The LAKER
ee r F
EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
Before, when I looked in the mirror all I saw was my weight.
Compark 75 sold to Atlanta investors
Now I see the real me. The happy, healthy, active me.
By Kathy Steele
As I’m getting smaller, my world is getting bigger.
Compark 75, a Class A industrial park off Wesley Chapel Boulevard, is under new ownership, according to a news release from Cushman & Wakefield. The real estate services company negotiated the sale of five buildings at the park to MDH Atlantic Acquisitions LLC.The Atlantabased real estate investment company has more than 11 million square feet of properties in the southeastern United States. Rick Brugge, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield; Mike Davis, vice chairman; and Michael Lerner, executive chairman, negotiated the sale as part of Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets team. They represented HR Pasco LLP, and
Weight loss surgery changed my life.
FREE WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY SEMINAR Thursday, March 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Bayfront Health Dade City 13100 Fort King Rd., Medical Plaza I, #108 Register today at DadeCityBariatrics.com or call 352-437-5971.
Patient results m may a vary vary. Consult your physician aboutt the benefits and risk ks of any ssur urgica gical p procedure or treatme ent.
JANUARY 24, 2018
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
COURTESY CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
Compark 75 recently sold to an Atlanta-based investment company, MDH Atlantic Acquisitions LLC. The park has five industrial buildings that are close to fully occupied.
closed the deal in November. The sales price was not made available. According to the news release, Compark 75 is the only Class A facility currently serving the northeast Tampa Bay area, including
north Hillsborough and south Pasco counties. “It tends to attract very good leases and a See COMPARK, page 19A
It’s Kumquat Festival time
A day set aside for tiny orange fruits and fun By B.C. Manion
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bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
It’s that time of year when the tiny tart orange fruit reigns supreme in Dade City — the town on the eastern edge of Pasco County, with quaint shops lining its downtown streets and a historic courthouse in its center square. About 35,000 people are expected at the festival this year, said John Moors, executive FILE director of The Greater Dade City Chamber This is a peek at last year’s festival, from a view looking west up Meridian Avenue. of Commerce, which is the event organizer. If you go “They literally come from all over,” he said, noting visi21st annual Kumquat Festival tors come from Sarasota, Sun WHERE: Downtown Dade City City Center, all over Pinellas WHEN: Jan. 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. County, The Villages, The Nature Coast, Orlando, COST: Free admission and free parking. Lakeland, and other nearby Free shuttles run continuously from the areas. Pasco County Fairgrounds on State Road Volunteers work all year to 52 and from a lot next to Jarrett Ford on prepare for the event, and on the U.S. 301 Truck Route. The shuttles run festival day, crews begin to arfrom 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Parking is availrive at 4:30 a.m., to get the able near the festival, but those spaces fill vendors lined up on the quickly. streets. DETAILS: More than 400 vendors will be “We couldn’t do this withoffering arts and crafts, foods and all out the almost 200 things kumquat. There will be live entervolunteers,” Moors said. tainment, a car show, a quilt show and The free event features activities for kids. Kumquat Growers, in the INFO: There are information booths at the Wells Fargo parking lot, intersection of Seventh Street and where visitors can learn all Meridian Avenue, and also at the intersecabout kumquats and purtion of Third Street and Meridian Avenue. chase some to take home. (They’re Orange Tents with information in There are lots of fun large green lettering.) Pick up your festival things to see and do, too. information flyer there. The festival features more than 400 vendors, offering everything from arts and crafts, to fresh produce to all line sponsor Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, sorts of kumquat products. play a vital role in making the event a sucThere’s a Kid’s Corral, Bruce Gode, of Kumquat Growers Inc., arranges a display of cess, Moors said. “We couldn’t do this with all sorts of activities for kumquats for sale at last year’s festival. The tiny tart orange without the support of our sponsors,” he children, a Quilt Show at the fruit plays a starring role at the Dade City Kumquat Festival said. Hugh Embry Library, and a each year. Besides entertainment, there’s plenty of car and truck show in the choices for food and drink. parking lot at the Judicial Courthouse. free admission. “The local restaurants do a great busiIf you enjoy entertainment, you’ll find There’s also free entertainment all day, ness. They adjust their menus, so they can plenty of choices — with a full slate of acts Moors said. get our attendees in and out. Have them scheduled throughout the day.There’s also a “You can spend your money on some of well-fed, quickly and efficiently, so they can Health & Wellness Area and an area where the arts and crafts that are featured, or in get on and enjoy the festival,” Moors said. festival sponsors have set up their booths. some of our wonderful shops,” he said. There’s free parking, free shuttles and The sponsors, including this year’s headSee KUMQUAT, page 19A
Mother of twins dies after casino boat fire; donations sought By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
lakerlutznews.com
B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
A GoFundMe account has been set up to aid the children of Carrie Dempsey. The 42-year-old woman, who lived in Lutz, died Jan. 14, hours after a fire engulfed a casino shuttle boat ferrying about 50 passengers to a casino ship in the Gulf of Mexico. She was the sole fatality among about 15 passengers who needed medical attention, according to news reports. Dempsey leaves behind 12-year-old twins, Chad and Megan. Dempsey’s husband, Joseph Dempsey II, died in 2011, at the age of 33, according to an obituary. The children are being cared for by their grandparents. “We are reaching out to raise funds for Chad and Megan’s care and education, that their grandparents may not have been financially prepared for,” according to a written statement on the GoFundMe page. “Chad and Megan are two kind-hearted, athletic and academically gifted children who deserve a bright future.They have incurred so much loss and heartache in their
For information and to donate, visit GoFundMe.com/the-dempsey-family.
short lives.” Bridget Verrecchia is listed as the fund’s organizer. She is vice president of the ways and means committee of the PTA executive board for McKitrick Elementary School, according to the school’s website. Segal Funeral Home is handling funeral arrangements. According to an obituary, Dempsey moved to the Tampa Bay area in 1985 from Cleveland, Ohio. She will be “remembered for her sense of humor, quick wit and infectious laugh, but mostly as a devoted and loving mother,” the obituary states. Graveside services are scheduled for Jan. 25 at 2 p.m., at Gan Shalom Cemetery, 3527 E. County Line Road in Lutz. In lieu of flowers, a college fund will be established for Dempsey’s children. The cause of the fire aboard the Island Lady is under investigation, according to a spokesman with the U.S. Coast Guard.
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Carrie Dempsey
About 50 people were aboard as the shuttle, operated by Tropical Breeze Casino, steered toward the gulf, and a casino ship in international waters. The boat’s captain noticed the engine was overheating, and prepared to return to See MOTHER, page 19A