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DADE CITY – Pasco High School is celebrating a milestone as its newly established Speech and Debate Team secured victories in regional tournaments and earned national recognition.

Founded in September 2024 under the leadership of head coach Mark Joseph Valdez and Assistant Coach Diana Bacheller, the team has quickly risen to prominence in just a few months. 

The team, affiliated with the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative, has already made a significant impact at regional and national competitions. Results from those competitions are as follows: 

 

FCDI Gulf Coast Regional Tournament #2 

(Nov. 16 in Sarasota)

• Fatima Abu Khaled – first place, Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
• Paula-Ann Williams – first place, Declamation.
• Aster Ayala Perez – first place, Impromptu Speaking.
• Rachel Marie Williams – first place, Informative Speaking.
• Madison LoBianco – second place, Legislative Debate.
• Hailey Graepel – third place, Legislative Debate.

 

FCDI Gulf Coast Regional Tournament #3 

(Dec. 14 in Apollo Beach)

• Abby Bromley – first place, Original Oratory.
• Rachel Marie Williams – first place, Informative Speaking.
• Kyndel Edge & Katie Ananko – first place, Public Forum Debate.
• David Le – second place, Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
• Aster Ayala Perez – second place, Extemporaneous Debate.
• Paula-Ann Williams – second place, Impromptu Speaking.
• Hailey Graepel – first place, Legislative Debate.
• Madison LoBianco – second place, Legislative Debate.
• Quinten Colbert – third place, Legislative Debate.

 

National Speech and Debate Championship 

(Jan. 17 to 20 in Orlando)

Hailey Graepel achieved 12th place in Extemporaneous Debate and was recognized as one of the “undefeated” debaters with a 3-0 record in preliminary rounds.

 

 

Women’s club pitches in at charity

LAND O’ LAKES – GFWC  Lutz-Land O’Lakes members enjoyed a “Day of Service” Jan. 29 at Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa.  

Club members gave back by either working in the kitchen, thrift store or intake area handing out food to clients.  

Visit lutzlandolakeswomansclub.org for details about the service organization or membership opportunities.

 

Zephyrhills ready to open park

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL – The City of Zephyrhills will celebrate the grand opening of Hercules Park, the first new community park built in the city in four decades.

The town invites the public to the grand opening ceremony from noon to 2 p.m. Feb. 13 at 38100 County Road 54.

The 12-acre park is designed to meet the recreational needs of Zephyrhills’ over 22,000 residents, featuring a nature-based playground, splash pad, scenic trails, open pavilions and restrooms.

Designed by Kimley-Horn and built by Wharton-Smith, Hercules Park honors Zephyrhills’ history by incorporating elements inspired by the Hercules Powder Company, which once operated Camp No. 39 on the site more than 70 years ago. 

“This park is a testament to our city’s growth and commitment to providing quality recreational opportunities for all of our residents,” City Manager Billy Poe said. “Hercules Park will be a place where families can

create lasting memories while honoring our community’s rich history.”

 

Hillsborough reopens Lake Park

LUTZ – Hillsborough County has reopened Lake Park.

The park, located at 17302 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Lutz, was temporarily closed in October and later used as a countywide vegetative debris collection site to accommodate an unprecedented number of downed trees and other vegetation resulting from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.  

Lake Park features five lakes, cypress swamps, pine flatwoods, hardwood hammocks and abundant wildlife. 

The marked pathways are popular with hikers, runners, mountain bicyclists and equestrians. 

Lake Park includes a fitness trail with workout stations, an archery range, two horse arenas and a track for Tampa BMX and radio-controlled car racing.

 

Sterling Senior Strategies to host mobile device workshop

LAND O’ LAKES – Sterling Senior Strategies will offer a free workshop designed to help seniors navigate the world of mobile devices and stay connected with loved ones. 

The event will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Feb. 22 at 2818 Collier Pkwy. Seniors are encouraged to RSVP by emailing or call 813-523-0545. 

Participants will learn functions such as texting, attaching photos to messages, and understanding the basics of popular social media apps used to connect with family and friends. 

“We understand that technology can be daunting for some seniors,” CEO Nikki Walsh said. “This workshop is designed to break down those barriers and provide hands-on guidance in a friendly and supportive environment. We want to empower seniors to use their devices to stay in touch with family and friends, access important information, and enjoy all the benefits that technology has to offer.”

 

Bilirakis appointed to House Select Committee on China

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) has been appointed to the House Select Committee of Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party.

The committee is responsible for assessing the threats to the economy and national security posed by the government of China and proposing plans to ensure a strong American future.

“The Chinese Communist Party represents the single most significant national and economic security threat of our generation,” Bilirakis said. “I look forward to working alongside Chairman (John) Moolenaar and my colleagues on the Select Committee to build upon efforts to protect American interests, strengthen our national security and combat the CCP’s growing influence around the world.

Bilirakis also chairs the Commerce Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee.

 

Lee supports bipartisan legislation to help citrus industry 391

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Laurel Lee (FL-15) supports the bipartisan Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act, which aims to update regulations and support Florida citrus growers. 

The measure is cosponsored by the entire Florida Delegation.

“In recent years, Florida citrus growers have faced a multitude of challenges that threaten the sustainability and profitability of the industry, including the relentless scourge of the citrus greening disease and extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts. With the increasing importation of foreign orange juice, which often undercuts our domestic producers, we must take decisive action to uphold the integrity and quality of American-made orange juice,” Lee said. “The Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act will change the Brix standard set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow orange growers to continue to produce the loved Florida orange juice without making sacrifices that will affect the quality and taste.”

 

PASCO COUNTY – Pasco County Government completed debris removal efforts following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, collecting about 1.3 million cubic yards of storm debris across the county.  

That’s enough debris to cover the county’s 20-mile stretch of U.S. 19 with a three-foot-thick layer of debris, extending across the median and turn lanes.

“We’re immensely proud of the work our dedicated teams and partners have accomplished during this unprecedented cleanup effort,” County Administrator Mike Carballa said.  “This was the most storm debris we’ve ever seen in Pasco County, and we thank our residents for their patience and cooperation as we worked to ensure Pasco County is safe and clean once again.”

Key highlights of the debris collection process:

• 115 trucks operated simultaneously during peak cleanup.
• 75,000 individual visits to impacted addresses.
• 9,000-plus hazardous trees and branches have been removed.
• 6 debris management sites have been transitioning back to their original condition

Residents who still have storm debris can bundle yard waste into four-foot long sections and put them in their trash cans or place them at the curb for regular trash pickup.  

For large or bulky items, like furniture or mattresses, residents can contact their trash haulers to schedule pickup.

Residents can also bring any outstanding debris to one of the following locations (see drop-off fees here: mypas.co/TrashFees):

• East Pasco Transfer Station, 9626 Handcart Road, Dade City: Monday to Saturday | 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. for Pasco County residents
• West Pasco Resource Recovery, 14606 Hays Road, Spring Hill: Monday to Saturday | 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. for Pasco County residents.

Call customer service at 727.847.2411 / MyPasco.net for details. 

TAMPA – BayCare has acquired a 36-acre office parcel in the Tampa Bay Park, which includes three buildings and two parking garages adjacent to St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s Children’s and St. Joseph’s Women’s hospitals.

BayCare announced Feb. 4 that it had acquired a 36-acre office parcel just west of its St. Joseph’s hospitals’ campus in Tampa to provide room for strategic growth. 

The partial acquisition of the Tampa Bay Park includes three buildings and two parking garages and is adjacent to St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s Children’s and St. Joseph’s Women’s hospitals.

The acreage increases by more than 75% the health system’s property holdings in the West Tampa neighborhood where St. Joseph’s Hospital has operated for nearly a century.    .

“As West Central Florida grows, so must BayCare to continue our mission to improve our communities’ health,” said Stephanie Conners, BayCare president and CEO. “The opportunity to buy such a large piece of property contiguous to one of our largest medical campuses provides us the opportunity to expand important specialty services for our patients and communities. This expanded campus will serve the entire region as a medical destination for specialty care.”

In the short term, BayCare is working individually with tenants of the facilities to support lease agreements. Relocating or adding BayCare offices and clinics to the property will happen over time.

The partial acquisition of Tampa Bay Park expands the campus into a regional destination for specialty care.

Eventually, the health system envisions directly linking the property via a new, vehicular bridge to its hospitals’ campus and using the facilities to complement the system’s needs but also those of St. Joseph’s hospitals – three centrally located facilities that are poised to expand to meet the region’s needs.

BayCare has announced it will build a new facility for St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital by 2030, and St. Joseph’s Hospital and its trauma center remain an essential resource for acute and specialty care for the region. 

BayCare also has announced it will expand its graduate medical education programs to 650 residents by 2029 to help ensure West Central Florida and BayCare continue to attract the best and brightest physicians. Residencies occur after medical school and provide new physicians with supervised, hands-on training in the specialty or sub-specialty of their choice. By the middle of this year, BayCare is anticipating having up to 283 residents across 18 programs serving in its primary footprint of Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties.

“We are excited for the opportunity this provides BayCare, but also our communities,” said Kimberly Guy, chief operating officer for BayCare. “To have this many centrally located medical resources together in a single campus will deepen our region’s access to BayCare’s high-quality, compassionate care. It will also create an environment that attracts the brightest medical professionals to care for our patients.”

 

PASCO COUNTY – Pasco County Utilities received a Meritorious Award as part of the 2024 Water Conservation Awards for Excellence.  

The honor celebrates innovative and outstanding achievements in water efficiency across Florida.

The Florida Section of the American Water Works Association presented the award to Water Conservation & Efficiency Coordinator Phoenix McKinney, highlighting her work on the “Reactive Focused Assistance Site Visit” program, which offers free, onsite assistance to help customers identify leaks or other issues contributing to high water use.

“Our goal is to help customers pinpoint the cause of their high-water use and then reduce it,” McKinney said.  “Thanks to our program, customers we’ve worked with are saving between 1,000 and 30,000 gallons of water every month.”

During a six-month period in 2024, Pasco County Utilities provided onsite assistance to 41 homeowners, resulting in an overall savings of about 313,500 gallons of water per month.

The program isn’t just for residential customers.  

Any Pasco County Utilities’ account holder – including HOA board members, community management professionals, commercial property owners and model home sales teams – can request a site visit or consultation.

Pasco County Utilities customers with water usage seemingly higher than expected can request on-site assistance by emailing

Find tips for water conservation and efficiency at mypas.co/SeekALeak. Visiting bit.ly/PascoWatering to know your watering day.

On the web: PascoCountyUtilities.com

LAND O’ LAKES – Pasco County Schools Superintendent John Legg told the school board on Feb. 4 he thinks homework should be part of what’s used to determine their grades.

“I want our teachers to have the ability to feel they can assign homework and have grades attached to it in a meaningful way,” Legg said.

If this is approved, it would reverse a decision made by the school board three years ago to not have the results of students’ homework count toward their grades.

Faculty and staff members were also informed of Legg’s intention in a memo and YouTube video.

The idea of homework having an impact on students’ grades has been the subject of debates for more than a decade throughout the United States.

Some people contend that homework takes away from the amount of time students can spend with their families. Others have said homework is an important part of helping students learn in addition to what they have been taught in the classroom.

Students’ grades could be negatively affected if they turned their homework in late under what Legg is proposing.

Work groups are looking at ways to change the homework rules, according to Legg. He hopes new guidelines for homework will be in place by the fourth quarter of this year’s school year.

Legg said the school board will be informed of the proposed changes before they are implemented.

A couple of the goals of the proposed changes to homework rules include being able to reinforce what students have already been taught along with letting it be known whether they are doing well or if they need help, according to Legg.

 

Leadership changes

School board members approved two important personnel changes during the Feb. 4 meeting.

Lori Romano was appointed as assistant superintendent for support services. She’s responsible for, among other things, overseeing construction, student assistance, maintenance, planning and transportation. 

Betsy Kuhn, who previously did that work, was recently appointed as a deputy superintendent for the school district.

Romano will also continue to serve in her current position as director of career, technical, and adult education. 

Meanwhile, Kelly McPherson, who graduated from River Ridge High School in 2000, was hired as its principal. She replaces former principal Toni Zetzsche, who was recently promoted to become the district’s chief of communication. 

McPherson had served as River Ridge’s interim principal for about a month. She had been that school’s assistant principal prior to Zetzsche taking on her new responsibilities.

 

Several Hudson residents told the Pasco County Planning Commission on Jan. 23 that they were against a proposal for a 63-lot subdivision.

They expressed concerns about the possible impact that increased traffic would have along with the possibility of flooding in their area. 

Two neighbors also said they thought wildlife in the area would be negatively impacted and the use of nearby agricultural property would be affected if the rezoning request is approved.

Other residents said they were concerned development of the proposed subdivision would affect the value of their properties.

However, the planning commission recommended approval to the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners. County commissioners are scheduled to hold a public hearing on the DRB Group’s request during their Feb. 25 meeting in New Port Richey.

The 34.24-acre site is located on the northwest corner of Hudson Avenue and Colony Road.

The property is currently zoned A-R Agricultural-Residential District and the DRB Group, based in Rockville, Maryland, seeks to have the zoning changed to Master Planned Unit Development.

If the rezoning request is approved, it would make it possible for the development of the 67 residential lots and associated infrastructure in the area that would be known as the Sakelson Hudson MPUD. 

Barbara Wilhite, an attorney representing the applicant, said the planned entrances to the MPUD would be off of Hudson Avenue and Colony Boulevard with an interconnection to Foxfire Drive.

“We are constructing that portion of our entrance, actually, we’re constructing the Colony Boulevard Vision Road standards,” Wilhite told Planning Commission members. “But our entrance is off of Colony, and we’re constructing that entrance off of Colony.”

She also referred to a section of the Pasco County Land Development Code that requires the interconnection to be made to Foxfire Drive.

Foxfire Drive is the primary roadway that neighbors said they thought would be negatively affected by increased traffic from the proposed subdivision.

Chief Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein said it wasn’t clear on the MPUD plan the applicant had submitted that there was a dedication of right of way to make the connection to Colony Boulevard.

“It looks like it goes through land that you own,” Goldstein said. “And there’s no right of way dedication requirement for that interconnect. So I think there needs to be.”

Wilhite said her team had to do a wildlife assessment at the time of  zoning. She added that the wildlife assessment would be done again at the time a primary development plan is submitted because the one that has already been done is only good for 18 months.

“There’s a lot that goes on with stormwater as well, as our many engineers here on the board know,” Wilhite said. 

And she said she didn’t think the value of adjacent properties would be lowered because the homes in the subdivision would be very expensive. 

In other business on Jan. 23, the planning commission:

Approved a request for a conditional use amendment made by Spanish Lakes Land Company LLC to remove a height limitation previously put on approximately 18.65 acres in west central Pasco County. 

The current height limitation of 35 feet was set in 2005. 

Spanish Lakes hopes to develop a maximum of 360 multiple-family dwelling units on the property located 150 feet north of State Road 52 and east of Deerbrook Boulevard. This is less than the 432 units for which the property was previously approved according to the applicant’s representative, attorney Barbara Wilhite.

The property is located within the Urban Service Area and there’s no limit on the height of structures there according to Spanish Lakes’ application.

Wilhite said she didn’t know the height of the structures that Spanish Lakes was considering constructing on the site.

County commissioners will hold a public hearing regarding this request during its Feb. 25 meeting in New Port Richey.