Day: November 5, 2018

Learn About A Natural, ‘Green’ Burial At Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery

When Amy Morrow’s mom passed away a few months ago, she says it was the darkest time in her life.

In the midst of her pain, Amy found peace and beauty at Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery.

Located on 41 acres of serene, old Florida woods bordering the 18,000-acre Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Preserve in Trinity, just a short drive west of Wesley Chapel, the body of Amy’s mom, Lisa Weir, was laid to rest in a natural, “green” burial.

“It was the worst point in my entire life,” says Amy, “but Laura and Diana were amazing, and the site itself is just glorious.”

Laura Starkey is the founder and executive director of Heartwood Preserve, and Diana Sayegh is the manager.

Laura grew up on the land that is now Heartwood Preserve and the adjoining wilderness preserve, back when it was all part of her family’s expansive cattle ranch.

Heartwood Preserve was Laura’s idea. One of just a few conservation cemeteries in the entire state of Florida, Heartwood Preserve provides environmentally-friendly options for people looking for a more natural burial.

“Not only are we are providing a natural burial option for those who don’t want all the fancy bells and whistles of a modern burial with an expensive casket and vault,” Laura explains, “but we’re also really contributing to the permanent conservation of this ecosystem. We are both literally and figuratively becoming part of this land.”

Amy says it was the perfect option for her “hippie” mom. She says her mom didn’t have many requests for her funeral, except that she wanted those who attended to wear bright colors, and she wanted Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” to be played while her body was carried.

Heartwood Preserve was happy to accommodate her requests.

“If green burial were a person, it would be my mother,” says Amy. “If Heartwood Preserve were a person, it would be my mother. It felt so peaceful and right to place my mother at Heartwood Preserve.”

Saving Florida’s Land
First and foremost, the cemetery is about conserving the precious longleaf pine flatwoods and cypress dome wetlands ecosystems of the preserve.

“We invite people to come and take a walk or a hike and get some fresh air,” Diana says. “You can park for free, use our picnic benches, and experience nature. There are woodpeckers, owls and butterflies, and we have free events, such as silent meditation walks, yoga and even frog-listening events. This place is gorgeous, and we want the community to experience it.”

Laura explains that using the land as a conservation cemetery is a tool that will allow it to be preserved forever.

“Land conservation is kind of tricky,” she says. “Sometimes, you think you just buy the land and hold on to it, but you have to manage it and maintain it, including controlled burns, managing invasive species and different things you have to do to keep it healthy and protected. I am always looking for tools to do that. Sometimes land may become a state or county park, but there are other ways to do that, too.”

She explains that there are layers of protection in place to ensure that Heartwood Preserve will always remain a natural burial preserve, with no above-ground burials, such as in a mausoleum, and a lower density than a traditional cemetery. In addition, when someone purchases a space at Heartwood Preserve, a portion of that fee goes to permanently protecting that ecosystem.

Heartwood Preserve doesn’t allow embalming or vaults, neither of which are required by law. “The full body can be placed into the ground, wrapped in a shroud or buried in a biodegradable, natural casket,” Diana explains. “We also allow cremated remains to be buried directly in the ground or in a biodegradable urn, but we don’t scatter ashes.”

2nd Birthday Celebration!
On Saturday, November 3, Heartwood Preserve celebrated the two-year anniversary of its opening with an Open House celebration, featuring family-friendly crafts, games and, of course, a birthday cake.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for brand-new Welcome Center that will soon be built.

The Welcome Center will be the new permanent home for Heartwood’s offices, which have been housed in a temporary mobile office trailer for the past two years. Laura says the building will be energy-efficient and will include offices, bathrooms, a reception area and a meeting room where families may hold celebrations of life or other small-to-medium sized gatherings.

Since opening in 2016, Heartwood Preserve has held 16 burials, including six full-body burials and 10 cremation burials.

The number of people pre-planning for a burial at Heartwood Preserve continues to grow. Diana says Heartwood Preserve allows for such pre-planning, which sets it apart from other conservation cemeteries in Florida.

“Like making a will, pre-planning for your cremation or burial is a gift to your family,” says Diana. “Your family is not left with the burden of the cost or the decision making. They have peace of mind for when that time comes.”

Amy Morrow is grateful that her mom did just that at Heartwood Preserve. “I’ve been to a lot of funerals,” Amy says. “Death is a hard thing, but for me, this was so much more relaxed and easier to deal with.”

Amy says burial at Heartwood Preserve goes along with many trends today of people trying to live more natural lives.

“Going directly back into Mother Earth is appealing to a lot of people,” she says. “I know it is to me.”

Laura and Diana encourage anyone who is interested to call to arrange a private tour of Heartwood Preserve. While visitors are always welcome, they can give you personal attention if an appointment is made in advance.

Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery is located at 4100 Starkey Blvd. The gates are open Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Sun.

For more information or to schedule an in-person appointment to discuss burial at Heartwood Preserve, call (727) 376-5111, or visit HeartwoodPreserve.com.

cemetary Heartwood Preserve

Mike Moore Running On His Record

If you’re looking for a reason to vote for Mike Moore, he can give you many.

But, where he starts is pretty simple – his last campaign.

When the Seven Oaks resident first ran for the then-open District 2 seat on the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in 2014, he promised that he would 1) fight for increased funding for law enforcement to keep citizens and schools safe and secure, 2) he would promote industry and jobs, and 3) he would focus on transportation.

“We’ve accomplished all those things,” he says, proudly.

Moore, a Republican who is looking to retain his seat against Democrat Kelly Smith in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6, has represented almost all of Wesley Chapel on the BCC during its most tumultuous and expansive time. The area has continued to transform itself since he was elected, and he said he is proud of his role in promoting the things that he says make Wesley Chapel a desirable place to live, work and play.

“Before I ran for office, I was just like anyone else — a small business owner who lived in the community, raising a family,” says Moore, who lives in Seven Oaks with his wife Lauren and their three children. “I think a few of the things that were important to me were important to the citizens, and continue to be important to the citizens in 2018.”

Active in the community – he still coaches flag football at the Wesley Chapel District Park (WCDP) and rarely misses a public event or ribbon cutting in our area —Moore said what has made his tenure on the BCC an effective one is listening.

He has supported small projects, like helping local cricket enthusiasts find a place to play or pushing for traffic signals in neighborhoods, to big projects like the “connected city” project that has led to the country’s first-ever Crystal Lagoons® amenity in Epperson, or the Wiregrass Sports Complex that is currently under construction.

“There’s nothing too big or too small,” Moore says. “We’re a very diverse community. What’s important to one person may not be to the next person, but they’re all important issues.”

Topping the list, according to Moore, is public safety, and he stands by his — and the current commission’s — record of supporting first-responder needs in Pasco County.

“Public safety is definitely number one,” Moore says. “People want to be safe and secure.”

To fulfill that need, the Pasco County BCC last month approved a Fiscal Year 2019 budget that allocates 25.7 percent of total expenditures to public safety. That amounts to $232,689,204 out of $905,109,906 in total expenditures, making public safety the single largest expenditure in the FY 2019 budget.

Last October, Moore was endorsed by Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Born in St. Petersburg, Moore grew up in Winter Haven before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio & Television from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He started a homecare agency that provided home healthcare to seniors and the disabled in 2004, before selling it in 2011, and he owned a business brokerage and mergers and acquisition firm before selling that in 2015.

It was his time as a small business owner that Moore says began to spark his interest in politics. “When I was doing that, I realized how much government affected our day-to-day lives,” Moore says, referring to regulations he says can suffocate small business owners. “When I started having children, you really realize how much government affects your everyday life.”

Moore became more engaged with the local community, he says, supporting candidates and volunteering for campaigns, most notably for Republican Will Weatherford, the former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.

“My interest in politics was gradual, but you don’t just jump in because, ‘Hey, I want to run for office,’” Moore says. “There has to be a message, a thought that you can make a difference. Then, you need to get involved in the community, and truly spend time there so you can understand the issues and what you can do to make things better before you can run.”

And, Moore says he did just that, building relationships and listening to fellow members at the former Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (now the North Tampa Bay Chamber) and Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, and being active in the community. He won his first election in 2014 with 58.9 percent of the vote.

“I got a lot of support in Wesley Chapel (where he received 55 percent of votes cast),” Moore says. “I was grateful for that.”

Moore cites a number of projects that the county has undergone since he’s been on the BCC — a blight ordinance, which has helped clean up Pasco County; a host of flooding issues on the west coast; the whirlwind growth in Wesley Chapel; and a number of traffic issues (like the widening of S.R. 56, the diverging diamond interchange at the S.R. 56 exit off I-75 and the proposed I-75 interchange at Overpass Rd.) – and his stalwart stance that Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe II should not be connected to Kinnan St. in New Tampa.

Moore, who has to make decisions that affect all of Pasco County, not just Wesley Chapel, thinks his resume the last four years fulfills what he promised to voters. And, he says those who decide to vote for him again can expect more of the same.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished the last four years,” Moore says. “I think I’ve done a great job of listening to citizens. In fact, a lot of the things I bring to (the BCC) come from the citizens. I think we’ve accomplished a lot.”

He says the most challenging part of his job is finding a balance between being a commissioner and his family, which can be difficult with all the events and meetings Moore attends.

He still manages to get his family away for vacations, often camping and fishing trips, in the family’s motor home. His daughter’s horse shows and competitions keep him busy, as does coaching flag football.

When it’s time for work, though, he operates on a simple premise.

“In the end, you have to make decisions that you feel are best for everyone,” Moore says. “Do what you think will be best as a whole, now and 20 years down the road.”

Pebble Creek’s Karen Perez Is Running For Hillsborough School Board Dist. 6

The difference that a good learning environment can make to a child is a lesson Karen Perez says she learned when her family moved to Tampa from Brooklyn, NY, so she could attend a safer high school (King High, on N. 56th St. in Tampa).

As one of two candidates in the run-off for the Hillsborough County School Board District 6 county-wide race, the Pebble Creek resident, who has been endorsed by previous HCSB District 6 seat holder April Griffin, says that ensuring today’s students have that same opportunity to get a good education without distractions, such as school violence, is what she wants to achieve as a School Board member.

“I was able to go to high school here in Tampa and I was able to focus on my education and not have to worry about the crime. What is ironic is, what I experienced at 16 in New York, is now something that students nationwide are experiencing.”

What also has changed, according to Perez, is the nature of some problems, like bullying, that have been around for decades, but which have taken on new meaning in the Digital Age, where rumors and gossip can spread far and wide very quickly.

“Before, it was between you and the bully,” Perez says. “But now, because of social media, it’s cyberbullying.”

Perez adds that signs of the need for mental health support in schools include that fact that more and younger children are committing suicide, rather than dealing with the challenges that life presents to them.

“The mental health piece in these children’s lives is at a critical point,” she says. “We need to address this with our children.”

Perez has insight to issues related to mental health. She followed up her graduation from King High by earning her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees from the University of South Florida and building her private Tampa practice, the Embracing Changes Center for Mental Wellness.

She also is a primary social worker at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.

Perez says her 17 years of experience as a mental health professional will bring a new and much-needed perspective to the School Board, which is responsible for ensuring the success and safety of more than 200,000 students in 250-plus schools in the eighth-largest school district in the U.S., while dealing with issues ranging from broken air conditioners to finding enough bus drivers.

“When you have an education board that has members on it with the same mindset, everybody’s looking through the same lens and everybody’s coming toward a problem with the same tools, everybody’s going to come up with the same conclusion,” Perez says. “When you have someone that’s thinking outside the box…you get a different viewpoint.”

Another way Perez, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the School Board in 2006, wants to bring diverse perspectives to the school district’s operations and possibly stretch resources, is by working with people and businesses who want to be involved in helping to educate the community’s children.

“There is so much collaboration we could be doing,” says Perez, who has lived in New Tampa for 18 years and has raised two daughters and a son, all of whom are now either working in or pursuing professions of their own.

After nearly two decades living in the local community, Perez has become known to her neighbors, like Ann Green, who says Perez is accessible and committed to supporting others in achieving their goals.

“Karen is a great listener,” Green says. “Her ears and heart are always turning to help people and when she says she’s willing to do something, she’ll do it no matter what.”

Opposing Perez in the General Election on Tuesday is Henry “Shake” Washington, a retired Hillsborough School District educator who touts his 42 years of experience with the school district.

Washington began his career with the district as an instructional assistant and came up through the system to work as a teacher, principal and area superintendent for Hillsborough County schools.

Among the positions Washington’s campaign promotes on its website (ShakeforSchoolBoard.com) are strong oversight and accountability of the School District’s finances and putting more emphasis on learning skills and course content in the classroom, instead of standardized test preparation. The District 6 at-large seat is currently held by April Griffin, who decided not to run for reelection. Griffin has endorsed Perez to succeed her.

Perez ran for State House in 2006, winning her primary with 62 percent of the vote before falling in the General election to Ed Homan.

hillsborough county hillsborough county school board hillsborough county schools pebble creek

So Many Amendments…Do We Really Know How To Vote On Them?

Even though Florida has a hotly contested race for both Governor and the U.S. Senate coming up in the General Election tomorrow, I honestly can’t imagine that too many of us are actually looking forward to casting ballots this time around.

Why?

Well, mid-term elections are always a hit-and-miss proposition, but for the residents of New Tampa — who will pick three new Hillsborough County commissioners and a new School Board member — I have to think that, like me, some of you are so confused by all of the constitutional amendments on the ballot that you may choose to stay home instead of trying to really figure out how you should vote on some, if not most, of them.

Even though I have a four-year college degree from the University of Florida and I’ve been a professional writer and editor for more than 35 years, it seems to me that the wording of all proposed amendments to our state constitution are designed to confuse us, which makes filling in those “No” spaces hard to resist.

So, here’s a look at just a few of the 12 amendments on the ballot — because I personally may not get very far before I just start voting no on all of them. I mean, should it really take me a half hour or more, not including waiting on line time, just to vote?

Let’s start with Amendment 1 — Increased Homestead Property Tax Assessment, which grants an additional $25,000 homestead exemption for homes valued over $125,000. Owners of homes worth more than $100,000 would also receive an increase in their exemption.

If that’s the case, why don’t they just say it’s an additional exemption for homes worth more than $100,000?

On the surface, this seems like a no-brainer. After all, who wouldn’t want an additional homestead exemption?

On the other hand, groups like Florida Tax Watch, the League of Women Voters (LOWV) and others oppose it because it would take about $700 million a year out of the pockets of Florida’s cities, counties and other taxing authorities (although it wouldn’t affect school districts), starting in 2019, according to the Florida Association of Counties.

The LOWV says the likely result will be cuts in services or higher local tax rates to make up for the revenue losses, or possibly both.

OK, so how about Amendment 2 — Limitations on Property Tax Assessments?

In 2008, Florida voters amended the state Constitution to provide a 10-percent cap on annual property value increases for non-homestead property. This includes vacation homes, apartment buildings, vacant land, shopping centers and office buildings. The amendment excluded limits on assessments for school taxes.

However, the 2008 amendment on non-homestead property value limits is scheduled to automatically repeal on Jan. 1, 2019. Amendment 2, placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature, would make the 10-percent limit on property value permanent (a legislative analysis of the proposal is here).

Like the 2008 amendment, Amendment 2 would exclude local school district taxes from the property value limits. The limits also do not apply if the property changes hands or if it undergoes substantial improvements. In other words, if a store is built on a piece of vacant land, the property value increase would not be protected by the 10-percent limit.

Florida Tax Watch supports this amendment but the LOWV is opposed to it.

Amendment 3 — Voter Control of Gambling In Florida — is an interesting one created by a citizen initiative, that would require approval of any new casino gambling through a citizen-initiative constitutional amendment, effectively barring the Legislature (as well as the Constitutional Review Commission, or CRC) from making those gambling decisions by passing laws. The interesting thing is that the new law would not affect the state’s ability to negotiate with Native American-owned casinos (like the Seminole Hard Rock here in Tampa) or dog- or horse-racing or the state lottery.

Because it puts the decision-making power for new casinos into the hands of Florida’s residents, both Tax Watch and the LOWV support Amendment 3, although a spate of recent TV ads would tell you that it wouldn’t actually help the average Florida resident much, if at all.

Another one that has gotten a lot of attention is Amendment 4 — Voting Restoration. This amendment would restore the voting rights of convicted felons (excluding those convicted of murder and felony sex crimes) who have served their time and paid their restitution without the current 5-7-year waiting period.

Again, this seems like a fair law, especially in light of statistics quoted by the LOWV (which helped write the amendment) that the recidivism rate for those who have had their voting rights restored goes down by 30 percent.

It seems to me that those who have served time for felonies may have more important things on their plate — like finding a job, getting back to normalcy with their families, etc. — than whether or not they should vote, but this one at least seems to make sense.

I also think that constitutional amendments are important enough that legislators shouldn’t be able to tack unrelated issues onto them. For example, is Amendment 6 about the rights of crime victims or the retirement age of judges? And how are those two things related?

Yeesh.

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Seven Things To Know Before Voting Today

The Washington Post recently published a story about a study that concluded that 25 percent of college students may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the 2016 election.

After checking to make sure it wasn’t actually a story from “The Onion,” only one conclusion can possibly be drawn from the study: You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Take a look around, people. These are crazy times. Bipartisanship and civility have been washed away by a flood of hate and conspiracies spewed on Twitter and Facebook, and depending upon your point of view — which is likely partisan and unbending — you’d probably say the same political bile also shows up on cable stations like FOX and CNN as well.

It’s ugly out there. Ugly, and sad.

Even so, here’s the seven things you need to know for Nov. 6:

1. National politics is a war zone these days — the 2020 election is going to be off the chain bonkers and drive us all insane, promise! — but don’t let it get you down. Remember, local politics, while not nearly as sexy, thrilling and cable-TV worthy, is where you can see real differences made in your community.

Guess what? Neither Mariella Smith nor Victor Crist are going to ever vote on President Donald Trump’s wall. Ken Hagan won’t get to help pick the next Supreme Court justice. Fentrice Driskell isn’t going to fix immigration, and Angela Birdsong, as far as we know, isn’t going to fix the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

What the local candidates who end up winning in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6, can do, however, is help fix our roads and solve our traffic issues, make our schools better and safer, keep our police and firefighters paid and help spur improvements in our local neighborhoods.

Do you think Trump or any senator has ever heard of Bruce B. Downs?

Don’t B. Silly. (sorry)

Focus and do your part to put the right people who you think can help your community the most into office on Tuesday.

2. Maybe if there was more polling on local races, there would be more interest, but know this — the most interesting race in our area is likely to be Driskell, potentially a rising star in the Democratic Party, vs. Republican incumbent Shawn Harrison, for the State House District 63 seat.

The seat, in a word, could be “flip-a-licious.”

Harrison won the District comfortably in 2010, lost it to Democrat Mark Danish in 2012 by 728 votes, reclaimed it from Danish in 2014 by 2,381 votes, and in 2016 held off Democratic challenger and fellow former Tampa City Council member Lisa Montelione by 1,363 votes.
In a district with more registered Democrats than Republicans, and potentially a prevailing wind at the backs of Democrats, the candidates are likely to be separated by a small margin of votes.

An SEA Polling & Strategic Design survey commissioned by Florida Democrats in September gave Harrison a 45-39 advantage, but voters with the highest level of interest tabbed Driskell by a 58-41 advantage.

If the blue wave is a real thing — and national polling suggests it might be — Driskell has a chance to flip the seat again.

3. Longtime Tampa Palms resident and Republican Victor Crist, who is term-limited out of his current District 2 seat, which covers New Tampa, on the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, is running for the District 5 county-wide seat. He also could be in trouble.

Democrat Mariella Smith, a local businessman woman and activist, has been able to keep fundraising pace with Crist, and is viewed as a serious threat to the continuation of his political career.

“It’s close. It’s really, really close,” Crist said this week when asked how the campaign was going.

4. Even though it’s a non-presidential year, the 2018 ballot is fire when it comes to statewide races.

It is topped by a number of key hotly-contested races that have transcended being merely statewide races — outgoing Republican Governor Rick Scott is trying to send longtime Democratic senator Bill Nelson into retirement, and if you haven’t found the Ron DeSantis-Andrew Gillum race for Governor entertaining, then you are just not paying attention. Which you should be.

Who do you want in control when the next hurricane or other natural disaster slams into Florida?

5. Your ballot this year has 12 amendments on it.

Twelve!

There’s not enough room to break them all down, but here’s a pro-tip: take a little time to dig them up on the web and read up on each before you show up to vote.

Some of the more discussed amendments, which require 60 percent of the vote to pass, are:

Amendment 1 — You can vote yes for an additional $25,000 homestead exemption for homes valued over $125,000, but that’s going to cut into your city and county money pot and could lead to cuts in services or even higher local tax rates.

Amendment 4 — Vote yes to grant felons — but not those convicted of murder or felony sex crimes — the right to vote after they have served their time. Vote no to make them keep waiting a minimum of five years before they can even apply to appeal those voting rights.

Amendment 13 — A vote yes would ban all dog racing in Florida by Dec. 31, 2020 (although the dog tracks would be allowed to continue to operate card rooms and slot machines). Vote no to let the dog racing continue.

(Note: Amendment 8 was stricken from the ballot by the Florida Supreme Court)

6. There are two referendums on the ballot in New Tampa, one for transportation and another for education.

The transportation referendum would increase Hillsborough’s sale tax by a penny for 30 years, generating $300 million a year. The money has been earmarked for road improvements and public transportation enhancements, and will be carefully managed by an oversight committee. Say what you will about the increase, but a solid, carefully thought out plan is certainly deserving of the voters’ consideration.

The same goes for the education referendum, which would impose a half-cent sales tax increase, but an aggressive marketing plan presented at a series of town halls, as well as a list of improvements the money will be spent on, appears well-reasoned.

Both referendums will be enticing to voters frustrated by Tampa Bay’s woeful transportation issues and schools that seem to be falling apart.

However, while organizers of both groups insist they aren’t hurting the other, voting for what is effectively two tax increases might be a tough pill for many locals to swallow.

7. Blue wave, red wave, no wave, grab your surfboard and get out there on Tuesday and vote.

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