08.31.17 Windermere Observer by Orange Observer

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Rosen JCC serves up 2017 ‘Taste.’ PAGE 8.

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VOLUME 2, NO. 48

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017

This time, it counts

Dr. Phillips came from behind to beat University, 24-21. The Panthers are 1-0. SEE PAGE 13.

SEMPER FI U.S. Marine Cpl. Shane Johnson is leaving next month on a hike across America as part of his goal of helping homeless and transitioning veterans. SEE STORY PAGE 4

Limited funds compel town to prioritize road repairs Windermere has delayed the scheduled repair for Willow Brick Road after the Park Avenue project cost more than expected. GABBY BAQUERO NEWS EDITOR

Severely cracked roads and potholes are a nuisance to drivers, but getting them fixed can be a costly endeavor. The high price can create a big financial hit to municipal budgets in charge of repairing SEE LACK PAGE 4

YOUR TOWN

Michelle Nardone

Danielle Hendrix

Windermere resident and U.S. Marine Cpl. Shane Johnson will embark on a cross-country hike across America next month to raise awareness for homeless veterans.

Chandler: ‘I am being pressured to resign’

PARTY TIME!

State House District 44 Democratic candidate Paul Chandler previously announced his intention to resign. GABBY BAQUERO NEWS EDITOR

Shortly after releasing a media statement announcing the decision to withdraw his candidacy from the

ORANGE COUNTY

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special-election race on Tuesday, Aug. 22, House District 44 Democratic candidate Paul Chandler has accused local Democratic leaders of pressuring him to resign. According to an email written by Chandler, representatives from the Orange County Democrats and Florida Democratic

Postal Customer

SEE CHANDLER PAGE 7

Keene’s Crossing Elementary celebrates new school year with Back-to-School Bash. PAGE 9.

NATURAL WONDERS Fourteen photographers will have their art displayed in a Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive photo exhibit at the Windermere Library, 530 Main St. The display, “A Visual Journey of Restoration,” will be available to view from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31. Photographers are Alan Dart, Jennifer Hew, Kathy Johnson, Lee Shank, Linda Oliver, Lynn Marie Folts, Mary Lander, Melissa James, Mercedes Martishius-Slagel, Michelle Nardone, Michelle Wilson, Patricia Sanders, Phoebe Gonsalves and Susan Kirby. The drive on the Lake Apopka North Shore begins at Lust Road and ends on Jones Road. It is open until sundown Friday, Saturday, Sunday and federal holidays.

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SATURDAY, SEPT. 2

YOUR CALENDAR

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017

THURSDAY, SEPT. 7

FOOD TRUCK NIGHT 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, at Lakefront Farmer’s Market at Summerport Village, 13790 Bridgewater Crossings Blvd. Kick off the Labor Day weekend with familiar and new food trucks. (321) 209-4695.

FLORIDA SIMULATION SUMMIT 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Orange County Convention Center, West Concourse, 9800 International Drive, Orlando. Hosted by Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and the National Center for Simulation. The theme is “Experience the New Reality.” The event will showcase the transformation and advancement of transportation, medical, architecture and engineering industries through the use of virtual and augmented reality. It will feature various simulation experts, and the keynote speaker is Elizabeth Baron, Ford Motor Co.’s Virtual Reality and Advanced Technical Specialist. The event cost is $25 in advance or $50 at the door. Parking is free. For registration, visit simulationinformation. com.

WIZARD SCHOOL 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, at the Windermere Library, 530 Main St. James Songster and his team from Magic and Mayhem Productions are back to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter. Join “Professor James” for orientation day at the HOPwarts School for Magical Creatures. Everyone is encouraged to wear their wizard robes and take their magic wands for this fun and magical program. (407) 222-4412 or magicandmayhemshow.com.

GIRL SCOUTS PARENT NIGHT 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (for grades kindergarten, first, fourth and fifth) and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. (for grades second, third and sixth through 12th) Thursday, Sept. 7, at Ascension Church, 4950 S. Apopka-Vineland Road, Orlando. Join the Dr. Win community for an afternoon of fun while learning about Girl Scouts. Contact Georgia MacKenzie at join_ drwin_girlscouts@yahoo.com. RETIRED EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at College Park United Methodist Church, 644 W. Princeton St., Orlando. The Orange County Retired Educators Association will launch this year’s theme, “Vitality: A Healthy Lifestyle,” and hold a welcome reception for new retirees and returning members. (407) 677-0446 or ocrea-fl.org.

SCRATCH PROGRAMMING 2:30 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Winter Garden Library, 805 E. Plant St. Scratch is a programming language and online community where one can create interactive stories, games and animations. Learn object-oriented programming with a drag-and-drop application. (407) 835-7323.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 8

LITTLE CHEF: RAINBOW FRUIT PIZZA 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at the Southwest Library, 7255 Della Drive, Orlando. Take the little one to learn about kitchen safety, pouring, measuring, smearing, tasting and presentation skills and interact with hands-on recipes. This class is a “Mommy or Daddy and me” event. Ages 3 to 5. (407) 5383124.

MONDAY, SEPT. 11

SOUTHWEST HOMESCHOOL CLUB 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, at the Southwest Library, 7255 Della Drive, Orlando. Ages 6 to 12. (407) 835-7323.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14

KARAOKE CLASH AFTER HOURS 5:45 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at Universal CityWalk, 6000 Universal Blvd., Orlando. The West Orange Chamber of commerce is presenting its annual Karaoke Clash at its next Business After Hours, and local government officials will be vying for the win. Tickets are $26 for Chamber members, $41 for others, and include valet parking, food, drinks and live entertainment. One dollar from each ticket will go to the West Orange Foundation. Tickets available at wochamber.com.

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Sheriff’s office: See something? Say something! Orange County Sheriff’s Office and District 1 Commissioner Betsy VanderLey led a public safety town hall to update residents on crime trends and crime-prevention efforts. DANIELLE HENDRIX

DID YOU KNOW?

STAFF WRITER SOUTHWEST ORANGE With sum-

Gabby Baquero

From left: Windermere Police Chief David Ogden, Windermere police officer Robbie Harrison, Ocoee police officer Brian Harris, Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn and Ocoee Police Chief Charles Brown.

Windermere, Ocoee police officers awarded for altruism

Windermere Police Chief David Ogden awarded Windermere police officer Robbie Harrison and Ocoee police officer Brian Harris with awards for their bravery in trying to save two people from a burning truck in Jacksonville. GABBY BAQUERO NEWS EDITOR WEST ORANGE Running toward danger is part of the normal job duties for police officers. But it was the last thing Windermere police officer Robbie Harrison and Ocoee police officer Brian Harris expected on the drive back to their hotel from class at the Institute of Police Technology and Management in Jacksonville. As part of their goal to become certified Drug Recognition Experts for their respective agencies, the two officers had been attending classes at the institute when they stumbled upon a crash scene Friday, June 16, on Interstate 95. The crash appeared to have occurred only moments before, Harris said. A box truck collided with an overpass support pillar. The two off-duty police officer immediately stopped and ran over to the scene to offer assistance. Their assistance turned into a

“That’s we’ve signed up to do — we run toward the danger.” — Robbie Harrison, Windermere Police Department

desperate seven- to nine-minute fight to save the lives of two occupants trapped inside before the smoke billowing out of the truck transformed into flames that could consume them alive. But their efforts were thwarted by the condition of the truck. The front of the truck was so smashed in, they struggled to pry the doors open and extract the driver and passenger. Upon noticing a glow under the dashboard by the floor on the driver’s side, the two officers began asking civilians who had stopped for fire extinguishers, bottles of water and tools to help pry open the doors. But the heat from the fire eventually killed the trapped passenger. “The flames become very strong on the passenger side, and eventually the recovery efforts on the passenger side, you could tell, were no longer needed,” Harrison said after a pause. “It was probably the most horrific thing I’ve ever witnessed.” The men then focused their efforts on the driver, who had managed to get himself halfway out of the vehicle, even though his legs were trapped by the smashed dashboard. “At one point, the flames started to really get going, and it was hard just to stand next to him,” said Harris, who has served the

Ocoee Police Department for 10 years. Once the local fire department arrived, firefighters extinguished the flames and extracted the driver. The driver was airlifted to a hospital but later succumbed to his extensive injuries. Although the efforts to save the men were unsuccessful, both officers and their peers know they both tried the best they could to save them. The traumatic incident and their show of bravery and altruism earned Harrison the Award of Valor — the highest award one could be given in the Windermere Police Department — and Harris was recognized by Windermere Police Chief David Ogden with the Chief’s Special Award. During the upcoming Sept. 19 Ocoee City Commission meeting, the roles will be reversed, and Harris will receive the Award of Valor while Harrison will receive the Chief’s Special Award. “We didn’t ask for any recognition because, in the end, we weren’t successful,” said Harrison, who has served the Windermere Police Department for nearly five years. “We did what we could, but the outcome was still the same, but after talking with some people, we realized we just did what we felt we had to do. And that’s we’ve signed up to do — we run toward the danger.”

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mertime coming to a close, residents of Orange County’s District 1 gathered recently to hear updates on current crime trends. Orange County Sheriff’s Office and District 1 Commissioner Betsy VanderLey hosted a Public Safety Town Hall on Thursday, Aug. 24, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. About 20 residents who attended got to hear officers discuss crime and how they are working to keep the community safe. Capt. Carlos Torres, a section commander for OCSO’s Sector III — which includes Winter Garden, Ocoee, Windermere, Dr. Phillips and MetroWest — told residents that according to a recent uniform crime report, violent crime in the area is down 15%. Non-violent crime, he said, is down 6%. Additionally, Torres said, there has been a year-todate decrease in auto burglaries, “That’s our biggest problem in Orange County — auto burglaries,” Torres said. “It’s not only exclusive to Orange County, it’s a nationwide issue. … Auto burglaries are our biggest challenge. They’re at times some of our biggest challenges to investigate and to prosecute. Why? Because they happen so quickly. A large percentage of the ones who are committing these crimes are under the age of 18. Sometimes, they’re 12, 13 or 14 years old.” Torres also gave residents some insight into why crime happens and his sector’s approach to reduce it. Crime, he said, is based on three elements — desire, ability and opportunity. “There’s two of those things that we have no control of — the desire and ability,” he said. “Where do we come into play? By reducing the opportunity. The majority of the crimes that we have probably could have been prevented if there was some type of opportunity for reduction.” Sector III’s approach to crime reduction includes targeting specific groups of offenders or areas to deter, disrupt and apprehend violators. Technology and enforcement, along with patrol-placement strategy,

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OCSO’s Crime Prevention Unit — staffed by certified Crime Prevention Practitioners — offers free residential and commercial security assessments. The assessments evaluate the security of a residence or business, according to OCSO’s website. Practitioners can provide tips on improving lighting, shrubbery, sliding glass-door locks and more. For more information on crime-prevention efforts in Sector III, contact Deputy 1st Class Yehuda Green at yehuda.green@ocfl.net.

is also an important aspect of crime reduction. Deputy First Class Yehuda Green added that effective crime prevention includes crimeprevention education, neighborhood watches, crime-free multi-housing efforts and community alerts. “We need to all be looking out for one another,” Green said. “If you see something, say something. This is what it’s all about — watching out for one another.” Residents also were encouraged to ask questions of the officers in attendance. Queries ranged from traffic-control issues to area coverage, to which Torres added that OCSO is currently hiring. “We have a consulting firm studying how we’re populated, and they will deliver a report the sheriff to tell him where opportunities are being missed or what is going right,” Torres said. “The sheriff proposed to the (Orange County) Board of County Commissioners a pay increase for deputies because we have the best, but in order to keep them we have to pay them like they’re the best. … That is in hopes that we can definitely pay our personnel what they need to get paid and retain our personnel. Not only is OCSO looking, everyone is looking for manpower.” For more information on OCSO’s approaches to crime prevention, visit ocso.com/ Crime-Information/CrimePrevention.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017

Best feet forward DANIELLE HENDRIX STAFF WRITER

Shane Johnson is going to need more than a few pairs of shoes for his upcoming hike. After all, covering 22 miles a day for 65 days straight is no easy feat. The Windermere resident, U.S. Marine corporal and founder of the Booyah Veteran Bus Project, is set to begin a cross-country hike on Sept. 11. He’ll trek coast to coast — from Florida to California — passing out 10,000 veterans’ hygiene kits to homeless veterans along the way. The Hike Across America is a collaboration between BVBP and Clean the World, a global health nonprofit that operates hygienefocused emergency relief initiatives, education and more. It all stemmed from Johnson’s desire to do something to help veterans in need. Johnson owns a mortgage company that conducts a large portion of its business in the Florida Panhandle area, where there are two large Air Force bases. While having a conversation with a realestate agent about veteran issues one day, the agent told him stories about local veterans who needed medical services but struggled to find transportation. “The transport to the VA is a shuttle bus, and they were walking eight to 15 miles, sleeping on park benches and then taking a two-hour shuttle ride,” Johnson said. After returning to Orlando, he knew it was time to do something to help homeless veterans and those without transportation. “I’ve built businesses but never a nonprofit,” he said. “I went back, sat and thought about it and said, ‘The first part is to market it.’ I got with a couple of friends and

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HIKE ACROSS AMERICA Shane Johnson is set to embark on his cross-country trek on Sept. 11 and will finish it in California on Nov. 20. To sponsor his efforts and find out how you can help, visit facebook.com/getonthebuswithus.

Observer “If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

said, ‘Why don’t we raise awareness with a hike?’” CROSS-COUNTRY TREK

The first hike, which took place last year, spanned from the Veterans Affairs hospital in Lake Nona to Panama City. This year, Johnson will embark on the trek across America to continue raising awareness. The hikes represent the many homeless and transitioning veterans who have to walk to a VA hospital. They are split into 22-mile intervals to represent the number of veterans who commit suicide each day. “We finished (last year) on Veterans Day and started to develop the project,” Johnson said. “As I was on the hike around election time, there were so many stops and issues with veterans we spoke with. I thought, ‘We have to do more.’” As he hiked last year, he began to notice the transitioning problem. Veterans are trained, conformed and built to know everything about their mission, but it becomes hard to convert that knowledge to civilian life once out of the military. “This is more of a grassroots effort: If we want to change or build something, we have to be bigger,” Johnson said. “The idea behind it was to be epic.” This year, Johnson has combined forces with Clean the World to distribute more than 10,000 veterans’ hygiene kits, which include essentials such as soap, toothpaste, deodorant and socks. “I said, ‘Why don’t I walk across America?’” Johnson said. “We can combine efforts and show the local community that businesses can work together to give back to the community. I’ll be the face and do that part, if you guys can help us with the development of the nonprofit.” Johnson will visit 20 cities over the span of the hike, passing out the kits, visiting homeless shelters and speaking on the importance of inspiring and reinvigorating homeless veterans. JOIN THE RANKS

Although his wife, Missy Buchart, can’t help but worry a little bit about his safety over the span of the hike, she’s also been by his side, supporting every step of the way.

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944 Publisher / Dawn Willis, dwillis@OrangeObserver.com Executive Editor / Michael Eng, meng@OrangeObserver.com Design Editor / Jessica Eng, jeng@OrangeObserver.com Senior Sports Editor / Steven Ryzewski, sryzewski@OrangeObserver.com News Editor Gabby Baquero, gbaquero@Orange Observer.com Community Editor / Amy Quesinberry, Danielle Hendrix

Windermere resident and U.S. Marine Cpl. Shane Johnson will embark on a cross-country hike across America next month to raise awareness for homeless veterans.

“It’s a wonderful cause; I’m very supportive of the cause and effort,” she said. “This is a huge problem that is overlooked or underserved. It’s a huge issue. … It’s a big part of what I believe in, but at the same time he’s going to be gone (for a while). It’s going to be interesting. It’s a huge sacrifice, but it’s kind of the same thing you end up doing if you’re in a military family. “My sacrifice and our sacrifice as a family is much smaller than what the average military family would go through,” Buchart said. “What we’re doing is nothing compared to what they’re doing. Unless you have a military person in your family, you don’t think about the sacrifices the average military family has to go through. It’s out of sight, out of mind.” The hygiene kits cost about $10 apiece, and Johnson needs to raise the funds to pay for all 10,000 kits. Anyone interested can sponsor the hike, contribute and follow him on his journey. Those interested in helping sponsor the funds for the hygiene kits can contact their distributor, Clean the World. “We’re showing people it’s multi-faceted,” Johnson said. “You’re an entrepreneur, you give back. You’re a family man, you can do things to show your children there is good in the world. You can show love and compassion and sincerity, no matter what your role is. The main thing is that

Lack of funds limits repairs those roads, and Windermere is no exception. Willow Brick Road in Windermere’s The Willows community is one of those roads in need of repair. Even so, it currently ranks third on the town’s priority list of the road-repair projects it aims to tackle in the near future. “We never really had a road maintenance program until a few years ago, when we hired a company to look at the pavement on each of the roadways that we’d had paved around the town of Windermere,” Town Manager Robert Smith said. “Then based on that information and data, we ranked roadways as far as the priority and what needed to be done first and they came up with the probable cost of improving those roadways.” For Willow Brick Road, the probable cost is about $440,000, which includes the cost of mill-

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ing, resurfacing and sidewalk repairs. The town anticipates to have enough money for the project between 2019 to 2021, Smith said. But 2019 is not soon enough for The Willows HOA president Richard Watkins, who recently asked Town Council members to consider moving up the project because of the hazards it presents. The town’s original goal, Smith said, was to start the project in October 2018, but plans changed following the completion of the Park Avenue project by Windermere Elementary School, which ended up costing about $200,000 more than town staff had anticipated. Because the town only sets aside $400,000 every year for road maintenance projects, the extra cost created a setback that led to a delay in the roadway repair for Willow Brick Road, as the town’s charter prohibits the council from

borrowing more than a certain percentage of money to fund town projects, Smith said. To further complicate matters, the town had been considering an innovative method called microsurfacing to fix the roadway, which would have reduced the project costs to $220,000, Smith said. However, the town later discovered that this type of repair method, although cost-effective, is not approved by the Florida Department of Transportation. “What we don’t want to do is throw good money at something bad that puts us in the same situation that we are in right now in 10 years, when we could have just milled and resurfaced it for $440,000,” Smith said, referring to the expected lifespan of the roadway if the town had chosen to pursue the microsurfacing method.

amyq@OrangeObserver.com Staff Writers Brittany Gaines, bgaines@Orange Observer.com Danielle Hendrix, dhendrix@OrangeObserver.com

ABOUT BOOYAH VETERAN BUS PROJECT

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The Veteran Bus Project is a three-phase program that seeks to assist homeless and transitioning military veterans. The first phase is raising awareness, much of which is being done through the hikes. The second phase involves refurbishing transit buses into mobile showers, which provide a safe place for veterans to clean up and get a meal or haircut. The final phase involves transitional housing and a “boot camp” program that provides veterans with vocational training in the industry they desire to enter. For more on the Booyah Veteran Bus Project, visit booyahveteranbusproject. com.

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even one person can make a difference. “From the military side, we are trained and developed and built to overcome anything in life, we just need to be inspired,” he said. “We just really want the word out there; we want people to join in.”

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So, for now, the town will focus its efforts on the road project up next on the town’s to-do list — widening Second Avenue on the west side of Main Street. The project, estimated to cost about $900,000, is currently in the sixmonth design phase. The council expects to begin workshops in September or October, Smith said. “The second project on the list is Second Avenue,” Smith said. “That road is in pretty bad shape, and when we looked at it at first, we thought, ‘OK, are we just going to go ahead and do a resurfacing or are we going to improve that roadway to get it to where it should be?’ And that’s the route we’re taking right now, which includes some stormwater improvements, and the widening of the roadway because you can’t even get two cars to pass each other.”

Michelle Gentry, mgentry@Orange Observer.com Cyndi Gustafson, advertising@Orange Observer.com Tony Trotti, ttrotti@OrangeObserver.com Customer Service Representatives Allison Brunelle, abrunelle@Orange Observer.com Katie Rehm, krehm@orangeobserver.com

The Windermere Observer is published once weekly, on Thursdays. It provides subscription home delivery. The Windermere Observer also can be found in commercial locations and at our office, 720 S. Dillard St., Winter Garden. If you wish to subscribe to, visit our website, OrangeObserver.com, call (407) 6562121 or visit our office, 720 S. Dillard St., Winter Garden.

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WINDERMERE OBSERVER The Windermere Observer (USPS 687-120) is published weekly for $40 per year ($50 outside of Orange County) by the Observer Media Group, 720 S. Dillard St., Winter Garden, Florida 34787. Periodical postage paid at Winter Garden, Florida. POSTMASTER send address changes to the Windermere Observer, 720 S. Dillard St., Winter Garden, Florida 34787.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017

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Stills from video surveillance belonging to the homeowner.

Police still searching for burglars Two male burglars stole electronics from a Windermere residence Sunday, Aug. 20. GABBY BAQUERO NEWS EDITOR

Windermere Police Department detectives still are searching for the two burglars who were caught on camera stealing electronic equipment from a Windermere home Sunday, Aug. 20. The two burglars, described as a white male and black male, broke in through the front door of the residence at about 1:50 a.m., said Windermere Police Detective John Allen. Video footage of the incident captured by the homeowner’s video security system depicts one of the men knocking on the door and quickly retreating to the left side of the home.

After a few seconds, the same man returned to the front door and struck it repeatedly with an unidentifiable object to the sound of glass shattering. Once the man smashed the door open, a second man holding a rifle joined him. The men then proceeded to enter the home and can be seen running in and out of the home carrying various large objects. According to a press release from the Windermere Police Department, the men stole a 65-inch LG 4K television, a 17-inch Dell laptop and five computer monitors. The homeowner, who can monitor his home security cameras via his smartphone, immediately returned home once he realized his home had been burglarized, Allen added. Police ask anyone with information to contact Detective John Allen at (407) 909-5306 or jallen @town.windermere.fl.us.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017

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House District 44 Democratic candidate Paul Chandler is facing a pending lawsuit against him and, allegedly, outside pressure to formally resign from the race.

dler, Hodge had been hounding him to resign even before he announced his withdrawal. “For some reason, he’s refusing to send in his paperwork to withdraw from the race even though he issued a public statement that he is not intending to run anymore,” Hodge said. “I guess he thinks he’s holding the party hostage. … It seems pretty juvenile. I’ve made multiple attempts to contact him. I’ve sent emails, text messages, made phone calls, but he won’t reply to me.” According to state law, the Democratic party has five days to nominate a replacement for Chandler once, or if, Chandler decides to officially withdraw. But if a judge rules Chandler never met the qualifications to run per state law, the Democratic party

will not be allowed a nomination. The lawsuit, which Chandler said he is confident he will win, accuses him of not meeting the two-year residency requirement needed to run for state office. According to court documents filed with the Leon County Circuit Court in Tallahassee, Chandler was registered to vote in a Missouri election as recently as November 2016. Emphasizing the hard work he’s invested in this race, the Democratic candidate said he plans to make his ultimate decision on his own terms. “I have made this race my top priority this year,” Chandler said. “As the only candidate to step forward to run without the recruitment of the Democratic Party, I have the right to officially end my

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Party have bombarded the candidate with emails, calls and unannounced office and home visits. Chandler is the sole Democratic candidate in the special election race that seeks to fill a vacant seat caused by the appointment of Eric Eisnaugle to the Fifth District Court of Appeals. Republican Robert “Bobby” Olzsewski won his party’s primary Aug. 15. Chandler, who also is facing a lawsuit against him that seeks to disqualify him from the race, said his party’s pressure for him to resign is what drove him to send out Tuesday’s press release announcing his intention to resign. However, Chandler said he’s had a change of mind and is unsure of whether he’ll commit to a resignation and file the required paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office. “Based on the harassment of the Orange County Democrats, Wes Hodge, the chairman, coming to my apartment and to my office unannounced, and the Florida Democrat Party to resign and submit the paperwork ASAP, I am being pressured to resign,” Chandler said. “With the feedback of grassroots supporters who actually believed in our campaign, I am still considering options.” Hodge, chairman of the Orange County Democrats, did not deny he has made multiple attempts to contact Chandler so they could name a new nominee and have adequate time to prepare them before the election Oct. 10. However, according to Chan-

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amilies got to escape the rain and snack on foods from around Central Florida for a few hours Sunday, Aug. 27, during the Rosen JCC’s “A Healthier Taste of the J.” The event featured various health-related vendors and familyfriendly activities, and guests were encouraged to try food from culinary vendors in attendance.

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Does the thought of scaring people excite you? Do you have an evil habit of hiding and waiting to jump out at someone? Then the Winter Garden Masonic Lodge has a volunteer gig just for you. The lodge is holding auditions for its first Panic on Plant Street haunted house at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, and Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the lodge, 230 W. Bay St. Mimi’s Community Theater is conducting the tryouts. Lorraine Patria, the theater’s founder, said those auditioning do not need to prepare a monologue or wear a costume. “As we narrow down the characters, we may ask them to do certain sounds or movements needed for the part,” she said. All ages, teens and older, are invited to audition. Of particular interest are twin girls (think “The Shining”). For information about the audition, contact Patria at (407) 864-5029 or lpatria212@yahoo. com.

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The haunted house will be open for guests from 7 to 11 p.m. Oct. 27 through 29 and 31. Mike Kilgore, a Masonic officer, is known for his portrayal of Uncle Sam and Santa Claus at lodge events. Now he’s going in a different direction as Spiky the Clown this Halloween. Kilgore said the house will feature a maze appropriate for guests 8 and older to walk through and the six rooms will carry different themes. In addition to Spiky, guests can expect to see Sheba the Gorilla Girl and a fortuneteller, as well as a graveyard and mad scientist lab. A family-friendly area called the Chicken Coop will be available for younger children, and parents can even leave their little ones there while they enjoy the haunted house. Tickets are $10, and the lodge is setting up a way to pay online through the Panic on Plant Street Haunted House Facebook page. The money raised will help support the six local schools in the Masonic lodge’s Adopt-a-School program. In the next few weeks, you

might catch a glimpse of a character dragging around a coffin at the Winter Garden Farmers Market to promote the event. Some of the downtown merchants have gotten involved, too, sponsoring the house through donated products or financial contributions. Kilgore participated in a haunted house last year in Ocoee and was eager to do it again, but he thought Winter Garden needed one of its own. “There’s no haunted house down in Winter Garden,” he said. “I said, ‘Why aren’t we doing a haunted house?’ The guys at the Masonic lodge agreed, and so we’ve been building ever since.”

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SPORTS

Olympia volleyball coach gets win No. 150 The first game of Mitch Sadowsky’s ninth season with the Olympia Titans was win No. 150 for the veteran coach. STEVEN RYZEWSKI SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

Steven Ryzewski

Mitch Sadowsky addresses his team during a timeout of a preseason match at West Orange Aug. 17.

Perhaps more than anything else, the significance of Mitch Sadowsky’s 150th win as head coach of Olympia’s volleyball program is that it hammers home two truths. First, the veteran coach has had some talented players and memorable teams come through his program.

HIGH

Ronald Teague III snagged three interceptions for the Olympia Titans in their preseason game against Lake Nona. Page 14.

Second, he is, in fact, a veteran coach. Starting his ninth season this fall, he has one of the longer single-school tenures in Central Florida. “I think if you’d told me nine years ago that I’d have 150 wins, I’d probably have laughed a little bit,” Sadowsky said during practice last Friday. “It is a pretty cool SEE TITANS PAGE 12

Team effort

The Windermere Wolverines volleyball team played its first regular-season game Aug. 28, hosting nearby Olympia High. Olympia won the match, 3-0. More photos are available at ObserverPreps.com.

The volleyball team for The First Academy improved to 2-0 Aug. 24 with a clean sweep of Boone. Sisters Matti and Elli Mckissock led the way — Matti had five blocks and seven kills while Elli had 23 digs and five aces.

Dr. Phillips senior Jennifer Jung shot a one-under par 35 for the Panthers girls golf team in a 192-211 win over Olympia Aug. 22 at Orange Tree Golf Club.

Steven Ryzewski

LPGA golfer Jacqui Concolino, center, relies on personal trainer Andrew Noble, left, and golf pro Kenny Nairn to keep her at the top of her game.

Smart Fitness owner Andrew Noble and Kenny Nairn, a golf professional based in Windermere, are coming up on a year of partnering together to help LPGA pro Jacqui Concolino take her game to the next level.

STEVEN RYZEWSKI SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

OCOEE

t’s a Saturday morning in August, and Jacqui Concolino has just finished her workout. With some downtime between the RICOH Women’s British Open at the beginning of the month and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open that began Aug. 24, Concolino took advantage of the opportunity to return to Central Florida, where she resides — and where her team is. That team includes Andrew Noble, a certified personal trainer and the owner of Smart Fitness in south Ocoee, where Concolino just finished her workout. It also

includes Kenny Nairn, a Scottish PGA Professional and a managing partner at Central Florida Golf, who also happens to be a Windermere resident. One of them has known Concolino since she was a standout junior golfer with a lengthy drive, while the other got to know her through a Lifestyle Family Fitness gym in Hunter’s Creek. Now, though, they’re a dynamic duo of sorts for the fifth-year pro on the LPGA, and on this Saturday, they are conferring with their client on a plan of action that she will take with her on the road in Ottawa. After all, through their shared client, the two local professionals are a team that hopes to put Concolino in the best possible position

to continue her successful professional career. “Andrew and Kenny have developed a really good relationship over the last 10 months,” Concolino said. “They talk to each other when I’m on the road. They’ll say, ‘Hey, this is what Jacqui’s doing in her swing, is there anything she can do in the gym?’ We’re always bouncing ideas off each other.” THE PARTNERSHIP

Nairn has an extensive golf résumé and has made the acquaintance of many golfers over the years, but he still remembers the first time he observed Concolino hitting off tee. SEE ONLY PAGE 12

Two standouts for the Dr. Phillips football team picked up scholarship offers this last week. Senior wide receiver Davarius Bargnare was offered by the University of Kansas, and senior linebacker/defensive end Joe Gulla was offered by Army.

Dr. Phillips senior kicker Sterling Stockwell announced via Twitter that he has been invited to play in the BlueGrey Football High School All-American Bowl.

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017

‘Only a matter of time’

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Ronald Teague III Ronald Teague III kicked off his senior year of Olympia High football with three interceptions — including one returned for a touchdown — during the team’s preseason game against Lake Nona Aug. 18. And after a victory against West Orange the following week, Teague said this season should be a good one for the Titans.

Of all the different positions you’ve played over the years, is linebacker your favorite? Yeah, because you have to do everything, from covering someone to tackling someone to running someone down. This is the perfect position for me. What is your favorite part of the game? Definitely hitting someone. How do you feel after you’ve made an epic tackle? I feel unstoppable, like nobody can touch me, nobody can stop me. How long have you been playing football? Since third grade. I would get into trouble at school — like class clown — so football was my way of letting things out. How do you feel your team is doing so far this season? With everything we’ve been preparing for, it’s going to be a good season. Things are working.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

“It’s not often that you see someone that age, and especially a female, who hits the ball that far,” Nairn said. Not long after, Nairn started to train Concolino, who at the time was a prep golfer for Bishop Moore Catholic High in Winter Park. With that relationship now dating back more than a decade, Concolino said her chemistry with her coach is what has made the working relationship so successful. “Personality-wise, we get along very well,” Concolino said. “And then Kenny is a very good player himself — so I know that he knows what I’m going through in tournament mode.” The working relationship with Noble does not go back nearly as far — the two met in 2010 — but it has become an important one in its own right. Noble, then a trainer for Lifestyle, had observed the rigor Concolino — who was on a break from competitive golf at the time — exerted during her workouts, and he thought he could help her. The two worked together for two years, until Concolino turned pro in 2012 and began to travel a lot. After a few years on the tour, though, they reconnected early last fall, and the results have been tangible. “One of the things I mentioned to Andrew recently is that

THE BASICS SCHOOL: Olympia High YEAR: Senior POSITION: Outside linebacker HEIGHT: 5-foot-11 WEIGHT: 210 pounds

What is one thing you feel you need to work on? I need to work on watching game film as a player and not as a fan. What college do you hope to attend? Any school is good if I can get to play football, but my school is Florida State University. What would you want to study in college? Business. I eventually want to go to tech school and learn to be a barber. I want to open a chain of barbershops, so I want to study business so I know the business side of it. What do you like to do for fun? I like to relax. Me and my friends will go to the lake and chill or go to a friend’s house. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Super strength. I always want to be the strongest. — BRITTANY GAINES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

accomplishment when you take a couple minutes to look around and see what you’ve built. “I’ve been really fortunate to have some extremely talented teams ... our assistant coaches, as well — I’ve been really, really fortunate to have great assistants,” he said. Sadowsky’s milestone win came without much suspense, as the Titans swept Ocoee (257, 25-4, 25-3) Aug. 22 in their regular-season opener. Over his eight-plus seasons, Olympia has a 150-68 record — good for a .688 winning percentage, and an average of 18.6 wins per season. There have been some memorable and important wins, including four district-championship victories. Sadowsky’s teams also have made the playoffs in seven of his eight complete seasons, advancing as far as the regional final three times. More than just wins and losses, the tenure also has seen players come through the program and go off to college careers, and

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SEASONS: Nine WINS: 150 LOSSES: 68 WINNING PERCENTAGE: .688 DISTRICT TITLES: Four PLAYOFF APPEARANCES: Seven (out of a possible eight) REGIONAL FINAL APPEARANCES: 3 (2010, 2011 and 2013) COACH’S MOST MEMORABLE WINS: Against The First Academy in five sets in 2013 and against Westminster Christian in 2016.

not a bad time for Sadowsky — an off-campus coach who, in addition to his role with Olympia, is a small-business owner and trainer — to reflect on the relationship he has had with the school. “I can’t even begin to tell you how fortunate I’ve been to have a really supportive administration,” Sadowsky said. “They’ve been great to work with.”

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Sadowsky recently married one of his assistant coaches, Laura Tomes Sadowsky. By his own admission, this year’s Titans (1-1) figure to be one of Sadowsky’s most intriguing lineups. Although he has had talented teams in the past, the veteran coach believes he has a unique mix of experience (five players have at least two years of varsity experience), talent and chemistry on his roster. “The depth is there, and we’re also very heavy on leadership — and it’s not just our captains,” Sadowsky said. That talent and depth certainly will be tested this fall, though, as Sadowsky and his staff have put together a tough schedule for his program. Highlights for Olympia include games against West Orange (Aug. 31), The First Academy (Sept. 19) and district rival Dr. Phillips (Oct. 3), in addition tournaments such as the Winter Park Showcase (Sept. 15 and 16) and the Swing for the Cure event (Oct. 13 and 14). For the moment, though, it’s

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The results have been impressive, and all the more so considering the way technology and communication enable the trio to work toward a common goal. Of course, at the end of the day, it is Concolino who puts the plan into action, and Noble said her work ethic is at the core of her success. “She works hard, and it’s showing — it’s definitely showing,” Noble said. By showing, Noble is referring to her growing number of top15 finishes. Concolino recently placed 13th at the Ladies Scottish Open in late July, collecting a healthy $25,094 in winnings. A month before that, she finished 10th at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. The highlight of 2017, though, was Concolino’s third-place finish at the ShopRite LPGA Classic the first week of June. Remarkably, the career she is

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now enjoying — along with the $927,486 in career earnings — was once in doubt. Feeling burnt out after her collegiate career at Vanderbilt University ended in 2009, Concolino took some time away from the game at a competitive level. After some downtime, she found she had rediscovered her passion for the game that had been the center of her world since middle school. “I just needed to find myself,” she recalled. “I never gave up on my dream, but I had certainly pushed it to the side and wanted to make sure that it was what I wanted to do, personally.” Now, especially given her recent success, she is more motivated than ever. “I’ve been what you would consider ‘in the hunt’ probably a handful of times this year and — it’s addicting,” Concolino said. “It’s an adrenaline rush.” Helping her to continue to her chase of that adrenaline rush will be her West Orange-based team. And if Nairn’s hunch is correct, there may still be an exciting ride ahead, as the veteran golf pro believes his client is primed to become an elite player on the LPGA Tour. “It’s only a matter of time — her peers know it and a lot of the broadcasters know it,” Nairn said. “She has all the capabilities to win — and when she does win, she won’t just win once.”

Titans boast depth

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I feel like I’m getting stronger when I’m on the road for three or four weeks, rather than breaking down,” Concolino said. Indeed, Noble will confer with Nairn on any trends or areas of importance within Concolino’s game — something as specific as a particular muscle group that Nairn would like to see strengthened or stretched out. Then, he’ll put together a program that she will do while she is on the road.

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WINDERMERE OBSERVER

Come-from-behind victories for Panthers, Titans highlight action

HARVEST COMMUNITY (1-0) AT WINDERMERE PREP (0-0), 4:30 P.M. It will be a small victory if the Lakers — who have had weather complications cancel their Kickoff Classic and Week One games — play a full game. Their defense will be tasked with containing a runheavy attack that produced 262 yards in Week One.

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Konrie Brown got the bulk of the carries in the Titans’ big win at West Orange.

THURSDAY, AUG. 24

sami got The First Academy on the board early and often in this blowout.

Dr. Phillips 24, University (Orange City) 21 After trailing 14-0 at halftime, the Panthers outscored University 24-7 the rest of the way. A touchdown run by Devodney Alford with 1:18 remaining put Dr. Phillips ahead, and Stephen Dix recovered a fumble to seal the deal.

Cypress Creek 37, Windermere 0 An improved effort on defense for the Wolverines could not offset the offense’s continuing struggles to move the ball. Windermere also had several injuries in the defeat.

FRIDAY, AUG. 25

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Olympia 20, West Orange 16 After trailing 16-14 at halftime, a touchdown pass from Joe Milton to Shane Hooks put the Titans ahead. A goal-line stand late in the game sealed the victory for Olympia, which defeated West Orange for the first time since 2012 (teams did not play in 2015 or 2016).

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