Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

Stacey Jenkins was momentarily at a loss for words when she heard the amount of money raised during the Kick-It for Kaitlyn event at Oakstead Elementary on Feb. 14.

“We raised $11,400,” said an excited Kristin Smith, a second-grade teacher at the Land O’ Lakes school. “Our goal was $2,500.”

The money was donated in one week by the 1,040 students who attend Oakstead and was donated to the CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. The cause was close to the kids and faculty because the disease claimed one of their own last Halloween.

Kaitlyn Jenkins, Stacey’s daughter, should have been a third-grader at Oakstead this year, but she was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer on Dec. 14, 2010. She fought the disease for 10 months.

“My son (Justin) went here prior to Kaitlyn, and they’ve always had the support of the parents,” Stacey said. “Every fundraiser has been big. I would never have expected that number to reach $11,400 in a week’s time. It’s really amazing, but when they told me the goal was $2,500 I knew then they’d blow right by it. … It’s just nice to know that even though she’s gone, people are willing to help.

“The school did a fundraiser last year called Coins for Kaitlyn, which helped us stay home to be with her for that year dedicating our time to being with her,” Stacey continued.

Stacey said the cancer intertwined with Kaitlyn’s brainstem, making it inoperable and also ruling out chemotherapy.

“She did really great there for a while,” Stacey said. “In June we started seeing the symptoms come back, which we expected because this form of cancer they don’t have any childhood survivors of it. We were told that without treatment she’d have three months and maybe six months more with treatment and she actually made it 10 months.”

Smith, who was one of Kaitlyn’s teachers last year, said the idea for the event came after walk to fight cancer last year.

“We did a walk with Kaitlyn and her family and shortly after that CureSearch contacted us,” Smith said. “They asked us if we wanted to do it, we talked with our principal and Kaitlyn’s family, and everyone thought it would be a great thing to do.”

Smith said Oakstead does a yearly service project, but this one hit closer to home.

“They’ve made the connection of kids helping kids, so it’s much more meaningful to them,” Smith said. “The kickball is an extra incentive, and we’ve never had something like that before. We have a very competitive group here. The two classes from each grade level that raised the most money got to play against each other.”

Valentine’s Day was picked as the date for the event because it was one of Kaitlyn’s favorite holidays. It was also the last day she had radiation therapy last year and the last time she visited her friends at Oakstead.

“Every kid in the school gave her a Valentine’s Day card when she came back last year,” Stacey said. “We had over 1,000 valentines and Kaitlyn read them all.”

Marcelo Carrioni, one of Kaitlyn’s friends since kindergarten, remembers another big gift they gave Kaitlyn last Valentine’s Day.

“When she came back last year we gave her a big red dog,” Carrioni said. “It was a stuffed animal.”

Smith added, “We all hugged it and gave her the dog because we wanted her to feel our love, so whenever she couldn’t be with us she could hug it and know we were thinking about her.”

Carrioni was in one of the two classes that got to play in the third-grade kickball game.

“It’s very exciting to be playing kickball for my best friend and knowing this can help other kids who get cancer,” Carrioni said. He then added, “(Kaitlyn) was really funny all the time. She loved animals. You’re never going to find a girl who loves horses that much.”

Also playing in the third-grade game was Kaitlyn’s friend since kindergarten Gylenmees Oliva.

“(Kaitlyn) was a really good friend. We talked about everything,” Oliva said. She then added, “It makes me happy because we tried our best to help her and she’s in a better place now.”

By Kyle LoJacono

Gaither High hosted the Special Olympics games for Hillsborough County’s northern schools on Feb. 17, bringing out hundreds of athletes ready to show what they can do.

The event is known as Stampede Day, which had 20 schools participating this year. Events included the tennis and softball throws, races and the shot put to name a few.

One of the athletes competing for the first time at Gaither was Steinbrenner student Rebecca Plumb, who did the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

“We practiced a lot,” said Plumb, pointing to herself and Steinbrenner teacher and Special Olympics volunteer Floyd Graham. She then added, “I can go fast and do my hardest. That’s the best part.”

Warriors teammate Erin Visoky did the tennis-ball throw and 25-meter run.

“I love everything here,” Visoky said. “I love the tennis-ball throw, the runs, hanging out with my friends and seeing all the fans in the stands.”

Visoky has competed at the event for the last four years going back to when she attended Gaither. She enjoyed the opportunity to get back to her first high school.

“That’s great because I get to come back and see all my old friends and teachers,” Visoky said.

Alex Lange was representing Wharton High at the event, competing in the shot put.

“I’ve done (Stampede Day) four times and I really look forward to supporting my friends from my school,” Lange said. He then added, “I’ve only done the shot put one time before, and it’s actually really easy to learn. You have to put a lot of effort into it though.”

Two of the volunteers at the games were Gaither seniors Kayla and Katie Zambito.

The twin sisters have helped at the games the last four years. The Zambitos are co-president of the Cowboys’ Best Buddies club, which pairs special education students with volunteers. Kayla’s buddies with Luisa Valdez and Katie is paired with Rachel Guevarez.

“I really like being able to help them do a race if they want or support them in whatever they want to do,” Kayla said. She then added, “We both started volunteering with a special needs program that does baseball for kids. Then we started volunteering with Best Buddies and volunteering at Special Olympics.”

Katie added, “Being out here and seeing them run and jump and just have fun is really rewarding. It’s awesome to see big smiles on all of their faces.”

Hillsborough athletes next compete in the area games at the University of South Florida on March 10 for all spring events.

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Wesley Chapel High hosted the Pasco County East Special Olympics games for the third straight year on Feb. 16, bringing out hundreds of athletes ready to show what they can do.

“It’s one of the highlights of the year,” said Valerie Lundin, co-coordinator of the games. “Everyone from the athletes to the volunteers to the fans look forward to it.”

Special Olympics athletes from the Pasco schools east of the Suncoast Parkway get together to compete in events like soccer, tennis, bocce ball and track and field at the event.

The participating schools marched in a parade around the Wesley Chapel track as part of the opening ceremonies, followed by several athletes running portions of the loop with the Special Olympics torch.

One of the many volunteers at the games was Wesley Chapel High freshman Jade Torres, who was giving back at the event for the first time this year.

“It’s nice to see the athletes just get to enjoy the day and run and play just like everyone else,” Torres said. “It’s just so adorable to see them happy and working hard to win. Seeing them winning is the best part.”

Torres played on the Wesley Chapel girls soccer team this year. Her coach, Michelle Clark, teaches an exceptional student education (ESE) physical education class and suggested Torres volunteer.

“She told me it would be a lot of fun and it is,” Torres said. “Getting to do it here at our school makes it even better. I get to time them and give them high fives when they finish. You can see their accomplishments and hear their family and friends cheering them on.”

Hillsborough County also had Special Olympics for the northern schools at Gaither High on Feb. 17, known as Stampede Day.

One of the Wharton High athletes at the event was Alex Lange, who competed in shot put.

“I’ve done (Stampede Day) four times and I really look forward to supporting my friends from my school,” Lange said. He then added, “I’ve only done the shot put one time before, and it’s actually really easy to learn. You have to put a lot of effort into it though.”

Hillsborough athletes next compete in the area games at the University of South Florida on March 10 for all spring events.

Advancing Pasco athletes in track and field, soccer skills, bocce and tennis go to Pinellas County on March 10 for areas. The soccer area tournament is at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway, on March 24.

Yep, with giant glow-in-the-dark balls

By B.C. Manion

Mike Beach had never heard of Softgolf until his mom took him and his girlfriend out to play a round at Plantation Palms Golf Club in Land O’ Lakes.

The game – sort of like miniature golf on steroids — involves hitting a lightweight, softball-sized golf ball around a nine-hole course.

Oh, and it’s played at night using fluorescent balls, with lighted flags at each oversized hole.

“The concept of glow-in-the-dark is neat,” said Beach, 25, of Wesley Chapel. “It’s so much fun.”

Kathleen Dumas, Beach’s girlfriend, had never played golf before she tried Softgolf. She had a blast. Terri Beach said she had such a good time on her first round with her husband and son that she decided to return with her son and his girlfriend. The Lutz woman plans to encourage others to try it.

“I’m going to be talking it up,” she said.

Mark Clare, who lives near the fairway, plays traditional golf but enjoys Softgolf, too.

“It’s easy, yet it is not as easy as it appears to be,” Clare said. “It’s a different kind of challenge.

“It doesn’t take talent, just the desire to get out and have a good time and try something new,” Clare said. “My wife was able to enjoy herself a great deal. The couple that we had with us can’t wait to have their children out here.”

The Softgolf course is open 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the club, 23253 Plantation Palms Blvd., weather permitting. The course closes in the event of rain or temperatures below 55 degrees.

The game is priced inexpensively to provide affordable family fun, said Ray Baldorossi Jr., CEO of Softgolf. It costs $8.50 for children 12 and under; $10.75 for adults; and $31.50 for a family of four.

The origin of the game dates back decades.

Baldorossi said he was fooling around in his backyard in the mid-1970s when he thwacked a 4-inch inflatable basketball with a golf club. His dad – Ray Baldorossi Sr. —  happened to be watching when his son sent the inflatable ball soaring.

It turns out, that in addition to his day job as an aeronautical engineer, the senior Baldorossi enjoyed tinkering. The day after he saw the inflatable ball go soaring, the inventor went to work to develop a new brand of golf.

He started experimenting with different kinds of balls and clubs, Baldorossi said. Five years later, his dad and his mother, Blanche, had five patents.

The game his dad invented used a giant golf ball and was played under the lights on a course in Delran, N.J. That business closed in the late 1980s, and Baldorossi’s father passed away four years later.

But Baldorossi didn’t want his father’s invention to die as well.

It turns out the younger Baldorossi likes to tinker, too, and he’s been refining the game.

He came up with the idea of glow-in-the-dark balls. He makes them by hand, using a machine to shape the balls out of foam. Then he drills dimples into them and gives them several coats of paint. He bathes the balls in a sunning booth to give them a special glow.

Baldorossi has found a new, more durable, lightweight material he plans to begin using soon. Then he will be able to make a ball in 5 minutes versus more than an hour.

The Softgolf enthusiast, who has wanted to revive the game for years, got his chance when he met Steve McDonald, one of the owners of Plantation Palms golf course.

“When Ray brought this to me, it was a natural fit for me. I just fell in love with it,” said McDonald, a member of the PGA. “He came out and showed me what his game was all about, and I was very intrigued by the passion, his idea, and really wanted to see a man live out his dream.

“We provided the facility for Ray to test it out,” McDonald said.

The game is good for the golf course, too, McDonald said.

“We can generate revenue while our golf course is sleeping,” McDonald said.

The game is geared for nearly anybody, Baldorossi said.

There are right- and left-handed clubs, of different colors and sizes. Players who have tried the game have been as young as 3 and as old as their 80s. He recommends children be at least 5 years old before hitting the course. It takes 45 minutes to an hour to complete nine holes.

Right now, Plantation Palms is the only place in the world to play Softgolf.

Of course, Baldorossi hopes that will change. He’s in talks with seven locations now, and he envisions franchises popping up all over the place. And, there’s already a greater Tampa championship tournament scheduled for March 11.

In Baldorossi’s eyes, Softgolf has the potential to be really, really big.

No matter what, Baldorossi said his greatest reward is to see family and friends out on the course, having a good time.

For more information, visit www.softgolf.net.

By B.C. Manion

The owners of an organic gardening shop in Odessa weren’t always into organic food.

They eased into the world of foods grown without chemicals.

They began by gradually changing their diet about eight years ago – stocking up on fresh fruits and veggies at farmer’s markets, said Melissa Kanaris.

As their interest intensified, Melissa and her husband, Pete, decided to help others grow their own food.

They opened GreenDreams, an organic gardening shop in Odessa, last year. Its primary market area includes Odessa, Wesley Chapel, Lutz, Land O’ Lakes and North Tampa, as well as communities in West Pasco and North Pinellas counties.

The organic gardening business is a division of Clean Cut Lawn & Landscape Inc., a landscaping company that Pete Kanaris has been operating for 12 years.0

Melissa Kanaris extols the virtues of homegrown foods on GreenDreams’ website.

“The flavor surpasses anything you’ve bought recently from the store,” she writes. “The vitamin and nutritional content is far superior. Every day that a vegetable is off the vine, it loses a significant portion of its nutritional value.”

She also writes about the intangible rewards of gardening.

“There is a sense of satisfaction watching this natural wonder that you’ve helped to create, grow. Every day you see changes in the garden: Plants grow, flowers bloom, fruit forms on the vine and vegetables seem to grow right before your eyes.”

She notes other benefits, as well.

“It is a wonderful learning experience for kids. It teaches them self-sufficiency, responsibility and work ethic. Donating surplus veggies to neighbors or your local food pantry helps them understand the importance of tithing and community.”

There’s an emotional component, too.

“It lifts your spirits. It is really hard to be in a melancholy mood while you are touching and smelling the gifts of Mother Earth,” observes Kanaris, whose family has been gardening for generations.

GreenDreams, at 14510 Black Lake Road, has a small retail room stocked with gardening books, heirloom seeds, organic fertilizer and a botanical-based pest control.

Out back, there’s a nursery, where assorted trees and plants are available for purchase and various gardening techniques are on display. There are plants growing in roof gutters, recycled milk crates and vertical garden towers.

The company also has a small classroom, where Eric Stewart, a GreenDreams employee, teaches classes three days a week. The classes are typically around $15, but there are also four free classes each month.

Stewart is a huge proponent of helping others to become more self-sufficient. He’s heavily involved in the organic gardening community and has a website, www.codegreencommunity.org, which features a wide range of information on gardening topics.

At GreenDreams, Stewart teaches an organic vegetable gardening class, offers instruction on pickling and canning foods and teaches Introduction to Permaculture. Permaculture  emphasizes using science, ecology and perennial plants to provide a sustainable source of food.

“It’s all about self-sufficiency. I think that’s definitely the basis of this business – teaching people how to take care of themselves,” Kanaris said.

“We work with edible perennials, a lot of things grow very well in Florida without a lot of care,” Kanaris said. “It isn’t just traditional garden plots and fruit trees.”

Both Stewart and Kanaris are enthusiastic about the maringa tree, which comes from northern India.

“They can get as tall as 40 feet,” Kanaris said. “These leaves are full of nutrition,” she said, while grasping a branch of the tree. “They have four times the vitamin C of oranges.”

Stewart calls it the anti-aging tree.

“It’s high in polyphenols, which are antioxidants,” Stewart said. “The more you eat, the younger you look and the more vibrant you feel.”

The company also sells blueberries and assorted trees, including olive, apple, nectarine, peach, macadamia nut and neem trees.

Vegetables are not grown at the Odessa site, but the company will get vegetable plants started for their customers.

“We make little soil blocks,” Kanaris said. “Then they can plant those in their gardens.” A tray of seedlings, with 50 plants goes for $40.

Beyond selling gardening supplies and providing classes, the company offers consultation services that include soil testing, sunlight and drainage assessments, pruning instructions, mulching and composting and advice on vegetable gardens, perennial vegetables, fruit and medicinal trees, edible bushes and vines, native and pollinator plants and the incorporation of livestock, such as chickens, ducks, rabbits or goats. They also can discuss such issues as drought tolerance and rain harvesting.

Consultations typically take a couple of hours and cost $130.

The company also offers installation of various kinds of gardening systems, including raised beds, vertical gardens, greenhouses and drip irrigation. The cost varies, based on the specific job.

“We’ve done a couple of jobs where the basic installation was two 4-by-4 raised beds and two stackable towers and you do that for $950. That’s with soil, without plants and with mulch around the base,” Kanaris said.

In their own yard, in New Port Richey, Kanaris and her husband replaced existing plant beds of variegated viburnum with heads of broccoli, heads of cabbage, turnips and lettuces.

“It doesn’t have to be in a traditional rectangular garden plot. We’ve even tucked it in along our fence lines,” Kanaris said.

Stewart thinks an increasing number of people are interested in growing their own food not only to be healthy, but to save money, too.

“We feel like it’s going to be more and more attractive,” Stewart said. “The cost of food has been skyrocketing.”

 

 

For more information about GreenDream’s services, classes and hours, call (727) 462-5326, email or visit www.greendreamsfl.com