07.13.23 Southwest Orange Observer

CURL UP WITH A GOOD

Join the city of Ocoee and the West Oaks Library for stories, songs and crafts to celebrate the city’s new Florida Friendly Garden. The event is from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, July 20, at the Ocoee Lakeshore Center, 125 N. Lakeshore Drive. Families with children up to 5 years old are invited to bring a blanket, sit by the garden, sing a song and enjoy a story. There will be arts and crafts inside the Lakeshore Center and goody bags for all participants. Registration is required at bit.ly/3D49NhF. Space is limited. For more information, contact cmoser@ocoee.org.

COUNTY TO

Orange County District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson is partnering with several organizations to bring a food distribution to the community Saturday, July 15. It will begin at 10 a.m. at Kingdom Culture Church, 12201 W. Colonial Drive, Winter Garden.

Fresh food and other essentials will be provided by Orange County and community partners, including the Tildenville Safe Neighborhood Program and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Items will be distributed drive-thru style in the parking lot on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about this event, email district1@ocfl.

KOTK brings camp to Oakland

ANNABELLE SIKES

NEWS EDITOR

Kids of the King Productions is bringing its first musical theater camp to Family Christian School in Oakland this summer.

KOTK will produce “Heroes of the Faith,” a Christian-based musical written and directed by Jonathan Hickey.

Hickey is working closely with KOTK founder Amy Klahr Terechenok to bring high-quality performances that celebrate stories from the Bible.

The weeklong camp will be jampacked with activities and instruction that build performance skills, self-confidence and teamwork. Children will have the opportunity to learn from professional singers, actors, dancers, music educators and an award-winning director to develop vocal and musical theater techniques through small- and largegroup activities.

In six days, campers will learn and perform an entire Gospel-centered musical that includes lights, costumes, sets and props. The camp will culminate with a live stage performance of the musical for family and friends.

GET INVOLVED

WEBSITE: kidsotk.com

EMAIL: kits.otd.productions@gmail.com

ENROLL: bit.ly/3rrypxY

“I just wanted to see a Christian organization producing Christian shows that are high quality and are fun and funny,” Terechenok said.

“You just rarely see that other than at Christmas time. … I just felt like the community needed some sort of outlet for that … for the children to be able to be on the stage and live out their faith in what they’re saying … to really feel that from God.”

‘HEROES OF THE FAITH’

The show KOTK has chosen to produce this summer is “Heroes of the Faith.”

“Heroes of the Faith” is a superhero musical comedy that puts a new twist on the Bible’s most famous stories. Join Faith-Man, The Commandment Keeper and The Scarlet Thread as they band together to help a young comic book fan face fears and discover faith in God.

The show was co-written by Hickey and his friends Angie Elkins and George Livings.

“The story is told through the eyes of a young boy, Marshall, who imagines the Bible’s most famous characters as superheroes,” Hickey said.

“It’s designed to be fun, relatable and inspiring for anyone trying to live a life of faith.”

Terechenok said even though the show is all children, the audience of adults will love the production because they will be able to pick up on the tongue-in-cheek humor.

She said her favorite part to watch is the joy on the children’s and audience’s faces when the child lands a joke and delivers the lines perfectly.

“I hope the kids love being in it and that the audience loves watching it,” Hickey said. “And I hope the experience inspires some kids to go into the arts in the future.”

MOMENT OF FAITH

KOTK is a faith-based organization that aligns with Evangelical Christian beliefs.

The group is led by Terechenok who has spent 35 years as a professional actress.

Her favorite credits include “Hello, Dolly!” (Minnie Fay-National Tour), “Always, Patsy Cline” (Louise) and “Guys and Dolls” (Adelaide). For 32 years, she has been performing at Disney in Hoop-DeeDoo Musical Revue, Hunchback, Finding Nemo the Musical, Frozen Sing-A-Long and Monsters Laugh Floor.

Terechenok helped to run a simi-

lar summer camp at a local church from 2010 to 2016, but when the program ended, she knew she had to find a way to create the unique experience somewhere else.

“My close friends had written the six shows, all based on the Bible, the church did and I felt the shows were too good to leave on a shelf somewhere or to do just once,” she said. “I wanted to expand the ideas outside the church so even more people could be exposed to them.”

Terechenok said over the years before starting KOTK, she spent a lot of time conducting research. She found although there were a lot of musical theater camps all over the country, it was hard to find the few that were Christian-based.

She said even if the programs were Christian-

based, they didn’t necessarily perform Christian shows.

Terechenok’s children — Sam, 25 and Max, 20 — attended Family Christian School, run by Terri and Scott Schneberger, where she had previously directed five Christmas musicals.

Although her sons had graduated, the school asked Terechenok if she knew of anyone who would help to produce a Christmas musical.

After suggesting Hickey, the pair realized the school would be the perfect place to host the summer camp.

This is the first year Terechenok’s dream is becoming a reality.

“That’s God and that’s my faith that God allowed this all to happen,” she said. “We’ve gotten so many generous donations of funds and equipment and it just couldn’t be anything that we’ve done, it’s all God if you ask me.”

The program hopes to expand and to offer the camp at multiple locations. Terechenok said she would love for KOTK to be a package available for purchase where the group would be hired out to help put on a show at local churches.

The summer music day camp will run from July 17 to July 22 on the campus of Family Christian School, 608 W. Oakland Ave., Oakland.

The camp is $275 per participant and is open to children who are entering second grade through seventh grade in the 2023-24 school year. The show will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 22.

Courtesy photo

KOTC will put on ‘Heroes of the Faith’ this summer.

The Zombie Drug

ANNABELLE SIKES NEWS EDITOR

Local law-enforcement officers are warning the community to be aware of a new emerging drug trend.

Xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer not approved for human use, has been linked to an increasing number of overdose deaths nationwide in the evolving drug addiction and overdose crisis, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Last month, Orange County Sheriff John Mina hosted a press conference with Ashley Wright, assistant statewide prosecutor, and Capt. Darryl Blanford, sector four commander.

Mina and members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office narcotics squad announced the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization in Orange County and discussed the emerging threat to public safety and public health.

“About 80% of the fentanyl our drug agents have seized or bought undercover contained xylazine,” the OCSO said in a social media post. “We can’t stress how important it is that we share this information to prevent an increase in overdose deaths.”

THE ZOMBIE DRUG Xylazine, known on the streets as “tranq” or “the zombie drug,” is a powerful muscle relaxant and analgesic used by veterinarians to facilitate surgical procedures, safe handling and diagnostic testing in typically larger animals.

According to the NIDA, published human case reports note xylazine is a depressant that can cause drowsiness, amnesia and slow breathing and drop the heart rate and blood pressure to dangerously low levels. Other toxic effects reported include blurred vision, disorientation, staggering, coma, miosis and hyperglycemia.

Xylazine is referred to as the zombie drug because it can also deteriorate flesh at the injection site leading to amputation.

Heather Farmer, from the Equine Performance Veterinary Practice, said the typical dose of xylazine is two to three milliliters per thousandpound horse.

She said the drug is typically administered through the vein using an IV for sedation for minor procedures such as cleaning a wound, sewing up a laceration or even the filing of teeth. She said the amount yields about 20 to 30 minutes of good sedation during which the horse is still able to stand and knows where it is.

“For us, this is a huge deal, because it’s a drug that we commonly prescribe,” she said. “I leave some of my clients small amounts of this in small bottles or syringes because they use it to sedate the horses that flip them … or to top them off after a procedure or so they have some for emergencies. Some of these barns have chil-

dren who are coming to take lessons and stuff. … It’s a little bit easy to get if people aren’t aware and don’t take precautions to keep track of it.”

Farmer said the drug is common in veterinary practices and with the emerging trend, veterinarians need to be aware.

Anne Bingler, owner of local horse farm Crown Pointe Equestrian, said when she is administering the drug she makes sure she is double-gloved and wears a mask.

“Xylazine is one drug in my stable’s medicine cabinet that I take very seriously,” she said. “The thought of kids using this drug and handling it casually is frightening.”

OPERATION MOSCOW MULE

The OCSO unit broke up a drug trafficking ring selling fentanyl laced with animal tranquilizers in what was dubbed “Operation Moscow Mule” at the end of June. Law enforcement officers made 12 undercover buys from the ring.

Blanford said the case is significant. It’s like many others the department is now seeing, and the operation illustrates the growing trend of xylazine being mixed with fentanyl.

“Five years ago, you wouldn’t have even seen xylazine in any of the drugs,” he said. “It’s grown from 1% to 7% in 2018. Now, we’re roughly at about 80% of the fentanyl that we seize in undercover cases contains some form of xylazine in it, and those numbers are mirroring what a DEA source on a study (more than) 10 major cities in 2022 found; that they’re roughly about the 80% range as well. You can see that it’s accelerating at an extremely fast pace.”

Blanford said xylazine extends the effects of fentanyl, which is why even though the drug is so dangerous, dealers are putting it in an alreadyprofitable product. When combined with fentanyl, it can increase the potential for a fatal overdose.

“The second part of it is that if you’re using xylazine in your product, you’re taking some of the fentanyl out,” he said. “That’s more profit for you. Xylazine costs less than $100 a kilogram. It’s … very accessible. … Fentanyl is about $50,000 for a kilogram. … It’s not scrutinized. … It’s not a controlled substance; it’s controlled in the sense that only veterinarians can get it, but it’s not covered under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act like cocaine or some of the other drugs that you’re familiar with are.”

The scariest part about xylazine?

It’s a sedative, not an opioid. It does not respond to Naloxone, also known as Narcan, used to rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

“We’ve seen a lot of success in reviving people with Narcan who have overdosed on opioids, but Narcan does not work on xylazine; that’s how dangerous it is,” Mina said.

“We’ve had three overdose deaths this year in Orange County that are linked to xylazine, and we had two last year, so we can’t stress how

important this is to let our residents and visitors know the dangerous effect of xylazine in our community.”

Another issue is the arduous detection of xylazine. Blanford said the drug can come as a liquid or as a white or brown powder.

What the OCSO cannot stress enough is that when someone overdoses, the paramedics should be called.

According to Florida Statute 893.21, “a person acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing, or believed to be experiencing, an alcohol-related or a drug-related overdose may not be arrested, charged, prosecuted or penalized.”

“I know a lot of time, users don’t want to get the paramedics involved, because law enforcement is going to show up with them,” Blanford said. “But at the point where you’re using a Narcan and it’s having no effect, you probably have tranquilizer issue with your partner and you need to call the paramedics to get them some help.”

LOCAL IMPACT

Scott Allen, captain at the Winter Garden Police Department, said although the department is aware of the new trend, it has not been able to link any of the city’s overdoses to it.

Mike Bryant, deputy chief at the Oakland Police Department, said the trend is “concerning,” although officers at the department have responded to few fentanyl overdoses.

“To date, we have not seen fen tanyl cut with xylazine,” he said. “Fentanyl is extremely hazardous to the public, and to all first respond ers who interact with those who may use it or distribute it. We will remain vigilant and current with trends in hopes of keeping everyone safe.”

Jayson Bonk, deputy chief at the Windermere Police Department, said he has noticed the uptick in public safety alerts about xylazine being combined with fentanyl.

“Our officers are trained to administer life-saving treatments using Narcan/Naloxone,” he said. “(Because) xylazine is a sedative, Narcan does not reverse its effects. We will continue to monitor this new trend and provide training and guidelines to our officers as they become available.”

Ross Addeo, a narcotics agent assigned to a task force working with the Ocoee Police Department, said there is, unfortunately, always going to be a new drug trend and the best thing people can do is educate themselves and stay away from drugs.

“The doctors used to write prescriptions for pills like they were candy,” he said. “Then the pill mills got shut

down and they got real strict, so people went to heroin. Then, they found out they could do fentanyl because it’s 100 times more potent and you can get it cheaper, but everyone started dying. Now, they’ve kind of learned to administer the proper dosage so hundreds of people aren’t dying by the day like they used to be. Then they found out about xylazine, which is the new thing.”

Addeo said he personally hasn’t seen too much xylazine but has seen it pop up.

“Fifteen years ago, if someone went to buy something like a bag of cocaine or heroin or weed or a pill; if they were buying something, then that’s what they were getting,” he said. “Now, you have no idea what you’re getting. … That’s the scary part … every drug we’ve bought has come back testing positive for fentanyl.”

Addeo said there is about a 75% chance any drug bought today has some trace of fentanyl. He said he believes it’s only a matter of time before xylazine takes over.

Addeo also warned against another new trend where dealers are making pills out of popular drugs using pill presses that replicate the shape, size and color of real prescription pills. He said the pills are typically made in bright neon colors with unique shapes to attract younger children and to mirror candy.

“Xylazine is here to stay,” Blan-

An emerging drug trend of a veterinarian medication xylazine, which does not respond to Narcan, is being cut into fentanyl.

“Fifteen years ago, if someone went to buy something like a bag of cocaine or heroin or weed or a pill; if they were buying something, then that’s what they were getting. Now, you have no idea what you’re getting. … That’s the scary part … every drug we’ve bought has come back testing positive for fentanyl.”

— Ross Addeo, narcotics agent

Windermere student earns

Rotary’s first Global Grant

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

Sid Kasi found his purpose a few years ago, when his family was visiting relatives in Sholur, India. When he saw the poor conditions at a rural hospital, he knew he needed to help.

“They didn’t have a lot of funding, staffing, resources,” Kasi said. “When the pandemic took place, there were a lot of people to chip in for the COVID relief hospital, but the smaller ones didn’t have the support.”

In 2020, Kasi, a 17-year-old Windermere resident, started a nonprofit organization called Collaborative Healthcare Foundation, with a focus on rural communities in developing countries.

When he heard of a major fundraiser to construct a hospital in India, he and a few friends started calling anyone they thought may be able to make a donation toward the project.

“We called friends and family, and a majority came from social media,” Kasi said. “It was really just making contact with as many people as we can.” They ultimately raised about $11,000, which was added to the contributions of other nonprofits also helping to build the hospital. The funds raised globally produced a 400bed unit in 48 days.

“This project was what got me involved in the local health scene and really exposed me to health inequities internationally,” Kasi said. “When we work with these villages, we want to improve health on all aspects.”

This includes expanding hospitals and primary health care centers in rural communities, providing necessary equipment, and offering education.

To further the foundation’s mission and spread the work around the world, students who join CHF agree to adopt a primary health care center in rural areas of other countries — wherever they have connections. They serve as their own leaders on the projects.

So far, most of the work has been done in India, Kasi said, but the foundation has donated to hospitals in Ethiopia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Guyana and Jamaica, with another project about to begin in Colombia.

“That’s what makes our foundation special,” Kasi said. “It’s not one group of people trying to manage all these regions. We provide the framework, guidance and support for them to manage their own.”

Members also can learn from one another and create their own

COLLABORATIVE HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION

The nonprofit was founded by Siddarth S. Kasi to help provide essential health care to people in need. This includes developing medical facilities in underdeveloped areas around the world.

Members work to build productive partnerships with governmental bodies, nongovernmental organizations and citizens to make a positive impact on people in need. They are primarily high school and college students who desire to serve and give back to their communities:

n Crooms Academy of Information Technology – Arvin Kanna;

n Cypress Creek High – Harinie Jeyisanker;

n East Ridge High – Lydia Guthrie;

n Dr. Phillips High School – Felipe Urebe;

n Lake Buena Vista High –Vaishnavi Sivasamy;

n Lake Highland Preparatory School – Sid Kasi, Paul Samuel, Peter Samuel, Aadi Trehan, Pranav Mahendran, Ayna Batheja, Jude Kamme, William Beamer, Tochi Onyia, John Ghanem, Iraj Kalia;

n Lake Nona High – Sharenya Vijayshanmugham;

n Lawton Chiles Middle – Meera Kannan;

n Leesburg High – Barath Balaji;

n Olympia High – Riya Murugappan, Laxmi Viswanathan;

n Orlando Science Middle/High

Charter – Sneha Prabakar;

n University of Central Florida – Shreyaa Selvakumar, Vishanth Murugesan, Janapriya Vijayshanmugham, Rithvik Rajkumar;

n University of Florida – Shivani

Sivasamy;

n Windermere High – Taran Raj, Diya Raj, Ananya Rajkumar, Tanvi Koneru, Sanjeev R. Balaji;

n Winter Park High – Vignesh Somasekar.

Others include Nneka King, a student nurse practitioner at Orlando Regional Medical Center; Edison Tenezaca, an internal medicine resident; dental college student Thalitha Coelho; Vahishta Engineer, of Connecticut;

Aadi Shankar and Tharunika Manikandan, of the United Kingdom; Aarya Shankar

Akshara Manikandan, of India; and 10 more from South Africa.

successful projects. A byproduct of being a project leader is members gain confidence and speaking skills as they reach out to organizations for donations.

In August, Kasi is planning a global health care forum so students can share their experiences with one another. Most of the members are local high school and college students, including many from Lake Highland Preparatory School, where Kasi attends.

The nonprofit is a great way to obtain volunteer hours, but Kasi said it becomes so much more than a way to check off a school requirement.

“It’s a lot more demanding than any volunteer effort, but it’s really fulfilling,” he said. “Something we do is infrastructure projects for these hospitals, and one of the students is building a separate women’s ward in the hospital. So, when you visit that hospital, it wouldn’t have existed without you. … It’s these tangible changes.”

The idea behind the CHF is to collaborate with key members in the adopted rural community and to build a task force there before any funds are distributed or any work is done. They talk to residents, business leaders and doctors to discover the needs.

“What these collaborations create is community health becomes a shared burden,” Kasi said.

GLOBAL MOVEMENT

One of Kasi’s projects is in his adopted village of Karadimadia, India, where he raised funds to build a multipurpose waiting area. He calls it an “unglamorous shed outside the hospital,” but without it, pregnant women, elderly patients and the critically ill would be waiting outside in the southern Indian heat for their appointment time.

“We were able to speak to the people there, and we were able to build the hall for them — and now they’re using it also for medical awareness sessions and medical camps,” Kasi said. “People come in from the village, and they’re incentivized to come because they’ll get a free screening or something and they’ll learn best health practices.”

Kasi said he is dedicated to helping people in India and feels a familial connection to the villages.

“Those are places I’ve been in, even well before I started this foundation, visiting families,” he said. “I’d go to these places and, I think as I grew older, seeing the stark contrasts between the urban areas that had so much … and compared to the rural areas. There’s an inequity, a gap between the rural areas, even within

CLOSE TO HOME

CHF has done work in Central Florida, too, by connecting with two homeless services — Matthew’s Hope and SALT Outreach. Kasi’s organization has donated medical equipment and sponsored Christmas events for the two nonprofits.

Kasi wants to bring health care projects to these local programs as well. He said he is creating software to predict the risk of heart disease that would benefit the homeless and their future health care needs through preventative care.

developing countries, and their urban counterparts. Being exposed to that difference, coming from two different backgrounds — that’s what gave me that desire.”

Once he reaches college, his goal is to obtain other skills and meet people who can help the foundation.

“The ultimate goal of the foundation is for it to be a global movement because the structure is very scalable and everyone has their individual projects; there’s so much room for expansion,” he said.

GRANT

GLOBAL

Because of his extensive work to better the lives of people around the world, Kasi is the recipient of the first Global Grant through Rotary International. This grant, worth close to $65,000, will benefit a CHF sub-foundation called Tiny Feet, an initiative that aims to improve maternal health and decrease maternal and infant mortality in rural communities of developing countries.

Kasi said CHF, with the help of the Indian health ministry, has identified 50 rural primary health care centers surrounding the Coimbatore, India, district that are in desperate need of equipment in the delivery rooms. The grant monies also will go toward creating preventative care programs for pregnant women.

The primary health care centers cater to several villages and receive the high-risk pregnancies, and even though they have more resources for delivering babies, they are overcrowded and ill-equipped.

The Tiny Feet initiative would provide industry-standard equipment, such as obstetrics tables, fetal dopplers, baby warmers, crash carts and power backup systems.

“This project really started when I visited one of the primary health care centers we were working with,” Kasi said. “If you go into their labor ward, the obstetrics table is just a metal table, sometimes rusted, just flat metal tables. … It’s below the par of the health standards you’d expect. It was really impactful, that visit. I went on a Tuesday, and on Tuesdays all the expecting mothers come to the hospital for their checkup, so you can see how many people depend on the hospital for their deliveries.”

“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.”

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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and

Courtesy photos

The goal of the Collaborative Healthcare Foundation is to work with governments, medical doctors and nonprofit organizations in underdeveloped countries to create better clinic conditions for pregnant women, the elderly and the critically ill.

4 BUCKET LIST: Visit Questenberg Castle

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

Ever since I discovered a few years ago I — well, the Quesinberry family — had a castle, the first item on my bucket list has been a trip to Germany to visit the land of my ancestors.

I made it happen last month with my younger sister, Jeni McNeill.

Genealogy can take you to some fun places in the family tree, and we discovered the origins of our last name was a village nestled in the southern Harz mountains. Better yet, above the village stands the remains of a castle which was built around 1250 — and it’s ours!

Getting to the village of Questenberg, Germany, wasn’t as simple as we thought. First, it’s in the middle of Germany — in the middle of nowhere. No airports or train stops anywhere near there. So, we rented a car after getting off a train in Düsseldorf and drove four hours to the village of our people.

It’s an understatement to say

I was excited to see the name Questenberg on a street sign. We had arrived! After years of anticipation, we were there!

The village was as quaint as I imagined — but eerily without people. Where was the parade to celebrate the arrival of two actual Quesinberrys?

Because there was no one to inquire about the hike up to our castle, we wandered up and down the main street — the only street — in the village until we happened upon an obscure sign that pointed us in the direction of the small, unpaved trail. It was tucked, nearly out of sight, behind a church, Mariä-Geburt-Kirche (St. Mariae’s Nativity), that has been there since the 14th century. A sign out front described its history, but it was written in an illegible script and in German.

So we trudged onward and upward. Someone had placed wooden planks in various places along the path to help hikers, but we still wheezed our way up the 230-foot-high steep slope.

Not knowing what to expect at the top, the anticipation had me almost sprinting. Almost. We first came to a clearing, which had part of the southern castle wall and a yellow flag declaring the Förderverein Questenburg association’s work. This lower castle slope gave us a nice view of the village below, but we knew a grander view awaited us, so we continued the trek.

As we rounded a corner, there it was — the stone archway I previously had seen only in photographs. It was glorious, and it was everything I expected. As we walked through the arch, which served as the castle gate, we turned right to take in the spectacular view of the village of Questenberg. Red and brown roofs of the half-timbered houses dotted the landscape below, and across the way, on another mountain, we located the queste — an ancient pagan sun wheel, birch wreath and peeled oak trunk — which is part of a traditional spring festival that takes place on Pentecost weekend. A banner announcing this year’s Questenfest was hung at the village entrance, so the tradition continues even today.

Jeni and I traipsed around the palace grounds, discovering a few cellar vaults — which we did not enter — and the remains of the keep.

At the north end of the castle ruins was the stump of the keep that stands about 26 feet high and was open at the top. There was an opening at the base, and I did crawl inside the tower to take a look.

There were several images at the base of the stone wall that research-

ers suspect were carved by prisoners. We kept prisoners!

Various flowering plants dotted the land, and I imagined what glorious gardens once were planted there.

In my online research, I learned the castle was protected by a separate gate building, like those found in medieval town gates, and a rampart and moat. With all these security measures and the mighty fine construction, it probably would have been difficult for potential enemies to penetrate the main castle and hurt my people. According to tradition, it

was never possible to conquer the Questenberg!

The fortifications were probably built in the early 13th century, and several different counts, or lords, occupied the castle, including the Counts of Beichlingen, who are believed to be its builders of the castle.

I read it was last used as a military facility during the Thirty Years’ War. After it fell into disrepair, many of the stones were used as building material for houses in Questenberg. I took a pocketful of rocks myself.

Over time, the remains were all

Jeni and I trekked up to the ruins of Questenberg Castle, and the top of the mountain offered views of the quaint village below.

but swallowed by brush and overgrowth.

Luckily, a small support association, Förderverein Questenburg (-burg, although the village is -berg), was formed a decade ago to preserve the castle ruins and clear the land.

Some regional funding was approved to secure the “Romanesque gate building visible from afar as the most valuable and rare monument substance of a medieval castle complex of the 13th century.”

Yeah, we had some pretty cool ancestors.

I took dozens of photos and could have stood there for hours looking over the village, taking in the scenery and soaking up the Questenberg vibe, but we made our way down the path and back into the village. At the base of the hike, near the church, stands a wooden oak statue of a knight with a drawn sword. This was to signify the medieval city was its own jurisdiction. We took more photos to document our visit, looked around for people to talk to and, finding none, walked back to our car and said goodbye to our castle and village.

I will never forget that experience, and I encourage anyone who discovers something this exciting in their heritage to add the trip to their bucket list and make it happen.

Windermere mourns loss of Doug Bowman

Bowman served on the Parks & Recreation Committee and was an avid tennis player who had a passion for teaching the sport to children in the town.

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

Doug Bowman felt such a passion for the game of tennis that he wanted to make sure all the children in the town of Windermere had the opportunity to learn and love the sport as much as he did.

Bowman — a 20-year volunteer with the town’s Parks & Recreation Committee and the Tennis Subcommittee and the person in charge of Windermere’s tennis camps — died July 2. He was 59.

Many folks in the town shared their condolences on Facebook after learning about the Windermere resident’s sudden death, including several former and current town council members.

“So heartbreaking,” Council Member Mandy David wrote. “Doug was a major part of this committee and will be deeply missed.”

“His dedication to this committee and the town was admirable,” wrote former Town Council Member Chris Sapp.

Friends and colleagues described Bowman as dedicated, generous, passionate and focused.

“Doug was a great guy,” said Nora Brophy, who has served on the Parks & Recreation Committee since 2009. “Doug was one of those guys — he always showed up. Every meeting, every event, Doug was always there. He always did the right thing. … He was passionate about kids learning how to play tennis. Het set up the

whole tennis program. … Just about every kid growing up in Windermere grew up taking tennis lessons at the Main Street courts.”

The town is holding a memorial service at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 15, at Windermere Town Hall. Plans are also being made to rename the community tennis courts to Bowman Courts.

“We are heartbroken at the passing of our dear friend and longtime member of Parks & Recreation Doug Bowman,” Windermere officials shared on the town’s Facebook page.

“Doug was a wonderful, generous man who was devoted to our town, our parks and especially our tennis program.”

Tracy Mitchell also joined the Parks & Recreation Committee in 2003, and she and Bowman enjoyed a close 20-year friendship.

“He was just the most fantastic guy,” she said. “He was always there.

I run the Halloween festival, and if things would get chaotic, I could look at him and he always had this quirky little smile like, ‘It’s fine, what do you need?’”

Mitchell said Bowman was like a brother to her.

“He was just a great friend; I’m going to miss him,” she said. “I can’t say enough about him. It’s such a loss to the town. We worked on so many projects in the town. He was just always there; he was the guy who was always there. We just became really good friends.

“(His death) was so sudden; I think

that’s what’s so hard,” Mitchell said. “It’s been difficult for all of us. He was just a big part of this town. He was the ultimate good guy.”

Mitchell said Bowman made a big deal about getting tennis incorporated into the town’s recreation pro-

Renovations pave way for Windermere Prep stadium

The Windermere Preparatory School multi-use fields are finally under renovation — as well as the track.

“The initial idea of the field, and the upgrade and the renovation of the field, probably started about two years ago,” Windermere Prep Director of Operations Steven Shehan said. “As the programs have continued to grow, we have such a limited space and the constant usage of the field would wear it out (as well as) trying to maintain it. So, putting in an artificial turf field allows us to have so many more practices, sessions and activities out there.”

Once plans were made, the Lakers had to wait six months for the approval from Orange County to move forward with the project.

“We are going to put in a new track also around it so that now we are training where we call it the main field,” Shehan said. “We are going to become a stadium, and we are going to be able to showcase all our events, all our sports in the fall, winter and spring out there.”

The rubberized track around the

athletic fields probably has been one of the most expected and requested facilities for the school in recent years.

“We’ve waited quite a long time for this facelift that our facilities definitely needs,” head track and field coach Devin Bennett said. “We are one of the only teams that doesn’t

have a regular facility, and, in spite of that, we’ve been able to qualify people to the state championships during the years that I’ve been coaching. So, it really is encouraging that now that we are finally receiving the proper facility, that we expect a lot more improvements in our team. It’s an exciting time for the kids and for

left eye — but he never let it stop him from excelling at the sport.

“He always wanted to be a tennis player, and he did (become one),” Buddy Bowman said. “He became a very good 4.5 player. … An open-type player, a college player, like myself, would be a 5.0 or above. But Doug got to 4.5 with one eye. He never used that as a reason to not play, he didn’t use it as an excuse, he just played with one eye.”

Doug Bowman was playing tennis just before his death, Brophy said. Buddy Bowman said his brother died of heart complications.

Doug Blackford Bowman was born Nov. 30, 1963, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Robert L. and Charlotte S. Bowman. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Louisiana State University and a master’s degree at Cornell University. In the early 1990s, he managed the Little Rock Club event center; this year he marked 25 years of service at Wyndham Corporate in Orlando.

He was an active member of the United States Tennis Association and participated in many adult team tennis activities. He won the 2020 Pro Am Del Ray annual event in Florida.

In addition to his brother, of Little Rock, Arkansas, Doug Bowman is survived by a sister, Charlotte Bowman Murphy, North Little Rock, Arkansas; an aunt, Sandy Jones (Eugene); three nephews; five great-nephews; and a great-niece.

grams and he was super smart on the subject.

The love of tennis ran in the family, as Bowman’s older brother, Robert “Buddy” Bowman, also played. Tragedy struck when Doug Bowman was 8 and a tennis ball severely damaged his

A celebration of life was planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 19, in Little Rock.

In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Doug Bowman’s beloved Shar Peis, memorial donations can be made to Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando at bit. ly/44Awgyq.

“You’ll have more kids willing to run in (physical education) class, if you’re not running on concrete. (It) will probably reduce the number of injuries, I’m sure. It (also) will make it a safer environment because you have a surface that has traction, that is softer, so you don’t have to worry about kids playing lacrosse, American football, soccer falling on the track. It just makes it a more professional environment for athletes.”

— Windermere head track and field coach Devin Bennett

track. It just makes it a more professional environment for athletes.”

However, despite having renovated fields and a new track, the Lakers won’t be able to host any track competitions or football games until lights are installed on the facility.

“Without lights, we don’t have the time to do it,” Athletic Director Pat Hollern said. “We don’t have that type of facility to handle, so this is more so of just a practice-preparation type (field and) track.”

the community and for the parents and coaches, as well.”

Before renovation started, Windermere Prep student-athletes who play football, lacrosse or soccer had been training on the same multi-use fields for more than 20 years.

“It basically didn’t drain well, and so it got torn up very easily,” Shehan said. “The middle of the field would become torn up, and then, once it got torn up, it’d be difficult to play, then you got into soccer season and you needed a leveled surface. Then, there’d be potentials of injuries and things like that because the middle just got big divot cuts in it.”

However, these new fields will provide student-athletes with an even playing surface that won’t be a liability.

“I think one of the main benefits will be being able to have a suface that can withstand rain and will be a viable practice facility for us,” head football coach Brian Simmons said. “The track is just as important as the football field, (because it will give) the athletes a good surface to run on.

“You’ll have more kids willing to run in (physical education) class, if you’re not running on concrete,” Bennett said. “(It) will probably reduce the number of injuries, I’m sure. It (also) will make it a safer environment because you have a surface that has traction, that is softer, so you don’t have to worry about kids playing lacrosse, American football, soccer falling on the

The school received the official approval of the project in September 2022, and it took until June for it to get all permits and plans done so construction could break ground. The base work of the fields will take about six weeks, so by the end of July, the installation of the turf will take place. The track will be the last item added to the renovation, as well as two beach volleyball courts that will be located on the back of the fields.

“We are also putting in pavers around to the visitor side,” Shehan said. “We are putting a fence around he stadium field, we are having a walkway.”

This is not the only renovation Windermere Prep currently is having completed on campus. The weight room recently was expanded, the gym floor — basketball court — was redone, as well as the training room, and the lower school playground was renovated.

According to a State of the School announcement, the Lower School playground is “a much-needed and highly anticipated upgrade for (the) youngest Lakers. The two courtyards on the interior of each of the lower school neighborhoods will be resurfaced and repurposed with turf for alternative play a real as well. This offers age-appropriate play space for each individual grade level.”

The renovation of the multi-purpose fields, the track and the playground is estimated to reach completion at the beginning of August, before school starts.

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

Courtesy photo

Tennis was an important piece of Doug Bowman’s life, and he enjoyed sharing the game with his friends and family.

The project is expected to reach completion at the beginning of August.

Andrea Mujica

Children in the Lower School will have a new playground.

Sweet memories

The art center in the town of Oakland is a sea of orange with the opening of its latest exhibition, “Oakland Citrus History.” The walls of the Healthy West Orange Arts and Heritage Center at the Town of Oakland are lined with oil and acrylic paintings paying tribute to Oakland’s origins as a citrus town, but the exhibition includes more than that. There are citrus crate labels, a yarn tapestry, jewelry, old farming photographs and artifacts from the citrus industry.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a smudge pot, a type of orchard heater that kept the citrus trees warm to avoid frost damage during freezing nights.

There’s even a nod to the Florida Orange Bird, which was the result of a contract between Walt Disney World and the Florida Citrus Commission for a sponsorship of a Magic Kingdom tropical bird show attraction.

Guests can learn about Oakland’s original citrus and vegetable farms, the major players in the industry and contributions to Florida’s agricultural history. And the center’s youngest guests can play at the pint-sized farmers market near the youth art.

Nine youth artists participated: Ellie Baloun, Hazel Bowman, Eden Hawthorne, Luke Hawthorne, Oliver Hawthorne, Story Hawthorne, Bailee Oliver, Finley Richardson and Orion Richardson.

The rest of the center is filled with the work of 31 adult artists: Jordan Barrette, Hope Barton, Jon Burket, Nicole Burnett, Sara Burr, Gary Clark, Tom Eder, Edward Ellerbe, Mike Goodge, Lisa Harris, Deborah Hawthorne, Ralph Kahn, Julia Kalei, Heather Lorenz, Caron Loveless, Cheryl McLean, Violeta Militaru, Dave Minichiello, Melody Oliver, Kelly Vick Pounds, JR Ramoutar, Ann Rank, Sharon Repple, Jennifer Richardson, Ronda Richley, Constance Sartor, Laura Serdiuk, Studio CPL, Hayley Ulloa, Jessica Ulloa and Karen Whitacre.

Ramoutar is a frequent exhibitor in the heritage center art shows and typically creates custom pieces based on the theme. Sometimes, creativity comes in the most unusual forms, including the idea for his oil painting “Crush Soda.”

“I wanted to feature an iconic orange-flavored food item, so I walked up and down the aisles in Publix until the soda caught my eye,” he said. “It was between orange marmalade or soda.”

Ramoutar, an Ocoee resident, has been an artist for one-andone-half years, and while he kept his creative juices flowing through music production wood-working and martial arts, he found painting to be a natural detour.

“I have always appreciated visual

artwork but couldn’t afford to purchase any when we bought our home, so I decided I can paint my own,” he said.

He said he always finds time to produce art for the Oakland shows.

“I love that the town funds projects like these because they are so important for the community,” Ramoutar said.

“I’d love to see these exhibitions continue to grow in attendance and participation.”

Winter Garden resident Pounds considers herself a lifelong artist but turned it into a professional gig three years ago. For the Oakland exhibition, she painted “In Gratitude to the Orange Picker” in acrylic impasto on gallery-wrapped canvas after finding a copyright-free historical postcard in the Florida state archives to use as a reference photo.

“It brought up such vivid memories of watching the workers pick our family

grove,” Pounds said.

She said she loves bringing stories to life through her art to make people feel good, and she is grateful for the town’s opportunities to share her art.

Deborah Hawthorne, who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Flagler College, has two pieces in the Oakland exhibition: “Oliver’s Bowl” and “Roper Summer.” Her four children also have pieces on display: Luke, 10, submitted his still-life painting, “Bowl of Oranges,” and his print, “Orange Blossom.” Oliver, 8, submitted his print, “The Bird and the Branch.” Eden, 6, submitted a print, “The Orange Open,” and a collage, “The Hall of Oranges.” Story, 4, submitted a collage, “Flower Lady.”

“I created ‘Oliver’s Bowl’ particularly for this exhibition,” Hawthorne said.

“I have four kids and we like to create art together. When I heard about this exhibit and that artists of all ages were welcome, I decided to set up a few projects that would help us create art that followed the theme. One of those projects was setting up a still life and all of us sketching and painting together.

“‘Oliver’s Bowl’ was the result of that process,” she said. “My son Luke also submitted his piece, ‘Bowl of Oranges,’ from that same still life.”

Hawthorne said she created “Roper Summer” slowly over the past year with no intention of showing it to anyone.

“During the summer of 2020 we sold our house in Winter Garden and needed to rent a place for the month of July,” she said. “It was a very emotional time, as we sold the house all of our kids were raised in, lost our family dog, and were just dealing with the chaos of what was going on in the world around us. Through friends of our family we got the opportunity to rent the Roper property on Lake Butler. Surrounded by beautiful vistas, orange groves and interesting mid-century architecture

I felt very inspired. …. I am forever grateful for that haven we had in the midst of the storm around us. I wanted

to create this piece to remember that.”

“Oliver’s Bowl” is acrylic on wood panel, and “Roper Summer” is oil on canvas.

Hawthorne, of Windermere, said she was inspired by the theme.

“My husband’s family has lived in Orange County for six generations, and his grandfather and father had a company that serviced and maintained orange groves all over Central Florida,” she said.

Her children’s inspiration for their printmaking and collage pieces were old citrus labels.

“I have always thought it a fascinating thing to create something from nothing on a blank piece of paper or canvas,” Hawthorne said. “I feel closer to my Creator when I make art. I love the way making art challenges me to observe closely and to problem solve when things look off. I am very nostalgic and like that art can be used to

OAKLAND CITRUS HISTORY

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and some Saturdays — through Sept. 1

WHERE: The Healthy West Orange Arts and Heritage Center at the Town of Oakland, 126 W. Petris Ave.

DETAILS: (407) 656-1117

remember. I also love that art can communicate truth and emotions in a way that words can’t.”

Her desire to make art more of a career took a backseat to motherhood for years, but through setting up projects for her children, she has been able to focus on creating again.

Clark, of Maitland, has two pieces on display: “Slices” and “In Shadow of the Oak,” two examples of the many styles of painting he does. He has been

Left: Nine youth, including these children, submitted art for the citrus exhibition.

Below: Mayor Kathy Stark, left, Oakland Presbyterian Church pastor Craig Sumey, Lynn Sumey and Town Manager Andy Stewart enjoyed opening night of the Oakland Citrus History exhibition.

an artist his entire life because of his “desire to create.”

“My motivation is purely to create and enjoy my creation,” he said. “I love all of my art creations, and those that don’t work for me, I paint over. My preferred genre of paintings is modern art.”

Ellerbe likes being in a collection with other talented artists. The Eustis resident has three acrylic-on-canvas paintings on display: “Coq A Vin” and “Running Rooster,” inspired by the free-range chickens and roosters that hang around town in Oviedo, and “The Farm,” which was inspired by the farm he and his wife lived on in Tennessee.

Ellerbe discovered art in the fourth grade, drawing and tracing comic books and album covers. He progressed to different mediums in middle and high school. He has sold his art since 1993 and has worked for advertising companies creating signs and painting billboards.

Forty adult and youth artists are participating in the Oakland heritage center’s current exhibition that pays tribute to the town’s citrus history.

Amy Quesinberry

“The High Life of Citrus,” by Julia Kalei.

Courtesy photos

Artist JR Ramoutar played on the orange concept for his piece, “Crush Soda.”

BAPTIST

First Baptist Church

Pastor Tim Grosshans

125 E. Plant St, Winter Garden (407) 656-2352

Sundays: 8:30 AM Traditional 9:45 AM Bible Study

11 AM Contemporary Wednesdays: 6 PM Awana

EPISCOPAL Church of the Messiah

241 N. Main St., Winter Garden Services: 8, 9:30, & 11 AM,

4 PM (French & Creole), 7 PM www.ChurchoftheMessiah.com

METHODIST

First United Methodist www.fumcwg.org

CHURCH DIRECTORY

STARKE LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH

PO Box 520, 611 W Ave, Ocoee

Pastor Jeff Pritchard (407) 656-2351 www.starkelakebaptist.org

CHURCH OF GOD

OCOEE CHURCH OF GOD

Pastor Thomas Odom 1105 N. Lakewood Avenue, Ocoee 407-656-8011

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH

241 N. Main, Winter Garden Services: 8, 9:30, & 11am, 7pm www.churchofthemessiah.com

METHODIST FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 125 N. Lakeview Ave Winter Garden Service Times 9:00 AM and 11:15 AM Phone – 407-656-1135 Web: fumcwg.org

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST WINDERMERE UNION CHURCH 10710 Park Ridge-Gotha Rd. Windermere, FL 34786 407-876-2112 Worship times:

9:00am Adult Sunday School

10:00am Worship www.windermereunion.org

Chick’nCone celebrates grand opening in Hamlin

The Pennsylvania-based fast-food chain celebrated a grand opening Saturday, July 8, in Hamlin.

The crispy, fried chicken sizzles as it’s tossed in a Buffalo Blue hot sauce. The dripping chicken tenders are delicately placed into a hand-rolled, sweet waffle cone before being passed over the counter to a waiting customer.

Hamlin residents now will be able to enjoy the popular fast food chain, Chick’nCone, following the eatery’s grand opening Saturday, July 8.

The Pennsylvania-based business was first founded by Jonathan Almanzar and Josh Lanier in 2014. Since then, the company has grown to offer locations across the United States and even two in Dubai.

The business is known to serve four primary dishes: the Chick’nCone, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and a chicken bowl.

Customers can choose from an assortment of sauces such as CinnaMaple, Yell BBQ, Kick’nRanch, Buffalo Blue and Peri Peri.

In addition, Chick’nCone offers delectable sides including cajun-seasoned corn, cajun-seasoned fries, and mac and cheese.

HAMLIN HOME

The Hamlin Chick’nCone, which opened in May, is owned and operated by three partners: Dave Sooklal, Mert Smith and Anddy Carmona.

Carmona said he opened a Chick’nCone in his hometown of New York before the business was shut down during COVID-19.

Following the pandemic, Carmona said he came to Orlando, where he met his current partners.

Smith, a Gotha resident, said he and his wife own a personal injury law firm in Orlando. Sooklal is a partner there.

Sooklal believes Orlando has grown in the last 10 years, but he has not seen as many new food concepts.

“I heard about the business and drove to the closest Chick’nCone location in Tampa and tried it,” he said. “That got me really engaged in the product, and my partners and I really believed in the concept.”

The trio said the process and the product is what attracted them to the company.

“The product is great, the food is amazing, the concept is really catchy, and then the process — the fact that you can hand roll a cone, fry some chicken, sauce it up, serve it — I just love it,” Carmona said. “It really brought me in, and once I tried the product, I was sold.”

CHICK’NCONE 16016 New Independence Parkway, Suite 110, Winter Garden PHONE: (407) 217-2968

Carmona said the concept of handheld, on-the-go chicken and waffles is what makes the business so unique.

“It’s delicious and it’s something that anyone can enjoy as long as you like chicken,” he said.

The Hamlin Chick’nCone is assisted by Jackie Quintana, who helps to lead the team with her two children, De’yanna and Jacob, who came from the Winter Park location.

“We employ a good number of high school kids, and I think it’s a good place for them to have an introduction into a job,” Sooklal said. “It’s a small business so we have a lot of control over what we do as opposed to big corporate organizations. We can cater to our and our employee’s needs.”

Smith said the growing Horizon West community drew them to the location, and he is interested in seeing what Hamlin will look like in the next few years.

“Also, to see how we can contribute to the community,” Carmona said. “Once we grow and become bigger, we can do more. We don’t want to just be a location in the community, we want to help and give back.”

The eatery said it hopes to partner with other local businesses and the community and to host events such as a jazz night or cornhole tournament.

“We’re looking to see how we can contribute and become part of the community, not just as business partners in the community, but also as upbringing the community and bringing people together and making sure we can progress as a community,” Carmona said.

Smith said the main goal with the business is to grow in the Hamlin community and beyond. In addition, the trio plans to open two other locations, although the exact place and timeline have not yet been determined.

Courtesy photo

Anddy Carmona, David Sooklal and Mert Smith have brought Chick’nCone to Hamlin.

Annabelle Sikes

Bay Hill estate sells for $1.3 million

Ahome in the Bay Hill community in Dr. Phillips topped all West Orangearea residential real-estate transactions from July 1 to 7.

The home at 9197 Bay Hill Blvd., Orlando, sold July 6, for $1.3 million. Built in 1973, it has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 3,378 square feet of living area. Days on market: 31. The selling agent was Ruthanne Martin, Suzi Karr Realty.

These are the highestselling homes in each community in West Orange.

DR. PHILLIPS

BAY HILL

The home at 9197 Bay Hill Blvd., Orlando, sold July 6, for $1.3 million. Built in 1973, it has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 3,378 square feet of living area. Days on market: 31.

BAY LAKES AT GRANADA

The home at 8956 Angelica Drive, Orlando, sold July 6, for $580,000. Built in 1983, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,172 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

GRANADA VILLAS

The home at 8229 Sorbas Court, Orlando, sold July 5, for $450,000. Built in 1986, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,616 square feet of living area. Days on market: 31.

ORANGE BAY

The home at 6366 Edge O Grove Circle, Orlando, sold July 7, for $510,000. Built in 1987, it has three bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,021 square feet of living area. Days on market: Seven.

TANGELO PARK

The home at 7617 Arezza Ave., Orlando, sold July 6, for $285,000. Built in 1959, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,532 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

TOREY PINES

The home at 8520 Redleaf Lane, Orlando, sold July 7, for $915,000. Built in 1990, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 3,005 square feet of living area. Days on market: 16.

VISTA CAY AT HARBOR SQUARE

The condo at 4862 Cayview Ave., No. 404, Orlando, sold July 6, for $400,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,447 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

HORIZON WEST ENCLAVE AT HAMLIN

The home at 4765 Terrace Bluff St., Winter Garden, sold July 3, for $855,000. Built in 2021, it has five bedrooms, four-and-one-half baths and 4,265 square feet of living area. Days on market: 30.

HAMILTON GARDENS

The home at 6256 Aralia Ivy Lane, Winter Garden, sold July 6, for $437,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 1,714 square feet of living area. Days on market: Five.

The townhouse at 6159 Juneberry Way, Winter Garden, sold July 7, for $425,000. Built in 2021, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 1,560 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

INDEPENDENCE/

SIGNATURE LAKES

The home at 6212 Point Hancock Drive, Winter Garden, sold July 3, for $525,000. Built in 2012, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,920 square feet of living area. Days on market: 12.

The home at 15740 Avenue of the Arbors, Winter Garden, sold July 6, for $450,000. Built in 2015, it has three bedrooms, two-andone-half baths and 1,800 square feet of living area. Days on market: 317.

LAKESIDE AT LAKES OF WINDERMERE

The condo at 8156 Boat Hook Loop, No. 308, Windermere, sold

July 6, for $375,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,442 square feet of living area. Days on market: 11.

LAKEVIEW POINTE

The townhouse at 7405 Duxbury Lane, Winter Garden, sold July 5, for $435,000. Built in 2018, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,810 square feet of living area. Days on market: 18.

LEGADO

The home at 9247 Legado Drive, Windermere, sold July 3, for $815,000. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,779 square feet of living area. Days on market: 31.

MABEL BRIDGE

The home at 11683 Acosta Ave., Orlando, sold July 5, for $665,000. Built in 2013, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,509 square feet of living area. Days on market: Four.

The home at 11725 Chateaubriand Ave., Orlando, sold July 7, for $600,000. Built in 2013, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,479 square feet of living area. Days on market: Five.

ORCHARD HILLS

The home at 4933 Palmetto Park Drive, Winter Garden, sold July 6, for $750,000. Built in 2017, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,735 square feet of living area. Days on market: 24.

OVERLOOK 2 AT HAMLIN

The home at 5317 Bowman Drive, Winter Garden, sold July 6, for $840,000. Built in 2015, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,762 square feet of living area. Days on market: Five.

PRESTON SQUARE

The home at 6590 Helmsley Circle, Windermere, sold July 6, for $532,500. Built in 2008, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,166 square feet of living area. Days on market: Four.

WATERLEIGH

The home at 8256 Bayview Crossing Drive, Winter Garden, sold July 7, for $645,000. Built in 2016, it has four bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 2,497 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

The home at 13624 Salamander, Winter Garden, sold July 6, for $601,740. Built in 2022, it has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 2,489 square feet of living area. Days on market: 28.

The home at 16778 Oakboro St., Winter Garden, sold July 5, for $539,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,705 square feet of living area. Days on market: 10.

The home at 16179 Mangrove Road, Winter Garden, sold July 5, for $474,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,689 square feet of living area. Days on market: 28.

WINCEY GROVES

The home at 16368 Orange Seed Lane, Winter Garden, sold July 3, for $620,000. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,235 square feet of living area. Days on market: 18.

OCOEE ARDEN PARK NORTH

The home at 1614 Amber Leaf Circle, Ocoee, sold July 5, for $560,000. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 2,883 square feet of living area. Days on market: 16.

BORDEAUX

The condo at 1985 Erving Circle, No. 108, Ocoee, sold July 3, for $215,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,234 square feet of living area. Days on market: Eight.

PRAIRIE LAKE VILLAGE

The home at 2418 Leaning Pine St., Ocoee, sold July 3, for $460,000. Built in 1998, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,190 square feet of living area. Days on market: Five.

PRESERVE AT CROWN POINT

The home at 2219 Donahue Drive, Ocoee, sold July 3, for $565,000. Built in 2018, it has five bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 2,899 square feet of living area. Days on market: 70.

SAWMILL

The home at 5136 Timber Ridge Trail, Ocoee, sold July 3, for $405,000. Built in 1989, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,732 square feet of living area. Days on market: 54.

TWIN LAKES MANOR

The home at 1211 Willow Creek Road, Ocoee, sold July 5, for $335,000. Built in 1980, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,563 square feet of living area. Days on market: Seven.

WEST ORANGE PROVIDENCE

The home at 6121 Andreozzi Lane, Windermere, sold July 3, for $660,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,516 square feet of living area. Days on market: Seven.

WINDERMERE KEENE’S POINTE

The home at 8419 Kemper Lane, Windermere, sold July 7, for $755,000. Built in 2000, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,527 square feet of living area. Days on market: 105.

WINTER GARDEN COVINGTON PARK

The townhouse at 702 Bainbridge Loop, Winter Garden, sold July 3, for $480,000. Built in 2010, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,606 square feet of living area. Days on market: 15.

CROWN POINT SPRINGS

The home at 1420 Spring Loop Way, Winter Garden, sold July 7, for $455,000. Built in 1998, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,452 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

CYPRESS RESERVE

The home at 13677 Killebrew Way, Winter Garden, sold July 5, for $880,000. Built in 2015, it has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 4,336 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

ISLAND POINTE

The home at 1072 Island Pointe Drive, Winter Garden, sold July 6, for $598,000. Built in 2002, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,611 square feet of living area. Days on market: 11.

KINGS BAY

The home at 312 Bayside Ave., Winter Garden, sold July 6, for $470,000. Built in 1987, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,237 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

LAKE ROBERTS LANDING

The home at 2022 Lake Roberts Landing Drive, Winter Garden, sold July 7, for $600,000. Built in 2010, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,515 square feet of living area. Days on market: Seven.

OAKLAND PARK

The home at 613 Cheekwood Alley, Winter Garden, sold July 7, for $835,000. Built in 2021, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,414 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

The home at 827 Civitas Way, Winter Garden, sold July 3, for $776,000. Built in 2017, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,185 square feet of living area. Days on market: Four.

Courtesy photo

The home at 9197 Bay Hill Blvd., Orlando, sold July 6, for $1.3 million. This full renovated home features

more than 3,000 square

feet

of

living space. The selling agent was Ruthanne Martin, Suzi Karr Realty.

The home at 4765 Terrace Bluff St., Winter Garden, sold July 3, for $855,000. It was the largest transaction in Horizon West from July 1 to 7, 2023. The selling agent was Rick Martin, Coldwell Banker Realty.

The home at 13677 Killebrew Way, Winter Garden, sold July 5, for $880,000. It was the largest transaction in Winter Garden from July 1 to 7, 2023. The selling agent was Sheri Malin, Redfin.

SPORTS

HIGH 5

The Windermere Little League 11U baseball team defeated Oviedo Little League 20-0 during the Section 5 championship game Sunday, July 9. The boys advanced to the state tournament that will take place the weekend of July 14 to 16 at Zephyrhills Little League. On the girls side, the 10U softball team defeated Oviedo Little League 4-3 during the Section 5 championship game Sunday, July 9. The girls advanced to the state tournament that will take place the weekend of July 14 to 16 at Woodville Little League.

2

Lake Buena Vista has found a new head football coach in Brant Peddy after former head coach Joe Rienzi made the decision to resign from the position.

The Dr. Phillips Little League seniors baseball team — or 16U division — became state champion after defeating North Springs Little League 8-2 Sunday, July 9, at St. Augustine Little League. The team will represent Florida at the Southeast Regional Tournament that will start Saturday, July 22, in Safety Harbor. The winner of the tournament will advance to play at the World Series.

Bangers & smash

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1Dress appropriately. Wear exercise clothes and sports shoes. You move a lot playing pickleball, and sweat a lot too, so I recommend wearing comfortable shoes and light clothing.

2Pick your paddle. You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on your first paddle. In fact, there are affordable pickleball paddles that fall within the $50 to $70 range. Of course, if you decide pickleball is for you after learning how to play, then it is recommended to buy a more professional paddle that will fit your game-playing strategy.

4

Rosen JCC is hosting its Sports Variety Camp through Friday, July 28. Athletes will learn skills in sports such as basketball, hockey, baseball, kickball, soccer, volleyball, among others. Tuition varies; athletes in grades kinder garten through eight are welcome to participate. For more information, contact (407) 387-5330.

5 Windermere Prep swimmer Ryan Erisman recently was selected to be part of the junior national swimming team. Erisman will be one of the athletes to represent the United States at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships 2023 that will take place from Sept. 4 to 9 in Netanya, Israel.

The first sport I ever played was tennis.

Fast-forward a few years, I won’t say how many, I was taken back to my tennis lessons during my first pickleball class last week.

I believe having played tennis — and a number of ping-pong matches with my siblings and dad growing up — was the reason why it didn’t take too long for me to get the hang

of pickleball. I already knew how to hold the paddle and swing.

Don’t get me wrong, though: Although pickleball isn’t hard to pick up; it sure is hard to master.

To be honest, I never expected the perforated plastic ball to be so tricky to hit over the net or to hit after a bounce on the court. But it was. Even though the ball bounces, it’s not the same as hitting a tennis ball. I found myself hitting air quite a number of times during the halfhour class. Once you’ve gotten into the rhythm of things, though, there is a better chance to read the ball after a bounce.

Even though pickleball welcomes players of all ages — children and adults alike — there is one thing amateurs should be aware of before stepping onto a court. The sport is fast-paced and definitely a good source of cardio to help players stay in shape. Within minutes of hitting a

few “dink shots” — a soft shot that falls into the opposition’s non-volley zone or kitchen — my breathing quickened, and I was already feeling the sweat.

My instructors at the Dr. Phillips YMCA, Bobby Vereb, Mo Vafamand and Kim Kahana, ensured I learned important terms related to the sport and even played a few points with me in a double format. When tasked with serving, I missed my first couple of balls; I wasn’t used to the intensity with which I needed to hit the ball. After a couple of laughs and a few apologies, I finally placed the ball where it needed to go. There was a lot of zig-zagging from my part during the match. I was lost around the court — not knowing whether to stay in the kitchen or play deep. I was taught then that it is always better to come

3Having a ball. There are two types of pickleball balls. If you are more interested in playing outside, there is a specific ball perforated with smaller holes to allow less air affect its movement through the air. However, when playing inside, the ball that should be used has bigger holes, as there is not much wind that can affect its movement.

4Stay hydrated. Within minutes of playing pickleball, you will feel thirsty. Make sure you bring a properly sized water bottle to keep you hydrated through the entire class or game.

5Sretch. Make sure you warm up before playing. Injuries can happen while running up and down the court, given that — again — pickleball can be a fast-paced sport. Don’t forget to stretch at the end of each playing session, to make sure your muscles are properly cared for and ready for the next time you plan to play.

BATTER UP! Winter Garden Little League hosts 8-10 state tourney

It’s been more than eight years since the WGLL hosted a tournament of this caliber. This year, the league was chosen to host the 8-10 State Tournament Friday, July 7, to Sunday, July 9.

For the first time in at least eight years, the Winter Garden Little League was selected this year to host the 8-10 State Tournament, which took place from Friday, July 7, to Sunday, July 9.

“We are really excited to host a tournament this big, with eight teams coming from all around Florida,” WGLL President James Mooney said.

“So, not only is good for our league — because we get to showcase our fields a little — but with the commu-

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

Basketball standout Keymari Coates recently transferred to West Orange High. Page 2B.

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

Last year, pickleball was crowned the fastest-growing sport in the United States. I’d never played before. Until now.

Courtesy photo

My instructors at the Dr. Phillips YMCA and I had tons of fun playing pickleball together. It definitely was a great introductory experience to the sport.

Keymari Coates

West Orange High rising sophomore Keymari Coates — who also plays for Global Not Local — transferred recently from Ocoee High, where he played on the freshman boys basketball team. Coates is looking forward to starting in the upcoming season with the Warriors.

Tell us about your years as a basketball player.

I started at 5 years old, and I’ve been playing ever since. Last year, I played for Ocoee High School; this year I’m going to West Orange. I am going to be on varsity this year. I played for my dad at Global Not Local. My dad left, so since he’s going there, I’m going there, too. It’s home there.

Why basketball?

I just fell in love with basketball.

What is your earliest memory playing basketball?

Probably when I was in third grade and I used to play with all my friends.

What do you love most about basketball as a sport?

Probably meeting new people and how we can all connect through one thing.

What do you believe basketball has taught you on and off the court?

Probably that no matter how hard it gets, to keep going.

Do you have a favorite drill to do at practice?

Probably one-on-ones. It just creates a lot of scene and some competition at practice, with yourself and with your teammates.

What do you think makes you a unique player on the basketball court?

Picking up pickleball

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

up close to the net and dink the ball. I have to say, after a couple of tries, my instructors, and I had a blast.

THE BASICS

Age: 15

Sport: Basketball Position: Point guard, small forward

Grade: Rising sophomore School: West Orange High

What are three things you would take with you to a deserted island?

Probably my Playstation, a basketball and a camera.

What’s your favorite movie?

“Home Alone.”I It’s just funny how he’s messing around (at home) all by himself.

What TV series are you watching right now?

“Flash.” It’s interesting how he goes missing every now and then.

What is your favorite type of music?

Probably rap. I like to listen to Rylo Rodriguez.

Who is your favorite superhero?

Why?

Flash, because he is fast.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?

Either telekinesis or to read people’s minds. With telekinesis, you could pick something up without moving, and to read people’s minds, because I always wonder what people may be thinking.

TIMELINE

1965: The sport of pickleball was created on Bainbridge Island.

Rules are simple to learn, but the terminology of the sport can be a handful. There are a lot of terms used when playing pickleball, but my favorites that I learned that day were “smash,” the shot that you hit above your head with a serving motion; “digs,” defensive shots you hit with the intention of them falling into the kitchen; “kitchen,” the non-volley area close to the net on both sides; and “bangers,” the hard shots hit to your opponent when playing deep.

The bangers are, from my humbling and fleeting experience with the sport, the hardest shots to return and the toughest to hit right, because directing the ball is tricky. There are a lot of factors that come into play, including adjusting your stance when hitting the ball and knowing where the lines are on the court.

Toward the end of the session, I can say I truly see myself playing more pickleball in the future. I loved how fun the sport is, how you can get a full-body workout in and how social it can be. I am truly looking forward to playing again. And maybe, I’ll even buy my own paddle soon.

DID YOU KNOW?

The sport of pickleball originated on Bainbridge Island in 1965 by backthen congressman from Washington State Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell. The pair improvised when attempting to play badminton one summer afternoon but could not find a full set of racquets. Hence, they used ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. Barney McCullen, the third founder of the sport was introduced to it a week after. Then, the three men defined the rules of the game, which rely heavily on badminton rules.

1967: The first permanent pickleball court was constructed.

1976: The first known pickleball tournament was held at the South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington.

1978: Pickleball was one of the sports included as one of the sports in the book “The Other Racquet Sports.”

1984: The United States Amateur Pickleball Association was formed to help contribute with the growth of the sport on a national level. Also, the first rulebook of pickleball was published in March.

1990: Pickeball was played in all 50 states in America.

1999: The first pickleball website was launched, “Pickleball Stuff,” where people could learn about the sport, the equipment used and products related to it.

2001: Pickleball was first introduced in the Arizona Senior Olympics that were played at Happy Trails RV Resort in Surprise, Arizona.

2003: Pickleball was included in the Huntsman World Senior Games that were held in St. George, Utah.

2005: A new corporation, the USA Pickleball Association was established.

2008: Pickleball was included for the first time in the National Senior Games Association.

2009: The first USAPA National Tournament was held in November in Buckeye, AZ.

2010: USAPA established the International Federation of Pickleball.

2015: USAPA reaches 10,000 members.

2016: USAPA has more than 17,000 members. The first ever U.S. Open Pickleball Championships are held in Naples, including the first nationally televised broadcast on CBS Sports Network. More than 4,600 locations are listed on Places2Play.

2017: More than 5,900 locations are listed on Places2Play. USAPA and the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association launch a Pickleball Hall of Fame. USAPA membership reaches 22,000.

2018: USAPA has more than 30,000 members. Almost 7,000 courts are listed on Places2Play and more than 21,000 are available to play in the U.S.

2018: USAPA reaches 40,000 members.

2020: USAPA is rebranded as USA Pickleball and gets a new logo and a new website.

2021: USA Pickleball reaches 50,000-member milestone and exceeds it.

2022: Pickleball was one of the hottest trends and sports in the U.S. and received a high-level of media coverage by domestic and international outlets.

2023: USA Pickleball memberships reached 70,000. The Sports and Fitness Industry Association names the sports as the fastest-growing sport in America for the third year in a row with a number of 8.9 million players solely in the U.S. The 2023 USA Pickleball National Championship will be held in November, in Dallas, Texas.

WGLL welcomes tourney

now have stepped up into running our concessions sands or painting the fields.”

All proceeds from the concession stand will go directly into the league and the ongoing projects.

“We turfed Field 1, we were able to pay for that as a league,” Flanigan said. “We worked with the city of Winter Garden, and although the plan is to have all three small fields done, the league was going to pay for one and the city was going to pay for two.”

During the season, Field 1 served as a test run, which passed with flying colors, as to whether the other two fields would need to be turfed.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

nity around, I think the teams that are coming in have a lot of restaurants and different places to go in between games, during games. I think it’s quite a big deal for Winter Garden.”

The opportunity to host the tournament came at a great time for WGLL; the league currently is implementing changes to its leadership and is working on renovating all its fields.

“We’ve got a lot of plans upcoming in terms of continuing fields renovations and improving the facilities, and one of the biggest sources (to do that) is through sponsorships and

concession stands,” Board of Directors member Rick Tischler said.

With an expected audience of more than 1,000 people to fill the fields during the weekend — including players, coaches and family members — the WGLL was excited to provide hungry visitors with an assortment of new concession stand goodies such as burgers and frozen lemonade.

“We are having over 240 different families coming into this tournament,” WGLL Vice President Kyle Flanigan said. “We (have) a lot of volunteers. … We’ve actually been very fortunate this year as a league, because even former board members who are parents

“Not one single game was rained out on that field; we were able to actually play a full season and be done in time,” Flanigan said. “The city was very impressed with everything that we did — the re-mulching and how the field has held up, how we just can be clean, follow the rules. And they are looking at now doing the infields on the two other fields and the big junior/senior field by the end of our fall season, going into our spring season next year.”

The tournament served also as a great opportunity for the WGLL to get back on the map.

“Winter Garden Little League is one of the oldest leagues around,” Tischler said. “And, by being chosen to host a state tournament like this, it really gives us a lot more notoriety now.”

SPONSORED BY MARK’S FLOORING AND SHANNON TILL/STATE FARM IN FOWLER GROVES

Andrea Mujica

MLB free agent Dee Gordon threw the first pitch of the tournament.

Winter Garden Squeeze defeats DeLand Suns

The hometown team earned a 11-10 win Monday, July 10.

er. However, the second game of the day was canceled because of rain.

SQUEEZE STATS

n Extra hitter Michael Young led the Squeeze offensively with three hits, two RBIs and one scored run.

The Winter Garden Squeeze defeated the DeLand Suns 11-10 Monday, July 10, in the first game of what it was supposed to be a double-head-

The Squeeze took the lead early, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second. Right-fielder Matthew Prevesk brought in the fist two runs of the game after hitting a liner past second base, allowing extra hitter Santino Rao and first baseman Tyler Dowdy to reach home. Brandon Fields and Prevesk scored the last two runs of the inning.

The Squeeze widened the lead in the bottom of the third, when shortstop Todd Clay scored to increase the lead to 5-0.

However, the DeLand Suns managed to take a brief lead during the game in the top of the fifth inning by reaching home six times. Clay tied the game at the bottom of the fifth after scoring once.

The game — initially planned for seven innings — went to extra innings tied at 6.

Despite the DeLand Suns putting up four runs to take the lead 10-6 in the top of the eight, the Winter Garden Squeeze reached home five times in the bottom of the inning to claim the win.

FRIDAY SIGHTS NIGHT

Publication Date: Thursday, August 24, 2023

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n Right-fielder Matthew Prevesk and third baseman Tripp McKinlay also brought in two RBIs each during the game.

n First baseman Tyler Dowdy connected the only double of the team.

n Out of 34 at-bats, the team connected 13 hits and brought in 10 RBIs.

n Right-handed pitcher Ryan Furey pitched 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits and six runs while walking three and striking out seven.

Left-handed pitcher Michael Demo came in from the bullpen to pitch 2.2 innings. Demo allowed three hits and three runs while walking one and no strike outs. Dowdy came in as relief in the last inning, allowing one hit and one run while striking out one.

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

Empathy key trait for Ocoee’s student president

need, and it all starts with empathy.

Even since my vice president role, empathy was something that surrounded me throughout my many projects. With every big project, I would always put my mind in the place of someone who was seeing the project for the first time.

GABRIEL GONZALEZ OCOEE HIGH SCHOOL

After serving as one of the vice presidents of the Student Government Association of Ocoee High School, I was elected as student body president. From being vice president, I’ve learned the responsibilities and the expectations of what it takes to be an officer for an organization that represents the whole student body.

As I continue to grow through my leadership journey, one attribute sticks with me through every obstacle — empathy.

Empathy is more than just understanding how others feel. When it applies to leadership in school, it’s not easy to put myself in every student’s place because everyone feels differently about everything. With almost 2,500 students attending the school, there are a lot of mixed opinions.

Most of the time, I’m usually planning events so I don’t get firsthand experience of attending the event.

Looking back on my presidential campaign at the end of my junior year, I had one goal in mind — to make students and staff feel heard and seen. As a student, everyone wants to feel seen.

At some point, every student has felt alone, so when campaigning, it was my goal to make all students feel like they had a voice. With such an important role, it’s my purpose to give others what they

“How would they react at the event?” “Would they have fun at the event, or would they get bored?” “What makes students more likely to attend?”

All of these questions are things I would ask myself in the planning stage because there needs to be a set of interests that would make students want to attend. As I continued to learn more about the strategic planning of events, more underlying lessons would latch on to develop me into a better leader.

When I was elected as the student body president, all the lessons I learned stuck with me, but my whole view changed on what it meant to be a leader. As the vice president of clubs and organizations, I represented the organizations that fostered the school. But as the newly elected president, it meant more than organizations; it meant representing all the students attending the school. This changed two key factors: “How do I represent each student in the school and give him or her what is needed,” and “What can I do to make everyone feel heard?”

As I continue to grow as a leader, those two questions replay in my mind throughout all of the planning. Through every pep rally, every conference and every class, I believe empathy is an important lesson every aspiring leader should learn. Representing the whole student body isn’t easy, but from what I’ve learned, I can make a difference in every student’s life, even if it’s small.

Prepare for your Zelda adventure with these tips

This piece gives Link the powerful attack-up buff. Finally, the best shield in the game, the Hylian shield, is revealed by lighting a brazier at the docks beneath the floating Hyrule Castle.

2 AUTOBUILD AN INEXPENSIVE TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE (HOVERBIKE)

“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” is a great game with so much to offer. I found myself astounded at the sheer size of this game. The predecessor, “Breath of the Wild,” has seemed like a beta version of this game — from map size to puzzles. But this ginormous video game can be overwhelming at times, leading you to not know the next step or right move. Here are some beginner tips to start your journey off right.

1 GREAT EARLY-GAME GEAR

It’s always nice to have gear that can let you pass through the early stages of a game with ease. Thankfully, “Tears of the Kingdom” has some easily accessible pieces of gear as soon as you make your way down from the Great Sky Island and to Lookout Landing. The Champion’s Leathers, a powerful armor piece, can be found at Hyrule Castle’s Sanctum, which is accessible from the nearby Skyview Tower. Two pedestals can be lit at the back of the sanctum, which reveals the Champion’s Leathers. Other powerful royal guard’s weapons can be found around the sanctum as well. Another piece of armor, the Barbarian Armor, can be found at Crenel Hills Cave, (west of Lookout Landing) behind a wall of breakable luminous stone.

Autobuild is a necessity for building Ultrahand projects and is very useful for  easy transportation. Autobuild is obtained after completing the quests “Camera Work in the Depths” and “A Mystery in the Depths.” This allows you to recreate creations out of nothing, only for the cost of Zoanite. A simple-yet-effective build is the Hoverbike, which consists of two fans and a steering stick. The fans are placed at each end of the steering stick, diagonally backward. This build only costs nine Zoanite to create without any Zonai devices at disposal, and the materials can be found easily. The Hoverbike allows Link to travel quickly across long distances easily and is just fun to use.

3 USE FUSE With so many other tools at your disposal, it can be easy to forget to use the Fuse tool to always increase the effectiveness of your weapons and shields. So many combinations can be discovered, such as fusing an elemental horn or other monster part to any weapon to give it the respective elemental attack, or fusing a weapon to a shield to allow shield parries to do damage. That just scratches the surface of everything you can do with Fuse, and it is easy to forget about it as you collect more weapons along your journey. Horns, which are dropped by most monsters,

are found easily, so making sure every weapon and shield is fused with something is important to strengthen Link and progress through the game.

4 ZOANITE AND BRIGHTBLOOM SEEDS

Brightbloom seeds are important for exploring The Depths, a gigantic underworld the size of Hyrule itself. The Depths are pitch black, with terrifying enemies and gloom, which will permanently take away hearts unless you go to the surface or activating Lightroot. Lightroots are the only source of light in the depths, and activating them gives light to the surrounding area. The main reason you want to explore the depths is to mine Zoanite. Zoanite

is a valuable resource spread all across The Depths and is used for a variety of things, such as upgrading your battery, using Zonai devices for longer periods of time and building things without materials in Autobuild. The Depths has many Zoanite mines, usually guarded by a few enemies. Stocking up on Brightbloom seeds, which are usually obtained from caves, is necessary to navigate The Depths and obtain large amounts of Zoanite.

5 ALWAYS ACTIVATE SHRINES OF LIGHT

When playing, I often would see a shrine while gliding through the air and just move past it. This was a mistake, because it meant I wouldn’t have a fast-travel point

available. Even just going slightly out of your way to activate a shrine can be useful later — even if you don’t complete the shrine right then and there. It gives a fast-travel point, especially useful when getting around the map. It also will let you go back to the shrines later, and completing shrines gives you heart containers and stamina vessels. A slight detour is definitely worth it in the long run. There are 152 shrines, so locating them all if you are planning to complete the game 100% will be much less tedious.

Memories of old Winter Garden

Apopka. The lake was renowned for its great bass fishing.

WEST ORANGE OBITUARY

Born in Winter Garden, I have lingering memories of the early days of my life and Winter Garden. Both have radically changed. The small town is moving in new and different ways, and I’m noticeably older!

When I was around 9 years old, my mother would allow me to attend the local movie on Saturday afternoons. It was perfectly safe; the owner walked around with a long flashlight to keep the kids quiet and in their seat.

We lived out of town, and my mother had to provide the transportation to and from the movie, which was always a western starring Gene Autry, Hoot Gibson, Roy Rogers and all the rest. The movie house wasn’t air-conditioned, but it made no difference, because no one’s home was air-conditioned.

I was given 15 cents for my Saturday outing. The movie admission was 9 cents. For a nickel, a bag of popcorn was purchased hot out of the machine in the lobby. The movie was filled with mostly kids. There was a continued piece such as “Nyoka of the Jungle,” which lasted 10 weeks. Of course, there was a comedy each week like Donald Duck or The Three Stooges.

FARMING CULTURE

Winter Garden, just before World War I and during the war, was overflowing with farm and citrus workers. Most of these folks didn’t have transportation, and the company would provide rides on flatbed farm trucks to go to town to purchase groceries. These trucks were filled with farm workers and those who worked in citrus groves — man and wife and all the kids. Some had been scrubbed in a wash tub, and some had a wash-

rag bath. Most grown folks had on work clothing with a new plug of Browns Mule tobacco or a new box of Three Thistle or Bruton Snuff.

Lots of their time was taken standing on the sidewalk spitting on the oak trees talking to their friends.

The sidewalk itself was slick enough to slip on from the tobacco juice. We had three policemen — a chief, two regular policemen and a german shepherd named Ranger who could be mean if the situation required it. Should some sort of eruption occur in a bar, one policeman would go into the front door; Ranger went to the back and stood there with every tooth exposed. Then the show usually was over.

RIDING THE RAILROAD Winter Garden had two railroad tracks running down the middle of town. On either side of the tracks stood giant oak trees that provided

a home for birds, which painted the cars parked underneath. City folks finally got enough of the bird paint and began a campaign to rid the town of the oaks. This started the fight of the century!

The railroad tracks were busy all day and night. Packing houses would fill up a railroad car for shipment north, and it would be pushed out of town. The ice plant would grind up giant blocks of ice and pump it into the railroad car for shipment. Engines pulling empty cars would leave them for the next day’s use.

DOING BUSINESS

Winter Garden was an ordinary small country town. It was developed around three grocery stores, a couple of drug stores and cafes.

Downtown, Leader Department Store jutted out into the sidewalk toward the street from the Edgewater. This provided space for a blackboard for messages and a leaning place to talk. Mrs. So-and-So had fryers for sale, another announced she would sew for people, a boy solicited a lawn-mowing business, and other personal notes were added. The blackboard was always filled with notes, even deaths and funerals.

Early on, a group in town got together and decided to build a hotel since northerners were vacationing here to fish. The developers planned to build a seven-story hotel, but the money ran out, and they settled for a three-story Edgewater Hotel. The hotel, in the early days, had a wonderful dining room, and the guest rooms were top of the line!

It was then the city decided there was need for an auditorium, swimming pool and city dock on Lake

A trailer park was developed by the city to accommodate tourists. It was a hit. The tourists pulled a small, wobbly wheeled house trailer to the park filled with groceries and everything they would need for their vacation. They usually wore a pair of long johns, brought a $20 bill and didn’t change either while here. This was the thought of many of the locals. The one problem for the retail milk business was the clotheslines they hung from trailer to trailer. A person running in the dark carrying bottled milk and not thinking about the clotheslines had terrible things happen — they either got caught under the chin and landed flat on their back, or they “busted” their milk.

WAR EFFORTS

World War II brought military camps — including a large one down at the city dock and one on Avalon Road where the country club once sat. Most soldiers were great young people, and they dated the local girls. Several returned to Winter Garden to marry, and some even remained and raised families here.

My dad had a retail dairy and served milk to several camps. One day an officer brought news from the camp commander that if he continued to serve milk to the military, the milk must be pasteurized. He milked about 50 to 65 cows twice daily and was first in the county to buy electric milking machines.

My dad priced the equipment necessary — around $150,000. His entire dairy wasn’t worth that much! In desperation, my mother’s car back seat was removed, milk in 10-gallon cans was placed there, and she delivered it to Datson Dairy in Orlando. Workers unloaded her car, pasteurized the milk, cleaned the cans and returned the milk. She brought it back for bottling.

BATH POND

Bath Pond was the best small swimming lake in Florida. The owner allowed kids and adults to swim there as long as the trash was picked up and the lakeshore kept clean. Only a few boys knew of its existence, and it had regular use. There were farm workers who had no indoor plumbing who used it often for bathing purposes. Bath Pond was white-sand bottomed and had a few small springs that bubbled. It was a perfect delight to have the opportunity to swim there. Of course, only boys used it and without a bathing suit. Girls had to make an appointment to swim. During high school and college years when we were in the vicinity, we would take a dip on the way home at night.

ROBERT DONALD ANDERSON DIED JULY 5, 2023.

Robert Donald Anderson passed away peacefully July 5, 2023.

Bob was born Oct. 30, 1931, in Orlando, Florida, to John and Lena Anderson. He had eight brothers and sisters; Virginia King is the only surviving sibling. Bob attended Ocala High School, where he met the love of his life, Barbara Ann Curington. The two were married Jan. 11, 1951, and they celebrated almost 68 years of a strong and loving life together until she passed in 2019.

This beautiful family grew to include four children: Carol Gray and husband, Morgan (deceased), of Orlando; Kay Roseman and husband, David, of Cottondale; Paula Ravetto and husband, David, of Brevard, North Carolina; and Rick Anderson and wife, Belinda, of Middleburg. He was a beloved PawPaw to his grandchildren, Lena Combs, Valerie Wilson, Joshua Gray, Matthew Roseman, Dominick Ravetto and Taylor Anderson; as well as his great-grandchildren, Airen Combs, Kelsey Blanton, Morgan Combs and Charlotte Gray. He worked for more than 30 years with Florida Telephone (which became Sprint) in Winter Garden as a Design Engineer for new development.

Throughout their life together, Bob and Barbara explored 48 states and Canada in their motorhome and also traveled to Hawaii and Alaska. Their love of travel took them to various countries in Europe as well, and after retirement they served in several volunteer campground host positions in North Carolina and Montana.

In addition to travel, Bob loved golf, the Florida Gators, square dancing, and spending time with family and friends.

Bob and Barbara became a part of the Waterman Village family in 2014 and enjoyed making new friends and having new adventures. Bob always had a smile for everyone and would strike up a conversation with strangers no matter where he was. He was a hard worker who put his family first always and was an ideal father and grandfather. He lived a full and rich life and will be dearly missed by all those who knew him.

A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 8, at Waterman Village Chapel, 445 Waterman Ave., Mount Dora, Florida. In lieu of flowers, memorial offerings can be made to American Diabetes Association.

The Allen J. Harden Funeral Home, 1800 N. Donnelly St., Mount Dora, Florida, has been entrusted with arrangements.

Courtesy

Lowell Teal has many wonderful memories of his life in Winter Garden.

ORANGE HISTORY

THESE OLD TIMES FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION

90 years ago

Members of the Winter Garden Chamber of Commerce were working on obtaining deeds from property owners over whose lands the new route of the state Highway 22 would run. The new road was needed to eliminate the two dangerous right-angle curves at Tildenville, and the highway would be turned to lead directly into town instead of around it.

Harold E. Hall, president of the Hall Fertilizer Company, was inducted as new president of the Winter Garden Rotary Club.

George S. Merchant was staging his annual mid-season clearance sale, and some of the featured items were as follows: Toyo Panama hats, 79 cents; wash trousers, $1.89; men’s dress pants, $1.85 to $3.95; shoes, $1.95; boys wash pants, 49 cents to 79 cents; Interwover Sox, five pairs for $1; and Mallory straws, $1.95.

85 years ago

Thirty workmen, taken from Winter Garden relief rolls, began clearing 10 acres of land at the city’s waterfront park as the first part of this city’s $18,000 federal aid city beautification project.

West Orange County friends learned Mrs. Charles Frederic (Grace) Mather-Smith suffered a scorpion sting in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was hospitalized under the care of several physicians.

The Chevrolet automovie — a complete sound motion picture theater on wheels — planned to bring its interesting and unusual program to Winter Garden.

W.G. Meal, agricultural adjustment administration official, told more than 600 members of the

FROM THE ARCHIVES

French teacher Elizabeth T. Mack is seen in her classroom at Drew High School. Constructed for black students in the era of segregation, Drew opened in the late 1950s and closed when integration was implemented in Florida’s public high schools at the beginning of the 1969-1970 season. Any further information about Ms. Mack’s professional teaching career can be shared with the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation at (407) 656-3244.

The mission of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is to preserve the heritage and architecture of Winter Garden while creating new cultural experiences. The Foundation also preserves the material culture of West Orange County, using it to educate the area’s youth on the community’s rich history.

newly formed Citrus Growers Associations of Central Florida “the less desirable grades and size offer opportunities for greater profits to citrus growers who should develop a demand for them among the lower income groups.”

72 years ago

The Ocoee Boy Scouts were organized, and the troop’s sponsor was the Woman’s Club of Ocoee

60 years ago

The eighth annual Winter Garden Invitation Swimming Meet was scheduled at the Municipal Pool, according to Vel Heckman, summer recreation director.

50 years ago

Former Winter Garden Police

Capt. Billy German was appointed chief of police in the town of Oakland. He was with the Winter Garden force for five years.

Beulah Baptist Church’s Martin Luther King Memorial Choir

THROWBACK THURSDAY

JULY 17, 1969

The A&P grocery store offered so many deals it had to take out a full-page advertisement in The Winter Garden Times to announce all the sales prices.

In the meat department, customers could get shoulder chops for 69 cents a pound, skinless franks for 59 cents for a onepound package, a whole or half ham weighing 16 to 18 pounds for 59 cents a pound and a twoand-one-half-pound package of ground beef for $1.49.

Fans of Kraft products were in luck with Philadelphia cream cheese for 29 cents, two onepound packages of regular Parkay Margarine for 49 cents, American or pimento cheese slices for 59 cents and Jet Puffed Marshmallows for 19 cents.

Ann Page soups could be purchased at eight cans for $1, three cans of Hawaiian Punch were $1, a 7-ounce bottle of Vitalis hair tonic was 99 cents, a box of Mr. Bubble bath powder was 39 cents, and a 3-pound box of Tide was 59 cents.

The store was at 731 S. Dillard St. in Winter Garden.

marked its 10th anniversary with a weekend of events, including a music recital for young people, the planting of 10 maple trees around Winter Garden, a special banquet in the Burgundy Room at the Winter Garden II, a consecration service and a Sunday afternoon music service with many guest choirs. The choir president was Eva Holt, and Dr. Robert Williams was the musician.

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A HOUSE DIVIDED by Kevin Curry and Jeff Chen, edited by Jeff Chen

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LOOKS GOOD ON US

Live & Love Local Winter Garden

The rich history of Winter Garden has flourished with the most memorable restaurants, shops, museums, parks, and activities.

IT’S TIME TO MAKE MEMORIES THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME.