The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Staples closing leads searches on LakerLutzNews.com

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Thousands of Web travelers found their exit off the Information Superhighway to LakerLutzNews.com thanks to search engines this past year, but what exactly lead them here in the first place?

Apparently, it was all about the closing of Staples.

Not long after LakerLutzNews.com started publishing daily stories to complement the print stories found each week in our papers, reporter Michael Hinman published a story March 6 about the closing of 225 Staples stores by the end of 2015. That could include two stores locally — the Staples at 7910 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills, and another at 6260 Commerce Palms Blvd., in New Tampa.

It was a rather significant chunk of the Staples chain, which has 1,500 stores in the United States and employs more than 50,000 people.

But what else led the list of top search terms that led to the LakerLutzNews.com in 2014? Check out our list, just in time for us to start it all over again in 2015.

1. Staples closing stores
The good news, however, is that both the Zephyrhills and New Tampa stores continue to remain open by year’s end, with no public announcement of their fate made at this point.

2. Angela Madonia Tampa
Who is Angela Madonia you might ask? Well, she’s a co-owner — along with mother Josephine Argento — of what was then a new farmer’s market called The Family Farm on 41 that opened May 23.

Reporter B.C. Manion shared the news of this market for the first time on June 12, based on a story that appeared the day before in the Lutz News.

“The concept is providing the freshest and healthiest fruits and veggies to our customers,” Madonia said at the time. “We will be growing strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, carrots, corn, radishes, pumpkins and okra. We will start harvesting in late August or early September.”

At the beginning of the year, the site where the outdoor market would eventually open was just an empty field south of County Line Road on U.S. 41. But that changed quickly throughout the spring as what appeared to be a barn went up, and the Family Farm opened for business.

3. Sanders Elementary School
A lot has happened on the former campus of Sanders Memorial Elementary School in Land O’ Lakes in the past year, everything from the announcement of it becoming a magnet school to the opening of enrollment earlier this month.

Through reporter B.C. Manion, The Laker has stayed on top of all the developments regarding the school, including the November announcement that Lake Myrtle Elementary School principal Jason Petry would be the head administrator at the new Sanders school.

It is set to open in August, just in time for the 2015-16 school year.

4. Cypress Creek Town Center
With all the development taking place in Pasco County, it’s surprising to see one project get more attention than others. Yet that seems to be happening with the Cypress Creek Town Center area in Wesley Chapel, right where State Road 56 and Interstate 75 meet.

With everything from the construction start of Tampa Premium Outlets to plans to open a Costco on the site, there’s been plenty to talk about on the property. In fact, in the past year alone, LakerLutzNews.com has posted six stories about the project. It would be hard to find any other topic, outside of the failed elevated toll road project, the paper wrote about more.

5. Atlanta Braves
Believe it or not, the elevated toll road didn’t make our list of the top five search terms — probably because that project died last July.

However, people were interested in the Atlanta Braves, especially some teasing from former Major League Baseball star Gary Sheffield, who told Wesley Chapel business leaders in September that he wanted to convince his former team to set up spring training in Pasco County once a massive baseball complex he was involved in was built.

Except there’s one problem: At the moment, it doesn’t look like the baseball project is coming. Last week, the Pasco County Commission terminated the contract it had with Sheffield and business partner James Talton after they failed to secure funding for their 19-field project.

Could Sheffield and Talton come back with a revised plan? Talton thinks so. But they would likely have to compete with other would-be developers to turn that part of Wiregrass Ranch into a sports megaplex.

Are you curious to what the most-read online stories were on LakerLutzNews.com this past year? Find out in the Dec. 31 print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, and get a great recap of all the stories that moved readers over the past year as well.

And be sure to visit LakerLutzNews.com for daily stories every day — sometimes before you even have a chance to read it in print. Find out why more and more people are making sure The Laker/Lutz News online is a regular stop on their Web journeys.

Stuff your recycling cart for the holidays

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The morning celebration is over, but now there’s a lot of trash. So what do you do?

Hillsborough County officials are reminding residents that many traditional trash items created during the holidays can actually be recycled. That includes:

• Clean paperboard boxes, like cereal and food boxes
• Mail, magazines, newspapers and advertising
• Writing papers, pads and notes
• Flattened corrugated cardboard boxes
• Brown paper bags
• Aluminum cans and foil
• Steel and tin cans
• Glass bottles and jars
• Plastic bottles, jugs and containers, including foamed polystyrene and styrofoam
• Plastic film and packaging
• Grocery and shopping bags
• Liquid food containers and gable-top cartons, like milk and juice boxes

For those living in Hillsborough County, at least, recycling that can’t be collected by the typical recycling cart can be dropped off for free at community collection centers, including Hillsborough Heights on County Road 579 in Seffner, Northwest County on Linebaugh Avenue in Tampa, and South County on U.S. 41 in Gibsonton.

Those centers are open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except for Christmas and New Year’s days.

For details on recycling, or where to find centers, visit HillsboroughCounty.org/SolidWaste, or call (813) 272-5680.

It’s Christmas, and roads will be packed

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Records might only date back to 2001, but AAA is projecting the holiday travel volume to be the highest it’s ever tracked, with 98.6 million Americans journeying at least 50 miles away.

That’s up 4 percent from the 94.8 million people leaving home last year between Dec. 23 and Jan. 4.

A vast majority of those drivers — 91 percent, actually — will take to the road, also up more than 4 percent from last year. Air travel is growing a little bit, too, up 1 percent to 5.7 million. Helping all of that is the fact that gas is at its lowest point since 2008, when regular unleaded ran just $1.65 per gallon.

Florida will have a good chunk of those travelers — nearly 5 percent of the national total — with 4.6 million taking cars, 270,000 traveling by air, and a little less than 200,000 finding another way to travel. Although hotel and car rental rates are up nearly 5 percent, airfares have fallen 7 percent.

“This year, more Americans will join friends and family to celebrate the holidays and ring in the New Year than ever before,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said, in a release. “Continued growth in consumer confidence and disposable income, an extended holiday period, and low gas prices should drive expected travel volumes to the highest level we have ever seen during the year-end holidays.”

Gas prices have dropped significantly in the past year. On New Year’s Day in 2014, for example, gas averaged $3.32 nationally. Today, it’s $2.55 — down 68 cents.

“Gas prices should continue falling through the rest of the year,” Jenkins said. “Prices are dropping at around 1 to 2 cents a day.”

With so many people on the road this holiday, AAA is asking drivers to be extra diligent looking for and avoiding impaired drivers. In fact, 1-in-8 drivers who drink at least occasionally reported having driven when they thought their alcohol level was at or above the legal limit, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

That same survey also revealed that 91 percent of drivers consider impaired driving to be unacceptable, with 42 percent reporting that drunk drivers are a bigger problem today compared to three years ago.

“Despite the ubiquitous warnings about drinking and driving, especially during the holiday season, an average of one alcohol-impaired driving death occurs every 45 minutes,” Jenkins said.

Pasco sets up Christmas tree recycling locations

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In what might be the biggest holiday recycling effort of the year, Pasco County officials are asking residents to recycle Christmas trees by bringing home to one of several locations between Dec. 26 and Jan. 7.

“I have copies of old news articles going back to Dec. 28, 1995, that indicate this was a recycling tradition for at least five years before that date,” said Jennifer Seney, Pasco’s recycling coordinator, in a release. “We recycled 1,330 Christmas trees in 2013.”

Trees brought to the drop-off points will be chipped and made into mulch for landscaping purposes, officials said. It’s asked that those bringing trees remove all tinsel, metal hooks and decorations before bringing them to a station.

Locations east of the Suncoast Parkway include:

• John S. Burks Memorial Park, 1322 Gene Nelson Blvd., in Dade City
• Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes
• Sam W. Pasco Recreational Complex, 9835 Chancey Road in Zephyrhills
• Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road in Wesley Chapel

“Trees are chipped and made into mulch for many different uses, like covering hiking paths, weed control and landscaping accents,” Seney said.

Also, decaying trees can make a strong wildlife habitat if used in a brush pile, she said. “Of course, this only works where the homeowner has the space and time to let nature take its course.”

Questions or requests for information can be directed to Pasco County Recycling at (727) 856-4539, or by visiting PascoCountyUtilities.com.

A shy boy’s singing debut made Christmas memorable

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When my son was a little older than 3, the blond-headed, blue-eyed tyke was extremely shy. Whenever someone he didn’t know well would drop over, Michael would try to hide behind me.

That is until one Christmas when we had a house full of visitors.

Michael always was pretty shy … until you asked him to sing a song.
Michael always was pretty shy … until you asked him to sing a song.

My brothers were there, and my grandfather and step-grandmother were too. So were my uncle and his pregnant wife, my parents, my husband and our three kids.

I had mentioned to my brother, Tom, Michael’s tendency to shy away from people. So during our gathering, Tom asked Michael, “What’s your favorite song?”

Without missing a beat, Michael said, “Sunshine on My Shoulders.”

“Can you sing it?” Tom asked.

And, much to the surprise of both my husband and me, Michael began singing — and he knew nearly every word.

When he finished, we all applauded, and Michael blushed and raced out of the room. Michael’s performance of that John Denver song made that Christmas one that I’ll never forget.

– Kathy Welton

Kathy Welton joined The Laker/Lutz News in 2007. She handles a wide array of administrative and circulation duties, including dealing with delivery issues, mailing published advertisements to those who placed them, and keeping track of office supplies.

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A royal Christmas fit for a princess

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Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I dreamed that I was a princess.

I was 10 years old, and pink and purple were the colors that shimmered and shined for me.

I wanted a bedroom fit for a princess. I wanted pink walls and a full-sized white canopy bed with layers of purple ruffles, white nightstands with small lamps that were fitting, and a white fur rug to place my princess feet upon. This was a Christmas wish.

As the gifts started going under the tree, I would try to figure out which part of my princess room could fit into the box. The day arrived when a very large, but flat, gift appeared. Could it be my princess bed?

My parents asked me if I really thought a big canopy princess bed could fit into such a box. How could it? I knew they were right: No way a bed could fit into that box.

Why should Christmas come to our home when my one and only wish was not coming true?

Christmas morning came anyway. The house was full of soft and glowing lights from the tree and decorations, hot chocolate was in our cups, and beautiful Christmas music was playing throughout the house. Everything was beautiful, and we were all happy and dancing around, enjoying our Christmas Day.

I told my mom that it didn’t matter too much that I would not have a princess room, and that I still liked Christmas Day.

She smiled and winked at me. She told me that I have been a princess since the day I was born, and I didn’t need some silly bed to prove it.

We gathered around the tree, and I was instructed to open the first and largest gift. I opened an end and peeked inside. There was a picture of the most beautiful canopy bed I had ever seen. It was not just white, but trimmed in gold. I was so overwhelmed, I cried.

There was no way that a bed was inside. My parents had convinced me it could not be. The box was opened, and piece-by-piece, it came out to make my complete full-sized princess bed.

Not only that, I had a matching dresser, two bedside stands, white shimmering lamps, and layers upon layers of purple bedding, canopy and curtains.

Within a week, my beautiful pink and purple princess room was complete, right down to the white fur rug. I still remember the way it looked.

But the best present I received that Christmas was not that, it was the memory of those words my mother spoke.

– Carolyn Bennett

Carolyn Bennett joined The Laker/Lutz News in 2004. She is responsible for processing advertising copy for production, and ensures ads are scheduled and running correctly in the paper. She also is the paper’s customer service representative and sales assistant.

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The spirit of giving comes full circle

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Some of my favorite memories of Christmas are the parties that my mom’s company threw every year for children of struggling families.

My brothers and my sister and I were always eager for the annual event, which included lunch, a movie with popcorn, and a present from Santa. We would get dressed up for Christmas, and would be excited, never knowing what present we would receive.

We lived in Flint, Michigan, the hub of the automobile industry. My mom worked at General Motors and was bringing up four children on her own. She couldn’t afford big Christmas presents, and while we never went hungry, we sure ate a lot of hamburger casserole meals.

We loved mom’s company party. We hardly ever got to go to a movie, and if we did, we never got popcorn. Plus, the gifts were always things we enjoyed.

Those holiday parties made a real difference in my life, and to this day, they have inspired me to want to bring cheer to children who otherwise might not receive Christmas presents.

For years, my family and I have taken angels from our church’s tree to provide presents for one girl and one boy. It’s been our tradition for my two children to go with me to shop for these presents, because we wanted to be sure to select the perfect gifts.

I also wanted to teach my children to be aware that there are others who are less fortunate, and the importance of sharing with them. I want the children who receive presents from our family to have the same happy feelings that my mom’s company party gave to me.

– Terri Williamson

Terri Williamson is a senior account manager. She joined The Laker/Lutz News in 2003, and she establishes, maintains and strengthens relationships with local businesses and helps them with their marketing efforts.

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Making wonderful memories at the holidays

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I have many wonderful Christmas memories, but two in particular stand out.

Getting together for a hayride was always a fantastic way to get into the holiday mood. We held these rides during the holidays for years in our Wesley Chapel neighborhood.
Getting together for a hayride was always a fantastic way to get into the holiday mood. We held these rides during the holidays for years in our Wesley Chapel neighborhood.

The first was when I was in college. My family had moved to Florida from Ohio a few years earlier, and when we went back to visit for the holidays, our family had grown too large for all of us to stay at my grandparents’ house.

My parents had this great idea and rented two cabins at Mohican State Park. They drove up early, and since we were only staying there a few days, my mom brought just a handful of small Christmas decorations to make the cabin look a little festive before the rest of the family arrived.

They didn’t have room to bring a tree, so my mom jokingly said that if we saw a tree lying in the road to bring it with us.

My sister, brother and I were driving up to the cabin, and sure enough, there was a beautiful blue spruce tree on the side of the road.

My mom couldn’t believe it.

We put the tree up and hung a few ornaments on its branches. It was such a simple tree, but it meant so much to all of us to have it for our Christmas celebration.

It was a cold winter that year, and the blanket of fresh snow on the ground outside the cabins was absolutely gorgeous.

I will never forget how beautiful it was for our family to be in those cabins in the middle of the woods, as if we had the whole place to ourselves.

There were no stores or restaurants nearby, just our family spending time together creating wonderful memories.

My other favorite Christmas memory is from when my daughter was little. My husband had this terrific idea of having a hayride from our house in Wesley Chapel.

It was a great way to bring lots of family and friends together the week before Christmas to just have some fun.

After we decorated the trailer with garland, the kids had an awesome time breaking the bales apart and spreading hay everywhere. Sometimes it seemed like there was more hay on our driveway than on the trailer, but it was great to see them have so much fun.

We wore Santa hats, rang our jingle bells, and sang Christmas carols while we rode the streets of our neighborhood.

Each year it got bigger, and we even had to add another trailer so everyone could ride. After the hayride, we had a big cookout, and to make it even more special, Santa arrived and handed out gifts to all the children.

It was such a huge success that we had it for several years.

It was a fantastic way to spread holiday cheer. It was intended for the children, but I am pretty sure that the adults had just as much fun.

I know I did.

– Mary Eberhard

Mary Eberhard joined The Laker/Lutz News in 2003. She is the accounting manager and handles invoicing, accounts payable and accounts receivable.

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A crazy cold, yet warm Christmas

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Anyone remember Christmas Eve 1989 here in Tampa Bay?

My husband Gary and I were married for only two years, and it was the first year in our new home in Lutz.

It was crazy cold that year. As people switched on their electric heaters, plugged in their Christmas lights, and turned on their electric stoves, the resulting power shortage caused rolling blackouts.

The house would be full of light and warmth for about an hour, and then poof — everything was dark. There was no way to know how long we would be without light.

Typically the power would be out for an hour or two, but sometimes it would be out for three.

We were forced to sit and relax by candlelight, and we found ourselves engaged in pleasant conversation. We had no idea when we would receive the glorious gift of electrical power again.

When the power went back on, we would jump up and do as many tasks as we could that required electricity. I ran the vacuum, cranked up the heat, used multiple burners on the stove, and heated the big oven and the toaster oven at the same time.

We didn’t know how much time we had before cold darkness would return. Just as abruptly as lights went on, they’d go out again, and we’d be back in the darkness, fumbling around in a search for lighters, candles and flashlights.

While in the throes of it, it felt like the rolling blackouts during the holidays were a curse. Looking back, however, it’s easy to see that the loss of power was not a burden, but a gift.

It was a blessing to spend those interludes between our frantic bursts of activity savoring the company of each other.

– Suzanne Beauchaine

Suzanne Beauchaine is an account manager with The Laker/Lutz News, joining the paper in 2013. She seeks to listen to customers to ensure their advertising meets their marketing needs.

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The holiday season done in style at Grand Horizons

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The holidays are fast approaching, and many celebrations are going on at Grand Horizons.

We started off with a Christmas luncheon for the women at The Cheesecake Factory in Brandon on Dec. 2. The luncheon was hosted by Joyce Bell, and it certainly was done to perfection.

Robbie Lockard and Joyce Bell can’t wait to dig into their desserts at The Cheesecake Factory. (Courtesy of Helene Rubenstein)
Robbie Lockard and Joyce Bell can’t wait to dig into their desserts at The Cheesecake Factory.
(Courtesy of Helene Rubenstein)

We had gone to The Cheesecake Factory before, and this was the perfect place to welcome in the holidays. It has an extensive menu and something for everyone’s taste. The waiters were very helpful with the menu.

There were 15 of us who gathered for the holiday luncheon, and we all sat on the covered patio where we got fresh air. At one point, we were the only ones outside, so we could converse with each other without interrupting anyone.

We had pictures taken, and everyone had a good time.

There were many cheesecakes, and they all looked good enough to eat or take home. Some of the women did bring home a good part of their meal so they could once again enjoy The Cheesecake Factory.

Several of the women came early so they could do some shopping. All in all, it was a lovely day.

In addition to the luncheon, Grand Horizons’ Christmas project this year was Meals on Wheels. So, instead of gifts being exchanged during the party, donations to this worthy cause were accepted.

Meals on Wheels delivers nutritional meals to the homes of Zephyrhills senior citizens whose mobility is limited. The entire community is involved to show their support.

Joyce Bell is the coordinator of this venture, and she is doing a splendid job. Our thanks go out to her.

We had our annual golf cart parade on Dec. 6. The parade that circles every home in our development was led by last year’s winners, Vic and Lynn Dyson. They also were the judges for this year.

We were not there, but if the golf carts or people were decorated like last year, then I know the judges had quite a job to do.

Cheryl Leone said there were three winners. First place went to Don and Diane Collins; second place to Paul and Carolyn Ray; and third place went to Rich and Jean Lydecker.

From what Joyce Bell said, there were 16 golf carts in the parade with several of the carts to be judged. All the golf carts, I was told, were cheerfully decorated.

Some had Santas on the top of the cart, while others played Christmas music and so much more.

Several of the residents who were passengers or drivers of the golf carts wore costumes that were festive to the season. Once the parade was completed, all the residents met in the community center where baked goods were supplied by the residents.

Approximately 75 to 100 people attended.

There was hot chocolate and other drinks to celebrate the holidays. Entertainment was supplied by Loris Weber on the piano, and everyone sang Christmas carols. It was a night to remember.

There was a special celebration at the community center Dec. 10 for Marie Paolantonio’s 80th birthday. Marie was on cloud nine and was so excited.

Several of her friends from inside the park and a few from outside the park — plus family — were invited to a birthday bash presented to Marie by her children, Sal and Lynn Paolantonio.

There was a nice size crowd of approximately 40 to 45 people. From what I understand, Sal couldn’t keep this a secret as in the past he had tried several times to surprise his mom, but found it impossible. So he ended up telling her not to make plans for this day. What else could he have done?

Many pictures were taken of the birthday girl and guests. There was plenty of food and so much cake. It was a lovely affair.

Loris Weber played “Happy Birthday” on the piano while everyone joined in singing the song.

By Helene Rubenstein

Published December 24, 2014