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Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research

Legislative forum covers wide spectrum of issues

December 6, 2017 By Kathy Steele

Dozens of speakers signed up to draw attention to topics they think are important at Pasco County’s annual legislative delegation meeting.

The topics ranged from fracking to Medicaid; the opioid epidemic to immigration; medical marijuana to homelessness; and, scores of budget requests.

Some requests were for items vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott last year.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, for instance, asked legislators to renew his request for $4.3 million for the Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research.

From left: State Sen. Tom Lee, Rep. Richard Corcoran, Rep. Danny Burgess, Sen. Wilton Simpson and Rep. Amber Mariano
attend the Pasco County legislative delegation’s annual meeting to hear from local constituents about issues they’d like lawmakers to address during the 2018 legislative session. (Kathy Steele)

The Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, also known as a “body farm,” opened in May on land next to the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center, off U.S. 41. The facility is the seventh of its type in the nation.

Construction money is needed for the indoor forensic center. The complex is planned jointly with the sheriff’s office, Pasco County, Pasco-Hernando State College, and the University of South Florida’s Institute for Forensics and Applied Science.

“It is a critical piece for us,” Nocco said.

The sheriff also noted that there already are international inquiries regarding training opportunities.

The city of Zephyrhills also had a big-ticket request. It’s asking for $3.25 million to help build the Sarah Vande Berg Memorial Tennis Center.

The planned tennis center includes eight soft courts, two hard courts and nine pickle ball courts.

The city of Zephyrhills already has hired Pennsylvania-based Tennis P.R.O. LLC to operate and manage the complex.

A pro shop, a multipurpose community room and two offices also are planned.

“It’s gaining a lot of momentum,” said Todd Vande Berg, the city’s planning director. “It will bring in players from around the world, and Zephyrhills really will be a destination in the sports arena.”

The complex is named for Vande Berg’s daughter, a tennis scholarship student at University of South Carolina, who died in a car accident.

The annual legislative delegation meeting is a ritual that gives lawmakers a chance to find out what is on the minds of their constituents for the coming legislative year.

This year’s session was on Nov. 27 at the Wesley Chapel Center for the Arts, at Wesley Chapel High School.

More than 60 people signed up, with each allotted three minutes to address the legislators, who were seated at a table on the arts center’s stage.

Rep. Danny Burgess, the delegation’s chairman; Rep. Amber Mariano; and Sen. Wilton Simpson attended the entire meeting. Sen. Tom Lee and Rep. Richard Corcoran attended portions of the meeting. Sen. Jack Latvala was absent.

Afterward Burgess described the meeting as a fact-gathering session to help legislators deliberate on issues during the 2018 legislative session in Tallahassee.

“It’s important — with a state this big and statute books so voluminous —it’s impossible to know every issue,” Burgess said.

He also said people’s presence and participation are important.

“It’s a truly collaborative thing,” he said, noting, lawmakers will have more information “because people from our areas decided to take the time to come here.”

Along those lines, Debra Golinski asked lawmakers to provide funding for screening programs at Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation Inc.

She said about $750,000 is needed for a program to help hearing-impaired children, ages 3 to 6 years, “begin to listen and talk.”

Golinksi also asked legislators to support a bill to provide hearing aids for children.

Timothy Beard, president of Pasco-Hernando State College, said the college is expanding rapidly and needs about $3.7 million in additional funding for operations.

He said school enrollment has increased from about 1,800 three years ago to about 4,000 students now.

“The growth there has really been phenomenal. We really, really need the dollars,” Beard said.

Other agencies and nonprofits seeking state funds included the Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services, the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas Inc., the Reach program with Pasco’s PACE Center for Girls, and the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, or ASAP.

Hot button political issues also came up.

James Brown, of the nonprofit Farmworkers Self Help, sought support for “DACA kids”, the children who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The federal program could be ended soon, leaving these children subject to deportation. They and their families harvested crops for years, Brown said.

“They did nothing more than work hard. We need to give these longtime families a place in the county. We’re not asking for budgetary concerns. We’re just asking for your compassion,” Brown said.

Several people also spoke on fracking, asking legislators to ban the practice in Florida.

Fracking is a process for pumping chemically treated high pressure water into a drilled pipeline to break through rock formations to tap into oil or natural gas reserves.

“Our message is simple,” said Brooke Errett, of Food & Water Watch. “Fracking doesn’t make sense.”

Legislators also got updates on initiatives under review at the federal level by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis.

His aide, Summer Robertson, told them that Bilirakis is seeking

a balanced approach toward addressing the opioid crisis.

He wants an approach that helps people with opioid addiction but still gives people “with legitimate pain” access to medications, Robertson said.

Published December 6, 2017

Filed Under: Local News Tagged With: Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, Amber Mariano, Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas Inc., Brooke Errett, Chris Nocco, Danny Burgess, Debra Golinski, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Farmworkers Self-Help, Food & Water Watch, Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services, Gus Bilirakis, Jack Latvala, James Brown, Land O' Lakes Detention Center, Medicaid, PACE Center for Girls, Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, Pasco-Hernando State College, Richard Corcoran, Rick Scott, Sarah Vande Berg Memorial Tennis Center, Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation, Summer Robertson, Tennis P.R.O. LLC, Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research, Timothy Beard, Todd Vande Berg, Tom Lee, U.S. 41, University of South Florida, Wesley Chapel Center for the Arts, Wesley Chapel High School, Wilton Simpson, Zephyrhills

Agreement reached on forensic research campus

October 4, 2017 By Kathy Steele

Pasco County commissioners approved a three-way agreement that sets up the framework for ownership and operation of a forensic research and training facility on county land next to the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center.

One feature of the facility is a body farm to aid in criminal investigations, body identification and research into body decomposition.

Abigail Kennedy spoke at the dedication ceremony naming the Adam Kennedy Forensic Field for her husband, who died in January. Adam Kennedy, former principal of Crews Middle School, was the first body donated for research at the body farm. (File)

Florida F.I.R.S.T. (Forensic Institute for Research & Tactical Training), will be only the seventh in the nation. It is expected to become a national and international center for forensic research and its applications.

Pasco County, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the University of South Florida are parties to the agreement.

“It’s really going to put us and USF on the map,” said Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore.

At no cost, Pasco will lease a portion of the facility to USF for 33 years, with two extensions allowed, for a total of 99 years.

“We’re excited to get this rolling and move it forward,” said Chase Daniels, assistant executive director for the sheriff’s office.

The campus will have a laboratory, classrooms, a morgue and evidence storage space. Virtual autopsies with 3-D scanning and chemical isotope analysis will be done. Work also will be done in the fields of legal medicine, forensic intelligence, aviation reconstruction and cyber forensics.

A tactical training facility for the sheriff’s K-9 unit and the Pasco Unified SWAT team also is planned.

Dr. Erin Kimmerle of USF’s Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science (IFAAS) will be in charge of the university’s research and training.

Kimmerle and USF led efforts in identifying bodies found in unmarked graves at the former Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.

The forensic building at Florida F.I.R.S.T. will be the Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research. Varnadoe’s body was among those recovered and identified at the unmarked burial sites at the Dozier school.

About 5 acres of the future campus were dedicated in May as the Adam Kennedy Memorial Forensics Field. It honors the memory of the former principal of Crews Lake Middle School, who died in a car accident while driving to work in January. His body was the first one donated to the body farm.

The price tag for the facility is about $4.3 million.

Legislators approved the money in the state’s 2017 budget, but Gov. Rick Scott vetoed the item.

The county’s legislative delegation will try again to win approval in the state’s 2019 budget. Conversations with members of Scott’s office already are underway, Daniel said.

Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley said he sent a letter to the governor’s office in support of funding. “It’s very important to the state besides us,” Oakley said.

If Pasco is unsuccessful a second time, Daniel said USF officials have offered to “tap into their donor lists.”

Published Oct. 4, 2017

Filed Under: Land O' Lakes News, Local News, News Stories Tagged With: Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, Chase Daniels, Crews Lake Middle School, Dozier School for Boys, Erin Kimmerle, Florida Forensic Institute for Research Security & Tactical Training, Gov. Rick Scott, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, K-9, Land O' Lakes Detention Center, Mike Moore, Pasco County, Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley, Pasco County Commissioners, Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Pasco Unified SWAT, Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research, University of South Florida, USF Institute of Forensix Anthropology & Applied Science

Pasco County projects axed by Gov. Scott

June 7, 2017 By Kathy Steele

Gov. Rick Scott signed an $83 billion budget for 2018 and used his veto pen to slash nearly $22 million earmarked for Pasco County projects.

In total Scott struck out nearly $410 million from local projects across Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott (File)

Pasco lost about $15 million for a new interchange to connect Overpass Road with Interstate 75, and $4.3 million for the Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research.

The interchange would be a major link in providing more access to Wesley Chapel and east Pasco, where residential and commercial development is booming.

A groundbreaking and dedication ceremony was held in May for the Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, located in Land O’ Lakes, near the planned forensic center. The body farm and forensic center would become the seventh in the nation to study body decomposition as a tool in solving crimes, and identifying victims of murder or other trauma.

The forensic center is planned jointly with Pasco County, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Pasco-Hernando State College and the University of South Florida’s Institute for Forensics and Applied Science.

Two budget items totaling nearly $1 million to clean out and repair the county’s culverts, and ease the threat of flooding are gone as well.

The Pasco County Fair Association also lost about $860,000 for proposed upgrades to the Pasco County Extension Office. And, Saint Leo University won’t get $4 million for a proposed Florida Hospital Wellness Center.

Scott had a joint press conference on June 2 with Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, a Republican from Land O’ Lakes, and Senate President Joe Negron, a Republican from Stuart. The trio announced a funding deal had been reached following weeks of speculation that Scott might veto the entire budget. Instead, the governor wielded his veto power, and called legislators back for a three-day special session from June 7 through June 9.

The agenda will include increases to annual per pupil spending from kindergarten through 12th grade; creation of an $85 million Florida Job Growth Grant Fund; and, restoring funds to Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida.

Scott has said he will not veto a controversial education bill that Corcoran favored. It creates a School of Hope program that would subsidize charter schools in areas where public schools are considered failing.

There currently are no plans to include discussion of how to regulate medical marijuana. Voters overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana in a 2016 referendum, but legislators have been split on how many dispensaries to allow.

Scott also cut these Pasco projects:

  • $750,000 for Pasco Regional STEM School/Tampa Bay Region Aeronautics
  • $500,000 for a study of the Clinton Avenue Intersection Re-alignment at U.S. 98 and U.S. 301
  • $350,000 for U.S. 301/Re-imagine Gall Boulevard

Published June 6, 2017

Filed Under: Top Story Tagged With: Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, Clinton Avenue, Enterprise Florida, Florida Hospital Wellness Center, Interstate 75, Joe Negron, Lan dO' Lakes, Overpass Road, Pasco County Extension Office, Pasco County Fair Association, Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Pasco Regional STEM School/Tampa Bay Region Aeronautics, Pasco-Hernando State College, Richard Corcoran, Rick Scott, Saint Leo University, Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research, U.S. 301, U.S. 98, University of South Florida Institute for Forensics and Applied Science, Visit Florida, Wesley Chapel

Land O’ Lakes site aims to improve forensic research

May 31, 2017 By Kathy Steele

Pasco County had a dedication ceremony for a 5-acre field that will be used to advance forensic research and aid in criminal investigations.

The “body farm” is next to the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center, off U.S. 41. A separate forensics and training facility also is being planned near the body farm site.

A monument sign was unveiled on May 12 at a dedication ceremony for the Adam Kennedy Forensics Field. The ‘body farm’ is part of a project to build a forensics research and training center next to Pasco County’s jail.
(Courtesy of Pasco County Sheriff’s Office)

The field has been named the Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, in honor of the former principal of Crews Lake Middle School, who died in a car accident while driving to work in January.

His body was the first one donated to the body farm.

“There is so much bittersweet about this,” said Abigail Kennedy, the principal’s wife, as she spoke during a May 12 ceremony.

Officials from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, county commissioners, and Dr. Erin Kimmerle of the University of South Florida’s Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science (IFAAS) also were there, as the sign for the field was unveiled.

Adam Kennedy wanted to leave his body to science, Abigail Kennedy said, noting that before her husband died, the couple had discussed possible options, including donating to a medical school.

She said her husband wanted to do something “dedicated to making people’s lives better.”

She contacted USF about the plans underway for the body farm and forensics facility to ask if her husband’s body could be the first donation.

“All I could think was this couldn’t be more perfect,” she said. “This is so cool. This is so Adam.”

The campus of the Florida Forensics Institute for Research & Tactical Training, or F.I.R.S.T., is expected to become a national and international hub for research in the field of forensic science.

The body farm and forensics facility will be the seventh in the nation to study body decomposition as a tool in solving crimes, and identifying victims of murder or other trauma.

The University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, opened the first facility of this type during the 1970s.

The former principal’s body will be buried and later exhumed for research.

So far, about 30 people have preregistered with USF for body donations.

Project partners include the sheriff’s office, Pasco County, Pasco-Hernando State College and the IFAAS.

Kimmerle and USF are well-known for their work in identifying bodies found in unmarked graves at the former Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.

The forensics building at F.I.R.S.T. will be the Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research. Varnadoe’s body was among those recovered and identified at the grave site at the Dozier school.

Pasco’s campus will include a laboratory, classrooms, a morgue and evidence storage. Virtual autopsies with 3-D scanning and chemical isotope analysis will be done. Other activities will focus on legal medicine, forensic intelligence, aviation reconstruction and cyber forensics.

A tactical training facility for the sheriff’s K-9 unit and the Pasco Unified SWAT team also is planned.

About $200,000 in funding for this facility is being aided through a local campaign spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel.

State funds of about $4.3 million for the forensics and research facility are included in the 2018 budget approved by Florida legislators. But, as of The Laker/Lutz News’ publication deadline, Gov. Rick Scott had not yet decided whether to sign the budget bill.

Scott has expressed displeasure with the budget and could opt to use his line item veto, veto the education portion of the budget or veto the entire budget.

The project will go forward whatever the decision, according to sheriff’s office officials. If the appropriation isn’t approved this year, another request will be made in the 2019 state budget or other sources of money will be sought, they said.

Published May 31, 2017

Filed Under: Land O' Lakes News, Local News Tagged With: Abigail Kennedy, Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, Crews Lake Middle School, Dozier School for Boys, Erin Kimmerle, Florida Forensics Institute for Research & Tactical Training, Land O' Lakes Detention Center, Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Pasco Unified SWAT, Pasco-Hernando State College, Rick Scott, Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research, U.S. 41, University of South Florida Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science, University of Tennessee

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Live Oak Theatre is now selling tickets for its Acorn Theatre production of “Aladdin jr.” Performances will be March 18 through March 28, at the Carol and Frank Morsani Center for the Arts, 21030 Cortez Blvd., in Brooksville. Seats are $15 for adults and $8 for children ages 13 and younger, when accompanied by an adult. For show times and tickets, visit LiveOakTheatre.square.site, email , or call 352-593-0027. … [Read More...] about ‘Aladdin jr.’

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03/06/2021 – Bridal Trunk Show

The Gulfside Hospice New Port Richey Thrift Shoppe, 6117 State Road 54, will host a Bridal Trunk Show on March 6 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. There will be more than 250 dresses to choose from, starting at $29.99 and many brand new. Admission is free, but limited spots are available to allow for social distancing. Brides must register online in advance, by March 3, at bit.ly/NPR-Bridal-Trunk-Show. All proceeds from the shop go to help hospice patients in Pasco County. For questions, contact Jeremi Sliger at , or call 727-842-7262. … [Read More...] about 03/06/2021 – Bridal Trunk Show

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03/13/2021 – ‘Grease’ event

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03/13/2021 – Exhibitors needed

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