Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Charter schools not immune to school budget cuts

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

Learning Gate Community School has been educating children from Hillsborough and Pasco counties since 2000, but its charter expires this June.Parents and students do not have to worry because charter schools like Learning Gate apply for extensions of their charters every few years and it seems likely the Lutz based institution will continue.

“I haven’t visited the school yet as part of its application for an extension, but I will soon,” said Susan Valdes, chairwoman for the Hillsborough school board. “I do know the parents love (Learning Gate) and the children are engaged. The school has a good record and I don’t see many negatives with it.”

Patti Girard has been Learning Gate’s principal since it was established.

“We opened the school because we felt we had a different approach to education with an environmental focus,” Girard said. “It started as a pre-kindergarten daycare in 1983 south of Lutz and today we have kids from kindergarten to eighth grade…We are applying for a 15-year extension, which is the longest we could ask for.”

Girard said she believes Learning Gate does a very good job preparing students for high school while keeping its environmental focus.

Valdes, who has been on the Hillsborough school board since 2004, said no extension can happen until Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia makes her recommendation on the school. The board will then vote on charter extension in either May or June.

“We’ve had to close some charter schools since I’ve been on the board and others did not have their charters extended,” Valdes said. “That’s usually because the school wasn’t doing right by the kids or because the school had funding issues.”

The Hillsborough school board has closed or not renewed the charter of 15 schools since 2001. There are 27 charter schools in Hillsborough this year and six more will be added for the 2010-11 school year.

Charter schools began in Florida in 1996 and they are in fact public schools. Unlike private schools, charters have to meet certain guidelines, such as performance on the Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

“Charter schools were established to give people choices for their children’s education,” Valdes said. “If people think they can do better at educating kids with similar funding we give them the option to start a charter school. They have to follow all of our standards, but it gives them freedom to teach the kids with a different focus and with different methods.”

Jenna Hodgens, supervisor of charter schools in Hillsborough, said charter schools’ public funding comes primarily from the number of students it has, also known as the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs). Charters schools receive $6,400 this school year for every FTE it has, but the number can change each year based on what the Florida Department of Education decides is most appropriate.

“The county keeps 5 percent of the money for each student for administrative costs,” Hodgens said. “Other than that schools can receive grants from companies and organizations and the parents of the schools can have fundraisers. Charter schools can’t charge anything for tuition like private schools can, so the parents usually have to get creative in doing fundraisers.”

This school year Learning Gate had 568 FTEs. It is the funding that most concerns many people at the school.

“Last year the per student funding went down a lot, something like the most it had in a decade,” said Marty Solomon, member of the Learning Gate board of directors. “It usually goes up with the price of living and it instead dropped. This is the most critical issue for all public schools. We’ve heard there might be a slight increase this year, but that was after last year’s major cut.”

The cut was between 6 and 10 percent from the previous year, but the exact amount was not available by press time.

“I’m confident the best schools will be able to educate our children,” Valdes said. “I support choices for families in education and charters schools are part of those options. We need to focus on the kids. My main focus is on helping them become productive citizens.”

Solomon, who is an attorney and volunteers on the school’s board, still sees the positives of the school despite the funding problems.

“It’s just a fantastic program at Learning Gate,” Solomon said. “It’s a gorgeous campus and has superb teachers and faculty. I think kids should be outside and the environmental focus of the school gets them outside. It teaches them to take care of the environment while learning.”

Once the school’s charter is taken care of, Learning Gate’s next step is expanding its program to include a high school.

“That’s still a little bit in the future,” Girard said. “Now we lose our kids after eighth grade, which is good in a way. They can experience a different school setting, but we’d like to keep them through high school.”

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

Most teenagers in high school spend their free time hanging out with friends, but Shelby Thompson from Wesley Chapel volunteers to help children with autism and raises money for cancer research.

It is Thompson’s fourth year as a team captain for the The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The event will be at Wesley Chapel High School May 7 and 8. She has already raised $1,699 making her a Star Supporter of the Relay.

“It is my sixth year doing the Relay,” Thompson said. “My Nene (grandmother) was diagnosed with cancer four years ago. My family and I all wanted to help. I think it is a great way to help raise awareness and to help people.”

Betty Border, Thompson’s grandmother, was diagnosed with colon cancer but is in complete remission for two years. Thompson said she will be walking the survivor lap with her and her sister, Lynzie, and her mom Sandy because they were all caregivers.

Her team is called the Extreme Teens and is made up of her, her sister, her parents Sandy and Alex and five other teens. She has raised the money for the Relay through several fundraisers including restaurant nights, asking for donations in front of Publix and sending letters to friends and family who then send them on to their friends and family. The team has raised $2,100 with a goal of raising $2,500.

“Since the theme is 50 states for a cure, I am trying to get money from all 50 states,” Thompson said. “I like to read about witches so we chose the state of Massachusetts and our theme is the Salem Witch Trials.”

It is not enough to just raise money to fight cancer, she is also involved with helping children with autism. She is a peer volunteer at Watergrass Elementary School.
“I work with the special needs kids on Tuesday and Thursday,” Thompson said. “I help with snack and do crafts with them. I love it because their faces light up when they see me. It is so rewarding. I love those little guys.”

In December, Thompson won third place for her age group in the St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Kids are Heroes program. She said it was a surprise and an honor.

Stephanie Watts, staff partner for the Wesley Chapel High School Relay for Life, nominated Thompson for the Kids are Heroes award because she deserves the recognition.

“She is a stellar young lady and has a lot of potential to do amazing things in this world,” Watts said. “She has done so much for the community and she is such a giving person. She doesn’t do the good work for any purpose except to give back.”

Thompson volunteered at the Special Olympics for the last three years, because she loves how excited the kids get.

“I go with the school I am volunteering at and I just stay with the kids to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to,” Thompson said. “The kids get so excited because they get to be with kids like them. They get to interact with each other in friendly competition. I love cheering them on and seeing them smile.”

Thompson also volunteers in Susan Fischer’s fifth-grade class every Wednesday at Watergrass because she wants to someday be a teacher.

“Ever since I was little I wanted to be a teacher,” Thompson said. “I get to work with them with crafts and help to grade papers. I also sometimes get to help teach the class.”

Thompson decided when she was only 3-years-old that she wanted to be a teacher. Her mother said she used to try to get her 1-year-old sister to sit down so she could teach her things.

“When she was little, she would sit with her sister and show her flash cards,” Sandy Thompson said. “She always would try to make her sit and read with her.”

Not only is Thompson very involved in the community, she also finds the time to be an exceptional student. Her grade point average is 4.19 and she is a member of the high school’s Interact Club, which is through the Rotary, and a member of the National Honor Society. Through the community service club, she has helped to sign up people for blood drives and gift-wrapped presents at Barnes & Noble during Christmas.

Her favorite thing to do is read. She said she loves to read science fiction, fantasy and youth.

“I am always reading,” Thompson said. “I think reading is better than movies, because I can use my imagination. When I read something I can picture it how I want. There are so many details in the books and you can learn so much from reading.”

Thompson also recently found out she is the student of the month for Wesley Chapel High School.

“I think she is awesome,” Sandy Thompson said. “I am very proud of her. She puts her heart out there. She would rather help people then go out with her friends.”

For more information about the Wesley Chapel High School relay, visit www.relayforlife.org/wesleychapelfl.

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

Karen Bowser and her pet cockatoo Lucy have a relationship best summed up by four little words.

“When I walk into a room Lucy says,  ‘I love you Karen,’ “Bowser said. “Parrots have an amazing way of getting inside your heart.”

Bowser and her husband became parrot parents for the first time a few years ago, when they got Pina, a blue crown conure. They have since became fosters with Florida Parrot Rescue and adopted Lucy and Gremlin, an African Congo grey. The couples’ Land O’ Lakes home is an avian paradise, complete with parrot playgrounds and free-fly zones.

“When we got Pina, it was love at first sight,” Bowser said. “Parrots all have different personalities and they are so smart. That’s why we got involved with the rescue, to make sure these intelligent beautiful birds have a home.”

Florida Parrot Rescue founders Jennifer and Chris Underwood work to save abandoned, injured and discarded birds throughout Tampa Bay areas. The rescue brought in more than 200 birds in the last year, from finches to macaws.

“We currently have about 110 in rescue,” Jennifer Underwood said. “We are seeing an increased amount of job losses and foreclosures, where people can’t take care of their birds.”

Underwood manages Country Chase Veterinary Hospital in Tampa and works with neglected birds on a regular basis. She is careful when choosing adoptive parents for her rescues.

“We require an adoption application as well as a home inspection,” she said. “We want to make sure people realize the time and commitment it takes to own a bird. Some of these birds can live up to 90 years old.”

Bowser had no problem meeting the Underwood’s criteria.

“We’ve set things up so the birds can be successful and happy,” Bowser said. “In many ways, they are still wild animals. They don’t want to just be put in a cage.”

She allows her birds to fly freely throughout the house when she is home. When she goes to work, she puts them in large enclosures. She even has a screened in patio where the birds can enjoy the outdoors.

“We had a foster bird named Chi-Chi,” Bowser said. “We helped take care of her until she found an adoptive home. We encourage anyone who has a bird and can’t take care of it to surrender it to the rescue, so we can take care of them and find them a place.”

Bowser is the first to admit parrot parenting is hard work. She describes Pina as feisty, independent and funny with a blue head and green feathers. Gremlin is loving, talkative and playful. Lucy is solid white but is the most colorful personality wise. She is the noisemaker.

“She is very loud and very large,” Bowser said. “Sometimes her decibel level can be like a plane taking off. She’s had five owners before us.”

Noise is a common complaint among parrot owners. Many cannot handle the stress and give the animals away. Behavioral problems are often an issue.

“Parrots do have needs and when those needs aren’t met, they can develop behavioral disorders,” Underwood said. “I personally only have one bird because we have a very busy household and I don’t feel as though I can commit myself to more than one.”

Underwood’s African grey, Nikki, lives alongside an English Pointer, beagle and two cats.

“He is very intelligent and independent,” Underwood said.

Bowser is constantly amazed by her birds’ growing vocabularies.

“Gremlin can mimic any sound,” Bowser said. “Pina likes to try and sing with me.”

Bowser said parrots can be difficult and expensive. They enjoy attention and sometimes scream to get it. They require yearly shots, which can cost about $500.

Still, she can’t imagine life without the flutter of colorful wings passing overhead.

“Once a parrot bonds with you, they love you for life” Bowser said.

For information on Florida Parrot Rescue and how to adopt, call (813) 516-1759 or visit floridaparrotrescue.com. The organization is also looking for volunteers and fosters.

Russell Adams reflects on 40 years in Land O’ Lakes

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

Russell Adams sold his first lot in Lake Padgett Estates in 1966. At the time, there were only two houses in the Land O’ Lakes neighborhood. More than 40 years later, Adams remains one of the most recognizable names in Central Pasco County real estate.

“Back then there wasn’t even a stop light at 54 and 41,” Adams said. “I sold that lot for $4,300.”

Adams works out of his office on Land O’ Lakes Blvd., with 25 realtors, including his son, Cody. Russell Adams Realty handles commercial, residential and industrial properties.

“Real estate is a rewarding business,” Cody said. “You just have to have the nerve to master the income ups and downs.”

In recent years, the Adams’ have witnessed major changes in the real estate market.

“The business has changed,” Adams said. “In the last three or four years we’ve been more than realtors. We’ve been crisis counselors (to those with homes in foreclosure) but the market is becoming more stable again. I can see it taking a positive turn.”

For Adams, the real-estate business is about community and family. He has a fondness for Land O’ Lakes that led him and wife, Maureen, to raise their two children in the area. Through the years, Adams has made friends throughout town and been involved with community service projects. He has seen big surges in development, some positive and some negative.

“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “I thought the area would be zoned as more of a country area. I used to sell residential lots close to ½ acre, now there are four-foot lots all over.”

Cody remembers growing up in a less-populated Land O’ Lakes. He loved playing in the backyard at his Lake Padgett home, where the Adams lived for 30 years.

Cody said he went into real estate because his dad always made it look fun and interesting. The father and son joke that Cody showed his first house at 5-years-old.

“He went through the house and said, this is the kitchen, this is the living room,” Adams said. “He was a born salesman.”

When Cody went to work for his dad in 1996, Land O’ Lakes was still considered to be off the beaten path. Now, he said, it is a suburban city.

“After this census, the demographic of Land O’ Lakes is going to change,” he said. “It probably won’t be classified as a rural area anymore.”

Adams is optimistic about the new growth.

“Land O’ Lakes has maintained a lot of charm,” he said. “It’s a great place to live and I think it will be for many years to come.”

Maureen Adams was surprised by how quickly the community grew.

“I remember when we lived here in the 1970s and they were talking about widening 41,” she said. “It took forever for things to happen back then. Then, a few years ago, everything grew so fast. The growth brought a lot more rooftops to the area, which brought a lot more commercial chains. It’s changed the dynamic of the area but it’s been a good thing.”

Maureen was also born into the world of commission-based sales. Her father was a salesman. So, when she married Russell in the 1970s she was ready to handle the evolving world of real estate.

“It’s sales,” she said. “You live with the ups and downs.”

Maureen is thrilled her son decided to continue with the family business.

“Cody learns from his dad’s expertise and he brings a new perspective to the business because of his age,” Maureen said. “They get along well and they both love sales.”

Father and son have lunch together everyday. They discuss work and chat about things like golf. Cody will eventually take over the business.

Still, Adams said he doesn’t feel old and has no plans of retiring anytime soon.

“I’m here for as long as it’s fun and it’s still fun,” he said.

Every now and again he is reminded of how many years he has been in business.

“You know you’re getting old when they’re naming schools after people who were your buddies,” he said, referencing Charles Rushe and John Long. “My goodness, the friends we’ve made through this business.”

Adams credits the people around him with his long-term success. His daughter Mary, also remains in Land O’ Lakes where she works as a full-time nanny.

“So many people have helped me along the way, friends, family and people in the business,” Adams said. “It’s been a real blessing and it’s great working with my son. He keeps it fun.”

Questions about real estate, contact Russell Adams at (813) 949-3603.

By Sarah Whitman

Senior Staff Writer

Contemporary Christian music echoes through the halls at the Zephyrhills YMCA Sunday mornings. It is the sound of New Walk Church, a radically different place of worship where the pastor wears faded jeans and the choir is a rock band.

That doesn’t change the fact New Walk has one purpose: to spread the message of Jesus Christ.

“Our church has a casual style but we are serious about our faith,” said Gary Baldus, lead pastor. “We feel there are a lot of barriers in the traditional church like dress code. We eliminate those barriers so that God can change peoples’ hearts.”

New Walk opened in October 2006. Galdus, formerly youth pastor at Cross Light Church, was approached by the General Baptist denomination about starting a contemporary church in Zephyrhills. He accepted the challenge without hesitation.

“I lived in the community and felt there was a need for a church that would be different,” Galdus said.

The church, sponsored by General Baptist, opened with 200 seats and 80 attendees. Today, more than 800 people attend services each week, making it one of the largest Zephyrhills churches. The congregation is made up of all ages, from children to seniors.

Dianne Mcinerney, 58, is excited to be a part of New Walk.

“It’s a joy to wake up and realize it’s Sunday, because we get to go to church,” she said. “I have lovely memories of my time in traditional churches but I don’t want to dwell there. I want to be a part of what is contemporary in this day. That is New Walk.”

New Walk’s 11-person staff is made up of believers age 21 to 52. Jacob Hill, 21, is the church’s worship pastor. He helped start the church in 2006, when he was only 17.

“I was living in Missouri and was leading worship at my church there when I was approached by General Baptist about moving to Florida,” he said. “I had to ask my parents. I thought they’d say no way are you moving across the country but we all took a trip to Zephyrhills and my parents said they thought it was the place I was supposed to be.”

Hill sings and plays guitar, mastering worship hits by artists like Chris Tomlin and Brandon Heath. His blonde-streaked hair and torn jeans aren’t the typical church uniform. He isn’t concerned about appearances. It’s all about the music.

“The music we play is what you hear on Christian radio,” Hill said. “It’s very, well, some people call it cool. It’s all about God. Jesus said, ‘Sing unto me a new song,’ and that it is what we’re about.”

Hill and Galdus reject the idea that contemporary churches like New Walk present a watered-down version of Christianity.

“It’s a misconception some traditional churches have,” Galdus said. “They see a church like ours growing quickly and think, well it must not be about Jesus. Anybody that comes to New Walk knows it’s all about God from the time you walk in.”

Brent Wernsing is media director for the church. He designs graphics for Sunday services and for marketing campaigns. He started as a member in 2007. He and wife, Christine, were looking for a church geared toward a younger generation. When Wernsing saw he could wear shorts and a ball cap to New Walk, he was convinced.

“What first attracted me was the music and the messages were relevant to my life,” he said.

Galdus, a married father of two, doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like pornography, greed and marital problems.

“With me, nothing is off the table,” he said. “I talk about what some churches are scared to talk about.”

Mcinerney said the messages are inspiring.

“They are about living the walk not just on Sundays but throughout the week,” she said.

The church’s current sermon series is called “Divided.”

“It’s about how there is saying you’re a Christian and then there’s actually living like a Christian,” Hill said. “It’s about fully coming to Christ. I invite anyone who thinks we are just a feel-good church to listen to this series.”

Galdus attributes the growth at New Walk to the church’s no-nonsense approach. He said the church attracts all types because it doesn’t require people to fit a certain mold. He sees the seniors dancing alongside 20somethings and smiles.

“We drive people to the next step and challenge them to grow as Christians,” he said. “When you look at scripture, at who Jesus hung around with and how he was dressed, Jesus came to break down all the rules and to build a bridge to God.”

For information on New Walk Church visit www.mynewalk.com. Service times are 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and noon Sundays at the Zephyrhills YMCA, 37301 Chapel Hill Loop.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

While looking for the perfect location for his new restaurant, David Zeng did a lot of research before he decided Wesley Chapel was the place to open his fifth Super Buffet.

The new restaurant opened at the end of March and is his second in the Tampa Bay area with the other location in Seminole.

“I came and looked around and did research,” Zeng said. “I thought it would be good to open a restaurant here because it is a newly developed area without many Asian restaurants.”

The restaurant offers a variety of food including dishes from China, Japan, Korea, Italy and America. The Chinese food is Cantonese-style, which is the most popular in America.

It serves 200 dishes with the menu changing daily. Some of the regular dishes include sesame chicken, General Tso’s chicken, crab legs, sushi and seafood.

The restaurant also serves Mongolian Barbecue where there is a bar full of fresh vegetables and top quality meat. Customers can pick and choose what they want and then a chef will cook it hibachi-style right in front of them.

Zeng brings his experience as a cook in China before moving to the U. S. 12 years ago. He said he always makes sure he is serving the best quality dishes.

“I summarized all my years of restaurant experience,” Zeng said. “We serve all different types of food for all different people.”

Paul Tew works at Wesley Chapel Toyota. He said he will definitely be back and he will also recommend it to others.

“I like that they have a big variety of food,” Tew said. “I also like the flavor of the sauces. The General Tso’s chicken and the sesame chicken were great.”

The restaurant serves lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and dinner Monday through Thursday and Sunday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m.

The restaurant also offers buffet to take out for lunch and dinner. For more information, call (813) 907-1168 or visit the restaurant at 28444 Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Wesley Chapel.

By Suzanne Schmidt

Staff Writer

Right at Home, an in-home care service, received The Joint Commission’s Golden Seal of Approval in January.

The seal is internationally recognized as a symbol of quality that reflects a commitment to meeting the safest and highest quality of performance standards.

The accreditation is something the owner Tino Suarez decided to do because he wants to ensure he is providing the best quality to his clients.

“It guarantees quality and safety,” Suarez said. “There are 400 Right at Home offices throughout the U.S. and we are the second to have the accreditation, that is how important it is to me.”

Suarez said he is in the business to help people. The Plant City-based business provides services to Zephyrhills, Dade City, Wesley Chapel, New Tampa and Tampa. Most of the people the company helps have either dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

“The first thing we do is an assessment,” Suarez said. “We have an office manager who will visit the person at home at no cost. We define what the client needs.”

The service is provided from as little as four hours a day to 24 hours a day seven days a week.

According to Suarez, there are two kinds of in-home care. There are the registries and there are the companies like his that have all their caregivers as employees.

“All my caregivers are licensed, insured and bonded,” Suarez said. “We do rigorous background checks so that we make sure the person we have coming into people’s homes are safe. All our caregivers have to do monthly studies to keep up with their certifications.”

The two types of care the service provides are companion and personal.

Through the companion care, clients receive help with meal preparation, shopping, running errands, light housekeeping and supervision.

The personal care is more medical where clients receive help with transfers, positioning, taking vitals, skin care, ambulation and toileting.

“Improving the quality of life, that is what it is about,” Suarez said.

Suarez was inspired to start the in-home care business because he had to put his mother Mimi Suarez in a nursing home.

“My mother needed assistance and I was working full-time,” Suarez said. “I was trying to sandwich my life between work and taking care of my parents and my family. I relied on the nurse who told me to put her in assisted living. It would have been a big help if I would have known about in-home care.”

Suarez said he is always trying to make sure his clients are well taken care of.

“Every week the office manager here writes a report,” Suarez said. “We try to put a human value to it. It is more than a business to me.”

In order to make sure the families are receiving the help they need, Saurez said he makes sure someone is answering the phone all day everyday.

“We do not have an answering service,” Suarez said. “We make sure there is a real person answering the phone 24/7. If someone is calling their mother and she is not answering, they can call us to send over a caregiver. You can’t put a price on that level of care.”

Kristen Devane, caregiver, said she likes to help people out.

“I assist where I am needed,” Devane said. “I will move a hot pot for them or reach up high for an item for them. I do whatever she needs to have done.”

Ann Ravnikar of Plant City enjoys the help she receives from Devane.

“Everything she does is just great,” Ravnikar said. “She helps us with the cooking and the cleaning. She also will go to the grocery store or pick up my prescriptions.”

For more information, call (813) 764-9290 or visit www.right-at-home-pc.com.