Local News

Gators, Warriors girls hoops teams reach new highs

March 6, 2014 By Michael Murillo

When a high school team makes the playoffs, it’s an impressive achievement. But they also know that, unless they win the state title, their entire season and postseason will end with a loss. It’s just a matter of time.

The Steinbrenner Warriors reached the regional finals for the first time, falling to Harmony in a close game. (Photo courtesy of Josee Briere)

Often a school measures success not just by reaching the postseason, but how far they get in the tournament.

In that regard, two girls basketball teams are holding their heads very high.

The Steinbrenner Warriors (26-4) and Land O’ Lakes Gators (23-5) both closed out the year on the losing side of a playoff game, but they each went far beyond any other team in school history.

For Steinbrenner, that was the Class 7A regional championship game, where they fell to the Harmony Longhorns, 44-40.

For Land O’ Lakes it was a step farther: The Gators lost in the state semifinals for Class 5A to the Southeast Seminoles, 49-24.

Land O’ Lakes trailed for most of the game in a contest that didn’t turn out to be very close. But Southeast, from Bradenton, lost just one game all year and finished the season with a 27-game win streak and the state title.

Coach Phyllis Crain said her team didn’t play a perfect game, but they played a team they knew would provide a big challenge.

“They’re a very good team,” Crain said about the Seminoles. “Yes, we could have done things differently, but I don’t know if it would have made the result better. Bradenton Southeast is a very good team.”

Land O’ Lakes proved they’re also a good team themselves this season, and Crain attributes the school’s first regional title to a commitment to teamwork and playing well together. The Gators were considered underdogs headed into the postseason — they finished as district runner-up to the Gulf Buccaneers — and had to come from behind in two of their three playoff victories.

But Crain saw their confidence build and is proud of how far their teamwork took them.

“I’m very pleased with the season and I’m very proud of my girls,” she said. “They played well together.”

Steinbrenner also is proud of their accomplishments, but the end of their playoff run is more bittersweet because they were very close to advancing to the state semifinals. The Warriors had a sizeable lead in the second half, but a run by Harmony evaporated that advantage, and they lost by four.

“We had everything you could want for a team that was trying to get to a Final Four: Hosting a regional final, having a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter and playing a great game for the first 24 minutes,” Coach J.R. Allen said. “Unfortunately, the last eight minutes of the game we weren’t true to who we were the whole season.”

But Allen also admitted that before the season started, he thought Steinbrenner would be hard-pressed to get anywhere close to the regional final. For each of the four years the team has been in existence (led by Allen since the beginning), the Warriors have gotten better. But after last season, the team lost their main offensive weapons and it looked like they might struggle.

Allen challenged the girls to live up to the success of the previous group, even telling them he wasn’t sure they would be as tough as their predecessors. He hoped they would respond in a positive way, and was pleased when he got his answer.

“They bought in. They really bought in and they responded to the challenge well,” he said, noting the team took on a strong defensive identity he plans to carry over into next season. In addition to taking another step forward in the playoffs, Steinbrenner also had their first holiday-season success this year, taking the Indian Rocks Christian tournament back in January.

Both coaches are pleased with their respective campaigns, and can look back on the year with pride. Plus, they understand that the last game has to be put in context of the entire season, since almost all good teams end the year on a sour note.

“The only person who’s not going to hurt at the end of the season is going to be the champion,” Crain said.

Published March 5, 2014

Founders’ Day honors pure water city with rich history

March 6, 2014 By Michael Murillo

The annual Founders’ Day celebration is March 8. There will be a parade, a 5-kilometer race and a one-mile fun run. And for some folks, that’s all they need to know.

Parades have been a part of the annual Founders’ Day celebration in Zephyrhills practically from the beginning. It’s a chance to bring the whole community together, celebrating a vision from more than a century ago to provide a relaxing community in Central Florida. (File Photo)

And that’s a shame, because Founders’ Day is about more than floats and a race. It’s about history (this is the 104th incarnation of this event, so that should tell you something). It’s about Zephyrhills — not Tampa, not Dade City, and not other areas close to Zephyrhills, although the weekend events will attract people from all over.

Whether you were born here (and a lot of you were) or you moved here (that number is growing all the time, too), you have a stake in this area. Even if you’re one of our seasonal residents, you make this your home. And that means you should dig into its history, because there’s a lot of interesting things to be found.

Before you pack up the family and head out to Founders’ Day and its related events, here are a few things you should know:

• Zephyrhills used to be called Abbott. But that was more than 100 years ago, so no need to worry about updating your address labels or anything.

• Zephyrhills used to be a colony. The Zephyrhills Colony was envisioned as a location for Civil War veterans (on the Union side) to relocate and get involved in farming and manufacturing. In fact, the first newspaper was the Zephyrhills Colonist.

Now, what’s the difference between a small town and a colony? Not too much, but it’s a neat part of history, isn’t it?

• The name was a little unclear in the beginning. Don’t be too hard on your out-of-town family members if they don’t know whether you live in “Zephyrhills” or “Zephyr Hills.” It confused people right from the beginning.

It was called both of those, and occasionally “Zepherhills,” too.

Newspaper articles sometimes referred to the company that purchased the land as the “Zephyr Hills Colony Co.,” and at other times the “Zephyrhills Colony Co.”

• Zephyrhills has always had a rich military history. In addition to attracting Civil War veterans, special land deals were granted to veterans of the Spanish-American War. How’s that for history?

And during World War II, the airport was used as a training base.

Zephyrhills might not have been front and center during wartime, but the military always has been welcomed and honored here. That’s important.

• Zephyrhills celebrates its history. If you’ve lived in several different places during your life, you’ve probably realized that not every city marks its anniversary. Some don’t acknowledge it at all, some have a leader give a short speech, and others slap a plaque on a landmark and are done with it.

But you live in Zephyrhills, there’s a parade. It’s not Mardi Gras, and it’s not even Gasparilla, but it’s a real parade that gets people excited — and it’s ours.

The 5k race is a tradition, too. Even if you don’t run in it (I get tired just driving 5k in my car), it’s a big deal. People go just to show support and cheer.

And really, that’s Founders’ Day in a nutshell. People going to show support and cheer — for the runners, for the city and for its history. It’s a fun time, but it’s more than just your average let’s-have-a-race morning or parade based on fictional history.

It’s Founders’ Day. So enjoy it.

Published March 5, 2014

Local man offers spiritual help at Sochi Olympics

March 6, 2014 By B.C. Manion

The 2014 Olympics in Sochi may have been half a world away, but a chaplain from Lutz was there, offering spiritual support to athletes.

Scott Hamilton autographed a sign that Asif Shaikh held up at the ‘Today Show’ set at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Shaikh’s wife Leaha saw the sign on television. (Courtesy of Asif Shaikh)

Asif Shaikh, who pronounces his name “Ah-sif Shake,” traveled more than 30 hours, with stops in Chicago, Dusselfdorf, Germany, and Moscow before flying over the opening ceremonies to land in Sochi.

But it wasn’t his first Olympic experience. He and his wife Leaha tended to the spiritual needs of athletes at the Olympic games in London in 2012 as well.

This time, however, Shaikh traveled alone to Sochi and said his ministry work there involved prayer and Bible studies with hockey players and speed skaters. One of the athletes he prayed with was Jessica Lutz, a hockey player who was born in the United States, but because her father was born in Switzerland, was able to play on the Swiss team.

Lutz — who pronounces her name the same way as the northern Hillsborough County community — already was familiar to Shaikh.

He and his wife met the hockey player during a summer program they worked at in Colorado in 2009. Shaikh’s wife was Lutz’s advisor.

As it turns out, Shaikh was able to watch Lutz’s Swiss team play against the American team in a contest where the Swiss were soundly defeated. But he also saw Switzerland defeat Sweden in the bronze medal game, where Lutz scored the winning goal.

The idea of interacting with world-class athletes is nothing new for Shaikh. Besides providing spiritual guidance in London, he also had daily chapel gatherings for athletes competing to be part of the American team during the 2012 U.S. Olympic track team trials in Eugene, Ore.

Before that, he was a chaplain to the U.S. soccer team at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and served in the same capacity at the track and field International Association of Athletics Federations World Championship in Daegu, South Korea and the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Because of those experiences, Shaikh is familiar with the types of security precautions taken at international events. Despite reports of potential security threats leading up to the games, Shaikh said he felt completely safe while there. He rated the quality of the security as “off the charts.”

“There was no issue. They were ready,” Shaikh said.

The hotels, however, were another matter. Although he stayed in a private home, Shaikh said media reports about some of the hotels not being ready were true.

The trains, on the other hand, were fantastic and they were beautiful, he said.

While he was able to pray with some athletes, Shaikh said the most important part of his trip this year was making connections for future Olympics. He got to know people involved with the U.S. Olympics Committee and with people within the Procter & Gamble Co., who sponsored the P&G Family Home in Sochi.

There the company offered moms, Olympians and their families a home away from home during the Olympics. It served as a place to hang out and be pampered, he said.

The USA House also served as a gathering place for members of the U.S. Olympics Committee, for Team USA, for corporate partners, sponsors, suppliers and licensees.

Shaikh hopes the connections he made during his time in Sochi will lay the groundwork for him to volunteer his spiritual help at the USA House, the P&G house or both during a future Olympics.

“I’m trying to get established. I think the next step would be, ‘How can I help, in the sense of volunteering my time,’” Shaikh said. “They don’t have any spiritual leaders. They don’t recognize that as something that’s important.”

The chaplain said he’s found that athletes often welcome spiritual support. Many of them travel to the competitions by themselves and some of them are facing personal crises, even as they prepare to compete on a world stage.

Besides praying with athletes in Sochi, Shaikh said he was lucky enough to get free tickets from Procter & Gamble for several events. He was able to watch American skaters Meryl Davis and Charlie White win the gold medal in ice dancing. He also watched bobsled, ski jumping, speed skating, curling and the half-pipe.

While there, Shaikh also had his own fleeting taste of fame. On Valentine’s Day, he went down to the set for NBC’s “Today Show” onsite at the Olympics carrying a sign that Lutz had made for him to hold, wishing his wife a happy Valentine’s Day.

“Scott Hamilton signed an autograph on it and it was on TV,” Shaikh said. “Leaha saw it, so it was really neat.”

Man vs. bull this weekend at Great Bull Run

March 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

For some people, nothing could make a weekend more complete than having a herd of bulls stampeding after them.

It takes a lot of courage, and maybe a touch of insanity, to jump into the path of a rampaging bull. But those are exactly the kind of people invited to do just that March 8 in Dade City. (Courtesy of The Great Bull Run)

It’s been a way of life in Pamplona, Spain, for more than a century. And now that experience is coming to Dade City for The Great Bull Run on March 8.

It takes place at Little Everglades Ranch, 17951 Hamilton Road, just off U.S. 301.

The 10-city tour began last August in Virginia with more than 12,000 attendees, and organizer Rob Dickens hopes to make it an annual event here locally. Oh, and by the way, it is dangerous.

“That’s what draws people, the danger,” Dickens said. “If it was as safe as a walk in the park, there would be no reason to do it.”

Dickens said the idea to do a bull run in America came a couple years ago when he and his business partner tried to make the trip to Pamplona to take part in the famous bull run there. But it was impossible to attend — the average cost is around $3,000 a person to make the trip, giving up 10 days of work, all planned at least a year in advance. And that’s if they didn’t get injured.

“That’s when we realized, why don’t we just bring it here to the U.S.,” Dickens said. “There must be millions of other Americans like us who want to do this, but probably can’t afford all that.”

The Great Bull Run is a kinder, gentler version of the Spanish one. There are more safety precautions for both the runners and the bulls. There is track fencing runners can easily climb over and slide under if they get into danger, as well as nooks in the fence they can hide. Also, the bulls — which are brought in by a touring rodeo company — don’t have sharpened horns. That means less chance of goring.

The bulls are constantly monitored for their health and safety, and unlike in Pamplona, none of them are heading to the bullfighting ring afterward.

Yet, there are still dangers involved. Since the current tour started, two people have been injured, Dickens said. One had a broken wrist, the other a broken pelvis. However, the injury rate remains much lower than an average high school football game.

Even in Spain, there have been 15 deaths with the bull running, but that’s over a span of 102 years.

Still, the bull run is not just for the adventure seekers. Spectators also are welcome — at a much lower cost — and will be close enough to see the action, but far enough to stay safe.

It’s part of an all-day event that includes music, food, games and beer. The afternoon will feature the Tomato Royale, another Spanish tradition, where 30,000 pounds of tomatoes are trucked in for the sole purpose of participants throwing them at each other.

Tickets to run with the bulls are $65, with six total runs available throughout the late morning and mid-afternoon. For those who would rather throw tomatoes with no bull, the cost is $40.

Just want to watch? Tickets are $10 at the gate, with an additional fee for parking.

“We were looking for major metropolitan areas where we thought people would be interested in something like this, and we found a great venue just between Tampa and Orlando,” Dickens said.

“I’ve run with the bulls several times now at our own events, and the first time you do it, you’re absolutely scared out of your mind,” he said. “But the more you do it, the more you get comfortable with it. But it does take a certain type of person to do it in the first place.”

For more information, visit TheGreatBullRun.com.

Published March 5, 2014

Contest taps into region’s best-tasting drinking water

March 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

The rows of water-filled plastic cups were not at all daunting to Daniel Yeh. He would pick each one up, sniff the water, look at it, and then quickly take a sip before setting the cup back down and jotting some notes on a score sheet.

Water was judged on a number of criteria including taste — as demonstrated by Nick Makris of the Southwest Florida Water Management District — odor, and as fellow judge Rick Ratcliff shows, color. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

“After a while, the samples run together,” said Yeh, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of South Florida. Narrowing it all down to a winner? “I do it scientifically,” he says with a smile before moving on to the next plastic cup.

Yeh was one of four judges tasked with finding the best-tasting tap water in the region last week, a title Hillsborough County was looking to defend, but many others wanted to wrestle away. Nearly 20 municipalities ranging from Sumter to Pinellas counties lugged in gallons of water to Lake Park in Lutz using containers of both the plastic and glass variety.

At stake were bragging rights for the region, and the chance to put their water head-to-head with the best in Florida next month.

“We are blessed with such a good source of clean, high-quality water in Florida — water that exceeds state and federal standards for quality — and this is all just some friendly competition to showcase it,” said Steven King, vice chair of Florida’s Region IV in the American Water Works Association.

In a society that consumes millions of bottles of water, contents like the best-tasting contest are designed to give a positive spin to tap water — something people typically only talk about when something goes wrong, like the recent pollution of the water supply in West Virginia.

“That’s when you think about water, when something like that happens,” King said. “There’s already this preconceived notion that tap water is bad, but really it’s not. It’s regulated probably more than bottled water, and it’s just high quality all around.”

Hillsborough County hosted this year’s regional contest, since it won this level last year. But Pasco County also was there, looking to defend its state title from 2006. And Zephyrhills, Dade City and other area communities were invited as well.

Judges were not told where their water samples came from, but were tasked to check for odor, color and taste.

The competition is highly subjective, King admits, where one person’s like may be someone else’s dislike. But most of the way through the taste-testing, one judge said one sample really stood out.

“It’s nice and smooth, and it’s almost tasteless,” said Nick Makris, a water supply specialist and project manager for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. “It’s hard to tell if some of these would stand out, because a lot of them feel to be the same. But yeah, I think one of them stands out in a good way.”

While Makris didn’t know where his favorite water came from, the day ended with a clear winner. Dunedin, which actually won the regional contest in 2011, was champion once again.

Water officials there will head to the Florida Water Resources Conference in April in Lake Buena Vista to find out how they compete against other regional winners in the state.

But in the end, all of these municipalities are winners, King said.

“No one writes about high-quality drinking water that everyone drinks 365 days a year and no one gets sick from,” King said. “We’re just trying to shed some light on the industry, because for too long, it’s been sort of a hidden industry. Generally, if you ask people on the street where their water comes from, they’ll just say it’s from the tap.

“But there’s a lot that happens to that water before it gets there, and this is our way to honor the hard work of those people who ensure the best water coming from the tap every day.”

Published March 5, 2014

Political Agenda 03-05-14

March 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Commission candidates to debate
The Pasco Federated Republican Women’s Club will host a debate for Republican Pasco County Commission candidates March 7 at 11:30 a.m. at Fox Hollow Golf Club, 10050 Robert Trent Jones Parkway in Trinity.

The forum will include Ken Littlefield, Mike Moore and Bob Robertson. All three are campaigning to win a primary election set for Aug. 26, with the winner set to face Erika Remsberg — or the winner of a Democratic primary if one is needed — in the general election.

Cost is $15.

For more information, call Fran Scerbo at (727) 597-3727, or email .

Mobile hours for Ross
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, will host mobile office hours March 11 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Lutz Library, 101 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road in Lutz.

Other dates in Lutz include April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8, Aug. 12, Sept. 9, Oct. 14, and Dec. 9.

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

Business Digest 03-05-14

March 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Local business leaders recognized
Terri Williamson, an advertising representative for The Laker/Lutz News, accepts the newspaper’s award for Medium Business of the Year at the annual Pasco Hernando Hispanic Chamber of Commerce awards banquet at Heritage Harbor. She’s joined by, from left, John Jaay, Darla Sarhaddi, Elayne Bassinger and Harland Henry. Other winners including OurTownFla.com as Small Business of the Year, and its owner Tony Masella as Volunteer of the Year. Ierna’s Heating & Cooling was Large Business of the Year and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay was the Non-Profit of the Year.

SmartStart gets new member
Computers Etc., an information technology company providing complete IT management, support and training, has joined the SmartStart Dade City incubator.

As an offsite member, Computers Etc. has around-the-clock access to the facility, which includes free WiFi, parking, co-working space, a post office box, and meeting rooms.

In addition, Computers Etc. will receive one-on-one mentoring and get assistance from SmartStart’s intern from Saint Leo University’s master of business administration program.

The SmartStart Dade City incubator is the first of its kind in Pasco County, giving companies the opportunity to work in a collaborative environment with other small businesses, gain access to technical support, and network with other business leaders and community partners.

SmartStart is located at 15000 Citrus Country Drive in Dade City. For more information, visit SmartStartPasco.com.

Community Business Expo coming
The Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce will host its 2014 Community Business Expo March 14 and March 15 at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes.

The event runs from 4 p.m. to 7 pm., March 14, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on March 15, with the theme “The Price is Right – Shop Local.”

Sponsorships and booth space remain available, but are limited.

For more information, visit CentralPascoChamber.com, or call (813) 909-2722.

March meeting for Women-n-Charge
Women-n-Charge will meet March 7 beginning at 11:30 a.m., at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive in Tampa.

Speaking is Debra Lombardozzi, who will talk about how to identify personality types so that people can communicate more effectively.

Cost is $15 for members ahead of the meeting, and $18 for all guests and those who haven’t prepaid by March 5.

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

RPE passes SSAE 16 audit
RPE Outsourcing LLC of Land O’ Lakes, has completed a Service Organizations Control 1 Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16 Type 2 examination, known more commonly as SSAE 16.

The audit was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to provide a uniform method of disclosing independently assessed information about the design and operation of internal controls. RPE is a retail cloud computing consultant and an information technologies management service provider.

“Retailers today are more aware than ever of data security and compliance issues, and having confirmation a data center meets the highest standards is critical,” said Cliff Epstein, president of RPE, in a release. The audit helps support the company’s commitment to “safeguarding sensitive information” and keep its data operations secure.

Providing food, clothing, hope is Daystar’s mission

February 27, 2014 By B.C. Manion

The workers in this place are downright cheerful. They poke fun at one another, with gentle affection.

They get along so famously that one might think they’d work there for free — and, indeed all of them do, except for Sister Jean Abbott, who oversees Daystar Hope Center of Pasco County Inc.

Volunteer Lorraine Tedder says she grew up with 10 sisters and three brothers. Her family was poor and the nuns at her Catholic school gave them clothing after school. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

The center provides food and clothing for those in need. It got its start more than 20 years ago as an outreach of St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Abbott said. At the time, Sister Helen Wilxman was teaching religion classes to the young children, and realized the youngsters were too hungry to pay attention to the lessons, Abbott said.

So, Wilxman received permission from the pastor to set up a food pantry. As time went on, the pantry needed more room, so it moved to a new locale, and its volunteers moved along with it.

Just last week, the center celebrated its 20th year of operation as a Florida nonprofit corporation. Over the years, Daystar had a couple of temporary homes before moving to its current location, a humble building at 15512 U.S. 301 in Dade City.

“We’re here five days a week,” Abbott said, adding the store opens at 8 p.m., but they’re there until 1 p.m.

In the back of the building, there’s an office where people needing help register for assistance and receive slips of paper that entitle them to food, clothing and household items, Abbott said.

“If they’re hungry, we don’t care if they’re documented or not,” Abbott said, adding the center will provide food.

In the past, the center occasionally has helped people who needed assistance with rent or utility bills, to pay for prescriptions, or get a car repair, but it can’t do that now, Abbott said.

“Right now, we’re only doing food and items from the thrift shop,” Abbott said. The center is buying so much food, it has to stick with its primary mission.

Those meeting income requirements receive food and clothing vouchers, said Abbott, who is affiliated with the Benedictine Sisters of Florida. Those needing clothing can shop at the thrift store, choosing four complete outfits for each family member.

“They can get shoes and they can get jackets,” she said. “They can come back every three months for clothing. It works out well for people with children.”

Some people need household items, too.

“Some are coming out of a shelter and they need dishes and silverware and sheets and all that stuff,” Abbott said.

The thrift store receives donations, and it sells items to the public to help raise money for Daystar’s operations. The charity also receives food from Feeding America Tampa Bay-Suncoast Branch, from the government, and from other sources, which it distributes to those who qualify for assistance.

Before it became Daystar, the building was a furniture store, Abbott said. That’s why it has so much floor space and large delivery doors. After the organization scraped together enough money for a down payment, a couple made a donation to cover the rest of the purchase, Abbott said. Then, volunteers swarmed in, to renovate the building.

That was in 1996.

Donors have been generous in other ways, as well.

“All day long, people are dropping stuff off,” Abbott said. “People have food drives and clothing drives for us, too. We have mobile home parks that do drives for us. Most of the schools do drives for us. Businesses do drives for us, from time to time, depending on how the economy is.”

But the types of people who donate can be surprising sometimes.

“It’s interesting, though, is the most help we get is from the people who have the least because they know what’s it’s like not to have,” Abbott said. “We get a huge amount of food from Pasco Elementary. They do contests in classrooms.”

Some people lug donations in, then do a bit of shopping on the way out.

The volunteers keep things running. Some have been at it for up to 19 years. Helpers like Pat Gessert live in Florida just during the winter. Others have lived in the area for decades.

John Shoppa, who helps out in the food pantry, said he enjoys volunteering.

“This is kind of payback for all of the good things,” he said said.

Lorraine Tedder, who is about to turn 80, has volunteered for 19 years.

“I love it,” Tedder said. “My husband passed away, and I decided there’s no use sitting around home.”

She also recalls being on the receiving end of help when she was young.

“I came from a large family,” she said. “I had 10 sisters and three brothers. We were poor. We used to go to Catholic school and sister would keep us after school and used to give me clothing.”

Volunteer Deborah Smithberger is there every day.

“My husband and I had donated to Daystar, and I was a frequent shopper,” she said. One day, she decided to help out. She’s been doing that for a year.

“It makes you feel like you’re giving back to the community. I never knew what that meant until I started volunteering,” Smithberger said.

Isabel Wirth, who manages the shop, said helping out is rewarding. She recalled how she got involved.

“My husband had passed. I used to go to mass every day,” Wirth said. “Sister Helen would say, ‘Isabel, come one day.’ I came because she wouldn’t get off my back. I said, ‘I’m going to give you one day a week. That was 14 years ago.”

Now, she works five days a week.

It isn’t just people who need food and clothing who find help at Daystar.

Wirth knows this from personal experience. When she was reeling from the loss of her husband, getting involved at Daystar helped her get back on track.

“It was kind of my savior at the time,” Wirth said.

Published Feb. 26, 2014.

Torch arrives in Wesley Chapel for Special Olympics

February 27, 2014 By Michael Murillo

The Winter Games in Sochi have ended, but a different set of Olympic athletes are gearing up for opening ceremonies in Wesley Chapel this week.

There are many activities those who participate in Special Olympics can take part in every year, like bowling. Sam Whitacre, left, Stephanie Varnes and Andy Faulk from Wesley Chapel High School are among those students who compete at the lanes. (Photo courtesy of Bridget White)

Special Olympics competitors in a variety of sports are expected to participate in the Pasco County Summer Games on Friday at Wesley Chapel High School. The games are affiliated with Special Olympics Florida, the state’s chapter of Special Olympics Inc., which organizes athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Florida’s counties and regions host local games, with winners advancing to state, national or even international competitions.

Wesley Chapel will host athletes from Central and East Pasco County. West Pasco athletes will participate in games at River Ridge High School in New Port Richey.

Wesley Chapel High is ready for the games to begin, said Bridget White, a special education teacher and one of the school’s coordinators for the Special Olympics.

“We feel very honored to host this type of event, and we just love that it keeps getting bigger and bigger every year,” she said. The school has hosted the Summer Games for at least the past four years, and it expects around 475 athletes to participate this year.

That’s a big jump from when the Special Olympics first started in Pasco County decades ago, according to county co-director Valerie Lundin. In 1975, the local Special Olympics had just 175 athletes.

Between the two locations for the Summer Games this year, more than 1,100 athletes are expected to participate, and total attendance at Wesley Chapel High alone could top 1,000 when factoring in family, volunteers and other spectators. The high school was chosen to host the games due to its ability to accommodate the crowds and the buses, which bring students in from different schools.

After the opening ceremonies, athletes will start competing in the different sports represented in the Summer Games: track and field, bocce, soccer skills, cycling and tennis. There also will be an Olympic Village, with games and activities for the athletes and their friends to enjoy while they wait to compete.

While event winners will earn ribbons, it’s not necessarily the end of the competition for any of the athletes, regardless of their finish. Each competitor in the county games is allowed to participate in the area games, which includes athletes from Pasco, Pinellas, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties. From there, only qualifiers will move on to state competition.

The Special Olympics always has a great turnout of volunteers and supporters to help the event succeed and cheer on the participants, White said. And for the athletes, it’s a chance for them to enjoy the spotlight and showcase their skills.

“It’s an opportunity for our kids with disabilities to have something that’s all about them and that’s catered to them,” she said. “So instead of going to their brothers and sisters’ events all the time, they get to come to their events and they get to be the superstar.”

While the Special Olympics is able to consistently promote awareness and celebrate the skills of their student-athletes, Lundin would like to see the organization attract more adult participants as well. Athletes of any age are welcome.

“I know there are a lot of adults in Pasco County who qualify but are not participating at this time, and we’d love to really focus on that population and getting them more involved,” she said.

The opening ceremonies begin at 11:30 a.m., Friday at the school, located at 30651 Wells Road. The event is free and open to the public, with concessions available. Proceeds benefit Special Olympics.

For more information regarding the Summer Games or to inquire about participation, visit SpecialOlympicsFlorida.org, or call (352) 243-9536.

Published Feb. 26, 2014.

Movies aren’t the only attraction at Tampa Theatre

February 27, 2014 By B.C. Manion

When patrons arrive at Tampa Theatre on March 2 to watch the 86th annual Academy Awards, they’ll receive a red-carpet welcome.

Tampa Theatre offers red carpet treatment for special events, such as its Hollywood Awards Nights, held annually to provide a live telecast of the Academy Awards. (Photo courtesy of Tampa Theatre)

Airing the Oscars on the theater’s big screen has been a tradition for 16 years, generating support for the historic movie palace. But creating a buzz for the movie-going public is nothing new for Tampa Theatre, which has entertained crowds for generations.

There was live radio coverage and spotlights, as people arrived in their elegant attire when Tampa Theatre had its grand opening on Oct. 15, 1926, according to an account published in The Tampa Tribune. Moviegoers couldn’t wait to see the handiwork of John Eberson, a preeminent theater architect in his day.

Eberson was an innovative pioneer who developed a reputation for creating “atmospheric” theaters, which aimed to transport people to another place and time, said Jill Witecki, director of marketing and community relations for Tampa Theatre.

The lobby in the theater, at 711 N. Franklin St., in downtown Tampa, is decorated with what appears to be stone gargoyles, wooden beams and tile.

In reality, those items are made of molded and painted plaster, Witecki said, adding that it probably didn’t hurt that Eberson happened to own a plaster company.

The theater’s auditorium is decked out with a replica of a Spanish villa, and the domed ceiling resembles a night sky, complete with clouds and twinkling stars.

Eberson characterized Tampa Theatre as his “favorite Mediterranean atmospheric (theater), and one of his most intimate,” according to author David Naylor, in his book, “American Picture Palaces.”

When Tampa Theatre opened, it was considered to be so grand that it was hailed by The Tampa Daily Times as perhaps “the finest achievement of its kind south of the Mason-Dixon Line.”

Beyond its beauty, the theater had a practical appeal. It was the city’s first air-conditioned public building — an attractive quality on sweltering summer days. It also had uniformed ushers and a 21-piece band to accompany silent films of the era.

A deck now covers the orchestra pit, but the theater’s mighty Wurlitzer plays on.

When movie patrons arrive early enough, they can generally hear an organist perform some tunes before both he and the organ descend below the stage, just in time for the previews to start.

Over the course of its history, the theater has had its glory days and its dark times.

In the beginning, Witecki said, the sheer novelty lured crowds.

“The fact that you were seeing a moving picture on the screen really kind of trumped what the movie was,” she said. “These movies would play over and over and over again through the day, and it was not uncommon to come in, in the middle of a movie, sit through the end of it and sit through the beginning of it — maybe watch it two or three times, if you wanted.

“In 1929, you got your first talkie, so the movie-going experience started to change. All of a sudden, you didn’t have a need for a 21-piece orchestra,” Witecki added.

Before the arrival of television and more recent forms of entertainment, people were in love with the silver screen. By the end of the 1930s, more than 90 million Americans were heading to motion picture houses each week, Witecki said.

“Going to the movies was the communal experience for entertainment,” she said.

But then, a series of things happened that hurt the film industry.

The advent of television and the flight to the suburbs caused downtown movie theaters to suffer. The Tampa Theatre limped along in the 1950s and 1960s, but then it went dark in the early1970s, Witecki said.

It came back to life when Tampa City Councilman Lee Duncan championed efforts to save the theater. Duncan — who took his wife Anna to Tampa Theatre for Friday night dates during their courtship — told The Tampa Tribune at the time that he wanted not only to save a jewel of a movie palace, but to preserve a part of the city’s collective memory, too.

The theater reopened in January 1977.

Tampa Theatre was lucky because, unlike many movie palaces, it never went through a period of neglect, Witecki said.

“We were only closed for a three-year span. Cities all over the country lost theaters like this,” she said.

Tampa Theatre recently installed a digital projection and audio system, and offers its patrons a mix of movies, including first-run, independent, foreign and silent films.

Over the years, the theater also has been a venue for performers such as Annie Lennox, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Joan Baez and Harry Connick Jr. Comedians who have entertained crowds include Louis C.K., Jimmy Fallon, Roseanne Barr, Carrot Top and Sandra Bernhard.

Nobel Prize-winner Elie Weisel and scientist Jane Goodall also have graced the stage, as have a number of politicians and authors.

Theater staffers and patrons have claimed to be spooked by another famous character — the ghost of a former projectionist, Foster “Fink” Finley, who worked at the theater from 1930 to 1965. Reportedly, he still likes to make his presence known.

Whether or not Finley roams the theater, the movie palace has other verifiable claims to fame.

In 2007, Life magazine called it “One of America’s 21 Wonders,” and three years later, Delta Sky Magazine included it on its list of “Top 10 Iconic Show Palaces in the World.”

Just last year, it added two other impressive accolades. The BBC deemed it among the “Top 10 Most Beautiful Cinemas in the World” and the Motion Picture Association of America named it among the “10 Best Movie Theaters in the World.”

Published Feb. 26, 2014.