Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

Colton Larson wasn’t sure why he needed to be at the year-end banquet for Pasco County Special Olympics. He just knew he had to attend.

It was an evening well spent.

The Larsons were named the organization’s family of the year because of what Colton and his sister, Kelsee, have done with the program at Land O’ Lakes High.

“It was pretty cool,” Colton said. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

Vicky King, who started the school’s Special Olympics soccer program in 1986, said the Larsons are the first Land O’ Lakes High family to earn the county honor.

Colton, 23, started playing with Special Olympics while in sixth grade at Pine View Middle.

“I still remember my first game at Pine View,” Colton said. “That year we were second in the state and I scored. That was a lot of fun and I didn’t want to stop… It’s great playing soccer. It’s fun playing with other people with similar ability.”

The Gators’ program is in the masters division, which allows school graduates to play along with current students. The teams are also unified, which allows traditional athletes, such as Kelsee, to play with Special Olympics participants.

“That was probably the best experience I’ve ever had,” Kelsee said. “I love working with them. They’re so much fun.”

Kelsee, who recently graduated from Land O’ Lakes, started with the program three years ago, which has helped her relationship with Colton.

“Before, we never got along,” Kelsee said. “We kind of found our common ground with soccer. We still argue because we’re brother and sister, but it’s brought us closer.”

Kelly Larson, Colton and Kelsee’s mother, added, “She never really thought of Colton as anything but her big brother. She didn’t really think of him as disabled. By watching her brother play, it’s helped her see him in a different way… She didn’t give him any slack before, but now she does. It’s so cool to see them together now. She’s more patient and it’s a great thing.”

Kelly has also seen both grow away from the field because of Special Olympics. She told a story about how Kelsee helped a disabled girl who was being picked on in the cafeteria this year.

“She went up and defended her,” Kelly said. “That’s the kind of thing she’ll do now because of Special Olympics.”

Colton, who has cerebral palsy, became a better teammate because of soccer.

“He kind of looked at handicapped people as lesser than he is when he started,” Kelly said. “He was kind of a ball hog, but now he wants to work with the team. He doesn’t see himself in that category yet, but he’s now trying to help everybody instead of doing it all himself.”

Kelsee, a defender, also plays for the Gators girls soccer team. One thing that surprised her was how difficult the Special Olympics games are.

“Honestly, the games for Special Olympics were really hard, probably because I was trying to help the players think ahead, so it was more than just playing,” Kelsee said. “I got more winded in those games than in the actual high school games. It was hard. There are some good athletes in the Special Olympics.”

The Larson duo helped the LOL Blue team win the state level three championship the last two years. Colton said getting to win a pair of titles with Kelsee has been the best part of playing.

“It’s great getting to play with her,” Colton said. “A lot of times when I’d score it’s because she got the play started from the back. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Chabad at Wiregrass dedicates new Torah

By Cameron Valdez

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

The local Jewish community gathered on June 10 at the Chabad at Wiregrass to celebrate the completion of a new Torah.

The Torah, to the Jewish community, is more than a Bible. It is what teaches its followers everything they will need to know about life.

“(The Torah) is everything to the Jewish community,” said Jewish community member Herzl Zoock. “It’s a code of life. It’s the way you live. It teaches us right from wrong. It teaches us everything there is to know about life.”

The new Torah costs roughly $40,000 and takes a little more than a year to complete.

“It takes a scribe about a year to write because it is handwritten with a feather on actual parchment which is cowhide, skin from a kosher animal,” said Rabbi Yochanon Klein, who wrote the last few letters of the new Torah.

The completion of the holy book is extremely vigorous. The Torah is handwritten by a professional scribe in Israel. In order for the Torah to be usable, the scribe must follow more than 400 laws, such as the type of ink and thread used. If any of the laws are broken during its creation, the book cannot be used.

“What goes into writing is tremendous,” said Rabbi Mendy Yarmush.

After the Torah was completed, the community celebrated.

“When we complete a Torah, it is similar to a wedding,” Yarmush said. “A wedding is a time for people to unite and make a lifelong commitment to each other. The Torah is the same thing. When we finish the Torah, we are renewing our vows to the Torah and saying that this Torah is valuable and important to us. Therefore, we celebrate it similar to the way we celebrate a wedding.”

The Chabad at Wiregrass is located at 2124 Ashley Oaks Circle in Wesley Chapel. For more information, call (813) 642-3244 or visit .

By Jeff Odom

More than $502 million dollars are at stake, and it will all be decided based on the outcome of a penny.

The proposed penny sales tax extension could add more than $502 million in increased county revenue and numerous employment opportunities, according to Pasco’s Chief Assistant Administrator Michele Baker.

Baker, who discussed the details during a Pasco Alliance of Community Association meeting June 14, said if voters approve the Penny for Pasco sales tax extension in November, nearly $100 million more will go toward funding for roads, schools, environmental conservation and infrastructure starting in 2015.

“We’re currently levying a penny tax to pay for transportation improvements, environmental land acquisition and public safety,” Baker said. “Going forward, if the voters choose to renew that penny and continue it, we would still be spending funds with those areas, but we would be adding to that an allocation for jobs and economic development.”

Under the current tax, which was passed by voters in 2004, 10 percent of the funding goes to the county’s cities, with the most money going to the most populated municipalities. The school district received 45 percent; the remaining 45 is allocated by the county commissioners for transportation, public safety and environmental projects.

The new allocation will keep the same percentage for the cities and school district, but the 45 percent the commissioners get will be steered in different directions. Road projects and other transportation needs will get 40 percent, while the remaining 60 percent will be evenly split to fund economic development/job creation, environmental land purchases and improving public safety.

Baker touted the tax extension as a way for public services to receive replacements to outdated or broken equipment while bringing businesses to the county.

“(Economic development is) an important part of the penny,” Baker said. “When we do our annual citizen engagement meetings, we asked how would you want us to spend the penny and jobs and economic development was No. 1. … I do think job creation is on the forefront of everybody’s mind.”

If citizens vote not to renew, the current penny tax will expire in December 2014.

Finding the money to support these projects will need to come from another source, Baker said. She added numerous road projects would be stalled because of an end to the funding.

“Right now for transportation projects we don’t use property tax dollars,” Baker said. “So those planned transportation projects and trails wouldn’t happen until some other revenue source was found. In terms of the public safety projects, those services still have to be delivered. So if we’re not paying for equipment replacements with the penny, we will have to pay for them with property taxes.”

Baker believes there is plenty of support for the extension heading into the November election cycle and said the transparency that the county Commission has with its constituents is always key for communicating where tax dollars are going.

“I think this ensures voters are educated before heading to the polls,” Baker said. “That is the job of the government. To be honest and efficient with the dollars that are entrusted to us by the citizens. … There is really no better way to do it.”

That’s Cary Anne Bame’s motto

By B.C. Manion

Cary Anne Bame recalls a time when she was working with a volunteer group to transform a blind woman’s yard that was overgrown with weeds.

The blind woman took Bame aside and confided that her main wish was to be able to sit on the porch in the morning to listen to the chirping of birds.

The woman told Bame that the bird song was a reminder of her need to share the good news of her faith.

Bame returned to the woman’s home after the work group finished its task.

“I found a neat bench and built it on her deck for her a few weeks later,” Bame recalled.  “She couldn’t see it but was able to get to the bench.”

It was an extremely gratifying experience that deepened Bame’s insight about how God can use her to have a positive impact in the lives of others.

Of course, it was just one of countless instances when the young Lutz woman has put personal pursuits aside to be of service to others.

During her years at Steinbrenner High she racked up nearly 340 community service hours. Bame’s accumulated a long list of honors including the district award for the youth category of the state Department of Education’s Outstanding Volunteer, which was given at the district’s SERVE – Volunteers in Education ceremony.

Bame has also received a national scholar athlete award from the U.S. Army Reserve and was named one of five all-around outstanding seniors in the school district by the Hillsborough County Council of PTA-PTSA.

She’s done all that while graduating sixth in her class, being her school’s homecoming queen, being captain of Steinbrenner’s district championship volleyball team and being selected as one of 12 incoming freshmen for Florida State University’s highly competitive Service Scholars program.

Despite her accomplishments, she’s quick to give the credit to others.

“I attribute all of my accolades and success to school administrators, church youth leaders, my parents and most importantly my faith,” Bame said.

She also said her teachers have been enormously helpful, and she believes teachers’ contributions to students’ success are frequently overlooked.

“Obviously, you wouldn’t have an education if it wasn’t for them,” Bame said.

While she praises others, those who know the young woman marvel at her achievements.

“Simply said, Cary Anne is amazing,” Judy Pressley, college and career counselor at Steinbrenner, wrote in nominating Bame for the youth volunteer award.

“Cary Anne has made a tremendous impact on the lives of many people,” Pressley noted. “She is one of the most deserving students I have encountered in my 14 years of working as college and career counselor.”

Pressley said she has no idea how Bame manages to balance her many academic and athletic demands while still performing such an enormous amount of community service. The counselor said she once asked Bame how she does it, and the young woman replied, “If only I didn’t have to sleep, I’d be OK.”

Bame’s service to others takes many forms.

She’s pitched in at school carnivals. She’s raised money to fight cancer through Relay For Life. She’s helped Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Metropolitan Ministries and countless other causes.

She said the value of service — which she describes as love coupled with action — has been instilled in her since childhood.

“In my household, it’s kind of assumed that we serve others,” said Bame, the daughter of Cathy and Dave Bame.

Beyond learning from her parents, Bame said her 21-year-old sister, Katie, has also been a great teacher. She said she’s observed how her older sibling approaches people and values relationships.

Bame’s volunteer work began years ago, when she became active in a program called Reaching Inside and Out of Tampa (RIOT) at Van Dyke Church. The program offers people of many talents a chance to use their skills to help others.

“Officially, you’re allowed to start in sixth grade, but I was younger and I’ve always gone,” Bame said. “My parents have always been involved.”

She said she accompanies a group from her church on monthly visits to Robles Park, a public housing development in Tampa’s inner city. They gather up kids and go to the park, where they grill hamburgers and hot dogs and do activities.

“We try to give them fun and some more hope,” Bame said.

The experience has given Bame something, too.

Before going to Robles Park, she imagined the families would be depressed about their lack of resources, she observed in a journal she keeps. That assumption, she noted, was incorrect.

“They embraced what little they had, simply enjoyed the small things in life and kept a smile on their face most of the time,” she wrote, noting her experiences in Robles Park have reinforced her belief that she was born to be of service to others.

In one sense, serving others is selfish because it is so gratifying, she said. But it’s the kind of self-centeredness that can propel people to do good things.

Bame speaks from personal experience: “Serving others fuels me.”

By B.C. Manion

The Wesley Chapel Lions Club has formed and is seeking members to help in its quest to serve those in need.

The group has 27 charter members and has heard from 14 more who want to get involved, said Troy Stevenson, president of the new chapter.

Stevenson expects the group to continue to grow and has invited anyone who wants to learn more about it to attend a dinner gathering at 6 p.m. on June 26 at Wesley Chapel Nissan, 28519 SR 54.

“We’re two weeks old and we’re going strong,” said Stevenson. He offered a simple reason for his involvement: “I just felt it was the right thing to do.”

Lions Club International is a service club with more than 1.35 million members in about 45,000 clubs worldwide. The organization’s mission is to empower volunteers to serve their communities, to meet humanitarian needs, to encourage peace and to promote international understanding, the organization’s Facebook page explains.

The organization is perhaps best known for its work to help people who have vision needs, but its chapters are also involved in a broad array of service projects. Local clubs determine which causes to address.

“I’m going to do a big push for the homeless,” Stevenson said, noting that the club will help meet an assortment of needs for that underprivileged group.

He also anticipates launching an effort to help meet transportation needs of the elderly.

Stevenson said there will also likely be fundraisers to help the newly formed group offer more assistance to others.

“I’m going to light up the sky with my events,” Stevenson said.

Membership fees for the club are $80 a year, and all of the money will be used to support club causes, Stevenson said.

Anyone who would like to join the Wesley Chapel Lions Club or who would like additional information can reach Stevenson at (813) 727-4111.

Zephyrhills team scores big

A team from Zephyrhills High placed 11th in the world at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

More than 15,000 people traveled from around the globe to attend the competition, which featured 815 teams from 40 states and 15 countries.

The Zephyrhills team is composed of Rose Kettelle-Daily, Hali Fisher, Ashley Ramirez, Savana Wright, Shelby Osborne and Jessica Geiger. These girls have been competing together for four years.

The group competed in a division that included 48 teams working on the same problem.

Cecil Jones, a science teacher at Zephyrhills High, is the team’s coach.  The squad extended their thanks to Jones and his wife, their family and friends, Zephyrhills High, the Gulf Coast Odyssey of the Mind and the Zephyrhills community for helping them get to the world competition.

Woman’s Club’s scholarships

The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club recently awarded a total of $12,750 in scholarships to area high school seniors, as well as older students returning to technical schools and community colleges, according to Barbara Nicholson, the scholarship chair.  This year, the club awarded stipends of $750 each. This year’s total was the largest amount distributed in the club’s 52-year history.

Hillsborough public high schools among best in nation

For the first time since reporter Jay Mathews began using the Challenge Index to rank America’s best high schools in 1998, this year all of the Hillsborough County school district’s 27 traditional high schools were included, as well as Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate Charter High School. Plant High School led the district’s schools, achieving No. 57 on the list. Hillsborough High ranked No. 62 and Steinbrenner High came in at No. 99.

The ranking now is called America’s Most Challenging High Schools, and is published by the Washington Post.  The list previously was known as America’s Best High Schools, and until last year was published by Newsweek. It was not published in 1999, 2001, 2002 or 2004.

The high school Challenge Index is based on a formula that takes the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and college-level tests administered at a school divided by the number of graduating seniors.

Free ESL class

A free English as a Second Language (ESL) class is now meeting at Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church, 19911 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa, Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Activities for school-aged children also are provided during this time.

A native English speaker teaches the class using a variety of resources, including the Bible. The class also includes discussions of American culture, English idioms and slang.

To find out more, call (813) 973-2484.

Applications for Buc-Packs

Applications are open until June 29 at 5 p.m. for Buc-Packs for Back-to-School, one of the Glazer Family Foundation’s signature programs.

Each summer, the Buc-Packs for Back-to-School program presents Buccaneers backpacks filled with school supplies to children throughout Central Florida. This year, youth from local community groups will receive a total of 5,000 backpacks during the team’s training camp at One Buccaneer Place.

After receiving backpacks, the children will be able to watch the Buccaneers practice before participating in their own on-field football drills.

The Glazer Family Foundation accepts applications for the Buc-Packs for Back-to-School program from local community nonprofit organizations. Applications for the program will only be accepted online. To learn more, visit www.GlazerFamilyFoundationn.org.

Take Stock in Children scholarship winners

The Take Stock In Children Scholarship program has announced recipients of its 2012-13 scholarships.

The value of the scholarships is more than $450,000, which includes Florida Prepaid College Foundation’s dollar-for-dollar matching funds program.

A recent signing event took place for the 25 Take Stock in Children recipients to confirm their commitment to the Take Stock in Children program by maintaining good grades, attendance, behavior and remaining drug- and crime-free.

The following students are provided with tuition for up to four years of college. Each has been matched with a mentor and has met income eligibility requirements provided by the state of Florida.

The following area eighth-graders are recipients of 2012-2013 Take Stock in Children scholarship: Luisa Alvarez, Marissa Tyler and John Wiggins of Weightman Middle; Britany Butler and Megan Frederick of Stewart Middle; Caroline Cannon of John Long Middle; Marcus Downey and Audrey Morrison of Centennial Middle; Bethany Kemper and Jennifer Lopez of Pine View Middle; and Nicole Law of Dayspring Academy; Nolan Martinez of Pasco Middle; and Ryan Rodriguez of Rushe Middle.

The following students are recipients of a Chair Scholars Foundation Scholarship, covering two years of community college and two years of university tuition:

Alissia Crum of Stewart Middle; Elizabeth Carr of John Long Middle; and Kelanie Cuadrado of Land O’ Lakes High.

Also, Christina Hilliary, of Zephyrhills High, was a recipient of the Ronald McDonald House Charities scholarship, which provides a tuition scholarship for two years.

Countryside Montessori kids go to nation’s capital

A team from Countryside Montessori Charter in Land O’ Lakes recently visited Washington D.C. as second place winners in their age division of the Toshiba/NTSA ExploraVision competition, the world’s largest science competition for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Countryside Montessori Charter students were among 14,606 students from 4,809 teams from across the U.S. and Canada competing in the contest.