09.08.22 West Orange Times & Observer by Orange Observer

YOUR TOWN Garden, game. 5B.

The Oakland Nature Preserve as received a Challenge Match Grant, which will provide an ad ditional $15,000 if the preserve can raise the initial $15,000. Donations can be made on the website by visiting OaklandNa turePreserve.org and clicking on the donate button or by mailing a check to ONP, P.O. Box 841, Oakland, FL 34760. Note on the memo line the donation is for the Challenge Match Grant. Oakland Nature Preserve is an active 501c3 organization, and donations may be tax deductible.

along

ObserverFREE

EXPERIENCEPAWS-ITIVE GAME OF THE WEEK Now in their second Collaboration begins on east Winter Garden revitalization Lake Buena Vista vs. Freedom

Road in Horizon West say the late-night racing has become worse in

months.

Char lie, Zachary Nice, Anna Valencia, Anderson

Coco; back, Anjali Seatram, Alondra Aguilar, Alexandra

60 representatives from local organizations gathered Aug. 31 to begin talks about the revitalization program in east Winter Garden. SEE

4 and 5

Esmeralda Saucedo

Residents in communities Reams recent SEE PAGE 2A.

noiseaMakingjoyful Family shares love of music as praise band for Winter Garden church. PAGE 3A Princess was eager to share kisses with Sarah Salmi.

Ocoee, Oakland PRSRT WINTERUSECRWSSSTDPOSTAGEPAIDGARDEN,FLPERMITNO.81 Postal*****************ECRWSSEDDM****Customer VOLUME 89, NO. 36 Windermere Prep singer performs at MLB

• THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

Princess, Nicholas Davilma, Dakota Keller, Shane Tulloch, Jaylyn Peterson and Kersengy Philoxy.

ONP MATCHINGRECEIVESGRANT

Maxwell Middleton

RESIDENTS: Street racing on Reams will end in tragedy

WEST ORANGE TIMES & Winter

Lex, Sarah Salmi

WINDERMERE TO HOST 9/11 SERVICE

YOU YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

Amy Quesinberry Amy Anderson’s advanced animal sciences class: front, Azzad Rahman with Hank, Melanie Smith with Cesar, Kayleigh Gray, Hope Wagner with and with Leon, with with

The town of Windermere and Mayor Jim O’Brien will host a sunset memorial service Sunday, Sept.The11.hourlong program will begin at 7 p.m. at the 9/11 Memo rial at Town Square Park, 520 Main St. It will feature music from Family Church, a special message from the mayor, the playing of taps, and the laying of wreaths and flowers.

A new daycare program at Ocoee High aims to pamper pooches while giving students in animal sciences classes a chance to interact with animals on a smaller scale. STORY ON PAGE 4A.

Roughly PAGE 6A.

SAFETY STRATEGIES

er, from a law enforcement perspec tive, the activities can be challenging to “Theseaddress. groups of reckless and aggressive drivers occur throughout the United States, (including) here in Central Florida,” the OCSO said in an emailed statement. “(Because) these drivers are mobile, they often flee when law enforcement arrives, and that fleeing makes the streets even more dangerous for other drivers. And oftentimes, the violators have left the area before law enforcement canThomasarrive.” said she has called the OCSO non-emergency number numerous times to report the inci dents. She said the department gave her the number for the Traffic and Motors division. Officials there said they can set up speed traps — but only with a large number of complaints because of the high demand and lim itedAnnaresources.Hersh said she recently moved to the area two months ago and noticed the drag racing imme diately. Hersh said the drivers are “extremely loud,” and the screeching from the tires is “almost unbearable” — waking her and her dogs up at all hours of the night.

“The only thing that changes is the time and place that it occurs, which appears to be driven by spontane ous social media communications. I encourage residents to call when this behavior is observed, so we may respond and address appropriately. It is completely beyond our ability to predict when and where it will occur, and it is not possible to staff every area where it does occur throughout Orange County in anticipation of the same.”The captain said the best method for residents to address these con cerns is to call the non-emergency number at (407) 836-HELP as the activity is However,occurring.Hershsaid reporting has not yielded any action. “Calling the authorities has been a joke,” Hersh said. “I have contacted the non-emergency number a few times and have always gotten some one who (couldn’t) care less about the situation. They always say they will send an officer — but either never do, or when the officer shows up, the drag racers are gone.”

ANNABELLE SIKES STAFF WRITER It’s 3 a.m. and Windermere resident Kat Thomas, who is going through treatment for stage four cancer, is jolted awake from her rare, deep sleep. Although the noise is disruptive and causes her to wake in a panic, Thomas said the screeching sounds are nothing new. Locals in the Venetian Isle com munity and surrounding areas say the street racing has been going on off of Reams Road for months — and doesn’t seem to be letting up. “I’ve been here for almost two years, and it started not long after I moved here,” Thomas said. “But it was more sporadic; it wasn’t something I ever thought would turn into this. I don’t know what it’s going to take to stop this before a tragedy occurs.”

Reckless racing

REPORT INCIDENTAN

“The worst experience I have had was the other night, when I was walking home from my night job at a bar across the street,” Hersh said. “I couldn’t cross the street into my complex, because a blue Challenger was doing donuts in the circle and refused to stop for me to cross the street. I had to wait for him to do about five donuts before he went rac ing down the street. It was awful. I felt so unsafe in my own neighborhood, and this was only at 10 p.m.” Dennis Ela, OCSO captain in Sector 3, said the department is aware of the racing issues. He said they have been a problem in the region for the past eight to 10 years. Ela said the racing is popularized through films such as the “Fast and the Furious” series, where the con duct is glorified to include running from law enforcement. “It is no more prominent now than it has been for several years,” Ela said.

CAR CONCERNS After repetitive incidents of the loud cars racing down the streets with screeching tires, Thomas said she knew she couldn’t be the only one concerned.OnMonday, Aug. 8, Thomas took to the Winder mere & FacemunitiesComroundingSur book page where she shared her experiences, thoughts and concerns, triggering more than 100 comments from local residents experiencing similarResidentissues.Mary Swanson thinks there needs to be a stronger police presence overnight to keep people from continuing to participate in the street“Theracing.noise from the street at all times of the day from these individu als is horrendous,” Swanson said. “It will wake us from a deep sleep, and it most often happens on the week ends, but they’re not strangers to the weekdays either. This is not normal neighborhood noise either or normal car noises that you would expect from living off a busy street. It is simply the most obnoxious, loudest cars making as much noise as they can or drag rac ing each other, and the list just goes on.”Thomas believes the majority of the racing is done by a bright blue Challenger, an orange Challenger, a four-door silver sedan and a twodoor white sports car, which she has observed on several different occa sions.Inaddition, because of the timing and the recklessness, many resi dents believe the drivers are most likely young teenagers who live in the area.

Thomas said the group starts at Tattant Boulevard, flying down Reams Road and doing donuts in the circle in front of Venetian Isle before again speeding down to the circle in front of the MAA Windermere apart ments to do more donuts. She said the noise generally starts around 11:15 p.m. and goes on sometimes until 3 a.m.“My apartment is right on Reams Road, next to one of the circles, and I see and hear them doing this all night long, at least four nights a week,” Thomas said. “The sound of screech ing tires has woken me out of a dead sleep more times than I can count. This is a neighborhood with people walking their dogs, sometimes late at night. There’s a bar that people walk home from and need to cross the street to get home. These teenagers are going to kill somebody.”

Orange County Sheriff’s Office offi cials said they are aware of the racing that occurs in the area and keeping the motorists safe on the roads is a top priority for the department. Howev

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office urges anyone who wit nesses street racing in unin corporated Orange County to report it by calling 9-1-1 or the department’s non-emergency number at (407) 836-4357. Residents or visitors also can go to OCSO.com or use 3-1-1 to provide information on a traffic concern.

2A OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 OrangeObserver.com 371945-1 every age. choose well. Every second counts. As a national leader in emergency care and home to the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, we know that when emergencies happen, you need expert care. Our team of board-certified emergency physicians and specially trained ER nurses provide care for all types of emergencies — and for all ages. Be relieved. OrlandoHealth.com/ER T X 1 0 0 0 T O R O D I N G O STX - 38STUMP GRINDERTRX- 300 TORO TRENCHER " B I G G E S T D I N G O D E A L E R I N F L O R I D A " F I N A N C I N G A V A I L A B L E 1 2 4 0 3 W C O L O N I A L D R , W I N T E R G A R D E N 4 0 7 6 5 4 9 2 9 9 385461-1

The Sidabutar 5 — Immanuel, Juliann, Noah, Isabelle and Allison Sidabutar — serve as the worship team at People of Faith Lutheran Church in Winter Garden.

OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 3AOrangeObserver.com

Impacted residents Jules and Kathy Massee, who live on the northwest corner of West Second Avenue and Old Dirt Main, said they had ques tions relating to a temporary blowoff valve to be located on the corner of the driveway on the water main plans. The Massees said they would prefer the valve be moved out of the way to the north to avoid potential impact from parked cars and assure access and visual appearance. Chau said he would provide a picture of what the valve would look, as well as informa tion on the future connection through the Master Use Plan. Resident Matt Tomaszewski asked if the existing sidewalk would be lost through the project. Smith said the sidewalk would be removed as part of the Multi-Modal Project, with that project to be con structed first or at the same time as the paving project.

Not long after the Sidabutars began attending service at the church, both Juliann and Immanuel were offered a position as staff to become worship leaders.Noah, 12, started playing with his parents at age 8 when he learned how to play the djembe. It was not long after that he was gifted a drum set after attending a conference on min istry in 2018 in Leesburg. “Noah got started with the drums, and we got him in lessons, and then we realized the girls could sing,” Juli ann Sidabutar said. “They had a nat ural talent, and then we got them both started with piano lessons, and they are now also taking vocal lessons.”

“We have tried non-Christian songs in the past,” Immanuel Sid abutar said. “The thing is that when we practice them, we don’t have a platform to perform them.” The Sidabutars have a collection of Christian songs they place into a rotation to determine what songs they will play on a given Sunday morning.

Chau explained there were drainage challenges with the existing road. “There was really no drainage facil ities, and the road was flat, and it was a dirt road, so you were getting a lot of ponding, a lot of just muck bogging everybody down,” he said.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION Smith and Public Works Director Tonya-Elliott Moore inquired on the possible realignment of North Drive.

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER Many church worship teams consider themselves fam ily.For the Sidabutar 5, it’s true — quite Immanuelliterally.andJuliann

ANNABELLE SIKES STAFF WRITER

The town hosted a virtual public input workshop to address resident questions and collect feedback on the 90% plans for the Old Dirt Main Paving Project.

Windermere leaders discuss plans for Old Dirt Main project

The 90% plans for the Old Dirt Main Paving Project will next be presented to the Windermere Town Council at its Tuesday, Sept. 13, meeting.

In addition, to minimize impacts to the western side of the road, the project will include a ribbon curb and a cross slope to drain everything to the east into a curb and gutter, before collecting the drainage with a storm collection system into a swale area, prior to connecting to the existing discharge.Chausaid the plan also will tie into the paving improvement project in the design phase at West Second Avenue. There will be some impact to myr tle trees, as well as one oak tree on the northeast corner of West Second Avenue.Aspart of the road plan, KimleyHorn also will install an 8-inch water main as part of the road plan. The water main runs along the west side of the road and since the last meeting the organization has moved the blow off valve away from residents and the road so the connection is just north of West First Avenue.

Town of Windermere staff and resi dents came together to discuss the 90% plans for the Old Dirt Main Pav ing Project Tuesday, Aug. 30. Town Manager Robert Smith said the project, ongoing for the last 18 months, runs “just from West Second Avenue all the way to the canal.” It has been discussed and negotiated with the adjacent property owners. Smith said the negotiations included moving the right-of-way about 15 feet to the east when completing the utility extension to save trees and landscap ing, and putting in a water line. The paving project is not part of a grant and most likely will be funded in late 2023 or early 2024, according to AlthoughSmith. the projects are sepa rate, Smith said the paving coincides with Phase 1 of the Windermere Ward Trail/Multi-Modal Project the town is working on with Kimley-Horn & Associates, and the town manager hopes the town will find the money to do both projects concurrently, although that is yet to be determined. “We’re trying to get the 90% plans completed so we can go ahead and get final approval — and if some monies should become available for funding of not only the potable water project but also for the paving project, we’ll make sure that we include those in our appropriation request,” Smith said.

Chau said although he believes there is a benefit to lining up North Drive, the company would have to determine what kind of impact it would“I’vecreate.seenin the past people just use it and kind of fishtail over,” Smith said. “I didn’t know if lining it up would alleviate some of that, but again, we have a cross street that we need to make sure we line up with, as well.”

Sidabu tar, along with their three children — Noah, Isabelle and Allison — per form every Sunday at People of Faith Lutheran Church’s services. Juliann and Immanuel Sidabutar relocated to Orlando from New York in “We2016.were looking for a church home in Winter Garden,” Juliann Sid abutar said. “Previously we were part of ELCA Congregation — Evangeli cal Lutheran Church of America. So, we Googled it, and we found People of Faith Lutheran Church, and we started coming.”

After all five members of the family were able to participate in the musical endeavor that having a family band brings with it, the Sidabutars creat ed a YouTube channel and officially became the Sidabutar 5.

“Of course, Christians go to church and they sing, and a lot of them play,” he said. “I come from that back ground, so coming (to church on Sundays), I’m always excited to play with these kids. It’s a really cool feel ing.”When he was about 10 years old, his parents bought him six months of guitar lessons, so he was able to learn the“Afterbasics.those six months, I hung out with my friends and other people and learned by myself,” Immanuel Sidabutar said. “After that I (also) learned how to play bass by myself.” The family practices six days a week.“We are very regimented, very dis ciplined; we have to stay consistent,” Juliann Sidabutar said. “It’s not so much the length of practice, but we have to be consistent.” When Noah joined the band as the drummer, he learned the songs and how to play them thanks to his father’s help.

“I learned when and what to play, because my dad goes through the songs with me, he tells me what to play and when to do it,” he said. Because of learning the hardship of teaching piano to her children after attempting to teach piano to Noah, Juliann Sidabutar realized it would be more beneficial to everyone if their daughters took piano and vocal lessons from a professional. “Right now, we are in the hardest part of the process, because we are teaching them all these things (such as) how to improvise,” Immanuel SidabutarHowever,said.the children truly enjoy bringing the musical sides out while playing together with their parents. “The drum is the heartbeat of the band, so I’m the one keeping the tempo,” Noah Sidabutar said. “What is also cool is that it’s fun to impro vise on the drum and make stuff up as you go. You also get to brag to your friends about how you and your fam ily have a band.” For Isabelle and Allison, one of their favorite parts of having a fam ily band is being able to choreograph the songs they sing together.

“We do dances at home, and then we do them here,” Isabelle Sidabutar said. “It’s really fun.” For Allison, playing the piano alongside her mother is also one of her favorite parts of Sunday perfor mances.“Idoextra stuff on the keyboard, and I like it,” she said. “I like being challenged.”Currently, the family mostly plays Christian music and recently per formed the song ‘What Else Can I Do?’ from the movie “Encanto.”

PROPOSED PLANS Hao Chau, representative from Kim ley-Horn, said the plans have not deviated much from the 45% comple tion plans presented in October, but the organization has provided addi tional details and coordinated with the Ward Trail project to make sure the transitions are seamless.

Family jam

The Ward Trail project is waiting on federal funds to come through after the 90% plan was approved in August and is estimated to begin construc tion in January or February 2023.

Chau said Kimley-Horn tried to match the existing west edge of the dirt road as much as possible to mini mize“Weimpacts.triedour best to basically hold that left edge of dirt road that’s exist ing now and really do our paving to the right,” Chau said. “We’re using the existing dirt road footprint, as well as the concrete sidewalk to provide a consistent road that’s 18 feet wide.”

THE BEGINNINGS Juliann Sidabutar grew up in New York. During her high school years, she played violin for the orchestra, and from ages 6 to 16, she took piano lessons and even performed a few recitals at Carnegie Hall. Immanuel Sidabutar grew up in Indonesia. Despite living in the country that has the highest Muslim population in the world, his family raised him in the Christian faith.

JOIN SIDABUTARSTHE Are you a musician looking to play? The band is always looking for extra musicians to join in to perform during the Sunday service. For more information, contact Juliann Sidabutar juliann.sidabutar@gmail.com.at Andrea MujicaThe Sidabutars practice six days a week for at least an hour. Dedication is key to the band’s clean performances.

If you wish to subscribe, visit our website, OrangeObserver.com, call (407) 656-2121 or visit our office, 661 Garden Commerce Parkway, Suite 180, Winter Garden.

TO ADVERTISE For display or digital advertising, call (407) 656-2121. For Classifieds, call (407) 656-2121.

OrangeObserver.com Observer Media Group Inc. is locally LongboatPublisherowned.oftheObserver,East County Observer, Sarasota Observer, Siesta Key Observer, Palm Coast Observer, Ormond Beach Observer, West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer, Business Observer, Jacksonville Daily Record, Jacksonville Record & Observer, LWR Life Magazine, Baldwin Park Living Magazine and Season Magazine

PUBLIC NOTICES

The West Orange Times meets the legal requirements to pub lish legal and public notices in Orange County per F.S. 50.011 USPS Periodicals Permit (USPS# 687-120)

“Adding the dog daycare to our campus was just another way to add to the incredible culture we have at Ocoee,” Karcinski said. “There is a lot of research to support that being around dogs helps to alleviate stress and anxiety, which is a benefit to both our students and staff. Overall, having the dogs on campus creates a more joyful work environment.”

Photos by Amy Quesinberry Animal sciences teacher Amy Anderson enjoys bringing Hank to school with her.

WEST ORANGE TIMES

Melanie Smith and Cesar spent time together in the outdoor dog activity area of the animal sciences department.

The West Orange Times (USPS 687120) is published weekly for $40 per year ($50 outside of Orange County) by the Observer Media Group, 661 Garden Commerce Parkway, Winter Garden, Florida, 34787. Periodical postage paid at Winter Garden, Florida. POSTMAS TER: Send changes of address to the (name of pub; i.e., West Orange Times, West Orange Times & Observ er or Southwest Orange Observer), Observer Media Group, P.O. Box 135, Lincolnshire, Illinois 60069-0135.

“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 Editor and Publisher / Michael Eng, meng@OrangeObserver.com Design Editor / Jessica jeng@OrangeObserver.comEng, Community Editor / Amy amyq@OrangeObserver.comQuesinberry, Staff Writer / Andrea amujica@OrangeObserver.comMujica, Staff Writer / Annabelle asikes@OrangeObserver.comSikes, Sales Manager / Cyndi advertising@OrangeObserver.comGustafson, Multimedia Advertising Executive / Iggy iggy@OrangeObserver.comCollazo, Senior Graphic Designer / Lindsay lcannizzaro@OrangeObserver.comCannizzaro, Advertising Operations Manager / Allison abrunelle@OrangeObserver.comBrunelle,

STATEMENT OWNERSHIPOF

CONTACT US The West Orange Times West Or ange Times & Observer and South west Orange Observer are published once weekly, on Thursdays. The papers can be found in many com mercial locations throughout West Orange and Southwest Orange.

SEND US YOUR NEWS We want to hear from you. Let us know about your events, celebra tions and achievements. To contact us, email to Michael Eng, meng@OrangeObserver.com.

Founding Editor and CEO / Matt Walsh President / Emily Walsh Vice President / Lisa Walsh Chairman Emeritus / David Beliles 1970 Main St. Third Floor Sarasota, FL 941-366-346834236

Hope Wagner and Maxwell Middleton demonstrated the grooming table.

Observer

Charlie was eager to greet everyone he met.

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR Princess was every bit that with the pink bow holding up a fluff of hair on the top of her head. Lex was look ing smart in his personal ized Ocoee Knights shirt. And Cesar didn’t let his lack of sight keep him from sniffing out a tempting dog treat.This cast of characters is part of the new dog daycare program at Ocoee High School, started this school year and organized by animal sciences teacher Amy Anderson. Also par ticipating in the program are Charlie, Coco, Roman, Piper, Beau, Lila, Sim one, Loki — and Anderson’s 7-yearold Staffordshire mix, Hank. The dogs are owned by Ocoee High staff and faculty, who bring their pets to school with them on assigned days. Principal Lisa Karcinski was interested in bringing the program to Ocoee after seeing it in action at Timber Creek High. She approached Anderson about starting a similar daycare, and Anderson loved the idea.“We have a very strong agricul ture program at Ocoee High School, offering a variety of coursework in animal science, aquaculture, hor ticulture, etc.,” Karcinski said. “I knew that adding dogs to our pro gram would help to strengthen the program and bring agriculture edu cation to even more students on our campus.”Students in the animal sciences and agriculture programs get experi ence with the school’s livestock, but there is only so much interaction that is allowed.“Wehave a lot of large animals; you can’t just have a cow interact with a kid because of the safety issue,” Anderson said. “You can interact with a dog. Everyone gets to partake in it and have the responsibility with it, and you can’t get that with the livestock.”Toqualify for the pooch program, Knight faculty and staff fill out an application and show proof of vac cinations. Students create a schedule and let the owners know if they can bring their pets in on Wednesday or Friday, the two daycare days. Dropoff is at 7 Andersona.m.said many benchmark standards are taught: how to han dle animals, proper sanitation and cleaning techniques, grooming, dis eases, animal behavior and safety control.Throughout the day, the classes have different tasks. First-period students check the dogs’ ears, coat condition and fecal material upon arrival to make sure the pet appears normal. Progress reports are filled out in each class daily and given to the owners.

The fees go toward the program and to replenish“Peoplesupplies.arelike, ‘You should charge more,’” Anderson said. “We don’t want to do that. It’s our staff, our family. People like to have their dogsAndersonhere.” said the goal each day is to make sure the dogs are tired. “We don’t want them to be in here doing nothing all day,” she said. “We try to walk them every other period.”

“Every class notates what they do with the dog,” Anderson said. “We fill out on the progress report. We fill out if we go for a walk and who they played with outside. If there’s any kind of concerns like, ‘He needs a nail trim,’ or ‘His fecal matter is loose,’ things like that we want them to Allknow.”dogs are picked up by 2:45 p.m. Dog daycare is $5 a day — there are additional costs for extra services. Currently, the smaller dogs can have their nails trimmed or their ears cleaned; or they can get a bath, blowdry and spritz of canine cologne. Boys get bandannas; girls get a bow. Once the washtub is installed, the larger dogs can receive grooming servicesStudentstoo. create and email the monthly invoices to the clients.

4A OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 OrangeObserver.com

The students have learned so much since school started. “Having the dog daycare has been a huge success,” Karcinski said. “The students in the class love being around the dogs and take pride in caring for the dogs. Our staff mem bers also love that they can bring their dog to work in the morning and they can stop by on their planning period and visit their dog.” It has been good for the teens’ mental health, too.

“I have to work my way up the lad der and work with small animals,” Smith said. “I can say I participate in this on (college) applications.” It’s also teaching her and the other students about communication and responsibility.“I’vealways been a fan of dogs,” Smith said. “This class really shows you a lot about communication. Today, Hank and Charlie didn’t get along — we have to communicate, we have to work around that.”

“I have some students who love to come on Wednesday and Friday, because the dogs make them feel better,” Anderson said. “They relax them, they comfort them. I have one who is an epileptic, and she said, ‘It makes me feel so much better.’”

Melanie Smith, an Ocoee senior, is president of the school, county and district FFA chapters and is looking at a career as a livestock embryolo gist — like an OB/GYN for livestock, she said — so being in the animal sci ences program was important to her. She has been working with cows, goats, hogs, chickens and sheep and has learned about animal health and animal husbandry — being involved in the dog daycare program has add ed another layer to her education.

Ruff day at school

HAVE

Cemetery controversy

The net increase in building area will be 5,236 square feet. Vehicular access will be provided from Woodlawn Cemetery Road with the addition of two new points of access.Thelandscape plan includes buff ering with canopy trees and shrubs along the perimeter, meeting code. Existing trees are proposed to be removed, subject to Chapter 15 of the Orange County Code, and the exist ing buffers to the north and west are intended to remain. The Orange County Environmental Protection Division has no objection to the request. As far as parking requirements, the total parking spaces required for the funeral home is 80, which includes one parking spot for every commer cial vehicle (18) and one parking spot per four seats with 245 in the chapel (62). There will be 187 parking spaces provided with 127 paved parking spots in Phase 1 and 60 additional spots in Phase 2.

Courtesy An aerial map of the property shows the proposed subject site.

The request will head to the County Commission for a hearing at the end of September.

OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 5AOrangeObserver.com sparkle Bring a little to your home with Besco CHANDELIERS I PENDANTS I OUTDOOR SCONCES I VANITY LIGHTS I FANS I MIRRORS Shop where the Decorators go COME VISIT OUR EXTENSIVE SHOWROOM 711 S. 14th St. (Hwy 27) I Leesburg, FL 34748 I 352-787-4542 Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. I Closed Saturday & Sunday SIGN UP FOR OUR MAIL LIST AT WWW.BESCOLIGHTS.COM TO RECEIVE SALES, NEW PRODUCT & SPECIAL EVENTS

REQUEST REPORT Case Planner Laekin O’Hara explained the proposed development is to be completed in two phases. Phase 1 will include the demolition of the barn and construction of the new funeral home with associated parking and access. O’Hara said the existing funeral home will continue operation until the time of issuance of the certificate of occupancy for the new funeral home and then will be demolished. Phase 2 will include the demolition of the existing funeral home and asso ciated parking and construction of an additional parking area and access to the west, connecting to internal road ways.O’Hara said the existing funeral home site will be reverted to a grass area and is intended to be used as an expanded cemetery area in the future.

COMMENTS:

RESIDENT RETALIATION Gotha resident Rick Arnold, who lives in the Spence Pointe Subdivi sion directly across from Woodlawn Cemetery, said many residents are not necessarily objecting to the con cept of Woodlawn building a new building but rather the concerns that have not been addressed. “Orange County continues to erode the meaning of property zoning,” Arnold said. “Every small approval continues to set a precedent for many others that have or are happening cur rently in OtherGotha.”concerns include the increased services at the cemetery; the neighborhood safety because of inap propriate behaviors in the cemetery after hours; lack of explanation for the relocation of the barn; and the poten tial loss of one of the main attractions to Gotha — the dark skies and quiet. Arnold said one of the biggest con cerns is the continued lack of traffic enforcement.“OrangeCounty has continued to ignore the traffic issues on Wood lawn,” he said. “There is zero enforce ment, and there are not only a lot of younger children (who) live along the road, yes, three of which are mine, but there are a ton more that travel this as a back entrance to Gotha Middle School.”Inaddition, Arnold said the side walks in the area are destroyed from use and Woodlawn has a rating with the Florida Department of Transpor tation that is exceeded every day by semi-trucks that are diverted, lost or delivering to the cemetery, all of which exceed the limits by more than double.

ANNABELLE SIKES STAFF WRITER A proposed expansion of the Wood lawn Cemetery received pushback from residents at an official commu nity meeting hosted by Orange Coun ty Government and District 1 Com missioner Nicole Wilson Wednesday, Aug. 31, at Gotha Middle School. The request, by applicant Juan Rodriguez, of Sci Funeral Services, is an amendment to a special exception in the A-1, Citrus Rural, zoning dis trict to allow the construction of a new 19,236-square-foot funeral home to replace the existing 14,000-squarefoot funeral home. The property sits on 103 acres and is located at 544 Woodlawn Cemetery Road in Gotha — on the west side of Woodlawn Cemetery Road, south of Old Winter Garden Road, west of South Apopka-Vineland Road and north of Florida’s Turnpike. Kasey A. Feltner, from Shutts & Bowen LLP representing the appli cant, said although the applicant did not wish to comment on the mat ter before press time, Rodriguez is “excited to work with the community to provide top-quality essential ser vices to the community.”

“We as a community have repeat edly asked for some means of traf fic calming and mitigation, and they placed two flashing signs that have become nothing more than a chal lenge for drivers to see just how fast they can go,” Arnold said. “We want a reasonable and sustainable solu tion to the traffic and speeding — the cemetery expansion does not help and only contributes to it. I believe that a roundabout or even two on Woodlawn would go a long way toward remediat ing this particular issue.” Gotha resident A. Kurt Ardaman, a partner at Fishback Dominick and city attorney for Winter Garden, said he had a conversation with Feltner during which the two discussed light ing, outside speakers, amplifiers and sound systems, and security. “I’ll defer to engineering on the lighting and sound system, but I would like to address the security,” Feltner said. “We are more than wel come to working with the community with regard to the security issues, but it’s not something that we can do as a condition of approval on this special exception under A-1.” Ardaman said the cemetery used to close the gates one half hour after sunset and would reopen them around sunrise. He said there is persistent illegal activity the residents believe occurs on the property. In addition, he said SCI used to have a security guard who would patrol the property every night.“They have discontinued the secu rity guard, and they do not close the gates,” Ardaman said. “It allows for continued activities, traffic through there, cars racing, likely drug sales, sexual activity — it’s becoming a prob lem. So from a practical standpoint, I would think SCI would want to take some steps to at least close the gates, especially because you’re proposing two new Wilsonentrances.”saidshewas not invited to or made aware of the unofficial commu nity meeting held by Feltner and the applicant Thursday, Aug. 25. “I want to thank the applicant for being involved and concerned enough to do a community meeting indepen dently of the county, but it does put us…we’re a little bit feeling on the back foot here not knowing that some of these things came up at a commu nity meeting that we weren’t involved in,” she said. “The applicant didn’t reach out to us to speak about any of this ahead of time, and one of the things I probably would have said was that I disagree about the exaction in a gate closing as a condition. We have examples in the county of those types of conditions and could include that if that’s something that would help the process.”However, despite resident concern, the Orange County Board of Zoning Adjustment approved the request to move on to the next step Thursday, Sept. 1 — fewer than 12 hours after the community meeting. Hannah Gutner, policy aide to Wilson, said their BZA appointee, Thomas Moses, was able to receive the commissioner’s notes from the community meeting the night prior and work out updated conditions of approval before the BZA meeting.

In addition to the five standard con ditions of approval, four additional conditions were added and approved.

The conditions include: specifica tions for lighting installation shall be restricted to downlighting, the cur rent capabilities of the existing sound system shall remain, the security entrance gates shall be locked from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m, and the new entrance areas will be equipped with CCTV cameras and signage noting that recording is occurring.

WHEN:

Orange County hosted a community meeting Wednesday, Aug. 31, to discuss the potential expansion of the Woodlawn Cemetery in Gotha. A VOICE COUNTY HEARINGCOMMISSION Tuesday, Sept. 27 WHERE: Orange County Admin istration Center, 201 S. Rosalind Ave., Orlando SUBMIT Email Case Planner Laekin O’Hara at Laekin.O’Hara@ocfl.net.

Polis Institute’s goal is to “build economic and racial equity in cities across the nation,” and it gives “people who care about thriving diverse cities clear paths to build equity, equality and op portunity.”TheFlorida-based organi zation advances alignments between core revitalization stakeholders: municipalities, foundations, investors, nonprof its and the people living in urban neighborhoods ready to thrive.

“When we come and work with communities at Polis Institute … we want to leave communities better than when we came — and we leave the communities with all the capacity they need to lead themselves. (But) sometimes the job of Polis works slower than people want. … If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, you need to go with everybody.”

EAST LAUNCHEDMARKETGARDENWINTER

6A OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 OrangeObserver.com Winter12200www.treasuretitle.comW.ColonialDr.,Suite200BGarden,FL34787info@treasuretitle.com THINK OF ITAS A PROPERTY RIGHTSFORCE FIELD For more information visit If you’re buying a home, get owner’s title insuranceand protect yourself from costly hidden problems. This advertising for informational purposes only. coveragesand your may vary company and exact terms,conditions, exclusions, eligibility limitations, contactinsurance company authorized business in location. gro.101gnisolcemoh TITLE INSURANCE IS A PROPERTY RIGHTS FORCE SHIELD! 387357-1 TREASURE TITLE 407-654-8811 CALL 387967-1 Join us for our 12th annual WGWW breast cancer cyclingHostedevent.byWinter Garden Wheelworks Think Pink Oct. 8th 2022 Presenting Sponsor Sponsors All proceeds go directly to help those affected by this horrible Theredisease.are three supported rides: 10, 27, & 60 miles. Lunch, goodie bags and prizes included. Sponsor opportunities still available! OrangeObserver.com SCAN TO REGISTER TODAY COMING THURSDAY Season Magazine is your ultimate guide to arts and entertainment events in West Orange. From theater and music to art galleries and black tie events, if it’s happening in the area’sculture scene, it’s in Season. SEPT. 22 The GUIDEObserver’s to the arts and society Get Out and Enjoy Fall SEASON Photo courtesy of the Orlando Ballet OrangeObserver.com386463-1

—Dr. Bahíyyah Maroon, Polis Institute

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

Organizations dream of a new east Winter Garden

POLIS INSTITUTE

The first in a series of network meetings was held last week to strengthen relationships and orga nize a large-scale collaboration plan for revitalization of the city of Winter Garden’s eastside com munity.Thecity sponsored and Polis Institute facilitated the meeting Wednesday, Aug. 31, at the Healthy West Orange facility in Winter Garden with about 60 community leaders and representatives from local nonprofits and other com munityThereorganizations.werethreemain goals for this inaugural meeting: to improve the community’s communication network to ensure all residents and all organizations have up-to-date information on activities, oppor tunities and services; to establish shared goals that residents and organizations actively work toward together; and to enhance a shared system of accountability so resi dents and organizations actively know what advances are being made in community revitalization and how everyone can best support the common vision of a fully revi talized community. City Manager Jon C. Williams told attendees each one of them is critical to the success of the revi talization efforts. “I assure you the city is commit ted to be a partner along the way,” Williams said. “We just have to remember that Rome was not built in a Dr.day.”Bahíyyah Maroon is a cultural anthropologist and CEO of Polis Institute.“Myjob follows in the footsteps of (Zora Neal Hurston’s) giant love for the African-American commu nity,” Maroon said. “When we come and work with communities at Polis Institute … we want to leave com munities better than when we came — and we leave the communities with all the capacity they need to lead themselves. (But) sometimes the job of Polis works slower than people want. … If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, you need to go with everybody.” Folks in attendance spoke about their organizations, and a master list was created. They represented groups such as the American Heart Association, Peace and Justice institute at Valencia College, Cir cles, Maxey Community Center, area businesses, local churches that work with children at the Maxey and at Winter Garden schools, Commu nity Health Centers, YMCA of Cen tral Florida, West Orlando Habitat for Humanity, the West Orange Healthcare District, Poverty Solu tions Group, Goodwill, Health By Design USA, Shepherd’s Hope, I Am Her ministry, Grow Orlando, Edge wood Children’s Ranch and Orange CountyThereGovernment.wereeastWinter Garden residents, some who have lived in the community their entire lives; and a few represented One Winter Garden, a new community group that focuses on governmental rela tions.“I’ve worked with just about every organization there is, (and I’ve) organized many of them,” said Charlie Mae Wilder, a 46-year res ident of east Winter Garden and a longtime community advocate. “It is a blessing to be here and work these with these young people and to see we need training and to get rid of the violence we see.” Harriette Bouler, who was born on 10th Street and raised on Center Street, also attended the meeting. She remained in Winter Garden after graduating from Charles R. Drew High School Another resident left east Winter Garden for college and the military but returned home. “It was and still is a wonderful place to live, and my hope for this organization is they’re going to help east Winter Garden,” she said. Officer James McLeod and Capt. Anthony Dawkins of the Winter Garden Police Department talk ed about their role in east Winter Garden. The two were assigned to east Winter Garden in 2005-06 to interact with the residents. McLeod recently was assigned there again as a community police officer. “The Winter Garden Police Department definitely is passion ate about building relationships,” Dawkins said. “It takes more than just the police department; it takes the community and partnerships. Our role as part of the city is to build relationships and identify prob lems. … It’s not about policing the community, it’s about engaging the community.”LesaBoettcher, chief operat ing officer of the Foundation for a Healthier West Orange, and Erika Feazell, community resource spe cialist for HUBB, shared informa tion about these programs. Foundation for a Healthier West Orange is the parent organization, which powers the Healthy West OrangeHUBBinitiative.connects residents with free and reduced-cost programs and critical assistance programs and can be accessed three ways: at the small resource center at 1200 E. Plant St., Winter Garden; through satellite services; and virtually at healthwestorange.org.“Thisconversation is one of many conversations,” Maroon said of the gathering. “One of the most important things you can do as a business leader, a nonprofit execu tive, a municipal leader, as we go forward … if we do our work well, the composition of this room needs to change. As we move forward, for every executive, there should be two to three constituents they serve.” Her final question to the group: “Every time you’re in a room to have a discussion about community rep resentation, does the composition of the room match the composition of the community being represent ed?”The next work session will have a hands-on format in October, and the discussion will be on assessing which community organizations offer services that overlap and find ing where programs might be able to “Wemerge.will lead collaboratively and purposely,” said William A. Jef ferson, Polis’ community project director.

Residents in East Winter Garden were able to fill bags with fresh produce, get their health checked, and en joy music and activities Aug. 25 at the launch of the East Winter Garden Market at Shepherd’s Hope. The American Heart Sept.nexttheandadesignedofonHeartBeatcoastCentralHarvestWestWinterWinterodistLuke’stionHope,Foundation,areactivitieseracyeducation,assistance,SNAP/WIChealthpressureproducewhichforcommunityteamedAssociationupwithlocalpartnerstheinauguralevent,included$5freshbags,bloodscreenings,education,applicationbusinessfinancialliteducation,familyandgames.LocalpartnerstheFloridaBlueShepherd’sHebniNutriConsultants,St.UnitedMethChurch,cityofGarden,OneGarden,HealthyOrange,SecondFoodBankofFlorida,SeaBank,104.5TheandtheAmericanAssociation.TheeventwillbeheldthefourthThursdayeachmonthandistoserveasfamily-friendlyfoodhealthresourceforcommunity.Themarketdateis22.

“From a 118-bed skilled nursing home in the 1970s to an expansion of this magnitude, we’re thrilled about putting the health and wellness of our residents at the forefront,” said Tracy Swanson, chief executive officer of the West Orange Healthcare District. “This expansion also closely aligns with the district’s strategic decision several years ago to evaluate invest ments in the community that will cre ate lasting benefits for seniors.” Orlando Health officials anticipate the project will be ready for occupan cy in the spring of 2024.

Courtesy The West Orange Healthcare District has committed $10 million toward the expansion of Health Central Park in Winter Garden.

“We’re excited about bringing this renewed facility to the Winter Garden community and so appreciative of the West Orange Healthcare District for partnering with us on the proj ect,” said Greg Ohe, senior vice presi dent of ambulatory care for Orlando Health. “Once complete, skilled nurs ing, long-term care and memory care residents will benefit from being in one location and in a new facility that allows for senior care to be second to none in the region.”

According to the Kuntz family, they have been able to make Andy’s Fro zen Custard the largest dessert-only franchise in the world. Frozen custard machines have been updated throughout the years, but the basic ingredient list for custard remains short and sweet: cream, sugar, vanilla extract and a few other trade secrets. Creamier than regular ice cream, frozen cus tard contains more butterfat and is churned very slowly. Frozen custard is rarely packaged for store shelves but instead made fresh hourly and served immediately to maintain its luxurious creaminess.

There could be a new place to get a sweet treat in Ocoee if Andy’s Frozen Custard is approved for the plaza at the corner of Maguire Road and West Colonial Drive. The new center already is home to other eateries — Southern Steer Butcher, Tijuana Flats, Vitality Bowls, Smack Wings - Ocoee and the new Sonny’s BBQ. Pearle Vision, Urgent Vet and Dentists of Ocoee also occupy space in the plaza, and The Joint Chi ropractic is coming soon as well.

OrangeObserver.com OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 7A WHEN YOU WORK WITH ME, YOU WORK WITH THE #1 NAME IN REAL ESTATE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PRODUCER AND TOP LISTING AGENT LEADERSHIPAWARDEXCELLENCEWINNER Scan this QR code for your home value (850)www.tennillebiggers.com628-4455ITennilleBiggers@kw.com 387370-1

WHAT IS ANDY’S FROZEN CUSTARD?

The custard shop currently is going through the approval process with the city of Ocoee. Developers are working on the next phase of the plaza, which will feature an expanded parking lot withThelandscaping.developerof the Andy’s Fro zen Custard project is South Nation al Development Company, based in Missouri.

Andy’s Frozen Custard is a quickservice frozen dessert restaurant, with drive-thru and walk-up service windows. The menu features a vari ety of treats, from simple vanilla or chocolate cones, to seasonal favor ites like Pumpkin Pie Concretes and Strawberry Shortcake Sundaes. Andy’s Frozen Custard has been all about custard since 1986. The tradi tion started in Osage Beach, Missouri, when John and Carol Kuntz embarked on a new frozen custard endeavor. Their cold treat quickly became a leg end at the lake. The Kuntzes’ son, Andy (and his wife, Dana) worked at the original Springfield location and learned the business from the ground up.

Health care district grants $10M to Health Central Park expansion

The long-term care and rehabilitation center is getting a makeover and addition.

Frozen custard on its way to Ocoee

Andy’s custard is made with egg yolks. To label something “frozen custard,” the Food and Drug Admin istration requires that, in addition to the basic ingredients of ice cream such as cream, milk and sugar, it also must contain 1.4% pasteurized egg yolk.The chain has locations locally in Sanford and Lakeland, with several others planned. It also operates in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Geor gia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mis souri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Andy’s Frozen Custard has submitted a plan to open a franchise in the plaza under construction in Ocoee.

The design and permitting stage has begun and should take about eight months.Deconstruction of the original sec tion of the building, which was built in 1967, is expected to start in January with construction of the new building addition beginning in early 2023. The 1967 section is being replaced with a new 110-bed, contemporary section for long-term care and memory care residents, bringing the total number of beds to 228. The new addition will feature pri vate rooms and include courtyards for outdoor respite and new rehabilita tion areas for patients. “With a growing senior population in our community, the West Orange Healthcare District made a strate gic decision four years ago to evalu ate investments in the community that will create lasting benefits for seniors,” said Wendy J. Roundtree, of JarelTheCommunications.WestOrangeHealthcare Dis trict board of directors and Orlando Health senior leaders have been dis cussing this opportunity to benefit the community for the past year and finalized the grant agreement in July.

“Tennille was absolutely incredible! As a first time home buyer she helped guide us through the process and answer every question we had (there were a lot). While looking at houses she knew what to ask – things I would have never thought of. She listened to our wants, likes, and dislikes, and helped find us our perfect fit. She helped set realistic expectations and facilitied a lot between us and the builder. I would 1,000% recommend her as she made the experience a lot more smooth. The Selling Agent even kept telling us how awesome Tennille was every time she talked us. Buying a new home is stressful, but Tennille took so much off our plate, she was incredible!” Ashley B.

IT COMES FOR YOUR WALLET FIRST! 387988-1

HISTORY The West Orange Healthcare District was created by an act of the Florida Legislature in 1949 and opened its doors in 1952 as West Orange Memorial Hospital on North Dillard Street in Winter Garden. The original hospital served the community’s surgical, maternity and general health care needs.West Orange Manor in Winter Garden became the district’s 118bed long-term care and rehabilita tion facility in the late 1970s. To day, it is known as Health Central Park, and it serves the community with 228 beds in a long-term care and rehabilitation setting. The fa cility also houses the Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center.

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR Health Central Park, a nursing home and rehabilitation center in Winter Garden, is getting major upgrades thanks to a large grant from the West Orange Healthcare District. The district has committed $10 million to Orlando Health to help pay for the $25 million expansion project, which will include the construction of a nearly 65,000-square-foot building addition.

TOSCANA The townhouse at 7380 Regina Way, Orlando, sold Aug. 31, for $525,000. Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 2,244 square feet. Days on market: Three.

MIRABELLA AT VIZCAYA

The home at 8308 Via Bella Notte, Orlando, sold Sept. 2, for $690,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, three-and-onehalf baths and 3,024 square feet.

8A OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 OrangeObserver.com *Not good with sales, prior orders, promos or closeouts already marked down. Lic. # SCC131151683 1122 Bichara Blvd, Next to Publix on Route 441/27 Perry’s Decorative Glass www.EntryPointbyPerrys.com • 751-0883 A of a Good Sale! ChooseManyWAREHOUSEOUTCLEANINGTHEStylestoFrom! YOUBIG!SAVE • Closeouts • One-of-a-Kind • Leftovers • Discontinued *Not good with sales, prior orders, promos or closeouts already marked down. Lic. #SCC131151683 10% OFF15% OFF2 OR MIRRORMOREMATE Before Mirror Wrap SHOWERS www.EntryPointbyPerrys.com • 751-0883 *FREE Can of Glass Cleaner w/Any Shower Purchase $100 OFF TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE DEALS! Fall is comingit’s Time to $ave WE Welcome FULL GLASS $100 OFF HALF GLASS $50 OFF Door & 1 Sidelight Door & 2 Sidelights Not good on prior sales. Must be purchased between 9/2 thru 9/30/22. FREE IN-HOUSE ESTIMATES ARE YOUR ENTRY DOORS WEARING OUT? PACKAGE DEAL DAYS ARE BACK! Welcome *Not good with sales, promos or closeouts already marked down. Lic. # SCC131151683 $100 OFF Matching Transom (over 5 sq. ft.) Leaded glass only. Not good on closeout or marked down glass. Not good on prior sales. Must be purchased between 9/2 thru 9/30/22. HALF GLASS $50 OFF Door $75 OFF Door & 1 Sidelight $100 OFF Door & 2 Sidelights FULL GLASS $100 OFF Door $125 OFF Door & 1 Sidelight $150 OFF Door & 2 Sidelights Perry’s Decorative Glass 1122 Bichara Blvd, Next to Publix on Route 441/27 www.EntryPointbyPerrys.com • 751-0883 Facebook.com/entrypointbyPerrys Are your entry doors wearing out? FRONT ENTRY DOOR W/1 SIDELIGHT OR 2 SIDE-LIGHTS NEW DOORS WITH YOUR CHOICE OF ½ OR FULL GLASS COMPLETE DOOR REPLACEMENTS NOW AVAILABLE! FREE In-House Estimates After Mirror Wrap Before Mirror Wrap SHOWERSWINGDOORSSLIDINGSHOWERDOORS WE YOUDOORINTERIORBACK!$50OFFAnyclearswingshowerdoorover15sf$50OFFAnyinstalledslidingdoorSLABSPECIALWe have a large selection of slabs: Pantry, Homegrown, Assorted Styles, Wheat Frosted, Reedglass, Laundry 25-40% OFF* ANY IN DOORSSTOCK PACKAGE DEAL DAYS ARE BACK! 10%OFF Any 1 Frame 15%OFF 2 or More 9/30/22THRU Change out those old sliding glass doors with new French doors with blinds! Welcome FRONT ENTRY DOOR W/1 SIDELIGHT OR 2 SIDE-LIGHTS NEW DOORS WITH YOUR CHOICE OF ½ OR FULL GLASS SAVINGS!New Year Not good with discount glass,closeout or prior sales. $100 OFF Any Full Leaded Glass $50 OFF Any 1/2 Leaded Glass 10% OFF OR 15% OFF 2 OR MIRRORMORE...MATE Before Mirror Wrap After Mirror Wrap ANY DBL DOOR, SWAP OUT or PRE-HUNG UNITDOORS MIRRORS EstimatesIn-HomeFREE $50 OFF Any Sliding Shower Door with Carved Design (over 20 sq ft), Slide or Swing $100 OFF Swing Over (over 20 sq ft) $50 OFF Any Chip Top Shower DoorSHOWERS Decorative Glass INTERIOR DOOR SLAB SPECIAL We have a large selection of slabs: Pantry, Homegrown, Assorted Styles, Wheat Frosted, Reedglass, Laundry 25-40% OFF ANY IN STOCK DOORS $100OFF INTERIOR DOOR SLAB SPECIAL We have a large selection of slabs: Pantry, Homegrown, Assorted Styles, Wheat Frosted, Reedglass, Laundry 25-40% OFF* ANY IN STOCK DOORS SLIDING SHOWER DOORS SWING SHOWER DOORS $50 OFF $50 OFF ANY ANYSLIDINGINSTALLEDDOORCLEARSWING SHOWER DOOR OVER 15 SF Copyright © | 2021 Observer Media Group Inc., All Rights Reserved. Local Newsrighttoyour inbox!

The home at 6609 Point Hancock Drive sold Aug. 31, for $1,980,000. Built in 2019, it has four bed rooms, four baths and 3,445 square feet. Days on market: 19.

SUMMERLAKE

The home at 8172 Via Rosa, Orlando, sold Aug. 31, for $850,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 3,834 square feet. Days on market: 10.

BELLA NOTTE AT VIZCAYA

SIGNATURE LAKES

The home at 7805 Pine Marsh Court, Orlando, sold Aug. 29, for $687,500. Built in 1987, it has four bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 2,310 square feet of living area. Days on market: Five.

The home at 9165 Phillips Grove Terrace, Orlando, sold Aug. 30, for $1,157,000. Built in 2000, it has six bedrooms, four-and-one-half baths and 3,987 square feet. Days on market: One.

STILLWATER CROSSINGS

SIGN ME UP FOR FREE! VISIT ORANGEOBSERVER.COM 386858-1

A daily dose of up-to-the-minute news from West Orange, delivered to your inbox every weekday afternoon.

KENSINGTON PARK

Golden Oak estate sells for $4.5 million

DR. AVALONPHILLIPSATTURTLE CREEK

WATERLEIGH The home at 8702 Sonoma Coast Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 30, for $1,182,000. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 3,911 square feet. Days on market: Four. The home at 9850 Beach Port Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 30, for $1,125,000. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, four-andone-half baths and 3,402 square feet. Days on market: 35. The home at 8714 Sonoma Coast Drive sold Aug. 30, for $1,100,000. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, three-and-onehalf baths and 3,911 square feet. The home at 8744 Sonoma Coast Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $1,002,751. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 3,911 square feet. Days on market: Nine.

ESTATEREAL

The home at 9861 Blaine Court, Golden Oak, sold Aug. 30, for $4.5 million. This home features five bedrooms, fourand-one-half baths and 4,708 square feet.

PRESTON SQUARE

LAKESIDE AT LAKES OF WINDERMERE The condo at 8156 Boat Hook Loop, No. 202, sold Aug. 30, for $295,000. Built in 2006, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,161 square feet. Days on market: 15.

The home at 4315 Saltmarsh Spar row Drive, Windermere, sold Aug. 31, for $745,000. Built in 2015, it has five bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 3,341 square feet. Days on market: 14.

ORCHARD HILLS

The home at 6573 Helmsley Circle, Windermere, sold Aug. 31, for $594,000. Built in 2008, it has four bedrooms, three-and-onehalf baths and 2,664 square feet. Days on market: 26.

The home at 7618 Loon Ave., Winter Garden, sold Sept. 2, for $670,000. Built in 2017, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 3,295 square feet. Days on market: 27.

Ahome in the Golden Oak community in Southwest Orange topped all West Orange-area residen tial real-estate transactions from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2. The home at 9861 Blaine Court, Golden Oak, sold Aug. 30, for $4.5 million. Built in 2015, it has five bedrooms, four-and-onehalf baths and 4,708 square feet of living area. These are the highestselling homes in each com munity in West Orange.

HERITAGE BAY AT PHILLIPS LANDING

The home at 14354 White Moss Way, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $572,500. Built in 2015, it has four bedrooms, three-and-onehalf baths and 2,731 square feet. Days on market: 19.

SNAPSHOT Total Sales: 95 High Sale Price: $4.5 million Low Sale Price: $200,000 realtor.com

HORIZON WEST HICKORY HAMMOCK The home at 15862 Citrus Grove Loop, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 30, for $625,000. Built in 2015, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,043 square feet. Days on market: 12.

PARKSIDE The home at 8533 Pippen Drive, Orlando, sold Sept. 1, for $1,100,000. Built in 2015, it has five bedrooms, four-and-onehalf baths and 3,795 square feet. Days on market: Five.

The home at 8625 Spindletop Drive, Orlando, sold Aug. 29, for $985,000. Built in 2001, it has five bedrooms, four-and-one-half baths and 4,618 square feet. Days on market: 95.

LAKESIDE VILLAGE TOWNHOMES The townhouse at 10655 Village Lake Road, Windermere, sold Aug. 31, for $465,000. Built in 2014, it has four bedrooms, threeand-one-half baths and 1,938 square feet. Days on market: 14.

POINT CYPRESS The townhouse at 8956 Della Scala Circle, Orlando, sold Aug. 30, for $596,000. Built in 2010, it has four bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 2,688 square feet. Days on market: 10.

ORANGE TREE COUNTRY CLUB The home at 7647 Clementine Way, Orlando, sold Aug. 31, for $615,000. Built in 1977, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,816 square feet. Days on market: 18.

HIDDEN SPRINGS

The home at 10854 Woodchase Circle, Orlando, sold Aug. 31, for $660,000. Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 2,270 square feet. Days on market: One.

hours

NORTH The home at 2135 Mountain Pine St., Ocoee, sold Aug. 31, for $490,000. Built in 2021, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 2,555 square feet. Days on market: Six. The home at 2901 Muller Oak Loop, Ocoee, sold Aug. 31, for $446,645. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,215 square feet.

C Martin Ins and Fin Svcs Inc Craig Martin ChFC CLU CLF, Agent 14416 Shoreside Way Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-656-1040 Craig@CraigMartinInsurance.com

Rates

ARDEN PARK SOUTH The home at 2014 Arden Oaks Drive, Ocoee, sold Aug. 31, for $489,000. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,078 square feet of living area. Days on market: 36.

When a disaster strikes, my team and will be there. Backed by one of the industry’s largest catastrophe response teams, we’ll be ready to help when you need us. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Winter

LAKE OLYMPIA LAKE VILLAGE

The home at 353 Lake Amberleigh Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 30, for $600,000. Built in 2003, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,762 square feet. Days on market: Seven.

Call or visit your local financial advisor today. Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % APY* % APY* % APY* Minimum deposit Minimum deposit Minimum deposit

The home at 9715 Wild Oak Drive, Windermere, sold Aug. 30, for $955,000. Built in 1981, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 3,208 square feet. Days on market: 33.

State Bloomington,Farm IL 2001965

OAKLAND PARK

SOUTHWEST ORANGE CYPRESS POINT

WINDERMERE CROSSING The home at 12188 Windermere Crossing Circle, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $626,000. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,538 square feet. Days on market: Two.

WINTER AMBERLEIGHGARDEN

Accepting new patients

The home at 1071 Hawthorne Cove Drive, Ocoee, sold Sept. 2, for $650,000. Built in 1993, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,306 square feet. Days on market: 75.

The home at 322 E. Fourth Ave., Windermere, sold Aug. 30, for $1,725,000. Built in 2017, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 3,760 square feet of living area.

When a disaster strikes, my team and I will be there. Backed by one of the industry’s largest catastrophe response teams, we’ll be ready to help when you need us. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®

C Martin Ins and Fin Svcs Inc Craig Martin ChFC CLU CLF, Agent 14416 Shoreside Way Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-656-1040 State Bloomington,Farm IL We’re here. We’re ready.

JOHNS LANDING

Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % APY* % APY* % APY* Minimum deposit Minimum deposit Minimum deposit * Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 08/12/2022. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest

C Martin Ins and Fin Svcs Inc Craig Martin ChFC CLU CLF, Agent 14416 Shoreside Way Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-656-1040

OAKLAND TRAILS

The home at 5939 Caymus Loop, Windermere, sold Sept. 2, for $1,275,000. Built in 2003, it has five bedrooms, four baths and 3,343 square feet of living area. Days on market: 14.

The home at 9378 Meadow Hunt Way, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 30, for $535,000. Built in 2016, it has three bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 1,892 square feet. Days on market: 53.

OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 9AOrangeObserver.com

State Bloomington,Farm IL

JOHNSOAKLANDCOVE

3.35 $1000 3.403.153.00 385473-1 407-521-3550 General Dermatology & General Skin Examinations Specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer Now located at 1067 S. Clarke Road, Ocoee FL 34761

The home at 3333 Kentshire Blvd., Ocoee, sold Aug. 29, for $750,000. Built in 2003, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 3,522 square feet. Days on market: 43.

We’re here. We’re ready. When a disaster strikes, my team and I will be there. Backed by one of the industry’s largest catastrophe response teams, we’ll be ready to help when you need us. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® C Martin Ins and Fin Svcs Inc Craig Martin ChFC CLU CLF, Agent 14416 Shoreside Way Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-656-1040 State Bloomington,Farm IL 2001965

The home at 5848 Marleon Drive, Windermere, sold Sept. 2, for $1,250,000. Built in 2016, it has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 3,835 square feet. Days on market: Two.

TOWN OF WINDERMERE

WAUSEON RIDGE The home at 11129 Lake Butler Blvd., Windermere, sold Aug. 31, for $700,000. Built in 1960, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,098 square feet. Days on market: 47.

WINDERMERE DOWNS

The home at 219 W. Newell St., Winter Garden, sold Sept. 2, for $542,000. Built in 2020, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,419 square feet. Days on market: 40.

HERITAGE AT PLANT STREET

The home at 14405 Shaman Way, Winter Garden, Lake County, sold Aug. 30, for $560,000. Built in 2022, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,107 square feet. Days on market: 45.

The home at 979 Huntspoint St., Winter Garden, sold Aug. 31, for $740,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,343 square feet of living area. Days on market: 61.

WATERSIDE AT JOHNS LAKE The home at 17177 Ocean Hill Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 31, for $550,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,692 square feet of living area. Days on market: Eight.

WINTERMERE POINTE

C Martin Ins and Fin Svcs Inc

We’re ready.

VILLAGES OF WESMERE

ARDENOCOEEPARK

realtor.com

The home at 322 E. Fourth Ave., Windermere, sold Aug. 30, for $1,725,000. It was the largest transaction in Windermere from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2.

The home at 2413 Prairie View Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 30, for $630,000. Built in 2003, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,900 square feet. Days on market: 40.

visit your

The home at 915 Johns Cove Lane, Oakland, sold Aug. 30, for $645,000. Built in 2004, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,486 square feet. Days on market: Three.

Now Offering ✳ Dental Implants ✳ Sedation Dentistry ✳ Cosmetic Clear Braces ✳ Pain Free Injections ✳ Accepting New Patients 213 S

6-month 2.85 $1000 1-year 3.05 $1000 2-year 3.35 $1000 > edwardjones.com Call or visit your local financial advisor today. Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % APY* % APY* % APY* * Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 08/12/2022. CDs bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs Douglas J Palmer Financial Advisor 1530 Citrus Medical Ct Ste 103 Ocoee, FL 407-412-679334761-4548

The home at 8725 White Ibis Court, Orlando, sold Sept. 1, for $1.2 million. Built in 1994, it has five bedrooms, five-and-one-half baths and 4,177 square feet.

Craig Martin ChFC CLU CLF, Agent 14416 Shoreside Way Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-656-1040 State Bloomington,Farm IL 2001965

WESMERE

C Martin Ins and Fin Svcs Inc Craig Martin ChFC CLU CLF, Agent 14416 Shoreside Way Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-656-1040 State Bloomington,Farm IL 2001965 We’re here. We’re ready.

Call or visit your local financial advisor today. Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % APY* % APY* % APY* Minimum deposit Minimum deposit Minimum deposit * Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 08/12/2022. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose Douglas J Palmer Financial Advisor 1530 Citrus Medical Ct Ste 103 Ocoee, FL 407-412-679334761-4548

The home at 14913 Guava Bay Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $610,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,485 square feet. Days on market: Three.

deposit Minimum deposit Minimum

The home at 1879 White Feather Loop, Oakland, sold Sept. 2, for $460,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,209 square feet. Days on market: 43.

WINDSOR LANDING

FL 34787

GOLDEN OAK

The home at 8753 Sonoma Coast Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $965,000. Built in 2022, it has five bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 3,911 square feet.

The home at 9861 Blaine Court, Golden Oak, sold Aug. 30, for $4.5 million. Built in 2015, it has five bedrooms, four-and-one-half baths and 4,708 square feet.

WEST ORANGE LAKE CYPRESS COVE

St.,

today. Compare our

We’re here.

6-month 2.85 1-year 3.05 2-year 3.35 > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC

The home at 433 Orionvista Way, Oakland, sold Aug. 29, for $528,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,547 square feet. Days on market: 10.

KEENE’SWINDERMEREPOINTE

STONEYBROOK WEST The home at 1156 Hawkslade Court, Winter Garden, sold Sept. 1, for $464,999. Built in 2004, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,538 square feet. Days on market: Eight.

C Martin Ins and Fin Svcs Inc

Craig Martin ChFC CLU CLF, Agent 14416 Shoreside Way Winter Garden, FL 34787 Bus: 407-656-1040 387450-1 310499-1 Dillard Suite 140 Garden, Office Hours: Mon: 8-4 Tues-Thurs: 8-12 & 1-5 Fri: 7-1 or local financial advisor CD Bank-issued, APY* % APY* % APY* Minimum deposit

6-month 2.85 $1000 1-year 3.05 $1000 2-year 3.35 $1000 > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC

FDIC-insured %

The home at 517 Buckhaven Loop, Ocoee, sold Aug. 31, for $476,500. Built in 1997, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 1,952 square feet. Days on market: 18.

The home at 351 Chickasaw Berry Road, Ocoee, sold Aug. 31, for $450,000. Built in 2014, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,412 square feet. Days on market: 25.

Call Today for Your Appointment! BR DENTAL 407-905-9965 www.drbrianramski.com 387355-1 310499-1 Now Offering ✳ Dental Implants ✳ Sedation Dentistry ✳ Cosmetic Clear Braces ✳ Pain Free Injections ✳ Accepting New Patients 213 S Dillard St., Suite 140 Winter Garden, FL 34787 Office Hours: Mon: 8-4 Tues-Thurs: 8-12 & 1-5 Fri: 7-1 Call Today for Your Appointment! BR DENTAL 407-905-9965 www.drbrianramski.com 387283-1 > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC Call

Office M-F by appointment

COOPER AND SEWELL ADDITION

LAKE APOPKA SOUND

The home at 1125 Eagles Pass Way, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $769,644. It has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 2,653 square feet. The home at 907 Colie Alley, Winter Garden, sold Sept. 1, for $530,270. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 1,737 square feet. Days on mar ket: Three.

Douglas J Palmer Financial Advisor 1530 Citrus Medical Ct Ste 103 Ocoee, FL 407-412-679334761-4548

WATERMARK The home at 9882 Summerlake Groves St., Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $710,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 2,935 square feet. Days on market: 16.

WINTERMERE HARBOR The home at 13252 Lakeshore Grove Drive, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 29, for $875,000. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 3,201 square feet. Days on market: 18.

371883-1 State Bloomington,Farm IL 2001965

The home at 745 Orange Belt Loop, Winter Garden, sold Aug. 31, for $696,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 3,577 square feet. Days on market: 76.

6-month 2.85 $1000 1-year 3.05 $1000 2-year 3.35 $1000 FDI-1867K-A © 2022 EDWARD D. JONES & CO., L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC Call or visit your local financial advisor today. Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % APY* % APY* % APY* Minimum deposit Minimum deposit Minimum deposit * Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 08/12/2022. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Douglas J Palmer Financial Advisor 1530 Citrus Medical Ct Ste 103 Ocoee, FL 407-412-679334761-4548 6-month 2.85 $1000 1-year 3.05 $1000 2-year 3.35 $1000 > edwardjones.com | Member Call or visit your local financial advisor today.

Call or visit your local financial advisor today.

Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % APY* % APY* % APY* Minimum deposit Minimum deposit Minimum deposit * Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 08/12/2022. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to Douglas J Palmer Financial Advisor 1530 Citrus Medical Ct Ste 103 Ocoee, FL 407-412-679334761-4548 6-month 2.85 $1000 1-year 3.05 $1000 2-year

6-month 2.85 $1000 1-year 3.05 $1000 2-year 3.35 $1000 Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 09/01/2022. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per deposit or, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are sub ject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC). > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC

* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 08/12/2022. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest Douglas J Palmer Financial Advisor 1530 Citrus Medical Ct Ste 103 Ocoee, FL 407-412-679334761-4548

The home at 11331 Fenimore Court, Windermere, sold Aug. 29, for $935,000. Built in 2002, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,551 square feet of living area. Days on market: Seven. The home at 8567 Bowden Way, Windermere, sold Sept. 2, for $812,000. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,813 square feet of living area. Days on market: 11.

The home at 3333 Kentshire Blvd., Ocoee, sold Aug. 29, for $750,000. It was the largest transaction in Ocoee from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2. realtor.com

We’re ready.

10A OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 OrangeObserver.com news/real /relevant /trustworthy Every story and every photo we publish in print and online is truly local. we’remainstream OrangeObserver.com 388259-1 not

The team placed first during the Osceola High School Kowboy Invitational Aug. 27.

The Windermere High School girls cross country team is much more than just a team — it’s a family. For senior Lauren Minor, 16, this was the main aspect that kept her on the team throughout her high school career.“Ijust love the family,” she said. “I feel like over the last four years that I’ve been here, these people haven’t just been teammates, they’ve been my friends, my sisters. I feel like this is my family, and I love coming to prac tice every day and being a part of it.” The Wolverines’ cross country family comes from many different cultures and backgrounds, and soph omore Ava Lack, 15, loves it. “I love that cross country is not just one culture, it’s a mix of things,” she said. “You can learn so much about

Andrea Mujica SEE WOLVERINES PAGE 3B SEE VIPERS PAGE 2B

4Windermere Prep’s Jackson Bennett got the second-highest rushing total in school history during the Lakers’ game against Lake Placid Friday, Sept. 2. The run ning back rushed for 249 yards and scored three touchdowns.

The Vipers are impatiently looking forward to getting the first W in the school’s history.

HIGH 5 GAME OF THE WEEK LAKE

3Horizon High School girls volleyball team remains undefeated during its season with a record of 5-0. The Hawks have only lost one set since the beginning of the season against Edgewater — but still won the game against the Eagles, 3-1. The Vipers fell against the Hawks, 3-0, Wednesday Aug. 31. The girls’ next opponent is Mount Dora at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 6, dur ing an away district game, after press time.

Windermere Prep senior Julia Kane is a leader on and captain of the Lakers volleyball team. Page 2B. BUENA VISTA VS. FROM NOTHING

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

With a new school comes a new football program. This was the case with Lake Buena Vista High school when it opened in 2021 and head football coach Joe Rienzi began to recruit athletes to put together a football team. “It’s got its challenges every single day,” he said about starting a program from scratch. “Even still here, in its second year, there’s still challenges with building something from noth ing. … It’s great. It’s rewarding when you start seeing things click and you start to see the kids buying in and doing the things that you expect of them. You start to see the kids taking ownership of things and holding their teammates accountable.” Last year, about 40 to 45 players who competed in varsity football had never picked up a football in their lives.“We really spent a lot of time teach ing them the entirety of football,” Rienzi said. “Now, they talk to me about the college games they watch or the pro teams that they like to sup port. They’ve sort of grown over the course of the year in terms of that, which is Runninggreat.”back Andres Romero, 17, is one of the players who joined the team last year and had never played football before.“Icame from Venezuela last year, and I just started watching these guys who definitely got experience, and I tried to do my best,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. I felt scared (because) I’ve never played this sport before. I saw a lot of tackles, a lot of hits, a lot of things. But I’ve been learning about it, and I think I’m doing great.” Making history is one of the big gest motivations for the Vipers when it’s time to step onto the football field on Friday nights; the team is looking forward to getting that first school win soon.

The First Academy alum nus Ben Deluzio, Class of 2013, recently was called up by the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Deluzio debuted in The Show Friday, Sept. 2 wearing jersey No. 26.

SPORTS SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

FREEDOM, FRIDAY, SEPT. 9 SOMETHING

Olympia High School’s girls volleyball team is currently undefeated with a 7-0 record. The Titans faced Apopka High School at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, during a home non-district game after press time. They then will face their rivals — the Dr. Phillips Panthers — at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8.

Windermere High School girls cross country off to fast start

1Foundation Academy’s swim team OrangewooddefeatedChristian and Cornerstone Charter during its first swim meet Wednesday, Aug. 31. The girls swim team defeated Orangewood 61-30 and Cornerstone 48-41, while the boys swimming team de feated Orangewood 52-20 and Cornerstone 47-27.

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

Julia Kane BY AND SHANNON TILL/STATE FARM IN FOWLER GROVES THE BASICS AGE: 17 GRADE: Senior SPORTS: Volleyball and beach volleyball POSITIONS: Outside hitter, libero CLUB: Top Select Volleyball Academy

“We are trying to make sure that the kids are involved, that we are fundamentally sound,” Rienzi said. “I tell (them) all the time, there’s two things that you’ve got to do in every football game no matter what: You’ve got to be able to block, and you’ve got to be able to tackle.” When it comes to defense, there’s a similar mindset.

SPONSORED

WEEK TWO RECAP GAME OF THE WEEK WEST ORANGE (2-0), 13 APOPKA (1-1), 6

UP NEXT: The Warriors will host Edgewater Friday, Sept. 9.

FOUNDATION ACADEMY (1-0), 7 LAKE HIGHLAND PREP (0-1), 43 HIGHLIGHTS: Foundation Acad emy running back J.T. Bronaugh rushed the ball 14 times for 124 yards and scored the only touch down for the Lions. On defense, linebacker Sam Zagame led the team with 10 tackles, while de fensive lineman Damian Williams got three pancake blocks during the game.

WINDERMERE PREP (2-0), 35 LAKE PLACID (0-2), 19 UP NEXT: The Lakers will travel to Melbourne Central Catholic Friday, Sept. 9. 394-0303

Athlete of the Week winter garden 731 S. Dillard St. Unit 101/103 (407) 410-8998

Tell us about your years playing volleyball. I’ve been playing for 12 years; I started really young as a libero. Once I got into high school, since I grew quite a bit, I started play ing outside for the school’s team. What do you enjoy playing most? I enjoy playing libero most, because it’s just my main posi tion, and I really enjoy the defensive aspect of it. But playing outside is fun in high school, because it’s different. Why volleyball? It kind of just happened out of circumstance, because my sister (Katie Kane) played, and I was always at the gym and I was like ‘OK, why don’t I try?’ And I started when I was 6 (years old), and then as I kept going, I really liked it so, I stuck with it. What do you enjoy playing most, offense or defense? Defense. I just like when someone goes for a big swing and you just pick it up and they were expect ing to geta kill and you are like, ‘Nope.’ What is your favorit e part about being a part of the Lakers volleyball team? I really like starting off. I started playing varsity at the end of seventh grade, so I liked, at that time, being able to look up to the senior girls. And then, being able to switch roles, now I’m a senior, and we have have found it’s something I have a good effort with covering tips, because I have the libero back ground. What’s your favorite hobby? Definitely art painting. I like acrylic, oil and the most recent thing I’m doing is oil pastel. I like portraits or natural landscapes.

UP NEXT: The Lions will travel to Trinity Prep Friday, Sept. 9.

State Farm of being there. That’s one reason why I’m proud to support West Orange county.. Get to a better State State Farm, Bloomington, IL

Athlete of the Week Sponsored by Shannon Till, We’re all in this together. State Farm has a long tradition of being there. That’s one reason why I’m proud to support West Orange county.

CONTINUED Andrea Mujica

FROM PAGE 1B

HORIZON (2-0), 34 LAKE HOWELL (1-1), 7 HIGHLIGHTS: This game took two days to finish. Following lightning delays Friday, Sept. 2, the Hawks resumed dominant play Satur day, Sept. 3.

HIGHLIGHTS: West Orange War riors quarterback Trever Jackson went 10 for 14 for 134 yards through the air, rushed the ball for 85 yards and scored two touchdowns. Wide receiver Jordyn Bridgewater had three catches for 60 yards, and wide receiver Larry Miles had three catches for 47 yards. Defensive lineman Chris Ficka performed 10 tackles and two sacks. Line backer Noah Nixon performed 11 tackles and one sack. Defensive back Devin Jackson had nine tackles during the game.

“That’s what has them hungry, and that’s what they are focused on,” Rienzi said. “They want that, and I tell them all the time that they can’t win it for me. They’ve got to win it for themselves, because that’s something that can’t be taken away from them when they look back to this school in 20 years. When they’ve got kids going here, they’ll get to say, ‘Hey, I was part of the team that got the first win ever at that school.’ That’s their motiva tion, and that’s what’s driving them — especially after last year.” Wide receiver Mason Henrich sen, 17, is a transfer from Dr. Phillips — where he played football prior to Lake Buena Vista’s opening in 2021. “Being one of the first people to be in the program was kind of weird at first, but you start to get used to it once a lot of kids start to come in and it all starts to feel like a real football team,” he said. “The first win of the school … can come this week or next week. I don’t see a team that is much better than us. … Every week, there’s an opportunity that we could definitely win.” Building the program has required patience and understanding from both sides — the coaching staff and the“Theplayers.thing that I would tell them is, ‘Don’t focus on the struggles of the process; we’ve got to focus on the end result,’” Rienzi said. “Essentially, every kid (who) played last year is playing this year again, which is a testament to the hard work they are putting in and their excitement into building the pro gram.”Onthe offense, the team is work ing on fundamentals and utilizing every player to his full potential.

“You can teach so many life les sons about overcoming adversity, about how emotions can swing really quickly,” he said. “The biggest things are those life lessons that are hard for kids to sometimes see in different classrooms. … (Football) is a perfect metaphor for what they are going to expect and what they are going to see once they leave (high school). So our job is really to showed improvement over their inaugural 2021-22 season. Although they sit at 0-2, both games were competitive, with the Vipers losing a close one, 27-20 against Gateway (1-0) Aug. 26, followed by a 28-13 loss to Cypress Creek (2-0) Sept. 2. Looking forward, the team is ready to host Freedom (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. “Last year, I would hesitate to call games rivalry games; I say that those things tend to take time,” Rienzi said. “But I will say that most of our kids last year — whether they were players or students from campus — came from Freedom and so that sort of developed into the game that everybody is looking forward to the most really quickly. And it’s exciting to have those games on the sched ule, because they are fun. Anything can happen in a game like that —

CENTRAL CHRISTIANFLORIDAACADEMY (2-0), 34 MOUNT DORA (1-1), 10 HIGHLIGHTS: Central Florida Christian Academy quarterback Jacob Kania completed 16 of 20 attempts for 182 yards, scored two touchdowns and completed one interception. Kania rushed the ball six times for 175 yards and scored one TD. Running back Marcus McCrimmon Jr. rushed the ball 30 times for 175 yards and scored two TDs. On the defensive side of the ball, inside linebacker Alix Charles had seven tackles, two forced fumbles and one interception. The Eagles held Mount Dora to a total of 87 yards.

LAKE BUENA VISTA (0-2), 13 CYPRESS CREEK (2-0), 28 UP NEXT: The Vipers will host Freedom Friday, Sept. 9. QB Josiah McNair threw the first TD in school history to wide receiver Mason Henrichsen.

DR. PHILLIPS (0-2), 22 TIMBER CREEK (1-1), 24 UP NEXT: The Panthers will travel to Apopka Friday, Sept. 9.

We’reFriends.Family.Community.allinthistogether. 1211007

Call us to have our mobile showroom come to you! Shop our extensive flooring selection.

Follow us385463-1 Shop our entire catalog now at www.marksfloorsonline.com

State Farm, Bloomington, IL

We’reFriends.Family.Community.allinthistogether.

What are three places you would like to visit and why? I’d like to go to Tokyo, just because the city looks so differ ent than the cities we are used to. Maybe Australia, because of its scenery, and maybe Croatia, because it looks very pretty. If you could have a superpower, which one would it be and why? Teleportation, because I could travel very easily.

State Farm has a long tradition of being there. That’s one reason why I’m proud to support West Orange county.. Get to a better State Winter Garden, FL 34787 407-656-4000 I www.shannontill.com

LEGACY CHARTER (2-0), 40 TAYLOR (1-1), 0 UP NEXT: Legacy will travel to Cornerstone Charter Acad emy Friday, Sept. 9.

We’reFriends.Family.Community.allinthistogether.

minneola 301 E. Washington St. Unit F (352)

Shannon Till, Agent Fowler’s Grove 3279 Daniels Rd Winter Garden, FL 34787 Toll Free: www.shannontill.com855-742-1591

“We want to make sure that the kids are learning the game,” Rien zi said. “They are starting to see what other teams are doing, they are starting to see familiarity, pat terns, and so really for us on defense is about being gap sound, is about making sure we are able to know our job every play, because there’s a lot of adjustments on the defensive side of the ball.” Slot receiver and safety Tyson Tran, 16, is looking forward to play ing with his teammates and having a great“Creatingseason.the program was diffi cult at first, but now, we are devel oping more, and we are getting bet ter every day,” he said. “I can help my team by becoming a great leader, pushing everyone and making a dif ference.”Whenit comes to culture, Rienzi is trying to instill a sense of under standing for the small details, as well as having fun and account ability.“Some of the biggest things that we like to preach are that details matter — not necessarily footballwise but just in life,” he said. “In school every day, you’ve got to pay attention to details regardless of what you are doing. I am (also) really big on making sure that kids are having fun, and accountability. They’ve got to understand that they are part of something bigger than (them) so accountability is really big on what we are trying to instill and what we are trying to build here.” Rienzi has surrounded himself with a coaching staff based on who they are as a person. “The biggest thing that I look for when I talk to guys when bringing them over here is, ‘What type of man are you?’” he said. “These kids, a lot of them, look up to coaches as that father figure in their life. So I look for guys that I think these kids are going to be able to talk to, that I think they are going to be able to trust, that I think are going to put their players Ultimately,first.”Rienzi wants his play ers to see the football field as the best classroom on campus.

Vipers seek first win

UP NEXT: The Eagles will travel to New Smyrna Beach Thursday, Sept. 8.

THE FIRST ACADEMY (2-0), 24 SEFFNER CHRISTIAN (1-1), 10 UP NEXT: The Royals will travel to Mulberry Friday, Sept. 9.

WINDERMERE (1-1), 6 FREEDOM (1-1), 36 UP NEXT: The Wolverines will travel to Cypress Creek Friday, Sept. 9.

UP NEXT: The Titans will travel to Lake Nona Friday, Sept. 2.

Shannon Till, Agent Fowler’s Grove 3279 Daniels Rd Winter Garden, FL 34787 Toll Free: www.shannontill.com855-742-1591

MARK’S FLOORING

Windermere Prep senior and volleyball team captain Julia Kane led her team during the first two matches of the season with 21 kills, 23 digs and an 83% positive serve reception. Kane also contributed 11 service points, four aces and five blocks. She is verbally committed to Purdue University and In diana University and is looking forward to making her official decision prior to the end of the semester; she will graduate in December.

OCOEE (1-1), 15 WEKIVA (1-1), 14 UP NEXT: The Knights will travel to Evans Friday, Sept. 9 OLYMPIA (1-1), 41 OAK RIDGE (0-2), 7 HIGHLIGHTS: Olympia High School quarterback Juan Gain ous threw five touchdowns, running back Shazaar Roberts rushed for more than 100 yards, and wide receiver Xavier Tucker had more than 100 yards and scored two touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, Jalon Thompson and Allen Sieni both nabbed interceptions.

UP NEXT: The Hawks will travel to Colonial Friday, Sept. 9.

Shannon Till, Agent Fowler’s Grove 3279 Daniels Rd Winter Garden, FL 34787 Toll Free: www.shannontill.com855-742-1591

State Farm® has a long tradition of being there. That’s one reason why I’m proud to support West Orange county.. Get to a better State® TM Hablamos Español

WEEKTHEOFATHLETE

1211007

What’s your favorite movie? “10 Things I Hate About You” — it’s just cute and cheesy. What TV series are you watch ing right now? “Downton Abbey.” I like the set ting — like the Old England.

2B OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 OrangeObserver.com

The West Orange High School girls volleyball team defeated Ocoee High School 3-0 during a home non-dis trict game Tuesday, Aug. 30. The Warriors entered the court with a display of a very strong offense, winning the first set 25-13; the second set 25-7; and the third set 25-18. “I thought we connected with the middles and the right sides the best we have the whole season,” West Orange head volleyball coach Matthew Jackson said. “So we had a nice offense. (It) starts with serves though. We’ve been working on it, and we were much better than our last “Defensegame.was good, got some good balls up on defense, kept the rallies alive and took care of the easy stuff,” Jackson said. “So, much improvements from our last week’s games as well.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B West Orange

OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 3BOrangeObserver.com Plan for the future. Enjoy the now. Don’t let the unexpected catch you off guard. 407-877-6700 1148 East Plant Street | Winter Garden, FL www.collisoncareyhand.com34787 Start your advanced planning by calling today. 385448-1 LIC #F080822 Winter Garden’s ONLY family owned funeral home. (407) 614-8350 1132 E. Plant Street Winter Garden, FL 34787 www.winteroakfuneralhome.com Direct Cremation for Exceptional - Not Expensive $895 Including the alternative container. Call for details. 385460-1 All inclusive direct cremation only $995 Burial starting at $2,295 (407) 695-CARE (2273) www.DeGusipeFuneralHome.com “Because You Care” Family Owned & OperatedFull service funeral provider with onsite crematory. FRANK SCARLATA TODD DEGUSIPE Director/Manager Director/Owner MAITLAND SANFORD OCOEE UNIONTOWN 9001 N. Orlando Ave Maitland, FL 32771 905 Laurel Ave. Sanford, FL 32771 1400 Matthew Paris Blvd Ocoee, FL 34761 65 N. Gallitan Ave Uniontown, PA 15401 385454-1 Let us tell the story We Proudly Offer Traditional Burial and Cremation Services Prearranged Funeral Services Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home Winter Garden BaldwinFairchild.com I 407-656-2233 428 E Plant St, Winter Garden, FL 34787 of your life We’ll take the first step with you 921 S. US Hwy 27, Minneola, FL One block north of Citrus Tower 352-394-8228 I CremationChoicesfl.com CremationDirect$845 plus container 387369-1

Wolverines ready for season girls volleyball beats Ocoee

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

The Knights were able to battle the Warriors through the majority of the third set but struggled during the first “Definitelytwo. our serves start ing up in set one and set two weren’t on point, so we had a lot of serves errors right there and then lack of communication,” Ocoee head volleyball coach Cathy Lee-Edwards said. “We turned that around in set three. They started really moving around more, communicating more and really getting their confidence back in what they know that they canBothdo.”teams are looking forward to the upcoming games of the season. “Definitely, we are going to keep improving every match we play,” Jackson said. “We have a tourna ment this weekend against some really tough competition, so we are looking to compete really high there. And then, we will continue to build in our district matches and hope fully find ourselves in the final for our“Expectationdistrict.” is to definitely advance on our playing skills, and once we do that, we’ll be coming away with some W’s,” Lee-Edwards said. West Orange will host Horizon High School for a district game at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, while Ocoee traveled to Freedom High School for a non-district game at 7 p.m. Tues day, Sept. 6, after press time. different people and their culture just by being on a team with them and hearing different things about them, because we are very communicative and we love to talk about things from each other’s cul ture and be open to all the different ones.” Despite being a team sport, though, cross country can push each athlete individually. This is one of the aspects sophomore Charlotte Dudek, 16, appre ciates“Themost.best thing is that it is more indi vidual,” she said. “You are not always racing against other people; you are rac ing against the clock and racing against yourself. The only person standing in your way between you and your goal is yourself — and how much you want it. It’s just all about hard work.” One of the things the girls have learned from their head cross country coach, Jason Greer, is to think about the legacy they are leaving behind once they graduate.“Ifwe all progress, we could work together as a team to knock out the other girls and the other teams from the competition and to really solidify our legacy,” senior Madeleine Empric, 17, said. “Coach Greer always (asks), ‘What is your legacy?’ So we can really show everyone who comes after us that we were good (and) prove that we have what it “Whattook.”Iwant to continue (in this program) is to continue (the legacy from the previous coaches) and have these girls create their own,” Greer said. “The legacy of commitment, dedication and making sure they are there for one another and to really try to do their best each time they are on the course.”

Andrea Mujica Both teams are looking forward to the rest of their season. There was a lot of net action during the game.

3-0

Sophomore Isabelle Christensen, 15, joined the team this year and hopes to be able to help the Wolverines in future meets by becoming faster practice after practice.“(I’mworking) on pacing and breath ing and also working on stride,” she said. “I’d like to run my best in every meet — that’s the best way to help this team, and by pushing each other at practice.” Trust among the athletes also is key. “We don’t necessarily care about spacing out,” Greer said. “We care about being fit. We care about managing the course. We care about understanding our competition so that when there’s time to run super fast, we scaffold into where they can reach PRs at the most optimumFreshmantime.”Lauren Ikeda, 14, and junior Lilah Kohlbacher, 16, enjoy the fitness aspect of the sport and how goals are definite, not abstract, which makes their time goals easier to achieve with hard work and dedication.

The girls, and their coach, all have one common goal in mind — to make it to “Ifstates.we all work together and keep a positive mind(set) and a positive atti tude, we can really make it far,” Lack said.

This year, the team still is facing some hardships related to COVID-19; it has not been able to reach the numbers it had prior to the pandemic. “It is (still) limiting the amount of par ticipation, so the bodies that we have are down,” Greer said. “But the bodies that we have out there, they are collectively coming together to be cohesive, which is the most important.”

REPORT CARD POSITION:

NOMINATE YOUR INFLUENCER Do you have an “unsung hero” at your school? If so, please nominate him or her for our Influencer of the Week feature. Nominations can be sent via email to contact@orangeobserver.com.

Melinda Gerardi is the physical education paraprofessional at Water Spring Elementary. She assists the school’s physical education coach in activities, class control and working with students. As coach, she also leads classes on her own and runs activities of her choosing. Gerardi received recently the Melody Burton Scholarship.

OrangeObserver.com Building a Foundation for Life A Private Christian School Serving Grades Pre-K - 12 Character Matters. An education should not only develop intellect, ONE OF ORLANDO’S TOP PRIVATE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS Three Beautiful Campuses, All-Christ Centered, One Great School. Lakeside Campus now K through Grade 4! Building character since 1958TILDEN CAMPUS 15304 Tilden Rd. Winter Garden, FL 34787 Grades 7 - 12 PLANT ST. CAMPUS 125 E. Plant St. Winter Garden, FL 34787 Grades Pre-K - 6 LAKESIDE CAMPUS 8464 Winter Garden Vineland Rd. Orlando, FL 32836 Grades Kindergarten - 4 FoundationAcademy.net 387425-1 FIND YOUR FUN. 50%OFFFIRSTMONTH+$0JOINFEE JOINTODAY VISIT YOUR LOCAL Y! DR. P. PHILLIPS YMCA 7000 Dr. Phillips Blvd Orlando, FL 407-351-941732819 ROPER YMCA 100 Windermere Rd Winter Garden, FL 34787 407-656-8816 ymcacf.org The YMCA of Central Florida is a nonproﬁt dedicated to strengthening our community. 387440-1 387401-1 387435-1 387395-1 WEEKTHEOFINFLUENCER

What brought you to your school? A physical education coach at the first elementary school I worked at asked if I would be interested in transferring over to a brand-new school, which is now my home school, Water Spring Elementary. It was exciting to be a part of open ing a new school, and I am so glad I became an Otter. What do you love most about your school? We have a very supportive admin istration team, which makes the school environment nice to be in. I have been getting a lot of support from my co-workers and admin istration on my journey toward my elementary education degree. What is the most rewarding part of your job? I love getting to work with every student in the school. As a physical education paraprofessional, I have the chance to work with every grade level and see what age range I work best with. What do you like to do in your spare time? I love to spend time with my family. I also love traveling, camping and reading as many books as I can. Who was your favorite teacher when you were in school? Why? I had a lot of teachers I loved as I went through school, but Mrs. Decker, my kindergarten teacher, comes to mind first. Mrs. Decker is the reason I wanted to become a teacher, and I feel like her influence is what helped me to keep this dream my entire academic life. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? When I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a teacher; I knew I wanted to teach and change lives. As I got older, I decided elementary education was the age range I wanted to work with, and I am excited to have the chance. What is your favorite children’s book and why? As a child, my favorite book was “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” — it was the first book I read on my own. There are a lot of wonderful chil dren’s books today, but it made my heart so happy when my son also ended up loving “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” too. What are your hobbies? I enjoy reading all kinds of books, going to theme parks with my hus band and son, going to craft shows with my parents, cooking, camping and traveling.

MELINDA GERARDI, WATER SPRING ELEMENTARY Physical education paraprofessional TIME AT SCHOOL: Four years TIME AT OCPS: Five years

OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 5BOrangeObserver.com 387430-1387387-1www.langd.org

Courtesy photo Francesca Tarantino, center, has been invited back to perform in the future for the Miami Marlins.

— SIKES

Hamlin resident performs anthem at Marlins game

387406-1 OBSERVER SCHOOL ZONE

THE ROAD TO LOANDEPOT PARK Everything started with an email after Danielle Tarantino sent a video of her daughter performing the anthem at one of the sporting events at her school to different sports organizations. “I just did some research and sent it to a bunch of places,” Danielle Tarantino said. “I sent it to Tampa Bay, to the USFL — (basically) to as many sporting teams I could think of — and I didn’t expect to hear anything back from any of them. They must get thousands of audi tions, and quite honestly, I thought it was spam or a joke on that Sat urday morning when (they reached out and said) they had an availabil ity for (that) Monday morning.” Francesca didn’t know about the opportunity until after her mother already had accepted it. “There was really no time to think about it, and I said yes before I even asked her,” Danielle Tarantino said. “Luckily it was over the summer. I figured the nerves would come in, and I think she kept saying, ‘I’m not ready.’ And I kept saying, ‘You are ready; you’ve done this before, several times before, just with a smaller audience, but it is the same song.’”“She kept saying, ‘None of these people (knows) you; it’s not like you are singing it for the school,’ and that’s what really calmed me down a lot,” Francesca Tarantino said. To their surprise, after hearing Francesca sing at the game, the Marlins organization did some thing it doesn’t normally do — it reached out to the Tarantinos and invited Francesca back for another game this season and for games of future seasons, as well. “I feel so honored, I was expect ing it to be just a one-and-done thing,” Francesca Tarantino said.

At Lake Apopka Natural Gas, we’re helping families connect to affordable, reliable, and efficient natural gas, with appliances that pay dividends for years to come. Studies show a home with natural gas has a 6% greater resale value than an all-electric home. Increase the value of your home with natural gas and save money. 407-656-2734 ext. 307

ANNABELLE

If you could only listen to three bands or artists for the rest of your life, what would they be and why? This is a hard choice, but I would have to say Bon Jovi, Backstreet Boys and Metallica. Bon Jovi and the Backstreet Boys have had songs that have been with me my entire life and I listen to all the time. Metallica is the band that gave my husband and I our wed ding song, so they hold a special place in my heart. What was your go-to lunch as an elementary student? I generally always had PB&J every day. I remember loving “Dunka roos” as my favorite special treat. Who was your best friend when you were in school and why? Are you still in touch? My very first best friend I met on our first day of kindergarten; we were both too shy to talk to anyone else and became friends fast. Jenna and I have known each other for (more than) 30 years, and (although) we do not get to see each other much, we are still in touch. What were your extracurricular activities as a student? Did you win any accolades or honors? I was a very musical child growing up. I did chorus and piano lessons in elementary school, moved on to concert band in middle school and participated in marching band in high school. I was the clarinet section leader my senior year, and our marching band, “The Sound of the Braves,” went to many competitions during my time in school. What does it mean to you to earn the Melody Burton Scholarship? It truly means a lot to me to have won the Melody Burton Scholar ship. This scholarship helps ease the financial side of education, so I am able to focus on my studies.

FROM OPPOSITE PAGE

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER Windermere Prep student and Ham lin resident Francesca Tarantino, 14, performed the national anthem the July 11 Miami Marlins game. “I was so nervous; we got there hours before the game,” she said. “I was just sitting in the back, and I was just losing it. When I got out to the field, they gave me an ear monitor and told me to sing on the mic for practice, and (that’s when) I started to lose my nerves a little bit, because just seeing everything and getting the vibe really helped me control my“Andanxiety.then, I started singing, and all my nerves went away,” she said. “I started seeing myself on the screen and hearing the people at the end when I was close to finishing sing ing the song, I could hear them like, ‘Woo,’ and that gave me some encouragement.”Fromanearlyage, Francesca was taught the importance of singing the national anthem. Francesca has performed the anthem at several sporting events at Windermere Prep for softball, girls basketball and girls volleyball games. “The school actually wants their students to sing it without all the extra riffs and runs, so we’ve always told her that the song isn’t about (her), that (she is) not bigger than the song,” mother Danielle Tarantino said. “The song is what matters, so you have to do the song with respect, and that’s what she does.”

A MUSICAL HOUSEHOLD Music has always been a part of the Tarantino family. “I’m very much into music, and so is my husband,” Danielle Tarantino said.Francesca would go around the house singing different songs ever since she was about 3 years old. The Tarantinos moved to Orlando from Pennsylvania in 2016, a little before Francesca turned 8 years old. Prior to moving, when she was in second grade, Francesca discovered her love for singing and performing during a talent show where she sang the song “Rock and Roll All Nite” by KISS.“That’s when I realized I really want to perform,” she said. “Then, along the way, I got my first guitar and started taking singing lessons, and doing covers, and then I started writing my own music.” When she was in fourth grade, she participated in the musical “Beauty and the Beast” — in which she per formed as Belle. Not only was Fran cesca involved in musical theater at the beginning of her singing career but also in community theater at the Young Star Musical Theatre in Win terWithGarden.the help of community the atre performances and her vocal coach, Mike Walker, Francesca gained confidence in her singing and decided to step away from musical theater.Recently, Francesca has been doing covers by Paramore, Kelly Clarkson and Heart. In addition to covering different rock bands, Francesca also compos es her own songs. Later this year, she will release her debut single, “My Runaway,” which she wrote with the help of her brother, Dominic, and her music teacher, Walker. “I definitely want to pursue a career, and at some point, I want to release an album,” Francesca Taran tinoBothsaid.her parents, Danielle and Franklin, and her brother are Fran cesca’s biggest fans. “I’m really proud of her; she works really hard, and that’s the most important thing,” Danielle Taran tino said. “She practices every day. She’s constantly learning. She lis tens, and she gives it her all.”

Francesca Tarantino recently sang atinStar-Spangled‘TheBanner’frontofthousandsanMLBgame.

Complete

70 years ago A shortage of doctors in Winter Garden was going to be alleviated by the coming of Dr. Edward Brad ford, from Cedartown, Georgia. He planned to open the offices in the Edgewater Hotel formerly occu pied by Dr. Florida.scholarshipMarionLakeviewWhitehurst.HighvaledictorianLincolnwasgrantedatotheUniversityof

The First Baptist Church of Win dermere planned its inaugural ceremonies for Sept. 10. The new church was sponsored by the First Baptist Church of Winter Garden.

David

30 years ago

Letter to the Editor: Try square dancing, says the Wizard. “If you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it. Some of the best fun I’ve ever had square dancing was in the beginners class. The enthusiasm that is felt by a beginners group when they finally get to complete a full tip without breaking down is pure joy. It is a feeling that even an old, experienced hand can appreciate and experience over and over. For those of you

OLDTHESETIMES THE WINTER

The mission of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is to preserve the heritage and architecture of Win ter 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.

55 years ago

Melodye pointment.toCalloverden’ssignsarchivepreservesHeritagesitevisitedtortageandoperatedacrosspharmacydestroyedinedGeorgianaGeorgianapharmacistinPlantthestoreTibbal’stheiraboveoncetheright,brother,FlanaganHendrixandherTimHendrix,recentlydonatedcoolneonsignthatwasdisplayedthefrontdoorofparents’pharmacy.RexallDrugwaslocatedatsoutheastcornerofandMainstreetsabuildingownedbyJimmyandHendrix.alsooperatadressshoplocatedthebuilding.(Untilinafire,thewaslocatedMainStreetandbyHendrixHowardTibbals.)WinterGardenHeriFoundationDirecJimCrescitelli,left,thepharmacy’swithTimHendrix.TheWinterGardenFoundationanextensiveofartifactsandfromWinterGarbusinessdistrictthepastcentury.(407)656-3244makearesearchap

6B OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 OrangeObserver.com 9-8-22

word start

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another. “X DIJCVIG RWI FJDHI KB WJCG PKCA TO PKCAXVL WJCG.” -- EJCLJCIR EIJG / “VKRWXVL PXDD PKCA HVDIZZ OKH GK.” – EJOJ JVLIDKH “ZBJ RFTA DB KACPATA PH ZBJENACV. ZBJ HAAX DB RFTA DRA FJXFLPDZ DB KA OEAFD.” – EBNPA IAEAG “K’Z EHS SWOKEC SH FSXZR YEOJHTO ... KS’F SMN JNYXSO HA SMN UYECXYCN SMYS K’Z KESNWNFSNT KE.”JXTTO MHUUO © 2022 NEA, Inc. PuzzleOneClue:FequalsY PuzzleTwoClue:GequalsZ PuzzleThreeClue:RequalsP

row,

THURSDAYTHROWBACKSEPT.7AND14,1972 Rod Reeves, longtime Winter Garden artist and former art teacher at Lakeview and West Orange high schools, is known for always having his sketchbook with him so he can draw anything and any one he comes across. In The Winter Garden Times, Reeves ran a weekly feature called “Remember …” in which his drawings drew attention to locals and a tidbit of fact. His Sept. 7 and 14, 1972, drawings featured Mrs. Rus sell Pounds, who represented her home state of Arkansas in the 1940 Miss America Pageant, and Lakeview’s 1954 Orange Belt Conference stars, Audie Ward and Mickey Cox.

celebrity cipher

GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION

97 Santa’s steering straps 99 “I oppose this bill” 100 Dark beers 101 Allude (to) 103 Exclude 105 Common pickup 108capacity*Healthy side dish with a medley of ingredients (... letters 3-7) 111 Baby shower VIPs 115 Beyond amazing 116 Run in neutral 117 Frenetic rush in each starred clue’s answer? 119 Wind blast 120 “How cool!” 121 Egyptian fertility god 123122dessAnxiety-freeLikethesurname of Nintendo’s Doug Bowser 124 Burnt ___ (BBQ pieces) 125 “Nevertheless, ___ 126persisted”Cooking oil brand DOWN 1 Activity with poses 2 Overwaters a houseplant, 3e.g.Actress Remini 4 Viking guards, say 5 Expands, as a house 6 Camel’s color 7 Difficulty for many with 8ADHDJessica of “The Sinner” 9 Influence creatively 10 Boring 11 Hybrid genre for Juice 54514746movies454342414038363534333028272220181615141312WRLDInfrequentGayclubperformanceSparklyrockJudginggroup“Youcansaythatagain!”GospelstarWinansHeadturners?“Moreorless”PeachsourceSlightlyCocoarecipedirectionPlaytheroleofIdaho’scapitalThe“S”ofS.E.HintonUPSrivalMajestichorsesSecrecydocActressRowlandsDeclares(Hey,you!)BisexualgodinMarvelBritishboys’collegeDialupCellphonestd.2012acappellaflick 56 Princess Tiana’s topper 57 Arthur ___ Stadium 58 “Feeling Good” singer 60SimoneIndiana neighbor 61 Senator Wyden 63 Leg part guarded in 64soccerChocolate pup, say 66 Like a choppy haircut 69 CD holder 70 Cartoonist’s liquids 71 CBS procedural 72 Part of IPA 73 Charlotte Hornets’ blue 74hueLike most Gallaudet 75studentsHighway hauler 77 Believer in karma 78 When it all started 79 Common still-life fruits 83 Rower’s tool 86 Sch. near Newport 87Beach“Every kiss begins with 88___”“___ we forget ...” 89 Robotize 92 Financial aid factor 94 Not out of contention 95 Japanese mats 96 Celebrities’ opposites 98 “Really happy to hear 105104102101that!”ShredBeEncountersTime-honored record 106 Loch of Scottish lore 107 Top-left key 108 Huge, informally 109 Biblical utopia 110 Lively party 112 Wharton degs. 113 “One more thing ...” 114 Witnessed 118 Like sashimi ANGRY LETTERS by Adrian Johnson. Edited

IF!” 68 Rational 69 *Great American Ball Park team (... letters 8-12) 76 Scour Manhattan for Manhattans, e.g. 80 Chili Colorado pepper, 81maybeWNBA star Delle Donne 82 Job posting inits. 84 Trig ratio 85 Pass over in Uno 86 Eye layer 87 Vice president and author Harris 90 Org. Snowden exposed 91 Main idea 93 *Spurred into action (... letters

sudoku the grid so that every column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively. Universal Uclick ACROSS 1 Scold loudly 7 Crime-fighting org. 10 Group of kids, say? 14 Transcript stat 17 Tater Tots brand 18 Penny, e.g. 19 Congresswoman Ilhan 20 Stitched line 21 *Nephew’s daughters (Anagram letters 4-11 to a word starting with “inc”) 23 Circle dance 24 Shape of many a party 25hatA phoenix rises from 26them*Art exhibit in a park (... letters 9-15 to a word start ing with “enr”) 29 Dances recklessly 31 Soul singer Thomas 32 Abs of ___ 33 Out for the day 36 Name within “address” 37 “Fiddlesticks!” 39 *Trick for falling asleep (... letters 5-12 to a word starting with “see”) 44 One in a sandbox 48 “___ but a scratch” 49 Trying experience 50 Great number 52 Relative of naan 53 “Quickly!” 55 Whichever 56 Stock sample? 58 Canon alternative 59 College applicant, often 62 *Housing option for the elderly (... letters 8-12) 65 You, to Juliet 67 “AS 2-11 a ing with “infu”) by Steinberg By Luis Campos

45 years ago In honor of Bobby Ficquette’s 23rd birthday, friends held the “Ficquette National Tennis Tour nament” on the courts in down town Winter Garden, followed by a cookout. Playing in the tourna ment with the birthday boy were Dan Dummett, Johnny Ficquette, John McMillan, Steve Girvin, Bruce Britt, Jerry Baker and Hal Cuddy. 40 years ago Vice President George Bush flew to Orlando to speak at a re-elec tion fundraiser for Congressman Bill McCollum. A rally was held at the Cheyenne Saloon on Church Street.

HISTORYORANGEWEST

who think of the old-time movie version of the mountain boys with their jug, looking for a fight, nothing could be further from the truth. Square dancing gets too complicated eventually to anyone who is alcohol-impaired. It is good wholesome family recreation and can be enjoyed by people of any age.” Signed, J.P. Carris, The Wizard of Ag The Winter Garden Players were practicing for their upcom ing season-finale presentation of “Barefoot in the Park.” 20 years ago A Winter Garden man whose early years were spent digging ditches for water lines, skimming dead fish from Lake Apopka, picking oranges and planting cabbage crops left the area and became a military hero. After returning to his hometown, Sylvester Johnson donated his United States Army uniform to the Winter Garden Heritage Museum.

FROM

Lex Veech was hired by Orange County Chairman Richard Crotty to serve as the county’s public affairs coordinator. He previously was the community and govern mental relations liaison for the Or ange County Convention Center.

FROM ARCHIVESTHE

Strenth asked questions on topics such as current projects economic drivers before selecting from audi ence questions.

— ANNABELLE SIKES Lauren Nadeau represented Orlando Health by handing out pamphlets and answering ques tions at the organization’s booth. Members from event sponsors Orlando Health, AdventHealth and University of Central Florida.

Amy Pryor, WOCC events manager; Michelle Strenth, senior director of government affairs and public policy at Orlando Health; and Tracy Solly, WOCC vice president, were some of the main faces behind the event.

Michelle Meachem, We Are Winter Gar den, and Austin Arthur, West Orange On the Go, stopped for a quick photo.

Right: Town of Windermere Mayor Jim O’Brien, Town Manager Robert Smith and Police Chief David Ogden attended the annual luncheon.

Mayors speak at chamber luncheon

OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 7BOrangeObserver.com THE WORLD’S GREATEST FIREARMS EXPERIENCE 407.500.GUNS | WWW.SHOOTERSWORLD.COM/ORLANDO | 4850 LAWING LANE ORLANDO, FL 32811 weekdays at 6pm, weekends at noon* Children 7+ are welcome and must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. *Please call ahead to confirm class time, as classes may change due to private events TAKE YOUR FIRST SHOTS AT SHOOTERS WORLD FREE CLASS DAILY FOR BEGINNERS 382491-1 Open Monday - Friday Call us at (407) 654-3505 For Appointments: Press 3 Empowering Patients and Restoring Active Lifestyles. 596 Ocoee Commerce Pkwy, Ocoee, FL 34761-4219www.westorangeorthopaedics.comServingtheCommunitySince1966 Authorizations and Referrals can be faxed to (407) 654-4956 Now Offering PRP Injections 385472-1 SPORTSSATURDAYSPOTLIGHT Get all the action and passion of high school sports in your inbox. Visit OrangeObserver.com Sign up to receive West Orange scores, highlights, updates and profiles straight to your inbox every Saturday! 386857-1 The West Orange Chamber of Commerce hosted the 2022 State of West Orange Lun cheon Wednesday, Aug. 31, at the Ocoee Lakeshore Center. The annu al luncheon, hosted in conjunction with the West Orange Foundation, featured an open conversation with local elected officials regard ing the municipalities, the county and information on the upcoming Orange County Transportation Sales Tax Referendum. Panel speakers included Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, city of Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson, city of Winter Garden Mayor John Rees, town of Oakland Mayor Kathy Stark and town of Windermere Mayor Jim O’Brien.TracySolly, WOCC vice presi dent, J.T. McWalters, WOCC chair man from the Orlando Magic, and Jason Levine, from Harry Levine Insurance, welcomed attendees before presenting event spon sors Fred Kittinger, director of state and local government affairs at the University of Florida, and Oscar Santalo, pharmacy director at AdventHealth, who spoke about their respective organizations. In addition to serving as series sponsor, Orlando Health also presented Michelle Strenth, senior director of government affairs and public policy at the health care organization, who served as the guest moderator for the event.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, city of Winter Garden Mayor John Rees, town of Windermere Mayor Jim O’Brien, city of Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson and town of Oakland Mayor Kathy Stark answered questions as a guest panel.

INFORMATION & RATES: 407-656-2121 redpages@orangeobserver.com • orangeobserver.com/redpages RED PAGES Made for where you live. Here! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 Observer Media Group reserves the right to classify and edit copy, or to reject or cancel an advertisement at any time. Corrections after first insertion only. *All ads are subject to the approval of the Publisher. *It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in the Observer Media Group to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with towncodes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property. Notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. DEADLINES: Classifieds - Friday at Noon Service Directory - Friday at 10AM • PAYMENT: Cash, Check or Credit Card You now get the dry flower to SMOKE! 407-755-0012 1801 E. Colonial Dr Orlando, FL 32803 387454 We provide Medical Marijuana in a variety of forms such as tinctures, pills, pain patches, vapes, concentrates, buds, vape shatter pills, dry flower & much more! www.CMMDR.COM GET CERTIFICATIONFASTCARDMARIJUANAMEDICALYOURHERE&EASY Call now for your FREE pre-evaluation by phoneDELIVERYFREE delivered directly to your home or business placepeekers’ Inc.NEA,©2022 This week’s Sudoku answersThis week’s Crossword answers UclickUniversal©2022yourself.cheatingonlyYou’re Puzzle One Solution: “I learned the value of hard work by working hard.” –Margaret Mead / “Nothing will work unless you do.”Maya Angelou Puzzle Two Solution: “You have to believe in yourself. You need to have the audacity to be great.”Rosie Perez Puzzle Three Solution: “I’m not trying to stump anybody ... it’s the beauty of the language that I’m interested in.” Buddy Holly This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers FUR BABIES Look here where you can actually meet and greet a new pet. Call 407-656-2121 or visit OrangeObserver.com/Business-Directory Made for where you live. Here! RED PAGES found here. GREAT FINDS LOCATED HERE! To advertise: 407-656-2121 Furnishings 387930 MerchandiseWanted NOW PURCHASING SCRAP BATTERIES 407-656-3495 13178 W. Colonial Dr. Winter Garden 349888 NOW PURCHASING SCRAP BATTERIES 407-656-3495 13178 W. Colonial Dr. NOW PURCHASING SCRAP BATTERIES 407-656-3495 13178 W. Colonial Dr. Winter Garden 387452 Help Wanted HELP/ CAREGIVER WANTED TYPE: CONTRACT TIME: 12HOURS SALARY : $20.00 PER HOUR. JOB DESCRIPTION: I am looking for a gentle and compassionate helper and caregiver to provide companion care and daily assistance for my 71-year-old mother. Potential Candidates please send an email withmbgllenn1@gmail.comtotheheaderCAREGIVER. Accounting 387451 15% DISCOUNT FOR 4-WEEK RUN Color background: $5 per week Ad border: as low as $3 per week PLACE YOUR AD: Call: 407-656-2121 Email: orangeobserver.comredpages@ Online: orangeobserver.com/redpages RED PAGES AD RATES First 15$words15.00 per week Each add’l word 25¢ &BUYERSFINDSELLERSHERE! 407-656-2121

OBSERVER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 9BOrangeObserver.com Call 407-656-2121 or visit Made for where you live. Here! RED PAGES Relax. You’ve got better things to do. Find a professional here in the Red Pages. HEROES found here. Auto Service TFN 387456 • Bridgestone • Michelin • Toyo • BFG Tires 387457 Auto Service “Ifyou’reonamissiontofixyourtransmissioncall...” ATW ALLTRANSMISSIONWORLD Central Florida’s Oldest & Largest Transmission & Total Car Care Company 1150 E Semoran Blvd. Ste. B Apopka, FL, 32703 407-880-9300 alltransmissionworld.com “Ifyou’reonamissiontofixyourtransmission ATW WORLD Total Car Care Company 1150 E Semoran Blvd. Ste. B Apopka, FL, 32703 407-880-9300 alltransmissionworld.com •Clutches•Transmission•CV Axles •Foreign & Domestic •Foreign & Domestic “Ifyou’reonamissiontofixyourtransmissioncall...” ATW ALLTRANSMISSIONWORLD Central Florida’s Oldest & Largest Transmission & Total Car Care Company 1150 E Semoran Blvd. Ste. B Apopka, FL, 32703 407-880-9300 alltransmissionworld.com •Clutches•Transmission•CV Axles •Foreign & Domestic “Ifyou’reonamissiontofixyourtransmission ATW TRANSMISSIONWORLD Oldest & Total Car Care Company 1150 E Semoran Blvd. Ste. B Apopka, FL, 32703 407-880-9300 alltransmissionworld.com •CV Axles • Foreign & Domestic 12939 W. Colonial Dr, Winter Garden FL 34787 388133 TFNTRAYWICK'SGARAGE 1045 S. Vineland Rd. • Winter Garden • New and Used Tires • Alignment • Complete Auto Repair • A/C Serv. & 407-656-1817More387459 Auto ProfessionalServiceServices 387458 FIRE SERVICEEXTINGUISHERTECH 1207 North Lakewood Avenue Ocoee, FL 34761 Danny Motes Cell 407-466-4738 Tel 407-654-2395 www.Firetechextinguisher.comTFN Rooﬁng Winter Garden’s Premier Roofing Company Since 1978 Serving All of West Orange County Fully Licensed and Insured Roof Repairs and Replacement 407-656-8920 www.WestOrangeRoofing.com FREE ESTIMATES TO ADVERTISE CALL 407-656-2121FOUND HERE! TREASURES

OrangeObserver.com 386351-1 in the blood or brain linked to the development of Alzheimer’s. So, what do you do if you are concerned you may develop dementia, or you or your loved one is already struggling with memory impairment?

My advice is to make sure you are minimizing your risks by living a healthy lifestyle and to look for a clinical trial in your area. While clinical trials are no guarantee of preventing cognitive decline, they provide hope. They also provide the opportunity to get some answers regarding if you have a genetic predisposition and if you have any other biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia as well as the opportunity to participate in cutting edge research.

ADVERTISEMENT LEARN ABOUT TOMORROW’S TREATMENT TODAY AT K2MED.COM BAPTIST First Baptist Church Pastor Tim Grosshans 125 E. Plant St, Winter Garden (407)

Pastor Casey Butner 671 Beulah Rd, Winter Garden 407-656-3342 | BeulahBaptistWG.org SUNDAY BIBLE STUDY 9:30AM SUNDAY SERVICE 11:00AM WEDNESDAY SERVICE 6:00PM FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 125 E Plant St., Winter Garden 407-656-2352 SUNDAYS 8:30 am Traditional 9:45 am Bible Study 11:00 am Contemporary WEDNESDAYS 6pm - Awana Pastor Tim 2ndwww.fbcwg.orgGrosshansCampus: FOUNDATION WORSHIP SUNDAYS 9:45 am - All Ages Foundation Academy High School 15304 Tilden Rd., Winter 407-730-1867www.FoundationWorship.comGarden

CHURCHEPISCOPALOFTHE MESSIAH 241 N.

CHURCHFIRSTMETHODISTUNITEDMETHODIST 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 WINDERMERECHRIST UNION CHURCH 10710 Park Ridge-Gotha Rd. Windermere, FL 34786 407-876-2112 Worship times: 9:00am Adult Sunday School 10:00am www.windermereunion.orgWorship CHURCH DIRECTORY Advertise your Services or Events on this page weekly. This page appears weekly in the West Orange Times & Observer and online at OrangeObserver.com. To advertise in the Church Directory call 407-656-2121 or email AdvertiseNow@OrangeObserver.com PURPOSENON-DENOMINATIONALCHURCHOLANDO 13640 W. Colonial Dr., Ste 110, Winter 407-654-9661Garden• Prayer 9:30AM, Fellowship 9:45AM, Service 10:05 AM 316889-1 MIKE YOAKUM PASTOR P: 407.656.1520 C: MYOAKUM407@AOL.COM407.758.3570 1333 EAST CROWN POINT RD OCOEE, FL 34761 LV14252 Matthew’s Hope Chest Creations • Custom Furniture, Farm Tables, Barn Doors, and More • Repaired, Refinished and Repurposed Wood Furniture • Gently Used Furniture and New & Used Household Items Follow us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MatthewsHopeChest/ Visit our Workshop Location at 611 Business Park Blvd. #101, Winter Garden 407.905.9500 • 8am-4pm Mon - Fri • 8am-3pm Saturday XNSP18213 ORDER CUSTOMYOURMADECHRISTMASGIFTSNOW! Check out the custom made silent auction items that will be available at the Garden Party on November 9!! 387917-1

GOD Pastor Thomas

Rector The Rev. Canon Tim Trombitas 1146 East Plant St, Winter Garden SUNDAY SERVICE 10:00 AM Find us at: Theacf.net BEULAHBAPTISTBAPTIST

STARKE LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH PO Box 520, 611 W Ave, Ocoee Pastor Jeff Pritchard (407) www.starkelakebaptist.org656-2351 CHURCH OF GOD OCOEE CHURCH OF Odom 1105 N. Lakewood Avenue, Ocoee 407-656-8011 Main, Services: 8, 9:30, & 11am, www.churchofthemessiah.com7pm

YouTube NON-DENOMINATIONAL Purpose Church Orlando 13640 W Colonial Dr. Ste 110, Winter Garden 611 Business Park Blvd #101, Winter Garden, FL 34787 (407)905-9500 I MatthewsHopeMinistries.org This is a secure site for giving Help Us. Help Them. Help Themselves. “ MHM ” TO 41444 TO TEXTDONATE 611 Business Park Blvd #101, Winter Garden, FL 34787 (407)905-9500 I MatthewsHopeMinistries.org This is a secure site for giving Help Us. Help Them. Help Themselves. TO 41444 611 Business Park Blvd #101, Winter Garden, FL 34787 (407)905-9500 I MatthewsHopeMinistries.org This is a secure site for giving Help Us. Help Them. Help Themselves. “ MHM ” TO 41444 TO TEXTDONATE & EmploymentEducationalDaycareOpportunitiesResumeBuilding&OpportunitiesLegalAssistanceCreditCounseling&DebtReduction

I often tell my patients if you choose to do nothing, there is a 100% chance you will get worse. This disease is progressive and relentless. However, if you choose to participate in a trial, at least there is a chance of benefit and the opportunity to help improve the odds for the next generation.

Winter Garden

Contemporary 11:15 AM Traditional

EPISCOPAL

METHODIST First

Alzheimer’s Association. 2022 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimers Dement 2022;18 656-2352 Winter Garden Sundays: 9:45 AM All Ages www.FBCWG.org Starke Lake Baptist Church Pastor Jeff Pritchard PO Box 520 611 W Ave., 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 United Methodist www.fumcwg.org N. Lakeview Ave., Winter Garden (407) 656-1135 9 AM Also viewable on

Services:

Sundays: 8:30 AM Traditional 9:45 AM Bible Study 11 AM Contemporary Wednesdays: 6 PM Awana 2nd Campus: First Baptists Church @ Horizon West 15304 Tilden Road,

FELLOWSHIPANGLICANANGLICANCOMMUNITYCHURCH

125

But Wait ... THERE’SMORE! Flip the page for more sales and specials! XNLV18913

Celebrating 50 years of Collaboration “The West Orange Chamber offers several areas of collaboration that we see as strategic to our business. Attending Chamber events helps our team get to know other members and their businesses, offers insight on Chamber-presented initiatives, and enhances our overall team building skills which benefits our crew at work. We think that’s pretty cool.” Take the lead today. Join us! (407) 656-1304 12184 West Colonial Dr in Winter Garden www.wochamber.comTheWestOrangeChamberofCommerce DANIELLE LATTNER APPLE AIR / CHAMBER MEMBER