The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Lutz News

Truflight expansion will add 100 jobs

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TRU Simulation + Training makes flying as real as it gets for pilots getting a virtual experience of soaring into the skies.

The company manufactures flight simulators, and provides the commercial and military markets with pilot training. The subsidiary of Textron Inc., also provides FAA-certified Part 142 OEM-supported pilot training.

TRU Simulation + Training manufactures full flight simulators and provides pilot training on-site. The simulators weigh between 25,000 and 40,000 pounds.
(Courtesy of TRU Simulation + Training)

TRU Simulation + Training celebrated the opening of a $30 million expansion of its Pilot Training Center in Lutz on Feb. 8. The facility opened nearly two years ago in a 15,000-square- foot facility at 1827 Northpointe Parkway, off State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway.

The expansion is expected to add 100 jobs.

“This more than doubles the capacity of this facility,” said David Smith, vice president of TRU training centers.

The newest flight simulator resembles a large white capsule perched atop black stilts. The simulators can weigh between 25,000 to 40,000 pounds each, and cost $6 million to $10 million to build.

Another three simulators can fit into the expanded space.

In addition, the facility added classrooms and flight training devices, as well as a fitness room and lounge area.

TRU Simulation has contracts with companies such as King Air, Boeing and Cessna.

When Textron builds an aircraft, the purchase price includes flight training. Simulators are custom-built to meet each client’s needs.

TRU Simulation recently delivered a Bell helicopter simulator to a training academy in Valencia, Spain.

“We also have people who just bought a plane and want to join us,” said Chad Martin, TRU training center manager.

Others are pilots who need to meet annual insurance requirements.

With about 400 clients who come to the training center annually, Smith said the local economy also gets a boost.

They stay in hotels, dine at restaurants and visit tourist attractions.

In the future, Smith hopes to see more development within the Northpointe Village shopping and office complex where TRU Simulation is located.

New restaurants are on the wish list, but Smith said, “We want anything that supports the feel of a small, walkable community that is self-contained.”

Published February 15, 2017

Lutz gardener cultivates generosity

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Eighty-five-year-old Elaine Pittman’s love affair with gardening began 7 1/2 decades ago.

“My father gave me my first piece of a garden on Long Island when I was about 9 years old.

Eighty-five-year-old Elaine Pittman has never sought attention for the contributions she makes to Christian Social Services, from proceeds derived from her plant sales. She likes to help that group because it feeds the hungry.
(B.C. Manion)

“Every spring, I would go to all of the neighbors around the block and ask for the little seedlings that they didn’t want. I had snow-on-the-mountain and bachelor buttons, and you name it,” said Pittman, who lives in Lutz.

She can barely remember a time since then when she wasn’t getting her hands dirty.

Deliberately.

Throughout her life, she spent spare time digging in soil and coaxing beauty from the earth.

Now, gardening is part of her daily life.

And, in Florida, she can do it year-round.

Behind her house, she has a potting shed, where she has stacks of pots, a sink and potting soil — in an assembly line of sorts.

“I do have a sink full of water here. Certain plants require clean pots. I just soak them (pots) in bleach and detergent here,” she said.

She takes plants that others discard, or pass along to her, and she divides them into smaller plants, which she then tends in her backyard.

She’s nurturing all sorts of plants, including begonias, amaryllis, coonties, crotons, kalanchoe, maple leaf hibiscus and crown of thorns.

She was in her shed, one recent day, putting her skills to work.

Maple leaf hibiscus ‘looks like velvet,’ Elaine Pittman says. ‘This one tends to get a little leggy, so you have to cut it back a lot,’ she adds.

She picked up a leather-leaf fern – a scraggily looking thing, but Pittman saw its potential.

“I always tell people I’m one of these idiots, something breaks, I can’t throw it away. I have to put it in dirt,” Pittman said.

After eyeballing the leather-leaf fern, she decides it will make three or four smaller plants.

She prepares a pot for the first cutting.

“I use coffee filters in the bottom of the pot. It keeps the dirt from washing out,” Pittman explains. She picks up the filters at The Dollar Tree to keep down her costs.

When a pot has a tiny hole, she uses a clump of dryer lint to keep in the dirt.

Then, she takes the first cutting from the leather-leaf fern. She holds it over the pot and begins adding potting mix. She holds the cutting in the center of the pot until she’s added enough soil in the pot to support it.

Next, she adds a “teensy” bit of systemic insecticide, then more soil, and then a small amount of fertilizer.

“I don’t believe in using as much fertilizer as they tell you. They want to make money,” Pittman said. Plus, she notes, too much fertilizer isn’t good for the environment.

Elaine Pittman tends to begonias with red, white and pink blooms in her backyard. These are some of her red begonias.

At her age, Pittman said, she’s not able to make her own potting mix.

“I can’t do my own hard work because the body is too old,” she said. And, she added, “Arthur is not a good friend,” Pittman said, referring to her arthritis.

So, she enlists help.

“I have some young friends that are strong,” she said, and they make her potting mix for her.

And, while she can’t move as fast as she used to — she still manages to grow and sell hundreds of plants every year.

Her prices generally range from $2 to $6, with a few exceptions. “The most I’ve ever charged for one of my plants was $15,” Pittman said.

She sells most of her plants at a booth at the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club yard sale and at two flea markets held at the Old Lutz School each year. The club’s yard sale is scheduled for March 3 and March 4, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., on both days, at the Old Lutz School, 18819 U.S. 41 N., in Lutz.

Proceeds go to the woman’s club, which, in turn, donates the money to Christian Social Services, which operates a thrift store and food pantry in a building that looks like a red barn, at 5514 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.

In recent years, Pittman has sold $1,000 in plants a year to provide donations. She said she likes to help Christian Social Services because they feed people who are hungry.

Pittman provides the labor, and the space to cultivate the plants, but she said the work she does relies on the generosity of others.

“People give me plants all of the time when they redo their yards. They’ll bring me the extras. “When my daughter cuts her hibiscus, she brings me the cuttings,” she said.

It’s also not uncommon for her to find plants, pots and other supplies left — anonymously — in front of her garage.

She takes those offerings and puts them to good use.

Pittman has never sought attention for her efforts to create beauty, and to help the poor.

But, it’s a project that seems to align nicely, with a quotation by an unknown author that the Lutz woman finds inspiring: “If there is any hope for the world, it can only be found in personal kindness.”

Published February 8, 2017

Local women join Women’s March on Washington

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When they set out for the 13-hour trek from Lutz to the nation’s capital, the women weren’t sure what to expect.

These women drove from Lutz to take part in the Women’s March in Washington D.C. They are, from left, Kathy Abrams, Betsy Murdock, Ivana Sheppard, Ana Torres and Katherine Pogorzelski.
(Courtesy of Betsy Murdock)

Betsy Murdock, Ivana Sheppard, Ana Torres, Kathy Abrams and Katherine Pogorzelski shared a van to make the trip.

Along the way, they wondered how big the crowd would be and how diverse.

When they arrived to join the Women’s March on Washington, on Jan. 21, the experience vastly exceeded their expectations.

The crowd was huge, and diverse.

They saw women pushing strollers. Women walking with walkers. Women in wheelchairs. They saw young men holding signs, dads with kids on their shoulders, old men taking the Metro to be part of the march.

One woman climbed a post to get a better view. Betsy Murdock could relate: She said she had to hold her cellphone high over her head to get photos of the crowd.

“It was an awe-inspiring experience for us all,” Sheppard said.

“The march breathed life into our belief in the common good that binds people of different races, genders, nationalities, sexualities, and all walks of life,” she said.

It was important to join the march, Torres said. “There were so many different issues that were affected by the election of Donald Trump that I was concerned about the vision that he represented … I didn’t want history to be written that said that we didn’t try to resist the vision that basically won the election.”

Abrams agrees it’s important to be involved: “I have never been active politically before. Now, I am.’”

Participating in the Women’s March was just the beginning, they said.

The March, Murdock said, was Day 1.

“It’s not ending at Day 1,” Murdock said.

Published February 1, 2017

New projects coming to Walmart site

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A new emergency health care center is ready for construction, and a self-storage facility is planned for outparcels surrounding the Walmart Super Center in Lutz.

They will join the new Famous Tate appliance store, which is under construction in front of the discount retail store, on a parcel off of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

New Port Richey Hospital Inc., plans to open an emergency health care facility on an outparcel at the entrance to Walmart Super Center, off Dale Mabry Highway.
(Kathy Steele/Staff)

Pasco County commissioners, in October, approved changes to a longstanding master plan for development of the entire site, located on a large triangular swath of land between Land O’ Lakes and North Dale Mabry Highway.

Adjustments will add about 60,000 square feet of retail and 12,000 square feet of office. About 50,000 square feet set aside previously for office is available for uses such as retail or a hotel.

The Nashville-based New Port Richey Hospital Inc., a subsidiary of HCA Holdings Inc., is building an approximately 10,800-square-foot emergency health facility on a parcel adjacent to the Dale Mabry entrance. Initial permits were issued in December according to a sign posted on the site.

New Port Richey Hospital Inc. also owns the Medical Center of Trinity in New Port Richey. The seller of the parcel was Hagman Properties Inc., and Canaan Development Corporation, according to county records.

Traffic zips past the construction site for a new emergency health care facility being built outside Walmart Super Center, off Dale Mabry Highway.

StorKwik Self Storage made inquiries with county planners about building up to 100,000 square feet of storage space on a parcel across from Famous Tate, by the Land O’ Lakes entrance, according to county records.

The new development isn’t expected to increase traffic, according to a new traffic analysis.

Under county code, the self-storage facility is considered retail though it generates little traffic, and the storage facility is counted as office space, said land use attorney Joel Tew, who represented the properties’ sellers.

“Essentially, it’s the same traffic as before, with no new net (daily) trips,” Tew said.

However, a traffic signal and turn lane will be installed at the Dale Mabry entrance into Walmart. Developers and county officials had sought approvals for the signal for years, Tew said.

The Florida Department of Transportation recently approved the signal, Tew added.

The eastern entrance off Land O’ Lakes Boulevard already has a traffic signal.

The outparcels at the site were ready for development for years, but for the stalled economy, Tew said.

“They simply sat there languishing through the downturn until recently,” he said.

Published January 11, 2017

Piano enthusiast opens Lutz store

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Michael Pratt never owned a piano as an adolescent.

He now owns a shop full of them.

Last month, the 45-year-old Pratt opened Picarzo Pianos, 23916 State Road 54 in Lutz.

Michael Pratt opened Picarzo Pianos in December. Located off of State Road 54, the Lutz shop offers upright and grand pianos made by both Hailun and Steinway.
(Kevin Weiss/Staff Photos)

As one of the few piano dealers in the Tampa area, the small, boutique shop specializes in Steinway and Hailun grand and upright pianos.

The store also offers restored, early 20th century pianos, with relics built as far back as 1904.

For the Land O’ Lakes resident, the new store is a labor of love — and a dream come true.

As a young boy growing up in New York, Pratt had a curiosity about the acoustic, stringed musical instrument. Though his family never owned a piano, he always made an effort to bang on some of the 88 keys whenever he visited friends’ houses.

“I didn’t really know much about what a piano was,” Pratt said. “I would just hit the key…and I would just hear that sound in the air, and it’s like: ‘What a unique noise.’”

He added: “I was just in love with playing it, creating music, creating something — a sound from nothing.”

As he grew older, his fascination didn’t waver.

Upon graduating from New York City’s Columbia University, Pratt owned a synthesizer and a digital piano. He eventually worked his way up to an upright piano, and then a 7-foot Kawai grand.

He moved to Tampa in 2003.

That’s when Pratt began collecting used Steinway pianos.

He would have the instruments refurbished, and sell to customers nationwide through eBay.

Meanwhile, he searched far and wide for “unloved” pianos to fix up.

The hobby, Pratt said, proved “very rewarding.”

“I love helping people,” Pratt said. “I help one family get rid of an instrument that they had no use for, and I help get it to another family who loved it and wanted to start the joy of music.”

Over the course of a decade, his side business outgrew his house.

Michael Pratt also sells restored and refurbished pianos from the 20th century.

Pianos could be found in just about every part in the downstairs of Pratt’s home. To his wife’s chagrin, Pratt placed them in the living room, the dining room and even in the garage.

“When I put another upright in the family room — next to the TV — that’s when my wife was like, ‘What are you doing?’”

That’s when the idea for opening a local piano store was born.

“My wife was going to throw me out,” he said, jokingly.

Pratt initially figured he would just use the Lutz storefront to stock his excess pianos, alongside 14 new Hailun models.

He has plans of grandeur in mind, however.

The storeowner dreams the showroom will become a hangout amongst other piano lovers in the neighborhood.

“I want the piano players in this area to have a resource,” he said. “We can congregate, we can talk; they can play some amazing pianos, and we can just have an amazing time.”

He continued: “At some point, I’d like to have concerts here — try and get 50 people sitting down and listening to a top quality piano player.”

Pratt, too, hopes the store will serve as a springboard for reviving youth music education. In fact, he’s already designated three back rooms for piano lessons.

“The idea is to offer a place for local piano teachers to one day teach local students,” he said. “I believe that kids in the neighborhood should learn music; I think it’s been dying out.”

He added: “Music is…just an important part of life, and to see classical music and stuff fading — I just want to bring it back somehow.”

Despite a hectic schedule that includes a full-time career in the health care industry, Pratt still makes an effort to play the keys everyday.

Though, he admits he’s “not very good.”

“I play just for the enjoyment,” Pratt said. “In fact, I think my 8-year-old has surpassed me; I hear him playing Christmas songs, and I feel like, ‘Oh, my goodness, he’s better than I am.’”

Pratt’s preferred music of choice — anything classical.

He noted he has a particular appreciation for compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.

“That’s music,” he said. “You hear it, and it just sounds interesting; more so than the current popular music that’s out there that’s three chords — that’s got its place, too.”

Yet, Pratt’s also a fan of more contemporary 20th century composers, like Michael Feinstein, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hammerstein.

“I fell in love with that kind of music,” he said.

To Pratt, all acoustic pianos are “living instruments.”

Two identical models, for example, can have a “completely different tone and pitch,” Pratt said.

It’s another reason he remains enamored by them.

“It has its own character; every one has a unique personality,” he said. “They’re just gorgeous instruments.”

Picarzo Pianos is open for daily appointments between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Regular store hours are Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, visit Picarzo.com, or call (813) 586-3320.

Published January 4, 2017

Costco primed for February opening

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Costco Wholesale is heading toward a Feb. 8 opening of its new location in front of Tampa Premium Outlets, off State Road 56 in Lutz.

But, motorists can expect to fill up their vehicles at Costco gas pumps as early as Jan. 11.

Applications to the membership-only warehouse giant will be available on Jan. 10. Eighty to 90 positions are expected to be filled in coming weeks, according to Rosina Yeo, the general manager for the new merchandise warehouse, at 2225 Grand Cypress Drive.

Construction is in the final stages on the Costco Wholesale warehouse in front of Tampa Premium Outlets, off State Road 56.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

While those are the expected dates, they are tentative depending on construction, Yeo said, but she noted work on the 186,000 square-foot warehouse is in its final stages.

Landscaping will begin soon, and the parking lot is expected to be finished within the next two weeks, she said.

Yeo transferred from a Jacksonville Costco where she was assistant general manager. She worked for about two months at the Costco Wholesale in Brandon while waiting to relocate to the new store.

Yeo said shoppers in Brandon frequently asked about the opening date for the new store, and about jobs.

About 200 jobs will be filled in total, Yeo said, with about half from company-wide transfers and half from new hires.

Applications can be made online at Costco.com by clicking on the link for employment. Site visitors can type in their zip code to find details on available jobs and how to apply.

The first warehouse site with the Costco name opened in Seattle in 1983. The company later merged with Price Club, which had gotten its start in 1976 in San Diego.

The warehouse giant sells an eclectic mix of merchandise, including wine, clothes, gas, jewelry, electronics, tires, glasses, hearing aids, vacation packages, cars, home improvement services, hardware and pharmaceuticals.

Costco’s operating philosophy is to price low and sell in very high volumes. Shoppers also expect many items to rotate out weekly, giving them what Costco calls a “treasure hunt” experience for surprising and unexpected products showing up on store shelves.

 

Published December 14, 2016

It’s beauty by design at Bella Home Market

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Bella Home Market — a new shop situated in Lutz — owes a lot to mother and daughter relationships.

Jennifer Wagner, owner of Bella Home Market, and her daughter, Sophia Wagner, the store’s assistant manager, are partners in a new Lutz store.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

Growing up in Wisconsin, Jennifer Wagner soaked up her mother’s do-it-yourself approach to interior design. She took on home remodeling projects and did them with style.

“I got my taste and flair from her,” said Wagner.

Now, she and her daughter, Sophia Wagner, are putting their talents together at Bella Home Market, a shop that brims with

eye-catching home décor and artwork for any room in the house.

Bella’s vibe is eclectic, from vintage chic to brand new.

The shop is a treasure trove for gifts, candles, soaps and scents, and also is a dealer for the Dixie Belle Chalk Paint brand.

The shop opened in June at Tropical Village Plaza, 1532 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., next to The Breakfast Nook.

Jennifer Wagner opened the shop after years of encouragement from her friends to take the plunge into retail.

Bella Home Market has gifts as well as paintings, sculptures and other home accessories.
(Courtesy of Jennifer Wagner)

She has a background in homebuilding, but also experience in staging homes — for family and friends — to make them more appealing to potential buyers.

“They told me ‘you have a knack for this’,” she said.

Her friend and founder of the Dixie Belle Paint Company, Suzanne Fulford, alerted Wagner to the vacant storefront at Tropical Village. The paint company is across the way at 1641 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.

She immediately liked the “small town feel” of the plaza, with shops clustered around a courtyard.

“It was perfect,” Jennifer Wagner said. “I love this center.”

She brought her daughter, Sophia, into the venture as assistant manager.

Sophia Wagner is a sophomore at the University of South Florida, working toward a mass communications degree. Future plans might include film school or news broadcasting.

A table display at Bella Home Market is filled with eye catching colorful treasures for home decorating and gifts.
(Courtesy of Jennifer Wagner)

She took off a semester to help her mother open the store, but will be a full-time student again next year.

But, in her spare time, she will still be working at Bella Home Market.

One goal for the new year is to increase painting classes – featuring Dixie Belle Chalk Paint. Crafting enthusiasts can learn techniques to give furniture or other items a shabby chic look.

Bringing in new items to the shop is a year-round adventure.

Mother and daughter go on buying trips to Dallas, Atlanta and North Carolina, with an eye for one-of-a-kind items.

Tables, shelves and wall space are filled with mirrors, candle holders, railroad lanterns, jumbo-size Edison light bulbs, delicate metal butterflies, and replicas of farm tractors made from nuts, screws and bolts.

Among their finds also are paintings and sculptures by fair trade artists in places such as Haiti. But, national artists, including metal and 3-D vision sculptor Travis Burford, and local artist, Jessica Marcus, are represented, too.

“You support the community,” said Jennifer Wagner. But, she has another wish for the new year.

“I want to find more local artists.”

Holiday hours for the store in December are Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The shop is open on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To find out more, visit BellaHomeMarket.com.

Published December 14, 2016

New arts and crafts show venue is a hit

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With a new venue in place, the 37th annual GFWC Lutz Arts & Crafts Show promised to be “bigger and better than ever.”

It delivered.

Cindy Bishop, of Tampa, browses one of the many vendor booths at the 37th annual Lutz Arts & Crafts Show, as decorative, hand-painted gourd birdhouses loom above. The festival was held at a new location, Keystone Prep High School in Odessa. (Fred Bellet/Photos)
Cindy Bishop, of Tampa, browses one of the many vendor booths at the 37th annual Lutz Arts & Crafts Show, as decorative, hand-painted gourd birdhouses loom above. The festival was held at a new location, Keystone Prep High School in Odessa.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)

The show — held for the first time at Keystone Preparatory High School in Odessa — drew rave reviews from attendees and vendors alike.

On Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, thousands of visitors swung by the 60-acre site, at 18105 Gunn Highway.

Once there, show-goers talked up the new venue’s amenities, including its additional space, U-shaped food booth layout and ample parking.

The comfortable weekend weather didn’t hurt, either.

The show, one of the largest annual events in Hillsborough County, typically draws 30,000 to 40,000 people.

It featured more than 350 vendors, about 50 more than two years ago.

“It’s huge,” said Cindy Bishop, of Tampa. “It’s much larger, I think, than it was up there (at Lake Park).”

Zoe Deimling, 4, of Odessa, just can't stop looking at the art on her face after having it painted at the Lutz Arts & Crafts Show. Deimling was along with her grandmother, Denise Alliston of Odessa, and her great-grandmother, Susan Corcoran of Lutz.
Zoe Deimling, 4, of Odessa, just can’t stop looking at the art on her face after having it painted at the Lutz Arts & Crafts Show. Deimling was along with her grandmother, Denise Alliston of Odessa, and her great-grandmother, Susan Corcoran of Lutz.

Last year’s arts and crafts show was cancelled due to a sinkhole at Lake Park in Lutz, forcing the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club to find a permanent location.

The club, in turn, signed a five-year contract with Keystone Prep to have the festival on the school’s property.

Denise Alliston, an Odessa resident and first-time attendee, was delighted to discover the event relocated to Keystone Prep long-term.

“I love it,” Alliston said. “I’m glad that they put it out here; there’s a lot of room.”

Some longtime arts and crafts show attendees — like Zephyrhills resident Doreen Coursey — were just ecstatic to finally see the arts and crafts festival return after its absence in 2015.

“We missed it last year — it was a bummer,” Coursey said.

The festival’s revamped digs, though, quickly put a smile on her face.

“It’s very nice,” she said.

Victor Brown, of Valrico, navigates his way through the woodworking and hand-painted lawn art ornaments, crafted by his father, Vick Brown. Brown's work was among the many colorful displays along the festival route of booths and tents.
Victor Brown, of Valrico, navigates his way through the woodworking and hand-painted lawn art ornaments, crafted by his father, Vick Brown. Brown’s work was among the many colorful displays along the festival route of booths and tents.

One man, Lutz native Tom Benson, admittedly didn’t want to see the popular arts show leave the place he was born and raised.

“I’m homegrown…so I have a little bit of a favor to the park,” said Benson. “It’s sad that sinkhole erupted.”

Compared to Lake Park, Benson said the Odessa venue has less shade, but acknowledged “there’s a lot more parking.”

For most, the two-day arts and crafts show provides a boost for holiday shoppers looking for gifts.

There’s a lot to choose from, with vendors typically offering such items as paintings, photography, jewelry, woodcarving, ceramics, pottery, stained glass, quilts and more.

Tampa resident Glenda Melching took advantage of that opportunity by purchasing Christmas ornaments for each of her 11 grandkids.

“We always buy (ornaments) for presents,” Melching said. “We get them every year.”

As if she did not have enough to carry, Mita Garga (right), of Lutz, holds her daughter Nena's lemonade as the two get ready to snack on a funnel cake while at the Lutz Arts & Crafts Show.
As if she did not have enough to carry, Mita Garga (right), of Lutz, holds her daughter Nena’s lemonade as the two get ready to snack on a funnel cake while at the Lutz Arts & Crafts Show.

Besides arts and crafts booths, the U-shaped food court, too, was an instant hit.

Situated at the festival’s entrance were a vast array of grub offerings — Italian fare, BBQ, comprehensive breakfasts and homemade treats.

“This is nicer that you have a little more,” said Suzanne Hatfield, an Orlando resident and regular attendee. “Last time, it was just one (food) line.”

She noted, however, the food court “could use more tables” in the future.

Vendors, meanwhile, were delighted by the constant foot traffic over the course of the two-day occasion.

“Look at all the people here — it’s a good show,” said Bob Platt, who was promoting a line of Orlando-based Honey Bee Skin Healing Cream.

Vick Brown, a first-year vendor who creates and sells wooden yard designs, likewise was amazed by the festival’s magnitude.

“It’s great,” said Brown, 45, of Valrico. “A lot of people are out, and everybody’s friendly.”

He added: “It’s a little different from the other crafts shows we’ve been attending —we didn’t have this traffic flow.”

The show even drew out-of-state vendors, like Tony Kassebaum, a Nevada-based goldsmith who produces and sells exotic handmade jewelry.

For Kassebaum, the festival is an annual stop on his cross-country art show circuit that leads him throughout Florida and Michigan.

“I’ve always enjoyed the show,” Kassebaum said. “Many of my customers are repeats. People have seen my stuff at the (Bay Area) Renaissance Fairs or at other shows.”

The arts and crafts show is the largest yearly fundraiser for the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club, which gives provides college scholarships and donations to local charities. Figures are not yet readily available.

Published December 7, 2016

Local vet named ‘Pet Industry Woman of the Year’

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A Lutz veterinarian has been named the “Pet Industry Woman of the Year” by the Women in the Pet Industry Network.

Dr. Dani McVety is the co- founder of Lap of Love, a company based in Lutz that is made up of a national network of veterinarians who provide hospice and in-home euthanasia for pets.

Besides winning the the network’s overall award, McVety also received the “Advocate” award for 2016 from the national group at its conference in Portland, Oregon.

McVety, who grew up on a horse farm in Odessa, didn’t set out to earn national acclaim.

Dr. Dani McVety, a veterinarian specializing in end-of-life care and in-home euthanasia for pets, recently was named ‘Pet Industry Woman of the Year’ by the Women in the Pet Industry Network. She also was awarded the ‘Advocate of the Year’ award. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Dr. Dani McVety, a veterinarian specializing in end-of-life care and in-home euthanasia for pets, recently was named ‘Pet Industry Woman of the Year’ by the Women in the Pet Industry Network. She also was awarded the ‘Advocate of the Year’ award.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

She said her company began as a sideline to help her pay off her student loans.

She hopes, however, it will help lead to a paradigm shift in the way veterinarians work with pet owners in the last days of a pet’s natural life.

“We are trying to change how end-of-life care is done,” she said.

She recently recounted how her company began.

“This woman came in with a Chihuahua,” she said.

The pet was wrapped in a little gray blanket, and the woman knew she was euthanizing her dog that day.

She asked McVety: “Can you leave him on my lap? I don’t want him on the cold sterile table. I don’t want him to touch anything but my lap.”

That approach went against her training, the veterinarian said.

“We’re taught, ‘You take him in the back, you place an IV catheter, and you bring him back in the room.’ That’s the most acceptable way of doing it,” she said.

But, McVety decided to honor the woman’s wishes.

“I’m looking at this woman, and I’m going: ‘Why not? Why can’t we do what she wants me to do?”

“I said, ‘Sure. I’m going to do that.’

“So, I sedated him through the blanket, which is something that we normally would not do.

“I gave him the second one.

“It was beautiful. It was perfect. I remember thinking, that’s what all pets deserve. They all deserve to be on your lap, the whole time. That’s what they want. That’s where they’re most loved,” McVety said.

She decided to create her own business and to call it “Lap of Love.”

A friend and veterinarian — Mary Gardner — joined her to take the business nationwide, through a network of veterinarians.

Initially, McVety thought she’d be doing more hospice work.

“What I discovered early on was that people wanted in-home euthanasia. Really, what they want is a really good conversation before giving permission to step into that space — and then a really, nice peaceful euthanasia.”

McVety estimates that about 30 percent of the 2,000 calls that come in each week are for hospice consultations. Of those, she said, about 90 percent result in an in-home euthanasia.

McVety said her background in ER veterinary services helped her realize that she has a knack for helping people who are facing a difficult time with their pet.

“I really enjoy working with the people who love their animals.

“In ER work, that translates into helping somebody understand what’s happening in a very short amount of time. They don’t have a lot of time to make decisions.

“Sometimes it is the first time that they’ve heard that their pet is dying, and they need to decide in the next 15 minutes whether or not they want to go to surgery or whether we’re going to euthanize (the pet).

“I started gravitating toward end-of-life cases, the ones that weren’t going to make it, that were difficult euthanasia cases,” she said.

“I don’t want it to be their choice—  to do this or that. I want to guide them based on what I feel they want, and within the medical boundaries that I have.

“Instead of saying, ‘Which one do you want?’ It’s ‘Here are the two options, and I need to learn more about what you think is the best thing to do, so I can guide you on which decision we’re going to make,” McVety said.

When she works with pet owners, she said, she takes this approach: “Instead of ‘You are making the right decision,’ It’s “We are making the best decision.’

“I feel like there’s so much guilt that gets put on people, where you’re the owner and I’m saying, ‘You just tell me what’s best for you.’”

She thinks it’s also important for pet owners to learn to “look at this is the natural progression of biology,” she said.

“There’s a subjective period of time when euthanasia is an appropriate decision. It’s not your only decision, but it’s an appropriate decision. Before which, I am not going to euthanize because a quality of life exists, and after which, I’m insisting on euthanizing because there’s sustained suffering,” McVety said.

Sometimes, the pet is absolutely ready in her medical eyes, but the family is not yet ready.

“Your first pet, people usually push the boundaries because they don’t know any different. The second pet, people make the decision sooner and sooner, and sooner.

“They know what’s going to happen. And, it doesn’t get easier,” McVety said.

Published November 30, 2016

Lutz library display honors 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor

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One day after the Japanese bombed the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and announced a declaration of war against the Empire of Japan.

Lutz resident Davis Gandees put together a showcase of history commemorating Pearl Harbor Day at the Lutz Branch Library. (Fred Bellet/Photos)
Lutz resident Davis Gandees put together a showcase of history commemorating Pearl Harbor Day at the Lutz Branch Library.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)

The surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941, was a “date which will live in infamy,” said Roosevelt in one of the most remembered speeches in the nation’s history.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the attack, which cost the lives of more than 2,400 people, including 68 civilians. Half of those killed were crewmembers of the battleship USS Arizona.

“It’s kind of like a 9/11,” said Lutz resident Davis Gandees.

It is an anniversary that is important to remember and honor for the sacrifices of the military and civilians, said Gandees. “Americans need to be respectful of what they went through.”

Lutz resident Davis Gandees placed items in a showcase at the Lutz Branch Library. He spent hours constructing replicas of Japanese and American planes used during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Lutz resident Davis Gandees placed items in a showcase at the Lutz Branch Library. He spent hours constructing replicas of Japanese and American planes used during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Through Dec. 10, visitors to the Lutz Branch Library, 101 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road, can step back into history through a display put together by Gandees.

He is an avid historian and a long-time builder of model airplanes flown during World War II.

In a glass showcase, there are three replicas each of Japanese and American fighter planes, and bombers, flown on Dec. 7, 1941.

Gandees also provides brief histories of the pilots who flew those planes, and photos, maps and a brief history of Pearl Harbor.

The library also added a display of suggested books to read, such as “Voices of Pearl Harbor” and “The Road to Victory.”

A photo in a display at Lutz Public Library honors the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and recalls the heroic action of American pilot George Welch.
A photo in a display at Lutz Public Library honors the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and recalls the heroic action of American pilot George Welch.

Gandees’ fascination with planes dates to his childhood in South Florida when he lived near a naval base.

“They tell me my first word was ‘airplane’,” Gandees said.

The retiree is a third generation Floridian who worked as a teacher, solar panel contractor and a Florida higher education manager. He also is a master modeler, a member of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Board, and published author of magazine articles on modeling and aviation.

Gandees is a detail man. He spent as many as 50 hours on each plane model.

To get the facts about the planes and their construction just right, he researches archives, maps and history books.

He said he can complete about one plane per month.

Davis Gandees is a history buff on World War II and builds model replicas of fighter planes used at Pearl Harbor. A display by Gandees at the Lutz Branch Library honors the 75th anniversary of the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Davis Gandees is a history buff on World War II and builds model replicas of fighter planes used at Pearl Harbor. A display by Gandees at the Lutz Branch Library honors the 75th anniversary of the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor.

“I did a lot of modifications, especially the color of the planes. The Japanese history of camouflage was very interesting,” he said.

The research gives him as much, if not more, satisfaction than building the models.

Individual stories of the men and women who heroically fought back against the Japanese attack are highlighted in the display.

Lt. Phillip Rasmussen of the 46th Pursuit Squadron was among the first pilots to engage the invaders in one of the few P-36A Mohawks not disabled by Japanese bombs.

Still in his pajamas, Rasmussen strapped a pistol to his waist.

“I’m not sure what he had in mind with that,” Gandees said.

But, Rasmussen shot down a Japanese fighter plane before his plane was damaged, and he flew under attack back to the airbase.

Gandees said one Japanese fighter plane got shot out of the sky, but on its descent hit a palm tree and killed eight American servicemen on the ground.

A photo of 2nd Lt. Phil Rasmussen shows the airplane pilot in his pajamas with a pistol strapped around his waist. Rasmussen shot down a Japanese Zero during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
A photo of 2nd Lt. Phil Rasmussen shows the airplane pilot in his pajamas with a pistol strapped around his waist. Rasmussen shot down a Japanese Zero during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Nearly 30 Japanese planes were shot down, and about 60 of their crewmembers were killed.

On a memorable trip to Hawaii in 2006, Gandees visited the USS Arizona Memorial, which rests above the sunken battleship, and the final resting place of 1,102 sailors and Marines who died there on Dec. 7, 1941.

Japanese and Americans who fought there often attend Pearl Harbor anniversaries and form friendships despite the history of conflict, he said.

“It was quite an interesting experience,” Gandees added.

Though Gandees has done other World War II and Pearl Harbor displays, this is his first at the Lutz library.

“I didn’t want it to be forgotten,” he said.

For more information on the exhibit’s hours, call the library at (813) 273-3652.

Published November 30, 2016