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Show Palace kicks off one-night stands
06/18/13StageThe Show Palace kicks off a season of One-Night Specials with an overload of panache and a lot of laughs as a Dame Edna act takes the stage Saturday night, donning her trademark rhinestone cat-eye glasses, glittery gowns and swirly, lilac-colored bouffant.
"A Royal Audience With Michael L. Walters as Dame Edna" pays tribute to the Tony Award-winning Broadway production "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour." That production featured the original Dame Edna Everage, a fictional outlandish Melbourne housewife, investigative reporter and talk show host, created and portrayed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries. Before his retirement in 2012, Humphries performed before the royal family, on the London stage and on the book and talk-show circuits....
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Pasco children can get free meals this summer
06/15/13K12When it comes to learning, hunger is a common roadblock for far too many children. It's an issue addressed in part by the federally funded free and reduced-priced meal program and weekend outreach programs supported by local organizations, churches and civic groups.
"We know that during the school year the breakfast and lunch that kids eat at school are often the only meals they eat all day," said Cindy Norvell, area specialist for the food and nutrition program....
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Meet Elfers Christian School's valedictorian and salutatorian
06/12/13K12Caleb Dinsmore | valedictorian
Parents: Jeffrey and Marilou Dinsmore
GPA: 4.04
Future school: Taylor University
Ideal career: Become a coder/programmer for Google. I'm also considering going into video game development.
Most influential or best teacher: Doug Nightingale. He has helped prepare me for college academically, apologetically and spiritually. And he gave me some good laughs....

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Gatsby dance night kicks off Tarpon Springs summer entertainment
06/11/13EventsThe Tarpon Springs Rhythm Kings are an eclectic bunch, hailing from places near and far, each drawn by a fondness for a kick-up-your heels genre and a call sent out last fall to form a community jazz band.
"We have quite a range of musicians. The youngest people in the band are in their early 20s and the oldest are in their 80s. We have men and women and a few high-powered players," said bandleader Dan Fox, 81, a retired professional composer-arranger....

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Pasco County class notes
06/08/13K12Briefly
The Pasco County School Board is hosting a Together We Stand — Pasco Youth & Community Summit, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 27, at the Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel High, 30651 Wells Road. The summit will involve strategic planning, networking and information sharing to build resilience and reduce youth violence, including bullying. The keynote speaker is Roy Kaplan. High school students, parents, educators, local government agencies and faith-based and community leaders will gather to address these issues with the goal of making Pasco County a place where students exist in a nonhostile environment and accept each other's differences. Register atsurveymonkey.com/s/Z6KJL7K. Deadline is June 20. Space is limited. For information, contact the district's Office for Student Support Programs and Services at (813) 794-2362....
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Genesis Preparatory School Class of 2013 valedictorian and salutatorian
06/07/13K12Alfred Jennett | valedictorian
Parents: Ralph and Aleta Jennett.
GPA: 3.95 Weighted: 4.37
Future school: University of Florida Honors College
Ideal career: scientist
Most influential/best teacher: Farhad Azar
Favorite quote
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you."...

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From orienteering to hiking trails, June 8 is Get Outdoors Day
06/04/13EventsSchool's out for the summer and the kids are already getting antsy. Or maybe you're looking to unplug from whatever technology you're typically tethered to — even if it's just for a few hours. Go for it.
Cast a fishing line from the river's edge. Go for a walk through the woods. Get that heart pumping with a jog around the bases, or simply kick back on an open blanket and relax.
This weekend presents the opportunity to do all that and more, as three Pasco County parks invite all to join in an array of fun and educational activities meant to suit almost anyone's style....

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Land O'Lakes High Valedictorians and Salutatorians of 2013
05/31/13K12Brooke Gonzalez | valedictorian (traditional)
Parents: Lori and Mike Gonzalez
GPA: 3.8 Weighted: 4.6086
Future School: University of South Florida or the University of Miami
Ideal Career: Research in biomedical engineering
Most influential/best teacher: Jasalyn Gerazounis and Dr. Frank Pfost from Pasco-Hernando Community College...

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Veteran New Port Richey saddle maker grooms apprentice
05/31/13 Human InterestNEW PORT RICHEY
Start to finish, it takes about six hours to build a saddle that's light yet sturdy and a good fit for a 115-pound jockey and a 1,000-pound thoroughbred clocking it down the stretch.
When it comes to getting that saddle out the door, "too little time" is the nature of the business — particularly when live racing wraps up in Tampa and jockeys head to tracks such as Presque Isle Downs in Eerie, Pa., and Thistle Downs in Cleveland. In those paddocks and other local haunts around the circuit, the name Keith Beeson is an easy roll off the tongue....

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Gulf High Valedictorians and Salutatorians for 2013
05/24/13K12Courtney Flor valedictorian, traditional
Parent: Anne Flor
GPA: 3.86; Weighted: 4.54
Future school: University of Florida
Ideal career: Physician or surgeon
Most influential/best teacher: Ann Donlon and Erika Pugh
Hardships overcome: My dad died when I was in eighth grade. It's a little annoying because I'm trying to work hard and accomplish all of these things and he's not even here to see it. His death has somewhat shaped my career goal of working in the medical field and being an author, though....

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J.W. Mitchell High Valedictorian and Salutatorian of 2013
05/18/13K12Paige DePagter | valedictorian
Parent's names: Chad DePagter, Jane DePagter
GPA: 3.9795; Weighted: 4.6136
Future school: University of South Florida
Most influential or best teacher: Ed Braddy
Hardships overcome: My brother's battle with lymphoma last year definitely impacted my life tremendously. I spent a lot of time with him in the hospital and had to work harder at things that had previously been so easy. ...

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Anclote High's Valedictorian and Salutatorian of 2013
05/18/13K12Anclote High School, Holiday
Valedictorian: Violetta Klepatski
Parents: Vera and Vitaliy Klepatski
GPA: 3.9 Weighted: 4.6136
Future School: University of South Florida, hopefully to go on to a graduate degree at MIT or other out-of-state university.
Ideal Career: Architecture.
Most influential/best teacher: Matt Kingsley....

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Hummingbird Festival set for Pioneer Florida Museum
05/14/13EventsThere's something intriguing about the hummingbird. Perhaps it's the size of the miniature flier that can weigh as little as a Lincoln penny. Maybe it's the bird's seemingly frantic flight, fueled by a voracious appetite and accented by humming wings that can beat 200 times per second during courtship flights. Or perhaps it's the impressive fortitude that carries some migrating species on journeys from Florida to Canada, across the Gulf of Mexico or from Tallahassee to Alaska, where the orange-colored Rufous Hummingbird regularly breeds during milder seasons. ...
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Here are Sunlake High's 2013 valedictorian and salutatorian
05/11/13K12Ashelynne Hanold | valedictorian
Parents: Lori and Troy Antalek, Butch Hanold
GPA/weighted: 4.56
Future school: University of Florida
Ideal career: I would like to be involved in the medical field
Most influential/best teacher: Mr. Colin Taylor, everything that left his mouth was brilliant.
Favorite quote:
" 'The bitterness of studying is far sweeter than the bitterness of failing.' I have no idea who said this."...

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Here are the top grads from Wesley Chapel's Class of 2013
05/11/13K12Mario "Michael" Giannazzo | valedictorian
Parents: Alexandra Giannazzo and Thomas Giannazzo
GPA: 3.96; weighted: 4.62
Future school: Brown University
Ideal career: Lead video game designer
Most influential/best teacher: Kyle Weber, social studies
Favorite quote:
"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it."...







