10.29.20 Southwest Orange Observer

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VOLUME 6, NO. 5

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

A CENTURY REMOVED: Truth and Reconciliation of the 1920 Ocoee Massacre On the 100th anniversary, read our definitive account of the most violent voting day in U.S. history. PAGES 11-14.

SCARCE SCARES

YOUR TOWN SOCIETY TO HOLD VIRTUAL 5K The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is holding its Annual Friends of the Poor 5K Walk/ Run virtually this year, and participants can walk or run anywhere and at any time.

The event raises funds to provide food and support to folks in need in Orange County through the St. Vincent de Paul Holy Family Conference.

Walk with friends or create a team. Register at bit. ly/3kxdO35. For information, call Leigh Keymont at (321) 276-3542.

TIME TO FALL BACK You will have one less hour of sunlight in the evening starting Sunday, Nov. 1, when daylight saving time ends. Don’t forget to move your clocks forward one hour before you go to bed Saturday night — or at 2 a.m.

Sunday — whichever comes first.

Winter Garden leaders approved a community partnership with the West Orange Healthcare District to construct a health and wellness park at Tucker Ranch.

SEE PAGE 6.

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A dragon lurks over the hay maze in downtown Winter Garden.

Ocoee approves project budget, amendment for new city hall

SCHOOL ZONE

Healthcare District partners with city

In a time when wearing a mask has been socially acceptable for months, here’s what Halloween festivities will look like in West Orange County this year. PAGE 4.

The amendment covers the guaranteed maximum price for City Hall at $17,255,537.

TROY HERRING SPORTS EDITOR

WHODUNNIT? Windermere Preparatory thespians presented ‘No Body To Murder’ and ‘CLUE!’ SEE PAGE 17.

The Ocoee City Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 20, unanimously approved the project budget and an amendment to the designbuild agreement with Wharton-

Smith for the construction of the new city hall.

City Utilities Director Jamie Croteau reminded the commission about the meeting held Oct. 15, 2019, where the exterior concept design for the new city hall — which will measure 46,552 square feet and stand three stories tall — was approved by the commission, while the interiordesign decisions were to be made

by City Manager Robert Frank.

SEE GROUNDBREAKING 2

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

Groundbreaking planned for November The next step, Croteau said, was the approval of the project budget and Exhibit A amendment. The commission also had to authorize the city to approve the design-builder contingency and allow the city manager to authorize contracts up to the amount of the project budget.

“Exhibit A covers the guaranteed maximum price for the project, and you’ll see that the guaranteed maximum price being presented is $17,255,537,” Croteau said. “This figure is slightly different that what you saw in April — it’s about 1 or 2% higher, so $300,000 — so a little higher than we anticipated but still well within the range.

“It includes a 5% fee for WhartonSmith, and it also includes a designbuilder contingency, and

the reason that I’m pointing this out is because it’s $478,656 — this can be used by WhartonSmith for subcontractor defaults, scope gaps, (and) cost overruns not covered by allowances, but it cannot be used for any corrections to defective work,” she said.

“Use of this contingency does require verification and approval by the city.”

She also noted the contingency resides in the guaranteed maximum price but that by the end of the project, the contract requires any savings Wharton-Smith gets as it goes through subcontractor buyouts to go back into the GMP, or design-builder contingency — 75% of which will come back to the city, while 25% goes back to Wharton-Smith.

Overall, the new city hall will cost a total of $21,993,942 and includes four different costs: Construction ($17,255,537), furniture/ fixtures/equipment ($2.6 million), miscellaneous ($603,944) and project contingency ($1,534,461).

FINANCING AVAILABLE

The project should be complete by March 2022, with movein to be completed the following month.

After a few questions from the commissioners, Mayor Rusty Johnson circled back to the construction timeline, asking about when the actual work will begin.

“They will start mobilizing to the site as soon as we do the groundbreaking,” Croteau said.

“They have civil work to do on the site. You will see foundations going in in February, and you’ll actually see steel being erected — if they keep to their schedule — in April.”

Johnson also noted the threemonth delay between the groundbreaking scheduled for November and the foundation work beginning in February. An official representing the developer said there will be site work done in those months to prepare for foundations.

“I’m tickled to death to get it started, but it has been a long time coming,” Johnson said. “It seems to me like that’s a long time

IN OTHER NEWS n During the public hearing portion of Tuesday’s meeting, the commission approved the sale of 17.96 acres of cityowned property located at the northeast corner of Fullers Cross and Ocoee-Apopka roads. The land, purchased in 2000 for $296,000, was sold to GPK Investments at a price of $3,560,000.

— that’s not that big of a property to do site work. This thing has been going on for a long time, so any way we can up it, we need to up it.

“This thing has been dragging for a while, so we need to speed it up — not make mistakes on the building, but we need to see if we can get busy the day we put that shovel in the ground,” he said.

“That’s something we need to get going a little quicker.”

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“I’m tickled to death to get it started, but it has been a long time coming. It seems to me like that’s a long time — that’s not that big of a property to do site work. This thing has been going on for a long time, so any way we can up it, we need to up it.”

— Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson

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History center exhibit honors Dr. Gleason The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is displaying photos and memorabilia from the physician’s former office and exam room.

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

A

Frances Gleason Grubbs, the daughter of the late Albert Gleason, a beloved Winter Garden physician, was interviewed on Facebook Live by Jim Crescitelli.

Courtesy photo

Dr. Albert Gleason practiced medicine in various states and communities, including Florida’s Scanlon and Umatilla. When he moved to Umatilla in late 1940, he tended to young patients at what was then called the Crippled Children’s Home.

Among Gleason’s medical ephemera was a book of payments; Grubbs shared one of many stories she heard over the years.

When the doctor first arrived in Florida, he lived with and worked for a Dr. Baker in Perry. Baker asked Gleason to make a house call to one of his patients. After treating the woman, she said she had no money but always paid Baker with a chicken. She put it in the trunk of Gleason’s car, and he took it home to Baker. The payment that day became dinner that evening.

“I can’t tell you how many times we would come home and there would be vegetables by the door,” Grubbs said. “That’s how many people paid.”

Before Gleason served the Winter Garden community, he was serving as a flight surgeon in Europe during World War II and working in Umatilla, Eustis and Orlando. He and his family lived in a small house in Oakland, Grubbs said, and he was making daily rounds in Eustis and Orlando hospitals.

Tired of the commute, he campaigned to bring a hospital to Winter Garden. West Orange Memorial Hospital was constructed in 1952; Gleason had a house built in 1945 — just across the street from where

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DR. ALBERT GLEASON DISPLAY WHEN: The museum currently is open to guests from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays.

WHERE: Winter Garden Heritage Museum, 1 N. Main St. INFORMATION: (407) 6543244.

the hospital would be built — and that’s where he lived until his death at age 103.

The doctor was a devoted Catholic, and he and his family drove to St. James Catholic Cathedral in Orlando every Sunday. In addition to bringing the hospital to Winter Garden, Gleason was instrumental in creating a local parish, Resurrection Catholic Church. One of the church’s halls is named for him.

“He was really proud of that,” Grubbs said. “He really thought a lot about the church.”

Crescitelli asked Grubbs what it was like growing up in mid-century Winter Garden as a doctor’s daughter.

“We didn’t know any different,” she said. “It was a small enough

town that you could do anything, go out and play — but we knew when the whistle rang at noon that we’d better be home for lunch, and then we better be home by the time the sun went down for supper.”

The city also was small enough that when employees at Davis Pharmacy saw the youngest Gleason daughter riding her tricycle in the middle of Plant Street, they gave her some ice cream and called her mama to come get her.

“You didn’t have to worry about the kids because everyone was looking out for the kids,” Grubbs said.

Gleason was a physician when house calls were common. Grubbs said she remembers the last home visit he made was to Ava Walker in Mount Dora. She also recalls accompanying her father on calls, something each of the Gleason children had the opportunity to do.

Serving his community as a medical doctor was Gleason’s life, Grubbs said.

“That’s what he really loved doing,” she said.

He was dedicated to his patients and to the hospital, making his rounds sometimes until 8:30 or 9 at night. His wife, Georgia, held

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dinner until he was home to eat with her and their five children.

The only day she can recall her father crying was when West Orange Memorial closed in 1993 and all the patients were transported to the new Health Central Hospital in Ocoee. The Gleason Room is named in his honor.

“The reporter asked him how he felt about the transition, and he broke down,” she said. “It was just like, everything he had lived to build was gone, as far as he was concerned.”

In his 60 years of practice, he saw four and five generations of some families.

When he retired in 2004 at the age of 92, he made sure to keep his prescription pad handy so he could still prescribe medication, Grubbs said.

“He finally gave that up, and he looked at myself and my husband and said, ‘Well, I guess I’m not a doctor anymore,’” she said. “I said, ‘You’re a doctor until the day you die, whether or not you’re practicing.’

“Winter Garden was his life, and medicine was his life,” she said.

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new exhibit at the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation’s Heritage Museum is on display, and it pays tribute to one of Winter Garden’s most eminent physicians, Dr. Albert Gleason. The collection traces the time he began practicing medicine in New Jersey up until his retirement in 2004.

Frances Gleason Grubbs, the physician’s daughter, brought the exhibit to life during its debut via Facebook Live Thursday, Oct. 22.

Jim Crescitelli, operations and program director for the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, conducted the live interview, in which Grubbs spoke of her father’s passion for treating and healing people.

The exhibit includes some of the tools, equipment and furniture used in the doctor’s Winter Garden practice. Gleason would have used his U.S. Navy-issued otoscope to conduct ear exams on service personnel in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Blood pressure gauges were used by Dr. Gordon Dickerson while he worked with Gleason. Other now-obsolete pieces of equipment are on display, as well.

Photographs of Gleason throughout his practice adorn the walls.

A medicine cabinet holds original bottles once filled with arnica flowers for pain; boric acid crystals for use as an antiseptic; CamphoPhenique powder to reduce itching from minor skin irritation; and Watkins liniment to relieve minor joint and muscle discomfort in men, horses, cattle, hogs and sheep.

The examination table has its share of stories, too. Crescitelli said an older gentleman saw it and looked for fingernail marks along the sides. The man said he was seeing Gleason for a procedure and the doctor told him to hold on tight. So he did, as evidenced by the marks on the table.

When Gleason sold his office on North Boyd Street to the First United Methodist Church of Winter Garden, members salvaged much of the pieces the doctor left behind.

Dr. Bao Huynh

Dr. Said Malas

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Observer

SPOOKY SPOTS

“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

Friedrich Hayek

“Road to Serfdom,” 1944 President and CEO / Matt Walsh, mwalsh@yourobserver.com Editor and Publisher / Michael Eng, meng@OrangeObserver.com

HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS

DANIELLE HENDRIX

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends taking the following steps to make celebrating Halloween safer.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

A

full moon and a Saturday night — it’s the perfect combination for a spooky Halloween.

Throw coronavirus in the mix, though, and this year’s festivities are a bit more complicated than in years past.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some Halloween activities can increase the risk of getting or spreading COVID-19 or influenza. CDC officials recommend event organizers and attendees consider the risk of virus spread based on event size and use of mitigation strategies.

In August, the pandemic forced the Ocoee Lions Club to postpone its annual Asylum Haunted Hospital fundraiser until next year. It also has shut down Winter Garden Masonic Lodge No. 165’s Panic on Plant Street haunted house, as well as the city of Ocoee’s signature haunted house.

However, not all is lost. Here’s how West Orange County is keeping the spirit of Halloween alive.

WINTER GARDEN HALLOWEEN EXPERIENCE

Halloween Fest is off this year, but the city of Winter Garden has something else in store for locals.

The spirit of Halloween is alive and well in downtown Winter Garden through the city’s Halloween Experience, which launched Oct. 23 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1.

Halloween decorations and themed photo opportunities are located throughout the downtown areas, along with enhanced light displays. Even the Saturday Farmers Market has temporarily taken on a Halloween theme, complete with a hay maze.

A spooky caboose sponsored by the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is on display at the history center, and scarecrows decorated by the city’s businesses and residents are on display at the hay maze and other locations.

Danielle Hendrix

Even City Hall will turn into a nighttime Halloween spectacle through an outdoor projection show. The animated light show takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 29, 30 and 31.

Additionally, the Garden Theatre is hosting two showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which features interactive pre-show entertainment followed by the 1975 cult hit film. As of press time, the 8 p.m. showing Friday, Oct. 30, was sold out.

However, tickets are still available for the 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, showing at gardentheatre.org.

HALLOWEEN IN WINDERMERE

Each year, the town of Windermere is known for hosting a funfilled costume parade and hayride, complete with snacks and story time with the mayor.

Things will look a bit different due to COVID-19 safety precautions — the costume parade, hayride and Halloween movie night have all been canceled — but the Halloween fun in town is still on.

For Easter, the Windermere Police Department and Parks & Recreation teamed up for a parade throughout town with the Easter Bunny in tow, handing out eggs filled with treats. It was such a success, town officials said, that the police department once again will embark on a parade to hand out candy bags to the local children.

The Halloween parade begins at 10 a.m. and lasts through noon Saturday, Oct. 31. The route starts at Estancia Woods Loop and will conclude at Horizon Circle. Children are encouraged to wear their costumes and show off their Halloween spirit.

Additionally, the town encourages those who wish to safely participate in trick-or-treating to do

so. Trick-or-treaters are advised to reduce their group sizes, wear a mask, walk on sidewalks where possible, and ensure all members of their group have a light source to make them visible to vehicles.

The Windermere Police Department will hand out glow sticks to children during the parade on Halloween morning.

For those not participating, porch lights should be turned off.

“Some people in our community will choose to forgo Halloween this year in an abundance of caution or to protect vulnerable loved ones,” town officials said.

“We respect their decision to do so and ask our neighbors to please be mindful of those who have chosen to not participate.”

SPOOKTACULAR PARADE WITH VILLAINS

If you’ve ever wanted to meet your favorite villain, SOUL Haven Ranch and Ever After Character Events has been offering the perfect opportunity to do so.

For the parades, the Winter Garden-based ranch offers its horse-drawn carriage services — complete with a pumpkin carriage — while Ever After Character Events sends three of its villains to ride along in the carriage and greet spectators.

Neighborhoods and homeowners’ associations can book a private neighborhood parade — which includes up to a two-hour visit with four stops for photos with the villains and their carriage — for $1,500 through Oct. 31. Parades can be booked for either a 3 to 5 p.m. or a 7 to 9 p.m. time frame.

Another option is a two-hour photo meet and greet with three villains and the pumpkin carriage. The cost is $1,400, also through Oct. 31.

Residents in communities such as Waterleigh, Cross Creek,

n Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters and anyone not in your group. n Give out treats outdoors where possible. n Set up a station of individually bagged treats for children to take. n Wash hands before handling treats. n Those ages 2 and older should wear a mask. A costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask; however, do not wear a costume mask over a cloth mask. n Stay 6 feet away from others not in your group. n Limit trick-or-treating group sizes. n Bring hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. n Wash hands before consuming any treats.

ALTERNATE CELEBRATION IDEAS

Skipping the trick-or-treating this year? Here are some other ways to have fun this Halloween. n Decorate your home for Halloween. n Carve pumpkins. n Visit an orchard, pumpkin patch or corn maze. n Watch Halloween classics with family or outdoors with friends. n Hide treats in and around the house for children to find. n Hold an outdoor costume parade or contest so everyone can show off their costumes.

Watermark, and Clermont’s Greater Hills are among those who have already enjoy visits from the villains and their pumpkin coach.

For inquiries, call (407) 5091981.

Design Editor / Jessica Eng, jeng@OrangeObserver.com Community Editor / Amy Quesinberry, amyq@OrangeObserver.com Sports Editor /Troy Herring, therring@OrangeObserver.com Associate Editor / Danielle Hendrix, dhendrix@OrangeObserver.com Multimedia Advertising Executives / Ann Carpenter, acarpenter@OrangeObserver.com Iggy Collazo, iggy@OrangeObserver.com Cyndi Gustafson, advertising@OrangeObserver.com Creative Services / Lindsay Cannizzaro, lcannizzaro@OrangeObserver.com Advertising Operations Manager / Allison Brunelle, abrunelle@OrangeObserver.com

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If you wish to subscribe, visit our website, OrangeObserver.com, call (407) 656-2121 or visit our office, 661 Garden Commerce Parkway, Suite 180, Winter Garden.

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Real-estate firms partner for food drive in Ocoee Steven McCraney and Jimmy Vessels partnered with the nonprofit Farm Share and the city of Ocoee to launch last weekend’s drive.

AMY QUESINBERRY COMMUNITY EDITOR

“As the COVID-19 numbers persist … many families are out of jobs and income to support their families with food.”

— Vessels and McCraney

The vehicles were lined up at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, driven by members of the community who might have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were there to receive a box of free food to take home to their families to help supplement their needs.

The food distribution was staged at Distribution 429, a new industrial park on Ocoee Business Parkway developed by McCraney Property Company and Marcobay Construction.

Steven McCraney and Jimmy Vessels from the two Orlandobased real-estate firms partnered with the nonprofit Farm Share and the city of Ocoee to make the event a reality. Farm Share works daily to ensure food-insecure people receive food and support.

“As the COVID-19 numbers persist … many families are out of jobs and income to support their families with food,” Vessels and McCraney said.

This one-day event was scheduled to make things a little easier for residents — even if temporarily.

McCraney Property Company owns the industrial park and has spent the last year constructing three buildings with general contractor Marcobay.

“They’ve been part of the community,” said Deidre Kraus, of The PR Company. “They had to do community meetings to get permits and approvals. Wherever they have a footprint, they like to give back to the community.”

McCraney and Vessels decided after the building was finished being developed that “this would be a great location for the next food drive.”

Marcobay paid for the food, which was delivered by Farm Share.

Volunteers from the hosting companies and the community arrived at 7 a.m. to separate the food from the pallets and arrange it in tents. Two lines were set up for vehicles, and boxes were placed in the car trunks and truck beds, creating a no-contact drivethru distribution system.

It has taken a community to bring everything and everyone together for the project, which was advertised through churches, community activists, shelters and the Ocoee Police Department.

“It’s been really nice — some of the tenants at the park, Distribu-

tion 429, they are offering tents and tables for free that they have,” Krause said last week. “There will be two forklifts that one of the tenants is providing to get the food out of the trucks.”

When McCraney sent a newsletter to all of its contacts, one vendor from south Florida, Natures Landscape, made a donation to support the cause.

Extra boxes were donated to West Orange Christian Service Center, located in Ocoee, and Hope CommUnity Center, in Apopka.

This is the third food drive McCraney has held in Florida.

Another is planned for this weekend.

Steve McCraney, left, of McCraney Property Company, and Jimmy Vessels, of Marcobay Construction, helped load close to 500 boxes of meals into vehicles during Saturday’s food distribution in Ocoee.

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Photos by Amy Quesinberry

Steve McCraney, left, and Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson were on hand to distribute food boxes to members of the community.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

City approves park partnership

GO SOLAR

Before the End of 2020 In Partnership With

DANIELLE HENDRIX ASSOCIATE EDITOR

0% DOWN

The Tucker Ranch Health and Wellness Park is another step closer to becoming a reality.

Winter Garden commissioners approved unanimously during their Oct. 22 meeting a resolution that supports the creation of a community partnership with the West Orange Healthcare District and other community partners.

According to city documents, the partnership will go into effect upon WOHD’s board approval.

The city intends to enter into a grant agreement as part of the partnership, and the grant will help fund the construction of the health and wellness park.

The park will provide the facilities, setting and programming to improve the health and wellness of West Orange residents.

The WOHD and other organizations will provide the funding to construct the park, and the city has agreed to fund the park’s operation and maintenance. Additionally, the eventual goal is to link the park to the West Orange Trail system along Avalon Road, city staff said.

City Manager Mike Bollhoefer told commissioners the park would be the first of its kind in the United States.

“We met with the West Orange Healthcare District board, and their 13-member board that makes the recommendations vot-

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TOWN OF OAKLAND NOTICE OF CHANGE OF LAND USE ZONING MAP AMENDMENT PUBLIC HEARING THIS WILL BE A HYBRID IN-PERSON/VIRTUAL MEETING The Town of Oakland will hold a public hearing to change the Zoning Map designation of the following property generally located east of the Florida Turnpike, south of State Road 50/West Colonial Drive and east of Orange Avenue (Parcel Identification Numbers (Addresses) 30-22-272392-00-011 (17920 W. Colonial Drive), 30-22-27-4180-00-030 (17812 W. Colonial Drive) and 30-2227-2392-00-010 (7 Orange Avenue):

ORDINANCE NO. 2020-13 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF OAKLAND, FLORIDA, CHANGING THE TOWN’S OFFICIAL ZONING MAP DESIGNATION FROM A-1, AGRICULTURE (ORANGE COUNTY) TO PUD, PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT IN THE TOWN OF OAKLAND, FOR A PARCEL OF LAND APPROXIMATELY 16 ACRES IN SIZE, LOCATED AT 17920 W. COLONIAL DRIVE, 17812 W. COLONIAL DRIVE, AND 7 ORANGE AVENUE; MAKING FINDINGS, AND PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS, SEVERABILITY AND FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Site Location Map: The hearing will be at the following time and place:

TOWN OF OAKLAND COMMISSION DATE: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 WHERE: Oakland Meeting Hall, 221 N. Arrington Street Oakland, FL WHEN: 7:00 P.M. All hearings are open to the public however attendance inside the Oakland Meeting Hall may be limited to accommodate social distancing. Any interested party is invited to offer comments about this request at the public hearing or in advance by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 9, 2020 in writing to the Town of Oakland, PO Box 98, Oakland FL 34760, or by e-mail to ehui@oaklandfl.gov. A copy of the request can be inspected at the Town Hall. Any party appealing a land use decision made at a public hearing must ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which includes the evidence and testimony that is the basis of the appeal.

The time and/or location of public hearings are subject to change. Changes are announced at the initial scheduled hearing. Notice of any changes will not be published or mailed.

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Any person needing special accommodations to attend a public hearing must contact Elise Hui, Town Clerk, at 407-656-1117 x 2110, at least 24 hours before the meeting.

Topic: Town Commission Regular Meeting: Hybrid - In-Person/Virtual Meeting (via Zoom) Time: Nov 10, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82700633341 Meeting ID: 827 0063 3341 Passcode: 4JJ28T One tap mobile +19292056099,,82700633341#,,,,,,0#,,528134# US (New York) Dial by your location

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ed unanimously, but they did have a few questions that they wanted answered,” Bollhoefer said. “The grant is for $6 million. We had subsequently met with AdventHealth, and they’ve agreed to a substantial amount of money, and we’re finalizing that now. We also plan on meeting soon with Orlando (Health). Our goal is to raise a total of $10 million to build this park.”

Bollhoefer said city staff intends to link the park via bike paths to the West Orange Trail along Avalon and Tildenville School roads, as well as along Avalon Road south to Horizon West.

“This resolution also states it would form a partnership with the two hospitals and would also form partnerships with the American Heart Association, American Mental Health Association, American Diabetes Association as well as several other groups — Shepherd’s Hope and UCP (included),” he said. “It’ll be one of the most amazing parks in all of West Orange County and then the first of its kind in the U.S.” Commissioner Bob Buchanan said he was approached nearly 12 years ago and told that the Tucker family did not want to see the 209acre property — known today as Tucker Ranch — be developed.

The city purchased the property in 2011 and obtained a state grant to preserve and develop it as a legacy park.

“From that point until now, I

OBSERVER

OrangeObserver.com

IN OTHER NEWS n Commissioners approved the site plan and temporary construction license agreement for 15304 Tilden Road, or Phase Two of construction for Foundation Academy’s buildout plan. This includes 105,107 square feet consisting of education buildings, maintenance building, field house, cafeteria and some additions to already-existing buildings. n City leaders approved the Central Parc at Winter Garden planned commercial development. The project sits on 5.83 acres at 855 and 955 Dillard St. and consists of four buildings with a mix of commercial and residential uses, including 19 townhouses.

have to give all the credit to the Winter Garden staff, and Mike (Bollhoefer) in general for putting that staff to work on putting this entire thing together out there at Tucker Ranch,” Buchanan said.

“What’s out there right now …

I’d say at least a thousand people a weekend go out there with their kids and everything and use the park out there, but that’s just one little tiny step.”

Buchanan added that one of the biggest questions he’s been asked regarding the park was whether the city would be fully committed to making it happen. He said he believes the city has proven its intentions.

“It’s going to be something I know I will constantly be coming back to see … what goes on out there,” Buchanan said.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

PEOPLES PLAZA SITE PLAN

City leaders also approved the master site plan for the property at 12301 W. Colonial Drive, as well as the site plans for a Home2 Suites hotel and 7-Eleven.

The projects are part of the 8.25-acre Peoples Plaza planned commercial development.

Home2Suites will be a four-story, 95-room hotel building with parking, sidewalks and outdoorrecreation amenities.

A 1.27-acre piece of the property is where the 7-Eleven gas station will be located. Plans include a 3,454-square-foot convenience-store building, gas canopy, eight fueling station with 16 fueling positions, and a 980-square-foot car wash.

“This development includes demolishing all buildings on the entire site,” Community Development Director Steve Pash said.

“They would provide all of the landscaping along Carter Road, on the pond in the back, as well as along State Road 50. It’s also included an improvement to Carter Road through the fair share agreement. … The improvement to Carter Road would include left and right turn lanes onto State Road 50, curbing in that area and drainage, as well as repaving that whole section.”

Following Mayor John Rees’ concerns about the hotel aesthetics, developer and architect Dale Parsons said the hotel being built is the latest prototype.

“It’s quite an upgrade,” Parsons said. “I met with staff, and we’re very consistent with the approved style, and I think it is … a lot better than the old prototype. I’m perfectly open to re-address that.

If it’s minor items, it won’t be a problem.”

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REAL ESTATE

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OrangeObserver.com

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

Lake Roper Pointe estate sells for $1,367,800

A

home in the Lake Roper

HORIZON WEST

ALEXANDER RIDGE

Pointe community in Windermere topped all

West Orange-area residential real-estate transactions from Oct. 9 to 15.

The home at 2097 Cestius Road, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $375,000. Built in 2014, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,231 square feet. The price per square foot is $168.09. Days on market: 45.

EDEN ISLE

The home at 13173 Lake Butler Blvd., Windermere, sold Oct. 13, for $1,367,800.

Built in 2008, it has four bedrooms, three-and-onehalf baths, a pool and 4,315 square feet. The price per square foot is $316.99. Days on market: 12.

These are the highest-

The home at 13956 Florigold Drive, Windermere, sold Oct. 9, for $735,000. Built in 2004, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,300 square feet. The price per square foot is $222.73.

Days on market: Five.

The home at 6309 Earthgold Drive sold Oct. 13, for $425,000.

Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, two-and-one-half baths, a pool and 2,648 square feet. The price per square foot is $160.50. Days on market: 15.

HAWKSMOOR

The home at 16645 Wingspread Loop, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $439,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, three baths

selling homes in each community in West Orange.

and 2,470 square feet. The price per square foot is $177.73. Days on market: Four.

INDEPENDENCE

The home at 14350 New Blossom Lane, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $505,000. Built in 2006, it has six bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths, a pool and 3,142 square feet. The price per square foot is $160.73.

Days on market: Two. LAKES OF WINDERMERE

The home at 13073 Overstreet Road, Windermere, sold Oct. 13, for $395,000. Built in 2009, it has four bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 2,472 square feet. The price per square foot is $159.79. Days on market: Nine.

ORCHARD HILLS

The home at 14770 Magnolia Ridge Loop, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 14, for $466,000. Built in 2016, it has five bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths and 2,883 square feet. The price per square foot is $161.64. Days on market: Seven.

and 2,571 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $138.45. Days on market: Nine.

SNAPSHOT Total Sales: 64 High Sale Price: $1,367,800 Low Sale Price: $215,000

ARDEN PARK SOUTH

The home at 1480 Arden Oaks Drive Ocoee, sold Oct. 9, for $555,000. Built in 2017, it has five bedrooms, four-and-onehalf baths and 4,634 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $119.77. Days on market: 49.

WINDERMERE TRAILS

The home at 8298 Lookout Pointe Drive, Windermere, sold Oct. 9, for $595,000. Built in 2016, it has six bedrooms, four baths and 4,319 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $137.76. Days on market: 182.

MCCORMICK RESERVE

OCOEE

ARDEN PARK NORTH

The home at 1949 Mountain Pine St., Ocoee, sold Oct. 9, for $419,980. Built in 2020, it has five bedrooms, threeand-one-half baths and 3,385 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $124.07.

Days on market: 22.

The home at 1931 Lake Sims Parkway, Ocoee, sold Oct. 9, for $355,950. Built in 2019, it has five bedrooms, three baths

The home at 3561 Gretchen Drive, Ocoee, sold Oct. 9, for $350,000. Built in 2017, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,406 square feet. The price per square foot is $145.47. Days on market: Six. MCCORMICK WOODS

The home at 3552 McCormick Woods Drive, Ocoee, sold Oct. 12, for $355,000. Built in 2012, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 3,212 square feet. The price per square foot is $110.52. Days on market: 27.

TOWN OF OAKLAND NOTICE OF CHANGE OF FUTURE LAND USE PLAN MAP DESIGNATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PUBLIC HEARING THIS WILL BE A HYBRID IN-PERSON/VIRTUAL MEETING The Town of Oakland will hold a second and final public hearing before the Town Commission to change the Town’s Future Land Use Plan Map Designation of its Comprehensive Plan of the following property generally located east of the Florida Turnpike, south of State Road 50/West Colonial Drive and west of Orange Avenue (Parcel Identification Numbers 30-22-27-2392-00-011, 30-22-27-418000-030 and 30-22-27-2392-00-010):

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WINDSOR LANDINGS

The home at 376 Calliope St., Ocoee, sold Oct. 9, for $450,000.

Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,602 square feet. The price per square foot is $172.94. Days on market: 16.

WINDERMERE

ESTATES AT WINDERMERE

The home at 2533 Ridgewind Way, Windermere, sold Oct. 9, for $582,500. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,738 square feet. The price per square foot is $212.75. Days on market: 53.

KEENE’S POINTE realtor.com

The home at 13173 Lake Butler Blvd., Windermere, sold Oct. 13, for $1,367,800. This custom-built Mediterranean home offers more than 4,300 square feet of living space.

The home at 8039 Tibet Butler Drive, Windermere, sold Oct. 15, for $1,060,000. Built in 2006, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

9

pool and 3,927 square feet. The price per square foot is $269.93.

Days on market: Two. RESERVE AT WATERFORD POINTE

The home at 2001 Roberts Point Drive, Windermere, sold Oct. 9, for $700,000. Built in 2004, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,528 square feet. The price per square foot is $198.41. Days on market: Two. WATERFORD POINTE

The home at 2108 Grove Point Lane, Windermere, sold Oct. 12, for $745,000. Built in 1990, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,041 square feet. The price per square foot is $244.99. Days on market: 20.

SEE REAL ESTATE PAGE 10

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OrangeObserver.com

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

REAL ESTATE

WESTOVER CLUB

The home at 9525 Westover Club Circle, Windermere, sold Oct. 12, for $510,000. Built in 2000, it has five bedrooms, three-and-onehalf baths, a pool and 3,454 square feet. The price per square foot is $147.65. Days on market: 230.

WINDERMERE POINTE AT LAKE ROPER

The home at 13073 Lake Roper Court, Windermere, sold Oct. 15, for $915,000. Built in 2005, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,936 square feet. The price per square foot is $232.47. Days on market: Three.

WINTER GARDEN BAY ISLE

The home at 141356 Hampshire Bay Circle, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 15, for $525,000. Built in 2005, it has four bedrooms, threeand-one-half baths, a pool and 3,318 square feet. The price per square foot is $158.23. Days on market: Four.

COVINGTON CHASE

The home at 462 Silverdale Ave., Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $371,135. Built in 2009, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,980 square feet. The price per square foot is $187.44. Days on market: Six. DOWNTOWN WINTER GARDEN

The home at 900 W. Plant St., Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $700,000. Built in 1986, it has four bedrooms, two-and-onehalf baths and 5,195 square feet.

The price per square foot is $134.74. Days on market: 12.

LAKE COVE POINTE

The home at 505 Lake Cove Pointe Circle, Winter Garden, sold Oct.

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9, for $780,000. Built in 2008, it has four bedrooms, three-andone-half baths, a pool and 3,417 square feet. The price per square foot is $228.27. Days on market: One. TWINWATERS

The home at 16554 Raven Rock Place, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $625,000. Built in 2015, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,032 square feet. The price per square foot is $206.13. Days on market: Three.

WATERSIDE AT JOHNS LAKE

The home at 16719 Rusty Anchor Road, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 13, for $625,000. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, three-andone-half baths and 2,934 square feet. The price per square foot is $213.02. Days on market: Four.

WESTFIELD III

The home at 1054 Shadowmoss Drive, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $374,500. Built in 2004, it has four bedrooms, two-andone-half baths and 2,487 square feet. The price per square foot is $150.58. Days on market: 74.

WESTFIELD LAKES

The home at 12331 Westfield Lakes Circle, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 13, for $520,000. Built in 2005, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 3,626 square feet of living area. The price per square foot is $143.41. Days on market: 38.

The home at 427 English Lake Drive, Winter Garden, sold Oct. 9, for $435,000. Built in 1998, it has five bedrooms, three baths and 3,065 square feet. The price per square foot is $141.92. Days on market: 30.

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A Century Removed:

Truth and Reconciliation of the 1920 Ocoee Massacre It’s been 100 years since the Ocoee Massacre unfolded on Election Day 1920, and although some information is lost to time, the city of Ocoee reflects on a moment in history that requires remembrance to move forward.

TROY HERRING | THE OBSERVER

Images courtesy of Orange County Regional History Center

12

OBSERVER

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OrangeObserver.com

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE:

A Century Removed TROY HERRING | THE OBSERVER

T

he American Dream always has come at a price.

On Tuesday, Nov. 2, 1920 — Election Day — the members of Ocoee’s black community found out

just how steep that price was.

On that day, the simple act of voting by prominent members of the disenfranchised black community sparked an outburst of racial violence that ended with an untold number of murders, the burning of homes and the exiling of a once-thriving community for decades.

Despite that moment — known now as the Ocoee Massacre — being the largest incident of voting-day violence in United States history, little is known about what actually took place. There are some known facts, but conjecture has weaved its way into a narrative that bleeds into realms of reality and fiction depending on who you ask.

These stories, and the history of the moment, are now being reflected on by the city of Ocoee — which is coming to terms with the atrocity of its past while looking to the future to ensure equality for those in its community.

PART I:

FREEDOM IN NAME ONLY

To best understand the Ocoee Massacre, it’s best to step back and examine the country’s treatment of the black communities — especially in the South.

In 1920 — only 55 years removed from the end of the Civil War — the so-called Reconstruction Amendments were in place toward the end and after the war.

Those three crucial amendments include the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery; the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States — including former slaves — and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws”; and the 15th Amendment, which states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.”

Although these rights were placed into the U.S. Constitution, there was a disconnect between written law and how it was carried out, said Pamela Schwartz, chief curator at the Orange County Regional History Center.

“While a lot of people were taught in their classes that emancipation means freedom, that’s not really the case,” Schwartz said.

“We sort of set the stage moving up toward the 1920 presidential elections by talking about things like Black Laws and talking about things like Jim Crow laws, because what it meant was freedom was not really free.

“There were all of these other parameters that were put into place to oppress the black community, so the black community is walking out of enslavement with little,” she said. “They had no money, sometimes maybe not clothes and maybe not being literate even — so starting life anew.

This is all sort of setting the stage for coming into early, early Ocoee.”

Following the Civil War, white veterans began to move into the Ocoee area, while a black community slowly was building between 1880 and 85. That’s when key figures from the night of the massacre, including Mose Norman, Valentine Hightower and July Perry, moved in from South Carolina to make a better life for themselves.

About 30 years before — around 1850 — James D. Starke moved to the Ocoee area with 23 enslaved black people and established citrus groves between what is now known as Starke Lake and Apopka.

There, many black men and women worked.

During these early days, Ocoee saw its population rise to about

“Black women’s leadership is paramount. Even before black women in Florida gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment, black women — like Eartha M.M. White — are leading voter registration workshops right at the end of World War I.” — Paul Ortiz, historian and history professor, University of Florida

1,100 — although “Ocoee” referred to the general area and not the incorporated limits of the city — and the black community accounted for 45% of the population, wrote Lester Dabbs, former commissioner and mayor of Ocoee, in his master’s thesis, “A Report of the Circumstances and Events of the Race Riot on November 2, 1920, in Ocoee, Florida.”

And that community was divided into two sections. The first is known as the “Northern Quarters,” bound by Silver Star Road to the south, Bluford Avenue at the railroad tracks on the east (Fain’s Corner) and extending north toward Apopka and west toward Winter Garden. The second, known as the “Southern Quarters,” was the area bound by White Road on the north and extending in the other cardinal directions from that point, Dabbs wrote.

Between 1888 and 1920, members of the black community worked hard, saved money and bought property in a time of great prosperity and growth.

It was also during this time when the end of World War I and the Women’s Suffrage Movement helped create a sense of desire to become active citizens in the country.

“You had a lot of young black men go to war and the idea being that, ‘If we go and we serve our country, we’ve put our stake in and served this place — we should also have our voices heard,’” Schwartz said. “So coming home sort of instilled with this idea that, ‘We have our rights, and we should be treated equally and we should have our vote.’”

These two key moments led the push for a statewide voter registration drive in Florida. This push was led by prominent members looking to gain rights for the black community — which included Dr. W.S. Stevens. The leader of the Florida Knights of Pythias represented the Florida Voter Registration Movement in the Panhandle and helped members of the black community register to vote, said Paul Ortiz — a historian and professor of history at the University of Florida.

“The reason that black Floridians were able to organize a statewide voter registration movement, the reason that people like Julius Perry and Mose Norman in Ocoee were able to get so many other black people to register to vote is this issue of trust — this issue of mutual aid, reciprocity of community,” Ortiz said during a recent virtual presentation on the 100th anniversary of the Ocoee Massacre. “On the eve of the 1920 election, approximately one out of every six black men in Florida were members of the Knights of Pythias.

“It wasn’t just a fraternal organization; it was your insurance policy,” he said. “You paid dues every month, if you died prematurely, your widow was paid what was called a death benefit. If you worked in the countryside and you were a sharecropper or you owned a small piece of land and your meal went down or took sick, if you were a fellow Pythias member, you were required to go help your brother or your sister.”

After World War I, when the group held its first state convention, the Pythias leadership gave members an ultimatum: Pay your poll taxes and you will register to vote — if not, you’d be expelled from the group. The organization also had a fund to help pay back poll taxes for working class and poorer members so they could vote in 1920.

Another vital group of the

This report contains language that may be offensive to some readers. However, we believe it is essential to preserving the account of these events as accurately as possible.

moment was the NAACP, when James Weldon Johnson saw the Great Migration as an opening of opportunities for black Southerners. So in 1916, he returned to Florida as field secretary of the NAACP and helped build the organization’s base in the state to help fuel voter registration.

Of all the groups pushing for voting rights, one of the most vital — and often forgotten — are black women, such as Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs leader Eartha M.M. White.

“Black women’s leadership is paramount,” Ortiz said. “Even before black women in Florida gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment, black women — like Eartha M.M. White — are leading voter registration workshops right at the end of World War I. As their young men are coming home, people like Eartha White, Ms. Bethune … are signing up and making sure that men are paying their poll taxes and registering to vote.”

In Orange County, attorney W.R. O’Neal and Judge John Cheney — both Republicans — were trying to actively enfranchise members of the black community. In O’Neal’s case, the Republican was running for United States senator in 1920 and was looking for a boost in voting from those he was helping.

In Dabbs’ thesis, he notes O’Neal and Cheney held secret meetings at a black church in the Northern Quarters to prepare black men to vote.

Word of these attempts to enfranchise spread and caught the attention of a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan — which, according to Dabbs, had its headquarters in Winter Garden; citizens in Ocoee and Orlando also held associate memberships.

In a letter dated Sept. 20, 1920, and sent directly to O’Neal, the white-supremacist group made clear their intent that what he and Cheney were doing to enfranchise the black community would not go without consequence.

“If you are familiar with the history of the days of reconstruction which followed in the wake of the Civil War, you will recall that the “Scallawags” of the north and the Republicans of the South proceeded very much the same as you are proceeding — to instill into the negro the idea of social equality,” the letter read. “You will also remember that these things forced the loyal citizens of the South to organize clans of determined men, who pledged themselves to maintain white supremacy and to safeguard our women and children.

“And now if you are a scholar, you know that history repeats itself, and that he who resorts to your kind of game is handling edged tools,” the letter continued.

“We shall always enjoy WHITE SUPREMACY in this country, and he who interferes must face the consequences.”

At the bottom of the letter, the local Klan are informed by the writer to “Watch these two.”

Racial hostilities grew as Election Day approached, and the final sign of force from white supremacists came just two days before black men made their way to the polls. The Klan marched through Orlando and other areas of Florida in an act to intimidate black voters.

According to the Nov. 1 edition of the Orlando Evening Star, more than 500 Klansmen dressed

in flowing white robes marched single file through the streets of Orlando that Saturday night.

Although the number of marchers is debatable, the intent was clear, Schwartz said.

“The sentiment is essentially that they are trying to scare black voters from coming out to vote,” Schwartz said. “Again, this is evidence that the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists were actively trying to suppress black voters at the time.”

PART II:

ELECTION DAY, 1920

The facts from Election Day 1920 are muddled at best, thanks in part to a variety of factors that include poor record-keeping, racially biased news reports and the decimation of a people.

What Schwartz and the Orange County Regional History Center found during their three years of research for their exhibit, “Yesterday, This was Home: The Ocoee Massacre of 1920,” were bits and pieces of a story but not the complete picture.

“One of the things that is the most dynamic and difficult about this event is that there are so many versions of this story — there is so much false memories, there’s conjectures, there is intentional obfuscations at the hands of white government officials to cover this event up,” Schwartz said. “So we, as a staff, took 129 accounts of what happened and synthesized them into one major account.”

Of those 129 sources, the history center only included the information that could be verified by primary source documentation or that every one of the accounts agreed on, Schwartz said. The end result was the following four paragraphs: “On Nov. 2, 1920, Mose Norman, a black labor broker, attempted to exercise his legal right to vote in Ocoee, Florida. He was turned away and not allowed to cast his ballot. Later, a group of armed white men came to the home of Norman’s friend, July Perry, another black labor broker in Ocoee, and violence ensued. Shots rang out, and fires were started. Black residents were forced to flee from their homes.

“Badly injured by bullet wounds, July Perry was captured by some of the armed men and taken into custody. After receiving medical attention, he was left in a cell at the Orange County Jail in downtown Orlando. According to a State of Florida Coroner’s Inquest that took place on Nov. 3 and 4, 1920, an unidentified white mob overpowered the jailor, taking Perry from

“One of the things that is the most dynamic and difficult about this event is that there are so many versions of this story — there is so much false memories, there’s conjectures, there is intentional obfuscations at the hands of white government officials to cover this event up.”

— Pamela Schwartz, chief curator, Orange County Regional History Center

OBSERVER

OrangeObserver.com

“That night, many black residents fled Ocoee, never to return. Some stayed but were eventually driven out by the terror of that night as well as subsequent violence over the following years, including dynamite being thrown into their homes and individuals being beaten and threatened. After 1926, there would not be another recorded black person to reside or own for any length of time in Ocoee until at least the mid- to late-1970s.”

— Orange County Regional History Center

his cell. The lynch mob brutalized Perry, and by Nov. 3 had hanged his body in public view. His body was later moved to Greenwood Cemetery and buried. Mose Norman fled; he was eventually recorded living in New York City.

“Two men from the white mob were shot and killed, Leo Borgard and Elmer McDaniels, for which Carey Hand Undertaker’s Memoranda exist. Able-bodied ex-servicemen were called from across the region to come to Ocoee to create a perimeter to make sure the event did not continue, also blocking black residents from returning to their homes. An unknown number of black people were killed that night and others injured. Three unidentified black individuals were recorded as being buried in one grave in a Carey Hand Undertaker’s Memorandum.

“That night, many black residents fled Ocoee, never to return.

Some stayed but were eventually driven out by the terror of that night as well as subsequent violence over the following years, including dynamite being thrown into their homes and individuals being beaten and threatened. After 1926, there would not be another recorded black person to reside or own for any length of time in Ocoee until at least the mid- to late-1970s.”

Based on an interview conducted by the Bureau of Investigation of William Blakely, a white man and inspector of elections, 114 ballots in Precinct 10 were cast in Ocoee that day. Those include ballots from 27 black individuals; July Perry and his wife were among those who voted.

From what is known, things went smoothly to start the day before the first challenge of a black voter — who Dabbs identified as Norman, though Schwartz wasn’t sure — at about 11 a.m. due to not having paid his poll tax.

Both Dabbs’ and Schwartz’s accounts said Norman had been placed on the stricken list due to failing to pay his poll tax; when Norman went to the polls in the afternoon, he was turned away.

This is when the story begins to

splinter, Schwartz said.

In Schwartz’s account, the white mob made its way to July Perry’s home in search of Norman at about 9 p.m. There, the first shots were fired. The violence continued; an unknown number of homes and buildings were burned, while black residents fled for their lives.

Dabbs’ thesis goes into lengthy detail of the events that followed Norman’s failed attempt at voting.

In this account, Norman returned to his home, picked up a shotgun and returned to town. When he was stopped at Hoyle Pounds’ garage, a white man questioned Norman about his weapon — which he told the white man he used to hunt rabbits. When constable Bernie Cannon discovered the gun was loaded with buckshot, an exchange of vulgarities ensued, and Cannon disarmed Norman and struck him over the head with a revolver — Norman was then permitted to get in his car and leave, Dabbs wrote.

It was in the afternoon when Clyde Pounds, a deputy sheriff, deputized some 20 men to investigate the “trouble” at the Perry house, Dabbs wrote.

However, another source found

by Dabbs said it was Sheriff Frank Gordon who came out and legalized the group, while another source said it was just a group of men interested in “removing” Perry.

“Sam Salisbury led the group of men that went to arrest July Perry,” Dabbs wrote. “Upon answering the knock on his door, lantern in hand and seeing the white men assembled his yard (actually the house was surrounded), July said, ‘Yas suh, boss, let me git my coat.’

“As he turned to re-enter the house, Mr. Salisbury grabbed him and in the forthcoming struggle, pounded him on the head with the butt of an Enfield rifle as he held him by a neck hold with the other arm,” Dabbs continued. “Suddenly, a rifle barrel appeared from out of the house and was placed in the abdomen of Mr. Salisbury.

Instinctively, the gun was brushed aside, and at that moment, the negro woman holding the rifle fired, the bullet striking Mr. Salisbury in the right forearm. This shot precipitated wholesale shooting by both whites and negroes there assembled.”

One account of this moment uncovered by Dabbs stated there were 37 armed black people in the Perry house — most of whom escaped through a trap door in the floor and fled into a cane field in the back of the house. It was then, during the shootout, when the two white men — McDaniel and Borgard — suffered their mortal wounds, while six others were injured.

Meanwhile, another account by a black man involved with the melee and a black woman who was a local school teacher in Winter Garden maintained that the only persons in the Perry house were Perry, his wife and his daughter.

Dabbs’ thesis is fundamental to the understanding of the event by current Ocoee Commissioner George Oliver III — who was elected as the city’s first black commissioner in 2018. In Oliver’s eyes, the violence of that night was premeditated, and white mobs were looking for a reason to burn the black community to the ground.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

13

“Can you imagine living on this earth and maybe putting in 10 or 20 years in one location and all of a sudden you’re killed or run off? You have no story, no footprint on this earth whatsoever.”

— George Oliver III, Ocoee city commissioner

“You have to understand the mentality of the mob at that point — especially from a law-enforcement perspective,” Oliver said.

“Sam Salisbury is the chief of police in Orlando, who was deputized to raid this house looking for a fugitive from the law, so from their perspective, he has all rights to be there.

“He’s been deputized, ‘I’m already the chief of police, she shot me’ — an officer down in the line of duty,” he said. “So now to them, to that side, it’s a riot, because an officer of the law was shot while on duty. … So now, you have every excuse you need to do whatever you need to do to eradicate that entire community.”

Dabbs wrote the injured Perry was the last to leave his home, and he was wounded as he tried to escape into the cane field while his home and barn were set aflame.

Word of the violence spread quickly, and members of the Winter Garden and Orlando community began to arrive on the scene.

“News of the riot had been broadcast on a public screen in Orlando — a screen used to disseminate Election Day results — and literally hundreds of men flocked to the scene of action, armed to the teeth and espousing such epithets as, ‘Where are the goddamn niggers?’ or ‘I’ve come to kill a goddamn nigger,’” Dabbs wrote.

This mob of Winter Garden and Orlando residents was responsible for the burning of the Northern Quarters — the homes, churches and lodges all fell victim to the fury of the white mob, Dabbs wrote.

The only building left untouched was the school building, which Dabbs noted was county property and therefore left alone. Meanwhile, the Southern Quarters also were left undamaged.

According to Dabbs’ thesis, after Perry was taken to the jail, he was removed by a white mob at 3 a.m. and hanged from an oak tree at the entrance of the Orlando Country Club. Accounts differ on other details that followed, but what is known is that the fires raged all night, and by the morning, the black community in Ocoee had changed dramatically.

PART III:

A LINGERING CLOUD AND A CITY LOOKING TO MOVE FORWARD

It’s estimated there were about 280 people in the black community in Ocoee — 26 were landowners — before the events of Election Day 1920.

Land owned by black residents spanned over 368 acres and included 44 properties at the time of the massacre. Over the course of the next six years, the land and property owned by black individuals vanished. In the land-deed research conducted by

HEAR THE HISTORY To hear more about the 1920 Ocoee Massacre, and how the city of Ocoee is handling a dark moment of its past, make sure to download and listen to the Observer’s upcoming multi-episode podcast — “A Century Removed: Truth and Reconciliation of the 1920 Ocoee Massacre.” It will be arriving in weekly format beginning Thursday, Nov. 12, on our new podcast channel, Full Circle. For more information, visit OrangeObserver.com.

Schwartz and the history center, the property owned by black residents in 1920 today would be valued at more than $9 million.

Although many believe the black community left the day following the massacre, in reality, that process took several years, Schwartz said. And many of those who fled had property in the surrounding area.

“The community did fight back, the community tried to stay and keep their property, but the violence was sort of ongoing … they were trying to push the black community out,” Schwartz said. “But by 1930, there are only two black individuals noted in the census in the community, and those are people who are servants in a white household.”

While property is a way to map the true decimation of a community, what haunts some folks such as Oliver is that the existence of the black community living in Ocoee at the time — which includes the three unknown black individuals killed that night — will be largely lost to time.

“There were several generations of folks that were wiped out or ran away and never told anybody else about it,” Oliver said. “There’s no birth records, because in 1920, African Americans, while they were doing very well … we were not very big on documenting who was born or how many children were born.

“You have to look at it from a perspective of, there are people who were born during that time — sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s — and lived in Ocoee who were either killed or ran out of Ocoee, and there are no records of them ever being there or being born there,” he said. “It’s almost as if they never existed. Can you imagine living on this earth and maybe putting in 10 or 20 years in one location and all of a sudden you’re killed or run off? You have no story, no footprint on this earth whatsoever.”

In the decades that followed, the city of Ocoee became a “sundown city.” The all-white community became a threatening place for black people to travel through, and it wasn’t until the 1970s when black individuals once again lived in the city.

Even when members of the black community began to return, there were still tensions. In a walllength quote in the exhibit hall at the history center, Timothy James — whose family moved to Ocoee in the early 1980s — reflected on what it was like for his family.

“While we were living in Apopka, we were very comfortable, until we moved to Ocoee,” Jones said. “That transition was almost like sticking your finger in an electrical socket.

I mean, we were really almost traumatized at the way people treated us just for being black.

“That was a wake-up call at the time where we thought we were being punished — and didn’t know why,” he said.

It was later in the decade — in 1989 — that a group of businessmen decided to form the West Orange Reconciliation Task Force. Its primary objective was to hold an annual event to commemorate the memory of what had taken place in 1920.

The hope was that this group would honor the memory of those

black lives lost and heal a community haunted by its past. Instead, it did the opposite, said William “Bill” Maxwell, chair of the city’s Human Relations Diversity Board.

“A lot of dissension grew out around the fact of — and I’ve heard the statements made numerous times by local people — ‘Well, why do y’all keep bringing it up? Why don’t you just let it go and let it be and move on?’” Maxwell said.

“And that’s a valid question for anyone who didn’t lose anything in the process of it.”

For years, the city avoided the 1920 massacre with the notion it had happened decades ago and there was no need to discuss it anymore. But thanks to the hard work by the West Orange Reconciliation Task Force, the city of Ocoee — via Resolution 2003-21 — gave birth to the HRDB Sept. 16, 2003.

The board comprises all volunteers and serves as a conduit to the city in relation to matters of racial equality and race relations.

As the years passed, nothing was being done to remember the massacre, but in January 2018, Maxwell wrote an update briefing and presented it to the commission with words that something needed to be done. The city was approaching the 100th anniversary of the massacre. In that timespan— from 1920 to 2018 — the city had 15 mayors come and go without any sort of action to remember the massacre.

“I explained to them, ‘We are coming into a season where all of those things that were done by your predecessors are going to come back to haunt you, so this is your wake-up call,’” Maxwell said.

“I enumerated several things and sort of got looked at like, ‘Right, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.’”

As it turned out, 2018 would be a turning point for Ocoee as it related to the city’s acknowledgement of the massacre, as well as the first step of a diversified commission.

In March 2018 — decades after the black community had been pushed out — Oliver became the first black individual to win a seat on the Ocoee City Commission.

“When we put it into perspective, my win was more symbolic to most African Americans in Ocoee, and it would be considered to be redemptive,” Oliver said. “Now, almost 100 years later, there is someone that looks like them that is in a leadership position in the city.

“For me, when I ran, I wasn’t really focused on the fact that I was a black man — or being the first — that wasn’t really my aim at all, that just happened to be a caveat,” he said. “For me, the focus was on the citizens of Ocoee — the focus was the city deserving better and moving the city forward.”

A year later, in 2019, Oliver would be joined on the commission by Larry Brinson — a retired U.S. Marine who served his country for more than 20 years. So now, almost 100 years later, two black men occupy seats in the highest form of government in the city.

In April 2018, the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice — which memorializes the more than 4,400 black men, women and children who were victims of racial violence — opened in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Selma-born Max-

OrangeObserver.com

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

well decided he was going to go.

After getting approval from the city, Maxwell traveled with a small group — which included current Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson — to Montgomery to take in the museum and the events taking place.

By the end of the trip, each member walked away with a new perspective, and it was then when Johnson told them to begin plotting out ideas for what could be done. What the HRDB came back with was an agenda that would dedicate the first week of November — from Sunday, Nov. 1, to Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020 — to putting on programs and events to honor those lost in the massacre while educating the public.

As part of the events, an official apology will be read, while the final day will conclude with the unveiling of a new historic marker dedicated to the victims of the 1920 massacre. The idea for the marker was a part of a proclamation read

by Maxwell at the City Commission meeting in November 2018 — a proclamation that read in part, Let it be known that Ocoee shall no longer be the sundown city but the

sunrise city, with the bright light of harmony, justice and prosperity shining upon all of our citizens.

“Ocoee is a great city with a great quality of life,” Johnson said in a written statement. “We have made huge strides to overcome a reputation marked by events that happened here in 1920. We have advanced way beyond those times and have put tremendous effort into overcoming our past.

“I have personally been blessed to take part in helping bring awareness and reconciliation to this city,” he continued. “The remembrance events planned the first week of November will recognize the city’s past. But we must also recognize how far we have come after much hard work by members of our community, the City Commission and especially our Human Relations Diversity Board.”

Although the violence and destruction that took place against the black community in 1920 cannot be undone by any means, the city coming to grips with its past is the necessary first step to a better future, Oliver said.

Although many, including Max-

AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BANK

Courtesy of Orange County Regional History Center

The Orange County Regional History Center’s exhibit will be on display through Feb. 14, 2021.

well, believe the city should have acted sooner, what is being offered now is something that Maxwell has fought so hard for since he first moved to Ocoee years ago. This is a moment that could — and should — be a means of finally finding some sort of peace.

“It’s a terrible thing that happened — there are no words that can be uttered that would offer any form of justification, but we couldn’t stand still in 1920 and hope for today, lest we still be having those type of riots,” Maxwell said. “As unfortunate as it is that

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©2020 Universal Uclick

1 Doing battle 6 “Really, though?”

10 64-Across makes it rise 15 Skirt shorter than a maxi 19 Attraction phased out for orcas’ well-being 20 Bandmate of Crosby and Stills 21 Words on Alice’s cake 22 Hipster’s rep 23 Wrestler’s calculation to determine how old an opponent is? (hint: notice the C’s) 26 One of three in a day, often

27 Monotonous 28 Throw lightly 29 Future revealer 31 “Ideas worth spreading” group 32 Went long 35 Sip, or something to sip 36 Person who’s a little bit nice? (... A’s) 42 Desert rest stop 45 Ravenclaw seeker Chang 46 Many a college interviewer, informally 47 Muscular tissue 48 ___ Piper 49 Low-calorie soda option

51 Rapper ___ 3000 52 Scandinavian capital 53 Deity of long, thin pretzels? (... L’s) 56 Irks 58 Everyone in the South?

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lives were lost, time — the continuum of time — has continued to move us forward.

“Only we in our inabilities to absorb the essence of what took place linger in the past,” he said.

“Time marches on, and on marches time.”

IN WINTER GARDEN

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smoothing? (... T’s) 97 Doohickey 98 Enters gradually 99 One of the five W’s 102 York and New York 104 Difficult 106 Doughy Jewish snacks 108 ___ Sea (shrunken lake) 109 Jacket that got soaked in Seattle, say? (... S’s) 114 Double agent, perhaps 115 Online party notice 116 Thing to scratch 117 Divide in two 118 Cyan and magenta liquids 119 Speaks with a croaky voice 120 “Good gravy!”

121 Mean expression.

DOWN 1 Wide neckwear 2 Macbeth’s title 3 Undertook, as a battle 4 Cry to a preacher 5 “I hear ...”

6 Plan (to) 7 Pollen pouch 8 “Somewhat” 9 “Also, what you just said” 10 Workers whose numbers are declining?

11 Woolly males 12 It’s within the two Greek letters around it 13 Qt. or pt.

14 Remove antlers from 15 Oversized houses people love to hate 73 Baby syllable 74 It borders both Minnesota 16 “Seems to be that way” 17 Hand out cards and New York 18 Inactive 76 Suggests 24 ___ advanced age 79 Drive-through pub for 25 Ending for “film” ‘80s plush toys? (... E’s) 30 Purges 83 Already chopped down 33 Tied, like a boot 84 Preppy shirts 34 Place to rest your butt?

85 Wee 86 Word with “Star” or “wolf” 35 Small change?

36 Kind of pool (var.)

87 Soak in a teapot 37 Popular drink mix 89 “Leave that to me!”

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51 Promotional parts of a newspaper 54 Gal of “Wonder Woman” 55 World Cup cheer 56 NASA, for instance 57 ‘90s three-country pact 61 Embellish 65 (I’m so sad!)

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71 Movie buffs 72 Teatime snack 75 City where Van Gogh painted 76 Attention-getting sound 77 January 2021 pledge 78 Butter up 80 Landed 81 Goes bad 82 Some politicians reach across it 84 Classic video game 88 Ballet bend 90 What an archer takes 91 Pinnacles 93 Solution 94 Wonder Woman, e.g.

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104 Start of an address 105 They can outrank kings 107 Digitized photo, for one 110 Actress Gabor or Mendes 111 Bro’s counterpart 112 Where a hog wallows 113 Channel for 71-Down

342217-1 310499-1

|

CELEBRITY CIPHER

By Luis Campos Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.

Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

“VKR DREGVU TZ VKR CTGA CKJYRC TGV PKRY E IEY DRENC PJVK LTIXTCGNR TYR KREBU IJCLKEYLR EZVRN EYTVKRN.”

– ENJCVTVAR

“D’T M CDE CYIDYXYH DB WXYHJWTDBE MBA MJKDYXDBE MBA AWDBE OKDBEP MBA BWO VYYIDBE PWHHU VWH UWNHPYIV.”

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Puzzle Two Clue: N equals U

OBSERVER

Puzzle One Clue: X equals P

14

© 2020 NEA, Inc.

SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

©2020 Andrews McMeel Syndicate

10-29-20

OBSERVER

OrangeObserver.com

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15

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

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Windermere Prep staff supports Feed the Need

Windermere Prep’s fine-arts program recently supported Feed the Need by distributing free meals and produce to those in the arts and entertainment community.

Teachers and staff in the school’s fine-arts department volunteered their time Friday, Oct. 16, at The Plaza Live! in Orlando. As part of the initiative, the program sponsored a day of meals for local arts and entertainment professionals who have been hit the hardest during the pandemic.

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I originally lived in Pensacola. In third grade, we moved to Texas, where I spent the rest of my time in school. … My wife, Lynsey, is originally from Florida, and when I heard about a new school opening in this part of the state, I applied and was hired.

What do you love most about your school?

As a new school, I love the fact that we are establishing our identity as we go, and who we want to be is completely on both the teachers and students. (Principal Doug) Guthrie cares about the students and teachers and is invested in all the programs and their success.

What is your motivation?

My high school in Texas had a very good band program, and I remember all the rewards of working hard, competing and being the best we could be and how hard my band director pushed us to be awesome

— and I want to give these students the same opportunities of excellence and the various performance experiences I was afforded as a young adult.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Seeing the students enjoy what they are doing, take ownership of their program, be the best that we can possibly be and ultimately succeed!

Who was your favorite teacher when you were in school? Why? It was my band director. He was very strict but never let me fail and always held me accountable and pushed me to come out of my box and to work for excellence.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Why? I wanted to be a band director, because I loved doing band in high school; a police officer, because I had some friends who were cops; and in the military, just because military history, big battles and heroes always intrigued me.

What is your favorite children’s book and why?

I liked Curious George when I was growing up.

What are your hobbies?

The obvious one is playing my

instrument. I used to teach martial arts and compete as a third-degree blackbelt in taekwondo and kickboxing; I still practice martial arts and do weight training. I scuba dive and play my fair share of computer games, as well.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

I would like to be able to fly. I am always in a hurry, I walk very fast typically, and I think it would be a great time-management tool to be able to quickly fly places.

If you could only listen to three bands or artists for the rest of your life, what would they be and why?

I have always enjoyed Mozart; it was always very soothing and brought my center of focus back. I grew up in the ’80s and still enjoy much of the music. I liked Van Halen and Def Leppard when I was growing up.

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Do you have an “unsung hero” at your school? If so, please nominate him or her for our Influencer of the Week feature. Nominations can be sent via email to contact@orangeobserver.com.

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INFLUENCER OF THE WEEK

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Windermere Prep presents ‘No Body To Murder,’ ‘Clue’

W

indermere Preparatory School fine-arts students brought a series of comedic murder mysteries to life with their recent productions of “No Body To Murder” and “CLUE!” Shows took place Oct. 22, 23 and 24 at the school’s Cypress Center for the Performing Arts. Middleschoolers acted out the story of “No Body To Murder,” while the high-schoolers presented the classic 1980s board game and film. In each show, actors wore masks and practiced social distancing when possible.

— DANIELLE HENDRIX

Yvette, played by Ana Leitao, served guests their dinner in “CLUE!”

Windermere Prep students did an excellent job bringing the classic “CLUE!” storyline to life.

Right: Actors participated in an “aerobics” class led by instructor Billie Body, center, played by Julia Clemmons.

Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum got into a heated argument.

See more photos at OrangeObserver.com

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BAPTIST

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Starke Lake Baptist Church Pastor Jeff Pritchard PO Box 520 611 W Ave., Ocoee (407) 656-2351 StarkeLakeBaptist.org

First United Methodist Church 125 N. Lakeview Ave., Winter Garden (407) 656-1135 Services: Livestreaming Sunday @ 9 AM. Viewable on Facebook and Youtube

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Windermere Union Church 10710 Park Ridge-Gotha Rd., Windermere (407) 876-2112 Adult Worship: 9 a.m.

Sunday School: 10 a.m.

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This year, members of the Stomp N’ Shake team must be socially distanced and wearing masks during their practices.

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(407) 656-8011 Saturday Service: 6 p.m. purposechurchorlando.org

Members of the Stomp N’ Shake team at Ocoee High bring the energy wherever they go, one step at a time.

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When Ocoee High’s Stomp N’ Shake team is in the room, the energy is palpable.

Although only in its second year of existence, the team’s presence at basketball games and community events is electrifying. And it all started with two students.

Stomp N’ Shake is a mix of stepping and dancing. Stepping involves clapping, stomping and making noise to make a beat with a group of people. Christopher Clark Jr. is considered the “step master,” while fellow teammates Kamari Garcon, Aryah Cox and Alaiya Saulsby work together to help with the dance choreography.

Monique Morris and Whitney Robertson, both Ocoee High teachers and the team’s cosponsors, said Stomp N’ Shake is a great way to get more students involved in campus activities.

“A lot of the students are not able to be a part of some of the other (teams) like cheerleading and Knights Visual Ensemble, which is a dance team,” Morris said. “So, two students — Christopher Clark Jr. and (now alumna) Zuri Young — they are the visionaries behind this. They were looking for sponsors and … they talked to us, and we told them, ‘Sure.’ We started the whole process of planning and getting it together, had tryouts, and here we are.”

Last year, Stomp N’ Shake had about 40 students involved, and they performed at basketball games and parades in the community. The coronavirus pandemic has made many performances this year difficult, but the team recently got the green light to continue bringing the energy to the school’s basketball games this season — with safety measures in place.

“When we did our tryouts, we were in a big room where students were able to spread out, and we only did about four to five students per session so they could have plenty of space to spread out,” Robertson said. “We just started practice last week … so we did practice outside. Students are still required to wear their mask and keep them on the entire practice.”

Morris and Robertson estimate there are more than 25 students participating in Stomp N’ Shake this year. They enjoy that it gives their students a chance to bond and become like family.

“They bonded so well, they looked out for (one another),” Robertson said. “We always have a team meeting at the end of each practice where they came together, they express their feelings, they express if they needed help. … This year, I feel we’ve had a lot of leaders that have stepped up wanting to help. We also have several freshmen this year.”

The Stomp N’ Shake team’s first performance of the 202021 school year is coming up with the start of basketball season, and both Morris and Robertson are as excited as their students are.

“The energy level, the motivation — they do so well at performances,” Morris said. “We’re always like, ‘Wow, you guys did great tonight!’ They own it. They own being part of Stomp N’ Shake team. … We had over 60 people that tried out last year. We packed the gym. … We would do this chant in the stands while they’re sitting down, and they loved it.

The parents were like, ‘We have to have Stomp N’ Shake shirts!’

The commitment, the energy, the motivation of being part of something that was good — they loved it.”

And even though they won’t be able to pack the gym this year due to enhanced safety measures, Morris and Robertson know their team will continue to bring the hype.

“I know for sure they will bring the same energy, if not more, than last year,” Robertson said. “These kids are very committed.”

“The commitment, the energy, the motivation of being part of something that was good — they loved it.”

— Monique Morris

OCTOBER 29, 2020

HIGH

SPORTS

1

5

Senior Zaria Williams is a leader on both Ocoee High’s sideline and competitive cheer teams. Page 20.

A TRAINER’S DAY

In Olympia football’s 54-24 loss to Boone Friday, Oct. 23, quarterback CJ Brooks went off for 284 yards passing and four touchdowns on 14-of-30 passing for the Titans. Through five games this season, Brooks has tossed for a whopping 1,051 yard and 11 touchdowns to just three interceptions, while also running for two touchdowns.

2

The West Orange football team may have fallen 28-21 in its matchup against a thriving Lake Brantley Friday, Oct. 23, but quarterback Tyler Huff had a solid showing as the junior threw for 164 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-23 passing. Through the first five games of the season, Huff has thrown for 580 yards and seven touchdowns.

3

In The First Academy football’s 37-0 stomping of Lake Highland Prep Friday, Oct. 23, senior running back Terrence Mosley II rolled over the Highlanders’ defense for three touchdowns and 79 yards on 17 carries. In four games, Mosley has scored a team-high nine touchdowns and leads the team with 421 rushing yards.

4

Despite Olympia girls volleyball’s season coming to an end in a 3-0 loss to Lake Nona in the Class 7A, Region 3 quarterfinals Wednesday, Oct. 21, sophomore libero/outside hitter Abby Dickinson had a solid night as she picked up 19 digs and two assists.

Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Amanda Ford added on 10 digs and two serving aces.

Photo by Phillip Pacheco

Jillian Sutton tapes up an ankle during Windermere High football’s game against Oak Ridge.

Windermere High athletic trainer Jillian Sutton was named High School Athletic Trainer of the Year by Athletic Trainers Association of Florida.

TROY HERRING SPORTS EDITOR

A

few weeks before the start of the 2019 football season, Jillian Sutton — now the head athletic trainer at Windermere High — found herself in a situation of life and death.

With about 10 minutes left in one of the team’s practices, Sutton decided to start packing things up, when a player came up and told her that he was experiencing some

SEE SUTTON PAGE 20

Local travel baseball teams find success Eric Lassiter’s Power Baseball 2021 finished runner-up at the prestigious Perfect Game/World Wood Bat Association World Championship, while Jesse Marlo’s Team Orlando 14U finished runner-up at the WWBA 14U World Championship.

5

It was a big day on the links for the Windermere High boys and girls golf teams, as the boys team won the Class 3A, Region 2 title, while the girls came in second at Royal St. Cloud Golf Links Tuesday, Oct. 20. The boys team was led by Louis Giovacchini (71), who finished tied for second place, while the girls were led by a thirdplace finish by Sarah Loza (70). Both teams now will go on to play in the State Championship.

cramping. Sutton showed him some normal stretches that would help, before telling him to just sit out what little time remained in the practice.

In just a matter of minutes, those cramping symptoms escalated into something much more severe.

“One of the players came in and said, ‘Ms. Sutton, Ms. Sutton! We need your help, he’s not doing

Team Orlando 14U took home second at the WWBA 14U World Championship.

TROY HERRING SPORTS EDITOR

Courtesy photos

Power Baseball 2021 had a tremendous showing as it finished second at the Perfect Game/WWBA World Championship.

Two local travel baseball teams took on some of the country’s top amateur baseball talent and nearly came out on top.

Out of the 91 teams from around the country competing in the Perfect Game/World Wood Bat Association World Championship in Fort Meyers Oct. 7 to 12, Winter Garden’s own Power Baseball 2021 finished in second place.

For many of those teams, most players are brought on whenever

they play in major tournaments, but for Eric Lassiter’s side, that’s not the case.

“We used only our guys from Power Baseball that play in our organization — so no borrowed players,” said Lassiter, also the head baseball coach at Windermere High. “To be able to do that and come in second place is obviously a special thing and shows how good Central Florida baseball is.”

The tournament started with 32 pools — featuring four teams each SEE TEAMS PAGE 20

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

SPONSORED BY MARK’S FLOORING AND SHANNON TILL/STATE FARM IN FOWLER GROVES

Zaria Williams

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

As a four-year member of both the Ocoee High sideline and competitive cheer teams, Zaria Williams is a leader on the sidelines and on the mat for the Knights. After her senior year, Williams hopes to continue cheering — while studying nursing — at either Florida State University or Louisville.

When did you first get into cheerleading?

I first got into cheerleading when I was about 3 to 4 years old. Starting off, I didn’t know how to feel about it until I kept going along with it and learning more things.

Then, I really started having a passion for it and never wanted to stop doing it.

THE BASICS

SCHOOL: Ocoee High GRADE: Senior AGE: 18 SPORT: Cheer (Sideline and competitive)

this season?” or “What can we do to top that?” It’s just really competitive, and to see who comes out in the end is just really exciting.

What has kept you in cheer in for so long?

One thing I really love about it is meeting new people that come along each year and building friendships — the sisterhood we have and the teamwork to make things happen and to be successful.

And we do a lot of difficult stunts, so just learning new things and making them work — it’s really cool to see how far we can go while doing it.

You’re on both the sideline cheer team and competitive cheer team. What would you say is the biggest difference?

The biggest difference, I would say, is the practices.

They get really intense going into the competition season.

Maybe it will add another extra day of practice or add a couple of hours just to get the routine down pat — sideline season isn’t that intense, and it’s more about the fans, too.

What’s your favorite part about cheer? Your least favorite part?

My favorite part about cheerleading is probably competing against other teams, and the most challenging part, I’d say, is competing with different teams. A lot of teams in our division, we go head-to-head.

They’re looking for us, and they’re looking at videos like, “Oh what are they doing

Sutton receives top award

Do you have a favorite stunt that you like to do?

I’d probably say the pyramids, where we all get up and connect together, because it’s the big finisher right before we do the ending dance. It’s like, we get up, we connect together, we do a crazy spin or switch, and then we end it off on a good note, and that feeling is the best feeling ever.

Do you have a highlight moment from your time at Ocoee?

I wouldn’t say States 2018, but I would say States 2020. We won in 2018 and the next year, we came in second place, so it was kind of a beef for us. So what we were working on for season 2019-20, it was just like, we were going for it, because we were so beat from that second place by just a few points. It just felt like we were working so hard, and when we heard our names for first place, it was the best feeling ever.

— TROY HERRING

Family.

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good,’” Sutton said. “He was just lying back there (on a golf cart), and he was going in and out of consciousness. At that point, we did a four-man carry and carried him into the office — he wasn’t able to walk at all. It is scary how quickly they can deteriorate.”

In that moment, Sutton recognized he was having a heat stroke, but luckily, the training staff had what’s known as The Cold Tub — a large speciality tub filled with 50-degree water.

They placed him in the water for about 10 minutes before putting him on a table and placing bags of ice onto him while the they waited for the ambulance.

The player was taken to the hospital, treated and eventually released in good health. Sutton recalls the blur of the moment and how she didn’t even have time to hesitate.

“It is like tunnel vision,” Sutton said. “That is one of a few true emergency scenarios that I’ve been in, and it’s crazy how your training prepares you.”

AWARD-WINNING PRACTITIONER

That moment of heroism would have largely gone unnoticed by anyone not in the program, but one of her assistants —

who helped Sutton during that moment — saw it as worthy of recognition.

During the Athletic Trainers Association of Florida annual conference last summer, which was done virtually this year, Sutton learned she was named High School Athletic Trainer of the Year by her peers.

“I was completely shocked,” Sutton said. “I hear of people every year winning these awards, and even though I’m a high school athletic trainer, I never considered myself in that category.”

The unexpected accolade was recognition for a career that has been several years in the making.

Although she graduated from Boone High School, Sutton originally attended Lake Highland Prep, where she played a few sports. Although she loved sports, Sutton’s passion was in the athletic-training room, which she said was an escape from her real-life struggles.

“My parents were divorced my whole life … so I hated being home, and I was just finding every excuse to stay around at school and not go home,” Sutton said. “So I hung out at the athletic-training room, because I had my own little injuries and things like that. The athletic trainer at the time — around

Teams bring home hardware CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

— and it was smooth sailing for Lassiter’s side as they went 3-0 against teams from different parts of the country.

Although PB 2021 came out of pool play undefeated, the tournament also went by numerous stats — such as runs given up — so the team ended up as the No. 10 seed.

In the span of one day — Sunday, Oct. 11 — PB 2021 played three games and pushed itself into the semifinals against Scorpions Marucci after taking down the No. 2 seed South Charlotte Panthers in a dramatic 5-4 win.

“We hit a triple in the top of the sixth to win the game and close it out,” Lassiter said. “We were never winning the whole game, but one of our kids — Marcus O’Malley — hit a triple off the right field wall to take the lead by one.”

The following morning, PB 2021 beat the Scorpions 4-2 before falling to GBG Navy 2021 9-1 in the championship game.

With eight games in five days, Lassiter said his players had just ran out of gas after giving the

tournament everything they had.

“They start adding up quickly,” Lassiter said. “It’s funny, our coaching staff and our owners … were on the phone and I was just like, ‘I don’t even know if I can drive home right now.’ I’m exhausted and it’s like 1 o’clock in the afternoon but it felt like 2 a.m. It was an emotional rollercoaster for the guys.”

A week following PB 2021’s impressive tournament, Jesse Marlo’s Team Orlando 14U — a developmental team for the Power Baseball organization — had its own runner-up finish at the WWBA 14U World Championship from Oct. 16 to 19 in Panama City.

After going 2-1 in pool play — during which the team lost to eventual champion Canes National 2025 — Marlo’s team had to go straight into a play-in game, which added another level of difficulty to Team Orlando’s title hopes.

“Honestly, if we wouldn’t have had to play that game, and we only had four games like everybody else, I think we could have won it, because I would have

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2006, 2007 — was Gina Martin.

“I hung around, and she would just be that outlet and let me vent,” she said. “Then she finally said, ‘If you’re going to be here every single day, I’m going to teach you how to tape an ankle.’”

Sutton learned more than just how to tape an ankle. Martin and assistant Scott Schenker took her under their wing as a student assistant. Martin died of leukemia in 2008, but two weeks before her death, Sutton promised Martin she would become an athletic trainer.

Sutton would go on to attend the University of Central Florida before graduating in 2015. She became an assistant athletic trainer at Rollins College — while also working on her master’s degree — for two years before joining on at Windermere High School.

Since joining the staff at the school, Sutton has gotten the chance to get to know the school’s athletes and community.

“My passion for the profession just grows every day, every year,” Sutton said. “There are plenty of parents and students who are so, so appreciative of even the little things of getting doctors appointments and utilizing the resources and the contacts I have to get them efficient and quick care. … I’m here to stay.”

had one of my best pitchers still available,” Marlo said. “But (because) we had to play five instead of four, I had to use that guy to get there.”

Marlo’s side won that game 2-1 before going on later that day — Oct. 18 — to win two more games to get to the semifinals. The following day, Team Orlando would beat 5 Star 14U National 3-0 early in the morning before finding itself against the only team it had lost to.

In that championship game, Canes jumped out to an early lead by scoring two runs in the first and second innings, which would prove to be enough as Team Orlando fell 4-0.

Despite the loss, Team Orlando came away with a trophy, and Patton Pinkins was named MVPitcher of the tournament.

“If you feel your son is one of those guys (who) is kind of at the top of his class and you want him to really excel, I think it’s definitely something they should experience,” Marlo said.

“You’re gonna see the same type of pitching that you see in high school. … (it’s) a great way to get prepared for high school.”

OBSERVER

Clifton Jackson, 80, of Orlando, died Oct. 8, 2020. Collison Carey Hand Funeral Home, Winter Garden.

Sylma Inez Fernandez Guzman, 76, of Windermere, died Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. Winter Oak Funeral Home & Cremations, Winter Garden.

Janice Ann Haire, 93, of Winter Garden died Thursday Oct. 22,

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from East Tennessee State and a master’s degree from Rollins College.

Jerry retired in 1993 after a 35-year career at Martin Marietta, where he was an engineer.

After retirement, he and his wife enjoyed traveling the world and attending Florida Gator football games. He was also an avid gardener who could make any plant flourish.

He loved volunteering for the

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Jerome “Jerry” Brinton Randolph, age 92, of Windermere, Florida, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by his family on Oct. 23, 2020. He was born on Nov. 1, 1927, in Elizabethton, Tennessee, to the late Samuel and Viola Randolph.

He is preceded in death by two sisters and two brothers.

He is survived by his loving wife, Betty, of 67 years; his daughter, Jennifer Randolph Graddy (Carl); and numerous nieces and nephews.

After graduating from high school in 1945, Jerry served in the U.S. Army during World War II and received an honorable discharge. After his service, Jerry received his bachelor’s degree

Bay Hill Classic, and when he “retired” as a volunteer, they sent him tickets to the tournament every year as a thank you. He was a member of the Family Church (formerly First Baptist Church of Windermere), where he enjoyed attending the senior Sunday school class.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Baldwin-Fairchild Funeral Home, and condolences may be offered at baldwin-fairchild.com In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to please consider making a donation to Family Church — Windermere Campus in his name.

21

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

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JEROME “JERRY” BRINTON RANDOLPH DIED OCT. 23, 2020.

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mischance after another.”

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Aristotle Puzzle Two Solution: “I’m a big believer in overcoming and achieving and doing things and not feeling sorry for yourself.” – Drew Carey

This week’s Sudoku answers

Thursday, October 29, 2020

This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers

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Merchandise Wanted

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This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers Aristotle Puzzle OneSolution: Solution: Puzzle Two “The beauty of theinsoul shines outand when “I’m a big believer overcoming a man bears composure one heavy achieving and with doing things and not mischance another.” – Drew Carey feeling sorryafter for yourself.”

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Or email us at

4th Annual Challenge 22 - 2.2 Mile Ruck Walk. November 14, 2020, 11 AM – 3 PM. Walk, Ceremony & Celebration of America! Veterans Memorial Park, 420 S. Park Ave, Winter Garden FL 34787. Registration & Sign in 10AM. Join us or participate virtually. Register at https://tinyurl.com/RuckWalk. Visit www.WGAL63.org for more information. Presented by: American Legion Hugh T. Gregory Post 63 al11/12

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Fast Easy Certification

Puzzle One Solution: “The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another.”

Aristotle Puzzle Two Solution: “I’m a big believer in overcoming and achieving and doing things and not feeling sorry for yourself.” – Drew Carey

LV16621

Observer Media Group reserves the right to classify and edit copy, or to reject or cancel an advertisement at any time. Corrections after first insertion only. *All ads are subject to the approval of the Publisher. *It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in an Observer Media Group publication to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with town codes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property.

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This week’s Crossword answers

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2020

This week’s Crossword answers

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UPGRADES & REPAIRS

reams.com

Color included on all ads!

Publishes every Thursday, and deadlines Friday the week prior.

|

OrangeObserver.com

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

344586-1

OBSERVER

WOPA

West OrAnge POliticAl AlliAnce, inc: A non-partisan political committee, the political action arm of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, formed to represent the best interests of West Orange County

URGES YOU TO:

Vote Early, By Mail or on November 3

rd

OUR ENDORSED CANDIDATES ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD Pam Gould Mike Scott

District 4 District 5

ORANGE COUNTY John Mina Amy Mercado

Sheriff Property Appraiser

FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES & SENATE Bruno Portigliatti (R) Randolph Bracy (D) Victor Torres (D)

HD 44 SD 11 SD 15

Find us on Facebook for the latest news and endorsements!

To learn more, visit wochamber.com/advocacy/wopa_endorsements

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO ORANGE COUNTY CHARTER Vote NO - Question 1 Prohibiting Pollution of the Wekiva River, Econlockhatchee River and All Waters of Orange County

Vote NO - Question 2 Protecting Split Oak Forest by Restricting Board of County

Commissioners’ Amendment of Restrictions and Covenants

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA STATE CONSTITUTION Vote NO - No. 2

Raising Florida’s Minimum Wage

Vote NO - No. 3

All Voters Vote in Primary Elections for State Legislators, Governor, and Cabinet

Vote YES - No. 4

Voter Approval of Constitutional Amendments

Vote YES - No. 6

Ad Valorem Discount for Spouses of Certain Deceased Veterans Who Had Permanent, Combat-Related Disabilities

Paid political advertisement by the West Orange Political Alliance, Inc., 12184 W. Colonial Dr., Winter Garden, FL 34787. For more information call 407-656-1304.

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. . . t i a W But

S ’ E R THE !

E R MO

XNLV18913

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