Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

A 1981 motorcross accident left Randy Neiswender partially paralyzed from the waist down, reliant on a wheelchair and walker.

The accident didn’t stop Neiswender from becoming the top salesman at Jarrett Ford in Dade City, where he has worked for 30 years.

“I could have sat at home and collected a monthly check from the government but that would have been a waste,” he said. “I’ve had a productive career.”

Neiswender moved with his family to Zephyrhills in 1972. He and his brothers, John and Mike, were interested in motorcross and the area was a perfect place to race. Their father Winfield owned Pasco Motor Sports, a local bike shop.

Neiswender graduated from Zephyrhills High School in 1977 and went to work as a motorcycle mechanic for Yamaha in California. He traveled the United States attending bike races. In 1980, he returned to Zephyrhills and was offered a job working with his dad, a manager then at Jarrett Ford.

In October 1981, Neiswender earned his first salesman of the month award. It was the same month he went bike racing with friends at the Pasco County Fairgrounds and woke up in intensive care at University Community Hospital.

“It was October 29,” Neiswender said. “My friends had gotten some new bikes. I crashed. I wiped out. The crash wasn’t really worse than the other crashes I’d had racing through the years, but my body hit a tree.”

Neiswender had three crushed ribs, a broken arm, internal bleeding, a bruise on his brain and a bruise on his spinal cord, which resulted in paralysis.

“I was never expected to walk again but with some good doctors and the help of the good Lord I can walk with a walker and have some feeling in my legs,” he said.

Neiswender was in physical therapy from 1981 to 1984, when he decided it was time to go back to work. He received an unexpected response.

“I went to the government office and said, ‘I want to discontinue my disability,’” Neiswender said. “The man said, ‘What, nobody ever does that?’ ”

Jarrett Ford welcomed the salesman back without hesitation and Neiswender has since earned the salesman of the year title 13 times. The company stopped handing out awards in 2000, or he would probably have many more.

Neiswender’s co-workers attribute his success to a genuine desire to help customers.

“Randy truly worries more about the customers’ needs than he does about just selling a car,” said Michael Kline, new car manager. “He is probably one of the most compassionate salesmen I’ve ever met.”

Neiswender’s brother, John, is general manager of Jarrett Ford in Winter Haven.

“Randy’s a great salesman because he’s tenacious and he never misses work,” John said. “He never has a bad day because he always has a positive frame of mind. ”

The two brothers support one another in good times and hard times. They lost their older brother Mike to cancer, also in 1981. Their father passed away a decade later and their mother, Mary Lou, is currently struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.

Neiswender, now 51, doesn’t believe in dwelling on the negative. In his opinion, it is a blessing to get out of bed everyday and drive his Ford Explorer to work. His biggest complaint is able people who park in handicap spaces.

“I can honestly say there’s never been a morning I’ve woken up and thought I didn’t feel like going in to work that day,” he said. “I really like what I do.”

Neiswender loves chatting with customers to get a feel for what type of car they need.

“I sit them down and talk to them because I want to sell them something that fits,” he said.

Jarrett Ford receptionist Ruth Johnson loves Neiswender’s approach to sales.

“It’s his honesty, and if he sees someone come in, he’s always right there, ready to take care of them,” she said.

When he’s not working, Neiswender spends time with his wife of almost three years, Carolyn. The couple likes watching sports, especially Bucs games.

Neiswender also follows stock car racing. He keeps a signed lettered from driver Richard Petty on his wall at work, and he hasn’t forgotten his love for motorcross. He watches the races on television and keeps in touch with old racing buddies. He doesn’t fault the sport for what happened and wouldn’t tell any young man not to race.

“Some of my fondest memories are of waking up, going out into the woods and racing with friends,” he said. “Accidents happen. You can always fall off a horse, or off the sidewalk for that matter. You can’t stop living.”

Contact Randy Neiswender at (352) 567-6711.

National effort helps remove tons of garbage

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

Each year millions of volunteers across the United States spend one Saturday in the spring picking up trash in their communities as part of the Great American Cleanup.

In Pasco County the event was April 17 and is the signature event of Keep America Beautiful (KAB).

“The cleanup started in Pasco County in 1992 and the first location was in Land O’ Lakes,” said Jennifer Seney, president KAB’s Pasco chapter. “Some of the site captains have been doing it for years, but we still get people calling who are interested in starting new

locations.”

Seney, who is also Pasco’s recycling coordinator, said the event always happens the third Saturday in April in the county.

This year there were 17 locations for the cleanup. Of those, three were in Wesley Chapel and one was in Land O’ Lakes.

The captain of the Land O’ Lakes cleanup is Amy Gallogly, who is also Club Connerton’s activities director and took over the site two years ago. The group picked up trash along Kent Grove Drive off SR 52.

“The road really needs it,” Gallogly said. “We picked the road also because the traffic isn’t so bad for the safety of our kid volunteers.”

Gallogly said girl and boy scout troops in Land O’ Lakes always come out to help with the cleanup. There were 30 volunteers at last year’s Land O’ Lakes cleanup and Gallogly estimated 50 helped this year.

“We found all sorts of things out there,” Gallogly said. “What we find the most of is cigarette butts, but there are lots of soda cans, bottles and paper too.”

Another Pasco site that has found less common trash is coordinated by Michelle Barbour of Wesley Chapel. Barbour started the first cleanups in Wesley Chapel four or five years ago near the Sun Trust Bank at the corner of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and SR 54, but the event moved to Wesley Chapel Park two years ago.

“We find all kinds of crazy things during the cleanup,” Barbour said. “One year we found a whole dashboard of a car on either Old Pasco Road or Boyette (Road). We’ve also found TVs, washers and dryers and other things that seem so odd because of how big they are. Things like that can do a lot of harm to the environment and to the animals that live out there.”

Barbour, who works for ReMax Advantage Realty, said the cleanup usually removes about two tons of trash each year. ReMax gives support to Barbour’s cleanup efforts by promoting it in the area each year and other employees also participate in picking up the trash.

“We always try to do better than the year before,” Barbour said. “We do a cleanup in the fall for the Coastal Cleanup and we usually have more trash for that event, but it is still outrageous the amount we pick up in the spring too.

“It is critical that we keep our community clean,” Barbour continued. “If we don’t keep it clean it only hurts ourselves and the wildlife in Pasco County.”

The event is about making the community a cleaner place than the day before, but Gallogly sees another long-term goal of the cleanup too.

“It’s awesome for kids to get involved at a young age,” Gallogly said. “The movement to go green and protect the environment has put more of a focus on things like cleanups, but it is still important to teach children to look after the planet.”

For more information on the Great American Cleanup or KAB, visit www.kab.org. To learn about Pasco specific KAB events, visit www.keeppascobeautiful.org.

“We’ve been at this for a long time,” Seney said of the cleanups. “If we didn’t do the different events Pasco County would be a much nastier place to live.”

Central and East Pasco cleanup locations

• Land O’ Lakes on Kent Grove Road
• Wesley Chapel at Wesley Chapel Park
• Wesley Chapel on Old Pasco Road
• Wesley Chapel on Quail Hollow Boulevard

To form a site for next years Great American Cleanup, call Seney at (813) 996-7341, (352) 521-4274 or (727) 847-8041.

By Joe Potter

Laker Correspondent

The fire station on Sixth Avenue in Zephyrhills reopened with little fanfare on April 15, slightly more than 800 days after it was rendered unusable by a flood in January 2008.

For the past 116 weeks, personnel and equipment from Zephyrhills Fire Rescue Station 2 had been operating out of the World War II Barracks Museum at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. The museum was vacated April 16 after firefighters and paramedics had returned to the downtown station.

City workers did the lion’s share of the remodeling of station 2, said Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina. The city acted as general contractor on the project. The work was finished earlier than anticipated and under budget, according to Spina.

A Grand Opening for the revamped station 2 is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 26.

The interior of the fire station was gutted and redesigned. This resulted in a more functional and comfortable environment for personnel, Spina said.

A new sprinkler system was installed in the building at a cost of $51,000. Also, the station’s electrical system was brought up to current code and a new air conditioning unit was installed.

This is the first of two planned phases of work on Fire Station 2. The second phase will include converting three bays on the west end of the building into office space, which is currently used for storage.

Zephyrhills has applied for a Community Development Block Grant that could help fund the second phase, Spina said.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

Recently the guys came together to form a band and are playing a few gigs a month at places like Rapscallions in Land O’ Lakes and Skinny’s Sports Bar in Wesley Chapel. The band plays classic rock with tunes like “Wasting Away in Margaritaville” and “Sweet Home Alabama.” Sometimes the band will play original music as well.

Many musicians dream of becoming famous rock stars but members of the local band The Loopers gave up on those dreams about 20 years ago.

Their next show will be 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. April 23 at Ukulele Brand’s, 4805 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.

Mike Sams of Wesley Chapel is the lead guitar and back up singer. He started playing the early 1970s and spent 16 years playing full-time with several bands including Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost, Switch and Sudden Change.

“I went as far as I thought I was going to go,” Sams said. “I always enjoyed playing and it was great because I went all over. It was something I enjoyed and I was making money at it.”

Sams said he loves getting up in front of the crowd.

“I like to play music because it is challenging,” Sams said. “I can always get better. I am doing things now that I couldn’t do 20 years ago. I never thought I would be playing again. We are just a bunch of older guys who like to play music.”

The band is working on some original music as well with the hopes that someone will want to buy it and record it.

“We are not trying to be stars,” Sams said. “It would be nice to sell the song and see it end up on the radio.”

Tom Burt of Wesley Chapel is the newest member of the band and the youngest. He plays bass guitar and is a back up singer. In addition to playing with the band, Burt also plays at Crossroads United Methodist Church.

“In the beginning, it is a rush and you are nervous,” Burt said. “After you play enough, you get comfortable. After my 20-year-hiatus from playing it feels good to be playing again.”

Burt played in a band called Bobby’s Box after he graduated high school in the late 1970s when he lived in Denver.

“When I was younger, it was thrilling and exciting,” Burt said. “I had dreams of being a rock star, but now I just do it to have fun. We always say the more you drink, the better we sound.”

Bruce Ballas of Land O’ Lakes is the lead singer and he plays rhythm acoustic and electric guitar. He has been playing guitar for 42 years.

“It is mostly a hobby for me,” Ballas said. “I like to play smooth rhythms on the acoustic guitar. It is relaxing. It is a lot of fun to play with the guys. We get to meet a lot of people.”

Ballas said everything is going so well that the band is already starting to have fans.

“We have a lot of people who like to come out and listen to us,” Ballas said. “We have had as many as 60 people follow us. We play a nice variety of music and every time we play we try to switch it up. We play a lot of songs people like but don’t hear that much.”

In addition to playing covers and the occasional original song, the band will also take requests with or without a tip.

“If they write a request on a $100 bill we guarantee that will be the next song,” Ballas said.

Buddy Walker of Thonotosassa is the drummer and the lead singer for a few of the songs. He used to be a full-time musician in the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s.

“I am trying to rekindle an old flame,” Walker said. “It can be a lot of fun. I like the little circuit we are on in Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel.”

For more information, e-mail the band at .

Tragedy leads to voyage of hope

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

Charles Salvatore got the idea riding on his 50cc scooter—travel across the country to raise support for the disease that devastated his mother’s life.

His mother, Dorothy, was engaged to Robert “Coop” Cooper, but hepatitis C took his life last June. Salvatore’s mother and Cooper had planned to take a vacation to Sterling, Alaska, but were unable to make the trip before he died.

“I was just riding around on the day he died and I got to looking at all the beauty around me and thought I need to make this journey for them,” Salvatore, 24, said. “I didn’t have all the plans set yet, but I knew I needed to go on the trip they had planned.”

Salvatore, who first moved to Zephyrhills in 1996, said his mother’s best friend died of cancer around the time Cooper passed away. The two personal tragedies pulled his mother into a state of despair, but Salvatore’s trip to Alaska has put renewed life into her.

His plan is to ride from Zephyrhills to Sterling on his scooter, a distance of 5,600 miles. If he completes the journey he will set a Guinness world record for the longest distance traveled on a 50cc scooter. While such scooters can be legally driven on interstates, they are smaller and less powerful than motorcycles.

“I’m calling it ‘One Man’s Journey,’” Salvatore said. “It is all to raise money and awareness for the American Liver Foundation… It will take at least 25 days, but I’m giving myself two to three months just in case.”

Salvatore left from downtown Zephyrhills at noon April 20. To pay for the trip and to raise money for the foundation, Salvatore sold red wristbands with “One Man’s Journey” on them.

One place he sold the wristbands was at Zephyrhills High, where Salvatore went to school for ninth and parts of his 10th and 12th-grade years. He graduated from the high school in New York and returned to Zephyrhills. Currently he is a culinary student at the Art Institute of Tampa.

“Mr. Salvatore came in and said he was trying to set a world record, and I said aren’t we all,” said Derrick Tucker, Zephyrhills assistant principal. “Then we were told he was trying to bring awareness and raise money for the American Liver Foundation and principal (Steve) Van Gorden thought it would be good to let him sell his bracelets here during lunch.”

A video of Salvatore’s story was played on continuous loop during lunch so the students knew what he was trying to do.

“As principal anytime I can involve the students in worthy causes that give back to the community or help those that are less fortunate I strongly encourage it,” Van Gorden said. “…Charles was very passionate about his beliefs. He shared a personal story about why he was involved with the cause.”

Salvatore has received sponsorships from businesses and organizations in the area, which include Zephyrhills Water, Affordable Motorsports and New Walk Church in Zephyrhills. Zephyrhills Mayor Cliff McDuffie also gave Salvatore a letter of recommendation so people knew his cause was legitimate.

“I’d like to raise a million dollars, but I’m a 24-year-old kid from Zephyrhills, so that’s probably not going to happen,” Salvatore said. “I’d like to raise as much as I can to give to the liver foundation because they need all the help they can get.”

Salvatore said the foundation’s southeast division gives services to five states including Florida, but only has two staff members. Everything that does not go to food and gas on his trip will go to the foundation. By the time he left he had raised more than $5,000.

“I’ll be sleeping in a tent some of the time, so I won’t be spending all the donations on fancy hotels or anything like that,” Salvatore said. “Sheraton (Hotels) is donating some hotel rooms for me along the way…I want as much money to go to the foundation as possible.”

Salvatore did not expect his project to get the kind of attention it did a few weeks back while trying to sell his bracelets in New Port Richey. His 10-year-old nephew was holding the money raised at the event when someone tried to steal the donations.

“The guy asked my nephew how his grandfather died,” Salvatore said. “That confused him and while he was thinking, the guy grabbed the money and tried to get away on his bike.”

The man did not get far thanks to Salvatore’s scooter. He was able to chase the would-be thief and recovered the money for the trip. John A. Marika, of Palm Harbor, was charged with robbery by sudden snatching in the case and was in the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center at press time, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office’s Web site, www.pascosheriff.com.

“It just made it bigger for me,” Salvatore said of the publicity he received because of the robbery attempt. “It got the word out faster than I could have done on my own.”

After his trip, Salvatore said he plans to return to Zephyrhills to finish his degree and become a chef.

“The people of Zephyrhills and all over Pasco County have really helped me with the trip,” Salvatore said. “I couldn’t have raised the money without them.”

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

Crocodiles will show their teeth and lady bugs will crawl free when Pasco County celebrates Earth Day April 24 at Crews Lake Park in Spring Hill.

The free event is sponsored by Pasco County Parks and Recreation and Covanta Pasco.“We want to keep people informed about what they can do to protect the environment, said Lottie Kelley, public relations coordinator for Covanta.

Covanta, a waste to energy plant, has sponsored the event since it began 14 years ago. This year, people can stop by a variety of educational booths to learn about recycling, Florida wildlife and reusable energy. There will be information on conservation and green living. Kids can work on earth-friendly craft projects and plant vegetable seeds.

“It’s important to raise awareness about the effect each individual has on the environment,” said Jennifer Seney, recycling coordinator for Pasco County. “From how we take care of our yards to how we dispose of our trash, each of us has an impact.”

Seney said recycling in Pasco County is up 3% from last year. She credits the increase to the growing popularity of the green movement.

“There’s a political revolution in that area and there’s been a renewed interest in recycling in our neck of the woods,” she said. “The participation rate is up.”

Earth Day at Crews Lake is a litter free recycled event, so the county will have recycling containers stationed throughout the park.

People are encouraged to bring their recyclable items, including those containing mercury such as thermostats and thermometers to exchange for a $5 gift card from Covanta.

“Mercury is extremely poisonous to the environment so it needs to be kept out of the waste system,” Kelley said. “At last year’s event, we collected 60 pounds of mercury.”

About 1,200 people attended last year. Even more are expected to fill the park this weekend. People can picnic and spend the entire day.

“There are very few big Earth-Day events any more so we have a lot of people come from throughout the county,” Kelley said.

One of the event’s biggest draws is the opportunity for children to interact with live reptiles and insects.

Croc Encounters of Tampa will have a 10-foot alligator named Spike on display. Volunteers will walk around with smaller alligators, snakes and lizards for children to touch and see up close.

All 400 pounds of Spike will stay safely inside a steel metal cage.

“It’s an opportunity to educate people about reptiles and to collect funds for our organization because we are 100 percent nonprofit,” said Karina Sura Paner, co-director for Croc Encounters.

Children can also participate in a ladybug release sponsored by Covanta. Each child is invited to release one little lady into the wild.

“Everything at the event is geared toward children and families,” Kelley said. “We want the children to go home having learned something valuable about conservation.”

The Pasco County Cooperative Extension will have master gardeners on site to field questions from visitors. The extension will also have a rain barrel workshop where visitors will make their own rain barrels.

“Collecting rainwater is good because the water isn’t regulated and you can use it when you need it,” said B.J. Jarvis, county extension director.

Earth Day is special to Jarvis.
“It’s a day to remember mother earth and the many things the land does for us,” she said. “An event like Crews Lake helps us refocus on those things.”

Kelley hopes people who attend the event will leave with a better understanding of what it really means to live green. She said there are many ways to help preserve the natural environment. Most are simple and easy.

“People can take reusable bags to do all their shopping,” Kelley said. “They can properly dispose of things like light bulbs and electronics. They can recycle their glass bottles and aluminum cans.”

Jarvis said saving the earth is about the little things.

“If each one of us would just do a couple things each day, it can make a world of difference,” she said.

Organizations scheduled to celebrate Earth Day at Crews Lake include Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Aquarium, Florida Native Plant Society, Pasco County Extension master gardeners and many more. For information, visit www.pascocountyfl.net.

Crews Lake Park is located at 16739 Crews Lake Dr. in Spring Hill.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

Even though East Pasco Meals on Wheels has a lot to celebrate with a newly remodeled kitchen, the organization is still struggling with donations and needs volunteers.

Cindy Beson, director, said the organization needs non-perishable items and canned goods as well as cash donations.

“It is very important for people to realize we are extremely blessed with the new kitchen,” Beson said. “We are very grateful to the Florida Medical Clinic and the Foundation of Caring for doing this, but we still need donations of food to cook in the nice new kitchen. We still have operating costs and we still have food to buy. When donations are down, we can’t help people.”

The organization serves seniors in Zephyrhills and the surrounding areas including some parts of Dade City.

“We bring a six-course meal to the elderly who are home bound and unable to cook for themselves,” Beson said. “It is important because a lot of times they are not getting the nutrition they need. They won’t cook a meal that has all of the food groups because they live alone.”

Each person receives soup or salad, a main entrée with meat and a side like potatoes or rice, a vegetable, a roll and a dessert for $4 or less a meal. The clients with diabetes receive sugar free desserts.

“We ask for donations from our clients,” Beson said. “Some are living way below poverty level so we try to adjust the amount depending on their income.”

The organization also supplies about 20 meals for the homeless at Community Chapel Church of God, 5320 1^st Street in Zephyrhills, for the cost of the food.

In addition to a warm meal, the organization also enhances its client’s lives.

“One of the main things we provide is companionship,” Beson said. “It is more than just a meal. We are reaching out to these people to let them know someone cares about them. That is one of the biggest things, just to let them know they are not alone.”

Since the government does not run the organization, it relies on donations from the community. Meals on Wheels collects newspapers, magazines, catalogues, thin cardboard and aluminum cans to help raise that money. There are boxes located throughout the Zephyrhills area.

“We count on the local community to keep up donating,” Beson said. “We hit financial difficulties because during the summer, all our northern friends leave and there is a big difference in how many newspapers we get. We need the local community to help us get through to the fall.”

Volunteer drivers deliver the food and the companionship. With many of the volunteers heading back north for the summer, the organization needs more drivers. Drivers typically drive their own car one day a week for about two hours a day.

Donna Grimm-Widner is working for the organization as the recycling coordinator and she used to volunteer to drive. She said she loves to work for the organization because she can see the positive impact it makes.

“I loved it when I was a driver,” Grimm-Widner said. “I love the people. I still will pick up a special treat just for them and put their name on it. They would always hug me and smile when they saw me.”

Barbara Lewis, chef for the organization, said she has been a cook off and on for 20 years but this is the most wonderful working experience she has ever had.

“We are all women working together and it is a lot of fun because we all get along,” Lewis said. “I like that I get to be creative with the food. I know the people love the food and really appreciate what I do.”

Lewis had a list of things she had to do in order to use the other kitchen, so now she is adjusting to having a kitchen that works right.

“The other kitchen was horrible,” Lewis said. “I couldn’t use the sink and I had to rotate the food every 20 minutes so it wouldn’t burn. This new kitchen makes my job so much easier.”

Barbara Cox volunteers twice a week packing coolers with food. She just got back to volunteering after having knee replacement surgery.

“I always liked helping other people,” Cox said. “I think it is important because sometimes the only people they see all day are our volunteers.”

Marian Abel of Zephyrhills volunteers to ride along with a driver and hand out the meals. She has been riding along for the last 10 years.

“Most of the time, they are very nice,” Abel said. “If they are not really nice then it is because they are not feeling well. I think everyone should give back. I feel like everybody should do something for somebody.”

For more information, call (813) 782-7859 or visit www.epmow.com.

Celebration gaps Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

When John and Karen Eagle became Daniel’s mentors eight years ago they had no children of their own, but that did not stop them from developing a relationship that impacted them all.

“My parents infused in me to give back to the community,” said John, who spent time on the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Tampa board of directors. “I got started with BBBS 12 years ago first at one of the bowling events and later I was recruited to the board…As I learned more about it I knew I wanted to become a mentor.”

Karen had no experience with BBBS before meeting John.

“Once we got married we had a family focused life and we wanted to help a little one,” Karen said.

John, 41, and Karen, 38, have been married for eight and a half years and began mentoring Daniel when he was 7-years-old.

“I know the program works for the kids,” John said. “Daniel is a big 15-year-old kid, but he always comes up and gives us a big hug when we see him. We’ve formed a relationship with him that has made all of us better.”

Karen said they grew up with both parents and neither needed outside guidance, but felt the need to help those who do.

“They’ve been a lot of help for me, especially with school,” Daniel said. “They also help with family problems and things like that…It’s nice to have a place to go to talk about things that are bothering me. It’s amazing.”

Daniel now lives with his grandmother and sees the Eagles about two times a month. BBBS of Tampa, which covers all of Pasco, Hillsborough and Polk counties, does not want the last names of any of the children in the program released for their protection.

“Sometimes the mentors are the only stable thing in the child’s life,” said De Anna Sheffield Ward, chief development officer for BBBS of Tampa Bay. “When a child is in a difficult family situation having someone they can trust is so important.”

Sheffield Ward said children can be matched with a mentor, also known as “bigs,” from age 5 to 12. The children can stay in the program until they turn 18 or graduate from high school.

While the program is free for the “bigs” and children involved, it costs BBBS about $1,000 to pair a mentor and kid. Sheffield Ward said the money goes to background checks, training for the “bigs,” ongoing support for the match and supervision. The cost drops to about $500 the second year.

John explained they decided to mentor Daniel as a couple. Those who join together receive the same training as single mentors.

“I wasn’t comfortable unless we did it together,” John said. “People should know it’s an option because a lot of people see the commercials and think they have to do it by themselves.”

To help pay for the cost of matching children with mentors, BBBS of Tampa started Bowl for Kids’ Sake events each spring.

“How it works is mentors can become team captains and recruit four to six of their friends to join the team,” Sheffield Ward said. “The captains then encourage the team members to get pledges from people and the goal is for each team to collect $1,000. That way we can match another child with a mentor.”

The next bowling event is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 24 at Pin Chasers of Zephyrhills, 6816 Gall Blvd.

“The bowling is really a celebration at the end of the drive for donations,” Sheffield Ward said. “Everything is free, the bowling, the shoes, the food, and it’s all to have a good time after the successful drive.”

Sheffield Ward said the teams will still collect donations until June 1. Last year there were more than 70 bowlers at the various Pasco bowling events, which brought in $11,000. The goal for the Pasco drives this year is $17,000 and the overall target for 2010 is $225,000.

The Eagles recently adopted their first child, 1-year-old Evan. Together Daniel and the Eagles formed team Eagle, which has raised $800 as of April 15.

“Doing the bowling is really cool because it’s fun and I feel like I’m helping in a way,” Daniel said. “…BBBS is awesome for kids that need some help. It’s a perfect program and I want to be a mentor when I grow up.”

For more information on Bowl for Kids’ Sake, visit www.bbbsfl.org.

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

When a girl decides to go to prom the first thing she asks herself is, ‘What am I going to wear?’

Unfortunately the cost of being transformed from high school kid to princess is high.

To help girls from all economic situations enjoy the big night, the Cinderella Project returns for its sixth year, supplying free dresses to Pasco County high school students.

The boutique will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 24 at 6321 N. Boulevard in New Port Richey. All girls need to bring is a student I.D.

In past years, there have been two boutiques, one for West and one for East Pasco. This year, things worked out differently.

“We depend on someone stepping up to donate a place and this year no one did in East Pasco,” said project co-founder Laurie Weiss. “We hope girls from that area will still make the trip to the boutique.”

Weiss and friend Allison Crumbley started the Cinderella Project to help parents and girls alike. They were inspired by the Pinellas version of the Cinderella Project, which dissolved a few years ago. When they brought the idea to Pasco, it was a labor of love. Both women are mothers of three girls and understood the cause.

“I know what it’s like getting girls ready for prom and how expensive it can be,” Crumbley said. “I also know the dress they wear is important to them. That’s why we try and collect dresses in every style and color.”

Collections for the Cinderella Project began in January. In February, business owners and prominent people throughout Pasco attended the Cinderella Ball, a fundraiser sponsored by the Pasco Education Foundation to collect donations. Monetary donations went to purchase dresses in uncommon sizes.

Clothing donations came from individuals, stores and groups. About 800 new and used dresses were sorted through for the final boutique.

Weiss said more than half should be usable.

Volunteer Jill Sellars was in charge of getting the word out in Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes. She has led the project in East Pasco for six years.

“I collected a lot of dresses this time,” she said. “Some of them still have the tags on them. They’re really nice. I know I would wear them.”

To promote the event and bring girls to the store, the Cinderella Project advertised at Pasco County high schools by passing out flyers and running promotions on the morning shows. Sellars went to Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass and Zephyrhills high schools.

“We rely a lot on word of mouth,” Sellars said. “Guidance counselors are a big help with letting the girls know about us.”

More than 150 girls used the service last year. Weiss said she hopes to see even more this time around. She said there is something for everyone.

“Just about every girl that comes in should be able to find a dress they like,” she said. “We’ve only ever had one or two girls leave without something.”

Girls can try on as many dresses as they like at the boutique, which is being set up like a high-end specialty store. The boutique will have more than dresses for shoppers to sort through.

“We have a room filled with dresses and a room filled with accessories from shoes to tiaras,” Weiss said.

The boutique is designed to make dress shopping a fairy tale. Volunteers will pamper the girls from the moment they walk in the front door.

“They’ll be waited on hand and foot,” Crumbley said. “We want them to have a good time with it.”

Sellars said it’s fun for everyone involved.

“Last year, after the girls were done shopping a bunch of us volunteers tried on the leftover dresses and had a fashion show for ourselves,” she said. “This event is really a lot of fun and it helps a lot of girls.”

The Cinderella Project in sponsored in part by the Pasco Education Foundation. For information, call (813) 794-2705.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

It is easy to see the difference in Wesley Chapel High School since Carin Nettles took over as principal this school year.

Many parents, students and teacher are happy with all the improvements she has made especially Heidi Bernaldo, PTSA president.

“She has a very positive energy,” Bernaldo said. “I have never seen a principal who attended PTSA meetings, but she is at every one. She gives us her full support. She is also at most of the student events at the school. It shows she really cares. I get the sense she really enjoys her job and these kids.”

When starting the school year, Nettles not only had to tackle learning about the school, the staff and the students, she also had to come in to try to inspire the faculty to not let the D grade let them down. She used New Orleans as an example since they went through devastation during Hurricane Katrina but now they are back better than ever.

“It is one of the first years the school was graded a D school,” Nettles said. “I flipped it around so we could get started on the right foot. I want us to come back even better than we were before. I pointed out that the D does not mean devastation, our D means dedication, drive and determination.”

Nettles said she never loses sight of the fact that she is here for the students.

“We want to produce exceptional young adults and in order to do that we have to build relationships with them,” Nettles said. “There is an amazing group of kids attending this school. I have never been around so many truly wonderful kids.”

Nettles decided to make reading the main focus academically this year. There are four strands in reading on the FCAT tests- reference and research, compare and contrast, main idea and words and phrases.

“We have had pre- and post-tests this year and we rewarded the class with the highest proficiency and the class who showed the most improvement,” Nettles said. “We also have all the teachers adding some reading activity to their classes so they either have a daily quiz question or some other activity.”

The school grades will not be coming out until November instead of the usual time in July because there are more factors being used to determine the grade than before.

Another program she started this year many parents and students are utilizing are the boot camps in math, writing, ACT and science. The school is also offering tutoring sessions with teachers to help students with math, English and reading.

Bernaldo said she loves the free boot camps.

“She brought in the ACT boot camp and that was great,” Bernaldo said. “My daughter, Katie, took it and it really helped her. There is such a focus on academics now that it is refreshing.”

The students who retook the FCAT the second time around also impressed Nettles with 41 percent passing the reading tests and 44 percent passing the math test.

“I have never seen such a high percentage of students do so well,” Nettles said. “The kids who were struggling were able to knock it out of the park. Usually maybe you see at most 20 percent passing the retakes.”

Nettles also changed the way students, teachers and school related personnel are recognized by adopting a more TMZ approach with cameras, lights and microphones thrust into the face of the unsuspecting winner.

“We always recognized people before, but I changed the titles and the way we let them know they won,” Nettles said. “We barge into the classroom and all the kids and teachers are always shocked. We give them this huge check that says they are priceless and we throw confetti at them. They get a T-shirt and give them a card. It is nice because they get recognition in front of their peers and friends.”

One of the most important things to Nettles is to stay visible and let the kids know she is available for them.
“I am in the classrooms a lot and I try to go down to all of the lunches,” Nettles said. “That is the best time because the kids have free time and they can talk to you. They have great ideas and they tell me a lot of things about what they want the school to be like. I want them to feel comfortable talking to me.”

Through talking to the students, Nettles has learned some things they wanted to see changed like the color of the paint on the walls.

“Everything was all gray before,” Nettles said. “We painted the front office and the cafeteria blue. It creates a nice atmosphere that I think the kids appreciate.”

Cathie Schwan, PTSA member, said she loves the work Nettles is doing.

“I like how she has been very open and accessible to the students and the parents,” Schwan said. “She is a wonderful person and she has done a lot of things for the high school.”

While taking a physical education class at Pine View Middle School, Nettles found her path, which lead her all the way to becoming the principal last August.

“I knew I wanted to work with kids since I went to school at Pine View Middle School,” Nettles said. “A teacher named Patsy Little came into my P.E. class looking for volunteers to work with the physically impaired kids. From that point on, I knew I wanted to help kids.”

Nettles started her career at River Ridge Middle School where she was a varying exceptional education teacher for three years before she moved on to be a teacher at J.W. Mitchell High School where she eventually became an assistant principal.

“I learned that a lot of people see a wheelchair and all the assistant tech devices and they are scared of it,” Nettles said. “I started feeling like I wanted to do more. I felt like I had a deeper desire to do something on a larger scale. That is what led me here.”

For more information, visit the school’s revamped Web site at wch.pasco.k12.fl.us.