SO U T H W E ST O RA N G E
Observer Windermere, Horizon West, Dr. Phillips
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
The 2024 high school football season is here! 2B.
FREE • THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024
VOLUME 9, NO. 44
Clutch performance Windermere Prep senior Sasha Vallabhaneni started learning cricket during the pandemic. Now, she has her eyes on the 2028 Olympics. SEE PAGE 1B.
Fully aware
YOUR TOWN EARLY VOTING BEGINS IN ORANGE Early voting started Monday, Aug. 5, at 22 locations across Orange County. Each of Orange County’s 22 early voting sites also has a secure ballot intake station where voters can safely drop off their vote-by-mail ballot. “Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day between now and Saturday, Aug. 18, at all 22 of our early voting sites,” Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean said. Voters must take their photo and signature identification. Early-voting sites in West Orange include: Orange County National Golf Center, 16301 Phil Ritson Way, Winter Garden; the West Oaks Library, 1821 E. Silver Star Road, Ocoee; and the Winter Garden Library, 805 E. Plant St., Winter Garden.
WINDERMERE TO HOST BACK-TOSCHOOL PARTY
The town of Windermere will mark the beginning of the new school year as it hosts the Kids Back to School Celebration this weekend. The town event takes place from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at Town Square Park, 520 Main St., Windermere. The event will feature music by DJ Greg and his DJ Racecar and a plethora of food trucks, including Al’s Gelato Desserts Sundaes, The Pretzel Spot, Bowls for Tu, K&E Catering, Brazilian Passion, Chicken Waffle Grill, Churros & Cream, OVN Pizza, Eat-N-Wash: The Lunchbox, La Palette, Between Breads, El Cubanito Subs, The Ranch Express, Orlando Snow Cone Factory, Pho Wheels Orlando, Schnitz and Giggles, and Smoking Soul BBQ. Tim’s Wine Market and Windermere Brewing Company also will participate. The event sponsor is the Windermere Branch Library.
Photos by Annabelle Sikes
The Windermere self-defense course yielded more than 30 participants from the area. Right: Professors Thaddeus Baumann, left, and James Pagan, from Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Martial Arts in Clermont, helped instruct the course.
The Windermere Police Department and the Windermere Rotary Club partnered to offer a selfdefense course last week. STORY ON PAGE 4A.
Barbershop quartet takes gold
CANDIDATE
Q&A A sneak peek inside Atwater Bay Elementary
Three and a Half Men – Joseph De Rosa, Josh Szolomayer, Chris Keough and Tony De Rosa — were excited to receive their first-place trophies.
Four men, including a father-son duo, placed first in an international competition held this summer in Ohio. SEE PAGE 2A. Courtesy of Read Photography
The new facility in Horizon West is the first elementary school built from the new district prototype. PAGE 8A.
Meet the two Republican candidates for State Attorney, Ninth Judicial Circuit. SEE PAGE 3A.