Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Press freedom advocates say that proposal is not needed

By B.C. Manion

State Sen. Jim Norman has filed a bill that would make it illegal for anyone to take photographs or video recordings on farms or of farm operations without the consent of the property owner or the owner’s authorized representative.

The bill is intended as “protection for farmers, from A to Z,” Norman told a group of agricultural industry representatives at a meeting at the Pasco County Fairgrounds last Friday, March 4.

It would protect the intellectual property rights of farmers who are working on patents, Norman said. It also would allow them to keep their competitive operational methods private and would prevent people from misrepresenting themselves to obtain images when they come on a farmer’s property, Norman said.

“I just believe that to go on somebody’s property, you need their permission,” Norman said, adding he wouldn’t want someone to come into his house and begin filming.

The bill is only intended to cover only people who are physically on the farm’s property, Norman said. It is not aimed at restricting people from obtaining images as they fly over a property or from doing so from the road.

The bill doesn’t apply to state inspectors or law enforcement officials, either, Norman said.

Ray Crawford, with the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, called Norman’s bill important. He said it is very easy for someone to create an unfair portrayal of a farming operation.

“I can follow you around for a month,” Crawford said. “I can take a snippet here and a snippet there, and make you look bad.”

By the same token, it doesn’t take much to hurt the agriculture animal industry, Crawford said.

“Let’s face it, if you put something out on YouTube or 60 Minutes or something like that, it reflects on animal agriculture,” Crawford said.

“We want the industry to be humane and we want the industry to be productive,” Crawford said. “It is to our advantage to take the best possible care we can with our animals.”

“Ninety-nine point nine percent of our guys are fantastic,” Crawford added. “If you’ve got a situation where somebody is not doing what they’re supposed to do, they don’t survive,” he said.

Jeff Kerr, general counsel for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said, “Sen. Jim Norman should be ashamed of himself.”

Instead of restricting cameras, Norman should be pushing to install cameras so people can witness the mistreatment of the animals that ultimately wind up on their dinner plates, Kerr said. He also calls the proposed legislation “blatantly unconstitutional.”

Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, based in Arlington, Va., said she doesn’t understand why a special law is necessary.

“There’s more than enough law out there to accomplish what these guys are trying to achieve,” Dalglish said.

Ben Parks, director of state legislative affairs for the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, said the bill that has been filed is not in its final form.

“Right now, it’s a working document,” Parks said.

“This is mainly a private property rights bill,” Parks said. “We want to make sure everything is legal and constitutional.”

The bill is generally aimed at people who go onto a property “with the malicious intent to destroy the reputation of a farming operator,” Parks said.

Dalglish said that trespass laws are designed to keep people off of private property.

“To make it illegal to take a photograph on a farm property — it’s ridiculous,” Dalglish said.

Sam Morley, general counsel for the Florida Press Association, said “the kind of behavior the bill is intended to prevent such as unauthorized secret filming or trespassing on agricultural or farming operations is already subject to criminal or civil penalties or lawsuit or firing in case of an employee.”

By B.C. Manion

On the surface, they look like any group of young professionals meeting after work to catch up on things and have a drink or two.

But this collection of women, gathered at The Vine Restaurant and Wine Bar in Lutz, had a much more meaningful agenda. They’re engaged in a quest to help conquer breast cancer.

As the early arrivals chatted, a woman flashing a megawatt smile came bounding into the restaurant.

It was Darby Steadman, a Lake Magdalene woman who has refused to shed her upbeat attitude despite her diagnosis of Stage IV metastatic breast cancer.

She doesn’t know how much time she has left on this earth, but she is determined to make the most of it.

As she joined her friends, the focus wasn’t on Steadman. They were gathered to work out details for a benefit on March 19-20 at the Emerald Greens Country Club to raise funds for the Driving Miss Darby Foundation

The nonprofit foundation aims to “reduce the burdens that trial patients face during their treatment commitment by defraying the costs associated with travel, lodging and medical expenses,” according to the foundation’s website.

The foundation also provides funding for clinical trials.

Steadman and some of her friends launched the foundation when she was living in Baltimore three years ago.

She was in a breast cancer vaccine trial under the direction of Dr. Leisha Emens at Johns Hopkins.

That experience opened Steadman’s eyes into how clinical trials work.

“Clinical trial researchers are almost like missionaries. They have to go out and get their own funding,” she said.

Steadman was lucky. She only lived about 20 minutes away from the clinical site and could drive herself back and forth.

Others weren’t as fortunate. They were coming from all over the country and were paying for their own meals, lodging and travel. Astounded and horrified, she and some friends decided to try to do something about it. They formed a foundation.

“When we first started doing “Driving Miss Darby,” actually we wanted to get them from the airport to the hospital and we wanted to give them a bag of goodies. That’s how it all started. And then, it just got really big,” Steadman said.

As her efforts began in Baltimore, other efforts were getting off the ground in Tampa.

“It kind of started with the love of a group of classmates of Darby’s from Chamberlain High,” said Jennifer Juranko, who lives in Wesley Chapel.

“We, here in Tampa, wanted to do something to show support,” Juranko said. A golf tournament, suggested by their friend Joey Larson, was born.

They put the word out to their friends. About 120 golfers played in the tournament and about 200 people attended the evening benefit.

“It kind of has just blossomed and grown each year,” Juranko said.

Organizing the event is much like tracking down money for research: It requires a certain amount of tenacity, creativity and energy, too.

“I think originally, it was, “Hey, let’s get some friends together and let’s raise some money for Darby,” Steadman said.

“And then it turned into, “Wow, Darby has been doing some stuff with clinical trials and this is actually going to turn into something bigger than we thought.”

In its three years of existence, the foundation has raised $100,000. Of that, $60,000 has gone to Johns Hopkins to support the clinical trial, including $25,000 to be used strictly for the vaccine.

The other $40,000 is being used to support clinical trial participants.

“We have now sponsored six girls through the clinical trial,” Steadman said. There also are a dozen applications out.

When she met with the group last week, she told them: “I was just on the phone with a young woman today. It just broke my heart. Yesterday, she sent me three e-mails in the span of about 10 minutes. Each one of them was progressively more scared: “I just got my diagnosis. I have an 8-year-old daughter. I am a principal. I shut my door. I’m freaking out. I don’t know what to do”. ”

Steadman moved back to the area with her husband, John, and their two children, 11-year-old Liam and 8-year-old Audrey, to be near family for her final years. She said she knows how lucky she is to have her dear high school friends in her corner.

“I think that it shows you just the heart of people you grew up with. It is just incredible. It’s been a humbling experience and I am definitely blessed to have each one of these girls participate,” Steadman said.

“Everybody here brings a special skill or talent to the table,” Juranko said, citing specific contributions being made by each of the women seated around the table: Lisa Pierce of Lutz; Chris Wandembergh of Lutz; Kelly Mikes of Lutz; and Michelle Horan of Original Carrollwood.

Steadman’s appreciation for their efforts was obvious, as she glanced lovingly at her friends: “I joke around, I call it the “Darby vortex” and essentially once you get in, you can’t get out.”

They all seem quite willing to hang on to her – tight.

GIVE BACK NIGHT

What: The Vine Restaurant and Wine Bar, 17667 N. Dale Mabry Highway is hosting two give back nights to benefit Driving Miss Darby Foundation (The restaurant is on the east side of North Dale Mabry Highway, just south of Van Dyke Road).

When: 4 p.m. to close March 9 and March 16

How it works: Those going to the restaurant on the give back nights and mentioning they are there to support the Driving Miss Darby Foundation will have 10 percent of  the bill donated to the cause by the restaurant.

GOLF TOURNAMENT AND BENEFIT

What: The Driving Miss Darby Foundation 3^rd annual Golf Tournament & Benefit

When:

Benefit: 7 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, March 19

Golf Tournament: 11:30 a.m. registration and 1 p.m. shotgun start on Sunday, March 20

Where: Emerald Greens Golf and Country Club, Tampa

Why: To benefit the Driving Miss Darby Foundation

For event details and ticket information go to www.drivingmissdarbyfoundation.org

The Driving Miss Darby Foundation also has a page on Facebook.

By B.C. Manion

Walk into Dallas Smith’s home in Wesley Chapel and you’ll see a small shrine to magicians and escape artists of the past.

Posters, photographs, handcuffs and other devices and photographs are on display to proclaim his affinity for the craft. One of those photographs is of Bob Hutchins, a former Vaudeville performer who was Smith’s early teacher.

The allure of making magic attracted Smith when he was about 8.

He’d gone with his dad to the bowling alley and a man there showed him a card trick.

The man wouldn’t reveal how the trick worked, so Smith spent the better part of the next three days trying to figure it out.

He did, and his obsession with magic began.

Smith took weekly lessons for years from Hutchins and by the time he was 13, Smith was hiring himself out to work birthday parties.

“When Bob passed away, he left his old powder blue tuxedos to me,” Smith said.

For the most part, Smith did magic as a hobby.

“I dabbled in it. I was an amateur, but that was my passion.”

While doing magic on the side, he followed his father’s footsteps into the construction industry.

For a while, he put aside his hard hat and got back into magic — working all over the country performing at adult gatherings and trade shows. But he returned to construction and had a management job in recent years, before getting laid off last year.

Now, Smith specializes in magic for two types of audience: He does an anti-bullying campaign for schools and an outreach program for churches.

He also performs at birthday parties, special occasions and at various venues.

He began doing the anti-bullying program because his daughter, Loryn, was bullied verbally a few times. Loryn was born in China and was adopted by Smith and his wife, Patti.

He said some people made fun of Loryn because she is from China.

He uses a nationally approved curriculum for his anti-bullying magic show and hands out comic books that reinforce the lessons. He uses a variety of magic tricks to help bring home the points. During the act, he tells children: “Words do hurt.”

But he adds: “You’re not by yourself. You have support, whether it be a friend or a teacher or an adult.”

He reminds children they are not powerless.

“They’re not alone. They can go and get help.

“Telling on someone who is bullying is not the same as tattling. It’s actually helping,” he said.

He also tells the children: “We’re all different. Some of us are short, some of us are tall. Some of us are skinny, some of us are heavy.

“Some of us are from a different country, some of us speak different languages.

He demonstrates that by showing children three pieces of rope, which are of different lengths. He then does a bit of magic and makes them all the same.

“On the inside, we’re all the same,” he concludes.

“If we have glasses, if we have braces, it doesn’t matter. We all want to be happy.”

“It’s not like a lecture, so they remember it,” Smith said.

In his Christian illusion show, he uses magic to illustrate points being made in the parables.

“Some people have different talents. They can sing. They can dance. It doesn’t matter how many talents you have … What matters in Jesus’ eyes is if we use those talents to glorify him.”

Having a new business has its challenges, Smith said. But he believes he is on the right path.

For him, there is magic in magic.

“For a few minutes, you can cast all of your cares away and live in a magical moment and be a kid, and not worry about anything.”

About Dallas Smith

Dallas Smith offers anti-bullying programs and Christian illusion programs. He also will perform at birthday parties and special events.

For more information call (813-494-1484) or visit www.DallasSmithMagic.com

By B.C. Manion

Academy at the Farm is full of surprises.

For one thing, the school isn’t at a farm, although it does have a few chickens and some parakeets.

The school doesn’t look like a traditional school, either. It’s a collection of modular classroom buildings on a 10-acre tract in the Farmington Hills subdivision in Dade City.

The most striking differences between this charter school and traditional schools, however, is the way that Academy at the Farm operates.

Academy at the Farm is an inclusion school, meaning special education students and the other students who attend the school learn side by side. Roughly 20 percent of the 380 kindergarten through eighth-grade students at the school qualify for special education services.

Another difference? When any student needs extra help, he or she gets it — whether or not they qualify for special services, said Ray Polk, the school’s director.

Besides being a much smaller school than a typical public elementary or middle school, the staffing model at Academy of the Farm is quite different, too.

Polk and a team of lead teachers make up the school’s administration. They follow policies set by the school’s board. There is no assistant principal.

Most of the school’s funding comes from the state and is administered through Pasco County Schools, with the school district keeping 5 percent, Polk said.

“Over the years, as the state has cut back on funds — given us less money — our board has decided to raise the difference,” Polk said.

This year, it must raise $200,000.

Parents make voluntary donations and the school holds several fundraisers each year, including the annual “Make a Difference Walk” scheduled for March 5.

One reason the school costs more to operate is because every classroom has a teacher and a paraprofessional.

“We have extra hands on deck in that classroom every day,” said Polk, adding he is not aware of any other school in the state that can make that claim.

There’s no down time when a teacher is out, either.

“We do not hire subs because our teacher assistants take over that classroom when the teacher is not there. They already know the children. They’ve been doing the curriculum with the teacher and the children every day. The classroom instruction continues on, as if nobody has been out for the day.”

Kim Ladd has been involved with the school since it opened in 2002.

At that time, she was teaching in a Pasco elementary school and her three children were attending Academy at the Farm.

Since then, she has joined the charter school’s teaching staff. Two of her children still attend Academy at the Farm and another has graduated and gone on to Pasco High.

Ladd teaches middle school intensive reading and language arts and is the school’s department head for reading. She loves her job and the school.

The teachers have a true bond with the students, she said.

“They start with us in kindergarten and go through eighth grade,” she said.

The teachers get to know students on a personal level. They know which sports a student likes, what their interests are and all about their families, she said.

“We’re really like a family. All of the teachers work together with the parents and the administration to give the students what they need.”

The school also has high expectations, Ladd said.

The school day is longer, students wear uniforms and they are required to complete their class work and homework.

If they don’t finish their work, they must go to Saturday School — which Polk supervises.

Saturday School starts at 8 a.m. and students must finish their work before they can leave. Polk said the latest he has been there with a student is 4 p.m.

Academy at the Farm is focused on helping each child achieve his or her potential, Polk said.

The school’s staff acknowledges that children learn at different rates and in different ways.

And, when a student is struggling, it seeks to single out what is blocking progress and to help the student overcome the obstacle, Polk said, noting he was a slow reader during his school years.

When his peers finished reading, he’d pretend he was done, too. Then, when a teacher asked him a question, he didn’t know the answer because he had not read that portion of the text.

Polk said he didn’t gain confidence in his reading until a teacher noticed that he understood what he was reading but simply read at a slower pace.

“You can teach all day long, but if that kid doesn’t connect with what you are trying to teach him, you’re blowing hot air,” Polk said.

When students are struggling, Academy at the Farm staff seeks to isolate the problem.

“You can say you have a reading issue, is it fluency? Is it comprehension?” Polk said.

Once the school diagnoses a learning issue, it attempts strategies to intervene and keeps a close eye on the results, Polk said.

The school has a Learning Center where students go to get extra help.

Polk points to a filing cabinet in the center that contains records tracking the progress of individual students.

“Are they getting better with what we’re doing? If they’re not getting better, the game plan has to change.”

The school also uses considerable technology, with Smart Boards in every classroom and sophisticated software in its Learning Center.

When used properly, technology can help children who are lagging behind to catch up, can provide challenges for students who are zooming ahead and can meet the needs of students at every stage in between, Polk said.

Something at the school, apparently, is working.

The school earned an A from the state this year.

Parents give it high praise, too.

“It’s a wonderful atmosphere,” said Kelly Smith, whose son, Ty, attends the school and whose daughter, Makenna, graduated from the school and now attends Pasco High.

“We’ve got a tremendous group of teachers,” she said, noting they offer all sorts of extra help for students.

“Our learning lab is unbelievable,” added Smith, president of the Parent Teacher Organization. “They can tailor learning to each child’s needs.”

Some people think the school succeeds because it hand selects its students, Polk said.

In a way, that is true: It has a lottery every year — selecting names from a hat to fill the available slots.

This year, the school had 38 openings and more than 200 applications.

Its students come from Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Zephyrhills, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Dade City, San Antonio, Lacoochee and Blanton.

Despite the school’s popularity, it’s not for everyone, Polk said.

“It’s almost hot or cold. Either this works out really well, or it doesn’t fly at all,” Polk said. “We don’t let up when we think the child needs extra support either from here or home.”

MAKE A DIFFERENCE WALK

What: Students, staff and supporters of Academy at the Farm will take part in the school’s fourth annual “Make a Difference Walk” to raise funds for the school.

Where: The walk begins in the parking lot of the Dade City Courthouse on Live Oak.

When: The walk begins at 9 a.m. After the walk, everyone is invited to lunch in downtown Dade City at Beef O’ Brady’s, which is donating 20 percent of the proceeds to the school. Lunch usually begins between 10:30-11 a.m.

Anyone is welcome to take part in the walk or come to the lunch.

For more information about the school or to find out how to make a donation, go to www.academyatthefarm.com

Gazebo at Lake Park pays tribute to Mitch Bowers

By Kyle LoJacono

The newly constructed gazebo at Lake Park in Lutz will be the venue for birthday parties, weddings and other happy events, but the structure was built to honor the untimely death of Mitch Bowers.

Bowers was a member of Boy Scout Troop 314 in Odessa. He was hit and killed by a vehicle in January 2010. He was 12.

“The death was very hard for our boys to take,” said scoutmaster George Cucchi. “He was a very well-liked child and we all still miss him. There is still a hole in our troop that will never be filled.”

Cucchi said after a few weeks, the boys decided they wanted to do something to help everyone remember Bowers.

“We did a flag ceremony at Mitch’s funeral and people donated money to our troop,” Cucchi said. “We didn’t know what to do with it. We didn’t want to go on a fun trip with that money. The boys started thinking and they decided they wanted to do something to help the community.”

That idea started a year-long project to build the gazebo, which costs $3,000. It took nearly 800 man-hours, but on Feb. 12 the boys put the finishing touches on the all white gazebo, which overlooks one of the large lakes at the park.

“It’s been a year of hard work and planning for the troop, and it was amazing to see it finally finished,” Cucchi said. “The boys were very happy to have it done for Mitch and also for the community.”

One of Bowers’ good friends was Michael Palermo.

“It’s pretty amazing to see it finished,” said Palermo, an eighth-grader at Martinez Middle in Lutz. “Mitch was a fun-loving guy, so I think he would be happy to see the gazebo with people having parties in it.”

Cucchi said the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department will maintain the gazebo to make sure it looks as pristine as the day it was finished, but the troop will check in on it as well.

“It’s honoring Mitch, so we want to make sure it stays all white and looking good,” Palermo said. “It’s really cool and a lot of people will use it, so we don’t want to let it get worn out looking.”

Cucchi said while the structure’s main purpose is to honor Bowers, it also helped the scouts learn life lessons.

“A lot of the kids in the troop go to prep schools and will be going to college,” Cucchi said. “They don’t have a lot of experience with hammers and nails. It was a culture shock for a lot of them.”

Cucchi also said the project helped the scouts learn organization skills.

Troop 314 currently has about 20 kids from Odessa, Lutz and Land O’ Lakes. For more information on the group, visit www.troop314fla.com/index.htm or e-mail .

By B.C. Manion

The idea of being able to sleep on a bed at night seems so basic that it’s hard to fathom some children don’t have that option.

But that’s the stark reality for children in many poor families — and Ashley Furniture Homestore Ltd. wants to help change that picture.

The furniture store has launched a national campaign called “A Hope to Dream” which aims to provide 1,000 beds for children in need during 2011.

“The way that it works is $5 for every mattress that Ashley sells is donated to the “A Hope to Dream program,” said Anthony Cappellini, store manager at Ashley Furniture Homestore in Wesley Chapel.

“I think it’s a fantastic program to help a child in need to get a good night’s sleep,” Cappellini said.

“You think that everybody has a place to sleep. I think it is something you take for granted,” the manager said. “Unfortunately, in today’s world, that’s not true.”

The company is asking the community to help by nominating children they know who need a bed, Cappellini said.

No purchase is required. Those wishing to nominate a child in need are asked to explain in 100 words or less why the child is a worthy recipient.

A panel will review the applications and choose the recipients. Children ages 3-16 are eligible for the program.

Cappellini has been speaking to community groups to get the word out about the program, which Ashley launched in 2010.

“I think it’s a great thing that our company is doing by helping our communities, our children in need,” Cappellini said. “We want to help these folks.”

The company gave away 183 pieces nationally, including 44 in the Florida region during the first quarter of the program, said Ruthie Bautista, an executive assistant for the furniture store and local market champion for the program.

The sets consist of a mattress, a foundation and a metal frame, she said. Each set is valued at $380.

A child may be nominated more than once, but can only receive one bed, Bautista said. More than one child in a family can receive a bed. Applications are kept on file for a year and recipients are chosen on a quarterly basis. The next selection is scheduled for this month.

A family in Plant City received three beds during the company’s first giveaway in December, said Bautista, noting she had tears in her eyes when the family told her how much the beds meant to them.

Anyone interested in learning more about the program or in nominating a child in need can visit www.ashleyfurniturehomestore.com/events/ahopetodream.html

By Kyle LoJacono

A moment of frustration in a friend sparked a quest for local nurse David Burton.

It started while the Land O’ Lakes resident was on a hike in the Appalachian Trail with James Wenzel.

“He was looking at the ingredients of a granola bar and was complaining that something labeled as healthy had partially hydrogenated oil in it,” said Burton, 36. “I’m a nurse and I asked him how bad can it be? This was years ago and I hadn’t heard anything about it.”

Burton works at Community Hospital in New Port Richey and said few people there knew about it either. He started to look into the subject and found a wealth of information from Harvard University on the health effects of partially hydrogenated oils, or trans fats.

“This (trans fat) is really a toxic chemical that should not be in the food supply,” said Dr. Walter Willett, professor at Harvard’s school of public health and medical school.

Those findings were very troubling to Burton, as the substances are in many processed food.

“I learned about food labeling and it’s in almost everything, even ones that say they have zero grams of trans fats,” Burton said.

Burton said the Food and Drug Administration allows food manufactures to label anything with less than half a gram of trans fats as having zero by rounding that number down. He said most companies changed their serving size to ensure each had less than half a gram.

“Let’s say you eat some crackers with half a gram of trans fats in say four crackers,” Burton said. “If you eat 16 crackers, you just at two grams of trans fats on something labeled zero grams.”

He said the only way to see if trans fats are in something is to read the ingredients label. If partially hydrogenated oil or shortening are listed, then the food has the substances.

Burton has always had a passion for making movies, so he created “inGREEDients,” an hour-long documentary on trans fats. The name comes from the food industry ignoring the warning signs from research on the substance.

“It’s the same old story, follow the money,” Burton said. “That’s the big reason we partnered with Dr. Willett. He’s been doing the research for 30 years on trans fats.”

Willett’s research shows that eating any amount of trans fats increases the chance of heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol problems and many other health problems. The documentary also has several other doctors from various universities from across the country who tell a similar story.

Burton, his wife Robyn and 5-year-old daughter Jordyn have cut out all trans fats from their diet, along with other food additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), corn syrup and the artificial sweetener aspartame.

“We’re all in perfect health thankfully,” Burton said. “My wife has lost 30 pounds and we have a healthy little girl.”

Burton said it was not easy to cut all those things out of their diet, but they did it slowly during several years. He said a normal meal for the family is from whole foods, most of which do not have any labels to read, like fresh vegetables.

Burton said the first goal was to educate adults about their food choices, but that has changed.

“Adults usually have their food choices set, but when we teach kids then they go home and talk to their parents about it,” Burton said. “That’s why I go and talk with the schools. Then they can live healthy lives.”

Burton speaks to the schools for free. He has focused on middle schools in the past, including John Long in Wesley Chapel, but will be doing the same in high schools in the coming months.

Anyone interested in getting a copy of the movie should visit www.ingreedientsmovie.com, where they can also see more information from the experts about trans fats.

Burton is not finished making movies. He is in the process of making a similar film about corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and other similar food additives.

“That’s the other big thing we’re looking into,” Burton said. “Stay tuned.”

What is a trans fat?

A trans fat, also known as partially hydrogenated oil, is an unsaturated fat that has had hydrogen molecules added to it. Unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature. Adding the hydrogen makes them solid, which makes them more shelf stable.

Film festival awards for “inGREEDients”*

–Gasparilla International Film Festival

–Naples Film Festival

–Florida Choice Award

–Honolulu International Film Festival

–The Indie Film Fest Awards

–Silk Fest City Festival

*All from 2009

By Tammy Sue Struble

A study presented Monday confirmed something residents of Zephyrhills already know — US 301 is not built to handle the traffic it encounters during peak winter months.

During the workshop with Zephyrhills City Council members, Florida Department of Transportation officials presented pre-design studies completed in the area. They presented findings on results of traffic study in the area, noise and air quality, among others.

The FDOT analyzed traffic and examined needed improvements such as additional turn lanes, looking at what type of changes are needed to make traffic move at acceptable levels.

Interest was so high that Florida Department of Transportation officials ran out of handouts Monday at a quarterly workshop on proposed changes to US 301 through Zephyrhills. About 30 people showed up for the afternoon workshop, where they heard that US 301, in its current state, is unacceptable.

FDOT officials presented two other alternatives for improving traffic in the area. One would turn US 301 into a one-way northbound road through the downtown corridor with Sixth Street one-way southbound. The other alternative showed Seventh Street one-way northbound with Sixth Street used as one-way southbound. Under that model, US 301 would remain a two-way street.

Regardless of the model, researchers concluded improvements would be needed somewhere.

The study also looked at cultural resources like Zephyrhills’ historic district for historic preservation. A new historic resource identified as possibly eligible for the National Register of Historic Places was Clyde’s Cottages south of Tucker Road.

Their noise study revealed no adverse effect on the historic properties; the air quality analysis passed also. Looking ahead, FDOT anticipated no adverse issues with noise or air quality with improvement alternatives on 301.

The next step is the preparation of the case study report for further review.

There will be another workshop Apr. 27 at Alice Hall at Zephyr Park in Zephyrhills from 5-7 p.m. to help complete this process. The FDOT will be looking at the potential affect of changes to 301 on historic properties. Any citizens or groups interested in the process will be included. Then, reports will be prepared and presented to the Federal Highway Administration and others. In a long process, predictions hope for federal approval by Jan. 2012 with real design commencing after that.

By Kyle LoJacono

Derek Pieper and Raymond Veluz were shot and killed in 2006 and two years later, Luc Pierre-Charles, 23, was convicted of the murders and given a life sentence.

However, the Second District Court of Appeal ruled Pierre-Charles will get a new trial because jurors heard testimony that has been deemed hearsay and revolves around a simple head nod by his brother, Andre.

Police records from July 28, 2006 state Pieper and Veluz, who were students at Wesley Chapel High at the time, left a party to get marijuana. The two were found dead on Harris Hill Road just outside of Dade City, shot multiple times in the back of their heads. The report states Pierre-Charles made the two kneel on the dirt road and killed them to “protect his drug turf.”

In the 2009 trial, prosecutors wanted to play the video of a police interview with Andre and his parents. Andre denied killing anyone in the interview. When asked by his father if Pierre-Charles had done the killings, Andre lifted his head off the table and nodded without a sound, according to court transcripts.

The video was not shown in the trial because Circuit Court Judge Pat Siracusa ruled it hearsay. However, Andre was questioned about it on the witness stand, where he said he had been nodding, shaking his head and making hand gestures that meant nothing. Andre said he was not saying yes to the question, but instead wanted the interviewers to leave him alone.

The jury found Pierre-Charles guilty after five hours of deliberating, but during that time asked three questions about what Andre said on the stand. The appeals court ruled those questions illustrated that the testimony, which was also considered hearsay, influenced their verdict.

“We believe it pushed the jury over the edge,” said Lane Lastinger, the court appointed attorney for Pierre-Charles. “It should never have been talked about in the case.”

Lastinger said hearsay evidence can be used in a case, but usually to discredit someone through contradictions.

“They used it to show Andre implicating Luc,” Lastinger said. “It can’t be used as admissible evidence for that purpose. You can’t use hearsay for that.”

Assistant State Attorney Manny Garcia said his office is contemplating asking the appeals court to reconsider its ruling. Garcia said he believes certain facts in the hearing were not correct.

If there is a new trial, prosecutors will not be able to ask for the death penalty as it did in the first. Laws prevent another death penalty trial for the same incident.

The appeals court ruling comes only a few months before Tyree Jenkins, 25, goes on trial for the same killings. Police reports state Jenkins was with Pierre-Charles the day Pieper and Veluz were killed. Jenkins is already serving a life sentence after being found guilty of the 2008 murder of William Cherry.

Pieper was a lacrosse player for Wesley Chapel, and after his death, the Derek Pieper Memorial Cup was established. It is played each November at the Wesley Chapel District Park and attracts nearly 100 teams from around the Southeast.

The event also raises money for the Derek Pieper Memorial Fund, which gives money to help needy families buy lacrosse equipment and to scholarships for the players. The tournament has raised more than $100,000 since it started in 2006.