The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Lutz

Steinbrenner softball claims best season in school history

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When Brenda Leach took over as coach of the Steinbrenner Warriors, everyone was hoping for a good beginning, but they didn’t know exactly what to expect.

Leach is just the second head softball coach in the school’s history, and the team has never had a losing season since they began play in 2009.

So, when Leach led the team to its best season in school history, it certainly was a good start to her tenure.

The Warriors had a lot of youth on their softball team -- just two seniors -- but they came together and had the best season in school history. (Courtesy of Maureen Famiano)
The Warriors had a lot of youth on their softball team — just two seniors — but they came together and had the best season in school history.
(Courtesy of Maureen Famiano)

And while she expected a good year, even Leach wasn’t expecting as much as her team delivered.

“I had no idea that our record and accomplishments would be what they ended up being,” she said.

The numbers ended up being impressive no matter how you analyze them.

The Warriors compiled a 22-8 record, eclipsing 20 wins in one season for the first time in school history.

And while they won some close games, many victories were dominating performances. Steinbrenner recorded eight shutouts and scored 10 or more runs 10 different times. They began their season with 53 runs in their first three games alone.

While it is important to score runs and win games, those aren’t the only measures of a successful year.

If a team falls short in the district tournament, for instance, all that work won’t amount to much.

But Steinbrenner had its most successful year in that regard. The team claimed the Class 7A District 8 title after slipping past Wiregrass Ranch by a 2-1 margin.

The team then went to the regional tournament.

The Warriors have done that before, but after beating East Bay and Plant City, they reached the regional final for the first time. And while it ended that tournament with a 7-1 loss to Bartow, Leach remains very happy with how the year turned out.

“I’m so proud of all the accomplishments, so many successes this year to be proud of, it’s an amazing feeling,” she said.

While it was Leach’s first year at the helm, it wasn’t her first year with the school. She had served as an assistant the two previous seasons, so the players didn’t have to adjust to hearing advice from someone they didn’t know.

Still, Leach wanted to do things her way, and that meant both adding and eliminating some things from the program.

For instance, she added conditioning for six weeks before spring tryouts so the team would be physically ready for the upcoming season.

Before that, she encouraged all players — not just freshmen and sophomores — to participate in Miss Tampa Bay Softball, an unofficial fall league utilized by players who want to get in some year-round work. Playing together earlier helped them work as a team from the beginning, since they were already familiar with each other.

There were eliminations, too. Specifically, the bickering that sometimes occurs in sports teams. Leach wanted everyone to understand that there’s a job to do, and the Warriors weren’t going to waste time fighting with each other when they could be working to defeat their next opponent.

According to sophomore pitcher Emalee Jansen, it worked.

“We had a great bonding relationship, the entire team,” Jansen said. The Warriors would do things together outside of softball as well, like a dolphin tour over spring break. And when they won the district title, Leach invited them to her house to watch the game together.

Part of the team’s synergy came out of respect for their coach, Jansen explained. After playing softball at Gaither High School (where she won a state title in 1996), Leach was a first-team, all-region outfielder at Hillsborough Community College. She then continued her softball career at Ashland University in Ohio. Having an accomplished athlete guiding them gave the team an opportunity to learn from someone who had already achieved success, and gave them confidence in her approach.

“It was easy to relate to her, because she played college ball,” Jansen said. “She’s just a great overall coach.”

Leach will have a chance to repeat the team’s success next year with returning players like Jansen. Overall the team is losing just two seniors, and while they were important to the team, Leach believes they can fill those gaps and compete in the district and region again.

She also believes that the team’s playoff experience, including the loss, will help them going forward.

“These girls did not enjoy the feeling of losing in the regional final, and I think they’re going to come back more determined and more ready to work, and I think they want it bad as well,” Leach said.

Jensen agrees.

“We’re not done yet,” she said. “We’re striving for better achievements.”

Published May 13, 2015

 

Hillsborough faces huge traffic challenges

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Go Hillsborough is an initiative aimed at engaging the public to find solutions for deteriorating infrastructure and traffic-clogged roads.

The effort is a collaboration involving the Hillsborough County Commission, the mayors of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City, and the chairman of the board for the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit system.

Those visiting a community open house could learn about the transportation challenges facing Hillsborough County and jot down potential solutions. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Those visiting a community open house could learn about the transportation challenges facing Hillsborough County and jot down potential solutions.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Organizers have been making the rounds to places across Hillsborough County for months, inviting the public to help pinpoint the problems and weigh in on potential solutions.

On April 30, they made a stop at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lutz.

At this session, they invited members of the public to look at informational placards throughout the room, to watch a video on a continuous loop, to ask questions of people stationed throughout the room and to offer their input in writing.

At this session, the focus was on making choices.

The next series of workshops will focus on finding consensus.

The idea is to invite public participation in both identifying problems and suggesting solutions.

Both the slideshow and placards set up around the room made it clear that the county has no shortage of problems, when it comes to its transportation network.

For one thing, it’s a big job.

In Hillsborough County alone, for instance, there are more than 7,000 lane miles of road, as well as 254 bridges and 315 signalized intersections.

And, of that, “more than 30 percent of county roads are at or approaching poor condition,” according to information on display.

Lack of transit is another issue.

“As of today, 58 percent of county residents and 38 percent of our jobs are not served by transit,” a display says.

Paying for improvements won’t be cheap, either.

The county is facing $750 million in transportation backlogs.

So far, feedback has shown that different parts of the county have different priorities.

For instance, transit ranks as a top priority in West Tampa, while new roads ranks as a top priority in South County. In Northwest Hillsborough, new roads and wider roads are the top priority, while resurfacing ranks second.

There’s no easy solution for funding improvements, either.

Choices include user fees, such as gas taxes or tolls; charging developers a fair share; and a sales tax.

The next set of meetings will focus on attempting to build a community consensus on which problems to attack and how to pay for them.

In addition to four meetings that are scheduled around the county, there will be a telephone town hall on May 21 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Call (877) 229-8493. The Pin number is 11031.

For more information, visit GoHillsborough.org.

Published May 6, 2015

EcoFest offers fun, and food for thought

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Thousands turned out for the sixth annual EcoFest at the picturesque setting of Lowry Park.

This year’s event had the feel of a farmer’s market and that was intentional, said Michele Northrup, an event organizer from Learning Gate Community School.

Thousands of people streamed to Lowry Park on April 18 to celebrate Earth Day a bit early. The event initiated by Learning Gate Community School in Lutz had to be moved to a larger venue last year because it has become too large for the school’s campus. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Thousands of people streamed to Lowry Park on April 18 to celebrate Earth Day a bit early. The event initiated by Learning Gate Community School in Lutz had to be moved to a larger venue last year because it has become too large for the school’s campus.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The charter school, located in Lutz, has spearheaded the event since its inception.

As its name implies, the festival celebrates efforts to make the earth more sustainable by promoting energy conservation, environmental protection and healthy living practices.

The event initially took place on the grounds of the school in Lutz, but it outgrew that location.

This year, the event was on April 18 and was presented by the school, the City of Tampa and the University of South Florida’s Patel College of Global Sustainability.

Festival-goers checked out entertainment and educational presentations near the band shell at Lowry Park, 7525 N. Boulevard, and browsed through a wide assortment of vendors on the park grounds across the street from Lowry Park Zoo.

The event gave people a chance to begin celebrating Earth Day — officially April 22 — a bit early.

There were 167 vendors at the event this year, which is a record, according to Northrup. It’s also a sizable jump from last year, when there were 118.

Event-goers could pick up foods from organic farms, buy healthy pet treats, pick up some local honey, grab a bite from some food trucks or enjoy organic popcorn.

There were loads of speakers and entertainers, too.

Amanda Renaud, of Topsy Turvy, an entertainment group, strolled on stilts through the festival, towering above the crowd and flashing a bright smile.

Samantha Petrone, who played the character Ariel from The Little Mermaid, had to be carried across North Boulevard, to be placed in her spot beneath a tree.

She and other members of the Much Foundation, of Tampa, attracted attention from fascinated children and parents snapping photos of their youngsters, posing with the characters.

Last year, the event was selected as the “Best Community Event” by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Northrup was clearly enthused, as people continued streaming into the event this year.

“We made the event bigger and better than ever,” she said.

Published April 22, 2015

Young golfer hits links, brings home hardware

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Kailey Kleinatland is 9 years old, and she already loves golf.

Besides practicing and playing, she loves what comes afterward.

“The fun part is you get trophies,” she said.

Kailey Kleinatland took up golf when she was 7. Two years later, she has a shelf full of trophies and is a member of the USA Junior Team program. (Photo courtesy of Howard Kleinatland)

Not everyone wins trophies when they hit the links, but not everyone has Kleinatland’s skills.

In just two years, the Lutz resident has won tournaments at places like Westchase Golf Club, Carrollwood Country Club, Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, Belleair Country Club and Crescent Oaks Country Club.

And her prospects are looking even better since she has been accepted into the USA Junior Team program.

While golf is a challenging — and potentially lucrative — sport, it’s also quite expensive.

After getting off to a great start with her first coach, Bill Monical, it became clear that Kleinatland would benefit from high-level training that can cost hundreds of dollars per session.

Because her family isn’t wealthy, making the junior team was the only way she’d be able to get that training.

When she qualified, her father, Howard Kleinatland, saw it as a sign that their faith continues to reap dividends for their family.

“It just seems like whenever she needs something provided, God has always provided it for her,” he said. “She’s very strong with her faith and involved with our church.”

In addition to attending Revolutionary Life Church in Lutz, Kailey does a lot of volunteer work and hopes to get involved with Special Olympics, Howard explained.

Her older brother, Codey, has a disability, making that area of volunteering a personal one for her family.

If the Kleinatlands were unsure if Kailey would qualify for the USA Junior Team, they shouldn’t have worried. Her new coach, Brad Brewer, saw something in her immediately.

“She’s just a natural,” Brewer said.

And with decades of coaching experience, specifically with golf academy programs, Brewer is an expert at knowing what to look for in a young golfer.

She had to go through profile testing on a series of skills, and Kailey qualified for the “junior stars” category in most of them. In the others, she was closer to the higher “elite” category, despite being younger than a lot of the other students.

In addition to her physical abilities, Brewer said he also is impressed with her mental approach to the game.

Some children put unhealthy pressure on themselves, but Kailey takes the good — and the bad — in stride.

“She’s like a kid just having fun, just trying to do the best she can, and I love that about her,” Brewer said.

Kailey said having fun was the reason she began playing golf in the first place. Her best friend, Jaida, started playing, so Kailey wanted to join her.

It’s still fun, Kailey said, but she also now has a more rigorous schedule.

Mondays are a combination of volleyball and golf after school.

On Tuesdays, she travels to Orlando for a 90-minute session with Brewer. Wednesdays are taken up by church and more golf, Thursday means another trip to Orlando, and Fridays are reserved for dance lessons.

And the weekends?

She often competes in two-day tournaments, and she often comes home with a trophy.

She often has to do homework on the drives to Orlando, but she enjoys learning from Brewer. He provides advice and makes sure she grasps the lesson.

“When he gives us the information and we don’t understand it, he’ll repeat it in a new way,” Kailey said.

The coaching skill might be rubbing off on Kailey.

Her dad said he began swinging clubs after he saw that Kailey had a knack for it.

After studying her dad’s swing, Kailey observed that he still has a way to go before he’ll bring home trophies of his own.

“Since he’s a little older, he’s not as flexible as the younger kids. So he can’t turn his shoulder all the way around,” Kailey observed.

Kailey’s mother, Tracy, is not a golfer, so it looks like Kailey may be the one member of the family who might make waves in competitive golf.

Brewer, who has been working with Kailey just a short time, would not put limits on what the 9-year-old may be able to accomplish as she develops as a golfer.

“I’ve helped players get all the way to the tournament. I’ve worked with major champions,” he said. “Certainly nothing is out of possibility with someone like this.”

Published April 22, 2015

Protecting the earth, all year long

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Corrine Goodman is a big fan of Earth Day.

“My only desire for Earth Day would be is that it’s a month long,” said the Lutz woman, who is an avid gardener.

“We’re the caretakers of this earth,” said Goodman, whose water-saving practices earned her the 2014 Community Waterwise Award in Pasco County.

Corrine Goodman poses near some of the roses in her backyard. This gardener from Lutz believes in protecting the earth every day, not only on Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on April 22. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Corrine Goodman poses near some of the roses in her backyard. This gardener from Lutz believes in protecting the earth every day, not only on Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on April 22.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Her yard is a work in progress — and it’s progressing quite nicely.

“This was the ugliest house on the street, when I moved in, in January of 2010,” said Goodman, who lives in Carpenter’s Run.

“There wasn’t grass. We had weeds,” she said.

Currently there’s a rather large patch in the front yard that looks somewhat bare.

That’s where the oak tree used to be, Goodman explained.

But the tree was pushing up the driveway and someone walking past tripped, so Goodman took out the tree.

The area looks somewhat sparse now, but Goodman has plans for it. She’s transplanted an ornamental cassia tree, which is a host to sulphur butterflies.

“Now that I have some sun in the front yard, I’ve put in some milkweed to attract butterflies in the front yard, as well as the backyard,” Goodman said.

In other spots in her front yard, there are splashes of color — from red amaryllis blooms, and there’s a trio of old tires she’s now using as plant containers.

Along the side yard, there’s a thriving lion’s whiskers bush — with beguiling orange blooms.

“They’re a really nice plant (for) hummingbirds, bees, butterflies,” Goodman said.

In the backyard, the fragrance of rosemary wafts through the air and Tibetan prayer flags flap in the breeze.

Goodman isn’t Buddhist, but she likes the flags.

“The mythology is every time the wind blows and the flags move, a prayer is being sent to the creator for us,” she said.

Around her yard are fully mature plants that once were mere cuttings from plants in other people’s yards.

“That beach sunflower — that was one scraggly little plant,” she said. “That’s one plant, that has spread like that.”

Her garden boasts all sorts of plants and flowers. She has roses, sages, lilies, honeysuckle, pineapple, angel trumpet and camellias, to name just a few.

And, her garden is thriving even though she uses no irrigation, no pesticides and very little fertilizer.

“I have a really nice balance of good bugs, bad bugs, so I don’t have to use pesticides.

“I don’t fertilize very much, because the mulch disintegrates.

“The only water this yard gets is from the rain barrels and from nature. I have no irrigation, no sprinkling system,” she said.

Tending the garden takes work, but for Goodman, it’s an exercise that’s good for the soul.

“This is my oasis. This is where I come.”

“When I go out and I sit in my garden in the morning, I take my coffee out and it, to me, it’s like my holy space or my sacred space.

“I enjoy the butterflies, the lizards, the cockroaches — I mean, everything has a purpose.”

She believes in the theory that one person respecting and tending the earth can affect the whole world.

“It’s the old butterfly effect — ‘If the butterfly flaps its wings in Africa, that vibration carries around the globe.’

“I truly believe that.”

Published April 22, 2015

Hearing officer approves Lutz charter school

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A proposed charter school in Lutz has received approval, despite objections from nearby residents, homeowner associations and community organizations.

Land use hearing officer James Scarola approved a special use permit for the Tampa Academy of Math and Science, a charter school for up to 870 kindergarteners through eighth-graders.

In his April 6 decision, Scarola found that the request complies with the county’s land development code and the Hillsborough County’s comprehensive plan.

The ruling will stand, unless an appeal is filed with the county’s Appeals Board.

Plans call for the charter school to occupy 7.46 acres of an 8.45-acre tract, on the west side of Sunlake Boulevard, just south of Lutz Lake Fern Road.

The remaining acre is being reserved for a future development.

Besides clearing the way for the school, Scarola also approved a request to waive buffer requirements between the school and the remnant 1-acre parcel.

The applicants — Charter Schools Properties Inc., and Charter Schools Associates Inc. — scaled down their original request for a school for more than 1,000 students. They also agreed to numerous conditions addressing transportation issues, building height, buffering, phasing of development, placement of the school buildings, and the outdoor play area. They also must turn off outdoor lights by 9 p.m.

Phase one plans call for a two-story classroom building, with 33 classrooms for a maximum of 670 students.

Phase two, which is contingent upon an additional traffic analysis, would serve 200 students, in 11 classrooms, in another two-story building.

Both classroom buildings will be situated near Sunlake Boulevard.

Access to the site will be from one driveway on Lutz Lake Fern Road, which will be a right in/right out only, and two driveways on Sunlake Boulevard. One of those driveways would be right in/right out only, and the other would be right out only.

The applicant has agreed to build new right-turn lanes and a new U-turn lane in conjunction with the project.

Opponents have objected for months about the traffic the school would generate. They also have expressed concerns about potential flooding, fumes from vehicle exhausts and noise from outdoor activities.

County planners recommended approval of the request, with conditions, and staff from the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission did not object.

During the hearing, Tom Hiznay, a county planner, told Scarola that the site’s design, along with conditions for approval, provides “sensitivity to surrounding uses.”

But Jay Bockisch, a traffic engineer, speaking on behalf of the opponents, characterized the proposed use as “an intense traffic generator” that would have the same kind of traffic impacts as a regional mall, four Publix shopping centers, or the tallest office building in downtown Tampa.

“This is not a transitional land use,” Bockisch said. “We have safety concerns.”

Pat and Joe Serio, who live directly behind the proposed school, voiced strenuous objections to the hearing officer’s decision.

“We were very disappointed, but hardly surprised,” Pat Serio said, in an email.

“It was a totally uphill battle on our part, the most immediate and most impacted residents, neighbors and citizens of Lutz and Hillsborough County and others who will have to live with the consequences of this ill-conceived project and deal with the traffic issues on a daily basis whether commuting or delivering children to and from the numerous already existing area schools,” she wrote.

She also noted that she and her husband were disappointed that county commissioners did not respond when they reached out to them regarding concerns about the school.

“Once again, the Lutz Comprehensive Plan was ignored and the decades’ long efforts by the residents to keep Lutz quasi-rural have been for naught,” she added.

Joe Serio, also via email, said the hearing officer ignored testimony by a traffic expert representing the opponents.

The hearing officer also disregarded testimony at the hearing that “clearly showed the violation of the Lutz Community Plan,” he added.

A brochure for the Tampa Academy of Math and Science says the school is planning to open in the 2016 school year. It plans to focus on science, technology, engineering and math and will use hands-on learning and a solid foundation in core disciplines.

To find out more about the school or for early enrollment inquiries, email , or visit CharterSchoolAssociates.com.

Published April 15, 2015

 

Famous Tate buys land near Walmart on U.S. 41

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Pasco County’s third Famous Tate is planned for an outparcel, in front of Walmart Supercenter, off U.S. 41 in Lutz.

An architect is working on the design of the 14,000-square-foot appliance and mattress store, but a groundbreaking likely is months away, according to John Horst, the company’s president.

Famous Tate plans to open a new store in Pinellas County before it opens its new Pasco County location. The Pinellas store could open within the next four months.

Horst is eager to get started on the Pasco site, but design and permitting could take as long as a year.

The company generally prefers to be conservative and opens a store a year, Horst said.

“It will be an attractive building,” Horst said. “We just want to be a player in Lutz as it grows.”

Plans in Pinellas are to reopen and re-brand former Apsco Appliance Centers, which were acquired in a bankruptcy.

Famous Tate of New Tampa Inc., purchased the 1.5-acre vacant lot by Walmart in March from Tarpon Springs-based Hagman Properties for slightly more than $1 million, according to Pasco County records.

The company, which was founded in 1954, has nine current locations including stores in Pasco at 5419 Village Market in Wesley Chapel, and at 8010 Grand Blvd., in Port Richey. There are about 250 employees.

Walmart and the County Line Commons shopping plaza are located in a pie-shaped plat of land between U.S. 41 and North Dale Mabry Highway, with entrances off both roadways. Horst said a vacant lot on the North Dale Mabry side was considered, but the entry from U.S. 41 seemed the better option.

“It seemed easier to get in and out,” Horst said. “It’s busier and has more local traffic.”

Published April 8, 2015

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North turns five

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When St. Joseph’s Hospital-North opened its doors five years ago, it was the first new hospital built in Hillsborough County in 30 years.

“Our goal was to provide a health care alternative in this community because there really weren’t many alternatives,” said Paula McGuiness, president of the hospital, at 4211 Van Dyke Road in Lutz..

“It was an underdeveloped medical infrastructure, if you will. There weren’t many doctors out here. There certainly wasn’t a hospital,” McGuiness said.

A look at the main entrance to St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, a hospital located in Lutz that is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a community event on April 11. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
A look at the main entrance to St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, a hospital located in Lutz that is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a community event on April 11.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

People needing to go to a hospital had to drive 13 miles or more, she added. “That was why this was built.”

The hospital acquired the land in the 1980s, anticipating a future need, McGuiness said.

Since St. Joseph’s Hospital-North began operations on Feb. 15, 2010, both Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and Medical Center of Trinity, in neighboring Pasco County, have opened their doors.

“You would think that it would have a big impact on the volume of patients that we see, but, in fact, there has not been much change, overall,” McGuiness said.

More than a half-million people visited a loved one at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North during the hospital’s first five years, and it treated nearly a quarter-million patients.

The hospital’s work force has grown, too.

It began with around 425 employees and now exceeds 575, McGuiness said. Many employees have been there since it opened.

“We have a lot of team members who previously had worked in places like St. Pete and Clearwater, so now, we have provided a close-to-home work environment,” she said.

There’s also a medical office building on the property, housing physicians from a wide array of specialty areas.

The hospital has an ambulance service and a helipad, enabling it to transport patients to other facilities when necessary.

In fact, when St. Joseph’s Hospital-North was planning to move into Lutz, one of the most controversial aspects was its intention to have a helipad.

“People were concerned we were going to be bringing in helicopters to be a port here. We’re not transporting in. What we do is we do transfer out,” McGuiness said.

The hospital was built with comfort in mind, for both patients and their families.

“The aesthetics don’t make the care, but they are a kind of backdrop for the kind of care that we provide,” McGuiness said. “If you can provide an ambience, an environment that is soothing and restful and doesn’t have that sterile, stereotypic hospital feel, then you can support the health and well-being of individuals that come here.”

Along those lines, the hospital’s common areas are spacious and inviting, and all patient rooms are private.

The patient rooms are designed with the notion that family members would be active participants in their loved one’s care, McGuiness said.

“Even with the ICU (intensive care unit), we allow the family to stay in the room with the patient during their stay, if that’s what they desire,” McGuiness said. “It’s not just the patient, it is the family that needs that type of support.”

In terms of construction, the hospital was built to accommodate future expansion.

It also was designed with the environment and energy conservation in mind.

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North was the first acute hospital in Florida to be LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design)-registered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The hospital has technology that is designed to support quality patient care, in a secure environment.

It was the first hospital in Baycare Health System to be almost entirely paperless.

The electronic medical records represent a significant technological move forward in the arena of patient care, McGuiness said. The records give doctors access to a patient’s medical history.

“No matter the event — whether you’re able to say what your history has been or not — we’re going to be able to access that (information) for you and take care of you,” McGuiness said.

The hospital surgical services include ear, nose and throat; gastrointestinal, gynecological, orthopedic, podiatry, urology and plastics, in case of reconstructions necessary from trauma.

Early on, it added a labor and delivery unit.

“When we first opened, we didn’t have a mom-baby and labor and delivery unit set up. We were still working with our physicians to bring them onboard.

“So, it was about nine months before we delivered the program,” McGuiness said. So far, more than 1,700 babies have been born there.

On another front, “we’ve added oncology infusion services, which is a big deal for us,” McGuiness said.

“Obviously, we have the cancer institute at the (St. Joseph’s Hospital) main campus (in Tampa), but this is a feeder.

“It’s not a great time when someone is going through chemo, and to be able to have the service so close to home, I think, makes a difference. At least, that’s what our patients say,” McGuiness said.

Besides providing medical care, the hospital also has become part of the community’s fabric in other ways, too, McGuiness said.

She’s especially pleased by that community partnership.

One way it connects is through its educational programs, she said.

“In the five years, we’ve provided over 500 educational classes,” she said. They can be as simple as CPR, childbirth classes or safe-sitter program.

But there’s also a whole lecture series, provided by physicians, to help people with medical issues.

“At different points of your life, you’re interested in different things: Your hip replacements, your knee replacements,” McGuiness said. “We have those kinds of sessions. Our doctors do that as a voluntary service for the community.”

The quality of food in the hospital’s café also made it an attractive place for people to meet and eat, she said.

It’s not unusual for people from nearby Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church to have meetings at the hospital, or to come by after Sunday services for brunch.

McGuiness welcomes those visitors.

“That just reinforces how much of a part of that fabric of the community that you are,” she said.

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North 5th anniversary
When: April 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, 4211 Van Dyke Road in Lutz
Who: All are welcome
What: Children’s activities; health and wellness demonstrations and speakers; baby play area; a reunion of babies born at the hospital with the doctors and nurses who cared for them; food trucks; wellness screenings; live entertainment; a teddy bear clinic (bring your own teddy bear patient); and, judging of a baby photo contest the hospital conducted on its Facebook page throughout March.
Pre-registration is not required, but is appreciated. Please call (813) 644-6772.

By the numbers
St. Joseph’s Hospital-North began treating patients on Feb. 15, 2010. Since then, more than a half-million people have visited the facility.

The hospital has:

  • Delivered more than 1,700 babies
  • Treated nearly 220,000 patients
  • Logged 15,284 volunteer service hours
  • Performed 13,783 surgeries
  • Completed 9,010 endoscopies

Published April 8, 2015

A one-stop shop for Tampa Bay’s history

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Spend a little time at the Tampa Bay History Center, and you’ll likely walk away knowing more about the region than people who have lived here their entire lives.

At the center, located at 801 Old Water St., in Tampa, you can get a look at such things as hanging chads from the United States 2000 presidential election, a record book from the city’s Negro hospital and a 42-star American flag flown at the 1892 dedication of Hillsborough County.

Tampa Bay History Center has many authentic-looking displays, such as this 1920s-era cigar store. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Tampa Bay History Center has many authentic-looking displays, such as this 1920s-era cigar store.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

It’s a place where you can learn about the region’s citrus, cattle and cigar industries, its political and cultural history, and its penchant for sports and outdoor festivals.

“We’re telling the story of historic Hillsborough County, which includes, of course, Lutz and South County and East County — Hillsborough County present day, but also historic Hillsborough County, which was much bigger, which encompasses all or part of about 23 present-day counties,” said Manny Leto, who handles marketing for the history center.

Museum exhibits trace back to Florida’s first people, natives who were hunting and fishing on the shores of Tampa Bay, thousands of years ago.

The history center explores 500 years of recorded history and 12,000 years of habitation in the Tampa Bay region.

It keeps its exhibits fresh and continues to tell the region’s evolving story, Leto said.

“That’s one thing that I really love about the history center,” he said. “(We) continue that conversation.”

While visitors have different preferences, one popular exhibit is “Coacoochee’s Story,” Leto said.

“That is a real wow factor here. People are really impressed. It’s what we call an immersive theater experience. You walk in, and you feel like you’re transported back into Florida wilderness,” he said.

The history center staff understands the need to present its exhibits in an interesting way.

“There’s so much competition for people’s attention. So, you have to present the information in an engaging way, and you have to keep up with changes in technology,” Leto said.

The 60,000-square-foot history center offers two floors of permanent exhibits and a third floor of temporary exhibits.

“We’ve brought in exhibits from The Smithsonian. We’ve brought in exhibits from the Constitution Center in Philadelphia. We’ve brought in exhibits from all over the United States, museums and libraries all over the country, including things we’ve produced here.

The current exhibit, which runs through April 26, is called “The Art of Piracy: Pirates in Modern Culture.”

One highlight at the center is The J. Thomas and Lavinia W. Touchton Collection of Florida Cartography. Tom Touchton, a native of Dade City, played an instrumental role in championing the development of the history center.

The cartography collection features 3,000 Florida maps, charts, prints and views that span a period of 500 years.

Throughout the museum, there are opportunities to learn about the region’s colorful past.

Visitors can check out a cigar store — built to resemble a 1920s-era Ybor City storefront, complete with a wooden Indian advertising its wares.

As they gaze about the shop, they’ll see an authentic cash register, genuine cigar cases and signs touting a product of one of Tampa’s chief industries.

“The first of Tampa’s cigar factories opened in 1886. By 1920, there were as many as 300, working at full capacity,” a sign at the history center says.

Visitors also can watch a film about cattle ranchers and learn that the term, Florida cracker, comes from the crack of the whip that cowboys use to communicate with each other and to keep cattle moving along.

Over time, the term took on a broader meaning.

Author Patrick, in his brief history of the Florida cracker, put it like this: “What really makes a person a true Florida cracker (besides being born in the state)?

“Several things: A love of the land and nature, growing things in soil, close family ties, and a deep sense of religion.

“It also means cracklin’ bread and grits and periwinkle soup and swamp cabbage and okra gumbo and ham hocks with collard greens and chicken fried in a cast iron skillet and guava jelly and homemade blackberry cobbler.”

About 80,000 people visit the history center each year, with about half of those coming from outside of Hillsborough County, Leto said.

If you’re planning a visit, allow yourself about two hours to tour the history center. If you’d like a memento of your visit, there’s a gift shop, and if you’re hungry, you can grab a bite to eat at the Columbia Café.

What: Tampa Bay History Center, three stories of exhibits telling the story of the region’s history
Where: 801 Old Water St., Tampa
How much: $12.95 for adults; $10.95 for seniors, college students, youths; $7.95 for children, ages 4 through 12. Parking is free with museum admission (Park in the blue lot next door)
When: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas
Public tours are available at set times, Tuesdays through Saturdays.
For more information: Visit TampaBayHistoryCenter.org or call (813) 228-0097.

Published April 8, 2015

Holy Week ushers in celebrations

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Churches across Pasco and Hillsborough counties are gearing up for a wide array of Holy Week events and Easter celebrations.

Some churches will do re-enactments of the Last Supper and Good Friday, while others will include egg hunts, pancake breakfasts, barbecue meals and other festivities.

Easter drew a big crowd at New Walk Church last year in Zephyrhills, and is expected to do so again this year. (Courtesy of New Walk Church)
Easter drew a big crowd at New Walk Church last year in Zephyrhills, and is expected to do so again this year.
(Courtesy of New Walk Church)

Whatever they’re doing, churches are ready to greet regulars and visitors alike, as they commemorate the last days of Jesus’ life and celebrate his resurrection.

Our Lady of the Rosary Church, at 2348 Collier Parkway, expects about twice as many people at its Easter services as normally attend its weekend Masses, said the Rev. Ron Aubin, the church’s pastor.

“A normal Sunday, it would be about 3,000 to 3,500. Easter, it will be over 7,000,” the pastor said.

Aubin said the Easter message, in part, will be this: “He (God) sends his son (Jesus) as savior of the world, and that we who believe in him and die in the waters of baptism and rise with him in the waters of baptism, will also rise to the eternal life.

“I have the hope of one day rising from the dead. And hope is not wishing. Hope is believing. It is something that’s coming. It’s just not here yet,” Aubin said.

Like Our Lady of the Rosary, Van Dyke Church in Lutz and New Walk Church — which has campuses in Zephyrhills, Dade City and Holiday — also are expecting a big boost in attendance.

“We’ll probably have basically a doubling of attendance,” said Rev. Matthew Hartsfield. We usually worship anywhere around 23 (hundred), 2,400, on a typical weekend. We’ll probably see 5,000 on Easter weekend,” said Hartsfield, pastor at Van Dyke Church, 17030 Lakeshore Road in Lutz.

Leading up to Easter weekend, “we simply strongly encourage our members, our existing members to be inviting friends and relatives, acquaintances and neighbors and to simply be more intentional about just having kind of an open heart to people who might be willing to receive an invitation to come and celebrate Easter,” Hartsfield said.

The service itself is very similar to a typical Van Dyke service, Hartsfield said.

“We typically have a very high energy, high celebration time of music and worship and our messages are always positive and life-application oriented. We really don’t change much of that particular emphasis for Easter. We just simply have a very Easter-specific message,” Hartsfield said.

However, there is a special children’s program at all of its Easter services that children attend while their parents are in the main sanctuary.

In a society in which a growing number of people do not identify with any particular religious affiliation, Hartsfield said he thinks the best way to help encourage people to open their hearts is through making the love of Jesus real in their lives.

“Truly, only the Holy Spirit can arouse the human heart. But obviously, the Holy Spirit uses human believers to help the rising of that in non-believing hearts,” Hartsfield said.

“It’s really the way that Jesus himself said it would work,” Hartsfield said, citing a scriptural passage in which Jesus says that others will recognize his followers by how they love one another.

“If the world is going to know that we’re his disciples and he ever existed, it’s going to be demonstrated by our acts of love and of mercy and compassion,” Hartsfield said.

New Walk Church is expecting to nearly triple its normal attendance during Easter weekend, said Gary Baldus, lead pastor.

Normally, the church has an attendance of 2,000, but it expects around 6,000 during Easter weekend.

“We get that from a pretty big outreach that we do. We bring in a helicopter with eggs and they drop them,” Baldus said, noting there are other smaller activities, too.

“We go a little extra because we know that people are more likely to attend on this weekend than many other weekends of the year,” Baldus said.

He thinks that many people also attend Easter services because the mindset, “This is just what we do on Easter.”

For some, it’s a “Get right with God weekend,” Baldus said.

That may not be theologically accurate, but many people feel that way, Baldus said.

New Walk is ready to welcome newcomers and invite them to get involved.

“We do have our groups that we are launching on the next weekend that they can get connected to. We have a baptism the next weekend, that if they make a decision, they can come back to be baptized,” Baldus said.

Some of those visiting for Easter services will undergo a transformation and begin attending regularly. Others may come back in a month or six weeks.

“It is about life transformation through Jesus,” said Baldus, noting anyone who wants to find out more about the church’s services can visit EasterAtNewWalk.com.

Many other churches throughout Lutz, Odessa, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Dade City, San Antonio, New Tampa and Zephyrhills also are planning special celebrations, including Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, 1833 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., in Lutz.

Exciting Idlewild is planning four weekend celebrations.

Two services are scheduled for April 4, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., with Hungry Harry’s Family Bar-B-Que and food from the Idlewild Kitchen from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

On April 5, there will be two services at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m., featuring Ken Whitten, the church’s senior pastor, and its worship choir, orchestra and band.

Children, from age 5 through fifth grade, can enjoy their own Easter worship celebration at Kidz Cove.

Published April 1, 2015