Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Eugenio Torrens

Something Wiregrass Ranch girls basketball player Kelly McCaffrey has worked to achieve for almost four years was finished in only 12 seconds.

That’s how much time elapsed before the senior guard put up her 1,500th career point in the Bulls’ 68-32 victory over Land O’ Lakes on Jan. 25. McCaffrey entered the home contest with 1,499.

Logan Seoane won the tip and got the ball straight to McCaffrey, who took off and nailed a floater that banked off the backboard.

“It’s great. I’ve been waiting for a long time for it. This was my goal this year, and it just feels good to meet it my senior year,” McCaffrey said.

Wiregrass Ranch (20-7) first-year coach John Gant said getting McCaffrey the ball that quickly wasn’t part of the game plan.

“We did not say ‘Hey, let’s let her score first’ in any way,” Gant said.

The only thing designed was stopping the game briefly after McCaffrey got the bucket to acknowledge and celebrate the moment.

As a coach, Gant has had one player score more than 1,000 points, but said having a player reach 1,500 was pretty special.

McCaffrey, who was already the program’s leading scorer, didn’t know she was as close as she was until a couple of weeks ago. She said although the milestone was in sight, she didn’t try to press too much and played her “normal self.”

McCaffrey’s “normal self” puts up 19.1 points per game while dishing out 4.1 assists and pulling down 8.9 rebounds, the most of any player in the Bulls’ district. She has managed career highs in all of those game averages despite having a new coach this season. Gant was particularly proud of how McCaffrey has excelled in the new system.

“It’s come within the flow of what we do, and that’s been the good part about it,” Gant said. “She’s got over 400 points in how we run our offense, so it’s been very rewarding.”

McCaffrey’s teammates have admired her scoring ability, including freshman forward Amanda Melosky.

“She’s very smooth when she drives to the basket,” Melosky said. “I’ve tried to pick up on that and move like she does. I’ve watched how she shoots and how she passes. Pretty much I want to be able to do what she does.”

While McCaffrey was being celebrated for her offensive prowess, against Land O’ Lakes she demonstrated she’s just as capable on the other side of the ball.

In the win over the Gators, McCaffrey had eight steals — she averages 4.4 steals — in a first quarter that witnessed Wiregrass Ranch shut out Land O’ Lakes 25-0. The Gators didn’t get on the scoreboard until 5:18 remaining in the second quarter when Kendra Sheets sank a free throw.

“That’s the best first quarter we’ve ever played this year,” Gant said.

McCaffrey was pulled with 7:54 remaining as the Bulls’ victory was already sealed. She finished with 23 points. She added 30 in Wiregrass Ranch’s regular season finale against Anclote on Jan. 27, a 68-18 win, to give her 1,552 for her career.

“It means a lot. It’s a big accomplishment and I’m glad I got there, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches, so I’m just glad I have them,” McCaffrey said.

The Bulls are just as happy to have McCaffrey part of the herd.

“If anybody’s watched our team, you just see everybody feed off her from a psychological perspective and that’s the kind of testament to what kind of psyche she has,” Gant said.

The 1,500-point mark is in McCaffrey’s rearview, but Gant pointed out that up ahead lie more points.

“Every time she scores now, it’s another record, right,” Gant said. “We’ll just watch her grow and grow and grow and keep going.”

Wiregrass Ranch plays in the Class 7A-District 9 tournament semifinals at Steinbrenner against Freedom on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. A win would clinch a playoff spot for the Bulls.

–Sports Editor Kyle LoJacono contributed to this story

By Kyle LoJacono

Wesley Chapel Elementary’s staff wants its students to develop healthy habits early and created Wildcat Wellness Week this year as an annual event to help do that.

The week, which ran from Jan. 16-20, was filled with healthy events, including having additional fresh fruit options at meals, Jump Rope for Heart and yo-yo yoga day. It also challenged students and their families to get active while at home.

“We tried to plan fun and healthy activities that could be enjoyed by everyone including our parents,” said Chris Gorman, Wesley Chapel Elementary physical education (PE) teacher and wellness committee coordinator. “One of the activities was our commercial calisthenics, which motivated students and family members to get up and get moving during the commercial breaks if they were watching television. They could choose from doing sit-ups, jogging in place, hopping one foot, push-ups, jumping jacks or any other inside movement activity.”

The yo-yo yoga day was popular with students and teachers.

“It is very relaxing and helps the students focus on their positions,” said kindergarten teacher Christina Mendez.

Students enjoyed fresh fruit selections on Wednesday and Friday thanks to donations from some local supermarkets, school district suppliers and fruit stands. They also got to dress in their sports uniforms on Thursday representing such fitness activities as soccer, baseball, cheerleading, football and dance.

The final activity was the Jump Rope for Heart challenge. Students completed nine different jumping stations that included hurdles, long jump, sack race and vertical jump. The school earned more than $600 for The American Heart Association through the challenge.

“My favorite activity was the vertical jump at PE,” said fourth-grader Kayla Andrews. “It measured how high I can jump.”

The week also got the school’s staff into the movement, participating in such events as wellness bingo. The faculty marked off a bingo sheet that included making healthy choices like eating fruit with breakfast or joining a friend or family member for a 30-minute workout. Completed bingo sheets were turned in at the end of the week and used in the prize drawings featuring gift cards and exercise equipment.

According to the advisory committee for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, obesity is the single greatest threat to public health in this century. Statistics show one out of three children in the United States are considered overweight or obese. Being overweight can lead to or intensify chronic medical conditions for school-age children including joint problems, asthma, high cholesterol, type II diabetes and high blood pressure.

“I believe our wellness week will have a positive impact on our community and our students,” Gorman said. “Parents and staff will continue making healthy changes in their lives.”

Wesley Chapel Elementary was recently recognized for its healthy initiatives, earning the Bronze National Award from The Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

The alliance established the Healthy Schools Program in 2006 to help schools develop and implement practices promoting healthy eating and increase physical activity. Wesley Chapel Elementary is the only elementary school in Pasco County to earn this recognition.

The school also created The Student & Staff Wildcat Wellness centers. These facilities have helped increase the physical activity of the school’s students and staff.

The student fitness lab provides the classroom teachers with a portable utilizing 27 different stations the pupils can use for teacher led PE, while the staff facility is filled with all types of cardio and weight training equipment similar to a health club. Teachers and staff can work out before school, during lunch and after school to increase their fitness levels.

By B.C. Manion

 

Whether they do it to express their creative spirits, calm their souls or welcome new babies into the world quilters have at least one thing in common — when they finish their work, they have something to show for it.

This weekend, the works of quilt makers will be on display at the 22^nd annual Farm Fest & Quilt Show at the Pioneer Florida Museum.

Besides viewing quilts, quilt enthusiasts can purchase items to use in their craft and can bring quilts in to have them appraised.

For those interested in quilting, it is never too late to start, said Jim Denison, a sixth-generation quilter who learned how to cut quilt squares at the age of 9. Anybody who wants to learn to quilt, can, the Dade City man said.

Sara Ross, who also comes from a long line of quilters, observed “there are probably as many reasons people quilt as there are people who quilt.”

“I started sewing when I was about 9 years old at a treadle sewing machine at my mama’s knee,” the Dade City woman said.

“I remember going to my aunt Emma’s and the ceiling was open. She had a quilting frame hanging from those rafters and when we would come over she would let that quilt frame down, and whatever quilt was there, they’d quilt or tie it.

“The kids would play underneath. Every once in awhile, they’d let us have a needle.

Denison’s grandmother had an open ceiling with a quilt frame, too.

“When the family got together, the women all gathered around the quilt frame and spread the news and shared recipes and pieced and quilted,” he said.

“The kids got put to work cutting out patches or tearing strips or something to keep their little hands busy,” said Denison, who has been quilting nearly 60 years.

Donna Lillibridge, who owns a downtown Dade City shop called Quilts on Palm Lane, began quilting after her children were born through private lessons. She opened her shop about nine years ago, after being unable to find what she needed at other shops.

Kay Morrow, who divides her time between Dade City and Michigan, said she has sewn all her life but didn’t make her first quilt until February 2004.

Since then, she’s made 140 quilts.

Morrow said she’s inspired by fabrics and patterns.

Denison enjoys the challenge of creating new designs. “I’m a fiber artist,” he said.

Lillibridge enjoys having a creative outlet, but also cherishes the sense of serenity that steals over her as she’s quilting.

“When I’m making a quilt, I don’t think about paying the bills. I don’t think of other things. It’s very relaxing. I look up and it’s 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. It’s ‘Whoa, where have I been?’ ”

Besides deriving pleasure from making quilts, it’s also satisfying to share them with loved ones, or give them to others in need, the Dade City quilters said.

“I practically paid for my high school reunion with quilts that I made and raffled, to cut the cost of people coming,” Ross said. “It has gotten to the point where reunions can be very expensive.”

Denison makes them for his grandchildren and for wedding presents.

“I also give them to people who I know need something to cling to,” he said, mentioning people with cancer or AIDS. “It gives them a sense that somebody cares about them.

“When my wife became bed-bound, she asked for one of my quilts and she kept that quilt until the day she died.”

Lillibridge often donates quilts for drawings sponsored by charities.

Morrow said she becomes very attached to her quilts and doesn’t part with many. And she never sells them.

When a woman told Morrow’s husband she’d like to buy one of his wife’s quilts, he politely informed her: “No. You just have to be a friend and she’ll give you one.”

 

 

/Glance box

The 22^nd annual Farm Fest & Quilt Show

Featuring approximately 200 quilts, including hanging quilts and bed quilts, and quilted fashions, including handbags, purses, hats, jackets, etc.

The show is at the Pioneer Florida Museum, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road, about a mile north of Dade City off US 301.

By B.C. Manion

 

The presidential election in November – regardless of the outcome – is unlikely to spur a rapid recovery of the economy, Scott Brown, chief economist for Raymond James said at a luncheon Friday in San Antonio.

“This is an election year and you’re going to hear an awful lot of noise about the economy,” Brown said. “At Raymond James, we try to take a neutral stance.”

He told those gathered at the Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club that it takes more than the president to accomplish real change. Roughly 200 political and business leaders registered for the luncheon sponsored by Saint Leo University and hosted by the Pasco Economic Development Council.

“The president gets all of the credit or all of the blame for whatever happens in the economy. I would say the real key element in the election is the Senate.

“With the Senate, you need a 60-seat majority to get anything done. The other party can just put up a roadblock,” Brown said.

He characterized the recent debacle over the nation’s debt ceiling as “a complete manufactured crisis.”

“It became a political football. ‘We’re going to hold our breath and turn blue until we get what we want,’ ” Brown said, describing the behavior of some members of Congress.

“There’s plenty of room for compromise, but we’ve seen the acrimony between the two parties.

“Any idiot would tell you that if you wanted to balance the budget — why you raise taxes and you cut spending,” Brown said.

But that doesn’t work in Washington.

“You’ve got one party who does not want a single dime cut in taxes,” Brown said. “And the other party which doesn’t want a single dime cut in entitlements, in Social Security and Medicare.

“Something’s got to give.”

During the $25-a-plate luncheon, Brown outlined the issues leading to the nation’s economic downturn and predicted the recovery will be gradual.

“Bank lending to consumers and businesses is getting better. I think that will continue to improve over the course of the year,” he said.

Foreclosures have slowed, too, but a full housing recovery will take some time, especially in Florida and other hard-hit areas, he said. About 50 percent of Tampa Bay homeowners owe more on their houses than they’re worth, he said. He expects most people will continue paying their mortgage, although that becomes a problem in the event of job loss, illness or divorce, he noted.

On the bright side, “this is a great time to buy a house,” Brown said.

In the employment arena, there have been gains, but not enough to lift the economy, Brown said. He expects more hiring, but again, not a huge improvement in the short-term.

“The last two years has been a story of not a lot of job destruction, but not much job creation and that’s sort of key. We’re not recouping the ground that was lost in the downturn. We still have a very, very long way to go, in terms of a full recovery in the labor market.”

 

By B.C. Manion

 

It may not look dangerous, but the laptop in your child’s bedroom, or the cell phone she carries, can become a source of danger.

That’s the message a trio of detectives from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office took to a Jan. 23 evening forum at Gaither High School, 16200 N. Dale Mabry Highway.

Technology is pervasive.

“It’s (technology) embraced by society and offenders. You can go anywhere, any place, by a click of a mouse in a couple of seconds,” said Detective Phil Dubord, who specializes in cyber crimes for the sheriff’s special investigations division.

Sexting – which involves peers emailing each other sexual images – may seem harmless to some, but those images are memorialized and can end up anywhere, Dubord said.

“Ninety-seven percent of the problems are high school (students) but we’re starting to see a rise in middle school,” said Detective Chris Heaverin.

In one case, an 11-year-old girl was suspended at Webb Middle School for sexting. The boy receiving the sexual image was suspended, as well. He had asked for the picture.

Sexting has become a bigger issue since the advent of telephones equipped with the Internet and cameras, Dubord said. And now, kids as young as 8 years old are taking sexual pictures of themselves and emailing them, he said. A few weeks ago, the sheriff’s office called some parents in to show them photographs of genitals their sons had sexted to others.

Technology has given sexual predators the opportunity to amass huge collections of child pornography and to create pornography, Dubord said. They’ll take photos from websites of cheerleaders, for instance, and morph the heads onto naked bodies.

Some pedophiles and sexual predators are on the registry of sexual offenders; others are not.

“They may live next door to you. You don’t know. They may work with you. You don’t know,” Dubord said. “They look normal. They act normal. Never in a million years would you think they’d want to look at a 3-year-old being raped.”

Parents can’t be too careful. They should keep the computers in their home in a common area, where they can easily supervise what their children are doing, Dubord suggested and take advantage of software to track how children use their computer and cell phone.

“We’re having a lot of problems with children using it (technology), unsupervised. Don’t let it be a babysitter,” Dubord said.

Parents need to protect their children, Dubord said. That means searching their bedrooms and tracking their computer use.

“Children have plenty of friends – be the parent, first,” Dubord said.

Predators love it when parents don’t pay attention. They often lure victims into online relationships by posing as someone close to the victim’s age, he said, citing a case of a 15-year-old girl planning to meet a much older predator.

Detective Peggy Grow has worked undercover cases.

In one case, she was chatting online with a predator who thought she was a little girl and asked her to send him her underwear. She bought a little pair and sent it. When Texas authorities raided the man’s home, they found piles of panties sent by other little girls.

Pedophiles go where children like to be, including children’s websites.

“Children are easily manipulated online,” Dubord said. “A kid’s first instinct is to be trusting.”

Online sexual predators seek children in chat rooms, on social networking sites and on gaming sites, Dubord said. Social networking sites can provide useful information and enticing photographs for sexual predators, the detective added.

When predators seek potential victims online, they assume false personas and use ploys to build relationships, sometimes being very subtle, Grow said. If they ask a child where he lives and the child balks, they back off and use another approach, gradually piecing together the information they seek.

In one case, an 11-year-old boy was playing a war game and another gamer asked him: “Do you have hair down there?” Dubord said.

The boy wisely alerted his father.

Girls tend to become emotionally attached, Grow said. They get involved in an online friendship and think they have a boyfriend. They’ll tell investigators “we’re dating” when all interactions have been online.

Boys tend to be more experimental and less emotional, Dubord added.

Cyber bullying presents another danger, Dubord said.

“It’s kind of a mob mentality on the Internet,” he said.

“Adults are often unaware of the bullying,” he said. Children may not tell them because they fear retaliation or are afraid they won’t be taken seriously, he said.

There are signs that parents can watch for. If a child is sad, depressed, anxious or afraid, especially after being on a cell phone or a computer, cyber bullying may be happening, he said. Or, if they don’t want to leave home or hang out with friends, those could be signs, too.

“It gets to a point where kids don’t want to go to school,” Dubord said.

Or, it can have far worse consequences.

“Children have killed each other and committed suicide after being involved in cyber bullying,” he said.

Helpful sites to stay safe online

–staysafeonline.org

–wiredsafety.org

–netsmartz.org

–protectkids.com

–ikeepsafe.org

–getneiwise.org

–spectorsoft.com

–spytech-web.com

–kidswatch.com

–cybersitter.com

–webwatcherkids.com

–malwarebytes.org

–avast.com

Some suggestions from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Detective Phil Dubord:

–Do not give out personal information

–Do not respond to unsolicited emails and instant messages

–Do not give out passwords or personal accounts

–Do not meet someone in person that you met online

 

 

By Cindy Spence

 

Ask Greg Gude a question about kumquats, and you get a question in return: “How much time do you have?”

 

Gude could talk all day about kumquats, but this time of year he’s a bit pressed for time. Most of the kumquats that star in Dade City’s annual Kumquat Festival this Saturday are being supplied by Kumquat Growers Inc. And why not? It’s Florida’s capital of kumquats.

 

The kumquat used to have an image problem, Gude said, because people were not familiar with the oddly named fruit. The Kumquat Festival, however, has converted thousands of confused citrus consumers into big kumquat fans over the past 14 years. Still, Gude said, his company’s web site gets hundreds of thousands of clicks a year on the button “What is a kumquat?” What it is, kumquat fans say, is a taste sensation, with a sweet, edible peel and tart flesh.

 

“The last thing you taste is the oil. It finishes sweet,” Gude said, as if he is talking about a fine wine.

 

Chefs use the tiny, tangy fruit for an assortment of dishes from marmalades, vinaigrettes, barbecue sauces, marinades and the ever-popular kumquat pie.

 

One of the more requested recipes through the years is a 2003 best-of-show winner Janet Collura cooked up. Collura married into a citrus-growing family and uses a lot of citrus both in her home cooking and her catering business. She remembers eating wild kumquats growing along fence lines in the West Tampa of her childhood, and decided to try kumquats in a traditional Spanish dish.

 

Its rightful name is F.J.’s Favorite Kumquat Flan, and Collura likes to be sure people call it that because husband, F.J., played such a big role in the recipe’s development.

 

“He ate kumquat flan for four months,” Collura said.

 

The recipe has appeared in three or four cookbooks, but Collura has moved on to her next kumquat challenge.

 

“For a while now, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do a version of Boston Cream Pie with kumquats,” Collura laughed.

 

Collura won’t be dishing up kumquat treats this year, but the festival promises plenty of kumquat delicacies and other activities.

 

The weekend begins early with open houses Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Kumquat Growers Inc., 31647 Gude Road. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and includes vendors, arts and crafts, a farmer’s market, a kids’ area, a fun walk and races, and plenty of kumquats. For more information, call the Dade City Chamber of Commerce at (352) 567-3769.

 

/this is the glance box—as needed

What is a kumquat?

Kumquats have been called the little gold gems of the citrus family. They are believed to be native to China and have a very distinctive taste. Kumquats are the only citrus fruit that can be eaten whole. The peel is the sweetest part and can be eaten separately. The pulp contains seeds and juice, which is sour. Together, the taste is sweet and sour. The seeds contain pectin, which can be removed by boiling for use in jams and jellies.

— Kumquat Growers Inc.

Sam Johnson is among top 10 poets nationwide

 

By B.C. Manion

 

Unlike many writers, Sam Johnson doesn’t wax poetic about his sources of inspiration.

Neither does he go on and on, about why he chose one particular word over another or about the decisions he made in arranging the beginning, middle and ending of his piece.

After all, he’s just 7 years old.

He didn’t even begin writing poetry until last year, in Diane Billman’s kindergarten classroom at McKitrick Elementary in Lutz.

Now, he holds the title of being among the top 10 poets in kindergarten through third-grade in the United States and Canada, according to results in a contest sponsored by Creative Communication, in Smithfield, Utah.

The young boy’s teacher is thrilled.

When she saw what he was writing, she said, “my eyes about popped out.”

“I thought, ‘My gosh. That is so advanced.’ I had goose bumps,” Billman said.

Adrienne Johnson was delighted by her son’s way with words.

“I was very surprised and very pleased. I’m very proud of him,” she said. She added that she feels very blessed that all three of her children, Mack, Amanda and Sam were able to begin their school years in Billman’s classroom.

Billman began teaching poetry to her kindergarteners two years ago.

The first crop of pupils produced such good poetry that Billman went looking online for a contest. She wound up entering the works of six of her students at poeticpower.com, sponsored by Creative Communication. All six students were published.

After teaching poetry to her class last year, Billman submitted a poem from each of her 18 students to the poetry competition. All of them were accepted for publication.

Not many teachers do as well as Billman did.

“One percent of the schools end up having all of their entries accepted,” said Tom Worthen, the editor at Creative Communication. Typically, about half of the submissions are rejected during preliminary judging.

Sam’s entry was rated among the top 10 out of roughly 2,000 entries in the kindergarten through third-grade division, said Worthen, a teacher at Utah State University.

In Sam’s case, Worthen said, “he creates some nice imagery. The rhythm is good.”

Creative Communication has been working with teachers and students for more than 18 years, striving to encourage good writing, Worthen said. “We deal with children’s hopes and dreams.”

The goal of Creative Communication’s contests are “to be selective enough that it’s an honor, but not so selective that it’s discouraging,” the editor said.

Billman believes encouragement will help a writer, at any level, to improve.

She did some research before beginning to teach poetry and followed the advice of an expert to start by using real objects to help stimulate creative thought.

“We started looking at things like rocks and leaves and feathers and seashells,” Billman said. “We felt them and we described them to get their juices going.

“I gave them little pieces of paper and I told them that was their poem notebook, and that if they had an idea to jot it down. So, we worked from that.”

The poetry lessons were somewhat laborious, Billman said.

“Every day, they would try to work on an idea. We spent at least a month on it. We worked on it daily, for 30 minutes,” she said.

She would begin with a group lesson and then the students would write, independently. She made her way about the room, conferring with individual students. At the end of each lesson, they’d share.

Billman said she’d remind students that the path to good writing is practice.

“It doesn’t matter where you are. Wherever you are, you’re going to get better,” the teacher said.

Besides earning recognition and publication, Sam received a free book and $25 to purchase a $50 U.S. Savings Bond.

Sam will be 17 when that bond matures and he already has plans for the money, his mom said.

“He’s such a giving little boy, he says to me: ‘I’m going to be rich when I’m 17. I’m going to be able to help you pay the taxes,’ ” Adrienne Johnson said.