Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

It’s billed as an industry appreciation banquet – but it’s more of an occasion for people who are interested in economic development in Pasco County to network and mingle with others of a like mind.
About 600 business and community leaders typically attend the Pasco Economic Development Council’s annual banquet, which will be held this year on Sept. 9 at the Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.
“This is probably the premiere business event in Pasco County,” said John Hagen, who was named president and chief executive officer of the economic development council earlier this year.
Awards will be presented in seven categories at the event which will be co-emceed by ABC Action News anchor Brendan McLaughlin and Taking Action Reporter Jackie Calloway.
This year’s awards will honor recipients who have distinguished themselves in various categories, including service and distribution, manufacturing and technology. A special recognition award will be bestowed, and a special contribution will be acknowledged.
The $65-a-plate dinner begins at 7 p.m., but it is preceded by a trade show and networking session which begin at 5:30 p.m. About 40 to 45 businesses typically take part in the trade show, including companies involved in healthcare, publishing, education, social services and financial services.
Tickets for the banquet are available but must be reserved by Sept. 1. To make a reservation call (813) 926-0827 or go to the website at It’s billed as an industry appreciation banquet – but it’s more of an occasion for people who are interested in economic development in Pasco County to network and mingle with others of a like mind. About 600 business and community leaders typically attend the Pasco Economic Development Council’s annual banquet, which will be held this year on Sept. 9 at the Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel. “This is probably the premiere business event in Pasco County,” said John Hagen, who was named president and chief executive officer of the economic development council earlier this year. Awards will be presented in seven categories at the event which will be co-emceed by ABC Action News anchor Brendan McLaughlin and Taking Action Reporter Jackie Calloway. This year’s awards will honor recipients who have distinguished themselves in various categories, including service and distribution, manufacturing and technology. A special recognition award will be bestowed, and a special contribution will be acknowledged. The $65-a-plate dinner begins at 7 p.m., but it is preceded by a trade show and networking session which begin at 5:30 p.m. About 40 to 45 businesses typically take part in the trade show, including companies involved in healthcare, publishing, education, social services and financial services. Tickets for the banquet are available but must be reserved by Sept. 1. To make a reservation call (813) 926-0827 or go to the website at www.pascoedc.com The PEDC, funded through a combination of public and private funds, was created in 1987 to promote the common good of Pasco County through economic development, with the aim of alleviating unemployment, relieving poverty and reducing the need for public assistance.">www.pascoedc.com
The PEDC, funded through a combination of public and private funds, was created in 1987 to promote the common good of Pasco County through economic development, with the aim of alleviating unemployment, relieving poverty and reducing the need for public assistance.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

By Jake Bittle

Originally opened in 1984, Gaither High is one of the most significant landmarks on Dale Mabry Highway. With an enrollment of over 2,000 students and an established suite of sports programs, the high school has already made a name for itself in Hillsborough County, despite being relatively new.
However, its namesake comes from a different high school, one with more than a hundred years of history and heritage — Hillsborough High.
Lutz resident Laura Novy graduated from Gaither in 1986 and has been living in the area for more than 20 years.
“I think he was on the school board … I’m not really sure,” Novy said when asked what she knew about the namesake of her alma mater.
Vivian Gaither, for whom the school was named, was born in a small town called Tallassee, not to be confused with Tallahassee, in the heart of Alabama.
Raised on a farm, he grew up as one of eight boys and learned the value of discipline and diligence. At first Gaither wanted to be a lawyer, and took a teaching job while saving the money needed to enter law school.
He found he liked teaching so much he gave up law and pursued education, later becoming principal of a school in Catula, Ga. and received his bachelor’s degree in education from Peabody College.
In 1925, Gaither moved down to Florida to accept a teaching contract, acting as principal of Woodrow Wilson Junior High. During his five-year tenure there, he visited Columbia University in New York during the summer until he earned his master’s degree in education in 1930.
After short stints at Benjamin Franklin Junior High and Plant High, a choice that devoted Hillsborough students thought to be a slight bit of heresy, Gaither became principal of Hillsborough in 1933.
Hillsborough, the oldest school in the county, has a robust alumni association and much of the information about Gaither comes from that group’s newsletter.
During his 33-year stay at Hillsborough, according to the alumni association, Gaither earned the unwavering respect of all his students, embodying the spirit of the school and acting as a fair and efficient principal.
He was known to regularly attend the school’s sporting events in full Terrier regalia. In 1937, he married a Hillsborough graduate, Jacqueline Bettis.
During his career, Gaither was named an Honorary Doctor of Education by the University of Tampa. He was heavily involved in the First Baptist Church, and was a high-ranking member of the Hillsborough Masonic Lodge.
Out of a list including Dale Mabry High, Carrollwood High, Northdale High and Odessa High, Vivian Gaither was chosen to be the namesake of the newly opened school, paying homage to Gaither.
That decision led to another name change — for the football stadium named at Hillsborough. School leaders there removed the Gaither name, not wanting to have a stadium named for a rival school. Still, Gaither remains an honored presence at Hillsborough — a prominent oak tree shades the courtyard and his desk is on display in the media center.

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Cutting positions to make ends meet

By Kyle LoJacono

The proposed Pasco County budget would trim 76 full-time jobs and raise property tax rates for the second straight year after it was decreasing for nearly a decade.
It would also close a library and make a lot of transactions paperless as the county works to balance its $1.023 billion checkbook.
“Based on the economy, government must get smaller,” said Pasco County Commission Chairwoman Pat Mulieri. “Government cannot be everything to everyone. We will concentrate on essential services.”

“For the past two years we have been examining the way government works,” Mulieri continued. “The board had the urban land institute study, developed a strategic plan and used the elements to put together a business plan.
Part of that plan was the county’s LEAP program, or Lean Efficient Accountable Pasco. The program looks for ways to downsize government by combining departments and increasingly utilizing technology to make government more cost efficient.
Cutting the 76 positions is a continuation of a trend that started about two years ago in Pasco. Since 2008, 271 positions have been cut, a reduction of more than 12 percent. Some of those jobs were already vacant.
“Other things we’ve done during the last two years is now more services will be paid
online, some permits can be downloaded and inspections can be checked on smart phones,” Mulieri said. “Each department was looked at and found they were replicating some services. Reorganization was done.
“Each constitutional officer was asked to cut their budget 5 percent,’ Mulieri continued. “Based on a criteria established in our strategic plan, each department had to validate their programs and depending on how it was justified there could be from 5-12 percent cuts.”
The chairwoman also said the county has been working to meet the budget while listening to what residents want from their government.
Also on the proposed chopping block is Centennial Library in Holiday. Other library hours will remain the same.
While several positions are proposed for cuts, the county’s budget is projected to be larger than the last two years in part because of federal stimulus money, according to Office of Management and Budget assistant director Mike Howard. The current budget is $950 million and it was $1.021 billion in 2008-09.
Another change for this year will be an increase in the millage rate. The tax rate will increase from $1.20 to $1.43 for every $1,000 of assessed property value, which will mostly go to fire rescue services. That increase would mean $34.50 more taxes on a home taxed at $150,000.
The need to increase the rate was mainly because property values in the county have dropped since 2007. The loss of taxable value reduced the Pasco general fund by $2.7 billion for this year.
Increasing funding to fire rescue was a factor of listening to public opinion.
“With our stakeholder meetings we found what services our residents felt were essential, which were mainly public safety — sheriff and fire rescue.”
In addition to those meetings, the annual Pasco residents survey indicated the most important thing to county residents is fire rescue, followed by law enforcement and emergency medical services. Those surveys were conducted online and by in person interviews with 1,825 people in the county.
Another place Mulieri said was a focus in stakeholder meetings was veterans services.
“There is also a large contingency of veterans (54,000) in the county, so keeping veterans services is important,” Mulieri said.
The proposed budget is recommending the elimination of one veteran service counselor. In order to keep that position, $37,320 will need to be found from somewhere else in the budget.
Howard emphasized this is only the proposed budget and nothing is set in stone. The 2010-11 fiscal budget needs to be in place by Sept. 21 and will go into effect Oct. 1. The commission will have several more workshops and public meetings before that date.
While Mulieri believes government needs to get smaller to meet its budget, she predicts good things for the county’s future.
“This said, I believe Pasco will be in good shape when the economy rebounds,” Mulieri said. “We are putting in needed infrastructure, restructuring the permitting process and working to bring in new industries and help local ones. Jobs are a top priority. Pasco is working to bring opportunities home.”

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By Kyle LoJacono

Each year thousands of children, parents and friends pile into Oscar Cooler Sports Complex to watch youth athletics. All those people walk by the park’s sign, including Oscar Cooler himself.

Cooler, 81, has lived in Lutz since 1963 and was instrumental in bringing the first version of the park to Lutz in 1975.
“I think kids need to have a safe place to learn about teamwork,” Cooler said. “That’s why I worked to get the first park built all that time ago.
“If kids don’t have something like this then they usually get into a lot of things they shouldn’t be doing,” Oscar continued. “I think the most important thing for a community are its athletic fields for the kids. I’d say the park has helped keep thousands of kids, if not millions of kids, off the streets.”
Now the current park will be 33 acres larger after the grand opening of the $3.9 million expansion at 9 a.m. Aug. 14.
“That’s great that the new part of the park is opening,” Cooler said. “Now we can get more kids into our programs.”
Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department spokesman John Brill said the expansion will allow more than 500 additional athletes to participate in sports programs at the park. A future project will improve the existing football and baseball facilities as well as adding more parking.
Hillsborough County bought the land for the expansion five years ago and construction began last September. The expansion adds several new fields, facilities and parking spaces to the facility.
The park, located along W. Lutz-Lake Fern Road and Crooked Lane in Lutz, opens just in time for the Lutz Chiefs youth football season. The Chiefs’ first home game is Aug. 28.
“All the construction has been done for more than a month now, but we are now opening the expansion to the public,” said Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department spokesman John Brill. “(Hillsborough) County added a football game field and several other practice fields for football and soccer.”
The Chiefs joined the Tampa Bay Youth Football League (TBYFL) for this season.
“It’s going to be one of the best field locations in our league,” said TBYFL president Scott Levenson. “The county really went above and beyond making the park a great place for youth football and cheerleading.”
Also part of the expansion was adding a soccer game field for the first time. The new soccer program is called FC Tampa Lutz Rangers, which will have competitive and recreational soccer for children ages 4-18.
The park was originally built in 1975 and had three baseball fields only. Before it was built, the area was mainly orange groves. Lutz resident Oscar Cooler, 81, was one of the key people in getting the first park built. He and worked for about two years to convince the county to buy the land and build the park.
Brill did not know when the park was renamed after Cooler, but said it was given the name because, “He was a major player is getting the original park put in the area as a place for the Lutz community kids to play.”
Cooler has been a big supporter of the youth sports programs at the park during the last 35 years. He was the Lutz Little League president for 15 years and still goes to the games when he can.
Cooler continued by saying he wished he had a park like the complex while he was growing up. He said after the county bought the land more than three decades ago he got local people to volunteer to do as much of the building as possible. This allowed the first park to open much sooner than was originally anticipated.
Brill said he has invited Oscar to the opening of the expansion, but does not know if he will make it for the ribbon cutting. Oscar himself said he would like to if he has the energy.
The event is free and open to the public. Those in attendance will get to see the Chiefs’ players and cheerleaders practice for the first time on their new fields after the grand opening.

If you go
What: Oscar Cooler Sports Complex grand opening
Where: 19045 Crooked Lane in Lutz
When: 9 a.m. Aug. 14

By JOE POTTER

Two cities in eastern Pasco County both face property tax increases this year if ways can’t be found to trim their budgets for the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Zephyrhills and Dade City officials have notified the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s Office of increased proposed millage rates.

The Property Appraiser uses the rates the cities and other taxing authorities provide to prepare the Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices that will be mailed to property owners Aug. 23.
Zephyrhills is considering using a rolled back rate of 6.1437 mills.
A mill equals $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. Zephyrhills’ millage rate for the current fiscal year – ending Sept. 30 – is 5.57. The proposed rate would be an increase of 57 cents per $1,000 in taxable value, so a person paying taxes on a $100,000 property would face a $57 tax hike.
A rolled back rate is defined as that millage rate which provides the same ad valorem tax revenue for each taxing authority as was levied during the previous year.
The millage rate has not been increased in Zephyrhills for several years.
Dade City officials notified the Property Appraiser’s Office the city’s millage rate could be as high as 7.635 compared to the current rate of 7.1. Dade City City Clerk Jim Class said Dade City’s proposed maximum rate is lower than a rolled back rate.
Zephyrhills or Dade City may lower the proposed rates they have reported to the Property Appraiser’s Office. However, if either city needs to raise its millage rates, every affected property owner would need to be individually notified by mail.
Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina has prepared a budget report that is scheduled be presented at the Monday, Aug. 9, City Council meeting.
The report says the city has been able to realize some savings in the past two weeks in the amount it will have to pay for health insurance, animal control services and other budget items. The report also recommends using some of the “rainy day” fund Zephyrhills has from its sale of a city-owned nursing home several years ago.
Also, the elimination of three city staff positions is being considered.
If all these steps are taken, the millage rate could likely be reduced from 6.1437 to 5.999, Spina’s report said.
Meanwhile, Jim Class, Dade City’s Clerk, said City Commissioners have instructed staff to try and find ways to keep the millage rate at 7.1.
Both Zephyrhills and Dade City will hold public hearings in September before adopting their budgets.

By Maggie Schiller

A year ago, George M. Steinbrenner High School was preparing to open its doors for the first time. However, as hundreds of students streamed through the entrance on that first August morning, there was a noticeable group missing – a senior class.

Not wanting to pull students away from their high school alma mater right before their final year, brand new high schools in Hillsborough County opened without a senior class.
Now a year later, Steinbrenner is preparing to serve a senior class of more than 400 people, according to Kelly King, assistant principal for curriculum.
“We are excited as an administration and faculty to have seniors finally, because it was one of the noticeable differences last year,” she said. “Without having them, you lack a little bit of leadership that first year because they set the tone and the ninth and 10th graders really look up to them. It gives something for the younger kids to aspire to be like, so we didn’t have any of that the first year.”
Along with the administration getting ready for the new school year, King said that many rising seniors have recognized the fact that it is important for them to represent the students in their class.
“We’ve got a really good leadership group in our senior class,” she said. “We’ve got some men and women who are going to go on to do great things and they are excited about getting the opportunity to take the lead.”
But what are the students most excited about?
Senior Alyson Agemy said she is looking forward to being the “big girl” on campus.
“When I think about how far I have come since my first day of high school, it makes me realize just how close I am to the finish line, and that makes me that much more excited to get the year started,” she said. “I am looking forward to that important feeling that I hope I’ll get when I step on campus for the last year.”
Senior Monica Guirguis said being in the first-ever graduating class is going to be amazing.
“It is about being the older ones, and showing them that we are the seniors,” she said.
While some students are excited about being head honcho, senior Chris Groner said he is most looking forward to all of the good things that are to come.
“Being able to have all the senior privileges,” he said. “Things like getting out of school earlier, grad night, prom. It’s just exciting to know that I’m that much closer to moving on into my life and my future.”
King said that she is hoping the senior class will set the tone for the rest of the students.
“We are all about academics. Being able to talk about the accomplishments of the kids and getting into colleges and universities and then even more importantly, once they graduate and they come back to visit, that’s very powerful for the kids to see it’s not just getting in, its actually finishing school,” she said. “Students like to hear it from their peers more than from adults.”
One order of business for the senior class will be to establish new traditions that the school can carry on for years to come.
Groner said that he wants his class to come up with a tradition that demonstrates school pride.
“We haven’t really established any sort of tradition yet, but as long as it sets the standard high for those that follow us I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” he said. “We had a burning of shirts last year from all of our former schools to try and get school spirit in our blood and to vanquish all of our old ties to Sickles High School and Gaither High School. I think that we could hold that every year but make it for the incoming freshman.”
Aside from the setting the standard for all classes to come at Steinbrenner, Agemy said that being the first graduating class means making history.
“I don’t think we all realize how cool it is to be the first graduating class. It’s not life changing or anything, and we won’t get into a better school because of it, but it does hold importance,” she said. “Maybe in 30 years when we open that yearbook and remember we were first, we will realize the small number of people that had that opportunity.”
However, just as important as it is to the rising seniors that they set the right example for those below them, it is just as crucial to the younger students.
Junior Haley Jeziorski has a message for all incoming seniors – this is your year to make it.
“Seniors, what you guys can do is get more involved. That is pretty much all I can tell you, because if you are involved, then freshman are going to look up to you and get involved. It just works,” she said. “Make an imprint on it, do something that no other school has ever done before, no other senior class. You can practically do whatever you want. Seniors make the school. This is your year to make it. Make it your school.”

By Kyle LoJacono

The project to make US 41 a four-lane highway to Connerton Road in the north has passed the halfway point and residents will feel its benefits by spring of next year.
The project is slightly ahead of schedule and should be completed by May as originally planned, said Dick Kane, spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, which is managing the project.

“The construction started August of (2009) and was much needed to help with traffic flow in the area,” Kane said. “Things look good for finishing on time.”
The $15 million project will make the three-mile stretch a four-lane divided road from Tower Road to Connerton. The project is paid for by federal stimulus money and will also add center turning lanes, a grassy median and a concrete sidewalk on the east side of the highway.
Kane said the plan to widen 41 had been in the works for years. A large section of the highway was widened to six lanes in and around SR 54 south into Hillsborough Lutz more than 10 years ago to also help with traffic.
The project is being completed by R.E. Purcell Construction, a Largo-based company. Purcell  vice president Scott Williams said he has heard few complaints phoned into the company about construction and added those working on the site have reported the same.
Williams said most of the work has been on the southern end of the project zone and construction will work its way north.
Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce’s executive director Kathy Dunkley said she too has heard little grumbling from businesses or people in the area.
“There really hasn’t been much complaining,” Dunkley said. “The workers have been doing as good a job as they can to not affect businesses by letting them know what’s going on and putting the blue signs up to show people how to get to businesses. Some people have told me they learned about businesses for the first time by seeing those signs.”
Dunkley remembers when 41 was widened near SR 54 and said there was a lot more complaining and problems with that project. She understands some companies are being hurt by the project, but believes the wider road will bring more people and business to central Pasco County.
“It needed to be done,” Dunkley said. “It’s a bottle neck there where it drops to two lanes near (Land O’ Lakes) High School. There are a lot of reasons it will make things better once it’s done.”
Also near Land O’ Lakes High is the Pasco School District’s administrative office. The Long Term Acute Care Hospital at Connerton and Land O’ Lakes Detention Center are both north of the project zone and will not be affected by the widening. Kane said there are no set plans to continue the widening further north.
Gloria Hamilton lives near where the construction is happening in Land O’ Lakes and agrees the project is needed. However, she remembers early problems with construction.
“I know some people who own businesses in the area and there was a lot of flooding when it started,” Hamilton said. “They’ve told me things are better with that now, but there is always a lot of dust and dirt in the area from the machines.”
The flooding was a result of water line work originally being done by Kearney Construction. That is a Pasco County project. Kearney was replaced because it fell behind on deadlines, broke several pipes causing the flooding and eventually filed for bankruptcy.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Making the transition from eighth-grader to freshman can make or break a high school career. It is the time when most students struggle with fitting in and finding their way.
Sunlake High School in Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel High School both had special orientations recently so freshmen could learn success strategies, expected behaviors and academic items such as the meaning of a grade point average.

“There is so much data out there that states if they don’t succeed in their first year of high school, then they will forget it,” said Pam Willoughby, a media specialist at Wesley Chapel and one of the planners for Wildcat Pride, held Aug. 3. “They feel like they will never be able to catch up and they drop out when they are 16. It is tough going from being the big fish at middle school to being the little fish at high school.”
Garry Walthal, principal of Sunlake, agrees with Willoughby.
“The freshman class is the class I lose the most sleep over,” said Walthal, whose school hosted a similar event last month. “It is such an important transition from middle school to high school. The socialization process is huge. These students are no longer being escorted to and from everywhere. We are hoping the orientation will reduce the stress and anxiety because it can be overwhelming to be a freshman.”
Instead of letting students walk in and feel lost on the first day, Willoughby said she is hoping the students will be able to feel comfortable.
“We are hoping if we let them know we care about them, that they will feel more comfortable asking for help if they need it,” Willoughby said. “We are challenging them to start together and finish together. We hope they will have a sense of unity.”
Pack Leaders — 36 seniors and two juniors —served as peer mentors for the incoming students.
“They spent two days learning peer mediation and what a leader is,” Willoughby said. “They learned qualities they should model to the younger students. They will also be helping teachers. They are going to put in classes where their subjects are the strongest.”
Ryan Vandenlangenberg said he wanted to become a pack leader so he could help incoming freshmen.
“When I was a freshman, I had a senior as my best friend,” Vandenlangenberg said. “He helped to point me in the right direction. He taught me to complete all my work so that I don’t have to repeat any classes.”
The school also changed how it assigns students to guidance counselors and assistant principals in the school. Patti Taylor is the new guidance counselor for the freshman class. She taught a session about academic goals, study skills, what credits are and grade point average.
“We want them to start off on the right track,” Taylor said. “There is more than one way to get a high school diploma and not everyone will take the same track. I am hoping that after today they will understand that they have a support system here.”
Drama teacher Sean Gaudette and some of his students used theater to explain how to act and not act in high school. Some of the topics the students learned about were peer pressure, clubs and activities, school rules and the consequences of breaking them.
“Peer pressure is when someone tries to get you to do something you wouldn’t normally do,” Gaudette said. “Following peer pressure in high school has more consequences. You are able to make more individual choices. With increased liberty comes increased responsibility. In high school, teachers expect you to be more like adults and less like children. We are not trying to be cruel; we are just preparing you for the rest of your life.”
Cierra Robinson, 14, will be a freshman next year. She said she learned a lot from the skits.
“I think that high school is going to be an amazing and life-changing experience,” Robinson said. “I learned that I don’t have to change myself to fit in.”
Gary Cohen, senior at the school, helped to make the videos for the freshman orientation because he said he wants to help.
“The best thing about us doing these videos is that we all have this experience,” Cohen said. “If I would have had guidance like this my freshman year, I think things would have gone a lot smoother.”
Last year Carin Nettles did not know she would become the principal of Wesley Chapel High School. Before leaving Mitchell High School she had the same type of orientation at the school called Mustang Academy. After that program, Nettles said “A” grades went up 10 percent in the first quarter and ninth-grade disciplinary incidents dropped 37 percent.
“We wanted to teach them what they should expect,” Nettles said. “I was passionate about getting the project started at Mitchell. We had less time to set it up than I had before so we had to really focus on what our goals and expectations were. It is nice because we have older students who want to be a leader and want to help. It means more coming from the fellow students then it would coming from a teacher.”
The orientation at Sunlake was July 29 at the school where students learned strategies for success. Students were also able to pick up their class schedules, buy their physical education uniforms and pick their lockers.
“We are hoping to see increased student achievement and higher student success from the orientation,” Walthal said. “We are also hoping for improved behavior. If we can get the student early then we might be able to decrease the drop out rate and increase the graduation rate. We are also hoping this will get more kids into the advanced courses.”
Walthal said he was hoping to address the main reasons why kids drop out so he would see more graduate at the end of their four years.
“The data shows a sense of feeling like they don’t belong is the main reason why kids drop out,” Walthal said. “Also if students feel bored they will drop out. We had so many people show up and such a positive experience, that we are definitely doing it again next year.”
Students attended several sessions throughout the day where they learned strategies for success, basic college preparation skills and goal setting.
“We helped them to get to know the high school,” Walthal said. “Now that they are freshman, they need to set academic and career goals for themselves. They need to figure out whether they want to go to college or go into a career right out of high school.”
Students also learned about bullying.
“They need to be able to communicate with their peers,” Walthal said. “We taught them the kinder, gentler approach. Also if issues do arise, we taught them to speak with the appropriate staff member.”

Pasco County School Calendar

Pasco County schools resume classes on Monday, Aug. 16. Here is the board-approved calendar for the academic year.

Aug. 16    First day of class
Sept. 6        Labor Day
Oct. 18        Teaching planning day
Nov. 11    Veterans Day
Nov. 24-26    Thanksgiving break
Dec. 23-Jan. 6    Winter break
Jan. 7        Teacher planning day
Jan. 17        Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb. 21    Presidents Day
March 14-18    Spring break
March 21    Teacher planning day
April 29    Non-student/teacher day
May 30    Memorial day
June 1        Students’ last day

By JOE POTTER

ZEPHYRHILLS – Orange trees are being bulldozed in Zephyrhills to make way for a 160-unit apartment complex to provide affordable housing for senior citizens.
The four-building complex located on the west side of Wire Road will be known as Grand Reserve. Plans call for it to open in approximately 10 months said Bob Miller, CEO of First Florida, the project’s developer.
A community center and leasing office will face Wire Road and the remaining three buildings will be constructed behind the community center. The community center will contain 40 apartments. One of the other three buildings will contain 42 units while the remaining two will have 39 units each, Miller said.
Each of the buildings will be have three stories.
First Florida, based in Miami, will do all the site work, including clearing the 12 acres located 1,100 feet north of the southwest corner of Daughtery Road and Wire Road; installing landscaping and infrastructure; and constructing the buildings.
First Florida will be paid $11.65 million for its services, Miller said.
A subcontractor, Central Site Development of Lakeland is clearing the land that is owned by Finlay Interest 13, Ltd. of Jacksonville.
Rental rates for one-bedroom apartments are expected to range from $572 per month while rent for two-bedroom units will range from $688 per month said documents filed with Florida Housing Finance Corporation. The corporation is a state agency that provides low interest loans to developers of multifamily housing for low-income and/or elderly populations.
Finlay has obtained a $7.5 million low-interest loan from Florida Housing Finance Corporation to help finance a portion of the project’s cost.
Finlay purchased the property from Adventist Health System in 2006 for $960,000, Pasco County Property Appraiser’s Office records said. The property is currently appraised for tax purposes at $363,938 the Property Appraiser’s Office said.

By Suzanne Schmidt

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

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

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