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St. Joseph’s Hospital-North expands
Extensive hospital expansion keeps patients, visitors and staff in mind By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
St. Joseph’s Hospital-North has completed a $75 million expansion, and began welcoming patients to its more spacious facility this week. The project doubled the hospital’s capacity — increasing it from 108 beds to 216 beds.The hospital also has upped its inten-
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sive care unit beds from 12 to 24. And, has more room to deliver services, accommodate visitors and enhance employee work areas. Sara Dodds, the hospital’s director of operations, provided a walk-through tour of the addition to The Laker/Lutz News last week, before it opened for patients. The expansion will allow the hospital to respond to the area’s fast-paced growth, Dodds said. “There’s definitely a need. There’s so many new homes going up around us. “We’ve been overcapacity for quite some
time,” she said. The hospital’s primary market is within 5 miles, and its secondary market is within 10 miles. “The growth going on in our primary and secondary service areas is much faster than the rest of Florida and the rest of the country,” Dodds said. In designing its expansion, the hospital sought feedback from its existing staff and incorporated their ideas into the design, she said. See HOSPITAL, page 15A
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Traveling back to 1861
The thunderous sounds of canons and rifle fire filled the air at a recent Civil War reenactment at the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village, at 15602 Pioneer Museum Road in Dade City. The three-day event, which concluded March 1, gave those attending a chance to get a feel for what life was like in the 1860s. Actors, dressed in period clothing and uniforms, remained in character, as they mingled with visitors. They set up realistic campsites and gave informational talks — leading to the reenactment of the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, a Civil War battle that took place Oct. 9, 1861, on the barrier island near Pensacola. Above, Al Stone, of Zephyrhills — portraying Gen. Robert E. Lee — gazes into the distance while observing actors playing Confederate soldiers, preparing for battle. Stone, who is semi-retired from his 25-year-long career of playing General Lee, studied Lee’s life for five years, before taking on the role. Over the years, he said he has been part of 30-plus documentaries and private projects for National Geographic, and the History and Discovery channels. For more coverage on this story, turn to page 1B.
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MOSI focusing more on community outreach By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
In just a few years, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) has gone from being millions of dollars in debt to being financially sustainable, operating in the black. The turnaround of the North Tampa organization has come under the new leadership of Julian McKenzie, who was promoted as museum CEO in 2017 after serving less than a year as its CFO. The museum leader led a restructuring effort that saw the organization downsize its East Fowler Avenue campus from 300,000 square feet to about 55,000 square feet, while trimming just about 10% of overall exhibit space. “The big issue for MOSI was it was trying to be too much for too many people,” McKenzie said, during a recent North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. Museum leadership had to reconfigure its “core competencies and core values,” the CEO added, during the session, at the Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. That has meant a shift toward a greater focus on community outreach — a mission of spreading more science education in schools and other youth organizations like the Boys & Girls Club and Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts, McKenzie said. It’s entailed a renovated learning center on campus to host homeschooled children and summer camps, as well as a mobile science lab that features interactive STEAM workshops and assemblies. See MOSI, page 15A
Actors portraying Union soldiers fire rifles and a large Gatling gun on wheels toward the incoming Confederate troops, during a reenactment of the Battle of Santa Rosa Island. This reenactment took place during the Civil War event at the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village in Dade City on Feb. 29.
Larry Fentriss, plays a fife, which is a flute-like musical instrument, for the 37th Alabama Infantry Confederate soldiers. The native of Williamsburg, Virginia said he started playing the fife in fifth grade. He began taking part in Civil War reenactments last year.
Students take a stand on the power of voting By Brian Fernandes bfernandes@lakerlutznews.com
Wiregrass Ranch High School’s annual Poetry Slam, for Black History Month, focused on the importance of voting. With the theme “Let Your Voice Be Heard:Vote,” the event also was a tribute to the late Denise Goodridge – the school’s former principal’s secretary. Goodridge passed away last year due to health complications. The Feb. 21 gathering took place in Wiregrass’s gymnasium. Students packed the bleachers to hear the poetry from members of the Black History Club and from some faculty members. Gloria Jackson, a reading teacher at Wiregrass, helps to oversee the Poetry Slam. Before the wordsmiths took the stage, Jackson asked those gathered to reflect on Goodridge’s life. As a slide show displayed photographs of Goodridge, guest vocalist Fiona Williams sang a rendition of Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” Jackson also had encouraged students to come to school wearing blue — Goodridge’s favorite color. Sa’Derrica Tate, president of the Black
History Club, offered opening remarks before the poetry presentations. She reminded her classmates about the need to express themselves at the ballot box. “As you get closer to the age of 18, keep in mind to vote. Don’t sit and complain about our country. Instead, go out and let your voice be heard. Your vote is your voice,” she said. She brought attention to the fact that 2020 marks 150 years since AfricanAmerican men were granted the right to vote, by way of the 15th Amendment. And, it’s been exactly one century since women were granted that right, too, through the 19th Amendment, she added. In her poem, “A Vote Is,” Tate described the right this way:“The shield for my mother, my sister and my aunt. It is the fight we have finally won!” Faculty member Yvette Fisher, who stood alongside the students, offered encouraging words through her literary piece,“Silence No More.” She shared:“I will speak and I will speak loud at the voting polls, always remembering that we all get to speak. We all have a choice because we all have a voice.” Fisher said voting is a topic that cannot be “overemphasized.”
The teacher said her parents and grandparents were involved in the civil rights movement, and noted that resonates with her because the work for progress continues. Fisher also reflected on Goodridge, noting the woman’s kind demeanor and the impact she had at Wiregrass. Student William Cuebas offered a deeper meaning about going to the polls, in his poem,“It’s More Than Just a Vote.” He said,“And true equality was rearing its bright face. So the next time that you’re taking the bus to go vote, don’t forget who came before us.The right to vote has a bigger message to me. It’s more than just a vote, it’s a symbol of our unity.” Cuebas also touched on Goodridge’s positive vibe: “She always had this wonderful smile, this passion in her heart. “I feel like this dedication to her memory, was one of the best things, I feel, we’ve done in this Poetry Slam,” the 17-year-old said. Besides listening to poetry, students in the crowd had a chance to dance and sing. The Kuumba Dancers and Drummers of Tampa entered the gymnasium, accompanied by the vibrant sounds of drums. See VOTING, page 15A