The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) says it is looking for a man who broke into a home Wednesday afternoon, battered the resident and made off with firearms.
According to the PCSO, an armed man broke into a home on Magnolia Boulevard (in Kings Landing just south of Wesley Chapel Blvd.) in Wesley Chapel around 1 p.m. on Wednesday. He battered the elderly resident, who has non-life threatening injuries.
The suspect, according to the PCSO, is described as a black male with medium height and medium build, wearing shorts and a polo shirt, and carrying a black backpack.
The suspect is considered armed and dangerous, deputies say.
The PCSO has supplied a composite of the alleged suspect in this case.
If you have any information on this case, the PCSO asks that you call 1-800-706-2488.
Do you have any fun or exciting plans for this evening? Do you enjoy playing the slots or table games at a casino?
The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel presents a very special fund-raising Casino Night tonight — Friday, August 25, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. — at Wesley Chapel Nissan (28519 SR 54). Pasco’s clerk & comptroller, the Hon. Dr. Paula O’Neil, will emcee this event to raise money for the Mahler family — Rob, Jordan, Camden and 17-month-old Clayton, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 rhabdomyosarcoma after a July 4th visit to the emergency for a growth in his nose that was obstructing his airway.
Clayton is receiving 42 weeks of chemotherapy, followed by radiation, after 95 percent of the mass was removed. The Mahlers’ medical bills are piling up and Dr. O’Neil, a breast cancer survivor herself, talked to her friend and Wesley Chapel (WC) Nissan public relations rep Troy Stevenson about doing something to help.
And, since Stevenson, WC Nissan owner Jay Rosario and GM Joey Falcon previously had hosted a successful Casino Night a couple of years ago, he floated the idea to WC Rotary president-elect Chris Casella and just like that, it transformed into a reality to help not only the Mahlers, but also the Rotary club’s own high school scholarship program.
There’s a $20 per person donation “buy-in” to enjoy the Casino Night, which gets you $20 in chips, free water and soda, plus free food provided by Latin Twist Café on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., and the opportunity to bid on great silent auction items (a TV, Outback Bowl and Tampa Bay Lightning tickets and memorabilia — donated by the Williams Auto Group, which owns WC Toyota and WC Honda).
There will be a cash bar, with fine wines by Time for Wine and Rosario’s own Boricua beer, a VIP room catered by the WC Chick-fil-A, as well as great entertainment by WC Rotary member John Jay the DJ and live musical performers.
The WC Rotary’s Casino Night is sponsored by Lakeside Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, Mosquito Hunters, Cash for Gold WC, Stevenson’s own Acme on the Go & WC Nissan.
The WC Rotary also will be giving away 3,000 free American flags at the Shops at Wiregrass and Tampa Premium Outlets malls on Monday, September 11. The club also will provide breakfast for the Pasco Sheriff’s Office’s Dist. 2 office in Dade City, as well as for Pasco Fire Rescue Station No. 13 off Old Pasco Rd. and No. 26 in Meadow Pointe on 9/11. For more info about the WC Rotary Club, visit WCRotary.com.
Wesley Chapel resident and New Tampa teacher Brittany Collins earned a ticket to the “American Idol” auditions in Orlando with 45 seconds of Adele’s “Fire To The Rain” at the “Tampa Bay Idol” auditions at FHCI! (Photo: ABC Action News)
The first time Brittany Collins tried out for FOX-TV’s “American Idol,” it ended with her in tears and a long, sad drive home from Atlanta. She had been waiting for a second chance for more than a decade.
She never imagined that chance would come at an ice rink right around the corner from where she lived in Wesley Chapel.
On Aug. 12, Collins, 28, lined up with at least 400 other starry-eyed hopefuls waiting for her chance to shine at “Tampa Bay Idol,” an audition for the new incarnation of “American Idol,” which is now going to air on ABC-TV. The local tryout was hosted by Channel 28-WFTS-TV’s “ABC Action News” at Florida Hospital Center Ice, right here in the “Chap.”
The tryouts were an all-day affair – capped by a night-time concert on one of the complex’s five rinks by the lucky ticket winners — as those who had registered online for the 400 available slots rolled in and out of two audition rooms hoping to impress local celebrity judges.
Those who got the thumbs-up were awarded a “front-of-the-line” certificate to the tryouts in Orlando, as ”American Idol” is being re-booted by ABC in an effort to regain its former glory as one of television’s hottest shows.
Once a juggernaut that produced stars like Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson — but no one significant in its final years — producers are hoping hosts Katy Perry and Lionel Richie can re-stoke that interest.
After belting through 45 seconds of Adele’s “Fire To The Rain,” Collins had her ticket to the front of the line for the Aug. 17 audition at the Disney Springs Resort in Orlando, where…we hear…that one Wesley Chapel resident and two “Tampa Bay Idol” contestants just may have made it to the next round of auditions. But, that’s all we can say at this time.
“I had nerves,’’ Collins said. “At this point in my life, I want it more than ever. But I am so happy with where I am in my life. If I don’t get through, I’m okay.”
Collins, a third-grade teacher at Heritage Elementary in New Tampa,joked that she didn’t feel that way when she was 16. “American Idol” was hot, and she and her friend Adam Jahr drove to Atlanta to chase a dream she has had since she started singing and dancing at age 3. More than 20,000 people were there, “just long lines and lines of people,’’ she says, and she was terrified.
She remembers that her voice shook as she sang Carrie Underwood’s “We’re Young And Beautiful.” The judges declined to move her on. Someone from the show came over to clip the wristhand she had been given.
“They just cut your wristband and sent you in the other direction,’’ Collins said somewhat somberly. “Very severe.”
By comparison, Collins said, the Wesley Chapel auditions, were a dream. They let her mom Teresa in the room with her as she sang. “They were set up so nicely,’’ Collins said.
Caloi Koelndorfer
Caloi Koelndorfer, a 16-year-old junior at Wiregrass Ranch High, couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she showed off her winning ticket.
Standing in the hallway with her mother Christy, she waited for some of her friends to make their way into the judges’ room.
“It was awesome,’’ Caloi said. “I just let it go and tried to have fun.”
Caloi sang “How Can it Be” by contemporary Christian music singing star Lauren Daigle. One of the judges was Jeremy Risotto, a Brandon resident who finished in the top 13 in Season 11 of “Idol.” Oh, and Risotto was one of Caloi’s favorites.
“I love him,’’ Caloi said. “I saw him at a church choir event, and he was my favorite in Season 11.”
Caloi said she started out shaky, but hit her notes when it counted. She has been singing in the chorus since her fifth-grade year at Sand Pine Elementary, and for the outgoing teenager, trying out for Tampa Bay Idol was a no-brainer.
“She sings everywhere and anywhere,’’ Christy said, laughing.
Caloi then broke out into song for those still waiting for their chance, as someone recorded her on their cell phone. The line of people applauded. Risotto left the room for a quick break and when he returned he popped his head back out and nodded towards Caloi.
“She’s excellent,’’ he said.
We saw that Collins didn’t made it out of Orlando. She wrote on her Facebook page that it was “TOUGH” and even with her pass, she was one of the last 100 auditions of the day, waiting behind people who did not have a pass. She waited in line in the sun for four hours, and still thought she “crushed her song.”
But she wasn’t picked, and was back in the classroom Monday, sharing her experience with the kids. “At least I tried, gave it my best, didn’t pass out from the heat and didn’t mess my song up with nerves,’” she wrote on Facebook.
According to WFTS-ABC Action News director of multimedia marketing Dennis Elsbury, if a contestant made it out of Orlando — and roughly 40 made it to Orlando from the Wesley Chapel audition — they would not be allowed to tell anyone.
Gabby Allen (left) and Aubrey Raile after the first day of boys flag football tryouts at Benito Middle School on March 21. (Photo courtesy of Christy Raile)
For the first time ever this school year, middle school girls in Hillsborough County can play flag football, and middle school boys can play volleyball.
Both sports have been added to the calendar, and Benito Middle School seventh grader Aubrey Raile played a big role in making it happen.
It was Aubrey’s carefully researched crusade that led county administrators to take a closer look at the middle school sports calendar. While the Hillsborough County School District couldn’t legally stop Aubrey, or any of her friends,from trying out for the boys flag football team, concern about letting girls play a physical contact sport with much bigger boys led to the addition of two new middle school sports.
Aubrey started playing flag football in the sixth grade last year during PE class. She had never played before, but found that her speed made her an excellent pass rusher and that she enjoyed the other aspects of flag football – passing, catching, dodging tacklers, and pulling flags.
Flag football is 7-on-7, with all of the players wearing a belt with three flags on them (one in the back, one on each side). Everyone on the field is a receiver, and the game is played on an 80-yard field with first downs for teams every time they advance the ball 20 yards.
“As soon as I played, I found an enjoyment in the sport and wanted to play for my school,’’ Aubrey says.
When the middle school flag football season rolled around last March, however, she was told she couldn’t try out for the Jaguars’ team. Boys only, they said. Aubrey didn’t think that was fair.
She marched right to the library, and starting reading about the rules, and specifically, Title IX, a federal law that ensures that no one can be excluded from participation in any school program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Basically, if a school offers a program just for boys, it needs to offer an equal opportunity for girls.
“When the coaches told her she couldn’t play, she went to the school library and found some books that explained the law,’’ said Christy Raile, Aubrey’s mother. “She put sticky notes all over the pages and gave it to me. She found the law, and highlighted it.
“Mom, is this right?,” Aubrey asked Christy. “Am I right?”
“I’m not an attorney, but I think this is right,’’ Christy replied. “I think they have to let you play.”
Emboldened by the support of friends like fellow sixth-graders Alexa Evans, Suhani Rana, Sannvi Prasad and Gabby Allen, the Railes continued to fight.
The people she talked to at the school district, Christy said, tried to dissuade Aubrey from trying out. She said she was told their rules overrode the state rules, although the county athletic office denies ever having said that.
Both sides continued to talk, but Aubrey was determined to show up to tryouts with a stack of books to argue her case.
An hour before the tryouts began at 3 p.m. on March 21, Christy says she was told Aubrey could trade those books for cleats and try out for the boys team.
While the school district does not consider it ideal for boys and girls to participate in contact sports like flag football, “We were directed by our attorney and our compliance officer that we needed to let that individual tryout,’’ said Jennifer Burchill, the county’s assistant director of athletics. “And, girls in general.”
Aubrey competed that day with roughly 75 boys, many of whom came up to her at tryouts and offered encouragement. Emery Floyd, one of the boys, was especially supportive, says Christy, picking Aubrey for his team and making sure she got as many opportunities to impress the coaches as everyone else.
Aubrey scored a touchdown during tryouts, produced several first downs and pulled four flags. Christy gets choked up when recalling that day, and how the other boys started chanting Aubrey’s name as she walked off the field.
“She played her heart out,’’ Christy said. “Maybe she wasn’t good enough to keep up with those eighth grade giants, only 5-feet tall and 95 pounds, but her heart was. And they knew it.”
Benito decided to create a sixth grade team for those who didn’t make it, and Aubrey played on it. The team had three practices, and played one game, against a sixth grade team from Turner/Bartells. Some of the opponents laughed at her, she says. “I expected it,’’ Aubrey says. “But, it only made me more determined to show I had as much right to be out there as they did.”
So, What About This Year?
The district, however, still had a problem to solve for the upcoming 2017-18 school year.
“It was felt in our department, amongst our district and upper administration, that we really did not want to combine boys and girls (on a flag football team),’’ said Burchill. “It really was not to our advantage for boys and girls to play together in flag football. We needed to find a solution.”
One principal from each of the county’s eight areas came together to form a committee. Instead of cutting sports to meet Title IX compliance, they came to the decision in May to reduce the track and field season, making room to add a boys team to volleyball, which previously only had a girls team, and a girls team to flag football, which only had a boys team.
It was the perfect compromise. The two sports are both low cost and open up a number of athletic opportunities that didn’t otherwise exist. It also keeps the county Title IX complaint.
“A win, win, win, all the way around,’’ says Christy, proudly.
While very few high schools have boys volleyball teams — Berkeley Prep and Brooks Debartolo are two of them — girls flag football has taken off at the high school level.
Last year, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), which has offered a high school state championship since 2003 when it had 70 teams playing, expanded its playoffs from one classification to two.
There are now more than 200 girls flag football teams playing statewide, and Tampa Bay is one of the hot spots. Last season, Tampa’s Robinson High captured the Class A flag football title, while Plant High in downtown Tampa took home the Class 2A title.
For the first time, the teams at Wharton and Freedom high schools will now have feeder programs.
And, they can thank Aubrey, who saw something she thought was wrong and fought to make it right.
“I think this has been a great experience,’’ she says. “It opened up a lot of new opportunities and new possibilities. I think its great to know that kids and people like me can make a difference. That’s pretty amazing.”
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera hosted a town hall meeting at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms that attracted roughly 75 local residents who came to discuss a number of issues., especially those related to the traffic in our area.
District 7 Tampa City Council memberand Hunter’s Green resident Luis Viera has championed many causes since being elected last December, from starting a veteran’s council to creating a New Tampa Council to taking a hands-on approach to tackling issues at the New Tampa Recreation Center.
But, Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s proposed Fiscal 2018 Tampa city budget has now given him another one. With $90,000 in the proposed budget earmarked for the design and study, it appears that a new “sensory-friendly” park could be in New Tampa’s future, to be located behind the BJ’s Wholesale Club on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms.
For Viera, whose older brother Juan has autism, creating parks for special needs children and adults is an issue that hits close to home.
“It’s a big issue for me,’’ Viera says. “This park will be the first of its kind in Tampa. Frankly, this is the kind of stuff, that helps people, that you run for City Council for.”
A number of sensory-friendly attractions are being added across the country as more and more children and adults are identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3.5 million Americans live with ASD. Roughly one in every 68 children has been identified with ASD, and it is 4.5 times more common in boys (1 in 42) than girls (1 in 189). The prevalence of autism in U.S. children has increased by nearly 120 percent since the year 2000.
Those on the autism spectrum take in information from their five senses just like everyone else, but cannot process it the same way and become overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed leads to those within the spectrum being unable to communicate and interact, leading to anxiety and, in parental parlance, meltdowns.
A sensory-friendly park, then, would stress serenity. Sometimes, it is subtle and barely noticeable changes — like the addition of gardens and artwork, different walking surfaces, more comfortable swings — that can distinguish these parks from others but still keep them accessible to everyone.
“I think it would have a huge impact for many families who can’t participate in a typical park,’’ says Mindy Stevens, M.S., the program director for USF’s Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD). “It will definitely lead to (these affected) families being able to access their community more.”
Because so many don’t understand what those on the autism spectrum go through, it often leads to bullying. Viera said his family still has painful memories of middle and high school, when Juan, who is now 46, was bullied.
“It’s something I grew up with, it was part of my life,’’ says Viera. “We have a lot of work to do. I’ve certainly seen changes. You still see lots of bullying out there, but it is getting better.”
Stevens said her staff has already met with Mayor Buckhorn about the park, as well as many within the city’s Parks & Recreation department. CARD will help train the proposed park’s staff and volunteers, while also providing technical support.
While the groundbreaking for the park is a ways off, Viera says he hopes the see it open within two years, adding that it will be one of his big priorities over the next 12 months.“The first sensory-friendly park in Tampa, to have it here, that’s a big deal,’’ he says.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) says it is looking for a man who broke into a home Wednesday afternoon, battered the resident and made off with firearms.
