Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, Volume 24, Issue 24, November 18, 2016

Volume 24 Issue 24 November 18, 2016

Inside: Acropolis Adds An Authentic Greek Brunch!

See Page 42!

Named The 2014 ‘Small Business Of The Year’ By The Wesley Chapel Chamber Of Commerce!

The Direct-Mail News Magazines Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Since 1993!

For the complete list of neighborhoods that receive this publication by direct mail in Wesley Chapel (zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545), see page 50!

Rides, Food & Weather Help 2016 Fall Festival Break Attendance Record

The 12th annual Wesley Chapel Fall Festival added an extra day and a new event planner to give the event a bigger, carnival feel, and the result was a weekend of record crowds Oct. 2830, at the Grove of Wesley Chapel.

Event planners estimate that more than 10,000 attended the three-day event, and that led to some long lines and difficulty finding parking.

But once inside, festival goers were able to take part in Dreamland Amusement rides for the first time, plus more than 100 vendors, 10 different food vendors and trucks, pumpkin painting with Pinot’s Palette and Mini-Scarecrow Creation with the Rotary Club of New Tampa.

The event also featured Trunk & Treat for the kids at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Community members participated by decorating their vehicles, dressing up and passing out treats.

“We probably gave candy away to more than 1,000 kids on Saturday,’’ said Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce CEO Hope Allen, who partnered with event planning company Simply Events for this year’s festival.

Allen said that during a brainstorming session with Simply Events months ago, they decided to add more family activities, and for the first time were able to bring a more carnival-feel to the Fall Festival There was also live entertainment by a handful of bands and performers, and prizes for best costumes.

Overall, Allen said the Fall Festival was a “huge success” and she says she looks forward to the 13th event next year.

“It was the largest Fall Festival ever, with the biggest crowd ever,” Allen said. “It was fantastic!” — John C. Cotey; Photos courtesy of Shaunte Langley.

Also Inside This Issue: News, Business & Sports Updates Parents To Have Their Say About School Rezoning; Trump Is The Choice In Wesley Chapel, Too; Center Ice Getting Closer To Grand Opening; Beach House Breaks Ground, Traffic South Of County Line Rd. To Get Busier, Top Businesses Awarded & More Local Business Features!

Pages 3-34

Neighborhood Magazine

First-Ever Film Fest A Hit At The Grove, Acropolis Adds Brunch To Sunday Mornings, Students Bring Awareness To Dangers Of Drugs; Plus, More Neighborhood Nibbles & Business Bytes!

Pages 35-52

The ‘Wiregrass Wobble’ & WC Rotary’s Turkey Gobble...Oh My! It’s time to dust off your running shoes and consider building up a nice little calorie (and maybe oxygen) deficit that might just let you indulge in an extra piece of pumpkin pie later in the day, as a pair of Thanksgiving Day 5K (3.1-mile) races — both of which will be held on Thursday, November 24 — are right around the corner.

The fourth annual “Wiregrass Wobble” 5K is scheduled for Thanksgiving Day at the Shops at Wiregrass mall, with 5K runners heading out at 7:30 a.m. and the 1-mile Fun/ Run/Walk (which might earn you half an extra piece of pie) will be held at 8:15 a.m.

The event has raised more than $75,000 since the inaugural run in 2013, with proceeds this year supporting the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation, FITNiche Foundation and the Rotary Club of New Tampa’s selected charities.

The Brass Tap will host post-race awards and festivities, 8:15 a.m.-10 a.m. and Pioneer Medical Group is the presenting sponsor.

The pre-registration donation is $30, and can be done online at WiregrassWobbleTur-

keyTrot.com. If you register the day of the race, the suggested donation is $35. The event also will feature the School Team Competition (won by the Wiregrass Ranch High boys and Wharton High girls last year) and a Corporate Team event.

Also on Thanksgiving Day, 11 a.m.2 p.m., the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon (which meets every Wed. for lunch at Quail Hollow Country Club), will host its sixth annual “Turkey Gobble Fest” at two locations on S.R. 54 — Atonement Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel and Keystone Community Church in Lutz.

Members of the club and its Land O’Lakes Satellite Club and their families will again serve a delicious Thanksgiving meal to the homeless and needy in our area.

“They can even take their meal to go,” says club president Dr. Pablo Rivera. “Please feel free to call or email us with an RSVP if you know anyone who needs help to enjoy a great Thanksgiving meal.” For info & reservations, email RotaryTurkeyGobble@ gmail.com or call 586-3328. — JCC & GN

The Wharton girls won the high school team competition at last year’s Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot 5K.

I’m No ‘Pundit,’ But I Was Wrong About This Election, Too! An editorial by Gary Nager In our last issue, I asked the question, “Does anyone still believe ‘La Donald’ was the best choice for the GOP to try to take back the White House?”

Well, Mr. Editor, the answer given by the American public was a resounding, “Heck, yeah!,” as New York billionaire Donald J. Trump is our President-Elect. Deal with it.

Although I took some very-much-expected heat — from both sides, by the way — for it on Facebook, I did as I promised and voted for no one in the Presidential race, even though I cast votes in almost every other race on my ballot on Nov. 8.

And apparently, I wasn’t alone. As chronicled in assistant editor John Cotey’s election recap on page 6 of this issue, Pasco County (which slaughtered the national voter turnout, 72 percent to 57 percent) more than doubled the total number of “undervotes” (or voters who cast ballots but did not cast a vote in the presidential race) from the 2012 Election.

Although I still hadn’t seen any news media run a story about how many people nationwide cast ballots (but not for president) this year, I did find one ABC News story from the controversial 2000 Presidential Election (remember “hanging chads?”) stating that there were more than two million undervotes for president nationwide that year — and I’m betting this year’s election will surpass that total when all of the final stats are released.

The reason I believe that — and the reason so many fewer registered voters, percentage-wise, cast ballots at all this year — and the

Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News Address: 29157 Chapel Park Dr., Suite B Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 Phone: (813) 910-2575 Advertising E-mail: Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com Editorial E-mail: EditorialDept@NTNeighborhoodNews.com Publisher & Editor Gary Nager Advertising Sales & Office Manager Mary Dorey Billing Manager Stephanie Smith Assistant Editor / Photographer John C. Cotey Staff Writer Celeste McLaughlin Correspondents Anu Varma Panchal • Brad Stager • Andy Warrener WCNT-tv Sales & Production Assistant Gavin Olsen Graphic Designers Blake Beatty • Georgia Carmichael Nothing that appears in Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News may be reproduced, whether wholly or in part, without permission.

Opinions expressed by Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News writers are their own and do not reflect the publisher’s opinion.

The deadline for outside editorial submissions and advertisements for Volume 24, Issue 26, of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is Monday, December 5, 2016.

Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News will consider previously non-published outside editorial submissions if they are double spaced, typed and less than 500 words. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News reserves the right to edit and/or reject all outside editorial submissions and makes no guarantees regarding publication dates. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News will not return unsolicited editorial materials.

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reason Trump defeated former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for that matter, is that the campaign was so negative, so draining upon our republic and our people that something had to give.

And give, it did. If anyone still believes in any of the national polls, I have some beachfront property for sale in the Everglades for you. People were so disenchanted with both candidates that it’s hard for me to believe any candidate got any votes at all.

But, considering that most exit polls showed that the biggest single issue that affected how people voted this year was the need for a change, no one should be surprised that Trump won. Whether you love or hate Hillary, there’s no doubt that Americans made it loud and very clear that President Obama’s administration didn’t help enough people enough for them to want to accept four more years of what the outgoing president himself called a “continuation of the progress we’ve made,” which sounds great on the surface, but didn’t instill a whole lot of faith in the millions of Americans who are still struggling.

Sure, you can blame some of the president’s inability to govern on a Republican-led Congress that fought every policy he tried to implement, but voters nationwide said by delivering what really was a landslide (more on this below) victory for Trump that they’re tired of the bickering in our nation’s capital.

That’s why, even though his first-ever elected office of any kind is our Commander in Chief, so many undecided voters seemingly decided to try the new “kid” in town.

I still couldn’t vote for a reality TV star who doesn’t seem to respect women, but the fact is that many more women than expected did vote for him. In fact, the most hard-to-believe statistic I heard was that something above 60 percent of non-college-educated white women voted for Trump. College-educated women voted for Clinton, but by a much slimmer margin.

And, the fact Clinton won the popular vote isn’t really that important. She isn’t the first candidate to earn more individual votes and lose. It’s why the electoral college system was implemented in the first place. In this election, for example, Trump won 30 states, Clinton took 20 and the District of Columbia. But, Trump’s largest margin of victory in any of those states was only the 800,000 votes he won by in Texas. Clinton, on the other hand, won California (2.6 million) and New York (1.5 million) by a combined 4.1 million votes and

she won her top-ten states by nearly 8 million votes, while Trump won by only 5.3-million in his top-ten states. Considering that there were only about 120-million ballots cast nationwide, that’s an awful lot of making up to do in his other 20 victorious states, so it’s no surprise he fell a couple of hundred thousand votes short of catching her in the popular vote.

So, even though he was never “my candidate,” I do understand why Trump won, from both the ideological and numbers standpoints, and with his Republican stronghold in both houses of Congress, it would appear he’ll have an easier time of getting his plans implemented.

I guess time will tell whether or not all of the people protesting his victory will still be protesting when his (first?) four years is over.

He may not have gotten my vote, but he does have my attention.

Congrats, WC Jazz Fest!

Congratulations go out to Tim Hancock of Jazz Tyme Productions, as his third Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival, held Oct. 15 at Avalon Park West, attracted an estimated 5,000 people (photo above).

Look for a recap and more pics at WCNeighborhoodNews.com.

Table of Contents

Local News Updates....................3-17

Parents To Get Say In Rezoning Fight................4 Trump Fares Well In Pasco & Wesley Chapel.........6 Florida Hospital Center Ice Close To Opening........8 Beach House Assisted Living Breaks Ground........10 More Construction On BBD Near County Line Rd...12 New Tampa Mom Shares Her Tragedy, Advice.........13 WC Chamber Gets Special Certification...............14 WC Businesses Honored For Excellence..................15 Making Strides Raises Big Bucks Again..................16 Wesley Chapel Community Calendar..........................18

Local Business Updates.............20-32

Avalon Park West Boasts Small Town Charm.......20 SPOTLIGHT ON: Centra Care Of Wesley Chapel......21 Dr. Jasthi & The Power Of A Winning Smile.........22 Florida Orthopaedic Inst. Celebrates Year 1 In WC..24 The Gift Box Makes Holiday Shopping Fun........26 VIP Pest Control Can Give You A White Xmas......28 Pam Gets Creative With Permanent Makeup.........30

Neighborhood

Magazine

Schneider’s Film Fest Is A Winner...........................35 Exclusive Clientele Salon Adds Trichology..............38 Acropolis Adds Authentic Greek Brunch................42 ‘Neighborhood Nibbles & Business Bytes’.........46 Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Classifieds.........48 John Long Middle Students Say YOLO..................51 @NTWCNews

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Meadow Pointe, Union Park Parents Ready To Fight High School Rezoning

By John C. Cotey

When Tom McClanahan first heard that the community in which he lives — Union Park — was being re-zoned and his two children would be attending Thomas Weightman Middle School and Wesley Chapel High School (WCH) instead of nearby John Long Middle and Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), he was stunned.

Because Union Park is tucked in the southeastern corner of Wesley Chapel, he and other residents never thought re-zoning to help stock the new Cypress Creek High (previously referred to as GGG) — which is located north of S.R. 54 and west of I-75 — would involve them. “That’s why we didn’t get involved,’’ he says.

Until now, that is. On Tuesday, November 29, a large crowd of parents from Union Park and Meadow Pointe III & IV is expected to gather at WCH’s auditorium to voice their concerns.

Since the new school zone — Option 12 — was chosen by the Pasco County School Boundary Committee (SBC) on Oct. 20 for Cypress Creek High and to relieve overcrowding at all the Wesley Chapel middle and high schools (which are all over capacity) parents in the areas expected to be most affected in Meadow Pointe III and IV and Union Park have rallied to decry the new zones.

Option 12 re-zones all students who live in neighborhoods with access to Meadow Pointe Blvd., like Sheringham, Heatherstone, Claridge Place, Nesslewood and Larkenheath.

It also moves more than 300 middle and high school students out of Country Walk and Fox Ridge in Meadow Pointe IV, as well as stu-

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dents all the way east to Union Park.

Groups opposing Option 12 have met numerous times since the proposal was put forth as the SBC choice, developing what they feel are better options. Those options have already been sent to Pasco School Board members and members of the SBC, which is comprised of principals from Wesley Chapel’s schools and parent representatives — including two from Seven Oaks, originally a candidate to be re-zoned.

None of those representatives, however, were from Meadow Pointe or Union Park.

“I would say that personally, I was very surprised and confused by the recommendation,’’ said Kevin Croswell, who is representing Meadow Pointe III. “I was surprised because of our physical proximity to our current schools versus the proposal to send students 8-10 miles away. It also splits up Meadow Pointe III. We’d be the only community split up, which contradicts one of the guidelines of re-zoning, which is maintaining subdivision integrity.”

According to Croswell, 56 percent of students in Meadow Pointe III would remain at their current school, with 44 percent having to attend Weightman and Wesley Chapel.

Both groups represented by Croswell and McClanahan have met, and both say they are proceeding professionally and respectfully.

They have asked their neighbors not to flood Pasco’s School Board with angry calls or emails, and instead would like their proposals to do their talking for them. They think when taking future road construction on S.R. 56 and S.R 54 that will impact travel to Weightman and WCH into consideration, as well as slight modifications of other plans (like Op-

Option 12, pictured above, moves residents in areas numbered 16-23 from the John Long Middle/Wiregrass Ranch High zone & puts them at Weightman Middle and Wesley Chapel High. tions 13 and 20) that could provide greater relief — particularly to Wiregrass Ranch, which is at 168 percent of its capacity — they can get results.

All concerns and feedback raised at the parent meeting will be addressed a few days later, at what could be the final SBC meeting on Friday, December 2, where it will be determined if any changes need to be made.

“It is certainly possible (changes will be made),’’ said Chris Williams, Pasco’s planning director. “The committee usually does a pretty good job and considers things and talks through them and is willing to look at prob-

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lems from a different perspective.”

Folks in Meadow Pointe and Union Park admit, however, that they were caught by surprise and acknowledge that it is late in the game. But, McClanahan says he has his fingers crossed.

“All of us moved here, because of the schools, so it’s a tough pill to swallow,’’ McClanahan says. “Part of me thinks we might just be going through the motions, but Chris Williams, and some committee and Board members (say) they are willing to tweak things if we are able to present a good enough proposal. And, I think we can.”

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How Wesley Chapel Voted For President & Local Races On Nov. 8

By John C. Cotey President-Elect Donald Trump.

For almost exactly half of the country, that was either a sad or terrifying (or both) prospect, but the possibility apparently pleased Pasco County voters enough that the New York real estate developer and realityTV star was a decisive choice county-wide on Nov. 8 — as Trump won Pasco with 58.4 percent of the 244,620 votes cast, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received only 37 percent.

Nationwide in the 2016 General Election, Trump won the Electoral College 290228 with Michigan still counting votes as of our press time, although the former First Lady won the popular vote, with 60,274,974 votes to 59,937,338 for Trump.

Trump’s 141,943-89,998 advantage in votes cast in Pasco, where turnout was at 72.8 percent — compared with just 56.8 percent nationwide, wasn’t a surprise in Republicanleaning Pasco.

In Wesley Chapel’s precincts, however, the margin was much closer than it was countywide: Trump grabbed 49.9 percent of the vote, while Clinton was at 45.2 percent. With 30,324 votes cast, Trump finished with a 1,423-vote edge.

Nowhere in Wesley Chapel was Trump fever stronger than in the Quail Hollow area, where 2,284 votes were cast for the PresidentElect at the polling booths at Quail Hollow Country Club. That was 63 percent of the votes cast, with Clinton receiving 1,179 votes.

The only other polling place in Wesley Chapel where Trump received more than 51.1 percent of the ballots cast was Meadow Point IV, where clubhouse voters gave him a 737-502 advantage, or 56.6 percent to Clinton’s 38.6.

Take away those two precincts and the race between Trump and Clinton was virtually even in zip codes 33543-45.

Clinton, who won the national popular vote by roughly 200,000 ballots, won four of the 11 precincts in Wesley Chapel. She received more votes at Bridgewater Church on Wells Rd. (48-46 percent), Meadow Pointe III (50-45), Northwood Community Center (55-41) and Meadow Pointe II (51-43).

In the four combined precincts in Meadow Pointe, the Wesley Chapel community was split right down the middle, casting 4,347 votes for Clinton and 4,344 for Trump, a difference of only three votes.

Clinton’s vaunted “ground game” did not materialize on Election Day nationwide,

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his own money behind his bid in June to help win the seat, which includes the area in Wesley Chapel north of S.R. 54.

In 2012, Oakley also ran for the District 1 seat, but was defeated in the Rep. primary by Ted Schrader, who elected not to run for the seat again and instead lost in the Republican primary in his bid to become Pasco’s new property appraiser.

This year, Oakley defeated Rachel O’Connor There were voting lines at Lexington Oaks (Precinct 73) on Nov. 8. and Mary Wells in the priPresident-elect Donald Trump received 2,438 of the votes cast at the mary to earn the right to face Delgado, who had no precinct, while Hillary Clinton got 2,106 (44.1 percent) party affiliation. or in Pasco. While she actually led after the Oakley led a Repubearly voting period by 55 votes, ballots cast on lican sweep of the three commission seats that Nov. 8 in Wesley Chapel’s precincts favored were up for grabs.

Trump 6,453 to 4,994.

In District 3, Kathryn Starkey, 58, rolled Many voters, according to various media past Democrat Barry Horvath 62.2-37.8 reports, also may have just been plain dis- percent, or a little more than a 55,000-vote gusted by both candidates — or perhaps an advantage. Starkey’s district runs all the way election season filled with political ads, name- from the west coast of the county to just east calling and scandals — and didn’t bother to of I-75, and includes a small part of Wesley cast a vote for either candidate, despite going Chapel bordered by I-75, S.R. 56, Bruce B. through the trouble of finding a polling sta- Downs Blvd. and County Line Rd. In District tion, standing in line and filling out a ballot.

5, Jack Mariano, 56, ran virtually unopposed, In Pasco, there were 1,388 undervotes, garnering 96 percent of the vote. or ballots cast where the voter elected not to In the U.S. Senate race between Remake a choice for president, more than twice publican Marco Rubio and Democrat Patrick the 616 undervotes in 2012. The number of Murphy, it was the incumbent (and failed undervotes in many other places also was more presidential candidate) winning comfortably than twice what it was in 2012. In Michigan alone, for example, more than 87,000 undervotes were tabulated.

While Clinton couldn’t get more votes from Pasco County residents than Trump received, Ron Oakley did.

Oakley, 71, decisively won the District 1 County Commission seat, which represents much of Wesley Chapel, with a decisive victory over retired U.S. Coast Guard commander and no-party candidate Dimitri Delgado.

After all 112 precincts were counted, Oakley more than doubled Delgado’s vote total with 151,849, or 69.2 percent of the vote. Delgado was the choice on only 66,503 ballots, or 30.3 percent.

Oakley, a Zephyrhills resident who formerly served on the Southwest Florida Water Management District governing board and Sales & Design Consultant whose family is well known in the local citrus and ranching industries, put $150,000 of

overall with 4,822,182 votes, or 52 percent.

Murphy received 44.3 percent, or 4,105,251 votes. In Pasco County, Rubio was the pick of 134,631 voters, or 56.6 percent, while Murphy received 88,520 votes, or 37.2 percent.

Don Peters (below, center) didn’t win his Community Development District (CDD) race, but these folks did: Rick Carroll (Lexington Oaks, Seat 1), Michael Cline (Meadow Pointe II, Seat 1), John Picarelli (Meadow Pointe II, Seat 5), Mimi Kilpatrick (Northwood, Seat 1), Brian Quigley (Northwood, Seat 3), Barbara Cruz (Northwood, Seat 5), Sam Watson (Oak Creek, Seat 4), Charlie Cacioppo (Seven Oaks, Seat 2), Gerald Cruz (Seven Oaks, Seat 4) and John Christensen (Seven Oaks, Seat 5).

For more Wesley Chapel Election results, visit WCNeighborhoodNews.com.

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Florida Hospital Center Ice Inches Closer To Its Opening

By John C. Cotey As the Grand Opening of the $20-million Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI) fast approaches, not a day goes by that Gordie Zimmermann isn’t asked about when that will be.

He is asked in the grocery store, while walking around Wesley Chapel and his phone never seems to stop dinging with text messages and ringing with eager callers.

“Everybody is excited about it,’’ Zimmermann says. “I got hammered all weekend with phone calls, people asking when it will be open and when can they book a birthday party and what are some of the great events coming in. This is such a big community in Wesley Chapel, they can’t wait.”

They won’t have to much longer. Zimmermann says the 150,500-sq.-ft. FCHI, which is located along Cypress Ridge Blvd. on the northeast corner of the I-75/S.R. 56 interchange in Wesley Chapel, is looking at a soft opening in December to test out some final details. He says there are plans for an official Grand Opening in January. A tentative date has been set, but he still can’t reveal it.

A tour through the facility on Nov. 9 revealed that it won’t be long.

One rink is all but finished, framed by completed dasher boards, glass and scoreboards. Once it is cleaned up, the ice will be ready to go in.

A second rink is right behind, as the protective glass was carefully put in recently by workers. A third rink, as well as the main NHL-sized rink, are taking form.

“We’re working as fast as we can to get all the kinks out,’’ says Zimmermann, a developer for Z Mitch, LLC. “Everything has

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to be just right.” As we went to press last week, the electricity was turned on, lighting up the interior.

Zimmermann said the demand for the new facility has already far exceeded what he expected.

“It’s already basically booked into the summer,’’ he says.

“And, we haven’t even gotten to our fall schedule yet.”

Zimmermann says FHCI is about 80-85 percent done.

The seating and kitchen for the Top Shelf Restaurant & Bar, which will overlook Gordie Zimmermann stands on one of the all-but-completed rinks at Florida the rinks below, and Hospital Center Ice, which is expected to “soft open” sometime in December. seating areas for fans camp put on by former Lightning players. are now easy to visualize.

Zimmermann says the Lightning, who Sometime in December, Zimmermann also will hold occasional practices at the facilsays the palatial new complex will be open for ity, will release those details when the plans some public skating, pick-up hockey games are finalized. and skate-and-shoot sessions. Learn to Skate USA classes also will be offered sometime in Better Book Now! December.

Some of the non-sports events already Come January, those in charge of getting booked include the Taste of New Tampa and the facility up and running will be on a power an unnamed (by Zimmermann) 250-person play. Zimmerman says some events are already corporate roundtable discussion. scheduled with the Tampa Bay Lightning, On June 17, Skate For Hope, which will including a street hockey tournament (on feature many of the world’s top figure skaters FHCI’s multi-sports pad) followed by a skills and will benefit cancer research, will be held at

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FHCI. Also in June, there will be a National Roller Hockey Tournament that Zimmermann says will feature 200 teams playing for 10 days on three of the FHCI rinks.

USA Hockey adult leagues for age groups ranging from 40+ to 70+ also are coming, and Zimmermann says Tampa Bay Lightning High School Hockey League games will be played at the rink beginning Jan. 4, with the Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) team he coaches getting the opening night honors, highlighting a doubleheader (and potentially a triple header), along with a to-be-determined opponent and 2-4 other teams.

High school ice hockey players from WRH, Freedom, Wesley Chapel and Wharton (which currently does not have a team but has in the past) high schools will use the rink for practices and games.

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On Jan. 18, Bright House Sports Network (BHSN) will televise a live high school hockey game from FHCI. The eagerly-anticipated facility, which will be the largest skating complex south of New York the day it opens, will feature three NHL-sized hockey rinks and one larger, Olympic-size rink, as well as 17,000-sq.-ft. multi-sports pad that can accommodate a number of other sports, even basketball and volleyball and lacrosse.

In addition to the rinks and restaurant, FHCI will have a sports performance center, fitness room and plenty of room for yoga, pilates and dance classes, as well as corporate outings and parties.

“Everything is going smoothly,’’ Zimmermann says, “and when we open, it’s going to be good.”

The most important aspect of the facility – the 65 miles of refrigerated pipe laid

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in by Toronto’s CIMCO -- has to be tested thoroughly as the big motors that will eventually keep the ice for the various rinks at a cool 22-28 degrees or so are revved up, and the final touches are being carefully addressed.

For more information, visit FloridaHospitalCenterIce.com or see the ad on page 12 of this issue.

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The Beach House Assisted Living Complex Breaks Ground In Wiregrass Ranch

By John C. Cotey “God gave us memories so that we might have roses in December.” — James M. Barrie

As Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel continue to grow, so do the needs of the people living there. With that in mind, ground was officially broken on Nov. 2 for the new Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch assisted living facility, which is located on S.R. 56, a half-mile east of Mansfield Blvd.

After some short speeches, a group of local dignitaries planted their shovels into a ceremonial pile of dirt to officially kick off construction of the 93,000-sq.-ft. Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch facility, the first of its kind in Wesley Chapel.

“We’re very happy to be done (with permitting) and ready to begin construction,’’ said Allan Brown, the head of the Dallas, TX-based Prevarian Companies, which already owns Beach House facilities in Naples and Jacksonville.

Brown gave credit to JD Porter, who was at the groundbreaking, along with his sister Quinn Miller, for their family’s measured development of the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), and the foresight to look down the road.

“Two-plus years ago, when we first looked at this market in Wesley Chapel, and specifically in Wiregrass Ranch, this area looked extraordinarily different,’’ Brown said. “Look at it now. Thanks to the Porter family and the great job they do.”

The Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch will be dedicated to seniors who need as-

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sistance with the activities of daily living, and will also provide specialized memory care services for residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The community is expected to accommodate 100 area seniors with private residences, including 67 alcove onebedroom or two-bedroom plans for assisted living and 33 suites for memory care.

Amenities at the Beach House, which Brown said was named to evoke pleasant memories off summers gone by for older Florida residents, will include a restaurantstyle dining room, a private dining room, activities room, salon and spa, theater and outdoor living areas.

Life Care Services, represented at the groundbreaking by regional operations manager Kim Nadwodny, serves more than 33,000 older adults nationwide and will be the operator of the Beach House.

Pasco County District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who represents the Wiregrass Ranch area, hailed the groundbreaking as a significant step for the area as it matures.

“I’ve said this for years, we need an assisted living facility in Wesley Chapel, and not just any assisted living facility, but one

(L.-r.) Jonathan Till, the legislative assistant for State Representative Danny Burgess; Hope Allen, President/CEO, the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce; Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore; Allan Brown, Principal, Prevarian Senior Living; JD Porter, Developer, Wiregrass Ranch; and Kim Nadwodny, the regional operations manager for Life Care Services, take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Beach House Assisted Living and Memory Care at Wiregrass Ranch senior living community in Wesley Chapel. The community is scheduled to open in late 2017.

like this,’’ Moore said. “As the population grows and Wesley Chapel continues to grow, there’s a huge need for these kinds of facilities. It’s close to home, you can go take your loved one out for the day to the mall.

This is a great location for it.”

Moore said it will be nice for local residents, in many cases, not to have to drive to Tampa to see their elderly loved ones, as the Beach House will be the first living assisted facility in Wesley Chapel.

“It’s amazing what is going on in this community,’’ Brown said. “It’s become a community that is rich in the resource of

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people and services and neighborhoods, and it’s growth done the right way. We look forward to being one of those trusted resources.”

In New Tampa, there are three such facilities — The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve, Memory Lane Cottage in Tampa Palms and Discovery Village, which is located right across the street from Freedom High in Tampa Palms (and less than two miles from both The Legacy and Memory Lane) and is also scheduled open in 2017.

For more information, visit BeachHouseWiregrass.com.

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It’s Hard For Anyone To Cheer About The Start Of BBD ‘Segment D’ Widening

By John C. Cotey Local residents have been waiting more than 20 years for the main thoroughfare through New Tampa to be widened from a four- and six-lane divided roadway to an eight-lane divided roadway to relieve the area’s infamous traffic congestion. And, while it may be premature to say there’s a light at the end of the, well, Boulevard, local residents are a step closer to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) finally being “Bruce B. Done.”

Work on the last of the four segments of BBD widening finally began on Oct. 18, and is expected to conclude by the end of summer 2018. Prince Construction LLC’s finalization of Segment D, a 1.44-mile-long stretch between just south of Pebble Creek Dr. and County Line Rd., should conclude the long and sometimes arduous process of the major project that runs from just north of Bearss Ave. to the Pasco County line.

According to the county’s website, Segment D is a $24-milion project that is funded through the Public Works Transportation Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and was awarded $5 million from the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The segment will include a landscaped median, drainage improvements, pedestrian safety features, sidewalks, a multi-use path and an upgraded traffic signal system.

Segment A, which is still the most congested area of BBD and extends from Bearss Ave. to Palm Springs Blvd. in Tampa Palms (see previous page), is a $54-million project that should be finished around August 2017.

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Segments B and C, which bracket the work that was done around the same time I-75 was widened, were considered the most difficult of the segments geographically, but they were finally completed earlier this year.

The same night that work began on Segment D, the county held a pre-construction meeting in the Paul R. Wharton High auditorium about widening BBD. If you About a dozen local residents showed up at Wharton High on Oct. 18 to think New Tampa is look at the plans to widen BBD from Pebble Creek Dr. to County Line Rd. tired of talking about the three primary driveways in use at Wharthe traffic on BBD, consider this: the county ton during peak times. set up three stands showing the area of con“We told the principal of the high struction, but the meeting was attended by school (Brad Woods) we will do everything only a dozen or residents. we can to coordinate,’’ Vogel said. “We can’t One of the more vocal participants completely eliminate any impacts, but we will wasn’t even a resident, but rather a bus try to limit them, with things like night and driver for Wharton who expressed a number weekend work.” of concerns about the traffic flow in the Others in attendance wondered how morning and afternoon during construction. the road work would affect the already Cheryl Puelo, who lives in Thonotosassa but congested areas in front of both Walmart and has driven a school bus for Wharton almost Wharton, and asked about additional traffic since the school opened, said long lines in lights to help drivers pulling out from busithe morning at the Oak Preserve Blvd. ennesses along BBD. trance are already an issue that construction One piece of good news – the left turn needs to be careful not to exacerbate. lane in front of the Walmart that causes so Hillsborough Public Works Department many issues with drivers suddenly swerving project manager David Vogel said that every right to exit it will finally be corrected. effort will be made so as not to interfere with “The biggest (problem) is the amount

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of traffic in the corridor,’’ Vogel said. “There is drainage and power lines (that need to be repositioned and considered), and the staging and coordination for something like that is always a challenge. Power lines have to be moved. And traffic has to be shifted to get a 66-inch pipeline in there.”

And So It Begins...

As a result, Vogel warns that for the first year or so, travelers won’t see many changes happening in terms of the actual road. He estimates that the first 400 days (of the 685 estimated to complete the project) will be underground work. Travelers will first notice temporary pavement put in as traffic is shifted over to allow crews to dig and position the utilities and power and water lines.

“It’s an urban project, so you have utilities and things like that,’’ Vogel said. “The part people have the hardest time with is the underground work. You’re digging holes, you’re putting in pipe, water and sewer and all that stuff. No one sees any progress.

All they see is they are digging here and, a month later, they are digging here again.”

Vogel said in many ways, the final segment will be the easiest. In Segment A, a bridge and four retention ponds needed to be built. Segments B and C also involved a bridge and working around construction at the busy BBD exits off I-75. By comparison, Segment D has far fewer challenges.

And, while it won’t mean drivers won’t become frustrated as the widening unfolds, Vogel said locals will start to see significant improvements by the end of next summer.

“There’s just a little bit of pain involved until you can get the cure,’’ he said.

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New Tampa Mom Shares The Story Of Her Son’s Tragic Passing ‘If you know something, you have to tell, you have to snitch.

Would you rather have a friend be angry with you or have to live with a decision you made for the rest of your life?’

By Gary Nager Although we never met until about a month ago, Laura Sun Engelberger and I have a lot in common. We’ve both raised our families in New Tampa, we’re both divorced and we both were blessed with two amazing sons.

But, the reason Laura and I met at her home in the New Tampa community of West Meadows a few weeks ago isn’t a happy one.

Laura’s older son, Brandon Sun, tragically passed away a few months ago, five months before his 17th birthday. Laura still doesn’t know exactly what transpired the day he died, but she waited to talk about what happened until after she got back the autopsy and toxicology report ten weeks after he passed (on June 22), which said her son died from an “accidental drowning,” even though she already knew he also took two “tabs” of LSD that night.

“And, unfortunately, I have since learned that this wasn’t the first time Brandon took LSD,” she said. “It’s a nightmare that I never thought I would go through with either of my kids, but certainly not this sweet, wonderful honor student with everything to live for.”

Laura says she knows teenagers can be sullen and moody, especially when the family is going through a divorce, and she admits that Brandon’s personality had started to change when she and her now-ex-husband first separated two years ago. “Brandon definitely seemed angry,” she says, but she added that during the weeks before he passed away, Brandon had seemed more like his old self, “and his grades (he was at Freedom High in Tampa Palms) never suffered.”

Laura admits that, especially when she was raising Brandon and his brother Austin herself during the separation period, “I was and I guess I still am that over-protective mom. I wouldn’t let Brandon have a car unless he had a job, I made him sign a contract to have a cell phone in eighth grade and I thought I always made sure I knew where he was and who he was with.”

She also admits that she had concerns about some of Brandon’s friends, but is quick to say she doesn’t blame the four boys who were with him the night he passed away.

“I’ve told the other boys I forgive them,” Laura says. “Now, I’m just hoping that by telling our story, maybe another family might not have to go through what we have.”

So, What Actually Happened?

Laura told me that Brandon and four of his friends had driven to the rest area located

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SB 278: Preventing Deaths from Drug-related Overdoses

(Known) as the “911 Good Samaritan Act;” (the statute provides) that a person acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing a drug-related overdose may not be charged, prosecuted, or penalized for specified offenses in certain circumstances; providing that a person who experiences a drug-related overdose and needs medical assistance may not be charged, prosecuted, or penalized for specified offenses in certain circumstances; providing that the protections from prosecution for specified offenses are not grounds for suppression of evidence in other prosecutions; amending mitigating circumstances under which a departure from the lowest permissible criminal sentence is reasonably justified to include circumstances in which a defendant was making a good faith effort to obtain or provide medical assistance for an individual experiencing a drug-related overdose, etc.

near the north end (in St. Petersburg) of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that night to drop acid together.

“Five boys left together, supposedly to go to one of the other boys’ houses, on a Monday night, but only four came home,” she told me through tears. “They left the campground without him around 10:30 the next morning and didn’t tell anyone what happened until I started calling and texting his friends looking for him at 3:45.”

The problem, she said, was that the boys all said the same thing — while being interviewed by the police later on Tuesday — that they all took the LSD together that night, but they honestly didn’t know and couldn’t remember if Brandon went walking off by himself or what happened to him at all.

“But, they were so afraid of getting in trouble themselves that they decided to leave and not say anything,” she recalls. “If they would’ve called 9-1-1 as soon as they realized they couldn’t find him, maybe my son would still be alive today. I don’t know. All I know is that his body was literally “caught” by a high school kid near the (North Skyway Fishing) Pier while he was fishing two days later.”

That’s the lesson Laura hopes other parents will tell their teenagers after reading this story.

“There is a ‘Good Samaritan 911’ law here in Florida (see page 39) that would have protected those children from any possible prosecution if they would have called the police,” she said. “But, young people are so afraid of ‘getting in trouble’ that they will do everything they can to avoid talking to the police or

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(Left): Brandon Sun (November 25, 1999-June 22, 2016) and (right) Laura Sun Engelberger. even their parents, especially when they’ve been gry with you or have to live with a decision you made for the rest of your life?” taking drugs.”

Laura adds that parents also should put As Laura spoke, the case reminded me all too much of a similar one about a decade ago, GPS trackers in their kids’ phones and in their when former Wharton High student Sara Ri- cars, “because, based on what I’ve now seen naldi, whose mother used to work for me, died in my son’s phone, none of these kids are goseveral hours after her eyes rolled back in her ing where they say they’re going.”

And, speaking of Brandon’s phone, she head following a night of partying due to an apparently lethal mix of drugs because her friends says that it’s obvious that kids are “doing their research” about the different types of drugs were too afraid to call an ambulance.

Laura says that her son did not jump off — what they can expect if they take them and the Skyway Bridge, as his body showed no signs even where to buy them.

“There’s pictures of not only Brandon, of that kind of trauma. I also was surprised to learn that neither she nor her ex-husband had but other kids — some of whom I don’t even know — taking drugs in pictures on his to identify their son’s body in person.

“Brandon’s body was identified from a phone,” she says. “When I saw the messages photograph, not in person,” she says. “There about buying and selling and taking drugs and was an official autopsy and toxicology report all of these pictures, I literally threw up.”

And, the other thing she wants to stress that we didn’t get until ten weeks later.”

She adds, “Some people have asked me is that Brandon and his friends — some of how I could not have identified him, didn’t I whom go to Wharton, Wiregrass Ranch, Sunneed that closure? The closure is that my son is lake and Steinbrenner — are not what anyone gone. Knowing exactly how he died isn’t going would consider to be “druggies.”

“These are all smart kids who do great in to change that.”

She cautioned, however, that if you’re school, from good families,” she says. “I hope the parent of a teenager, don’t just assume you people who read this story will take it to heart and start finding out what’s really going on know if your child is doing drugs or not.

“Every high school in this area has kids with their children.”

As I was leaving Laura’s home, her friend who are doing drugs and they usually get them from other kids at school,” she says. Jen, who was with her the day she found out “Don’t think you’re not going to be touched Brandon had passed, told me, “Brandon was by this just because you come from a ‘good the one who was supposed to make it big out family.’ We were that good family, but it still of all these kids. Smart, talented and loved. happened to us. Of course, everyone has been No one could believe this happened to him.”

Laura also says she appreciates the amazthrough some sort of tragedy. Mine is no better or worse than anyone else’s. Grief is all the ing outpouring of support she has received from the community — at the candlelight vigsame.”

So, then why is Laura sharing her story il at Freedom a couple of days after Brandon now? “I guess I’m hoping that other par- died, at his memorial service on June 28 (both ents will tell their kids that when faced with of which had as many as 500 people in attenda choice that can change someone’s life, they ance) and in the months since then.

“It makes you feel good, as a mother, to should do the right thing and not be more afraid of getting in trouble,” she says. “If you hear so many people say so many wonderful know something, you have to snitch, you have things about your child,” Laura says. “I just to tell. Would you rather have a friend be an- wish it wasn’t for this reason.”

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WCCC Earns ‘Certified+’ Designation

By John C. Cotey

The Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP) had confirmed what local businesses already know: The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) does a pretty darned good job.

The FACP gave the WCCC a “Certified Plus” Chamber of Commerce designation at it’s annual conference in Orlando Sept. 28-29.

“It was great news,’’ says WCCC CEO Hope Allen. “It’s something we have definitely been shooting for.”

Being Certified Plus means the WCCC scored better than an 86 on its certification program, which took a year to put together.

More than 300 pages long, it includes items like a particular chamber’s strategic planning, procedural information, membership growth and plans for transitioning from operating as a non-profit to a regular, for-profit business.

“The Certified Chamber of Commerce program sets standards within the industry and recognizes chambers that have met those standards while offering guidelines for those to improve their effectiveness,” said Tammy C. Bracewell, the FACP president. “In many ways, it is like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for a chamber of commerce.”

The WCCC was one of only five chambers to receive the Certified Plus Chamber status this year, joining the Melbourne Regional Chamber, the Charlotte

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County Chamber, the Bay County Chamber and the Ocala/Marion County Chamber.

The WCCC was the only one in the group that achieved that honored status with their inaugural application.

There are 250 Hope Allen chambers of commerce in Florida, and only 14 currently have Certified Plus Chamber designation, including the Greater Tampa and Brandon chambers.

The WCCC currently has 545 members, and is having its best year to date.

Since last year, the WCCC has added 72 new members.

Allen and her two-person staff have helped grow the Chamber while also promoting the Wesley Chapel area. The WCCC gives monthly economic updates to its members via an economic development briefing at Pebble Creek Golf Club and also hosts dozens of free ribbon-cutting and networking events and mixers each year, a monthly business breakfast, a “Lunch & Learn” program, and last week, the Chamber hosted a “Get Down to Business Expo & Lunch” at Saddlebrook Resort off S.R. 54, featuring guest speaker and Business Executive Coach Jayne Jenkins.

For more information about the WCCC, visit WesleyChapelChamber. com, call 994-8534, or see the story on the following page.

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TPO & WC Nissan’s Rosario Win Awards Cofini, Brandon Legal, Shred 360 & The Porter Family Also Honored

Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen called it, “the top event of my 15-year Chamber career” and I don’t believe that anyone who attended the WCCC’s “Celebrating Excellence in Business” awards (held, for the first time, at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, and sponsored by the Parks Auto Group) would even try to could argue with her.

Congrats to all of the evening’s award winners (clockwise from top left) — Stacey Nance of the Tampa Premium Outlets, which won Large Business of the Year honors; Business Leader of the Year Jay Rosario of Wesley Chapel Nissan; Small Business of the Year Brandon Legal Group; Volunteer of the Year Jennifer Cofini of the Parks Auto Group, Quinn Miller (left) of the Porter Family, which took home the Chamber’s 2016 Legacy Award (shown with WCCC Board chair Tracy Clouser of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel); and Cam Caudle of Shred 360, which won the first “New Business of the Year.” award. — GN

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Another Amazing Year For The ACS’ ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ Pasco!

Some photos on this page by Emmercyn Schaeffer & Ashley Wilson

Whenever you have the best weather of the year for your outdoor event, you’re bound to be successful. So yes, when the American Cancer Society (ACS) decided to host its annual “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Pasco” walk on October 22, some people who might not have been planning to take a 2-3-mile walk that day at the Shops at Wiregrass mall may have decided to go ahead and take that morning constitutional in the crisp, sub-70-degree sunshine and crowds of happy people wearing pink.

In other words, although the ACS website MakingStridesWalk.org/PascoFL’s “official” online statistics say there were 1,252 registered participants on 138 teams that raised more than $132,000 (not including sponsorship money, which hadn’t been totaled up at our press time) taking a stroll from the mall to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, ACS of the South Nature Coast of Florida (serving Pasco, Hernando & Citrus counties) senior market manager Robyn Liska says the actual number of people on hand that day was closer to 5,000.

Of those 138 teams, the three that raised the most money for the event (although donations are still being accepted that will be added to the totals) were the “Clerks for a Cause” team, whose 32 members raised nearly $19,000; the “KBR Pirates in Pink,” who had the largest team at the event, with 65 members, that raised almost $15,000; and the “Jazzercise

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Bosom Buddies, which had 36 members (some of whom did a performance during the event) who raised nearly $10,000.

The top individual fund raisers at this year’s Strides of Pasco were Jean White of the “KBR Pirates in Pink,” with $5,300; Diane Ricca of the “RMCBP Volunteers” team, who raised nearly $4,200; and Diane Gonyea and Kathy Ritz of the “Walmart’s Ride for a Cause” team, who raised $3,056.50 each.

Just like the fight against breast cancer itself, the numbers for the event may not have been finalized at our press time, but a great time was had by all. For more info about ACS, visit Cancer.org.— GN

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NOVEMBER 2016

Thursday - December 1 - 11:30 AM

RGA Network Weekly Meeting - The RGA Networking Group meets weekly for networking at GrillSmith at the Shops at Wiregrass mall. Networking begins at BayChapel Food Pantry - Free food to help needy families. Open every Saturday 11:30 a.m.; lunch is noon-1 p.m. For more info, visit RGANetwork.net. behind Christian Brothers Automotive on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., at 20300 Trout Thursday - December 1 - 7 PM Creek Dr., New Tampa. For more info, visit BayChapel.org.

Celebrate Recovery - Meeting Thursdays at 7 p.m. at Bridgeway Church (30660 Wells Rd.), the purpose of Celebrate Recovery is to bring freedom from Saturday - November 19 - 6:30 PM dysfunctional, compulsive & addictive behaviors through biblically-based A Jewish Night on Broadway - A musical theater program featuring Broadway principles. Dinner & free childcare available. For more info, call 907-1313. shows written or composed by Jews or with the theme of Jewish Life. Cocktail party, Show, Silent & Live auctions, Dinner and Dancing. Held at Congregation Friday - December 2 - 7:15 AM Kol Ami, 3919 Moran Rd., Tampa. For more info, visit KolAmi.org.

Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise - The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise meets every Friday at 7:15 a.m. at QHCC (6225 Old Pasco Rd.). For info, Monday - November 21 - 7:45 AM call Lynne Morgan at 695-6466.

Professional Business Connections (PBC) - PBC meets Mondays at 7:45 a.m. at The Happy Hangar Cafe (at Tampa North Aero Park, 4241 Birdsong Monday - December 5 - 7:45 AM Blvd., off S.R. 54, Lutz). For more info, call Chris Thurow at 546-6860.

Wesley Chapel Speaks - Wesley Chapel Toastmasters meets the first and third Mondays at 6:30 p.m. with networking at 6 p.m. at the Hyundai Dealership at Monday - November 21 - 8 AM 27000 S.R. 54 (Wesley Chapel Blvd). For info, call Martin at 693-0969.

Experienced Networking Professionals (ENP) - ENP meets Monday mornings at 8 a.m. for breakfast and networking at Quail Hollow Country Club (QHCC, 6225 Tuesday - December 6 - 6 PM Old Pasco Rd.). For information, call Brad Benson at 973-1814.

NAMI Friends and Family: Mental Health Support Group - NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Pasco support group for friends and family of those Monday - November 21 - 7 PM East Pasco Democratic Club - East Pasco Democrats will meet at the American with mental illness. The group meets the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month from House at the Commons, 38130 Pretty Pond Rd. The club is open to all Democrats 7-8:30 p.m. at Atonement Lutheran Church (29617 S.R. 54). Visit NAMIPasco.com. and welcomes new members. For more info, contact Dottie Brisley at 317-402Thursday - December 8 - 6:30 PM 8211 or dottieb@gmail.com or visit EastPascoDems.com.

Wesley Chapel Republican Club - The club meets the second Thur. of each month, 6:30 pm., at Hyundai of Wesley Chapel, 27000 Wesley Chapel Blvd. New Tuesday - November 22 - 6 PM members & guests are welcome to enjoy networking, coffee, and dessert. Call Wesley Chapel Lions Club - The Wesley Chapel Lions Club meets every 4th Peter Cracchiolo at 360-9813.

Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hyundai of Wesley Chapel. For more information about volunteering, community efforts, meetings, helping the vision impaired and more, Friday - December 9 - 2 PM visit the club on Facebook or at WesleyChapelLionsClub.com.

Mental Health Support Group - NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Pasco is a support group for adults in Pasco County living with mental illness or in Wednesday - November 23 - 7:30 AM recovery. The group meets the 2nd & 4th Friday of each month, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Business Networking International (BNI) - BNI, a group of business pros at Atonement Lutheran Church (29617 S.R. 54). For info, visit NAMIPasco.com. dedicated to helping their member businesses grow through qualified referrals, meets every Wed., 7:30 a.m., at the Cory Lake Isles Beach Club Wednesday - December 14 - 7:30 AM clubhouse (10441 Cory Lake Dr.). Call Bill Sullivan at 994-1143.

Wesley Chapel Breakfast Club - The WC Breakfast Club brings business people together to network and present their businesses to the group. The club meets Wednesday - November 23 - Noon the 2nd Wed. of each month at 7:30 a.m. at Cracker Barrel next to The Grove.

Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel - The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel (Noon) meets Wednesdays at noon at Quail Hollow Country Club (QHCC, 6225 Old Visit NTNeighborhoodNews.com to add your upcoming events that are open to the Pasco Rd.). For more information, call 862-8989 or 391-3895. public to our online calendar. Once approved, they appear in the “Events” section on Thursday - November 24 - 7 AM Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon’s 6th annual “Turkey Gobble Fest.” - See our home page. With enough advanced notice (at least 3-4 weeks), events that happen in our readership areas may also appear in print, as space allows. the story on page 1.

Saturday - November 19 - 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Thursday - November 24 - 7:30 AM

Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot 5K & Fun Run - See story on page 1.

Saturday - November 26 - 5 PM

Movies Under the Stars - FREE holiday-themed outdoor movie at Tampa Premium Outlets (2300 Grand Cypress Dr.) every Saturday until Christmas. The first movie is “Elf,” starring Will Ferrell, which will be shown on Nov. 26.

DECEMBER 2016

Thursday - December 1 - 7:30 AM

BNI Networking Meeting - BNI, a networking organization, has a new chapter in Wesley Chapel. Business professionals are invited to attend on Thursdays at Quail Hollow Country Club. Call Vicky McShane to RSVP @ 714-6513.

Thursday - December 1 - 8 AM

Networking For Your Success - The Networking For Your Success group meets Thursdays, 8 a.m., at the Lexington Oaks Golf Club clubhouse (26133 Lexington Oaks Blvd.). All are welcome. For more information, call 994-9944.

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Avalon Park West Continues To Build On Its ‘Small Town Feel’

By Brad Stager Home buyers looking for the convenience and amenities that a mixed-use master-planned community offers may find what they’re looking for at Avalon Park West (APW), located five miles east of I-75 at S.R. 54 and River Glen Blvd. in Wesley Chapel. APW is part of the New River Township Development of Regional Impact (DRI), which is undergoing review for a revision requested by the developer, Avalon Park Group, to distinguish APW from the existing New River community.

If approved by Pasco County, the project’s eventual size of about 1,400 acres and 4,400 single-family homes and multi-family units, means the APW development is large in size, but the streets lined with homes featuring spacious front porches and set-back garages give it a “small town feel.”

The landscaping emphasizes natural features such as ponds and trails, while the amenities center offers a clubhouse, pool and playground. Frequent special events like movie nights provide recreation for residents. For people who just want to relax, yoga classes are available.

With New River Elementary within walking distance, as well as plans for a K-12 charter school, an assisted living facility, and plans for a future downtown area with 680,000 sq. ft. of retail and office space, APW is — according to marketing manager AnaLee Rodriguez — a community where residents, “live, learn, work and play.”

Rodriguez says Avalon Park Group has a clear vision of what the project should be.

“We’re building a small town,” says

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Rodriguez. “You can grow up in this community, go to school, work, start (and raise) a family here and, with the assisted living facility, you can even have older members of the family live nearby.”

The first phase of APW, known as Cypress Village, consists of 317 singlefamily homes. Builders for the first phase are Beazer Homes, Avex Homes, and D.R. Horton, which has already completed its involvement in Cypress Village.

Avex and Beazer are still building and selling homes on lots in 45-foot and 55-foot widths. Some floor plans have flexibility in how they can be configured, ranging from a 1,697 square-foot, single-story home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a twocar garage (listed at $216,990), to a twostory home priced at $289,990 for 2,974 square feet of living space that includes four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and a twocar garage. Homeowners association (HOA) and community development district (CDD) fees combined start at about $2,000 per year, based upon the home you purchase.

Home features vary by builder and model, but examples available include 50-gallon water heaters, high-efficiency HVAC systems, Energy Star-rated appliances, pre-wired security systems, ceramic tile flooring in wet areas and irrigation systems.

For residents like Jefson and Candice Louis, living at APW with their two children means more than having a nice home with a front porch view of the world.

“The community is family oriented with lots of activities,” says Jefson, who cites APW’s annual Fourth of July celebration as

Candice and Jefson Louis enjoy a front porch conversation at their Avalon Park West home.

one of his favorite events. “It’s great sitting on your porch, watching the fireworks.”

Candice expresses appreciation for the neighborly attitudes of residents. “We meet together, take our children to the playground and eat together on Sunday. We have fun here.”

She’s also looking forward to the forthcoming commercial development that will complement the quiet residential area with convenient shops and services. “That’ll be a great addition,” says Candice.

Sidewalks and nature trails make APW a pedestrian-friendly community, which promotes relationships as well as exercise, according to Elisenda Lopez, whose family has lived there for about a year and a half.

“I like to walk in the neighborhood and run into my neighbors and have conversations with them,” Lopez says.

Cassandra Miranda’s family of five

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includes three daughters, whom she says benefit from the activities hosted by the community. “They have so many events for the kids to come out and meet each other.,” says Miranda.

‘Avalon Aglow!’

Many events at APW are not just for its residents, but are open to the general public as well, creating relationships with the greater Wesley Chapel community. In addition to summer’s Fourth of July Celebration, APW hosted last month’s third annual Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival (see pg. 3) and the public is invited to attend “Avalon Aglow” on Saturday, December 10, 5 p.m.-8 p.m., featuring food trucks, a snow slide and fireworks.

Inviting the public into the community demonstrates that while APW is designed to be self-contained, that doesn’t mean

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isolating the community from nonresidents, according to APG senior VP Ross Halle.

“We don’t believe in separating people and things by walls,” Halle says. “We see our community as serving a much larger population than just the people who live there.”

To learn more about the homes and lifestyle offered by Avalon Park West, visit AvalonParkWest.com, see the ad on pg 15 of this issue or call 783-1515.

The new information center, which should be open in December, will be located at 33613 S.R. 54. To attend a public event, Tree-lined streets and front porches characterize homes at go to the clubhouse area at Avalon Park West in Wesley Chapel.

5227 Autumn Ridge. Dr.

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SPOTLIGHT ON...Centra Care Of Wesley ChapMuch like Vitamin C and an apple a day, an hour in Dr. Nkem Uzo’s office — with her warm smile, sympathetic demeanor and brisk efficiency — might just be your prescription for good health.

Dr. Uzo (photo) is the physician at the new Centra Care of Wesley Chapel, which has served New Tampa and Wesley Chapel patients since opening at the corner of Bruce B Downs (BBD) Blvd. and County Line Rd. (in front of the SuperTarget) in January of this year.

Centra Care is the urgent care wing of Florida Hospitals (owned by the Adventist Health System and operating 22 Florida campuses, including Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and Florida Hospital Tampa on Fletcher Ave.) and, after creating a firm foothold in Central Florida, has begun building a presence in Tampa Bay. The clinic in Wesley Chapel follows others in Brandon, Carrollwood and South Tampa, and Dr. Uzo says that’s just the beginning of Centra Care’s expansion on the west coast.

Urgent care clinics “bridge the gap between patients who don’t need to see their primary care doctor, but don’t need to be in the ER either,” explains Dr. Uzo. If you have a fever and a cough, for example, and suspect you have the flu but either can’t get an appointment with your primary care doctor office or if it’s after normal office hours, then an urgent

care center may be the perfect place to go.

Dr. Uzo was born in Nigeria, and grew up in Lagos, where she developed a fascination with medicine at an early age. She says she used to hang out in her family physician’s office and observed him with patients.

Emergency medicine turned out to be a wonderful fit for Dr. Uzo. “I relish the fact that when a patient is really sick, we are able to provide immediate care and [let the] patient feel better. We are able to stabilize critically ill patients. You never know what kind of patient is going to walk through the door. And, the next best thing to emergency care is urgent care. When a patient leaves here, they’re going to leave feeling fulfilled and so much better.”

Centra Care of Wesley Chapel is located at 1127 BBD Blvd. Call 9732889 for more information, see the ad on pg. 8 or visit CentraCare.org.

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Family & Cosmetic Dentistry Gives You The Power Of A Winning Smile

By Brad Stager The logo for Family & Cosmetic Dentistry has these words: “A smile is the same in any language.” It is a statement that expresses a basic truth of daily living and guides the work of the professionals who work at this family-friendly dental office.

Before she chose dentistry as her career, Dr. Neeraja Jasthi, DMD, says she considered becoming a physician. But, learning first-hand how the power of a smile can change one’s life set her on the road to Tufts School of Dental Medicine in Boston, where she earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree in 1996. The road after dental school ultimately brought her to open Family & Cosmetic Dentistry on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., located just south of County Line Rd. (in the same plaza as Amscot) in New Tampa, where she has been practicing dentistry for the past 10 years.

Dr. Jasthi says it was her own experience with orthodontics, while wearing dental braces that helped move her teeth into proper and visually appealing alignment, that enlightened her to the importance of helping people with one of their most basic physical attributes — their smile.

“I had an orthodontist who inspired me,” Dr. Jasthi says. “I saw how it changed my teeth and how a smile is so important. It shows your character and you can boost others and show compassion with a smile.”

Relieving people’s pain and improving patient health are other reasons Dr. Jasthi cites for pursuing her career as a dentist. She is a member of the American Dental Association (ADA), Florida Dental Association

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(FDA), the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD).

By investing in training and technology, Dr. Jasthi and her team are able to provide numerous services, ranging from procedures that maintain oral health or repair dental damage to cosmetic treatments that can brighten and enhance a smile.

Some of the available Family & Cosmetic Dentistry on BBD is about more than just the talents of family dentists (both in white) Dr. services include basic Neeraja Jasthi (left) and Dr. Sandra Pojtek. The office’s friendly, professional staff speaks seven languages. dental cleanings and completed a one-year residency at East Caroli- which, according to its manufacturer, provides exams, fillings, crowns, root canals, bridges, more detailed images than analog X-rays, imveneers, whitening, Invisalign braces, dentures na University’s School of Dental Medicine in Greenville, NC. Just as Dr. Jasthi found a proving diagnoses and treatment. The office and extractions. sense of direction from an established dental also offers CEREC restoration technology Working with Dr. Jasthi to deliver which facilitates the creation of crowns, inlays, high-quality care is her team of about a dozen practitioner, so has Dr. Pojtek. onlays and veneers, often in one visit.

“I would consider her (Dr. Jasthi) a dental technicians, assistants and hygienists, as But, even with advanced technology to well as Dr. Sandra Pojtek, DMD, who recent- mentor figure,” says Dr. Pojtek. “We have improve treatment options and outcomes, similar values. The philosophy here is about ly joined the practice.

Dr. Jasthi is a firm believer that each of her putting the patient’s needs first and the quali“My team has to reflect my values in patients actually provides the first-line of their ty of work, offering the best dentistry.” providing the best care possible and being own dental (and overall health) defenses when The hiring of Dr. Pojtek means patients sensitive to patient needs,” Dr. Jasthi says. they develop good habits like proper brushing The growth of Family & Cosmetic Den- can now schedule treatment or a consultation and flossing, as well as becoming informed at Family & Cosmetic Dentistry Monday-Fritistry’s patient population created a need for about how proper dental hygiene contributes an additional dentist and resulted in the hiring day, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Some of the advanced technology used to their overall well being. of Dr. Pojtek, who is a 2014 graduate of the at Family & Cosmetic Dentistry are the i-CAT “I’m also concerned about (my University of Montreal’s Faculty of Dental Cone Beam 3D Dental Imaging machine Medicine in Montreal, Canada. She also patients’) physical health,” she says. “We ed-

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ucate our patients about oral and gum health and how it will impact their general health.”

Multiple Payment Options

Paying for dental work is always a consideration in choosing where to get treatment.

Family & Cosmetic Dentistry accepts most dental insurance plans, major credit cards and Care Credit Financing. Another option is an in-office dental savings plan for patients can enroll in. These plans carry enrollment fees of $99 for adults and $69 for children 13 years and younger, but enrollees receive one cleaning and exam at no charge each year and a 15-percent discount on many procedures, such as fillings, perio scaling, crowns and veneers. Check with Family and Cosmetic Dentistry for complete details, including restrictions. Patients also accrue financial credits to their accounts through a new patient referral program. And of course, first-time patients can schedule a free consultation appointment.

Sharing the talents and skills that she and members of her team possess with people whose needs exceed their ability to access dental care is one of the values Dr. Jasthi upholds. Her practice participates in scheduled dental camps at the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, providing basic dental care to patients without charge. “I try to help people as much as I can,” she says.

Building successful dental practice one smile at a time has paid off in terms of positive online reviews at sites like Zocdoc.com and Healthgrades.com as well as patients like Rana Hayes of Wesley Chapel, who are happy to share their experiences at Family & Cosmetic Dentistry.

“Dr. Jasthi is a perfectionist,” says Hayes, who lives in Bridgewater. “She pays strict attention to detail.”

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Hayes has been a patient of Dr. Jasthi’s for more than 10 years and also commended the staff at Family & Cosmetic Dentistry.

“They’re extremely courteous and professional,” Hayes says. “You’re treated like you want to be treated.” She adds that she found the staff to be helpful and accommodating, even when her appointments sometimes needed to be changed.

Another patient, Denis Cole, an Englishman who lives outside of London, includes stops at Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in his travel plans. Cole resides in the Wesley Chapel area from October to April each year and now starts and ends his annual visits with dental cleanings and checkups at the office after undergoing extensive treatment from Dr. Jasthi four years ago.

“She’s very good and has a good staff there,” the self-described “rainbird” says.

“They did the work very efficiently and at a good price. You won’t get that kind of work with National Health in England.”

Treating international visitors and residents of the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas is facilitated by the ability of the staff at Family & Cosmetic Dentistry to communicate in several languages besides English.

Other languages spoken at the practice are: Telugu (a native language in India), Spanish, French, Russian, Slovak and Lithuanian.

Family & Cosmetic Dentistry (20441 BBD) treats patients age 4 and older.

For more info, visit DrJasthi.com, call 866-9913 or see the ad on pg. 31. There is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week answering service available if the office is closed when you call. Or, use the office’s online contact page at DrJasthi.com/contact-us to ask questions or to request an appointment.

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Florida Orthopaedic Institute Celebrates One Year In Wesley Chapel!

With 26 years of experience treating patients throughout the Tampa Bay area, the doctors and staff at Florida Orthopaedic Institute are excited about the one-year anniversary of their newest office, located in the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., directly across from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC).

The Wesley Chapel office is helping Florida Orthopaedic Institute meet the increasing demand for specialized orthopaedic care that can help residents of Pasco County and nearby communities stay active.

The Board-certified doctors and surgeons at Florida Orthopaedic Institute have been recognized globally for their expertise. Headquartered in North Tampa, the Wesley Chapel office is the tenth for the practice, which now serves patients in or near Bloomingdale, Brandon, Citrus Park, Northdale, Oak Hill/Brooksville, Palm Harbor, South Tampa, Sun City Center, Temple Terrace and Wesley Chapel/New Tampa.

The Wesley Chapel office offers physician services, physical therapy and X-rays.

Additionally, three Board-certified physicians are on staff: • Christopher Baker, M.D., a fellowship-trained specialist in sports medicine and shoulder reconstruction; • Brian Palumbo, M.D., who specializes in hip and knee replacement surgery, with a focus on diagnosing and treating hip and knee arthritis, and • Timothy Epting, D.O., who focuses on injuries and disorders of the foot and

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ankle and general orthopaedic conditions.

In order to maintain the highest level of orthopaedic skill, Florida Orthopaedic Institute only employs doctors who have fellowship training.

“This additional training is just part of what sets us apart,” says Dr. Baker, “especially when the sophisticated work of joints is involved. In order to keep our patients Florida Orthopaedic active, the precision of the treatment is Institute’s Wesley Chapel paramount to success.” office combines the Dr. Baker has been with Florida Ortalents of Dr. Christothopaedic Institute for three years and has pher Baker (above), Dr. practiced in the area for six. He graduated Brian Palumbo (right) cum laude with his M.D. degree from the and Dr. Timothy Epting (next page).

University of Florida in Gainesville and completed his residency in Orthopaedic are afraid they will need surgery or because Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh of the misconception that pain is a normal Medical Center. His fellowship at the Stead- part of aging, but Dr. Baker always informs man Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas (in his patients about all available alternatives.

Spartanburg, SC) gave him an extra year “There are a lot of options other than of study in sports medicine and shoulsurgery, like physical therapy or cortisone der reconstruction, making him the only injections,’’ he says. “Our mission is to do fellowship-trained shoulder specialist in what is best for the individual patient.” eastern Pasco County.

Even when surgery is necessary, Dr. He also has been very influential in Baker says he does not go straight to invahigh school athletics, since he assisted in sive surgical techniques. He uses the latest opening the sports medicine programs at technologies and says that many repairs Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills high schools. are done with an arthroscope to minimize Dr. Baker also treats professional athletes incisions, pain and recovery time. The other and has served as the orthopaedic & sports doctors at Florida Orthopaedic Institute, medicine physician for the Tampa Bay like Dr. Palumbo, also believe that minimizStorm Arena Football League team. ing surgical trauma and muscle damage In addition to caring for athletes, he should be a high priority for any surgeon. also treats patients who have shoulder pain Speaking of Dr. Palumbo, he served in stemming from aging or injury. Many pathe Special Operations Command for the tients avoid shoulder treatment because they U.S. Air Force. He later earned his M.D.

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degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he also served as a resident in USF’s Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. After that, he attended Harvard Medical School’s Hip & Knee reconstruction surgical fellowship for one year at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. Dr. Palumbo specializes in hip and knee arthritis management, joint replacement surgery and the treatment of failed or painful hip and knee joint replacements. He is Board-certified by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a member of the American Association of Hip & Knee Surgeons, and serves as an assistant professor for the University of South Florida’s Orthopaedic Residency Program.

There are several unique aspects to Dr. Palumbo’s orthopaedic practice. He is a proponent of the direct anterior approach (DAA)

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or frontal approach for hip replacements. He says this technique minimizes surgical trauma and allows for faster recovery and decreased pain. He explains that, “Rather than cutting through or damaging muscles, (with the DAA approach) you’re simply spreading certain muscles to the side, using their natural tissue planes. It’s like opening a window versus breaking through it.”

His approach to joint replacement surgery also includes a technique for total knee replacements called Kinematic Knee Alignment. This technique is unique in that the goal of the surgery is to restore the natural position and dynamics of the knee joint, rather than implanting it in an alignment that the surgeon believes is correct.

“Conventional total knee arthroplasty implants the knee where the surgeon thinks it belongs, while kinematic alignment attempts to implant the knee replacement in a way that attempts to replicate (that) knee before he or she had arthritis,” he states.

Dr. Palumbo also is an advocate for partial (rather than total) knee replacements whenever possible. He feels that sparing hip and knee joint muscles and preserving bone (when possible) can lead to improved and faster recovery and long-term outcomes.

He also firmly believes in the importance of fellowship-trained, specialized surgeons. “The added training and expertise this provides allows us to care for complex failed and painful joint replacement issues,” he says. “Approximately 30 percent of joint replacements I perform are re-do replacements for old or failed joint replacements.”

Educating patients is a core philosophy at the Florida Orthopaedic Institute, whose surgeons encourage patients to seek out

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options to ensure that they are getting a doctor who is experienced in treating their particular type of injury.

Dr. Epting (below) is a foot and ankle specialist who is Board-certified in orthopaedic surgery, with fellowship training from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Prior to joining the Florida Orthopaedic Institute team, Dr. Epting served three years as an attending orthopaedic surgeon at the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. He also served as an orthopaedic surgeon in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2010. “My military experience and fellowship training allow me to explore all options for my patients so they can receive the best possible care,” he says.

Dr. Epting treat sports injuries (fractures, ligament and tendon injuries) of the ankle and foot, as well as arthritis (fusions and ankle replacements) and foot and ankle deformities. He utilizes non-surgical measures (bracing and physical therapy) as well as surgical repair, arthroscopy, and reconstruction when appropriate.

For more info, stop in at Florida Orthopaedic Institute’s Wesley Chapel office at 2653 BBD, visit FloridaOrtho. com or see pg. 5. The Wesley Chapel location is open Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Call (800) FL-ORTHO for appointments. — Submitted to & edited by Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News.

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The Gift Box Boutique Is Ready For The Holiday Season...Are You?

By John C. Cotey The Gift Box Boutique isn’t anything like your typical big box “department” or mall store.

It’s quaint and warm, with a variety of items that belies its just-the-right-size corner location in The Shoppes at The Pointe plaza in Tampa Palms, between Ciccio’s Cali and Stonewood Grill & Tavern.

But, what owner Jennifer Colón says really sets her shop apart is the customer service.

You won’t want to hustle in and out, and you are invited to stay as long as you need to in order to find the perfect gift items.

“We have spent the last 2-½ years listening Jennifer Colón to customers every day tell us what they like, what they would like to see more of and what they just can’t live without,” Jennifer says. “We always strive to take our customer service to the next level, know our customers on a first-name basis and provide a pleasurable shopping experience.”

It must be working. Jennifer says she has dozens of regular customers who stop in every few weeks to see what is new, and there’s always something. Colón makes sure the store brings in new items frequently, especially around this time of year, as the holiday season cranks up with Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations, trinkets and

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clothing for just about everyone.

“These days, it’s every day we get a delivery,’’ Jennifer says. “It’s rapid fire in here right now.”

The store continues to be continually updated — from adding the personal touch of monogramming on everything from Corkcicles, cups, compacts, keychains, notepads and holiday ornaments to embroidery on totes, hats and scarves. You name it, and Jennifer and her crew will monogram or embroider it.

The shop is always adding new Save yourself the hassle of finding a parking spot items and brands. This year alone, at the mall and check out The Gift Box Boutique The Gift Box has added Spartina, in Tampa Palms, where owner Jennifer Colón Simply Southern, Kate Spade, Lokai, Pura Vida, Judith March and endless (left) promises that there is something for everyone. new options in ladies apparel. apparel and accessories, and gifts for kids, Some of the more well-known and babies and a wide variety of special occapopular brands the store carries are Veronica sions can be found at The Gift Box. M., the slim-fit NYDJ (Not Your Daughters This time of year, the store can be an Jeans), and Lysse Leggings, to name a few. especially nice shopping experience if you “I think we offer the uniqueness of are afraid of fighting the mall traffic or just the items that we carry,’’ Jennifer says. want something less stressful.

“We don’t offer a ton of any one item.

“So, why not do your holiday gift shopThat makes it a more special, personalized ping at The Gift Box?,” Colón says. “Not customer experience. In women’s apparel, only will you find something unique, but we only buy about six of any one item. we’ll also wrap it so it is ready to give. That’ll So, you’re not going to see yourself, your be one less thing you have to worry about!” outfit, walking down the street.”

Colón and her Santa’s helpers have recently stocked the store with a ton of new Your Holiday Headquarters Christmas goodies, from candles to reindeer Colón is looking forward to her third with candy cane antlers to display to stylish holiday season in New Tampa. She says holiday clothing. that virtually any gift you are looking for, “We have so many options for your from home décor items, on-trend women’s Thanksgiving and Christmas needs, and

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many great hostess gifts for everyone, whether it’s Christmas-related or a general gift,” she says. And, don’t forget about the sweet little ones, she adds, as the shop is currently stocked with adorable little outfits and fun gift items for them as well.

“We also have a lot of serving dishes and platters and outdoor home décor items for your front porch,” Jennifer says, as well as many other whimsical gift ideas. The Gift Box even has tea kettles, Christmas picture frames and high-quality Stonewall Kitchen food and snack items.

Go Team!

The Gift Box also currently carries a “ton” of collegiate items, because after all, the holidays have to share their season with

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America’s most popular sport. So, whether you’re stopping by for a new outfit or to accessorize your personal look, why not grab something for the sports fan at home, too?

While maybe not football-related, you can find plenty of University of Florida, Florida State and University of Georgia (yes, Jennifer says, the Bulldogs are a big seller in the New Tampa area)-adorned items like ornaments, cosmetic bags, cutting boards and drink coozies. The same goes for other Florida-themed items that are unrelated to the colleges.

Jennifer credits her many regular customers for their loyalty and honesty as the business was getting started a few years ago, and she and her team — a group she calls “amazing” — has used that feedback to improve the boutique every year.

The Gift Box also continues to support local Tampa businesses, such as Toffee to Go, which has been endorsed by the “Media Maven” for selling her favorite toffee; Seventh Avenue Apothecary Candles, with candles that are made with 100-percent soy wax; Tipsy Candle Company, which makes

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candles in re-purposed wine bottles; and items from the Columbia Restaurant, one of Tampa’s most famous eateries.

The Gift Box is located at 17032 Palm Pointe Dr. For the rest of November, the boutique will be open Mon.Sat., 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and noon-5 p.m. on Sun. And, in December, there will be extended hours — until 8 p.m., Mon.Sat., and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sun. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ The Gift Box Boutique, see the ad on pg.

15 of this issue or call 284-5986.

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Dreaming Of A White Christmas? VIP Pest Control Can Blanket Your Lawn In ‘Snow!’

By Celeste McLaughlin On Thanksgiving night, when Meadow Pointe resident Vicki Hutto has her yard set up for Christmas and flips the switch to light the decorations for the first time this season, not only will her lawn be ornamented with reindeer and snowmen, but also with a white sparkle that is reminiscent of northern winters. She’ll have a dusting of “snow” on her lawn, thanks to a service now being offered by her company, VIP Pest Control.

Hutto is both the owner and operator of VIP Pest Control, which is celebrating its tenth year in business in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and surrounding areas in Pasco and Hillsborough counties. While the company’s specialty is keeping homes, businesses and lawns free from nuisance animals and insects (including termites, mosquitoes, ants, roaches, bed bugs and more), Hutto has developed a creative way to help those who have been dreaming of a white Christmas experience it here in Florida.

The VIP Pest Control lawn care technicians will actually paint your lawn white (photo on next page), providing the perfect backdrop for seasonal decorations. “We even figured out a way to make it sparkle, if you want,” says Hutto.

Hutto recalls an elderly customer who wanted snow in her yard, like she had up north, “and she sang Christmas songs from her wheelchair while she watched her lawn being painted,” she says. Hutto tells of another customer who wanted to propose marriage with a white Christmas backdrop.

Now, Hutto is offering a way to make that happen, too.

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“We use an organic paint that is kid- and pet-friendly,” she explains. “Dogs can play on it and kids can sit on it for pictures.”

How does it work? “We spray the lawn three times, so that all sides of each blade of grass are completely covered. It won’t rub off, wash off, or wear off, but it is removed after about three grass clippings.” She says that since grass is dormant in the winter, VIP Pest Control owner Vicki Hutto (with her pomeranians Chloe, left, and that usually takes Bailey) can promise you a White Christmas (photo on next page) this year. about three trol works to keep lawns pest-free, which months. helps them stay green and healthy. In the Especially for northerners who may winter, when grass is dormant, you may have miss the white beauty of winter, but not brown patches that take time to correct. VIP the cold, Vicky says, “Here’s your white Pest Control offers a service to paint your Christmas.” lawn green until the brown patches grow For videos that show the treatment back healthy. If your homeowners associabeing applied, and the results of one tion requires you to have a green lawn, call home’s snow application, visit VIPPestVIP Pest Control to learn about painting it ControlLLC.com/snow. green for the winter.

Like all of VIP Pest Control’s treatGreen Lawns, Too! ments, the green lawn treatment also is Year-’round, the team at VIP Pest Con- environmentally friendly and can be used on

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lawns where both pets and kids play.

In Your Home...

This is the time of year when VIP Pest Control gets many calls about roaches and rodents, especially as people get boxes out of their attics with holiday decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“If you see signs of rodents (such as droppings or noises), call us right away,” says Vicki. “Rodents can be dangerous, because they can chew through wires and actually set your whole house on fire.”

Hutto says people often see roaches, especially palmetto bugs, which like to live in cardboard, and German roaches, which can be transported into your home as eggs on boxes delivered by shipping companies.

“German roaches are the ones that will make you sick,” she says. “They’re much smaller than the big palmetto bugs, but they carry diseases.”

And, while termites don’t typically swarm in winter, Hutto says that all Floridians need to be aware that both drywood and subterranean termites can cause damage to your home year-’round. With the drywood termites, sometimes people get a “false swarm.” When you turn on your heat, termites may think it’s swarm season and fly out of the walls of your home to mate.

There’s nothing “false” about what they do to your home behind those walls, though.

“When that swarm is gone and you no longer see them, you still have termites,” Hutto explains. “They eat the wood of your home 24 hours a day, and there’s nothing you can do to get rid of them yourself. You

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really have to call a professional.”

When a VIP Pest Control technician comes out to your home to inspect for termites, they’ll help you determine what conditions in and around your house might lead to termites. For example, termites have easy access to your home when you have mulch up against your house, tree branches or plants that touch your house, or woodto-wood contact. Hutto says you can help keep termites away from your home by reducing these “conducive conditions.”

When Hutto established VIP in 2006, she says it was her goal to provide a higher level of customer service than other local companies. She says she chose to name her business “VIP” to indicate that to her, customers are, “Very Important People.”

That’s why, for example, you’ll always talk with a live person when you call VIP’s office. “We give our customers personal attention,” explains Hutto. “No two people

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are alike, and no two houses are alike.”

Same-day service is often available, especially if you have a serious issue that needs immediate attention. “If you call us in the morning,” says Hutto, “we can usually work you in that day.”

One of the company’s VIP customers is April Saland, who called Hutto when she discovered flying insects in her home.

“VIP came right out and told me I had subterranean termites,” says Saland. “It was a horrible issue, but Vicky held my hand and walked me through the process. She was awesome, and made us comfortable knowing she could save our home.”

VIP Pest Control is located at 119 Flagship Dr., in Lutz. It is open Mon.Fri., 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. For info, see the ads on pages 38 & 49 or visit VIPPestControlLLC.com or call 234-8888.

Also, check out VIP Pest Control on Episode 1 of WCNT-tv on YouTube.

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Creative Permanent Makeup By Pam Adds Salon Services & Suites!

By John C. Cotey

Pam Edmonson says she loves coming to work every day. With each new customer, she finds the same joy and enthusiasm in perfecting her craft as a permanent makeup artist as, say, a young child grabbing a piece of paper and a fresh box of crayons.

She proudly scrolls through her phone, showing you the best of her previous work, turning barely visible eyebrows into the perfect complements for your eyes.

“I really do love what I do,’’ she says.

“I’m passionate about this.”

While Pam’s passion is still eyebrows, she now offers a number of other services at her new location, off S.R. 54 in Suite 101 of the Brookfield Professional Park, west of Eiland Blvd., where Home Depot is located.

Her Serenity Salon & Spa Suites also currently has three massage therapists, four hair stylists and two licensed aestheticians, as well as Edmonson’s Creative Permanent Makeup by Pam. Pam has enough room in her new location to also offer space for rent for others who offer any number of salon services.

In the back corner of the suite, though, is where you’ll find Pam, in a meticulously clean room, ready to hopefully change yet another person’s life.

Raised in Tampa and currently living in Lake Bernadette in Zephyrhills, Pam has been a licensed cosmetologist in Florida since 2009. Formerly in the manufactured home business, she decided to make a career turn and studied to be a hair stylist. But, her

Pam Edmonson of Creative Permanent Makeup By Pam will find the way to give you your best possible eyebrows (next pg.) permanently.

eye quickly turned to permanent makeup.

In 2010, she studied permanent makeup at the Boca Ta-2 School for Permanent Makeup in Williston, FL, then began providing permanent makeup services in Zephyrhills in 2011, particularly for eyebrows. “Eyebrows completely frame the face,” Pam says. “They are so important.”

The Art Of Eyebrows

Having a set of eyebrows done by Pam takes about an hour and starts at $350, which includes a free touch-up after the first four weeks, to help deepen the color and make them more permanent. Once

completed, clients sometimes don’t need to come back for a year or two, although everyone’s skin is different.

Pam encourages clients to set up an appointment for a free consultation.

And don’t worry, she says, she’ll be straight with you. Pam says she isn’t going to take on a client who wants her to do something she can’t, or something Pam doesn’t think should be done.

But, she says she is all about keeping her clients happy.

Recently, a 90-year-old woman visiting from Tallahassee made an appointment to see Pam. When she was finished, Pam says the woman left looking 20 years younger.

“I’m so passionate about what I do because of how people feel afterwards,’’ Pam says, adding, “I get so excited doing eyebrows, I sometimes forget to get their money when they leave.”

Pam treats clients of all ages, and eyebrows of all sorts, from those that need to be reconstructed to some — on blondeand red-haired people in particular — that tend to fade from view. Young clients come in for the convenience of not having to draw in their own eyebrows, while older ones come in to fill in plucked-over patches or the highlight brows that have faded with age and exposure to the sun.

In May 2014, she attended a class called “Browmasters,” when a newer process called microblading was just beginning to take off. With microblading, Pam uses a small blade and ink to create each individual hair. Pam’s penchant for detail serves her

well, as her steady hands help draw on an eyebrow which she then microblades, with each stroke adding a more natural look to the eyebrow.

“Microblading is a big thing right now,’’ says Pam, who is licensed through the Florida Department of Health for permanent makeup, which is under tattooing.

But, she says not all microbladers are created equal. Pam has run into a number of clients hoping she could repair a previous job done somewhere else that did not turn out well. She adds that sometimes she can’t help them, due to the amount of scar tissue.

Mostly, though, Pam finds a way. Her knowledge of color theory, or the way colors work together, and knowing how to apply the right amount in the right places comes in handy.

“You have to get the ink in that sweet part of the skin or it’s just not going to stay,’’ she says. “It’s just not.”

No set of eyebrows are exactly alike, which is another reason Pam freely admits that they are her favorite — despite the other services she offers — because it allows her the most creativity. “I have to remind myself that (eyebrows) are sisters, not twins,’’ Pam says. “You can’t (always) make two exactly alike, but I try my darndest.”

Pam also says that some people come to her for permanent eyeliner and although she does both, she often advocates for brows instead, because she believes eyebrows will have a greater impact on the way a person looks.

Before the permanent makeup applica-

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tion begins, Pam says she draws the shape with a pencil to be sure that the customer gets the shape they want and the right eyebrow color for their skin. If a customer has enough hair to see a pattern, she tries to follow that pattern so that it looks natural.

High Praise...

Pam is proud that she gets a lot of word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers, such as her recent clients, Lydia and Linda.

Lydia is a Pebble Creek resident who saw Pam’s ad in the Neighborhood News and decided to take advantage of the free consultation offer.

“I had been thinking about having my eyebrows done, so when I saw her ad, I called her,” Lydia says. “I am very happy with the results. It was not painful or even uncomfortable, and I am completely satis-

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fied. It looks very natural.”

Linda, also a New Tampa resident, says, “I had wanted to get my eyebrows done for a long time,” but she couldn’t find someone who specialized in it. Then, she says she saw the ad for Pam’s services and went to her website to learn more. “She had a lot of pictures, and I got really excited,” Linda says. “I called her and went in for the free consultation, and she verified that I was a good candidate for the procedure. She answered all of my questions and explained exactly what was going to happen.”

Linda adds, “When it was time for the actual procedure, she took a lot of time leading up to it to prepare, especially in choosing the color. She was in no rush and took a lot of care (with me).”

Linda also says that once Pam started the actual procedure, it actually was very quick and painless. “It felt like she was ap-

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plying makeup, and I would even say it was relaxing,” Linda explains. “It wasn’t at all like getting a tattoo. I have one of those — and that was painful!”

Linda says that Pam met all of her expectations, and that not only is Pam personable, but she also is extremely detailoriented, talented and aware of exactly what Linda wanted from the first consultation.

“The before-and-after is a dramatic change,” Linda says. “It’s nice to be able to go outside without a full face of makeup and still feel comfortable. And, the microblade technique really looks like hair and not just a drawn line.”

it’s more effective on thinning hair — but women tend to respond well to it.

She also offers microneedling, which improves the skin by producing a slight injury to the face with a tiny needle. The body naturally grows new collagen at the “injury” site, which plumps the skin in the treated area and produces cell turnover, reducing scarring, fine lines and wrinkles on the face.

“I love how people feel because of what I do (for them),” says Pam. “I’m excited to hear their stories and hear how happy they are. I’m very passionate about what I do.”

Pam Edmonson is available for free consultations and procedures by appointment. For more info, visit CreativePermanentMakeupByPam.com, call 9976302 or see the ad on page 35.

Other Services

Pam also offers scalp therapy, a treatment for women who have thinning hair.

She says that the scalp therapy doesn’t seem to work well on male pattern baldness —

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‘That’s A Wrap’ — Schneider’s 1st CineFlix Film Fest Was Fun For Everyone!

By Gary Nager not only racial prejudice (“Popolo” is a kind of berry I can’t even begin to tell you how much in Hawaii that turns black, fun I had the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at the as well as a racial slur used Cobb Grove 16 theater, as actor/director by some Hawaiian people) John Schneider brought his first CineFlix but another former soldier Independent Film Festival to Wesley Chapel. turned ruthless mercenary.

First of all, Schneider and his producer Although Soto’s “DisAlicia Allain of Maven Entertainment were on carded” is a documentary site all week and five of the 22 films featured that was shot entirely with a in the festival were films they produced to$300 GoPro camera, it is a gether. In addition, Schneider and several of moving film chronicling the the other filmmakers with films being shown 30 days Soto spent among during the festival also were at the theater to the homeless people living answer questions at virtually every showing. on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

Best of all, I felt honored and privI also enjoyed Schneiileged to have gotten the opportunity to (Above) Actor/director John Schneider sat down with our editor (and three other filmmakers) for a series of interview interview — for WCNT-tv (Wesley Chapel segments for WCNT-tv. Schneider’s “Inadmissible” was our editor’s favorite of the films he saw during the CineFlix der’s “Hate Crime,” about a & New Tampa Television) — Schneider Film Festival at The Grove. (Below) Filmmaker Trent Dion Soto lived “Among the Discarded” on Skid Row for 30 days. gay man who kills his lover, and although the story was and his fellow filmmakers Edo Natasha and a little gory for my taste, indie filmmakers not only a showcase for Nots” on the Oprah Winfrey Network. His Quantae Love of “Popolo” and Trent Dion Schneider’s “Anderson Bench” is a dark, gristwice-flooded John Schneider Studios in Lou- their work, but also gives them a cut of the Soto of “Among the Discarded” before the ly comedy reminiscent of the ‘80s cult classic festival’s sales proceeds, was a blast. isiana was the setting for most of his films, festival started. Schneider said that he has “Eating Raoul.”

I’m not going to lie that the theaters although many of the other entries in the had enough of still being best known for Considering that I had to work, I were packed for the festival, but those of us festival — including “Popolo” and “Among his most famous starring role as Bo Duke in who did attend any of the 22 films did not go couldn’t see all of the films during the the Discarded” — were filmed elsewhere.

“The Dukes of Hazzard,” despite also having festival, but the good news is that virtually home disappointed.

No matter where they were shot, howstarred as Superman’s father on “Smallville,” all of them will be available in Digital on Of the films I saw, my favorite was ever, Schneider and Allain’s first-of-its-kind and the fact he currently is starring in Tyler Demand format beginning sometime around Schneider’s own legal thriller “Inadmissible,” independent film festival, which gave these Perry’s popular “The Haves and the Have Thanksgiving. I wish the films would have where he plays a hard-smokbeen shown in one of the Cinebistro theaters ing, hard-drinking District Attorney named Bryce Danos at The Grove 16, but the event was still very entertaining, so I hope Schneider and Allain who is trying to put away the will be encouraged enough to want to bring son of a major mob figure. the festival back next year.

It’s definitely an exciting, As for Schneider still being pigeonholed edge-of-your-seat adventure as Bo Duke, I have to agree with what he said and Schneider appreciated it when I said Danos could kick during our WCNT interview: “That’s like a the butt of Tom Cruise’s Jack guy curing cancer but people knowing him for a great term paper he wrote in 1978.”

Reacher character.

For more information about the films I did also love “Popoat the festival, visit CineFlixFest.com. lo,” which is the story of a And, check out all nine of my short interformer soldier who opens view segments with Schneider, Soto, Nataa martial arts school in sha and Love at WCNT-tv on YouTube.

Hawaii who ends up fighting

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Exclusive Clientele Salon Adds Breakthrough Technology To Analyze Hair!

By Brad Stager Christy Johnson has been using her talent as a hair-styling artist to enhance the appearances and lift the spirits of her clients for more than 30 years. Now, the owner of Exclusive Clientele Salon, located in the Cross Creek Center plaza on Cross Creek Blvd. at Kinnan St. in New Tampa, wants to use state-of-the art technology and knowledge to promote hair and scalp wellness a few miles south of Wesley Chapel.

Exclusive Clientele Salon has gained a reputation in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel communities as an upscale, full-service salon offering a wide range of services, from basic cuts and colors, blow drying to weaves, in a comfortable, clean and friendly environment. Johnson and her staff take the expression, “Look good, feel good,” to a higher level.

“I want all of my clients to feel like they are exclusive,” Johnson says. “We’re all about making people feel good from the inside out, spiritually and beautifully.”

That approach has earned Exclusive Clientele Salon a loyal customer base and plenty of positive online comments, such as Dana Barnes’ Google Review.

“Christy is my stylist at Exclusive Clientele Salon,” Barnes writes. “Her customer service is always great when I am there. I highly recommend (this) salon.”

The ambiance of Exclusive Clientele Salon is more like a relaxing spa than a bustling hair cuttery. Paintings illustrate natural scenes throughout the salon and the subdued lighting in the dryer room com-

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(L.-r.) Asia Wilson, Ashley Glover, Kenya Bryant-Long & Christy Johnson want to style, color, extend and analyze your hair at Exclusive Clientele Salon in the Cross Creek Center plaza. plements the “Quiet” sign posted there.

Johnson says her focus has always been on promoting healthy hair, and that has a lot to do with why she’s venturing into the field of trichology — the scientific study of human hair and related disorders, including hair loss and scalp problems.

How Trichology Can Help You

“We know that a lot of people are suffering from hair loss from alopecia, chemotherapy, radiation and medicines, and that there’s also a lot of elements in the environment that affect skin and hair,”

Johnson says. She also cites improper maintenance of some hair styles as causing scalp and hair problems.

Johnson and stylist/hair wellness consultant Kenya Bryant-Long have earned certificates for completing trichology courses taught by Rodney Barnett, a pioneering practitioner and teacher of trichology.

“He’s known all over the world as one of the best trichologists and teachers,” Christy says.

In addition to learning trichology, Christy is outfitting her hair restoration and wellness center with the latest technology

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(photo, right) to put that knowledge into practice. A client’s introduction to trichology begins with an extensive consultation in a private room. Christy says it’s important to have a space that’s conducive to discussion and analysis of what might be affecting someone’s hair and scalp health.

“Everything we do will be behind closed doors,” explains the 14-year New Tampa resident. “You don’t have to worry about anyone else knowing your business.”

And, Kenya says a lot of the conversation will revolve around the client’s lifestyle and health habits.

“We’ll do an in-depth consultation with them about what they eat and what kinds of medications they’re on,” she says.

Clients will able to get a good look at their hair and scalp with a digital scope that magnifies a view of their head surface and transmits it to a 50-inch monitor. To find out what’s going on inside the body that may be affecting their hair’s health, a biochemical assessment will be conducted using a trichological device known as a compass which, according to Kenya, “reads biomarkers in the body.”

One of the treatments administered at Exclusive Clientele Salon uses what is called an “oxygenator” to hydrate and cleanse the scalp and hair follicles with a nutritional solution.

Trichology is sometimes characterized as a para-medical practice, bridging the fields of dermatology and cosmetology.

One way that relationship comes into play is with platelet rich plasma (PRP) hair restoration therapy administered by a der-

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The digital scope in this private room at Exclusive Clientele Salon can help analyze your hair. matologist. PRP therapy works by injecting platelets from a patient’s blood into their own scalp. Human blood contains stem cells and other products that assist in tissue regeneration and healing. The therapy is based on the principle that growth factors in the platelets stimulate hair growth in follicles that are not producing hair but are still viable and capable of doing so.

Post-procedure monitoring and maintenance of the scalp and hair is done by a trichologist.

But Wait, There’s More!

Other technologies used by Exclusive Clientele Salon are cool, low-laser treatments which Kenya says, “will help stimulate hair growth,” a micro mist treatment that she says will, “restore the moisture and help retain it,” and an exfoliating mask that loosens and removes scalp debris.

In cases where hair rejuvenation in bald spots does not occur, Johnson offers a non-surgical hair replacement option with hair prosthetics. A hair (or cranial) prosthesis is a more exact fit than a wig and often incorporates considerations in terms of material allergies and scalp sensitivities such as the sensitivities cancer patients may have.

It’s a family affair at Exclusive Clientele, with Christy’s daughter, Ariel Glover, and Kenya’s daughter, Asia Wilson, both working at the salon. The two daughters have spent their young lives following their mothers’ careers and finding not only inspiration, but also their own professions, from the experience.

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Ariel, who does a lot of the hair coloring and extension work, shares her mother’s holistic approach to the business.

“We make people feel good on the inside by making them look good on the outside with an exclusive experience,” Ariel says. “It creates confidence in the client and brings out the best in them when they feel beautiful.”

Like Ariel, Asia decided at an early age to follow her mother’s example of a career in the beauty industry and according to Kenya, “[Asia] can pretty much do anything” in the salon, including hair coloring, highlighting and extensions.

Johnson adds that, “Asia has a warm spirit and makes everyone feel comfortable and relaxed.”

As a family business, Johnson credits her husband Thomas for much of Exclusive Clientele’s success. Thomas is the CEO of Capital Financial Services and, according to Christy, “really motivates me and gives me that push I really need.”

Whatever the motivation, Johnson says Exclusive Clientele Salon’s venture into hair restoration reflects the approach she takes toward personal and professional growth.

“We’re not just stuck behind the chair,” she says “We’re keeping up with technology to help men and women with their hair problems.”

Exclusive Clientele Salon is located at 10026 Cross Creek Blvd. For more information, visit ExclusiveClienteleSalon.com, call 994-2393, or see the ad on page 24.

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Acropolis Adds Greek Brunch To One Of Our Area’s Favorite Places

Waffles with Bacon

Now Serving A Wide Variety Of Brunch Items!

E

By Gary Nager

VERY year around this time, we always seem to be writing something about Acropolis Greek Taverna, located in the Oak Ramble Plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., south of Tampa Palms in New Tampa, only 15-20 minutes (despite the traffic on BBD) from most of Wesley Chapel.

The reason is simple — Acropolis is always highly rated among our readers in our Annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest (results to be announced in our December 16 issue) and usually even higher-rated when I tell you my favorites for the year in our January 13, 2017 issue.

Never resting on its already-impressive laurels (it also recently was voted the Best Greek Restaurant by its peers in a recent Tampa magazine survey), Acropolis, which now has five Tampa Bay-area locations (including South Tampa, Ybor City, St. Pete and Riverview as well as the BBD location) continues to add new menu items.

The most recent additions are a new Ouzo mussels appetizer, a new feta cheese dip called Tirokafteri, a new Castoria chopped salad with chicken (none of which are pictured here) and an all-new weekend brunch menu.

I’ll be honest and say that, at our press time, the brunch was so new that I haven’t had time to sample any of the new items before we went to press. But, rest assured, I will. After all, this is one restaurant that never disappoints with its Greek cuisine, so I expect that the brunch items — like waffles, omelettes and baklava crepes — will also be outstanding and not overpriced, just like the rest of owner Sam Waez and general manager Tarek Armoush’s New Tampa menu.

The brunch, which is served Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., also is offered with bottomless champagne or mimosas for just $15 per person and $5 Bloody Marys.

That alone is enough to make me want to 42

sample it this weekend.

And of course, Acropolis — which has consistently been ranked in yours truly’s top-three restaurants in New Tampa every year since it opened — still has so many of my favorites (and yours) that it’s always a pleasure to write about the place.

The restaurant’s elegant bar area has been revamped a couple of times and of course, there’s what I call Greek-line-dancing servers and bartenders, entertainment and lots of plate-breaking every weekend evening.

So, here are some of my favorite dishes.

For starters, you can’t beat Acropolis’ Greek salad. Although the zesty dressing is more of a creamy vinaigrette than a traditional oil-andvinegar Greek dressing, it’s a perfect complement for the salad. The spinach dip appetizer is served with these amazingly crisp Lavash crackers and topped with Tirosalata, which is another feta-based dip with garlic, oregano and olive oil. More adventurous tastes will enjoy the grilled octopus appetizer and the delightfully different fried calamari. And yes, there’s still house-made hummus, baba ghanouj, tabbouleh salad, dolmades and even a great Saganaki appetizer, which is grilled Kefalograviera cheese flambéed with Cognac that is as much fun to eat as it is yummy.

If you’re into pastitsio, or Greek-style lasagne, Acropolis offers it with meat or without and both are excellent. There’s also mousaka, which is similar to pastitsio, but with potatoes and eggplant.

Athenian Fish

anyone spread that one dollop out enough to give you pesto in every bite without it?

My only “complaint” about these entrées is that they’re always served with the same grilled veggies — primarily zucchini and squash with onions. I’ve asked Tarek to maybe add sautéed spinach or broccoli to the mix or at least offer a few other veggie options to go with these superb main dishes.

I’m also partial to the steak and chicken shish kabob entrées, especially the tenderloin medallions. There’s also a Greek meatballs entrée, as well as dolmades, a mixed grill (with steak and chicken kabobs, pork souvlaki and gyro meat), as well as the chicken Santorini (sautéed tenders in a creamy Santorini lemon wine sauce mixed with mushrooms, onions, pesto, green and red peppers over penne pasta, topped with shaved parmesan cheese), chicken Manitari (which is sort of Acropolis’ own Alfredo-style pasta) and chicken Rhodes, which is grilled chicken breast in a lemon white wine sauce with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and olives, topped with crumbled feta.

My other fish favorites include the Psari

mahi-mahi (blackened and topped with pesto and red peppers) and the grilled, fresh, whole red snapper (although it is messy to eat) .

Other seafood entrées include charbroiled Siros salmon, a mixed seafood pasta and shrimp Mykonos (sautéed in a creamy lemon wine sauce), but of course, I can’t eat shrimp because I’m allergic to it, so I can’t personally vouch for these last two choices.

There’s also a nice selection of unique wrap and other sandwiches on the menu, as well as gyro, pork and chicken souvlaki platters. I don’t usually order a sandwich at Acropolis, but I have enjoyed their American burgers (there’s even a Crete burger topped with feta), as well as the Athenian fish, mahimahi and fried Fira fish sandwiches. Other sandwiches and wraps on the menu include the Mediterranean chicken wrap (with spinach leaves, onions, grapes and candied walnuts), a (vegetarian) falafel wrap and the Thessaloniki wrap (another choice for vegetarians), which has Mediterranean roasted vegetables, sliced feta and hummus.

For those who enjoy a glass of wine with their meal, Acropolis has a nice variety

Favorite Entrées

My two favorite entrées at Acropolis haven’t changed since the place opened. The grilled Greek-style lamb chops are always tender and tasty — they rank up there with the best lamb chops in our area — and the pan-fried Athenian fish is simply to die for.

The Athenian fish is flaky and white and comes with a crispy coating, topped by a small dollop of homemade pesto. I always order an extra side of the pesto because, really, how can

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Lamb Chops

Tabouleh Combination Plate

Beef Pastitsio

Spinach Dip Appetizer

of unique Greek red and white wines, as well as popular choices like a malbec, a chardonnay, multiple sparkling options and a cabernet sauvignon. Please ask for samples of the Greek wines; I know you’ll find one to your liking.

Acropolis also features a nice kids menu, with options like pizza, meatballs, chicken skewers and a kids gyro or chicken gyro.

And, save room for dessert, because Acropolis has some great ones, although my favorite is probably the baklava cheesecake.

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Acropolis Greek Taverna’s New Tampa location is open every day for lunch (and weekend brunch) and dinner and is located at 14947 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., at the north end of the Oak Ramble Plaza.

For more information, call 971-1787, visit DineGreek.com or Facebook/DineGreekinNewTampa. And, don’t forget to check the website for Acropolis’ other great locations, including the newest one opening soon in Sarasota.

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The Latest & Greatest News About Dining, Shopping, Retail & More In New Tampa & Wesley Chapel!

Try Little Italy’s New Lunch!

LongHorn Opens; Ford’s Garage Goes Vertical

For those of us who want more restaurants in our area, the area on S.R. 56 near the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) mall continues to give us new options.

Since last month’s opening of BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, another chain has opened and two others have gone vertical.

The newest restaurant to open (on Nov, 14) is LongHorn Steakhouse. The steakhouse chain definitely has the best steak (like the 12-oz. ribeye shown above) of the three sit-down restaurants located in front of TPO (Cheddars Scratch Kitchen and BJ’s are the others), and the service and food are always dependable.

Building up quickly, between LongHorn and BJ’s, is a new McDonald’s. But,

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perhaps the most eagerly awaited eatery to go vertical recently was the latest incarnation of Ford’s Garage (above), which has locations in Brandon, Cape Coral, Ft. Myers and Estero. The Wesley Chapel location will be the first building to open on the north side of S.R. 56 in the Cypress Creek Town Center Development of Regional Impact.

Although I’m OK with the chains that are opening in our area, there’s no doubt I’m still much more into local mom-and-pop restaurants like Little’s Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering, located a couple of miles west of TPO at 24436 S.R. 54 in Lutz.

Owners Jessica and Carl Meyers have a great new lunch menu, where (L.-r.) Fellow dentists Dr. Paul Duga & Dr. Mark Farina helped most items are just $6-$9, Dr. Greg Stepanski of Children’s Dentistry celebrate 25 years in practice at a great party at Dr. Greg’s office on Oct. 27. like the amazing minimeatball “grinda” (left), which is served with excellent homemade po- good Japanese restaurants in our area, we were still saddened to learn that Takara tato chips. Other new lunch options include Sushi & Sake, located in the Oak Ramble smaller-sized servings of chicken parmigiana, Plaza (the same plaza as Acropolis Greek ravioli, lasagna, personal hand-tossed pizzas Taverna; see story on pg. 42) on BBD and even seafood pasta options like shrimp south of Tampa Palms, had closed. and mussels marinara (for a little more).

We didn’t have any word at our press Stop in Tues.-Sat. for lunch or dintime as to why it closed or what might move ner, call 909-2122, visit LittleItalyFamiinto the space, but Takara was doing very lyRestaurant.com or see the ad on pg. 42. well again in this year’s annual Reader Dining Survey.

Takara Sushi Closes We will announce your favorite Although we still have quite a few very

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 24 • November 18, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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Parks Lincoln Unveils New Model

restaurants and the winners of our free dining prizes in our next issue.

Congrats, Dr. Greg!

On Oct. 27, Dr. Greg Stepanski, DDS, of Children’s Dentistry, located at 10317-B Cross Creek Blvd., in the Cory Lakes Professional Center, celebrated 25 years in practice in our area at a party at his current office.

At least 100 guests — including many of Stepanski’s fellow local dentists (such as Dr. Paul Duga and Dr. Mark Farina in the pic on the previous page; the trio represents about 60 years worth of advertising in this publication) — enjoyed great food, entertainment and fun with Dr. Greg, his wife Sue and his amazing staff.

Dr. Greg was my kids’ pediatric dentist, so I can tell you with confidence what a great dentist — and friend — he is.

For more info, call 973-3100 or visit DrGreg-ChildrensDentistry.com.

Neighborhood News

I also was excited to be on hand for the unveiling of not only a new model from Lincoln Motor Cars, but also for the Grand ReOpening of the beautiful Parks Lincoln of Tampa dealership at 10505 N. Florida Ave., south of Fowler Ave, in Tampa.

Owner Ron Parks, who also owns the Parks Ford, Fiat & Alfa Romeo dealerships on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, cut the ribbon at the revamped dealership and unveiled the new 2017 Lincoln Continental (left) during a VIP event on Oct. 13.

With live entertainment and upscale food provided by Puff n’ Stuff Catering (like amazing beef short ribs, seared scallops and homemade ravioli), Parks kicked off the new dealership and model reveal in style.

The event was organized by Parks’ Jennifer Cofini, who was recently honored as Volunteer of the Year by the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (see pages 14-15). And, although I didn’t get to test drive the new Continental, I was treated to what Parks calls a “Date Night,” where I got to test drive a new Lincoln MKZ for 24 hours and receive a $100 Visa gift card to enjoy a great dinner. It’s been years since I drove an American car, but Lincoln definitely has affordable luxury down to a science.

To schedule a “Date Night” test drive, call (800) 398-7989 or visit Lincoln ofTampa.com & tell ‘em I sent you! — GN

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 24 • November 18, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

47

New Tampa & Wesley Chapel POOL SERVICES

HELP WANTED

AQUATEC POOL SERVICE has been keeping pools clear & swim safe since 1994. WE DO POOLS RIGHT! Commercial & Residential. CPO #33-303052 Licensed & Insured. Service guarantee. Call 813-312-5694 TODAY and get 1 MONTH OF QUALITY SERVICE FREE. www.aquatecpool. com TRANQUILITY POOL SERVICE New Tampa owned & operated. Great Pricing with outstanding customer service! LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED. See why we are New Tampa and Wesley Chapel’s #1 Choice!! Call Chris today @ 813-8575400 or visit TranquilityPoolService.com. New customers get ONE MONTH FREE! ALL-STAR POOL SERVICE & REPAIR Expert repairs and installations of pumps, motors, filters, timers, salt and ozone generators. Quartz and pebble finish. Tile repair and acid washes, paver and river rock sealing, pressure washing and deck repair, paver and eurocote decks. Mention this ad for $69 pool service. Call or text for details: 813-244-7077.

See our display ad. www.allstarpoolsoftampabay.com

LAWN & LANDSCAPING

_

JASMINE’S LANDSCAPING Complete lawn maintenance, Tree, palm and hedge trimming, Planting, mulching, stones, Sod replacement, Pressure washing, Gutter cleaning and more. Cited by your HOA for violations? Need to comply for: Pressure washing, Trimming, Mulching, Sod replacement, Sprinkler repair or Mailbox repair or replacements?

Ask about our HOA SPECIAL & FREE ESTIMATE! For more info, call (813) 420-4465.

AMERICAN PRIDE LAWN CARE SERVICE, LLC Our services include weekly lawn maintenance with mulching decks on all mowers, precision edging, string trimming, hedge, shrub, palm, and tree trimming. We also offer landscaping, pruning, and sod replacement. Free estimates. Licensed and Insured. We are an Owner/Operator Company built on service and trust. References available. For more info, call (813) 458-4778.

HOMETEAM LAWNCARE LLC High-Quality Professional Services: Weekly or Bi-Weekly YearRound Full-Svc LawnCare starting at $90/month: mow, edge, trim, blow, mulch-bed maintenance, hedge and low-tree trim. Additional Services: Sod, Mulch, & Rock Placement; Hedge Trimming, & Tree Trimming; Landscape Installation; Fall/Spring Clean-Up. Family Owned & Operated, Licensed & Insured, Background Checked, Call or Text (813) 817-9554.

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Classifieds

NOW HIRING SERVERS. Call 813-907-1688 for more information. Or apply in person at Ginza Endless Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar, 6417 E. County Line Rd. #104.

AWARD WINNING REAL ESTATE TEAM with an overflow of serious prospects. Seeking professional full-time real estate agents who want to expand their horizons, make more money and have a fulfilling life. Great training available. Keller Williams Tampa Properties. Contact Annette Bohannon 813-431-2840.

HIRING PERSONAL TRAINER Private Women’s Studio with Boot Camp & Personal Training in Wesley Chapel & Land O’ Lakes owned by Samantha Taylor. Please no phone calls or walk ins.To apply part time: www.lolfitbodybootcamp.com/hire-pt PIZZAMAKERS & LINE/PREP COOKS WANTED (exp’d. preferred) at New Tampa’s favorite authentic Chicago-style pizza place. Bring Resume during business hours to Full Circle Chicago Pizza at 19651 BBD Blvd. (in the Pebble Creek Collection).

PHYSICAL THERAPIST (PT) An established New Tampa outpatient clinic is hiring a part-time PT to provide custom, one-on-one care. Fax resume to (813) 994-3080.

HOME IMPROVEMENT DAVID BRIDGES PRESSURE CLEANING Complete exterior cleaning of your home or business with a professional and personal touch. - Pool decks and screen enclosures - All fencing/ driveways and walkways/roofs - Gutter and downspouts. Find your happiness in a fresh, bright clean home. Your neighbors will love you for it! All work guaranteed. Licensed and insured.

Call 813-215-1177.

GREG’S PAPERHANGING For all of your wallpapering needs. Licensed and insured, clean, quick and reasonable. Call 973-2767 for a free estimate.

RAYMOND PAINTING Exterior & Interior Services. Exterior: Painting, pressure washing, clean & seal pavers, stucco, roofing, leaks & wood rot repair. Interior: Painting, plastering, ceiling & wall repairs & tiles. Licensed & Bonded. References avail. Free estimates. Your Neighborhood Arbor Greene Resident! We work 7 days. Call 813-994-5124.

DRY WALL SPECIALIST. Not a handyman.

Affordable Quality Work repairing water damage, ceilings and walls, retexturing, popcorn removal, room additions, cracks, holes, plaster and stucco repair. 26 Years Experience. Wesley Chapel resident. State Certified. Call Ron for free estimate: 813-784-5999.

PROFESSIONAL TECH SUPPORT in your home or small business. A+, Certified computer tech with 20 years exp. Maintenance & repairs, upgrades & tutoring. More affordable than large chains! Friendly, personalized svc. Technical jargon explained. Remote assistance available. References available.

Call (813) 957-8342 for a free estimate.

MILLENNIUM HOME REPAIR.Professional Handyman Service. Services include: Cabinet Installation, Dry wall repair, Tile installation and repair, Some plumbing, Laminate flooring, Light fixtures, Interior painting, Appliance installation, Pressure washing, Paneling, Window repair, Awning installation, Carpentry, Garbage Disposal, Fence repair, Crown molding, Window blinds installed, Re-sealing baths and showers, TV mounting, and more. Call 813-400-1408 or email TYCOONUNION@YAHOO.COM.

DO YOU HATE YOUR COMPUTER?!? WE CAN HELP YOU! Troubleshooting, installation, networking & virus removal. WE COME TO YOU! Residences & businesses, more than 25 years exp.

Contact Jeffrey Blank at (813) 973-4507, visit WSICA.COM or email Wsica@wsica.com

CONTRACTOR Kitchen and bathroom remodeling or any major repairs. Floor, windows & door installation. Licensed, insured & bonded.

LICENSE # CRC 1331258 Call Pablo for a free estimate: 813.391.9644. www.innovativeresidentialremodeling.com

COMPUTER/BUSINESS SERVICES

PET SERVICES

OPEN ENROLLMENT

CAT SITTING Tampa Cat Lady Professional CatSitting Service. Cats are happiest in their own home, surrounded by familiar sights, sounds, & smells.

When you are away, we feed, cuddle, & play with your kitties & clean & dispose of litter. Insured, bonded, & Red-Cross certified in pet first aid/CPR. You can call 813-994-9449 or submit a service inquiry at TampaCatLady.com.

NEED HEALTH INSURANCE? Individuals, Families, Medicare, Group Benefits. Dorey Insurance Group is here to assist you in understanding your options and selecting health insurance plans. Inhome medicare review available. Broker for businesses and group benefits. Kevin Dorey 215 Insurance license ID# P215612. Call for a confidential, no-cost consultation. 813-235-0302.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 24 • November 18, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

CLEANING SERVICES ICARE HOUSE CLEANING Free estimates. We use our own supplies, excellent references, cleaning New Tampa and Wesley Chapel for 15 years, affordable & reliable, satisfaction guaranteed!!! Family operated, affordable & reliable, local business. Call today for your free, no obligation quote, (813) 531-1917.

POWER HOUSE CLEANING SERVICES Residential cleaning weekly, bi-weekly, monthly & occasional. One time, deep cleaning, move in/move outs, real estate, holiday and events. Owner operator with personal care! Licensed and Insured. For free in-home estimate, call 813-356-8287 or e-mail powerclean16@gmail. com. You will be powerfully pleased!

B CLEANING SERVICES: Over 14 years experience!

Commercial & residential; Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly; New house & post construction clean-up; Window cleaning; Move-in or move-out cleanings; Pressure washing; FREE estimates; References available.

Call today: 813-531-0154 or e-mail: bcleanings@ hotmail.com D-ULTRA CLEANING SERVICE We have our own supplies and more than 300 clients in New Tampa!

For more info, Call 758-9710.

SQUEAKY CLEAN HOME SERVICES is a residential cleaning company offering weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly services. We also specialize in move-in/moveout cleanup. All supplies and equipment provided. We are an Owner Operator company with over 20 years experience. “If it Needs to be Clean, We’re your Team!

Call us for your free in home estimate today! 813625-6045.

SPACE AVAILABLE Serenity Salon & Spa Suites, Wesley Chapel. 1 suite available for rent. Call for details: 813-3125247 or 813-997-6302. Great location!

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 24 • November 18, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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Long Middle School Students Enter Red Ribbon Week Photo Contest

John Long Middle School students spell out YOLO — “You Only Live Once” — above a banner they entered into a nationwide photo contest bringing awareness to the dangers of drug use.

By Celeste McLaughlin vote, you can view the winners at that website, starting Friday, December 2.

Every year, students across the U.S. “I don’t think a lot of students unparticipate in “Red Ribbon Week” during the week of October 23-31, to pledge to be derstand what Red Ribbon Week is really about,” says Angie Bastedo, the vice presidrug-free.

The theme for this year’s campaign was dent of programs for the school’s PTSA and the event’s organizer. “This year, I hoped “YOLO – You Only Live Once.” Students to bring more awareness as to why we’re at John Long Middle School in Wiregrass encouraging students to wear a hat or crazy Ranch kicked off the event by inviting students and their families to paint “wise owls” socks during Red Ribbon Week.”

Angie, who says she recently lost her at Pinot’s Palette, located in The Shoppes nephew to drug use, says while conversaat New Tampa plaza on Bruce B. Downs tions about not using drugs start at home, (BBD) Blvd., south of S.R. 56. The owl “it doesn’t hurt to bring the message to paintings incorporated both the doublelooped red ribbon that signifies Red Ribbon school, too,” she says. “Especially in middle school, kids sometimes listen to other peoWeek, and the “YOLO” theme. ple more than their parents. They need to Images of these paintings were then know that all it takes is once. Don’t even try turned into a banner that will hang in the using drugs, because your first time could school. Gianna Ginsen, a student in Long’s be your last time.” after-school photography club, took a The National Family Partnership crepicture of the banner — along with a group of students spelling out the theme “YOLO” ated the National Red Ribbon Campaign with their bodies — to enter into the official in response to the 1985 abduction and annual nationwide photo contest. If Long murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency proves to be the highest vote-getter in its (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. region at RedRibbon.org/vote by Nov. Long Middle School is one of many in the 17, the school will win $1,000 and an iPad. area that recognize this week each year to While this issue comes to you too late to encourage students not to use drugs.

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 24 • November 18, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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