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Lutz teen gets heartwarming surprise
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
When Abbie Grace Flohr returned to her Lutz neighborhood after a life-saving surgery, she was greeted with a life-affirming welcome home celebration. The young woman, who will be a freshman at Steinbrenner High this fall, was coming home from the hospital, after a surgery to address a massive blood clot in a vein near her heart, according to her mom, Cheryl Flohr. The operation took six hours and in-
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volved putting in five stents. This is just the latest medical issue for Abbie Grace, who has been hospitalized more than 120 times, her mom said. When Julie Dumois-Sands, the social worker at Martinez Middle School heard that Abbie Grace would be returning home, she came up with the idea of greeting the girl with a driveway concert and car parade. Dumois-Sands turned for help to Karen Bishop, a retired Martinez Middle orchestra teacher. Bishop texted some of her former students to see if they could help, and she got a
huge response. Some of the volunteer musicians were Bishop’s private students, so they didn’t even know Abbie Grace. Just the same, they turned out to create a pop-up orchestra with 25 players, including Steven Bossert, orchestra director at Plant High, and musicians from Martinez Middle and Steinbrenner, Gaither, Hillsborough and Blake high schools. They played a 10-minute concert, without the benefit of any practice. See SURPRISE, page 9A
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This Lutz girl is wild about goats Eleven-year-old Sophia Phillips first became acquainted with goats when she was just 2 years old, at the petting zoo at ZooTampa at Lowry Park. Now, she lives in Lutz and has three goats of her own and helps take care of 18 others. As her T-shirt says, Sophia Phillips, 11, is ‘Just a Girl Who Loves Goats.’ Lazar Wolf eyes Sophia, probably hoping for a snack. Find out more about her story on Page 1B.
Officials urge caution, as COVID-19 cases ramp up
Ridge Road construction moves forward By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
By B.C. Manion
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The LAKER WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
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Auto Accident? Slip and Fall? FREE CONSULTATION
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FEBRUARY 3, 2016
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Auto Accident? Slip and Fall?
By Kathy Steele
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The site is located at the corner of of heading toward a construction start Magnolia Boulevard and Wesley Chapel Amici Plaza in spring with an opening likely Boulevard, which is also known as County ksteele@lakerlutznews.com by the end of 2016. Road 54. Pasco County records show a conceptual Pasco County is moving forward with acOwners of Amici Pizza & Deli are planthe plan with about 3,000 square feet for Road ning to build a new stand-alone restaurant, for quisition of right-of-way along County restaurant, and about 1,800 square feet 54 to prepare for the expansion of the twowith additional retail space, on Wesley retail. the lane road into a four-lane road at Chapel Boulevard. “We’d like to have our own building and 54 junction of State Road 56 and State Road The new restaurant is a short distance a bigger kitchen,” said Andrea Mannino. from the existing Amici restaurant in Grand No decisions have been made on the adSee PIZZA, page 13A Oaks Square, at Wesley Chapel and Pet Lane. ditional retail space, he said. Andrea and Josephine Mannino, are
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JANUARY 27, 2016
Pasco administrator to retire in
By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker expects to be very busy over the next year and a half. She’ll be crossing off a to-do list, one by one, before leaving in 2017 to go on a lengthy road trip with her husband. The couple will hit the road with their recreational vehicle and their motorcycles, on a tour of as many baseball parks and national parks as they can squeeze into a year. “That’s been our dream,” Baker said, so letting her contract lapse in July 2017 makes sense. But, don’t expect a lame duck administrator. “There’s no kicking back here,” Baker said.“This isn’t me slowing down. ” Baker has told Pasco County commissioners she won’t seek renewal of her current two-year contract, which makes her
2017
last day July 9, 2017. the jail and construction of new fire stations By then, Baker will • Relocating have worked 35 years central Pasco more government offices to in public service, 24 Baker also plans to fill vacancies for a of those years with few key leadership positions that remain, Pasco County. cluding an assistant county administrator infor Her to-do list, in public safety and administration. short form, includes: Progress has been made, Baker said, but • Completing mas- government services still could be more ter plans and updates customer-friendly. for storm water, solid A culture that was decades in the waste and tourism making is being changed, she said.“You don’t • Funding and building a diverging get to dia- turn a canoe.You’re turning mond road design to ease traffic congestion a ship.” Public service wasn’t Baker’s first at State Road 56 and Interstate 75 career choice. • Completing the State Road 56 extenOver the years she worked sion as a waitress, • Nurturing SunWest Park, the county’s flight attendant and a theater manager. She also served in the U.S.Air Force Reserve. fledgling aqua park Her undergraduate degree was in • Replacing and repairing aging busiinfra- ness administration. structure and roads damaged by the It wasn’t until she accepted a secretarial summer flooding • Making progress on the expansion of See RETIRE, page 11A Michele Baker
Kumquats reign supreme at area festival By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
®
Saturday, January 30, 2016 9 AM - 5 PM Historic Downtown Dade City
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WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA
Amici Pizza plans stand-alone location
Mark Pizzurro, Joe Traina and Peter Abreut
anticipate opening their craft brewery
in Land O’ Lakes in spring.
I th
The first kumquat tree in St. Joseph took root more than 100 years ago, when C.J. Nathe planted it in his backyard. He added a few more, and soon he had small grove on an acre of fertile ground. a The kumquat king, as Nathe was later dubbed, transformed a quiet back road community into the Kumquat Capital of the World. An open house will take place on Jan. and Jan. 29 at the Kumquat Growers 28 packi h d
Margie Neuhofer and her h
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By summer, motorists could take their first spins along the initial segment of the Ridge Road extension from Moon Lake Road/DeCubellis Road to Town Center Boulevard. “We’re hoping we open that leg by the start of August, for the start of the school year,” said Sam Beneck, Pasco County’s property manager.“They are pulling out all the stops to get it done. It’s going to be a real challenge.” The roadwork is expected to ease traffic for River Ridge high school and middle school along Town Center. This short jog forward is the beginning of a two-phased road project, with a final completion date in 2025. By then, the approximately 8.6-mile extension of Ridge Road, from west to east, is expected to cross over Suncoast Parkway and come out at U.S. 41, opposite an entrance into the masterplanned community of Connerton in Land O’ Lakes. Pasco County officials celebrated the kick-off to Ridge Road’s extension in January. It was the culmination of more than two decades of pushing the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers to issue a permit that would allow the new road to cut through sensitive environmental land in the Serenova Tract of the Starkey Wilderness Preserve. For years, county officials identified the east/west route as an essential evacuation route during hurricanes and other emergencies. They expect it to take pressure off existing east/west routes of State Road 52 and State Road 54, and cut evacuation times down by hours. In addition, traffic capacity is expected to increase by 10%. “It’s really to improve traffic capacity and east/west access to improve hurricane evacuations,” said Beneck.“We really, really see it as a significant evacuation improvement with multi-hour benefits in reaching our evacuation goal and traffic capacity.There was never another alternative that provided
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
these benefits.” Environmentalists suggest that the north/south route of U.S. 19 makes more sense for evacuations, and would avoid harm to the Serenova. “We need to maintain our natural systems and forests to mitigate against climate change,” said Tim Martin, conversation chairman for the Sierra Club Florida. “We just need to leave our natural systems and keep our preserves preserved.” Sierra Club Florida Conservation filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps in February in the U.S. Middle District of Florida. However, a judge denied an emergency injunction to stop the roadway. Pasco County, which is not a defendant in the lawsuit, was granted permission to intervene in the case. The Sierra Club alleges that the Army Corps violated the National Environmental Policy Act and failed to adequately evaluate the harm to threatened and endangered species within the Serenova, and to their habitats and wetlands. Martin said county taxpayers need to understand they could be the losers if the lawsuit is successful and Pasco is ordered to restore wetlands that the roadway is destroying.
Florida COVID-19 cases continue to rise, with 9,478 cases recorded on July 2, according to Florida Department of Health figures. The day before, 9,529 positive cases were reported. The surge in new cases has prompted additional measures to try to limit the spread, and has prompted cancellations of more planned events. As the Fourth of July weekend approached, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees asked Floridians to do their part. “As we head into this holiday weekend, I encourage all Floridians be diligent in avoiding closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings, and remember to wear a mask.Together, we must continue to take the appropriate steps to slow the spread of this virus,” DeSantis said, in a news release. They also reminded those at greatest risk of severe complications to avoid crowds and minimize contact. People over age 65 and those with underlying medical conditions are most vulnerable to serious consequences from the virus. “Many asymptomatic individuals are unknowingly carrying the COVID-19 virus in public,” Rivkees said, in the release. As the number of positive cases rises, local officials are taking actions aimed at reducing the spread. Local events continue to be scrapped. Both the traditional Fourth of July parade in Lutz, and the Rattlesnake Festival and Rattlesnake Run set for October at the Pasco County Fairgrounds were canceled. Pasco and Hillsborough public school districts also have dropped plans for traditional indoor commencement ceremonies, the districts initially had delayed. Instead,
See RIDGE ROAD, page 9A
See COVID-19, page 9A
COURTESY OF PASCO COUNTY
This aerial view shows the area where Ridge Road construction will begin at Moon Lake in west Pasco County.