Wesley Chapel Issue 10-11

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Volume 19 Issue 10

Inside: A Celebration Of The Arts Recap! See pages 36!

May 7, 2011

The Direct-Mail News Magazines Serving Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Since 1993! THE INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWS MAGAZINES DIRECTLY MAILED TO: WESLEY CHAPEL: Aberdeen • Belle Chase • Brookside • Chapel Pines • Country Walk • Lexington Oaks • Meadow Pointe • New River • Northwood • Pinewalk • Pine Ridge • Saddlebrook • Saddleridge Estates • Saddlewood • Seven Oaks • Lakes at Northwood • The Villages of Wesley Chapel • Wesley Pointe • Westbrook Estates • Williamsburg NEW TAMPA: Arbor Greene • Cory Lake Isles • Cross Creek • Grand Hampton • Heritage Isles • Hunter’s Green • Hunter’s Key • K-Bar Ranch • Lake Forest • Live Oak Preserve • Pebble Creek • Richmond Place • Tampa Palms • West Meadows

Maj. Chris Nocco Appointed To Replace Sheriff Bob White By Michael Smith Speculation about who would replace retiring Pasco County Sheriff Bob White was ended late last month when Gov. Rick Scott appointed one of White’s top officers, Maj. Chris Nocco, to serve out the remainder of White’s term in office. Nocco, 35, is a native of Philadelphia who has been with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) since 2009, most recently serving as head of the department’s Joint Operations Bureau. He was officially sworn in on May 2, and his appointment runs through 2012, which would have been the end of White’s third term. At that point, Nocco will have to run for reelection if he wants to remain in the position. Nocco comes from a law enforcement background, as his father and several other relatives also served as police officers, and at a press conference

announcing his appointment he told reporters that, “It was always a boyhood dream (of mine) to become a police officer.” So, while attending the Chris Nocco is Pasco University of County’s new sheriff. Delaware on a football scholarship, Nocco received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a Master’s degree in public administration. After graduation, Nocco began working as an officer with the Philadelphia Public Schools police department, and then went on to the Fairfax County (VA.) Police Department before coming to Florida, where he joined the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. That led to a job as a field director with the Republi-

can Party of Florida and then as a staff director for the Florida House of Representatives, where he eventually became deputy chief of staff for thenHouse Speaker (now-U.S. Senator) Marco Rubio, which lasted until Rubio’s term ended in 2008, after which Nocco joined the Florida Highway Patrol as chief of staff. With his political connections (his wife Bridget is a Republican Party consultant and fund raiser who also served as a lobbyist for the Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., which Scott ran for 10 years as CEO), Nocco’s appointment was not entirely unexpected. Even though a dozen potential candidates had expressed an interest in taking over for White, who announced in March that he planned to retire in order to spend more time with his family, Nocco was assumed by many to be the frontrunner for the job, especially after it was announced that he was one of three finalists interviewed by Scott and his

staff in the week prior to his selection. The other two finalists were Brian Head, who also is a major in the PCSO, and lawyer Kerry O’Connor, a former PCSO employee who left the department in 2003. Those connections led at least one local politician, former Pasco County Commissioner Michael Cox (a Democrat), to assert that Nocco received the appointment as “political payback,” (although it should be noted that Cox is working with Kim Bogart, a Democrat who has already announced his candidacy for the sheriff’s job in 2012). Nocco, meanwhile, didn’t try to distance himself from his political alliances, which also includes Florida’s next House Speaker Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel), among others. “I’m very blessed to have friends that are in high offices,” he says. “When Tallahassee has money again See “Nocco” on page 5.

Don’t Miss The Rotary PigFest At St. Mark’s Saturday, May 14!

NEIGHBORHOOD MAGAZINE!

Local Church Plans New Sanctuary, Wesley Chapel Chamber Of Commerce Hires New Directors, Plenty Of Area Business News & Much More!

Local Fitness Center Celebrates 10th Year In Business, Karaoke At The Gingerbread Cottage, The Winners Of Our ‘March Madness’ Contest & More!

See pages 3-26!

See pages 27-40!

The Bob Thompson Band will perform at the Rotary PigFest on Sunday, May 14, at St. Mark Church on Cross Creek Blvd.

ECRWSS

NEWS, BUSINESS, SPORTS & EDUCATION UPDATES

Postal Customer

Also Inside This Issue!

beans provided by Lee Roy Selmon’s, free beer from both Pepin Distributing and the Yuengling Brewery, wines provided by Premier Beverage, incredible entertainment (see below), a bouncy house and playground for the kids, 40 business vendors selling unique goods and services and thousands of dollars in free cash giveaways, all for one low admission price of $20 per adult (in advance, $25 the day of the event) and children under 12 eat for free! Scheduled entertainers include Pasco Lefty, the Freedom High Jazz Band and the Bob Thompson Band. For tickets and more info, call 380-4014, 295-4663 or our office at 910-2575. To see the updated list of the event’s wonderful sponsors (including this publication) and even more info, visit RotaryPig Fest.com or see the ad on page 25. — GN

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID TAMPA FL PERMIT 2801

p.m., at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Cross Creek Blvd., and will feature a record-breaking eight teams roasting and serving up samples of BBQ pork, competing for the coveted top honors from a panel of expert judges, as well as the equally prestigious “people’s choice award.” In addition to more than 1,000 lbs. of pork (and chicken), there will be plenty of fresh cole slaw and baked

Dated Material Please Rush!

In case you’ve missed all of the advertising for it in this and several other local publications, as well as on TV, radio and the world wide web, the eighth annual PigFest (previously called the Pig Roast), co-sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, will be a much bigger, better and even more fun event this year. The Rotary PigFest will be held on Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m.-3:30

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 19, Issue 10 • May 7, 2011 • www.WCNeighborhoodNews.com

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