Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Dona Fair
Special to The Laker

Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicolas R. Gagnon, son of Ronn Gagnon of Deerberry Drive, Land O Lakes, has turned his dreams of becoming a firefighter into a reality. Gagnon is a student at the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas.

The academy is host to the fire protection apprentice course, training more than 1,400 students from all services each year in a comprehensive 68-day course that gives students the basics in fire science and live training drills along with a dash of chemistry, physics, and math.  More than 2,000 students attend advanced courses as well.  The school is accredited through the International Fire Service Accreditation.
“Prior to coming here, I did a lot of cardiovascular and strength training to help me pass all of the objectives here,” said Gagnon, who is assigned to the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.  “Overall, being mentally prepared has helped me get through the course.”
Live fires in buildings and aircraft, a series of timed tasks and tests, and search and rescue drills in confined spaces in full fire fighting gear keep Gagnon and the other students at the top of their game.
“The training has been tough at times but rewarding,” said the 2005 graduate of Tampa Baptist Academy.  “I feel like I have earned this certification to the full extent.  It is great getting paid to have fun.”
For Gagnon and his fellow classmates, the outcome is far more than simply the realization of a dream.  The results of their training and shared experience could easily result in lives saved in countless places and situations around the world.

“I wanted to become a firefighter because of September 11th,” Gagnon said. “I know that it’s the ‘cliché’ but it’s the truth, I wanted to help. I want to be the one people call on when they are in trouble.  Also being in the military gives me the opportunity to serve my country to fullest extent.”

By Sarah Whitman

The cane Bob Theisen uses to walk rests up against a wooden fence. He won’t need it much today. Seated comfortably atop a horse named Tampa Bay, Theisen stretches his arms into the air and pushes past the pains associated with multiple sclerosis.
Theisen has just begun his therapy session at Quantum Leap Farm, a nonprofit serving disabled adults, military and seniors in Odessa.

“I’m happy to be here,” he says. “When I’m here, it’s just me and Tampa Bay.”
Quantum was founded in 2000 by Dr. Edie Dopking and is situated on 10 acres at 10504 Woodstock Road, just a few miles from the Veterans Expressway. The nonprofit serves about 750 clients and has a staff of highly trained instructors, including two mental health counselors and an exercise scientist.
Dopking, who has a PhD in aging studies, previously volunteered at Bakas Equestrain Center in Tampa, a nonprofit for disabled children. She opened Quantum with personal funds specifically to help those 18 and older.
“It’s very therapeutic,” said George Abinader, a marine left partially paralyzed by an automobile accident. “I get to work on my balance and my core muscles. It’s good exercise. ”
Abinader is an inpatient at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. At Quantum, he feeds carrots to Idaho, a 12-year-old mare, and temporarily forgets about the routine of living in a medical facility.
Once a week, the hospital brings a group of veterans to Quantum for hippotherapy, a form of physical therapy using horses.  Kim Peatee, a recreational therapist from the hospital, comes along for support.
“This is the best therapy out there,” Peatee said. “A lot of our patients have spinal cord injuries. Here, they can work on range of motion and do other things that they might otherwise not be able to. It’s a way for them to get out of the hospital.”
Navy seaman Henry Sawyer injured his spinal cord playing football and is reliant on a wheelchair. He is stationed in Jacksonville but is currently staying at the veterans’ hospital. His wife Lusanda and son, Mikhail, are also in Tampa. The whole family visits Quantum.
“I grew up on a farm so I like it here because it reminds me of the old days,” Sawyer said with a smile. “It’s good exercise and it brings up morale. It lets us know we can still do things.”
Lusanda said being around the horses visibly lifts her husband’s spirits.
“He’s more relaxed when he’s here because he’s doing something he loves to do,” she said.
In addition to veterans, Quantum serves many individuals with developmental and acquired disabilities.
Theisen contacted the farm after seeing an advertisement in the paper. Since being diagnosed with MS in 1994, he’s sought out countless therapies. None have worked as well as training with Tampa Bay.

“With me, physical therapy is about thinking outside the box,” he said. “I’ve been doing hippotherapy for six years and the difference from where I started to where I am now is huge. I am more flexible and I’m able to move better. Plus it’s fun.”
Liz Howell is Theisen’s instructor. She has a bachelor’s in exercise science from the University of South Florida and is Quantum’s stable manager.
“When someone comes here, it’s all about what they want to get out of it,” Howell. “Some want to work on strength and flexibility. Some just come here to get away from the world.”
In addition to using riding as therapy, Quantum uses a program called At E.A.S.E, Equine Assisted Self Exploration. Clients in the program work with a trained counselor and horse specialist doing activities other than riding. They spend time petting, feeding and brushing the animals. It is often used as mental health therapy.
“For many people, being here is an opportunity to heal,” said Mary Diana, operations coordinator for Quantum. “This may not be traditional therapy but the results are amazing.”
Howell said just spending time on the farm is therapeutic. When she’s having a bad day, the people and the animals cheer her up. In addition to horses, a 1000-pound pig, three turkeys, two cats, a donkey and a black lab call Quantum home.
“People come here and the place just brings a smile to their face,” Howell said.
To manage it’s approximated half million dollar annual budget, Quantum applies for hundreds of grants each year.
They have received support from a variety of sources including Publix Supermarkets Charities, the USAA Foundation Charitable Trust and Nutrena Feeds, Inc.
The organization was recently awarded the 2010 Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award from the National Community Development Association. The Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Department nominated Quantum for the award for its pole barn project that was funded through the department.
Diana said the farm receives multiple awards and grants because the services offered bring joy to the lives of so many people.
“Our therapies affect the clients in so many ways, physically, emotionally and socially,” she said. “It can be hard to motivate somebody who is struggling with a disability but just about anybody who comes out here perks up.”
Theisen considers Quantum a sanctuary, a place where he can set down his cane and temporarily make use of a stronger set of legs.
“When I’m here, this is my time,” he said. “I can forget about everything else.”
One-hour therapy sessions are $40 for disabled and $50 for able-bodied adults.
For information on Quantum Leap Farm, call (813) 920-9250 or visit www.QuantumLeapFarm.org.

By Joe Potter

Zephyrhills resident Michael O’Donnell can finally look ahead to his future just after the one-year anniversary of being diagnosed with a form of cancer uncommon for people his age.
O’Donnell, 23, hopes to be a law enforcement officer either with the Zephyrhills Police Department or the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. He learns in a few weeks if he has been accepted into the Police Academy at Pasco-Hernando Community College.

O’Donnell’s cancer was diagnosed in October 2008 and part of his tongue was removed along with a muscle in his neck. A lump was discovered on his neck eight months later in May 2009 during a follow-up visit with his doctor. Surgery was not an option because the cancerous tumor was located near his carotid artery and he was treated instead with radiation and chemotherapy.
Before the cancer diagnosis, the Zephyrhills native was a brawny 200-pounder in top physical condition. He lost 50 pounds in less than a month while undergoing radiation and chemotherapy and agreed to a feeding tube only after losing 55 pounds.
Now O’Donnell says he feels physically and mentally able to successfully complete the police academy, which will move him a step closer to his career goal.
“I figure if I made it through cancer without having insurance or anything like that and not being able to work, I can tough it out through school which requires six to eight months,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell is currently on temporary disability and is receiving financial assistance from Medicaid to pay for his medical care.
If school does not work out, he will find a job, O’Donnell said, adding, “I’m not a man opposed to working. I like to work.”
While reflecting back on the last 12 months, O’Donnell said, “It’s been a very enlightening process to say the least. The last year had its ups and downs.”
O’Donnell hated to admit it, but there were some moments when he wished he would have died because he was in so much pain. There were times when he felt like he was fighting a losing battle.
He is grateful for the support his wife, Sarah, his parents, his sisters, and many others provided him during the past year. He said his health situation impacted his family emotionally. To them, he said, it looked like he was dying and they were powerless to do anything about it.
“I had to keep telling myself, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’” O’Donnell said. “This is not going to beat me. I’ll fight it to the end.”
That attitude and mental toughness combined with his religious faith helped him to beat the disease, O’Donnell said.
“Every night before I go to bed I make sure I get on my knees and I pray to God and I tell him, ‘Lord, thank you for the day that I had,’” O’Donnell said. “Whether it was a good day or a bad day, I had another day, there are a lot of people out there who are worse off than I am.”
Not having medical insurance could have placed him in debt for years to come. However, his parents helped out.
“Thankfully, Florida Cancer Center worked with me and helped the process along to get me qualified for Medicaid,” O’Donnell said. “That’s another thing I thank God for because if we had not had (Medicaid) I don’t know what we would have done. I also thank God for my aunt and uncle and my family putting together a golf tournament that was able to raise funds that went into a medical bill pay account.”
During the early stages of his cancer treatment, Medicaid placed him on a plan where he had to pay a portion of the costs.
“Every month when I had to see the doctor that medical bill pay account (from the golf tournament) came in so handy. Without it, we would not have the money to cover the doctor’s bills,” O’Donnell said.
The tournament was last September at Silverado Golf & Country Club in Zephyrhills. After Medicaid realized how expensive his radiation and chemotherapy treatments were, the federal agency took over all of the costs. Now, he is back on a cost-sharing plan since he has finished his treatments.
O’Donnell remarked that he has a roof over his head, a wife who loves him, a family who cares about him and that he is looking forward to his future.
Things are “so much better” now than they were last May, Sarah O’Donnell said during a telephone interview from Michigan.
“He has been gaining weight, he’s feeling better and he’s happier,” Sarah. The couple will celebrate their second wedding anniversary in August.
The lowest point of the last 12 months was probably when Michael had to begin using a feeding tube because he had lost so much weight, Sarah O’Donnell said. The feeding tube was removed last December. February 2010 was a pivotal month for Michael because that’s when he was able to resume eating some of the spicy foods he enjoys, Sarah O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell’s battle against cancer has changed his outlook on life. He is now more willing to accept help from others. Previously, he had thought he had to do anything in life he wanted to without help from anyone else.
“I’m very grateful that I had the amount of people and the kind of people in my life that were willing to give us, my wife and I, the help that we needed,” O’Donnell said. “I really don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t had that help.”

By Kyle LoJacono

In 2008, Boy Scout Troop 3 of Land O’ Lakes attempted to hike the Appalachian Trail (AT), but the trip was cut short.
“Two years ago we went and had to stop after one day,” said Steve Mitchell, troop leader. “We didn’t know what we were getting into. I hurt my knee and we weren’t properly prepared. We just hiked in and hiked back out.
“Finishing what we started two years ago felt really good,” Mitchell continued. “We planned everything much better and we were better conditioned to make the trip.”
This time the trip was a success.

“We were on the Appalachian Trail from April 5 to 10 and hiked 30 miles in northern Georgia,” said Mitchell. “The 30-mile hike was part of the hiking merit badge the boys earned as part of the trip.”
In all, 15 scouts from the troop went on the hike with six adult leaders.
“The first day was relatively easy,” said First Class Scout Alex Graves. “We had a lot of energy then and we only went about two and a half miles that day.”
Alex’s father, Dave, has been the troop’s scoutmaster for more than one year.
“It was very hard work trying to get to the end of our hike,” Dave said. “It was a physical challenge. The weather was spectacular except on one day when it rained all day. We met some nice people who were trying to hike the entire trail and they all said our kids pushed through some tough conditions that day.”
On backpacking trips, hikers have to carry everything they need in their packs. That includes food for the week, tents, sleeping bags, toiletries and clothes. Anything unnecessary is left behind to lighten the weight of the bags and when it rains the only thing that can be done is to cover the packs and keep moving.
“That Thursday (April 8) when it rained was the hardest day,” Graves said. “It was a steady to heavy rain all day and there is no place to dry off. The physical challenge that day wasn’t too bad, but it was very mentally challenging to keep going. The boys stepped up and got through it.”

Alex, 14, said the cold that set in after the rain and the added weight from being soaked took all the strength from the hikers.
Despite the rain, the hikers are left with pleasant memories of the scenery and landscape.
“On the third day we had a lot of downhill hiking and the trail was so green,” Alex said. “That’s the only way I can describe it. All the trees and plants were so green. It was like walking through a rainforest without the heat.”
Another spot stood out to Mitchell.
“There were some nice views,” Mitchell said. “Springer Mountain was great. Just the feeling of being part of nature for a couple of days was great. The boys struggled at times and I’m sure this will be the last time some of them do the AT but they didn’t give up.”
The AT is 2,178 miles long, which makes it the longest marked footpath in the United States, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. It starts in north Georgia, ends in Maine and passes through 14 states.
More than 10,000 people have reported completing the entire trail since it was established in 1937. The AT’s highest point is on Clingmans Dome in Tennessee and is 6,625 feet high. In comparison, a mile is 5,280 feet long.
Neither Alex nor Dave were part of the trip two years ago because they moved to Land O’ Lakes after the troop went.
Troop 3, which has scouts from Land O’ Lakes, Lutz, Odessa and Spring Hill, has no plans to return to the AT next year, but Graves said they might do so in later years. Alex has a similar timeframe for a grander plan.
“I’d like to do the whole thing later in life,” Alex said. “Maybe when I’m 19 and I have the time to do it. The people who were hiking through seemed to really enjoy it because of how rare it is for people to finish. That would be really cool to be able to tell people I completed it.”

Troop 3 information box
Meeting times: 7 p.m. each Monday
Location: First United Methodist Church of Land O’ Lakes
Address: 6209 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.

This year’s Appalachian Trail Hikers from Troop 3
Scouts            Adults
Will Leopold            Steve Mitchell
Collin Finch              Kurt Sturm
Emmanuel Cadavid     Dave Graves
Henry Van Petten       Todd Godfrey
Tim Godfrey             Dan Benoit
Alex Graves               Erin Finch
Sebastian King          Henry Landry
Justin Epplin
Sam Meinke
Robby Sturm
Ryan Benoit
Luc Benoit
Lyden Landry
Sam Anoff
Max Pierovich

By Kyle LoJacono

Zephyrhills City Councilman Manny Funes continues to question the 2008 job application of Zephyrhills Police Department (ZPD) Capt. Jeffrey McDougal.

Funes presented a 30-page report to the council on May 10 that he claims indicates McDougal did not disclose on his application that he had been a suspect in a criminal case 18 years ago.  Funes states in his report that he found documents that show McDougal was identified as a suspect.

“I just want the truth to come out,” Funes said.

When asked if he planned to review McDougal’s employment application, ZPD Police Chief David Shears said, “I’m not really going to comment on Mr. Funes’ comments. I think that’s come out and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Shears also declined to comment on another question on McDougal’s application probing motor vehicle violations that was left unanswered.
In previous investigative reports, McDougal admitted that he presented a signed document granting an easement for property adjacent to his own to a notary public to validate in 1992. The notary, Wade Thomas, was charged in the case because he did not witness the signatures as required by law, but no charges were ever lodged for McDougal’s involvement. Thomas successfully completed pre-trial intervention and avoided a trial.

Property owners Royce and Janet Mitchell said they believed the easement was being conveyed for the electric company, which would have been the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative. Instead it went to McDougal, who later returned the property by quitclaim deed when the Mitchells complained. The land in question is 5-feet wide by 157.37-feet long, about half the length of a football field.

The statue of limitations has expired, so McDougal cannot be charged in that incident. Funes maintains that McDougal was obligated to disclose his involvement when he applied to rejoin the ZPD because a department questionnaire requires applicants to disclose whether they have ever been a suspect or arrested in a criminal case.

Information about McDougal’s involvement in the easement case was contained in an anonymous letter delivered to City Hall earlier this year. City Manager Steve Spina said he investigated the information in the letter and found it was not worth pursuing.
The City Council concurred and a motion was passed to “cease and desist further discussion (or action) of this matter…nothing more nothing less” as introduced by councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson in response to a grievance submitted by McDougal.

Funes was the dissenting vote. After the meeting Funes said that he was uncertain about what he will do next.

City Council president Lance Smith said one of the reasons the council wanted to move past the issue is it had already been discussed at a previous meeting and the event happened 18 years ago.

“There’s no reason to drag up something that happened 18 years ago,” Smith said. “…I think it’s enough and he has a very good record as a city employee.”

Smith also said he did not want a lawsuit to result from Funes continuing to investigate. McDougal’s grievance against Funes contends the councilman’s actions have distracted him from doing his job and that the councilman slandered him.

“I don’t hold anything against Mr. Funes,” McDougal said after the vote. “I think he’s a good man. He’s an honorable man and I think he will listen to the council and they’ve given him direction. I’m satisfied with the results.”
After the meeting, Funes said of the result, “It’s what I anticipated…I think (the council) made up their mind, or that their mind was made up prior to the meeting and I think it’s unfortunate we didn’t have input from the public relative to what has taken place.”