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Tackling problems of opioid abuse By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
A panel of local people working on the frontlines to reduce the problem of opioid drug abuse gained access to the nation’s drug czar last week in a Pasco County roundtable session initiated by Republican Congressman Gus Bilirakis, of Palm Harbor. No certain solutions were offered during the May 3 discussion with for Michael Botticelli, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. But panelists and people in the audience identified several areas needing improvement They said: • The stigma surrounding drug addiction must be reduced • Parents need education to help prevent their children from becoming addicts
Gus Bilirakis
Michael Botticelli
• More tools and better access to care are needed to help people overcome addiction • Residential treatment programs should not be limited to 28 days • Innovative and creative approaches should be encouraged and shared • More community support is needed to help those who have completed treatment programs to avoid a relapse
Panelists said they appreciated the opportunity to talk directly with Botticelli. Doug Leonardo, executive director of BayCare Behavioral Health put it like this:“I feel like I’m sitting next to a rock star. For folks in the field, this is the individual who has the president’s ear on policies related to substance abuse for this country. So, it’s really a big deal.” Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that opioids – a class of drugs that includes heroin and prescription pain medications – were involved in 28,648 deaths in 2014. “We don’t have our arms around addiction and it continues to get worse,” Leonardo said.“It feels like two steps forward, one step back, sometimes.” See ABUSE, page 11A
Saint Leo offers new creative writing program By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Poet and soon-to-be-published novelist Steve Kistulentz is a man enjoying a year of firsts. He is the director of Saint Leo University’s first low-residency graduate program in creative writing. The launch begins with an eight-day residency from July 16 to July 23. Enrolled students will attend seminars and writing workshops. And, they will hear readings from awarding winning writers, Jesse Goolsby and Tom Piazza. The program will offer a special track toward a graduate degree for students interested in war literature written for or by veterans. In 2017 the publishing house of Little & Brown will release the 50-year-old Kistulentz’s first novel,“Panorama,” which tells the story of a New Year’s Eve plane crash and what happens to its survivors. Before that, he will launch the new writing program at Saint Leo. “I want to show the non-traditional student that no matter who you are or where you are or what you are doing, there is a path to success and a way to be mentored there through this program,” said Kistulentz, who also is an associate professor of English at the university. The program confers the Master of Fine Arts degree and is intended for completion in two years. It includes 36 hours of graduate study in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Those who want to write about war can choose among those genres and take specific courses that tackle wartime or post-war experiences. Following the initial residency, semester work will be done largely online, with mentoring from writers with national reputations. In total, students will complete four semesters of course work, three summer residencies, and submit a book-length thesis. Tuition is $595 per credit hour for the 2016-17 academic year. Unsubsidized loans may be available.Accreditation for the program is pending with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The special track aimed at veterans who
COURTESY OF SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY
Poet and novelist Steve Kistulentz is director of the graduate program in creative writing and associate professor of English at Saint Leo University.
may want to write about their war experiences is unique to Saint Leo. “We wanted to capitalize on Saint Leo’s long-time commitment with the men and women of our armed services,” Kistulentz said. Saint Leo also continues its tradition of reaching out to nontraditional students. Kistulentz took his own nontraditional path toward poetry and fiction writing. He had a nearly 17-year career as a political consultant for national campaigns and wrote speeches, television commercials, promotional materials and magazine articles. “I have written in just about every genre,” Kistulentz said. He was director of a similar creative writ-
ing program at the University of Tampa. But at Saint Leo he is building the program from scratch. “I have always known that this is always what I wanted to do, a Saint Leo-type program,” he said. Kistulentz is taking the best of what he learned from other creative writing programs including the Creative Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. He was at the university from 2003 to 2005 and earned a Masters in Fine Arts. His first book of poetry, “The Luckless Age,” won the 2010 Ben Saltman Award. His second poetry book, “Little Black Daydream,” came out in 2013. See WRITING, page 11A
He offers a ‘hypnotic’ form of entertainment By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Hypnotized Live!
Hypnotist Michael C.Anthony shares the stage with 30 or so people who don’t mind a bit of suggestive fun. They might fall asleep. Or forget their names. Or break into dance. Or, they might even be convinced that a belt is a wriggling snake. They might even find true love, of a most unusual kind. “I made a guy fall in love with a broom,” said Anthony, who will bring his Hypnotized Live! Show to Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts on May 20 and May 21. He invites audience members to leave their seats and become part of his show. But, they have a choice. They can “SEE the show or BE the show. “I don’t pressure anybody to come on the stage,”Anthony said. There is never a problem of getting peo-
WHERE: Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Place, in downtown Tampa WHEN: May 20 and May 21 at 7:30 p.m. COST: Tickets are $39.99 and $49.99 INFORMATION: Contact the ticket office at (813) 229-7827 or 1-800-955-1045
ple to join in the act. Anthony, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, starts his performances with a few minutes of stand up comedy so the audience knows “this is going to be fun. At the end of the show, you’ll be glad you did this.” The full-time hypnotist has been performing for about 20 years displaying his skills in theaters, at corporate events and at colleges. He’s been to every state except See HYPNOTIC, page 11A
COURTESY OF MICHAEL C. ANTHONY
Hypnotist Michael C. Anthony will perform at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.