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The LAKER EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
JANUARY 27, 2016
Pasco administrator to retire in 2017 By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
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Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker expects to be very busy over the next year and a half. She’ll be crossing off a to-do list, one by one, before leaving in 2017 to go on a lengthy road trip with her husband. The couple will hit the road with their recreational vehicle and their motorcycles, on a tour of as many baseball parks and national parks as they can squeeze into a year. “That’s been our dream,” Baker said, so letting her contract lapse in July 2017 makes sense. But, don’t expect a lame duck administrator. “There’s no kicking back here,” Baker said.“This isn’t me slowing down.” Baker has told Pasco County commissioners she won’t seek renewal of her current two-year contract, which makes her
Michele Baker
last day July 9, 2017. By then, Baker will have worked 35 years in public service, 24 of those years with Pasco County. Her to-do list, in short form, includes: • Completing master plans and updates for storm water, solid
waste and tourism • Funding and building a diverging diamond road design to ease traffic congestion at State Road 56 and Interstate 75 • Completing the State Road 56 extension • Nurturing SunWest Park, the county’s fledgling aqua park • Replacing and repairing aging infrastructure and roads damaged by the summer flooding • Making progress on the expansion of
the jail and construction of new fire stations • Relocating more government offices to central Pasco Baker also plans to fill vacancies for a few key leadership positions that remain, including an assistant county administrator for public safety and administration. Progress has been made, Baker said, but government services still could be more customer-friendly. A culture that was decades in the making is being changed, she said.“You don’t get to turn a canoe.You’re turning a ship.” Public service wasn’t Baker’s first career choice. Over the years she worked as a waitress, flight attendant and a theater manager. She also served in the U.S.Air Force Reserve. Her undergraduate degree was in business administration. It wasn’t until she accepted a secretarial See RETIRE, page 11A
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Kumquat Growers Open House
Saturday, January 30, 2016 9 AM - 5 PM Historic Downtown Dade City
WHEN: Jan. 28 & Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. WHERE: 31647 Gude Road, in St. Joseph WHAT: Grove and packing house tours, farmer’s market, free kumquat samples and kumquat products for sale in the gift shop COST: Free
FREE ADMISSION KATHY STEELE/STAFF PHOTO
Margie Neuhofer and her husband Joseph Neuhofer are among founding growers of Kumquat Growers Inc. Neuhofer manages the gift shop. She and Frank Gude show off kumquat products sold at the shop.
Come enjoy music, food & family fun!
www.KumquatFestival.org
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Kumquats reign supreme at Dade City festival They take the cake (and the pies) at the 19th annual event By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
The first kumquat tree in St. Joseph took root more than 100 years ago, when C.J. Nathe planted it in his backyard. He added a few more, and soon he had a small grove on an acre of fertile ground. The kumquat king, as Nathe was later dubbed, transformed a quiet back road community into the Kumquat Capital of the World. An open house will take place on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 at the Kumquat Growers packinghouse and gift shop. The 19th annual Kumquat Festival is set for Jan. 30 in downtown Dade City. More than 40,000 people are expected to stroll through the historic town square during the festival, which will feature more than 425 vendor booths.There will be arts
and crafts, a car and truck show, a health and wellness area, live entertainment, a farmer’s market, the Kumquat Kids Corral, a quilt challenge, and kumquats in pies, cakes, salsas, jams, jellies and chutneys. No one imagined nearly two decades ago the drawing power of a tiny citrus fruit from Asia, sweet on the outside and tart on the inside. “The biggest thing that made it a success was people didn’t know what a kumquat was.There was the curiosity of it,” said Frank Gude, president and founding partner in Kumquat Growers Inc., the country’s largest producer and shipper of kumquats, and kumquat products. Phyllis Smith, Roxanne Barthle and Carlene Ellberg organized the first festival on the lawn of Dade City’s historic courthouse with only a few vendors. “We started slow, and then it built,” said Gude. Gude’s family traces its history with kumquat farming to those early plantings decades ago. The Gudes were one of five original growers who founded the packing cooperative in the early 1970s. Others were Charles
Walk-Ins Welcome
B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
WHEN: Jan. 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Historic downtown Dade City WHAT: Music, arts & crafts, car and truck show, food trucks, family fun and lots of kumquats COST: Admission is free, transportation from satellite parking areas is free, and city-owned parking lots in downtown Dade City are free
Barthle, Joseph and Paul Neuhofer and Fred Heidgerken. But, kumquat groves dotted the rural landscape for decades before then. “Every family out here had a little block of kumquats,” said Gude. It didn’t take much to produce an abundant crop.“Depending on how many kids they had (to do the picking), they could have enough to ship kumquats (up north).” Nathe gets historical credit for starting it all. The Michigan native had been an employee of nearby Jessamine Gardens nursery for many years. He had a special affection for the small decorative tree with delicate green leaves and orange fruit. Up north, the kumquat blooms added color and charm to Christmas décor in wreaths, on mantels, and as stylish adornments on gift packages. Or, people wanted a pretty tree for their yards. But, as Nathe knew, they also could be popped into the mouth and eaten or preserved as marmalade, jams and jellies. Nathe gave away most of his early harvests See KUMQUATS, page 11A
A chance to see stars, and moon craters By Kevin Weiss
18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 101 Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
19th Annual Kumquat Festival
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Dr. Kevin Manning knows a thing or two about astronomy. And, the former NASA consultant and college instructor shared his knowledge in a 90-minute presentation about the solar system at the Hugh Embry Library in Dade City on Jan. 20. Manning’s “Look Up to the Stars” presentation provided a virtual journey through the sun, the planets and their moons, and debris left over from the earliest times of the solar system’s formation. Manning, who’s given workshops at the Hugh Embry Library on four other occasions, gave viewers of all ages an in-depth, yet understandable, history lesson on outer space and the eight planets. “I like how he was able to condense everything into an hour-and-a-half presentation,” said Karyn Moses, who teaches science at R.B. Stewart Middle School in Zephyrhills.“It’s something that would take
KEVIN WEISS/STAFF PHOTO
People who attended the presentation were able to use Manning’s homemade telescope to gaze at stars and look at craters on the moon.
months to try to teach.” Moses, who also operates an astronomy club at the school, plans on passing along a few of Manning’s factoids to her class. “I’ve never been able to figure out the difference between a meteoroid and an asteroid,” she remarked.“I’m very thankful that he cleared that up, because I’ve searched and searched for that. “Also, the exoplanets that we’re looking for around red dwarf stars is interesting to me — about how we’re finding them and why they’re easiest to find,” she said. Jennifer Croteau of Dade City particularly enjoyed the visual aspect of Manning’s interactive presentation. “I really enjoyed the photographs; just making it real,” Croteau said.“The actual 3-D and 360-degree views — I just found it aweinspiring. “It was just incredible how much has been going on for so long. It was a really neat opportunity to have someone at his See STARS, page 11A