Special to The Laker/Lutz News

WHAT’S IN A NAME

By Kyle LoJacono

This week will look into how LeHeup Hill, McLeod, Meridian Avenue, Prospect and Saint Leo got their names.

(1) LEHEUP HILL is named after William A. LeHeup Sr., who was born in Kingston, Ontario. He came to Florida from Wisconsin in 1911 and moved to east Pasco County with his eight children.

The hill with his name is located between Zephyrhills and Dade City, just east of Fort King Road and Lake Pasadena. It was on that very hill where, in 1909, Howard Jeffries signed the     contract to buy 35,000 acres of land from James Lee Greer. That land today is Zephyrhills.

LeHeup’s son William A. “Bill” LeHeup lived in the area until he died on April 13, 2003 at age 98.

(2) MCLEOD is the original name for Trilby, which is located north of Dade City. The area was first settled in 1879 by William McLeod and his sons Daniel, Eligah, William Jr. and Freeman. The last name was adopted as the town’s name, but was changed to Macon and eventually Trilby.

(3) MERIDIAN AVENUE is the name for SR 52 through downtown Dade City. It was named by the surveyor, whose name is lost to time, who platted the streets of the city. The surveyor picked the name of his hometown — Meridian, Miss. — for the title.

(4) PROSPECT is the area around Prospect Road in Dade City just east of Saint Leo. It got its name from Prospect Branch Arbor Church, where many sects of Christians came together to worship. The original church was located next to a large spring that has since dried up.

(5) SAINT LEO the town is located between San Antonio and Dade City on SR 52. Saint Leo College, now university, and Abbey are within the town’s borders and are named for three Leos.

The first Leo is Pope Saint Leo I the Great. He was the pope who fended off Attila the Hun from the gates of Rome in 452. Secondly, the reigning pontiff at the time the college opened was Pope Leo XIII. Lastly Leo Haid, who accepted responsibility for the Florida mission in 1889 from Saint Vincent Archabbey. Haid (1849-1924) made the decision to found the college and bargained with Judge Edmund Dunne for the 36 acres on which it was built.

Haid got a charter for the college from the state, oversaw its construction and served as its first president from 1890-94.

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 Ten Cent Road, Tommytown, Trilcoochee, Trilby and Wesley Chapel got their names next week.

 

Next stop: New York

By B.C. Manion

Nick Bowers is trying to solve the biggest mystery of his life.

The 31-year-old Wesley Chapel man wants to find his birth parents.

Bowers knows he was born at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital on Oct. 11, 1979, in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

He also has a description of what his parents looked like, when he was born. His mom was kind of short with light-colored hair and his dad was short and stocky, with dark hair, he said.

At least that is how they were described to his adoptive parents, Mike and Grace Bowers, who lived in Plattsburgh during Nick’s early years, but later moved to Florida.

Bowers has not been able to find out the identities of his parents.

“New York is a sealed state. I’ve already applied for non-identifying information. Nothing has come back,” he said.

To help move his search along, Bowers and his wife, Sidney, are traveling to Plattsburgh this summer. They’ll be there a few days around the time when the Plattsburgh High Class of 1981 will celebrate its 30^th reunion.

By Bowers’ calculations, it’s quite possible that his parents were members of that class.

The paramedic/firefighter for Pasco County Fire Rescue wants to be in the area before, during and after the reunion – to see if anyone can help him find his parents.

He doesn’t plan to crash the reunion.

“I want to have some tact. I’m not going to barge in. I’m not going to hinder anyone’s time who is there to see old friends and family,” Bowers said. “We have to step lightly.”

He does plan to share his story with the local newspaper, in hopes one or both of his parents, or someone who knows them, will reach out to him.

He’s even thinking about printing up some business cards that ask anyone who can help him find his biological mom and dad to get in touch with him.

Being there in person may help to drum up leads, or even better, may bring his search to a successful conclusion, he said.

Bowers said he began looking for his birth parents after he turned 18.

His adoptive parents have been supportive all along. “They’re like, ‘Whatever we can do to help, let us know.’ ”

In fact, his adoptive dad provided the first clues into the possible identity of his biological mom, Bowers said.

While his parents were going through the adoption process, Bowers said his dad happened to see the name Mary on a record, with the last name blackened out. He also saw an address — 13 Elizabeth St.

That is a valid address, but so far Bowers’ sleuthing has come up empty. He interviewed people who live in the neighborhood.

He has looked through Plattsburg High yearbooks from 1978-81, searching for any girl named Mary. He and his wife have done Internet searches to try to track down these women, but the ones they’ve found were not the right one.

Bowers said he has never viewed his adoption as a negative thing.

His parents told him when he was quite young.

“From the minute that I could comprehend it was like, ‘Oh, you’re my special little adopted boy,’ ” Bowers said.

He realizes that he might never find his biological parents, or, even if he does, they may be unwilling to establish any kind of connection.

“I’m fully prepared, if either they don’t want to meet me or they’re dead,” said Bowers, who deals with death in his line of work.

He’s hoping, however, that a personal visit will help.

He’s not concerned about why they gave him up for adoption, and he is grateful for the life he has had. Still, he would like to connect with the people who brought him into this world to get a better understanding of his genetic background, if nothing else.

“I would love to meet them. I’d like to see who I look like.”

If they’d like a deeper connection, he’s open to that, too.

“I’m such a family person, I would love to have them in my life,” Bowers said.

“It’s an interesting, intriguing story – and a question that I’d really like to have answered,” Bowers said.

By Kyle LoJacono

When Paul Kavanagh gets a glass of water, makes coffee or brushes his teeth he understands better than anyone how much effort goes into making it as easy as turning a faucet.

Kavanagh is one of the 184,000 northwest Hillsborough County residents who expect to have fresh, clean and reliable water every time they want it. Kavanagh is the plant manager for the Lake Park Water Plant on Dale Mabry, which delivers an average of eight million gallons of H₂O every day.

Kavanagh and his staff work around the clock so water service is always flowing, and have been recognized the last two years with a pair of the industry’s top state honors.

The plant was given the Most Outstanding Water Plant award in its class from the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association’s annual competition in 2010. The facility made it two in a row when it brought home the title recognizing its innovations and improvements in April.

“I got the call telling us we’d won,” said Talbert Anckle, plant supervisor. “I first thought, no way. It wasn’t what I was thinking was going to come out of the phone.”

Kavanagh was, and wasn’t, surprised with the second honor.

“To get two in a row is pretty rare because it’s statewide,” Kavanagh said. “There is a panel of five from the industry who vote on it. … We didn’t expect it to happen again, but we know we’re doing the right things. To be recognized like this, I was elated.”

Kavanagh said the first award was given based on several categories from the overall operations. For example, the plant had no system violations or chemical spills all year.

The plant employees also took initiative to enhance several of its elements, which led to the second honor.

“We added additional ammonia storage, which saves us money because we don’t have to split up shipments with other plants,” Kavanagh said. “We’re also giving additional training to our workers.”

Another upgrade was improving the plant’s aesthetics.

“The guys used their own money and they donated things they had to make the grounds look better,” Kavanagh said. “We recycle whatever we can — our cans and bottles — and use that money too. We understand the county would like to help us with those things, but there isn’t the money for it.

“For us it’s about pride in our plant and we all buy into it,” Kavanagh continued. “For example, Kevin (Kraujalis) was just hosing down part of the grounds. He didn’t have to, but he saw some dirt and he wanted to. This whole team does whatever needs to be done. That’s one of the reasons we won again. They liked our initiative.”

Kavanagh said they are constantly looking for ways to improve, but added they are basically working with the latest equipment.

Most of the daily operations involve treating the water. The facility uses a chlorine-based cleaning method. Ammonia is added to keep the water clean longer in the storage tanks while also binding up and removing all residual chlorine.

“There is some research that suggests just using free chlorine may increase cancer risk,” Kavanagh said. “The ammonia removes any chance of that happening. It’s a safety factor.”

The plant can store enough diesel fuel to operate for three weeks if it were to lose power from TECO during a hurricane or other disaster. Kavanagh said in 2004, the year the state suffered from multiple storms, the facility had to use its own fuel to keep water flowing for several days.

“If TECO comes back online, we have the materials here to manufacture the chlorine and other chemicals to supply water for a long time while everything is cleaned up,” Kavanagh said. “Part of the reason we won these awards was for our hurricane action plan. Everything is fully supplied when we know a storm is coming so people can return to some form of normal life.”

The Lake Park plant first opened in 1982 and was renovated in 2001. It can withstand up to a Category 4 hurricane. Ten workers maintain the facility, while many people on the street ensure the pipes and other infrastructure get the water to the communities.

The facility supplies water to people in Odessa/Keystone along Gunn Highway, north into Lutz along Dale Mabry and as far south as Carrollwood.

The plant can supply as much as 42 million gallons of water a day. It can also store 10 million gallons total in its two tanks.

The plant gets its water from local wells and from Tampa Bay Water, the regional supplier for Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. The water is tested at least every four hours, 24 hours a day. That includes all holidays.

“We have electronic devices that monitor things and let us know if they detect anything odd,” said Kevin Kraujalis, senior plant operator. “If that happens we go out and immediately test the water ourselves to see what needs correcting, so sometimes we test more than every four hours.”

For more information on the plant, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org.

By B.C. Manion

As Beth Brown steps into her new role as executive director for secondary schools in Pasco County Schools, she’s confident that she is leaving John Long Middle in good hands.

When Brown was named the Pasco school district’s top administrator earlier this year, she was quick to share the credit for her success with her administrative team and with teachers who helped create a culture of teamwork and success at the middle school.

“In any school, there is so much to be done, administrators can’t do it all,” Brown said, during a recent interview, as she packed up her boxes at the Wesley Chapel middle school she opened in 2006.

“So, you identify your superstar teachers — teachers that are aspiring leaders — and then you get them leading work groups and committees. That’s what this school has done so well. There is so much talent here,” Brown said.

The educator said she felt it was a good time to pursue a district post.

“This school has such a strong foundation that I feel comfortable leaving. I feel comfortable passing this amazing project, this amazing school off to a very competent principal.’’

John Long Middle’s new principal is Christine Wolff, former principal of Chasco Middle.

As Brown she assumes her new role at the district’s administrative headquarters, she expects to use the same approach that she used at John Long Middle, with a different set of people.

“Here, it was me working with my team leaders and my teachers: ‘What do we want to accomplish?’ And then, collaboratively, ‘How do we make that happen?’ ”

The process went something like this: “How do we identify our challenges? Identify our area of need, and then seek out the human resources and the resources to make it happen.

“I don’t see my structure changing or my leadership style changing at all, it’s just moving to a different level.”

Brown said she has already worked with many of the district’s principals and administrators and realizes that they can help the district tackle the challenges of increasing expectations and diminishing resources.

“Principals know their schools the best,” Brown said.

Principals know the most significant challenges their school faces and its greatest strengths. They know where their school needs help and support.

The district can help principals tackle tough issues and school administrators can help each other, Brown said.

“There’s so much talent in all of the schools. Different admin teams solve problems differently. If you put them all in a room, they’re going to come up with a solution to their problem.”

Brown joined the school district in 1991, working first as a social studies teacher at Thomas E. Weightman Middle in Wesley Chapel. She was promoted to assistant principal at Wesley Chapel High in 1999, then moved two years later to an assistant principal’s post at Weightman Middle. In 2003, she became principal at Bayonet Point Middle, where she remained until she opened John Long Middle in 2006.

“I know middle schools very well,” Brown said. “It’s been a few years since I’ve been in a high school setting, so I’ll be jumping back into high schools, learning as much as I can, as fast as possible.”

She anticipates plenty of challenges.

“The nature of secondary education, I think, is changing,” Brown said. The passage of state Senate Bill 736, the Student Success Act, will likely guide district efforts for many years to come, she said.

Among the bill’s provisions is a requirement for a new way to evaluate teachers and school administrators.

“It’s a huge departure from what we’ve done in the past,” Brown said.

That law requires at least half of an educator’s evaluation and 40 percent of a school administrator’s evaluation to be based on student learning gains.

The district will be providing training to help its principals comply to the new requirements, Brown said.

Brown said she is excited about moving into district leadership at a pivotal time for education.

“We’re really on the brink of a huge shift. It would be a good time for anyone to come into district leadership because I believe we are changing direction.”

 

By Joe Humphrey

A volunteer who attracts multiple planes to the Zephyrhills airport each year wants to bring a World War II aircraft to the city permanently.

John Bolender, organizer of the annual Bivouac and Barracks event and a volunteer at the Zephyrhills Airport Restored Barracks Museum, received city permission on Monday, July 11 to display a C-47 at the south entrance of the airport.

“It’s my plane,” Bolender said. “I’m giving it to the city.”

Bolender received the plane from a military group and has it stored at a friend’s place in Florala, Ala. He plans to raise the necessary money, $6,000, to relocate the plane from Alabama. Another $3,000-$4,000 would go toward renovation of the craft.

The city would only need to provide liability coverage for volunteers who work on the plane.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower called the C-47 “one of the most vital pieces of military equipment used in winning the war,” according to Boeing. The Skytrain, as it was known, had multiple functions beginning in World War II. According to Boeing, the plane could

–     Carry up to 6,000 pounds of cargo

–     Transport a fully assembled jeep or 37mm cannon

–     Transport up to 28 soldiers in full combat gear

–     Hold 14 stretchers and three nurses as a medical airlift plane

Bolender said the plane would anchor the museum and also provide more visibility for the airport.

“A lot of people don’t know we have an airport,” he said.

The event he organizes each year brings several vintage aircraft to Zephyrhills, but this would make one a permanent fixture. The display would be static, meaning visitors would not go inside the plane. Still, it would be an upgrade to the museum.

“It will be an anchor for our museum,” he said. “It will also be an asset to the entrance to the airport.”

In sharing his plan around town and at the Zephyhrhills Historical Association, Bolender has already met one person who worked on the planes in the service and another who jumped out of them. Bringing the plane to town strikes Mayor Cliff McDuffie as a good idea, “as long as we can get volunteers to renovate it.”

The model took its first flight in December 1941 — just two weeks after Pearl

Harbor. It has a 95-foot wingspan and measures about 64 feet long. It’s cruising speed, according to Boeing: 160 miles an hour.

To volunteer or for more information, contact Bolender at (813) 788-5969.

EPA gives county grant to clean busy roadways

By Kyle LoJacono

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently gave Pasco $1 million to clean up land contaminated with motor oil, gasoline and other chemicals along some of the most used county roads.

Pasco was awarded the grant, the first of its kind in its 124-year history, and property owners along US 41 in Land O’ Lakes and US 301 in Zephyrhills, Dade City and Lacoochee can apply to have their land renewed. It requires no matching money from the county.

“The program to award the grant was very competitive,” said Philip Vorsatz, the EPA’s coordinator for Florida and seven other southern states. “Less than one in five counties that applied were approved.”

Vorsatz said the areas contaminated with the various chemicals are known as brownfields. The federal government is spending $76 million this year to redevelop brownfields in 40 states and on three American Indian tribes’ land.

One of the largest brownfields in the county is the site of the Dade City Business Center, which for years was a citrus and orange juice processing plant, according to Pasco senior planner for economic development and redevelopment Melanie Kendrick. The former operation contaminated the land with biodiesel. Another is the old Cummer Cypress sawmill site in Lacoochee.

Another major contributor to the brownfields is the large number of underground storage tanks in Pasco. The county listed in its application for the grant information from the state Department of Environmental Protection showing it has 2,143 within its boundaries, of which 546 are leaking.

“Often it’s things you might not even think of that play a big part in contaminating the ground,” Kendrick said. “Even dental X-rays back in the day.”

Pasco has 53 cattle dipping vats, which hold chemicals used to protect livestock from ticks and other parasites, leaking into the ground. Other major contributors to the brownfields are scrap metal salvage yards, dry cleaners, vehicle and boat repair shops and old railroad ties, which give off arsenic.

Half of the money will go to cleaning petroleum sites, with the other half focusing on hazardous waste.

The county is forming a committee of various stakeholders to develop a plan that reviews Pasco’s history. It will also interview residents who have lived in the county for many years to track down potential waste sites. The second phase will sample soil and water to find where to focus the cleanup.

One of the benefits of the program is if enough landowners participate, the county may receive additional federal money, as well as tax breaks and redevelopment grants to large landholders, in the future.

Kendrick said, “It’s a touchy subject,” for owners to submit their land for the cleanups.

“No one wants people to think of their land as dirty,” Kendrick said. “However, it can help attract more investment in the county overall, which helps everyone.

“There are companies that develop only on former brownfields,” Kendrick continued. “For example, a successful brownfield site is the Ikea furniture store in Ybor City.”

That Ybor location was the home of a canning company from 1936 to 1981.

County Commissioner Pat Mulieri said the board predicts this grant will continue to turn Pasco from a bedroom community into one with a large number of high-paying jobs.

“This brownfields program will help us rebuild rundown areas all over Pasco,” Mulieri said. “It will help everyone from US 19 in west Pasco to US 301 in east Pasco and everyone in between. It’s a win-win opportunity because we cleanup and bring in jobs at the same time.”

The people along US 301 in northern Pasco could especially benefit from the program, as the area has seen economic hardships since the sawmill closed in 1959 and the citrus facility ceased operating. The location has seen stagnate growth in part because of the contaminated land, according to Kendrick.

For more information on the program, visit portal.pascocountyfl.net.

 

By Kyle LoJacono

David Reutimann finished as the runner-up at NASCAR’s inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway.

It is the first top-five showing of the year for the former Zephyrhills resident who finished behind Kyle Busch. Reutimann and his No. 00 car started 17th in the Quaker State 400, but he fought his way back and passed Jimmie Johnson on the final lap to post the second-place performance.

“It feels great, it feels good,” Reutimann said. “Second is still second, but it’s certainly a lot closer than we have been in the last month or so, so it felt really good.”

Johnson tipped his cap to Reutimann after the race.

“I had my hands full with the 00,” Johnson said. “I think he probably was the best car at the end.”

Reutimann said he was pleasantly surprised with the finish, as Kentucky is not a track he is familiar with, but what he does know is it can be a treacherous course.

“There are a lot of different places at Kentucky that are a little rough, but there is no way that you can just get around them,” Reutimann said. “Some of the bumps are just there and there’s really not much you can do. There is really only two ways that you can do it. You can work on your car and try to make it more compliant at those spots and not bounce so bad or you can just drive around them.

“Some situations where they aren’t as big, you can just drive around the bumps getting in and be okay,” Reutimann continued. “That’s the only two ways I know how to do it, and I don’t think either one is a sure bet that you’re going to be okay. That’s just the nature of the racetrack and something that you have to work around.”

The showing moved Reutimann up two spots in the Sprint Cup standings to No. 24. He is 91 points behind Clint Bower for the 12th — and final — spot to make NASCAR’s postseason chase.

Reutimann’s best finishes of the year were ninth at Charlotte on May 29 and 13th at both Las Vegas on March 6 and Pocono on June 12.

“It’s been an awful season for us,” Reutimann said. “At the end of last year it felt like we were making some gains. This year, we haven’t had the results we’ve been looking for.”

Reutimann last won at Chicagoland Speedway July 2010. He credits his crew for the running at Kentucky and predicts momentum may be building.

“The guys are trying to figure out why we’re not running well, and hence we have a better car this weekend,” Reutimann said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

NASCAR’s next race is on Sunday, July 17 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway starting at 1 p.m.

–All results as recorded by NASCAR.

 

David Reutimann 2011 Season

Race                                    Place

Daytona 500                        30

Subway Fresh Fit 500            29

Kobalt Tools 400                        13

Jeff Byrd 500                        30

Auto Club 400                        19

Goody’s Fast Relief 500            15

Samsung Mobile 500            29

Aaron’s 499                                    14

Crown Royal Presents            31

the Matthew and Daniel

Hansen 400

Showtime Southern 500            16

FedEx 400 benefitting            15

Autism Speaks

Cocla-Cola 600                        9

STP 400                                    22

5-Hour Energy 500                        13

Heluva Good! Sour                        35

Cream Dips 400

Toyota/Save Mart 350            350

Coke Zero 400                        25

Quaker State 400                        2

 

 

By B.C. Manion

The girls are sitting in a semi-circle, watching intently as Diana Murcar sits at the potter’s wheel, demonstrating how to take a ball of clay and transform it into a pot.

This is Day 3 of a summer arts class at HiBrow Art Gallery, 14127 Seventh St., in downtown Dade City.

And this is one place where girls are getting a kick out of getting their hands dirty.

The clay-making class that they’re in is just one of a series of week-long classes being offered at the gallery, which is part of Dade City Center for the Arts Inc.

When Murcar finishes reviewing how to use the wheel, it doesn’t take 12-year-old Nell Curry long to take her place at the wheel and begin working her clay.

She looks like a natural.

Meanwhile, Amy Sandy, 12 and Jaiden Ryker, 8, are using two tabletop wheels in another part of the gallery. Ryker’s fingers work quickly as the wheel spins; Sandy wasn’t having such good luck. The wheel was barely chugging. Chalk that up to a technical problem.

No big deal. These girls were having fun in a class where they get to make pots, plates, cups and other items from clay.

India Alfonso, 14, was hanging out at the studio as a volunteer.

She’ll do whatever the teacher needs.

Murcar said she’s known Alfonso, who will be heading to Pasco High in the fall, since the teenager was in kindergarten.

Alfonso said she enjoys helping the students and doesn’t mind doing whatever else that is needed. She likes being at the studio.

“I’ve always been interested in art,” said Alfonso. Besides, she added: “I also get to make stuff, too,”

Murcar, an art teacher at Centennial Elementary since 1987, is glad that Stuart Marcus asked her to teach the summer art classes.

“There are not a lot of opportunities in this community currently, for children, in the visual arts. There’s a dance studio nearby and there’s lots of things for athletics and such, but there’s not too much for the arts,” Murcar said.

“This is actually something I’ve been wanting to do, but I’ve never really had the facilities in the community,” said the woman who has organized many art shows in Dade City and Zephyrhills.

She’s hoping these summer classes will give the students a chance to express themselves artistically and will help to cultivate in them an abiding interest in the arts.

She hopes they have fun, exploring and experimenting with different kinds of materials, she said.

“I hope it develops a lifelong passion with creating things with their hands and supporting the arts and being involved in the arts,” Murcar said.

She also hopes that over the long-term more arts programs will become available for children in the community.

Early experiences with art can leave a deep impression, said Murcar, who recalls having an art teacher in first grade, who – for whatever reason – was suddenly gone.

“I spent the rest of my elementary career going, ‘Where is the art teacher?’ ” She said.

Murcar didn’t have another art teacher until she was in middle school.

For her, doing art was a way to stand out among her peers.

“I was always the class artist. To me, it was always amazing how much they liked the things that I drew,” Murcar said.

The summer session started last week with clay making and will focus this week on drawing. Next week, it will be painting. The week after that, sculpture. The final week will feature cartooning.

There are still some slots available in the classes, which are open to anyone 5 years old or older. The classes are Monday through Friday, 1-5 p.m. The weekly tuition is $125.

For more information call the HiBrow Art Gallery, (352) 521-3823.

By B.C. Manion

A pastor in Zephyrhills doesn’t want money to be the only reason that a child doesn’t get a Christian education.

“We have a lot of kids who come at no cost. We’ve been doing that since Day 1,” said Mike Smith, pastor at Fair Haven Baptist Church and principal of Zephyrhills Christian Academy, 34927 Eiland Blvd.

The pastor’s philosophy is to “never allow money to be the issue.”

Smith said he interviews students and parents during the admission process.

“When I do interviews, I talk to the kid,” Smith said. “I’ll say, “Do you want be here. If they say “Yes,” I’ll give that kid a chance.”

In some cases, a family may be unable to afford the tuition, Smith said.

He said he informs them of scholarships that are available through the “Step Up for Students” program and through the McKay Scholarship program.

But if they are unable to secure those and cannot afford the tuition, Smith said he will do what he can to work with the family.

It costs about $400 a month to attend the Christian school, Smith said.

The school’s enrollment typically hovers between 130-140 students, Smith said.

“I would love to crack 150 this year,” Smith said, noting that a larger enrollment will help the school to expand its facility. Right now, it operates out of 22,000 square feet of space. It wants to add 6,000 square feet, he said.

Smith said he thinks the enrollment would be higher if more people were familiar with the school, which offers a Bible-based curriculum for pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade.

It also provides a wide array of athletics and activities including football, volleyball, basketball, weight lifting and bowling.

When the school opened in 1999, it had just 30 students.

He thinks the enrollment would be even greater if more people were aware of the school.

“I don’t think a lot of people know about our school,” Smith said.

For more information about the school, call (813) 779-9829.

 

By Zack Peterson

The effects of the recession have had everyone scrambling for footing.

Between high unemployment rates, gas prices and budget cuts, it’s become imperative to pinch every penny, even with simple day-to-day chores like grocery shopping.

That’s where Tracy Shaw comes in.

Shaw, a local of Land O’ Lakes, utilizes coupons to save money, particularly when it comes to weekly grocery shopping.

“I try to help people save money with things that you can use,” Shaw said. “I’m a stay-at-home mom with two kids, and the only reason I can continue to stay at home is because I use coupons.”

Shaw claims the use of coupons has made it possible to save upwards of 80 percent off her weekly grocery-shopping bill.

“My grocery budget has changed dramatically,” Shaw said. “It’s now only $40 thanks to coupons. If I can do it, then anybody can do it.”

For the most part, Shaw shops at Target and Publix, but anywhere she goes, she applies five basic tips.

1. Be prepared

“It sounds simple,” Shaw said. “But it’s actually harder when you try to accomplish it.

“Know what’s on sale. If you run into the grocery store on your way from somewhere or you think you’re just going to run in and grab one thing, what happens is that you end up doing that five times a week and each time you spend a quick 20 bucks, a quick 10 bucks; then all of a sudden you spend 100 bucks and you don’t have any idea what you bought.”

2. Make a list and stick to it

Shaw emphasizes that shoppers must stay true to their lists, despite all the objects that may look appealing.

“Those other things are all going to go on sale eventually,” Shaw said. “Just wait.”
3. Have coupons ready

“I don’t want to do anything crazy when I’m in the store,” Shaw said. “I want to have it there and situated so that when I get up the cash register, I can just hand it to the cashier and I’m done.”

4. Stack coupons

Both Publix and Target have store and manufacture coupons.

Store coupons don’t have barcodes on them, and instead have an LEU number which makes the coupon only usable at a particular store.

However, according to Shaw, Publix will also accept store coupons from other competitors.

“For example, this Publix (off Collier Parkway) will take Publix, Target, Winn Dixie, Sweetbay and Fresh Market coupons.”

Manufacturer coupons are typically the coupons found in newspapers or the ones shoppers have the ability to print from online.

When shoppers stack the coupons together to be used at the same time, the real savings begin.

“You can use both store and manufacture coupons on one item. And then, if you’re in a buy one, get one free scenario at Publix, you can use four coupons. So sometimes, you can even make money on a transaction,” Shaw said.

5. Stockpile goods

Shaw encourages buyers to buy enough of a product to make it to the next sale cycle. These cycles are typically six to eight weeks long.

“You don’t have to be extreme and buy rooms full of things. You just have to have enough to make it to the next sale cycle,” Shaw said. “You always want to buy enough when it’s on sale so that you’re saving your money.”

Shaw notes that this tip dramatically decreases the amount of money spent on groceries.

“If you buy what you need every week, you will spend $100-$150. If you buy what’s just on sale and you have your stockpile in place, I guarantee you can spend at least half that,” Shaw said.

However, Shaw stresses that her methods are not similar to the “extreme coupon movements.”

According to Shaw, enthusiasts of the extreme coupon movement spend six to eight hours a day dealing with coupons and buying food that they may not even ever use.

“I’m just here to help people save money on their groceries so that they can utilize money on other things,” Shaw said. “I only spend an hour to two hours max on the weekend organizing my coupons and I save 60, 70, 80 percent on my grocery bill? I would do it.”

Shaw shares her success with the community by blogging on her website, www.havingfunspending.com and by giving “coupon talks” throughout areas of the community where she explains the method of saving money with coupons through “introduction to coupon sessions.”

“I’m trying to show people that it’s fun,” Shaw said. “I truly believe that we’ve lost something over the last ten years. You know, people don’t say thank you anymore; people don’t open doors anymore. Everybody is so concerned with where the world has gone that we forget about the people around us. I think if I can tell one person about this, then maybe that one person will do it, and maybe that one person will tell someone else and hopefully there will be a domino effect.”