Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

The Florida PTA has named Shaylia McRae, principal at Martinez Middle in Lutz, as its  Outstanding Middle School Principal of the Year.

The principal’s nomination, submitted by the PTSA board at Martinez Middle, praises McRae’s leadership and ability to collaborate with others.

The principal has introduced many new programs to Martinez Middle since becoming the school’s instructional leader, the nomination notes.

Karen Cuervo, chairwoman of the board’s awards committee last year, was thrilled by McRae’s selection.

“Ms. McRae is an all-around great principal and deserved this award 100 percent,” Cuervo said in an email.

The principal strives to bring together the PTSA, the students, the administration, teachers and community to work toward a common goal — the welfare and success of the school’s students.

McRae also knows how to connect with people, says Cuervo, who is the incoming president of the school’s PTSA board.

“She has a lot of personality and makes being on the PTSA fun,” Cuervo notes. “I look forward to working with the Martinez administration every year.”

The school has taken great pride in having a cohesive team of administrators, staff, parents and students since the day it opened, according to the nomination letter.

McRae, who is the school’s second principal, came into the role “on the heels of a very organized and beloved principal,” it adds.

McRae “made the transition both positive and dynamic.  Her willingness to step out of the box and create her own vision, while maintaining the core mission of the school was nothing short of brilliant. Without becoming stagnant in the process, she continues to focus on making clear the vision to provide the best education in the nation.”

In essence, she lives the mission of the school, which aims to provide all students the knowledge and skills needed to help them reach their highest potential, the letter states.

“We believe it is her impeccable leadership that continues to make Martinez Middle School an “A” school in every way.”

The letter goes on to says that Martinez possesses “unique leadership qualities” that are necessary at the middle school level, a time at which adolescents are going through a critical stage in their life and need firm, but empathetic direction.

Elinor Adler, chairwoman of the Florida PTA’s awards program, said in an email that judges take a number of factors into consideration when determining the winners of the annual awards.

Those include whether the principal promotes the purposes and mission of the Florida PTA, whether the principal encourages PTA members to get training at the county and state PTA levels, whether the principal attends PTA meetings and activities and what kind of impact the principal has on a school’s students, parents and faculty.

“Behind every successful PTA, there is a school principal who is supportive, helpful and personally involved in PTA. The judges look for the principal who best fits this description,” Adler said.

The winning elementary principal came from a school in Broward County and the winning high school principal came from a school in Seminole County.

By B.C. Manion

The three candidates for honorary mayor gave their inaugural stump speeches at the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce’s July mixer held at the Hampton Inn and Suites.

Laura Miller, president of the chamber, said the event helps the chamber raise money for its various activities and also benefits the charities selected by the mayoral candidates. Candidates are able to give 50 percent of the proceeds to their charitable cause, depending on how much money they raise during the campaign — which runs through December.

Debbie Yoerg, the current honorary mayor of Wesley Chapel, said the post involves attending ribbon cuttings and various community events.

The kick-off event was co-hosted by The Laker and the Hampton Inn and Suites, Wesley Chapel. Co-sponsors were Toyota Honda and Texas Roadhouse, along with Dash of Salt ‘N Pepper Catering Co. and Betty Cakes Cake Shop.

 

Hospital executive ‘Putting on the Ritz’

John Negley donned a top hat, wore white gloves and carried a fancy cane as he assumed the leading character in his “Putting on the Ritz” campaign for honorary mayor of Wesley Chapel.

Negley, assistant vice president for Florida Hospital University Community Hospital, said he wants to use his candidacy to promote the community of Wesley Chapel and to raise money for his favorite charity, the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation.

“It’s exciting to be able to announce that I’m running for honorary mayor,” Negley said. “My focus is to raise awareness of Wesley Chapel,” Negley said. “I live in Wesley Chapel and I want to promote it. It’s a great place to live, to work, to play and be educated.

“It’s the place to be in the county. There’s no doubt about that.”

 

Candidate wants to showcase Wesley Chapel’s heart

Mitze Richeson is hoping her bid for Honorary Mayor of Wesley Chapel will help raise awareness of the community on a deeper level.

Her campaign slogan is “Gaining Recognition of Wesley Chapel Through the Heart,” or GROWTH 2012.

In announcing her bid for the post, Richeson said, “I am passionate about bringing unity, service and promotion to the community of Wesley Chapel, leading to growth in 2012.”

She has chosen Oasis Pregnancy Center as her charity for the campaign.

Richeson said she’s excited about the journey she is undertaking, regardless of how it turns out.

“My vision for Wesley Chapel is to experience growth through the heart of unity, through the heart of integrity and through the heart of service,” said Richeson, who is co-owner of Cypress Creek Chiropractic and Wellness, along with her husband, Micah.

 

Candidate wants everyone to win

Jan Roberts offers a simple reason for why she threw her hat into the ring for Honorary Mayor of Wesley Chapel.

“I was drafted,” said the woman who works for Big Brothers Big Sisters and is raising money for that cause.

She’s enthusiastic about her mission:. “We’re really excited to raise money for Wesley Chapel Chamber and Big Brothers Big Sisters,” said Roberts, whose campaign slogan is “Little Jan for Big Mayor.”

Roberts’ campaign has a NASCAR theme and she kicked off her campaign by waving a checkered flag and proclaiming: “Let’s get our engines started and let’s go.”

While Roberts wants to finish first, she also wants her competitors to do well.

“What I keep feeling is unity. We all have amazing charities and it’s so exciting that we can get together to raise money for the community,” she said.

Children have fun in the sun at field day

By B.C. Manion

They glided down water slides, jumped around in a bounce house and ran through sprinklers, laughing and screaming with joy.

Other kids were singing songs or doing crafts or cooling off under two shade tents that were equipped with soaker hoses.

No matter what they were doing, hundreds of kids appeared to be having a blast last week at a Camp Wow! Field Day at Withlacoochee River Park.

The event was just one of many summer activities provided to children who are taking part in the Pasco Learning and Activity Centers of Enrichment (PLACE) program this summer. The program is part of Pasco County Schools.

Last week’s camp involved about 700 kids from Seven Oaks, New River, Double Branch, Watergrass, Wesley Chapel, Woodland, Sand Pine, Veterans, Quail Hollow, Chester Taylor and Pasco elementary schools.

“We’re bringing vacation to the kids. These kids don’t always get to go on vacations,” said Karla Graziano, PLACE program coordinator.

In addition to the field days, the kids have also had a chance to  go swimming and skating and to try their hand at gemstone mining. Before the summer ends, they’ll also get to go to a Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball game.

At last week’s field day, the dunk tank was one of the most popular attractions.

Kids took turns tossing softballs at a target, trying to soak Mary Grey, the supervisor of the PLACE program.

Grey egged them on, good-naturedly.

Apparently, lots of the kids were good shots.

By mid-morning, Grey estimated she’d been dunked more than 50 times.

The kids seemed to love the water slide — each gliding down in his or her unique fashion.

And, Rebekah Barragan, 8 and Bailey Bessette, 7, giggled as they made their way around a course chock full of water-related challenges.

Jesyriam Garcia, who works at the PLACE Program at Seven Oaks Elementary, said the kids had been looking forward to the day — and it appeared to be living up to their expectations.

“They’re really having fun. I think it’s wonderful,” she said.

 

Connie Bladon picked to lead new hospital’s foundation

By Kyle LoJacono

Connie Bladon was taught the importance of giving back to the community while growing up in Massachusetts, and now her giving won’t be limited to time away from work.

Bladon, who has lived in New Tampa for 23 years, was recently named as the first executive director of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation. The hospital is slated to open in the fall of 2012.

“It’s a very exciting opportunity,” Bladon said. “This community has needed another healthcare facility for years. To be able to be a part of this and a part of Florida Hospital is very exciting for me.”

The foundation will support the hospital’s efforts to provide healthcare by working with the surrounding communities. For example, the foundation at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, which is owned by Adventist Health System that will run the Wesley Chapel facility, is currently raising money for its hospital’s new Breast Health Center.

Carolyn Sentelik, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills Foundation executive director, said the decision to support the new breast center was reached after a lot of communication with the public.

Sentelik, who has been with the Zephyrhills foundation for about a year, said the organization also does community outreach and support projects throughout the year. For example, the group organized a fishing tournament in May that raised $11,000 for the future breast center. It also puts together the annual Sister Stroll each October, where those affected by breast cancer can learn about the disease and walk the hospital’s fitness trail as a mini Relay For Life-style event.

“The foundation is small, but mighty,” Sentelik said. “We have two employees and a lot of volunteers.”

Bladon said there are no specifics about the direction the Wesley Chapel foundation will take, but predicts it will do the same general work as its sister organization in Zephyrhills.

“We are putting together our board of directors right now,” Bladon said.  She then added, “After the hospital is built and up and running, what’s going to happen is our focus will shift to finding what the community needs. Giving the community the best healthcare possible. That might be technology; that might be new services. It will be whatever the community needs in healthcare.”

While the hospital is still more than a year from opening, Blandon said the foundation is already “up and running now.”

Bladon comes to the foundation after spending most of her career in the financial services. She was most recently a vice president of the business banking division with Synovus Bank for just less than four years, where she served both Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

“Connie brings a strong breadth of business experience and leadership to our new organization,” said Brian Adams, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel CEO. “Her involvement in the community and ability to draw people to a common cause will help to establish our new hospital as the healthcare facility of choice throughout the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa communities.”

While Bladon is new to healthcare, she is not a stranger to the volunteering and community support role she will have with the foundation. She said her parents, Connie and Vern, taught her and her brother John to always help others.

Some of the volunteer and civic positions she has served in include president of the Rotary Club of New Tampa and its foundation, on the board of the New Tampa Chamber of Commerce and was a part of the Friends of the Library at the New Tampa Branch Library. She has also been on the executive committee for Relay For Life of New Tampa and on the board of Outreach Assisting Students in Schools (OASIS).

“I grew up with a family that believed in giving back to the community,” Bladon said. She then added, “My father was always in public service. He was a state representative for five terms and then was in an appointed position. We did a lot of not-for-profit work because of that. My mother was a (Springfield College) professor and did a lot of the same things.”

Bladon said she is currently looking for anyone who wants to volunteer with the foundation. Those interested should either email her at , or visit www.fhwesleychapel.org and click the foundation tab.

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco residents still cannot recycle paper from their driveway, but the county’s recycling department is working to make it easier to save trees.

Pasco Recycling and the Pasco District School Board’s Conservation Department are joining up to put 25 new large paper bins at various locations throughout the county. The effort is called Bring It from Home, which emphasizes the initiative needed by citizens to save natural resources.

“A person can reduce their curbside garbage by as much as 50 percent by recycling all paper products in their home,” said Jennifer Seney, Pasco Recycling coordinator. “This includes corrugated cardboard, thin cardboard like cereal boxes, newspaper, magazines, phone books, junk mail, office paper, paper bags and paper packaging.”

There are now 100 bins throughout the county, plus facilities to recycle at all of Pasco’s public schools.

“With close to 90 school campuses and Pasco County adding another 25 sites, we’ve achieved an amazing depth of coverage for paper recycling drop off,” said Karen Bryant, the Pasco School District’s recycling coordinator. “It is exciting that any citizen should be able to find a recycling drop-off site within a few miles of their home.”

Seney said the goal is to collect two to four tons a month from each container. The community paper recycling program earns money for fire stations, libraries, parks and schools.

“This program is a great way for someone to show their support for these community services,” Bryant said. “It’s a real win for everyone.”

The new bins were provided at no charge by U.S. GreenFiber, a paper recycler and re-manufacturer. GreenFiber will service the bins and turns cardboard, newspaper and other paper products into insulation at its plant in Ybor City. The insulation is marketed at local retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Seney cautioned users to follow the rules for recycling paper so unusable items do not contaminate the entire bin.

“You can recycle anything that’s paper fiber that’s not contaminated by human or food waste, which means no paper towels, napkins, paper plates, pizza boxes,” Seney said. “And no plasticized paper like menus.”

The paper recycling bins’ bright-green color and frog logos make them easy to find, according to Seney. The flattened cardboard boxes should go through the top of the containers and there are openings on the side to deposit the other paper products.

Seney said the new bins are in part due to increased demand from residents wanting ways to recycle paper easier. In Pasco’s 2010 resident survey, nearly 75 percent of responders said they wanted easier ways to recycle. Specifically, the more than 1,800 people who participated indicated they wanted the county to have small plastic bins for curbside pick as Hillsborough County and Dade City do.

Currently, Pasco residents must buy blue bags from area grocery stores if they want to recycle materials such as plastics, glass and metals. However, the county program does not include paper or cardboard pick-up.

Seney said there are no immediate plans to add paper to curbside pickup, or small bins to replace the blue bag system.

New area bins

–Fire station No. 16, 34335 Chancey Road in Zephyrhills

–Fire station No. 23, 21300 SR 54 in Lutz

–Fire station No. 26, 28229 Aronwood Blvd. in Wesley Chapel

–Fire station No. 37, 18015 SR 54 in Lutz

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

–New River Library, 34043 SR 54 in Zephyrhills

–Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes

–Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 US 41 in Land O’ Lakes

–Odessa Community Center, 1627 Chesapeake Drive in Odessa

–Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road in Wesley Chapel

–John S. Burk Memorial Park, 13220 Gene Nelson Blvd. in Dade City

–Samuel Pasco Park, 39835 Chancey Road in Zephyrhills

–Dade City Courthouse, 38053 Live Oak Ave. in Dade City

Recyclable paper products

–Corrugated cardboard

–Junk mail

–Magazines

–Newspaper

–Office paper

–Paper bags

–Paper packaging

–Phone books

–Thin cardboard like cereal boxes

Items not accepted in Pasco’s bins include anything contaminated by human or food waste, such as paper towels, napkins, paper plates and pizza boxes.

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco County government will have to lay off 14 workers to make its budget for next year, but the total will not likely add to the area’s unemployment numbers.

County Administrator John Gallagher’s spending plan for the 2011-12 fiscal year is roughly the same as the current budget; just more than $1 billion. The proposal cuts 31 jobs, of which only 14 are currently filled.

Fortunately for those affected, the county will add 14 new positions in other departments with similar job descriptions. Those affect will be given first priority for those new jobs, according to Gallagher.

“Most of the jobs would be cut from departments that are paid for with property taxes, like the parks department,” Gallagher said. “The new jobs will be in utilities and stormwater departments. Those are paid for with fees.”

The proposed budget Gallagher presented is based on the assumption the county commissioners will not raise the property tax rate.

Pasco property appraiser Mike Wells said the value of property dropped 2.5 percent this year, but predicts the prices have bottomed out.

“I think we might be at or very near the bottom,” Wells said.

Also, for the fourth straight year, county workers will not receive a raise.

The proposal also calls for closing the remaining two public swimming pools, located in Land O’ Lakes and Hudson, to save $290,000 in annual operating costs and $100,000 in repairs. County Commissioner Jack Mariano said he will not vote for a budget that includes drying up the facilities.

“It’s vital that we have these pools open,” Mariano said. “I think we could work a deal to keep them open with private companies running them. That will keep the cost down.”

County parks director Rick Buckman said he has a tentative agreement with the Land O’ Lakes Lightning swimming club to operate the pool at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Parkway. He did not elaborate on any details, except the plan would include some public use. Buckman said no club has stepped up to help run the pool in Hudson.

The swimming and diving teams from Land O’ Lakes, Sunlake, River Ridge and Hudson high schools use the public pools for home meets and practices. Buckman said he will be meeting with the coaches from the schools to discuss further options.

While raises and pools may be on the chopping block, Pasco’s budget situation could have been a lot worse if the county hadn’t saved $4.2 million from the current fiscal year. Additionally, the state Legislature’s new requirement for government workers to contribute 3 percent toward their own pension plan saved another $5.6 million.

The proposed budget will continue to be discussed at various workshops and commission meetings before being adopted in September. It will need to be approved to go in place by Oct.1.

For more information on the Pasco budget, visit portal.pascocountyfl.net.

 

By B.C. Manion

Martinez Middle School will serve as a model site for schools throughout the nation that are implementing the College Board’s SpringBoard curriculum.

The school was notified of its selection in a June 24 letter to Principal Shaylia McRae from Pamela L. Nelson, vice president of SpringBoard.

The middle school is among the inaugural group of schools to be designated for the distinction. Strawberry Crest High, located in Dover, received the designation for high schools.

The two Hillsborough County public schools were the only schools in the Tampa Bay region to be among the 14 finalists considered for the distinction.

The award carries $10,000 worth of SpringBoard professional development services and also may include opportunities to pilot new and innovative products and services.

McRae is delighted by her school’s honor and she gives considerable credit for the achievement to her staff for the collaborative work they have done.

“It’s the teachers that are doing the work, day in and day out. They’re doing the planning, they’re monitoring the progress of students. They’re putting together all of the work that needs to be done,” McRae said. “They work together in professional learning communities, every grade, every subject.”

The essence of SpringBoard is to deliver a rigorous curriculum in a student-centered learning environment, McRae said.

Teachers do “backward planning” which involves looking at what they want students to know and figuring out how to get there, she said.

“We definitely have a very collaborative culture at the school. That’s what makes it work,” the principal said.

“You’re not on an island by yourself as a teacher. You’re working together, on a team of professionals to help the kids.

“They recognize each other strengths and they really build on that. They’re not afraid to help each other. They’re not afraid to share. They’re not afraid to get help,” said McRae, giving her staff 90 percent of the credit for the school’s accomplishment and granting 10 percent of the credit to herself for her leadership and support.

SpringBoard’s Nelson commended Martinez Middle in her letter: “The integration of SpringBoard into your school’s professional learning communities received high marks from our site selection team, and is representative of the quality of your implementation.”

SpringBoard aims to prepare students to perform well in Advanced Placement courses, in college and in other postsecondary experiences.

“The focal point is student learning, with high levels of student engagement with a rigorous curriculum. It starts right with sixth grade,” McRae said.

SpringBoard’s curriculum is the foundation for the Hillsborough County’s middle school and high school language arts program and serves as a supplement to the mathematics curriculum for those grades.

The curriculum includes numerous strategies that are intended to help students become more effective learners.

For instance, in language arts, one strategy involves making predictions about what information will be presented next. Another strategy calls for summarizing or paraphrasing material, and a third strategy calls for conducting timed writing exercises.

The “predicting” strategy “helps the reader to be actively involved, interested and mentally prepared to understand ideas,” according to SpringBoard materials.

The “summarizing or paraphrasing” strategy “helps students to comprehend or recall text.”

And, the “timed writing” strategy “accustoms students to writing under time pressures” which the student will encounter in state testing, placement exams and real-word situations, the SpringBoard materials state.

“It really is a good curriculum,” McRae said. “I know it was met with some hesitation. It is a little bit more prescribed than what we had been used to doing. It does take away a little bit of the autonomy. But, it’s a great curriculum.”

SpringBoard is the foundational instructional component of the College Board’s College Readiness System and is used by more than 1 million students in more than 1,000 schools nationwide.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

By Kyle LoJacono

This week will look into how Ten Cent Road, Tommytown, Trilcoochee, Trilby and Wesley Chapel got their names.

(1) TEN CENT ROAD dates back to the Great Depression. At the time, Work Projects Administration (WPA) workers built a road about 5 miles long that stretched from Ehren Cutoff to connect with Pump Station Road in Land O’ Lakes. Those workers where paid 10 cents per hour, which is where the name comes from.

(2) TOMMYTOWN was named after Tommy Barfield, who owned much of the area in Dade City after World War II. Barfield bought the land with Dorothy Lock, which was just next to what was then called the Pasco Packing Association and was later named Lykes Pasco. Barfield worked in the plant and also helped build many of the block duplex apartments in the area.

The land also included what would eventually become Lock Street, also known as Calle De Milagros, which is named after Dorothy Lock. Today, Tommytown is generally associated with the area along Lock between 14th and 21st streets.

(3) TRILCOOCHEE is the area between Trilby and Lacoochee north of Dade City along CR 575, also known as Trilby Road. The center of the community is along US 301. It is sometimes spelled Trilacoochee locally, but appears as Trilcoochee on most maps.

(4) TRILBY was named for George du Maurier’s Trilby, which was published serially in Harper’s Monthly in 1894. It was released as a book for the first time in 1895 and sold 200,000 copies in the United States, a large number at the time. The popularity of the book is what caused the community’s naming. Today, the area is normally associated with the area north of Dade City along CR 575, also called Trilby Road, around US 98.

(5) WESLEY CHAPEL is the area between Land O’ Lakes and Zephyrhills/Dade City in east Pasco County. The community was originally called Double Branch after the twin creeks that flowed across the area. Its named was changed after the opening of the Methodist chapel on the corner of SR 54 and Boyette Road. That church was named for John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement.

The name Wesley Chapel first appeared in Hernando County school board records from 1877-1878, before Pasco separated from the county to its north. A post office operated in the area from 1897-1902. The post office was called Wesley on maps during that period.

The area was considered part of Zephyrhills for most of the 1900s, until the current Wesley Chapel post office opened in 1997. Today the town has nearly 45,000 residents. If it was an incorporated city, it would be the largest municipality in Pasco.

For additional information on these areas and how they got their names, visit www.fivay.org.

*The Laker and the Lutz News series on how historic places were named will continue throughout the summer. Information is provided by interviews with Pasco County historian Jeff Miller of Fivay.org and the West Pasco Historical Society. See how Lutz got its name next week.