Coaches Chris Smith and Kim Miller-McCullough, along with players Maya Llanes and Mikayla Cintron, are shown with their with their conference awards. YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1911 Thursday, July 8, 2021 109th Year - No. 43 thezephyrhillsnewsonline.com 50¢ Tropical Storm Elsa spares A Look Back ... the Zephyrhills area JULY 8, 2010 Wealth of Health New series harkens back to This week’s series off ers tips for eff ective exercises days gone by. Let’s look for seniors. Water aerobics, pilates and strength training at the above date are among the suggestions. ➤ 8 BY STEVE LEE News Reporter For our ninth installment of Look Back, we decided to bring readers a sampling of 2010. That year was marked by numerous newsworthy events. A drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing an environmental disaster. An earthquake devastated Haiti, killing 160,000 and destroying the capital city. Plus, George Steinbrenner, whose New York Yankees won seven World Series in his 37-year tenure as owner, died at the age of 80. Weather The New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Following the fortunate Colts for their fi rst Super Bowl championship. escape from Tropical Storm On the local front, there was not quite as Elsa, the typical rainy much of a fl air for the dramatic. As summer in season for this time of year east Pasco progressed, there was news about continues. Daytime highs schoolchildren, prominent Zephyrhills High are around 90 with evening alumni, an expansion of Skydive City and lows in the low 70s. the continuation of a summer series entitled, Getaway for a Day. ➤ 3 On the cover was a feature about the movie Twilight Eclipse drawing young and old alike to Zephyrhills Cinema 10. As always, Several areas, including this part of Zephyr Park, were flooded by Wednesday morning as the storm passed the west coast of Florida. STEVE LEE summer movies, notably matinees, continued Fourth of July in to be a hit. sure they were ready for potential disastrous conditions In school news, Chester W. Taylor and Zephyr Park Minimal fl ooding and lower winds with the storm alternating from tropical storm to a cate- West Zephyrhills off ered high tech camps to gory 1 hurricane and back as it swirled through the Ca- elementary students and the Pasco County With Sparklebration at the at less than hurricane levels leaves ribbean and up along the west coast of Florida. School District reported that FCAT test scores Pasco County Fairgrounds the area virtually unscathed “We’re prepared for the worst and hoping for the for area school came in above the state average. cancelled for a second best. Thankfully it’s not projected to intensify tonight,” Also out front was a story on how the straight year, a Summerfest city manager Billy Poe said on Tuesday evening. “As Zephyrhills Police Department utilizes its Y TEVE EE Festival in Zephyr Park B S L soon as you take one too lightly that’s the one that’s go- computers to communicate with local residents News Reporter proved to be a nice Fourth of ing to intensify and blast you.” via email and text alerts. It was called the Nixle July alternative. messaging system. ➤ For Zephyrhills and nearby east Pasco residents, 11 Last Friday, the National Weather Service reported along with most of west central Florida, there was no A look inside revealed an advertisement a tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean that offi cially be- such intensifying — this time. The local area was spared for events sponsored or listed by the Greater came Hurricane Elsa and it headed for Florida. Locally, for the most part with the exception of a few fl ooded ar- Dade City Chamber of Commerce, a traditional as in most places within the cone of uncertainty, people eas from overnight storms lasting into early Wednes- community calendar, weather page and a Summer camp for went into disaster preparedness mode. day morning. coloring contest for children that has been In essence, city, county and state offi cials made ® ® girls basketball HURRICANE ELSA: See Page 13 A LOOK BACK: See Page 4 Chris Smith, who coaches the Zephyrhills High girls basketball team, is overseeing a summer camp for key returners, as well as newcomers from Stewart Middle School’s conference ZAL Bulldawgs are back at practice championship team. ➤ 16 Local youth football and cheerleading program Email Address begins preparing for the upcoming season If you would like to email that begins in August The Zephyrhills News story BY STEVE LEE ideas, press releases, club News Reporter news, park news, special events or letters to the editor, please send your information Although the season does not begin until late August, youth football to our email address: players and cheerleaders have returned to the practice fi elds. Players thezephyrhillsnews and coaches began showing up for conditioning and drills last week in @gmail.com. preparation for another Zephyrhills Athletic League season. The Bulldawgs, who play home games and practice at Charles B. Krusen Memorial Field, compete in the Mid-Florida Football and Cheerleading Conference. Most of their opponents are in northern INDEX Hillsborough and Polk counties. Community News 2 Despite a late start last season due to restrictions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the Bulldawgs made two championship runs but Weather 3 came up short. The pee wees (ages 9-10) made it within one round of Church Directory 5 a Super Bowl and settled for being the Western Conference runners-up while the mighty mites (7-8) played in a division Super Bowl but lost. Obituaries 5 Football and cheerleading coaches alike have two primary focuses Crossword Puzzle 6 & 7 during the initial practice sessions. One is to indoctrinate the newcomers and teach them the basics and another is ensuring that returners and Coloring Contest 10 more experienced players learn more and continue to improve. Crime Reports 12 & 13 “It’s just working with the kids and trying to make them better,” said Mike Johnson, who has coached the pee wee team in recent years but is Legals 12 moving down a level to head up the fl ag program (4-6) for the upcoming Classifieds 12 season. Working with the younger boys means that Johnson must take T.V. Guide 15 a simpler approach than he did with the pee wees. He welcomes that challenge. Zephyrhills News “I get them ready for the next level and teach them the fundamentals,” he said. Other challenges will be guiding the pee wees and mighty mites ➤ZAL: See Page 9 Max Siegel takes a handoff from Exzavior Kelly and gets a block from Jamen Rodriguez at practice. STEVE LEE 2 Thursday, July 8, 2021 | Zephyrhills News Pasco clerk awarded for excellence in best practices 38333 5th Ave. Zephyrhills, Florida 33542 (813) 782-1558 E-mail: [email protected] The Zephyrhills News, USPS 699-080, is published every Thursday. Periodicals postage paid at Zephyrhills, Florida and additional mailing offi ces. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Zephyrhills News, 38333 Fifth Avenue, Zephyrhills, Florida 33542. No part of the The Zephyr- hills News may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho- tocopy or recording, of any informa- tion storage or retrieval system without the expressed written permission of the publisher. To subscribe call (813) 782-1558 1-year in Pasco County - $25.00 2-years in Pasco County - $40.00 1-year (half in Pasco County and half Offi ce claims top outside of Pasco County) - $35.00 1-year outside of honors in all seven Pasco County - $40.00 categories Offi ce hours: Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Pasco County Clerk & Comp- troller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles JAN LINVILLE claimed awards in all seven cate- Publisher/Editor gories of the Florida Court Clerks ANDY WARRENER & Comptrollers inaugural Excel- News & Sports Reporter lence in Best Practices recognition program on June 30. STEVE LEE Designed to encourage striv- News & Sports Reporter ing for excellence among the asso- Above: Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles flanked by Volusia ciation’s membership, the awards THERESA LEBLANC County Clerk/Best Practices Committee Chair Laura Roth and Clay County Clerk/ recognize those clerks whose of- Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers President Tara Green. Advertising Sales Manager fi ces successfully execute the best NANCY KING practices issued by FCCC. The Graphic Department ceremony was held as part of the FCCC’s Summer Conference in St. Petersburg. Clerk Alvarez-Sowles was presented awards of excellence in each of the seven categories designated for CINDY DEMATTEO 2021: Bail Bonds Forfeitures; Compliance Services; Confi dential Judicial Records; Guardianship Audit; Marriage Accounting Manager License; Recording Fundamentals; and Service of Pro Se Documents by Clerk. WENDY MCELROY “While I am delighted to accept these awards here in front of my colleagues,” said Alvarez-Sowles, “it’s im- Receptionist portant to acknowledge all of these achievements represent the work, imagination, and dedication of my deputy clerks, who are committed to our mission in Pasco County.” JAMES BANNON This year’s honors refl ect the endeavors of the teams in records, civil courts, and criminal courts, with abun- Circulation dant support from the fi nance and information technology departments. The Computer Lab of Zephyrhills Superb Computer Service • Desktop PC Repair by a Certified Technician • Limited Laptop Repair Open: Mon.-Fri. 9am-1pm and 3pm-6pm; Sat. 8am-noon • Virus and Spyware Removal Above: Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez- • Hard Drive Backups John Novikoff 813-715-0444 Sowles. 36938 State Road 54 West, Zephyrhills, FL 33541 (Hillvest Plaza) Wedding Anniversary CALL AHEAD SEATING (813) 780-8396 Located in SAVE A LOT PLAZA, behind Amscot Gerald and Esther Fulton of Wesley 36626 STATE ROAD 54 WEST, ZEPHYRHILLS Chapel, FL are OPEN 7 DAYS Sun.