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Lake Park reopens; sinkhole remains By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
A popular 589-acre park in Lutz has reopened, despite the existence of a sinkhole that opened about a year ago and remains unfilled. Lake Park, at 17302 N. Dale Mabry Highway, officially reopened on Oct. 8. The park, which annually draws about 300,000 users, was closed on Dec. 2 because of a sinkhole that spans 6-feet wide and 90-feet deep. The sinkhole, which formed along a park roadway last October, has since been secured with $4,900 worth of heavy fencing
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and locked gates. Forest Turbiville, Hillsborough County’s director of conservation and environmental lands management, said there are no immediate plans to fix the sinkhole. “We’re going to continue to monitor it,” he said,“and, if we see there’s a change of conditions in that area, then we’ll potentially revaluate it at that time. He said the area is “more than adequately secured.” A recent geophysical study by Ardaman & Associates Inc., found the overall risk of future sinkhole activity to be “low” at the park. However, the report did not definitively rule out possible future sinkhole activity.
“We’ve monitored the entire park now since December,”Turbiville said,“and there’s been nothing at all that’s popped up. Our park staff is out there on a daily basis, so if we see any change in the area, we’ll get the county’s consultant back out there.” While most normal park activities have resumed, the sinkhole “might potentially affect” the park’s archery range,Turbiville said. As a precaution, the range may be temporarily relocated to the Northwest Equestrian Park, 9400 South Mobley Road in Odessa. Beyond the sinkhole, other issues, too, persist at Lake Park. See SINKHOLE, page 11A
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Keeping an educator’s legacy alive
Luis E. Torres Scholarship Fund Fourth annual Golf Scramble WHEN: Oct. 21 at 9a.m., golf scramble; trick golfer Buddy Shelton performs at 2:30 p.m. WHERE: Lexington Oaks Golf Club, 26133 Lexington Oaks Blvd., in Wesley Chapel
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Luis E.Torres spent much of his life battling medical problems, but he never gave up on his education. It took him 10 years to get his bachelor’s degree, but he persisted because that mattered to him, according to Iris Torres, his mother, who lives in Lutz. He took occasional medical withdrawals, but carried on. “Education was very important to him,” Iris said, and in 1997, he obtained his diploma. Luis went on to teach seventh-grade mathematics at Shields Middle School in Hillsborough County. “That was one of his goals that he was able to accomplish,” his mother said. But, the teacher’s medical problems weren’t over, and he died on July 2, 2011, at the age of 41. His family refuses to let that be the end of his story. At the time of his death, his sister-in-law, Genevieve, suggested that the family establish a scholarship fund, in lieu of receiving flowers. Now, the Luis E.Torres Scholarship Fund is supported by an annual golf tournament, organized by Iris Torres, Luis’ mom. She handles the planning and logistics of the tournaments, but other family members and friends step up to help on the actual day of the event. The family wants to keep his spirit alive
COST: $475 for a foursome; $125 for individuals; donations accepted for those just wanting to watch Buddy Shelton’s trick golf show.
For more information, visit www.luisetorresscholarshipfund.org, or call (813) 417-3021.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF IRIS TORRES
Illness sidelined Luis E. Torres during his quest to obtain a college degree, but after 10 years he finally achieved that goal.
through the annual scholarship. Luis was diagnosed with Lupus when he was just 9 years old, Iris said. “Lupus can affect any vital organ, and in his case, it affected his kidneys,” she said. He experienced complete renal failure when he was 21, and was on dialysis for 10 years. He underwent two kidney transplants, but rejected both. Iris and her husband were not good transplant candidates. Iris developed breast cancer, and her husband had suffered a heart attack. Meanwhile, Luis was getting weaker. His brother, Eric, stepped forward in 2000 to be a kidney donor for Luis. Luis was 30 when he received the transplant. Eric was 26. At the time, Eric said, the choice was clear: Donate a kidney or watch his brother die.
This is the last photograph taken of Luis E. Torres and his mother, Iris. His family keeps the educator’s spirit alive through an annual golf tournament to raise money for scholarships.
“It was scary. I never even had a cavity. So, to go from that to donating an organ, it was significant,” Eric said. Iris added:“It was very difficult, me as a mother, seeing both of them in gurneys.” The transplant was done at John Hopkins See LEGACY, page 11A
A half-century of old-fashioned fun By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
A half-century ago, the San Antonio Jaycees got together and hatched a plan for a fun way to raise money to support local causes. They figured they could hold a festival, with rattlesnakes as the centerpiece. Over the decades, the leading organizers have changed — and so have some of the particulars — but the essence of the annual event remains the same: Every year, on the third weekend of October, residents and visitors flock to the San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival & Run in City Park. This year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary, organizers have scheduled a two-day festival. Organizers of the event have gone from the Jaycees, to R.A.G.E. (Rattlesnake and Gopher Enthusiasts), to a group of Rotary Clubs, to the Rotary Club of San Antonio, which has been the chief organizer for the past three years. “We, of course, have help from the people who did it all of those years,” said Betty Burke, chairwoman of the current organizing committee. “Dennis Devine, he’s been with it since the beginning, and he’s our music master. “Jack Vogel is one of the people who started it. He was in the Jaycees,” Burke said. His son, Jay, is this year’s volunteer coordinator. Betty’s daughter, Andrea Calvert, who works for the Town of St. Leo, is involved, too. The town sponsors a pumpkin patch, which is a popular place for people to take photos of their children, and to snap selfies, too. Burke’s sister,Winnie, who is the president of the Rotary Club of San Antonio, is also involved. She’s in charge of the arts and crafts area. Other members on the festival planning committee include Terri Grissom, Rick Behnke and Anne Kibbe. Event highlights include 5-mile and 1-mile runs, a family bike ride, musical entertainment, a snake show, a cowboy show, crocodile demonstrations, mechanical gopher tortoise races, food booths, children’s rides and a
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SAN ANTONIO RATTLESNAKE FESTIVAL
Children enjoy riding around in a barrel train during a previous San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival.
San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival & Run WHERE: City Park, 12202 Main St., San Antonio, Florida, 33576 WHEN: Oct. 15 and Oct. 16 COST: Parking, admission and most of the entertainment are free; there are nominal charges for the snake show.
Cowboy Tom is a popular act at the annual San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival.
pumpkin patch. Other attractions include a butterfly exhibit, children’s crafts and games, a farm animal exhibit, M.A.D. Flames Fire Entertainment and Pioneer Village demonstrations. Vendors will be selling a variety of items, there will be a farmer’s market, and there will be a pet corner, too. Visitors also will have a chance to learn more about the festival’s history. In the beginning, preparing for the event meant going out into the woods — equipped with a long pole with a hook on the end — and rounding up snakes.
Amateur and professional snake hunters would bring the snakes in, and organizers would pay for their snakes, according to published reports. The gopher tortoise races used to feature live tortoises, too. People would decorate the creatures with glitter and nontoxic paint, and pit them against each other. The live gopher tortoise races ended after increasing development in Florida led to the state placing them on its protected species list. Undaunted, organizers began using wooden replicas, operated by yanking ropes to pull them to the finish line. See RATTLESNAKE, page 11A