The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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A Halloween to remember at Grand Horizons

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Now that autumn is upon us, many more residents are coming home to Grand Horizons.

We had our coffee and doughnuts on Oct. 29, and you could actually see the difference in attendance. The new people that came back to our park created a good size crowd.

This function has people mingling and catching up with news that happened during the summer. We also hear about the news that transpired at Grand Horizons — birthdays, get-well wishes and more.

John and Tita Mauk are Popeye and Olive Oyl at the Grand Horizons’ Halloween party. (Courtesy of Marty Rubenstein)
John and Tita Mauk are Popeye and Olive Oyl at the Grand Horizons’ Halloween party.
(Courtesy of Marty Rubenstein)

Twice a month we do get to have our blood pressure taken, which is important, and usually takes a back burner while we are away for the winter months.

There is one activity that differs from last year, and that is water aerobics. Last year, water aerobics was on the days that we had shuffleboard. I wanted to go to exercise class, but thoroughly enjoyed shuffleboard. A decision had to be made, and shuffleboard won.

This year, water aerobics continues on shuffleboard days, and the days we do not participate in this game. I am very happy with the change.

Water aerobics also is important, as it helps in many things, plus it cools you off on hot, humid days.

Did you ever want to see goblins, ghosts, witches and so much more together? On Oct. 31, we did. A Halloween party took place, and about 70 residents joined in on the fun.

Annmarie Shackewyc hosted this event, along with Carol Wilcox, Barb Livingston and Cheryl Leone. They did a fantastic job in planning the party, and they came to the community center a day before to set up the decorations. They really outdid themselves, and the work they put in to decorating showed through. Everything was done in style.

They had a contest for the best costume, and the judges really had their work cut out for them, as one costume was better than the other. There were four prizes in all.

We also had a disc jockey, Gary Wilcox, who did a great job. He has done this for our park before, and he is just a natural.

There was a variety of songs, loads of dancing, and one tune after another.

It was a night to remember.

By Helene Rubenstein

Published November 12, 2014

Ross pushing forward controversial Ebola bill

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The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is against it, but that’s not stopping U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross from introducing legislation that would curb flights from countries with outbreaks of the Ebola virus.

Ross introduced his bill Wednesday known as the Contain Ebola and Stop the Epidemic — or CEASE — Act of 2014, which would prohibit certain flights from landing in the United States, and to prohibit the country from issuing visas to those areas.

“Now that the United States is free of the Ebola virus disease, we must begin implementing a process that will keep our country safe from a potential future outbreak,” Ross, R-Lakeland, said in a release. “Craig Spencer, a doctor who helped treat Ebola patients in West Africa, returned home to New York to find he had become sick with the virus.”

Spencer was successfully treated for Ebola. However, Ross said he was concerned about a statement from Ron Klain, the Ebola czar appointed by President Obama, who said that the United States could see “occasional additional cases of Ebola in our country.”

“Klain’s statement does not provide my constituents and I comfort,” Ross said.

By banning flights and visas with countries where Ebola has become an epidemic, he added, it would reduce the threat of an outbreak in the United States. However, CDC officials have said that while people should always be vigilant against deadly diseases, Ebola is one that has almost no chance of ever becoming an epidemic in the United States.

To date, only one person has died from Ebola in the United States, creating a death rate in the country of 1-in-300 million.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, the head of the CDC, wrote in an opinion piece last month that turning back planes from countries with Ebola problems would only worsen the situation here at home.

“When a wildfire breaks out, we don’t fence it off,” Frieden wrote. “We go in to extinguish it before one of the random sparks sets off another outbreak somewhere else. We don’t want to isolate part of the world, or people who aren’t sick, because that’s going to drive patients with Ebola underground, making it infinitely more difficult to address the outbreak.”

Frieden also noted that all outbound passengers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are screened for Ebola symptoms before they board an airplane. Unlike other communicable diseases, Ebola can only be spread once someone is symptomatic, and even then it has to be through direct conflict, like body fluids. It’s can be spread through casual contact like the flu can, nor is it airborne in that way.

Ross’ bill would stop commercial flights that originated or stopped in Ebola-affected countries from landing in the United States. It would also prohibit federal officials from issuing immigrant or non-immigrant visas to anyone whose travel originates in or includes a foreign country where there is an Ebola problem.

The travel and visa ban would continue until a country is “no longer experiencing epidemic levels of the Ebola virus disease.”

“Ebola is still devastating areas of Africa, especially in both Guinea and Sierra Leone, which is why we must keep our guard up,” Ross said, in defense of his bill. “Until the CDC can ascertain that Ebola has been contained and eradicated overseas, we must be vigilant in keeping Americans safe by being proactive instead of reactive.”

Tampa Bay area becoming more gay-friendly

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When it comes to granting civil rights for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, Tampa and St. Petersburg are two of the state’s leaders, according to a new report by the Human Rights Campaign.

The 2014 Municipal Equality Index is produced by the gay rights advocacy group, and is the only nationwide rating system of LGBT inclusion in municipal law and policy, according to a release. Tampa scored a 97 in the index, while St. Petersburg is 100.

“From Mississippi to Idaho, mid-size cities and small towns have become the single greatest engine of progress for LGBT equality — changing countless lives for the better,” said HRC president Chad Griffin, in a release. “In just three years, the number of municipalities earning top marks for their treatment of LGBT citizens has more than tripled. Simply put, in this country there is an ongoing race to the top to treat all people, including LGBT people, fairly under the law, and it’s time our state and federal laws caught up.”

Tampa earned top marks in areas like the passage of non-discrimination laws, relationship recognition, municipal services, law enforcement, and the city’s overall relationship with the LGBT community. However, Tampa did stumble a little when it came to the municipality as an employer, since the city does not have transgender-inclusive health care benefits, or requirements of equality policies from contractors working with the city.

The city received bonus points, however, for having openly elected or appointed LGBT municipal leaders, and for encouraging an inclusive workplace.

Florida scored 65 out of 100 points as a whole, above the national average of 59. Other areas scoring as high as Tampa and St. Pete were Orlando (100) and Wilton Manors (100). Finishing low, however, were Port St. Lucie (14) and Cape Coral (22).

“In many municipalities, local leaders are taking important steps to provide LGBT people with the protections and security not available at the state or federal level,” said Rebecca Issacs, executive director of Equality Federation, in a release. “And because of this leadership, many cities and countries are emerging as welcoming communities where LGBT people are treated with the dignity and respect they’ve always deserved.”

Cities researched for the index include 50 state capitals, the 200 most populous cities in the country, and the four largest cities in every state, the city home to each state’s largest public university, and an equal mix of 75 of the nation’s large, mid-size and small municipalities with the highest proportion of same-sex couples.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization, according to the organization’s description, working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

Builders adding jobs, but struggling to find workers

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Construction employers added 12,000 jobs in October, and unemployment in that sector fell to its lowest levels since 2006, according to a new report from Associated General Contractors of America.

The construction employment gains, along with rising wages and weekly hours, are consistent with survey results from the group that more firms are having a tough time finding enough qualified workers to fill available positions.

“For the past several months, the construction industry has added jobs at double the all-industry rate of 1.9 percent,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, in a release. “Construction wages, which were already higher than the private-sector average, rose 2.6 percent in the last year — the fastest rate since early 2010 — as contractors ramped up their search for qualified workers.”

Construction employment totaled just under 6.1 million in October, the highest since May 2009, with a 12-month gain of 231,000 jobs, or 3.9 percent. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added a combined 8,000 employees since September, and 130,600 over 12 months — a jump of 6 percent.

Non-residential contractors — building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering — experienced an overall gain of 3,600 employees for the month, and just under 100,000 over the past year.

“There were fewer unemployed, experienced constructions workers last month than at any time in the past eight years,” Simonson said. “These indicators — high weekly hours, low unemployment and accelerating wage gains — point to an industry that may be on the very of acute difficulty filling key positions.”

Nearly 1,100 construction firms were surveyed by the association in October, showing 83 percent reporting difficulty in finding craft workers, and 61 percent having trouble filling other professional positions. As a result, the association is pushing federal, state and local officials to enact a series of measures that would make it easier for school districts, local associations and private firms to establish career and technical education and training programs.

“The construction industry has made an impressive contribution to the nation’s employment gains this year,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive, in a release. “But those gains are in jeopardy unless schools, colleges and training programs can refill a pool of talent that is rapidly drying up.”

In Print: Playoffs kick off Friday for Sunlake, Zephyrhills

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Are you ready for the playoffs? Are the Sunlake Seahawks, or the Zephyrhills Bulldogs?

Well, someone needs to be, because the state football playoffs begin Friday, with Zephyrhills on the road to the Panhandle area, while Sunlake is hosting a tough team from Ocala.

Sunlake High School head football coach Bill Browning looks on with concern as his team trails Zephyrhills, 22-7, last Friday. The Seahawks lost to the Bulldogs in the final game of the season, pitting together the two area teams heading to the playoffs. (Fred Bellet/Photo)
Sunlake High School head football coach Bill Browning looks on with concern as his team trails Zephyrhills, 22-7, last Friday. The Seahawks lost to the Bulldogs in the final game of the season, pitting together the two area teams heading to the playoffs. (Fred Bellet/Photo)

“The farthest we’ve gotten is the second round in the playoffs,” Seahawks coach Bill Browning told reporter Michael Murillo. “That our goal now, to go farther than any Sunlake team has.”

Sunlake will face Vanguard High School, which finished 4-5 on the season, but was able to claim a playoff spot as the runner-up in Class 6A-District 5. Yet, the Knights were 1-4 on the road, and gave up an average of nearly 47 points in their five losses.

Zephyrhills will have a bit of a tougher time. The Class 5A-District 6 runner-up has a long drive ahead of them Friday to Live Oak, just south of Interstate 10. If that wasn’t enough to worry about, the team from Suwannee High School also is known as the Bulldogs — and they have an impressive 9-1 record, losing only the final game of the season.

“You feel really good for a short time, but you know you’ve got to get back to work and start over,” Zephyrhills head coach Reggie Roberts said. “Our objective is not just to get there. It’s to perform once we get to the playoffs.”

How are both teams preparing? Find out in this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, available on newsstands now. Or read it for free in our online e-edition. Get the Zephyrhills version of the story here, with more details on Sunlake here.

Also, check out LakerLutzNews.com Friday night for results from both games, and find complete coverage in the Nov. 19 print edition of The Laker/Lutz News.

It’s great having a chance to celebrate football and other sports. But when we do, we should stop to thank a veteran.

Tuesday was Veterans Day, and just ahead of a day filled with events, one group of veterans do what they do for every holiday honoring those who served — they remembered those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for those freedoms.

Last weekend, four members of American Legion Post 108 visited the Lutz Cemetery to place flags on the gravestones of soldiers.

“There’s a lot of sacrifice here,” Bill Garrison, a former code breaker with the U.S. Air Force, told reporter B.C. Manion.

“Unfortunately, they don’t get the honor and respect that they deserve,” said Richard Fernandez, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard.

The men and others visit the cemetery every Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day. The come bearing small American flags, which they will then collect the day after the holidays, honoring veterans from all the major wars.

To learn more about this solemn service provided by these American Legion members, check out this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, or read our free online e-edition by clicking here.

The elections are finally over after months and months and months of campaigning. While Pasco County had a turnout of more than 50 percent, turnout for the mid-term elections overall across the country were at the lowest levels since World War II.

Many local candidates — including those running for county commission and for an office in Tallahassee — touted local jobs and local money to help grow Pasco’s economy. Yet, none of the candidates really spent a lot of time trying to provide their own influx of cash to local businesses.

In fact, in just three races — two county commission races, and the election battle between Danny Burgess and Beverly Ledbetter for Will Weatherford’s state House seat — more than $324,000 was sent out of the county. That’s 71 percent of the total money raised by all six candidates involved.

What do the candidates have to say about it? We’re not sure. Many wouldn’t address it, but Ledbetter — who lost to Burgess in the House race — did talk about where money in her campaign was spent.

“Our campaign bought local services when available, such as some printing supplies and materials,” Ledbetter told reporter Michael Hinman in an email. “I used a local Dade City printer for some work, and a local company for the T-shirts.”

Yet, despite those efforts, Ledbetter spent just $3,000 in Pasco — less than 10 percent of the total amount she raised. Burgess wasn’t much better, however, spending $35,000 — less than 27 percent — of the money he raised locally.

Find out what all this outside spending means to local businesses in this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, or read it online right now for free in our e-edition by clicking here.

And finally, photojournalist Fred Bellet has some great pictures to share from a recent work day at the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce in Land O’ Lakes, turning the headquarters a vibrant tropical blue. See it online by clicking here.

All of these stories and more can be found in this week’s The Laker/Lutz News, available in newsstands throughout east and central Pasco County as well as northern Hillsborough County. Find out what has your community talking this week by getting your local news straight from the only source you need.

If The Laker/Lutz News is not coming to your door, call us to see where you can get your copy at (813) 909-2800, or read our free e-edition by clicking here.

Florida nation’s most veteran-friendly state?

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What does it take to become the most veteran-friendly state in the nation? Just follow Florida’s example.

At least that’s what Florida TaxWatch, a nonpartisan advocacy group on how taxpayer money is spent, is sharing as the state honors its veterans.

“Florida is proud of the brave servicemen and women who have chosen to build their lives and raise their families in the Sunshine State,” Dominic Calabro, president and chief executive of Florida TaxWatch, said in a release. “Our Legislature and Florida’s governor have recognized the importance of giving back to those who have sacrificed for us, and their commitment has resulted in Florida becoming the most veteran-friendly state in America.”

Florida does have 1.6 million vets living here, accounting for one in every 12 adult veterans. That includes 250,000 disabled veterans, both the third-largest nationally. Florida also has more World War II vets than any other state, and almost half of its veterans are older than 65.

So what makes Florida so special when it comes to veterans?

It all starts with the Florida “G.I. Bill,” Calabro said. That includes a number of veteran-friendly services like property tax exemptions, reductions in professional license fees, education benefits, obtaining driver’s licenses, and employment.

Property Tax Exemptions
A veteran with at least a 10 percent service-connected disability may be entitled to a $5,000 exemption on any property he or she owns. Those with service-connected total and permanent disability, or are confined to a wheelchair, could qualify for total homestead exemption — a benefit that also can carry over to the surviving spouse.

Veterans who are disabled, older than 64, and owns homestead property may qualify for a property tax discount based on their percentage of disability.

Current or former members of the military, reserves, U.S. Coast Guard or Florida National Guard, may receive an exemption for his or her homestead if deployed during the last calendar year outside of the United States. The exemption is equal to the percentage of the year the person was deployed.

The Fallen Heroes Family Tax Relief Act allows a surviving spouse of a veteran — as well as first responders — who died from service-connected causes to be granted a total exemption on their home. Also, any person serving in the U.S. Armed Forces may rent the homestead without abandoning the claim to the homestead exemption.

Professional License Fees
Fees related to professional licensing may be waived for veterans who have been honorably discharged within 60 months prior to applying for the license. Spouses also qualify for the waiver.

Also, members of the military, spouses and veterans who have retired within 24 months who apply for a professional license in the insurance industry are exempt from the application filing fee.

Education
Out-0f-state fees are waived for honorably discharged veterans who attend a state college, state university, career center, or charter technical career center. Also, $1.5 million is provided annually to fund tuition scholarships and book stipends for Florida National Guard members that participate in the Educational Dollars for Duty program.

Florida also waives undergraduate-level tuition at state universities and community colleges for Florida recipients of the Purple Heart and other combat-related decorations. Tuition benefits also are provided for dependent children and spouses of deceased or totally disabled veterans and children of service members who are missing in action or prisoners of war.

Driver’s licenses
Military members who are on active duty outside Florida — and their dependents — receive an automatic extension of their driver’s license without re-examination.

Non-resident active duty military service members stationed in Florida are exempt from the requirements to obtain a Florida driver’s license when his or her children enter a Florida public school. The service member’s spouse also is exempt if the spouse begins employment, or enrolls in a school in the state.

Employment
All government employers in Florida are required to grant employment preference in hiring and retention to veterans, spouses, parents and legal guardians, as well as National Guard members and the U.S. Reserve Forces. Private sector employers are authorized, but not required, to establish a veterans preference process for honorably discharged veterans and certain spouses.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity offers a range of services to veterans including recruitment, training grants, and links to federal programs offering certain employer incentives for hiring veterans. The Hiring Florida’s Heroes initiative works with employers to connect them with veterans possessing needed skills.

The newly created Veterans Employment and Training Services, or VETS, program will help connect veterans and employers, and will contract with at least one university to administer entrepreneurship initiative programs for veterans. It also creates a grant program for businesses to provide funding for training veterans to meet a business’s work force-skill needs.

For more on Florida TaxWatch, visit FloridaTaxWatch.org.

 

Governor asks businesses to hire a veteran

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The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and CareerSource Florida is encouraging businesses to hire a veteran throughout November, following a proclamation by Gov. Rick Scott.

The proclamation encourages businesses and community leaders to recognize the value of hiring veterans in November for their competent skills, education, leadership, maturity and dedication learned during military service.

“As we continue to work to make Florida the most military-friendly state in the nation, we must take this time to recognize November as Hire a Veteran Month,” Scott said, in a release. “We know that veterans bring many benefits to employers because of their experiences and hard-working attitude.”

Florida is home to nearly 1.5 million veterans, the third largest population of veterans in the nation. The two state departments, along with the state’s 24 regional work force boards, work throughout the year to assist veterans, spouses of active-duty military members, and their families in finding meaningful employment in Florida.

So far this year, 21,000 veterans have been assisted by work force boards to find work.

CareerSource Florida’s regional partners provide local veterans employment representatives and disabled veterans outreach specialists year-round to connect veterans with employment and training opportunities. The Military Family Employment Advocacy Program delivers priority work force services for active-duty military spouses and family members near Florida’s major military installations.

For more information, visit FloridaJobs.org, or CareerSourceFlorida.com.

Area events honor veterans on special day

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Veterans Day is Nov. 11, and those who have put on the uniform to serve this country have a full day ahead of them.

Saint Leo University and Two Men and a Truck will deliver items to veterans in local shelters throughout the day Tuesday. The donations will be from a collection drive the school hosted last month including items such as soap, shampoo, shaving cream, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, towels, sheets, backpacks, blankets and more.

Saint Leo also will have a ceremony honoring veterans at 11 a.m., at the Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardrooms in the school’s student community center, 33701 State Road 52, in St. Leo.

The keynote speaker at that even is U.S. Army retired Col. K. Steven Collier, who founded a technology company in Dade City.

Bayfront Health Dade City and Gulfside Hospice will host a Senior Circle for Veterans Day at 10 a.m., at the hospital, 13100 Fort King Road in Dade City. It will include a pinning ceremony for all veterans in attendance. There also will be a moment of silence, followed by a complimentary lunch. To RSVP, call (877) 362-5321.

The Museum of Science & Industry at 4801 E. Fowler Ave., in Tampa, is offering $5 admission for all active and retired military personnel, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, first responders and police officers. For information, visit MOSI.org.

Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club will host an Armistice Day fundraiser to support troops and the community’s resident veterans. It will have a special recognition for World War II veterans, and include a dinner. For information, call John Benvengo at (917) 754-1726, or email .

Pasco-Hernando State College will host Honor Our Patriots Events on the Spring Hill campus, 450 Beverly Court, Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Military representatives will be on hand to talk about military life and resource groups, with a student veteran panel set for Nov. 12 at noon. All events are free, and information can be found at PHSC.edu/calendar.

Finally, Fifth Third Bank has partnered with the Folds of Honor Foundation to collect and match donations at all 48 of its Tampa Bay-area centers through Nov. 15. The foundation provides scholarships and other assistance to the spouses and children of soldiers killed or wounded in action. The bank will match up to $5,000 locally.

Local Fifth Third Banks are at 1122 Dale Mabry Highway in Lutz, and at 2022 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

Pasco Schools to honor veterans Tuesday

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Pasco County Schools are hosting a variety of events on Veterans Day Tuesday to honor those who risked or gave their lives for America’s freedoms.

The day starts off at Wesley Chapel Center for the Arts with a Veterans Day presentation beginning at 8:30 a.m. It will include Superintendent Kurt Browning as well as Pasco County elections supervisor Brian Corley, and will honor and celebrate veterans, as well as encourage students to participate in the Vote in Honor of a Veteran program.

“This is the greatest country in the world, and we owe that to generations of men and women who have gone to war to protect our values and beliefs,” Browning said, in a release. “There is no better place for students to learn about the sacrifices and contributions of this nation’s veterans than in our schools.”

The arts center is located at 30651 Wells Road in Wesley Chapel.

Corley will join outreach ambassadors from his government office to conduct voter registration at all high schools in the county from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. On top of that, several schools will host Veterans Day programs. They include:

• Salute a Veteran at Fox Hollow Elementary School, 10 a.m. — The entire student body will have a part in honoring local veterans. Each grade level at the school, 8309 Fox Hollow Drive in Port Richey, has taken time to learn the chorus of a branch of service, and to study their assigned branch.

• Veterans Day parade at Odessa Elementary School, 10:15 a.m. — Students at the Odessa school, 12810 Interlaken Road in Port Richey, will gather to honor veterans by witnessing a patriotic musical performance by their chorus, brass quintet, sax quartet, and Mitchell High School’s color guard. Retired Lt. Col. Alan Klyap will serve as guest speaker with a parade following.

• Veterans Day program at Taylor Elementary School, 10:30 a.m. — Taylor, 3638 Morris Bridge Road in Zephyrhills, will present a program that will include the Junior ROTC from Zephyrhills High School, as well as the high school’s jazz band. Guest speaker will be Browning.

• Second Annual Salute to our Veterans at Cotee River Elementary School, 10:30 a.m. — Cotee River studeents will hear from retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Michale Cheetam, commander of the Ridgewood High School Naval Junior ROTC, as well as Daniel Gosonda from the U.S. Coast Guard, at the school, 7515 Plathe Road in Port Richey. Cheetam’s cadets will perform, and the Cotee River chorus will give a patriotic performance.

• Schrader’s Tribute to Our Veterans at Schrader Elementary School, 2 p.m. — The fifth grade students have invited parents as well as veterans to hear patriotic songs and speaking parts that honor the men and women who work every day to protect freedom. It will take place at the school, 11041 Little Road in New Port Richey.

Toys for Tots collection begins

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Christmas time is just around the corner, and the campaign by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve has started to collect toys for children.

The first Toys for Tots collection drive will take place at the Pasco County Tax Collector’s offices in Land O’ Lakes, Dade City and Lutz. The west side offices will begin their drives in December.

Toys for Tots was created to help less fortunate children in communities enjoy a better holiday season. The program seeks new, unwrapped gifts for children and teenagers. Toys donated by members of any given community will be given to children in that community.

“I applaud the veterans and volunteers from Toys for Tots who give so much time to help the less fortunate children in Pasco County,” Tax Collector Mike Fasano said, in a release. “I encourage everyone who has a heart for children to consider dropping off a gift at one of our offices. The generosity of our friends and neighbors will go a long way towards making this a special holiday season for countless kids who may not otherwise receive a nice gift this year.”

Throughout November, toys can be donated to the Land O’ Lakes office at the Central Pasco Government Center, 4111 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes; 4610 Pet Lane, C101, in Lutz; and at the East Pasco Government Center, 14236 Sixth St., Room 100, in Dade City.