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JUNE 3, 2020
Pasco Schools wins national honors
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County Schools has been named the best Advanced Placement school district among large districts in the nation. The school district was among 250 districts across the United States and Canada that were named to the annual AP District
Honor Roll, according to a school district news release. From those, three districts were singled out — one large, one medium and one small, based on an analysis of three years of AP data, the release says. Pasco was honored in the category of large districts, as defined by those with 50,000 students or more.
Pasco Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning shared the news with district staff in a May 29 video posted on YouTube “The top district, in the nation — this is a big deal,” Browning said. “There are more than 13,000 school districts in the United States, and our school district — our stuSee HONORS, page 9A
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Hitting the gyms, to make up for lost time
As Florida reopens for business, lots of people have begun hitting the gyms and fitness facilities again. Whether it’s to take a dip, walk a treadmill, lift weights or work with ropes, gyms are beginning to see activity again. Unlike some businesses, they had been totally shut down in recent weeks, due to concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19. Above, 68-year-old Gary DeLong, of Dade City works out at the Dade City YMCA, at 3803 Meridian Ave., on a recent Friday afternoon. He works out five days a week, doing cardio and strength training.
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Seventy-year-old Carlos Sanchez takes laps at the Zephyrhills YMCA, at 37301 Chapel Hills Loop. He swims a mile daily.
Twenty-three-old Gillian Sanfilippo uses the cable pulls to strengthen the abdominal area, chest and back, as she works out at Strive Athletic Club, 2626 Cypress Ridge Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.
Cypress Creek Middle Dade City sidewalk set to open this fall considering cleanup program By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
When a new school year opens, Cypress Creek Middle students will finally have school buildings to call their own. Middle and high school students have been sharing the campus, formerly known as Cypress Creek Middle High, since 2017. Beginning this fall, however, there will be a middle school for grades five through eight, and a high school for grades nine through 12. Construction on the middle school began in 2019. “It’s more than on track,” said Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco Schools. “It’s as ahead of schedule as we’ve ever been.” Like all public schools in Pasco County, a regular school day likely will be very different from any previous school years. Planning sessions are ongoing for the fall start of school, with keen attention on how the COVID-19 pandemic will dictate changes in school operations.
Gadd said he anticipates an announcement on what to expect for district schools by July 1. Cypress Middle School has a student capacity of about 1,600 students. Gadd surmises the first year enrollment will be somewhat lower. Construction for the school building is estimated at about $43.5 million. It shares the same campus as the high school, but is about 15 acres north of it. With a curriculum focus on performing arts, the building design includes a black box theater, chorus, dance and orchestra rooms. Also, Pasco-Hernando State College is expected to open its Instructional Performing Arts Center on the same campus this fall. The district initially planned to open both a high school and a middle school on the Cypress Creek campus at the same time, but a lack of funding forced it to use the campus for both middle and high school students. See CYPRESS, page 9A
By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
The Dade City Commission is considering a sidewalk pressure washing program to address the downtown’s main corridors — as part of a concentrated effort to provide a cleaner community appearance to attract visitors to the town. The city already has strived to beautify the downtown of late, with recent improvements to the public parking areas on Eighth Street, including tree trimming, mulching of planted areas, and debris removal. Now, city leaders are looking to pressure wash sidewalk areas on both sides of Seventh Street, between Church Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Meridian Avenue, between Eighth Street and Third Street. Work would encompass concrete curbs, driveways, and both public and private sidewalk areas. See SIDEWALK, page 9A