The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Mary Rathman

Chalk Talk 03/08/2023

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(Courtesy of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce)

Student Citizens recognized
The East Pasco Chamber Foundation in partnership with The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce recognized 10 student citizens for the month of February. Students are chosen by the teachers and administration of their individual schools for exemplary effort, achievement and contribution to their school, family and community. Those receiving honors were: Jacqueline Dester, Academy of Spectrum Diversity; Kervin Cruz Roman, The Broach School; Sydney Dean, The Broach School Elementary Campus; Angel Cruz, Chester W. Taylor Elementary School; Grayson Jones, Heritage Academy; Faris Alkhafaji, Raymond B. Stewart Middle; Ericka Batista, West Zephyrhills Elementary; Rylynn Hale, Woodland Elementary; Malachi Woodard, Zephyrhills High; and Richelle Barriffe, East Pasco Adventist Academy (not pictured).

Grant semifinalist
Academy at the Farm in Dade City has been recognized as a model for public charter schools and is in the running for a $20,000 grant to be awarded this spring, according to a news release.

Building Hope, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to creating high-quality K-12 charter school opportunities for students, has announced the semifinalists for its second Building Hope IMPACT Grants.

More than 260 applications were submitted from schools in 38 states across the nation, and 28 semifinalists stood out, the release said.

A total of $170,000 in grants will be awarded across four categories: Community Engagement, Educational Innovation, Student Empowerment, and new this year, Model Charter School.

Academy at the Farm is committed to personalized learning through maximum student-teacher interactions. The student-to-educator ratio is 7 to 1.

The high school has been rated “A” for 18 years and students score 25% or higher than other Florida schools in math, reading and science.

Transition Services Night
Cypress Creek High School, 8701 Old Pasco Road in Wesley Chapel, will host an ESE Transition Services Night on March 22 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., in the school cafeteria.

The event is for all Pasco County Schools students and their families to learn about agencies and services for children and young adults with special needs.

Dinner will be provided.

Reservations must be made by March 20 online at EventBrite.com or by email to . Registrants must include the total number of people attending.

Loki is the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet

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Loki came into his owners’ lives as a baby, five years ago. Although he looks like a chihuahua, he is a taco terrier (chihuahua and fox terrier mix). Loki takes his job protecting his family very seriously. He loves car rides and visiting outdoor dog-friendly restaurants. Loki lives in Land O’ Lakes with his mom and dad, Lainey and Jeff Steward.

Little bird, little hoarder

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Nicole Magazu, of Land O’ Lakes, captured this cute portrait of a tufted titmouse. According to the Audubon society, titmice are related to chickadees, and like them, readily come to bird feeders, often carrying away sunflower seeds one at a time. These birds open acorns and seeds by holding them with their feet and pounding them with their bills. Tufted titmice are little seed hoarders and will stock-pile hulled sunflower seeds in a tree cache as close as 130 feet from the feeder location.

Chalk Talk 03/01/2023

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GTE Scholarships
GTE Financial will award $3,000 scholarships to a number of GTE student-members, to support education and reward young adults who are dedicated to academic pursuits and community involvement. The scholarship is for undergraduate degree-seeking students and trade school students only. High school seniors pursuing an undergraduate degree and current undergraduate students at both colleges and universities are eligible to apply. For information and to apply, visit GTEFinancial.org, and click on Education and then Student Scholarships.

‘Grease’ performance
Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School, 13631 Hays Road in Spring Hill, will present the musical “Grease” on March 2, March 3 and March 4 at 7 p.m., and a matinee on March 4 at 2 p.m. The cost is $15 for adults and $10 for students. For information, email .

Scholarship application
The Law Firm of Farah & Farah will award an Empowering Greatness Scholarship. A scholarship committee will use a rubric to rank all completed applications. The top 10% of applicants will advance to a judges’ panel for review and final selections. Participants and winners will be notified of the results by May 1. The deadline to submit an application is March 3. For more information, visit FarahAndFarah.com, click on “About” and then “Scholarship.”

Home-school sewing
The Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, 12118 Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa, will host “Home-school Sewing for Beginners” on March 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Participants will practice using pins, sewing on a machine, ironing and more, to make an upcycled tote bag.  The class is for ages 9 and older, including adults. To register, visit PascoLibraries.org.

Freddie likes to talk

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Freddie is a 7-year-old Old English Bulldog. He has the cutest face and he will tilt his head and look at you like, ‘Do you seriously want me to do that?’ He ‘talks’ to his family when he is not getting enough attention. Freddie will carry on a conversation, talking back and forth. He knows the sit and come commands. Freddie does things in his own time, which is slow! He definitely is stubborn, like a bulldog. Freddie is such a sweet boy and lives with Sherrilyn Norcross in Zephyrhills, who can’t imagine her life without him.

Let the sun shine in

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Brenna Hicks snapped this photo of a honey bee against a sunny floral backdrop in her backyard in Lake Padgett Estates, in Land O’ Lakes. According to Pollinator.org, bees are very gentle creatures whose only desire is to fly from one flower to the next in search of pollen and nectar food for themselves and their developing larvae.

New board member

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(Courtesy of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North)

Lutz resident Sara Dodds, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North’s operations director and currently serving as the hospital’s interim president, was named in 2022 to the Board of Directors of The Florida Orchestra (TFO), according to a news release.

The board of directors “share TFO’s passion for the power of music, bring varied expertise and provide support that will help nonprofit TFO build on its success. As the backbone of the orchestra’s fundraising efforts, board directors are committed to fulfilling TFO’s mission to inspire, unite and educate the Tampa Bay community through music,” the release said.

Music has been an integral part of Dodds’ life since a very early age when she began playing piano. She is part of a musical family and her sister is a musical director at a local school.

Dodds has been part of the hospital’s leadership team as operations director since 2016 and is serving as its interim president for a three-month period.

Chalk Talk 02/22/2023

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(Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

A sneak peek at Angeline Academy
The Pasco County School District offered an updated look at the Angeline Academy of Innovation, a new 6-12 magnet school that will come to the in-progress ‘town’ of Angeline in Northern Land O’Lakes. Angeline Academy is under construction on an 18.8-acre site, south of State Road 52, north of the Ridge Road extension and west of Sunlake Boulevard. The school will be situated in a community that will be home to H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center’s planned Pasco County 775-acre campus. In October 2022, JoAnne Glenn was named the school’s first principal. The new school will open in August for the 2023-2024 school year.

Reading Challenge
Pasco County Libraries offers a “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” Reading Challenge, for ages up to 5 years old. Parents can sign up children to log books before going into kindergarten, to encourage early reading and literacy. For information, visit PascoLibraries.org.

Robotic Rumble Rama
Pasco-Hernando State College will host the PHSC Bobcat Robotics Rumble Rama VRC Spin Up Tournament on Feb. 25 at 9 a.m., at its West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road in New Port Richey, Building R, Room 151. For more information, contact Wendy Villa, associate director, Division of Workforce Development, at 727-816-3244 or .

Visit a Storywalk
Pasco County Libraries offers a Storywalk at the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd., in New Port Richey, in the playground area. Access is at the back, left Nature Trail Loop. Guests can read the story “The Very Last Leaf” by Stef Wade, featuring interactive prompts and fun facts. For information, visit PascoLibraries.org.

Community celebration
Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) will host a free community celebration of the college’s 50th anniversary and Black History Month on Feb. 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the PHSC Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, 2727 Mansfield Blvd., in Wesley Chapel; and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Instructional Performing Arts Center, 8657 Old Pasco Road, in Wesley Chapel. For information, call 727-847-2727, or email .

GTE Scholarships
GTE Financial will award $3,000 scholarships to a number of GTE student-members, to support education and reward young adults who are dedicated to academic pursuits and community involvement. The scholarship is for undergraduate degree-seeking students and trade school students only. High school seniors pursuing an undergraduate degree and current undergraduate students at both colleges and universities are eligible to apply. For information and to apply, visit GTEFinancial.org, and click on Education and then Student Scholarships.

College and Career Fair
Pasco County Schools will host its third annual virtual College and Career Fair on March 1 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., to assist families as they plan for college entrance and/or careers after high school. Topics for presentations include: ACT/SAT support; college admissions process; collegiate athletics; financial aid, Bright Futures, and scholarships; Naviance (college, career and life readiness resource); resources for students with disabilities; and more. For information or to register, visit Pasco.k12.fl.us/oll/page/college-and-career-fair.

Scholarship application
The Law Firm of Farah & Farah will award an Empowering Greatness Scholarship. A scholarship committee will use a rubric to rank all completed applications. The top 10% of applicants will advance to a judges’ panel for review and final selections. Participants and winners will be notified of the results by May 1. The deadline to submit an application is March 3. For more information, visit FarahAndFarah.com, click on “About” and then “Scholarship.”

Republican Party scholarship
The Republican Party of Pasco will award a $1,000 scholarship to a high school senior. Student requirements are: 

  • Must be a registered (or preregistered) Republican
  • Have a cumulative 3.0 GPA
  • Be a current senior of any Pasco County high school (public, private, charter, vocational or home-school)
  • Must attend an accredited community college, university or vocational school in Florida

Applicants are required to write an essay and answer the question, “What is the importance of conservative values for young people in today’s world?” The deadline to apply is March 24. For information, visit PascoGOP.com/rpop-scholarship/.

Student achievements

  • Scott Abramson, Odessa: Dean’s List, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington
  • Chelsea Aquino, Odessa: graduate of The University of Tampa
  • Jaime Arredondo, Lutz: graduate of The University of Tampa
  • Jackie Figueredo, Lutz: Dean’s List, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne
  • Daniel Higgins, Odessa: Dean’s List, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinoi
  • Olivia Jablonski, Odessa: Dean’s List, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama
  • Natalia Kaminski, Wesley Chapel: Honor List, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla
  • Brady Lindauer, Land O’ Lakes: Dean’s List, Saint Mary’s University, Winona, Minnesota
  • Brycen Lowe, Lutz: Dean’s List, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin
  • Max Martino, Lutz: Dean’s List, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne
  • Kelsey Mitchell, Odessa: graduate of The University of Tampa
  • Cassidy Mizzi, Lutz: graduate of The University of Tampa
  • Aaron Molloy, Lutz: graduate of The University of Tampa
  • Holly On, Odessa: graduate of The University of Tampa
  • Vasant Ramnarine, Lutz: Dean’s List, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne
  • Angelo Sardegna, Lutz: Dean’s List, Curry College, Milton, Massachusetts
  • Julie Stevens, Odessa: graduate of The University of Tampa
  • Laura Watford, Odessa: Dean’s List, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama

MOSI helping students
The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) now has a grab-and-go food service. The new “hot vending” concept is helping undergraduate business students at the University of South Florida, according to a news release.

The HUSTLE program is a college-oriented competition designed to educate the maximum number of students in business entrepreneurship through real world experiences, the release said.

It allows the students to apply their classroom knowledge, determination, and skill sets to operate a real business, all while having the chance to win one of two cash prizes totaling $100,000 to be shared with teammates.

The student team of  “Just Baked Smart Bistro” offers guests grab-and-go sandwich options, desserts and treats, with both breakfast and lunch options available daily. In addition, MOSI also is offering deli sandwiches, salads, sodas and snacks at its expanded MOSI Marketplace gift shop.

For more information on the competition and program, visit HustleUSF.com.

Gracie Lynn likes a party

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Gracie Lynn just celebrated her first birthday on Jan. 27. She weighs 5 pounds and loves to chase her ball. She also loves cuddling, going for walks and chasing squirrels. Gracie Lynn lives with Viviana Guerra and Jennifer Spinelli in Land O’ Lakes.

Nine holes, or 18?

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Sarah Swigart said her 9-year-old daughter, Claire, snapped this picture of a lizard on their patio, in their golf course neighborhood in Lutz. I wonder if the creature accompanies them on the golf course, as it seems to have its own transportation!