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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Volunteer With Gulfside Hospice And You Will Benefit Even More Than Those You Help

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For Karen Lentz, volunteering at Gulfside Hospice began with her husband’s fondness for craft beer.

About a year after relocating to Port Richey from Wisconsin, Karen and her husband, Mike, attended the 2018 Spring Brewfest for Hospice benefiting Gulfside. While enjoying the beer and activities, Karen met volunteers and staff working the event, and learned that new volunteers are always welcome in a variety of ways to help Pasco’s largest hospice organization.

“At Brewfest I found everyone to be so warm, and felt their passion was so genuine, that I wanted to learn how I could get involved, too,” said Lentz. She was invited to attend Women For Gulfside, a group of 70 women of all ages who work together to raise money for the nonprofit.

Karen Lentz is a founding member of Women For Gulfside.

“As a newcomer to the area, volunteering at Gulfside has opened so many doors for me,” said Lentz. “Through Women For Gulfside, I have met some fabulous people, made many great friends and found an organization where my volunteerism truly makes a difference.”

Gulfside Hospice is celebrating people like Lentz during National Volunteer Week, which is April 18-24. “Every individual and family who is supported by Gulfside Hospice is touched by our volunteers,” said Kirsty Churchill, director of public relations for the organization. “The mission of hospice could not be accomplished without our volunteers.”

National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 by the Points of Light organization to “shine a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve, recognizing and thanking volunteers who lend their time, talent and voice to make a difference in their communities.”

Volunteer appreciation and recognition is especially important now, following a year of COVID restrictions that greatly limited volunteer activities, with the end result of fewer people volunteering because of health and safety concerns.

“For those who are able, there are so many ways to volunteer at Gulfside Hospice — from working in our thrift shops, to providing administrative assistance, to making handcrafted gifts and cards, and providing respite care to give caregivers time to get a haircut or go shopping,” said Churchill. “You can volunteer just a few hours a month, or as many as you want.”

Karen Lentz, center with sunglasses, is one of hundreds of volunteers at Gulfside Hospice. Shown with Karen at a recent fundraising event are, from left, Carla Armstrong, Mary Rammer, Scott Rammer, Karen Lentz, Mike Lentz, Andrea Flaherty and James Flaherty.

“I cannot tell you how personally rewarding it is for me to spend time with hospice patients and their families,” said Karen. “People ask me all the time how I can do this, and remark how difficult it must be. But the truth is I get so much more back in return, that I am the one benefiting the most. I truly feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this.”

Before moving to Florida, Lentz was rapidly climbing the corporate ladder in information technology for a health care/insurance company. The work was intense, and it was not unusual for her to work 16 hours a day.

“I was surprised to discover that after achieving my professional milestones, that I still felt unfulfilled and was struggling with how I wanted to live my life. Being a success at my job did not give me a sense of purpose, and I began to look for other things I could focus on that were more rewarding and would make me happy.”

Looking back on her life, Lentz reflected that the job she loved the most went back to junior high when she worked as a nurse’s aide working with Alzheimer patients. “These were patients in the final stages of their lives, and I loved working with them.”

Realizing that what she loved best was completely different than her career path, Lentz reached out to hospice organizations in Wisconsin, signed up for training and became a volunteer.

There are many ways to volunteer at Gulfside Hospice, including making handcrafted cards.

Lentz eventually left her corporate job and set up a consulting business from home, which gave her more time to volunteer and explore relocating to Florida. After touring the state for a new place to call home, the Lentzes fell in love with New Port Richey and soon after they moved, Lentz made contact with Gulfside Hospice at the Brewfest.

While many people become involved with hospice after a family member receives services to assist them through the final stages of life, others, like Lentz, do not have a personal hospice experience and become involved because they want to volunteer with a group that makes such a significant difference in their community.

“One of the things I really like about raising money for Gulfside is that we know where the money goes and know that it is always accounted for,” said Lentz. “In fact, Women For Gulfside gets to determine where the money we raise through our philanthropy is spent, and that means so much to our group.”

Gulfside Hospice always welcome new volunteers, and there are many ways to get involved. To learn more, contact the volunteer team at 727-845-5707, or visit Gulfside.org/volunteer-with-gulfside.

Published April 21, 2021

Celebrating a century in style

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Evelyn “Ev” Furman knows a thing or two about having changed-up birthday plans.

Ev Furman was in her glory, as family and friends gathered to celebrate her 100th birthday. (Courtesy of Debbie Storts)

After all, it was just last year when the big plans that her daughter, Debbie Storts, had made for Ev’s 99th birthday were derailed by COVID-19.

Debbie had planned a luncheon at Rusty Pelican, with family members flying in to attend.

A big luncheon birthday party was planned, too, with Debbie and Ev’s friends.

Those plans were scrapped, but that didn’t deter Debbie.

She switched things up and invited people to walk, drive or bicycle by to help Ev celebrate.

Debbie kept things safe.

She asked people to drop off cards or gifts at the edge of the driveway, where she picked them up and wiped them down, before giving them to Ev.

Debbie doled out treats from a 6-foot-tray to keep things socially distanced.

This year, Debbie was undaunted, as she began planning for Ev’s 100th birthday.

She booked a big room at Rusty Pelican, with plans for 100 guests at the party.

From left, back row: Gary Furman (son), Debbie Storts (daughter), Derrick Storts (grandson), Carol Ann Jones (niece) and Bonnie Bean (Gary’s girlfriend) Front row: Ev Furman (the birthday girl), and Darlene and Charlie Conville (daughter and son-in-law). The woman in the garage wearing pink is Christine Lynch, who dressed that way because she knows Ev’s favorite color is pink.

Just like last year, people were planning to fly in for the festivities.

And, just like last year, COVID-19 foiled the Rusty Pelican plans.

So, instead of having 100 people at a fancy party, Ev’s family regrouped and they had the party at Debbie’s house and in the nearby cul-de-sac in her Twin Lakes subdivision.

The party was a team effort of Ev’s daughters, Debbie and Darlene Conville; her son, Gary Furman; her grandson, Derrick Storts; and her niece, Carol Ann Jones.

Darlene and her husband, Charlie, traveled from Michigan to be there. Gary and his girlfriend, Bonnie Bean, came from Georgia. Derrick came over from Winter Springs, and Carol Ann traveled from Arizona.

Eighty-five people joined in for the festivities, which included Mexican meals from a taco truck and live music from Crossroads, a band that played Ev’s favorite tunes — ranging from Big Band numbers to ’70s songs.

Ten-year-old Stella Phillips, was there, too.

Mary Sawl made this quilted banner for Ev Furman’s 100th birthday.

After all, it’s a tradition for her to help Ev blow out the candles on the cake, Debbie said.

This year, Stella didn’t help to blow out the candles because of COVID-19, but the Roland Park Magnet School student arranged to be out of school, so she could be there on Ev’s special day.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office was there, too. They came with sirens blaring, and they brought a bloodhound and a K-9 — which were popular with the guests.

The law enforcement officers also gave Ev a bouquet of flowers and a stuffed dog, too, to mark her milestone birthday.

And, she got a huge pile of presents and a giant stack of cards.

Last year, even though the celebration was completely different than originally planned, Ev didn’t mind a bit.

In fact, she declared “it was the best party I ever had.”

Turns out, she was wrong.

This one, she said, “was much, much better.”

And now, she’s looking forward to more birthdays — lots more of them.

“I’m going to live to be 200,” an exuberant Ev said, with a laugh.

Published April 21, 2021

Hillsborough Schools plans deep cuts to avoid state takeover

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Hillsborough County School Board members spent much of the day and evening of April 13 discussing the district’s need to make deep cuts to avoid losing financial control of the district.

“Hard decisions have to be made to protect this organization,” Superintendent Addison Davis told board members, and the public.

If the district doesn’t reduce its expenses, the Florida Department of Education will take over, and the cuts it makes will be less surgical in nature, Davis said.

The state will tell the district “what to do for every cent and dollar,” Davis said, essentially stripping the board and superintendent of their financial power.

Board members and Davis discussed the need to make more than $100 million in cuts during a board workshop in the morning and a board meeting in the evening.

Davis said he came to Hillsborough County with the mission of improving the district’s academic performance.

His 13-month tenure in the district, however, has been dominated by dealing with budgetary shortfalls.

“I didn’t know that Hillsborough was in any type of a financial deficit,” the superintendent said.

“We’re losing students, which is equivalent to losing leaders, teachers, district staff and support staff. That’s a reality,” Davis said.

Numerous speakers criticized the district’s planned reductions.

“As a career Hillsborough County educator, who loves this district, I am thoroughly disappointed and disheartened by where we stand today. These cuts are not good for students, schools, employees, or our communities,” said Rob Kriete, president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association.

“The cuts that you are going to bring are going to destroy what little morale is left,” another speaker said.”

Others questioned the district’s plans to cut its number of assistant principals and reduce staffing levels at individual schools.

“Don’t balance the budget on the back of our schools,” a speaker urged.

“There is a lot of talk about transparency, but there’s not a lot of evidence of this,” a speaker said.

Davis said if anything, he has over-communicated the district’s financial situation. “It hasn’t been a secret,” he said, noting he’s done media tours and given talks to numerous groups about the district’s dire financial straits.

He also told board members: “We gave every school a staff allocation model for their schools. We didn’t change anything that hasn’t historically been in Hillsborough County. We’re just implementing that model.”

The district’s plan, however, reduces the number of assistant principals.

That decision has prompted concerns about how the reduced staffing will affect student safety and behavior.

As one speaker put it: “Our already overwhelmed assistant principals are going to become even more overwhelmed, coming off a very difficult year.”

School board member Nadia Combs told Davis: “I do believe that we are top-heavy in this district. I do believe that the cuts need to come from the top and go down.”

The district needs to find a landing place for the assistant principals affected by the cuts, Combs said.

“When people are identified as an assistant principal, it’s because they’ve done a great job as a teacher. They’ve gone above and beyond, as a teacher.

“I strongly believe that we need to look at every single one of our assistant principals and make sure they have a landing somewhere.”

“Some of these assistant principals just found out on Friday that they are going to be let go. Some of them have been in this district for 25 or more years.

“We have 24,000 employees. I think we can find a place for those 50 people,” Combs said.

Davis responded: “I would love to guarantee every assistant principal a job.

“I have a contract that I have to follow. Teachers have the first right in that contract.”

Davis added that master schedule reviews will continue during the summer to determine how many positions can be regained, based on the newest enrollment projections.

He also noted that while the college and career counseling position may be eliminated, 23 of the district’s 28 career counselors are certified to be counselors and will move to those positions.

Of the remaining five, he said, one has retired and two have found new positions, leaving the district down to two.

School board member Jessica Vaughn asked if the district could use federal CARES Act money, to help address the shortfalls to give the district more time to find long-term solutions.

But, Ro Johnson, the district’s new chief financial officer, said the district should not use one-time money to support staffing because ultimately the personnel would need to be cut once that money ran out.

School board chairman Lynn Gray and school board member Henry “Shake” Washington said principals need to play a key role in deciding what happens at their schools — because they are in the best position to know what the school needs.

Davis told board members he understands the educational sacrifices that the district is having to make.

“As a superintendent, I would never make these decisions, if our back were not against the wall,” Davis said adding, “I don’t want to be one of the leaders that kicks this can down the road.”

Hillsborough County School Cuts
Hillsborough County Public Schools must make budget cuts to avoid being taken over by the Florida Department of Education.

Planned cuts include:

  • 1,000 positions (It is not known yet how many people the district will cut)
  • Furlough days: Each administrative position will be required to take furlough days
  • Fewer assistant principals: The district expects to trim about 47 AP jobs
  • Elimination of college and career counselors; those services will be provided by school counselors

Published April 21, 2021

Mental health peer support specialists in high demand

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As community focus increases on mental health and substance use issues — particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic — the need for certified recovery peer support specialists may be at an all-time high.

That was the message of Tina Kinney, executive director National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Hernando, during an April 13 virtual social services event hosted by Saint Leo University’s East Pasco Education Center.

Kinney’s talk came as part of a speaker series for students and prospective students interested in “helping careers.”

The topics for the free online series are designed to have broad appeal to those interested in social work, education, criminal justice, psychology, and human services.

National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Hernando executive director Tina Kinney (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Throughout the webinar, Kinney highlighted the role of peer support specialists. They are people who’ve been successful in the recovery process themselves and who help others battling addiction, mental health or criminal justice issues.

Through their shared experience they can provide understanding, respect and mutual empowerment.

The peer support specialist focuses on holistic person-centered, strength-based support, where connections are made through crisis intervention teams, state hospitals, emergency rooms, correction facilities, courts, halfway houses, mental health offices and other community settings.

This approach has shown to reduce relapse and recidivism rates over time, the speaker said.

Kinney herself is a certified recovery peer specialist, based on her and family members’ mental health conditions.

She labeled a peer support specialist’s function as part mentor, part accountability partner, part sponsor — all while working in conjunction with clinical providers.

Kinney acknowledged how she’s overcome her own past mental health challenges to become the leader of a large nonprofit in Hernando — a prime example of encouraging outcomes peer specialists can share with others.

She put it like this: “We want to inspire hope and share our lived experience, because it is that lived experience that’s able to provide the hope for individuals. When they see someone like myself…that alone is an opportunity for people to be hopeful that this is not a lifelong sentence they’re going to have to live with.”

Peer specialists seek to make individuals aware of various community resources, which may include employment preparation and job prospects, transportation opportunities, assisting with food stamps applications, and general socialization techniques.

“I joke around about NAMI Hernando being the best kept secret in Hernando County, but we’re not the only ones,” Kinney said. “There’s a lot of resources in our community that people don’t know about, and so, because we have access to networking with all these other programs, we have information that can help people connect to more resources.”

Peer specialists also encourage people to explore other support networks, such as faith-based programs, yoga, art classes or other opportunities, to ensure needs are met in mind, body and spirit.

In other words, Kinney said: “A stool doesn’t stand on one leg.”

A peer specialist’s role can be likened to an around-the-clock therapist — which is almost a necessity given how the present pandemic-impacted landscape has overwhelmed behavioral health networks.

“Because we do not have enough (health care) providers in the community, peers have a little bit more of an opportunity to meet with people more often than maybe they can meet with their therapist; they may only meet with their therapist once a month or every other week, so if they have a peer support specialist, that’s somebody they can reach out to when they’re needing to overcome something specific, whether it’s 7 o’ clock at night, or 8 o’ clock in the morning, they can just reach out and talk to that peer support specialist.”

Becoming a certified peer specialist
Those interested in becoming peer specialists can choose a number of pathways.

There are various certified recovery peer support credentials that can be obtained, and opportunities can be researched and applied for through the Florida Certification Board (FCB).

Saint Leo University’s East Pasco Education Center has an ongoing virtual social services speaker series focusing on social work, education, criminal justice, psychology, and human services. An April 13 webinar focused on the growing need for recovery peer support specialists to help those battling addiction, mental health and the criminal justice system.

That board designs, develops and manages programs for more than 30 health and human services professions across Florida.

Certifications are available for a youth, adult, family and veterans. The state also is working on a specific validation for forensic peer specialists, for navigating the criminal justice system, Kinney said.

To become a peer specialist, Kinney explained someone must prove they’ve been living in recovery for at least two years.

A 40-hour in-person or online content specific training course, 500 hours of supervised on-the-job training opportunities and an exam, among other components, must be completed to earn FCB certification.

“There are a lot of different steps,” Kinney said, but she said NAMI Hernando and a number of other organizations are willing to help those interested in navigating the process.

Kinney also noted that a criminal record does not disqualify someone from becoming a peer specialist, as there’s an exemption process for certain charges.

Opportunities in the field are increasing, Kinney explained, via law enforcement crisis intervention and mobile response teams, state hospitals, emergency rooms, halfway houses, jails, prisons, and traditional and specialty courts.

Moreover, a new development in the past year or so — state’s attorney and public defenders, in Hernando at least, have begun writing mental health treatment and peer supports into people’s pre-trial interventions, Kinney said.

“The job market for peers in all of these places is growing rapidly,” she said.

Upcoming Saint Leo human services webinars are scheduled for April 27 and May 11, focusing on youth mental health, and suicide prevention and awareness, respectively.

For more information about the East Pasco Education Center Social Service Speaker Series, email Yvonne Montell, senior associate director of admissions, at .

Tools for recovery
Tina Kinney, executive director National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Hernando, detailed three common tools used by peer support specialists to help individuals on their path toward recovery.

  • Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP): An in-depth plan created by individuals and led by a peer specialist to discover daily wellness maintenance tools, habits and routines to establish recovery; along with an outline to minimize risk and duration in crisis.
  • Recovery Capital Scale: Assessments and conservations regarding a person’s present needs, resources and priorities to sustain recovery, whether it is human capital, financial capital, social capital or community capital.
  • SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) Goals: A written plan that essentially takes a seemingly weighty goal or task, and breaks it up into smaller, digestible pieces to build a sense of accomplishment and muscle memory for constructive habits.

For instance, if someone has a goal of working out daily and getting fit, an initial step may call for having the person lay out their gym outfit the night before.

Published April 21, 2021

Road projects get extra funding

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The Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization has approved changes to the fiscal year 2020-2021 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to include $6,161,504 in additional spending.

The money will be used to support these improvement projects:

  • U.S. 98, from U.S. 301 South to U.S. 301 North
  • U.S. 98/State Road 35/State Road 700, from the Polk County Line/County Road 54 to Old Lakeland Highway
  • U.S. 301, from U.S. 98 to the Hernando County line
Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey appreciates the Florida Department of Transportation’s recent $6.1 million in funding for additional work in Pasco County, but she thinks the money would be better spent toward completing the widening of State Road 52. (File)

The Florida Department of Transportation, which provided the additional funding, said the projects are designed to support economic development through the improved movement of goods, to provide better access to transportation facilities and major activity centers and to enhance safety, by reducing fatal and serious crashes.

The amendments to the Transportation Improvement Program will add preliminary design funding to develop concepts in conjunction with the project development and environmental (PD&E) studies, and to acquire a parcel from a willing seller that was identified during the PD&E phase for the project involving U.S. 98, from south of U.S. 301 to north of U.S. 301.

Carl Mikyska, executive director for the Pasco MPO, informed board members of the additional funding during an April 8 meeting.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey asked: “Do we have all of the money to widen (State Road) 52 all of the way across?”

Pasco County Commission Chairman Ron Oakley responded: “One section is not done yet, between (U.S.) 41 and Bellamy Road, is still not funded.”

Justin Hall, from FDOT’s District 7, told Starkey the target year for funding that section of State Road 52 is in fiscal year 2027.

“I am curious why we’re doing (U.S.) 301 ahead of (State Road) 52,” Starkey said.

Hall responded: “The TIP amendment that is before you is for some concept development, along (U.S.) 301 and (State Road) 98. This project is coming through a new program. It’s a rural arterial widening program.”

Starkey persisted: “I just wondered if we could use any of that money toward (State Road) 52.

Hall responded: “I don’t believe any of this money could be reallocated toward the (State Road) 52 project. There was a list of projects submitted to central office that met the criteria that they sent out to the districts. I believe this was one of two projects within our district that met all of the criteria.”

Starkey continued: “Do we know what the criteria was?”

Hall answered: “A big portion of it was the truck percentage, the truck traffic. U.S. 98/U.S. 301 corridor has a very high percentage of trucks per volume.”

Starkey observed: “I drive (State Road) 52 to come here and I can tell you, it’s full of trucks. It’s odd that we’re doing (U.S.) 301 ahead of (State Road) 52.

Substantial progress has been made in widening State Road 52, but one section — between U.S. 41 and Bellamy Brothers Boulevard has not yet been funded.

“But, thank you for the gift,” Starkey said.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore said “the importance of that widening, that connection on (State Road) 98, the overall objective is to connect the west side of the state to the east side.”

It will enable the movement of goods without jumping to major highways, he added.

Zephyrhills City Councilman Lance Smith noted: “The current connection of (State Road) 98 to (U.S.) 301 is dangerous, to be honest with you — the way it angles, comes in there. This is going to alleviate that, and provide freight another route.”

Moore added: “It’s going to assist them, with all of the great things they’re doing in Dade City, as well.”

Smith also touched on the complexity of state road funding.

“It’s very complicated in my mind, the pots of money that are available for certain projects.

“The matrix is very complicated.”

New Lutz hospital specializes in rehabilitation services

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Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of North Tampa — a 50-bed hospital specializing in helping people recover from illnesses and accidents — opened earlier this month at 3840 Atmore Grove Road in Lutz.

“We are an inpatient rehab hospital,” said Chris Ballish, area business development director for the hospital, which is located in the general vicinity of Idlewild Baptist Church.

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of North Tampa opened on April 6. It offers a variety of rehabilitation services. (B.C. Manion)

The facility provides a hospital level of care for acute rehabilitation, Ballish said, noting patients must meet specific criteria to be admitted.

For instance, they must require medical supervision by a physician and must be able to manage the recommended therapy.

They also must require around-the-clock nursing availability, Ballish said.

In general, the facility serves stroke patients, orthopedic patients, spinal cord patients, amputees, and patients with neurological disorders, he said.

Encompass Health is a national company, with 139 locations.

It has facilities in Spring Hill, Ocala and Altamonte Springs— but this is the company’s first new facility during the past five years in Florida, Ballish said.

When the facility is operating at its full capacity, it is expected to have more than 200 employees, he added.

Ballish said the company chose the Lutz location because of a need for its services, particularly in the rapidly growing area.

There’s a need for this level of care, he explained. “It’s about serving patients that need our services.

“Our mission is to get patients as independent as possible, and get them back into the community,” Ballish said. The average length of stay for this type of care is 10 days to 14 days, he said.

Patients are engaged in high-level therapy, undergoing therapy sessions, and receiving care from nurses and physicians.

“Our doctors that are attending are rehab doctors, rehab specialists.

“And then we have all of the consultants available. We have cardiology, pulmonology, neurology. All of the specialties are available,” Ballish added.

The 52,000-square-foot facility has 50 private rooms for patients.

The 52,000-square-foot facility also has the highest level of technology available to support the efforts of therapists, as they work with patients, he said.

“It’s astounding the type of technology that’s available,” Ballish said.

Therapy services outlined in a hospital brochure include:

  • Occupational therapy, which includes self-care skills for activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating and preparing foods. Therapists address cognitive (thought) and perceptual (visual) deficits.
  • Physical therapy: Focuses on such things as helping patients to walk; teaching wheelchair transfer techniques; and providing orthotic/prosthetic device evaluation and training
  • Respiratory therapy: Helping patients with respiratory muscle weaknesses or a susceptibility to respiratory difficulties
  • Speech/language pathology: Improves communications skills through basic cognitive retraining, increasing functional independence with decision-making, reasoning, memory and swallowing retraining.

The hospital also has a gym, with all sorts of equipment, to help patients in their rehabilitation. And, it has a room set up to mimic a patient’s home — providing them a chance to practice returning to the tasks of daily life, such as getting out of bed, using appliances, bathing and so on.

The North Tampa hospital serves a large market generally stretching from Wesley Chapel down to Riverview, over to Brandon and out to North Tampa, Ballish said.

As the facility ramps up to full capacity, the hospital intends to get involved with area chambers of commerce and to create partnerships with programs that prepare health care workers, Ballish said.

It also intends to offer a variety of support groups, such as stroke support groups, brain injury support groups and amputee support groups, he said.

Since opening, the hospital has enjoyed a warm reception, Ballish said.

“We’re very pleased and overwhelmed by the response of the community, so far,” he said.

Published April 21, 2021

Little Libraries can make a big impact

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A Little Free Library is a great way to connect to people in your neighborhood, as more and more of these freestanding, book-sharing boxes are popping up.

The little libraries offer a place for community members to pick up a book, for free, and to share or leave a book in return.

Shady Hills Elementary students were anxious to choose a free book from the Little Free Library at the school’s campus. (Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

The idea is to encourage and inspire others to get into the habit of reading. The boxes usually contain an assortment of books for children and adults.

Several local woman’s clubs recently have donated and installed Little Free Libraries.

The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club collaborated with the Land O’ Lakes Branch Library and its Foundry to install a little library on the campus of Shady Hills Elementary School in Spring Hill.

Members of the GFWC Pasco Juniors and Tampa Bay Women’s Club take part in a ribbon-cutting for the Little Free Library at the Lexington Oaks Community Clubhouse.

Bill Nelson, a Land O’ Lakes library staff member, designed, built and painted the box, now located at campus entrance of the the elementary school.

To get the little library started, the woman’s club donated and stocked its shelves. The club will replenish the inventory, too.

The GFWC Pasco Juniors and the GFWC Tampa Bay Women’s Club hosted a ribbon-cutting on April 6 for the installation of a Little Free Library in front of the Lexington Oaks Community Clubhouse in Wesley Chapel. James King, of Kingworks, donated his time and labor to build and install the box.

The clubhouse library contains various books for readers of all ages.

To learn more about how to help build community, inspire readers and expand book access, visit LittleFreeLibrary.org.

Published April 21, 2021

Award recipient provides food for thought

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Alex Sink’s resume is lengthy.

She was Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, ran for governor in a tightly contested race with Rick Scott and was Bank of America’s Florida president for seven years.

That just scratches the surface of Sink’s life in the private sector, government, education and nonprofits.

She has extensive involvement on boards for such organizations as United Way Suncoast, Leadership Florida, Take Stock in Children, Hillsborough Education Foundation and the Nature Conservancy Florida Chapter.

Alex Sink is widely known for her work as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, for her role as a banking executive and for her work on myriad nonprofit boards. Recently, she added to her list of accolades when she received the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Distinguished Leadership Award. (Courtesy of North Tampa Bay Chamber)

She served for 25 years as a trustee at Wake Forest University and is now a life trustee, and she serves as board chair of Tampa Bay Wave, a tech startup accelerator.

The wide-ranging list of organizations she’s helped to shape, or guide or lead goes on and on.

Her list of accolades for her contributions is lengthy, too, and recently, she added another one.

The North Tampa Bay Chamber honored Sink with its Women’s Distinguished Leadership Award for 2021.

The chamber had planned to honor Sink as the 2020 recipient of the award, but those plans were thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of having a big celebration, as planned, the event was called off and the chamber shifted gears.

The organization still is holding its breakfast meetings remotely, via Zoom, but it wanted to honor Sink, just the same.

So, the award was delivered to Sink, and she showed it off to chamber members via Zoom.

“Haven’t we all had quite a year behind us?” Sink said, via Zoom.

She went on to talk about the importance of chambers to their communities, explaining her involvement in chamber work goes back four decades — with experiences in Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville and Tallahassee.

“Florida is a state of small businesses. We’re not a big Fortune 500-state,” said Sink, who served on the board of Enterprise Florida twice, once as a banking executive, and again as the CFO of the state.

“I let my voice be heard, especially when I was the CFO. We were going through the Great Recession,” she said.

Historically, Enterprise Florida had been set up to recruit large corporations to move to Florida, she said.

But, she said what was missing was how Florida would support the growth of existing small businesses.

“Florida is a state of entrepreneurs.

“Just look around you, in North Tampa, the many, many small business owners that have struggled to survive in this past year,” Sink said.

“I’m sure the rest of you, like me, sat down and pivoted and said: ‘How can I support my small businesses?’ I learned how to do takeout and order on the internet,” she said.

She even switched over to workout sessions with her personal trainer, via Zoom, to keep them both safe. It’s worked out so well, she plans to keep it that way.

“We all have had to reinvent ourselves,” Sink said.

She also noted that government has been responding through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Without that kind of help, she said, “many, many, many of our small businesses and people would not have survived through the last year.

Chamber work is important
The chamber plays an important role, in representing and advocating for businesses, and their communities, Sink said.

For instance, infrastructure in a growing area is essential.

“You’ve got to keep advocating for roads,” she said, noting that traffic is already busy on Interstate 75, going north and south — and the pandemic hasn’t yet ended.

Good schools are essential, too.

“People are not going to move to your community unless you have a strong, good, public school system.

“I believe in charter schools. I believe in private schools. I believe in choice. But, at the end of the day, 85% to 90% of our kids are going to public schools and that’s what people are going to think about.”

Parks and green spaces are other important ingredients, when it comes to quality of life, she said.

“I hope that is a piece of what you’ve been working on,” she said, noting that the pandemic has attracted people to hiking trails and parks.

“I have never seen so many families outside, in my whole life,” she said, noting she recently spent time hiking a trail.

She also touched on the reason for her recognition, using it to talk about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Women have been more severely impacted by this pandemic than any other group of people because we’re the caretakers,” Sink said, noting many have had to drop out of the workplace to take care of children.

She encouraged those listening to do what they can to support women in the workplace.

“Many of you know that I’m a third generation Asian American,” Sink continued.

“The thing that happened in Atlanta really brought to the fore, issues around Asian Americans. “Also, obviously, we’re in a big trial this week, so we’re thinking about issues around Black Americans,” she said, referring to the trial of Derek Chauvin, relating to the death of George Floyd.

With those as a backdrop, Sink encouraged the chamber crowd to do their part to become more aware of how they can be involved in what they can do to build better connections in the community.

Sink put it this way: “I have a little teacher in me, and I always like to lay down the gauntlet and give everybody an assignment, so my assignment for this audience would be: Look around your community. I’m sure you have Asian-owned businesses. I’m sure you have Black-owned businesses. Go talk to the people who own those businesses and kind of understand more of what they face, each and every day, and figure out how you can support your minority-owned businesses, and really practice diversity, equity and inclusion in all that you do.”

Published April 21, 2021

Pasco MPO has new executive director

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The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has a new executive director.

Carl Mikyska assumed the helm of the organization in March, and took part in his first MPO board meeting on April 8.

Nectarios Pittos, who had been serving as the interim executive director, shared some of Mikyska’s background with MPO board members before turning the meeting over to him.

Mikyska was selected after a lengthy search, said Pittos, who is Pasco County’s director of planning.

Prior to coming to the Pasco MPO, Mikyska was the executive director of the Florida MPO Advisory Council.

That job involved collaborating with the 27 MPOs in the state of Florida, he said.

Before that, Mikyska said he worked with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Chicago MPO and the Federal Highway Administration. His experience in the transportation field dates back to 1990.

He told the Pasco MPO board members: “I’m active in our national associations and hope to continue to do so, to represent the interests of Florida, particularly as we look at federal policy.”

Randy Stovall, of the Pasco MPO board’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), told the board that at its meeting, BPAC was “most interested in the item of building some wildlife culverts under S.R. (State Road) 52,” which had been discussed by the board at its last meeting.

“Our ears perk up when we think: Is there an opportunity for some kind of a public use there? Some walking? Some bike riding? Whenever culverts come up, there’s an opportunity, perhaps,” Stovall said.

He also shared that information from the county, regarding the intention to build some restrooms at the junction of Starkey Trail and Suncoast Trail.

“Certainly, that’s very well-received. I think there’s a need there that will be served,” Stovall said.

He said that BPAC was informed of a strategy that involves building segments of the Orange Belt Trail — rather than waiting for all of the funding to be available before getting started.

“I thought that made a lot of sense,” Stovall said.

“We also received an update about the Hardy Trail here in Dade City and the Withlacoochee Trail to the north, and the (U.S.) 301 Trail to the south, and related to that, I’ll just say, some of us attended the groundbreaking here on Dade City, here on March 10, for the new bike hub

visitor center that’s going to be constructed about two blocks from here (Historic Pasco County Courthouse), in the center of the Hardy Trail.

“That will provide really a good stop for people. Bathrooms and other facilities if they wish to stop here, and go up and down the trail — particularly with those connections to the north and south,” Stovall said.

Kurt Scheible, Pasco County Public Transportation director, also updated board members on a few issues.

He told them his department is getting ready to purchase three more vehicles through the Florida Department of Transportation. By doing that, they’ll be able to pay $9,000 versus $90,000 a vehicle, he said.

He also reported: “We’re still seeing some of the effect of COVID, but we’re starting to see some of the numbers rise up. It looks like our ridership is starting to recover, slowly but surely.”

The county bus system also is planning to take a look at all of its service areas, through a route contraction/route expansion study.

As part of that, the department plans to look into adding some transit in Dade City, St. Leo/San Antonio and south of Zephyrhills in the Crystal Springs area, he said.

“We really haven’t moved the transit routes around in a long, long time,” Scheible said.

But, he noted that significant input will be sought from all stakeholders during that process.

The Pasco County MPO is the lead transportation planning agency in Pasco County that serves the following municipalities in Pasco: Zephyrhills, San Antonio, St. Leo, New Port Richey, Port Richey and Dade City.

According to federal and state laws, the Pasco County MPO is responsible for establishing a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process for Pasco County. Key responsibilities include the creation of the 20-year Long Range Transportation Plan, the five-year Unified Planning Work Program and the five-year Transportation Improvement program.

Published April 21, 2021

MPO approves work related to traffic counts

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Rapid growth in Pasco County has prompted the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization to approve spending over $29,000 to research where and how often traffic counts should be taken.

Knowing how many vehicles are traveling down a road is essential information for future planning of roads, developments and various services. Here’s a look at a backup of traffic heading east on State Road 54, waiting at a traffic signal at State Road 54 and U.S. 41. (File)

“Given the rapid change to Pasco County — and the need to have current traffic counts — we deem it necessary to go ahead and establish a methodology for siting county locations and frequency of those counts,” Carl Mikyska, executive director of the Pasco MPO told the board, during its April 8 meeting.

“This contract is to do that work, and then ultimately we will have a series, or a set of locations, for traffic counts and a schedule of how frequently those counts should be conducted,” Mikyska said.

Board members approved paying a lump sum fee for $29,076.68 to Tindale Oliver & Associates Inc., to complete the work. The company is a general planning consultant for the MPO.

Traffic counts — which quantify traffic volume along the roadway network — can be documented over a period of years and can identify locations of high growth areas that impact the transportation network, according to background materials in the MPO’s agenda packet.

Traffic counts are used for many purposes, including roadway planning, congestion management, development approvals, traffic operations and capital improvement planning.

The scope of services to be provided by Tindale Oliver includes:

  • A review of existing traffic count data collection by the MPO and its partners including Pasco County Departments and agencies such as the Florida Department of Transportation
  • A review of traffic count locations in Pasco County, and recommend and create updated traffic count locations
  • Develop a traffic count methodology

The project is expected to kick off in early May and be completed by Aug. 31.

Published April 21, 2021