Volume 19 Issue 25
Inside: Check Out Our Holiday Gift & Dining Guide!
December 3, 2011
See pages 32-33!
The Direct-Mail News Magazines Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Since 1993! THIS INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWS MAGAZINE IS DIRECTLY MAILED TO: NEW TAMPA: Arbor Greene • Cory Lake Isles • Cross Creek • Easton Park • Grand Hampton • Heritage Isles • Hunter’s Green • Hunter’s Key • K-Bar Ranch • Lake Forest • Live Oak Preserve • Pebble Creek • Richmond Place • Tampa Palms • The Hammocks • West Meadows 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 • The Lakes at Northwood • The Villages of Wesley Chapel • Wesley Pointe • Westbrook Estates • Williamsburg
‘Welcome Home To Grand Hampton,’ Sgt. Joel Tavera & Family! An editorial by Gary Nager Congratulations to U.S. Army Sgt. Joel Tavera and his family, who recently became the recipients of the ninth home given away to wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars by “Building Homes for Heroes” (HFH), a nonprofit organization whose mission is as amazing to me as the stories of the wounded soldiers and their families. I feel fortunate to have been one of more than 1,000 people who gathered on November 19 in a still-beingdeveloped subdivision in the beautiful Grand Hampton community along County Line Rd. to see Sgt. Tavera, his mother Maritza and his father José be led inside their finished 4,200-sq.ft. William Ryan Homes home for the first time. I arrived at Grand Hampton about a half hour before the Taveras did and I saw magnificent new houses in a pristine neighborhood where, for the event, there were American flags
(Left) Homes For Heroes (HFH) mission leader Kelly Hallman (left) and HFH founder Andy Pujol were proud to take U.S. Army Sgt. Joel Tavera and his mother and father on a tour of the family’s new home in Grand Hampton, the ninth HFH home dedicated to a wounded member of the U.S. armed forces since 2004. Chapel Neighborhood News, that some shedding a few tears and I certainly literally every ten feet or so, with not causes make you realize that there is so was no exception. I felt the first tears only outside visitors like me, but also much more we all can do, whether to well up as I waited for Joel and his the residents of the subdivision lining help sick children, battered wives, family to arrive, thinking to myself the streets to give a true American hero a true hero’s welcome. that although I believe I do try to help injured soldiers and so many others. people as much as possible with what I I don’t know how anyone who See “Heroes” on page 41. do with the New Tampa & Wesley attended got through the day without
Lawton Chiles Elementary Celebrates Ten Years In Tampa Palms
NEIGHBORHOOD MAGAZINE!
New Tampa Teen Commits Suicide, New Fire Station Opening Soon In New Tampa, I-75/BBD Overpass Updates & Lots Of Local Business News!
Getting (Very) Pampered At Magnolia Spa, Our Annual Holiday Gift & Dining Guide, A Visit To Acropolis Greek Taverna & So Much More!
See pages 3-30!
See pages 31-56!
See “Chiles” on page 27.
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LOCAL NEWS, BUSINESS, SPORTS & EDUCATION
Postal Customer
Also Inside This Issue!
“You are what makes our school so special,” said Pietsch to the crowd of teachers and community members. “And, such a wonderful place for children to learn.” Other speakers at the ceremony included District 3 Hillsborough School Board member Jack Lamb, as well as HCPS Area 3 director, George Gaffney, who oversees all of the public schools (L. to r.) Former Lawton Chiles Elementary in the New Tampa area. principals Shari Beaubien and Tom Dessey Chiles assistant principal joined current principal Kim Pietsch at the Mary Booth also commended the school’s 10th anniversary event on Nov. 3. school for its consistent achievement. Since opening its doors ten years ago, Chiles has been awarded the distinction of being an “A” school PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID TAMPA FL PERMIT 2801
cipals Tom Dessey and Shari Beaubien retell the story of the school’s beginning years and highlight the people who helped it grow. Other notable speakers included Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) superintendent MaryEllen Elia and current Chiles principal Kim Pietsch, who emphasized the impact the community has had on the school’s success.
Dated Material Please Rush!
Lawton Chiles Elementary in Tampa Palms is finally as old as some of its fourth graders. On November 3, Chiles celebrated “a decade of excellence” with a rededication ceremony to honor the school’s success in the Tampa Palms community for the past 10 years. Parents, teachers and staff members from years past reunited to hear former prin-
For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 19, Issue 25 • December 3, 2011 • www.NTNeighborhoodNews.com
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