The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Kevin Weiss

Cancellation of spring sports leaves many dejected

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There was at least a glimmer of hope the 2020 Florida high school spring sports season would resume, even amid concerns about coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

But, optimism vanished when the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) on April 20 announced it would cancel all FHSAA-affiliated events.

The cancellations include the state series and championships events, for spring sports.

Due to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) on April 20 announced it would cancel all FHSAA-affiliated events, including the state series and championships events, for spring sports. (File)

The statewide sports organization also announced no additional eligibility will be granted for spring sport athletes, including seniors, “under the guidance of the Florida Department of Education regarding grade level retention, and upon review of Florida Statutes and FHSAA Bylaws.”

And, just like that, high school senior athletic careers have come to an end.

It happened months sooner than expected, with no clue for athletes that a game, match or meet around mid-March would officially be their last.

The reality has left many local senior athletes feeling dejected, including Sunlake High’s Gianna Levy.

“It was really hard on me,” said Levy. “I cried. To be honest, I cried a lot.”

The prep track and field season offered Levy a final chance to boost her stats and times, to get on the radar of NCAA Division I college programs, as a heptathlete. She’s still holding out hope of being able to compete on the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) circuit this summer to get those college looks, but even that’s no guarantee.

“It definitely is really taking a really big toll on me,” Levy said. “This was a lot of people’s out ticket (to college) and now we don’t have that out ticket.”

Levy was only able participate in a couple track events before the varsity season came to a screeching halt. She was nursing a hip injury, which arose in February after she won a state title in girls weightlifting.

Though she’d already been a three-time state track and field qualifier and holds the school’s 400-meter dash record, Levy was dogged to put forth a banner senior campaign. “I just had so many goals in mind,” she said.

Other seniors had similar ambitions for their high school swan song.

Land O’ Lakes High senior Courtney Piltaver is a two-time Sunshine Athletic Conference East Girls Tennis Player of the Year. She was poised again to shine in her final high school tennis season, coming off a district title and state finalist.

From left: Wiregrass Ranch High softball seniors Kailey Riddlesworth, Cassidy Eason, Lexi Gaiefsky and Loryn Finn. These athletes only played nine games of a 27-game regular season schedule, due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy of Tyler Finn)

“I was pretty upset because it was my senior year, and it really sucks that I didn’t get to enjoy the full season with my team and my coaches, and kind of just close out,” said Piltaver, who’s signed with NCAA Division II University of Montevallo in Alabama.

The tennis standout added that not having the typical ceremonial senior night celebration, “was kind of heartbreaking, because that was something I was really looking forward to since my freshman year.”

Senior infielder Loryn Finn was in the midst of her best hitting season on the Wiregrass Ranch High softball team, sporting a .360/.467/.440 slash line through nine games.

The team captain also was chasing the 100 career hit milestone — a possibility with 18 regular season games remaining on the schedule, until athletics activities were scrapped.

Finn won’t be playing college ball. She hasn’t quite come to grips that a March 11 loss to Wesley Chapel High is perhaps the final time she’ll pick up a bat, ball and glove competitively.

“It’s definitely hard. I’m kind of in shock,” Finn said, bluntly.

Aside from game action, Finn still longs for those last few “bus rides to games, and just jamming to music with players and teammates.”

With a tinge of despair in her voice, Finn labeled her four-year softball experience as “just always been fun.”

Wiregrass Ranch assistant softball coach Tyler Finn feels for his senior daughter and the many other players on the team: “It’s really just not the seniors, it’s freshmen, it’s everybody. It’s tough on them, too. It affects every player, all of them; their season was cut short.”

He also observed his daughter’s high school athletics career coming to an abrupt halt.

Besides softball, Finn was a three-time All-Conference golfer: “She’s gotten to the point where she just wants to get into college and get the education going. She had a really good high school softball career and golf career. …She’s going to miss those kids that she played with since she was little — that’s the hard part.”

Though the traditional season is done, the assistant coach is looking for some way to hold a final showcase in the summer that would bring together various senior high school softball players countywide, assuming restrictions on parks and gatherings are lifted.

“The kids deserve it,” he said.

‘I knew it was coming’
Back on March 31, the FHSAA issued a statement that left open the possibility of a spring sports season, saying they could run from as soon as May 3 through June 30.

The FHSAA also had indicated if a spring sports season is canceled altogether, it was working on a solution to create additional athletics eligibility for students who were unable to participate.

FHSAA-sanctioned spring sports include baseball, flag football, lacrosse, softball, tennis, track & field, boys volleyball, water polo and boys weightlifting.

However, as days and weeks pressed on, many saw the writing on the wall that spring sports would not return this year, due to the pandemic.

Sunlake High senior track and field standout Gianna Levy was looking to get on the radar of Division I college athletics programs before the spring season was cut short. (Courtesy of Gianna Levy)

“I knew it was coming. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I didn’t want to accept it, but I knew it was coming,” said Academy at the Lakes (AATL) varsity baseball coach Ken Akins.

“Once the FHSAA said, ‘OK, we’re thinking about extending it into summer and deep into June,’ there was a little bit of hope there, but once you get into June you start messing with all the travel sports — baseball and softball are huge in the summertime.”

Academy at the Lakes athletic director Tom Haslam offered a similar take on the FHSAA’s decision: “We kind of knew this was coming, but we hated to hear the actual directive.”

He added: “It’s understandable, they have to do it, so we don’t disagree with it, we expected it.”

The directive came at a time when multiple AATL programs were hitting their stride.

The AATL baseball team was on its best start in program history, already matching its win total from 2019  —  thanks to contributions from four seniors.

The school’s boys tennis team, meanwhile, was expected to contend for a state championship, like the prior season.

Of course, the FHSAA’s salvo wiped out the Land O’ Lakes-based private school’s softball, track and field, and boys weightlifting teams.

All told, there were 17 seniors among those five teams.

“It affects everybody’s season,” Haslam said, “but the seniors, you really feel for it.”

He added, “It’s not just athletic seniors, but seniors in anything. You’re talking about proms and special events that just aren’t going to happen. It’s just sad. Sad’s the best word I have for it.”

Though much attention has been brought to how this year’s seniors are affected, and rightly so, the longtime athletic director also believes the canceled spring season could have major ripple effects for juniors looking to get recruited by various college programs.

Haslam put it like this: “It hurts a lot of the juniors, because not only are they putting stats on paper, but they’re also missing workout time, and it’s going to be hard to develop their skills as normal, because they can’t get in the cages and gyms, and there’s no spring ball, and there may not even be travel ball in the summer.

“It’s pretty far-reaching, so it doesn’t just affect seniors on that level. You can’t even go out in a park and shoot hoops,” he said.

Published April 29, 2020

Legendary Gaither baseball coach passes away

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Legendary Gaither High School varsity baseball coach Frank Permuy died on April 19, following a yearlong battle with brain cancer, multiple media outlets reported. He was 77.

Permuy coached Gaither for 30 seasons — from when the school first opened in 1984 up until 2014.

Frank Permuy (File)

He registered a 513-276 (.650) record in that span, guiding the Cowboys to 16 playoff berths, 13 district titles, eight Western Conference titles, two regional championships and a state-runner up finish. Notable former players Permuy coached include current Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash and Cleveland Indians outfielder Oscar Mercado.

In 2015, the local school named its baseball field in his honor, calling it ‘Frank Permuy Park.’

Before his time at Gaither, Permuy also coached baseball at Leto and Tampa Catholic high schools, along with the University of Tampa — totaling more than 700 career victories across the prep and college levels.

Permuy grew up in Ybor City and attended Plant High School, playing baseball there for three seasons. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa and a master’s from Mississippi State University, upon entering the coaching ranks.

Permuy over the years earned inductions into several Halls of Fame — American Baseball Coaches Association (2018), Sports Club of Tampa (2016), National High School Baseball Coaches Association (2013), Florida High School Athletic Association (2010) and Florida Athletic Coaches Association (2010).

Local prep football standouts prime for Division I ranks

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Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) may have halted on-field sporting activities, but it hasn’t stopped local standout high school athletes from announcing their plans for the next level.

That’s the case for a trio of rising senior football players — who verbally committed to play bigtime Division I FBS football, in the same midwestern state.

Steinbrenner High junior running back Deon Silas and Armwood junior cornerback Noah Biglow, a Wesley Chapel resident who previously played for Wiregrass Ranch High, have pledged to Iowa State University, a Big 12 program.

Meanwhile, Gaither High junior cornerback/receiver Jordan Oladokun announced he’s headed to the University of Iowa, a Big 10 school.

All three athletes are consensus three-star prospects, according to multiple online recruiting outlets.

Deon Silas (Courtesy of Steinbrenner High School football)

The 5-foot-7, 170-pound Silas posted 2,058 all-purpose yards and 24 total touchdowns last season, an integral part of a Steinbrenner team that went 12-2 and reached the Class 8A state semifinals. If his commitment holds, Silas will join fellow Steinbrenner teammate Aidan Bitter, who signed with Iowa State in December and will be a college freshman this fall.

 

 

Noah Biglow (Courtesy of Armwood High School football)

The 6-foot, 175-pound Biglow registered 20 tackles and six interceptions in his first season at Armwood, after transferring from Wiregrass Ranch. His older brother, Daniel Biglow, was a former standout at Wiregrass Ranch who helped the program to two straight playoff appearances in 2016 and 2017. The elder sibling signed to play Division I FBS football at Florida Atlantic University, but was forced to retire due to a rare cardiovascular condition.

 

 

 

 

Jordan Oladokun (Courtesy of Gaither High School football)

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Oladokun last season tallied 995 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns, to go along with 20 tackles and two interceptions on defense, spurring Gaither to a 12-2 mark and the Class 6A state semifinals. He previously played at Academy at the Lakes his eighth grade and freshman seasons before transferring to Gaither in 2018, his sophomore year. Like Biglow, Oladokun has some college football bloodlines. His older brother, Chris Oladokun, was the starting quarterback at Division I FCS Samford University (Homewood, Alabama) last season, as a junior.

Pasco expanding film production footprint

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Pasco County’s tourism office last year rebranded to Experience Florida’s Sports Coast with the idea of becoming a destination for youth and amateur sports.

But, the county doesn’t want to be pigeonholed simply as a playground for various athletics tournaments and festivals.

The county’s tourism department is now expanding its brand portfolio to include film production — aiming to further boost economic development.

From left: ‘Death Cast’ director Bobby Marinelli, Experience Florida’s Sports Coast program manager Consuelo Sanchez, and ‘Death Cast’ producer Melissa McNerney. (Courtesy of Travis Claytor)

The production of “Death Cast,” a feature horror film, showcases the potential for the county to become a filming hotbed.

“Death Cast” is about six young, hopeful actors who are looking to land roles in an experimental horror film.

Roughly 90% of the movie was filmed in Pasco, including Dade City. Filming took place with a 30-member crew within a two-week period in January 2018.

“Death Cast” writer and director Bobby Marinelli pins the picture as “a really unique take on a classic horror story.”

He added: “It’s essentially a horror slasher film, by the numbers, but pulled in like a found footage, reality television-style that we’ve been told that’s it’s not been seen before.”

The independent, low-budget movie is set to be premiered on the film festival circuit this fall. It’s run time is 75 minutes.

The film’s main set piece takes place at a two-story house on Hanlon Terrace in Dade City, which has since transformed into a cattle ranch and wedding venue.

Set on a large property accented with a long, gravel driveway and shadowy tree canopy, the home helped “establish the look and feel of the rest of the movie,” Marinelli said.

An added bonus — the property featured a mother-in-law suite adjacent to the house that became the production office and base camp for most of the film.

A home and property on Hanlon Terrace in Dade City was the main set piece of the independent horror flick ‘Death Cast.’ Production took place across a two-week period in January 2018. The movie is about six young, hopeful actors looking to land roles in an experimental horror film.

“It worked out really well for us,” the director said.

Another central location was Crews Lake Wilderness Park in Shady Hills, offering an “amazing rural landscape” for other scenes, he said.

“It was honestly another keystone to the film,” Marinelli said of the park, “because we needed just this vast-like endless piece of property.”

Marinelli, who grew up in Hudson, was well-acquainted with the county’s landscape beforehand.

The Hudson High graduate studied filmmaking at Florida State University.

Making a movie in his hometown county required less red tape than other counties and states, he said.

The filmmaker cited a streamlined permitting process and accommodating nature from county officials and local residents. He mentioned Crews Lake Park was all but “handed to us on a silver platter” for their use.

“When you shoot in other states, particularly like big production states, there’s a lot of hoops to jump through to have that kind of access to a piece of property like that,” Marinelli explained.

“Other places, if you were shooting something like that, it would be a big task to stop the regular traffic of the park. …These parks in Pasco County, there’s enough of them, and they’re so vast that our footprint doesn’t really inconvenience the operations of the park, and it gives the film the look and feel and accessibility that it needs.”

It’s those types of reviews that Experience Florida’s Sports Coast officials hope to hear more often to help it attract future films.

The agency has its own film commissioner, Gaby LaJeunesse, who assists movie producers and scouts by establishing a link between other cities, county parks, libraries, transportation and private destinations.

Crews Lake Park in Shady Hills was another major set piece for ‘Death Cast.’ The independent, low-budget movie is set to be premiered on the film festival circuit this fall.

The work includes facilitating permits and road closures, and even coordinating with the Pasco School Board, if a project calls for filming in and around a school.

Besides helping to arrange needed accommodations for full-length features, she also assists with short films, student films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials and infomercials.

“The more productions that come to our county, the better opportunity we’re going to be out there and known across the country,” she said.

To help spread the word about its film-friendly mission, the tourism agency is developing a dedicated film page to add to its website.

It will help inform potential filmmakers and film production companies that are considering the area. The page will feature a library of location options, permitting information and so on. The new tab is expected to  go live sometime this year, officials say.

Experience Florida’s Sports Coast officials highlight the economic benefit of film casts and crews staying at local hotels, and eating and shopping locally. Moreover, creating film sets oftentimes requires extensive use of local labor and materials.

LaJeunesse observed, “Everybody benefits from a production in our county.”

Marinelli speaks to that firsthand.

“When a film’s shooting in a one- or two-week period of time, there’s a lot of money spent in that area and a lot of attention brought to it,” he said.

Meanwhile, what makes Pasco attractive for filmmakers could go well beyond easing the production process for film executives.

Beyond being a receptive place to make films, Pasco also offers diverse “coast to country” geography — providing wide-ranging set locations in an hour’s radius. For instance, Anclote Key’s castaway island look is much different than the rural, rolling hills of historic Dade City.

Those variations “speak a lot to Pasco County and what Pasco County has to offer in terms of locations,” said “Death Cast” producer Melissa McNerney.

McNerney, who lives in Tampa, studied acting in New York and has landed small roles in television shows including “The Good Wife,” “All My Children” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

“Filmmaking in Florida doesn’t have to be about stories that take place in the most obvious locations like beaches and areas where there’s palm trees and water, and kind of these really traditional, iconic, recognizable Florida landscapes.

“Our film shows backwoods and areas you might think aren’t even in Florida, and I think there’s a huge opportunity for filmmakers to start writing different stories that take place in lesser-known landscapes, and then challenge themselves to finding unique locations that aren’t necessarily identifiable as Florida, because I think that makes filming here that much more of a creative endeavor,” she said.

For information on “Death Cast” and to watch the trailer, visit DeathCastFilm.com.

Published April 22, 2020

Coronavirus could ‘decimate’ state appropriations

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The recently passed $93 billon Florida state budget included some big wins for East Pasco, but District 38 state Rep. Randy Maggard isn’t ready to celebrate or take a victory lap just yet.

That’s because the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will force state lawmakers back to Tallahassee for a special session sometime this summer — and likely result in major spending cuts for budgeted programs and projects due to a shortfall in sales tax revenues.

“This virus, it’s just going to decimate our budget,” Maggard said, during an East Pasco Networking Group virtual conference meeting on April 13.

Randy Maggard represents District 38 in the State House of Representatives (Courtesy of Florida House of Representatives)

The Dade City Republican helped secure a total of $16.6 million in appropriations to be used in projects by Zephyrhills, Lacoochee, Pasco County and Saint Leo University. These projects include intersection improvements, establishing a new robotics program, and septic to sewage for a fast-growing part of our county.

But, the freshman lawmaker admitted he isn’t sure which, if any, of those projects could be on the chopping block a few months from now.

“The problem we’re in, we all don’t know what’s going to change on us,” Maggard said. “All the good things we accomplished may not last, so that’s what we are dealing with at the moment and just watching, because It’s unchartered waters for all of us.”

Aside from budgetary impacts, Maggard outlined other issues that have or could become the result of COVID-19.

One of the more well-documented issues surfaced is the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) having trouble managing the massive volume of people filing for unemployment benefit claims.

Maggard mostly defended the DEO — pointing out the system was never designed or could’ve anticipated such unemployment levels in a state with historically low unemployment.

The lawmaker explained the DEO would typically file more than 10,000 unemployment claims in a month. Now, the department is getting as many or more in a single day.

“I think you’ve gotta put it in perspective a little bit,” Maggard said. “Nobody expected this to happen and where it’s going. Nobody expected it in our unemployment part and in our small businesses and our restaurant businesses. I just feel so bad for them, because it’s devastating…so we’re working tirelessly to try to do the right things to get us through this as quick as possible.”

He added “99% of what I do daily now is trying to help people get unemployment claims and fight it through the system.”

Maggard touched on some other unintended consequences resulting from COVID-19.

He explained statewide stay-at-home orders have led to a rise in domestic violence, and strains on waste management, while consumer stockpiling has exposed a truck driver shortage and product supply chains.

Maggard also raised concerns of the risk of utility and electric companies being overwhelmed as “everybody’s staying home under A/C, 24/7…and we haven’t even hit the summer hot time yet.

“This virus has really compounded a lot of problems and shows us a lot of weaknesses and some of the things we thought we had set up and were foolproof,” he said, “but, the good thing is we’re learning from it, we’re going to get through it…and there’s a light at the end of the end of the tunnel.”

Maggard reflects on first year in office
Voters selected Maggard in a special election last June to become their next representative in District 38 of the Florida House of Representatives — filling the vacancy created by former Rep. Danny Burgess, who accepted an offer from Gov. Ron DeSantis to become the executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Participating in his first 60-day regular legislative session “was absolutely one of the biggest honors of my life,” Maggard said, adding, “to be able to walk out on that chamber floor and realize you’re one of 2,700 people that ever stepped there, it gives you chills.”

Maggard spent 30 years as vice president of Sonny’s Discount Appliances in Dade City. He is a Pasco County native, attended Zephyrhills High School and holds an Associate of Arts degree from Pasco-Hernando Community College (now known as Pasco-Hernando State College).

He underscored the significance of his new role.

“Every time we press a button, we affect 21 million people’s lives,” Maggard said, “and I take that very seriously.”

With that, stopping a bill is oftentimes more important than passing a bill, Maggard said, “because every time something is passed, something is taken away, there’s some kind of freedom affected.”

“I quickly learned that my job up there was to stop things — bad policies — more than it was trying to make good policy, so I did a lot of arguing, debating over that,” he said.

For Maggard, the job overall has been “like drinking from a fire hose”  — in terms of the volume of tasks and issues that come across his desk regularly.

“When you’re running for office, you can’t really get prepared for all the amount of information that you need to use, and the people you need to see, and the work you have to do to be able to vote the right way for your citizens in Pasco,” he said.

Meanwhile, Maggard commended fellow state lawmakers for working together and across the aisle, as both the House and Senate unanimously approved the $93 billion state budget in March.

He highlighted the procurement of $690 million for water protection and restoration of the Everglades; $1.7 billion dollars for hurricane response; and, $17 billion for PreK-12 education funding, including $500 million for teachers pay raises, among others.

“The Republicans and Dems, we do have some differences,” he said, “but, we can sit down and have a breakfast, both sides, and talk and work something out, and I think that’s what good government’s supposed to be.

“We were called not to be politicians, but to be statesmen. I’m arguing for East Pasco, but somewhere in the middle there, we’ve gotta do what’s best for 21 million people.”

Published April 22, 2020

Zephyrhills employees taking coronavirus precautions

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Work inside Zephyrhills City Hall proceeds, but additional safety precautions have been instituted among city staffers, in response to threats posed by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Most all city departments and employees have begun working in split shifts, or A-B shifts, to create more separation among each other, Zephyrhills City Manager Billy Poe explained during an April 13 virtual city council meeting.

Poe said city employees have begun a “day on, day off” schedule model — working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday one particular week, then Tuesday and Thursday the following week.

The scheduling change, which affects more than 100 city employees, is expected to continue “for the foreseeable future,” Poe said.

The change won’t really impact the city’s police and fire departments and dispatchers because they already follow a split-shift schedule, Poe said.

The city manager explained the reasoning to cut daily work crews in half, particularly for areas such as the city’s maintenance yard: “We wanted to split those crews basically in half, so that God forbid somebody comes down with it (COVID-19), they don’t infect the entire department, they only potentially affect only half the department, so that we can continue to operate.”

Meantime, most department heads are still working full shifts, Poe said, “because they’re able to be in their office and keep the separation,” though large staff meetings are being held via virtual conference call.

Some city employees have been able to work remotely, accessing desktops and answering phone calls from home. The city’s IT department is trying to issue more laptops and the necessary software for more employees to do so, Poe said.

Other safety measures have been taken, too.

Inside the confines of City Hall, staffers have relocated desks further from one another and set up glass partitions.

Each employee has been provided N95 masks, gloves and their own refillable bottle of hand sanitizer. The fire department, meanwhile, has been issued retrofit respirator masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment, some of which also has been ordered for the city’s police, utility and public works departments.

Aside from scheduling and social distancing changes, various city projects and regular day-to-day operations press forward.

Construction is ongoing at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellbeing Center, along with road resurfacing work on Sixth Avenue and 12th Street, for instance.

Other routine maintenance projects, however, are taking “a little bit longer” because of the split shifts, Poe said.

Meanwhile, the city is receiving building constructions plans and issuing permits, and collecting in-person utility payments, though residents are encouraged to pay online or use the drobox as much as possible to limit contact.

“Zephyrhills is still open for business,” the city manager said. “Obviously, we’re trying to take all the precautions we can, to create the separation and safety of all our employees and citizens, but we’re trying to keep as much normalcy as we possibly can.”

Alan Knight (Courtesy of City of Zephyrhills)

No municipal election for Zephyrhills
Municipal elections in Pasco County have been delayed indefinitely, but in Zephyrhills a local election isn’t needed after all.

A city mayoral race was initially set between incumbent Gene Whitfield and Justin Docherty, but Docherty has since dropped out of the race after failing to properly qualify for the local election. The announcement was made during an April 13 regular city council meeting.

Gene Whitfield

Whitfield has held the mayor chair since 2014, when Danny Burgess resigned to run as the area’s state representative in Tallahassee. Whitfield has owned Whitfield Funeral Home in Zephyrhills the past 25 years. He also is former director of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

The Zephyrhills mayor serves mainly an ambassador’s role, being a presence at many public events, ribbon cuttings and so on. As far as citywide matters, the mayor doesn’t run council meetings, cannot make motions and cannot vote on matters before the council, but does have the ability to veto city ordinances.

Meanwhile, Seat 2 councilman Alan Knight retains his seat after running unopposed. Knight is a retired educator who’s worked mainly in Pasco County Schools as a teacher, coach and administrator. He was first elected to the seat in 2014.

Published April 22, 2020

Zephyrhills purchases land for airport runway extension

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The City of Zephyrhills has taken another step forward in its quest to expand the capabilities of the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.

The Zephyrhills City Council on April 13 unanimously approved the purchase of 1.29 acres of vacant land from Chancey Properties LLC  for $122,657.22 — to make way for the airport runway 1-19 extension project.

The runway is being extended by 1,500 feet south to create a total length of 6,500 feet, to accommodate larger passenger and corporate aircraft, and encourage aviation and industrial development. The extension project currently is under design and engineering phases.

The purchased industrial land — addressed as Lot 11 on Park Place Center in Zephyrhills — is needed to facilitate the project’s required runway protection zone. That zone is a trapezoidal area off the end of the runway that serves to enhance the protection of people and property on the ground — in the event an aircraft lands or crashes beyond the end of the runway.

The city budgeted $120,000 for the land purchase, so the additional $2,657 will be absorbed within the city’s airport capital outlay budget.

The closing costs go into effect May 1.

Zephyrhills last year received $5.9 million in state appropriations for the entire runway extension project, and to construct a 3,000-foot service road to access infield site development and runway connectivity on the west side of the airport.

The airport also is set to receive an upgraded fuel farm, as well as airfield beacons and lighting improvements.

On a related note, city council appointed Stephen Gartner to the seven-member Airport Authority Board.

Gartner fills the vacancy created by the resignation of David Ruffell, who had one year remaining on a three-year term.

Gartner has been an aircraft maintenance technician for more than 45 years, and is a retired inspection foreman with Delta Air Lines. He currently restores and renovates vintage aircraft at the municipal airport. He lives just outside city limits.

In other action, the council:

  • Adopted a second reading ordinance rezoning 172.73 acres of land from the residential estate district to the residential suburban district, on the west side of Dean Dairy Road and continuing north and east over to Simons Road. The future land use reclassification makes way for the Cottages at Silver Oaks neighborhood development.
  • Approved a task assignment not to exceed $134,120 to consultant Jones Edmunds & Associates Inc., for engineering services related to a new reclaimed water line for the Zephyr Lakes development. The $1.42 million water line project will run approximately 11,000 feet of 12-inch reclaimed water pipe to the Wire Road/Otis Allen intersection. The project cost is being split between the city and Southwest Florida Water Management District.
  • Approved and executed a $7.41 million agreement with Florida Design Contractors Inc., for advanced wastewater treatment plant construction upgrades. The project is being funded through a $2.5 million state grant and state revolving fund loans.

Elsewhere, the city tabled the construction of a new K9 kennel building for the Zephyrhills Police Department.

The city rejected all three construction bids it received, as each exceeded a $75,000 budget limit allocated for this fiscal year. The lowest bid came in at $103,832.

In its request for proposal, the city sought a concrete building with a standard seam metal roof that would include four separate kennel areas and a bathing area for police dogs.

Published April 22, 2020

Florida’s Sports Coast seeks rebound from COVID-19

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The months of March and April historically yield the highest tourist development tax revenues seen all year in Pasco County, tourism officials say.

And, Experience Florida’s Sports Coast, the county’s tourism arm, was expecting another sunny spring — further buoyed by neighbor Tampa hosting WrestleMania and the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament, among other nationwide sports attractions.

The $44 million, 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is still on track for opening this summer, and hosting a slew of multi-purpose sporting events beginning this fall. (File)

Then coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) delivered a lethal blow — coincidently around the time county tourism leaders were set to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Florida’s Sports Coast rebrand.

“This couldn’t have come at a worse time for us,” Florida’s Sports Coast tourism director Adam Thomas told The Laker/Lutz News. “We had new promotions to celebrate and really promote, and really, our balloon got shot down.”

The pandemic didn’t just rain on the tourism agency’s birthday parade. It also forced the postponement or cancellation of at least nine sporting events.

They include:

  • Amateur Athletic Union Florida West Coast Karate Championships in Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School in Spring Hill
  • Savage Race and Savage Blitz extreme mud and obstacle course races in Dade City
  • Gran Fondo Florida bicycle race in San Antonio
  • USA Hockey Adult Men’s and Women’s National Championships at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel
  • Florida Premier Football Club Spring Showcase at fields in Land O’ Lakes, Odessa and New Port Richey
  • Caliente Dare to Bare 5K in Land O’ Lakes
  • Amateur Junior Golf Association qualifier event at Saddlebrook Golf Club in Wesley Chapel
  • Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel

But, Florida’s Sports Coast officials aren’t throwing in the towel just yet, even as hotel room nights and economic impact losses pile up.

Thomas said his office is working with the various events rightsholders and decisionmakers in hopes to reschedule many of those postponed events sometime later this year, once travel bans and stay-at-home orders are lifted.

“All we can do is keep those conversations going and keep a positive dialogue with each rightsholder but, at the end of the day, it’s up to them,” the tourism director said.

Meantime, Florida’s Sports Coast officials anticipate a strong rebound from mid-summer onward — as a slew of new sports and recreation facilities are set to come online.

Experience Florida’s Sports Coast, Pasco County’s tourism arm, is banking on a strong rebound, despite cancellations resulting from the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Among the most ballyhooed is the $44 million, 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County in Wesley Chapel, which is eyeing a July opening. The indoor multi-purpose sports complex is on track to host eight different events in the fall, beginning with a September volleyball tournament.

Thomas called the facility “the big highlight of our summer,” also noting the venue scored a “major, major event” in basketball for 2021.

The county also expects to reap the benefits of the $4.9 million Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellbeing Center, set to open late summer. The facility figures to have a global reach and play host to large United States Tennis Association-level tournaments. “It’s a little nugget in our back pocket,” Thomas said.

Moreover, Snowcat Ridge, promoted as the state’s first alpine snow park, is still believed to be on track for a November opening in Dade City.

Florida’s Sports Coast communications manager Kolby Kuyck Gayson said that project is integral to the agency’s recovery plan, “because it’s a brand new attraction and it’s going to be hitting right at the time where we’re expecting people to finally be comfortable really getting out there and traveling.”

The tourism office has other reasons for guarded optimism, too.

The 10-daylong Tohrs2Hot4Ice roller derby national championships remains a go for late June and early July at AdventHealth Center Ice. The event could generate as many as 2,000 room nights and an economic impact north of $4 million, Thomas said.

Florida’s Sports Coast also is doubling down on promoting leisure activities, such as a 10-day bay scallop season along the Anclote River, which hopes to draw families within a 350-mile driving radius across Florida, south Georgia and so on.

Elsewhere, the tourism office is pushing to solicit more business meetings and corporate retreats to county hotels through the end of the year.

Pasco had a record year for tourism  in 2019 — hitting the million-visitor mark for the first time ever.

Per tourism office reports, 1,038,700 million visitors generated 1,217,021 room nights in paid accommodations between October 2018 and September 2019. The county’s annual bed tax collections surpassed $3 million for the first time, in that span.

Thomas acknowledged those numbers will be down across the board this year, but added fiscal year 2021 should be “a banner year” from an increased demand for vacations and visitations.

Thomas observed, “This is kind of an anomaly we’re dealing with, not just Pasco, but the entire global tourism marketplace is dealing with the same issue. The demand (for vacations) is at an all-time low now. A year from now, the demand is going to be at an all-time high. …There is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a brighter day ahead of us.”

Published April 22, 2020

Hall of Fame bound

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Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) men’s basketball assistant coach Larry Behm is set to be inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

Larry Behm (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College Athletics)

Before coming to PHSC in 2010, Behm spent 24 years coaching the Onondaga Central boys basketball program in Syracuse, New York. His teams there won 327 games, including numerous league, New York state sectional and regional championships, as well as a New York State Final Four appearance in 2009.

Behm, a Central New York native, is one of 13 inductees into the Hall of Fame’s 2020 class. The official ceremony was originally scheduled for March but has been delayed, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Behm’s duties at PHSC include recruiting, scouting, practice and game preparation, and assisting the head coach in the day-to-day operation of the basketball program.

Behm has coached a number of players who went on to Division I programs. He has worked at several high-profile camps and has been a guest speaker at various clinics in the Northeast.

Saint Leo swimmers garner All-America honors

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Saint Leo University men’s swimmers Kosta Mitrovic (junior) and Matthew Daniel (sophomore) appeared on the All-America team released by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).

Mitrovic was named to first team All-America in the 200 breaststroke, while Daniel earned honorable mention for his performance in the 1,000-meter freestyle — becoming the 20th and 21st All-Americans in men’s program history.

Kosta Mitrovic (Courtesy of Saint Leo University Athletics)

Due to the cancellation of the NCAA swimming and diving championships, the CSCAA Board adjusted the selection criteria for each division. The result was an unprecedented number of selections in what is largely acknowledged as unprecedented circumstances.

Matthew Daniel

For NCAA Division II, the selection criteria for 2019-2020 was as follows: In contested events, the top eight finalists were named to the first team while the consolation finalists were named honorable mention. In events that were not contested, individual and relay qualifiers selected for the championship were named All-American.

Daniel was the lone Saint Leo men’s swimmer who was able to compete at the 2020 NCAA championships prior to the cancellation of the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He competed in the morning session of the opening day and took 16th in the 1,000 freestyle earning a point towards the team total.

Mitrovic was scheduled to take to the water in the 200 breaststroke on day four of the championships but was never able to compete following the cancellation. He earns his first career first team All-America selection after earning honorable mention All-America honors in 2018 after finishing 14th in the 200 breaststroke.