ee r F
The LAKER WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
Auto Accident? Slip and Fall? FREE CONSULTATION
No Fees Or Costs Unless You Win HOLLIDAY KARATINOS LAW FIRM, P.L. HelpingInjuredPeople.com Call Attorney
JIM HOLLIDAY 813-868-1887 “I Will Aggressively Fight To Protect Your Legal Rights” 18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 101 Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
Walk-Ins Welcome
COPPERSTONE EXECUTIVE SUITES Winning Award s Center Busines
Check out our single office suites for as little as
$450/month
PRIVATE OFFICES CONFERENCE ROOMS HOURLY OFFICE RENTALS EVENT ROOM VIDEO CONFERENCING BUSINESS CLUB
3632 Land O’ Lakes Boulevard Land O’ Lakes, FL 34639
813-298-7363 www.copperstone.info
Service the Way
it Oughta Be!
Same-Day Service Free 2nd Opinion* Free Estimates** 24/7 Emergency **Free estimates for new A/C, water heater, water treatment and electrical panel upgrade. *Free second opinion with written diagnosis from another company.
CAC1816647 CFC1428982 EC0001103
Festival features arts, entertainment By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Suncoast Arts Fest
The Suncoast Arts Fest, which attracts artists and art lovers from near and far, will stage its 12th annual event at The Shops at Wiregrass on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22. The festival will showcase 126 artists coming from nearby communities, and from as far away as Alaska, California, Quebec and Tennessee. Artists and craftsman must compete to gain entry into the show, and this year’s exhibitors were selected from a field of 170 applicants. The artists represent a wide array of categories, including ceramics/clay, digital, drawing, fiber, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, print-
WHEN: Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Jan. 22 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
813-990-0561
B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
WHERE: The Shops at Wiregrass, at the intersection of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Wesley Chapel WHAT: Arts festival showcases 126 craftsman and artists in categories including ceramics/clay, digital, drawing, fiber, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and wood. Event also includes live entertainment, chalk art murals, kids’ arts areas, and other activities. COST: Free admission and parking.
making, sculpture and wood. They will compete for $14,000 in cash prizes. The festival is a popular event in Wesley Chapel, drawing as many as 95,000 visitors when the weather is nice, according to Jennifer Douglas, festival manager. Festival-goers also will be able to enjoy live entertainment. On Jan. 21, The Richey Suncoast Kid’s Theatre and The Eighth Note, a children’s a capella group, will kick off the festival.The lineup that day also includes Sassafras Bluegrass Band, When in Rome and Hope Darling Band. The lineup on Jan. 22 includes John Emil, The De Lei’ed Parrots and Sarasota See ARTS, page 13A
Shedding light on a hidden problem By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, just behind the illegal drug trade — netting billions of dollars annually, experts say. But, it’s a crime that many know little about and often are unaware that it’s happening in their own backyard, said Cpl.Alan Wilkett, of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. “When we talk about this problem, we’re not talking about a Mexico problem, or a Guatemala problem, or a Colombia problem,” Wilkett said, during a symposium on human trafficking at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus, on Jan. 12. “We have to look at our own communities and say,‘What’s going on, around us?’” Wilkett said. “Not too far from where we’re sitting right now, we have cases working. In Wesley Chapel, there was a house that was housing human trafficking adult victims,” he said. “Just down the street from here, some folks who had been educated about human
B.C. MANION
Karen Foster and Diane Parker are volunteers who have made it their mission to help spread the word about human trafficking. They want to people to understand the dangers, so they can be vigilant about protecting themselves and their loved ones.
trafficking, interrupted two 15-year-old girls who were being snatched by a human trafficking predator. Nationally, Florida ranks third in the number of human trafficking crimes — trailing only California and Texas, Wilkett said. Tampa Bay ranks second highest in Florida, in suspected cases reported to the national human trafficking hotline. The law enforcement officer told those gathered about a case he worked that began as a traffic stop. A van ran a red light, and when Wilkett stopped it, he discovered that it was filled with men.They were obviously laborers who had been working all day, he said. “Nobody has paperwork,” he said. Finally, one of them calls someone and a guy arrives a few minutes Natalie Epo, an associate dean at Pasco-Hernando State later. College’s Porter Campus, said the college wants to help the He tells Wilkett:“I am so community to be aware of important issues, such as human glad you pulled them over. I trafficking.
just fired them today. I just found out today that they are illegal.” The men had been working on a local construction project, hanging drywall. “I knew we had a problem here,”Wilkett said. Undocumented workers are often smuggled into the United States on the promise they’ll be given work and will be able to repay the person who smuggled them, the law enforcement officer said. But, despite working long hours, they never earn enough money to repay the debt. Statistics on human trafficking vary, Wilkett said. He uses the most conservative estimate, which puts the figure at 20.9 million. That includes about 5.5 million children, he said. Many people are aware that modern-day slavery includes the sex trade, Wilkett said. They may not realize how young the victims can be. Minors are being rescued from sex trafficking, Wilkett said.“The average age that we are rescuing in the Tampa Bay area is 13. Nationally, it’s 12 to 15.” Human trafficking goes beyond the comSee HIDDEN, page 13A
Vet services expand in Wesley Chapel By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
CORNERSTONEPROS.COM
JANUARY 18, 2017
The Pasco Vet Center will begin offering its mobile services in Wesley Chapel this week. The center will be bringing its 38-foot mobile unit to Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus, 2727 Mansfield Blvd., on Fridays, effective Jan. 20. “It’s like an RV. It’s got two offices inside and a satellite. Everything you can do in a brick-and-mortar office, I can do onboard,” said Frank (AJ) Jones, a veteran outreach program specialist. The weekly readjustment counseling services will be offered, with appointments available at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., Jones said. “If the need is there, we’ll stay there, and we’ll make longer hours,” he added. “We provide readjustment counseling to combat veterans.We also provide services to veterans who are struggling with military sexual trauma, male or female,” Jones said. Counseling will be available for post-traumatic stress disorder. Bereavement counseling is available for families who lost someone who was in the
morticians in the military, who are here in the states. When the bodies come back to the states, they normally come back the way it was when they were over there. When they open the casket to prepare the bodies, they’re dealing with the combat trauma,” Jones said. The center also serves drone teams, Jones said. “They’re in the war during the day, and then they go home at night. It’s different for the soldiers that are over there, everything is focused COURTESY OF A.J. JONES on being there and where they’re at in the moment. A.J. Jones is a veterans outreach program specialist. They’re not,” he said. Instead, they’re fighting in military when he or she died, combat or the war during the day and going home to not. Family counseling is available, too, Jones their family at night. said. “It’s a whole different dynamic there, for The vet center also helps veterans who the drone teams,” Jones said. are suffering from other kinds of trauma, Resources are available to help veterans too. See VET, page 13A “We see mortuary teams. These are the