(l.-r.) Dr. Toni Zetzsche of Pasco County Schools, School Board member Megan Harding, State Rep. Randy Maggard, Pasco Comm. Seth Weightman, Josh, State Sen. Danny Burgess, School Board member Colleen Beaudoin and Pasco administrator Mike Carballa at the check presentation ceremony for the new sidewalks on Sept. 12. (Photo provided by Pasco County)
Meadow Pointe resident and Weightman Middle School eighth grader Josh Patrick was only twelve years old when he set up his first meeting with District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman last August to talk about the lack of sidewalks on Curley Rd. and Wells Rd. heading to the Wesley Chapel School Complex.
âMy mom always drives me to school,â Josh says, âbut I saw a lot of kids walking and riding bikes that had to dodge cars all the time because there are no sidewalks. I just felt like something needed to be done.â
Meadow Pointe resident and Weightman Middle School 8th grader Josh Patrick was only 12 years old when he made a presentation to the Pasco MPO about the lack of sidewalks near his school. (Photo provided by Josh Patrick.)Â
Not only did Commissioner Weightman agree, he told Josh to appear at a Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting to present the issue, which he did (left photo) on Jan. 9 of this year. Thanks to Josh, the county requested funding to construct the sidewalks from the state legislature, which approved $1.5 million in this yearâs state budget in June.
âSidewalk appropriation requests are my legislative ask for every session,â Comm. Weightman says. âBut Josh definitely made this happen.â
Josh says thereâs a reason why he succeeded where others have failed. âMost of the time, when someone advocates for something, itâs usually always âconcerned parentsâ who attend those meetings,â he says. âI just think itâs a lot more impactful to have the students themselves there.â
Josh was next invited to attend the check presentation ceremony (top photo) on Sept. 12 with District 54 State Representative Randy Maggard, District 23 State Senator Danny Burgess, Pasco County administrator Mike Carballa, Pasco School Board members Megan Harding (District 5) and Colleen Beaudoin (District 2), and Dr. Toni Zetzsche, the chief communications & community engagement officer for the Pasco School District.Â
Weightman says that the survey work for the Wesley Chapel sidewalk project will begin next month and will take six months to complete.
At the same time, the county will negotiate the design fee with a consultant and get the task order executed. Then, design and permitting will take about nine months, the procurement of all of the needed property for the project will take another six months, with another two months to award the contract and ten months to complete the construction. In other words, by the time the project is completed â around July of 2028 â Josh will be a junior in high school.
âBut, at least itâs going to be done,â Josh says. âIt shows that just because youâre a kid, it doesnât mean you canât get things accomplished.â
Of course, Joshâs parents, Mark and Marsha Patrick, are extremely proud of their son. Weâre super-proud of him, too.
Retired New York Fire Department emergency medical technician Stephen Spelman can’t forget 9/11 or the colleagues he lost that day, and he has continued to do everything he can to not let local residents forget it, either, since moving to Wesley Chapel in 2010. Spelman received a piece of the Ladder 18 fire truck destroyed that day from a former fire captain friend of his who also was part of Motts Military Museum in Groveport, OH, where Spelman was scheduled to speak at a 9/11 event in 2017, when Hurricane Irma hit Florida, so he couldnât make the trip. Spelman arrived at the World Trade Center in his vehicle as the North Tower was getting ready to fall on September 11, 2001. The truck itself was destroyed by falling debris, but the lives of the firefighters from Ladder 18 were saved by jumping under the ladder. âIronically, I was about 30 yards from that (fire) truck when the North Tower collapsed,” Spelman said. A few weeks after he had to cancel his speaking engagement in Ohio in 2017, Spelman received the piece of the ladder truck in his mailbox.
Spelman was one of the featured speakers at St. Leo’s event on Sept. 8, which also featured Lt. Col. Perry Blackburn from the movie â12 Strong,â as well as Craig Gross, a Gold Star Family member whose son, Cpl. Frank Gross, was killed in Afghanistan, retired NYFD/EMS lieutenant Dominick Maggiori, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman, new St. Leo president Jim Burkee, Bob Hatfield from Congressman Gus Bilirakis’ office and Spelman’s son Matthew.
Simpson said, âMemory fades if it is not told. Thus, the history of September 11 and its heroes must be shared and told.”
Maggiori shared his 9/11 story and of working âon the pileâ â the rubble of the World Trade Center towers. âWe heard a jet, and the work stopped,â he said. âThen we saw it was a [U.S.] fighter jet and there was a sigh of relief. Somebody has got our back.â
And it was more than just the U.S. military. âPeople came from all over,â Maggiori said, bringing water, food, and volunteering in any way they could to assist those involved in rescue and recovery. âEveryone pulled together.â
As a Green Beret, Blackburn was one of the first Americans on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11. âI was the leader of the greatest fighting force on the ground,â he told the audience at Saint Leo.
They rode on horseback with Afghans, âhunting those responsible, and I was proud be help to defeat the Taliban and Al-Qaida,â he said. âThe American soldier is not an individual. 9/11 brought out the best in all Americans. We stood together. We prayed together. Thatâs the part I carry with me every day. Show up for one another.â
For Spelman, the event at Saint Leo as well as the memorial featuring the piece of the ladder truck, is about carrying on the legacy â the legacy of those lost, of those who battle cancer and other illnesses from their time working in the dust and debris, and those who suffer mental anguish, alcoholism, and drug addiction following that horrific day. âI wasnât prepared for what I saw,â Spelman said. âIt was the horror of war. Iâm not military, but it seemed like a battlefield.â
He was teaching at the NY fire academy when the first terrorist struck, grabbed what gear he could find, headed to his duty station, and then toward the towers, going the wrong way on the street.
âWe could see people jumping from the building, and we werenât even close [yet],â he said. âWe could see the towers engulfed in flames about midway up.â
A NYFD lieutenant sent him and his team to look inside police and other vehicles parked nearby to see if anyone was alive. The lieutenant ran the opposite direction toward the towers. âIâm alive,â Spelman said. âHe saved my life.â
He told the Neighborhood News after the event, “There were like 180 people there. It was an amazing event.”
Never Forget
The In Their Honor 5K kicked off the events at 7:30 a.m. today (September 8) and the route through Saint Leoâs campus featured more than 300 photos of firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Funds raised through the event will support the sponsoring organizations and charities, including the creation of the Children of Heroes Scholarship at Saint Leo University. Representing the shared mission between the Pasco Patriots Association and Saint Leo University, this fund will provide tuition assistance for first responders and the children of fallen and catastrophically injured first responders. Tom DeLuca, executive director of the Pasco Patriots Association and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, served as the emcee for the memorial program.
Coming across the 5K finish line first was Kevin Perez, a University of South Florida student and a member of the Suncoast Battalion of Army ROTC. Right behind him was Austin Curtis, also a USF student and ROTC member.
All eyes were on the sky following the 5K as parachutists Rian Kanouff, Keith Hanley, and Patrick Fortune of Fortuneâs Flags in the Air and Skydive First Project, glided to the ground with Fortune carrying a billowing U.S. flag.
Bagpipers Gemma Riggs and Thomas Fritz played as everyone entered Saint Leoâs Wellness Center for the memorial program, which featured a prayer by Mike DâAmbrosio, mayor of the town of St. Leo, and the national anthem performed by Marlee Michael.
Sponsors The sponsors for the event were the town of St. Leo, Chick-fil-A Zephyrhills, Totally Blu Pools, and Campus Gear and Trade Mark Sales.
Beneficiaries Funds raised support the following nonprofit organizations: Saint Leo University â Scholarship, Pasco Patriots Association, 18 Series Coffee Co., AFG Free, Cryoeeze22, Krewe De Forti, PCRetiredK-9 (Pasco County Retired K9), Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and Warrior Wellness.
(l-r) Pasco REC chair & vice chair Troy Stevenson & Walter Price and Pasco Republican Committeeman Shawn Foster.Â
Jim Cracchiolo has been the president of the Wesley Chapel Republlican Club (WCRC) since its founding a decade ago. During the last few years, Cracchioloâs son Peter has been lining up guest speakers for the clubâs meetings that have included many of the heaviest Republican hitters in the county and state. Peter currently is serving as the clubâs vice president.Â
Thereâs only one problem â as of May 13, the WCRC no longer has a charter/stamp of approval from the Republican Party of Pascoâs Executive Committee (Pasco REC).
Individual Pasco Republican clubs, like the WCRC, which provide support for their party â which has dominated Pascoâs political elections for decades â have to renew their charters with the Pasco REC every year.
So, why was the WCRCâs charter not renewed? Cracchiolo, Pasco Countyââs publicly elected Republican State Committeeman Shawn Foster and Pasco REC chair Troy Stevenson all agree that the reason the clubâs charter was not renewed this year was because Peter Cracchiolo volunteered and/or worked for former Hillsborough State Attorney and 2024 Democratic candidate to win his job back Andrew Warren (who was removed from office by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis) and District 1 School Board member Nadia Combs, a known Democrat whom DeSantis sought to replace with known conservative Republican Layla Collins (the wife of Republican State Sen. Jay Collins), even though School Board elections are non-partisan.
âThe Wesley Chapel Republican Club had a gentleman that was working for independents and Democrats and getting paid and volunteering [for them],â Foster said during the June 19 Pasco REC meeting attended by about 100 people at Grace Family Church on S.R. 54 in Lutz, where Dist. 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman was the featured speaker. âSeveral people have had to be removed and asked to leave [the Pasco REC] because they endorsed or supported independents and Democrats against Republicans in the general election.â Â
He added, âWe canât do that as members [of the REC]. We agree here by signing an oath. We have tried to work with the [WCRC] for nearly a year about this and we tried to suggest to just take that person and put them in another position, [because] they could not be in an administrative position of the club if they were going to work for Democrats or independents. Weâre here for the Republican Party of Pasco. Weâre here to get Republicans elected.âÂ
But, Cracchiolo says that working to get Republicans elected is exactly what the WCRC has done since its inception. And, even though Peter has helped some non-Republican campaigns, âHe has done an amazing job of getting our speakers for us,â Cracchiolo says. He is a registered Republican and a strong supporter of the Republican party and our entire club believes he should not have to be removed from our Board.âÂ
Even so, Cracchiolo received a Cease & Desist letter from Benjamin J. Gibson of the Law Firm of Shutts & Bowen, LLC, the attorney for the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) on May 13 that says,Â
“On behalf of the RPOF, we write to demand that you immediately cease and desist your unauthorized usage of the Republican name in association with your organization ‘Wesley Chapel Republican Club,’ including your operation of the Facebook page available at Facebook.com.
Because your clubâs charter was not renewed by RPOF, your use of the Republican name in the title of your organization and on Facebook is now without approval, permission or authorization of the RPOF.
Florida law is clear that a political partyâs name, abbreviation, or symbol may not be used in connection with any club, group, association, or organization of any kind âunless approval and permission have been given in writing by the state executive committee of such party.â
Jim & Peter Cracchiolo of the WCRC, with former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (photo from Facebook.com/Wesley Chapel Republican Club, Inc.)Â
§ 103.081(2). Section 103.081(2) states:
(2) No person or group of persons shall use the name, abbreviation, or symbol of any political party, the name, abbreviation, or symbol of which is filed with the Department of State, in connection with any club, group, association, or organization of any kind unless approval and permission have been given in writing by the state executive committee of such party.â
Cracchiolo says that his club is not backing down. On May 21, Cracchiolo responded to Gibsonâs Cease & Desist letter as follows:
âWe decline to comply with RPOFâs demand, for the reasons outlined below:
1. Descriptive Use of âRepublicanâ and Legal Authority. The word âRepublicanâ is merely descriptive and not available for registration or common law right of exclusive use. The Clubâs use of the word âRepublicanâ is made solely in a descriptive and expressive capacity, to identify the general political viewpoint of its members and the nature of our discussions and events. The Club does not claim to be affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the RPOF or the Republican National Committee. This usage is protected under well-established First Amendment principles and the doctrine of nominative fair use. The use of such political identifiers by grassroots, unaffiliated community groups is a long-standing and widely accepted practice.
With respect to your citation, and misplaced analysis, of Florida law, the operative text in FL. Statute §103.082 (2) is âNo person or group of persons shall use the name, abbreviation, or symbol of any political party, the name, abbreviation, or symbol of which is filed with the Department of State.â As to the name, the restriction relates to the âPartyâ name designation filed with the state. For example, the state party is the âRepublican Party of Floridaâ (RPOF as we routinely refer to it) and is filed with the state. The term âRepublicanâ standing alone is not a party, and our club has made clear that it is not affiliated with the GOP, RNC, Florida or county Republican Party (each of which having their own distinctive name and symbol); but instead, is an independent organization and club for individual members of the public who personally identify as a Republican.â
Editorâs note – I only became aware of this situation because Jannah and I attended the June 12 WCRC meeting hoping to hear District 4 Pasco Commissioner Lisa Yeager speak, but when Yeager cancelled that appearance the same day, Cracchiolo brought an update on the battle to the more than 50 attendees. I told Cracchiolo that I would try to talk to both Foster and Stevenson at the Pasco REC meeting the following week to try to help iron out a solution, but both sides are standing firm.
So, the WCRC is still planning to continue to use the name âRepublicanâ without a charter and the Pasco REC is deciding what to do next.
But, as Foster said at the Pasco REC meeting âThis was not not the way I wanted it to be resolved, but I have a clear conscience.â
Although we post photos from North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting events pretty much every issue, the photos on this page are from the Chamberâs own ribbon-cutting event during the official Grand Opening Celebration at its office next to Dillardâs at The Shops at Wiregrass on June 26!
Yes, the office, which NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy says will be the Chamberâs last move for as long as sheâs in charge, has been open for a few months, but Hope, office administrator Darlene Hill, Board chair Angelique Lenox and more than 100 people packed the Chamber office and enjoyed food from Chamber members Bubbaâs 33, Texas Roadhouse, Jimmy Johnâs and 3 Natives. Dist. 2 Pasco Commissioner Seth Weightman talked about the days when the Chamber had a small office at the Brookside Prof. Park and Board past chair Roberto Hiller and Angelique gave Hope an award for her years of service and her impact on the Chamber and the community. â GN; some photos on this page by French Flare Photography
Although the Wesley Chapel area already has three Pasco Fire Rescue (PFR) stations in operation â Station No. 13 on Old Pasco Rd. in the Quail Hollow area, No. 26 on Aronwood Blvd. in Meadow Pointe and Station No. 38 on Overpass Rd. in Watergrass â thereâs no doubt that the explosive growth of Wesley Chapel has created a desperate need for additional stations in and around zip codes 33543, 33544 and 33545.
Pasco County has had a sign announcing that PFR Station No. 2 is planned on a piece of property on S.R. 54 less than a mile east of the new AdventHealth Meadow Pointe Emergency Room (as we reported about last issue) for several years, but now, construction has begun on Station No. 2, and the official groundbreaking for the new, state-of-the art fire station was held at the site at 32134 S.R. 54 on May 13.
Pasco Fire Chief Ryan Guynn, who only got the job as chief six months ago but has had a 25-year career with PFR, was clearly thrilled to be able to talk about the official beginning of construction on the new station (which actually had been under construction for several weeks before the actual groundbreaking event).
âThis is something monumental, something thatâs been a long time coming for the people in this area,â Guynn said before introducing Tim Sewell, the regional director for Florida of Ajax Building Company, which is doing the actual construction of the new fire station.
Ajax is excited to be part of this fire station and this is the second of the package that we have coming out that weâre constructing (for PFR Station No. 19 in New Port Richey), so having our people tied into the community here and really working to build this facility for the county is extra special.â
Chief Guynn also thanked Fleischman Garcia Maslowski, the architectural firm that designed the new station (as well as the new Mary W. Sierra Family YMCA in Wesley Chapel), and PFRâs own facilities team âfor all of your hard work putting this together.âÂ
Next up was District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman, since the new station is located in his district.
Weightman said, âThe hard work for this station was done back in 2019, and the credit really goes to the voters who passed the GO (general obligation) bonds back then to help fund these stations. So, itâs a tremendous honor to be on the board and see one of the last remaining GO bond projects come out of the ground.
He added, âStation 2 has been desperately needed and longed for by the residents of Wesley Chapel for many years and Iâm just excited and happy to be in office as this is coming to life.âÂ
Comm. Weightman (above right) also introduced Dist. 5 Commissioner Jack Mariano, who told a little bit about the evolution of PFR during his 21-year tenure on the Board.Â
âWhen I first started,â Mariano said, âthere were a bunch of things that needed to get improved on and I think from my inception of getting on the Board, every board has supported the fire and EMS (emergency medical services) team that we have in this county and we appreciate the team getting these things coming out of the ground. And, the word out there on the street, is that Pasco County safest and best place to work [for fire and EMS personnel].â
Chief Guynn (above left) admitted that he canât take too much credit for the new station, âbecause a lot of the work done on this was way before my time. A lot of the deputy chiefs here had a lot more input into this station than I did, so thank you. I have to give you credit as well. The health and safety of our men and women has always been at the forefront. And your commitment to that [safety] and our commissioners commitment to bring that to fruition is always evident and weâre never going to forget that.âÂ
Truly State-Of-The Art!
Following the ceremony, Chief Guynn gave more information about the new Fire Station No. 2 (the site plan for it is shown below) itself.Â
Site plan source: Pasco County
âWe have what we call our Hot, Warm and Cold zones, which are isolated areas inside the building, where you need to help separate some of the carcinogens from our living quarters, which helps keep our employees healthier and cancer free. Thatâs not a new concept and we certainly didnât invent it, but weâre taking it to the next level, and our commissioners have gotten behind us. We take our employeesâ health and wellness very serious, so just being able to provide them with a living quarters and a fire station workout of that design, keep them healthy, is a big deal.â
Chief Guynn also noted that the new Station No. 2 will have, âour typical fire truck and ambulance package, but weâre looking at moving in some aerial apparatus as well. We have some specialized equipment that we like to keep close to the interstate. But, you know, a lot of those decisions will be made in the near future because, you know, by the time this station is built, weâll have operational needs that are going to change as well.â
The 13,840-sq.-ft. Station 2, which is expected to be open by the winter of 2026, also will be a three-bay station, which Chief Guynn called âmedium-sized, but it will give us plenty of room to grow. Weâll be able to add additional units inside of here and weâll, be able to house dozens of employees, especially during hurricanes and natural disasters.â
And, those additional units â and additional fire stations in the area between Morris Bridge Rd. and Meadow Pointe Blvd. (Station No. 31), and just south of the Harley Davidson dealership on Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Land OâLakes (No. 5) â are already needed and will continue to be even more needed as more homes are built in our area and traffic continues to increase. Even so, Chief Guynn said that response times in the Wesley Chapel area, âare currently within the acceptable range,â but added that the new station will definitely improve those times, especially for the Avalon Park/New River community and Meadow Pointe Areas III & IV.
Editorâs Note – Unfortunately, the groundbreaking for this new fire station in Wesley Chapel was held the week after we went to press with our May 13 issue, so this news is almost a month old as this issue is reaching you, but I felt it was still too important to not include it in this issue. I apologize for any inconvenience that the delay in getting this info to you may have caused. â GNÂ