The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Talent showcase scales back due to COVID

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The show must go on — but this year it’s a scaled back version.

The 38th “Spotlight on Talent” competition will be held on March 6 — to give talented students a chance to show off their talents.

But this year’s crowd will be considerably smaller than usual — because of restrictions being followed to avoid the potential spread of COVID-19.

Only immediate family members may attend, social distancing and masking will be required, and the contestants will only come for their age category performances and awards, and then leave, according to a news release from the Heritage Arts Center Association, which puts on the competition.

All types of talent are welcome to compete, and there are several age categories for solos and group categories.

A student may enter as a solo and with a group.

Application fees are $40 for a solo, and $5 for each addition group contestant. The cap for a group is $85.

Participants are judged primarily on talent with additional points for stage presence and appropriate appearance, the news release says.

Those interested in competing can apply through Jan. 28, at heritagearts.org.

Participants will be rated by a panel of paid, professional judges, who will provide feedback and scores.

The contest includes $4,000 in cash and trophy prizes, and a $1,000 scholarship to the high school senior from Pasco County with the highest judges scores.

For more information, contact Barbara Friedman at  or by calling 352-567-1720.

Published January 20, 2021

Lower speed limit approved on South County Line Road

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The Pasco County Commission has approved reducing the speed limit on a stretch of South County Line Road, between Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Mansfield Drive.

Commissioners approved spending $1,000 for new speed limit signs for the road.

Currently, the speed limit is 40 mph. The new limit will be 35 mph. The new speed limit takes effect when the new signs are installed.

The action follows a review of three years of crash data and observations of pedestrian crossings on the street.

Transportation experts believe the lower speed limit should minimize run-off-the-road crashes, and will improve pedestrian safety, according to background materials in the Jan. 12 agenda packet.

Published January 20, 2021

Judges take on leadership roles at Boy Scouts

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Two Hillsborough County judges have been selected as leaders in the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, according to a news release.

Judge Thomas Palermo will serve as chairman of the Fort Brook District, one of nine districts in the council. Judge Michael Bagge-Hernandez will serve as vice chairman.

The district encompasses the western half and northern half of Hillsborough County.

Palermo, appointed as a judge in 2019, lives in South Tampa and grew up in the Carrollwood area. The former American University Student Body President and Jesuit High School alumnus earned his law degree in 2001 from Florida State University College of Law.

He is married to Brittany Palermo. They have one son, a Webelo Scout in St. John’s Episcopal Church’s Cub Scout Pack 23, where Palermo is an assistant cubmaster and den leader.

Palermo’s son’s love for Scouting was one reason he became the district chairman.

In his role as chairman of the district, which has more than 90 Scouting units and serves more than 2,500 youth, he hopes to recruit and rebuild units as participation has been affected by the COVID-19 virus.

Bagge-Hernandez  became a judge January 2020, after working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Puerto Rico and in the Middle District of Florida, the news release says.

A former Cub Scout at St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School, the Jesuit High School alumnus graduated from Stetson College of Law in 2007. A north Hillsborough County resident, he is married and has two young children, who he wants to enroll in Scouts when older.

“I accepted the position as vice chair in hopes to give back to the organization that did so much for me,” Bagge-Hernandez.

His goal, he said, is to support the organization in rebuilding from a difficult year.

The Greater Tampa Bay Area Council (GTBAC) is a local council in western Florida chartered by the Boy Scouts of America. The Council encompasses nine counties and serves more than 15,000 youth in 189 Cub Scout packs, 192 Boy Scout and Varsity Scout troops, 36 Venturing Crews and five Sea Scout Ships. In addition to the Lewis Hill III Service Center, located at 13228 N. Central Ave. in Tampa, the GTBAC maintains six camp properties: Camp Owen J. Brorein in Odessa, Camp Soule in Clearwater, Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation in Lake Wales, Sand Hill Scout Reservation in Brooksville, Big Foot Wilderness Camp in the Green Swamp, and Camp Alafia along the Alafia River in Lithia.

Published January 20, 2021

Law enforcement memorial receives donations

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Tax Collector Mike Fasano’s office raised $8,727.38 to support the construction of a permanent law enforcement officers memorial on the grounds of the Historic Pasco County Courthouse, in downtown Dade City.

The tax collector’s five offices highlighted the Pasco Fallen Law Enforcement Officers Memorial as the charity of the month in November.

The campaign had been begun pre-COVID, but was rescheduled to November because of the pandemic, according to a news release from Fasano’s office.

Staff and leaders from the Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Fallen Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Pasco’s Back the Blue. (Courtesy of Tax Collector Mike Fasano’s Office)

Pasco County holds a memorial service each year to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

However, Pasco County is the only county in Florida without a permanent memorial that can be visited year-round.

Local attorney Craig LaPorte has been heading up the effort to raise funds to build a permanent memorial, and he asked Fasano to help bring the fund drive to the finish line, the news release adds.

A check presentation was held in December, with Fasano joined by members of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, and Bob George and members of Pasco’s Back the Blue, an organization created to help support law enforcement officers.

“On behalf of the board of directors of the Pasco County Fallen Law Enforcement Officer Memorial and Benefit Foundation we want to extend our sincerest thanks to Mike Fasano and his entire staff for making our foundation the beneficiary of the Pasco County Tax Collector Charities,” LaPorte said, in the release. “He was kind enough to select us for the April 2020 Charity of the Month, but unfortunately as COVID-19 jumped into our lives, he was forced to close in-person office visits for a time. So, in order to help us realize our goal of constructing a permanent memorial to Pasco’s Fallen Law Enforcement Heroes, he put us back on his queue for November. Thanks to the generosity of Pasco’s citizens, and Mr. Fasano and his charity, we raised enough funds to put us “over the top.” As a result, we are now in the process of the final stages leading to the construction of the memorial in front of the Pasco County Historic Courthouse in Dade City.”

“It has been such an honor to work with the fine men and women of our law enforcement community to help raise the funds that will help construct this long-needed memorial,” Fasano said, in the release. “For any one law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty is one too many. Unfortunately, many good officers have been killed in Pasco over the years. This memorial will honor their sacrifice and the good work they did protecting our county from lawbreakers of every sort. A very generous community stepped up to show their support for the members of our law enforcement agencies.”

Another local group also helped to put the fundraising efforts for the memorial over the top, according to Sandy Graves, president of the Land O’ Lakes Rotary Club Charities Inc., a charitable arm of the club.

The club’s charitable group contributed $2,000 for the permanent memorial.

Published January 13, 2021

Pasco County approves $205,000 for work on comprehensive plan

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The Pasco County Commission has approved an agreement to pay HDR Engineering up to $205,000 during fiscal year 2021, for the company’s assistance on updating the county’s comprehensive plan.

Pasco adopted its original comprehensive plan in response to a state law passed in 1985.

Pasco’s first comprehensive plan took effect in 1991. It was last updated in 2006, with a 2025 horizon year.

The current plan has 50 goals, 216 policies and 917 objectives. Many of these are duplicated within several of the plan’s 12 elements.

The update is needed to streamline the plan, align it with market conditions, and to improve its responsiveness to current trends, according to materials in the board’s agenda packet.

The county estimates it will take up to five years for the comprehensive update, with each year having its work task order.

Updating the comprehensive plan is a substantial undertaking and will involve such activities as developing a project schedule, doing best practices research, developing an outreach and engagement plan, analyzing land use, researching development and demographics and completing myriad other planning activities.

The comprehensive plan is an important document because it sets the stage for the county’s future direction.

Published January 13, 2021

State road projects will ease congestion

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Orange traffic cones and road signs signaling “a new traffic pattern” are a common sight for motorists, especially those traveling Pasco County’s state highway grid.

Amid COVID-19 lockdowns and now hopefulness that a vaccine could mean a return to normalcy, roadwork in Pasco County never stopped. Construction crews cleared rights of way, smoothed out dirt, buried pipes, paved new traffic lanes, landscaped medians, added pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and realigned existing roadways to ease traffic congestion in one of Tampa Bay’s fastest-growing counties.

Several major road projects from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will be completed within the next four years. They include work on a new diverging diamond interchange at State Road 56 and Interstate 75, as well as projects on State Road 54 and State Road 52.

The construction schedules haven’t always met expectations.

Pasco County commissioners recently expressed displeasure with the slower than anticipated pace of project completions, especially on the diverging diamond. Pasco officials pushed to get the project started early, hoping for a spring 2021 completion. Instead, the schedule promises a summer 2022 end date, according to FDOT officials.

The new interchange is an entry and exit off I-75 onto State Road 56 where commercial and residential development is bringing new retail, hotels and residents to the area. Among the destinations are Cypress Creek Town Center, Tampa Premium Outlets and AdventHealth Center Ice.

The first completed road project is expected in late 2021 when work ends on the widening of State Road 54 east of Curley Road to east of Morris Bridge Road. The last project through the pipeline will be the widening and realignment of State Road 52 in summer 2024.

Here is a list of some major state road projects currently under construction in Pasco County:

Workers from Sodmore LLC, of O’ Brien, lay sod for the diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 75 and State Road 56, just west of Willow Oak Drive. The new interchange, scheduled to be completed in summer 2022, is expected to relieve traffic snarls at the interchange. (Fred Bellet)

Interstate 75 at State Road 56 diverging diamond interchange
Construction began in January 2019, with a completion scheduled in summer 2022. The estimated cost is about $33 million.

The diverging diamond is a popular design innovation with a unique pattern that relies on multiple lanes of traffic in a crisscross pattern and a limited number of traffic signals.

This project is the first diverging diamond in District 7 of the FDOT. Others are planned in Hillsborough County at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and I-75; and at Gibsonton Drive and I-75.

FDOT’S website praises the diverging diamond for its ability to handle heavy traffic volumes, increased pedestrian safety, more efficient signal timings and fewer opportunities for vehicles to crash.

Interstate 75 at Overpass Road
Construction on a new diamond interchange, including changes to local road patterns, began in October 2020. Completion of the approximately $64 million project is scheduled for summer 2023.

The new interchange is located about 3.5 miles south of State Road 52. There will be a flyover for westbound Overpass Road access onto southbound I-75.

Overpass will be widened from two to four lanes between I-75 and Old Pasco Road, and to six lanes between I-75 and Boyette Road. Blair Drive will be realigned to connect with Old Pasco Road, and McKendree Road will be realigned to connect to Boyette.

Initially, crews will work in the southwest area of the project where a new neighborhood access road will be built at Old Pasco Road. It will replace the current Blair Drive link to Overpass.

Motorists westbound on State Road 54 make their way into Wesley Chapel as eastbound motorists head into Zephyrhills. The state road is being widened from two lanes to four lanes, with a median, to ease traffic congestion.

State Road 54 widening in the Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills areas
About 4.5 miles of State Road 54 will be widened from two lanes to four lanes from east of Curley Road to east of Morris Bridge Road.

Construction began in November 2017 and is scheduled for completion in late 2021. The estimated cost is $42.5 million.

In early November, eastbound traffic shifted onto newly paved lanes from west of Wesley Chapel Loop to New River Road. Simultaneously, Pasco is remodeling the New River Branch Public Library on State Road 54.

A sidewalk will be built on the north side of the roadway with a 10-foot-wide multi-use path on the south side.

State Road 52 widening and realignment near Dade City and San Antonio
The project will widen and realign State Road 52 between Uradco Place and Fort King Road.

Construction began in November 2019, with completion scheduled in summer 2024. The estimated cost is $81.4 million.

A short portion of McCabe Road between Curley Road and Wirt Road is closed until spring 2021. Williams Cemetery Road is closed east of Wichers Road and McCabe, also until spring 2021.

In addition, some daily lane closures, with flagmen signaling to motorists, can be expected on Curley, McCabe, Prospect Road and Clinton Avenue. A detour route is available using Curley, Prospect and Wirt.

State Road 52 widening in Land O’ Lakes
About 3.8 miles of State Road 52 will be widened into a six-lane divided road from Suncoast Parkway to east of U.S. 41.

Construction began in September 2019, with completion scheduled in late 2023. The estimated cost is $49.8 million.

A 12-foot-wide multi-use path will be built on the north side of State Road 52. In addition, about one mile of U.S. 41 will be widened as it approaches the intersection with the state road.

By Kathy Steele

Revised January 25, 2021

A salute to Barbara Booth

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(Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club has named Barbara Booth as its Clubwoman of the Year. Booth is a longtime resident of Lutz, the mother of five, and the grandmother to 10. She has chaired several club committees, and works tirelessly to provide comfort to those in need through her organizational skills and sewing talents. During the pandemic, Booth assembled a great team of members who have produced more than 600 masks for the club members and the community, including schoolchildren. Her list of community service accomplishments and personal generosity is very long, as she quietly works through her many volunteer tasks.

A donation of necessities

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(Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club president Annette Bellingar delivered 75 Christmas crackers, donated by club members, to a Tampa assisted living facility. Each cracker contained two pairs of socks for each facility resident. Bellingar also presented boxes of new shoes, accessories and toiletries provided by a generous donor friend of the woman’s club. Maryvette DeLeon, administrator of the assisted living facility, left, accepts the gifts from Bellingar.

Addressing Pasco’s hunger issue

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In society’s modern parlance, it’s called “food insecurity.’’ In simple terms, it’s hunger. And, it’s a big problem in Pasco County, particularly in the COVID-19 era.

Christine Bright, Pasco Unit chair for the League of Women Voters, recently gathered officials from five nonprofit agencies for a panel discussion — “Hidden Hunger in Pasco.’’

Key statistical takeaways:

  • Pasco County’s poverty rate for children is about 25%, which is higher than the statewide average of 20%
  • 45% of Pasco households fall under the “ALICE threshold’’ — which means Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. It reflects households that are barely making it, probably one crisis away from financial wipeout
  • Feeding Tampa Bay’s food requests have increased by 360% since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Bright said the League of Women Voters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization, believes that its core mission is to educate and advocate about a community’s important issues.

“Hunger in our community is at the top of that list,’’ Bright said.

There are ongoing solutions — even in these challenging, virus-driven times.

Patti Templeton, executive director of One Community Now, which works to eradicate childhood hunger, said the agency has been implementing a “Pack-A-Sack’’ program for 37 elementary, middle and high schools in Pasco County. The program feeds approximately 1,600 children on weekends.

“Children who struggle with hunger have a lower attention span, a greater absentee rate and other ailments, as well,’’ Templeton said. “We are seeing an impact. Teachers always tell us they see a difference in the kids, especially on Monday mornings. This bridges the gap from the food they get during school to the weekends, where there might not be any food available at their homes.’’

With an acknowledgement that some homes might not have electricity or refrigeration, the sacks usually contain cereal boxes, breakfast bars, canned ravioli, peanut butter, crackers, applesauce, raisins and juice, while carefully avoiding the high-carb fillers, such as cookies or chips.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Promise Foundation continues to implement a weekend backpack program through Pasco schools. Diana Thomas, secretary of the foundation’s board of directors, said it began a decade ago when her daughter (then 7) used her school lunch money to buy food items for classmates who didn’t have money.

“That brought to light the food insecurity that was happening in our county,’’ Thomas said. “We are unaware of that. We were mind-blown when we realized how much hunger was going on with our children.’’

The Thomas Promise backpacks provide about 2,000 meals each weekend.

Helpers need help, too
One Community Now and Thomas Promise both rely heavily on donations, grants and volunteers.

“Fundraising is down, but the need has gone up,’’ Thomas said. “We had to rework the way we do things and figure out creative ways to get food to families, but we are making it work because it needs to work.’’

Templeton said 50% of her agency’s funding comes through private support and it is always seeking new donors. The major fundraising event, the annual Hunger Walk, had to be done virtually and produced $58,000 (compared to $117,000 last season).

“It’s important that we have the resources to do this work,’’ Templeton said. “Of the 46,000 kids (in Pasco schools), we estimate that 5,000 of them are chronically hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from. Resources are important.’’

That fact is perhaps best known by Steffan Davis of Pasco’s United Way organization and its Operation Feeding Pasco program.

The United Way is heavily dependent on employment because workers are asked to contribute from the paycheck.

“Collections are down across the board,’’ Davis said. “A lot of nonprofits were burdened before COVID-19 and now they are experiencing deficits. The challenges are no different for us. Thankfully, the Pasco County government has been incredibly generous during this emergency.’’

That included an innovative program, funded through a $600,000 federal grant, where 12 struggling Pasco restaurants were kept open to feed food insecure citizens. Partnering with 19 nonprofit agencies, the restaurants served more than 250,000 hot meals.

Ashley Jones, nutrition specialist with Pasco County Schools, said the district’s numbers held steady during COVID-19, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (DOA).

“We had to come up with a way to feed students (with schools going online during the initial virus) and the DOA released some emergency waivers that allowed us to keep on going,’’ Jones said.

Free food was provided at 26 school sites from mid-March through August, accounting for 1.6-million meals.

Those services are vital. The Coalition on Human Needs estimated that 2.5-million Americans have fallen into poverty as a result of COVID-19.

“What you learn is, people who fall into poverty are not necessarily that different than (someone who hasn’t),’’ said Beth Hovind, co-chair of Poverty Action. “The loss of income and resources means not having enough money to meet the needs of the family and that includes food.

“I think we’re learning we have to come up with ways to replace that lost income instead of offering (other services). If the money is scarce, the priorities become rent and utilities, and some of the money to pay that comes from the food fund.’’

There are no easy answers to these issues. But, in Pasco County, Bright said the ongoing conversation and collaboration between nonprofit agencies is helping to create solutions.

“For all of our citizens, particularly school-age children, we realize this is something that must be addressed,’’ Bright said. “If there are unmet needs, we want to figure out a way to help.’’

By Joey Johnston

Published January 06, 2021

Lutz teen reaches rank of Eagle Scout

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Zachary Meiczinger was a first-grader when he became a Tiger, the preliminary level of Boy Scouts. He liked it from the very beginning.

Gaither High junior Zachary Meiczinger has achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. The Lutz resident is 16. (Courtesy of Zachary Meiczinger)

And now, the Gaither High junior has achieved the ultimate: He’s an Eagle Scout.

“It’s a real honor,’’ said Meiczinger, 16, a member of Troop 12. “It’s something I’ll have the rest of my life.’’

Since the Eagle Scout designation began in 1911, only 4% of Scouts have earned the honor. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was an Eagle Scout. So was former President Gerald R. Ford. Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg is one, too.

Becoming an Eagle Scout requires a lengthy review process, the acquisition of at least 21 merit badges and the completion of a community service project.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to see someone grow from first-grade stature to someone who is showing leadership and has a vision of what they want to do with the rest of their life,’’ said local Boy Scouts leader Paul O’Connor, Meiczinger’s first troop leader and the supervisor of his Eagle Scout project.

Zachary Meiczinger constructed a Ga-Ga Ball Pit — a form of dodgeball, inside an octagon — as part of his Eagle Scout project, at Lutz Elementary School.

Meiczinger’s project was completed at Lutz Elementary School, where he attended and where his father is a fifth-grade teacher. He painted the fences in the school’s front area, between the cafeteria and main office, while installing about 100 plants, and mulching the entire area.

He also installed a Ga-Ga Ball Pit — a version of dodgeball played in a fenced-in octagon — to give the school kids another recreation option.

“That’s a nice payback for a place where Zach has strong ties, and I thought it was a great choice,’’ O’Connor said.

Meiczinger has lived his life making great choices. He runs cross-country for Gaither and also plays recreational soccer, but Scouting has been his driving force. He has formed lifelong relationships, learned valuable practical skills and had great experiences.

Part of Zachary Meiczinger’s Eagle Scout project, at Lutz Elementary School, involved installing about 100 plants and mulching the area in front of the school.

He can’t recall many of his Tiger experiences. But, he does remember an overnight sleepover at the Kennedy Space Center, where they reclined in sleeping bags and stared up at the rockets.

He has enjoyed countless camping trips and a few whitewater rafting expeditions. Next summer, he’s taking a trip to the Florida Keys, where he will impart knowledge to the younger Scouts.

“I’ve been able to stay connected to some great friends,’’ Meiczinger said. “I’ve learned how to do things like CPR. I’ve stayed really dedicated and consistent to it and that gives me a lot of pride. I started something a long time ago and now I’m finishing it.’’

O’Connor — an Eagle Scout himself — said Meiczinger’s accomplishment should be celebrated.

“Zach has given himself a tremendous opportunity,’’ O’Connor said. “He’s a junior who is starting to look at colleges. Having ‘Eagle Scout’ on his college application is phenomenal. After college, when he’s looking for a job, the words ‘Eagle Scout’ on a job application will open so many doors.

“I have seen the benefits of it personally (working as a project manager for General Electric). He will be placed in leadership positions and get great exposure. My wife works at a large law firm and she sees a lot of resumes. She says if ‘Eagle Scout’ is there, that person will generally get pulled in, at least for an initial interview. It’s a powerful thing.’’

Meiczinger said he knows that already.

“I always see where the Eagle Scouts say how it sticks with them for their whole life,’’ Meiczinger said. “It helped them get places, whether it was a college or somewhere in their career. I can put the term ‘Eagle Scout’ by my name. It’s an honor and a privilege.’’

By Joey Johnston

Published January 06, 2021