Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

It was hot and loud, but no one was complaining.

Indeed, hundreds of hands — in all shapes and sizes — were busy packing rice, soy powder, dried vegetables and dried vitamins into small plastic bags, destined to feed hungry people in other parts of the world.

The volunteers, estimated at more than 200, took part in a Change This World meal-packaging event coordinated by Wesley Chapel Toyota.

Those helping out on Sunday, June 26, included dealership employees, vendors and customers as well as area residents and volunteers from community groups, schools, churches and local businesses.

Change This World is a nonprofit organization based in Orlando that aims to provide meals to those who are malnourished or dying of starvation. It partners with groups across the United States to package meals that are distributed around the world.

Eric Johnson, director of corporate and community relations for Wesley Chapel Toyota, was ecstatic about the turnout.

“There are lots of things that people can do on a Sunday afternoon, but they chose to come here,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of families here, working together. A lot of community groups. They know they’re going to make a difference.”

The event’s goal was to pack 40,000 meals, and when Johnson announced the group had reached the midway point, a cheer erupted.

Scott “Scooter” LaVancher, a sales associate at the dealership, was among those pitching in.

“This is awesome,” said LaVancher, who kept busy lugging 50-pound bags of soy powder from table to table, replenishing bins that were being quickly emptied by the volunteer meal-packers.

“I put this up on my Facebook page,” he said, which spurred several of his friends to come out and help.

One of those was 8-year-old Lauren Kelly of Spring Hill, who accompanied her mom to the event. The girl did her part by scooping soy powder from a 50-pound bag into a plastic bin on a table.

Charlene Heckenbach and her husband, Roland, of Wesley Chapel, said they bought a car at the dealership in April and wanted to do their part.

Leo and Karen Thaler of Chancey Road Christian Church in Zephyrhills said they read a notice about the event in the newspaper and were motivated to come out and help.

Alicia Nolan, who works at the dealership, said she was inspired to get involved by her faith. “I wanted to help bless others,” she said.

Chris Tanner, one of the organizers of the event for Change This World, said the turnout was impressive.

“We have more than we need for volunteers,” Tanner said. “That’s always a good thing. The people here are awesome,” he added. “Very enthusiastic.”

Tanner also noted that it is unusual for a business to take the leadership role in arranging a meal-packing event. Typically, a church or school is the primary sponsor, he said.

Kalee Taylor, another organizer from Change This World, commented on the obvious can-do attitude and team spirit among volunteers.

“Everybody wants to take part. Everybody just kind of picked out their own job and stuck to it,” Taylor said.

Among the volunteers was a group of more than two dozen administrators and staff members from Wesley Chapel High.

Marcy Maxwell and Principal Carin Nettles were at the end of that table’s assembly line – busily packing the meal packets into boxes.

“We’re in partnership with Wesley Chapel Toyota,” Maxwell said. “We thought it would be a great way to help the community.”

Patrick Abad, the dealership’s general manager, sponsored the high school’s table, Johnson said, noting the dealership had to raise $10,000 to put on the event. It did that by seeking sponsorships from dealership vendors, local businesses and others.

Even before Sunday’s event had concluded, Johnson was already thinking about having another meal-packing event.

Next time, he wants to pack 80,000 meals.

“For the next one, I’m going to look for schools and churches to partner up with us,” he said.

And, Johnson doesn’t plan to stop there.

“My vision, my goal, is that I’m going to do a container event. It’s going to take the whole weekend, but we would do 200,000 meals.

“We fill a container with boxes, and then ultimately travel overseas with it and deliver it to the people — actually go to Africa,” Johnson said.

New alignment shifts Odessa and Keystone to a sprawling district that reaches Ruskin

By Kyle LoJacono

Odessa and Keystone residents will have new representation once the newly unveiled Hillsborough County districts take effect in 2011.

The Hillsborough Commission voted 6-1 in favor of the new alignment, with only Democrat Kevin Beckner voting against it. Les Miller, the only other Democrat on the board, sided with the five Republicans.

Lutz, Odessa and Keystone had been within county District 2, but commissioners had to split the northwest Hillsborough communities because of growth in the area. Odessa/Keystone were moved into District 1, which stretches into south Tampa and the South Shore area.

U.S. Census data show the former District 2 had to lose about 23,000 residents to approach a total population of about 300,000. Hillsborough has about 1.2 million people and each district must have nearly the same amount according to the county’s charter.

The new district map was drawn by commissioner Mark Sharpe. His District 7 does not represent any one area and is instead voted for by all county citizens.

“It wasn’t easy to draw up the districts,” Sharpe said. “We supported the Fair District Amendments and had to make them equal in population. In the end I think we did the best we could.”

One of the arguments against the old districts was a portion of southern Hillsborough that normally votes heavily Republican was within District 1, which also represents south and east Tampa. That area retained its snake-like portion of South Shore.

Sandra Murman is the District 1 commissioner. Sharpe said residents in South Shore “like the representation” they have received from Murman and wanted to stay under her jurisdiction.

District 2 Commissioner Victor Crist said he would have liked Odessa and Keystone to remain with Lutz, but understood the population numbers would not allow it.

“Culturally Lutz and Odessa/Keystone are very similar,” Crist said. “It will be a change for those people I think, but it couldn’t be helped.”

Patrick Manteiga, a Democrat and the publisher of the weekly newspaper La Gaceta, was at the meeting when the districts were announced and was less than pleased with the results.

“That’s the most Republican vote I’ve ever seen,” Manteiga said. “I think the Republican Party did a good job of communicating with its members.”

Manteiga took special exception to District 1 and its extension to the south. Murman did not comment on the new map except to say she approved it with five of the other commissioners.

Beckner voted against the new districts because of the odd shape of District 1 and because he said, “It does not address the concerns of the Hispanic population within the county.”

Beckner, whose District 6 is also at-large like Sharpe’s, created his own map, which he said drew support from Hispanic groups in the area.

Beckner called his version “The People’s Map,” which would have united the southern portion of District 1 with the rest of South Shore. It would have also included much of west Tampa, which has a high percentage of Hispanics, in Murman’s district. Those moves would have made District 1 nearly 36 percent Hispanic instead of the 32 percent from the new districts.

Miller, who represents District 3 including central Tampa, said he voted for the new district because it did not reduce the “black voting power in my district.” He added that he knew neither his nor Beckner’s map had a chance of passing.

District 3 was set up as a minority district by the Voting Rights Act and must maintain at least 58 percent minority population to be in compliance.

The new districts will remain in place for 10 years when the next Census numbers reveal changes in population. To see the new district lines, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org/redistricting/data.cfm and click on map H.

By B.C. Manion

Jennifer Cleary was with some colleagues at the Starbucks near Collier Parkway discussing plans for a Fourth of July celebration at Willow Bend Community Church when a man sitting nearby overheard the conversation.

When he heard them mention music, the man introduced himself and offered to help.

It turns out that this chance encounter at Starbucks involved Daniel Rodriguez, a former New York City police officer who gained national attention for his rendition of “God Bless America,” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Rodriguez, known to many as “The Singing Police Officer,” is the same man who has performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, at such events as the Indianapolis 500 and the World Series and on virtually every national talk show including The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Late Show with David Letterman and Oprah.

He performs on stages throughout the world and has trained with Placido Domingo.

Rodriguez has an apartment in New York, but frequently visits Land O’ Lakes because his mother lives here.

The tenor said he generally performs at a couple of community events every year because he enjoys sharing his blessings.

Cleary said Willow Bend Community Church is delighted that Rodriguez will be presenting a 5:30 p.m. mini-concert during its first 4^th of July Family Fun Fest.

The public is welcome to the fun fest at 2541 Henley Road in Lutz.

Festivities, which will be from 2-8 p.m., will feature carnival-like games for kids, a bounce house, and entertainment. Refreshments also will be available for a nominal charge, said Cleary, director of the Children’s Church at Willow Bend Community Church.

The idea is to give families a chance to enjoy the Fourth of July and to conclude the event in plenty of time for families to go watch fireworks elsewhere, she said.

In addition to that performance, Rodriguez also will be appearing during the 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. services on July 3 at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, 18371 N. Dale Mabry Highway.

The public is welcome to the services, which will have a “highly patriotic flair,” said Nikki Somerville, an assistant to Ron Upton, minister of music and worship at Idlewild.

The service also will feature remarks from Capt. Scotty Smiley, the Army’s first active-duty blind officer and its first blind company commander.

 

Fourth of July weekend events

July 3

Patriotic church services at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, 18371 N. Dale Mabry Highway. The services will feature patriotic music and appearances by “The Singing Policeman” Daniel Rodriguez and Capt. Scotty Smiley.

 

Lutz Fourth of July “Home Sweet Home” Celebration

July 3

Volunteer help at Train Depot, 2-4 p.m. (volunteers needed)

Cake entry drop off: 3-5 p.m., Lutz Fire Department Board Room, 124 W. Lutz-Lake Fern Road

July 4 (Events take place near the intersection of Lutz-Lake Fern Road and US 41)

7:30 a.m.: Cake registration deadline

8 a.m.: 5K, 1 mile and family walk

9 a.m.: Flag-raising ceremony

9:30 a.m: Race trophies presented

10 a.m.: Lutz community parade begins

11 a.m. Lutz Volunteer Firefighters Association barbecue chicken sale

Cake bake auction, parade trophies and New Guv’na Inauguration following the parade.

(Volunteers are still needed to help with breakdown after festivities conclude.)

 

4^th of July Family Fun Fest

Willow Bend Community Church, 2541 Henley Road, Lutz, off SR 54

2 pm-8 pm. Event includes carnival-like games and a bounce house for kids, live entertainment and food for a nominal charge.

Daniel Rodriguez, “The Singing Police Officer,” will perform in a mini-concert at 5:30 p.m.

 

Sparklebration: A 4^th of July & Fireworks Celebration

Pasco County Fairgrounds, 36722 SR 52

Gates open: 4 p.m.

Event includes a Pie Eating Contest, Hot Dog Eating, Watermelon Eating Contest, Watermelon Seed-Spitting Contest.

Live entertainment and food.

Fireworks begin at 9:15 p.m.

By Zack Peterson

It was 45 minutes to work and 45 minutes back.

Since taking a job in Hernando County last year, Tim Urban would spend 90 minutes a day on the road, a grind that he has decided to give up. Urban, 44, is planning a move to Hernando, meaning he will have to surrender his seat on the Zephyrhills City Council.

It all started last November when Urban took the job in Hernando County. The former assistant principal at Zephyrhills High took a job as manager of professional development for Hernando County Schools. Then came the long commutes back and forth, forcing Urban to stretch his resources between two counties.

Finally, Urban choose between the two, knowing he couldn’t continue on with both.

“For about a year and a half, I was a council member,” Urban said. “I represented the people of Zephyrhills when it came to setting policy and when it came to approving programs for the city.”

However, Urban felt it was necessary to live in the Hernando County community for his new position because of “the nature of the work.”

As the manger of professional development for Hernando County, Urban will oversee training in the education system there.

“I enjoy my new position; it’s going to be a new challenge,” Urban said. “It was a tough decision, but it’s going to be a new chapter in my life.”

Urban’s resignation will take effect July 1. The city will hold a special election to replace him.

Extension looks to dispel myths about local wildlife

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco County Cooperative Extension director BJ Jarvis has heard almost every myth when it comes to snakes, spiders and other native species, so she created a camp to teach kids the truth about Florida’s wildlife.

She helped make the summer Kids Kamp program six years ago, which kicked off this year with a class on snakes and spiders.

“We wanted to give the kids a chance to get their hands in the dirt and spend some time with their environment,” Jarvis said. “We want kids to know what to do when they encounter a snake or a spider. Some people are terrified of snakes and they don’t have to be. We wanted to dispel some of these myths.”

The day started with the kids learning about spiders and finding some of their webs around the Extension office. Then they moved back inside to see reptile specialist Jim Mendenhall’s critters.

Mendenhall brought 14 snakes, a gopher tortoise and a Gila monster for the children to see. Most of the animals can be found in Florida, while some come from other places in the country and world. Some, like the tortoise and Gila monster, are endangered.

“I do these classes to show kids there isn’t any reason to be afraid of these animals, but they need to respect them,” said Mendenhall, who displays his animals each year at the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival. “I tell them they shouldn’t go and pick up any of these animals to be safe, but enjoy them for what they are.”

Mendenhall brought all six of Florida’s venomous snakes: diamondback rattlesnake, pygmy rattlesnake, timber rattlesnake, water moccasin, copperhead and coral snake.

The kids were allowed to touch some of the nonvenomous animals, something Dade City resident Nathalie Sawczuk was less than eager to do.

“I don’t really like snakes,” Sawczuk said. “They just aren’t my thing because when I was little there was a baby black racer in my yard that freaked me out. My friend (Gracie Wagner) made me touch it.”

The children ranged from ages 8-12 and came from across east Pasco, Lutz and even Polk County.

“I came to one last year,” said Lutz resident Kyle Storch-Dolcelli. He then added, “The snakes are really cool. My favorite was the black racer. We have them in our backyard.”

Jarvis said the theme for the camps change each week.

“We have some on a lot of different topics from trees, to sewing, money management. Just everything we teach here at the Extension office,” Jarvis said. “We throw a little learning in each day with a lot of fun.”

The program runs from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each Wednesday until July 27 at the Extension office, 6702 SR 52 in Dade City. The cost is $5 per kid, but classes are limited to the first 20 who sign up. For more information on the program, call (352) 518-0532 or visit http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu.

 

Stress nearly wrecks the Zephyrhills resident’s life

By Kyle LoJacono

Carrie Jahn was like most young women dealing with the stress of raising two young children, but the Zephyrhills woman reached her tipping point when her first marriage ended.

Everyday life had been causing migraine headaches, but for the most part Jahn, 30, was able to go about her normal routine without too much concern. Her stress became serious when she suffered her first seizure in July 2010 as she dealt with a broken marriage and a custody dispute.

“It kind of just set everything off,” Jahn said. “Honestly, I didn’t even know I was that stressed out. The first seizure is what brought it to my attention.”

That first seizure came in her sleep. Her violent shaking woke up her new husband David Jahn.

The seizures lasted about 20 minutes. Jahn said she doesn’t remember much about them, but said the outcomes challenged almost every aspect of her life.

“I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t be alone with my children, it was almost anything,” Jahn said. “Just the things you take for granted. I had to have someone with me and supervising me every time I wanted to do anything with my children.”

Jahn, who was born and raised in the east Pasco County city, and her first doctors, did not see the connection between her stress and the seizures. She tried fighting the headaches with over-the-counter pain relievers and started taking medications designed to treat epileptic seizures.

The epilepsy medications did not stop Jahn’s seizures and made her feel almost drunk. She was even treated as a drunken patient when she went to another hospital.

Jahn said the strangest place she suffered one was while seeing a doctor at University Community Hospital, where she had been referred to Dr. Nancy Rogers, a neurologist.

“I had the seizure in another doctor’s office and Dr. Rogers came over and got me,” Jahn said.

Rogers, who is also director of the Florida Comprehensive Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders Center, has been treating Jahn for several months. She suspected the seizures were brought on by stress, but was unsure at first.

“When someone is taking medications and it isn’t helping, that sends up a red flag,” Rogers said. “Also, Carrie was very honest with me and told me she was having a lot of stress and that the seizures were causing her to have more stress. The problem is, the seizures don’t happen right when the stress begins. It’s more like post traumatic stress disorder, so they don’t associate them with the stress.”

Rogers said this is why stress induced seizures are misdiagnosed. Jahn had almost no other symptoms besides headaches. Rogers suspects as many as one in five people who come to an epilepsy center actually are suffering from stress seizures.

“Everything else seems fine,” said Rogers, who has been practicing medicine for 17 years. She then added, “Three times as many women as men suffer from these stress seizures, and they’re more common in teenage and young adult women. However, children and the elderly have them and men have them too.”

Rogers said the seizures can get worse if not treated. She added it is hard to estimate how common the stress seizures are in the general population because they are so often misdiagnosed, but suspects the number is around one in every 200 people.

“These kinds of seizures tend to be more or less common in cycles,” Rogers said. “It seems like I’ve seen a lot more lately. It’s hard to say, but I think we’re seeing more because people are feeling more stressed lately. Even if you have a job, you hear on the news about the bad economy or people without a job losing their homes. I think hearing those kinds of negative things every day can’t help but stress all of us.”

Besides medication, Jahn has learned different ways to cope with stress.

“One of the things I do is teach people good stress management techniques,” Rogers said. “It’s more than just a pill. Exercise 30 minutes a day is important. Thinking through your problems and talking about them often helps, especially with someone not involved in the problems. I recommend people take 30 minutes each day as alone time; time just for themselves. That’s hard for moms like Carrie, but it’s important to your health.”

The stress management techniques have helped Jahn stay seizure free since August 2010, describing her transformation as, “180 degrees different,” without the stress of her previous marriage.

Jahn and David have been married for about a year now and her children David Karl Jahn IV and Corey Jahn are ages 4 and 2 respectively. She said stress is still a part of her life, but it is not as consuming as it was last July.

“Stress is an unavoidable situation in life and different people have different ways of handling it,” Rogers said. “The problem is a lot of people don’t have good ways of handling stress. A lot of time people suppress it because of other demands in life. What can happen is, people hit a low point where the stress creates these problems and the stress is self-perpetuating. The key is finding something that relieves stress.”

 

Ways to deal with stress

–Regular exercise

–Thinking through problems

–Talking with people about problems

–Taking up a regular hobby

–Having alone time

–Having fun with family/friends

–Getting enough sleep

 

 

By B.C. Manion

Students will have more choices for technical and vocational training at Wiregrass Ranch and Land O’ Lakes high schools and fewer at Wesley Chapel and Pasco high schools in the coming year.

The district has cut the business and Diversified Cooperative Training programs at Wesley Chapel High and the cosmetology program at Pasco High, according to Rob Aguis, director of community, career and technical education for Pasco County Schools.

The business and Diversified Cooperative Training programs were cut because of a lack of student interest in the programs, said Carin Nettles, principal at Wesley Chapel High. The school’s television production and automotive classes are much more popular, she said.

While Wesley Chapel and Pasco high schools have lost programs, the district will be starting the Academy of Culinary Arts at Land O’ Lakes High and creating an Academy of Medical Professions at Wiregrass Ranch High.

Officials at Land O’ Lakes and Wiregrass Ranch high schools are enthused about the expanded opportunities for students.

At Land O’ Lakes High, construction crews are working to complete the Academy of Culinary Arts which will operate in a new 18,000-square-foot building.

The program will feature specialized kitchens, including a climate-controlled bakery/pastry kitchen.

In culinary, we offer Culinary 1, 2, 3, 4 and will integrate National ProStar and ServeSafe curriculum and industry certifications,” Aguis notes in his e-mail.

At Wiregrass Ranch High, the Academy of Medical Professions will include the Certified Nursing Assisting Program and the Emergency Medical Responder program.

“Wiregrass Ranch has had a very successful health program here for the past few years,” said Robyn White, an assistant principal at the school.

White noted that the planned Pasco-Hernando Community College campus next to Wiregrass High, coupled with the new Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, will open the door to many new possibilities for students.

“I really look forward to building those relationships,” said Lisa Jones, a registered nurse who oversees the medical programs at Wiregrass Ranch High.

The medical academy will have Health Science 1, Health Science 2 courses for all of the students in that program. It also will have Nursing Assisting 3 and Emergency Medical Responder 3 for students in the different specialty areas.

The program also will have Medical Skills and Anatomy and Physiology classes, Aguis said in an e-mail.

The EMR program helps to prepare emergency responders, such as paramedics, police officers and firefighters, White said.

“I think we’re going to be able to reach more students,” Jones said.

Rich Batchelor, assistant principal at Land O’ Lakes High, said the school decided to do a “soft opening this year” because construction is still being completed,

Since the program will be housed in a new building, officials didn’t want to take any chances with unforeseen construction delays, he said.

While the program will be starting slow, Batchelor said he expects it to be the first “really big academy” in the county school district. Ultimately, he said, it will have about 400 students.

“A lot of schools with academies, they draw from the kids within their boundaries,” Batchelor said. This one will be drawing students from around the district.

During its first year, Batchelor expects the program to have about 100 students, with roughly one-third of them coming from outside of the school’s boundaries.

The positions lost at Pasco and Wesley Chapel high schools were caused by district budget cuts, Aguis said.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

By Kyle LoJacono

This week’s addition will look into how Blanton, Dade City, Darby, Denham, Drexel and Ehren go their names.

(1) BLANTON is located north of Saint Leo and Dade City and includes the area between St. Joe, Lake Lola, Blanton and Ramsey roads. It is named after Jesse Blanton, an early settler from Georgia. He moved to the area with his wife Martha Howell and built a log cabin east of what is now Blanton Lake.

(2) DADE CITY’S name came from Fort Dade, named after Maj. Francis Langhorne Dade, who fought in the U.S. Army and was killed by Seminoles at the start of the Second Seminole War. The fort was located near the center of the city today in east Pasco County along US 301.

(3) DARBY is in the area around Darby Road on both sides of I-75, north of Wesley Chapel and just west of San Antonio. The area is most likely named after an early settler in the area, John W. Darby. He moved to Pasco with his wife, Olinda Bradley. The area is sometimes called St. Thomas and Amelia.

(4) DENHAM is now part of Land O’ Lakes and Lutz and includes the area around Denham Oaks Elementary. It is named after a black fireman who worked on the same train line as William P. Lutz, an engineer with the Tampa Northern Railroad whose family lent their names the town of Lutz.

(5) DREXEL, located in the area around where Drexel and Tower roads cross west of US 41 in Land O’ Lakes, was named by Edward Stotesbury to honor Anthony Joseph Drexel, a financier and philanthropist who lived in the area from 1826-93.

(6) EHREN includes the communities around Ehren Cutoff in Land O’ Lakes east of US 41. At one time the area included what is now Connerton. The area was named by Frederick and Louis Müller, who owned a local sawmill. The German immigrants named the area after the word in their native language that means place of honor.

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 and Susan MacManus. If you know the history of an interesting place, call us at (813) 909-2800. See how Fort Broome, Gall Boulevard, Gower’s Corner and Jessamine got their names next week.