Times& WEST ORANGE
Observer WEST ORANGE COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER FOR 109 YEARS
+ Daigles win proposal contest
INSIDE
IN THIS ISSUE
SPORTS
W.O. fathers, daughters enjoy special evening. PAGES 9-10A
Celebrate Feb. 14 with our special Valentine’s Day edition. SPECIAL SECTION
Hollis tests mental mettle in new sport. PAGE 1B
OCOEE GOVERNANCE by Zak Kerr | Staff Writer
Mel Jenner, a retired Air Force chief master sergeant, recently went up in a plane just like the one he flew in as a gunner in the European Theater during World War II.
Leaders consider safety upgrades to gated communities
by Amy Quesinberry Rhode | Community Editor
An ordinance would ensure gated communities the latest emergency vehicle access systems.
Congratulations to Savannah Daigle, of Orlando, for winning our Best Marriage Proposal Contest for Valentine’s Day. Here is Savannah’s story: “My husband, Jonathan, and I were kayaking at one of our favorite spots: the Rainbow River in Dunnellon. We were gliding through the crystal-clear water when we rowed into a secluded pond area off the main waterway. A large wooden dock stood opposite us on the far side of the pond, and, as we neared it, we were greeted with turtles and cormorants swimming underneath our oars. Once we had climbed up onto the dock, Jonathan took a green jewelry box out of his backpack that held a genuine antique engagement ring from the 1930s. Then, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! After I said “Yes!” I learned that wasn’t the only surprise for the day. My new fiance had a photographer secretly capture the proposal, and we spent the afternoon taking our engagement pictures at Rainbow Springs State Park where we used beautiful waterfalls as a backdrop. We got married exactly one year after he proposed, on July 19, 2014.” As winners, Savannah and Jonathan will enjoy a prize package that includes dinner for two, flowers from Shaw’s Florist of Winter Garden and a box of candy.
+ WOHS grad finishes training Air Force Airman 1st Class Cassandra Vil graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, in San Antonio, Texas. Vil is the daughter of Therese Vil and Karline Ladouceur. She graduated in 2011 from West Orange High School.
I
WO This week’s winner is
Dana Wells.
See the photo on PAGE 7B.
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THURSDAY
OCOEE — The Ocoee City Commission held the first reading of an ordinance Feb. 3 that would amend the city’s code pertaining to access provisions for gated communities. This proposed ordinance would ensure new subdivisions and current subdivisions with emergency vehicle access systems that those systems would be up to date and meet the best standards in new development, within the field of emergency vehicle access. The second reading and public hearing for this ordinance are scheduled for the next regular commission meeting, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. In its unanimously passed consent agenda, the commission approved fuel-monitor-
ing system upgrades, reappointments to the Planning and Zoning Commission, a reappointment to the Community Grant Review Board and an increased project budget to upgrade the City Commission Chambers broadcast system. The fuel-monitoring system from TRAK Engineering has been in use for at least 10 years and performed satisfactorily, but it is obsolete, according to Public Works staff. TRAK will upgrade the system for $33,707. Jim Sills and Don Marcotte received reappointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission following expiration of their current terms this month. Glenda Dunn’s term also expires this month, but she did not seek reappoint-
SEE OCOEE / PAGE 7A
close call by Amy Quesinberry Rhode | Community Editor
Fundraiser set to assist man who was ejected from vehicle
Courtesy photos
Top: Mel Jenner, of Ocoee, stands next to a B-17 during World War II. Above: Mel Jenner dons a flight suit and stands by the B-17 he flew in last month.
BACK IN A B-17 It had been 70 years and six months — a lifetime ago — since Mel Jenner had stepped inside a B-17 heavy-bomber aircraft, but the memories of his experiences in World War II came flooding back as he inspected the turrets, the
waist guns, the communications equipment and the cockpit. Jenner, of Ocoee, was invited to fly last month in a restored B-17G Flying Fortress, which tours the
SEE BOMBER / 6A
Amy Quesinberry Rhode
Holding a replica of a B-17 bomber, Mel Jenner points to the window where he sat as a gunner for most of his missions in the 452nd Army Air Corps during World War II. His many medals, pins and stripes are gathered in a shadow box at his home in Ocoee.
Cody Lowery has had four surgeries since his car flipped Jan. 3 off Hartzog Road. WINTER GARDEN — A Winter Garden family will be forever grateful that a motorist was stranded with a flat tire at one particular spot on State Road 429 Jan. 3. The man has been credited with saving 23-year-old Cody Lowery after his car swerved off Hartzog Road, flipped and ejected him into a secluded area of a burned-out orange grove. Hartzog and S.R. 429 run parallel to each other north of Seidel Road. The stranded motorist, known only as Liam to the Lowerys, heard the crash and ran toward the noise, finding Lowery on the ground. Liam called 911, and it took the helicopter 25 minutes to find them and get to them, said Kristi Baird Lowery, Cody’s mother.
Courtesy photo
Cody Lowery is recovering from a Jan. 3 car crash.
He was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center with injuries including a broken shoulder and ribs, cracked vertebrae in his neck and spine, multiple cuts and a big section of skin torn from his left thigh.
SEE LOWERY / PAGE 7A
INDEX Arts & Culture.......................13A Classifieds..............................8B
Community Calendar..............2A Crossword...............................7B
History..................................17A Obituaries.............................17A
Sports.....................................1B Weather..................................7B
Vol. 82, No. 7 , Two sections
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