The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Lutz News

Local man is named minority business person of the year

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Brian Butler was the only employee of his company — Vistra Communications — when he launched the business out of his home in Lutz in 2007.

It wasn’t exactly the best time to launch an ambitious plan.

The real estate market crashed and the nation’s economy cratered.

Brian Butler, president and CEO of Vistra Communications, pitches in during laundry day. Vistra provides ongoing support to the Laundry Project, which helps families in need through providing laundry services, converting coin laundries into community centers of hope. (Courtesy of Vistra Communications)

“I started my business in the toughest economy we’d seen in 30 years,” he recalled.

There were days when he considered giving up.

But then, as now, the business leader said anyone starting a new venture needs to stick with it.

“You can’t afford to give up,” said Butler, who is president and chief executive officer of his company. “There are opportunities out there. You’ve just got to have a plan.”

Vistra Communications now has about 70 employees with offices in Lutz, Tampa, Miami and Washington D.C.

And, on May 4, Butler will receive the 2018 U.S. Small Business Administration’s Minority Business Person of the Year — for the state of Florida and the South Florida District.

He is one of nine recipients who will be honored at a luncheon during the 31st annual Government Small Business Conference at the Holiday Inn Tampa Westshore.

Butler began thinking like a business owner early on.

During his formative years, while growing up in Palm Beach County, he had newspaper routes — flinging newspapers onto lawns.

Even then, he flexed his organizational skills.

“I was business-oriented as an elementary school kid,” Butler said. “I hired two friends to fold, so I could deliver more newspapers.”

Brian Butler reads to children at Mort Elementary School. Butler serves as CEO Mentor for the Mort Elementary School principal through The Council for Educational Change.

He followed a straight path into a business career in marketing and communications.

After he graduated from high school, he attended Hampton University, a historically black college in Virginia that was founded in 1868 to give education to freed men.

He decided to attend the college after visiting a friend who was going to school there.

He knew immediately it was the place for him.

“The campus is just beautiful,” Butler said.

The opportunity to earn a college degree there “just resonated with me,” said Butler, who received a Bachelor of Science in marketing.

Butler received a three-year scholarship from the university’s R.O.T.C. program, and upon graduation was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. He commanded combat troops in Kuwait during Desert Storm in 1990.

There were lessons learned from the military that translated to his values in running a company later.

“I’m focused on treating people right. And, I operate (my business) with values found in the community,” he said.

He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s in national security strategy from the National War College.

He stepped back into civilian life in 1988 and spent a year at the Washington D.C., powerhouse public relations and communications firm Fleishman & Hillard International Communications.

He put his uniform back on after that, and served as spokesman and chief of communications for the U.S. Army secretary. He was on the staff and communications team for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After 22 years of military service, he retired as a colonel in 2006.

However, retirement was more like a transition to a new beginning.

The next year, he founded Vistra Communications.

In the early days, Butler frequently worked with nonprofits.

Brian Butler spends some time with students at Mort Elementary School.

One of his first accounts was the private charter school, Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School. The school was founded by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Derrick Brooks and former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr.

Butler also won a contract with Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, providing communications and consulting services.

Vistra’s clients today include businesses in health care, information technology, transportation, airports, entertainment, sports, and local and federal government.

Over the years, Butler and Vistra have received many honors and awards.

Tampa Bay Business Journal ranked Vistra as the No. 1 public relations firm in 2016 and 2017. It was the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year in 2016, for 21-50 employees. Vistra also was singled out in 2016 as the SBA South Florida District Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year.

Last year, Vistra acquired Tampa-based Marketing Associates USA. The Tampa company is now a division of Vistra.

A shared interest in Trinity Café brought Butler together with Jeff Darrey, president of Marketing Associates.

Darrey founded Trinity Café, a nonprofit restaurant that feeds the homeless.

Butler believes that community service is a basic foundation of a successful business. To that end, he serves on several boards and committees, including Florida Hospital Tampa Foundation, Minority Enterprise Development Corporation, Mort Elementary School Cabinet and Conference of Minority Transportation Officials. He also is a founding member of USO (United Services Organization) Tampa Bay.

Butler is especially proud of the Laundry Project, an effort of the Florida nonprofit Current Initiatives.

Volunteers come to area coin laundries in Tampa Bay and pay for laundry fees, help with laundry services and create a community day.

“It’s part of my foundation and part of our company,” Butler said. “It’s exciting to make a difference right at home.”

Published May 2, 2018

Evening serves up belly dancers, the Macarena, food and prizes

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The Lutz Senior Center was abuzz with activity during its Spring Fling dance.

Members from many of Hillsborough County’s six senior centers put on their dancing shoes and hit the dance floor at the Lutz center on the evening of April 7.

And, this wasn’t your stereotypical senior citizen’s dance.

Dancers show off their Macarena moves on a crowded dance floor. (Christine Holtzman)

There were laser lights projecting on the dance floor, people were getting down to the Macarena and the Bee Gees, and there was even a Tampa fusion belly dance group, called Troupe Khaleda.

The place was jammed with people, who besides dancing, chatting and singing along, enjoyed a shredded pork and rice dinner, and a chance to win prizes.

Girl Scouts from Troop 717 in Lutz circulated through the room, doling out bottles of water to the thirsty crowd.

Frances Duran Brea, the general manager of the six Hillsborough County Senior Centers, shares a laugh with Raul Diaz before she takes the microphone to welcome everyone to the Lutz Senior Center Spring Fling dance.

Raul Diaz, a native of Puerto Rico, who now lives in Lutz, kept things lively — addressing those gathered in both English and Spanish — as the evening’s unofficial emcee.

Volunteer Martie Saxenmeyer, of Lutz, worked the door, having arrivals sign in and making sure they got a raffle ticket to have a chance at a prize.

She estimated the crowd at around 100, and said it was one of the biggest turnouts ever for the spring dance.

Nieves Villamediana, of New Tampa, is a big fan of the gathering place for seniors.

“There are so many beautiful things about the Lutz Senior Center,” she said, noting the most important part is that “It keeps us feeling useful, and it keeps us busy.”

Angela Garcia, of Carrollwood, left, watches as her friend Nieves Villamediana, of New Tampa, reacts with excitement to a question posed by Frances Duran Brea, general manager of the six Hillsborough County Senior Centers. Brea wanted to know who was at the dance representing the Lutz Senior Center.

Her friend, Angela Garcia, of Carrollwood, was at the center for the first time.

“I’ll be back,” she said, with a grin.

Frances Duran Brea, general manager of the Hillsborough County Senior Centers, said the dance is just one of the social events for active older adults that takes place at the centers.

Besides social events, typically held once a quarter, there are also numerous health and wellness programs available throughout the week.

Mike Coleman, manager of the Lutz Senior Center, said there also are weekly field trips and programs that focus on nutrition and safety.

Coleman characterizes the center’s staff and members as “one big family that welcomes everyone.”

The center, he said, makes a real difference in people’s lives.

“Many were not dancing before they joined the center. They would just sit at home, isolated and watching television. The center gives them that family presence they may not otherwise have. And, the activities and programs that we offer keep these seniors mentally and physically healthy,” Coleman said.

Business sponsors, including Walmart and Publix, helped to make the evening of dancing, dinner and door prizes possible.

By Christine Holtzman

B.C. Manion contributed to this report

Published April 25, 2018

Martie Saxenmeyer, of Lutz, and Gordon Christensen, of Brandon, don’t hold back: They do the Macarena, while singing at the same time.

 

Victor Aguilla, left, of Brandon, teaches Girl Scout Avery Michael, 10, of Lutz, some steps from a dance that is not familiar to the younger crowd.

Mettler Toledo brings jobs to Pasco County

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Mettler Toledo celebrated the grand opening of its 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Northpointe Village, with tours, refreshments and a ribbon cutting.

The Swiss-based company is a global supplier of precision scales and services used in research, and the packaging and production of food and pharmaceuticals.

Mettler Toledo executives and local dignitaries cut the ribbon the 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. (Kathy Steele)

Mettler Toledo announced plans in 2017 to relocate its Town ‘n Country facility, and also to close its plant in Ithaca, New York. About 600 employees now work at the new plant at the Northpointe shopping center, off State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway.

Nearly 170 people were hired in the past year, with most coming from Pasco County.

“We have a global leader now located in our county,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “It’s an amazing company. Opportunities like this one bring even more enthusiasm to our region.”

The facility will be home to four business units.

Currently onsite are Tampa-based Safeline Metal Detection and X-Ray Inspection, and Eagle Product Inspection.

During the summer, they will be joined by Mettler Toledo’s Hi-Speed Checkweighing, which currently is in Ithaca; and, Vision Inspection, currently in Aurora, Illinois.

Mettler Toledo opened its 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Northpointe Village, off State Road 54. (Courtesy of Mettler Toledo)

The units offer a range of services, including the design and manufacture of systems that check for contaminants, provide quality control for products and packaging, and test for safety of foods and pharmaceuticals.

During tours of the plant, visitors walked through the sales and services departments, plant operations area, training room, and quality control area.

The campus also has an on-site fitness room, a recreation room with ping pong and foosball, a courtyard and the “Northpointe Café.”

In quality control, visitors got a demonstration of Mettler Toledo’s testing equipment.

The one on display is capable of checking 300 boxes of chocolates in 1 minute for contaminants, and missing pieces of candy.

In her remarks, Starkey singled out Mettler Toledo’s commitment to apprenticeship programs for manufacturing jobs. Because of its on-site cafes, the company also started a culinary program at its Switzerland headquarters that will be adopted in Pasco.

Visitors to Mettler Toledo are greeted in the lobby of the manufacturing plant, which produces equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries. (Courtesy of Mettler Toledo)

Four students in Pasco’s AmSkills program — Melissa Fink, Alex Gerwe, Nikki Daniels and Josh Ortiz — attended the Mettler Toledo’s opening.

AmSkills is a Tampa Bay initiative that helps high school students, adults and veterans seeking manufacturing jobs. The program operates in Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties.

AmSkills instructor Dan Albright said he was able to place some of his students at Mettler Toledo.

Daniels, 36, was impressed with her tour. She is in the adult program at AmSkills.

“I’m very interested and excited that (Mettler Toledo) is close to this area,” she said. “It’s what we’re looking for.”

Ortiz, 19, also is in the adult program, which will last 17 weeks. “I want to be able to find a job,” he said. “Something I can go into, and be proud of and have a career.”

Published April 11, 2018

Creating harmony in the hospital

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Florida Orchestra members played several classical selections, including Beethoven, to a crowd of about 200 people at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North.

The Mallah Garden Atrium at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, in Lutz, was transformed into a concert hall when The Florida Orchestra gave a free performance on March 16.

Approximately 200 people — patients, staff and visitors — filled the atrium to listen to the classical music presentation. The performance was broadcast to patient rooms for those who could not attend.

Guest conductor Joseph Young led the orchestra through musical pieces from some of history’s greatest composers, giving an overview of each selection’s history.

Conductor Joseph Young acknowledges the audience after leading The Florida Orchestra performance at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North. (Mary Rathman)

Compositions included Ludwig Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture” and “Symphony No. 1,” Claude Debussy’s “Petite Suite,” and Franz Haydn’s “Symphony No. 82 ‘La Poule’.”

There also was a variety of Bela Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances.

This was the orchestra’s third appearance at the hospital as part of its health and wellness concert series, aimed at bringing comfort and healing through the power of music.

St. Joseph’s also provided free valet parking, and refreshments and hors d’oeuvres.

Published March 28, 2018

Lutz families will have more middle school options

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Lutz, Maniscalco and Pizzo elementary schools will begin converting to pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade schools beginning this fall.

The change will start with each of the elementary schools adding sixth grade in the fall. The following year, seventh grade will be added, and the following year, eighth grade.

The idea is to make the transition gradually.

Students living in those attendance zones will have the option of attending their zoned middle school, or staying in their current schools, under the district’s School Choice option.

Lori Branham, Monique Helms, Remi Helms, Riley Silkworth, Bryce Henry, David Henry, Tammy Reale and Joshua Phillips stand in front of a photograph of Mary Maniscalco, for whom Maniscalco Elementary School is named. The Lutz school is transitioning to a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade campus. It will begin by adding sixth grade there this fall. (B.C. Manion)

Priority will be given to students who currently reside within the school boundary, followed by students currently attending the school via the choice process, then students who live outside the boundary and are not currently enrolled at the school.

Applications are available at each school office or on the schools’ websites and will be accepted daily at the schools through March 23.

Each of the schools will be able to accommodate 110 sixth-graders.

Reaction to the new option has been positive, said Tammy Reale, principal at Maniscalco Elementary, and Lori Branham, principal at Lutz Elementary, during a joint interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

During the interview, parents and students from Maniscalco Elementary, 939 Debuel Road, expressed positive feedback about the plan.

Monique Helms, who lives in Carrollwood, said her daughter, Remi, already attends Maniscalco through School Choice.

A lot of kids from Kiddie Campus University (KCU) attend Maniscalco, Helms explained.

She’s delighted that Remi will be able to stay at Maniscalco for middle school.

“I love the culture here. The teachers here are amazing. And, so are Mr. (Joshua) Phillips (assistant principal) and Miss Reale (principal).  We’ve just been very fortunate,” she said. “I used to be a middle school teacher many, many years ago, and it’s a really tough transition. So, we were happy that they’re adding sixth grade.”

David Henry, whose 10-year-old son, Bryce, attends Maniscalco, is enthusiastic about the new option, too.

“This is a great environment for Bryce,” Henry said, noting his son also is from KCU. “He’s been here since kindergarten and has thoroughly enjoyed it. And, we look forward to him being here as a sixth-grader,” Henry said.

Henry, who attended a K-8 school when he was young, likes that approach to education.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the kids. I think the transition, from eighth to ninth grade, is much easier than from fifth to sixth, and from seventh to eighth,” he said.

Ten-year-old Riley Silkworth, a current fifth-grader at Maniscalco, is happy that she’ll be able to stay there next year.

“I like that Maniscalco is going to do K-8 because it’s way closer for me. I live 3 minutes away,” she said.

“We are going to know most of the people who are already going to be here, because most of the people are going to stay. We’re still going to have the same teachers around us,” she added.

Remi and Bryce also had good things to say.

“We’re going to be able to stay with our friends,” Remi said. “The only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s going to be even sadder when we have to leave in eighth grade.”

Bryce said he likes knowing his way around campus. He said he can’t think of anything that would be a downside from the school’s transition to a K-8 campus.

Helms said the only concern that she’s heard expressed was whether students leaving a K-8 environment would make a smooth transition into high school.

She’s confident that Remi will.

District officials say that the curriculum offered will be consistent with other K-8 schools and there will be after-school activities, but there won’t be athletic teams until there are students in grades six through eight on the campuses.

Traditional middle schools in Hillsborough County are scheduled to begin the school day at 9:25 a.m. next year, but these K-8 schools are expected to start their days at 7:40 a.m., which is on the same schedule as the district’s middle schools.

All three also will continue to offer pre-K programs.

The schools are able to transition to a K-8 program because they are currently operating under capacity.

Although Lutz has experienced some residential growth in recent years, there are also other educational options available nearby, including Lutz Preparatory School, Learning Gate Community School, Sunlake Academy of Math and Science, and Imagine School of Land O’ Lakes.

How to apply
Pick up an application at the schools or download one from their websites
Lutz: 202 Fifth Ave., S.E., or Lutz.mysdhc.org
Maniscalco: 939 Debuel Road or Maniscalco.mysdhc.org
Pizzo: 11701 USF Bull Run or Pizzo.mysdhc.org

Published March 7, 2018

This flea market — a woman’s club tradition — has bargains galore

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The Old Lutz School, at 18819 N. U.S. 41, was abuzz with activity on Feb. 26, as scores of volunteers prepared for the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club annual flea market.

“It’s our second largest fundraiser of the year,” said Pat Serio, a club member, as she consulted with other club members about where to put various donations.

Pat Serio is holding a cigar box purse that will go for $15. (B.C. Manion)

“It’s always much anticipated by the community because we’ve been doing it for so many years. We started out many decades ago,” Serio added.

“We started out at the Train Depot Park, but we quickly outgrew that, and we’ve been at the Old Lutz School ever since.

“We fill each of the classrooms with items, and we have a larger and larger footprint outdoors, adding tents each year,” she said.

Donations come in from the community and from the woman’s club members.

“We have everything from antiques and collectibles – silver, china, crystal in one special room. We have a home goods room, with kitchenware and décor items. We have a huge selection of beautiful clothing. Ladies, men, children’s clothing.

Club member Jean Palmieri sorts through hardcover books that will be sold for $1 each at the flea market, March 2 and March 3, at the Old Lutz School.

“Outdoors we have florals. We have a little mini-garden center, with artificial flowers and plants. We have toys, baby equipment, sports equipment, tools — something for everybody,” Serio said.

Volunteers were all over the place, getting ready for the sale. They were hanging clothes on racks, putting housewares on shelves, carrying donations inside, or arranging them in tents outside.

Club member Jean Palmieri was helping to sort books.

“We have a huge collection of books. Hardcover books are only $1. Soft covers are a quarter,” Serio noted.

But, those aren’t the only good deal, she added. “We have super bargain prices.”

“All proceeds go back to the community. This is our second-largest fundraiser of the year. Second only to the big arts and crafts show,” Serio continued.

The proceeds support scholarships and provide assistance to a wide assortment of community causes, including schools, libraries, Boy Scouts, and so on.

There will be a food booth, with hot dogs, breakfast items and soft drinks.

And, there will be a plant booth, too.

“The funniest thing is that we club members are our best customers. We donate the bulk of the goods, and we buy the bulk of the goods. We buy each other’s clothing, then next year, these fashions show up in the clothing racks of donations again,” Serio said.

It’s also a great place to catch up with old friends, Serio noted.

Club member Helen Fornino holds a painting and asks Pat Serio, another club member, where the item should go.

“Our women see neighbors and former neighbors. People come back, year after year, even after they’ve moved.

“It’s always the first weekend in March, so they know to anticipate that,” Serio said.

Old-time Lutz residents and former residents also enjoy spending time at the Old Lutz School, Serio noted.

“They reminisce about going to school there. So many people come through and they go, ‘This was my classroom.’

“They get all nostalgic,” Serio said.

Palmieri, who has been a woman’s club member for three years, said she enjoys being involved.

She said she joined because she wanted to help the community.

But, she said, pitching in has rewards of its own.

“It helps me feel good to know that I’m doing something beneficial for other people,” Palmieri said.

GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club annual flea market
Where: Old Lutz School, 18819 N. U.S. 41 in Lutz
When: March 2 and March 3, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: Free admission
Details: Bargain hunters will find plenty of good deals during this market, which features everything from crystal and china to pots and pans. There’s furniture, hardcover books, potted plants and all sorts of other stuff. This is the club’s second-largest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds are used to support scholarships and benefit a wide assortment of local community groups.

Published February 28, 2018

New Sienna Village office park approved

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Sienna Village, a small office park off State Road 54, is about to get a companion – Sienna Village II.

Pasco County commissioners approved a rezoning for the new office park, which will be on the southwest corner of State Road 54 and Sofia Drive. It is east of the existing Sienna Village, and about one-third mile from the intersection of State Road 54 and U.S. 41.

The rezoning allows up to 150,000 square feet of professional office, and up to 30,000 square feet of commercial. The property, including the existing Sienna Village, covers about 15 acres. The undeveloped portion includes several dilapidated residences.

Sienna Village Office Park was built in 2008. Developers are planning a new office park, off State Road 54 and Sofia Drive. (Kathy Steele)

“Sienna Village I is just a lovely project,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “I’m glad to see it (Sienna Village II) coming here today.”

Businesses in the existing office park include the Merricks Law Group, Suncoast Skin Solutions, Lumina Dental, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, and Caribbean Mystique-Massage & Wellness Spa.

Developers want to use Sofia Drive as access into the new office park. The roadway is privately owned, and unpaved, except where it intersects with State Road 54.

Issues related to Sofia Drive’s ownership must be worked out, but developers propose to pave and bring the roadway up to county standards.

Bus stops also would be accommodated, if the county makes public transit available there.

The office park’s proximity to the busy intersection of State Road 54 and U.S. 41 also could have future impacts on the site, according to county records regarding the rezoning application.

Pasco currently is reviewing recommended solutions to resolve traffic gridlock at the intersection, which has about 100,000 vehicles a day passing through it.

A volunteer task force, working on the county’s Vision 54/56 project, recommended a variety of options, including elevated lanes, and a system of at-grade frontage roads.

The county also has requested a study to determine if an underpass is a practical and financially viable option.

Published January 31, 2018

Mother of twins dies after casino boat fire; donations sought

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A GoFundMe account has been set up to aid the children of Carrie Dempsey.

The 42-year-old woman, who lived in Lutz, died Jan. 14, hours after a fire engulfed a casino shuttle boat ferrying about 50 passengers to a casino ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

She was the sole fatality among about 15 passengers who needed medical attention, according to news reports.

Carrie Dempsey
(Facebook.com)

Dempsey leaves behind 12-year-old twins, Chad and Megan. Dempsey’s husband, Joseph Dempsey II, died in 2011, at the age of 33, according to an obituary.

The children are being cared for by their grandparents.

“We are reaching out to raise funds for Chad and Megan’s care and education, that their grandparents may not have been financially prepared for,” according to a written statement on the GoFundMe page. “Chad and Megan are two kind-hearted, athletic and academically gifted children who deserve a bright future. They have incurred so much loss and heartache in their short lives.”

Bridget Verrecchia is listed as the fund’s organizer. She is vice president of the ways and means committee of the PTA executive board for McKitrick Elementary School, according to the school’s website.

Segal Funeral Home is handling funeral arrangements.

According to an obituary, Dempsey moved to the Tampa Bay area in 1985 from Cleveland, Ohio.

She will be “remembered for her sense of humor, quick wit and infectious laugh, but mostly as a devoted and loving mother,” the obituary states.

Graveside services are scheduled for Jan. 25 at 2 p.m., at Gan Shalom Cemetery, 3527 E. County Line Road in Lutz. In lieu of flowers, a college fund will be established for Dempsey’s children.

The cause of the fire aboard the Island Lady is under investigation, according to a spokesman with the U.S. Coast Guard.

About 50 people were aboard as the shuttle, operated by Tropical Breeze Casino, steered toward the gulf, and a casino ship in international waters.

The boat’s captain noticed the engine was overheating, and prepared to return to shore when a fire broke out, according to news reports.

The reports said the captain ran the shuttle aground in the Pithlachascotee River, about 100 yards from shore in Port Richey.

Passengers and crew had to jump into chilly waters. Rescuers included nearby neighbors, Port Richey police, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Pasco Fire Rescue, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The boat burned down to its hull, reports added.

For information, visit GoFundMe.com/the-dempsey-family.

An online guestbook is available at SegalFuneralHome.com.

Published January 24, 2018

An underpass for U.S. 41/State Road 54?

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Talk of solving traffic jams at U.S. 41 and State Road 54 often centers on building elevated lanes to ease massive numbers of vehicles through the intersection.

But now, Pasco County’s Metro Planning Organization wants to toss in a new solution – an underpass that would tunnel under the intersection.

Pasco County will consider an underpass as a solution to traffic gridlock at U.S. 41 and State Road 54. (File)

Consultants with Tindale-Oliver will complete a $15,000 study to determine if the underpass would work, and what the potential costs would be. The study, which will also consider an underpass at Little Road and State Road 54, is expected to take 60 days to 90 days.

“We should be able to see every possible option that is available,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey agreed.

“I think we should see if it’s an option or not,” she said.

The study’s answers will determine whether to add the underpass to a list of recommendations already produced by a volunteer task force. The task force for “Vision 54/56” has spent about two years on the matter.

They whittled 18 recommendations to four recommendations. Their choices included a system of parallel frontage roads at-grade level and elevated express lanes at major intersections. No build also is an option, but underpasses weren’t in the mix.

Task force member Sandy Graves said digging underground raises concerns about sinkholes. “How would that work?” she asked.

The MPO board, which reviews transportation matters, is composed of Pasco County commissioners, and elected officials of the county’s cities. David Gwynn, secretary of District 7 for the Florida Department of Transportation, is a nonvoting advisor.

The board unanimously approved funds for the study at the Jan. 11 meeting in Dade City. Board members tabled a review and vote on the recommendations from the task force.

If the underpass is deemed feasible, the county could ask the task force to reconvene. The cost of the study initially was $35,000, which included the consultants facilitating a task force meeting with documentation and additional analysis.

MPO board members balked at the additional $20,000 of cost, choosing instead to explore holding a future task force meeting with county staff members.

Trinity resident and commercial real estate agent Charles Puccini spoke during public comment and urged the board to carefully consider their final recommendations. He said the roadwork on U.S. 19 has made area businesses less visible and accessible.

“Make sure the solutions do not effectively block and damage the economy of Pasco County,” he said.

Regarding the task force, Puccini said: “It’s a great idea what you’re doing here.”

Published January 24, 2018

Lutz resident receives ‘Community Champion’ award

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It’s not all that uncommon for Freddy Barton to spend part of his weekend working — heading out to talk to people in the community.

If he’s headed out from his Lutz residence on his motorcycle, chances are he’s going to go hang out with some kids — to find out what’s on their minds.

“I’m talking to kids. I’m trying to probe their mind, to figure out, ‘What does it take to make you feel that you can have a chance in life?’” he said.

Freddy Barton’s work, both in volunteer and professional roles, aims to help people avoid violence, build job skills and find ways to be engaged, whether at play or at work. He has been named one of six ‘Community Champions’ across the state by Molina Healthcare of Florida. (B.C. Manion)

Barton recently was named one of six “Community Champions” across the state by Molina Healthcare of Florida at the organization’s eighth annual recognition event. The awards dinner was held at Busch Gardens.

Over the course of his life, Barton has done volunteer and professional work aimed at helping youths to avoid violence, helping both youths and adults to develop job skills, and helping those who have been incarcerated to make successful transitions into society after their release.

While working with incarcerated men, he created relationships through mentoring that continue to this day.

The Community Champions program celebrates the vision of Dr. C. David Molina, the founder of Molina Healthcare, as well as community partners who work together to care for society’s most vulnerable individuals.

Each Community Champion was nominated by a community-based organization.

Recipients received a $1,000 grant to give to a deserving nonprofit organization. Barton chose to donate his to the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, where he previously worked.

Barton said he was nominated for the award by two professional colleagues and by one of the men he mentors.

He was gratified by the recognition.

In his current role, as executive director of Safe and Sound Hillsborough, he works in a collaborative that aims to prevent violence.

Safe and Sound is the outgrowth of a think tank pulled together by Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner in 2013, in response to the Sandy Hook shooting deaths.

“When that happened, it was like a national wakeup call to everyone,” Barton said.

“You can’t do anything to stop the random shooter, but you can do something to address the community violence that occurs,” he said. “We look at violence as a disease, something that is preventable.

“My role is to work within the communities in which we serve, tie together elected officials, public agencies, private sector, residents, youths, adults — all together — to find out what do we need to do to address the factors that contribute to violence,” he said.

The work includes looking at issues such as truancy, mental health needs, job opportunities and re-entry after incarceration, Barton said.

Before taking his current job, he worked for Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, which built homes, built commercial development, had a workforce development team and created a vocational school.

Currently, he said, he’s out in the community, working to discern what the problems are and how they can be addressed.

“How do you stop violence? We’ve been trying to stop violence since Cain killed Abel.

“It’s not going to stop overnight. It didn’t start overnight,” he said.

But, there are some steps that can help, he added.

“I’m focusing on out-of-school-time opportunities for kids,” Barton said. “If we don’t find something for kids to do, they’re going to find something to do.  And, it’s not going to be what we think.”

For instance, Barton was instrumental in getting Hillsborough County to unlock a recreational center that had not been used for several years.

“With The Children’s Board and the county’s (Hillsborough County) help, we started up a camp. We said, ‘Let’s only have about 30 kids, let’s run a test. Within a day, we had 54 kids signed up.

“Now, it’s an afterschool Safe Haven for kids. We’ve got all types of programming,” he said.

Kids need to be engaged, and they need opportunities, Barton said.

“We look at spring break, we look at summer break, we look at over the winter break — whenever the kids are out of school,” he said.

It’s also important for youths to understand the repercussions of their actions, he added.

“They’re living out fantasies that they see in video games,” he said. Often, they don’t realize the serious consequences that can result,” Barton said.

Baron and his wife, Denise, have two sons, 14-year-old Tahj and 11-year-old Cameron.

Published January 10, 2018