for experts in computer coding, robotics, drones, and the arts, said Principal Jason Petry. But he expects to continue adding to that list.

Anyone who wishes to share their expertise would need to register with Pasco County Schools, Petry added. If you’d like to help out, contact Petry at .

Published April 29, 2015

EcoFest offers fun, and food for thought

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Thousands turned out for the sixth annual EcoFest at the picturesque setting of Lowry Park.

This year’s event had the feel of a farmer’s market and that was intentional, said Michele Northrup, an event organizer from Learning Gate Community School.

Thousands of people streamed to Lowry Park on April 18 to celebrate Earth Day a bit early. The event initiated by Learning Gate Community School in Lutz had to be moved to a larger venue last year because it has become too large for the school’s campus. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Thousands of people streamed to Lowry Park on April 18 to celebrate Earth Day a bit early. The event initiated by Learning Gate Community School in Lutz had to be moved to a larger venue last year because it has become too large for the school’s campus.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The charter school, located in Lutz, has spearheaded the event since its inception.

As its name implies, the festival celebrates efforts to make the earth more sustainable by promoting energy conservation, environmental protection and healthy living practices.

The event initially took place on the grounds of the school in Lutz, but it outgrew that location.

This year, the event was on April 18 and was presented by the school, the City of Tampa and the University of South Florida’s Patel College of Global Sustainability.

Festival-goers checked out entertainment and educational presentations near the band shell at Lowry Park, 7525 N. Boulevard, and browsed through a wide assortment of vendors on the park grounds across the street from Lowry Park Zoo.

The event gave people a chance to begin celebrating Earth Day — officially April 22 — a bit early.

There were 167 vendors at the event this year, which is a record, according to Northrup. It’s also a sizable jump from last year, when there were 118.

Event-goers could pick up foods from organic farms, buy healthy pet treats, pick up some local honey, grab a bite from some food trucks or enjoy organic popcorn.

There were loads of speakers and entertainers, too.

Amanda Renaud, of Topsy Turvy, an entertainment group, strolled on stilts through the festival, towering above the crowd and flashing a bright smile.

Samantha Petrone, who played the character Ariel from The Little Mermaid, had to be carried across North Boulevard, to be placed in her spot beneath a tree.

She and other members of the Much Foundation, of Tampa, attracted attention from fascinated children and parents snapping photos of their youngsters, posing with the characters.

Last year, the event was selected as the “Best Community Event” by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Northrup was clearly enthused, as people continued streaming into the event this year.

“We made the event bigger and better than ever,” she said.

Published April 22, 2015

Protecting the earth, all year long

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Corrine Goodman is a big fan of Earth Day.

“My only desire for Earth Day would be is that it’s a month long,” said the Lutz woman, who is an avid gardener.

“We’re the caretakers of this earth,” said Goodman, whose water-saving practices earned her the 2014 Community Waterwise Award in Pasco County.

Corrine Goodman poses near some of the roses in her backyard. This gardener from Lutz believes in protecting the earth every day, not only on Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on April 22. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Corrine Goodman poses near some of the roses in her backyard. This gardener from Lutz believes in protecting the earth every day, not only on Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on April 22.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Her yard is a work in progress — and it’s progressing quite nicely.

“This was the ugliest house on the street, when I moved in, in January of 2010,” said Goodman, who lives in Carpenter’s Run.

“There wasn’t grass. We had weeds,” she said.

Currently there’s a rather large patch in the front yard that looks somewhat bare.

That’s where the oak tree used to be, Goodman explained.

But the tree was pushing up the driveway and someone walking past tripped, so Goodman took out the tree.

The area looks somewhat sparse now, but Goodman has plans for it. She’s transplanted an ornamental cassia tree, which is a host to sulphur butterflies.

“Now that I have some sun in the front yard, I’ve put in some milkweed to attract butterflies in the front yard, as well as the backyard,” Goodman said.

In other spots in her front yard, there are splashes of color — from red amaryllis blooms, and there’s a trio of old tires she’s now using as plant containers.

Along the side yard, there’s a thriving lion’s whiskers bush — with beguiling orange blooms.

“They’re a really nice plant (for) hummingbirds, bees, butterflies,” Goodman said.

In the backyard, the fragrance of rosemary wafts through the air and Tibetan prayer flags flap in the breeze.

Goodman isn’t Buddhist, but she likes the flags.

“The mythology is every time the wind blows and the flags move, a prayer is being sent to the creator for us,” she said.

Around her yard are fully mature plants that once were mere cuttings from plants in other people’s yards.

“That beach sunflower — that was one scraggly little plant,” she said. “That’s one plant, that has spread like that.”

Her garden boasts all sorts of plants and flowers. She has roses, sages, lilies, honeysuckle, pineapple, angel trumpet and camellias, to name just a few.

And, her garden is thriving even though she uses no irrigation, no pesticides and very little fertilizer.

“I have a really nice balance of good bugs, bad bugs, so I don’t have to use pesticides.

“I don’t fertilize very much, because the mulch disintegrates.

“The only water this yard gets is from the rain barrels and from nature. I have no irrigation, no sprinkling system,” she said.

Tending the garden takes work, but for Goodman, it’s an exercise that’s good for the soul.

“This is my oasis. This is where I come.”

“When I go out and I sit in my garden in the morning, I take my coffee out and it, to me, it’s like my holy space or my sacred space.

“I enjoy the butterflies, the lizards, the cockroaches — I mean, everything has a purpose.”

She believes in the theory that one person respecting and tending the earth can affect the whole world.

“It’s the old butterfly effect — ‘If the butterfly flaps its wings in Africa, that vibration carries around the globe.’

“I truly believe that.”

Published April 22, 2015