The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

American Legion seeking Saturday meeting place

By

The Lutz/Land O’ Lakes American Legion Post 108 has a dilemma.

The post decided to have afternoon meetings because many of its members were unable to attend evening meetings due to night vision problems, said Ray Mason, post commander.

Having meetings during the day, however, cut into the post’s ability to attract new members because they have to work, Mason said.

To try to solve the problem, the post is thinking about moving its meeting to the weekend.

“I’ve been all over this little city trying to get a meeting on Saturday,” Mason said.

The post draws members from an area that’s generally between Interstate 75 and Gunn Highway, from Bearss Avenue to State Road 52.

As one of their activities, post members mark the graves of veterans at the Lutz Cemetery as an act of remembrance and of respect every Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day.

To generate attention for the post, Mason also has received permission from the fire marshal and the Pasco County Commission to begin conducting flag retirement ceremonies, which it plans to start in the fall.

Anyone who wishes to retire their flag properly can drop it off at Harvey’s Hardware at 5400 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes. Call (813) 996-2400 for store hours.

The flag retirement ceremonies will take place periodically, when enough flags have been collected, Mason said. If you would like anymore information about Post 108 or have a space the group may be able to use for its meetings, please call Mason at (813) 957-2211, or email him at .

Revised July 22, 2016

Open house set for watershed master plan

By

People who want to learn more about the Cypress Creek Watershed Master Plan and drainage projects are invited to an open house on July 26 at 6:30 p.m., at the Lutz Civic Center, 98 First Ave., N.W., in Lutz.

This graphic illustrates the Cypress Creek Watershed, which lies in the northern portion of Hillsborough County and in the southern portion of Pasco County. The 33-square-mile section of the watershed located within Hillsborough County is generally bordered by U.S. 41 and Interstate 75. (Photos courtesy of Hillsborough County)
This graphic illustrates the Cypress Creek Watershed, which lies in the northern portion of Hillsborough County and in the southern portion of Pasco County. The 33-square-mile section of the watershed located within Hillsborough County is generally bordered by U.S. 41 and Interstate 75.
(Photos courtesy of Hillsborough County)

The meeting will include a brief presentation by representatives of the Hillsborough County Public Works department.

There also will be informative displays about the $290,000 master plan study.

Leland Dicus, a section engineering services manager for Hillsborough County, said the final plan will incorporate public input.

“We’re looking for feedback from the residents and the property owners within the watershed,” Dicus said. “What we’re showing in the master plan update will reflect what (residents) have seen as far as flooding in the area.

“We looked back at the flooding complaints we’ve received…and those were some of the areas that we took a look at in the master plan updates,” he said.

During the open house, residents will also be able to provide comments about proposed updates to the watershed’s hydrology and hydraulics (H&H) model, and conceptual recommended flood control projects.

Dicus said the public works department currently has identified seven potential watershed drainage projects to alleviate future flooding problems.

A watershed is considered to be an area of land where water flows across, as it moves toward a common body of water, such as a stream, river, lake or coast.

This is a portion of the Cypress Creek Watershed. A 2011 study by the Hillsborough County Public Works department shows the watershed has a history of flooding problems.
This is a portion of the Cypress Creek Watershed. A 2011 study by the Hillsborough County Public Works department shows the watershed has a history of flooding problems.

The Cypress Creek Watershed area, generally bordered by U.S. 41 and Interstate 75, drains an area of approximately 33 square miles in Hillsborough County. The watershed management plan was completed in 2000 by URS Corporation Southern.

The Cypress Creek Watershed master plan — part of the Countywide Watershed update —ultimately provides Hillsborough County with information on flooding within the area. The plan includes an updated H&H model that is used by the county, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and local developers for project analysis and permitting. It will also identify flood prone areas, and develop conceptual projects and cost estimates to solve flooding issues.

A 2011 study by the county’s public works department showed the watershed has a history of flooding problems, particularly during the 2004 hurricane season.

The study also indicated that residential development in northward rural portions of the watershed is impacting runoff and drainage patterns.

Hillsborough County is updating the master plan for the Cypress Creek Watershed; a final report is expected later this year.
Hillsborough County is updating the master plan for the Cypress Creek Watershed; a final report is expected later this year.

Dicus said information from the study has been used to calibrate an updated watershed model for the master plan.

“We compare the level of flooding to the model with what our standard is for street flooding, and that identifies the areas that don’t meet the county standards,” Dicus said. “We update these models on a routine basis, especially in areas where there’s development occurring, so we can ensure that the model currently reflects the land use and how the stormwater system works.”

The watershed master plan process began in late 2013; a final report with recommended flood relief projects is expected to be complete later this year.

This project is being funded through the Stormwater Fee Capital Improvement Program; the Southwest Florida Water Management District is cooperatively funding the project at 50 percent.

Questions about the meeting may be directed to the county’s Citizen Engagement office at (813) 272-5275.

Published July 20, 2016

Catch a litterbug, get a reward

By

Pasco County residents can now earn a little cash and help the county clean up at the same time.

Pasco County has announced a new program that provides $50 rewards to those who help the county identify and catch litterbugs.

Pasco County is using cameras to help catch people it alleges are conducting illegal dumping activities. This truck is a still shot taken from one of the county’s videos. The county is offering a $50 reward to people who help identify and catch litterbugs. (Courtesy of Pasco County)
Pasco County is using cameras to help catch people it alleges are conducting illegal dumping activities. This truck is a still shot taken from one of the county’s videos. The county is offering a $50 reward to people who help identify and catch litterbugs.
(Courtesy of Pasco County)

The reward goes to individuals who provide information that leads to charges and fines against someone caught littering or illegally dumping.

“We have a real problem with littering and dumping in the right of way,” said Mike Garrett, the county’s public works director.

A county crew now spends at least one day a week picking up trash including televisions, furniture, tires and mattresses.

Pasco County commissioners approved the reward program at their July 12 meeting.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore. “Anything that can curb dumping in the county, I’m all for it. Hopefully, it will work.”

Funding for rewards will come from fines collected from successful prosecutions.

The county currently has 15 outstanding cases that could produce a total of $7,000 in fines. The maximum fine is $500.

The public works department launched its efforts to curb litter and dumping in 2011. Since then, 33 cases of illegal dumping have produced about $8,400 in fines.

However, the county only receives the fines when cases are settled before referral to court. That’s precisely what county officials hope residents can help them accomplish.

Three years ago, the county began placing cameras in certain locations to catch people engaged in illegal dumping.

In one case, the county taped a man dropping a small bundle of newspapers and magazines on the roadside. While the camera captured his license plate, which was traced to Hernando County, the address wasn’t good, Garrett said.

Another man unloaded the bed of a truck that was filled with tree limbs and debris. The man kept looking around him to see if anyone was watching, then he scampered back into the truck’s cab and drove off.

County officials want help in identifying and locating him.

Videos on both cases currently are posted on YouTube.com. They can be found under Pasco County Illegal Dumping Case SR 1330 and SR1334.

In the future, the county plans to televise three to four videos on its own website of people caught in the act. A hotline number for tips will be provided, too.

Currently, residents can call with tips and information at (727) 274-3611.

Published July 20, 2016

Zephyrhills to get $6 million City Hall

By

The Zephyrhills City Council has approved an agreement with an architectural firm based on plans for a new $6 million city hall.

Council members voted unanimously on July 11 to approve a $590,900 contract with the architecture firm Harvard Jolly, to help design the two-story building.

The Zephyrhills City Council hired architecture firm Harvard Jolly to help design a new City Hall. The new building is expected to be 16,000 square feet and cost about $6 million. Shown here is the current City Hall building. (Courtesy of City of Zephyrhills)
The Zephyrhills City Council hired architecture firm Harvard Jolly to help design a new City Hall. The new building is expected to be 16,000 square feet and cost about $6 million. Shown here is the current City Hall building.
(Courtesy of City of Zephyrhills)

The city’s agreement with the St. Petersburg firm is based on a preliminary estimate of $6 million to construct the 16,000-square-foot building that would replace the existing City Hall at 5335 Eighth St. The new facility would be about 5,000 square feet larger than the current 11,000-square-foot building.

Under terms of the agreement, Harvard Jolly will oversee the design phase of the project, and also will be involved throughout the construction process — even after the city hires a construction manager.

The new facility is expected to take about two years to complete, which incorporates about nine months of design and 12 months of construction.

Over the next few months, the firm will work closely with the city to gather input on schematic designs and renderings for the facility.

“It’s an interactive process,” said Ward Friszoloeski, Harvard Jolly’s executive vice president.

The Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St., was designed by Harvard Jolly in 2013. (Courtesy of Pasco County Libraries)
The Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St., was designed by Harvard Jolly in 2013.
(Courtesy of Pasco County Libraries)

Construction of the new structure likely will take place in the parking lot of the existing City Hall, following the approach used in the construction of the new Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St.

“If we do (build) it in the parking lot, then we won’t have to move or relocate, and we can just go from one building to the next,” said City Manager Steve Spina.

Councilman Charles Proctor also noted: “We could save a lot of money if we don’t have to move (operations) into another project.”

City officials previously identified several locations throughout the city to house a new City Hall, one of which is the soon-closing 20,000-square-foot SunTrust Bank branch on Gall Boulevard.

“Generally speaking, we think it could cost as much as a new building, plus the purchase of the property,” Spina said. “There is interest in it, but from a general purpose point, we would have to spend more time and money to look into it, and coordinate a decision. There’s a lot of unknowns in when it would be available, how much it’s for sale, and the actual condition of the building.”

The new City Hall is expected to have a modernized brick and stone exterior. The building’s interior is likely to feature more open workspaces and multifunctional meeting rooms, which can flexibly be used to accommodate public events.

One idea also pondered by council members was the housing of a retail coffee shop, such as a Starbucks, within the new City Hall.

“I like the idea of…making this building big enough for a coffee shop; just because other (city governments) aren’t doing it, what’s wrong with building a coffee shop?” Proctor said. “That could be the wave of the future and (create) some small revenue to cover some costs of City Hall.”

A new City Hall building will mark the second major project Harvard Jolly has designed for the city in recent years.

In 2013, Harvard Jolly was hired to help design the public library. The firm later faced scrutiny over the project’s escalating costs.

At the time, the firm presented the council with an 8,500-square-foot facility for $1.7 million, but overall costs ended up totaling $2.26 million, a 33 percent increase from what the council originally agreed upon.

To prevent a similar instance from occurring, the City Hall design agreement includes a clause that requires the firm to provide a maximum price for the project.

“I think we’re all in agreement that we do need a new City Hall,” said council vice president Alan Knight. “We just want to make sure we get our i’s dotted and our t’s crossed, and make sure this one is done extremely right.”

On April 1, Harvard Jolly was chosen as the top-rated firm to design the new City Hall building, based on responses to the city’s request for proposals.

“We felt like we set the tempo with the library…and with the proximity, you can start creating a good complex here,” Friszoloeski said, addressing the council.

Cost breakdown Harvard Jolly Architecture services
Total: $590,900
$451,500 for basic architectural/engineering services
$5,000 for program verification
$72,500 for civil engineering and permitting
$21,500 for landscape and irrigation design
$22,400 for interior design
$18,000 for furniture selection

Published July 20, 2016

 

Helpers needed for Stuff the Bus

By

Efforts are under way to collect and distribute school supplies to Pasco County teachers through the sixth annual Stuff the Bus campaign.

The goal is to provide supplies to fulfill requests by Pasco County teachers.

“Over 1,000 teachers have signed up for their supplies,” Melinda Velez, manager of Community Impact Initiatives for the United Way of Pasco, said via email.

“We are in need of volunteers for many shifts,” she added.

It takes a lot of boxes to pack up the supplies that are collected each year through the annual Stuff the Bus, as shown in this photo taken during last year’s packing efforts at Sunlake High School. This year, more than 1,000 Pasco County teachers have signed up to receive free supplies. (Courtesy of United Way of Pasco)
It takes a lot of boxes to pack up the supplies that are collected each year through the annual Stuff the Bus, as shown in this photo taken during last year’s packing efforts at Sunlake High School. This year, more than 1,000 Pasco County teachers have signed up to receive free supplies.
(Courtesy of United Way of Pasco)

Besides helping teachers, the annual campaign provides a good way for students to get volunteer hours, and it’s a great family friendly volunteer project, Velez says.

The effort requires volunteers to help with the pack, sort and distribution duties.

Donations will be accepted from July 29 through July 31, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

They will be collected at these Walmart sites: Land O’ Lakes Boulevard in Lutz, State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, Gall Boulevard in Zephyrhills; U.S. 19 in Hudson, State Road 54 in New Port Richey and U.S. 19 in Port Richey.

Items that are needed include No. 2 pencils, mechanical pencils, crayons, red and blue pens, washable markers, permanent markers, highlighters, rulers, spiral notebooks, dry erase markers, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, pencil cap erasers, binders and composition notebooks.

At the donation sites, volunteers will:

  • Hand out a shopping supply list
  • Collect school supply donations
  • Stuff the donations in the bus
  • Help to sort and organize the supplies in the bus

The volunteer shifts at the donation sites are for three hours, either from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., or from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

This work will be done outdoors, so be sure to dress appropriately for the weather and wear sunscreen and a hat. It’s also a good idea to bring a cooler to keep your drinks cold. Water bottles will be provided on the bus.

Packing and sorting will be from Aug. 1 through Aug. 3.

Volunteers signing up to help with packing and distribution will work in four-hour shifts at Ridgewood High School, at 7650 Orchid Lake Road in New Port Richey. The work will be done indoors, in the school’s cafeteria and media center.

For more information, go to Facebook.com/UnitedWayPasco. If you’d like to help, visit tiny.cc/2016StuffTheBus.

Published July 20, 2016

Protecting Northeast Pasco’s rural nature

By

More than a decade ago, Pasco County adopted a future land use goal of preserving the character of what is dubbed its “northeast rural area.” Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, the Green Swamp, State Road 52 and the Hernando County line define the area’s borders.

Pasco County commissioners are considering a rural protection ordinance to preserve the rural character of northeast Pasco including homes on large land lots. (Photos courtesy of Richard K. Riley)
Pasco County commissioners are considering a rural protection ordinance to preserve the rural character of northeast Pasco including homes on large land lots.
(Photos courtesy of Richard K. Riley)

While there’s a goal on the books, there’s currently no ordinance that puts regulations in place to accomplish it.

But, that is about to change.

On July 12, Pasco County commissioners had a public hearing on a rural protection ordinance that, if approved, would create an overlay district and govern residential development involving three houses, or more.

The proposed ordinance also sets lighting standards and prohibits mining or development activities that would lop off the tops of hillsides or destroy vistas.

A separate ordinance would deal with commercially zoned properties and the county’s designated areas for employment centers, which are generally found along U.S. 301.

Richard Riley, who lives in the community of Trilby, gave a power point presentation during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Matthew Armstrong, executive planner, and Justyna Buszewski, planner II, of the Pasco County Planning Division, explain some of the conditions proposed in the rural protection ordinance.
Matthew Armstrong, executive planner, and Justyna Buszewski, planner II, of the Pasco County Planning Division, explain some of the conditions proposed in the rural protection ordinance.

“Everything up here is photogenic,” said Riley, a freelance photographer who has done work for various publications, including The Laker/Lutz News.

“It’s wonderful to be here,” Riley added.

Though the ordinance isn’t perfect, Riley said, “We’re supportive of most of the parts of the ordinance. We’re trying our best to get something on the books.”

Pasco County Commissioner Ted Schrader said the ordinance was in “pretty good shape,” but he expressed concerns about regulations on landscaping.

Specifically, he challenged trees as allowable buffers along scenic corridors, potentially blocking out the vistas the ordinance is meant to protect.

If the intent is to protect vistas, Schrader said, “That doesn’t accomplish that.”

County planners said they were trying to give developers and landowners options on buffering, but would look at tweaking the ordinance.

The final public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 1:30 p.m., at the historic Pasco County Courthouse at 37918 Meridian Ave., in Dade City.

Published July 20, 2016

Pasco eyes $1.5 billion budget

By

Pasco County commissioners are looking at a projected budget of about $1.5 billion for 2017.

The proposed budget holds the line on new taxes, but allows some room for new services, programs, staff hires and capital improvements.

As county staff was completing the budget, they received news that property tax revenues would be about $1.8 million more than expected.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore is happy to see funding for a bus circulator route in Land O’ Lakes in the county’s proposed $1.5 billion budget for 2017. (File Photos)
Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore is happy to see funding for a bus circulator route in Land O’ Lakes in the county’s proposed $1.5 billion budget for 2017.
(File Photos)

The additional cash helped avoid a repeat of last year’s scrappy debates over the budget request from the Pasco County Sheriff’s office.

This year’s budget, if approved, provides an additional $6.3 million for the sheriff’s office. The money would go for salary raises, equipment and new hires.

Other expenditures in the proposed budget include $331,000 for a bus circulator route in Land O’ Lakes, and $60,000 to hire a federal lobbyist.

Still, the budget overall reflects a “modest growth philosophy” amid an economy that is slowly recovering, Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker wrote in a letter to the commissioners.

The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Commissioners received a briefing on July 12 on the proposed budget.

Public hearings on the budget are scheduled on Sept. 13 in Dade City and on Sept. 27 in New Port Richey.

Overall, the 2017 budget reflects an increase of less than 6 percent, or about $85 million, over last year’s budget.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco was able to secure more funding for raises in the county’s proposed 2017 budget. The sheriff said he needs to increase salaries because he’s losing too many deputies to other area agencies that pay more.

The millage rate would remain unchanged from its current rate of about $7.60 per $1,000 of property value for the general fund, and about $1.80 per $1,000 of property value for the fire district.

However, county officials said the typical homeowner, with a homestead exemption, could pay almost $7 more in property taxes in 2017, based on rising property values.

“I’m pretty satisfied with the budget,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore.

The bus route in Land O’ Lakes, for example, is a significant addition to the community, he said. “It’s one of our major corridors (U.S. 41) and the only one that doesn’t have bus transit. Hopefully, it will relieve traffic congestion.”

One item not included in the budget was a request for more weekend and evening operating hours at the county’s libraries. The request was to restore the hours to 2008 levels.

County officials balked, saying the recurring costs were too high.

“I would like to see us ease back into increasing library hours,” Moore said. But that seems unlikely for now, he added.

The total tax roll increased from about $20 billion in 2016 to $22.9 billion in 2017. The assessed value of new construction increased about $777 million.

In May, the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s office had projected a 5.5 percent increase in property tax revenues. But, based on additional data, valuations rose about 7.2 percent, and accounted for the additional $1.8 million in revenues.

The initial estimates were just that – estimates, said Pasco County Property Appraiser Mike Wells Sr. Typically, the numbers tick upward, but he said the increase was “a little larger than usual.”

“The county is doing well now,” he said. “Everybody seems to be cooking right along.”

With a fatter wallet than expected, departmental budget requests generally were easier to accommodate.

The total budget for the sheriff’s office for 2017, if approved, would be about $110 million, up from about $104 million in 2016.

The $6.3 million increase would fund a second year of salary raises of about 8 percent on average for sheriff’s employees.

The sheriff pushed for the funds in an attempt to prevent the loss of deputies to other Tampa Bay area law enforcement agencies with higher wages.

The sheriff’s office 2017 budget also includes 24 additional fulltime employees at a cost of about $4.9 million. Patrol laptops would be replaced at a cost of about $703,000.

But, not everything the sheriff initially requested was approved. A radio tester position and a traffic control officer for Moon Lake Elementary School were removed.

Other items funded in the proposed budget include:

  • A fire rescue ambulance and crew for Fire Station 37 on State Road 54, at Ballantrae
  • The design and construction of Fire Station 38 at Watergrass Town Center
  • A code enforcement initiative to clean up major corridors, such as U.S. 41 and U.S. 19
  • A 12-member special operations team for unique rescue situations
  • An average 4.8 percent pay raise for county employees
  • A pilot program with the homeless diversion program
  • In-house mowing, paving and sidewalk crews
  • An additional fire inspector to focus on new construction review and inspection
  • Continued upgrades on radio dispatch equipment
  • The addition of two arson investigators

Published July 20, 2016

Grades slip at numerous local schools

By

The Florida Department of Education has released its annual school grades, and the news was not good for numerous Pasco County schools in The Laker/Lutz News’ coverage area.

“As soon as I saw the information, I was pretty distraught,” said Pasco County School Board member Alison Crumbley.

“This has to really be broken down,” she said, noting she has requested a school board workshop to address the issue. “We need to pick this apart. This is priority one — priority one, to figure this out.”

The district needs time to analyze the results, Crumbley said, so she requested the workshop be held following the board’s Aug. 2 meeting.

Overall, 10 central and east Pasco elementary schools slipped by one letter grade. Six elementary schools maintained the same grade as last year, and two improved by a letter grade. Pine View Elementary had the biggest drop, slipping from an A to a C. Sanders Elementary, which opened last school year, received a B. Quail Hollow, which reopened last year, received a C.

All seven middle schools, meanwhile, maintained the grades they received last year, including three As, at Rushe, John Long and Pine View.

But, the news was not as good at the high school level. Four high schools in east and central Pasco dropped a grade, while two remained the same.

No Pasco high school within the newspaper’s coverage area received an A grade. Last year, Wiregrass Ranch High, Land O’ Lakes High and Sunlake each received an A, but this year, they each dropped to a B. Wesley Chapel High, which had a B last year, dropped to a C.

Meanwhile, each of the Pasco charter schools, serving the newspaper’s coverage area — Academy at the Farm, Countryside Montessori and Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes —received an A, mirroring the score they each received last year.

Crumbley said she’s trying to understand why some schools performed at the same level, or even improved, while others slipped.

“Nothing is really straight up, cut-and-dried, in this business, and I do know that,” Crumbley said. “But by the same token, we have to get to the bottom of this. We have to. Period.”

School board member Steve Luikart also expressed concerns.

“Some of the schools slipped and the district slipped. We went from B to C,” Luikart said.

On one hand, Luikart said, “it’s hard to throw mud at something, when you’ve got a change of criteria every year … It’s impossible to nail down data, when the criteria is not consistent.”

On the other hand, he continued: “We’re still competing with everyone else in the state,” he said.

“We’re going to have to look at what we’ve got to do differently to head it back in a different direction. There’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“I’m definitely concerned. It’s very disappointing,” Luikart said.

This chart provides scores for east and central Pasco County schools.

Elementary schools
Centennial Elementary                         2016: D           2015: C
Chester W. Taylor Jr. Elementary                   2016: C           2015: C
Connerton Elementary                         2016: C           2015: B
Denham Oaks Elementary                               2016: C           2015: B
Double Branch Elementary                             2016: B           2015: A
Lacoochee Elementary                         2016: D           2015: F
Lake Myrtle Elementary                                  2016: B           2015: A
New River Elementary                                    2016: B           2015: B
Oakstead Elementary                                       2016: A           2015: A
Pasco Elementary                                            2016: D           2015: D
Pine View Elementary                         2016: C           2015: A
Quail Hollow                                                  2016: C           2015 (Not open)
Rodney B. Cox Elementary                             2016: D           2015: F
San Antonio Elementary                                 2016: C           2015: C
Sanders Elementary                                        2016: B           2015 (Not open)
Seven Oaks Elementary                                  2016: B           2015: A
Veterans Elementary                                       2016: B           2015: A
Watergrass Elementary                                    2016: C           2015: B
Wesley Chapel Elementary                              2016: A           2015: A
West Zephyrhills Elementary                          2016: D           2015: C
Woodland Elementary                         2016: D           2015: C

Middle schools
Centennial Middle                                           2016: C           2015: C
Charles S. Rushe Middle                                2016: A           2015: A
Dr. John Long Middle                                    2016: A           2015: A
Pasco Middle                                                  2016: C           2015: C
Pine View Middle                                           2016: A           2015: A
Raymond B. Stewart Middle School               2016: C           2015: C
Thomas E. Weightman Middle School            2016: B           2015: B

High schools
Land O’ Lakes High                                       2016: B           2015: A
Pasco High                                                      2016: C           2015: C
Sunlake High                                                  2016: B           2015: A
Wesley Chapel High                                       2016: C           2015: B
Wiregrass Ranch High                                    2016: B           2015: A
Zephyrhills High                                             2016: C           2015: C

Charter schools
Academy at the Farm                                      2016: A           2015: A
Countryside Montessori Academy                  2016: A           2015: A
Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes                   2016: A           2015: A

Published July 20, 2016

 

Trouble at the ‘library’

By

There’s been some trouble at the library.

OK, this library isn’t a lending library, it’s a giving library.

Books for Troops promotes literacy by giving reading materials to soldiers, veterans and their families. It ships them to far-off places and delivers them to local nursing homes.

More requests for books by Terry Brooks come into Books for Troops than the organization is able to fulfill. (Photos courtesy of Books for Troops)
More requests for books by Terry Brooks come into Books for Troops than the organization is able to fulfill.
(Photos courtesy of Books for Troops)

But, it has run into a bit of a problem, according to Patricia Murphy, the organization’s executive director.

Lately, it hasn’t been able to fulfill all of the requests it has been receiving for science fiction titles. And, it’s not the first time it has encountered such a shortage.

So, if there are any readers out there who would like to help out, the organization is in particular need of books by Terry Brooks; the books that Game of Thrones are based on by George R. R. Martin; and, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

Most of the requests that Books for Troops receives come from Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, but the organization ships reading materials around the world, and tries to fulfill the requests it receives, Murphy said, via email.

Besides shipping books overseas, it delivers locally to:

  • James A. Haley Veterans Hospital
  • Tampa Vets Center
  • VA Mental Health Outpatient Clinic
  • MacDill Air Force Base
  • C. W. Bill Young Veterans Hospital at Bay Pines
  • USO Welcome Center at Tampa International

Books for Troops began in May 2010, when Murphy was delivering magazines to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.

While there, Murphy was approached by a young man in a wheelchair, who was had lost his leg in the war. He was about 20.

He told her the magazines helped him “keep my mind off everything.”

bft logoAs they were chatting, he told Murphy he wished he had had an outlet, like reading, while deployed.

He wasn’t living on base when he was deployed. He was living in a tent, on the outskirts of a small village in Iraq.

The exchange moved Murphy so much that, as she stepped into the elevator, she burst into tears, she recounts.

When she got home, she decided to help meet that need, and that was the beginning of Books for Troops.

Since then, more than 30,000 books have been shipped to troops around the world, and more than 2,000 books have been delivered locally.

Anyone who would like to help is invited to donate books that are in good condition — in the kind of shape you’d want a book to be in if you received it as a gift.

The books can be dropped off, during business hours, to Simply Self Storage, 22831 Preakness Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes, behind Sonic.

For more information, go to BooksForTroops.org.

Published July 20, 2016

Is there nothing Pokémon Go can’t do?

By

There was, according to the signs on the heir apparent’s mobile phone, a Dodrio somewhere nearby, and as experts in the field will assure you, a Dodrio sighting is as rare as it is pulse-quickening.

Which explains how the lad — using the term loosely; at 17, he’s half a head taller than his old man — and I found ourselves tramping about Tallahassee’s Oakland Cemetery well past sundown on a recent night, our steps illuminated only by a half-moon, the spillover from distant street lamps and the glow from his iPhone-turned-tracking-device.

Chris Jackson and Pidgey, a Pokémon Go creature, loosed in our three-dimensional world. (Courtesy of Tom Jackson)
Chris Jackson and Pidgey, a Pokémon Go creature, loosed in our three-dimensional world.
(Courtesy of Tom Jackson)

Alas, our prey, the flightless, three-headed avian invention of some Japanese animator’s playful nightmare, was as elusive as straight talk in the state capital, and we soon packed it in. But not before we exchanged waves and encouraging shouts with a family of four — mom, dad and their two elementary-school-aged youngsters, one boy, one girl — who engaged in a similar quest in augmented reality: Find and trap Pokémon creatures loosed on our three-dimensional world.

Fads being fleeting, this one might be over already, replaced by another urgency-of-the-moment — remember Donald Trump’s promise to self-fund his campaign? — and Nintendo might have surrendered its absurd, two-day, $7 billion surge in market cap.

Maybe not. In fact, I hope not. Others more sophisticated than me were prepared to despair over the sudden phenomenon of Pokémon Go, a cutting-edge wrinkle on the age-old treasure hunt game, and their snarky dismissiveness is fine by me.

What I know, instead, is the same kid who, left to his preferences, would join with his computer like some pajama-clad member of the Borg collective, has, because of Pokémon Go, rediscovered, unbidden, the use of his legs and the joy of his neglected bicycle.

For this alone, I believe what others have reported, that from solving crime to finding true love to affecting property values, there’s almost nothing Pokémon Go can’t do.

Let me add this: I know next to nothing about Pokémon, except that the concept always struck me as cruel: Round up cute little monsters, raise them and then send them into an arena to destroy their cousins. Are we sure that’s not at least as soul-twisting as the other role-playing games of video slaughter?

As I say, however, I scarcely know enough to comment. If you ask me, Charizard sounds like something for lighting the grill; Dratini might be a gin cocktail with almost no vermouth; Butterfree is what you get when you order lo-cal mashed potatoes; and anytime someone says “Pikachu!” I have to resist responding, “Gesundheit!” OK, that last one is an old, old joke.

Now, retreating a little, the vexatious Dodrio only partly explains how we happened to be where we were.

The fuller explanation is last week, the boy (a rising high school senior) and I spent a couple of days touring rival state universities in Gainesville and Tallahassee. It is — I hear — one of those traditions fathers and sons gaze back on as prime bonding episodes, moments where, in the fullness of time, they began to recognize themselves as equals, partners and peers, each seeing the other as if through a glass, reflected and reflecting.

There I was. Here he will be.

Perhaps, ultimately, we will see those days as having performed that ritualistic trick. But in real time, tromping across the steamy hills of the universities of Florida and Florida State with dozens of other prospective students and their parents, the heir apparent plainly regarded the entire affair as a safari in target-rich Pokémon hunting grounds.

Then again, so did about 90 percent of the three dozen of us laboring across the FSU campus. I know because when one of the guides asked who was playing Pokémon Go, my view was obliterated by the sudden forest of arms.

As I say, I’m not complaining. The game prompted a half-hour father-son walk in the rain late last week, and I listened while my son explained evolutions and living dex — which sounds like “living decks,” but is not a platform for lounging, from what I gather — and CPs, or combat points.

Do I wish we’d been talking about baseball’s trading deadline, the prospects for improved offensive line play by the Buccaneers or which of the unknowns will quarterback our (yes, he’s ready to commit, it looks like) Gators this fall? I did.

But, this is a genuinely good and coachable kid who rarely has done anything more annoying than forget to turn in his homework, so I consider myself a dad blessed.

And, when I asked whether there was a Pokémon that might feel at home in Gainesville, he was able to answer without hesitation there was. It’s something called a Feraligatr, a spectacularly azure bipedal crocodilian that looks like what you’d get if you crossed a leghorn rooster and Albert, the UF mascot.

So, common ground.

As it turns out, there really isn’t anything Pokémon Go can’t do.

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

Published July 20, 2016