As a New Tampa resident, with children attending school in District 7, I write regarding your "no" vote at the City Council Meeting of Thursday August 27 to amend the ordinance regarding the citing of cell phone towers in the proximity of schools. The ill effects of radiation emitted from cell towers have been well documented in the USA and in several European and Asian countries; and I would be glad to present you with such documentation.
I would also like to meet with you to discuss this issue and to explain why the ordinance should be amended.
NEW TAMPA — When Pride Elementary students go back to school next month, they will have a new leader. • In June, the Hillsborough County School Board picked Cindy Land, previously the assistant principal at Chiles Elementary, to succeed Jamie Johnson, who moved out of state. • The 38-year-old Pebble Creek resident takes over a school shrouded in controversy last year after Johnson allowed a 160-foot cell tower on the campus without public notice. • The episode strained relations between administrators and parents. Some threatened to pull their children out of Pride. • Land said she can't do much about the past, but believes all stakeholders should be at the table before any major decisions. She wants to hear from those stakeholders at 2 p.m. Aug. 24 in the school cafeteria. Until then, pull up a seat for the St. Petersburg Times' conversation with Land.
TAMPA — Hillsborough County parents will have a chance to make their case at public hearings before cell towers rise at schools.
Facing a nearly packed auditorium of cell tower supporters and opponents, county commissioners on Thursday reversed an ordinance that had made it easier to place cell towers at schools without public comment.
Previously, the county allowed cell towers at schools without a public hearing if the principal approved and the school met certain other criteria.
An outcry from parents prompted the vote, which was unanimous. Worried that there are too many unknowns about towers and their risks, they had called for a moratorium on towers altogether.
Though other governments across the country have done that very thing, Hillsborough commissioners and attorneys have said that federal law prohibits governments from enforcing an all-out ban based on health concerns.
"What's before us right now is the toughest language that we can apply," Commissioner Jim Norman said. "We have crafted language that the School Board has accepted to make it as tough as possible for cell towers to be put up at school sites."
The parents had also asked board members to require that towers be at least 1,500 feet from schools, a request commissioners did not entertain.
Still, parents were elated that commissioners gave them more of a voice on an issue that affects their children and their neighborhoods.
A tower was up for more than six weeks before Pride Elementary in New Tampa hosted a meeting to gauge community sentiment.
Commissioner Mark Sharpe acknowledged that he didn't know a tower was near his children's school until the controversy over towers began last fall.
The commission's vote will curb incidents like those, parents said.
Stacy Frank, the Tampa lawyer who develops towers for Hillsborough schools and has been a target of parents, endorsed greater public participation.
"It's a good opportunity to answer questions," she said after the vote.
Like the county, the city of Tampa is reviewing its ordinance. The City Council has scheduled a workshop on cell towers at 9 a.m. Aug. 27.
NEW TAMPA -- Emily Padgett entered this world with a head full of hair.
"Oh my, do I have a baby brush?"
That's what her mom said when she saw her.
In time, little Emily's hair grew and grew, weathering occasional trims but never a cut.
Strangers would compliment her locks, which flowed to her waist like fine thread the color of corn silk.
Her kindergarten teacher at Pride Elementary would be rich if she had a dime for every time she had to tell a classmate to stop touching Emily's hair.
Her dad could spot her immediately in a crowd. He just looked for the hair.
But maintaining the hair was not so easy and, eventually, Emily would give it away to someone who needed it more.
When she swam, it had to be braided or else get tangled into crazy knots.
At bath time, she had to saturate it with conditioner, then wait several minutes for it to absorb.
And only her pink Goody "Ouchless" brand brush worked. Last month, Emily left it at a friend's house after a swim date. Sara Padgett told the other mom to just bring it to school the following Monday.
"It was the worst weekend of our lives," Padgett said. "Nothing we used worked."
About a year ago, her mom asked her about getting it cut, but Emily refused.
Then, not long ago, Padgett told Emily about a cousin's past ordeal with cancer and how other kids who get very sick can lose their hair.
Emily thought about it and agreed to donate the one thing she'd become known for in her six years of life.
The night before the big cut, her mother admired the way Emily's hair swayed gently on the surface of the bathwater.
"This is going to be the last time it's going to float like this," she said.
Last Wednesday, salon owner Lori Malm used hot pink hairbands to tie Emily's hair into two long and low ponytails.
She straightened out a measuring tape and shifted the hair bands up and down until the length from the band to the end of the ponytail reached 10 inches.
Women looking for their own transformations in styling chairs at Cameo Salon and Spa in Lutz swiveled to watch.
Padgett put her hand at the hairband and felt Emily's back to make sure her hair would still fall beneath her shoulders. The women fidgeted with the hairbands and decided on 11 inches.
Then snip, snip, snip.
Malm cut off one ponytail.
Emily sat quietly.
Eyes watered from both parents, from stylists and customers, too.
Malm turned to Padgett and offered her the shears to cut the other ponytail. Mom cut at it nervously, creating a slightly uneven line.
She chuckled: "That's why I never cut her hair!"
They put the tresses into a Ziploc bag for shipment to the Locks of Love organization. A decade ago, when Emily's cousin, Ashlee Lopez, had leukemia and lost her long brown hair during chemotherapy, she got a wig from the American Cancer Society.
"As a 14-year-old girl, that was the hardest thing for me," Lopez recently said about her hair loss. "I'm really proud of Emily."
Malm tousled Emily's now shoulder-length mane and said to her reflection: "How do you want your hair?"
"A style," came her soft voice.
"Flipped under or out?"
"Out."
Malm blew it dry and used a curling iron to create outward flips.
When she gave her a mirror to check out the back of her hair, Emily's face beamed.
She was delighted, but not just because of her new hairstyle.
Pride Elementary will be hosting its fifth annual ‘Evening of the Arts’ Thursday, March 5 from 5:30 to 8. The purpose of this evening is to highlight our student’s artwork. It also exposes them to the many different forms of art that are available to them in middle and high school in hopes that they are encouraged to pursue their inner artist.
Students have selected their favorite work from this school year to be displayed in a gallery type setting. In addition, there will be a silent auction of works donated by artists from North Tampa Art League, Students of the Arts from the University of South Florida and Hillsborough Community College, Art Teachers, Family and Students of Pride, and from Pride’s local community.
Throughout the evening, guests can relax in the Cafe of the Arts and enjoy desserts and beverages provided by the Wharton High School Culinary Arts Academy while enjoying the entertainment. On stage for the evening will be Benito’s Chamber Orchestra, Pride’s Kindergarteners, Pride’s Cub and Lyrical Lion Chorus, and Jansen’s Dance Project.
We invite the public to join us for an evening of celebrating and encouraging our children in the arts. Proceeds from the evening will directly benefit the students' art programs. This event coincides with National Youth Art Month, whose objective is to emphasize the value of art education and encourage support for quality school programs.
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About This Blog
Long a jumble of subdivisions along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, New Tampa is fast emerging as a cultural, educational and business hub. Check out Bruce B. Blog daily for news, announcements and features about New Tampa. Bruce B. Blog is your source for personalities, sporting events and online connections to schools and neighborhood associations. Post your favorite New Tampa photos . And feel free to complain about the traffic.
Dong-Phuong Nguyen joined the Times in 2001. She covers New Tampa. You can call her at (813) 909-4613.
Lisa Buie, 42, lives in Meadow Pointe and covers general news and features in central Pasco County. You can reach her at (813) 909-4604.
Jared Leone helps cover news and features in northwest Hillsborough County. Call him at (813) 269-5314.
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