Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The 64th Lutz Independence Day Celebration at Bullard Park brought out thousands for carnival-style food, the annual parade and to take in one of the small town’s biggest traditions — the naming of the Guv’na.

Four tossed their hats in the ring for the honor this year, and Kevin Wright emerged victorious.

Wright, a partner in the Lutz-based restaurant Splash! An Ocean Grill, was the last to sign up, but he got some advice from 2009 victor Suzin Carr on how to win.

“It was the 11th hour when I signed up,” Wright said. “I got some advice from Suzin on ways to raise money. Also, my partner at Splash (Chip Roehl) is an advertising guy and helped get the word out. I didn’t realize how much over my head I was at first and I needed a lot of people to come out on top.”

Wright’s strategy was to have more events than any other candidate, with two every week for the six-week campaign, instead of one or two large fundraisers.

“We just kept saying, let’s do another event and another,” Wright said. “It’s all for a good cause, but I did want to win. As I was standing up on the stage I was thinking I have to win this. I wanted to go all out.”

Wright had attended the celebration every year with his family since they came to Lutz 21 years ago. He said he has always wanted to run for the post and finally decided to go for it.

“This all happened because my wife Kelly and daughters Cierra and Taylor supported me the whole way,” Wright said. “A lot of local restaurants helped me out too and Chip really helped with the marketing.

“I also need to thank the Lutz Civic Association for putting this on each year because I had no idea how much it takes to do,” Wright said. “They motivate and support the candidates so we can raise the most money for all the local charities.”

His campaign raised about $6,200, some $3,000 more than the total brought in during last year’s race.

Civic Association representative Eleanor Cecil said the overall amount this year would not be available for a few days as they tally up every penny.

The money eventually goes to the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Women’s Club, which will use all of it to fund local charities like scouts, the Civil Air Patrol and scholarships for area children.

The other three candidates for Guv’na included Annette Bellingar, Mitch Smithey and Sheila Tramontana.

Wright was sworn in as the Guv’na on a copy of “Green Eggs and Ham” by 2010 Guv’na Stephanie Ensor.

“Being Guv’na gave me the opportunity to learn more about the community and raise money for charities,” Ensor said. “It was everything I expected and then some. I got to wear my sash around and pretend like I was famous for a year.

“I also have an appreciation for what makes this event happen each year. It takes a lot of hands helping out and it’s all volunteers,” Ensor continued. “I’m more inspired than ever to live in this community because it takes a lot to pull off something like this.”

The day started out with the annual 5K race and also included local vendors selling various foods and holiday related items, a parade and a cake bake contest and auction.

The parade had floats from groups like the scouts, youth sports organizations, churches, politicians and groups like the Lutz Patriots.

By Ayana Stewart

At the annual Sparklebration festival in Dade City, the air was filled with the smell of popcorn, the excited shrieks of children playing games and anticipation for an entertaining Independence Day.

Festivalgoers weren’t disappointed. There was something for everyone, regardless of age or background. The event featured free face painting, multiple eating contests, performances from talented artists, a petting zoo, skydiving and more.

Devon Dougherty is a member of Victorious Life Church in Wesley Chapel. The church brought pens, trinkets and toys and handed out free goodie bags to passerby. “It’s our third year at Sparklebration,” Devon explained. “We love serving our community and being out here.”

Although the skies darkened and rain started to fall halfway through the festival, it didn’t put a damper on the high spirits of patrons. Instead of leaving because of the storm, most waited the weather out in tents and chatted.

Laura and Aaron Fisk teach at a school for military children in Japan and visit family in Florida every summer.  They brought their son Maddux to Sparklebration for the first time and didn’t regret it.

“It seemed like a lot of fun. There’s a lot to do and we’re excited for the fireworks,” Laura Fisk said.

Patrick Grady, a comedic hypnotist, filled up the Dan Cannon auditorium and captivated his audience with his fast-paced routine that was a hybrid between stand-up company and hypnosis of willing volunteers.

Ed and Wendy Morris of Wesley Chapel waited patiently in the long line in front of the free face-painting booth.

“We came because of our teenagers,” Wendy said. “It’s been nice.”

By B.C. Manion

Sophia Sokolowski isn’t quite sure when her love for science was born.

Perhaps it isn’t obvious to her because she grew up in a household of science-minded parents.

Her mom, Holly Sokolowski was involved in research for the cochlear implant in the years before Sophia, now 17, was born.

And her dad, Bernd Sokolowski, is director of otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) at the University of South Florida.

Sophia remembers going to the labs at USF when she was quite young.

“I loved looking up and seeing these giant microscopes,” she said. “You know, when you’re little, everything is so big compared to your size.

“I thought it was awesome.

“That,” she said, “would be my first introduction to science.”

Fast-forward to eighth-grade when Sophia noticed that when she switched her iPod with her friends, their iPods were always louder than hers.

That spurred an idea for a science project: She compared the hearing of her peers to that of older people.

“I found out that some of the kids who were my age were already experiencing hearing loss,” said Sophia, who will be a senior this fall at Academy at the Lakes, an independent private school in Land O’ Lakes.

Her interest in hearing loss continued and she spent countless hours last year working on a project she called, “Audio Perception: Plotting the Pathway of the BK Channel.”

The project took first place in the biochemistry division of the 2011 Pasco Regional Science and Engineering Fair and second place in the same division at the Florida State Science and Engineering Fair.

It also captured two awards — one from the U.S Army and the other from the U.S. Air Force — at the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, with prizes totaling about $5,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds. The competition, in Los Angeles this year, drew the top 1,500 projects from around the world this year.

Ask Sophia about her project and she’ll lay it out in technical terms. But she’s also able to break it down in simpler terms for those who operate below her level of scientific sophistication.

In part, she identified and cloned proteins important in hearing loss that could have an impact in rehabilitating those who have suffered hearing loss, and in preventing hearing loss in others.

“Hearing loss is a huge phenomenon in today’s society. We have troops coming back from the war and they have hearing loss from IEDs (improvised explosive devices), artillery fire and explosives,” she said.

It may also help others who suffer hearing damage from playing their personal music devices too loud. Sophia said she felt pretty confident that her project would do well at her school’s science fair, but she wasn’t sure how it would do at larger competitions.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to go to state because there were some other really great projects there. I was really, really nervous. I had absolutely no idea that I was going to internationals.”

However, she said, going to the international competition was something she’d hoped to accomplish.

She wanted to go so she could mingle with kids from around the world who have brilliant ideas.

“It was amazing. It was one of the best experiences in my life,” she said.

It was great to be around so many outstanding science students, Sophia said.

“They’re so intelligent and they’re so nice. And they’re normal,” she said, noting she hit it off so well with some of the kids that they struck up friendships and they’ve stayed in touch.

She’s aware of the stereotype that many people have of science whiz kids.

“Honestly, even if we’re nerds, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Sophia said.

Sophia spent many long hours in the labs at USF, working on her research.

When she encountered terms that she just didn’t understand, she turned for help to her Academy at the Lakes science teacher, Amy Jordan.

“She always had a way to relay the knowledge to me so that I understood what I was doing,” Sophia said. “She’s absolutely wonderful. She is so sweet and she’s caring and she’s understanding.”

Laura Hill, supervisor of science for kindergarten through 12^th grade in Pasco County Schools, accompanied Sophia to the international conference. This was the first time in 15 years that Pasco County brought home honors from the international competition and Sophia brought home two, Hill said.

“She’s extremely talented,” Hill said. The student’s work ethic was evident in the quality of her project and her presentation skills were impressive.

Sophia said attending another international science competition would be wonderful, but she doesn’t plan to shoot for that next year.

Instead, she’ll turn attention to a new goal: Trying to get published in a scientific journal.

Despite her accomplishments in science, it is just one of Sophia’s interests.

She’s been singing opera since she was 11 and at the moment, she’s thinking about a double major in music and medicine/health, hopefully at Stanford University.

Or, maybe she’ll pursue a degree in journalism; in which case, Northwestern University would be her first choice.

Sophia said she’s just not sure yet about what path she’ll take.

Her future, it seems, is full of possibilities.

Saint Leo’s student government donates $10,000 to effort

By B.C. Manion

A new playground may not sound like such a huge deal.

After all, what’s so important about a few swings, a slide and some spring horses?

By itself, it may not be a lot – but the playground is symbolic of a bigger effort going on in the Dade Oaks community to reclaim the neighborhood for the people who live there, said Pasco County Sheriff’s Cpl. Mary Guyer, also known as Officer Friendly.

The playground project comes on the heels of an effort to revitalize the Dade Oaks Community Center, which was once so bad that parents wouldn’t let their children use the restrooms there, Guyer said.

The refurbished center offers a safe place for children to play pool and ping-pong, watch movies and use computers. It also has a full kitchen and is used as a substation for Pasco County deputies, Guyer said.

The community center revitalization was a boost for the neighborhood, said Lisa Drevermann, a Dade Oaks resident for two years.

“It’s a totally different atmosphere that it was when I came in. It makes you feel a lot safer,” Drevermann said.

She’s looking forward to having a playground where she can take her children. She has a 4-year-old daughter, Lily Clemons and a 1-year-old son, Liam Clemons.

Crystal Wilson, another Dade Oaks resident, said her four children are excited about getting a new playground.

“Now the kids will be able to play around here,” Wilson said.

Guyer said the neighborhood’s kids are long overdue for a safe outdoor place to play.

Equipment for the playground is expected to arrive in time for installation in August, Guyer said.

Meanwhile, a concrete block wall – more than 6 feet tall – will be built to keep out the drug dealers, Guyer said.

“It’s a known drug area,” the law enforcement officer said. The drug dealers have worn a path to a spot where they’ve taken out a section of chain link fence so they can cut through.

The wall will go up and the playground will be set up on a 50-by-54-foot plot of ground where the drug dealers used to cut through, Guyer said.

Wilson said she’s glad a wall will be erected.

“They put the fence up four different times,” Wilson said. She hopes the wall will put an end to the parade of drug dealers who “walk in and out, all hours of the night.”

Saint Leo University was instrumental in the community center revitalization and also is playing a key role in the playground project, Guyer said.

“They were involved since Day 1,” she said.

Ana Di Donato, assistant vice president for student services at Saint Leo University, said students from the university’s Servant Leadership class got involved with the community center project and once they got to know the neighborhood kids, they wanted to continue helping them.

Amanda Cassar, president of the Student Government Union, and Jessica Cannon, who sits on the student government board, told Di Donato that the children in the neighborhood need a playground.

The student government executive board voted to devote $10,000 of its budget for playground equipment.

Guyer sees the playground as another step in the right direction for Dade Oaks.

“It’s the rebirth of this community,” Guyer said.

Employees face state mandate of paying into pension plans

By Kyle LoJacono

Former Pasco Sheriff Bob White battled county commissions for months about last year’s budget, something that will likely be absent from current economic discussions.

White, who retired in April, requested a $4 million increase to contend with rising benefits and retirement costs, and to higher 28 new deputies and other workers. He settled on an additional $945,000, giving the department a total of $86.4 million.

Newly appointed Sheriff Chris Nocco’s first budget request is $3 million less than last year, avoiding those difficult and heated discussions.

“We are looking for a good relationship with the county,” said Nocco, who was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott in April.

Along with the good will, the lower budget will help Pasco deal with projected budget shortfalls in other departments.

“Basically it’s a whole new world for us with this new budget proposal from the sheriff,” said Commissioner Jack Mariano. “I can honestly say I didn’t expect them to ask for less than what they received last year.”

Fellow Commissioner Ted Schrader agreed with Mariano’s sentiments: “It certainly demonstrates a spirit of cooperation between the sheriff’s office and the county commissioners. It shows he’s willing to work within the reality of the state everyone is living in right now.”

Most of the savings in the sheriff’s budget come from changes made by the state Legislature regarding government workers’ retirement funding. Such employees now have to contribute to their own pension plans.

Overall savings from last year’s sheriff budget is actually $4.5 million, but Nocco said the department plans to use the extra $1.5 million to hire 23 new employees, which would include three analysts to staff a new “intelligence-led policing” effort and eight nurses to improve medical care at the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center.

The rest of the money is slated to go to adding two new squads to combat pill mills and other illegal drug use.

Nocco said the budget illustrates a shift in philosophy, moving deputies to the areas where crimes are predicted.

“Instead of being reactive, we’re going to be proactive,” Nocco said. “That’s something I strongly believe in.”

Nocco did write a letter to the commissioners stating that the new law requiring his staff to contribute toward their own pension is essentially cutting their pay and asked them to, “address this pay issue if possible. … For their sake and ours, we need to work together to take care of them while they take care of us.”

The sheriff budget is the largest part of the county’s budget, accounting for about 40 percent of the operating funds. Pasco officials had targeted $4.9 million in cuts to close a $5.1 million shortfall in revenue projections.

A new spending proposal will be given July 12 before coming up with the final budget to go in place Oct. 1. Nocco’s budget will allow county officials to reduce cuts by more than half what was projected.

“(The commissioners) can say ‘we’d like to add that program back, or is there some way we can continue with this?’” said Pasco budget director Mike Nurrenbrock said of the wiggle room created by Nocco’s budget and other savings.

By Zack Peterson

Since the fourth grade, being involved in Girl Scouts has been sweet, sweet music to Alexis Aldamuy’s ears.

And now, 10 years later, as a graduate of Wharton High, Aldamuy’s persistence and hard work have made her a recipient of the Gold Award, the highest level of achievement a Girl Scout can earn, which she was rewarded with on June 5.

Along with the orchestra, Aldamuy started participating in Scouts 10 years ago when she moved to the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa area where her troop is based.

“I had just moved to Tampa and didn’t know anybody,” Aldamuy said. “My mom thought it was a good way to meet people.

“After awhile, I got really close to everyone. They’re all my sisters now.”

As a part of Troop 1012, Aldamuy found her passion in the activities the scouts offered.

“I really liked the events and activities we did like camping,” Aldamuy said.

After years of experience with the troop, Aldamuy first had to complete 40 hours of career leadership before pursuing the Gold Award, an honor equivalent to the Eagle Scout Award in boy scouting, and a task that requires numerous steps.

As a prerequisite to the Gold Award, Aldamuy and other scouts in her troop completed the 40 hours of career leadership by going on a college road trip that toured UF, FSU, UNF, UCF and Stetson.

“It was to get us thinking about the colleges we’d attend and future careers,” Aldamuy said.

According to Aldamuy, the Gold Award requires a detailed community service project that must fulfill 65 hours of volunteer work.

“It is a very rigorous process,” said troop leader Terri Thiele, the woman who has worked with Aldamuy and her fellow scouts for the past ten years. “Less than 5 percent of the girls her age even earn this award.”

The scout must identify a community issue and do the necessary research to become knowledgeable about the subject.  Then, they must invite others to join their cause, create the project plan, and submit it for review by their particular Girl Scout council.

After doing so, the scout must carry out the plan, inspire others and leave behind a legacy that will carry the passion behind the project for years to come.

As a dedicated violinist, Aldamuy found her inspiration for the project in the music programs around local elementary schools.

“I noticed the music programs had been diminishing, especially at the elementary school level,” Aldamuy said. “The lack of music introduced in elementary school also seemed to lead to decreased music programs in high school too.”

So, as part of her service project, she booked a room at the Holiday Inn Hotel off Bruce B. Downs to put on a program known as “Got Music?!”

There, she showcased instruments with the help of local music stores such as Bidel Music and Happy Tunes and invited local elementary schools like Clark, Pride, Hunters Green, Heritage and Lawton Chiles to give them a hands on experience.

“It was a total of 84 hours after putting everything together,” Aldamuy said. “And the legacy piece I put together was a power point I made that I gave to elementary schools detailing the instruments, the types of music they can play, and the sounds the instruments make.

“It felt like I accomplished something really big. It really helped me find what I love to do, and it was great to give that back to the community.”

Aldamuy still plans to remain involved with the scouts even though she will be attending Stetson University in the fall with the intention of majoring in English Professional Writing.

“There are still three girls pursuing the Gold Award in my troop,” Aldamuy said. “I’m still a life long Girl Scout and I’ll do whatever I can to help these girls.”

Thiele has no doubt about this.

“I feel that she’ll actively volunteer and be a positive role model for young girls everywhere,” Thiele said. “It makes me proud to say I had some involvement in being a positive role model for her.”

More Gold Scouts

Other area Girl Scouts who won the Gold Award:

Rachel Landes, Steinbrenner High

Jessica Rosenblum, King High