Advisor Kyle LoJacono, back row, with six of the Blue & White seniors — middle row (l.-r.)Vlada Pitner, Taryn Bartley and Payton Kenny, and front row (l.-r.) Taylor Kaliszewski, Callie Zack and Allie Massey. (Photo courtesy of Kyle LoJacono)
Callie Zack knew this past year would be a tricky one when it came to putting out Wharton High’s school newspaper, the Blue & White.
The onset of Covid-19 practically wiped out the last quarter of 2020, where journalism students generally learn page design, so many new staff members had some catching up to do. Callie’s two associate editors, Allie Massey and Taryn Bartley, would be doing e-learning while she was at school, so teamwork was paramount. And, her ability to pull it all together, as a third of the staff would be learning from home as well, was going to test her organizational skills.
However, Callie and Co. passed the test with flying colors. In May, the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) named the Blue & White the best high school newspaper in the country.
More than 90 schools entered the Senior High School category, which is judged by journalism teachers who have entered outstanding publications in the past.
The Blue & White received 960 out of a possible 1,000 points in the contest this year, the most scored by any other newspaper, earning the Wharton publication the ASPA’s highest honor, Most Outstanding High School Newspaper for 2020-21.
“Adviser Kyle LoJacono and the entire staff of the Blue & White newspaper should be congratulated on this excellent achievement,” Dr. Richard Plass, Chairman of the ASPA, told the Neighborhood News in an email.
“It was very rewarding,” says Callie, who will attend the University of Florida in Gainesville in the fall. “It was difficult to get things done this year. Trying to connect and make deadline was very weird.”
While the year was plagued by Covid-19, it wasn’t short on providing news for the four, 16-page issues the staff put out.
Callie thinks that what separated the Blue & White from its competition was its visual appearance, a new section that focused on hot topics called “The Spotlight,” great photography, a generous use of infographics and a plethora of big national stories — Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, the election, the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, that the staff localized.
“We were a complete newspaper,” Callie says. “We had a staff with a lot of different strengths and we played to them. They didn’t try to be good at one thing, they tried to be good at a lot of things.”
Personally, Callie says she was most pleased with her Feb. center spread about the events of Jan. 6. “I loved writing that piece,” she says, adding that, at 960 words, it was the longest thing she had ever written.
Callie, whose sister Ashley (editor in chief) and brother Taylor (sports editor) are former Blue & White staffers, said she is happy to end her tenure, and high school career, being named the best in the country, especially considering the circumstances.
“There were so many things, like just getting cameras to kids who weren’t on campus,” Callie says. “So many things that we would have never even thought of before. But, to have the organization and skill to make it all happen, I’m just really proud of this group.”
From Homecoming to field trips, the Covid-19 pandemic has stolen quite a bit of the typical senior year experience from the graduating class of 2021.
At Wharton High, senior Taryn Bartley was determined that it wouldn’t steal the senior prom, too.
Taryn didn’t know if her fellow classmates would even be interested in attending a prom planned by another student, so she took to Instagram and posted a poll asking Wharton seniors if they would go, where they would want the prom to be held, and how much they would be willing to spend on a ticket.
Taryn Bartley
“I got 144 responses to that survey,” she says, “and it snowballed from there.”
After touring a few venues, she chose The Italian Club in Ybor City and set the date for May 28. She drafted rules, like no alcohol and identification being required, and only sold tickets to students whose parents signed a form acknowledging the rules.
While school prom committees typically spend all year planning for the big day, Taryn had just 44 days from the day she posted the survey until the day the prom was held. Her mom Amy provided guidance and signed the contracts with vendors, and they benefited from Taryn’s older sister’s experience, who helped plan the Wharton prom two years before.
Taryn knew she needed to sell at least 100 tickets to have enough money to rent the venue. An additional 40 tickets would allow her to hire a deejay.
She was told a typical Wharton prom often has about 300 or 350 students attending, so she was thrilled when she sold 201 tickets.
Then, her mom says, “She worked really hard to spend all the money because she didn’t want to make a profit.”
Taryn held the event the day after graduation. She didn’t want any repercussions from the school for students who attended, and wanted to minimize the chance that anyone might have to quarantine due to exposure to Covid at the prom.
“If I was the reason someone couldn’t walk at graduation, I would have felt terrible,” Taryn says.
The night of the event, Taryn’s parents and a couple of other adults took over as chaperones so she could enjoy herself, going out to dinner in a party bus with friends.
But first, they gathered at the Hunter’s Green Captain Nathaniel Hunter Park with dozens of others, taking pictures as they’ve done for many other events over the years.
“We’ve all gone to school with most of these people our whole lives,” says Taryn. “We’ve added more people as you go on, but there are a lot of the same people, and it was really nice to have everyone together.”
Officially, Wharton did offer some activities to replace prom, so Taryn also was careful to include the school’s student-elected prom court in her event.
“Out of 10 members of the prom court, we had eight of them come to our prom,” she says. The two who were missing participated in a separate prom organized by different students and parents.
Taryn says that all of the hard work definitely was worth it. “I think it turned out great,” she says. “It really came together like a last hurrah.”
With more than 1,000 homes scheduled to be built in the coming years in the sprawling K-Bar Ranch development in New Tampa, District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera has been keeping a close eye on the transportation issues already plaguing the community.
Whether it’s poorly marked roads, unsafe crosswalks or simply ways to get in and out of K-Bar Ranch, the infrastructure needs to keep pace.
By the end of this year, a number of improvements along K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. are expected to be completed.
The parkway itself is still under construction and less than half complete, but when completed, it will be the spine road of the growing community. At that point, it will run from the Kinnan St. entrance all the way east to Morris Bridge Rd., to an exit/entrance just a little north of the current entrance to the Easton Park subdivision.
Residents have complained about the lack of definitive striping on the completed portions of K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., resulting in some near-accidents. Two auto-related deaths, in 2012 and 2019, were both blamed on speeding.
Viera says he has experienced the concerns first-hand. After conducting one of his community meetings at K-Bar Ranch, Viera says a vehicle almost hit him on his way out.
“Me and my son were driving out on the same K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. residents had just been complaining about, and, lo and behold, I had to swerve out of the way of another car in what could have been a tragic accident,” Viera says.
Viera requested that the City of Tampa take immediate action. He also plans on holding a K-Bar Ranch workshop at a City Council meeting in September to address other issues related to public safety.
Improvements now planned for K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. include:
• Departing Kinnan St. eastbound, the existing 30-mph speed limit signs will be upgraded with enhanced and more visible panels above.
• Approaching Kinnan St. westbound, upgraded stop signs and bright sticks will be added.
• Departing Hawk Valley Dr (private road) eastbound, adding a two-way traffic warning sign.
• Departing Redwood Point Dr. east- and westbound, installing new 30-mph speed limit signs and with enhanced conspicuity panels above.
• The skipping yellow center line along the original section of K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. will be updated with a double yellow center line and raised pavement markers.
• Departing Laurel Vista Way (private road)/Wild Tamarind Dr. east- and westbound, new 30-mph speed limit signs and more visible panels above will be installed.
• Approaching Paddock View Dr. eastbound, end-of-road marking signage (red diamonds) and an advanced T-intersection warning sign will be added, as well as a refreshing of all markings as needed and adding raised pavement markers.
• Departing Paddock View Dr. westbound, new 30-mph speed limit signs will be installed with enhanced conspicuity panels above.
“It is pivotal that the City of Tampa and local governments invest in the requisite infrastructure, roads and public safety systems, as a community grows,” Viera says. “K-Bar Ranch is a growing community and needs this constant attention. Transportation is pivotal.”
CONNECTION COMING: Another primary improvement along K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. will be a connection to Meadow Pointe Blvd. into Wesley Chapel. However, the developer, MI Homes, has targeted Dec. 31 as a completion date, although there are still some permitting issues to resolve that could stretch that completion date into 2022.
The Meadow Pointe Blvd. connection will be the only northbound way out of K-Bar Ranch (other than Morris Bridge Rd.) when K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. is completed.
The Meadow Pointe Blvd. connection is the consolation prize for those who wanted to see Kinnan St. in K-Bar and Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe connected to give residents on both sides of the border easier access and to reduce congestion on BBD.
But, as we’ve reported previously, after years of negotiating with Hillsborough County, Pasco County commissioned a study that recommended connecting the roads only for emergency use, and instead agreed to connect K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. to Meadow Pointe Blvd. and Wyndfields Blvd. for vehicular traffic.
K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. is being constructed in segments, and once each road segment is completed, it will permit the developers to build more homes in that area.
Segment C, starting at the Kinnan St. entrance, is currently completed. Segment D, which is partially completed, will connect to the Meadow Pointe Blvd. extension, which also is under construction right now.
Segment F also is under construction, and will take the parkway almost to the westernmost part of Easton Park.
Completion is targeted for Dec. 31 for those segments.
The remaining segments to complete the parkway are pending permitting, meaning that completion will most likely not happen until 2022.
The new artificial field at Wharton is progressing nicely. (Photo: @WhartonWildcats)
Wharton High will be playing its football games this fall on a brand new artificial turf field, with construction expected to be completed by the end of July.
The Wildcats will debut the field for their regular season football home opener against rival Freedom High on August 27.
“Oh yeah, they are excited about it,” says Wharton’s athletic director Eddie Henderson.
According to Henderson, Hillsborough County Public Schools is doing a rotation of 3-5 fields each summer, with the final goal being to install artificial turf at every public high school.
Last year, the first schools in the rotation — Sumner, Sickles and Hillsborough — had new fields put in. This summer, Steinbrenner, Lennard and Blake are getting new fields, along with Wharton. Each field costs roughly $2 million, but Henderson says the District will make up a lot of those costs with what it saves in maintenance and re-sodding.
“I think that there will be a lot of money saved over the long run,” Henderson says.
Plant High was the first county public school to put in an artificial turf field in 2010, after raising $600,000 for the project.
SPEAKING OF WILDCATS: Wharton recently wrapped up its spring season with a 14-0 loss in one half of play against Tampa Bay Tech, but second-year coach Mike Williams wasn’t concerned about the score.
“The spring is about evaluating our kids and seeing who is ready to move up to varsity,” Williams says. “And we liked what we saw.”
Although the Wildcats graduated all of their varsity quarterbacks, Williams was pleased with last year’s junior varsity starter, Tyree Works, who handled all of the spring snaps. But, Works will have more competition in the fall from some promising freshmen and transfers. Williams is hoping to transition from a power-based offense to one featuring more perimeter passes to spread out the game.
With leading rusher Keith Morris and some key wide receiver transfers ready to beef up the offense, Williams expects to score more than the 19 points per game the team averaged last year.
Almost every defensive player is back, including a linebacking crew that could make an argument for being the best in Tampa Bay and includes All-Staters Daveon Crouch, who recently committed to Boston College, and Henry Griffith and second-team MaxPreps Freshman All-American Booker Pickett Jr.
The Wildcats went 7-2 in 2020 because the defense was top-flight, allowing only nine points per game and posting three shutouts.
“This is going to be a big summer for a lot of the guys,” Williams says.
NUMBERS GAME AT FREEDOM: Freedom High, coming off a winless season, picked up an 8-7 jamboree win over King last month to wrap up spring football.
Quarterback Alex de la Cruz threw a touchdown pass to Greg Underwood Jr., and then found RJ Broadnax for the two-point conversion and the win.
De la Cruz will enter the fall as the starter, after promising freshman and last year’s leading passer Taquawn Anthony said he would not be returning to Freedom.
The Patriots suffered a more serious blow when their best player, Robby Washington, transferred to Eagle’s Landing High in McDonough, GA. Washington led Freedom in rushing, receiving and touchdowns last year, and averaged more than 12 yards every time he touched the ball. He has offers from Alabama, Miami and Boston College.
Third-year coach Chris Short will continue trying to rebuild the Patriots, though only 22 players dressed out for the spring game and very few of them had any previous game experience.
He says a lot of players are waiting on paperwork, but admits that adequately filling a football roster for the upcoming fall season will be a tough chore.
“The hardest thing I’m dealing with right now is the same as when I was an assistant, and that’s getting kids to come out,” Short says. “I’m hoping it’s a cyclical thing with us, but if we can get these kids signed up we’ll be okay.”
There’s something about staring longingly out your window while tucked safely away inside during a pandemic that makes you notice that your drapes are looking a little dingy, or your shutters feel a little outdated, or the light coming in is really harsher than you originally thought.
That might explain why the phones at the Budget Blinds office of Wesley Chapel’s Mike and Adriane Wonderlin rarely stopped ringing this past year.
“To be honest, business has never been better,” says Adriane. “People are in their homes, looking out their windows and getting sick of looking at the same thing all the time.”
But, that’s not the only reason, Adriane adds. New homes are flying off the shelves, too, and many new owners are eager to put their own touch on their new residences.
“There’s a lot of new construction going on, and they don’t want the builder’s blinds,” Adriane says. “They want something they had a choice in (to make) their homes more beautiful.”
Wesley Chapel residents Adriane and Mike Wonderlin own one of the top Budget Blinds franchises in the country.
The growth has led Adriane and Mike to expand. After working for Budget Blinds for nearly 10 years, the Lexington Oaks residents are now the owners of the Budget Blinds franchises in Greater Tampa, Brandon and Lakeland. Adriane says their territory, which stretches all the way north to San Antonio and south to Palmetto and includes showrooms on W. Fletcher Ave. (near I-275, two exits south of Wesley Chapel’s S.R. 56 exit) and in Riverview, covers nearly 90 zip codes.
The brisk business has not only led to having to hire more employees (they now have 30), but Budget Blinds has outgrown its Riverview showroom, which is being expanded. The showrooms are still closed to walk-in traffic, as Budget Blinds continues to take Covid precautions and a no-contact approach, with design consultants still wearing gloves, masks and booties when visiting their customers’ homes.
And, this summer, the Wonderlins will expand to Wesley Chapel.
Budget Blinds was one of the first businesses to sign a lease for a spot in the upcoming KRATE container park at The Grove. After a number of delays, they hope to be open sometime in June or July.
The container set-up will feature living spaces that show off the offerings at Budget Blinds (something similar to IKEA’s set-ups). There will be samples on hand and design consultants to assist in making your choices.
“It will be like a mini-showroom,” Adriane says.
The new showroom also will utilize television monitors and iPads to help bring your ideas into focus. It’s part of a move to a more digital approach, the Wonderlins say.
And, speaking of digital approaches, their Budget Blinds franchise also is beefing up its social media standing with a renewed focus on Instagram — @budgetblindsgreatertampa — where it is polling customers to determine what they like and teaming up with online influencers to bring the possibilities offered by Budget Blinds to life.
There is a variety of styles to choose from no matter what you are looking for — from best-selling brands like Signature Series, Enlightened Styles and Norman Shutters.
Blinds come in vinyl, wood, fabric, faux wood and aluminum. Shutter options range from real wood (in painted or stained) and also composite shutters that will not fade or warp.
If you prefer shades, you can choose from roller, pleated, Roman, cellular, woven wood, bamboo, sheer, solar and graphic, not to mention a variety of panels, valances and drapes.
Adriane says the most popular choices are plantation shutters, which is a huge part of Budget Blinds’ business, and treatments like Roman and roller shades remain a top seller. Adriane says after years of more simple and hard-lined window treatments, soft treatments also are growing again in popularity.
Features that continue to grow in popularity are motorization and automation.
Budget Blinds has a private label called Smart Home Collection by Budget Blinds, and it can be used with a variety of vendors.
“If you found a certain fabric with one vendor, but for another room you want a different vendor, that system will work with both,” Mike says. “It’s a single platform that goes across multiple brands.”
Motorization is more pushing a button on a remote control or keypad, while automation is typically using an app on a phone to set times for the drapes or blinds to open and close. Scheduled correctly, you can be awakened in the morning by natural sunlight as your blackout shades gradually rise, or change the ambiance of your whole home after the sun has set, all with the press of a button or a voice command.
Both eliminate the need for unsightly (and sometimes dangerous) cords.
“It’s great for windows behind couches, especially if you have a conservation view,” Mike says. “People love not having to go (manually) raise the blinds on eight windows every morning. I even had a customer a few months ago (whose) teenage sons wouldn’t wake up, so they set the timers on their blinds for 7 a.m.”
The technology gets better every year, Mike says, and sales of motorization/automation products are up 25 percent over the past three years.
About The Company
Budget Blinds was founded in 1992 in Orange County, CA, and has more than 1,000 franchises in the U.S. and Canada. The Wonderlins’ franchise, which they purchased in 2018, was recently awarded Budget Blinds’ national Franchise of the Year for 2020, the franchise’s third such honor since 2016.
The Wonderlins have a staff of 30 consultants, including installation manager Bill Tumelty, a U.S. Army veteran, and administrative manager Kristi Cicollelo.
Tumelty is one of a few military veterans working for the Wonderlins, who partner with Homes For Our Troops by providing and installing the window treatments in the homes of wounded veterans for free.
Whether you’re looking for improved aesthetics or smarter energy consumption — or, like many customers, a little bit of both — Budget Blinds can steer you in the right direction. And this summer, your journey to more elegant and convenient window treatments can start right in the new local mini-showroom at KRATE.
“We’re excited about it,” Adriane says. “Anything you put in Wesley Chapel right now takes off. And, we’re local — it’s literally right in our backyard.”
The main Budget Blinds of Greater Tampa showroom is located at 1208 W. Fletcher Ave. The showroom hours are Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. To schedule a complimentary in-home consultation, call (813) 968-5050. For more info, visit BudgetBlinds.com/NorthTampa or see the ad on page 24.
