SO U T H W E ST O RA N G E
Observer Windermere, Horizon West, Dr. Phillips
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 9, NO. 32
FREE • THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024
Mission-minded Foundation Academy students traveled to the Dominican Republic. 22A.
STORM SEASON Prepare for the 2024 hurricane season with our exclusive guide. SEE PAGES 11-14A.
Form & function Horizon West resident Ross Piper is one of the masterminds behind the future Horizon West Branch Library. STORY ON PAGE 4A.
YOUR TOWN CELEBRATE MEMORIAL DAY
Multiple Memorial Day programs are being presented this month hosted by the cities of Ocoee and Winter Garden as well as Woodlawn Memorial Park. The city of Ocoee will honor fallen soldiers at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 23, at the Ocoee Lakeshore Center, 125 N. Lakeshore Drive. The Ocoee Police Honor Guard will present the colors and carry a wreath to be set in place at the city’s Memorial Wall. Ocoee High student Marcus Jiao will play taps, and the national anthem will be performed. Retired Lt. Col. Yolanda Frazier, who has 30 years of service in the U.S. Army, will be the keynote speaker. She held two military commands, presiding over nearly 300 soldiers and training military officers from across the United States preparing them to be future military leaders. She served in Kuwait and was deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. For more information, please call (407) 905-3100. The city of Winter Garden and American Legion Hugh T. Gregory Post 63 will host a ceremony from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Monday, May 27, at Veterans Memorial Park, 420 S. Park Ave. The event honors and remembers local veterans who gave their lives while in military service and will include a roll call of veterans, placement of wreaths and patriotic songs. The event speaker is newly elected Winter Garden District 3 Commissioner Chloe Johnson. Woodlawn Memorial Park’s 74th annual celebration begins at 10 a.m. Monday, May 27, in front of the Christ Mosaic at Woodlawn, 400 Woodlawn Cemetery Road, Gotha. The event will include keynote speakers, and various veteran groups are expected to be in attendance.
Annabelle Sikes
Ross Piper: “My art isn’t a paved lane. I just sort of let it be what it wants to be in the most organic way possible. Once you apply an idea or strong storytelling to a work of art, it just makes it that much stronger.”
Playing to their strengths Winter Garden’s Rise Athletics competed at the Florida State Weightlifting Championships — and came home with several impressive wins. SEE PAGE 15A.
Decision on ER proposal delayed again The Winter Garden City Commission decided to postpone the item for a second time to have additional questions on the site plan answered. See PAGE 2A.
FAMILIAR
FACES
For Sebrenia Brown, happiness is family, charity and a plate of crunchy fried chicken. SEE PAGE 3A.