W EST O RA N G E T I M E S &
Observer Winter Garden, Ocoee, Oakland
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2026
VOLUME 93, NO. 15
Baskets full of blessings! West Orange and Southwest Orange celebrated Easter with myriad celebrations. SEE PAGE 8A.
Leading ladies
The Elite Ladies of Ocoee Middle School meet every week on Wednesday.
Photo by Leticia Silva
Ocoee Middle School Resource Officer Andrea Sanders created the Elite Ladies of Ocoee Middle club to guide middle school girls. SEE STORY ON PAGE 4A.
SPRING FEVER
YOUR TOWN OAKLAND NATURE PRESERVE RECEIVES MATCHING GRANT
and will directly help fund our mission throughout 2026,” ONP officials said. The deadline to raise $10,000 is June 30. Visit oaklandnaturepreserve. com to donate, send a check to P.O. Box 841, Oakland, FL, 34760, or drop cash into one of the preserve’s donation bins.
NEW PARKING LOT OPENS IN DOWNTOWN WINTER GARDEN
The Bloom and Grow Garden Society will transform downtown Winter Garden into a two-day garden oasis. SEE PAGE 6A.
The Oakland Nature Preserve announced it has received a Challenge Match Grant for its environmental programs. If the preserve is able to raise $10,000, it will receive another $10,000, totaling $20,000. “Your donation will be matched, dollar for dollar, so your contribution will have double the impact
Downtown Winter Garden now has a new public parking lot. The parking lot, located at 695 W. Plant St., now is open to provide additional parking for visitors. The lot is open daily from sunrise to sunset, and it has 54 parking spaces, including two designated accessible spaces, as well as an additional three oversized spaces for buses and RVs. The free parking lot has a “Public Parking” sign on Plant Street to show the lot’s entrance.
Meet the man who was ambushed on S.R. 429 A Davenport man relives what happened when he tried to help who he thought was a victim. PAGE 5A.
Take us to Funkytown Tildenville Elementary boogies at Dancing Through the Decades. PAGE 13A.