In some ways, Parker James is a typical high school senior — visiting colleges, awaiting acceptance letters and hoping for great scholarship offers, while spending his days at school and playing sports.
Parker’s sport of choice these days is golf, and he works hard at it — training every day after classes at Saddlebrook Preparatory School inside Saddlebrook Resort Tampa off S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel.
Parker (pictured with his golf coach, Nick Dunn) also is getting ready to do something most teenagers don’t — he will host a golf tournament to raise awareness for a health condition he suffers from, Crohn’s disease.
“Crohn’s has shaped my fighter mentality,” says Parker, explaining that fighting his disease has prepared him for the mental challenges of golf. “In golf, you can go out on the course and lose every day. You can always do better, and you have to overcome that.”
He says he’s always loved playing sports, and as a child played baseball, basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, golf, tennis, even skateboarding and wakeboarding.
His diagnosis at 10 years old with Crohn’s disease changed things for Parker. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by inflammation of the digestive tract.
Since then, an ankle injury and a new diagnosis — this time of rheumatoid arthritis —further limited his ability to play most of the sports he loves.
But, Parker found a way to keep his athletic dreams alive, by playing sports that are less strenuous on his joints, especially golf.
And now, he wants to raise awareness about the many people who suffer from Crohn’s, especially those who, like him, are diagnosed as kids.
“I want to inspire other young people to never feel defeated by their illnesses,” Parker says. “Don’t let it hold you back in any shape or form.”
The golf tournament Parker is organizing will be held on Saturday, April 14, at Saddlebrook Resort. All proceeds will benefit the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Players can register a foursome, or sign up to play in a group with an academy student.
To learn more about sponsoring the tournament, to donate or sign up to play, visit GolfForeGuts.com.
Students at Wiregrass Ranch (above) were some of many in Wesley Chapel who took part in a national walkout to honor those slain at Stoneman Douglas High. (WTSP)
As students across the country react to the Valentine’s Day school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida, about 13,000 people participated in Tampa’s “March For Our Lives” on March 24.
Students at schools in Wesley Chapel came out to the event, after many also attended candlelight vigils on February 19 and walk-outs on February 21, remembering and honoring the victims, while showing solidarity with those affected by the shooting and calling for changes to make schools safer.
At Cypress Creek Middle High School, a lockdown caused by an announced “active threat on campus” on March 13 inspired sophomore Brina Gutierrez to write this opinion piece for the school’s newspaper, the Cypress Creek Howler. As it turns out, there was no threat to the campus, but police responded after a student reported seeing a suspicious person walking near the school with what might be a firearm.
Here’s how one student reacted to what might have been a routine procedure just a month before (this piece has not been edited):
The way I thought I was going to react was not how I reacted.
March 13, 2018, almost exactly a month after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre occurred when 17 precious lives were lost. I was working on a memorial for the lives lost for a commemoration event our school had plans for the next day when on the intercom I heard the bone-chilling words:
Brina Gutierrez
“Teachers, we have an active threat on campus.”
My mind went blank. Panic began to overwhelm me. I wasn’t in my normal classroom, so the teacher whose room I was in rushed to make sure the door was locked, and cover the windows with paper we had just gotten twenty minutes earlier for the use of the memorial project we were working on, unaware, this was about to happen.
I could feel tears begin to rush down my face and didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t react. I didn’t know where to start or what to do. Everyone seemed to be moving sluggishly as if it were a drill. It just didn’t seem as if we were acting quickly enough. I was both mentally and physically unprepared for this such event.
The day had been normal, besides the slight chill that the air held, which was unusual from Florida’s normal weather. I had recently become more comfortable with the idea of school being safe again and suddenly, that idea shattered into a million pieces for me.
There was nothing I could do to be emotionally or physically ready for this. Time slowed down, seconds felt like minutes. My mind became slightly more coherent as I snapped into action, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was flipping a table over to act as a barricade and shoving the usually heavy desks with such force that I’ve never had before.
After blockading the room, I immediately began texting my sister, who was in the other building. The fear I felt for her was so immensely palpable I could almost taste it. I didn’t know what was going on or if she was even alive. I didn’t know what was happening. I quickly texted her to see if she was okay and you can not imagine the relief I felt when she texted me back she was alright.
I was quickly ushered into a supply closet and in an attempt to make more room for people, I squeezed myself into a cabinet that was barely a foot high. In that room, I felt every emotion go through my body, but the most dominant was the absolute terror I felt. That terror gripped my soul. It dawned on me at that moment, I wasn’t ready to die.
I had no certainty of what the threat was, but I knew this wasn’t the way or day I wanted to go.
The moment I found out there was no active shooter, I felt like a million pounds lighter. From there, slowly the terror began to let up. Though people were returning to their normal attitudes and actions from before the lockdown, I still couldn’t fathom the idea there was even a potential threat at my school. I still can’t.
The moment I was reunited with my sister and family was a euphoric experience.
Whether or not the threat had merit or not, we need to be proactive with school safety. I can’t continue to have the fear that the place I go to ensure a good future, could also so easily end my future.
This isn’t about whether or not we should have more strict gun control laws. Take the politics out of it for a minute, what all of this is really about is us as students, and you as parents ensuring we are safe at school.
I just want to feel like I can go to school without the threat that I may not go home that same afternoon. I’m supposed to feel safe at school and somewhere along the line, someone failed us. Never again.
We got lucky this time, but what if next time we aren’t as lucky?
New Tampa resident and hoops hotshot Justin Dargahi, the New Tampa Neighborhood News cover boy from June 2016 after a Guinness Book of World Records-worthy performance shooting 3-pointers, has been at it again.
Justin, who lives in Grand Hampton, is awaiting confirmation from the folks at theGuinness Book for what would officially be his third entry into their records, this time for making the most 3-pointers in one minute, with 10.
While that number may not sound like a lot, Justin’s latest long-range conquest was a one-man, single-ball show — he had to shoot his 3-pointers, retrieve the ball himself, run back to the NBA range line, which is 23-feet, 9-inches from the hoop, and shoot it again, over and over as quickly and making as many threes as he could, for one minute.
Justin made 10 of the 11 attempts he was able to get off, tying Harlem Globetrotters Cheese Chisholm and Ant Atkinson for the single-ball record.
Both Globetrotters got off 12 shots in 60 seconds, making 10.
“What stinks is the five times I tried it, I was able to get off 12 shots (but didn’t make 10),” Justin says. “But the last time, I only got off 11.”
Justin, who coaches the girls basketball team at Gaither High in Carrollwood, shot his threes from the corner, which he thought gave him a better chance to get off more shots. He tied the record six weeks ago, and is waiting for the official certification from the Guinness Book of World Records.
His first entry, which we profiled in 2016, was for making 26 three-pointers from NBA range in one minute (where unlike his latest feat, the balls were fed to him).
A year later, Justin teamed up with former Florida Gator guard Teddy Dupay to set the Guinness Book of World Records mark for the most 3-pointers made in a minute by a tandem, with 23.
Dupay was the head coach of Cambridge Christian in Tampa, Justin’s alma mater (he says he still shows up every Saturday morning for alumni pick-up basketball games), when the two met. He and Dupay struck up a conversation about shooting and decided to try for the record, which requires the tandem to alternate three-point shots.
It took only five minutes to break the record.
The previous record holders were Chisholm and Atkinson with 22. And before that? NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant, who set the record of 15 at the NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles on February 19, 2011. — JCC
The long road to the future development of Wesley Chapel will need an off ramp, and the area is now a big step closer to getting one.
Gov. Rick Scott, a year after vetoing $15 million for a project to build an interchange at I-75 and Overpass Rd. (see map), allowed the same amount of money to stay in the upcoming state budget this time around.
The money won’t completely fund the approximately $64-million project, but it’s a large enough chunk that the interchange can begin to move forward.
According to Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, who represents much of Wesley Chapel in District 2, the proposed interchange will not only relieve some of the traffic at the S.R. 56 and S.R. 54 exits in Wesley Chapel, it also will improve the safety conditions on the surrounding state roads by improving additional emergency evacuation and response times within the county.
The interchange also will be built with an eye to future development.
“It’s going to be a big help in that area,’’ says Moore, referencing large developments like the Villages of Pasadena Hills in Zephyrhills and the Connected City project in northern Wesley Chapel.
The Connected City is almost 8,000 acres of land currently under development and running north from Overpass Rd. in Wesley Chapel to S.R. 52 in San Antonio, and east from I-75 to Curley Rd. Expected to be a high-tech business sector, it will feature two Crystal Lagoons in the Mirada and Epperson communities, and (according to developer Metro Development), at the conclusion of its 50-year build out, the Connected City will have 37,000 homes, 67,000 jobs and 100,000 residents.
And those aren’t the only developments coming to this still-rural area. Quail Hollow is adding 400 homes on the former golf course property, and Cypress Creek Middle/High School on Old Pasco Rd. also is new to the area.
“We want to prepare for 20, 30 and 40 years down the road, and that’s what’s happening now,” Moore says of the interchange project, which was first approved in 2004 but was discussed for more than a decade before that.
The plan to build a new I-75 interchange at Overpass Rd., which will be roughly3.1 miles north of the S.R. 54 exit and 3.6 miles south of the S.R. 52 exit, is part of a larger project to link Old Pasco Rd. all the way east to U.S. Hwy. 301 in Zephyrhills.
The project was identified in the 2009 Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)’s Transportation Update Plan through 2035 “Needs Plan.” That plan scheduled the new interchange, extension and expansion of Overpass Rd. to be completed between 2016-25.
Moore says the county thinks the project will be completed by November of 2022, as there already is $30 million (not including the $15 million in the new state budget) set aside for the project from mobility fees, local gas taxes and various developer surtaxes. The county is seeking grants to cover the remaining $20-million portion of the costs.
It will begin planning this year for right of way acquisitions, with $12 million earmarked for that process. Next year, $4.6 million will go into the design phase, and the remaining $47 million will go towards construction costs.
Overpass Rd. is currently a two-lane roadway that extends east from Old Pasco Rd. to 0.86 miles east of Boyette Rd.
In addition to adding an interstate exit, Overpass Rd. will be widened to four lanes from I-75 to Old Pasco Rd. as part of the project.
The interchange is part of a larger project to extend Overpass Rd. nine miles from its current eastern terminus at Boyette Rd. all the way to U.S. Hwy. 301.
Moore says Pasco County did well in the latest legislative sessions, crediting Florida Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson (whose 10th Senate District incudes northern Wesley Chapel) and State Representative Danny Burgess (R-Dist. 38) for their efforts.
After vetoing $22 million worth of Pasco projects last year, Scott let roughly that same amount stay in the budget this year, including $4.3 million for the Thomas Varnadoe Forensic Center for Research & Education in Land O’Lakes and $1.5 million for the Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired & Blind in Port Richey.
I send out many thanks to freelance writer Andy Warrener for also attending this year’s Taste and for his efforts to get a feel for the Taste from the persepective of some of its attendees. The folks on this page all raved about the event and were excited to be part of this feature. — GN
Antoinette and Jerome Lee of Cross Creek in New Tampa found out about the event in the Mar. 23 New Tampa edition of the Neighborhood News. It was also their first time at a Taste event.
“I like it because you can select the vendors you like,” Antoinette said. “If there’s one in particular you like, you can use your cards there or, if you want to try a new restaurant. It’s also nice to meet people in line. You work in the community but there are a lot of people you don’t come into contact with. Here you can do that.”
Antoinette was partial to the Cuban food offered up by La Yuma. Jerome was previously a fan of Texas Roadhouse and said he enjoyed their samplings.
For Arbor Greene resident Jacob, 15, his favorite was Snow Rolls Ice Cream, and for his brother Noah, 6, it was the pizza from Bosco’s Italian-to-Go.
“We actually found out about the event in the Neighborhood News,” said their father Randy. “There are lots of activities in more established communities like downtown and South Tampa but not much going on in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. This event gives us lots of options to look for and a chance to get out and do things. As the community grows, so will events like this.”
Quail Hollow residents Steve and Virginia Catrombone brought their eight-month old son, Memphis, to the event. They have lived in the Wesley Chapel area the last five years and were attending their first Taste of New Tampa. They had never even been to FHCI before.
“The prices are great and the food is awesome,” Steve said. “It’s a good, community event. The turnout is really nice and it’s well-organized. We’ve been to food truck rallies, local markets and events at the Shops at Wiregrass and this event is great. We’ve seen Wesley Chapel grow so much the last five years.” Virginia enjoyed sampling area eateries that she hadn’t had visited yet. “This is a great event because all these places are local for us,” Virginia said. “And now, we have a chance to see what they have to offer.”
Jeff and Jennifer Pike, who live in Live Oak in New Tampa, brought their twin daughters Liliana and Amalia as well as their son, 12-year-old Carter, to the Taste.
“We found out about the event on Facebook, it’s our first time here,” Jeff said. “The food was the clincher. There’s such a variety with what’s in the neighborhood, we didn’t even know half the places. The event gets people to recognize that there are more restaurants out there than just the major chains.”
Jeff enjoyed the Shepherd’s pie from O’Brien’s Irish Pub, while Jennifer was taken by the flan and rice and beans offered by La Yuma.
“The food samples are the primary reason for coming, also to hang out with friends,” Jennifer said. “It’s a very family-friendly event,” Jennifer said. “The kids are here with their friends and there’s always a new restaurant to discover.”
Did you attend this year’s Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel? If not, why not? If so, what did you like best about it? We’d love to hear from you. Send us a Facebook message (search “Neighborhood News”) or email us at EditorialDept@NTNeighborhoodNews.com!
In some ways, Parker James is a typical high school senior — visiting colleges, awaiting acceptance letters and hoping for great scholarship offers, while spending his days at school and playing sports.
