Editorial: How To Make Driving In Our Area Better

Driving in the rain
Photo by Jannah McDonald

So, your favorite (or not) New York-transplanted editor is back for another rant about driving in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel — and really everywhere in Florida.

I’ve already complained about our self-deputized civilians who refuse to get out of the left lane (because they may be traveling the posted speed limit), despite the fact everyone who wants to drive a normal speed has to pass them on the right — and are still doing it despite Florida’s new law that says you can be ticketed for it. “Slower traffic keep right” isn’t just a slogan.

I’ve also previously explained why dedicated right turn exit and acceleration lanes when going from one major roadway to another are neither yield nor stop signs.

So, here’s Part 3 of this “helping you drive better” series — which I felt was particularly fitting as our recent drought ended and we began the rainy/hurricane season when the calendar turned to June — driving in the rain.

Let’s take a quick quiz on the subject:

1. Whenever you’re driving in the rain, you should:

a.) reduce your speed, b) allow yourself additional braking distance between you and the vehicle in front of you, c.) turn on your headlights if they’re not already on or on auto, d.) all of the above. The answer, as most everyone knows (except those who refuse to turn on their headlights in the rain), is d., all of the above.

2. When are the roads at their slipperiest or slickest?

a.) When it’s been raining heavily all day, b. When it first starts to rain, c.) The roads are always equally slippery, d.) I have no idea.

The answer to that one is actually b., because the oils that build up on the roadway when it’s dry outside rise to the surface and make the roads slicker than when it’s been raining all day and those oils have all been washed away. Sadly, this means that for many people, the answer, until now, was d.

Now for the toughie/trick question (despite the hint in the photo above):

3. When it is raining so hard that seeing the vehicles in front of you becomes difficult, you should:

a) Pull off to the side of the road and have your hazard lights flashing, b) Continue driving, but turn on your hazard lights, c.) Continue driving, but make sure that your headlights are on, reduce your speed and use extra caution or d.) I have no idea.

The “trick” part is that if it’s so bad that you really can’t see the vehicle in front of you, the answer should be a., but very few of us will choose to do that when we’re in a hurry to get to or from work or to a meeting or event that we can’t afford to pull over and wait it out, especially because you’re something of a sitting duck if someone else swerves off the road.

The most practical answer, in that case, is actually c. Those of you who picked b. might as well have picked d., because you are truly clueless — a fact that is re-proven to me almost every time it rains more than a drizzle here.

But, here’s why you don’t turn your hazards on in heavy rain, McFly — your hazard lights are for when you and/or your vehicle are in an emergency situation — you had to pull off the road to change a flat tire, your car breaks down in the middle of the road, etc.

If you’re already driving with your hazards on and your car breaks down (maybe because you’re driving through deep water and your car’s electrical system goes bad), how will the vehicle behind you know that your car has stopped working? The answer is usually by smashing into you from behind, which is normally the rear-ender’s fault, but not in this case.

As indicated on the sign in the photo, Florida law says “Driving in the Rain: Headlights On, Hazards Off,” which means that if you have an accident while violating this law, you would be the at-fault driver.

So, please: read the sign and obey it. Driving in the rain is tough enough without drivers who make up their own laws because they mistakenly think it’s easier to see flashers than it is steady lights.

WCNT-tv Keeps Building!

Check out the ad for WCNT-tv — Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television — on page 43 of this issue. You’ll see some numbers that I’m very proud of. As of June 9, a little less than a year since we debuted the show — we have reached very close to three quarters of a million people and been viewed more than 350,000 times on YouTube and Facebook.

Our recent Neighborhohood Dining News segments about Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering and Fushia Hot Pot Buffet & Asian Bistro each garnered thousands of views and have generated some new business at both locations. And, I think our most recent News segment about the Diverging Diamond Interchange (see story on page 6) and most recent Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce Featured Business segment about American Wood Flooring are among the best work we’ve done to date.

Please view, like & share all of our WCNT-tv segments on YouTube & Facebook!

RADDSPORTS: Sports Complex Is ‘Ready To Go!’

Anthony Homer (left) and Richard Blalock of RADDSPORTS, with WCCC CEO Hope Allen. (Photo: OurTownFla.com)

Richard Blalock is eager to get shovels in the ground and the long–awaited indoor/outdoor sports complex in Wiregrass Ranch built. He says that these days, it’s just a waiting game.

However, when Pasco County is ready to issue the permits and get the ball — or, in this case, basketballs — rolling, Blalock assured local business leaders on May 25, at the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) Economic Development Briefing, that his team is ready to go.

“We’re hoping to get it all papered up in August,’’ said Blalock, the CEO & Founder of RADDSPORTS, the Sarasota-based company that will build and run the Wiregrass Sports Complex (WSC) at Pasco County, as he said it is currently called. “We are 30 percent into drawings, 40 percent into civil design, and it will be 18 months to build, but we think we might be able to get it in 12 or 14.”

That would mean a spring 2019 opening for the $44-million WSC, which is planned for part of a 224-acre parcel located northeast of the Shops at Wiregrass.

“We’re excited for it,’’ said WCCC CEO Hope Allen. “We’ve been waiting.”

Blalock and RADDSPORTS VP of development Anthony Homer showed some new designs and news to the monthly WCCC gathering at the Pebble Creek Golf Club in New Tampa.

In conjunction with Mainsail Development, the sports complex will have one of the first full-service Marriott-branded Residence Inns, a 120-room hotel that will now be L-shaped to create a courtyard at the entrance to the WSC, with a sports theme and rooftop bar overlooking the complex, which also will have an amphitheater for concerts and seven soccer fields.

Blalock also showed plans for ponds and a trail system through the complex, in an effort that could appease the older, more country-minded Wesley Chapel residents.

“We’ll be marketing this complex nationwide as kind of an ‘old Florida’ theme,’’ Blalock said. “We want to keep the natural sites, and the ponds….we’d like to tell the basketball teams and volleyball teams up in New York to come down and see a gator. We want to keep that whole theme of nature; that’s what the community is looking for.”

As for the programming, Blalock said it’s too early to determine if the 98,000-sq.ft. indoor facility will be something residents can just walk in off the street and use, but the focus will clearly be on drawing the top youth sports tournaments and athletes not only from around the state, but also from around the country, for tournaments that will fill hotel rooms and restaurant seats and make an economic impact.

Blalock said an intensive youth program will focus on different levels (recreational, competitive and elite) of five primary sports —cheerleading, basketball, volleyball, soccer and lacrosse. The plan is to develop and promote players, like a minor league would do, while also developing the athletes into good citizens.

“The youth sports industry needs a culture change,’’ he said.

Blalock also said the indoor facility will offer educational and tutoring labs, coaching programs for kids who are not inclined to play sports competitively, concession stands and meeting spaces.

“The flexibility is huge,’’ Blalock said.

The indoor complex will co-market with the hotel, much in the way Disney Sports ties in athletic events to its Disney resorts. Homer said they have 38 events already planned for the first year, but he expects to “blow that number out of the water.”

Despite the on-site presence of the Residence Inn, Homer said there will still be plenty of rooms to go around. A volleyball event, for example, could attract 128 teams, resulting in a need for 800-900 hotel rooms.

“Our 120 rooms won’t even put a dent in it,’’ Homer said. “It will fill up not only our hotel, but the others in the area.”

The county says the sports complex is expected to generate 27,000 room nights per year.

Blalock said RADDSPORTS has already secured U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting, and is now just waiting on the county.

There is still one obstacle to get over — getting the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) raised in order to help finance the complex. The WSC will be built with $11-million previously set aside by the Board of County Commissioners ($8.5-million in tourist tax funds and $2.5 million in excess bond proceeds from a prior half-cent sales tax bond), a county-backed loan of $14,253,700, plus $18,750,000 from Mainsail Development.

The proposed two-percent increase in the TDT is expected to generate $1.2 million annually, which will help by paying down the loan, along with the revenue RADDSPORTS says the WSC will generate. A super majority vote (four of the five BCC commissioners) is required to officially pass the TDT increase. A vote will be held at a future meeting, following a public hearing.

For more information and to take a look at the plans, visit RADDSPORTS.com/pasco-wiregrass-complex/.

QB No Longer A Question Mark For WCH Wildcats Football Team

Isaiah Bolden (above, left, with the ball) won the starting QB job in the spring and delivered a long TD run and TD pass in the 31-14 victory over Mitchell High on May 18.

Like every high school football team in the Tampa Bay area, Wesley Chapel High (WCH) came into spring practice with a number of important questions.

On May 18, however, the Wildcats may have answered their most important question during their 31-14 spring football victory over Mitchell High, based in the Trinity area of New Port Richey.

After a three-way battle to replace last year’s starting quarterback Jacob Thomas, second-year Wildcats coach Anthony Egan declared Isaiah Bolden the winner of a three-way battle with senior Tyler Wittish and junior Jelani Vassel to call his signals during the 2017 football season, which begins in August.

All Bolden did was go out and threw for a touchdown and run for another in the victory by the Wildcats over Mitchell. WCH is coming off a 7-2 record in 2016, their most successful season since 2004.

“He (Bolden) started looking really good in 7-on-7s this season, so I thought we should give him a shot, see what happens,” Egan said.

Isaiah Bolden’s favorite target during the spring game was WR Justin Trapnell, who had more than 90 yards receiving, including a 58-yard TD.

While Egan also says he liked what he saw in Whittish and Vassel, it was hard to resist the temptation of putting his best athlete under center. An oral commitment to the University of Oregon in Eugene (ranked 21st in the nation by an Athlon Sports preseason poll), after initially committing to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Bolden is another threat in a backfield filled with guys who are a threat to score every time they touch the ball.

And, it’s no secret that the Wildcats want to get Bolden more touches. He had nearly 500 return yards last season, including three touchdowns (two on kickoffs and one on a punt return), but with Thomas under center and the Wildcats committed to the running game, Bolden was limited on offense.

WCH attempted fewer than eight passes a game in 2016 despite having Jacob Thomas, the county’s leading passer the year before, under center. Bolden may not throw much more than that, but expect those attempts to be a lot more exciting, as the future Duck opens things up, whether he throws the ball or tucks it under and runs. Bolden has high-level speed and his presence under center will pull attention away from the Wildcats’ receivers and backs, who are already talented and numerous.

Bolden threw for 95 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Justin Trapnell, to give WCH a 10-7 lead over Mitchell at halftime in the spring game.

On the opening drive of the second half, Bolden scrambled out of the pocket, dodged one defender and raced 64 yards for a touchdown to extend that lead to 17-7. He finished with 81 yards rushing.

Bolden won’t have to do it all, if the spring game is any indication. With a number of talented skill players returning, as well as a good group of linemen, the Wildcats seem poised to take another step in 2017, which kicks off with a home game Aug. 18 against Land O’Lakes.

Dexter Leverett, who ran for 1,249 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2016 and had 100+ yards in all nine of his starts, ran for 55 yards against Mitchell, and also led the way with some key blocks.

“Us backs, we have to take care of each other,” Leverett said. “Everyone has to do their thing.”

Malik Melvin ran for 123 yards in the spring game on eight carries, with two scores. He is a rising star and would likely be the main guy on a different team, and is coming off a solid 2016 campaign.

Keith Walker

“If you take one thing from our backfield, it’s unselfishness,” Coach Egan said. “They want to block for each other. Now we have three or four guys who want to do it.”

About the only bad news out of the Wildcats vaunted backfield this spring was the expected loss of sophomore Keith Walker, who ran for 48 yards on four carries with a TD but is zoned to attend Cypress Creek in the fall.

The WCH defense looked a little wobbly out of the gates in the spring game, giving up a three-play, 64-yard drive, but tightened up and didn’t allow another score the rest of the way (Mitchell’s second, and final, touchdown came on a kick return).

Do-everything defensive lineman Austen Wittish is the only returning starter from the 2016 front seven. He led the team in tackles last year with 93, including four for a loss of yards. The Wildcats’ success this season could hinge on how Wittish, his brother Tyler (a junior), seniors Andrew Brooks and Matt Severson and junior Ben Thomas can gel. Egan mentioned Chase Harris and Nick Hoffman as guys who will factor into the defensive alignment in 2017.

“It’s the same system but we’ll have six new guys up front this year,” Egan said.

WRH Bulls Football Team Preps For Tough 2017 Schedule In Spring Game

New WRH Bull Raymond Woodie III (6), follows a block by Jordan Miner (1) on the way to a big gain in the 33-27 spring game loss to Tampa Catholic on May 19.

The Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) football team will arguably be one of the top two or three teams in Pasco County, but that does them little good when it comes to making the playoffs because they play in Class 7A-District 8, which also includes Hillsborough County powers Plant, Sickles, Gaither and Wharton.

So why not cap the spring football season against, well, another tough Hillsborough County team? That was third-year head coach Mark Kantor’s thinking as the Bulls fell behind 33-13 in the fourth quarter before rallying back and falling just a little short in a 33-27 loss to Tampa Catholic (TC) on May 19.

“You don’t know what it’s like going against them (Hillsborough County teams) until you actually line up against them,” Kantor said. “These kids are seasoned guys now and they’ve learned so much.”

Spring offered some challenges for the Bulls, who are coming off their most successful season after a 7-3 record earned them a spot in the Class 7A playoffs last season, their first postseason appearance since 2010.

To get back to the playoffs, one of the Bulls’ primary focuses in the spring was on replacing multi-facted quarterback Chris Faddoul, who signed to play for Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Faddoul made the lion’s share of the Bulls’ pass attempts in 2016, was third on the team in rushing and was their primary punter and place kicker. Replacing him is like replacing 3-4 players, but the Bulls have a deep roster (43 for the spring) and a lot of candidates.

Jordan Miner

Junior Grant Sessums, who threw only 28 passes in 2016, took all of the passing attempts in the spring game against TC. He was harried by the Crusaders’ defense and threw thee interceptions, but also threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

Rising junior Raymond Woodie III comes over from playing QB at Carrollwood Day School  (CDS), but played free safety in the TC game, picking off a pass and running it back 40 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Woodie, a contrast to Sessum’s pocket-style passing, threw for 543 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore for CDS, and already boasts 16 college offers from the likes of the University of Southern California, Penn State University, Michigan State University and the University of South Florida.

Nkem Asomba

His recent transfer to WRH left him out of the quarterback spot for the spring game as he learns the playbook, but Woodie could end up sharing time under center with Sessums.

“He (Woodie) adds another dimension,” Kantor said. “He’s tough, athletic and wants to help the team.”

He’ll also strengthen a running game led by senior Daquion “Da Da” McGee, who rushed for 1,063 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last year but found tough sledding against TC, rushing 13 times for minimal gains.

His counterpart in the backfield is fullback Chase Oliver, a 5’-9”, 210-lb. sledgehammer.

“Chase is a throwback football player,” Kantor said. “If he played in the ‘60s, he’d be an All-American.”

On the Bulls’ first drive against TC, Oliver steamrolled a Crusader defender for 11 yards and a first down. On the second drive, he caught a short pass and rumbled 54 yards, clobbering defenders to set up a short score. He finished with five touches for 82 yards in the spring game, although he never found the end zone.

The WRH coaches are careful not to run Oliver too much, as they also need him on defense, where he starts at linebacker. “It’s challenging (playing both ways) but I have to lead by example,” said Oliver, who is emerging as one of the team’s veteran voices. He says he was pleased with the late charge by the Bulls vs. TC.

“You can’t go to sleep, you have to play a complete game,” Oliver said. “I like the way we fought back from 33-13.”

Speaking of veteran leadership, the Bulls’ QBs will have the luxury of having a senior-heavy receiving corps. Leading receivers Adrian Thomas and Jacob Hill return after more than 400 yards between them in 2016. Rising senior Jordan Miner is a threat at wideout and at defensive back. Daniel Biglow and Shamaur McDowell also are good-sized, veteran receivers.

McDowell, Miner and Woodie give the Bulls the most recruited trio of teammates in Pasco County.

Devaun Roberts

The Bulls also got a great showing in the spring game from senior Devaun Roberts. He set a high bar for himself against TC, picking up two sacks, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, a pass defended and a quarterback pressure from his defensive end position. “This is my first year at defensive end,’’ Roberts said. “I’m used to playing tight end though, so now that I’m lined up over the tight end a lot, I know the blocks. It felt good to get in there and scare that quarterback. We’re going to do well this year.”

Behind Roberts are two big, set pieces who certainly look like dominant linemen. Lenczden, whose measurements are not listed on the roster, is roughly 6’-6” and 260 pounds. Senior Nkem Asomba is listed at 6’-5”, 265. “He’s actually a basketball player, football is new to him,” Kantor said of Asomba. “He’s shown some athleticism and that he can play this sport.”

Wiregrass Ranch High Co-Valedictorian Lauren Payne Follows Her Sister To UF

Wiregrass Ranch High co-valedictorian Lauren Payne will follow her sister Emily to the University of Florida.

Lauren Payne says she wasn’t necessarily trying to earn the title of valedictorian of the 2017 class at Wiregrass Ranch High, but that’s where her hard work and smart choices landed her.

She recently graduated as co-valedictorian, with a weighted GPA of 4.79.

“I chose my classes based on what I thought was going to be interesting,” Lauren says, not with having the toughest schedule in mind. “I took a mix of AP (Advanced Placement) classes and dual enrollment, and they were all good.” She says her favorites — among courses such as AP calculus B/C, government and statistics — were her dual enrollment world literature and AP biology classes. What did she take for fun? “Oceanography and anthropology were like electives,” she says.

“Lauren has a really strong work ethic,” says her mom, Janet. “It is really important for her to try her best and challenge herself.”

Lauren’s natural drive to try her hardest has earned her some pretty impressive credentials. For example, she’s a National Merit Scholarship winner. This makes her eligible for a program called the Benacquisto scholarship, where the State of Florida provides a financial award equal to the cost of attendance at a Florida school, including tuition and fees, on-campus room and board, books, supplies, travel and miscellaneous expenses remaining after using  award given by the National Merit Scholar program and the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program.

Lauren is taking her Benacquisto scholarship to the University of Florida in Gainesville, the school from which her older sister Emily just graduated. Emily was WRH’s salutatorian in 2013.

“I chose UF because I’ve been visiting my older sister there since middle school,” she says, “and I always felt like I belonged.” UF also offered her its Presidential Scholarship, which offers $5,000, $8,000 (gold) and $10,000 (platinum) per year to in-state, high-achieving students.

Her plan is to major in microbiology and cell science and eventually work in the medical field. “It’s exciting to be on my own for the first time,” says Lauren, who has lived in the same house in Meadow Pointe her entire life, attending Sand Pine Elementary and John Long Middle School before WRH.

While she’s following her older sister’s footsteps into college, she also followed her athletically. Lauren watched Emily run cross country in high school, so she started running in middle school. Lauren became part of a team at WRH that won the Sunshine Athletic Conference Eastern Division championship this year.

“I looked up to my sister, so I thought running cross country looked like so much fun,” Lauren says. “Once I started, I really liked the coach and all the girls on the team, so I stuck with it, even though it was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

She adds, “There are some days for everyone where it’s just a really rough run and it doesn’t feel fun or easy. There’s a point where you have to decide whether I’m going to stick through this. The experience with all the other girls on the team made the hard days worth it.”

In addition to being a scholar and an athlete, Lauren also was active on campus at WRH, as a class Senator all four years, president of Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society), a Ranch ambassador (representing the school at different events such as orientation and open house) and a member of both the National Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society.

“She grew up liking to try a lot of different things, such as dance, swimming, and playing a couple of different instruments,’’ said her mother Janet. In fact, Janet says Lauren still plays violin but had to stop playing in the school’s orchestra.

“Orchestra is a big-time commitment,” Janet said, “Lauren had to make choices. She even did cheerleading for her first two years, but couldn’t keep doing all of those activities, so she had to make decisions about how to best spend her time.”

While Janet is proud of Lauren, she doesn’t seem at all surprised at her success. “Since Lauren was pretty young, she’s always had a curiosity about how things work and has been enthusiastic about school,’’ Janet said. “We’ve had great public schools and great teachers who have nurtured her along the way. Those things came together: good schools, good teachers, she gets a lot of support and she tries hard.”