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Lutz News

Steinbrenner band headed across the pond

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It’s time to pack the passports inside their instrument cases.

For members of Steinbrenner High’s band, The Marching Warrior Brigade, they’ll need to have their international travel affairs in order come Dec. 27 when the band heads across the pond to England.

Duncan Sandys, the great-grandson of Winston Churchill, came to Steinbrenner High on March 22 to invite The Marching Warrior Brigade to perform in the 2024 London New Year’s Day Parade. (Mike Camunas)

The 136-member band has been invited to be in the massive 2024 London New Year’s Day Parade, which will feature nearly 10,000 performers.

The streets of London, from Piccadilly Circus to Downing Street, will be packed with more 500,000 spectators. It also will be broadcast to millions, including viewers in the United States, on PBS.

“This is the biggest trip this band has probably done in a while, at least since COVID,” said sophomore Will Gilleland, who plays the clarinet. “In my time in the program, the furthest we’ve gone on a trip is Orlando, so going to a crazy, new place we’ve never been before — it’s incredible!”

Marcos Aquino, left, and Connor Wood, right, cheer during the assembly where Steinbrenner High’s band was invited to perform in the 2024 London New Year’s Day Parade.

This is the second time the Brigade has been invited to this particular parade, as the band was invited to the 2021 edition, though that was canceled due to COVID.

On March 22, Steinbrenner was reinvited, this time with a lively ceremony.

Bob Bone, founder and chair of the parade, came to the campus in Lutz, accompanied by Duncan Sandys (pronounced Sands), who is the great-grandson of Winston Churchill.

“I know there is a parade you have here on Thanksgiving, which I think is named after a department store,” Bone told the band, tongue-in-cheek, eliciting laughter from the crowd. “They’re half as big and think they’re a big deal, but we take a look at Macy’s every year to get an idea of what NOT to do!”

Sandys, who now resides in Georgia as ambassador to the parade, told the band about the history and expansiveness of London. He also went over the parade route and briefly talked about his great-grandfather, the United Kingdom’s legendary prime minister in World War II.

“Enjoy every sight you can while there,” he said. “There is just so much history on every corner.”

The Marching Warrior Brigade, Steinbrenner High’s band, listens in excitement as Duncan Sandys, the great-grandson of Winston Churchill, invites the ensemble to perform in the 2024 London New Year’s Day Parade on Jan. 1. The band will travel to London in late December and perform in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

Chip Wood, Steinbrenner’s director of bands, said the international band trip is an exciting and huge undertaking. To help avoid any last-minute disappointments, he’s making sure everyone who is traveling is getting their passports now.

“It’s an extremely well-attended parade,” Wood said. “I wanted to give these kids, and my own son, who is a junior in the band, an epic event with some travel — and I’ve never been to London! … But (passports), the process takes way longer than it used to, so I want to make sure everyone has theirs or updated so they can pack it and go!”

Wood has previous experience leading a band to large-scale events, including taking a band twice to the Rose Bowl Parade in California, the Macy’s parade in New York and even being part of the taping of the Disney World Christmas “parade” in Lake Buena Vista.

At the ceremony, junior piccolo player Meghan Betancourt, was “awarded” being the ceremonial keeper of the official British umbrella. Sandys gave her a small, white umbrella.

Anniak Futo, left, and Katie Cozie anxiously watch a video presentation about the annual London New Year’s Day Parade in which their band, The Marching Warrior Brigade, will perform on Jan. 1.

It’s a relatively new tradition of the parade, but Bone and Sandys present the umbrella to one lucky band member, who must keep the umbrella in his or her personal custody until the parade.

Failure to do so could result in it raining on the parade.

Betancourt’s fellow band members and friends are encouraged to help her be vigilant in protecting the umbrella —  through the threat of an Instagram post, if she slips up on her duty.

“I will feel bad if it rains on the parade,” Betancourt said. “I think they’re all ready to blame me (laughs), ready to post on instagram, if it rains because of me.

“(But) I’m super excited, because I love traveling and I really like playing in front of people,” she added. “Playing in a big parade makes me really happy because I like seeing other people get happy from our performances. And we get performance experience without competition experience — we just get to perform and that will be really good for our program.”

As for what the band’s musical set will be, that decision is an ongoing process.

But one thing is certain, the band leader said. “Whatever it is, they’ll be playing it in London!”

London New Year’s Day Parade
Details: The parade first took place in 1987 as the Lord Mayor of Westminster’s Big Parade, but was renamed in 1994, and for 2000 only it was called the Millennium Parade. More than 500,000 spectators attended the 2023 parade, with even more expected in 2024. Performances from the nearly 10,000 musicians and artists will be screened live on network television on PBS.
For more information on the parade, visit https://lnydp.com/. For more information on the Steinbrenner band, visit HillsboroughSchools.org/steinbrenner.

Published March 29, 2023

Harp player brings soothing sounds to patients

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Judy Raab, “musician in residence” at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz, administers a different kind of medicine to the patients there.

“My hope is to improve the hospital environment, bring down the stress level and humanize being in the hospital,” Raab said, in a news release from the hospital.

Judy Raab is a ‘musician in residence’ at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz. (Courtesy of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North)

She plays for two hours a week, asking patients if they are open to a music session.

She usually plays for them in their rooms or in an area just outside their rooms where patients can hear her. If she plays for a patient, her session is charted on the patient’s medical record, similar to them receiving medicine.

The Carrollwood resident is a certified music practitioner and has played harp for more than 35 years, including 10 years at St. Joseph’s North.

She plays for patients, staff and visitors and is compensated through BayCare’s spiritual care department and St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation, according to the release.

Raab said the instrument is a good fit for the hospital environment due to its soothing and soft nature.

“The harp is not overwhelming like a wind instrument that can occupy a whole room,” Raab said, in the release. “With the harp, I can project directly to that individual person.”

The musician has written about her work and has been published in scholarly journals on the subject. She holds a unique degree: a Master of Arts (MA) in arts in medicine from the University of Florida. The degree teaches people how to safely and effectively engage the arts, like music, into health care environments.

Raab said her work is rewarding. “It is very satisfying and fulfilling to use my skill set and be certified to play in hospitals,” she said. “It is nice to hear a patient say ‘This is really cathartic, it is really helping me.’”

Raab also plays the harp at hospitals at St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, in Tampa, as well as other health care facilities.

Published March 15, 2023

Longtime Rays broadcaster Dave Wills passes away

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Dave Wills, one-half of the Tampa Bay Rays’ radio broadcasting team for the past 18 seasons, died in the early morning of March 5, according to a team news release.

Wills, who lived in Lutz, joined the Rays in 2005, along with partner Andy Freed, and were fan favorites and considered one of the top radio duos in Major League Baseball.

(Courtesy of Tampa Bay Rays)

“Dave was an outstanding broadcaster, a great friend, and an even better person,” Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. “He had a remarkable talent for bringing the game to life for our fans and was a vital part of the Rays family. We will miss him dearly, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Wills, who was 58 at his death, lived in the Heritage Harbor community, off Lutz Lake Fern Road.

During the 2022 season, Wills missed the final two weeks due to “a little bit of a heart situation” after being hospitalized in Toronto. At the time, he said on his  social media that he was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, which is an irregularly fast or erratic heartbeat (arrhythmia) that affects the heart’s upper chambers.

Wills returned to work the Rays broadcast for their playoff series against Cleveland in October. He also worked on the broadcast for the Rays’ March 4 Spring Training game against the New York Yankees.

In a news release, the team also noted: “During his time with the Rays, Wills became a beloved figure among fans for his passion, enthusiasm and expertise. He called some of the most memorable moments in Rays history, including the team’s run to the World Series in 2008 and 2020. Wills was known for his impeccable play-by-play calling, his insightful analysis, and his infectious personality. His contributions to the Rays organization and the Tampa Bay community will never be forgotten.”

The team will honor Wills with a special pregame tribute during the season, with details to be announced at a later date.

Wills is survived by his wife, Liz; son, Alex; and daughter, Michelle.

Published March 15, 2023

Brushing up on a children’s book

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Kurt Weber fought tooth and nail to finish his children’s book.

While it took nearly a decade to complete and get published, the 63-year-old longtime Lutz resident and dentist knew he wanted to finish writing it before neck surgery in 2016. Even if he did end up rewriting in 2018.

He meticulously drew every illustration on every page.

Tooth Buddy and the Golden Toothbrush by Kurt Weber, DDS, is on display at his St. Petersburg and Seffner practices and available for purchase on Amazon. (Mike Camunas)

“I really just wanted to make Charlie Brown, but as a tooth,” Weber said. “I wanted him to tell a story, I wanted him to have adventures and an interesting life that children will want to read about, and if he teaches us a few lessons along the way, all the better.

“You want a simple message for children and sometimes that’s incredibly difficult to do, but I also feel very strongly that you don’t talk down to children,” he added. “They’re not going to listen to a lecture, but if it’s a cute story, and they see the pictures of him brushing or flossing, that will stick.”

That is how Weber invented his Charlie Brown.

In his book, “Tooth Buddy and the Golden Toothbrush,” Tooth Buddy and his new friend, Dentina Decay, teach lessons not only of the importance of brushing and flossing, but of respect toward others.

“I feel it is a very unique children’s book,” said Weber, who has dental practices in St. Petersburg and Seffner. “I really like the indirect message, but you have to distill down those lessons for oral care and for life to the bare minimum because if you say too much, eyes will glaze over — kids won’t pay attention.

“They’re not going to absorb dentistry if it’s too complicated.”

After years of writing and drawing and discussions with his wife of 39 years, Karen, an administrative medicine physician at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Weber’s book was published on Dec. 6, 2022.

Weber, who was an award-winning editorial cartoonist at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has always been “a doodler” since he was a kid, said both writing and illustrating were quite the task.

When it came to writing, Weber knew he couldn’t be too complicated with story and lessons, even if the book introduces many of the top 250 vocabulary words children need in the book’s 3 to 8-year-old age range.

“There are people in their 80s and terrified of the dentist or adults who are not educated on how to care for their teeth,” he said, “so the importance of teaching these (dental) skills early was my goal.”

As for drawing the illustrations, Weber said each picture, or page — such as the one of Tooth Buddy flossing with the caption, “Tooth Buddy flossed every day to keep cavities away, his breath fresh, and his smile healthy,” — took about 20 hours.

Lutz resident Kurt Weber, DDS proudly displays his book, ‘Tooth Buddy and the Golden Toothbrush,’ at his St. Petersburg practice, where he has been treating patients for more than 30 years. Weber spent nearly a decade writing, and meticulously illustrating, his children’s book featuring Tooth Buddy, who he calls ‘Charlie Brown, but as a tooth.’

“Children’s books are incredibly complicated to look simple,” Weber added.

Which is remarkable since Weber, while a father to his kids, Kurt II and Katarina, isn’t a pediatric dentist. He does see a few kids, but his practice isn’t solely for child patients.

“If you teach a child to break up that colony bacteria that’s on their teeth at least every 48 hours, you’re not going to have issues getting older,” Weber said. “Just trying to teach them to get that brush or floss in there about once a day, that will work.”

Weber knew this message would need to be straight to the point, especially since the rule of thumb is children’s books should not be more than 500 words.

Tooth Buddy and the Golden Toothbrush is 498 words.

And so, with good reviews and online sales, including in Australia, Canada, Asia and Europe, a sequel is already in the works: “Tooth Buddy and the Magical Lost Tooth Adventure.”

“I’m happy with the response to it,” Weber said. “Kids don’t buy these books though, grandparents do. They see them in the lobby, and one lady bought five and then sent them all over the place, so that’s great, especially when you hear that one of my friends, her grandson is carrying the book around the house or another who said her son named her toothbrush ‘Tooth Buddy.’

“That’s really cool! I like that — a lot! (laughs).”

Tooth Buddy and the Golden Toothbrush by Kurt Weber, DDS
Synopsis: A fun adventure involving Tooth Buddy, his soon-to-be friend, Dentina Decay and, of course, the Golden Toothbrush. They teach four important lessons for children, ages 3 to 8. These include the importance of brushing and flossing, as well as the unstated larger-than-life lessons of nonviolent conflict resolution and respect for others and their property. Eventually, there will be a companion website to the book, which will include an interactive section for kids.
Cost: $18.59 for hardback on Amazon, Target, and Barnes and Noble

Published February 01, 2023

Fishing for a better quality of life

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Out on the water, they’re just anglers.

While battling waves and some big fish, there is no talk of injuries or paralysis or other medical issues, or even the grueling but essential rehabilitative therapy.

This is their therapy.

Recipients of Tighten The Drag Foundation, a Lutz-based 501(c)3 nonprofit that helps better the quality of life for those with spinal cord injuries, get a fully-paid fishing weekend through the foundation’s annual fishing tournament in Safety Harbor.

Robert Tramontana, right, seen here out fishing with his brother, Matt, suffered a spinal cord injury in 2012 and has been wheelchair-bound since. Through Tighten The Drag Foundation, a Lutz-based nonprofit that helps improve the quality of life for those that have suffered a spinal cord injury, he and several others are afforded a yearly fishing tournament, as well as money to pay for rehabilitation therapy, which is not covered by any insurance. (Courtesy of Sheila Tramontana)

But, it’s more. The foundation helps those that have come for assistance participate in adaptive sports and enjoy recreational activities. It also raises money that will help pay for that therapy, which, shockingly, is not covered by any insurance.

“A lot of people don’t know that,” the foundation’s lead volunteer, Sheila Tramontana, said. “A spinal cord injury, it’s like your thumbprint, in that every injury is specific to that person. … So, there’s not one special treatment. It’s a special treatment per patient because every injury affects everyone differently. 

“So, insurance companies don’t cover therapy because, most likely, someone with a spinal cord injury won’t walk again. While this therapy is necessary and worthwhile, it’s deemed this way by insurance companies because you just don’t know what kind of recovery each person will have.

“And my family, and son, quickly realized this the hard way.”

Sheila’s son, Robert Tramontana, was paralyzed 10 years ago, suffering a spinal cord injury while out on Crystal River. Robert, now 40, was scalloping with friends and decided to dive into the water to cool off. Robert isn’t sure what he hit — possibly a manatee — but his head hit it first and he became one of the 17,500 people in this country who suffer a spinal cord injury every year.

As Robert spent 87 days in the hospital, Sheila soon found out insurance would not cover the rehab therapy. It would have to be paid out of pocket and those sessions can run up to or more than $100 an hour, and, most likely, the therapy’s location is not nearby. Meaning, transportation also factors into this uncovered cost.

“It blew my mind,” Sheila recalls. “Just how little resources there were for helping this kind of injury. There weren’t places to go, nor is there an advocate for someone in a hospital who is looking for help for paralysis.

“Every person has to deal with it themselves, but they need support, and we’ll help. If you need therapy, we’ll pay — just go. If we can help get them through the door, it’s up to them and we’ll help how we can.”

Tighten The Drag doesn’t try to solicit new recipients. Most of the time, it will be through word of mouth because now, 10 years later, Sheila and the foundation have been able to let it be known that they can help those who suffered spinal cord injuries.

There are only two requirements: the person must be a Florida resident and the paralysis was caused by an accident.

Tighten The Drag’s group of volunteers who tirelessly work events and help out behind the scenes year-round. The Lutz-based charity raises funding that helps improve the quality of life for those with spinal-cord injuries.

From there, the foundation supports its recipients, from getting them the fully paid fishing tournament excursion, to other supplies they might need, to doing something special for them on their birthday and other recreational outings.

Sheila says the foundation fronts about nearly $3,000 in the first month and that each person who participates in the fishing tournament can cost up to $2,200. This, of course, all comes from fundraising and donations, such as getting money from the Lutz Guv’na campaign, for example, or the GTE Federal Credit Union in Lutz, which is the fishing tournament’s title sponsor.

“Someone like me, my goal isn’t to walk again,” Land O’ Lakes native and foundation recipient Aaron Lopez said. “That would be nice and great, but $100 an hour is actually on the lower side and it needs to be cash money every week.”

Lopez suffered a spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident in 2014, but after nearly 10 years of therapy, this is built into his everyday life. He moves enough that the therapy, which the foundation helped him pay for, works in a seamless, but meaningful way.

Tighten The Drag recipient Sam Scribner, left, and his professional guide, Captain Ryan Amaturo, hold up a fish hauled in during the foundation’s Fall 2022 Tournament in Safety Harbor.

“The tournament, and foundation, is fantastic,” Lopez added. “To get injured people back on the water, forget about all the wheelchair and injury stuff for a little bit, and just feel like a person again.

“Insurance … doesn’t cover rehab, and I understand because why pay for something if it doesn’t make you walk again — that’s just the black and white way to put it, but the foundation gets that.”

Even more, the foundation acts like a reunion. It gets anglers back together, as a group of not just paralyzed people, but people still trying to live their best lives.

“It’s sad to see that insurance doesn’t cover it,” said New Smyrna Beach resident and the foundation’s social media manager, Sam Scribner, who fell out of a hammock in a freak accident in 2016 and broke his C5 vertebrae. “People don’t have the money and suffer because they can’t afford it, while the therapy, obviously evidentially, does wonders.

“But the biggest thing people get out of the foundation is getting people with spinal cord injuries together and talking. They exchange the how to’s of figuring out how to live this life that no amount of Googling will get you. We share experiences. …  And we get back out on the boat, with the wind on our faces, just forgetting about the everyday life of spinal cord injuries and wheelchairs. It’s feeling like a person again, and I hope others feel the same.”

Tighten The Drag Foundation
Details: A Lutz-based nonprofit foundation helping improve the quality of life for those that have suffered a spinal cord injury. The name comes from competitive tournament anglers using the term “tighten the drag” as a reference to bearing down on a fish to overpower, take control and be successful at achieving the goal of landing the fish. Each year, the foundation hosts a fishing tournament that fully pays for its 25 recipients that have come to the organization to get out on the water and fish. Funds raised through events provide scholarships for Florida residents with spinal cord injuries to attend activity-based exercise therapy rehabilitative and recovery programs either in home with a personal trainer or in licensed facilities, participate in adaptive sports and enjoy recreational activities.
For more information or to donate to the foundation, visit TightenTheDragFoundation.org.

Published December 28, 2022

Housing a Christmas wonderland

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Christmas won’t be canceled this year.

Especially at the Old Lutz School House.

After a two-year COVID hiatus, Christmas at the Old Lutz School is back, celebrating its 26th year with a display of lights, trees, trains, nutcrackers and many more decorations for local residents to view.

Once again, a massive collection of nutcrackers will be on display, all from owner Phyllis Hoedt, longtime chairperson of the Old Lutz School Building’s nonprofit foundation. (Mike Camunas)

“Like everything else we’ve done in the Lutz community, we’re glad to be getting back and having our annual traditions — especially Christmas at the Old Lutz School,” said Stephanie Ensor, community liaison for the Old Lutz School Building’s foundation. “From the (Lutz) Guv’na Campaign to the Fourth of July Parade and now being able to host people inside the School House again, it’s just so great to finally be able to do the things we do every year here in Lutz.”

Since the school house is a Hillsborough County facility on county property, it had to adhere to pandemic restrictions, which prevented having events and gatherings in indoor spaces. Now that those are lifted, Citizens for the Old Lutz School Building, the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that maintains the building through volunteering and fundraising events, was able to bring back the annual tradition.

Volunteers began decorating the house before Thanksgiving.

The display once again will feature the Tree Room, which will have various trees decorated by people and organizations from Lutz; the Snowy Railroad Room: a massive model train display assembled by Wally Hoedt; and even breakfast with Santa, on the morning of Dec. 10.

“So many people are looking forward to the comeback,” Ensor said. “Definitely grandparents, who love bringing their grandchildren up here, who just love seeing the trains and Legos.”

Back on display for the first time since 2019 will be the Lego town, assembled brick-by-brick by Jason Burkett, who vows it will be five times bigger than last time it was at Christmas at the Old Lutz School House.

Returning also will be an impressive Lego town, assembled brick-by-brick by Jason Burkett.

The display includes a mishmash of Lego assembly kits from fan-favorite movies and TV shows, but with some fun nods, such as how certain Lego people are displayed throughout the town.

“2019 was my first year at the Old Lutz School, and COVID gave me three years to plan,” Burkett said. “So now, in 2022, it is (going to be) five times bigger than last time! I am excited for kids and adults to come back and see everything that we have been so eager to share with them.”

Also back on display will be the incredible massive nutcracker collection from longtime school house chairperson and supporter Phyllis Hoedt. Her collection takes up nearly half of one of the bottom floor rooms at the school house, and features a nutcracker with just about every theme imaginable.

“Phyllis has been collecting those nutcrackers for a long time,” Ensor added.

As always, coming to select evenings in December when Christmas at the Old Lutz School is open to the public, is free of charge. The school house will always take donations, but will also put out barrels to collect nonperishable food items and toys to donate to charity.

“Christmas at the Old Lutz School is part of what makes Lutz so great,” Ensor said. “I know for a fact the community is happy to have it back during this time of year in the holiday season.”

26th Annual Christmas at the Old Lutz School
Where: Old Lutz School House, 18819 U.S. 41, Lutz
Dates: Dec. 8, Dec. 10, Dec. 13, Dec. 15, Dec. 17, Dec. 20, Dec. 22, Dec. 26
When: 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Cost: Free. Donations are welcome.
Details: Back on display and open to the public is the School House’s annual celebration of Christmas, with the building decorated outside and the bottom floor’s room filled with Christmas trees, nutcrackers, a Lego town, an extensive model train display and other Christmas decor. There also will be Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Cost for that is $4, cash only.
Info: Visit Facebook.com/oldlutzschool.

Published November 30, 2022

Keystone Park reopens, bigger and better

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Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation Department recently reopened Keystone Park & Recreation Center, 17928 Gunn Highway, in Odessa.

The project included $2.6 million in upgrades to the center and 26-acre park.

The recreation center improvements included an expansion and renovation that features a larger multipurpose room, kitchen and new restrooms. The 1,820-square-foot expansion brings the total size of the center to 7,494 square feet.

The park has added a new playground, refurbished the tennis courts and new pickleball courts, as well as a lighted walking trail, shaded benches and upgraded parking.

A walkway from the recreation center leads to the Austin Davis Public Library next door. The library, however, is currently undergoing renovations. It is tentatively set to reopen in late May or early June.

The recreation center construction costs came in at $1,619,600, while site improvements including new sidewalks, shelters, new playground and a proposed event pavilion were $1,030,000, according to county officials.

The renovation was part of the department’s Capital Improvement Program.

Keystone Park averages about 4,500 monthly visitors.

Published November 30, 2022

Keystone Park & Recreation Center, 17928 Gunn Highway, in Odessa, recently reopened after Hillsborough County gave it $2.6 million in upgrades, including an expanded rec center and new playground. (Mike Camunas)

Pump-king of the compost hill

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They posted about compost.

Students at Learning Gate Community School in Lutz held a competition to see who could collect the most discarded Halloween pumpkins, and then they composted them with soil.

Learning Gate Community School students unload the discarded pumpkins they helped collect from the community as part of a composting project. (Steve Warrener)

Led by Environmental Science Teacher Steve Warrener, the project set up five drop-off locations around Lutz where locals could donate pumpkins.

Warrener then held a Tik Tok competition, posting videos each day. He competed against “Farm Boy James” — a popular composting personality over in St. Johns County.

“He and I posted several videos calling each other out, but the kids really got into seeing what Farm Boy James would say next and how our totals were stacking up,” Warrener said.
The competition ended in a tie: Farm Boy collected 2 tons of pumpkins, as did Warrener and his students.

“The main premise for us was to inspire and educate people to the benefits of dealing with the 100 billion pounds of food wasted annually,” Warrener said. “And why not start with a food that is about 99% wasted? — pumpkins!

“If we do it again next year, I want the county involved. We could do 20 tons by having locations to drop off at every library. That could be really fun.”

Warrener set up five drop-off locations, starting with one at Learning Gate’s campuses: the main one on Hanna Road and its sister site on Lutz Lake Fern Road; other locations included Sunlake Academy of Math and Science, Al’s Lawn Care and Happy Farm.

Warrener and the students picked up pumpkins from these locations between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15. One pickup involved a bulk donation from Watermelon Swim School that had unsold inventory from its annual pumpkin patch.

About half of the pumpkins were composted at Learning Gate’s Hanna Campus, while the other half were composted at Happy Farm.

Learning Gate Community School students proudly stand atop a pile of pumpkins that was part of the 2 tons they collected from the Lutz community for a composting project.

To compost the pumpkins, students smashed them with shovels and mixed it with soil and mulch from the school’s last tree-trimming job.

“Then we let our class chickens dig through it and spread it around — the chickens are mixing it for us — and then we can pile it back up and let it turn into better soil for our little farm,” Warrener said.

“It ended up being a much bigger project than I had planned thanks to the community involvement and the help from (Learning Gate’s) Michele Northup and The Laker/Lutz News getting the word out.”

In the end, the project taught the students a lot about the importance of composting and recycling.

When students posed questions to one another, each had a unique take on the experience.

Michael Bishop asked, “Why is composting beneficial?” and Colton Ownby replied, “Instead of throwing it away, we put it into the soil.”

Seannah McCarty said, “I learned that you can make very good soil from composting.”

Amy Cook added, “We are going to help the soil (and) to build a garden with it.”

Students agreed, when asked about their favorite part of the project.

“Smashing the pumpkins!” Max Perez said, excitedly.

Ella Couture agreed: “I loved smashing the pumpkins.”

Published November 23, 2022

From left, Learning Gate Community School students Ava Klein, Charlotte Schoeman and Kamryn Whitmore take turns smashing pumpkins for a composting project. Students reached out to the community and collected 2 tons of discarded Halloween pumpkins.
Learning Gate Community School Environmental Science Teacher Steve Warrener shows off the piles of discarded pumpkins he and students collected to compost.

Banded together, for the birds

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The birds are calling — and these kids are answering.

At Learning Gate Community School in Lutz, students have been participating in bird banding.

The work is led by environmental resource teacher Jim McGinity, who uses mist nets to capture birds and band them with tiny tracking nodules. For five days a month each fall and each spring, McGinity and some volunteers take students, of all grades, out into the 30 acres of woods on the campus, at 16215 Hanna Road, to look for birds in the nets.

Learning Gate Community School first-graders Jocelyn Stewart, left, and Sadie Kruz smile but also lean away from a common yellowthroat bird that teacher Jim McGinity holds out for them to observe after banding it. McGinity has set up safe nets for 11 years to catch birds on the school’s 30-acre wooded campus. He then bands them to track migratory patterns. He also brings out students from kindergarten through sixth grade to show them actual fieldwork. (Mike Camunas)

They’ll collect the birds, bring them back to a small learning center, band the birds and then safely release them.

Over a dozen years of doing this project, McGinity has banded more than 900 birds.

The exercise provides a unique opportunity for students to witness, first-hand, how real scientists conduct fieldwork.

“It is hard to measure the value of the students seeing science in action,” McGinity said. “They can read about science in a book, but to watch it live is something completely else and, usually, they learn more this way.

“The hands-on — to an extent — experience of seeing the entire process of actual fieldwork is perfect for them, and, as they get older, we’re recapturing some of the birds from a couple years ago or even four years ago, so tracking the migratory patterns — it’s working! It’s proving the fieldwork is working.”

McGinity emphasized the birds are not harmed in any way, nor do the students handle the birds out of the net or when they’re banded.

McGinity is a fully licensed and trained bander, which required substantial training and experience to become completely certified to run the program and handle birds.

Learning Gate Community School first-graders Norianna Marquez, left, and Ava DiPallo closely examine an indigo bunting that environmental resource teacher Jim McGinity just banded and soon will release.

“We are one of hundreds of banding projects in the country, but also one of the few, if maybe the only one that is a bird-banding project on a school campus,” McGinity added.

Once a bird is safely removed from a net, McGinity will identify its species, measure it, weigh it, determine the gender if possible, and band it.

The wooded area on campus is a stopping area for the birds during migration. During the fall, the birds are headed even farther down south and to other countries.

“We’re contributing to the greater knowledge of the migration of these birds,” he said.

The information is valuable, but the teacher said there’s a low percentage of birds that return. Of the thousands of birds he’s banded, only two of his have been found — at a different location where McGinity bands (Dunedin). One was found in Massachusetts and another in Minnesota.

However, at Learning Gate, it’s a well-received, extremely fun project for the students, especially when they hike out into the woods to search the nets.

Learning Gate Community School environmental resource teacher Jim McGinity holds up a common yellowthroat to show to students, after he banded the bird.

“I really like bird banding because you get to learn about new birds,” fourth-grader Yza Blanco said. “It’s just really fun, and we get to spend time with our nature teacher (Mr. Jim).”

“Sometimes,” added fellow fourth-grader Kealan Cooke, “the birds go to one place and then go back to the same place they were before, and they keep repeating that over and over again.”

In the end, the students are more than happy to release the birds back into the trees. In fact, it’s their favorite part, one meticulously supervised by McGinity who places the bird on students’ outstretched hands, allowing the birds to happily fly away.

They fly away — back and banded — to the call of nature.

“(I’ve learned) that when they migrate, they have to rest in order to keep going to Brazil or Mexico, and that you have to be a professional in order to touch a bird,” Blanco said.

“My favorite part is releasing the birds,” Cooke said, “and I got to release one back in kindergarten!”

Published November 09, 2022

Lincoln Maynard, left, and Jude Elliot prepare to release a common yellowthroat as environmental resource teacher Jim McGinity looks on. The teacher had just banded the bird after catching it in nets set up in the woods on Learning Gate Community School’s campus in Lutz.
First-graders Rae Oates, left, and Liam Graham take a close — but not too close — look at an indigo bunting as part of Learning Gate Community School’s bird-banding program that has been tracking migratory bird patterns for 11 years.
Jim McGinity has just placed a small band on a common yellowthroat, to track the bird’s migratory patterns.
Jim McGinity measures the length of the wing of a tufted titmouse. He also will try to determine the gender of the bird and to weigh it.

 

Full services are back at tax collector’s office

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New and improved, the Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office in Wesley Chapel now offers additional seating and windows for the customers’ convenience. (Courtesy of Greg Giordano)

The Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office in Wesley Chapel as of Oct. 31 has relocated back to its original address at 4610 Pet Lane, Suite C-101, after a temporary move for renovations, according to a news release.

The key improvements include additional windows and more seating in the lobby for the customer service area, making the office more efficient and better able to serve its visitors.

“Our goal as an organization is to make a visit to our office as easy and as simple as possible,” said Tax Collector Mike Fasano, in the release.

“The changes made during this remodel will make the customer experience even better than before. We appreciate the understanding of residents who live in Wesley Chapel, Lutz, and surrounding communities over the past few months,” said Fasano.

The office, which has a Lutz post office address but is commonly considered to be in Wesley Chapel, again will be full-service and will offer the entire range of services expected.

For more information, contact the centralized call center at 813-235-6076, 727-847-8032 or 352-521-4338.

Published November 02, 2022