The Laker-Wesley Chapel/New Tampa-June 7, 2017

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Pasco projects axed by Gov. Scott By Kathy Steele

ksteele@lakerlutznews.com

Gov. Rick Scott signed an $83 billion budget for 2018 and used his veto pen to slash nearly $22 million earmarked for Pasco County projects. In total Scott struck out nearly $410 million from local projects across Florida. Pasco lost about $15 million for a new interchange to connect Overpass Road with Interstate 75, and $4.3 million for the Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Education and Research. The interchange would be a major link in providing more access to Wesley Chapel and east Pasco, where residential and commercial development is booming.

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A groundbreaking and dedication ceremony was held in May for the Adam Kennedy Forensics Field, located in Land O’ Lakes, near the planned forensic center. The body farm and forensic center would become the seventh in the nation Gov. Rick Scott to study body decomposition as a tool in solving crimes, and identifying victims of murder or other trauma. The forensic center is planned jointly with Pasco County, the Pasco County

Sheriff’s Office, Pasco-Hernando State College and the University of South Florida’s Institute for Forensics and Applied Science. Two budget items totaling nearly $1 million to clean out and repair the county’s culverts, and ease the threat of flooding are gone as well. The Pasco County Fair Association also lost about $860,000 for proposed upgrades to the Pasco County Extension Office.And, Saint Leo University won’t get $4 million for a proposed Florida Hospital Wellness Center. Scott had a joint press conference on June 2 with Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, a Republican from Land O’ Lakes, See PROJECTS, page 11A

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The ‘Catch Us If You Can’ team from Wesley Chapel Elementary School celebrates as it comes out of the spontaneous portion of their competition. During this part of the competition, the team enters alone without coaches and/or parents, and no spectators are allowed. The team excelled, scoring 98.16 percent from a possible 100 percent.

They took on the world — and they won it all By B.C. Manion

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Wesley Chapel Elementary’s “Catch Us If You Can” team has returned as champions from the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, which took place at Michigan State University. The victory thrilled the team’s members — Jake Piller, Sam Cappelluti, Isabell Barrios, Mina Melaika, Rowan Heyman, Jason Sherman and Justin Acosta, and the team’s coaches — Janet Heyman and Veronica Acosta. Before heading to the international competition, the fourth- and fifth-graders had already demonstrated that they were contenders. They won first place at the Gulf Coast

Regional competition, and wowed the judges so much that they won the “Ranatra Fusca Award” for their exceptional creativity. They also won first place at the state tournament at the University of Central Florida on April 8. Still, it was the team’s first appearance on the world stage, so team members were hopeful, but also realistic. “It was our first time going,” explained Jason Sherman, 10. “Most people on our team — like me and my friend, Jake — we knew we’d be OK if we didn’t win. “When I was pin trading, I overheard people talking, saying, that they’d been there for over seven straight years, and they See WORLD page 11A

Coaches Veronica Acosta, left, and Janet Heyman pose with the trophy their team won at the Odyssey of the Mind World finals. The team scored 340.62 points, which is 22.55 points higher than the second-place team.

Seminar sheds light on skin cancer By Kevin Weiss

kweiss@lakerlutznews.com

Pasco County has launched a new system called Alert Pasco, which allows residents to be notified of emergencies, such as wildfires and hurricanes. Residents can sign up for the alerts by using the county’s mobile application, MyPasco. Pasco County officials introduced this new “mass notification tool” at a press conference in New Port Richey on May 31, one day before the start of hurricane season. “This allows us to put out information in

His skin cancer diagnosis was a wake-up call to be more careful around the Florida sun. Dr. George Hanak was blindsided when he first was stricken with skin cancer, and he’s not shy about sharing his personal battle with the disease. “I was shocked when I got the report,” said Hanak, the department chair of neurological sciences at Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. The associate professor was a featured speaker during the school’s Skin Cancer Awareness Seminar on May 24. The seminar was part of a series the state college organized to increase public awareness regarding a variety of resources available to community members. Over two years ago, a standard histology revealed two types of non-melanoma skin cancer — squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma — had formed on the tip of Hanak’s nose. From the naked eye, Hanak couldn’t detect the carcinomas. It wasn’t apparent, either, that the cancerous cells already penetrated through his dermis — the inner layer of the two main layers of cells that make up the skin. “I didn’t know. It did not look like (skin cancer),” Hanak said. Luckily, the department chairman visited a dermatologist before the carcinomas spread further. Now, he has a clean bill of health — because of Mohs micrographic surgery.

See ALERT, page 11A

See SKIN CANCER, page 11A

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COURTESY OF PASCO COUNTY

Kevin Guthrie, Pasco County director of emergency services

Pasco launches new alert system By Kathy Steele

ksteele@lakerlutznews.com

COURTESY OF PASCO-HERNANDO STATE COLLEGE

Dr. George Hanak was a featured speaker during Pasco-Hernando State College’s Skin Cancer Awareness Seminar on May 24. The event was part of the school’s ongoing Community Awareness Series that aims to increase public awareness of resources available to community members. Hanak, who was diagnosed with two forms of skin cancer over two years, shared his personal battle with the disease.


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