Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

Pasco County residents will see their public libraries open five less hours each week this year, but no facilities will be closed because of recent budget concerns.
Last year all county libraries were open 40 hours a week and only the Land O’ Lakes Branch Library will remain open that long this year. The new hours went into effect Oct. 1, coinciding with the new fiscal year.
Commissioners made the cuts to save the Centennial Park Branch Library in Holiday, which was earmarked for closure on an early version of the 2010-11 library budget, which was slashed $430,905 down to $6 million, according to Pasco library director Linda Allen.

“We knew about the reduction in hours during the county commissioner’s budget workshop Sept. 21,” Allen said. “We wanted to keep the libraries open the same number of hours, but doing this helped save one of our other libraries.”
Pasco commission chairwoman Pat Mulieri said one library had to remain open 40 hours a week so the county could continue receiving federal funding. The Land O’ Lakes library is the busiest of the facilities, so it was the one selected to stay at the current hours.
From Oct. 1 of last year to this July 30, 377,510 items were checked out of the central Pasco facility, according to Allen. The next most used was the Regency Park Branch Library in New Port Richey with 276,730 and the Hudson Regional Library with 275,596.
Also, the new hours do not affect the Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St., because it is under the jurisdiction of the city.
Mulieri was a professor at Pasco-Hernando Community College (PHCC) for more than 20 years. Working in education for so long made libraries very important to her, which made the decision to cut hours very difficult.
“Reading is a major joy for me,” Mulieri said. “As a teacher of young students early in my career, I realized that reading was the key to learning. I always tried to stimulate and encourage students’ love of books. At PHCC I taught composition, literature, humanities and designed a course (called) images of woman in literature. In each class I would bring in diverse material to get the students to enjoy reading and not look at it as a chore.”
Mulieri added that she reads books to children at the various libraries throughout the year.
The decision to reduce hours comes at a time when more people are using the system’s facilities.
“Our services as a whole have increased by 12 percent from the previous year,” Allen said. “So we’re looking at continued growth in services with 13 less staff members from last year. It’s become interesting and difficult to make it work, but more people are coming in and that’s important.”
Some of those services go much further than checking out books.
“More people are applying for welfare and other government services and it’s hard to get to those offices or even to get someone on the phone,” Allen said. “We help people use the Internet to sign up for those programs because a lot of people disconnect their Internet if they lose their job. Also people come in looking for jobs and they all need to upload resumes by Internet.”
Marc Silverwood lives in Wesley Chapel near the New River Library. He said he goes to the library every other week for a new book and does not like the idea of reducing hours.
“I usually come to the library in the evening and it looks like they still have evening hours, but I think libraries should be open,” Silverwood said. “It’s just an investment in the future if kids have a place to get books.”
News is not all bad for all of Florida’s public libraries. Several months ago the state Legislature said it was going to cut all funding to libraries. This would also mean federal funding would eventually end because that money is based on a percentage of what the state gives its library systems.
“They are continuing to give us about the same amount, which is close to $200,000 this year,” Allen said. “We also got three grants from the state this year, which are paid for by federal money that will add another $200,000.”
For more information on the Pasco Library System, visit pascolibraries.org.

Land O’ lakes Branch Library, 2818 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes
Tuesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday and Monday, closed

Library hours
New River Branch Library, 34043 SR 54 in Zephyrhills
Tuesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Wednesday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday and Monday, closed

Hugh Embry Branch Library, 14215 Fourth St. in Dade City
Tuesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Wednesday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Thursday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday and Monday, closed

Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St. in Zephyrhills
Tuesday thorough Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Sunday and Monday, closed

By B.C. Manion

They streamed into the Old Lutz Schoolhouse carrying covered dishes and desserts and placed them on tables already laden with food.
Some made their way about the room, looking at black and white photographs that captured scenes from the past. Or they checked out the memorabilia: Colorful citrus labels, a Sunday school cradle enrollment form about a century old; a $1 receipt for hymnals purchased during the Depression.

They gathered in clusters, laughing at old memories, catching up on family news and reminiscing about people they knew who have passed away.
This was the 24th reunion of the descendents of the pioneering families of Lutz and Land O’ Lakes.
Cindy Swisher was there. She said wouldn’t miss it.
“My great-grandmother was Minnie Dennison. My grandmother was Dorothy Frizzell. My mother is Glenda Louette. My dad is Charles Steinke,” she said. Her grandfather, Bill Steinke, was the first chief of the Lutz volunteer fire department.
“I’ve been here all of my life. I was one of the last classes to go to school in here,” she said, referring to the old schoolhouse which closed during the 1970s.
“My family was here before it was even Lutz,” she added, noting her descendants originally settled in the community during the early 1800s.
Annie Carlton Fernandez, an event organizer, said she looks forward to the reunion that is held each year during the second weekend of October.
The communities of Lutz and Land O’ Lakes have changed enormously through the years, but those attending the reunion have an abiding affection for their communities, Fernandez said.
She recalls when Lutz was a simpler, quieter place.
“We used to have a band in Lutz. We would practice on (US) 41, a two-laner. We wouldn’t have to worry about anything.”
Others recalled swimming in Lutz lakes, eating oranges from the community’s trees and watching movies at the old band shell at Bullard Park.
While others mingled out on the patio, Ed Brant and Janet King O’Neill checked out some photographs inside.
“We’re remembering a lot of the adults we grew up with,” Brant said. He points to a little boy in a picture. “I think that’s me,” he said.
His wife, Sharon, said the annual gatherings provide a venue for preserving the community’s history. “It’s retelling a story. It makes you remember,” she said.
Outdoors, under canopies, people ate lunch, talked and listened to music.
Elizabeth Riegler MacManus, who died in 2008, is credited for starting the reunions nearly a quarter-century ago.
Margie Strickland used to help MacManus with the event. She said no one will ever know how much money MacManus spent on the annual reunions.
Susan MacManus, the daughter of Elizabeth Riegler MacManus, is a professor at the University of South Florida and is widely known for her political expertise.
She also worked with her mother to chronicle the history of Lutz and Land O’ Lakes in a book called “Sawmills, Citrus, Critters & Crackers: Life in Early Lutz and Central Pasco,” published in 1998 by the University of Tampa Press.
Now, Susan is working on a companion book that will honor the centennial of Lutz. It’s called “Going, Going … Almost Gone,” and is due out next year. Again, Susan and her mother will be listed as the book’s co-authors.
Susan brought a copy of the manuscript to the annual reunion to give people a sneak preview.
One section covers the area’s fondness for picnics.
“Good fellowship, food, fun and rekindled friendships have been the hallmarks of Lutz-Land O’ Lakes area annual picnics since the 1910s,” states the book.  “Even the earliest settlers realized the importance of reflecting on shared histories and passing them along to the next generation.”

By B.C. Manion

Hillsborough County property owners who want to be excluded from community plans no longer have that option.
The Hillsborough County Commission voted 3-2 on Oct. 12 to delete the option – reversing an action the board took on July 22.
Commissioners Kevin Beckner, Rose Ferlita and Mark Sharpe voted to drop the provision, with commissioners Ken Hagan and Al Higgenbotham dissenting. Commissioners Jim Norman and Kevin White were absent.
The opt-out provision has drawn strong criticism from Lutz activist Denise Layne, who has said it would undermine the community planning process. The community plans for Lutz and Keystone/Odessa are in the process of being updated.
Reviewers from the state Department of Community Affairs saw the provision in two community plans submitted by the county for review.
State planners objected to the opt-out provision in plans for both Seffner/Mango and Brandon.
They said the provision is contrary to state law. They also said that allowing the option of opting out “undermines the guidance for development established by the community plans and will negate their effectiveness in ensuring the long-range viability of these communities.”
Additionally, allowing opt-outs “renders these community plans not meaningful because the community plans are created in order to implement a vision for development in the community.”
State regulators found that allowing individual properties to exclude themselves would lead to incompatible land uses and defeat the purpose of creating a community plan.
Sharpe said “the letter from DCA seems to me to be pretty darn clear.”
Beckner and Ferlita reiterated their objections to the provision.
Preserving the integrity of the community planning process is crucial, Beckner said. Property owners who want to challenge the plan have legal remedies, he added.
“Opt-outs were a mistake,” Ferlita said. “It makes no sense.”
In the 12 years that the county has had a community planning process, 16 community plans have been adopted and no opt-outs have been allowed, said Lisa Silva, principal planner for the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission.
Bob Hunter, executive director of the planning commission, suggested the board’s July 22 action was influenced by “electioneering.”
Higginbotham bristled at Hunter’s comment.
When constituents come to him with their concerns, Higgenbotham said he takes them seriously.
Hagan said he favors community planning; however he added, “at the same time, I recognize the process is flawed.”
Sharpe said allowing people to opt out at the end of the process could stymie efforts to involve people during the process.
Instead, they’ll just show up when commissioners are considering the plan and say they want out. When that happens, the board will be stuck because they set a precedent, so the plan will be useless, Sharpe said.

By Molly McGowan

It’s been called the “Vote on Everything” amendment by skeptics and considered the cure to the “boom and bust” cycle of real estate by proponents, but on Nov. 2, Amendment 4 on the ballot will be called by a more complex name.

Voters will see this title: “Referenda required for adoption and amendment of local government comprehensive land use plans.” In layman’s terms: “Should voter approval be required for changes to growth management plans? Should voters be able to veto a plan because they don’t approve of the new blueprint for their city or county or of new proposed developments?”
Cynics say no, that Amendment 4 would just create more taxpayer expenses, resulting from litigation that would inevitably follow vetoes to changes in land use plans. According to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, one of Amendment 4’s most staunch opponents, city and county governments would have to hold referenda on upwards of hundreds or thousands of referenda annually, which would be quite costly.
That’s the main point that the opposition wants voters to be aware of — that Amendment 4 could be potentially costly for taxpayers, and more of a hassle than a privilege when it comes to voting time.
Adam Babington, vice president of governmental affairs at the chamber, said that under Amendment 4, the cost of holding elections would be between $44 and $83 million a year and litigation expenses could hit a billion dollars for the state of Florida.
Babington stated that “it’s pretty clear Florida is still in a recession,” and that Amendment 4 would only make things worse for taxpayers.
Meanwhile, those backing the amendment argue that it’s important for voters to realize the power and influence that voting “yes” on Amendment 4 would give them in the state government. Wayne Garcia, communications director for Florida Hometown Democracy, said Amendment 4 would give taxpayers and citizens the control they deserve over the land use system, allowing them to help decide how available land will be used, and which developments will be built where.
Garcia said that since it’s the taxpayer’s dollars that pay for changes in land use plans, they should be directly involved in the decision-making processes. Garcia also said the argument that Amendment 4 would increase election costs is invalid; the Department of Community Affairs tracked how many land use amendments there had actually been over the past few years, and came up with an average of 4.2 a year.
Garcia and other Amendment 4 supporters regard Land O’ Lakes’ Connerton neighborhood as an example of why Amendment 4 should be put into place. According to Garcia, the empty lots that were approved for homes within the development are now just a waste of space, and are examples of a “boom and bust” cycle of real estate that could be checked under Amendment 4.
Garcia also cites the city of St. Pete Beach as proof that there wouldn’t be an obscene amount of amendments proposed annually under Amendment 4. Garcia said the city of St. Pete Beach reviewed every comprehensive land use change since 2005 and found 25 proposed amendments, of which only 22 were approved and would have gone to election.
Spread across four election periods, only five or six of those amendments would have appeared annually on ballots under the amendment. Garcia said that this number of amendments would be reasonable for Florida voters, and that over time, would probably decrease. “I think there will be even fewer amendments once people learn to live within their means and their comprehensive plans,” Garcia said.
Babington and the Florida Chamber of Commerce look at St. Pete’s charter with a much more critical eye and see the attempt as a failure. Babington said that within 24 hours of amendments being drawn up for the city in 2008, a series of lawsuits and complaints were filed.
Babington said that over the course of the following year, the local government had incurred over $5,000 in litigation fees and by September 2009, property taxes had to be raised in order to help pay for them. So Babington – and the rest of the amendment’s opponents – view Amendment 4 as a surefire failure waiting to happen. “This isn’t just speculation of how it’s going to work,” Babington said. “We have a case study of how it’s worked in Florida, and it’s failed miserably.”
Florida Hometown Democracy countered that the expensive litigation that resulted in St. Petersburg was a result of developers who wanted to build enormous hotels on the waterfront and negatively affect the city’s population density, and not of the change in the charter.
Regardless of what ultimately caused the litigation expenses in St. Petersburg, decisions on Amendment 4 will ultimately be based on whether they believe more direct control in their government is worth having to make more decisions on future ballots.

Early voting
Don’t wait until Election Day to sound off on Amendment 4 and other issues. Early voting started this week and continues through Saturday, Oct. 30. Most locations allow voting 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will no voting on Sunday, Oct. 24.

Hillsborough early voting sites
Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave. in Carrollwood
New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa
County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
More locations at www.votehillsborough.org

Pasco early voting sites
(Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Land O’ Lakes Branch Library, 2818 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes
Village Market of Wesley Chapel, 5325 Village Market in Wesley Chapel
New River Branch Library, 34043 SR 54 in Zephyrhills
East Pasco Government Center, 14236 Sixth St. in Dade City
South Holiday Branch Library, 4649 Mile Stretch Drive in Holiday
West Pasco Government Center, 7530 Little Road in New Port Richey
Hudson Regional Library, 8012 Library Road in Hudson

By Kyle LoJacono

Three years ago Mary Jane and Jim Kranendonk lost their oldest son Thomas in a tractor-trailer accident.
Thomas was killed almost instantly when a trailer he was backing up flipped over onto him. Working through the grief was very difficult and HPH Hospice helped the couple and their children, John and Robert, find some peace after Thomas’ passing.

“John did a camp for kids suffering through the grieving process,” Mary Jane said. “HPH Hospice does a lot for families and kids in similar situations. It was hard, but they really helped our family so we wanted to give back in any way we could.”
To help raise money for the organization, Mary Jane’s group, the Land O’ Lakes Rowing Club, and Bay Area Watersports will host Row and Paddle for Hospice. The event is at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23 at Lake Saxon Park off Lake Saxon Drive in Land O’ Lakes.
“We’re encouraging people to bring their own boats to the event,” Mary Jane said. “We will also have drawings for coupons and other things from local businesses, a food vendor and a massage therapist to give people rubdowns before or after they go out on the boats.”
Denny Andram, of north Carrollwood, from the Stewards Foundation will bring his Tampa-based rowing team to compete against the Land O’ Lakes rowers.
“Mary Jane began rowing in one of our adult classes awhile back,” Andram said. “We wanted to be a part of this to support her in starting her own group.”
Spectators are encouraged to bring a chair to watch. Rowers need to be at least 15-years-old to participate in the races.
All the money raised from registration and part of what comes in from food and massages will go to the hospice.
“We wouldn’t be able to do the camps for children without help from people like Mary Jane,” said Laura Finch, HPH Hospice manager of bereavement services and children assistance programs. “My heart can’t express how much she does for us. She speaks so kindly of what we do, but really it’s people like her that allow us to offer these programs.”
Finch, of Wesley Chapel, said children like John have one to three one-on-one meetings for free with a hospice counselor. Then they can go on a weekend camping trip where they do activities with up to 80 children to help cope with their loss. Finch said they usually ask for a $10 donation for the camp, but do not turn people away if they cannot afford it.
For more information on HPH Hospice, call (727) 863-7971.
Mary Jane, who is a physical education teacher at Denham Oaks Elementary in Lutz, started the rowing club at the beginning of this year. It currently has 15 members, all women in their 40s and 50s. Members come from mainly Land O’ Lakes, but also Lutz, Odessa and Brooksville.
One of the members who has been with the group for several months is Valerie Voelker. She had never done rowing before joining the group.
“I’ve never done a competitive team sport like this before,” said Voelker, of Land O’ Lakes. “I did track in high school, but this is a challenge because it’s a team. You have to learn to work together and learn each other’s strengths to get anywhere. Most of the time there are new people during our mornings rowing, so we get to meet new people too.
“Mary Jane motivates us all,” Voelker continued. “Her coaching and educational background makes it easy for her to encourage us.”
The group rows Saturday or Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m.
Mary Jane enjoys doing the adult rowing club, but also wants to expand it to high schools as a club sport.
“It’s her passion,” Voelker said. “She wants to get rowing up and running in the area because it’s such a good time.”
The day will include races and demonstrations with rowing shells, canoes, kayaks and paddleboats. The event is $5 for those who register before the event or $10 at the event. Event-day registration starts at 7:30 a.m. To sign up, call (813) 996-4718 or e-mail .

By B.C Manion

Motorists driving by pipeline being installed at locations near US 41 and Willow Bend Parkway may wonder what’s up with the pipes.
Many living in the area likely already know the pipeline is part of a massive project to install 483 miles of pipeline to carry natural gas through parts of Alabama and Florida.

The pipeline is owned by Florida Gas Transmission, which is operated by Citrus Corp. and is a joint venture of Southern Union and El Paso Corp.
The project will increase the company’s certificated capacity of natural gas by 820 million cubic feet per day. The company has estimated the demand for natural gas is expected to increase by more than 1 billion cubic feet per day in 2015.
The pipeline being installed in the $2.45 billion project will carry natural gas to electric generation companies, industrial users, municipal generators and local distribution companies, according to documents filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Residents living on County Line Road East, south of Willow Bend Parkway and east of U.S. 41, are all too familiar with the project.
They opposed it but were unable to block it, said Susan Naffziger, who lives on County Line Road East. Residents didn’t want the pipeline so close to their homes, she said. They also objected to the removal of a canopy of trees.
“It took away the country look,” she said. The trees also provided a good visual buffer between their homes and passing traffic, she said.
While they couldn’t stop the pipeline, neighbors did win a concession. The company will build a wall to replace the visual buffer that was lost when the trees were removed, Naffziger said.
Federal regulators approved the pipeline on Nov. 19, 2009, subject to 43 conditions that are intended to mitigate potential adverse effects.
In approving the project, regulators noted that the project’s use of horizontal directional drilling methods will avoid disturbing all of the major and most sensitive water bodies along the pipeline’s route.
An estimated 99 percent of the new pipeline is being laid in existing right-of-way, and most of it is going near a pipeline that Florida Gas Transmission put into service in 1993, according to federal documents.
The company plans to transport gas to Florida Power & Light, Florida Power Corporation/Progress Energy Florida, Inc. Seminole Electric Cooperative, Tampa Electric Company, the Orlando Utilities Commission and the City of Tallahassee.

By Shannon Edinger

Tails will be wagging when The Shops at Wiregrass hosts the second annual Dogtoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 23 from 2-6 p.m. Admission is free, and organizers are encouraging dog lovers to bring their animals and enjoy live music, pet costume contests, adoptions and more.

Jeanine Cohen is organizing the event on behalf of a nonprofit all volunteer charity, Animal Based Charities Inc.
“So far, there are 40-plus rescue groups attending, and we will have over 500 cats, dogs, puppies, and kittens available for adoption,” Cohen said.
There will be pet costume contests with categories such as cutest dog, scariest dog and most festive dog, to name a few.  There will be more than $1,000 in prizes at the event, and everyone who enters his or her dog into the contest will receive free gelato from 365 Caffe Italiano.
Also, the first 50 pets signed up for any contest will receive $10 microchips from a veterinarian on location.
There will be pet product vendors and kid-friendly activities at the event such as face painting and balloon artists.
“We want people to come out and support our charities,” Cohen says.  “We had an event in February where we had 500 adoptions in five hours and we want to do that again.”
The Shops at Wiregrass is located at 28211 Paseo Dr. in Wesley Chapel.  For more information, contact Jeanine Cohen at (813) 625-2405 or email .

Curley Road in Wesley Chapel will be closed to through traffic from Oct. 21-Nov. 5 to make improvements as part of the widening project of SR 54.

Vehicles will be able to access areas north of the SR 54 and Curley intersection by using Boyette Road and Wells Road.
It will raise the elevation of Curley by about four feet at the intersection, according to Pasco County chief engineer James Widman. This is to make it match up with SR 54 once it is widened to six lanes.
“We decided it best to close the intersection during the construction because the traffic congestion would be too difficult to work around,” Widman said. “Closing it will let the builders get it done faster and safer for the workers.”
Widman said Pepper Contraction Services Inc., which is also doing the SR 54 widening, is completing the work on Curley. It is part of the original $28 million project and will cost no more public money to complete.
-Kyle LoJacono