Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Joe Potter

Laker Correspondent

The focus was on public safety as Zephyrhills City Council members took their first in-depth look at the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The budget calls for the elimination of 11 full-time and three part-time positions as part of a belt-tightening effort during lean financial times.

Three full-time positions within the Zephyrhills Police Department — crime prevention supervisor, sergeant and school resource officer — already were vacant. City Manager Jim Drumm has recommended not filling those positions.

Councilmen Lance Smith and Charlie Proctor expressed concerns about the staffing at the police department following an Aug. 2 incident in which ZPD Officer Kevin Widener was shot at several times while trying to stop a speeding car.

Proctor said Widener and other ZPD officers deserve a large amount of thanks from the city and from the community for willingly putting their lives on the line.

Widener was not injured in the incident. Three suspects remained at large Aug. 9 A nationwide manhunt is on for their arrest.

The public should not get the perception there are fewer police officers on the street as the result of the budget Zephyrhills is considering, Drumm said.

A lieutenant within the police department is working on the road performing some of the duties done by the former sergeant. The school resources officer and crime prevention supervisor did not work the road and plans call for two additional patrolmen to be hired later this year, Drumm said.

The sergeant’s position may eventually come back if the city’s financial situation improves, Drumm said.

The City Council agreed Aug. 1 to tentatively set the city’s millage rate at $5.999 per $1,000 of assessed property tax value. This is the current tax rate for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Approving this millage rate would mean many city residents would pay less in property taxes this year because the average value of property within Zephyrhills has declined by three percent.

City employees would receive 2.75 percent raises under the proposed budget. This would help to offset a 3 percent contribution they are required to make into the state retirement system.

Zephyrhills previously contributed to city workers’ retirement funds. A new law, effective July 1, now requires the city employees to pay into the retirement fund.

The council plans to discuss the budget again at its next meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, in City Council chambers. Also, public hearings on the proposed budget will be held in council chambers at 6 p.m. on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26.

In other business Monday, city council:

• Agreed to increase by $7,500 the financial support the city will provide to the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, brining the total to $10,000.

• Appointed Zephyrhills High School Principal Steve Van Gorden to fill a vacancy on the Zephyrhills Planning Commission created when Marcus Price moved outside the city limits.

• Instructed City Attorney Joseph Poblick to prepare a Job Creation Incentive Ordinance similar to one Pasco County commissioners adopted in 2010, giving the city another tool to use in its efforts to attract businesses to locate in Zephyrhills.

• Learned the city has $1.5 million in the library reserve fund for expansion of the current library or construction of a new one.

• Learned the city has $3.2 million in the Zephyrhills Nursing Home Fund. Proceeds from this fund may be used to plug some shortfalls.

 

By Kyle LoJacono

This week, our final installment of What’s in a Name will look into how Wiregrass and Zephyrhills got their names.

(1) WIREGRASS RANCH is named after an actual ranch owned by the Porter family, which bought 14,000 acres of land in the section of Wesley Chapel in 1941.

The ranch stretched from east of New River in Pasco County down into Lutz and New Tampa in Hillsborough County. Today, the Porters own about 5,000 acres of the original land.

The Porters, who still raise cattle on the land, first moved to the area in 1946. At that time, the area was known as Gatorville, the name used to mail things to the town.

A variety of wild grass known as wiregrass grows naturally in the area, which grew thick enough to make walking through large portions of the fields nearly impossible when the Porters first bought the land.

It was not until 1950 when a friend of the Porters, Ed Madill, sent the family a postcard while on vacation in Mexico. Madill did not have the Porter’s address, so he sent it to Wiregrass Porter, Gatorville, FL USA. It made it to the family’s home and the name Wiregrass stuck.

Today, Wiregrass Ranch is generally associated with the area of Wesley Chapel near the intersection of SR 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, including The Shops at Wiregrass and Wiregrass Ranch High.

The Porters started selling large parts of the original ranch in 1972, with Saddlebrook Resort as the first buyer. The next year the land for Meadow Pointe was sold to a developer. The Shops at Wiregrass opened in 2008 and has more than 100 businesses.

(2) ZEPHYRHILLS was first named March 10, 1910. Before it became Zephyrhills, the area in east Pasco County was called Abbott, after a local doctor named J.M. Abbott. The former town became known as Abbot Station after two train depots were opened within it.

Howard Jeffries, a retired Union Army captain, first came to central Florida looking for a land to farm to supplement his pension.

In 1909, Jeffries bought 35,000 acres of land from James Lee Greer, who owned Greer Sawmill. Jeffries first planted the property in 1910.

Zephyrhills was officially incorporated as a city in 1914 when the Zephyrhills Colony Company was formed.

There are two stories as to how the city got its name. The first comes from when Jeffries signed the contract to buy the land. The deal happened on top of LeHeup Hill between Zephyrhills and Dade City. The word Zephyr actually means breezes, so the name Zephyrhills stuck.

The other speculation is the first person to survey the city had either a first or last name of Hill.

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

This concludes The Laker and the Lutz News series on how historic places were named. Information is provided by interviews with Pasco County historian Jeff Miller of Fivay.org and the West Pasco Historical Society.

 

By Zack Peterson

It all started with a bike ride.

Two years ago, Tracey Tripp and Kathy Vaughn were riding one Sunday morning and first starting talking about something new to the both of them: opening a business together.

The wishful thinking resulted in Suncoast Running, which opened last fall under the ownership of Tripp and Vaughn and their husbands, Paul Tripp and Scott Vaughn.

“I’ve always loved running,” Tracey Tripp said.

As a dedicated runner for the past four years, Tripp and her partners wanted to give the community a running store that would provide local runners with any necessities they might need — and more.

According to Tripp, one of the main goals of Suncoast Running is outreach.

“Outreach is one of our big things here,” Tripp explained. “And one way to reach out to the community is through training programs.”

Training programs are used to help “people interested in running.”

“Through our training programs we get these people into the sport,” Tripp said.

The training programs provide runners with the tools necessary to train for a race. Though the programs themselves may vary from race to race, runners who sign up for them receive a free gait analysis, proper shoe fitting, a pair of running shoes, socks, a water bottle, a program shirt, a Suncoast Running car magnet, the training program itself and training group runs.

“It’s encouraging in a group setting,” Tripp said. “It’s the accountability, knowing that people are looking for you each week.”

So far, Suncoast Running has hosted two 5K training programs and a single one-mile training program for kids.

According to Tripp, 18 people signed up for the most recent 5K training program.

“I think people are more interested in group training,” Tripp said.

In the fall, Suncoast Running will be offering two new training programs, the first being a half marathon geared towards having its runners ready for the Women’s Half Marathon on Nov. 20, and the second being a 10K with the goal race for the program being the Clearwater Turkey Trot on Nov. 24.

But presently, to keep the community of runners engaged over the summer, Suncoast Running is also offering free group runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

On Tuesday, runners are encouraged to meet at World of Beer on Linebaugh Avenue at 6:30 p.m. for the Run for Brews, a six-mile run throughout the neighborhoods of Westchase. Wednesday is the Up and Running six-mile route for early birds at 6 a.m. Runners are to meet at the store and water is provided afterwards. Lastly, Thursday is the Thirsty Thursday Run at 7 p.m. where runners depart from the store and run distances up to six miles.

For anyone interested, Suncoast Running can be reached at (813) 428-5946.

 

Info Box

Suncoast Running

• 18855 SR 54, Lutz
• Monday through Friday:  10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Saturday:  10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Sunday:  Noon to 5 p.m.

 

By B.C. Manion

With its lime green walls, curved orange counters and modernistic white chairs, Frogury has a signature style that makes it look and feel like a chain.

That’s intentional.

The owners of self-service frozen yogurt shop in New Tampa — just across County Line Road —  are hoping it will be just the first of many of its kind.

“We wanted to do this one first, learn, and then see if we wanted to continue on doing the chain. So far, so good. We’ve had a great response so far,” said Joshua Candamo, one of the shop’s owners.

The plan is to open two more of the shops in Tampa within a year, although locations have not been selected yet.

“We like to think of yogurt as being fun, tasty and fresh,” said Candamo, who owns the business along with Tomas Echarte, a friend he met when they were students at the University of South Florida.

The shop opened at 6431 E. County Line Road, Suite 110 on July 23. It specializes in frozen yogurt, fruit salads, fresh fruit juices, espresso, cappuccino and lattes.

“We’ve had a great response so far,” Candamo said.

“Our target audience in here is family first. The kind of music we have will always be safe for kids. The entertainment we’re going to have on the weekends is always going to be for the families,” he said.

The frozen yogurt is served from dispensers bearing the Yogury brand name. Flavors include Tahitian vanilla, classic chocolate, cake batter, very strawberry, mango sorbet, cherry amaretto and California tart.

“You start there with a base. Our base is always going to be healthy, Candamo said.

“You’ll always see us trying to give the choice to the client,” Candamo said, adding patrons are encouraged to try a sample of as many flavors as they’d like.

Toppings range from seasonal fruits to assorted candies. There’s also fruit puree sauces as well as caramel, white chocolate, sugar free dark chocolate and dark chocolate toppings.

Once they finish topping off their yogurt, they are charged by the ounce.

Most customers spend between $2.50 and $4.50 on a treat, Candamo said.

The shop also serves 15 kinds of lattes, with flavors including caramel, peppermint, toffee nut and white chocolate, just to mention a few.

The idea is to offer variety.

“You can come here with your kids and everyone can get whatever they want,” Candamo said.

“We have the sweets. We have the tarts. We have the sorbets. We have the traditional flavors. We empower the client with a choice, thinking they’re going to make the right choice because you know what’s good for you.”

There are choices for vegans, too.

Fresh fruit juices also are sold at the shop. They are squeezed by hand with no sugar or water added, Candamo said.

The shop is open daily, from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.

The shop’s icon is a heart, which it incorporates into some of its designs. It stands for having a healthy heart, Candamo said. “It’s nice that we have a healthy alternative.”

For more information, go to Frogury.com.

 

By Zack Peterson

Tucked among the numerous storefronts at The Shops at Wiregrass lies Sim City Golf, a business dedicated to providing a unique indoor golf experience to golfers of all ages and skill levels with the Golf Blaster 3D simulator.

Sim City Golf has offered this technology to golfers since June 1, helping golf enthusiasts enjoy their game sans the sweltering summer heat.

Originally, Sim City Golf was jump-started from the partnership of Tim Polce, Fred Bender and their overseas partner, Jan Burger.

Both PGA pros and golf enthusiasts, Polce and Bender found that the simulated Golf Blaster 3D experience was extremely popular.

“We have a learning center at the Pasadena Hills Golf Resort in Zephyrhills,” Polce explained. “And my partner (Bender) and I have another Golf Blaster 3D machine at that facility.

“It’s very popular up there so we decided to expand and bring it down here.”

The technology itself relies on sensors. According to Polce, the simulator is coated with sensors from the tee pad to the ceiling and even on the floor.

“It’s extremely accurate,” Polce said. “It’s definitely more than just a video game.”

Each of the four Golf Blasters at Sim City Golf contains a multitude of options. Golfers can enjoy a digital round of golf at one of 60 world famous courses, practice on a high-tech driving range that gives in-depth analysis of each shot, play a round of putt-putt golf or even challenge friends to a game of target golf or “breaking windows.”

“It’s a good alternative,” Polce said. “You’re going to hit all the same shots that you would outside but without sweating.”

Prior to the Golf Blasters success, Polce and Bender had been looking for adequate simulator technology for the past couple years.

According to Polce, the Golf Blaster was “the best ball measuring system of all the simulators.”

But Sim City Golf offers more than just an alternative to golfing in extreme heat; it also offers its customers beer, wine, weekend tournaments and even lessons given on the simulator. Alongside fitted clubs and opportunities for golfers of all handicaps, Sim City Golf strives to provide its customers with a complementary experience.

“We like to stay up late and provide all this so that people have something to do,” Polce said.

For those interested in booking a tee time at Sim City Golf, they are available up to three days in advance and can be reached at (813) 973-2222.

“You know you’ve got something good when even the good golfers like it,” Polce said. “We want to get people interested in this.”

Sim City Golf

The Shops at Wiregrass

29329 Paseo Drive, Suite #1130

Wesley Chapel

• Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Sunday 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
• www.simcitygolf.com
• Simulators can be rented out at a flat rate starting at $30-40 per hour for any size party

Additional location

The Pasadena Hills Golf Resort also features “The Golf Blaster 3D simulator”

7031 Whitney Ashton Lane, Zephyrhills

(813) 857-5430

 

 

Company delivers organic items to your door

By B.C. Manion

Tampa Bay Organics operates on a simple premise.

People want to eat healthy, but they don’t have time to track down the good fruits and vegetables that they need.

So this Lutz-based company will do that job for them and will deliver the fresh fruits and veggies wherever the customer wants them – their front door, back porch, business, even their neighbor’s house.

It’s a customer-driven business, said Jessica Papesh, the marketing director of the company, located on the west side of US 41, just south of SR 54.

The company makes deliveries once a week in a market area that stretches from Clearwater to Plant City, Ruskin to Shady Hills.

The service area will continue to expand as the service grows, Papesh said.

Customers choose how often they want deliveries and decide whether they want a small, medium or large box of produce. They also select whether they want all veggies, all fruit, or a combination. The prices are $29.50 for a small box; $38 for a medium box; and $47.50 for a large box.

They can indicate if there’s a fruit or vegetable that they never want, and they can make up to three substitutions for items in every delivery, Papesh said.

“These days, people want exactly what they want, and I don’t blame them,” said Al Tizer, one of the company’s owners.

The company guarantees the quality of its produce.

“You don’t get charged until the day after your delivery, so we can make sure everything makes it to you safe and sound,” Papesh said.

Tizer said he’s not aware of any other business in the Tampa Bay region that provides a home delivery service for organic produce.

The service provides a convenient source of fresh organics.

“The fact that it’s brought to your doorstep, it just can’t be beat,” Papesh said.

“People want to save time. When you’re busy and you want to lead a healthy lifestyle, it’s difficult. It’s hard to find the time to eat healthy. Especially, if you have a family, you want to keep healthy food in the house. You won’t find the variety of food that we have in a grocery store.

“You’d find yourself going to many stores and spending countless hours and still not being able to find what we have,” Papesh said.

“We just want to make it very, very easy for people,” Tizer said.

Besides having access to a variety of organic fruits and vegetables, patrons can rest assured that they’re getting genuine organics, Papesh said.

“We’re strictly organic. All of the farms and distributors that we use are 100 percent certified USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) organic. So, our customers know that everything they’re getting is organic, and that comes with the labels on each of the individual items,” she said.

“We try to buy local as much as possible,” Papesh said.

During the local growing season, the company will buy as much local produce as possible, Papesh said. At other times, they buy from distributors of organic produce.

“Our menu varies on a weekly basis,” Papesh said.

Last week’s small fruit and veggie combo box, for instance, include oranges, a cucumber, a mango, spinach, carrots, apples, corn and grapes.

“We take suggestions from our customers and we try to keep a good variety in the boxes. “We’ve got some staple items, like apples, bananas, we’ll do every week. We’ll always do a leafy green.

“We try to do like one item that you may not necessarily buy all of the time at the grocery store. Keep it fresh for the customer. If we ever do something that you may not have heard of, or you’ve never bought, then we’ll put something in our email that goes out, like try this recipe, or cook it like this, store it like this,” Papesh said.

The idea is to keep customers informed and to do the legwork for them, she said.

The company makes its deliveries on Tuesdays, at the moment. As it grows, it plans to increase its deliveries.

“We ask that everyone leave a cooler out and some ice packs, just to keep it as fresh and crisp as possible. We do put an ice pack in with the delivery.”

The company also has a website that is very easy to use, Papesh said. It was developed by Tizer’s business partner, Wayne Pierson, who lives in California.

For more information about Tampa Bay Organics, visit www.tampabayorganics.com, call (813) 949-1112 or email

 

By Zack Peterson

While Eric Rapp laid in a pool of his own blood, he knew this was a sign from God that his life needed a change. A major one.

Eight years ago, Rapp was a firefighter/paramedic, fresh out of the Army Rangers and ready for whatever life could throw at him. Then one evening, while out with his wife and friends at a bar, he walked out to his car to put his phone away when Rapp said a gang of a dozen-plus men approached him, looking to take his money.

Rapp managed to successfully fend them off, in part, he said, due to his Army Ranger training. Out of fear, he quickly attempted to escape with his wife before anything else could happen.

However, the cops showed up, saw the knocked-out gang members and assumed the worst.

Rapp said they hauled him out of his car, and when they found him still standing, assumed he was a threat.

“I got thwacked right in the back with one of their flashlights and had three shattered vertebrae disks,” Rapp said. “When they (the police) cut me out of my car, I was out of it because I got hit in the head during the fight. I had no idea what was going on and assumed the fight was starting up again.”

He was charged with multiple felonies, including battery on law enforcement.

“That moment,” he said, “changed my life considerably.”

Ultimately, the battery charges were dropped. Court records show Rapp was sentenced to probation on lesser charges; Rapp said he completed an anger management class.

Change

That moment made Rapp re-evaluate his life and everything he had come to know. Wanting to make a new beginning, Rapp opened The Program of Land O’ Lakes at the Impact Sports Academy with the goal of providing the community with a sports center and an after-school care environment. The Program provides 12-18 year olds with a safe environment after school that Rapp believes they can’t find elsewhere.

“It’s so dangerous out there these days,” Rapp said. “There’s kids getting tangled up in the wrong thing one time and it kills them.

“It leaves kids to fend for themselves after the bell rings at 2, and we want to be here for those kids who are too old for after-school programs.”

His idea came to life on July 16 with the grand opening of The Program.

Struggle

But getting there was no small feat.

After the major conflict, what came next was the most challenging. Eight long years passed by, with Rapp struggling each day to overcome the damage done to his back.

But soon, he found it affected too much of his everyday life.  He couldn’t pick up a stretcher. Couldn’t do his job. Couldn’t do anything. Rapp had to quit his job. Beyond that, his commitment floundered in other areas of his life too.

His involvement as the assistant wrestling coach at Pasco High also decreased as his injury worsened.

“As I grew worse and worse, I just couldn’t handle it,” Rapp said.

Forced to work odd construction jobs here and there, Rapp continued his struggle as he tried to provide for his family.

Recovery

It wasn’t till May that Rapp finally had reconstructive surgery done.

After visiting surgeon Dr. Anthony Moreno, Rapp discovered that treatment was available and do-able. The surgery was performed in May, Rapp said, without any complications.

Recovery brought its own series of challenges.

Lying in bed late one night, Rapp woke up suddenly in pitch darkness to discover he was covered in blood. It coated the side of his body, and bubbled in one massive pool between his legs.

According to Rapp, his catheter came unattached and wasn’t fixed, causing blood to flow back out of his vein freely.

Rapp believes that had he not woken up so late at night, he wouldn’t have made it to where he is today.

“I can tell you what it’s like being in a room full of machine gun fire and know that you’re not supposed to have these memories and live. But I knew that this was the closest I was to ever truly dying,” Rapp said.

“It was a sign from God that I made it,” Rapp said. “It made me realize I need to be thinking, ‘I have one shot on this merry-go-round of life, how can I do something great for my community?’”

That’s when Rapp emerged, after eight years of strenuous turmoil, a new man and ready to make a change.

New Beginning

Luckily for Rapp, the change came to him.

“My neighbor came to my door one day while I was resting and asked if I was interested in working with wrestling again and kids.”

From there, The Program pieced itself together.

Rapp went and spoke to local churches asking for volunteers for his new project to help watch the kids and assist them with minor homework-related problems. He bought a bus. He went out spreading the word and hiring instructors for the various classes he hopes to have.

Officially, The Program is a non profit organization, and it offers indoor batting cages, softball, wrestling, martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading and group fitness.

For the after-school care, Rapp also contracted Knowledge Points learning program for those children who need further assistance or tutoring.

“We made it,” Rapp said. “Our expectations for this are way up high and we’re not quite there yet, but we’ve had a great response and everyone’s ecstatic.

“We’re just going to keep getting better and provide for the community in every way possible.”

The Program can be reached at (813) 909-8815 and is located right off Land O’ Lakes Boulevard on Carson Drive.

 

County give park workers authority to issue tickets

By Kyle LoJacono

 

Pasco Parks and Recreation Department workers and police officers have at least one thing in common. Both can now write tickets to enforce user fees for the county’s 11 regional parks.

County commissioners voted 4-1 on July 26 to give park workers the authority to write tickets to those not complying with the $2 fee to park at the regional sites.

The lone no vote came from Commissioner Jack Mariano, who represents much of the county’s park-intensive Gulf coast. Mariano has opposed the fee since it began last year and was less than pleased with giving authority to write tickets to parks workers.

“I hear from citizens and business owners around the parks on the water and they all hate the fees,” Mariano said. “It’s hurting business and driving people away from the parks.”

While the fees may not be popular, parks director Rick Buckman said they are the only way to prevent closing recreation facilities, either for several days a week or permanently.

“We’ve lost more than 30 percent of our budget during the last three years and we’re losing another $470,000 next year,” Buckman said. “We needed to find a way to come up with more funds for the department and user fees was the best way to do that.”

Commissioner Pat Mulieri said the fees are the best way to preserve services for the public.

“We had several public meetings last year to hear what the public wanted us to do,” Mulieri said. “Most people said they didn’t want parks closed. They didn’t want us to raise taxes on everyone, so it was determined the best thing to do was charge those who use the parks the most.”

The flaw in the system was parks workers had no authority to enforce the fees. The plan was for the department to raise $691,000 this year, but it has collected only 20 percent of that goal.

“All we could do was call the police like anyone else,” Buckman said. “That isn’t the best use of their time to come out and write tickets for parking violators at the parks.”

Buckman said he doesn’t want to see workers writing tickets left and right either.

“Hopefully people will understand there are consequences and just pay the $2 to park,” Buckman said. “It’s the best thing for the parks they enjoy and it’s cheaper than a ticket.”

Mariano suggested using part of the $1.1 million given to the county by Sheriff Chris Nocco, which was left over from this current fiscal year, to plug the shortfall. That money is currently pegged to help with balancing the 2011-12 budget.

“We just have to make the decision that we’re going to fund the parks the way we built them,” Mariano said. He then added, “I’m not comfortable with putting money into reserves when we’re cutting the parks.”

Mariano also made an attempt to convince other commissioners to increase taxes to pay for parks while eliminating the user fees.

Commissioner Henry Wilson expressed concern of adding another responsibility on parks workers already stretched to their limits by layoffs and other cuts.

“I’m concerned that our staff is already overworked,” Wilson said. “Is it going to take away from their day job? Are they OK with this?”

Buckman did say several parks workers are somewhat uneasy with writing tickets.

“But they understand it has to be done,” Buckman said.

For more information on Pasco parks, visit portal.pascocountyfl.net.

 

Pasco parks with entry fees

• Withlacoochee River Park, 12449 Withlacoochee Blvd., Dade City
• Suncoast Trail, stretches from Lutz into Hernando though central Pasco
• Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd., Odessa
• Crews Lake Wilderness Park, 16739 Crews Lake Drive, Spring Hill
• Anclote River Park, 1119 Baillies Bluff Road, Holiday
• Anclote Gulf Park, 2305 Baillies Bluff Road, Holiday
• Key Vista Park, 2700 Baillies Bluff Road, Holiday
• Moon Lake Park, 8985 Lake Drive, New Port Richey
• Robert K. Rees Memorial Park, 4835 Green Key Road, New Port Richey
• Eagle Point Park, 4499 Strauber Memorial Highway, New Port Richey
• Robert J. Strickland Memorial Park, 6345 Clark St., Hudson