Wesley Chapel Rotary Club President-Designate Chris Casella organized the club’s twice-postponed American flag giveaway at both local shopping malls on Oct. 23 -24. (Photo courtesy of David Alvarez)
It’s now been about a year since I switched my Rotary Club membership from the Wesley Chapel Noon club (which meets Wednesdays at noon at Lexington Oaks Golf Club) to the New Tampa Noon club (which meets the same day and time, at Pebble Creek Golf Club in New Tampa).
But, even though I left the Wesley Chapel club, my fiancé Jannah McDonald is still a member there, as are many of mine and Jannah’s close friends.
One guy I never met until he started showing up at the Wesley Chapel Rotary meetings a couple of years ago is former New York Police Department (NYPD) cop Chris Casella. And, although Chris isn’t currently the president of the club (*Note-He is the club’s President-Designate, who will become the WC Rotary’s president after current President Kent Ross and President-Elect David Gainer), he is definitely one of the people I miss most by belonging to another club, even though I still get to see him quite a bit.
Case in point: A couple of issues ago, we told you on page 1 of this publication that one of the WC Rotary’s upcoming service projects was to give away a total of 3,000 American flags at both local shopping malls the weekend of 9/11.
Chris, who has taken on numerous responsibilities and initiated service projects for the club, including the flag giveaway, says he, “lost a lot of friends on 9/11 and it was only because I was injured the year before that I wasn’t allowed to help my brothers that day. I felt a lot of guilt about that, so 9/11 has a special meaning for me.”
In addition to the flag giveaways, the Rotary Club also got multiple poster-sized Thank-You cards signed by hundreds of local residents for all three District 2 Pasco County fire stations and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office District 2 office in Dade City.
Of course, Hurricane Irma reared her ugly head on September 10, which forced the club to postpone the giveaway, first until the following weekend and finally, until the weekend of Sept. 23-24.
“With so many people losing power and all the debris in the roads, we decided to postpone it one more week,” Chris says.”But, we finally got it done.”
With 15-20 volunteers, not all of whom were Rotarians, on hand, Chris says that the flag giveaway ended up being a huge success, despite the postponements.
“We gave away at least 3,000 flags and most everyone was so appreciative that we were still honoring 9/11,” Chris says. “But, the stories some of the people told brought me to tears.”
For example, one woman said her son was a firefighter who ran into the World Trade Center after the first tower collapsed…and never came back out. “She said that some people may have forgotten how horrible it was, but she never can.”
Another woman’s 26-year-old son gave up a successful construction business to enlist in the Army because, Chris says, “He just felt the need to help.” During his second deployment in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb ended his life.
I know that many of us are concerned about the state of our country and the world these days, but when you hear stories like this, about military members and first responders of all races, colors and creeds, some of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, I understand why some people are offended by those who won’t rise for our national anthem. No matter what otherproblems there are in this still-great nation of ours — and certainly there are — we are all Americans who should never forget that unless we all stand together, we could fall together.
When 8,000 people attended the public grand opening of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) a couple of weeks before it opened to patients on October 1, 2012, they couldn’t have imagined how much of an impact on the community the hospital would have had on so many of us, just five years later.
FHWC continues to expand and grow, adding more services and technology to serve Wesley Chapel. In the last five years, FHWC has had 177,000 emergency room visits, more than 27,000 inpatient admissionsand more than 1,900 babies born. And, the hospital’s medical staff physicians have performed nearly 17,500 surgeries.
In addition, FHWC also features its Health & Wellness Center (which now has more than 5,500 members), the Center for Women’s Health, Outpatient Rehabilitation services, robotic surgery systems and a recently completed expansion, which cost $78 million and added a heart catheterization lab, nearly doubled the number of emergency rooms and operating rooms, and added 62 patient rooms to the original 83. FHWC also will add a new wound care center in the spring of 2018.
FHWC also has provided advanced medical care for the Wesley Chapel community and has had a major economic impact on our area. For example, FHWC opened with 400 employees, but now the hospital and adjacent Wellness Plaza employ more than 1,000 people.
The hospital hosted a community celebration on October 1, with family activities, food trucks and community partners from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Fire Rescue. The hospital also showcased its new ambulance, which will transport patients from a new offsite emergency department in Land O’Lakes (opening in January) and transport patients between FHWC and the other local hospitals in the Florida Hospital/Adventist Health Care family when necessary.
“We are blessed and proud to have served our community for the last five years,” says FHWC president and CEO Denyse Bales-Chubb. “Our expansion reflects the community’s trust in our care and the awards and recognitions we have received are a testament to the expertise and compassion of our staff and physicians.”
She adds, “But, we’re not done. We continue to add services to better meet the needs of our community.”
True Inspiration!
A $2.8-million dollar women’s health center, which will be called “Inspiration Place,” will open in the FHWC Wellness Plaza, today, Monday, October 23, offering comprehensive care for women at every stage of life.
Services available at Inspiration Place include gynecology, obstetrics, and prenatal care, along with primary care services, wellness services and more. Inspiration Place also includes a spa, for services such as massage and skin care treatments. Appointments can be booked now on its website, FHInspirationPlace.org.
An open house for ladies will be held at Inspiration Place on Tuesday, November 14, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Event is free, but registration is required at tinyurl.com/FHWCInspirationplace.
Updating The Map Of Wesley Chapel Along S.R. 54, From I-75 To W. Of Curley Rd.
Developers are seeking approval for a 110,000-sq.ft. self-storage facility and a 160,000-sq.ft. hotel to be located directly behind the Walgreens at the intersection of S.R. 54 and BBD. The brand of the hotel isn’t determined.
Wesley Chapel’s second Wawa location was approved in Oct. of 2016. Ground just started to be moved near the site where the 6,119-sq.ft. convenience store will be located.
Land is currently being cleared for Chick-Fil-A’s proposed 4,877-sq.ft. restaurant with indoor play area & drive-through.
The 4,000-sq.ft. Heartland Dental office is under construction & will be going vertical by the end of the month. It will share its location with a 4,200-sq.ft. stand-alone building that is still seeking a tenant but has suitors.
Starbucks is expected to open early next year, and the 2,330-sq.ft. coffee hotspot will be flanked by at least three other retail tenants occupying another 5,700-sq.ft. One of those tenants will be a Pizza Hut.
The Racetrac convenience store, expected to be 5,411-sq.ft. with a 771 sq.ft. patio, is still going through the approval and permitting process, but is planned for the northwest corner of Vandine Rd. & S.R. 54.
CubeSmart will provide self storage in a three-story, climate-controlled 80,000-sq.-ft. facility, which will be surrounded by 14,000 sq. ft. of single-story storage.
Nail & hair salons are two of the future tenants signed up for Nye Commons, which has 14,000-sq.ft. of space and is hoping to possibly add a restaurant and as many as four other tenants before opening by the end of the year.
After years of developer attention along the S.R. 56 corridor, which has included the debut of the Tampa Premium Outlets, the opening of a plethora of new restaurants and stores like Costcoand the continued growth in the southern portion of the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), things appear to be turning north.
In and around the intersection of S.R. 54 and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., which had begun to show its age since it was widened a few years ago, ground is being moved as a number of new projects begin to sprout up.
Included in future plans at the intersection and westward on S.R. 54 is anotherWawa, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Racetrac and a number of commercial strip centers that will potentially provide office space to everything from small restaurants to dentists and doctors.
“Everything’s moving north, and that is consistent with our growth pattern,’’ says Hope Allen, the CEO of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “You’re starting to see that northern progression.”
The interest in SR. 54 is likely also the result of the saturation of the market along S.R. 56. In fact, Kim Lohry of Berkshire Hathaway says that there are now 27 restaurants located in the S.R. 56 corridor between Wesley Chapel Blvd. and Mansfield Dr., and “it’s a natural progression” for developers to look for other areas more ripe for new development.
Lohry is involved in a project bringing a 4,000-sq.ft. Heartland Dental office to the north side of S.R. 54, between the Walgreens and Wesley Chapel Nissan, as well as a 4,200-sq.ft. free-standing building which will share parking with the dental office. She says she has already fielded a number of inquiries from potential tenants.
Much of the area currently beginning a developmental phase lies south of the so-called “Connected City” project, including Florida’s first two lagoons by Crystal Lagoons in the new Mirada and Epperson Ranch housing developments. The Connected City is expected to add thousands of new residents, and many businesses and jobs to the area over the next 20 years.
While this stretch of 54 has been anchored by Publix and recently added a Wal-Mart Supercenter, the influx of new businesses will find plenty of customers located within a 10-mile radius.
That, along with the widening of S.R. 54 east of Curley Rd. — expected to begin this year or early 2018 — makes this area of Wesley Chapel an attractive target for potential businesses.
“It’s most certainly a prime area for development,” Allen says.
“I sure hope so,’’ says developer Brent Nye of Nye Commercial Advisors, whose retail strip center on BBD just south of the Wells Fargo bank is expected to open by the end of the year. Nye says he already has contracted with a nail and hair salon, and plans to add a restaurant as well. He adds that the 14,000-sq.-ft. plaza, where his business also will be based, could accommodate as many as eight tenants.
Nye also says other projects — like a Racetrac and Bay Breeze Car Wash on S.R. 54 and Vandine Rd., as well as the CubeSmart Self Storage nearing completion on the southwest corner of S.R. 54 and Wesley Chapel Loop — are signs that the stretch of S.R. 54 from BBD to the entrance to Meadow Pointe will soon become populated with businesses.
“I think this is the next area you will see a lot of growth in,’’ he says. “You are already seeing it.”
It has been tough sledding at times for the Wesley Chapel High football team this season.
It would be an understatement to say that the Wesley Chapel High (WCH) football team has hit some potholes in the road.
The Wildcats lost their home opener to cross-town rival Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) by a touchdown. WCH lost its starting quarterback and top college prospect, Isaiah Bolden, to a shoulder injury in that game, and he was later dismissed from the team.
The ‘Cats suffered a demoralizing Class 5A, District 8 defeat at Anclote 27-10, as Florida State University recruit Chaz Neal was ejected and suspended for the next game against Ridgewood.
And, a rash of injuries has sapped the Wildcat roster down to the low 30s, even the high 20s on some days.
The Wildcats, however, remain in the playoff hunt, and they actually control their own destiny. At 4-1 in Dist. 5A-8 (and 6-2 overall), WCH has two crucial distrct games remaining — Oct. 20 at home against first-place Zephyrhills (5-0), and next week’s home finale against River Ridge, currently tied with Wesley Chapel for second with a 4-1 record.
Senior running backs Dexter Leverett and Malik Melvin are still a potent one-two punch. Leverett is closing in on another 1,000-yard season after running for 179 and two TDs in a 33-6 win over Ridgewood.
Senior linebacker Austen Wittish leads the county in tackles with 104 (and five sacks), and senior wideout-turned-quarterback Justin Trapnell has solidified the QB position since the loss of Bolden.
Along with the aforementioned standouts, sophomore receiver Jelani Vassell, junior tight end Tyler Wittish, junior lineman Seth Petty, and senior linemen Andrew Brooks and Matt Severson form a group that the team is rallying around.
“It’s a special group of guys that stick together and have true grit,” Wildcats head coach Tony Egan says. “There’s not one of them that takes a play off and I anticipate them all playing at the next level somewhere.”
“It’s been more responsibility these last couple of weeks but we tell each other to work hard and stay together,” Austen Wittish said. “We have to play together as a family.”
Bulls Also In The Hunt
After a season of narrow escapes, WRH finally lost its first game of the season Oct. 6 to Gaither by a 23-12 score, but bounced back with a 39-8 win over New Tampa’s Freedom and is currently 6-1.
The Bulls had opened their season with five straight wins, but only a 20-0 victory over New Tampa’s Wharton High was comfortable. The other four victories were by a combined total of 21 points. But the Bulls are in good shape for a second straight playoff berth, with tonight’s game against winless Leto, an Oct. 27 home game against Plant and Nov. 3’s season finale against Auburndale.
Cypress Creek Middle High (CCH), which won the first game it ever played 12-0 over Gulf, has found matching their hot start difficult.
The Coyotes, who play their last home game Oct. 27 against Mulberry, had been outscored 273-0 the past five games heading into tonight’s game at Springstead.
VolleyBulls Break Through
The WRH volleyball team had a breakout season.
Wiregrass Ranch volleyball players (l.-r.) Jaizah Anderson, Carolina Eichelberger and Destanie Aydt led their team to an SAC title. (Photo: Andy Warrener)
Brimming with offensive firepower, the Bulls finished 20-6 – the second-best regular season record in school history — before losing a close 25-23, 26-24, 25-16 match to Wharton in the Class Class 8A, District 8 semifinals.
The Bulls’ offense carried them through a tough schedule and to a Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) championship, which they won 3-2 over Land O’ Lakes on October 10.
Three Wiregrass outside hitters are in triple-digit kills for the season. Juniors Jaizah Anderson and Destanie Aydt led the team heading into the postseason with 159 and 135 kills, respectively, while senior Caroline Eichelberger rang up 113 kills during the regular season.
“I’d like to say I developed them (the trio), but they came that way,” Wiregrass head coach Michelle Davis said. “We have a great feeder program in John Long Middle School and all three of those girls play on high-level club teams. It’s amazing talent coming in, I just have to fine tune it.”
The three didn’t even come all the way together until this year. Aydt and Eichelberger played together in 2016; Anderson transferred in from Fivay High in Hudson.
Now, the trio is a force to be reckoned with. Davis doesn’t even need to have all three on the floor at the same time, even though Eichelberger can play middle hitter with Aydt and Anderson on the outside. Davis often opts to rest one of her hitters to keep them fresh, in case a team like Land O’ Lakes (15-8) takes them the distance.
“It’s encouraging, we have not had this kind of power for years,” Eichelberger says
“It’s always good to have someone on the team who can back you up, even if you get into slumps,” Aydt says.
Lankton Making Waves
WRH’s boys’ swim team also is showing some promise.
SAC champ Doug Lankton
The Bulls are coming off of a fourth-place finish at the SAC meet, but even more promising is the rise of sophomore all-distance freestyler Doug Lankton.
Lankton won the 200-yard freestyle at conference and placed second in the 500 free. Lankton also led off the 4×100 freestyle relay for the Bulls that wound up taking second at the conference meet..
Lankton, even as a sophomore, brings experience to the Bulls as a veteran of the Pipeline swimming club under coach Rene Piper. He is sure to be a factor in his strongest events, the 200 and 500 freestyles, when the Bulls take to the water for districts on Wednesday, October 25, at the Bobby Hicks Pool in Tampa.
“We think he has chances in both events ,” Wiregrass boys coach Kyle Gramm says. “He’s just now coming up to his peak and cut five seconds from his 500-yard time at conference. It’s going to be exciting to see what he does at districts.”
Season Of Firsts For CCH
In its very first year of existence, everything accomplished at the new Cypress Creek Middle High School is a new school record.
CCH golf standout Jarrod Smith.
Sophomore boys golfer Jarrod Smith is helping to establish some of those records. Smith, who played for WCH as a freshman, is coming off a third-place finish at the SAC tourney held at Northdale Country Club.
Smith shot a two-over 74 and made First Team All-SAC. He is no stranger to the sport, having picked it up six years ago and making Second-Team All-SAC as a freshman at WCH. He is and will be the guy to watch at Cypress Creek.
“He is definitely our bright spot,” Cypress Creek boys coach Anthony Mitchell said. “It’s super exciting. Obviously, by this time next year and beyond, he’s going to be one of the favorites to win conference.”
Smith’s strong suit is his putting game. He hit a 30-foot putt for birdie on the 10th hole at the SAC championships to help secure his third-place finish. He led the Coyotes into the Class A, District 13 championships at the Eagles Club Golf Club in Odessa last weekend.
“I just try to go out and play the best round I can every day,” Smith said.
The Cypress Creek Middle High cross country teams enter their first postseason this week. (Photo: Gigante Productions)
CCH Cross Country Team Making Strides
In its very first year of existence, Meanwhile, the CCH cross country team, while tiny in its first year, has the benefit of veteran coaches coming over from WCH, where boys coach John Hoffman and girls coach Eliza Passardi coached together for three years.
“New facilities, new rubber track and it was exciting to be a part of a brand new program,” Passardi says.
The coaches didn’t even discuss coming over to CCH together, it just happened.
“I knew I was coming over but we didn’t talk about it,” Passardi said. “We had a great team at Chapel where, between the two of us, we went to states two of the last three years.”
The Coyotes, who are competing in Class 2A, District 7 meet in Weeki Wachee on Thursday, October 26, only have 11 cross country runners, with seven of them boys. But, Hoffman thinks he has a couple of runners who could advance to Regionals in sophomore Joe Vreeland and freshman John Rowsell.
There will certainly be a lot more attention drawn to the program as spring track season rolls around. Hoffman, already pegged for the head track coach position, will have the only eight-lane rubber track in Pasco County. CCH is already confirmed to host the conference track meet and Hoffman is trying to work out hosting a large invitational for the spring as well.
“Everything’s new here at the school, it’s a lot to put together,” Hoffman said. “We even already have the hurdles for the track, packed in boxes, unassembled.”
Mitze & chiropractic physician Dr. Micah Richeson can help you feel better and lose weight safely with their Richeson Wellness and NutriMost, both located at Cypress Creek Chiropractic & Wellness off S.R. 56.
At Cypress Creek Chiropractic & Wellness in the Cypress Ridge Professional Plaza off of S.R. 56, Micah Richeson, D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic) and his wife Mitze offer a variety of programs to help people get and stay healthy and feel their best.
While Dr. Richeson focuses on wellness from a “structural” perspective (alignment of the spine), Mitze has been offering NutriMost, a weight-loss program supervised by her husband, for the past three years, Now, she’s pleased to announce the inception of Richeson Wellness, which will focus on nutrition and wellness through functional medicine (which is a medical practice that focuses on optimal body and organ function, generally through holistic treatments).
Dr. Richeson is a third-generation chiropractic physician who opened the practice in 2008, after eight years in his father’s practice in Gainesville. He earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Public Health from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond and his D.C. degree from Parker College in Dallas, TX, in 2000.
Mitze received her Certification as a Chiropractic Physician’s Assistant in 2013 from the Cleveland Chiropractic College, which is based in Cleveland, OH.
She is still offering NutriMost, a rapid weight-loss program that allows women to lose up to 25 pounds in 40 days (for men, it’s up to 40 pounds). It’s a national franchise with about 160 locations, with just three in the Tampa Bay area. Now, in addition to that intense weight-loss program, Richeson Wellness offers a different option for women and men whose bodies aren’t quite ready for the type of drastic lifestyle change that NutriMost requires.
“Some women and men do fantastic with NutriMost,” says Mitze, “but in some people, especially women, the program didn’t always work for them. They were frustrated, or felt lethargic, because their bodies weren’t ready to burn fat that rapidly, maybe because of thyroid issues, toxic liver (when the liver is inflamed by toxins), or adrenal (gland) fatigue. I started thinking that there’s got to be a better way for people in that category.”
Different Approaches For Different Needs
Mitze says that many people hear about NutriMost from friends and family who have had success with the program in other locations across the U.S., and find her through the NutriMost website. They come in for an initial consultation with either Mitze, or either of the office’s two health coaches — with Jill Fischer or Janine Kerschen.
After the consultation, the program includes weekly coaching sessions where participants are taught to eat healthy, whole foods. They are given a variety of natural appetite suppressants, using herbs and amino acids, and supplement support.
“Whatever area the body is weakened or lacking, we support those organs through specifically targeted supplements,” Mitze says, adding that NutriMost is a drastic program, and the body has to be healthy and functioning well for it to work properly.
Even at that first consultation, she explains, sometimes it’s obvious that NutriMost just isn’t the right fit.
“We know the red flags,” she says. “Sometimes, I’ve talked with a woman at her initial consultation and I have had to explain that NutriMost might not be the right fit for her.”
Mitze says she no longer has to tell people she can’t help them yet: “Now, I would recommend that people in that category do Richeson Wellness first.”
To prepare for the launch of Richeson Wellness, Mitze continued taking functional medicine classes and learning not only how to read and interpret blood work, but also the protocols that help balance the body.
“This new program begins with intense blood work to (see what it takes to) get the body in a state where it’s ready to handle rapid weight loss,” she says. “We can’t push your body to lose a pound a day if it’s too tired or just has other things it’s trying to do. It’s like carrying rocks in a backpack and adding a bowling ball.”
But, it works the other way, too.
“If someone calls me for Richeson Wellness and they just want to get 50 pounds off fast because they’re carrying too much weight, but they are otherwise healthy and their blood work is normal, then I’m going to recommend NutriMost.”
She adds that NutriMost, “is great because people get really great results really fast. With Richeson Wellness, we’re working on getting the body into focus first.”
She does that by starting with a comprehensive blood work-up, showing her clients how their bodies are out of balance, and then helping them gain control over their bodies through proper supplementation and good nutritional choices.
Mitze emphasizes that this blood work is much more comprehensive and will be better explained than what typically happens at most doctors’ offices.
“I’ve had so many clients bring their blood test results and tell me their doctor didn’t explain it,” Mitze says. “They tell me their doctor said, ‘Here’s your blood work, you’re fine,’ or ‘Here, now take this prescription.’ Then they leave with no real hope for resolution. They just do what they’re told.”
She says, in contrast, “We give a full, deep report of 17-25 pages that explains every marker in your blood tests, including (any) abnormalities (that could be affecting your ability to lose weight).”
Then, she takes the time to explain the entire report and what you can do to correct those abnormalities.
“When people understand what’s going on in their bodies, they are empowered to make improvements and take ownership of them,” Mitze says. “We want to educate and empower people to have control by how they’re eating.”
So, while NutriMost continues to help people who want to lose a significant amount of weight quickly — and are healthy enough to do so — Richeson Wellness will focus on each client’s overall wellness. Mitze says weight loss may be a natural byproduct of getting healthy, and working with her will set people up to be ready to lose weight once the initial program is complete.
“When the body gets into that balanced state, it starts losing weight naturally,” she says. “It might take 40 days to get to the point where your body is ready to lose weight. Then, once you get to that point, weight comes off pretty easily.”
Measurable Results
April Ray is a NutriMost client who started the program in January of this year. She says she wanted to lose 30 pounds and she did so, although it took her longer than 40 days.
“With the tools that NutriMost gives you, I have kept it off (for the last several months),” April says. “NutriMost is a new way of eating. I eat more calories and volume than what I used to eat before I went to NutriMost. It’s taught me how to combine protein, fats, and carbs in the right proportions, so I feel satisfied. I don’t feel like I’m starving, like on most diets.”
April, who is 59, says she loves the side effects of her new, healthier eating habits, too. “I don’t have to take any prescription medicine for cholesterol or high blood pressure, and I have a lot of energy,” she says. “A lot of women my age feel like they need to slow down, but I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. Before starting the program, I didn’t feel like exercising or doing anything, but now I have a lot more energy.”
Cypress Creek Chiropractic, Richeson Wellness and NutriMost are located at 2304 Crestover Ln. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (813) 241-7098 to reach the NutriMost staff or (813) 435-6643 to reach Mitze for Richeson Wellness. Also, visit RichesonWellness.com or search “Richeson Wellness” on Facebook.
