W EST O RA N G E T I M E S &
LOCAL
Observer Winter Garden, Ocoee, Oakland
MOTION AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO LIFE IN WEST ORANGE COUNTY
2024-2025
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2024
VOLUME 91, NO. 30
Your guide to everything
Observer
1
LOCAL MOTION 2024
Local Motion, our annual guide to life and living in West Orange, is here! INSIDE.
God’s perfect timing
CANDIDATE
Q&A
Meet Geraldine Thompson and Randolph Bracy, candidates for Florida Senate District 15. SEE 3A.
YOUR TOWN WINTER GARDEN NATIVE SERVING ON NAVY WARSHIP
Courtesy photos
Brothers Mehari, left, and Birhanu Van Der Riet experienced life-changing moments when they returned to their birthplace in Ethiopia and reunited with many members of their biological family.
Renaut Van Der Riet took two of his boys on a mission trip to the African country where they lived for the first part of their lives before being taken to an orphanage and, ultimately, meeting Van Der Riet and his wife, Brooke. STORY ON PAGE 4A.
UNDEFEATED! Windermere Little League’s 8- to 10-yearold AllStar softball team is headed to Tennessee. PAGE 1B.
Family members greeted Renaut, Mehari and Birhanu Van Der Riet upon their arrival in Ethiopia.
Proposed RV park sparks concerns in rural area A developer is requesting a special exception for an RV park with up to 277 camping sites in the Citrus Rural District. 5A.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Ray, a native of Winter Garden, is serving aboard USS Ramage, a U.S. Navy warship operating out of Mayport. Ray graduated from West Orange High School in 2008. “I came from a tight-knit community where everyone looked out for (one another),” Ray said. “That mindset has helped me in the Navy, because at the end of the day, we are all a team. We cannot accomplish the mission alone, and we have to lean on other sailors in one way or another.” Ray joined the Navy six years ago.
CHAMBER TO HOST HOB NOB & STRAW POLL
The West Orange Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 2024 Political Hob Nob & Straw Poll, and this evening of civic engagement is a great opportunity to meet local candidates. The event is from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, at the Ocoee Lakeshore Center, 125 N. Lakeshore Drive. For tickets, visit wochamber.com/event/ hob-nob-straw-poll-2.