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WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
JUNE 10, 2015
Nocco: Pay hikes needed to retain staff By Kathy Steele
the budget approved by commissioners last year. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco says Other increases in he needs a $5.4 million increase in his annu- Nocco’s budget inal budget to provide better pay and benefits clude $475,000 for — both to recruit new employees and to body cameras and keep veterans from leaving for higher pay- $254,000 for aircraft ing jobs. maintenance. Sheriff Chris Nocco “It’s a morale issue,” Nocco told Pasco The argument that County commissioners at a June 2 work- Pasco is losing officers tired of low pay isn’t shop in New Port Richey. new. Nocco has issued the warning in past The sheriff’s office is on pace to set a years. record for 50 resignations this year, largely He came to this year’s budget workshop due to low compensation, Nocco said. armed with fresh data and a salary survey to His 2016 budget request is about $104 back up his claims. million in total, about 6.7 percent higher than “We didn’t just cry wolf,” said Nocco.
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
“The problem is growing.” The salary of a Tampa police officer is more than $48,000 a year, and in Pinellas it is more than $45,000, based on information gleaned from agency websites as part of a salary survey done by Tallahassee-based Evergreen Solutions. Pasco deputies make just under $40,000 a year. Some counties, including Pinellas, also use the incentive of a signing bonus to attract staff. Evergreen Solutions reviewed salaries paid by 13 of 16 peer law enforcement agencies in the state. Pasco was at the bottom in salary compensation, and gives no See NOCCO, page 9A
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Laura Hauser waged a valiant war against cancer for six years, but lost the battle in the early morning hours of June 8. The disease started in her colon but had spread all over her body, including her liver, lungs, spine and brain, said Stephanie Hardy, a family friend for the past four years. Laura had undergone more than 70 rounds of chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, Hardy said. Laura is survived by her husband, Richard; her son, Noah, 14; and her daughter, Tatum, 12. Laura had been to Seattle for treatment but had returned to Wesley Chapel to attend Noah’s eighth-grade graduation and Tatum’s dance recitals. She made it to the graduation, but wasn’t able to go to the recitals. She was able to watch one — that was livestreamed — from her bed. The family had thought that potential treatment in Seattle offered Laura her best hope and she had planned to return there, but she died at home, under the care of hospice. Laura’s battle was personal, but she wasn’t alone.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEPHANIE HARDY
Laura and Tatum Hauser at Contempo School of Dance. The dance moms there have made dinners for the Hauser families and had fundraisers to help support the family.
Her fight inspired family, friends, colleagues and strangers to step forward to show their support. This coming weekend, an event is taking place at Harvester United Methodist Church in Land O’ Lakes to help the Hauser family with expenses. That fundraiser will go on as planned, Hardy said. The family also will be helped by a
GoFundMe account, established by Pamela Maurer Fay on May 23, which attracted hundreds of donations and sentiments of support. “You are strong and you are loved. Find strength in the amount of people who wish to help your beautiful family. You are in our prayers,” Rick and Susan Coder wrote, when See HAUSER, page 9A
‘I’m always up for a challenge,’ teacher says By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
As students head off for summer vacation, Becky Cicione will simply be changing her teaching venue. The Connerton Elementary School teacher will spend her summer teaching in Pasco County Schools’ science camp for children at Title 1 schools. “When I do my work in the summertime, it’s an outdoor science camp that’s enhanced by iPads. It’s held through district. We go to different locations. “Every week, I have a new school. I spend four days with those kids,” she said, doing hands-on experiments. When she’s not teaching the summer classes, though, she teaches fifth-graders at Connerton Elementary School in Land O’ Lakes. Her favorite age group is between 9 and 14, she said. “That’s the age group where they start to B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTOS develop their real personalities,” she said. She enjoys trying to teach them crucial in- Becky Cicione helps Alice Clark as she tries to get her electronic device to work. Meanwhile, formation as they begin to exhibit “that teen Matthew Graves tries to work through a mathematics problem. Students at Connerton are attitude,” she said. “I’m always up for a chal- allowed to bring their own electronic devices, with a parent’s permission, Cicione said. lenge.” She also enjoys using technology in her response to her questions. She can use the the Florida State Fairgrounds. classroom to help students learn. information she gleans to provide immediCicione doesn’t know who nominated her for the Shine Award, but she was She doesn’t use technology every day be- ate support when students need it. The teacher thinks that her use of tech- pleased by the recognition. cause the school doesn’t have enough equipment to make that happen, but she nology may have contributed to her The Governor presents medals to the rerecognition by Gov. Rick Scott and the cipients throughout the year, to show sees its value. During a recent mathematics class, for in- Florida Cabinet during a spring meeting at appreciation for Florida’s exceptional teachers and for their commitment to improving stance, Cicione posed a number of questions, the state’s education system. which students worked out on iPads, which Cicione said someone from the state had been checked out for the class. Except for some technical glitches, the Department of Education called Connerton students worked quickly through a series of Principal Aimee Boltz informing her that problems. Cicione had been nominated and asking if Cicione projected the work and the anthe teacher was a worthy candidate. swers on a board, so students could see the “My principal (Aimee Boltz) goes, results. ‘Absolutely,’ ” Cicione said. At the same time, the computers tracked “She called me right away. She said, ‘You the students’ work — giving the teacher a would not believe this. You have been nomitool she can use to help her pinpoint which A collection of gifts and other items in nated for the Shine award.’ ” students are struggling, as well as to see Becky Cicione’s classroom help convey the Then the principal announced it over teacher’s enthusiasm for teaching, especial- the school intercom. who is staying on pace or excelling. She used an app called NearPod that al- ly the plate that reads, ‘Teaching is the proSee TEACHER, page9A lows her to see and save each child’s fession that creates all others.’