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Specialty grocers sprouting up in Pasco By Kathy Steele Special to The Laker/Lutz News
A national trend for smaller, specialty grocery stores is taking hold in Pasco County. Within the next year, Earth Fare, Sprouts Farmers Market, and possibly Lucky’s Market will open grocery stores that specialize in natural, organic and fresh foods. Aldi is planning to open its no-frills, discount grocery stores in Zephyrhills and
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DECEMBER 19, 2018
New Port Richey in 2019.Also, a new store is coming to the southeast corner of State Road 54 and Wesley Chapel Boulevard, on a parcel owned by developers of the Cypress Creek Town Center. South Branch Ranch developers submitted plans to the county that include a “prototype” grocery store within a mix of commercial, office and retail.The approximately 25,000-square-foot store, on State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway, would fit
within the size range for boutique-style grocery shopping. These new foodie arrivals on the retail scene follows an explosion of growth all over Pasco of more shops, restaurants and residential development. Activity centers include Cypress Creek Town Center, the Village at Mitchell Ranch, Starkey Ranch and Wiregrass Ranch. See GROCERS, page 15A
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The PetSmart store, at 6001 Wesley Grove Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, offered ‘Photos with Santa Claus’ on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, allowing pet parents to have their pet’s photo taken with Santa. Those taking part were emailed a free digital photo from the store. Above, 11-year-old Chloe Meehan, of New Tampa, left, holds her dog Bailey, a maltipoo, as a PetSmart employee portraying Santa (Ciara-Diana Hayn, of Crystal Springs) greets her. At left, 2-year-old Brynlie Davis, of Spring Hill, reacts with delight as she gets kisses from a very excited 8month-old pug named Millie while in line to meet Santa Claus. Brynlie was at the store shopping with her mother, Tessa. Millie is owned by Sue Reardon, of San Antonio.
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BayCare wants Carin Hetzler-Nettles named principal of the year to build new hospital in Pasco By B.C. Manion
With pressing needs for more classroom space, the district decided to house grades six through 12 on the campus, temporarily, until the new middle school could be built. And, instead of having separate principals for the middle and high school programs, Hetzler-Nettles was chosen to lead the entire campus, with assistant principals to support her.
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
BayCare has received preliminary approval of an application to build a new 60-bed hospital on a 111-acre site, at the northeast quadrant of Interstate 75 and Overpass Road. The Agency for Health Care Administration on Dec. 10 announced preliminary approval of the hospital’s application for a Certificate of Need. As part of its application, BayCare outlined plans that include: • Construction of the hospital • Recruitment of primary care practitioners • Implementation of additional behavioral health services • A commitment to community outreach, wellness and education activities • An investment in training and education for Pasco County school students interested in health care careers. Tommy Inzina, president/CEO of BayCare, said the new hospital would provide medical services in a growing area of Pasco County. The proposed site meshes well with the hospital’s need to take the long view, Inzina said, noting,“hospitals have to have a plan for 50 or 100 years.” When BayCare was considering locating a hospital in Pasco, it began looking north of Wesley Chapel, to meet the growing need moving north along the Interstate 75 corridor, the hospital executive said. BayCare wanted a site near Interstate 75, to make the site easily accessible, and See BAYCARE, page 15A
When Pasco County Schools opened Cypress Creek Middle High School, the challenges facing the new leader of that school weren’t the same kind faced by most principals of new schools. For one thing, the school was the first in the Pasco school district that would be for students in sixth through 11th grade, initially, with a senior class to be added the following year. For another, the school was pulling students from established middle and high schools — including many families who challenged the school district’s boundaries for the new school. And, of course, there was the issue of combining middle and high school students on the same campus — with their obvious differences in the size, maturity level and academic needs. So, when the school district was deciding on the leader for Cypress Creek Middle High, it had to be sure that whoever was in charge would be able to rise to the occasion. “The obvious leader for this new school was Carin Hetzler-Nettles,”Tammy Berryhill, assistant superintendent of high schools for Pasco County, wrote in a letter nominating Hetzler-Nettles for Florida’s principal of the year. Berryhill noted a number of the principal’s achievements, including her work to raise the performance at Wesley Chapel High School, which she led before being selected as the inaugural principal at Cypress Creek Middle High. The assistant superintendent noted that Hetzler-Nettles is known for being able to help develop teachers and assistant principals for broader district roles, such as instructional coaches, assistant principals, principals, district supervisors and even one assistant superintendent. Pasco Schools Superintendent Kurt
THE JOB HAD BUILT-IN CHALLENGES FILE
When it comes to being a cheerleader for her students and staff, Cypress Creek Middle High Principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles is out front, and center.
Browning also sees Hetzler-Nettles’ strengths. In his letter nominating her for the state honor, Browning observed: “Mrs. HetzlerNettles was selected as Principal of the Year from among nearly 80 school principals. Her peers nominated her, and all district administrators voted for the winner. They could not have selected a better example of an outstanding school leader. I am certain she would represent the state of Florida with distinction as the state’s Principal of the Year.” For her part, Hetzler-Nettles said she “was very shocked, and humbled” to be named Pasco’s principal of the year, especially in light of her high regard for her peers across the district. Hetzler-Nettles said she embraced the leadership position at Cypress Creek Middle High because it presented unique challenges from the outset. For one thing, the district hadn’t initially intended to have middle and high school students within a single school on the campus. It had planned to build a high school and a middle school, but lack of funding changed those plans.
Hetzler-Nettles described some of them, in an essay she wrote that’s included in her statewide nomination packet. “I’m not going to lie, and say it was easy, and that all of the students zoned to attend Cypress Creek Middle High School were excited about the change. “In fact, it was extremely difficult to get the students to buy in to the culture, community and identity we were building at Cypress Creek. “Who could blame them? For decades, some of the communities that were rezoned to attend Cypress Creek were Wildcats or Bulls, and now they were forced to be Coyotes. “The idea of having to leave friends who lived in a different neighborhood that was not affected by the boundary change, and attend a new school that had no familiarity, was a challenge for most students. “It was my job to combat those fears and make the students’ transition from their previous school to Cypress Creek as smooth as possible.” Long before the school opened, the principal began reaching out to schools that would be sending students and to parents of those students — to begin building the new community that would become Cypress Creek Middle High. The principal said she knew many parents were worried about having sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders on the same See PRINCIPAL, page 15A