The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

New rules aim to protect cats and dogs

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The Pasco County Commission has approved new regulations to make it harder for convicted animal abusers to buy or adopt cats and dogs in the county.

But, those measures fall far short of what’s needed, a trio of animal rights advocates said during a Jan. 10 public hearing. They advocate the adoption of an animal abuser registry.

The county’s program will be “nothing more than a list on a website,” said John Marinello of the Alliance to Save 90.

Alliance to Save 90 is a Hillsborough County-based coalition that supports no-kill policies at animal shelters. Its goal is to save 90 percent of shelter populations from euthanasia.

County commissioners said a statewide registry is the better solution but, until legislation is passed, the new ordinance will help.

“We need to show we’re part of this now,” said Pasco County Chairman Mike Moore. “We can do something stricter later.”

Beginning March 1, to knowingly transfer a cat or dog to a convicted animal abuser will be a violation of county code.

The Pasco County Clerk of Court’s office will provide a link on its website of people convicted of animal abuse after March 1. Individuals or organizations that sell or adopt cats or dogs must document that they checked the link prior to the sale or adoption of a dog or cat. Records must be kept for five years.

Farm animals and service animals, including miniature horses trained to work with disabled people, are excluded from the ordinance. And, because the website link will rely on “other sources” for data, the county can’t guarantee the link’s accuracy or completeness.

No penalties are included in the ordinance, but county commissioners are expected at a later meeting to adopt a fine of up to $500 for violations. Citations would be issued for violations.

The commission unanimously approved the ordinance.

Marinello was one of three speakers during public comment to ask commissioners to reconsider and approve a registry.

Lutz-based veterinarian Betsy Coville and Land O’ Lakes resident Rebecca Foss also spoke against the amended ordinance.

An earlier draft of the ordinance included an animal abuser registry. But, at a Nov. 29 public hearing, county staff members cited problems with implementing a local registry, and recommended adoption of the scaled-back regulations.

The revised ordinance also was amended to cover cats and dogs only.

“They can go ahead and abuse a bunny rabbit, and they will find one and do it,” said Coville, who is a member of Save 90’s advisory board.

Foss said that a “true, strong registry is needed.”

The links between animal abuse, child abuse and domestic violence is well-documented, and a registry offers law enforcement protections, Foss said.

A registry approved in Hillsborough requires in-person registration that provides an address, photograph and other personal information. Anyone on the registry is banned from owning or living in a home with animals.

However, some Hillsborough County commissioners cited the need for a state registry.

Moore took the three speakers to task for waiting until the final hearing to object. But, he also offered some advice.

“I implore you to keep talking to your state legislators to put something forward,” Moore said.

Following the public hearing, Coville said she and others expected commissioners to approve the registry item that was posted in the Nov. 29 agenda. They were surprised by the last-minute substitution, she said.

State legislators failed to approve a statewide registry in 2012. That bill, known as Dexter’s law, was about as weak as Pasco’s ordinance, Coville said.

But, she hopes that Rep. Blaise Ingoglia of Spring Hill will file a registry bill for the 2017 session. The state lawmaker’s staff said he is contemplating such a bill, but had no further information.

Coville said she has helped to win approvals for registry ordinances in Hillsborough and Marion counties. She is pushing now for registries in Manatee and Miami-Dade counties, and eventually in Sarasota County.

“Once you have several counties passing these, (state legislation) is easier,” Coville said.

Revised January 19, 2017

Public meeting set to discuss Extension Office location

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Community members will have another chance to share their views on the future location of the Pasco County Extension Office.

Extension now operates out of space owned by the Pasco County Fair Association, under an annual $17,000 lease, which is currently on a month-to-month basis.

But, the office is too small and outdated to meet Extension’s needs.

LeAnne John, president of the Pasco County Fair Association, asked for time to determine whether improvements can be made at the fairgrounds to keep Extension there. (File)

The county wants to improve conditions for Extension and has been weighing various options.

Views were divided over the best location, during an Oct. 12 stakeholders’ meeting.

Some speakers supported an upgrade to the office at its current fairgrounds location. They said it makes sense for Extension because of its close alignment to the Pasco County Fair.

Others urged the county to move Extension to the county-owned Stallings Building, at 15029 14th St., in Dade City. They said that area children and families would benefit from having Extension in that neighborhood.

Whitney C. Elmore, director of Pasco Extension, said details are still being ironed out, but she expects a plan to be presented to stakeholders at that meeting.

“We want to get their feelings, their input, on a variety of things, and talk to them about how we’re going to move forward to increase the visibility for Extension across Pasco County,” she said. The aim is to provide additional space, so Extension can expand the programs its offers.

A meeting has been set for Jan. 19, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at 36702 State Road 52 in Dade City, at the fairgrounds.

Meanwhile, Pasco County, in conjunction with the Pasco County Fair, also has scheduled a public hearing to certify that the Pasco County Fair Association Building is designed for a public purpose.

The fair association is applying for a grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to renovate the fair association building. To be eligible for the grant money, the county must certify that the building provides a public service.

That public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 24 at 1:30 p.m., during the County Commission’s regular meeting at the Historic Pasco County Historic Courthouse, at 37918 Meridian Ave., Dade City.

If a state grant is approved and remodeling funds are made available, Elmore said Extension would need to relocate while that work is done.

Regardless of what happens with Extension’s office space, Elmore said she will be working with community volunteer Sammy Ortiz to set up new Hispanic 4-H Club in Dade City.

The Extension director said one of the best things that came out of the Oct. 12 meeting is that she learned about Ortiz’s willingness to take on a leadership role.

Elmore also said that Cathy Pearson, an assistant county administrator who led the previous stakeholder’s meeting, will be leading the Jan. 19 meeting, too.

What: Community stakeholders meeting on Extension Office improvements
Where: 36702 State Road 52 in Dade City
When: Jan. 19, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Who: The community is invited to participate in the discussion.

 

Public hearing regarding Pasco County Fair Association Building
Where: Pasco County Historic Courthouse, 37918 Meridian Ave., Dade City
When: Jan. 24, 1:30 p.m.
Why: The fair association is applying for a state grant, and in order to qualify, the county must certify that the fair association’s building is used for a public purpose. The Pasco County Extension Office is at the Pasco County Fair Association’s fairgrounds.

Published January 18, 2017

Festival offers up a sweet and spicy time

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Marcus Copeland, of Dade City, watches as Wilbur Dew, a staff member of the museum, pours the heated syrup into a container to cool and to be bottled for sale at the Pioneer Florida Museum. (Richard K. Riley)

Whether it was tasting cane syrup, riding on a mule, sampling chili, or listening to music, there were plenty of ways to have fun at the seventh annual Raising Cane Festival at the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City.

Those attending the festival had a chance to see how sugarcane is turned into syrup. They also could check out the festival’s first chili cookoff, and the syrup-tasting contest, where samples were judged on taste, color, pour and clarity.

Other activities included live entertainment, barrel train rides and a petting zoo, as well as iron skillet and sugar cane pole tossin’.

Amelia Sizemore, 5, of Spring Hill, rides Sam the Mule around the cane-squeezing machine.

Wilbur Dew, who has produced cane syrup for more than 20 years, demonstrated his skills.

Museum experts say cane syrup was a routine part of pioneers’ diets, especially those settled in southern states, like Florida.

The Pioneer Florida Museum gives visitors a chance to step back in time and learn how the state’s early settlers lived.

For more information about the museum, visit PioneerFloridaMuseum.org.

Published January 18, 2017

Campaign 2016: Something to talk about

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Everyone knows the old saying, the one designed to keep peace among restless kinfolk: Never discuss religion or politics.

Sandy Graves knows it, too, and spurns it at every turn.

“If it weren’t for religion and politics,” she says breezily, “I wouldn’t have anything to talk about.”

This, as anyone who knows the first lady of Land O’ Lakes, is not entirely true. She can do hours on the history of her community, or what goes into the construction of a small amphitheater.

Sandy Graves stands near a lake in her beloved Land O’ Lakes.
(Tom Jackson/Photo)

Even so, politics and religion, and especially how they intertwine, are her preferred milieu. Nonetheless, in anticipation of the completion of a historically wild ride, Graves is willing to take a conditional vow of silence.

It was either that, or, to affix a fitting ending to her efforts on behalf of a certain billionaire reality TV star and developer, pay close to $700 a night for a hotel room anywhere near a Washington D.C. Metro stop. “With a four-night minimum,” Graves says. Yikes.

Yes, Sandy Graves, accompanied by amiable husband Steve, is going to the (even now, mind-boggling) inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States. In exchange for free lodgings with her niece, a pleasant progressive who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and supported Hillary Clinton, she says, “I am willing to bite my tongue.”

That will be her niece’s loss, because as pleased as she is about the election’s outcome, Graves nonetheless emerged from the campaign with utterly delightful tales that have next to nothing with partisan politics.

We will get to the Blue Ridge Mountains snake woman in a moment.

First, meet Liam, a 7-year-old Wesley Chapel lad who greeted Graves, who’d arrived in response to a request for campaign signs, as if mounted on springs.

Graves rapped, the door swung open, and there was Liam, eyes wide and bright, and bouncing — boing-boing-boing — as he summoned his grandmother.

“Grammie! It’s a Trump supporter! Grammie!”

Weeks later, after Election Day, Sandy and Liam happened across each other, and the boy asked why she hadn’t responded to his email.

“You sent me an email?” she answered. “I don’t think I got it.”

Shrugging, but without missing beat, he said, “Hillary must have deleted it.”

Speaking of whom, Graves noted two errors — one of commission, the other of omission — she considers critical to Clinton’s defeat.

Evidence of the first adorns the back windshield of her Kia SUV, a sticker that proclaims the driver to be an “Adorable Deplorable,” in response to Clinton condemning Trump backers as society’s dregs.

Graves rejected Clinton’s characterization as “worse than anything Mitt Romney said about the ‘47 percent’” — the 2012 GOP nominee’s assessment of the recipient class that had no incentive to vote for him.

Also like the 47-percenters, the so-called Deplorables rallied around their new-found celebrity. “We’re deplorable?” Graves says. “Fine. We’ll take it.”

The omission: According to reports in Pasco, and pooled information from around Florida, Clinton operatives vanished between the March primary and the end of the Democratic National Convention in late July.

Meanwhile, GOP activists worked their precincts like bees, linked to their hives by sharply designed mobile apps. This, Graves noted, was in stark contrast to Clinton campaigners who, when they finally did arrive, lugged old-fashioned paper logbooks.

This, too, boosted Republican hopes. “At last,” Graves said, “our technology is ahead of theirs.” In her gratitude, she couldn’t help wondering how the Clinton campaign could have mislaid so much of what President Obama had proven correct about getting out the vote. It was almost as though Republicans and Democrats had switched playbooks.

All of that was history, however, on Election Day when, in a quirk of scheduling, the Graves found themselves in the North Carolina Smoky Mountains for Steve’s annual camp retreat with college buddies.

“If we’re here,” Sandy told him, “we’re working.”

Assigned a precinct in deep blue Cedar Mountain, between Brevard and the South Carolina state line, they met secretive ticket-splitters — shy Trump voters who planned otherwise to tick Democrat boxes — a couple their age who were first-time voters “because they said they’d never felt needed before, and the aforementioned snake woman.

She rolled up in “a nice Cadillac,” Graves recalls, and asked workers to keep an eye on it. She needed to keep the motor running and the heater on, because it was cold, and she’d brought her baby python curled up in its carrier.

“He goes everywhere with me,” she explained. “He sleeps in bed with me. Of course, my husband doesn’t like it. But, that’s the way it goes.”

“Then,” Graves says, “we asked her if she wanted a Republican sample ballot, and she gave us a look like we were nuts.”

Politics and religion. And snakes. And 7-year-old boys with zingers. That was Campaign 2016 in a nutshell.

The lesson here? Be careful what you decide people shouldn’t talk about.

 

Tom Jackson, a resident of New Tampa, is interested in your ideas. To reach him, email .

Revised January 11, 2017

Smithsonian exhibit comes to Pioneer Museum

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The working life of Americans from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century will be explored in a traveling Smithsonian exhibition that will make its first stop in Florida at The Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City.

Two children work at a mill in Macon, Georgia. This photo is from a Smithsonian exhibition on the working life of Americans.
(Courtesy of National Archives, Records of the Children’s Bureau)

The exhibit – “The Way We Worked” – is part of the Museum on Main Street, which is a national, state and local effort to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The Florida Humanities Council selected the Pioneer museum as a host site.

Visitors to the Pioneer museum, at 15602 Pioneer Museum Road in Dade City, can view the exhibit from Jan. 28 through March 18.

A series of local speakers will bring insight into Pasco County’s contributions to the nation’s work history.

There also will be field trips, special programs, lunch and learn events, and tours.

The Pioneer museum released details on the exhibit in a news release. The museum is seeking corporate sponsors, speakers and docents for additional programming.

Two girls deliver ice in 1918. This photo is part of a Smithsonian exhibition on Americans’ work history that is coming to The Pioneer Florida Museum & Village.
(Courtesy of National Archives, Records of the War Department, General and Special Staffs)

“This is the first time a Smithsonian exhibition will be in East Pasco County,” said Stephanie Black, the museum’s executive director. “It allows us the opportunity to explore this fascinating aspect of our own region’s history, and we hope that it will inspire many to become even more involved in the cultural life in our community.”

The exhibit tells the story of working America through 86 black-and-white, and color, photographs. The photographs explain where Americans worked, how they worked, who they were and why they worked.

The traveling exhibit is an adaptation of an original exhibition by the National Archives and Records Administration, which explores the connections between work and American culture.

It is a look at the past 150 years at influences on the workforce and its environment, including the growth of manufacturing and the rise of technology.

Five other communities in the state also will host the exhibit in coming months, including the Polk County History Center in Bartow.

For information or to volunteer, visit PioneerFloridaMuseum.org.

Additional information also can be found at FloridaHumanities.org.

Published January 11, 2o17

 

Area talent show gives youth a time to shine

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Long before “America’s Got Talent” began attracting the nation’s attention, a local talent show began offering youths a chance to take center stage.

And, efforts are now gearing up for this year’s 34th annual “Spotlight on Talent” competition.

Kiersten Herman, of Wesley Chapel, won third place in her category in last year’s ‘Spotlight on Talent’ competition. (Courtesy of Heritage Arts Center Association)

Winners of this talent show won’t walk away with a million-dollar prize or a show in Las Vegas, but they won’t walk away empty-handed, either.

The regional competition awards more than $4,000 in cash prizes and trophies to winners in several age categories.

The event, organized by the Heritage Arts Center Association, features contestants who have made their way through auditions and have been selected as finalists to compete at two shows.

The competition also awards a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating senior who lives in Pasco County.

Because of the community support of the “Moonlight and Ivory” concerts, as well as the “Spotlight” contest, organizers have added the scholarship that will go to the Pasco senior with the highest total scores from the finals judges.

The contest will feature finalists from several hundred contestants who compete during an audition.

Contestants come from throughout Pasco County, as well as Tampa, Brooksville, St. Petersburg and other communities.

Talents run the gamut, too.

There are vocalists, dancers, instrumental musicians, piano players, baton twirlers, bands, gymnasts and other entertainers seeking to take home a prize.

There are several age categories. There also are categories for groups and for solos. A student may enter as a soloist and as a member of a group.

Judges for the competition come from Central Florida.

This year’s auditions will be on Feb. 11.

Julianna Mazza, of Dade City, won first place in her category in last year’s ‘Spotlight on Talent’ competition.

Participants are judged primarily on talent, but also on stage presence and appropriate appearance.

The final competitions will be March 11 at Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel, 30651 Wells Road in Wesley Chapel.

The first act, which begins at noon, will feature the younger finalists. The second act, which begins at 7 p.m., will features the older competitors.

Admission is $12 for adults for one show, or $20 for both. For students through high school, admission is $6 for one show, or $10 for both. Children under age 5 are admitted free.

The scholarship winner will be announced at the end of the final show, and will be separate, and in addition to the individual category winners.

The deadline for entries is Jan. 26, but anyone who is interested in competing should start preparing their act now and start working on the application, Barbara Friedman, one of the event’s organizers, said via email.

Information about the competition is distributed to each school music teacher in central and east Pasco County. Many dance, vocal and instrumental studios, and local Chambers of Commerce also have information about the arts competition.

Applications and information also are available online at HeritageArts.org.

The competition is also seeking additional community sponsors.

If you’d like more information about the competition or about how to become a sponsor, call Friedman at (352) 567-1720, or email .

34th annual ‘Spotlight on Talent’ competition
Deadline for applications: Jan. 26
Auditions: Feb. 11
Talent Show: March 11; Act I, featuring younger competitors begins at noon. Act II, featuring older contestants starts at 7 p.m.
Where: Talent shows will be at the Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel, 30651 Wells Road, Wesley Chapel.
Admission: For adults, $12 for adults for one show or $20 for both. For students through high school, $6 for one show or $10 for both. Children under age 5 are admitted free.
For more information, call Barbara Friedman at (352) 567-1720, or email .
For applications, visit HeritageArts.org.

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

New restaurant coming to Land O’ Lakes

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A new restaurant will replace the former Mosquito Bar & Grill, a waterfront restaurant on Lake Bell that closed down nearly four years ago.

Renovations are underway to upgrade the kitchen and modernize the building at 4422 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.

“We don’t know what the concept will be,” said Mike Faehner, a Clearwater-based attorney.

Work is underway to modernize the building for the former Mosquito Bar & Grill to make way for a new restaurant.
(Kathy Steele/Staff)

Faehner is listed on state records as the registered agent for the property’s owner, 4422 LOL Blvd. LLC.

Market research is being completed, Faehner said.

Whatever the final concept, the restaurant will be locally owned and operated. There are no plans for a chain restaurant, he added.

In 2014, someone posted a message on Mosquito’s marquee board that Hooters planned to open there in 2015. Hooters’ representatives quickly scotched the speculation.

The lakefront property has seen two restaurants come and go in the past decade.

Mosquito Bar & Grill opened in 2012, soon after the popular Rapscallions shut down.

But, Mosquito’s menu of gator bites, fish tacos, barbecue pulled pork and country-fried venison met with mixed reviews. Hot wings – a signature dish for Rapscallions – stayed on the menu, but with a milder sauce.

In 2011, Rapscallions’ very, very hot hot wings garnered the restaurant a feature spot on the Travel Channel’s former show, “Man vs. Food.”

Host Adam Richman took the dare of the Davy Jones Hot Wing Challenge for an honored spot on Rapscallions’ “Wall of Pain.”

Fame was fleeting for the restaurant, however.

Within a year, the property’s owners, C of Pasco Inc., headed to foreclosure.

The restaurant shuttered in 2012.

Mosquito buzzed to life soon after, but its short life ended in 2013.

The building has sat empty since then.

Current property owners bought the site from Centennial Bank in December 2014, according to county records.

A new restaurant finally is on the way.

“Stay tuned,” Faehner said.

Published January 11, 2017

New event venue site completed in Zephyrhills

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Less than five months after breaking ground, the new community venue site at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport is complete.

The unnamed venue, at 5200 Airport Road, will officially be unveiled at the seventh annual Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Fest on Jan. 21.

Less than five months after breaking ground in August, the new community venue site at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport is complete. Among its key features are a 20-by-40 permanent staging area, and 50 vendor spaces equipped with water and electricity. 
(Courtesy of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce)

The 14-acre site is situated north of the Zephyrhills’ City Yard, stretching to Airport Road, and backing up the southern boundary of the Lincoln Heights subdivision.

Among the venue’s key features are a 20-by-40 permanent staging area, and 50 vendor spaces that are equipped with water and electricity.

Additionally, the location is able to accommodate up to 15,000 guests at a time, and provide easier access and parking along South Avenue.

Initially spearheaded by Melonie Monson, executive director for The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, the community venue was a collaborative effort among the City of Zephyrhills, the chamber, and several other businesses and organizations.

The Zephyrhills City Council approved the project in March. Construction began in mid-August.

Monson said area citizens will be “shocked” by the new venue’s digs and amenities.

“I really feel excited about it,” the chamber director said. “I am more than thrilled with how this has come together. I just can’t imagine how you would do this is if you didn’t have the community rallying behind you.”

Monson added she was “overwhelmed” by the assistance of various local businesses, which provided funding, fixtures and labor.

Those donations were aplenty.

Florida Hospital Zephyrhills gave $30,000 to build the permanent, covered staging area.

Melonie Monson

Others businesses — Martin Electric, Sunstate Aluminum, and Bahr’s Propane and Gas — contributed electrical, plumbing and technical guidance on the site.

Supplies and other offerings were also provided by Sonny’s BBQ, E-Z Clean Car Wash, Ferguson Water Works and All Florida Home Manufactured Services.

“We’ve just had a number of people that have stepped up in the community that just said, ‘Sure, we’ll help you,’” Monson explained. “All of these people did this out of the kindness of their heart, and because they love our community.”

Though the chamber inspired the idea for the permanent venue, the site is owned and operated by the City of Zephyrhills, which invested more than $42,000 into the project.

Shane LcBlanc, the city’s public works director, played an instrumental role in completion of the venue’s site work.

Along with a handful of public works staff, LeBlanc built a fencing enclosure. He also installed roads to facilitate event parking, and filled in dirt holes throughout the 14-acre site.

LeBlanc said the undertaking was “a bit of a time crunch,” mainly since the site work coincided with the conclusion of the city’s 2016 fiscal year on Sept. 30.

“We had to work in the budget money to get the fence put in,” LeBlanc said. “It was a little tight timeline, but we’ve got it ready, and I think it’ll be all set for Jan. 21.”

Meanwhile, the Zephyrhills chamber is making some last-minute preparations in advance of Pigz in Z’Hills.

Monson said her staff is currently putting together event signage, and ensuring each of the nearly 50 registered barbecue cook teams are confirmed for the festival.

“We’re working nonstop on this,” Monson said of Pigz in Z’Hills. “We are working with all of our volunteers and all of our different team leaders to make sure everything’s put together the way it needs to be.”

Bob Hartwig, a former Zephyrhills Fire Chief, is now in charge of logistics for the popular barbecue festival. That role previously was handled by Daryl Pennington.

Monson calls Hartwig her “right-hand man.”

She added: “I can’t tell you how much he’s done already. There’s no way we could do this without somebody like him.”

Hartwig’s lengthy experience in public safety, she said, is an added bonus for managing the one-day shindig.

“There’s so much that no one even understands that needs to go into something like this,” Monson explained. “With his experience as a former fire chief, he knows that. He can look at a layout and say, ‘This is good, or this isn’t, and we can work together and figure out the best way.”

Besides Pigz in Z’Hills, the new venue likely will house a variety of events and fundraisers, organized by nonprofits.

Several organizations have expressed interest in using the event site, including the Rotary Club of Zephyrhills, Thomas Promise Foundation, Ride for Hospice and Paulie Palooza.

It’s believed that nonprofits will pay the city a fee to cover the cost of maintenance, performed by the city. Moreover, events may be limited to daytime festivals in order to prevent stage noise from disrupting nearby residential areas.
Steve Spina, Zephyrhills’ city manager, said the new venue is a “positive thing.”

But, Spina noted that managing the site will be a “learning experience.”

“We have to determine how to utilize it,” Spina said, “because every festival is going to take a lot of maintenance.”

The maintenance, in large part, will fall on the shoulders of the public works department.

LeBlanc said maintaining the site is not dissimilar to keeping up the city’s parks.

“We’ll be providing all the maintenance as far as mowing, trimming, herbiciding–that type of stuff,” LeBlanc explained. “We’ll monitor the electric and water, too.”

Published January 11, 2017

 

Equestrian center brings vision to life

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Last year, Jim and Heather Fitzpatrick had the vision of creating an equestrian center for the East Pasco community.

Blazing Saddles Ranch, at 10219 Wirt Road in Dade City, has made that vision a reality.

J.R. Reeher of Logan, New Mexico has been on the professional bull-riding circuit and now brings his professional rodeo experience to the Blazing Saddles Ranch on Wirt Road.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)

The Fitzpatricks purchased the 25-acre property in May and, by August, they had transformed the property from a farm to a full-service horse ranch.

“We’re on the cusp of booming Wesley Chapel,” Jim Fitzpatrick said, “so this is more or less a stall for my wife, and the rest is for everybody else.”

Catered toward adults and children, the facility is an ideal setting for residents scattered across Dade City, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills.

While many venues are geared toward one equestrian discipline, Blazing Saddles offers multiple specialties.

Riders can learn English dressage and western dressage. Or, they can try western-style and hunter-jumper.

Full board and pasture is also available.

Blazing Saddles, though, is more than just a ranch with a large riding arena. In addition to a 10-stall horse barn, a gazebo and patio will soon be available to accommodate weddings, corporate retreats and even pony parties.

Eight-year-old Amina wears a pink fly-mask in support of breast cancer awareness.

Plans are also in store to build an open field cross-country course on the property.

Essentially, Blazing Saddles offers “everything from soup to nuts,” said barn manager Karen Rezabek.

“There is not one need we can’t meet,” Rezabek said. “If we have to go get your horse for you, we can do that, too.”

The ranch, interestingly, is an ode to the classic 1974 Mel Brooks-directed Western satire film bearing the same name.

Enter the facility, and you’ll witness an aura heavy on family, hospitality and equestrian expertise.

It all starts with the facility’s tight-knit group of staff and trainers.

Each has their own skillsets, and various specialties.

Among the most captivating is J.R. Reeher, a former rodeo cowboy who once toured on the Professional Bull Riders circuit.

The New Mexico native with Dade City ties is described as a “horse whisperer” of sorts.

Karen Miller, a San Antonio winter resident from Massachusetts, kicks up some dust as she and 16-year-old Rue work on the horse’s ‘loping’ proficiency.

He breaks in young horses and retrains “troubled” ones.

Put more simply, he can “work a horse.”

“You’ve always got to have one cowboy tucked away in a barn,” Reeher said, with a smirk.

More importantly, he fills a giant void, said Rezabek.

“We were fortunate that we found him,” the barn manager said. “He puts all the training rides on, he’s bridling the horses for restarting. He does a lot of colt-starting.

“He’s a jack-of-all-trades.”

There’s also Krystina Hemphill, who specializes in hunter-jumper equitation. Likewise, she prepares young riders for local competitions and showcases.

Meanwhile, the other staff includes Amy Epperson, who teaches dressage, and Karen Miller, who handles speed pattern racing, known as gymkhana.

Nine-year-old Jayden Lincoln, of Bradenton, rides 17-year-old Dolly, as the young rider practices putting the horse into a trot in one of the corrals at Blazing Saddles on Wirt Road. Jayden is learning basic horsemanship, along with care and grooming of the animal. The riding complex features English Hunter/Jumper and Western Dressage.

“We all kind of work together and feed off each other,” Hemphill said. “We’ve got a good thing going here.”

At Blazing Saddles, it all comes down to instructing proper horsemanship.

Heather Fitzpatrick, who sells real estate by trade, said the purpose of the ranch is to help aspiring riders correctly learn the fundamentals.

“I think our philosophy is that we want to build a good foundation, and then go from there.” she said. “Lay the foundation — make sure it’s right — and then let them do the discipline they want.”

“Everybody needs the basics,” Rezabek added. “The good thing is that we have a very solid basic foundation.  We also wanted to be well-rounded, so it’s a one-stop shop.”

Ultimately, Blazing Saddles Ranch wants to be a place “for people to feel comfortable” via an open, welcoming environment.

“It’s a really good atmosphere,” Hemphill said. “Everybody’s very laid back, everybody’s very helpful. They’re not afraid to step in and help when needed. There’s a good camaraderie around here.”

Meantime, the facility will be hosting Gene Cox Horsemanship clinics throughout January, February and March.

There, participants will learn to communicate with a horse, and fine-tune riding techniques.

One-day jumping clinics and other camps are also on the horizon, Rezabek said.

For more information about Blazing Saddles Ranch, call Karen Rezabek at (813)793-7696.

Published January 11, 2017