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Festival may slither back to life By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The San Antonio Rotary Club is considering four organizations that are interested in taking over the annual San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival & Run. The club announced earlier this month that the 50th festival, held in October, would be its last. “We pulled out all the stops for the 50th
annual festival to honor and celebrate this longstanding community fundraiser,” Burke said, in the announcement. “The sad fact is that it’s just too large of a project for our small club and the declining pool of community volunteers,” Burke added. Since then, however, the club has heard from four organizations, and it will be discussing their offers to take over the event at its meeting Feb. 21.
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Some of the organizations are for-profit organizations and some are not, Burke said, declining to identify them before the club meets. Burke had a mixed reaction when organizations came forward expressing an interest in taking over the festival. “On the one hand, we kind of felt that the 50th (festival) was a good one to finish See FESTIVAL, page 15A
Remembering the legacy of Odell Mickens
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Wainwright as the William R. Eiland Police Officer of the Year.Wainwright, a field training officer, has been with the department for 13 years. Wainwright, who holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Saint Leo University, regularly performs as an acting sergeant. “His decision-making skills are right on task,” Shears said.
Odell Kingston Mickens’ legacy as a Dade City educator and civil rights activist endures more than three decades after his death in 1980. When racism and Jim Crow laws denied blacks access to public education during the 1930s, Mickens expanded the outreach of education to black students in Pasco County. When white school boards eventually included black schools into a separate, but underfunded system, Mickens continued to expand opportunities for black students, including the right in 1940 to receive high school diplomas. Mickens championed the economic and civil rights of the black community until he died in 1980. He was the first black elected to public office in Pasco County, winning two terms on the City Commission of Dade City. “I find Odell Mickens to be just a giant,” said Imani Asukile, director of global and multicultural awareness, and special assistant to the president of Pasco-Hernando State College. Asukile was guest speaker on Feb. 16 at the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village in Dade City. The museum is sponsoring a series of lectures in conjunction with its Smithsonian exhibit,“The Way We Worked.” Asukile also is author of “Black Americans of Hernando County, Florida.” Asukile said he is not formally trained as a historian, but has a deep interest in history. “Somewhere I just caught the bug,” he said.“One of my goals is to unearth stories about local African-Americans.” Mickens is a particular favorite. In his research, Asukile learned that Mickens was mentored by Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune was internationally recognized as an educator, human rights activist and advisor to several United States presidents. “She found him to be an outstanding student,”Asukile said. Mickens was the descendent of Colbert and Nancy Mickens, former slaves from
See AWARD, page 15A
See MICKENS, page 15A
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From left: Mayor Gene Whitfield, Zephyrhills Police Department Field Training Officer David Wainwright and Zephyrhills Police Department Chief David Shears. Wainwright was awarded the department’s 2016 William R. Eiland Police Officer of the Year.
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The Zephyrhills Police Department has recognized its annual award recipients for 2016. Police Chief David Shears recognized the department’s annual award recipients for 2016 Police Officer of the Year, Civilian of the Year and Volunteer of the Year during the City Council’s Feb. 13 meeting. The department selected David
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Zephyrhills plans to buy property next to City Hall By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
The conceptual plan of a new City Hall complex in Zephyrhills has taken another step forward. The city council unanimously authorized city manager Steve Spina and city attorney Matt Maggard to negotiate the purchase of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) chapter building, at 5325 Eighth St.The .16-acre property, appraised at $71,200, sits on two lots measuring 50-by-140 feet. The action came at the council’s regular Feb. 13 meeting. In November, the council authorized obtaining an appraisal to determine the value of the property after DAV Chapter 65 announced it was shutting operations. The now-vacant property — which sits adjacent to the current City Hall along Sixth Avenue — includes a 924-square-foot main building, a 450-square-foot aluminum storage building and a 335-square-foot concrete block building. Its planned usage is multi-layered. Initially, it will provide temporary office space — likely for the city’s Building Department, when construction is underway on the new, $6.2 million City Hall complex. The City Hall project is expected to be complete sometime in mid-2018. After construction is completed, the main DAV building will be torn down to
COURTESY OF CITY OF ZEPHYRHILLS
The City of Zephyrhills plans to purchase the Disabled American Veterans property, shown on the left, to use as temporary office space once construction begins on the $6.2 million City Hall project. Post-construction, the DAV property will be used for additional parking and sidewalks, linking the City Hall with the city’s library and fire department.
make way for additional parking and sidewalks along Sixth Avenue. The property, too, encompasses the city’s vision of a courtyard plaza and walkway, linking the new City Hall and the city’s public library, and fire department on Eighth Street. “We’re buying it for the big picture,” Spina said.“Part of the appeal of the area is it would be a government complex.” Council president Kenneth Compton agreed, saying the “location couldn’t really get any better.” Spina said the DAV building is move-in ready, but additional funds will be set aside to make it a suitable workplace for city employees.
Funds are available to purchase the building in the city’s contingency budget. Likewise, expenses could be billed into the construction of the new City Hall. Spina advised the council he plans to negotiate an offer several thousand dollars less than the appraised value. Moreover, the city is eyeing another temporary quarters along Ninth Street and Sixth Avenue. One possibility, Spina said, is the former police station, at 5344 Ninth St. Meantime, the design of the new City Hall is already in motion. City staff members have met with engineers and architects to outline project goals See PROPERTY, page 15A