Local News

San Antonio sizzles: It’s Rattlesnake Festival time

October 16, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Every year, on the third Saturday of October, thousands head to San Antonio Park to enjoy wide-ranging activities and foods at the annual Rattlesnake and Music Festival.

The event almost didn’t happen this year, though.

Previous event organizers had decided not to have the annual festival. So a half-dozen Rotary clubs from East Pasco County stepped up to take on the event, said David West, a festival board member.

Aislynn Brooks, left, sits atop a pony waiting for the ride to start. The 19-month-old Rattlesnake Festival attendee is practically a pro, making her second appearance at the festival. Aislynn’s mother, Heather Brooks, stands alongside. (File photo)

While this festival marks the 47th year that people have gathered to experience the festivities, this year’s lineup has a few changes.

For one thing, music will play a larger role — hence the festival’s new name. For another, there will be a beer garden, said Mike Mira, president of the East Pasco Rotary Charities, which has taken over the festival.

Another change is that the event will be one day, instead of two.

But the Oct. 19 festival will begin at 9 a.m. and go until 10 p.m., featuring an evening concert — another new twist, West said.

The planned reptile show had to be cancelled, but Wild Things of Dade City will be doing a wild life show, Mira said.

The event also will feature Billy the Exterminator, of A&E reality television program fame, West said. His appearance is being sponsored by Ierna’s Heating & Cooling, of Lutz.

Skip Mahaffey, a widely known local radio personality, also has been confirmed as the master of ceremonies for the evening concert.

In conjunction with the annual event, the Rotary Club of San Antonio is hosting the 35th annual Rattlesnake Run. Runners can choose to race for 5 miles or 1 mile on a course that includes hills, sidewalks, groves, a bridge and more hills.

The event also features festival foods galore.

Eddie Herrmann, one of the festival’s original founders, recalls its early days when it actually featured a rattlesnake roundup, with people bringing rattlesnakes they had captured. They would enter them in competitions judging size, weight and appearance.

The snakes would win prizes, and in turn, they would be used in payment for the snake expert who put on a show, Herrmann said.

Real gopher tortoises were used in races, too, Herrmann said. But that stopped after state officials objected to people handling the reptiles.

Mechanical tortoises, designed by Herrmann, now take the place of the live ones.

While there have been changes over time, the festival still aims to provide affordable family fun, and to raise money for community causes, West said.

There’s no admission charge or parking fee, but attractions within the festival and food will carry a cost, West said.

Those attending the festival will have plenty of choices of things to see and do and can get their fill of festival foods.

This year’s slate of entertainers includes The Beaumont Family Bluegrass Band, the Florida Cracker Boys, Steelhorse and Crabgrass Cowboys. Cowboy Tom will be there, too.

There will be animal shows, arts and crafts, a truck show, and rides and games for kids.

People who want to grab a bite to eat or something to drink can purchase such offerings as barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, rattlesnake bites, gator nuggets, pizza and funnel cakes.

Rod Lincoln, owner of Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q in Zephyrhills, has donated 700 chicken dinners and is the event’s primary sponsor, Mira said.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Rotary clubs, which in turn provide a considerable amount of support in the community, Mira said.

Rotary clubs, for example, provide food bags for families in need during the holidays, bags of food to help feed hungry children during summer months, and school supplies for kids going back to school.

Seminar tackles serious threat of concussions

October 16, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Dr. Jonathan Phillips was in his residency near Pittsburgh when he was introduced to the realm of concussions and the kind of harm they can inflict.

The deficits they cause can affect much more than an athlete’s ability to get back onto the playing field, said Phillips, whose office is in the Wellness Plaza at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. They can harm the athlete’s learning abilities and the impacts can spill over to family life, as parents have to shift their priorities to get proper treatment for their child.

Dr. Jonathan Phillips, of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel’s Wellness Plaza, conducts a concussion exam. (Photo courtesy of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel)

Philips is sharing that and more in a seminar, “Rising Dangers of Concussion: What Coaches, Parents and Young Athletes Need to Know.” It takes place Oct. 22 beginning at 6 p.m.

Admission is free, and so is a meal that comes with it, but those wishing to attend must register in advance.

Phillips is certified in sports medicine and has provided care for many athletes. During his fellowship at the University of South Florida, he took care of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the USF Bulls, and even the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team when they were in town for Spring Training.

Now, he’s the team doctor for the Arena Football League team Tampa Bay Storm.

“The biggest thing that people don’t realize is that concussions account for about 1.6 (million) of the 3.8 million of traumatic or mild brain injury in the folks ages 15 to 24,” said Phillips, citing statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To combat that problem, it’s essential for coaches, parents and athletes to become more aware of the causes and symptoms of concussions, and the proper course of treatment.

Parents whose children don’t play heavy contact sports, such as football, may think their children aren’t at risk, Phillips said. But that isn’t true. Concussions can occur in athletes playing a wide range of sports, including soccer, basketball, baseball and volleyball.

The CDC has published educational materials to help coaches, parents and athletes learn prevention strategies and how to identify symptoms. Phillips will discuss prevention, symptoms and treatment of concussion at his seminar.

A concussion, the doctor said, “is a mechanical stress on the brain itself that causes it to move, or shift inside the head.”

That shifting causes a metabolic injury to the brain, Phillips said.

While concussions often result from a jolt or blow to the head, they can also be caused by a hit to another part of the body, such as a whiplash action, the doctor said.

Symptoms of a concussion can include loss of consciousness, headaches, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, changes in behavior and sensitivity to noise or light.

Those symptoms may become evident on a playing field, on the sideline or in a locker room, Phillips said. Sometimes, however, the signs of a concussion show up later.

When a concussion is suspected, the next step is to seek medical care and then to receive medical clearance before returning to sport, the CDC says.

Phillips recommends seeing a doctor who is knowledgeable about concussions — to get the proper care as quickly as possible and to avoid unnecessary tests, which can be expensive and may delay appropriate treatment.

“Not everyone needs an MRI. Not everyone needs a CAT scan. Not everyone needs an EEG,” Phillips said, describing an electroencephalography exam.

One tool that’s helpful is an online baseline test of an athlete’s memory, reaction time, motor speed and so on, Phillips said.

“After they have a baseline test, if they were to get injured, it would be easy to see the comparison,” Phillips said, noting it’s just one of the tools that doctors use to evaluate a patient with a suspected concussion.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel provides these baseline tests for free to youth athletes, said Tracy Clouser, director of marketing for the hospital.

While people may think that dramatic, head-jolting hits cause the worst concussions, Phillips said that small, repeated injuries are generally more damaging.

“A lot of times those spectacular hits that you see where people get knocked out for one- or 15 seconds, and then they’re up — those folks recover fairly quickly as opposed to those with multiple hits,” he said.

That’s because the athletes suffering the smaller, repeated hits tend to shake it off and get back into the game. But they are usually injured again before the first damage has a chance to heal, Phillips said.

If a parent suspects his or her child has a concussion and they can’t get immediate medical care, the best course of treatment for the child is brain rest, Phillips said.

“You need as much energy as possible to go to that area of the brain to heal it,” he said. “So, no texting. No computers. No TV. No reading.”

They should have a medical professional check them out. Then, if they need continued treatment, they can seek a modified educational plan to help them heal, Phillips said.

For instance, they may need more time to complete homework assignments.

With concussions taking center stage in recent months, especially with the National Football League, there have been some fears that focusing so much attention on the problem will weaken sports. But no one is saying that athletes should be less competitive, Phillips said. They simply need to learn the proper techniques for the sport and to pay attention to their health.

“They can still be aggressive. They can still want to win. That’s part of sports,” Phillips said. “The key is safety for the kids.”

What: A seminar on the Rising Dangers of Concussion: What coaches, parents and young athletes need to know
When: Oct. 22, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (meal is provided)
Where: Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Wellness Plaza
Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call (813) 929-5432 or visit, www.FHWesleyChapel.org/events

About concussions
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides this information to help lower the risk of concussions and to treat suspected concussions.

For athletes
To minimize risks for concussions:
• Follow the rules of safety and the rules of the sport.
• Be sure protective equipment fits properly and is well maintained.
• Wear a helmet to reduce the risk of serious brain injury or skull fracture, but be aware there are no concussion-proof helmets.
• Avoid hits to the head.
If you suspect you have a concussion:
• Don’t hide it. Report it. Trying to “tough it out” can worsen symptoms. Do not let anyone pressure you to continue playing if you suspect you have a concussion.
• Get checked out. Only a health care professional can tell you if you have a concussion and can tell you if it is safe for you to return to play.

For parents
If you suspect your child has a concussion:
• Seek medical attention right away.
• Keep your child out of play.
• Tell your child’s coach about any previous concussion.

For coaches
If you suspect your player has a concussion:
• Remove the athlete from play.
• Inform the athlete’s guardians or parents.
• Make sure the athlete is evaluated by a health care professional.
(When reporting a suspected concussion, a coach should include this information: The cause of the injury; whether the athlete lost consciousness and if so, for how long; any seizures or memory loss by the injured athlete; and, any previous concussions, if known).
• Keep the athlete out of play until medically cleared to return.

Weightman sends message: Bullying not welcome here

October 16, 2013 By B.C. Manion

As teachers at Weightman Middle School were gearing up for the beginning of the academic year, they took part in a training session led by Sharon Morris, the school’s counselor.

Morris had seen a rise in bullying reports in the previous year, and wanted to talk to teachers about the need to identify bullying and stop it. Teachers agreed the issue needed to be tackled and suggested the school take aim at it early in the school year.

Mark Sweet, a parent volunteer, is holding the ‘Chain of Courage.’ Every Weightman Middle School student signed a link of the chain, pledging not to be a bystander to bullying. (Photo courtesy of Weightman Middle School)

Morris also believed the issue called for a more sustained effort than in previous years, so she recommended a weeklong slate of anti-bullying activities.

Each day of the week had a theme, inviting students to get involved.

For instance, they came to school on one day decked out in pink, with crazy hairstyles and glasses. The theme was “Don’t be a crazy bystander and watch someone get bullied.”

On another day, they made pinwheels for peace. The theme that day was “Too cool to be a bully, give peace a chance.”

On other days, they wore boots or jeans or bright colors, all tying in with a special theme.

The bottom line was to saturate the campus with the message that everyone must do what they can to stop bullying, said Morris, who has been an educator for 18 years.

“We did not let up,” she said.

The counselor knew the kids would have fun dressing up, but she didn’t expect the event to arouse such deep emotions by both staff members and students.

One teacher got on the school’s television morning show to share what it felt like to be bullied when she was young. Another staff member approached Morris to tell her how guilty she felt about being a bully when she was young.

One student came in to see Morris and told her about being bullied in the past by a school athlete. The student said he knew the boy would never apologize, but he said he also knew the boy was sorry when he saw he was wearing pink — and he smiled at him.

Morris estimated that 90 percent of the teachers and students took part in the activities and help set an anti-bullying tone on campus.

Weightman principal Brandon Bracciale emailed Morris to congratulate her and her committee for organizing the activities.

“What a great week last week was,” the principal wrote. “One of the most enjoyable and best I have been part of on any level as an educator.”

As principal, Bracciale wrote, he could not be more proud to see the school community “stand up to bullying in such a fun, creative and engaging manner.”

“The fact that the event occurred in the beginning of the school year helped to build a sense of community, and set the expectation that bullying would not be tolerated in our school,” he added.

Bullying is a real issue and can have deadly consequences, Morris said, noting the recent death of a 12-year-old Polk County girl who committed suicide at an abandoned cement plant. Authorities reported that the girl had been harassed by as many as 15 girls for about a year.

Remarks that kids make to each other may seem insignificant to adults, but they can be devastating to youths who are trying to fit in with their peers, Morris said.

In addition to bullying that happens on campus, bullying that happens online is a huge issue. Parents need to monitor what their kids are doing online, Morris said. They need to tell their kids that while they trust them, they don’t trust everyone else that has access to the Internet.

It’s important to realize the power that words can have, Morris said.

“Whether you’re a teenager saying something to another teenager, or whether you’re an adult that’s stalking a kid online, your words are so powerful,” she said. “They can change a person’s life forever.”

Ways to help, if your child is being bullied
• Encourage your child to talk about the bullying experience. Listen.
• Don’t criticize your child the way he or she is responding to the bullying.
• Teach your child ways to stay safe at school, such as telling an adult if he feels threatened.
• Encourage your child to pursue friendships at school.
• Encourage your child to walk with an adult or an older child if she doesn’t feel safe at school in the neighborhood.
• Identify safe areas, such as a neighbor’s home, library or community center. Tell your child to go to one of these areas if he feels threatened.
• Make sure your child has a phone number of an adult who can help.

To reduce the threats of cyberbullying
• Keep your home computer in an area of the house where it is easily viewable.
• Talk to your children about online activities.
• Consider installing parental control software.
• Know your children’s passwords and tell them not to give them out to others.
• Monitor your children’s Internet activity. Let them know that you can review their current or history of online communications at any time.

Ways to intervene, if your child is a bully
• Hold your child accountable for his behavior.
• Set up clear rules in your household and follow through with logical consequences, such as withdrawing privileges, when those rules are not followed.
• Spend time with your child and pay attention to what she does with friends.
• Support your child’s talents and skills by encouraging positive activities, such as involvement in sports or clubs.
• Reward your child and offer frequent reinforcement for positive behavior.
• If your child has been reported as engaging in bullying behaviors, listen to your child, but check the facts. Children who bully are also good at manipulating.

Report a bully:
Go to: www.pasco.k12.fl.us, and click on the “stop bullying” link.

Saying goodbye to Zeke

October 16, 2013 By Diane Kortus

I purposely didn’t write a column about saying goodbye to Zeke, my family’s yellow lab who was almost 14 when it was time for us to let him go last March.

I didn’t want to be just one more self-absorbed writer spewing about the punch to the gut I felt every time I walked in the door because my dog was not there to greet me. I didn’t want you to read my sad story about losing Zeke, only to have it churn up the pain you felt when you lost your own pet.

But here I am, six months later, telling you about Zeke.

Zeke loved boating and just about everything else in life.

Maybe I waited until now because it has taken me this long to accept that Zeke is really gone. Or, maybe I needed to be sure that life was going to be OK without Zeke as my companion.

There have been many first-person accounts written about the anguish of losing a pet. The heartache my children and I felt is no different, no less painful, than what other families feel when they too make the difficult decision to euthanize their pet.

The difference for me in this case, of course, was that our pain was acutely personal. Zeke was a member of our family for 13 years. And unlike my kids, who grew up and moved away, Zeke never left home.

Parents often talk about the unconditional love they have for their children. But Zeke taught me that the most unconditional love of all is the love a pet has for his family.

Pets only remember the good times and quickly forget the bad. If only we humans could focus on life’s joys and forgive and forget unkind actions we experience as quickly as our four-legged friends.

When Zeke died, he left behind Sammy, our ginger cat that my daughter, Rachel, rescued from the neighborhood dumpster when she was 14 years old. Now, Rachel is 21 and a senior at Stetson University, living in Deland.

Until she left for college, Rachel had slept with Zeke every night since she was 9 years old. Losing Zeke was wrenching for her, and I suggested she take Sammy back to Deland to comfort her through her sorrow.

That left me alone in Land O’ Lakes with just Jonas, our 8-year-old Airedale Terrier that we had adopted five years earlier.

Unlike me, Jonas never seemed to miss Zeke or Sam. He has flourished as the family’s new alpha dog, and with no other pets to compete with, has become more calm, loving and attentive.

The vet who came to our house to euthanize Zeke told us that other pets in a household are remarkably accepting of another animal’s passing, that pets understand better than people the ebb and flow of mother nature. She told us not to expect Jonas or Sam to mourn Zeke, but to learn from them that Zeke’s death was natural and even good.

I have tried to accept that advice and to let go of my grief of losing my friend.

I will always miss Zeke’s presence, but also know that the love that we had endures beyond the boundaries of death.

Carr gets second term as Lutz Guv’na

October 16, 2013 By B.C. Manion

One of the highlights of every Fourth of July celebration in Lutz is the crowning of the Lutz Guv’na, an annual campaign where whomever raises the most money wins the title.

Suzin Carr was this year’s winner, becoming the first person to claim the title twice in a competition that dates back to 1991. She won her bragging rights by collecting more money than her competitors, Karin D’Amico, Lauren Leahey and Susan Gulash.

Suzin Carr celebrates her victory in the annual race for Lutz Guv’na. Joining her is Bill Coats of the Lutz Civic Association. (File photo)

The quartet of candidates raised $12,596 in this year’s race. The proceeds were doled out to a number of local organizations during a gathering on Oct. 7 at the Lutz Baptist Church, located on the corner of U.S. 41 and Crystal Lake Road.

Besides being Guv’na for the second time, Carr also has the distinction of holding the honorary title during the Lutz centennial.

Each Guv’na candidate identified charitable causes of their choice.

As the winner of the contest, Carr donated $407.50 of the proceeds to the Old Lutz School and $407.50 to the Lutz Patriots.

Gulash designated Girl Scout Troop 735, which received $50; Leahey picked Friends of Joshua House, which received $78; and D’Amico chose the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club, which received $350.

Of the remaining proceeds, $1,253 was earmarked for the Lutz Civic Association and the $10,500 was divvied up among these organizations:

• Boy Scout Troop 12 — $400
• Girl Scout Troop 13 — $400
• Boy Scout Troop 339 — $400
• Girl Scout Troop 735 — $400
• Cub Scout Pack 212 — $400
• Boy Scout Troop 212 — $400
• Lutz Cemetery — $350
• Learning Gate — $400
• Books for Troops — $350
• GFWC Little Women —$400
• Lutz Chiefs — $400
• Lutz Patriots — $350
• Friends of the Library — $350
• Civil Air Patrol — $400
• Lions Club — $350
• GFWC Junior Women — $400
• Old Lutz School, — $2,000
• Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club — $1,250

Sweetbay set to change its name … again

October 16, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Life has not been good for a supermarket chain with roots in Tampa, as it prepares for its third name in the past 10 years.

Sweetbay Supermarket will soon become Winn-Dixie, a brand that has also struggled in the region under the dominance of both Publix Super Markets, and later Walmart. The name change will mark the end of the Sweetbay brand, which was introduced in 2004 as a way to refresh stores that had been known as Kash n’ Karry since 1962.

The move was not unexpected after Sweetbay’s parent, Delhaize Group, sold the regional chain to Bi-Lo Holdings LLC in May for $265 million.

Don’t get too used to seeing the Sweetbay name on storefronts, like this one in Wesley Chapel. The incoming new owner of the chain, Bi-Lo Holdings LLC, announced last week it would rebrand Sweetbay to Winn-Dixie, based on the larger grocery chain Bi-Lo purchased in 2011. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Bi-Lo had already purchased Winn-Dixie in 2011 for $530 million, and with more than 600 stores already — including three in this area — it easily trumped the 72 remaining Sweetbay stores in Florida.

Signs aren’t coming down just yet. Bi-Lo says it’s waiting for its deal to acquire Sweetbay and two other regional supermarket chains to close before starting rebranding efforts. Sweetbay has four locations locally, including on State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, on County Line Road in Tampa, on Gunn Highway in Odessa, and on North Dale Mabry Highway. Once the rebranding takes place, Winn-Dixie will have seven locations, including the ones already owned on Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes, U.S. 41 in Lutz, and on State Road 54 in Zephyrhills.

At this point, Bi-Lo says it has no plans to close any of the stores, or lay off any workers. Local stores should be fully rebranded by the end of spring next year.

Even with a familiar rebrand, the new Winn-Dixie will have a ways to go to catch its local competitors. Publix is the nation’s largest employee-owned company, and had sales of $27.5 billion last year, according to Forbes magazine.

The chain’s primary competition is Walmart, not Winn-Dixie or any other grocery chain in the state. Both Publix and Walmart have been focused on an advertising battle against each other in recent years, with Publix still holding on to the state lead.

Sweetbay started as a fruits and vegetable stand on the streets of Tampa in 1914 by Salvatore Greco. With his wife Giuseppina, the Grecos would open their first store in Plant City in 1947 under the name Big Barn, and would grow to nine stores by 1960.

Embrace medical growth, ditch old habits, experts say

October 16, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Nancy Reagan made the saying popular in the 1980s, and it’s time Pasco County learns it: Just say no.

That was the recommendation of the Urban Land Institute, the independent growth and development analytical group that has spent the past five years exploring the ins and outs of the county.

And in its first major presentation of its findings in a meeting last week, ULI officials said Pasco has approved enough residential and commercial development that would keep builders busy — until 2088.

If Pasco County wants to become a major player in the development and growth of the Tampa Bay area, it has to really focus on the medical industry. That means empty land like this surrounding Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel will need to be filled with supporting medical offices, officials said. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

“This condition presents tremendous challenges to the master planner,” said Dan Conway, an urban land economist from Denver who works with ULI. “Supply outpaces demand by a factor of 8-to-1.”

That number caught retiring County Commissioner Pat Mulieri by surprise.

“I think it’s interesting, the idea that we have to say no,” Mulieri said after the meeting. “We recently started not spreading (new development) like peanut butter, but I didn’t know we had enough for 75 years. I would be 150 by the time they had it all built.”

The oversupply shows growth management in Pasco is out of control, Conway said, and could also affect overall values. By not focusing on key geographic areas — especially those areas that are already set up for utilities and other services — the growth in Pasco could easily become more expensive than the county can bear.

Over the next decade, the Tampa Bay region will average about 25,600 new jobs each year, bringing 53,000 new people into the area annually. Of that, 3,600 jobs will be created in Pasco each year, causing population to grow by 11,000.

And a third of those jobs, not surprisingly, will come from health care, said April Anderson Lamoureux, an economic development expert who worked under Massachusetts governors Mitt Romney and Deval Patrick, who now lends her services to ULI.

“You need to review all your public expenditures throughout the county and think of new ways to drive those dollars,” Lamoureux said. “And 25 percent of that marketing should go exclusively to the health market. This includes going to health companies, pitching them to locate in Pasco, and developing tools specific to the industry that will entice them to pick Pasco over other viable opportunities.”

The health care market in Pasco has exploded, especially in the central part of the county, where two new hospitals have been built in recent years. Pasco has to ensure the appropriate supporting medical facilities and doctor offices surround the hospitals.

Not only does the county have to attract the right companies, but it also needs to provide the necessary infrastructure — like workforce housing, efficient public transportation, and the appropriate retail and pedestrian routes to support the employee base that would work on these expanded campuses.

“Career academies are a terrific resource, but we should be careful not to dilute the offerings,” Lamoureux said. Instead, the county could focus on specific medical disciplines.

County Administrator Michele Baker said she took 10 pages of notes throughout the ULI presentation, and would need some time to absorb all the information shared. She does agree, however, that it’s time to cast away some of the old habits — like approving new development without considering its future impact — and make room for some new ones.

“I’ve been here for 20 years, so some of those old habits might be mine,” Baker said. “I might have to do a little gut-check myself.”

The key to successful growth would be a stronger working relationship between the county and its incorporated towns, a relationship that has never been solid. Yet, consistency across the board is going to be necessary to get Pasco back on the right development track, and that means having cities like Zephyrhills and New Port Richey as partners will be key.

“We cannot do it alone,” Baker said. “It requires better dialogue between us and the cities, and us and the development community to seek out the opportunities for us to take advantage of.”

Obstacles facing Pasco County
The Urban Land Institute outlined the key areas that are holding Pasco County back. They include:
• Absorption and Projections — Approved growth far exceeds the county’s absorption capacity, meaning it will take decades for all the approved developments to actually be built.
• Sustainable Site Systems — Pasco needs to increase the priority for quality of life services, like affordable housing and transportation.
• Transportation Planning and Funding — Pasco needs to collaborate on regional transportation services, working with other counties to make everything connect.
• Economic Development — The biggest focus here must be on the medical industry as well as ecotourism.
• Shaping Strategies — County planners have to think further out with more effective plans to make future growth work.
• Leadership — Get rid of old habits. It’s holding the county back.
• Fiscal — The overall vision needs funding. That means reconsidering the gas tax, and possibly increasing the tourism room tax.

Candlelight vigil to shine light on domestic violence

October 16, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Sunrise of Pasco County will take over Agnes Lamb Park in Dade City on Oct. 17 with its annual candlelight vigil.

It’s the 17th annual event for the domestic and sexual violence center, but will be the first one with a new chief executive officer, Kelly Sinn.

She took over for longtime leader Penny Morrill, who retired in May after 27 years at the helm.

Sunrise of Pasco County chief executive Penny Morrill and heir apparent Kelly Sinn, center, join Dade City Police Chief Ray Velboom, left, and Dade City Police Department officer Kevin Burns during last year’s candlelight vigil. The event creates awareness of domestic and sexual violence, and encourages victims to seek help, and that they are not alone. (Photo courtesy of Sunrise of Pasco County)

There is no other job more important to Sinn than helping victims of domestic violence. Yet it wasn’t always that way. In fact, when Sinn first joined Sunrise 11 years ago as an advocate in the women’s shelter, doing such work was the last thing on her mind.

“I had no idea what domestic violence was. I was very naïve,” Sinn said. “I didn’t even know agencies like this existed.”

Sinn was introduced to Sunrise through another family member who was a children’s counselor there at the time. Although she was still a college student, Sinn had no trouble getting through the interview. But Sinn didn’t fully realize what she was getting into until she took a tour of the Dade City facility and its 24-bed shelter.

“We walked out into the back, and the first thing I saw was a mom,” Sinn said. “She had a couple kids there with her, and what I remember the most was that she had a huge black eye. I stopped and smiled and said hello, but it was kind of surreal.”

Later, a meeting broke up and all of the women who had taken part were crying. Sinn said she was worried something terrible had happened during their counseling session, but it was actually the exact opposite: They were tears of joy.

“Whatever was discussed in that group, it was so powerful to them and impacted them so much,” Sinn said. “They cried because they were happy, they were safe, and were stronger for themselves and their children. I realized I really wanted to be able to impact somebody’s life like that.”

Sinn switched majors from business to social work, and as she progressed in her education, she rose in the ranks at Sunrise, becoming its chief operating officer in 2010.

She takes over an organization that has grown from just one employee and a $35,000 budget three decades ago, to one that now operates on $1.5 million a year, with 34 staff members. It’s also in the middle of expanding its shelter from 24 beds to 40. Yet the focus of Sunrise has never changed — helping the victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

In 2010, more than 113,000 crimes of domestic violence were reported to police in Florida, according to the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Yet, many more go unreported.

“Fear is typically the No. 1 reason victims stay in an abusive relationship,” Sinn said. “But fear is also the No. 1 reason why they will get out of a relationship as well, because they are afraid of what will happen if they continue to stay.”

However, many abuse victims get caught in a cycle where they return to the person who abused them in the first place. Sometimes they can go back as many as 10 times before they finally stay away, Sinn said.

“When women and children come into our facility and into our shelter, many times they have very low self-esteem,” Sinn said. “But seeing how they progress once they get here, where they have a new home that is safe, and how far they’ve come, that’s so powerful.”

The candlelight vigil begins at 6 p.m. at the park, which is located in the heart of Dade City’s downtown. Besides the hundreds of lit candles, one of the more moving displays is the dozens of T-shirts hung from clotheslines designed by domestic violence victims.

It’s part of The Clothesline Project, created by a group of women in 1990 after they discovered that during the Vietnam War, 51,000 women were killed in domestic violence incidents — at the same time 58,000 soldiers were killed in the conflict.

The shirts themselves come in various colors, each with its own meaning. A white shirt represents a woman who died from domestic violence. Yellow or beige is for those who have been battered or assaulted. Red, pink and orange are for survivors of rape and sexual assault. Blue and green represent survivors of incest and sexual abuse. And purple or lavender represents women attacked because of their sexual orientation.

Messages on the shirt can range from short statements like, “You may have defeated me, but you will not destroy me,” to longer stories and poems.

“Every year, we use domestic violence month to acknowledge and honor the survivors that have been able to escape abusive homes, and remember those who have lost their lives,” Sinn said. “We shed light on all of this, for those who are still living in those types of situations, with the hope that they’ll seek out help.”

The candlelight vigil is not a fundraiser for the group, which operates on donations and grants. Yet anyone interested in helping out Sunrise can call (352) 567-1681, or visit www.SunrisePasco.org.

Sweetwater Apartments finds new owner, out of New York

October 16, 2013 By Michael Hinman

An apartment community born in the middle of a housing bubble off a road not far from where the “Edward Scissorhands” castle once stood, has a new owner.

A subsidiary of Beachwold Residential, in New York City, has purchased the nearly 200-unit Sweetwater Apartments in Pasco’s Happy Hill area for $12 million.

It’s only the second owner for the complex, which was built in 2006, and multiple suitors had lined up to buy it.

Working to attract both college students and senior citizens to Sweetwater Apartments in Dade City might be an interesting experiment, but one that its new owners are confident can work. New York City-based Beachwold Residential has planned some small upgrades to the community, including a Wi-Fi-enabled work area. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

“There’s definitely a lot of competition now for properties like this,” said Gideon Friedman, a Beachwold managing member. “There were a number of people who were bidding on Sweetwater, but we were able to move quickly.”

It’s the third property owned by Beachwold on Florida’s Gulf coast, Friedman said, joining two other properties in Bradenton and Venice. But it most likely won’t be the last.

The northern part of the region — especially Pasco County — has piqued the interest of Beachwold, a company that owns various apartment communities around the country. Beachwold sees the area’s rapid population expansion outpacing available housing.

“Dade City is an area where there is going to be some nice growth,” Friedman said. “There have been a few companies that have relocated there in the past year, and it’s just a mile or so from Saint Leo University, so it has a nice good stable base of people we can draw from.”

The focus will be on students wanting to live close to Saint Leo, but also senior citizens as well. Friedman admits this is a bit of an unorthodox mix, since the demands of these two age groups are completely different. But then again, Saint Leo typically attracts students that are a little more low-key.

“It’s not like this would be a party situation for these students,” Friedman said. “The students who would live there would, for the most part, because they are looking for more space, and want something that is a little quieter than if they had moved in on-campus. They are looking for something more stable and mature than what they would find in dorms, and that matches up with what older residents are looking for as well.”

Beachwold plans to upgrade furniture in the community’s clubhouse, and add a business center that would include Wi-Fi and computer work areas.

The community is almost completely rented out, Friedman said, despite the fact that signs attracting new residents welcome visitors as they enter through the front gate. And as population continues to push north, the value of the units at Sweetwater will become even stronger.

Real Data Apartment Market Research, which studies rental trends in various areas including this one, agrees. In its most recent report, the Tampa Bay market is just meeting apartment rental demand for the first time since the beginning of 2010. And while 7,000 new units are under construction in the region, apartment vacancies are sliding fast, pushing rental prices up.

Friedman wouldn’t say where exactly his company would look next in Florida to buy more apartments, but it does look like they’re staying in Pasco County for the time being.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth in Zephyrhills and New Tampa, and we’re going to be looking out in that direction,” Friedman said. “There have been some new properties coming to the market, and some of them have things we’re looking for, so we’re probably not done quite yet.”

Sweetwater is located at 12730 Janke Road, less than two miles from Saint Leo University, and four miles southwest of downtown Dade City.

Zephyrhills gets youth infusion with new advisory council

October 16, 2013 By Michael Hinman

The last time Zephyrhills tried to form a youth council a decade ago, it didn’t last very long, but it produced at least one big result: a city councilman who would later become mayor.

Now, Danny Burgess is set to resurrect the youth council concept after getting the go-ahead from the Zephyrhills City Council to form a new group designed to get young people involved in the community.

Could there be future council members or mayors in that bunch?

Danny Burgess was just a year out of high school when he campaigned and won a seat on the Zephyrhills City Council in 2005. He got his first exposure to city government as a member of his Zephyrhills High School Youth Council, a revived concept that he will now lead as mayor. (file photo)

Absolutely, Burgess said. It also could help change the perception that Zephyrhills is primarily retirees. The community is much different than that, said Burgess, who is often greeted with odd looks when people find out he’s the mayor.

“People don’t expect to see a 27-year-old mayor from Zephyrhills. But what they don’t realize is that we’re a diverse community. We have retirees, older families, younger families. We are just a great melting pot,” Burgess said.

When Burgess served on the youth council, his group would sit at a table in front of the City Council, taking in meeting after meeting. It was an eye-opening experience for Burgess, who up until then had never considered doing anything with city government.

But this was during a tumultuous time, when the government was arguing over the renaming of Sixth Avenue to honor civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.

“We were front and center during that whole debate,” Burgess said. “We got a crash course at that meeting, as well as in general, about what it means to lead a city.”

While he hopes there won’t be a major controversy like that one, Burgess said the new youth council will have a chance to experience government for the first time like he did, and even play an active role by advising the City Council on issues affecting young people.

The board will have seven members who are in public, private or home school, and are in at least ninth grade. Each will be selected by the City Council through the standard board application process, and after the initial board, will serve terms of two years.

The goals of the youth council include evaluating and reviewing problems facing youth in Zephyrhills, conducting community meetings with youth to learn about additional issues, and presenting their refined ideas to city leaders.

The City Council decided to revive the Youth Council because of the efforts of Victoria Tinney, a Girl Scouts member who is a freshman at Zephyrhills High School.

“She had to do a community project for a badge, and Victoria approached me and asked if there was a way to create a forum or group for the youth to be more involved with the City Council,” Burgess said. “Victoria actually came and presented to the City Council her vision, her idea, of what she wanted.”

There are a lot of issues facing young people in the community — especially when it comes to recreational opportunities and job creation — that could benefit from their unique insight.

That’s exactly what Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson hopes will happen.

“A lot of young people are moving away as soon as they graduate from high school, and I want a place for my kids to want to come home to when they get a college education, and not live somewhere else,” Wilkeson said. “If those young people come to us and say there are opportunities to encourage other kids who are not in service clubs, who are not participating in sports, to go to school and they have ideas about that, we’re going to listen.”

Teenagers in grades nine through 12 are encouraged to apply for the youth council through the standard board selection process. The form can be found at tinyurl.com/ZhillsYouth.