05.18.23 West Orange Times & Observer

James Bess Foundation grants wishes

The James Bess Foundation, along with the Apopka fire and police departments, will come together Wednesday, May 24, during the first annual James Bess Foundation Basketball game fundraiser to honor the late James Bess, a Winter Garden native and West Orange High graduate.

“As a fire department, we have been able to see in the last year especially how much the community loves public service as a whole, how much they love the police department, the police department and how much they’ve come together,” Apopka firefighter Jarred Bess said. “We feel like there’s going to be a great outpouring of support for this event and an outpouring of support for public service in general from those that want to come to (the game) just support the firemen and police officers and to also support the foundation. So, I firmly believe that this is going to be a well-received event here in the city and just something that is uplifting.”

The James Bess Foundation is working with the Apopka departments, as well as with the Orlando Magic and the

athletic department at Apopka High, to put together the game. Orlando Magic community ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw will serve as coaches for the game.

“We get to (celebrate) the first responders (and let them) have that competition, which they all like,”

James Bess Foundation founder Mindy Bess said. “But then, we are also blessing them as well with an experience with former (Orlando) Magic players and stuff like that.”

THE FOUNDATION

The James Bess Foundation was founded by Mindy Bess — James Bess’ daughter — to honor her father and provide hope and the opportunity for final wishes to come true for adults aged 21 to 65 who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

James Bess was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in April 1998 at 38.

“We were living in Orlando at that time, and he had a desire,” she said.

“He absolutely loved Garth Brooks. He would get lost in the music, watching his television programs. That was his happy space. So I was like, ‘You know what?’ I think it would be cool if I could arrange a meet-and-greet or concert tickets with him and with

Garth. So, I tried, but the only program that was available was Make-AWish and their ages are 2 to 18 (years old). Once you are 19 or 20 or older, there’s really nothing. So, we weren’t able to fulfill that wish for him, and he died obviously not having it.”

James Bess died in 2002, four years after his initial diagnosis.

“It took a while for me to get to that place of starting the organization,” Mindy Bess said. “But, we started in Nashville, Tennessee, in August 2017, and our first wish was a riding lawnmower.”

Since that year, the nonprofit has been able to grant 29 wishes and currently is working on fulfilling two more — all through fundraising and donations.

“All of (the wishes) are special,” Mindy Bess said. “I think the one that really touched me the most was a gentleman, he was in his 50s. … He lived in Michigan. … He had never been on vacation. He had never been out of the region that he lived in, and he had never flown on an airplane. His wish was the see the ocean for the first time. … It was so hard organizing this trip with him, because he was so depressed and despondent and discouraged. … We ended up sending him and his brother

IF YOU GO JAMES BESS FOUNDATION BASKETBALL GAME FUNDRAISER

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 24

WHERE: Apopka High School gymnasium TICKETS: $5 per person; free for children 5 and younger. Event is open to the public.

WEBSITE: jamesbess.org

from Michigan all the way down to Panama City Beach — all expenses paid — dolphin excursion, the whole nine yards, and it was really sweet. When he got back, I called to check in on him, and I couldn’t get him to stop talking. It was so special. … He told me that because of what I did, it really gave him a reason to keep fighting.”

SERVANT AT HEART

As someone who lived through the process of seeing the decline of a family member diagnosed with a terminal illness, Mindy Bess understands the process family members are going through. The reason she loves providing them with a final wish is simple: memories.

“That’s why we do what we do,” she said. “It’s all about making memories — not just for the client but for their families as well — so that when the family member does pass, they have those photos, they have those moments and those memories to kind of cling (to) as well.”

The need to serve others was instilled in Mindy and Jarred Bess by their father.

“My dad had a heart for the people,” Jarred Bess said. “But, he not only loved other people, but his love for his family is something that exuded from him very much. And that was the one thing that you knew about my father is how much he loved his family — whether it be his immediate family, my mother, my uncle and the rest of the family that live right here in Apopka.”

And those values — service, love, family and a love for life — are represented in the way the James Bess Foundation serves those who seek its help to find a beacon of light in a sea of uncertainty and desperation.

“I know what they are going through from a family member’s perspective,” Mindy Bess said. “I see the struggle and for adults. It’s like you can’t dream anymore, you can’t live anymore, you just have to focus on survival. And that can get draining, absolutely. So, when we come in and grant them a wish, we kind of reverse that, we kind of give (clients) a reason to continue pushing forward. We give them that hope. We give them that joy in a real desperate situation and with there family as well. So I think really is that love and that compassion and that service that really played into how we operate.”

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

DRAMATIC DEBUT

The

CAST & CREW

n Fly — Anna Maria

Padoan

n Spider — Lexi Feintuch

n Bird — Camilla Cerione

n Cat — Paisley Rayle

n Dog — Mason Crocetti

n Goat — Isabella Bakker

n Cow — Alexander Bhag-

wandin

n Horse — Jax Maximum

Thompson

n Director — Rosemarie

Redman

n Set design — Nick

Prowse

n Student director/assis-

tant — Riya Patel

n Sound engineer —

Crispin Caines

n Sound designer — Jes-

sie Rawlins

n Lighting designer — Alexander Rosemeier

n Lighting — Alexandra

Lang

n Stage manager — Dom-

inic Griffenkranz

n Assistant stage man-

ager — Sophia Yu

n Qlab operator — Taylor

Salamon

n Costume and makeup designer — Ivy Pitman

n Costume designer —

Alexis Rettman

n Costume assistant —

Kylie Niederst

n Prop master — Avni

Patil

n Assistant prop master — Summer Lee

n Acting consultant — Michael Crocetti

n Video director — Kaylee

McDougall

n Camera operator — Ma-

ria Fernanda Franck Braga

n Camera operator —

Hidaya Bakeer

n Middle school director — Marybeth Davies

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

What happens when you put a fly, spider, bird, cat, dog, goat, cow and horse together in the pit of a stomach?

You get a highly emotional existential crisis — and quite a few laughs — when the insects and animals interact as they enter the stage one by one and meet for the first time.

Rosemarie Redman, middle school theater department lead at Windermere Preparatory School, commissioned University of Central Florida theater professor Elizabeth Horn to write a one-act play for theater students to perform. The result is “Swallowed (an existential crisis),” which was performed for students and families Thursday, May 11, in the Dr. Thomas L. Marcy Theater in the Cypress Center for the Arts. The cast and crew were made up of middle school students, and all technical elements — lighting, sound effects and costumes — were designed and implemented by the students.

“I thought the kids stepped up and took a piece that wasn’t really all that easy with all the monologues they had to do and all the character work, especially at that age group … and they just rose to the occasion and really worked together as a team, too, which I think really was evident on stage,” Redman said.

A friend connected Redman and Horn, who discussed a few ideas Horn had drafted but then shelved.

“I kept feeling like there’s something in ‘The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,’” Horn said. “I was excited to have another go at this silly adaptation and to explore it more. … Rosemarie really liked the idea. I had permission to play with it. (With) the motivation of having a commission, it kind of just came out over three days. … It was just so fun, and I sent it to her. I said I felt like I wrote this in a fever dream. … She was cracking up. She loved it.”

“I thought the show was fantastic,” Redman said. “For me, it was a fullcircle moment, because you get these ideas of how we can enhance the program, elevate the experience, and getting hooked up with Elizabeth at UCF and having her pitch the idea of the show and being part of the process — I just thought it was great.”

The performance was recorded so Windermere Prep can share its message of acceptance, trust and friendship globally with other schools, Redman said.

Horn said she loved the idea of her play being staged in a middle school preparatory setting, and she was thrilled to learn it can be shared with a network of private schools.

“It’s just really cool to me, the ability to make a wide impact,” she said.

Windermere Prep is owned by Nord Anglia Education, which has 80 schools worldwide. The show will be added to the Global Campus platform for teachers who want to access it for their students. A curriculum guide, including a vocabulary guide, accompanies the play video, and teachers can lead discussions with their students,

host debates, have their students write a play critique and more.

Windermere Prep second-, thirdand fourth-grade teachers also incorporated the show into their curriculum.

WPS offers theater classes to students from pre-K3 to 12th grade, as well as IB theater to juniors and seniors. The school has junior and high school thespian troupe, both of which are affiliated with the International Thespian Society. Students have showcased their performances at the district level, and the high school troupe recently performed at the state level.

Redman is going on her sixth year as theater lead; she originally taught at the school in the early 2000s and started the drama department before briefly taking time off to start a family.

In addition to teaching undergraduate classes at UCF, Horn works frequently with Orlando Repertory Theatre and takes children’s theater into the hospitals. She also works with local high schools. She has a few published plays but considers herself an emerging playwright.

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

The Oakland Town Commission voted at its May 9 meeting to terminate interim town manager Jack Butler without cause and appoint Town Clerk Elise Hui as the interim manager until a permanent one can be hired.

“The town of Oakland has voted to terminate Jack Butler without cause effective immediately,” Mayor Kathy Stark said. “Severances will be paid based on his contract terms.”

Butler has been serving as interim manager since the previous town manager, Steve Koontz, retired April 1.

“It’s not for cause, and we wish him well,” Stark stressed of Butler’s termination.

The Town Commission engaged an executive recruitment firm to manage the process of recruiting a permanent town manager. The town has looked at all the applications, and the search has been narrowed to five.

“We have some very good candidates,” Stark said. “We are hopeful that we’ll be able to make an offer next Friday (May 19).”

Hui will handle both job duties until a new manager is hired.

The five candidates will be in Oakland Thursday, May 18, to take a tour of the town with Stark and Public Works director Mike Parker. That evening, a reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 at the Oakland Meeting Hall, 221 N. Arrington St., and Stark said the public is invited to meet the candidates. Those interested in attending should RSVP to Ldattolo@oaklandfl.gov.

Oakland terminates interim town manager IN OTHER NEWS

n The Oakland Town Commission approved its consent agenda, which included an agreement to allow the Oakland Police Department to conduct traffic enforcement in the gated communities of John’s Cove and John’s Landing. The homeowners associations made the request. State statute doesn’t allow traffic enforcement on private property without a written agreement. The police department will solely be responsible for enforcement, including the scheduling of patrols and the use of radar. All decisions regarding the level of traffic enforcement on the private roads and staffing will be within the sole discretion of the police department.

n The commission approved a fourth amendment to the development agreement with Oakland Park regarding a buffer fence between Macchi Avenue and the seventh phase of the neighborhood.

n The town proclaimed May 15, 2023, Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 15 through 21, 2023, National Police Week. The proclamation was presented to Chief Darron Esan.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am with our community policing police department,” Mayor Kathy Stark said.

one-act ‘Swallowed,’ written for and performed by Windermere Prep students, highlights the existential crisis the insects and animals face once they land in the woman’s stomach.

Photos by Amy Quesinberry

The fly, spider, bird, cat, dog, goat, cow and horse discuss their dilemma in the stomach.

The crew was prepared for the Thursday, May 11, debut of ‘Swallowed (an existential crisis)’ at Windermere Prep.

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

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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West Orange High ag teacher embarks on new adventure

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

Kristy Lightbody is saying goodbye to West Orange High School’s FFA and agriscience program and returning to her love of numbers when school starts again in the fall. And although she won’t be participating in the world of agriculture and animals, she still will be a West Orange Warrior — teaching Math for College Algebra to seniors.

“If I could sum me up, my passion is helping my students succeed,” Lightbody said. “And that’s why I’m transferring to math. I feel like I’ve done a really good job of establishing this (ag) program and moving it on the right path, and I’m the strongest in math and feel like I want to go and help some of the students be successful in math and help them graduate.”

She also will teach Algebra I.

“I’m very visual, so I draw and illustrate all the concepts, and I feel like I deconstruct math very well,” she said. “Then I feel like I can put it back together for the kids more easily.”

Lightbody came to West Orange five years ago from SunRidge Middle School, where she also taught math. She also was tutoring high school students in math, and many of them were in the West Orange ag program and were discussing their desire to see it improved.

“After a couple of months of listening, my gears started turning and I talked to (principal Bill) Floyd when he was here and started studying for the agriscience certification test to teach this class,” she said. “They were not going to be retaining the current teacher. I took that on and decided I really wanted to do it for the students. There were a lot of opportunities I felt they weren’t getting to be a part of, and I wanted to come in and make sure they succeeded in everything they wanted to.”

Lightbody has steadily built the agriscience and FFA programs; she said there continues to be a high interest from students, and she’s proud of the legacy she is leaving behind.

When she began her West Orange career, only six students — the FFA officers — were attending the meetings. Today, about 35 regularly attend.

“The West Orange FFA Chapter has an amazing officer team for the upcoming school year, and the advisers are excited to see the program continue to excel and grow into an even more dynamic organization,” she said.

In the five years, Lightbody taught agriculture foundations, animal science and agriculture communications and led the FFA program, which is part of the ag curriculum. She also took students to livestock shows, as well as state and national competitions.

This year, her food science team — Kate Solomon, Marissa Romeu, Sarah Lewis and Kaley Henderson — placed first in the state and will compete at nationals in October in Indianapolis. This was Lightbody’s third state

championship in so many years.

“The last time we had a state championship was in 1995,” she said. “The students got excited again. They had a lot more participation, more members.”

Lightbody has enjoyed learning about the different aspects of agriculture and passing that knowledge to her students. FFA is an intracurricular program, which means all aspects of it are connected to a classroom curriculum.

“Within the class, the club takes agricultural topics, and you can learn in-depth,” she said. “For instance, we teach a horticulture class, and then if kids are interested in that there are competitions (in which) they can future expand their knowledge, like forestry, citrus and floriculture.”

Last year’s floriculture team won first place in the state and competed to nationals.

“Agriculture also relates to far more than I ever thought,” Lightbody said.

“Anything food-related, plant-related, fiber-related, housing structures — and it’s really fun helping the kids to see how much agriculture is really in their life when they had no clue to begin with.”

She said the assumption that FFA is solely about showing animals isn’t correct, although some students do that too. They have shown guinea pigs, rabbits, poultry, goats, sheep, swine, steers and cattle.

She admits winning the competitions and sharing the stage with her team as members accept a first-place trophy is memorable, but her favorite moments are more personal and touching.

“One of my favorite moments was when our calf (Polly) was born,” Lightbody said. “I got Buttercup when I knew I had this job. I brought a bottle-baby Jersey calf to an area that doesn’t focus so much on dairy cows. When she was 4, we bred her with an angus bull.”

Romeu, one of Lightbody’s students, worked with Buttercup, showing her at the state fair and participating in the breeding process. Both were there when Buttercup gave birth to Polly, who Romeu will show next year.

“(It was incredible) being able to share that with a student and letting all the other students see from start to

finish the process of one of the topics we teach about,” Lightbody said.

“The gestational period, the birthing and the calf nursing … watching the calf grow and teaching her how to be a little show heifer. That was my plan for Buttercup when I got her, but to see it come to fruition was definitely one of the most amazing moments of this whole job.”

Lightbody’s college degree is in early childhood education, although her teaching journey took her to a middle school and a high school. She had no agricultural background when she arrived at West Orange — just a passion for the subject, she said.

“I felt there was a need for me to come here and give the kids some opportunities … to the level they needed,” Lightbody said. “It was definitely an easy decision (to come to WOHS). It’s taken a majority of this school year to come to the decision to switch back over to math, but it just feels like this is just the right time to move back over and help some of these kids get the foundation they need to be successful in math.

“I am super excited for the new adventure and to get to work with a different set of students,” she said.

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To raise or not to raise, that is the question

Windermere Town Council mulled options for shoring up the dock at Lake Down Park.

ANNABELLE SIKES NEWS EDITOR

Windermere Town Council members listened to multiple residents voice their opinion on dock repairs at the Town Council meeting Tuesday, May 9.

Public Works Director Tonya Elliott-Moore said during Hurricane Ian, the docks at Lake Street and Lake Down parks suffered severe damage.

“What we’ve had to do … to ensure we’re meeting the FEMA requirements is get someone to come out and assess the docks and provide a cost proposal back on repairing the structures,” she said. “What I asked that person to do was come back with their best-case scenario repair request, because I’ve worked in other cities that have 22 lakes, and I’ve never seen docks damaged this badly. … I wanted to make sure when we repaired the docks they would be more sustainable in the future.”

Elliott-Moore said the recommendation is to elevate the Lake Down Park dock by 18 inches.

Dena O’Malley, who spoke as a Parks and Recreation representative, said the committee believes raising the dock would take away from its functionality.

“Back in 2019, the committee spent almost $30,000 to have the dock rebuilt and lowered,” she said. “The previous dock was not ADA compliant. … We want to really consider if it’s a good idea to raise it this high. I know it would help with hurricane damage, but we really have concerns that it will have a lot of issues.”

Resident Bob McKinley agreed and said he thinks raising the dock would be a waste of money.

Elliott-Moore said she previously was unaware the Parks and Recreation team had lowered the docks back in 2019.

“I did get a hold of the contractor, and he came out and met me this morning,” she said. “He said that he feels strongly that if the community would like it left at its current height, he will be able to rebuild that structure to be sustainable. I feel better now that I’ve been able to talk to him, and he assured me that he has other docks at that same height in other towns that he has built to be sustainable.”

Elliott-Moore said she and Town Manager Robert Smith have received many calls and emails asking them to repair and open the docks as soon as possible.

Resident Frank Walters voiced his thoughts on Lake Street Park.

“I was very concerned about buying a property with the goings on at Lake Street Park,” he said. “I’m hearing encouraging things — that things are going to change at that park and get it back to being something that is peaceful and safe. … I just want you guys to know that I … will help you however we can to get things back to being peaceful and safe.”

The council unanimously approved repairing the docks at the current height with no increased elevation.

COURT CONVERSATION

The council also heard a variance to allow a sport court in front of the principal structure at 65 Pine St. Town Planner Brad Cornelius said the property is “somewhat unusual,” because it’s a flag lot and is accessed by a private easement connecting to Pine Street. Because of the unique lot configuration, the variance is required to place the proposed sport court in front of the principal structure.

“It does make this lot a little bit difficult in terms of how we look at where the front of the lot is,” he said. “The variance is simply to allow it in front of the house. Your code requires it to be either behind the house or to the side of the house. On this lot, it’s not wide enough for this house to have it on the side. They could put it to the back if they were to move the house further up to First Avenue. … The code doesn’t reference sport courts

in the front yard, it says, ‘in front of the structure,’ ‘in front of the house.’”

Cornelius said the applicants, Nick and Susan Capone, are currently not proposing any lights on the court, and the court must follow the rules of the town’s noise ordinance. If the applicants were to want lights in the future, the code requires the lights to be fully shielded to diminish impact.

Cornelius said the town received quite a good amount of response to the variance, including six letters in support and five in opposition. The ones in opposition were all from adjacent property owners.

The Development Review Board previously discussed the variance and denied it 5-1, as it was concerned about the impact on the adjacent neighbors and it did not find there was a hardship as defined in the code.

Council Member Molly Rose questioned the location of the court on the property.

“I have a hard time thinking of this as the front yard,” she said. “To me, it’s on the side of the house.”

Council Member Tom Stroup said he spoke to all of the neighbors and the biggest issue was the possible noise.

Kevin Ball, representative of the applicants, said he thinks the court will impact the neighbors significantly more if it is placed at the back of the house.

“In front of the house, we’re able to … sink it into the ground, build a wall around it and then have landscaping around it,” he said. “We’re really able to mitigate the noise by having it in the front. Having it in the back, we don’t have the ability to go into the earth; we’re not going to build a wall and break our lake view. … Some of the neighbors (who) were strongly against it will be more impacted if it’s in the back. The neighbors who are in front of the house — if we have to push the house 50 feet forward, that house, that two-story structure is going to be looking into their backyards.”

Rose made a motion to approve the variance as is. The motion passed unanimously.

IN OTHER NEWS

n The Windermere Town Council approved a variance to allow the reconstruction of a previously un-permitted boat dock at 10 feet from the side property line extended at 4414 Down Point Lane.

Town Planner Brad Cornelius said the dock was built around 1984, and sometime between 1984 and 2005, an alteration was made to the dock that was not permitted. The applicants requested the reconstruction of the dock because of the damage it faced from the storms last summer. Notices were sent out, and the town received 11 notices all in support.

n The Town Council approved a variance to allow a 39.6% gross floor area, a new front porch with a front setback of 23.6 feet and a 100% increase of gross floor area of an existing nonconforming detached accessory garage with a height greater than 18 feet at 804 Oakdale St. The Development Review Board recommended 6-0 the approval of only the front porch addition with the condition for the entire property to be brought into compliance with the current town onsite stormwater retention requirements. Cornelius said the applicant submitted a revised plan after the DRB meeting to fulfill the recommendations.

n Council members approved the first reading of an ordinance which is a proposed change to the 10% limitation for nonconforming structures. Cornelius said one of the most common variance requests is expanding the gross floor area of nonconforming structures more than the 10% limitation provided in the town’s Land Development Code. He said most often, the proposed expansions beyond 10% comprise additions that are compliant with the current zoning requirements. These variances are then typically recommended by approval by the DRB and approved by the Town Council.

n The council approved an additional $25,000 to Rostan Solutions for FEMA reimbursement services following Hurricane Ian.

$8.99 Buy 2, Get

Annabelle Sikes

The dock at Lake Down Park was closed after last year’s hurricanes.

Tales from Tallahassee

The West Orange Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Legislative Luncheon Thursday, May 11, at the Ocoee Lakeshore Center. During the luncheon, the chamber recognized the 2022-23 Leadership West Orange Program class — The TBD Class — for completing the program prior to the panel discussion. This year’s panelists included Sen. Dennis Baxley, District 13; State Rep. Bruce Antone, District 41; State Rep. Carolina Amesty, District 45; State Rep. Doug Bank-

son, District 39; State Rep. Anna Eskamani, District 42; State Rep. Jennifer “Rita” Harris, District 44; and State Rep. Fred Hawking, District 35. Event sponsors for the event were Quantum Fiber and Valencia College while the presenting sponsor was AdventHealth and the venue sponsor was the city of Ocoee. The photography sponsor for the luncheon was StudioXXII Photography.

Orange County begins Vision 2050 meetings

AMY QUESINBERRY

COMMUNITY EDITOR

Orange County Government has launched a series of town hall meetings on Vision 2050, the proposed framework for sustainably managing the next three decades of growth in the county. These meetings will be held throughout Orange. The first was hosted by Orange County District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson Tuesday, May 9.

The interactive meeting, held at the Korean Presbyterian Church in Winter Garden, was set up with multiple stations and departments where residents could learn about the goals and objectives and the program and could give input and ask questions.

“Vision 2050 is the blueprint; it’s not code,” Wilson said. “It’s difficult to come up with an analogy for the layers of governing documents, but if you think of Vision 2050, it’s our vision, it’s a blueprint. It’s sort of the body of the car, and the code is the engine.”

Orange County is projected to add nearly 700,000 new residents by 2050. Staff and stakeholders have been

working on a plan to lead the county toward a future vision rather than reacting to existing conditions.

The Vision 2050 initiative aims to guide how and where growth will occur over the next two-and-onehalf decades. It will be implemented through the adoption of a new landdevelopment code called Orange Code, which will focus on placemaking standards and context-based regulations.

As a type of form-based code, Orange Code will rely on developmental characteristics that are desired rather than those that communities seek to avoid. These plans act as blueprints for guiding short- and longrange development, resource protection, provision of public services and economic growth.

“Orange County continues to grow, and we can’t stop that, so we might as well start planning,” said Alberto Vargas, county planning manager. “We’re taking a document that was created by the Board of County Commissioners more than 30 years ago, reorganizing it and updating it.”

The county is first divided into six

market areas — West Orange County falls in the Southwest market area. Each market is further subdivided sectors and place types. Sectors direct growth to where it’s encouraged, and place types direct the character of future growth.

“(That) formula of both a vision document that is predictable and a code that implements what’s in that document (is) the formula for success,” Vargas said. “The land development code is more than 66 years old. We have been incrementally, over time, amending it and patching it.”

HOW IT WORKS

Vargas said the county is looking at a more place-based formula that relies on the required elements that make up 10 chapters: Land use, mobility and neighborhoods; housing and community services; tourism, arts and culture; economy, technology and innovation; natural resources and conservation; recreation and open space; transportation; public schools; community facilities and services; and implementation and property rights.

Market areas are broken down into Northwest, Southwest, Core, East, South and Rural East. These describe the general character of geographical areas within the county. They inform and influence the structure of subsequent planning layers.

Sectors are labeled Targeted, Intended, Established, Rural, Preserved and Special. They are associated with specific long-range strategies that indicate whether an area should develop, redevelop or stay largely unchanged within the expected 30-year planning horizon.

Place types are Centers, Neighbors and Corridors and define existing and future planning areas, including appropriate development densities and intensities. Within these place types are further breakdowns. In Centers, there would be a regional center, tourist activity center, urban center, urban core, neighborhood center and rural center. In Corridors, there would be urban, main street and suburban corridors; and in Neighborhoods, there would be traditional, suburban mixed, suburban and rural.

“We begin to geographically define that we have six different market areas; we have six different sectors, and the place types is just another way to define future land uses,” Vargas said. “The only difference is we’re not talking about commercial, industrial, residential in isolation anymore — but in places that make sense and are suitable for the integration of those uses whether it’s vertically integrated or horizontally integrated.”

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

There are several districtcentric meetings planned throughout Orange County. Several meetings will pertain to the entire county.

n 6 p.m. Thursday, June 8, at Meadow Woods Recreation Center, 1751 Rhode Island Woods Circle, Orlando

n 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, at Wekiva High School cafeteria, 2501 Hiawassee Road, Apopka

n Monday, July 10, time to be determined, at the IFAS Cooperative Extension, 6021 S. Conway Road, Orlando n Tuesday, July 18, time to be determined, at either Barnett Park, 4801 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando, or Pine Hills Community Center, 6408 Jennings Road, Orlando

For more information on the initiative, visit ocfl.net/ vision2050. Residents can leave their feedback on a Vision 2050 map at buff. ly/3pv8ox4.

A series of town hall meetings are planned to educate residents on the principles of the growth-management process and allow them to get involved.

— ANDREA MUJICA

State Representative for District 44 Rita Harris, Orange County District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson and Orange County District 1 aide Cami Riviezzo.

Senator for District 13 Dennis Baxley and state representatives Carolina Amesty, Bruce Antone, Doug Bankson, Anna Eskamani, Rita Harris and Fred Hawkins were the featured panelists of the event.

Left: The TBD Class gathered for a picture after all its members received the culmination plaque for the 2022-23 Leadership West Orange Program.

Philip Koovakada, senior vice president for the Orlando Health South Central region and president of Health Central Hospital, also addressed the audience during the luncheon.

Ocoee police seek help to confirm safety of missing juveniles

Domingo

The Ocoee Police Department is asking locals for their help in confirming the safety of three missing juveniles.

Alfredo Domingo Sales, Glendy Azucena Coccaal and Ander Dudek Lorenzo Pablo all have been missing since 2022.

Sgt. Leo Gomez, of the department’s criminal-investigations division, said all three migrated to the United States from Guatemala and were placed in sponsor homes with non-relatives in Ocoee.

Through the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the department knows the parents of two of the three — Glendy and Ander — know where their children are but will not share information for fear they will be deported.

Gomez believes the children are no longer in the local community.

“It appears that they were placed here with sponsor families, not with their own families, and then they, on their own, willingly left their sponsor families more than likely to go with either an extended member of their family … or significant others that had also migrated here from Guatemala,” he said.

Gomez said the department has not been able to make contact with any of Alfredo’s family in Guatemala.

“The unfortunate reality is a lot of these families are coming from a mountainous region, where they don’t even speak Spanish,” he said. “They speak a dialect that is not familiar, and they don’t have cell phones and landlines and electricity and running water.”

Gomez said the department has no reason to believe the children didn’t come to the U.S. with the intention of being with their extended family members.

Another common factor of the three missing juveniles is “none of them were reported to us until the social workers that were in charge of them forced them to call us to report them to us,” Gomez added.

Gomez said the department’s focus is not on getting anyone in trouble or taking the children away — but instead making sure the children are safe.

“As long as they’re with other adults (who) are capable and taking care of them, and up to this point, if we would presume that they would, then there’s no reason that they wouldn’t place them with them,” he said. “Our main focus right now is making sure that they’re OK and being able to close our cases.”

From the department, Gomez said these are the only three missing juveniles locally.

“I have counterparts in several agencies around, and as far as I know and what they’re telling me, we’re the

ALFREDO DOMINGO SALES

Age: 17 | Sex: Male | Race:

White/Hispanic | Hair: Black |

Eyes: Brown | Height: 5 feet |

Weight: 90 | Details: Alfredo has been missing from Ocoee since Oct. 29, 2022.

IN OTHER NEWS

n Mayor John Rees read a proclamation for Public Service Recognition Month.

n The Winter Garden City Commission approved the first reading of an ordinance rezoning 0.73 acres at 11 W. Smith St. and 186 S. Main St. on the northwest corner of West Smith Street and South Main Street from Central Commercial District, Residential District, to Planned Commercial Development. Planning Director Kelly Carson said the applicant is looking to develop a new two-story, 12,000-square-foot commercial building with a parking area with 38 spaces – both on-site and street parking – streetscape amenities and a green open area to preserve the existing large live oak tree.

n The commission approved a first amendment to the amended and restated Oakland Park Development Interlocal Agreement with the town of Oakland. Assistant City Manager of Public Services Steve Pash said there have been delays in the building of the last phase on the Oakland side due to an existing drainage ditch through the property. Since the delay slowed the progress, the town was not able to complete the Catherine Ross Road improvements. Therefore, the town requested to amend the agreement to extend the completion date by one year to Dec. 31, 2024. It also allows the city manager to extend the date another six months if there is good cause shown.

GLENDY AZUCENA COCCAAL

Age: 16 | Sex: Female | Race: White | Hair: Black | Eyes: Brown | Height: 5-foot-1 | Weight: 105 |

Details: Glendy has been missing from Ocoee since April 10, 2022.

ANDER DUDEK LORENZO PABLO

Age: 17 | Sex: Male | Race:

White/Hispanic | Hair: Black |

Eyes: Brown | Height: 5-foot-5 |

Weight: 160 | Details: Ander has been missing from Ocoee since May 24, 2022.

only department right now with active missing children that have migrated here from Guatemala,” he said.

Coming from the Hispanic community himself, Gomez believes there is a common misconception with law enforcement.

“In our home countries, the level of service that they receive from law enforcement isn’t what you get here,” he said. “They think they’re there as punishment. … In reality we’re trying to provide a service. We’re trying to provide education. We’re trying to provide you with the resources that you need to have a better life. … If we knew where they were and they needed services, then we could get them in contact with our partners that would be willing to help them.”

Anyone with information should contact Crimeline at (800) 423-TIPS (8477) or the Ocoee PD non-emergency number, (407) 905-3160.

n The Commission approved a piggyback of the city of Clermont continuing services agreement for building inspection services and plan review.

n Commissioners approved a change order to Southern Development & Construction Inc. for the Marsh Road Improvement Project in the amount of $798,200.28.

n The commission approved waiving the formal procurement process and awarded installation and bypass pumping for two control panels for pump stations 23 and 47 to RCM Utilities LLC in the amount of $78,995.75.

n Commissioners approved awarding a purchase order to TD Thomson Construction Inc. for yard drain and piping for Westside Townhomes in the amount of $65,012.65.

n The commission approved a communications tower construction contract with Tower Systems Inc. for the police department dispatch center in the amount of $69,364.75.

City negotiates with Duke on service, trees

ANNABELLE SIKES NEWS EDITOR

Duke Energy was the prevailing topic of conversation at the Winter Garden City Commission meeting Thursday, May 11.

The commission discussed the first reading of the ordinance at the Thursday, April 27, meeting, where it was approved 4-1, with Commissioner Ron Mueller opposing.

Marc Hutchinson, senior business analyst, said the new agreement would run for 10 years and replace the current 30-year agreement, which expired in December.

“(The ordinance) essentially grants Duke Energy the … continued permission and authorization to use and occupy the right-ofway for the intentional purposes of operating, maintaining and distributing electric services to citizens of Winter Garden,” he said at the April meeting. The franchise fee will remain at 6%.

ONGOING PARTNERSHIP

Mueller voiced his concerns at the first meeting stating the city had some “less-than-spectacular service during the storm.”

“We also saw some areas where we expected redundant power systems to be in place, and we found out that not only were those redundant systems not in place, but to do so would have been a Herculean effort that would have taken several more days beyond the time it would have taken to repair the current system,” he said at the April meeting. “There’s some things in there that I would like to … go back and continue to have those discussions and say, ‘How can we improve the quality of service — especially during a critical time with the storms? What can we do to navigate burying power lines as we go forward and general other service level agreements?’”

Mueller again voiced concerns after the second reading of the ordinance, mentioning the butchering of trees he had recently seen.

Mayor John Rees inquired on where the city was at in terms of Duke allowing the city to trim its own trees at major points in the area.

“That’s still the forefront of the conversation we’re having with them,” City Manager Jon C. Williams said. “It’s a little out of the norm for them, so we’re working

with them … to understand the concept and they’re open to discussion.”

The second reading passed 4-1, with Mueller dissenting.

“We do appreciate you all working with the city, and we understand, really, both sides,” Rees said. “It’s just we’re defending our side — and you all obviously have a job to do there — but the two main issues are obviously the trees (and the service), and we want both. We want the trees left alone, and we don’t want to be out of service.”

During his time to speak, Williams also introduced a proposed memorandum of understanding with Duke.

“One of the things that we talked about at the last meeting and we focused on is improving customer service from Duke after the hurricanes and responsiveness, so as a result of that and the effort that they have put forward, we felt like it would be good to kind of memorialize that in the form of a memorandum of understanding,” he said.

According to the slideshow Williams presented, the memorandum focuses on safeguarding tree aesthetics and service reliability. Within the memorandum, the city will define roles and responsibilities for aspects such as tree trimming management, under-grounding of distribution lines and other areas of mutual fiduciary interest.

As agreed upon in the commitment, Williams said Duke recognizes the city’s fiduciary role to protect heritage trees, understands and supports the city’s desire to go beyond energy industry standards for tree trimming; will proactively plan and collaborate 60 days prior to all tree trimming; and maintains the “right tree, right place” philosophy in community landscape planning.

In addition, Duke will host meetings to target long-term undergrounding solutions to protect trees and improve reliability of service, timely provide cost-saving credit estimates for undergrounding projects, provide early notice of planned line hardening work to discuss under-grounding options, and partner on easement acquisition, residential conversion for overhead to underground conversion and other mutually beneficial interests.

The commission approved the memorandum unanimously.

ANNABELLE SIKES NEWS EDITOR

Alfredo

Sales, Glendy Azucena Coccaal and Ander Dudek Lorenzo Pablo have been missing since 2022.

Golden Oak estate sells for $7.4M

Ahome in the Golden Oak community in Southwest Orange topped all West Orange-area residential real-estate transactions from May 6 to 13.

The home at 10217 Symphony Grove Drive, sold May 11, for $7.4 million. Built in 2020, it has five bedrooms, five baths, two half-baths and 5,241 square feet of living area. Days on market: 239.

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

DR. PHILLIPS BAY VIEW RESERVE

The condo at 7550 Hinson St., No. 4B, Orlando, sold May 10, for $530,000. Built in 1985, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,610 square feet of living area. Days on market: 138.

ENCLAVE AT ORLANDO

The condo at 6165 Carrier Drive, No. 1309, Orlando, sold May 8, for $140,000. Built in 1985, it has one bedroom, one bath and 408 square feet of living area. Days on market: 29.

ESTATES AT PARKSIDE

The home at 8061 Ludington Circle, Ocoee, sold May 9, for $1,250,000. Built in 2018, it has seven bedrooms, five baths and 5,321 square feet of living area. Days on market: 64.

HIDDEN BEACH

The home at 6531 Moonshell Court, Orlando, sold May 9, for $525,000. Built in 1987, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,874 square feet of living area. Days on market: 22.

LANDSBROOK TERRACE

The home at 6437 Winder Oaks Blvd., Orlando, sold May 11, for $542,500. Built in 1998, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,956 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

TANGELO PARK

The home at 5027 Anzio St., Orlando, sold May 12, for $300,000. Built in 1959, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,135 square feet of living area. Days on market: 10.

VISTA CAY AT HABOR SQUARE

The condo at 5024 Shoreway Loop, No. 20706, Orlando, sold May 12, for $520,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,097 square feet of living area. Days on market: 68.

VISTAS AT PHILLIPS COMMONS

The townhouse at 6810 Hochad Drive, No. 0, Orlando, sold May 11, for $405,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, two-andone-half baths and 1,672 square feet of living area. Days on market: 36.

VIZCAYA HEIGHTS

The condo at 8743 The Esplanade, No. 16, Orlando, sold May 11, for $525,000. Built in 2006, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 2,162 square feet of living area. Days on market: 60.

HORIZON WEST

ASHLIN PARK

The home at 11444 Misty Oak Alley, Windermere, sold May 10, for $490,000. Built in 2016, it has four bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 2,361 square feet of living area. Days on market: 27.

The home at 11486 Misty Oak Alley, Windermere, sold May 12, for $550,000. Built in 2016, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 1,950 square feet of living area. Days on market: 10.

HAMILTON GARDENS

The townhouse at 6179 Elfin Herb Way, Winter Garden, sold May 10, for $421,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 1,714 square feet of living area. Days on market: 74.

HICKORY HAMMOCK

The home at 15778 Citrus Grove Loop, Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $645,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 2,623 square feet of living area. Days on market: One.

INDEPENDENCE/

SIGNATURE LAKES

The home at 15535 Camp Dubois Crescent, Winter Garden, sold May 12, for $490,000. Built in 2014, it has three bedrooms, twoand-one-half baths and 2,186 square feet of living area. Days on market: 36.

The home at 7104 Little Field Lane, Winter Garden, sold May 9, for $500,000. Built in 2011, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,758 square feet of living area. Days on market: Five.

LAKE HANCOCK SHORES

The home at 7720 Ficquette Road, Windermere, sold May 8, for $1,786,000. Built in 2007, it has four bedrooms, four-and-onehalf baths and 4,282 square feet of living area. Days on market: 113.

LAKES OF WINDERMERE

PEACHTREE

The home at 13534 Bramham Lane, Windermere, sold May 10, for $489,500. Built in 2004, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,820 square feet of living area. Days on market: 13.

LAKEVIEW POINTE

The townhouse at 7272 Duxbury Lane, Winter Garden, sold May 12, for $425,000. Built in 2016, it has two bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 1,624 square feet of living area. Days on market: 19.

NEWBURY PARK

The townhouse at 8493 Leeland Archer Blvd., Orlando, sold May 11, for $400,000. Built in 2009, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 1,512 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

OASIS COVE I

The condo at 14038 Sparkling Cove Lane, No. 605, Windermere, sold May 10, for $405,000. Built in 2008, it has three bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 1,826 square feet of living area. Days on market: 11.

PANTHER VIEW

The home at 14969 Winter Stay Drive, Winter Garden, sold May 10, for $894,800. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 3,505 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

STOREY GROVE

The home at 11096 Silver Surfer Alley, Winter Garden, sold May 12, for $509,000. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,042 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

WATERLEIGH

The home at 13612 Salamander St., Winter Garden, sold May 9, for $600,740. Built in 2022, it has four bedrooms, three-and-onehalf baths and 2,489 square feet of living area.

The home at 16802 Oakboro St., Winter Garden, sold May 12, for $495,000. Built in 2020, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,689 square feet of living area. Days on market: 40.

The home at 10296 Heronwood Alley, Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $480,000. Built in 2019, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,685 square feet of living area. Days on market: 43.

The townhouse at 13304 Pontoon Road, Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $443,740. Built in 2023, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 1,567 square feet of living area.

The townhouse at 13280 Pontoon Road, Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $408,740. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 1,567 square feet of living area. Days on market: 54.

The townhouse at 13298 Pontoon Road, Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $408,740. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 1,567 square feet of living area. Days on market: 105.

WEST LAKE HANCOCK ESTATES

The home at 7497 John Hancock Drive, Windermere, sold May 10, for $1,398,000. Built in 2019, it has six bedrooms, five baths and 4,593 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

OCOEE BRENTWOOD HEIGHTS

The home at 607 Ridgefield Ave., Ocoee, sold May 10, for $353,000. Built in 1963, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 1,710 square feet of living area. Days on market: Six.

KENSINGTON MANOR

The home at 1802 Palmerston Circle, Ocoee, sold May 12, for $480,000. Built in 2006, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,196 square feet of living area. Days on market: One.

MEADOW RIDGE

The home at 393 Anessa Rose Loop, Ocoee, sold May 10, for $670,000. Built in 2010, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,939 square feet of living area. Days on market: 10.

The home at 2843 Maria Isabel Ave., Ocoee, sold May 8, for $625,000. Built in 2009, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,487 square feet of living area. Days on market: Six.

VILLAGES OF WESMERE

The home at 2007 Water Tupelo Way, Ocoee, sold May 11, for $495,000. Built in 2013, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,309 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

WINDSOR LANDING

The home at 131 Sagecrest Drive, Ocoee, sold May 11, for $800,000. Built in 2005, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 3,854 square feet of living area. Days on market: Eight.

SOUTHWEST ORANGE

GOLDEN OAK

The home at 10217 Symphony Grove Drive, sold May 11, for $7.4 million. Built in 2020, it has five bedrooms, five baths, two halfbaths and 5,241 square feet of living area. Days on market: 239.

The home at 10188 Carthay Drive, Orlando, sold May 12, for $5,875,000. Built in 2017, it has five bedrooms, six baths, two half-baths and 5,062 square feet of living area. Days on market: Five.

ROYAL CYPRESS PRESERVE

The home at 10487 Royal Cypress Way, Orlando, sold May 10, for $880,000. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths and 2,298 square feet of living area. Days on market: 22.

WINDERMERE KEENE’S POINTE

The home at 6215 Blakeford Drive, Windermere, sold May 12, for $1,720,000. Built in 2001, it has five bedrooms, five-and-one-half baths and 4,421 square feet of living area. Days on market: 17.

The home at 5915 Caymus Loop, Windermere, sold May 8, for $1,245,000. Built in 2003, it has five bedrooms, four baths and 3,586 square feet of living area. Days on market: 31.

The home at 11409 N. Camden Commons Drive, Windermere, sold May 12, for $1 million. Built in 2005, it has four bedrooms, four-andone-half baths and 3,530 square feet of living area. Days on market: Nine.

RESERVE AT BELMERE

The home at 11948 Provincial Way, Windermere, sold May 11, for $1,635,000. Built in 2007, it has four bedrooms, five baths and 4,850 square feet of living area. Days on market: 93.

The home at 11015 Belmere Isles Court, Windermere, sold May 10, for $630,000. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,023 square feet of living area. Days on market: 97.

RESERVE AT LAKE BUTLER SOUND

The home at 11006 Bridge House Road, Windermere, sold May 12, for $3,230,000. Built in 2003, it has five bedrooms, five baths, two halfbaths and 7,261 square feet of living area. Days on market: 13.

WILLOWS AT LAKE RHEA

The home at 11462 Willow Gardens Drive, Windermere, sold May 9, for $1,250,000. Built in 1993, it has five bedrooms, four-and-one-half baths and 4,160 square feet of living area.

WINTER GARDEN

AVALON ESTATES

The home at 17410 Hartwood Marsh Road, Winter Garden, Lake County, sold May 8, for $795,000. Built in 2000, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,487 square feet of living area. Days on market: Six.

BRADFORD CREEK

The home at 14462 Sunbridge Circle, Winter Garden, sold May 8, for $725,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 2,823 square feet of living area. Days on market: 13.

COVINGTON PARK

The home at 759 Meadow Glade Drive, Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $535,000. Built in 2007, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,186 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

LAKEVIEW RESERVE

The home at 136 Desiree Aurora St., Winter Garden, sold May 10, for $519,900. Built in 2002, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,216 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

The home at 115 Zachary Wade St., Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $480,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,780 square feet of living area. Days on market: 223.

OAKLAND PARK

The home at 1055 Sadler Oaks Way, Winter Garden, sold May 12, for $848,175. Built in 2022, it has four bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 2,442 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

STONEYBROOK WEST

The home at 1322 Portmoor Way, Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $480,000. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,202 square feet of living area. Days on market: 62.

The home at 1152 Harbor Hill St., Winter Garden, sold May 11, for $465,000. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,180 square feet of living area. Days on market: Three.

WATERSIDE ON JOHNS LAKE

The home at 16707 Rusty Anchor Road, Winter Garden, sold May 8, for $982,000. Built in 2020, it has five bedrooms, four baths and 3,713 square feet of living area. Days on market: Two.

Photo by TRE Visuality

The home at 11006 Bridge House Road, Windermere, sold May 12, for $3,230,000. It was the largest transaction in Windermere from May 6 to 13, 2023. The selling agent was Simon Simaan, The Simon Simaan Group.

TFA Class of 2023 turns tassels

The First Academy’s Class of 2023 celebrated the end of high school at the school’s 2023 graduation ceremony Friday, May 12, at the Worship Center of First Baptist Orlando. This year’s graduating class included 81 students from the Upper School, one from The First Hope (unique abilities program) and 16 from Classical (hybrid homeschool). The ceremony included words from TFA Head of School Dr. Steve Whitaker, Upper School Principal Dr. Shayne Grove, valedictorian Sarah Jackson and salutatorian Dean Harvey. —

CONGRATS GRADS!

Earning a high school diploma is an accomplishment worth celebrating. That’s precisely why the Observer has created an extra special Graduation section. In it, we will celebrate senior from our area’s public, private and charter high schools.

ANNABELLE SIKES

Liam Philbin and Niko Dimas stopped for a quick photo before the ceremony.

Left: Valedictorian Sarah Jackson shared positive words with her classmates.

Elliott Jamison and Britney Evans posed together in the holding room before graduation.

Graduates helped each other with last-minute preparations like straightening caps.

Mandy Thibodeaux and Kristalle Tomat showed off stunning smiles.

Christopher Mixner, Iverson Perkins and Gabriel Prado are three of the new graduates.

SPORTS

Hope springs eternal

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

Finally, after months of anticipation, West Orange and Southwest Orange football teams are lacing their cleats to get ready for what promises to be an amazing season.

Oh yeah, it is spring football season. Coaches for CFCA, Dr. Phillips and Legacy did not respond to requests to participate in this story.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

THE FIRST ACADEMY

The First Academy will play its spring football game Thursday, May 18, against Zephyrhills Christian Academy.

“We had a jamboree set up, but the

third team backed out,” head football coach Leroy Kinard said. “So now, the head coach (at Zephyrhills) and I have to discuss the game format.”

The Royals are entering spring training — and the football season come August — with a very young football team after graduating 11 seniors who were impactful players for the team last season.

“We’ll have a very young team next year — but a lot of good players,” Kinard said. “The trick is to let them grow and not get frustrated during the process.”

The key this spring is to have the opportunity to play all newcomers and see how they fare on the field.

“This spring, I really want to evalu-

SEE PAGE 3B

Windermere Wolverines dominate on the diamond

Windermere High’s baseball and softball teams both claimed district titles — and are looking for more.

ANDREA MUJICA

STAFF WRITER

Both the Windermere High baseball and softball teams have worked toward their respective goals the entire season and are seeing the hard work pay off, as the boys are currently ranked No. 5 in the Florida 7A region and the girls are ranked No. 3 in the Florida 7A region.

WOLVERINE BASEBALL

The Windermere High School varsity baseball team has enjoyed a successful season.

“I’m just really proud of the guys

because, obviously, we lost some big pieces (last year) by losing Simon Sobellia on the mound, Gustavo Mendez behind the plate and, obviously, Blake Cyr at the shortstop,” head baseball coach Eric Lassiter said. “The question mark was how we would fill those holes both in the offense and on the mound. But our guys have really responded and have had a really good year, and they’ve kind of come together as a team. We are excited to get another chance, especially those returners, because they were here last year and got to

SEE DOUBLE 2B

The Foundation Academy softball team defeated Mount Dora Chrsitian Academy 5-3 during the regional quarterfinal game, advancing to the regional semifinals. The Lady Lions currently own a 12-9 overall season record and were set to play Cornerstone Charter Academy (20-8-1) in the regional semifinal game to define what team will advance to the regional championship game at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, after press time.

File photos

2

The First Academy recently recognized eight student-athletes for their high academic performance during the 2022-23 school year. To be eligible to receive the Scholar Athlete Award, the student-athletes need to have the highest GPA in their class for their gender and participate in more than one sport. The 2022-23 Scholar Athlete Award recipients are: Marina Schmid and Jackson Jones, ninth grade; Haven Schrimsher and Jack Millar, 10th grade; Anniston Risinger and Liam Sweeney, 11th grade; and Sarah Jackson and Enzo Sioson, 12th grade.

3

The Dr. Phillips High varsity boys volleyball team advanced to the regional semifinals after defeating Sports Leadership and Management 3-0 during the regional quarterfinals Tuesday, May 9. The Panthers (17-6) defeated the Spartans in three sets: 25-20, 25-15 and 25-20.

4

Lake Buena Vista High School recently named its athletes of the year for the 2022-23 academic year. Andres Romero plays football and soccer for the Vipers, and Natalie Kaufman participates in cross country and track and field. Both student-athletes have a GPA higher than 4.0.

5

Windermere High School varsity baseball players Holden Brauner, Jack Waddingham, Guillermo Yepes, Cannon Feazell and Randy Ruiz Jr. recently were named 2023 Metro West baseball Metro Champions and All Metro Players.

TFA junior Zahmya Brown recently was crowned regional champion in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.77. Page 2B.

Both TFA and Windermere Prep teams are building strength this season.

The West Orange Warriors are looking forward to returning to the football field.

As spring football begins, ambitious teams from West Orange and Southwest Orange harbor big dreams for the new season.

Zahmya Brown

The First Academy track and field and hurdles runner Zahmya Brown recently was crowned regional champion in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.77. Brown also qualified for the state meet in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay. Head track and field coach Dean Middleton said of Brown, “She’s new to the team this year, but she quickly became one of the backbones of the team.”

How was it becoming regional champion?

It was very exciting especially with my mom being there and just my team supporting me and then showing me love. … It took us a minute but we got there, we took it home.

Tell us about your years as a track runner.

It started when I was 7 years old, and I was on and off for a while.

I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do, but in high school, I knew I wanted to do track. And then this year, as I progressed throughout the year, I knew I had made the right decision.

What do you love most about track as a sport?

I love the teamwork and the support you get from your team and the coaches, especially your coaches being happy for you no matter if you do good or bad. They are there supporting you.

What do you believe track has taught you not only on the track but also off of it?

Just to never give up. Even if you are late bloomers, just always keep going. Never stop what you are doing just because of failure. Failure teaches you.

Do you have a favorite drill to do at practice?

I like “Fast Leg.” It’s just a drill that helps you get the muscles going when you are working on sprints.

What do you think makes you a unique player on the track? My attitude. Even when I win or lose, I still just keep a smile on my face. But when I lose, I am able to come back and work even harder.

How do you believe you instill leadership in your team?

My work ethic. I come to practice

THE BASICS

Age: 17

Sport: Track and field

Position: Hurdles and sprints

Grade: Junior School: TFA

going to try hard, and we’ll see where we will go through the season.’

What do you love most about your team?

At the meets when we are winning, (when they are) running along the sidelines cheering me on and they are always happy for you — no matter what.

What would you like to study in college? I would like to study criminal justice. I want to be a lawyer, so I knew criminal justice would be a great option for that before I go to law school.

What’s your favorite hobby?

I like to watch (scary and funny) movies and sleep.

What do you like to do on the weekends? On the weekends, I actually watch my brother, Zaharie Williams, play basketball, and then we spend time as a family. We bake and cook together.

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

Water, my phone and food.

What’s your favorite movie?

“Love and Basketball.”

What’s your favorite type of music?

I like hip-hop a lot, but I also listen to gospel music.

Who is your favorite superhero?

I love Cat Woman and Black Panther — just because of their suits

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

To control time. I think time goes with everything, so I would basically have everything I need.

What are three places you’d like to visit? Why?

I really want to go to Bali, Greece and Jamaica because of their scenery and their

If you could go back in time to a specific period of history, which one would it be and why?

I would like to see the 2012 Olympics. It was a good time; USA won.

What color would you say represents your personalMaybe like a teal. At times, I’m happy, and at times, I’m quiet to myself. That’s a nice and subtle tone.

If you could be an animal for a day, which one would you be and why?

A monkey, because I want to

— ANDREA MUJICA

Double district champions

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

see what that defeat was like, so we are just excited for the opportunity to get out there once again and see what happens once the game unfolds.”

Currently, the Wolverines own a 25-3-1 overall season record and a 10-game winning streak. They believe heading into practice with a game-time mentality has provided a huge advantage this season.

“I think we’ve done a really good job in staying focused at practice even during the cut things that are not necessarily the fun parts of baseball,” Lassiter said. “Going over bunt defense or first and third or pick-ups or run-downs, just focus on everything that we do because any given game can be a different situation that causes you to win or lose.”

Collectively, the Wolverines currently have a .312 batting average, have scored 288 runs this season by capitalizing on the 237 hits that the boys have connected during the games, and have accumulated 236 RBIs through the season.

“I really like the depth of our lineup, (which) probably has been better this year than last year one to nine in the batting order,” Lassiter said. “So, just again us sticking to our plan and staying in our zone and being ready to hit and working together as a team after at bats, working on what we are seeing as an offense so that we can make

adjustments during the game.

That’s what we need to continue to do, and our pitchers have done a nice job throwing strikes trying to get early contact and giving our offense a chance to take over the games.”

Windermere was set to travel to Plant High for the regional championship game at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, after press time.

“(They) have good pitching staff and good defenses, so we are really going to have to capitalize when we have the opportunity to do so,” Lassiter said.

WOLVERINE SOFTBALL

The Windermere High School varsity softball team has had a season to remember and has advanced to the regional semifinal game, where it will face Sarasota High to determine what team will advance to the regional championship game.

“In all honesty, this is a great team,” head softball coach Eileen Hannigan said. “There is a tremendous chemistry and they really play for each other. They are really excited about being in the field with each other, supporting each other. So, it’s top to bottom a full team effort.”

The girls currently own a 23-3 overall season record and are ranked No. 3 in the Florida Class 7A region — just behind Lake Brantley and Plant High School.

“We are a great team, one through 17,” Hannigan said. “There

are 17 girls in this team, and everybody is playing an equal part in our success. It’s not just one or two players, and that’s the beauty of it — that they really believe in each other and believe the support they give each other to be successful. And that’s why you are seeing what you are seeing. It’s fun to watch (them play), and they are a special group. And as a coach I think my job is to kind of get out of the way, give them the information and the tools, and let them do them.”

This is the second year the team has had the majority of the current Lady Wolverines play together and the second season the girls have continued to make a name for themselves every time they step onto the softball field.

The Lady Wolverines — who currently own a six-game winning streak — hosted the Lady Sailors at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, after press time, for the regional semifinals.

“They are a strong team, they’ve had a great year so far and … we are looking forward to a great game,” Hannigan said. “If we do what we are supposed to do — I like the chances — but that’s why we are playing the game. We have to play seven hard, and that’s our plan, come out and play every inning hard. I am a lucky coach to be able to have such wonderful athletes and I don’t take that for granted any day.”

Horizon High School boys volleyball makes history

The Horizon High School boys volleyball team defeated Tohopekaliga 3-2 during the regional quarterfinal game Tuesday, May 9.

The game went back and forth every set, each team alternating wins every point. However, Horizon pulled through during the fifth set. The Hawks won three out of five sets (25-21, 25-17, 18-25, 22-25 and 15-12).

Junior James Candrian led the offense with 24 kills, while junior Robert Richardson came through for the team with 22 digs. Senior Reynaldo Izaguirre contributed with 24 assists. In total, the team accumulated 56 kills, six serving aces, 10 blocks, 64 digs, and 48 assists during the game.

The Hawks currently own a 16-9 overall season record and continue making history on the court; this year’s team has become the first in the program to advance to regional play.

The Hawks defeated the Tam-

pa Bay HEAT Friday, May 12, to advance to the regional championship. They were scheduled to face Celebration at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, after press time.

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

The Wolverines are losing eight seniors to graduation this year.

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

Andrea Mujica

In what has been a season to remember, the Hawks have formed a deep connection on the court with one another.

ate our young players,” Kinard said. “It’s one thing to do it in practice, but the key is to see how they play on varsity for the first time.”

Because of the team’s youth, Kinard said his biggest challenge will be having so many new starters.

“We’ll have to put in a lot of work this summer in the weight room and field to make sure we are ready in August,” he said.

Before it’s show time, the team is looking to add two coaches, more likely on the defensive line and another one as a special teams coordinator.

All in all, Kinard is truly looking forward to seeing what the boys can do this year.

“I honestly like our team characterwise,” he said. “They are very excited to play, but the rate of growth will determine our success. We’ve made playoffs 14 out of 17 years and, hopefully, this year will be No. 15.”

FOUNDATION ACADEMY Foundation Academy will play its spring football game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 26, against Lake Region High.

“We expect to be a little better from last season,” head football coach

Andre Walker said. “We have a lot of young guys who were forced to play last season, so although we are young, we have a lot of experience.”

The Lions are excited for spring football and the opportunity to showcase their growth.

“I’m just excited to see them compete,” Walker said. “We’ve been working really hard this off-season.”

Last year, the team was hit hard with the injury bug, so this year the goal is to be as healthy as possible.

“Last year we were injury prone, (so) I’m going to say it’s staying away from injury,” Walker said. “How do I prevent injury through workouts and injury prevention exercises.”

Expectations are high this year despite losing 12 seniors to graduation, but the team is welcoming seven new athletes.

“We expect to compete for a district title and, like last season, barring injury, we fully expect to make a playoff run this season,” Walker said.

WINDERMERE PREP

Even though the Windermere Prep football team does not participate in spring football games, the Lakers are excited to return to the practice field every day for spring training.

“We are just trying to get better in every facet of the game,” head football coach Brian Simmons said. “For us, in the spring, that’s learning how to tackle, learning how to block and learning how to get out of a block. (That’s) kind of the foundation of everything that we do in football because if you can’t do those three things or you don’t do those three things well, it doesn’t matter where you play on the field, you are not going to be a good football player or team.”

The coaches are excited to see how the players develop — including John Cassin, who was recently hired as one of the offensive coaches and to help with college recruiting.

“I’m really excited to see how the guys individually develop, how they mature and how they come together as a team,” Simmons said. “I don’t really talk to them about winning or losing. I talk to them about working hard, competing and just continuing to develop every single day with the work that’s in front of you.”

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

HORIZON

Horizon High School will play its spring football game against Davenport High at 7 p.m. Friday, May 26, in Davenport.

“I feel like overall, our 2025 class is our best class, and they are finally going to be full grown varsity players,” head football coach Dennis Thomas said. “Before, they were playing as freshman, then sophomores. Now, they are playing as juniors, and they are they are going to be a good class.”

Key players include linebacker Bo Kenny, multi-position athlete Devin St. Clair and quarterback Michael Dove.

“I think we are good, I think we can play a football game right this second and show up well,” Thomas said. “The biggest thing I try is to kind of match and surpass what we did last year. (A) 7-3 season record (for a) second-year school — we are trying to see if we can do even better than that.”

The defensive line will see a new face in the coaching staff, Anthony Byrd, this season.

LAKE BUENA VISTA

The Lake Buena Vista football team will play its spring football game at 7 p.m. Friday, May 19, against Space Coast High School.

“Coach (Clifton) Nichols and I loved the idea of the Vipers vs. Vipers — that’s their mascot (too) — and found a way to get together to make this happen,” head football coach Joseph Rienzi said. “Last year, we played a great game. Space Coast won 21-14, and I expect this one to be another close game against a wellcoached team.”

The Vipers have been training for months and are ready to get out on the field and play the game they love.

“Our guys are just ready to play,” Rienzi said. “Conditioning from November to May can be a grind. These guys have been competing with (one another) for the last six months — they are ready to play another opponent and go into the off season, hopefully with some positive momentum.”

This season will provide opportunities for new student-athletes. The Vipers will lose 17 seniors to graduation and welcome about 20 new players.

“We are excited to see what some of them can do in the spring football game,” Rienzi said. “They bring a lot of athleticism and skills from their respective sports to the program and all have the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way for us.”

After their first win in the program’s

history in the final game of their 202223 football season, the Vipers now see the game through a different lens.

“We have been working hard since winning our season finale in November,” Rienzi said. “These guys now have a different kind of pressure on them, which is the burden of expectation. Everyone know what we are capable of now, and the guys have been working tirelessly to make sure they can get more wins this season. We’ve got a great group that is more than capable of building upon the foundation laid for them by last year’s seniors. Now, we can show everybody what Viper Football is all about.”

OCOEE

Ocoee High School will play its spring football game against Orange Park High School Tuesday, May 23.

“I can’t wait to see our young talents hit the field to play in their first varsity football game,” head football coach Sheddrick Gurley said. “It will be exciting to see their practice energy game in action. We have a young team of hard-working young men looking to continue to build the culture within the school and the community. We will progress daily and take things one game at a time.”

After such a successful season last year, this team is looking forward to putting in the hours to gain experience and strength come August.

“The lack of experience will be a challenge and overcoming the unknown,” Gurley said. “We will plan for focus on the Big Three: align, assignment and execute. This has been the pillar of our team for building great habits.”

The Knights have a new defensive coordinator in Michael McClenton, who coached alongside Gurley in previous years at Godby High School in Tallahassee. However, this is not the only change to the football team as a whole, as the Knights are losing 27 seniors to graduation and have four newcomers so far.

“This will give us an opportunity to focus on developing our younger athletes for the future,” Gurley said. “We will continue to attack the basic fundamentals of the game: good footwork, simple key reads, simple blocking scheme, low pads, aggressive hands, running the ball and blocking until the whistle. … I’m excited to see a team that will present their families, the school and the community in an impactful way. Their potential is promising. This upcoming year I will be excited to see what the future holds for Ocoee.”

OLYMPIA

Olympia High School will play its spring football game at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 18, against Oviedo High School.

“I am looking forward to continuing to evaluate our guys,” head football coach Travis Gabriel said. “I am most excited to see our team continue to get better.”

For the upcoming season and through spring training, the Titans will shift their mentality toward building strength.

“We are continuing to focus on getting stronger, be mentally focused and working together,” Gabriel said. “We are continuing to focus on getting better and being more disciplined daily.”

With no newcomers this year and 14 seniors lost to graduation, every Titan is expected to leave his all on the football field.

“I believe every young man that is a part of the team will contribute to our success,” Gabriel said.

WEST ORANGE West Orange High School will play its spring football game against Mainland High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25, at the Daytona Municipal Stadium.

“We are looking to continue to build the program,” head football coach Geno Thompson said. “Our vision is to be the best version ourselves and we work toward that daily. … We love the opportunity to play a quality program like Mainland. Coach (Travis) Roland has done a phenomenal job at his alma matter taking the team all the way to the state championship last season and they look poised to do it again this year. It is just a great way

to see where we are as a program.”

For their 2023-24 football season, the Warriors will step onto the football games against teams that will allow them to grow every game.

“We focus on one game at a time and understand we have a very difficult schedule,” Thompson said. “Out of the 12 teams we (will) play this year … nine were playoff teams last year, five made it to the final four in their respective classifications. This continued competition has provided our athletes opportunities to play the best in the area and show college coaches what they are capable of.”

However, the program does face its challenges off the field regarding fundraising for the team as equipment can get expensive.

“(That’s the) biggest challenge — fundraising,” Thompson said. “It’s very expensive to run a football program. Equipment like helmets, shoulder pads or feeding the players all add up. Summer camps are a great opportunity for kids to be seen by college coaches but unfortunately most who play football don’t have the financial means to fund these camps.”

This year, the coaching staff made some adjustments and added new coaches to train the boys. Will Ficka was promoted to offensive coordinator, Chris Woods was hired as defensive coordinator, Garrett Johnson was hired as assistant wide receivers coach, Roman Tatum was hired as assistant defensive backs coach, Scott Fisher was hired as head freshman coach, and Mandi Brown was hired as associate head freshman coach and defensive line coach.

WINDERMERE

Windermere High School will play its spring football game against Astronaut at 7 p.m. Friday, May 19, at the Deputy Scott Pine Community Park.

“Spring football games set the tone for the upcoming season and helps to get prepared for the intensity of the fall,” head football coach Riki Smith said. “Our new players will get a healthy sense of competition, and I’m better able to determine how the team and coaches will work together. We are also able to refine basic fundamentals and techniques, and evaluate our strengths and weaknesses. Spring ball also affords us the opportunity to build new relationships with new players and coaches. I’m excited.”

Even though the roster is promising, Smith anticipates keeping young players motivated will be challenging.

“Every player is unique in his own way,” he said. “Some players may respond to encouragement and others may need tough love. It’s hard to maintain that balance because in order to win, you have to be serious about practice and preparation. Young players haven’t developed that kind of seriousness. So, I believe at least one of my challenges will be to keep them motivated to want to continue to come ready to practice at a high level. Life is full of challenges and adversity, so I’m prepared to treat whatever challenges we face as opportunities for growth.”

The sole addition to the coaching staff is Jeremy Campbell, former Central Florida Christian Academy head football coach, who will now serve the Wolverines in the capacity of defensive coordinator.

“I look forward to having the opportunity to build a team, teach and watch the growth happen right before my eyes,” Smith said. “I thank God daily for this opportunity to lead our players and facilitate their growth from boys into men.”

Andrea Mujica

The Ocoee Knights are working hard to get in shape for the season.

Courtesy photo by Jhonny Mujica Photography

Olympia is excited to see how every athlete contributes to the team’s success.

LIANA HULCHER, OCOEE MIDDLE SCHOOL

What brought you to your school?

I have been a staffing specialist at the elementary and high school level, so the middle school was the missing piece. My husband also works at Ocoee Middle and spoke so highly of Principal Sam Davis, so I applied when there was an opening.

What do you love most about your school?

The people! Our principal has created a school culture that really makes you feel like part of a family. OMS has a diverse make-up of students, (and) every day is a different day.

What is your motivation?

Proving to people that you do not need a higher education or fancy job to have or teach kindness, responsibility and high morals or values. My father is a Cuban immigrant, and he left Cuba at 13 years old by himself. My mother grew up in the farmlands of Puerto Rico. Neither of them went to college. However, both worked hard and taught us how to treat others with kindness and respect. Nothing is given to us, and we need to work for everything we want.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

When students with exceptionalities are showing their growth and true potential that they can master their goals.

What do you like to do in your spare time? Relax at the pool, go to the beach with friends and listen to music.

REPORT CARD POSITION: Staffing specialist TIME AT SCHOOL: Two years

Who was your favorite teacher when you were in school? Why?

I didn’t have one in particular. All of my teachers were very different which taught me how to handle different personalities and structures.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Why?

I always wanted to work with children. At first, I wanted to become a pediatrician but quickly figured out that I do not do well with seeing children (who) are sick or hurting. So I became a teacher instead.

What is your favorite children’s book and why?

“Polar Express,” because of the sheer innocence.

What are your hobbies?

Crafting and dancing.

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

Healer, because, as I stated before, I don’t like seeing people sick or hurting.

If you could only listen to three bands or artists for the rest of your life, what would they be and why?

Jennifer Lopez, because I have

Liana Hulcher is the staffing specialist at Ocoee Middle School. Hulcher works with teachers and staff members to ensure any and all students with an exceptionality/disability receive the services and accommodations required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She is part of the CORE/leadership team where she works with administration to monitor student growth and implement plans to improve the school environment.

always admired her work ethic and tenacity. People can tell her “no,” or “you can’t,” and she will prove them wrong in every way. Luis Miguel, because many people do not know who he is, but he is a lyrical genius with romantic Spanish ballads. Also, any classic salsa band as it reminds me of my childhood and culture.

What was your go-to lunch as an elementary student? Any favorite snacks or special treats you remember?

There are so many memes about it, but definitely the square pizzas in the lunchroom and when we got to buy ice cream (strawberry shortcake eclairs) on Fridays.

What is your favorite holiday and why?

Christmas, by far. It is the birth of our savior Jesus Christ and the time I get to spend with family and friends.

Who was your best friend when you were in school and why? Are you still in touch?

I really didn’t have just one. There was a core group of us that went to elementary, middle and high school together. We did everything together from building forts in the snow to hanging out at the end of the cul-de-sac on the big green electrical box. We don’t really stay in touch outside of Facebook or Instagram.

What were your extracurricular activities as a student? Did you win any accolades or honors?

I was always a good student on the A/B honor roll. I played softball for a bit in high school. When I went to college, I became a member of a sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha, and the Geography Honor Society, Gamma Theta Upsilon.

— ANNABELLE SIKES

Horizon High thespians taking Fringe stage

The actors have been invited to perform in seven shows at the annual theater festival in Orlando.

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

Horizon High School’s theater students are experiencing the Orlando Fringe festival stage this week and next when they debut their 75-minute musical, “The Old Man and the Old Moon.” Citrus Music has agreed to produce it.

For most, this is their first exposure to the annual theater festival.

Theater director Nicholas Wainwright said he is thrilled to introduce his students to the longest-running fringe festival on the East Coast. They recently experienced a fringe teaser, getting to see some of the shows that will be performed and interact with some of the performers.

“This became a ‘Wow, this is real’ moment for them,” Wainwright said.

“‘The Old Man and the Old Moon’ is this deliciously whimsical story theater,” he said. “We make something from nothing. We use rudimentary props, we use bowler hats for bowls, we use shadow puppetry. Our assistant stage manager created — by just cutting cardboard — these beautiful silhouettes that we get to use. … Through use of shadow we get to tell larger-than-life stories.”

The Old Man has kept his post as the sole caretaker of the moon for as long as he (or his wife, the Old Woman) can remember. When she is drawn away by a mysterious melody sparking memories of their shared past, the Old Man must decide between duty (and routine) and love (and adventure). He chooses the latter, and what follows is an imaginative sea-faring epic, encompassing apocalyptic storms, civil wars, leviathans of the deep and cantankerous ghosts, as well as the fiercest obstacle of all: change.

Wainwright said some of the performers share the stage with their instruments. He explained these are

Horizon High thespians are gearing up for their debut at this year’s Orlando Fringe.

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS

IF YOU GO

“The Old Man and the Old Moon” musical runs for seven performances during the Orlando Fringe Festival: 2:40 p.m. May 20; 8:10 p.m. May 21; 9:05 p.m. May 24; 6:30 p.m. May 25; 4:05 p.m. May 27; and 4:05 p.m. May 28.

The Teal Venue is located at 54 W. Church St., Orlando. Tickets are $15. For information or to buy tickets, visit bit.ly/3pIu09n.

not band students but teens who picked up an instrument for the first time last summer and learned to play solely for the performance. Among them are two who learned to play the banjo and accordion.

“Once you see these students play together, you would have no idea,” Wainwright said. “The way they have rehearsed the show, and they love the show, you would think they

have been playing together (a long time).”

This show originally was performed at the district competition, he said, but it was 36 minutes long. The students have been filling in the gaps and adding to the show’s length to hit the 75-minute mark.

As well as performing on the Teal Venue stage, the thespians will perform on the Loch Haven lawn throughout the festival.

Wainwright said the students have been enamored by the entire process. Last week, they attended a tech rehearsal, where they checked the entire show, programmed the lighting and met with local media to field questions about the show and festival.

“I’m really proud of them and excited for them, and, moreover, I’m

Courtesy

excited about more of the audience to be exposed to what these students are doing,” Wainwright said. “It’s something they won’t experience in school.”

In the cast are Ace Negueruela, Nick Hawk, Dominic Pineda, Jay Liao-Troth, Aryan Cheruvattath, Maria Gonzalez, Lara Martinez and music director Maura Sitzmann.

The creative team consists of Nicholas Wainwright, director; Renata Chaves, assistant stage manager; Logan Brown, stage manager; and Odalys Lopez, assistant stage manager. “The work that Maura Sitzmann has done with these actors is truly a feat to see and hear to believe,” Wainwright said. “I am beyond proud of their work and the story they are sharing at the festival.”

Denisse Garcia and Cayden Jones enjoyed

Sonnier and her son Jaxsen Sonnier were all smiles at the event.

Folts and her son Jacob Folts showed off their

moves.

Nicole Lupo and her son Bryce Schoby attended the Ready, Set, Glow event.

Sand Lake families enjoy Spring Carnival

Sand Lake Elementary students kicked off the weekend early by attending the Spring Carnival Friday, April 28. Stingray students flocked to the school to enjoy a night filled with myriad activities including bounce houses, carnival games, balloon animals, face painting, fairy hair and temporary tattoos. The event was organized and hosted by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association.

— ANNABELLE SIKES

Makes an effort

102 “Auld Lang ___”

105 Shocked reaction

106 Hotel chain whose name means “all”

107 “Iliad” setting

109 20-20, say

111 “Gangnam Style” performer

Celebrity

By Luis Campos

stands for another.

“XEH AMP’S JMUK YEJKSVGPZ SVMS GY

MBIMXY NDKMSVSMUGPZ, ED XEH IEHBL

PKCKD NK MNBK SE NDKMSVK. XEH IEHBL AEBBMRYK.” NDGMP KPE

Puzzle One Clue: C equals V

“GZGWTIJBRL LVVC IJSI’P GZGW JSEEGRGC BR HT XBOG JSP NVHG SP

IJG CBWGNI WGPKXI VO JGXEBRL PVHGVRG GXPG.” CSRRT IWGUV

“SPFO CNFPKR, XDZXBD RCLD CKKNRXFPZGK, INF PF’K JDAE IAZCU. ...

EZN OCJD FZ FADCF DCTO XDAKZG CK CG PGUPJPUNCB.” GPLLP ADDU

© 2023 NEA, Inc.

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

Stingray students had fun with their balloon creations.

Lilian Noman, second grade, was thrilled with her face paint.

Mason Whitfield had his face painted at the carnival.

Layla Dennis requested her face paint match her colorful dress.

Sophia Roby showed off her skills at a basketball game.

Right: Om Purani stopped to cool off with a sweet treat.

Giovanna Milanez, third grade, attended the carnival.

Courtesy photos

GREEN GROCERIES by Alex Eaton-Salners, edited by Jeff Chen

Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher

BAPTIST

First Baptist Church

Pastor Tim Grosshans

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

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

11 AM Contemporary Wednesdays: 6 PM Awana

EPISCOPAL Church of the Messiah

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

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

METHODIST

First United Methodist www.fumcwg.org

CHURCH DIRECTORY

STARKE LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH

PO Box 520, 611 W Ave, Ocoee

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

CHURCH OF GOD

OCOEE CHURCH OF GOD Pastor Thomas Odom 1105 N. Lakewood Avenue, Ocoee 407-656-8011

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

METHODIST

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

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

9:00am Adult Sunday School 10:00am Worship www.windermereunion.org

This