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MARCH 11, 2015
Public can weigh in on school
By B.C. Manion
Sunlake Academy public hearing
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
After months of delay, a public hearing on a proposed charter school at the southwest corner of Lutz Lake Fern and Sunlake Boulevard is slated for the evening of March 16. The proposed Sunlake Academy has faced stiff opposition throughout the process from residents who live near the proposed school that would be built on a 7.4-acre site, as well as objections from area homeowner associations, the Lutz Citizens Coalition, the Lutz Civic Association and the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club. Since its initial application, Charter Schools Inc., has reduced the number of students who would attend the school. The applicant also has substantially increased its proposed buffering and agreed to transportation improvements.
March 16, 6 p.m. Second floor board chambers at the Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., in Tampa
B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTOS
Pat and Joe Serio, who live next to the proposed Sunlake Academy, are adamantly opposed to the school, which they say would ruin the quiet enjoyment of their property.
As the application stands now, the school would allow up to 870 kindergarten through eighth grade students, over two phases. Changes made by the applicant don’t satisfy Pat and Joe Serio, whose property abuts the proposed school. “We are absolutely opposed,” Pat Serio said. See CHARTER, page 7A
No horsing around
Get all your favorite Avalon’s students prep for equestrian shows local news stories online. By Michael Murillo
mmurillo@lakerlutznews.com
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The Reflections community in Lutz has beautiful houses, well-maintained areas and a peaceful, suburban aesthetic. And 30 acres for riding, training and showing horses. “It’s been here 20 years. They built that (the housing development) about 11 years ago,” said Pam Roush, trainer and owner of Avalon Stables, 18029 Lake Reflections Blvd. Before that, the property was a farm for thoroughbreds. Then Roush bought it and converted it to an area for training and lessons, and the Veterans Expressway helped the area develop residentially. Now, Avalon Stables almost looks tucked away in a subdivision, but a quick detour off the main road leads to dozens of stables, large training areas and a little community all its own. “We kind of call it our ‘barn family,’” said assistant trainer Lonna Glover. “Usually in the afternoons, everybody is here. It’s a big social thing for a lot of our customers.” Saturday mornings also are a popular time, with riders and family gathering at the pavilion to watch lessons, socialize and sup-
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Annaliese Donaldson-Pham and her horse, Tirza, are preparing a move into national competition. She began riding at age 3.
port each other. While Avalon Stables is a fun place for its riders, it also can be serious business. Many students own their own horse and keep it at Avalon. A horse can easily cost what you’d pay for a new car, Glover explained, and adding several hundred dollars a month for care and maintenance means it’s for riders looking to improve and become successful at competitions. But owning a horse isn’t a requirement to participate. Some riders simply pay for lessons Brooklyn Krone works with her horse, Breve Latte, at Avalon Stables as she works to move up in show competitions.
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and use horses on-site that are designated for student use. And whether they’re gunning for recognition at a show, or just having fun on the weekends, horse riding and training can relieve stress. The pursuit requires the kind of concentration that doesn’t leave room for outside pressures to creep in. “Most people like to come out here to just relax and do something different, because they can’t think of anything else while they’re sitting up there,” Glover said. “They have to think of what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.” Children with attention challenges often find their focus improving when they’re on a horse, because every movement works in concert to keep the animal behaving as it should, Roush explained. Brooklyn Krone, 12, has been coming to Avalon for seven years. She spends three days a week working with her horse, Breve See EQUESTRIAN, page 7A
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By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
The explosion of new development in Pasco and Hillsborough counties is good news for governments that count on robust tax revenues to balance budgets. But, the rooftop subdivisions and shopping malls sprouting along busy highways that link these two prospering counties bring new challenges that likely will require a regional approach to solve. Transportation, including public transit, is among the most critical issues. “Everything is connected, but all roads – no pun intended – lead back to transportation,” said Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill. The recession temporarily slammed the brakes on new investments. But with marketplace confidence in the driver’s seat again, developers are accelerating their pace to build thousands of new homes, malls, hotels and restaurants.
Future growth plans, driven by incentives, will set the path for where future development – commercial and residential should go, she said. But she added: “You cannot build your way out of traffic congestion.” During the past two decades, Pasco has seen cow pastures and citrus groves vanish as land is plowed over for subdivisions and Mike Merrill Michele Baker shopping centers. Rush hours are a daily ritIn Pasco County, much of the activity is ual — a commuter conga line of motorists centered on State Road 54, the east-west leaving and returning to the county’s bedcorridor on the county’s southern border. room communities. The heaviest activity on State Road 54 so far Density plays a role in deciding which is at its interchanges at Interstate 75 and the transportation projects should get priority. Suncoast Parkway. “You need a certain amount of congesAnother Pasco hot spot is U.S. 19, the tion before you see people on the bus,” north-south corridor on the county’s west- Baker said. ern side. Baker and Merrill shared their insights on Both State Road 54 and U.S. 19 are ex- the future of their counties and of the pected to have expanding development and Tampa Bay region with about 50 people concentrations of new residents, according who attended the monthly meeting of the to Pasco County Administrator Michele See PARTNERS, page 7A Baker.