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The LAKER EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
MARCH 29, 2017
We’re with you every step of the way. Board-certified pediatrician Kousalya Sara, M.D., is accepting new patients, same-day appointments, and walk-ins. Now two locations! To schedule an appointment, call 352-437-5003.
13933 17th Street, Dade City NEW LOCATION: 6747 Gall Blvd., Zephyrhills
BayfrontHealthPediatrics.com Member of the Medical Staff at Bayfront Health Dade City.
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U.S. Marine Corps Band plays stirring music A large crowd gathered near the Pasco County Historic Courthouse in downtown Dade City on March 26 to listen to the U.S. Marine Corps Band. The band is required to visit each quadrant of the United States every year. Pasco County was chosen for the southeast quadrant at the request of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, who represents Florida’s 12th congressional district.
This nurse tends to more than cuts and bruises By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
When Margaret Polk became a school nurse more than a quarter-century ago, there were full-time nurses in all of Pasco County’s public high schools funded by a grant. Those days and that funding are long gone. Now,“most of us have at least two or three schools,” Polk said. She divides her time between Pasco High School and the James Ervin Education Center, and recently picked up a third school because the nurse there resigned. It’s a challenging job, with wide-ranging demands, but Polk — who was named the Florida Association of School Nurses’ 2017 School Nurse of the Year — loves it. Although she’s picked up additional duties, Polk has always been at Pasco High, and that longevity in one place has its advantages, she said. She not only knows the school’s current students, in many cases, she knows their parents from when they were students, too. Polk is deeply familiar with help available through community organizations or government agencies that can provide assistance beyond the school’s resources. Sometimes, for instance, a student screening will reveal a problem, but parents have no clue where to go from there.And, even when they know where to turn, money can be a See NURSE, page 19A
B.C. MANION
Margaret Polk was selected by the Florida Association of School Nurses as the 2017 School Nurse of the Year.
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SPECIAL SECTION inside this week
A savage day at the races These runners were among the opening heat of the Savage Race March 18 and March 19 at Little Everglades Ranch just north of Dade City. About 6,700 runners took part, over the two-day event, and there were about 1,500 spectators, families and friends.
Dr. Srikiran Pothamsetty, a gastroenterologist from Orlando, surfaces after jumping into and swimming under a barrier in a water obstacle kept cold by dumping ice cubes in it all day.