The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

Giving the gift of vision, one pair of eyeglasses at a time

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Charley Chaney has been an optician for decades, helping others get a clearer view of the world.

Besides providing services to local customers, the owner of The Optical Shop and Showroom at 24444 State Road 54 in Lutz, also volunteers his skills to Living in Faith Ministry.

Lutz optician Charley Chaney has fabricated thousands of pairs of eyeglasses for poor people living in Haiti and Cuba. He volunteers his skills to a ministry called Living in Faith, based in North Tampa. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Lutz optician Charley Chaney has fabricated thousands of pairs of eyeglasses for poor people living in Haiti and Cuba. He volunteers his skills to a ministry called Living in Faith, based in North Tampa.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Rev. Russ Montgomery, president of Living in Faith Ministry, also is an optician. He met Chaney in 2006 through Professional Opticians of Florida.

Montgomery said Living in Faith began after he had visited Cuba in the mid-1990s and was handed some eyeglass prescriptions and asked if he could help.

“So, I went and paid full retail price to have the glasses made, and I said, ‘Lord, if this is what you want me to do, make it affordable,’” he said. “About six phone calls later, I was in touch with an optician up in Maryland and we started making glasses through him.”

During the past two decades, the ministry has branched into Haiti and has conducted eye exams and distributed more than 20,000 pairs of eyeglasses.

The ministry also tests for glaucoma and arranges cataract surgeries to be done by volunteer American-trained ophthalmologists. Montgomery trained so he could conduct eye exams and do glaucoma testing.

“When my friend in Maryland passed away, we used few other people (to make glasses), but our volume was too high for them,” he said. “And then I met Charley, and he’s been a huge blessing.”

When Chaney found out what Montgomery was doing, he got involved.

“It seemed worthwhile,” Chaney said. “When you hear the stories about how people can’t afford glasses, and you hear that they are sometimes led in by their arms. They’re 50 years old and they haven’t had an eye exam in their whole lives. Some of these people literally cannot see their hand in front of their face.”

The Lutz optician does the lab work, fabricating glasses from the orders Montgomery delivers.

“Out of all of the optical shops in the (Tampa) Bay area, this is the only one that’s helped us consistently,” Montgomery said. “We had one in Pinellas County that maybe made 20 glasses and they said, ‘That’s it.’ A couple of other ones might make 10 or 12 and that’s it.”

But Chaney will stay after hours to work on the ministry’s glasses, Montgomery added. Chaney’s experience and technical skills enable him to resolve difficult cases.

The ministry uses frames that are donated by various distributors, Montgomery said, noting, “we’ll get frames with price tags on them anywhere from $200 to $500.”

The ministry sells its eyeglasses in Haiti for $30 a pair, but will provide eyeglasses for free when someone simply has no means of paying, Montgomery said.

“We’re trying to give them something that’s functional and practical at a reasonable price,” Chaney said.

The need for vision assistance is enormous, Montgomery said.

“We’re seeing people who have extremely strong prescriptions. We’re getting a lot of people in that are 20/200,” he said, compared to normal vision, which is 20/20.

“We have people in Haiti that have not seen the night stars for years. With their glasses, they can see the beauty,” Montgomery said. “We’re a mile away from a mountain down there. We’ve got people who haven’t seen the mountain for years.”

Montgomery plans to travel to the mountains of Haiti, at 5,300 feet, specifically searching for people who have mature cataracts.

“We know they’re there. They’re probably stuck in their homes,” he said. “They can’t get out. Cataract surgery is a 20-minute surgery and it gives them new life.”

He believes Living in Faith is a ministry that offers people a chance to see God’s love in action.

“In the book of John, it talks about the blind man,” Montgomery said. “He’s been blind since birth. The Pharisees were asking, ‘Whose sin was it, the man or the parents?’

“Jesus said, ‘Neither, but his condition was such that when he was healed, the people would see the hand of God at work,” Montgomery said.

Published July 16, 2014

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Pass the Sash: Perkins named Lutz Guv’na

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The doctor is in.

Cindy Perkins, a chiropractor who lives and works in Lutz, won the annual Lutz Guv’na race, a campaign for the ceremonial title where all the money raised goes to local organizations.

Cindy Perkins was declared the new Lutz Guv’na on July 4 at the community’s Independence Day celebration. (Courtesy of Suzin Carr)
Cindy Perkins was declared the new Lutz Guv’na on July 4 at the community’s Independence Day celebration.
(Courtesy of Suzin Carr)

Perkins claimed the Guv’na sash by raising the most money during her campaign.

“I was very excited, and I still am. I was very shocked, actually,” said Perkins, owner of Back in Health Wellness Center on North Dale Mabry Highway in Lutz.

Her campaign win was no landslide victory, however. According to Eleanor Cecil, a member of the Lutz Civic Association, the race went down to the wire.

“It was very close. I really think it was the closest we’ve ever had,” she said.

In a campaign season where the five candidates raised almost $9,500, Perkins edged “Papa” Jay Muffly by less than $10. The totals were counted multiple times to ensure they were correct.

The funds raised by all the candidates will be distributed to local organizations. In the past, recipients have included Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Friends of the Lutz Branch Library, the Old Lutz School, the Civil Air Patrol, and the Lutz Patriots. Between 15 and 20 different groups will receive grants from the Guv’na race in a typical year.

Cecil, who has been involved with the race for about 13 years, said the money is only part of what makes the Lutz Guv’na race special. The entire event is supposed to be fun, and the candidates are expected to enjoy themselves while they work for the title.

And from what she saw, all five candidates — Perkins, Muffly, Liane Caruso, Jerome Smalls and Susan Gulash — did just that.

“I went to many of their events and I really think they had a good time with it, and they put in a lot of effort,” Cecil said.

She noted they also worked well as a group, hosting joint events to raise money and supporting each other throughout the race.

Perkins said she enjoyed meeting the candidates she didn’t know, and making stronger friendships with the ones she had already met. Her campaign raised more than $4,000 of the total, and said the money brought in shows the positive impact of the campaign on the community.

“To come close to raising $10,000 that’s all going to go back to different local schools and other nonprofits and charities, that’s fantastic,” Perkins said. “It really shows how a few people can kind of pull a community together.”

Even though the title has been passed, Cecil said that the previous Guv’na left some pretty big shoes to fill. Suzin Carr, who has been Guv’na twice, was very active in the role and even helped recruit the new batch of candidates to replace her.

“She did more than just be Guv’na. She helped us out a lot and took the lead in a lot of things,” Cecil said. ”She’s really a phenomenal lady.”

Perkins not only is ready to fulfill her traditional Guv’na duties, such as attending Lutz events, she’s taken Carr’s lead and started the recruitment process for the next batch of candidates.

“I’ve already started trying to talk some people into doing it next year,” she said.

Businesses or organizations in the Lutz community are welcome to apply for a grant as long as they are designated as a nonprofit and are not affiliated with a religious organization.

For more information on how to apply, e-mail Eleanor Cecil at .

Published July 16, 2014

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Outstanding journalists make for outstanding papers

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In the past few months I have used my column to boast about our recent industry audit, which reports that our newspapers have more readers than ever before.

Today I want to tell you why that is. But first, a brief recap.

Michael Hinman, news editor of The Laker/Lutz News, shows the two trophies he won for first place finishes at the Florida Press Association Better Weekly Newspaper Contest in Coral Gables last week. Hinman won for local government reporting and general news. ((Courtesy of Karel Ortiz-Tavarez)
Michael Hinman, news editor of The Laker/Lutz News, shows the two trophies he won for first place finishes at the Florida Press Association Better Weekly Newspaper Contest in Coral Gables last week. Hinman won for local government reporting and general news.
((Courtesy of Karel Ortiz-Tavarez)

According to this statistically valid research, The Laker/Lutz News is read by 79 percent of households in Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills — or more than 64,000 people every week.

This is a readership increase of 10 percentage points in the past five years — an achievement we are quite proud of, especially when considering most newspapers are reporting fewer readers, reducing frequency, shrinking in size, or being discontinued altogether.

So, what are we doing different here at The Laker/Lutz News to buck those downward trends?

It comes down to three things.

1. In our audit, we added questions that asked readers what types of news and stories they wanted to read in their community paper.

2. We accepted the survey results as fact and began focusing more on topics readers ranked as most important.

3. We hired additional professional journalists who are experienced reporters, excellent writers and passionate about community journalism.

It’s this third element I want to write about today.

After I became publisher in 2009, it took me a while to learn the importance of hiring the best reporters that I could find. I learned nothing is more important than experience and credibility when it comes to giving readers well-written, relevant stories that will engage them and keep them reading the paper.

Good writing and fair reporting builds readership and loyalty because readers know they can trust what they read in our papers because our stories are accurate, balanced and relevant to their interests.

Our journalists were accomplished writers and editors long before they joined The Laker/Lutz News. They know how to identify stories about interesting people and groups, how to pick through public meeting agendas to find stories buried between government hype, and perhaps most importantly, they know how to write well.

Frankly, it is a bit unusual for a newspaper our size to have such accomplished journalists. So let me tell you a little about our team, beginning with Michael Hinman.

Michael joined us last year as news editor. He has helped us add more serious hard and breaking news to our mix, and has brought daily news postings to our website.

His background includes five years writing for community sections of The Tampa Tribune, including editor of the Temple Terrace News before it was shuttered. More recently, Michael was a real estate reporter at the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

He first started covering Pasco County in 1997 when he was hired as a reporter for the Zephyrhills News, and later became its editor.

The quality of his work received recognition over the weekend in Coral Gables, where Michael picked up two prestigious statewide journalism awards from the Florida Press Association.

He received first place in best local government coverage for his outstanding coverage of the proposed elevated toll road along the State Road 54/56 corridor. He also took top honors in general news about a town hall last year hosted by U.S. Rep Gus Bilirakis, bringing to light major problems with flood insurance in our county.

Next is Community Editor B.C. Manion, whose byline has graced our pages for four years. She is our most experienced journalist, coming to us after 23 years with The Tampa Tribune, where she covered everything from city government to schools to regional planning.

But her love is writing about interesting people, organizations and places, and that’s mostly what she does for us. B.C. has been the leader of our editorial team as we’ve worked hard to improve the quality and depth of our stories.

B.C has received 11 awards from Florida Press Association while on our staff, and is one of the most respected journalists in Tampa Bay.

Michael Murillo joined us as a freelance writer last summer. We liked his work so much that he became an employee in the fall, writing most of our sports stories and also feature stories about people and things to do.

Michael also wrote editorials for the Tribune and spent many years as a reporter for local community newspapers. His wacky sense of humor makes him fun to work with, and his love for community journalism is contagious.

Mary Rathman is the reason our pages rarely have a grammatical mistake or typo. She scours our sentences, looking for any misplaced comma or misspelled word. She has a sign on her desk that says, “I am silently correcting your grammar,” and indeed, she is.

Besides proofing our work, Mary compiles three columns that provide useful information for our readers: What’s Happening, Health Notes and Chalk Talk. Mary is a respected and well-liked employee, who started working here more than 10 years ago. She also has served the company in other roles before using her talents to assist our editorial team.

While our editorial team is dedicated to delivering a newspaper and website that our readers can turn to for pertinent information and lively stories, we know that much of our best work begins with ideas we get from readers like you.

If you have an idea you’d like to share, please call (813) 909-2800, or email us at .

Published July 16, 2014

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Extra money coming to help Land O’ Lakes center

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After years of hard work and lobbying, the Pasco County Commission has taken the final step to expand and improve the Land O’ Lakes Community Center.

This stage could someday be a part of the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, which is the center of a $2.4 million expansion finalized by the Pasco County Commission. (Courtesy of Sandy Graves)
This stage could someday be a part of the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, which is the center of a $2.4 million expansion finalized by the Pasco County Commission.
(Courtesy of Sandy Graves)

In a unanimous vote last week, commissioners agreed to find an additional $500,000 for the project after bids came in higher than expected. The $2.4 million upgrades include expanding the existing building on the site to include the construction of a restroom, concession area and meeting room, as well as a picnic shelter, a small outdoor amphitheater, two softball fields, a hybrid football and soccer field, a basketball court, a mile-long trail and parking for 250 vehicles.

“Our park has waited a long time for this facelift,” said Sandy Graves, one of the community leaders who have championed improvements at the park, located at 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. “Thanks for making that dream become a reality today.”

Last year, commissioners put aside $1.9 million to make the improvements, and put the project out to bid in February. When the bids came back, however, Construction Technology Group Inc. of Plant City had the lowest bid at $2.24 million. Trias Construction LLC of Lutz was not far behind with a bid of $2.27 million, while the highest bid came from Cleveland Construction Inc., of Naples at $2.6 million.

Impact fees collected from parks in the central part of the county were funding the improvements, and commissioners were told no more funds were available to meet the $519,000 shortfall.

Assistant county administrator Heather Grimes recommended through her department that commissioners borrow from the capital improvement fund reserves, and then pay it back with park impact fees over the next two years.

Graves, however, had a different idea.

The county is sitting on $3.7 million of impact fees dedicated to a proposed project for Raymond James Financial. Since that project has yet to move forward, some of those dollars could be directed to the Land O’ Lakes project, Graves said.

Commissioners, however, disagreed.

“I would hate to see us start changing an agreement that we have with Raymond James,” Commissioner Ted Schrader said.

The St. Petersburg financial company announced in 2011 that it planned to build two 100,000-square-foot buildings on Wiregrass Ranch property, bringing 750 jobs to the county by 2024. Although some of those jobs were expected to come as early as this year, no work has begun at the site yet.

In the end, commissioners stuck with their original plan to borrow from reserves, giving the thumbs up to let the work finally begin.

Commissioner Pat Mulieri is grateful for the final vote, as she said it will free up some of her phone time now.

“That Land O’ Lakes group is tenacious,” the retiring commissioner said. “And Sandy, you don’t have to call me anymore.”

Published July 16, 2014

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Don Porter: He was a forward-thinker, with deep community roots

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When Don Porter was growing up in Wesley Chapel, he attended elementary school at a one-room schoolhouse and rode a bus to Dade City for high school.

Much has changed in the Pasco County community where he grew up — and Porter and his extended family have played a considerable role in creating that change.

Don Porter was described by state Rep. Will Weatherford as a ‘giant of a man.’ Porter died on July 1 at age 73. (Courtesy of the Porter Family)
Don Porter was described by state Rep. Will Weatherford as a ‘giant of a man.’ Porter died on July 1 at age 73.
(Courtesy of the Porter Family)

The memorial service to honor his life was July 12 in the conference center at Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, a satellite campus of Pasco-Hernando State College. The campus opened in January on 6 acres of the 60 acres of land the Porters donated to the college.

That campus is just one tangible sign of the forward-thinking and big picture approach that the entire family has used in making decisions regarding the development of thousands of acres they have owned for decades, Porter’s son, J.D. Porter, said in a recent interview.

The Shops at Wiregrass, a regional shopping mall, and Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, an 80-bed facility, are two other projects built within the 5,100-acre development of regional impact approved in 2006 on the Porters’ land.

Porter, the eldest son of the late James and Martha Porter, moved into Wesley Chapel in the 1940s, long before development hit the area.

He died on July 1, at age 73.

In personal interviews and during the memorial, family and friends described the kind of man Porter was.

They characterized him as a passionate fighter for justice, but also a patient listener. They said he was a deep thinker, a loving father and a faithful friend.

Porter enjoyed single malt scotch and Little Debbie snack cakes. He had musical tastes that ranged from Pavarotti to Dave Brubeck, had his own sense of style, and was a fierce competitor in everything from baseball to Scrabble to table tennis, they added.

State Rep. Will Weatherford said he was 26 and making his first run for state office when he met Porter. Over the past decade, Weatherford had numerous roundtable chats with Porter, his brothers, Tom and Bill, and his son, J.D. The men didn’t talk about what Wiregrass would look like in the next five to 10 years, Weatherford said. They took a much longer view.

“I never knew a man who could speak less and say more than Don Porter,” Weatherford said.

Whatever project they worked on together, “it was always about the long-term sustainability and legacy of this community,” Weatherford said.

“In my business, you get to meet a lot of families that have very large landholdings. It’s not rare for a family to have thousands of acres — there’s a lot them in the state of Florida,” Weatherford said. “But I’ve never met a family, I’ve never met a man — until I met Don — that was so keenly more focused on the future of his community than on how much money he would make off of it.”

While Porter was proud of the accomplishments in the development arena, he would resist being credited as the leader or the patriarch of the family, J.D. Porter said. That role belonged to Don’s father, James Porter.

J.D. Porter said his father, his uncles and the rest of the extended Porter family have shared a collective vision and a collective will for what has been done so far, and for the foundation that has been laid for future achievements.

“Development was a very important part of his life,” J.D. Porter said. “But if you had a top five list, I’m not sure it would make it.

“At No. 1 was family. It wasn’t just my mom, my sister and myself,” he said, but his dad also cared tremendously for his parents, his brothers and their families.

Porter’s daughter, Quinn Miller, recalled a father who taught her how to ride a bicycle, accompanied her to father-daughter dances, and was her biggest fan during her softball days.

Known for his deep, rich voice, Porter did some radio broadcasting in college and later in Zephyrhills. He also used those talents to announce Quinn’s softball and J.D.’s baseball games.

“He was the voice of Berkeley Prep softball,” Miller said.

Porter was quite the athlete himself. He held a baseball state record for years after striking out 20 of the 21 batters he faced during a championship. He attended Ole Miss on a baseball scholarship, and he used the signing bonus he received from the Houston Colt 45s to buy his family’s home on land now occupied by the hospital.

Miller said her dad taught her to think for herself. She remembers being frustrated by him when she would want to commiserate over a problem or disappointment, and he wouldn’t let her or offer her advice.

Instead, he listened and then asked her questions.

She now understands that he wanted her to arrive at her own solutions.

“He had a way of offering perspective by forcing introspection, not (offering) his opinion,” Miller said.

Porter’s cousin, Mike Gramling, and Porter’s friends Will Roberts, Doug Manson and Tom Touchton, also spoke at the memorial. When the Porters arrived in Wesley Chapel, there was no electricity and the family lived in a moonshiner’s cabin, Gramling said. Porter’s mother, Martha, prepared meals on a Coleman stove.

Porter learned to drive a tractor when he was 6, and he didn’t have a store-bought shirt until he went to college, Gramling said.

Roberts said they used to joke that Porter was “sweater-rich.”

“He had more sweaters than Bill Cosby,” Roberts said.

He recalled a time when Porter took him, his brother and J.D. to a basketball game at the University of South Florida Sun Dome. Porter was wearing a beret, a sweater, brown leather pants and black Italian zippered ankle boots.

“Nowadays, the sight of man dressed like that with three young boys might be cause for an Amber Alert. But that was Don in all of his glory,” Roberts said, drawing a roar of laughter from the nearly 240 at the memorial.

Manson was in his late 20s when he met Porter.

It was obvious, he said, that Porter’s life was centered on his family. The two men never had a conversation that didn’t begin with an update on their families.

When Manson had a problem he didn’t know how to solve, he turned to Porter, who would listen for as long as it took, whether that was a few minutes or hours.

“He showed me what friendship is,” Manson said.

Porter was a multi-dimensional man, with many interests, said Touchton, who knew Porter for about 60 years. One of his favorite poets was Lawrence Ferlinghetti, of the beat poet generation.

Porter especially liked Ferlinghetti’s “I am Waiting,” which repeated this phrase, “I am perpetually awaiting the rebirth of wonder.”

“I suggest Don has to wait no longer,” Touchton said, “because in leaving us, he has finally found his rebirth of wonder.”

Published July 16, 2014

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Learning more about the Moore you know

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Bob Moore is the kind of guy that likes to stay out of the way in the Paradise Lakes home he shares with wife Nancy. He paints, he sculpts. He collects stamps. And he makes regular trips back home to Canada to see his family.

Bob Moore, who retired to Paradise Lakes years ago, shows off a coat of arms he designed for the Regional Cadet Instructor School in Ontario, where he was a commander. This particular copy was signed off and approved by Queen Elizabeth II. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Bob Moore, who retired to Paradise Lakes years ago, shows off a coat of arms he designed for the Regional Cadet Instructor School in Ontario, where he was a commander. This particular copy was signed off and approved by Queen Elizabeth II.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

But Moore, however, has had a tough time staying out of the way of history. He served 39 years with the Canadian armed forces, signing up when he was just 17 just a few years after World War II. And along the way he ensured one Olympic Games in Montreal was properly supplied, and he designed a coat of arms for a military school that was personally signed off by Queen Elizabeth II.

Oh, and he won the Nobel Peace prize, too.

“I was part of one of the first peacekeeping operations in history,” Moore said, not minding at all that he’s shared this story many times before. “We were told that we would join a force of U.N. soldiers three days before Christmas. I barely had time to spend the holidays with my family.”

It was 1956, and Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser had taken control of the Suez Canal, a 120-mile artificial waterway that allows ships to travel between Europe and eastern Asia without having to sail around Africa.

The United Kingdom and France didn’t take the naturalization well, since they had a 100-year lease, and they joined forces with Israel to try and take back the waterway.

The United Nations knew something had to be done to prevent all-out war in the Middle East. So it pulled together military troops from nations that weren’t directly involved in the conflict, like Canada, and sent them in to help calm the situation down.

“We got to Halifax, and we boarded the HMCS Magnificent,” Moore said. “It was an aircraft carrier, but there was no aircraft for this voyage. Instead, the deck was strewn with all this equipment, and about 6,000 soldiers from 11 different countries.”

When the Magnificent arrived at the Suez Canal, Moore said he was shocked at what soldiers found. Nasser had blocked access to the canal by sinking a large number of ships at the entrance.

“I got there and looked from the deck of the aircraft carrier, and counted 36 sunken ships,” Moore said.

He was part of a contingent of troops that made their way across the Sinai Desert, following retreating Israeli forces. The trip was hard through the desert, especially since Israel was destroying roads and buildings on its way back.

The Israelis spared an old British air force base, which Moore camped out in for some time. It was riddled with bullet holes, and did not have much of a roof. At night, it would get cold, so they would use debris from the building to keep the fire going.

“When we ran out of wood there, we ended up burning the chairs we were sitting in,” Moore said.

In 1988, the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to give its Peace Prize to U.N. Peacekeeping forces. As part of that initial force, Moore received a small medallion celebrating the honor, which was later pinned to him in a ceremony that included Pasco County commissioner Pat Mulieri.

In his time traveling around the world, Moore picked up five languages, including Swahili, although he still doesn’t feel completely comfortable with French. He raised two sons on his own after his first wife died. Dwayne became a scientist and is now part owner of an environmental company in Maine, while Michael followed his father into the military, and is still there today.

Moore retired in 1991 when he was 57, and almost immediately found a home in Pasco County.

“I was always a nudist, and I was looking for some place where people lived who believed in the same,” Moore said.

He met Nancy while visiting Paradise Lakes from his then New Port Richey home, and they settled into their own condo at Paradise Lakes in 1998.

Moore may have accomplished a lot in his life, but he’s even prouder of what his children and grandchildren have accomplished, including one who just graduated from college.

“You’re nothing without education,” Moore said. “You got to have it, or you’ll be out there digging ditches and painting buildings. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with being a tradesman if that’s what you want to do, but it shouldn’t be what you have to do.”

He doesn’t actively sell his artwork, but if people want it, he’s willing to hear a price. Moore comes from a family with a strong artistic background; many of his siblings are artists, as well. In fact, a portrait painted by his brother featuring his mother and father, that had been on public display for years in Canada, hangs in his front foyer.

“Doing art was just a no-brainer for me,” he said. “It’s a way to express myself, and to share the beauty of the world with the world.”

Getting to know Bob Moore

Who was the world’s most influential military commander?
Alexander the Great was one of the most successful and innovative military leaders of our time. His strategies always surprised his opponents, especially where he was out-numbered and out-gunned.

What song will make you turn up the radio?
Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” or really anything from George Gershwin. But opera always moves me to tears, where I have them splashing down my face.

If you could sit anyone in history for a portrait, who would you pick?
Charles Darwin, because he created an area of science that actually answered all kinds of questions that people never could figure out before.

Published July 16, 2014

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When it comes to helping the homeless, she’s not too proud to beg

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In her previous role, Carol Scheckler delivered warm greetings to people when they dropped in at the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

But she stepped away from her job as administrative assistant at the chamber in May, and has since become president of The Samaritan Project, based in Zephyrhills.

Carol Scheckler, president of The Samaritan Project, said helping the homeless is her passion and mission. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Carol Scheckler, president of The Samaritan Project, said helping the homeless is her passion and mission.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The chamber job, she said, was her paycheck. The Samaritan job doesn’t pay Scheckler a dime.

“Now, I don’t have a paycheck, just a passion and a mission,” Scheckler told members of the East Pasco Networking Group at its July 8 breakfast meeting.

In fact, there are no paid positions in The Samaritan Project organization, she said.

“None of us get anything other than the reward of knowing we are helping some people,” said Scheckler, who became acquainted with the charitable organization when she was working for the chamber.

She learned about it through Tim Mitchell, who was president of the Zephyrhills chamber at the time, and president of The Samaritan Project as well.

“I met a lot of unique people, coming into the office, applying for assistance,” Scheckler said.

She felt compelled to get involved.

“My dad is a minister. I was raised that we were to help those less fortunate,” Scheckler said. “Not to turn our backs on them, not to stereotype them, but to help them.”

The Zephyrhills woman understands how it feels to struggle.

“When my husband and I moved up in 1982, we did it for a reason. We were losing everything,” she said.

Her husband, a semitrailer driver had been through two major gas wars.

“This was our fresh start,” Scheckler said. “That’s why this project is so important to me. I have been there. I know firsthand what it is to lose everything.”

The Samaritan Project has been helping people since 2008. It operates on donations and fundraisers.

“We assist people with past due rent and utilities,” Scheckler said.

The organization keeps its operational costs low.

“We do not pay rent. We have one overhead (cost), that is our Internet, because as you know in this day of technology, everything relies on the Internet.”

The project has spent more than two years in the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Education Building in Zephyrhills in 500 square feet of space, including the bathroom and air-conditioning room.

“My private office is the bathroom,” she said, noting whenever she has to make a private call to a landlord or utility company or somewhere else, she steps into the bathroom to do it.

But the organization is moving to much larger quarters at 5722 Eighth St., in Zephyrhills. Last week, the Samaritan Project signed a two-year lease, rent-free lease for the 1,400-square-foot home, thanks to the generosity of a local couple.

In addition to its own fundraising efforts, the organization received a $76,000 Emergency Solutions Grant earlier this year from the Florida Department of Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“With this grant, we are able to get them into housing,” Scheckler said. “We can pay their first month’s rent, we can pay their electric deposit, water deposit, the security deposit.”

There is a drawback, though. The organization must raise matching funds for the grant money it spends, Scheckler said. The grant also requires applicants to fill out a form that’s about 20 pages long.

“We don’t make the rules. We strictly abide by the rules,” she said.

Still, the project is thrilled to be able to help more people, Scheckler said. The grant is aimed at preventing homelessness and getting people without housing back into homes.

Sixty percent of the grant is earmarked for getting people back into housing, she said, and the need is great.

“We had 151 homeless, registered students, just in Zephyrhills,” Scheckler said. At any given time, there are 1,500 to 2,000 registered homeless students in Pasco County.

One of the biggest challenges is finding a place for these people to live thanks to past evictions and credit issues, she said. “Landlords won’t step up.”

“If you know landlords who own property, ask them to trust us,” Scheckler said. “Our organization is backing these people. We follow them for six months. I do a case management every 30 days on everyone that we assist.”

Despite challenges, Scheckler said her volunteer work has moments of sheer joy.

“The biggest thing is, when you walk up to this client and you go, ‘Here’s your lease,’” she said, with her voice breaking and tears in her eyes, “I do get real emotional.”

A couple of weeks ago, the organization moved a young woman and her father into an apartment. The woman has special needs and the pair had been living in a truck.

“Habitat for Humanity stepped up and donated the furniture,” Scheckler said. “When I walked them in the apartment, I told (them), ‘This is yours. This is all yours. The furniture. The TV. Everything.’ How do you put a price on something like that?”

While many youths are couch-surfing to keep a roof over their heads, there also are elderly people who are in desperate need, Scheckler added.

“We have an 87-year-old woman who couldn’t pay her water bill. She was living off of pool water, drinking water out of a pool,” she said. “Did we step up and help her? Absolutely.”

After telling the group about The Samaritan Project’s mission, Scheckler went into her fundraising mode.

“Any of you women in here wear jewelry?” she asked, to set up a pitch for a fundraiser planned for Aug. 10. She also urged them to get involved in the Harvest Festival, another fundraiser on Nov. 1, or to hit the links on Feb. 7, at its annual golf benefit.

Scheckler frequently speaks at churches and civic organizations to drum up support for the cause.

“What we really, really, really need is support of the community,” she said. “Our motto is ‘Working together to make a better community.’ That’s what we want to do.”

And Scheckler said she’ll do whatever she can to make that happen.

“I am not too proud to beg,” she said. “I can cry. I can do whatever it takes.”

For more information
To help The Samaritan Project, based in Zephyrhills, or to get help from the organization, call (813) 810-8670.

Published July 16, 2014

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Pies, cakes raise $1,100 for local Lutz charities

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Picture, if you will, patriotic table settings spread neatly beneath rows of baked pies and cakes in the Lutz Senior Center.

The scent of these treats permeates the building as the contest’s judges and former Lutz Guv’na Suzin Carr bite into the delicious array of desserts.

This pie, baked by Tracy Gaschler, is a 5-pound apple pie from last year’s Centennial celebration in Lutz. She was back again this year, with another 5-pound apple pie. (File Photo)
This pie, baked by Tracy Gaschler, is a 5-pound apple pie from last year’s Centennial celebration in Lutz. She was back again this year, with another 5-pound apple pie.
(File Photo)

That was the scene on the Fourth of July as 44 entries competed in the annual cake and pie contest during the community’s Independence Day celebration.

This year, the auction for the culinary delights raised $1,100 — more than in recent years, said contest coordinator Marilyn Wannamaker.

“I think the contest this year was a success,” Wannamaker said.

Danny Neeley, winner of the men’s only category in the adult division, baked a pineapple upside down cake to honor his father.

Wannamaker didn’t sample any of the sweets, but she had her eye on a couple.

“I would’ve wanted to take a bite out of the chocolate cake or Tracy Gaschler’s apple pie,” Wannamaker said.

She was impressed by the detail of some of the entries. Cate Hancock used white Kit Kats, ribbons and sparklers to create an effect that captured the most patriotic category in the youth division. She also was the Guv’na’s and judge’s favorite.

Wannamaker believes a change this year to create a new category to split younger kids from older kids gave the younger kids a better chance to capture a ribbon.

Wannamaker, who plans to step down from her role as contest coordinator, said she enjoyed this year’s competition.

“I was very honored to have hosted the contest this year,” she said. But Wannamaker hinted that while she may be stepping away for now, it might not be forever.

And the winners are …

Adult Division
Debbie May, best decorated
Wilma Lewis, most patriotic
Shirley Simmons, best tasting
Danny Neeley, men’s only
Tracy Gaschler, best pie tasting
Sharon Brant, Guv’na’s favorite
Wilma Lewis, judge’s favorite

Youth Division
Abigail Brazier, best decorated
Catelyn Payne, best tasting
Cate Hancock, Guv’na’s favorite, judge’s favorite, most patriotic

Children’s Division
Sarah Robison, best decorated, judge’s favorite
Alexander Pramsberger, most patriotic
Lucy Bazin, best tasting

– Ashley Schrader

Published July 16, 2014

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Seeking seniors: Sports group offers fun times, friendship

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Seniors might live a less-active lifestyle than they did when they were younger, but Walt Bockmiller thinks they still have time for softball, golf, tennis, bowling and maybe volleyball.

If not all of those activities, maybe one or two of them.

Whatever sport a senior might enjoy, Walt Bockmiller probably has something on the schedule for them. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)
Whatever sport a senior might enjoy, Walt Bockmiller probably has something on the schedule for them.
(Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)

Bockmiller, a Land O’ Lakes resident, started Senior Sports in 2011, and he organizes regular events for older residents that include a wide variety of activities. Whatever people choose to do, there are plenty of benefits in getting out and being active, he said.

“It’s an opportunity for them to get out and start doing something rather than just being home shopping or watching TV,” Bockmiller said. ”It gives them an opportunity to meet people in a different kind of environment.”

Bockmiller began Senior Sports by setting up softball leagues, since many people have some experience with baseball or softball in their youth. That starting point proved extremely popular, and he now has around 90 participants for those games. Counting tennis, bowling and golf, Senior Sports boasts more than 150 participants, and he said that tennis could prove to be the most popular of them all.

While softball is designed for men and women ages 60 and older, the other sports don’t have an age limit. He said players could be in their 40s through their 80s. The oldest softball player turned 90-years-old last month.

At 71 years old himself, Bockmiller might be expected to ease up on his schedule, but it’s simply not in his nature. He worked in recreation and leisure services management, and over his 47-year career, Bockmiller organized several activities, both with and without sports themes.

While he expected the participants to enjoy Senior Sports, he didn’t expect them to have quite as much fun as they’re having. He said people are “finding their smile,” and area residents who normally didn’t get out much are making friends and planning get-togethers off the field or court. Participants often go out to dinner, plan outings to see the Tampa Bay Rays, and even go on cruises together, Bockmiller said.

Senior Sports is about sports, naturally, but without a focus on the competitive side. Instead, Bockmiller keeps the focus on having fun, giving out awards that are earned by good sportsmanship instead of athletic skill. Softball might appeal to more physically fit participants, while bowling is available for those who might not have that level of ability. Or, people can simply sign up to play whatever appeals to them.

The activities are designed to be inexpensive and occur during various dates and times, allowing more seniors to participate. But whether a person plays every available activity or selects their favorite, or simply wants to meet new people, Bockmiller said they’ll come away with some fun memories and good people to share them.

“There are a lot of friends that come out of this stuff. Some of my friends in tennis and golf, especially tennis, are friends for life,” he said. ”There’s a commonality that you have, and because of that you have a lot of laughs over the years. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Co-ed slow-pitch softball is played from September through December, and again from mid-January through mid-April. Golf is played on a variety of courses year-round on Wednesdays. Bowling is played year-round in Lutz on Thursdays. Tennis and volleyball are new to the schedule.

For more information about Senior Sports, contact Bockmiller at (813) 527-8211.

Published July 16, 2014

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Business Digest 07-16-14

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Kaufman joins father’s practice
Dr. Jon Kaufman has joined the Kaufman Eye Institute, which has offices located in Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Sun City Center and Bushnell.

He is the son of Stuart Kaufman, the medical director and founder of the institute, and is a Cornell fellowship-trained surgeon.

The younger Kaufman grew up in Tampa, and is a graduate of Berkeley Preparatory School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan, and his medical training at Rush Medical College in Chicago.

For information, call (855) 733-2378.

Dental office opens in Wesley Chapel
Drs. Johella Liguori and Sarina Bhole have opened a new dental office, Wiregrass Family Dental Care.

It’s a new full-service dental practice at 2066 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

For information, visit WiregrassFamilyDentalCare.com, or call (813) 528-8797.

Williams moving to Carrollwood
Gary Williams has become the market manager for the Carrollwood office of Bay Cities Bank, ending a long tenure in the Lutz and Land O’ Lakes area.

“My years at the Lutz office have been very rewarding, and I will miss seeing my clients on a weekly basis,” Williams said, in a release. “However, I will continue to be involved in helping the Lutz/Land O’ Lakes communities grow.”

Amy Underwood has been promoted to assistant vice president and market manager. She has been with the bank since 2003.

Nancy Gordon, who has worked both as a manager and a commercial lender, will also turn her focus full-time on commercial lending.

Williams will be based at 14877 N. Dale Mabry Highway, and can be reached at (813) 637-2420.

Dash to speak at Women-n-Charge meeting
Women-n-Charge will meet Aug. 1 at 11:30 a.m. at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive, in Tampa.

The meeting will feature guest speaker Kellye Dash, owner of The Busy Buddy, talking about how to manage email.

Cost is $15 for members who RSVP the Tuesday before the meeting, and $18 for all guests and after the deadline for members.

To register, visit Women-n-Charge.com, or call (813) 600-9848.

Grand opening for CareerSource
CareerSource Pasco Hernando will have a grand opening and ribbon cutting July 16 beginning at 10 a.m. at its new location, 15000 Citrus Country Drive, Suite 303, in Dade City.

It is hosted by the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce.

For information, visit CareerSourcePascoHernando.com.

New builder at Silverado Ranch
Highland Homes has started to offer homes in the Zephyrhills community of Silverado Ranch off Eiland Boulevard.

The homes, which start at $170,000, range in size from 1,508 to 3,315 square feet, between three to five bedrooms, and two to three bathrooms.

For information, visit HighlandHomes.org.

Ribbon-cutting for Nana Jo’s
Nana Jo’s Café, 14748 U.S. 98 Bypass in Dade City, will have a grand opening and ribbon cutting July 26 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., hosted by the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce.

The event will include live music by DC Country, barbecue chicken and more.

Cost is $8 for adults, $6 for children.

Wesley Chapel chamber heading to Tuscany
The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce is planning a nine-day trip to Tuscany, Italy.

The trip is planned to begin Oct. 20, and space is limited.

For information, call (813) 994-8534, or email .

Marketing summit in Tampa
The Tampa Bay Marketing Summit will take place Aug. 8 beginning at 8:45 a.m., at Mainsail Conference Center, 5108 Eisenhower Blvd., in Tampa.

The event is hosted by EMSI in Wesley Chapel, which provides news content for print and online news outlets, as well as television and radio talk shows.

For information, visit TampaBayMarketingSummit.com, or call Marsha Friedman at (727) 443-7115, Ext. 201.