Wesley Chapel/New Tampa News

Young woman encourages others to gaze at stars

November 20, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Melanie Crowson set up her telescope in the side yard of the New River Branch Library on an evening in October and welcomed anyone with an interest to come take a peek at the stars.

In a sense, the young woman from Wesley Chapel was coming full circle.

Melanie Crowson’s interest in astronomy began when she was very young. She now offers free community viewings, using the telescope she and her father made when she was in high school. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

“We actually used to go up to the New River Library when we were kids, and I would check out all of the astronomy books,” said the 23-year-old who aspires to become a professional astronomer.

Crowson enjoys sharing her love for astronomy at the occasional community viewing nights that she offers.

“It’s fun,” she said. As the viewing night approaches, she’s excited about sharing astronomy. When it’s over, it’s nice to relax.

She loves introducing others to the world of stars, planets and galaxies. She also enjoys talking with people who share her fascination with celestial bodies.

“You end up discussing some interesting theories,” Crowson said.

The astronomy student eventually wants to work at a planetarium or an observatory, and is taking online courses to pursue those aims through American Public University.

Crowson, who is a Christian, also hopes to use astronomy in connection with her spiritual life, too. She said she is getting to know God in a new light through her interest in astronomy. It’s driven her to learn more and hopes one day to help develop new scientific evidence of the existence of God.

People talk about loving God with their whole heart, Crowson said. She wants to make full use of her intellectual capabilities to love God with her whole mind, too.

Her fascination with celestial bodies began quite early in life.

“I think I’ve always been interested, since I was a real small kid,” Crowson said.

She recalls going on occasional rides during the dark early morning hours with her dad, who was delivering his newspaper route.

“It was really cool. We could see all of the stars,” Crowson said.

As she learned more about stars and planets, her fascination grew.

Crowson, who was home-schooled, said her parents encouraged her to pursue her curiosity about the heavens.

During her high school years, she and her dad ran across a book that provided instructions for building a telescope. They decided to take on the challenge.

She chronicled the project in a manual she titled, “Closer To The Stars: Detailed Instructions for Building Your Own Telescope.”

It took about two years to build the telescope and it cost about $1,000. It would have been cheaper to buy a telescope, but then she would have missed out on valuable lessons, Crowson said.

Building the telescope helped her better understand how it works, she said. It also gave her a chance to apply math in real life.

“We used math to figure out sizes, distances, making sure the corners lined up,” Crowson said.

If something goes wrong with her telescope, she also knows how to fix it.

“We built it so that we know where everything is. I know exactly what every screw is there for and what it does, what it’s holding together,” Crowson said. “I know which parts I can take apart. If I need to replace anything, I know everything about it.”

Having community viewing nights gives Crowson a way to share what she loves and offers an opportunity to inspire others. She hopes people who come to peer through her telescope will enjoy what they see.

She also hopes it piques their curiosity.

“Maybe it will make them wonder: What’s out there? How was it made? Was it really a Big Bang? Make them question it a little bit more,” she said.

Maybe gazing through the telescope, the experience “will bring them closer to God,” she said.

If you would like to know more about Melanie Crowson’s community viewings, email her at .

Sparkman Chevy sold, moved to Wesley Chapel

November 6, 2013 By Michael Hinman

It’s just a trailer, some tall grass and dirt roads. But it’s just enough to introduce Wesley Chapel Boulevard to yet another car dealership as Chevrolet of Wesley Chapel moves in.

The dealership is located next to Hyundai of Wesley Chapel just northeast of Progress Parkway, and is part of the same ownership group as the Hyundai dealership and nearby Mazda of Wesley Chapel.

After spending more than three decades several miles east down the road in Zephyrhills, the new Chevrolet of Wesley Chapel has set up a temporary location next to Hyundai of Wesley Chapel near Progress Parkway and Wesley Chapel Boulevard. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

“We really think that Chevy has done a great job, and they have a great product now,” said John Gauvey, general manager of the dealership. “We felt it was a great complement to our Hyundai and Mazda stores, and we knew there were a lot of Chevy owners who wanted someplace close-by to get their cars serviced.”

While the name and location might be new, the business itself is nearly 40 years old. The dealership was most recently known as Sparkman Chevrolet, but for more than three decades was known as Buddy Foster Chevrolet, located east on State Road 54, just outside of Zephyrhills.

The Sparkman family, which twice owned a small chain of convenience stores called Sparky’s Food Stores based out of Plant City, purchased Buddy Foster in 2011, but decided not to stay in the car sales business for long.

Last year, the Sparkman family sold its Bartow Chevrolet dealership, and made it clear they were entertaining offers for its Zephyrhills location.

Gauvey wouldn’t say how much his group paid for the dealership, but they have big plans on its future in Wesley Chapel. What is now a side lot next to the Hyundai center is expected to become a state-of-the-art dealership facility by mid-2015.

For now, the dealership is servicing Chevrolet and other General Motors cars through its Mazda service center, located just on the other side of the Hyundai dealership.

The three brands most certainly complement each other, Gauvey said, and there are a lot of benefits of selling all three cars under the same ownership umbrella.

“Cars are cars, but who you buy it from is really important,” he said. “We’ve had tremendous success by building relationships, and people drive from all over to get that experience.”

The same ownership team also owns Hyundai of New Port Richey on U.S. 19, which they say is the No. 1 Hyundai dealer in the country in terms of volume.

The new Chevrolet of Wesley Chapel is located at 26931 Progress Parkway in Wesley Chapel.

Here it comes: Outlet mall now on track to open next year

November 6, 2013 By Michael Hinman

With the last environmental hurdle removed, it’s full-speed ahead for a proposed outlet mall on State Road 56 and Interstate 75.

Simon Property Group and landowner Richard E. Jacobs Group have finalized a permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that had left in limbo their plans to build Tampa Premium Outlets on the Cypress Creek Town Center site for nearly two years, said Carol Clarke, the assistant planning and development administrator for Pasco County.

In less than two years, this long vacant land on State Road 56 near Interstate 75 could be bustling with activity from the new outlet mall that is now expected to finally get off the ground. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

That means an outlet mall could be up and running on what is now acres of vacant land in the heart of commercial growth in Wesley Chapel by the end of 2014.

“We are very excited to be moving forward on this project, and are commencing meetings with the county to determine approvals and a schedule,” said Danielle DeVita, senior vice president for development and acquisitions at Simon, in a statement.

The opening, if it stays on schedule, would come seven years after the Jacobs Group received county approval for the Cypress Creek Town Center, located just north of the Hillsborough County line.

Coleen Conklin, senior vice president of marketing for Premium Outlets and Simon, was not able to comment on the report ahead of publication.

If plans hold up, this would put the outlet mall portion of the site well ahead of its extended construction deadline of 2021 on the 510-acre site. The original plans were to build a 1.2 million-square-foot mall along with 600,000 square feet of retail space and 120,000 square feet for offices by 2011. Expanded plans included 350 hotel rooms, 230 apartments, and a 2,582-seat movie theater.

That extension, granted in 2009, was the result of legal issues, problems with environmental permitting, and the economic recession.

Yet, neither Simon nor Jacobs Group gave up, continuing work on the center they hoped would complement nearby projects like The Grove and The Shops at Wiregrass.

In May 2012, Simon said it had signed an agreement with Saks Fifth Avenue to open an Off Fifth-style store in its outlet mall. It’s a retailer that is common in many of Simon’s projects worldwide.

At the time, Simon expected the Saks Fifth Avenue store to open by 2014, but its permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as a court battle with an environmental group had yet to be resolved.

A court rejected the Sierra Club’s claims in 2011 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improperly examined the project’s impacts to wetlands and waterways. However, it did move forward with concerns on how the project would impact the eastern indigo snake, a threatened species that moved across the land.

Kenneth Dodd, a herpetologist for the Office of Endangered Species, called the site an important “wildlife corridor,” and that having its habitat “fragmented” could cause more of the snakes to die on area roads.

Now it’s just up to Pasco County officials to approve final site plans, and sign the permits necessary to get construction going.

Pasco County’s Clarke said her staff met with Simon Oct. 29, and “will be working with them to develop a coordinated schedule and get this project going.”

Simon, headquartered in Indianapolis, owns or has an ownership interest stake in more than 325 retail properties in North America and Asia, comprising of 242 million square feet. In the past quarter alone, Simon has opened three new outlet malls in Toronto, St. Louis and Korea. It also began construction on four more in Charlotte, N.C.; Eagen, Minn.; Mirabel, Quebec; and Vancouver, B.C., according to the company’s corporate filings.

Porter Campus ushers in change for Wesley Chapel, region

November 6, 2013 By B.C. Manion

When Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch opens in January, it will be the first time that students from Wesley Chapel will be able to attend college in their own backyard.

The campus’ offerings, however, are expected to have a much more far-reaching impact, said J.D. Porter, whose family donated 60-plus acres for the campus. Porter was among a contingent of guests getting a sneak peak at the new campus in a tour on Oct. 31.

An exterior view of the seven-story classroom building at Pasco-Hernando Community College’s new Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

As they walked along, visitors saw construction crews working on scaffolding outside the seven-story classroom building, running wiring within the structure, wiping down lab tables and busy tackling other tasks.

Work is expected to be finished on time for classes to begin in January, according to Pasco-Hernando Community College officials.

The new PHCC satellite campus has come out of the ground quickly, but it has been a long time in the making, Porter said. He believes the campus will have a regional benefit.

“This is something that was needed,” Porter said. Besides giving Wesley Chapel students a chance to go to college in their own community, this campus is expected to attract students from not only across Pasco and Hernando counties, but also from Hillsborough County, as well.

The site, at 2727 Mansfield Blvd., is on the south side of State Road 56, about two miles east of Interstate 75. It is situated across the street from the planned Raymond James financial services office park, next to Wiregrass Ranch High School, and around the corner from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel.

In addition to offering two-year degrees, the campus also plans to offer a bachelor’s degree in supervision and management, and a bachelor’s in nursing.

The PHCC name may not last long, however. The college is awaiting approval on its application with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The board meets in December in Atlanta, and if they approve, could allow the school to change its name to Pasco-Hernando State College.

PHCC President Katherine M. Johnson, who helped to lead the preview tour, characterized this as an exciting time for the college, as it opens a new campus, adds new programs and changes its name.

The seven-story classroom building consists of a three-story parking deck, topped by four floors of classrooms and labs. There are 10 classrooms, four computer labs. four science labs and eight health labs on the campus, as well as a library, faculty offices and administrative offices.

The nursing lab, on the fifth floor, will be set up to simulate a hospital ward.

“We tried to make it very much what you would find in a hospital setting,” said Stan Giannet, provost of the campus.

Besides nursing, other classes offered at the campus cover a number of disciplines, including business administration and information technology.

The building has been designed to be energy efficient, which lowers long-term operational costs and reduces its impacts on the environment, said Joseph J. Sorci, director of design for Florida Architects. It has been designed to take advantage of natural light and to conserve water. The campus also uses light-emitting diodes, or LED, lighting and a cooling system that reduces energy consumption.

The design takes future needs into consideration, Sorci said. For example, the network operations center in the library can accommodate additional equipment as it becomes necessary to meet the needs of a larger enrollment.

Care also was taken in selecting building materials, Sorci said. The carpeting, for instance, is made up of carpet squares. If one square becomes damaged it can be removed and replaced.

Besides saving money, that also reduces waste, Sorci said.

Students who want to take classes at the new campus can register at the Brooksville, Dade City, New Port Richey or Spring Hill campuses, or through online registration if they’re a current student.

Open registration begins on Nov. 12. The spring course schedule is available at www.phcc.edu/schedule.

Developers detour elevated road after concerns raised

October 30, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Plans to build a 33-mile elevated highway across Pasco County hit its first roadblock last week after the developer of the project reportedly asked for more time.

The Florida Department of Transportation agreed to leave open its request for other competing proposals until December, six weeks after its original deadline of Oct. 23. Wayne Middleton, a partner with International Infrastructure Partners LLC — the company that is looking to build the road — said a recent report from the Urban Land Institute, as well as a recommendation to build a managed bus line along the route, instead prompted their request for a delay.

If an elevated road like this one near downtown Tampa is ever built in Pasco County, it will take a little longer. International Infrastructure Partners, which proposed the privately funded project, has received a six-week extension from state transportation officials as it possibly rethinks its strategy. (File photo)

“Given these reasons and the anticipated additional cost to build, IIP and its partners need more time and clarity from all parties affected as well as those parties that will benefit from our proposal,” Middleton said in a letter to the FDOT.

That delay will give other groups until Dec. 9 to submit their proposals and pay the $10,000 application fee, according to FDOT spokeswoman Kris Carson.

The Urban Land Institute has yet to provide a detailed report of its findings studying growth issues in Pasco County. However, in a presentation made to Pasco County Commissioners earlier this month, the independent growth and development analytical group did express concern about plans to build the elevated toll road.

Charles Long, a consultant from Oakland, Calif., who addressed transportation issues in the county on behalf of ULI, said the biggest problem about the elevated road proposal was the speed of which it was coming together.

“We think it would be important to step back and have a regional discussion about all the options and all the funding choices before you actually move ahead with that project,” he said. “That project is going to have very, very significant negative impacts, and that is not something you want to rush into.”

John Knott Jr., of CityCraft Ventures LLC of Charleston, S.C., who also joined in the ULI presentation, quoted what he said was an old saying in the business: “If you’re a hammer, you’re always looking for the nail.”

“If you plan for transportation, you will get more transit, and you will get more traffic,” he said. “If you get more quality of life, and look at the underlying issues and attack them, you can generally end up with multiple solutions that are generally less costly and create a high quality of life.”

IIP proposed the elevated road in June, requesting the state give up median right of way along the State Road 54/56 corridor so that such a privately funded road could be built. The developers didn’t offer cost estimates, but using the six-mile elevated portion of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway as a model from 2004, it could cost at least $70 million per mile to build, or a total price tag of $2.3 billion.

Although FDOT answered various questions about its request for proposals believed to be from various groups interested, Carson said no other bids were received by the Oct. 23 deadline. If the same happens by the December deadline, IIP could be the only private builder standing.

The road has met some opposition in the county, primarily from businesses afraid of potential customers bypassing them on an elevated road. John Hagen, president and chief executive of the Pasco Economic Development Council, however, told The Laker/Lutz News last week that the only people planning to take the road were those likely not going to stop at local businesses along the way anyway.

“The idea that you’re going to attract more business somehow as we turn the place into a parking lot is something to rethink here,” Hagen said. “A way for local businesses to get more business is to separate out the people who are not planning to stop anyway — who are just wanting to get across the county — and opening up the surface roads to local traffic.”

Classical Prep will extend beyond reading, writing, arithmetic

October 30, 2013 By B.C. Manion

When Berean Academy closed its doors in Lutz in 2011, it left many families wondering where their children would get the classical brand of education the school offered.

It was a difficult time for families, but it spurred one parent, Anne Corcoran, to begin investigating what it would take to set up a school that would offer that style of education to any child.

Next school year, Classical Preparatory — a new charter school offering a liberal arts education — will open near State Road 52 at the edge of Land O’ Lakes. It will be the first public school in Florida to offer a classical education, said Corcoran, the new school’s board president.

The acquisition of the school site is nearly complete, and the school itself is in the design stage, but Corcoran is confident that classes for kindergarten through eighth-graders will begin in the fall of 2014.

The Pasco County School Board approved the charter school for five years last year, but agreed to delay opening of the school for a year to give its board more time to finalize plans.

The curriculum will emphasize writing, public speaking, character, leadership and critical and analytical thinking. It’s a style of education that dates back to Plato and Socrates, Corcoran said.

“The point is training the mind,” she said. “And training the mind includes the virtues of a classical education. If you can’t exercise self-control, if you can’t exercise responsibility and can’t have respect for others or be trustworthy, you’re not going to be a very good citizen.”

The school will emphasize seven character traits: humility, perseverance, responsibility, respect, self-control, citizenship and trustworthiness. It is important that students learn how to think things through and learn how to make good choices, Corcoran said.

“If you don’t know how to make good choices in life, then other people are going to be making choices for you,” she said.

When Classical Prep opens, it is expected to have 342 lottery-selected students in kindergarten through eighth-grade. The school will add a grade each year after that until it has a senior class, Corcoran said.

At its maximum under the current charter, the school will have 518 students.

A lottery will fill the school the first year as well as open slots in later years. Students already enrolled will earn automatic admission for the siblings without having to go through the lottery.

The school will have rigorous academic expectations, Corcoran said.

Students in middle school will be required to take two logic courses. High school students will be required to take four years of math, science, English and history, along with classes in the fine arts and humanities. Latin will start in third grade and go through eighth, also required.

Students will be expected to deliver oral presentations, even when they are quite young, Corcoran said.

“Learning to speak well, that is teaching you how to think because you have to memorize. You have to be able to say something cogently. You have to use certain vocabulary. Learning to speak teaches you to think,” she said.

Learning how to write well also builds thinking skills, she added.

The school’s board looked at four models of classical schools while laying the groundwork for Classical Preparatory in Land O’ Lakes, Corcoran said. They were found in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Washington, D.C.; Phoenix; and Fort Collins, Colo.

The school they’ve worked with most is Ridge View Classical in Fort Collins. It’s a charter school serving about 900 children in a community similar to Land O’ Lakes.

While many charter schools are established to promote study in a particular area, such as dramatic arts, engineering or other specialty areas, classical education is intended to train students how to be critical and analytical thinkers.

The school won’t begin accepting applications until January and the lottery won’t be until early March. However, the school is accepting letters of application and has launched a website.

The school will use information collected from the letters of interest to keep parents informed of specific deadlines for submitting an application to enter the lottery and other types of information, Corcoran said. It will also help the school’s board with its planning.

For more information about the school, visit www.ClassicalPrep.org.

Riders revved up to fight diabetes at Cycle-a-Thon

October 30, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Pura Cycling Studio is taking aim in the fight against diabetes by hosting a Cycle-a-Thon on Nov. 9.

The ride will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., with giveaways every hour.

Riders will participate in 45-minute heart-pumping rides to do their bit in the movement to stop diabetes, said Stephanie Farquhar, who co-owns the cycling studio along with Alfio Carroccetto.

The event, being held in conjunction with the cycling studio’s first anniversary, will feature chance drawings, goodie bags and T-shirts, and will offer information to help reduce the risk of diabetes.

Fresh Healthy Café At Wiregrass will cater the event, and chance tickets will be sold on prizes donated by Nutrition S’Mart of Wesley Chapel, Massage Envy Wesley Chapel, Tampa Bay MatchMakers, Polar USA, Fitniche Wiregrass and others.

Those taking part in the fundraiser will donate $25 for each session on the stationery bicycles at the studio. Some of the studio’s regulars have already signed up to do two sessions, Farquhar said.

All of the proceeds from the event will benefit the American Diabetes Association.

The business was motivated to do the fundraiser because the diabetes organization reached out, asking for help and because the owners know people who have the disease. Farquhar said she was surprised to learn that the disease affects so many people and that it has such far-reaching health and medical cost implications.

Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes, and another 79 million are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes by 2050 unless steps are taken to stop the disease, the organization said.

Two out of three people who have diabetes die from heart disease or stroke, according to the diabetes association. It is also the leading cause of new blindness among adults, and people who have the disease are 10 times more likely to undergo an amputation than those without it.

It’s also a very expensive health problem, with the average medical expenditure for people with diabetes being 2.3 times higher than without it, the association reports.

Anyone wishing to participate in the fundraiser can reserve a spot, call (813) 501-2124.

Swamp Fest gears up, still needs volunteers

October 30, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Organizers of the Land O’ Lakes Swamp Fest have a mantra: “It takes a community to make a festival.”

In keeping with that theme, Swamp Fest 2013 welcomes additional volunteers to step forward and help with the variety of chores that have to be done to make any festival a success, Swamp Fest coordinator Doug Hutchinson said.

Students who are older than 16 can pitch in at the event to earn some community service hours, Hutchinson said, and any other civic-minded volunteer who wants to help out would be appreciated.

Cheryl Carreno and her grandson, Colton Bettis, ride the carousel at the Swamp Fest last year. (File photo)

The annual festival — Friday through Sunday this year — will be in its usual place at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.

The Land O’ Lakes High School Booster Club hosts the event, which aims to bring the community together for a good time, while raising money for area schools, nonprofit organizations, community groups and area businesses.

The event generally attracts around 5,000 to 6,000 people, Hutchinson said.

Tickets purchased in advance are $15, a sizable discount from the $22 ticket price at the event, Hutchinson said. Various ticket outlets help sell the tickets and receive a portion of the proceeds, he said. Event parking is $5.

The midway is handled by W.G. Wade Shows, the same company that has participated since the festival’s inception five years ago.

The midway will feature up to 25 rides. Stands will be selling food and candy, and soft drinks will be available from local groups.

The event also features a Miss and Mr. Swampfest pageant, which will be on Saturday.

Swamp Fest began as a fundraiser at Land O’ Lakes High School, home of the Gators, and that’s what inspired the festival’s name. It is always on the first weekend of November.

Besides rides, games and food, the event also features live performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Anyone who would like to volunteer at the event should call Hutchinson at (813) 293-3684, or sign up on the festival’s website, www.LOLSwampFest.com.

If you go
Land O’ Lakes Swamp Fest 2013
When: Nov. 1-3, Friday 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
Where: Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.
What: Rides, games, entertainment, food, business and community organization booths
For more information, visit www.LOLSwampFest.com

Buy your tickets
These are the presale ticket outlets:
• Connerton Elementary School, 9300 Flourish Drive in Land O’ Lakes
• Lake Myrtle Elementary School, 22844 Weeks Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes
• Rushe Middle School, 18654 Mentmore Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes
• Land O’ Lakes High School, 20325 Gator Lane in Land O’ Lakes
• Sunlake High School, 3023 Sunlake Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes
• Kids Stuff Daycare, 21360 Lake Floyd Drive in Land O’ Lakes
• Sugar & Spice, 3508 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes
• All Kids Academy, 1910 Livingston Road in Lutz
• Beef O’ Brady’s — Wilderness, 7040 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Suite 108 in Land O’ Lakes; Sunlake, 18835 State Road 54 in Lutz; and Village Lakes, 21539 Village Lakes Shopping Center Drive in Land O’ Lakes.

Friends of young cancer victim told to ‘focus on positive things’

October 23, 2013 By Michael Hinman

He was described as a “young man who has the heart of gold,” and his diagnosis of a rare brain cancer at the age of 15 rallied a community behind him in the fight against such afflictions.

For Jordan Harris, that gallant battle ended in the early morning hours of Oct. 16. He was 18.

“We miss and love Jordan,” a statement read on his Facebook page, Snapback Against Cancer. “We have forever his footprints in our hearts. He has touched our lives, and we can’t describe the impact he has had.”

Friends speak on behalf of Jordan Harris during a candlelight vigil and balloon release in his memory Oct. 16 on the football field of Freedom High School. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

A memorial service for Harris is scheduled for Oct. 25 at 3:30 p.m. at Cypress Point Community Church, 15820 Morris Bridge Road in Tampa. A funeral service also is slated there the next day, beginning at 11 a.m.

Harris was diagnosed with primitive neuroectodermal tumors in 2011. He was attending Freedom High then and played boys soccer during his freshman and sophomore years.

Surgeries and chemotherapy, however, kept him sidelined in games after that. But he never gave up on the sport, even planning to play recreationally in college.

“If nothing happened, I probably would have wanted to play college soccer on a scholarship,” Harris told The Laker/Lutz News last December. “But it’ll all be about fun now.”

The tumor Harris had is rare, typically found only in people under the age of 25, according to medical experts. The cancer is aggressive, yet Harris was able to overcome early obstacles, even getting some test results as late as May that showed no tumor, according to the family’s Facebook page.

He graduated in June from Freedom, and turned 18 soon after. But later that summer, he found out the cancer had returned, and Harris continued his treatment, according to the family.

Friends, family and students came together Oct. 16 at Freedom High School’s football stadium in an impromptu event to release balloons in Harris’ memory. The air was quiet, with an occasional muffled voice or sob breaking through.

As candles were handed out, Freedom social studies teacher Katie Feldman described Harris as a “beacon at the school, but not just because he was sick. Jordan brought a light to all those around him.

“In my experience, it’s those with the hardest struggles who seem to persevere the most, and Jordan was no exception,” she said. “Talk to anyone who knew him, and they would undoubtedly mention his beautiful smile, the way he always wanted to put other people first, and his unyielding sense of perseverance.”

Harris’ father, Phillip Harris, said his son would want his work to spread a positive influence to those around him to continue.

“You all know the history of my son,” he said. “Let’s focus on the positive things. Seeing that he already set the bar, let’s follow suit to do the same or better.”

Both of Jordan Harris’ parents, Phillip and Kim Harris, shared the light of their candle with the more than 400 people in attendance before everyone walked the track and released their balloons.

“Listening to people talk, driven to tell someone they love them in a moment of sorry instead of finding a quiet place to be sad,” Feldman said. “You reached out toward each other, to try and bring each other closer, and to try to make each other feel loved. That’s Jordan.

“It’s our love for him that gives us a better understanding of our love for one another.”

PHCC gearing up to talk about Porter Campus

October 23, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Three sessions have been scheduled to provide information about Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, a new satellite campus of Pasco-Hernando Community College that is scheduled to open in January.

The Porter Campus, which is under construction at Mansfield Boulevard and State Road 56, is situated in an area poised to attract major employers and substantial residential growth in coming years. It is directly across State Road 54 from the site where Raymond James, an international financial services company, is expected to build an office park.

A view from State Road 56 of one of the buildings under construction for the new Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, a Pasco-Hernando Community College satellite campus scheduled to open in January. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

The Porter Campus plans include six buildings. One of its structures will stand 122 feet tall, giving the campus the bragging rights of having Pasco County’s highest building.

College officials anticipate attracting students from Pasco, Hernando and Hillsborough counties. One day, the Porter Campus is expected to draw about the same number of students as the college’s West Campus, the main campus in New Port Richey.

The information sessions are designed to provide a wealth of information to potential students.

Three individual sessions are scheduled at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, in the second floor conference room of Wellness Plaza, 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Each session will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and they will be on Nov. 4, Nov. 5 and Nov. 6.

The sessions are intended for prospective, current and returning PHCC students who are interested in attending the new Porter Campus.

College faculty and staff will be on hand to provide information and answer questions about the campus. The sessions will highlight student support services, student activities, programs and courses, prerequisite courses, testing, and admission requirements.

Question-and-answer sessions are also planned, with a panel fielding the questions.

The campus has encountered some construction delays because of weather, but unless a hurricane hits or another natural disaster occurs, college officials expect the campus to open on schedule in early January, said Lucy Miller, PHCC’s executive director of marketing and public relations.

The Porter Campus is slated to offer a bachelor of applied science degree in supervision and management, and a bachelor of science in nursing degree beginning in the fall of 2014. It has received permission from the state and is now awaiting action on its application from the board of directors of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The board meets in Atlanta in December.

The college has appointed Stan Giannet to serve as provost of the Porter Campus. Previously, he served in that same capacity at PHCC’s North Campus.

Those wishing to attend the information sessions are encouraged to sign up now.

Space for each session is limited to 50, for a total of 150. The deadline for registering for the free session is Nov. 1.

To sign up, go to www.phcc.edu/rsvp. Call (727) 816-3398 for more information.