Hurricane Horrors & Feelings Of Helplessness; Plus, Teeghan Brightens My Day! 

As I am writing this, Category 5 Hurricane Milton is bearing down on Florida, but I was still two+ days from knowing exactly where it would hit and how bad things might get in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and my apartment near I-75 in Lutz. 

What I do know is that although Milton is taking a completely different track towards Florida than Hurricane Helene did, there is no doubt that another large swath of the Florida peninsula is about to take another direct hit from Mother Nature. 

And, based on what we saw with Helene, which devastated the Gulf coast from Ft. Myers to the Big Bend, that is just terrifying. 

The thing is, by the time you receive this issue in your mailbox, you’ll already know who got hit with the worst of Milton and what is being done to help those in that direct path survive and recover from what could be the strongest-ever hurricane to make landfall in U.S. history. 

And this time, folks like us who are 30 miles inland aren’t safe either. No, we won’t have to deal with storm surge, but we could certainly have localized flooding, possible long-term power outages, downed power lines, flying debris, etc. 

Even so, we probably will still be better off than those who live along either coast of the “Sunshine” State. Hopefully, our homes, apartments and businesses will hold up under a day or more of heavy wind and rain. This is not a case of “run from the water” for us; it’s a case of “hide from the wind.” 

But, that doesn’t mean that the uncertainty of it all isn’t still scary for us — especially anyone with young children or older relatives who end up in the teeth of the storm. 

After Helene — as I’m sure many of you did — I had these horrible feelings of both guilt and helplessness. I wanted to help those impacted by that brutal storm surge, but instead, I continued to do what I had to do to make a living, take care of my wife and make sure my kids were OK. 

And, while I hope to be in the same position after Milton is gone, I also desperately do not want to see those who already lost everything have to go through it all again. With so much debris already strewn all over Florida’s Gulf coast, to have to see that debris picked up by even stronger winds and turned into projectiles hitting the few coastal homes that made it through Helene without having to be torn down, is too horrifying for words. 

Although Jannah and I never lost power and had no damage or flooding from Helene, we saw a number of people lament on Facebook, especially in Wesley Chapel, that they did lose power for a few hours or even days. I also saw people who said those folks had no right to feel sorry for themselves, considering what people who live near the Gulf were going through. 

It’s always easy for anonymous people on social media to tell other people what they have a right to feel. If you’re safe and sound, despite losing power, it’s still scary until the lights come back on, especially if it’s your first time experiencing a major storm. And, if someone in your home is on dialysis or needs to have their CPAP machine working in order for them to sleep properly, that fear is compounded. In other words, while I feel horrible for everyone who is still suffering from Helene and whoever ends up going through that horror again with Milton, I would never tell someone who only lost power for a few days that they didn’t have the right to feel badly for themselves. 

But, while I felt guilty for not doing anything to help anyone else after Helene, I know there will be even more people needing even more help once Milton has left the building. 

Feel free to let me know what you or anyone you know did to help people during Helene’s aftermath and I would be happy to relay those stories to our readers so they can perhaps figure out for themselves what to do if and when the latest major storm is gone, the lights come back on and our homes and offices are still standing. 

One thing State Senator Danny Burgess (see story on pg. 8) says we can do is call 1-(833)-GET-HOPE to reach Hope Florida, which provides assistance to those in need and which facilitates the opportunity for those who can offer their assistance to do so. I plan to call immediately after I finish this issue because I am tired of feeling guilty and helpless when there probably are things I could be doing to help those who truly need it most right now. 

Thank You, Teeghan! 

On Oct. 2, a week after Helene hit, I received the sweetest email from a Wesley Chapel reader that truly brightened my day. 

The subject line read, “Everyone loves the Neighborhood News!” and the email said, “Hello Gary: My 8 year old granddaughter Teeghan put all our 2023/2024 issues in chronological order and I thought you might enjoy this pic from a pint-sized fan! — Sandy Carney 

Sometimes, the smallest things — like Teegan’s sweet smile as she posed with her chronologically-ordered copies of the Neighborhood News — can give you the biggest lift. 

I have thought about asking people to send me pictures with their copies of the paper so I could publish them, but for Teeghan and her grandmother to send this picture and email to me unsolicited truly touched my heart at a time when I really needed to smile. Thank you!

Blue Heron Senior Living Gets Ready To Expand Skilled Nursing Department 

(L.-r.) Executive Director Meagan Kopstad, Director of Admissions Melissa McDaniel, Community Relations Director Lilly Gonzalez and Assisted Living Administrator Courtney Dyer of Blue Heron Senior Living off Bruce B Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel invite you to check out the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel area’s only assisted living facility that also offers skilled rehab, long-term care & memory care. (Photos by Charmaine George)

Blue Heron Senior Living, located on Eagleston Blvd. off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Seven Oaks (near the new BayCare Wesley Chapel Hospital) is home to four distinct lifestyle communities. 

Community relations director Lilly Gonzalez explains, “We are the only community in the Wesley Chapel or New Tampa area that combines assisted living with memory care, skilled rehab and long-term care, all on one campus.” 

This allows people to move between areas as needed — whether that means aging in place in a move from an active assisted living lifestyle to memory care or long-term care, or moving from rehab back to home in assisted living. 

Blue Heron’s campus also is expanding, as a long-awaited new wing was supposed to be unveiled at a Grand Opening ceremony this Thursday, but has been postponed due to Hurricane Milton. We will post the rescheduled date on here as soon as it’s announced.

The expansion will add 35 skilled nursing rooms to its existing 106 rooms, bringing the total number of rooms to 141. Each room is private to accommodate one person who is either in long-term care (meaning they need more medical assistance than can be provided in the assisted living facility) or for rehabilitation, which is when someone needs care after leaving the hospital but before returning home. 

Edward Ley recently had hip replacement surgery and needed physical therapy before he could return to his home in Lutz. He chose Blue Heron for his rehab care. 

“The stay here has been far more than I ever expected,” Edward said. “The facility is great, but the rehab also has been really, really good.” 

He says he’s been so impressed with the quality of care he’s received that, once he’s released to return home and recover with in-home care, he plans to return for outpatient physical therapy. 

“I like these people,” he says. “They’re good at what they do.” 

Edward says his occupational and physical therapists recognized his love for golf and have worked with him on the facility’s putting green, making the therapy more fun and personal for him. He says his therapist sometimes even picks him up from his room with a cup of coffee for him in hand. 

Executive Director Meagan Kopstad says that with the growth in the area and a third hospital being added in Wesley Chapel (Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch), the need for rehab facilities and long-term care beds is significant. Meagan says she is excited for the new wing to open to accommodate more people who need those facilities. 

She’s also happy to have a new partner on board who is able to give additional attention to the assisted living side of the campus. 

In May, Assistant Living Administrator Courtney Dyer joined the team, bringing about 15 years of experience to the community. She was most recently the regional director of operations for a much larger company. 

Courtney says that what drew her to want to work at Blue Heron is the company’s care for people, both its residents and staff. 

“Our care is above and beyond a typical assistant living facility,” she says. “Our staffing ratios are way better than normal, and the quality of people and their length of employment is well above what’s typical.” 

Amenities & Activities 

Blue Heron’s assisted living community includes about 100 residents in studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental apartments (with no buy-in required). Some of the units have balconies that overlook a courtyard and pond, offering beautiful views. 

The main dining area serves up to three chef-prepared restaurant-style meals a day to residents. There is a resident exercise room, on-site salon for hair and nail appointments, community games such as BINGO and Bunko, live music, movies in the cinema and transportation provided to go to the local grocery store or to doctor appointments. 

What’s inside the building housing the new skilled nursing expansion at Blue Heron will be unveiled at an open-to-the-public event. 

The bustling activities are resident Beverly Fleming’s favorite thing about living at Blue Heron. “It’s where the action is,” Beverly says, “and it keeps me busy.” 

Beverly also says she enjoys playing games and being part of Blue Heron’s resident council, which chooses what activities will be offered for weekly outings. These outings could be shopping, a meal in a restaurant, or to go see a play. The group visited a winery recently, and loved it so much that they plan to go back. Beverly also got to attend her first Major League Baseball game — to see the Tampa Bay Rays play — and tried to take in the whole experience, including eating hot dogs in the stadium. 

Beverly says new experiences that might feel overwhelming are more comfortable with the Blue Heron staff who take them on these trips. 

“The people who drive us aren’t just drivers,” Beverly says. “If someone has trouble figuring out a tip or needs help ordering off a menu, they are there to help, and I’m so thankful for them.” 

Beverly also serves as a resident ambassador, helping to welcome a new resident to the community, giving them a tour of the building and sitting with them at meals until they get comfortable in their new home. 

“We have staff who help with that transition, of course,” Lilly notes, “but it’s nice to have a peer helper from a different perspective.” 

For Blue Heron residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, the community offers a separated, secured, but intimate Memory Care community, which allows those residents to thrive and not be overwhelmed. Offering a smaller home-like environment also ensures these residents receive the personalized attention and programming they deserve. 

The Memory Care community provides a supervised neighborhood for residents, while also allowing them to maintain some independence. 

For those who already live at Blue Heron, if skilled nursing or long-term care is needed, the transition to that care is seamless. It allows a husband or wife to visit their spouse with just a walk down the hallway when that spouse is in need of additional care — no need for transportation or spending long hours in an unfamiliar facility. 

For residents such as Beverly, Blue Heron is a place of joy that keeps her active and fulfilled. 

“This is a beautiful place, a lovely place to be,” she says, “and they really do take good care of you.” 

Blue Heron Senior Living is located at 5071 Eagleston Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, and its hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the weekends. For more information, call (813) 454-0513 or visit SeniorLivingAtBlueHeron.com. 

More Mansfield Blvd. Business Updates! 

The smaller dirt mound near Enterprise care rental on Mansfield Blvd. is expected to be home to a drive-through coffee shop & self-storage facility. (Photos by Joel Provenzano) 

If you thought we were done after last issue’s updates about some of the new businesses now open or still coming to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe (and Wiregrass Ranch), guess what? We’ve got quite a few more for you! 

Drive-Through Coffee & Self Storage 

Ever since the end of 2023, when a 400’ long and 25’ tall dirt mound, perfectly shaped like a car jumping ramp, appeared along Mansfield Blvd. in the dirt lot near the new Enterprise car rental place, bets could have been made that more than a few passing motorists probably envisioned what it would be like to take a Dukes of Hazard or Evel Knievel-style jump off the end of it. It was just beckoning. 

Well, if you didn’t do it — and we’re assuming no one did — you won’t get the chance again, as that dirt mound has been whittled away over the past few weeks and is being used to level out the rest of the roughly 21 acres of property owned by Wiregrass Ranch upon which it sits. The property is now being prepared for some new and future developments. 

On the 1.6 acres immediately adjacent to Enterprise, it’s been long rumored that a drive-through coffee shop, specifically Ziggi’s, was going there. That is still a possibility, as site plans for the coffee shop were approved by Pasco back in June of 2023, showing a 1,947-sq.-ft. building, plenty of parking (23 spaces), and a long drive-through lane that could handle a 14-car queue from the window, which would put most Starbucks to shame. 

It’s still not known for sure if Ziggi’s will still be the brand coming, or if what’s shown in the approved plan is what will be built at all. Time will tell after they’re done moving the dirt. Nothing else has been submitted yet for that parcel. 

On the remaining 19.30 acres, there’s only one other development currently being proposed — and it’s likely to be the subject of still more jokes on local Facebook pages — a 102,600-sq.-ft., 3-story self-storage facility on the southern half of the property, furthest away from Mansfield Blvd. (near the school access road). 

Plans for this storage facility were started months ago, but the most recent layout was submitted this month, making it a safe bet that this project is moving forward towards vertical construction. This would be the second self-storage place in Wiregrass Ranch, as a Morningstar storage (located behind the Audi dealership) opened in late 2018. 

On the northern half of the property (closest to Mansfield), no business development plans have yet been submitted to the county, so Wiregrass is likely just making it “pad-ready” for future development with all those bulldozers — where the land is compacted, graded (leveled), zoned & platted, with approvals and utilities ready to go. 

In these cases, specific building permits might be all that’s needed in the future. 

Bay Paws Pet Resort 

Back in our Apr. 16 issue, when we first announced Bay Paws Pet Resort was coming next to Wiregrass Ranch High, construction had not yet begun and building materials were being piled up behind a temporary chain link fence, in preparation for what will surely become a popular place for local pet owners. 

There’s been a lot of progress on the Bay Paws Pet Resort on Mansfield Blvd.

Those materials have now taken shape, and the 15,000-sq.-ft. pet resort is coming together at a fairly brisk pace, with substantial and visible progress being made every week. 

As the sign hanging outside states, Bay Paws will offer boarding, daycare and grooming on site (along with numerous other services). With it being located next to the schools, I’m sure many parents will be dropping off all their children (furry ones included) in one trip. The facility will offer a portal where customers can use cameras to monitor their pets throughout the day. 

In addition to the building, there’s also going to be a generous 17,375-sq.-ft., fenced-in “outdoor turf group play area” and, according to the recently created Bay Paws Wesley Chapel Facebook site, this outdoor area also will include a “state-of-the-art splash pad” (there’s a cute video of what that looks like, with dogs enjoying it, on the Facebook page), like the one at the new Bay Paws location that just opened in Trinity. The page also says that a “Fall of 2024”opening is planned, with the exact opening date still to be announced. 

MH Nail Studio 

Two suites down from the new Enterprise Car Rental, and also in front of Wiregrass Ranch High, is the recently opened MH Nail Studio. While this isn’t the first nail salon in Wiregrass, it is the first one centrally located and closest to all the neighborhoods surrounding Mansfield. 

The inside of the 1,800-sq.-ft. nail studio is a pleasant place to be, nice and bright (while still having soft lighting), with a very airy feeling, not too big or too small, with tall ceilings and everything appropriately spaced apart — MH has a well-executed and modern upscale layout with a welcoming staff. 

Originally planning to open in August, some delays ended up pushing the salon’s Grand Opening to Sept. 12. Owner/operator Rubin Bao said that he lives just outside of Wesley Chapel, but decided to start looking for a location in Wesley Chapel, specifically the Wiregrass area, because he saw it as a developing and expanding area poised for growth. 

Rubin explained that they signed this location in November of 2023 and had permits for construction in April of this year, and have worked diligently since then to get everything ready. Rubin credits his family and friends for helping him out, and getting him quickly past the learning curve of how to start and operate his very first Nail Studio. 

He also credits and appreciates his customers for getting word out about their opening and says that being right near multiple schools has worked out pretty well, as staff from those schools, including one of the principals, has visited and told others about their experience. 

And, since a lot of parents pick up their high schoolers from that plaza/gas station area, many have come in to check it out and decided to get their nails done together. He said it’s typically hard to find parking for about a 15-30-minute window each school day in the afternoon, but the exposure is a great upside! 

When asked if he knew what was coming to the empty suites on either side of his nail salon, Rubin stated that he heard one might be a ramen noodle place. We’ll see! 

Meadow Pointe II To Build On Empty Mansfield Blvd. Lot 

A game plan has been formulated, and preliminary designs are finally moving forward for the large empty grass lot next to the Kids R Kids Learning Academy, on the southeast corner of the signalized intersection for Mansfield Blvd. (photo below) and County Line Rd., directly across the street from the neighborhood CVS Pharmacy. 

This empty lot sits right in the heart of Meadow Pointe II, caddy-corner from the existing clubhouse, and is being planned as additional facilities for the community. 

Justin Wright, the operations manager for Meadow Pointe II, says that, “The plan is to build a multiuse building for Meadow Pointe II. There are no plans [drawings] at this time as we just selected an architect to start the design process.” 

The architect referred to will be Renker Eich Parks Architects, who were selected by community staff in August of this year. They are a local firm from St. Petersburg, who specialize in historic preservation and urban planning, but have done a number of public school and government building design projects, including for USF and the Pasco County School Board. 

According to Wright, the uses of the future space are being specifically envisioned for maintenance operations, meetings and staff office space. The target year for construction to begin is 2025, and the community has currently set aside $900,000 for the building. 

The additional land was purchased by Meadow Pointe II in November of 2018 from Trout Creek Properties for $850,000 (according to appraiser records). The total size of the parcel the community owns on that corner is now 5.32 acres, which includes the existing paved access road and the drainage pond behind (to the east of) Kids R Kids, and part of the wetland to the south. The buildable project area, that most residents see as the empty grass lot next to the signal, will be between 1.5-2 acres of the total 5.32 acres. 

This current proposal might be a relief to many who have seen this lot sit mostly empty for 25 years, except for some rubble/rock piles and the occasional semi-truck that used to park out there. 

The previous major proposal, that caused an uproar with the community residents in 2017-18, even leading to a signed petition against it and the eventual purchase of the property by Meadow Pointe II, was for a 7-Eleven gas station, which ended up going in front of Wiregrass Ranch High instead, at Mansfield and Hueland Pond Blvd., and which opened in 2022. 

Business Briefs — Defining Beauty Christens New Office & Many Chamber Ribbons Cut 

Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa owner and Family Nurse Practitioner Karma Nguyen (in gray) 
celebrated the Grand Opening of her new location in the New Tampa Prof. Ctr. in Pebble Creek by 
demonstrating how her Evolvex body sculpting/contouring machine works. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

It’s been another busy month+ for Grand Openings and North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) ribbon-cuttings in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. 

On Aug. 29, Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa officially oopened its new location — in the same New Tampa Professional Park off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Pebble Creek as before, but in a larger suite, so owner and Family Nurse Practitioner Karma Nguyen could better serve her growing number of patients and clients with more treatment rooms and more types of treatments available (as we told you about in our last issue). 

Grand Opening attendees got to see Karma demonstrate how her newest Evolvex body sculpting/contouring machine works and she also introduced permanent jewelry services and much more, as more than 50 of her patients, clients, friends and family were on hand to wish her well — and receive great “swag bags” and special offers on services. 

Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa is located at 8907 Regents Park Dr., Suite 330. For more info, call (813) 955-0408, or visit DefiningBeautyMedSpa.com. Memberships are available and members receive anniversary gifts and invitations to special events. 

Chamber Keeps Cutting Ribbons! 

As for who’s been cutting North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbons recently, on Aug. 22, our friends and local Realtors Chad and April Emory officially celebrated the Grand Opening of their Emorys Rock Realty, in one of the biggest Chamber ribbon-cutting events we’ve been to recently. 

Broker Chad Emory (with scissors) and his wife and fellow Realtor April (in front in white) celebrated the Grand Opening of their Emorys Rock Realty on Aug. 22. (Photo by Gary Nager) 

More than 100 people were on hand at the Signature Workspace in The Shops at Wiregrass to celebrate with Chad, the firm’s Broker, and April. They served delicious food from Rock & Brews, Falabella Family Bistro, Bubba’s 33, Texas Roadhouse and Main Event. 

Chad and April also thanked their family and friends — Mackenzie Maldonado for the beautiful balloon arrangements for the event, Vanessa Suarez for the stunning floral arrangements, Radiant Wellness Spa, AdventHealth Center Ice, Lisa Moore from the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa- Wesley Chapel (who helped plan their event) and the Hampton Inn & Suites, as well as Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy for her warm introduction. The Emorys also thanked their real estate team members Michelle Leann, Amanda Downing and Vanessa Suarez. 

It’s hard to believe that the Emorys could take enough time out from being at literally every Chamber ribbon cutting and every event throughout the Wesley Chapel and surrounding areas to plan, much less host, such a spectacular event. Congrats, you two! 

Emorys Rock Realty is located at 28210 Paseo Dr. For more information, visit EmorysRockRealty.com or call (813) 404-2286. 

Chiropractic Physicians Dr. Abigail & Dr. Thomas Farrar (both holding scissors) of Eden Chiropractic in the Brookside Professional Park on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel cut their Chamber ribbon on Sept. 5. 

We also want to congratulate Eden Chiropractic (in the Brookside Professional Park off S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel) owners and chiropractic physicians Abigail and Thomas Farrar, for hosting another well-attended North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 5. 

The doctors Farrar turned their Grand Opening into a fun scavenger hunt and gave away raffle tickets for a number of great prizes to those who completed a row of a Bingo card. 

Eden Chiropractic specializes in the Gonstead Method, created by renowned chiropractor Clarence Gonstead in the 1920s. The Gonstead Method (or Technique) focuses on how a patient’s nervous system is functioning to better determine the underlying cause of misalignments in the neck using X-rays and other instrumentation, as well as hands-on palpations and visualization. Eden Chiropractic provides chiropractic services for adults, children, women who are pregnant and even for women who are trying to get pregnant. 

For more information about Eden Chiropractic (29141 Chapel Park Dr.), call (813) 815-8135 or visit EdenChiropracticFL.com. 

Dr. Karan (left) & Dr. Agam Patel (both holding scissors) cut a ribbon at Palm Endovascular on Sept. 18. 

Next up was the Chamber ribbon-cutting at the new Palm Endovascular medical office, located at 2344 Crestover Lane, in the Cypress Ridge Professional Park (behind Pet Paradise) on the north side of S.R. 56. 

Palm Endovascular combines the talents of renowned interventional cardiologist Dr. Agam Patel and radiologist Dr. Karan Patel, at a unique facility where minimally invasive outpatient vascular disease surgeries that normally would have to be done at a hospital can be done in the office’s surgery center — without having to visit a hospital — thanks to its cutting-edge technology. Among the conditions the doctors Patel can treat include peripheral arterial disease, varicose veins, deep vein and uterine thromboses, spinal compression fractures and more. 

For more information, call (813) 563- 0917 or visit PalmEndovascular.com. 

Embodhi Medspa 

Then, on Sept. 19, Family Nurse Practitioner Aimee Talbot, MSN, APRN, FNP-C (right), cut an NTBC ribbon at her new Embodhi Integrative Wellness & Medspa, located at 16007 N. Florida Ave. (just north of Bearss Ave.) in the Magnolia Center in Lutz. 

At her event, Aimee said she currently is focusing on Botox® and fillers, but she also will be adding direct integrative primary care, hormone optimization, medical weight loss, and IV therapy services as Embodhi grows. The Embodhi website says that, ““Our mission is rooted in the belief that Divine Health is our inherent state, accessible to all.” 

For more information, call (813) 252-7633 or visit Em-bodhi.com. — GN