Special to The Laker/Lutz News

John Hagen addresses Wesley Chapel chamber

By Steve Lee

Staff Writer

WESLEY CHAPEL — Unity, marketing and taking bold risks in a troubled economy were the highlights of remarks made by the new president of the Pasco Economic Development Council to about 40 members of the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.

John Hagen spoke Jan. 5 during a breakfast meeting at Saddlebrook Resort. It was his first public speaking engagement since becoming president of the Pasco EDC in December. Hagen previously held a similar position in suburban Phoenix.

Coming off a year plagued by double-digit unemployment and painful declines in the housing and construction industries, Hagen fostered hope by outlining a new initiative called “New Pasco.”

He highlighted the initiative’s six-point plan, which uses strategies to develop leadership, talent, workforce and products that foster economic growth. Its overall theme is “locally united, globally competitive,” Hagen said.

“I’m here really to execute it, and hopefully add to it in some way,” Hagen said of the imitative. “I love things that are new — it’s almost as good as free. We’re trying to change our community here.”

As for the immediate future, the county’s economic outlook is expected to improve by two companies that can be defined as “locally united, globally competitive.”

T. Rowe Price is building a 450,000-square-foot financial planning facility for 1,600 employees on SR 54 near the Suncoast Parkway. Dias Analytic, a high-tech corporation that helps improve air quality and reduce energy costs, plans to hire 1,000 workers after landing a $200 million contract from a firm in China.

“We’re trying to keep the best (things) we’ve done here and trying to change the things that are new and make them better,” Hagen said. “There’s a lot of neat stuff on the drawing board and it’s going to change the way people look at us.”

While most of Hagen’s observations were general and countywide, he did offer some initial impression on the Land O’ Lakes-Wesley Chapel area.

“I actually am real excited about that corridor,” Hagen said. “We have a great transportation link there, and that is a great start. I’d love to see some of the newer developments.”

Residential and commercial developments line SR 54 and the newer SR 56. And though the intersecting I-75 is congested during peak travel periods, road expansions are under way at both exits.

Hagen said that road expansions, new and improved businesses and getting residential developments back on track are the primary objectives of the EDC.

“People are going to be attracted by the success that you have here,” Hagen told chamber members.

Those interested in sewing can share ideas and learn from each other

By Ashley Reams

News Editor

PASCO COUNTY — When Caroline de Fontaine-Stratton was 8 years old, she pointed to a dress in a picture and told her grandmother that she wanted it.

Within a few days, de Fontaine-Stratton had the dress, but it didn’t come from a store. Her grandmother had made it for her.

“I just thought it was neat that you could just do it yourself,” de Fontaine-Stratton said.

Since then, de Fontaine-Stratton, now 35, had always wanted to learn how to sew. The only problem was she never had the opportunity. That changed about a year ago, when a sewing club formed in Pasco County.

The club, which is sponsored by the Pasco County Extension Family & Consumer Sciences program, meets on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Women’s Building at the Pasco County Fairgrounds in Dade City. It’s not a structured class; instead it offers people of all ages the chance to spend time with others who like to sew and learn from each other.

“It’s open to anybody who has an interest in sewing,” said Betsy Crisp, Pasco’s Family & Consumer Sciences extension agent.

The Extension Office recently bought seven new sewing machines with donations from the community, and this equipment is available for use during the club meetings. Participants can also bring their own machines, Crisp said. There is no fee to join the group.

The club has about 14 members of various ages, and an average of six to eight people show up to the meetings. They practice sewing and other fiber arts, including: knitting; crocheting; quilting; cross stitching; felting; loom weaving; fabric painting and dying; and more.

“This group tries to address them all,” said Jim Dennison, who leads the group with Amy Greif. “We’re a fiber arts club, not just a sewing club.”

Dennison and Greif came up with the idea for the club while working together in the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s Office. They both shared a common interest in fiber arts, and people would ask them how to sew.

“We said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had a club that taught people how to do these things?’” said Dennison, who is now retired.

“There’s something about being together in a group where you can mentor one another,” Greif said.

Dennison got into sewing when he was 9 years old. To keep him out of trouble, his grandmother would make him sit with her, balling up flour sack string or cutting out patches for quilts.

Eventually, Dennison’s grandmother showed him how to single crochet and double crochet. Once you learn those stitches, he said, you can make just about anything.

Dennison acknowledged that he is the only man in the sewing group, and he said he hopes that more men will join the club.

“People forget that all sewing — aside from decorative sewing — was done by men before the Industrial Revolution,” he said, pointing out that gender roles associated with the craft have switched throughout history.

Caroline de Fontaine-Stratton joined the group soon after it formed. She went from knowing absolutely nothing about sewing to threading and running a sewing machine, choosing the proper width of stitches depending on the material, using a serger to finish off ends so they don’t unravel, cutting and measuring, matching different fabrics, and quilting.

“From the first day, there was a woman there that showed me how to thread the machine,” she said.

de Fontaine-Stratton is now putting the skills she’s learned to practical use. She’s made pillowcases from hand-embroidered fabrics from the 1940s and 50s, and she’s started making quilts.

She said the best part about being in the group is sharing concepts with other members.

“There’s always an exchange of information and ideas from people,” she said. “We have a lot of fun.”

If you go

What: Pasco Extension Family and Consumer Sciences program’s sewing club

Where: Women’s Building, Pasco County Fairgrounds, 36702 SR 52, Dade City

When: second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

More information: Betsy Crisp, (352) 521-4288

Three years since Land O’ Lakes teen died in car crash

By Steve Lee

Staff Writer

LAND O’ LAKES — A few tears flowed at a cemetery gathering in remembrance of a Land O’ Lakes teen who died three years ago. But the mood on Dec. 30 was anything but somber when family and friends celebrated what would have been Krista Sellars’ 17^th birthday. They shared stories and plenty of laughs at the Trinity Gardens gravesite.

“We’ve spent enough down time,” said Cathi Schmidt, Sellars’ mother. “I can hear her now. ‘Oh, c’mon. Get over it.’ She would not want anyone to be sad.”

Friends of Sellars, who was killed in a car accident on Jan. 9, 2007, just days after turning 14, have gotten together each year since on her birthday to share memories.

Bags of food from Moe’s Southwest Grill — Sellars’ favorite — served as centerpiece of a human circle on the grass in front of her headstone. Schmidt and Felicia Greer, Schmidt’s mother and Sellars’ grandmother, smiled as they listened to classmates recount the good times they had with their departed daughter and granddaughter.

“It says to me that she made some great choices in her life,” said Schmidt of her daughter, her eyes scanning the circle of teens. “It makes my heart feel good. I have an angel and a million kids here.”

Best friend, Caty Logrono, looked at a portrait of Sellars and herself engraved in the lower left corner of the granite headstone.

“That’s probably my favorite one of us,” said Logrono of the photo of herself and Sellars taken when both were eighth-graders at Pine View Middle. “That was a fun day. We got all ready to take pictures and put on makeup and stuff.” Today Logrono is a senior at Land O’ Lakes High.

Some in the circle described the blonde Sellars as “bubbly and upbeat.”

“She was the kind of person that no matter what mood you were in, she’d put a smile on your face,” said Ryan Conigliaro, a freshman at the University of Central Florida. “And she was great at giving advice.”

Like dozens of teens, longtime friend Andrew Krouse, a freshman at Pasco-Hernando Community College, has come to Sellars’ annual “birthday” celebration every year since she died.

“She’s still here right now,” Krause said. “Look at the impact she had. We’re still here together because of her.”

…..

On Jan. 9, 2007, Sellars was a passenger in a Toyota coupe driven by boyfriend Joshua Parsons, traveling north on U.S. 41 just south of Land O’ Lakes High. The car smashed into the back of a pickup truck and Sellars, tiny at just 85 pounds, died at the scene. Parsons, who was never charged by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, suffered minor injuries.

Sellars was a popular student at Pine View Middle, a cheerleader and student council member.

“I have learned a lot through her,” Parsons said of his former girlfriend at the gravesite gathering. “I remember her telling me what doesn’t destroy you strengthens you.”

Former Pine View principal Dave Estabrook said teachers expressed disbelief when he told them of the fatal crash, especially Sellars’ favorite teachers, Tina Stavrou and the late George Bastable, who died last July.

“It was quite a time at Pine View as far as the ill effects it had at the school,” Estabrook said. “She was a great kid. She was very positive. She had great relations with everybody.”

For nearly three years, a memorial on U.S. 41 marked the spot of the fatal accident. Recently, however, it was taken down due to road construction.

“I don’t go by it,” Schmidt said of that painful reminder of the place where her daughter died.

The memorial was taken care of by Sellars’ many friends. Over the years it displayed white or pink crosses with wooden or medal signs in tribute to the much-loved teen. And always there were flowers and photos of the girl who would forever be 14 from friends who would never forget her.

The Krista Marie Sellars Memorial Scholarship Fund awarded its first scholarships last April to Shelby Smith and Melany Ospina. The Land O’ Lakes High graduates received full scholarships to a Florida college or university.

To raise money for the memorial fund, a golf tourney is planned for June 17 at Tampa Palms Country Club. To sponsor a hole, make a donation or to play in the four-person, best-ball scramble, call (813) 569-8697.

Poem

Krista Marie

By Caitlin Logrono

On wings of an angel, away she flies
Her smile forever in my head and heart,
Though she stays close, she is up in the skies,
Earned her wings and a halo, when we did part
Now free as a bird, through clouds she soars.
A glimpse of her face I sometimes will catch,
As she whispers, “Best friend, I’m always yours.”
My angel, the words could not better match.
My guide and my hope, she never has left me.
My dim light at the end of that long hall,
Keeps me thinking there is so much I could be.
Still she saves me when I’m ready to fall.
An angel for sure, her friendship I cherish.
Though she is gone, our bond will never perish.

DADE CITY — About 300 soldiers and their families enjoyed dinner and entertainment Sept. 11 at the Pasco County Fairgrounds to thank and send their farewells to the G Company 53rd BSB FSC Field Artillery National Guard Unit from Dade City that soon ships out overseas.

Charley Belcher of Fox 13 was master of ceremonies of the event, which took place on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite was among the dignitaries present, as were Pasco County Commission Chairman Jack Mariano and Dade City Mayor Scott Black.

“It is rather fitting that on 9/11 that we have this event,” Brown-Waite said. “We should never forget that there are terrorists out there who want to destroy our way of life. I can’t wait to welcome you home, each and every one of you.”

Unit Commander Travis L. Johnson made remarks considering the Sept. 11 attacks and the unit’s readiness. He presented plaques to the dinner’s host, The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, and to chamber member Missy Lee for her leadership in planning the salute to the soldiers.

Sites, builders to be reconsidered

By Steve Lee

Sports Editor

WESLEY CHAPEL — Pasco County Commissioners planned on fine-tuning details for a multi-sport athletic facility in Trinity later this month, but things have changed with the recent pullout by Sportsplex USA.

Now, a one-site proposition could turn into two locations on each side of the county. Starkey Ranch in Odessa and New River Township in Wesley Chapel were among other initial proposals.

Commissioners also could seek new bids for a project to utilize up to $11 million in tourist development dollars earmarked for an athletic complex.

“I was surprised after the meeting we had,” said Pat Mulieri, chairperson of the commission. “I felt like (the Sportsplex project) was going to go.”

Mulieri planned to research Cal Ripken Youth Baseball, a national organization named after the Hall of Famer that promotes tournaments and builds facilities.

Commissioners will discuss the project’s future at its Jan. 12 meeting at 10 a.m. in Dade City. Mulieri said the county spent $60,000 for Sportsplex to return with a site analysis and appear at two public hearings. No contract was signed, she added.

Animosity was prevalent at the December meeting, with several county residents and proponents of competing sites speaking out against the Sportsplex project that called for four baseball/softball fields and a restaurant/pub.

Jack Mariano was the most outspoken commissioner, questioning several points of the Sportsplex proposal and pushing for an expansion of Arthur Engle Field in Hudson.

In a Dec. 28 letter addressed to Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher, Sportsplex Chairman Paul Berghoff wrote, “From the negative newspaper articles to the diverse individual efforts trying to impact or derail the project, it appears abundantly clear to me that we need to step back.”

In hindsight, Mulieri, who represents central Pasco as the District 2 commissioner, said she should have called for a vote at the December meeting.

“You have to make a decision and let it go,” she said.

The next decision could lead to revisiting sites in Odessa and Wesley Chapel, among others. Mulieri all but ruled out Starkey Ranch, estimating that it would cost about $1 million for land upgrades.

New River Township, just west of Zephyrhills, remains in the running primarily for its public-private partnership with developers of that residential community willing to fund a portion of the project.

“We’re still open to that,” said Eric Marks, the senior vice president of New River Partners who would not disclose how much money his company would invest. “We continue to be interested in a partnership with the county.”

“He’s a very generous man,” Mulieri said of Marks, adding that his firm was “willing, at one point, to building it and leasing it back to us.”

A potential drawback to the New River site is that an athletic complex would be built within the development rather than along its SR 54 frontage.

“One of the problems with that site is it wouldn’t be visible from the main road,” Mulieri said.

Unlike plans for a tennis center at Saddlebrook that fell though in 2009, commissioners are not ready to give up on the multi-sports project just yet.

“I don’t think it’s a lost cause, but I think it’s something where the board has to make a decision,” Mulieri said. “I think it’s time to fish or cut bait.”

Snake expert explains what to do if bitten

By Ashley Reams Dunn

News Editor

LAND O’ LAKES — Trent Spanos walked along a concrete path in his Ballantrae neighborhood off SR 54, his miniature lab, Minnie, on a leash ahead of him.

Minnie walked along the edge of the grass and stopped suddenly. She didn’t yelp, but Spanos said he could tell something was wrong.

As he took a closer look at Minnie, he noticed a bite mark on her snout. Something in the grass caught his attention. It was a 5-foot cottonmouth water moccasin.

“The moccasin also had ideas of striking me, as it stayed in the reared-up striking position,” Spanos said.

He quickly got himself and Minnie away from the snake, and then looked down at Minnie’s snout again.

“The blood just started flowing,” he said.

According to the Pasco County Cooperative Extension, cottonmouth moccasins are found throughout Florida in wetlands and waterways. They occasionally wander far from water, and have been found in bushes and trees.

The snake’s bite can be extremely dangerous, according to the Extension. Anyone — person or animal — who is bitten should get immediate medical care from a doctor or veterinarian experienced in treating snakebites.

“Immediate attention — that’s key,” said Jim Mendenhall, a Spring Hill snake expert, who owns Squamata Reptiles and travels around the state giving educational lectures on snakes. He puts on a snake show every year at the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival.

A venomous snakebite is extremely painful, Mendenhall said. Anyone bit by a water moccasin would feel an immediate burning sensation and see immediate swelling and discoloration around the bite. Then, the tissue starts to dissolve.

If a venomous snake bites you, your child or your pet, the first thing you should do is stay calm, Mendenhall said. This will slow the spread of venom through the body.

“Keep them as quiet as possible, keep them relaxed,” he said. “Try to keep that adrenaline down.”

Then, call a physician or veterinarian immediately to see if they have anti-venom available. It’s the best way to treat a bite, but there’s currently a shortage, Mendenhall said.

Spanos rescues and fosters dogs on a regular basis. He’s had 3-year-old Minnie since she was a puppy.

“She’s a good dog,” he said.

But the 23-pound pooch was fading fast after being bitten on Dec. 21. She was bleeding heavily, and her face and head were beginning to swell.

Spanos carried Minnie into his house and called a local veterinarian, who referred him to an emergency room doctor. Fortunately for Minnie, anti-venom was available. She has also been taking Benadryl, steroids and an antibiotic. She couldn’t open her mouth for a while because it was so swollen.

“She’s doing extremely well now, but it was touch and go for a while,” Spanos said.

“I prayed hard for her, and that was like a little Christmas present,” he added.

Now, he said he’s hoping to raise awareness about the presence of snakes near local homes. He said his neighbors have also seen water moccasins around their houses.

“There’s certainly a watch out here,” Spanos said. “People in the neighborhood need to know, and it’s not just this neighborhood.”

What to do if you, your child or your pet is bitten by a venomous snake:

1) Stay calm. Keeping the adrenaline down helps slow the flow of venom through the body.

2) Seek medical help immediately. The sooner the bite is treated, the better the recovery.

Source: Jim Mendenhall, Squamata Reptiles, (352) 683-9827 or (352) 200-9611

Public meeting is Jan. 6

By Steve Lee

Staff Writer

NEW TAMPA — As if it were not crowded enough, the main thoroughfare through New Tampa, which connects Pasco County commuters to residential and commercial developments in northern Hillsborough, is about to get a whole lot busier.

Construction delays and shifts in traffic patterns will soon be the norm on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard thanks to a road-widening project from four to eight lanes that is expected to last through the spring of 2013.

Funded by state and federal grants, the first two (B and C) of four phases begin soon after a public meeting on Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Wharton High cafeteria. The school is located at 20120 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

“We’re coming out just to provide an update for the project and to let (the public) know what to expect during construction,” said Patrick Murray, of the Hillsborough County communications department.

Public Works spokesman Steve Valdez said traffic counts currently are at 60,000 daily vehicle trips. That road was widened from two to four lanes in 1988 with numerous turn lanes and an overpass at I-75 added since.

Phases B and C call for widening to take place from Palm Springs Boulevard to Pebble Creek Drive. They are part of a plan to convert the road into eight lanes from Bearss Avenue to SR 54 in Wesley Chapel.

“We’ve got a four-lane divided highway that we’re going to be widening,” said Valdez, adding that the project “will last for approximately 1,000 days.”

Aside from the roadwork, plans call for landscaped medians, various turn lanes, bus bays, a sidewalk on the west side of the road and an asphalt path on the east side.

The first two phases of the project will cost $30 million, which came in about $10 million under budget.

“We came in under the estimate, and we can thank the economy for that,” Valdez said.

Similar costs below estimates are expected for phases A and D, Valdez noted.

Phase A, which will cover Bearss Avenue north to Tampa Palms, is currently projected at $104 million.

Phase D will extend from County Line Road to SR 54 in Wesley Chapel. Valdez said that part could cost closer to $30 million than the projected $40 million.

Main Street Zephyrhills has big plans for the centennial celebration

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

ZEPHYRHILLS — A city can only turn 100 years old once, and Zephyrhills is making the most of its chance.

“I think its something you need to celebrate,” Zephyrhills Mayor Cliff McDuffie said of the anniversary. “One hundred years is special. That goes back to even before I was born.”

McDuffie was born in 1934 and has been the mayor for eight years.

While events will be happening all year to celebrate the centennial, Main Street Zephyrhills Inc. has planned several major events for the occasion.

“The city was founded on March 10, 1910,” said Brenda Welcher, executive director for MSZI. “We will be unveiling a logo to the public on Jan. 11, which will be hung on lampposts in downtown Zephyrhills after that. We’ll also be having an even bigger Founder’s Day Celebration then ever before.”

The celebration will be March 13 and 14 in downtown Zephyrhills. There will be music, a memory wall with newspaper articles and pictures from the past, an archeological dig at one of the first houses built in Zephyrhills, and a flyover by airplanes from the Zephyrhills Airport. The highlight of the event is the parade on March 13.

“The theme this year is ‘Celebration of Generations,’” Welcher said. “Each float will feature a decade from 1910 to now. Floats are still available and people can sign up for them at www.mainstreetzephyrhills.org. All the rules about float sizes are there too.”

Welcher said the public can nominate people as the parade’s grand marshal by e-mailing her at . Nominations should include the nominees name, phone number, e-mail address and why they should be the grand marshal.

There will also be a tour of Stewart Middle, the original high school in Zephyrhills, on March 13. Those interested in the tour can take a hayride from the celebration and back.

After the celebration on March 13, which runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., people can to walk to Zephyr Park, where there will be fireworks and skydivers from Skydive City.

Zephyrhills’ first name was Abbott, named after Dr. J.M. Abbott who owned a drugstore in town. The name was changed to Abbott Station after two railroad depots were built in town.

The founder of Zephyrhills was Howard Barth Jeffries, a retired Union Army soldier. Margie Partain of the Zephyrhills Historical Association said many Union soldiers moved to the area because Army pensions were small and many wanted to supplement them as farmers.

“Jeffries bought about 35,000 acres of land and first planted it in 1910,” said Partain, who has lived in Zephyrhills for more than seven years.

Partain, who has been with the association for more than six years, said the name of the city likely came from one of two stories. The first comes from when Jeffries bought the land from James Lee Greer, who owned Greer Sawmill. The two signed the contract for the purchase on Letteup Hill in Zephyrhills on a very windy day. Zephyr actually means breezes, so the name Zephyrhills was born.

The other scenario is the first person to survey the city had either a first or last name of Hill.

“I think the first story seems more likely and it’s just a better story,” Partain said.

The Greer Sawmill produced most of the lumber that built the first houses of Zephyrhills. Partain said as many as 400 homes from the 1910s are still standing in or around town.

While Zephyrhills will take time to look back this year, the city is keeping its eyes on the future.

“It’s important to look at what the city is trying to do to stay relevant,” McDuffie said. “We aren’t just trying to maintain our place in Pasco County and Florida, but we want to grow as well. I believe the city is doing a great job with city planners and the City Council. We will keep Zephyrhills a viable place to live for another 100 years.”