Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

It’s been a quarter-century since Gaither High School opened, and now it’s getting ready for $17.3 million makeover.
The project, slated to begin in late January, will take about 18 months to complete, said John Williams, project coordinator for Hillsborough County public schools.
The work will be completed in five phases, with the phases to be done a semester at a time and over summer.
Twenty-four portable classrooms will be used to accommodate students when the work is being done during the school year, Williams said.
“The big assembly spaces will be done in the summer,” Williams said, when the school is closed. Those spaces include the cafeteria, the auditorium, the locker room, large music rooms, the dining room and the agriculture, drafting and automobile labs.
Once a semester has started, students will not be moved either from the portable classrooms into the school building or vice versa, Williams said.
The work will involve replacing the school’s mechanical systems, which means removing the big chillers and air handlers. That work will require removing and replacing the ceiling and lighting. The school also will get a new roof.
The project calls for new fire alarms, new security systems, a new intercom system, repainting and the installation of fire sprinklers. It also includes sealing up the ventilation system.
Air quality problems plagued Gaither High schools during the early 1990s, prompting staff and students to complain about the air being too cold in some parts of the building and too hot in others. They also objected to mold growing on an interior wall and on some tools, equipment and ceiling tiles in a classroom wing.
Williams said the project calls for replacing the air-conditioning system and the school’s roof, so he doesn’t expect similar problems to occur.
Because the project is being done at a high school, students may be attending portable classrooms for some periods and classes in permanent spaces during the rest of the day.
People passing by the school probably won’t be able to tell that anything is being done inside the school, Williams said.
The project also calls for adding a stairwell at the front of the building, to meet current safety codes. The restrooms also will be updated to meet current American with Disabilities Act requirements.
Air quality problems plagued Gaither High schools during the early 1990s, prompting staff and students to complain about the air being too cold in some parts of the building and too hot in others. They also objected to mold growing on an interior wall and on some tools, equipment and ceiling tiles in a classroom wing.

By B.C. Manion

While the economy continues to struggle, Pasco County leaders are working to lay the groundwork to position the county to market itself more effectively to attract good jobs.
There’s no doubt that change is coming, said Bob Gray of Strategic Planning Group Inc., which has been hired to help the county develop its strategic economic development plan.
“The bottom line is in the next 20-25 years, everything you see in Pasco County is going to double,” Gray said. “If we thought we saw an impact before, hold your hats.
“The Pasco of the future will begin to mirror Pinellas and Hillsborough. 2035 will not be your father’s Pasco County,” Gray said.
Pasco County is the state’s 12th largest county. Its population grew from 36,000 in 1960 to about 471,000 now, Gray told a group of stakeholders assembled to help fashion the county’s economic development plan. The group, representing a variety of interests —  including government, businesses, retail, banking, real estate, utilities, citizens and others — met last week at Alice Hall Community Center in Zephyrhills.
The group is meeting again this week to identify the county’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as part of the process to create the economic development plan.
The issue is not whether Pasco County will grow and get more jobs; it’s whether it will grow the way it wants and get the kind of jobs that it wants, Gray said.
The county has tracts that are large enough for development, said Richard Gehring, planning and growth management administrator for Pasco County. He envisions Dade City and Zephyrhills as being potential anchors in the economic development plan. He also noted the county has been divided into five market areas.
Those are the east, west, north, south and central market areas, according to background documentation provided at the meeting.
Gray said the county doesn’t have a workforce problem because it draws its workforce from the region. He also said its proximity to the University of South Florida is a huge benefit.
However, John Hagen, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council, said being able to draw from the region isn’t enough.

“My concern is that we create high-skilled jobs, but our residents don’t get the jobs,” Hagen said. Efforts must be made to help Pasco’s workforce develop the kinds of skills needed to secure those high-quality jobs, he said.
Hagen is optimistic about Pasco’s future, but said it will take hard work to achieve what the county wants.
“We’re well-positioned to take future growth here,” Hagen said. However, he added, the county can’t merely sit back and wait. “I think we’re going to have to make that happen. If we’re anti-growth, the growth will go elsewhere.
“Things are going to get shaken up and we want to be the shakers, not the shaken,” Hagen said.
Gray said the county’s economic development plan has to start with a vision: “What do we want?”
It’s also important to get community buy-in regarding the importance of economic development, Gray said.
“We have to get a buy-in because there is going to be a cost for implementing the plan,” Gray said.

By B.C. Manion

Get ready to change your life.
That’s the message the Center for Living Wellness conveys to those arriving at the beige building at 19105 N. US 41 in Lutz.
It’s a unique place that offers fitness, yoga, nutrition and cooking classes — and, which operates side by side with the SeVaMed Institute, where Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena combines elements of conventional and natural medicine in her integrative medicine practice to provide care that goes beyond pharmaceuticals.

Saxena met Michele Drielick, executive director for the Center for Living Wellness, when both women were at a health and wellness expo.
They discovered they were kindred spirits because both of them want to help people live healthier lives and neither felt the traditional approach to healthcare was working.
When a doctor tells a patient that he or she should “stop eating white stuff and start exercising” it is unlikely that the advice will result in real change, Drielick said.
But when people become knowledgeable about diet and nutrition and truly understand how what they eat and how much they move affects their overall health, they become advocates for their own good health, Drielick said.
“We want our office to be targeted toward health,” Saxena said. The doctor said she went into medicine because she wanted to heal people. She soon learned, however, that she was spending much of her time scribbling prescriptions.
But she now works in an environment that fosters an opportunity for patients to make real and lasting life changes.
When Saxena gets a patient that has high blood pressure, she can prescribe medication to treat the condition, the doctor said.
But she also encourages her patients to make lifestyle changes that can help them reclaim their good health and stop taking medications.
That’s where the Center for Living Wellness comes in. It helps people to become more knowledgeable about diet and nutrition and provides a supportive atmosphere to help them change their lifestyle.
Some center members are Saxena’s patients, but anyone is welcome to join the center, Drielick said.
The center’s monthly membership is $39 per month, without a monthly commitment, for unlimited exercise classes, including fitness and yoga classes. Those interested in joining can get a free week to preview the center’s offerings.
One advantage the center offers is small exercise classes, said Amber Swortzel, a fitness instructor at the center. That allows for more individualized instruction, she said.
“I’ve worked in fitness centers before where I’ve had 40 people in a class. When I have 40 people in a class, it’s hard for me to see,” she said. She normally has about a half-dozen members in her Monday night class.
The center also offers quarterly wellness lectures, cooking classes and a food coop that members can join to order organic fruits and vegetables.
Cristin Becker, of Wesley Chapel, recently was at the center with her 4-year-old son, Liam and her 3-year-old daughter, Chloe, picking up the family’s order of organic fruits and veggies.
Becker had nothing but praise for the center. She described it as “a kind of community that offers a lot of support.
“It helps to have like-minded people,” Becker said. “It helps to recommit you to your passion for vibrant living.”
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a challenge in a culture that doesn’t make it easy to do, said Becker, who has attended wellness lectures and cooking classes at the center.
“To change how you live can be tough,” Becker said. “It is hard. They never try to tell you otherwise because if they say otherwise, they’re lying,” she said.
Becker said she hopes her children will learn how to lead healthy lives because they’re growing up in a household that values good health. “They won’t have the bad habits,” she said.
Besides its current offerings, the center will be adding two initiatives in January.
It is launching its Living Wellness University, which will provide online health/nutrition classes, Healthy Gourmand cooking classes, yoga and fitness classes to subscribers for $14.95 a month.
It also is beginning its 90-Day Shred, which is $125 a month and it is $195 a month when it includes a personalized nutrition plan.
“That’s a very intense program. It will yield absolute results. You do it, it’s done,” Drielick said.
Saxena said conventional medicine can be likened to trying to plug holes in a wall to prevent a flood.
The real issue, Saxena said, is how to reduce the water on the other side of the wall.
Saxena strives to help people understand complex medical topics so they can bring about real, meaningful life-long change,
The doctor noted that three things have a profound effect on a person’s general health: the way we eat, the way we move and the way we manage our stress.
However, physicians are not trained in nutrition, exercise or stress management, Saxena said.
The Center for Living Wellness strives to help people improve their overall health.
“By improving diet and lifestyle, we have seen amazing results. Diet and exercise can make all of the difference,” Drielick said.
People can either feed their disease or prevent their disease, Saxena said.
“We are going to change the way you behave and live so that you have the chance to live well,” Saxena said.
For more information about the Center for Living Wellness call (813) 269-2700 or go to centerforlivingwellness.com.

By Kyle LoJacono

The extension of Ridge Road has been in the works for 12 years and a recent move by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will ensure more waiting for the project.
The engineers put the brakes on the plan in part because of cattle owned by landowner Ted Phillips. Pasco County plans would have allowed Phillips to continue hunting and herding the animals on his land, 4G Ranch, in the project area.
Spokesman for the engineers Chuck Schnepel said the loss of wetlands in the project area would be too great as currently planned without converting the ranch into a preserve.
Southwest Florida Water Management District spokeswoman Robyn Felix said it is the county’s responsibility to mitigate the impacts to the wetlands.
“Under their current permit application, they are proposing to convey 221 acres of floodplain wetlands along the Pithlachascotee River to the district for preservation,” Felix said. “They are proposing to purchase an 804-acre conservation easement on the 4G Ranch, which would provide a critical wildlife corridor between the district’s Conner Preserve and the Cross Bar/Albar Ranch.”
The current proposed cost is $77 million, but that number will likely change to reduce the impact on the wetlands. Felix said extension would be a huge impact on the area’s environment.
“The extension is expected to permanently impact 44 acres of wetlands and temporarily impact 3.5 acres of wetlands,” Felix said. “The Suncoast Parkway interchange with Ridge Road is expected to impact 12 acres of wetlands. Because this is a very large project there a variety of different types of wetlands, forested wetlands with cypress heads, isolated marshes and scrubby wetlands, that will be impacted ranging from low to high quality.”
Pasco District 2 Commissioner Pat Mulieri said Phillips, “Was willing to give a conservation easement, but wanted to be able to hunt and or run cattle on the land. The corps graciously has given the county one year to renegotiate the mitigation with the owner of the 4G Ranch.”
If that one year expires, the county will have to submit new plans for the extension.
Mulieri, whose district includes all of Land O’ Lakes, expressed some irritation with the engineer’s ruling.
“Two years ago there was a belief that if we did certain things the issuance of the permit was eminent,” Mulieri said. “However, that did not happen. It has been frustrating because it appears that when staff accomplished what is asked for, something else is added.”
The project is the oldest job under review by the engineers in Florida. It is designed as an evacuation route to in part allow Land O’ Lakes and other central Pasco residents easier access to the Suncoast Parkway in the event of a disaster.
The plans are to extend Ridge Road from where it ends in New Port Richey west to the Suncoast in the first phase while adding an interchange, and later take it to US 41.
“This road is critical,” Mulieri said. “If there is a hurricane it will move people to the Suncoast. It is not just needed for hurricane evacuation, but movement of vehicles after any accident or disaster that would shut down US 41, (SR) 54 or (SR) 52.”
Critics of the project say it is only to way to open more development.
“An important aspect is that it will be a limited access road similar to the Suncoast,” Mulieri said of that criticism. “The board supported this concept a number of years ago to allay the concerns that this was just being built to open up more land for developers.”
While the road seems unable to open additional development, it would have a side benefit. It would provide a faster link between central and west Pasco, including easier access to Pasco-Hernando Community College’s (PHCC) New Port Richey campus located on Ridge Road.
“The road would definitely be a plus for PHCC,” Mulieri said. “Also Connerton and the commerce park would benefit.”

Story and photo by Tammy Sue Struble

The local Zephyrhills AMVETS Post 550 found a bigger location and made the move to 4645 Airport Road in Zephyrhills. The Post had previously been located at an older, smaller facility at 4822 Gall Blvd.
During a guided tour, Post Finance Officer Tony Baker proudly pointed out that, “Each division has an office.” That’s something the old facility was not able to accommodate: an office for the Auxiliary, Sons, Officers of the Post and an office for the Post Commander Jim Marshall.
The members seemed extremely happy to have a larger dance floor and nice stage. The building, formerly the Zephyr Palms Event Center and before that the Senior Center on Airport Road, will also be convenient for a USO event sponsored by the AMVETS, slated for the same weekend as the Bivouac and Barracks at the Zephyrhills Airport. Bivouac and Barracks will be Feb. 18-20.

By Kyle LoJacono

For every 100 children who participate in Boys Scouts of America (BSA), only two ever reach the rank of Eagle Scout. Add Land O’ Lakes resident Sam Edley to the list.
The 17-year-old Sunlake High student earned the award Nov. 20 with a less-than-conventional final project. Instead of the traditional ideas of building, cleaning or replacing something, Sam decided to collect thousands of dollars worth of supplies for U.S. troops serving overseas.

“I got the idea when we did a service project with Mr. (Bob) Williams with Support Our Troops in Wesley Chapel,” Sam said. “We folded sheets that were sent to the troops because they didn’t have any clean ones and he told us they’re always looking for donations.”
Sam gave bags with flyers listing desired items to neighbors, relatives and members of his church, Our Lady of the Rosary in Land O’ Lakes. He was able to collect $19,000 worth of goods for the troops and an additional $500 to help pay for the shipping.
“I think it was a very good idea,” said Dave Edley, Sam’s father. “I didn’t realize what a lot of the troops overseas go without and this helps them be a little more comfortable.”
Dave’s father and Sam’s uncles on both sides of his family served in the armed forces.
Sam started getting thank you letters from those who received his care packages a few weeks after they went out. Williams even gave him an American flag that was flown on a plane overseas that was sent back by some of the troops.
“I wasn’t expecting anything like that,” Sam said. “That was very special to get.”
The Edleys put the flag in a glass case displayed in their living room.
Sam first joined scouting while in third grade. After graduating from Cub Scouts, the youth program of BSA, he joined Troop 33 in Land O’ Lakes. In all, he earned 34 merit badges.
“Scouting teaches you how to deal with many different kinds of people.” Sam said. “You also learn to check to make sure everyone did their job. You need to make sure the people who were supposed to buy the food for a campout did or you’re not going to eat for the weekend. It teaches you how to grow up.”

Maria Edley, Sam’s mother, has also seen the benefits of the program.
“The biggest change was in that first year,” Maria said. “They go from Cub Scouts where the parents do most of the planning to Boy Scouts where the boys run everything. It teaches them responsibility and each year he became more and more of a leader.”
For more information on scouting in the Tampa Bay area, visit www.boyscouting.com.

To help Support Our Troops
Support Our Troops is always in need of volunteer help to pack the supplies in boxes, for money to ship the boxes and for supplies to fill the boxes. To help, visit www.ourtroopsonline.com or call either (800) 367-3591 or (813) 991-9400. Checks can be mailed to Support Our Troops Attn: Bob Williams P.O. Box 7560 Wesley Chapel, FL 33544.
Letters to Sam

Sam,
Thank you for the care package with all the goodies and personal hygiene items. It is very much appreciated. Your package went to a health clinic that provides walk-in/outpatient medical care to soldiers and civilians who work at Kandahar Air Field. The clinic is made up of doctors, physician’s assistants, medics, supply, tech support, mechanics, mental health and command staff. We put the candy in containers that we also share with patients while they are waiting for
treatment.
I appreciate that you understand what it’s like for us soldiers. Most people go about their daily lives and forget we are here enduring long deployments away from family and friends, risking our lives, working very hard. We just sort of fade into the background. These care packages mean everything to us, not just because of the creature comforts they provide, but because they send a message we have not been forgotten.
Elaine Belson
Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan

Sam,
Thank you for the package of coffee, cookies and crackers. We really do appreciate the support from back home. We are a Navy expeditionary squadron in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We are deployed to Al Asad Airbase, Iraq. We have about 180 personnel out here and appreciate all the goodies that you guys have been sending through Support Our Troops. We provide tactical warfare air support to troops on the ground.
Appreciate all the support and have attached picture of our entire squadron and a few of us chiefs. I’m in the middle holding the squadron flag.
Sean Webb
Al Asad, Iraq

Sam,
My name is Nick Amico and I am the team leader of an engineer military training team stationed at Joint Security Station India on the northern edge of Mosul, Iraq. We are a part of the 779th Engineer Battalion, which is a National Guard unit from Tallahassee. Our battalion’s mission is to provide construction support, conduct route clearance operations and partner with the Iraqi Army. Our team mission here at India is to mentor, train and partner with the soldiers and leadership of the second Iraqi Army Division’s field engineer regiment. Our goal is to help our Iraqi Army counterparts become completely self-sufficient for both combat/security operations and construction efforts. It has been a great experience working with the people here, learning their culture and helping develop their unit and capabilities.
I would like to thank you for your support of our soldiers deployed in Iraq. A couple of your packages were delivered here at India base by a resupply convoy last week. All of the members of my team greatly enjoyed the cookies and the little taste of home. Your show of support means a lot to the soldiers over here. Being separated from friends and family by nearly 7,000 miles for 12 months can, at times, be discouraging, but support from people like you helps to keep our spirits high. In contrast to most other bases in Iraq, JSS India is a very small facility lacking most of the amenities that we have grown accustomed to in the states. Despite this, we really enjoy being here and being an integral part of the final phase of ensuring a strong, sovereign Iraq.
Congratulations on the completion of your Eagle Scout service project. That is a tremendous achievement and shows your personal commitment and dedication. Considering all of the membership since 1910, only about 2 percent of Boy Scouts can claim the honor of Eagle Scout. Great work and congratulations. Thank you for all of your support.
Nick Amico
Mosul, Iraq

By B.C. Manion

Chances are you’ve never heard of Ivan, a giraffe who teaches children the importance of self-acceptance.
If Wesley Chapel author Linda Rossetti Brocato has it her way, though, copies of her book, “Ivan Becomes a Hero,” will one day be in the hands of children around the globe.

“I want to get it wherever there is a child whose heart can be touched by Ivan,” Brocato said.
She thinks the book delivers an important message.
“In this day and time, when there is so much bullying and unkindness, I want children to know that they are fearfully and wonderfully made, even if they’re different,” said Brocato, who based the book’s central theme on Psalm 139, Verse 14.
The verse reads in part: “I am wonderfully and fearfully made.”
“I want them (children) to see that they are a treasure. It’s not an accident the way they are made,” said Brocato, a former Sanders Memorial Elementary school teacher, who just completed a recent book tour in Mississippi.
Brocato said she came up with the idea for her book 12 years ago, while visiting a wildlife refuge in California. When she saw a baby giraffe at the refuge, she jotted down the first words of her book onto a napkin.
She didn’t give the scribbled note any more thought until after being forced away from the classroom by multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow.
Brocato went through chemotherapy and stem cell transplants in her battle against the disease at the Centers of Excellence in Little Rock, Ark.
“I had a lot of time alone. I couldn’t teach,” Brocato said. Nor could she continue the ministry that she had her husband, Frank, had done for more than two decades.
During that solitary time, she said: “I heard in my heart, “But what about Ivan?”
That’s when she realized that Ivan’s story was divinely inspired, Brocato said.
Besides being a potential source of encouragement for children, the book also helped Brocato as she coped with the dark days of her illness.
“Ivan was my beacon of light,” she said.
The book tells the tale of a little giraffe who is mocked and scorned and treated unkindly, but who ultimately succeeds in his journey of self-acceptance.
The book was written for children ages 3 to 12, but has appeal for all ages, she said.
“Everybody has been wounded and everyone has been rejected, so they can identify,” she said.
Going from a mere idea for a story to a completed manuscript to a published book has been an adventure, Brocato said.
She was shepherded through the process by Linda J. Hawkins, her publisher from Heart to Heart Christian Books, who served as a consultant and helped Brocato to find the book’s illustrator, copy editors and designer. ‘She mentored me throughout the process.”
“My biggest prayer was for the illustrator not to be ordinary,” Brocato said.
The project’s original illustrator quit, but then another highly respected illustrator became available to do the job.
“The timing was perfect,” Brocato said, praising the skill of the illustrator, Donna Brooks. “She helped make Ivan come alive.”
Brocato decided to pay to publish the book rather than shopping it to various publishers. She said she wanted to retain control over the book’s design and content, as well as to own the copyright.
The author said everybody in her family supported her efforts, especially her husband. “I feel like he’s Ivan’s daddy,” she said.
She sees the market for her book as “anyone who wants a good book with a life message for children.”
If the book succeeds, she plans to use the proceeds to pursue publication of four additional books, including one about her mother and a sequel about Ivan.
Brocato has done some book signings, but welcomes the opportunity to speak at local bookstores, at club meetings and will even do author signings in private homes.
For more information about the author, her book, or her availability, go to www.lindarossettibrocato.com or call (813) 973-3039.w]ww

By B.C. Manion

From its Italian maps and colorful murals to its pictures of Italy and Italian place mats, it is easy to see that the owners of this cozy restaurant pride themselves on their heritage.

For nearly 25 years, the family-owned restaurant Piccola Italia Italian American Restaurant has been serving up its hearty fare to feed the locals of Zephyrhills and the city’s abundant winter residents.
Restaurant owners Antonietta D’ Eroma and Sergio, Maria and Robert Pullo take pride in the homemade sauces, pasta and soups they serve.
Sergio handles myriad chores at the restaurant. He makes the pasta and pizza dough. He also fixes just about anything that needs a repair, family members said.
The restaurant evolved out of the women’s love of cooking. When other mothers would send cupcakes to school functions, they would send pans of lasagna, said Robert, who is Maria’s son.
The menu tells patrons what to expect: “Good Italian cuisine cannot be rushed,” the menu proclaims. “Please be patient while your order is being prepared.”
The restaurant’s offerings include appetizers such as fried mushrooms, fried eggplant, fried zucchini and shrimp cocktail.
If you like spaghetti, you can get it topped with meat sauce, marinara sauce, meatballs or sausage, butter sauce, garlic and oil, garlic and mushrooms, a la shrimp scampi and with seafood sauce.
Other dishes feature veal, chicken, seafood and pasta, including stuffed shells, fettucine alfredo and lasagna. Other menu choices include pizza, calzones, sides, salads, soups, desserts, beer, wine and soft drinks.
There’s also a children’s menu and senior citizen’s menu.
And, there are daily specials, too.
Eating dinner at Piccola is “the equivalent of having a home-cooked meal, without being at home,” Robert said.
In the beginning, it was a struggle, Antonietta said. Over the years, however, the restaurant has had staying power because the owners realize being successful required more than simply serving good food.
Customers don’t go out for dinner just to eat a good meal, Robert said. They also want the pleasure of being served.
Customers also like to feel a personal connection to the people who are preparing and serving their food, Antonietta said.  “We mingle with everyone,” she said.
Al Kirk, a restaurant regular, definitely feels the connection.
He dropped by Piccola one recent afternoon and took his place at the head of the table, right next to the kitchen.
“Every day that I can make it, I’m here,” he said. One of the reasons he comes so frequently is because he enjoys chatting with Antonietta and Maria.
The one reason is that he enjoys the food.
His favorite is the pasta pomodoro. “You have to try it,” he said. “I think it’s delicious. I could live on it — that’s how good it is. When you order it, that’s when they make it. I think that’s the touch, right there.”
Antonietta said there’s a secret to treating customers properly.
“No matter what they do. No matter what they say — smile,” she said.
Maria and Antonietta said they want their patrons to be happy. If a mistake occurs, they want to make amends, they said.
They also enjoy the camaraderie that builds over time with customers.
It’s quite common for diners to poke their head through a window into the kitchen just to say hello, Antonietta said.
Maria offered this tip for getting the most flavor from a plate of spaghetti: “You’ve got to mix it up,” she said. That allows the spaghetti to absorb some of the sauce, allowing diners to taste the flavor in every bite.
Maria and Antonietta said they want their patrons to be happy when they’ve finished their meal, and if a mistake occurs, they want an opportunity to make amends, they said.
Besides serving diners, the restaurant handles catering and sells bottled sauce at the restaurant and online.
As it approaches its silver anniversary, it is planning to branch out — by distributing its bottled sauce to specialty markets. One day it hopes to have shelf space at large supermarket chains, such as Publix and Sweetbay, Robert said.
The restaurant also plans to celebrate its 25th year by doing something special.
They haven’t ironed out the details yet. When they turned 20, they rolled back the price on their spaghetti dinner to what it was when they opened.
They might do something similar in March, or celebrate some other way.
Stay tuned.

For more information
Piccola Italia Italian American Restaurant, 37502 SR 54, Zephyrhills
(813) 782-2856
www.piccolaitaliarestaurant.com