Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Seahawks show support in fight against cancer

By Kyle LoJacono

 

Anyone who knows Courtney and Meghan Durbin is aware of how they take on challenges, whether it is in school, with sports or in the fight against cancer.

The twin sisters at Sunlake High created Pink Out Day three years ago. The senior softball players had the idea to have the Seahawks team wear pink to raise awareness and show support in the fight against all forms of cancer at one of its games each year.

The girls have continued the spring version but are now bringing it to the fall football season for Sunlake’s home game against Hernando at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14.

“We started the Pink Out movement last year, but it was at an away (football) game at Wesley Chapel,” Courtney said. “We wanted to do it at home to get more of the community involved. Also this year we’re doing a fundraiser too by selling pink T-shirts to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS).”

Everyone in attendance is asked to wear pink. Even the Seahawks football players will be appropriately dressed for the evening.

“All the football players will be wearing pink gloves and pink socks and the cheerleaders are wearing pink bows,” Courtney said. “Hopefully all the people in the community going to the game will wear pink too.”

Meghan said the awareness is what the event is truly about.

“Sometimes high school kids and people in general are kind of oblivious to what’s going on in the world outside of them and in their own little box,” Meghan said. “They don’t think of people fighting through cancer treatment, so if you can get them to think about it just for a day it’s helping.”

The Durbins want to raise awareness of all forms of cancer, but their interest in fighting the disease started with a personal connection. Their mother, Kay, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2008 when the girls were in eighth grade.

Kay also had a bout with uterine cancer associated with one of the medications she took to combat her breast cancer, but early surgery removed the tumor before it could spread. She has been in remission since June 2009 and said she is in good health.

“It makes me very proud to see that they’ve grown into such young ladies given the trials they had to go through at such a young age,” Kay said. “When most people are just coming into themselves in their tweens, they had to deal with a mature situation. They had to be mature young adults to help caregivers.

“It’s a hard thing to deal with just going through your teens in high school,” Kay continued. “For them to handle that and maintain their grades and being involved in clubs and sports, it’s just been a joy to sit back and watch your daughters overcome such a challenge and take it to the next level of spreading it to the community.”

Steve, Kay’s husband and the twins’ father, echoed his wife’s sentiments.

“It’s just been spectacular on their part after being through a lot,” Steve said.

Steve is having a Pink Out Day of his own where he works at USAA Insurance.

The Durbins’ link with the disease goes beyond their immediate family.

“Several of my friends have had connections to it too, so we wanted to make it about more than just breast cancer,” Courtney said. “That’s why we’re giving the money to the ACS so it goes to fight all cancers.”

Courtney and Meghan will be selling pink T-shirts at the game with Maura Craig, an English teacher at Sunlake, before joining in with the sea of pink. Craig, who is also the sponsor for the Key, Legacy and Class of 2014 clubs, said she has learned a lot from the twins.

“Courtney and Meghan inspire me to want to make a difference in our community and in the world,” said Craig, who has known the twins for three years. “They are selfless individuals who dedicate their free time to helping others. The two sisters organize all of our club’s events and volunteer opportunities, so the Pink Out movement is not out of the norm for them. These young ladies demonstrate the power of possibility.”

The Durbins have also volunteered at the Relay For Life at Sunlake and the Miles for Moffitt Race while maintaining identical 4.138 grade point averages.

“I am amazed at how much they accomplish and organize with our club while maintaining superb grades, juggling sports schedules and dealing with high school in general,” Craig said. She then added, “This year, we hope to have the whole school in pink, as well as our guests at the football game to show that the community and the school can come together to help support a cause.”

The Durbins have already sold 248 pink T-shirts as of Oct. 5, an amount that has stunned Courtney.

“Everyone has made me speechless with all their support and how much they truly care about supporting the cause,” Courtney said.

The shirts are $10 at Sunlake’s game. Donations will also be accepted. All money raised will go to the ACS.

Pink Out Day

Where: Sunlake High, 3023 Sunlake Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes

When: Friday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

All those attending the football game against Hernando are asked to wear pink to so support in the fight against all cancers.

By Eugenio Torrens

These two weeks are some of the most hectic for Cindy Fleming.

The chairwoman of the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival said it takes about six months of planning to get the festival ready, but she said the two weeks prior to the actual event are the most stressful just making sure everything comes together.

Finally, Fleming can relax with the start of the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct. 16. The festival will take place at the Grove mall at Interstate 75 and SR 54. It will go from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. both days.

Fleming said she expects about 10,000-15,000 people to show up each day, weather permitting.

“It’s been growing every year,” Fleming said. “Every year we’ve added something new, and we’ve expanded the area, and there’s more for people to do every year.”

It’s a setting primed for kids and adults, families and friends.

“Families really like it because we have this huge kid’s area — kids can come and basically stay for hours. It gives parents a chance to relax while kids are playing.”

There will be live bands, arts and crafts, an obstacle course, Ronnie Setser’s car show, a Battle of the Wings contest, a pumpkin patch and — for the first time — a beer garden sponsored by Miller Lite.

“Last year with the heat and the wings, people asked why we didn’t have beer,” Fleming said. “So we talked to the leasing people, security and got permission to do that.”

Money raised from the festival is divvied among the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce and select charities or nonprofit causes, such as high school scholarships. Fleming cited the bands as the biggest draw of the event, with the car show also attracting a heavy number of visitors.

“Other than Wiregrass, we don’t have much out here for people to just go sit and listen to music free,” Fleming said.

The other highlighted festival of the weekend is the Rattlesnake Festival in San Antonio. The rattlesnake event, entering its 45th year, has grown from a local happening to a nationally renowned festival. It takes place at the San Antonio City Park, 32810 Pennsylvania Ave. On Saturday, the festival goes from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday.

As with the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival, this event caters to both children and adults. Some of the most notable spectacles are the races involving wooden tortoises.

And then of course, there are the rattlesnakes.

A professional snake handler offers educational tips and information about snakes, including snakes native to the area as well as those from abroad.

Amy Greif, chairwoman of the souvenir committee, said San Antonio and the Rattlesnake Festival are synonymous.

“You can mention one and people will say the other,” said Greif, who was raised in San Antonio. “We offer much more than we did in the past. It takes up the entire main part of town up north.”

She was quick to point out one possible misconception.

“No, we don’t have rattlesnakes crawling all over the place,” she said. “It just happens to be that we had found something that was unique.”

Money raised from the rattlesnake festival goes to nonprofit groups, including local baseball teams, churches and Boy and Girl Scouts.

For more information about the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival, including sponsorships and vendor opportunities, visit www.WesleyChapelChamber.com or call Christine Hope at (813) 994-8534.

For more information about the Rattlesnake Festival, visit rattlesnakefestival.com or call Rattlesnake and Gopher Enthusiasts Inc. at (352) 588-4444.

By Kyle LoJacono

 A recent outbreak of listeria-infected cantaloupe and spinach has raised the question about food safety.

Adam Putnam, commissioner of Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said the food itself is much safer than any other nation in the world.

“The real problem is with how far the food travels and how many stops it has along the way,” Putnam said.

Putnam said the problem is less severe in Florida, as the Sunshine State can grow most of the agriculture its citizens need throughout the year, but in many other areas it is harder to contain such outbreaks.

“The cantaloupe grown in Colorado can stop in half a dozen places before it gets to the supermarket,” Putnam said. “As soon as a food-borne illness is spotted, all the local and federal groups do whatever they can to stop it, but when you have to track it back to four and five places it makes it difficult.”

Putnam said once harvested, food generally goes to a packinghouse where it is cleaned and packed. Then a processor usually cuts and repackages it before a distributor takes over to sell large amounts to the food to grocery chains, which houses the food for some time before it goes to the local level. Only then does it go on store shelves for the consumer.

Food grown internationally, which Putnam said accounts for about two-thirds of the produce eaten in the United States, has additional steps before it gets into the food supply.

“The good thing is all those levels have safeguards to test the food for problems, so if anything is detected along the way it can be removed from the food supply,” Putnam said. “When it gets through, that’s when you have the issue of tracking the food.”

The cantaloupe that caused the recent outbreaks sickened 84 people and accounted for 17 deaths nationally, according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) records. Sherri McGarry, an adviser in the FDA’s Office of Food, said it has been difficult to track down the infected fruit because the producer, Jensen Farms, cannot say exactly where it was sold.

“The food chain is very complex,” McGarry wrote in an email. “There are many steps, and the more steps there are the harder it can be to link up each step to identify what the common (outbreak) source is.”

None of those reported ill from the cantaloupe were within Florida, but the infected spinach did make it to the Sunshine State inside dip sold at Publix stores.

Publix spokesperson Shannon Patten said the supermarket chain recalled 16-ounce containers of prepackaged spinach dip sold in its delis with a UPC 41415-00062 and use-by date of Oct. 10. Patten said the company only knows the dip was not sold at locations in southern Florida near Miami or out of the state, making it very likely it was sold in Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

The recent recalls are just a couple in a long line of such issues. In 2006, spinach infected with E. coli killed at least five people and hospitalized 205 across 26 states, according to the FDA. Peanuts were the source of a salmonella outbreak in 2009, while eggs transmitted the same disease a year later.

Putnam said new legislation recently passed by Congress is giving the FDA more power to track food wherever it goes.

“That will allow the outbreaks to stop much faster because all they have to do is call up where the food is from and track it to market in a matter of seconds,” Putnam said. “We already had the safest food in the world, and this new law is just another way to make the food supply even safer.”

The new legislation goes into effect later this year.

By Kyle LoJacono

 The Zephyrhills City County unanimously voted to keep the Patriot Flea Market open for business at Park Place along Chancey Road.

The council was concerned about people parking along Chancey to the point it was taking away spots from Sam Pasco Park while also disrupting traffic flow. Zephyrhills development director Todd Vande Berg assured the members there had been no complaints filed.

“There had been concerns in the past that people were parking on Chancey, but staff had heard nothing about that,” Vande Berg said. “It can be policed if that becomes a problem.”

Paul Correia, managing partner for the company that owns Park Place, said the developer has limited access to the flea market from the northern entrance off SR 54. The developer also has added turn lanes and speed control measures to the southern entrance to help with any congestion issues.

In addition, the three lots the flea market uses have been moved deeper inside the property, giving people more places to park their vehicles, according to Correia.

The agreement allows the flea market to stay in place, but Correia said it is far from permanent.

“The rent from that market doesn’t cover costs,” Correia said. He then added, “We can’t rely on it to keep us going. It barely covers the cost of property taxes for a year. In a perfect world, I’d love to have a market like that somewhere.”

The property has major infrastructure like sewer, water and electrical service. Correia said other groups have looked into using the property, but the down economy turns many away.

“We’ll probably have to find an end user, someone with a specific building they have to build and can’t (do) it anywhere else,” Correia said. “We may be a couple of years ahead of getting things done when and if this economy returns.”

The market has been operating at the industrial park near US 98 since 2009 from October through March when the seasonal residents are in east Pasco County. Vendor records from last year show people from Zephyrhills, Dade City, Lacoochee, Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes, Lutz and New Tampa set up booths at the park last year.

Along with arts and crafts, the flea market has carnival-style food and live entertainment. For more information, visit www.patriotfleamarket.com.

Patriot Flea Market

Location: Park Place on Chancey Road

Days: Tuesdays and Thursday

Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Phone: (813) 715-4836

By B.C. Manion

Habitat for Humanity of East & Central Pasco is hosting an open house on Thursday, Oct. 20, so people who need a decent home can find out more about applying to the program.

The session will be from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Habit Office, 15000 Citrus Country Drive, Suite 420, in Dade City.

Those who are interested will be able to meet individually with Habitat staff members to ask questions and be guided, step by step, through the eligibility process, said Kaci Wubbena, director of family services for the organization. There are no set appointments.

“Come as you can,” she encouraged.

The session is intended to give people a more thorough understanding of the program’s criteria, Wubbena said.

Those who are interested are not required to bring any documents with them to the open house, she said.

The organization’s boundaries are from Land O’ Lakes east to the Pasco County line.

Habitat for Humanity of East & Central Pasco seeks to eliminate poverty housing and to make decent housing available. The organization builds houses with east and central families in need. Volunteer labor builds the homes, to keep costs low. Once a family is selected, the family must invest a minimum of 400 hours of sweat equity.

The organization accepts applications year-round and its Family Selection Committee reviews the applications and chooses families based on need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the no-interest mortgage.

Most of the houses built have three bedrooms and one bathroom.

The houses are affordable because there is no profit included in the home price and no interest is charged on the mortgage, which is financed for 30 years.

The program’s selection criteria include income guidelines, background and credit checks, current rent and relationships with landlords and other factors.

Additionally, qualifying families must have lived in east or central Pasco for at least the past 12 months, the wage earner must have been in the same job for at least a year, there cannot have been any recent bankruptcies or judgments, and the applicant must be married, single or divorced. Those who are separated must wait until their divorce is final to apply.

Habitat for Humanity of East & Central Pasco has built 91 houses since its founding in 1994 and is on schedule to complete its 100th home this year.

For additional information about the program, visit www.habitatpasco.org or call (352) 567-1444.

Open House

What: Habitat for Humanity of East & Central Pasco Open House

When: 5:30-7 p.m. on Oct. 20

Where: The Dade City Business Center, 15000 Citrus Country Drive, Suite 420, Dade City. Please use the US 301 and Lock Street entrance

Why: To find out the criteria for applying for a Habitat home.

By Kyle LoJacono

 Despite the threat of sanctions from the Republican Party, Florida will have its presidential primary election on Jan. 31.

The move is meant to make the Sunshine State more influential in the race for the White House, according to Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera of R-Miami.

“Florida needs to be a player,” Lopez-Cantera said.

In 2008, Florida also moved up its presidential primary to Jan. 29. Lopez-Cantera, who proposed the early date this year, pointed out the move three years ago “increased Republican turnout by 250 percent” in the primary.

Republican National Committee rules state only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina can have primaries/caucuses before March 6. Florida Republicans lost half of their convention delegates because of the move in 2008. Tampa is hosting the national convention next year.

Land O’ Lakes resident Marcus Toms said he thinks the move is good even if delegates are lost.

“Florida is important and should have a big say in who runs for president,” Toms said. “Most of the time whoever Florida voters choose is who becomes president.”

Odessa resident Marla Black had a different opinion.

“I think the primaries are too early as it is,” Black said. “States keep jumping over each other to be first. Just have them all on the same day.”

While the move may violate GOP rules, local supervisors of elections do not see any problems with the early date – at least in terms of execution.

“We will be ready to go,” said Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley. “We were waiting for the date and now that we have it we can work with that as the deadline.”

Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Earl Lennard added, “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Corley said the nearly 80 changes to the election code offered a bigger challenge than the move. He stressed there are a few changes voters will see starting in January.

“First early voting is only eight days now instead of 14,” Corley said. “The early voting dates for the presidential primary are Jan. 21-28. … The other big change is if you have moved to another county, say from Hillsborough to Pasco, you need to contact the Supervisor of Elections Office before the vote to get a change of address confirmed. We don’t want people to miss out on voting because they don’t know this new law.”

As Florida pushes its presidential primary forward, a battle is brewing in the GOP for the right to oppose President Barack Obama in November 2012. Top Republican contenders include Mitt Romney, Herman Cain and Rick Perry.

For more information about Pasco elections, call (813) 929-2788 or visit pascovotes.com. In Hillsborough, visit votehillsborough.org.

Pasco early voting sites

Land O’ Lakes Branch Library, 2818 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes

New River Branch Library, 34043 SR 54 in Zephyrhills

East Pasco Government Center, 14236 Sixth St. in Dade City

West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Drive in New Port Richey

South Holiday Branch Library, 4649 Mile Stretch Drive in Holiday

Hudson Regional Library, 8012 Library Road in Hudson

Hillsborough early voting sites

Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 West Bearss Ave. in Lake Magdalene

New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa

Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa

Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center, 2514 N. Falkenburg Road in Tampa

Bloomingdale Regional Public Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Ave. in Valrico

C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library, 2607 East Drive Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Tampa

Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library, 3910 South Manhattan Ave. in Tampa

North Tampa Branch Library, 8916 North Blvd. in Tampa

Plant City’s city hall, 302 West Reynolds St. in Plant City

Riverview Branch Library, 10509 Riverview Drive in Riverview

SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way in Ruskin

Temple Terrace Public Library, 202 Bullard Parkway in Temple Terrace

Town ‘N Country Regional Public Library, 7606 Paula Drive in Tampa

West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 West Union St. in Tampa

Upper Tampa Bay Regional Public Library, 11211 Countryway Blvd. in Tampa

 

Pasco registration statistics

Republicans: 114,628

Democrats: 106,456

Others: 75,031

 Hillsborough registration statistics

Democrats: 281,575

Republicans: 227,035

Others: 166,424

*As of Sept. 30

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Cavities are the most common chronic disease for children ages 6-19, and 90 percent of all adults will have some form of tooth decay during their lifetime.

The Pasco County Health Department wants to bring down those numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is partnering with the American Dental Association to promote National Dental Hygiene Month in October.

“Tooth decay in children and the health problems that come with it deserves our attention,” said Pasco Health Officer Dr. David Johnson. “Prevention works, and it simply involves developing the right habits.”

Dental cavities are caused by a deterioration of the tooth enamel, according to the CDC. Bacteria on teeth break down leftover food particles and produce acid that results in the decay.

Johnson said the most frustrating thing about cavities and tooth decay is that most forms are largely preventable with simple hygiene steps. For that reason the campaign in Pasco this year has the theme “It’s simple. Healthy habits for a healthy smile.”

Johnson said the best ways to prevent the problems are:

–Brush teeth at least twice a day to remove plaque

–Floss daily, preferably before going to sleep

–Eat healthy and nutritious foods and limit sugary carbonated drinks

–Visit a dentist for checkups and cleanings twice a year

–Wear a mouth guard while playing sports

Johnson also advocates for children younger than age 18 to receive a fluoride treatment twice per year to build up their teeth enamel. He said some people are weary about the chemical’s effect but stressed it helps strengthen teeth to reduce the risk of cavities later in life.

Johnson said the treatments are even more important in Pasco, as the county does not put fluoride in its drinking water as a cost saving measure.

Johnson said new sealant treatments also help prevent cavities in a similar way as fluoride.

The department recently received federal grant money to provide sealant treatments to Pasco’s Title I schools, those with the largest number of students receiving free or reduced priced lunches. Second graders at such schools can receive the treatments for free.

“With the support of the district school board and health services staff we have already visited six of the 22 schools that will be part of the program and have sealed over 1,000 teeth,” said Dr. Beth Genho. She added the program will return to the schools later in the year to treat more children.

The department is also working with Drs. Michael Valancius, Leslie Hernandez and Genho to educate children about caring for their teeth. The pediatric dental team’s outreach program is stationed at Rodney Cox Elementary in Dade City and the Pasco Health Department office in New Port Richey. For more information about the program, call (727) 861-5250.

The health department also offers dental services by appointment to those ages 1-20 who have Florida Medicaid at 10841 Little Road in New Port Richey. Services include exams, X-rays, cleanings, fillings, sealants and more. To schedule a dental appointment or speak to a representative, call (727) 861-5260 ext. 284.