Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

A player who honed his skills at Bulldog Stadium at Zephyrhills High School will play beneath much brighter lights on Sunday, Feb. 6.

Ryan Pickett, a member of the Green Bay Packers, is headed to his second Super Bowl.

The defensive lineman was born in Zephyrhills and played with the Bulldogs from 1994-1997. Some of his fondest memories are of playing Friday nights against Pasco County rivals like Pasco High and Land O’ Lakes High.

“That’s where I learned the game,” Pickett said. “That’s where I’m from and it’ll always feel like home. I don’t live there anymore, but I take any chance I have to get back.”

Tom Fisher coached Pickett at Zephyrhills and remembers him as one of the biggest and strongest he has seen. Fisher is still a teacher at Zephyrhills and said Pickett was definitely one of the best he has ever coached.

Zephyrhills principal Steve Van Gorden said his performances are a topic of conversation around the school.

“I never meet Ryan, but it’s nice to see a local get to the Super Bowl” Van Gorden said. “It shows if you work hard, you can be successful no matter where you’re from. He’s a great role model for anyone that hard work pays off. It’s going to be great that he can represent not only the Packers, but Zephyrhills.”

As a senior at Zephyrhills, Pickett recorded 119 tackles and seven sacks. His accomplishments were honored in 2008 when his alma mater retired his number 79. Pickett still wears the number with the Packers.

Pickett was one of the top defensive recruits coming out of high school and signed a scholarship to play at Ohio State University. Unlike most freshman in college, Pickett played in every game his first season, including starting the final nine. He recorded 109 tackles, 20 for a loss, and eight sacks at Ohio State.

Pickett, 31, left after his junior season and was selected with the 29th pick of the first round in the NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams in 2001. He played five years with the Rams before signing with Green Bay as a free agent after the 2005 season. He was re-signed by the club before this season to a four-year, $28 million contract.

During his 10-year career, Pickett has recorded 454 tackles, nine sacks and 24 passes defensed in 148 games. This season, he played in 14 regular season games, 12 starts, and racked up 32 tackles and a sack.

Pickett reached the Super Bowl his rookie season in St. Louis, but was denied the Lombardi Trophy by the New England Patriots. A decade later, he gets his second shot this weekend in Dallas.

“I’ve never been back and I’ve been dying to get another chance,” Pickett said. “As a rookie I didn’t know what to expect. Getting there as a rookie, you kind of think you’re going to get back every year. After 10 years I’ve learned it’s not that easy. I’m making sure the younger guys know this might be their only chance and to give it everything they’ve got.”

Last year, Pickett was a key part of the Packers No. 1 ranked rush defense that allowed just 83.3 yards per contest, a franchise record. Pickett and Green Bay were the 5th ranked total defense in 2010, allowing 309.1 yards a game.

The Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 21-14 to advance to the Super Bowl, where they will take on the Pittsburg Steelers. Pickett and the defense allowed just 83 rushing yards in the contest and he believes containing the run is the key to getting his first championship.

“Those fast, skinny guys on offense may make the highlights, but everyone knows the game is really won and lost at the line of scrimmage with the big boys,” Pickett said with a laugh. “It’s us smacking each other around that are the real superstars.”

Pickett, 6-foot-2, is nicknamed “Big Grease” in part because he tips the scales at 340 pounds. He said the weight comes in handy in frigid Green Bay.

Pickett’s older brother Booker played at Zephyrhills and also in college at the University of Miami. Booker still lives in east Pasco and was an assistant on the Bulldogs football team last season.

Pickett and his wife Jennifer have three daughters,  Esther, Abigail and Lydia, and one son, Ryan Jr. Pickett said his boy is only 3-years-old, but already thinks he will follow in his father’s footsteps.

“Football is in our blood,” Pickett said. “His daddy and uncle played high school and college ball, and I can already see him on the field in a couple years making plays.”

Kickoff for Super Bowl XLV is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. It will be televised on Fox.

By B.C. Manion

Anyone acquainted with Michele Northrup — the former Guv’na of Lutz — knows that she’s not exactly a shrinking violet.

So, perhaps it should come as no surprise that this woman — who handles marketing for Learning Gate Community School in Lutz — has come up with a new creation that she debuted last weekend at Zest Fest 2011 in Irving, Texas.

The fiery foods festival is just one of numerous Dallas-area events leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.

At Zest Fest, Northrup picked up four awards for her sauces and also arranged a different kind of smack down.

She pitted heat-seeking aficionados against one another in the Intensity Academy Lolly Lick-A-Thon.

The object of the contest was to see who could be fastest to lick his or her way through an Extreme Lolly. No chewing or crunching was allowed.

Licking a lollipop all of the way through doesn’t seem much of a challenge.

But these suckers were hot. Practically scalding.

“That lollipop is torture,” said Northrup, who makes anyone who wants to try one sign a waiver.

She estimates the lollipops have a 1.5 million rating on the Scoville scale, which measures the spicy heat of a chili pepper. Northrup said the rating wouldn’t be official until a chemist tests it, but she bases her estimate on the ingredients she used on the African pepper extract she uses to make the lollipops.

“That’s not a little hot. That’s super, super hot,” said Northrup, who sells the candy treats for $3 a pop.

She created the spicy suckers in response to a constant query by patrons at hot sauce festivals she’s attended. She said when potential customers drop by her booth, they frequently inquire: “What’s the hottest thing you’ve got?’”

“Typically, I’m all about the flavor,” Northrup said, noting she uses chili peppers and other spices, but focuses primarily on creating flavorful blends with organic ingredients.

Still, she wanted to satisfy customers in search of a fiery treat, so she decided to create a novelty item.

“I wanted to do something different,” she said. She said she thought to herself: “Why not a lollipop?”

She began researching lollipop companies across the country to see if she could track down one that would be willing to make her super hot suckers.

“I wanted to have organic tea in it,” Northrup said, and to use extract from African peppers — to turn up the heat.

She began calling companies.

Some of the people she reached thought she was out of her mind.

She said that they told her: “You want tea and pepper in your lollipop? Are you crazy?”

“I had a couple of people hang up on me,” she said.

After searching all over the country, she finally found a company right in her backyard.

The company called Lolly Labs is based in Tampa.

When Northrup checked out the company’s website, she knew it was a perfect fit for her project. “They already made Earl Gray lollipops,” she said.

While Northrup’s lollipops got lots of exposure in Texas, you haven’t heard the end of them yet.

There’s already a posting of the competition on YouTube and the contest will be featured on the reality television show, “Midlife Road Trip.” Rick Griffen, a co-host on the show, competed in the contest.

By B.C. Manion

Double-digit unemployment and record foreclosure rates are only two of the symptoms of the nation’s derailed economy.

The strain on charitable groups is another telltale sign of today’s tough times.

The Lutz Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club, which is preparing to hold its annual flea market, has felt the pinch during the past two events.

In years past, the event has raised more than $10,000 but during the past two sales, the proceeds have been just over $7,000 each year, said Pat Serio, co-chairwoman for the annual Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club flea market.

“We need some help from the community as far as our donations,” Serio said.

Preparations are already underway for the event, slated for March 4-5 at the Old Lutz School Building, 18819 N. US 41.

About 60 volunteers are involved in the effort. Some haul bulky items, such as couches, to the sale. Others get items ready to sell, prepare foods to sell at the concession stand or work the event.

The flea market dates more than 20 years. It is the woman’s club’s second biggest fundraiser of the year, second only to its Lutz Arts and Crafts Festival held annually at Lake Park.

The club uses the money the flea market generates to help pay for community events, such as the Fourth of July parade and the Easter egg hunt, and to support a wide range of community causes and organizations.

Groups it supports include:

Little Women of Lutz

Lutz and Land O’ Lakes volunteer fire departments

Friends of the Library

Lutz and Land O’ Lakes Friends of the Park

Old Lutz School Building

Christian Social Services

Metropolitan Ministries

Angel Unawares

Scouting troops

The club also provides scholarships.

Donations can be dropped off at the Old Lutz School Building on Mondays and Wednesdays in February from 9 a.m. to noon.

The group will provide pickups for items that are too large to carry, but donors must schedule those shortly before the event because of storage issues, Serio said.

In addition to helping various organizations, the event also is a good place to find a great deal. Every year, there are people in need who come to the flea market, Serio said.

“They count their quarters. They really think about their dollar purchase,” she said.

There’s also great variety for those who enjoy hunting for treasures at flea markets, she added.

“Every year, you never know what to expect. We get all kinds of things,” Serio said.

Items sold at the market include clothing for all ages, toys and games, house wares, linens, garden tools, coffee makers, electric mixers, cookware, home décor items and sporting goods.

Antiques, vintage items and collectibles are displayed together in the Museum Room and furniture and heavy lawn equipment are sold outdoors, under tents.

Donations are being accepted on Mondays and Wednesdays in February from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Old Lutz School Building, 18819 N. US 41.

If you would like to schedule a pickup of a large donation, or would like more information about the flea market, call event chairwoman Phyllis Hoedt at (813) 949-1937 or co-chairwoman, Pat Serio at (813) 948-4752.

Linda Allen retires after 22 years

By Kyle LoJacono

In 1987 Pasco County had no library system. The following year Linda Allen came to the area and changed that forever.

Allen, 63, moved to Pasco to become the assistant library director of support services after a referendum was passed in 1986 to create the first county library system. Now, 24 years later she is retiring as library director. Her last day is Feb. 4.

“I’ve seen it go from nothing to a dynamic, community-oriented library system,” Allen said. “I really hate leaving it, but I think I’ve been doing this long enough and it’s time for someone with new ideas to step in.”

Current Pasco commission chairwoman Anna Hildebrand was on the commission when the referendum was passed to create the library system.

“We picked the right person to help make our libraries,” Hildebrand said of Allen.

When the library system started, it had about 10 employees and everyone had to help construct the fledgling department — literally.

“We built the library system,” Allen said. “I installed some of the wires for the computers myself. There was no library and we made it. That’s an amazing thing because very few people can say that they helped create a system out of nothing.”

The system opened with three libraries, one in Dade City, Land O’ Lakes and Holiday, with about 50,000 books. That number has grown to seven sites with almost 200 workers and 250,000 items in circulation.

Allen’s love for books started back when she was an elementary student in her hometown of Nashville. She said she remembers riding the bus with her class downtown to the public library to check out books.

“We had to be really quiet there,” Allen said. “It was a very traditional library, but it was so cool because they let you take all the books you wanted. It was always a treat to go to the library to find a new book to read.”

She worked in her high school library during free periods as a book shelfer.

“Ms. (Mildred) Allen was the person in charge of the library and I loved everything about working there,” Allen said. “It’s just very funny we had the same last name and were both librarians.”

Allen got her master’s degree in library sciences from George Peabody College, which has since become part of Vanderbilt University. She worked in various libraries in Kentucky and Florida before coming to Pasco.

The county’s library system is more than just a place to check out books and other educational items. Allen has helped create many fun programs for kids as young as babies to teenagers and educational classes for adults of any age.

Pasco libraries were given the 2008 Florida Library of the Year award from the Florida Library Association. In the same year, Allen had the honor of being named one of 10 people in the United States to receive the “I Love My Librarian” award.

Dan Johnson, assistant county administrator, has worked with Allen for a number of years and said Allen deflects all credit for such awards.

“When anyone comments to Linda about different awards or recognition the department has received, her first comment has always been that the success is due to the work and effort of her staff,” Johnson said. “She credits the entire staff, working as a team, with the success of the libraries.

“Additionally, many of the awards are also due to the great support from the Friends of the Library that Linda has worked so well with, and they have been inspired by her infectious enthusiasm,” Johnson continued. “It has been the Friends groups that have provided the funding for some of the wonderful additional programs over the years as a result of Linda’s efforts to work so closely with them.”

Allen and her department have had to do more with less in recent years because of budget cuts. She said the budget peaked in the 2006-07 fiscal year at $8.25 million. That has been cut to $5.99 million in the current budget, forcing the system to lose 20 percent of its staff and 30 percent of its operating hours.

“It’s been rough to see people using our services more while we offer them less hours,” Allen said. “We’ll see about 2 million items checked out this year now and that’s 13 percent more than last year.”

On the brighter side, Allen said she will now have more time to do things she likes, such as spend more time reading, gardening and crafting. She said she will also volunteer more, including at the library.

Johnson said they hope to have a replacement for Allen soon, but did not have a candidate by press time. Allen did not know anyone who has applied for the job, but said she knows an easy way to find out who it might be.

“Just go somewhere that isn’t a library and ask a question out loud,” Allen said. “Anyone who’s a good librarian will try to answer it as soon as you ask. That’s what a librarian does.”

Linda Allen’s favorite books

–Beach Music by Pat Conroy. “His writing is lyrical and his story lines always have an unexpected twist.”

–When You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. “It’s a picture book for children and makes me giggle.”

–Arthurian Chronicles by Jack Whyte. “I’m re-reading it right now. It is a multi-volume series about the Camelot legend. Escapism at it’s best.”

–“I love anything by Anne Rivers Siddons. She is pure Southern with lovely stories that lull you, then slam you with a surprise.”

By B.C. Manion

Raymond James is looking at several sites in Hillsborough and Pasco counties with an eye toward adding a satellite location, said Anthea Penrose, public relations manager for the company.

While Penrose would not identify the locations of the sites under consideration, she confirmed that two are in Pasco County — one on SR 54 near the Suncoast Parkway and the other in the Wiregrass area of Wesley Chapel.

Penrose said the company issued a request for proposals for a site to accommodate 300,000 to 500,000 square feet. The size of the site that the company needs will vary based on the project’s square footage of the project, Penrose said. However, it will likely exceed 20 acres, she said.

The financial services company decided to begin looking for a satellite location after conducting a comprehensive analysis last year of its current home campus in the Carillon office park in St. Petersburg.

That analysis concluded that its headquarters would be at or near capacity within several years. The 1 million-square-foot office complex also is in the level one area evacuation for hurricanes, causing the company to give serious consideration to the need to relocate critical data systems as first-tier protection, Penrose added.

The company, which had $2.92 billion in revenues in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, has not yet determined the potential occupants of the satellite campus. However, Penrose said, the satellite is likely to be the data center.

The company has no definite timeframe for when it would break ground on the satellite and has not determined yet how many employees would work there. It also has not determined how many of those employees would be current employees or new hires, she said.

In seeking potential sites, the company has solicited information from private landowners and government jurisdictions, Penrose said.

The sites under consideration range from locations in southern Pasco County to southeastern Hillsborough County.

Raymond James is a diversified financial services holding company with subsidiaries engaged primarily in investment and financial planning, in addition to investment banking and asset management, Penrose said.

The company, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (RJF), has 7,295 worldwide employees and 3,669 worldwide independent contractors.

The company is committed to keeping its international headquarters in St. Petersburg, Penrose said. The satellite would merely mitigate its hurricane risk and allow for future growth and expansion, she said.