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Keystone Little League cap racks up frequent flyer miles

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It all started with a trip to Canton, Ohio, to watch Warren Sapp get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It was 2011, and newspaper sports reporter Joey Johnston had just walked into a Tilted Kilt restaurant after a long trip where he had a chance to watch his son, Joey Johnston Jr., pitch for the Keystone Little League team. He was proudly donning his Keystone baseball cap, and that gave one of his dinner companions an idea.

Joey Johnston poses with his well-traveled Keystone Little League baseball cap, which has been held by some of the bigger names in sports and entertainment. Johnston’s son, Joey Johnston Jr., is a pitcher on the team. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Joey Johnston poses with his well-traveled Keystone Little League baseball cap, which has been held by some of the bigger names in sports and entertainment. Johnston’s son, Joey Johnston Jr., is a pitcher on the team.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

“One of my colleagues said, ‘Why don’t you ask the waitress to wear the cap, and I’ll take a picture of you,’” Johnston said. “She put it on her head, and we got a picture, and it was pretty funny.”

The next day, Johnston attended an event at the Hall of Fame where he had a chance to see some former Tampa Bay Buccaneers players he covered as a writer for The Tampa Tribune, like quarterback Brad Johnson.

“I got my cap on my head, and remembering the night before, thought it might be fun if I asked Brad to do the same thing,” Johnston said. And he did.

Seeing that the different sports celebrities in attendance were having fun with it, Johnston kept it going, asking people like ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman, and even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to pose, and all of them do.

“I started putting the pictures on my Facebook page, and I knew the parents would get a kick out of it,” Johnston said.

However, the journey of the Keystone cap almost stopped right there. It was fun to do at the Hall of Fame event, but even celebrities wearing a baseball hat has to get stale at some point.

“I came back, and I sort of didn’t do it for a while,” Johnston said. “Then, several months later, I somehow got into the habit of taking that cap wherever I went. It didn’t take long, but if I ran into somebody, I would ask them to pose with the cap.”

It’s a tradition that continues to this day, giving Keystone Little League — which draws players from all over the surrounding area, including Pasco County — a chance to rival the exposure Plant High School received from baseball caps worn by Brad and Monica Culpepper in a season of “Survivor” on CBS.

Throughout all the famous people who have since posed with the Keystone cap, parents and friends on Facebook keep asking for more.

“It’s a lot of pressure, and I try to do my best while they patiently wait for the next one,” Johnston said. “I think they’re sort of amazed on who has worn it so far. They think it’s funny.”

Johnston keeps the photos in an album on his Facebook, but has plans for something a little bigger.

“I’m thinking I would like to do a little book on the team over the past two years, and maybe I can have it done in time for Christmas for the parents,” he said. “It wouldn’t be anything too major, but might be a nice keepsake for them.”

Johnston doesn’t let his hobby interfere with his work, but he’s always looking for an appropriate time somewhere to bring out his cap.

“It’s just pure fun,” he said. “We do it for laughs, and it’s great trying to find unusual people to wear the hat.”

He’s always scouting for new prospects.

“I’m going to try and milk it for a few more months,” he said. “I’ve got Lovie Smith on my radar.”

Getting to know Joey Johnston
Some of the people who have mugged it up with the Keystone Little League cap include:

  • Ronde Barber, retired cornerback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Derrick Brooks, Hall of Fame linebacker with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Bob Buckhorn, mayor of Tampa
  • Billy Donovan, head coach of the Florida Gators men’s basketball team
  • Tony Dungy, former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts
  • Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League
  • Jon Gruden, former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • John Lynch, retired strong safety with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Rays
  • Kelly Nash, Sun Sports broadcast team
  • Jerry Springer, syndicated talk show host
  • Stu Sternberg, principal owner of the Tampa Bay Rays
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders
  • Tim Tebow, free agent football quarterback
  • Dick Vitale, former coach and ESPN broadcaster

Published August 27, 2014

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Funny business: Local graduate returns to headline comedy show

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Working comedians — the ones who aren’t famous yet — tend to take whatever gigs they can get. Sometimes that means half-empty bars, or coffee shops or off-nights in a tiny comedy club.

In Steven Lolli’s case, it meant a clothing-optional resort in Land O’ Lakes 10 years ago.

Comedian Steven Lolli performed at Caliente Resorts 10 years ago, and he’ll headline a show at the Carrollwood Cultural Center on Aug. 30. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)
Comedian Steven Lolli performed at Caliente Resorts 10 years ago, and he’ll headline a show at the Carrollwood Cultural Center on Aug. 30.
(Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)

“It was one of the worst shows I’ve ever had in my life,” he said, recalling the scene at Caliente Resorts off Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, with a smile.

Lolli had been doing comedy about eight years at the time, and the Gaither High School graduate had returned to Tampa to set up some shows. Not one to turn down work, he tried a nicer, more approachable style to his comedy. And the crowd wasn’t buying it.

“The crowd was bad and I was bad,” Lolli said. “I should have been my angry self.”

What a difference a decade makes.

Lolli’s back in town, but he’s not trying to win over any skeptical crowds. Instead, he’s bringing his own following to the Carrollwood Cultural Center at 4537 Lowell Road, for his “High Class Poverty Comedy Tour” on Aug. 30. And he’ll be his angry self on stage, because it’s taken him pretty far in his 18 years as a stand-up comedian.

Lolli didn’t give anyone there the impression he would eventually make a career out of telling jokes when he graduated high school, and he headed to the Orlando area soon after to attend the University of Central Florida before making his way to Los Angeles. It was there in the California sun he gained a reputation for fitting in at venues where he’d look out of place.

Lolli began frequenting comedy clubs where the performers and audience were overwhelmingly African-American. He might be one of the only white people on stage — and the only Jewish person in the room — but he was something else, too. He was funny, and the crowds responded to him.

Nationally known comedian Katt Williams helped develop Lolli’s moniker, “The Urban Jew,” and eventually hired him as a writer.

Minority audiences appreciated his honesty and responded to his earnest delivery, Lolli said.

“I started talking about race. I started talking about Jews and blacks,” Lolli said. “One thing about the black crowd is they really respond to true emotion, when you’re really being honest.”

That response was a pleasant contrast to other clubs he visited, where politics and social relationships dictated who got to perform, and too many comedians wanted to mold their act into a television-friendly package. Lolli wanted to protect his edge rather ingratiate himself to the people who were the gatekeepers and could deny him stage time.

Performing in African-American clubs might not have looked natural at first glance, but it was a natural fit for his style and philosophy.

Cutting his teeth in tough rooms, and gaining acceptance from what could be considered challenging audiences, made Lolli more fearless in his comedy and more confident in his abilities. And while the 38-year-old could pass for a young executive on the street, it’s a different story on stage. His material is adult-oriented, salted with the kind of language that gives his rants emphasis.

But Lolli doesn’t simply rely on dirty words for shock value. His language is an extension of his thoughts and perceptions at that particular moment. While he has plenty of prepared material, he allows himself to veer off track frequently and create something original out of unscripted moments from earlier that day or while he’s on stage.

There’s a lot of risk with that method, and grabbing the microphone in front of a packed house without a clear idea of what you’ll say beforehand can be scary. But his real fear is not being true to himself.

“I’m more afraid to not say what I mean,” Lolli said. “It’s the most gratifying feeling to be yourself.”

It also can provide a career boost if things go well. Lolli once performed at an event honoring a cable executive, with many important agents and actors on stage and in the audience. It would be a perfect time to play it safe and not make fun of their industry, but that isn’t his style.

He came out aggressive with his material, got the audience on his side, and has received a lot of work as a result of that edgy performance. That included a 2012 guest appearance on the NBC comedy sketch show “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers.”

He’ll deliver more of the same at the Carrollwood Cultural Center, though he’ll have a lot more time to explore his thoughts and expand his material. He’ll also have his parents, Joy and Gerald, in the audience. They’re proud of his success and have taken note of his rising notoriety as the venue promotes his show.

They also haven’t seen him perform in years, but that doesn’t mean they’ll get the easy treatment from their comedian son on Aug. 30. In the end, they know he has to be himself.

“They’ll be all right,” Lolli said. “I might make fun of them, too.”

Published August 27, 2014

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Patients offer their perspectives on needed health care reform

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Before she became ill, Ashleigh Pike was a vibrant young woman who delighted in teaching elementary school children.

Now she lives life from a wheelchair, with her mother providing her full-time care.

Ashleigh Pike, left, looks on as her mother, Beth Pike, describes the impacts that Ashleigh’s illness has had on the young woman’s life. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Ashleigh Pike, left, looks on as her mother, Beth Pike, describes the impacts that Ashleigh’s illness has had on the young woman’s life.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“On the outside, I look fine,” the former teacher said. But, “my quality of life has been greatly compromised.”

The young woman suffers from a form of dysautonomia, a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. That system controls automatic functions of the body, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, kidney function, temperature control, and dilation and constriction of the pupils, according to Dysautonomia International’s website.

Pike was one of several panelists at a roundtable discussion of health care issues, as seen from the patient’s perspective.

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis hosted the session on Aug. 19 at The Bethany Center in Lutz to help inform his work as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Healthcare subcommittee. Later in the week, Bilirakis hosted a second roundtable, focusing on health care issues from the point of view of providers.

The first 21st Century Cures Roundtable, “Patients and the Patient Perspective,” put a human face on the often complicated and frustrating experiences that ill people have in trying to find treatments and cures for their conditions.

Colleen Labbadia shared the heartbreaking story of her young son, who has been diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive condition that is always fatal. Labbadia urged a greater degree of flexibility for clinical trials in the effort to find ways to treat and cure the condition.

“Each loss of function is like a little death,” Labbadia said. “Parents like myself, we’re willing to accept significant risk.”

Dr. Samantha Lindsey advocated for Alpha-1 patients, such as herself. Alpha-1 is the most common known genetic risk factor for emphysema, and also can lead to liver disease, according to the Alpha-1 Foundation’s website.

Anyone who has been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease should be tested for Alpha-1, the website recommends.

Early diagnosis can make a tremendous difference, Lindsey said.

“Even though I look healthy on the outside, my lungs are like the lungs of a 104-year-old,” she said.

Gretchen Church and her husband, Michael — who both suffer from Parkinson’s disease — were at the session to advocate for better medical treatment for people who have the conditions.

“I probably don’t look like I have Parkinson’s, but believe it, I do, ” said Gretchen Church, of the Parkinson’s Action Network.

The couple said that Bilirakis and his congressional colleagues should help people with Parkinson’s by making it possible for these patients to use telehealth services — a remote form of health care delivery.

Telehealth services would make life easier for Parkinson’s patients who often have trouble getting around, Church said. It also would reduce financial burdens.

One obstacle to telehealth are current state licensing requirements that require doctors to be licensed in the state to serve patients there, Michael Church said. The problem is that many people live in states where there are no doctors specializing in movement disorders.

“For the Parkinson’s community, telehealth has the potential to be powerful,” Gretchen Church said. It could help people live independently longer, she added.

Dr. Wayne Taylor, a leukemia survivor, said there’s room for improvement in the matches for clinical trials. Taylor, a physician from Hudson, underwent a clinical trial, and once he was in remission, he was able to undergo a double umbilical cord transplant.

In a double umbilical cord transplant, the blood-forming stem cells collected from the umbilical cord blood of two babies is used for blood stem cell transplantation. One umbilical cord would not provide sufficient stem cells for the transplant.

When it comes to clinical trials, Taylor believes more people could benefit from better matching.

Patricia Stanco, a regional care manager for the ALS Association’s Florida Chapter, posed some questions for Bilirakis and his congressional colleagues to consider:

“Is there a smarter way to do research? Is there a common-sense approach to access?”

She also wonders if changes can be made in Food and Drug Administration regulations.

“There are surely ways to get more shots on goal for research,” Stanco said.

Janice Starling, a kidney transplant recipient, was there on behalf of the American Association of Kidney Patients.

“If people in Congress would do more of what we’re doing right now, we’d get more help,” Starling observed.

She noted that Medicare often doesn’t cover treatments that are effective, or will cover them only for a specific period of time when more time might be necessary.

“What is going on? Why can’t we get the help we need?” Starling asked.

Dr. David Lubin, a recently retired physician from South Tampa, also offered some observations from the audience.

“Insurance companies and big pharma are in control of medicine,” Lubin said.

With the vast array of illnesses, Lubin said, it takes “almost Solomon-like” wisdom to know where to direct efforts and resources.

From a personal perspective, Bilirakis said he’s watched family members and friends suffer from rare conditions that have no cures.

“The right thing to do is to help our people, our patients,” Bilirakis said. “I want to take the politics out of this.”

Published August 27, 2014

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Get a taste of Florida’s past at the Pioneer Day & Old Gospel Sing

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Come take a trip into the past at Pioneer Day & Old Gospel Sing at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village.

Event goers can enjoy music, check out traditional craft demonstrations, grab a bite to eat, and watch the reenactment of the Bradley Massacre, a dramatization of a Seminole raid, said Jessica Budin, front office manager for the museum.

Event-goers can check out what a general store used to look like before the days of big-box retailers and huge grocery stores. (Courtesy of Pioneer Florida Museum & Village)
Event-goers can check out what a general store used to look like before the days of big-box retailers and huge grocery stores.
(Courtesy of Pioneer Florida Museum & Village)

Music will play throughout the day, and the Seminole raid reenactment will be presented at 11:15 a.m., and 2 p.m., Budin said.

Visitors will be able to observe living history exhibits, check out vendor booths, and enjoy gospel music by local performers. The event also features plant sales, children’s games, a petting zoo and other activities.

Food available for purchase will include barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, sweets and drinks.

For those who are planning to come, it’s a good idea to bring cash because there aren’t ATMs, and the vendors typically do not accept credit cards, Budin said. It’s also a good idea to check the weather reports and bring an umbrella if rain is expected, because the event will go on rain or shine, and many of the activities are outdoors.

A Seminole raid reenactment will give onlookers a chance to observe the dramatization of the Bradley Massacre, which occurred during the Third Seminole War. The massacre took place on May 14, 1856, in the tiny outpost of Darby.

A small band of Seminoles crept undetected toward the house of Capt. Robert Bradley and opened fire, killing two people during the raid.

Bradley’s Massacre has been recorded as the last attack by a Native American tribe on a settler’s homestead east of the Mississippi River.

Other attractions include a chance to:

• Visit the Old Lacoochee School
• Experience life as the Overstreets lived at the John Overstreet House
• Drop in at the C.C. Smith General Store and see what a retail store would have been like during the late 1800s to early 1900s
• Climb aboard the 1913 Porter steam engine housed in the Trilby Depot
• Observe the collection of early farm equipment, vintage buggies and carriages in the Mable Jordan Barn
• Take a look at a 1946 Chevy fire truck and a 1921 LaFrance fire truck
• Explore the museum’s main building, shop at the gift shop, and look at the museum’s collections
Admission to the museum is included in the price of admission to Pioneer Day, Budin said.

The event tends to get a nice turnout, she said, estimating between 1,000 to 1,500 people. The annual event has been at the museum since 1975.

If you go
WHAT: Pioneer Day & Old Time Gospel Sing
WHEN: Aug. 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Pioneer Florida Museum & Village, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road in Dade City
COST: Adults $8; senior citizens 55 and older, and children, $6; kids younger than 5 and museum members, free. Parking also is free.
INFO: Call (352) 567-0262, or email

Published August 27, 2014

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Technology, band march to new fundraising beat

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Bake sales, car washes, spaghetti dinners. There’s so many traditional ways to raise money for a good cause.

But when the Wiregrass Ranch High School percussion program decided it was time to transform from a strong winter drum line to a premier one, they realized their efforts to raise $25,000 would have to be far from traditional.

The Wiregrass Ranch High School marching band’s drum line practices after school with players like, from left, Alex Dabrow, Robert Rodriguez, Ashleigh Hans and Sam Ryan. The line is raising $25,000, so that they can keep playing after marching season ends in November. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
The Wiregrass Ranch High School marching band’s drum line practices after school with players like, from left, Alex Dabrow, Robert Rodriguez, Ashleigh Hans and Sam Ryan. The line is raising $25,000, so that they can keep playing after marching season ends in November.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

“I had to recreate our fundraising strategy a little bit,” said second-year band director Patrick Duncan. “Our families were just selling to each other, and it didn’t do us any good when mom and dad were just looking for the same coworkers all the time, asking if they can buy this, or if they can buy that. At a certain point, they are not going to buy, and parents get really turned off from fundraising.”

A lot of money nowadays is being raised online, through crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Duncan and his team, however, chose GoFundMe, a site that has raised more than $400 million for various fundraisers since its launch.

Unlike Kickstarter, GoFundMe will fund a campaign, even if the financial goal is not met. And unlike Indiegogo, the band would not have to wait for a campaign to end before they can start withdrawing money.

That means once Wiregrass Ranch’s band raises $900, for example, it could buy a set of low-octave crotales. A little more than $5,000 would be just enough to pay for a studio vibraphone.

“They don’t penalize you for taking out money early,” Duncan said. “And if you don’t meet your goal, you can keep the money raised, and continue to try and raise more funds until you get what you need.”

The money will purchase 14 sets of instruments including three vibraphones, a marimba, two crotales, a snare drum, and four pairs of marching cymbals. These instruments will let the percussion line expand from its current 15 to 18 during marching season, to more than 30 in the wintertime as part of an indoor percussion line.

It would be the area’s second indoor percussion line, joining the existing one at Sunlake High School.

“Our percussionists basically don’t have a performance avenue after marching season ends” in November, Duncan said. “By doing this line, we have something that can join with our winter guard, and it’s very musically engaging. There are some really fast-moving lines, and it’s always based on some kind of concept, some kind of story. It’s like something you might see in a performing arts center.”

Duncan already has percussionists ready to join the line once the instruments are bought, and some of his other band members — even those in the wind instruments like trumpets and tubas — have expressed an interest in broadening their musical horizons.

The indoor drum line would perform at area events, including competitions in Plant City and Daytona Beach — the latter an event that typically draws more than 3,000 people.

Duncan wants the new line to start this school year, but to make it happen, he would have to have auditions right after the Thanksgiving break, with first rehearsals set for just after Christmas. While he could get the line together with just half the money he wants to raise, Duncan is really hoping the community will pull through and help put Wiregrass Ranch’s musical program on the map.

“We have too many percussionists right now, which is a good problem to have,” he said. “You have them going in and out during performances so that they can all get a chance to play, and sometimes you even double up parts so you can include more people. But that doesn’t always much musical sense, as that’s not the way the composer intended for it to be played.”

As of Monday, the band has raised a little more than $400 in the campaign. Most of the donations have been in the $25 range, although GoFundMe is capable of accepting larger contributions.

“We started this in hopes that we can find some people who are interested in giving back, and giving to a cause,” Duncan said. “This will give a lot of students the opportunity to get that performance time in their spring semester, and it’s something audiences will not want to miss.”

Donate right now to the Wiregrass Ranch High School percussion program. Visit GoFundMe.com/WiregrassPercussion.

Published August 27, 2014

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Business Digest 08-27-14

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(Courtesy of Tim Treble)
(Courtesy of Tim Treble)

Businesses helping vets
Volunteers like Wes Van Hout, left, Jan Roberts, Rene Van Hout, Austin Williamson, Karen Horgan, Robin Hanna and Sam Mendolera, collect donations to help struggling and homeless veterans and families through Metropolitan Ministries. The office staff of LOL Transport & Moving at the intersection of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard and Ehren Cutoff are collecting items like shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shaving cream, and feminine products. To get someone from LOL Transport to pick up donations, call (813) 996-3775.

Women-n-Charge meeting
Women-n-Charge will meet Sept. 5 from 11:30 a.m., at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive in Tampa.

The meeting includes lunch, a featured speaker, and networking.

Cost is $15 for members, and those who register the Tuesday before the meeting, and $18 for everyone else.

For information, call (813) 600-9849, or email .

Nominations sought for business awards
Bright House Networks and local chambers of commerce are seeking nominations for its second annual Regional Business Awards.

The awards honor companies, organizations and people who have made an impact with their products, services and thought leadership in the business community.

Nominations are currently being accepted through Sept. 26 in four categories ranging from small business to large business, including a category for start-ups.

Bright House will award prizes including commercial television production, airtime, customer newsletter and cash, with a total value of more than $1 million.

Those interested in applying can visit tinyurl.com/BrightHouseAwards.

The winning businesses will be honored at a dinner Feb. 5 at the Tampa Convention Center.

The $100 application fee is waived for members of local participating chambers of commerce.

More jobs in Florida
The job sector in Florida continues to grow, with another 2,100 people given an opportunity to earn a paycheck in July.

That helped the state’s unemployment rate drop to 6.2 percent, down from the 7.3 percent recorded a year ago, but flat with June.

Florida’s unemployment rate has steadily dropped since clocking in at 11.1 percent in late 2010, and has followed the economic recovery of the rest of the nation as it emerged from the Great Recession. The annual job growth rate, however, has exceeded the nation’s rate since April 2012, Gov. Rick Scott’s office said, creating 620,300 jobs since December 2010.

In July, the state’s 24 regional workforce boards reported more than 39,100 people were placed in jobs. This counts anyone who receives employment and training assistance through a CareerSource Center, and finds a job within 180 days. Of these people, a little more than 8,000 received unemployment benefits, according to a release.

Winn-Dixie joins forces with Gators, Seminoles
Winn-Dixie, with locations throughout the region, has finalized a multi-year, multi-sport agreement to become the official exclusive supermarket of the University of Florida and Florida State University.

The agreements pair nearly 400 Florida-based Winn-Dixie stores with two of the largest and successful collegiate sports brands, the company said in a release.

With the official designation at both schools, Winn-Dixie secures the exclusive use of the athletic logos and trademarks in its advertising, signage and other marketing platforms throughout the year, including consumer promotions that will provide fans with the chance to with a variety of prizes tied to their favorite school and sport.

The partnership also will provide Winn-Dixie prominent presence and its customers VIP access during football tailgating festivities outside of Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

Bank stands up to cancer
Fifth Third Bank has returned its “Pay to the Order Of” campaign that earlier this year raised more than $2.3 million for Stand Up to Cancer.

The campaign was first launched in January and leverages new checking accounts to help drive donations that support collaborative cancer research programs, the company said in a release. For each new customer who opens a checking account with direct deposit, and makes three online bill payments, Fifth Third will give $150 to the customer and donate $150 to the cancer organization, more commonly known as SU2C.

The campaign runs through Oct. 17.

Bank offers student sweepstakes
Fifth Third Bank has launched its annual Student Banking Sweepstakes.

Through Sept. 30, students who open a checking account will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes offering $10,000 toward college tuition.

Last year’s winner was Tre’ Watson, a rising football star at Tampa Catholic High School.

For more information, visit 53.com/students.

Political Agenda 08-27-14

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Poll finds government, religion still mix
Religion continues to be a major issue when it comes to political decisions, and a new poll from Saint Leo University suggests that the divide won’t be closing any time soon.

More than 1,000 people were asked two questions about recent religious arguments made at the government level: prayer before meetings, and whether private companies should be forced to provide contraceptive coverage to women.

For prayers at meetings, Saint Leo asked the question based on a court decision that allowed government bodies to open meetings with a prayer. More than 64 percent of those surveyed agreed with the decision — including 58 percent of independent voters — while 27 percent said no.

More than 53 percent of Democrats agreed with allowing prayer compared to 86 percent of Republicans, according to the poll. However, among those who didn’t want prayer at meetings, only 7 percent of Republicans agreed.

The results of a second poll related to the Hobby Lobby U.S. Supreme Court case was much closer, with 47 percent saying employers should not be required to pay for contraception that induces abortion as part of its health insurance plan, while 38 percent said yes.

Some 70 percent of Republicans agreed with the Supreme Court on this issue, joining 31 percent of Democrats. Another 15 percent said they were not sure how they felt, representing less than 20 percent of surveyed independents, Democrats and Republicans.

The Saint Leo University Polling Institute conducted the national poll of 1,016 people, including 802 likely voters, between May 28 and June 4. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

Coalition forms to reform municipal pensions
A new group, Taxpayers for Sustainable Pensions, has formed from Florida’s business advocates and policy groups interested in achieving municipal pension reform.

The groups were inspired to create the coalition after lawmakers failed to pass a municipal pension reform bill earlier this year. Florida’s municipal pension plans have amassed more than $10 bullion in debt due to excessive benefit levels, the group said in a release, and one-third of all municipal pension plans are less than 70 percent funded.

Coalition members include Americans for Prosperity-Florida, Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Chamber Foundation, the Florida League of Cities, Florida TaxWatch, the National Federation of Independent Business and R Street Institute.

“Too many Florida cities are facing a bill they cannot pay without reducing public services or increasing taxes,” said Robert Weissert, chief research officer for Florida TaxWatch, in a release. “Our hardworking taxpayers and local government workers deserve a sustainable pension system that cities and their residents can afford. As government pensions become more generous, even surpassing pensions given to military retirees, they have plunged Florida’s municipalities into nearly $11 billion in debt that future taxpayers will be forced to pay.”

Bilirakis to host office hours
U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis will host office hours Aug. 27 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the Congressman’s Wesley Chapel office, 5901 Argerian Drive.

The office hours are part of his ongoing effort to solicit feedback from his constituents, according to a release.

Appointments, which are scheduled on a first-come basis, can be made by calling (727) 232-2921.

Poll workers needed for November elections
Energetic? Service-oriented? Then the Pasco County supervisor of elections may be looking for you.

Poll workers are needed for the general election Nov. 4. Positions are paid, but potential candidates will need to be able to stand, bend, stoop, lift approximately 30 pounds, and have normal vision and manual and physical dexterity.

Applicants also need to write and read English, have an email address, and be able to work the entire day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All positions receive mandatory paid training the month preceding the election.

For information, call (800) 851-8754, or visit PascoVotes.com.

Mobile hours for Ross
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, will host mobile office hours Sept. 9 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Lutz Library, 101 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road in Lutz.

Other dates in Lutz include Oct. 14 and Dec. 9.

For more information, call (863) 644-8215, or (813) 752-4790.

Free rides to the polls
Pasco County Public Transportation will do its part to help get out the vote by offering free rides to the polls on election days for the upcoming cycle.

The deal was worked out between PCPT and county elections supervisor Brian Corley, and was approved by the Pasco County Commission last week.

On election day Nov. 4, voters who present their voter information card will ride free to their local polling location. The goal is to encourage and promote participation in the election process, while also introducing public transportation as a viable option for travel throughout the county, said PCPT director Michael Carroll.

In return, Corley’s office will use available media advertising and respective websites to inform potential riders and voters how to access and navigate the transit system.

 

Robin Williams’ suicide sparks important conversations

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While the death of Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams has prompted expressions of sadness from around the globe, some local grief and suicide prevention experts said the loss also has stimulated important conversations.

Suicide-depression-r100When news hit that Williams had taken his own life Aug. 11, the celebrity’s death sparked discussions about suicide, mental illness and grief.

Williams’ death is tragic, but it has focused attention on a topic that many people would prefer to avoid, said Betsey Westuba, chairwoman of the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition.

“When I say the word ‘suicide,’ I find people will change the subject. I call it the ‘S-word,’ because people want to run away from it,” said Westuba, who also facilitates a group that meets in Lutz for people who have lost a loved one to suicide. “The point is, it’s real. It’s out there.”

To help combat the problem, people must become more alert to signs that others are thinking about suicide, and must be willing to step in to do what they can to help, she said.

Jason Tompkins, a licensed clinical social worker, said the death by suicide of a well-known personality, such as Williams, can serve as a catalyst to raise awareness to help prevent suicides.

“A high-profile suicide starts a lot of conversations with people who would not be having this conversation,” said Tompkins, who coordinates the annual International Survivors of Suicide Loss Conference.

While Williams’ death has received worldwide attention and prolonged media coverage, there have been hundreds of suicides around the country that have occurred since Williams died, Tompkins noted.

Up to 39,000 people die by suicide in the United States each year, Tompkins said. That works out to more than 100 people a day.

Deaths by suicide tend to raise many questions, Tompkins said.

“A lot of the questions that I hear in the aftermath of suicide: ‘Why did they do it? How come we couldn’t stop them? Didn’t they know that we loved them?’” Tompkins said. “Those are the types of questions that, years later sometimes, people wrestle with.”

Grief is a common reaction to deaths of all kinds, said Grace Terry, founder of Grief Resolution Resources of Tampa. It’s not uncommon, either, for people to feel a certain measure of regret for things they should or shouldn’t have done before their loved one passed away. Those regrets can be magnified when the death is by suicide.

“I believe that friends and families of those who die by suicide have a particularly difficult grief challenge,” Terry said. “No matter what the circumstance or situation, people who have loved ones die by suicide have a crushing sense of guilt.”

People wonder how someone like Williams — who was talented, rich and famous — could reach a point where he would end his life.

“When someone is incredibly depressed, it doesn’t matter how wealthy they are or how much fame they have,” Terry said. “Really, none of that matters if someone is clinically depressed.”

There are ways to help people — both those who may be considering suicide and those who are coping with the loss of a loved one through suicide — the experts said. Treatment is available, Terry said. And in many cases, those who seek professional help can get better.

“Depression can be mild, moderate or severe,” Terry said. There are times when it becomes life-threatening and life-ending, she added.

If you suspect someone needs help, it’s important to respond, Terry said.

“Express your concern in a loving way,” Terry said. Offer to go with them to see a doctor or attend a support group.

Be direct, Westuba said. If you suspect someone is suffering through depression, ask, “Are you suicidal? Are you having suicidal thoughts?” Then help them find professional help.

There are some actions to avoid, Terry said.

“Do not nag. Do not scold. Do not shame people,” she said. “Do not tell people, ‘Get a grip. Get over it.’ Or, ‘Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.’ That does more harm than good.”

Those who take their own lives generally have impaired judgment, said Terry, who at one point in her life was clinically depressed and considered ending her life.

“People who attempt to complete suicide are usually in so much emotional pain that they have no capacity to consider what pain their action might cause someone else,” she said.

The death of a comic genius that brought so much joy to others illustrates what a pervasive and potentially deadly force depression can be.

“What comes out of all of this is that we never know when someone is suffering suicidal thoughts,” said Westuba, who facilitates a group called Healing After a Loved One’s Suicide. “It’s a very complex situation.”

The group meets at Suncoast Kids Place in Lutz, which is part of Van Dyke Church. Westuba leads a group for adults, but another group for teenagers is expected to begin meeting in September.

Such settings can be helpful for people who are coming to terms with their loss and their grief, Tompkins said.

Even if there are no easy answers, he added, “It does seem very helpful and beneficial to be able to have a place to ask those questions.

“I think that it’s important to remember that grief is a process,” he said. “It’s not like a light switch” that can be easily turned off and on. “For many survivors, the sad part lives on for a long time.”

Suicide Hotline: (800) 273-8255
Local 211 hotline: Visit 211.org and enter your ZIP code to find help for all sorts of issues.

WHAT: Healing After a Loved One’s Suicide
WHO: Adults, 18 and older
WHEN: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the first and third Wednesday of each month
WHERE: 17030 Lakeshore Road, Building G, Lutz
COST: Free
INFO: Suncoast Kids Place, (813) 990-0216

Warning signs
People who die by suicide often show one or more of these warning signs before they take action:

• Talk about wanting to kill themselves, or say they wish they were dead
• Look for ways to kill themselves, such as hoarding medicine or buying a gun
• Talk about a specific suicide plan
• Feel hopeless or having no reason to live
• Feel trapped, desperate, or needing to escape from an intolerable situation
• Feel like they’re a burden to others
• Feel humiliated
• Have intense anxiety or panic attacks
• Lose interest in things, or lose the ability to experience pleasure
• Experience insomnia
• Become socially isolated and withdrawn from friends, family and others
• Acting irritable or agitated
• Show rage or talk about seeking revenge for being victimized or rejected, whether or not the situations seem real

Those showing these types of behavior should be evaluated for possible suicide risk by a medical doctor or mental health professional.

Source: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

August 20, 2014

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Water still the primary gold standard in Zephyrhills

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Long before there was a Zephyrhills, and even before there was a Pasco County, people would journey through the dense, dangerous Florida forests to find a small oasis near the headwaters of the Hillsborough River.

There they could find plenty of fresh, clean water bubbling up from the ground, always at a refreshing 72 degrees.

Kent Koptiuch is one of more than 11 natural resource managers Nestle Waters North America has hired to help maintain good water quality nationwide, while protecting natural resources like Crystal Springs just outside of Zephyrhills. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Kent Koptiuch is one of more than 11 natural resource managers Nestle Waters North America has hired to help maintain good water quality nationwide, while protecting natural resources like Crystal Springs just outside of Zephyrhills.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

The waters at Crystal Springs may not have had the healing and restorative powers some believed at the time, but it was certainly quite tasty. And by the time Zephyrhills itself was founded in 1910, the area already had a reputation for some of the best water in the state.

So it’s no wonder a businessman named Don Robinson saw the potential of turning that water into more than just a local commodity in the early 1960s, and Zephyrhills bottled water was born.

Today, hundreds of thousands of gallons of that commodity is shipped throughout the state. The plant, off 20th Street and Alston Avenue in Zephyrhills owned by Nestle Waters North America, employs 250 people making an annual average wage of $46,000. Another 900 more people or so have jobs related to the operation around Florida.

“It’s a great economic driver, but it’s also a great story for Zephyrhills to tell, and one it has told for decades,” said Vonnie Mikkelsen, executive director of the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

This year, Zephyrhills bottled water celebrates its 50th anniversary, continuing to put this small city of nearly 14,000 people it borrowed its name from on the map. Local historian and retired educator Madonna Wise remembers the first time she saw Zephyrhills water after moving to the area in the early 1970s.

“The whole phenomenon of bottled water was developed more in the 1990s, but I do recall a lot of businesses before that having that big bottle and drinking station,” she said. “Even then, you would pull out a small paper cup to get a little bit to drink, and it was fresh water from a place just down the road.”

The spring water operation of Zephyrhills requires an average of about 650,000 gallons of water per day from Crystal Springs, said Kent Koptiuch, a natural resource manager with Zephyrhills parent company Nestle Waters. It’s shipped directly from the spring on a more than three-mile journey in an underground 10-inch diameter stainless steel pipe.

Once it arrives at the plant, it goes through a complex purification and packaging process — but it can be ready to ship in less than 15 minutes.

“I grew up in the country, and we would drink our water out of a hose as kids,” Koptiuch said. “But if you look at history — especially ancient European, Asian and African history — people have been bottling water for thousands of years.”

Of course, those methods would have been in goatskins or sheep stomachs … not exactly the most appetizing way to make water portable.

“They didn’t have plastic bottles, but they still had to travel, and they had to carry water somehow,” Koptiuch said.

The springs naturally push out an average of 35 million gallons of water per day, literally turning a small stream near the site into the Hillsborough River.

While people no longer visited the springs hoping to be cured of ailments, Crystal Springs was a popular local recreational attraction for decades. However, when landowner Robert Thomas closed the springs in 1996, some residents in the 150 homes near the springs were outraged. They fought for years to reopen the springs to the public, and even tried to block Nestle’s ability to extract water from the site.

Today, the only remnant of those recreational days is a set of cement steps leading into part of the pooled water. The rest of the springs have been restored to their natural state and deeded over to an organization known as the Crystal Springs Foundation that created the Crystal Springs Preserve.

More than 50,000 students ranging in age from elementary school to college visit the springs every year. An indoor classroom nearby teaches them all about the environment, and even water ecology. And small wooden bridges give visitors a chance to see where the springs and the Hillsborough River interconnect.

“The most students we get are fourth- and fifth-graders,” Koptiuch said. “Our focus is to educate the youth because they are going to be our future leaders.”

Zephyrhills has been the “City of Pure Water” long before the bottling plant existed, but the business has helped solidify that slogan and made it even easier to market the city as a whole, the chamber’s Mikkelsen said.

“It’s an international brand anchored right here in Zephyrhills,” she said. “It’s clean manufacturing, and very high-tech. It’s exactly the kind of company you want to have, and we’re very fortunate that we already have them.”

Published August 20, 2014

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Metal detective sees beyond rusted bits of iron

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To a casual observer, the rusted railroad ties, old bits of metal, and scraps of steel may seem like stuff that should be carted off to a junkyard.

But for Tom Harden, these bits of rusted metal unearth stories of days gone by.

Tom Harden enjoys showing off items from his collection, and talking about the places where he found them and how the objects were used. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Tom Harden enjoys showing off items from his collection, and talking about the places where he found them and how the objects were used.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Harden, who is president of the West State Archeological Society, can pick up a rusted railroad spike and tell you about the trains that used to rumble down tracks in Lutz and Odessa, carrying lumber harvested from those communities.

He can hold old metal buttons — taken from a wooden “treasure box” — and recount how they popped off the dungarees of mill workers, and over time, were buried beneath the soil. He can show off a flattened shotgun shell casing that he estimates was fired somewhere around the 1870s.

With these metal props, Harden spins tales about the days when lumber was king in northern Hillsborough and central Pasco counties.

“A lot of the railroads that we have here would serve a lot of the logging towns,” Harden said, crediting much of his knowledge about the area to local history books written by Elizabeth Riegler MacManus and her daughter, Susan MacManus. Harden also credits accounts shared in “The History of Keystone, Odessa and Citrus,” a local history book edited by Henry C. Binder, a longtime civic activist.

Harden has spent decades hunting for treasures and finding clues that unlock the stories of men and women who settled here, worked here, had their families here, and moved on or were buried here, too. Equipped with a metal detector, he walks about easements of public roadways, or on occasions where he has permission, scouts out freshly dug construction sites, or on private lands.

He has a waterproof detector that he takes to the beach.

When Harden’s not actively detecting, he enjoys going to flea markets and swap meets to find items to add to his collection.

He has a penchant for signs, which decorate fences and buildings in his backyard. He also enjoys looking at artifacts from the past.

One of his most treasured finds is a historic photograph of the Dowling Mill in Odessa, at the northeast corner of Gunn Highway and State Road 54. He was so excited when he ran across that, Harden said he would have paid $100 for it. But it was priced at $35 and he managed to negotiate that down to $25.

Harden’s interest in treasure hunting began when he was a wee lad, and his fascination for history began early, too.

“I grew up in South Carolina,” he said, a place steeped in Civil War history.

Metal detecting came into his life during the Civil War’s centennial, which was commemorated from the late 1950s to early 1960s. A lot of people were getting into searching for objects from the war, and Harden joined in.

When he’s out with his detector, Harden occasionally finds a piece of jewelry or some coins. He also finds remnants of an earlier time — such as rusted parts of old machinery and other stuff of everyday life.

For instance, Harden has some old rusted irons. He picked one up and explained how they would “heat up the stove and set that rascal on the top and then, when it was all ready, they would press clothes with that. That was really labor intensive.”

But, he noted, “People paid attention to those details. They didn’t have the fabrics that we have today.”

He grabbed a trio of ax heads: “You will find these in the logging camps.”

But that’s not the only place. “You’ll find them elsewhere because people had to chop their wood,” Harden said. “They didn’t have the utilities that we have today.”

He has covers from old wood stoves, valves from steam engines, and parts of rakes, shovels, flywheels, and boilers.

As Harden talked about the history of Odessa, Lutz and Land O’ Lakes, he painted vivid pictures of life during the mill heydays.

“They would send the timber cruiser,” Harden said. “He would go out in the woods and mark pine that was worth cutting to bring back to the mill. Then you would get the logging crews that would go out there.

“A lot of the lumber businesses, especially the smaller ones, the ones you would see out here, just north on (U.S.) 41, in Lutz and Land O’ Lakes, and operating out of the forests to the east and west of 41. They might have mules that would skid the logs out, and they’d bring them up. There would be like portable sawmills.”

After the mills were gone, people took up citrus farming, Harden said. Many of those groves have since succumbed to blight, disease, winter freezes or residential development.

Subdivisions now stand where the scent of orange blossoms once perfumed the air.

Harden enjoys sharing the joy of discovery that can accompany metal detecting.

“When people go out and detect, I always tell them, ‘Dig up the iron. You never know what you’re going to find,’” Harden said.

It doesn’t even take a special trip to find interesting objects in the ground, Harden added.

“When you’re planting the plant in the ground or hoeing the row to plant the tomatoes, or whatever you’re going to plant — you might turn up that old iron object and wonder, ‘What is this? Where did it come from?’”

Anyone who wants to know more about metal detecting is welcome to come to a club meeting to find out more, Harden said.

“The club’s open to anyone who has an interest,” he said. “Guys, gals, children.”

He encourages people to come for a visit. Like him, they may just get hooked.

“It’s fun,” Harden said.

The West State Archeological Society meets the last Tuesday of each month at the Forest Hills Recreation Center, at 724 W. 109th Ave., in Tampa. Doors open at 7 p.m. The meeting runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Club fees are $25 a year per family.

Published August 20, 2014

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