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Sims Park spruces up for Bush

The county's GOP faithful jump at the chance to get some of the 6,000 tickets to attend the president's campaign rally on Tuesday.

NEW PORT RICHEY - The amphitheater at Sims Park got a fresh coat of sea-green paint Friday morning. City crews trimmed drooping tree limbs, and workers made sure the grassy acres were clipped and weeded.

All of this pruning and preparation came as the city readied itself for a visit by President Bush, the first sitting president to visit Pasco County in recent memory.

"I'm excited because of the publicity it's going to give the city of New Port Richey," said parks and recreation director Bob Consalvo. "The fact that the president of the United States is going to be in Sims Park - I think that's fantastic. That puts New Port Richey right on the map."

Bush will speak at a Florida Victory 2004 rally about noon Tuesday at Sims Park as part of a campaign swing through the central part of this must-win state. The president will start the day at a St. Petersburg rally, then visit New Port Richey before speaking at another rally in the Villages, a sprawling retirement community in Marion, Sumter and Lake counties.

His visit comes exactly two weeks before the Nov. 2 election.

After news hit Friday of Bush's visit, supporters flocked to campaign offices to get tickets for the event. People had to show photo identification to get on the list.

"You can hear the phones - it's been nonstop," said Bill Bunting, chairman of the local Republican Party, who took calls at the GOP office near U.S. 19 and Main Street.

Bunting said about 6,000 tickets would be distributed for the event.

The Sheriff's Office will be working with the New Port Richey Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol to help provide security. Several of the sheriff's special units, such as its dog unit and special weapons and tactics team, will be activated, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said.

Motorists should expect some roads to be blocked off between midmorning and early afternoon as the president makes his way in and out of New Port Richey, Doll said.

"If people don't want to be involved in the possible traffic congestion," he said, "they should stay away from that area during that time frame."

Officials have gone through this drill before, when Vice President Dan Quayle held a 1992 campaign rally in Sims Park. And because it hosts annual festivals such as Chasco Fiesta and Founders' Day, downtown New Port Richey is no stranger to special event traffic.

"We can handle it, no problem," Police Chief Martin Rickus said.

Call the local Republican Party offices at (727) 841-7783 in west Pasco; (813) 996-1729 in central Pasco; or (352) 567-3922 in east Pasco to arrange for tickets. The offices will be open during the weekend to handle requests.