FOCUS Magazine Lake County April 2016

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April 2016 FocusLake.com “A Catalyst For Conversation”

Faceless Faces

an undercover look at the plight of lake’s homeless

Also Inside:

The Groveland Four’s Saga Hidden Gems:

“Wonder-Fall” Wolf Branch Preserve Two Sides

Bully For You

Stories of The Universe

The Universe Calling

More

• Legacies: Fabulous Fechtels • Foodie: Peruvian Pleasures • In Photos: Black Heritage, Ducks & Cats and more....

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April 2016 | Volume 9 • Issue 4 | FocusLake.com

FEATURES

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8 Chronicles of Lake County’s Homeless

Lori Farfaglia takes to the streets to uncover three touching stories of being homeless in Lake County.

10 Coming Home

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12 Lake Legacies: The Fabulous Fechtel Family 27 “The Beauty” Behind Bullying

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Housing and Urban Development is only part of the answer to the plight of homelessness in Lake County, Jim Gibson gives us the details.

32 The Saga of the Groveland Four

Gary Corsair relates how a recent Lake County Commission decision could lead to the exoneration of men long-believed to be innocent.

MONTHLY 4 Marc’s Remarks: Campaigning For Local Elections 5 FOCUS On Philanthropy: Open Door 6 FOCUS On the Issues: Bully For You! Or Not Jaimie Engle vs. Thomas Russell.

13 FOCUS On Mind: Homelessness & Mental Health

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14 FOCUS Foodie: Mr. Cebiche’s Peruvian Pleasures Latino flavor in downtown Mount Dora.

16 Stories of the Universe: The Universe Calling 18 FOCUS On Education: Homeless Children in Lake County Local organizations are strivng for solutions to help Lake County’s homeless children.

22 FOCUS On Events: Calendar 24 FOCUS In Photos: Black Heritage, Boys & Girls, Ducks, George W. & Cats 28 FOCUS On the Arts: Vampires, Wackos, Gators & Frank (Oh my!)

After penning a chapter of FOCUS’s serial story 6 Hands, Frank Stanfield returns to its pages.

30 FOCUS On Better Living: Are You In Sleep Debt?

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Q & A: See More About Sidor

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FOCUS On Home: Don’t Waste Your Space

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April 2016

Hidden Gems: Wonder-Fall Wolf Branch Sink Preserve FOCUS On Lake County: Bolstering Business A new site, MadeInLake.com, is putting the spotlight on local businesses.

FOCUS Flashback: Where Ramshackle Stands Now...

Advertisers warrant and represent the descriptions of their products advertised are true in all respects. FOCUS Magazine assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. All letters and their contents sent to FOCUS Magazine become the sole property of Red Apples Media and may be reproduced therein. All views expressed in all articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Red Apples Media. Use or duplication of material used in this publication is prohibited without approved written consent from Red Apples Media.

Office 352.801.7106 Email info@RedApplesMedia.com FocusLake.com

Publisher Marc Robertz-Schwartz; Marc@RedApplesMedia.com

Standards of accuracy: The goal of the writers at FOCUS Magazine is to

Managing Editor Anthony Rao; Anthony@RedApplesMedia.com

provide compelling stories that are accurate from the start. Being human however, we sometimes make mistakes. Please forgive us.

If you notice anything that is incorrect, please do not hesitate to contact the editorial department and inform us. Call 352.801.7106 or e-mail info@ RedApplesMedia.com. The staff will fix the error in a timely manner.

FOCUS Magazine publishes 8,000 copies monthly and is available free at local Lake County businesses, offices, restaurants and other venues. Look online at FocusLakeCounty.com for location distribution listings.

FOCUS Magazine assumes no responsibility for photos and ownership of those provided or submitted by third parties. Any violation of ownership, copyright or intellectual property is solely the responsibility of the submitter.

Creative Director Christine Cruz; Christine@RedApplesMedia.com Editor/Proofreader Stephanie Sherman; SSherman@RedApplesMedia.com Writers Lori Farfaglia; Jim Gibson; Bruce Brown; Stephanie Sherman; Tom Kubala; Kung Foodie; Devin Collins Photography Bonnie Whicher Photography Contributors Leah Conner; Darla Miller; James Szafranski; Frank Stanfield; Jim Cornell; Kathy Weaver; Gary Corsair; Gianna Gonzalez

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PUBLISHER: MARC’S REMARKS

By the time this prints, Super Tuesday will be in the rear view mirror and there is a really good chance we will know who the presidential candidates will be. The election season – both locally and nationally – will be kicking into high gear. And while there is a great deal of attention being put on the presidential races right now, I implore you to take time to begin to understand the local issues, candidates and races. The truth is, while voting for president is extremely important and one of our greatest democratic rights, who we elect locally will have a more direct impact on our lives, our businesses, our students, our safety and our homes, to name a few.

I get that selecting a circuit court judge is not particularly sexy. I get that if you don’t have a child in Lake County Schools that you may not have a particular interest in the school board candidates. However, the quality of our schools will absolutely impact your life; directly and indirectly. The school board member you elect might very well institute a program or fund a resource (or not) which could lay the groundwork for a local student to become your nurse, attorney, restaurant owner or local librarian, in a few years.

Take time to learn about the candidates and what they stand for. I would also strongly suggest that running for political office is the ultimate job interview. In “the real world,” we hire people based on their credentials, track record, integrity, experience and his or her ability to bring something unique to the organization as well as complement the culture. I have never won a job nor have I ever hired someone, based on the “trashing” of other candidates up for the same job. We should demand the same professionalism and “clean campaigning” from our local candidates. I was at a luncheon recently and the analogy of the ultimate job interview was echoed nearly word for word by a county commission candidate. I look forward to seeing if that individual walks the walk. While it can get entertaining at times to watch the mudslinging and social media punch lines, it is time to hold the 2016 candidates – at all levels of local government – to a level of civility, productivity and accountability during their campaigns.

While voting is one of our greatest rights, casting an educated vote is one of our greatest responsibilities.

Marc Robertz-Schwartz Publisher, FOCUS Lake County

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A Reader Fires Back...

Last month, the FOCUS On the Issues page featured a conversation about gun control that inspired a letter to the editor from Ms. Kathy Weaver. FOCUS featured the contributors of the two sides on its radio program last month.

Below is an excerpt from the letter Ms. Weaver wrote.

The article (On the Issues page in the March edition of FOCUS) 4

should have had a full disclosure notice; Carey Baker and his family are owners and operators of the A.W. Peterson Gun Shop in Mount Dora. It is in his best interest to advocate for the sale of guns without background checks, or limits on the type of weapons or the size of ammunition clips; this is just part of making money. No one but the anti-Obama NRA group is suggesting this administration is actually

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planning on confiscating to the good behavior of the community well over 300 million is ridiculous. The NRA, Carey Baker, guns. gun dealers and manufacturers, for the almighty dollar, are making our country But to say we shouldn’t into a war zone. make background checks necessary for all gun sales and restrict those who have been involved in domestic violence, mentally ill individuals, those who are on the no-fly list as terrorists, gun sales over the internet and “straw purchases, ”but to just leave it April 2016

Philanthropy

Organization: The Open Door Year Established: 2015 What is your not-for-profit status: 501(c)3 Address: 115 E. Citrus Avenue, Eustis FL 32726 Web Address: LSBC.net Email for information: bethompson@lsbc.net Contact Name: B.E. Thompson Description of Organization: A homeless drop-in center (day program) which serves as a one-stop shop, linking our homeless neighbors to desperately needed amenities, services, and resources and ultimately assisting them in securing safe, affordable housing and support.

Who do you serve and how: Individuals and families who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. We provide our clients with immediate needs such as showers, laundry, and food, as well as access to integrated behavioral and primary healthcare, income benefits, identification, clothing, telephones and computers, child care, employment, education and housing resources, and other mainstream benefits.

What are you most in need of and why: Financial support and volunteers. The Open Door exists because our community recognized the need for the program, and assembled the financial support necessary to operate it. It cannot continue to operate without community support. Please contact us to discuss opportunities to support The Open Door.

Inspiring words: The Open Door provides a safe, compassionate and supportive environment in which people who are experiencing homelessness are welcome and where they are able to access appropriate services and resources. It exists to provide them access to essential services. The overarching goal is to offer direct assistance to our clients and to link them to programs and services that help them reintegrate back into society, through our community partners.

April 2016

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TWO SIDES Bully For You! Or Not...

What you tell your children to do when they are bullied can affect them down the road in life.

Two different authors of books on bullying weigh in on what they believe is the answer.

Let us know what do you think. Email at Info@RedApplesMedia.com

Bullying: Ignoring “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” is an iconic phrase when it comes to handling being bullied. But I’d like to add one caveat -- “but only if you let it.”

Though I wrote my novel, Finding Your True North: A Bullied Teen’s Journey of Hope, with the theme of standing up for yourself, there’s some truth to the preceding paragraph.

The challenge however, to ignoring a bully, runs the risk of making the victim look weak. If someone insults another person, kids are told to walk away and ignore it. The problem is, it makes the bully look like he won. The victim then suffers the indignity of feeling horrible inside for a long time.

That’s the bad news. The good news is there are many ways ignoring will display strength.

• The obvious thing is to tell an authority figure immediately. If that person appears reticent, go up the

chain of command until it gets resolved.

• There’s strength in numbers.

When you get bullied, surround yourself with friends who will support you and remove you from the situation. “Hey John, Mrs. Jones wants to talk with you.”

• Instead of wallowing in disgrace, seek out social activities outside of school like Boys & Girls Clubs that will allow you to develop new friendships.

• When a bully insults you, stare him directly in the eyes for a few seconds, then firmly and confidently tell him with a smile, “I refuse to be offended.”

Then you walk away not saying anything else. But to sell it, you must have the proper body language.

If you really think about it, why is it important what people think about you? You know what’s true. Walking away with a renewed sense of confidence will always restore your dignity.

Students are burdened to identify themselves as aggressors, victims, passive bystanders or aggressive bystanders. According to the US Department of Education, more than 8 million students nationwide ages 12-18 have reported being bullied.

As parents, how can we not encourage kids to confront these individuals? To passively walk away and hope the bully will leave them alone. What does this resolve? Won’t they just seek a new, weaker person to prey upon? It is our responsibility to teach the next generation to stand up for someone when they don’t have the words, courage, or ability to stand up for themselves.

The National Education Association reported that 160,000 bullied children miss at least one day of school a month. These children are more likely to experience mental health concerns resulting in issues such as head and

stomachaches, inability to concentrate and poor performance in school, to the worst cases, depression, isolation and suicide. How can a child who is told to ignore a malicious statement possibly pay attention in class? Or a student who is threatened physical harm able to attend school when told to turn the other cheek?

When my son was in first grade, he was bullied and no one was there to help him. I grew up letting people push me around and I didn’t want to see my son make my same mistakes. So I wrote a book about a bullied boy who is magically whisked away to Medieval England to help two forgotten princes face their tyrant uncle. Through discovering the true meaning of friendship and finding courage to stand up for someone who can’t, Clifton discovers his purpose, rescues the princes and faces his own bully. Everyday kids can stand up for themselves, just like Clifton Chase. They just need to be encouraged to do so.

#refuse to be offended!

By Thomas A. Russell “Finding Your True North: A Bullied Teen’s Journey of Hope” TARussellAuthor@GMail.com 574.350.7384

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Bullying: Standing Up

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By Jaimie M. Engle “Clifton Chase and the Arrow of Light” JaimiEngle.com JaimiEngle@Gmail.com 321.684.9757

April 2016

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THE FACES OF HOMELESSNESS

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Written by Lori Farfaglia

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he portrait of a homeless face

is often blank. No one knows their names. No one slows down long enough to ask about their stories. The nameless, faceless people of homelessness can be seen in many different situations around Lake County. They can be seen on the side of Highway 27 holding a sign in Leesburg.

They might be the person sitting on the bench in Wooton Park. It could be the man walking down the sidewalk in Mount Dora.

Looking the homeless situation in the eye is uncomfortable. Understanding the homeless situation is confusing. Most of society cannot imagine how the person holding the sign ended up on the street corner. Every homeless face has a story. Every homeless person has a portrait that needs to painted and displayed for the world to see in order to be understood.

bottom of the priority list,” she says.

When Ashley ran out of couches, she found herself living in the woods. At age 17, she was reported ooking the homeless situation in the eye is uncomfortable. to the Understanding the homeless situation is confusing Division of Children and Families for missing too much overcoming the odds. She is trying to school. As a result, she was picked up and maneuver the obstacles of her childhood that put into foster care for the eight months are impacting her journey into adulthood. leading up to her 18th birthday. After turning 18 and aging out of the foster system, Shay’s story began when as a self-described Ashley again found herself completely on her difficult child, she entered the juvenile own. detention system at age 13. Shay was released from juvenile detention at age 16 and returned home to live with her family. Shortly after returning home, Shay says her behavior was out of “When you don’t control and she was kicked out.

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have a home, it’s hard to get up and go to school. I was basically trying to survive, which puts school at the bottom of the priority list.”

Homelessness is an adult topic, but not every homeless person is an adult.

Ashley was adopted when

she was six years old and she thought she had found a loving, safe home. Shortly after Ashley moved into her new home, she was sexually abused. At age 16, her adoptive mom kicked her out and she was suddenly on her own with no one to depend on and nowhere to go. Ashley was homeless.

She found herself sleeping on her friends’ couches and says she “couch surfed” as long as she could while she tried to stay in school.

After turning 18 and aging out of the foster system, Ashley again found herself completely on her own.

“I felt like I was fighting a losing battle,” she says. “When you don’t have a home it’s hard to get up and go to school. I was basically trying to survive, which puts school at the

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you would never know that a few short months ago she was living on the streets and in the woods. Shay is a well-spoken, well-mannered young woman who is still

By this time, she had a boyfriend and her boyfriend had a family. Living with her boyfriend’s family wasn’t an option so Ashley and her boyfriend became homeless together. Ashley was again on the streets and this time she was sleeping in her boyfriend’s car.

She says, “Being homeless means you sometimes do what you have to in order to survive.” Ashley and her boyfriend were cold and hungry, so they made the choice to shoplift some warm clothing, and were subsequently arrested for shoplifting.

Shay is an 18-year-old, currently on

the path to an independent, normal life.

She is working on her GED and says her life is “really great now.” To speak to Shay,

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She moved in with her best friend for a while, but when her friend’s family relocated, Shay could not go. Minors cannot be moved out of the county by someone who is not their legal guardian. By this time, she was a student at Leesburg High School and she was homeless, sleeping in park bathrooms, public places, and the woods. Shay eventually dropped out of school because the need to survive outweighed the need to get her high school diploma.

“Ricky” is a 45-year-old man who comes

from a prominent local family. In order to protect Ricky’s family, we changed his name.

He has an IQ of about 140 and he has never been addicted to drugs. When Ricky was a child he wanted to be a race car driver. In high school he was the star quarterback of the football team. By all accounts, he had a pretty normal childhood with a loving mom and supportive dad, who was a local elected official. By Ricky’s own admission, he made several poor choices as a young adult.

His decisions took him to prison for a few years, then the choices he made after his release left him alienated from his family

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ccording to a 2015 DCF report on the homeless, Lake is 41st out of 67 Florida counties in total population of homeless individuals. After increases between the years 2010 to 2012 Lake County has nearly halved its homeless population. In contrast, out of the 35,964 homeless people reported on in the state, Miami-Dade County, at 4,152 total homeless, has nearly 15 times more than Lake County does.* and friends. He created a difficult situation for himself that made it impossible for him to ask his family for help. Ricky says, “The choices we make in life impact the freedom in our life and mine left me homeless and alone. It is frightening when you get to a point where you realize that you have no other choice.”

When Ricky finally realized his money was running out and he would soon be on the streets, he took the last little bit of money he had and purchased a bicycle and a tent. He got a backpack and some basic survival gear and started to head south.

separate your body from your mind,” said Ricky.

“When you get right down to it, homeless people are just like everyone else. You are concerned with finding food, clothing and shelter, just like the people who are working 40 hours a week. One thing I learned about my time being homeless is that there are a lot of similarities between all of us. There are a lot of people sitting in mansions who are just as miserable as the man sitting in a cardboard box. Bottom line is, we are all humans,” said Ricky.

Ricky was recently given a second chance by one of his friends and he is no longer homeless. He says it is alarming how many people who were once homeless become homeless again. He knows the statistics are stacked against him but he’s trying to get back on his feet and he says he has a formula. “It takes about 60 days of working to get to where you can obtain your own food and shelter again,” says Ricky. “If you have someone willing to help he problem is finding someone willing to help, but you out, it will not enable you. It is a vicious cycle once it begins literally take about 60 days to have far. The vacant land in this area already had enough money in your pocket to rent a small a homeless population. Homeless people can room and get yourself moving in the right be dangerous as they are in a constant state direction. The problem is finding someone of fear because they’re in survival mode. You willing to help, but not enable you. It is a can’t just approach a homeless camp with your bike and your backpack and expect to be welcomed,” Ricky said.

“It was winter in Central Florida,” he says. “I knew I needed to get to a warmer climate.

I have been in this area my entire life, but I needed to find food and shelter and a warm, safe place to camp,” said Ricky. “I had made the choice to be homeless by making bad decisions in my life. I thought heading south would be the answer, but then another problem arose for me and I didn’t get very

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“When you first find yourself homeless, your pride is still somewhat intact.

Slowly it starts to fade and then you find yourself doing what you have to do to survive. You steal, you lie and yes I’ve even resorted to prostitution. You just get yourself to a place mentally where you

vicious cycle once it begins,” he said.

Both Ashley and Shay are also trying to move beyond the situations life has dealt them. Both are teenagers that faced unimaginable odds at very early ages. They were homeless and alone when they were just children. Ashley and Shay are no longer homeless because they found Forward Paths Foundation.

Forward Paths is a organization that focuses on Lake County’s homeless youth and those who are aging out of foster care. According to Denise Burry, founder of Forward Paths, “We believe together we can create a path that leads to independence for the youth of Lake County.” Forward Paths currently has six apartments that they use to provide shelter for homeless youth.

“Homelessness is a serious problem in Lake County that needs a serious solution,” Burry said.

The homeless problem in Lake County

is similar to the homeless situation across the nation, and there is no easy solution.

For a multitude of reasons, something went wrong and now they are on the streets. The faces are not blank canvases. They have real stories. They are real people.

When you get right down to it, homeless people are just like everyone else. You are concerned with finding food, clothing and shelter, just like the people who are working 40 hours a week.

One thing I learned about my time being homeless is that there are a lot of similarities between all of us.

* according to the DCF.State.FL.US website’s most recent report, DCF.State.FL.US/Programs/Homelessness/Docs/Council-on-Homelessness-2015%20-Report.pdf

April 2016

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e m Ho

Coming Written

by

Jim Gibson

“People have a misconception about persons who are homeless or who live in low-income housing. If we are homeless, they say it’s because we are either too lazy to work or we want to live that way. If we live in low-income housing they say we’re lazy, on drugs or are prostitutes,” says Glenda Gann, a resident of Turtle Oaks Apartments in Leesburg. “That is so far from the truth. I have worked hard in my life and only through circumstances beyond my control did I end up being homeless.

Now I live in low-income housing, and I am so thankful for the hand-up I have been given. My children and I love our new home and we’re proud of where we live.”

assistance for low-income persons, the disabled and the elderly (persons more than 62 years of age).

Section 8 assistance includes the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which allows tenants to live at any rental property they choose as long as it meets HUD requirements, and also includes public housing, which utilizes housing complexes such as Turtle Oaks to provide large-scale subsidized housing projects.

A Home in the Woods Gann was just finishing classes to secure her paramedic certification in 1999 when she was involved in a disabling car crash.

She was found dead at the scene, revived, and spent the next three weeks in a coma.

After six months of physical rehabilitation

and food money. So, we moved into a tent in the Ocala National Forest. I didn’t want to be near other people, because I was afraid of crime and wanted to keep my children safe. The forest seemed to be a safe place, so we moved into the middle of it.”

Gann says the family lived in the forest for more than two months, saving what money they could while looking for an affordable home to rent in Leesburg. While picking up food at a Leesburg food bank, she was given a list of places where she might find a home to rent. Turtle Oaks was on the list. She drove by the complex, filled out an application and went back to the family’s “home” in the woods. Meanwhile, she kept looking for a real home, but found rental costs to be too high for the family’s limited income.

Gann lives in a three-bedroom apartment with her 18-year-old son, Dustin, and her 20-year-old daughter, Destanie. Turtle Oaks Less than two f we are homeless, they say it’s because we are either too lazy to work months later, she Apartments, along with or we want to live that way. If we live in low-income housing they say Little Turtle Apartments, was contacted by we’re lazy, on drugs or are prostitutes. That is so far from the truth... also in Leesburg, and Turtle Oaks and Oakwood Apartments in told they had an Mount Dora (all owned by GMF-Florala, and three years in a wheelchair, she apartment available. She and her children LLC) offer Section 8 subsidized housing was taught how to walk again. She has moved in just before Thanksgiving last year through the U.S. Department of Housing undergone 54 operations and is designated and have now settled comfortably into their and Urban Development (HUD). as permanently totally disabled by the new life.

Social Security Administration.

Subsidized housing means that HUD pays HUD Makes a Difference all or a portion of the client’s monthly She and her children lived in an apartment rental cost. The percentage subsidized is complex in Leesburg until September of “We provide quality housing for anyone determined by the client’s income… the last year when the complex unexpectedly who meets our requirements,” says Kelly lower the client’s income, the higher the raised the rent to $870 per month. Gann Hawersaat, community manager at Little subsidy. In Gann’s case, she presently pays knew the family would have to move, Turtle Apartments located just off Griffin $106 per month for an apartment with a because her Social Security income of Road in Leesburg. “We are what is called Fair Market Rental value of around $900 $900 per month barely covered rent alone. an ‘old-fashioned Section 8’ property, which per month, meaning that HUD pays the Following a separation and recent divorce, means that every one of our 38 apartments remainder. her income at that time was the sole is rent-subsidized.” means of support for her small family, and HUD is a federally funded program even when Destanie dropped out of college Hawersaat says that no person’s income created in 1965 to provide safe, decent to get a job to help pay the bills, they still is too low to live in the small complex of and affordable housing for all Americans didn’t have enough money to supply their single-story and townhouse apartments. regardless of their income. The agency’s basic needs.

However, applicants must meet stringent umbrella is large, also including homecriteria in order to live there. Besides buying mortgage assistance, community “We decided that the best way we could income requirements, applicants must development block grants, multi-family make it would be to move into a tent,” she also pass extensive background and credit housing assistance, and the list goes on. says. “We were in a real financial mess. I screenings that are all part of a HUDThe Section 8 program, which includes a had to pawn our belongings and take out approved selection plan. long list of subprograms, provides rental a small high-interest loan just to have gas

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April 2016

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ur background checks are both local and national and are very involved.

We make sure that each tenant meets every guideline for admission.”

“Whenever someone comes in to apply, we spend about ten minutes with them explaining the application process,” says Hawersaat. “Then they take the application home, fill it out and return it. Our goal is to provide our tenants with a clean, safe place to live and raise their families, so we are very careful in making sure everything is done properly and that all the guidelines are met. Our background checks are both local and national and are very involved.

We make sure that each tenant meets every guideline for admission.”

Once the application is finished, submitted and approved, applicants are placed on a waiting list. Hawersaat tells each applicant not to be daunted by a long waiting list because the list is constantly being modified. Many times persons either find another place to live, lose eligibility, move away or for some other reason drop off the list.

income persons in need, Leesburg has become a Mecca for the homeless,” says Hawersaat. “Because of this, we are trying to get the word out that there are agencies like HUD that will help many of these unfortunate people find a home, if they qualify.”

Gann’s son, Dustin, has been diagnosed as developmentally delayed due to suffering from hydrocephalus at birth and is scheduled to complete his high school education in the next two years.

For the Ganns, HUD has provided an opportunity that will not be squandered or taken for granted.

“I am so thankful for agencies like HUD. Without their assistance, I might still be living in a tent in the woods,” says Gann.

For many, like Gann and her children, ecause there are so many fine programs in this area government-funded to help the homeless and low-income persons in need, programs such Leesburg has become a Mecca for the homeless. as HUD provide a means of support that can be a springboard back to some “I have never looked for a handout from sort of familial normalcy. Gann and anyone… my family and I just needed Destanie are now in the process of taking help… and they gave it. They gave us what the steps necessary to continue her college we needed to get back on our feet, and education so she can pursue a degree in we are going to make the most of it. This graphic arts. Gann says that because her is going to be our home for a long, long daughter was receiving financial aid when time.”

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I am so thankful for agencies like HUD. Without their assistance, I might still be living in a tent in the woods.

Once applicants move in to the complex, they are required to submit to monthly inspections of their apartments. These inspections ensure that the apartments are kept clean and safe. Any needed maintenance is promptly taken care of by the apartment manager. If tenants don’t maintain the standards set by management they risk being “written up” and losing their eligibility to be a part of the HUD program. This means they could lose their apartment and find themselves looking for another place to live.

“At first I was concerned about living in a low-income apartment complex,” says Gann. “But I felt better about it when I watched how they screened us and did background checks before allowing us to live there. I think Turtle Oaks is great because the management really does keep an eye on everyone living here. The monthly inspections make sure tenants keep their apartments clean and they don’t tolerate crime of any sort. This is a safe place to live, and it’s a great place to live.”

she had to quit school in mid-term to assist with family finances, she is not allowed to receive any financial assistance for her next term in school. The family is now in the process of saving money to pay for books and tuition for this next term. As soon as the finances are available, Destanie will return to school.

For further information on eligibility requirements and how to apply for HUD-assisted housing, call Little Turtle Apartments, 352.787.1441, Turtle Oaks Apartments, 352.787.1990 or Oakwood Apartments, 352.383.4040.

Help for Those in Need “Because there are so many fine programs in this area to help the homeless and low-

April 2016

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Lake Legacies

The Fabulous Fechtel Family Written by Bruce Brown

You may be familiar with MaryKatherine Fechtel, the current Miss Florida, and her sister Elizabeth but perhaps not so much with their parents, Dixie and Vince. Both Dixie and Vince’s families have had an impact on our area and have long been involved in affairs of both the state and our local community.

And you may remember their daughters as Miss University of Florida back-to-back in 2014 and 2015, and Elizabeth as Miss America’s Teen in 2012.

to work on one of his election campaigns, and they began a long courtship.

Dixie has had a successful career in public relations, working as the assistant to the Chief of State Tourism, which was then part of the Department of Commerce. She was also an Account Executive for a firm in Miami, handling accounts such as Carnival Cruise Lines,

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orn in Fruitland Park, Dixie grew up here locally. Her father, Harold Davenport, founded the first volunteer fire department in Fruitland Park and became its first chief.

Dixie remembers that it was difficult for the new struggling fire department to purchase its first fire truck. When they finally located a truck that was for sale they paid for it with contributions, supplemented with many crates of Florida oranges.

Dixie would also help when there was a fire, usually in the middle of the night. The fire phone was located in their home, and she ran down the block to sound the siren to wake the volunteers from their beds while Harold started up the fire engine. They would draw a map on a chalkboard where the fire was located. When Dixie and Vince Fechtel with their children the volunteers arrived, they would run to the Elizabeth (left) and MaryKatherine (right), cars and give them the directions.

Dixie attended local schools, including LakeSumter Community College, earning both her associate’s and legal secretary degrees. Then she went to the University of Florida, paying her way through college by working as a legal secretary for a Gainesville law firm and graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 1978, with high honors.

Her first job was public relations director for the Leesburg Hospital, where she met her husband Vince when they both attended a meeting for the foundation. Vince hired Dixie

also involved in the local community.

Vince was elected to the Florida State House of Representatives in 1972. He was reelected and then subsequently elected to the State Senate, representing District 11, serving as a legislator for eight years. During Ronald Reagan’s terms as president, Vince was appointed by Reagan to the Parole Commission and served as a Federal Parole Commissioner for 13 years.

They are both still heavily involved in the community with Good News Church, The Leesburg Partnership, and Dixie volunteers for the Republican Party. Dixie and Vince currently own vacation rental properties in Crystal River, and two waterfront homes in Leesburg. Years ago, offering vacation homes to upscale clients wasn’t possible because the technology wasn’t in place for efficient marketing and placement for that caliber of guests. “Today, with specialized websites we offer the opportunity for out-of-town visitors to take advantage of spending their time and their money in our city. This is exciting for people who want to visit Leesburg. It gives them an alternative to staying in a hotel,” says Dixie.

Typical guests at their waterfront homes are fishermen, retired couples, and families attending a wedding, birthday celebration or other event. Visitors eat out frequently, golf, fish, and enjoy our community. Some even rent plus the family’s cats.

(Photo courtesy Leesburg Heritage Society) golf carts. Dixie’s background in tourism was inspiration for the new venture.

The Pier House in Key West and the Miami beaches. When she returned to Leesburg, she became involved in real estate, earned her license and worked for a local ERA firm for about 10 years.

Vince spent most of his early years in this area as well. His father, Vincent senior, opened Vincent’s Five & Dime, building as many as nine local stores. He was president of the Florida Retail Merchants Association and was

The Fechtels contribute to various causes and sponsor many students making mission trips.

They also contribute to the Porch Light, which is just one of the organizations MaryKatherine assists with fundraising, to bring awareness of the human trafficking epidemic we have in this country and especially in Florida. Vince has two children, Jay and Kara, who were raised in Leesburg and now reside in Tampa with their families.

The fire phone was located in their home, and she ran down the block to sound the siren to wake the volunteers from their beds while Harold started up the fire engine.

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April 2016

B H

THE MIND

Homelessness & Mental Health

omelessness is a growing concern in Florida. According to a paper published by the Florida Council on Homelessness (2013), Florida has the third largest homeless population in the country; 8.7% of the nation’s homeless live in Florida, 64.1% of whom are unsheltered. 67% are men.

5.7% are over 60 years of age and sadly, 17.8% are under 18. While the majority of the homeless are single adults, 17.9% are families comprising an adult with at least one child. Regrettably, 16.1% are military veterans. In 2012, Lake County had 1,019 homeless.

Many of the homeless suffer from disabling conditions. In 2013, it was 16.1%, up from 13.3% in 2011. Of the disabled homeless, 49.2% had substance abuse issues and 40.2% had mental health issues.

Homelessness is a challenge of daily survival. That inherent ordeal is an order of magnitude more difficult if one suffers from mental illness. Imagine for a moment, that you have been rendered homeless.

You have no support network; any “safety net” you had is gone. What do you do first? Where do you find water? Where do you find food?

Where is your shelter? Who can you trust?

Now, add to the challenge. You cannot trust your own senses.

You haven’t slept in days as your mind refuses to stop racing. You feel obligated to count and find the approximate square root of the leaves on that shrub. You find

Imagine...

That scenario is horrible. It is, unfortunately, the reality for the mentally ill homeless. Mental illness still has an undeserved stigma. No one Mental illness and substance No one mocks or jokes about diabetics because mocks or jokes about diabetics because abuse are commonly comorbid they can’t regulate their blood sugar. they can’t regulate their blood sugar. conditions. The Diagnostic and No one should treat mental illness as Statistical Manual of Mental No one should treat mental illness anything less than an illness. If you Disorders (DSM-IV), gives us are, and I sincerely hope you are, wellinformation on the course and fed with a roof over your head and prevalence of mental health feel secure with people around you, disorders. Major Depressive Disorder affects food, but you are too sad to eat. remember those of us less fortunate.

10-25% of women and 5-12% of men.

You are too exhausted to sleep. Is Bipolar (I) Disorder has a lifetime prevalence that a twinkling star, or a satellite Be good to each other. of 0.4-1.6%, with a significantly higher rate watching you? Who keeps talking of suicide than the general population. The to you, telling you disturbing James Szafranski is a Licensed lifetime prevalence of Schizophrenia has things? Should I trust and obey the Mental Health Counselor in Leesburg. been estimated between 0.5-1%. woman who says she is a police His career experience has involved officer, or is she one of them?

as anything less than an illness.

dealing with children, adults and even inmates. License #MH-5506

U.S. Code § 11302

General definition of homeless individuals (a) In general, for purposes of this chapter, the terms “homeless,” “homeless individual,” and “homeless person” means (1) an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; (2) an individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground; (3) an individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including hotels and motels paid for by Federal, State, or local government programs for low-income individuals or by charitable organizations, congregate shelters, and transitional housing); (4) an individual who resided in a shelter or place not meant for human habitation and who is exiting an institution where he or she temporarily resided.

April 2016

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Mr. Cebiche Peruvian Cuisine Reviewed by The Kung Foodie Mr. Cebiche is a Peruvian restaurant located on the second floor of the Renaissance Building in the center of downtown Mount Dora. As you walk into the building’s main hallway you immediately see signs for the restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted by a very polite host, as well as the chef himself. Both were full of enthusiasm, as if they could tell by our faces that we have never had their cuisine before and were excited to share it with us.

great.

The menu was overwhelming and appealing.

Having never had Peruvian food before, I was not aware of just how broad the Peruvian palette is. Primarily seafood, they also offer a wide range of dinners with steak, chicken, and pasta. We decided to try the Causa Rellena as an appetizer.

Well-seasoned, cold mashed potato patties mixed with aji amarillo, a Peruvian yellow pepper which gives it a yellow color, layered with tomatoes and avocado and topped with chicken salad. Keep in mind this was a serving large enough for four, yet two of us still managed to make quick work of it

It’s made with fresh raw fish, shrimp and calamari, cut into bite-sized pieces and marinated in lime juice, seasoned with Peruvian chili peppers, cilantro and salt, with finely sliced onions, served on lettuce with sweet potato slices and Peruvian corn. Just describing this dish is a mouthful, but wait until you try it! The fish was fantastically prepared, each bite being a unique combination of sweet and sour from the potatoes and corn to the lemon-lime seafood, and was a pleasant surprise.

Restaurant Response: Sharing a Piece of Peru I left Peru and came to Mount Dora in May, 2000. Mount Dora is now my home sweet home.

I live happily with my wife, two children and five grandkids.

Two years ago I decided to open the Peruvian Restaurant, Mr. Cebiche, and offer to my neighbors and my community of Mount Dora a treasure that’s very precious in Peru; the flavors, the scents, the dressings, the spices,

the vinaigrettes, the sauces. And a small portion of the Peruvian culture; Nazca Lines, Macchu Picchu, Alpacas, indigenous attire and our Andes music full of the breezes of our mountains and the cold whistling of the lakes and rivers, through the quenas, Zampoñas and flutes.

It is an honor for me to share a piece of Peru and God Bless America.

We were seated near a window overlooking Donnelly Street, offering us a nice view of the local shops below. The dining area itself is an “L” shaped space with an elongated open room that runs the length of the building. Having plenty of space between tables and with soft Peruvian music playing, it offered a setting to enjoy conversation without needing to raise your voice.

The restaurant is exceptionally clean and surprisingly spacious. It’s lightly decorated with a Peruvian décor, as one would expect, and the aroma of Peruvian spices filled the restaurant. You can see that they are still adding decorations due to their recent expansion, and it looks like it will turn out

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because it was so good.

For our entrees we chose the “Tallarines Verdes con Bistec,” and a cebiche, their specialty “the Neptune Criollo.”

The Tallarines Verdes con Bistec is pesto spaghetti made with spinach, basil, and fresh parmesan cheese topped with a grilled ribeye steak. The pasta itself was extremely tasty and matched perfectly with the lightlyseasoned ribeye. The steak itself wasn’t high quality, but truly made the dish complete as it was a unique combination with the pasta.

Unfortunately we were simply too stuffed (from gorging on the appetizer) to sample any desserts, the menu for which is extensive.

But I certainly will save room next time. If you’re looking for a nice evening out, with a delicious dinner for a very reasonable price in downtown Mount Dora, then I highly recommended Mr. Cebiche.

Unbeknownst to me, cebiche is the most popular dish in Peru and probably why it’s Mr. Cebiche’s signature dish, and rightly so.

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April 2016

Join Gabriel and his team of talented artists for a personalized makeup consultation and application to create a New Look that is tailored just for YOU! Choose a ‘daytime’ or ‘night out’ look.

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IEW is supported by Gabriel Noda and TT’s Facials.

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April 2016

Located at: 748 S. U.S. Hwy 441 Lady Lake, FL 32159 15 FocusLake.com

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Before I start my ‘Story of the Universe’ and tell you how it connects to my “universe,” I have to tell you where I am coming from. As a minister, I have a Biblical perspective on matters concerning the universe. It’s made my life quite interesting.

Especially in regards to my job. You see, I serve as the chaplain at the Lake County Detention Center in Tavares.

At the Detention Center I come into contact with interesting and unique people from all sorts of different backgrounds and of varying faiths. My universe in “jail” is framed by care and concern for people who may not be accepted by you or your neighbor if they were to walk through your neighborhood.

My universe brings a scripture to mind.

One of my favorite Psalms says, ‘God’s glory is on tour in the skies; God’s craft on exhibit across the horizon.’ And since my universe is filled with dysfunction, difficulty and destroyed lives, I see that universal exhibit each day, not on the horizon but behind bars. Many I meet become open to spiritual things when they find themselves at the bottom of the proverbial barrel. Much of it is self-inflicted, caused by a destructive lifestyle filled with bad decisions. Such choices like drug addictions, selfish, inconsiderate behavior and on occasion just “plain ol’ meanness,” have led many down a broad path of self destruction.

However, every now and then into my life walks, sometimes in chains, a person who challenges my belief system and collides with my perception of the universe. For example, as I write this story I reflect on how the universe drew me out to actually pen my story of the universe... a wrong number. That’s really my story, since

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without that incorrect key punched on the phone I wouldn’t be able to relate to you the stories I am about to tell. I’ll get back to that later. All I’ll say for now is, it’s funny how things work out and affect how you think and live your life.

finally say, “I’ve never felt so clean in my life.” Because of the way things connect in this universe of faith behind bars, she and others I have helped nurture spiritually have benefited greatly; no matter what faith they follow.

My Experiences Many years ago I met a man on death row and although I am not sure what happened to him, and of course can’t reveal or really even remember his name (I’ll call him

Finally, I end my tales of faith with a man I’ll call “Peter,” who I met just in the last month. “Peter” had been brought in on a DUI charge. Before his arrest, this man had made up his mind to kill himself that very

My universe in “jail” is framed by care and concern for people who may not be accepted by you or your neighbor if they were to walk through your neighborhood.

Paul), I hope that I had an impact on his universe. If not, “Paul” assuredly had an impact on mine. I have used his experience and perspective to help others as I had tried to help him.

I grow my universe by helping others get a handle on theirs.

He told me he wasn’t looking ahead to death but how to improve the life he had left to live.

Another experience, one of a woman who found herself in a tough spot, we’ll call her “Mary,” was consumed by an addiction to drugs.

In helping her see there was a better road to follow I was able to watch her find real hope, embrace things she would have never thought to do before, and

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April 2016

Every

now and then into my life walks, sometimes in chains, a person who

challenges my belief system and collides with my perception of the universe. night. So in a way he believes, and I do too that God, or maybe the universe, rescued him from a very sure end. His commitment to get right is a moving and touching lesson for me as well.

Like in the stories of “Peter, Paul and Mary,” at the “jail” I have many times seen a person come off the influence of drugs or alcohol and reach farther away from the all-consuming, driven need to feed those demons. They have become better people and more sensitive to the needs of others. Their universe, like mine, has vastly improved through their own experience and unfortunately, pain.

This Is the Universe Calling Well, had I not had my job and ministry at Lake Detention, which is under the supervision of the Lake County Sheriff’s office, I wouldn’t have been able to tell this story of the universe and faith to you. You read it now because... the universe called and I picked up the phone. Well, not the universe, rather the editor of FOCUS called and I didn’t ignore it, even though I didn’t recognize the number.

He was trying to contact the sheriff about a completely different matter and accidentally

witnesses of faith that we both know in the community. Ones who serve here at the detention center! If that’s not the universe in action, I’m not sure what is.

The Truth About the Universe Experiences like this one help me to see with broad strokes of grace. Meaning they bolster my faith in the universe and especially God. These experiences even help me in my interactions outside of my work universe and affect my relationships with family and friends that aren’t behind bars (well, I don’t think I have any family members in jail.)

You just don’t know how the universe is going to work sometimes. But when the universe calls, don’t forget to answer... even if you don’t recognize the number.

There are many times I’m challenged to seek wise counsel from a variety of sources; like more experienced people, a historical or Biblical perspective, and more often than not simple, common horse sense.

My Perspective My universe is an intentional provision of hope, faith and acceptance that can only be effectively planted, nurtured and strengthened in the environment of a secure facility. The negative aspect of incarceration becomes instead a place of safety and personal development. One that not only affects the inmates but their caretakers as well. Being a volunteer minister at the prison is a rewarding experience and is something anyone can get involved in with just a simple phone call, even an accidental one.

dialed my phone number. I guess we have a similar prefix or he just happened to lose the number and took some sort of wild guess. Had that call not come, I wouldn’t be able to hopefully affect your universe with my stories of faith. Call it divine providence, the universe, or whatever you want.

It turns out we had other ministers and

After all, that’s the true universe everyone should be concerned with. We exist for each other, and I believe, the glory of God.

You just don’t know how the universe is going to work sometimes. But when the universe calls... don’t forget to answer. Even if you don’t recognize the number.

Jim Cornell Chaplain, Good News Ministries Lake County Detention Center

At times I’ve had people ask me questions like, how does this “jailhouse” ministry impact me?

How does it change me for the better? How am I able to help others through it? I’ve even heard the question, how does it change my universe outside of the walls and confines of the detention center?

April 2016

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EDUCATION

I

Homeless Students in Lake County

Written by Tom Kubala

program is at the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lady Lake. Each Friday, packages of food are placed in the backpacks of 170 students at Fruitland Park Elementary School, some of whom are homeless. In addition, full sets of clothing have been provided to students in partnership with a local department store. The principal of

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t has been estimated that over 50% of schoolchildren in the United States are on free lunch programs, and many of these children are homeless. Lake County students are no exception. There are over 1,827 students (as of the interview day of this article in mid-March) who are classified as homeless, according to Kristin McCall, Homeless Liaison Officer of the ne major area of need includes food for weekends, when students are Lake County School District. Up to 80% of not in school, as well as during breaks in the school year calendar. these students are in a “doubled-up” situation because they are not in a house that their Fruitland Park Elementary, Tammy Langley, said, “The backpack program family owns or rents on their own, which according to the Lake is wonderful. Without it, many students would go hungry.”

County School system classifies these children as homeless.*

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“These types of students are provided with a free breakfast and free lunch, as well as school supplies. Basic clothing is also provided when required,” Ms. McCall stated.

For the older students, in some middle schools and high schools food pantries have been set up to provide nutritious snacks. Many of these 1,827 students (which is lower than the 2014-2015 school year Survey 5 report of 2,625). These reported homeless kids have become so due to, among other reasons, evictions, rental houses being sold, and the lack of other adequate options.

According to the Mid-Florida Homeless Coalition, a number of shelters are provided for the homeless.

Executive Director, Barbara Wheeler, indicated that there are emergency shelters and transitional housing available to help people get back on their feet. Families with children under 18 years of age are part of this sheltering program.

What about providing for other needs?

Fortunately, there are several entities that provide assistance to homeless and other less-advantaged children.

Many of the homeless children in the school system find themselves on free and reduced lunches; a whopping 63% out of roughly 41,000 of all students in Lake County are assisted this way.

But that doesn’t make-up for the times those students are not in school. One major area of need includes food for weekends, when students are not in school, as well as during breaks in the school year calendar. This need has been satisfied to a great extent by backpack programs at various churches and organizations throughout Lake County. The way most programs work is by placing packages of food in students’ backpacks before they leave on Fridays.

The packages contain basic non-perishable foods. A good example of a backpack

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There are other organizations participating in the backpack effort, such as Deliver the Difference in Tavares. “We work with Family Liaison Officers in all the schools, and deliver 600 Kidspacks each week. Part of the funding for this effort comes from our What Not Thrift Shop,” founder of Deliver the Difference, Bob Bostic, said.

This organization provides food during the summer in addition to during the school year. In the summer, according to the organization’s website, hundreds of children receive seven days of food, including breakfasts, lunches, snacks, milk, and juices. Another agency involved in the effort is South Lake Community Ministries, home of Buses n’ Backpacks in Clermont. This program works in partnership with local schools to provide food to children in need, according to information on their website. Currently, they work with 16 schools, serving 500 children each week.

In the interview with the school district’s Ms. McCall, she stated 60 homeless seniors are getting ready to graduate from Lake County high schools. Despite being homeless, these students have persevered and succeeded. Many are with 3.0 averages and above. A large percentage of them don’t live with their parents, but “couch-surf” with relatives and friends. They have no money to pay for caps and gowns, buy prom dresses, or rent tuxedos. In order to make them a part of the commencement ceremonies and attend graduation functions, funds are provided to help them experience these happy occasions. Many are smart and talented students, and will be successful in college, but the mention of higher education

is not part of their world. “With guidance provided by school district staff members about grants, college application forms, and financial aid programs, we hope that these graduates will find their way to a brighter future.” * See pg 13 for definition of what a homeless individual is, and for other definitions see the FL Dept. of Educ. site at FLDOE.org/core/fileparse.php/7480/urlt/0082781-hsfa.doc

April 2016

Pets hold a special place in our hearts, so take care of theirs.

April is National Heartworm Prevention Month.

It’s time to get your pooch or kitty to Northgate Animal Clinic to update their heartworm prevention care.

Call us today to find out more.

352.787.8533

NorthgateAnimalClinic.com

2473 Citrus Blvd. • Leesburg, FL 34748

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm

Wellness Exams Vaccinations Laser Therapy Microchips In-house Diagnostics Digital Radiography Dentistry Senior Wellness Management of Chronic Illness Allergy Testing & Management Parasite Screening & Prevention Pain Management Surgery Dr. Kathie Robinson April 2016 Veterinarian

Dr. Richard “Bailey” Clark Veterinarian

Dr. Thomas Piekunka Veterinarian

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April 2016

Nine months anticipating

112 names considered

Finally holding your

new baby is

Amazing.

Babies are irresistible. That’s why we’ve created Lake County’s premier center for welcoming new bundles of joy — Florida Hospital Waterman Center for Women and Children, part of Florida Hospital for Women. Newly remodeled rooms, special amenities and personalized courses and education, all mean you and your baby will receive the best in maternity care. Because your new addition is

April 2016 one of the many reasons

LIFE is AMAZING.

Learn more about the Center forFocusLake.com Women and Children at

LakeCountyBaby.com

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EVENTS April 8; 2 PM - 4 PM April 9; 10 AM - 1 PM “Water, Water” Garden Show Clermont Garden Club Building ClermontGardenClub.com April 8; 7 PM - 9:30 PM Movies Under The Stars “Kung Fu Panda 3” Waterfront Park For more info 352.394.3500 Every Saturday; 8 AM - 1 PM Leesburg Saturday Morning Market Downtown Leesburg LeesburgSaturdayMorningMarket.com

April 8; 7:30 PM Celtic Nights Clermont Performing Arts Center ClermontPerformingArts.com

April 7; 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Spring Fish Fry The Mote-Morris House For more info 352.365.0053

April 9 & 10; 10 AM - 5 PM Blues at the Winery Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards For more info 352.394.8627

April 9; 5 PM - 10 PM Leesburg Food Truck-n-Flick Night Towne Square FoodTrucknFlick.LeesburgPartnership.com

April 29; 7 PM Comedy Show Clermont Performing Arts Center ClermontPerformingArts.com

April 22-24; 5 PM 20th Annual Leesburg Bikefest Downtown Leesburg LeesburgBikefest.com

April 30; 7 PM Jason Aldean Tribute Clermont Performing Arts Center ClermontPerformingArts.com

Every Sunday; 9 AM - 2 PM Farmers’ Market Historic Downtown Clermont For more info 352.247.4640 April 1; 5:30 PM - 9 PM Family Food Truck Night Historic Downtown Clermont For more info 352.247.4640 April 2; 9 AM - 3 PM Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest Historic Downtown Clermont For more info 352.247.4640

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April 7; 4 PM - 5 PM PAWS for a Story (All Ages) Leesburg Public Library For more info 352.728.9790 April 9; 9 AM - 3 PM Nature Center Open House PEAR Park For more info 352.314.9335 April 9; 10 AM - 4 PM 2nd Annual Comic-Con Leesburg Public Library For more info 352.728.9790

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April 9; 5 PM - 7 PM Meet the Artists Reception Leesburg Center for the Arts For more info 352.365.0232 April 14; 7 PM - 10 PM USA Dance For All Ages Community Building, Venetian Gardens For more info 352.793.2707 April 17; 1 PM - 7 PM Bake Sale for Charity AMVETS Post 2006 For more info 352.323.8750

April 5, 19; 9 AM Board of County Commissioners Meeting Administration Bldg, Commission Chambers For more info 352.343.9888 April 6, 13, 20, 27; 11 AM - 12 PM Bilingual Storytime Tavares Public Library For more info 352.742.6473 April 6; 7:30 PM Tavares Civil War & WWII Roundtable Tavares Civic Center For more info 352.357.8476 April 8, 15, 22, 29; 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM After-School Crafts Tavares Public Library For more info 352.742.6473

April 11, 25; 6 PM Lake County School Board Meeting Administration Bldg, Commission Chambers For more info 352.253.6500 April 12; 3:30 PM - 5 PM All About Cats - LCSO Animal Services 314 New Hampshire Avenue For more info 352.742.6204

Every Sunday; 9 AM - 2 PM The Mount Dora Village Market Elizabeth Evans Park MountDoraMarket.com

April 2016

April 3, 7, 8, 9, 10; 8 PM - 11 PM Gypsy - A Musical The IceHouse Theatre IceHouseTheatre.com

April 15; 6 PM - 7:45 PM Friday Night Naturalist Trout Lake Nature Center For more info 352.357.7536

April 16; 7:30 AM - 11 AM Quarterly Bird & Butterfly Survey Ellis Acres Reserve, Paisley For more info 352.253.4950

April 8; 8 PM - 10 PM 2nd Friday Movie in the Park Donnelly Park WhatToDoInMtDora.com

April 23; 5 PM - 8 PM Classic Car Cruise-In Historic Downtown For more info 352.360.3712

April 22; 10 AM - 12 PM Silk Painting with Crystal (Adults) Umatilla Public Library For more info 352.669.3284 April 23; 9 AM - 1 PM Lake Akron Paddling Adventure Ellis Acres Reserve, Paisley For more info 352.324.6141

April 14; 7:30 PM - 9 PM Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra Magic of Mozart St. Patrick Catholic Church For more info 352.589.1500 April 16; 10 AM - 10 PM Earth Day Event & Concert Donnelly Park For more info 352.988.4022 April 16; 7 PM Atlanta Rhythm Section Mount Dora Community Building For more info 352.735.7183 April 21; 5 PM - 8:30 PM Family Food Truck Night Sunset Park, Downtown For more info 352.735.7100 April 23 & 24; 9 AM - 5 PM Mount Dora Blueberry Festival Evans Park For more info 352.217.8390

April 5, 12, 19, 26; 1 PM - 3 PM Knitting with Myla Fruitland Park Library For more info 352.360.6561 April 7, 14; 9 AM - 3 PM AARP Tax Aide - By Appt Only Fruitland Park Library For more info 352.360.6561

Every Tuesday; 9 AM - 1 PM Lady Lake Farmers’ Market Log Cabin Park For more info 352.552.1266 April 7, 8, 9; 7 PM Kronos Quartet The Sharon Performing Arts Center TheSharon.com

Every Thursday; 8:15 AM - 1:30 PM Lake County Farmers’ & Flea Market Lake County Fairgrounds For more info 352.357.9692 April 7-16; 1 PM - 10 PM Lake County Fair Lake County Fairgrounds For more info 352.357.7111

April 2016

April 30; 9 AM - 3 PM Inside-Out Women’s Mini-Conference Calvary Chapel of the Lakes, Umatilla For more info 352.455.4915

April 16; 6 PM LSSC Foundation Annual Gala Auction Savannah Center, The Villages For more info 352.365.3506 April 23; 4 PM Lake County Ladies Chorus Concert Love Is All You Need Paul P. Williams Auditorium For more info 352.394.7029

April 11; 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Fairy Tea Party (Ages 3+) Lady Lake Library For more info 352.753.2957 April 17; 7 PM Kronos Quartet The Sharon Performing Arts Center TheSharon.com

April 9; 9 AM Amazing Race for Charity Ferran Park, Downtown AmazingRaceForCharity.com April 10; 1 PM - 5 PM Antiques Appraisal Clinic Road Show Eustis Community Center For more info 352.483.0046

April 24; 9 AM - 11 AM Earth Day Work Day Ferndale Preserve For more info 352.516.7011

April 20; 5:30 PM - 7 PM Night of Stars Celebration LSSC, Leesburg Campus, Gym For more info 352.326.1265

FOCUS Magazine Lake County Go to FocusLakeCounty.com and Like the FOCUS Lake County Facebook page to find more events information.

April 8, 15, 22, 29; 10:30 AM - 11 AM Little BookWorms Toddler Storytime Minneola Schoolhouse Library For more info 352.432.3921

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PHOTOS

AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE

The Leesburg Black Heritage Festival activities included a parade along Main Street in downtown Leesburg. The festival also featured games, ethnic foods and vendors. Several live music acts, including jazz and neo-soul music from Central Florida and Atlanta, were highlights of the event.

Visit LeesburgCDD.org/Museum.htm for more information about the Leesburg African American Heritage Museum.

Photos by Devin Collins

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS YOUTH OF THE YEAR Jackie Joyner-Kersee shared her inspirational story at the Boys & Girls Clubs event at Mission Inn in Howey-inthe-Hills. Eustis High School’s Natorie Williams was honored and is pictured to the left with Michael Holland, Mayor of Eustis, and Joyner-Kersee.

Submitted Photos

NO DUCK LEFT BEHIND

The Educational Foundation No Duck Left Behind Rubber Duck Race at Wooton Park in Tavares raised $16,211 to help teachers and students of Lake County Schools.

Visit EdFoundationLake. com for more information on upcoming events benefiting our local schools.

Photos by Devin Collins

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April 2016

PHOTOS GEORGEFEST IN EUSTIS

GeorgeFest is a festival celebrating President George Washington’s birthday and is the second longest-running festival in the country. 2016 marked the 114th consecutive annual celebration in Eustis. No other city in Florida has a longer-standing tradition of a patriotic event in honor of America’s Founding Father. Sponsored by the Lake Eustis Chamber of Commerce and its proud partner, the City of Eustis, the GeorgeFest is a piece of local history. Find out more at EustisChamber.org/GeorgeFest-2016/ Photos by Bonnie Whicher

April 2016

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PHOTOS

LAKE COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES CAT ROOM

The King’s Ridge Animal Club created and donated the woodwork (words and cloud shelves), and obtained and hung the pipe shelves.

They, in addition to the Tavares Middle School Art Club, popular local artist Kiana Cruz, Leash, Inc., TNR, LCSO Staff and others, painted the creative and welcoming new environment.

Photos by Focus Staff

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April 2016

The Beauty Behind Bullying As per our page two FOCUS On the Issues article, bullying can be a controversial subject. At least how to deal with bullies; because let’s face it, nobody likes a bully. Even bullies don’t like other bullies. The following article was submitted by a young reader who was touched by an experience she wanted to share. Here’s Gianna’s story.

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Written by Gianna Nicole Gonzalez

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eing born with Cerebral Palsy, life has not been easy, but I tend to look at the glass half-full instead of half-empty. At a young age I knew my purpose in life was to help people through my own personal life experiences and struggles. During my childhood, I was constantly bullied and tormented by my peers because of being differently-abled. Those experiences motivated me to be an example for this generation today. I didn’t harp on the negatives in my life; I have lived my life as if I wasn’t in a wheelchair. I refuse to be viewed as a burden on our society.

Even though I have a disability I refused to be called disabled because I am not any different from everyone else. I like to say, “Embrace your unconventional beauty.”

I would like to become the voice of the differently-abled. Yes, God made me different but that doesn’t mean that I have to sit here and feel pity for myself. I was taught to give life everything I’ve got, 100%. All I want to do is to have that one chance to change a child’s outlook on those of us within the differently-abled community.

If it wasn’t for my single mother who has pushed me to pursue my education, I would not be the Person I am.

If it wasn’t for my single mother, who has pushed me to become a better person and motivated me to pursue my education, I would not be the person I am. Additionally, if it wasn’t for Lake County I would have never finished my education in the first place.

Being physically and mentally tormented on a daily basis made me not want to go to school and put a damper on my attitude and ultimately my freshman year grades.

Moving here to this county I was given a new opportunity, a new life away from the bullying. Being treated with respect and not as a disabled person made me want to give back to the community and give back to the children of this generation so they can have someone to look up to and to know that if I can do it so can they.

I thank God every day for saving my life, and blessing me with such loving supportive family and friends.

April 2016

I would like to visit schools within our county and speak to the children against bullying. If I would have given up and accepted the bullying I would not be where I am today. Bullying took me away from what was important in life - my education, my focus.

If I can change one child’s point of view then I have affected change and that is the important first step. Being bullied every day in middle school and high school because of my disability, my accent, my clothing, my weight, it made me want to make a change for the better.

Despite all the things I have been through I still maintain a positive outlook on life. I recently won 2nd runner up in the 2016 Ms. Wheelchair Florida competition, March 5. My plan is to advocate for my community in any way possible. I want to empower other differently-abled children and all children, to follow their dreams. DO NOT let bullying get in the way of your dreams. The sky’s the limit.

Bullying needs to come to a complete halt.

All children need to feel comfortable and not afraid to dream; they deserve to feel safe, to know that we are all equal and that we all have the same rights. This is my mission to empower children and affect the change that will inspire love and peace for each other no matter our differences.

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ARTS

Vampires, Wackos, Gators & Frank

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Written by Frank Stanfield

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aid off by faceless corporate bean counters, we felt like gangsters in the movies suddenly surrounded by mob assassins who were saying, “Sorry, it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.” But after 30 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, it felt very personal to me and to thousands of other journalists as the economy tanked in 2008. It was the end of my writing career, or so I thought.

Yet I would go on to collaborate with the most courageous person I’ve ever met, in writing the memoir Unbroken: The Dorothy Lewis Story. Dorothy was assaulted, shot and left for dead and her two little girls murdered. But her faith sustained her, allowed her to forgive her attackers and resulted in the most miraculous recovery imaginable. Later, I couldn’t resist writing an autobiography called Vampires, Gators and Wackos, A Newspaperman’s Life.

The “vampires” were teen cultists who were involved in the slayings of a couple in Lake County, a case that still spurs controversy and international headlines. It is one of many cases that I covered in the book. I am now writing my first novel. It’s about a troubled Iraq war vet who falls in love with a woman facing her own issues. He braces for the toughest battle of his life as he goes on a spiritual journey to face his demons and try to save his relationship.

Life, with its surprising twists and turns, is a beautiful thing when you’re a storyteller.

I’ve been on my own spiritual journey. Along the way I’ve been blessed with a loving wife, three children and seven grandchildren. There’s enough material in this adventure for several books, including some side-splitting comedies.

My family wants me to write a children’s book someday so I’ve added that to my long bucket list.

Recently, I joined other authors in FOCUS, in writing one of the “Six Hands” serial fiction stories about a man so obsessed with money that he missed the real meaning of life. I’ve also started doing part-time correspondence work for the Daily Commercial, a paper that I used to help manage in the early 1980s, bringing me full circle. Once you get ink in your blood you can never get it out.

In the end, however, it’s the story that makes a difference. I’m almost finished with my novel and I’ve started doing research on my next one.

The only marching order that counts is that it must be close to the bone, touch the heart, reveal universal truth, make readers either love or hate the main characters appropriately, and be a page-turner. That’s all.

Life, with its surprising twists and turns,

As a journalist working for the Orlando Sentinel, the Ocala Star-Banner and other papers, I loved telling nonfiction stories, especially about the life and death struggles of those who found themselves in court. It was there that I met the nicest people in the world – families of victims and sometimes the defendant’s family – and some of the worst monsters who ever lived. Now, I can invent characters, manipulate their lives and tell all kinds of stories, including ones with happy endings.

is a beautiful thing when you’re a storyteller.

I grew up with storytellers. Though my family members were not writers, they spun their tales verbally on the front porches of houses in the Midwest, Virginia, and Florida. I read newspapers voraciously as a child and was hypnotized by old movies on TV. Some of my favorite memories are of public libraries where I lovingly gathered up armloads of books or read them quietly in the corner, with the sound of rain pounding on window panes and the exotic smell of old, weathered book pages wafting through the air.

I didn’t just want to read about life, however, I wanted to live it so I joined the Air Force in the middle of the Vietnam War. Though I was sent to some hair-raising places, I did not see combat but I did see enough human wreckage to fill page after page in my novel.

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There’s no safety net. Writers bare their souls and leave themselves exposed to critics and other writers, including some meaner than snakes.

For readers, there’s no popcorn and little action, except for the flapping of pages, fired-up brain cells, and a beating heart. But the story is everything, and if you’re lucky the stories keep coming.

Frank can be reached at FrankEStanfield.com

April 2016

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E

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Better Living

Are You In Sleep Debt?

very spring, we “spring forward” and we lose an hour. In doing so, many of us stay up later and find it next to impossible to get up the next day. Do you ever think about the health issues that can occur when you lose one, two, or maybe even three to four hours of sleep each night?

Most of us understand the perils of financial debt. Spending more than you are saving can lead to a financial disaster. Going into “sleep debt” can be as financially devastating

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Another major problem with sleep debt is that it causes you to be more accident prone. The famous Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was not caused by alcohol as most people think. During the trial, it was found that the actual cause was sleepiness. It cost $2 billion to clean up that spill and Exxon was fined $5 billion. The bad news is that

leep debt makes you more likely to catch a cold or the flu. In fact, sleep deprivation can actually cause flu-like symptoms without an infection.

as if someone robbed your bank account of all your savings. Occasionally getting shortchanged on your sleep isn’t a serious problem, but when it happens night after night, you build up a backlog of needed sleep. This sleep debt can adversely affect your mood, health, and safety.

The average person needs around eight hours of sleep every night. You might need a little less or a little more, but you need this sleep every day, just like you need water and oxygen every day. Losing just one hour of sleep per day (seven hours instead of eight, for instance) builds up your sleep debt.

It’s not just the quantity of sleep that you need; it’s also the quality of that sleep.

You need several hours of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep every night to be healthy.

This is the sleep where you dream. During the deepest stages of sleep, your body releases growth hormones to stimulate tissue repair and regeneration. This means that if you don’t get enough good quality sleep, your body cannot repair itself and it can adversely affect your physical health.

For instance, sleep debt makes you more likely to catch a cold or the flu. In fact, sleep deprivation can actually cause flu-like symptoms without an infection. Sleep debt even makes you more prone to heart disease and stroke. Lack of sleep also affects your mood and your performance.

It makes it harder for you to concentrate and

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can make you irritable or depressed. You even age more quickly when you don’t get enough sleep.

one-half of all Americans suffer from some degree of insomnia and about one-third suffer from life-disrupting insomnia.

There are many factors that contribute to sleep problems. Stress and anxiety, dehydration, a sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, the overuse of stimulants like caffeine, and artificial lighting.

Sleep debt is a major contributing factor to weight gain as well.

time change, you may need some help getting your circadian rhythm back so you can fall asleep at a decent hour, so you can wake up rested and refreshed.

I have my favorites, and depending on the situation I may use one remedy one night and another the next night. But what works for me may not work for you. As an herbalist, there are a series of questions I ask folks who are having sleep issues to narrow down what may work the best for them.

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EMERGENCY SUPPORT AVAILABLE

If you’re having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping soundly, and if you have had a hard time losing weight, it’s important to examine your lifestyle and determine what you can do to get the sleep you need.

There are a number of natural remedies you can investigate to help you sleep, which include essential oils or herbal formulas that help to calm the brain, calm the nervous system and allow you to unwind after a stressful day. With the

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April 2016

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The Groveland Four

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Written by Gary Corsair

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nfamous Lake County Sheriff, the late Willis V. McCall, insisted to his dying day that the case that brought him international attention was open-and-shut. Thirty years after his passing, that case was kicked wide open. The cry for exoneration of the Groveland Four is now as loud as the voices in 1949 that cried for conviction and execution of the African-American men accused of raping Norma Padgett, a 17-yearold white woman from Bay Lake, a small insulated community near Groveland.

The case is alive. And there’s a growing movement to convince Florida Gov. Rick Scott to exonerate Charles Greenlee, who served eleven-and-a-half years in prison; Walter Irvin, who served eighteen-and-ahalf years; and Samuel Shepherd, who was shot and killed by McCall in November 1951 on the way to a hearing in a U.S. Supreme Court-ordered retrial. A fourth suspect, Ernest Thomas, was killed by a posse led

by McCall.

All four men are deceased and now they’re in the news again. Last month, the Groveland City Council made national headlines by passing a resolution calling for the State of Florida to exonerate them.

Bigger headlines were written when the Lake County Board of Commissioners voted for a similar resolution, doing so a few floors above an underground tunnel connecting the county government offices to the old courthouse, which housed the jail where the three convicted men were held… and the basement where they were tortured.

Members of both governmental bodies say they were moved by Devil in the Grove, the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Gilbert King, primarily based on un-redacted FBI and NAACP Legal Defense Fund files denied to other writers.

King gladly accepted the mantle as the righter of wrongs, but he wasn’t alive when the Groveland rape case’s outcome was first questioned. That honor goes to the late Norman Bunin, who was a young copy editor at the St. Petersburg Times in 1949. A year later, Bunin wrote a startling three-part

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Saga

exposè that revealed flaws in the state’s case and proved – through the timeline of events presented in testimony by Norma Padgett and her husband Willie – that Greenlee could not have been involved. Bunin also located people who claimed that Shepherd and Irvin were more than 60 miles away an hour before Padgett testified she was attacked.

Sadly, Alex Akerman, the Orlando attorney hired by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to represent the accused, did not have time to track down alibi witnesses. He had less than three weeks to prepare for trial. A year later, Orlando attorney Paul Perkins discovered

Sheriff McCall’s son Malcolm, and Charles Greenlee, who had never granted an interview. I also obtained the files of Paul Perkins, the deceased attorney who did considerable legwork for Justice Thurgood Marshall and the Legal Defense Fund.

My book all but proved the innocence of the defendants.

International outcry and a reversal of the verdicts seemed imminent… if I could get published.

I had to self-publish, help four UCF students produce a documentary about the case, and speak to any and all groups that wanted to learn about the boys from Groveland. More importantly, the families of the defendants, attorney Paul Perkins, Jr., and I, all pushed for exoneration.

the alibi witnesses and obtained depositions from two waitresses that served Irvin and Shepherd, but both women failed to appear at the retrial, which was moved to February 1952 after McCall killed Shepherd.

Bunin made a convincing case and worked hard to keep Irvin out of the electric chair.

The Groveland rape case faded from public consciousness after Gov. LeRoy Collins boldly commuted Irvin’s death sentence to life in prison.

Fifty years passed before another writer launched an investigation that led to the first book about the case since Bunin’s 1950 articles that the Groveland rape case was a travesty of justice.

I personally spent three-and-a-half years researching and writing Legal Lynching: The Sad Saga of The Groveland Four, which gave voice for the first time, to the people who actually lived the story – Bunin, two attorneys who represented the defendants, a crucial witness the prosecution hid from the defense in 1949, siblings of the accused,

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After Gilbert King shared a July 1949 FBI report detailing an interview with the physician who examined Norma Padgett the morning she claimed she was violated, we petitioned Gov. Scott to exonerate the Groveland Four. He declined to touch the matter. And McCall’s open-and-shut case was closed again. That was four years ago.

Today, the door is again open. Why? Senator Geraldine Thompson got on board (she will present a bill calling for exoneration during the fall session.) Enough people read Devil in the Grove and talked about it (it’s even been optioned for a movie.) University of Florida student Josh Venkataraman launched a petition for exoneration that 1,000 people signed. Greenlee’s brother Wade, Irvin’s sister Henrietta, and Shepherd’s niece Vivian, began giving interviews and making public appearances. And commissioners in Lake County and Groveland stood tall to find the truth.

The case is again open. Now we’ll have to wait until the fall to find out if the governor will shut it for good and exonerate the Groveland Four.

April 2016

Q&A

with the new LSSC President ,

Dr. Stanley Sidor

PROFILES: We’re joined today by Dr. Stan Sidor, the new president of Lake-Sumter State College. Welcome to Lake County. How has it been for you initially?

DR. SIDOR: It’s been exhausting and exhilarating. And I’m just starting.

PROFILES:: Tell us about your professional career.

DR. SIDOR: I grew up in Michigan, attended a small college, and graduated thinking I was going to be a social worker. Instead I ended up as part owner of a chain of small manufacturing companies and later joined the local community college where I started a customized training and consulting business. Eventually I moved to Florida to help start Daytona State College’s advanced technology college and 10 years later I was acting as provost and running their technology programs. Chuck Mojock and I worked together there briefly before he moved on to LSSC. I was also president of a community college in North Carolina until I had the opportunity to return to Florida to LSSC. PROFILES: Tell us about the process. I mean, you weren’t just going through Craigslist one day and saw a posting for president at LSSC. DR. SIDOR: Well, the position was advertised widely. I wanted to return to Florida where my wife and I raised our sons so I applied. The process itself was long and grueling.

PROFILES: Who interviewed you and what do you think they were looking for?

academic quality. What I believe I can add is a focus on workforce programs and developing some new and interesting partnerships.

PROFILES: Once you knew that you were to be the new president, did you two have much time to compare notes? et any advice?

DR. SIDOR: Chuck and I were in constant contact from the time I accepted the position through the time he left to go on his threemonth drive through the US. He was incredibly helpful getting me up to speed and working with Chuck previously, I knew how much he values excellence and pays attention to detail, and he made it very easy to make the transition.

PROFILES: How do you gauge your success?

DR. SIDOR: By the success of the people around me. If my team is successful, innovative, and creative, taking those risks that are measured and appropriate to support and improve services in the community, I believe I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and that’s how I measure my success.

PROFILES: Any surprises so far?

DR. SIDOR: None. The college is well-run and the LSSC Foundation has been a very active and successful partner. The cost of college is an obvious challenge but there’s also the support; to help someone who’s first generation, making that transition and helping them stay in school, is also a challenge. The foundation’s been very generous in providing those things to help.

DR. SIDOR: Everybody interviewed PROFILES: What are your me, between the community events interests or hobbies outside of and the formal interviews of the work?

Red Apples Media provided image of Dr. Sidor from their search committee and the board. I partner LSTV’s program, Profiles. Check pg. 5 for air times. DR. SIDOR: Right now it’s sleep! think they appreciated the fact that I had a business background and I My free time is usually spent reading, tend to approach things in education from a business perspective. and I’m an avid mountain biker so I’ve been looking for mountains Our “product” is a service, and it’s important to build and maintain around here. I also remodel houses and over the last 30 years my relationships, and understand your customer base and the wife and I have renovated 25 or so homes and my sons are very environment you work in. skilled home-remodelers as a result of that.

PROFILES: What initially attracted you to the position? What was it that you thought you could bring to LSSC? DR. SIDOR: It was Chuck (Mojock). Not so much as he actively recruited me, but working with him previously, knowing the quality and detail that he puts into programs, I knew this college was in great shape. I’ve inherited an institution that is outstanding in

April 2016

PROFILES: What makes for a great day for you?

DR. SIDOR: Seeing where somebody’s done something creative, felt comfortable enough to go out and take a risk. Not for themselves but for the students and the community. That’s what keeps me going. That’s the core of what a state or community college is about.

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Home

Decorate to Make a Difference

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ith regard to this month’s focus on the homeless, let’s take a look at ways to decorate without waste and put money back into our local economy to help build programs that may be used to get the homeless back on their feet and into safe havens of their own.

quite honestly, is everywhere! While furniture stores and “designer only” sources offer a vast array of furnishings and décor items, I also like to shop antique warehouses, secondhand stores, thrift stores and other sources for re-purposed products. These are the pieces that make a space unique.

One of the ways that we can aid the homeless is to support programs geared towards employing the homeless or putting roofs over heads. Shopping locally is one great way to help. Not just through training and aid programs provided by local tax dollars, but also through shopping locally, you help provide local jobs.

My goal in furnishing and decorating a space is to avoid being overly “matchy.” I consider overly matchy to be a room full of furnishings all from the same materials and finishes. By mixing wood with metal and light with dark, a space gains character.

I am often asked where I shop for furniture and accessories for my projects. The answer,

In shopping stores that carry re-purposed products, I often find one-of-a-kind pieces, which are used to accent a room or space.

If an oil painting from a thrift store or a garage sale speaks to you, don’t be afraid to reframe it to give it a more updated or custom look.

Remember, some famous artwork has been sold at family garage sales and secondhand stores.

Let’s not forget that we can continue to help by donating any furniture or décor items which we no longer want, to organizations that help the homeless to get into starter housing. There are often sources to accept and disperse furniture at local churches or not-for-profit organizations.

As I mentioned last spring, it’s a great time to get rid of excess. Get rid of those things that are piled up in corners or in a spare bedroom or in

a “junk drawer.” Cleaning is often the first step to getting organized and beginning a decorating project.

While furnishing an entire room with thrift store goods may be good for a college student or young newlyweds, I still encourage you to shop local.

Some of my favorite sources for furniture and décor are local retailers that are familyowned and have been in our community for years. Some find it convenient to shop online; I find it beneficial to look at the quality of a product and try it out for size and comfort. In many cases, I find a better price locally than those I find online.

Just recently I purchased a new piece of art from a local art show. After hanging the piece, I began to look around and realized how many pieces of art I have purchased in recent years from this same local notfor-profit art organization that benefits our community. Other pieces were made by my daughter or me or were purchased locally.

My work is on display all over, due to the fact that I am hired to design model homes and businesses, as well as private residences.

By finding unique pieces, I am able to create a look that can’t be easily copied. Go out and see what you can find right here in our own backyard. Check out local stores, support local artists and craftspeople. Find some unique pieces and make your home different than any other!

Leah D. Conner Interior Designer LeahDConner.com

One of the ways that we can aid the homeless is to support programs geared towards employing the homeless or putting roofs over heads.

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April 2016

Wolf Branch Sink Preserve

Written By Devin Collins

When most people talk about Real Florida, Real Close, the first thing that comes to mind is a preserve or a spring. A river or a lake. Yet, most may be surprised to find that Lake County has a hidden gem to offer that you wouldn’t normally associate with Florida. It’s a distinctive natural cycle that affects people on a day-to-day basis.

Nestled away amidst a densely developed area, near Renninger’s Flea Market in Mount Dora, Wolf Branch Sink Preserve offers curious explorers a unique opportunity to witness a natural phenomenon that is uncommon to Lake County - a flowing waterfall! Yes, an actual waterfall in Lake County, Florida. One of two, in fact. The 154-acre preserve has been owned by the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA) since the 1990s. It holds the distinction of being a “seasonal wonder,” since the sink is largely dried up during the dry season and rarely features a waterfall, except after heavy rainfall. It is only open to the public on rare occasions as it’s dependent on rainfall for its existence.

How is something like this relevant to the average person? Well, chances are your drinking water originates from Wolf Branch Sink Preserve. That’s because this large sinkhole gathers stormwater runoff from five square miles of wetlands in the area. The water collects into the small branch, which pours downhill forming the waterfall.

It then flows down a tiny “ravine” to a sinkhole where it slowly dips back into the underground aquifer that provides public drinking water. For this reason, Wolf Branch Sink Preserve serves as one of Lake County’s most sensitive hydrological areas.

Sunday, March 6, was one of the rare occasions the waterfall is open to the public and this writer took the opportunity to visit Wolf Branch Sink Preserve. Upon my arrival, I parked my car and walked downhill into the sinkhole where the waterfall lay in wait. A group of employees from the Water Authority were onsite to happily greet everyone who came to witness this unusual event.

Several employees took people back to the waterfall and guided them through the process by which the waterfall contributes to the aquifer. Others were onsite to explain how the aquifer works and how sensitive it is. From everything that I heard, I don’t believe they could have further emphasized how important it is to protect the aquifer from pollutants and various sources of runoff.

Another topic of discussion that was frequently brought up by employees was the damage that can be inflicted by seemingly insignificant substances and activities, such as fertilizing our lawns.

More often than any of us care to admit, we become so blind with pouring various types of fertilizers into our yards to make the lawn look presentable, that we forget how excess fertilizer will eventually make its way from lawns into our waterways through the process known as runoff. As employees from the Water Authority explained, this can have lasting damaging effects on our lakes, rivers, and ultimately the aquifer, which in turn can affect our drinking water.

However, the LCWA says that the solution to this problem is simple.

They merely encourage homeowners “to fertilize lightly on their lawns.”

Wolf Branch Sink Preserve serves as a model for water conservation and showcases how fragile our waterways and aquifer remain. It is a lesson for all of us on how seemingly innocent daily activities, such as fertilizing our lawns, can ultimately impact the aquifer and likely our very own drinking water. Some may argue that the two are irrelevant to one another, but ask anyone from the Lake County Water Authority and they’ll tell you how sensitive yet important an area like Wolf Branch Sink Preserve is to the industrial developing modern world that surrounds it. For this reason, Wolf Branch Sink Preserve is a true hidden gem. It is a testament to conservation and why these efforts are so important. We may not realize it, but the ecosystem around us provides us with everything we need to thrive.

In short, our health depends on the health of the ecosystem. If it should fall ill, so shall we.

UExperience N W I‘RealN FDlorida.F RORealMClose.T’ H E G R I N D www. R eal F lorida R eal C lose.com/FOCUS April 2016

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Strengthening Local Manufacturing

Written by Christine Cruz

Local businesses in Lake County are a major factor in creating a sustainable longterm economy that encourages intelligent, responsible growth. In part, this is due to owners being vested in their community, economically and civically. Lake County’s Economic Development and Tourism Division (LCEDTD), an office of the Lake County Board of County Commissioners, has been tasked with the mission to retain, attract, and grow jobs in Lake.

“Lake County (EDTD) has identified the manufacturing sector as one of Lake County’s most important industries, and has engaged in multiple initiatives aimed at strengthening the industry locally,” according to Adam Sumner, Manager at LCEDTD. One of those initiatives, is the creation of a new website aimed at fostering B2B (business to business) relationship building. “The website seeks to unify the manufacturing industry, market Lake County manufacturing businesses, foster increased pride in the industry, and create new connections, with the overall goal of helping to stimulate the economy,” continued Adam.

Currently there are multiple companies listed on the site, including Electron Machine in Umatilla. C.A. Vossberg, President of Electron Machine states, “The Made in Lake County website allows Electron Machine to nework with other local manufacturers. Good channel-partner relationships can ultimately provide additional value to end customers, with lower costs and high levels of customer service. Electron Machine already has partnerships with some other manufacturers in Lake County. I hope that this website will help foster additional partnerships.”

Electron Machine manufactures Industrial Instrumentation. In 2013, they were recognized by Governor Rick Scott at the Governor’s Innovators in Business Awards, winning the Export Excellence award in

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a major market. The current product line is centered on in-line refractometers; a variant of a design first patented in 1957 by company founder, Carl Vossberg Jr. These devices measure the density (concentration) of liquids flowing through a pipeline or in a tank, for safety and control purposes in the food, chemical, and pulp/paper industries worldwide.

When asked what his expectations are from the site from a manufacturer’s business perspective, C.A. stated the site could result in additional business for Electron Machine (customers), it could help with suppliers (vendors), and it could also help with future personnel and staffing needs (citizens living in Lake County looking to work within a specific manufacturing industry).

Another initiative the EDTD is working on is encouraging local teens to look at these industries as a potential career path.

Starting with 150 high school students, they gave tours of willing facilities and focused on technical careers in the manufacturing industry. They plan to expand the number of high school students in the upcoming quarters, as well as add different careers into the tour, such as graphic design, as manufacturing companies need many different types of occupations filled to run efficiently.

C.A. has an open invitation to visit his award-winning facility in Umatilla to learn more about what they do. With their long history of utilizing a local workforce, he feels that this translates into a better product, especially in terms of quality and service, than his competitors can provide. He goes on to add that other manufacturers can also benefit from this business model. Having the support of Lake County allows Electron Machine to continue to strive for complete customer satisfaction.

The Made in Lake website targets manufacturing industries, specifically.

There is no cost to be listed on the website or to utilize its services. The process of

print • digital • television • radio

registering is simple, fast and free, and will provide significant exposure for a business and its products. Made in Lake will allow for companies to connect with suppliers, vendors, and buyers through the site.

The Made in Lake website targets manufacturing industries.

There is no cost to be listed on the website or to utilize its services.

Current Participating Businesses Electron Machine Corporation Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards Creative Graphics AFAB Enterprises Bangle Services Ltd Co Wipaire Powertech Ro-Mac Lumber and Supply, Inc Skybolt Anchor Coatings Tucker’s Machine & Steel Service, Inc. Data Graphics Inc Environmental Composites

MadeInLake.COM The website was first announced to a small group of business leaders during Lake County Economic Growth’s Manufacturing Summit on February 23 in Tavares. It was officially announced to the public via press release on March 8.

Carl Vossberg Jr circa 1950s

April 2016

DRaWinG To be helD may 2 aT 5:30Pm

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2016 Golf Car

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All net proceeds go to: The Villages Regional Hospital Auxiliary Foundation Maximum of 200 tickets to be sold.

Drawing for exact prizes listed, no cash option available.

Do not need to be present to win.

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352.516.2156

FLASHBACK

Mid-Lakes Motel The well-known Ramshackle Cafe on N. 14th Street in Leesburg has been open since 1989.

On that same spot in 1955 stood the Mid-Lakes Motel, which had a Howard Johnson’s restaurant adjoining it. As the restaurant was not associated with a Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge there was no familiar orange roof, but you could still enjoy all the famous HoJo’s fare.

The HoJo’s in Clearwater, Florida was the first property where the company enjoyed ownership and management of both Motor Lodge and Restaurant. Alas, the benefits of integration were never properly understood or implemented by Howard Johnson management.

The Leesburg Heritage Society and Historical Museum provided the photo.

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print • digital • television • radio

April 2016

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call us and Add your Email to our online concierge system and receive exclusive discounts and gifts US Hwy 441/27 Lady Lake, Fl. 32159

352-350-1210 www.alani.com

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Custom Doors, Moulding and Trim Have a door that’s ordinary, dull, boring, worn-out, beat-up, or just plain ugly? Let Ro-Mac Doors come to your rescue.

CUSTOM DOOR SIZING ~ Unlike the big box stores that only offer a one-sizefits-all solution, Ro-Mac Doors can cut down doors, shift hinge placement, change lock positions to fit your needs, and save you money. Custom jobs are never a problem for the most experienced door professionals in Central Florida.

CUSTOM MOULDING MATCHING ~ Ro-Mac Doors also manufactures both interior and exterior trim. Should you wish to match an existing profile for a renovation project, we have the equipment to precisely replicate the moulding profile, or we can fabricate an exclusive design to meet your individual taste.

installed in your home in no time. You won’t believe what a beautiful difference it will make, and it adds significantly to the value of your home. All for just a few extra dollars.

EXTERIOR DOOR REPLACEMENT ~ If you need to replace both the door and jamb (door unit), because of damage from rain, humidity, or sprinklers, we’ve got you covered there, too—from permitting to installation. We can install a fiberglass door unit with composite jamb and moulding that is completely rot resistant. A true set-it-and-forget-it door solution.

OUR FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIANS CAN...

• Fix torn or missing weatherstrip.

• Replace torn door bottom and adjust threshold.

• Help you with lock replacement, lock re-keying, moulding repair or replacement, matching existing custom moulding, interior and exterior door upgrades, even cut-outs for adding door lites (glass panels) to your exterior doors.

We’ll create a moulding template that matches your existing or custom moulding profile and custom craft the steel knives 100% in-house. This allows for exact reproductions for any restoration or individual preference in a timely, cost effective manner.

INTERIOR DOOR SOLUTIONS ~ We offer the most innovative solutions for replacing plain, worn-out interior doors in your home. Using specially milled interior doors, that can easily be re-hinged to match your existing door openings, you can have embossed panel and cathedral doors

Install New Decorative Glass Inserts re

Befo

r

Afte

Upgrade the curb appeal of your home while allowing more sunlight inside at the same time. Ro-Mac Doors can change the look of your entryway by reconfiguring your solid entry door to accept a beautiful decorative glass insert.

There you have it, a quick and easy way to create a stunning first impression as you enter your home - all without the cost of completely replacing the door itself.

We have a variety of stain and paint-grade mouldings ready for immediate pick up or delivery. We also have available a variety of rough lumber and keep an extensive supply of stain-grade poplar, oak and maple on hand. Custom order wood choices, such as cherry, walnut, mahogany, or pine are also available.

With our years of experience with today’s technology, we can create whatever look you wish to achieve.

DOORS

Lic# CBC1252465 Ro-Mac Lumber & Supply, Inc.

RomacLumber.com

352.314.3169

Open To The Public, Mon-Fri, 7am-5pm

700 E Main Street ~ Leesburg, Florida

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