Pasco digest

Barbecue fundraiser will benefit shot deputy

DADE CITY -- The Dade City Rotary Club is hosting a benefit barbecue chicken dinner from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Dade City National Guard Armory, 38017 Live Oak Ave.

Proceeds will help cover costs Pasco County Sheriff's Office Deputy Gordon Larkin incurred after he was shot during a standoff with a suspect Sept. 12. Larkin, 38, was shot in the head. He is back at work in a limited capacity.

The Rotary Club also is planning to honor Larkin with a new award, the Gordon Larkin Public Servant Award. He will be the first recipient, but the award will go on in his name each year, presented to a public servant who went above the call of duty.

Tickets are available from Tom Hanlon, telephone (352) 521-4388, or at the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce office.

Mail carriers will pick up toys for needy kids

Santa will have a little extra help on Saturday as mail carriers collect toys for the annual Toys for Tots charity drive.

East Pasco Toys for Tots coordinator Bob Loring said the help from the Postal Service is considered one of the program's biggest boosts, expected to help the charity hand out toys to thousands of children across the Tampa Bay area.

Postal officials say a new, unwrapped toy can be left at the mailbox on Saturday for collection. To be sure the toy gets into the proper hands, the Postal Service urges donors to try to place their toys around the time the mail carrier usually arrives.

Youth shelter needs food, gifts for holidays

NEW PORT RICHEY -- The RAP House, a shelter run by Youth and Family Alternatives for runaways and other troubled children, is facing the same shortage of donations as many other nonprofit agencies and charities in Pasco County and nationwide. No turkeys were donated at Thanksgiving. Organizers ask anyone interested in donating a turkey or other holiday gifts this month to call (727) 835-4166.

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