The LAKER
ee r F
EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
DECEMBER 23, 2015
Is Hercules Park back in play?
By Kathy Steele
for $1.7 million. City council members Charles Proctor and Lance Smith voted against the proposal. The city of Zephyrhills could get another City officials sent a letter of intent on the chance to own Hercules Park. offer to the school board. A deal between the Pasco County School “Our contract is kind of a backup conDistrict and Gh&G Florida LLC remains tract,” said Steve Spina, Zephyrhills’ city under negotiation, but it isn’t clear a final manager. “We’re in a different ball game. If deal can be struck. they can’t (close the deal), we’ll step up to To put the city of Zephyrhills in the pos- the plate.” ture of being able to purchase the park, the Spina said he believes the developers are Zephyrhills City Council, on Dec. 14, voted 3 having a hard time making their financial to 2 to renew the city’s offer to buy the park plan work.
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Discover an ER designed with seniors in mind.
Representatives with the development company approached city officials in October about a possible private/public partnership. Spina said the offer was declined. The city lost out in June when its bid came in lower than the $2.3 million offered by Gh&G Florida LLC. The school board voted to begin negotiations with the development company with expectations that 10 acres to 11 acres of parkland would be doSee HERCULES, page13A
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RICHARD RILEY/PHOTOS
A festive stroll in Dade City
Merchants in historic downtown Dade City took part in a Christmas Stroll on Dec. 5, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Businesses owners decorated theirs shops, and patrons had a chance to enjoy the festive atmosphere while looking for presents for those on their lists.
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holiday
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INSIDE, PAGE 6A
Fifteen-year-old raises $1 million for hospital By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Leigh Dittman always knew that she would achieve her goal of raising $1 million for Shriners Hospitals for Children – she just didn’t know she’d do it by age 15. The Gaither High School student, who has a disorder known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), said she was motivated to raise the money for Shriners because of how giving it has been to her. “They are such an amazing group of people, and they’ve given me so much, with my life. It seemed like the right thing to do,” the young woman said during an interview at her Lutz home. She began raising money for Shriners when she was turning 3. She said she’d rather have friends and family give money to the hospitals, instead of giving her presents. The first year, she raised $5,000. It grew from there. When she was 7, people began asking her: “How far do you want to go? What’s your goal? “As a 7-year-old, I was like, ‘A million dollars seems like a really big number. Why don’t we shoot for that?’ ” She expected to meet the goal at some point, but not within eight years, she said. The money was raised by annual events that initially were tied to her birthday, but later were held separately. The event was a combined live auction, silent auction and raffle event. People could bid on items or buy raffle tickets for all sorts of prizes, including sports memorabilia,
said. Now that they’ve hit the million-dollar mark, the family plans to take a year off, she said. The young woman was honored on Dec. 14 at Shriners Hospitals for Children, where the hospital and its Board of Governors swapped the teenager’s bronze fundraising plaque for a gold one, signifying donors who have given at least $1 million, according to a hospital news release. At that ceremony, Board Chairman Tom Edwards described his first encounter with Leigh when she was 5. Edwards said he was supposed to carry Leigh through an archway during a program. He recalled her telling him: “Mr. Shriner, be careful. I break easy.” Leigh’s mother, Ellen, said none of this would have happened had she listened to doctors who advised her to have an abortion. B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO She knew early in her pregnancy there Leigh Dittman poses near the family’s were problems, she said. Christmas tree at her home in Lutz. She “Shriners Hospitals said they were sure recently was honored for raising $1 million they could fix her legs. And, they put her on for Shriners Hospitals for Children. She has a waiting list, not even knowing was going a bone disorder known as Osteogenesis on with her, other than we knew that with Imperfecta, more commonly called ‘brittle her legs there was something major going bone disease,’ but, she said she’s not on,” she said. defined by her OI. Leigh was born, via C-section, with five broken ribs and a broken femur that had altheme park tickets and stays at a cabin in ready healed. North Carolina. Since then, she’s had 14 surgeries and “We would spend the majority of our about 40 fractures. summer going to different organizations and But, Leigh refuses to define herself by different companies, and asking them – see- her OI, commonly called “brittle bone dising if they would like to donate. We met ease.” great people who would help us continuSee RAISES, page13A ously throughout the years,” the 15-year-old