The LAKER
ee r F
EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
DECEMBER 21, 2016
Airport area projects planned By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County has agreed to spend $3.5 million to install sewer pipes and two lift stations on property surrounding the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. County commissioners approved the
funding as part of a cooperative agreement with the City of Zephyrhills at a Dec. 13 meeting in Dade City. The county investment complements about $4.5 million spent by the City of Zephyrhills to improve water lines in order to increase capacity and pressure. The coordinated efforts are strategically
targeted at nearly 500 acres next to the airport. The goal is to get the property buildready for developers interested in aerospace, manufacturing, light industrial, assembly companies, and plastics. See AIRPORT, page 11A
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.
MARY RATHMAN/STAFF PHOTO
Let it glow, let it glow, let it glow Advance Tickets ON SALE NOW! www.flstrawberryfestival.com
Above, The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel has its lighted holiday trees and synchronized music and light show to help amp up anticipation. Below, cheerful snowmen greet visitors to the Old Lutz Schoolhouse in Lutz and giant Christmas cards featuring local businesses and religious themes provide a holiday feeling at City Park in San Antonio.
#berryfest17
March 2 –12, 2017 • Plant City, FL
B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTOS
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Hanukkah runs from the evening of Dec. 24 to the evening of Jan.1.
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B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
COURTESY OF RICHARD K. RILEY
Joan Hamm of Dade City, second from left, with Amanda Martin, Monica Anderson and Wayne Ruppert.
Celebrating the gift of life, at Christmas By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Joan Hamm was asleep when she felt an incredible pain in her chest. She woke up, called 9-1-1 and unlocked her front door. Emergency personnel found her, when they arrived, and set into motion a series of actions to save the 77-year-old Dade City woman’s life. Armando Lopez Jr., was watching television in his Hernando County home when suddenly he blacked out. He recalls parts of what happened next: His son administering CPR, his wife calling 91-1, and emergency crews taking him to the hospital. But, he said his memory is spotty because he was in and out of consciousness. Both Hamm and Lopez were among surviving patients invited to Bayfront Health Dade City’s fourth annual Lifesaver’s
Celebrating the Festival of Lights By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Awards banquet. About 65 people attended the event, which included hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a catered meal and an awards presentation. Those recognized during the event each received a citation of meritorious performance. The banquet recognizes the work of emergency personnel, physicians and the Bayfront Health Dade City associates who successfully revived patients whose hearts stopped beating and who were “clinically dead.” “With Lifesavers, we reunite the patient with their family and everybody who helped take care of them,” said Wayne Ruppert Jr., master of ceremonies for the awards banquet. He is the hospital’s cardiovascular care coordinator. He also received an award during the ceremony. Hamm was pleased to be there, accompanied by members of her family. She characterized the banquet as “uplifting
The Festival of Lights coincides with the Christmas week this year. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins on the evening of Dec. 24, and ends on the evening of Jan. 1. The eight-day celebration commemorates the “miracle” of the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C., when Israel was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who massacred thousands of people and desecrated the city’s holy Second Temple; they also outlawed Judaism and forced Jews to worship Greek gods. Ancient sources recount that leaders of a Jewish rebel army, called the Maccabees, rose up against their Syrian-Greek oppressors.The uprising lasted three years until the Maccabees seized Jerusalem and retook control of the Second Temple. According to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, the Maccabees
See LIFE, page 11A
See FESTIVAL, page 11A