Big Or Small, Taylor Gardner Gutters Meets Your Home’s Needs

Many big builders in the area, as well as individual homeowners that need gutters or repairs, choose the crew at Taylor Gardner Gutters. (Photo: Taylor Gardner Gutters)

If you’re like most homeowners, you probably haven’t put a lot of thought into your home’s gutters. 

 They generally aren’t admired by your neighbors while sitting out by the pool, like a fence might be, or like when you’re enjoying a cold drink in the driveway while basking in the glory of your perfectly manicured and green lawn.

 But, those gutters might just be more important to your home than any of those other aesthetic changes you can make to the outside of it.

 At Taylor Gardner Gutters, there is nothing more important, or serious, than making sure homes are equipped with the best gutters possible, because without them, the foundation of your house is susceptible to water damage that can create big problems down the road.

“I tell customers that gutters are the least expensive thing you can do to your home to improve the quality of the look of the home and quality of the life of your home without spending a fortune,” says Taylor Gardner, the owner of Taylor Gardner Gutters since taking over from his father Ed in 2019. “A fence can be five grand easy, and new floors can cost you $5,000-$10,000. But, new gutters? The average is $1,500-$2,000, tops.”

Why are gutters, which Taylor Gardner Gutters can customize, install and repair, so important? Well, Taylor says there are many reasons, but one of the most important ones is that they take the downpour from those heavy Florida rainstorms and redirects the water away from your house. 

Without gutters, the chance of water creating a river between you and your neighbor and settling at the base of your home’s foundation are much greater. When saturation occurs, the water gets under the house, and can cause the wood or laminate floors in your house to pop, or pucker up.

The water also can bring erosion to the side of your home, which can cause cracks in the stucco and window ledges, and form unsightly trenches.

“Gutters will protect the integrity of your foundation, and that’s the important thing,” Taylor says.

Sarah DiMonarco, a Tampa-based Realtor, was referred to Taylor Gardner Gutters by a friend and hired Taylor and his crew for a house she was flipping.

Sarah was so impressed with the work and the price that she recommended the company to her friends and clients, and even her roofer.

When she had her gutters installed, the crew rerouted her downflow. 

“I asked why they were doing that, and they said it was because the water was washing dirt out to my driveway,” Sarah says. “They made sure it was redirected where it should be going. I’ve been very happy, and the price was right.”.   

At Taylor Gardner Gutters, Taylor and his five crews take the job seriously and set out to prove that not all gutter companies are created equal.

The company offers a thicker gauge aluminum than many of its competitors, which prevents the gutters from ever buckling under the weight of the water. 

Taylor’s crews use rivets instead of screws. Unlike screws, rivets are made of aluminum and won’t rust.

 â€œMost of our competitors use screws,” Taylor says, “and unless they are zinc-coated screws, they will rust. But, zinc-coated screws are more expensive than rivets, so no one does that.”

Rivets also are a stronger way to hold things together, and Taylor says he tells his customers to consider how airplanes are constructed. “They are riveted together,” he says, “and there’s a reason for that.”

However, what may separate Taylor’s company from its competition more than anything is the warranty. He says he offers a lifetime no-leak — and no questions asked if it ever does leak — warranty. Taylor says he is unaware of any other gutter company that offers a lifetime warranty.

And, for the best results, Taylor recommends an aluminum, seamless gutter system. While he says a handyman may be able to throw gutters on your house, they are probably using vinyl gutters purchased from a big box store.

“I never paid a lot of attention to gutters, but they are kind of like crown moulding,” Sarah says. “They really do enhance the look of the home.”

A Legacy Of Honesty

Taylor learned the gutter business from his father Ed, who started Gardner Gutters back in 2000 but passed away following a long battle with cancer in 2020. Ed was highly regarded for running his business with honesty and dignity, and Taylor says the business he now runs strives to continue much of what his father taught him.

Taylor, who did a tour of Iraq while in the Marines for nine years and earned a Business Administration (B.A.) degree from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, afterwards, took over completely in 2020 after Ed passed away. Gardner Gutters was rebranded that year as Taylor Gardner Gutters.

He says the business was flagging at the time, but now is booming. Taylor opened a new office in Land O’Lakes, added more crews with new equipment and trailers, and has pivoted to working with builders on new construction, especially in the busy Wesley Chapel area, to help the company grow.

Taylor says the fact that his company is trusted by big builders like GL Homes and David Weekley Homes, suggests that Taylor Gardner Gutters does exceptional work using the best quality materials. It also offers free estimates.

And following in Ed’s footsteps, Taylor is hoping to build a following by sending out salespeople who are there to build relationships and explain the need for gutters, not just sell them. In many of New Tampa’s communities and some of the older ones in Wesley Chapel, most homes built 20 years or more ago or so were built without gutters, but many have added them because, well, it’s just smart.

“I don’t hire a salesperson to be a salesperson, I hire them to be an educator,” Taylor says. “They have to understand (our business) to be able to explain it to the customer, and not just give a sales pitch.”

So, if a customer is complaining about a flower bed against the side of the house flooding or cracks on the outside of the house, the company offers solutions.

“If necessary, we’ll tell them you need gutters or you are going to have a serious problem,” Taylor says. “That’s not a sales pitch, it’s just the honest truth.”

In addition to custom gutter installations and repairs, Taylor Gardner Gutters, which is proud to be veteran-owned-and-operated, also provides screen room installations and window replacements.

Taylor Gardner Gutters is located at 6202 Land O’Lakes Blvd. in Land O’Lakes. The store hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit TaylorGardnerGutters.com or call (813) 515-0844.

Sanders’ Retirement Is The End Of An Era At Benito

After 14 years as principal at Benito Middle School and 38 years in education,  John Sanders is ready to retire.

For more than three decades, John Sanders has worked as an educator, starting as a teacher and then becoming one of New Tampa’s most beloved and respected principals. His career was almost everything he loved — helping guide students and teachers alike to set high expectations and meet them, while building relationships to make his school the pride of the community.

However, there are other things Sanders loves, as well. Like spending time with his son Jackson, fishing, playing bridge, tending to his yard and reading.

So, after a 38-year career, including the last 14 as the principal at Benito Middle School, Sanders, 60, is packing up his office and picking up his fishing pole. 

“When am I going to enjoy those things?” he asks. “I’m not guaranteed tomorrow, so maybe now I can do some of the things I always thought I might enjoy.”

When the bell rings at the end of the last day of school this year, it will mark the end of an era at Benito. For the students who currently attend the school, and most of their older siblings, he’s the only principal they’ve ever known. Many from his staff, faculty, and even the PTSA say they’re not sure they’re ready to let him go.

They credit Sanders with sustaining a culture that has helped Benito maintain a straight “A” school grade going all the way back to 2002, while some other schools in the area have struggled, such as feeder school Hunter’s Green Elementary and Wharton High, where Benito students are zoned to attend.

But, the reason the school is so successful — with high test scores and low disciplinary problems compared with other schools throughout the District —goes much deeper than its letter grade.

His staff says it’s because of his unique style as a principal. He says it’s because of the people who surround him.

“We have a great student body and a great community, followed up by a fabulous faculty that is, for the most part, stable and successful. They get the best out of the kids,” Sanders says. “You put those together and it just works.”

While he never moved to New Tampa, he brought his only son, Jackson, to spend his middle school years at Benito. He says he tried to treat every child the way he would treat his own. 

When his wife, Rhonda, passed away in 2016, Sanders was surrounded by the faculty and staff, who showed up in force at her memorial service, which he says was planned in part by volunteers from the school’s PTSA.

While he can hardly imagine stepping away from his Benito family, he says he thinks now is the time to move on to the next chapter.

But, he says it’s going to be hard, especially leaving the people who have become his family, like the group he brought with him when he was named principal at Benito. In the first 11 years since the school opened in 1997, it had four principals. Sanders has been there longer than those four combined.

He began his career as a math teacher at Plant High in 1983, then taught at Turkey Creek Middle School,  where he was promoted to assistant principal. He then went to Young Middle School as an assistant principal before being named principal at Benito in 2008.

Language arts teacher Chris Ellis was hired by Sanders 24 years ago at Young. After 11 years together there, when Sanders moved to Benito, Ellis was one of many who followed and one of several who still teaches at Benito all these years later.

“He has had a very profound effect on my life,” Ellis says.

Ellis drove 24 miles each way to get to Benito, so, three years ago, he took a position teaching at a school closer to his home, only to return. 

“I knew the minute I had walked out the door of Benito that I had made a terrible mistake,” Ellis says. His new school was welcoming, but he missed Sanders and his hands-off management style.

Like Ellis, math teacher Kelly Broadbelt — who has been honored multiple times as the school’s Teacher of the Year, including this year — also was hired by Sanders at Young.

She says Sanders, as a former math teacher himself, has influenced her tremendously, and that he still pops into her classroom occasionally to give the students a mini-lesson, which they love.

“For sure, he has made me who I am as a teacher,” she says. “I’ve never taught without him, and because he was a math teacher he could be very influential in my classroom, because he knows exactly what I’m doing and how to fix it.”

Both Ellis and Broadbelt have been under Sanders’ guidance their entire careers. They say that while they’re trying to be optimistic, they’re also nervous about the big transition they expect when he leaves.

“The reason so many people love working for John is that many times in education, they treat the teachers like kids,” Ellis says. “But, he treats you like an adult, and allows you the autonomy to go above and beyond.”

Sanders says that it’s always been important to him to remember what it’s like to be a teacher.

“I have tried to create a family environment and I think we have it,” he says. “I’ve tried to see the good in my teachers and not focus on the imperfections too much, except when sometimes you have to do that as the boss.”

Principal John Sanders has left his mark after 14 years at Benito Middle School. (Photos: Charmaine George)

Sanders half-jokes that the school is successful in spite of him, saying, “all I had to do is let the teachers teach and let the families come here.”

Sharon Hineline was PTSA president at Benito when her kids attended and says she was convinced by Sanders to work at the school — first in the front office and now as his secretary.

“Sharon has single-handedly convinced dozens of families who were on the fence about going somewhere else to come here,” Sanders says.

Creating A Unique Atmosphere

Meanwhile, Hineline says that she does so because of the atmosphere Sanders has created. “If you come to Benito and say you need something, he’s going to help you,” she says. “He has created a culture where it’s a partnership and the staff is empowered to resolve problems.”

Sanders is quick to return phone calls from parents who are upset about something they heard happened at the school, or to direct a teacher to call a parent to resolve a misunderstanding. He has a unique touch that helps calm down heated emotions, whether he’s talking with parents or students. 

Hineline says Sanders recently had two girls in his office who hated each other so much that they had gotten into a physical fight. He spent time talking with each individually, then brought them together to discuss their choices, and they not only resolved their issues but are now the best of friends. One of the two went from failing all of her classes to passing them. The care Sanders demonstrated changed the girls’ trajectory at the school.

That same calm demeanor has talked many families out of leaving the school, instead resolving a problem that was accommodated by switching a class or another relatively simple solution, recognizing that at many schools, those resolutions are not always offered because they are more difficult on staff or teachers.

Sanders says has always focused on keeping what he calls “great families” connected to his school.

“That’s the mindset that I think a good administrator has to have,” he says. “You make their kids happy, you make them happy, and everyone wins. If I send you out the door unhappy, I’m asking for trouble. People are looking at alternatives.”

While he knows what it’s like to turn a school around –—Young was an F school when he arrived, and went up to an A — Sanders says Benito never needed that. It was a great school when he arrived. But, he has navigated some significant challenges, such as the population of students receiving free and reduced lunch — an indicator of socioeconomic factors that statistically align with school success — going from 22 percent to 62 percent.

He says Benito makes sure the kids know the expectations and the rules, and the entire staff “gets out and enforces it.”

Broadbelt, Ellis, and Hineline are just a few of the many who have bought into his philosophy.

“He’s just a good person, a good educator, and a good boss,” Broadbelt says. “He’s willing to do anything to help us.”

While Sanders deflects the praise, he says the community, the staff, and the students will continue to be family to him.

“This is my life and my world, and I’m sure I’m going to miss being the principal at Benito.”

Plan Your Weekend For SR 56 Disruptions

S.R. 56 will be closed to all traffic at I-75 from 11 p.m. Saturday, April 30 to late afternoon on Sunday, May 1 as crews prepare to place the interchange into the new Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) traffic pattern.

No traffic will be allowed to travel through the work zone across I-75. S.R. 56 traffic will be detoured a variety of ways:

Eastbound SR 56: Eastbound S.R. 56 traffic will be detoured to the northeast on Wesley Chapel Blvd. (C.R. 54) to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., then south on BBD back to S.R. 56. Additionally, the right turn lanes on the south side of S.R. 56 at Grand Cypress Blvd. onto eastbound SR 56 will be closed and the left turn lanes at Grand Cypress Blvd. on the north side of SR 56 will be closed to prevent travel onto EB SR 56. The eastbound S.R. 56 ramp onto southbound I-75 will be open; any traffic traveling on eastbound SR 56 past Grand Cypress Blvd. will be forced to enter southbound I-75.

Westbound SR 56: Westbound S.R. 56 traffic wanting to cross I-75 will be directed north on BBD to SR 54, then southwest on C.R. 54 (Wesley Chapel Blvd.) to S.R. 56.  Any westbound S.R. 56 traffic between BBD and Cypress Ridge Blvd. will be directed to U-Turn at Cypress Ridge Blvd. to head back east on S.R. 56 to BBD and follow the remainder of the route outlined above.

Access to I-75: Available at the S.R. 54/CR 54/Wesley Chapel Blvd. interchange north of S.R. 56 or BBD interchange south of S.R. 56. The only access to I-75 will be from eastbound S.R. 56 onto southbound I-75.

Northbound I-275 and northbound I-75 to SR 56: Access will only be open onto eastbound S.R. 56. The northbound I-275 (Exit 59) and northbound I-75 (Exit 275) exit ramps to westbound S.R. 56 will be closed. Drivers wanting to go west on S.R. 56 will continue north past S.R. 56 and use I-75 Exit 279 to SR 54/CR 54. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left and go southwest on Wesley Chapel Boulevard/C.R. 54 to S.R. 56 and S.R. 54, west of I-75.

FDOT says to expect periodic backups. on the Exit 279 ramp to westbound C.R. 54 (Wesley Chapel Blvd.), so northbound I-75 drivers wanting to go west of I-75 on S.R. 56 might consider using Exit 270 (the New Tampa exit) to BBD and continue traveling north on BBD to SR 54/CR 54 (Wesley Chapel Blvd.) or take alternate east to west routes.

Southbound I-75 to SR 56:

  • Detour Route to S.R. 56, east of I-75: Use Exit 279 to S.R. 54/C.R. 54. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left and go east on S.R. 54. Turn right onto BBD and go south to SR 56.
  • Detour Route to S.R. 56, west of I-75: Use Exit 279 to S.R. 54/C.R. 54. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right and go southwest on Wesley Chapel Boulevard/C.R. 54 to SR 56.

When the traffic pattern switches to the DDI on May 1st, it will not be at full-capacity until closer to project completion (summer 2022) as the contractor will have additional work to do to open an additional through-lane on both eastbound and westbound S.R. 56 and an additional turn lane from the northbound exit ramp onto westbound S.R. 56.

During the above closure period, two ramps will be available to use at the I-75/S.R. 56 interchange: the eastbound S.R. 56 entrance ramp onto southbound I-75 and the northbound I-275/I-75 exit ramps onto eastbound S.R. 56. All other traffic wishing to use the I-75 / SR 56 interchange will be directed via detour signage to use the I-75 interchange at SR 54/CR 54.

The Grill At Morris Bridge Making Major Menu Changes!

When The Grill at Morris Bridge opened on Cross Creek Blvd. (next to Publix) in late 2021, many locals raved about having a locally owned sit-down dinner place that wasn’t a chain. Others said it was a little pricy for what it was and some even (incorrectly, in one editor’s opinion) complained that the portions were small.

Well, owners Frank and James Gouveia heard the calls and they’ve been working with new chef Wally Dawson (who previously was the Executive Chef at Roy’s and at Lake Jovita Country Club) to revamp The Grill’s menu, reducing the prices on many menu items, adding a few new goodies and removing some items altogether. The Grill also has put additional emphasis on a great, reduced-price Bar Menu.

Frank, who spent a lot of years in the wine distribution business, also promises some lower-cost glasses and bottles of wine, and the new Happy Hour (Tuesday-Friday, all day until 6 p.m.) features a number of specially-selected bottles for just $28, as well as $4 draft beers and $5 Corazon tequila, Spring 44 (indigo) gin, Svedka vodka, Benchmark bourbon and Bacardi rum drinks.

Cacoila paprika-braised pulled pork sliders
Linguiça sausage pizza

The bar menu includes Cacoila paprika-braised pulled pork sliders, an outstanding blackened chicken sandwich (usually served with fries, but I get it with delicious sautĂ©ed broccolini), “smash” burgers and a variety of crisp-crust, oven-baked pizzas. Our new favorite of these is the slightly spicy, slightly salty linguiça sausage pizza , although the curiously named Route 140 pizza combines the same linguiça with banana peppers and onion. You also can dress up your own cheese pizza with a variety of veggies, meats and extra cheese.

There are a number of items that Frank treated me, Jannah and photographer Charmaine George to on our most recent visit — items that are so new, they hadn’t even been added to the menu at that point, but they’re awesome.

Bacon-and-parmesan-crusted mahi-mahi
Blackened shrimp fettuccine Alfredo

Mine and Jannah’s favorite was the bacon-and-parmesan-crusted mahi-mahi, served on a bed of asparagus, fried capers and roasted red potatoes, with a lemon butter sauce. The crust is thick and crispy, but not overpowering and Frank and Wally said that the mahi will cost about $22, which — take my word for it — is a bargain.

Another new entrĂ©e that Jannah and I didn’t get to sample (because of my accursed shellfish allergy) but Charmaine raved about was the blackened shrimp fettuccine Alfredo. She said the sauce, pasta and shrimp were all spot-on. Wally and Frank also promised that other new menu items will be announced shortly — possibly as soon as by the time this issue reaches your mailbox.

The only thing that could make some of our favorites at The Grill at Morris Bridge even better would be lower prices. 

Among those favorites are the most authentic-tasting Caesar salad I’ve had in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel, the grilled pork chop (served with fingerling potatoes, sautĂ©ed Brussels sprouts and Romesco sauce), the 8-oz. grilled filet mignon (there’s also a tasty 12-oz NY strip and Frank says a ribeye might be added) and the chicken & broccolini (with rigatoni, diced chicken, garlic, broccolini and lemon cream sauce) and the true New England clam chowder.

Our favorite desserts are the creme brulĂ©e and the chef’s cheesecake (try either one with the perfect cappuccino or regular coffee) and The Grill also has “New Tampa’s Best Sunday Brunch” with tasty egg dishes (including a variety of Benedicts), brioche French toast and more, and the kids menu has four different items all priced at just $9.

“We don’t want The Grill to be just a ‘special occasion’ destination,” Frank says. We want it to be an affordable, family-friendly place you’ll want to visit every week.”

The Grill at Morris Bridge (10920 Cross Creek Blvd.) is open every day except Monday for lunch and dinner. For more information, call (813) 388-5353, visit TheGrillat MorrisBridge.com or search “The Grill at Morris Bridge” on Facebook.

Cypress Creek’s Tiffany Colin Sprints Towards Her Dream

Tiffany Colin is hoping to become the first Pasco County girl to run a sub-12-second time in the 100m since 2016, when Pasco High’s Alfreda Steele did it. (Photos: Charmaine George)

Cypress Creek High track and field coach Steven Rivers loves coaching, but as his team showed up for the first day of practice in 2021, he was contemplating making this his last season.

Then he saw Tiffany Colin, and she was running. Her stride was a little unrefined, but it was graceful, fluid and, heck, maybe even special.

“I saw her and I got mad,” Rivers says, with a wide smile. “I had one foot out the door and this girl had the nerve to show up here. I called my wife and told her this new girl could be really really good, and she said, ‘Well, it sounds like you have another adopted daughter,’ and she hung up the phone.”

What Rivers has is the fastest girl sprinter in Pasco County.

Colin, a junior, has posted the county’s fastest times in the 100- (12.19 seconds), 200- (25.09) and 400-meter (58.9) races this season. 

When the Class 3A, District 7 meet is held at Cypress Creek on April 28, Colin will be favored to win all three events. The top four finishers in each event advance to the Class 3A, Region 2 meet, which will include teams from speed-rich areas like Lakeland, Orlando and Tampa.

Rivers says Colin also currently has the top times in the 100 and 200 in the region, but now is the time of the season to begin shaving time off.

She has lowered her 100 time from 13.17 as a freshman to 12.19 (and has run a 12.14 wind-aided time as well), and has taken more than two seconds off her 200 time.

Most remarkably, Colin ran the 400 for the first time this season and posted a 1:01.79. The second, and only other, time she ran it a few weeks later, she did it in 58.9 seconds.

“It’s probably my second favorite race, next to the 100,” she says of the 400m.

Heading into districts, Colin is hoping to become the first Pasco County girl to run a sub-12-second time in the 100m since 2016, when Pasco High’s Alfreda Steele was dominating the local scene and winning state championships before competing at the University of Miami and nationally.

Rivers coached Steele, and a few other speedsters currently in college, and thinks Colin could be next. Especially if she can get her 100 time under that 12-second mark.

“She has an outstanding work ethic, and is just a joy to coach,” Rivers says. “All those kids in college are there because they wanted it. They beat me to practice. They didn’t complain. That’s Tiffany.”

Colin was rezoned to Cypress Creek after spending her freshman year at Wiregrass Ranch, where she golfed, played basketball and ran track for fun after winning the county middle school title in the 100. 

She has golfed since she was six years old, learning the game at the First Tee program at Tampa’s Rogers Park. She played a number of junior circuit tournaments and even qualified twice, she says, for the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) State Championships.

Colin and coach Steven Rivers share a laugh at a recent workout.

However, during quarantine, her dad Eddy showed her a YouTube video of the day in the life of Texas Tech track athlete Rose Njoku. Colin was fascinated, and decided then she wanted to run track in college. She even practices in a Texas Tech t-shirt these days.

While she also golfed this past season for the Coyotes, Colin says she is hanging up her bag so she can focus on getting faster.

“I like golf, but not that much anymore,” Colin says. “When my dad showed me that video, it opened my eyes. I was just like, ‘Oh man, I want to run track seriously.’”

Rivers says he knows she will reach her goals, because of the one time she failed to do so. After going undefeated last year in the county, she fell behind against stiffer competition in the 100 at the District meet and even wiped out at the finish line trying to stretch forward, ending her winning streak

Rivers says Colin’s competitive fire burned like he hadn’t seen it burn before.

“She was mad; I’ve never seen her like that,” Rivers says. “She lost, and she shouldn’t have lost, and she knew it. She was hot, and I was laughing because I loved it.”

Colin doesn’t have any college scholarship offers yet, but Rivers says he has had some feelers. When she asks why no colleges have called, he tells her that while she has garnered some attention, she hasn’t done enough yet.

“Not yet,” he says. “But, if she keeps working hard, it’s going to happen.”