The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Special to The Laker/Lutz News

No longer sick for the brick

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Meet me in St Louis, Louis
Meet me at the Fair
Don’t tell me the lights are shining
Anyplace but there

-Sterling/Mills

By Randall Grantham

Hello, my name is Randy and I am a brickoholic. That was my mantra before, but now, I’m clean!
That’s right, after years of gathering, stacking and laying out brick walkways, pads and parking areas, I am cured of my brick obsession.
As you know, I had a serious brick problem and, I admit I was addicted to bricks. I started, as most casual users do, with pavers. Old school popcorn rock pavers. A few here, a few there. Next thing I knew, I was sneaking off with bricks found anywhere.
It got so bad that, like many substance abusers, I got in trouble with the law. Code Enforcement cited me for not being quick enough in cleaning up the piles of Ybor City bricks that had been dumped in front of my house and that I had commenced to clean and stack this summer.
I have brick walkways all the way around my house and out to both main gates. I have a brick floor on my outdoor shower. I have a brick stoop on my work-room building. I had a brick problem.
In my last post about this subject, I said my “brick problem” was that I didn’t have enough bricks. Well, after this last load of bricks, I think that I have enough. By my count, I have more than 5,000 bricks cleaned, stacked and ready for deployment.
Does that prove that I’m cured? No. But the fact that I walked right past 20 or 30 Tampa street bricks, stacked unsecured on the side of the street in downtown Tampa, not once, not twice but three times without even picking one up and carrying it back to my car, or even seriously considering it, does.
But I did not escape from this culture unscathed. As is true in any addiction scenario, there are the unavoidable medical issues.
You’ve heard of tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome? Well, I developed brick-cleaner’s shoulder. A version of tendonitis that hurts like hell and has prevented me from paving over my entire yard with the bricks I’ve acquired.
But seriously, I think that I have enough bricks and I am thankful that my addiction did not get out of hand and hurt anybody else.
I’m also grateful to learn that I am not alone in my struggle. I recently read that somebody in St Louis, Mo., also has a brick problem. However, they’ve let theirs get to the point where they are burning down buildings just to get to the “special” St. Louis bricks.
You see, after the fire of 1849, the city required that all new buildings be built from non-combustible materials and dozens of brick manufacturers sprung up using the rich clays of Missouri.
According to those who should know, they are highly desirable due to their quality and craftsmanship. So people are setting fire to vacant buildings and having the fire department do all the mortar cleaning with their high-powered hoses.
One guy that was caught loading up bricks swore that he had only been messing with bricks for a week and now that he had been caught he was gonna get off the stuff.
Sure he is. But that’s how quickly this addiction can get you. We’ll see if he stays clean.
As for me, I take it one day at a time. And maybe I’ll take my next vacation in St. Louis.

Eating Healthy at Taco Bell? It’s possible

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By Samantha Taylor

It’s a fact of life: Most Americans eat fast food 3 times a week!
So, it’s better to be wise with what we eat than to be in denial, right?
Fast food is obviously the least healthy restaurant food that you can consume although each place has a few healthier options.  So, for this article, I did my review on Taco Bell.  It’s unfortunate that they don’t offer any whole wheat products although I think that will change in a few years.
For now, they have quite a few options that are on the lower calorie side (just make sure you don’t eat too much).  You may already know that I used to be a binger — at Taco Bell, I used to get three tacos, a Nachos Bell Grande and a steak quesadilla (talk about overeating).
Fortunately, I haven’t had that problem in more than seven years.  I still eat fast food occasionally, but much less than I used to.  The funny thing about fast food is if you stop eating it for a relatively long time and then go back to eating it, it begins to taste weird and obviously processed.
You just don’t notice that “processed taste” if you eat it all the time.
I grew up on fast food and even as a health professional, I stopped eating it only about a year ago.  If you are pressed for time and want to have a quick, tasty fix, Taco Bell has got some good alternatives to calorie-loaded burgers and fries.
Your best bet is the chicken soft tacos even though it comes with a white flour tortilla.  It’s not too big a deal if you eat it once in a while, but it’s a whole different story if you have white flour all the time.  Two chicken soft tacos amount to only 380 calories and are filling.
Or, if you want some crunch, you can get two crunchy tacos for only 340 calories.  I still stick with chicken because the quality of meat in crunchy tacos is not exactly the best option.  But hey, the reality is that even if some people hear that, they will still eat it, but it at least helps to know that you have lower-calorie options.
One great thing about Taco Bell is they have a nutrition calculator on their website that lets you build an entire meal piece by piece that lets you know and control just how many calories you are consuming.  I highly recommend you look up the menu at www.tacobell.com and take advantage of the calculator, not only with Taco Bell, but with most fast food restaurants.  If you choose to eat fast food, it pays to know exactly what you’re putting into your body.

“Little soldier” makes All American Bowl

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By Kyle LoJacono

Brandon Debyah works so hard at football that previous coaches nicknamed him the little soldier.

His effort on the field has earned him a place on the Offense-Defense All America Bowl eastern team, the only player from Pasco County to make the squad.

“It’s a great honor,” Brandon, 13, said. “I never thought I’d be picked for something like this. I knew I was good, but I didn’t think I was good enough to make the team.”

It took four John Long defenders to bring down Brandon Debyah.

Brandon is an eighth grader at Raymond B. Stewart Middle in Zephyrhills. His main positions are running back and linebacker, but his coach, Norman Scheuerman, said he never comes off the field during a game.

“Basically he can play all the defensive positions but defensive line and is great on our special teams,” said Scheuerman, who has coached the Bulldogs for five years. “He’s very well rounded. I can’t think of a more deserving player to make the team.”

Brandon was picked for the team after trying out during a football camp in Saint Leo. The game will match the best players from the eastern and western halves of the United States on New Year’s Day in Myrtle Beach, S.C. There is a game for both middle and high school students.

The best-known player to participate in the game is Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant, who was selected in the first round of the NFL draft in April. Also making the team last year was former Pasco High quarterback D.J. Clower.

“The Offense-Defense All American Bowl is the culmination of years of hard work developing a winning curriculum and reputation for excellence, as well as experience in working with young players,” said bowl director Matt Whittier. “… We are working to make this game a pure, annual tradition that athletes from all across the country can strive to be a part of.”

Brandon started playing football at 4-years-old in the Zephyrhills Police Athletic League. His mother, Kim, said all three of her boys have always loved sports.

“They all play soccer, basketball, baseball and football,” Kim said. “The funny thing is when he started playing he was the littlest one out there. Now he’s one of the biggest.”

Brandon is currently 5-foot-9, 150 pounds. His older brother, Josh, also played under Scheuerman at the school, while his younger brother, Chris, is in sixth grade at Stewart and will tryout for the team next year.

Last season Brandon averaged more than two touchdowns a game. He scored his first of the 2010 campaign in a 28-10 victory over Centennial Middle Sept. 14. The Bulldogs also won their second contest 21-6 against Dr. John Long Middle Sept. 21.

“He has grown a lot physically and mentally from last year,” Scheuerman said. “He’s come in from the summer break a lot stronger and faster, but he’s a much more intelligent player too. He finds places to get through the line when before he might have not followed his blockers.”

Scheuerman said Brandon also gets a lot of support from Kim and his father, Mike. They come out to each game to cheer him on.

“I love watching him because he works so hard, but he doesn’t see it as work because he loves playing football,” Kim said. “I’m so proud to see him running up and down the field doing what he loves.”

Brandon is just starting his football career, which he hopes will continue for another 20 to 30 years.

“I’m going to try as hard as I can to get a football scholarship to play in college,” Brandon said. “Then hopefully I’ll be good enough to be drafted by an NFL team and then play in the NFL. That’s my biggest dream.”

Soccer program kicking two months in

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By Kyle LoJacono

FC Tampa Lutz Rangers is less than two months old, but the first soccer program ever in Lutz is already drawing hundreds from around Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

Driss Belhassan, of Lutz, during the first week of practice for the U8 Academy for the FC Tampa Lutz Rangers.

“It’s a great facility we get to use at Oscar Cooler Sports Complex,” said Rangers founder Mike Connell, of Lutz. “It’s a perfect location for the people of Lutz and Odessa who have never had a soccer program and we’re getting kids from Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel too.”

The park has been around since 1975, but until its expansion Aug. 14 there was no room for soccer. Now the Rangers have plenty of practice and game fields.

Land O’ Lakes High boys soccer coach Mark Pearson, of Lutz, is coaching the boys U8 Academy for the Rangers, which is a program for kids just learning the game.

“I’ve been coaching at Land O’ Lakes High for 15 years, so it was a no brainer to start coaching here too,” Pearson said. “I like coaching the kids at this level here because it’s a nice break from coaching high school. It’s a different kind of mentality from the pressure of getting the kids good enough to make the playoffs to teaching these kids the basics. It’s a nice change.”

One of the players in the academy is Driss Belhassan, of Lutz. Belhassan said he likes playing soccer because he gets to run around with his friends.

Connell is coaching the U11 and U13 boys teams for the club. Derek Walters, of Land O’ Lakes, plays on that U13 team and he cannot get enough soccer.

“I’ve played since I was 6,” Walters, 13, said. “Soccer is like my life. My dream is to play soccer when I grow up and I love playing here in Lutz.”

Walters has also played for Hillsborough County United. He said he likes playing at the new Lutz fields because it is closer to his home and because of the coaches.

“The coaches are just so much better,” Walters said. “They know exactly how to make us all become much stronger players.”

Founder of FC Tampa Lutz Rangers Mike Connell speaks to the U11 boys team.

Connell said there are 11 competitive teams for players ages 8 to 15 and 25 recreational squads for ages 5 to 16. There are 280 children signed up, while another 18 men from around Lutz and Odessa make up the Rangers men’s team. Connell said everyone on the adult team is at least 40, but that is not a requirement to join.

“It’s special to have so many people interested in soccer here,” Connell said. “We have a lot of families in a 15-mile radius all coming here to play soccer because we have the right goals for the kids … We want them to be the best while having fun playing soccer. It’s not about how good they are the first game or after the first year, but when they leave the program at 15-years-old.”

Connell also runs Unlimited Motion Soccer Academy in Wesley Chapel at Sports + Field. Biko Claxton, of Wesley Chapel, is one of Unlimited Motion’s coaches and also helps the Rangers players get better at their speed and agility.

“It’s a great way for me to give back to another community and spread the love of soccer,” Claxton said. “If I can get more people playing soccer here then I’m getting the job done as a coach.”

The current season for the Rangers runs through the end of February. There will be another season starting in April. For more information on the Rangers for interested players or coaches, visit www.fctampalutz.com.

“I’m hoping these kids stay in love with soccer and get to high school to make them really strong in soccer,” Connell said. “In a couple of years I’m hoping our high schools will each have state championships. That’s when I’ll know the program is really working.”

Game of the week

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Cowboys come up big on Ron Allen’s special night

By Kyle LoJacono

Gaither High christened Ron Allen Field with a 17-10 victory over north Hillsborough County rival Freedom High.

Ron Allen with his wife Nancy (right) and Gaither’s current principal Marie Whelan during the naming of Ron Allen Field.

Before the game the Cowboys had a ceremony to name the field after the school’s first principal, who led Gaither from 1984-1993.

“I was ok until they started playing the school’s song,” Allen said. “That kind of brought a tear to my eye. I just want to thank everyone, especially the original faculty.”

Original faculty still at Gaither signed a football that was presented to Allen during the ceremony. He said it is one of the most special gifts he has ever received and he will put it in his living room so he always sees it.

Allen, of Lutz, was Chamberlain High’s principal before coming to Gaither. Many graduates from Gaither and Chamberlain came to see him.

“It’s very special,” said current Gaither principal Marie Whelan, who was a student at the school during Allen’s tenure. “He really deserves it for everything he’s done for the school. He’s the reason the school is what it is today.”

The game was also special for the Cowboys as the seven-point win was the first for Gaither at home in nearly two years.

“It’s a great feeling to win in front of what I feel is the best supporting cast in Hillsborough County,” said Cowboys coach Mark Kantor. “I’m excited for the school, for the kids and to win for our principal. I love winning games for that lady because she’s a fantastic principal, and especially on the night we dedicate the field to Mr. Ron Allen.”

Both offenses started slowly, each losing fumbles on their second drives.

The Cowboys (2-2) got on track first when quarterback Shug Oyegunle ran for a 27-yard touchdown with 1:34 left in the first half. Gaither got the ball back with 1:06 remaining and scored again when Oyegunle hit Josh Bultron with a 36-yard pass.

Patriots (1-3) quarterback Dominic Marino got his team on the board in the fourth quarter with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Robert Lohnes. Two drives later Freedom made a 35-yard field goal to get within a touchdown.

The Cowboys gave the Patriots a chance to tie the game by losing a fumble with 38 seconds remaining on their own 43, but the visitors were sacked twice on the drive to end the game.

“We had our opportunities and we just didn’t do anything with them,” said Freedom coach Tchecoy Blount. “We’ve got to get back to work and fix all the problems as fast as we can.”

Oyegunle finished 9-of-13 passing for 101 yards and added another 60 yards on six runs.

The Cowboys defense recorded four sacks and forced three turnovers, two of which were interceptions by defensive back Tyler McCollum.

“I kept seeing them going over the middle to (Lohnes), so when I saw him doing it again I just tried to make a tackle and the ball ended up in my hands,” McCollum said. “The next one it was just an overthrow that I went and got.”

Lohnes had five catches for 120 yards. Blount called Lohnes the team’s ironman for playing on both sides of the ball while returning punts and kicks.

“That kid is a football player,” Kantor said of Lohnes. “I was scared to death of him touching the football all night. He deserves to play somewhere in college.”

Academy at the Lakes locks up playoff spot

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Team rips off five straight wins

By Kyle LoJacono

Academy at the Lakes football team has rebounded from a 0-2 start by winning their next five in a row.

Academy at the Lakes running back Jarrett Harvey breaks up the middle for a long run during practice.

The Wildcats (5-2) have already clinched one of the eight playoff spots in the Florida six-man football league, which has 18 teams. As of Sept. 23, the academy was in the fourth-place slot and are one win away from their 2009 total.

Much of the winning has come as the Wildcats have become more accustomed to each other as only two players, Alex Thompson and Max Osnos, returned from last year’s team. The players are not the only ones becoming used to six-man football.

“I’m right there learning the game with them,” said academy coach John Castelamare, who coached 11-man football at Pasco County schools for 38 years before coming to the private school. “I think we’ve picked things up quick. We lost our first game by a point, which we could have won, and now we’ve gotten a bunch in a row.”

Running back Jarrett Harvey, a junior, is in his first year at the school and did not expect the team to come together so fast.

“I thought we’d have a slow year, but the guys are proving me wrong” Harvey said.

Junior quarterback A.J. Carlson said the talent was always there, the team just needed time together.

“We’re come together as a team now,” Carlson, of Lutz, said. “When you have a team with just 16 guys on it you need to come together more than a big team because you can’t stay away from people you don’t like. You have to get along. Also having a fantastic coach doesn’t hurt.”

Osnos, of Land O’ Lakes, said leaders like Carlson, Harvey and running back Luke Warner has helped the team gel, but none of the players could remember a single moment that brought them together — but Castelamare can.

“It was that first win,” Castelamare said. “I think that gave them confidence they could win and made things a lot easier for them.”

The Wildcats’ last three opponents, including Zephyrhills Christian Academy, are all undefeated as of Sept. 23.

“I think the team has a chance to get close to if not win a state title,” Carlson said. “We have to show our last three opponents that we are ready to play anyone.”

The academy already has a six-man championship from the 2006 season. The next year the Wildcats expanded to 11-man football and finished 1-9. Thompson was on that 2007 team.

“That was a tough year,” Thompson, a senior, said. “This is my last year, so I’m hoping to win a state championship before I leave.”

Castelamare said after the first two losses he thought it would be a long year, but now sees a chance for the team to go deep in the playoffs. He added that the whole school is very supportive of the team and in turn he makes sure the boys do not neglect their school work.

“If I hear there’s a problem in a class then there is some extra running involved,” Castelamare said. “We make it clear that school is important.”

The Wildcats next play at Lakeside Christian High Oct. 1 and then take on Zephyrhills Christian Oct. 8 for their homecoming game.

Bulls pitch first shutout.

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Wiregrass Ranch High came out a 15-0 winner against Class 4A, District 6 rival Ridgewood High to open league play. It is the first time the Bulls (2-2) have recorded a shutout in the school’s five-year history.
James Tringali“I felt like we prepared well all week and did what we needed to win,” said Wiregrass Ranch coach Jeremy Shobe. “We had a tough loss last week to Wesley Chapel, but we refocused to get ready for a district opponent. We needed to get this win to get a jump on district play instead of playing catch up.”
The Bulls allowed just 87 yards. Defensive linemen Eric LaRue and Dwayne Houston each had two sacks.
Wiregrass Ranch quarterback James Tringali had a pair of touchdown passes, one to Antwan Smith the other to Donovan Blackman. Tringali finished with 131 yards,
“He did well managing the game,” Shobe said of Tringali. “He could have had 300 yards if we didn’t have some drops. We had a balanced attack with Rudy Walker starting his first game at running back for us. He normally plays cornerback, but we’re banged up at running back and he stepped up and gave us what we needed.”

Bulls pitch first shutout.Wiregrass Ranch High came out a 15-0 winner against Class 4A, District 6 rival Ridgewood High to open league play. It is the first time the Bulls (2-2) have recorded a shutout in the school’s five-year history.“I felt like we prepared well all week and did what we needed to win,” said Wiregrass Ranch coach Jeremy Shobe. “We had a tough loss last week to Wesley Chapel, but we refocused to get ready for a district opponent. We needed to get this win to get a jump on district play instead of playing catch up.”The Bulls allowed just 87 yards. Defensive linemen Eric LaRue and Dwayne Houston each had two sacks.Wiregrass Ranch quarterback James Tringali had a pair of touchdown passes, one to Antwan Smith the other to Donovan Blackman. Tringali finished with 131 yards,“He did well managing the game,” Shobe said of Tringali. “He could have had 300 yards if we didn’t have some drops. We had a balanced attack with Rudy Walker starting his first game at running back for us. He normally plays cornerback, but we’re banged up at running back and he stepped up and gave us what we needed.”

New arrival in Lutz

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St. Joseph’s Hospital-North opens obstetrics unit

By Kyle LoJacono

At 7:57 a.m. Sept. 15 St. Joseph’s Hospital-North’s newest unit saw its first patient and the only thing Michael Boria III could do was cry.
That is because he was the first baby born at the hospital’s new obstetrics (OB) unit.

Jill and her first baby Michael Boria III. (Photo by Kyle LoJacono)

“We weren’t expecting we’d be the first, but we were kind of hoping,” said Michael’s mother Jill Boria, of Land O’ Lakes.
It is the first baby for the couple of Jill and Michael Boria II, 26. Michael III, who the family will call Trip, was born 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 21-inches long. Jill was in labor for five hours.
“The first thing that I thought was he looks like his daddy,” Jill said. “I’m excited to have a cute little baby boy.”
The hospital is 10 minutes from the Boria’s house and even less time from Jill’s parents’, Denise and Clay Power, home in Lutz.
“We got a call at 4:45 in the morning, so we rushed over here and because it was so close we were here in plenty of time,” Denise said. “We were here for the delivery and the staff made the experience so great.”
The hospital, 4211 Van Dyke Road in Lutz, opened its OB unit Aug. 25. It is also the closest OB unit to Land O’ Lakes residents like the Borias.
“Within our walls, babies will be born and families will be forever impacted by the work we do,” said Paula McGuiness, the hospital’s chief operating officer. “We look forward to extending our legacy of compassionate care to a whole new generation.”
The new unit’s services will include:
Four private labor and delivery rooms equipped with a labor bed that has multiple positions
designed for comfort during delivery.
A shower designed for use during labor.
An infant warmer that quickly distributes warmth through a recessed heater while also serving as an in-bed scale.

The labor and delivery suites are the largest of the rooms at the hospital at 418 square feet.
“You need a lot of room to deliver a baby and give the doctors and nurses room to work,” said Vicki Gose, nurse manager of the OB and mother baby units. “We can get the lighting pointed right where we need it so the doctors can see everything they’re doing.”
Gose has been in labor and delivery care for 24 years and is also the mother of two. She said she got into the field because she loves helping people start their family.
“We’re very excited to have the OB unit open,” Gose said. “We opened in February and it’s taken a little bit to get it opened, but we’re very happy it is. It wasn’t nine months of waiting for it to be done like mothers have to wait, but it seemed like a long time to us.”
Gose was at the hospital when the first baby was born.
Once the baby is delivered, the mother and child can recover together in one of 12 private suites designed to look like hotel rooms as are all suites at the facility. Kathy Myers, director of operations, said each room has a high definition TV, a full-size shower and an in-room relative area to keep the family together.
“The rooms are big and have everything needed to make the patient feel comfortable,” Myers said. “… The same nurse stays with the mother from when they come in until they leave. That just helps them stay comfortable and the nurse learns what the patient wants.”
Myers also said the mother and father get a special dinner provided by the hospital for one evening. The new mother is also given a robe and several other things including toys for the new baby during the stay.
“The family can also stay with the mother the whole time and that makes the process easier on her,” Gose said. “There is a pullout bed in every labor and delivery room.”
Mother and child are kept together as much as possible, but for short periods they are taken to the nursery. Guests can look into the area much of the time
“They’re here for a bath and little things like that,” said Donna Quinones, neonatal nurse. “People can see in most of the time, but we can frost over the glass in case a baby needs to have a minor procedure or is sick.”
There is a neonatal nurse at the facility at all times, according to Myers.
“The support of this community has made the opening a success and we value each and every person who has visited our hospital,” McGuiness said. “We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide emergency care, surgical services, interventional cardiology, imaging services and
now obstetrics to local residents who truly needed better access to health care.”
For more information on St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, call (813) 443-7000 or visit www.stjosephsnorth.com.

About St. Joseph’s Hospital-North
43,000 patients expected in 2010
28,000 emergency room visits expected in 2010
108 private suites
500 employees
1,000 free parking spaces
Cost of more than $225 million to build

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North will open its own imaging in early 2011.
BayCare Outpatient Imaging Center will be a full-service outpatient imaging center being built just east of the hospital, 4211 Van Dyke Road in Lutz, in front of Kohl’s.
“It will offer services such as high-field MRI, multi-slice CT scans, digital
mammography, digital X-rays and bone density scanning,” said hospital spokeswoman Jacqueline Farruggio.

Schools cope with class size caps

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By B.C. Manion

The overall enrollment for Pasco County public schools is close to what district officials projected – but the district still must balance out individual classes to meet the state’s strict class size limits.
At the elementary level, a lot of shifting is being done within schools, said Summer Romagnoli, district spokeswoman. A fourth-grade teacher, for instance, may have to teach a second-grade class.
Veterans, Sand Pine and Seven Oaks are among the elementary schools that are doing a lot of internal shifts, Romagnoli said.
At the high school level, the district has asked teachers to volunteer to take on an additional period to reduce the impact on students. The teachers will receive a stipend, but must give up their planning period.
Some high school students in classes that are exceeding the caps are shifting to online classes, Romagnoli said. Numerous students at Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel high schools are going that route.
“We’re trying to manage the impacts,” Romagnoli said, but the district realizes these disruptions are hard on people.
“The teachers – they’ve bonded with these students and the kids have bonded with the teachers,” she said.
Superintendent Heather Fiorentino addressed the class size issue in a Sept. 10 letter sent home to parents.
“Under the current law, the district does not have the flexibility to make common sense decisions about the best placement of students if those placements jeopardize a school or classroom’s class size status,” Fiorentino states in the letter.
The state will audit class size in October and if even a single class in the district exceeds the class size limit, the district will be deemed out of compliance and will face severe financial penalties, the superintendent informed parents.
“We understand the importance of continuity for students, and have tried everything within our power to minimize the disruption in classrooms.  Unfortunately, the classes that exceed their limits must be addressed in order to comply with the law,” Fiorentino added.
“I apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause your child or family,” she concluded.
Florida voters will decide in November on a proposal to soften the class size cap they approved in 2002. In the meantime, schools still must comply with the law.
The district will offer two class size clinics for principals this week to help them deal with some of the challenges posed by the class size issue, Romagnoli said.
On a brighter note, the district’s enrollment is much closer now to its projections that it was on the fifth day of school. The 20th day count showed the district down just 90 students.
The district remains 774 students short of what the state projected its enrollment would be, Romagnoli said. The good news is that the district based its budget and hiring decisions on its own figures, which have proved to me more accurate, than on the state’s projection.
Across Pasco County, low enrollment is forcing at least one teacher from a half-dozen schools to be reassigned.

Coping with the loss of a father

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By Kyle LoJacono

At 12-years-old Nate McCoole’s life changed forever when his father, Michael, died from cancer. The loss was difficult, but with the help of his family and sports he has become star on the Seahawks football team.
“I remember he was the best dad,” Nate, 16, said. “He was really involved in everything me and my sister did. It was very hard to see him so bad.”

The McCooles in their last family photo before Michael died in 2006. (Photo courtesy of Laura McCoole)

Michael came home from work one day in 2002 with what he and his family thought was the flu. They never expected the diagnosis to be terminal cancer in his abdomen.
“He was wonderful,” said Michael’s wife, Laura McCoole. “He was very involved in our children’s lives. They waited for him at the door to get home from working at Gaither every day.”
Michael worked at Gaither High School as a science teacher for 17 years. When he became sick Laura, who was a stay-at-home mother, went back to school for her master’s degree in reading education from Saint Leo University. She has been a third-grade teacher for the last five years at Maniscalco Elementary in Lutz.
While Laura was going back to school, her children, Nate and Micah, had to take care of Michael until he died in 2006. Laura said she would set out the things for dinner and Nate would make it for his father and sister when he got home.
Laura said the family’s faith in God and closeness helped them get through losing Michael. Additionally, Nate, a junior, has found a sanctuary on the football field as the starting right tackle on the Sunlake High football team.
“I most like the camaraderie with my friends on the line, but I also like driving people into the dirt,” Nate said.
Also on the line this year with Nate are right guard Matt Sanders, center Josh Nobles, left guard Randy Silverwood and left tackle Canon Clark.
“He’s a very hard worker,” said Sunlake coach Bill Browning. “He leads by example in the weight room and is probably the strongest guy we have. I can’t say enough about him because he’s a great example of a young man.”
Clark said off the field Nate is one of the most mellow guys he knows, but when he straps on his helmet he switches into another mode. Nate did not always have that edge.
“His whole life he was so big compared to the other kids so we told him he had to be careful playing with them,” Laura said. “We’d have parents complaining at the playgrounds that there was a 10-year-old in there when he was only 5. When he started playing I had to tell him it was ok to be aggressive and hit people.”
Nate started playing football in seventh grade in the Exciting Idlewild Baptist league. He was not allowed to play in other leagues because he was too big. At Idlewild he had to play with 16-year-olds because he was so much bigger than the other players.
Laura is the Sunlake team mom and supports the team however she can.
“Almost every weekend we all go to Nate’s house and hang out and his mom makes us food,” Clark said. “His mom is really amazing and she’s like my second mom.”
Those meals do not come cheap.
“Those are big shopping bills when they come over,” Laura said jokingly. “They can really eat and I make sure to get them only the best steak to keep them strong.”
Nate’s work ethic and by Laura’s choice of meat has helped him on the Seahawks weightlifting team as well. In the last year he earned the title as strongest 15-year-old in the USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Florida competition. The title qualified him for the national event in Wisconsin in March, where he placed second in his division. His best lift in the bench press is 425 pounds and can also put up 445 in the squat and 540 in the powerlift, also called deadlift.
Sunlake’s weightlifting coach Matt Smith, who is also the offensive line coach, went with Nate to the USAPL national event. Nate said Smith has been the biggest male influence on his life since his father died.
In addition, both Nate and Micah, 13, participate in track and field. Nate does the shot put and discus throw, while Micah does the discus for Charles S. Rushe Middle.
Nate is not just about athletics. His parents made it clear how important education is and he has responded with a 3.83 weighted grade point average. He is also not far from his Eagle Scout award from Boy Scout Troop 212 in Lutz.
Nate also volunteers at his church’s vacation Bible school, at Maniscalco and at the Relay for Life event at the Lutz Train Depot.
“I do the relay each year,” Nate said. “It’s a good way to remember my father and help other people with cancer.”
Nate wants to play football in college and would like to play professionally, but if that does not work he will go into criminology.
“Whatever he does I’ll be proud of him,” Laura said. “He’s such a good young man.”