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Schools reopen, amid COVID concerns
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The debate over whether masks will be required in Pasco County Schools is over, in Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning’s mind. “That issue has been settled.The governor (Gov. Ron DeSantis) has taken that issue on, as his issue.The governor has made that decision.There is no local decision-making
regarding masks.And, he has said there will not be a mask mandate. We understand that,” Browning said. The issue of quarantining people who have been exposed to COVID-19, however, is another matter. “I know there’s been a lot of questions about quarantining,” Browning said at the July 27 Pasco County School Board meeting. He told board members that he and members of his staff met with Mike Napier,
administrator for the Florida Department of Health-Pasco County, and members of Napier’s team. They discussed issues relating to COVID and the coming school year. “As far as quarantining goes, that was the main issue that staff wanted to talk about yesterday (during that meeting),” Browning said. See SCHOOLS, page 11A
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Training the next generation Shannon Saile, right, a national champion softball pitcher at the University of Oklahoma, speaks to a group of advanced pitchers during a water and shade break at her pitching clinic at the Land O' Lakes Recreation Complex softball field. See the story in Sports, page 12A.
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B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
Wearing a protective fielder's mask, 9-year-old Grace Peters, of Land O' Lakes, was ready to take her turn on the mound. Peters was among those in the intermediate division at the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic.
Coach Charlie Aliano of the Cincinnati Reds lends some batting knowledge to 13-year old Olivia James, of New Port Richey. Aliano, of Land O' Lakes, assisted during the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic.
SADD names local Pasco Apartment project student for national post proposed on State Road 52
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
By B.C. Manion Shaina Finkel likely didn’t know at the ripe old age of 6 that one day she would be taking her place on a national stage for a group that’s primary mission is to save lives. But that’s exactly what happened on July 28, when the Wiregrass Ranch High School student was sworn in as the national student president for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Her selection was celebrated during a national news conference, which took place at Wiregrass Ranch High School and was streamed by SADD’s social media channels. One of the key speakers at the event was Greg Finkel, the adviser for the SADD chapter since Wiregrass Ranch High opened. He’s Shaina’s dad. “We do it to save lives,” said Finkel, who has been the adviser of the Wiregrass chapter since it began in 2008. The chapter’s T-shirts have a Superman logo on the front and words on the back that say:“How to save a life.” His pride in his daughter’s accomplishment was palpable, as he struggled, occasionally, to maintain his composure. She was just a little girl, he said, when she asked if she could come along to a chapter meeting. Finkel thought to himself:Why not? She became a regular, and even at that early age, she was a leader, he said. Whether the chapter was working with
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
young kids or the elderly, he said,“she took over.” As she grew older, she became even more involved. At one point, she asked Finkel if he thought she could become chapter president. He said he didn’t see why not, but they would have to see about it when she got to high school.
An apartment development of up to 350 units is being proposed at the southwest corner of State Road 52 and Old Pasco Road. The 23.1-acre site currently is occupied by pastureland, some residences and some outbuildings, Denise Hernandez, the county’s zoning administrator, said at the planning board’s July 22 meeting. “The Mango Hills master-planned unit development district abuts the subject property on the west and south,” Hernandez said. “It received approval for a maximum of 415 single-family detached and single-family attached townhome units.” Properties to the north and the northeast, adjacent to State Road 52, are zoned for general commercial, light industrial and retail, office and residential land uses, Hernandez added. “Apartments are a logical transition, stepdown from general commercial, industrial uses — to residential uses,” the zoning administrator said. She also noted that the applicant has requested a variance from the county’s land development code to reduce the number of parking spaces required, from 2.25 spaces per unit to 1.9 spaces per unit, which
See SADD, page 11A
See APARTMENT, page 11A
COURTESY OF PASCO COUNTY SCHOOLS
Shaina Finkel is the new national student president for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).