Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 112

lpa cnr AN EDITION OF THE LAND 0' LAKES WESLEY CHAPEL DADE CITY ZEPHYRHILLS TIMES I)ctcrsbur0mc5 EAST SATURDAY JANUARY 5, 2002 Family sells ranch to develop si towmi Area Connerton ZD shown With no heirs living on the ranch, the Conner family sells to create the Connerton New Town Development a. By JAMES THORNER Times Staff Writer (583) that Terrabrook will see the family's vision of a traditional, less automobile-dependent development to fulfillment. 'Terrabrook is one of the few companies in the world that can pull off this dream," Conner said after the multimillion-dollar deal closed Friday. Not all of the 8,000 acres will go the way of the bulldozer when development begins in 2003. Terrabrook is close to selling 3,700 acres on the northern end of the ranch to the Southwest Florida Water Management District as a wildlife preserve.

A water district purchase would shrink Connerton from its originally proposed 15,177 homes to something closer to 7,000. Home prices would range from about $100,000 to $400,000. By 2020, the projected population would be about Please see RANCH Page 10 oper Terrabrook. Mentioned in the same breath as Disney's Celebration, the old-style development in Orlando, Connerton promises thousands of homes ringing a city center of shops, a junior college campus, a town hall and a hospital. Connerton also means the end of a Pasco ranching dynasty that began before World War II with the land purchases of two brothers, J.W.

and Cole B. Conner. The ranch fits in a rough triangle framed by S.R. 52, U.S. 41 and Ehren Cutoff in Land O'Lakes.

None of the surviving Conners made their home on the range, and the family needed to liquidate the ranch to appease the desires of 27 heirs spread over three generations. Family spokesman Doug Conner expressed confidence Land O'Lakes Pasco Hills. LAND O'LAKES A project cited as a national model for suburban development converting thousands of acres of Pasco County pasture into a new city of 20,000 people took a great leap forward Friday. In the biggest step so far toward the establishment of Connerton New Town Development, the Conner family sold its ranch Friday afternoon to Dallas-based devel Times art Hnrv fj z.y Ruptured artery in head I eaves mm a coma Even fruit wears a coat of ice Oranges are encased in a protective ice coating Friday morning after a cold front dipped down into Central Florida overnight. These oranges were in the B.

Kiefer Groves in San Antonio. Today the forecast calls for the weather to be partly sunny and warmer. The high will be in the mid 60s with southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Tonight the low will be 45 to 50. There is a chance of rain Sunday.

The 19-year-old was playing touch football with friends when he suddenly froze. Now he's on life support 1. Ira By STEVE LEE Times Staff Writer Times photos UNCE A. ROTHSTEIN He fell into my arms and he was still conscious, but his legs buckled." Greatorex cradled his friend on the side of the road as others gathered around and waited for an ambulance. "About 10 minutes into it I was holding him, and he told me to start praying for him, so I knew it was pretty serious," Greatorex said.

"I was pretty calm, but once the paramedics left, I just broke down." Soon after Haskins was taken to North Bay Hospital about midnight, his parents arrived. "I was stunned when I saw him (in the emergency room)," said Haskins' mother, Yvonne. "He was just lying there saying his head hurt." Haskins was moved to Tampa General Hospital, which is better-equipped to handle head traumas, about 4 a.m. Tuesday to have fluid drained from his head. Initially thinking it might be a brain aneurysm, David Haskins Sr.

later learned that an artery in his son's head had ruptured. "The doctors said he's the sickest person they had there," Please see COMA Page 10 as i NEW PORT RICHEY David Haskins couldn't think of a better way to ring out 2001 than playing touch football with his pals on New Year's Eve. But suddenly, there was no cause for celebration. Haskins, 19, now lies in a coma at Tampa General Hospital after an artery in his head ruptured during the game. Lining up at wideout on San-cho Court in front of Mike LaRue's parents' house, Haskins told La-Rue he felt tingling in his arms and legs.

LaRue watched as the former Gulf football player staggered toward Chad Greatorex, Haskins' best friend. "He was standing there getting ready to go out for a pass and all of a sudden froze," Greatorex recollected. "He just looked at me and said, 'Chad, you've got to help 6 ran VA7r fa fv 1- 4 Tot battles back with a new heart As 18-month-old Patience begins to perk up, her mother now looks to the future. A benefit today will help the family. Water from sprinklers forms icicles on young orange trees in the Schrader family grove in the St.

Joseph community in East Pasco. By KENT FISCHER Times Staff Writer fkj Jk, Teacher gets prison for sex crime The man, now 42, pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old special education student By CARY DAVIS Times Staff Writer NEW PORT RICHEY Diana Nikas knew what she was doing when she named her daughter Patience. Born without a left ventricle in her heart. Patience, 18 months, has already survived a stroke and a heart transplant, had a feeding tube implanted in her stomach and endured nearly a dozen other invasive medical procedures. Doctors discovered Patience's deformed heart five months into Nikas' pregnancy.

"That's how I came up with her name," said Nikas, 32. "I knew what she was going to have to go through, and so far she's been very true to her name. She's getting feisty lately, though." In the three months since she got her new heart, Patience is finally starting to act like a typical toddler. She's trying to walk and Judge William Webb told Howard. "A betrayal to the school, to her mother, to her and to society.

You held a special position." Howard resigned his teaching position days after his arrest in January 2001. He pleaded guilty in November to two counts of lewd and lascivious activity with a child younger than 16. He entered the plea without any deals from prosecutors. Howard could have received anywhere from four to 30 years in prison. Please see SENTENCED Page 10 he said the relationship was worth the risk.

"I'm going to keep taking chances," Howard wrote, "and see where it leads." It led to prison. On Friday, an outraged judge sentenced Howard, 42, a former special education teacher at Bayonet Point Middle School, to eight years in prison. "Your actions toward this little girl were a betrayal of trust," Circuit James Christopher Howard was given an eight-year sentence, followed by probation. Special to the Times Patience Nikas, born with a deformed heart, has survived a stroke, a heart transplant and nearly a dozen operations. her personality has perked up, and now her mom is starting to look toward the future.

She'll get some help today when friends and family host a benefit for Nikas at the American Legion Post 79. Local musical groups will play and businesses have donated items for a charity auction. The Please see HEART Page 1 1 NEW PORT RICHEY James Christopher Howard was a veteran teacher, a husband and father of two. A solid family man and citizen, or so it seemed. But Howard also had a secret life: He was having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student.

In a letter to the girl, Two east Pasco AM stations changing hands By BRADY DENNIS Times Staff Writer The sale will consolidate a regional web of stations whose signals will reach from Brooksville to St Petersburg. "I have owned it for nine years; it's time to do something else," Collins said. "The whole idea of owning a business is when the right number comes along, you sell it. It was the right time. I couldn't refuse the number." Collins wouldn't say exactly how much Wagenvoord agreed to pay for the stations.

But he did say it was Please see STATIONS Page 1 1 "We look at that area as a real growth area for the Tampa market," said Dave Wagenvoord, president of the group. "With three stations in the area, we'll be able to get better programming." Jeff Collins, who owns the stations with his wife, Lori, said he is excited about the sale, which still must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. IN THIS SECTION Correction Sports 4 Brooksville, was charged with "e''9l0n lewd and lascivious conduct. A Obituaries 10 story in Friday's Times gave an Real Estate 11 incorrect last name. DADE CITY East Pasco's two hometown AM radio stations, WZHR-AM 1400 and WDCF-AM 1350, have been sold.

Wagenvoord Advertising Group, which owns WTAN-AM 1340 in Clearwater and KWAI-AM 1080 in Honolulu, Hawaii, has secured a contract for the stations..