Wesley Chapel 2017 Year in Review: People

(l.-r.) Zezura, son Jordyn, daughter Aryanna and Patrick Ruddell have made their Mini Doughnut Factory in South Tampa one of Tampa Bay’s hottest spots, and hope to bring one to Wesley Chapel one day. (Photo courtesy of Lindsey Meyer)

It Was A Busy Year For Locals Making Their Mark

From online stars to booming business, from reality competition shows to good old-fashioned game shows, Wesley Chapel saw its share of residents get their 15 minutes of fame in 2017.

Back in August, Florida Hospital Center Ice was home to “Tampa Bay Idol,” an audition for the new incarnation of “American Idol,” which will now air on ABC-TV. The local tryout was hosted by Channel 28-WFTS-TV’s “ABC Action News,” and more than 400 people showed up to audition.

Over the past 12 months, we have introduced you to Wesley Chapel residents and “Idol” hopefuls Brittany Collins, 28, who is a third-grade teacher at Heritage Elementary in New Tampa, and Caloi Koelndorfer, a 16-year-old junior at Wiregrass Ranch High.

“It was awesome,’’ Caloi said of her audition. “I just let it go and tried to have fun.”

Those who got the thumbs-up – including both Brittany and Caloi – were awarded a “front-of-the-line” certificate to the next round of tryouts, held in Orlando. Unfortunately, both of their “American Idol” journeys ended there.

We’ve heard that one Wesley Chapel resident and two “Tampa Bay Idol” contestants may have made it to the next round of auditions. But, that’s still all we know at this time. The show doesn’t air until March, so we’ll keep you posted if a Wesley Chapel resident appears on it.

Then, in October, we watched NBC-TV’s “The Voice,” catching glimpses of 16-year-old Wiregrass Ranch High junior Alexandra Joyce. Her audition and subsequent battle round were reduced to montages on the show, so the hit show’s audience didn’t get to really appreciate the full extent of the teen’s talents.

After three chairs turned around for Alexandra –— those of Academy- and Grammy-award winner Jennifer Hudson, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine and country crooner Blake Shelton — she joined Jennifer’s team. But, Alexandra’s journey on the show ended in her first battle round.

“I think it’s definitely been kind of a stepping stone for me,” she says. “I have a single on iTunes; I never in a million years thought I would have a single on iTunes.” Alexandra’s two audition songs, Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” and Charlie Puth’s “One Call Away” are both still available.

In November, Wesley Chapel resident Christopher Moody’s stint on the CBS-TV daytime game show “Let’s Make A Deal” aired.

Which was more memorable — that he won $18,000 worth of prizes, including a new dining room set and a 7-day trip for two to Greece, or Moody’s spot-on hot dog costume?

Moody was offered $1,000 for a box with unknown contents — then $1,400, then $2,000.

“I turned it down,” Moody says. “It was just a gut feel. Right from the beginning, I was hoping I’d win a trip, I had a good hunch that is what was going to be in the box.”

Turns out he’s glad he followed that hunch.

And, we don’t want to forget to mention Zammy, the 100-pound “sheepadoodle” whose picture at the Shops at Wiregrass mall (right) went viral on the social media site reddit.

Zammy had about 600 followers on his Instagram account, @ZammyPup, before his photo hit reddit. After that, his owner, New Tampa resident Todd Pitner, says, “It went from 600 to 1,000 overnight, then 2,000 in a week, then 9,000.”

This pic of Zammy went viral after it was posted on reddit, and Todd Pitner (top right) says it has been viewed more than a million times.

Zammy continues to gain fans. As of the end of 2017, the lovable Sheepadoodle has more than 71,000 followers.

“Zammy’s just a really special dog, with a special personality,” says Todd, “and he brings joy to people.”

Something else that brings joy to people is – let’s be honest – doughnuts. Another Wesley Chapel resident we featured in 2017 was Patrick Ruddell who has made his Mini Doughnut Factory in South Tampa one of Tampa Bay’s hottest spots, with a crowd almost always out the door.

Ridell’s second Mini Doughnut Factory just opened in St. Petersburg.

At one point this year, Patrick and his wife, Zezura, were on the verge of a deal to open a store in Wesley Chapel on S.R. 56. What they thought was a done deal, however, wasn’t, as they say the leasing company reneged on an agreement.

As for opening a store in the community where they live, Patrick says, “We want it more than anything.” Here’s hoping 2018 is the year that brings Wesley Chapel its own Mini Doughnut Factory.

Wesley Chapel 2017 Year in Review: Sports

Hockey, Tennis & Lots Of Firsts For Area High School Teams

Wesley Chapel has had the occasional high school team break through. Saddlebrook Resort trains world-renowned tennis players. But, to call our community a sports “mecca” would be an overstatement.

That may, however, be changing.

Consider in 2017 alone: Wesley Chapel hosted the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey team training camp, some of the best professional women’s tennis players in the world competed in the Federation Cup semifinals at Saddlebrook, a new indoor sports facility received approval (and will break ground next year) and even the local kids made a little history at Wiregrass Ranch, Wesley Chapel and Cypress Creek high schools.

Not bad for one year.

As for ranking what we feel were the top stories, where do we start?

* The U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey team training for the 2018 Winter Olympics was huge news. We wrote about it on page 11.

* The RADD Sports indoor sports complex will break ground in 2018, and could be open by spring of 2019. While we’re still not sure how much use Wesley Chapel residents will get out of the complex, its overall local economic impact is likely to be significant.

* The Fed Cup semifinal pitting the U.S. against the defending champion Czech Republic at Saddlebrook Resort in February put a buzz in the area’s significant tennis population.

Saddlebrook constructed a temporary 3,500-seat stadium around one of the resort’s Har-Tru Classic Green Clay Courts, and it was nearly full on both days of the event, despite temperatures that were blazing.

The Fed Cup, started in 1963 as the women’s version of the men’s Davis Cup, is the world’s largest annual international team competition in women’s sports, with roughly 100 teams competing.

The semifinals were a good get for Wesley Chapel, and the U.S. delivered an exciting down-to-the-wire 3-2 win as Coco Vandeweghe and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won the final doubles match to clinch it.

Many of those who watched from the stands in Saddlebrook that weekend were also watching from their couches in November on The Tennis Channel as Vandeweghe (this time with Shelby Rogers) again clinched a 3-2 win in Minsk, Belarus, ending a 17-year Fed Cup championship drought for the Americans.

* Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) became the first team from Wesley Chapel to win a Florida High School Athletic Association football playoff game, despite a few 10-0 seasons back in the early-2000s by Wesley Chapel High (WCH).

The Mark Kantor-coached Bulls, led by 1,000-yard rusher Adrian Thomas, managed a school best-ever 9-3 record, and a 17-10 win over Lake Nona in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs (before a loss to state powerhouse Lakeland ended their season).

The Wesley Chapel softball team won almost as many games this season (19) as it had in 10 previous seasons (22), setting a school record.
(Photo courtesy of Steve Mumaw)

* At WCH, the softball team made some of its own history. Losers of 27 straight games and 43 of 44 over a three-year span at one point, coach Steve Mumaw and freshman pitcher Jordan Almasy led the Wildcats to their first playoff appearance ever. WCH won a school record 19 games, beat Robinson 4-0 for their first postseason win, and had eventual Class 6A champ Land O’Lakes on the ropes before losing 4-2 in the Regional semifinals.

* And, the new kids on the block at Cypress Creek Middle High (CCH) hit the ground running — on August 25, the Coyotes, coached by Mike Johnson, won the first football game they ever played, beating Gulf 12-0.

The closest anyone came to winning a state title in 2017?

* The WRH boys tennis team, which already won state titles in 2014 and 2015, fell short in their bid for No. 3 in four years, in April. The Bulls lost to Parkland Stoneman Douglas High 4-1 in the State Class 4A championship match, just the third time in their last 114 matches the Bulls boys have lost a head-to-head battle.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Food

Ford’s Garage was a hit immediately after opening.

Fat Rabbit, Wok Chi & Snowrolls On Our List Of Favorite New Eateries In 2017

As part of our “year in review” series of stories in this issue, assistant editor John Cotey and I decided that I should include something about all of the new restaurants that opened in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel in 2017.

And of course, since I love to write about new places to eat, I decided to mention a few of my favorites that opened in our area over the past 12 months.

In Wesley Chapel, my favorite new eatery is Noble Crust.

But, Noble Crust was far from alone on the list of new places to eat north of the Pasco County line in our distribution area. In The Shops at Wiregrass alone, in addition to Noble Crust, Irish 31, Wok Chi and Menchie’s all opened and all of them were great additions to the dining scene at the Shops.

After Noble Crust, Ford’s Garage is definitely my favorite newcomer, with a really good seared tuna appetizer, tender steaks and a great Chicken Henry entrée. None of the other new entries around the Tampa Premium Outlets mall make my list, as most are fast food, my favorite of which is Culver’s, followed by Pollo Tropical, Starbucks, Panda Express, Wendy’s and Taco Bell.

Fat Rabbit

Irish 31 also makes my list of new favorites, even though the menu has a few too many fried items for my taste. However, the Ploughman’s salad and Farmer’s Fried Chicken, as well as a pretty good ribeye steak keep it near the top of the newbies for me.

I also really enjoy not only the build-it-yourself stir-fry dishes at Wok Chi, but also the Chi-Licious pork spareribs, the egg rolls and dumplings and even the hot green tea.

Meanwhile, here in New Tampa, we didn’t see as many new places to eat open, but The Fat Rabbit in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center and Precinct Pizza on Cross Creek Blvd. are both pretty good, with Fat Rabbit being my favorite of the two for its excellent burgers and blackened wings.

And, although it isn’t truly a restaurant, per se, the new Snowrolls, the  ice cream shop in the Pebble Creek Collection also is pretty incredible. Even though you can now get rolled ice cream in other places in our area, the quality of the ice cream and the variety of  flavors and toppings at Snowrolls is second to none.

This first location of a new franchise also has excellent crepes, amazing authentic Italian coffee and coffee drinks, as well as a new chocolate gyro that swirls milk chocolate and hazelnut flavors with more to come. It isn’t ice cream, but it’s indescribably smooth chocolate and you can even add toppings to it, too.

I’d also like to give a shout out to the new owners of Café Olé Restaurant on Cross Creek Blvd., who have converted a small portion of the existing restaurant (which has long been my favorite in New Tampa) to a Venezuelan bakery and coffee shop with great café con leché and a variety of authentic Latin desserts.

We Lost A Few, Too

Unfortunately, New Tampa also saw a few restaurants close in 2017, including Vuelo Mexican Grill, Takara Sushi & Sake, Paramount Lebanese Kitchen and Dairy Queen.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Schools

These kids used to ride the bus to Benito, but “courtesy busing” for middle and high school students was eliminated in 2017. Courtesy busing ends for elementary students in 2018. Photo by Lisa Evison.

TOP STORIES OF 2017: One Word For 2017: Change

First, there were changes to the Hillsborough School District’s buses.

Then, it was boundary changes.

Then, bell schedule changes.

Add to that a hurricane that closed schools for eight days and teachers who are unhappy with the school district not giving them the pay raises they were expecting, and it’s easy to see: In recent memory, there hasn’t been a year that was more tumultuous for New Tampa’s public schools than 2017.

While all these changes were announced in 2017, most families will feel the pinch this coming August, when the 2018-19 school year begins.

That’s when boundary changes that were approved by the Hillsborough County School Board on May 16 will be implemented. The plan makes room at Pride Elementary for growth in neighboring K-Bar Ranch, shifting hundreds of students who currently attend Pride, Heritage, Hunter’s Green and Clark elementary schools to other schools.

More than 550 students who live in Arbor Greene and Cory Lake Isles who currently are assigned to Pride will be re-assigned Hunter’s Green.

The district is making room at Hunter’s Green by moving some students (residents of Morgan Creek apartments) to Clark, and moving many students who are currently bused to both Clark and Hunter’s Green from the area surrounding the University of South Florida to schools in their own neighborhoods.

However, because Pride will have some capacity available, many parents who want their children to stay at Pride will be able to do so, for at least a year or two.

Kristin Tonelli is a principal’s coach for Hillsborough County Public Schools who works with all of the New Tampa schools, plus a couple of dozen others. She’s also a New Tampa resident and a former teacher and principal at Hunter’s Green.

“This may be the first shift in boundaries for this generation of parents,” she says, “But, we’ve moved through boundary changes in the past, and we’ve found that students are very resilient and adjust well to new teachers and new schools. And, they take a lot of cues from their parents.”

While many students will change schools — and local traffic patterns will change along with them — more students will find themselves getting to and from school without a bus.

Middle and high school students who used to have “courtesy busing” — if they lived less than two miles from their school — had to find new ways to get to school this year, whether it’s walking, biking, or carpooling.

The School Board is expected to eliminate courtesy busing for elementary students this fall, adding to the challenges some parents already are facing.

And all students who attend public school in New Tampa will be on a new schedule next year, as bell times change at every school. The major change is that high schoolers get to sleep in a bit more — which experts say is good for them — while elementary school students will start and end their school days earlier.

While it does feel like things have calmed down from the craziness of all the announcements — and bell times that changed and changed again before they were finally adopted by the School Board (and then adjusted slightly one more time), parents can now plan for these changes for next school year.

“To move boundaries and line up bell schedules are large shifts that impact numerous families,” says Tonelli. “Those are things that required a high level of communication and community involvement, and we’ve given a lot of leeway and time for families to think through those impacts.”

She says she knows what it’s like, having had three children in New Tampa schools, with many years of one in high school, one in middle, and one in elementary.

“Just remember you’re not in this alone,” Tonelli says. “Across the board, we have nearly all two-income families with both parents out of the home, so we have more options than ever before for care for both before and after school.”

Teachers, Too

While all of these issues impact students and parents, they also certainly impact teachers. And, as the year 2017 came to an end, teachers expressed their disappointment in not receiving the raises they were promised.

They showed up in force at a School Board meeting held Nov. 14, then went to local malls, including the nearby Tampa Premium Outlets, to show the community how much work they do above and beyond their contracts. While the teachers’ union is not allowed (by State law) to go on strike, they did hold a week of what they called “work the contract” to demonstrate what it would be like if teachers only did the work for which they are contractually obligated.

Lisa Mayhugh, a Clark Elementary kindergarten teacher with more than a decade of teaching experience, supported these efforts. “We work so hard and sacrifice our time, our money and even our families to do what’s best for our students,” Mayhugh says. “We need to keep the pressure on to get what we feel we’ve been promised.”

At our press time, contract negotiations were still ongoing for the 2017-18 school year.  According to Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association assistant director Paula Haggerty, the CTA has filed for impasse, which would bring in a third party to resolve the issues, but the CTA is hopeful to continue negotiations in the meantime.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Sports

Dave Andreychuk, the NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals who captained the Tampa Bay Lightning to its only Stanley Cup in 2004, gives his Hall of Fame induction speech on Nov. 13 at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Toronto.

TOP STORIES OF 2017: Andreychuk Hall of Fame Induction Caps Memorable Year

It has been a while, maybe ever, that the areas served by our publications have had such a banner year for sports.

In most years, a big event like the Federation Cup being held in Wesley Chapel might be the year’s top highlight. Or the opening of a state-of-the-art ice facility able to lure Olympic teams to town. Or perhaps, the promise of a large indoor sports complex.

Big stories, all.

But for New Tampa, none can top Hunter’s Green resident and former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk finally making the NHL Hall of Fame.

If he had a dime for every time someone in New Tampa bumped into him and told him how unfair it was that he wasn’t already in the Hall of Fame, Andreychuk could buy Hunter’s Green.

The NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals finally got the call on June 26, and was officially inducted on November 13.

Friend Andy Ritter, along with a handful of other Hunter’s Green residents, attended the ceremonies in Toronto, just a short drive from where Andreychuk grew up in Hamilton.

Ritter said that no matter where they went in Toronto, Andreychuk was always the unassuming star.

“He was just the local kid that made good,” Ritter said.

Which sums up the way many in New Tampa feel about him.

But, he wasn’t the only New Tampa sports standout who celebrated a huge success in 2017:

New Tampa’s Ellie Pleune was the Gasparilla Distance Classic’s first-ever two-race winner.

* Ellie Pleune, then an 8th-grader at Benito Middle School, didn’t win just one race at Gasparilla in 2017.

She won two.

Pleune, 13, became the youngest-ever female winner in the 40-year history of the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic 5K on Feb. 25, and then turned around the next day to also win the 8K race, the first time in the event’s history the same person captured both titles.

 

* Wharton High shortstop Drew Ehrhard won the prestigious Saladino Award, which honors the top senior baseball player in Hillsborough County.

Saladino Award winner Drew Ehrhard (with trophy), is joined by (l.-r.) his mom Shannon, his dad Rodney, Tony Saladino and Drew’s brother Zack.

Ehrhard joined past winners like Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield, José Fernandez and Lance McCullers after hitting .422 with four homers and 24 RBI in 2017 to lead the Wildcats to an 18-9 record and the Regional championship.

*  New Tampa resident and left-handed pitcher Brian Lee went 11-3 with a 1.00 ERA, and won four straight playoff games, including the State semifinal, for the Lions. King lost the next day, but Lee’s performance was one for the ages.

“It’s as a good a performance I’ve seen in my 42 years,” King High veteran coach Jim Macaluso said, “and I’m not saying just in King High School … I’ve never seen anyone in the county, around the state, that threw the pressure games he threw, and won.”

* On Sept. 28, Freedom finally beat Wharton in football, after seven straight seasons of lopsided losses. Dominick Vazquez capped a 99-yard drive in the final moments to give the Patriots the 12-7 win in front of the largest Freedom crowd in years.

Coach Floyd Graham said it was one of the best feelings of his coaching career. But, it wasn’t enough to keep him on the sideline, as just two months later, Graham resigned.

* The U.S. Federation Cup played its tennis semifinals at Saddlebrook, exciting the strong tennis communities at Arbor Green, Hunter’s Green, Tampa Palms and others.  Hundreds of New Tampa residents were in attendance for the 3-2 win over the Czech Republic. (The U.S., by the way, went on to beat Belarus 3-2 for their first Fed Cup title in 17 years)

*Florida Hospital Center Ice opened near I-75 in Wesley Chapel and hosted the Taste of New Tampa and the U.S. Women’s national hockey team in its preparations for the Winter Olympics.