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Libraries seeking public input By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
The Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative wants to hear the thoughts of area residents to help it develop its five-year plan. The cooperative has scheduled a series of evening open houses at nine regional libraries, where residents can voice their thoughts about improving the library system, as well as changes or additions they would like to see over the next few years. The next two open houses will be at the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library on Feb. 2 and the New Tampa Regional Library on Feb. 16. All open houses take place on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. “The way our open house works is that for each of our five major service programs See LIBRARIES, page 11A
Finding hope, in the heart of darkness By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Saturday, January 30, 2016 9 AM - 5 PM Historic Downtown Dade City
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JANUARY 27, 2016
Immaculee Ilibagiza boards an airplane nearly every week to travel to a speaking engagement, where she shares her message of hope and forgiveness. That’s the primary theme of her book, “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.” Ilibagiza grew up in a small village of Rwanda and had been attending the National University of Rwanda to study electrical and mechanical engineering, when she came home during an Easter break. That’s when the April 1994 assassination of the Hutu president sparked months of massacres of Tutsi tribe members throughout the country. To spare his daughter from rape and murder, Ilibagiza’s father told her to run to the home of a Hutu pastor, who was a family friend. The pastor hid Ilibagiza and seven other women in a 3-foot-by-4-foot bathroom for 91 days. “My faith was crushed and challenged, when I was in that bathroom,” said Ilibagiza, who will be giving two talks at St.Timothy Catholic Church in Lutz this week. “I felt there’s nothing out there. I’m
COURTESY OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative had an open house session at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Public Library on Jan. 19. Approximately 45 residents attended to provide feedback on the county’s library system.
Immaculee Ilibagiza speaks on “Faith, Hope and Forgiveness.” WHERE: St. Timothy Catholic Church, 17512 Lakeshore Road in Lutz WHEN: Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., and Jan. 28 at 10 a.m., a Mass will precede each talk COST: Admission is free.
dying and life is over, and how can this be?” “Any tiny noise could have been the end of our life,” Ilibagiza said. The Hutu killers heard that some Tutsi women had been seen near the pastor’s house, so they stormed in and searched through it. “They went in the ceiling of that house. In the roof of the house. Under the beds. “Every reasonable thing said, ‘It’s over,” Ilibagiza said. She held onto the rosary her father had given her, and had her Bible, too. As she feared for her life, she prayed God:“If there’s anything beyond this, please give me a sign. Don’t let them find the door, just today, in this house.” In a 60 Minutes interview, the pastor said the intruders put his hand on the doorknob to the bathroom, but didn’t turn it. Ilibagiza recalls that moment:“You are literally counting, on the grace of God, for them not to open that door,” she said. She believes they were saved by God’s grace. When she went into hiding, she weighed 115 pounds. When she emerged, she weighed 65.“We were like bones,” she said. When she was able to escape, she learned that her family, with the exception of a brother who was abroad studying, had
COURTESY OF IMMACULEE ILIBAGIZA
Immaculee Ilibagiza survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and believes she was spared to share a message of faith, hope and forgiveness.
been murdered. She said the faith that she discovered through prayer during her ordeal, enabled her to let go of the anger, resentment and hate, and to instead feel hope, forgiveness and peace. She emigrated to the United States in 1998 and shared her story with some coSee HOPE, page 11A
Recycling and fun are major themes at Learning Gate By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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The seventh- and eighth-graders were so revved up, it seemed like they were competing for a big cash prize. But, they were battling for something that has no price tag. They were going after bragging rights during a physical challenge at Learning Gate Community School, at the school’s seventhand eighth-grade campus at 207 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road. The kids were clearly having a blast, as they crab walked, kangaroo hopped, buzzard circled, salamander slithered, inch walked and piggyback rode through a relay race in the school’s auditorium. The place was rocking with cheers and laughter, as teams raced back and forth. The relay race is just one of the challenges that students have participated in this year, said Principal Michelle Mason said. The challenges vary. Sometimes they’re physical. Other times they’re academic or have another focus. “We make sure everybody has a chance to be the star and use their natural gift,” Mason said. The students are competitive, she said. But, points can be earned in other ways, too, the principal said. Teachers can reward students that they notice are going above and beyond — academically, socially or behaviorally. “We try to make sure that we encourage them in all different ways,” she said. Although the elementary school and the middle school are on two different campuses, the school makes it a point to build on the curriculum, to give students a seamless education, she said. The school places a heavy emphasis on See RECYCLING, page 11A
Got some old bicycle rims? You can turn them into some nice yard art.
Plastic trays, garden hose, plate liners and tin molds are used to bring life to the side of a storage shed at Learning Gate Community School’s seventh- and eighth-grade campus.
B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTOS
At Learning Gate Community School’s seventh- and eighth-grade campus, the words ‘upcycle’ and ‘recycle’ are part of the school’s daily life. They’re reusing an old building for their school and are using ingenuity to create outdoor décor. Spray paint and hubcaps can be transformed into outdoor whimsical décor.
Soda or water bottles can be turned into interesting flowers, with proper cuts and colorful paint.