PASCO COUNTY — Fred Smith said he had to pay $4,500 after construction workers damaged his fence “They damaged something on just about everybody’s property,” he said His fence damage also left an opening for his dog is because the Crela Estates development going on next to his house in Shady Hills “The ongoing construction has damaged some property at a nearby elementary school and they don’t want to take any responsibility for it,” Smith said No one here seems more affected than Daphne Sais I’ve been put on depression medication and high blood pressure medication since this started,” Sais said The entrance to the construction site goes right by her house She said she’s lost trees and is dealing with work going on at night “They have money and will be doing what they want,” Sais said ABC Action News' Eric Waxler talked to someone with Mas Development people like Smith and Sais said the overall development in Shady Hills is too much more development is planned behind Crews Lake Middle School “I think they are building way too fast," Smith said "They are not putting in the proper infrastructure to make sure the roads in the county can handle the amount of people that they are trying to put in here." and I feel like that's part of where the system failed" Henry Betsey Jr. is facing charges for marrying three Florida women in three different counties at the same time. Now saying the system that handles marriage licenses kept them in the dark Latest Pasco County News from ABC Action News Report a typo Fla — Finding warmth inside the Shady Hills Mission Chapel means a lot to Gary Charles Johnson Pastor Jen Kerouac leads the church in Spring Hill It’s a designated cold weather shelter in Pasco County conversations that will warm their heart,” said Kerouac Someone even donated hand-knitted scarves and beanies to keep people warm Pastor Jen said there are even more people without a home after the hurricanes “We had a lot of folks that were essentially living in their cars and/or campers And so now some of them because the vouchers only last for so long and the FEMA money as well So there’s a lot of them that are in the woods,” she said Nelly Sysa found this church after walking across three counties I started in Trinity and somehow made my way to St Walked across one of the bridges,” said Sysa Nelly is one of thousands of people in the Bay area who are homeless The cold weather makes a hard life on the streets even harder “It got so cold some nights I would just walk through the nights and just sleep through the day I’d like find a field or something and sleep in the sunlight and warm myself back up,” said Sysa This church is more than just a place to sleep on cold nights They have a food pantry every Wednesday and visits from a mobile medical clinic The hope is to connect people with whatever they need to turn their lives around for good “This place is just amazing,” said Johnson The church is open again Wednesday night as a shelter and will stay open until 10 a.m The suspect was hospitalized and is expected to recover, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. His identity has not been released. The shooting happened just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the backyard of a home on Boland Avenue in Shady Hills, the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies responded to multiple reports of an individual swinging a sword in the vicinity of juveniles,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies conducted a welfare check on the individual and he was located inside his residence. Verbal contact was made, and the individual came outside with a firearm.” Body camera video released by the agency on Facebook shows the deputy ordered the man to drop the weapon, and then four shots are heard. The man is seen retreating back under a porch, and the video ends with an image of him standing with his hands raised. “The subject was struck and deputies immediately rendered medical aid. The subject was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries,” the sheriff’s office said. Deputies recovered a gun at the scene, and video shows the sword was found on a picnic table in the yard. The deputy’s use of deadly force is under investigation, which is protocol, the sheriff’s office said. His identity was not released. — Mary Ann Kussmaul knew Bridgette Williams and Patricia Hormate when they were at their worst “I remember Bridgette with purple hair when I went out and fed them in the woods and she would swear at me and ride a little bicycle away I remember Trish walking around with a baseball bat," said Kussmaul Outreach Director at Shady Hills Mission Chapel Williams turned her life around when she got pregnant "And even within the last three years of doing that I’ve done so much in my life to make me where I’m going somewhere.” Since we last talked with Williams in October, she’s gotten her GED and is working as a manager at McDonald's Williams also continues to volunteer at the church that helped her get where she is: Shady Hills Mission Chapel “The church is always here for people if they need something If you need to call them and message them," she said and they have all kinds of programs that can help people.” She said living with Williams and her daughter got her off the streets and helped her to succeed “With being there for me and not giving up on me and helping me get through it all," said Hormate Hormate is also making up for lost time after reconnecting with her son and granddaughter She is planning to get her high school diploma and is working at a bar but she hasn’t fallen back despite being surrounded by people who are drinking They keep me motivated not to be that way.” putting together care packages for those who are still living with addiction and homeless They say the help is here if you want to change You don’t even think about it until you are sober," said Williams — Patricia Hormerte still gets emotional when she talks of her mother's death and how that led her to drugs to cope with the pain “I was shooting drugs on a daily basis,” said Hormerte Hormerte lived in homeless camps in Pasco County But we would go somewhere else and put them back up,” said Hormerte Trampolines in the trees were my favorite," said Hormerte Hormerte said she got tired of that life and turned to this modest church in Spring Hill Jennifer Kerouac is the pastor at Shady Hills Mission Chapel You feel like you don’t have a voice and you don’t matter,” said Kerouac The church works with those experiencing homelessness to figure out what the root cause really is They come up with a plan and hold those they are helping accountable “They don’t do (anything) but try and help you get better You just have to be in the right mind frame to do it,” said Williams the church puts together care packages for those living on the streets And when people are ready to make a serious change The health department report shows Pasco’s homeless population at more than 500 The county is working to buy a building they call "Opportunity Center." A place to get people off the street and provide the services they need “They're helping me so I can look presentable for the job interview Pastor Jen said seeing Hormerte clean brings her so much joy You are able to see her heart,” said Kerouac announced Thursday that it will start to fill 500 jobs at its new manufacturing site built in northwestern Pasco County The event will be held at the soon-to-be opened facility at 14799 Shady Hills Road “The company is offering a wide variety of positions at competitive salaries bringing great opportunity to Pasco County and Tampa Bay residents,” said Lauren Micelli director of marketing and communications for the Pasco Economic Development Council which helped the company relocate to Pasco County Jobs to be filled will include those in administration, sales, manufacturing, compliance, safety, purchasing, quality control, printing, production, warehousing and inventory. Jobs available can be viewed here according to its original announcement in 2022 when it announced it was relocating to Pasco from Bronx Its Promotional Products Division manufactures prints and assembles plastic products for the promotional industry Its Packaging Division manufacturers stock rigid/reusable plastic containers primarily for the pharmaceutical Gary Plastic is an environmentally focused company committed to providing customers with reusable manufactured products It said its products have an average content of 30% recycled plastic resins and it is continuing its research and development process to incorporate bio-plant-based materials in their products The company will be leasing 279,000 square feet of a 400,000-square-foot building in the new North Pasco Corporate Center currently under development by Harrod Properties This is one of two buildings on the 72 acres off Softwind Lane “It is so nice to see an environmentally focused family business that employs hundreds of people choose Pasco County to call home,” said Bill Cronin, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council, at the time. “We are thrilled to welcome Gary and to see them locate into another great speculative property. We are here to help them grow for years to come.” The company is investing approximately $16 million, including manufacturing equipment to create a modern state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, it has said. Additionally, Harrod Properties has said it plans to invest about $50 million in the building, land and infrastructure. Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter You’re all signed up!Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started. The company’s website shows that it manufactures a variety of plastic container products, ranging from clear hinged plastic compartment boxes to syringe holders. The site states that the company has been in business since 1963. Barbara Behrendt is a reporter covering Pasco County. She can be reached at bbehrendt@tampabay.com. Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More — “It gives your heart pleasure to do this — it really does.” That’s Jerry Smithson. And that’s how he describes rolling out train rides as a founding member of the Central Pasco and Gulf Railroad It’s 5.5 miles of rails for ride-on-top trains in Crews Lake Wilderness Park in Shady Hills The 7.5-inch scale railroad is based on the Orange Belt Railway from late-1800s Florida It’s something most children and grown-ups on the train don’t know “We give them the knowledge about railroads — what they did years ago — the towns that grew up in Pasco County,” Smithson said There are pictures of Disney and his two daughters and his train barn it only makes sense their most famous club member is a Disney juggernaut “She’s the original model for Tinker Bell.” Tink and Smithson are two of about 100 members of the railroad crew where craftsworkers even make their own rails but I now have a machine shop at my house.” Smithson said he hopes the same kind of thing happens for young people  — that they grow to love the railroad “That’s what it’s about — it’s to pique their interest — get them interested in something instead of the computer-game stuff,” Smithson said The railroad's second Saturday and special-event rides kicked off in 2006 The railroad just purchased thousands of feet of new track — with proceeds from special events Smithson said seeing families light up on the trains is amazing — and that’s why he does all this work “It’s the enjoyment of being outside and enjoying the park families getting together and enjoying something together,” Smithson said — Pasco County firefighters battled a late night fire at a junkyard in the 16100 block of Platinum Drive in Shady Hills Pasco County Fire Rescue responded to call at a commercial business shortly after midnight Pasco County Fire Rescue spokesman Corey Dierdorff said firefighters spotted a large stack of junk cars on fire The blaze was contained to the pile of vehicles It took firefighters two hours to bring the fire under control Shady Hills Road was closed at Platinum Drive They only found out Sunday when fire burned a manufactured home there and the body of 52-year-old Christopher Paul was found inside. Only a skeleton remained of the home on the 15000 block of Peace Boulevard remained Monday, a day after the fire. The surrounding area appeared mostly untouched by the flames. The fire did not appear suspicious, authorities said. No cause of death has been released yet. Pasco County Fire Rescue responded to a call about the fire at 9:50 p.m. Monday and found the home engulfed in flames. Once it was safe to enter, they found Paul's body inside. Contact Paige Fry at pfry@tampabay.com. Follow @paigexfry. 2020SHADY HILLS — Bus service to a number of popular destinations in north west and north central Pasco County kicked off last week when Pasco County officials cut the ribbon on the new Route 20 for Pasco County Public Transportation service The service covers much of the Shady Hills area including a stop at the Fasano Regional Hurricane Shelter where the route opening by various county officials took place on Monday Pasco County commissioner Jack Mariano said the new bus services would be a real help to local residents “We know that transportation is a big concern for all of our citizens,” he said The route also will help commuters and others traveling north and south between Pasco and Hernando counties because it includes a stop at the Bayfront Health hospital in Spring Hill the second such connection between Pasco and Hernando transit systems Some workers in the area couldn’t do a commute without that service chairman of the Hernando County Commission “We’re very excited about it in Hernando County,” he said the Florida Department of Health in Pasco County and Premier Community Health Care For more information on Pasco County Public Transportation, including bus routes, transportation news and schedules visit www.ridepcpt.com. Barbara BehrendtPasco County Reporter Please visit these standalone sites for more information GE Aerospace | GE Vernova | GE HealthCare  GE Energy Financial Services agreed to purchase the 517-megawatt Shady Hills power plant located approximately 30 miles north of Tampa Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Energy Financial Services agreed to purchase the 517-megawatt Shady Hills power plant The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions the Shady Hills plant began commercial operation as a peaker plant -- generating power during periods of peak demand - in March 2002 The duel-fueled (natural gas and low sulfur fuel oil) simple-cycle power plant facility's entire output is contracted to a local utility through 2024 Operation and maintenance services are provided by GE Energy which also holds a long-term turbine parts and services agreement for the plant "Shady Hills is a new facility with an excellent operating history in one of the fastest growing US energy markets," said Chris Kratky Transmission and Distribution unit of GE Energy Financial Services "The acquisition is in line with our core growth strategy to expand our power portfolio with quality assets that employ best-in-class technology and have strong market positions and significant opportunities for optimization." "This transaction further demonstrates EFS' ability to work with key industry participants to identify areas of compatibility between our investment objectives and create winning solutions," said Debra Hemsey The Shady Hills acquisition continues GE Energy Financial Services' 25-year legacy in power investing It now holds investments in power projects with a capacity to produce 22 gigawatts enough to deliver power to more than 20 million homes LS Power was founded in 1990 and is a fully integrated development investment and asset management group of companies focused on the power industry Editor's Note: Caption for photo accompanying this release: A view of the highly efficient dual fuel 517-megawatt Shady Hills power plant GE Energy Financial Services has agreed to acquire the plant from LS Power Equity Partners Britta KonsGE Healthcare Global Services [email protected] 1-203-400-1892 GE Unit Agrees to Acquire Fully-Contracted You will receive a link to create a new password via email John Cheever is writing (as he has done over a long period in the New Yorker) about the fretfulness and decline of heart in middle-class people of middle years Though he doesn’t regard the suburbs as a happy place he nevertheless invests his refugees from the city with a glow of Arcadian health they never could have hoped for on the fringes of Central Park A Shady Hill matron can “Have the skis repaired Buy the wine and groceries for the monthly dinner of the Societé Gastronomique du Westchester Nord Attend a League of Women Voters Symposium on sewers Type two and a half pages of her article on the early novels of Henry James .” and lie in her husband’s arms from eleven till twelve and Cheever is ready to believe men will not lose their visionary gleam under the dominion of the garden in Shady Hill as in the more various universe Yet against the wholesome stageprops of dogs prancing through the tomato vines and small girls scratching with sticks in the gravel there could not be a more dismal series of events than those in The Housebreaker of Shady Hill A husband frozen by bland domesticity falls in love with a young babysitter and is advised to turn to woodwork for therapy The life of an undistinguished business man is threatened by a timid unstable secretary whom he fired to avoid being reminded of an evening’s intimacy with her A woman commits adultery out of a passing sympathy for a neighbor snubbed at a Village Council meeting “O Youth and Beauty!” the characters in Cheever’s stories are constantly mourning as they cower beneath the assault of age on their ego and vitality One would expect the teller of these tales of chilly and vexatious marriage of the sorrows of gin and mindless gregariousness to be burning with curiosity as to what could be so deeply thwarting in a life that nurtures the outward graces Why should the entire sense of wellbeing of the “housebreaker,” Jimmy Hake hinge upon the recovery of his job for a parablendeum manufacturer have been deaf to the song of cardinals and robins till the late moment of his amorousness for the babysitter should he so readily take woodtherapy in exchange for the girl who “put him into a relationship with the world that was mysterious and enthralling” Would he not at least require some readjustment that touched his philosophy as well as his nerves it is because he does not see the situation he describes as especially suburban or especially appalling He is committed to a biologism that conceives of man in town or country as a relatively ignoble being: obtuse He believes few people to be either moral or powerful and he therefore presents them always on the treadmill of their small expectations it seems to have been the fate of many deft and diverting American short story writers to deal in the minor distresses—embarrassment melancholia—and to back away from love and fastidious men” who defend their essential sentimentality by retreating to the fort of taste and regard for form This is the company to which Cheever belongs when he takes imperfection and discontent to be a natural element for other men to live in at some very slight stimulus to his senses into a sentimentalist who must represent things as being much sweeter than they are he smuggles an elegant compensation into his bored suburb A man may be presented entirely in the context of liquor and servant troubles yet we leave him listening for the sound of an imaginary Alpine Glockenspiel and seeming “to smell the salt air in the churches of Venice.” The parablendeum executive can also measure out his life in daubs of romance: “We have a nice house with a garden and a place outside for cooking meat sitting there with the kids and looking into the front of Christina’s dress as she bends over to salt the steaks I am thrilled as I am thrilled by more dangerous pursuits and I guess this is what is meant by the pain and sweetness of life.” No one could object if this image of sex at the barbecue were a hearty Rabelaisian touch but it is only one more stir of Cheever’s wistful amalgam of feelings any more than a Sunday Supplement cook can keep mayonnaise off the avocado If one plans to enjoy the bourgeois blessings it makes more sense to take them on their own terms which are materialist and confining But the suburbanites of Shady Hill never give themselves fully to their comfortable world just as Cheever never wholeheartedly affirms the suburban values of the 1950’s throwing over each exhausted partygoer one or another halo borrowed from some richer or larger existence: the country husband is assigned to woodwork but with the consciousness that “It is a night where kings in golden suits ride elephants over the mountains.” These stories are based on the sophisticated assumption that life must always be full of mixture and compromise; they never pause to consider that there are some crucial issues on which it is wisest not to compromise at all Start your risk free trial with unlimited access Explore the scintillating May 2025 issue of Commentary Site design by beck & stone The ceremony took place at the Fasano Regional Hurricane Shelter the PCPT is offering free rides the first week of operation through Saturday Route 20 will offer bus service to several new areas of northwest Pasco County with buses running every hour Click here for the Route 20 map and schedule times Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. 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Subscribe now to get new articles and updates in your inbox » READY FOR A GERANIUM SHAKE-UP Before I met the Heidgen family of Shady Hill Gardens in Illinois I thought a geranium was a geranium was a geranium–the thing with scalloped foliage that smelled a little different than your average leaf The plant that my Grandma put into her patio pots and window boxes each year then hung on her basement clothesline in paper bags in winter (I kid you not) when we were  working on the former Martha Stewart garden line at K-Mart I at least already knew that when I said Geranium that I actually meant Pelargonium because that’s the genus our annual geraniums actually are in and perform roles in the garden she’d never imagined Listen in to our conversation on the latest podcast–or read the highlights below a little geography: Where do Pelargonium come from Even though they seem like classic American garden subjects They were brought back to Victorian England in the mid- to late-1800s because of the climate they’re from they’re still pretty tough old birds The two best tips: If you can give them plenty of sun and let them dry out You group the plants into three classes: novelty A. Let’s start with fancy-leaf—because people can probably pick them out of the crowd In the way that Coleus has gained so much popularity again They have such unique foliage that even when the plant’s not in full bloom You can use it both by itself or in combination That’s one of the most popular—and was from a home hobbyist breeder in Vancouver who had just come up with it Sometimes it’s called “maple-leaf geranium,” because of how it looks with the five points Some have names that remind me of Victorian times when they first became popular—like ‘Crystal Palace Gem,’ for instance evoking the big old Victorian glass house at Kew Gardens or something it’s like watercolor strokes of darker green [photo above right] The one we like to use with that is ‘Happy Thought,’ which is kind of the reverse—with the darker edge and the lime center many geraniums have that horseshoe-shaped mark—a “zone”—on the leaf So it has that bright leaf and then fuchsia-colored flowers Q A. The scented geraniums are the hardest to pick out of all geraniums—because they don’t look like geraniums The textures and leaf colors—some of these can be grayish-blue Most of the leaves are covered in tiny little hairs—and when you touch or move the leaves Some are almost furry—like maybe peppermint The lemon has the leaf that’s curled and fine like parsley—and it’s the one that’s most upright so it lends itself best of them all for making topiaries and can still make a pretty dense ball or cone even if you pinch it and citronella (sometimes referred to as the “mosquito plant”) Q A. The novelties are a collection of things that don’t fit anywhere else—they’re not scented People call it “rosebud,” but it’s technically a tulip-flowered geranium In the head or big ball of the geranium flower each of the little flowers is really like a tulip It’s probably one of the best-blooming novelty types Another great novelty is sidoides—with silvery foliage or combined with something with white flowers Never leave them outside with a saucer beneath the pots You can give them a little balanced fertilizer every three or four weeks Q Are there geraniums for shade—someone will ask me Not really—but some of the fancy-leaf types that have more white in the foliage Peters’ [photo above] or ‘Petals’—will tolerate a little less sun The first thing that happens when geraniums don’t get enough sun is they don’t bloom enough I really want to talk about my grandmother’s basement clothesline of geraniums [Laughter.] But seriously—if I am in a cold zone and have some treasures I want to try to overwinter The first and best way would be to take a cutting from that plant in fall you’re going to get the same plant but you’ll be starting with fresh material Otherwise after a couple of years the old plants lack vigor Say you take a cutting and it doesn’t work and you still want to save the plant: My suggestion would be to try to keep it growing in the sunniest place you have inside and be even more vigilant about not overwatering “I put them in dry-cleaning bags in our ice chest,” or “I always put them in the Marshall Field’s box under the ping-pong table.” [Laughter.] There are some good stories (All photos from Shady Hill Gardens clockwise from top left: ‘Crystal Palace Gem,’ ‘Pandora,’ ‘Vancouver Centennial,’ and ‘Mrs Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Hi Margaret – I am loving geraniums right now I couldn’t figure out why anyone would grow them but now (I am 55) I am loving their easy care I love that they don’t need much water and I grow them on the south side of our farmhouse Also – we raise sheep and they won’t eat them My gardening is somewhat curtailed because of the sheep – if 250 sheep get out I have a fence around my veggie/cutting garden The fact that they won’t eat the geraniums is awesome I overwintered some in my house this year and they are beautiful right now I suppose I should have taken cuttings but didn’t an elderly friend at church has me hooked by letting me dig her geranium all up at the end of each growing season the past two years I’ve not done ery well at overwintering yet but am learning and always end up with one or two that bloom through the winter and a few that make it into my modest garden come spring Fall 2013 is my first attempt at the paper sack in the basement method of overwintering and I can’t wait to see the results I’d so love to share some special varieties with my friend I have a lemon-rose scented geranium that I planted in-ground in the fall They seem to overwinter well here in zone 9 I had no idea you could over winter geraniums I also had no idea there were so many different kinds After perusing the site I love the Pandora geranium She went missing when a family greenhouse with a mother plant closed down I’ve been looking for her in vain for years I don’t have a good space or enough sun for overwintering pots but don’t seem to have the knack with geraniums Pollock is my favorite – I often take cuttings in the fall from my favorite and try to root them indoors for the winter i do have some winter hardy geraniums that i only mulch with leaves and straw Honestly I don’t have a favorite geranium and I have never tried to overwinter geraniums since the only ones I ever got were the ones you describe as “the thing with scalloped foliage that smelled a little different than your average leaf and clusters of hot-colored flowers” and I treated them as an annual I didn’t know there was such variety I’d love to win one of those boxes of assorted lovelies for the sunny beds on the west side of my house We had a few as centerpieces at our wedding (not sure of the variety) that I managed to keep alive for 7 years just by pruning and bringing the pots inside I was crushed the year Jack Frost beat me to them Have overwintered bare root in paper bag in root cellar – some successes Sunny window in MI winter (ha!) sometimes works I’ve tried overwintering a Sidoides this winter it’s not quite time to put it outside yet I find this article very interesting because I am finally able to begin building my garden after struggling with house issues for several years Geraniums were not a flower I loved until I was introduced to the scenteds several years ago this article let me know I’ve a lot more to learn about all of the different varieties I began to ponder the best way to save my few geraniums from the winter My plan is to take cuttings and move them into the sunroom There is still so much for me to learn… I just learned that the Lyman Estate in Massachusetts will be selling a bunch of scented geraniums at the spring herb sale there My all time favorite are the coral ones…..Allure I think Last year I picked up a few pitiful orphans at a big box garden center (OK,….I picked them out of the dumpster) and they rewarded me with the most vibrant hot orange-red color My mom used to over winter hers in a big terra cotta pot in the window of the barn then freeze and come back……what a nice memory My wife used to work at a child care center The parents of the kids she looked after got together at got all the teachers geraniums (the standard looking pink ones) which they put in pots with custom paint jobs that included all the children’s fingerprints We managed to overwinter it the first year by cutting it back and getting it as much light as possible (no easy feat in our apartment with no southern exposure) my wife noticed that the paint on the pot was starting to flake so she temporarily moved the plant into another pot while she sealed the pot to prevent further damage to the priceless paint job Here’s the sad part: she knocked over the pot as she was working on it and completely shattered it we were moving across the county and the geranium itself was killed by the overnight freezing temperatures inside the moving truck and the christmas cactus that were also in the truck) Rest In Peace and may luck be with me so maybe I can get my wife a fancier replacement would like to try some different varieties of the scented geraniums Count me in – Please & Thank You :) My son discovered this method when he was 12 shake off all the dirt and put them UPSIDE down in a brown paper bag Put them down the basement where they cannot fall over March 1 is the magic day for our Michigan weather Stick them all in a big pot of dirt and set that pot in a sunny window Our son went to college in Ann Arbor and rented a room from an elderly lady she was so pleased she insisted on making all his meals “Best boy renter I ever had,” she told anyone who would listen I’ve just used the plain old geraniums after seeing what is available from Shady Hill Gardens I’d love to have a few different varieties My window boxes are under the eaves and never get rained on I found that geraniums are the only annual that will grow there–hot and dry I have always liked Geraniums and buy some each year A few years ago I fell in love with the Martha Washington Geraniums The first thing I did when I bought my 1920s bungalow in 1986 was to put window boxes on the front and back of the house The front box spans three windows and I ALWAYS fill it with red geraniums It’s in memory of my mom who ALWAYS had red geraniums in pots on a long shelf on her house I have two hanging baskets of pink ivy geraniums in the back yard I would be embarrassed to tell you how many years I drive from nursery to nursery to find two matching pairs of just the right pink baskets but inevitably geraniums bloom right up to the first frost and I now don’t have the heart to pitch them I pot them and put them in a dark unfinished basement Next week (I’m in Minnesota) I’ll bring them up cut them back to the green parts and repot them as fill in for my garden but enough to make it worth the bit of effort I’d love to start some new traditions with these lovely varieties Geraniums are my go-to flower for my container gardening every year I am a “lucky local” who has shopped Shady Hill since I found them when we first moved to Batavia in 1990 Poinsettias are their specialty – another blog post I think… I did over-winter a Martha Washington geranium this year by cutting it back We’ll see how it does when the weather cooperates and I can move it back outdoors… Your article was great – and I signed up for your newsletter A WAY TO GARDEN is the latest horticultural incarnation of me birthed in March 2008 with my own words as its primary DNA mingled with ideas shared in weekly expert interviews I have been the garden columnist for “The New York Times,” where I began my journalism career decades ago I host a public-radio podcast; I also teach online plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 6A garden and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants Design by Purr 2020NEW PORT RICHEY — To move toward the goal of turning all of its garbage into renewable energy in the coming years Pasco County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously agreed to begin negotiating with their current resource recovery facility operator Covanta Pasco The county’s maximum price tag for those services is $525 million That cost was alarming to Commissioner Jack Mariano although he said he felt better when he realized the number was for designing he said that Pasco needs to push harder for federal laws to change which would allow such waste to energy processes to return more funding to the county from the energy produced He said he wanted to see the county work with Covanta at both the federal and state level on the issue because while he considers the process "the right thing to do,'' he added Pasco has pushed for more participation in recycling from its citizens, especially in removing items that hinder energy production efficiency — such as plastics — from the waste stream. Mariano said he would like to see that push to recycle ramp up even more. The price of the project also got Commissioner Ron Oakley’s attention but added that the expansion is needed because "it’s just something we need into the future.'' Commissioner Kathryn Starkey said she would like to see the county go back to having someone lobby federal lawmakers on important issues such as this one. Currently the county’s Shady Hills resource recovery facility can handle 950 tons of garbage per day, but 1,100 tons of waste is produced daily. The new incinerator will add another 550 tons per day of capacity to the operation reducing the county’s need to put garbage in an out-of-county landfill. The county hired Covanta to design, build and operate the facility in 1989 and it began operations in 1991. The current agreement with Covanta ends at the end of 2024. In October, Pasco solid waste officials advertised to find a company to design and build the new incinerator unit and operate it from 2025 through 2034. Thirty four companies downloaded the bid package on the job but only Covanta responded. That prompted county staff to do some industry research to determine whether another bidding process should be opened, according to the memo to the commission from John Power, county solid waste director. That research indicated that the availability of other waste to energy operators in the marketplace "was very limited.'' Other major providers in the market have consolidated in the years since the Pasco operation was built and opened and some have left the market in North America all together, the examination concluded. "Covanta has become the single, prominent entity with sufficient capitalization remaining in the North American waste-to-energy market,'' Power wrote. Having components which match with those in the existing operation are another plus for using the same company, county staff noted. The county’s purchasing ordinance allows negotiation with a single source in such cases. The total to design, build and operate the expansion would potentially allow expenses of up to $200 million for design and construction of the new incinerator unit and up to $325 million to operate the existing plant and the expansion for the 10 years. County officials anticipate construction of the fourth unit in 2022 and for operation to begin in 2025. After negotiating the details of a contract, county staff will bring it back to county commissioners for a final vote. Pasco property owners pay for the cost of the waste-to-energy operation through an assessment on their annual tax bill. That amount was increased from $65 to $72 last year with plans for another $7 increase each year for the next six. (AP) — A Florida middle school principal has died after colliding with a log truck on his way to work The Tampa Bay Times reports that 46-year-old Adam Kennedy was killed Friday morning when his pickup truck crashed into the back of the truck carrying a trailer full of logs The Florida Highway Patrol said it did not appear Kennedy slowed down before the collision Officials say Kennedy was principal at Crews Lake Middle School in Pasco County and had worked in the school district since 1999 He had been principal at Crews Lake since 2015 The school district brought a full crisis team including counselors and two of the school's former principals to help students and employees The 35-year-old radiation therapist hustled to Walgreens around 1:30 a.m. Saturday and was on her way back home when she saw two orange lights in her rearview mirror. The lights got closer and eventually passed her. They belonged to an SUV. The vehicle's actual headlights weren't on, she said. Three or four minutes later, Dyer came upon an accident scene, where three passengers in a golf cart died and a fourth was critically injured. The same SUV that had passed her, a 1999 Jeep Cherokee, was on its side, its undercarriage visible to Dyer as she approached. She parked her car and examined the wreckage before calling 911. What was left of the golf cart lay scattered all over the road, the roof nowhere near the cart's frame. She could see three bodies, she said, and learned later a fourth was concealed behind the Jeep. The silence was eerie. "I knew something was wrong the second I got out of my car and nobody was making a sound," she said. "You expect to hear somebody screaming." According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the Jeep and the E-Z-GO golf cart were headed south on Monte-verde Drive. The Jeep, driven by Victor Valdez Jr., 32, of Spring Hill, hit the back of the cart on the narrow street with no light poles, overturning the cart just after 2 a.m. All four people in the cart were ejected, troopers said. Passengers Jennifer Boudreau, 36, Leah Marie Kurasz, 28, and Robert Frederikson, 48, all of Spring Hill, died at the scene. Scott Blair Wilson, 23, of Spring Hill, who was driving the golf cart, was transported to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point in critical condition, according to the Highway Patrol. Wilson's family couldn't be reached for comment. Valdez was not injured. Alcohol did not contribute to the crash, troopers said. No charges had been filed Saturday, though the incident was still under investigation. A man who identified himself as Valdez's brother said Valdez was not interested in talking to a reporter Saturday afternoon. It's not uncommon for Shady Hills residents to ride golf carts or four-wheelers on the road, said Max Roush, 23, whose family lives on Monteverde Drive right at the scene of the crash. He and his younger brother had been installing a sound system into his brother's car and had gone inside no more than 10 minutes before hearing a loud boom. They ran from their house to help, but were startled to hear three pops in quick succession, Roush said. They thought the driver of the Jeep was shooting at them, they said, but realized he was using pliers to break the passenger side window to escape, as the SUV was on the driver's side. Roush, who works for Waste Management in Okeechobee and was visiting his family for Christmas, pointed out late Saturday morning where on the street the bodies had been positioned. The road, which has a 30-mph speed limit, was marked with scars that stretched more than 100 feet, and dark stains on the asphalt, Roush said, were left by blood. He described checking on a woman and realizing she was dead. The crash left three families grieving during a time of celebration and gift giving. Christine Kurasz, 50, recalled her daughter, Leah, as a free spirit. "She loved life," Kurasz said. "She didn't have many fears." Leah Kurasz had a learning and hearing disability, her father, Michael said. But she took it in stride. "She felt God gave those to her so she could help others," he said. Harold Gillette, a Colorado resident who is Frederikson's ex-father-in-law, said his son-in-law had worked as a mechanic and was always working on cars. "He was a very pleasant person, I guess you could say an easygoing guy," Gillette said. "He had lots of friends and was well liked. This is a real shock." For the Boudreau family, said Jennifer's older brother Jeff Boudreau, Christmas has been tarnished forever. Jennifer's children, 9-year-old Nathan and 7-year-old Sierra, hadn't quite grasped what happened yet. "It'll hit them when they wake up ( this morning) and Mommy isn't there for Christmas," said Jeff Boudreau, 41. The mother, a trained veterinary technician, was between jobs when the crash occurred. But she made sure her children didn't want for anything, her brother said. He didn't know what would happen with the children, whether Jennifer's ex-husband would assert his parental right to Nathan, or if the children would live with their grandparents. "Right now, the kids are going to keep my mom and dad going," he said. "Without them, they're going to be a basket case." Jeff Boudreau described the crash like a bad dream. "When you get woken up like that — it wasn't even by a phone call," he said. "It was my dad sitting in my kitchen crying, telling me my sister was gone." Times senior researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 909-4613 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15. Josh SolomonFormer Times Reporter It's not that they don't want to see the 38-year-old building and its crumbling infrastructure improved. They just don't want their kids to be displaced from campus to attend nearby Crews Lake Middle School for two years while the work gets done. "It's a beautiful building," Shady Hills Elementary PTO president Rose Rogers said of Crews Lake. "It's just not safe for our children to go there." She raised concerns about the young children moving through the three-story school with older students who begin dabbling in activities such as profanity, smoking and skipping class that elementary kids don't generally do. Crews Lake, Rogers said, is not the best place to test out the K-8 education model in Pasco County. Several parents launched a petition against the move, collecting what they estimated to be about 600 signatures. A handful of them picket outside both schools each day, and a group came to the Pasco School Board meeting on Tuesday to voice their worries. Jessie Barnett, a member of the school's advisory committee, said before the meeting that she'd like to see the district go slow on the renovation. She said a better plan would be to put portables on the Shady Hills campus and let children attend classes there, just as the district did when upgrading Schrader Elementary. "Let our kids stay in the elementary setting," said Barnett, who has two children at Shady Hills. District officials said the $8.5 million project, which will be paid for by the renewed Penny for Pasco sales tax, would be too disruptive to allow students to remain in the school building itself during construction. The building will be completely renovated with everything from new bathrooms to upgraded technology. The district doesn't own enough portables to house the entire student body of about 450, assistant superintendent Ray Gadd added, and buying more portables at $40,000 to $50,000 each is an undesired expense. If the district waits for portables to become available, Gadd continued, "We could only do one thing at a time." With nine Kelley-designed schools slated for major upgrades, that could string out the projects for years. "We want to get hopping on these projects," Gadd said. The project list already has won approval from the School Board and the general public. The Penny for Pasco won renewal in November with just shy of 70 percent of the vote. Rogers, who has one child at the school, said if she and others in the Shady Hills area had realized that the project would mean such an upheaval and create stress for their children, they might not have supported it. She complained that when district leaders explained the concept at a town hall meeting, they didn't ask for input so much as state what would be happening. Yet when residents sought more details about school designs and other parts of the plan, the information was not forthcoming. "They didn't want to have any other ideas," Rogers added. "This is being pushed very fast." She, Barnett and others raised questions about children's safety, noting for example that third- and fourth-graders would be placed in portables near the main road and also near loud air conditioning units. They also disliked the idea of breaking up their school community, which has been tightly knit while performing well academically. School Board member Steve Luikart, who represents the Shady Hills area, said he hoped that the parents would trust the district to do the project right. He got a few calls from people worried that the school would never reopen. That's not the case, he said, because the construction bids are already out. "We're going to rebuild Shady Hills," he said. Gadd added that if the district were to pursue K-8 education for the long term, it would build schools designed to house that model and not shoe-horn it into Crews Lake. Luikart also heard from parents worried about having elementary children mingling with middle schoolers in the hallways, cafeteria and buses. He shared their angst until he got more details. "It was explained to me that they are going to be separated," Luikart said, noting that the students will have different bell schedules and occupy different parts of the Crews Lake campus. "I think the district has a grip on those concerns." Gadd said that Crews Lake also has the very few problems with student discipline and referrals, making it a safe and well managed campus. If parents remain dissatisfied, he added, the district has extended its school choice deadlines for families to seek other places to attend. "It's in the best interest of the kids," Luikart said of the Shady Hills renovation. "In the long run, that new school is hopefully going to be the highlight of that community up there." The district expects to have an approved construction bid for Shady Hills Elementary by mid June. It has posted updated information about the project at www.pasco.k12.fl.us/transformation/shes/. Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at jsolochek@tampabay.com, (813) 909-4614 or on Twitter @jeffsolochek. Jeffrey S. SolochekEducation Reporter Pictured is Semiole CEO Lisa Johnson at a coal facility | [Courtesy of Semiole Electric Cooperative]By Times staff and wiresPublished Dec State regulators will hear arguments in March on proposals for two new natural gas power plants in Putnam and Pasco counties that would supply electricity to customers of electric cooperatives throughout Florida Filings last week with the state Public Service Commission show a two-pronged strategy by Tampa-based Seminole Electric Cooperative Part of that strategy calls for building a $727 million plant; the cost of the other "Based on its continuing evaluation of its member cooperatives' electricity needs," Seminole said in the filing "Seminole projects a need for 901 megawatts of additional generating capacity by the end of 2021." Seminole is a nonprofit utility that provides wholesale power to cooperatives throughout the state to 1.6 million customers in Florida Its members include the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative In a filing with Shady Hills Energy Center the utility said it wants to build two combined cycle gas plants: a 1,050-megawatt plant at its already-existing site in Putnam County and contract for electricity generated at a 573-megawatt plant in Pasco County that would be owned by a subsidiary of General Electric Co About 800 average-sized homes can be powered by a single megawatt "The combined cycle generation technology is one of the most efficient power production technologies available today," the utilities said in their filing Seminole Electric also has a proposal pending in the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings as it seeks a separate regulatory approval for the Putnam County project under a state power-plant siting law Both new plants would be fueled with natural gas and the strategy also includes shutting down a smaller coal-fired plant at the Putnam site north of Palatka The Putnam County project would rival that of Duke Energy Florida's Crystal River plant in terms of energy output Duke is in the process of building a combined cycle natural gas plant in Citrus County When it is fully operational at the end of 2018 it will produce 1,640 megawatts on average Related coverage: Duke Energy quietly builds a $1.5 billion plant in Citrus County> It would be slightly cheaper, however, than the $1.5 billion Duke Energy project. Seminole estimates that the combined cycle plant would cost $727 million. Customers would likely see this in an uptick on their monthly bill. The monthly rates for customers differ depending on their provider in the cooperative. In the petitions filed with the Public Service Commission, Seminole said it has a "significant need" for additional power in the 2021 and 2022 time frame. Much of the urgency comes from soon-to-expire agreements to purchase electricity from other utilities. The new Pasco County plant, which would be adjacent to the existing Shady Hills power plant, would start operating Dec. 1, 2021, according to the filings. Seminole would have a 30-year contract to buy electricity produced at the plant. Seminole, meanwhile, would start operating the Putnam County plant on Dec. 1, 2022, the filings show. If the determinations of need are denied, Seminole said it would have to continue operating the coal-fired plant in Putnam County and would need to buy power at a higher cost. "Non-approval would mean that Seminole's members (electric cooperatives throughout the state) and the members' retail member-consumers would be denied the most cost-effective, risk managed power supply solution," the petitions said. Should they be approved, however, Seminole will retire one of its coal units within the next five years. Its retirement is expected to bring a 40 percent reduction in air pollutants produced by the collective, as well as a 34 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and a 27 percent increase in power output. In addition to Withlacoochee River, Seminole's other members include Central Florida Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Glades Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc.; SECO Energy; Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Talquin Electric Cooperative, Inc.; and Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. Seminole's proposals are part of a broader move in the state's utility industry to build natural-gas plants and shut down older facilities. Florida Power & Light, for example, is seeking approvals for a new Dania Beach plant and has undertaken projects in recent years at Cape Canaveral, Riviera Beach, Port Everglades and in Okeechobee County. The Public Service Commission has scheduled a hearing March 21 on key regulatory approvals — known as seeking determinations of need — for the projects. Times Staff Writer Malena Carollo contributed to this report. 2023 at 6:01 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Wilfredo Reyes Jr. was charged with DUI involving serious injuries and animal cruelty FL — A Tampa man has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence after state troopers said he caused a three-car crash that left one driver with life-threatening injuries and killed two dogs was driving a Jeep Wrangler east on State Road 52 when he veered into the westbound lane and collided with a Chevy Avalanche towing a trailer driven by a 62-year-old Spring Hill man Behind the Chevy was a Ford Ranger driven by a 53-year-old Spring Hill man State troopers said the Chevy spun around and struck the Ford Ranger The driver of the Ranger was taken to the hospital with critical injuries The crash also killed two dogs: one that was riding in Reyes' Jeep Wrangler and another that was riding in the Ford Ranger Reyes was arrested and charged with DUI involving serious injuries and animal cruelty FL -- The Pasco County Sheriff's Office has released a body cam video of the dog attacking a deputy Thursday morning in Spring Hill Warning: The video contains graphic content and offensive language Pasco County Sheriff's deputies were called to a home at 15046 Lenway Road in the Shady Hills community of Spring Hill at 6:53 a.m April 25 after three dogs attacked a 15-year-old boy and an elderly man The dogs had been roaming in the Crews Lake Park area The boy was bit on the leg as he was walking to his school bus stop the elderly man sustained serious injuries requiring stitches in both legs one of the dogs tried to attack him as well The body cam video worn by Mason shows him shooting one of the dogs It also shows the elderly man's extensive injuries and the injuries to the teen said he didn't realize his dogs were loose until he walked out his front door to take his children to school and found sheriff's vehicles parked in front of his house and one of his dogs shot on the front porch The dog was still alive but seriously injured and Humphrey requested that the dog be humanely euthanized Humphrey believes his three adult dogs and their two puppies escaped through a gap in a fence on his property "They ain't ever bit nobody ever in their lives," he said The other adult dogs are being held by Pasco County Animal Services for observation The puppies weren't involved in the attacks and were returned to Humphrey Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said he isn't sure of the exact breed of the dogs but said he believes they are a breed of bulldog or bulldog mix