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SEPTEMBER 15, 2021
Be flexible and safe, lawmaker says
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
With chairs socially distanced at tables, breakfast guests masked up, and servers dishing up food at the breakfast buffet — the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce resumed in-person business breakfast meetings in September. State Sen. Danny Burgess, a Republican from Zephyrhills, was the featured speaker.
“It’s good to be here,” Burgess told the crowd. Obviously, this is your first time back in a long time.” It’s no secret that the impacts of COVID19 have rippled throughout society, and Burgess addressed them head-on. “We all have felt that separation, that isolation,” Burgess said. “I think we’ve all realized just how significant the second- and third-order effects of COVID-19 can be, not just from the physical
virus itself and its manifestations, but what it’s like to not be able to interact,” he said. “It’s in our nature to want to get out and interact and socialize. “So I think this has taken a huge toll on us,” the state lawmaker added. The pandemic affects everyone, he said, “whether you’re a parent, or whether you’re taking care of your parents, as they get older.” See LAWMAKER, page 11A
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FRED BELLET
Honoring the 20th anniversary of 9/11 There were many somber moments during the 9/11 Memorial held at The Tampa Premium Outlets. Here, from left, are Fainery Spelman, 12-year-old Matthew Spelman, 9/11 responder Stephen Spelman (a former New York City fire department EMT) and Chris Casella (a former police officer with the Queen’s South Taskforce). Casella, a witness to the 9/11 tragedy, was emcee at a 20th anniversary remembrance event on the morning of Sept. 11, at the outlet mall. The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon’s 1-mile Memorial Run/Walk was held in the morning and was followed by a ceremony, which began at 8:46 a.m. — memorializing the time when the North Tower of the World Trade Center was struck. Two plaques also were unveiled that day, recognizing the sacrifices of Deputy Michael Magli, of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and Master Police Officer Jesse Madsen, of the Tampa Police Department, who both died in the line of duty. See our video coverage of this event on our Facebook Page. To see The Laker/Lutz News “Reflect and Remember,” a special tribute to the 20th anniversary of 9/11, please turn to pages 6A and 7A.
SEASON 2
Fo o d i e Fr i d ay with ka at tie & kel lli
Diana Marcum, of Wesley Chapel, holds her hand over her heart, as she holds her 5-month-old dachshund, Chikuis, during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Diana was there with her husband, Reyes Marcum.
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Pasco County is adding two Crews getting back new elementary magnets at it, on Diverging Centennial Elementary, in Dade City, will become a STEAM magnet school during the 2022-2023 school year. A parent meeting night is set for Oct. 12. By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
INSIDE, PAGE 1B
Thirty-two-year-old Tim Read, of Wesley Chapel, is flanked by his black Labrador retriever, Shadow, and his wife, Anhdu Read. The veteran served in Afghanistan twice and received two Purple Hearts after losing his leg to an improvised explosive device, while on patrol. Shadow is a retired bomb dog the Reads adopted.
During the past few years, Pasco County Schools has been adding to its slate of educational choices for parents and students, and two new options will become available in the 2022-2023 school year. Centennial Elementary in Dade City and James M. Marlowe Elementary in New Port
Richey are slated to become STEAM magnet schools. The acronym STEAM means the schools will have an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. As magnet schools, Centennial and Marlowe will not have traditional boundaries. The school district will use its school choice program, known as Pasco Pathways, to assign students to the schools. Parent meetings will be held in October, to provide additional information. Centennial’s meeting is set for Oct. 12 and Marlowe’s is set for Oct. 5. (Check with schools for additional details.) See MAGNETS, page 11A
Diamond interchange
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Work on the diverging diamond project at State Road 56 and Interstate 75 in Wesley Chapel was set to resume on Sept. 13, according to officials from the Florida Department of Transportation. That news was part of an update released by Kris Carson, department spokeswoman for FDOT’S District 7 office. Work was halted in June, when D.A.B. Constructors notified FDOT that it was demobilizing from the project. The state See DIAMOND, page 11A