Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

The word went out last week about the specific positions being cut to help address an anticipated $54.4 million budget shortfall in Pasco County public schools — but the fallout from those cuts is only just beginning.

The district cut 513 positions, but the actual number of lay-offs was 470 because 43 of those jobs were cut through retirements or resignations.

Superintendent Heather Fiorentino sent a May 19 memo to district staff informing them that if they had not been notified by the end of that day that they were being laid off, then the district thinks it has a position for them.

The cuts include 249 employees who were on temporary service contracts (TSCs), 66 instructional employees, 94 school resource personnel (SRPs), 55 district level employees and six assistant principals.

Temporary service contract teaching positions taking double-digit hits are: elementary education (58), varying exceptionalities (34), science (19), social studies (17), mathematics (16) and language arts (15). Ten guidance counselors on temporary contracts were laid off, too.

The biggest hits in the district’s instructional division were teachers of varying exceptionalities (27) and physical education teachers (10). Eight media specialists and six art teachers were cut, too.

Among the SRPs, categories with the biggest cuts are: media specialist assistants (28), instructional assistants, exceptional student education (21) and, instructional assistants for basic education (19).

The district also cut 55 district-level jobs.

Besides hundreds of employees losing their paychecks, the cuts will have ripple effects throughout the district for some time to come.

The district now is engaged in going through its involuntary transfer process and layoff recall processes to match employees with openings.

Many of those who remain on the payroll will find themselves handling different duties, working at a different location, or both.

The process for reassignments is outlined in the district’s employee contracts.

The district also is making counseling available for employees who are affected by the layoffs or involuntary transfers.

The day that lay-offs were announced was a very hard day in the district, said Joanne Hurley, chairwoman of the Pasco School Board. “People were just fearful and didn’t feel like they could breathe.

“I understand how disheartening the entire process was,” Hurley added, noting it was a tough day for those losing positions, but also for the people delivering the news.

The district tried to take a humane approach, Hurley said, but at the end of the day, there’s no good way to tell someone his or her position has been cut.

The shortfall has forced the district to terminate people who have done an excellent job, Hurley said.

In addition to the disruption, the cuts in personnel will have a direct bearing on the district’s abilities to deliver services, Fiorentino told board members during a budget workshop a few weeks ago.

The impacts from those reduced services won’t be fully felt until the 2011-12 school year begins.

 

After nearly six decades of dentistry, Dr. Florentino Priede is retiring

By B.C. Manion

The drills were slower and the needles were duller when Florentino Priede took up dentistry nearly six decades ago.

Those were the days when drills turned about 50,000 revolutions per minute and needles had to be sterilized before every use, explained the dentist, who is laying aside his drill at his Lutz office sometime in June.

These days, high-powered drills turn at about 500,000 revolutions per minute — and disposable needles are now routine. Instead of being poked by a big dull needle, dentists use needles that are small.

And, the use of disposable needles is now routine, giving patients a fresh needle with a sharp tip every time, Priede said.

“There was a lot more trauma. Now, you can do the work much easier,” the dentist said.

At one point, Priede said he had considered a career in medicine. But he met a friend’s father, who was a dentist, and decided to change his path.

Priede, known by the nickname of Tino, has no regrets.

“I love dentistry. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” Priede said. “I was four years in dental school and 56 years of practice. Sixty of my 80 years have been involved with dentistry.”

After growing up in Tampa and graduating from Jefferson High in 1947, he was off to Tulane University where he graduated in 1951 and then, to dental school at Loyola University, where he graduated in 1955.

“At that time, they were still drafting physicians and dentists, so rather than start my practice and be called and drafted, I went ahead and decided to join,” Priede said.

He joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“It was a wonderful place,” Priede said. “It was a very small base. I was the only dentist. Actually, it was like an internship for me. It set the stage for what I could expect in private practice.”

There was never a doubt in his mind that he would return to Tampa after his stint in the military, because his family has deep roots in the city.

For decades, he had his dental practice in South Tampa. After he sold it, his nephew, William Geyer, invited Priede to join his practice in Lutz.

That was 15 years ago.

Now, as Priede approaches his 81^st birthday, he’s decided it’s time to finally call it quits.

He can’t believe how quickly the decades have flown by, or how much has changed in the world of dentistry.

“We started with the dinosaurs really and we ended with the space age.”

Besides faster drills and sharper and smaller needles, the aesthetics of dentistry have changed enormously, too.

The introduction of fluoride in drinking water has reduced tooth decay and people have a much higher dental health IQ these days, he said. There’s also much less gold in dentistry and sophisticated ceramics.

Some things, such as extractions, are much the same as they were when Priede got into dentistry.

Over the years, Priede has had his hand in all sorts of dental procedures.

“When you start, you do everything. You did your own extractions, your own root canals,” he said. In recent years, however, he’s adopted a more leisurely pace.

“I don’t work too hard. I work three days a week. I work the hours that I want and have unlimited vacation time. I can’t believe that I’ve been here 15 years.”

As he looks ahead to life beyond dentistry, Priede said he’s not sure how he will fill the suddenly free hours.

Undoubtedly, he’ll spend more time with his family, Rosemary, his wife of 60 years; their son, John; daughter, Leslie; and three grandchildren, Allison and Matthew Priede and Trevor Gruber.

Priede expects to do some traveling, to read more and to play more golf.

The most difficult part about retiring, he said, is realizing he won’t see his patients, including some he has known for decades.

“They were little girls and now they’re mothers, and they’ve never seen another dentist.

That’s the hardest part about quitting. You make so many fantastic friends.”

 

By B.C. Manion

One wants to be a scientific researcher.

Another, a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. Others eye careers in chemical engineering and energy.

One’s main goal is simply to “be happy.”

Such are the aspirations of just a few of the thousands of Hillsborough and Pasco high seniors in the Class of 2011. They’ll be donning their caps and gowns and crossing the threshold into adult life this week during commencement ceremonies.

The settings will be different: The Tampa Convention Center, the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall, W.F. Edwards Stadium at Pasco High and the Lakeland Civic Center.

But the atmosphere will likely be much the same: Graduates will march to pomp and circumstance, while proud friends and family member vie to get their attention.

People will capture video or take photographs. Songs will be sung. A speaker or two will talk too long.

As similar as the ceremonies may be, however, each graduate is unique.

Czarino Teano of Wesley Chapel High credits her parents for much of her success. They moved the family from the Philippines when she was 9 and now she “wants to make the best of what they did.”

Classmate Nick Cox eyes some kind of scientific breakthrough, but admits in his future he really just wants “to be happy.”

In addition to sharing the stage at Wiregrass Ranch High’s commencement, the top two graduates have another bond — the same favorite teacher, Nicholas Cuviello.

“He seems really experienced and he knows what he is talking about,” notes Fiona Chai about her AP Chemistry teacher.

“He enjoys what he does and he dedicates himself to it,” adds Levi Davidson. “He’s excited to teach so it kind of spreads throughout the classroom. He’s also funny.”

Echoing a theme from other grads, Chai and Davison also singled out their moms for their inspiration.

Class of 2011 sees a future bright with possibilities

By B.C. Manion

One wants to be a medical missions worker.

Another, a diplomat.

One pictures herself playing professional golf.

Others see themselves doing research, crunching numbers, performing surgeries or being social activists.

Such are the aspirations of just a few of the thousands of Hillsborough and Pasco high seniors in the Class of 2011. They’ll be donning their caps and gowns and crossing the threshold into adult life this week during commencement ceremonies.

The settings will be different: The Tampa Convention Center, the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall, W.F. Edwards Stadium at Pasco High and the Lakeland Civic Center.

But the atmosphere will likely be much the same: Graduates will march to pomp and circumstance, while proud friends and family member vie to get their attention.

People will capture video or take photographs. Songs will be sung. A speaker or two will talk too long.

As similar as the ceremonies may be, however, each graduate is unique.

Take Ana Reyes, for example, the valedictorian at Gaither High who achieved an eye-popping weighted grade point average of 8.36 on a scale of 4.0.

Meanwhile, Laura Hogan, Gaither’s salutatorian carried on a family tradition of academic excellence. Her dad was the top in his class. So were a brother and sister. Another sister ranked third in her class. She may not have achieved No. 1 at Gaither, but her weighted GPA of 6.96 is No. 1 in her family, giving her bragging rights for decades to come.

At Land O’ Lakes High, three students tied in the race for the top in the school’s International Baccalaureate Program. Erin Chow, Wenyi “Wendy” Gu and Victoria Padgett, are co-valedictorians, each with a weighted GPA of 4.738.

Chow is interested in medical missions work, Gu has ambitions to be a diplomat or practice international law and Padgett is still pondering her future but thinks it likely involves science.

Some outgoing seniors have already left a mark.

Rebecca Hamilton, the salutatorian in Land O’ Lakes’ IB program, was inspired by a movie called “Invisible Children,” to help raise money for schools in northern Uganda.

Ella Berson, Freedom High’s valedictorian and Amy Kim, the school’s salutatorian also have used their time and talents to help bring about change.

Berson is involved in a club called Café Freedom that promotes literacy and spreads awareness about water safety and drowning prevention. Kim launched her own club, Less Than One, to provide basic necessities to children needing them.

A common feeling among this crop of graduates is one of gratitude. They appreciate the encouragement they got from their parents and the guidance that came from their siblings.

They are grateful for the teachers, who passed on a love for learning, who took the time to get to know them, who made them laugh.

 

By Kyle LoJacono

The Hillsborough County government recently began the task of redrawing its four districts for the next 10 years.

The county uses results from the U.S. Census to make the districts as close to equal in population as possible. Hillsborough has about 1.2 million residents, so each district will need to have 300,000 citizens.

Hillsborough has four districts, with one commissioner representing each. There are also three commissioners elected by the entire county as at-large seats.

Lutz, Odessa and the rest of northern Hillsborough west of SR 39 is located in District 2, represented by Republican Victor Crist. The commissioner said one of his goals in the redistrict process is to make it totally nonpartisan.

“Politics and political parties should have nothing to do with redistricting,” Crist said. “We owe that to every registered voter. We have a lot of other things to worry about right now, so we need to take care of this process as quickly and nonpolitically as possible.”

Crist was elected to represent District 2 last November, replacing northwest Hillsborough resident Ken Hagan as he moved to the at-large District 5 spot. Hagan is also a Republican and agreed with Crist about the task.

“As a countywide commissioner, it doesn’t affect who I represent, but it is still very important,” Hagan said. “I do know that all four commissioners who have sections of the county they represent follow the process of redistricting very closely. They have a vested interest to make sure it’s done right.”

The current District 2 has 323,264, up by 72,179 from 2010 Census figures. District 4 has 355,413 residents, an increase of 103,337 people in the last 10 years.

District 1 and 3 will need to add residents to get their population up to 300,000. District 1 has 284,518 residents, while District 3 has 246,122.

One of the difficulties with simply adding residents to District 3 is it was created under the Voting Rights Act as a minority district. Its lines were originally drawn to, in theory, increase the likelihood of a minority candidate representing those residents. It needs to maintain at least 58 percent of its population as minority to be in compliance with the act.

The federal definition of a minority includes both African-Americans and Hispanics, which make up 40 and 25 percent respectively of District 3’s population. Les Miller represents the district now and is the only minority on the Hillsborough Commission.

Miller said portions of Riverview are most likely to move from District 4 to 3. Riverview is 40 percent minority.

Miller said he would rather work with the current districts when making the new ones instead of starting from scratch.

“That would make it easier for the commission in two ways,” Miller said. “It makes it easier to redistrict and we already know a lot of the concerns of the people in our districts.”

The commission plays a big part in almost everything the Hillsborough government does, putting even more emphasis on redistricting. One of the board’s biggest duties include setting and approving the operating and capital improvements budget.

The county’s charter ordinance, which went into effect in 1985, also establishes the commission as the Hillsborough Environmental Protection Commission. The individual commissioners also serve on such regional committees as the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Tampa Bay Water, Aviation Authority, Expressway Authority, Sports Authority, Port Authority, Arts Council of Hillsborough County, Children’s Board, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Economic Stimulus Task Force and the Council of Governments. In this way their authority reaches outside the county’s boundaries to affect regional planning.

When the county redistricted in 2001, the commission approved it by a narrow 4-3 vote without any public meetings. There have already been several meetings to show the public what proposed districts might look like. For more information on meetings or the new districts, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org.

 

Friends, family aim to keep nurse’s spirit alive through scholarships

By B.C. Manion

It was Bettina Carroccetto’s day off from her job as a charge nurse in the pediatric emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.

The Wesley Chapel woman had spent the day at the beach and was on her way home when she lost control of her 2000 Isuzu sport utility vehicle on Interstate 275, near Bearss Avenue.

“Something caused her to lose control of the car. We don’t know what it was. We’ll probably never know,” said Susan Carroccetto, Bettina’s mother.

“She went off the road to the right,” Susan said. It wasn’t a steep incline, but the car hit the dirt and rolled.

Bettina was wearing her seatbelt, but was partially ejected from the car, Susan said.

Bettina was not speeding, her mother said. “There was no alcohol. No drugs. Not even an aspirin. She was fully rested. We know she wasn’t on her phone. She wasn’t texting.

“We thought it was a blow out,” Susan said, but it wasn’t.

“There were witnesses that were behind Bettina when this happened. They didn’t see anything to cause it to happen,” Susan said.

“Bettina died immediately,” her mother said. “She was 29. She is 29 forever.”

While her family and friends may never know what caused the accident, they do know this: The young nurse, who died on April 7, 2010, was devoted to providing care to others.

So, her family and friends are working to keep Bettina’s legacy alive by raising money for nursing scholarships.

The Bettina Carroccetto Memorial Fund for Nursing Excellence is having its first golf tournament to benefit St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Foundation on Monday, June 6. The tournament will be at the Westchase Golf Club, 11602 Westchase Golf Drive in Tampa. Registration is at noon and the shotgun starts at 1:30 p.m. The deadline for registration is May 27.

Bettina graduated from the University of South Florida with a biology degree and went on to become a registered nurse. After she obtained her nursing degree, she went to work for St. Joseph’s Hospital.

She was in the process of preparing to pursue a master’s degree at the time when the accident happened, Susan said.

“She loved medicine,” Susan said, and, “she absolutely adored children.”

“She was loved by her co-workers, her patients, her friends and obviously, her family,” Susan added.

Bettina was also a spiritual woman, her mother said. There was a prayer called “Mary, Help Me,” that she said all of the time, her mother said. “She had it on her refrigerator. She had it on her bathroom mirror. She had it with her in the car and she had it in her locker at work.”

The memorial fund aims to help others who want to be nurses, to carry on the kind of work that Bettina did so well, her mother said.

“It’s such an irony that she died in such a traumatic way, when she spent the better part of her days in a trauma room,” her mother said.

After the funeral, there was a memorial at St. Joseph’s Hospital and someone at the hospital took Bettina’s mom into the trauma room and told her about her daughter: “This is where she saved countless lives. This is where she did her best work. This is her room.”

For those wishing to find out more about the scholarship fund or the golf tournament, visit bmcmememorialfund.org, email or call (813) 928-0975.

 

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

Land O’ Lakes High sent two teams to the Special Olympics state soccer tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World May 13-14, and each brought back silver medals.

The squads are Pasco County LOL Blue and Pasco County LOL HS Gold. Both won area championships in its division en route to the state appearance.

“It was really fun,” said junior Yvonne Collinsworth, a Gold team member. “There was a dance and we did really well too.”

It was the second straight trip to states for both squads. Gold was the state runner-up last year, while Blue claimed the 2010 championship.

“It was the biggest game of my life,” said Colton Larson, Blue team member and 2007 Land O’ Lakes High graduate. “I’ll always remember it.”

Another member of the Blue team is freshman Joseph Tramel. He also plays basketball, but most enjoys soccer.

“I like scoring and passing,” Tramel said. “Defense is fun too.”

Vicky King coaches both teams and has taught Special Olympics athletes since 1986.

“We want to teach them the game of soccer and to play as a team,” said King, who is also the Gators girls soccer coach. “We teach them that it’s all about team, not the individual. From there, it’s just work on getting them better. If you ask any athlete, their goal is to get to the state games. No matter how they play there, they want to play in the state event.”

King said coaching Special Olympics athletes is not that much different from what she does in the winter.

“The fitness aspect is a big hurdle, but also learning that it truly is a team sport,” King said. “We teach them that if you let the ball do the work with a passing game, it’s a lot easier than trying to have one person dribble the ball up the field. We teach them everybody can score and they learn how to work together like any soccer team.”

Coaching for Special Olympics offers different challenges for King as well.

“The rules are different from traditional soccer, so that makes it a little difficult,” King said. “It’s different from the sport they’ve seen on TV. I forget sometimes when we need to do a kick or throw-in, so I need to constantly remind myself. It makes teaching the rules a bit of a challenge.”

All members of the Gators teams are either current or former Land O’ Lakes students. Players can stay involved in Special Olympics indefinitely.

Both squads are unified teams, which means they have two traditional athletes playing with three Special Olympics players at the same time.

“Unified is all about inclusion and unity,” King said. “It lets everyone participate and helps them become friends.”

One of the unified athletes is senior Keke Potts, who has been working with Special Olympics athletes the last four years. She is also a defender for the Gators girls soccer team.

“I’d helped with the team and I really like soccer, so it was the perfect thing for me,” Potts said. “We wanted to help them get to states.”

Potts has many fond memories of the Special Olympics, but one stands out.

“It was amazing last year when the Blue team won the state championship,” Potts said. “Their faces were great and the experience, to share that with them, is one of the greatest memories of my life. I like working with these kids. We’re good friends and I’m going to miss them when I graduate.”

 

Blue roster

Jacob Bednar

Samy Frahm

Cameron Hilgenberg

Colton Larson

Kelsee Larson

Jocelyn Mcanally

Tyler Sanders

Aaron Secunda

Joelle Stewart

Joseph Tramel

 

Gold roster

Lexie Bailey

Yvonne Collinsworth

Natalie Fontanes

Nichelle Gordon

Ilsa Hernandez

Katie Lockhart

Brittany Nieves

Keke Potts

Ashliegh Williams

By Kyle LoJacono

Members of the Pasco Commission took a step toward prohibiting panhandling within the county on May 9 after reaching a compromise to enforce the ban only six days a week.

“We wanted to find a way to do this without hurting Sunday newspaper sales along our streets,” said Pasco Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand. “The Tampa Tribune came up with the compromise and gave some very good reasons for it.”

Members of the commission were sympathetic to the fact that nearly 200 combined people are employed on Sundays by the Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times.

Additionally, the commissioners were given statistics that show traffic is about 45 percent less heavy on Sundays than the rest of the week. Part of the reason for the ban was due to safety concerns for people standing near roadways, but the figures eased the members’ minds on the subject.

“I think that’s a good way to go,” said Commissioner Jack Mariano said. “It’s very important to their making a living.”

Hildebrand agreed: “We heard from people who sell the papers on Sunday that they depend on the money to keep their homes. I also know it’s the only time some people get a newspaper during the week and I don’t want people to stop reading because they can’t get their paper as easily.”

Assistant County Attorney Kristi Wooden said the data provided to the commission has checked out and verified.

“If it didn’t, we could have been challenged legally by other groups,” Wooden said. “The data is correct, so the board can proceed without worry about the accuracy.”

Hildebrand said she takes advantage of picking up a roadside paper each week.

“The first thing I do on Sunday is to sit down with my coffee and my newspapers,” Hildebrand said. “I like having the ability to go out with my dollar and buy it right down the road.”

Under the proposed ordinance, panhandlers, roadside vendors and charitable groups seeking donations would need to wear reflective vests and have photo identification. Nonprofit groups would also be required to register with the state.

The Pasco Commission is scheduled vote on the ordinance at its June 7 meeting in Dade City.

The same compromise to allow roadside newspaper sales was rejected by the Hillsborough County Commission in March. Complicating the issue in the southern county was the fact that the Florida Sentinel Bulletin, a newspaper that cover’s Hillsborough’s African-American communities, comes out each Tuesday and Friday.

The Hillsborough Commission decided it could not give an exemption for some newspapers on Sunday and not others on Tuesday and Friday, so the members opted for an outright ban. Pasco does not appear to have such a problem.

The New Port Richey City Council adopted an ordinance the week before the compromise was reach with the Pasco Commission, which makes it against the law to express, “implied threats of physical injury or property damage,” while panhandling. People can still ask for money, but must stop once the other person says no.

The city of St. Petersburg has also passed an outright ban on all roadside soliciting in the last year. The Tampa City Council did not pass a similar measure a few months later.

The Florida Legislature debated banning certain types of panhandling and solicitation across the state, but it did not reach the Senate before the end of the session.

By Kyle LoJacono

It seems fitting that the next construction project to extend SR 56 east has been pushed back after numerous delays postponed the first segment’s opening by five months.

The newest section of the highway opened July 31 and extended SR 56 from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wesley Chapel. It was first set for completion in March, but WDG Construction Inc., the firm originally picked for the job, was fired by Pasco County in part because it fell behind schedule.

The next stage will take SR 56 east to just more than a mile away from connecting with Morris Bridge Road in Zephyrhills. It also includes building a road to connect SR 54 and SR 56, which will be called Wyndfields Boulevard.

Phase 2 was slated for completion by the end of 2012, but Pasco County’s Development Review Committee pushed that deadline to Dec. 31, 2015.

“The extension was meant to allow more houses to be built in Meadow Pointe and other new developments,” said Pasco Assistant County Administrator Bipin Parikh. “When developers buy land to build large neighborhoods it is usually done with an agreement for the developers to pay for road improvements in the area to support the growth. That growth isn’t happening as we expected.”

The extension would allow 6,500 new homes to be built on the border of Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills as a golf course community. The developers of the Wyndfields and Meadow Pointe’s Nos. 3 and 4 residential sections are responsible for the project’s eventual completion.

That agreement, which called for the start of Stage 2 in July, was struck several years ago during the peak of the housing boom. The developers have seen little indications that an investment in new housing would be profitable since the bubble burst in the real estate market.

The developer for Wyndfields has already completed design and will submit it to the Florida Department of Transportation and the Southwest Florida Water Management District to get permitting approval, according its representing attorney Donna Feldman.

Richard Gerhring, Pasco’s growth management administrator, said the extension is a way to help create easier travel across the county.

“It’s all about creating a grid network with our roadways,” Gerhring said. “Right now we have huge pieces of land with nothing on it. These roads open it up for development to help make the county more prosperous in the future.”

Gerhring said the deal with the developers also includes donating right of way land to allow for the eventual westward extension of Chancey Road from where it ends in Wesley Chapel to connect with Bruce B. Downs in the Wiregrass Ranch area.

Pasco Commissioner Pat Mulieri said the overall plan is to take SR 56 all the way to US 301 in southern Zephyrhills. While that project is still unfunded, Mulieri said it would not be that far behind the completion of Stage 2.

“I would agree with Richard that these major roadways will make Pasco a better place to live for everyone,” Mulieri said. “It’s all about bringing opportunities home, and these road projects make us a more attractive place for businesses and talented people to come to.”

For more information on the extension or any future Pasco projects, visit portal.pascocountyfl.net.

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco County residents should have a wider SR 54 by the end of the year, but a look into the future reveals widening for its northern counterpart as well.

While no date has been set for the future widening of SR 52, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) spokeswoman Kris Carson said the east to west road in northern Pasco will be expanded.

“No construction has been funded, but part of the groundwork has,” Carson said. “It will eventually let the road be widened from two to four lanes.”

The design of the widening has been funded between US 41 and Bellamy Brothers Boulevard. Additionally, some row acquisition has been paid for to buy private property along the state road between Bellamy and Old Pasco Road. Current FDOT statistics show about 19,300 vehicles make the trip between I-75 and US 41 each day.

Carson said that while there has been no funding secured to widen SR 52 east of Old Pasco Road to San Antonio, Saint Leo and Dade City, it was not out of the question. She said the goal for a future widening fits with the overall goal with all state roads, which is to upgrade them as increased population puts more demands on the streets.

“The department is currently finishing improvements to SR 52 between US 41 and the Suncoast Parkway,” Carson said. “That is mainly adding new turn lanes and resurfacing the road.”

That FDOT project comes with a $1.6 million price tag. Pasco is also paying for another job on SR 52 that began within the last month, according to Pasco Engineering Services Deborah Bolduc. She said that construction is adding turn lanes where SR 52 crosses Prospect Road/Happy Hills Road, also called State Highway 579A. It is also resurfacing the roadway near the intersection at a total cost of $2.9 million, paid by Penny for Pasco money.

Any job to significantly widen SR 52 would likely take much more money than the current jobs to improve the highway.

The construction for Pasco to widen SR 54 from I-75 to Curley Road in Wesley Chapel, a stretch of 3.2 miles, cost $28 million. That amount pales in comparison to the nearly $75 million needed for the row acquisition for that job, making it the most expensive project in Pasco history.

The distance between US 41 and Old Pasco is about 13 miles along SR 52.

For more information on any FDOT road project, visit www.dot.state.fl.us.