Riverview/Apollo Beach
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June 2017 Volume 15, Issue 6 Ph: 657-2418 1 5
Y E A R S
O F
P U B L I S H I N G
New $44M VA Outpatient Clinic Breaks Ground Near Summerfield
By Tamas Mondovics
Postal Customer
ECRWSS EDDM
PRSTD STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID TAMPA, FL PERMIT #2397
Director Joe Battle. Hospital officials said that the $44 million contract was awarded to Hokanson Companies, Inc. from Indianapolis, IN for a 15-year James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and community leaders break lease to the VA. ground for the VA’s new clinic in Riverview. Doster Nearly 100 people including local Construction Co. from Birmingham, AL is government leaders, Tampa’s James A. to complete the construction of the facility Haley Veterans’ Hospital (JAHVH) admin- which will have the Leadership in Energy istration and staff along with members of and Environmental Design (LEED) silver the community gathered under a large certification. tent on an open field in Riverview last “This will improve access to care and month to celebrate the groundbreaking help veterans not have to travel as far for ceremony for the VA’s new South the care that they get,” Battle said. “This Hillsborough Community Based clinic is a testament to our commitment Outpatient Clinic. and the promise that we give to veterans Located at 11100 Fairway Meadow to provide care as part of their service Dr. in Riverview just north of Big Bend and the sacrifices they have made.” Rd. and east of US 301 behind the The VA’s national budget in 2015 Summerfield Plaza, the new clinic will be was around $200 billion dollars. Tampa’s a 50,000 sq. ft. facility, expected to serve JAHVH annual budget is about $1 billion the nearly 10,000 veterans who live in the serving the bay area and its more than Riverview, Ruskin, Sun City, Apollo Beach 90,000 veterans with 5,000 employees. and other areas of South Hillsborough Currently, Florida has the third largest vetCounty. erans population. Construction for the project is expectU.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (Florida’s ed to last about a year, and when com16th District) attended the event and pleted, in addition to primary care, it will spoke highly of the project when he said, include women’s primary care, home“I applaud these visionaries to get this based primary care, mental health, audiproject off the ground.” ology, radiology (including MRI, CT, ultraHillsborough County Commissioner sound and x-rays), specialty care, physiStacy White added, “This is a great addical therapy, pharmacy and a lab. tion to the community serving veterans in “When this is all finished, we’re going a middle of a major residential area.” to have a state-of-the-art, beautiful clinic Additional information about James here for our veterans to use in south A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital can be found Hillsborough County,” said JAHVH at www.tampa.va.gov.
Osprey Observer 918 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. Brandon, FL 33511-6121
“If it’s on a door, we service it!”
Photo By Tamas Mondovics
HCSO Major Robert Bullera and retired Captain Steve Launikitis proudly serve up some fish during the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office annual Fish Fry held each year at the agency’s District IV office in Ruskin. The event draws a large crowd of staff, deputies and their families as well as some members of the media to thank them for their support.
P O S I T I V E
C O M M U N I T Y
N E W S
Meals On Wheels Seeks Partners To Expand Service To Riverview Area
By Amanda Boston
Jim McNeil, president of the local Meals on Wheels awarded husband and wife team, Tony and Jean Ippolito, the Volunteer of the Award.
“It bothers me to get a call and have to tell a person we don’t serve that area,” said Jim McNeil, the president of the Greater Brandon Meals on Wheels. On April 20, McNeil’s opening remarks at the annual Meals on Wheels volunteer appreciation luncheon were a call to action as he publicized the need to expand into the Riverview area. For 41 years, the local Meals on Wheels program has delivered hot meals to homebound persons in the Brandon, Seffner and Valrico areas. However, the Riverview area from Boyette Road and further south receives no assistance. McNeil prays that the Riverview area churches will begin participating in the program to meet the escalating needs. The local chapter operates through the combined efforts of 19 local churches. Volunteers from the participating churches prepare and deliver about 250 hot meals per day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday. The volunteers are at the core of the program, and President McNeil expressed sincere appreciation for the many hearts and hands that make a difference in the community. Dawn Trattner from First Presbyterian Church of Brandon acted as the master of ceremonies and applauded the volunteers for
Ray Fischer, a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, received special recognition.
their dedication and efforts to the organization. Referencing 1 Corinthians 12, a passage concerning spiritual gifts from God, Trattner said, “God, Himself is behind it all. Each person has been given something to do that shows who God is. ...The variety is amazing as some of you are bakers, some of you are cooks, some of you are screeners, some of you drive, and some of you organize the lists.”
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WATERWAYS SAFETY .........................PG 3 HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS..............PG 6 HOA HOT TOPICS ...............................PG 7 EYE ON BUSINESS. ...........................PG 25 CHALKLINES .....................................PG 28 APOLLO BEACH LIVING .............PGS 39‐41