Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The eight Rotary clubs of central and east Pasco County will donate at least 400 baskets of food to needy children for the summer break from school.
The clubs, which are collectively called the Eastside 8, also donated 400 food baskets during the winter break so families could have a special holiday dinner.

“It really comes down to need,” said Randy Gailit, Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes president. “After the Christmas food baskets, we learned that we were looking at only the tip of the iceberg. A lot more people are in need than we thought and we got a lot of special thank-you cards, so we wanted to be part of it again.
“We started discussing having another food drive right after the holiday one, so it’s been in the works for four or five months now,” Gailit added.
The Eastside 8 include the Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes, the Rotary Club of San Antonio and the two rotary clubs in Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City. The baskets will be put together at 9 a.m. June 5 at Shepard Park, located at the intersection of US 301 at A Avenue in Zephyrhills.
“The whole point is to get the clubs together for community support,” said George Vlk, Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel president. “The clubs always are doing charitable things in the community, but we wanted to join forces.”
The food goes to children in public schools who usually get free or reduced priced lunches, which includes more than 50 percent of the students in Pasco. The clubs are still looking for donations to fill more food baskets. The food stays within each of the five communities. To donate to any of the area clubs see the box below.
“There’s so much that needs to be done in our communities,” said Mike Wooten, assistant governor of Rotarian area 8 and member of the Zephyrhills daybreak club. “The motto of Rotary is ‘service above self,’ so the clubs do a lot of service in the area.”

Area 8 includes the two clubs in Zephyrhills and Dade City and Wooten, who lives in Wesley Chapel, acts as an assistant to the organizations.
The schools decide who is in most need of the donations so the families can stay anonymous. The food will be dropped off at the various schools June 7 and 8 and then given to the families later that week.
The winter food drive was designed to give the families one large meal, but the summer edition will include food children can make for themselves for two weeks. Each will include items like peanut butter and jelly, various canned foods and crackers.
In Land O’ Lakes, the baskets will go to Sanders Memorial and Lake Myrtle Elementary schools and Charles S. Rushe and Pine View middle schools.
“We wanted to keep it with the younger kids because we thought they would be in a more helpless situation at home,” Gailit said. “Those are the kids who will benefit the most from easy-to-prepare foods.”
Vlk said the Wesley Chapel club would be giving to the town’s elementary schools, which include New River, Double Branch, Quail Hollow, Sand Pine, Seven Oaks, Veterans, Watergrass and Wesley Chapel.
Rotary began in 1905 and currently has about 1.2 million members. Several of those in leadership positions in the Eastside 8 clubs received similar help growing up.
Wooten said his father died when he was 12 and his junior high school allowed him to do small chores in the cafeteria in exchange for lunch each day.
“They knew I needed it and I got to work for it.” Wooten said. “It wasn’t until when I was an adult that I realized how much that helped me.”
Gailit said he grew up with government assistance.
“I got similar help, so I’m familiar with how much it helps needy families,” Gailit said. “Children have no control over their family situation and many really need some help. Most people don’t realize that plight and we could use more donations to help more families.”
The Eastside 8 have no current plans to do any more combined events except for the holiday food drive later this year, but Wooten expects that to change.
“As of the beginning of July the eight clubs will have new presidents and I think they will continue the food drives for sure,” Wooten said. “I see us doing more collaboration. Together we can make a bigger footprint than we can alone.”

How to help the Eastside 8 food drive
— Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes, (813) 918-3027,
— Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise, (813) 907-7990, www.wesleychapelrotary.com
— Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, www.rotaryclubofwesleychapel.com
— Rotary Club of Zephyrhills Daybreak, www.zephyrhillsrotary.org
— Noon Rotary Club of Zephyrhills P.O. Box 1234 Zephyrhills, FL 33539,
— Rotary Club of Dade City Sunrise, (352) 797-0638, www.dadecitysunriserotary.org
— The Rotary Club of Dade City, dadecity-rotary-club.org

Alex Pereira needs help to fix Lutz Cemetery

By Kyle LoJacono

Lutz 13-year-old and Academy at the Lakes seventh grader Alex Pereira wants to be the youngest Eagle Scout in Boy Scout Troop 12 history, but needs a little help finishing his project.

Alex’s plan is to fix the section of the Lutz Cemetery known as Babyland. The section is on the corner of one of the driving paths in the cemetery, located at the corner of US 41 and Fifth Avenue N.E. The section was surrounded by marble blocks, but during the years pieces have cracked, been lost or even run over.
“I want to clean up the baby section and make it nice because a lot of the Lutz babies are buried there and I think it should be in better shape,” Alex said. “…It looks like people are driving over one corner of Babyland and I don’t want people driving over the graves.”
Besides replacing the missing and cracked marble, Alex plans on installing a six-foot pole to mark the corner of the section so people cannot run over it any more. He will also be weeding the ground and doing some light landscaping.
“I think it’s a wonderful project,” Brenda said. “The cemetery needs a lot of help…When I saw the baby section it was heartbreaking to see that people have been driving over the graves.”

“I heard it would be a good project from Joey Vars,” Alex said.
Vars was the last scout from the troop to earn his Eagle Scout award and also did his final project at the cemetery. Each scout needs to complete a large service project in order to achieve the rank.
Of the 60 Eagle Scouts in Troop 12 history, Jack Herridge is the youngest ever for the Lutz troop at 14-years-old. Alex will turn 14 July 17.
“I keep track of the ages of the boys coming before our board in Tocobaga District,” said Bob Jackson, Tocobaga District Eagle Board of Review Chairman for the last eight years. “For the past four years right at 75 percent of the eagle candidates coming before the board turned 18 before their (Eagle Scout) board of review.
“The youngest we have seen was 13, and I think we have had three of those during my tenure as chair,” continued Jackson, who lives in Lutz.
The district includes scouts in all of Tampa and much of north Hillsborough County, including Lutz and Odessa. Scouts can be 18-years-old during their final board of review, which is an interview where the scout talks with district representatives to see if he is ready for the rank. Certain scout requirements make it nearly impossible to be an Eagle Scout younger than 13.
Alex said of trying to be the youngest Eagle Scout from the troop, “When I heard about the record I thought it would be a good thing to try and break. It would cool for people to say Alex Pereira is the youngest Eagle Scout from Troop 12.”
That competitive drive is in line with Alex’s character.
“He likes to stand out,” said Alex’s father Andrew. “His great-grandfather got his Eagle Scout in either 1931 or 1932 from (Troop 38) in Tampa. I hung his eagle certificate on his wall so he knew. I guess you could say he’s trying to compete within the family.”
Andrew said he was in scouting for a little more than a year, but did not go very far into the program.
While Alex’s drive is strong, he has hit a snag. He originally thought the project would cost about $800, but when he went to get estimates it was double that for the marble. Alex has been selling popcorn at the Publix Super Markets at the apex of US 41 and N. Nebraska Avenue in Lutz and near his school in Land O’ Lakes.
“He’s been one of our leaders from the start and we’d love to see him get the rank before he turns 14,” said Troop 12 scoutmaster Dan O’Dea. “There’s got to be people in the community who have people buried in the cemetery that might want to help with the expenses. We’d like to get him some community support.”

To send tax deductible donations
Make checks payable to Troop 12 Inc. and mail to:
Troop 12
504 Brooktree Court
Lutz, FL 33548
Indicate in the notes the check is for Alex’s Eagle Scout project

By Kyle LoJacono

Ronald E. Oakley has been on the Southwest Florida Water Management District governing board since 2007 and he was named the organization’s chair May 25.

“It’s a very humbling position,” Oakley said of being elected chair. “It’s a great organization with great people and you get to work with the public to make things better for everyone. It’s very rewarding to be able to protect our natural resources.”
Oakley was elected unanimously by his peers on the 13-person board and will serve as chair until March 1, 2011, according to district spokesperson Robyn Felix.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Oakley to the board in 2007 to serve a four-year term. He has previously served as the board’s treasurer and vice chair. Oakley is also co-chair of the Withlacoochee River Basic Board, which is part of the district, according to Felix.
“Our biggest concern now is protecting our natural resources in the district,” Oakley said. “We want to protect our waterways and we oversee Tampa Bay Water, which provides water to most of Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
“We also set water restrictions during droughts,” Oakley continued,” We’ve been in a drought for the last 48 months. The water shortage is getting better with the wet winter we had, but it’s still a concern for the board.”
Oakley owns several citrus groves across east Pasco under the name Oakley Groves Inc., raises cattle in the county and owns a trucking company that transports liquid food. His experience growing food allows him see both the farmer’s and the public’s needs for water.
“One of the big issues we’ve been working with is pumping water to crops during freezes like we had this winter,” Oakley said. “There was the big concern in Plant City to protect the strawberries this year and all the pumping created a sink hole problem and people didn’t have water.
“It was 11 days of frost-freeze conditions, which is very strange and we are looking at how to deal with that problem if it happens again,” Oakley added.
The district covers all or parts of 16 counties from Levy and Marion counties in the north to Charlotte County in the south. It includes all of Hillsborough and Pasco and Oakley is the representative for his home county.
The Florida Legislature originally created the organization in 1961. Some of its duties include flood control, regulation of water use and wetland protection.
Oakley grew up in east Pasco and graduated from Pasco High. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Carson-Newman College in Tennessee.
Members of the governing board are unpaid and “come from all walks of life,” according to Oakley. He said some of the members are in the real estate industry, others are city council members and some, like himself, are involved with agriculture.
“They are very representative of the public and are great people to work with,” Oakley said.
Oakley is also the director of Florida Traditions Bank in Dade City and is a licensed real estate broker.
“I’m excited to continue to work to protect our natural resources and water supply for all of Pasco County and the entire district,” Oakley said. “It’s not a position I take lightly and I will do my best at it.”

By Suzanne Schmidt

A music project at Pine View Middle School is helping deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students to feel like they belong.
Students in Steve Herring’s basic music class learned all the sign language to the song “We Are the World.” Since then, many of the students have been inspired to learn more sign language and use it to talk with the small group of deaf and hard of hearing students at the school.

Lou Clegg is one of four sign language interpreters at the school along with Nancy Harris, Serena Graves and Robin Fedon-Wille. Clegg taught the students sign language in the music class.
“We started teaching them signs in January,” Clegg said. “They have learned at least 40 signs so far. This is a charter school for the deaf and hard of hearing so having them know the signs allows them to speak with the other deaf and hard of hearing students. Students in the deaf and hard of hearing program get excited when they see another student their age and they can talk with them.”
The seventh and eighth graders in the class showed off their new skills at a recent honor roll assembly. Jennifer Mathews Crosby, principal, said she thinks learning sign language was good for the students.
“The kids were very proud of their performance at the assembly,” Crosby said. “It is a very different culture for the deaf and hard of hearing students. We typically expect to have them come into our world so it makes a big difference when we can come into their world.”
Clegg said students in the deaf and hard of hearing program enjoyed watching the students sign the words to the song at the assembly.
“Even deaf students can feel the vibrations from the music,” Clegg said. “They like to come to the music room because it makes them feel like they are a part of it.”

Bianca Sifuentes, 11, is a sixth-grader in the deaf and hard of hearing program. She said she likes to be in the music class.
“I like music,” Sifuentes said. “I like the sounds, they make me happy.”
Upstanding students with good grades with an interest in learning sign language have the option to apply to be a student peer. Clegg said the student peer helps the students in the deaf and hard of hearing program feel more like they are a part of the school.
“They can assist the students with whatever they need with signing,” Clegg said. “It is nice for the deaf and hard of hearing students because they see other students learning their language.”
Only a few students are selected as peer volunteers each year like seventh-grader Valeria Renta, 12, who will be a student peer next year. Renta is originally from Puerto Rico making sign language her third language.
“I want to learn more sign language and I want to help people,” Renta said. “I will get to know people who are deaf and we can become friends. I have already learned 50 signs.”
Seventh-grader Sarah Epplin, 13, said she did know some sign language when she was younger but now she is happy to be learning it again.
“One of my cousins lost some of her hearing and so I learned some words when she was little,” Epplin said. “I think it has been a lot of fun learning sign language. I have been making new friends. If I don’t know how to sign, I can just spell it out and they can tell me the sign. It has been really cool.”
Eighth-grader Amber Snyder, 13, learned sign language when she was friends with a deaf student in the third grade. She said she did not talk to him for a long time until she saw him recently.
“I am glad because I can talk with him now,” Snyder said. “I think the deaf and hard of hearing students are sad because they don’t have as many students to talk to. It is nice to be able to talk to them. I learned that when you can communicate with someone in another language you feel triumphant. Learning a language and being able to talk in it is very rewarding.”
Stacy Reddic, DHH resource teacher, said she would like to see more students learn sign language.
“It is great for our deaf and hard of hearing students so they can feel like they are part of the school,” Reddic said. “It builds their self esteem and knowledge of the hearing world so when they do go out into the world they will not be as shy.”
Clegg said she agrees.
“I wish there was more promotion of American Sign Language in schools so the hearing children can work with the deaf and hard of hearing students,” Clegg said. “It would be nice if everyone at least learned the alphabet so they could communicate with them.”

By Sarah Whitman

The new assistant pastor at Zephyrhills Wesleyan Church has a familiar face. Jonathan David, 23, is the son of senior pastors Dan and Patty David. Jonathan recently earned a Bachelor’s degree in church ministries from Southeastern University and is pursuing a Master’s in contemporary theology. He is excited to be interning at his home church where, he said, learning from his parents is the best education he’s had yet.

It seems the call to ministry runs in the family.

Q: Dan and Patty, what is your background? Where did you grow up and did you grow up in Christian homes?
Patty: Dan grew up in a Christian home in Michigan. I grew up in New Jersey. My parents weren’t saved until I was 18. Soon after, I gave my heart to the Lord.

Q: When did you first feel led to pursue a career in ministry?
Patty: I went to college to study math and chemistry and I felt God calling, so I transferred to United Wesleyan College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Dan: I was an electronics and engineering major but I was really involved in church activities and youth ministry. I felt called to finish school to become a pastor. I went to United Wesleyan my last two years.

Q: How did you two meet? When were you married?
Patty: We met on a group date to Pizza Hut. We were married in 1982.

Q: Where did life take you after graduation?
Patty: Our first year out of college, we spent a year interning in Iowa. Then we went to Wisconsin and were pastors at a small church that had 11 members including the two of us. We were pastors at a couple other churches in Michigan and then we came to Florida.

Q: What brought you to Florida?
Patty: We felt our hearts pulling us here to Zephyrhills. The people here needed us and we needed them. We love living here.

Q: When was Jonathan born? Do you have other children?
Patty: Jonathan was born in 1987. We also have a daughter. She was born in 1988.

Q: Jonathan, growing up in the church did you always see yourself going into ministry?
Jonathan: No. Growing up I saw what goes on and how much work it takes to be in the ministry. When you’re a pastor, your life is not your own and I didn’t think I wanted that life for myself. When I was 18, I felt the call and it was hard for me to make the choice, but I definitely felt God calling me to be a pastor. God was persistent and I submitted.
Patty: Going into ministry isn’t really something you decide to do. It’s something on your heart and it can be a painful choice because you give up other things, but in the end you get so much more than you are giving up.

Q: Jonathan, how did you end up back at Zephyrhills Wesleyan?
Jonathan: I graduated from Southeastern University last May and then I did an internship in Texas. When I came back home, I hadn’t found another job yet and my parents said they could put me to work. I started here in April.

Q: What are you learning from your parents?
Jonathan: I’m learning everything they know and that’s quite a bit. I’m learning what it takes behind the scenes to run a church.

Q: Now that there are three qualified pastors, who speaks on Sundays?
Patty: Well, the way we pastor is Dan and I both preach every Sunday morning. We do a tag-team approach where I’ll preach the first point and then Dan will preach the second. Jonathan preached Mother’s Day when we were away. He’s there to fill in for us.

Q: What is it like having Jonathan working at the church?
Patty: It’s exciting. He’s a great kid. He’s good natured and easy to work with. He’s younger so he brings some fresh insight and ideas. Now, we all bounce ideas off one another.

Q: Jonathan, what are your goals?
Jonathan: I’m up for a paid position in Lakeland and we’re praying about it, that God will take me where I’m supposed to be. We know God will provide.

Zephyrhills Wesleyan Church is at 38924 Central Ave. Service times are 8 and 10:30 a.m. Sundays, with a special evening service at 6 p.m. For information, call (813) 782-7510.

By Sarah Whitman

These days, everything seems to be about going green. Everywhere I look there are people carrying reusable bags and talking about what not to buy to put in them. There are countless reasons to live green and to eat green.
Apparently, the way we’ve been living all these years is a ticket to certain death.
The whole thing can be a little stressful for the average person who is used to trusting that what’s for sale at the grocery store is good for people and the environment, or at the very least not terrible. Lately I’ve caught myself with a reusable bag in hand, asking questions like, “Should I buy organic?” “Should I eat meat?” “Will these donuts eventually kill me?” “Is white bread the enemy?”
I’ve come to the conclusion that the key to surviving the transition to living green is balance.
I now buy primarily organic. My favorite organic brand for frozen foods is Amy’s Organic, which offers everything from pizzas to rice bowls. I buy organic fruits. My husband and I are growing our own vegetables, which do taste way better than regular store bought. The lack of pesticides used buying organic or growing your own is also good for the environment.
The thing is, it can be expensive, so I mix it up and buy some non-organic. I figure, my dad’s grandfather lived well into his 80s and never even heard the word organic. He just didn’t eat a ton of garbage, like hot dogs and French fries.
Should I eat meat? Well, I tried going vegan 10 years ago and it resulted in malnutrition, so avoiding it entirely makes me nervous. I try and stick to chicken and fish, but then I heard how chickens are treated while kept in coops. So, I am trying to purchase free-range meats, though I recently read on a website that it doesn’t really mean anything when a package says free-range. It has to have a USDA organic seal. Seriously? I am doing the best I can.
Will these donuts eventually kill me? Is white bread the enemy? I don’t think a donut every now and again is the end of the world. I have splurge foods like soda and the occasional sweet I know contains processed ingredients. If this is wrong, I’m in trouble, because I don’t think I’ll go the rest of my life and never eat a cupcake.
For me, the key is not eating processed foods all the time. I eat whole grains as much as possible, which does make me feel better. They also taste great, but whole grain isn’t always an option when I’m on the go.
There are people out there capable of adapting fully to the green lifestyle without it causing a panic. I applaud those individuals because I think eventually we’ll all go in that direction. Me, I’ve decided I need to make a gradual transition.
I recycle most everything. I use the right light bulbs. I water my plants responsibly. Can’t I still hang onto a few bad habits? After all, my first word was Pepsi.
To help me with my transition, I’ve found a great website, GoingGreenTampa.Com. The website’s creator was nice enough to answer a few questions about what it means to go green.
Website offers helpful tips for go green

Land O’ Lakes resident Lisa Custer recently launched the website GoingGreenTampa.com, a one-stop information tool with connections to all that’s green in the Tampa Bay Area. Here’s what Lisa had to say about the green lifestyle.

Q: What inspired your interest in the green lifestyle?
A: I have always enjoyed living a simpler lifestyle, which to me is what a green lifestyle is. I think it goes back to my childhood of growing up in Land O’ Lakes. Living on a lake I was able to see and hear the wildlife everyday and appreciate our ecosystem for how great it is. That just makes you want to do your part to protect it so that your children can have the same experiences. What you do really does count. Whether it’s recycling, cutting down on your water usage, planting native plants or being mindful not to waste.

Q: Why do you think it is important to live green?
A: I think it is important because we do live in such a vulnerable state, which is even more evident with the oil explosion in the gulf. Our choices do have a ripple effect and I don’t think we should be so concerned with the, I want it now attitude, but instead think of will this effect more than just me?

Q: How can people eat green?
A: By choosing to buy from local farms, learning to grow your own and not over consume or be wasteful. Think of how much food gets thrown away. People just want to buy and buy, but they should stop and think about if it will actually get eaten.
We belong to Rabbits, etc. Farm in Masaryktown. They have a CSA (community supported agriculture) program and you pick up your food once a week. We pay $22 and get lots of fresh, local vegetables, free-range eggs, meat, strawberries and olives all grown with no pesticides. You can’t beat it. I only have to go to the grocery store for milk and bread basically. There are several CSA’s or food co-op’s all around Tampa.

Q: What services, eating establishments, etc. would you recommend?
The Refinery is a new restaurant I can’t wait to try. They buy as much local food as possible and tailor their menu every week around what is available. There are also chains like Chipotle that offer “food with integrity.” They seek out farmers who don’t use hormones and are offering a naturally-raised product.

Q: Does living green mean giving up everything we’re used to?
A: It doesn’t mean giving anything up, it just means being more mindful. You can still buy bottled water, just recycle the bottle. Better yet, buy a reusable bottle and save your self the money of bottled water. Just because we are used to being a throw-it-away society, doesn’t mean we should continue to be. It’s really only been the last couple generations who think that way. My grandparents were able to happily raise 6 kids because they reused things and didn’t over consume. What’s wrong with learning the value of something and respecting that? I firmly believe that is how we should raise our kids and live our lives.