Wesley Chapel Man Arrested For Possession Of Sea Turtle

By Matt Wiley | August 13

This photo, released by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation, led to the identification & arrest of Wesley Chapel resident Kim Raymond Feaste.
This photo, released by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation, led to the identification & arrest of Wesley Chapel resident Kim Raymond Feaste.

A Wesley Chapel man has been released, after turning himself in for being illegally in the possession of a sea turtle.

According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) report, Kim Raymond Feaste, 21 — whose permanent address is in the Williamsburg community of Wesley Chapel (just north of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line) — turned himself in to the Orient Rd. jail in Tampa on September 1, after Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) authorities visited his apartment the day before.

“(FWC) had put out a news release with his photograph, asking for the public’s help identifying him,” says FWC spokesperson Gary Morse. “As a result, we received a significant number of calls to the FWC Alert Hotline and we were able to determine his name and his whereabouts.”

The FWC release, dated August 13, describes a photographer’s encounter with Feaste, who was photographed digging in a Loggerhead sea turtle (which is classified as an “endangered” species by the International Union for Censervation of Nature, or IUCN) nest on Casey Key in Sarasota County. When asked what he was doing, Feaste replied that he was “collecting turtle eggs to be released when they hatched.”

Morse says that there was plenty of evidence at Feaste’s apartment, located in downtown Tampa, to determine that he was, indeed, the man they were looking for.

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WRH Student Arrested For Child Porn

By Matt Wiley

The discovery of pornographic images involving minors on a cell phone has led to the arrest of a 15-year-old student at Wire- grass Ranch High (WRH).

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), on May 21, the female student’s iPhone was taken away from her during class. The teacher who seized the phone discovered a photo of two juveniles engaging in oral sex, which is considered by law to be child pornography. The teacher reported the photo to the school resource officer.

The student was arrested just after noon on July 1 at her home.Continue reading

Toll Study Approved For Proposed Elevated Lanes Along S.R. 54/56 Corridor

By Matt Wiley

A study will soon be under way to determine how much funding could be generated using tolls for the potential future construction of elevated lanes above the S.R. 54/56 corridor (which we have reported about previously), stretching from U.S. 19 in New Port Richey to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel (see map).

During the July 9 Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meet- ing, commissioners unanimously approved the $218,785 study, which is being funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and carried out by the URS (United Research Services) Corp. The study is expected to take about eight months to complete.

“They (URS) are experts in toll facilities,” says Richard Gehring, planning and development administrator for Pasco.

Elevated toll lanes could span the S.R. 54/56 corridor in the future. Bonded toll revenue could help fund the project. Photo: TBARTA
Elevated toll lanes could span the S.R. 54/56 corridor in the future. Bonded toll revenue could help fund the project. Photo: TBARTA

“They’re going to study what the toll (revenue) projections are going to be. How much revenue will the tolls produce? How long will it take (toll road usage) to ramp up? When you put a toll facility in place, people have to sort of learn how to use it. They don’t initially want to pay to go from point A to B.”

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North Tampa Behavioral Health To Open To Patients In October

By Matt Wiley

North Tampa Behavioral Health (NTBH) is slated to open its doors on S.R. 56 in early October about one year after the opening of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC). However, instead of a facility devoted to physical wellness, NTBH will focus on the well-being of the mind for its patients. There will be an added benefit of increased prosperity for the local community, eventually creating more than 200 jobs.

Ten Broeck Wesley Chapel 7-15-13 01
North Tampa Behavioral Health, a psychiatric health facility, located on S.R. 56 east of the Shops at Wiregrass, will open to patients in October.

This summer NTBH bought the facility (located just east of Mansfield Blvd. on the south side of S.R. 56 in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact, or DRI) from United Medical Corp. NTBH was impressively constructed, in form and function, by DeAngelis Diamond Healthcare Group, LLC, to withstand Category 5 storms. DeAngelis is a Naples-based, nationally reputed construction company that specializes in building medical facilities.

NTBH will be both the newest and one of the most secure psychiatric hospitals in the Tampa Bay area when it opens in early October, says NTBH chief executive officer Jim Harris, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked in the mental health field since 1990. Surrounded by 14-foot-tall fences, the 53,000-sq.-ft., 75-bed facility sits on 16.46 acres of land on an outparcel of the Wiregrass Ranch DRI, but is surrounded almost entirely by conservation land. Construction began last November. The center is centrally located to serve several hospitals without psychiatric units, including FHWC, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills and Bayfront Dade City (Pasco Regional).

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Michele Baker Accepts County Administrator Job

Michele Baker has officially become the first new Pasco County administrator in more than 30 years, succeeding her previous boss, long-time administrator John Gallagher.

The Pasco Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 on July 9 to approve a two-year contract for Baker that would pay her $170,000 per year with the option for a raise, pending an evaluation after one year. The job was originally offered to current Irving, TX, city manager Tommy Gonzalez on May 28, who turned down the county’s offer on June 22.

The BOCC then voted to offer the job to Baker on June 25.

“Michele has been an outstanding assistant and will do a great job as administrator,” Gallagher told the Wesley Chapel Rotary club on July 24.