It has once again been a very busy season for high school sports in the South Shore area.

Riverview and East Bay continued to build on years of experience, welcoming back all of their seasoned athletes many of whom were returning to play for the third time.

On the other hand, Spoto and Lennard High did not have this privilege and finishing only their second season since opening to the public there was a lot of work to be done.

That is not to say, however, that there was not much to cheer for. Both the Spartans and the Longhorns demonstrated heart, desire and willingness to play hard and give everyone a taste of what to expect in the coming years.

Being new on the soccer scene the young Spartans girls soccer team did not expect much more than to do their best as they faced the much more experienced Sharks. While the much stronger and clearly more put together Sharks seemed to just have fun on the field scoring goal after goal, resulting in the game being cut short, the Spartans were focused and played their hearts out doing their very best. Seeing the young Spartans play was worth the time.

In wrestling, the Lennard High Longhorns were ready to demonstrate their talent this past season as well. True, there is a lot more to come and improvements are needed but over all the prospects are great for the program. While one of Lennard’s best wrestlers in the 130 lbs division, Carlos Martinez suffered an injury and ended his chance to prove himself this season, teammate Ian Mills had some success like his match in the142 lbs. weight division against Panthers’ Eric Gunches who was pinned by Mills after three minutes and 13 seconds.

As for the Sharks, it was not the season for championship games. While working hard, Riverview athletes continue to be plagued with falling short in the end. Even the highly anticipated flag football program must wait for the next season to try again as the girls were halted by the East Bay Indians who became the 2007-08 season flag football district champions.

As the Spartans and the Longhorns gain strength and the Sharks and the Indians focus on reaching their obvious potential, there is no doubt the South Shore community is in for a great 2008-09 season.

For more information, please visit www.fhsaa.org.

The South Hillsborough Soccer League (SHSL) Celtic Football Club has a lot to be grateful for and was pleased to announce the opening of Summerfield Soccer Park, a new state-of-the-art, seven-field, multi-million dollar soccer facility.

“We have simply outgrown our present location,” said league member Jim De Luca as he talked about the old location where the league has been playing since 1979.

SHSL is a non-profit organization that offers programs for children between ages 4-18 as well as a number of soccer clinics for adults. The league has been playing at Vance Vogel Field on Bullfrog Creek Rd. in Riverview and has been catering its clinics to those with experience as well as to those who are brand new to the sport.

The new Summerfield Soccer Park is a $3 million (soccer-only) facility located at 11942 Big Bend Rd. just west of the Summerfield Elementary School. The playing surface (made totally of Bermuda grass) is only one of the many new additions. The facility also features a new concession stand with all new equipment, and a new and healthier menu. All the lights inside the complex are on automatic timers to allow evening play while preserving the tranquility of the existing homes in the neighborhood. The SHSL had approximately 650 players register last fall and over 300 this spring. The organization hopes to retain the Vance Vogel fields for practice, expansion and for tournament play.

“Tournaments are a great source of bringing players from out-of-state to the area, providing an economic boom to South Hillsborough hotels and restaurants,” De Luca said.

Tryouts for the upcoming competitive season began on May 27, with registration for its recreational program being held in August. Soccer academy will also be held to get kids ready for the competive teams.

“We are still in need for a service vehicle or two and we are looking for sponsors, with the largest sponsor to donate at least one scoreboard,” De Luca said.

With the addition of the new Summerfield Soccer Park, SHSL plans to become one of the best youth soccer associations in Florida.

For more information, please visit www.shslsoccer.com.

With only two weeks left in school, the South Shore community and many within the County were shocked to learn of the death of East Bay senior and Indians former starting quarterback Rex Ballenger Jr., 18.

The Apollo Beach resident was driving west on Big Bend Rd. in Gibsonton when his Saturn slammed into the back of a stopped tractor-trailer. Ballenger was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, according to a report by Trooper S.M. Nickel.

The accident left him with massive head injuries and he was taken to Tampa General Hospital. On May 19, East Bay High School administrators announced Ballenger’s death to students after the young athlete was taken off life support, said Scot Tipton East Bay High School athletic director.

On May 23, a memorial was arranged for Rex Lee Ballenger Jr., at Vance V. Vogel Park in Gibsonton just one day after two letters from colleges came to the Ballenger home pleased to tell Rex he had been accepted for the fall semester.

“He was one of the toughest individuals, pound for pound, I have coached,” said Brian Thorton who has been coaching football at East Bay High for the last 15 years and made Ballenger his starting quarterback three years ago.

Due to his size, the 5 ft., 9 in. quarterback was not what colleges want for their athletic program. But, according to Thorton, during a conference after the school was notified of the senior’s death, this was not the reason why Ballenger played the game.

“He wasn’t playing football to win a scholarship,” Thornton said. “I wish more athletes played like that.”

Ballenger’s No.10 Jersey was worn by his best friend and team mate Chaz Burrows during the recent spring football jamboree at Brandon High but Thorton is seeking to retire Ballenger’s jersey for good in honor of the player.

Besides his parents, Ballenger is survived by siblings John Watson, 21, and Jennifer Watson, 24.

For more information, please call the school at 671-5134.

What has become a familiar and regular routine was once again the order of the day at Riverview High on May 6, as coaches, teachers and parents along with some best friends gathered together in the principals conference room to celebrate the school’s final (fifth) college athletic scholarship signing day.

True to the Sharks’ tradition, the festivities were arranged to celebrate the accomplishments of four students who received athletic scholarships furthering their education at their new locations while bringing honor to Riverview High as the old stomping ground.

While Sharks’ Brandi Schock and Austin Cochrane will play soccer at Tennessee Temple University, Sarah Castle accepted her athletic scholarship and signed to play Volleyball for Trinity College of Florida. Classmate Dylan Coffman signed with and will play football at USMMA (United States Merchant Marine Academy).

Riverview High School Athletic Director Ron Wardlow began the event by welcoming all in attendance and recognizing the students and their hard work.

“I want to echo the sentiments of principal [Bob] Heilman who was not able to attend the festivities, how proud we both are of these four young athletes and outstanding students,” Wardlow said.

Agreeing with Waldrow, Sharks football coach Dan O’Regan was, of course, proud of the students’ athletic achievements but wanted to emphasize that fact academics also played a major part of each student reaching this goal. Commenting on Coffman’s acceptance to the Marine Academy O’Regan acknowledged, “Academics are very strong in the Marine Academy.”

Adjectives such as heart, desire, dedication, and the phrase “never quit” were equally applied to all four students once again indicating what sort of athletic students are leaving Riverview in pursuit of their goals.

As the celebration was coming to a close assistant principal and girls soccer coach Steven Houle commented, “We have four kids here before us who will make us look good while helping their new schools to do better.”

For more information about Riverview High School visit www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/~riverviewhigh.school/.

Besides fighting fires, saving lives and working 24-hour shifts, the staff of the Hillsborough Fire Department, alongside staff of Hillsborough’s Water Resource Services, works to make sure communities are up to code through the Fire Flow Deficiency Master Program, currently ensuring Riverview’s safety needs.

Having started in 2006, the Fire Flow Deficiency Master Program, also known as the Fire Flow Protection Project, was started “to address areas needing additional hydrants to support fire fighting,” stated Project Manger of WRS Mark Dillman. Equipped with an annual reserve of $2,050,000, the program was recently infiltrated in the Riverview area covering the proximity that lies south as well as the east of the Alafia River with Formby St. to the west and Hackney Dr. to the north. With the insertion of 41 fire hydrants within the designated area, the project is expect to cost approximately $450,000, with Riverview only being a fraction of the project.

With WRS’s planning department and the County’s Fire Department monitoring areas of needed renovation, the agencies have endorsed projects throughout the County since its inception. Besides the introduction of new fire hydrants, the program also institutes the upgrade of a water main if the hydrant lacks the correct pipe to support it. While being brought up to code and ensuring measures of safety for residents, the new fire hydrants may also bring financial breaks as well. “Other than the obvious ability to get water on a fire, most homeowner insurance policies will lower the cost of insurance when a hydrant is within certain distance of the insured home. Residents would have to check with their respective insurance companies,” mentioned Dillman.

Another project taking place under the program involves the city of Brandon. Roughly 12 fire hydrants will be placed within the vicinity north of Jersey Ave., east of Seffner Valrico Rd., south of Clay Ave. and west of Kingsway Rd., costing around $85,000. The project is expected to begin in July with both it and the Riverview project coming to completion in October.

For more information, call 272-5977, ext. 43329 or go to www.hillsboroughcounty.org/water/.

Summerfield Crossings Elementary celebrated the end of its inaugural school year with a celebratory dedication of its $11 million, 78,860-square foot building. The school, designed to house up to 960 students, is named for the Riverview community where it’s located: Summerfield Crossings.

Summerfield is considered a “prototype” school - one of the first new schools in Hillsborough County designed and constructed as an “environmentally friendly” complex. The school uses “smart” control technologies that detect humans’ presence and movements in each room, and then regulates air-conditioning, heating and light accordingly.

During the dedication ceremonies, Hillsborough County School Area Director Sherrie Sikes praised the faculty and staff at Summerfield Crossings, saying, “They are dedicated, visionary leaders who believe students come first.”

Brandie Jackson and Megan Wink – Summerfield PTA board members - were proud of the successful launch of the new school and pleased with the first year’s successes.  “We expected some minor difficulties during the first year of a new school,” Jackson said, “but everything, this year, went very well.”

Students, parents, teachers and community dignitaries listened attentively as Principal Dr. Eric Cantrell explained that the school’s motto - “Whatever It Takes” - became a guiding light and professional mantra for Summerfield’s faculty and staff.  And although the school opened a year later than originally planned, Cantrell considered the 2007-08 school year a success on every level.

Cantrell went on to explain that a large part of the school’s success is attributable to the F.I.S.H. philosophy (Fun In School Happens), which is derived from the book with the same name.  Schools across the nation are using the F.I.S.H. philosophy as pilot programs to promote a positive school atmosphere.

“Some say the opening of a school is a labor of love, where sometimes you laugh and sometimes you cry,” said Cantrell. “And we mostly had laughter.”

For more information, call 672-5621 or visit the school’s Website at summerfieldcrossings.mysdhc.org.

As the 2007-08 school year draws to a close at Redlands Christian Migrant Academy in Wimauma (RCMA), the last bell will herald a new beginning for the 175-student Hillsborough County school.

RCMA, a charter school built in 2000, provides educational and cultural opportunities to the children of migrant workers who work the farms of west central Florida. Historically, such children were taken to the fields with their parents during the day, and received little-to-no formal classroom education.

Academy Director Mark Haggett, who came to RCMA in 2001 as a math and science teacher, has seen the burgeoning school through many changes, but expects the coming expansion to be something particularly special.

In April, RCMA celebrated Earth Day by launching its capital campaign to raise money for a new 9,300-square-foot “green” building that will allow the academy to expand to include grades six through eight; the school presently enrolls students in pre-school through the fifth grade. Director Haggett explained that the additional length of time students stay in the academy will “strongly impact their educational future.”

This is why the building project - estimated to cost $1.6 million - is vitally important to the school. ”Our new building will allow our students to stay in the academy through the vital middle school years,” said Haggett. To date, the academy has raised $265,000 toward the project. If an additional $35,000 is raised, RCMA will be eligible to receive a $1 million grant, which hopefully will allow for building completion in the 2009/2010 school year.

RCMA teaches its 175 students in 10 classes with 14 employees, most whom are bilingual, including a music teacher, an art teacher and a physical education instructor. Many classes also have a teacher’s assistant, with the student-to-teacher ratio averaging 18:1.

Director Haggett speaks proudly of his staff, boasting that many of them have been with the school from its inception.

“We come from all walks of life, and bring all our lives’ experiences with us,” he said.  He said that, although many of the students’ parents cannot speak English, there is an overwhelmingly strong parental involvement at the school, and noted that the pre-school students typically cannot speak English, but become fully bilingual by first grade.

Heather Hanson, the charter school’s program specialist, said, “The parents have a comfort level here because we communicate with the parents in Spanish and keep them involved in their child’s education process.”

The children at RCMA not only receive an education unavailable to their older siblings and older migrant children, but they are also exposed to art, music and sports.  The students participate in cultural music programs and instrumental lessons, art projects as well as learning the techniques associated with golf and tennis.

Although the academy is just 8 years old, it already lays claim to many success stories of former students. One such graduate is now a freshman in college studying journalism; other alumni are now in high school and dually enrolled in college programs.

Nearly all the money for the new building project has been raised through private donations, church groups and donations from local businesses (RCMA Wimauma Academy is a registered not-for-profit organization, making all donations tax deductible).

Any organization or individual who wants information on how to assist RCMA Wimauma Academy in its “green” fundraising may call the school at 672-5159 or contact the school Website at www.edline.net/pages/wimauma_academy.

“Being honored at the Heroes Luncheon was the high point of my career as a detective and it was much appreciated,” stated Riverview resident Eric Houston who was chosen as Officer of the Year at the 14th Annual Heroes Luncheon held at the Tampa Convention Center.

Taking place earlier this month, those honored at the luncheon besides Houston were Trooper Leif Cardwell, Reserve Officer George Seiler, Trooper Jack Hypes, Captain James Wingo, Captain Bobby Kostopoulos, Corporal James Barth, Captain Russell Spicola, Officer Luis Flores, Captain Charlie Bridges, FireMedic Jay Wilkins, Deputy Ferdinand Pichardo, Officer Wesley Cooper, Officer Dominick Marckese, Assistant Chief Miguel Rivera, Deputy Christopher Maddaloni and Deputy Charlotte Raschke. According to Event Coordinator Barbie Natale, president of The Entertainment Factory, Inc., the annual event is held each year “to honor the first responders of Hillsborough County.”

Having been with the police force the last 18 years, Houston decided to become a homicide detective in 2004. Transitioning to the Cold Case Homicide Unit in 2005, he has solved eight murders and is currently working on 11 of Tampa’s 290 open cases, dating as far back as 1949. “I chose to become a homicide detective because of the challenge. When someone commits a premeditated murder, they have to believe that they are going to get away with it. It comes as a surprise to them when the police come knocking on their door five, 10 or 20 years later to arrest them for a murder that they thought was forgotten,” mentioned Houston.

With an audience of 2,100, which included guest speakers Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Chuck Sykes, president and CEO of Sykes Enterprises, Inc., a sponsor of the event along with WQYK, these 17 honorees took center stage, receiving recognition for their courageous acts wrought throughout the year. Besides the honoring of these local heroes, eight college students, children of various officials, were honored as Coy L. Sykes Memorial Scholarship 2008 recipients which included Stephen Frey, Tyler Metcalf, Alyssa Martinez, Kaleigh Hill, Amanda Gilbertsen, James Wolff, Daniel Kiefer and Michelle Cimo.

Later in the evening, Brandon resident Ron Harrison, the fallen officer of Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, was remembered.

For more information, contact Natale at 651-3600 or go to www.tampabayheroes.org.

Southern Hillsborough County may be one step closer to getting a new St. Joseph’s Hospital on Big Bend Rd. located in Gibsonton.

An administrative law judge has recommended that the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) approve St. Joseph’s request to build a new, 90-bed satellite hospital on Big Bend Rd., about a mile east of I-75.

According to President and Chief Executive Officer Isaac Mallah, existing hospitals in the area are overcrowded and the population continues to grow.

In 2005, St. Joseph’s filed its first certificate of need application asking the State for approval to build a new hospital. The request was denied, but St. Joseph’s appealed the decision, requesting an administrative hearing that was held last fall. After hearing directly from representatives of St. Joseph’s and their opponents, the judge determined there is a need for an additional hospital based on population growth, hospital capacity and service needs. It also was noted that “an additional hospital would afford patients with another choice of provider in the southeastern portion of the County.”

“We want to build a new, high-quality hospital for this community,” said Mallah. “This is definitely a step in the right direction for the future of health care in southern Hillsborough County.”

Historically, AHCA supports a judge’s recommendation, indicated Mallah.

“We are hopeful AHCA will agree with the judge and approve the application because it is the right thing to do for the community,” said Mallah. A final order from AHCA could come later this summer.

Regardless of the outcome, St. Joseph’s Hospital officials will be back before a judge in February 2009 discussing a second CON filed by the hospital in October 2007. That request for St. Joseph’s Hospital to bring a new facility to Big Bend Rd. was denied; instead, the state approved the relocation of a hospital from Sun City Center to Big Bend Rd.

“It is our hope that we will go into the next hearing with AHCA’s final approval to build our hospital,” said Mallah. “That would make it unnecessary for South Bay Hospital to move from Sun City Center to Big Bend Rd.”

For more information, contact Lisa Patterson at 554-8134.

Making way for a July 2008 unveiling, SouthShore Hillsborough Community College is not only becoming eco-friendly in the fact that it has shortened students commutes but also through Read more