Be ‘Bearwise’ this spring in Florida

Now that spring is here, black bears in Florida are becoming more active. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is sharing BearWise tips to help prevent conflicts between people and bears.

Residents and visitors alike can reduce the potential of negative interactions with bears and other wildlife by removing food attractants and following other BearWise® practices.

“Bears become more active during the spring in search of things to eat, including female bears teaching their cubs where to find food” said the FWC’s Bear Management Program Coordinator, Mike Orlando. “By removing attractants such as garbage, pet food and bird seed from around your property, you can help ensure that bears won’t find an easy meal. When bears can’t find food sources, they’ll move on.”

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By J. Daniel Pearson For Positively Osceola

Harmony Longhorns football coach Don Simon steps down to direct athletics at Tohopekaliga

Don Simon –Harmony’s longest tenured and winningest football coach in school history – has stepped down. Simon, who went 33-29 in his six years at helm and led the Longhorns to the FHSAA playoffs twice, resigned on Thursday afternoon. He will become the Athletics Director at Tohopekaliga beginning on June 1.

“I’ve been coaching high school football for 28 years and just decided it was time to step down and let the younger guys take over,” Simon said. “When I heard the Toho Athletics Director job was coming open, I made a phone call and ended up being offered the job. To tell you the truth, high school football is pretty much a 12-month a year job, I’m tired, and it was just time to move on.”

Harmony Athletic Director Dan Kerr confirmed the resignation and said that Simon’s long-time assistant Nick Lippert would assume interim coaching duties for spring football and would be given consideration for the permanent job.

“We are extremely sorry to see Coach Simon leave us,” Kerr said. “He came here in 2017 and changed the culture of Harmony football. He got the assistant coaches, players, parents, and boosters all on the same page. All his assistant coaches were working at the school and that’s something that is really hard to achieve. He made Harmony football a family.”

Simon posted .500 record or above in four of his six years. Taking over a 3-7 team, Simon posted a 6-4 record in his first year. In his second season, Harmony lost its opener before reeling off nine straight wins to earn a playoff spot. Harmony went 6-4 against a tough schedule last season, but earned an at-large playoff spot where they lost a 21-14 heartbreaker to state power Vero Beach in the regional quarterfinals.

Under Simon, numerous Longhorn players would move on to college football, including 2022 record-breaking running back Tyler Emans – who will play college football at Ivy League Brown University this fall.

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Florida Troopers searching for car involved in hit & run in St. Cloud

A 24-year-old man was seriously hurt after after being struck by a vehicle last month in St. Cloud. The Florida Highway Patrol is now asking for help from the public to track down the car involved in the hit and run crash that sent the man to the hospital.

Florida Troopers said the crash took place shortly after 4:30am on March 18 near Narcoossee Road and Constance Boulevard in Saint Cloud.

According to FHP, the man was walking south on the sidewalk parallel to Narcoossee Road past the intersection of Constance Boulevard before being hit.

A car driving south along Narcoossee Road drove over the curb and onto the sidewalk, hitting and injuring the man before heading back onto the road and driving away, the news release says.

According to FHP, the man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. No witnesses have come forward about seeing the incident.

Investigators said they found a hubcap at the scene that belonged to a dark-colored Tesla Model 3, believed to be the vehicle that struck the man. FHP says the vehicle in question should be missing a hubcap, have damage to the front right and possibly right sideswipe damage.

Any mechanics or auto body shops that may have repaired a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle is urged to contact FHP.

Anyone with information regarding this crash is asked to contact FHP at 407-737-2213. If they would like to remain anonymous then they can contact CRIMELINE at 1-800-423TIPS. The crash remains under investigation.

Carley Beauge, MD Family Medicine Orlando Health

Not feeling well? Dont’t rely on Dr.Google to diagnose your condition

You’ve had a pounding headache for hours, and you start to worry. So you go online and look up your symptoms. That’s when the panic sets in: You have brain cancer. Or allergies. We’ve all been there.

The internet is a treasure trove of medical information that can help you understand what may be wrong. But it’s also easy to go down an information rabbit hole and become convinced you have a life-threatening disease — when the odds are you don’t.

Googling medical information might provide a few pieces of your overall health-care picture, but it takes a health-care provider to put the puzzle together.