The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

Youths get a chance to learn about farm safety

By

Youths gathered recently to learn more about farm safety, in a special Youth Farm Safety Day on Oct. 18, organized by the Pasco County CattleWomen’s Association. (Courtesy of Casie Holloway)

The Pasco County CattleWomen’s Association organized a Youth Farm Safety Day on Oct. 18, to gives youths a chance to learn about various aspects of farm safety.

Ninety-five youths from across Pasco County who are actively engaged in agricultural operations had a chance to learn more about safety relating to eight specific areas: animals, hand tools, wild animals, knives and machetes, tractors, lawn equipment, all-terrain vehicles and personal protection, according to Casie Holloway, president of the Pasco Cattlewomen’s Association.

Holloway provided information to The Laker/Lutz News regarding the CattleWomen’s special day.

Participating youths are involved in agricultural pursuits in a variety of ways, including FFA, 4-H, or by living on a farm or a ranch, according to Holloway’s submission.

The event was held at Bird Island Lake Ranch, in Dade City.

The Pasco County CattleWomen’s Association is grateful for supporters who made the event possible, Holloway noted.

The sponsors were Famous Tate Appliances; Pasco County Farm Bureau; Pasco County Cattlemen’s Association; Lowman Law Firm; Florida Wildlife Commission; and Everglades Tractor, in Odessa.

Published November 03, 2021

A large group of young people gathered recently to learn farm safety relating to several specific topics. The special day was organized by the Pasco County CattleWomen’s Association and was supported by a number of sponsors.

Internet outages are disrupting learning, union leader says

By

The president of the United School Employees of Pasco (USEP) is calling upon the school district’s leadership to resolve internet outages.

“We’ve also been receiving numerous calls and emails regarding the district internet failures. Outages, many for long periods of time — sometimes daily — are occurring at schools, which have interfered with lesson delivery, data reporting and the printing of much-needed educational materials,” Don Peace, president of the union, told the Pasco County School Board at its Oct. 19 meeting.

“We have heard of a problem with the current provider and urge the district to make quick work of a solution, even if it means selecting a different provider,” Peace said.

“Internet disruptions do negatively impact learning in the classroom,” he added.

He also reiterated the need to reduce the amount of time teachers spend on data entry.

“As I’ve stated previously, USEP feels it is incumbent on district staff to look at ways to eliminate redundancy and paperwork — OK, data input — for our teachers.

“Where we can combine state and district mandates, we should.

“Teachers need not be clerical workers.

“We do understand the need for supportive data,” he said.

However, he added, “teachers are primarily tasked with delivering instruction to their students and that’s where the bulk of their time should be spent.”

Peace also touched on negotiations.

“Many significant decisions will be made in the upcoming weeks, including economic improvements,” he said. “USEP and district staff must be able to work together for the benefit of all.”

Published November 03, 2021

Pay early and save on taxes

By

The Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office is reminding taxpayers to pay property taxes early to receive early payment discounts.

Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy C. Millan’s office issued a news release to remind property owners that discounts are available, when taxes are paid early.

Property tax notices were scheduled to be sent out on Nov. 1, according to the office.

“We encourage Hillsborough County property owners to take advantage of both the online payment options and early payment discounts,” Millan said, in the release.

“The earlier customers pay, the better the discount. If you pay by Nov. 30, you receive a 4% discount,” the release says.

It also notes that customers don’t have to visit an office to make payments. They can pay online and there are alternative payment options available.

If taxpayers choose to visit a branch to make a property tax payment, they will need to visit HillsTax.org, and click on ‘Save Your Spot In Line.’

Hillsborough County has over 560,000 parcels of property totaling about $2.4 billion in revenue for the 2021 tax season, according to the release.

Published November 03, 2021

Upgrades on tap for Zephyrhills Municipal Airport

By

Major renovations and changes are coming to the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport — in an effort to transform the facility from a general aviation airport to one that offers more accommodations for corporate jets.

Zephyrhills City Manager Billy Poe dished on the various happenings at the city-owned airport, located at 39459 South Ave., while speaking during the annual Zephyrhills Economic Summit at Zephyrhills City Hall.

The Oct. 13 event was organized by the City of Zephyrhills, Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, Zephyrhills Economic Development Coalition, Main Street Zephyrhills, Pasco Economic Development Council (Pasco EDC), and AdventHealth Zephyrhills/Dade City.

The Zephyrhills Municipal Airport is undergoing several upgrades and improvements. Zephyrhills City Manager Billy Poe detailed the forthcoming changes during the annual Zephyrhills Economic Summit earlier this month. (File)

The city manager was among several speakers during the economic summit.

Poe quipped that the local airport is “the best in Pasco County,” adding, “part of that is because we’re the only general aviation airport in Pasco County, but we are growing.”

He opened his briefing by mentioning the progress coming along on the extension of Runway 1/19 — with tree-clearing already underway along Chancey Road.

The project lengthens the runway by 1,500 feet — up to 6,200 feet, from the current 4,700 feet.

The work is being funded through a $5.9 million state appropriation that was received back in 2018.

The 1,500-foot extension will allow the airport to accommodate an additional 17 different types of aircraft (including C-2 and D-2 corporate jets that hold anywhere from 14 to 20 passengers), Poe explained.

“We’re trying to grow, we’re trying to go more toward the corporate customers,” Poe said.

The airport also received $3 million from the state this past year to construct itinerant parking for all aircraft arrivals and departures other than local aircraft operations.

This upgrade goes hand in hand with the Runway 1/19 extension.

The parking is for the additional corporate jets the airport is hoping to attract through its longer runway, the city manager said.

Presently, incoming and outgoing aircraft are forced to park in front of the airport’s fixed-base operation terminal, which is not ideal, Poe noted.

“We have issues with the jet parking, right in front of the terminal, trying to get gas. It’s just not good; there’s a lot of potential issues that happen with that,” said the city manager.

Other airport improvement projects also are in the pipeline. These are mostly being funded with help from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), with the city contributing a smaller share. The list includes:

  • Rehabilitation and pavement of Taxiway A
  • Upgrades to the fuel farm
  • Upgrades to airfield beacons

Zephyrhills has its eyes set on greater aviation infrastructure improvements, too.

In advance of the 2022 legislative session, the city is requesting an additional $5.33 million from the state that would encompass building another taxiway, two box hangars and a newly renovated fixed-base operator terminal.

The most expensive proposition of the three-pronged initiative — if funding is approved — is a new fixed-base operator terminal, which would become a rest stop for pilots flying in and out of the airport, while also serving as an upgraded office space for airport staff.

Said Poe, “When pilots come in, they need to be able to plan the rest of the legs of their flight, have an area to come in, relax, watch some TV, take a shower, grab something to eat.”

Elsewhere, Poe underscored the critical role of the Pasco EDC — specifically business development director Tom Ryan — for helping to promote the municipal airport at ongoing events and conferences nationwide.

Ryan is responsible for business development of new and expanding office, technology, and industrial related businesses and parks, according to the Pasco EDC’s website.

His responsibilities also include coordinating strategies to support economic development efforts in targeted areas, including confidential site analysis, regulatory assistance, compiling location data and incentive programs.

“Tom makes trips all over the country and talks highly of Zephyrhills, and helps to market us (to places) where the city cannot get out to,” Poe said.

Poe also emphasized the airport could not make major improvements without grants from the DOT, FAA and state legislature.

He pointed out the city has received roughly $10 million worth of grants in the past three years alone, adding, “there’s (been) a number of grants, millions of dollars before that, and there’s hopefully, millions of dollars after that.”

Published October 27, 2021

CRA agency outlines initiatives

By

The Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is hitting the ground running regarding initiatives in the city’s historic downtown district, in the new fiscal year.

The Zephyrhills City Council, which doubles as the CRA board, has approved the agency’s 2021-2022 budget for $879,814.

That’s a sizable increase from the previous budget, which was $578,244.

The Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has set forth several initiatives for the city’s historic downtown in its 2021-2022 fiscal year budget. (Courtesy of Zephyrhills CRA)

That boost is partially due to an increase in the agency’s ad valorem revenues during recent years.

In the fiscal 2021-2022 budget, the agency’s tax increment financing (TIF) revenues are proposed to be $562,848 — up from $428,630 in 2020-2021 and $315,410 in 2019-2020, respectively.

“What we’re doing is working,” CRA Director Gail Hamilton told the CRA board during a Sept. 27 meeting at Zephyrhills City Hall. “The values continue to increase, the market doesn’t hurt us any at all, so what we’re doing as far as residential is going well, it’s working. We’ve got some new commercial projects going in the coming year.”

However, Hamilton acknowledged retail spacing “continues to struggle” in the historic district, so the agency is planning some incentive programs to lure new merchants.

The bulk of this year’s CRA budget is set aside for three major capital outlay projects — combining to total $672,500:

  • Little But Loud outdoor venue: $250,000
  • First United Methodist Church of Zephyrhills parking lot improvements: $320,000
  • Entrance signage installation: $102,500

The Little But Loud project, planned at 38426 Sixth Ave., is envisioned as an entertainment backyard space of sorts featuring food trucks, vendor carts, games, live music, public art installations, and various seating and lounge areas.

It is planned for a 150-foot by 60-foot city-owned vacant lot at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, and is the CRA’s scaled-down version of Sparkman Wharf, a popular waterfront venue in downtown Tampa’s Channelside.

“I know there are some that say we can’t do it for $250,000, but we’re going to see what we can do,” Hamilton said, referring to Little But Loud.

Hamilton also underscored the importance to lease and repair the church parking lot located right in the center of downtown, at 38635 Fifth Ave.

She said the East Pasco town has few public parking options in downtown, aside from Zephyrhills City Hall, which is often at capacity.

“One of the problems that we encountered last year was that there is no public parking in downtown,” she said.

Besides formalizing a long-term lease, CRA funds will be used to address paving, stormwater and lighting issues on the church’s lot, which is over 20 years old.

“When a developer comes to us and wants to build something, we have strict standards on what the parking lot has to be. We have to follow those standards, as well,” Hamilton told CRA board members.

“It’ll be an asset to have a paved parking lot downtown,” she added.

Installing entrance signage to provide a gateway to the historic district is another noteworthy capital project.

The first sign is expected to be constructed and installed between Fifth Avenue and U.S. 301.

Moving forward, Hamilton said the agency is aiming to launch “a real campaign” about what the city has to offer “and try to get people motivated to look at downtown and the CRA district.”

The CRA director later encouraged city leadership to make suggestions about what else they’d like to see within the historic downtown district — which spans approximately 501 acres and encompasses the center spine of the city, generally between Hercules Park to C Avenue, and from Zephyr Park to 17th Street.

She noted some smaller undertakings in the past year included installing landscaping, benches and pots along Fifth Avenue; installing public Wi-Fi downtown; and installing streaming wireless audio speakers downtown.

“If there is a project, if there is something you see in another community, let us know, let’s talk about it,” said Hamilton. “The CRA has to be nimble enough that we can change and meet the demands of the market, because improving the market, improving the ad valorem taxes is why we’re here.”

Meantime, Main Street Zephyrhills Director Faith Wilson shared several event updates during the CRA meeting:

  • Preparations are underway for Halloween Howl, scheduled for Oct. 30 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., along Fifth Avenue. Family friendly activities will include a pony ride, petting zoo, haunted house, hayride and face painting. There also will be a ghost tour “to offer our citizens something new and exciting,” Wilson said.
  • The 2021 Festival of Lights Christmas Parade is scheduled for Dec. 4 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., in downtown Zephyrhills. This year’s event theme is “Candyland Christmas.”
  • The annual Zephyrhills Founder’s Day Parade and Heritage Festival may need to be rescheduled or pared to an evening event with no parade.

It’s anticipated March 5 date coincides with The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce’s annual Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Fest.

The city’s Founder’s Day event is supposed to be on the Saturday closest to March 10, without going beyond it. City officials are actively discussing various options and possibilities, noting parade attendance has fallen off over the years.

  • Main Street Zephyrhills Board of Directors approved a new “community and unity” initiative, which aims to help create a positive narrative around events and partnerships within the city. “We all want to do good for Zephyrhills,” Wilson said, “and by working together, we can do great things for our community, so organizations can join together with Main Street to co-host and coordinate events downtown, and instead of competition, it’s cohesive and we work together.”

One upcoming “community and unity” event is the First Florida Chapter of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association Fall Rally Honoring Our Nations Veterans, from Nov. 12 to Nov. 14.

  • Wilson also noted that she participated in the Florida Main Street’s fall quarterly conference meeting in Crystal River. “There were some great community branding and marketing strategies presented,” she said.

City of Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency fund

Budget: $879,814

  • Personnel services: $112,549
  • Operating expenditures: $69,765
  • Capital outlay: $672,500
  • Contributions: $25,000

Published October 27, 2021

Efforts continue to bolster safety in Pasco’s school district

By

Efforts to improve the safety and security of Pasco County Schools is an ongoing effort, as the school district works to reduce potential threats throughout the system.

The Pasco School Board recently approved a safety plan that must be submitted to state offices by Nov. 1, outlining steps the district is pursuing to make its campuses safer.

The board approved the plan on Oct. 19, following a closed-door session on school safety. The session was private because of a need for confidentiality relating to security issues.

Entry buzzers have been installed at schools across Pasco County. Visitors push the doorbell and are buzzed in, individually. (Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

Michael Baumaister, the district’s chief of safety and emergency operations, gave a brief overview of the security plan during the board’s meeting.

District has a strong relationship with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the municipal police agencies, Baumaister said. “We work very closely together.”

The district is always looking to improve its safety, but, he added: “I think we’re on the right track.”

“Ever since Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a lot of changes have been made to the school system,” he said, referring to the 2018 Valentine’s Day shooting spree that left 17 dead and 17 injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a community in South Florida.

The public outcry, including persistent student protests, prompted state legislators to mandate safety upgrades on school campuses across Florida. The annual safety plan that must be submitted to the state is one of the requirements of the state legislation.

During the recent board meeting, Baumaister said: “As we move forward, we’re going to start looking strategically at some of our older schools that we may have to add additional things to, to enhance our safety posture.

“We use our best practices. Our security assessments that are done by law enforcement. The assessments that are also done by the school principals. We look at all improvements that are out there — new technologies, and we roll that all up with what we want to move forward with in our planning for the future,” he said.

The district also is continuing to work on various projects.

“As large as a district as we are, things take time, and we are moving along pretty well,” he said.

The district uses a work-order system to make minor repairs at schools, Baumaister said.

He explained: “These are the small projects. You can send a technician out; fix a fence. Repair a camera, things like that.”

The district also continues to add security cameras to schools.

“By the end of next year, we should have cameras in every one of our campuses,” he said.

He noted: “They’re not in the classrooms, they’re in the hallways. So, it just gives us a posture so we can keep eyes on what’s going on.

“If there’s ever an emergency, with our agreement with the sheriff’s office, they can then look in to see what’s going on at that moment, to see what may be happening.

“We took all of these lessons from Marjory Stoneman Douglas and what went on there, and try to learn from it and make improvements in our district, so we never experience anything like that here.”

He also noted that the district is using window security film, to harden the exterior of its schools. The goal is to make it hard for intruders to penetrate.

“If somebody is trying to break a window, they probably don’t have good intentions,” he said.

The security film helps keeps students and staff safe, he said. Also, “it gives time for law enforcement, and for the security guardians and for the SROs (School Resource Officers) to take action and get to the area” where there are attempts being made to penetrate the building.

“Our emergency radio communications, we’re always looking to improve them. We study them. We look for better ways to do it,” he said.

He also noted that the district has completed its project to add a doorbell system for all of its schools.

The doorbell gives school staff the ability to find out who is visiting and why, before allowing access.

Baumaister also emphasized the need to have a plan and to make sure that school staff understands it.

“This way, if something is ever to occur, they already have a plan of action in place.

“We do plan on testing our plans.

“We’re going to do small exercises with the schools, to talk about our plans and make sure that that’s fresh in their minds, and that they are always constantly keeping them updated and keeping them current,” he said.

Published October 27, 2021

Redistricting proposals advance for a vote

By

The Pasco County Commission has selected its preferred map for new voting districts for the five seats on its board.

And, the Pasco County School Board is set to make a similar choice at its Nov. 2 meeting.

Both government bodies also are planning public hearings on the issue.

County Administrator Dan Biles said the county’s proposed redistricting map took into account feedback from individual commissioners, geographic features and a need to balance population between districts. (File)

The county commission’s public hearing is being advertised for Dec. 7; the school board’s is expected on Nov. 16.

The school board’s desire to weigh in on the redistricting discussion before the county board made a choice, however, didn’t happen.

The school board had taken up the issue at its Oct. 5 meeting, addressed it again on Oct. 19.

School board member Megan Harding thanked the district’s Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd for trying to arrange an opportunity for the school board and county board to work together on redistricting.

The school board had hoped to establish the same district boundaries as the county commission. That’s what it did the last time redistricting occurred.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get to work with the county,” Harding said. “It’s unfortunate that we now have to have two separate maps.”

Redistricting occurs every 10 years, based on the population figures collected in the decennial census.

The figures are used to apportion the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Florida Legislature redraws the districts from which Florida voters elect their members of their U.S. House of Representatives, state senators and state representatives.

The Florida Constitution also requires county commissions to develop a redistricting plan every decennial census to keep commission districts as nearly as equal in population as practical.

Political observers are keenly interested in the process because the way the lines are drawn can influence outcomes of elections.

In the case of Pasco County’s proposed district lines, County Administrator Dan Biles told the county board at its Oct. 12 meeting: “After we sat down with each of you and each of you gave us feedback of what you’d like to see, with respect to your district, we kind of combined all of that and tried to come up with a compromise map.”

His preferred option, was based on input from each commissioner, consideration of geographic boundaries and the goal of balancing population.

Incumbent school board member Alison Crumbley would have been carved out of her district, if the school board had adopted the map that the Pasco County Commission has proposed under its redistricting plan.

“What we tried to do was follow major arterials, collectors, as best we could,” Biles said.

“I know it’s not necessarily perfect, but it’s what we could do best to balance the population across the county, based on the feedback you gave us and make it reasonably easy to describe what your district boundaries are to the members of the public,” he said.

He also noted: “The difference between the largest and the smallest district is less than 2%.”

Commissioner Mike Moore made a motion to approve Biles’ preferred option, which was approved unanimously by the board.

The board is scheduled to have a public hearing and vote on the proposed map at its Dec. 7 meeting, at 1:30 p.m., in New Port Richey.

After the vote, Commission Chairman Ron Oakley invited Gadd, who was in the audience, to address the county board.

Gadd told commissioners: “What I have to say is now irrelevant. In all deference to Mr. Biles, because I know he worked hard in putting this together.”

Gadd told the county board that the school board and county commission met in a workshop on Aug. 16, 2011, regarding the last redistricting effort.

“We adopted the same districts. The school board did that by resolution,” Gadd said.

The board was interested in taking the same approach, but didn’t have the opportunity, Gadd added.

“We thought it was a good idea to have commission districts and school board districts that were the same. In the past, we cooperated on that,” Gadd said.

The county’s proposed map won’t work for the school board because it carves school board member Alison Crumbley out of her district, he said.

“I think it’s unfortunate that the school board and the county didn’t meet to discuss this issue, prior to that decision being made,” he said.

Some county board members said it appeared that a small tweak might be able to resolve the issue, but Gadd said: “None of our school board members have seen these maps. I don’t know what any of them think of these maps.”

School Board Attorney Dennis Alfonso and Superintendent Kurt Browning addressed the issue during the school board’s Oct. 19 meeting.

Alfonso told the board that the county’s proposed map can’t be used by the school board “because it would be contrary to the law.” He explained that a map cannot affect an incumbent’s position.

Proposed maps have been circulated to board members, Browning said.

The issue will be discussed at the board’s Nov. 2 meeting, and the proposed maps will be published as part of that agenda, the superintendent said.

Browning said based on the board’s Nov. 2 action, a resolution and map will be placed on the board’s Nov. 16 meeting, to set the new districts for each of the five school board members.

By the numbers

Proposed commission districts:
District 1: 113,431
District 2: 112,918
District 3: 111,299
District 4: 111,763
District 5: 112,480
Total Pasco County population: 561,891
Average population per district: 112,378

Pasco County, census data
Total population, 2020: 561,891
Total population, 2010: 464,697
Numeric change between 2010 and 2020: 97,194
Percent change: +20.9%

Published October 27, 2021

Having a rockin’ good time at Paulie Palooza

By

The 10th annual Paulie Palooza Music Festival had six headliners, including The Sand Spurs, shown here. Paul Correia, in the green shirt, is a member of the group. He also is the founder of the music festival. (Kelli Carmack)

The 10th annual Paulie Palooza Music Festival featured live music, of course, but it also had food trucks, silent auctions, prize drawings and more.

The festival, sponsored by Gulfside Healthcare Services, took place on Main Street Zephyrhills on Oct. 16, from noon to 9 p.m.

Performers for the music festival included Clancee, The Time Travelers, David Teague, The Sand Spurs, Southern Nights, and Kind Villain.

The event was created by Paul Correia in 2012 to honor the memory of his father, who passed away while under Gulfside Hospice care, in 2010. All proceeds raised from the event go to benefit Gulfside’s hospice program, which provides patient care and bereavement services to more than 650 patients and families daily, in the local community.

Gulfside Healthcare Services is a nonprofit organization, which has been serving the community for more than 30 years.

Its three lines of business include Gulfside Hospice, offering care for patients at end of life; Gulfside Palliative Care, providing treatment options for those with chronic illness; and Gulfside Home Health, helping patients stay independent through skilled nursing and rehabilitation at home.

For more information about Gulfside Healthcare Services, visit Gulfside.org, or call 800-561-4883.

Note: See a video of the event on our website and Facebook page.

Published October 27, 2021

Paul Correia, founder of the Paulie Palooza Music Festival, was presented with a celebratory gift for the event’s 10th year anniversary. The gift was presented by Carla Armstrong, director of philanthropy for Gulfside Healthcare Services, and Leesa Fryer, fundraising and event planning specialist. (Courtesy of Alexandra Correia)
Hudson resident Susan Bishop was among the vendors at the 10th annual Paulie Palooza Music Festival. She said the event had special meaning to her because her father was a Gulfside patient in 2017. (Kelli Carmack)
Festival-attendee Heather Stephenson glimpses at the silent auction prizes up for grabs at the event. Prizes included an autographed Tampa Bay Buccaneers football, a signed Tampa Bay Lightning jersey, paintings, portrait sessions, handcrafted items and more. (Kelli Carmack)
Eurbana Lambert, 99, is all smiles as she finds the perfect seat in the shade to listen to some live music.
Ronald and Rochelle Moss, who have been married for 58 years, were color coordinated for the festival. They have lived in Zephyrhills for seven years.

Theater group looking for peer mentors

By

New Tampa Players is seeking peer mentors of this year’s Penguin Project production of “Mary Poppins Jr.”

The Penguin Project gives children and young adults with special needs, ages 8 and older, the opportunity and the support to be the stars of the show.

The young artists have developmental, intellectual, physical and learning disabilities, and are joined on stage by their peer mentors who give them the support they need to shine.

This year, “Mary Poppins Jr.,” has a record 47 young artists, and New Tampa Players is looking for 20 mentors, ages 16 and older, to support them. The youngest artist is 8 years old, and the oldest is 28 years old.

The primary role of a mentor is to build a friendship with their young adult, and to be responsible for knowing their artist’s blocking, choreography, and lines.

Mentors rehearse through the entire five-month rehearsal process, too, usually once to twice a week.

Peer mentors also perform with their young adult during the play performances, scheduled for March 11, March 12 and March 13.

New Tampa Players is the first replication site for the Penguin Project in the state of Florida, and is now in its fourth year.

For information, email Nora Paine, producing artistic director, at .

Published October 27, 2021

Movie brings scares to Dade City

By

Dade City may be best known for its antique shops, rolling hills and kumquats — but the charming, quaint town may soon be known as a consummate setting for scary movies, too.

For two-plus weeks in October, an independent, low-budget horror film production company — Cape Coral-based Bad Clown Films — ventured into some of the city’s remote locations to shoot a new feature-length film, “Bed of Nails.”

Michael Malott, holding his bullhorn, yells ‘action’ to start a scene while filming the feature-length horror film, ‘Bed of Nails.’ Malott is filming in various Dade City-area locations. (Fred Bellet)

The movie — set to be released around Halloween 2022 — has a plot as eerie as its title.

The film is about three gothic kids from Atlanta, who are camping in the rural countryside in middle Florida while on their way to the Florida Keys.

Instead of making their way to the Keys, the campers are stalked and murdered by a group of fanatic rednecks.

But the killers never planned on one of the kids — a self-proclaimed witch who is into the occult — coming back from the dead to wreak havoc and destroy the rednecks, one by one.

“Our motto is, ‘Never mess with a goth girl,’” Bed of Nails producer and director Michael Malott said in an interview with The Laker/Lutz News. “That’s the motto of the film.”

Between scenes, Erin Pearl, left, of Fort Myers, and Deanna Marine, of Orlando, talk about an upcoming scene with makeup artist Hannah Denney. A boom microphone with a furry wind filter is among the audio equipment used on the movie set.

The R-rated film features about a dozen cast members, including former Whitesnake and Alice Cooper guitarist Mike Francis.

The musician-turned-actor, starring as the film’s main bad guy, recently had finished filming scenes at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles for legendary Hollywood director Martin Scorcese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

That film also stars Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow and Brendan Frasier.

Malott has known Francis for years, having been a longtime Grammy award-winning creator, producer and music manager.

“He had some credibility and experience in film, so I wanted to utilize him,” Malott said of Francis.

Some local actors, extras and crew members were incorporated into “Bed of Nails,” too.

Carson Carollo, a recent Hernando High School graduate, is a cast member in the horror film, ‘Bed of Nails.’

Needing a rural, swampy environment as a setting for the flick, Malott keyed in on the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve West Tract, about five miles from downtown Dade City.

He had also considered filming in the Florida Everglades, but because it is owned and operated by the U.S. government, obtaining film permits was more challenging, he said.

Pasco County’s tourism department — Experience Florida’s Sports Coast — assisted the filmmaker with a referral to utilize some private property off State Road 575 in the Dade City area.

The property features a main house, secondary house and other accents, such as a footbridge needed to pull off eerie and gory scenes.

“It just had the right kind of imagery that I was looking for in the film,” Malott said. “We had two buildings to utilize, and we also had all of the swamp area, so everything that we needed, as far as a primary film location, was right there in our hands.

“What we ended up with was a private area of land that was out in the Green Swamp, and we were able to get all of the atmosphere that we needed for the motion picture, with far less complication (than the Florida Everglades),” he said.

Other scenes from the $41,000 budgeted movie were shot at Jim’s Tires & Wheels on Lock Street and Bill Ryan Auto Sales on U.S. 301, as well as some driving footage set out along Lacoochee Clay Sink Road.

Erin Pearl, of Fort Myers, plays ‘Lisa’ in the upcoming feature film, ‘Bed of Nails.’

Most filming took place from dusk to dawn.

“There were some long nights,” Malott said.

Some strange ones, too.

Malott encountered a Florida panther within 20 yards of him on the second day of filming.

The siren on his megaphone spooked the wild animal off, luckily.

“I was scared to death,” Malott said. “I thought I was panther food.”

The filmmaker recalled intermittent odd noises from the woods, as well as an inexplicable occurrence where an estimated 200-pound log attached to a tree limb mysteriously flew onto the film set.

Director Michael Malott, right, frames a view of a scene with actress Erin Pearl, of Fort Myers. Pearl plays the part of ‘Lisa’ in ‘Bed of Nails,’ being filmed at Dade City-area locations.

“We just had some weird, weird incidences out there,” Malott said. “We had people that were starting to think that maybe we had the Skunk Ape (Florida’s sasquatch), but I’m like, ‘Yeah, right.’

“We were joking all along about making a new horror film about us filming a horror film — a horror film documentary,” he said.

The moviemaker also presented an alternate theory to some of the oddities: “We were thinking maybe some of the locals were playing tricks on us, you know, some of the city folks come into our area to film a movie, let’s have some fun with them…”

Closer to Dade City, Director Michael Malott and a production crew member plan on several scenes at Bill Ryan Auto Sales, at 15838 U.S. 301.

Malott has taken some downtime from the “15 long, grueling nights” of filming, and next will assemble a movie trailer before diving into the lengthy editing process.

After that, he plans to pitch the project to film festivals, horror conventions and digital streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. There also are plans to manufacture the film on traditional DVD and Blu-ray discs, he said.

Meantime, the film crew may need to make another trip to Dade City or another location for some B-roll footage, Malott said, including scenes of alligators and snakes moving across swamp water.

Malott’s company has other horror film projects in the works, too.

One is called “The Grove,” about four teenagers who get lost in an orange grove, trapped all night with a psychopathic killer.

The other, “House of Stares,” is about someone being offered money to spend the night at a house where some infamous murders took place.

Malott has already scouted out a home in Dade City to film the latter project. “It’s very, very possible that we could be coming back to Dade City in the future to film another movie,” he said.

For information, visit BadClownFilms.com.

Published October 27, 2021