Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again, when stuffed bunny rabbits line the shelves at major stores and children cheerfully ask their parents, “Can I have a real bunny for Easter this year?”

“For Easter there’s always an unbelievable increase in rabbit sales,” said Mike Levy, manager of Pet City in Land O’ Lakes. “People need to know bunnies aren’t a seasonal gift to get and then ignore in a week. A bunny is a living animal that needs to be taken care of for the rest of its life.”

Levy said there are many factors to consider before purchasing a pet rabbit. Rabbits may be smaller than most cats and dogs, but they still require care and exercise. They like to run, hop and play. They require a medium to large-size living area, food, bedding, treats and most importantly love.

“Rabbits shouldn’t be kept in a cage all day,” Levy said. “They need to be taken out periodically. If you are gone all day or travel a lot, a rabbit isn’t the right pet for you.”

Meagan Rathman of Land O’ Lakes has a one-year-old male bunny named Indiana.

“A rabbit is a long-term commitment,” she said. “Getting one requires thought and preparation. You shouldn’t just jump into it.”

Pet City sells rabbits of all kinds, Netherland dwarfs, lion heads, mini lops, mini rex’s and full lops. Dwarfs and lion heads usually weigh about 4 pounds, and mini rex’s about 5. Full lops can grow to be 17 to 20 pounds.

It is important they be fed well to ensure proper growth. Levy said rabbits like carrots but carrots alone are not a sufficient diet.

“Too much carrots or lettuce isn’t good for them,” he said. “It’s important that they eat their pellet food. Too much of one vegetable can make them sick. It’s better to give carrots as a treat.”

Rabbits also require a flavored wood chew.

“Rabbit teeth grow constantly and if they don’t have something to chew on, they can overgrow,” Levy said. “If left unfixed they can grow into the roof of their mouth.”

Levy said healthy rabbits can live 20 years.

They are generally peaceful and loving. Most get along well with other animals. Still, not all animals get along well with rabbits.

“It depends on your pet,” Levy said. “I use to have a bull mastiff that would play nicely with my rabbits but some dogs still have the desire to hunt. A rabbit shouldn’t be left alone with another animal.”

Levy said bunnies are good starter pets. He recommends them to families with children of all ages.

“I have children and they’ve always had rabbits,” Levy said. “Rabbits love to sit on your lap. They are loving pets.”

Anthony Robinson of Wesley Chapel owns and breeds rabbits.

“I think rabbits make great pets because they are very docile animals and it’s amazing how much personality each one has,” Robinson said. “I have rabbits that come up and nudge your leg for petting. I have rabbits that will roll a ball back to you. They are a whole lot smarter than people give them credit for.”

Robinson is leery of the how many rabbits are purchased during Easter.

“Parents have to realize when they get a rabbit for their child, it is the parent that is ultimately responsible for its care,” he said. “Many rabbits end up in shelters because people don’t want to take care of them. Rabbits need loving homes.”

Rathman said her rabbit Indiana loves to cuddle.

“He’s very low key and enjoys just hanging around,” she said. “Kids love to play with him and pet him. He likes everybody.”
Levy said the most important thing to remember when purchasing a rabbit for Easter is that an Easter bunny needs love and care all year long. They are not toys that can be thrown away.

“If people are willing to take care of a rabbit and make it a member of the household, they really are great pets,” Levy said.

For information on purchasing a rabbit, call Pet City at (813) 242-7600 or contact Robinson’s Wabbits at .

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

The proposed elimination of state funding to support public libraries would hit Pasco and Hillsborough county facilities more than once.

“The real problem is that if we lose state funding then we will eventually lose federal funding too,” said Linda Allen, Pasco library director. “In a nutshell, the federal money we can get each year is based on how much state money we get. If that drops to zero, then we won’t get any federal money in the future and that goes for every library in public system across the state.”

The proposal to cut all state funding is just that at this point — only a proposal. If state money is completely cut, libraries will be able to receive federal grants until 2014-15 because the Institute of Museum and Library Services allocates money according to state funding for the previous three years.

“I’m just asking the state legislator to keep the funding at its current level,” Allen said. “I don’t want any more money, just what we received last year.”

The Pasco County budget for the Pasco Library System is $6,011,514 for the 2009-10 year, which ends in October. The Pasco system also receives $176,212 from the state and about $330,000 from the federal government. The federal money includes three grants and 60 percent reimbursement of its Internet and other computer costs. The state and federal money accounts for 8 percent of the Pasco library budget.

Funding information on Tampa-Hillsborough Library System was not available at press time except that it received $910,388 from the state. Florida has allocated $21.3 million for all of its public libraries this fiscal year.

Libraries in Pasco and Hillsborough have already been asked to do more with less since the economic downturn.

“I can’t speak on any specific numbers, but what has been most affected is the staffing and budget for new books,” said Jim Graves, head of the Lutz Branch Library. “We used to be open for five hours on Sunday and we aren’t anymore. We also used to be open more during the week.”

The entire Hillsborough system cut its staff by 15 percent according to Joe Stines, director of the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library system. The story is similar in Pasco.

“The libraries were opened 46 hours each week and it was dropped to 40 since April of last year,” Allen said. “We also had to cut 14 positions to make our budget and our materials cost was cut 13 percent. That 13 percent is part of a 40 percent cut over the last three years.”

Some of the libraries in Pasco that have been affected by the county budget cuts include those in Land O’ Lakes, New River and Dade City. One facility that did not see its budget cut this past fiscal year was the Zephyrhills Public Library, which is funded almost entirely by the city.

“We do get some state funding through our cooperative program with the Pasco County Library System, so that would hurt our budget some,” said Vicki Elkins, director for the Zephyrhills library. “It would be a smaller part of our budget but it’s still a part.”

The cooperative program is an online resource for people to find information about topics such as upcoming events, government programs and available books.

These proposed state budget cuts are being discussed during a time when library use is increasing.

“The number of people that have been checking out books in Pasco libraries has been going up since I’ve been here,” said Graves, who started working at the Lutz Library one year ago. “We have 19 computers connected to the Internet and I believe more people are using those too.”

Graves said the economy was likely the reason for the increase.

“We have seen an increase of 6 percent of people checking out books this year from the last and we expect it to continue to rise,” Allen said. “People would rather rent a book than buy it right now…People also tend to get rid of their Internet access when they lose their job, but a lot of companies want you to submit resumes online. So people need Internet access provided by their libraries now.”

Allen recently received the Librarian of the Year award by the Florida Library Association for her work with Pasco libraries.

“I just love libraries and books,” Allen said. “I worked as a shelfer in my high school library and received a master’s degree in library sciences from George Peabody College for Teachers, which is now part of Vanderbilt University. I’ve been in libraries my whole life.”

Allen said she and the Pasco Library System would continue to give the best access to books and other information to the public as possible, as did Graves.

“We have to work with what we have,” Graves said. “Our programs for kids and adults are funded by the Friends of the Lutz Library, which is a group that makes a lot of very generous donations to the library. Thankfully their generosity has remained throughout the budget situation.”

For more information on the Tampa-Hillsborough Library System, visit www.thpl.org. To learn about the Pasco Library System, visit www.pascolibraries.org.

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

Singer songwriter Ashley Shannon is a little bit country and proud if it. The Zephyrhills resident took home three trophies at the North American Country Music Association Awards March 14 in Tennessee.

The award closest to her heart was for songwriter of the year. She won for “Josh’s Song,” a song for her brother who served in Iraq.

“Family and community are really important to me,” Shannon said. “I wouldn’t be who I am without my family, friends and the hometown support of Zephyrhills.”

Shannon, 23, has always loved music. As a little girl, she’d run around the house singing into a feather duster. At age 13, she performed in a school talent show and received a standing ovation. She’s been singing ever since.

Shannon performs throughout Florida at fairs, festivals and events of every kind. She most recently performed at the Strawberry Festival and at the state capitol in Tallahassee.

“I performed at an NRA event and Florida Senate President Jeff Water asked me to come sing at the Senate,” Shannon said. “It was a great experience. One of the best things about singing is the people I get to meet.”

Shannon sang at the capitol just days after winning big in Tennessee. In addition to her songwriting award, she earned the titles Rising Star of the Year and Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year 2010. The titles were given based on her live auditions March 8. She earned her way to the national NACMA Awards by first earning state titles through the Orange Blossom Country Music Association.

Shannon currently works the front desk at a cardiologist’s office but she dreams of becoming a full-time recording artist. She admires vocalists like Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood for making it big without abandoning their small-town roots. She sang Underwood’s hit “Undo It” at the NACMAs and caught the attention of Nashville locals.

“I want to record an album,” Shannon said. “I gave out my demo at the awards and I got a call back from one producer who said I need to get to Nashville. I’m hoping to go this summer.”

As focused as Shannon is on becoming a successful singer, she is even more focused on giving back to the community that supports her.

“I love Zephyrhills because it’s a small town where everybody knows everybody and people care about one another,” Shannon said. “The people of the town support my dreams. So, I want to give back to my town.”

Shannon volunteers with The Fisher House, The Angelus Home in Hudson, The American Cancer Society, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills Foundation, Everyday Blessings foster facility and the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

She also volunteers to sing at charitable events.

“If you call Ashley for any community event she’ll always step forward and volunteer her time to help out,” said Greg First, former president of the Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce. “ She’s a community person. Anything I can think of, she’s been involved.”

In 2005, she started Words from Warriors, a program to send cassette recorders, tapes and storybooks to troops so deployed parents could send bedtime stories home.

“My brother went overseas in 2005,” Shannon said. “He came home safe a year later. What he did for our country inspired me to do work for the troops, because I am so grateful to them for their sacrifices.”

Shannon was also inspired to write “Josh’s Song.”

“The song started out as a poem and my mom helped write it,” Shannon said. “It’s about a brother and sister growing up not always getting along and as they grow older, they learn to respect each other. I have great respect for my brother’s choice to become a marine.”

Josh was surprised and honored when he first heard the song.

“I was in Iraq when I first heard the song,” Josh said. “It was pretty special. It was a big hit with all the other marines too.”

Josh said he thinks his sister has what it takes to succeed in the music business.

“She’ll get there,” he said. “She obviously has a lot of talent.”

Greg First agrees.

“If she can go to the next level, I think she’d be a great representative for this area,” First said. “She’s got talent.”

Ashley will sing March 26 at the Relay for Life at Zephyrhills High School and March 27 at the Zephyrhills Cruise and Car Show at Time Square and 5^th Avenue. For performance dates and more upcoming show dates visit www.ashleyshannon.com.

Wesley Chapel squadron takes the lead

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

The success of this year’s MacDill Airfest that drew tens of thousands can be partially attributed to the Wesley Chapel Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP).

“We were part of the planning process going back to January,” said senior 1st Lt. Joyce Lampasona of the Wesley Chapel squadron. “My husband (Steve Lampasona), myself and several others had planning meetings each Tuesday at MacDill to organize the event from our end of things.”

Joyce was the project officer and Steve was the chief of logistics.

“That means I’m the top of the chain of command for the 181 CAP members at the event,” Joyce said. “Steve handles the logistics, which means things like communications and making sure other necessary elements of the event run smoothly. There is a lot to manage because about 75,000 people attend the Airfest each day.”

There were 141 CAP cadets, mostly under 18, and 40 CAP seniors at 2010 Airfest March 20 and 21. Members came from across Florida and camped out at MacDill during the event.

“The CAP’s main goal is to assist the Air Force as they put on the Airfest,” Steve said. “One way we do that is by acting as a kind of barrier around the static displays of aircrafts. The cadets and senior members answer people’s questions about the displays while making sure no one gets too close. They also put up and take down signage so everyone knows where to go.”

Other local squadrons that participated in the event were the North Tampa-Lutz Cadet Squadron, which has members mainly from Lutz, Land O’ Lakes and north Hillsborough, and the Pasco Cadet Squadron from New Port Richey.

The cadet leader at the event was Capt. Landon Meahl, 17, of the West Citrus Cadet Squadron.

“One of the other important duties we have is to go on F.O.D. walks,” Meahl said. “That means foreign object detection to make sure there is nothing like trash or other things that shouldn’t be on the runways that could mess up the aircraft. It is essentially trash collection, but it is very important.”

Meahl was the cadet commander at the event, which is the equivalent to the project manager for the youths.

“Being the cadet commander is a great opportunity to meet a lot of CAP cadets from across the state while performing a critical mission to support the Air Force,” Meahl said.

Joyce said each cadet was on duty for about half the event. The rest of the time they could enjoy the show.

One cadet from the Wesley Chapel squadron who attended the event for the first time was Airman Jason Gordon.

“It was all fun,” Gordon, 12, said. “We got to get around the planes and make sure no one was climbing on them…I want to do it again next year.”

Gordon has been in the Wesley Chapel squadron for two months.

The highlight for most was seeing the Blue Angels, the Navy flight demonstration team made up of FA-18 Hornet fighter planes.

“That was the best part,” said cadet Airman 1st Class Desiree Jenkins, member of the North Tampa-Lutz squadron. “They would fly right at each other and just miss hitting each other.”

Jenkins, 13, lives in New Tampa and has been a member of the CAP for more than one year.

“The Airfest is great,” Jenkins said. “We got to look around more this year than last year when I went. We also got to guard more planes and learn about them too. It was all a lot of fun.”

The CAP is more than just the average youth organization. It is actually the official auxiliary of the Air Force. It was started during World War II and today includes girls, boys and adults.

The national organization is broken into eight regions and further into wings for each state and groups. The Wesley Chapel squadron is in Group 3, which includes all of Pasco, Hillsborough, Citrus, Sumter, Hernando, Pinellas and Polk counties.

Steve Lampasona helped establish the Wesley Chapel squadron last October and currently has 25 cadets and eight senior members. He was previously the adult leader of the Pasco squadron.

“CAP is a great opportunity for anyone who enjoys flying,” Steve said. “The reason I joined was to get some more flying time in. The CAP has the largest single-wing fleet of aircraft in the world with about 600. I love being a part of it and also watching the kids have a great time at events like the Airfest.”

For more information on the CAP, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com.