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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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PHSC celebrates opening of new Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch

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Pasco-Hernando State College celebrated the formal dedication of its fifth full-service satellite campus, Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, with a ceremony at the campus on April 2.

Members of the Porter family joined Pasco-Hernando State College president Katherine Johnson at the open house and dedication of Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. Attending, from left, are J.D. Porter, Bill Porter, Johnson, Don Porter and Quinn Miller. (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)
Members of the Porter family joined Pasco-Hernando State College president Katherine Johnson at the open house and dedication of Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. Attending, from left, are J.D. Porter, Bill Porter, Johnson, Don Porter and Quinn Miller.
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

About 400 to 450 guests mingled, toured the campus and enjoyed refreshments at the celebration. It honored the Porter family, who donated 60 acres of land for the campus, and Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel for establishing an endowed scholarship.

“We certainly feel honored,” J.D. Porter said before the ceremony.

The family is especially gratified to play a role in promoting education, he added.

The opening of the campus signaled the first time in Wesley Chapel history that a student could attend preschool through college without leaving the Wesley Chapel community.

Porter said the new campus will play a significant role in the future of Wesley Chapel, as businesses will be able to take advantage of the college’s proximity to ensure that their workers keep current on new technologies. And students will benefit from the close relationship between the college and the business community.

He expects the college to continue to play an even larger role as time goes on.

The current buildings are on about six of the 60 acres the family donated, Porter noted.

Obviously, that leaves plenty of room for expansion.

Published April 9, 2014

Performers shine, overcome challenges at ‘Spotlight On Talent’

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After hours of practice and auditioning before a panel of experts, a select number of singers, dancers and musicians were chosen to perform at the Heritage Arts Center Association’s “Spotlight On Talent” event, now in its 31st year.

Riley Reardon won this year’s $1,000 Pasco Heritage Scholarship for his contemporary dance routine. The Land O’Lakes High School senior choreographed it as well. (Courtesy of The Heritage Arts Center Association)
Riley Reardon won this year’s $1,000 Pasco Heritage Scholarship for his contemporary dance routine. The Land O’Lakes High School senior choreographed it as well.
(Courtesy of The Heritage Arts Center Association)

Getting there was the hard part. The event itself, held in two separate performances on March 29 at the Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel High School, should have been easier. But the “Spotlight On Talent” finals brought their own challenges for the performers.

The early showcase, which featured younger performers, was hampered by inclement weather, including thunderstorms and tornado warnings that severely affected audience turnout, organizers said. And the later showcase was disrupted by an inadvertent fire alarm, which required a visit from the fire department and a full evacuation of the auditorium.

But according to Barbara Friedman, who produced the talent show and is a member of the organization’s board of directors, those obstacles didn’t prevent inspired performances by the finalists, well-deserved recognition for the winners, and another successful talent showcase for young people in the area.

“The performances were fabulous,” she said. “Truly, they are destined to go on to wonderful careers and go on with their talents.”

All performers and judges made it to the early show despite bad weather, and the fire alarm didn’t rattle the late show contestants, either. Attendance for both shows was around 400, with more than 120 performers representing more than 60 different acts, taking part in the shows.

Their ability to overcome unexpected events demonstrates that they’ve already successfully learned and implemented a “the show must go on” mentality, Friedman said.

Winners were recognized in several categories, and one also earned $1,000 as the recipient of the Pasco Heritage Scholarship, which is given to a Pasco graduating senior each year.

But even that winner didn’t have an easy road to his victory. In fact, he made a mistake early into his contemporary dance routine.

“In the beginning, I was supposed to do this leap and then roll to the ground. But I leapt, and when I put my foot down I missed the floor and landed on my back,” recalled Riley Reardon, a senior at Land O’ Lakes High School. “But then I just kept on going because I was supposed to go to the floor so a lot of people didn’t even notice. Right then I was like, ‘Wow, I already messed this up and I’m only at the beginning of the dance.’”

Reardon was able to recover, impress the judges throughout the rest of his dance, and capture the scholarship. And it probably helped that he knew the routine so well: Reardon choreographed the dance himself, and even choreographed a duet dance for his sister, Devin, for her performance at the “Spotlight On Talent.”

Dance is a big part of Reardon’s life. He practices for hours each weekday at Broadway Dancesations, a dance studio in Lutz. While it requires considerable practice and focus, he said it’s a creative break from the challenging course load he takes as part of his school’s International Baccalaureate program.

Choreography also is a fun activity for him, since he gets to match up a dancer’s strengths with routines that showcase their abilities. Reardon said that watching others succeed with dances he creates can be more rewarding than actually performing them himself.

But he won the scholarship with his own performance, and he found the victory satisfying for multiple reasons. He’s been performing at the “Spotlight On Talent” for a few years, and it was nice to be recognized in his senior year.

The money is a welcome prize, too. Reardon is looking at a few schools, and while he hasn’t made a final decision yet, it looks like his choice will probably take him out of state, which means higher tuition costs and additional living expenses.

Wherever he attends school, he said the money would come in handy.

“I’m really excited. College is super-expensive, so just having a little bit of help really does go a long way.”

Published April 9, 2014

Union lodges complaint over teacher planning time

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Pasco County’s teacher union has lodged a complaint with the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission over a dispute that involves teacher planning time.

The United School Employees of Pasco’s complaint alleges that teachers are spending so much time in meetings with their Professional Learning Communities that it is usurping time intended for individual planning.

The district contends that the time spent in the PLC meetings is planning time, but the union believes that time should be categorized as professional development, union president Lynne Webbe said.

During the PLC meetings, the teachers are being given work and assignments that are not relevant to what’s currently happening in their classrooms, Webbe said. Instead, they are focusing on strategies for preparing students for future requirements.

Teachers are feeling “very, very uptight,” Webbe said. “They’re feeling that they are shortchanging their students because they don’t have time.”

The complaint filed with PERC notes that the union has hosted meetings between teachers and school board representatives, including Superintendent Kurt Browning, to talk about “teachers’ frustrations with the amount of work and time commitment for the new PLC meetings.”

Before lodging the complaint, the union asked the school district to limit PLC team meetings to 40 minutes per week.

The union claims that the district is using time intended for planning for professional development, so it has asked PERC to declare that the district has committed an unfair labor practice.

“I think there is a solution, if the district is willing to sit down and work on it,” Webbe said.

Browning has a different take on the issue.

“I think they’re wrong. We’ve never, never, not once, said that professional learning communities, PLCs, were professional development,” Browning said.

“It’s collaborative planning,” Browning said, adding that the district’s track record demonstrates that it needs to change the way it educates students if it wants to improve its performance.

The PLCs are intended to allow teachers to work together to improve student outcomes.

“In an elementary school, it may be more appropriate to do it by grade level. You may have the third-grade team,” Browning said.

The team will be talking about how they’re going to teach reading, mathematics and language arts, he said. At the high school and middle school levels, the teams might be organized by subject matter.

“The inherent purpose of the PLC was so that they could plan for better, more effective classroom instruction. That’s it,” Browning said. “These PLCs are teacher-driven. You can go to one elementary school and see a PLC work one way, and you can go to another elementary school and see a PLC work totally differently.

“If the union is hearing that teachers are taking homework home because of their PLC, then that must be a decision their PLC has made,” Browning said.

Browning recently met with the principals from schools on the eastern and central portions of the county. During that meeting, Browning said he reminded them “that they need to guard the PLC time as planning time and not professional development time, if by chance that was happening.”

“This is a year of transition,” he said. “If we find situations, that we actually find a school that is using them for professional development and not planning, then shame on us — we need to fix that.”

Published April 9, 2014

This exhibit will thrill train lovers, model makers of all ages

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From the outside, the squat warehouse building housing the Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling is no showstopper.

Step inside, though, and it’s an entirely different story.

The trees, the tracks and the waterfall give this model train railroad layout a feeling of authenticity. (Photo courtesy of Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling)
The trees, the tracks and the waterfall give this model train railroad layout a feeling of authenticity.
(Photo courtesy of Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling)

The center is a showcase of the kind of artistry that can be achieved in the world of model making. It has several exhibits, but the centerpiece of the collection is called the Sundance Central, a fine scale modular railroad.

The display was created by a group of model-makers who are obsessive in their attention to detail. They’ve spent thousands of hours over several years working to create a railroad environment that looks and sounds like it’s from a period between the 1890s and 1920s.

Smoke billows from a locomotive as it chugs along a hand-laid track. The sounds of trains, speeding up and slowing down with the calls of birds in the background, provide an added air of authenticity.

Tiny people populate the display. Some wait at a train station. Others work at a gas station. Some labor in the rail yards. There’s a multitude of scenes along the route, including a lumberyard, a salvage shop and a train maintenance facility.

Trains make their way through a terrain that’s been painstakingly landscaped with handmade grass and trees. The locomotives run across elevated tracks, with a sculpted waterfall and images of majestic mountains arranged to serve as a backdrop.

Besides the Sundance Central, the center has Civil War military models, a tribute to the Band of Brothers, a fighter pilot in a F-15 Eagle cockpit and other displays. For train lovers, there are two other model railroad displays that were created and donated by groups from Australia. And, there’s the Silverton Central, a layout created by Jon Addison, a modeler in the center’s group.

“There’s so many things in here for you to see,” said Dale MacKeown, another member on the Sundance team. “People who come in here typically spend two, two-and-a-half hours. We have people who come in here every time.”

One guy, around 95, came with six members of his family, and they spent the whole day there, MacKeown said.

Because of its modular nature, the Sundance Central can be taken apart and transported to train shows and conferences elsewhere. It is so large, disassembling it is a gargantuan task, and it requires a semitrailer to move it.

The display is not widely known to the general public, but is popular among train enthusiasts and modelers, MacKeown said.

“It’s been to all four corners of the United States in the last 10 years,” he said. “People from all over the world hear about us.”

In September, it will be the centerpiece of the National Narrow Gauge Convention in Kansas City, Mo.

The Sundance Central got its start about 15 years ago when some group members became acquainted with each other through the Florida Garden Railway Society, MacKeown said. They decided it would be neat to build a modular train layout they could carry in the trunks of their cars to train shows.

They moved into the center’s current home, at 2645 Success Drive in Odessa, three years ago.

The modelers are sticklers for detail. They use foam rubber to create fake rock face. They use rope fiber to make artificial grass. They use wax to make imitation cow pies.

Some people wonder why the men are so involved in creating the models, said Jim Hopes, another member of the Sundance team.

“It’s because we love doing it. Once you start to create something that looks pretty good, you can’t stop,” he said.

“Everybody loves trains at some point in their life. Some people, like us, never get over it,” said Hopes, who built his first model train when he was 10 or 11.

“My father got me my first Lionel (train) when I was 5,” MacKeown said.

That was nearly 70 years ago.

In his Silverton Central railroad layout, Addison has created a setting that includes a harbor, a produce market, a village and other features.

Some train enthusiasts simply want to operate them and are not too particular about the setting behind them, Addison said.

“We care about making things look real. We kind of look at it as an art,” Addison said.

WHAT: The Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling
WHY: An impressive collection of artistically crafted models, which recreate the feel for an authentic railroad, along with other models depicting Civil War scenes, fighter pilots, and the Band of Brothers.
WHERE: 2645 Success Drive, Odessa
WHEN: The third Saturday of the month, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from October to June
COST: Admission is $7 for adults, and free for children 12 and younger
INFO: Visit: www.finescalemodeling.org

Published April 9, 2014

Land O’ Lakes junior heads to state as district tennis champ

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When Land O’ Lakes High School junior Kavya Avancha lost an individual tennis match against Wiregrass Ranch, she was disappointed.

Kavya Avancha, a junior at Land O’ Lakes High School, won her district finals matchup and became the first individual girls tennis player to advance to state competition in school history. (Courtesy of Kavya Avancha)
Kavya Avancha, a junior at Land O’ Lakes High School, won her district finals matchup and became the first individual girls tennis player to advance to state competition in school history.
(Courtesy of Kavya Avancha)

She dropped the best-of-three match in three sets, and admits she didn’t play her best tennis. It was her first — and ended up her only — loss in individual competition all season. And she was hoping for a rematch.

Avancha got that rematch, but the stakes were much higher: The district finals, with a spot in the state tournament on the line. Avancha had a chance to not only avenge her only loss this season, but also make up for a district finals loss the previous season.

This time the outcome went in her favor: A straight-set victory to make up for the previous loss, her first trip to state competition as an individual player, and Land O’ Lakes’ first ever state finals berth for an individual player in girls tennis.

“It feels great. I’ve been working really hard. I really wanted to make it to state this year, so I’m really happy about that,” Avancha said.

She qualified for state last year in doubles competition, and to reach that level this year on her own — while dispatching the only player to beat her this year — was particularly satisfying.

Avancha wasn’t the only one invested in the outcome. For Coach Karen Turman, who has taught tennis for 17 years and is a U.S. Professional Tennis Association-certified pro, it was a matchup that got her own competitive juices flowing.

“I wanted to play that match as much as Kavya,” Turman said. “I got up out of my chair and had to take a walk. I went up to the umpire and I said to him, ‘It’s hard to watch because I’d rather be on the court.’ You want to be out there in the competition yourself.”

Turman’s talents with a racket weren’t needed, and she was proud of Avancha and excited to see the school send an individual player to state for the first time.

Getting to this level of success takes a lot of work, Avancha said. She practices a couple hours after school on most evenings, and that’s often after the school’s own tennis practice. She even works with her father, Srinivas, who coaches her.

Spending that much time on her game allows Avancha to not think about form or technique during an actual match. Her body already knows where to position itself and how to hit the ball, so her mind can focus on strategy during the competition, finding her opponent’s weak points and exploiting them with her own strengths.

And her 11-1 record during the regular season shows that her method works on the court.

But according to Turman, Avancha’s real strength lies in how she approaches the game and conducts herself during matches.

“Nothing frustrates her. You cannot tell if she’s winning or losing by just her demeanor on the court, and that’s what a true champion does,” Turman said. “They don’t really show their emotion. They just have the guts to pull it out.”

Avancha’s focus is apparent off the court as well. As a member of Land O’ Lakes High’s International Baccalaureate program, she spends a lot of time on her rigorous course load and hours of homework almost every night. But the same determination that serves her well with a tennis racket gives her confidence in the classroom.

And Avancha admits that confidence isn’t something she always had. But competing and succeeding in tennis has helped her overcome those issues.

“Before tennis, as a kid, I was actually very nervous and not very confident,” she said. “But I’ve grown in my confidence. I can say what’s on my mind and that’s grown with the sport.”

Avancha knows the players will be better and tougher to defeat in state competition, which will take place later this month. But she said that facing a higher caliber of player makes the game fun for her, and she’s looking forward to seeing how she fares against the best in the state.

Before that happens, however, she’ll go back to the regimen of hard work and practice that has helped get to this point.

“I’m probably going to put in a little bit more hours these next two weeks than I usually do so I get more practice,” Avancha said. “But I’ll probably do the same drills and work on some other things I need to improve.”

Published April 9, ,2014

This week’s Sunlake softball game benefits Wounded Warrior

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The Sunlake softball team doesn’t have a winning record. After their home finale against the Zephyrhills Bulldogs, the team won’t be thinking about a state championship.

The Sunlake Seahawks are closing out their home softball schedule with green camouflage shirts to commemorate their benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project on April 10. Their opponents, the Zephyrhills Bulldogs, also are participating with special shirts for the game. (Courtesy of Nelson Garcia)
The Sunlake Seahawks are closing out their home softball schedule with green camouflage shirts to commemorate their benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project on April 10. Their opponents, the Zephyrhills Bulldogs, also are participating with special shirts for the game.
(Courtesy of Nelson Garcia)

The game also won’t affect the Class 5A-District 8 standings, where the Seahawks are near the bottom.

Still, the game on April 10 might be the most important one of the season.

Sunlake’s game will not only feature two softball teams looking for a win, it will serve as a benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance and services to injured military service members. Attendees can support the organization by making a direct donation at the game, or by purchasing arts, crafts or T-shirts that will be on sale from a variety of booths.

A portion of those proceeds will go to the organization.

Coach Nelson Garcia, who organized the event with his wife Denise, isn’t surprised that a team starting four freshman would endure some growing pains in the win-loss column. But he believes that supporting charitable organizations as a team — the Seahawks also had a Pink Out event earlier in the year to support breast cancer awareness — helps them grow in important ways that go beyond the playing field.

“They’re learning not only goals of softball, but in life and giving back to the community also,” Garcia said. “They’re very excited to do it. They can’t wait.”

Garcia spent 14 years with the fire department, so he understands the importance of serving the community. But while the team is eager to show support for the military and will wear special green camouflage shirts during the game (Zephyrhills also is participating, and will don orange camouflage shirts), the issue is particularly important for their coach and his family.

Garcia’s son, Sgt. Anthony Michael Garcia, was wounded in 2011 during his first tour in Afghanistan. He was approximately 15 feet away from an improvised explosive device, more commonly known as an IED, when it exploded.

Garcia’s son recovered and is now serving in his second tour of the region. But he realizes that many members of the military have worse outcomes and often need support, and the organization helps with everything from prosthetics to post-traumatic stress disorders.

“It seems like people forget that they go over there and they’re serving right now and they’re getting wounded,” Garcia said. “How many don’t come back, or don’t come back all intact? The great thing about the Wounded Warrior Project is they help all the military personnel in all the branches to get their lives back together when they come back.”

The event is open to the public and begins at 6 p.m., with the game starting at 7. There also will be giveaways, a hospitality tent for active and retired military, and a U.S. Army recruiting booth.

Sunlake High School is located at 3023 Sunlake Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes.

For information about the Wounded Warrior Project, visit WoundedWarriorProject.org.

Published April 9, 2014

Political Agenda 04-09-14

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Mike Wells Jr.
Mike Wells Jr.

Wells challenges Wilson for commission seat
Mike Wells Jr. has a name that is quite familiar to Pasco County residents, thanks to his father, longtime property appraiser Mike Wells Sr.

And now the younger Wells wants to make a name of his own by challenging Pasco County Commissioner Henry Wilson in the Republican primary. In making the announcement, Wells doesn’t share a lot about his platform, except that he knows being a commissioner “demands hard work as well as leadership skills attuned to citizens’ needs.”

“With the blessing of my family and friends, I am committing myself to do all that is necessary to run a positive and informative campaign,” Wells said, in a release. “For most of my life, I have seen government at work. I am now ready to participate in the democratic process by doing what it takes to earn the job of representing the citizens of District 4.”

Wells will have to start by raising money, and lots of it. Wilson, who was first elected in 2010, already has a running start with more than $17,000 raised and at least $16,000 in the bank, according to election records, through the end of February. Wilson’s biggest month was in January when he hauled in $8,735, at least half of it coming from builders and developers.

Wells’ father served on the county commission himself in the 1980s, and was elected the county’s property appraiser in 1996. The younger Wells said he’s been active in political campaigns since he was 12, and has worked in both sales and management for Enterprise Rent-A-Car for 17 years.

Primary elections are set for Aug. 26.

Health care group supports Ross
Healthcare Leadership Council has named U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, a “Champion of Health Care Innovation.”

The advocacy group is a collection of chief executives from various companies in the health care field. It said Ross was dedicated to new developments in health care technologies, treatments and practices.

“Innovation is a necessity, not an option, in addressing the challenges facing our health care system,” said HLC president Mary Grealy, in a release. “We applaud Rep. Ross’ leadership, dedication and vision in advancing the quality and cost-effectiveness of American health care.”

Ross is set to face Democrat Alan Cohn in the November general election.

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

Poll workers are needed for both the primary election Aug. 26 and 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 both the primary and general elections.

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

Ross wants to curb federal unions
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, is once again going after federal employees who spend work time conducting union business, asking the Personnel Management director in Washington for a report on such practices.

“Since taxpayers pay the salary of all federal employee, they have a right to know how much of their money is used for conducting union business while on the clock,” Ross said in a release. “We are more than $17 trillion in debt. I believe in fair representation. However, we must ensure that we are spending the people’s hard-earned money wisely.”

Federal employees spent roughly 3.4 million hours doing union work in 2012, according to Ross. Those lost hours cost $155 million.

Groups like the National Federation of Federal Employees disagree, however. They say that federal unions exist solely to “address crucial workplace issues and defend employees from adverse actions.”

If such meetings were moved to nights or weekends, it would still require managers and such, who would then have to be paid for additional time.

Ross is so far facing Democrat Alan Cohn.

Burgess, Diaz to speak at Republican club
Republican Florida House candidates Danny Burgess and Minnie Diaz are set to speak at the Wesley Chapel Republican Club April 10 beginning at 6:30 p.m., at Wesley Chapel Hyundai, 27000 Wesley Chapel Blvd.

For information, email Mike Moore at .

U.S. Chamber endorses Ross
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce officially endorsed U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, and thanked him for his support of free enterprise and job creation.

“Too many of our neighbors are still unemployed and left suffering by our stagnant economy,” Ross said in a release. “I’m committed to continuing the fight to get the federal government out of the way of business owners so they can create jobs and we can unleash the power of the American economy.”

Ross is set to face Democratic challenger Alan Cohn in November.

Business Digest 04-09-14

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Animal hospital, gym set to move
Wesley Chapel continues to grow along the State Road 56 corridor between Interstate 75 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, with members of the Pasco County Development Review Committee set to give its blessing this week on a 22,600-square-foot shopping center.

Tentatively known as the Dr. Reddy Commerce Center, it will be located at 27029 State Road 566, east of Mansfield Boulevard. The center is slated to become home to an animal hospital, a martial arts center, and the new home for CrossFit 14, which right now is located just down the road at 27233 State Road 56.

The commerce center will be two buildings located on just under 3 acres of land purchased by Sree Reddy DMV PA last June for $795,000. Dr. Sree Reddy runs Seven Oaks Pet Hospital, also located just blocks away.

Reddy’s animal hospital is only expected to take up 4,500 square feet, while CrossFit 14 will need more than 12,000, according to documents filed with Pasco County.

The development review committee is set to make a final decision on the preliminary site plan when it meets April 10.

Housing recovery proven by Connerton success
Connerton is trumpeting evidence of a housing recovery in Florida after selling 70 new homes in the past year, and projecting to do 120 more in 2014.

The reason for its success has come from moves its developer, Hayman Woods, did during the housing crisis, according to a release. And it started with protecting the investments of the 300 families already living there, while at the same time preparing for new buyers.

Among the things the Dallas-based developer did was:
• Pay subsidies to the homeowners association, which allowed club amenities to continue to operate at a high level throughout the downturn.

• Made what it called a substantial investment in the community development district to make sure landscaping, security and infrastructure were maintained.

• Provided incentives to bring quality homebuilders into the community and restart construction in early 2013. Those companies include Ryland Homes, M/I Homes, Taylor Morrison, and Homes by WestBay. There are six furnished models available from these builders.

Houses at Connerton are priced between $192,000 and $525,000. The community is located at U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes, and features two miles of nature trails, a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse and miles of winding roads and walkways.

PHSC hosts manufacturing jobs events
Pasco-Hernando State College and Career Source will host two manufacturing events, which includes opportunities for on-the-job training programs.

The first event takes place April 9 at Alumi-Guard, 2401 Corporate Blvd., in Brooksville, beginning at 8 a.m. The second takes place April 16, also at 8 a.m., at the SmartStart Dade City Incubator, 15000 Citrus Country Drive, Suite 103, in Dade City.

For information, email Margie Burnham at , or call (727) 816-3227.

Lawn Doctor opens in Lutz
Jonathan Player and Rodney McClain are the newest franchise owners of Lawn Doctor, opening their business for the North Tampa-Lutz area as well as Northeast Tampa area.

The two, according to a release, plan to continue expanding their business to all the open areas of the region, heading south toward Bradenton.

Lawn Doctor is a lawn care company founded in 1967 that works through more than 450 franchises across the country.

For information, call (813) 433-1222, or visit LawnDoctorNorthTampa-Lutz.com.

Women-n-Charge meet in May
The next meeting for Women-n-Charge takes place May 2 beginning at 11:30 a.m., at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive in Tampa.

The meeting includes lunch, speaker Kelly Mothershead from A Focus on Fitness, and time to network.

Cost is $15 for members, and $18 for guests and those who don’t pre-register by April 29.

For information, call (813) 600-9848, or visit Women-n-Charge.com.

Seminars to provide info on trusts
Two free seminars will take place in April discussing trusts and how the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 will affect it.

The first seminar takes place April 22 beginning at 5:30 p.m., at Independent Financial Services, 20635 Amberfield Drive, Suite 102, in Land O’ Lakes. The second will take place April 24 at 5:30 p.m., at First National Bank of Pasco, 13315 U.S. 301, Dade City.

To register in advance, call (813) 908-2701.

Pasco considering ban on hiring smokers for county jobs

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It’s hard to argue the numbers against smoking: It’s caused 20.8 million deaths since 1965, it’s been linked to 12 kinds of cancer and 17 chronic diseases, and can create similar problems to anyone else exposed to the smoke, according to the U.S. Surgeon General.

Life is becoming more and more difficult for tobacco users. Not only is space to light up becoming scarce, but jobs might be more difficult to find as well. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Life is becoming more and more difficult for tobacco users. Not only is space to light up becoming scarce, but jobs might be more difficult to find as well.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

So for Pasco County, banning cigarette smoking is a no-brainer. However, preventing smokers from being hired by the county? That might be a little more problematic.

Yet Pasco is starting that push, although county performance development director Marc Bellas admits that he’s still not sure exactly how the new program will shake out.

“Everyone in this organization knows this is coming, but what we don’t know is what it will look like, when will it happen, and how it will impact each one of them,” Bellas said.

Governments have found some success — and failures — when it comes to implementing policies that would ban hiring smokers. Temple Terrace made national news more than a decade ago when it tried to control smoking in its workforce, and the negative backlash caused them to change gears.

But that was a different time, when Florida’s ban on indoor smoking in most public places was still in its infancy. In 2003, the argument was to help lower health insurance costs. Today, however, the carrot being dangled is healthier living.

“What they’re looking for is kind of a more environmentally friendly and positive work place,” said county public information officer Doug Tobin. “That includes a smoke-free campus, as well as a policy where new employees would be prohibited from smoking.”

And the idea is not new in Pasco County. Both the fire department and sheriff’s office already restrict smoking among employees, Tobin said, and the county itself has flirted with the idea for several years now.

A smoking policy for the county government is far from complete, Bellas said. However, he brought up some initial ideas to the Pasco County Commission last week to get some of their feedback.

In its current form, employees hired after Oct. 1 would be required to sign an affidavit affirming they have not used tobacco products for one year, and agree to submit to a nicotine test if they’re every suspected of smoking. Those who were hired before Oct. 1 would no longer be allowed to use tobacco products while they are on the clock.

New hires would not be allowed to smoke or use tobacco products at all, not even at home, or on the weekends. If they are discovered to have violated the policy, they could be disciplined and even fired.

Yet, even Bellas admits that sometimes a plan looks far better on paper than it does in the field. And his goal is to not make it more difficult to compete for good employees with other counties and private industry by having too restrictive of a policy.

“We have a few challenges that we can’t ignore,” he said. “Between 24 and 25 percent of our employees right now use tobacco, and a lot of them are in the entry-level positions in roads and bridges, and in utilities. The folks in those departments already have a hard enough time keeping those positions filled. If we take one more thing away, and they believe it’s going to be a problem, then that is not a good choice for us.”

That means there’s still a lot of work to do on the policy before it’s completed, Bellas said, and there’s a good chance that what is finally approved to begin next October could be quite different from what’s on the table today.

And the talk alone of implementing the policy seems to have had some positive effect already. Commissioner Henry Wilson, who serves on a committee addressing this issue, told commissioners at the recent meeting participation in smoking cessation programs has drastically increased over the past two months.

“They know the conversation has started,” Wilson said. “This is nothing else but to create a healthy work environment, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

Published April 2, 2014

Lutz game company goes mobile with ‘Battle Gems’

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If you’re one of the millions of people who play video games on a computer, cellphone or mobile device, you might imagine that the games come from a giant complex in Silicon Valley, or a high tech company in a foreign country.

But sometimes they come from Lutz.

Adam Bohn isn’t big on traditional business attire, but his Lutz-based company, Artix Entertainment, is big on video games. Their latest offering, ‘Battle Gems,’ is their first on mobile platforms. (Courtesy of Adam Bohn)
Adam Bohn isn’t big on traditional business attire, but his Lutz-based company, Artix Entertainment, is big on video games. Their latest offering, ‘Battle Gems,’ is their first on mobile platforms.
(Courtesy of Adam Bohn)

“We are a carefully-guarded secret treasure of Lutz, and we love being here,” said Adam Bohn, chief executive of Artix Entertainment.

The company began in 2002 in Bohn’s spare bedroom, and today the company employs nearly 50 people and operates out of Northpointe Village.

Artix has had great success creating online role-playing games, also known as RPGs, and massive multiplayer online games, or MMOs, that are playable through an Internet browser. The company boasts more than 170 million players who have signed up for the games, which are free to play with upgrades and other in-game advantages available at a price.

But with a trend toward mobile-platform gaming, Artix didn’t want players leaving the company’s games at home with their computers. So, after eight months of development, they’ve recently entered the mobile game market with “Battle Gems,” a free game that combines puzzle, fighting and role-playing elements.

Players can battle more than 100 different foes, collect items and complete quests, all through their cellphone or tablet. The entire game can be played with no cost to the user, Bohn said, but faster play options and other perks are available for a one-time $10 upgrade.

The game currently is available on Apple’s iTunes Store, and should be available soon on Google Play as well.

Strong user reviews and early adopters are important to making a game successful, and with nearly 80,000 downloads in the first week of release and good word-of-mouth, Bohn said his team’s first attempt at mobile gaming has been a satisfying one.

“We’ve put a lot of heart into this game, but we didn’t expect the kind of reaction that our players are giving us,” he said of “Battle Gems.”

“Very consistently, from people who know us and people who don’t know us, we’re getting (user grades of) 4.5 out of 5, and 9 out of 10. The reviews have been just overwhelmingly positive.”

Bohn acknowledges that “Battle Gems’” flat-fee upgrade option might not produce the most revenue possible, but he believes that many “free” games end up costing players too much money in the long run. Bypassing time restrictions in some games could cost an additional dollar each time, and individual items might cost anywhere from a few dollars to upwards of $40.

While Artix’s games aren’t designed to extract that kind of revenue for the right to keep playing, he believes that providing value is more important, and Bohn wants them designed so players can enjoy it without being asked for extra money at every turn.

Instead of focusing just on revenue, Bohn said that his team put extra emphasis on creating a wide variety of monsters and characters the player will face.

“We built this game with more monsters than most mobile apps would ever dream of having,” he said. They also made the game larger than originally planned, boosting the number of levels from 256 to 480.

While Artix is enjoying the positive feedback from “Battle Gems” and is looking forward to introducing it on the Google Play store, the future is constantly part of the discussion for a technology-based company. Bohn expects the turnaround time for their next mobile game to be shorter, but he wants the content to be even more creative and outlandish.

The company also is looking into bringing versions of their popular browser-based games to the mobile platform. Bohn indicated that original content will always be part of Artix Entertainment’s future projects.

“Honestly, we have no shortage of game ideas,” Bohn said.

For more information about Artix Entertainment and its games, visit Artix.com, HeroMart.com.

Published April 2, 2014