Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, Volume 24, Issue 6, March 11, 2016

Volume 24 Issue 6

Inside: Don’t Miss The Wesley Chapel Relay For Life!

March 11, 2016

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For the complete list of neighborhoods that receive this publication by direct mail in Wesley Chapel (zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545), see page 46!

Local Historian Publishes The Definitive History Of Wesley Chapel!

By John C. Cotey

As Wesley Chapel grows and adds shiny new housing development after shiny new housing development, businesses as far as the eye can see and all the comforts of modern living, it’s hard to imagine our area as a hardscrabble agricultural and rural town with a long, rich history.

Author Madonna Jervis Wise, however, brings that unique history into focus with her latest book, Images of America: Wesley Chapel, a fresh glimpse of Wesley Chapel’s history through extensive research and hundreds of old photos and maps being officially released on Monday, March 21, by Arcadia Publishing/History Press. A launch event for the book will be held on Thursday, March 31, at the first annual History Fair at the Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC)Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch off S.R. 56, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., in the conference room.

The president of the Pasco County Historical Society and a Pasco County resident for 43 years, Wise has written nine books — including Images of America: Dade City and Images of America: Zephyrhills — and was asked by her publisher to do a book about Wesley Chapel.

While her previous books on Dade City and Zephyrhills were written with a wealth of information in library and government archives, Wise says her Wesley Chapel book required more digging. But, with each layer she peeled away, new stories emerged.

“It really became a labor of love,’’

Also Inside This Issue: News, Business & Sports Updates Official Borders Right Around The Corner For Wesley Chapel, Pasco Hopes To Improve Its Parks, Paul Bartell Honors Son, & Gets Honored Himself, Pasco Hernando State College At Wiregrass Ranch To Host The First Wesley Chapel History Fair & Lots Of Local Business Features!

Pages 3-34

Neighborhood Magazine Tampa Palms Kid Wins $20,000 On ‘Millionaire,’ Local Couple Combats Bullying With Books, Want To Own An Oakley’s Grill? Plus, More Neighborhood Nibbles & Biz Bytes!

Pages 37-52

says Wise, who lists the Douglas family who ran the KBar Ranch (south of the Pasco line, in New Tampa) and many of the Porters, who developed the Wiregrass Ranch area, as her friends.

Wise says she was shocked to learn that Wesley Chapel actually is older than Zephyrhills — it was settled in the 1840s, when land was granted to Edward Boyette, Sr., in the Florida Armed Occupation Act of 1842.

It was so sparsely populated, however, there were few historical references for Wise to draw upon from that era.

She did, however, find the remaining turpentine foreman’s house on the Barnes Ranch, which is 150 years old, and Daniel Smith’s pioneer cracker home, which was donated to the Cracker Country Hands-on Museum (currently located at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa) in 1979.

Much of Wise’s research on Wesley Chapel’s beginnings in the 1840s took place in Brooksville. Because Pasco County didn’t exist until 1887, locals had to travel to

This house was built for Daniel H. Smith and Elizabeth Geiger, who were engaged, in 1894. It was donated in 1979 by the Smith’s grandson, Willie Smith, to the hands-on exhibit at the Florida State Fairgrounds known as “Cracker Country.” Photo courtesy of Ernest Wise.

Brooksville for marriage licenses and other Ancestry.com. She met David Brown from official documents. the Barnes family, who had a wealth of infor“I discovered a very rich history as I un- mation and connections. The First Baptist covered it,’’ Wise says. “I had to go back and Church of Wesley Chapel, located on S.R. do a lot of interviews.”

54, east of Saddlebrook Resort, let her exWise did more than 30 original in- amine its records, which dated back to 1878.

Wise’s book is 128 pages and six chapterviews and reviewed hundreds of photos from family collections. She connected with ters of family histories with more than 300 Marco Stanley, who had been researching his See ‘History’ on page 16. own family’s Wesley Chapel beginnings, on

Taylor Hicks Headlines Land O’Lakes Music Festival Mar. 11!

Congratulations to the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce (CPCC), which was able to secure former “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks as the headliner for its first ever “Land O’Lakes Music Festival.”

The Festival will be held Friday, March 11, 6 p.m.-11 p.m. (with Hicks appearing that evening), and Saturday, March 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge & Park (21735 YMCA Camp Rd. in Land O’Lakes). The event’s presenting sponsors are Ierna’s Heating & Cooling, Wesley Chapel Nissan and the CPCC and the cost to see Hicks on Friday night is $25 per person for general admission or $40 for “preferred seating.” Admission on Saturday is free for everyone, when there will be great music provided all day.

Among the other acts that will appear at the Festival include Ashley Smith & Josh Higgins, Bad Rabbit, Stonegrey and the Bobby Summers Band. There also will be food trucks, vendor booths

and lots of fun activities for the kids.

“There really is something for everyone,” says event organizer David Gainer of the CPCC. “If you love great music and fun, we hope to see you there!”

Other sponsors of the first Land O’Lakes Music Festival include: Asturia, The Law Offices of Lucas Magazine, Christian Brothers Auto of Land O’Lakes, Duke Energy, MediWeightLoss Clinics on S.R. 54, St. Leo University, Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa/Wesley Chapel, ACE Rent A Car, DEX Imaging, Optimum Plumbing, Copperstone Executive Suites, Aprile Chiropractic & Wellness, the Florida Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Pizza Villa, Suncoast Security Works, Caroline Contractors, The Home Depot, Kazar’s Electric, nimlok Gulf Coast, Synovus Bank, Architectural Signage & Printing, Suncoast Credit Union, Smart Health & Life, the Laker/Lutz News, Hits 106 radio & this publication.

For more information, please visit CentralPascoChamber.com, see the ad on pg. 18 or call 909-2722.

Quail Hollow Residents Oppose Converting Golf Course Into Residences An editorial by Gary Nager When I got the call from my friend and Quail Hollow resident Bill Sanders, who works at the New Tampa Postal Station in Tampa Palms, it was Friday afternoon, a few hours before I went to press with this issue.

I told him I didn’t think I could attend an impromptu meeting at the home of Quail Hollow HOA president Mark Patterson (who also goes by “Dan”) at 7 p.m., because it was too close to my midnight deadline and I didn’t think I could find space for it in this issue, as I had another editorial all ready to go and precious little other space left at that late hour.

“But, we really need some help,” Bill told me. “Did you know that they’re going to close the golf course (Quail Hollow Country Club, or QHCC) and replace it with more than 400 residences?”

I had actually read an article on TampaBay.com in May of last year about the possibility that golf course owner Andre Carrollo was “considering” rezoning the 175-acre property but that it wouldn’t be “anytime soon.” I also heard rumblings at my Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon meeting two days before Bill’s call to me that the course either had been sold or was going to be sold for development.

“I just don’t understand how we can be sold ‘golf course view’ lots at a premium (of the 30 or so Quail Hollow residents, who attended the meeting on March 4, all of whom live on Gentle Ben Cir., most paid at least a $10,000 lot “premium” to build their home with a view of the Quail Hollow

Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News Address: 29157 Chapel Park Dr., Suite B Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 Phone: (813) 910-2575 Advertising E-mail: Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com Editorial E-mail: EditorialDept@NTNeighborhoodNews.com Publisher & Editor Gary Nager Advertising Sales & Office Manager Mary Dorey Billing Manager Jillian Reilly Assistant Editor / Photographer John C. Cotey Editorial & Office Assistant Celeste McLaughlin Correspondents Anu Varma Panchal • Andy Warrener Graphic Designers Georgia Carmichael • Blake Beatty Nothing that appears in Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News may be reproduced, whether wholly or in part, without permission. Opinions expressed by Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News writers are their own and do not reflect the publisher’s opinion.

The deadline for outside editorial submissions and advertisements for Volume 24, Issue 8, of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is Monday, March 28, 2016.

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

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.

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Quail Hollow already flood badly. Patterson agreed that although the Southwest Florida Water Management District (aka “Swiftmud”) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers don’t allow water from one development to be “dumped” onto another, those entities won’t even get involved in looking at the project until after the rezoning hearing, At least 30 Quail Hollow residents met at HOA president which had not yet been schedMark Patterson’s home because the community’s golf course uled at our press time could be razed and replaced with more than 400 residences.

(Note-The rezoning apgolf course),” Bill said, obviously exasperplication was submitted to Pasco County on ated. “If you could attend the meeting, Feb. 6, and representatives of the developer maybe you could get the word out that were set to meet with Pasco zoning officials most of our neighbors are opposed to this.” the week of March 7.)

To his credit, Carrollo has invested millions in renovating the course and the clubhouse after buying it for $1.7 million about two years after QHCC was declared bankrupt and shut down. Carrollo has the right to try to finally turn a profit on his investment, and he already has approvals in place to build a little less than 300 singlefamily homes without going for a rezoning, but his in-house development division, which is a separate Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) from the course itself, wants to increase that total to more than 400 townhomes or attached houses.

“That means that many of us could have new homes in our backyards,” Patterson told the crowd. “I know some people think that the new homes will add value to our homes, but we don’t believe it’s true.”

All told, Gentle Ben Cir. has about 116 homes, at least 60 of which included those $10,000 lot premiums (totalling more than $800,000 that community residents paid to have “golf course views”). One resident told me that there are about 100 other homes which currently border on the golf course and about 400 total homes in all of the neighborhoods around the course.

“Those new homes are going to cause a lot of runoff,” Patterson said. “About 70 percent of what is now golf course will be impermeable land. They’ll have to build those homes up several feet, and the water will run off into our neighborhood.”

In addition to traffic and safety concerns, several residents noted that during the rainy seasons, the roads throughout

The meeting at Patterson’s house was primarily for informational and organizational purposes. He said that state law prohibits HOAs from using association funds to pay to fight rezonings, so he and a couple of other attendees were forming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and trying to raise money as individuals to retain an attorney.

There’s even a GoFundMe page up and running. I told them I would try to get the group a meeting with Dist. 1 Pasco commissioner Mike Moore (who is a member of my Rotary Club) to at least apprise him of how they felt about it, even if there ends up being no way to stop it.

I’ll keep you posted. I also apologize in advance for any factual errors in this story because I threw it together so quickly.

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Table of Contents

Local News Updates....................4-20

Your Commercial Insurance Agent

Border Question Will Be Answered by County..........4 Pasco Parks Department To Pitch Funding Ideas........6 New Tampa & Wesley Chapel News Briefs.........8 Bartell Family To Host 2nd Spaghetti Dinner.........12 Paul Bartell Honored For Charity By WC Rotary .....13 PHSC Hosting First Annual WC History Fest.........17 Wesley Chapel Community Calendar......................18

Local Business Updates.............21-32

HomeTeam Lawn Care Succeeds With NY Hustle...22 LOL Primary Care For Hormone Therapy................24 Neuro Center Can Handle Your Neurological Issues..26 Murtha & Murtha CPAs This Tax Season.............28 SPOTLIGHT ON: Don’s Dogs!.............................29 Olympus Pools Can Design Your Dream Pool..........30

GUIDANCE • PERSONALIZATION • SOLUTIONS

Neighborhood Magazine

Tampa Palms ‘Whiz Kid’ Earns $20K.................35 Local Couple, Daughter Take On Bullying............38 How YOU Can Own An Oakley’s Grille Franchise!...40 ‘Neighborhood Nibbles & Business Bytes’........42 NEW TAMPA COLOR CLASSIFIEDS....44-45 ACS Relay For Life Hopes To Raise $65K!............46 @NTWCNews

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Wesley Chapel & Land O’Lakes/Lutz Borders Could Be Defined By April

By John C. Cotey

More than 150 years after it was first settled in the mid-1800s (see page 1), Wesley Chapel is getting closer to finally having official borders.

Following presentations last month by both the Greater Wesley Chapel (WCCC) and Central Pasco (CPCC) Chambers of Commerce, the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) could be set to draw boundary lines between Wesley Chapel and Lutz/Land O’Lakes that ultimately should finally settle a longsimmering dispute at the BCC’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 26.

The commissioners are expected to vote on a recommendation from Pasco planners on definitive borders between the two Census Designated Places (Wesley Chapel and Land O’Lakes/Lutz together are both CDPs) during the meeting at the West Pasco Government Center Board Room in New Port Richey.

Until then, county planners and administrators are poring over a stack of documents from each side — and even getting some help from the folks at Google maps —interpreting where those borders should be.

“We are looking to establish a city boundary by legislative action,’’ said Matt Armstrong, the county’s executive planner. “None of these areas that are Census Designated Places have that.

That’s some of the reason people have struggled with this.”

After separate meetings with the two groups last month, Armstrong said representatives from both areas will meet with each other in the next few weeks, with the county’s planning department serving as the moderator.

“Ultimately, we will be bringing a report to the Board of County Commissioners with a recommendation on what we think the boundaries will be,’’ Armstrong says. “The Board can hear public comment, and then we will be asking them to establish the borders.”

When broken down, the primary dispute seems to be over the slice of land between Wesley Chapel Blvd. and I-75 in the Cypress Creek Town Center Development

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of Regional Impact (DRI), which has been exacerbated recently by the steady business development in the area.

Armstrong said he was at one recent border meeting where a representative from one of the new businesses on the east side of Wesley Chapel Blvd. said they were happy to “be here in Lutz.”

But, take a look at the web page for Culver’s, which calls its restaurant on E. Bearss Ave. in Tampa “Culver’s of Tampa,” its restaurant in Largo “Culver’s of Largo,” and its restaurant in Port Richey “Culver’s of Port Richey.” At its brand new location on S.R. 56 west of the Tampa Premium Outlets mall, however (which physically is located on Sun Vista Dr. in Lutz), it is called “Culver’s of Wesley Chapel.” (photo) And it isn’t alone. While all of the area being debated by the WCCC and CPCC has either Land O’Lakes or Lutz addresses and zip codes, many businesses in the area identify themselves as being in Wesley Chapel.

“It’s just a mess,’’ Armstrong says.

An ‘Extension’ Of The Debate

While the current debate is about borders, it originally began, as we detailed in our last issue, as a disagreement over the renaming of the Wesley Chapel Blvd. extension where the extension now crosses southbound over S.R. 56 and continues toward County Line Rd. The southern portion of the extension, said CPCC member Sandy Graves at the time, needed to represent Lutz-Land O’Lakes, the area through which it cuts.

A petition requesting that the name of the southern portion of the extension be changed to Circle O Ranch was presented to the BCC on Jan. 19. But, Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce CEO Hope Allen protested, saying it needed to remain Wesley Chapel Blvd., as all of the businesses in the area already call it that

and have for years.

Instead of making a decision, the BCC decided to explore the issue further. The Board members decided that defining the borders between Lutz-Land O’Lakes and Wesley Chapel needed to be settled first.

That set off a fact-finding mission by each side, in an effort to buttress their respective arguments. Representatives of Lutz-Land O’Lakes believe their border extends west to I-75. The Wesley Chapel side thinks its western border extends to Wesley Chapel Blvd. So, essentially, the area between Wesley Chapel Blvd. and I-75 is at the heart of the dispute.

The Wesley Chapel Chamber Pasco County executive planner Matt Armstrong hopes met with Armstrong and his staff Feb. to deliver a recommendation for the borders of Wesley Chapel and Lutz/Land O’Lakes to the Pasco County 19, two weeks after he met with the commissioners for a vote by the end of April.

CPCC. “I think the meeting went fine,’’ McManus has co-written books on the hissaid Allen. “I think we got our point tory of Lutz and Land O’Lakes. across and delivered the message we went Armstrong jokes that he is becomto deliver.” ing an expert on the histories of the two Allen said her group presented a places, thanks to all of the material that has 70-page document backing their claims, been presented to him to help settle the as well as a 2005 Vision Report that the dispute, including volumes of McManus’ WCCC says was approved by Pasco comwork, a trove of newspaper articles and missioners. even local historian Madonna Jervis Wise’s The CPCC countered that its 2003 book on the history of Wesley Chapel Vision Report was adopted first, and (see pg. 1). The book, entitled Images of brought noted USF political science America: Wesley Chapel, says that Wesley professor Susan McManus to its meeting See “Border” on page 14 with Armstrong to help make their case.

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Pasco County Trying To Figure Out How To Pay For Parks Upgrades

By John C. Cotey Pasco County is looking to improve its parks and recreation facilities, but just how far the county can go to pay for sweeping changes and improvements could depend upon whether or not county residents are willing to pay for the upgrades.

A series of town hall meetings will be scheduled to sell and market the county’s Parks & Recreation department’s ideas to Pasco residents, who will likely have the last say in a voter referendum sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Some of the changes and enhancements being proposed include a recreation center and pool or splash pad at Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd., adding a playground, basketball courts, walking path and picnic shelters to the park in Meadow Pointe (I and II), and new parks at Wesley Chapel Lakes (Meadow Pointe III and IV) and the Wiregrass Ranch area.

County planner Justyna Buszewski presented a draft of the proposed 10-year Park & Recreations system master plan at Board of County Commissioners (BCC) chair (and District 3 commissioner) Kathyrn Starkey’s town hall in Lutz on Feb. 18.

Money is still a big issue, as Pasco’s parks are still recovering from the recession of 2008.

Three community centers, two parks and two pools were closed as a result, and 48 positions were eliminated. Staff reductions led to reduced maintenance, and some

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Pasco County Commission chair Kathryn Starkey, at her Feb. 18 town hall meeting. projects in the 2001 master plan were never er potential creative taxes, grants and partcompleted. nerships with local businesses, schools and Buszewski said that the deferred main- neighborhoods also are being considered, tenance costs alone are $14 milllion.

Armstrong said.

The current draft shows that the county “The message we got (from county is interested in spending more than $200 commissioners) was guys, go back out to million to repair and replace existing parks, community and tell them what the plan is,’’ put new facilities in existing parks, build Armstrong said. “Show pictures, show the new parks and perhaps adopt a premier park way it is and show how it could be and tell model, which would include things like them how much it will cost and ask them splash pad playgrounds, shade structures what they want to do about it.” for playgrounds and access to special-value In a recent survey sent to 3,000 county facilities supported by the parks system, like residents, an impressive 621 respondents wakeboard parks, aquatics complexes and (more than 20 percent!) replied. even equestrian centers.

They were asked if they were given $100 Some funding options mentioned by to spend on park improvements, what would Pasco’s executive planner, Matt Armstrong, they use the money on? On average, the reinclude a municipal service taxing unit spondents said $20 should go to improved (MSTU), with a focus on taxing “market ar- maintenance, $19 for improved maintenance eas” where the monies raised in each zone on water-based facilities, $15 on acquiring can only be used on parks in that zone. Oth- new park land or open space, $12 on the

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improvement and maintenance to existing trails, $11 on the development of new trails, $9 on the improvement and maintenance to wildlife areas and campgrounds and $8 to the development of new sports facilities.

Also, when asked about establishing a dedicated funding source that could only be used to pay to operate and maintain parks and recreation facilities and programs, 45 percent of respondents were very supportive, and 25 percent were somewhat supportive.

Only 10 percent said they would not support spending the money.

“The survey says that they want stuff, and hopefully we get the same support when we go out there,’’ Buszewski said.

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News Briefs

Get Rid of Unwanted Tires...

And Zika?...This Weekend

If you have old tires stored outside, they’ll fill with water when it rains.

And, that standing water makes an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Therefore, you can reduce mosquitoes on your property by eliminating those tires.

And, Pasco County wants to help.

On Sunday, March 13, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., Pasco residents can bring unwanted tires — along with your proof of residency — to Pasco County Class III Landfill/West Pasco Resource Recovery Facility at 14406 Hays Rd. in Spring Hill or the East Pasco Transfer Station, which is located at 9626 Handcart Rd. in Dade City.

Getting rid of anything that holds standing water does help control the mosquito population, and this is particularly important these days because mosquitoes can carry so may potentially deadly diseases, such as malaria, West Nile virus, dengue fever and the current concerns about the Zika Virus.

From left to right: WRH cross country coach Don Howard, FITniche general manager Brian Brink, Mosquitoes are responsible for Reis Ehman, Anna Moore, Kerry Reilly, Kazuo Doi, Mikhayla Free, Harry Free, Sam Anselmo, roughly 750,000 deaths a year, accordHannah Cooper, Rachel Barber, Brenna Moran, Rotary Club of New Tampa (RCNT) president ing to the World Health Organization, Lesley Zajac and RCNT secretary Craig DiCecco. which has declared the Zika Virus a health emergency and expects to WRH Cross Country Program niche (the running and fitness store in the public see more cases in North America by the mall) general manager Brian Brink, who ‘Wins’ $700 From ‘Wobble’ end of 2016. all helped organize the yearly event.

Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot ofThere have already been 153 reficials recently presented a $700 check to Pedestrian Killed On Bruce ported cases in the U.S., including 44 in the Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) cross B. Downs Blvd.

Florida, as of March 1. country teams, winners in the newly esA pedestrian died after being hit by tablished team school competition at the a van while crossing Bruce B. Downs yearly 5K run event.

(BBD) Blvd. near the University of At the third annual Wiregrass Wob- South Florida (just south of New ble Turkey Trot 5K, held on Thanksgiv- Tampa) on February 15. ing Day at the Shops of Wiregrass mall, Guy Royster, 50, was walking west the Bulls runners logged the fastest aver- across BBD approximately 500 feet age time of any high school in the boys south of 138th Ave. at 6:15 a.m. when category (19 minutes, 11 seconds) for the he failed to see the vehicle being driven 3.1-mile race.

by Mynor Osorio-Salguero, 41, who WRH also won with the most number was traveling south in an outside lane. of participants with 38 runners. For winRoyster walked in front of Osorioning both categories, the cross country Salguero’s 2004 Chevrolet van, and program, coached by Don Howard, won died at the scene. the $700.

Osorio-Salguero provided a volThe check was presented to Coach untary blood sample, but alcohol was Howard and his runners by Rotary Club not suspected in the accident. He was, of New Tampa (RCNT) president Lesley however, cited for driving without a Zajac, secretary Craig DiCecco and FITvalid Florida drivers license.— JCC

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Governor Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in four Florida counties, including nearby Hillsborough, which had two confirmed cases.

The Zika Virus causes flu-like symptoms including body aches, chills, fever and vomiting.

It is transmitted by mosquitoes that bite a person who is already infected, and then bite other people.

To prevent mosquito bites, and potential exposure to Zika and other diseases, follow these tips from Pasco County: • Wear long sleeves and pants, socks and shoes, especially at dusk.

• Drain water from garbage cans, gutters, flower pots, and any containers where standing water has collected.

• Discard old tires, drums, bottles, cans and any other unused items.

• Empty & clean birdbaths & pets’ (outdoor) water bowls at least weekly.

• Protect boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that don’t accumulate water.

• Maintain the water balance (chemistry) of swimming pools. Empty plastic pools when not in use.

• Apply mosquito repellent to bare skin and clothing.

• After returning from international travel, wear mosquito repellent for at least two weeks.

For information about the tire disposal event, call 929-2755.

@NTWCNews

News Briefs

For most people, the bigger risk is heart disease.

For most people, a once in a lifetime skydive is far less dangerous than a lifetime of poor eating and inactivity.

Thankfully, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel has the knowledge and technology to prevent, diagnose and treat Tampa Bay’s number one killer, heart disease. From education and outreach efforts to emergency medical care and advanced surgical procedures, our lifesaving expertise is your best defense against the danger of heart disease.

Visit IsYourHeartAtRisk.com or call 813-929-5432 to find your Florida Hospital cardiologist.

T HE HE A R T E X P E RT S 10

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Spaghetti Dinner To Benefit The Bartell Scholarship Fund Apr. 16!

By John C. Cotey

Sean Bartell was a healthy, happy 16-year-old son of local philanthropists, a churchgoer, a volunteer and a top-notch student. If you needed help unloading food for the poor, or with a question for an upcoming test, Sean was your guy.

His parents, Paul and Jamie, would like you to remember all of this about their son.

They have spent the last year raising funds to continue what their son started, and on Saturday, April 16, the Bartells will host their second annual spaghetti dinner fund raiser at the Trinity Church of Wesley Chapel (33425 S.R. 54), 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

“He spent a lot of his time helping other students,’’ Paul says. “I think he would like this (event).”

On Dec. 15, 2014, Sean caught a cold.

The next day he was covered by red bumps.

The day after that, those bumps turned to blisters, and Sean was admitted to the hospital. His lips and face swelled, a rash quickly spread, the blisters popped and the top layer of his skin literally peeled off.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome — a rare (with only about five cases per million people per year) disorder of your skin and mucous membranes, usually triggered by certain types of medication or an infection — had taken over, as doctors struggled to contain it or determine its cause.

“It came on all of a sudden,’’ Jamie says. “We were shocked.”

On New Year’s Eve, Sean lost his battle with the disease after contracting a MERSA staph infection, one of the deadliest known infections people can contract.

Paul and Jamie, and many in the community, were devastated. The Bartells felt they had to do something.

Acting on a suggestion by their church, Atonement Lutheran on S.R. 54, they decided to honor Sean’s memory by spending the next four months raising money for a college scholarship to give to a local student.

They held a spaghetti dinner, and awarded $1,000 to Wesley Chapel High (WCH) senior Megan Sanchez, who had classes with Sean.

“My goal, being his mom, I wanted to make sure it was $1,000, not $250 or $500,’’ Jamie says. “He was bigger than that. He impacted everyone he met in such a positive way. We wanted to make that same impact in his name.”

That impact will be even greater this year. With a whole year to raise money, Paul and Jamie will instead award four $1,000 scholarships this time – one for a student at Zephyhills High, one for a student at Wiregrass Ranch High (where Sean had a lot of friends) and two for students at WCH. Tickets for this year’s spaghetti dinner — A “Celebration of Sean’s Life,” as Jamie calls it — which has moved from Atonement to Trinity Church to accommodate a bigger crowd, are $10 for adults and $5 for children, with all net proceeds going to the Sean Bartell Memorial Scholarship Fund.

This year’s event will hold special meaning for Jamie and Paul, as it is the year Sean was supposed to graduate from WCH. The success of last year’s scholarship ceremony and spaghetti dinner spurred Paul and Jamie to try to help more students in 2016.

Angie Carter, an Origami Owl Sales Consultant, held an event and raised more than $350 in June. In November, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)’s Pasco Junior Women’s Club raised more than $2,500 at a quarter auction (where people bid on items with paddles representing 25 cents). And, one of Jamie’s nieces raised $400 selling Jamberry nail wraps.

A rewards card issued by Pinchasers bowling alley in Zephyrhills sent 10 percent of purchases to the scholarship fund, and Paul has raised more than $500 himself by doing appearances in the area as Santa Claus.

A Family Tradition Of Giving

Being Santa comes naturally to Paul, as he estimates he has visited more than 20,000 children as Santa over the years.

It was a tradition he had started locally in 2005, when the Bartell family first bought their Wesley Chapel home in the Palm Cove community. Paul would dress as Santa and hand out gifts to any kids who stopped by on Christmas Eve. The first year, 13 people came by. By 2013, there were more than 600, and the street had to be blocked off.

Each child receives a cup of hot chocolate, and a brownie or a cookie. “Santa” then provides them with a gift. Even as the crowds grew, the Bartells always made sure each kid received a toy, and Sean was always there

to help. Volunteers chipped in with food and toys, like “Hanna Montana” DVDs and “Madagascar” movie toys from McDonald’s happy meals. The Bartells would stop off at Michael’s Arts & Crafts, Joanne’s Fabrics and the Dollar Tree every chance they got to stockpile more items for the kids.

Paul and Jamie agree that Christmas celebrations are quite a bit tougher without Sean Bartell (left), with his mother Jamie. Jamie and her husband and Sean. But, they express Sean’s father Paul (photo on next page) are hosting their second angenuine enthusiasm nual spaghetti dinner fund raiser in honor of their son on Apr. 16. when it comes to their erts said at Sean’s funeral. annual spaghetti dinner to honor their son.

Sean wanted to attend prestigious VanIt reminds them of everything Sean derbilt University in Nashville, TN, to study was: a wonderful son, a great student and an biology. He worked hard towards his goal, even better friend. and helped others try to reach theirs too.

“He was an exceptional student and One classmate wrote a four-page letter that’s what probably stands out. He had a to the Bartells after Sean died, telling how he drive and passion for academic excellence,” helped her every day with calculus. says WCH principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles.

“He never told me the answers,’’ she “He had a goofiness and silliness about him. wrote. “He just always talked me through it The teachers and students here loved that and helped me figure out what to do. That’s about him.” the way he was.”

Jamie adds, “He was very quiet, but not Paul, a vacuum sales engineer for Inan introvert. He didn’t really talk to a whole novative Vacuum Solutions in Thonotosassa, lot of people. But, he was our true gauge of says Sean would love the idea that four local a person. If he talked to you, we knew you students will have a $1,000 credit on their were a good person.” school accounts the first day they set foot Jamie says Sean had a little smirk that on their respective college campuses. And, she misses most of all. that’s probably what many will tell him over “He was just quirky and funny,” she re- a plate of spaghetti next month. calls fondly. “And never had a mean thing to “It’s really nice for us to go around talk say about anybody.” to people, to hear stories about him,’’ Jamie He was a “freak” about his grades, his says. “It’s nice that so many remember him.” mother says. Before he even started at WCH, The deadline to apply for the Sean he knew exactly what classes he wanted to P. Bartell Memorial Scholarship is Thurstake. Sean had his summer classes picked day, April 28. For an application and out as well — and worked them in around instructions, visit AtonementLutheran. his volunteer work with the Helping Hands net/Documents.html. The second annual Food Pantry (a ministry of Atonement Lu- spaghetti dinner fund raiser, with protheran) — because he wanted to be the best ceeds to benefit the scholarship fund, will student in his class. It’s no wonder he was be held Saturday, April 16, in the TrinNo. 5 in his class academically, and carried a ity Church of Wesley Chapel’s Fellowship weighted grade-point average of 4.38.

Hall, located at 33425 S.R. 54. The sug“I don’t know any other student who gested donation for adult tickets is $10, could log as many video game hours and still and $5 for children ages 5-10. Take out get the grades he got,’’ his friend Cody Rob- will be available.

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d

Bartell

Honored

By

WC

Rotary

Country Club in New Tampa, the club There is no doubting the contributions broke tradition by honoring Bartell. Rotary Paul Bartell has made to the Wesley Chapel District 6950 governor Will Miller presented community. the Paul Harris Fellowship to Bartells, His yearly appearances as Santa Claus, and District 6950 Foundation Chair Carl where he makes sure there is a small gift Treleaven was the keynote for every child who visits his speaker. family’s Wesley Chapel home “It’s a great honor,’’ on Christmas Eve, has thrilled Bartell said. “It feels funny thousands of kids; he has been being honored for just doing a high-level participant and what I do.” even the chair of the American Bartell, a vacuum sales Cancer Society (ACS)’s Wesley engineer for Innovative VacuChapel/Wiregrass Ranch Relay um Solutions in Tampa, is as for Life; and, in the memory of well known in Wesley Chapel his son Sean, he has helped raise for his long Kris Kringle white enough money in the past year beard as he is for his generosito award four high school senty. When Smith opened up the iors $1,000 scholarships (story award to a community memon previous page). ber and asked club members The Rotary Club of Wesley Paul Bartell to nominate someone, she said, Chapel Noon (which meets Wednesdays at noon at Quail Hollow Coun- “his name came up a lot. He is an excellent try Club) decided to honor him on March 8 example of giving back to your community.”

The Paul Harris Fellowship was with a Paul Harris Fellowship, which almost established in 1957, and Bartell said it was always has been reserved for Rotary Club members who donate $1,000 to The Rotary nice to be included on a long list of notable honorees.

Foundation of Rotary International, which “I was reading a little about it and saw funds various grants, services and the organithat Jimmy Carter and a few other people zation’s “End Polio Now” programs. (like U.S. Astronaut James Lovell and Polio “We decided that even though he is not a Rotary member, Paul exemplifies what cure inventor Jonas Salk) that have gotten it Rotary is all about, and that’s putting service before me, some important people,’’ Bartell said. “It is very nice to be recognized.” before self,’’ said Rebecca Smith, the club’s Other community nominees included Foundation Chair and district area repreJackie Sayles, Yvonne Perkins, Joel Eason, sentative.”

Dr. Micah Richardson, Ronald Parks and During the club’s first “Foundation Ernesto Fuentes. — JCC Dinner,” which was held at Hunter’s Green

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13

‘Borders’

Proudly Serving

Continued from pg. 4

The WCCC Board & CEO Hope Allen believes Wesley Chapel’s border should include WC Blvd.

anger stems from the belief that past decisions made by the BCC cut the area out of the process to accommodate Wesley Chapel’s growth and ongoing “branding.”

Wesley Chapel Blvd. is an example, according to Graves. It sprouted as a road name for the portion of S.R. 54 from S.R. 56 to Lexington Oaks when the LutzLand O’Lakes contingent thought it was going to be Worthington Gardens Blvd., a decision she said “happened overnight.”

The former “Wesley Chapel” placemaker sign was another example cited by Graves. It was put up a few hundred feet west of where Wesley Chapel Blvd. begins, clearly in Lutz’s 33559 zip code. Armstrong said the sign’s arrival “lit a match” in Pasco, and Graves led the fight to have the sign removed — which it was.

“The whole process hasn’t been completely transparent,’’ Armstrong says.

“But, this time, it is.”

Both sides have been passionate about their arguments. The claim that the area, its residents and businesses would be much better served if the area was clearly defined as theirs. And, both claim history is on their side.

History, though, may give way to common sense.

“We will collect all of the history from both groups and look at some of the rational (potential) boundaries between the two things,’’ Armstrong says. “There may be a natural feature that divides the two, or a major road. But, it needs to make sense today, and that may be separate from history.”

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163007

Chapel was founded in the 1840s, and is shown on a 1879 survey map of Pasco County, before Land O’Lakes was established in 1949.

However, the dispute is not over what town existed first. And, even in carefullyresearched historical records, there are no definitive boundaries laid out because neither area was ever incorporated, or essentially created as its own city with its own governmental structure.

But, the respective “hearts” of both areas — U.S. 41 in Land O’Lakes and the area around Boyette Rd. and S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel — are unmistakable, says Armstrong.

“The history points to early beginnings, and we know where the hearts of those communities are,’’ Armstrong said.

“But, the boundary in between gets a little fuzzy.”

Pasco County currently only has six incorporated areas — the cities of Zephyrhills, Dade City, San Antonio, Port Richey and New Port Richey, and the incorporated town of Saint Leo. The rest of the county is comprised of unincorprated Census Designated Places, like Wesley Chapel, Land O’Lakes/ Lutz, Trinity and Hudson, to name a few.

And, Armstrong says that 450,000 of the 490,000 people living in Pasco reside in those currently unincorporated areas.

Armstrong admits that so many areas without defined borders can create the kind of confusion we are seeing in Wesley Chapel and Lutz/Land O’Lakes, where postal zip codes have changed and there is a myriad of other “boundaries,” which can be confusing.

“Part of the frustration for the citizens who lives in any one of these places is, ‘What the heck, the zip code says this, the Census Designated Place says something else, my kids are going to school based on other boundaries and my voting precinct is somewhere else,’’’ Armstrong says. “It’s been like this for years, and now, it’s coming to a head.”

That’s actually a good thing, he says, because it is being done in the open and publicly. Much of the Lutz-Land O’Lakes

Would Incorporating Wesley Chapel As A City Be Of Interest To You?

By John C. Cotey

When Ernie Monaco, the director of planning for Pasco County, tossed out the idea — during a meeting to discuss borders — to representatives from the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) last month that they might want to revisit the idea of incorporation, he got the attention of Russ Miller.

“I was surprised to hear that from a county employee,’’ said Miller, often credited with creating the WCCC, although he says he was one of six co-founders, “just the loudest.”

The mention of incorporation took Miller, who was at the meeting to discuss Wesley Chapel’s boundaries, on a trip down memory lane.

In 2003, Miller and fellow WCCC member Jim Williams led a charge to incorporate Wesley Chapel, hoping to turn the quickly-growing Census Designated Place (CDP) into a full-fledged city, with its own government and its own rules, particularly in the areas of land use and zoning.

The incorporated municipality (which can be referred to as a city, town or village) of Wesley Chapel would have extended eight miles east and west from Cypress Creek Rd. to Morris Bridge Rd., and eight miles north and south from County Line Rd. to Elam Rd. (which is roughly three miles north of S.R. 54).

The proposed municipality would have included all of the developments in Wesley

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Chapel at the time — Lexington Oaks, Meadow Pointe, Northwood, Quail Hollow, New River Township, Saddlebrook and Seven Oaks.

Miller, who lived in Wesley Chapel from 1981-2009 before moving to Russ Miller led the group that Palatka, hired wanted to incorporate Wesley a firm to help Chapel as its own city in 2003. with a feasibility study.

The effort, which at the time would have taken 11 percent of Pasco County’s land area and included 28,000 residents and 10,000 homes, didn’t get very far and ultimately failed.

Miller said the developers and local daily newspapers were against it, and time was short to get a referendum approved ahead of the 2004 elections.

Also, the idea of another layer of property taxes (to fund a potential city government) did not appeal to some residents, especially since Pasco was already requesting a 1-cent increase in the county sales tax to be on the 2004 ballot.

Even the WCCC effectively came out against incorporation.

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“We were just a group of lay people who saw a benefit in incorporating Wesley Chapel,’’ Miller said. “But, we didn’t have the money to fight the developers and the people in the community who were against it, and we got negative press. I have people still say to me, ‘Why did you stop?’ Now, they’re sorry.”

Miller says he just recently threw out all of the paperwork from that failed attempt. However, he still thinks incorporation is the way to go, and doing so would surely settle the long-standing border dispute with Lutz-Land O’Lakes.

“It’s never bad to control your own destiny,’’ Miller says. “Residents get a total say on how the community’s future will look. Now, where is the power? The county government. And where are they located? West Pasco controls it.”

Could a Wesley Chapel incorporation effort succeed today?

In Pasco, 450,000 of the county’s 490,000 residents live in unincorporated areas, meaning decisions about their land, police and schools are made by the county government.

Pasco County only has six municipalities: the cities of New Port Richey, Port Richey, San Antonio, Dade City, Zephyrhills and the town of Saint Leo. In the 2010 census, Wesley Chapel’s population was listed at 44,092, a number that has grown and at the time was already nearly three times greater than the next largest city (New Port Richey, 14,934)

and more populous than all of the other cities and towns put together.

“Had we succeeded, Wesley Chapel (today) would be the biggest and most powerful city in the entire county,’’ Miller laments.

While the WCCC came out against the incorporation efforts in 2003, none of those members are among the more than 500 the Chamber claims today.

“We don’t have an official stance,’’ says WCCC CEO Hope Allen, but she said it may be revisited by the Chamber’s current Board of Directors.

Pulling off incorporation won’t necessarily be any easier today. It takes money and lawyers, a feasibility study that can take up to two years to complete and will need the support of the local State legislative delegation, who would then bring it to the full state legislature, which could then approve it through a special act and put it on a referendum on the ballot.

“I saw an awful lot of interest from the chamber leaders two weeks ago,’’ Miller says about the Feb. 19 meeting. “If they were serious, and wanted to spend the money to promote it, I’d give it a 50-50 chance. But, it’s got to be sold to the residents. And, you need a cast iron stomach and the financial wherewithal to fight the battles.

He adds, “I absolutely would like to live long enough to see the day when Wesley Chapel is incorporated!”

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

15

‘History’

Continued from pg. 1 photos, including of families whose names are still familiar still to us: Boyette, Gillette, Godwin, Kersey and Wells, and others.

“There was a cohesiveness to these settlers,’’ Wise says.

The Double Branch Baptist Church (which is what is now called the First Baptist Church of Wesley Chapel) was the focus for community life, and Wise was told by dozens of people that the Fifth Sunday Sing, called the “Grand Ole Opry of Wesley Chapel” by one of the people she interviewed, captured the spirit of frontier Wesley Chapel, which was highly regarded for its singing.

Wesley Chapel also was known for its lumber harvesting — much of it under the control of Standard Oil Company founder and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and others – as well as for turpentine production. The area was known by various names over the years, like Gatorville, Double Branch (for the twin creeks that flowed through Edward Boyette’s property) and Godwin.

The plucky community also had a reputation for its moonshine production.

During prohibition (in the 1920s), Wesley Chapel was the only town in Pasco county that was opposed to it. The community was accused of being home to 90 percent of the stills producing the liquor that was sold to Tampa.

And, the frontier women of Wesley Chapel were lauded for their hard work, as they ran many of the ranches, some even serving as the county’s supervisor of elections. “I’ve never seen such interesting women,’’ Wise says.

Wise, who developed her passion for historical research by compiling her own family’s history as a young adult, says she has received “overwhelming response” for her book, much of it from the families who are thrilled to have their history officially recorded.

Wise’s book is full of interesting nuggets, like the time the area once applied for a U.S. post office under the name Lemon, but was denied. Wesley Chapel did get a post office, located at the site of today’s Quail Hollow Country Club, from 18971902, although we do at least have a Contract Postal Unit on Boyette Rd. today.

16

Bobby Wells stands in front of the first Wells General Store at the corner of Boyette Rd. and S.R. 54. Photo courtesy of Sue Boyette.

S.R. 54 was originally Denham-Dade City Rd., an old dirt road used to transport lumber and turpentine, although Wise’s book says many referred to it as “2-2-20” after gravel replaced the dirt: 2 years to build, 2 years to wear out, 20 years to pay for it.

And, James H. Porter was called “Wiregrass” because every Christmas, Dade City Buick dealer Ed Madill would send Porter a box of matches to burn the wiregrass on the ranch, so the ashes fertilized the grass for the cattle.

“It’s fun with these books, because once they are published, people will find more information,’’ Wise says.

The First Annual History Fair at Pasco Hernando State College-Porter Campus will host a book launch reception for Images of America: Wesley Chapel on Thursday, March 31 (see next page). Wise also will do a book signing on Saturday, April 2, 9 a.m., at the Florida Old Time Music Championship & Spring Fest at the Pioneer Museum & Village in Dade City.

For more information, visit Wise’s author page at Amazon.com/MadonnaJervis-Wise/e/B003RGSJB6. Images of America: Wesley Chapel can be purchased on Amazon, Google Books or at Barnes & Noble bookstores.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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PHSC Hosting First Wesley Chapel History Fair!

Historical research has been a lifelong passion of author Madonna Jervis Wise, a passion rooted in her early years of researching her own family history.

So she was right at home while putting together the first-ever history book on Wesley Chapel, relying on a wealth of personal interviews and families histories to weave together the area’s past.

You can learn all about Wesley Chapel’s rich history on Thursday, March 31, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., as Pasco Hernando State College hosts the Wesley Chapel History Fair at its Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch (2727 Mansfield Blvd.).

Wise will be joined by other historians and community members as she discusses her book, Images of America: Wesley Chapel.

The book tells the story of Wesley Chapel, which began in the “mid-1800s as a cohesive community of settlers who demonstrated a uniquely rural authenticity and independence of spirit.”

Her book will be available for purchase at the event and the author will be available to sign copies for those who buy one.

Wise, the president of the Pasco County Historical Society, has also written Images of America: Dade City and Images of America: Zephyrhills and six other books.

A resident of Zephyrhills, Wise has been a teacher, principal and school administrator for 38 years. She has her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Social Studies with a concentration in History from Taylor University in Upland, IN, as well as a Master’s Degree in History from the University of South Florida in Tampa.

At the History Fair, two women will

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share stories of their grandfathers, who were significant in Wesley Chapel history.

Stephanie Black, director of the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City, will share stories of her grandfather, Lonnie Tucker, who is featured in Wise’s book.

Quinn Porter Madonna Jervis Wise Miller, a member of the Board of Directors of the Wiregrass Ranch Foundation, will speak about her grandfather, James H. “Wiregrass” Porter and the Porter family.

J. Thomas Touchton, founding chairman of Tampa Bay History Center in Tampa, will introduce the historic connection with Wesley Chapel and the permanent exhibit at the history center that bears his name. Called the J. Thomas and Lavina W. Touchton Collection of Florida Cartography, the exhibit includes nearly 3,000 maps and charts.

Angelo Liranzo, a librarian with Dade City’s Hugh Embry Library, who spearheaded the digitizing of more than 100 years of area newspapers, will provide a hands-on demonstration of local historical resources.

For more information about the Wesley Chapel History Fair, visit PHSC. edu, or call 1-855-NOW-PHSC. — JCC

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

17

MARCH 2016

Friday & Saturday, March 11-12 - Beginning 6 p.m. Friday

Land O’Lakes Music Festival - Former “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicvks headlines this two-day event, which is being presented by the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce. For more information, including the Festival’s complete schedule, visit CentralPascoChamber.com, call 909-2722, or see the story at the bottom of pg. 1 of this issue.

Friday - March 11 - 6:30 PM-8 PM

Meet Natalie Redding - Natalie Redding of Namaste Farms, The Redding Method of dyeing fiber, and the National Geographic program “Shear Maddness” invites you to a free Meet & Greet on March 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Hyundai of Wesley Chapel. As a shepherdess, Natalie is well known and has credentials in animal husbandry sciences. As an artist,, she is respected as an innovator in dyeing protein fibers and spinning. Look for her on Facebook or Namastefarms. com. For more information, e-mail Elizabeth Graves, Ligra51@msn.com.

Saturday - March 12 - 7:30 AM

New Tampa Tri Club - The New Tampa Tri Club is open to runners, swimmers, cyclists & triathletes across the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. The club hosts group bike rides/runs leaving from Flatwoods Wilderness Park (13330 Morris Bridge Rd.; not from the BBD entrance) every Tues., Thur. & Sat., 7:30 a.m. For more info, join the Facebook group or e-mail NewTampaTriClub@gmail.com.

Saturday - March 12 - 11 AM - 3 PM

Cruise-In at Quail Run RV Resort - Classic, muscle, antique, rare and unique cars and trucks will be on display at the Quail Run RV Resort (6946 Old Pasco Rd,), and proceeds will benefit Healing Horses One Child at a Time Inc., a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization which provides equine therapy for children, especially those with autism spectrum disorders. There will be music, food, and prizes, plus the first 50 vehicles to “cruise in” with receive a free dashboard plaque. For more information, visit cars.quailrunrv.com or call 973-0999.

Sunday - March 13 - 1 PM

hold standing water, where mosquitoes breed, including those that could potentially transmit the Zika virus. For info, call 929-2755.

Monday - March 14 - 7:45 AM

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 Chris Thurow at 546-6860.

Monday - March 14 - 8:00 AM

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

Monday - March 14 - 8:30 AM

8th Annual Our Heroes’ Memorial Golf Tournament in honor of all Tampa Police Officers killed in the line of duty. Proceeds to benefit the Tampa Police Benevolent Association Charity Fund, Inc. Register online at TampaPBA.org/ golf or call 228-8900.

Tuesday - March 15 - 7:30 AM

Business Networking International (BNI) - A BNI group meets at 7:30 a.m. every Tuesday at Quail Hollow Country Club (6225 Old Pasco Rd.) to help business owners generate more referrals, income and grow their businesses in the Wesley Chapel area. For info, call Bill Sullivan at 994-1143.

Wednesday - March 16 - Noon

Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel - The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel (Noon) meets Wednesdays at noon at its new location: Quail Hollow Country Club (6225 Old Pasco Rd.). For more information, call 862-8989 or 391-3895.

Wednesday - March 16 - 7:30 AM

Wesley Chapel Breakfast Club - The WC Breakfast Club brings business people together to network and present their business to the group. The club meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7:30 a.m. at Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club (6225 Old Pasco Rd.). For more info, call Bill at 992-3370.

Thursday - March 17 - 8:00 AM

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Cardiac Cath Lab Open House - Get a first Networking For Your Success - The Networking For Your Success group meets look at our brand new cardiac cath lab, walk through the giant MEGA heart, Thursdays, 8 a.m., at the Lexington Oaks Golf Club Clubhouse (26133 Lexington and get valuable heart health information. Free event, but registration Oaks Blvd.). All are welcome. Call 994-9944. required. Register at www.FHWesleyChapel.org/events or 929-5432.

Sunday - March 13 - 7 AM - 4 PM

FREE Tire Disposal Event - Pasco residents with ID can bring unwanted tires to Pasco County Class III Landfill/West Pasco Resource Recovery Facility at 14406 Hays Rd. in Spring Hill or East Pasco Transfer Station at 9626 Handcart Rd. in Dade City for FREE disposal. Old tires outside could

Thursday - March 17 - 7:00 PM

Celebrate Recovery Bridgeway Church - Thursday nights at 7 p.m. at Bridgeway Church (30660 Wells Rd.). The purpose of Celebrate Recovery is to bring freedom from dysfunctional, compulsive, and addictive behaviors through biblically-based principles that lead to God’s healing power. Dinner available and free childcare. More info: 907-1313.

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Friday - March 18 - 7:15 AM

Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise - The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise meets Fridays at 7:15 a.m. at Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club (6225 Old Pasco Rd.). For info, call Lynne Morgan at 695-6466.

Friday - March 18 - 9:30 AM - Noon

NAMI: Mental Health Support Group - NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Pasco has a new support group for adults in Pasco County living with a mental illness and in recovery. The “Connections” group meets the 2nd & 4th Friday of each month from 2-3 p.m. at Atonement Lutheran Church (29617 S.R. 54). For info, visit NAMIPasco.com.

Tuesday - March 22 - 6 PM

Wesley Chapel Lions Club - The Wesley Chapel Lions Club meets every 4th Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hyundai of Wesley Chapel. For more information about volunteering, community efforts, meetings, helping the vision impaired and more, visit the club on Facebook or at WesleyChapelLionsClub.com.

Saturday - March 26 - 11 AM-4 PM

Second Annual New Tampa Egg Drop at Limitless Church - Limited to the first 500 children ages 1-kindergarten,11 a.m.-1 p.m. and the first 500 kids in grades 1-5 (2 p.m.-4 p.m.), Limitless Church will have food trucks, fun and more than 15,000 eggs dropped from a helicopter. For more info, visit LimitlessChurch. com or see the ad on page 37.

APRIL 2016 Friday - April 1 - 6 PM

Relay for Life - 2016 Relay for Life of Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass to raise money for American Cancer Society will be held at Wesley Chapel High on Wells Rd. For more info, see the story on pg. 46 of this issue, call 949-0291, ext. 5609, or visit RelayforLife.org and search for Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass Ranch.

If your organization is sponsoring an event that is open to the general public — whether it’s free to attend or not — please submit your info (with photos in any digital format) at least 3-4 weeks in advance to: EditorialDept@NTNeighborhoodNews.com. It will appear in these pages & on our social media for free.

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HomeTeam Lawn Care Provides Affordable Care For Your Lawn & Landscaping

By Andy Warrener

Personalized care is something you always expect from a physician, hairdresser or insurance agent. But, when it comes to lawn and landscape maintenance, personalized care is something that is much more rare. Monolithic lawn and landscape companies send out legions of trimmers and mowers who may or may not care about a customer’s needs. At HomeTeam Lawn Care, however, personalized care is the hallmark of the company’s success.

“We guarantee that there will always be an owner or manager on your crew,” HomeTeam Lawn Care owner AJ Negron says. “We don’t have big crews running around when you’re not sure about what was done on the property.”

Negron, along with family friend and manager Chris French, aren’t just the owners/operators of HomeTeam Lawn Care, they also are the crew. Negron and French have some shared history that not only brought them together, but also brought them into business together.

Negron and wife his Judy moved to Florida from Long Island, NY in the summer of 2008. They liked it so much, they decided to stay.

“We left everything and came down here,” Negron said. “We really fell in love with the area.”

Negron was considering a job with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office or in his field of study, psychology. Yet, when neither avenue showed potential, he

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dwelled on some of the words of wisdom his paternal grandfather gave him before he passed away.

“He would say, ‘Look at all these people making a living,’ indicating the landscaping trucks in their suburban neighborhood,” Negron says. “I thought that I had enough experience in it, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

Negron was used to mowing and caring for lawns in upstate New York and on Long Island. So, he began with a department store push mower. He upgraded to a self-propelled mower and then in November of 2013, fate would enter into the equation.

“It was a God thing,” Negron says.

“It was just one of those things where the timing was absolutely perfect.”

Negron’s maternal grandmother wanted to give him some money to start a business. It happened to be just the amount one of Negron’s friends wanted as a down payment for his lawn company.

Negron picked up a trailer, two mowers, some other equipment and all of the business accounts.

Soon, conversations Negron had with French, while working at Benedetto’s Restaurant in Land O’ Lakes, began to get serious. Negron was working and adding accounts, while French was still managing the bar at Benedetto’s, and was considering switching fields to work with Negron. Then, it happened.

“In May of 2015, (Chris and I) did 33 yards in one day,” Negron recalls. “It

Owner AJ Negron, of Home Team Lawn Care, promises to keep your lawn and landscaping (photo on next page) looking their best, at always-affordable prices.

was a feat, and then I knew we could fly with the business together.”

It was French’s first day working as a team with Negron. At the time, AJ was handling a combination of 75 weekly and bi-monthly residential accounts requiring “creative summer scheduling.” But, he knew if he wanted to expand further, he’d need help — full-time help.

French came on board full time and

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now HomeTeam Lawn Care has more than 130 residential accounts, mostly in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area.

HomeTeam Lawn Care tends properties in Heritage Isles, Pebble Creek, Estancia, Seven Oaks, Lexington Oaks, Northwood, Live Oak Preserve, Brookside and even as far south as Tampa Palms.

And, when they needed new equipment, family friend Danielle Mattingly

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up. The full-service package includes: hedges and low trees, sidewalks and driveways, as well as mulch bed maintenance.

Full service is where Negron says HomeTeam separates itself from its competitors. “(When a house has full-service care with us), that house has our name on it,” Negron says. “I would rather pull my truck up to a house with full service from us than just take care of the grass at a property that also has landscaping that needs attention.”

Take it from one of HomeTeam Lawn Care’s customers.

“Outstanding work! Resodded our yard, redid our landscaping and trimmed two trees. Will be doing our mowing work for us. I highly recommend AJ,” customer Mike Harshman said. “He re-

helped them purchase it.

“We couldn’t have done it without her,’’ Negron said.

Quick Quotes AND Quality Care!

Negron brings some New York hustle to his business that he says will always specialize in personalized care.

“We take pride in our extreme attention to detail,” Negron said. “We’re not your average landscaper, we do aboveaverage work and try not to ask for much more than average prices.”

Communication is a driving aspect of

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sponded right away to our call and had all of the jobs done in less than two weeks!”

Negron and French have an affinity for the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area and hope to bring even more of their attention to detail to lawns and landscapes in the area.

“It’s nice to work with the homeowners in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel because they see the quality of the work that we do,’’ French says. “They don’t need to worry about things getting taken care of. They realize it’s a set-it-and-forget-it type of operation we’re running.”

HomeTeam Lawn Care LLC does not operate out of an office, but can be found on the web at HomeTeamLawnCare.com, by phone at 817-9554 or see the ad on page 45 of this issue.

HomeTeam Lawn Care. When a customer calls, they get Negron’s cell phone, not a secretary. AJ says he takes pride in not just returning and answering calls but in the time it takes to visit a potential customer and draw up a quote.

“We hammer out quotes fast,” Negron says. “When someone (else) responds to your query and says they’ll be there next week, we say that, in 48 hours at the most, we’ll be out there with feet on the ground at the house, ready to give you a quote.”

HomeTeam Lawn Care offers a “full service” that runs from $90 monthly and

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Land O’Lakes Primary Care Provides Anti-Aging Medicine & More

By Celeste McLaughlin

At Land O’ Lakes Primary Care Wellness Center, located in the Devonwood Plaza on S.R. 54 (a few miles west of Wesley Chapel), Peggy Watson, M.D., and her team of health care professionals want to help patients not only relieve symptoms to feel well, but also to resolve underlying health issues — sometimes, Dr. Watson says, in ways not addressed by a typical primary care doctor. This includes care such as nutritional counseling, supplements and hormone replacement therapy.

The practitioners at Land O’ Lakes Primary Care, include not only Dr. Watson, but also Dr. Larnel Sultan, D.O.; and nurse practitioners Lauren DeNeve, A.R.N.P.-BC; and Valerie Buethe, A.R.N.P.-C. The practice includes a staff of more than 15 people, who are available to take care of patient needs five days a week, with availability by appointment only on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings, as well as on Saturday mornings.

Dr. Peggy Watson, M.D., of Land O’Lakes Primary Care on S.R. 54, specializes in bioidentical Land O’ Lakes Primary Care treats hormone replacement therapy, in addition to serving as a primary care physician. males and females older than age 13.

Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine from She earned her M.D. (Doctor of The practice was established more than the University of South Florida in Tampa Medicine) degree from the Indiana Uni10 years ago at the corner of S.R. 54 versity School of Medicine in Indianapolis in 2010. and U.S. 41, but moved into its current, In addition, Dr. Watson is an Ameriin 1989, before completing residencies 5,000-sq.-ft. location, a mile closer to can Board of Family Practice-certified at both St. Mary’s Medical Center in Wesley Chapel, in 2007.

Evansville, IN, and Miami Valley Hospital physician and belongs to the American Dr. Watson has extensive medical Academy of Family Physicians, Florida in Dayton, OH. training and has been a practicing primary Academy of Family Physicians, AmeriMost recently, Dr. Watson earned care physician for more than 20 years. can Society of Bariatric Physicians and her Master of Science (M.S.) degree in

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the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.

She says her interest in anti-aging medicine began when patients first started asking her about bioidentical hormones, so she attended an anti-aging/regenerative medicine conference to learn about hormone-replacement therapy, which replaces low levels of hormones that the body has been losing during a patient’s life span with structurally identical hormones.

“It really opened my eyes to the fact there is an entire new world of medical care available for patients,” Dr. Watson explains. “It is validated in published medical literature, but not practiced by most traditional physicians because it’s not taught to us in medical school.”

So, at her practice, she says, “We do a lot of things other physicians aren’t educated to do.”

She’s also quick to emphasize that what she and her staff recommend for their patients comes right out of published medical literature.

“While we are out of the box,” Dr. Watson says, “we also are very conservative and cautious.”

From her first exposure to endocrinology (the medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases related to hormones), Dr. Watson has continued learning, and has become a trusted expert in this still-evolving area of medicine. She even teaches an endocrinology course at USF on breast cancer

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prevention for people with advanced medical degrees, such as nurse practitioners and medical doctors.

She also says patients are sometimes referred to her by their oncologists, once they have finished their cancer therapy.

“We don’t treat cancer here, but when patients have finished their (cancer) therapy, they often want to know how they can protect themselves, to keep the cancer from recurring,” she says. “That’s when we do nutritional counseling and recommend supplements.”

Dr. Watson explains the supplements she and her fellow practitioners at Land O’Lakes Primary Care recommend are quite different than what you can buy on store shelves.

“Every supplement we recommend is pharmaceutical grade,” she says. “When you buy a supplement that’s not pharmaceutical grade, you don’t know what you’re getting. It could be expired or even counterfeit.”

Weight-Loss Programs & Dermal Fillers, Too

In addition to hormone therapy and traditional treatment for typical medical problems — such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and routine check-ups — Land O’ Lakes Primary Care also offers weight-loss programs and aesthetic services, such as Botox and Juvederm.

“Our patients like that we offer these additional services because they know us and they trust us,” Dr. Watson explains.

Neighborhood News

“We don’t make our living doing Botox and Juvederm treatments. In fact, I frequently tell patients what services wouldn’t work for them and what would be a waste of their time and money.”

Dr. Watson says that no matter why you come to Land O’ Lakes Primary Care, she wants you to know your health is not seen as just a “pile of prescriptions.

We like to look at why you have symptoms, and try to fix that ‘why,’” she says.

While you can see any of the health care professionals at Land O’ Lakes Primary Care, they do try to set all of your appointments with the same practitioner every time you visit, to ensure continuity.

Dr. Watson says all of the professionals in her office share a common philosophy and approach.

“I’ve taught everyone in this office a lot of what I know,” says Dr. Watson.

“Everything we do is based on published medical research. For example, if you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with constipation, we can give you an expensive drug, or you can take magnesium.” She says the office’s approach is to give patients methods that are “simple and cheap.”

She’s also not afraid of patients doing online research and bringing her all of their questions.

“When patients come in, they’re often very knowledgeable, and I like that,” she says. “They’ve done their research, and they need a doctor who can carry on that conversation with them. It’s our job to sort out the garbage from the real considerations.”

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She says the office also is a traditional family practice, and the practitioners are happy to help people whatever way they want. “We have patients who just want to get their blood pressure pill and be on their way, and that’s fine, too,” she says.

Patient Angelo Reno says he has been seeing the doctors at Land O’ Lakes Primary Care for “at least 10 years.” He is a resident of Quail Hollow, and says he really appreciates how easy it is to get an appointment, even on Saturdays.

“There are several providers, and I know all of them,” he says. “Going there is kind of like going home.”

Angelo also says that he recommends Land O’ Lakes Primary Care because he’s been treated well and, at 85, he’s still,

“healthy as a horse.”

“The doctors take their time with their patients,” says Angelo. “I never feel rushed, and they always ask me if I have any other questions before I leave.”

To make an appointment at Land O’ Lakes Primary Care Wellness Center, located at 20615 Amberfield Dr., Suite 102, in Land O’ Lakes, call 9492950. The office is open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with availability by appointment only on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. See the ad on page 28 of this issue or find the office on Facebook by searching “Land O’ Lakes Primary Care Wellness Center,” or visit WatsonWellnessClinic.com.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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Do You Have Neurological Problems? Visit The Neuro Center On CC Blvd.

By Anu Varma Panchal

For a year now, New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents have been able to find relief for their neurological problems without having to drive very far at all. The Neuro Center, where Drs. Mohammad Saleh and Hassan Bitar have a combined 35 years of experience and provide compassionate, state-of-the-art care on Cross Creek Blvd. at Morris Bridge Rd. in New Tampa, in the same building that also is home to Zaytoun Mediterranean Grill (see pg. 41) and The Clinicians Primary Care.

In the 3,500-sq.-ft. office, patients are treated for a variety of conditions, including headaches, migraines, neuropathic pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral neuropathies, back and neck pain, seizures, nerve disease, muscle disease and cognitive disorders (including Alzheimer’s, dementia and other common memory problems).

Patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, vertigo, movement disorders, sleep disorders, learning and attention problems and neuromuscular disorders also can be treated at the Neuro Center.

“The practice is growing for all age groups,” says Dr. Saleh. “From the elderly with neurological disorders to young kids with migraines, seizures and ADHD — and everybody in between.”

Dr. Saleh was born in Damascus, Syria, and Dr. Bitar in Jordan, but both

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Dr. Mohammad Saleh

consider themselves “Tampa boys,” having lived in the area for decades. Both doctors not only attended the nearby University of South Florida in Tampa, they both have two children currently attending USF (in addition to two of Dr. Saleh’s children, who previously graduated from USF).

“This is our home,” says Dr. Saleh.

Dr. Saleh obtained his Medical Doctor (M.D.) degree from Damascus University in 1982 before moving to the U.S. in 1984. He also obtained a Ph.D.

in neuropharmacology from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City in 1988, and began his residency in St Louis before transferring to the University of South Florida, where he completed his residency in neurology in 1992.

Dr. Saleh says his areas of interest include spine care, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, migraines and Alzheimer’s disease.

He’s married with four sons —two who are USF grads and two who are current students — and enjoys chess and writing. He’s also on the stroke team at Southbay Hospital in Sun City Center.

Dr. Bitar received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from the University of Jordan in Amman in 1989. He moved to the U.S. in 1992 to study internal medicine at Boston University and, in 1995, completed his residency and received his Board certification in internal medicine.

He worked for a year at Waltham Hospital in Massachusetts before moving to Clearwater, where he practiced internal medicine and primary care medicine until 2003, when he began to study neurology at USF. In 2006, he completed his specialty in neurology and in 2010, he became Board-certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He joined Dr. Saleh at the Brandon Neuro Center in 2006.

His areas of special interest include

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stroke, dementia, multiple sclerosis and neuro imaging. He also is on the stroke team at Southbay Hospital in Sun City Center, as well as at Brandon Regional Hospital. Dr. Bitar is married with two sons and two daughters, and he says he is an avid reader.

Both doctors also lecture about neuroscience at area high schools and enrichment centers.

Dr. Saleh started the Neuro Center in Hernando County in 1992, seeing patients from Brooksville and Spring Hill. In 2006, he opened a practice in Brandon. And, in 2015, he opened the additional New Tampa office.

Today, he sees patients from all over the Tampa Bay area, including Brooksville, Sun City, Riverview, Carrollwood, Wesley Chapel and Lutz.

A State-Of-The-Art Facility

Patients at the Neuro Center have access to onsite testing such as electro encephalography (EEG) for seizures and anticoagulant function; EMG/NCV (electromyography/Nerve Conduction Velocity) for muscle and nerve testing to evaluate muscle and nerve diseases such as carpal tunnel syndrome, neuropathy, and myopathy; and Neurocognitive Testing, a computerized assessment to check memory, mental speed and other cognitive functions.

The practice also offers trigger point injections for pain; Botox injections for

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migraines, spasms affiliated with both stroke and Parkinson’s disease; and nerve blocks for sciatica and lower back pain.

In addition to the physicians, Neuro Center patients are served by a stable and experienced staff of four technicians, four nurses (one of whom, Maria Lambert, has been with Dr. Saleh for 25 years) and four office staffers who help obtain authorizations and handle billing.

The office accepts all insurance plans, and Lambert also speaks Spanish.

“We go out of our way to really help people, especially with this complicated health care system,” says Dr. Saleh. “We have a great relationship with all of the (local) hospitals and primary care doctors.

Appointments are very quick. Nobody waits on us.”

A patient named Laila says she moved to Wesley Chapel from Pennsylvania in December 2014 and immediately started looking for a neurologist to help with her osteoarthritis.

“They are very friendly, professional and on time,” Laila says. “Dr. Saleh really takes the time to listen. He’s the kind of person who would remember what you’d spoken about before. Some doctors just seem to read from the paper.”

Some patients have been with Neuro Care for 20 years or more, and that’s partly because the doctors treat patients, not symptoms, but also because of the changing nature of the specialty.

“Neurology has become like neuro primary care,” says Dr. Saleh. “As the community grows older, the need for neurological services is growing with it.”

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Dr. Hassan Bitar

They may enjoy the intellectual puzzle-solving aspects of neuroscience, but the doctors agree that the true gratification comes from helping people.

“It is a privilege and a blessing to be a physician,” says Dr. Saleh. “People trust you, open their hearts to you and expect you to do the same and give them your full attention and expertise. We are here to ease their worry, hold their hand and take care of them. Regardless of what health care does to us [as physicians], at the end of the day, it is a passion and a joy of life to take care of people.”

The New Tampa Neuro Center is located at 10970 Cross Creek Blvd.

For more information, visit CommunityNeuroCenter.com or call 345-4135.

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This Tax Season, Try Murtha & Murtha Certified Public Accountants!

By Anu Varma Panchal

For most people, the date April 15 inspires anything from panic to dread at the thought of confusing forms to fill out and possible huge sums to dole out.

But, for Tom Murtha, CPA, MBA this is the best time of the year. He gets to do what he loves: dig deep into complicated tax codes and laws to obtain the biggest possible refunds, catch up with old clients who have since become friends, and welcome new clients to the boutique family accounting firm he owns with his son, Patrick.

Tom and Patrick are the partners and owners of full-service accounting firm, Murtha & Murtha Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), conveniently located in the Seven Oaks Professional Park off S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel.

Patrick and Tom Murtha of Murtha & Murtha Certified Public Accountants in nearby Wesley Thomas E. Murtha earned his B.S. Chapel can help you maximize your refund this year. degree in Management from Long Island nifer, who is the firm’s office manager eventually also bought into — Flischel, University in Brookville, NY, in 1976, and — at least until the impending birth of Murtha & Associates. When Tom passed his MBA (Master of Business Adminthe couple’s second baby, who will be the his Florida CPA test in 2000, he says it istration) degree in Accounting from little brother or sister to Patrick Thomas was with the fourth highest score in the St. John’s University in Queens, NY, in 1981. While he was working on his MBA, state. He’s also taught accounting courses Murtha, Jr., who is now one year old.

The Murthas had an office in downat both Hillsborough Community College Tom also worked as assistant controller in town Tampa before opening their current the non-bank financial segment of a major in Tampa and the American Institute of Seven Oaks location in 2013, where they Banking in New York City.

New York City bank. (and CPA Kyle Flischel) have been seeing A 2009 University of South Florida He moved to Tampa in 1987 (Patrick a steadily growing list of clients. was born a year later) and opened Accutax grad, Patrick, 27, grew up around his “We’ve grown considerably,” says father’s business, cementing the fatherServices, Inc., a non-CPA public accountTom. “We had a really good tax season son professional connection with degrees ing business. He sold this firm in 2010, last year, and we’re looking at another in both Accounting and Finance. Patrick but in the interim joined another CPA good one this year. I love tax season. I see lives in Wesley Chapel with his wife, Jenfirm in Englewood, FL, in 1999 that he

returning clients and walk-in new ones.”

Tom says Wesley Chapel is a prime location for an accounting firm partly because, as such a fast-growing community, the Murthas have a steady stream of clients who are newcomers to the state and unsure of how to file their taxes here.

“We are proficient and expert on all states,” says Tom. “Any state they come from, we can handle.” He adds that many new Floridians may not be aware of what they can claim as deductions and what they still need to file in their old home states. Moving expenses, the sale of the old house, clothing and furniture donated before they move, whether they’ve rented their old property, whether they showed a loss on a former property deal – these are all details that could play a crucial role in a client’s tax liability.

At Murtha & Murtha, these details emerge not just from looking through papers, but through a customized, personal approach that is the hallmark of the way the firm does business. This isn’t the kind of accounting firm where clients are encouraged to simply drop off a folder and wait for an email. At Murtha & Murtha, Tom or Patrick will sit down with each new client, interview them and really get to know and understand them and their unique financial situation. In fact, after Patrick recently noticed while walking into the office that a client had bought a new car, they were able to obtain a deduction based on the sales tax of that car, an idea that hadn’t even occurred to the client.

Specializing in Comprehensive Therapy with Bioidentical Hormones for Both Men and Women Like us on Facebook for extra promotions & educational articles!

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy • Botox • Juvederm • Allergy Testing Xymogen Supplements • Physician Monitored Weight Loss Program

Land O’ Lakes Primary Care Wellness Center

20615 Amberfield Dr., Suite 102, Land O’ Lakes, Florida 34638

Peggy Watson M.D., Larnel Sultan, D.O., Valerie Buethe ARNP-BC, Lauren DeNeve ARNP-BC

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o

This year, more and more people who had previously used online tax programs to do their own filing have begun turning to accountants because of the complexity of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare.”

Penalties have increased each year of the ACA for those who remain uninsured, and people also have to fill out relatively new 1095 forms with which they may be unfamiliar. The way corporations and even very small businesses have to file taxes also has changed under ACA laws.

“You can’t really do Turbo Tax anymore,” says Tom. “Every week, two or three new people will call us saying, ‘I’ve always done my taxes myself, but things are so complex now.’”

Murtha & Murtha also offers what Tom calls “concierge” business services, which means that, for a fixed monthly fee, they can provide services such as monthly accounting, annual budgeting and market value estimations. They also serve as de facto financial advisors, particularly for the many high net worth clients they service.

For example, the Murthas have helped a few companies set up retirement accounts and 401K plans to help save on their tax bills. They also have developed a strong network of elite bankers, financial planners and attorneys to whom they will refer clients if further investment or sales are deemed advisable.

“We teach,” says Tom. “We try to educate the taxpayer. We don’t just do something that’s a mystery.”

In addition to the accounting services, the Murthas also have a mergers

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and acquisitions arm which handles the sales of a very select group of businesses.

Tom says they are careful to only choose high-quality firms with good cash flows for these services.

Although they serve many high-value clients, the Murthas are just as willing to sit down with a small business owner or homeowner to chat about taxes. They feel that their clientele has grown in part as a response to their personable manner. In fact, when they ask new clients why they are leaving their previous accountant, the majority of clients say it is because their former CPA did not return their calls.

“We always ask, ‘Why are you leaving?’” says Tom. “And 99 percent of the time, they say ‘he or she doesn’t talk to me and I called two weeks ago.’ But, we are a relationship firm. You can always reach us — even when we’re in our cars on our cell phones. We never extend your return if you give us everything we need, and we answer phone calls every day.”

And, now that tax season is almost upon us, Tom is looking forward to digging deep into those tax codes to help clients puzzle through new laws, as well as to help new Floridians settle financially into their new homes. As for Patrick, he’s excited to make the phone calls he most looks forward to: when he can tell a client they are going to pay less tax than they thought, or that they are getting a big refund check in the mail.

For more info, call Murtha & Murtha (2236 Ashley Oaks Cir., Suite 101) at 991-1120, see the ad on pg. 15 or visit TampaTaxFirm.com.

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SPOTLIGHT

ON...

Everyone wants a dog who is not aggressive around other dogs, who comes when called, who listens when told, who sits and heels and consistently exercises treat-worthy behavior.

But, the facts are sometimes that requires a little help.

Don Grady has trained roughly 1,000 dogs the past four years, many of those in the last year as the owner of Don’s Dogs, which is hoping to open a location in Wesley Chapel in the next few months.

Grady currently has more than 20 clients, and has trained more than 100 dogs since leaving the PetSmart at The Grove shopping center of Wesley Chapel, where he worked for three years.

Grady (photo) says he can train dogs to do many things, from behaving less aggressively to being less fearful, or anything from completing agility courses to serving as therapy dogs.

At the heart of what he does, however, is pretty simple: “I get dogs ready to be good dogs,’’ he says.

Grady also says that there is both an art and a science to dog training. There are signs a good trainer needs to notice, and the history of a dog is almost always the most important clue in designing the proper way to train one, whether it’s a puppy or an older dog that was rescued from a shelter. Each dog brings its own personality to a home, and making it fit into the household can sometimes be a tricky

Don’s

Dogs!

process that requires a lot of patience.

“Sometimes, they don’t know how to assimilate into a kind, loving house,’’ Grady says. “One day they are in a tiny crate and the next they are in the middle of a suburb and don’t know what to do.’’

Grady likes to train dogs in their home environment. Potential clients will schedule an appointment for Grady to visit the home and observe the dog in its natural setting, “and then, we will sit down and come up with a gameplan,’’ he says.

“We want to make sure the dog is given every opportunity to get it right the first time,” he says.

Don Grady of Don’s Dogs (see ad on pg. 13) can be reached at 784-2698, or by email at donsdogs@yahoo.com.

You can also visit him on Facebook by searching “Don’s Dogs.” — JCC

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Olympus Pools Wants To Help You Build The Pool Of Your Dreams

By Andy Warrener

There are so many things to consider when installing a new swimming pool at your home.

From the size to the shape and from the color to the texture, it’s important to have someone who will both listen to and embrace your ideas about the pool of your dreams, as well as have the knowledge and experience to deliver it.

Owners James and Alexis Staten have installed pools in neighborhoods all around the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area, including Estancia, Grand Hampton, K-Bar Ranch, Live Oak Preserve, Meadow Pointe and Seven Oaks to name just a few. And, while the company takes on projects all over the Tampa Bay area, the Statens says that more than half of their business is done right here in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area.

James and Alexis, as well as Olympus Pools’ construction manager, scheduler, general manager and field representatives have more than 200 combined years of experience.

“All of our heads together mean a lot of experience and knowledge on your side when you build a pool with us,” James says. That experience makes for first-rate customer service and an attention to detail that sets Olympus Pools apart from its competitors.

“I called at least a half dozen

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companies to bid on our pool project and James was the first to respond and the first to personally meet with me,” customer Dave Hoversten says. “Not only did he know every aspect of pool building, he also was extremely professional and very open to my ideas and also was very helpful in making crucial recommendations that ultimately added to the success of the project.”

Transferring the customer’s vision

into a living, breathing swimming pool can be like a dream come true, James says. Every pool owner wants to have that, “Ahhh” feeling when they step out onto their patio and Olympus Pools specializes in delivering just that. The company’s designs are both practical and visionary.

The process begins with an introductory appointment where typically James will come to the customer’s house

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to discuss their options. It gives James the opportunity to see the available space and how best to fill it within the customer’s budget.

“We have a very small and unique space in our backyard to say the least,” customer Eric Wingard says. “We had several pool builders draw a design and price a pool for us, but nothing seemed to fit. But, Olympus was able to take our space constraints and create a fantastic pool design that is now the envy of my neighborhood.”

The next step is for the customer to begin selecting from the plethora of design options. James notes that many Olympus customers will end up coming into the company’s design center showroom off MLK Jr. Blvd., a few blocks west of Raymond James Stadium, where customers get to look at their pool design on a 60-inch LED screen. From there, all of the little details are filled in.

Following the original design proposal, customers select all of the finishing touches for their pool.

“The customer gets to see and touch every product before they buy it,” James says.

Whether it’s something as broad as the color of the tile around the pool or as intricate as what type of faucet to use in the outdoor kitchen, Olympus Pools brings each customer’s vision into reality before construction begins.

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“We do our best to make sure projects get done quicker,” Staten said.

“We’ll notice a pool down the street that’s half way finished (when we’re just starting) and we’ll often finish before that one gets done.”

Olympus accomplishes this with aggressive scheduling and by owning a lot of its own equipment, equipment many pool companies have to subcontract out, which will drive up the cost for the customer. “We’re able to offset some of our costs because we own our own dump truck, our own Bobcat,” James says.

“We’re able to do a lot of those things in-house.”

Another way Olympus Pools keeps costs down for its customers is that the “They had put our ideas together in a 3D presentation that visually showed us how the pool, spa and deck would look in our backyard,” customer Antonio Chavez says. “We appreciated how James collaborated with us as a true professional to finalize the details, materials and total cost of the project.”

There’s an aspect of pride when a company takes a customized approach to pool installation in a community where they are deeply invested. The Statens, who live in New Tampa and send their children to Turner Elementary and the Bartels K-8 School in Live Oak Preserve, enjoy the variety of projects they get to undertake.

“With Olympus Pools, there’s no

Neighborhood News

company mainly relies on the most tried, tested and inexpensive form of marketing — word of mouth. Indeed, James says that referrals are usually the most effective and cost-efficient way to get the word out.

“If we didn’t have referrals, we wouldn’t do a third of the work we do,” Staten said. “Our bread and butter still lies in referrals.”

Olympus Pools, located at 4422 N. Lauber Way in Tampa, is running a promotion through March 1, where anyone building a new pool with Olympus can receive a pool heater for half-price. For additional information, visit OlympusPoolsFl.com, or call 983-7854.

menu of pools to choose from,” James says. “We’ve done over a thousand pools and you won’t find two of them that are the same. It’s exciting for us that every project is at least a little bit different.”

He adds, “If it’s not something we’d accept at our house, it’s not something we’d accept putting in at a customer’s house.”

Staying On Time...

And On Budget

Timely completion of the project is a vital and sometimes overlooked aspect of pool construction. Olympus Pools won’t sacrifice quality for speed, but everyone at the company works hard to make sure each project stays on schedule.

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How Smart Is This Tampa Palms Kid? ‘Very Smart...Final Answer!’

By John C. Cotey John Barreto not only made it onto “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” as part of the nationally syndicated game show’s “Whiz Kids Week,” he answered a handful of questions correctly and walked away with $20,000.

His most impressive feat, however, may have been keeping that a secret for more than six months.

“How did he do that?,’’ asks his mom, Jill. “How does a 12-year-old do that?”

John, a Tampa Palms resident and 7th grader at Corpus Christi School in Temple Terrace, was finally able to let the secret out last week, when the two episodes he was on — which were filmed in Stamford, CT, on Aug. 7 — aired locally on WTOGTV Ch. 4 on Feb. 9-10.

When John walked into school the morning after his first appearance aired, he was greeted with an announcement and an ovation from his fellow students.

“Obviously I wanted (to win) a million dollars, but I didn’t have my mind set on any particular amount,’’ John says. “I just wanted to get on the show and have fun and have a good experience.”

His questions involved geophagy, palindromes and Thorium, yet John managed to make his way through to $20,000 by answering eight questions — with one assist from his lifeline, his dad Ron — and smartly avoided gambling on his last question.

Nattily dressed in red slacks, a blue blazer and a plaid bow tie, Barreto decided not to risk it all on his last, and trickiest, question: “There’s not a single United Nations’ member whose name begins with

Neighborhood News

For a list of the questions and answers John Barreto faced on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” see the online version of this story at WCNeighborhoodNews.com.

‘X’ or which other letter?

His choices were J, Q, V and W. John thought the question might be referring to the names of actual ambassadors representing their countries at the U.N., so he decided to go to his final lifeline, the crowd, and 52 percent chose “Q.” That wasn’t enough to convince John to risk his fortune, so he stopped there.

“I was kind of disappointed I had to stop,’’ John says. “But, when the audience was wrong (the answer was W), I was really excited about that. If it was Q, I would be kicking myself all the way back to Tampa.”

His mother, Jill, had hatched the plan for someone in the family to appear on the show, which once enjoyed massive popularity on the ABC-TV network and was picked by TV Guide as No. 6 on its list of the greatest 60 game shows of all time.

Jill says she was doing dishes and watching “Good Morning America” one morning and the host of “Millionaire,” Chris Harrison, was a guest. He mentioned that the show would be filming in Stamford, CT, in the summer. It just so happened that Jill was from Connecticut, and the family was going to be vacationing there while John was attending camp.

“My mom was like, we’ll be in Connecticut this summer, let’s see if they can get your dad or your sister on because they know a bunch of stupid facts,’’ John says, chuckling.

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Since it was Whiz Kids Week, Dad was obviously ineligible, and Julia, a 15-yearold sophomore at the Academy of Holy Names, declined.

That left John, who began an arduous process with a 250-word poem on why he should be picked (“Info and facts seem to stick to my brain, my trivia skills are simply insane”). That led to a 30-second video, a 4-page application that involved taking pictures of all his awards and included his IQ (141 when he was last tested, in the second grade), and then an hour-long Skype interview with 42 more questions.

An aspiring magician with an in-progress jump shot he practices while playing on a basketball team at the New Tampa YMCA, John was picked as a finalist, along with 10 other kids, meaning that even if he didn’t get on the show he’d still get $1,000 a day with a chance to return within two years. And, he got to extend his summer vacation, which was supposed to end in July, for two extra weeks for the show’s August shooting.

“I told him that at the very worst, how many 12 year olds can say they made $1,000 in one day?,’’ Jill says.

While some of the kids didn’t even make it on the show, and others flamed out on one question, John also made a run at some big bucks.

“I think it was more nerve wracking leading up to it, rather than doing it,’’ John says. “I was worried, would I get on the show? Will I have a chance to win some money? Once I knew I was getting on the show, I wasn’t really scared anymore. I knew I couldn’t walk out of there with less

Tampa Palms resident John Barreto won $20,000 on the syndicated TV game show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ Whiz Kids Week.

money than I walked in with.”

John hasn’t received his check yet, but he plans on pocketing a little of it for fun, maybe indulge himself with some new magic tricks, and the rest he’d like to invest.

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Local Couple’s ‘JeeMin’ Books Help Kids Stand Up To Bullies

By Celeste McLaughlin

Lori Brown and her husband Matt were shocked when kids as young as five years old joined their martial arts program because they had experienced bullying.

“I couldn’t believe that kids this young were being bullied,” says Lori.

So, the couple decided to do something about it. They co-authored a book series for elementary-aged children starting in 2012, shortly after adopting their daughter from Korea.

They named their daughter Kaia, and the series of books stars a character with Kaia’s given Korean name, which is JeeMin. The series, called What Would JeeMin Do, includes four books modeling how kids can deal with bullying, and four additional books to help kids learn about “stranger danger.” They are written for kids ages five to nine.

“We felt that if bullying was happening at these young ages,” Lori says, “Kids need to be educated younger, too.”

Matt and Lori completed all eight books in the series and self-published them in November 2015.

“Teaching martial arts is our passion,” explains Matt.

But, a few years ago, they realized there were many kids who would benefit from the lessons being taught in their classes who weren’t walking through their doors. “What we teach in our pro-

38

gram, we wanted to also teach outside of our studio in a fun, different way.”

Lori adds, “Martial arts is not for everyone, but bullying is a big issue that everyone needs to learn about.”

They describe the books as tools for both kids and their parents, whether it’s a kid who needs a model of how to deal with a bully, or a parent who’s not sure how to talk with their kids about issues that can be scary for small children.

“The most important message of the books is that kids should feel empowered to stand up for themselves and say, ‘Stop!

Leave me alone!,’ if they are bullied,” explains Matt. “Bullies don’t have a right to do what they are doing. The person who is being bullied has a voice they can use to stand up for themselves.”

He says the books urge kids to stand up for others when they see bullying, too, and wants to let kids know they can seek out help if they are bullied, see bullying, or feel uncomfortable when they encounter someone they don’t know.

“We want to give kids encouragement, and also help them to find the courage to get help in these situations,” says Matt.

Matt, Lori and Kaia (aka JeeMin) Brown have turned their love of martial arts into a children’s book series to help prevent bullying and help young children be aware of ‘stranger danger.’

Martial Arts As A

Learning Tool

For 10 years in Billings, MT, Matt and Lori ran a successful martial arts studio full time, teaching 130 students self defense.

They teach a blend of Korean Karate (called Tang Soo Do), Jiu-Jitsu, and Aikido.

The pair moved to Zephyrhills in 2014 to be near family. Both are mar-

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

tial arts Masters (a designation certified through the Eastern USA International Martial Arts Association, Inc.), and both have been inducted into the Eastern USA International Black Belt Hall of Fame.

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The Browns’ What Would JeeMin Do series of anti-bullying and ‘stranger danger’ books includes Bullies on the Bus.

Matt has earned the rank of 5th Dan (aka “degree”) Black Belt, while Lori has earned the rank of 6th Dan Black Belt.

Matt currently works as the branch administrator at Berkshire Hathaway Florida Properties on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of S.R. 56, in the Shoppes at New Tampa shopping center (see ad on pg. 47 of this issue). He and Lori offer their classes at the Lake Bernadette Community Center off S.R. 54 in Zephyrhills on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

The Browns are looking for a publisher to pick up their books, but Matt concedes publishing is a competitive busi-

Neighborhood News

ness and it’s hard work to get published.

“Regardless of if this series is picked up by a major publisher or not,” he says, “we’re just happy to get one of our books into the hands of someone who needs it.”

Matt and Lori are currently working with the Pasco County Library Cooperative to present a community event that would share the books and their authors’ expertise in martial arts to kids through its reading program.

To learn more about the What Would JeeMin Do series of books, visit the Browns’ website at PowerMartialArts.com. The entire series also can be purchased on Amazon.com.

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

39

If You Like Oakley’s Grille (Like We Do!)...Why Not Open One?

Chicken Philly & Fries

Cheeseburger & Fries

By Gary Nager

I

HAVE known Keith Oakley, the owner of Oakley’s Grille on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., in New Tampa, next to Dairy Queen, for just about five years now. I know it’s been that long because that’s how many years in a row I have named Oakley’s my favorite hamburger in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.

And I really mean it. Yes, there are a lot of good hamburger places in our area, but for my money, Oakley’s chargrilled burgers have been the best in town since 2011.

I also love Oakley’s all-natural beef dip and Philly (and chicken Philly) cheesesteaks sandwiches, as well as Keith’s corned beef Reuben and other great sandwiches. And, his crispy fries (I order them without seasoning salt) are also about as good as it gets and his recent addition of a small selection of bottled beers (from $3.99 for Yuengling, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra to $4.49 for

Blue Moon, Coronoa and Sam Adams) have made the place even more appealing.

So, if you love the place so much, Gary, why don’t you just go ahead and open one?

Well, although I’m a true “foodie,” I’m no restaurateur, but if you are — or would like to be — Keith is currently exploring franchising Oakley’s, as well as opening other “corporate”-owned locations, “so call me about franchise, financial partner and business investment opportunities,” he says.

We’ve reported in previous issues that Keith has been looking for a Wesley Chapel location for some time — he tried to get the former Café Fresco location that ended up becoming the second location of Capital Tacos, as well as at the former location of D’Alessio Italian Restaurant on BBD (across from Florida Hospital Wesey Chapel), which will instead soon become Bay Dermatology.

“I have a lot of really loyal customers,” Keith says. “A few of them have told me they would love to own or be a partner in a franchise because they love the food and service so much.” And, because Keith previ-

ously opened and managed several different national and regional chain restaurants — “I spent most of the 1970s with Steak & Ale, the ‘80s with Chili’s and the ‘90s with Longhorn Steakhouse, he says — before leaving the corporate world behind to open Oakley’s, he has made sure that his place combines chain restaurant sensibilities (and extremely fair pricing) with the type of personalized service most chains never offer.

A Little More About The Food

Since we’re back on food, let me just say that Keith continues to add new items, although not as quickly as perhaps some would like. “Our customers do help me decide what items to add to our menu,” Keith says, even though he hasn’t added any new menu items since putting yummy turkey burgers and pulled pork sandwiches prior to our story about Oakley’s last year.

“People go crazy for the pulled pork,” Keither says. “One guy told me he stopped going to his favorite barbecue place after try-

Pulled Pork Sandwich

ing our slow-roasted pulled pork.”

Also popular with our office at Oakley’s are the southwest chicken tacos (topped with big slices of fresh avocado), the huge chef salad, the fajita baskets, the spicy ghost (pepper) burger and the blackened fish sandwich, which is usually tilapia, although Keith says he can substitute other white, flaky fish, too.

I’ve also heard raves around our office about Oakley’s crisp sweet potato fries.

Among some of the other menu items I’ve never mentioned in these pages is a unique Cajun chicken Cordon Bleu, which combines hot capicola ham, aged swiss and Chef Jaym’s white wine garlic aioli. There’s also a spicy Italian hot pressed sandwich, a black & Bleu burger (with Cajun spice and bleu cheese crumbles) and even a tasty pastrami and swiss sandwich.

And, perhaps best of all, Keith still offers a variety of different specials. There’s a buy one entree and get the second entree of equal or lesser value for 50-percent off, but you have to mention this story to get it.

Oakley’s also rocks daily specials, such

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h

Blackened Fish Sandwich

Corned Beef Reuben & Fries

Chef Salad

Southwest Chicken Tacos

as “Cheeseburger Tuesdays,” where my favorite burger and a big order of my favorite fries are just $7.99; Kars Katch fish & chips Wednesdays, with flash-fried fish and fries for just $8.99; my favorite Philly & Fries cost just $8.99 on Thursdays; and chicken tenders & fries are just $6.99 on Sundays.

“I invite everyone who enjoys great

Neighborhood News

food at a fair price and fast, friendly service to come in and give us a try,” Keith says.

Oakley’s Grille (17631 BBD Blvd.), “Where Appetite Meets Delicious,” is open seven days a week. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. For more info about franchise and investment opportunities or to order takeout, call 523-5075 or visit OakleysGrille.com.

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

41

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

Lots Of Restaurant News In Cypress Creek Town Center

Arroy Thai Opens In Old Fine Thai Locale!

You may have noticed that the former Fine Thai Express location in the Pinebrook at The Grove shopping plaza on S.R. 54 is now called Arroy Thai, and there’s no doubt that the new eatery is superior to its already-good predecessor in terms of both the food and the look of the place. Try the crispy duck with spicy Thai chile sauce (photo) and the combination Thai fried rice and please tell them I sent you!

For more info, visit Arroy Thai at 27427 Wesley Chapel Blvd. (S.R. 54), call 501-4924, see the ad on pg. 41 or visit MyArroyThai.com.

42

We were the first (or among the first) to tell you about the planned openings of Culver’s, Cheddars and Pollo Tropical in the Cypress Creek Town Center Development of Regional Impact (DRI), near the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) mall, but the news and rumors are still flying about other eateries that are on their way.

Although we haven’t been able to get confirmation from the company’s home office, we have been told that the popular Mellow Mushroom pizza & more chain is planning to open in the same area. We have confirmed, however, through the Pasco County website, that a new Longhorn Steakhouse also will be built in the area.

In our next issue, we will show you a map with all of the locations of the planned (Culver’s is now open and Cheddars is nearing completion) openings of all of these restaurants.

Irish Eateries To Be Dueling?

We also were the first to tell you that Irish 31 is being built next to Panera Bread at the Shops at Wiregrass mall and now, we’re both happy and sad to announce that

City Grill, located in the Wesley Chapel Village Market at S.R. 54 and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., has been sold. Owner Eth (aka Eric) Thueltrouve told me just before we went to press that City Grill (which was still open at our press time) will be re-branded as an O’Brien’s Irish Pub, which has popular locations all over the Tampa Bay area, including Carrollwood, Brandon and others.

Thueltrove says the new owner has a successful O’Brien’s in Plant City and we’re happy that it also is a place known for karaoke and live bands. We’ll keep you posted.

RGA Promises Great Networking & Fun!

I hope you will start joining me and dozens of other happy business networkers at the next RGA Network weekly networking luncheon or monthly networking Happy Hour (photo), both of which are held at the Shops at Wiregrass mall.

The lunch events are held every Thursday at GrillSmith (2000 Piazza Ave.), 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and the Happy Hours are held the third Tuesday of every month at Pinchers Crab Shack (28330 Paseo Dr.), where $5 gets you free appetizers and free chances to win great prizes given away by

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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other happy networkers. I’ve already made several great, new contacts at the Pinchers events, where I recently gave away about a dozen gift cards.

For more info, visit RGANetwork. net and please tell them I sent you!

Tarek’s Café Opens 2nd Location...In Our Old Location!

Congratulations to Tarek Elsayed, who has been the owner of Tarek’s Cafe & Grill near the intersection of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Fletcher Ave. (on the USF Tampa campus) for 24 years!

Tarek is equally proud of his new loca-

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Photos on this page

by John C. Cotey

Congrats to everyone at CentraCare Florida Hospital Urgent Care (above), which hosted a Wesley Chapel Chamber ribbon cutting at its location in front of the Target on BBD on Feb. 9. For more info, visit CentraCare.org or see pg. 27. The Chamber also was on hand (below) for the yummy Culver’s of WC VIP preview on Feb. 29. Visit WesleyChapelChamber.com for more events. tion, which just happens to have opened last month in our former office location in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms, at our old address — 15345 Amberly Dr.!

Tarek is now serving his USF-famous American cuisine with a Mediterranean flair at his now-open Tampa Palms café & grill!

Whether you’re craving a great hamburger or sandwich, or maybe want to try a tomato and mozzarella salad with a side of homemade couscous (photo, left) or authentic Middle Eastern pastries, Tarek has been keeping USF students, professors and staffers happy for nearly a quarter of a century and his Tampa Palms location is a lot bigger and nicer than his hugely popular takeout counter at USF. For more info, visit TareksCafe.com or call 252-3238.— GN

Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 •WCNeighborhoodNews.com

43

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See our display ad.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

Neighborhood News

HOME IMPROVEMENT DALE’S HOME MAINTENANCE Pressure washing, screen repairs, garage cleaning and organizing, shelving, re-grout tile and caulking, and more. 813-7272582.

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.

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 •WCNeighborhoodNews.com

45

No ‘Foolin’ — Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass ACS Relay To Be Held Apr. 1-2!

By Celeste McLaughlin

The Wesley Chapel and Wiregrass Ranch Relay for Life to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS) will be held from Friday, April 1, 6 p.m., until 6 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Wesley Chapel High on Wells Rd. The annual event will be fun for visitors of all ages to attend, as the Relay is open to the public Friday evening until 10 p.m.

Last year, 28 teams raised more than $50,000 at the Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass Ranch Relay. The money is used for cancer research, to support cancer patients (with rides to chemotherapy, help paying medical bills, information about cancer treatments and more).

This year, there are 32 teams signed up, and more than $30,000 already has been raised to date. The event organizers’ goal is to raise $65,000.

Of the 32 teams signed up, eight are from local schools. Multiple teams are registered from both Wesley Chapel and Wiregrass Ranch high schools, and the local elementary schools — including Watergrass, Wesley Chapel, Veterans and Quail Hollow — also are supporting this year’s Wesley Chapel Relay.

Each team will display a booth exhibiting this year’s theme, Dr. Seuss.

Each booth will be decorated to reflect one of Dr. Seuss’s books. There will be food vendors, plus drinks, snacks and treats available for purchase at some of the booths. Crafts, jewelry, scarves and

46

other items also will be available for sale, and there will be face painting and other fun for the kids. There also are always plenty of prizes, and many baskets will be raffled off. All proceeds raised will benefit the ACS. Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel will be on hand during the event, with new cars available for test drives from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Every licensed driver age 18 or older is invited to test drive a Ford at the event, and Parks Ford will donate $20 to the Relay for each test drive, up to $6,000.

“It’s not too late to join a team, form a team, or donate to a team,” says Barb Chenoweth, a member of the event’s leadership team.

Organizers are still looking for sponsors, which will receive benefits such as promotional signage at the event, names on t-shirts, and on the event website.

“We need the community to support the cause of finishing the fight to end all cancers from claiming the people we love,” Chenoweth says.

The cause is dear to Chenoweth’s heart, because she herself is a cancer survivor. She will participate in the kickoff to the evening’s events, which is the “survivor lap,” where all cancer survivors and caregivers walk a lap on the track together. The survivors and caregivers are then treated to dinner.

All cancer survivors in the community also are invited to register and participate in these events.

Last year, more than $50,000 was raised by 28 teams at the Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass Ranch ACS Relay for Life. The money is used for cancer research and to support cancer patients. wine and food pairing, hosted by A Time At 9 p.m., luminarias that have been for Wine, at A Dash of Salt N Pepdecorated in honor of cancer survivors per (10353 Cross Creek Blvd. in New and in memory of those loved ones lost to the disease will be lit, which is always a Tampa) on Tuesday, March 15, 6 p.m.

Tickets are $30. To make a reservation, beautiful tribute around the track. call A Time for Wine at 664-1430.

The event will be closed to the pubTo learn more about Relay for lic at 10 p.m., but at least one member Life, visit the event website at Relayfrom each registered team will continue ForLife.org/WesleyChapelFL. To regwalking the track throughout the night ister as a survivor or caregiver, please and into the morning. e-mail amanda.aufiero@cancer.org or Another way to support the Wesley call 949-0291.

Chapel/Wiregrass Relay is to come to a

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 24, Issue 6 • March 11, 2016 • WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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I PASSION T T EXCE LLENCE A G M R W I O T R Y K

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Pond view home in gated community, 5 bed, 3.5 John Morel baths, 3,600sf, formal living & dinning rooms, Cell 813-712-0260 1st floor den, kitchen includes large breakfast Office 813-712-8477 island, master suite has double vanities, garden Fax 813-907-8084 tub & shower, remaining bedrooms have jack & jill bathrooms, 3 car garage. Priced $289,900 jmorel@bhhsfloridaproperties.com jmorel.bhhsfloridaproperties.com

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