Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

Semi-truck drivers honked to show their support.

So did drivers in SUVs, four-door sedans, pickup trucks, PT Cruisers, foreign compact cars and min-vans.

But the most insistent honking of all came from school bus drivers, who laid on their horns when they rolled past a string of more than 100 protesters who lined up along SR 54 in Wesley Chapel on Friday, March 4.

The protesters gathered in front of Republican State Rep. Will Weatherford’s district office to send a clear message to state legislators.

“We are not going to roll over and play dead,” said Frank Roder, a vice president of the United School Employees of Pasco.

The crowd chanted “save our schools” and waved protest signs.

Organizers revved up emotions by chanting through bullhorns, but this crowd didn’t need much encouragement. They were obviously pumped up.

The rally was timed — just before the Legislature convened in Tallahassee this week — to let lawmakers know teachers and support staff want them to help, not hurt, schools.

“Some people think it is a done deal,” Roder said. He hopes that it’s not. “We’re out here to let people know, we care our about kids, we care about our jobs and hopefully, we’ll get some of their attention,” he said.

He cited several concerns, including Senate Bill 736, which he characterized as essentially a rewrite of Senate Bill 6, vetoed last year by Gov. Charlie Crist.

Roder said he’s not opposed to all forms of pay for performance, but thinks any change along those lines should be done after testing it out in pilot schools and tweaking it to be sure it works.

Roder said district employees are scared about potential layoffs.

“The custodians, the people in the lunchrooms, are afraid of what’s going to happen,” he said. Teaching assistants are worried, too.

Concerns about layoffs are legitimate because personnel is the district’s biggest expense and the district faces a $60 million shortfall, said Roder, who is on the district’s budget review committee.

The layoffs have human consequences, he said. “You’re talking about families in our community who are going to be out of a job.”

Collective bargaining is another big issue, Roder added.

Wisconsin and Ohio have already captured national headlines regarding efforts to dismantle collecting bargaining — with opponents claiming states simply can’t afford the benefits granted to public employees through collective bargaining.

“I don’t know how we became public enemy No. 1,” Roder said.  “I’ve been in education for 36 years. I’ve always been very proud to say I’m an educator. Suddenly, to say you’re in education, to say you’re a firefighter, to say you’re a police officer, has an ugly connotation — that we have it made and we have all these cushy benefits.”

Besides lining up SR 54, public school educators held similar protests near Sen. Mike Fasano’s office and Rep. John Legg’s office in Pasco County. Teachers in Polk and Pinellas also held similar rallies, Roder said.

Anne Bertugli, a behavioral specialist at Centennial Elementary, took part in Wesley Chapel.

The Zephyrhills resident said she’s worried about the impact that cuts will have on education.

“I’m concerned about the violation of the spirit of the Florida Constitution which protects the right to collective bargaining.,” she added.

She’s also concerned about a proposal to mandate a change in the way teachers are evaluated and paid, she said.

“I’m not here for myself. My day is done,” she said, noting she has signed up for the Deferred Retirement Option program.

“I’m out here in support of the people who paved the way for me and for the younger teachers,” Bertugli said.

“The governor, when he was running, promised there would be no cuts to education. Now, if I’m understanding correctly, he’s talking a 10 percent cut,” she said.

“I think what you are going to see is a lot of support services cut.”

Jillian Kornick, a special education teacher at Centennial Elementary, said in four years she hasn’t received a raise.

“I don’t feel that we’ve gotten the respect that we deserve,” said the woman who graduated from Saint Leo University with a bachelor’s degree and also holds a master’s degree from  Saint Leo.

Anita Altman, a teacher at Quail Hollow Elementary in Wesley Chapel, said children are the ones who are paying the price for inadequate school funding.

“This is what I want to know: Why are you picking on the unions? Wall Street did more to hurt this economy and I don’t see much punishment going on, on Wall Street,” Altman said.

By Kyle LoJacono

The Wesley Chapel High football players took a break from offseason workouts to encourage reading at two area elementary schools to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday March 2.

Damian Garvey, Alex McGough, Keegan Tanner and Hunter Robinson, along with their coach Ben Alford visited New River and Quail Hollow elementary schools.

“It shows those kids that there is more to football than just football,” Alford said. “You see these kids light up today when they’re being read too. Just something simple like reading a book is the world to them. So being able to give back like this is not just great for us, it’s great for the community of Wesley Chapel.”

Robinson, a sophomore, read Great Day for Up to the students.

“I remember when older kids would come into my classroom and read to me,” Robinson said. “It’s good to give back.”

Tanner, a junior, read And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and I can Read With My Eyes Shut.

“I have both books in my house right now,” Tanner said. “I used to read them both, but my favorite Dr. Seuss book was Green Eggs and Ham.”

The day seems to have been a hit with the students.

“It makes it really special for the football team to read to us for Dr. Seuss’ birthday,” said New River fourth-grader Andrew Casdaneda.

Alford approached his players about two weeks ago to see if they would be interested in reading to the elementary school students.

“Our principal Ms. (Carin) Nettles has done a terrific job promoting literacy at the high school, and I thought this would be a good way to continue that in the lower grade levels,” Alford said. “We want to show them how important reading is. You want them to start early and if they see football players reading, hopefully they’ll want to read too. I think it can do wonders for the kids.”

The students had questions for every player about the books, but they also wanted the football player’s autographs. Two even had Tanner sign their hats.

Despite the adoration showered on them, the football players so accustomed to the bright lights on Friday nights were a little anxious about reading to the kids.

“I was a little nervous,” Robinson said. “I didn’t think I was going to be that nervous.”

Tanner said of the anxiety, “I could feel my hands shaking. Once I got used to it, I was fine. … In football, the pressure is focused on the team. Here it was just on me. It was different, but a good kind of different.”

The reading event is just one in a long line of community service projects for the Wildcats football program since Alford took over last spring. The squad also went and painted the old San Antonio Boys Village.

“We’ll continue to do those things,” Alford said. “They mentioned to me here at New River about us coming out and helping with their fair day. We’re going to do whatever we can. If someone calls and asks for help, we’re going to do what we can.”

The players think it will also help the program’s unity in the long run.

“It’s good for the community,” Robinson said. “We want to become closer to the community. They are the ones who show up for our games and show us support. It’s all about just reaching out to let people know we’re here.”

Meghan Keough makes area basketball history

By Kyle LoJacono

No Pasco or northern Hillsborough county high schools won a basketball state title this season, but Land O’ Lakes still has a Class 3A champion.

Tampa Catholic senior guard Meghan Keough led the Crusaders to the 3A state crown, their second straight, by defeating Coconut Creek North Broward Prep 48-37 Feb. 24.

“It’s really amazing,” said Keough, of Land O’ Lakes. “It hasn’t really hit me yet. In a couple of months I’ll probably just stop and think about everything that has happened in the last two years.”

No other Hillsborough girls basketball team has won back-to-back titles. In fact, county schools have only taken home five state championships, including Tampa Catholic’s, since the sport started in Florida in 1976.

If girls basketball championships have been rare in Hillsborough, they have been only a dream in Pasco. Zephyrhills in 1986 is the only squad to represent the county in a state title game.

Keough attended Land O’ Lakes High for her freshman and sophomore years.

“The decision to leave Land O’ Lakes was a really hard one,” Keough said. “To pick up and go to a new school where I didn’t know anyone. That was a big sacrifice, but I felt the academics would be better for me at Tampa Catholic.”

Last season Keough was the Crusaders point guard, but was moved to shooting guard this year. Tampa Catholic coach Nancy Kroll said the team needed her to score more this season because the squad lost its two top scorers to graduation.

The shift to shooting guard was easy for Keough, as she has played the position for most of her life, but her year running point gave her new insights into the game.

“I saw the whole floor differently after being the point guard,” Keough said. “Just understanding the angles and everything else it takes to win.”

Keough was the Crusaders team leader in points this season, scoring 679, 21.2 per contest. She still led the team with 105 assists and had the second most steals, 103, and blocks, 23, while also pulling down 143 rebounds.

Tampa Catholic went 28-4 this season, but started the year 3-4.

“We might have thought we were better than we were, and that put us in a hole early,” Keough said. “We recovered and worked harder and wound up winning 25 straight games to end the year.”

Keough will play at the University of Central Florida (UCF) next year with her older sister Kayli, who attended Land O’ Lakes while in high school. She credits Kayli for her love of basketball.

“I started playing at age 10 because that’s when Kayli started playing and I wanted to do everything with her,” Keough said. “She’s my best friend. The reason I worked so hard to get on varsity my freshman year at Land O’ Lakes was so I could play on the same team as her.”

Keough plans to major in premed at UCF. She currently has a 4.2 weighted grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Beta Club and the Science National Honor Society to name a few.

Keough said her championship medals are right now in her room, but she suspects her mother will soon frame them. State basketball titles are so rare in Pasco, she might want to consider putting them under lock and key.

“We’ll always be able to say we won two championships,” Keough said. “When people look at the banners in the gym, that will be our accomplishments.”

Keough’s career stats

Points: 1,955

3-pointers: 135

Assists: 334

Steals: 317

Rebounds: 514

Blocks: 47

Record: 95-25

Story by Gary S. Hatrick

Zephyrhills Municipal Airport Manager Trina Sweet was fired Friday afternoon after five years in the head office at the B.F. Parsons Terminal in Zephyrhills.

City Manager Steve Spina confirmed Monday morning that he had sent a disciplinary action notice to the City Council notifying them that Sweet was terminated.

In the notice, Spina wrote, “I am terminating the services of Trina Sweet as airport manager, effective immediately. Reasons for this termination include abuse of leave privileges, excessive tardiness, failure to maintain city property, failure to adequately maintain proper time sheets. As a stand alone department, it is imperative that the manager be on site and available to airport users, staff and other customers and public.”

A notation on the bottom of the form records “refused to sign 3/4/11 2 pm.”

City Council president Lance Smith offered his reaction to the news.

“It’s not good anytime you have to terminate anybody,” he said. “I think that this was an accumulation of things that happened over time. I think she was given the opportunity, but she wasn’t trying to correct anything. I like her personally, but if she wasn’t doing the job then you have to make a change.”

Whether that change will include hiring a new manager could be in question. Smith said that in light of the current budget projections, it may be wise to hold off on filling the position until the council has a chance to finish next year’s budget.

Sweet became airport manager in 2006, replacing Jim Werme, who resigned in 2005 after Spina threatened to fire him following an often-strained relationship with the city manager and the City Council. After Werme’s departure, Sweet worked as interim airport manager until she was hired to fill the position.

Sweet could not be reached for comment.

By Kyle LoJacono

Wesley Chapel High played host to half of the Pasco County Summer Special Olympics games Feb. 25 for the second straight year.

All athletes and teams from central and east Pasco, a total of 18 schools, competed in almost 20 different events. One of those defending his home track was Wesley Chapel freshman Carlos Ortiz.

“I like to do Special Olympics because it’s fun and I get to meet new people,” Ortiz said. “You get to do a lot of cool things.”

Ortiz won the 5K bike race this year with a time of 19 minutes and 55 seconds. He also competed in the county games the previous three years while at Weightman Middle. However, this year he got to hear a pep talk from a gold-medal winning track star.

Stewart Middle teacher and Zephyrhills High girls track coach Jason Rouser was part of the U.S. 4×400 meter relay team that brought home the gold in 1996. He wished all of the athletes good luck during the opening ceremony.

“When I was asked if I wanted to come speak at the Special Olympics and help out, I said of course,” Rouser said. “This is my first Special Olympics games and all the kids are having a good time and competing at their sports. It’s a great thing.”

While Rouser was taking in his first county games, Land O’ Lakes High Special Olympics soccer coach Vicky King has been a part of more than 20.

“Winning is just as important to them as any other athlete,” King said. “They give it everything they have, and it’s amazing to see them out on the field.”

King is also the Gators girls soccer coach and coordinates Special Olympics soccer throughout Pasco.

The event is also special to the student volunteers. Wesley Chapel senior Marcus Crescentini volunteered for the first time this year and is glad he did.

“I thought that I should give back,” Crescentini said. “I had friends who always volunteered and I never really understood why. They said to me if I came out I would understand and they’re right. It’s really an amazing thing.”

Crescentini was a little out of his comfort zone for part of the day. He is a pitcher on the Wildcats baseball team, but was the goalkeeper for the unified soccer team at the games. Unified squads have Special Olympics and traditional athletes on the same team.

Fellow Wesley Chapel pitcher Brandon Mumaw, a senior, also volunteered at the event. He said he helped at the games when he went to Weightman Middle and wanted to do it again his senior year.

“We’re proud to have a lot of the schools in Pasco County competing at our fields,” Mumaw said. “Last year, I’m told, it was great and I know firsthand it is this year.”

By Kyle LoJacono

It is no secret the population of east Pasco County is on the older side of the age scale, which is why Florida Hospital Zephyrhills opened its Primary Stroke Center Feb. 28.

The hospital’s CEO and president Doug Duffield said the project has been in the works for a few years, but it really got going in earnest last fall.

“It fits in with everything we’re trying to do here at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills,” Duffield said. “Giving the best and the fastest care to our community with an eye on what programs will give the greatest impact.”

Dr. Amabel Cabatu is the medical director of the new center, which is located within the hospital’s emergency department. She has been practicing medicine for five years.

“Strokes are very common, and in fact they are the No. 3 cause of death in the United States and the No. 1 cause of long-term disability in this country,” Cabatu said. “Every 40 seconds, someone has a stroke in the United States. Most of them are in people 65 or older, but they can happen in all ages.”

Cabatu said a stroke is an interruption of blood floor to the brain, causing tissue to die.

“The most common reason one happens is a blockage. That accounts for 80 percent of strokes,” Cabatu said. “Most of the others happen when blood starts seeping out of the arteries, so blood isn’t getting to where it needs to.”

Cabatu said strokes and heart attacks are very similar, as both happen because of an interruption of blood flow. She added the same risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking, being overweight and high cholesterol, can also increase the chance of having a stroke.

“The biggest difference is the brain is a lot more unforgiving than any other part of the body,” Cabatu said. “After a heart attack, the heart can get stronger again. If you remove half of someone’s liver, it will grow back. If you remove a kidney, the other one takes over. The brain doesn’t bounce back like that.”

Cabatu said the long-term effects include loss of movement on one side of the body. The only real way to prevent that is to get to a hospital as fast as possible. She said there are medications and surgical measures, such as stents and removing a blockage, but they do not work more than three hours after a stroke begins.

“They can do some therapy to retrain someone to do things, but the motor function is almost always permanently gone,” Cabatu said.

Cabatu said the chance of having a stroke doubles for every 10 years once someone reaches the age of 55.

“That means a stroke center is critical here in Zephyrhills,” Cabatu said. “Not only do we have an older population, but we have a very healthy and active elderly population. We have people who travel around, go see their friends, play shuffleboard and other active things. If you take someone who is used to cooking for their family or going out dancing with their wife, it would be devastating to be permanently disabled by a stroke.”

The hospital has the distinction of being a primary stroke center, which means they can start treatment within an hour of someone having a stroke.

“Speed is so important, and a lot of that speed comes from the Pasco County Fire and Rescue personnel,” Cabatu said. “They’ve been trained to recognize the signs of a stroke and they are now allowed to take people to stroke centers like we have here, even if it means going past another hospital.”

As a primary stroke center, the hospital has a specialist always available to give the medications to help treat a stroke, but Cabatu said the facility has bigger plans for the ailment.

Cabatu said the center will likely become a comprehensive stroke center in the coming months. That means there would always be a doctor available to perform stroke treatment measures like opening clogs with stents or removing them with surgery.

There are currently 17 comprehensive stroke centers in Florida. Cabatu said the nearest to Zephyrhills are in Tampa or Orlando.

“Having a comprehensive center closer to home is so important given how critical speed is to treating strokes,” Cabatu said. “Our plan is to also have all the therapy and rehab treatment right here at the center.”

Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, 7050 Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills, will also begin having stroke identification and prevention classes in its wellness center. The first is March 10 from 1-2 p.m. For more information on the center, call the hospital at (813) 788-0411.

Early signs of a stroke

–Slurred speech

–Severe headache

–Vision loss in one eye

–Difficulty speaking

–Unable to move body parts

If you suspect someone is having a stroke, call 911 as soon as possible.