Land O' Lakes News

The Laker welcomes news editor

August 7, 2013 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Michael Hinman has joined The Laker and Lutz News as news editor, ready to share stories for and about the great residents of the area, ensuring that everyone gets a voice.

“I’ve known Michael for many years and have always respected his journalistic ethics and enthusiasm,” said Publisher Diane Kortus. “It is great to finally have Michael on our team and look forward to his contributions, which I expect will make The Laker an even better paper than it is today.”

Hinman started his journalism career 20 years ago in northwestern Pennsylvania where he was a sports correspondent for a local weekly, and also broadcast news on a radio station there. He later moved to upstate New York where he worked as a sports editor for the Steuben Courier-Advocate and the weekend editor for the Hornell Evening Tribune.

Hinman moved to Florida in 1996, where he became editor of the Zephyrhills News, and later a deputy editor for the now-defunct Zephyrhills Sun. In 1999, he joined The Tampa Tribune’s Sunbelt Newspaper division, starting as a reporter with its papers in Northwest Hillsborough County, and later becoming editor of the Temple Terrace News.

In 2005, he took a different route in his journalism career and became a staff writer with the Tampa Bay Business Journal, where he covered seven counties and some of the area’s biggest commercial stories. His ongoing coverage of the failed Trump Tower Tampa project in downtown Tampa earned him the Society of Professional Journalists’ top prize for business journalism in 2008. The Florida Press Association, the Florida Press Club and Community Papers of Florida also have recognized Hinman’s work over the years.

Hinman welcomes story ideas and suggestions for topics you would like to see in The Laker/Lutz News. Please reach out to Hinman at (813) 909-2800, or email him at .

Local teens use robot to save the world

August 7, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Three local teens are among 10 finalists in an international robotics competition and expect to find out soon if they’ve captured the top prize.

The 14-year-olds — Sean Carr, Ross Edwards and R.J. Walters — just wrapped up the second phase of the X Prize After Earth competition.

The contest winner announcement is scheduled for around Aug. 9.

Sean Carr, R.J. Walters and Ross Edwards are finalists in an international competition that seeks to encourage competitors to think about ecology and robotic design. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

The competition is based on the movie, “After Earth,” starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith. The sponsor, X Prize Foundation, uses competitions to address “the world’s grand challenges,” according to its website.

In this case, the teams explored ways to make earth more sustainable and how to use robotics to explore the potential for a new settlement for humans.

No matter the outcome, the three young men — who are members of the Trinity Dragons robotics team — said they’ve enjoyed the challenge.

They’ve designed and built a robot that can scoot across a surface, can lift small buckets and deliver them to where they need to go and then can return to its base.

While the robot seemingly acts on its own, it actually completes its work through computer programming and infrared sensors. It carries out its tasks in a fictitious place, called Nova Prime.

The robotics team spent countless hours building and programming the robot, and created Nova Prime from plywood, Spackle, sand, chili powder, paint and plants.

They also produced a video that tells the story of their imaginary world.

The video opens with images of what’s going wrong with earth — traffic jams, billowing smokestacks, parched earth, landfills and a dead bird. It then pans to a view of Carr’s backyard in Lutz, where fish thrive in water tanks, which provide water and nutrients to a flower and vegetable garden in a system, which in turn produces fish and organic vegetables, using very little water.

The video also features a lively musical soundtrack and an entertaining look at the steps the team followed to create and program the robot.

The video also pokes fun at Ray Carr, who is Sean’s dad and the team’s coach. He’s depicted as a lecturer who is boring the team to death.

Other portions of the video show the rover coming together and the construction of Nova Prime.

The team submitted that video recently meeting the contest’s phase two deadline. The video they submitted in June won them the right to compete in the finals.

The contest provides an excellent challenge for the kids, Ray Carr said.

“It’s not just a computer science thing; it’s not just mechanical engineering,” he said. “It’s electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering and a lot of geometry, all at once. They’re not focused on the learning. They’re focused on the goal. They learn along the way. I think that kind of opens up their minds a bit.

“Seeing things run around like that (robot), after you wrote the software, it’s fun,” he added.

Sean Carr said it’s been fun for him, too.

“We work together really well. We have the same common interest in mechanical and software,” Sean Carr said. “We bonded a lot.”

“It makes it even more fun when you’re competing against other people,” said Walters, who was at Ray Carr’s office five hours a day for at least five days a week.

“The robot, I believe, took about 42 hours of work,” Sean Carr said.

Ross took the lead role in designing the robot.

“He’s a Lego genius,” Sean Carr said. “That robot would be nowhere near what it is now without him.”

Walters did the lion’s share of painting and spackling to create Nova Prime and worked on developing the software to make the rover robot work.

“They struggled through a lot of issues,” Ray Carr said. “They struggled through a lot of things to come to the end solution. It didn’t just show up by any means.”

“The compass sensor kept messing up,” Walters said. “The tires were too big and wobbly.”

But they worked through those problems and produced a robot that would follow computer commands.

They also used music to help move their video along, after discovering that none of them particularly excelled at talking directly into the camera.

For making it to the final round, the team received a Lego Mindstorms robotic kit and a Sony Handycam video camera.

If they win the competition, they’ll be highlighted in a special feature about the X Prize After Earth Challenge on the U.S. Blu-ray disc of “After Earth.” They’ll also receive a signed Blu-ray, an “After Earth” poster and other prizes.

Pasco conference proves education is worldwide concern

August 7, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Dominic Mukwaya arrived in Pasco County ready to learn. When he left his village in Uganda a month ago, more than 30 members of his extended family joined him at the airport — nearly all of them watching a plane take off for the very first time in their lives.

Not only was it his first plane ride and his first trip to America, but it was also the first time Mukwaya has ever left the Kyotera region of his country, where running water was just introduced last spring, and electricity is still a future goal.

Mark Xing, center, of the Nanshan School District in Shenzhen, China, works with Susan Sanger-Miller from Connerton Elementary, left, and Alissa Lamorand from Anclote Elementary, on some administrative exercises at the International Leadership Fellows Institute in Land O’ Lakes last week. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Despite that, Mukwaya has schooled more than 650 orphans whose families were ravaged by the HIV epidemic there. He has pushed for more adult education as well — especially for women, who traditionally did not go to school when they were younger.

“Some of the people in my district went to school and were not doing good, and others could not afford to pay for the school fees,” Mukwaya said. “We started a sustainability project where, in the long term, we can help those who might not be able to learn otherwise.”

Mukwaya returned home last weekend after his two-week trip to Land O’ Lakes, participating in the annual International Leadership Fellows Institute from the National Educator Program. That program, based in Denver, chose the Pasco County Schools out of more than a dozen national applicants to host this institute. It’s designed to empower teachers to become strong leaders, and give students equal access to success.

The seminar itself, which also included 20 hand-picked Pasco educators, lasted two weeks. It’s part of the overall institute program designed to operate for the next year, connecting participants not only with face-to-face visits, but also technologically through online communication services like Skype. It’s meant to be a give and take, where these administrators learn from each other, and take all of it back to incorporate into their own classrooms.

“What we have found so far that whether you’re teaching in a major metropolitan area or the jungle by the lake, it’s remarkable the similarities on how schools and classrooms operate,” said Mark Thompson, executive director of NEP. “We found much more in common than we thought.”

The recent conference in Land O’ Lakes was led by Diane Varano, principal of the Cultural Academy for the Arts and Sciences in Brooklyn. She makes the trip each year to help form new bonds among the education leaders, giving them tools to reinvigorate classrooms.

It’s a much-needed wakeup call for many teachers, who in recent years have complained about being forced to teach to state-mandated tests like the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Instead, the learning process must be more experiential, said Mark Xing, who is the director of teaching affairs for a 2,000-student school system in Shenzhen, China. Located just north of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is a city of more than 10 million people that was an early adopter of capitalism in the traditionally communist country. Because of that, the school there has been working to include both Chinese and American curriculums.

“In China, a lot of parents would like to send their children to study in the United States,” Xing said. “They want their children to know more about American culture, and we actually started this program to meet the parents’ needs.”

There was some concern that requiring both Chinese and American studies for elementary school-aged students might be too much. Instead, Xing has found his students embracing both equally, and that will give them an edge as technology continues to shrink the world and China plays an ever-expanding role in world economics.

Mukwaya’s curriculum also is experience-based, but not quite the same way. In his region, English is being taught as a third language — behind the local Luganda and the regional Swahili. But while math and reading are essential in the learning process for both children and adults, so are vocational skills that will help not only make money for his students, but save money as well.

“We started with writing and reading, and now they are going up to do more functional things like how to weave mats from palm leaves and make bags from banana fibers,” Mukwaya said. “We’re also teaching many of our women how they can save money, and how they can be sustainable financially.”

Both Mukwaya and Xing will return to Land O’ Lakes next year to share progress on changes they’ve instituted because of the program and report back on how well they have worked, with the goal of helping the district’s program to grow and evolve.

“This isn’t just about someone coming here and learning things. We are learning a great deal from them,” Thompson said. “We can teach them some of our best practices when it comes to education, but they are not just learning ours, they are teaching us theirs, too, and that’s the kind of dialogue we want to have.”

Business Digest

August 7, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Krista Covey to lead business incubator
Krista Covey is the new economic development manager of SMARTstart, Pasco County’s first business incubator.

The incubator, at the Dade City Business Center and Dade City Office Plaza, will help small companies and startup businesses.

The Dade City location was selected because it is at an industrial park and has office space onsite. It is also near expert help from Saint Leo University, the Small Business Development Center and business leaders who are active with the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce.

Covey said she will divide her time between the Dade City location and her office at the Pasco Economic Development Council in Lutz.

The business incubator has begun accepting applications. Anyone interested in knowing more should contact Covey at (813) 926-0827, ext. 227.

Grow Financial set to open Wesley Chapel branch
Grow Financial is opening its 21st branch at 2579 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel. The 3,805-square-foot branch has a modern retail design and a contemporary color scheme. It is expected to debut an interactive teller machine in October at a community grand opening event.

The Wesley Chapel branch will also have an art room, which will display art by local artists and by students from area schools on a rotating basis throughout the year.

The opening exhibit is titled Within the Artists’ Eye featuring art by some of the faculty of the Pasco Arts Council, Inc.

WestBay opens Key Largo II model in Connerton
Homes by WestBay has opened the Key Largo II in Connerton, a 4,800-acre planned community in Land O’ Lakes.

The Key Largo II model has 3,900 square feet of space, five bedrooms, four bathrooms and a three-car garage.

It’s located in the Jasmine Abbey neighborhood of Connerton, which boasts parks, restaurants, shopping, schools and an award-winning amenity complex. Homes in Jasmine Abbey are priced from the upper $200,000 range.

Model home hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information on Homes by WestBay, call (813) 285-1444, or visit HomesbyWestBay.com.

Jeff Huebner new VP of construction for Avex Homes
Jeff Huebner is the new vice president of construction for Avex Homes, an Orlando-based builder that is constructing homes at Cypress Village at Avalon Park West on SR 54 in Wesley Chapel.

Huebner has more than 25 years of experience in the homebuilding industry and significant vendor relationships. He was most recently Orlando division vice president of construction for Maronda Homes.

The Avalon Park Group development will eventually accommodate as many as 4,400 homes and more than 700,000 square feet of commercial space in its Town Center.

PEDC board gets new member
All Children’s Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medicine has joined the Pasco Economic Development Council Inc.’s board of directors.

“All Children’s Hospital has been looking forward to an active role on Pasco EDC’s board of directors,” said Kuhns, vice president of human resources, in a news release. “Pasco County continues to grow at a rapid pace, and we are excited to work with other business and community leaders to make Pasco a better place for both families and employers.”

All Children’s Hospital operates a 20,000-square-foot outpatient care facility on Rowan Road in New Port Richey.

Kuhns has served in his current role since 2008. Before that, he spent seven years with HCA in the Tampa Bay area. He lives in New Port Richey with his wife and family.

East Pasco Networking Group meetings
The East Pasco Networking Group has scheduled several future speakers. The group meets at the Village Inn, 5214 Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills. Networking starts at 8 a.m. and the meeting begins at 8:30 a.m.

Here’s a schedule of upcoming speakers:

–Aug. 13: Jennifer Samuel-Choice, speaker coach and professional storyteller

–Aug. 27: Brian Corley, Pasco County Supervisor of Elections and Randy Stovall, PHCC, Provost Dean, East Campus

–Sept. 10: Faith Knight, chief operations officer of Apollo Group

–Sept. 24: Maureen Moore, director of communications at Saint Leo University

–Oct. 8: Danny Burgess, mayor of Zephyrhills

–Oct. 22: Paul Stonebridge, Pasco County Library System

–Nov. 12: Gary Loman, professional education manager, Rasmussen College

–Nov. 26: Tom Jackson, columnist for The Tampa Tribune

Christian Business Connection makes donations
Christian Business Connections donated $250 to Impact, a group of high school teens committed to saying yes to healthy relationships and saying no to premarital sex, drugs, tobacco and alcohol.

The business connections group also donated $250 to Overflow Magazine, a nonprofit Christian magazine distributed at churches, Salvation Army stores, supermarkets and other locations in Tampa Bay.

Christian Business Connections focuses on helping businesses prosper by networking and sharing ideas and business practices. The group meets at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Myrtle Lake Baptist Church, 2017 Reigler Road in Land O’ Lakes.

For more info, visit www.cbccentralpasco.com.

North Tampa Chamber meetings
Here’s the slate of upcoming meetings of the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce

–Aug. 8: General meeting at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 2701 E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa. For more information, email the chamber office at , or call (813) 961-2420. Doors open at 11 a.m., with networking until a buffet lunch begins at 11:30 a.m.

–Aug. 15: Chamber networking luncheon, at Beef O’ Brady’s, 8810 N. Himes Ave., Tampa. RSVP by Aug 13 to Kelly Winterling at , or call Horizon Bay at Lutz (Brookdale Senior Living) at (813) 909-9679. Need directions? Call (813) 936-2058.

–Aug. 22: Chamber networking luncheon, 11:30 a.m., at Embassy Suites USF/near Busch Gardens, 3705 Spectrum Blvd. in Tampa. RSVP by Aug. 20 to Jenn Beaumont at , or call her at AGLA-American General Life at (813) 334-8998. Directions? Call (813) 977-7066.

–Aug. 27: Chamber “Coffee Connection,” 7:30 a.m., hosted by Horizon Bay at Lutz, 414 Chapman Road E. in Lutz. RSVP no later than Aug. 26 to Kelly at (813) 909-9679 or . Refreshments will be provided.

–Sept. 3: Grand opening and ribbon cutting from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Hair Cuttery, North Point Plaza, 15207 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. RSVP to Shelia Jarrett at (813) 960-3871 . Light refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend these chamber events. For more information about the North Tampa Chamber, call (813) 961-2420, or send an email to: or visit northtampachamber.com.

Wesley Chapel’s newest surgeon is a robot named da Vinci

August 7, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Adventist Health System has always stayed on the cutting edge of medicine, dating back to the 19th century when doctors employed by the company championed the dangers of smoking and the health benefits of a little fresh air.

Now the company’s newest facility, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, is staying ahead of the curve once again with an advanced robotic surgery system that is expected to reduce recovery times with the most precise surgeries available.

The da Vinci Surgical System SI takes over the work on the operating table at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel with a surgeon nearby controlling every aspect of it. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

It’s called the da Vinci Surgical System SI, and the hospital at 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. was expected to use it for the first time Monday. When it’s fully activated, it almost looks like a menacing mechanical spider in the operating room. But the da Vinci has the agility and dexterity beyond any human surgeon that will reduce blood loss, pain, scars and complications from all kinds of surgery ranging from prostate operations to intestinal resections.

“Basically, it does a much more exact surgery,” said Gill Green, director of surgical services at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. “And with it, you avoid the complications.”

Surgery teams at the 83-bed hospital spent weeks training on the system ahead of their first operation on Monday. They learned not only how to prep a patient for the da Vinci, but also how to use its 3-D remote control that gives the surgeon a view he would struggle to see in a traditional operation. It takes laparoscopic surgery to a whole new level, said Mary Brady, Wesley Chapel’s chief nursing officer.

“Being a robot, the arm pieces are much smaller, and have much more room to work,” she said. “When the surgeon looks into the controller, his screen magnifies everything 10 times. And even if his hands are trembling a bit when he’s working the system, the robot arms are always working in a smooth motion.”

Some patients fear robotic surgery because they think a robot is doing the work.

Like many robotic systems, a surgeon directs the da Vinci controls, using its tools to make surgery less invasive.

“It works for many different types of surgery, but we don’t have to use it if someone doesn’t want it,” Brady said. “There are other alternatives as well, and that’s something that is discussed between the physician and the patient on how they want to proceed.”

Few hospitals are using the da Vinci system in the Tampa Bay area, but they do include Pasco Regional Medical Center in Dade City and St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in northern Hillsborough County.

But it is a steep investment. Florida Hospital wouldn’t say what they paid for the device, but prices can run as high as $1.75 million, according to the undergraduate science journal, the Journal of Young Investigators.

Yet, it’s an investment worth making if it can reduce the complications involved in various types of surgery.

“It’s a continuation of our vision from the very beginning that we would have state-of-the-art technology in this hospital,” said Tracy Clouser, director of marketing for the Wesley Chapel hospital. “We make sure we have only the best in all areas where it provides patient benefits, and better patient care.”

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel opened last October, becoming Adventist’s 22nd hospital in the state.

Woman vs. gator: A sport and food source going mainstream

July 31, 2013 By Michael Hinman

She arrived to the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce mixer last week at the recently reopened Beef O’ Brady’s at the Village Lakes Shopping Center with long blonde hair, perfectly manicured nails and an inviting smile – to represent her family’s heating and cooling company.

The trophy table is lined with heads and skins of what were once fierce reptiles in Florida’s waters. The gators are hunted, but are then used for not only their hides, but for food as well.

But that’s just touching the surface. Charlene Ierna might help service and sell air-conditioning units during the day, but her off time is filled with a much different passion: gator hunting.

While it might not be the most common form of game hunting in Florida, alligator hunting attracts many adventure-seekers looking to come face-to-face with the state’s largest native reptile. And these hunters don’t use guns. Instead, they stalk their prey with weapons like spear guns or crossbows.

“A lot of people still do consider it a little dangerous,” said Ierna, who is vice president of Ierna’s Heating & Cooling in Lutz. “Having been around them my whole life when I would hunt them with my dad as a kid, I’m still not going to say that I’m comfortable with them. You can never be comfortable with something that is more powerful than you are.”

Ierna captured her first gator this past Easter during a professionally guided hunt just south of Bartow. Her gator measured 13 feet and 4 inches, and weighed 800 pounds. She lured it close to her with an alligator call, and then while it was still in the water, hit it with her crossbow.

A giant bobber, that was part of the arrow she shot, kept the alligator afloat. She finished it off later with a second arrow.

“They’re dinosaurs essentially,” Ierna said. “One bow and arrow is not going to do the job, unless it’s a perfect shot hit in the perfect place.”

But hunting an alligator is not just for the trophy head. Fully processed gator hides can run for as much as $100 a foot, according to Shane Smith, a Lutz resident who owns The Hungry Gator Meat Market in Plant City.

Alligator meat, while not quite ready to replace beef or chicken in most people’s diets, is still quite popular with various eateries, including Hungry Harry’s on US 41, which serves a popular gator sausage sandwich.

“Alligators, especially wild alligators, are found only in the Southeast, and there are few other alligator farms outside of there,” Smith said.

The alligator meat industry as a whole has grown 500 percent in the past year alone, Smith said. That’s due in large part to cable television shows like “Swamp People” and “Gator Boys” that have whet the nation’s taste buds to alligator steaks and alligator sausage.

“Trappers in Florida used to only sell to local restaurants. Now they’re shipping to restaurants all over the country,” Smith said. His meat processing company, open only a year, already is distributing more than 450 pounds of gator meat a week to restaurants, including Charley’s Steak House and Market Fresh Fish in Tampa.

For the uninitiated, gator meat tastes a bit like chicken, believe it or not, and has a texture probably best described as those found in certain types of fish. But it does have some significant health benefits.

“It’s a very lean meat, low in cholesterol and high in protein,” Smith said. “It has a higher protein count than in chicken or tuna.”

Ierna, in the meantime, is already gearing up for her next alligator hunt. She’s heading to St. John’s River in September with the hopes of picking up two more gators to add to her collection.

This time, Ierna will be without a professional guide. She’ll be hunting an animal with heightened senses of smell and sight that could turn the tables on a hunter in an instant.

“My personal opinion, and I even tell my kids this,” Ierna said. “They are far more intimidated by you than what you think. They don’t want anything to do with us.”

But still: “You have to be wise and be alert, and you certainly can’t be relaxed. You can’t just sit and look and just hope everything goes well. You have to be attentive to what’s going on.”

Building homes for the poor abroad

July 31, 2013 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Since the buses and trucks couldn’t carry them up the goat path on the mountainous outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Crystal McDaniel and 55 other volunteers trudged up the cliff-like slope — lugging hammers, chainsaws, belts and other construction tools.

They were on a mission to build three wooden houses on the hill, but first had to negotiate large rocks to get there.

Matthew McDaniel, (from left) Marisa Jaroch, Eric Lake and Haydn Manuel work on building a wall for a Honduran home during a mission trip.

One home was for a disabled woman who had never been off the mountain.

Dark clouds formed over the building site and the nearby lush terrain, and heavy showers soaked the volunteers. But the downpour didn’t dampen their enthusiasm.

They donned ponchos and worked through the wet weather — working in three teams and finishing three houses by the end of the day.

“It’s the hardest I ever worked in my life,” McDaniel said of her stay in Honduras.

Besides making it more difficult to build, the rainstorm caused water to stream down the goat path making the rocks slippery as the construction crew headed down the mountain at the end of the day.

McDaniel and her teenage son Matthew made the trip as part of an outreach organized by Northwest Tampa Church of Christ. The Lutz residents are parishioners of the church and spent two weeks toward the end of June building houses for the poor in Honduras. The volunteers built 37 one-room homes, which measure 14-by-14. Each home is valued at about $1,200.

There’s very little to no public assistance in Honduras, which is the second poorest country in Central America, according to the CIA’s website.

About one-third of the 8.5 million people living in Honduras are underemployed, and more than half of the residents live in poverty. Impoverished conditions are especially great in rural and indigenous areas, like the three villages where the volunteers helped.

The nation also has the highest murder rate in the world.

“Up in the mountains is where we worked,” said Keith Boyer, a leading organizer on this trip. “It’s just the poorest of the poor. They squat on the land, and then they get ownership. And then we’ll build as many houses as we can.”

Crystal was motivated by a desire to help those less fortunate.

“We’re here to serve others — seriously,” she said. “I was born and raised with a family that — you (live) a life of service.”

Matthew said he went to Honduras because it was a new and different experience.

“I do it to grow closer to the youth group that goes down there,” he said. “And then it’s nice to go help people who don’t have anything. Even though it’s hard work, building the houses is actually kind of fun, and you get to see another country.”

The nondenominational Northwest Tampa Church of Christ, located at Sheldon Road in Tampa, gets parishioners from all over the Tampa Bay area. Church organizers have been planning annual trips to Honduras for the last 13 years.

It costs $1,650 per adult and $400 per teen to go on the trip, and parishioners had to pay the full or partial amount depending on how actively they donated and participated in church fundraisers and other activities.

Crystal paid more than $1,000 for herself and $400 for Matthew to go.

The mission trip also received funds raised through food sales, car washes and other church events. All of the money went toward food, lodging, plane tickets, lumber and other materials needed to build the homes.

The houses built by the volunteers consisted of four wooden walls, a floor and a tin roof. Residents who want smaller rooms can use clotheslines and blankets to create separate spaces.

The houses have no plumbing or electricity. Meals are cooked outside with a makeshift stove.

Matthew said residents who want electricity have to buy their own wires and connect them from their homes to the main source of electricity set up in these villages by the government.

Each home has a family with up to nine people living in it.

“They have nothing – absolutely nothing but the clothes on their back,” Crystal said. “And they’re the happiest people you ever saw.”

She observed an abundance of affection, communication and interdependency within families that led to joy and satisfaction in life. The villagers were very friendly with each other and the volunteers, Matthew said.

Besides receiving new housing, each family also received an adult and children’s Bible in Spanish from the mission.

On their three flights from Miami to Honduras, the church group took 37 large duffel bags full of shoes, small toys, shampoos, 150 dresses and many other small items to give out in Honduras.

The volunteers also managed to buy and assemble 300 bags of staple foods like rice, beans, sugar, lard, coffee and pasta. They gave one bag per family that moved into the new houses and their neighbors.

McDaniel and her son said they found the trip so rewarding they plan to go back again.

— Marie Abramov

Rivera to drum steelpan all the way to Trinidad

July 31, 2013 By Michael Hinman

She’s used it in concerts, recorded it in albums and even has had the music she’s created with it featured on The Weather Channel.

But next February, if she can raise the funds, Bickley Rivera will face the ultimate challenge involving her favorite instrument, the steelpan: She will compete against natives of the country that invented it.

Bickley Rivera takes on a steelpan similar to what she’ll play when she attends Panorama next February in Trinidad. Bickley is raising money for the trip, which will include a documentary film crew. (Photo provided)

She’s going to Panorama, the world’s largest steelpan competition, taking place in Trinidad — a competition that rarely welcomes outsiders. Yet Rivera, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, along with fellow performer Tom Berich of Medford, Ore., will trek to the Caribbean island nation to take part in the competition. And they’re taking a documentary film crew with them.

“We’re going to be the outside eyes looking in,” Rivera said. “And we’re having that all put on film.”

There, the two will each join their own band that could feature as many as 120 performers, or “pannists” as they preferred to be called. They will practice for up to three weeks in the country, performing near-nightly concerts for spectators attending the festival.

Since this is a competition, it is possible that either Rivera or Berich could be cut at any time — even the night before the finals.

“You’re really at their mercy,” Rivera said of the judges. “Basically, if you’re bad at any time, you could be pulled. We tried to pick bands that are regularly in the top 10, so we’re hoping that at least one of us makes it all the way through to the end.”

Chances are that Rivera and Berich won’t receive any music or other preparations ahead of their trip. They will step into roles equipped with only their steelpans and skills. It’s a high-pressure environment that should create plenty of real-life drama for the camera crew filming it.

The making of ‘Beat Pan!’
The documentary itself, called “Beat Pan!” will explore the experience of the competition from the perspective of each of the bands that Rivera and Berich are performing with.

Each band has its own musical culture and history, with many stories ready to be shared about their love of steelpan.

The goal of “Beat Pan!” is to introduce more people back home to the art of steelpan, creating a deeper appreciation for the percussion-based art in the United States, where such instruments are still considered novel.

Even before the trip, Rivera has worked to bring steelpan more into the mainstream, incorporating it into various genres of music including reggae and smooth jazz. That has made it tough for her to perform at different jazz venues around the country, because promoters are not always looking to change things up.

“What I’m trying to do is really kind of different,” Rivera said. “It’s really hard for them to accept it. They want to hear saxophone and guitar, so I incorporate a lot of that into my act, and then slowly move to the steelpan, as I get the audiences warmed up.”

Making the trip and producing the documentary is going to cost money, and both Rivera and Berich have already begun fundraising both through PayPal donations and through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The goal initially is to raise $25,000, but she will likely need $50,000 for the complete project from start to finish.

“If this is going to work, people have to buy into this,” Rivera said. “We’re out looking for corporate sponsors and individual sponsors, and we’ll keep working until we get all the money raised.”

In the meantime, Rivera is focused on getting ready for the trip, which does have her nervous.

“I’m terrified actually,” she said. “These are people (in Trinidad) from the age of 5 who have learned how to play the steelpan. I’ve been doing it for 10 years. They know what they’re doing. They know what works and doesn’t work, and I have to find a way to fit in.”

For details on Rivera’s trip and how to participate, visit her website at www.bickleyrivera.com.

Collecting memories to preserve history

July 31, 2013 By B.C. Manion

The interviewing techniques used by National Public Radio’s StoryCorps project will be used locally to create a special collection tracing the history of African-American life in Hillsborough County.

Millions of NPR listeners are familiar with stories collected through StoryCorps.org and broadcast on NPR’s “Morning Edition” program.

StoryCorps’ mission “is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share and preserve the stories of our lives,” according to the organization’s website.

Some of the recorded stories are played on the radio. The taped interviews are also archived in the Library of Congress.

Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 45,000 interviews, involving approximately 90,000 participants.

With the special grant it received, the Tampa-Hillsborough library system plans to invite people to share their recollections about the history of the African-American community in Hillsborough County, said Renelda Sellf, chief librarian for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative.

Specifically, the library system wants to hear from people who can share their insights, memories and knowledge about Central Avenue, the former center of commerce for the African-American community; Robert W. Saunders Sr., a civil rights activist; the history of local black nurses; the Jackson House, a boarding house where many high-profile African-Americans stayed in the days before blacks could stay in hotels; and, Negro League baseball players.

“There is a lot of rich history that we want to collect,” Sellf said.

Saunders played a key role in the civil rights movement in Florida and served as the Florida NAACP field secretary. He endured death threats from the Ku Klux Klan; worked statewide to desegregate public schools, beaches and housing; won raises for black teachers; brought affirmative action to government contracting and college admissions; stopped police brutality; and registered voters, according to a report published in The Tampa Bay Times after Saunders’ death.

The taped interviews will be kept in a special collection at the Robert W. Saunders Sr. Branch Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Ave. The existing library is slated for demolition and a new one will be built on the same site.

Most of the interviews will be conducted at the Saunders branch, but the project will also travel to other locations to collect stories, Sellf said. Those details are not yet final, but will be posted on the library system’s website when the information is available.

Staff members and volunteers for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System will receive training to lay the groundwork for collecting the personal stories, Sellf said.

After this local effort to create a special collection of recordings involving African-American history wraps up, the library system will be allowed to keep the equipment, and its staff will continue to benefit from the training provided through the project, Sellf said.

The library system was one of the 10 systems selected nationwide to participate in the StoryCorps “@ your library” pilot program.

The American Library Association Public Programs Office, in partnership with StoryCorps, selected the grant winners.

“There were more than 200 applications,” Sellf said.

For additional information about the project, call (813) 273-3652, or visit hcplc.org.

Central Bank instrumental in dachshund rescues

July 31, 2013 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Pat Duval, senior vice president of Central Bank, allows a dachshund rescue group to temporarily use her office space as a way station, to help facilitate the transportation of the dogs to their new homes. (Photo courtesy of Melanie Casey)

There’s an office in the Central Bank in north Tampa, which plays a role in a dachshund rescue group’s mission.

The office, a stone’s throw from Wesley Chapel on the Pasco County line, acts as a way station for the Dachshund Adoption, Rescue and Education organization, which facilitates rescues of the long, low dogs commonly called “wiener” dogs.

The Florida-based, nonprofit organization, rescues dogs from central and north Florida animal shelters, provides them with veterinary care and finds them foster homes. It also screens potential adopters and works to place the dogs in permanent homes.

“We take them no matter what condition they are in,” said Alicia Duval, DARE vice president. “As long as we can financially afford it and have a foster home to put them in.”

Her mother, Pat Duval, senior vice president of Central Bank, uses her glass-enclosed office as a temporary place for DARE-rescued dogs to wait until transport arrives to take them to foster homes in places like Gainesville, Lakeland and Jacksonville.

Alicia arranges for the dogs to make a stop on what Pat has nicknamed “the underground railroad,” because of its central location for many DARE volunteers.

So far, about 10 dogs have her office while awaiting pickup — much to the delight of her dog-loving coworkers.

The office is also a convenient place for people to bring donations of needed items.

“It’s nice to help the animals in need,” said supporter Margaret Kisala. “Especially with the economy, more dogs are in need.” Kisala, who lives in Wesley Chapel, stopped by on July 17 to drop off a dog stroller and other goodies.

The minority-owned community bank, which opened about four years ago, is staffed by a slew of dog owners, many of whom support rescue organizations, Pat said. Throughout the years, it has supported DARE with silent auction items, donations and more.

“The bank has been very good to us,” Alicia said. “They allow the dogs to stay at the office and have given us several donations over the years. They really believe in the community, and I don’t just say that.”

In keeping with that support, Mary Ann Yaney, branch manager at Central Bank, presented a $500 check on July 17 to DARE, representing the “Gold Paw” sponsorship level, for the group’s upcoming Dox-a-Palooza fundraising event at November’s Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland.

DARE rescues about 100 dogs per year, Alicia said. Nearly all of the money it raises is used to cover such things as insurance, vet bills, taxes and other expenses. Volunteers take care of the administrative duties, transport the dogs and handle other tasks.

“No one gets paid,” Alicia said. Right now, there are about 20 active DARE fosters living in homes around the state.

Alicia, mom to local celebrity dachshund Forrest Gump (you can find him on Facebook), has been around the dogs all of her life and started with DARE several years ago as a volunteer. She, along with Pat, her dad and grandmother, live in Tampa with a houseful of dogs (dachshunds, naturally), including two soon-to-be DARE dachshund mix puppies, recently rescued with their mother. All three were tied outside to a tree but will now find loving homes thanks to DARE.

— Melanie Casey