Special to The Laker/Lutz News

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

Pasco County Schools superintendent Kurt Browning has dropped the idea of closing Moore Mickens Education Center in Dade City.

Browning had been considering a move that would have closed the center and relocated its programs. That proposal would have saved about $1 million to help plug a $23 million budget shortfall the district is facing.

Browning shifted gears on March 12 after hundreds of supporters attended a community meeting on the previous evening in a show of support at the center.

“I have heard the heartfelt pleas from Moore Mickens students, graduates, staff and supporters, and I cannot in good conscience move forward with the recommendation to close the school at this time,” Browning said in a release.

While Moore Mickens will not close, the district will shift the Early Head Start prekindergarten program to Pasco Elementary beginning in the 2013-14 school year.

“The pre-k program belongs at an elementary school with students of that same age group,” Browning said.

The Cyesis teen parent program, FAPE 22 program for Exceptional Education students from age 18 to 22, Adult Education and the Support our Students (SOS) last-chance program all will remain at Moore Mickens.

Even before the meeting began on the evening of March 11, it was obvious that people had rallied to do what they could to keep their beloved Moore Mickens open.

Supporters stood at the center’s gate, holding signs and chanting, “Save our school,” and, “Give us our school back.”

The center’s parking lot was jammed, with people parking on the grass and near the school.

Hundreds crowded into the cafeteria.

Speakers from all walks of life approached the microphone during the meeting, which lasted more than two hours.

At times, the meeting felt like a pep rally — with people singing the school’s alma mater and chanting, “More Moore Mickens. More Moore Mickens.”

At other times, it was like a political rally, with speakers chastising Browning for his proposal and criticizing the school district for what they consider to be unequal educational opportunities on the east and west sides of Pasco.

There was a spiritual element, too, as Margarita Romo, a widely known advocate for migrant workers and social justice, lifted the issue up in prayer. She asked God to intercede to find a way to not only continue to provide programs at Moore Mickens Center, but to expand them.

Browning said despite rumors to the contrary, the district had no intention of closing down the building and bulldozing it.

He told the crowd that part of the rationale for shifting the programs to Pasco High would be to enable the young women who are pregnant to enroll in programs such as Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes, which would enable them to earn college credits.

But speakers told Browning and school board members that it wasn’t just the building they were worried about. They didn’t want to lose the environment that exists at Moore Mickens.

Dozens weighed in.

Some talked about how Moore Mickens staff members had helped them to get their GED. Others said staff members encouraged them when others had written them off. Some talked about being welcomed at the center when they’d been shunned or bullied elsewhere.

Speakers urged Browning and the school board to find another way to plug the budget gap.

Charlene Austen of Dade City wondered why the district “selected the most vulnerable sector of the student population. These students do not easily adapt.”

She also noted, “You can move students. You can move furniture. You cannot move environment.”

Chris Barber, who works at Moore Mickens, said he previously worked with special needs students at John Long Middle and Wiregrass Ranch High, both schools in Wesley Chapel.

“Here’s the thing,” Barber said, special needs students at those schools “were falling through the cracks. This is a very unique place.”

Lisa Ciganek, a teacher at Moore Mickens, said “a raise is not worth it to me to see these students lose what is working for them. They choose to come here. We see the potential in them. This environment is what gives our kids their future. Please don’t take that away from them.”

Sister Roberta Bailey, prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Saint Leo, urged the crowd to voice its support for the school in writing. She urged them to focus on the positive — why Moore Mickens should be kept.

“Moore Mickens is a chance for change,” Bailey said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

That sentiment drew a standing ovation from the crowd.

It turns out those letters of support won’t be needed now.

Browning and the school board must now find another way to come up with the nearly $1 million that would have been saved with his previous proposal, if employees are going to get any type of raise next year, according to the release announcing Browning’s decision. District staff has not received pay increases in six years.

 

 

 

By Jeff Odom

 

Lutz residents Elaine and Jim Hall knew there was something different about the tree next to their house from the moment they moved to the Windemere subdivision in Lutz 29 years ago.

The gigantic laurel oak stands approximately 75 feet tall with its branches extending outward up to 127 feet.

“It’s always been huge,” Elaine joked.

When Hillsborough County certified arborist and environmental code enforcement officer Lori Moreda discovered the tree’s immense size, she decided to take a measurement. The Halls then found out their giant next-door neighbor could actually be something exceptionally rare and historical.

“(The tree) was pretty spectacular,” said Moreda, who estimated it to be more than 80 years old. “I thought she could absolutely be a champion.”

Moreda, who has worked with the county for 28 years, contacted the Florida Forest Service to nominate it as a candidate to be a Florida Champion Tree.

The champion tree program was created by the American Forests organization in 1940 to recognize the largest known tree of each species in the United States. Florida has the most national champion trees in the nation with 111.

“I was amazed at how big she was, because laurels don’t typically get that big,” Moreda said. “She’s a real beauty, and it’s unbelievable to see she’s survived all of the hurricanes and storms that we’ve had over the years.”

On March 15, Charlie Marcus, an urban forestry coordinator from the state’s forest service, came out to establish the measurements to officially deem the Halls tree a champion.

After an hour of testing its height, circumference, crown spread and other features, Marcus determined the tree was just a few marks shy of being an outright champion.

However, its 320 points, 17 points less than Moreda’s original calculation, made it one of the three largest among two other laurel oaks in the state. It is also the largest of its species in Hillsborough.

While the tree had provided the Halls with plenty of shade for hot summer days, it had become more of a nuisance in recent years with branches dropping from the top and damaging the couple’s fence. Cleaning up moss and acorns had also turned into more work than they had hoped for.

“I had to get out there every day and clean out all of the acorns that had fallen into our old pool,” Jim said. “When the limbs dropped and damaged our old fence, we called the county to come out and clean it up.”

Moreda, along with a team of tree trimmers, came out to the property Jan. 18 to clear out years of fallen branches and heavy brush that had grown up around the base of the trunk. The clutter had made the whole tree nearly invisible from the roadway.

That’s when Moreda first saw the tree and thought it was a candidate for champion status.

One of the Halls’ neighbors, David Scott Banghart, speculated on how many more trees like theirs have gone undiscovered around the community.

“How many more are in people’s cow pastures?” said Banghart. “How many can possibly be around this area?”

For more information on Florida Champion Trees or to nominate a candidate, go to www.floridaforestservice.com/forest_management/champion_trees.html or call (850) 921-0300.

 

 

 

By Kyle Dunn and Jeff Odom

 

The craft of woodturning is described as an “obsession” or an “addiction” by many members of the Tri-County Woodturners Club.

However, all who attend the monthly meeting would agree on their definition of what they create — a work of art.

The club has met on the first Wednesday of each month at the Lutz Civic Center since 1998. The meetings, which draw a capacity crowd, usually consist of a showcase of work from various members, a raffle for recent artwork and a demonstration on carving techniques and construction from visiting experts.

Franck Johannesen, a Norwegian by way of Sarasota, attended the Lutz club as a visitor from the Sarasota Woodturners Association. He gave a demo during the March 6 meeting on techniques for buffing out scratches from finished products.

Johannesen spoke through a microphone. His hands and workspace were displayed on a projector screen for the whole crowd to see as he worked his way through the making of a bowl from start to finish. Sitting in the wings off to the side, hands rested on a handmade cane she’d carved herself, Judy Francisco, the president of the Lutz club, watched intently, soaking up every word.

“(The club) needed somebody to be president, and so I volunteered,” Francisco said. “Somebody’s got to take charge of things.”

Francisco is in charge of the north Tampa chapter of the American Woodturners Association (AAW), which is known as the Tri-County Woodturners Club for its service to members from Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Her duties run the gamut from ensuring that meetings run smoothly to helping organize club events, such as an upcoming wood show taking place at the Florida State Fairgrounds. She also collaborates with the other AAW chapters around the state for larger shows and conventions like the International Annual Symposium, which is at the Tampa Convention Center from June 28to 30.

“I’ve always been puttering with something,” Francisco said, who, already experienced in making furniture and woodcarving, joined the north Tampa chapter in 1999. “My overall goal is to bring in more young people and keep the art of woodturning alive.”

Club member Adam Hood, 30, has had his crafts showcased in two popular woodturning magazines, but his story is much different than others at the Lutz chapter.

Hood is bound to a wheelchair and paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a motorcycle accident six years ago. He found woodturning almost by accident, and continued with it once he discovered it was more than just a hobby.

“A chunk of wood is a blank canvas,” Hood said with a smile. “As soon as the grout touched wood, I fell in love.”

The club’s members are a self-deprecating and adaptable bunch. They write with the wooden pens they made as beginners and eat with wood-handled silverware of their own creation.

Hood even utilizes a special type of lathe, a machine for working wood or metal, adjusted to the height of his wheelchair.

The Woodturners’ arsenal is as varied as the rings of a tree, and reclamation and re-usability are chief among them.

Art Worth, a relatively new member who has bounced around as a schoolteacher, U.S. Army officer and now a private equity manager, described how he made a decorative bowl topped with an elaborate finial spire from the bark of a damaged red eucalyptus tree.

“The rest of this is at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean,” Worth joked. Another piece is made from the same ash wood used to make baseball bats.

Worth volunteers with Viable Lumber, a co-op venture dedicated to diverting damaged and wasted trees toward more worthwhile endeavors like woodworking and making furniture than to landfills and lumber yards. Like a painter being paid in canvasses, Worth is paid in wood, which he uses for future woodturning projects.

For more information or how to join the club, visit www.tricountywoodturners.com.

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

When Tori Emerick was in grade school, she saw an animal at Lowry Park Zoo that she found captivating.

It was an okapi.

The animal has stripes that are reminiscent of a zebra, but it’s actually related to giraffes.

Her intrigue would, a few years later, become a science project featuring an okapi calf and its mother at the zoo.

The project involved developing a behavioral ethogram of an okapi and her offspring shortly after the calf’s birth.

To complete the work, Emerick spent two hours a day, every day for 17 days, observing okapi behavior.

Initially, the 16-year-old jotted down everything she saw. Zoo personnel helped her develop a more systematic way of recording the behavior.

Instead of constantly writing down behaviors, she observed what the animal did and wrote down behaviors at five-minute intervals. The only behavior she recorded each time it occurred was nursing, and she kept track of how long that lasted.

The idea was to see how the mother interacts with its offspring and how that affects the calf’s well-being, according to an abstract of Emerick’s science project.

Tracking such behaviors is helpful because the okapi neonatal mortality rate in captivity in North America is 20 percent, Emerick noted in her abstract.

“It is hoped that careful observation of mother/calf behaviors can improve these odds,” she wrote. That’s especially important at Lowry Park Zoo because two calves from the same okapi pair did not survive. One died after a few days and the other after a few months.

She observed the okapi mom, Betty, and her calf for two to four hours on average, typically at the same time of day.

“When I first started, he was more active and he would nurse a lot more often. As time went on, he would have spurts of just wanting to rest most of the time,” she said.

Emerick said she enjoyed doing the observations, but admits she had to force herself to stay focused on days when the calf was resting the entire time.

On one occasion the calf was unusually energetic.

“There was one day when the keeper went in there with a rake to move some of the hay from (the calf’s) bed,” Emerick said. “He was just standing in the corner and he seemed calm, but then his ears went back and he actually stomped on the rake. He did not want her to be there. … That was his most unusual behavior.”

Emerick also noted that the calf was born at 64 pounds, nearly twice the size of the average okapi baby. She attributes the high birth weight to his being three months overdue.

At the end of her observations, she wrote, “From what I have observed, I can conclude that the calf is healthy and active, and predict that he will continue to maintain his health if no abnormalities arise.”

Emerick said her dad knows Larry Killmar, vice president of animal science and conservation at the zoo, and helped her connect with him.

Killmar said Emerick proved to be “truly engaged” in the research.

He said the information she helped collect will be useful to compare against behavior of future okapi offspring.

The behavioral data provides meaningful information, Killmar said. “It really paints a picture.”

Emerick said she was interested in the okapi because not much is known about them.

“They don’t even know how many there are,” she said. “They are so hard to observe in the wild.”

Okapis, sometimes referred to as forest giraffes, live in the rain forests of northern, central and eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are difficult to observe because they quickly disappear in the thick forests there, she said.

Emerick’s science fair project yielded a second place finish for her in the zoology category at the Pasco County Regional Science Fair.

Emerick aspires to be a veterinarian. She’s not sure where she will attend undergraduate schools, but she is interested in going to the Royal Veterinary College in London for her doctor of veterinary medicine.

Academy at the Lakes science teacher Amy Jordan said being involved in research projects, like the one Emerick completed, helps bring science to life for students.

“The things they learn in science courses they actually run into this in the field. All of the scientific method that we go over 100 times, and it seems a little ridiculous, suddenly professionals are talking about it in a serious way and applying it and having discussions about controls and what is a legitimate way to make an observation and what’s not. It’s very real,” Jordan said.

Other students benefit from seeing their peers engaged in these activities, too, she said.

“They realize science is a real thing, not just a class.”

 

 

Centennial clinic worker receives top honor in Pasco Schools

 

By B.C. Manion

 

When Christie Mitchell heard she was among a trio of finalists for Pasco County Schools’ school-related personnel of the year award, she had mixed feelings.

On one hand, she was thrilled to be recognized as one of the district’s top support employees. On the other, the awards ceremony was at the same time as her son, Jeffrey, was showing his pig at the Florida State Fair, and she didn’t want to miss it.

“I’ve never missed anything in his life,” said Mitchell, a health assistant at Centennial Middle in Dade City.

Unable to be in two places at once, she attended the school district’s award ceremony at the Center for the Arts in Wesley Chapel and was delighted when she heard her name being called.

“It was such a feeling of recognition and accomplishment. It was just awesome. It was unbelievable,” said Mitchell, a licensed practical nurse.

Mitchell said her daily routine includes responding to students with complaints ranging from cuts and bruises to fevers and chills.

“It’s a steady flow of kids in and out of the clinic throughout the day,” she said. “I play a lot of different roles.”

On any given day, she might be tending to a student with a toothache or fixing a pair of eyeglasses. She might be helping a student get off gum stuck on a pair of pants or dispensing medication.

She does routine things, such as keeping track of health records and doing screenings for height, weight and vision.

She helps with emergency drills, and she calls 911 when something serious occurs.

She also makes referral to the school’s guidance counselor when a student has an issue that goes beyond a health concern.

Mitchell enjoys working at Centennial, which she said is small enough for her to really get to know the students.

Granted, she knows some students better than others.

“You have your frequent fliers to the clinic that you know really well,” she said, with a laugh.

Mitchell joined Centennial’s staff the year the school opened. She had been staying home with her son, Jeffrey, but was ready to go back to work. She didn’t want to work at a hospital or nursing home because the hours aren’t as conducive for family life, she said.

“Centennial was brand new,” Mitchell said. “I heard that they were hiring. I came, and I interviewed, and I got the job. I’ve been here ever since. This is our 13th year. I’m an original Cyclone.”

Before she joined the school district’s staff, Mitchell worked for four years at Heartland Health and Rehab in Zephyrhills. She left that job when she and her husband Scott were expecting a child.

She stayed home more than four years. She said the opening at Centennial seemed ideal when she got back into the work force.

“It’s a perfect mommy job. I have my weekends off. I have my holidays off,” the Zephyrhills woman said.

Mitchell has worked with Diane Plumley since joining Centennial’s staff.

Plumley, a registered nurse who is at the school one or two days a week, said Mitchell is most deserving of the honor.

“She’s good with parents. She’s good with kids. She’s caring. I can count on her to do anything,” Plumley said.

She enjoys working with Mitchell, too.

“It’s great when you have someone you can trust,” Plumley said.

Mitchell said it was honor enough to be nominated by her peers at Centennial. Winning the district’s top award was simply wonderful, she said.

Besides the recognition she received for her work, the district honor included something else, Mitchell said. She got a class ring.

“I never got a class ring in high school,” Mitchell said. “My mom and dad would have been more than happy to buy me one. I was like, ‘No, I don’t need a class ring.’”

Winning the district honor included a class ring donated by Herff Jones.

She adds that to the list of things she appreciates in her life.

“It’s a simple, blessed life that we live, and we just enjoy it,” Mitchell said.

 

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

 

Courage Okungbowa said one of the best things about playing tennis is how simply it breaks down.

“I really like the individuality of it,” Courage said. “Everything is on you. You take the wins and losses because of what you did.”

For the Wiregrass Ranch senior, wins have come much more frequently than losses.

Courage, a Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) signee, has compiled a 54-2 record since his family moved to Wesley Chapel from Virginia before his sophomore season. Both of those losses were during the state tournament, with the lone defeat last year coming in the Class 4A singles title match.

“Last year, it was really exciting to get to the championship match,” Courage said. “I beat the No. 1 seed to get there. I went in trying to play my game. I saw my opponent, big player like 6-foot-5, and it was a bit intimidating. I did the best I could, came up a little bit short, but hopefully I’ll have a better result this year.”

The drive to claim the ultimate prize has pushed Courage during the offseason.

“It’s a lot of motivation,” Courage said. “I got to the final last year, so hopefully with all the practice I’ve done I will take a run at a state championship.”

Courage has won all 14 of his singles matches this year by perfect 6-0, 6-0 scores. He said he’s tried to stay with the methods that have gotten him into state title contention while working on his largest weakness.

“I’m a grinder, baseline player,” Courage said. “I like to stay in the point and then wait for my chances. I’ve been working on my serve and transition to the net. Those are coming along nicely. My second serve is the thing I’m trying to improve the most.”

Courage picked up tennis at age 9. He dabbled in football, basketball and soccer while in middle school, but nothing captured his attention like tennis.

“When I was at 11 or 12, I started seeing a lot of improvement,” Courage said. “That’s when I really decided that tennis was my sport.”

Courage said his family moved from Virginia primarily to let him and his brother Foresight receive better tennis training.

“Florida, Texas and California are the biggest states for tennis, so we decided that we would move here because of the tennis academies, and the weather is great all year long so you can always play,” Courage said.

Wiregrass Ranch coach Dave Wilson, who is also the school’s athletic director, said Courage has helped bring the program to another level.

“Having a player of his caliber, every time his teammates hit with him they get better,” Wilson said. “That makes the team depth better. They also see his demeanor on the court, and he doesn’t change his expression or get upset or loud. When he wins he wins graciously, and when the younger players see that they know they don’t have to act like an idiot. He wins, shakes hands and moves on. He stays composed whether he’s down or up, and that’s translated to the other players.”

Pushing to get to Courage’s level is a goal for all of his teammates, even if that means looking for small victories.

“In my total career I’ve taken three sets off him and beaten him in a match once,” said Foresight, a sophomore. “He’s got about 500 on me.”

Sophomore Alejandro Feliciano said Courage’s consistency at the top spot takes pressure off the rest of the squad.

“We never have any doubt about him winning his match,” Feliciano said. “That’s one we never have to worry about.”

Players of Courage’s ability tend to miss high school matches for practice or high-level tournaments, but Courage has managed his schedule in such a way that he played in all of Wiregrass Ranch’s contests since joining the squad.

“I really like to come out and play high school tennis,” Courage said. “Even if I miss some of my practices I feel like it’s a good experience.”

His winning percentage is eye-popping, but Courage said the most frequent question he gets isn’t about his play.

It’s about, of course, his first name.

His father Stanley named him Courage to remind him that he has to have courage in everything he does.

“When I was 13 or 14, my dad told me about why he named me Courage,” Courage said. “It’s obviously a different name, but I really like it. When teachers see my name for the first time they always say they like it. That puts a smile on my face.”

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker