Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The Pasco Commission has outlined how it plans to spend $915.6 million toward making a better county.

The plan of attack was approved by commissioners in the capital improvements proposal for the next five years, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the county.

In total, the 93-page plan includes 292 projects from 2012-16. Of the $915.6 million that is scheduled to be spent, $312.2 is slated for next year.

“We’ve got a lot of things planned to continue Pasco’s growth,” said Commissioner Pat Mulieri.

Capital improvements are considered as one-time projects that designed to improve the county for several years. Generally, such jobs include buildings, parks, streets, utilities and land and equipment purchases. They must also cost at least $50,000 in total and have “an anticipated useful life of at least five years.”

The majority of the projects for 2012 in central and east Pasco will go toward road construction, with smaller amounts for land purchases and public safety equipment.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION

The plan calls for $5.67 million to be spent on six road projects in east and central Pasco, with most of it going to finish the job on Clinton Avenue in Dade City.

It is projected to take $5.03 million to complete the last two stages of the project, which is in part widening Clinton between Pasadena and Fort King roads. It is also realigning the curves on Clinton from west of Meigs Lane to east of Pasadena to make the stretch of road safer.

The job is fully funded by Penny for Pasco money and includes all right-of-way land acquisition and design costs.

Another project to improve the intersection of Curley and Old St. Joe roads in Dade City will cost $7,650, part of the $627,394 to finish e the job. It is scheduled for completion in 2014-15. It is also fully funded by Penny for Pasco.

The project is eliminating the curved intersection by reconstructing a T-shaped meeting of the two roads and their turn lanes. The goal is to make driving on the roads safer, according to Pasco chief project manager Robert Shepherd.

“It’s one of several similar jobs to make intersections safer that we are doing in the coming years,” Shepherd said.

The county is also contributing $162,500 for the future widening of SR 54 in Wesley Chapel to the edge of Zephyrhills.

The future widening will take SR 54 from two to four lanes from Curley Road to Morris Bridge Road, a stretch of 4.55 miles. So far, $650,000 has been contributed for the project, paid for with a combination of gas taxes, Florida Department of Transportation grants, impact fees and Penny for Pasco money.

Shepherd said the widening is still “a ways off” and wouldn’t start until the current widening of SR 54 between I-75 and Curley is finished.

Also in Wesley Chapel, Pasco will spend $75,293 to add turn lanes on Old Pasco Road, while also extending the turn lanes on Quail Hollow Boulevard. The project is funded by Penny for Pasco money and is meant to make the area safer to drive.

Another $1.02 million will be contributed to the project from 2013-14 before it would begin.

The remaining money, $396,490, will finish paying for the job to improve the intersections of SR 52 and Prospect/Happy Hills Road. It is currently adding turn lanes and resurfacing the roadway.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Pasco is buying mobile data terminals for emergency service use and 34 rugged laptop computers for fire prevention vehicles. The total for the purchases is $546,515, paid for completely by Penny for Pasco.

The terminals will let emergency service units have and update data maps of fire hydrants within the county, including the shortest route while checking water supply.

The laptops will replace old units in 11 fire prevention vehicles throughout the county. The old models are described in the plan as “old” and “out of warranty.” The plan also states it would cost more to repair the older computers than to buy new ones.

LAND PURCHASE

Pasco will spend $8.3 million in 2012 to buy land for environmental purposes throughout the county.

While no specific locations have been chosen, the majority of the land will go to connect various wetlands, such as linking Starkey and Cross Bar nature preserves. Last year, Pasco purchased part of Morsani Ranch north of SR 52 on US 41 to help with such passages, according to county assistant administrator Michele Baker.

“This land was identified in our updated regional environmental strategy in 2000 as one of the critical linkages between preserves,” Baker said. “The strategy recommends connecting these areas to protect the environment in the county. It is one of seven critical linkages we want to eventually buy and make into preserves.”

For more information on the capital improvement plan, visit portal.pascocountyfl.net.

Lines would shift from west Pasco to follow population growth

By Kyle LoJacono

When the current Pasco County districts were created 10 years ago, the population base was in the west, but booming numbers in Land O’ Lakes, Lutz and Wesley Chapel are forcing a shift east.

Current Pasco districts, including 3, 4 and 5, are based west of the Suncoast Parkway, but that will change once the new alignments are finalized.

County Administrator John Gallagher has come up with four redistricting options, all of which stretch the three west Pasco districts east of the Suncoast while reducing the size of District 2, which includes Land O’ Lakes, Lutz and Wesley Chapel. Pat Mulieri has represented District 2 since 1994.

“Pat picked up all that new growth of the last 10 years,” Gallagher said. “We need the districts to be as even as possible, and the best way to do that is take some of the population from her district and move it to others.”

The latest U.S. Census data shows Pasco has 464,695 residents, so each district should have close to 92,939 citizens.

“There has been a lot of growth in my district,” Mulieri said. “I’d like to continue to represent the people who have elected me to represent them for the last 17 years, but in a way this is a good thing.”

Mulieri went on to explain as more people in the central Pasco are represented by several commissioners, the larger number of representatives who will be looking out for the communities in the county’s interior.

All four options extend District 3, represented by Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand, from the coast in Holiday all the way to Bruce B. Downs in Wesley Chapel. The proposed district would be relatively thin, staying south of the SR 54/SR 56 corridor.

Hildebrand, who lives in New Port Richey, said she has no problem representing a new group of people.

“I’ve only represented Holiday, New Port Richey, Trinity and Odessa before, but I spend a lot of time in the east too,” Hildebrand said. “It will be an honor to represent all of those people.”

Other major changes are offered up in Options 1 and 3. The first option puts sections of western Land O’ Lakes into District 5, represented by Jack Mariano of Hudson. It also lumps in a large portion of the county north of SR 52 between the Suncoast and I-75.

Currently Mariano represents all of Hudson and sections of New Port Richey and Port Richey along the coast.

“If that happens it would be a big difference,” Mariano said. “I’ve represented these communities close to the coast. A lot of those new sections are more than 30 minutes from the Gulf.”

Option 3 keeps District 5 similar to its current alignment, and instead shifts portions of western Land O’ Lakes into District 4 under the representation of Henry Wilson of New Port Richey. Wilson was elected last November and is the newest of the county’s commissioners.

Option three also slides sections of the county north of SR 52 between the Suncoast and I-75 into District 1, which is represented by east Pasco resident Ted Schrader.

One issue that complicates the realignment process is commissioners must live within the district they represent. For that reason, District 2 must include a small section of the county north of SR 52, which includes Mulieri’s Gower’s Corner neighborhood.

Along with the district realignment, Pasco is also redrawing the lines for the school board’s five districts, which exactly match those of the county government.

For the most part, the same principles for the county’s government districts apply for the school board’s, according to Gallagher.

The county commissioners and school board members will continue to have public meetings to discuss the four options. Gallagher said the goal is to have the districts finalized by the time the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.

For more information on Pasco’s redistricting process, visit portal.pascocountyfl.net.

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco Regional Medical Center in Dade City has introduced a new diagnostic technique to test for heart problems.

Tharen Leesch, cardiac catheterization lab director, said the procedure uses inhaled nitric oxide to help identify proper medications for various degrees of pulmonary hypertension, a form of high blood pressure.

“The nitric oxide study is to determine if a certain type of drug will help bring the pressure down,” Leesch said. “If it doesn’t reduce the pressure, then these certain drugs won’t either. So it’s a good way to test the effectiveness of a type of treatment.”

Leesch said nitric oxide is nothing like nitrous oxide, or laughing gas.

“They act very differently in the body,” Leesch said.

The first such procedure done at Pasco Regional was on July 27 by Dr. Chirag Shah.

“We put a mask on that delivers the amount of gas that is prescribed by the physician,” said Becky Young, Pasco Regional director of respiratory therapy. “It’s on for about five minutes.”

It is done during a right heart catheterization.

“Right heart caths aren’t done as much as they used to be 10-15 years ago,” Leesch said. “That’s because we can do a lot of measurements with ultrasounds now, but this is the gold standard. We can go in with a cath into the right side of the heart into the pulmonary vein and it checks the total pressure on the lung side of circulation. Then the nitric oxide is introduced and we see if the pressure comes down.

“The way it works is arteries and veins have smooth muscle along them,” Leesch continued. “The nitric oxide will let those muscles relax.”

Leesch said the right side caths are not what most people think of when they talk of cardiac catheterization.

“Standard cardiac catheterizations people hear about are on the left side,” Leesch said. “That is more coronary issues and heart attacks. With right side it’s more about the pressure with the lungs and pulmonary vein.”

The pulmonary vein and artery are what bring blood to the lung and then back into the heart to be pumped throughout the rest of the body. The nitric oxide treatment does not directly relate to lung function, but many people with pulmonary hypertension have shortness of breath. That is what makes identifying the problem somewhat of a challenge, according to Young.

“They haven’t been able to pin it down as a lung issue or a pulmonary issue,” Young said. “These people have gone through and tested their lungs and they seem to be fine, but they’re still very short of breath especially with exercise. This helps us also determine if it is lung function, heart function or a structural issue.”

If it is a structural issue causing the high blood pressure, such as an overly tight valve, the nitric oxide will not help. Leesch said that helps doctors and patients find the best treatment options without wasting time.

If untreated, pulmonary hypertension can lead to heart failure. Leesch said the condition can be genetic.

“It also depends on the kind of exposures they have that can cause reaction,” Leesch said. “It’s kind of like asthma where it can be genetic, but there are things in the environment that can lead to people developing it. They may have worked in some construction zone or been exposed to some toxic chemical. We’re still trying to identify exactly what causes it, but there doesn’t seem to be a group that suffers from it more.”

Young said nitric oxide has been used for years in pediatrics and with other diagnostic tests.

“It’s extremely safe,” Young said. “I searched a great deal of the literature to see if there were any safety issues that we might need to address and be prepared for, and I couldn’t find anything that said it could be dangerous in any way. As with any therapy and medication there can be rare side effects, and that is why we have a respiratory therapist in the room during the study just to be sure.”

Leesch said the nitric oxide study is not currently being done at many other area hospitals.

“I believe the only other two hospitals in the Tampa Bay area are Tampa General and the VA in Tampa,” Leesch said.

Leesch added, “I think it’s a bit unusual for a community of this size to have this kind of tool. It’s not available in all cath labs, so we’re delighted to be able to offer this option to the community.”

For more information on Pasco Regional, visit www.pascoregionalmc.com or call (352) 521-1100.

By Eugenio Torrens

Special to The Laker/Lutz News

What started 26 months ago with three tables in a Florida Medical Clinic lobby and memos asking for donated books resulted in a $20,000 grant to send care packages to U.S. troops overseas.

Bill Cook began his used book sale in June 2009 at the suggestion of a young lady who had used books and wondered if they could help.

“From there it just boomed,” said Cook, a switchboard operator at the Zephyrhills clinic. “We have patients that come once a month, they buy books, bring them back and buy more.” After a while, Cook had to ask the clinic’s administration for bookshelves to handle the volume of used books.

Cook has funneled the money into Support the Troops, a non-profit organization started by Vietnam veteran Bob Williams.

On Aug. 10, Williams’ organization received a $20,000 grant to pay for mailing about 500 packages of daily necessities and toiletries to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Williams, who served aboard the USS Independence from 1964-1967, said receiving everyday items — ranging from underwear to batteries — is a huge morale boost for the troops.

Support the Troops sends roughly 2,000 boxes of such items a month. The postage comes with a hefty price tag: $70,000 monthly.

Williams’ organization uses all monetary donations solely for postage purposes. With the economic climate shifting downward, Williams has had to pick up a larger portion of the bill.

The $20,000 will apply toward July’s postage bill. Williams said he put this month’s tab on his credit card.

“People just don’t have the money,” he said. “Times are tough, but the government could care less.”

Enter Cook and Florida Medical Clinic’s Foundation of Caring.

Jane Hughes, president of the FMC’s foundation, said the foundation has raised $1 million toward charitable causes. The clinic topped off Cook’s $16,000 with $4,000 of its own to total $20,000. Entering its sixth year, the Foundation of Caring has generated $60,000 toward Support the Troops.
Hughes, whose father was overseas for six years during World War II, is all too happy to give back.

“These people are over there, they’re keeping us safe — and they need, and they need, and they need,” she said. “To be able to say we’re sending 500 packages with this presentation alone is unbelievable.

“With Bill, this is so special because an employee has done this,” Hughes said.

Cook, who received a folded flag flown in Afghanistan and a certificate at a ceremony presenting the $20,000 check, has no plans to stop the book sale.

“It’s going to go on forever and ever,” he said. “If there’s anything else we can do for Bob, all he has to do is ask.”

To contact Support the Troops, call (800) 367-3591 or visit www.ourtroopsonline.com.

By Kyle LoJacono

Drivers are now able to use the new exit ramp to SR 56 from I-75 in Wesley Chapel. It opened Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 5 a.m, according to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) public information officer John McShaffrey.

“The point of the project is to let drivers exit to SR 56 before I-75 and I-275 come together,” McShaffrey said. “A lot of cars that come together right there and if we can get people to their exit before the merger, that will help reduce the traffic.”

The project, which started in fall 2009, is adding the new off ramp from I-275, while also improving the exit to SR 56 from I-75 and resurfacing the roadway.

The off ramp from I-275 will include a bridge to take drivers over I-75 before reaching SR 56.

FDOT statistics from 2010 show that about 110,000 vehicles travel through the section where I-75 and I-275 come together. Of those, 22,000 use the SR 56 exit.

“If we can take half of those and let them exit before the interstates come together, that’s a big way to help traffic and reduce the risk of accidents,” McShaffrey said.

The new I-275 exit will also help reduce what McShaffrey calls “traffic weaving” from drivers having to merge from the far left to right lanes in order to exit to SR 56.

“That occurs where northbound mainline I-75 traffic, northbound traffic entering from I-275 and traffic exiting to SR 56 all merge,” McShaffrey said. “Right now, there is a short distance where drivers in this area have to change lanes to get into the correct lanes for their intended travel route. The new ramps will eliminate this crossover area by removing traffic exiting to SR 56 from the mix. That will leave just the merge from I-275 onto I-75, with none of this traffic also trying to exit to SR 56 in the same location.”

McShaffrey added the job was done in preparation for more growth in Wesley Chapel and surrounding communities. The most recent U.S. Census data shows Wesley Chapel has nearly 45,000 residents compared to just 8,936 in 2000.

“It’s been on our radar to do this project for a while now,” McShaffrey said. “The growth has continued and the department is projecting more growth in the coming years.”

FDOT is widening both interstates by one lane in each direction all the way to the Hernando County line in the north. McShaffrey said that is also in response to the population increase.

McShaffrey said the improved SR 56 exit from I-75 will be completed Aug. 16 as well. The entire project is set for completion in March 2012, but McShaffrey said it should be completed before the end of the year. The entire job comes with a $29.9 million price tag.

For more information on FDOT projects, visit www.dot.state.fl.us.

By B.C. Manion

A rigorous learning atmosphere and having fun are not mutually exclusive.

At least that’s the way Anthony Jones sees it.

Jones is principal at Walker Middle Magnet School for International Studies, which became a magnet school this year.

The school, at 8282 N. Mobley Road in Odessa, is working toward gaining authorization as an International Baccalaureate Studies Middle Years Program, begins it inaugural year of classes when a new school year begins in Hillsborough County on Aug. 23.

The magnet school will place a high value on the arts of inquiry and reflection among and between teachers and students, Jones said.

Teachers will be asking themselves these types of questions, Jones said:

— Do my students play a role in the decision making in my room?

— Does my teaching style vary based on student needs, data and research? If so, is it possible for these changes to manifest themselves multiple times in the same lesson?

— Do my students serve as active or passive stakeholders during my lessons?

— Do I encourage my students to ask the question, “Why?” both of myself and of their classmates?

It will take three years to make the journey toward an IB designation, Jones said.

The focus at Walker will be on rigor, service and fun, the principal said.

School officials define rigor as “world-class, student-centered, higher-ordered classroom instruction,” according the school’s website.

Students will be “challenged to think, create, and stretch themselves to a higher level,” Jones said in an open letter dated Aug. 2, which explains the school’s expectations.

Beyond being challenged intellectually, students also will be called to service, Jones said. The aim of education, he said, is to apply what is learned to improve the world.

“Service is not an extracurricular in an IB school,” said Jones, who previously directed the IB magnet program at Hillsborough High School. It is part of the school’s curriculum.

But a little levity is needed, too, Jones said. “It’s going to be a place where it’s OK to laugh and have a good time.”

As a magnet school, all students are selected for Walker through a lottery. That means students ranging from low-functioning special education students through those who excel in academics are attending the school. Jones said he’s not aware of any seventh- or eighth-grader who wanted to return to the school that was turned away.

To keep abreast of what is happening at the school, follow it on Twitter @WalkerMiddleSch.