John Gant [MLB.com photo]Former Wiregrass Ranch High star right-handed pitcher John Gant will make his first major league start today, and it won’t be an easy one.
Gant is scheduled to face lefty John Lester and the first-place Chicago Cubs Sunday at Turner Field. The Cubs, managed by former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, are 42-18, the best record in baseball.
The game is at 1:35 p.m. and can be seen on WGN-TV.
Gant, 23, has been back-and-forth this season between Triple A Gwinnett and Atlanta, having been recalled four times, including twice this week.
In seven relief appearances with the Braves this season, he has a 6.17 ERA, but in seven starts at Gwinnett he was 3-0 with a 3.15 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 43 innings.
Gant, who was 6-0 with a 1.9o ERA as a senior at Wiregrass Ranch in 2011, was drafted in the 21st round by the New York Mets. He was traded in 2015 to the Braves — his favorite team as a boy — and has moved up Atlanta’s minor league ladder swiftly.
I’m always proud to be a member of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, which meets Wednesdays at noon at Quail Hollow Country Club, but never more so than I was on May 21, when the club hosted its first-ever Duck Derby, held at Lake Padgett behind Hungry Harry’s BBQ off U.S. 41 in Land O’Lakes.
Almost 200 people turned out to see if the ducks they purchased for $5 apiece (or “flocks” of 25 for $100; more than 2,000 total ducks were purchased and numbered) would win one of the event’s almost 70 prizes.
But, the thing I was proudest of was that this event — which now looks as though it will join the club’s annual Adult Spelling Bee as a major fund raiser — grew into something amazing out of an idea brought up by club member John Jay (the DJ, at left in center photo below) and run with by club members Vicki Hamilton, Chris Casella and Jodie Sullivan of Fun Services/Funtastic Events, whose company also was the Big Bird ($4,500) Sponsor for this first annual Duck Derby.
The first duck to finish the “race” was purchased by club members Brian and Isabelle Dunleavy, who won a $2,500 cash prize, a portion of which they announced they would donate to The Joshua House, a local “safe haven for children in need.”
Even after deducting the Dunleavys’ top prize, the club was thrilled to raise more than $6,000 net, which will be donated to the Rotary’s selected nonprofit organizations.
Among the other top prizes was an all-day fishing expedition for five people, a stay at Saddlebrook Resort (donated by club member Alexis Dempsey, see story on pg. 10), a fishing rod handmade by club member and Duck Derby logistics expert (and kayaking rescuer) Jimmy Mason, and a free $400 ad donated by this publication, which was won by club member, Rubber Ducky Sponsor and Cash 4 Gold owner Trevor Campbell. For more info, visit WCRotary.org. — GN
According to her mom, Symone Stanley came into the world ready to achieve great things. One of those big things was being named Class of 2016 valedictorian at Wesley Chapel High.
From the moment Wesley Chapel High (WCH) senior Symone Stanley entered the world, her mother, Angella Jones, thought big things would come her way. There was just something about the way she looked.
One of those big things happened last month: Symone was named WCH’s Class of 2016 valedictorian.
“When she was born, there is a picture of her when she was two days old,’’ Angella says. “She was so alert. Her eyes were wide open, she was looking around like she was looking for something. This must be one of the things she was looking for.”
Symone, 18, and her fellow WCH seniors graduated last week at the University of South Florida Sun Dome, and she left at the top of her class, after posting a 4.64 weighted grade point average.
Symone gave the traditional speech, which she admitted she was nervous about. However, she is thrilled to have accomplished one of her biggest goals.
“I was pretty excited when I found out,’’ Symone says. “My freshman and sophomore year I didn’t really even know much about it, but after I found out my junior year that me and a few other people were tied, I figured I might as well go for it.”
While Symone may not have been specifically going for valedictorian in her early days at Wesley Chapel, she was indirectly, according to Angella.
Always a top student, Angella says her daughter has always strived to be No. 1 in whatever she did.
While at Thomas E. Weightman Middle School, Symone was already taking high school math classes, which led to AP classes in high school, giving her the edge over other students.
Angella says she never pushed her daughter, and sometimes would even ask her to slow down and dial it back when night turned into morning and Symone was still hitting the books.
“My mom (Symone’s grandmother) was living with us and she would get up at 3 a.m. to take her medicine late at night, and Symone would be sitting in the middle of the floor, with her books all around her, studying,’’ Angella says.
“I always told her you have to work hard for what you get, because no one is going to bring it to you. Sometimes I’ll tell her to go to bed, and she’ll say, ‘I’m just working hard.’”
Symone, however, says her mother never pushed her too hard. When the pressure to be valedictorian started to build, it was Angella who told her daughter it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she didn’t finish first.
“But, I’m pretty self-motivated,’’ says Symone, who also was accepted into USF and Florida State University but will attend the University of Florida in Gainesville.
That’s the way Symone has always been, Angella says. When she was six months old, Angella remembers being at her brother’s house and Symone was entranced as she watched a VHS tape that was playing Mozart with a ball bouncing along each note as the song played. Symone turned around to the adults talking over the music, and sighed. Then, she went back to watching the television. “She couldn’t talk, but she voiced her displeasure,’’ Angella says, laughing.
Symone, who enjoys rollerblading, rock climbing and being outdoors, says she is thinking about studying to be an occupational therapist.
At WCH, Symone volunteered at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and with Special Olympics and special needs children, while also being a member of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club. A member of the National Spanish Honor Society and the student government as well, Symone says she was able to balance extracurricular activities with academic pursuits by finding the right balance by fitting online courses at Pasco Hernando State College into her schedule.
Not much of a public speaker, Symone fretted over her valedictorian speech. Relatives traveled from New York, Texas, Atlanta and Orlando to watch her receive top honors.
Angella was nervous for her daughter. However, Symone nailed the speech.
“I’ll never forget her first year of school, her kindergarten teacher told me, “When Symone digs her heels into the sand, all bets are off,’’ Angella says. “I’ll never forget it. When Symone says she is going to do something, it’s done.”
The days of housing communities in Florida being built around golf courses designed by PGA professionals could be numbered, judging by the level of excitement created by news that a Crystal Lagoon — first announced nearly two years ago — is finally ready to break ground in Wesley Chapel.
In the planning stages since an official announcement in November of 2014, the construction of the first-ever man-made lagoon in the U.S. is expected to be the knockout amenity offered by the $100-million residential development which will be called Epperson in Wesley Chapel.
Epperson, which is part of the Tampa-based Metro Development Group’s “Connected City” project that will have approximately 2,000 home sites, is located north of the Bridgewater community on Curley Rd. north of S.R. 54. Homes are already being built and Metro expects to have lots available by the fall.
There is no date yet for the completion of the lagoon, but expect it to happen sometime in 2017.
The original Epperson Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) has been dormant for years, after the original developer (Lennar Homes) sold the property to Metro in 2007, just before Pasco County’s housing market collapse.
The 8-acre (nearly 350,000 sq. ft.) lagoon was originally announced for Park Place, which has since been renamed Epperson to honor the legacy of the Epperson family, which previously owned the land.
The original plan to break ground in 2015 was held up by permitting issues, particularly approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, delaying the project.
Renderings of the lagoon show a spectacularly blue body of water large enough for kayaking, paddle boarding and small human-powered boats, with sand beaches and a recreation area. “An idyllic beach paradise,’’ says the Crystal Lagoons website.
“The Lagoon, roughly the length of five football fields, will have crystal-clear turquoise water and will be surrounded by a sandy beachfront,’’ said Kyle Parks of St. Petersburg-based B2 Communications, which does public relations for Metro, in an email.
A huge get for Wesley Chapel, Crystal Lagoons was founded in 2007 by Chilean biochemist-turned real estate developer Fernando Fischmann, who created a system based on pulses and ultra sonic filtration that can take virtually any kind of water and purify and maintain it at a low cost.
He developed the first lagoon at San Alfonso del Mar on the west coast of the South American cone. His patented system uses small sensors and injectors to treat the pool water when needed in specific areas. The system can sense when an area needs an injection of cleaner, like in the case of someone going to the bathroom in the water or spilling something into it.
Crystal Lagoons is the only company in the world with the technology, which is patented in 160 countries, and claims it currently has more than 300 projects in development in 60 countries.
According to Crystal Lagoons, its system is more efficient than a swimming pool, will use 100 times less chemicals and is 50 times more energy efficient, while consuming only 2% of the energy needed by conventional filtration systems. The lagoon uses 30 times less water than a typical 18-hole golf course.
But, where will the water come from? Any water, even salt water, can be used due to the effectiveness of the filtration system. However, for the 18 million gallons required to initially fill the lagoon, Parks said Metro is “leaning toward potable water to fill the lagoons.”
Potable water is fit for human consumption.
“Our plan is to fill the lagoon during non-peak usage times of the day,’’ Parks wrote. “In normal conditions, rainwater keeps the lagoon at its optimal level after that.”
Will I Be Able To Use It?
The lagoon will be a private amenity for the residents of the Epperson community. However, Parks says, some limited access could be provided to guests in the form of day passes or some other means.
Although pristine beaches are just a drive away, the lagoon offers clear salt- and chlorine-free water that won’t leave your eyes stinging. It will feature its own beach and will be just a short ride by golf cart or bike for Epperson residents.
“Much more convenient,’’ Parks says.
Metro expects the lagoon to be a major draw to Epperson, and its other sites. Epperson will be the first community in the U.S. to have a Crystal Lagoon, and there are also plans to build another lagoon in a new Wesley Chapel community called “Mirada” in the Cannon Ranch area just south of S.R. 52, as well as one in Southern Hillsborough County near Wimauma and another in North Ft. Myers.
For additional information about Crystal Lagoons, please visit Crystal-Lagoons.com.
Hockey participation is up. Youth and adult leagues are growing. Hockey fever has again consumed our area during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2016 Stanley Cup playoff run.
The timing couldn’t be any better for ZMitch LLC managing partner Gordie Zimmermann, as he oversees the construction of the $20-million, 150,000-sq.-ft. Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI) complex in Wesley Chapel, which is taking shape just north of the interchange of S.R. 56 and I-75.
Zimmermann gave a sneak preview hard hat tour May 25 of the progress for roughly 175 Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce members and other local leaders.
The massive facility — Zimmermann calls FHCI the “largest skating complex south of New York” — will feature three NHL-sized hockey rinks, and one Olympic-size rink (which is bigger than an NHL rink), as well as a 17,000-sq.ft. multi-sports pad that can accommodate ice skating, curling, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse and other sports, while also hosting corporate events, much like Top Golf in Brandon.
ZMitch LLC managing partner Gordie Zimmermann
The complex will also have a sports-themed restaurant on the second floor, overlooking the rinks, a sports performance center and one for sports skills which can also accommodate training and activities like yoga, pilates and even dance classes.
Florida Hospital, which secured naming rights last May, will also have staff on hand.
“This hard hat tour was for the business community, to understand how the building works,’’ Zimmermann said. “Business are going to reap the rewards (of the facility), from restaurants to rental companies, hotels, gas stations, you name it. Everyone here is going to benefit.”
Zimmermann said the economic impact of FHCI, according to a study the developers commissioned, will be $20-30 million a year, and maybe more, as high school, college and National Hockey League teams (on their way to games at Amalie Arena or in Miami against the Florida Panthers) fill hotel rooms, mostly on the weekends. He said about two million visitors are projected to visit FHCI annually.
“It looks great, this place is going to be incredible,’’ said District 2 Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, who took the tour last week. “I think you’re going to see a big impact on local businesses.”
Zimmerman said plenty of opportunities exist for local businesses looking for exposure. He said companies can buy anything from naming rights to the rinks (on the ice or dasher boards, for example) to any of the three zamboni machines (which most people are familiar with when they resurface the ice between periods of a hockey game).
FHCI figure skating director Shari Klutz led some of the hard hat tours.
The Lightning’s recent success on the ice, and the organization’s impressive work off the ice with its stellar community outreach program – including sponsoring the Bay area’s 18-team high school league — continues to help cultivate local interest in hockey, which will be the main event at FHCI on most nights. But, Zimmermann says it will be far from the only event.
“The success of the Lightning is definitely helping create even more excitement for hockey in the area, and that’s good for us,’’ says Zimmermann, who says he already has a line of hockey teams and skaters eager to start using the facility. He is hoping for a soft opening of FHCI in September, with a Grand Opening roughly six weeks after that.
“It’s definitely big,’’ said WCCC CEO Hope Allen. “I think it’s going to completely change the landscape of Wesley Chapel. It really solidifies us as a destination regionally, nationally and even internationally.”
Two weeks ago, Zimmermann visited to the refrigeration company that will be handling the ice at FHCI.
CIMCO, which is based in Toronto, a city with more than 200 ice rinks, is the largest ice rink builder in the world, says Zimmerman. It has installed more than 5,000 ice surfaces worldwide, including at 80 percent of the NHL facilities.
CIMCO already has piped two of the rinks at FHCI, laying down roughly 13.5 miles of polyethylene pipe per rink. By the time all of the rinks are completed, more than 65 miles of refrigerated pipe will have been laid beneath the surface. “Like piping all the way to Ellenton,’’ Zimmermann quipped. “It’s all very high-tech equipment.”
So high-tech that each rink could have its own atmosphere. Figure skaters like their ice a little softer, so temperatures could be kept at 24-26 degrees on one rink, and 22-24 on another for hockey players, who prefer a harder surface.
The temperature five feet above the ice will be roughly 55 degrees, and the stands should clock in at a cool 65, Zimmermann said. The building’s lobby temperature will be like any other commercial building.
According to membership statistics, USA Hockey, the official governing body for hockey in America, has added almost 100,000 playing members since 1999, from 434,678 to 533,172.
In the southeastern region, however, Florida now has more registered hockey players than any other state, with more than 12,000, almost twice as many as any other southeastern state, with the exception of Virginia (10,063) and Maryland (9,607).
But, to keep that growth rising requires more sheets of ice for teams to practice on.
Right now, practice for local high school teams at Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass Ranch, Wharton and Freedom can involve trying to find time in Brandon or a longer drive to other ice facilities (like the JP Igloo rink in Ellenton and the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar), and there are few places for others, such as adult league players, figure skaters and speed skaters to train.
Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce members tour the Florida Hospital Center Ice facility.
Nearly a dozen high school varsity and junior varsity teams will use FHCI as their home ice. Zimmerman says the facility will also be a boon for girls hockey, another growing sport.
“Nobody has ever been able to give (girls hockey) any ice time,’’ he says.
Curling, a Canadian sport that seems to gain a little more fame every Winter Olympics year since becoming an official Olympic sport in 1998, could end up being a big draw, Zimmerman says, similar to how shuffleboard has had a bit of a revival with younger players in St. Petersburg.
The sport, where players slide stones on a sheet of ice towards a target area while teammates, or sweepers, help guide the stones to their mark with a special “broom,” could end up becoming a popular local adult league sport.
“We’re starting a full-blown curling league,’’ Zimmerman said. “I think it’s going to be huge.”
![John Gant [MLB.com photo]](http://ntneighborhoodnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Gant-300x169.jpg)
I’m always proud to be a member of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, which meets Wednesdays at noon at Quail Hollow Country Club, but never more so than I was on May 21, when the club hosted its first-ever Duck Derby, held at Lake Padgett behind Hungry Harry’s BBQ off U.S. 41 in Land O’Lakes.
The first duck to finish the “race” was purchased by club members Brian and Isabelle Dunleavy, who won a $2,500 cash prize, a portion of which they announced they would donate to The Joshua House, a local “safe haven for children in need.”
The days of housing communities in Florida being built around golf courses designed by PGA professionals could be numbered, judging by the level of excitement created by news that a Crystal Lagoon — first announced nearly two years ago — is finally ready to break ground in Wesley Chapel.
The 8-acre (nearly 350,000 sq. ft.) lagoon was originally announced for Park Place, which has since been renamed Epperson to honor the legacy of the Epperson family, which previously owned the land.
Hockey participation is up. Youth and adult leagues are growing. Hockey fever has again consumed our area during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2016 Stanley Cup playoff run.
The temperature five feet above the ice will be roughly 55 degrees, and the stands should clock in at a cool 65, Zimmermann said. The building’s lobby temperature will be like any other commercial building.