Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

Quail Hollow Elementary in Wesley Chapel will be closed for at least two school years to allow for renovations of up to $10 million.

The students attending Quail Hollow will be re-assigned to Wesley Chapel and Watergrass elementary schools with some exceptions being made for specific programs. For instance, children in prekindergarten will be attending Veterans.

Quail Hollow must be closed because keeping the school open while the work is done would be too disruptive for learning, said Michelle Berger, the school’s principal.

Berger and other school district officials fielded questions about the plan at a community meeting March 6 in Quail Hollow’s media center.

“This is a building that needs remodeling,” Berger said, noting it has an open design and was built in 1974, a time when it was thought children would benefit from such an environment.

“It probably took about 37 minutes for the educators to figure out it didn’t work,” Berger said. “You can hear sounds from all around.”

The principal asked the crowd, “Raise your hands if you wish your son’s and daughter’s classroom had a wall and doors.”

Hands shot up all over the room.

“We’re losing our building for a couple of years,” Berger said, but when they return, the classrooms will have windows, walls and a door and there will be storage space.

The renovation is being done with money from Penny for Pasco, a sales tax voters approved in November.

Pasco County superintendent Kurt Browning said the district plans to renovate all of its schools with a similar design. Quail Hollow and Shady Hills elementary schools are the first on that list.

The district called the meeting to field questions because it needs to begin making plans now to move students at the beginning of next school year, Browning said.

Ray Gadd, assistant superintendent for administration and operations for the district, told the crowd when the renovations are completed, “the building will be just like a new school.”

The estimated cost for the project is $8.5 million to $10 million, Gadd said. By comparison, it costs $20 million to $21 million to build and outfit an elementary school from scratch, he added.

The district expects to go out for bid on the project sometime this summer, Gadd said.

As the project gets rolling, the district plans to establish an advisory committee to offer suggestions on the remodeling, Gadd said.

The project could take two to three years to complete, Gadd said.

However, he added, “My intention is to put it in the fast track because this is going to be a growing area.”

Some parents wondered why the children couldn’t be assigned to nearby Veterans.

Gadd said Veterans cannot accommodate more children because it is full, and it also lacks space on campus to add portable classrooms.

Six portable classrooms will be added at Watergrass and at Wesley Chapel to accommodate the increased enrollment, Gadd said.

While portables are being added, those children will not be kept separate or treated differently than other students at the schools, said John Abernathy, principal at Wesley Chapel and Scott Mitchell, principal at Watergrass.

Abernathy said his school intends to seamlessly weave in the Quail Hollow children with the rest of the kids.

Mitchell made the same commitment: “It’s all going to be one big family.”

Both principals plan to give students and parents from Quail Hollow a chance to visit their campus to get acquainted with it and with staff before the school year ends.

Teachers from Quail Hollow also will be re-assigned to Wesley Chapel and Watergrass, which will help in the transition.

Parents posed questions about transportation, class size and childcare.

Gadd said the district is developing the bus routes and will be adding buses to minimize the amount of time children spend on the bus. He said the district will be as accommodating as possible in addressing individual needs.

There’s no intention to increase class size as a result of these enrollment shifts.

Berger urged parents to help make the transition a positive one for their children. She noted the kids are likely to adopt whatever attitude their parents have about the change.

“Your kids will believe what you believe. We have to be excited about this,” said Berger, who will be re-assigned within the district during the project.

By B.C. Manion

Stephen Gandy arrives in the predawn hours at Weightman Middle in Wesley Chapel to begin getting the school ready for the arrival of students and staff.

The school plant manager’s task list is lengthy.

He checks to see if the  climate controls are keeping the buildings cool or warm enough. On chilly mornings, he heads to the portable classrooms to turn on their heaters. He explained that they don’t have automatic heaters, and he wants the rooms to be warm when teachers and students arrive.

He takes care of whatever work orders he can before teachers begin their day. He wants to avoid classroom disruptions.

Gandy also checks his computer to find out which teachers will be out for the day. Once he knows that, he goes to their classrooms to unlock their doors so substitutes can get in when they arrive.

Those are just a few chores in Gandy’s routine — and that’s all done before 8:30 a.m. and his workday doesn’t end until 3 p.m.

And then there are emergencies that pop up that he must deal with immediately.

“A few years back we had those hurricanes,” Gandy said. “One of the oak trees back here was actually falling over. There was a weeping willow that fell over. … I took care of the small tree. Maintenance came out and took care of the big tree.

“Remember the no-name storm that we had? Well, it took some of the coping (metal roof trim) off of the school. It was laying all over. I had to pick all of that before school even started that day,” Gandy added.

Basically, if there’s something that needs to be done, Gandy said he does it.

Gandy has been in charge of taking care of the building and grounds at the school since it opened two decades ago.

In a nutshell, he and his custodial staff aim to keep the school safe and clean.

It’s a big job, but Gandy enjoys the challenge.

Recently, his efforts were acknowledged when he was named noninstructional, nonbargaining Employee of the Year from Pasco County Schools.

Letters recommending Gandy for the honor say he is most deserving of recognition.

“Even after 20 years of daily use by over 1,200 middle school students, our campus always looks fresh and free of dirt, debris and the occasional writing on walls that tends to happen,” wrote Nicole Sciaratta, an assistant principal at Weightman.

Shae Davis, principal at Stewart Middle in Zephyrhills, was Gandy’s boss for eight years.

“Steve takes tremendous pride in the work he does as a plant manager. He will expedite work orders as needed and he will truly work as a team player to get the job done,” wrote Davis, who was principal at Weightman from 2004 to 2012.

Gandy’s current boss, principal Brandon Bracciale, is impressed, too.

“Steve is always pleasant, calm and willing to do whatever it takes to keep our campus as beautiful as it is,” Bracciale wrote in recommending Gandy for the honor.

The plant manager knows his priorities.

“Safety is No. 1, and then, of course, if the principal wants something, that’s No. 2,” he said.

Keeping the school in tip-top shape for daily school life and special events requires constant management.

“I love it,” Gandy said. “For one thing, the job involves working with my hands. I like building things. I like repairing things, making them work again, maybe even better than they were before.”

The plant manager knows every inch of the campus. He can rattle off the location of every one of its 110 fire extinguishers and the last time each was checked.

He carries dozens of keys and knows which ones open doors, cabinets, compartments and such.

When the power goes out, he knows which circuit breakers to check.

He has dozens of binders on shelves in his office containing current work orders, completed work orders, safety check lists, training materials, schedules for inspections and so on.

He manages a staff of eight that keeps things running and looking good around campus.

Gandy said he began working with his hands when he was a kid and his dad was making repairs on the family’s frame house.

He also began playing music and tinkering with cars when he was young. He still enjoys doing both when he’s not busy at his day job.

When Weightman was under construction, Gandy said he knew he wanted to be the plant manager. It was a step up from the job he had as assistant plant manager at Quail Hollow Elementary, also in Wesley Chapel.

He was thrilled winning the Weightman post and has been delighted to work there ever since.

“At this school, it’s kind of like a family. It’s been that way ever since I’ve been here. There’s not a whole lot of stress. I’ve heard horror stories at other schools where the plant manager and food service manager don’t get along. I’ve never had that problem. We all help each other. We work as a team; we’ve always worked as a team,” Gandy said.

He was gratified by the district honor.

“I was surprised I was even nominated, really. And then, to see who I was up against — they’re two great employees, also.”

Wiregrass Ranch instructor is Pasco’s teacher of the year

By B.C. Manion

When Paula Berry was a teenager growing up in El Centro, Calif., she wanted to become a lawyer.

She was attracted to the profession because of the writing and research challenges it would present.

Two things changed her career aspirations.

First, she watched the O.J. Simpson murder trial play out on television, and she couldn’t help but notice how bored the lawyers appeared to be. And, second, she took a high school English Advanced Placement (AP) class taught by Judy Jacklich.

“She was the first teacher I had who came across more as a human being than as a teacher,” Berry recalled. “It showed me how it could be.”

Jacklich also shared her personal experiences with students, including stories about places she’d been and exciting things she had done, like fire walking in Peru, Berry said.

She also demonstrated that “something as difficult as AP language could be fun and could excite that kind of passion for life,” Berry said.

Berry said Jacklich helped a girl growing up in the desert of Southern California to realize there was a much bigger world awaiting her.

She also recalls sitting in Jacklich’s class one day, thinking, “That’s what I need to do.”

Though she didn’t know it then, the Wiregrass Ranch High teacher now believes she was born to teach.

“Every day when I drive to work, I don’t feel like I’m driving to work. Anytime you can do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work,” said Berry, who was recently named Pasco County Schools’ teacher of the year.

Students in Berry’s English II honors class said Berry deserves the award.

Instead of lecturing at the front of the class, Berry uses interactive approaches to make learning interesting, students said.

“We were all really excited for her,” said Lindsey Snyder. “She’s a really great teacher. She’ll act out stories. She’ll use different voices. She’ll make you pay attention to what she is saying.”

Classmate Ryan Leonard agreed: “She’s one of the teachers that you’d never forget. … This is a fun place to learn. She can turn a boring book into an interesting story.”

Maria Vera said she wasn’t surprised Berry was named teacher of the year.

“She’s a really great teacher, and I felt that other people would be able to see it,” Vera said.

“She connects very well (with students),” Amanda Melosky said.

Melosky said Berry has made her care more about writing: “I feel like I have more of a voice than I did before.”

Berry helps students succeed, said Nicole Nocerino. “She can tell just by the look on your face if you’re getting it or if you’re way off.”

Students also think about how Berry would react to their writing, whether they’re in her classroom or in another. They’ve internalized what they’ve learned about effective writing, Nocerino said.

“Whenever we write or we do essays, in this class or another class, it’s always like you have a ‘little Berry’ on your shoulder,” Nocerino said.

The teacher is also known for doling out candy to students who have performed well — something the students said they enjoy.

And, she makes herself available for one-on-one help when students need it.

The teacher is easy to approach, said Hannah Williamson. “If she sees you falling behind, she’s like, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ She’ll talk to you about it.”

Although students weren’t surprised by Berry’s honor, the teacher was.

“I was shocked. Mr. Browning (Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning) actually had to remind me to breathe when I got up on stage. It really is such a surreal experience.”

Berry said she combines high standards with fun, with the aim of helping her students reach their potential.

In her application for the district honor, Berry notes that when students “high five over a grade” or tell her how proud they are of their work, she knows she’s making a difference.  “I feel like a great teacher because they feel like successful students,” she wrote.

Even before she won the district award, Berry said she’d been immensely gratified to have her peers select her as the top teacher at her school.

“Wholeheartedly, the best feeling in the world was to be named the best teacher of the year here at Wiregrass Ranch by my colleagues and my peers,” she said, because she admires them so much.

By Jeff Odom

Trash collection won’t be the only thing changing in Hillsborough County Oct. 1 — the way residents recycle will too.

The changes are aimed at encouraging more people to recycle, according to Damien Tramel, who oversees the switchover for the county.

With the current waste contract expiring this year, commissioners unanimously voted Jan. 10 to approve the system. The new system will replace manual service with twice-a-week trash pickup and once a week recycling collection, both of which are automated.

Instead of the traditional county-issued blue and green rectangular bins, the recycling service will mandate one large wheeled cart to hold paper, plastic and other materials.

Residents will be issued both the trash and recycling carts at a cost of $50 per household and will be paid for during a seven-year period.

“Once October hits, we will be delivering to our customers one container, and they will be able to put all of their material into one single container,” Tramel said. “We call that single-stream recycling. All of that material will go and be separated and be properly processed at a plant.”

The entire process is estimated to create a 20 percent increase in residential recycling in unincorporated Hillsborough, which includes all of Lutz and Odessa.

“This takes away the restrictions of having to separate the material out, and that makes it a lot more convenient for our customers,” Tramel said. “This is also broadening the materials we accept right now. Now, we only accept plastic No. 1 and 2s, but we’ll be accepting 1 (through) 7s now. Plus, we’ll be accepting all paper — anything that can tear — all glass, food and beverage containers — clear or green — and all plastics. We will even be accepting film and garbage bags, we’ll take that as well.”

The sweeping changes haven’t gone through without criticism, though.

During the county’s Talk Trash public hearings in November to discuss the possible changes, many were outspoken against the possibility of limiting the amount of certain wastes that trucks would pick up.

Even the commission’s decision to overhaul the waste service was heavily scrutinized as more than 62 percent of residents were in favor of keeping the old manual service.

Tramel, however, assures that the system will work, and said people will benefit from the new service.

“You remove the issue of container damage, containers in the streets and some of the messiness left behind from the old manual pickup,” Tramel said. “You won’t find those issues with the new automated system. Instead, you’ll see uniformity with the residential bins. … With this system, people will see it as a bigger convenience. I think the size of the bins are perfect because they will be able to hold more, and there won’t be a limit on what you put can out in there.”

By B.C. Manion

If you’ve ever held a sealed packet of medications, chances are the machine that did the packaging was manufactured at Pharmaworks in Odessa.

The company — which recently expanded — manufactures and rebuilds machines that are used for pharmaceutical packaging.

The company’s primary markets are large pharmaceutical companies and contract packagers, said Trevor Charlton, Pharmaworks’ plant manager.

The company, which is owned by Peter Buczynsky, Ingo Federle and Ben Brower, began operations in 2002 on Gunn Highway. It outgrew that location and relocated to a 20,000-square-foot space at 2346 Success Drive in Odessa.

Recently, it added a 16,000-square-foot building at 2301 Success Drive.

“We’ve seen some fairly rapid growth,” said Charlton, who heads up the company’s manufacturing efforts.

“We are the only domestic manufacturer of this sort of equipment in the United States,” he added. There are other manufacturers of this equipment, but they are European owned.”

Besides building and selling machines, Pharmaworks also sells parts to customers who already have machines.

“Every blister (package) design has its own set of tool work,” Charlton said. “We’ll sell machines with tooling, but we also sell a lot of tooling to customers who already have machines. Plus, we sell some tooling for other manufacturers as well.

“The whole business has grown, but our tooling business, in particular, has really grown significantly in the last years,” he added. “Plus, we’ve introduced our own line of feeder systems.”

The feeder systems are what load the pills into packets.

The company’s new building houses its machine shop. Its assembly operation is in the other facility.

The expansion has allowed the company to hire new workers, and it still has some open positions for employees with particular skills, Charlton said. Most of its 81 employees come from Pasco and Pinellas counties, with a few from Hillsborough.

The new building was designed to be as energy and cost efficient as possible, Charlton said. It also has transparent panels in the roof to allow natural lighting to stream in.

Buczynsky said the company has done so well it sometimes has to turn business way in large part because it has had a difficult time finding employees with the necessary skills.

“We get so many graduates who come in,” Charlton said. “They’re very good on the computer. They’re very good with the design software. They don’t know the fundamentals. Really, you’ve got to have that hands-on experience.”

Buczynsky has played a leading role in trying to bring together industry, political, educational and economic development leaders to work together to create apprenticeships similar to successful models in Europe.

His work in this area earned Buczynsky the Industry Distinguished Service Award from The Manufacturers Association of Florida. The award recognizes outstanding educators and industry professionals who have made significant strides in training the next generation of high-skilled workers.

Charlton said the people often have a false impression about opportunities in manufacturing. Many associate manufacturing with dirty factories and $10-an-hour assembly jobs, he said.

To help counter that image, Pharmaworks has occasional open houses to let parents tour its facilities and learn about skills that are required and opportunities that are available, Charlton said.

“These are highly skilled employees,” Charlton said. “Automation is our business. There are a lot of high-tech skills required.”

Pharmaworks wants to formalize its training programs in such a way that apprentices would be able to earn industry certification and college credits, Buczynsky said, who was a member of a delegation that traveled to Germany to learn about the apprenticeship programs there.

It’s not enough to have a theoretical understanding of a concept of how something works; it’s also important to have practical skills, he said.

Buczynsky wants to help develop workers that have both, to help create a talent pool that will draw manufacturers to the area.

“Talent development is the biggest issue all across manufacturing,” he said. “It’s not just nationally. It’s a global issue.”

To learn more about Pharmaworks, visit www.pharmaworks.com.

Awards that Pharmaworks has won include:

—2011 Florida Manufacturer of the Year for businesses up to 60 employees (It has since grown to 81 employees)

—2011 Florida Companies to Watch Award

By Andy Warrener

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

Self-taught chef Ben Pumo has lived two or three lifetimes in his 36 years on earth.

From a college dropout with a suspended driver’s license, Pumo now owns and operates one of the most recognizable Italian restaurants in Pasco County, Benedetto’s.

Pumo’s journey to the cozy setting at 21529 Village Lakes Shopping Center Drive in Land O’ Lakes was anything but typical.

He enrolled at St. Leo University and began a degree in hotel/restaurant management. At the same time he began running a restaurant/night club out of his apartment, which didn’t sit well with the school or with local authorities.

Eventually, Puma was booted from St. Leo seven credits shy of his degree. His run-ins with the law weren’t done, either.

Pumo racked up enough DUIs that his driving privileges were taken away. It began a series of events that shaped Pumo’s life and helped land him where he is today.

“I finally decided to suck it up and walk to work,” Pumo said.

After stints at Erwin Tech and Pepin distributing, Pumo, who lives in Lutz, started working at Villaggio’s, which was then owned by Vasco Ferraro. Villaggio’s was just a couple miles walk from his house and offered Pumo a chance to learn how to prepare authentic Italian dishes.

He wound up washing dishes.

“After a month (of washing dishes) I started working prep, grating the cheese, prepping the salads,” Pumo said.

Pumo only worked at Villagio’s for a year, but the experience built a foundation for Pumo as setbacks started to turn into opportunities.

“I learned to cook from the pan up,” Pumo said. “Everything’s done is one pan. Different parts of the dish aren’t prepared in other places or at different times. Timing is everything. You start with what takes the longest if you want it all to come out at the same time.”

Pumo faced another setback when Villaggio’s ownership changed. He and new owner Giuseppe Mascali didn’t exactly “see eye to eye,” and after a few months Pumo left.

His next stop was at the former Whiskey Willy’s in Carrollwood. There, Pumo cooked wings, burgers and such while simultaneously preparing food for a fine dining crowd in a different part of the restaurant.

“I remember at one point using a cue stick to switch camera angles on all the dining spots in the restaurant, keeping an eye on things, making sure they ran smoothly,” Pumo said.

He developed a reputation as a multitasker, keeping five, six, seven pans going at the same time. Pumo recalls a moment while still working for Mascali at Villaggio’s when he had multiple pots and pans churning on the stove and earned the nickname “the monster.”

“Giuseppe saw me and said, ‘One day you gonna have your own place and call it Bennedetto’s,’” said Pumo, who explained that’s the Italian name for Ben.

Thus, the idea of Benedetto’s was born. However, it was not going to grow at Whiskey Willy’s.

On Friday the 13th of April 2001, Whiskey Willy’s burned basically to the ground.

“We lost everything,” Pumo said. “I still have some knives here (at Benedetto’s) that have melted handles.”

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Pumo and his wife Elizabeth pooled together with his family and purchased what used to be, ironically enough, a Captain D’s fast-food, seafood joint. The drive through sign for Captain D’s is still in the parking lot at Benedetto’s.

Fate was not finished with him.

In 2003, his daughter Alyssa was born. Later that year, Pumo was diagnosed with testicular cancer, all as he was trying to renovate and attract customers to his new restaurant.

A decade later, Pumo has exactly what he’s always wanted, a place of his own where he can do things his way.

Pumo goes to great lengths to provide fresh and local food to his customers.

He travels to Maine in the summer to secure lobster and seafood orders. He orders Angus beef from Florida ranches. He buys herbs from the local Montessori school.

And rest assured, nothing you order from Benedetto’s is premade.

“You can’t fake fresh,” Pumo said. “People will wait an extra two minutes for fresh.”

Lynda Faircloth recently celebrated her birthday by ordering the veal at Benedetto’s.

“Authentic, unique, homemade,” Faircloth said. “It’s not a dish you would make at home. I have high expectations when I come here and they are met highly.”

First-time diner Virginia Keaveny said, “From beginning to end it was all superior. We would come back in a heartbeat.”

Bennedetto’s is open seven days a week from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays. Dinner reservations are accepted. For more information, visit italianrestauranttampa.com or call (813) 909-9694.