Greater Trilby News

Serving the Tri-Community Area

 

Needed:

Attendance At “Town Hall” Meetings

The monthly meeting of the Greater Trilby Community Association is every third Thursday of the month.  The next meeting will be May 18 at 7:00 p.m.

We know that there is widespread interest in what is going on in the Greater Trilby area not only by residents but those outside our area because we, your Association Officers and Directors, hear this in talking to people as far out as Tampa.  The news media have been good to us: opening doors for us beyond what we ever expected when the association was formed.

Denny Mihalinec, Association founder and Program Chair, has brought us outstanding speakers and programs over the past two years and he continues to do so.  Just look at what he has planned for the next few months:

May 18 -Dade City Business Center Public Relations Director Mr. Joe Kennedy will talk about existing and new jobs at the center.

June 15 - Pasco County Office of Emergency Management’s James D. Martin will discuss hurricane preparedness for the 2006 season.

July 20 – There will be a showing of Svengali, a 1931 B&W movie with John Barrymore and Marion Marsh.

(August 17 – to be announced)

Sept 21 - Mr. Kurt Browning, Supervisor of Elections for Pasco County, will encourage citizens in our area to vote.

It’s an exciting line up!  But it is very disappointing, not to mention embarrassing, when we have just a few citizens show up.  Please set aside every third Thursday of the month and attend these meetings.  It’s a great opportunity to meet fellow citizens and keep in touch with what is going on around you.  ATTEND THE NEXT MEETING.  Give us your suggestions for future programs and what you would like to see take place in Trilby.  All suggestions are welcome.

Refreshments will be served at the opening of the May meeting, giving you an opportunity to get acquainted with your neighbors.

Starting Wednesday, May 3^rd, and every Wednesday thereafter, a representative of the Greater Trilby Community Association will be available at the Trilby Community Center from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to answer questions, receive suggestions or complaints and offer help that is possible through your association.

---  Herb Green, President  - 583-5936

The Great American Cleanup

In Lacoochee

By Roger Kaminski

I would like to applaud the people who helped with the Great American Cleanup in Lacoochee on Saturday, April 22.  There were 45 people who signed in at the Fire Station and lots of others working in small groups cleaning up their neighborhoods.  TCF and Tri-Community Fire Station helped organize the cleanup.  We also appreciate the Pasco Parks & Recreation Department for their cooperation and George & Gladys Barbecue who helped with the lunch.  A special thanks goes to Dan Johnson, Assistant County Administrator for Pasco, who not only assisted with the coordination of this event, but traveled across the County on his day off to help pick up trash most of the morning. 

Karen Marler, principal of Lacoochee Elementary School, also deserves a special thanks for working right along with everyone else all morning.  Pastor Freddie Roberts and wife Teresa from Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist (who by the way live in Brandon,) came to help.  Youth from Tri-Community 4H were there and also the Withlacoochee Residential Facility youth.  I thank you for caring about this community and knowing that the only way our community will improve is with more people working together.  Take pride in our community and make it a clean place to live!  Get involved.  Make a difference.

 

Children’s Rally Rescheduled

Because of scheduling difficulties, the Children’s Safety Rally that was scheduled for Saturday, April 29^th was rescheduled for August.  The date is not nailed down, but it will be before school starts.

 

Yard Sale At Christian Edge May 13

The annual yard sale for the Christian Edge Coffeehouse and its parent, Tri-Community Fellowship, will be held Saturday, May 13.  The yard sale will be in the TCF parking lot on the corner of Trilby Road (CR-575) and US-301.  Proceeds will go to continue providing services to the Tri-Community. 

Contact Roger Kaminski at 523-1630 for further information.

The Trilby House,

A Name from Trilby’s Past

By Scott Black

 

If you want to make people think you're a long timer, call the Trilby Community Center, the "Trilby House." Back when there was a ladies home demonstration club in Trilby, they had a sign affixed to the left of the door that stated "Trilby House" and listed the meeting times for the club, etc.  Those ladies raised the funds back in the late 40's and early 50's to build the structure and gradually finished the interior and then turned it over to the county.

When I was a kid, that sign was still there and that's what everyone called it, although the organization was in its waning years.  The club consisted mostly of elderly ladies and had too few stay-at-home moms to keep the group going.  Some may still call it the "Home Demonstration Club."

 

 

Trilby Parking Lot on the Withlacoochee Trail Gets New Look

 

The Trilby parking lot on the Withlacoochee Trail is already getting a new look.  At the April 20^th meeting of the Greater Trilby Community Association, Steve Stackhouse, trail manager, promised improvements to this site.  And on Friday, April 28^th,true to his word, Mr. Stackhouse and three volunteers were mowing the lot, removing the old posts that marked the perimeter, digging postholes and building part of the new fence that will replace the rotten posts.  “We’ll be back next week to finish the job,” Mr. Stackhouse said.

The area will also boast a line of new trees to be planted behind the parking lot to create a shady buffer between the trail’s property and the house nearest the lot.  The magnolias have been donated by a Hernando nursery and Tri-Community Fellowship (TCF) as part of Earth Day activities.

Fun Day in the Park a BIG Success

 

The sun was shining, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the shouts and laughter of children filled Stanley Park on Saturday afternoon, April 8^th.  “There were 200 people here by 2:00 p.m. and then it got really crazy,” said Dallas Snyder, Stanley Park Operator and major planner of the event.

            There was a lot for people to do at the park that day.  There were raffles of coupons from the more than 40 area sponsors, three-legged races, and, of course, Easter egg hunts.  “Look what I won!” exclaimed Kyle Mihalinec, proudly showing off an Easter basket that was bigger than he was.  The most popular game was the dunk tank, where a line of about 20 children waited patiently to try their luck.  The Calvary Assembly of God passed out bottled water and distributed food from the Suncoast Harvest Food Bank, which included bags of cotton candy, pretzels, Easter eggs and candy.  “We purchased this food out of our own pockets, “ explained Mr. Snyder as he and James Weeks who also works at the park unloaded more juice drinks for distribution.  Mr. John Stewart and his J&D Bless a Child Ministry spent the afternoon giving out free hot dogs and soft drinks from his bright red truck.      

On the more serious side, parents could get their children’s fingerprints taken by Tony Wilim, a crime prevention specialist from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.  “At 2:00 p.m., I had already fingerprinted 49 kids,” Wilim said. “And I’m expecting 400 children by the end of day.”  There was also a blood drive, which had had 10 volunteers by mid-afternoon.

“We had car counters at both entrances to the park,” Mr. Snyder said later. “And we counted enough cars to equal about 1000 people!”  The Fun Day in the Park did a lot to make Stanley Park a more important part of the Tri-Community area.

 

 

 

 

 

Awards and Promises

At April GTCA Meeting

 

When Herb Green, President of the Greater Trilby Community Association, called the April general meeting of the association to order, he did not know he and the association were going to be recognized.  Tony Wilim, Crime Prevention Specialist from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, was there and presented Mr. Green and the association’s security patrol with certificates of appreciation for their hard work over the past year and a half. 

The security patrol has put in over 1,000 hours of patrols, and developed a youth group, the Trailblazers, and a mounted patrol.  “Communities in Pasco County starting new security patrols are modeling themselves after the Trilby security patrol,” Community Policing Deputy Gennis Folsom added as he applauded the group’s efforts.

            Steve Stackhouse, manager of the Withlacoochee Trail and the evening’s guest speaker, made clear that the trail has an important economic impact on the Tri-Community area.  “Many people from around the country and the world plan their vacations so they can ride the trail, and a lot of people move to this area so they can use the trail year round,” he said. 

            Mr. Stackhouse is new to the trail manager’s job, but he has specific plans for improvements to the Trilby end of the trail.  “I have just ordered the materials necessary to build a new kiosk in the parking area just below the post office here in Trilby,” Mr. Stackhouse announced.  ” One side will be for trail information and the other will be for historical Trilby information from your association.  The kiosk should be up in time for the Children’s Rally in August.  We are also going to pull out the old posts in the parking area and put in wood rail fencing.”

            When asked about other improvements to the trailhead at Owensboro Park and along the trail through Trilby, Mr. Stackhouse encouraged people to contribute ideas for the 10-year plan that is in the works at present.  “In the past, when the Office of Greenways and Trails looked at where to spend its budget, this area was not on the top of the list because of an incident that happened awhile ago.  (A public restroom was burned.)  However, I plan to put in a good word for this area.  You had a problem with ATV damage to the trail and the old cemetery that’s beside the trail here and through your own efforts the damage stopped.  It’s a good example of the community working to keep the integrity of the trail and it’s quite impressive.”

            A possible use for the unoccupied trailer on land owned by the Office of Greenways and Trails was also discussed with Mr. Stackhouse.  “We would like to see a sheriff’s deputy living in that trailer,” said Herb Green.  “It would make a big difference to the community to have a law enforcement presence here.”  The trailer needs about $10,000 in repairs, including a new roof, new carpeting, and other improvements. 

            Deputy Folsom suggested that the agency sell the trailer and put the money into buying trees for the trail.  “I would suggest that the deputy coming to this area would be responsible for buying a trailer and would require the agency to supply only water and power,” Deputy Folsom said.

            “The present fiscal year ends in June and the agency at that point will have to decide if we are going to sink the money into the residence and how we can justify the money,” Mr. Stackhouse explained.  “The things that will help the agency make the decision in your favor are that you have an active and effective security patrol and the community is behind it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lacoochee Elementary Students Learn and Have Fun in Stanley Park

 

Lacoochee Elementary School and the Pasco Parks and Recreation Department teamed up on Friday, April 28^th and produced an exciting and interesting day in Stanley Park.  The theme of the day was different modes of transportation and tied in with units that teachers at the school taught during the spring.  “We talked to the kids about trucks that help the community like the ambulance and the fire truck and trucks that work like buses and dump trucks,” said Mrs. Mercer, a teacher’s aide for Mrs. Mermelstein’s kindergarten class.

            The classes got to experience first hand how loud a police siren can be, what the inside of a limousine looks like and how soft a horse’s muzzle is as they went from display to display around the park.  Six-year-old Giovana Gaona was impressed by the police car.  “I liked the police car.  You got to go in it,” she said, proudly showing off the silver police badge sticker she had on her shirt.  Brittany Llyod, also six and in kindergarten, agreed with her classmate. “I liked going through the police car and I liked the horses too.”  They had both just visited with the riders and horses of the Sheriff’s Posse and talked with a sheriff’s deputy in front of his cruiser.

            Members of Karen Sample’s 3^rd grade class were fascinated by some of the larger vehicles on display.  Antruanisha Owens, 9, thought the county’s bucket truck was pretty exciting.  “It goes up and up and up,” she explained as she pointed to the two county workers getting a bird’s eye view of the park from about 30 feet in the air.  Her classmate, Fernanda Lara, liked the county’s tree stump remover.  “It really digs a lot of dirt,” she commented.

            Dallas Snyder, Stanley Park manager and event planner, thought the day was a success.  “This is just one of many events we’ve had in the park that are making a difference.  Because of these activities we got playground equipment approved in the county budget and it is being requisitioned.”

“We wanted to give the kids information about vehicles and jobs associated with them and to have them experience things they are normally not exposed to and they are loving it.  The participants have said that our kids are the best behaved kids they’ve seen,” said Andrea Hernandez, the school’s coordinator of the event.  “We had invited others schools in the area to come, but it didn’t work out this year.”

 

Thoughts from the Chairman

We are experiencing summertime weather in the springtime, but wouldn't it be nice to get some rain?  Almost everything these days is covered with a film of dust.  Isn't the rural life grand?  Here's hoping your spring/summer is going great!

It's great to see improvements under way at the parking area for the Withlacoochee State Trail.  The new trail ranger, Steve Stackhouse (based out of Inverness), is showing a genuine interest in our trailhead here at Trilby and we appreciate his efforts to include our location in the budgetary process.  The recent mowing has helped the trail's appearance as well.

I would like to extend my thanks to Denny Mihalinec for arranging our speakers.  Denny has scheduled several other good programs for the upcoming months, so please be sure and plan to attend each of our association meetings!

Always remember that it's a privilege to be a Trilbian, so show your pride!  Don't forget to say hello to your neighbors and help make your little corner of the world attractive.

-- Scott Black 

 

Homes on the Move

            “Home for Sale” signs are sprouting like spring flowers all over Trilby.  Denny Mihalinec and Karyn Pirrello are offering their homes for new buyers, and Roger Kaminski is planning to move to Lacoochee.  While driving around on patrol, over 10 “For Sale” signs have been spotted.  – RKR