Lutz News-Lutz/Odessa-December 28, 2016

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Boundaries gain preliminary approval By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com

The Pasco County School Board has given preliminary approval to new school boundaries for the 2017-2018 school year. The board’s action came after a contentious public hearing on the proposed boundaries for Cypress Creek Middle/High School, set to open in fall 2017. The proposed boundaries for Bexley Elementary, being built off State Road 54, on the other hand, drew no public opposition. Bexley is intended to reduce crowding at Oakstead and Odessa elementary schools. The proposed boundaries also provide additional students for Lake Myrtle Elementary. Cypress Creek Middle/High School will

Kurt Browning

Steve Luikart

open initially for students in sixth through 11th grades, and will add a senior class during its second year of operations. Its proposed boundaries will affect Rushe, John Long and Weightman middle schools, and for Sunlake,Wesley Chapel and Wiregrass Ranch high schools.

Despite considerable opposition, school board members supported Superintendent Kurt Browning’s recommended option for the Cypress Creek Middle/High boundaries. Some speakers criticized Browning and questioned his motives for disregarding the boundary committee’s recommended option and substituting his own recommendation. Others, however, applauded Browning, saying his option makes the most sense. In a letter to parents, Browning said his recommended option would result in the least disruption and avoid the possibility of Seven Oaks being rezoned twice in as few as four years. See BOUNDARIES, page 15A

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Eighty-eight-year-old Angel Torres, center, a veteran from Puerto Rico and a resident of the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home, is being positioned to have his photograph taken by Mark Fosket, of Valrico, during the ‘Honor Flight’ ceremony at the nursing home. Gabrielle Perrella, a volunteer from Baltimore, Maryland, who is dressed in a uniform costume, posed with each veteran for their portrait.

2016 marked by rapid growth, touching moments By B.C. Manion

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The national election captured headlines and attention, but 2016 was an eventful year in many other ways, as well, across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area. The big story is the region’s growth. New houses are popping up all over the place, with developments such as Long Lake Ranch, Estancia at Wiregrass Ranch, Connerton, Bexley and Asturia, just some of the residential communities beckoning to buyers. Pasco County is on the move in many other ways, too. A futuristic, technology-based network of communities across 7,800 acres in northSee 2016, page 15A

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A historic photo of a baptism of members of the First Baptist Church of Lutz.

Inspiring hope through origami paper cranes By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com

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Tina So and Mia Thielbar were preInternational Baccalaureate freshman at Land O’ Lakes High School when they began a project they call “Cranes for Cancer.” Now, more than three years later, they are seniors — and they are still involved with the project to handcraft paper origami cranes for people afflicted with cancer. The goal is to instill hope, and the idea was spawned in August 2013. At the time, Marilyn Ling, a reading teacher at the high school, was battling ovarian cancer. As a show of empathy, So and Thielbar together assembled 1,000 paper cranes after their Inquiry Skills teacher, Angelle Damalos, relayed the gesture’s significance in class one day. In Japanese culture, cranes are a traditional sign of long life and good fortune. Other cultures, meanwhile, fold 1,000 paper stars to make a wish.

KEVIN WEISS/STAFF PHOTO

Mia Thielbar, left, and Tina So handcraft origami paper cranes for cancer patients. The initiative, which began in 2013, seeks to inspire hope for those battling cancer.

The ambitious crane project took four months to complete. They first used post-it notes, then progressed to traditional origami paper. Cranes were also sculpted in an assortment of colors — pink, gold and blue.

“We had one that would flap,” So said, “and, we had one that just looks prettier because it has a stomach to it.” It required some trial and error. See CRANES, page 15A


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