Max, the lead singer in the New Tampa-based kid band âBeyond Chaotic,â sings âRadioactiveâ by the Imagine Dragons.By Gary Nager
I was on hand for the âSymphony in Lightsâ Presented by Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel â the every-hour-on-the-hour (between 6 p.m.-9 p.m.) tree-lighting-set-to-musicâ event at Wiregrass â on Nov. 25, when the Tampa based kid band (its oldest member is 11-year-old Max, the groupâs lead singer) known as âBeyond Chaoticâ performed three sets of â if you can believe it â alternative rock music â between each of the 10-minute tree-lighting events. Iâm not the biggest fan of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but between synthetic ice skating on Piazza Ave., and music every night through December 31, the Shops is still a cool place to shop, with multiple restaurants that sell alcohol and provide additional entertainment.
I was at the Shops that night as part of an informal gathering of Rotarians from the original New Tampa (which has been meeting at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club on Friday mornings for 20 years, the oldest Rotary in either of our distribution areas; weâll have pics from the clubâs 20th anniversary, which was celebrated on Black Friday Night, the night I went to press, but weâll have a recap in our next issue) and Wesley Chapel (our areaâs largest current club, which meets Wednesdays at noon at Stage Left Bar & Kitchen in Lutz) Rotary Clubs. Fun.
While many of those same WC Rotarians were serving meals to 500 people in need at Atonement Lutheran Church on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel the following morning, a number of NT âBreakfastâ Rotary members also were on hand at the Shops the following morning for the third annual âWiregrass Wobble 5K,â of which which the New Tampa club has been a major sponsor (along with the New Tampa Family YMCA & the FitNiche store in the Shops) since the eventâs inception.
I neither attended nor covered this yearâs âWobble,â an event which already has had more than 3,000 participants and raised $45,000 (combined) the previous two years. But, with perfect weather this year, I hear the 5K run was packed again this time around. Since my friend and New Tampa Rotarian (and TV/film director/producer) Craig Miller of Full Throttle Intermedia (Facebook.com/Full Throttle Intermedia) was there, I âborrowedâ a couple of his great pics for this story. I hope to soon update the huge number of runners and funds raised at NTNeighborhoodNews.com and in our next issue.
Truly âBeyond Chaoticâ
My favorite thing about the mall at this time of year is definitely the entertainment. Beyond Chaotic is made up of music students ranging in age from 8 to no older than 11, no less at Bigel Music on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. across from Paul R. Wharton High, in the plaza next to MidFlorida Credit Union.
If you havenât seen this too-young-to-be-this-good alternative rock band that performs everything from Imagine Dragons to AC/DC, make sure you like their page at Facebook.com/Beyond Chaotic. If youâre like…well, everyone who has seen these kids sing and play guitar, bass, drums, violin and keyboards, youâre going to want to check out their upcoming gigs. And you should.
And, if you or your children want to explore your own musical talents, I think Beyond Chaotic and the Bigel Music Chorus both speak loudly (yet melodically) about owner Larry Bigelâs Bigel Music. For info, visit BigelMusic.com.
Thereâs lots of other great local entertainers performing every night at the Shops through December 23, too.
For more information about synthetic ice skating, Visits with Santa, or your chance to win a âSantaâs Gift Grabâ $1,000 shopping spree, visit TheShopsatWiregrass.com.
(L.-r.): Bryanna Rivers, Rachel Lettiero, Mackenzie Willman, Caroline Maggi, Marin James, Alisha Deschenes and Rania Samhouri pose with their trophy after winning the Hillsborough County Cross Country Championship meet. The Wharton girls went on to finish third at States, tops in the Tampa Bay area.
A great way to forecast high school spring track season success is to evaluate a schoolâs success during the fall cross country season. In that regard, the members of the girls cross country team at Paul R. Wharton High on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. have put themselves in a very good position for spring track following a dominant cross country season that concluded Nov. 7 in Tallahassee.
Mired in a brutal district (District 4A-6), the Wharton cross country team had to cut its teeth by battling all season with 10-time state champion Plant and county powerhouse Newsome.
Still, they came out on top in all of Hillsborough County in nearly every instance. First, it was the Hillsborough County Championships, where the Wildcats out-distanced Plant 44-65. Next, it was at the District 4A-6 meet, where the âCats clipped the Panthers 32-41.
At the 4A Region 2 meet in Lakeland, the Wharton girls had an off day but still managed third place behind Newsome, 104 to 112.
âYou always know Coach (Orlando) Greene is going to field a competitive team at Plant and you know you have to be ready to roll and that you canât count them (Newsome) out,â Wharton coach Anthony Triana said.
The Wildcat girls bounced back in a big way, however, in Tallahassee at the State championships, finishing third, the best showing for any Hillsborough County girls team, and a big jump from the previous year when Wharton was 13th.
Top cross country runners Alisha Deschenes and Rania Samhouri both placed in the top 30 individually in Tallahassee.
Deschenes was the 4A-6 District champion and set a personal best this season with a run of 19 minutes, 31 seconds at the FSU Invitational, as did Samhouri (19.44 at FSU Invitational) and Bryanna Rivers (19:50.9 at the district meet). Samhouri moved up to the No. 2 runner behind Deschenes for Wharton after starting the season at No. 5.
Samhouri used a tough finish at state track last season to fuel her cross country season, and she hopes to carry that energy from cross country into the upcoming track season. âRania had a tough leg of the 4x800m at States, where she got passed down the final stretch,ââ Triana said, âand itâs fueled her ever since.â
Rania told Triana that the ride back from the State meet counted as her break, and she was ready for the next season. âMost kids take a couple of weeks off, Triana said. âThat just shows her determination and why she did so well in cross country this season.â
Deschenes didnât even compete for Wharton in track last season, devoting her time to the soccer pitch, but after a solid cross country campaign, sheâs now slated to run for the Wildcats this coming season.
The Wharton girls started spring conditioning for track on November 23.
âAnytime you go from States to the next season, itâs all about keeping the kids hungry,â Triana said. âThese girls have that. We took two weeks off from cross country States and weâre already ready to go.â
According to the FHSAA record books, no Hillsborough County girls team has ever won a team track title. The best finish by any Hillsborough County school belongs to the Wildcats in 2008, when they finished third.
It will be no picnic and certainly it will be extremely difficult to unseat 10-time and back-to-back Class 4A state champs St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, but Triana thinks cracking into the top five with eyes on the runner-up position or even better is possible.
âAll last year did was give us more confidence that we can compete with anyone,â Triana said. âWhen that gun goes off weâre going to give it all we can and compete with those people.
âForty or 50 points is likely to get you first or second (in Class 4A) at States. We expect to have 10-12 girls competing at the State track meet this coming season, so Iâm pretty sure we can score 40 or 50 points.â Last season, the Wildcat girls finished 12th, but return most of the key contributors.
Top sprinter Aria Tate, a junior, placed sixth in the 100m hurdles at states, just missing the 200m finals by 0.08 seconds. Top middle distance runner Rivers, the school record holder in the 800m and sixth-place finisher in the event at the State meet, also is just a junior. Serena Gadson was 13th at States in the 800m and is just a sophomore. Junior Marin James returns after placing 13th in the 3200m race.
Whartonâs 4x400m relay team was dominant locally and was seventh at the 2015 State meet. The 4x800m relay was third at States, two seconds off the school record, and returns all four runners.
Field events might be the one weak spot for the 2016 Wildcats, but itâs an area of emphasis with Triana and his assistants this offseason.
âItâs part of the team that we really need to develop,â Triana said. âLong jumper Avonti Holt and high jumper Sabrena Eye will be key for us.â
Family of Christ Christian School principal Jennifer Snow (r.), with Kelli Tully, the director of Pure Hearts Rescue of New Tampa, on Great American Teach-In day at the school.
New Tampa was a vastly different place in the early 1990s, home to more wildlife than people, more trees than homes and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. was a two-lane, eight-mile âroad to nowhere.â
As we all know, that changed quickly. From 1990-2000, the population in New Tampa increased by 273 percent, from 7,145 residents to 26,634, according to the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Division. Getting in on the ground floor of the population boom was a tiny Lutheran Church with big ideas.
In November of 1999, Family of Christ Christian School (FoCCS), part of Family of Christ Lutheran Church, led by Pastor Dave Haara, purchased 31 acres of land in Tampa Palms. At the time, all Haara and his followers had was a church, a Pre-K and Kindergarten class and a mission.
âOur goal was to add one grade every year,â FoCCS principal Jennifer Snow says. âWe are looking to be a light that stands out in the community.â
Family of Christ has stayed the course. The school has continued to add grades, and today, FoCCS includes kindergarten through eighth grade.
âGod has blessed us more than anything I could have imagined,â Snow says. âItâs like a family here.â
When Snow arrived in 2005, after helping establish Grace Episcopal Pre-School in New Tampa, there were already 79 students ranging from Kindergarten through fifth grade at FoCCS. The school now educates 177 children, more than doubling the student population under Snowâs watch. âItâs been a tremendous amount of growth,â Snow says.
Snow also notes that 95 percent of the staff that was present when she took over in 2005 is still at the school today.
âThere hasnât been a day that I donât want to come in here and see these faces,â Snow says with a smile.
The school couples community service with academic achievement. Parents of FoCCS students are asked to put in 20 hours of volunteer work annually for the school. Those hours can be logged in the classroom, at open house events or during any of the many fund-raising events the school participates in each year.
â(Volunteer hours) are an integral part of the schoolâs success,â Snow says. âMost (families) do more (than the 20 hours), some go way beyond and are always searching for opportunities to serve others in the community.â
In addition to helping at the school itself, FoCCS parents, students and administrators participate in community outreach programs, including partnering with Metropolitan Ministries in central Tampa to help feed the homeless.
â(Our) parents are the first ones to go out in the community,â Snow says. âThose are the people (who) allow Godâs love to show through them.â
Academic achievement is another ingredient in the schoolâs success. FoCCS is fully accredited by the National Lutheran Schools Association (NLSA). The school also complies with and exceeds the Florida Sunshine State Standards as well as the Hillsborough County Benchmarks set for each of FoCCSâs nine grade levels. The school is an active participant in the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS); in fact, Snow estimates that 80-90 percent of her students are members of the NJHS. FoCCS also offers three high school credits â in Science, Spanish I and Algebra I â and Snow estimates that 98 percent of the students who graduate the eighth grade leave with all three credits.
âWe take whatâs really working out there and use it to educate (our) students,â Snow says.
The results are encouraging. FoCCS participates in the Science Olympics at MOSI, and recently, first-grader Spence Palmer was one of the award winners. Students also take standardized tests like the SAT and ACT, and most feed into local public and private schools like Wharton, Wesley Chapel, Freedom, Cambridge Christian and Tampa Catholic. Some students have fed into the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs at King and Hillsborough high schools. Many are now attending state universities like the University of Florida in Gainesville and Florida State University in Tallahassee, and even nationally-recognized technology institutes like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA.
Athletics also is a big part of the FoCCS experience. Volleyball, cross country, soccer, flag football, golf and basketball are all offered at the school and students participate in a 14-school Tampa Bay Christian Athletic League.
Getting into FoCCS isnât automatic, but itâs far from impossible. Thereâs a screening process every applicant must go through and there is mandatory, annual tuition along with the volunteer commitment. Class sizes range from 18 to 22 students per class and, according to Snow, FoCCS is at capacity but is always looking forward to new applicants. âItâs hard to turn great families away,â she says.
The school has a number of ways to help with tuition once a student is accepted. First, FoCCS participates in the state-approved âStep Up for Studentsâ program, a non-profit organization that provides scholarship funding. There also is a school scholarship fund aimed at retaining students whose families endure economic hardships.
âWhen thereâs a need within the school and the family has attended and started with us, then if thereâs a job loss or a death in the family, we try to keep the continuity for the kids,â Snow says. âWe try to keep tuition down; itâs up to families (to give) what they are capable of giving.â
Tuition is not the only source of funding for FoCCS, and thatâs where the school takes participation to a new level. In order to fund its nearly constant expansion, FoCCS offers a litany of community fund-raising events.
The schoolâs âNight of Knightsâ event, started in 2006, has raised more than $380,000 since its inception. In 2015, the Night of Knights featured a casino theme with a silent auction, a live auction and other casino gaming activities. Auction items included beach weekends, sports memorabilia, and the chance to be principal of FoCCS for a day. The schoolâs walkathon takes place every February and targets specific needs â in 2016, Snow says the goal will be to build a new basketball court on campus.
FoCCS also hosts an annual Octoberfest, an event open to the public with a live DJ. The first week back from Christmas break, the school hosts an Epiphany bonfire, also open to the public. Even small events like pumpkin carving contests and auctions for decorated Christmas baskets keep the school moving and growing and the community is always welcome to attend all of them.
âWe want everyone to feel welcome (at the events),â Snow says.
The week before Thanksgiving break, FoCCS participated in the Great American Teach-In and had 35 speakers come in. Among them were Florida Highway Patrolman Eric Madill, Kelli Tully (director of Pure Hearts Rescue of New Tampa) and USF Assistant Professor of Anthropology Rosie Bongiovanni.
Even if your child does not attend FoCCS, there are opportunities at the churchâs Child Development Center (CDC) where full-time childcare is offered 7 a.m.-6 p.m. every weekday. Buses from FoCCS travel to public schools in the area and escort children to the CDC.
âWhen you can give a tour and not have to sell anything, when you see parents all smiles and having fun, when you see the kids learning but still having fun,ââ Snow says, âit makes you think you must be doing something right.â
Family of Christ Christian School & Church are located at 16190 BBD Blvd. in Tampa Palms For more info, call 558-9343 or visit EdLine.net/pages/FamilyofChristCS. To see FoCCSâs list of donors and sponsors, see the ad on pg. 32 of this issue.
Bilal Saleh, the owner of Zaytoun Mediterranean Grill on Cross Creek Blvd. at Morris Bridge Rd. is a U.S. citizen who was born and raised in Syria. Bilal wants the people of New Tampa to know that the vast majority of Syrians living here are productive members of U.S. society.
Bilal Saleh, wearing black dress slacks and a blue pinstriped dress shirt, sits in a booth at the Zaytoun Mediterranean Grill, the restaurant he owns with his brother Mohammad. Salehâs voice is soft and his words are thoughtfully chosen.
He is troubled.
Originally from Damascus, Syria, Bilal (now a U.S. citizen) says he watches television these days, and the sights from his homeland horrify him, as much as the sounds, from talking heads, politicians, presidential candidates and so-called experts, mostly calling for the United States and other countries to turn away refugees fleeing a war that has dragged on for almost five years now and has left more than 200,000 of his people dead.
Plans to let refugees into the U.S. have been facing stiff resistance. The terrorist killings in Paris on Nov. 13, and unofficial reports of a discovery of a Syrian passport â later deemed a fake â next to one of the terrorists, quickly turned much of the country against the refugees, conflating the Syrian people themselves with the terrorist group commonly known as ISIS.
âItâs just amazing how within the span of a week, the Syrian people have turned from victims to a threat (in peopleâs eyes),ââ Bilal says. âThe Syrian people have been bombarded, killed, raped and tortured for four years. That really hurts, when you see how suddenly (it happens)âŠ.yesterday you were a victim; today, you are now a threat.â
Bilal is quick to condemn ISIS and the terrorist attacks in Paris and other places.
âWe vehemently disagree with all that is going on. It is definitely against Islam and against the teaching of the Prophet (Mohammed),â he says.
It angers him, because as a result, anti-Muslim fears and threats are at an all-time high in this country, according to the Council of American-Islamic Relations. Mosques are on high alert, Islam is being protested, violence has been threatened.
Bilal says he himself hasnât been threatened specifically, but the Masjid Daarus Salaam (which translates to âhouse of peaceâ) mosque on Morris Bridge Rd. a couple of miles south of his restaurant, where he and his family worship, has received threatening phone calls and hate emails. Facebook comments have been harsh. The vitriol in the public square has definitely been heating up.
âIf I compared the reaction after the Paris attacks to the reaction after 9-11, I see this reaction as much more, I donât know how to describe it…enormous,â Bilal says.
To a degree, Bilal says he can understand the fears and concerns. It didnât feel great, he says, when he traveled internationally on business in his years working for MCI Telecommunications and was held for a search every time, or how he was suspiciously viewed after 9-11. âWe lost over 3,000 people (on 9-11),ââ he says. âI understand.â
Those fires burned out. But now, even larger, hotter flames are being stoked.
âI am a little worried,ââ Bilal says. âIâm worried about a crazy person coming to the mosque on a Friday where we have 500 people. Itâs highly unlikely but it is possibleâŠ.weâve gotten some (safety) recommendations from the (U.S.) Dept. of Homeland Security. We havenât done anything. Maybe we should, I donât know.â
Most disappointing, perhaps, is what Bilal says is a pattern of troubling disinformation espoused by some of the Republican presidential candidates. Ben Carson, for example, compared Syrian refugees to ârabid dogs.â Others have called the refugees terrorists and accused Muslims of celebrating after 9-11.
âFor the average person watching CNN and FOX News, I really sympathize with them,ââ he says. âI see where they are coming from. If I were them, I would have the same feelings. There is a very credible story with pictures with experts talking, and they are instilling fear. I would be concerned. I really feel sorry for them, I would like to reach out to them and explain to them at the same time. But, for politicians, leaders, to spread this misconception, I donât understand. They are playing on (public) fears. It is not American. Everyone is an expert, but no one lets us talk.â
Bilal left Syria in 1978 as a 17-year-old, when his father took a job in Saudi Arabia as a professor. A violent uprising in Syria around that same time made it unsafe to return.
He came to the U.S. as a student, and attended Eastern Tennessee State University in Johnson City. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Electronics Engineering, a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Computer Science and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago. He also holds three U.S. patents.
His four daughters are all college graduates. Two are currently in law school.
The process for Bilal was far easier than it is for political refugees today, who have to pass through a rigorous 13-step process, which can take two years.
In the last year, just over 100 Syrians have settled in Florida, with 36 of them making Hillsborough County home.
Bilal says there are just a handful of Syrian families in New Tampa, but they are productive members of society and take pride in their achievements, and certainly donât deserve to be a singled out for the atrocities being committed overseas.
âIf you look at the Muslim community, and the Syrian community in particular, we are engineers, physicians, lawyers, business people, innovators, technologists,ââ he says. âChances are, talking to your readers, one of you or someone you know has been treated by a Syrian physician. The bridge you drove on, designed by Syrian engineer. I myself hold three U.S. patents, I have contributed to the technology industry. We are people who are providers, who are contributors. Weâre not freeloaders, weâre part of the fabric of this society.â
That fabric, however, may be fraying, as anti-Islamic violence pops up across the country.
Still, Bilal looks around, and while the hatred and anger towards Muslims is disconcerting, it has not changed his view about America. He still thinks it is a wonderful place and a beautiful country and he is still proud to be a U.S. citizen. And, even when darkness seems to be descending, he says there is always seems to be a ray of hope.
âOne of the my customers, he called me over and he said I came here for two reasons â the second reason is because you have good food,ââ Bilal says. âBut the first reason is to make a statement that I support you. I disagree with whatâs being said. I told him people like you make me love this country even more.â
We had another great year of reader response to our annual Dining Survey & Contest, as nearly 600 of you took the time to enter the contest and tell us about your favorite places to eat in our two distribution areas. As for this yearâs results, our readersâ favorite restaurant in New Tampa was last yearâs #2 finisher â Burger 21, located in the Trout Creek area off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., across from Brusterâs Real Ice Cream.
Last yearâs first-place finisher, Stonewood Grill & Tavern, dropped to second, and the top ten in New Tampa had the same list of restaurants as last year, only in a slightly different order.
The biggest jump this year? Cappyâs Pizza, which, in only its second year on our ballots, rocketed to #12 this year from #24 last year. Iâm not going to attribute all of that success to regular advertising in these pages, but Iâm sure it didnât hurt! According to Jessica Meyers, the co-owner of Little Italyâs Family Restaurant & Catering (see story on page 46) our amazing readers really like to support the places they see advertised and reviewed in these pages.
Meanwhile, over in Wesley Chapel, GrillSmith retained the top spot, narrowly edging The Hungry Greek, which moved up one spot, from #3 with our readers last year. At #3, Bonsai Sushi saw a great jump, up from #12 with our readers last year.
The biggest jump in this yearâs Survey was also the only place I could accuse of ballot-stuffing this time around â Pinchers Crab Shack. Despite my best efforts and warnings on every entry form every year, people still think theyâre helping their âfavoriteâ restaurant when they 1) Put it as their favorite in the area in which it isnât located (e.g., 28 people were disqualified for putting âPinchersâ as their favorite in New Tampa, even though itâs located, and on the ballot, in Wesley Chapel) and 2) Put it as their #1-#5 favorite in the area in which it is located, rather than just selecting it #1.
In other words, another 48 entries had to be disqualified from a chance at winning any of our prizes, and all of the votes on those entries (other than their votes for other restaurants) did not count towards Pinchersâ totals.
While many of those same WC Rotarians were serving meals to 500 people in need at Atonement Lutheran Church on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel the following morning, a number of NT âBreakfastâ Rotary members also were on hand at the Shops the following morning for the third annual âWiregrass Wobble 5K,â of which which the New Tampa club has been a major sponsor (along with the New Tampa Family YMCA & the FitNiche store in the Shops) since the eventâs inception.
If you havenât seen this too-young-to-be-this-good alternative rock band that performs everything from Imagine Dragons to AC/DC, make sure you like their page at Facebook.com/Beyond Chaotic. If youâre like…well, everyone who has seen these kids sing and play guitar, bass, drums, violin and keyboards, youâre going to want to check out their upcoming gigs. And you should.
