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Growth puts squeeze on schools
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
As Pasco County Schools heads into another school year, crowded conditions are expected on several campuses within The Laker/Lutz News coverage area. District officials are projecting that Wesley Chapel’s Wiregrass Ranch High School will operate at 141 percent of its capacity, with an estimated 2,310 students in a school designed for 1,633. Connerton Elementary School, in Land
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O’ Lakes, meanwhile, is projected to be at 120 percent of its capacity — with an anticipated 918 students at a school built for 762. Other schools expecting big crowds are: • John Long Middle, projected at 123 percent of its capacity, with an expected 1,635 students at school designed for 1,327 • Thomas Weightman Middle, projected at 116 percent of its capacity, with an expected 1,130 students at a school designed for 975 • Cypress Creek Middle High, projected at 114 percent of its capacity, with an ex-
pected 953 students, in a space designed for 834 Chris Williams, the school district’s director of planning, outlined the district’s projected average daily memberships for 2019-2020 during a workshop with the Pasco County School Board last week. Williams said a new Cypress Creek Middle School, expected to open in fall 2020, will provide relief for the area’s middle schools and Wiregrass Ranch High See SCHOOLS, page 11A
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Celebrating the Apollo 11 lunar landing, Lego-style The New River Branch Library hosted an all-day, Lego build-a-thon on July 20, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, which occurred on July 20, 1969. A special edition lunar module Lego kit, containing 1,087 pieces, as well as several smaller kits, were available for all ages. The library, at 34043 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, often holds special events for youths. Above, three teens that volunteer at the New River Branch Library build a replica lunar module out of Legos. From left, 17year-old Malcolm Lewis, 17year-old Marlon Torres and 17-year-old Jori Ndrita, all of Wesley Chapel. At left, 17year-old Malcolm Lewis, of Wesley Chapel, uses the instruction manual to help guide him, while he constructs the landing gear of the Lego lunar module.
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INSIDE, PAGE 1B
Teen’s health struggle makes her a national voice A FIGHTING CHANCE
By Brian Fernandes bfernandes@lakerlutznews.com
When Mark and Kelly Dees of Land O’ Lakes decided to name their unborn daughter Hope, it was a sign of their unwavering optimism despite devastating news. What was supposed to be an exciting reveal of their baby’s gender, soon became a moment of sadness after Hope was diagnosed with congenital heart defects. “We were told by the first doctor that she wouldn’t live to see her first birthday,” Kelly recalled. But now, at age 13, Hope has far exceeded that grim diagnosis. Not only has she undergone multiple operations, she also recently had the chance to make her voice heard by the nation’s lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Still, it hasn’t been an easy path.
COURTESY OF AMY GALL Hope Dees, 13, stands alongside U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist while on a trip to Washington D.C. She and her parents spoke to Florida legislators about health care coverage for kids with medical needs.
After hearing the initial troubling news about their daughter, the couple went to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa, where a second diagnosis showed a brighter outcome. Hope had a 92 percent success rate of survival, according to Dr. James Huhta, who still cares for her to this day. She was born eight weeks premature with not only a weak heart, but a mild form of cerebral palsy, among other health complications. At just 2 months old, she had her first open-heart surgery and spent several months recuperating at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. Also, her esophagus did not connect to her stomach and had an abnormal connection to her trachea. This resulted in her See HEALTH, page 11A