Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Sarah Whitman

The Lutz Patriots will honor a lost friend with a tree planting ceremony June 19.
Robert Henry Elrod, father of Lutz Patriots co-founders Barbara Mueller and Karen Williams, passed away April 7. The Navy veteran of WW II was laid to rest with military honors April 19 at Bushnell National Cemetery, following a funeral service at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz. He was 87 and died from complications after a fall where he broke his neck.
Friends and family will gather to plant a crape myrtle June 19 at 9:30 a.m. at the Old Lutz School. The public is invited to attend and remember a true hero.

“He was a good and humble man,” said longtime friend and Lutz Patriot Bruce Hockensmith. “He loved God and his country.  He was at the Old Lutz School almost every Friday waving the flag.”
According to friends and family, Elrod loved his country and was a proud member of the Lutz Patriots, always eager to share stories with fellow veterans. He was a first cousin to Henry T. “Hammerin’ Hank” Elrod, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions on and above Wake Island during WW II as a U.S. Marine aviator.
“He was very proud of that,” Hockensmith said.
Elrods daughters, Mueller and Williams, founded the Lutz Patriots in 2003 to encourage a pride for country within the community. Inspired by their father, the women send letters and care packages overseas on a regular basis. They organize community events and offer support to military families. Mueller, whose son also served in the marines, said her father set an example to be proud of and she is excited to honor him with the tree planting.
“When some of the Lutz Patriots came to us and said they wanted to honor our dad this way, we were surprised and happy,” Mueller said. “It is a very sweet thing.”

Muller is coincidentally hosting a family reunion the same day as the tree planting, so many of her relatives will be there.
“I have cousins coming I haven’t seen in years,” Mueller said. “I told them they get to attend a very special event. Our dad would be overwhelmed. He’d probably say something like, ‘Why are you doing all this for me?’ ”
Hockensmith and other Lutz Patriots in attendance will also present Elrod’s family with a plaque in honor of his life and service to America. They will share stories of what he meant to the community. More than 50 people are expected to attend.
“Our father truly would be humbled,” Mueller said. “There are a lot of great patriots in the community and a lot of people could be honored. To honor our dad, is really special. He was a great dad and a great man.”
Visit www.lutzpatriots.com.

By Sarah Whitman

She calls the animals by name.
“Arnold, come here boy,” she says and a pot bellied pig scurries forth, crossing through a herd of goats to answer the call. She pats the animal’s head and he snorts.
“Isn’t he cute,” she says, smiling like a proud parent.
She is Valerie Burke, founder of Home Sweet Home Animal Rescue in Wesley Chapel. The rescue houses small farm animals and birds, many of which arrive sick or injured from neglect and are homeless. Arnold is one of the newest residents. His former owners decided to discard him after he made one too many muddy messes.

Burke welcomed the mess maker with open arms.
“I take the animals no one else will take,” she said. “I give them a chance and a home.”
Burke, who grew up in Boston and moved to Florida in 1989, has always had a soft spot for animals. She spent almost 10 years as a volunteer at Lowry Park Zoo before going to work there fulltime as a zookeeper in 1996. When she left the zoo, she was assistant curator of Florida mammals and had worked with most every species. She is a member of the Bay Area Disaster Animal Rescue Team, which disperses animal rescue to affected areas in times of disaster, and is involved with the SPCA Tampa Bay.
Burke started Home Sweet Home after taking in an injured goat for a friend at New Tampa Animal Hospital. She asked the vet if there was another place for abandoned goats to go. When the answer was no, Burke opened up her home and decided to start an official nonprofit.
Today, there are seven goats, two hens and five birds being cared for at the rescue. They come from different circumstances. Some were abandoned pets. Others were found living in deplorable conditions and confiscated.
“This is a small rescue because I want to give each animal the care and attention they deserve,” Burke said. “It is not about numbers. It is about the connection with the animals.”
Burke’s work is funded by donations she uses to buy animal feed and other necessary items. She is partnered with New Tampa Animal Hospital in Wesley Chapel and Livingston Animal and Avian Hospital in Lutz. The hospitals provide quality care to injured or sick animals taken in by Home Sweet Home.  The cost is minimal.
“They have been a big help,” Burke said. “They treat the animals for practically nothing.”
Nola Overturf is a veterinary technician at Livingston hospital. She works with Burke on a regular basis. She said Home Sweet Home lives up to its name.
“Val is really good with the animals and she genuinely cares,” Overturf said. “People are getting rid of all sorts of animals because they can’t afford them and Val takes care of them.”
Overturf has sent several birds to live at Home Sweet Home including Cassie, a 32-year-old macaw parrot who’s owner gave her up due to health problems.
“I was sick about that bird but Val called and reassured me,” Overturf said. “She told me Cassie let her scratch her back and was doing good.”
Burke plans to adopt out some of the birds she has but is leery to do so. She plans to do thorough background checks and interview anyone interested in adoption. She isn’t willing to put up any of the goats for adoption, because she said people are using them for food and that isn’t the fate she wants for her babies.

At this time, she is maxed to capacity and not taking in more farm animals. She still needs donations and volunteers to help her care for the Home Sweet Home family.
“I’m very careful to only take in animals I can afford to and have time to take care of,” she said.
Burke also hopes to educate others. She takes some of the animals to visit local schools and wants to visit local nursing homes. She said the animals have a way of connecting with people that’s hard to put into words.
“I find animals intriguing,” she said. “People don’t always take the time to watch them but they can be really amazing. They can be inspirational.”
For information on the rescue, how to donate and volunteer opportunities, visit www.hshartampa.org.

Reaction to Hillsborough County’s transportation plan

By Kyle LoJacono

In May the Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 5-2 to place a penny sales tax increase for public transportation on this November’s ballot.
If passed, the tax is estimated to raise $160 to $200 million each year. About 75 percent of that would go to starting a light-rail system within Hillsborough and to doubling the number of county buses. The rest would go to road improvements.
Hillsborough’s sales tax is currently 7 cents on every dollar, as is unincorporated Pasco County’s. Businesses on the Hillsborough side of the county line could lose business to Pasco companies if the increase is approved.
“It seems like a small amount, but when people are making large purchases it makes a big difference,” said Dan Gonzalez, co-owner of Carême’s Market in Lutz. “I could see it having an impact on business in Lutz now because people are watching their spending closer and holding onto every dime and every penny. It will just add to the burden of local businesses.”
Carême’s is located at 16319 N. Florida Ave in Lake Chapman Plaza and opened Oct. 1 of last year. Gonzalez and his family lived in Lutz for 15 years and knows how easy it is for people to go to Pasco if they wanted to save money.
“Those right on the fringe of Hillsborough might go north to save money,” Gonzalez said. “Our products and concepts are different because we are a market, convenience store and prepared food, so there isn’t a store that offers what we do. Still those on the fringe might go north if we have more taxes.”
Customers at the Publix Super Market located at 3939 Van Dyke Road in Lutz saw things a little differently. While10 shoppers asked about the proposed tax agreed that it is unneeded, all did not think they would travel to Pasco to save the penny per dollar for weekly purchases.
“I think it’s a waste of money,” said 18-year Lutz resident Ron Mullikken of the proposed tax. “It wouldn’t do much to make travel better.”
The Van Dyke Publix would likely face more difficulties if the tax were instituted given the fact that there are three other Publix’s within 12 miles across the county line, according to Google Maps. That does not take into account the other grocery stores in the area. Repeated requests for interviews with managers at the Van Dyke Publix were not returned.
Gonzalez did see the benefit in enhancing transportation in Hillsborough, especially with improving roads, but does not think mass transportation will catch on for several years.

“People like the convenience of driving their cars whenever they want,” Gonzalez said. “A rail system and more buses are great, but it isn’t as easy as driving. I think it would take years before people start using it like they do in big cities like New York.”
Among those who voted to put the question on the ballot is Ken Hagan, county district 2 representative and commission chairman. The district covers most of north Hillsborough, including Lutz and Odessa. Also voting yes were commissioners Rose Ferlita, Kevin White, Kevin Beckner and Mark Sharpe.
Hagan said he was not in favor of the tax, but is in favor of allowing the people to make their own decision. Voting no were commissioners Jim Norman and Al Higginbotham.
The light-rail system will be designed to take people to all areas of Hillsborough, which the majority of commissioners believe will help business. Those in favor of the tax also said it would likely increase tourism within the county once the high speed rail project to connect Tampa and Orlando is finished.
Some of the road projects that will be funded if the public approves the referendum include widening the Veterans Expressway from the Suncoast Parkway to the Courtney Campbell Causeway. It will also add bicycle lanes on Bearss Avenue from N. Dale Mabry Highway to N. 22nd Street.

Zephyrhills principal brings rules and open communication

By Kyle LoJacono

Steve Van Gorden became Zephyrhills High’s principal May 5, 2009 and he wasted little time instituting his style of education during his first full year at the school.
“The biggest challenge is people get accustomed to doing things a certain way and then a new person comes in and makes a bunch of changes,” Van Gorden, 34, said. “We had some transition issues, but after getting through most of those I think I feel very close to all the students now.”

Most of those changes were to tighten safety around the school, such as keeping students from leaving campus for lunch. While these changes may have seemed unneeded to students, Van Gorden believes they are necessary ensure the students’ protection.
“Overall I think the changes he’s made are positive,” said senior class president Elizabeth Patrias. “A lot of people have been resistant to the rules and said they were strict, but that’s because they are new.”
Patrias has been class president all four of her years at Zephyrhills and worked with Van Gorden’s predecessor Gerri Painter. She said the main difference between the two was things were more relaxed with Painter, but feels the school is safer now, as did junior class president Tiffany Trebour.
“I think things have been pretty good this year,” Trebour said of Van Gorden’s methods. “He wasn’t scared to change things that he thought needed to be changed.”
Van Gorden’s goals may not be apparent to all the students yet, but they are clear to the administration.
“I think he’s done a great job,” said Zephyrhills assistant principal Tim Urban. “He’s gotten involved in the community and brought a lot of good ideas….When issues came up he addresses them without hesitation. That’s not to say that Gerri Painter hesitated on things, but Mr. Van Gorden deals with issues quickly.”

Urban has been with the school for four years and likes how Van Gorden always asks the opinions of administrators.
“We have weekly meetings to go over everything in the school to see what we can do better,” Urban said. “He has an open mind and I’m excited about working with him next year.”
One way Van Gorden included the community was in selecting Reggie Roberts as the new football coach. He was forced to terminate Jerrell Cogman from the position before the season amid alleged recruiting violations, which was another test of Van Gorden’s leadership. He then created a search committee, which included community members that led him to picking Roberts for the job.
To help ensure students stayed on campus at the school, Van Gorden had each child assigned to a parking spot to easily see if a student was gone.
“That was something I never had to deal with in my last job,” Van Gorden said, who was the principal of Hudson Middle. “You don’t have to think about middle school kids driving off campus for lunch.
“While I put in these new policies, I made sure people knew I would listen to them,” Van Gorden added. “I want there to be open communication and for the students to be comfortable with me.”
Van Gorden was born in Arkansas and grew up in Spring Hill. He started as a teacher at Pasco High and Pasco Middle before becoming an assistant principal, which was a split position between Wesley Chapel High and Land O’ Lakes High. He became the principal at Hudson Middle at age 28, but wanted to come to Zephyrhills because it is closer to his Dade City home.
The Bulldogs principal also has political experience. Van Gorden was elected a commissioner of Dade City in 2004 and served for more than five years.
Next year, the principal wants to continue to tighten school safety while increasing its academic standards. That includes offering more advanced placement and duel enrollment classes.
Van Gorden has been focusing on the big issues at Zephyrhills, but one seemingly small decision turned into one of the biggest for the seniors.
There is a place called the senior stage in the commons area at the school where seniors spend time. Van Gorden moved two couches from the stage to different places within the facility so the school did not have to buy new ones. The seniors were upset because they had waited three years to use the couches.
After hearing the senior’s complaints, he moved one of the couches back and added benches. Van Gorden said he believes that problem brought him closer to the senior class because he listened to them and they worked through it.
“I couldn’t do everything I wanted with (Patrias) and her class because I was trying to learn my job, but I’m working with next year’s senior president so we don’t have a couch issue or other problems,” Van Gorden said. “It took me a year to learn. This was my learning year.”