Photos of the Week

The Pasco County Commission honored efforts of the county’s fire rescue workers and recognized Fire Safety Week through a resolution at the board’s Oct. 6 meeting. This year, Fire Safety Week focused on the importance of preventing house fires — with a particular emphasis on staying safe in the kitchen. Many house fires occur because of cooking food left unattended on stove tops. Shown here, Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, Commission Chairman Mike Moore, Commissioner Ron Oakley, Commissioner Jack Mariano, County Administrator Dan Biles and Fire Chief Scott Cassin pose with members of Pasco Fire Rescue.

Note: National First Responders Day is on Oct. 28 and recognizes the heroic men and women who make it their business to take immediate action when disaster strikes. 

Alec Brown, a fourth-grader at Bexley Elementary, took this photo of an alligator in one of the Bexley ponds, in Land O’ Lakes. He submitted the photo for a youth art exhibition, called the ‘Mini Matisse Show,’ at the Carrollwood Cultural Center and won first place.

See Alec himself in Chalk Talk, under the Education tab!

Hundreds of people turned out recently for the Taco Festival at the Grove at Wesley Chapel.

The festival, held Sept. 19 and Sept. 20, gave event-goers the opportunity to listen to live music, taste mouthwatering tacos and drink refreshing beverages, such as margaritas and mojitos.

Homemade salsa and authentic Cuban cigars were available for purchase, and those attending could sample different types of tequila.

Food and drink were the highlight of the festival, but there were lots of fun, kid-friendly activities, such as hot air balloon rides, rock climbing, festival games and bounce houses.

GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club members donated sanitizing supplies, paper products and student necessities that were needed in teachers’ classrooms. The women also included treats and thank-you cards to show their appreciation. Members of the Education & Libraries Committee delivered donations to Chris Holten of Shady Hills Elementary School. For more on the club, visit LutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

Before these athletes hit the gridiron for their respective colleges, they were known for their skills on local fields. Find out more about what they are up to now. Check out our coverage on Sports.

 

Students donning masks arrive at Sunlake High School, 3023 Sunlake Blvd., at the break of dawn — and make their way to their classes. The school has more room this year because it added a new classroom wing.

The first day of school, because of COVID-19, will be anything but routine for the 2020-2021 school year.

Some students will be attending classes virtually, while others will be strapping on masks, and heading to school campuses.

It’s become a tradition for us to share First Day of School photos with our readers, and we would love to share yours.

The photos can be taken in your home, on your front porch before or after school, near the school, at the bus stop, or at another location you prefer.

We don’t care if your child is heading to kindergarten, or heading off to college.

We welcome group shots of siblings, but please identify each child in the photo, from left to right.

When submitting your photo, please tell us your child’s name and age, what community you live in, what school the student attends (or if the child is homeschooled) and the grade of the student. Also, please provide contact information, in case we have questions.

We’d like to publish our First Day of School photo collection on Sept. 9, so please submit your photos by Sept. 2. Send them to .

Published August 19, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land O’ Lakes photographer Lillian Cucuzza often shares her photographs of local wildlife with readers of The Laker/Lutz News (In fact, we’re publishing one today in our B section). These shots were taken, however, during her vacation out West this summer. This photo of the Neowise Comet, was taken on July 15, when the comet was closest to  earth — still about 70 million miles away, the photographer said.

The Laker/Lutz News received four awards in the Florida Press Association’s 2020 Weekly Newspaper Contest, announced in a virtual awards ceremony on July 31.

Christine Holtzman won second place for photo series in one issue. The judges wrote: ‘The exuberance of an 86-year-old woman before and after her first-ever skydiving experience jumps off the page at readers in this photo package. We get to see her joking with friends before the jump. We get to see her falling from the sky with her purple and pink (tandem) parachute. We get to see her walking across the field with raised arms linked to fellow jumpers. If you were having a bad day when you saw all of that, it most certainly would have raised your spirits.’

Holtzman also won second place for sports photo and third place for a story entry in the Outdoor and Recreation category.

The Laker/Lutz News competed in the contest’s largest circulation category (13,000 and above).  This year’s competition received more than 1,400 entries — the most in five years. Twenty judges from across the nation picked the winners.

Matt Mistretta, the newspaper’s art director, received third place in the best headline category for his headline, “Clear the shelters, a howling success.”

The judges wrote: “Any animal lover will appreciate the headline and what it tells the reader.”