The Laker-East Pasco-April 8, 2020

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APRIL 8, 2020

Using creative ways to express faith

By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com

In a typical year, members of Grace Community Church would come to Easter service in their finery, celebrate their faith together and pose afterwards for family portraits. But, nothing is really normal under the shadow of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). This year, church members will drive to the church, at 7107 Boyette Road in Wesley Chapel, and they’ll stay in their cars — for

either the Sunrise service at 7:15 a.m., or the 10:30 a.m. gathering. Instead of spending a couple of minutes at the beginning of the service greeting each other personally, they’ll take out their cellphones to text or call other members who are there; or reach out to church members who couldn’t make it to the service. Then, at the conclusion, instead of posing for family portraits, they’ll whip out their cellphones and take family selfies. Even though the service could be livestreamed, Pastor Jeff Olson said he prefers having the congregation there —

even if they need to stay in their cars. “It seems like there’s more that can be done when we’re in a common space,” the pastor said, noting the church has already tried out this model and it seems to be working well. Olsen said the central message of the sermon he plans to deliver will be something like this: “Because the grave is empty and Jesus is alive, we have living hope — even when things seem hopeless.” New approaches are being used for See FAITH, page 9A

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Pastor Jeff Olson leading a recent drive-in church service.

Jessie Koschman and her family, left to right, Jessie, Kaylei, Christopher and Greg, pose for a selfie inside their car. This will be a new twist on a traditional Easter family portrait at Grace Community Church in Wesley Chapel.

Businesses seek help during pandemic Pasco seeks to

delay municipal elections

By B.C. Manion

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The economy has been flattened by coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), and businesses are seeking a way to continue operating or to reopen their doors. A $2 trillion stimulus package— the largest in the nation’s history — is called the CARES Act, which stands for Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security. Part of that package is specifically aimed at assisting companies with fewer than 500 employees, said Bill Cronin, CEO and president of Pasco Economic Development Council Inc. “It’s intended to assist small business owners in whatever needs that they have right now. So, once it’s implemented, there’s going to be lots of resources for small business, as well as some nonprofits and also some other types of employers,” said Cronin, who helps recruit and build business growth through the nonprofit economic development agency he leads. Cronin and Eileen Rodriguez, regional director for the Florida SBDC at the University of South Florida, participated in a Zoom video conferencing session on April 1, with Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore. “This particular pandemic, has really, I think, taken a lot of people by surprise,” Rodriguez said.“The scope and magnitude of it is so much more than just our normal disasters, which you know, we’re used to the hurricanes.This is a completely different animal. It’s just so huge.” While various assistance programs are available, getting through the process can be difficult, Cronin said. “It is confusing, even for us as practitioners, between state, federal and local programs. So, I can’t imagine what it’s like sometimes, as business people, trying to navigate all of these different resources — in a time when it’s challenging enough as it is, with all of these external pressures,” Cronin said. He outlined some of the programs available to help businesses. “The most popular program that I think most of you are going to be interested in is called the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. It is designed for companies that employ fewer than 500 workers,” he said. In essence, the loan is designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.

By Kevin Weiss Kweiss@lakerlutznews.com

B.C. MANION

Mainstreet Billiards, in downtown Zephyrhills, is complying with the statemandated shutdown. A posting over the weekend on its Facebook Page says “we will get back to it as soon as we can.” It ends the posting with this message by saying, “Help your neighbor if you can! And shop local small businesses to help out your Zephyrhills family. We will get through this together.”

SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities. Rodriguez talked about the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program . “We help small business owners who are currently navigating the loan process. “We don’t actually make decisions on which loans get approved or denied, but we do work with the independent Emergency Bridge Loan committee that makes those decisions,” she said. “The team at the SBDC — the entire team — is really working as fast as we can to process all these inquiries and applications that have come in. “Right now, we’re probably hovering around 4,000, just to give you a sense of the type of volume that we’re looking at,” she said. “Everybody is trying to move as quickly as possible, to help all of the small businesses that have been affected, which frankly, has been pretty much everybody in the See HELP, page 9A

In the wake of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley is seeking to delay the April 14 municipal elections Dade City, Zephyrhills and San Antonio. To that end, Corley has requested Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to move back the local county elections to the Aug. 18 state primary election date. Corley told The Laker/Lutz News he’s had ongoing discussions on the matter with intermediaries Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee, State Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews, and incoming Senate president Wilton Simpson. However, no decision was made by The Laker/Lutz News Monday press deadline. Corley cited the “health and safety” of voters and poll workers in wanting reschedule the municipal elections. The elections supervisor said it doesn’t make sense “having the public come to an election day polling place, to their own possible health peril, when our average age is not exactly, really, really young.” He also said “asking members of the public to come out and vote” runs contrary to the governor’s stay-at-home executive order. City managers of the three local municipalities have concurred delaying the municipal election, Corley said. Holding those elections concurrently with the primary election poses no additional financial costs to those cities, he said. The county elections office is mandated to hold the April 14 election, until it hears otherwise from the governor’s office, Corley said.

HERE IS A CLOSER LOOK AT EACH ELECTION: DADE CITY Six candidates are running for three open seats on the Dade City Commission — for Groups 3, 4 and 5. In Group 3, two-term incumbent Jim Shive is being challenged by Matthew Wilson. Shive is a retired government emSee ELECTIONS, page 9A


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