Special to The Laker/Lutz News

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

Angelique Boston has battled illness from infancy, and now the 11 year old is at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, as she awaits evaluation for a lung transplant.

The young girl, who goes by Angel, has a condition known as severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), more commonly known as the Bubble Boy disease, said her mother Sara Boston. The operation would be followed by a bone marrow transplant to give her the ability to fight off infections, Sara said.

The young girl’s health battles touched the hearts of students and staff at Quail Hollow Elementary, and prompted the school to have a Boston Reading Marathon to raise money to help Angel’s family.

Lisa Martin, a clinic assistant at the school, helped organize the fundraiser, along with Kim Mahoney, who was Angel’s fourth-grade teacher, and Dawn Showalter, who leads the school’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).

Angel has been hospitalized in St. Petersburg since Aug. 8, Sara said, who is grateful for the kindness shown by Quail Hollow Elementary in Wesley Chapel.

“I think it’s wonderful. I’ve always been a very private person,” Sara said, noting she has never wanted to reach out for help.

Martin said she was motivated to get involved because she came to know Angel through interactions at school.

“She came to the clinic a lot,” Martin said. “She’s very near and dear to my heart.”

Mahoney was moved by the girl’s plight, as well, Martin said. The school’s PTO played an important role in the fundraiser by sponsoring prizes for students raising the most money to help the family, Martin said.

“Our students went above and beyond,” said Martin, noting they raised $6,200.

Angel, who attended Quail Hollow until she became too ill, has always been somewhat sickly, her mother said.

Angel was diagnosed with asthma when she was just 9 months old.

At one point, the girl was tested for cystic fibrosis as a potential cause for frequent upper respiratory infections, but that result was negative.

She had tubes placed in her ears to help alleviate infections to no avail.

In late 2011, Angel began having more frequent asthma attacks that were increasingly debilitating, her mother said.

One evening before her ballet class, she broke down in tears, Sara said. Angel told her, “Mommy, I can’t do it anymore. I can’t breathe when I’m done.”

So, Sara made an appointment with a doctor that Angel had seen about a year before. The girl did not show signs of distress during the appointment, but the doctor became concerned by the exam results and sent Angel to Tampa General Hospital for additional evaluation.

She was admitted to the pediatric unit for observation, but she became short of breath and was rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit, where she underwent treatments, her mother said. Lab work indicated Angel had a critically impaired immune system.

The family was referred to the immunology clinic at All Children’s Hospital, and that’s when Angel was diagnosed with SCID, Sara said.

The condition became more widely known during the 1970s and 1980s when the world learned of David Vetter, a boy who lived for 12 years in a plastic, germ-free bubble, according to the SCID.net website.

The defining characteristic of SCID is usually a severe defect in T-cells, which generally results in the onset of one or more serious infections within the first few months of life. Those infections, which may even be life threatening, may include pneumonia, meningitis or bloodstream infections, the website states.

After she was diagnosed, the next step would have been the bone marrow transplant, and her younger sister Belle was the perfect match.

But doctors determined that was not her best option, Sara said.

Doctors now believe that Angel needs a lung transplant before receiving the bone marrow, and that both should come from the same donor, Sara said.

The family has been referred to a group of transplant doctors at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The team has done three other cases involving lung transplants, followed by bone marrow transplants, Sara said. She has been told that Angel would be their youngest patient.

Sara said the family is still awaiting word on when they’ll go to Pittsburgh for the lung transplant evaluation.

 

For more information

To find out more about Angelique, visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/angeliqueboston/

 

If you want to help

Angelique Boston’s dad, Dave, has set up an online fundraiser at giveforward.com. To help, search for the fundraiser called hopeforangel. The fundraiser is slated to end on Jan. 31, 2013.

 

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

The debate about the potential location of a charter school in Lutz has spawned the creation of the Lutz Citizens Coalition.

The group aims “to keep the true ‘stakeholders’ of our community, our Lutz residents, informed, involved and engaged by keeping them abreast of newly proposed projects, as well as the ever changing status of ongoing projects,” the coalition’s website states.

The group also seeks to provide a platform where residents can have a voice on issues affecting them, the website adds.

While fully engaged in a battle to prevent Gates School from being built near the intersection of US 41 and Sunset Lane, the Lutz Citizens Coalition is far more than a single issue group, said its founder and president Mike White.

The coalition aims to be a “forum to do good things for Lutz,” said Sam Calco, the coalition’s vice president. “It’s very important to stay informed and involved.”

White added, “Everyone understands there has to be some growth.” The coalition’s goal is to prevent “inappropriate growth.”

The group has never been against the creation of Gates School, for instance, but opponents object to its proposed location because of the negative impacts they believe it will create, such as increased traffic, noise, litter, potential for flooding and environmental damage.

In addition to staying abreast of issues that can affect the community, the coalition is raising money for legal challenges and plans to be politically active, White said.

Calco said the coalition is important because people are so busy with work and their families that they don’t have time to pay attention to issues that can affect the quality of their daily life.

For instance, the Hillsborough Commission will soon be considering proposed recommendations by the county’s Economic Prosperity Stakeholder Committee that White believes could undermine the unique character of communities.

That committee, created at the suggestion of Hillsborough Commissioner Sandra Murman, was assembled to find ways to foster economic growth in the county.

The committee has recommended numerous changes that would streamline county reviews and regulations.

However, White contends that the changes the committee is recommending could make community plans, such as the one for Lutz, meaningless.

“The whole process was hijacked,” White said. “If you’re able to strike these down (community plans), we might as well be in Brandon,” White said.

Murman said there’s no intention by the committee “to gut or undermine any of the work” done by citizens to create community plans, adding that, “Community plans are here to stay.”

At the same time, the county must encourage economic development to generate more jobs, Murman said.

The committee will present its recommendations to the county commission at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 13 in the board chambers in County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa.

 

For more information about the Lutz Citizens Coalition, visit www.lutzflorida.org.

 

 

By Andy Warrener

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

 

Volunteer fire stations in Hillsborough County will soon be a memory.

According to fire chief Ron Rodgers, the implementation of the new reserve responder program will take effect Jan. 1 to replace volunteers at various stations around the county, including the 50-year-old station in Lutz.

There will no longer be stations run entirely by volunteers once the new program takes effect. Many citizens of Lutz and the members of the Lutz Volunteer Firefighter’s Association were not happy with this decision.

“They (Board of County Commissioners) can’t point to any reason why they would shut us down,” said association board member and its former president Ben Fisher. “Our department did not fail in its function. They want it to be union and that’s it.”

To Fisher’s credit, Rodgers said that there were “far fewer” problems in Lutz than with the other volunteer associations.

Despite the lack of issues to warrant replacing the volunteers in Lutz, the county plans to move forward with implementing the reserve responder program, which will still allow volunteers to help fight fires. The primary motivating factor was liability of the county.

“The volunteer program as a whole had to be treated the same,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers did go on to acknowledge the Lutz Volunteer Association.

“We certainly appreciate the effort that you (the association) have put into it,” Rodgers said.

One of the biggest logistical changes that will take place is the way shifts are run.

Volunteer stations run very different than regular ones in the county or city of Tampa. The current system of an individual firefighter working a 24-hour shift and then having 48 hours off will now be the way all Hillsborough stations run.

There was concern that the potential volunteers would not be able to meet the demands of such long shifts as most of them, if not all, have day jobs.

Another concern was that the volunteers or reserve responders would be used for menial jobs around the station and not go out on calls or receive training.

Division chief Frank Fernandez attempted to alleviate those fears by stating “their (volunteers) schedule will be up to them to work out with the chief at the station in particular.”

Deputy chief David Travis added, “We want to create a pool of quality candidates from volunteers.”

Current association president Jay Muffly brought up all the community events the Lutz Volunteer Fire Department participates in and asked how those traditions would continue with the new reserve responder program.

Rodgers responded to Muffly’s concerns by saying, “Each reserve responder will be required to participate in 24 hours of community service each year.”

Rodgers failed to outline how exactly those hours would be spent and did not mention if the full-time firefighters would also be required to participate. Many amenities and special programs, such as the new restrooms at Nye Park, the annual chicken barbecue at the Lutz Independence Day Celebration and Lutz’s centennial, among others, are now up in the air unless the new county employees can find a way to work together with the association to pull them off.

Muffly put it simply: “It’s the end of an era.”

 

 

By Jeff Odom

 

Voices of concern and support came forward at a town hall meeting Dec. 4 to discuss the future of garbage collection in Hillsborough County.

The county unveiled four plans at the Jimmy B. Keel Library that are being considered to replace the current contract, which expires Sept. 30, 2013.

According to the county, six solid waste management companies will bid on the proposals to cover the five garbage collection zones around Hillsborough, with 50,000 households per zone. Each company was asked to come up with the four plans for area residents to help choose. They are as follows:

—Service option No. 1: Same as current manual service. Household garbage collected twice a week in customer provided containers. Customers are provided separate recycling bins for once-a-week collection and yard waste to be collected once a week as well. Cost*: $100.35 per year.

—Service option No. 2: Household garbage collected twice a week in county-provided containers with wheels, but as an automated service. The county will also continue to supply recycling bins for once-a-week pickup. Customers with yard waste will still have to provide their own containers. Cost*: $111.65.

—Service option No. 3: Household garbage collected once a week in county-provided containers with wheels, also an automated service. The rest is same as option No. 2. Cost*: $104.21.

—Service option No. 4: Same as No. 3 with the exception of the recycling collection schedule, which would be pushed back to every other week. The county would, in turn, provide a much larger recycling bin to residents. Cost*: $97.77.

The options only affect unincorporated Hillsborough, with includes Lutz and Odessa, but not New Tampa.

The sizes of county-provided bins that customers can choose are 95-, 65- or 35-gallons.

Most who spoke at the meeting seemed content with the current plan, which is service option No. 1, and voiced concerns about having trouble hauling larger trash cans, damaged or stolen bins and job loss that could come with going the automated route.

County resident David Lubin told the capacity crowd he enjoys the current service, especially the yard waste pickup. Under an automated plan, yard waste would be limited to just two cubic yards, which didn’t sit well with him.

“I have a rather large yard, and I live on a corner block, and I have five large crepe myrtles that shed leaves and all the leaves come down to my end,” Lubin said. “During the last fall I had 15 to 20 large garbage bags full. That’s way more than two cubic yards. These (sanitation workers) pick it all up, and they wave hello as they round the corner. … I have no problem whatsoever.”

The county said if residents accepted a new plan, their provided bins will be under warranty for 10 years. If the bins become damaged, the county will send a worker to fix them for free. However, in the event of a lost or stolen can, the customers would have to pay themselves for a new one.

Carrollwood residents Phyllis and Lewis Alpert moved from Miami-Dade County six months ago where automatic pickup has been implemented. Both said their experience with the system was without problems.

“We had (automated pickup) for many years, and it worked very well,” Phyllis said. “The garbage cans were on wheels, so it was easier to move and they’re very sturdy. They don’t break.”

Lewis added that uniform bins will make the community look nice, and with closed containers for recycling he thinks it will save customers the headache of dealing with wet papers and other goods during rain.

“The downside to today is that you have all sorts of containers out there, and it really makes a nice area look like a mess and it brings down the look in the area,” Lewis said. “If it rains and you already have 20 pounds of newspapers in there, all the sudden you have 40 pounds. It just makes all the sense in the world to have it coordinated.”

For more information and to comment on the service options, visit www.HillsboroughCounty.org/talktrash or call (813) 704-0181.

*Per household per year

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

Panera Bread is gearing up for a two-day hiring event for its new location at The Shops at Wiregrass, which is expected to open Jan. 10.

The bakery-café, which has already begun hiring, will have the events on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15 to continue filling the 60 needed positions.

The hiring events are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 14 and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 15. Recruiters will be on-site at 28332 Willet Way in Wesley Chapel. Available positions include bakery opener, sandwich line, cashier, food prep, dining room, dishwasher and third-shift baker.

The 4,500-square-foot restaurant will have seating for 107 people.

“We are excited to be opening our newest bakery-café in such a dynamic community and are thrilled to be a part of the open-air retail and entertainment environment that The Shops at Wiregrass offers,” Kevin Ricci, operating partner of Covelli Family Limited Partnership, a franchisee of Panera, said in a release. “We are proud to offer the many shoppers, business professionals, families and residents in the community fresh and wholesome food choices paired with the convenient service their busy schedules demand.”

Panera is pleased to be branching into the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa area, Ricci added.

Covelli Enterprises owns and operates more than 200 Panera Bread bakery-cafés in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Canada.

Vikki Kaiser, director of marketing and public relations for Covelli, said the restaurant chain considers The Shops at Wiregrass to be an ideal location.

“The unique blend of shopping, business and the surrounding residential community that The Shops at Wiregrass offers is a perfect complement for Panera Bread,” Kaiser wrote in an email. “We want our customers to feel like this location is their own neighborhood bakery-café.”

The Panera Bread at The Shops at Wiregrass will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all hours in between, Kaiser said.

The bakery-café also offers free Wi-Fi Internet access and a catering menu for meetings, events and parties.

Unlike other Panera Bread locations, the one at The Shops at Wiregrass will feature table service, Kaiser said. Customers will order their food at the register and a Panera associate will deliver it to their tables.

“We hope that our customers will enjoy this feature, especially if their hands are full with packages after a busy day of shopping,” Kaiser said.

Those interested in applying for work can apply at www.panerabread.jobs or attend the hiring events.

How to publish and sell books online

If you’re interested in publishing and selling books online, a new course at Pasco-Hernando Community College may be just the thing for you.

The new course is called Publish and Sell Your E-Books.

Those taking the course will learn how to use free tools to publish and sell e-books in the world’s largest online bookstores. The course will provide information about the free tools available to turn manuscripts into professionally published e-books, and targeting an audience, selecting bookstores and distributing books around the world.

The course is entirely Internet-based with comprehensive lessons, quizzes and assignments. A professional instructor facilitates the course by pacing learners, answering questions, giving feedback and facilitating discussions. To register, visit www.ed2go.com/phcc/. For more information, call (727) 816-3123 or send an email to .

 

Pasco breakfast program wins national honor

The United States Department of Agriculture has honored Pasco County Schools’ Food and Nutrition Service Department for its innovative Snack Pack program.

The USDA identified the program as being among the nation’s best practices among child nutrition programs.

To encourage children to take part in the district’s breakfast program, the district staff rebranded breakfast, serving items in snack packs instead of the traditional breakfast model.

 

Hillsborough School Board selects leaders

The Hillsborough County School Board has elected April Griffin as its chairwoman and Carol Kurdell as its vice chairwoman.

Griffin represents the District 6 at-large seat on the board. She was elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. Kurdell represents the District 7 at-large seat on the board. She was first elected in 1992 and has served since, winning a new term in November.

 

MOSI receives $500,000 grant

The Museum of Science & Industry has been awarded a $500,000 grant by the PNC Foundation to create Slippery Science, the first element of a new preschool education program at MOSI.

Slippery Science opened Dec. 2 inside Kids In Charge! — MOSI’s children’s science center. It has exhibits that incorporate elements of the Tampa Bay Times Forum and Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team as a backdrop. Slippery Science includes a series of interactive exhibits that teach friction, physics, the science behind reaction time and other lessons. Guests can play games, see what’s inside the hockey protection of a player’s uniform and ham it up on the JumboTron.

The grant will also result in MOSI’s new early childhood project called PNC Passport to Science: A Grow Up Great Initiative in collaboration with the Lightning. This program aims to motivate young children to develop an interest in science.

 

Golf tournament raises more than $44,000

A golf tournament hosted by the Pasco-Hernando Community College Foundation raised more than $44,000. The tournament, which was at Black Diamond Ranch, attracted 135 golfers despite unseasonably cool weather.

All proceeds will support student scholarships, academic and athletic programs, libraries and other college initiatives.

 

New River’s National Elementary Honor Society

These students have the distinction of being the first to be inducted into the National Elementary Honor Society at New River Elementary in a ceremony at the school’s media center.

The school just initiated its chapter of the national society.

The inductees are: Jordan Austin; Bayli Baker; Nathaniel Baker; Logan Burdick; Lindsey Dean; Joseph Drawdy; Andrea Figueroa; Sarah Gumulinski; Shelby Haller; Ariana Heppenstall; Oliver Hindahl; Bailey Homand; Jaydean Ireland; Anita Jacob; Corey Jafari;

Kayla Johnson; Aliyeah Kanjanapatum; Katie Locklear; Elijah Loo; Hailey Martin; Sophia Martin; Angelina Mathew; Susana Milanes; Chason Mullins; Ashley Navarrete;

Blake Perez; Areal Ramdeholl; Tyler Reaganm; Jyair Tenryk; Jadan Tillie; Reyasia West; Nicholas Whittington; Taylor Wilson; Emma Witt; Erin Wood.

 

Young Song Writers Symposium

More than two dozen Hillsborough County public elementary school music students had the chance to perform and record original songs Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 at the Young Song Writers Symposium.

The students spent the day at Morrisound studio recording an original song, accompanied by musicians and teachers. The students then performed at a concert showcasing their original compositions.

The Young Song Writers Symposium is an annual collaborative event between students and their music teachers combining creativity in music composition and lyric writing.  Students participate in a two-month long after-school songwriting workshop led by district music teachers Daniel Shea and Sean Moats.

 

Take Stock scholars make PSA

Two Take Stock in Children scholars, Misty Short and Lizzie Cannon, of Wiregrass Ranch High, put together a public service announcement video to promote the Strides for Education 5K Walk/Run on Dec. 8 at Tropicana Field. They did the commercial as a community service project.

 

Art gallery dedication named for Rao Musunuru

Pasco-Hernando Community College (PHCC) Foundation is paying tribute to Dr. Rao Musunuru by naming an art gallery in his honor.

The naming ceremony is slated for 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the art gallery located in the Alric C.T. Pottberg Library building at 10230 Ridge Road in New Port Richey.

The art gallery naming is in recognition to Musunuru’s generous support of PHCC. He is currently chairman of the District Board of Trustees and has served on the board since 1999.

 

Girls soccer car show

The Sunlake High School Girls Soccer team is having a Kickin’ Klassics Car Show fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 15 at the Beef O’ Brady’s parking lot at 18835 SR 54 in Lutz. Preregister by Dec.10 with Joyce Bertoni at (727) 688-8018.

 

Financial aid advice

Many families have used a financial aid calculator and later find out that their expected family contribution is more than they can afford to provide for their child’s education.

The experts at The Right Fit offer advice to parents. Visit them for a free evaluation to see if there are errors in your calculation that result in a lower expected family contribution. For more information, call (813) 968-8989.