Category: News

Meadow Pointe community pitches in to help fire recovery

Donna Kriston Farley hadn’t lived in Wesley Chapel long enough to expect her Heatherstone at Meadow Pointe neighbors, many she didn’t even know yet, to rally to her aid when her house caught fire on New Year’s Day.

But, that’s exactly what happened.

Thanks to neighbors like Jessica Beagle and Alyssa Hall, who sprung into action almost immediately, Farley, the mother of a 17-year-old son and 8-year-old triplets, watched as a section of the community clubhouse soon filled up with tables piled high with children’s clothes, toys, scooters, bikes, toiletries and “a ton of gift cards,’’ Beagle said.

Farley’s neighbors also set up a page at Facebook.com/HelpTheFarley Family to coordinate donations and a GoFundMe.com page at GoFundMe.com/6jhgwc7k.

Farley was inside the home on New Year’s Day when she smelled smoke and realized something was on fire. The blaze started in the garage, which served as a playroom for the kids, and soon engulfed the front of the house.

Beagle, who teaches 6th grade at John Long Middle School, was down the street playing outside with her daughter, who thought she saw fire. Beagle told her daughter since there were no fire trucks, they we’re okay.

“But, that’s when we heard the fire trucks,’’ Beagle says.

Neighbors tried to control the fire with extinguishers, and Beagle said she said a prayer for Farley and the family.

Soon after, she was asking what she could do to help.

“Everything just escalated from there,’’ Beagle said.

By Saturday, the help poured in.

Farley, who moved to Wesley Chapel from California three months ago, was in tears as she explained to Beagle how overwhelmed she was.

“These people don’t even know me,’’ Farley said. “I’ve never even met any of my neighbors. I feel so bad now. I was questioning whether Wesley Chapel was the area for me. But no more.”

That’s the way every community should be, Beagle thinks. It didn’t matter how many friends Farley had made, Beagle said she knew she had to do something and it wasn’t long before dozens of others in Heatherstone had banded together with her. She reached out to Hall, who was able to reach even more people to help.

“The most amazing thing is, there were kids who were bringing their Christmas presents, that they had just gotten, to the clubhouse to donate,’’ Beagle says.

The house is being rebuilt, and Farley says she plans to move back in to the neighborhood.

Sophia's lemonade stand raising money for K-9 safety

By Celeste McLaughlin

Sophia Contino, who lives in Meadow Pointe and attends Sand Pine Elementary, is an eight year old who wants to save lives. More specifically, she wants to save canine lives by providing the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO)’s K-9 officers with bulletproof vests.

Sophia’s dad, Jason, first heard about the need to supply vests for the Pasco Sheriff’s K-9 unit at the June 2, 2015, meeting of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), of which he is a member. He told Sophia what he had heard, and she came up with the idea of having a lemonade stand, where all of raised the money would be donated to the K-9 cause.

“The reason I am raising money is, I love dogs and I love people,” says Sophia in a video on her Facebook page, which already has been viewed more than 1,000 times at Facebook.com/SophiaPCSOK9 (or search “Sophia’s PCSO K9 Association Campaign”).

Her dad says the Continos don’t currently have a dog at home, and Sophia may be trying to fill a void left by the loss of their beloved black lab, Payton, who passed away when Sophia was five.

Her first goal is to raise $2,500, which is the cost of one higher-end canine bulletproof vest that also measures the dog’s biometrics. Once she meets that goal, she plans to present the money to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco in person. And, her dad says, “Sophia asked me how many vests the Sheriff’s Office needs. I was told they need 11, so she really wants to raise enough money to buy 11 vests.”

According to the Pasco Sheriff’s K9 Association website, there are currently nine active K9 officers and Jason says he is aware of at least one more joining the Sheriff’s Office soon.

Sophia says she charges 50 cents for each cup of lemonade, but that she often receives much more, even $20, for one cup, once people know the cause they’re supporting with their purchase.

Although her first lemonade stand made just a small profit, she has received much more financial support from her Facebook page. Her dad says they have received donations from as far away as New Hampshire and Illinois, and donations to her campaign had totaled more than $1,000 as we went to press with this issue.

Closer to home, Sophia has gotten support from local businesses, including Jefferson Bank, which set up an account where anyone can walk into any branch (including the one in Tampa Palms at 15302 Amberly Dr.) and make a donation to “Sophia’s Pasco County Sheriff’s K9 Fund.” She also has been invited to set up a lemonade stand at Wesley Chapel Nissan (located at 28519 S.R. 54, which she did for the first time on January 9).

Troy Stevenson of Wesley Chapel Nissan, a member of the WCCC who was instrumental in bringing awareness of the issue to the group, has helped the dealership (which is owned by Jay Rosario) raise $10,000 to donate to PCSO to get the ball rolling for the K-9 vests. He also got permission for Sophia to sell lemonade at the dealership.

“Sophia is a dynamo,” says Troy. “I wish I had her selling cars for us. She could raise $10,000 herself before she’s done.”

Want to support Sophia’s efforts? Come out and buy lemonade at her next lemonade stand, which will be on Saturday, January 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. It will be held in conjunction with a free shredding event by local business Shred360 at the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce office (6013 Wesley Grove Blvd., #105, in The Grove at Wesley Chapel plaza). Or, check out her Facebook page, where you’ll find a link to make a donation via PayPal. You can also make a donation at the Jefferson Bank branch in Tampa Palms.

Getting bigger and better, just like Wesley Chapel

Editorial by Gary Nager

Judging by all of the new “stuff” that’s still coming to Wesley Chapel (see page 14, current issue), it’s easy to understand why the longest continuously published (by the same owner) publication directly mailed to all of the single-family subdivisions (and many of the multi-family units in the same communities) in Wesley Chapel continues to break through barriers in terms of local advertising sales, readership, popularity and ability to help the local businesses who choose to advertise in these pages.

Although we have been directly mailed to Wesley Chapel since I purchased the Neighborhood News in February 1994, our separate (and separately-mailed) Wesley Chapel edition has not yet reached double digits in years. Even so, the reason I split it off from what used to be two issues per month mailed to both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel was because I saw how quickly the Wesley Chapel area was growing between 2005-08 and I was also the only local publisher regularly following — and providing updates in print and on-line about — everything that was still to come to Wesley Chapel, which once had a concrete barricade on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. separating Wesley Chapel from what is now called New Tampa at the Pasco County line.

Even so, I couldn’t in my wildest dreams imagine the kind of growth I’ve seen while doing the same job since Feb. 1994 — much less the last ten years — in U.S. Postal zip codes 33543, 33544 and 33545.

And yes, it’s still coming, which I know has many of us concerned about the traffic and other issues all the continuing growth will bring, but it certainly also has helped your direct-mail community news magazine continue to grow along with Pasco County’s fastest-growing community.

A case in point is this issue, which is the first time we’ve had to expand to 48 pages in the shorter history of our Wesley Chapel issue — which we both split off from New Tampa and switched both editions from their one-time quarter-folded newspaper style to their current oversized magazine format — back in 2008.

In a little less than eight years, the Wesley Chapel edition has grown from its original 28 pages back then to average more than 40 pages the last two years, including our previous high page count of 44, a barrier we had reached several times in both 2014 and 2015, but had never had quite enough advertising to warrant a 48-page issue.

That is, until this edition. But, everyone who works with us knows that no matter how many ads we sell, if we don’t continue to do the little things to help as many of you keep reading every page of every issue — and keep those advertisers as happy as we possibly can by continually improving and refining our finished product every two weeks (our next New Tampa issue will hit mailboxes in 33647 on Jan. 28-29) — it all can go away…in a hurry.

My 22-year commitment (as of next month) has been and continues to be to bring more news and information that’s pertinent to the lives of our readers in both of our markets to keep you reading, not just the “advertorials” that are still part of what we do, but certainly not the only or even the most important thing we do. Anyone can tell you about a local business, but we believe it takes the Neighborhood News to keep the people in both of our distribution areas informed about what’s happening in those areas — and maybe even entertained a little.

As always, I thank you again for the unique opportunity and privilege I have to serve our wonderful readers and advertisers.

‘Taste-y’ News Coming Soon?

I know I’ve teased this a few times before, but yes, there should soon be news about the return of what was once my favorite annual local event, the Taste of New Tampa! I can’t say any more right now, but I will be involved and I will be excited to provide more info…as soon as next issue!

Finally! Funding approved to extend State Road 56

Pasco County District 2 Commissioner Mike Moore could barely hide his joy as the vote to approve funding to extend SR 56 neared.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said.

A few minutes later, the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted unanimously to approve funding which will go toward extending SR 56 from Meadow Pointe Boulevard to U.S. Highway 301/State Road 41. What was once discussed as a two-lane road will now go forward as a four-lane project using State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) funds. The project is a complicated one, involving partnerships with the City of Zephyrhills and four corridor developer/land owners.

The BOCC will now submit the SIB Loan Agreement Package to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for approval.

Funding for the project, which will cost roughly $65-million, is being provided by FDOT, Pasco County, City of Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel Lakes, Wyndfields, River Landing, and Two Rivers Ranch. FDOT is expected to contribute $35.1-million.

The road, which is expected to be delivered in its entirety by 2019, was touted for its expected enhancement of economic development opportunities and tax base in Zephyrhills and southeast Pasco County, as well as relieving traffic and making access to I-75 easier.

We’ll have more details, so check back.

New Year's resolutions of local luminaries

We checked in with some locals to see what changes they are planning for 2016, and what they are looking forward to most in the upcoming year:

Aarene Alessi
Business Development Director, Legacy at Highwoods Preserve

“My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is to master the delicate art of “work/ life balance” and to figure out how to be both a successful industry leader in senior living and a fabulous mom of two beautiful children at the same time.”

Looking forward to: “I am looking forward to being part of growing the innovative senior living community that sets the standard for the next generation of assisted living. I have a passion for serving seniors and my position at Legacy at Highwoods Preserve allows me to be a resource for our community.”

Val Casey
New Tampa Noon Rotary President

“My goal for 2016 would be to raise more awareness for our wounded troops and the Tampa Fisher House.”

Looking forward to:”A change in the current administration. My son Ryan’s graduation from Texas A&M.”

Tracy Clouser
Director of Marketing, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel

“My resolution is to achieve and maintain a healthy balance between work and family and to take care of my health in a well-rounded way…not just related to nutrition and exercise.”

Looking forward to:”My son will be entering his senior year in high school in August, which is bittersweet but exciting. I am also looking forward to our expansion at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel in December so we can better serve the community.”

Victor Crist
Hillsborough County Commission, District 2

“I want to lose 25 pounds, improve my diet by cutting out fatty foods and carbs to help ensure a longer, healthier, happier life.”

Looking forward to: “Spending quality time with my family and friends along with working to bring closure to some very important matters that we are dealing with on Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners.”

Kristy Darragh
Broker Associate, Florida Executive Realty

“My new year’s resolution is to continue to mentor new agents within our company and provide exceptional service to my clients.”

Looking forward to: “Looking forward to 2016, I am excited about watching the changes in our market and promoting the New Tampa area as a wonderful place to call home!”

Peter Gambacorta
Executive Chef and Owner, Private Chef of Tampa

“Spend more time with my grandchildren: Peter, Ella, Tommy, and the little rascals Cole and Lex.”

Looking forward to: “As a Board of Directors member of Rotary’s Camp Florida to work on another large improvement for Kids with Special Needs at the Brandon camp.”

Gary Gunter
Gunter & Gunter Insurance

“The past is history, the future is a mystery, the present is a gift! I resolve to enjoy that gift more often!”

Looking forward to: “I look forward to the excitement of new beginnings that a New Year promises us!”

Shawn Harrison
State Representative, District 63

“My resolution would be to spend less time in Tallahassee and more time with family in Tampa in 2016!”

Looking forward to: “I am most looking forward to continued growth for our business, visits to see our daughter compete for the Washington & Lee Equestrian team in the Spring, and a family vacation this summer.”

Hope Kennedy Allen
President/CEO, The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce

“To quit eating fast food (I have the same one every year).”

Looking forward to: “The grand opening of Florida Hospital Center Ice; we did their ground breaking on my 40th birthday- so it is a special project to me. There are so many more projects happening, and I look forward to all of them coming out of the ground in 2016.”

Lisa Montelione
Tampa City Council, District 7

“Aside from my annual resolution to live healthier, it is my resolution to continue fighting for you as your City Council member. The residents of District 7 contact me every day with problems that need to be addressed in their communities and in our City. I am always happy to address these concerns; whether they are big or small. Though I am proud of the work that my office does, I am resolved to do even better. I am in contact with our departments every day to see what can be done to address possible concerns before they happen. Let me know how I can keep making District 7 and Tampa great!”

Looking forward to: “I am most looking forward seeing all of the efforts I have made while on City Council materialize. This is particularly true of my initiative to develop and implement a Vision Zero plan for the City of Tampa. It can be summed up in one sentence: “No loss of life is acceptable.” In collaboration with Walk Bike Tampa and other regional partners, we are looking to create a pedestrian-safe environment in our city. In 2015, Hillsborough County set a new record high for the number of pedestrian deaths. The most recent data tells us that a total of 53 people have died on our streets in 2015. This does not account for accidents that occurred in the month of December! I am most looking forward to seeing how many lives our initiative will save. Though it will never be enough unless our roadway death toll is zero, if we can save just one life then it will make all the hard work worthwhile.”

Mike Moore
Pasco County Commissioner and Wesley Chapel resident

“Have more family dinners. Meetings, events, cheer practices, football practice, piano lessons, etc., have made family dinners at home a thing of the past. As our kids get older, family dinners are even more important. So, my New Year’s resolution is to carve out at least 2 days a week where all five of us sit down and have a phone-, TV-, iPad-, computer-free family dinner at home.”

Looking forward to: “On a personal level, I’m really looking forward to a couple of family vacations we have planned for 2016. As a County Commissioner, I’m excited about my appointment to the Pasco County Economic Development Council Board of Directors and looking forward to working with the new leadership team to accomplish our goals and objectives. Pasco County is on the rise and I expect great things in 2016!”

Brad Woods
Principal, Paul R. Wharton High School

“I don’t really make New Year resolutions, but I try to make every day better than the day before. I always want to be there for my children and be the best father that I can be. Professionally, I want to continue to make Wharton a great place for students to come to learn and grow into young, productive adults and for them to go out into society and become great leaders.”

Looking forward to: “I am just looking forward to a great 2016 in every way possible.”

— Compiled by Celeste McLaughlin