Latest news with #WesleyChapel
Miami Herald
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Results are in. Mater Academy baseball standout voted Miami Herald High School Athlete of the Week
Mater Academy Charter baseball player Eiker Noguera is the Miami Herald's High School Athlete of the Week, as voted on by readers in our weekly poll. The senior second baseman went 2-for-3 with an RBI and caught the final out in short right field as the Lions (24-9-1) won the 5A state title over Wesley Chapel 6-1. He was 3-for-3 with a double, two stolen bases and was hit-by-a-pitch and recorded three assists and a putout in a state semifinal win over Fort Myers 8-5. It marked Mater's first state baseball championship since 2014 and second overall. Meagan Villazon, Doral Academy softball; Emma Griffith, Plantation American Heritage softball; Sara Wrzosek, St. Thomas Aquinas softball; Ava Stevens, Somerset Silver Palms softball; Erin Perez, Westminster Christian softball; Andrew Alvarez, St. Thomas Aquinas baseball; Juanmarco Diaz, Miami Southwest boys' volleyball; Ali Solo, Western softball; Diego Cobena, Reagan Doral boys' volleyball; and Gio Rojas, Stoneman Douglas baseball rounded out the nominees. The Miami Herald Athlete of the Week poll opens Sunday every week and closes around 10 p.m. Thursday.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Tampa Bay mother takes bullying concerns to court
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Wesley Chapel mother said her daughter was bullied repeatedly at school and online. She turned to the school district for help, but when the bullying continued, she took the case to court. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This frustrated working mom said Pasco County Schools seemed powerless to stop the alleged bullying, even a judge's order couldn't seem to stop the abuse. So, she brought her story to 8 On Your Side because she feels that parents in her position have nowhere to turn. The mother, who we will refer to as Tosha to protect her children's identities, said she moved her family from Ohio to Wesley Chapel for the same reasons that draw many to this booming suburb: a better quality of life and a fresh start somewhere new. But for Tosha, dreams of a fresh start with her three daughters quickly turned into a nightmare. Plastic surgeon accused of murdering Largo attorney represents himself in court 'It was very traumatizing for her,' Tosha said. 'She at one point thought if she got skinnier, that the girl would leave her alone. If she had nice hair, the girl would leave her alone. We went through: 'I'm only going to eat crackers and water.'' It began with texts like this one from her 13-year-old, her oldest: 'Mom, can you come get me.''A young boy walked to her class, shared some classes with her, and that started a whirlwind and months of heartache for my daughter,' Tosha said. Tosha described her daughter's first day at Thomas E. Weightman Middle School last September. Tosha said the bullying began the next day: name-calling, racial slurs, even photos of her daughter taken in the school's locker room and posted on social media. 'I lost count as to how many times I've been in school,' she responded. When asked how the school responded, she said she only got reassurances. 'It was always 'we're going to talk to the parent,'' Tosha said. ''We spoke to the child. It's not going to happen again.' Then, they did something called a no-contact order.'Tosha didn't stop there. She said she went back time and again to the school district for help, requesting mediations, and asking for meetings with school leaders, board members even with the superintendent himself.'They asked her if she felt feel fearful, and she said yes,' Tosha Tosha called the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.'A total of six times,' she took her daughter's case to the courts. According to Pasco County court documents, a judge took the allegations seriously enough to sign an injunction forbidding the accused bully from stalking Tosha's daughter.'She's broken not only the school order of the non-contact,' Tosha said. 'She's broken the civil order that was given to my daughter by a Judge.'A few days later, Tosha received the final report from the school. 'Their final conclusion was [my daughter] has indeed been bullied, cyberbullied, harassed at the hands of this one child, and instead of giving any type of consequence to the child, they gave me a paper saying that you can move your child outside of the school,' Tosha said.8 On Your Side contacted the Pasco County School District about this case. A spokesperson cited a statute forbidding them from sharing confidential student information, but wrote: 'While Pasco County Schools in not in a position to discuss specific students, we can assure you that our District strictly and ardently complies with both our anti-bullying School Board policies and Florida Law. You can review more information regarding our Anti-Harassment ( Policy 5517) and Anti-Bullying (Policy 5517.01) at: Active Policies – 7227 Land O' Lakes Blvd.| Land O' Lakes, FL 34638 | (813) 794-2000 BoardDocs® Pro.' We're not identifying the accused bully because of her age, either, but we reached out to the Attorney representing her family, William Anderson. Anderson gave 8 On Your Side this statement, reading in part: 'My client and her family have been victimized enough.' Anderson goes on to ask that we not identify the accused bully or her family in our story. As for Tosha, she said her 13-year-old couldn't take it anymore. So, she moved her daughter back to live with the girl's grandmother in Ohio and when her own lease is up in Wesley Chapel, Tosha said she and her other daughters will join them. 'I feel that I failed her,' she said. 'I feel like the community failed her, and I feel like the school system failed her.' Tosha said the school district offered her daughter a Hope Scholarship to enroll in a different school, but said transportation wasn't part of the deal. This was a challenge for a single mom with two other little girls. There are studies on bullying in Florida's K-12 schools, but because of those student confidentiality laws, it's impossible to know the number of cases for a specific local school. Tosha claimed that at least three other parents with children at Thomas E. Weightman Middle School contacted her and said they had pulled their children out of the same school due to bullying. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘I want him to know the pain': Victim reacts to judge sentencing Olympus Pools owner
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. (WFLA) — A judge sentenced the subject of a years-long Better Call Behnken investigation to decades in prison Wednesday. After the first Better Call Behnken investigation in 2021, more and more people began to come forward. Judge sentences James Staten, of Olympus Pools, to 20 years in prison, orders $1 million in restitution They all told a similar story: Olympus Pools had left them with a dangerous, muddy pit in their backyards and no answers about when (or if) their pools would ever be complete. For some victims, they look at their pools now years later and think of a money pit, with tens of thousands of dollars now gone. For one Wesley Chapel women, her backyard oasis just serves as a painful reminder that her parents are now gone. Carmen Simpson hired Olympus Pools in 2016, saying she needed a pool for a very important reason. 'It was for my parents, so I could keep them healthy, and I could keep them walking on their own two legs,' she said. 'My father had clots so badly, he had to swim.' 'My mother had two replaced knees, and they would freeze up on her; but if she swam, she was able to walk with her own legs,' Simpson continued. Simpson told 8 On Your Side, she explained that to Olympus Pools Owner James Staten as he toured her property before she signed on. Lawsuit filed against Jeff Knight in deadly Clearwater Ferry crash From there, she said, Olympus Pools employees came out, started the project and poured the concrete. 'It was over a foot too high, and of course, that caused water to back up into our kitchen every time it rains,' Simpson explained. At that point, Simpson said she had already paid $60,000 up front. So she wanted them to fix it. 'I insisted that Mr. Staten come out to speak to me,' she said. 'He refused. He would never come out here.' Simpson described the unfinished project, saying it was, 'Just a hole, a wide-open hole, just a wide-open hole and anything or anybody could fall in it.' After eight years of painful litigation, Simpson said she was finally able to get a company to come out and finish the work Staten started in 2016. But by then, she said, it was too late. 'My father wasn't able to swim, and because of that he passed away in 2018; and just this past week, I lost my mother as well,' she said. Before the judge handed down the sentence, Staten spoke in court apologizing to the victims. 'I just want everyone involved know that I'm just so deeply sorry for everything that went on,' he said in part. Now Simpson has her own message for Staten. 'I want him to know the pain that he's caused me, and his little 80-second announcement in court today, to say he's sorry, wasn't even with any remorse,' she said. News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked, 'Do you think there could've been a different result if Shannon Behnken wouldn't have gotten involved?' 'I don't think it would've gotten anywhere,' Simpson replied. 'I don't think anyone would've listened to us.' Simpson hopes her story serves as cautionary tale for all Floridians to not pay all of the money up front to contractors and stay involved throughout the entire process. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
Ambulance patient dies after crash involving tractor-trailer in Plant City: FHP
The Brief An ambulance patient died after a crash with a tractor-trailer in Plant City on Friday night, FHP says. The Hillsborough County Fire Rescue ambulance was in non-emergency mode when investigators say the driver did not yield at an intersection. After the crash, the ambulance flipped on its side and the tractor-trailer jackknifed. PLANT CITY, Fla. - A patient being transported in an ambulance was killed after a crash involving a tractor-trailer on SR-39 in Plant City Friday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The Hillsborough County Fire Rescue ambulance was in non-emergency mode when investigators say the driver, a 26-year-old fire rescue man, did not yield at the intersection of SR-39 and McGee Rd. READ: 2 teens die after US-27 car crash in Sebring, FHP says The ambulance was struck by a Peterbilt tractor-trailer, driven by a 52-year-old Wesley Chapel man. After the crash, the ambulance flipped on its side and the tractor-trailer jackknifed. FHP says the 64-year-old woman victim from Plant City was transported to a local hospital where she later died. The ambulance driver and a 47-year-old crewmember were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. What's next The crash is under investigation. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was provided by the Florida Highway Patrol. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
