The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Mike Camunas

Pooling together their elite talent

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These swimmers are off the deep end.

For competitive swimming, that is.

The Florida Elite Warriors swimming team, based out of the pool complex at Land O’ Lakes Recreation Center, has, for years, been producing some of the top swimmers in the area — with athletes being locally and nationally ranked.

Florida Elite Swimming member Hailey McArdle works on her breast stroke technique during a June 23 practice at Land O’ Lakes Swimming Pool, 3032 Collier Parkway, in Land O’ Lakes. McArdle is one of several swimmers with the longtime program that has produced state and nationally ranked athletes that compete all over the country, as well as go on to become some of the best high school swimmers in the area and state. (Mike Camunas)

It looks to continue doing just that, especially with Guerby Ruuska, the team’s second-year head coach.

“We always talk about quality over quantity,” Ruuska said. “There’s a place for kicking kids’ butts — but what they need to do here, and what we try to do, is really focus on technique. … We have a lot of kids who come from other clubs and say the same thing — they didn’t get the teaching techniques they get here, and we, and they, just want (the team) culture to be really fun and light.

“On deck, coaches won’t be screaming at kids, so our lessons work, because they’re on how to swim and how to be good people out of the pool.

“They don’t get that somewhere else.”

Ruuska, while a relatively young coach, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the pool deck.

Originally from Haiti, he swam for Manchester University in Indiana and was even slated to swim for his home country in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 before those were postponed by COVID.

“After that, I put my suit and goggles away and started coaching,” Ruuska said. “I mean, yeah, I still get in, but the kids are kicking my butt now.”

Jayden Rodriguez comes up for air during a practice lap for Florida Elite Swimming at Land O’ Lakes Swimming Pool.

Ruuska also coaches at Sunlake High, which is a perfect transition for both him as a coach and the swimmers. Florida Elite works as a “feeder system” to local high schools, such as Sunlake, Land O’ Lakes, Wiregrass Ranch and Cypress Creek.

Florida Elite has been doing this for years, and its swimmers are very competitive for both the club and their schools.

“We’ve kind of become the aquatic hub for Pasco County, so we just want to provide something for all the kids in the area,” Ruuska said. “We also want to be the competitive place for the swimmers who want to take it to the next level.

“We just want to be a home for all the swimmers, wherever they come from and wherever they want to go,” he added. “Of course, we get all the locals and national-level kids. So, for us, when the swimmers are here, high school is seen as the cherry on top.

“It may be a big goal, but it’s not the end goal for this club.”

Coach Guerby Ruuska, with Florida Elite Swimming, who has been with the team for two years now, gives pacing and timing instructions to his swimmers during practice.

The Warriors compete in swimming events and competitions consistently — they also have a synchronized swimming team — but they also can start a new swimmer from the kiddie pool. The team doesn’t just take already polished swimmers — it develops the new, young talent as soon as they dive on in.

It’s why the athletes come to Florida Elite in the first place — for proven results.

“There’s not a team like this anywhere,” said Owen Kerrigan, an incoming freshman at Land O’ Lakes High that excels in the 50-meter freestyle. “The coaches are awesome, the swimmers are fabulous, and we work a lot on technique and don’t just jump in the pool and count strokes.

“I’ve been with other teams, and this one is just better. … The last place I was at, he was an Olympic swimmer, but he didn’t even really swim and wasn’t really paying attention to detail.

“Here, I’m dropping time and that’s huge.”

Warriors teammate Hisrusha Idippili-Pathiranage, who returned to the team three years ago and excels in the 50-meter butterfly, agrees.

“(My old) team wasn’t really fixing my technique,” she said. “They thought I was fine, but I came back here, and (Elite) fixed it, and I got better. I saw that as soon as I got back here. They knew exactly what I needed to do, what drills I needed, and I see improvement here.”

Idippili-Pathiranage added that swimming also helps her with other sports, which is a bonus, as she looks to expand her athletic portfolio.

“The more we work together, the more it pays off,” she said. “(Swimming here) gives me improvement, but it also helps me with other sports, because I’m probably going to do track. That’s a lot of running, so here swimming (at Elite) is going to help me with that, too.”

Florida Elite Swimming

Where: Land O’ Lakes Swimming Pool, 3032 Collier Parkway, in Land O’ Lakes

Details: Florida Elite Aquatics is an inclusive, fun and instructive aquatics program that teaches its members to love aquatic sports from lessons to national level competition, with both a swimming team and a synchro team. The club strives to show the value of hard work, dedication and determination in and out of the water by providing a safe, healthy and positive environment.

Info: Visit SwimElite.org or the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/FloridaEliteSwimming, or call 813-279-5443.

Published July 12, 2023

Cameron Dunn takes a deep breath before her next stroke at Land O’ Lakes Swimming Pool.
Lucy McKenzie grabs onto the wall at Land O’ Lakes Swimming Pool to catch her breath during a practice session.
including 8-year-olds through high-schoolers.

Wheelchair basketball clinic

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Paul Schulte, right, will lead a wheelchair basketball clinic on July 29. (Mike Camunas)

The Pasco County Parks, Recreation, & Natural Resources Department will host a wheelchair basketball clinic on July 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Charles S. Rushe Middle School, 18654 Mentmore Blvd., Land O’ Lakes. The clinic will be run by Paul Schulte, a Summer Paralympics medalist from Top End Wheelchairs, a sporting wheelchair company in Pinellas Park. The clinic is $5 per athlete and for athletes with disabilities ages 5 to 18. Registration can be completed online at tinyurl.com/3zkta9n4. For more details, call Scarlett Lawhorne at 727-494-4878.

Girls giving back, globally and locally

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Tanvi Handoo doesn’t mind picking up trash at a local beach.

She knows that as she removes garbage from a sandy shore here, her actual reach is global.

From left, members of the Tampa chapter Girls Give Back organization, Land O’ Lakes High seniors Chloe Stout and Tanvi Handoo and Wiregrass Ranch High senior Meghna Manjith took part in a community service project at Ben T. Davis Beach in Tampa, as part of the chapter’s initiative. Handoo is the Tampa chapter president of Girls Give Back, a global organization that provides a platform and space for girls to become leaders by tackling social issues such as women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, human trafficking and homelessness. (Mike Camunas)

Handoo, a senior at Land O’ Lakes High, started the Tampa chapter of Girls Give Back — a global nonprofit that provides a platform and space for girls to become leaders in their communities and beyond. They raise awareness about social issues through community projects and services. They also connect throughout the world to discuss injustices, allowing these young women to cultivate skills to become  leaders in their own communities.

“We try to find an area where we can come together and say, ‘I’ve noticed this in my area and community and I want to do something about it,’” Handoo said. “(It’s) where we do projects that raise money or awareness or both — and our group gives us the platform to do this and a place for young women to come together.

“And, from a global role, to get young women from around the world to hear each other, to talk to each other and see their perspectives and voices and realize that there are other young women out there, just like them, that feel just like them and that they can connect with,” she added.

Remarkably, Handoo started her Girls Give Back (GGB) chapter when she was a freshman, during the height of the COVID pandemic. At that time, it was a lot of online meetings and discussions until she could get to community projects and build up membership.

Each chapter plans and carries out events that are tailored to address the disparities and issues in their own communities. 

Wiregrass Ranch High senior Meghna Manjith, left, and Land O’ Lakes senior Chloe Stout, right, help pick up trash during a Girls Give Back Tampa Chapter community service project on June 24.

Some events Handoo and her chapter have planned and executed include a Feminine Hygiene Drive for women and abuse victims; a “Moving FL Forward” forum with chapters across Florida; a global forum with the India chapter about the COVID crisis in India; beach cleanups; creating and mailing cards to kids at St. Jude’s Hospital; and the EQ4U series — webinars serving as a safe space for Tampa youth to discuss setbacks in mental health and learn about scientifically proven, healthy coping mechanisms.

Additionally, Handoo co-founded the India Chapter of GGB, was promoted to GGB Global Ambassador (second hand to founder, Salma Murphy) and led and participated in a multitude of events.

“A lot of us are very passionate about social justice advocacy, and we all have our range of passions,” Handoo said. “Be it mental health, feminism, climate justice — and this (group) allows them to become a leader and they don’t have to be a specific gender or identity or background to be a leader in their community or to create change.

“Anyone who is passionate about making a difference and change, can join,” she said.

As of now, the Tampa chapter has 15 members with nearly all of them coming from Pasco County schools, such as Land O’ Lakes and Wiregrass Ranch.

Girls Give Back Tampa Chapter founder Tanvi Handoo, a senior at Land O’ Lakes High, picks up trash along Ben T. Davis Beach in Tampa during a community service initiative.

Globally, GGB is trying to expand more, including creating middle-school aged chapters, she said.

Handoo only started “recruiting” new members at the beginning of 2023, however, she quickly found other like-minded young women.

“I thought it was very interesting to have a global group that focused on making change in our communities,” said Wiregrass Ranch senior Meghna Manjith, a longtime friend of Handoo. “GGB is so broad and it has all these chapters and you can reach out to members, so it’s very diverse with plenty of resources. … And with the projects, you come into the community and interact with members of the community — it’s just helping everyone out and it makes that much bigger of an impact.”

Manjith said she is passionate about raising awareness on human trafficking in her community, including running Teens Battle Human Trafficking, a student-organization at her school.

Handoo, for her part, is passionate about feminism and fighting “sexism and gender bias in my own community.”

“Especially,” she added, “with my parents being Indian immigrants, so I’ve seen it in my home country and in America and it’s something that I’ve seen from a young age and continue to see.”

Another member, fellow Land O’ Lakes senior Chloe Stout, is deeply interested in speaking up for all social injustices, as long as all women’s voices are heard.

“I think it’s important to empower women and bring light to their struggles,” Stout said. “We need to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard, so people are not made to feel less than others or inferior.

“I think, as a group, we do a good job at that and that everyone is aware of the important topics and being able to talk to other women about these topics.”

As for Handoo, and her Tampa chapter, it’s all about reaching out — to support one another.

“Honestly, I think there’s a lot of people, girls and boys, that are passionate about these types of things, but aren’t encouraged to be active in their community,” she said. “I think about all those out there, and they have no voice, but we can come together and be a part of something that supports one another and do great things together.”

Girls Give Back Tampa Chapter
Details: Girls Give Back Global (GGB) was founded in May 2020 by Salma Murphy in Boston and quickly expanded to become a national and global non-profit. GGB provides a platform and space for girls to become leaders in their communities and beyond. The girls are able to lead projects they’re passionate about that target issues unique to their community, but also are able to lead global impact projects — while connecting with other passionate young women across the globe.
For more information, or to join the Tampa chapter, contact Tanvi Handoo at and visit the chapter’s Instagram: @ggbtampa.
For more information, visit www.girlsgivebackglobal.com.

Published July 04, 2023

Wesley Chapel youth baseball team wins tourney

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(Courtesy of Ashley Richardson)

The Wesley Chapel Storm, a 12U travel baseball team, recently brought home the gold championship from a week-long baseball tournament at the Cal Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. They went 9-1 in their 36-team age division.

In pool play, the Storm first faced Bowfins Elite, losing 4-3, but then they won four straight — defeating Hoover Force (8-5); Baton Rouge Astros (16-1); the Rage (24-2), and finally Lincoln-Way Prospects (17-0). They outscored those opponents 65-8.

The team was at the No. 5 seed in the elimination round, but blew through these games to the championship, defeating: the Oswego Panthers 8-0; the Channahon Indians 9-3; and, the top-seeded Texas Twelve Maroon-Woodlands 16-5.

To win the championship, the Storm defeated a nearby Tampa foe, G.R.I.T. Baseball, topping it 5-2.

In all, the team combined for 105 hits, 106 runs, six home runs, three complete games pitched, and the 11 players who did pitch allowed just 16 earned runs.

Team members include Max Wyszkowski, Bennett Nissley, Lucas Mendez,, Zander Daughtery, Keagan Libby, Julian Pascarella, Logan Robertson, Christian Jarrett, Tyler McDonald, Luca Giacomino, Jonah Lloyd, and are coached by manager Justin Giacomino and assistants Brian Jarrett, Isaac Libby, Shawn Daughtery and Rick Massey.

Hitting the big time

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Brady North was on the phone, sitting in a bus in the Dominican Republic.

He was speechless, so much so the person on the other line thought the call had been disconnected. The person was none other than Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash.

North had just been called up to the big leagues — as the Rays’ assistant hitting coaches.

“I was speechless,” the 2010 Gaither High grad said. “(Cash) kind of took a long way to tell me, but after he did, he was like, ‘Hey, are you there?’ … It all happened so fast, and I’m not saying it wasn’t expected, but when my playing days were done, my mind immediately switched to being a coach, to how can I get (to the Major Leagues) this way.

“And, I’m very grateful for this opportunity and this organization, because the Rays are all I’ve known and they’ve treated me so great.”

A majorly quick road
The Rays promoted North on Nov. 18, 2021 after he spent that season as the hitting coach with the team’s Class-A affiliate, Bowling Green. That team won the league championship and led the league in runs, homers, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Brady North, a 2010 Gaither High graduate, stands behind fellow Gaither graduate, and longtime Tampa Bay Rays manager, Kevin Cash, in the dugout at Tropicana Field during a game vs. the Kansas City Royals on June 22. North, 32, is now an assistant hitting coach for the Rays, after a meteoric rise through the organization’s coaching ranks. He joined the Rays in 2019. (Mike Camunas)

North has risen the ranks in the Rays’ organization since joining the team in 2019, with the rookie-level team, and then the COVID-canceled 2020 season with the Charlotte Single-A team.

The Rays added North to the coaching staff after he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant for his alum, Cumberland University in Tennessee, from 2017-2018. He also spent time coaching in the Cape Cod League for the Cotuit Kettleers.

As a first baseman at Cumberland, North helped the team win the 2014 NAIA National Championship, then would go on to play independent ball for two years: in 2015 for the Washington Wild Things and in 2016 for the Lake Erie Crushers.

But his baseball career started in Lutz, playing Little League and then in high school at Gaither for the late, legendary coach, Frank Permuy.

In four varsity seasons, North batted .356 with 101 hits, 17 doubles and 13 homers, including batting over .400 as a freshman and a senior. These stats earned him the honor of getting his number (35) retired, right there next to his former coach, Permuy, and his current one, Cash.

“It’s a weird thing, you know,” North said. “You look at that wall at Gaither (that shows former players that made the majors) and (we) talked about that we’re going to get (to the majors) or be up there (on the wall) one day and the aspirations to be a (MLB) player. … I just took a different route to get here.”

Cash says North’s short time as an assistant has been nothing but remarkable.

“Brady has had a real fast track of getting into pro ball and being a part of player development and then working with big-league hitters as assistant hitting coach,” said Cash, who graduated from Gaither in 1996. “As someone who lacks reps and experience, he has shown the ability to learn and grow in a very challenging setting here at the major league level.”

Cash said North was probably a better player than he was.

Cash noted: “With his dad (Nelson) as (Gaither’s) coach, who followed (our) coach, Frank — the North Family, in general, is well respected in the baseball world here (in Tampa) so you know (Brady’s) going to bring a lot to the table.”

Cash also was quick to point out that, despite the lack of experience, North is bilingual, “a unique skill set” which has helped with the Latino players in the Rays’ organization, including the major leaguers, such as Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena.

Nelson North, who took over coaching Gaither in 2015 after stints as an assistant coach at the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida, knew his son would get to the major-league level — thanks to his work ethic.

“I still think he doesn’t believe it sometimes, but we put on the game and there he is on TV,” said Nelson, who helped out coaching Gaither during Brady’s senior season in 2010.
“I’ve coached a long time,” Nelson added. “In the NAIA, Division 2, Division 1 and high school — and in all those years of coaching players — and I’m not just saying this because Brady’s my son — he’s always worked the hardest. … He’d come home after practice, shower, eat, do homework and go back out to the garage and use the Swing Away until he’d need another shower. He was always a great self- motivator.”

Brady North, a 2010 Gaither High graduate, goes over hitting techniques with Yandy Diaz, the first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays. They’re in the club’s hitting cages in the tunnels of Tropicana Field. (Courtesy of Will Vragovic, Tampa Bay Rays)

All the right hits
Nelson says Brady loves to coach hitting, which has come in handy not just with the Rays, but also when Brady has helped coaching at Gaither.

He’ll come back to Gaither and talk to Nelson’s current players and also was involved when the Cowboys won a state championship in 2016.

“I’m very proud of his baseball career and the proudest I am of my son is if struck out or hit a home run, he always looked the same,” Nelson said. “He had the great ability to play the game one pitch at a time.

“Brady loves hitting — talk it, teach it, analyze it,” he added. “He’ll come back to Gaither and talk to the team about approach and he’ll jump in the cage and change my approach, but that’s okay, I’ll let him.

“Brady thought of something my team needed, and we changed it because of him — not the Rays or a MLB team, but because of Brady.”

As Brady’s coaching career continues as the youngest coach on the Rays staff, he says he loves his job as assistant hitting coach. Though he’s unsure whether he would want to be a future MLB manager.

For now, he’ll continue to learn, as he’s always done — one hit at a time.

“You can never get complacent with things,” Brady said. “You always have something to learn, no matter what environment it is. You never know everything and right now, I’m just trying to be the best assistant hitting coach I can be and learn everything I can.”

Published July 04, 2023

Railing together for train fun

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Train enthusiasts and visitors to Dade City Heritage Museum wave as a CSX locomotive passes and the conductor waves back, at Railfan Friday on June 16. Dozens of train and rail fans come to not only discuss trains and video and photograph the handful of trains that pass by, but also see the three scale model train layouts in the J.R. Hubbard Memorial Train Room, learn more of the train history at the museum, which is a former Atlantic Coastline Train Depot and see the train vendors on hand to sell model trains and other train paraphernalia. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

A train whistle blows in the distance and everyone scatters to get into place.

They’re train enthusiasts and they’re vying for the best spot to video and photograph as a CSX locomotive pulls dozens of cars down the track that runs parallel to the U.S. 98 Bypass., and just mere feet away from the Dade City Heritage Museum.

This group enjoys all kinds of trains — both full-scale and model-scale locomotives, cars and cabooses.

With each gathering of Railfan Friday, the number of event-goers increases at the museum that embraces its train roots and history, as the building housing the museum was a former Atlantic Coastline Train Depot.

“We used to only do it once a year, but the response and feedback has been overwhelming that we hold (Railfan Friday) more often,” said Joy Lynn, the museum’s founder. “We did one in the spring and were looking at doing one about every four to six weeks, but the turnout is always so good that we know we’ll end up doing it again.”

During Railfan Friday, visitors can enjoy everything the museum has to offer, at no charge.

There are food vendors on hand, as well as others selling model trains and other train paraphernalia.

When train enthusiasts and locals aren’t camping out waiting for the next train to pass by, they’re inside enjoying the impressive J.R. Hibbard Memorial Train Room, which features three scale model train layouts.

The largest of the layouts — still a work in progress — is set to replicate the town of Dade City, right down to models of historic businesses and buildings all over the city.

One of the three scale model train layouts J.R. Hubbard Memorial Train Room inside the Dade City Heritage Museum is being designed to look like the town of Dade City and eventually will feature models that look like the city’s historic buildings and businesses. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

Lynn says the plan is for the business to sponsor their own building, as the Train Room runs on donations from visitors or Railfan Fridays.

“It’s taking some time and you see some of them already, like the Historic Courthouse, but eventually, there will be a Lanky Lassie’s and American Pizza Oven or Kafe Kokopelli down there, just like in downtown,” she said.

The latest Railfan Friday, on June 16, saw more than a hundred visitors, including popular train aficionado, Danny Harmon, who has an extensive train following on YouTube.

The former train depot now-turned museum was the first site in Pasco County to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 1994. The tracks that run closest to the depot were the first to reach Dade City in 1887.

Much of the building has been maintained in its original state, aside from some federally funded minor renovations in 1996-1997.

Jeanette Wallace, who came from Lakeland to Dade City for Railfan Friday at Dade City Heritage Museum, films as a CSX train goes down the track that runs parallel to the U.S. 98 Bypass. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

The station was preserved and reopened as a tourist destination in 2008 and became the 501(c)3 nonprofit and solely-volunteer-run Dade City Heritage Museum in 2018. It houses artifacts, photographs, documents and records of historic places and longtime residents of Dade City. The museum consists of a main exhibition space, a model train room, and a Community Archive and Reading Room.

J.R. Hubbard Memorial Train Room

Where: Located inside Dade City Heritage Museum, 14206 U.S. 98 Bypass, Dade City

Details: Features three scale model train layouts that were all donated by local Dade City residents, and includes models that will represent buildings and businesses located throughout Dade City.

Info: Visit DadeCityHeritageMuseum.org

Published on June 28, 2023.

From left: Dade City siblings Darla, Eloise, Everett and Abigale Hedgecock watch as a train passes by the Dade City Heritage Museum on the U.S. 98 Bypass. They counted how many cars the locomotive pulled down the track. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Savannah, left, and Korbin Stuart, of Inverness, play along the track, trying to feel vibrations from incoming trains that will travel past the Dade City Heritage Museum on U.S. 98. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Ryleigh LeBlanc, of Dade City, looks, but still doesn’t touch while enthusiastically checking out one of the three scale model train layouts in the J.R. Hubbard Memorial Train Room. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Sumadhva Hebbani, a Tampa resident who is a train enthusiast, eagerly looks over train model locomotives on sale inside the Dade City Heritage Museum during Railfan Friday on June 16. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
David Schock, left, and his son, Evan, enjoy watching a model train make its way around a very large layout intended to resemble Dade City. The model train was running on June 16, in the J.R. Hubbard Memorial Train Room, at the Dade City Heritage Museum. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
One of the three scale model train layouts in the J.R. Hubbard Memorial Train room is set to replicate the town of Dade City. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

Zephyrhills considers naming park to honor Ellis Harrold

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Lincoln Heights Park, located on Lincoln Avenue, east of Airport Road in Zephyrhills, may soon have a new name, as the City Council has voted to convene a special city advisory board to consider renaming the park. Spearheaded by new councilman Steve Spina, the board will consider changing the name of the park to honor Ellis Harrold, the city staff’s first African American employee. He worked for the city for 34 years. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

The City of Zephyrhills is home to many parks, large and small, but one tucked inside one of its oldest neighborhoods may soon be getting a new name.

The city has convened a special advisory board to consider renaming Lincoln Heights Park. City Councilman Steve Spina has suggested changing the park’s name to Ellis Harrold Neighborhood Park, to honor the city’s first African American, who was on the city’s staff for 34 years.

The idea came up during a June 12 City Council meeting, when City Manager Billy Poe brought forth a resolution to convene a special city advisory board to rename Lincoln Heights Park, which sits between homes on Lincoln Avenue, just east of Airport Road.

The newly elected Seat 2 City Councilman Steve Spina brought forth the resolution.

In a letter to advocate the renaming of the park to honor Ellis, Spina wrote: “I believe Mr. Ellis Harrold meets these criteria, in breaking the racial barriers of his time, in contributing to the fabric of the community and having support of the neighborhood of which he resides and where the park is located.”

The City Council voted 5-0 to convene a special advisory board to consider the park’s renaming.

The special advisory board will consist of seven members: two planning commissioners, two historic planning members, two parks and recreation representatives, and the mayor, Melonie Bahr Monson.

Spina told city leaders that he has spoken to several residents of the neighborhood surrounding the park and “has the full support” of them, including the Rev. Adrian Gay of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, which is close to the park.

Harrold has lived in Zephyrhills since 1957 and previously resided in the city’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood. He was hired by the city in 1962.

The city honored Harrold with a proclamation on Feb. 27, which in part, noted that when Harrold was hired he “broke barriers that existed at the time and opened doors for other African Americans to work for the City of Zephyrhills.”

Ellis Harrold, center, is surrounded by family members on Feb. 27 when the City of Zephyrhills honored him with a proclamation for his 34 years of dedicated service to the city. He was the city staff’s first African American employee hired by the city. (Courtesy the City of Zephyrhills)

The board will come up with a few suggested names, but ultimately the City Council will choose the name and then appropriate changes, including signage at the park, will be made.

Meanwhile, the board will hear public comments, including suggested names from residents, all of whom can support naming it after Harrold or suggest other names and/or individuals they may think worthy of the honor.

“There were several people there the night of his proclamation (in February), so we think that residents in Lincoln Heights are very supportive of naming it after Mr. Harrold,” Poe said.

Published on June 28, 2023.

Juneteenth celebrations focus on history, fun

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C’Rayiah Gardner, 7, takes a fun ride down the slide on an inflatable obstacle course during the Juneteenth Community Celebration on June 17, at the Lewis Abraham Boys & Girls Club, 38724 Mudcat Grant Blvd., in Dade City. The celebration included the family fun zone, local vendors and food trucks, free health screenings, prizes, games and raffles. It also featured special performances from local organizations and groups as part of a weeklong commemoration of events throughout East Pasco County. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

Pasco County’s east side honored Juneteenth for the third consecutive year — again with a weeklong celebration.

The City of Dade City adopted a resolution guaranteeing there also will be a Juneteenth Community Celebration Day on June 19, or the Saturday preceding it.

That proclamation was presented by Dade City Mayor Jim Shive, along with Dade City commissioners Lisa Simon and Normita Woodard.

Dade City Mayor Pro Tem Normita Woodard, left, watches a special Juneteenth performance with fellow Dade City Commissioner Jim Shive. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

The city’s third annual celebration was held on June 17 at the Lewis Abraham Boys & Girls Club, 38724 Mudcat Grant Blvd., in Dade City. The event included a family fun zone, local vendors and food trucks, free health screenings, prizes, games and raffles. There also were special performances from local organizations and groups.

Juneteenth activities also featured a Juneteenth Pageant for boys and girls. The festivities were organized by the Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department.

“It’s great that we can hold events all week long,” said Kimberly Miller, a recreation coordinator for the parks and recreation department who began the Juneteenth Celebration tradition three years ago. “Of course, as a Black woman, it’s important to me, but I also honestly think that people here in East Pasco are not used to this kind of celebration and events. But the turnout from the community each year keeps getting better.

“So, the goal has always been to get more people from the community involved and part of the Juneteenth celebration.”

Kimberly Sanders, of Dade City, poses in front of the Juneteenth sign during the Community Celebration on June 17 at the Lewis Abraham Boys & Girls Club. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

The event at the Boys & Girls Club was just the start of the celebrations.

There also were events in Dade City, Lacoochee, Trilby, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills throughout the week. Some of those events included Beat N’ Brushes: a musical painting gathering, Family Bowling Night at Pin Chasers in Zephyrhills, Community Unity 3×3 Basketball Tournament at the Wesley Chapel Recreation Center, and the Madden video game tournament, also at the Wesley Chapel Rec Center.

There also was a Sneaker Ball (daddy/daughter dance), but it was rescheduled to Sept. 15, also to be held at the Wesley Chapel Recreation Center.

Juneteenth

Details: Juneteenth is the federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Its name was derived from combining June and nineteenth and it is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865 (2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued). Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Published on June 28, 2023.

Dajuan Staton plays with his son Makahi outside the Lewis Abraham Boys & Girls Club in Dade City during the Juneteenth Community Celebration on June 17, as part of weeklong Juneteenth events throughout East Pasco County. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Six-year-old Jonairys Morales happily learns to perform CPR to the tune of ‘Baby Shark’ with the help of an AdventHealth representative during the Juneteenth Community Celebration on June 17 at the Lewis Abraham Boys & Girls Club in Dade City. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Lacoochee residents Amanda Stewart, right, and Jamarien Allen, left, play bucket ball in the Family Fun Zone at the Juneteenth Community Celebration on June 17. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Kimberly Miller, senior recreation coordinator for the Pasco County Parks, Recreation, & Natural Resources Department, shares some thoughts during the Third Annual Juneteenth Community Celebration. It was the kickoff event of a week of celebrations in East Pasco, honoring the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Dade City resident Domenic Dixon, left, watches as his wife, Tamara Dixon, makes a throw playing ladder ball in the Family Fun Zone at the Juneteenth Community Celebration on June 17. (MIKE CAMUNAS)
Micah Berrin, left, and Angela Redmond-Theodore perform a ‘libations’ ceremony, which is a way to honor enslaved ancestors and connect with their spirits, as well as pay tribute to those who fought for Black Rights. (MIKE CAMUNAS)

Lutz Senior Center celebrated

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The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club celebrated with Lutz Senior Center clients and guests, as the facility was awarded its formal National Accreditation of Senior Service, which is determined by adherence to a strict and comprehensive Standards of Service mandate. Among those attending were County Aging Services Department and Nutrition & Wellness staff representatives, Lutz librarian supervisor Marci LaTorella, American Legion chaplain Don Hinst and Lutz Guv’na Atlas Cortecero. The women provided and served brunch to the seniors and guests to mark the occasion. From left: Pam Blumenthal, Darryln Caudill, Linda Mitchell, Marshal Gibson, Barbara Booth, Melba Pineiro, Mary Anne Lykins, Rose Ann Edwards and Shirley Simmons.

Scout loves her parents!

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Scout has a very affectionate personality and must sit on her parents’ laps at all times, from the couch, to the kitchen table, to the office chair. She was adopted from the Tampa Bay Humane Society in 2018 and has been making her parents laugh since day one. One of her favorite ‘toys’ is the weekly Laker newspaper, where she likes to either lay on it, or use it as a surfboard and surf across the floor or couch. Scout lives with her proud parents, Shari and Dan Bresin, in Land O Lakes.