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Fire And Ice, Pain And Progress

CANDACE C. MUNDY/TAMPA TRIBUNE

David Dodge and Greg Morse, employees with Boulevard Awning Company, work on installing the roof of a covered walkway at Deer Park Elem. School. Deer Park is one of two new elementary schools opening this year in northwest Hillsborough County.

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By ANGELA DELGADO, JASON GEARY, COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR and STEPHEN HAMMILL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2008

Updated: 12/31/2007 03:44 pm

In Keystone and Odessa, the pressures of growth and development were hot issues, and in Town 'N Country, a project to breathe new life into the community was making headlines. In Westchase, efforts continued to keep the picture-perfect community just that way, and the opening of a dog park was welcome news in Citrus Park.

Throughout Northwest Hillsborough County, 2007 was an active year. Here is a look at some of the more notable events.

Community Awaits Center

On May 22, the West Gate Regional Library was demolished to make way for the highly anticipated Town 'N Country Commons on Paula Drive.

Work began on the community center, which will consist of the Town 'N Country Senior Center, a Head Start facility and the new Town 'N Country Regional Library. The library's name was changed midyear by the county commission.

Construction should be complete in late summer or early fall. The Commons project is the centerpiece of the community development plan for Town 'N Country and is expected to be a catalyst for revitalizing the area.

In June, the library temporarily opened in a 10,000-square-foot space at 5455 W. Waters Ave. and will continue to operate there while the Commons is built.

County officials have not decided whether they will have a grand opening for the Commons this year or when the adjacent park, Shimberg Gardens, is completed in 2009.

Ice Breaks Car

Almost a year after Andres Javage bought his dream car, a large chunk of ice fell from the sky and destroyed it.

On Jan. 27, Javage parked his red 2000 Ford Mustang outside a friend's home at 9406 Hilldrop Court and returned the next morning to pick it up. When he returned, he found his car totaled. A large chunk of ice, about 18 inches in size, had pushed its roof inward and caused its rear window to explode.

The ice fell about 9:30 a.m. Sunday. A neighbor heard it falling but couldn't identify where the sound was coming from until the car's window burst.

Investigations by weather experts and the Federal Aviation Administration on what the ice chunk was were inconclusive.

Javage's mother, Carmen Javage, said her son was unable to repair his car. He has been driving the car he had before he purchased the Mustang, she said.

Fire Mars Best Western

The furniture was purchased. The walls were freshly painted. Only three weeks remained before the Best Western Inn & Suites was scheduled to open.

On June 29, a fire engulfed the fourth floor and attic of the 41,000-square-foot hotel 200 feet west of Dale Mabry Highway and south of Waters Avenue. Hillsborough Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said the fire began on the east side of the building and spread quickly because air was coming in through the open windows.

The cause of the fire was undetermined.

Owner Mike Patel didn't waste time rebuilding. The 65-room hotel is scheduled to open next week.

2 New Schools Open Doors

Hammond Elementary opened and Deer Park Elementary celebrated its second first day this year.

Hammond, in Keystone, was built next to Walker Middle School to relieve crowding at McKitrick, Schwarzkopf and Citrus Park elementaries.

Deer Park had opened in temporary quarters in August 2006 before its permanent building had broken ground. The Hillsborough County School District had rushed Deer Park's opening because neighboring Bryant Elementary had run out of room.

Deer Park spent the 2006-07 school year in portable classrooms behind Citrus Park Elementary and moved into a new building near Westchase when school started in August. Deer Park's old location has turned into a construction site; the district is building a middle school there.

In November, the school board voted to name that middle school for Paul R. Smith, a former Tampa resident who was killed in Iraq in 2003 and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery. The middle school will open in August.

The board last month gave a name to a new Lutz high school, although the school won't open until 2009. The high school will have a familiar ring to New York Yankees friends and foes - it will be named for George Steinbrenner, who owns the Yankees and has been involved in local charities for children.

Teacher Enjoys Accolades

Westchase Elementary teacher Susan Mikolajczyk finished her time as Hillsborough County's teacher of the year with a bittersweet "aloha to kindergarten" luau.

It had been a year filled with tears, celebration and friendly politics.

Known to her students and parents as "Mrs. Mik," Mikolajczyk had been named the county's 2006-07 teacher of the year in February 2006. The entire elementary school waited outside to cheer for her when she and her class at the time arrived in a limo to celebrate.

Fatal Crash Heightens Safety Fears

After a fatal car crash and successful door-to-door campaign, traffic-calming measures are on the way for Countryway Boulevard in Westchase.

Residents attended an April meeting to examine possible measures for the street, but no safety steps had been taken by September, when a 16-year-old driver, John Holland Jr., fatally struck a man riding a motorbike on Countryway. The teen was charged with vehicular homicide in the crash. The case is pending in juvenile court.

Residents approved plans calling for three raised intersections along the road and a raised crosswalk at the trail south of Glencliff Circle. For aesthetic reasons, Westchase's two community development districts agreed in December to spend up to $90,000 to use brick pavers for the calming measures.

Park Makes Dogs Yappy

In Citrus Park, a $150,000 project to upgrade a county park inside the Logan Gate Village subdivision was completed.

The project included additional fences, security lighting and dog-friendly features.

Residents called for changes to the park, commonly known as Logan Gate Park 3 on Monterey Boulevard, after the body of 13-year-old Stephen Tomlinson was discovered Dec. 8, 2005, in the back of the park.

Joshua Rosa, a 21-year-old neighbor of Tomlinson, was charged with first-degree murder in the case. He remains in jail awaiting a trial scheduled for Feb. 25.

In November, Tomlinson's family filed a lawsuit, claiming the park wasn't safe at the time of the slaying.

Tampa Bay Downs Gets New Deal

After a change in state law, Tampa Bay Downs began keeping its card room open for year-round play.

The card room had been open only during the track's horse-racing season from December to May. But a change in law that took effect in July allowed the card room to stay open throughout the year.

In October, the track also served as a new venue for the Top O' the Bay Oktoberfest. The event had been held at R.E. Olds Park in Oldsmar. The event's organizers said the track provided more space for festivities and parking for guests.

Grass Is Greener

The Westchase Golf Club underwent extensive renovations throughout the summer.

The project closed 10 holes so new grass could be planted on the greens and on two practice greens. The clubhouse also received new carpeting, paint, furniture and other improvements.

The holes that weren't part of the 2007 renovations are expected to receive new grass this summer.

Westchase Weathers Storm

The Westchase Community Association underwent significant changes and tackled contentious issues.

Association members debated whether to build a $200,000 facility to serve as a community center for residents and office space for Westchase's property manager. The association's budget of more than $1 million includes money to begin construction on the building in 2008. Other budget items include improvements to the community's two swim and tennis centers. No date is set for that work.

In September, one board member resigned because of infighting, and another member was removed weeks later after allegations that he made racist and sexist remarks. Both vacancies have been filled.

Workers Restore Borrow Pit Land

A decadeslong legal battle pitting the Martin family against Pinellas and Hillsborough County government officials reached a tenuous conclusion last year.

The object of their bitter dispute: a borrow pit the Martins owned east of the Pinellas-Hillsborough border and adjacent to drinking-water wells owned by Pinellas County.

Pinellas officials maintained the Martins dumped toxic materials in the pit. The brothers denied the allegation, and in return accused the government of destroying their livelihood and taking their land for less than it was worth.

The long-disputed excavation site, a notorious relic of the Tampa Bay area's "water wars," was handed over to Pinellas County in a 1998 settlement. Restoration work was completed in 2007.

Final financial arrangements between Pinellas and the Martins are pending.

Sports Field Shortage Stings

Shortages of sports fields as a result of budget cuts and booming populations strained the county's parks department to its limit.

According to figures released in May, field capacities are stretched thin in most of Hillsborough.

Two youth football fields at Skyway Sports Complex in Town 'N Country are used by almost four times the number of people for which they were designed.

The Ed Radice athletic complex's nine soccer fields are at 231 percent capacity.

"You don't want a 6-year-old to play at night, but that's happening," said Mark Thornton, director of the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department. "With the budget issues I don't really know where we're going. I deal with it every day. It's critical for us."

During summer, the Citrus Park Bills of the Tampa Bay Youth Football League were relocated to Keystone Park. Some residents complained. The Keystone Civic Center sits on the grounds of the park. It is home to various classes and to meetings of the Keystone Civic Association.

"They are stuffing activities into a defined space with no management," said Tom Aderhold, president of the civic association.

Civic Leader Tosses Hat In Ring

In September, Aderhold announced plans to run against Ken Hagan for the District 2 seat on the Hillsborough County Commission.

Aderhold, 63, became president of the Keystone Civic Association in April. In announcing his intention to run, Aderhold cited "a groundswell of anticommission feelings" as motivation.

The remark brought a quick response from Hagan.

"Judging by history, there's always been an anticommission sentiment in Keystone," he said.

The Republican primary takes place in fall.

Wakeboarder Wins Awards

Eighteen-year-old Keystone Lake resident Joshua Chabator placed second in the junior men's division at the USA Nationals wakeboard competition in August, then finished fourth in the same division at the Wakeboard World Championships, held Aug. 23-26 in Reno, Nev.

Lopez Memorialized At Last

About 265 people attended a Veterans Day ceremony for Korean War hero and Tampa native Baldomero Lopez.

A 4-by-8-foot granite plaque was unveiled at the ceremony at the Korean War Memorial on the grounds of Ed Radice Sports Complex.

On Sept. 15, 1950, at the Battle of Inchon, 25-year-old Lopez led his men over a sea wall near Seoul, South Korea. He was made famous in a photo showing him scaling the wall. Minutes later, Lopez smothered a live grenade with his body. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1951.

College Dreams Come True

Odessa's Hugo and Alicia Keim, founders and directors of the ChairScholars foundation, have given out 510 college scholarships during the past 15 years; 359 of those were distributed in the Tampa Bay area.

ChairScholars' mission is to provide physically disabled, financially disadvantaged children a college education or vocational training.

The Keims bought their 58-acre lakeside home in 1996. They cleared out a field for the children to stage the yearly festival. It allows the Keims and donors to meet with every scholarship winner and his or her family.

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