Local News

Student loan debt is affecting housing market

August 31, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Student loan debt nationally is a staggering $1.3 trillion dollars, or about 10 percent of all outstanding debt.

For seven out of 10 students, repaying student loans can be a nearly insurmountable obstacle that is altering career decisions and delaying the milestone of buying a home.

Nationally, the average student loan debt is about $30,000.

Across Florida, the average is about $25,000.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, wearing an orange dress, along with student leaders and members of the Greater Tampa Association of REALTORS, held a press conference to highlight problem of student loan debt. (Courtesy of the office of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor) — U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, wearing an orange dress, along with student leaders and members of the Greater Tampa Association of REALTORS, held a press conference to highlight problem of student loan debt.
(Courtesy of the office of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor)

At the University of South Florida, about 60 percent of students have an average loan debt of $22,600. At the University of Tampa, about 60 percent of students owe about $34,000.

Unlike most debt, however, students by law are prevented from refinancing those loans.

It is a dilemma that is highlighted in a survey released by the National Association of REALTORS Research Department and American Student Assistance, also known as Salt.

The home ownership rate is falling, and younger generations saddled with student debt are part of the reason, the survey found.

“That (student) debt is thrown into the mix with any other debt they have,” said Jack Rodriguez, a Tampa real estate broker. “It affects the amount of loan they could get. With the ability to refinance into a lower interest rate…they would bring down their payment which would allow them to purchase more house.”

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Rodriguez and other real estate agents held a press conference on Aug. 22 at the Greater Tampa Association of REALTORS to highlight the problem, and show support for a bill on refinancing student loans. They were joined by student leaders from USF, UT and Hillsborough Community College.

“If we really want to make a change, and want to protect our nation’s youth and generations to come, we need to focus on our assets, college affordability and how we’re going to fix this,” said James Scudero, student body president at UT.

Student loan debt is crippling, said Chris Griffin, peer advisor leader for USF New Student Connections.

Food banks can now be found on student campuses, and student homelessness is happening, Griffin said.

“The scary thing is the food banks are used,” said Alec Waid, student body vice president at USF.

The pending bill, known as the Bank on Student Emergency Loan Refinancing Act – has about 170 sponsors. But, efforts to pass the bill have stalled for at least two years.

“It’s something of a partisan issue. It shouldn’t be,” said Castor.

If approved, student graduates could refinance private school loans issued before July 1, 2015.

“A citizen can refinance their car loan, boat loan and their credit card debt,” Castor said. “But, students are not allowed to refinance their student loans. This would be a very good time to do this, because interest rates are very low.”

According to the survey, at least a quarter of all students have a typical loan debt of about $25,000. And, 71 percent of non-homebuyers say student loan debt is delaying the decision to buy a home. In some cases, the delay is about five years.

About 42 percent of students with loan debt delayed moving out of the family home. Millennials born between 1990 and 1998, and who made less than $25,000 in 2015, were most likely to stay at home longer.

But, younger generations aren’t alone in struggling with student debt.

Tampa real estate broker Alma Alexander said her daughter earned a degree in graphic arts in the 1990s and left school owing nearly $35,000. The debt wasn’t paid off until two years ago.

“She worked at paying it when she could,” Alexander said.

Published August 31, 2016

Conservation work yields statewide award

August 31, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Kaitlyn Greenough has nurtured a curiosity about nature and love of the outdoors since she was very young.

She also began her lifelong relationship with girl scouting at an early age. As a matter of fact, she was in kindergarten when she became a Daisy scout.

Kaitlyn Greenough is the Florida Wildlife Federation’s Youth Conservationist of the Year for 2016. (Photos courtesy of Kaitlyn Greenough) — Kaitlyn Greenough is the Florida Wildlife Federation’s Youth Conservationist of the Year for 2016.
(Photos courtesy of Kaitlyn Greenough)

Her love of nature and of scouting both have shaped her life, and offered her opportunities to get involved in volunteer work in the community.

Greenough recently received accolades for the work she has done, as a Girl Scout and a conservationist, to teach elementary-age children about water conservation.

The 20-year-old spent about 130 hours, over three years, researching and designing a water conservation course in her quest for a Gold Award, the highest honor bestowed on a Girl Scout.

She taught the course at Crystal Springs Preserve, a 525-acre sanctuary in Pasco County. For years, she attended summer camps at the preserve. She began volunteering there when she was 8.

In July, the Florida Wildlife Federation name Greenough the Youth Conservationist of the Year. The award was bestowed on July 15 in Bradenton.

“It’s the coolest award I’ve ever gotten,” said Greenough, the Zephyrhills High graduate who is now a junior at the University of South Florida.

A few months earlier, Greenough and other area Girl Scouts received their Gold awards from the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.

The Gold Award honors extraordinary leadership and community involvement by scouts in ninth through 12th grades.

Greenough also received a lifetime membership in the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

The young woman treasures the experiences she had through the Girl Scout program.

Kaitlyn Greenough, the Florida Wildlife Federation’s Youth Conservationist of the Year for 2016, taught a class on water conservation at Crystal Springs Preserve.

“It’s about empowering women, and I really like that the exposure is generational,” she said. “You want to have women with power, and give them opportunities to just bond and grow.”

Friends and family sat in the audience at the banquet in Bradenton, as she received the state award from the wildlife federation.

Zephyrhills’ Mayor Gene Whitfield also surprised her with a proclamation from the City of Zephyrhills.

Diane Hines, spokeswoman for the federation, said Greenough imparted her knowledge to young people. “She was able to teach others about the importance of protecting our rare, fresh water springs.”

Located near the city of Zephyrhills, Crystal Springs Preserve allows visitors to step back into old Florida, and enjoy wooded trails, butterfly gardens, a wildlife pavilion and educational programs on preservation of the natural environment.

Crystal Springs is the source for Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water, which is bottled and sold nationwide.

Greenough began researching the springs at the preserve nearly three years ago. She then crafted a course where students could build their own small watersheds in a sandbox. They also toured the preserve and learned about its history, plants and wildlife.

She is working on her studio arts major at USF, but Greenough still thinks about a future with Girl Scouts.

“In the future, I’m definitely going to volunteer,” she said.

Published August 31, 2016

Concerns about Zika on the rise, poll says

August 31, 2016 By B.C. Manion

The level of unease about the Zika virus is on the rise in Florida, according to a new poll conducted by the Saint Leo University Polling Institute.

The online poll, which was conducted Aug. 14 to Aug. 18, surveyed 1,500 adults in Florida, according to a news release from Saint Leo University.

The Zika virus is spread through bites of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is the same mosquito that spreads the dengua and chikunguna viruses. (File Photo) — The Zika virus is spread through bites of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is the same mosquito that spreads the dengua and chikunguna viruses.
(File Photo)

Polling ended a day before Gov. Rick Scott announced that mosquitos are spreading the virus in the Miami area and five days before the governor announced a non-travel related case of Zika was found in Pinellas County, the release says.

The university’s August poll found that 79.3 percent of respondents say they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the virus. Of those remaining, 1.1 percent say they are “somewhat unconcerned,” 7.5 percent indicate they are “not at all concerned,” and 2.1 percent say they are unsure or do not know enough to answer.

The poll had a plus or minus margin of error of 3.0 percent.

The polling institute’s June survey of 500 adults in Florida showed 71.2 percent of respondents expressing concern.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control describes the ailment as being caused by the Zika virus, which is spread mainly through the bite of an infected mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus).

The virus can be passed from an infected pregnant woman to her fetus. The CDC also confirmed that the virus is responsible for severe defects, including microcephaly, in unborn children. When delivered, such babies have abnormally small heads and often, brain defects.

The disease also can be spread through sexual contact, according to the CDC.

Many of those infected with the virus have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, according to the CDC. The symptoms can include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes). There is no specific medication for the virus.

In general, people who are healthy and are not thinking of having children anytime soon have little to nothing to worry about from Zika, Dr. Cheryl Clauson, Saint Leo University assistant professor of biology said, in the release.

“There may be an association between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome, however, this only occurs in a very small number of people who contract Zika,” Clauson said.

But, she continued, “pregnant women need to be very careful about traveling to the affected areas of Miami. Pregnant women should avoid the area altogether if possible, postponing non-essential travel as needed. If a woman who is currently pregnant lives in these areas of Miami, she should talk to her health care provider about getting tested for Zika during her pregnancy. Her partner would need to use condoms throughout the pregnancy to prevent possibly passing Zika to her.”

The Saint Leo biologist advised couples who are considering having children to wait at least eight weeks after returning from a Zika-affected area before trying to get pregnant, even if the woman does not have a confirmed case. “Men who did not have a confirmed Zika infection should also wait eight weeks. However, if he had a confirmed Zika infection, he should wait six months before trying to get pregnant with his female partner,” Clauson said.

Florida’s counties are taking steps to get rid of mosquito breeding grounds and prevent the spread of the Zika virus. The Aedes species are “aggressive daytime biters,” according to the CDC, but also can bite at night.

Clauson recommends using insect repellants with particular active ingredients: DEET, IR3535, oil of eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol or picaridin. “Because many people who use repellant may also use sunscreen, the repellant should be applied after sunscreen is applied,” she said.

Floridians also should empty anything outside their houses that could hold standing water—planters, small boats, pet bowls—to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in those containers.

Protect yourself from the Zika virus
To help protect yourself, the CDC recommends people:

Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants
Stay in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens to keep mosquitoes out
Sleep under a mosquito net if you are outdoors or unable to keep mosquitoes out
Use repellents registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Follow product label instructions
Reapply as directed

The CDC also offers these additional tips: Do not spray repellent on skin under clothing, apply sunscreen before applying insect repellent and do not apply insect repellent on babies younger than 2 months.

To protect your child, dress him or her in clothing that covers the arms and legs. Also, do not apply insect repellent onto a child’s hands, eyes, mouth, or cut or irritated skin.

Published August 31, 2016

Saint Leo names public safety director

August 31, 2016 By Kevin Weiss

Cyrus Brown, a 30-plus year veteran of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), has been named Saint Leo University’s executive director of University Public Safety.

In this newly created position at Saint Leo, Brown will oversee safety and security for all of the university’s locations, including its more than 40 branch education centers and offices across the states of California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Cyrus Brown has been named Saint Leo University’s executive director of University Public Safety. He will oversee safety and security for all of the university’s locations, including its more than 40 branch education centers and offices across seven states. (Photos courtesy of Saint Leo University) — Cyrus Brown has been named Saint Leo University’s executive director of University Public Safety. He will oversee safety and security for all of the university’s locations, including its more than 40 branch education centers and offices across seven states.
(Photos courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Brown, who most recently served as an associate director of Public Safety at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, plans to perform safety and security assessments at all of Saint Leo’s locations.

“…We’re going to ensure that we have a continuity of public safety across all of Saint Leo’s educational centers,” Brown said. “They’re on the right track, and I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing so far — it’s just a matter of continuing to identify ways to improve what we’re doing. When it comes to public safety, there’s always new technologies that are coming out, so I’m continuing to scan to see what’s out there and what we can do better.”

Crime rates for the university’s main campus in East Pasco County are relatively low.

According to Saint Leo’s 2015-2016 annual security report, there were no reported cases of on-campus robbery, burglary, aggravated assault or motor vehicle theft in 2014.

However, there was one on-campus sex offense and two cases of stalking on campus, records show.

Drug and alcohol abuse were the most common incidents on the university’s main campus, which has about 2,400 students enrolled for the 2016 fall semester.

Records show there were five on-campus arrests for drug abuse violations and 13 disciplinary referrals for drug abuse in 2014. Though no arrests were reported for alcohol-related offenses, there were 288 on-campus disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations.

Saint Leo University’s main campus, in East Pasco County, has about 2,400 students enrolled for the 2016 fall semester.

To further combat crime at Saint Leo, the former Florida Highway Patrol official is encouraging students, faculty and visitors to report any suspicious activity they may come across.

“See something, say something, no matter how small it is,” Brown said. “I think it takes all of us working together, to keep all of us at the university safer.

“The last thing you want is students to be concerned about their safety.”

Brown said his experience working in campus safety at Bethune-Cookman will serve him well in his new role, especially in terms of understanding the dynamics of the university environment.

He noted that Saint Leo’s rural setting is more ideal in detaining an active threat, compared to a university located in a metropolitan area, like Bethune-Cookman.

“If you ask me, Saint Leo is the ideal campus,” Brown said. “The way things are situated, in an urban setting, you’re dealing with everything in a compact environment, but in a rural setting, it’s so wide open…and you can keep a handle on things a lot better.”

Brown, who officially started Aug. 1, said he’s been impressed with the procedures of the campus security and safety department thus far.

“They do a great job of preserving the peace, they do a great job in terms of interacting with students, faculty and even our visitors,” he said. “When it comes to the public safety side, they’re really doing a tremendous job in moving us in the right direction.”

Additional areas Brown is focusing on: more staff training and more correspondence with local law enforcement agencies, such as the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and the Dade City Police Department.

That includes a better familiarity with the main campus’s various entry and exit points, should an active threat arise.

“We’re constantly doing training,” he said, “so they can get a real-life understanding of each of the buildings and the layout of the campus.”

He added: “We have to stay out in front of (possible threats), and we do that through constantly providing training and keeping it fresh on everyone’s minds.”

Q&A:
Why are you interested in law enforcement?
“I guess it goes back to when I was in high school, my interest was to go into criminal justice. I did that through the community college level and then went into the U.S. Army, where I served for three years.”

Why did you want to work in public safety at the university level?
“I wanted to do something in the university perspective in terms of law enforcement or public safety because I feel that’s where my strong points are. I’ve done a lot to prepare for it in terms of the training I’ve received in law enforcement and also the educational aspect of it.

“All of my training, it takes me back to public safety or law enforcement. So, it was an excellent opportunity for me to look at the public safety side of things, and I find it quite intriguing. It’s a little different than law enforcement.”

What’s the difference between law enforcement and public safety?
“If a situation were to go down, such as an active threat or active shooter (on campus), the law enforcement agency will come in and take a leadership role in terms of trying to get that situation resolved. Public safety — we just detain and get law enforcement to deal with the active threat.”

How does your law enforcement background help you in this new role?
“Throughout my law enforcement career, I was able to establish relationships with other law enforcement agencies like the sheriff’s department and the local police department, and I think that helps, too, when it comes to public safety — sitting at the table, working through mutual concerns from both sides. I think with my experience and those network relationships, it’s been a smooth transition for me.”

Cyrus Brown bio
Cyrus Brown holds a Bachelor of Science from Barry University and a Master of Science the University of Central Florida. He also has extensive law enforcement training. He’s graduate from the FBI National Academy, the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville and the Leadership in Police Organizations program of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
He also has considerable law enforcement experience. He was a trooper for the Florida Highway Patrol (1984 to 1988), a lieutenant with the FHP (1990 to 1994), a captain with the FHP (1994 to 2009) and a major with the FHP (2009 to 2015).

Published August 31, 2016

Local man was ‘Destined to Serve’

August 31, 2016 By Kevin Weiss

Whether in law enforcement, military or ministry, Barry White has always been destined to serve.

In 2014, the Land O’ Lakes resident detailed his 37-plus years in public service in a self-published 218-page memoir, “Destined to Serve.”

Barry White
(Photos courtesy of Barry White)

In the book, White chronicles key moments during his work for the Tampa Police Department, the Florida Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Army.

“It’s really about what I think are some very interesting things that happened to me or around me when I was in law enforcement or when I was an army chaplain,” White, 67, said. “A lot of the stories — especially the ones where I was in law enforcement — are very usable in some messages to drive home a point or an illustration.”

Some tales are exciting, some comical. Some are sad and others, heartbreaking.

Most of the book’s 17 chapters focus on his military experience, most of which he described as “super rewarding.”

His duties as an army chaplain took him to places like Guantanamo Bay— “a really unique experience”— and Seoul, Korea— “a neat place.”

Yet, the most challenging portion of the book to write, he said, focused on delivering military death notifications. As an army chaplain, he was required to inform next of kin when a loved one had passed away.

He figures he delivered about a dozen — “a dozen too many”— death notifications in his 23 years as a chaplain.

Barry White served as a soldier-chaplain in the U.S. Army for 23 years, before retiring in 2010. A majority of the book focuses on his time in the U.S. Army.

“It’s the last thing in the world I want to do,” White said. “I honestly and truly would rather be involved in some sort of a (police) shootout — as long as I have protection—than to have to experience those types of emotions. Just imagine having to go tell somebody — it’s just a very difficult thing to do.”

In fact, the emotion of telling people their loved ones had passed away was the most difficult he ever experienced in his career, White said.

“I’d rather have to do law enforcement than to go back and do that again,” he said.

The most enjoyable chapters to write centered on his years in police work, and when he worked as a state wildlife officer, patrolling the Tsala Apopka Chain and the Withlacoochee River.

“The Florida Wildlife Commission was a lot of fun,” he said. “You’re outdoors all the time, and even in hot Florida, you’re out there among nature.”

White noted that being a state wildlife officer was “definitely less stressful” than his three years in the Tampa Police Department.

Barry White also worked as a state wildlife officer from 1977-1979.

“We didn’t have that many problems,” he said about working as a state wildlife officer. …“Even if you catch someone doing a crime — like shining (a light) at night — usually you were on top of them before they even knew it. There’s adrenaline, but it was a good kind of adrenaline, whereas the police department, you were scared because there could be a riot, a gang or a bunch of folks who were all drunk, and you had no backup.”

He continued: “Times have changed in law enforcement, but even then, there’s moments where you’re right in the middle of something and it’s like, ‘What am I doing here?’ It wasn’t so much that I hated the (police officer) job, but there were fears there.”

White now presides over funerals at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. He also fills in as a chaplain on Holland America cruise line.

Destined to Serve can be ordered on Amazon.com.

Q&A with Barry White, author of ‘Destined to Serve’
How did you get interested in law enforcement?
“I was inspired to go into the (Tampa) police department by my brother, so I really started getting the bug. …I think by end of my three years in the police department, I was already getting a little burned out. I wasn’t as happy there as I thought I’d be. I met some very good friends, one of which was a state wildlife officer, and he helped get me excited about that.”

Did you experience a lot of negativity as a law enforcement officer, particularly working with the TPD?
“Just individual times. When you were in certain neighborhoods, there was definitely animosity. My problem was that my heart is too big. That’s one reason why I wasn’t happy. It seemed like the officers that I worked with, if they had a particularly difficult person, they’d call me. It didn’t always work, but sometimes it did because I just had a way of connecting. But, that also can cause you a lot of problems, too. Like today, it’s so hard to let your guard down.”

How different is the Tampa area today since your family moved here in the mid-to-late 1950s?
“There was nothing out here. We used to go camping where the (University of South Florida’s) Sun Dome is. It used to be a big borrow pit where they took lime rock out, and we would go camping there. That’s where we did hikes as Boy Scouts. USF had two buildings when we moved here. Even here in Land O’ Lakes, between Collier Parkway and Camp Indianhead Road, there’s now a subdivision that used to be a camp.”

Barry White bio
Barry White was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1948. He moved to Tampa in 1957 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1967-1971. He worked for the Tampa Police Department, 1974 to 1977; was a state wildlife officer from 1977 to 1979; and, was a soldier-chaplain for the U.S. Army from 1987 to 2010.

Published August 31, 2016

Freedom to pledge allegiance … or not

August 31, 2016 By Tom Jackson

Social media sites blew up recently with news out of Leon County regarding, because we have a shortage of things to disagree about, the Pledge of Allegiance.

It seems the uncle of a Leon County elementary school student was presented with a form that gives custodial adults the option of having their youngsters literally sit out each morning’s traditional recitation of the Pledge.

Outraged, the uncle wrote in red ink his response across the form — “This is the dumbest thing I have ever read and I am so ashamed of this” — and, of course, posted it on his Facebook page, whereupon it went classically viral.

Traditional media as far away as Detroit and St. Louis took notice, producing coverage about outraged parents and blame-shifting bureaucrats. A district spokesman said the district was following the Legislature’s newly minted direction; the state Department of Education retorted Leon’s interpretation went too far.

The whole thing was like a summer storm: furious and eye-catching, but over fast. Only days later, Leon’s media-challenged Superintendent Jackie Pons — he says he was unaware of the published waiver until a parent called him on the way to work days later — ordered a halt to the form’s distribution and had the online code of conduct revised.

If parents or uncles or otherwise guardians wanted to exercise their rights under the statute, Pons reasoned, they could write their own darn note.

And, that was pretty much that, except for the lingering suspicion expressed in an email interview with the Tallahassee Democrat by Micah Brienen — the alarmed uncle — that the statute passed by Florida’s overwhelmingly Republican, certifiably conservative Legislature, and signed by its hard-right governor, was somehow “just another example of progressive politics destroying our school system.”

The next thing you know, Brienen said, they’ll be taking Old Glory out of the classroom and stripping her off the pole in the courtyard.

Well.

What the Legislature did last spring was nothing more than codify what plenty of school districts — Pasco and Hillsborough included — already had in their policy books where for years, students who have objections to reciting the Pledge have been able to decline without it going on their permanent records.

That, and lawmakers added a codicil: If a student wants to demur, he/she must provide a written-opt out. If anything, it seems legislators toughened the provisions.

And, Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning, above all a reasonable fellow, is not sure he gets all the fuss. “It’s not a big deal for us,” he says. Pasco’s longstanding policy notwithstanding, there have been few reported episodes of students sitting out the Pledge.

The addition of a written excuse “might mean a little more work for school board staff,” Browning says, “but I haven’t heard any news” about students exercising their stand-down option.

So, is the fuss all tempests and teapots? For Browning, rising and reciting the Pledge at the start of each school morning represents a cherished ritual, one of those things that help set the tone for learning in the land of liberty.

“We stand, we pledge the flag,” he says. “It’s who we are as Americans.”

That said, Browning makes abundantly clear his administration’s determination to defend students who find the pledge offensive, whatever their reasons.

And, that brings us back around to the idea that letting students off the hook is somehow introducing the Kremlin to our public schools. Wrong.

Giving students the option to pledge, far from being the work of subversives, is, in fact, a blow for liberty. Yes, we live in a splendid country, the best in history and still the most alluring on the planet. It passes the fence test — put a fence around a country; open the gate and see which way people go — every time.

But, the reason for the United States’ exceptional status has nothing to do with its grand vistas, abundant natural resources and favorable location on the map, and everything to do with the fact that it was, as the great man said, “conceived in liberty.”

And, if liberty means anything, it means this: Under certain circumstances, you cannot be forced to say things contrary to your faith or philosophy or even your mood, if it comes to that. Finding yourself in a taxpayer-sponsored classroom on the orders of the government — up to a certain age, school attendance is compulsory — qualifies as one of those exemptible circumstances.

In truth, obliging anyone, anywhere, anytime, to pledge to the Pledge is a persistent source of tension. The very notion of liberty sternly implies an opt-out clause.

Of course, it’s counterintuitive. Celebrate self-determination and in the next breath reject a vow of loyalty to the country that stands ever-poised to defend liberty with blood and treasure? Yes, this strikes me as freeloading on freedom, too, but we have to take the noble with its consequences.

Therefore, fans of freedom should not recoil, horror struck, when private citizens, even students, reject the taking of a loyalty oath. Allegiance coerced is allegiance unworthy.

And, a pledge recited against one’s will isn’t worth the breath expelled to utter it.

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

Published August 31, 2016

Memory keeper preserves Trilby’s past

August 31, 2016 By B.C. Manion

When Scott Black tools around the community of Trilby in his white pickup truck, the place becomes alive for him with the people and businesses from its past.

As he drives along the community’s roads, he’ll point out where the old railroad depot stood, the bank, the store, the hotel and other local landmarks.

Scott Black, who grew up in Trilby, has such an intense interest in preserving Trilby’s history that it borders on obsession. He has spent countless hours tracking the community’s history through public records and newspaper accounts, and has a large collection of photographs and postcards, too. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo) — Scott Black, who grew up in Trilby, has such an intense interest in preserving Trilby’s history that it borders on obsession. He has spent countless hours tracking the community’s history through public records and newspaper accounts, and has a large collection of photographs and postcards, too.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

He also notes the community’s segregated cemeteries — a vestige of the past, and he talks fondly about people who once lived in Trilby and made their final resting place there.

The Dade City commissioner understands that, for those unfamiliar with Trilby or its history, it takes a bit of an imagination to see the place the way he does.

But for him, preserving Trilby’s story, is important.

Black is a native of the community, and his father was born there, too.

He knows the pivotal role that the railroad played in shaping the community’s history.

The people who made their way to this settlement, north of Dade City, and who chose to make their life there, fascinate him.

He finds romance in the sounds of trains rumbling by.

“I did grow up in Trilby, so trains were very much a part of our life. I can remember lying in bed at night and watching the strobe light of the engine, from across the pasture, on the ceiling and listening to the trains,” Black told members of the Pasco County Historical Society in March.

He recalls a time when he was riding with his dad, and his dad had to stop for a train. His dad wasn’t perturbed. “He rolled down the window and said, ‘Isn’t that a wonderful sound?’”

Black said his interest in Trilby’s history dates back to when he was in middle school, and he won an essay contest sponsored by the West Pasco Historical Society.

As he gathered information for his essay, he went around the community, recording interviews with some of its oldest residents.

Black recalls how his mother stayed up with him until midnight, as he made the final touches on his entry.

The interest in community history that was piqued in his youth, lives on.

The railroad played a pivotal role in shaping the development of Trilby, according to Scott Black, who has devoted considerable time to researching the community’s history. (Courtesy of Scott Black) — The railroad played a pivotal role in shaping the development of Trilby, according to Scott Black, who has devoted considerable time to researching the community’s history.
(Courtesy of Scott Black)

He also recalls being inspired by an article he read about a reunion of descendants of family members who had lived in New Salem, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln had owned a store.

He thought it would be fun to do the same thing in Trilby.

So, he began looking for old families with ties to Trilby, and he found quite a few. Then, 11 years ago, the community began having its annual Trilby homecoming that’s held on the third Saturday of March every year.

There was a time when the community was a bustling place, at the crossroads of railroad lines. It had depot buildings, hotels, restaurants, boarding houses, a bank, stores and other businesses.

“As you come into Trilby, there’s not much left anymore, and not too many that remember, either,” Black said.

But, he’s taken on the task of being the memory keeper of the place that was, and the people who once lived there.

Named after a novel?
Railroads played an enormous role in shaping the community’s life, he said.

Peter Demens, who built the Orange Belt Railroad, didn’t initially intend to build his railroad all of the way to St. Petersburg, but he did.

“So, along the path of his railroad was the community of Macon, and that forever more changed what we now know as Trilby,” he said.

“Someone else who came along and changed Trilby was Henry B. Plant. His north-south railroad that came through intersected with Peter Demens’ Orange Belt Railroad. That made Trilby very important as an intersection, in fact, any train that went to St. Petersburg, it went through Trilby. People would make that connection there.

“It helped the commerce at Trilby — restaurants and everything else, of the rail passengers going south.

“Henry B. Plant was a key part of Trilby’s success,” Black added.

It is said that Trilby’s name was suggested by Plant’s wife, Margaret, who asked him to name the next town he platted after a popular novel of the day, “Trilby,” written by George du Maurier.

When Plant platted Trilby, in June 1896, he named the streets after characters in the novel. The depot was built around Svengali Square.

Black said he’s not aware of any those streets ever being built.

Over the years, Black has tracked the history of Trilby and its inhabitants through newspaper accounts, public records, grave stones, census records, photographs, post cards, interviews and artifacts.

“When I was a child growing up, my pastor out in Trilby, we’d plant a garden out there, and we’d plow things. There’s a pond that’s there, and it would recede and things would surface from the old town site,” Black said.

He estimates that Trilby’s population today is around 600 and was probably around the same as its peak.

Black acknowledges that his fascination for Trilby borders on obsession.

“Sometimes my wife wonders a little bit,” he admitted.

But, he feels a sense of urgency to collect as much information as he can, so that the history is not lost to the ages.

“I let so many people slip past me,” Black said.

Published August 31, 2016

Ridge Road extension needed to avert potential disaster

August 24, 2016 By Tom Jackson

There I was on a recent Monday morning, headed west on State Road 54 on my way to one of the several part-time jobs that occupy me since the demise of the Tampa Tribune.

And, it was all good.

I had my podcast going on. I was making good time. The consumption indicator in my car’s computer reported I was cruising at more than 40 miles per gallon. As much as a 60-something guy not on his way to play golf on a weekday could be, I was content.

Then, seconds past the railroad crossing at Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, there it was: a sea of glowing brake lights announcing a three-lane parking lot stretching around the gentle bend leading to Oakstead.

Sam Beneck, Pasco County’s Ridge Road project manager, and Margaret Smith, the county’s engineering services director, stand in the are where the Ridge Road extension would go. (Tom Jackson/Photo) — Sam Beneck, Pasco County’s Ridge Road project manager, and Margaret Smith, the county’s engineering services director, stand in the are where the Ridge Road extension would go.
(Tom Jackson/Photo)

Ahead, a Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy’s patrol car sat broadside to the stopped traffic near a break in the median. And beyond, past another half-mile of stopped traffic, by the landmark sign for Stonegate, flashed the lights of a rescue vehicle.

We sat like that for 20-odd minutes, until the deputy whose car blocked our path began directing us through the median cut that ordinarily was off-limits to westbound travelers.

I can’t say how long traffic was blocked, or how long it had been stymied when I came upon it. Neither the sheriff’s office nor the Florida Highway Patrol could produce a record of the incident.

But, while I am left to guess at the duration, I’m certain about the rest: For at least an hour, if not longer, on that recent Monday morning, all of Pasco County east of U.S. 41 was one incident on State Road 52 from being cut off from the western half of the county, including Sunlake High School, the Suncoast Parkway, the west-side government complex, Trinity, U.S. 19 and the Gulf.

What would it have taken? Another gas leak, like the one that shut down State Road 54 near Starkey Boulevard in late June, would have done it. Another manhunt like the one in early June near Safety Town. A mishap in a construction zone. Something going wrong at the CSX crossing. A sinkhole.

That morning it was westbound traffic under threat. Tomorrow it could be eastbound, or, with just the right confluence of misadventures, all traffic in both directions.

Clearly, two east-west thoroughfares, separated by a dozen miles, are no longer sufficient for a county of nearly 465,000 extremely mobile residents, and who knows how many more passing through. If only Pasco planners had some sort of strategy to address this looming concern.

Oh, wait. They do.

It’s called the Ridge Road extension, an 8-mile, multi-lane, limited-access highway that, while splitting the difference between state roads 52 and 54, would provide a vital third link between New Port Richey and Land O’ Lakes.

It’s been part of the county’s comprehensive transportation plan since before we knew about Monica and Bill, before the dot-com bubble, even before smartphones. The Ridge Road extension plan has been around so long, biker jackets and real estate had time to be cool, fall out of favor and become cool again.

And, with certain construction caveats, building it ought to be a no-brainer.

Which is where Margaret Smith and Sam Beneck, a couple of affable civil engineers who love making things work better, come in. Smith, as director of engineering services for Pasco County, is Beneck’s boss. Beneck, 31, a Virginia Tech graduate who cut his transportation teeth trying to improve the commuting nightmare around Washington D.C., is the Ridge Road extension project manager.

Everything that worries me about having just two east-west thoroughfares concerns them, too, but they absolutely obsess about what happens when everybody living along the U.S. 19 corridor waits (as you know they will) until the very last moment before fleeing for high ground in the face of the inevitable Big One. Or the Sort-of-Big or even Medium One, given how much of the coast, from Palm Harbor north, is floodplain.

As Beneck explains, by the time the first bands of a serious tropical event arrive, “The Courtney Campbell Causeway is going to be underwater. Everybody in northern Pinellas is going to be coming north.”

On a good day, there’s not enough space on State Road 54 to accommodate everybody, even if authorities converted all of it to one-way eastbound. When the bad day happens — engineers don’t deal in “if” — Pasco will need another eastbound artery.

As my recent Monday scenario demonstrated, Pasco already does.

Environmentalists reliably push back, claiming any number of things that either aren’t necessarily true, or authorities could prevent.

For instance, the Ridge Road extension would go through the Serenova Preserve, which was set aside as mitigation for the Suncoast Parkway. Why put a highway through a mitigation zone?

Because the Serenova agreement anticipated the extension; proof is in the expensive overpass at the Suncoast’s Mile Marker 25.2, precisely where the extension is projected to emerge from the Serenova and link up with the toll road before plunging ahead toward Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

But, it will be disruptive to wildlife. Yes. Preserving human life, or simply making it more convenient, sometimes is. Still, highway planners are not heartless. Lots of them — I can cite at least two — love long bicycle rides on paths otherwise set aside for nature.

“That’s why I live in Land O’ Lakes,” Smith says. “I’m never more than 10 minutes from a park.”

Accordingly, the project calls for at least eight wildlife crossings and two bridges, and, according to Smith and Beneck, a rather spectacular bicycle path.

Well, it’ll certainly lead to more development. Well, not in the Serenova. And, if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — whose approval stands between the planners and groundbreaking — stick to its limited-access guns, not much will spring up on the Suncoast-to-U.S. 41 stretch.

All that remains, apparently, is a proper tweaking of the route with an eye to the least possible impact at the best possible construction price. The money is set aside. The time has never been better.

Twin disasters a dozen miles apart is not unimaginable. And, every day that passes without it happening is a day closer to the day it will.

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

Veterans enjoy ‘honor flight’ at home

August 24, 2016 By B.C. Manion

Hundreds of people turned out to the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home on Aug. 20 to bring “Honor Flight” to veterans unable to travel to Washington D.C., to enjoy the whirlwind experience.

U.S. Army veteran Bob Edward, who served in Vietnam, becomes emotional during ‘Honor Flight at Home,’ an event at the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home on Aug. 20. (Fred Bellet/Photos) — U.S. Army veteran Bob Edward, who served in Vietnam, becomes emotional during ‘Honor Flight at Home,’ an event at the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home on Aug. 20.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)

Instead of boarding airplanes, these veterans walked down the nursing home’s corridors, or were wheeled down — receiving hearty applause and cheers from well-wishers.

“This is your big day,” one woman told a vet, as he rode by.

“Are we ready to have some fun?” another woman asked.

The nursing home was awash in patriotic colors.

Red, white and blue balloons bobbed near the ceiling. There were sprays of stars. Red, white and blue bunting decked the walls.

Family members snapped photos, and people who had lined up along the corridor’s walls, approached veterans, to thank them and shake their hands.

A Navy veteran stands and salutes, as Fred Still, 90, sings along with music that designated each branch of the military.

As the veterans made their way toward the dining room — where the main event was staged — they were entertained by a band playing a medley of military tunes. There was also music from the World War II-era and other popular hits.

The veterans also had a chance to stop and have their photograph taken in a pose with a woman wearing military apparel.

Once the vets arrived in the main dining room, they were honored by individual military branch, entertained by singers and had a visit from Santa’s Drill Team Honor Guard.

They also heard remarks from the keynote speaker, U.S. Brig. Gen. Richard K. Sele.

Then, they watched a video, which offered a virtual tour of the war monuments in Washington D.C. — the same tour they would have had, if they’d been able to make the trek to the nation’s capital.

The heartfelt event brought tears to the eyes of Karen Burgos, of Spring Hill, as she holds hands with nursing home resident Henry Burgos Jr. He was a paratrooper with the U.S. Army while serving in Korea.

Some veterans at the nursing home, however, couldn’t even make the trip to the facility’s dining room.

Those veterans were given the opportunity to watch the event via a live-streamed, closed-circuit broadcast, in their rooms.

There were also too many people to fit into the dining room. But, they could watch it via big screen TVs in the nursing home’s common areas.

It took two years of preparation to organize the event, which was spearheaded by Operation Patriot and Honor Flight of West Central Florida.

In addition to family members of the veterans, more than 200 volunteers showed up to help get the veterans from their rooms to the dining room and to attend to them during the event.

Each veteran received a white Honor Flight shirt and a ball cap. They also received a goody bag containing several gifts, and a manila envelope filled with letters and other items during mail call.

Finally, as they were guided back to their rooms, the veterans were greeted with a warm round of applause from those gathered for a “Welcome Home” receiving line.

Published August 24, 2016

Nursing home resident Jack Kincella looks for familiar faces in the standing-room-only crowd during the ‘Honor Flight at Home’ event. Kincella said he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

Veteran resident, Leo Rodgers, 94, of Port Richey, clutches an envelope of mail he received during mail call. His daughter, Sue Williams, of Homosassa, was at the event, too.

Now serving chicken pilau, with a side of nostalgia

August 24, 2016 By B.C. Manion

Fifty-six-year-old Richard Christmas cannot recall a time in his life without chicken pilau.

The dish, which has been served for decades at events in San Antonio and Dade City, features chunks of chicken and white rice, which have been seasoned with garlic, onion, salt and pepper.

Although the name of the dish is spelled p-i-l-a-u, it’s pronounced per-loo, which rhymes with purview.

Christmas’ earliest childhood memories include his Uncle Hugh Dunne’s chicken pilau.

“He’d cook it for the (Pasco County) fair. He’d cook it for the Rattlesnake Roundup (now known as the Rattlesnake Festival). And, then he would cook it for the Knights of Columbus,” Christmas said.

Now mayor of the Town of St. Leo, Christmas said, until he was an adult, that when people talked about fair food — they weren’t talking about chicken pilau, but instead were talking about corn dogs, or elephant ears or funnel cakes.

“My fair food was pilau,” he said, or beef from back in the livestock area.

His uncle was widely known around San Antonio — which the locals call San Ann — for his special touch with chicken pilau.

After his uncle passed on, Jack Jones picked up the tradition.

And now, the torch has been passed back to Christmas and Sam Sessa, both members of the Knights of Columbus Council 1768.

The council has 198 members who come from three Catholic churches, Sacred Heart in St. Joe, St. Rita’s in Dade City and St. Anthony’s in San Antonio.

They hold about three chicken pilau dinners a year to raise money for various causes.

Generally, they help local causes, such as buying winter coats for children in need.

But this time, they’re raising money to enable some girls in Tanzania to go to school, Christmas said.

The fundraising dinner will be on Aug. 27, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the council’s hall, 11549 Curley Road in San Antonio.

Diners often arrive early, around 4:30 p.m., Christmas said.

He and Sessa arrive much earlier — about 10 a.m., to begin preparing the pilau.

They start by putting pots of water on to boil.

They slice up the onions and garlic, while bringing the water to a boil.

Christmas admits he can get a little “teary-eyed” while chopping up the onions.

Once the vegetables are ready, they’ll add them and chicken pieces to the boiling water and let them cook, periodically adding salt and pepper to taste.

“You cook it until it falls off the bone,” Christmas said.

About 1 p.m., the “bone pickers” will arrive to help debone the chicken, before returning it to the pot. Finally, the long-grain white rice is added — to the right amount of broth — about 45 minutes before serving time.

Christmas said he’s not really sure where his uncle got the recipe, or where the recipe for chicken pilau originated.

He does know it’s a versatile dish.

“It’s a rice meal that you could add whatever meat you choose to add. Most people add chicken, but you could add squirrel. You could add possum, I suppose.

“Typically, it’s a warm-blooded meat, but I guess it could be gator, but I’ve never seen anybody do that,” said Christmas, whose uncle was named for Capt. Hugh Dunne.

Capt. Hugh Dunne played an important role in the history of St. Leo, San Antonio and other communities that are part of the original Catholic colony established by Edmund Dunne, and Christmas’ family heritage traces back to the colony’s founding.

So, besides being based on a recipe that’s been a tradition for more than a half-century, the person serving it up comes from a family that reaches back to St. Leo’s beginnings.

Those coming by for the dinner will get chicken pilau, plus coleslaw, sweet peas, bread, water, sweet tea, unsweetened tea, or coffee and dessert.

Diners are welcome to eat in the hall, or purchase meals to carry out.

Tickets are sold in advance, but most of the meals are sold to those dropping by, Christmas said.

“Some people come and take it out. Some people sit and eat. We encourage people to sit and eat,” he said.

“For us, it’s a good way to get a lot of people together,” he said.

It’s not just a chicken dinner, It’s a chance for people to mingle.

In other words, it’s chicken pilau served with up with camaraderie.

“I think it’s a pretty good deal,” Christmas said.

Knights of Columbus Pilau Dinner
When: Aug. 27, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., or until the pilau runs out
Where: Knights of Columbus Hall, 11549 Curley Road, San Antonio
Dine-in or take-out
Cost: $8 for adults; $5 for children under 12

Knights of Columbus Council 1768 Chicken pilau recipe:
3 gallons of water
3 whole chickens
6 large onions
1/3 bulb garlic, peeled
6 pounds Uncle Ben’s converted rice
2 tablespoons salt, to taste
2 tablespoons black pepper

Pour water in a huge pot, with a lift-out colander, if available. Use a marker to mark the water level outside the pot. Place chickens, onions and garlic into the colander, and lower it into the water. (If you don’t have this kind of pot, be prepared to strain the broth into another pot when the chicken is fully cooked.) Add the salt and pepper, and bring the contents of the pot to boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is tender.

Lift out the chicken, onions and garlic. Discard the onions and garlic (optional). Put the broth back into the original pot and add/or remove broth to the original measured mark.

Keep the broth hot, while you carefully remove the bones from the chicken.

Place the chicken back into the broth, and then add the rice. Carefully stir the contents of the pot a few times after adding the rice. Taste the broth, and add salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat, and cover the pot. Simmer until the rice is fully cooked.

Published August 24, 2016