How Smart Is This Tampa Palms Kid? ‘Very Smart…Final Answer!’

JohnB2
John Barreto

John Barreto not only made it onto “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” as part of the nationally syndicated game show’s “Whiz Kids Week,” he answered a handful of questions correctly and walked away with $20,000.

His most impressive feat, however, may have been keeping that a secret for more than six months.

“How did he do that?,’’ asks his mom, Jill. “How does a 12-year-old do that?”

John, a Tampa Palms resident and 7th grader at Corpus Christi School in Temple Terrace, was finally able to let the secret out last week, when the two episodes he was on — which were filmed in Stamford, CT, on Aug. 7 — aired locally on WTOG-TV Ch. 4 on Feb. 9-10.

When John walked into school the morning after his first appearance aired, he was greeted with an announcement and an ovation from his fellow students.

“Obviously I wanted (to win) a million dollars, but I didn’t have my mind set on any particular amount,’’ John says. “I just wanted to get on the show and have fun and have a good experience.”

His questions involved geophagy, palindromes and Thorium, yet John managed to make his way through to $20,000 by answering eight questions — with one assist from his lifeline, his dad Ron — and smartly avoided gambling on his last question.

Nattily dressed in red slacks, a blue blazer and a plaid bow tie, Barreto decided not to risk it all on his last, and trickiest, question: “There’s not a single United Nations’ member whose name begins with ‘X’ or which other letter?

His choices were J, Q, V and W.

Baretto1John thought the question might be referring to the names of actual ambassadors representing their countries at the U.N., so he decided to go to his final lifeline, the crowd, and 52 percent chose “Q.” That wasn’t enough to convince John to risk his fortune, so he stopped there.

The audience, by the way, was wrong: it forgot about Qatar.

“I was kind of disappointed I had to stop,’’ John says. “But, when the audience was wrong (the answer was W), I was really excited about that. If it was Q, I would be kicking myself all the way back to Tampa.”

His mother, Jill, had hatched the plan for someone in the family to appear on the show, which once enjoyed massive popularity on the ABC-TV network and was picked by TV Guide as No. 6 on its list of the greatest 60 game shows of all time.

Jill says she was doing dishes and watching “Good Morning America” one morning and the host of “Millionaire,” Chris Harrison, was a guest. He mentioned that the show would be filming in Stamford, CT, in the summer. It just so happened that Jill was from Connecticut, and the family was going to be vacationing there while John was attending camp.

“My mom was like, we’ll be in Connecticut this summer, let’s see if they can get your dad or your sister on because they know a bunch of stupid facts,’’ John says, chuckling.

Since it was Whiz Kids Week, Dad was obviously ineligible, and Julia, a 15-year-old sophomore at the Academy of Holy Names, declined.

That left John, who began an arduous process with a 250-word poem on why he should be picked (“Info and facts seem to stick to my brain, my trivia skills are simply insane”). That led to a 30-second video, a 4-page application that involved taking pictures of all his awards and included his IQ (141 when he was last tested, in the second grade), and then an hour-long Skype interview with 42 more questions.

An aspiring magician with an in-progress jump shot he practices while playing on a basketball team at the New Tampa YMCA, John was picked as a finalist, along with 10 other kids, meaning that even if he didn’t get on the show he’d still get $1,000 a day with a chance to return within two years. And, he got to extend his summer vacation, which was supposed to end in July, for two extra weeks for the show’s August shooting.

“I told him that at the very worst, how many 12 year olds can say they made $1,000 in one day?,’’ Jill says.

While some of the kids didn’t even make it on the show, and others flamed out on one question, John also made a run at some big bucks.

“I think it was more nerve wracking leading up to it, rather than doing it,’’ John says. “I was worried, would I get on the show? Will I have a chance to win some money? Once I knew I was getting on the show, I wasn’t really scared anymore. I knew I couldn’t walk out of there with less money than I walked in with.”

John hasn’t received his check yet, but he plans on pocketing a little of it for fun, maybe indulge himself with some new magic tricks, and the rest he’d like to invest.

Here’s the other questions John faced on Millionaire. See how well you can do:

$500
Your dentist wouldn’t want you to know this, but according to WebMD, what do only about half of Americans do daily?
a. Breathe
b. Floss
c. Blink
d. Use the bathroom

$1000
The Declaration of Independence originally said, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable,” before “sacred and undeniable” was changed to what?
a. Self-Evident
b. Probably True
c. Hopefully Accurate
d. Possibly Correct

$2000
Which element contains the name of the Marvel Comics superhero who also happens to be the Norse god of thunder?
a. Spidermanium
b. Thorium
c. Magneton
d. Praseodymihulk

$3,000
Which Beatles song has a value in its title that is equal to four cubed?
a. Eight Days a Week
b. Two of us
c. When I’m Sixty-Four
d. Revolution 9

$5,000
“Go practice geophagy” is a technical way of telling someone to “eat” what?
a. Their words
b. Their hat
c. Your shorts
d. Dirt

$7,000
For the 113,760 individual frames of the Disney Classic “101 Dalmations,” animators had to draw a total of how many Dalmation spots – about 57 per frame?
a. 48155
b. 309,400
c. 6,469,952
d. 978,157,554

$8,000
What British author named a villain in one of his most well-known books after his real-life boyhood friend Bob Fagin?
a. Kipling
b. Dickens
c. Tolstoy
d. Wells

$10,000
What phrase completes a famous palindrome that begins with “A man, a plan” and ends with “Panama”?
a. A canal
b. A harbor
c. A tower
d. A bridge

$20,000
In 2014, Dr. James Watson raised money for scientific research by auctioning off his Nobel Prize, which he won for discovering that DNA had what shape?
a. Double helix
b. Pascal triangle
c. Convex polygon
d. Cubic honeycomb

Answers: b, a, b, c, d, c, b, a, a.

Field To Fill Montelione’s District 7 City Council Seat Expanding

The list of those seeking to replace Lisa Montelione on the Tampa City Council continues to grow as two more potential candidates have declared that they will run for the seat she is vacating to challenge Shawn Harrison for the Florida House District 63 seat, bringing the total to three people who have expressed their interest in running for the seat to Neighborhood News.

As we reported in last issue’s News Briefs, Tampa Palms resident and local attorney Luis Viera had stated that he is exploring a run for the District 7 seat. Joining Viera in expressing their intent to run for Montelione’s seat when it becomes available are Cory Lake Isles Community Development District (CDD) chairman Dr. Cyril Spiro, M.D., M.B.A.; and Tampa Palms resident and La Gaceta (Tampa’s largest Spanish language newspaper) assistant editor Gene Siudut.


Since Montelione has filed to run for the state legislature, state law requires that she resign and vacate her council seat by June 10 of this year, according to Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections office spokesperson Gerri Kramer.

Although all three of the people who have expressed their interest in the seat so far are New Tampa residents, District 7 is actually a large and diverse area which runs north from Waters Ave. to County Line Rd., and includes Forest Hills, Terrace Park, New Tampa and the University of South Florida area.

DrCyrilSpiro
Dr. Cyril Spiro

Dr. Spiro, who has served on the Cory Lakes Isles CDD for nearly five years, is currently the Chief Medical Information Officer at HealthAxis, a Tampa healthcare information technology company that in 2013 bought M.D. Web Solutions — which Spiro founded in 2004.

Dr. Spiro also founded a not-for-profit organization, the Sunshine Board Cooperation, which is designed to make government more effective and transparent and facilitates cooperation between representatives and their constituents through open online workshops, or forums. The Cory Lakes Isles CDD has been an active user of the workshops to facilitate action.

Dr. Spiro also  says that as a city council member, he would emphasize technology, particularly online communications between government officials and their constituents, to fight for what residents in an area really want and need.

“I very much believe in using technology for improving democracy,’’ Dr. Spiro says. “We have used (resident) survey systems in Cory Lakes Isles with great success. That’s very exciting to me. It’s something that I think can be carried across the country at all levels of government. It will make government more effective at doing what the people want.”

Dr. Spiro, who received his M.D. degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, has also developed Lotterease, software that is used in charter schools to manage their lottery systems, like at Terrace Community Middle School (TCMS) and Lutz Preparatory School and others.

He says he has worked with Montelione on previous issues, including helping with resident surveys in District 7.

“We did some surveys in North Park, between Busch Blvd. and Fowler Ave.,’’ he says. “There, the primary concern is crime. When you go north to New Tampa, it’s transportation. For each of those areas, you have to be aware of what those needs are. Oftentimes, the city will address needs of groups that make the most noise. I’d like to help identify with data and more evidence what’s really in need of most repair.”

Dr. Spiro has lived in New Tampa for 13 years, with his wife of 18 years, Laura. The couple has two children, Arden, 12, and Alenna, 14.

GeneSiudut
Gene Siudut

Siudut (pronounced Sue-Dit) grew up in New Jersey before moving to Florida in 1999, where he landed a job at La Gaceta, which is renowned for being the only trilingual (English, Spanish, Italian) publication in the U.S.

As an assistant to the editor and columnist for La Gaceta, Siudut says he has been active on the city’s political scene, as well in the community in and around Ybor City.

“I’m familiar with everyone on the (current) city council,’’ he says. “I feel it’s a job I can do.”

The longtime Ybor City resident, married two years ago to wife Keri and a newly-transplanted Tampa Palms resident, Siudut says the job requires a fighter who is willing to get in the ring for the New Tampa area’s fair share of the city’s budget dollars. He says he would fight for both New Tampa and the USF area.

“New Tampa needs to have a strong voice,’’ he says. “Whatever the issue, you have to keep fighting for those dollars.”

The 42-year-old is president of the Ybor City Lions Club, a Board member of the Ybor City Development Corporation (YCDC) Executive Committee and chair of the Ybor City Retail Arts and Special Events Committee, which operated with a $1.2-million budget.

“The focus of city government is downtown, and everyone has to fight for city dollars to get their fair share, so that’s a good stepping stone,’’ he says.

Siudut has served as vice-chair of the Hillsborough County Human Relations Board (the county’s anti-discrimination board), and has done volunteer work for The Cuban Club Foundation, Cigars For Soldiers and the Ybor Mural Project.

Siudut says he has a strong understanding of  how city government works after watching it closely and interacting with the players for 17 years. He says that has helped sparked his own interest in serving. “I actually got the itch about five years ago,’’ he says, adding that he had initially planned to get into politics in 2019, at the end of Montelione’s current term. Her decision to leave the city council, however, expedited those plans.

“This is a window of opportunity,’’ Siudut says. “After 17 years working in Ybor City, I understand that number 1, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and number 2, you have to keep asking. No one is going to ask, ‘You know, I really wonder if Tampa Palms needs anything.’”

 

Here We Go Again — Politicians To Debate Kinnan St./Mansfield Blvd. Link

kinnanThe infamous and befuddling barricades (photo) blocking Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe from Kinnan St. in the K-Bar Ranch/Live Oak Preserve area of New Tampa continue to stand as the area’s most notorious roadblock. But, whereas the barricades themselves have had zero movement in years, that can no longer be said of talks to remove them.

Pasco County District 2 commissioner Mike Moore and Hillsborough County District 7 City Council member Lisa Montelione sat down for a conversation last month and the two have agreed to re-open discussions to resolve the long-standing Kinnan-Mansfield impasse.

“Lisa and I met and had a great conversation,’’ Moore said. “We agreed to sit down with both of our sides either the first or second week in March. Obviously, there’s a lot of work to get through, but we both agree we want to do what is best for the region and the citizens.”

Montelione placed tackling the Kinnan/Mansfield dilemma — which, if resolved, would give Wesley Chapel and New Tampa drivers an alternative north/south route to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (and the two-lane Morris Bridge Rd.) — on her list of things to do in 2016. She sent a letter, dated Jan. 21, to the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in the hopes of sparking a new debate.

Moore, however, already had agreed to meet with Montelione before the letter even arrived. He said his first priority has been seeing that the S.R. 56 extension was approved, but once that was settled, he was going to set his sights on Kinnan/Mansfield.

“There are a lot of people for (the Kinnan-Mansfield connection),’’ he said, “but a lot of people have concerns.”

Moore said he will be accompanied at the meeting by Pasco County administrator Michelle Baker, assistant county attorney David Goldstein and Ali Atefi, Pasco’s transportation engineer.

A Scary Situation…

In her letter to the Pasco BCC, Montelione laid out the human side of the City of Tampa’s case for removing the barricades. She wrote that in early November of 2015, K-Bar Ranch (located off Morris Bridge Rd. in New Tampa, just south of the Pasco line) resident Otto Schloeter was cooking lunch for his family when a pan caught fire and severely burned his arm.

The 9-1-1 call from a cell phone ended up going to a tower in Wesley Chapel. The Pasco County 9-1-1 Dispatch Center transferred the call to Hillsborough County Fire Dispatch, which then alerted the wrong Hillsborough County station — nearly 20 miles away — in Thonotasassa, when there are two Tampa Fire Rescue stations (Nos. 21 & especially 22, which is only a mile or so from Morris Bridge Rd.) on Cross Creek Blvd. that are both only a few minutes away from K-Bar.

Hillsborough County’s fire truck eventually made it to Schloeter’s, and called in a Tampa Fire Rescue ambulance.

Due to the confusion, it took nearly two hours to get an actual ambulance to Chloeter and get him from his home in New Tampa to the emergency room at Tampa General Hospital.

While Montelione suggests that more updated emergency responder technology be implemented near the border of New Tampa (which has both unincorporated Hillsborough and City of Tampa communities) and Wesley Chapel, she also says that the pathways that should be connecting counties and cities should be open and as easily accessible as possible.

If Kinnan St. and Mansfield Blvd. had been connected, Montelione wrote, Pasco County Emergency Service Station 26 in Meadow Pointe would have been recognized as the closest station:

“With the mutual aid agreement between our governments, I believe it is fair to say that the completion of this road could have prevented Mr. Schloeter from waiting 45 minutes for emergency responders.”

A similar argument was put forward in 2012 by John Thrasher, the CEO of Excel Music (located in the Cory Lake Isles Professional Center on Cross Creek Blvd.). Thrasher organized and submitted a petition with 61 signatures representing roughly 40 businesses on both sides on the county line, to the City of Tampa attorney’s office urging for the completion of the Kinnan/Mansfield connection.

“This is not only about commerce and convenience, but in an area of wildfires, sinkholes, floods and hurricanes, it is a matter of public safety to provide citizens with as many routes as possible in and out of an area,” Thrasher wrote.

The issue of connecting Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd has been mired in dispute since the 2,000-ft.-long roadway was paved north to the county line in 2007 by the developer of Live Oak Preserve in New Tampa.

In November of 2012, Goldstein reached out to the City of Tampa attorney’s office about Kinnan/Mansfield and laid out of a list of Pasco’s requirements — which included a commitment from the City and/or K-Bar to pay for traffic-calming improvements at the intersection of Mansfield Blvd. and Beardsley Dr. (which runs along the southern border of Meadow Pointe), as well as at Mansfield Blvd. and Wrencrest Dr. to the north, with a funding commitment by Pasco capped at no more than $500,000.

Those requirements were rejected by Julia Mandell, senior assistant attorney for the City of Tampa, in February of 2013.

Thrasher’s petition a month later also failed to bring about any action.

One of Pasco’s requirements from 2012, however, could be part of any new 2016 negotiations. Pasco asked for four lanes of right of way, or land on which to construct the “Beardsley Extension,” which would link Beardsley Dr. east to Morris Bridge Rd. and take some of the traffic pressure off Mansfield Blvd.

Montelione did not comment on the specifics of the Beardsley Dr. request from 2012, but is open to the extension if the two sides can agree to terms. She did say that it seems unlikely that a Kinnan/Mansfield agreement can be negotiated without the Beardsley Extension being a part of the deal.

Moore says that after years of failed attempts, though, he has hopes for success in 2016.

“I feel good about it,’’ he says.

Saying ‘Good Bye’ (Sort Of) To Former PHSC Provost Dr. Stanley Giannet

By Gary Nager

Dr Stanley GiannetAlthough we chatted several times since we first met a little less than two years ago, the picture on this page of Dr. Stanley Giannet, Ph.D., the now-former Provost of the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch of Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC), is how I remember him best — with a microphone in his hand, captivating anyone from his 3,000 or so students at the Porter Campus to emceeing the 2014 Wesley Chapel Rotary Spelling Bee, as he actually was in the photo.

Thankfully, “Dr. Stan” (as I like to call him) isn’t gone forever or really gone at all — he simply got another job with PHSC. In January, Dr. Giannet assumed the role of Vice President of Academic Affairs & Faculty Development/College Provost for all of PHSC.

In that new, “global” role, he says, “I am now overseeing curriculum and every element relevant to the academic programs at PHSC. “All of our campus provosts now report to and interface with me.”

The good-bye part has to do with the fact Dr. Stan is now based at PHSC’s West Campus in New Port Richey.

“But, I’ll have districtwide responsibilities, so I’m still involved in the academic programs and running all of the activities for all five PHSC campuses.”

Even so, he admits, “The Porter Campus and the Wesley Chapel community are very dear and important to me. We’ve done phenomenal things together and I’m proud to say that I know Dr. (Bonnie) Clark (see previous page) — whom I’ve worked with before (at PHSC’s North Campus in Brooksville) — will make sure that the Porter Campus continues to thrive.”

He notes that Dr. Clark’s ascension to VP of Distance Education for all PHSC online programs now gives the school, “A true online division. I really look forward to working with her in her new role. It’s a wonderful opportunity for all of PHSC to grow.”

Although it’s hard to not give Dr. Giannet a lot of the credit for the success of the Porter Campus, the former Honorary Mayor of Wesley Chapel and “Business Leader of the Year” for the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce says that. “The team I’ve been fortunate to assemble is what has made {the campus} such a successful place. The team makes this beautiful campus — which is an architectural marvel — come to life. I will miss the team and, of course, the students.”

He adds that he wants to express, “my deepest gratitude to the Wesley Chapel community for the warm reception they’ve provided me and for the level of dynamism of this community.”

The always-sharply-dressed and eloquent Dr. Giannet says that, the growth of the local business community will benefit not only the Wesley Chapel area itself but also the Porter Campus. “And, we know we will continue to grow and work hard to continue serving the needs of the business community in Wesley Chapel,” he says.

Hitting Some Highlights

Although he says he knew the Porter Campus — which graduated its first four-year degree student last semester — would be a success, Dr. Giannet was proud to have been part of the nearly doubling of the student population in two short years.

“The Porter Campus had 3,000 students as of the last (Fall of 2015) semester,” he says. “We were happy to open with 1,800 students when we opened for the Spring 2014 semester.”

Dr. Stan also says that PHSC’s Porter Campus still has two more phases of potential future expansion planned and room for that growth adjacent to the existing building. He notes that as he leaves the Wesley Chapel-based campus, “We have classes with very few gaps and very few spaces for more students, although the campus is not maxed out…at least not yet.”

Dr. Bonnie Clark Named New Provost At Porter Campus Of PHSC

BonnieClarkBy Celeste McLaughlin

A 17-year veteran of Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC), Bonnie Clark, Ed.D., M.S., has been named vice president of distance education/provost, Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.

The campus, located adjacent to Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) on Mansfield Blvd., opened just two years ago and is experiencing rapid growth.

Before replacing the Porter Campus’ original Provost, Dr. Stanley Giannet, Ph.D. last month, Dr. Clark was VP of Instruction and Provost of PHSC’s West campus, located in New Port Richey. Her many years at the school have included roles in both the student services side of PHSC’s operations (such as registration, advising and financial aid), as well as the academic side.

Dr. Clark earned her Doctor of Education degree in College Leadership in 2013 from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology, which she received in 1992 from Gannon University in Erie, PA, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Mercyhurst College, also in Erie, which she earned in 1984.

She says she enjoyed her undergraduate experience so much that she wanted to work for Mercyhurst College after she graduated.

“I love this atmosphere,” she recalls thinking, as she began her lifelong career in higher education.

“Every job I’ve done has prepared me for the next one, and I’ve loved all my jobs,” Dr. Clark says. “But, my favorite role was opening the Spring Hill campus of PHSC. Like Dr. Giannet did here at the Porter campus, I got the phenomenal opportunity to hire staff and really create a culture. Because the entire staff was starting something new, we really had the feeling of being tight-knit and ‘all in this together,’” she recalls.

Clark says because the Porter Campus is so new, she senses a similar culture here.

“I’ve only been here a week,” she said at our press time, “but everyone has been so welcoming, and the people I’m meeting with seem very dedicated, and I’m pleased with their work.”

As far as working at the Porter campus is concerned, she says, “It’s larger than the one I came from, and we’re growing by leaps and bounds. So, the challenges here are things like being sure we have enough classroom space and enough courses for our students.”

She adds, “The student has to be the most important person here at PHSC,” explaining that without the students, there’s no need for the school to exist. After the students, the faculty members are the ones who see the students every day and need to be supported, so Dr. Clark must be sure that all faculty members have what they need to do their jobs.

Clark says PHSC has a high percentage of 18-20 year olds, with many students coming from Wesley Chapel, Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’Lakes, and North Tampa (including New Tampa). She says because the campus is so easy to get to from I-75 and S.R. 54, it may draw students away from other campuses that aren’t as accessible.

She notes that about half the students at the campus are working toward an Associate of Arts degree, while others are working toward certificate programs such as nursing. PHSC’s Porter Campus offers both Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) programs.

The campus also currently offers two bachelors degrees, a Bachelor of Applied Sciences (BAS) and Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nursing. PHSC meets the high demand for skilled nurses in the community by offering a fully online program where RNs can complete their BS degree.

Dr. Clark says it was through meeting with community leaders that the school realized an online-only program would best suit the needs of the community.

“I’m looking forward to meeting more people in the community,” she says, “and getting involved with the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce and making connections.”

She says that even though PHSC went from being a “community college” to a “state college” at about the time the Porter Campus opened, the school’s leadership has been careful to make sure that serving the local community remains a primary focus of activities at the Porter Campus.

“Community is in our mission, even though it’s no longer in our name,” Dr. Clark says.

The Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch of PHSC is located at 2727 Mansfield Blvd. For more information about all of the degree programs at the school, visit PHSC.edu.