Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

In 1911 William Howard Taft was president, there were only 46 states and a loaf of bread cost 5 cents. That was the world Land O’ Lakes resident Rosalia Martinez was born into.
Martinez was born in Santiago, Cuba on Nov. 13, 1911 and just celebrated her 99th birthday. She left the island nation in 1961 to escape Fidel Castro’s Communist government and moved to New Jersey. She has since lived in Puerto Rico and Miami before coming to central Pasco County last July.

“I really like it here,” Martinez said. “Miami was too big of a city. I like it here because there (are) less people and traffic. Here I know most of the people I see.”
Martinez is the third of seven siblings born of Rosalia and Angel Martinez. Her parents were originally from Asturias, Spain. She now lives with her niece, Lucille Fernandez.
“She has always been a self-sufficient lady and even now she uses the money she earned working her whole life to live on,” said Fernandez, who also came from Cuba, but in 1963. “She worked as a secretary in the big courthouse in Santiago and was eventually the secretary for the president of the courthouse. She got a college degree from (Instituto Santiago Business) and worked in the courthouse for 30 years.”
Martinez said she was very happy in Cuba and had everything she needed until Castro took over. Then things became very difficult and she decided to come to America.
She had to forfeit all of her possessions when she came to the United States, but managed to smuggle $500 through hidden in a purse with a false bottom. She said a friend served three months in a Cuban jail for trying to do the same thing.
“I love it in this country,” Martinez said. “It is so much better than Cuba with the Communists. There you can’t do anything now. Here you have freedom.”
She moved to Puerto Rico to manage one of her brother Ignacio Martinez’s businesses. She came back to the mainland because of high crime on the island. She was once held at gunpoint while managing the store. She moved to Miami and eventually retired.
Despite being in her 80s and 90s in Miami, she said most of her friends where 10-20 years younger. She loved driving and was the person who took them everywhere in South Florida.
She was still driving until last December. She gave up her license at that time, but it would have remained valid until next year. She added she may go back and try and get her license at some point.
“She has a chauffeur now — me,” Fernandez said with a laugh. “… The place we go the most is The Shops at Wiregrass. She likes going to Macy’s because she loves to wear the newest fashion for her age. Her only credit card is from Macy’s.”
Carmen Serrano, Martinez’s great-niece, said she still reads magazines like Vanity Fair and People to stay up-to-date on fashion.
“She goes all over the mall and it’s hard to keep up with her,” Serrano said. “Her energy is amazing. One time we went to walk down an escalator that was wasn’t moving and I turned to tell some people behind us she was in her 90s and it would be a little while for her to get down. By the time I turned around she was already on the bottom and I was the one holding things up.”
Martinez has no major health issues, but did suffer a broken hip while walking last Father’s Day. She vowed to get back shopping in two months and did just that.
“She’s very determined person,” Serrano said. “She’s just a great lady.”
Martinez never married and has no children, but she has always remained social. Besides going to the mall, she still goes to church at Our Lady of the Rosary Church and goes to restaurants with her family and friends regularly. She said her health comes from staying active and social.
“Maybe it’s good genes or good luck,” Martinez said. “I don’t have a secret. Just stay happy, active and social.”

By B.C. Manion

The death of someone we love is always a painful loss – but healing can become even more difficult if the loved died by suicide.
Betsey Westuba understands that pain because her brother, Don Falvey, took his own life when he was 53.
“He had suffered from depression all of his life,” Westuba said. “He left a note saying he couldn’t take the pain any longer.”
The loss of her brother put Westuba on a new path. She received help to deal with her grief and then went on to become a volunteer at Suncoast Kid’s Place Center for Grieving Children and Families in Lutz. She later was hired to be the center’s suicide prevention coordinator.
The center and the Bereavement Coalition of Tampa Bay are co-hosting a conference at Van Dyke Church in Lutz aimed at helping people who are coping with the loss of a loved one who died by suicide.
The conference will be held simultaneously at 250 sites around the world. The local event is planned for 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Van Dyke Church, 17030 Lakeshore Road. It includes a 90-minute broadcast by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
National Survivors of Suicide Day was created by the U.S. Senate in 1999 through the efforts of Sen. Harry Reid, of Nevada, who lost his father to suicide.
The event provides an opportunity for members of the survivor community to gather for support, healing and information.
Pasco and Hillsborough counties are not immune from the incidence of deaths by suicide. Last year, 86 people took their own lives in Pasco County and 199 did so in Hillsborough County.
While this conference is geared to people who have lost someone to suicide – help is available beyond the conference not only for people grappling with this kind of loss, but also for people who are contemplating suicide, said Cheryl Jackson, program director for Suncoast Kid’s Place.
There is hope and there is help, Westuba said.
Suicide is a preventable cause of death, Jackson said.
Many issues can contribute to a person’s decision to take his or her own life, Westuba said.  “People need to be educated.”
Statistics show that more than 90 percent of suicide victims have a significant psychiatric illness at the time of their death – which often had been undiagnosed, untreated or both, according to information compiled by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
When mood disorders and substance abuse are both present, the risk for suicide greatly increases, especially among adolescents and young adults, the foundation says.
The media can play an important role in informing the public about the warning signs of suicide, trends in suicide rates and recent treatment advances, but media reports can also contribute to an increase in suicide deaths, the foundation reports.
Research has found an increase in suicide by readers or viewers when the number of stories about individual suicides increases, a particular death is reported at length or in many stories, the story of an individual death is placed on the front page or at the beginning of a broadcast, or the headlines about a specific suicide death are dramatic, the foundation reports.
Reporting of a particular suicide method by the media also can encourage vulnerable individuals to imitate it, according to the foundation. Clinicians believe that risk is even greater if a detailed description of the method is reported.
12th annual National Survivors of Suicide Loss Around the World
Where: Van Dyke Church, 17030 Lakeshore Road, Lutz
Who: Sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and hosted by Suncoast Kid’s Place Center for Grieving Children and Families and Hillsborough County Bereavement Coalition
When: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The seminar is free, but an RSVP is appreciated for planning purposes. Call (813) 990-0216 or go to SuncoastKidsPlace.org to register

Suicide prevention
You cannot predict death by suicide, but you can identify people who are at risk for suicidal behavior.
Ask the person if he or she is having suicidal thoughts or ideas.
Ask such questions as:
– Are you thinking about killing yourself?
– Have you ever tried to hurt yourself before?
-Do you think you might hurt yourself today?
-Have you thought of ways you might hurt yourself?
-Do you have pills or weapons in your house?
Asking these questions will not increase the person’s suicidal thoughts but will give you information about how strongly the person has thought about taking his or her own life.
Take every threat of suicide seriously. A past history of suicide attempts is one of the strongest risk factors for death by suicide.
There is no evidence that a “no suicide” contract will prevent a suicide. In fact, such a contract may provide a false sense of security.
What to do if someone may be suicidal
-Do not leave that person alone
-Say, “I’m going to get you some help.”
-Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, (800) 273-Talk
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Suicide warning signs
Seek help from a mental health professional or by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 if you or someone you know exhibits any of these signs:
-Threatening to hurt of kill oneself
– Talking about wanting to hurt or kill oneself
-Looking for ways to kill oneself by seeking access to firearms, pills or other means
-Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person
-Feeling hopeless
-Feeling rage or uncontrolled anger or seeking revenge
-Acting reckless or engaging in risky behaviors
-Feeling trapped
-Increasing alcohol or drug use
-Withdrawing from friends, family and society
-Feeling anxious, agitated or unable to sleep or sleeping all the time
-Experiencing dramatic mood changes
-Seeing no reason for living or having no sense of purpose of life
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
For additional help
Here are some additional resources that may be helpful:
Suicide Prevention Action Network USA: www.spanusa.org
American Association of Suicidology: www.suicidology.org
American Federation for Suicide Prevention: www.afsp.org
Suicide Grief Support Forum: www.suicidegrief.com

Star quarterback missing from senior night

By Kyle LoJacono

Land O’ Lakes High principal Ric Mellin suspended football coach Matt Kitchie, defensive coordinator Jason Hatcher and varsity cheerleading coach Celisa Cook indefinitely Nov. 12.
“All three are suspended for the rest of the season,” said Pasco County School District spokeswoman Summer Romagnoli. “That includes the playoffs.”
Romagnoli said she could not release the reason for the suspension as it would reveal protected information about a student. She said an investigation began early last week.
All three coaches are also teachers at the school, but the suspension only applies to their coaching duties. First-year offensive line coach Patrick Corcoran was named interim football coach for the rest of the season, while Andrea Burkhart will lead the cheerleaders.
Mellin released a prepared statement on the day the suspensions were handed out, which read, “We’re confident in the new coaches’ ability to move the team forward with competence, character, integrity and enthusiasm.”
The Gators will be without Kitchie, who has compiled a 17-3 record in his two seasons with the squad, for their first-round playoff game at Jefferson High on Friday, Nov. 19 and they may also be without quarterback Stephen Weatherford.
The senior signal caller did not play in Land O’ Lakes’ final regular-season game Nov. 12 against Hudson High. Kitchie said the decision to sit Weatherford was made on Nov. 11 to prevent injury.
“We decided to sit him before everything happened on (Nov. 12),” Kitchie said.
While he was not expected to play, Weatherford was not even present on the field for senior night, when graduating players are honored. Of the 23 seniors on the football roster, Weatherford was the only one missing. Corcoran would not comment as to where Weatherford was that evening.

If Weatherford is out, the Gators will turn to junior Ryan Bird to lead the offense. Bird said he was not told he would be starting against Hudson until after school Nov. 12 when the team had a meeting to talk about the coaches being suspended.
“I don’t even remember those hours before the game,” Bird said. “They went by really fast and it was almost unreal. It felt kind of like a dream and then I was under center.”
Pasco athletic director Phil Bell was at the game against Hudson and said the coach’s suspensions and Weatherford’s absence had nothing to do with his department.
“That’s something that came from the school,” Bell said. “I have no knowledge of anything about the coaches or any student or students not here tonight.”
As for the coaches, Kitchie said Saturday he was not told of any timetable for the suspension. He said he can go to watch the playoff game Nov. 19 as a fan in the stands, but cannot coach in any way. He was not at the game against Hudson, but got updates from people in the stands of the team’s 42-10 win.
“I got a lot of text messages and people telling me how they were doing,” Kitchie said. “I was very proud of them for stepping up in a difficult situation and winning on senior night. They went out and rallied around each other. I’ve told them all year the team is bigger than any one person, even the coach. They went out and played Gator football like they have all year.”
Kitchie has been a coach for 10 years, seven at the high school level. He has also been a physical education teacher for those seven years.
Despite the disciplinary action, Kitchie said he feels his job is safe.
“I’m not in hiding or anything like that because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Kitchie said. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

By B.C. Manion

The aroma of roasted turkey wafting through the house and a gathering of family and friends – that’s what most people conjure when they look ahead to Thanksgiving.
High unemployment and rampant foreclosures, however, have dimmed that happy image.
It’s no surprise that people and organizations in the Central Pasco, Eastern Pasco and Northern Hillsborough communities are willing to help people in their time of need. These generous souls help others all of the time, especially during the holidays.

But this year, the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel is going beyond its usual delivery of holiday meals to people in need.
This Thanksgiving the group will debut its Turkey Gobble, an event that some hope will become an annual tradition.
Dan Byrne, Joanne Showalter and Poky Pocorobba are the key organizers of the event that will serve turkey dinners with all of the fixin’s from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving at the Dairy Queen at 27328 SR 54 in Wesley Chapel. The meals will be served until they run out. To make a reservation for a meal, call (813) 991-9767.
The dinners will be served to people who are hungry, homeless and in need, Byrne said.
After they finish their meal, diners will be able to top it off with a nice Pumpkin Pie Blizzard, said Byrne, who owns the Dairy Queen.
Event organizers hope to create a warm and welcoming ambience, Byrne said. “We are going to treat this with as much dignity as we can.”
About two dozen members of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel are expected to volunteer that day, serving dinners paid for by the club and other contributors and prepared by Metropolitan Ministries.
Sweetbay Supermarket has volunteered to keep the dinners warm until they are served, Byrne said.
Club members also will deliver some meals to disabled people or shut-ins, who are unable to attend the event, Byrne added.
About 20 businesses have banded together to support the Turkey Gobble, said Showalter, who is customer service manager at Heritage Ford.
Other donations have come from individual Rotary Club members and from patrons at the Dairy Queen, who have dropped coins or dollar bills into a collection jar.
The event is needed, particularly in this tough economy – which has people homeless and has forced children to go hungry, Byrne and Showalter said.
“It’s just sad,” Showalter said.
The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel is just one example of the community’s big heart. Harvester United Methodist Church, 2432 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes, held a food drive to help families in need, said Pastor Sam Maihack.
“As a church, we believe we’re on earth as God’s children, to help people who are in need,” Maihack said.  ”You have got to start with where people are at – we want them to experience God’s love.”
In Zephyrhills and a portion of Dade City, the people receiving dinners from Meals on Wheels East Pasco, Inc., will be receiving a turkey dinner with all the fixins’.
Well, almost all of the fixins’ said Ann Babbitt, administrative assistant for the organization. “The only thing they don’t get is whipped cream on the pie. That doesn’t hold up well,” she said. The cost of the dinners is being covered by the Daybreak Rotary Club of Zephryhills.
The Lutz Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club made donations to Christian Social Services in Land O’ Lakes to help pay for some Thanksgiving baskets, said Marilyn Wannamaker, a woman’s club member.
Christian Social Services will distribute about 100 food baskets to families in need, said Jacquie Petet, executive director. The organization buys the food baskets for $30 each from Share Food Network. Each basket has a frozen turkey, fresh vegetables and canned foods.
The social service organization is glad to help brighten Thanksgiving, but the needs go far beyond annual holiday baskets, Petet said.
The Thanksgiving basket will provide a meal and some leftovers, Petet observed.
“The need is there seven days of the week,” Petet said.

How to help
— Those wishing to volunteer or to contribute donations or who wish to inquire about meal deliveries for the Turkey Gobble may call Joanne Showalter at (813) 907-7800.
— Those wishing to contribute for Thanksgiving or Christmas baskets through the Christian  Social Services may send donations to the Christian Social Services, attention: Share the Season, P.O. Box 783, Land O’Lakes, Fl., 34639.
— Those wishing to contribute canned goods for the food pantry at Christian Social Services can drop off their donations at 5514 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes.

Hillsborough County group furthers their training

By Kyle LoJacono

Heather Haynie and Josh Melendez regularly compete for state and regional honors with Hillsborough County’s Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay club, but the two just received bigger recognition.

The athletes, who both live in east Pasco County, were named to the first-ever High School All-American Track and Field Team. U.S. Paralympics, part of the U.S. Olympic Committee, selects the team.
Andy Chasanoff has been the club’s sports coordinator since it started eight years ago and coaches track and field.
“It’s tremendously exciting,” Chasanoff said. “It shows you the tremendous amount of effort and determination these athletes put into their sport.”
Haynie, 19, graduated from Zephyrhills High in the spring and won the first ever Florida High School Athletic Association Class I state shot put championship for disabled athletes May 7 with a toss of 26 feet, 7.5 inches. Along with making the team, she was also named the 2010 Girls Field Athlete of the Year for the discus and javelin throw and shot put events.
“Feels good,” Haynie said of earning the award and making the team. “It takes a lot of work.”
Haynie has been the shot put national champion for physically disabled athletes in her age group every year since she was in fifth grade.
Melendez, 18, also just graduated, but from Wiregrass Ranch High in Wesley Chapel and currently attends Pasco-Hernando Community College. He lives in Odessa.

Melendez made the team for the javelin and discus toss, shot put and long jump events. He also competes in various running and swimming events.
“I’ve competed with the club for seven years and it’s pretty cool to make the team,” Melendez said. “It shows how the club has gotten bigger and better from years ago. We’ve got a lot more athletes and the coaches have made us all better.”
Melendez competed in cross country while at Wiregrass Ranch and his competitive nature is obvious.
“I just love the spirit of competition,” Melendez said. “When I’m in a race I’m just thinking finish strong and in a field event I’m focusing on what I’m doing.”
Haynie became disabled after a car accident when she was one week shy of her fifth birthday. She lost most of her legs in the crash. Melendez had a stroke while being born.
“I’ve been working with disabled athletes for about 30 years and I love doing it,” Chasanoff said. “The three who made it should be very proud of themselves because they are the best at what they do.”
Tampa resident Nigel Diaz, 14, was the third member of the club to make the team.
“They all practice two to three times a week, but they need to do a lot on their own to get to this level,” Chasanoff said. “I heard about them making the team a couple of weeks. Heather making the team didn’t surprise me because she’s truly the best in the country at what she does, but I was really happy for the other two.”
Cathy Sellers, director of High Performance Track and Field, said it was exciting the name this first All-American squad.
“We wanted to recognize these exceptional high school athletes and their efforts and let people know these are great, young Paralympic athletes,” Sellers said.
Hillsborough County’s club was also named the top local sports club in the nation earlier this year by U.S. Paralympics, according to county Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department spokesman John Brill. It was selected from more than 100 local clubs throughout the country.
“It’s a great recognition for the club,” Chasanoff said. “It clearly shows the kind of effort our coaches and athletes put into it.”

By B.C. Manion

Election 2010 ushered in three new members on the Pasco County School Board, representing the first time in decades that a majority of that board was elected on a single ballot.
Cynthia Armstrong, Alison Crumbley and Steve Luikart are scheduled to be sworn in on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
Armstrong assumes the District 3 seat, vacated by Cathi Martin. Crumbley fills the District 4 seat, replacing Kathryn Starkey. Luikart assumes District 5, vacated by Frank Parker.
All three newly elected board members said the district’s anticipated funding shortfall for next year is the biggest challenge they’ll be facing as they take on policy making and budget decisions for a school system that has more than 67,000 students, more than 9,000 employees and an annual budget topping $1 billion.
“We’re looking at a $47 million shortfall already for next year,” Crumbley said.
“The budgetary issues are going to be a priority for the next several years,” Luikart predicted.  “There are going to be tough, tough issues as far as cuts.”
Voters’ rejection of the proposed quarter-mil tax for public schools sent a clear message, Luikart said. “We need to live within our means.”
While tough budget cuts will be necessary, the district also needs to seek additional revenue sources, Crumbley said. “I would like to look at more grant writing done by the district,” she said. “I think there’s a huge opportunity.”
Both Crumbley and Armstrong said they’re interested in putting additional emphasis on vocational and technology training offered through the district’s schools.
While cost cutting is a key focus, Luikart, a 32-year veteran of the county’s public schools, is not interested in pursuing privatization of support services such as custodial or food service as a way to achieve savings. If there are ways to do things more efficiently, the district’s staff is capable of learning those techniques, he said.
“When you have your (non-instructional) staff as part of the school, they become part of the community,” Luikart said.
“Students are so much more comfortable when the lady in the front office knows their name,” said Luikart, who was an assistant principal and a teacher before he threw his hat into the ring for school board.
Crumbley said she’s not interested in pursuing privatization either. “There’s a lot more to privatization than people realize,” she said. “First and foremost you’re going to lose jobs.”
Luikart said his background makes him aware of how decisions made by the state Legislature and the school board level can affect the daily lives of teachers and students.
“We keep putting things on teachers’ plates, but we haven’t taken anything off in a long time,” said Luikart, Florida Assistant Principal of the Year in 2001.
The school district also will continue to deal with the challenges of class-size restrictions, Armstrong said. Voters rejected Amendment No. 8, which would have relaxed those standards.
Armstrong said she hopes the Legislature will be able to help the school district on the funding front, but given the economic climate, she is not overly optimistic.
School board members are elected to four-year terms however, Crumbley was elected to a two-year term to complete Starkey’s unexpired term. School board members are paid $36,419 annually.

By Kyle LoJacono

Hillsborough County residents voted a resounding no Nov. 2 to raising the sales tax to fund a light rail system, which may delay a similar plan in Pasco County.
The Hillsborough plan, which would have also paid for more buses and road projects, could have helped connect all areas of the county to the future high-speed rail system. Pasco government officials were counting on linking to their southern neighbor’s rail route.
“The no vote in Hillsborough will slow things down because Hillsborough is the key to the region because of its size and location,” said Pasco commissioner Jack Mariano.
Pasco’s growth management administrator, Richard Gehring, said the county plans to put a similar transit tax referendum on the ballot for the 2018 midterm or 2020 presidential election. He said how much taxes could rise by and what area or areas the increase would be imposed on is not set.
Gehring said details on how a rail system would roll out are also not set, but it is projected a line of tracks would be built following SR 54. From there it would shoot down to connect with a future Hillsborough system. This would connect Pasco with the future high-speed rail between Orlando and Tampa.
Pasco Economic Development Council president John Hagen said linking with the high-speed rail would help bring business to the county.

“Places like The Shops at Wiregrass could become shopping destinations for places outside of the county,” Hagen said. “It already is for our residents because of everything it has to offer, but with increased travel it could become a regional hub.”
Gehring said most cities and counties put similar initiatives on their ballots several times before they pass.
Right now the county is focusing on building roads to help move people and goods across Pasco. Such projects include the widening of SR 54 in Wesley Chapel and the future Zephyrhills Bypass to help connect the east Pasco city to the rest of the county. However, Pasco commissioners Mariano and Ann Hildebrand both believe the future could be with a rail system.
That rail system’s future is now delayed with Hillsborough residents rejecting the referendum. However, Hildebrand, who is Pasco’s representative on the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, came up with a different idea than a one-county vote. She suggests Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties should think about referendum for the Tampa Bay area counties to pool resources to a rail system instead passing three different ones.
While few in the Pasco government are against the idea of a rail system, one Tampa Bay area group flatly rejects the idea — No Tax for Tracks.
The campaign was started in Hillsborough by a group of people who opposed the county’s referendum. John Hendricks was one of the founders and said he thinks the plan was a bad idea from the start.
Hendricks said Hillsborough’s plan would have only helped the people in the city of Tampa and a couple other outlying areas, but everyone would have had to pay the 1-cent increase on sales tax. He said the group would bring the same fight against a Pasco rail system.
Despite the opposition from the group and the no vote in Hillsborough, it seems the idea of a rail system is far from dead in both counties.