Special to The Laker/Lutz News

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.

By Zack Peterson

For almost two years now, Edwina Kraemer and the members of the non profit GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club have been meeting at the Land O’Lakes Community Center in Pasco County to escape fees imposed by Hillsborough County.

Their old home, the Lutz Community Center, had become too expensive to frequent.

Other non profit organizations and hobby groups that use local recreational centers, such as gardeners, quilters and senior citizens, have been unable to meet at all.

For almost two years now, many non profit organizations have been faced with an agonizing choice: Pay the $20 hourly fee required to inhabit the building, or leave.

Many had to settle for the latter.

“We’re non profit organizations and we’re giving back to the community,” said Kraemer, president of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club. “Now, we’re being charged to use a center, as well as the acres of land outside it, that the Lutz people bought, built and then gave to Hillsborough County.”

But after a community meeting at the Lutz Community Center on June 14, “a level of comfort was achieved,” according to Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist.

The meeting, between various groups, Crist and Mark Thornton, director of the County’s Parks and Recreation Department, resulted in the county agreeing to “co-sponsor some groups.

According to Craig Jewseak, the head of external communications for Crist, co-sponsorship is akin to “a 100% discount from the county.”

Essentially, the county offers a fee waiver if the non profit organizations acknowledge the county’s involvement during their meetings, fundraisers, or any other affiliated events that make use of parks and recreational facilities.

“In return for the maintenance of building utilities, we would like to partner with you,” Thornton told organizations present at the meeting. “We would just need some recognition.”

Crist described it as “subtle advertising.”

Several group representatives seemed pleased with the idea, and appeared surprised that such a simple solution had eluded them for close to two years.

“Early on there was some miscommunication between our department and the non profit groups with the co-sponsorship,” Thornton explained. “There were also issues with their national office. And once they stopped coming to us and using the building, we stopped coming to them.”

Thornton said the communication started after Crist was elected last year: He “got everyone talking.”

“It was really a situation of ‘let’s just have a meeting, work out the details, and figure out where we are,’” Thornton said.

With a compromise reached, official paperwork must be drawn up.

“What’s important now is getting it on record so that the history is permanent,” Crist said.

To make the process official, Crist explained that a county record letter would be drawn up outlining everything agreed upon at the meeting. Then, the letter will be sent to the Parks And Recreation Director to confirm the agreements and proceed forward.

Not everyone is happy

“This meeting was display of true community involvement,” Crist said. “We came to a reasonable consensus, and came up with reputable solutions.”

“Almost everybody left satisfied.”

Those who didn’t were profit organizations, whose voice was best represented by Elaine Peverell, executive director at the Lutz Learning Center, a preschool and child care center.

Peverell has been in the Lutz area as an educator for 30 years, and relies heavily on field trips to reinforce the lessons taught to her students. She explained that at the end of field trips, she brings her students to parks to eat lunch and finish the day off. However, the rates for profit organizations are even higher to use these facilities, and Peverell said, “it’s too expensive.”

“It starts to really add up,” she explained. “We’re now starting to look at field trips in other counties.”

Peverell suggested making programs more cost effective.

“Either charge me in my tax bill or charge me for the park. But not both,” she said.

Thornton, however, said the county couldn’t subsidize for profit groups.

“Profit groups are for profit so it’s a higher fee and it does drive them to different places,” Thornton said. “But the fact is, we’re more interested in providing for community groups, not businesses.”

“We’re just going to have to work to find a solution for this as well,” Crist said.

But, for the non profit organizations such as the Woman’s Club, the outcome of the meeting was met with jubilation.

“I appreciate (Thornton) being so forthright,” Kraemer said. “He gave us the blessing for the building as well as the attached acreage. And, I must applaud Commissioner Crist for stepping up with his leadership.”

“Now this will bring back Market in the Park, Christmas Card Lane and other events.”

Kraemer’s next step is to confirm the idea of co-sponsorship with the organizations state president, Teddy Hulse, before moving forward with the Parks and Recreation Department.

Following the meeting, she gleefully discussed getting back into the building and the upcoming socials the organization would have, looking to get back in during the next couple weeks.

“It’s not been a short fight,” Kraemer said. “But it’s been a sweet victory.”