Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, Volume 25, Issue 4, February 10, 2017

Volume 25 Issue 4 February 10, 2017

Inside: Our Editor’s 2016 Restaurant Favorites!

See Neighborhood Magazine!

Co-Creator Of The Wesley Chapel Chamber Of Commerce’s Chairman’s Award-Winning WCNT-tv!

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!

Florida Hospital Center Ice Opens & Wesley Chapel Will Never Be The Same!

By John C. Cotey After three years, all the hype, all the build-up, all the delays and the excruciating final weeks of twists and tweaks to get the latest jewel of the Wesley Chapel community opened, there was still just one thing was missing.

Ice, ice, baby.

But finally, with a thick layer of the cold stuff beneath their feet, managing partner Gordie Zimmermann of developer ZMitch, LLC, led a parade of local dignitaries across the Florida Hospital Center Ice rink for the ceremonial puck drop on Jan. 25, swinging open the doors to a whole new audience.

“The fulfillment of a dream,’’ Zimmermann called it. “This has just been a fabulous experience. The community has embraced this project, and we’re really proud to have it here in Pasco County.”

Zimmermann and his ZMitch partner George Mitchell, Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen, Florida Hospital CEO Denyse Bales-Chubb, District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore, former Tampa Bay Lightning captain and current Vice President of Corporate & Community Affairs Dave Andreychuk and Father Len Plazewski of Christ the King Church in south Tampa — who blessed the ice with holy water — each said a few words to the 200-plus people in attendance and then dropped pucks to signal the official opening of FHCI. With his stick, Zimmermann slid his puck across the ice. Allen, who emceed the

Also Inside This Issue: News, Business & Sports Updates Metro Development Unveils Its First Crystal Lagoon; Quail Hollow Golf Course On Borrowed Time; Pasco’s Teacher Of The Year Is From Veterans Elementary; Great Things Ahead For Schuyler Arakawa; Noble Crust Coming & Macy’s Staying; Softball Previews & Lots Of Local Business Features!

Pages 3-36

Neighborhood Magazine

‘The Good Cemetarian’ Honors The Memory Of Veterans; Fushia’s Hot Pot Hits The Spot; Gary’s 2016 Dining Favorites & More Neighborhood Nibbles & Business Bytes!

Pages 37-52

(L.-r.); Gordie Zimmermann, Hope Allen, George Mitchell, Mike Moore, Denyse Bales-Chubb, Dave Andreychuk & Fr. Len Plazewski at the Florida Hospital Center Ice puck drop on Jan. 26 event, tried to the do the same, but her puck northeast of the interchange of S.R. 56 and slid backwards as she tried to contain her I-75, is billed as the largest skating complex laughter. It seemed a fitting moment, how- south of New York and is expected to be a ever, as the new facility will cater not only to big-time game changer in the quickly growthe best and most experienced skaters and ing Wesley Chapel area. shooters, but also to those holding a hockey “This is a huge opportunity to continstick for the first time and wanting to learn. ue to grow the game and make sure kids in “It’s such a great facility,’’ Allen said. this area have the opportunity so that they “It has so much to offer the community. It’s may learn the great game that we all love,’’ definitely going to be something that sets said Andreychuk, who was the captain of the Wesley Chapel apart.”

Lightning when the team won its only StanThe $28-million, 150,500-sq.-ft. fa- ley Cup in 2005. “On behalf of Jeff Vinik cility, located on Cypress Ridge Blvd. just and the Tampa Bay Lightning, this is a great

day and were looking for more great things to happen.”

The economic impact of FHCI, according to a study the developers commissioned, will be $20-$30 million a year, and maybe more. Zimmermann has said he expects FHCI to draw roughly two million visitors annually.

Many of those visitors wasted little time hitting the new sheets of ice. On the evening on the Jan. 25, the complex’s first open skate was held and it drew 308 people.

The following night, according to an FHCI spokesperson there were more than 200 skaters, and the youth hockey and Learn to Skate classes had 375 registrants for the first day of classes on Saturday, January 28.

On Sunday, Zimmermann says, the two two-hour open skate sessions attracted more than 600 skaters combined.

FHCI features three NHL-sized hockey rinks, one Olympic-size rink (which is See “Center Ice” on page 4.

Seeking Sponsors For The 2017 Taste Of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel!

If you turn to page 3 of this issue, you’ll see an update on the 35 restaurants and beverage suppliers who already have at least verbally committed to participating in the 2017 Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel, which will be held on the special “sport court” floor (photo) which is laid over one of the NHL-size rinks at the new Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI; see story above) on Saturday, March 18, noon-4 p.m.

My restaurant committee has made me proud and — as someone who’s been the restaurant coordinator or event chair for most of the 20 previous Tastes of New Tampa — FHCI quite honestly has been the easiest venue to “sell” to prospective restaurants for any Taste, but we’re still seeking more major sponsors for the event.

Although I’m not the one seeking the sponsorship donations (the event is being hosted by the Rotary Club of New Tampa, which meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club), FHCI already is a “Prime Rib” ($5,000) sponsor, and Neighborhood News & WCNT-tv are the event’s major media sponsors.

Other sponsors include Gunter & Gunter Insurance, TSYS Merchant Services, Smith &

Associates/Karen TillmanGosselin & Pilot Bank.

And, with at least 3,000-5,000 people likely to attend this year’s Taste and all of the other benefits of having your business as a $500-$10,000 sponsor of the event, I believe that a Taste sponsorship will reap rewards for your business.

Our top level ($10,000 & $5,000) sponsors will be invited to an amazing VIP event the night before the Taste and will have their logos on the full-page Taste ads and in every mention of the event in our Feb. 24 New Tampa and Mar. 10 Wesley Chapel issues, as well as logos & mentions on our Feb. 17, Mar. 3 and Mar. 17 episodes of WCNT-tv.

There’s still time to get all of these benefits and more, but the time to act is now!

For sponsorship and other information about the 2017 Taste of New Tampa & Wes-

ley Chapel, including how to pre-buy Taste tickets at a discount, visit TasteofNewTampa. org or call event chair Karen Frashier at 3752663. — Gary Nager

Stay Tuned Right Here For WCNT-tv & Taste Of New Tampa Updates!

An editorial by Gary Nager Roughly six weeks before the 2017 Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel — which will be held on Saturday, March 18, noon-4 p.m., at the amazing, new Florida Hospital Center Ice (see pg.

1)) — I’m ecstatic to say that my restaurant committee is surpassing my expectations.

As of our press date — February 3 — we already have at least 34 restaurants and beverage providers that have verbally committed to participate in the Taste! The truly amazing thing to me, however, is that when we recorded Episode 15 of WCNT-tv (Wesley Chapel & New Tampa television) just four days earlier, we only had 23 restaurant commitments and when we recorded Eisode 16 (available now at Youtube.com/WCNT-tv), we were at 30.

In other words, virtually every restaurant we’ve spoken with has jumped at the opportunity to give away samples of their cuisine to what we expect will be at least 3,000-5,000 attendees. Everybody seems to want to have a chance to be inside the largest ice skating and hockey facility in the southern U.S. for what was the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area’s signature event for 20 years, even though it’s now been four years since the Taste was held.

The Taste, which is being put on for the first time by the Rotary Club of New Tampa (which meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club), also will feature a live cooking demonstration by formerly 465-lb. celebrity chef and author George Stella (photo), whose popular show on the Food Network is called “Low Carb & Lovin’ It.”

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 Billing Manager Stephanie Smith Advertising Sales & Office Assistant Jannah McDonald 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 25, Issue 6, of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is Monday, February 27, 2017.

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.

Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News reserves the right to edit &/or reject any advertising. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is not responsible for errors in advertising beyond the actual cost of the advertising space itself, nor for the validity of any claims made by its advertisers.

© 2017 JM2 Communications, Inc. Neighborhood News

There also will be beer and wine available at the Taste, plus great musical entertainment and emcee/Rotarian Bob Thompson will make the rounds to every restaurant and sponsor booth at the event to help our food and beverage providers and sponsors give away some great prizes throughout the day.

And more great news is that the website TasteofNewTampa.org is now live and will provide regular updates about the event’s sponsors and all of the participating restaurants as they commit to taking part. You also can now purchase Taste tickets on the site and, since Taste proceeds will benefit the Rotary Club of New Tampa Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your Taste ticket purchases may be tax deductible!

Here is the list of restaurants that had committed to participate in the Taste, whether verbally or in writing, at our press time:

•Union 72 BBQ •Vuelo Mexican Grill *Bosco’s Italian to Go (probable) *Cabot Creamery (probable) *Cheddars Scratch Kitchen (probable) *Chick-fil-A (probable) *900° Woodfired Pizza (probable) *Vom Fass Wiregrass (probable)

Look for more updates (there are at least 30 other restaurants/beverage providers that are likely to join these) in these pages, on WCNT-tv and at TasteofNewTampa.org.

If you don’t see your favorite eatery on this list, tell the restaurant’s owner/manager to call 910-2575 today.

And, Speaking of WCNT-tv...

The half-age ad on page 31 of this issue touts the accomplishments and viewership to date of WCNT-tv. Episode 16 of the show debuted on YouTube the same day (Feb. 3) we

went to press with this issue, but we are pulling some fairly impressive numbers (at least in my opinion) through the first 15 full-length episodes and special reports that have aired to date.

Our Facebook reach is now at more than 390,700 people, up about 140,000 people since our last update in these pages.

We’ve also now had more than 75,000 views on YouTube (which, we’ve been told, are usually much harder to come by than Facebook views) and more than 103,000 views on Facebook itself for all of the segments combined.

My partner Craig Miller (of Full Throttle Intermedia) and I would love to feature your business if you’re a Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) business member (if not...join!), as the Chamber is our exclusive webcast partner.

To get your business featured on WCNT-tv, call 910-2575 or send an email to Ads@WCNT-tv.com today!

•Arroy Thai •Big Storm Brewery •BJ’s Brewhouse •Blondie’s Cookies •Buttermilk Provisions •Cantina Laredo •Charley’s Cheesesteaks •Ciccio Cali •Culver’s •Dempsey’s Steak House (Saddlebrook) •Dickey’s BBQ •First Watch •GrillSmith •Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt •Jimmy John’s •Latin Twist Cafe •Little Italy’s •McDonald’s •Nothing Bundt Cakes •Old Heights Bistro •OTB Delights Café •Paramount Lebanese Kitchen •PDQ •Pepe’s Cuban Cafe •7 Layers Bakery •Sonny’s BBQ) •Stonewood Grill & Tavern •The Cake Girl •The Private Chef of Tampa •Tijuana Flats •Time for Wine •Top Shelf Sports Lounge (FHCI)

Table of Contents

Local News Updates.....................3-15

Sneak Peak Of Metro Development’s Crystal Lagoon......6 Golf Course Giving Way To Homes At Quail Hollow?....8 Veterans Elem. Rob Patterson Is Teacher Of The Year...10 Woman Cheats Death & Is Still Making Her Mark.......12 Mall: Noble Crust Is Coming, Macy’s Is Staying ...........14

Wesley Chapel Community Calendar..........................16

Local Business Updates..............18-27

Olympus Pools Customizes Your H2O Fun..................18 Ronnie‘s Carpets Has Your Floors Covered...................20 SPOTLIGHT ON: Back To Wellness Center...................21 Murth & Murtha Want To Be Your CPAs...................22 Let Florida Pain Medicine Manage Your Pain Responsibly....24 Legacy At Highwoods Preserve Assisted Living............26

Local Education & Sports Updates...30-34

WCH Hosting Local Talent Showcase In March........30 Quartet Of Seniors Leads WRH Softball..................32 Young Arms To Spur Improved WCH Softball.........34

Neighborhood Magazine

‘Good Cemeterian’ Shares His Stories...................37 Our Editor Reveals His 2016 Food Favorites!.....38-42 Fushia’s Hot Pot Buffet Hits The Right Spot..........44 ‘Neighborhood Nibbles & Business Bytes’.....46-47 Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Classifieds...........48 @NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

3

‘Center Ice’

Continued from Page 1

is wider than an NHL rink), as well as a smaller mini ice pad for training and a removable “sports court” floor that fts over obe of the NHL-sized rinks that can accommodate “dry” sports like basketball and volleyball, as well as large corporate events and conferences.

Even prior to the ceremonial puck drop, the facility had already hosted a few corporate events. Zimmermann says that while hockey is still the central component driving FHCI, the rink’s versatility makes it much more than that.

The facility also will feature the Top Shelf Sports Lounge on the second floor, overlooking the rinks, a fitness center, a sports performance center and one for sports skills which also can accommodate training and activities like yoga, Pilates and even dance classes. There is a pro shop run by Rinkside Sports, which sells hockey, figure skating equipment, Lightning T-shirts and jerseys and more. FHCI’s opening could be considered “soft,” as Zimmermann says it is currently running at roughly 75-80 percent of its capabilities. The fitness and ballet studios and the restaurant are still under construction, with Top Shelf set to open in late February or early March.

“This is going to be a community building that everyone here in Wesley Chapel and around Pasco County can (benefit from),’’ said Andreychuk. “It’s not just about developing kids to play hockey or to learn figure skating. It’s going to be an awesome place for all of us here.”

4

It will be a busy first year, Zimmermann says. The high school hockey State Championships will be held at FHCI on Feb. 2427. And, on Saturday, March 28, the Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel will be held at the venue (see pages 1 and 3).

In June, FCHI will host Skate For Hope, a cancer benefit that will feature some of the world’s top figure skaters, as well as a national roller hockey tournament.

FHCI, which will be home to USF’s hockey teams as well as local high schools and the Tampa Bay Juniors hockey program for competitve players ages 16-20, is also holding adult hockey leagues and will add curling leagues in the future.

And, don’t be surprised to see FHCI host the occasional NHL team in town for a game against the Lightning, or on the way to play the Florida Panthers. As for the Lightning, the organization is expected to have a presence year-round at FHCI with occasional camps and clinics.

“This is just the beginning,’’ Allen said.

For more info about FHCI (3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd.), visit Florida HospitalCenterIce.com, or search “FloridaHospitalCenterIce” on Facebook.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 12 • June 3, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

5

The First Crystal Lagoon In The U.S. Breaks Ground In Wesley Chapel!

By John C. Cotey When Metro Development president Greg Singleton was first told about a crystal lagoon, with its heavenly blue, ultra-clean water and sandy beaches, he confesses that he was a little underwhelmed.

But, at 30,000 feet, laying eyes on one for the first time a few months later, Singleton says he started sipping the Kool-Aid. On Feb. 2, while standing in front of a crowd of more than 100 people at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the first Crystal Lagoon to be built in the U.S., Singleton was sipping champagne as he led a toast celebrating a sneak preview of the Metro Lagoon by Crystal Lagoons coming to the Epperson development Wesley Chapel.

With developers, home builders, county commissioners and the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) on hand at what could someday be home to as many as 3,000 homes off Curley Rd. (less than three miles north of S.R. 54), Metro Development showed off the beginnings of the massive project which currently is one large hole in the ground — while selling a vision so bright, the developer felt the need to hand out white Crystal Lagoon shades.

Epperson is part of the larger Connected City project, a high-tech, ultrafast gigabit community covering roughly 7,800 acres stretching from northern Wesley Chapel into San Antonio. That project is still working its way through the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners.

Crystal Lagoons are expected to become one of the fastest-growing amenities in the country, and was the star of the preview show. The 7.5- acre lagoon at Epperson will be 4,200 linear square feet (almost a mile) in circumference and will have an average depth of 8 feet, with some areas as deep as 10-12 feet.

Developed by real estate developer and biochemist Fernando Fischmann, it will be like “swimming in a bottle of Zephyrhills water,’’ Singleton said during the event.

That’s possible because of a patented pulse disinfection and ultrasonic filtration system, as well as 400 sensors monitoring the water. Singleton said the lagoon will use less water and chemicals than a golf course or park when it comes to maintenance.

Some of those on hand (including Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager) were taken up 75 feet in a tethered hot-air bal-

6

Metro Development CEO Greg Singelton (left) and Crystal Lagoons CEO Uri Man lead a toast at the official groundbreaking for the lagoon at Epperson Ranch off Curley Rd. loon for an aerial view of the lagoon, which will be the first operational Crystal Lagoon ever in the U.S., while the less adventurous were raised in mechanical lifts.

With the exception of a few kayaks laid out among the piles of dirt, there was little to see, but plenty to imagine.

“It will be the most incredible amenity you will ever see,’’ said Scott Andreason, the director of landscape architecture with Heidt Design, which is designing the surrounding features of the Metro Lagoon, such as: • The Hub, which will provide access to the lagoon, and include a large plaza to host community events, like farmers markets, a synthetic lawn covered with shade sails, a stage for live entertainment like bands, and a huge outdoor television for sports and movie viewing.

• A restaurant and swim-up bar, with an extended plaza behind the restaurant for food trucks and the ability to host weddings and corporate events, as well as a zero-entry access to the lagoon.

•Venture Bay, for paddleboarders and kayakers.

•Gasparilla Island, which Andreason describes as an “endless island” with hammocks, cabanas and umbrellas, and a “Tidal Water” area where the water rises from zero to 3.5-feet deep.

•Cabana Pool, a cove within the lagoon completely surrounded by cabanas.

In the middle of it, an entertainment pavilion to accommodate a deejay or band, and another large television screen.

• The Grotto, which Andreason calls

the “gem” of the lagoon; it will feature a waterfall.

• Town Center & Getaway Cove, which will have beaches where you can watch the sun set.

With gigabit internet, homes

by Pulte, DR Horton, Miranda and Apex Homes and what will be a one-of-a-kind lagoon — at least, for now — Singleton says the goal at Epperson Ranch is simple: “We want to make it very difficult for you to go elsewhere.”

Crystal Lagoons CEO Uri Man his company, which has more than 1,500 patents in 60 countries, already has 15 contracts to build other lagoons in the U.S., and will build hundreds in the next few years.

“It’s exciting,’’ he said.

He also noted that a recent Boston Consulting study says more than 2,000 lagoons will be built nationwide over next 15 years. Crystal Lagoons already has more than 600 projects in development across the globe.

But, Wesley Chapel will be the first in this country. After Epperson, Metro is scheduled to build a lagoon near the Mirada development just south of S.R. 52, also in the Connected City. It also has plans to build in the Riverview area and in Fort Myers. For more A hot-air balloon (top) provided an aerial view of the info, visit MetroPlaces.com or lagoon, which will showcase The Hub (middle), Gasparilla Island (bottom) and other unique features.

Facebook/CrystalLagoonWC.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Despite Objections, Quail Hollow Golf Course To Be Replaced With Homes

By John C. Cotey Residents who live near Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club (G&CC) likely won’t be able to save their golf course, but their concerns about flooding and traffic may help determine exactly how many homes are built on the land that currently is home to their beloved links.

At a public hearing on Jan. 12 at the Dade City Courthouse, QHG&CC’s owner asked to have its request for rezoning the property for 400 homes delayed while it looks into developing a plan that wouldn’t require a zoning change, per the suggestion of the Pasco County Developmental Review Committee (DRC).

Andre Carollo’s Pasco Office Park LLC, the owner of the golf course (located at 6225 Old Pasco Rd., north of Wesley Chapel Blvd.), was represented at the DRC meeting by his attorney Barbara Wilhite.

Carollo has been seeking to rezone the property from R1, which allows for homes on 20,000-sq.-ft. lots, to a Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD), which allows for homes on 4,000–sq.-ft. lots.

In essence, Carollo is hoping to squeeze roughly 400 homes on the 175-acre site, as opposed to the 283 he would be limited to under the current zoning.

More than 100 residents were in attendance at the meeting, and two dozen spoke. While many lamented the loss of green space and privacy, one of the biggest concerns was the 6,811-yard golf course’s propensity for flooding.

The belief of residents is that the golf

8

Residents who live near the Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club golf course pack the Dade City Courthouse hoping to keep a developer from replacing the golf course with 400 homes.

Wilhite asked for time to produce course can’t handle 400 homes, and that such a plan and said she will present it at a construction of those houses would exacerfuture DRC meeting. The project would bate a long-standing problem.

“During rainy season, it’s a mess,’’ said need final approval from the Pasco Board of Linda Garrett, who lives on Sandbagger Ln. County Commissioners.

The delay seemed to please the crowd “When it rains, it floods the course and fills a ditch on the side of my house. How is the crammed into the courthouse, although flooding and runoff not going to affect us?” Goldstein warned that the DRC didn’t have the power to save the golf course.

Chief assistant county attorney David “I’d hate to think that anybody in this Goldstein asked if there was a flood study audience thinks this board has the power or any experts or staff members who could to require this land to stay a golf course… definitively answer if the land could handle because we don’t,” Goldstein said. “This 400 homes, but none were forthcoming.

Because DRC members have only seen land is zoned R1. The DRC can recommend plans for 400 homes, Goldstein asked to see it stays R1. But, it is not within our purview (to say) that it stays a golf course.” a plan for 283 homes.

And it won’t.

“It would be helpful to conceptually “I understand that everybody still analyze what the property would look like as wants the golf course and would hope my R1,’’ he said, for the sake of comparison.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

client maintains it so they could have a park behind their house forever, but that’s not the reality,’’ Wilhite said.

Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Then why did you sell it to us like that?”

Wilhite responded, “The reality is, the property has always been zoned for residential use; it was never zoned to be a golf course.”

Two DRC members — assistant county administrators Cathy Pearson and Flip Mellinger — expressed condolences for those who bought homes years ago, at a premium price, that were on a golf course but now appear likely to be surrounded by new homes in the future.

Despite its residential zoning, Mellinger said there was no mistaking it was sold as a golf course community. He had just listened to residents from Sandbagger Ln., Golf Course Lp., Country Club Rd. and 9 Iron Ct. plead their cases.

“When I look at the street names, you can’t tell me it wasn’t sold to them as a golf course community,’’ Mellinger said. He added that the course was built in 1965, before the county had zoning laws, and in the 1990s took advantage of the new rules to change it to an R1. He said he would recommend that it stay as an R1.

Quail Hollow G&CC has had a upand-down existence the past decade, even closing for two years in 2008-10. Carollo bought the property for $1.7 million in 2010 and the nicely refurbished course and clubhouse drew rave reviews when they re-opened.

@NTWCNews

Rob Patterson Of Veterans Elem. Is Pasco’s 2017 Teacher Of The Year!

2017 WC Teachers of the Year

By John C. Cotey

Rob Patterson moves from desk to desk around his fifth-grade math classroom at Veterans Elementary.

One girl says she is confused, and he jokes, “that’s okay, it’s your birthday.” He remembered.

He refers to another student by his nickname, and bounces around to help others on a fractions problem in an easy, softspoken style, often admiring his students’ handiwork.

On Jan. 27, at its S.T.A.R. (Staff That Are Remarkable) awards event at the Wesley Chapel High Center for the Performing Arts, the Pasco Education Foundation named Patterson the 2017 Pasco County Teacher of the Year.

He seems almost embarrassed by the attention. Patterson, 46, insists he is no different than any other teacher, and added there are so many more just as deserving.

But, what might have earned him his designation more than anything else is his connection with his students, which is evident as he glides between the maze of desks in his classroom.

“What makes me successful is my relationship with the kids,’’ Patterson says. “I invest time to know them, I integrate them into problems, I interact with them.”

He remembers little things, like birthdays, and tries to know his students’ favorite football team, or what dance class they might be taking, or how many siblings they have.

Making that connection is why, 10 years ago, Patterson first decided to start

10

Pasco County Teacher of the Year Rob Patterson helps one of his students with fractions during a recent fifth-grade class at Veterans Elementary. (Photo: John C. Cotey) working on becoming a teacher.

“It was the best career decision I could have made,’’ he says.

At the time, he was on the road making good money as a customer service representative. But, he was away from his children, Jacob, now 13, and Peyton, 17.

And, he admitted that he was missing something. It turned out to be the joy he got impacting young kids, which he did while teaching golf in his earlier days as an assistant pro at Northdale Country Club in Carrollwood and at the TPC (Tournament

Players Club) Tampa Bay in Lutz.

It was while still working as a customer service rep that Patterson started taking education classes at the University of South Florida (USF) in his spare time. He sat in on classes with students young enough to be his kids. Little by little, he moved closer to what he really wanted to do.

“I chose elementary school at an early age for kids,’’ Patterson says. “I like this age.

I think its important get to kids early, to make an impact early. That definitely helps them later on.”

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

Wesley Chapel High School Helen Mester Wiregrass Ranch High School Mathew Simmons Thomas E. Weightman Middle School J. Franklin Britton, III Dr. John Long Middle School Jessica Beagle Double Branch Elementary School Deborah Torres New River Elementary School Jolene Furman Quail Hollow Elementary School Lora Darby Sand Pine Elementary School Tamara Perugini Seven Oaks Elementary School Stephanie Huff Veterans Elementary School Robert Patterson Watergrass Elementary School Heather Kiefer Wesley Chapel Elementary School Christina Salerno Wiregrass Elementary School Stephanie Hodges

After completing his B.S. in Elementary Education degree at USF and teaching one year in Hillsborough County, Patterson joined Veterans Elementary in 2009.

He says that although he has learned a lot from the women teachers he has worked with, he relishes his role as the rare male elementary school teacher, especially when it comes to the boys. That means high-fives here and there, sports talk and even fantasy football discussions over lunch.

“This is where I need to be,” Patterson said. “I need to be in education. I just have a love for kids. This is my happy place.”

@NTWCNews

One Year Later, Schuyler Arakawa Is Still A Light That Can’t Be Extinguished

By John C. Cotey Dyane Elkins IronWing can still picture Schuyler Arakawa as a long-haired little girl filled with fire, prancing around her New Tampa Dance Theatre (NTDT) floor in rainbow-colored socks, cowboy boots and a mini skirt, her beaming smile lighting up the room with an energy so pure it was impossible to resist.

When she looks at Schuyler today, Dyane says she sees the same thing. The smile is still bright, the dimples are irresistible, the energy still pure.

“She was angelic then, and angelic now,’’ Dyane says.

It’s as if nothing has changed, even if everything has.

On Feb. 19, Schuyler, her mother Meridith Hankenson, sister Saya and brother Lyndon will quietly mark a one-year anniversary that many in the same situation would rather forget.

Meridith doesn’t know if her youngest daughter ever saw the large boulder roll off the 30-foot-high cliff that day and plummet towards the water. Schuyler doesn’t remember it crashing into her face, driving her deep under the water, crushing her skull, breaking her leg, collapsing her lung, fracturing five vertebrae in her spine and almost killing her.

What they do know, however, is this: it changed their world forever. +++++++ Today, Schuyler, who is 23 years old, is moving forward, with many of the same hopes and dreams she had before.

A former Arbor Greene resident and longtime student at the NTDT on Cross Creek Blvd., Schuyler had the world at her feet a year ago.

She is a Berkeley Prep and Yale University graduate, and was on a mission to make the world a better, happier place. There was nothing she couldn’t do.

Now, she is starting over.

She goes to therapy three days a week, travels once a week to Tarpon Springs for aqua therapy, takes a yoga class and is trying to learn how to speak again, how to get up out of her wheelchair and walk again.

She is still joyous, however, in an amazing sort of way. She breaks out into smiles and laughter while finishing off leftover tacos for lunch in the Citrus Park townhome she now lives in with her mother.

Forrest Maddox, a friend from Yale who visits from New York every few months, smiles and laughs with her, reaching over to rub her arm.

Frodo, the family’s 13-year-old dapple dachshund, clickety-clacks across the floor at her feet, a treat in her mouth, perhaps to keep it from Tinkerbell, their chocolate, long-haired dachshund.

It is a quiet, peaceful, normal day. Schuyler had physical therapy in the morning, ate a big lunch, and is looking forward to her daily threehour afternoon nap.

Her therapy is exhausting. “Everything is hard,’’ she says, quietly. “But I have to do it.” +++++++++ Schuyler had traveled the world to so many places before the boulder rolled off that cliff in Colombia. She helped children and adults to read in Tanzania, and had worked with a pistachio plantation that was the lifeblood of a village in Indonesia.

She made friends everywhere she went, and created for herself a worldwide social network to help benefit the less fortunate.

Schuyler’s passion was social enterprise, and on a brief break from building schools in Peru, she was enjoying the cool water during a rafting trip. She had taken a few days of vacation before what was going to be the second installation of 12

a Yale-affiliated post-graduate fellowship, which involved weaving for the Threads of Peru, a not-for-profit social enterprise which spreads Peruvian culture and creates a sustainable market for the local artisans by selling handmade panchos, scarves and bracelets, to name a few.

Meridith remembers getting the phone call from one of Schuyler’s friends with her at the time, Dana, frantically telling her Schuyler had been hurt.

She might not live, the friend said. Meridith needed to get to Colombia.

So began a frantic, spellbinding and critical 72-hour period in which every minute mattered, and every decision was life or death. ++++++ Meridith didn’t speak Spanish, and didn’t know anyone from Colombia, but she knew she needed help. She’s not sure why, but she posted a plea on Facebook.

One of Schuyler’s friends knew a woman who was originally from Colombia. Her name is Amalita Estrada, and her daughter had attended Berkeley Prep with Schuyler. Along with another family — Chris and Georgette Tsavoussis, whose daughter Alexis went to school with Schuyler and immediately created a GoFundMe page for her classmate that raised more than $200,000 — they began helping to pave Meridith’s way in and out of Colombia.

“I got a phone call as I was checking out at the grocery store, and for some reason I felt a connection instantly,’’ says Amalita, who had never met Schuyler or her mother. She had to look in her daughter’s yearbook to even see what Schuyler looked like.

She began making calls from her Tarpon Springs home, trying to get Meridith to Colombia, eventually booking her plane tickets.

She called her cousin, a neurosurgeon in Bogota, the capital of Colombia.

Amalita told him he needed help getting Schuyler to Bogota, where the main hospitals would be. He asked where Schuyler was, and Amalita told him Socorro, in the northeastern part of Colombia.

Her cousin told her to take a deep breath and relax. It just so happened that one of Colombia’s best neurosurgeons, and his former teacher, had retired to Socorro, a small town of 30,000. And not only that, he had built an Intensive Care Unit in the middle of this small city because there had been so many motorcycle accidents in the area.

“Out of his own heart and goodwill, he built that there, because there was a need,’’ Amalita said. Without it, it is unlikely Schuyler would be alive today.

“That saved her life,’’ Amalita says.

Schuyler had been pulled from the river by the tour guides, and transported along dirt roads to the hospital in Socorro. Amalita doesn’t know how they did it, but they had help from an American man, she says, who just happened to appear and helped them get Schuyler up the ravine and into a vehicle. No one saw him again.

“An angel,’’ Amalita explains, because how else would you?

At the ICU, doctors stabilized Schuyler, but the prognosis was still grim. Meridith and her two other children couldn’t get a flight out of Tampa, so they raced to Miami to catch the last one out that night to Colombia.

Meanwhile, the woman back in Tarpon Springs that they had never met and didn’t know

was making calls, talking to doctors, organizing transportation and making the biggest decisions of the family’s life.

“Amalita was a blessing,’’ Meridith says. “I didn’t know her, but I could feel her energy, and I think Schuyler could too.”

On the flight to Colombia, a near calm had come over Meridith. A deeply spiritual person, she says she reached deep into her soul and found a positivity, a peace, that even she didn’t know was there.

She decided, on the airplane, that Schuyler was going to be all right…and nothing could shake her from that belief. +++++++ When Meridith arrived, the doctors showed her the x-rays.

“A whole part of her skull was gone,’’ she says. “They told us for sure she would not see, ever again, no possible way. She would never smell, or taste, if she survived at all.”

By the next morning, on Feb. 20, a CAT scan revealed dramatic improvement. Though in a medically induced coma, Schuyler had already begun the fight.

In the ICU, Meridith told Saya she wished she could play music for Schuyler, because she loved it so much. She fiddled with her cell phone, but there was no Wi-Fi, and she was not receiving service despite her efforts to load Pandora.

She says she placed her phone on top of the paper towel dispenser while she washed her hands, and “all of a sudden Izzy’s ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ comes blasting from my phone.”

Meridith reaches out her arm as she recalls

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

the moment. “Look, my hair still stands on end when I tell this story.”

Somehow, the Pandora app on her phone began playing, even though her phone still had no bars. They gently placed it on Schuyler’s bed and agreed not to touch the phone again. The playlist continued to pipe in tunes. “It proceeded to a playlist that was as if she was having a conversation with us,’’ Meridith said. “It was mind-blowing.”

She wrote down all the songs as they played, and later published them to a “Schuy is the Limit” Facebook page, which Meridith started during her time in Colombia to keep the hundreds of Schuyler’s friends from around the world updated.

The Facebook page proved to be a wonderful source for the family, as prayers and well wishes poured in.

Some wrote that Meridith’s updates were so filled with a positive joy, that it transformed their lives. One mother wrote that her son had been suicidal, but after following the daily posts had told his mother he loved her for the first time in years.

Meridith and Amalita were talking on the phone regularly, about getting Schuyler out of Colombia and to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where they would eventually meet.

The second night in the ICU, before one of her many surgeries early on, the two mothers talked about positive colors, and how they can affect mood. Independently, they had both imagined Schuyler in a room awash with the healing colors of purple and green. “I thought, well, that’s interesting,’’ Meridith said.

The next morning, at 6 a.m., the doctors and nurses show up, wearing purple scrubs. Meridith found the head nurse, and wanted to give her a hug to thank her. The nurse’s name was Violet.

After the surgery, a new nurse had rotated in. Her name was written on the whiteboard in Schuyler’s room — it was Hazel, which is, of course, a shade of green. And, everywhere Meridith looked that day, people seemed to be wearing purple and green.

“There were a lot of things like that happening,’’ she remembers. “Things like that were smattered throughout the whole process.”

Over the next couple of weeks, as Schuyler recovered, there were more miracles.

The girl that was never supposed to be able to smell again complained about a particular aroma from the essential oil that was being diffused near her.

The girl that was never supposed to see again, whose optic nerves had been smashed by a direct hit from a boulder, tapped the correct number of fingers when the doctors asked how many fingers they were holding up.

The room erupted in cheers.

Once they were able to get her back to the U.S., doctors in Miami worked on putting Schuyler back together again. In March, Meridith post-

@NTWCNews

ed on Facebook: “Dear sweet Schuy is going to continue her titanium transformation beginning at about 6 am tomorrow morning. She will have a rod placed in her right thigh then screws and wires in her left ankle, shin and knee cap. The miracles of modern science!”

While Schuyler may need an additional surgery to repair her right eyelid later this spring, she has not required any other surgeries, remarkable considering that the boulder had made a direct hit on her head.

Amalita is Catholic, so she has read all about miracles. But, this was the first time, she says, that she had been a part of one.

“I tell everybody that you hear about these many miracles in Biblical times, and about angels and the Pope and so many religious stories, but before my eyes, I can testify that this is a miracle,’’ she says.

She is witness to it every week. She had a pool, so Amalita volunteered to learn aquatherapy.

On Thursdays, Meridith drives Schuyler to Tarpon Springs for treatment. Amalita marvels at the progress she gets to see.

“It’s a beautiful, flowing story, and Schuyler is getting better when the odds were that she wasn’t supposed to.”

It has been almost a year since the accident, and the road to recovery is still a long one for Schuyler. But, she isn’t angry, she never asks why this had to happen to her, and she remains undaunted.

“She is championing her way through this,’’ Meridith says. “Neither she nor I have any doubt that within another year, she will be walking.”

The mother has been transformed, too.

Before the accident, things hadn’t been easy for Meridith. There were bad relationships, failed businesses, financial strife.

At times, life had proven difficult.

Before she got off that plane in Colombia, though, everything had come together. She looked at her past, and how it had shaped her for this moment. She was determined to will Schuyler to live, until she could arrive at her side. Once there, in concert with all of the wonderful medical advances employed by the doctors and nurses, she draped her daughter in love, and powered her to recovery, until she could bring her home, and take care of her.

Everything that Schuyler wanted to be before the accident, Meridith will make sure she still becomes.

“I am in awe of the beauty of this mom and her daughter,’’ says Amalita. “What Meridith has done, her positivity, it defies belief. Schuyler would not have survived without her.”

Schuyler has plans to start a travel website, based on the travel blog she kept before the accident. It will highlight user-generated trips made by the more curious travelers, who eschew the typical Top 10 places to visit in a city.

“If you’re ever in Montana, for example, go

Neighborhood News

see the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas,’’ Meridith says.

The website will keep Schuyler engaged, as she is currently brainstorming ideas. “By the time Schuyler is up and running, she’ll be able to use he own passport and will have plenty of ideas for places to visit,’’ Meridith says.

Forrest was one of Schuyler’s closest friends at Yale, and he says he still sees the same joy and enthusiasm in her face he did before the accident.

Her says her personality is the same and that he has little doubt that whatever she chooses to do, the best is still ahead for her.

“I don’t see this being a defining story for Schuyler, which is weird to say,” Forrest says. “I honestly think this is something where, she’ll be doing something else amazing and she’ll say, ‘Oh by the way, a couple of years ago I was in this horrible accident, but right now I’m doing this incredible thing.’”

In October, Elkins IronWing, who helped teach Schuyler jazz, ballet, modern and even hiphop dance (“She loved them all,’’ Meridith says) for more than a dozen years at NTDT, held a large Dance-a-Thon fund raiser for her.

Hundreds showed up, and dozens of local businesses chipped in to pull it off. Dyane was not surprised about the large turnout.

“She was a light that everyone was drawn to,’’ Elkins IronWing says. “I always tell people, if you met her for five minutes, you would remember her for the rest of your life.”

When Dyane saw Schuyler for the first time after the accident, she was overcome with emotion. Her voice chokes up even now recalling the moment, how she so badly just wanted to run to her former pupil and kiss the familiar dimples on her cheeks.

“From the time the accident happened until that moment, she was on the front of my brain,’’ Dyane says. “I just wanted to see her, feel her and kiss her to let her know that everything would be okay.”

The women of Threads of Peru didn’t get the chance to host Schuyler, but her story moved them to make 10,000 of the very same bracelets with the exact pattern Schuyler was wearing that day on the water. She still wears that bracelet today.

Dyane sells them at her dance studio, for $10, with all proceeds going to the cost of Schuyler’s medical care and therapy.

Schuyler has a long way to go to “complete” recovery, or as close as anyone can get to that after a boulder lands on their head. But she’ll get there.

She promises.

“I’m just a positive person,” she says.

To follow Schuyler and Meridith on Facebook, search Schuy is the Limit. To purchase a bracelet at the New Tampa Dance Theatre (10701 Cross Creek Blvd), visit MondayThursday 4 p.m.-8 p.m., or 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday.

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

13

Shops At Wiregrass Update — Macy’s Staying Put, Noble Crust On The Way who adds that the restaurant employs an offsite production kitchen where all of its fresh pasta, sauces and cured meets are produced.

A larger, 7,000sq.-ft. facility is being built off Racetrack Rd. in Tampa. To learn more about Noble Crust, visit NobleCrust.com.

By John C. Cotey

Noble Crust, a hip north St. Petersburg restaurant featuring Italian-Southern fusion, is coming to the Shops at Wiregrass mall.

Wiregrass general manager Greg Lenners confirmed that the restaurant, created by the same folks who brought the Bonefish Grill to Wesley Chapel, has signed a lease and begun construction on its 3,200-sq.-ft. location, which will be right next to the existing Pinchers Crab Shack.

The Noble Crust team includes TJ Theilbar and Tim Curci, who helped develop Bonefish Grill and Hops Grill and Bar, executive chef Rob Reinsmith and financial consultant Jeff Strouse.

Theilbar told us in June he was in negotiations, and that “We have some very specific requests as far as the look trying to work through the logistics.” Those issues have all been resolved and plans to open the restaurant by the end of the year are underway.

The Noble Crust website says it is hoping for a Spring, 2017 opening.

The eatery has received mostly rave reviews since opening its St. Petersburg location in Feb., 2015.

Although the name of the restaurant suggests a pizza place, and Noble Crust does serve different versions of the Italian pie, it is much more than that under the direction of Reinsmith.

“Everything we do is in house and from scratch,’’ Theilbar said.

Noble Crust’s brunch has been voted one of Tampa Bay’s best by various publica-

14

More Good Mall News

Macy’s has announced that it will be closing 68 store sin 2017, but the good Rendering of the new Noble Crust coming to the Shops at Wire- news is, one of them won’t be ours. tions, and it features items such as deviled The department store chain, which aneggs, ricotta gnocchi, Lemon Ricotta pancakes, Bronzed Salmon Benny and fried nounced in August that it would be closing 100 of its 700 stores by next year, announced chicken and waffles.

Some of the restaurant’s dinner favorites 68 of its store closings and the Macy’s locainclude its popular beef-and-veal meatballs, tion at the Shops at Wiregrass mall was not southern fried chicken, shrimp and grits, on the list.

That’s good news, says Lenners. sweet potato ravioli and rigatoni and short rib “Having a Macy’s, it basically rounds out ragu.

And of course, there are pizzas, like the the selection of stores that we have and it’s a Noble Pig, which features sweet fennel sau- great anchor to have,’’ Lenners says.

When Macy’s announced its potential sage, spicy soppressata and pickled cherry peppers, and the Roasted Mushroom, with closings last year, Morningstar Credit Ratings shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Gluten-free identified 28 locations that had sales below the company’s national average for 2014, the crust is also available.

The menu changes often, says Theilbar, most recent year information was available,

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

putting them at higher risk. The Wiregrass Macy’s was No. 8 on that list, reporting $118 in sales per sq. ft. The average for Macy’s overall in 2014 was $169 per sq. ft.

The other Florida store on the Morningstar Credit Ratings list was the Lakeland Square Mall location. That location did not survive and will close this spring.

Lenners says that despite the report, he never thought the location at his mall would be axed.

“We always anticipated it wouldn’t close,’’ he says. “We are in one of the fastestgrowing communities in the state. It didn’t make sense why they would close it.”

Lenners points to some recent and planned openings that show the mall is still growing and going strong.

A few months ago, PhoLicious, a Vietnamese noodle soup café, opened, and Union 72 BBQ shortly thereafter. And, on Jan. 8, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt debuted.

The Chinese stir-fry kitchen Wok Chi, located near the Barnes & Noble, has opened recently as well. Avalon Spa & Nails also is “coming soon.”

And, despite rumors to the contrary, Irish 31 is still expected to open this spring.

Lenners also said the so-called “connector site” to the east of the existing Shops at Wiregrass, which will include luxury apartments, a movie theater and a green grocer, is still making it’s way through the environmental permitting process, but hopes to break ground sometime in the fall.

“There’s going to be lots of activity,’’ Lenners says.

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

FEBRUARY 2017 Friday, February 10 - 2 PM

are Friday, Feb. 17, 5 - 7 p.m. Artwork is on display during Art Center hours from February 14 - March 10. Call 727-845-7322 for details or visit PascoArts.org.

Saturday, February 18 - 12:30 PM

Free Nutrition Seminar - Samantha Taylor will help you get motivated, stay Mental Health Support Group - NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of focused, and learn to balance nutrition to reach your goals. 2206 Knight Road, Pasco is a support group for adults in Pasco County living with mental illness or in Land O’ Lakes. Register online: SamanthaTaylorSeminars.com. recovery. The group meets the 2nd & 4th Friday of each month, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 21 - 7 PM at Atonement Lutheran Church (29617 S.R. 54). For info, visit NAMIPasco.org.

NAMI Friends & Family: Mental Health Support Group - NAMI (National Alliance Saturday, February 11 - 9:30 AM-11:30 AM on Mental Illness) of Pasco support group for friends & family of those with mental BayChapel Food Pantry - Free food to help needy families. Open every Saturday illness. The group meets the 1st & 3rd Tues. of each month, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at behind Christian Brothers Automotive on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., at 20300 Trout Atonement Lutheran Church (29617 S.R. 54). For info, visit NAMIPasco.com.

Creek Dr., New Tampa. For more info, visit BayChapel.org.

Monday, February 13 - 7:45 AM

Tuesday, February 28 - 6 PM

Monday, February 13 - 6 PM

Wesley Chapel Lions Club - The Wesley Chapel Lions Club meets every 4th Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hyundai of Wesley Chapel (27000 Wesley Chapel Blvd.).

For more information about volunteering, community efforts, meetings, helping the vision impaired & more, visit the club on Facebook or at WesleyChapelLionsClub.com.

Tuesday - February 14 - 11:30 AM

MARCH 2017

Professional Business Connections (PBC) - PBC meets Mondays at 7:45 a.m. at The Happy Hangar Cafe (at Tampa North Aero Park, 4241 Birdsong Blvd., off S.R. 54, Lutz). For more info, call Matt Archbold at 782-1777.

Wesley Chapel Speaks - The Wesley Chapel Toast Masters meets every Monday at 6:30 pm at Wesley Chapel Nissan (28519 State Rd 54) to teach the community public speaking and leadership skills. Arrive at 6 pm for networking opportunities.

For more info, call Martin at 693-0969.

Tuesday - March 7 - 6:30 - 8 PM

Keep It Local - This seat-specific networking group emphasizes small, local GFWC Pasco Junior Woman’s Club Monthly Meeting - The GFWC Pasco Junbusinesses. Meets meets every Tuesday at GrillSmith at The Shops at Wire- ior Woman’s Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to community improvegrass. For more info, call Marino Cecchi at 513-9001. ment by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. We welcome women of all ages to attend a meeting and see how you can get involved in your Wednesday, February 15 - 7:30 AM community. For info, visit facebook.com/GFWCPascoJuniors.

Business Networking International (BNI) - BNI, a group of business pros dedicated to helping their member businesses grow through qualified referrals, meets Wednesday, March 8 - 7:30 AM every Wed., 7:30 a.m., at the Cory Lake Isles Beach Club clubhouse (10441 Cory Wesley Chapel Breakfast Club - The Wesley Chapel Breakfast Club brings Lake Dr.) in New Tampa. Call Bill Sullivan at 994-1143. business people together to network & present their businesses to the group. The club meets the 2nd Wed. of each month at 7:30 a.m. at Cracker Barrel (5636 OakWednesday, February 15 - Noon Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel - The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel (Noon) meets ley Blvd.). Call Bill at 992-3370.

Wed. at noon at Quail Hollow Country Club (6225 Old Pasco Rd.). First-time guests Thursday, March 9 - 6:30 PM attend for free. For more info, call 862-8989 or 391-3895.

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 Thursday, February 16 - 7:30 AM members & guests are welcome to enjoy networking, coffee, and dessert. For BNI Networking Meeting - BNI, a networking organization, has a new chapter speaker schedules, call Peter Cracchiolo at 360-9813. in Wesley Chapel. Business professionals are invited to attend on Thursdays at Savannah Church (3758 Merryweather Lane). Call Vicky McShane to RSVP @ Saturday, March 11 -Noon 714-6513.

Heritage Arts Center Association “Spotlight on Talent” Show- See page 30.

Thursday, February 16 - 8 AM Networking For Your Success - The Networking For Your Success group meets Saturday, March 18 -Noon-4 PM Thursdays, 8 a.m., at the Lexington Oaks Golf Club clubhouse (26133 Lexington Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel - See pages 1 & 3.

Oaks Blvd.). All are welcome. For more information, call 994-9944.

Thursday, February 16 - 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 11:30 a.m.; lunch is noon-1 p.m. For more info, visit RGANetwork.net.

Thursday, February 16 - 7 PM

Celebrate Recovery - Meeting Thursdays at 7 p.m. at Bridgeway Church (30660 Wells Rd.), the purpose of Celebrate Recovery is to bring freedom from dysfunctional, compulsive & addictive behaviors through biblically-based principles. Dinner & free childcare available. For info, call 907-1313.

Friday, February 17 - 7:15 AM

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, call Lynne Morgan at 695-6466.

Friday, February 17 - 5 PM - 7 PM

Pasco Fine Arts Council “Art Annual” - Pasco Fine Arts’ biggest competition of the year, open to the public to submit works in all mediums. There are two categories, professional and non-professional, with prizes for both. Reception and awards 16

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

17

Olympus Pools Can Add Value To Your Home & Create Family Memories

By Brad Stager Backyard pools in Florida are pretty common, but Olympus Pools has helped hundreds of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel homeowners make a uniquely personal statement with theirs.

“We take pride in giving people the most bang for their buck,” says James Staten, who owns Olympus Pools with his wife, Alexis.

The options available to homeowners who want to build a pool are extensive with Olympus, ranging from traditional models that tend to be linear in shape, to blends of rustic and contemporary styles that combine the basic elements of fire, stone and water into a backyard oasis.

Designs can accommodate features such as a dry, sunken living room, swim-up bar and a cozy grotto illuminated with LED lighting and fire bowls. Water and lighting features can be managed from anywhere there’s a phone signal, via a smartphone app.

While the pool design will be one of a kind, Staten says the level of customer service also is uniformly high.

“We build them the same way for our customers that we build them for ourselves,” he says.

Olympus Pools is licensed for commercial as well as residential pool construction, but Staten says creating the perfect backyard water wonderland for each customer’s needs is the heart of the business. In fact, he added, his company built 240 pools last year and he attributes this success to focusing on three key elements: design, construction and service.

“We try to make sure we’re the best in each of these three,” he says.

This pool was created by Olympus Pools, which will custom-design your pool, spa and deck, too.

The Design Of Your Dreams

Making a splash (pun intended) with a great backyard pool starts with design and Staten says meeting each customer’s individual needs, interests and construction requirements are always considered in that process.

“Every design we do is custom,” he says.“ “Every single one. We don’t have any templates or cookie-cutter designs.”

Staten says the goal is creating a pool that’s well-designed, meets your budget considerations and suits your lifestyle.

Olympus is staffed with pool designers

like Toni Masse, who combines a background in construction with interior design experience in her swimming pool creations. She says creating a sunken living room for a pool has similarities to designing one inside a house.

“I enjoy the process of meeting new people and designing their pools,” she says, adding that paying attention to what customers want as important in meeting their expectations. “Part of being a designer is listening to the customers.”

Olympus designers can take your ideas and turn them into construction projects that

Staten says will usually take six-to-eight weeks.

“We’re known for building pools very quickly,” he says.

Whether you want to add a spa to an existing pool or get a complete backyard makeover, Olympus pool designers stay connected with you throughout the process.

“I continue with you throughout the construction, because I’m committed to the customer from beginning to the end,” says Santiago Serna, who has 28 years of experience designing pools. Serna adds that he gets a great sense of satisfaction when he visits for a follow-up check of the construction and sees families having a barbecue around their pool.

Building a backyard pool means plunging into the deep end of home construction permitting that ensures the work conforms to legal standards. Staten says Olympus Pools manages that process, which is one way the company provides a high level of service to its customers.

“We handle all of the permits and engineering so the customer can sit back,” he says.

“We do all the hard work.”

Customers can keep track of the progress on their project with construction updates they can receive as text messages.

“It keeps the customers involved and helps keep us on schedule,” says Staten.

Satisfied Customers

Receiving text updates is a feature that Dan Carroll says he appreciates about his customer experience with Olympus Pools.

“They tell you what’s going on,” says Carroll. “The quality,, I think, is outstanding.

I got exactly what I wanted.”

TAKE A TIP FROM THE FASHION WORLD AND DRESS YOUR WINDOWS IN LAYERS.

Love is BLINDS Sale

30% Off Select Signature Series Window Treatments and Inspired Drapes Fabrics* Sale Ends 02/27/17

Call today for your free in-home design consultation!

813-968-5050 // BudgetBlinds.com/northtampa Showroom: 1208 W. Fletcher Avenue Hours: M-F 10:00 – 5:00 Sat. 10:00 – 3:00

*Excludes shutters where everyday low price applies. Offer good on selected Signature Series® window treatments and Inspired Drapes® sold exclusively through Budget Blinds®. Drapery hardware and installation not included. At participating franchises only. Valid at time of initial estimate. Not valid with any other offers, discounts or coupons. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. Offer available for a limited time only.. Expires: 2/27/17 ©2016 Budget Blinds, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Budget Blinds and Inspired Drapes are trademarks of Budget Blinds, Inc. and Home Franchise Concepts Brands. Each franchise independently owned and operated. Franchise opportunities available.

18

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Olympus Pools designer Santiago Serna develops a computerized design of a pool for a customer.

Another thing that Staten emphasizes in his company’s pools is safety, from using unblockable channel drains to the screens and fences enclosing them.

“I have five children myself,” says the Live Oak Preserve resident. “So, it’s extremely important to me that you have the safest possible pool.”

Once your pool is completed, Staten says it will add value and “salability” to your home, although the big payoff to pool ownership isn’t necessarily financial. “You automatically have plans for every weekend,’’ he says.

“My favorite memories are hanging out in a backyard pool with family and friends.”

Staten started his company after working in the pool construction industry for more than a decade.

“I’ve worked every job in the field,” says

Neighborhood News

Staten, who manages the operation from the company offices located just off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., near Tampa International Airport (west of Dale Mabry Hwy.) Staten attributes a lot of the growth of Olympus Pools to referrals from customers.

He also uses social media to generate interest from customers and people in the pool construction industry.

He also says his company’s page on Facebook (search: OlympusPools ) is a primary source for the most up-to-date information, photos and videos about pool design, construction trends and other information.

In addition to the Facebook page, you can visit OlympusPoolsFL.com, call 983-7854 or see the ad on page 28. The Olympus Pools office & design center is located at 4422 N. Lauber Way in Tampa.

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

19

You Can Shop At Home For Great Flooring With Ronnie’s Carpets

By Celeste McLaughlin If it’s time to replace or upgrade the flooring in your home, Johnny Vandervlis wants to come to you to help you with your project.

Johnny is a Wesley Chapel resident who is a sales and design consultant for Ronnie’s Carpets, which is located in Lakeland.

“Ronnie’s Carpets has been around for 45 years, in the same location, with the original owner,” explains Johnny. “There really is a ‘Ronnie’ in Ronnie’s Carpets.”

He says being backed by the largest retail flooring store in Polk County actually gives customers in Wesley Chapel an advantage.

“We are competitive in price, and we give a three-year warranty on installation,” says Johnny. “Most places only give one year. Plus, we’ve been around 45 years, so that warranty actually means something.”

Want an estimate on what new flooring would cost in your home? Johnny says there’s no need to trek out to Ronnie’s or any other flooring store, because he will come to you with lots and lots of samples and give you a free, no-obligation estimate.

“You call me and give me an idea of what you’re looking for,” says Johnny. “I set an appointment and come out to you.

I bring samples and take all the measurements, and then give you an all-inclusive, bottom-line installed price.”

He says you won’t have to worry about extra charges for trim or transition pieces for laminate flooring, for example, or carpet padding. Sales tax on materials is included,

20

Wesley Chapel resident Johnny Vandervlis of Ronnie’s Carpets in Lakeland will come to you with tons of samples to help you pick out the perfect flooring for your home. as is all labor. Even the cost of moving large furniture pieces around is included.

Johnny says he’s been in the business for 25 years. He first heard of Ronnie’s Carpets when he moved to Dade City 13 years ago, before moving to Wesley Chapel four years ago.

“When I moved here and was setting up my house, so many people recommended Ronnie’s to me that when I went to look for a job, I went there,” he says. “I was impressed with the store, got lucky

enough to get a job, and have been with Ronnie’s ever since.”

Design Help, Too

Johnny says most often, he works with homeowners who have been in their homes for several years, “when the carpet is starting to look nasty,” he says. “I like helping people work everything through, from ‘kind of’ having an idea of what they want to do to sharpening that idea and then making it a reality.”

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

While the idea of replacing the flooring in your home can be a bit daunting, Johnny is there to help his customers throughout the process.

“I have the knowledge of the products to walk you through what you need for your situation,” Johnny explains. “You might not have to spend as much money as you think, because there might be another option available that might save you money and be a better solution.”

He adds, “There are a lot of options on flooring that people might not know about.

The flooring industry just blew up in terms of available options.”

For example, he says floating luxury vinyl is an option many people might be just hearing about for the first time.

“Vinyl is put together like laminate, but it’s waterproof,” he says. “It can look like wood or tile. Right now, there are a lot more wood choices, but vinyl is the fastest-growing segment in the industry, so every month we’re getting new product.”

Johnny says his many years of experience allow him to bring a seasoned and knowledgeable perspective to your project.

“I’m not a decorator, but I’ve been in this industry a long time,” he says. “I have an eye for color and nuance to help you figure out what will look best in your home.”

Johnny’s customers seem to like the fact that he’s willing to share his experience and opinion. “I’ll tell you if I think you’re going to do something you won’t be happy with,” he says, “I don’t want to see people spend good money on a mistake.”

Janet Epperson, a Realtor with Elite

@NTWCNews

Brokers in Dade City, says that not only has she recommended Johnny to clients, but she also worked with him when her mother’s home needed new flooring.

It was easy, she says. “You can call him and he comes to your home,” explains Janet.

“He has everything together, so you don’t have to go to the store. He’s a great listener and his customer service is excellent.”

She adds, “I think anyone who would

Neighborhood News

work with him would be extremely happy.”

That’s what Johnny wants most. “I really like the idea of helping people make a change that’s going to make them happy,” he says.

While Ronnie’s Carpets is competitive on price, Johnny warns against shopping on price only.

“With the big box stores, for example, you buy the material, then who knows who they’ll send to do the work?

You might get a good [installer], but you might not. If you’re shopping on price alone, unfortunately, you’ll probably get what you pay for. We handle everything from A to Z.” While Ronnie’s Carpets is located in Polk County, the company routinely does jobs in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, including Wesley Chapel and New Tampa. Because of the company’s free shop-at-home service, there’s no need for customers to visit the store. If you do decide to visit, “It’s a bit of a ride,” says Johnny, “but it’s worth it.”

Ronnie’s Carpets is located at 12348 US Hwy 98 N. in Lakeland. To schedule your free in-home consultation, call Johnny at 312-6853. See the ad for Ronnie’s Carpets on page 24.

@NTWCNews

SPOTLIGHT ON...Back To Wellness Center!

Back To Wellness Center Chiropractic & Physical Therapy emphasizes the importance of integrated care to help people dealing with pain.

“By combining chiropractic care with physical therapy and massage therapy, we’re not just going to get you out of pain,” says owner Jonathan Hancock, D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic). “Our goal is to rehabilitate you so the condition doesn’t become chronic.”

Dr. Hancock opened the Back To Wellness Center in 2012 and he says he was pleased to recently welcome a new associate, Esperansa Nino, D.C., to the office.

Patients who visit Back To Wellness will see Dr. Hancock or Dr. Nino for their chiropractic care, and can also see physical therapist Justin Spiegel, DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy).

“We work closely together and even sit down and brainstorm specific conditions,” says Dr. Hancock. “We give patients a higher level of care because we are all right under the same roof. Patients get better quicker because we’re all on the same page.”

While every treatment plan is tailored to the individual, Dr. Hancock says the Back To Wellness Center often offers shorter treatment plans than patients might expect, because of this integration.

“I would say we average three to five visits to get out of pain for non-traumatic injuries,” he says.

The Back To Wellness Center treats a wide variety of musculoskeletal pains and conditions.

Esperansa Nina, D.C. “We cater to all walks of life,” says Dr. Hancock. “From workers comp injuries to auto accidents to athletes.”

He adds that the office accepts all insurance plans and is “in network” for the vast majority of those plans.

“We also offer flexible, affordable cash pay plans, and work with CareCredit financing, too,” he says.

The Back To Wellness Center Chiropractic & Physical Therapy is located at 27454 Cashford Cir., in the Summergate Professional Center, behind Sam’s Club off S.R. 56. The office is open Monday-Wednesday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; 3 p.m.-7 p.m. on Thursday; and 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. on Friday. For more information, see the ad on page 5, visit WesleyChapelChiropractor.com, or call 973-4747 to make an appointment.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

21

Get Much More Than Just Tax Preparation With Murtha & Murtha CPA

By Celeste McLaughlin Tom and Patrick Murtha admit that most new clients find their full-service accounting firm, Murtha & Murtha Certified Public Accountants (CPA), around tax season. That’s when people are scrambling to meet deadlines for both their personal and business taxes.

They are quick to point out, however, that with Murtha & Murtha, it’s just the beginning of a personal relationship that lasts year-round.

“We have a tremendous amount of experience,” says Tom. “We’re here to be your most trusted advisor.”

Tom and Patrick are the father-and-son team who are both partners and owners of the firm, located in the Seven Oaks Professional Park off S.R. 56 (across from Sam’s Club). Kyle Flischel serves as the firm’s senior accountant.

Thomas E. Murtha, CPA, earned his B.S. degree in Management from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY, in 1976, and his M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) degree in Accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, NY, in 1981.

While he was working on his MBA, Tom also worked as assistant controller in the non-bank financial segment of a major New York City bank.

He moved to Tampa in 1987 and opened Accutax Services, Inc., a non-CPA public accounting business that he sold in 2010. In 1999, he also joined another CPA firm in Englewood, FL, that he eventually bought into — Flischel, Murtha &

22

Murthas expanded to a full-service accounting firm and moved to their current Seven Oaks location.

“We work with businesses from startup to $25 million,” says Tom. “We don’t just juggle numbers. We get our business clients into budgeting.” He explains that businesses with a budget can then compare their budgets to their actual expenses to see where the numbers are out of line.

“When you have a budget, that’s when you start to control your business and keep it from controlling you,” Patrick adds.

Your Company’s CFO?

(L.-r.): CPAs Tom & Patrick Murtha & Kyle Flischel of Murtha & Murtha CPAs combine decades of experience with a commitment to providing personalized service to their clients.

Associates. When Tom passed his Florida tax returns. Patrick and Kyle then both atCPA test in 2000, he says it was with the tended the University of South Florida. Patfourth highest score in the state. He’s also rick now holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) taught accounting courses at both Hillsdegree in Finance and a B.S. in Accounting, borough Community College in Tampa while Kyle holds a B.S. in Accounting and a and at the American Institute of Banking Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Accountin New York City. ing with a tax concentration.

Patrick grew up around his father’s When the partners opened their firm business and met Kyle, the son of Tom’s for- in 2010, Murtha & Murtha focused on mer business partner, while they were both mergers and acquisitions and was locatin high school and helping their dads with ed in downtown Tampa. In 2013, the

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

Murtha & Murtha offers a “CFO retainer package” to help businesses that need the role of a Chief Financial Officer but don’t have the budget to hire a fulltime manager. For a fixed monthly fee, the firm provides services such as monthly accounting, annual budgeting and annual market value estimations.

Tom says that’s an important function.

“Everyone who owns a business hopes to sell it someday,” he explains, “and hopefully make some income along the way.”

If you buy or start a business, Tom asks, “Is the value of your company going the right way?”

He says it’s important for business owners to take the time to consider these and other questions. “We like seeing our clients be successful,” Tom says. “That’s what makes us successful.”

Jorge Brea, owner of Symphonic Distribution, a Wesley Chapel company that distributes music to iTunes, Spotify and

@NTWCNews

other outlets, is one of the companies that look to Murtha & Murtha for an annual market valuation and other services.

“Truthfully, they’ve been tremendous,” Jorge says. “They’ve helped us take more control of our books and have been really helpful in providing best practices and standards.”

Jorge also says the market valuation service is extremely helpful. “It’s this really cool yearly report that gives you a lot of statistics and data to see how you compare to other companies,” he explains. “It’s information that you can’t just look up on your own.”

Murtha & Murtha’s customized, personal approach is the hallmark of the way the firm works with both its business and individual clients. This isn’t the kind of accounting firm where clients are encouraged to simply drop off a folder and wait for an email. Tom, Patrick or Kyle will sit down with each new client, interview them and really get to know and understand each of them and their unique financial situations.

Responsiveness is another hallmark of Murtha & Murtha. “The number one reason people tell us they’re switching CPAs is because their CPA didn’t return their phone call or emails,” says Patrick.

“We have a system in place to be sure we’re communicating with customers well, and we don’t use ‘it’s tax season’ as an excuse (for not returning calls).”

Tom and Patrick say people are often nervous about how expensive it is to hire a CPA to help with taxes. “The reality is that, of course, it costs more than doing it yourself with tax software,” explains Patrick. “But very frequently, we can find

Neighborhood News

more savings, and we can go up to three years back to get refunds.”

He explains that silly mistakes answering simple yes or no questions can have implications that the typical tax software user just doesn’t understand.

“There are a lot of things you can do, and we understand the implications of the decisions you make in how to prepare your taxes,” explains Patrick, a long-time member, former treasurer and current Sergeantat-Arms of the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club.

“We always advise what’s in our client’s best interest, not our own.”

Tom adds, “In my 30 years in the business, I have seen everything that can go right, and everything that can go wrong. I like getting into things that are complicated.”

They caution people not to make financial decisions based on tax implications alone. Murtha & Murtha has a strong network of financial advisors, bankers and attorneys to refer their clients.

“It’s great to be aware of tax implications, but what happens when life comes along?” asks Patrick. “We’ll work with your financial advisor throughout the year and look at financial implications and all factors in a decision.”

He adds, “We’ll sit and talk with you, and work together with you. We’re not high pressure, and we’re not trying to sell you on anything. People get intimidated by taxes, but we know the tricks and we’ve got the experience to help you.”

Murtha & Murtha CPAs is located at 2236 Ashley Oaks Cir., Suite 101.

For more information, visit TampaTax Firm.com or see the ad on page 24.

To schedule a free consultation, call 991-1120.

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

23

Florida Pain Medicine — When You Want Your Pain Managed Responsibly

By John C. Cotey

Maulik Bhalani, M.D., knows that when some people hear of pain clinics, they think of the so-called “pill mills.” He understands that, after years of headlines about the abuse of certain pain medications, particularly in Florida, the reputation is tough to shake.

But, at Florida Pain Medicine on Windguard Cir. (across from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, or FHWC), Dr. Bhalani says the perceptions are not even close to reality.

“The typical working class person doesn’t want to see a pain management doctor because they think that doctor is going to get them hooked on medication,’’ says Dr. Bhalani. “Little old ladies, grandmothers, will come in and tell us...I know those stories that are out there on the news. But, when they come in here, from minute one, it’s a totally difference experience.”

The Florida Pain Medicine offices are clean and lively, the doctors are open and friendly and the approach to managing your pain, which employs the latest technological advances, is always, they say, measured and restrained, yet effective.

“There’s not a bunch of guys outside in the parking lot smoking, looking disheveled, seeking pain meds,’’ Dr. Bhalani says. “That’s not the kind of practice we are.”

The kind of practice Florida Pain Medicine is, Dr. Bhalani says, is one that focuses on interventional pain management. “Start-tofinish pain care,’’ he says.

Sometimes, in the best cases, that means opioid management, ice and injections until the patient can complete physical therapy.

“Then, we wean them off pain meds, hopefully with the goal of we never see them again, which means they are doing great and back to living their lives,’’ Dr. Bhalani says.

In other cases, like patients with terminal cancer, Dr. Bhalani says his goal is not to let them live out their final days in misery.

Whatever the malady, “We never force anything on anyone,’’ Dr. Bhalani says.

Pain management means different treatments for different people. Every patient is unique, but the main goal for Dr. Bhalani and his associates at Florida Pain Medicine — Navdeep Jassal, MD, Arpit Patel, DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine), and Stephanie Epting, DO — is to help their patients return to a normal way of life. Their motto is, “Restore Function, Relive Life.”

“We want to get you back to where you can live your life the way you like living it,” Dr. Bhalani says.

(L.-r.): Dr. Arpit Patel, Dr. Navdeep Jassal and Dr. Maulik Bhalani pride themselves of providing top-notch pain relief at Florida Pain Medicine in Wesley Chapel.

Dr. Bhalani’s credentials also include A Little Information About sitting on the Board of the Florida Society of The Doctors Interventional Pain Physicians (FSIPP) as a Dr. Bhalani, a huge local sports fan and Director-at-Large, and he says he is proud of 11-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers season ticket the work the FSIPP did in helping craft Floriholder who dons a Jameis Winston jersey for home games, has followed in the footsteps of da’s so-called “Pill Mill Bill” in 2011.

The bill forced clinics to register with his father, who is a pain medicine physician in the state and banned doctors from dispensing the Ormond Beach area of Florida, as well as opioid prescription painkillers like Vicodin several of his uncles and aunts. and Oxycodone from their offices. The PreIn fact, Dr. Bhalani is one of 13 cousins in his family — and all are physicians.

“We don’t know how to do anything else,’’ he says, chuckling and joking that he might raise his kids, who are ages 4, 2 and 1, to be NFL punters instead.

Dr. Bhalani received his M.D. degree from the Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, NE. He also spent two years as a resident at Maryland General Hospital in Baltimore in 2005; was the chief resident at the University of South Florida (USF)’s Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program; and completed an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Pain Medicine Fellowship in Interventional Pain Medicine at USF in 2010.

He is Board-certified in Interventional Pain Medicine and in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

scription Drug Monitoring Program also was implemented, which Drs. Bhalani and Jassal reference to look at a patient’s prescription drug history.

Dr. Jassal says he heard about all the “wild, wild west stories” about Florida’s pill mills when he was studying in New York.

“I didn’t believe it until I came down here,’’ he says. “But, it’s improved dramatically (since 2011), thanks to the efforts of Dr. Bhalani and others.”

A car enthusiast and avid runner who sometimes puts in 15 miles on a weekend as a way to relax, Dr. Jassal joined Dr. Bhalani in July 2015 after completing a Pain Medicine Fellowship at USF, where he was one of Dr. Bhalani’s students.

Before that, Dr. Jassal was a resident at North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health Systems and Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine in Great Neck, NY. Dr. Patel, who joined Florida Pain Medicine seven months ago, has known Drs. Bhalani and Jassal for years. A University of Maryland graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Neurobiology and Physiology, Dr. Patel has worked with his fellow physicians at the University of South Florida, where he completed his Interventional Pain Medicine Fellowship.

In between his B.A. and fellowship, Dr. Patel graduated with honors from Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, and completed residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY, where he was selected as Chief Resident. He also served as a Clinical

“Since 1971”

Ronnie’s Carpets, Inc. “Our Prices Are Simply Better” WOOD - VINYL - CERAMIC TILE CARPET - LAMINATE

FREE Shop at Home Service Johnny Vandervlis Sales & Design Consultant

24

Cell: 813-312-6853 johnny@ronniescarpets.com

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Instructor for spine anatomy at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.

A recreational tennis and basketball player, much of Dr. Patel’s work involves sports-related injuries, and he says he also has an interest in helping cancer patients with their pain.

Most patients the physicians at Florida Pain Medicine see are what you might expect — those suffering from back, neck and joint pain. Others have more serious conditions, like poor recovery from back surgery, painful diabetes and even cancer. Each treatment plan varies with that patient’s particular needs.

The doctors at the practice say they prefer a conservative approach. Patients generally will not be prescribed any controlled pain medications on the first visit. The doctors are careful to give a full exam — surprising to some patients who have been to other pain medicine doctors — and look over X-rays and other images and notes from the referring doctor, as well as run a urine drug screen, before determining a course of treatment.

The physicians will sometimes suggest a smaller dose of medicine than the patient is currently taking. Others are often offered alternatives to stronger prescription drugs, like local anesthetic injections (epidurals, for example), anti-inflammatory meds, physical therapy and even weight loss to help relieve their pain.

Sometimes, an injection, which can relieve pain for months, is suggested instead of a prescription. “Sometimes, they are like wow, I wish someone had recommended this 4-5 years ago,” Dr. Bhalani says.

And if that doesn’t work, he adds, “we’ll use more aggressive measures. We really try to be kind of conservative initially.”

Neighborhood News

Dr. Bhalani says he recently treated a 90-year-old patient who told him, “Well, Doc, if this works as good as the last one, that’d be great,” to which Dr. Bhalani replied, “Oh, the last one helped you?,” and the patient told him that was the reason he hadn’t been back to see him for seven months.

“And I’ve been golfing the whole time!,” the patient said.

That approach, by younger, Board-certified physicians willing to look at alternative treatments, was one of the things that Dr. Patel says originally attracted him to Florida Pain Medicine.

“We bring a new ‘taste’ of interventional pain medicine to the community,” Dr. Patel says. “I think a lot of (older physicians) around here thought opiates were the best way to go. We just have a different mindset.

Today, I had a patient who literally had been seeing every surgeon in town, and finally we did a procedure called Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) on a very special nerve, and for the first time in his life he doesn’t have the (same) pain. He has been able to return to what he loves, flying kites. He’s never been able to do that (after previous treatments).

The satisfaction of seeing how patients do right after the procedure, and the fact that they are able to travel and spend time with their families, is the best part of my job.”

Dr. Jassal says that since joining Florida Pain Medicine, he has seen as many patients in six months as he expected to see in nine months or a year. On average, each physician sees 25-27 patients a day, a number they think is perfect to give them time to give each patient the individualized care they require.

“That’s what makes our practice very different,’’ Dr. Patel said. “There are other

@NTWCNews

practices where you will be waiting for 4-5 hours at a time. Our goal, and really my biggest thing, is examining every patient and having a hands-on approach. That’s very important to me and (helps) me make the proper diagnosis, rather than just looking at an MRI.” Business has been so brisk that Dr. Bhalani, who opened his second Florida Pain Medicine on Arbor Ridge Dr. in Zephyrhills in 2015, has since opened another office in the Brandon area and has been serving patients there since June 2016.

“We seek to expand to underserved areas of the state to provide quality pain management care to those who need it most,” says Dr. Bhalani. “We’re hopeful that 2017 takes us to additional markets where patients can benefit from our services.”

Dr. Jassal thinks the office’s reputation, which includes strong relationships with local pharmacists and doctors, comes from the way the patients are cared for at Florida Pain Medicine. Dr. Bhalani adds that he recommends for his patients the same things he would for his own parents: “Literally, that is how we treat every single patient,” he says proudly.

A soft, personal touch and firm recommendations are something Dr. Jassal thinks patients appreciate, as well as the physicians’ desire to help patients return to the things they love.

He has a 97-year old patient who receives periodic injections, which he says, “keeps her happiness, and her happiness is dancing with her son.’’

Most of the office’s business, Dr. Bhalani says, comes from referrals. He believes that the practice treats as many local physicians and their family members as anyone in the area.

Dr. Bhalani can do procedures at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, where he is the director of the Intervention & Pain Program, Tampa Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, Brandon Surgery Center and at the Advanced Surgery Center of Tampa.

However, state-of-the-art pain management procedures are often performed in the Wesley Chapel office, as opposed to a hospital or at ambulatory surgery centers, which helps save patients money.

“The whole spectrum of care gives us flexibility,’’ says Dr. Bhalani.

For more information, visit FloridaPainMedicine.com or see the ad on pg.

28. To reach the Wesley Chapel Florida Pain Medicine office (2553 Windguard Cir.), the Zephyrhills’ location (38011 Arbor Ridge Dr.), or the Brandon office (426 W Brandon Blvd), call 388-2948.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

25

The Legacy At Highwoods Preserve Provides Quality Care For Your Loved Ones

By Celeste McLaughlin The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve has been open since the summer of 2015, offering top-quality assisted living and memory care off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa, only three miles south of the Pasco County line. It is now both owned and managed by PinPoint Commercial, based in Houston. PinPoint was the community’s original developer, and recently established its own company to manage The Legacy and its other properties, called LifeWell Senior Living.

The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve offers spacious rooms, an extensive array of facilities and amenities, expansive views over a nature preserve outside and even a putting green at the center of one of the facility’s courtyards.

With 82 private suites and a license to house up to 88 residents, The Legacy offers five floor plans, from 330-sq.-ft. studios to 525-sq.-ft. deluxe suites. There are 60 suites for assisted living, as well 22 suites in the secured memory care wing of the building.

As part of The Legacy’s all-inclusive package, residents are served three meals a day at the Palm Pavilion, with menus and fine linens. They also can grab a snack from the Key Lime Bistro any time of the day or night.

There’s even a sports bar, a private dining room that can be reserved for visiting family, a full-service salon, game room, theater, library, grand piano and fitness center.

Residents’ medical needs are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), with oversight from Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs).

And, it’s not just the building itself that community relations directors Lilly Gonzalez and Taylor Penvose want you to know about The Legacy, however. They really want to share how The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve helps seniors live a, “connected, active, safe, and purposeful life,” which is the philosophy of LifeWell Senior Living.

“We’re not a nursing home or a cold facility,” says Lilly. “We’re truly a community.”

For example, the residents have frequent outings to locations such as the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. “They have weekly lunches at Ruby Tuesday or Burger 21, or even Bahama Breeze on the (Courtney Campbell) Causeway,” says Lilly. “Recently, they went to visit Tarpon Springs and the residents couldn’t wait to go put their feet in the sand.”

She says another favorite activity among residents is dominoes with The Legacy’s executive director, Janis Stovall. “Our residents

26

Resident Ruby Smith (seated) and executive director Janis Stovall of The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve assisted living in New Tampa pose for a photo before beginning a game of dominoes, a favorite activity at the community. love dominoes with Janis,” says Lilly. She adds Constance says Ruby had been at that Janis is one of the reasons The Legacy is another care facility, where she had a fall, and unlike any other assisted living facility. ended up in the hospital, then rehab. That’s “She’s truly a resident advocate who is when Constance decided to move her closer always looking to connect one-on-one with to home. our residents,” Lilly says.

“When she came in, she was using a feeding tube and wheelchair,” explains ConMaking Residents Feel At Home stance. “Now she’s up, and thinks she runs Lilly and Taylor also explain that the the place.” building has been designed to encourage Constance says The Legacy has given her interaction among the residents. “Each suite peace of mind. is private, but the whole building is home,” “I don’t have to worry about her,” she explains Lilly. “Our common areas are very says. “The staff communicates with me very purpose-driven, because we don’t want resiwell, gives me lots of updates, and there are dents isolated in their rooms.”

The staff is intentional about extending its community to the residents’ families, too.

There’s an air hockey table that kids enjoy, for example, or families can bring a movie to watch together in the theater room.

Marsha Wolf, a Cory Lake Isles resident whose husband Harvey moved into a memory care residence at The Legacy this summer, says the community feels like a family to her.

“Everyone here does everything,” says Marsha. “If someone needs help, they all work together. Janis is just the best and goes out of her way to do things to accommodate the residents. I’m thankful I found a place that I feel like he’s safe and I don’t have to worry.”

Hunter’s Green resident Constance Salters moved her great aunt, Ruby Smith, into The Legacy last March. She agrees with Marsha that her aunt has been well cared for at The Legacy.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

tons of activities so she’s always entertained.

They even text me pictures of her dancing, so I feel included in what she’s doing.”

Constance says The Legacy feels like one big family. “She’s home, and I feel totally comfortable that I don’t have to do surprise visits or monitor her. Everyone treats the residents like their own family. I definitely recommend it.”

Using Technology

The Legacy incorporates the latest technological advances to offer its residents the best in health and safety, such as Quiet-

@NTWCNews

technology tracks the workout.

“If a doctor is concerned that a patient needs to exercise more, we can actually give the resident a printout of all of their workouts to show the doctor,” Taylor says.

Residents also wear a pendant that can alert caregivers on staff instantly, plus there are pull cords in every bedroom and bathroom. “Our staff is held accountable for how quickly they respond when they receive an alert,” says Lilly.

Anyone entering the building, whether they are family members, third party providers or doctors, is checked out by Accushield, a digital sign-in kiosk that verifies providers’ credentials, time spent in the building, and even criminal and health backgrounds.

Respite Care, Too Care technology. “QuietCare allows us to be proactive, instead of reactive,” says Taylor.

The technology uses motion and heat sensors, combined with software analytics, to learn the behaviors and patterns of residents. If something is out of character — such as a resident getting up more often at night, or maybe staying in the bathroom an unusually long time — the system alerts the care staff so they can check on them.

Every resident wears a radio-frequency ID wristband that provides access to their private suite. The wristbands also are used in the fitness center, where residents can use state-of-the-art equipment, designed especially for seniors, to alert the machines to the user’s preferences and goals. With no weights or chains to struggle with, this equipment minimizes falls and injuries, and the wristband

Neighborhood News

For people who are providing care to loved ones at home and may need a break, The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve also offers respite care.

“If you’re taking care of a loved one and need time to go to a wedding or graduation or family vacation, we have one residence available in both assisted living and memory care for this purpose,” Lilly says. There is a minimum stay of seven days, where the person you care for will have access to all of the community’s amenities and activities. “It’s like your loved one gets a vacation, as well,” Lilly adds. “If you think, ‘I want to go away, but I can’t,’ we’ll help you make that happen.”

The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve is located at 18600 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. For info, call 375-9858, see the ad on pg. 50 or visit LegacyatHighwoodsPreserve.com. Walk-ins are welcome seven days a week, from 9 a.m.–5 p.m., but appointments are preferred for tours.

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

27

28

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Your Full Real Estate Solutions Providers

The Shoppes of New Tampa,

Residential-Commercial-Property Management

1830 Bruce B. Downs, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544 (813) 907-8200

Title-Mortgage-Insurance-Home Warrenty-Auction

www.bhhsfloridaproperties.com FEATURED PROPERTY OF THE MONTH WESLEY CHAPEL

HISTORIC DISTRICT OF DADE CITY

LAKE FRONT HOME IN LUTZ

This home is located in the Historic District Brittany Guevara 813-843-2127 of Dade City. It features 5BD/4.5 BTH, 4,100 sq ft, 1.32 acres. Plus a 770 sq ft.

Guest Cottage (1BD/1BTH).

Gorgeous, Meticulously Maintained, Single Randall Crews Story Home. 4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths, Office, 3 813-751-9115 Car Garage, Large Screened Lanai and Pool.

No rear neighbors, Split Floor Plan, Loaded with Upgrades.Offered at $338,999.

bguevara@bhhsflpg.com

RCrews@BHHSflpg.com

Beautiful waterfront home with 4 large bedrooms/3 full baths, including 2 master bedrooms each with their own full bath. On canal, minutes from Gulf.

Angela Mora Hablo español también!

813-482-1452

AMora@BHHSflpg.com AngelaMoraRealEstate.com

LAND O’ LAKES

Custom Home on 4.55 acres, gated & fenced. Ronnie Preusch Main House has 3845 sqft, 4Bd, 3.1B, 3+ CG, Office, Pool/Spa. In-Law Suite 1000 sqft, 1Bd, 813-361-9595 RPM/Real Pro 1B, Carport. Loaded with Upgrades.

Move Team Offered at $845,000. rpreusch@BHHSflpg.com

HOMESTEAD OF SADDLEWOOD

Custom Home in the Gated Community of Ronnie Preusch Homestead of Saddlewood 6204 sq. ft. on 1.86 813-361-9595 Acres, 4 Beds, 4.1 Baths, Bonus Rm, Master Suite features adjoining Office/Workout Rm, RPM/Real Pro Den, Gourmet Kitchen, 5 Car Garage, Salt Move Team Water Pool/Spa. Offered at $744,900 rpreusch@BHHSflpg.com

www.vlacorte@BHHSfloridaproperties.com

BOYETTE OAKS IN WESLEY CHAPEL.

FLOR A MAR

Vilma Lacorte Charming 2 huge bedrooms/2 baths PLUS 813-523-3606 office; 2,227 sq.ft. lots of upgrades lake front home. Easy access I-275; hospitals and USF. Must see! Call or text 813-523-3606. . . vilma@vilmalacorte.com

IDEAL COUNTRY ESTATE!

5 Beds 4 Baths, Office & Media Room Cynthia Filippi Kitchen w/Island Granite and SS Appliances 813-784-1634 Screened Lanai & Oversized Corner Lot Close to Schools, Athletic park, Interstate 3,127 sq ft call today just $289,000

BRAND NEW PRICE! Scenic, wooded Georgia Bickford 22+ acres north of downtown Dade City.

813-713-6492 2 parcels, zoned for single family or manufactured homes No deed restrictions. New fencing, 3 wells, wildlife abounds. Just $149,000!

CFilippi@BHHSflpg.com CynthiaSellsTampaHomes.com

gbickford@BHHSflpg.com GeorgiaSellsFlorida.com

MEADOW POINTE

SEVEN OAKS

3376 SqFt Home, 5BR/ 3Bath/ 3Car Gar/ Office/ Bonus Rm, Built 2011 in Gated Seven Oaks.Open Concept Kitchen,42"Java Cabinetry,Granite Counters,Stainless Steel appliances. Huge Screen Lanai. Only $405,000

Mercy Barragan 813-494-6797

mercy@mercybarragan.com www.MercyBarragan.com

NEW TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Brittany Guevara Formally Brittany HILLIKER Graduated Wharton High School 2008 Graduated FSU 2012 Cross Country & Track Runner for Wharton HS & FSU 20 Year Meadow Pointe Resident Joined "THE GET IT RIGHT REALTY GROUP" Brittany Guevara 813-843-2127 here at BHHS FLORIDA PROPERTIES bguevara@bhhsflpg.com

Just listed, 3 bed, 2 bath, great room floor plan with updated kitchen, covered screened-in lanai and fenced back yard in Meadow Pointe looking for new owners! Move in ready with no HOA and low CDD fees! Offered at $199,900.

Steve Appel 813-508-4278

steve@steveappel.com www.steveappel.com

BRIDGEWATER - PENDED IN 3 DAYS

CUL DE SAC location: 3BD 2Bath 2Car Jennifer Kibiger garage 1640 sq ft. home with High Ceilings, 813-469-1481 Covered Lanai, Great Room, and Split Plan. Freshly painted in neutral colors, new carpeting in bedrooms and hardwood look in living areas. Offered at $174,900. jkibiger@BHHSflpg.com jkibiger.BHHSFloridaProperties.com

Annual HACA Show Shines A Spotlight On Wesley Chapel Talent

By Brad Stager Performing artists from around the Tampa Bay area and beyond will entertain audiences and compete for cash prizes in the 34th Annual “Spotlight on Talent” competition.

Soloists and groups will perform in two shows on Saturday, March 11, at the Wesley Chapel High School Center for the Performing Arts, located on the campus of Wesley Chapel High on Wells Rd. The competition is a production of the Heritage Arts Center Association (HACA), a Dade City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to

Wesley Chapel’s Jadon Day performs during the 2016 “Spotlight on Talent” competition.

(Photo courtesy of Heritage Arts Center Association).

30

supporting and encouraging the performing and visual arts that enhance the cultural environment of the communities of Pasco County.

Spotlight producer Barbara Friedman, a long-time HACA Board of Directors member as well as a past president of the Board, says the annual production is the arts group’s big show, although HACA also supports the arts in Pasco County in a variety of other ways.

“There might be a request from a performing group or a school group, and from time to time we will vote to give some funds to sponsor an activity,” Friedman says.

She adds that HACA also supports other Pasco County art institutions, like the Dade City Symphony, which performs three concerts a year, and the Arts in Motion Pasco Community Youth Theater.

HACA also provides a talent award for the Miss Pasco Pageant. “We do think it’s important to support that because they have a talent part of the pageant,” Friedman says.

The Spotlight show is a judged competition. Winners will be selected in different age categories for solo and group performances and, all told, the event features $4,000 in trophies, ribbons and cash prizes. A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a graduating high school senior (and a Pasco County resident) with the highest score. Besides the Pasco Heritage Scholarship for Performing Arts, HACA also offers a $1,000 Nereim Fine Arts Award for a Pasco County graduating senior who is talented in the visual arts each year.

Much of HACA’s funding to support the arts comes from special events such as the annual “Moonlight and Ivory” show.

This year’s event, which was held Feb. 4 at the Dade City Woman’s Club, was promoted as featuring, “musicians and artists from Dade

City, Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel and beyond,” performing everything from show tunes to bluegrass, according to a press release.

This was the 20th year of the “Moonlight and Ivory” show, which began as a fund raiser to buy a piano for community use. The piano, a six-foot, one-inch conservatory grand, has long since been purchased and played for the community’s benefit so now much of the fund raising goes for promoting arts education and helping young Pasco County artists and musicians achieve their goals.

Over its 34-year history, the “Spotlight on Talent” production has outgrown venues and achieved an impact beyond Wesley Chapel and Pasco County, Friedman says.

“It has grown over the years into a regional competition and every spring we have over 200

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

kids who audition for it,” she says.

Friedman adds that even though most of the kids who participate are from Pasco, performers also come from Tampa, St. Petersburg and Lakeland to audition.

The “Spotlight on Talent” final competitions will be on Saturday, March 11, at Wesley Chapel High (30651 Wells Rd.).

Act I, which begins at noon, will be for the younger finalists (ages 6-11) and Act II will begin at 7 p.m. and will be for older competitors. Tickets for adults are a $12 donation, or attend both shows for just $20. For students through high school, the donation is $6, or $10 for both shows (under 5 is admitted free). For more information, visit HeritageArts.org, send an email to spotlight@ heritagearts.org or call (352) 567-1720.

@NTWCNews

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

31

Quartet Of Seniors To Lead Wiregrass Ranch High Softball

By Andy Warrener

Spring is in the air and so are the softballs at Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH).

The softball team embarks on the 2017 season with high hopes. After going 9-12 a year ago, the 2017 Bulls are preparing for a season with something they haven’t had, well, ever — a quartet of seniors, all of whom have signed to play collegiate softball.

Veterans Jaime Valenta, Sam Hiley, Alexis Ridolph and Kameron Aitken will lead a Wiregrass squad with hopes of making a little bit of school history.

The Bulls have never won a district title and despite going 9-6 outside the league, were 0-6 last year in Class 8A, District 4, a division filled with some of the better Hillsborough County softball programs.

However, if there was ever a year to make some history, it could be this one.

Hiley, Aitken and Valenta were WRH’s top three hitters from 2016, and along with Ridolph make up the top four batters in your typical Bulls lineup.

Valenta provides the speed, and has been the team’s lead-off hitter the last two seasons. The right-handed centerfielder has signed to play at the next level with St. John’s River State College.

As the leadoff hitter, Valenta’s job is to get on base and then steal some, and she did both well last season, batting .377, including .428 over the final eight games.

She led the Bulls in triples with four, and stolen bases with 15 in 16 attempts.

Valenta has 32 steals for her career.

32

(L.-r.): Wiregrass Ranch High senior softball players Kameron Aitken, Alexis Ridolph, Sam Hiley & Jaime Valenta. All four have signed to play college softball next season (Photo by Andy Warrener).

“I’m the table-setter,” she says. “I enjoy the leadoff position, I’m more of a contact hitter. My teammates hit me around.”

Aitken, the Bulls’ shortstop, signed her letter of intent in November to play at Florida International University. Aitken brings a .973 fielding percentage over from last season, with just two errors in 21 games at arguably the game’s toughest position.

She hit .422, second on the team, and led the Bulls with four homers and 30 RBI. Hiley, who is signed to play collegiate ball at Edward-Waters College in Jacksonville, can also play catcher, but is more of a

utility player, able to fill in at third base, left field or wherever she is needed.

“I’m like the Band-Aid,” she says.

Hiley’s bat, though, can sometimes leave the opposing pitcher’s arm needing a Band-Aid. Last year, she led the Bulls with 30 hits in 65 official at bats, for a team-best .462 average. She was second on the team in runs scored (19), RBI (21), doubles (5) and homers (2). She carries over a six-game hitting streak from last season into this one, which officially opens Saturday, February 11, at Dunnellon. The Bulls home opener is Wednesday, February 15, 7:30 p.m.,

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

against the Land O’Lakes High Gators.

Hiley’s versatility is shared by Ridolph, who has shifted between second and shortstop in her tenure at Wiregrass and batted .317 last year. A Hillsborough Community College (HCC) signee, she’ll join her older sister Kaitlyn there, for a year.

“It feels unreal, being a senior,” Ridolph said. “I saw my sister and my friends graduate and I still can’t believe it’s actually my senior year now.”

WRH head coach Yamani Vazquez is delighted to have such a talented and experienced senior core, which will be backed up by some impressive younger players like junior Kacie Lemanski (.382) and sophomore Miranda Perez (.379), plus a sophomore-laden pitching staff.

“It’s exciting, it’s a great motivation for the younger players that the seniors are college recruits,” Vazquez says.

It wasn’t too long ago they were just starry-eyed freshmen themselves, fighting older players for playing time.

“I don’t think people consider just how fast the years go by,” Hiley said. “I remember when I was a freshman, Jordan Pierceall (a WRH senior at the time) told us that the years go by faster than you think, and I was looking at her and laughing.

Now, I’ve blinked and it’s my senior year.”

Senior night will be held on April 13, against district rival Freedom High.

“I remember decorating for past Senior Nights,” Valenta said. “Now, it’s going to be decorated for us. I probably won’t cry but I don’t know.”

@NTWCNews

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

33

Wesley Chapel High Softball Team Still Young, But Improved and third-base defenses are all correct.”

The Wildcats will need them to be, because they play in a district where offense is king.

Defending Class 6A, District 7 champ Land O’ Lakes can both hit and run, batting .326 with 68 stolen bases last year en route to a 27-3-1 record and appearance in the state semifinals.

Even the district runners-up, River Ridge, can hit and steal — the Royal Knights piled up 15 home runs and 61 stolen bases a year ago.

With expected improvement from Pasco High as well this season, the Wildcats still hope to improve on last year’s 3-7 district record.

By Andy Warrener

The Wesley Chapel High (WCH) softball team, under coach Steve Mumaw, is still going to be young but has enough veteran experience returning to create what should be a stable blend of talent. The team boasts five sophomore starters, all of whom started the 2016 season as freshmen.

“It’s basically our whole infield,” Mumaw said. “We have an exciting future ahead of us, some might end up going to the new school (Cypress Creek High, which opens next fall), but we’re going to coach them up the same.”

The Wildcats suffered through a feastor-famine 7-17 season last year, scoring eight or more runs in five of their wins, but scoring two runs or less nine times during losses. During one stretch, they were blanked in four of six games, all but one against district opponents.

The Wildcats will have to find a way to string hits together. Leading hitter and sophomore third baseman Ashley Nickisher (32 hits, .421 avg.) returns to the fold.

Nickisher tied for the team lead in RBI last season with fellow sophomore Neely Peterson, and led the team with four triples and added six doubles.

Senior Dana Mumaw, the coach’s daughter, hit .390 last season with a teamhigh nine doubles. The hope is that the potent duo in the middle of the lineup can get the offense going.

Incoming freshman pitchers Jordan Almasy and Ally Fraley, both right-handers,

34

Freshman P Ally Fraley.

Sophomore 3B Ashley Nickisher add some punch to the WCH bullpen.

“It’s an upgrade from what we had last year,” Mumaw said.

With a team ERA of 9.07 last season, the Wildcats are sure to improve in 2017, especially considering Almasy has already verbally committed to the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

One of the top travel league players in the area, Almasy boasts a fastball in the mid-60 mile-per-hour range, and she swings a solid bat as well.

Wesley Chapel will need to lean on a defense that needs to be improved, and with everyone returning it should be.

“Softball is a lot of small ball,” Mumaw said. “You have to make sure your first-base

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

35

‘The Good Cemeterian’ Restores The Final Resting Places Of U.S. Military Vets

By John C. Cotey It was as a budding photographer, and through a camera lens, that Andrew Lumish first noticed the mold and dirt covering the headstones he was taking pictures of in Oaklawn, Tampa’s oldest cemetery. He was particularly struck by the grime that obscured the memorials to fallen veterans, to the point where you could no longer make out their names. Lumish says he was moved by the thought that they had not only been forgotten, but that their marble and granite shrines had fallen into such disrepair.

So, with a handful of brushes, some water and D/2 Biological Solution — the only product approved for use in our national cemeteries — Lumish did something about it.

He started cleaning them, taking every Sunday to do so, and sharing his work on Facebook and Instagram. What began as the act of a good samaritan evolved into Lumish developing a cult-like social media following as “The Good Cemeterian.”

“It bothered me that many of the military markers were neglected for decades, if not for more than a century,’’ Lumish says. “I thought this would be a good way to honor our veterans, many who have just been forgotten.”

The 46-year-old Land O’Lakes resident, who owns his own cleaning business, Lumish tackled his newfound calling with vigor.

He slowly perfected his trade, tombstone by tombstone, with some restorations taking 20 minutes, while others have taken months.

“It’s kind of an art form,’’ Lumish says.

“It all depends on the complexity of the monument. Some have lots of nooks and crannies, and they require tooth brushes, Q-tips, whatever it takes.”

WFTS-TV, Ch. 28, the local ABC affiliate, did a small segment on Lumish in 2015 — he jokes that it was between a “Dirty Dining” segment and the weather — and it went viral, with more than 30 million online views.

Neighborhood News

Lumish shared his story with a raptured gathering at the New Tampa Rotary Club’s breakfast on Jan. 6. Club member Craig Miller had seen Lumish featured on “CBS Sunday Morning” last November — Miller says he and his wife Dee always tape the show and watch it after church — and reached out to him to be a featured speaker for the club..

“He had some really interesting stories,’’ Miller says. “He was great.”

Lumish, who says he has cleaned roughly 800 headstones and monuments of military veterans from the Civil, Spanish American, Korean, Vietnam and two World Wars, doesn’t just do restorations — he includes stories about the people buried beneath them to complement his before-and-after photos.

His most recent restorations were for World War I veteran Milton Payne Turner, who died in 1963 in a nursing home, and his son, Milton Owen Turner, who preceded his father in death when he was killed in WWII by the Nazis, just 23 days before Adolf Hitler committed suicide.

Lumish shares details of the men’s lives on his Facebook page (search: TheGoodCemeterian), and his posts have been shared, liked and commented on tens of thousands of times. He estimates he reaches roughly 400,000 people a week (or more than 20 million a year) through social media.

Lumish started on his path to becoming the Good Cemeterian in the Lutz cemetery, where he returned the luster to a monument honoring a Civil War veteran.

“I never thought about it, I just wanted to give respect back,’’ he says. “Once I became better (at it), I took on bigger projects.”

One such bigger project involved a 10-foot-tall monument to two Tampa brothers, ages 16 and 14, who died in 1891. The story goes, the older brother goaded the other, who couldn’t swim, into removing his flotation device. But, once it was removed, and the older brother realized the mistake, they

@NTWCNews

both drowned while he tried to save his younger brother.

“Some of the stories are sad,’’ says Lumish, who has been lauded by the Department of Veteran Affairs and other organizations for his efforts.

Lumish has an assistant, Jen Armbruster, who helps research the stories, and uses a number of online geneaology accounts to dig into fallen soldiers’ backgrounds in great detail. He often includes photos of his subjects when they are available, and even researches unmarked graves he has restored, to unlock the past.

“We try to tell their entire life stories,’’ says Lumish, who says he spent most of his adult life in corporate America before discovering a knack for photography. “I’ve always loved history, and this has allowed me to tell stories. It can be like finding a treasure.”

People from across the globe have shown their appreciation.

Lumish says he gets thousands of messages from relatives and friends of those he features, and he says schools have contacted him about having their students do something similar for projects in their classes.

Lumish may be cleaning the surfaces of monuments, but he is only scratching the surface of what Andrew Lumish (at right in header photo) honors the he hopes to accomplish. He has a memory and service of U.S. military veterans by restoring number of projects in the pipeline their headstones. Yes, these photos are before (above) and after (below) his handiwork. as he continues to tackle lost history, the globe. There is no better feeling.” one grimy tombstone at a time.

You can follow The Good Cemeteri“I love doing it, I love telling stories,’’ he says. “In a world bombarded with negativity, an at Facebook.com/TheGoodCemeterian this is something positive. It’s just a personal and on Instagram at instagram.com/thething for me, but it has struck a nerve across goodcemeterian.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

37

Gary’s 2016 Dining Favorites — A Year Of Delicious Changes!

I still love compiling my own dining survey a month after we announce the winners of our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest, only in part because I so often disagree with the winning eateries chosen by our readers. I also get a lot of great feedback from putting my favorites in the paper every year and it seems that in

today’s social media-hungry world, people still love lists.

I also get to vary my categories slightly from yours every year and this year is no exception, as I gave the readers 18 categories in which to vote but have whittled myself down to only fourteen.

Even so, there are so many ice

Wesley Chapel

cream and frozen yogurt places in our area these days that I also decided to separate those places from my favorite bakeries in our area by giving each their own category.

Please also remember that I didn’t include on this list any of the places that closed during 2016 — Zaytoun Mediterranean Grill, Takara Sushi

& Sake and others, as well as places that didn’t open until after January 1, 2017, such as the new Paramount Lebanese Kitchen (see Nibbles & Bytes item on page 46).

Send me your feedback on my 2016 faves by visiting NTNeighborhoodNews.com or emailing Gary@ NTNeighborhoodNews.com — GN

Gary’s Top 25 Favorites!

4

900° Woodfired Pizza

5

Yamato Japanese Restaurant

6

Tropics at Saddlebrook Resort

7

GrillSmith

8

The Hungry Greek

I appreciate the fact that this Shops at Wiregrass staple has both NY-style and woodfired thin crust pizza, but 900° Woodfired also has the best pasta in Wesley Chapel, just a notch behind Little Italy’s. The pesto Genovese is ‘da bomb.

The only true hibachi grill in Wesley Chapel is surprisingly affordable, considering its Shops at Wiregrass location, and serves quality tableside hibachi fare, as well as very good sushi, with a full liquor bar.

1

Dempsey’s Steakhouse @ Saddlebrook

2

Bonefish Grill

3

Little Italy’s Family Restaurant

I still think the pricy Dempsey’s Steakhouse may have the best cowboy ribeye in the entire Tampa Bay area, as well as the best tableside Caesar salad, still-swimming fresh fish (photo above) and among the best service you’ll find anywhere.

Even though I always try to promote mom-and-pop restaurants over national chains, I can’t get enough of Bonefish’s tuna sashimi (photo, top right) or the fact that you can not only get grouper or mahi, but also fresh pompano, amberjack, cobia & more.

My favorite homemade pasta in our area, even though it’s actually located in Lutz, Little Italy’s has my favorite red sauce, great linguine with clams and the best meatball parmigiana sub around. ‘Nuff said! See ad below right!

38

Even though it’s only open for breakfast and lunch, the Tropics still has a fantastic breakfast buffet, as well as delicious fresh fish, great burgers (love the turkey burger!), wraps and flatbreads.

Grillsmith is another local mini-chain that continues to add new menu items (especially for lunch) and improve existing ones. It would finish a little higher on my list if it had a bigger selection of steaks, but the quality is always excellent.

The best value for your money in Greek/Mediterranean cuisine in Wesley Chapel, I love the gyro platters, the Greek salads and many of the home-baked desserts at this local hot spot situated across BBD Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

9

Capital Tacos

10

Outback Steakhouse

11

Hibachi Express

I couldn’t help but notice that Capital Tacos recently (finally) added a sign in front of its location on S.R. 56, but the food quality is always top-notch and the service is spot-on. The fajita salads are still my favorites, but there’s usually great specials, too.

With all of the chains now located in or adjacent to Wesley Chapel, a few are bound to find their way to my top-25, and Outback’s ongoing efforts to keep the prices for good steaks, lamb chops and appetizers affordable helps this location in my top 10.

While no one is going to confuse Hibachi Express’ steaks with Dempsey’s, you can’t beat the value for your money at this popular Village Market lunch spot. The sushi is also less expensive than at most other local places.

12

Arroy Thai

13

La Prima Pizza

After taking over for the Fine Thai Express on S.R. 54, Arroy Thai is my highestfinishing newcomer in Wesley Chapel, with the best garlic and black pepper sauce of any Thai place in the area, great crispy duck and affordable lunch specials.

O’Brien’s Irish Pub

15

Longhorn Steakhouse

16

Texas Roadhouse

17

Cantina Laredo

PizzaMania

19

OTB Delight Café

20

Wolf’s Den

21

Kwan Ming Bistro

22

Cody’s Original Roadhouse

23

Bonsai Sushi

PizzaMania doesn’t have my favorite pizza in WC, but I’ve always enjoyed the Italian specialties, like veal parmigiana and pasta with Paesana sauce (broccoli, garlic and oil).

I keep asking for OTB to expand its menu a little, but not only does it have great breakfast, but also tasty salads, wraps and rice bowls.

Still my favorite breakfast place (amazing hash browns) in Wesley Chapel, I also enjoy the sandwiches and burgers at Wolf’s Den.

The menu has definitely been upgraded at Kwan Ming since it first opened a couple of years ago. My favorite dish is the house special fried rice. See ad on pg. 38.

Obviously, I’m a steak lover and while Cody’s steaks are a notch below Longhorn and Texas Roadhouse, they’re also less expensive, and I like the unlimited salad bowl.

Although we have a few very good pizza paces in Wesley Chapel, La Prima, in the SuperTarget-anchored Northwood Plaza, is still my favorite New York-style ‘za in either of our distribution areas; La Prima also has quality Italian specialties.

14

18

This favorite in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza on BBD still has perhaps the best sushi and non-hibachi grill Japanese fare in Wesley Chapel.

24

Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant It might finish even higher if the menu were a little more diversified, but O’Brien’s has great burgers, wings and the Murphy’s chicken sandwich & crispy tater tots are winners, Just like its New Tampa counterpart, the Vallarta’s in the Wesley Chapel Village plus there’s almost nightly entertainment & great drink prices. See ad on pg. 43.

Market offers great value for your money and a full liquor bar. See ad on pg. 40.

My favorite of the new restaurants that opened near the Tampa Premium Outlets in 2016, Longhorn’s bone-in ribeye and other well-seasoned steaks are well worth their price tag. I like the full premium liquor bar and fair drink prices a lot, too.

I can do without the hourly country line dancing, but Texas Roadhouse on S.R. 56 still has some of the best steaks and sides in our area.

I’m not a guacamole enthusiast, but it’s hard to resist when made tableside. I also love Cantina’s new bone-in ribeye and fresh fish specials, as well as the gorgeous bar.

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

25

Union 72 BBQ

Just opening in late 2016, this newcomer is more than just your typical BBQ joint, although the ribs, brisket and house-made sides are excellent. See ad on pg. 43.

Gary’s Next 25+ Wesley Chapel Favorites (in alphabetical order) Amici Pizza Applebees Bagelicious & MOre Best NY Pizza BJ’s Brewhouse Bosco’s Italian Burger Monger Buttermilk Provisions Cheddars

Chick & Peas Grill China Wok CineBistro Don Pan Intl Bakery Culver’s First Watch Gonna China Ho Wok Hot Wok 88

Lexington Oaks GC NY NY Pizza PDQ Pepe’s Cuban Pinchers Crab Shack Quail Hollow CC Red Robin 365 Caffe Italiano Tokyo Japanese

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

39

New Tampa

Gary’s Top 25 Favorites!

1

Cafe Olé Authentic Spanish Cuisine

2

Ciccio Cali

3

Acropolis Greek Tavern

4

Stonewood Grill & Tavern

Café Olé continues to reign as my first choice in New Tampa for authentic Spanish cuisine, plus always-fresh fish (you still can’t find a better buy than Café Olé’s flounder or grouper lunch special) with amazing sauces.

With the best tuna and chicken bowls in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area, Ciccio’s also has crispy pizzas, excellent lunch, catering & weekend entertainment.

I’m not going to say I love all of the new items on Acropolis’ always-expanding menu, but the Athenian fish, grilled lamb chops & more keep it high on my list.

Ever since local proprietor Dave Rathbun added outstanding lunch to Stonewood’s already great selection of steaks, fresh fish and other popular American/continental options, I’ve moved Stonewood up to my top 4 in New Tampa.

5

Sukhothai

Sukhothai combines the only below-floor seating in New Tampa with top-notch Thai cuisine and always-fresh sushi, keeping it high on my list of favorites.

40

6

Koizi Endless Hibachi Grill

7

Ginza Endless Sushi & Hibachi

8

Thai Ruby

9

Oakley’s Grill

At only $17.95 per person for dinner and $10.95 for lunch, Koizi is still the best value in town for endless sushi and hibachi fare. Plus, Koizi also has great prices for beer, wine and sake, too.

My favorite new restaurant that opened in New Tampa in 2016, Ginza finishes just below Koizi among the “endless” sushi and hibachi places because of its higher price.

In addition to being one of New Tampa’s most elegant restaurants for a date night, Thai Ruby also has my favorite crispy duck in our area, plus delicious Thai fried rice, really good fresh fish specials and beer and wine.

The best burger place in my survey since 2011, Oakley’s also has perfect fries, plus my favorite roast beef au jus sandwich in New Tampa, and keeps adding new menu items, like great ribs.

10

Fushia Asian Bistro

11

Kobe Japanese Steak House

Fushia in Tampa Palms has been at or near my top-10 favorites in New Tampa for years . Try the new Chinese hot pot buffet (see story on pg. 44).

There’s finally a restaurant with staying power in front of the Pebble Creek Collection, as the local Kobe mini-chain has high-quality hibachi fare and very good sushi.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

12

Vuelo Mexican Grill

19

Peabody’s Billiards & Games

13

Woodfired Pizza

20

Las Palmas Cuban Café

14

Petra Mediterranean Express

21

Minerva Indian Restaurant

15

Liang’s Bistro Asian Cuisine

22

Tarek’s Café

16

The Little Greek

23

Cappy’s Pizza

17

Sushi Café

18

Full Circle Pizza

I think the new Vuelo may take flight in our area with its free chips and salsa bar, a very good asada filet mignon platter and a great tequila selection. See ad on pg. 45.

I still rave about the cracker-thin-crusted pizzas with amazing toppings, unique salads and new entrées, plus craft beers & great, reasonably priced wines by the glass at Woodfired on E. Bearss Ave.

Although it’s anything but fancy, I’m still a regular visitor to Petra off BBD in Highwoods Preserve, because I love the beef shawarma served over homemade salads.

Liang’s on BBD is still my first choice for NY-style egg rolls and BBQ spare ribs in New Tampa, plus great sautéed green beans (order ‘em spicy) and even great fresh fish.

I really enjoy the gyros, Greek salads with a real Greek-style dressing and lamb, beef & chicken skewers at the Little Greek in the New Tampa Center plaza.

A consistently great choice for fresh and creative sushi (including a huge selection of specialty rolls), Sushi Café (next to Panera on BBD) also has very good hibachi fare, although it isn’t prepared tableside.

I love the 10-oz. NY strip special on Friday nights for only $12.99, plus the crispiest fries in town, NY-style pizza and great burgers and sandwiches at Peabody’s.

I still love the merluza (white fish) a la Rusa the most, but Las Palmas in Pebble Creek continues to expand its offerings of authentic Cuban cuisine favorites.

Another excellent newcomer, people rave about the butter chicken, but you should also try Minerva’s take on Chinese-style fried rice See ad on page 45.

And still another newcomer cracks my top 25, as Tarek’s in Tampa Palms combines great cheeseburgers, sandwiches and some really tasty baked goods.

I still wish Cappy’s in Tampa Palms would add some more menu items, but I do enjoy both the NY- and Chicago-style pizzas and the salads, too.

24 Saffron

Indian Cuisine

New Tampa’s favorite Indian restaurant got a huge bump-up in popularity when the Bollywood awards were held in Tampa a couple of years ago & has my favorite sizzling lamb chops in the area.

25

Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant

I’m never going to like thin or thick-crust, Chicago-style pizza as much as I do my native New The food isn’t upscale, but neither are the prices at Vallarta’s. The Tampa Palms location is York pizza, but Full Circle in Pebble Creek has very good parmigiana dinners and sandwiches. probably the local mini-chain’s nicest, but I also enjoy the fajitas and other steak entrées.

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

41

Gary’s Favorite

Gary’s Favorite

Gary’s Favorite

Restaurants in NT & WC

Places in NT & WC

Places in NT & WC

Chinese

1

Fushia Asian Bistro

If you haven’t tried Fushia lately, you owe it to yourself to try it, after you read my story on page 46 of this issue.

Liang’s Bistro Kwan Ming Bistro Hot Wok 88 Ho King Gonna China Gonna China China Wok (WC Village Mkt) Ho Wok China Wok (County Line Rd.)

2

3

4 5

6 7

8 9

10

Gary’s Favorite

Japanese & Sushi

Restaurants in NT & WC

1

Yamato Japanese Restaurant

The sushi isn’t the best in our area, but Yamato has very fair prices for very good food in this most competitive category.

2

3

4 5

6 7

8 9

10

Kobe Steakhouse Koizi Endless Hibachi Ginza Sukhothai Hibachi Express Sushi Café Fong’s Sushi Bonsai Sushi Sushi Avenue

Gary’s Favorite

Thai

Restaurants in NT & WC

1

Sukhothai

If it had more Japanese entrées, Sukhothai could win that category, too. Sukhothai and Thai Ruby have long been 1-2 in my survey.

Steak

Pizza

1

La Prima Pizza

Great NY style pizza will always be my favorite and La Prima is still #1, despite lots of competition in both of our markets.

2

3

4 5

6 7

8 9

10 11 12

13

14 15

NY NY Pizza 900° Woodfired Taste of NY Peabody’s PizzaMania Amici Woodfired (Bearss Ave.) Capri Pizza Little Italy’s Full Circle Cappy’s Ciccio Cali Westshore Woody’s

Gary’s Favorite

1 2

3

4 5

6 7

8 9

10

1

Acropolis

Fresh fish, delicious lamb chops and a full liquor bar keep Acropolis at the top of my list year after year in this growing category.

2 3 4 5

The Hungry Greek Petra Mediterranean Little Greek Chick & Peas Grill

Gary’s Favorite

1 2

3

4 5

6 7

8 9

10

Latin & Mexican

Restaurants in NT & WC

1

Café Olé

Authentic Spanish tapas and entrées and the best fresh fish in New Tampa put the everexpanding Café Olé at the top of my list.

Dempsey’s is not only the best in our distribution areas, it’s among the best in the entire Tampa Bay area. Just say “cowboy ribeye!”

Café Olé Stonewood Longhorn Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse Texas Roadhouse Bonefish Grill GrillSmith Kobe Steakhouse Cody’s Roadhouse

Gary’s Favorite

Burger

Greek & Middle Eastern Restaurants in NT & WC

Dempsey’s Steak House

Places in NT & WC

Oakley’s Grill

3

1

4 5

6 7

8 9

10 11 12

13

14 15

Chain

8

Bonefish Grill

Great drink prices, proximity to my office, karaoke & live entertainment make O’Brien’s my favorite hangout bar.

3

1

Gary’s Favorite

O’Brien’s Irish Pub

2

Sonny’s BBQ Peabody’s OTB Café Five Guys Burger 21 O’Brien’s Irish Pub Hunter’s Green CC Grillsmith Mulligan’s

2

3

4 5

6 7

9

10

The Brass Tap Peabody’s Bonefish Grill Stonewood Mulligan’s Longhorn Steakhouse Cheddars Scratch Kitchen Acropolis Grillsmith Hunter’s Green CC Ker’s Wing House Mr. Dunderbak’s PJ Dolan’s Joe Whiskey’s

Gary’s Favorite

Ice Cream/FroYo Places in NT & WC

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream

Still #1 for its creaminess and variety of peanut butter and banana flavors. Try Bruster’s unique ice ceam pies. You’ll thank me.

Coldstone Creamery Culver’s Twistee Treat Baskin Robbins Dairy Queen Happy Cow La Berry Frogury Wawa

Gary’s Favorite

I can’t get enough of the tuna sashimi (best sauce ever!) or the fresh fish at Bonefish, which also has Outback-quality steaks.

2 Stonewood Vuelo Mexican Grill 2 Thai Ruby 3 Longhorn Steakhouse Capital Tacos 4 3 Arroy Thai 4 Outback Steakhouse Cantina Laredo 5 4 Lanna Thai 5 Grillsmith Las Palmas 6 Vallarta’s (Tampa Palms) 5 Minerva Indian Rest.

6 Texas Roadhouse 7 Casa Ramos 6 Thai Orchid 7 Five Guys 8 Vallarta’s (WC Village Mkt) 7 Saffron Indian Cuisine 8 Jersey Mike’s Subs 9 Latin Twist Café 8 Top Thai 9 Cheddars For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com Neighborhood News 42 9 10 25, Tabla Indian Food Cantina (CC Blvd.)

10 Kobe Steakhouse 2

Barsin&NT Taverns & WC

Still the best flame-grilled burger in either of our distribution areas, Oakley’s also has outstanding fries and sandwiches.

Restaurants in NT & WC

1

Gary’s Favorite

Bakeries

1 2

in NT & WC

7 Layers Bakery

From authentic New York-style, handpiped cannolis to great cupcakes, cakes, Napoleons and eclairs make 7 Layers #1.

Stonemill Artisan Sugar Darlings 4 Buttermilk Provisions 5 @NTWCNews Le Macaron 3

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 •WCNeighborhoodNews.com

43

Fushia Asian Bistro Adds An Authentic Chinese ‘Hot Pot’ Buffet

DID YOU

By Gary Nager

love The Melting Pot the first time you ever ate there? For some people, dipping cubes of bread into boiling hot cheese or meats into equally hot oil is just a little too adventurous, while others love it so much they choose to enjoy it for Valentine’s Day or another big night out.

Invoking that same spirit of adventure is Fushia Asian Bistro, located in the Shoppes of Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms (next to Crunch Fitness), less than five miles south of the Pasco County line. Fushia owners Sharon and Chef Charlie Wang say that theirs is the first Asian restaurant in the Tampa Bay area to offer an authentic Chinese hot pot buffet and they have spared no expense to bring it to you, hoping to capture a new audience for my favorite Chinese restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel (see pgs. 38-41).

In the newer side of Fushia, where the restaurant also offers its private karaoke suites for 6-20 people, there are now multiple tables where each seat has its own stovetop burner. Each person at your table will have their own stainless steel pot which they will fill with one of about ten different kinds of broth — from Japanese-style miso to Thai curry to spicy red (oil) broth and literally any other “stock” you can imagine.

Then, you visit large refrigerated cabinets which offer a variety of flashfrozen meats — lamb, pork, beef, chicken, etc., as well as beef stomach and other choices less commonly known by the aver-

age American diner at the place.

For those who aren’t allergic to shellfish (like I am), there also is a huge selection of not only white meat fish, but also raw shrimp, clams, squid, crab claw meat and others, as well as a variety of dumplings, wontons, ramen noodles and a huge selection of veggies.

Each person at your table selects his or her own selection of these items to place into their own hot pot. Most of the items take only a few seconds to cook, while the dumplings and noodles take a few minutes.

While your hot pot is simmering, there is an ever-changing variety of appetizers for you to enjoy. On our most recent visit, for example, there was a spicy cucumber salad, spicy chicken chunks, Korean-style pickled kimchi vegetables (also spicy), and others.

You also can choose from a dozen different sauces, some spicy, some sweet and mild.

Once your ingredients have been simmered in your hot pot, you pull them out using a ladle that is provided to each person with a hot pot. The food comes out piping hot and most of the fat on the meats are rendered into the pot.

“It’s a really healthy, lower-calorie way to eat,” Sharon says. “Hot pot buffets are very big in major cities like New York and even Miami. We think people here will love it, too, if they give it a try.”

Although I really enjoyed the hot pot buffet, there is an element of chance involved — you have to figure out which broth to start with because different broths definitely bring out different tastes. I really liked the so-called “fatty lamb” and “fatty

At Fushia Asian Bistro in Tampa Palms, you can enjoy an authentic Chinese Hot Pot buffet by picking your own meats, shellfish, veggies, noddles and sauces and have fun cooking them right at your table! pork” the most, but I preferred them in the butter broth rather than any of the spicy broths. The fish filets also cooked up fluffy and white and were particularly good with a mix of peanut sauce and Thai chili sauce.

Young people, especially college students like my WCNT-tv production assistant Gavin Olsen, really seemed to enjoy the hot pot buffet the most. Staff writer Celeste McLaughlin and billing manager Stephanie Smith (bottom right photo) also really enjoyed the adventure of the hot pot, although Celeste said she probably wouldn’t bring her younger children to try it because of the heat, although I do see kids enjoying the hibachi tables at Japanese steakhouses, which also can burn them.

Your hot pot buffet also comes with unlimited desserts (including delicious ice cream) and soft drinks, all for $25.99 per person — and yes that price is the same, whether you enjoy the hot put for lunch 44

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

or dinner. The good news is that with the coupon in the Fushia ad on page 42, up to eight people in your party can each receive $2 off that cost, although the coupon can not be used on Friday or Saturday. Even so, my employees all agreed that it was well worth the cost.

Old Favorites, Too!

Of course, there were no hot pot buffets when I learned to love New York-style Chinese food during my youth growing up in Long Island. For me, Chinese food is still about great egg rolls, fried rice and spicy beef and pork dishes with traditional Chinese vegetables.

My favorite traditional dishes at Fushia are the Yan Jian pork, which is made spicy by being sautéed with jalapeño peppers. It’s amazing with Fushia’s Yong Chow fried rice, which is a savory combination fried rice with pork, beef, chicken and shrimp (I order it without the shrimp), @NTWCNews

Yan Jian Pork

Mongolian Chicken & Egg Roll

Yong Chow Fried Rice

Beef With Chinese Broccoli

plus some onions, egg and veggies. Yum. I also love Fushia’s beef with Chinese broccoli, which is like broccoli stalks with spinach leaves instead of florets, as well as the true New York-style egg rolls, spring rolls and pan-fried dumplings.

I also really enjoy Fushia’s Mongolianstyle chicken, the crispy Beijing (Peking) duck and so many other dishes on the extensive menu. If you want the hot pot buffet but your significant other isn’t that adventurous, you can both get what you

want and enjoy a great Chinese meal.

And yes, you can even get a private karaoke suite for your party (at no additional charge) and entertain each other after dinner while you enjoy a glass of plum wine, hot or cold sake or a delicious Tsingtao or Kirin (or domestic) beer.

Fushia Asian Bistro is located at 15315 Amberly Dr. and is open every day for lunch and dinner except Monday. For more information, call 9036705 and tell Sharon we sent you!

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 •WCNeighborhoodNews.com

45

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

Cabana Spas Opens On SR 56!

If you’re looking for new ways to relax and feel healthier, the new Cabana Spas, in the former Planet Beach location at 27607 S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel is the place for you, even though I wrongly said in our last issue that it was another tanning salon.

With unique individual treatment rooms that include a Fitbomb infrared sauna you can actually work out in (photo below), a tooth whitening treatment area, hydration station, oxygen bar and so much more, Cabana Spas is owned by Glen and Jill Harrod, the same people who own the South Beach Tanning

Company franchise in the SuperTarget-anchored Northwood Plaza on BBD at County Line Rd. in Wesley Chapel, but Cabana is definitely not a tanning salon.

“We didn’t want to compete with ourselves by opening another tanning location,” Glen says. “What we want is to offer unique treatments you won’t find anywhere else.”

The Harrods and their staff unveiled Cabana Spa to the members of the WCCC at a ribbon-cutting/Grand Opening event on Jan. 20, the day we went to press with this issue, although the Grand Opening celebration continues through Wednesday, February 15.

For more info, visit CabanaSpas.com, see the ad on pg. 21 or call 991-4433.

Other recent WCCC ribbon-cutting events were held at: • Menchies Frozen Yogurt in the Shops at Wiregrass on Jan. 14 •the new Chase Bank on S.R. 54 on Jan. 19 • Paramount Lebanese Kitchen (see ad on pg. 39) in New Tampa on Jan. 20 • Devolder Law Firm

46

Tampa Premium Outlets) on Jan. 28, • Go Craft Yourself on Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa on Jan. 31 (photo, below).

For the complete upcoming WCCC schedule, visit WesleyChapel Chamber.com.

La’ Berry Adds Ice Cream!

(photo, top; see ad on pg. 30) in Hunter’s Green on Jan. 26 • McDonald’s on S.R. 56 (in front of

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

If you’ve never tried the La’ Berry Frozen Yogurt & Ice Cream Café at 20304 Trout Creek Dr. off BBD (in the same plaza as Burger 21), the good news is that this frozen yogurt café (which also has great sandwiches and other food items) is adding homemade Working Cow ice cream.

The ice cream Grand Opening for new La’ Berry owners Urvesh and Trina Patel (photo on next page) was on Feb. 4, but you can still come check out not only the 16 flavors of Working Cow ice cream, but

@NTWCNews

also the 80 available toppings for it, as well as La’ Berry’s healthy panini, wrap and delicious other sandwiches (I’ve enjoyed the tuna melt and turkey panini).

“Nobody in the area offers Working Cow ice cream and most ice cream places don’t do toppings like yogurt places do,” says Urvesh.

“We focus on less fattening food items for our customers who are health-conscious, but still want great taste.”

For info and some great coupon offers, see pg. 40 of this issue, call 345-8537 or visit LaBerryFrozenYogurt.com. *Note-Costco will be open by the time you receive this issue, so we will update you on that superstore’s opening in our next issue.

We’ll also provide updates about the new Lexus dealership which has broken ground near I-75, plus Pollo Tropical, Ford’s Garage, Holiday Inn Express and more! — GN

Joe Whiskey’s 1/8-pg ad

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

47

New Tampa & Wesley Chapel 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.

POOL SERVICES 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! AllStarPoolsofTampaBay.com Highest quality salt and ozone generators, pumps, motors, filters. Marcite, quartz and pebble finishes. Pool cleanups and acid washes, paver and river rock sealing. Paver decks and driveways. Mention this ad for $69 pool service. Call or text 813-244-7077. See our display ad. Visit AllStarPoolsofTampaBay.com

48

Classifieds

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: 813-7845999.

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 813400-1408 or email TYCOONUNION@YAHOO. COM. DALE’S HOME MAINTENANCE Pressure washing, screen repairs, garage cleaning and organizing, shelving, re-grout tile and caulking, and more.

813-727-2582.

PET SERVICES 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.

CLEANING SERVICES 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 400 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 movein/move-out 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! 813-625-6045.

R HOUSE CLEANING SERVICES To Keep Your House clean, call Marlene!

Working now in Wesley Chapel and the New Tampa areas. Monday through Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM. We can help: Call 562-637-5974 or email kolungaa@ hotmail.com. FREE estimates.

PROFESSIONAL DETAIL CLEANING SERVICES LLC Residential, Commercial & Construction cleaning. Over 10 years experience! Complete cleaning: one time, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, move in and out. Great reference available. Same crew every cleaning. We clean your property like our own. Call or text for FREE ESTIMATES: Mila, 813-516-3554

HELP WANTED 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.

PEST CONTROL TECHNICIAN NEEDED Must have clean driving record, no criminal record and be able to lift 50 lbs. Call VIP Pest Control at 813-2348888 for details.

SPACE AVAILABLE SERENITY SALON & SPA SUITES in Wesley Chapel. 1 suite available for rent. Call for details: 813-312-5247 or 813-997-6302. Great location!

Our Classified Ads are the ones your neighbors actually READ!

Call 910-2575 to order yours today!

COMPUTER/BUSINESS SERVICES 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.

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

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

49

50

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 25, Issue 4 • February 10, 2017 • NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews