Local News

Outlet mall completion pushed to July 2015, officials say

January 30, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Dirt could turn soon for a planned outlet mall on State Road 56 near its junction with Interstate 75. But the final product will look quite different from the original designs when it was announced more than seven years ago.

This undeveloped land was once slated for a big box mall, but is now the subject of a planned outlet mall. Site plans have yet to be submitted to Pasco County, however, meaning the project may not be complete until the middle of next year. (File photo)

“It was supposed to be a big box mall,” Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker recently told an economic development committee of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “Obviously, during that period, many of those (originally announced) tenants had to go elsewhere, so they have a new plan on how they want to be out in the marketplace.”

A lot of that is to move toward an outlet mall concept, which was part of developer Simon Property Group’s and landowner Richard E. Jacobs Group’s unofficial announcement last November when news the mall was back on track first started to leak.

Although the plans have been in the works for years, the modifications are taking a little more time since the project will essentially be redesigned, Baker said. And “presuming nothing really crazy happens in the economy,” the new Tampa Premium Outlets should be on track.

Whether it will actually open by the end of this year, as Simon told The Laker/Lutz News last November, is a big question mark at this point. Amanda Boone, development review manager for Pasco County, said her department is still waiting for a site plan.

“I’m not really sure of what their timetable is, because they control when they submit (their site plan) to us,” Boone said. “I did hear July of next year.”

Simon Property Group itself has remained mum on the mall outside of its initial statement in November. The mall has received barely a mention in public filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission since 2012. However, Simon has not released any public filings on its financials since August, and isn’t expected to do it again until the end of January.

When the mall does open, roads surrounding it will have to carry a lot more traffic. That could mean the widening of Wesley Chapel Boulevard leading into the mall is back on the fast track.

“That particular piece of road, down to State Road 54, is already designed,” Baker said. “When we balance our capital improvement budget, we look at the needs for the what and where, and we balance that. The road got pushed out because we didn’t have a mall there that needed it.”

In fact, the county had not planned to begin work on the road until 2022 at the earliest. With a mall now in play, however, it’s likely Simon and Jacobs will want that road operating at higher capacities, and will push for a start date to occur much sooner.

But that depends on what the developers are willing to contribute. The mall developers have around $46 million in unused proportionate share money that was supposed to be used to extend Wesley Chapel Boulevard south through their development, Baker said.

“We have been exploring on whether we can widen Wesley Chapel Boulevard instead, and we might be able to move that forward in our capital plan,” she said. “That’s, of course, depending on how negotiations go with the mall.”

Published Jan. 29, 2014

As classes begin, PHCC becomes Pasco-Hernando State College

January 30, 2014 By B.C. Manion

Pasco-Hernando Community College has changed its named to Pasco-Hernando State College.

The new name reflects the college’s broader mission as it prepares to offer bachelor degree programs. The college’s board of trustees approved the name change at its Jan. 21 board meeting.

Students fill the walkways on the first day of classes at Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, a new satellite campus for Pasco-Hernando State College. (Photo courtesy of Stephen John Photography)

The vote follows the December approval by board of directors of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to authorize the bachelor degree programs.

“Our new name signifies enhanced opportunities for our current and future students,” John DiRienzo Jr., PHSC district board of trustees chair, said in a release. “This is a pivotal moment in our college’s 41-year history. The transition to a state college is reflective of the college’s enhanced mission to provide accessible, affordable, quality higher education that meets the needs of our local residents and employers.”

PHSC plans to begin offering a bachelor of applied science degree in supervision and management, and a bachelor of science in nursing, both in August.

“These two baccalaureate degrees are in high demand fields that will provide advanced career opportunities in fast-growing, stable industries,” PHSC president Katherine M. Johnson said, in a release. “While the word ‘community’ no longer appears in our new name, the college’s commitment to serve the higher education needs of residents from all of our communities has never been stronger.”

The nursing bachelor’s degree is designed to prepare graduates of associate’s degree nursing programs — who already have a registered nursing license — to obtain additional skills in management, leadership, theory and research to succeed and be promoted within the nursing profession.

Prerequisite courses for this program will be offered at any of the college’s campuses. The bachelor’s degree in nursing program will be offered only online.

Published Jan. 29, 2014

The bachelor’s degree in supervision and management is designed to meet the needs of students with business, technology and workforce-focused associate’s degrees. Several courses in this program will be available at every campus and online, with the full program initially offered at the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel.

Besides getting a new name, the college boasted an opening day enrollment of 1,600 students at the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, according to campus provost Stan Giannet.

While classes have begun, construction work continues at the campus, Giannet said, adding that the ongoing construction work will not disrupt campus operations.

To learn more about Pasco-Hernando State College degree and certificate programs, visit PHSC.edu, or call (855) 669-7472.

Published Jan. 29, 2014

Business Digest 01-29-14

January 30, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Tucker Carlson headlines Saint Leo conference
Television commentator Tucker Carlson will deliver the keynote address at Saint Leo University’s Fifth International Business Conference, taking place Feb. 19-21 at the university.

Carlson will appear Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Student Community Center’s Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardrooms. Admission to the talk is free and open to the public, but tickets are required to reserve seating. That is available by calling (352) 588-8837, or emailing .

Carlson is host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” and is a former anchor with CNN’s “Crossfire.”

The Donald R. Tapia School of Business at Saint Leo is organizing the event, with the theme of “innovation and internationalization.” It will include attendees from 14 countries, with some programs geared toward academic audiences and business researchers, and others focused on the experience of professionals and executives in the business world.

Registration is available at SaintLeo.edu/ibc2014. The school is located at 33701 State Road 52 in St. Leo.

HR meeting at SmartStart
Dade City’s business incubator SmartStart will host a session addressing human resources Feb. 11 beginning at noon at the facility, located at 15000 Citrus Country Drive in Dade City.

Speaker will be Kelley Rexroad, chief executive of Krex Consulting.

Participants are asked to bring their own lunch.

To RSVP, email Krista Covey at , or call (352) 437-4861.

Gulf Coast Medical gets boost from Fifth Third
Fifth Third Bank has extended more than $10.6 billion in new and renewed credit to business customers late last year, locally benefitting Gulf Coast Medical Center and Florida Institute for Advanced Diagnostic Imaging.

The facility is a multi-specialty outpatient diagnostic medical center with locations in Spring Hill and Port Richey.

Gulf Coast received two commercial mortgages and a line of credit from the bank to realign debt and improve access to working capital for future capital expenditures, according to a release.

Lawmakers try to raise state minimum wage
Two Democrats in the Florida Legislature have introduced a bill that would eliminate the tip credit and raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for tipped and non-tipped workers in the state.

The current minimum wage for tipped workers is $4.91, with the expectation the remaining income would come from tips. However, State Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Cutler Bay, and State Rep. Cynthia Stafford, D-Miami, say they have research that indicates servers use food stamps at double the rate of the rest of the U.S. work force, and are three times as likely to live in poverty.

There is a federal effort underway to raise the minimum wage, but even if that were to be successful, tipped workers would only be required to get a base pay of 70 percent of the new minimum wage.

Both the senate and house bills have been referred to committees, but it’s not clear how strong the chances are they would be passed in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Upcoming SCORE seminars
The Pasco-Hernando Chapter of SCORE, which historically stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives, will host the following upcoming free seminars:

• E-Marketing Concepts at Centennial Park Branch Library, 5730 Moog Road, Holiday, Feb. 4 at 5:15 p.m. Attendees will learn about e-marketing technologies and how they may help to enhance the ability of small business to reach customers and communicate their brand, products and services.

Cell phones donated to domestic violence victims
The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections has donated 1,100 cell phones used during the last election by employees of the department to the domestic violence shelter program The Spring of Tampa Bay.

The cell phones were used by nearly 4,000 poll workers at 340 precincts. They are being replaced through a new contract that includes new phones at no additional charge.

“The period between elections is all about planning and making sure we’ll have everything we need to run an election cost-effectively and efficiently,” said Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County’s supervisor of elections, in a release. “In this case, we could get new cell phones at no cost to taxpayers, and be able to donate the older ones to those who need some help. It’s good for our voters, and good for our community.”

The county’s next elections are set for the primaries Aug. 26, with the mid-term general elections set for Nov. 4.

Political Agenda 01-29-14

January 30, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Littlefield joins commission race
The race to see who will replace Pat Mulieri on the Pasco County Commission just got a little wider after former State Rep. Ken Littlefield decided to jump into the race.

Littlefield’s run comes four years after losing a primary to Mulieri, who will retire this year after two decades in office.

Littlefield first came to political prominence in 1999 when he won a special election for the Florida House seat formerly occupied by his brother, Carl Littlefield. He left office in 2006, planning to join Florida’s Public Service Commission, as appointed by then-Gov. Jeb. Bush. However, once Gov. Charlie Crist took office, he rescinded the nomination, and appointed Philip Nowicki and Jeremy Susac instead.

In his last two years in Tallahassee, Littlefield had four bills he wrote passed into law, including a 2004 law that transferred the responsibility of handling state and federal funds for domestic violence shelters from the state Department of Children and Families to a statewide association.

In the 2010 election, Littlefield raised $21,000, but that was dwarfed by Mulieri’s $88,000 war chest.

This time around, fellow Republicans Mike Moore and Bob Robertson have already combined to raise $50,000 for the August primary.

Brodeur endorses Burgess for House
State Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, endorsed Zephyrhills mayor Danny Burgess in his quest to win the District 38 House seat currently held by Will Weatherford.

“Danny is a committed conservative who will bring new life to timeless principles,” Brodeur said, in a release. “In addition, Danny brings a wealth of experience, service and leadership abilities to the task ahead, and will be a welcome new face in the House.”

Brodeur represents parts of Seminole County, and was first elected to the Legislature in 2010.

Burgess potentially faces Minerva Diaz in the August Republican primary, with the winner facing Democrat Beverly Anne Ledbetter in November, if no one else files.

Wilson at Republican club
The Republican Club of Central Pasco will host Pasco County Commissioner Henry Wilson on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m., at Copperstone Executive Suites, 3632 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes. The topic will be the proposed elevated highway over State Road 54, and the delay in constructing Ridge Road. For information, call Steve Graves at (813) 996-3011.

Corcoran raising lots of money
He doesn’t have an opponent at this point, but State Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, is ready just in case.

So far, the District 37 legislator has raised a little more than $102,000, more than any other local candidate for the state house this year.

Both Dan Raulerson, R-Plant City, and Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, have raised a little more than half of that each — just under $60,000 and $58,400 respectively — in races where each have yet to draw a challenger as well. James Grant, R-Tampa, has raised just under $31,000 for his District 64 seat, and has yet to be opposed.

Zephyrhills mayor Daniel Burgess jumped into a state house race in District 38 for Will Weatherford’s seat with built-in challengers. So far, Burgess has raised a little less than $17,000, outpacing his Republican primary opponent Minerva Diaz ($4,072), and substantially more than his possible Democratic challenger, Beverly Anne Ledbetter, who has raised $2,158.

In District 63, incumbent Mark Danish, D-Tampa, will have a real fight on his hands to stay in Tallahassee. Right now former Tampa City Councilman Shawn Harrison has raised $50,810 compared to Danish’s $40,147. Harrison’s Republican primary challenger, Bret Wedding, has raised $10,750.

Crooked Creek Ranch holds fundraiser
Republican candidates for the state House — Danny Burgess, Shawn Harrison, Chris Latvala and Chris Sprowls — will raise money through a Wild Game Dinner at Crooked Creek Ranch, 29325 Darby Road, Dade City, Jan. 31 beginning at 5 p.m.

Donations will be accepted up to the state maximum of $1,000 per individual to support each campaign.

Burgess, the current mayor of Zephyrhills, is facing a primary against Minerva Diaz in District 38, the seat currently held by Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. Harrison also has a Republican primary challenger for District 63, Bret Wedding, for a seat currently held by Mark Danish, D-Tampa.

Latvala has filed to run in District 67 in a seat currently held by Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater. He’s facing Christopher Shepard and Frederick Thomson so far in the primary.

Sprowls is a candidate for District 65, in a seat currently held by Carl Zimmerman, D-Palm Harbor. He is expected to face off with Debbie Faulkner in his primary.

For details about the dinner, visit VoteDannyBurgess.com.

Published Jan. 29, 2014

Land O’ Lakes man rockets to new heights

January 22, 2014 By B.C. Manion

If Michael Roberts is working on a project, chances are it is rocket science.

The Land O’ Lakes man has been fascinated with making things fly where he wants them to go since he was a young boy.

Michael Roberts stands in his garage near a rocket he built from scratch. The rocket soared 11,000 feet and attained a speed of 920 miles per hour. The stick rocket that he’s holding was his first attempt at rocket building. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

“I started going to the five-and-dime seeing these little windup planes,” he said. “I had a shoebox full.”

As time went on, he graduated from balsa wood model airplanes to radio-controlled airplanes and helicopters, which he bought with his paper route money.

“My mom kind of thought I’d grow out of it,” he said. Instead, the 49-year-old who flies aircraft for the U.S. Department of Defense delved deeper.

In recent years, Roberts decided to get into designing model rockets from scratch. That began after he moved to the Tampa Bay area, just down the street from his nephew.

When his nephew began asking questions about rocketry, Roberts was inspired to try to build them.

“I started with small rockets — stick rockets — and they got bigger and bigger,” he said.

As his interest deepened, his rockets became more sophisticated. They had become so large that he decided he needed to add parachutes.

After that, he joined the Tripoli Tampa Rocketry Association, which has rocket launches on the third Saturday of each month in Plant City. It was then Roberts decided to pursue certification so he could launch larger rockets, and is now at the highest level a civilian can achieve.

“It’s a big deal,” he said.

With that certification, Roberts is qualified to launch a rocket capable of reaching the edge of space. But he still would need the proper kind of rocket and would need to launch it in the right place, under the proper conditions. To earn his top-level certification, he launched a rocket that flew 11,000 feet at 920 miles per hour, returning to the Earth intact.

He built that rocket from scratch in his garage.

It took him thousands of hours to progress from the first stick rocket that he constructed to his 14th rocket, which weighed more than 30 pounds. He built that rocket from parts he bought at such places as Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Target, Walmart and hobby shops.

It is made from double-layered polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, pipe, and includes such items as baby powder, Christmas tree light bulbs, keychain cameras, pet tracker GPS devices, and commercial composite fuel.

“The guys in the club kept trying to tell me, ‘Don’t do it (from) scratch. It’s going to be a lot of work. It’s probably not going to work,’” Roberts said.

He ignored their advice.

“Scratch-build — what I like about it is that it takes more research,” Roberts said.

He jotted design ideas and calculations in a composition notebook. He kept going back to them, to refine them. His goal was to limit the number of variables to reduce potential for problems.

“Too many variables, you don’t know what happened” if something goes wrong, Roberts said. “Reduce the variables, when you’re doing something complex, I don’t care what it is.”

At a launch, Roberts runs through a mental checklist.

“I look at it as stages. Let’s make sure it ignites,” he said. “Your first thing is, let’s get it to launch and not blow up.”

As the rocket rises, “you’re thinking of other items that should happen, that should trigger,” he said. “You’re kind of keeping a clock in your head of what should be next.”

Finally, “you want to be able to find it, because you can have a good flight and not be able to find it,” Roberts said. “That would be a sad time.”

Even with a good design, nothing is guaranteed.

“You’re not sure. The engine could blow up or something could fly off,” he said. “That’s why it’s such a good feeling when it all works.”

Roberts gets a kick out of flying rockets and radio-controlled model airplanes and helicopters, and he hopes to encourage young people to pursue model aeronautics. He thinks that working with models was good for him because it captivated his interest.

“It kept me focused and kept me out of trouble,” he said.

He invites anyone who is interested in learning more to contact him at

To view Roberts’ rocket launch, visit youtu.be/U6JBVRkGq-s.

Paving public streets: Some homeowners left in the dust

January 22, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Years of dirt roads will soon end for residents of the Pasco Lake Estates subdivision after Pasco County Commissioners approved a paving project of just under $800,000. But it won’t be cheap as landowners in the neighborhood fork over thousands of dollars over the next 15 years to pay for the project.

Officials estimate that there are some 500 miles of unpaved roads in Pasco County, and the only way to pave them is to charge a special assessment to those who live on them. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

That’s business as usual for anyone wanting to pave any of the more than 500 miles of dirt road in the county, said Michael Garrett, director of the county’s Public Works Department. Many of those roads were part of subdivisions, or are used only by those living in those neighborhoods. But others are part of what are described as rural neighborhoods, where dirt roads have been grandfathered into the county’s overall street plans.

“The problem is that when you have very large lots, the road becomes very expensive to build,” Garrett said. “There is not a lot of interest in getting them done.”

All but about 20 miles of the dirt roads are located in the central and eastern parts of the county, Garrett said. Neighborhood residents come to the county quite regularly asking for roads to be paved, but typically only one or two neighborhoods are done each year — and only after landowners agree to pay a special assessment.

In Pasco Lake Estates, that averages out to about $7,600 for each lot. If that cost is spread out over 15 years, the county will add interest of about $2,100.

That’s along the lines of what Bonnie Rupe and her neighbors were told a couple years back when they asked the county to pave their Zephyrhills neighborhood. Rupe and her family moved to Miller Avenue a decade ago from Wesley Chapel, and expected the dirt roads just outside of city limits would be paved in just a couple years.

“We have three vehicles, and we’re constantly washing our cars because of the dust that flies up from the road,” Rupe said. “There are a lot of people on our street here with asthma problems, and other health conditions, and I’m convinced it’s because of the dirt road.”

Several streets in Rupe’s neighborhood are dirt, including 20th Street, which borders to the west. But unlike Pasco Lake Estates, none of the roads are part of a subdivision. And many of Rupe’s neighbors would be hard-pressed to call the area “rural,” as it’s literally blocks from the strip malls of County Road 54, and a short jaunt from Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.

A vote to pave the roads throughout that particular area, where there are at least 60 lots lining less than 1.5 miles of road, failed. Not because people didn’t want paved roads, but because the $6,000 price tag to pave was just too high.

“There’s no way I could afford that right now,” Rupe said. “I don’t think a lot of us here can afford that.”

The problem, Garrett said, is there’s just no money to do it. The county is working on ways to fund current road maintenance and construction needs, and even with an expanded gas tax in coming years, that could still prove to be tricky.

Instead, costs for those wanting to convert to paved roads are passed on to the owners of lots lining those roads. A dozen owners in Pasco Lake Estates will shoulder a third of the overall cost.

One owner, Ollie Williams, would be responsible for $38,620, plus an additional $11,500 in interest if he pays over 15 years. Habitat for Humanity, which maintains four lots in the neighborhood designed to give people an interest-free shot at owning a home, will be on the hook for just under $27,000, along with $8,000 in interest.

“I feel that it’s not fair that they have to charge us,” Rupe said. “They are paving streets in the county all the time, and we pay taxes to the county. We should have paved roads as well.”

Military museum in Largo conveys the human side of war

January 22, 2014 By B.C. Manion

Visitors to the Armed Forces History Museum will get the sense that they are stepping into scenes from war.

Smoke drifts through a dim room, soldiers aim their guns at the enemy, and the rat-a-tat-tat sounds of gunfire fill the air in the museum’s World War I bunker.

John J. Piazza Sr., a retired businessman and former U.S. Marine, began collecting military artifacts and memorabilia when he was 17. About 90 percent of the items on display at the Armed Forces History Museum came from his personal collection. (Photo courtesy of the Armed Forces Military Museum) — John J. Piazza Sr., a retired businessman and former U.S. Marine, began collecting military artifacts and memorabilia when he was 17. About 90 percent of the items on display at the Armed Forces History Museum came from his personal collection.
(Photo courtesy of the Armed Forces Military Museum)

Exhibit cases in the room contain personal items that soldiers carried with them. They include foot powder, a razor, prayer books, a sewing kit and binoculars.

These items of daily living convey a sense of the human side of war.

The museum — in a squat warehouse a bit off the beaten track — contains a treasure trove of war artifacts and military memorabilia. Not only can visitors see what soldiers carried, but they also can see what military personnel wore, the weapons they used and the vehicles they rode in or drove.

More than 100,000 items are on display at the largest nongovernment funded museum of its kind in the state, said Cindy Bosselmann, the museum’s director of marketing and events. Even before visitors step inside the 35,000-square-foot building at 2050 34th Way N., in Largo, they’ll see military vehicles in the parking lot, including a helicopter and a Russian MiG jet.

About 90 percent of the items on exhibit were donated by retired businessman John J. Piazza Sr., who began amassing his vast collection more than a half-century ago. Piazza was 17 when he got his first military item — a World War I German mortar grenade given to him by his girlfriend.

Over the years, he continued collecting items, and he created a mobile museum that he drove around to the independent living centers, assisted living facilities and nursing homes that he owned. He used his traveling museum as a marketing tool, offering people a chance to see his collection and to entice potential customers to find out more about the facilities he owned.

After he retired, Piazza decided to create a nonprofit museum so that younger generations could learn about military conflicts, and to honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces. As patrons stroll through the military history center, they can hear the sounds of war and can listen to oral histories recorded by military personnel who witnessed such pivotal events as the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima’s Mt. Suribachi, and the D-Day landing of U.S. forces on Utah Beach.

It took Piazza and a team he hired about 18 months to create the exhibits that the now 75-year-old designed. The idea was to give visitors enough information to explain the exhibit, but not so much that it overwhelms them, said Piazza, who visited museums and looked through books before designing the exhibits.

“I wanted people to come in and have a wow effect,” Piazza said.

The museum includes displays featuring artifacts from World War 1, World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In one room, visitors will get a chance to learn more about the Japanese attack on U.S. Naval forces in Pearl Harbor. They’ll see model warships from the 1970 movie “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and can view black-and-white film footage of actual attacks.

They can also see a chair that once was in the office of Adm. Yamamoto Isoroku, who masterminded Japan’s Pearl Harbor attacks.

In another room, devoted to exhibits for the U.S. Navy, visitors can peer through a periscope to get a view of the museum’s parking lot.

Patrons also can listen to the story of Capt. Leonard Schroeder, the first to step foot on Utah Beach during the invasion. Some of Schroeder’s personal artifacts are on display in a glass case, including a pair of boots from that historic day.

As visitors step into another room, they’ll see a French village scene, complete with a soldier dangling from a parachute caught on a church spire. The scene portrays a partial replica of the church Sainte-Mere-Eglise in the Cotentin Peninsula near the coast of Normandy, France.

Germans had occupied the town for four years until U.S. forces arrived on June 6, 1944, in Operation Boston, giving the town a claim of being one of the first liberated in the invasion.

The paratrooper depicted in the museum was Pvt. John M. Steele, who was taken prisoner by the Germans, but later rescued.

“There’s still an effigy (of Steele) hanging there (on the church), in real life,” Piazza said, to serve as a reminder of what happened.

Another scene in the museum sets the scene for the heroic actions of 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez as he scales a wall. After topping the wall, he smothered a grenade to prevent it from killing the troops that were with him.

Lopez, a graduate of Hillsborough High School, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and a state veterans nursing home in Land O’ Lakes bears the name of the war hero.

Another highlight in the museum is a tribute to prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. There’s also a recreation of Rosie’s bar, made famous by the television series, “M.A.S.H.”

Other notable items on display include a uniform worn by Saddam Hussein and a playing card depicting him as the ace of spades from a deck of Iraqi war criminal recognition cards.

In the Salute to Services room, which is the first one visitors see coming in, there are crisp uniforms on display in clear cases. They represent every branch of the U.S. military, dating back to the Civil War.

Other rooms show off the museum’s collection of arms, grenades and land mines, and throughout the museum there are vehicles, which are fully operational. That collection includes jeeps, tanks, a 1942 Harley-Davidson motorcycle and an amphibious vehicle that can operate on land or water.

Other items of interest include an exhibit honoring the contribution of the Tuskegee Airmen and a wall of heroes, which features shadow boxes containing personal items, such as letters, photographs, post cards and dog tags.

Piazza, who is a former U.S. Marine, is at the museum nearly every day. He said it’s gratifying to see the war veterans when they tour through the museum. They often react when they see an item they would have used in the field.

“Emotionally, it puts them back in the trenches,” Piazza said.

He also enjoys visits from school groups.

“What continues to amaze me is the interest of these young kids – fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders,” Piazza said. “They are really, really interested. They ask really good questions.”

If you go
Armed Forces History Museum
WHAT: A collection of more than 100,000 war artifacts and military memorabilia, featuring oral histories, sound recordings, black-and-white footage and scenes depicting various wars.
WHERE: 2050 34th Way N., Largo, 33771
COST: Adults. $17.95; youths, 4 to 12, $12.95; senior citizens age 65 and older, $14.95; veterans, $14.95. Special prices are offered for group tours and special events.
INFO: Call (727) 539-8371, or visit ArmedForcesMuseum.com

This little library downtown never closes

January 22, 2014 By Michael Hinman

When Amanda Lakes opened her hair salon, Charm Hair Studio, on the corner of Seventh Street and Fifth Avenue, she added something downtown Zephyrhills had never seen before.

Amanda Lakes sorts through some of the books stored outside her shop on Seventh Street and Fifth Avenue. People are encouraged to take a book or leave a book, and many return books they’ve borrowed with notes in the margins. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

It was a small box, with a little door. And inside, it was filled with books. A small wood-carved sign on top advertised it as a Little Free Library, and encouraged anyone to “take a book” or “return a book.”

“There is no real system to it; you just take a book or leave a book,” Lakes said. “People ask me if anyone ever steals the books. But you can’t steal them, they’re already free.”

Lakes opened Charm at the former Main Street Zephyrhills office last August. Deciding to add a free library was an afterthought, but she spent a day building the stand. For the door, she “cheated” and was able to adapt an old picture frame.

But the Little Free Library is not just something Lakes developed on a whim. In fact, the national movement started a few years ago in Wisconsin when Todd Bol built a small wooden box in the shape of a one-room schoolhouse to honor his mother. He placed it in his front yard and filled it with books.

It was a hit in his neighborhood, and a movement was born. There are now hundreds of them all over the country, and a handful on nearly every continent. Florida alone boasts more than 50 of them, with the closest one outside of Zephyrhills in Lakeland.

“It is a topic of conversation a lot,” Lakes said. “It would be nice if more business owners would do it, too, but I don’t know if they see the value in it. I am not doing it to promote the salon business. I do it because I like working downtown, and it’s a way to do something fun and helpful for the community.”

But other businesses could do the same thing, and maybe even stock it with books that relate to their business. A travel agency, for example, could keep their library filled with travel books, Lakes said.

People are stopping in her shop so often to donate books for the library, Lakes stores many of them in a work closet until there’s room. People will come and take books from her outside stand, and some will even bring them back later on, complete with notes in the margins, or even messages to future readers.

“People will review the books, writing what they thought of it,” Lakes said. “I’ve even had people go back and forth with conversation, almost like it’s a mobile book club. There is this kind of attraction to the whole thing, especially now in a world where everything is so technology-driven.”

The Little Free Library sits outside Charm at 5224 Seventh St., and never closes.

“It’s always open, and anyone who just happens to be walking by is free to explore,” Lakes said.

A vet’s best friend: Richardson wins Dalmatian Award

January 22, 2014 By Michael Murillo

Santa Claus has elves to help him, and firefighters have Dalmatians in the firehouse as team players. So who does Central Pasco Veterinary Care have?

Zachary Novak poses with Santa, portrayed here by Vern Richardson, as part of the ‘Pet Photos with Santa Day’ project. The project helps raise money each year to provide specialized oxygen masks for animals in fires and accidents. (Courtesy of Matt McEachern)

They have Vern Richardson.

“I love animals. I’m a dog lover. I’ve had them for years,” he said.

But Richardson’s pug, Thor, isn’t the only animal that benefits from his fondness for pets. And now he’s being recognized for it.

Richardson, who actually plays Santa Claus at Central Pasco Veterinary Care’s fundraisers, won the 2013 Pasco Hernando Veterinary Medical Association Dalmatian Award, given to local residents who go above and beyond with their efforts to help veterinarians in their area. Award winners are recognized as special contributors, volunteering their time for charitable causes and community service projects.

In Richardson’s case, he poses with his red suit (just a costume) and white beard (it’s real) with four-legged friends in the “Pet Photos with Santa Day” project. The annual event, organized by Dr. Jo Ann Daniels and her staff, raises money to purchase pet oxygen masks for local fire trucks when they provide aid to furry victims as well as humans.

Daniels, the medical association’s vice president, nominated Richardson for the award and was happy that her regular helper for the past four years has finally been recognized for his work.

“We’re very fortunate to have such a wonderful person who volunteers his time, and who has the same philosophy as ours — trying to give back to the community, supporting veterinarians and supporting veterinary medicine,” Daniels said.

This past year, the photos enabled Daniels to provide five sets of masks for fire trucks. Each set of oxygen masks has three different sizes, allowing fire rescue personnel to help a variety of pets when the need arises. Daniels also provides training on how to use them.

And the masks are used. Just a few months ago, first responders were able to resuscitate a cat thanks to the special equipment.

“These pet oxygen masks have already saved lives in the community, and (Richardson) has been a big part of that,” she said.

Helping save the lives of beloved pets might be a new experience for Richardson, but posing for photos as Santa Claus is a familiar one. He used to work in malls in South Florida before settling in Land O’ Lakes. Having pets on his lap is different than posing with humans, and he prefers his current job to his old one.

“I think dogs are easier to handle than children,” he said with a jolly laugh.

While Thor lives a comfortable, carefree life in Richardson’s care, he knows many animals don’t enjoy those luxuries. That’s why he often donates a 50-poung bag of dog food when he goes shopping to stock up on his own supplies.

Like many animal lovers, Richardson said it bothers him to hear about pets that aren’t being cared for properly, and it motivates him to help make sure they have an opportunity to live healthier, happier lives.

“Every time I see some story about an abused animal, I just cringe,” he said. “It just amazes me that people can do that. Whatever we can do to help out these animals, especially if they’re homeless or abandoned or sick, I’m good with that.”

While Richardson was both appreciative and surprised when he found out he was the Dalmatian Award recipient, Daniels said he’s been a rare and valuable find for a veterinarian.

“He’s just really special,” she said. “He’s just been really generous over the years in his volunteerism and his generosity toward helping animals.”

County waiting on feds to start Overpass Road expansion

January 22, 2014 By Michael Hinman

In just a matter of weeks or even days, federal officials are expected to give the final green light to an Interstate 75 interchange project that will forever change one rural country road in Pasco County.

Big changes could soon come to Overpass Road, especially with the point where it crosses Interstate 75. Plans are to expand the road to four lanes, and build an interchange, connecting it to the interstate. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Despite its proximity to Wesley Chapel District Park and the future site of a high school, Overpass Road is typically a quiet one, connecting Old Pasco and Boyette roads over the interstate. But work could begin as early as next year to turn it into an important Pasco County traffic corridor, alleviating some of the congestion at State Road 52 to the north and State Road 54 to the south.

“Over time, you’re going to see more access points coming into this portion of the county,” said James Edwards, transportation planning manager for Pasco County. “Overpass Road is a $50 million project, and the county is going to have to come up with a funding plan to make it work.”

Once the county receives approval from the Federal Highway Administration through the Florida Department of Transportation, it has just eight years to construct the interchange. If it fails, then the entire planning process would have to start again.

“When we get approval is when the clock starts ticking,” Edwards said. “You don’t want to miss that window, because basically you’d be starting from scratch with your planning studies. And that could put you back two or three more years.”

Immediate plans are to widen Overpass Road to four lanes, with the ability to expand to six in the future. Eventually, the county is interested in using an expanded Overpass Road to connect Old Pasco Road and U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills.

The area might be quiet and rural now, but it’s not expected to look that way over the next 20 years, Edwards said. Studies show that the population will explode 400 percent to 218,000 people in 2035. Right now, just fewer than 60,000 people live in that area.

Capacity on I-75 also will increase through that area from the current 51,000 vehicles daily between State Roads 52 and 54, to 165,800 in 2040. That volume will completely clog up the existing interchanges in San Antonio to the north and Wesley Chapel to the south, and could even back up State Road 56 just north of the Hillsborough County line.

Some officials already have speculated that the State Road 54/56 corridor could some day be forced to expand to 20 lanes, which has prompted one private group to propose an elevated toll road to create express lanes between Zephyrhills and New Port Richey. While the expansion of Overpass Road would be just nine miles compared to the 33 miles of the elevated road, traffic going back and forth between the interstate and east Pasco could at least have another road alternative, Edwards said.

The county has a chance to have state and federal highway construction dollars offset the Overpass Road project, but first officials have to show they can fund it on their own, Edwards said. County officials use money primarily from gas taxes, Penny for Pasco and mobility fees to fund construction. But those funds have not necessarily been plentiful in recent years, especially after county commissioners rejected an expansion of the gas tax last year.

Raising money through bonds is another possibility, Edwards said. That could be more costly in the long run because the county would have to pay interest on the bonds.

Pasco County has already started to earmark funds for this particular project, however, with $15 million, Edwards said. And there’s a chance the new Penny for Pasco that starts in 2015 could generate some money for this project.

“Whether the state or federal government will put in any money, you can’t depend on that,” Edwards said.