The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

Recycling center plans to move

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lol-mascot-copyLand O’ Lakes Recycling is in hot water with a state regulatory agency for failing to meet an Oct. 7 deadline to build a retention pond or shut down its business.

Staff members of the Southwest Florida Water Management District referred the matter to the agency’s Office of General Counsel on Oct. 18 “because corrective actions have not been taken at this site,” according to an email from the agency, known as Swiftmud.

Also, staff members observed on Oct. 3 and Oct. 10 that the business was still operating despite locked gates and a sign displaying a message that Land O’ Lakes Recycling is closed.

The company has recycled paper, plastic, metal and cardboard from its site at 5710 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., for decades.

Owner Greg Conaty said he plans to move his business to Brooksville, and he plans to continue providing paper-recycling services to existing customers.

He said he hasn’t decided what will happen with the Land O’ Lakes property.

“We’re looking at our options,” he said, in a phone interview with The Laker/Lutz News shortly after the sign was posted, but prior to Swiftmud’s latest action.

His sign puts the blame for the recycling center’s situation on business neighbors at Lakes Auto.

But, John and Peter Inhofer, the father and son owners of Lakes Auto, say Conaty is responsible for years of violating county codes and state environmental regulations.

The Inhofers contend that county and state regulators have failed repeatedly over the years to enforce the laws.

Recycling materials have drifted frequently from the recycling business onto Lake Autos’ property, the Inhofers said.

A 10-foot steel fence separates the properties. A two-story conveyor system that separates recyclable products stands next to the fence.

“We had a garbage dump. There would be plastic and paper flying everywhere. All the garbage dumped into the pond right behind us,” said Peter Inhofer, who lives in a house behind Lakes Auto. “It devalues my property — so basically we forced them to do the right thing.”

It has never been personal, said Peter Inhofer.

“I have nothing against the neighbors,” he said. “I don’t even know them. I maybe met them twice.”

His father, John Inhofer, said it’s a matter of fairness. “If they (codes) are uniformly applied, there is no problem,” he said.

In the past five years, Pasco County, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Swiftmud have found, on different occasions, that the recycling company was not complying with code and environmental regulations.

After the county and agencies determined the business to be in compliance, their files were closed.

For instance, Pasco County sued in 2012 over code violations and failure to obtain a business license. Conaty agreed to seek a new conditional permit to supplant one issued in 1994.

A year later the state environmental agency found environmental violations including discharging stormwater directly into a wetland, excessive litter, and storing waste within 50 feet of a wetland. Officials from that agency later said the issues were resolved and the case was closed.

More than a year ago Conaty applied for an exemption from a stormwater permit, which Swiftmud granted.

The Inhofers challenged that decision.

A judge sided with them, and Swiftmud issued the permit requiring Conaty to build a retention pond.

In its email, Swiftmud outlined the timeline of its interaction with Conaty since issuing the permit.

The recycling center received the permit in May 2015 authorizing the construction of the retention pond on the approximately 3-acre site. Construction was to begin in June and be completed by Dec. 18, 2015.

In November 2015, Conaty met with Swiftmud staff members on-site and told them he had been unable to receive a permit from Pasco County to operate his business. He also said he had purchased property in Brooksville and planned to relocate Land O’ Lakes Recycling.

Telephone calls by the The Laker/Lutz News, to obtain additional information from county officials, were not returned.

In February, Swiftmud sent a letter notifying Conaty he was in violation of his permit, and had until March 25 to comply. Then, in June, Swiftmud received an email from Conaty’s attorney stating the business would close by the end of August 2016.

In September, Conaty received his last deadline of Oct. 7.

Conaty claims that his business has been unfairly targeted.

He described Land O’ Lakes Recycling as an environmentally friendly company that recycles paper, aluminum and scrap metal. And, for more than two decades, Conaty said he and his sister and business partner, Cindy Glenn, never had a problem.

In the past four years, Conaty said they have tried to meet an expanding list of regulations that seemed unfair and arbitrary.

He claims the increasing regulation stemmed from complaints by the Inhofers.

Now, according to Conaty, they are moving Land O’ Lakes Recycling operations to Brooksville, just as the company emerges from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

But, Conaty said, “Pasco County has been absolutely horrible. They give you no help. They give you no answers.”

On the issue of being frustrated by government bureaucracy, the Inhofers and Conaty are on common ground.

Peter Inhofer said he and his father have repeatedly found local and state offices unresponsive to their complaints.

Land O’ Lakes Recycling continues operations, despite the lack of a permit and the retention pond, Peter Inhofer said, and the matter remains tangled in bureaucracy.

“Nobody is taking care of the problem,” he said.

Pubished October 26, 2016

 

Local businesses are ‘companies to watch’

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Three local businesses will be honored on Nov. 3 as being among 50 “companies to watch” in Florida.

Gator Cleaning Solutions, RISA and X-Link Medical Software Interfacing will receive their awards at a celebration at Hard Rock Live, Universal CityWalk, in Orlando.

Mary Lynn and Gary Gorsline lead X-Link Medical Software Interfacing, which has been identified as one of 50 companies to watch across Florida. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Mary Lynn and Gary Gorsline lead X-Link Medical Software Interfacing, which has been identified as one of 50 companies to watch across Florida.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

These companies were selected from 500 nominees in the annual Florida Companies to Watch annual awards program.

The statewide program identifies companies that are expected to achieve significant growth over the next several years. The awards program is managed by GrowFl, the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida, in association with Edward Lowe Foundation and with programmatic support from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Winners of the distinction were singled out based on several factors, including their entrepreneurial management teams, competitive marketing positions and strong community involvement.

The 50 companies making the list generated more than $1.1 billion in combined revenue and added nearly 1,200 employees, between 2012 and 2015, according to information provided by the Pasco Economic Development Council.

Businesses on the list also had a 30 percent increase in revenue and 33 percent increase in job growth in 2016, the Pasco EDC reports.

Gary and Mary Lynn Gorsline, owners of X-Link Medical Software Interfacing, are delighted that their Land O’ Lakes-based company is one to watch.

Their company, which began in March 1988, now has 12 employees, but has immediate needs to add three more, Mary Lynn Gorsline said.

The couple is pleased to see second-stage companies receive recognition and support.

“It’s a group of companies that are not startups, and they’re not Ford Motor companies,” Gary Gorsline said.

Jenny Connell, an account manager with Gator Cleaning Solutions, prepares to visit a client. (Courtesy of Gator Cleaning Solutions)
Jenny Connell, an account manager with Gator Cleaning Solutions, prepares to visit a client.
(Courtesy of Gator Cleaning Solutions)

Mary Lynn, added: “Second-stage companies are hugely important because they generate more jobs — yet get very little attention. Startups get lots of attention. Tiny little businesses get lots of attention, but second-stage that drive the economy are largely overlooked.”

Innovation has played a huge role in the company’s success and remains essential, she added.

“We have to never, ever, ever stop innovating because if we do, we’ll go away,” she said.

One pivotal moment for the company came from the exposure it derived from being among 80 top U.S. vendors that demonstrated at the Interoperability Showcase for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the largest American health care tradeshow.

The appearance there led to new partnerships and created new opportunities at the local, state, national and international levels, according to the couple.

The company also has supported the creation of a clinic in Managua, has provided financial support to the nonprofit Ghana Orphanage and helped with the startup, and has provided continued support for Oasis Pregnancy Care Center, which has office space in Copperstone Executive Suites, where X-Link operates.

Gator Cleaning Solutions, of Odessa, has been in business for more than 12 years. The company has evolved from a janitorial service to a facility maintenance provider.

It delivers customizable strategies to meet its customers’ needs. Recently, it expanded to include residential floor care such as carpet, tile/grout and upholstery cleaning.

The company rebranded itself in 2010, changing its name, expanding its executive leadership team and developing its first comprehensive website. It expanded its footprint in 2012 by purchasing its corporate office and warehouse space, and adding staff, to prepare for continued growth.

The company is a big believer in community involvement.

“I’m a big part of Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel,” said Erin Meyers, co-owner of the company.

She’s also involved with the Interact Club at Land O’ Lakes High School and is a Big Sister in the Big Brother/Big Sister organization.

Her husband, Marcus, also a co-owner of the company, coaches two teams in the West Pasco Soccer Club. He’s also on the Greater Pasco Chamber Board.

The company shows its support for community involvement by providing a paid work day for each employee, dubbed a “Give Day” to allow them to give back to a charity of their choice.

The company is also involved in a number of other organizations and charitable causes.

The company has about 80 employees, including about 30 full-time staff members, Erin Meyer said.

“We made it to a finalist last year. We were totally honored. If you look back at last year’s winners, there were just some amazing companies,” she said. “To have won this year is just extremely exciting and humbling.”

RISA, of Land O’ Lakes, is also on the list of companies to watch.

RISA is a Hispanic, Certified Veteran Owned Small Business that specializes in cyber security and information technology services.

It helps the Department of Defense and the federal government to secure networks, improve overall network security and achieve government regulatory compliance, according to its website.

It also supports a number of charitable causes and organizations, locally and internationally, including a micro-church in Germany that provides food, clothing, shelter and the Gospel to Germans who may have never read the Bible or heard of Jesus, the company’s website says.

Closer to home, the company supports Christian Social Services of Land O’ Lakes and Grace United Methodist Church, which in cooperation with Metropolitan Ministries, provides hot dinners weekly to members of the local community.

Published October 26, 2016

Play offers insights about the life of nuns

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Step into a conversation and mention the word “nun,” and it’s not uncommon for someone to describe a stereotypical incident of a woman wearing a religious habit and wielding a ruler to inflict discipline.

But, there is so much more to the story of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida, and a play to be presented this weekend at the Saint Leo Black Box Theatre in Benedictine Hall, provides a glimpse into those lives.

Eight Saint Leo University students wrote the play, “Women on the Move: The Story of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida.”

This poster announces an original play, written by eight Saint Leo University students, about the lives of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)
This poster announces an original play, written by eight Saint Leo University students, about the lives of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

It shares the story of women who left their homes to join a new community in Florida, to carry out their faith through the work of their daily lives.

At times, the dramatization is touching, said Alicia Corts, assistant professor of theatre at the university, and the play’s director. At other times, it’s amusing, she said.

Corts, who arrived at the university last year, recalled the genesis of the play.

“When I first arrived at Saint Leo, we were getting a brand new theater, which is a big thing for Saint Leo,” she said.

The reason the university has the theater is because when the Sisters sold their old monastery building, the university had room to create the theater. It is housed in the space that had been occupied by the chapel in the former monastery.

“I knew all of that coming into the job, but on my first day, I was going to get my keys,” Corts said. As a security guard was giving her a ride to pick up her keys, they stopped to wait for traffic.

“I pointed to the theater and said, ‘Well that’s my new home. That’s my new theater.’

“And, he said, ‘You know when they moved out of that place was the first time I saw those ladies cry.’

“I thought that’s really dramatic, that’s interesting. I didn’t know that part of that.

“It got me to thinking about that idea of home, and leaving your home,” the play director said.

Even though the nuns sold the building, it still felt like they deserved an expression of gratitude, the play director said.

“So, I proposed that we write a play,” Corts said.

And, that’s precisely what happened.

The students went to work, researching the history of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida. They unearthed old records, conducted interviews and wrote vignettes.

“They went back to records from the 1800s. They contacted the original monastery that the nuns came from,” Corts said.

“These kids just dug into their (the Sisters’) lives and wrote this show as an expression of gratitude for the new home that we have. They (the Sisters) left their home and now we have our new place,” she said.

When they arrived in East Pasco from Elk County, Pennsylvania, in 1889, the religious sisters lived in a three-story hotel in San Antonio.

The play captures moments in these women’s lives and also dispels some myths about nuns, Corts said. At one point in history, she said, nuns were called witches because of the religious clothing they wore and the prayers that they chanted.

The production is sponsored by the university’s Department of Language Studies and the Arts.

It involves 30 people, counting both cast and crew. It will be premiered on the weekend of Oct. 28 through Oct. 30, with each show starting at 7 p.m.

The play will be performed to an 80-seat house at Saint Leo Black Box Theatre in Benedictine Hall.

Admission is free, but a donation of $10 or more is suggested. All proceeds will go directly to the Benedictine Sisters of Florida and their continuing work.

To reserve a ticket or for more information, email .

‘The great work still goes on’
Sister Roberta Bailey, now serving in her second term as Prioress at Holy Name Monastery, recounted the sacrifices made by members of the religious order during a 125th birthday celebration for the town of St. Leo.
“We preserve our stories because we want never to forget that the opportunities we have today were not simply lavished upon us,” Bailey said. “They were purchased at a great price, at travel from home; cold, cracked, work-worn knuckles; study by night with midnight oil; stomachs that ached with hunger; raking, hoeing and manuring groves and gardens; saving, skimping and salvaging.
“What firm faith and incredible courage our founding sisters must have had,” Bailey said. “Imagine what daring it took to venture south into this unknown territory,” Bailey said.
Since arriving in 1889, the sisters have been educators and administrators, town mayors and commissioners, members of various boards, leaders of religious programs and ministries, and involved in work in surrounding communities and in other states.
“The great work still goes on,” she said. “As long as there are gaps between our ideals and our reality, there will always be great work to be done.”

Originally published in The Laker/Lutz News on Aug. 3, 2016

Assisted care center opens in Lutz

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The legendary Pat Boone helped create an air of excitement at the grand opening ceremony of a new $13 million assisted care living facility in Lutz.

Boone made an appearance at Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild, 18440 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., on Oct. 22, to help celebrate the facility’s completion.

The three-story living facility is about 76,000 square feet.

Pat Boone (center), a singer who has sold more than 45 million records, poses with a group during the grand opening celebration of Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild. (Suzanne Beauchaine/Staff Photos)
Pat Boone (center), a singer who has sold more than 45 million records, poses with a group during the grand opening celebration of Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild.
(Suzanne Beauchaine/Staff Photos)

It features 94 units, including studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom to serve more than 100 residents.

The 82-year-old Boone has sold an estimated 45 million records, and was especially popular during the ‘50s and ‘60s. He had 38 Top 40 hits and has appeared in more than 12 Hollywood films.

This is a phenomenal building,” said Boone, addressing several hundred guests in attendance.

“I believe very strongly in these facilities. My grandmother lived her last years in an HCA (Hotel Corporation of America) facility in Jacksonville. I got to visit with her there long after she was not able to take care of herself.”

Boone, a longtime friend of John Young, executive director of Lodges of Idlewild, continued to heap praise on the new facility throughout the ceremony.

“You’ve got something really special in your midst. You have time to relive a lot of your life again,” Boone said.

Including Young, Lodges of Idlewild features a six-member leadership team with over 100-plus years experience in health care.

Pat Boone, center, joins the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild.
Pat Boone, center, joins the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild.

Ralph Fritsch, community relations manager at Angels Senior Living, said residents have been moving into the new facility “almost everyday” since its soft opening on Sept. 19.

“This is kind of the beauty of this community: we run it like a crew ship,” said Fritsch. “We have a theme every week — like ’50s and ’60s.”

He said the living center has a minimum of two interactive activities every hour between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., each day.

“It’s everything from bingo to board games,” Fritsch said. “We do brain games at 10 a.m., every day. We do chair exercises, dances. We’ll bring in professional artists to teach an art class, so they can paint, and we’ll hang their painting on the wall.”

As part of the assisted living experience, residents will be aided in hygiene, ambulating, keeping track of medications, and dining.

In addition to assisted living, Lodges of Idlewild will offer both memory care and independent living services.

The memory care program, designed for residents suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, is a “secured unit” with a higher staffing ratio for additional attention.

The independent living program also features independent apartments where residents can pay for “a la carte services” and transition into the assisted living facility when needed.

A rough estimate for the monthly cost for a resident to live at the facility is $4,000.

The two best options for financial assistance for senior care is through the Medicaid Managed Long Term Care program, or the Veteran’s Aid (VA) and Attendance program attained by serving in a war, according to Angels Senior Living’s website.

The Medicaid route requires being on Medicaid and then applying for the program to pay an amount that may total 25 percent to 50 percent of monthly rent.

The veteran’s aid option requires an application through the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Financial assistance in this program varies.

Angels Senior Living operates nine other locations throughout Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.

There are three facilities in North Tampa alone — Connerton Court in Land O’ Lakes, Angels Senior Living at New Tampa on North 42nd Street, and Shady Palms on North Florida Avenue.

Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild
What: A $13 million, 76,000-square-foot assisted living facility with 94 units
Where: 18440 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., in Lutz
Key Programs: Assisted living, memory care and independent living
Key Amenities: Luxury suites, life enrichment program, 11 designated activity areas, live entertainment, large-screen movie theater, chapel, library, hair and nail salon.
For information, call (813) 264-8200, or visit AngelsSeniorLiving.com.

Published October 26, 2016

Lifelong learners have new options at PHSC

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Maybe you’ve always wanted to try your hand at writing, start an edible garden or learn some foreign phrases.

wxp-rgbLifelong learning courses, offered through Pasco-Hernando State College’s ED2Go Online, are designed to help you fulfill those desires.

The courses are geared specifically for lifelong learning students.

The programs last six weeks, with new courses opening every month, said Karen Strouthopoulos, a senior office assistant at PHSC.

The instruction is delivered online, with class participants signing onto the class from their personal computers, Strouthopoulos said.

The state college offers more than 300 noncredit continuing education courses, ranging in cost from $104 to $146. Once students register and the course begins, they have six weeks to access the instructional materials.

They also can email questions to their instructor and participate in live chats with other students in the class.

Courses beginning on Nov. 9 include:

Computer

  • Introduction to Windows 10: Learn to use this operating system to customize your desktop, manage files and folders, and navigate the internet. Cost: $118
  • Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking: Make the most of your scrapbooking talents and artistic ideas when you combine digital and traditional scrapbooking techniques. Cost: $104
  • Understanding the Cloud: Learn what you need to know to truly understand the cloud, including how it works, what drives it, why it’s so popular, and how to make it work for you. Cost: $104

Healthy Living

  • Start Your Own Edible Garden: Learn how to grow delicious, nutritious fruit and vegetables in your own backyard. Cost: $104
  • Luscious, Low-Fat, Lightning-Quick Meals: Join a registered dietitian and discover how easy it can be to prepare delicious and nutritious meals. Cost: $104
  • Lose Weight and Keep It Off: Discover how to establish a healthy approach to successful weight loss and weight management for life. Cost: $104

Languages

  • Discover Sign Language: Discover the fun of learning sign language and using your hands to communicate with the deaf. Cost: $104
  • Speed Spanish: This course is designed for anyone who wants to learn Spanish pronto. Cost: $104
  • Instant Italian: Participants will learn practical, everyday words and phrases that will make any trip to Italy more enjoyable. Cost: $104

Personal Development

  • Assisting Aging Parents: Learn to prepare for the challenges of aging parents, while learning to cherish the transition. Cost: $104
  • Genealogy Basics: Learn where to look, who to contact, and how to use research tools to begin an exciting and fascinating exploration of your family roots. Cost: $104
  • Music Made Easy: Learn the fundamentals of music theory. Be able to read, write and play simple music. Cost: $104
  • Write Your Life Story: Learn how to create and distribute an inspirational and professional autobiography for family, friends and others. Cost: $104

Travel 

  • Travel Photography for the Digital Photographer: Learn tricks and techniques to capture scenes from around the world. Cost: $104
  • Travel Writing: Learn how to write and sell travel articles and books. Cost: $104

To see the complete list of PHSC’s Ed2Go courses, or to register for these and other noncredit courses, visit Ed2go.com/phsc/.

For information, call (727) 816-3123, or email .

Published October 26, 2016

Zephyrhills seeks feedback from residents

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The City of Zephyrhills has launched a community opinion survey to identify the city’s key issues and opportunities across the next 15 years.

The 20-question survey, which is open through Oct. 31, will be used to update the city’s long-range comprehensive plan, also called Zephyrhills 2030.

The City of Zephyrhills is seeking input from residents to update the city’s comprehensive plan. (File Photo)
The City of Zephyrhills is seeking input from residents to update the city’s comprehensive plan.
(File Photo)

The Zephyrhills Comprehensive Plan projects forward 15 years to envision where residents will “live, work, learn, play, socialize, maintain health, and preserve assets for benefits of current and future generations.”

The plan — which should be complete by the end of 2017 — also seeks to address the city’s growth and development priorities and opportunities.

Per state law, comprehensive plans must be evaluated every seven years and updated as needed.

Todd Vande Berg, planning director for the city of Zephyrhills, said he’s in the beginning stages of updating the comprehensive plan.

He’s already received over 400 survey responses.

“It’s just another way for us to gather input, data, comments, what people feel, what they like, dislike and ideas they have,” he said. “How can we improve quality of life of Zephyrhills?”

The current evaluations of the Zephyrhills Comprehensive Plan began in September with interviews of more than 50 people with different backgrounds and interests. Roundtable discussions included the following areas: real estate, economic development, culture/leisure, health, education/job training, community quality of life and transportation/mobility.

Vande Berg noted there was a “strong response” from residents for building a new community center.

“A lot of the types of issues people were very vocal about (were) improving the demographics of our community,” he said. “We really wanted get some broad support and involvement with the update to this city comprehensive plan. There are so many things that are happening and evolving in southeast Pasco that we feel this comprehensive plan update is going to be very important.”

Key forthcoming city projects, Vande Berg said, include the extension of State Road 56, the transformation of Zephyr Park and the redevelopment of Gall Boulevard.

“There’s various points of interest that…are a big part of growth and development of our community,” said Vande Berg.

A summarized report based on the survey and roundtables will later be presented to both the Zephyrhills Planning Commission and the city council, Vande Berg said.

To complete the survey, visit bit.ly/survey2030.

Paper surveys may be obtained in the City of Zephyrhills Planning Department, 5335 Eighth St., or at the Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St. Those who complete the survey and provide an email address will be entered into a drawing for a $100 grocery gift card.

Published October 26, 2016

Flute gathering celebrates Native American heritage

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Dock Green Silverhawk once invited a few friends to his Plant City home for a backyard barbecue, and an afternoon of honoring a Native American tradition – a flute circle.

Flute maker Utah Farris, of Lake Wales, sounds a long flute that he carved and ornamented with bird-like creatures. He performed and sold handmade flutes at the two-day Silverhawk Native American Flute Gathering at the Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City. (Fred Bellet/Photos)
Flute maker Utah Farris, of Lake Wales, sounds a long flute that he carved and ornamented with bird-like creatures. He performed and sold handmade flutes at the two-day Silverhawk Native American Flute Gathering at the Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)

The annual music party soon outgrew Silverhawk’s backyard, and found a new home at Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City.

On Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, the 13th Annual Silverhawk Native American Flute Gathering opened with its traditional Native American prayer to the Creator, and a lyrical flute performance of “Amazing Grace.”

Kathleen “Cheyenne Hummingbird” Imhoff stood beside Silverhawk signing in English and Native American languages.

Silverhawk, whose heritage is Creek and Cherokee, embraces the park’s legacy.

“At one time, there was a Creek nation here,” he said. “This is historic right here.”

Though the venue for the flute gathering may have changed, the down-home flavor and passion for the flute is the same.

“It’s very spiritual. It’s a music event,” Silverhawk said.

Vendors displayed Native American crafts and products, including handcrafted flutes, dreamcatchers, packets of sage and sweet grass, and medicine wheels.

Grill on Wheels sold Indian tacos, buffalo burgers, Indian fry bread and Indian fry dogs.

Several vendors and volunteers were members of the Wolf Heart Lodge, in Pinellas County.

Kim “Turquoise Cloud” Cox sold cookies and pastries on behalf of the lodge to benefit homeless veterans. Her husband, Charlie “Sun Walker” Cox, played the flute.

Bill Caudle of Plant City, foreground, likes the sound of flutes made from electrical conduit pipe. Vendor Allan Yanko, of Hudson, listens as Caudle plays a tune.
Bill Caudle of Plant City, foreground, likes the sound of flutes made from electrical conduit pipe. Vendor Allan Yanko, of Hudson, listens as Caudle plays a tune.

Lodge members try to bring awareness about Native American culture and its traditions. “We try to teach how to make medicine bags and dream catchers and also teach what that means to Native Americans,” said Kim Cox.

Susan Piper sat on a bench as Silverhawk performed. As a Pasco County employee, Piper helped Silverhawk obtain a permit for the event.

She has known him for awhile, but this was her first time at the flute gathering.

“This man is so devoted,” she said. “I love to learn, and I respect him so much.”

Shelly “Night Wolf” Berry, and her son, Robert “Little Turtle” Weisenberger, go to as many pow wows and flute gatherings as they can. They drove from Holiday for the Dade City gathering.

Berry’s mother was a member of the Miami tribe, and at age 83, still went hunting and made her own clothes from animal fur.

“She lived the old way,” Berry said. “We learned through her to live the white (man’s) way and her way.”

Charlie “Sun Walker” Cox of Pinellas Park is silhouetted against the morning sky as he performs music from his Cherokee heritage.
Charlie “Sun Walker” Cox of Pinellas Park is silhouetted against the morning sky as he performs music from his Cherokee heritage.

Utah Farris is an Oklahoma native and went to school with Creek children for whom flutes were part of their culture. But, Farris said, “I wasn’t even vaguely interested in them (flutes).”

It wasn’t until he retired 15 years ago that he began learning to play the flute. He made his first flute after finding a drawing in an old book.

No flute player would reveal “trade secrets,” Farris said.

He owns Flight Feather Flutes in Lake Wales, and sells his own handcrafted flutes. He travels to about 15 Native American events each year, and shares flute-making skills.

“I think it should be passed on,” he said. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had.”

Girl Scouts from Troop 078 in Zephyrhills spotted the sign for “free flute lessons” at the Riverwind Flute Circle’s tent.

Tom Ransom obliged with an introductory lesson, offering encouragement to the flute novices.

“You don’t need to know a whole lot to play,” he said. “But, you can learn a lot from trying to play.”

Barbara Cool Breeze, owner of Cool Breeze Creations, goes only by her Native American name. She sold sage, dreamcatchers and medicine wheels at her display table. Her heritage is Creek and Cherokee.

“This is a spiritual thing,” she said. “It’s a therapy for me.”

Published October 26, 2016

Tampa Premium Outlets goes pink

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Pink is in vogue at Tampa Premium Outlets, and for good reasons.

On Oct. 29, the outlet mall will cap off a month-long More Than Pink campaign in recognition of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

But, the day also highlights the Grand Opening Anniversary Celebration of the Tampa Premium Outlets, including opportunities to make donations to Susan G. Komen, a nonprofit that supports breast cancer research and educational awareness.

Tampa Premium Outlets is celebrating National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and its one-year anniversary. (File Photo)
Tampa Premium Outlets is celebrating National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and its one-year anniversary.
(File Photo)

From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., shoppers can enjoy family activities, strolling entertainers, and live music from Mad Dog and Sacred Fire.

One year ago, the outlet mall opened its doors to more than 90 retailers, and heralded the renewal of economic development along the State Road 56 corridor.

“It’s hard to imagine that we opened one year ago,” said Sarah Rasheid, Tampa Premium Outlets’ marketing director. “We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

Currently, about 105 retailers are in business at the outlet mall. Three new restaurants are set to open shortly on parcels fronting the shopping mall – BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, McDonald’s and Longhorn Steakhouse.

 

They are only the latest along restaurant row, and join Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Chick-Fil-A and Culver’s. Still to come are Panda Express, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Starbucks. Among new retailers that have opened over the year inside the outlet mall are Steve Madden, Hanna Andersson and the Flip Flop Shops.

Construction is underway on a large outparcel on Costco Wholesale, which is slated for an early 2017 opening.

As shopping and dining experiences grow at Tampa Premium Outlets, community outreach also is taking root.

The More Than Pink campaign is part of the mall’s community outreach.

Store and mall employees donned pink clothing, pink ribbons and pink accessories during October.

Donations to Komen can be made at Simon Guest Services in Market Hall.

The outlet mall’s owner, Simon Properties, donated more than $470,000 to the nonprofit in 2015, and by Sept. 30, 2018 is pledging contributions of at least $1 million for each year of the program.

A More Than Pink Hero Wall allows survivors and families to honor their victories over cancer, and the continued fight for improved treatment and a cure.

Stickers for $1 can be bought and placed on the wall, with all proceeds going to Komen. In addition, $10 discount cards can be purchased at Guest Services. The cards can be used for 25 percent off one item at participating shops at Tampa Premium Outlets. All proceeds from the sale of the cards go to Komen.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, the mall soon will begin glowing with seasonal holiday colors and lights.

On Nov. 19, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the public is invited to a Christmas lighting and the arrival of Santa Claus.

And, upcoming, Rasheid said, “There will some festive ways to get involved.”

The mall will host a Community Holiday Performance from Nov. 20 to Dec. 24, at select dates and times. Community groups, schools and organizations will be featured.

A Community Gift Wrap from Dec. 10 to Dec. 24, also at select dates and times, will allow organizations to provide volunteers who will provide gift wrapping the mall’s visitors in return for donations.

For information, visit tinyurl.com/jnbnq9c.

Published October 26, 2016

Riding the Route 54 County Connector

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They cut the ribbon on a posh new bus a few weeks ago, signaling optimistic expansion of Pasco County’s two-year-old east-west route linking Zephyrhills and New Port Richey.

Assembled under a fan-cooled tent in the parking lot of the Medical Center at Trinity, officials spoke buoyantly about the future of mass transit in Pasco County, with the bus in the background lending physical evidence to their commitment.

And, what evidence it is. Sleek. Ocean blue, emblazoned with a green and yellow stripe undulating across the side — a wave below a bright ball of sun and a seagull taking wing.

Courtesy of Pasco County Pasco County is using this new bus in an expansion of its east-west route, linking Zephyrhills and New Port Richey.
Courtesy of Pasco County
Pasco County is using this new bus in an expansion of its east-west route, linking Zephyrhills and New Port Richey.

Inside, more blue. Soothing. Welcoming. Comfy, upholstered padded seats that say, sit, rest, stay awhile. Overhead, adjustable air conditioning vents and reading lights, just like on intra-city buses and airliners. Upscale.

And, that’s not all. Over the next several months, they’ll add free Wi-Fi, introducing the option of online productivity or entertainment to your ride, while Pasco County Public Transportation drivers get you pretty close to where you need to go.

It’s all perfectly splendid. But, so far, it’s also all a dream. Not that the new buses, two of them, aren’t authentic. Or, that Pasco’s commitment to mass transit isn’t both enthusiastic and genuine. But, there’s a reason there’s no mention of “rapid” in the system’s official name, as we shall see.

Let’s be clear. If, just now, it serves as nothing more than a symbolic reminder that Pasco is a single, unified entity, and not some geographic hybrid stitched together by whimsical bureaucrats and maintained by stubborn tradition, then the connector serves a valuable purpose.

Still, the additional buses, acquired through a $1.031 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, represent a severe test of the “Field of Dreams” launching instructions. If they drive them, will riders come?

Having traveled the line, designated the “Route 54 County Connector,” roundtrip from Zephyrhills to the Trinity hospital recently, I can say without hesitation: Winning converts is going to take time.

And, that’s a generous review. The trip, which, even following the bus’ roundabout circuit, could have been accomplished by car in about two hours, took more than twice as long.

Possibly because of this snail’s pace, there were long stretches where I was the only passenger aboard. At its most crowded — after a late-afternoon stop at the Wiregrass campus of Pasco-Hernando State College — I shared my ride with five others.

Not that you can’t meet pleasant company along the way, among them Jonathan Funnel (pronounced “foo-NELL,” accent on the second syllable), 25, who routinely rides from the Zephyrhills City Hall stop to The Groves for his job at the Cobb cineplex.

Funnel, who reports he loves all movies, everything having to do with baseball, plus the NFL’s Packers and Eagles, likes that the bus drops him near the Grove’s Dick’s Sporting Goods store. “It’s heaven,” he says.

Among the notes jotted by Funnel’s traveling companion: “We rode together about 25 minutes. A car couldn’t have done much better.” Our driver, Jose Rojas, 62, a retired postal worker from Land O’ Lakes who piloted heavy machinery as a Marine, observes pleasantly, “Today’s been rainy. There’s no traffic. I love it.”

About then the radio squawks. The bus out of Zephyrhills goes only as far as The Shops at Wiregrass. There, in the parking garage, westbound passengers switch. But, the connector, bound from Trinity, is caught in a snarl triggered by a crash near Collier Parkway.

“Uh-oh,” Rojas murmurs. When we arrive at the mall terminus, the driver apologizes for the delay with a what-are-you-gonna-do shrug, adding “He’ll be along in a while.”

He’s seven minutes early, so he gets out and stretches, groaning pleasantly. No passengers board before Rojas makes his on-time departure, half-a-million-dollars of empty bus.

“A while” turns out to be most of a half hour, which allows time to strike up a conversation with Odette Rennie, 69, a Virgin Islander who settled in a Land O’ Lakes village along State Road 54 sometime after a nearly catastrophic accident in Los Angeles broke her right arm in three places and convinced her to swear off personal transportation almost completely.

She’ll ride if her husband or son are driving. Otherwise, she takes the bus, even though she concedes — as do many fans of public transportation — managing the last half-mile home presents challenges of its own. Some days it’s brutally hot. Today, near the Ferman new car dealership, she exits into a downpour, lamenting she’d left her big umbrella at home.

Worse, because the bus is designed to drop passengers onto raised platforms, Rennie makes a big step onto an unpaved shoulder, punctuating the maneuver, “Ow, wow!”

After that, riders come and go singly. One seems to have just finished a shift at Big Lots; he falls asleep immediately. Another, at the Suncoast Parkway, has come from a bike ride. He loads his two-wheeler on the front, drops coins in the slot, slumps into a seat and, buds in ears, studies his smartphone. Farther up, a boarding passenger complains that the bus is late. She doesn’t want to hear about the accident.

Nobody does. If the buses are adequate, and this one is more than that, nothing kills ridership quite like blown schedules. On the day they snipped the ribbon, Commissioner Kathryn Starkey conceded as much. “We’ll never get people out of their cars as long as buses can get stuck in traffic. We need real bus rapid transit” — that is, buses traveling in lanes reserved only for buses.

Still, if you’re not in a rush, there’s something to be said for riding, especially if you take one of the scenic seats a couple of steps up in the back. Not driving means you can fixate on industrious egrets following a tractor-drawn mower hacking through a pasture. Not driving and sitting up high means you finally see over the reeds to the little lagoon with a small dock framed in lattice west of Keystone Community Church.

Being alone, being chauffeured, means your thoughts can wander. I’m thinking, from time to time, riding the bus just might be therapeutic. And, at $3 a roundtrip, it will be cheaper than any shrink.

This is the buzz in my head at the end of my four-hour odyssey. It could have been worse. And my mind is oddly at ease. If I’m ever not in a hurry again, I could do this.

 Published Oct. 19, 2016

 

 

Rattlesnake fest hits half-century mark

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They weren’t bringing in rattlesnakes that they’d found out in fields or carting in live gopher tortoises to race — but they were having old-fashioned fun at the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival & Run.

Kids scaled up rock walls, people had close encounters with alligators and bands played continuously.

The festival, held in San Antonio’s City Park, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a two-day event, on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16.

Richard K. Riley/Photos Taylor Weiss, of New Port Richey, makes her way up the rock wall.
Richard K. Riley/Photos
Taylor Weiss, of New Port Richey, makes her way up the rock wall.

It was a hit.

It’s hard to get actual numbers, since there’s no admission charge, but Betty Burke, chairwoman of the organizing committee, estimated attendance at between 7,000 and 8,000 people.

“My goodness, it was fantastic,” said Burke, a member of the Rotary Club of San Antonio, which put on the event.

There were lots of kids, she said. And, “there were dogs everywhere.”

People seemed to be enjoying themselves, said Burke, noting she was “very happy” with the way things turned out.

“Croc Encounters — that was real popular,” the chairwoman said. “Everybody loved the music,” she added.

Besides listening to bands, festivalgoers could get a bite to eat, pose for a picture in the pumpkin patch, or do a bit of shopping.

There were barrel train rides, a bounce house, a rattlesnake run, and wooden gopher tortoise races — a perennial hit at the event.

The gopher tortoise races, which use wooden mechanical tortoises, is always a big hit at the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival & Run.
The gopher tortoise races, which use wooden mechanical tortoises, is always a big hit at the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival & Run.

The festival is the primary fundraiser for the Rotary Club of San Antonio. Proceeds support local scholarships, community projects and international Rotary projects, such as Polio Plus. The event is partially funded by Visit Pasco Tourism and Visit Florida. Area businesses, community members and sponsors, including The Laker/Lutz News, also support the event.

Published Oct. 19, 2016