Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Suzanne Schmidt

Zephyrhills resident Diane Merlo knows the names and personalities of all the cats she helps because that is how much she cares about them.
She has been rescuing cats in her neighborhood, Tropical Acres Estates, for four years. She decided she wanted to be able to help more cats so she started a nonprofit organization called WeCats Corp, which stands for we care about their survival.

“I catch them, socialize them and then adopt them,” Merlo said. “I have taken in 62 cats and have adopted most of them. I am doing what I can, but there are plenty out there that I can’t help.”
In addition to catching and rehabilitating feral and domestic cats, Merlo is also working to educate the public about trap, neuter and release programs. That is where a cat is trapped humanely, neutered or spayed and released back into the wild.
“I want to get the community involved and teach them how to solve the problem,” Merlo said. “We need to stop it at the root by implementing trap, neuter, release programs throughout the community. We wouldn’t have to adopt so many cats if we didn’t have them in the first place. Fighting the problem the way we are now is like trying to empty the ocean with a bucket.”
Most of the cats she has helped through the years have been from her neighborhood, but lately she has been getting a lot of calls about boxes of kittens being dropped off throughout Zephyrhills. She has been playing the role of mom to all the kittens since they were too young to be separated from their mom when she took them in. She is currently caring for three kittens that are only 4 weeks old.
“I have a box of kittens that were only 9 days old when they were dumped off,” Merlo said. “They can’t stay warm without the body heat of their mom. They can get hypothermia and die. People have got to stop dumping off kittens before they are 6-weeks-old, until that point they need their mom to live.”
For the first few weeks she needs to feed them every two hours and then after that until they are six weeks old, she has to feed them every four to five hours. She also uses a heating pad to keep them warm and helps them go to the bathroom.
“I do everything the mom would do because if I don’t they could have problems,” Merlo said. “They are so dependant on you.”
Merlo and her husband, Tony, have been caring for the cats with their own money but she is planning fundraisers to help offset the costs.
A Cher impersonator concert is set for Sept. 11 and an Elvis impersonator concert is planned Nov. 20 and 21 at the Wesley Chapel Center for the Performing Arts, 30651 Wells Road.
“My husband has been supporting this since it started and it can be expensive,” Merlo said. “We have tried to have fundraisers here in the park, but I want to be able to help more cats. My intention is to build a facility where the unwanted cats can go and live forever. I would like to have individual homes for each of the cats. I would like them to live in homes not cages.”
Rosemarie Lyons, education coordinator for Pasco County Animal Services, said nonprofit organizations such as the WeCats play an important role in controlling rampant pet overpopulation.
In June of this year, Animal Services took in 678 cats and 351 dogs. She said the county does not have a trap, neuter, release program but they can humanely trap cats and dogs. The ones that can be adopted or transferred are all spayed or neutered before being adopted.
The animals that are transferable go to a nonprofit including Lost Angels Animal Rescue, SPCA of the Suncoast or the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Feral cats and wild dogs that are not adoptable or transferable are euthanized.
“Dogs come in through a variety of ways,” Lyons said. “All the cats that come in are here because no one wants them. At any given time we may have a couple hundred animals.”
Lyons said spaying and neutering pets is the most important thing people can do to not only keep the pet population down but also to keep the pet healthy.
“People think of spaying or neutering their pets in their own human terms,” Lyons said. “Animals don’t feel bad about getting spayed or neutered. They can actually become healthier and live a longer life. It is the humane thing to do.”
Cats can have up to three litters a year and they can start as young as 6-months-old.
“Every time a cat is spayed or neutered, that is 100 other cats that are saved from being born into a world that doesn’t want them,” Lyons said. “Getting a cat from a shelter or rescue is the best thing to do. They have had their shots and been deflead and neutered or spayed. They are also micro chipped. It saves people a lot of money.”
Lyons also said she would like to see more people take better care of their cats.
“I wish more people would take ownership of their cat,” Lyons said. “Many people will feed the cats, but they won’t take ownership of them. They are not providing the animals with the services they need. I love cats and I think they should be considered part of the family.”
Cats who roam can be hit by a car, get feline leukemia or feline AIDS or they may have to fight with raccoons over food in a dumpster which could give them rabies.
For more information about WeCats, visit www.wecats.com or call (813) 943-4221.
Pasco Animal Services in Land O’ Lakes.

New Pasco County Animal Shelter hours
The Pasco County Animal Services recently announced new hours for the county’s animal shelter, located on Lake Patience Road in Land O’ Lakes. The change includes closing the shelter on Mondays because of budget cuts.
The new hours took effect this week. The shelter is closed Sundays and Mondays and open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The shelter will remain closed for federal holidays.
Pet adoptions, animal surrenders, claiming animals and licensing will be done on these days and the following hours:
–Tuesday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Wednesday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Thursday from 12-6:30 p.m.
–Friday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Saturday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Sunday, closed
–Monday, closed
Customer service and field service hours will remain 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hour field services are for emergencies only.
For more information about animal services, visit www.pascocountyfl.net or call (813) 929-1212, (352) 521-5194 or (727) 834-3216.

By Kyle LoJacono

Each year thousands of Boy Scouts from Hillsborough and Pasco counties come to Camp Brorein in Odessa to camp out, making the risk of snake bits a constant reality.
Being so close to many of Florida’s 45 species of native snakes, six of which are venomous, is something camp ranger Frank Marion has worked to avoid with a simple plan.

“We tell the scouts to leave all snakes alone when they see them,” Marion said. “If you leave them alone they won’t bite you.”
The scouts are taught how to identify those six venomous snakes, which are eastern diamondback, pygmy and canebreak rattlesnakes, coral snakes, cottonmouths and copperheads.
All snakes are more active during the hot summer months, increasing the chance of running into one of those six, according to University of Florida (UF) professor and Cooperative Extension contributor Steve Johnson. Johnson is a herpetologist, a reptile expert, and also works at one of UF’s research stations in Hillsborough County and has the same plan for avoiding snake bites.
“Personally I don’t handle poisonous snakes and I wouldn’t recommend anyone ever touch one,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a foolish thing to do myself because you take a chance of being bitten every time you touch one. The people who handle them on a regular basis almost always end up getting bit at some point.”
Copperheads and canebreaks, or timber rattlers, only live mostly in north Florida, but copperheads have a larger range could be seen as far south as Tampa Bay area. Johnson said the two most common venomous snakes in Pasco and Hillsborough counties are the pygmy rattlesnake in uplands and cottonmouths, or water moccasins, in wetlands.
The two rattlesnakes in the bay area are the easiest to identify as they have the distinctive rattle on their tails. When they are young the rattle is small and may not be easily heard, but the babies are just as venomous as the adults.
Coral snakes have a tri-colored pattern of yellow rings between alternating bands of black and red. They can be confused with the scarlet kingsnake, which is the same color. Coral snakes noses are always black while scarlet kings are always red.
The most difficult to identify is the cottonmouth as it and several other water snakes are darkly colored as adults and act very aggressively. Cottonmouths often open their mouths to display fangs when agitated, which will reveal a cotton-white color inside their mouths.
There is no accurate way to measure which snake’s venom is most toxic to humans as it is only tested on mice. However, Johnson has his own idea of what is the most deadly of these snakes.
“The most dangerous is the one that bites you,” Johnson said. “The coral snake is in a different family than the others, which are all pit vipers. Coral snakes are in the same family as cobras and sea snakes and have mainly a neurotoxin that attacks the nervous system. That means things like heart beat and breathing.
“Pit vipers venom is mostly a hemotoxin that digests tissue and causes a lot of damage to skin and muscle,” Johnson continued. “Most people think of coral snakes as the most dangerous and they are a very deadly animal, but I believe there has been only one death from coral snake bite in a couple of years. Deaths are rare.”
Johnson said people are more likely to see snakes in wooded areas, but added they can survive in more urban areas too.
Some of the ways to avoid being bit are to look before reaching into things like piles of wood or leaves or into other confined areas. Johnson said regular work gloves will do little to prevent bites. He also suggests always wearing closed-toed shoes and long pants when outside.
Johnson said the most important thing to do if someone is bitten by a poisonous snake is call 911 even if you are unsure if it is venomous. He said using a snake bit kit or tourniquet only wastes time. Staying calm also will reduce the heart rate and keep the venom from spreading as fast.
“These days unless someone is very young or old or in bad health, they aren’t going to die if they get treatment,” Johnson said. “The antivenom works and if people get to a hospital they should be fine.”
While venomous snakes can be deadly, Johnson believes fear is not the right response.
“One thing people shouldn’t be is afraid of snakes,” Johnson said. “They should educate themselves because knowledge will dispel a lot of fears. Most snakes can’t do anything but bite and they shouldn’t be killed just because they are snakes. They are important to the natural environment.”

Lack of coral snake antivenom an issue come October
The supply of coral snake antivenom may soon become a problem as no company is currently producing it.
Wyeth, which is owned by Pfizer, is the only company approved to make it by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but stopped in 2003 because it was unprofitable.
Before stopping production, Wyeth worked with the FDA to create a large supply, according to Pfizer spokeswomen Kristen Neese. The antivenom’s will expire Oct. 31. At that time the FDA can test the drug and could decide to extend its shelf life if no other company starts making it.
Coral snakes’ fangs are small and in the back of their mouths, making it harder to inject venom than the pit vipers that have large fangs in the front, according to University of Florida (UF) professor and Cooperative Extension contributor Steve Johnson.
About 25 percent of the bites from coral snakes result in no venom being delivered and there are only about 100 poisonous bites each year in the country.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Pepe’s Cuban Café is reminiscent of a restaurant one might see in Cuba with bright yellow paint on the walls, palm tree decorations and the smell of authentic Cuban food wafting through the air, but it is in Lutz.

Linda Varela and Jose Menendez opened the restaurant, 1943 Foggy Ridge Parkway, Aug. 2 because they said they noticed a need for it. The Lutz couple said they have been amazed by the response they have seen in just their first few days.
“It has been incredible,” Verela said. “There are so many people walking in telling us they are so glad we are here. We have already had repeat customers in one day with people coming in for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
The restaurant serves meals like palomilla steak, roast pork, shredded beef, Cuban sandwiches and sides like the traditional yellow rice and black beans.
“It is all Cuban fare,” Verela said. “Our theme is to give A Taste of Havana to our customers.”
Menendez is the chef at the restaurant. He grew up in San Christobal, Cuba. He said he likes cooking food like his grandma used to make.
“Everything is made from scratch even my stuffed potatoes, devil crabs and meat pies,” Menendez said. “I also make the flan, bread pudding, rice pudding and the natilla from scratch. You don’t get the texture or the flavors from a can that you can when it is made fresh.”
Over the years he has owned several restaurants including Latin Village in Temple Terrace and The Mediterranean on Dale Mabry. Before that he worked with his father Jose Menendez at La Habanera in Tampa. His father was not the original owner but one of a few people who owned the restaurant at different times.
All of the restaurants he owned were closed years ago. He had actually left the restaurant business for a while until recently when he and his wife decided to open Pepe’s together.
“I have been in the restaurant business for about 30 years,” Menendez said. “I like to make food like what I grew up on. My menu is inspired by the good I used to eat as a child. I want to pass that type of flavor on.”

Steve Mikell of Land O’ Lakes visited the restaurant for the first time after waiting patiently for it open. He said he absolutely loved it and will definitely be back.
“I go all over Tampa and I have had a lot of Spanish food,” Mikell said. “It is nice to have a place so close to home with such good food. Everything I saw on the menu looked so good, it was hard to make up my mind about what to order.”
Robert Blair of Land O’ Lakes said he thought the food was wonderful.
“It is very good and authentic,” Blair said. “I also like the restaurant. It is very vibrant and nice and clean too.”
The restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. For more information, call (813) 948-8999.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Two Wesley Chapel girls are hoping to make their dreams come true at the International Presentation of Performers in Los Angeles in January.
Kara Bush, 12, and Leah Bush, 7, were invited to attend the talent competition through their audition at the Young Actors Studio recently. The girls are still trying to raise another $6,000 for the experience.

Virginia Bush said she enrolled her daughters in the Young Actors Studio in Tampa nine months ago so they could pursue their dreams. They have been learning about what to do at auditions through many of the regular classes at the studio while also taking a boot camp to prepare them for IPOP.
“It is like a career fest where agents go to get the best of the best,” Virginia Bush said. “Sometimes people are offered contracts right on the spot. All the talent agents are there looking for the next big thing. This could give them a career boost and put them in the forefront of the industry.”
Kara said she has been dreaming of being on television since she can remember.
“I have wanted to become an actress since I was 2,” Kara said. “I would see all the people on TV and I knew I wanted to do that. I want to see myself on TV. I think it is fun to pretend to be different people.”
Leah said she would love to realize her dream of starring in a movie with Ariel from “The Little Mermaid.”
“It is my dream to be in a movie with Ariel and for me to be her twin sister,” Leah said.
Both Leah and Kara aspire to be on Disney sitcoms or shows produced by Nickelodeon. They said they would love to be on “iCarly,” “Hannah Montana” or “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
Through the studio, Kara and Leah are learning how to get the audition right.
“I have learned how to do a cold read,” Kara said. “I learned how to hold the paper when I am reading and how to keep eye contact. I learned how to stand still and not flit around or touch my clothes. They are giving us good tips on how to be in front of people.”
Kara said she has been using what she has learned in school as well like when she gave a speech for the Tropicana Speech Contest last school year.
“All my friends said I sounded like someone on the news,” Kara said. “I wasn’t really scared of getting up in front of people before, but I have learned to be more confident. I feel better because I feel like I know what I am doing.”
Jason Bush, Kara and Leah’s father, said he is really happy with the changes he sees in his daughters due to the training.
“They have both always been confident, but I think this has been very beneficial for them,” Jason Bush said. “Whether or not they go into careers through this, I still think it has helped them.”

Virginia Bush said she was impressed with the emphasis on education. She said they tell the girls that school is their first job and modeling or acting is their second.
“One thing I like about it is the emphasis they put on getting good grades,” Virginia Bush said. “The girls can not get a C or lower in any class. If they do then they can’t go to the competition.”
The family has had a few fundraisers already but they still need to raise money to get to the event. Beef ‘O’Brady’s, 21539 Village Lakes Shopping Center in Land O’ Lakes, is supporting the girls. If a person mentions that they want to donate to the girls’ cause, the restaurant will donate 10 percent of the price of their meal to the girls. The family will also be raising money through selling raffle tickets at Classy Consignment at 23020 SR 54 in Lutz.
Many people might be skeptical about the validity of the program, but Donna Slagill said she has found success through the recent IPOP talent search in Las Vegas. Her son was also taking classes at the studio.
“He was taking classes at the Young Actors Studio when he auditioned for IPOP,” Slagill said. “We didn’t know what it was at the time. It is a chance for people to beintroduced to people they wouldn’t normally have access to. Kids get in front of agents from Los Angeles to New York.”
She is currently in Los Angeles with her son Connor, 13, talking with talent agents.
“We have already met with a legitimate agents,” Slagill said. “They represent actors on iCarly and Hannah Montana. We were really skeptical at first, but for us it has worked out. Now we have to just make a decision about who we want to sign with.”
For more information, email .

Club celebrates quarter century

By Maggie Schiller

As members of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes community for 25 years, the Lions Club motto is “we serve.”
After becoming one of the first mixed gender Lions Clubs in the United States in 1987, the group’s priority is finding members who are community minded and want to donate their time to make a difference in their town.

“I am very proud to be a Lion,” said Catherine Walton, public relations director for the District 35-I Lions, and a longtime member of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Lions Club. “We are the oldest service club in the world.”
According to Walton, one annual duty of the club is assisting families in need during the holiday season.
“Around Thanksgiving and Christmas time, we contact the police and ask them what families need help, and then we take them food and toys,” she said. “Many families have a better Christmas.”
However, what the Lions Club is best known for is their work for the blind.
“In 1917 Helen Keller spoke at a convention and asked the Lions Club to take up the cause of ‘Knights of the Blind’,” Walton said.
In an effort to stay true to their promise, The Lions Club has created multiple community programs to help the blind.
As the founders of The Lions Institute For Transplant and Research in Tampa, they have contributed to building the largest Eye Bank in the world, the only Eye Bank that is associated with a research center and formed a foundation to raise funds to support the organization and those visually impaired.
Kelly Sims, Foundation Director at the Eye Institute and Research Center, said that what she loves most about working with the Lions Club is the balance.
“We have this wonderful institute here based on the foundation of legacy and history, but it’s also a scientific research center so it’s the future and cutting edge,” she said. “It is a great partnership; you can’t have one without the other.”
Each year, The Lions Club and The Eye Institute and Research Center host the Eye Ball, a black-tie event to raise funds to support sight-related outreach, education, treatment and research. The event brings together ophthalmic specialists and surgeons, business and community leaders and friends in the community.
“We are very fortunate this year,” Sims said. “The event will be held at the new [Tampa] Museum of Art. Scott MacIntyre, the only visually impaired contestant to appear on American Idol, will be performing and making a speech.”
Along with the creation of the research facility, the Lions formed South Eastern Guide Dogs, a program that trains guide dogs and provides them to people in need for no cost.
“People come from all over the world for help,” Walton said.

CLUB MEETS TWICE A MONTH
Along with running events throughout the community, the Lutz-Land O Lakes Lions Club meets two times a month – the second Monday of the month for a social gathering, the fourth Monday for business, at 19002 1st St. SW, Lutz.
Local Lions members range from men and women in their mid-20s to their mid-90s. Membership is by invitation only, Walton said.
“In order to become a member, the person needs to show interest in the club and then they are invited to a meeting. They must have good moral conduct, serve the community and be 18 years of age.”
The membership fee is $80 annually, with all dues going straight into the administration of the club.
According to Walton, any surplus money is reinvested into the aforementioned community service projects.
John Carbaugh, current governor of the District 35-I Lions, said that the club feels more like a family. The district is comprised of clubs throughout the Tampa Bay area.
“Every second and fourth Monday of the month you know where you are going to be,” he said.
Carbaugh, who has held every office position except for two, said he joined the club to help people.
“I had been helped as a child,” he said. “I spent 25 months at Shriners Hospital and it didn’t cost a dime because it was all paid for by Shriners. I wanted to pay back the community and The Lions Club was a good way.”
Aside from paying back his own community, Carbaugh has been instrumental in earning Tampa the title of host for the 2012 USA/Canada Forum, a leadership forum for Lions.
“The forum is where Lions from Canada and the U.S. get together. It is training along with different seminars on fundraising and advertising to moving up the ladder in the Lions. There is even a seminar on quilting,” Carbaugh said.
The event, which lasts for three days and attracts 3,500 to 4,000 Lions, must be bid on five years in advance for any city that wishes to host.
“Every year it is a different city,” Carbaugh said. “You bid five years in advance. The site committee tours the bidding cities and it takes a year and a half before they name the actual city. It was the first time Tampa bid, and cities are not usually awarded the first time.”
With the U.S./Canada Lions’ Forum approaching and their continued strives to help the community, the Lutz-Land O Lakes Lions’ club stresses the importance of reaching out to new members of the community.

LOOKING FOR LION CUBS
Since the Lions are an aging group, Carbaugh said they are doing what they can to reach out to the younger generations.
“We contact local schools and try to get an adviser from the school that is willing to give up their time to help manage the club,” he said “We have the Leo Club [for middle and high schools] and the Campus Club, which is located on college campuses and universities.”
Looking into the future, Walton said the Lions goal this year and the next five years is to build the club up and to gain more public awareness.
“I truly believe there is a whole generation out there that has never done service work,” she said. “They don’t know how good it feels to help someone in need. It’s not for money or anything, but a simple thank you. It warms your heart.”
Info: http://e-clubhouse.org/sites/lutzlandolakeslionsfl/

Local Lion Skillin wins website contest
In the Lions Club International contest for the best state website in the world, Lutz-Land O Lakes Lions Club member David Skillin has been voted No. 1.

Judged by the public relations department at Lions Club International, each contestant’s
website was judged on content and creativity.
“My most important goal was to make our multiple district website accessible to anyone that wanted to find information about the Lions Club in Florida,” said Skillin, webmaster for both the district and state sites. “I also wanted people to see the services that we provide.”
As an active club member for five years, Skillin said that he joined because he wanted to help the community.
“I decided to become a Lion simply because I wanted to give back to the community for all of the assistance that my family and I may have received in our lifetime,” he said.

Control district and health department urges precautions

By Suzanne Schmidt

Recent mosquito related deaths in northern Hillsborough County and Brandon have health officials encouraging residents to take extra precautions.
The Pasco County Mosquito Control District, The Hillsborough County Mosquito Control District and the Pasco County Health Department are releasing information about what people can do to protect themselves and the area around their homes.
Deanna Krautner, public information officer for Pasco County Health Department, said she encourages people to avoid mosquito bites.
“Our concern is we want people to take precautions,” Krautner said. “We want people to follow the five Ds.”
Dennis Moore, director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District, said even though both deaths were in Hillsborough County, it is still a problem for Pasco residents. Due to privacy laws the names of the people who died of equine encephalitis (EEE) in northern Hillsborough County and the infant who died in Valrico will not be released.
“The truth is mosquitoes are able to transmit the diseases and the disease is out there,” Moore said. “The reality is that the whole region should take precautions.”
In the last month, two horses have died of equine encephalitis in Dade City.
“The increased activity has caused some additional concern as far as how mosquitoes spread disease across the state,” Moore said. “We use sentinel chickens to test for the presence of EEE and the west Nile virus. With the horse case, we have 16 confirmed horse cases due to mosquito bites this year with seven since June 23. That causes some concern.”
Viruses circulate among bird species and once a mosquito bites a bird it contracts the disease. The mosquito will then lay eggs and go out looking for its next victim. The next person or animal the mosquito bites will then contract the disease.
Typically the time of greatest activity for mosquitoes is during dusk.
“Most people encounter mosquitoes at that time,” Moore said. “If you are running or on a bicycle, there is too much air movement and they can not get a blood meal, but if you are just sitting there not being active then you are a perfect target. Mosquitoes are able to sense the CO2 (carbon dioxide) when you exhale and they also home in on body temperature.”

Females take blood meals to reproduce.
It is important to drain the standing water around a home due to the way mosquitoes reproduce. Once an egg is laid in water, it takes five to seven days for the mosquito to fully mature. During that time the developing mosquito must be immersed in water to survive.
“One mosquito can lay up to 100 to 150 eggs at a time,” Moore said. “If you have a dozen mosquitoes attach their eggs to the sides of a flower pot, you could have a couple thousand mosquitoes come from that single flower pot. Even something as simple as a Frisbee can work. As long as the item holds water for five to six days, it can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.”
A female mosquito typically lives a few weeks. During that time she can lay at least two or three batches of eggs. Eggs can even lie dormant for up to six months waiting for a large rainfall.
Even though the disease is present, Moore said there is an upside in the fact that there is not much mosquito activity.
“The mosquito population is not high enough that we will be aggressively spraying,” Moore said. “The mosquito population rises with heavy rainfall events, but we haven’t had many of those so far. We are doing our best to keep the numbers down. If we see a large number of mosquitoes we will step up our spraying.”
The spraying by the mosquito control district might seem erratic, but Moore said there is logic behind it all.
“We trap mosquitoes in 42 different locations every single night,” Moore said. “We have to identify the mosquitoes that are collected. We look at the numbers and we listen to what we have been hearing from the public and our investigators. We do the treatments based on those collections.”

Spraying is more complicated than most people realize.
Many people have probably noticed the trucks driving through neighborhoods spraying, but what most people probably do not realize are the trucks alternate spraying malathion and permethrin in order to prevent the mosquitoes from building up a tolerance.
“We are only putting out small amounts,” Moore said. “The trucks create an aerosol spray so that the material drifts for about 300 to 400 feet. With how the streets in neighborhoods are set up, the coverage is pretty good. The material is very low in volume. We spray in the safest environmental way we can.”
The district will also attack mosquitoes in other ways by dropping materials that will kill mosquito larvae. They also use helicopters and roadside ditch trucks to spray standing water where the trucks cannot drive.
“BTI is a very safe product that infects the stomach lining of mosquitoes when they eat it,” Moore said. “It is a naturally occurring bacteria and it only affects mosquitoes and other types of biting flies. So we are doing an integrated approach to catch the mosquitoes at different life stages. Ideally we will one day be able to just treat the larvae.”
The Hillsborough County Mosquito District is also taking the necessary precautions with 25 staff members taking a fleet of trucks, helicopters, a plane, airboats and ATV’s completing integrated pest management. The unit operates 15 sentinel chicken sites with 90 chickens and 74 mosquito surveillance traps throughout the county.
Since the beginning of the year, the staff has sprayed more than 32,000 acres with its trucks, more than 15,000 acres with its helicopters and almost 70,000 with its fixed-wing airplane.
For more information about Hillsborough County, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org.
For more information about Pasco County, visit www.pascomosquito.org.

The five D’s are:
–Avoid being outside at dusk and dawn when the mosquitoes are biting.
–Dress and wear clothing that covers most of the skin.
–Use repellants containing DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or permethrin.
–Check around the home to make sure there is proper drainage and no standing water.

Help needed to protect pets in abusive situations

By Kyle LoJacono

Florida has 42 shelters for people to flee abusive domestic situations, but only one for pets in similar circumstances – and it’s in Central Pasco County.
That one nonprofit animal shelter is L.A.B.S. Pet Rescue Center of Florida and has helped people from across Florida get out of violent households. It was founded by Diane Sleszynski and Gail Cooper.
“Everything we’ve heard from the shelters is that 25 to 40 percent of women or anyone in bad situations won’t leave because they are afraid for their pets,” Cooper said. “We also know that about one in four women are victims of domestic violence … So the pets become the tool for people to keep the victims in these situations.”
Rita Hampton works with one of the domestic violence shelters that sends victim’s pets to L.A.B.S.
“It gives those victims the peace of mind to go to a shelter knowing their pet is ok,” Hampton said. “So many have told me they wouldn’t have left without knowing their pet could go somewhere too … The other great thing is (L.A.B.S.) doesn’t have a time limit like a lot of places. We don’t have to bounce them from place to place.”
L.A.B.S. will take any kind of pet, including livestock when there is the room, for as long as the owner is in a shelter. The first pet rescued was a lab-mix named Bruiser. He went to the shelter Jan. 27 and stayed for 157 days.
Part of what L.A.B.S. does is rehabilitate the animals because most of them have been abused too and need to be resocialize them. Once the family is ready to leave the shelters they get their animal back. They only adopt out the animals if their owners agree.
“The shelters are great, but they just can’t handle the animals,” Sleszynski said. “We can take any pet and have had horses and other farm animals and have the training and facilities to care for them. So while the owners are getting help getting their lives back together we’re helping the pets get back together too.”
The two women are receiving more calls to help livestock and want to build more stalls to house them. They have the land, but need donations to do so.
Cooper has been around animals her whole life and was part of animal control services. Sleszynski was a psychiatric nurse who specialized in children. She also has first-hand knowledge of how devastating abusive situations can be to a child.
“Let’s say my father wasn’t the nicest man and he especially didn’t like our cats,” Sleszynski said.
Learning about Sleszynski’s past was the reason Cooper wanted to start the center.
“The more I learned about it the more I wanted to raise awareness about domestic violence and to let people know we’re here to help,” Cooper said. “People need to know that we exist so they can have a way out. All they have to do is have the shelter call us and we’ll be there that day if we need to be to take the animals.”
The two are on call with the centers 24/7 every day and take the pets to veterinarians for medical treatment.
While L.A.B.S. is constantly getting animals, it cannot help them all. The two women said police records show about one million animals are killed as part of domestic violence cases each year nationally and many more go unreported. Each told horrible stories about animals they knew that were killed by abusers.
Both women are fearful the abusers will find the center and come and hurt the animals or burn the facility, so they do not tell people exactly where it is. However, a reporter from The Laker and the Lutz News was allowed to visit the center.
L.A.B.S. has 50 cages for the animals, which all have access to the open air. The two women take all the animals out to get plenty of exercise on the land and wash all their beds and sheets each day. The constant washing has prevented any kind of smell from developing at the shelter and all the animals seem very peaceful.
Cooper and Sleszynski spend their own money to care for the animals. They do not adopt out the pets and therefore are not eligible to buy dog food at a reduced rate. They are a nonprofit and can write off what they spend on the center, but to continue their work and to increase their livestock facilities they need help from the community.
“We want to expand the shelter to help more animals,” Cooper said. “People can write off donations and they can know what they are doing is helping abused people and animals find a better life. Then of course the biggest thing is for people to know about us so (if) they go to a shelter they can have them call us and we’ll help their pets.”
The phone number for L.A.B.S. is (813) 704-0811. The shelter is also looking for business sponsorships.

To help
Send checks made out to L.A.B.S. Inc. to P.O. 1014 Lutz, FL 33548
For more information, call (813) 704-0811

New Pasco County Animal Shelter hours
The Pasco County Animal Services recently announced new hours for the county’s animal shelter, located on Lake Patience Road in Land O’ Lakes. The change includes closing the shelter on Mondays because of budget cuts.
The new hours will take effect Aug. 8. The shelter will be closed Sunday and Monday and open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The shelter will remain closed for federal holidays.
Pet adoptions, animal surrenders, claiming animals and licensing will be done on these days and the following hours:
–Tuesday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Wednesday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Thursday from 12-6:30 p.m.
–Friday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Saturday from 12-4:30 p.m.
–Sunday, closed
–Monday, closed
Customer service and field service hours will remain 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hour field services are for emergencies only.
For more information about animal services, visit www.pascocountyfl.net or call (813) 929-1212, (352) 521-5194 or (727) 834-3216.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Schools across Pasco County will have to make adjustments this fall to make sure all classes meet the Florida Constitution’s class size limitations.
As the Florida Constitution now stands, academic classes are capped at 25 for high schools, 22 for grades 4-8 and 18 for kindergarten through third grade.
Voters approved these caps in 2002 and state requirements have gradually changed. Now, however, voters may get another chance to reconsider the amendment this November. The new amendment would allow the classes to meet the limits based on averages instead of exact numbers. The current 18/22/25 numbers would remain in place as an average, with new “hard caps” of 30 for high school, 27 for grades 4-8 and 21 for the primary grades.
Academic courses affected by the cap include language arts/reading, science, social studies, math, exceptional student education, English speakers of other languages and self-contained classes.
State Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, is the sponsor of the amendment.
“If you call any principal in Pasco they would tell you that they need this passed,” Weatherford said. “I have met with them all and they have told me they need this flexibility in order to run their school.”
In 2002, 50 percent of voters voted to keep the amendment on the ballot as it was and the bill passed. In 2004, schools started implementing the new standards. In 2006, all the schools had to be at the right number for the classroom average. In 2008, each school had to meet the classroom per average. Now in 2010, every classroom affected by the bill has to meet the standards.
“This will give the voters the opportunity to vote to allow more flexibility,” Weatherford said. “No classroom will be able to have more than 25 students on average but no single class will have more than 30 students. It will keep the classes at the school-wide average. It is all about flexibility.”
This time the vote will have to be passed by 60 percent of voters since the rules have changed since the original vote in 2002.
“I think protecting the integrity of small class sizes is important, but there needs to be more flexibility,” Weatherford said. “We will have to directly adhere to the Constitution if it does not pass.”
Adhering to the Florida Constitution causes issues for administrators as well as students. Many students might be put into a class at the beginning of the school year only to be moved a few weeks later. Also students might not be able to go to their school of choice because there will not be enough room. Many students might not be able to take a class because of the caps according to Weatherford.
Not everyone supports the amendment. The Florida Education Association filed a lawsuit recently to block the amendment from the statewide ballot.
“The truth is that students need some flexibility in their class size or there will be a logistical nightmare,” Weatherford said. “We are trying to meet the requirement but most are not in compliance.”
In order to meet the requirements, schools are getting allotments to hire new teachers. That is money Weatherford thinks could be going to better things.
“We have spent $18 million since 2004 implementing the class size amendment,” Weatherford said. “This is money we could be investing in better technology and higher teacher pay. We are doing a disservice to the students when there are so many other things we could be doing. I am not saying class size is not important. I want to maintain the integrity of the bill, but I don’t want to have it to the detriment of the students.”
Carin Nettles, principal of Wesley Chapel High School, said she has already hired 10 new teachers for the school year with her allotment but she is not sure that will be enough.
“I don’t think they realize how many teachers it takes to meet that strict of a policy,” Nettles said. “If we do not meet the requirements, we are hit hard with financial penalties. For every student we have over the cap, we will be charged $3,500 per period. I think the district is going to have to make tough decisions. They will have to figure out what to cut now. They can’t cut the teachers.”
The dilemma is making it difficult for principals to plan their classes. One thing that Nettles said she is having a problem with is the advanced placement (AP) classes.
“I have to have at least 18 kids in an AP class in order to have the class,” Nettles said. “If enough kids don’t sign up for the class we can’t have it. These are the classes we want to have at this school and to not have them would be a detriment.”
Or on the other side of the issue, Nettles is also worried about the classes that too many kids have signed up for.
“With the amendment, I would be able to have a class of 30 students in English honors,” Nettles said. “As it is, I would have to make five of those kids take another class or take a virtual class.”
For now, Nettles said she has done all that she can. During the first few weeks of school, she will be able to adjust the numbers more appropriately.
“I think for now we are doing a pretty good job,” Nettles said. “We will have to do a head count in the first few weeks to see if we are meeting the class sizes. We have some kids who are enrolled who will probably not come to school and we will be figuring that out as we go along.”
Dave Estabrook, principal at Charles S. Rushe Middle School in Land O’ Lakes, said he has been monitoring the numbers closely as well. He said it is too soon to tell what the final numbers will be.
“I want to be careful that we don’t go over the cap,” Estabrook said. “I hired teachers, but I didn’t use all of the allocation yet. I am going to monitor the count with the new family registration we will have over the next couple of weeks. Then we will have to wait and see until Aug. 16 when we will have to correct things and monitor them further.”
Estabrook said he believes the intentions of the bill are good, but it is causing some problems with scheduling. Either way though, he said he is excited and looking forward to another great school year.
“It has been very restrictive as far as developing the master schedule,” Estabrook said. “The intention of the amendment was to lower the number of students in the class so students can get more individual attention.”
Allen Altman, Pasco county school board member, said he is hoping to see voters at the ballot box in November who have studied the amendment and who understand it.
“I strongly encourage voters to become informed and to understand the cost of the current class size bill contained in the Constitution,” Altman said. “I think the alternative is certainly one that is beneficial and workable.”
At Gaither High School, history teacher Mark Kantor said his school has already been meeting the standards.
“We have been doing it in Hillsborough for the past two years,” Kantor said. “It hasn’t affected the teachers a whole lot. We are not teaching classrooms with only 25 students instead of 35 students. I think it is a good thing. The classroom management technique is more defined now. It is more effective to be able to concentrate on individual students.”
Even though Kantor said he sees a lot of good in the bill, he said there have been problems getting it instituted.
“It has been a growing process ever since the bill was instituted,” Kantor said. “As long as we have enough qualified teachers, then it is not a problem. When there are not enough teachers, there is a backfire. It seems like this is a service that is needed, but nobody wants to pay for it.”

CLASS SIZE AMENDMENT
Florida voters will get a chance to adjust the class size amendment they approved in 2002.
Grade?        K-3        4-8        9-12
Current Cap        18        22        25
Proposed Cap*    21        27        30
*The proposed cap would still require school averages to remain at 18/22/25, but individual classes could be larger than 21/27/30.

Straighter roads and easier intersections

By Kyle LoJacono

Those who drive Boyette Road regularly know how dangerous the thin and curved street is, but Pasco County is working to make this and other roads easier and safer for the public.

It is part of a plan by the county commissioners to make such winding roads straight, according to Pasco chief engineer James Widman.
“The commission wants to make the roads safer by straightening roads and intersections like Boyette,” Widman said. “Our engineering study of the area from (2004) showed the S-curve in Boyette to be dangerous and the project is working to create a straighter road for most of the traffic.”
The project will create a new southern starting point for Boyette about 1/4 mile east of the current connection with SR 54. The new road will be called New Boyette Road while the existing street will be Old Boyette Road, according to project manager Andy Alipour.
Boyette will be closed to through traffic until Aug. 15 with drivers being diverted to Wells and Curley roads. Widman said New Boyette will be about 0.3-miles long and will open in September.
“We have to do the project very carefully because there is an isolated wetland area there,” Alipour said. “We had to get approval from (Southwest Florida Water Management District) before we could start the project. It’s being done so water can flow under the road to keep the wetlands intact. The frogs and other animals will be able to cross.”
It was the wetlands that forced the county to build the road with the curve originally.
A stop sign will be placed at the connection of Old and New Boyette roads. Parts of existing Boyette will also have several feet added to its width.
Another change is the stoplight at the current intersection of Boyette and SR 54 will be removed and a new one will be placed where New Boyette connects with the highway once the project is finished.
“The S-curve will still be there, but most of the traffic will use New Boyette,” Widman said. “Most of the people still using Old Boyette will be those living on the road.”
The few businesses on the southern end of Boyette will remain open and accessible during the entirety of the project. One of those is the Wesley Chapel Post Office, which is a contracted unit owned by Kelly Rossi.
“Well I’m not happy about not having a traffic light, but the road will be safer,” Rossi said. “Business was very slow when word started to get out about the project because people thought we were closing, but those phone calls have gone away. Our customers are returning and I want to thank all those people for supporting us.”
Rossi has owned the post office since 1997 when it was located further west on SR 54. It moved to its present location eight years ago.
Rossi herself had taken Boyette south to get to work each day before the project started July 19. She lives in Quail Hollow and the curved road is the fastest way to get to the post office, but she also knows how dangerous Boyette can be.
“There have been a lot of accidents on Boyette,” Rossi said. “My son got into an accident during a rainstorm when he was in a new Mustang. The police and the other driver said he wasn’t speeding, but because of the curves he still hydroplaned into the other car.”
Rossi said her son was not charged with a crime in the accident.
“Things will be safer when the new road is built,” Rossi continued. “Especially when school starts back up because a lot of the kids drive fast through the area. I’m glad the county is working to making road safer.”
School begins Aug. 16 and the road will open so buses can pick up students, according to Alipour. By then much of the work on the curve will be finished and the construction company, Pepper Contracting Services, can focus on building the new road.
Pepper is also doing the project to widen SR 54 and the work on Boyette was part of the $28 million contract from the county.

Uncurling Curley
Just east of Boyette is another intersection that needed improvements — Curley Road and SR 54. That corner is not at a 90-degree angle, but a proposed road would straighten that.
“It will be called South Curley and it will line up with Meadow Pointe Boulevard at a 90 degree angle,” Widman said. “That project will be done by a private developer so no county money will be needed, but the project is not finalized yet.
“When the new road is built, Curley will remain where it is without a stoplight and the new intersection with South Curley will use the light at Meadow Pointe now,” Widman continued. “Curley won’t connect with Wells Road directly anymore because it wouldn’t work with the engineering, but a small road will connect it with the new road for those who still want to drive on Curley.”
The distance from the existing Curley and Meadow Pointe is more than a mile drive on SR 54. Widman said there is no timeline for the South Curley project.

Walk/run celebrates opening of SR 56 extension

By Maggie Schiller

To celebrate the long-awaited opening of the SR 56 extension, Wiregrass Ranch and the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce held a celebratory Walk/Run on Saturday, July 31.
Despite the sweltering heat, nearly 400 community members, along with several local businesses came out to support the cause.

“This is the day that many people thought would never come,” said David West, executive director of the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “Many people built their houses expecting this road to come through and make it convenient to get to their home. It has been delayed quite awhile, but I am glad so many people came out to witness and actually see the barricades removed and the road actually opened for traffic.”
The walk/run was a four-mile loop, with an optional two and one mile loop, beginning at the intersection of Mansfield Boulevard and the new extension of SR 56.
Kurt Stone, 8, who ran alongside his brother, Evan Stone, 10, said the run was a lot of fun.
“It was hot and sweaty,” he said. “But I made it.”
Two weeks ago, the event was merely a ribbon cutting ceremony, but thanks to the help of J.D. Porter, one of the developers of Wiregrass Ranch, it took on a whole new life.
“It started off just as a ribbon cutting but Porter called the chamber of commerce and asked us to get involved in making it an event, so we began to bring in the walk/run and the food vendors and then really tried to help the members of the chamber who are suffering through July and August,” West said.
Porter said that the completion of the project is godsend for anybody living in the Wesley Chapel area.
“Basically the way we are looking at it is that it is a gateway that has opened up a lot more business opportunities, a lot more traction opportunities and a lot more things the community has been screaming for,” he said. “A lot more things that Wesley Chapel people have been wanting we are going to provide off of a major highway. It kind of opens up everything that has been back here for so long.”
Alexandra Williamson, from Meadow Pointe, ran in the event with her husband and said she thinks SR 56 will do many positive things for the community.
“For one it alleviates all the traffic, especially with all the construction that is going on at Bruce B. Downs, so this is going to be a big plus just with the shortcut going through Meadow Pointe,” she said. “Plus all the nice walkways that they have along the road brings people out on long walks, more bike riding. Just for that aspect of it I love it.”
The road will alleviate traffic along construction-heavy SR 54 and cut miles off the drive from locations such as deep inside Meadow Pointe.
“I drive to work downtown and I currently live on the northeast side of Meadow Pointe, so I take 54 which is currently under construction and sometimes it takes about 15 to 20 minutes just to get to the interstate,” said Michael Ruiz. “I can take this road which cuts in through Meadow Pointe over to the interstate 75 and it should cut my time back a lot.”
Eventually, SR 56 is expected to continue east to US 301 in Zephyrhills.
But even now, this new extension makes a huge difference, said County Commissioner Pat Mulieri.
“Our motto is bringing opportunities home,” she said. “It is going to bring more things in and roads are extremely important for an industry. I just say hallelujah this road is opening.”