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FEBRUARY 3, 2016
Wastewater plant is set to retire By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Due to increasing maintenance and operation expenses at the Dale Mabry Wastewater Treatment Plant, the county expects to retire the plant. To prepare to end operations at the 40year-old plant, the county is installing a six-mile stretch of 24-inch and 36-inch reclaimed water pipeline transmission main, and a new pump station to transfer wastewater flows from the Dale Mabry plant’s location to the Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility. The pump station, as well as reclaimed water tanks, will replace the Dale Mabry plant, which will be demolished, likely in early 2017.
COURTESY OF ALICE RAMOS OF THE VALERIN GROUP
Construction of the Dale Mabry Wastewater Diversion project is in full force, with a sixmile stretch of water transmission piping being installed along Gunn Highway. The installation of the 24-inch and 36-inch piping should be complete over the next few months.
Once the wastewater facilities at the Dale Mabry site are removed, it will leave a majority of the site as a green space, which is likely to become a county park. The Dale Mabry Wastewater Diversion Project is one of three components of the larger, $240 million Northwest Hillsborough Wastewater Consolidation Project. The other phases involve expanding the Northwest facility to accept and treat additional wastewater flows, as well as retiring the River Oaks Wastewater Treatment plant. The Dale Mabry portion of the project costs approximately $35 million. Officials say the entire program will improve treatment efficiency, reduce power costs and minimize future rate impacts. See WASTEWATER, page 13A
Jeweler crafts raw, unique pieces in Lutz By Kevin Weiss
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For Dan Balk, creating jewelry for a living wasn’t his original path in life. But, he’s glad it’s turned out that way. Balk, who operates a jewelry studio from his home in Lutz, has been making jewelry since 2008—around the time the United States’ recession was in full swing. With a background in athletic training and physical therapy, the New Jersey native spent 13 years working as an associate dean of education for a massage school in Tampa. Simultaneously, he worked as a massage therapist for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the New York Yankees. However, once the nation’s economy took a tailspin for the worse, Balk’s seemingly stable career was no more. His massage school went bankrupt, and the Yankees, like many companies at the time, began laying off employees. “Massage is very much a luxury for people, and people weren’t spending that type of money at that time,” Balk explained. “I must’ve sent 2,000 to 3,000 resumes in any one of the fields I was licensed to work in, and nothing was happening.” With a wife and two children to support, Balk was at a crossroads — until his father-
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATALY BALK
Dan Balk handles the entire jewelry-making process for all of his pieces.
in-law, Roberto Vengoechea, suggested Balk make some “trinkets” to sell in the meantime. Taking up Vengoechea’s suggestion, Balk served a 28-day apprenticeship under the guidance of his father-in-law, a master jeweler in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Vengoechea’s tutelage turned out to be a “cathartic” and “powerful” experience for Balk. It was like the planets began to align, he said. “I really, really loved what I was watching him do, and what I was doing,” Balk said.“What a boon for us that I was able to learn from someone who was so wellversed in the trade. “We haven’t looked back since,” he said.“This is was what I was made to do.” The craft of making jewelry by hand is declining, Balk said, due in part to the proliferation of graphic design, 3D printing and overseas production. “All of these things that were done by hand — in a couple generations, if we don’t teach other people, they’re lost,” In addition to making and presenting jewelry at Balk said.“As a craftsperson, you’re under juried art shows, Balk also teaches jewelry an obligation to teach.” classes seven days a week. Balk designs and fabricates every
KEVIN WEISS/STAFF PHOTO
A look at one of the rings Balk recently completed.
piece of jewelry from raw materials. Typically, the process can involve as many as five or six different parties, from the time a piece is designed until it is sold, he said. Balk handles the entire jewelry-making process—whether it’s a ring, a pendant, a necklace or a bracelet. He leaves the “business side of things” to his wife, Nataly. See JEWELRY, page 13A
Forgiveness brings freedom, genocide survivor says By B.C. Manion Winner 2012, 2013, 2014
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There was a time when Immaculee Ilibagiza didn’t think she’d live to see another day. Now, she rejoices for each new day because it gives her a chance to share her faith. Ilibagiza, author of “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust,” was at St. Timothy Catholic Church on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28, sharing her story of survival — which she attributes to God’s immense love. The church invited her to speak, as part of its celebration of the Jubilee of Mercy. Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee of Mercy, which began Dec. 8 and runs through Nov. 20, 2016, according to the National Catholic Reporter.The pope has called on Catholics around the world to use the ongoing Jubilee year of mercy to “open wide” the doors of their hearts to forgive others and to work against social exclusion.
B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO
Immaculee Ilibagiza signs copies of her book, ‘Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.’
Ilibagiza’s message fits perfectly with that theme. She grew up in a small village in Rwanda and had been attending the National University of Rwanda to study electrical and mechanical engineering. She was home on Easter break in April of 1994 when the 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 her and seven other women in a cramped 3-foot-by-4-foot bathroom for 91 days. “We stayed in that bathroom three months.We never spoke to each other those three months,” she said. During that time, her faith was crushed and challenged. She knew that any tiny noise could lead to her death. See SURVIVOR, page 13A