Justin Vick

ZEPHYRHILLS – The City of Zephyrhills is taking a unique approach to fix flooding within the Park Hill subdivision, an area affected last year by Hurricane Milton. 

Staff recommended buying the home at 6109 16th Street so the city could expand the existing retention pond along the west side of the road. This will create additional stormwater capacity. 

“I happened to notice when we were looking at a complaint that that piece of property was up for sale,” Public Works Director Shane LeBlanc told the Zephyrhills City Council on Oct. 13. “We looked at it, and we thought we could double the capacity of this retention pond and maybe solve some of these flooding issues because these parcels don’t come up for sale very often. It just seemed like good timing.”

The city agreed on a price of $250,000. City council approved the sale, which will be paid through the Penny for Pasco Contingency line item. 

“I just think it’s a good first step because we’re going to be looking to do this probably in Henry Drive, 9th Avenue and different places,” Council Member Steve Spina said. “These are the kind of things we can do ourselves without waiting for huge grants and projects.”

City ordinances require two appraisals for buying property over $80,000. Tampa-based Lee Pallardy Inc. describes the ranch-style house as being in above-average condition given recent upgrades. The house was built in 1980.

LeBlanc said the city plans to demolish the house and dig the lot out just a little bit. The city will have to get a permit to design the retention pond. A consultant will provide engineering services. 

The Lee Pallardy appraisal noted Zephyrhills experienced “significant flooding impacts” from Hurricane Milton. 

“Most of the flooding issues occurred in the older residential communities, many of which have retention ponds that are not of the size needed to accommodate significant amounts of rainfall within a short period of time,” according to the appraisal. “The subject is located adjacent to the north of a retention pond that likely overflowed during the hurricane, but the subject home reportedly did not experience flooding within the living area of the home; there was reportedly some water accumulation in the garage.”

 

 

WESLEY CHAPEL – AdventHealth Center Ice presents “Hallowrink,” a themed public skate session from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 24. 

The family-friendly ice skate will include Halloween-themed party favors and treat bags, while supplies last. Come dressed up in costume and enjoy party lights, on-ice games, a costume contest, themed drinks and a DJ playing all the haunting hits.

AdventHealth Center Ice regularly hosts two-hour themed ice-skating sessions during its public skate times. These are open to all ages, whether you’re an avid skater or just looking for a fun way to ice skate for the first time. The center is located at 3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Wesley Chapel. 

While most public skate sessions at AdventHealth Center Ice are 1 hour, the monthly theme skate and the weekly “Friday Night Meltdown” showcase party lights, music DJ, and extended two hours of skating time.  

“Theme skates at AdventHealth Center Ice offer guests a unique way to express themselves and fully enjoy the community ice skating experience,” said Matthew Christopher, events director. “For the upcoming event, the in-house restaurant and bar, Top Shelf Sports Lounge, will serve kid and adult-friendly themed drinks like a Candy Corn Ice Cream Float.”

 

With the skeletons coming out in full force this month, have you given much thought to your bones?

After all, your skeleton does so much. It provides structural support, allows us to move, protects vital organs, makes red and white blood cells and more.

We’ve all heard of calcium and Vitamin D for bone health, but phosphorus is a big one, too.  

Phosphorus and calcium make up the structure of our bones, where they are stored.  

The two have an inverse relationship: when one rises, the other drops.  

The concentration of calcium and phosphorus in the blood is tightly regulated through hormones as our bodies strive to stay in homeostasis.  

Many processed foods have phosphorus additives.  

You might see them on the ingredients list as phosphoric acid, sodium phosphate and polyphosphates.  

You’ll find these additives in sodas, baked goods, crackers, pizza, cured meats, candy and other food sources.

Meanwhile, you can get phosphorus naturally in dairy food, salmon, beef, poultry, pork, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole wheat products and certain vegetables, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance for phosphorus is 700 mg/day.  

When consumed from natural food such as milk, only 60% of it gets absorbed.  

But when consumed from processed food, 100% of it gets absorbed.  

Too much phosphorus, namely from processed food, causes the calcium in the blood to drop, and so your body pulls it from the bones to try to maintain the balance.  

Over time, this can lead to brittle and weak bones.  

The calcium to phosphorus ratio is crucial to bone health, and what we eat makes all the difference.  

If you’re already eating a healthy eating pattern, then you are probably getting enough of this mineral.  

Check the food label too to see if you’re getting enough calcium or Vitamin D (don’t forget the sun can help with Vitamin D levels too).  

Daily calcium requirements vary by age and gender:

• 9 to 18 years old: 1,300 mg
• 19 to 50 years old: 1,000 mg
• Men 51 to 70 years old: 1,000 mg
• Women 51 to 70 years old: 1,200 mg
• All adults 71+: 1,200 mg

Dairy has high calcium levels that are well absorbed by the body, but there are other food sources that have calcium too, whether naturally or fortified.  

For example, look for grains fortified with calcium, such as cereals and bread.  

Among vegetables, dark leafy greens such as collards, kale and bok choy are good sources of calcium.  

While spinach does have calcium, it also has oxalates, which inhibit calcium absorption.  

And if you’re a fan of orange juice, make sure it’s fortified with calcium and vitamin D.  

Kumquats, oranges and dried figs also have some levels of calcium.  

Within protein, fortified tofu and certain beans and seafood have calcium.

As for Vitamin D, intake varies a bit by age:

• 1-70 years: 15 micrograms per day
• Over 70: 20 micrograms per day

You’ll find Vitamin D fortified in many foods and beverages, including milk, yogurt, cheese, cereal and orange juice.  

Naturally, you’ll find it in fatty fish and egg yolks.

Other habits matter too, like staying active with weight-bearing exercises such as walking and resistance training, and avoiding alcohol and tobacco.

So as you hang up the skeletons in your yard, don’t forget about your own skeleton.

 

Shari Bresin is the Family & Consumer Science Agent for the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension Pasco County, An Equal Opportunity Institution.

 

ZEPHYRHILLS – Main Street Zephyrhills shared updates with the city council on Sept. 23 as the organization prepares to close out the year with major events like Halloween Howl, Veterans Day Parade and Festival of Lights. 

Antwon Gildon, Main Street director and coordinator, said the organization has received great response from promoting its events on water bills. 

“I noticed it,” Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson said. “I wrote a note that said, ‘Whoever thought of this is a genius’ because I never thought about it before. That was great.”

Gildon said he wished he could take credit for the idea.

“Without having a local newspaper, we’re having to be as creative as possible,” Gildon said. “It’s just one of those things where it may not reach everyone but it’s going to reach someone that something else may not reach.”

Main Street Zephyrhills has accumulated 17,000 followers on Facebook with more than 256,000 page views over the past 90 days. The organization also has 1,800 followers on Instagram.

“I just recently found out if you don’t comment or like when you see a post, it will not stay high on your algorithm,” Gildon said, encouraging followers to engage with their content to ensure future updates aren’t buried. 

The organization’s promotions committee is trying to get companies along U.S. 301 to promote upcoming Halloween and Christmas events on their signs. 

The design committee has been working on the look of 2025 Halloween Howl bags. Gildon said the design will be unveiled in a few weeks on social media. Expect a bag that is a bit smaller than last year’s orange ones.

Gildon told the council to expect some more updates on the Historic Home Theater after Halloween. He said Main Street staff met with architects to review the demo package for the theater. 

The venue will be used for Halloween Howl’s Haunted Theater theme. That event takes place from 4 to 9 p.m. Oct. 25 with food trucks, hayrides, games and a haunted area at the theater. 

The organization’s economic vitality committee has worked with downtown building owners to fill vacancies. Members have reached out to companies about locating shops and restaurants to downtown.

“It has been a very successful reemergence of downtown,” Gildon said. “There’s only a few spaces that remain available and the majority of those spaces that remain available are due to size and some limitations that the new owners may take over. But every smaller location that can be re-leased has actually been re-leased pretty quickly.”

Main Street Zephyrhills also plans to roll out a community engagement series.

“We’re going to take Main Street outside of the district and go and talk with the community and just see some of the things that they’re looking forward to seeing in the downtown district,” Gildon said. 

The organization committee has raised nearly $8,000 for its investor drive. He feels confident Main Street Zephyrhills can reach its $20,000 goal by the end of the year. 

Wilkeson recommended anyone wanting to support Main Street Zephyrhills to sign up for its investor program, in which they can get updates on events and other perks. There are investor levels for individuals and businesses. 

The organization has also secured more than $8,500 in title sponsors for upcoming events. Gildon expects more to come in once they secure a Festival of Lights title sponsor. The theme of this year’s festival will be “Christmas in Toyland.”

 

Upcoming Main Street Events

• Oct. 25: Halloween Howl, 4-9 p.m.
• Nov. 8: Veterans Day Parade, 10 a.m.
• Nov. 16: Paulie Palooza, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Nov. 24: Christmas Tree Lighting, 7 p.m.
• Dec. 6: Festival of Lights, 4-9 p.m. 
• Dec. 6: Christmas Parade, 7 p.m.

 

Now that we’re officially in pumpkin spice season, it made me wonder … what is the history of pumpkin spice?  

How did this seasonal staple come about in the first place?  

And what makes it so embedded in “fall culture?”

While the craze took off after Starbucks debuted the pumpkin spice latte in 2003, the pumpkin spice blend itself is over 200 years old, with two spice-filled pumpkin pie recipes found in the 1798 cookbook “American Cookery.”

By the 1930s, spice manufacturing companies combined the ingredients into a single product, so people no longer had to buy the separate spice ingredients – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves are the core components.  

Its purpose is to enhance the flavor of pumpkin. It doesn’t contain any actual pumpkin.  

While this might be common knowledge to many, Reddit threads tell us otherwise, as there are people on there that are shocked to learn that there is no pumpkin in pumpkin spice, similar to how there is no hamburger in Hamburger Helper.  

Pumpkin itself is bland; you wouldn’t even want your latte tasting like actual pumpkin.  

It is mostly made of water (up to 90%), and so the pumpkin spice is needed to make it more appetizing in various pumpkin dishes.

These days, however, pumpkin spice anything (latte, donuts, cookies, cream cheese, yogurt, etc.) have more sugar than authentic pumpkin, if it has any at all, and may have some, all, or none of the spices of pumpkin spice.  

Basically, food companies make pumpkin spice products to remind you of pumpkin pie, which we usually have positive associations with (Thanksgiving, family time, cozy nights, cooler weather, etc.).  

Because we like joy and happy memories, food that reminds us of this (plus the scarcity effect that it’s a limited time) prompts us to buy it.  

The high sugar content also makes us come back for more.  

Some food companies simply put caramel coloring in the product to make it look like pumpkin, and various preservatives to give it a look and taste of pumpkin pie without actually putting pumpkin or pumpkin spice in it, solely to capitalize on the pumpkin fad during this time of year.  

More marketing than pumpkin goes into it.  

In fact, you may recall the outrage over a decade ago when Starbucks customers learned that there wasn’t any pumpkin in the pumpkin spice latte, leading Starbucks to change the recipe and add pumpkin puree to the pumpkin spice flavored syrup in 2015.  

But based on the popularity of it before then, it’s clear that pumpkin wasn’t even necessary taste-wise, but people demanded it based on principle.  

So, are your pumpkin spice foods really made with pumpkin, just the spices or just flavoring agents and preservatives?  

You will have to read the ingredients list to find out.

And it’s not just food.  

Pumpkin spice candles, air fresheners and hand soaps are also popular this time of year.  

The scent is just as powerful as the taste in evoking comforting memories.  

Have you ever had a pumpkin-spice product during the other months of the year?  

It just doesn’t have that same comforting effect.

So whether you love or hate this pumpkin phrenzy, it’s safe to say this fall tradition is here to stay.  

 

Shari Bresin is the Family & Consumer Science Agent for the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension Pasco County, An Equal Opportunity Institution.