Local News

Proud to report more readers than ever before

May 15, 2014 By Diane Kortus

About this time every year, I write a column about our annual circulation and readership audit. I use this audit to talk about the number of papers we print and deliver, and more importantly, how many people regularly read The Laker or Lutz News.

In the free newspaper industry, Circulation Verification Council has been verifying circulation and readership since 1992. Today it audits more than 2,000 publications with more than 55 million in circulation, including The Laker and Lutz News.

Well, it’s audit time again, and our numbers are even better than they were a year ago. Our circulation has increased by 3.8 percent to 42,600, and our readership grew by 3 percent to give us 79 percent household penetration.

Most newspapers would be thrilled with 60 percent household penetration — a percentage most publishers have not seen since before the Internet explosion of news. For our papers to be at 79 percent household penetration is enviable, and one we’re very proud to report.

To put our circulation growth in perspective, earlier this month most daily newspapers in Florida reported circulation drops by the auditing company they use. Close to home, the Tampa Bay Times reported its mid-week circulation was down 7 percent, while The Tampa Tribune showed no growth after accounting for the circulation gain of a weekly paper it bought in Clearwater April 2013.

As proud as we are about our audit and the gains we’ve made this past year, I realize you may think these numbers a bit boastful and not really relevant to your life.

It probably doesn’t matter to you whether we throw 10,000 papers or 50,000, just as long as your paper is thrown in your driveway or dropped at your newsstand every Wednesday. You get to decide each week if you want to take the time to read the stories and look at the ads from local businesses.

It’s our job to make sure your paper has stories and information that are relevant and you find interesting to read. And it’s our job to make sure you can count on your paper to be delivered every week so reading it becomes a habit.

In addition to circulation verification, the audit gives us demographical information about our readers, which we use to choose the stories we write.

We know that 57 percent of our readers are women, that 42 percent are between the ages of 35 and 54, and another 41 percent are over 55. Our readers are well educated (74 percent have attended or graduated from college) and affluent (30 percent have household incomes above $100,000, and another 20 percent above $75,000).

The audit also surveys readers and asks what types of stories they want to read. That’s why we write a lot about growth and development, things to do and stories about people and organizations in our communities. We’ve worked hard this past year to bring you more stories about topics that interest you.

This year’s audit is, as they say, proof in the pudding that we’ve improved. It’s independent confirmation that we’re doing a good job, and that the changes we’ve made in our news coverage this past year have resulted in increased readership.

And this is tremendously gratifying to my staff and I because we love what we do. Nothing is more emotionally satisfying than to know that our hard work is appreciated, and that we make a difference in the community where we work and live.

Published May 14, 2014

New community could create traffic chaos for Silver Lakes residents

May 15, 2014 By Michael Hinman

While a development review committee headed by Pasco County administrator Michele Baker was focused on how fast boats should travel on a private lake, Bobbi Smith had a much bigger concern about a proposed new community near Caliente Resorts in Land O’ Lakes.

More agricultural land in northern Land O’ Lakes could be history if Pasco County approves the rezoning of more than 68 acres just off Fletch Road south of Caliente Boulevard. Southern Crafted Homes wants to build 100 homes there off Curve Lake. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo) — More agricultural land in northern Land O’ Lakes could be history if Pasco County approves the rezoning of more than 68 acres just off Fletch Road south of Caliente Boulevard. Southern Crafted Homes wants to build 100 homes there off Curve Lake.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

“The thing is truly the safety issue of getting in and getting out,” said Smith, who lives on a small rural road just off U.S. 41 in the community of Silver Lakes. That street, barely wide enough to hold a single car, could carry traffic from another 100 houses if Southern Crafted Homes is allowed to build on more than 68 acres around Curve Lake.

The land is owned by John and Theresa Edwards, and is filled with old orange groves at the gravel end of Fletch Road. About 40 homes are currently located near the lake on Fletch and Barcellona roads, which all exit to a busy, four-lane Land O’ Lakes Boulevard. And even with the smaller number of homes, there’s no traffic light, so cars typically back up on Barcellona as traffic looks to get out on the busy thoroughfare.

“There’s no way you can have all those homes, and have just one road to get out,” Smith said.

But if Southern Crafted Homes is going to build homes, they’ll also have to build upgraded streets along Fletch and Barcellona that will accommodate higher traffic loads, Baker said during a recent development review meeting. Upgrades would include two distinct lanes of traffic, and even curbs.

The new community also could be required to consider building roads across neighboring properties, known as interconnects, which would link the new Edwards community to Caliente Boulevard to the northwest and Ehren Cutoff to the east. However, those roads won’t happen until neighboring parcels are developed into homes, and Smith and others already living in Silver Lakes say that development there could be decades off, if ever.

That brings the focus back to Fletch Road, which was partially paved in the late 1990s when the Silver Lakes community was built. A traffic analysis says Fletch is in good shape, county officials said, so Southern Crafted wouldn’t have to do anything with the paved portion of the road.

Baker, however, was concerned that a 15-year-old road shouldn’t be ignored in an upgrade, especially if traffic is going to increase significantly on it.

“That is going to be their only access point,” Baker said during the development review meeting.

When the road does require repaving, Silver Lakes residents would have to carry the cost burden and not the new community, she added.

Southern Crafted already would be responsible for upgrading roads at no cost to the existing residents, so they would pay their fair share, assistant county attorney David Goldstein said.

The development is “paying to bring the entire road” up to standards, he said. Silver Lakes residents are “getting a new road basically for free from these people, so why should they have to pay more in the future when they are paying to upgrade it now?”

How that would be resolved will have to wait until the next step in the review process, however. Baker and the rest of her development review committee agreed to pass that issue to the construction plan review committee, which would consider the proposal if the county commission approves rezoning to allow the new community.

Smith, who attended the meeting, said she’ll be back to address her traffic concerns again.

“The community has a right to safety and transportation in and out, otherwise none of this would be a big deal,” Smith said. “Everyone has the right to build, but we also have a right to come and go safely.”

Published May 14, 2014

Land O’ Lakes art student wins a trip to Washington

May 15, 2014 By B.C. Manion

There’s a lot more to the portrait of Kris Keppel than meets the eye.

No doubt the pencil drawing is an excellent likeness of the Land O’ Lakes coach, who has led the high school’s track and cross-country teams for more than two decades.

Trevor Nichols won Best of Show in Gus Bilirakis’ Congressional Art Competition for this pencil drawing of Land O’ Lakes High School coach Kris Keppel. (Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis) — Trevor Nichols won Best of Show in Gus Bilirakis’ Congressional Art Competition for this pencil drawing of Land O’ Lakes High School coach Kris Keppel.
(Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis)

The quality of the work is so good that a professional artist judging U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis’ Congressional Art Competition deemed it best of show.

By winning the competition, Nichols will get to travel to Washington, D.C., with one of his parents. They’ll get a tour of the White House and Capitol building, and will get to have lunch in the Congressional dining room. His art will be in the Capitol building for the next year.

Nichols, who is a senior at Land O’ Lakes High, is pleased by the recognition, and excited about getting to see Washington. When he began drawing the portrait, however, he had another goal in mind.

“I really wanted to give my coach something as a gift, something he could have to remind him of me,” said Nichols, who, along with his twin brother Travis, has been on Keppel’s track team for four years and his cross-country team almost as long.

The coach also is a neighbor of the Nichols, and a family friend.

The gesture is particularly poignant because Keppel has been battling pancreatic cancer, a fact that has inspired athletes and friends to rally behind him.

“After everything he’s been going through with the cancer, I thought it was something I should do,” said Nichols, who based his portrait on a photograph that his mom took at the state track meet in Tallahassee.

Trevor-coach keppel image

Nichols credits his art teacher, Cynthia Smith, for helping him develop his ideas and pushing him to keep him on track.

Keppel was flattered by the portrait and impressed by the amount of detail. He said it’s not the first time that Nichols has used his artistic talents on behalf of others, noting the youth has designed two T-shirts used by the team.

Keppel is recovering from a surgery known as the Whipple procedure, which involved cutting into his stomach, taking out his gallbladder, and removing about one-third of his pancreas.

He knows the survival statistics are grim for patients with pancreatic cancer, but he’s keeping an optimistic attitude.

“Remaining positive is the most important thing,” Keppel said.

Nichols is the son of Lynn and Penny Nichols. He plans to attend the University of South Florida and pursue a degree in architecture.

Published May 14, 2014

Plans for elevated toll road collapse, but battle not over

May 15, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Jason Amerson was caught flat-footed when he first learned that a private company planned to build an estimated $2.2 billion elevated toll road in front of his Stonegate home.

Carlos Saenz and Michele Sakalian plant signs for a planned Pasco Fiasco rally that was supposed to take place next week at Sunlake High School. The rally, however, was indefinitely postponed after the Florida Department of Transportation killed the private elevated toll road proposal for the State Road 54/56 corridor. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo) — Carlos Saenz and Michele Sakalian plant signs for a planned Pasco Fiasco rally that was supposed to take place next week at Sunlake High School. The rally, however, was indefinitely postponed after the Florida Department of Transportation killed the private elevated toll road proposal for the State Road 54/56 corridor.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

He vowed to stop the road before the first surveys could even be done. And over the weekend, Amerson finally had a chance to celebrate when Florida Department of Transportation secretary Ananth Prasad officially killed the project.

But as vocal as Amerson’s group, Pasco Fiasco, had become to protest the project, it was actually International Infrastructure Partners who hastened its own demise when it shifted gears and started to ask FDOT for taxpayer assistance to fund the project. That was just too much for Prasad to hear, especially with public sentiment against the road growing.

“He came to the conclusion that the project does not look very promising,” FDOT spokesman Dick Kane said last week. “The reason, he said, was that when they looked into the financials of the unsolicited proposal, it was not what we were initially led to believe.”

When Kane shared Prasad’s thoughts, the toll road project was not dead, but it was dying. Pasco Fiasco moved forward with a planned rally at Sunlake High School for next Monday. The door had been left open for more negotiations, but all of it came to an abrupt end last Friday.

“The department was unable to reach an agreement with International Infrastructure Partners LLC on a framework of financing and various design concepts for the corridor that would be acceptable to all parties and address the concerns of the local community,” Prasad said in a release Friday. “In absence of this framework, advancing this project would not make any sense.”

That decision forced Pasco Fiasco to make one of its own, indefinitely postponing the planned rally, which was being funded from the pockets of its members. Even if the rally had gone forward, it would’ve been money well spent, Amerson said.

“We all are finding that with every dollar we spend, we’re going to get a return of 10 times that in home value savings,” Amerson said. “I’d rather spend $200 now than $40,000 to $50,000 in home value losses later.”

International Infrastructure Partners, or IIP, first expressed an interest in building what would’ve been Florida’s first private toll road in June 2013. It submitted a proposal to FDOT, which controls the rights of way along the State Road 54/56 corridor between Zephyrhills and New Port Richey, where it would build a 33-mile expressway similar to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway in Tampa. Using private money, IIP would collect tolls from travelers to help pay for the cost. All they needed was FDOT to give up the rights of way along the corridor to make it happen.

Yet, throughout the process, FDOT made it clear they would not move forward without the blessing of Pasco County, although it didn’t officially need it. County commissioners gave a blessing late last year to study the proposal more, but in February, Commissioner Henry Wilson came out against the project. He was joined in April by commission chair Jack Mariano.

However, this might not be the end for Pasco Fiasco.

“We’re not high-fiving each other or doing our end zone victory dances just yet,” Amerson said.

County administrator Michele Baker said even with the elevated toll road gone, something is going to have to be done with the corridor as more and more cars look to go east and west through southern Pasco.

“Pasco County will continue to engage the public and move forward with its analyses and studies in order to determine how to manage future congestion on the State Road 54/56 corridor,” Baker said in a statement last week.

That means taking a close look at the long-range transportation plan, which is set for adoption in December.

Richard Connors, one of the founders of Pasco Fiasco, says that means there’s more work ahead of them.

“It’s a victory,” he said. “But we still have a long way to go.”

Published May 14, 2014

Pepin Academies expands into Pasco County

May 15, 2014 By B.C. Manion

Pepin Academies, an institution that educates students with learning disabilities, is accepting applications for its new charter school location in Pasco County.

The school, which will begin classes Aug. 18, serves students who have learning or learning-related disabilities.

The Pepin Academies Inc. of Pasco County has been receiving applications from all over Pasco County, and is open to students from outside Pasco County as well, if the parents receive the necessary “out-of-county” paperwork from the district where their child lives.

The school, which was founded in 1999, already has two locations in Hillsborough County — one on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, and the other in Riverview.

Principal Celeste Keller, an educator with decades of experience, will lead the school. She’s been at Pepin for more than nine years, serving as director of the school’s elementary school in Hillsborough, director of its transition school for 18-to-22 year-olds, and most recently, as director of student services.

The Pasco County School Board approved a 15-year charter contract with Pepin Academies, based on its nonprofit status, its track record in Hillsborough, and its intention to secure funding for a permanent building. If substantial progress isn’t made to secure the funding for the school building, the school board could reduce the term of the charter to a maximum of five years, according to a board action taken Feb. 18.

Patty O’ Brien of Zephyrhills said her daughter Paige, 14, has attended Pepin’s school in Hillsborough, but will make the switch to the Pasco location.

“I’m looking forward to this for her because she’s very excited about this new school,” O’Brien said. “I’m very happy with Pepin.”

O’ Brien noted the school concentrates on what her daughter is able to do and builds on that. That wasn’t true in St. Louis, where the family used to live, she added.

By acknowledging her daughter’s strengths, the school has helped her daughter build a sense of self-confidence, O’Brien said, noting her daughter has many challenges. She’s hearing impaired, has autism and has attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

The tuition-free charter school in Pasco initially will operate out of a leased space at 9750 Little Road in New Port Richey. That building has a maximum capacity for 325 students. The school will serve students in third through 10th grade. It will add additional years as it continues operations, but has no current plans to teach children younger than third grade.

The school does not provide transportation, but it will help parents arrange carpools.

In Hillsborough, the school works with Ozzie Saez with Kids Door to Door. Saez currently provides pick-up and drop-off services for some parents. There is a fee, and the family contacts Saez directly to set it up.

Students attending Pepin must have a learning disability which may include: Asperger syndrome, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, educable mentally handicapped, pervasive development delay, or a medical condition that affects learning, such as Tourette syndrome.

Pepin offers students an opportunity to seek a standard or special diploma.

The school’s philosophy focuses education not only on students’ academic needs, but also on their social and emotional needs. Besides accepting student applications, it also is accepting for teaching and staff positions.

To find out more about those positions, check Pepin’s website at PepinAcademies.com.

Published May 14, 2014

New surgery option eases recovery for hysterectomy patients

May 15, 2014 By B.C. Manion

Dr. Pamela Twitty made history on April 30 at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North by becoming the first surgeon in Tampa to perform a single-site robotics-assisted hysterectomy.

The type of surgery had been performed previously in Clearwater and St. Petersburg, but not in Tampa, Twitty said.

She used a da Vinci robotic system to perform the surgery, controlling instruments from a console in the operating room.

In traditional hysterectomy surgery, doctors make a five- to seven-inch incision in the woman’s abdomen and remove the uterus through the laceration. That approach leaves noticeable scars and requires a month or two of recovery, Twitty said.

But with robotics-assisted surgery, recovery is quicker with less post-operative pain because it’s less invasive, and it reduces scarring as well.

Twitty performed the surgery on Land O’ Lakes resident Hollie Morris.

“I was pretty excited about it,” the 35-year-old said.

Morris didn’t have any misgivings about being Twitty’s first patient for this procedure because she had an established relationship with the doctor.

“I love Dr. Twitty. I trust her completely,” Morris said.

When Twitty explained the procedure, Morris said she could sense the doctor’s excitement about performing a surgery such as this. At the same time, Twitty wanted to make sure Morris was completely comfortable with the approach.

Morris found the prospect appealing for numerous reasons, she said. For one thing, since she has children, it was important for her to recover quickly and get back to the business of daily life. Secondly, she’d prefer not to have a large scar.

The surgery is done with a small cut in the naval.

“You can’t even see it,” Morris said.

Although she has felt some soreness, Morris said she’s sure she would have felt more pain if she’d had additional cuts.

“The day after surgery, I was up walking around,” Morris said.

In traditional hysterectomies, the size of the scar can vary based upon the surgical procedure that is used, the patient’s anatomy, and what needs to be done, Twitty said. The single-site option may be especially appealing to women in Florida, where swimming and going to the beach are popular pastimes.

“A lot of our patients in this area and in surrounding areas are interested in still being able to wear their swimsuits and their bikinis,” Twitty said. They want to be able to be out in the sun without any sign of their surgery.

The less invasive procedure also typically means less time in the hospital, Twitty said.

With a traditional hysterectomy, the hospital stay is two to four days. With the new surgery, it is often an overnight stay, or in some cases, they can leave the same day.

“And, healing and post-operative pain is typically less,” Twitty said. “You have a much smaller incision. It’s in a location where there’s less tension on the incision. There’s an expedited return to daily life because there’s less recuperation time, less pain.”

Twitty believes this type of surgery will become more commonly used as doctors are trained in using the technology and more patients become aware of it.

“I’ve already started talking to a number of my patients about this technology and being able to offer it,” Twitty said. “They are absolutely excited about it.”

Although robotic surgery itself has been around for about a decade, single-site technology — where one incision is made through the belly button — is a process that’s only been around for the past couple years or so, Twitty said.

“Initially, it was available for general surgeons,” she said. But there has been an expansion of the use by doctors in various specialties and more procedures have been approved.

Published May 14, 2014

New building signals bright future at Saint Leo University

May 15, 2014 By B.C. Manion

Imagine, if you will, a place where students learning how to become teachers could work with avatars, to simulate real-life teaching challenges.

Sound far-fetched and futuristic?

Saint Leo University had a ceremony May 2 to mark the beginning of construction of a four-story building that will greatly expand the university’s academic space. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University) — Saint Leo University had a ceremony May 2 to mark the beginning of construction of a four-story building that will greatly expand the university’s academic space.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Well, that’s exactly the scenario that will begin playing out when a new $14 million academic building on the campus of Saint Leo University is completed.

The avatars are actually created by actors in a program developed by the University of Central Florida. The avatars are used to help prepare teachers for situations that may arise in classrooms, said Maribeth Durst, vice president of academic affairs at Saint Leo University.

It’s a great way to practice dealing with situations in an entirely safe environment, Durst noted.

And, that’s just one example of the new ways the university believes its new academic building will broaden opportunities for its students to prepare for their professional lives.

The university had a celebration May 2 to mark the official groundbreaking on the four-story, 48,000-square-foot building. It will have 16 classrooms and 24 faculty offices.

The larger quarters will house liberal arts, education, criminal justice and social work classes, as well as graduate-level classes for continuing professional education. It was designed to foster greater opportunities for students to work together and mingle, Durst said. For instance, instead of long, narrow corridors that tend to separate people, there are gathering spaces to bring them together.

Some highlights include an area to allow simulations of classroom situations and a 21st century classroom for kindergarten through 12th grade education students and others to use.

The fourth floor of the building will be a shell, initially, until there’s a need to build it out.

Creative Contractors Inc., is constructing the structure, with an expected completion date of July 2015. Gould Evans of Tampa is the building’s architect.

Beverly Frank, the project architect, said the design seeks to embody Saint Leo’s core values of excellence, community, respect, personal development, responsible stewardship and integrity.

“The culture at Saint Leo is very inspirational,” Frank said.

The entire design, from how the building was sited to its color palette, drew on the university’s desire to create a welcoming environment, and to create a sense of connection. That connection applies both to people within the building and to the building’s relationship with other places on campus.

The building uses energy-efficient systems and follows the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council, Frank said.

Saint Leo University is a regionally accredited, liberal arts institution at 33701 State Road 52 in St. Leo.

Published May 14, 2014

Through painful pages, a message of faith from author

May 15, 2014 By Michael Murillo

Writing a book is often a difficult process. Finishing one can be an exhausting, emotional ordeal for the author that becomes a real challenge to complete.

Nancy Carroll McEndree writes her books sitting in a recliner in her Zephyrhills home. She writes longhand and husband Duane transcribes that work into their computer. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo) — Nancy Carroll McEndree writes her books sitting in a recliner in her Zephyrhills home. She writes longhand and husband Duane transcribes that work into their computer.
(Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)

But it wasn’t like that for Zephyrhills resident Nancy Carroll McEndree. It was much, much worse.

“I went into (post-traumatic stress disorder) every chapter I wrote,” McEndree said. “I sat in my chair or in my office and I wept uncontrollably. I ended up in the hospital.”

To write “Remembering Jim: From Violence, Abuse and Terror to Joy Everlasting” — a book chronicling her late brother’s difficult upbringing, bottoming out as an absent husband and father, and eventual transformation to an active person of faith — McEndree had to go back to the beginning of their lives.

And that meant dealing with her own childhood, which was filled with memories of her mother and brothers dealing with constant physical abuse. McEndree also suffered severe mental abuse and neglect, and said she even had to spurn her father’s sexual advances.

She would have been happy to leave those memories in the past, except they were necessary to tell her brother’s story of redemption. The only thing worse than revisiting her childhood would be to leave his story untold, McEndree said.

Jim started the book himself, but was unable to continue, so McEndree promised him that she would finish it.

Last October, seven years after his death, “Remembering Jim” was released on WestBow Press.

McEndree recalls the close bond she shared with Jim, while they were growing up in New Hampshire, in frightening and degrading circumstances.

“We were buddies all through our lives, because we lived in a very dysfunctional and violent environment,” she said.

As his life deteriorated, however, they grew apart.

After a football injury derailed a potential athletic future, he had trouble holding jobs and couldn’t stay faithful in his marriages. He abandoned his wife and children and ended up on the street, surviving on food from soup kitchens, and bathing in restaurant bathrooms, McEndree said.

When McEndree reached out to him, Jim was living in a halfway house. The brother she loved rebuffed her.

“What he said to me was, ‘Nancy, you’ve got your life and I’ve got mine. Don’t ever call me again. I’ll never see you,’“ she recalled.

Over time, he eventually found God and was able to reverse his life’s fortunes, becoming a Pentecostal preacher.

McEndree had already survived her abusive past and became a devout Seventh-day Adventist. She did medical missionary work, wrote several books, and had a radio show with her longtime husband, Duane.

But she still missed her brother.

Then one day he reached out, with a desire to reconnect. But he also had some tragic news: He was dying from leukemia and he needed her help.

“I just found him and I’m going to lose him again,” she thought when they spoke.

Jim moved in with McEndree and her husband, and the final years of his life were spent in a healthy family environment, prayer, and an ability to touch the lives of those he met in a positive way.

Jim also was able to reconnect with some of his children, and expressed a desire to put his story to paper.

While she was relieved to finish the book and is pleased with the result, her husband of 23 years was worried it was too taxing on her.

McEndree, 71, has her own health issues, and her husband didn’t want her to jeopardize her health for the project.

“I know it was very traumatic for her,” Duane McEndree said. “Nancy has heart problems, and several times during the writing process, she went into arrhythmia because of the trauma that she was going through. I was very concerned.”

Still, the stress she endured writing “Remembering Jim” hasn’t soured her on writing.

McEndree also has written a series of children’s books, and she’s currently working on another book dealing with the world’s problems and offering solutions to them.

Her work is done lounging in a recliner located in a room with plenty of sunlight, and their house is on property that also includes the home of some of her children and grandchildren.

McEndree’s writing sessions can last several hours, and usually produce several handwritten pages that Duane puts into their computer.

Now that the book has been released, McEndree is excited about the opportunity to help others with a positive message. Regardless of someone’s upbringing or how far they’ve fallen, she believes her brother’s story proves it’s never too late to put their life on a better path.

“This is a ‘victory in Jesus’ book,” she said. “I believe this book is going to touch the hearts of many people that need to hear that there’s hope and that God loves them.”

“Remembering Jim” is available at tinyurl.com/RememberingJim.

Published May 14, 2014

Back to back: Nikki Carroll repeats as state pole vaulting champ

May 15, 2014 By Michael Murillo

When you’re an athlete in your junior year of high school, there are few titles better than “state champion.”

But “two-time state champion” is one of them.

Land O’ Lakes resident Nikki Carroll won her second state pole vault title as a junior by clearing 12 feet — her personal best. She’s already eyeing a shot at a third title next year. (Courtesy of Carol Carroll) — Land O’ Lakes resident Nikki Carroll won her second state pole vault title as a junior by clearing 12 feet — her personal best. She’s already eyeing a shot at a third title next year.
(Courtesy of Carol Carroll)

Land O’ Lakes resident Nikki Carroll earned that designation by claiming her second straight Class 2A pole vaulting title earlier this month at the state meet, on the University of North Florida campus in Jacksonville. She cleared an even 12 feet to best her closest competition by six inches.

“It feels amazing doing it twice,” Carroll said. “I really wanted to win it again and I knew that a lot of people were expecting me to win. It was definitely my goal to win again and to jump 12 feet.”

That mark — a full foot better than last year’s winning height — not only gave the Tampa Catholic High School junior a second state title, but a new personal best as well.

While it was the perfect ending to another year of track and field for Carroll, it didn’t happen under perfect circumstances. Pole vaulting, is the kind of competition where the weather can make or break an athlete’s day. Since participants are using a long pole to propel themselves above and beyond a set bar, anything that makes it harder to run, set and grip can mean the end of the competition.

So when it was raining on the day of the meet, and didn’t stop when she had to perform, Carroll had every right to be concerned. But her coach told her that holding the pole lower makes it less likely that an athlete will slip, and Carroll naturally has a lower grip than many pole vaulters.

While it wouldn’t help in good weather, she said the lower grip might have helped succeed in the rain.

But Carroll had to overcome her own miscues as well, and the pressure that came with them. A pole vaulter has three chances to clear each height. After the third miss, they’re out of the competition — and, in this case, the running for the state title.

Twice in Jacksonville, Carroll found herself down to her last try.

“I was on my third attempt at 10 feet, 6 inches and at 11 feet, so that definitely freaked me out a little bit because I was almost out,” she said.

But Carroll was able to stay focused, keep her grip and clear the hurdle both times to stay alive in the competition and eventually claim the title.

Successfully clearing a certain height and being successful at pole vaulting in general is harder than it looks, Carroll said. On television, such as during the Olympic Games, the athletes make it look easy. But it takes a lot of training and practice to get it right.

As a state champion, Carroll definitely puts in the time to be the best. She does gymnastics every day (a sport she’s been doing for several years) except Sundays, and said the skills she hones at those practices are a natural fit with pole vaulting.

But Sundays aren’t a day of rest. She travels across the state to Melbourne, where she practices at Pole Vault City to stay prepared for the actual competitions.

Bobby Haeck, co-owner and head instructor of Pole Vault City, said Carroll’s skills give her an immediate advantage over the competition.

“It’s speed and tremendous gymnastics,” he said. “If you put those two things together, you get a really good pole vaulter.”

Height also can be important for an athlete, he said. While Carroll isn’t tall, her quickness and ability to clear the bar more than compensates for a lack of height.

Haeck, who has trained pole vaulters for nearly 15 years, was there to see Carroll defend her title, and he was impressed with her ability to succeed in the rain and convert her third attempts. He believes she has a bright future continuing the sport in college.

Carroll said she’d like to continue pole vaulting after she graduates high school, and will pursue a pre-med course load in college in order to become a doctor. But before any of that happens, she still has her senior year ahead of her. And that means another chance to defend her title.

“Not a lot of people can win it back-to-back, and then even less can win it three times,” she said. “I’m definitely going to go for three.”

Published May 14, 2014

Business Digest 05-14-14

May 15, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Marshalls grand opening set for May 15
Marshalls is set to open its newest store in Land O’ Lakes May 15 at the Village Lakes Shopping Center.

The 24,000-square-foot store will be one of more than 900 in 43 states and Puerto Rico. The first day, which runs from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., will include giveaways and gift card prizes, according to a release.

The regular hours for the store will run Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. It will bring approximately 60 full- and part-time jobs to the area, as well as more than 10,000 new items added to the inventory weekly.

Marshalls also is planning to donate $5,000 to Feeding America Tampa Bay as part of its opening festivities during a ribbon cutting May 15 at 7:30 a.m.

RPE wins software award
Retail Process Engineering, a Land O’ Lakes-based retail consulting firm, has received the Global Alliance Leadership Award from JDA Software for the fourth year in a row.

Companies like RPE who use JDA services are eligible for the award. The company received the award at the annual JDA Focus global conference recently in Las Vegas.

RPE moved to Pasco County last year, bringing 16 jobs with an average annual salary of $105,000 with it. The company is located in the Offices of Devonwood, located just off State Road 54 west of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

Saint Leo finds VP of business affairs
Eric Weekes has been appointed vice president of business affairs at Saint Leo University.

Weekes comes from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he was senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. At Saint Leo, Weekes will be responsible for all financial and operational areas of the university, human resources, leadership development, construction and auxiliary services, management, legal services, and information technology.

Weekes hold an MBA in finance from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in business management from New York Institute of Technology.

Hillsborough hires new communications chief
Liana Lopez has been hired as the new chief communications administrator for Hillsborough County.

In her new job, Lopez will integrate communications, community affairs and customer service areas. The hiring requires approval by the Hillsborough County Commission, but once it happens, her salary will be $165,000, according to a release.

Lopez most recently serves as director of communications for Visit Tampa Bay. Before that, she spent eight years as director of public affairs for Tampa mayor Pam Iorio.

Little Greek Restaurant gets microloan
Ervin Dhima became the 12th recipient of Pasco Economic Development Council’s microloan program for his franchise of the Little Greek Restaurant.

Located in Mitchell Ranch Plaza in Trinity, Dhima says his restaurant has been “very busy since we opened.”

The microloan fund was established to help local entrepreneurs who cannot obtain traditional financing to grow their business and create jobs. Borrowers have to show they have the experience and resources to be successful business operators. Proceeds can be used for working capital, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, and machinery and equipment. However, it cannot be used to purchase real estate or pay down existing debt.

Dhima joined Little Greek Restaurant in 2008, and helped the company open franchises in Texas and Florida. His new franchise employs nine people.

For information on the microloan program, visit PascoEDC.com, or call (813) 926-0827.

Families fed, thanks to Fifth Third
Fifth Third Bank recently wrapped up its month-long Feeding Families campaign, collecting more than 242 barrels of food.

A little less than half of them were donated to Metropolitan Ministries, which helps hungry children and families in the four-county Tampa Bay region, and another 125 barrels were donated to the Agape Food Bank in Lakeland.

The items were collected throughout April at all 48 Fifth Third locations in Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties.

More than 50 Fifth Third employees and their families volunteered, sorting food items, preparing meals, serving residents, and cleaning rooms at the new Emergency Care Center at Metropolitan Ministries in downtown Tampa.

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

The group has annual dues of $50, and there is a minimum attendance requirement of two meetings per month.

For information, call (813) 842-7064, or visit CBNTampa.com.

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

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

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

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

Upcoming speakers include:

• Mike Moore, Pasco County Commission candidate, May 27.

CPA students sought for scholarship
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is looking for minority accounting students across the state to apply for the Clay Ford scholarship.

It is awarded each year to minority students looking to become certified public accountants. The program has awarded more than $1 million since it was first implemented in 1999.

A $10 portion from each individual and firm license fee funds the scholarship. Applicants may be eligible for scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 per semester, and awarded for a maximum of two semesters.

Applications must be postmarked by June 1. For information, visit MyFloridaLicense.com/CPAScholarship.