The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Auto mechanics class for girls only proves popular

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When Wesley Chapel High School decided to launch an auto mechanics class just for girls, instructor Jeff Corliss thought that maybe 10 to 20 girls would sign up.

Instead, so many females expressed an interest that the school set up two sections of the class.

Students in the auto I at Wesley Chapel High School say that enjoy learning about the basic maintenance of cars because they want to be better equipped when they shop for cars or have one repaired. Some taking part in the class are, from left, Bridget Robinson, Rayah Reitnauer, Caitlyn Gaffney, Brittany Buchanan, Savannah Sweet and Clarissa Hagen. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Students in the auto I at Wesley Chapel High School say that enjoy learning about the basic maintenance of cars because they want to be better equipped when they shop for cars or have one repaired. Some taking part in the class are, from left, Bridget Robinson, Rayah Reitnauer, Caitlyn Gaffney, Brittany Buchanan, Savannah Sweet and Clarissa Hagen. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“It kind of spread like wildfire through word of mouth,” said Corliss, who leads the school’s Academy of Automotive Technology. He and Brad Odell, the school’s other automotive instructor, teach the two all-female auto mechanics classes.

“I’m teaching the same things as I would teach the boys in auto I, but I put a different spin on it,” Corliss said.

The emphasis of the class, also known as the Lady Wildcat Pit Crew, is on how to handle roadside emergencies, how to maintain a car at home, and how to choose a new or used car, he said.

The girls recently learned how to do an oil change. On Nov. 5, they practiced what they had learned by doing an oil change on a car that belongs to Corliss’ wife.

As the students prepared to do the oil change, the girls did the routine checks that are done at a garage when a car comes in for an oil change. They checked the fluid levels, the belts, the tire pressure and tread.

As they went along, Corliss stopped them occasionally to share some tips. When filling a coolant reservoir, for instance, Corliss recommends turning the coolant bottle sideways, instead of tilting it forward, to prevent unwanted spills.

He also offered reminders about signs of wear on belts and tire tread.

The girls appeared to be taking everything in. They weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, either.

Corliss hopes the class will give the girls information they can use for life. He wants them to know what to do if they wind up stranded by the side of the road.

He also wants to equip them with knowledge to help them when they’re having their car repaired, or they’re purchasing a new or used car.

“I was young the first time I went to a car dealership, and I probably got taken advantage of just as much as anybody else,” Corliss said.

To help counter that, he plans to invite a used car manager and a new car manager to come to the school to present lessons on the ins and outs of buying a car.

“What should you be looking at? What kind of repairs will this car need? Is it worth the asking price?” Corliss said. “When I go looking at a used car, I already know what it’s going to cost to fix it. I’ve got that as a bargaining chip. I want to give that to the kids, too.”

At a repair shop, he said, it’s easy to be intimidated by a lack of knowledge. He offers this advice: “I would ask to see the part and have them explain to you why you need to spend that money. Don’t just take their word for it.”

“Have them explain in detail,” Corliss added. Be wary of people who use vague terms and who can’t explain why a part no longer works.

In some cases, it’s worth getting a second opinion, even if that requires paying for another diagnostic test. “Have them explain in detail, what does that actually mean?” he said.

The girls usually are in class three days a week, and are in the shop two days a week. If something especially interesting is going on in the shop, Corliss said he has the flexibility to rearrange his class schedule so the girls can take a look.

For many of the girls, the class may be their only exposure to the world of auto mechanics. But for others, it could be the start of a new career path.

“If they want to use this as jumping-off point they can,” Corliss said. “They can move on through the rest of the academy.”

Rebecca Jarke, the assistant principal who oversees the academy, said she’s happy that the school has launched this class.

“On so many levels, it’s just empowering for girls,” Jarke said.

After taking the class, the girls will be better equipped to go to a repair garage or a car dealership and “talk the talk,” Jarke said, because they’ve had a chance to develop knowledge.

“It’s a safe learning environment,” she said. “It levels the playing field for them to be able to ask questions, and learn the skills necessary to be able to talk about cars and have those conversations without feeling intimidated.”

The class also may enable some students to discover a career path they may not have otherwise considered, Jarke said.

Students give the class good marks. Caitlyn Gaffney, 16, said she wanted to take the class to learn basic car knowledge skills.

“I figured I could come here and learn the skills I needed, in case I were to break down on the side of the road,” she said.

She feels confident she’ll learn that in her class.

“Mr. Corliss, he’s a pretty good teacher,” Gaffney said.

Brianna Proctor, 16, said she’s learned quite a bit in the class, and is gaining confidence in her knowledge.

“I didn’t know about cars before,” she said.

People always think boys know more about cars than girls, Proctor said. With what she is learning, however, she thinks she may be able to work on her own car one day.

Freshman Abigail Monticco said her grandfather used to work for Ford, so she had a natural interest in the class. The class was appealing, she said, because she wants to know the basics. She also likes the idea of being able to know whether someone is trying to rip her off.

Beyond all that, the 14-year-old said she enjoys the other students in the class and the feeling of family they share.

“It’s fun,” Monticco said. “We all love Corliss.”

Published November 12, 2014

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Politicians talk local, but don’t spend local

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Ever wonder how much $324,000 can buy?

It could supply ribs and sides for 25 families at Hungry Harry’s Family Bar-B-Que for an entire year.

It could feed a complete Thanksgiving dinner from Publix to nearly every person living in Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes.

Denny Esber got some local political work for Pasco County Commission candidates like Henry Wilson Jr., and Mike Moore, but said he could feel the pinch of hundreds of thousands of dollars leaving the county. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Denny Esber got some local political work for Pasco County Commission candidates like Henry Wilson Jr., and Mike Moore, but said he could feel the pinch of hundreds of thousands of dollars leaving the county. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

It could hire 15 people for an entire year at $10 an hour, with enough money left over to add a part-timer at the same rate.

In three local political races that ended Nov. 4, six candidates spent $324,000 — to people and businesses outside of Pasco County. In fact, of the more than $455,000 these Pasco County Commission and state House candidates spent since Nov. 1, 2013, only 29 percent of it stayed local.

Beverly Ledbetter, who ran as a Democrat for Florida House District 38, had the worst local campaign spending, with less than 10 percent remaining in Pasco County. However, when it came to total dollars, new Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore sent the most money outside the county — nearly $109,000, or 66 percent of his expenditures.

“Our campaign bought local services when available, such as some printing supplies and materials,” Ledbetter told The Laker/Lutz News in an email. “I used a local Dade City printer for some work, and a local company for the T-shirts. Unfortunately, East Pasco — including Wesley Chapel — does not have any commercial mailing operation that I was aware of, and that comprises the bulk of my out-of-district purchases.”

Since the end of the primary, Ledbetter spent just $1,800 of the more than $28,000 she received locally, according to an analysis of campaign finance records by The Laker/Lutz News. She paid nearly $15,600 to Sonic Print in Tampa in the last reporting period alone, for what were described as mailers. Another $440 went to a company called Parkway Strategies in Tallahassee for what the campaign said was “strategic communications.”

Although his local spending was much better than Ledbetter’s, Danny Burgess — who eventually would win the House seat — was still behind all four county commission candidates tracked. He spent more than $35,000 locally, but sent $96,000 away.

Not having services available locally shows the need for such services to be developed, Ledbetter said. But there are still many services available locally which candidates looked outside of Pasco for, especially printing. And companies like Point to Point Printing in Land O’ Lakes feel it when money isn’t spent here.

“There are plenty of people here,” said Point to Point’s owner Denny Esber. He saw about $10,000 worth of work this election cycle from candidates like Moore and former county commissioner Henry Wilson Jr. But there was still more he and other business owners missed out on.

“With jobs like this, the money comes back and then I can re-spend that money in this community,” Esber said. “It just keeps going and going and going and going.”

A lot of money leaves the county for advertising and consulting. In the last two weeks of his campaign, Burgess spent $61,500. However, just $4,000 of that — less than 7 percent — stayed local. Instead, nearly $57,000 was paid to a pair of Jensen Beach companies for advertising.

In all, Burgess spent $81,500 with that company, or 63 percent of his total expenditures. That’s enough alone to create four full-time jobs at $10 an hour.

Ledbetter on the other hand spent $22,209 with Sonic Print, or 69 percent of her total expenditures, sending all that money to Tampa’s Carrollwood area.

But the commission races weren’t much different. Moore only kept 34 percent of his spending local, but his opponent — Erika Remsberg — didn’t do much better at 39 percent. Since the end of February, both candidates sent $115,000 out of the county, some $30,000 more than what they wanted taxpayers to pay them each year in salary as a commissioner.

“First, I was disappointed my local spending amount was so low,” Remsberg said in an email. “Must be because the Tarpon union printer I used was just over the border. Secondly, I think reporting the amounts donated is more important than the percentages. Given the vast difference in amounts donated to our contributions, I think percentages do not paint the picture as well as the dollar amount does.”

Twice in October, Moore spent more than $20,000, but less than 6 percent remained local. Instead, he spent $37,323 with Majority Strategies in Ponte Vedra for advertising, and nearly $3,000 with Allegra Marketing in Tampa for printing.

Even food preparation was not something Moore could find locally, spending $2,224 for food at a fundraiser supplied by Catering by the Family in Tampa.

Moore did not respond to a request for comment.

Published November 12, 2014

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A time-honored tradition to remember those who served

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The four men came to Lutz Cemetery on a Saturday morning, with a cool breeze stirring the trees, and the sun shining brightly in the clear blue sky.

They got to work quickly, each grabbing a supply of American flags and staking out a segment of the cemetery.

Bill Garrison, commander of American Legion Post 108, marches through Lutz Cemetery, surveying gravestones of military veterans to decorate with an American flag in honor of Veterans Day. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Bill Garrison, commander of American Legion Post 108, marches through Lutz Cemetery, surveying gravestones of military veterans to decorate with an American flag in honor of Veterans Day. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The men — Bill Garrison, Ray Mason, Richard Fernandez and Jim Evans — worked their way through the rows of gravestones, looking for those marking the final resting place of men and women who served to protect American freedom.

While Garrison, Mason and Fernandez surveyed areas closer to U.S. 41, Evans checked out the rear section of the cemetery. Each time they found a veteran’s gravestone, they solemnly planted a flag at the edge of the gravestone.

Marking the grave with a flag is an act of remembrance, and of respect. It’s something members of American Legion Post 108 do at Lutz Cemetery every Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day.

The flags remain until a day after Veterans Day, when the men come back to recover them.

The flags honor veterans from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. There’s even a grave of a Civil War soldier and another of a Spanish-American War soldier a soldier, Mason said.

The ritual of remembering men and women who served has been going on for close to 30 years, said Mason, the post’s adjutant.

Each time, they post about 200 flags. “We used to do more cemeteries, but membership dwindled,” said Garrison, the post commander.

As World War II veterans die, the post’s membership has declined. Now, the post — which draws its members from Lutz and Land O’ Lakes — has 97 members, Garrison said.

There are around 200 veterans buried in Lutz Cemetery, he said.

“There’s a lot of sacrifice here,” said Garrison, who served in the U.S. Air Force as a code breaker.

Fernandez, a past commander and the current financial officer for the post who served in the U.S. Coast Guard, said he takes part in the flag postings to honor those who have courageously served this country.

“Unfortunately they don’t get the honor and respect that they deserve,” Fernandez said.

Respect for veterans has improved, however, said Mason, who served in the U.S. Navy.

“Every once in awhile I wear my hat out, and I can’t believe the number of people who come up and say, ‘Thank you for your service,’” he said.

That’s a far different response than the one he received when he first finished military service.

“When I got out in ’65, everybody was against the war, all of that anti-Vietnam stuff,” said Mason, who did not serve in Vietnam.

He was surprised by the negative reception.

“I was taken back,” Mason said.

Evans, who served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam and during the first Gulf War, said posting the flags at the cemetery provides a sense of satisfaction.

“It gives you a nice feeling to have them remembered,” he said.

The men do the best they can to ensure they honor each veteran buried there. They look at the gravestones for any indication of military service.

“Sometimes it is just a little notation on there,” Evans said.

To make sure he didn’t miss any, Garrison kicks leaves off of graves, and scrapes off dirt. The other men made close inspections, too.

“I hate to miss one,” Evans said. “It really hurts me if I miss a veteran. We always make an extra sweep, and we always find some that we missed.”

Evans estimates he’s posted flags at the cemetery about 20 times. Sometimes, the work is easier than others. During the recent posting, conditions were pleasant.

But the heat can be brutal during the Memorial Day and Fourth of July postings, or sometimes it’s pouring rain.

“There have been times after a heavy rain where you almost sink,” Garrison said. “We slop through the mess.”

On the upside, though, “there’s no problem with putting them (the flags) in,” he added.

After they post the flags and complete their sweep, the men conclude by playing “Taps,” — a final tribute for those who served.

Published November 12, 2014

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Playoff foe awaits district champ Sunlake

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Each year, high school football teams enter the season with specific goals. Some achieve them, and others fall short.

For Sunlake High School, the goal since the school’s inception has been to claim a district title. And every year they’ve fallen short of that goal.

Until this year.

Sunlake High School junior Nick Valdes, left, and the rest of the Seahawks hope to make the most of their first playoff berth as district champions. (Fred Bellet/Photo)
Sunlake High School junior Nick Valdes, left, and the rest of the Seahawks hope to make the most of their first playoff berth as district champions. (Fred Bellet/Photo)

The Seahawks survived a three-way tiebreaker on Nov. 3 that had teams playing one quarter of football against each other to determine a winner. As a result, they’ll enter the playoffs with the title of district champion of Class 6A-District 6, an accomplishment that’s not lost on head coach Bill Browning.

“It’s very gratifying. The kids worked very hard for it,” said Browning, who has been with the school since it opened in 2007.

Back then, the team was essentially a junior varsity squad, he said, and were out-matched at every turn. But over the years, Browning and his staff have built a successful program, finally claiming that elusive district title this season.

As a result, Browning let himself enjoy the moment. For a few hours, anyway.

By the next morning, it was on to game preparations, and getting his team prepared for the games in front of them.

“You meet one challenge and then you go on to the next challenge,” he said. “That’s the competitive nature.”

The challenge in the playoffs will be a home tilt against Vanguard High School on Nov. 14. Located in Ocala, the Knights don’t seem too formidable on paper. They’re just 4-5 on the season, and claimed a playoff spot as runner-up in District 5 with a 2-2 record. They were 1-4 on the road, and gave up an average of nearly 47 points in their five losses.

But Browning and the Seahawks won’t make any assumptions with regard to Vanguard. They’ve faced them in the playoffs before, winning a close contest, and know that any team that makes the postseason has talent.

To be successful, Sunlake will rely on the players like Naejaun Jackson, a running back and receiver who has given the offense a spark in the second half of the season. Browning described Jackson as the “lightning” to running back Nathan Johnson’s “thunder.”

While the experience of entering the playoffs as a district champion is a new experience for Sunlake, it’s nothing new for Browning. A high school coach for 25 years, he also earned district titles for Springstead High School and Hernando High School before taking the job to start the Seahawks’ program from scratch.

But this one is special, in part because his biggest fan isn’t here to watch the games anymore. His father, Maurice, passed away this past summer at age 95.

During his son’s tenure the older Browning attended every Sunlake football game. In the last contest he saw, the spring classic game, Browning’s father saw the team that would eventually earn the school its first district title.

And his assessment of his son’s team at the time?

“After the classic, his words to me were, ‘You’ve got your work cut out for you,’” Browning recalled.

After a lot of hard work, Sunlake is not only a district champion for the first time, but a playoff host as well. Browning hopes those advantages will help the team go farther this year than during previous campaigns.

“The farthest we’ve gotten is the second round in the playoffs,” Browning said. ‘That’s our goal now, to go farther than any Sunlake team has.”

While Sunlake has been able to console themselves with playoff runs while they sought a district title, it was a different story for Zephyrhills High School. But they snapped an eight-year playoff drought with their own tie-breaker game, and will head to the playoffs as the Class 5A-District 7 runner-up.

While the Bulldogs can be proud of accomplishing a major goal for 2014, there’s just one problem: The actual playoffs haven’t even started yet.

So now what?

“You feel really good for a short time, but you know you’ve got to get back to work and start over,” Zephyrhills coach Reggie Roberts said. “Our objective is not just to get there. It’s to perform once we get to the playoffs.”

Soon after he was drenched in a celebratory bath from the water cooler, Roberts already was thinking of the Bulldogs’ playoff strategy.

And Zephyrhills isn’t expecting a warm welcome in their return to the postseason. Their first match-up will be Nov. 14 at Live Oak to face Suwannee High School, a team that didn’t need any tiebreakers to qualify for the playoffs. With a perfect 9-0 overall record headed into their final regular season game, Suwannee dominated District 5 with a 6-0 mark. The Bulldogs finished at 9-1 after a 42-14 loss to Columbia High School from Lake City.

The team — also nicknamed the Bulldogs — has held opponents to seven points or less four separate times, while being held under 30 themselves just once.

The key to the Zephyrhills’ success, according to Roberts, will be not changing things just because it’s the playoffs. From coaching to practice to execution, he wants his team to utilize the same strengths that helped them reach the postseason.

“We have to go with what got us there, and we have to do what we’ve done all year long,” he said. “We have to play consistent football on both sides of the ball.”

Roberts knows first-hand the importance of ending the season strong. As an all-state linebacker for Zephyrhills, he made the playoffs in his senior season back in 1989. His defensive coordinator, Booker Pickett, also was on that team. But they lost their playoff game, a match-up Roberts still remembers well and thinks they could have won.

He doesn’t want his team ending their year with a feeling that they could have done more in the postseason, and his focus is on getting them as prepared as possible to be successful.

But Roberts also wants them to enjoy the moment the way he did when he played in the postseason, and appreciate the special atmosphere.

“The crowd, it was so packed there was no room to sit,” Roberts recalled. “It was tremendous. It was like a college atmosphere. It was great small-town football.

“That’s why you want to get there. To create those memories.”

Nov. 14
Vanguard at Sunlake, 7:30 p.m.
Zephyrhills at Suwanee, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $8
If Sunlake (8-2) wins, Seahawks take on winner of Mitchell (6-4) at Gainesville (5-5).
If Zephyrhills (8-2) wins, Bulldogs take on winner of North Marion (8-2) at South Sumter (10-0).

Published November 12, 2014

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Business Digest 11-12-14

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Pasco home sales drop in October
Home sales in Pasco County were down quite a bit in October, but median sales are on the rise.

An unofficial analysis of home sales by The Laker/Lutz News through the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s office showed 771 residential properties changing hands through the traditional warranty deed method last month, totaling $100.1 million. That was down from 1,016 properties sold the year before for $121.1 million.

Yet, both the medial price and the average square foot price were on the rise for homes in Pasco. The median grew from $90,000 last year to $105,000 this year, while home prices themselves rose from $71 per square foot, to $81.

Distressed sales, typically created by foreclosures, also rose from the previous year by 43 percent, with $16.7 million changing hands through the certificate of title process, compared to $8.9 million in 2013. However, the median price of those sales also rose from $32,100 to $43,050. Square foot prices expanded from $35 to $44.

Pasco sold 79 mobile homes in October at a median price of $36,500, or $39 per square foot. At the same time, 28 condominiums were sold at a median price of $44,000, or $52 per square foot. Both are down from October 2013 numbers where 101 mobile homes and 64 condos sold.

The mobile homes had a median price then of $44,750, or $39 per square foot, while the median price for the condos were $45,000, or $54 per square foot.

The most expensive single-family home sold in October was for $710,000 at 5952 Thomas Circle in Land O’ Lakes.

Wesley Chapel chamber hosting job fairThe Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce will host a job fair with Spherion Staffing Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the chamber office, 6013 Wesley Grove Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

Admission is free.

For information, visit Spherion.com/naturecoast-fl.

Kumquat Festival selling sponsorship packages
The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce is now accepting reservation packages for the 2015 Kumquat Festival, set to take place Jan. 31.

Packages start at $500, and include logos and links on the KumquatFestival.org website, as well as booth space at the festival. Premier packages, which run from $1,000 to $5,000, include additional features.

The event is expected to draw 45,000 people from Florida, who live here seasonally, and who are visiting.

For information, call John Moors at (352) 567-3769, or email .

CareerSource job fair attracts 315 people
More than 300 people decided to “race to work,” taking part in a job fair through CareerSource Pasco Hernando.

RACE to Work — the Reemployment Assistance Community Event — attracted 315 job-seekers and 50 employers according to a release. It took place at three sites in Dade City, New Port Richey and Spring Hill, and was designed to help pair people who have received or exhausted unemployment benefits, with employers with job openings.

Employers taking part included Target, Alumni Guard, Toys R Us, Communication Concepts and Sparton Electronics, as well as the county’s largest employer, Pasco County Schools.

Each industry was looking to hire up to 70 new employees for both seasonal and permanent positions.

For more information on the organization, visit CareerSourcePascoHernando.com, or call Sunnye Fredia at (352) 247-0761.

Dade City business expo
The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce will host its 2014 Community & Business Expo Nov. 13 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Pasco County Fairground’s Dan Cannon Auditorium, on State Road 52, in Dade City.

For information, call John Moors at (352) 567-3769, or email him at .

Open house for Restored Hope
Restored Hope will host a community open house Nov. 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at 13703 17th St., in Dade City.

Restored Hope is a Christian organization that helps people in need or at risk in the community by providing food, and the means to become self-sufficient.

To RSVP, call (325) 437-4815.

East Pasco Networking Group
The East Pasco Networking Group has scheduled several speakers for the coming months. The group meets every other week at the Village Inn at 5214 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills. Networking begins at 8 a.m., with the meeting starting at 8:30 a.m.

Upcoming speakers include:

  • Vicki Jones, manager of Palm Tree Acres, and author Madonna Wise, Nov. 25
  • Scott Lindner, pastor of Atonement Lutheran Church, Dec. 9
  • Michael Smith, pastor of Fair Haven Baptist Church and principal of Zephyrhills Christian Academy

Catholic Business Networking seeks members
The Catholic Business Networking group is looking for Catholic business owners, employees and supporters interested in joining it for regular meetings every Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 2348 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes.

The group has annual dues of $60, and there is a minimum attendance requirement of two meetings per month.

For information, call (813) 833-4737, or visit CBNTampa.com.

Business Link available monthly
Business Link, a monthly small business gathering hosted by the San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union, meets the second Wednesday of each month beginning at 7:30 a.m.

The meeting is designed to provide a networking and information-sharing platform for the business community.

For locations, details and to reserve a seat, email , or call (352) 588-2732, ext. 1237.

Vendors sought for business expo
The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce is looking for vendors for its upcoming Community Business Expo, which will take place Nov. 13 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Dan Cannon Auditorium, 36722 State Road 52, in Dade City.

Vendor fees begin at $50 for chamber members, with bundle fees available for $150, which includes space at the expo plus a year membership with the chamber. Sponsorship opportunities are available for $500.

For information, call John Moors or Melody Floyd at (352) 567-3769, or email them at , or .

Wesley Chapel networking group
Networking for Your Success meets every Thursday at 8 a.m., at Lexington Oaks Country Club, 2615 Lexington Oaks Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

Cost is $5, and annual membership to the group is $79.

 

Steinbrenner’s band needs big bucks for bowl trip

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The Steinbrenner High School Band is planning a trip to perform at a college bowl game later this year. To get there, they’ll need hard work and determination.

They’ll also need more than $70,000.

When the Steinbrenner High School band isn’t performing, they’re practicing. And when they’re not practicing, they’re raising money for their trip to the Liberty Bowl later this year. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)
When the Steinbrenner High School band isn’t performing, they’re practicing. And when they’re not practicing, they’re raising money for their trip to the Liberty Bowl later this year. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)

That’s the cost to accommodate more than 90 people traveling to Memphis, Tennessee, for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, on Dec. 29.

“It is a lot of money,” admitted band director Nicole Conte. “We’ve done some smaller trips that have cost about half that, but this is a pretty big one.”

It’s so big that the band is getting creative about raising funds. They’ll host a casino night on Nov. 8 at Cheval Golf and Country Club, 4312 Cheval Blvd., in Lutz, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. On Nov. 16, they’ll have a mattress sale at the school’s gymnasium from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Current fundraising and early payments have helped the band get close to half of their goal, leaving plenty more money that needs to be raised. But from personal experience, Conte feels it’s worth it.

“We did several things like that when I was in high school band, too, and those are memories that I’ve carried with me all my life, and some of the most exciting things I’ve ever done,” she said.

When Conte was going to school in Naples, her high school band performed at a Miami Dolphins game. She was excited to play in front of such a large group, and wants her band to share that kind of experience.

That doesn’t mean the entire trip will simply be a vacation for the band. There are competitive elements to the event as well. In addition to participating in the halftime show with other bands from different states, they’ll also be part of a field competition before the event. The winning band gets to perform solo as part of the pre-game ceremony.

Conte wants to win that competition, and continue the tradition of success she’s established at Steinbrenner. She’s been with the school since it opened in 2009, and has 17 years of experience leading bands. They consistently earn a rating of “superior” in their assessments, and they won their division at the Lion’s Pride band competition this year at King High School in Temple Terrace.

Three years ago, Steinbrenner also was named grand champion of that event.

To stay focused for their upcoming performance and prepare to face some tough competition, Conte is putting the band through their paces in practices and going over segments of their musical routines repeatedly to ensure their playing is sharp and their timing is right.

In her experience, that’s the only way to achieve the kind of success she wants.

“It’s practice and hard work. I think talent really has little to do with success,” she said. “It really boils down to determination and willingness to work hard to get the job done.”

Band members have displayed a willingness to work hard because of Conte’s leadership. Sam Goldstein, who plays tuba among other instruments, said the band has seen Conte’s experience in action, and knows that her decisions lead to good outcomes.

“She’s done it for 17 years, and she doesn’t have to think about anything that she does,” he said of Conte. “She tells us what to do and somehow everything works out. I look up to her as a third parent, almost.”

As a result, band members believe Conte when she says the practices and the fundraising will be worth the effort once they set foot in Tennessee for the school’s first band trip to a college bowl game.

“This is our first one,” Conte said. “I’ve never done one before, either. I’m very excited, and the kids are very excited.”

For more information about the Steinbrenner High School Band and its fundraising efforts, call Steinbrenner at (813) 792-5131, or visit SteinbrennerBand.com.

Published November 5, 2014

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Developers revive Epperson Ranch with Crystal Lagoon

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The interchange connecting Overpass Road to Interstate 75 couldn’t come soon enough.

With the housing market seemingly healed — at least as far as Pasco County is concerned — developers want to bring thousands of homes to an area known as Epperson Ranch, complete with a retail center, and America’s introduction to something known as Crystal Lagoon.

The new Epperson Town Center Project near Overpass and Curley roads, is expected to have the first Crystal Lagoon in North America, a massive water project that creates aquatic activities in areas where water at this quality might not be available. (Courtesy of Crystal Lagoon Corp.)
The new Epperson Town Center Project near Overpass and Curley roads, is expected to have the first Crystal Lagoon in North America, a massive water project that creates aquatic activities in areas where water at this quality might not be available. (Courtesy of Crystal Lagoon Corp.)

“It would be the first of its kind in North America,” said Pat Gassaway, president of Heidt Design, one of the representatives behind the developer of the proposed Epperson Ranch Town Center. He shared details of the recreation area with members of the Pasco County Development Review Committee last month, and is scheduled for the Pasco County Commission Nov. 5.

“They have chosen to implement it here in Pasco County, and let me pause to let that sink in,” Gassaway said. “It actually looks better in person than in the photographs, and that rarely happens.”

Crystal Lagoons Corp. is a Chile-based land development company that can turn dry land into what they call the world’s largest swimming pools. They can cover acres of land, typically at a depth of at least 8 feet, and allow for both swimming and water sports, which might not already be available.

The company’s first Crystal Lagoon in San Alfonso del Mar covers 20 acres, and is more than a half-mile long. The cost to build one is said by the company on its website to be “10 times less” than that of a similar-sized golf course, and consumes half the water a typical conventional park would use.

The town center was part of a much larger development of regional impact in the area where Overpass and Curley roads meet. Once the housing market crashed, however, the project went dormant. Now new developers have stepped in, looking to break some of the elements apart, but still stay close to some of the original development plans of bringing thousands of people into that part of Pasco County.

The town center alone would be on nearly 103 acres and include 256 townhouses, 200 apartments, 209,000 square feet of commercial space, 50,000 square feet of office, and 100 hotel rooms.

Two other pieces of the Epperson Ranch project also were in front of the committee on Wednesday. They include what is known as Epco Ranch North, where 1,795 homes on 1,051 acres are planned.

A third piece, known as Epperson Ranch South, would have 1,516 homes on nearly 590 acres of land.

Both residential plans are smaller than originally proposed. The northern part was supposed to have 1,811 homes, while the southern portion initially had at least 120 more homes than the current plan.

“Standard Pacific Homes is proposing to build a very upscale community here,” attorney Clarke Hobby told county officials of the northern plan. “The price point we’re dealing with here is substantially higher than we would otherwise see in this marketplace.”

However, Standard Pacific has met some resistance from neighboring property owners who aren’t too keen on what the developer wants to do with King Lake just off Curley Road.

“We are concerned about the density,” said Arnold Becken, who owns 12 acres of land off Kenton Road, which borders the lake. “No matter how many docks you have in there, if you have 1,700 residents living there, you’re going to have a mammoth amount of watercraft on that lake.”

Hobby, however, told Pasco County administrator Michele Baker last month he had not yet had a chance to meet with residents there to hear their concerns, but planned to do that before commissioners were asked to approve it.

“When they stand up in front of the board” for the November meeting, “I want them to say that Mr. Hobby is a nice guy,” Baker told the attorney.

There is no timeline on when construction would begin on any of the project, but the major parts may wait until the interchange at Overpass Road is completed. The county has eight years to finish the $55 million project, which will primarily be funded by federal dollars.

The county commission is taking up Epperson Ranch at a rarely scheduled Wednesday meeting, Nov. 5, beginning at 10 a.m., at the Historic Pasco County Courthouse in Dade City. The Epperson Ranch projects are scheduled as part of a group of other public hearings beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Published November 5, 2014

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Coping with grief during the holidays

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Picture this: Your mother has broken her arm and it’s time to make her traditional pecan pie for the holidays.

It’s easy to see that it would be difficult for her to make the pie this year, so you let her know that she shouldn’t worry about bringing it.

Bereavement counselor Dale Thien offers practical tips for grieving people who are expecting a difficult holiday season. (Courtesy of HPH Hospice)
Bereavement counselor Dale Thien offers practical tips for grieving people who are expecting a difficult holiday season. (Courtesy of HPH Hospice)

It’s easy for people to see a broken arm, said Dale Thien, a bereavement counselor for HPH Hospice. It’s not always so easy to see the effects of a heart that’s broken by the death of a loved one.

The bereavement counselor said she often opens her workshops by talking about how expectations change when we can see a physical ailment that poses limitations, and the need to make similar adjustments when someone has suffered an emotional loss that’s equally, if not more, debilitating.

HPH Hospice is offering free workshops in November and December to help anyone who is grieving the death of a loved one during the holidays, regardless of the cause.

“Your grief is like you have a broken heart,” Thien said. “The thing is, we can’t really see that.”

During her workshops, she asks those who are grieving to give themselves permission to grieve. And, she asks them to let their loved ones know what they need.

“Understanding can come from the rest of the family, as they adjust their expectations about the holidays and about the role that this grieving person will play,” she said.

The death of a loved one often creates a sense of disorientation and a loss of equilibrium, as people adjust to life without the physical presence of their loved one.

“So, we want to make adjustments,” she said.

It may be time to modify the family routine, Thien said.

“We don’t want to stress people out with too much of the same because it becomes so obvious that there’s a big gaping hole where the person you loved used to be,” the counselor said. “I think some people dance around the issue of, should we mention the loved one’s name or not?”

Typically, people look to the person who had the closest connection to the deceased to provide guidance on this issue, she said.

“If you’re the grieving person and it was your main loss, then probably your family is waiting for you to mention their name,” Thien said. “And then, they will get the go-ahead that it’s OK to be talking about that.”

She recalled an instance when a widow told her that she was angry with her family because they never once mentioned her deceased husband during the holidays. Later, that same day, the daughter told the counselor she was upset because they had not talked about her father.

“So, everyone just danced around this elephant in the living room,” Thien said. “No one acknowledged it.”

People often do not know how to handle these situations, Thien said. She suggests, in this case, the daughter could have said to her mother in private: “I’m interested in talking about dad. Is that OK with you?”

The workshop seeks to give grieving people the tools for handling the holidays.

“We’re also going to try to empower the grieving person to ask for what they need,” she said.

One practical tip is for grieving people to drive themselves to holiday gatherings, Thien said. That way, they’re free to leave when they want to.

People who are grieving may not be up to the hustle and bustle of shopping.

So Thien advises them to simplify their gift giving. They can buy everyone the same gift, for instance, or send mail-order baskets of fruit. Or, they can give cash.

People who are grieving may not feel like sending out holiday cards. They might not have the energy to decorate the house.

They don’t have to, Thien said. “You get a pass this year.”

Or, they may want to invite family members to come decorate their home, or just put up fewer decorations.

If they decide to attend holiday gatherings, she said, they might need to step aside if they’re having trouble handling their emotions.

It’s perfectly fine to tell a party host: “I’m doing as well as I can, being here, around all of this merriment at holidays, but please understand that this is hard for me. So, if I need to go outside for a minute and have a tear, please don’t follow me. Please just let me be, and I’ll come back into the room when I’m ready.”

People grieve in different ways.

“Some people clearly do want to be left alone,” Thien said. “It’s certainly OK to opt out entirely.”

On the other hand, she added, some people “need hugs and socialization and reassurance.”

“My suggestion is small doses,” Thien said.

Swing by holiday parties, but just stay as long as you feel comfortable.

“You’re doing the important work of adjusting to life, now that your loved one is gone,” she said. “You are engaging in trying to find a new normal for yourself.”

The bottom line is finding what works for you during the holiday season, she said.

“People who really love you are going to understand,” Thien said.

HPH Hospice is having Holiday Workshops for Grieving Adults in November and December to help people who are anticipating a difficult holiday season due to the death of a loved one.

Upcoming workshops:

  • Nov. 17 at 2 p.m., at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church’s Religious Education Center, Parish Library, 38640 Fifth Ave., in Zephyrhills
  • Nov. 19 at 3 p.m., at the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center, Oak Meeting Room, 6630 Van Buren St., in New Port Richey
  • Dec. 2 at 2 p.m., HPH Hospice Resource Center, 37441 Clinton Ave., in Dade City
  • Dec. 9 at 6 p.m., Marliere Hospice Care Center, 6801 Rowan Road, in New Port Richey

The 90-minute workshops are free. No registration is required.

For information, call HPH Hospice at (800) 486-8784.

Published November 5, 2014

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Mulieri watched county go from carbon paper to the Internet age

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Nearly 10 years after she retired from what was then Pasco-Hernando Community College, Pat Mulieri will hang it up once again Wednesday — this time as a Pasco County commissioner.

So what will the 76-year-old do now?

“Maybe I’ll become a belly dancer,” she said.

Pat Mulieri spends some time with Rocket, one of the dogs rescued by Pasco County Animal Services. Mulieri, whose last day as a county commissioner is Nov. 5, spent 20 years as a public servant, all thanks to a proposed medical waste facility. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Pat Mulieri spends some time with Rocket, one of the dogs rescued by Pasco County Animal Services. Mulieri, whose last day as a county commissioner is Nov. 5, spent 20 years as a public servant, all thanks to a proposed medical waste facility. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

Mulieri may be joking, but the 20-year commissioner has never been afraid to speak her mind, or go against the establishment in county government she more than once referred to as a “good ol’ boy club.” Whether it’s speaking out on increasing local gas taxes, or throwing her support behind a candidate from a different political party, Mulieri always has described herself as fearless, standing up for those who might not be able — or willing — to stand up for themselves.

“You can’t just sit there, and you can’t be afraid to speak out,” Mulieri said. “People will try to intimidate you, they’ll try to talk over you. But you have to keep an open mind, and never waver from what you believe in.”

Spending so many years in elected office would have many asking what kind of legacy a commissioner leaves when they retire. Mulieri, however, sees her legacy beginning well before she won her first election in 1994. In fact, it was her work in the late 1980s and early 1990s that pushed her into public office in the first place.

“I was teaching at PHCC when someone came up to me and told me that they are building an incinerator on my corner, and I started looking into it,” Mulieri said.

As she does now, Mulieri lived in Gower’s Corner, the mostly rural area north of Land O’ Lakes at State Road 52 and U.S. 41. She and husband Jimmy had called it home since moving from New York in 1979, and plans were to build a plant that would dispose of up to 500 pounds of medical waste each day.

Except plans didn’t stay that small for long. By 1990, the developer expanded it to 54 tons per day, and that put Mulieri and her neighbors into action.

The first thing she did? Call Sylvia Young, of course, the longtime county commissioner representing much of the eastern side of Pasco.

“It was the most terrible experience of my life,” Mulieri said. “’It won’t hurt you,’ she told me. ‘Why do you care? It’s not going to hurt you.’”

Except at 54 tons daily, that meant trucks would be going in and out constantly, bringing in waste from all over the state, and even beyond. It was the last thing Gower’s Corner needed, Mulieri said, and she vowed to fight it, with or without the help of her elected officials.

“I filed to be my own attorney at an administrative hearing” with state environmental officials, Mulieri said. “It started out as a Gower’s Corner issue, and then it became a Pasco issue. By the time I was done, it had become a state issue.”

She got a lot of help from John Long, then a Democratic state representative who would later become superintendent of Pasco County Schools. Long helped push a five-year moratorium on the incinerator through the House, but it was the state Senate that was proving difficult.

“There was a senator there who was the meanest senator in the world, and he did not want to get it passed,” Mulieri said. “But John was a powerful man, and he walked over and whispered something into the senator’s ear. I have no idea what he said, but the next thing you know, there was a moratorium on medical incinerators for the next five years.”

That was enough to kill the project, and Mulieri could’ve simply gone back to teaching and enjoying life in Florida. But in 1994, many of Mulieri’s neighbors become frustrated with the lack of communication between commissioners and residents, and many of them were trying to convince her to run.

“It was really hard,” she said. “We didn’t raise a lot of money. I put in $9,000, and maybe I raised $10,000.”

But Mulieri got a lot of attention, primarily because of what she called her “green gang.” Someone had designed a green shirt with Mulieri’s name on it, and volunteers would wear them everywhere, becoming human billboards.

Mulieri won that election, and every challenge thrown at her ever since. Each time, she kept her campaign small. Her last election in 2010, against Republican Ken Littlefield and independent Clay Colson, Mulieri raised $88,000. But that was a little more than half of what her then colleague, Michael Cox, raised for his race, and is far less than the $174,000 Mike Moore has raised to try and replace her.

“I always tried to keep these races in the community, and it’s always been a grassroots effort,” she said.

On Wednesday, Mulieri will walk in the door of the commission boardroom for the last time as one of the commissioners. She’ll have a chance now to spend even more time with the Pasco County animal shelter in Land O’ Lakes, and quality time at her Gower’s Corner home. And she hopes she leaves the commission just a little better than the way she found it 20 years ago.

“For everything, there is a season,” she said. “When I started, everyone there was using carbon paper, and I had to push just to get Internet there. Now, we depend on the Internet.

“I hope the county will keep changing for the better.”

Published November 5, 2014

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Before ‘Edward Scissorhands,’ there was ‘Satan’s Children’

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Throughout the rich history of the Lutz area, one thing that’s never talked about is the Great Oatmeal Famine of 1974.

Anyone looking to restock their Quaker Oats back then found the shelves mysteriously empty. Was it a strike? A product recall? A sudden desire to change breakfast food?

The quicksand pit for ‘Satan’s Children’ was created on a farm in Lutz. It was only 3 feet deep, and was made entirely of oatmeal. (Courtesy of Something Weird)
The quicksand pit for ‘Satan’s Children’ was created on a farm in Lutz. It was only 3 feet deep, and was made entirely of oatmeal. (Courtesy of Something Weird)

Nope, it was a small independent horror movie filming in Lutz at the time called “Satan’s Children.” And the special effects wizard behind the film, John Mocsary, needed 50 cases of it so that he could create something Lutz has never had before — quicksand.

“We bought up every case of oatmeal we could find in the North Tampa area,” Mocsary said. “And we used every bit of it. I had to make a three-foot pit, and it had to look real.”

Except once the oatmeal was mixed and actors started falling into it, Mocsary realized there were two things he hadn’t anticipated. First, the nearby cattle on the ranch they were using were quite interested in eating the oatmeal up. And second: The Laws of Newton.

“We had a buoyancy problem,” he said. “So what we had to do was put cinder blocks in, so that after people went into it, they would hold on to the blocks to keep them under.”

The magic of movies, taking place right in Lutz, nearly two decades before Tim Burton would bring Johnny Depp and “Edward Scissorhands” to the area. And while the R-rated “Satan’s Children” was never a box office success, it’s being remembered Nov. 15 when many of the former cast and crew, like Mocsary, get together at Tampa Theatre for a special screening.

The event was Andy Lalino’s idea. He wasn’t part of the movie, but he’s a major horror fan, and discovered “Satan’s Children” when it was released as a home video.

“I first got to see it back in 2006, and even then, I noticed that it was made in Tampa,” said Lalino, a producer at WUSF-TV in Tampa, and horror aficionado. “That piqued my interest, since I’m from the Tampa Bay area, and I toyed around with some ideas on what to do about that.”

The event next Saturday will celebrate the early days of film in the area, and feature actors like Stephen White, Rosemary Orlando and John Edwards, who all appeared in the film, while many of them were students at the University of South Florida. None are household names today, but their inclusion in what they hope could become a local cult classic will put them in the spotlight they never got in 1974.

“The film was actually released in 1975, theoretically,” Lalino said. “I talked to a lot of people, and they can’t ever remember seeing ads for it in the newspaper, which was common back then. It might have hit a few theaters in New York City and maybe some other parts of the country, but it was nothing like what happened with ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’”

That film was released in 1974, and was a low-budget horror as well that found its way into the mainstream consciousness. It went on to gross $30 million at the box office, which adjusted for inflation, would be $140 million today.

Lalino suspects “Satan’s Children” cost $100,000 to make — a third of the cost of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” but those who invested money were probably lucky to get any return on their investment, let alone their investment itself.

Joe Wiezycki was a producer at WTVT-Channel 13 for three decades beginning in the 1960s. He and others from WTVT worked on the project in secret — they didn’t want their bosses to know they were doing it — and it took months to complete all the work with mostly nights and weekends.

Wiezycki met Mocsary when the latter was working as a makeup artist — in a funeral home.

“He had called me up and said, ‘I understand you do makeup,’” Mocsary said. “He said, ‘I got this project we’re working on, would you be interested in helping us out?’”

That project was a film called “Willy’s Gone,” and had a limited release in 1968, making no money. But that didn’t stop Wiezycki, who quickly started work on his next project that would end up surviving 40 years — “Satan’s Children.”

“It was a fun job to work on,” Mocsary said. “Working with Joe was always a good thing, and he was a great guy. I’m sorry he’s not with us.”

Wiezycki died in 1994.

But many of the cast and crew still remain, and Lalino hopes to help new audiences discover a film old audiences never did. But it was made as a B-movie, usually a film packaged with a wide-release, and society was much different then. There are major segments of the film that some may regard today as outright homophobic and sexist.

“This screening, I think, will elevate the status of this film,” Lalino said. “It will bring attention to it, not just for new fans, but for those who might have grown up in the ‘70s and ‘80s and never heard of the picture.

“I look forward to being a part of it.”

If you go
WHAT: ‘Satan’s Children’ 40th Anniversary Screening and Reunion
WHEN: Nov. 15, 10 p.m.
WHERE: Tampa Theatre, 711 N. Franklin St.
COST: $11
INFO: TampaTheatre.org

Published November 5, 2014

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