A portion of Regents Park Dr. that has been resurfaced.
For many months now, the residents of New Tampa’s Pebble Creek subdivision have had to deal with the ongoing resurfacing of the community’s two main thoroughfares — Regents Park Dr. and Pebble Creek Dr.
The portion of Regents Park Dr. near BBD Blvd. where the Roadway Resurfacing signs are located are the only portions of the roadway not yet resurfaced.
As of the last few weeks, however, all but about 0.2 miles of the 2.3-mile stretch of the circular Regents Park Dr. — from its northern Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. terminus to its southern BBD connection — have been resurfaced, with only about 0.1 mile at each terminus of the roadway closest to BBD now completed.
Likewise, all but a couple of hundred feet — again, the portion closest to BBD — of Pebble Creek Dr. also has been completed.
According to Chris Wilkerson, a senior media relations strategist with Hillsborough County, the Pebble Creek Roadway Resurfacing project represents 4.78 total lane miles of the county’s 285 total lane miles and $1.995 million of the $35-million Roadway Pavement Preservation plan of county-maintained roads approved by the county commissioners in 2021.
Although most of the actual repaving has been completed, Wilkerson says the remaining work on this project includes paving entrances, stripping and signage, tree planting and the installation of traffic beacons and that the anticipated completion of everything, minus the traffic beacons, is early December 2023.
The cones shown above are now gone & the patches shown are now covered
“There is a long lead time on the traffic beacons,” he adds, however, “so final completion will be early spring 2024.”
The project also includes brand new bike lanes in the sections of the roads that are wide enough. Public works officials say that in sections where there isn’t room, there may be shared road markings for bicyclists.
Although it has taken a while, the county has done a great job of resurfacing these two main roadways in Pebble Creek. If it’s been a while since you visited the community, it’s worth taking a drive to check out how much better the two roads are now.
For more information about this and other county projects, visit HillsboroughCounty.org.
U.S. Army veteran Cam Caudle has been a franchise owner of Shred360 since 2015.(All photos provided by Shred360)
When Cam Caudle joined the U.S. Army after his college graduation in 1991, he didn’t want to be just an everyday soldier. He wanted to go above and beyond, so he set his goal high and became an Army Ranger.
Now, as the franchise owner of Shred360, based in Wesley Chapel, he has been carrying that desire to reach higher into the business world.
“We take a lot of pride in doing a great job for people and doing more than is expected of us,” Cam says. “People are happy to see us arrive, and my guys are phenomenal, so (our customers are) happy when we’re done, too.”
Cam started his business in 2015 when his friends and fellow military veterans wanted to expand their South Carolina-based document-shredding business into Florida. He agreed to start a franchise in Wesley Chapel, where he lives. The franchise model hasn’t expanded, but Cam’s business surely has.
Back then, his company was just him and one truck. Now, he has five trucks and a staff of three full-time drivers, a couple of part time drivers and a sales director, and the business covers the entire Tampa Bay area and then some — north to Gainesville, south to Port Charlotte, and east to Orlando.
Shred360 provides primarily on-site document shredding and hard drive destruction for both businesses and individuals.
Although Shred360 does have a drop-off option, Cam says, “Most of the time, we go to wherever the material is, whether that’s a home, business, or storage unit. From a security standpoint, it’s better that people can watch their documents be destroyed right in front of them.” He adds that although the destruction happens inside the truck, “it is visible on a screen.”
When you utilize Shred360’s shredding service, your documents are loaded into a bin and the shredding machine allows you to see them destroyed.
He also says that the alternatives to on-site shredding are far from ideal. You can either use a home office shredder, which is cumbersome and time consuming, or drop documents off at a store, where you’re often leaving them in a bin — for who knows how long and without any idea of who will have access to them until they are destroyed.
Karen Wallace is practice administrator for Friendly Smiles Dental Care, with four locations in the Tampa area. She says she was one of Shred360’s first customers.
“We needed an alternative to having shredders in our office,” Wallace says. “It was so loud and disruptive, and not really sufficient for the amount of paper we have to destroy, due to HIPAA regulations.”
She adds that she’s continued to work with Shred360 because of Cam and the way he runs the company.
“In business, it’s so refreshing to meet someone like him,” Karen says. “I’ve always been so impressed. If one of his guys is out for some reason, he comes out, driving the truck (himself).”
She calls Cam the “consummate professional” and says everyone he hires follows in his footsteps.
“When they come in, they’re quiet, they don’t interrupt any work, they say ‘hi’ politely and depart,” she says. “It’s like white glove service.”
Medical offices such as Karen’s, along with law firms, credit unions, hospitals and other businesses with a lot of records that need to be destroyed, have ongoing service with Shred360, where documents are picked up on a regular basis, anywhere from once a week to once every twelve weeks.
The other service is a one-time purge, although Cam says many of his clients purge again at a later date.
Shred360 can accommodate everyone from residential customers with a few boxes to commercial customers with a full warehouse — and pretty much anything in between.
“In the time it takes an employee to shred a box of documents at an office shredder,” Cam says, “we can do 250 pounds.”
Before starting Shred360, Cam says he sold all kinds of things, from furniture to medical equipment, but he says none of those jobs were exactly the right fit.
“I love what I do now,” he says.
He appreciates the opportunity to make his customers happy — and you can’t argue with his results —of 630 Google reviews, 628 are five stars (out of five), and he insists that the two four-star reviews his business has received— from eight and five years ago, respectively — should have been five stars, too.
Giving Back
When Shred360 hosts a charity shredding event, you line up in your car, your documents are shredded and you make a donation to the event’s selected charity.
Cam also sees his business as a way to both give back to the community and set an example for his children and stepchildren. He and Ines, his wife of three years, have five children between the two of them.
Shred360 does a charitable event every month, where they set up like a drive through lane at a particular location. People pull up next to the truck, stay in their car, have their documents shredded while they wait, and then make a donation to the selected charity.
In nine years, Cam says Shred360 has raised more than $70,000 for organizations that are doing good things in the community, including the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Community Food Pantry, and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
“These events are important for serving the community where I live,” he says, “We’re busy, so sometimes it’s hard to fit those in, but they’re important, so we still do them.”
To find out about upcoming charity shredding events, visit Shred360.com/Tampa or “Shred360Tampa” on Facebook.
Cam also has been a long-time member of the Rotary Club of New Tampa, which meets on Friday mornings at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, and in 2021, he was one of the co-founders (and is still a Board member) of the New Tampa Rotary’s After Hours Satellite Club. He says that Rotary gives him another outlet to volunteer, support the community, and show his kids the importance of serving others.
It goes back to those early lessons he learned in the Army. He started active duty two weeks after graduating from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, in 1991 on a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, and stayed in active duty until 1996.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now, if not for the Army,”Cam says. Not only is that where he met the owners of Shred360, but also because of the values that have carried over from that experience to his business.
“Doing things with integrity, doing more than what’s expected,” he says, “My motto is. ‘When you think you’ve done enough, do more./”
He’s proud that Shred360 has won “Business of the Year” through the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce and that he has also been honored as its volunteer of the year.
For a price quote on a one-time purge of documents for your home or business, or if you would like information about setting up ongoing service, call Shred360 at (813) 944- 2223, visit Shred360.com/Tampa.
Firefighters from Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 20 captivated Primrose School at Tampa Palms students with their fire safety presentation during National Fire Prevention Week. (All photos provided by Primrose School at Tampa Palms)
In the U.S., National Fire Prevention Week was first proclaimed by President Calvin Coolidge in 1925, and nearly 100 years later, it’s still recognized and celebrated.
Fire Prevention Week was the backdrop for preschoolers at the Primrose School of Tampa Palms to receive some of their first lessons in fire safety.
The firefighters from Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 20, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. just south of I-75, visited the school to teach kids important lessons.
The preschoolers learned what the Fire Rescue department does, what equipment firefighters use and the importance of their uniforms. The firefighters also demonstrated how to “stop, drop, and roll” in case of a fire.
And, perhaps most fun of all for the kids was that they were able to hold the fire hose and even go inside the fire truck.
The Tampa Fire Rescue Department provides education as an important part of its community services.
For the 2023-24 school year, the eleven public schools located in New Tampa have chosen their nominees for the Hillsborough County Schools/Hillsborough Education Foundation “Excellence in Education” awards. In the Spring of 2024, the winners of the following three awards will be announced at the School District’s annual awards gala.
Each school nominated one candidate to be considered for the each of the three county-wide awards: Teacher of the Year, Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year, and Instructional Support Employee of the Year.
Every person on this page was recognized by their peers for outstanding contributions to their respective schools.
Congratulations to all of the worthy nominees for these awards at every New Tampa public school. (Note-Only the Teacher of the year nominees at each school are shown, except at Wharton High).
Chiles Elementary
Michael Zang
Teacher of the Year: Michael Zang, 3rd grade Math & Science; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Amie Adum Simmons; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Lauren Richardson
Clark Elementary
Christy Gupta
Teacher of the Year: Christy Gupta, Academically Gifted Program; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Donna Clark; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Shannon Ferreira
Heritage Elementary
Dona Marlatt
Teacher of the Year: Dona Marlatt, 5th grade English Language Arts; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Altemese Simard, Music; Instructional Support Employee: Vanessa Hernandez-Morales, cafeteria manager
Hunter’s Green Elem.
Danielle McGonagle
Teacher of the Year: Danielle McGonagle, 2nd grade; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Amanda Palmer; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Melissa Curtis
Pride Elementary
Crystal Camerino
Teacher of the Year: Crystal Camerino, 4th grade Math & Science; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Suzy Tkacik, Media Specialist; Instructional Support Employee: Diane Riley, Student Nutrition Services Manager
Tampa Palms Elem.
Kelly Sollenberger
Teacher of the Year: Kelly Sollenberger, 4th grade; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Cindy Sciandra; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Awilda Valentin
Turner/Bartels K-8
Chelsea Gonzalez- Panek
Teacher of the Year: Chelsea Gonzalez- Panek, Math; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Marelisa Moreno; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Jessica Ghoumari
Benito Middle School
Michelle Nolan
Teacher of the Year: Michelle Nolan, Math; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Patricia Brown- Denis; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Geraldo Mendoza
Liberty Middle School
Brianne Melvin
Teacher of the Year: Brianne Melvin, PE Coach; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Edwin Cadet; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Lori McNabb
Freedom High
Lonna Hernandez (center)
Teacher of the Year: Lonna Hernandez, Biology; Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Cheryl Bernales, Varying Exceptionalities; Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Malissa Nanns
Wharton High
Kristen Montgomery (center)
Teacher of the Year: Kristen Montgomery, Math (center) Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year: Markee Duncan (right); Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Jill Brown
Even though he’s previously run for three local offices and been involved in multiple citizen’s groups advocating on behalf of New Tampa, you still may or may not know long-time Hunter’s Green resident Dr. Jim Davison.
Davison, the recently retired emergency room physician whose first run was more than 20 years ago — in the 2002 Republican primary for the District 2 seat on the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) held by current Commission chair (and Dist. 2 Commissioner) Ken Hagan — is now a candidate for the countywide (also known as “at large)” District 6 County Commission seat, a race that will be decided on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the same day as the nationwide General Election for U.S. President.
But, there is a lot for the New Tampa resident to accomplish between now and then in order to make it onto that General Election ballot for the seat currently occupied by Comm. Pat Kemp, who can not run for the seat again, due to term limits.
For one thing, he will have to defeat South Tampa resident and U.S. Air Force Reserve staff sergeant Rico Smith (who is the lead field engineer for StemRad, an Israeli-American start-up company that develops and manufactures personal protective equipment against ionizing radiation) in the primary election that will be held on Tuesday, August 20.
As of the date of this story, there also are three Democratic candidates who also will face a closed primary in August, with the winner facing the winner of the Republican primary between Davison and Smith — although other candidates could still qualify to run in either primary between now and July 2024.
The Democratic candidates for Dist. 6 include former countywide Dist. 5 Commissioner Mariella Smith (who served from 2018-22); former citywide Dist. 1 Tampa City Council candidate Sonja Brookins (who lost a runoff against current Dist. 1 commissioner Alan Clendenin earlier this year); and former countywide Dist. 7 candidate Mark Nash.
Although Dr. Davison also lost the 2004 Republican primary for the at-large Dist. 7 County Commission seat won by former Commissioner Mark Sharpe, as well as the 2016 run-off election for New Tampa’s Dist. 7 Tampa City Council seat won (by 65 votes) by Councilman (and fellow New Tampa resident) Luis Viera, he says that he believes his fourth run for public office will prove to be the charm.
“I feel I can win the primary and the general election because I am now able to campaign 24/7 since retiring from medicine,” Davison says. “With my involvement in local politics and multiple county issues, like the (failed) sales tax, I feel that I can project what a majority of the electorate are feeling. I also will have and have committed greater resources to this (election).”
Davison promises that he is a true fiscal conservative who will have New Tampa’s back if he is elected.
“Back in 2002, New Tampa was struggling under rapid growth, just like many other areas of the county are struggling today,” he says. “County government was growing by leaps and bounds. I had seen politicians wrapping themselves in conservative ideals and patriotic symbols, only to see them forget those principles after being elected. New Tampa needed solutions then and it needs them now.”
He says that he also will be the candidate who will work hard to make good on his promises if he is elected. A big part of that, he says, is restoring the public’s trust in their local elected officials.
“Although there has always been a degree of mistrust between government and the people, it has reached new heights,” Davison says. “Covid and the recent sales tax issue are only the latest examples of complete lying and misrepresentation on the part of the county. As a member of the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee (TPO CAC), I know the county (currently) has no intention of changing course. I run to not only present valid solutions, but to try and repair people’s distrust of local government by telling the truth and meeting their concerns.”
As For New Tampa…
Although Davison says it will be his responsibility to represent the entire county on the Commission, he won’t forget about the issues that are important to New Tampa with regards to the county.
For example, “The East-West Road connecting New Tampa directly to I-275 north of Bearss Ave. is no longer on the county’s Long Range Transportation plan,” he says. “New Tampa may have missed the best opportunity in 20 years when the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority was going to build it and run express bus transit from New Tampa to downtown Tampa, starting about 2025. When the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) removed the express lanes from the I-275 improvements north of Hillsborough Ave to north of Bearss Ave., the Expressway Authority couldn’t justify dumping more traffic onto a failed roadway. However, the possibility of an East-West Connector for New Tampa still exists. In addition, we need to look at what is going to happen with Morris Bridge Rd., County Line Road and road, bridge and sidewalk maintenance (see story on pg. 10) in the New Tampa area. We also need to look at local transit circulators and bus rapid transit to USF and beyond.”
He also believes that even though most of the communities in New Tampa are located within the city limits of the City of Tampa, the County Commission still has a lot of say about the future of our area.
“Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. is a county road, as is Morris Bridge Rd.,” he says. “New recreation areas and sports fields will be needed in New Tampa. Maintaining all county property in good repair is another. The property north of Cross Creek Blvd to the county line, and between Kinnan St. and BBD, is all unincorporated Hillsborough County. Keeping the residents of that area safe has to be the number one priority and the responsibility of the Board of County Commissioners.”
Davison says he also has been watching the situation with the Pebble Creek golf course closely and believes, “The Pebble Creek Golf Course situation never should have gone this far. The county has the money to purchase the property, using small amounts from several revenue streams. Both recreational trails, much needed sports fields for a whole host of sports from baseball and cricket to soccer and lacrosse could be built and the whole area constructed to facilitate a wildlife corridor. All of these are sorely needed in New Tampa. This is just good fair policy and would have great economic benefits. With the growth exploding north of us in Pasco, more homes and/or apartments and their traffic are not what we need here. If the county would purchase the site, everyone would come out a winner, including the present golf course owner.”
Dr. Davison, who has been married to his wife Diane for 43 years, has lived in New Tampa since 1993. They raised their four children and were deeply involved in their schooling and sports activities. For most of the last 30 years, Davison worked as an Emergency Room Physician at multiple local hospitals and was the medical director of South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, as well as the volunteer director of the Sun City Center Rescue Squad. The last four years he has worked as a staff physician at Med Express urgent care centers.
He was appointed by the BOCC to the county’s Emergency Medical Planning Council and Indigent Healthcare Board and has served on multiple city and county boards and committees. He was appointed by Tampa City Council to the Transportation “Committee of 99,” and to the county’s Citizens Advisory Committee and Trauma Auditing Committee. He also is proud to have to lobbied city and county government for infrastructure improvements in New Tampa. From transportation, to recreation centers and ball fields in New Tampa, Dr. Davison’s voice was a constant at city and county meetings.
He says he has spoken with all of the Republicans county commissioners elected in 2022 and they have all been encouraging.
