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Giving the gift of vision, one pair of eyeglasses at a time By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Charley Chaney has been an optician for decades, helping others get a clearer view of the world. Besides providing services to local customers, the owner of The Optical Shop and Showroom at 24444 State Road 54 in Lutz, also volunteers his skills to Living in Faith Ministry. Rev. Russ Montgomery, president of Living in Faith Ministry, also is an optician. He met Chaney in 2006 through Professional Opticians of Florida. Montgomery said Living in Faith
began after he had visited Cuba in the mid-1990s and was handed some eyeglass prescriptions and asked if he could help. “So, I went and paid full retail price to have the glasses made, and I said,‘Lord, if this is what you want me to do, make it affordable,’” he said.“About six phone calls later, I was in touch with an optician up in Maryland and we started making glasses through him.” During the past two decades, B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO the ministry has branched into Haiti and has conducted eye exams Lutz optician Charley Chaney has fabricated thousands of pairs and distributed more than 20,000 of eyeglasses for poor people living in Haiti and Cuba. He volunteers his skills to a ministry called Living in Faith, based in
See VISION, page 12 North Tampa.
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUZIN CARR
Outgoing Guv’na Suzin Carr, left, turns over the ‘key to Lutz’ to new Guv’na Cindy Perkins. As a group, the five candidates for the race raised around $9,500 for local organizations.
Pass the Sash: Perkins named Lutz Guv’na By Michael Murillo mmurillo@lakerlutznews.com
The doctor is in. Cindy Perkins, a chiropractor who lives and works in Lutz, won the annual Lutz Guv’na race, a campaign for the ceremonial title where all the money raised goes to local organizations. Perkins claimed the Guv’na sash by raising the most money during her campaign. “I was very excited, and I still am. I was very shocked, actually,” said Perkins, owner of Back in Health Wellness Center on North Dale Mabry Highway in Lutz. Her campaign win was no landslide victory, however.According to Eleanor Cecil, a member of the Lutz Civic Association, the race went down to the wire. “It was very close. I really think it was the closest we’ve ever had,” she said.
In a campaign season where the five candidates raised almost $9,500, Perkins edged “Papa” Jay Muffly by less than $10. The totals were counted multiple times to ensure they were correct. The funds raised by all the candidates will be distributed to local organizations. In the past, recipients have included Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Friends of the Lutz Branch Library, the Old Lutz School, the Civil Air Patrol, and the Lutz Patriots. Between 15 and 20 different groups will receive grants from the Guv’na race in a typical year. Cecil, who has been involved with the race for about 13 years, said the money is only part of what makes the Lutz Guv’na race special.The entire event is supposed to be fun, and the candidates are expected to See GUV'NA, page 12
There’s one question Susan MacManus gets more than any other as we head into a contentious election season.And despite her long and impressive credentials as a political scientist, even she can’t answer it. Who will occupy the governor’s desk after November? Will Rick Scott stay put? Will Charlie Crist return as a new man? Or is it time for Nan Rich to take over? “Who is going to win the governor’s race? I don’t know yet,” MacManus, a Land O’ Lakes native, told the Republican Club of Central Pasco on June 25.“And neither do you.” Two things for certain are that this could not only be the most expensive governor’s race in history, but also the most negative. Political groups on both sides already have launched mud-slinging ads against each other, Scott taking hits for the Medicare scandal that rocked his former company in the 1990s, and Crist for raising taxes and fees during the economic downturn. Want a good look at what’s to come? One only has to look back to the recent special Congressional election in Pinellas County between Democrat Alex Sink and Republican David Jolly, MacManus said. “The mood of the public is a very angry mood,” the University of South Florida professor said.“They are very disappointed in See VOTERS, page 12
MICHAEL HINMAN/STAFF PHOTO
University of South Florida political scientist and Land O’ Lakes native Susan MacManus shared some of her observations about the upcoming Florida gubernatorial race with the Republican Club of Central Pasco last month.