Times& WEST ORANGE
Observer WEST ORANGE COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER FOR 109 YEARS
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
FREE
WINTER GARDEN, FLORIDA
OUR TOWN + Bread of Life needs volunteers Here is your opportunity to give back to your community. Join Bread of Life Fellowship’s 23th annual Thanksgiving Food for Families event at 7 p.m. Nov. 26, at Ocoee High School, 1925 Ocoee Crown Point Parkway. Volunteers are needed to sort and pack food boxes with Thanksgiving goodies for families in need. This “party” goes until late in the evening, thanks to generous donations from local Publix bakeries, so third-shift volunteers are greatly appreciated. But the fun doesn’t end there. Drivers also are needed starting at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27. For more information, visit breadoflifefellowship. com.
SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE
TURKEY TIME!
SPORTS
Happy Thanksgiving from the West Orange Times & Observer! PAGE 9A
Dr. Phillips bests Plant, remains alive in playoffs. PAGE 1B
Holi d ay Gift Guide
+ Ocoee Poker Run benefits toy drive The Ocoee Police Department would like to thank all those who participated in the Ocoee Founders’ Day 13th Annual Poker Run Nov. 1. The run is a fundraiser to raise money for the police department’s Holiday Toys for Kids in Need program. All proceeds go to this annual toy drive. Despite the chilly weather, there were about 40 participants in this year’s event. The Best Bike award went to Chad Shafer with a 2001 Honda Goldwing Trike, and second place went to Jeff Green with a 2003 Harley Heritage Soft Tail.
I
BRICK BYBRICK
by Amy Quesinberry Rhode | Community Editor
Oakland defines rules for corridor development The town is establishing architectural guidelines that will give its leaders control over aesthetics as growth occurs on Oakland’s main arteries. OAKLAND — Development could start popping up along Oakland’s portion of West Colonial Drive as soon as 2016. In preparation, town officials have been rewriting the Gateway Corridor Overlay codes, which outline rules pertaining to architecture, landscaping and other visual elements, since holding a visioning session in April 2013. While the codes were being updated, the town set (and continued several times) a moratorium on development on Colonial. That moratorium expires Dec. 15. A first reading was set for Tuesday’s commission meeting at the Town Meeting Hall (after press time). A visual presentation outlining the changes and the intent of the code update was given at the Town CommisMichael Eng
Ocoee High School teacher James Jones drives 45 minutes each way to work to teach robotics full-time. He says he has the coolest job in the world.
sion’s Nov. 18 meeting, and a repeat of this presentation was scheduled for this Tuesday’s meeting. The second reading and public hearing is set for Dec. 9. During the presentation, Town Planner Max Spann said officials examined eight arterial corridors when coming up with site elements, such as distance from curb to building, structure height and signage. Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves was used as an example multiple times. “This is something we’re looking to get to in Oakland,” Spann said. Over time, when tenants leave buildings that are built for a specific purpose, this leaves empty shells along the corridor that are hard to fill.
SEE OAKLAND / PAGE 6A
BUILDING CHARITY by Zak Kerr | Staff Writer
Ocoee High School teacher James Jones is a nationally certified LEGO Education Academy teacher and trainer. But make no mistake: His class is anything but child’s play. OCOEE — James Jones grins as he walks into the large storage room attached to his Ocoee High School classroom. Storage shelves packed with LEGO MINDSTORMS sets line the room’s walls and stretch toward the ceiling. Everything is tidy and organized — and ready for a day full of classes. Jones is a full-time robotics instructor at Ocoee High — one of only three schools in the district to offer such a curriculum. He’s also a nationally certified LEGO Education Academy and a teacher on the LEGO Education Advisory Panel. LEAP teachers collaborate with LEGO Education to create curric-
ulum that enhances science, technology, engineering and math concepts. As a LEAP teacher, Jones also serves as a featured speaker and panelist at LEGO Education conferences, symposiums and workshops. And, although his classroom may more closely resemble an aisle at Toys R Us than a training ground for tomorrow’s engineering superstars, he is adamant that the popular child’s building bricks — and the robotics concepts
SEE LEGO 8A
WHAT ARE MINDSTORMS?
The LEGO MINDSTORMS kits contain software and hardware to create customizable, programmable robots. They include an intelligent brick computer that controls the system, a set of modular sensors and motors, and Lego parts from the Technic line to create the mechanical systems. Source: Wikipedia
Courtesy photo
Westside Tech students joined Habitat for Humanity in presenting this home to the Fikes family.
Westside Tech students build homes, spirit in Habitat partnership The construction students are helping to build homes for area families in need.
WO This week’s winner is
Stephanie Berry. See the photo on PAGE 10B.
2014
governance
EDUCATION by Michael Eng | Executive Editor
+ Market closed for Thanksgiving The Windermere Farmer’s Market will be closed on Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving, and reopen Friday, Dec. 5, in Town Square, 614 Main St., Windermere. If you are interested in being a vendor, call Cheryl Fishel, Event Management LLC, at (407) 625-3818.
THURSDAY
Courtesy of Alan Chia
WINTER GARDEN — As part of the hands-on education for the building construction technology class at Westside Tech, students have helped Habitat for Humanity with the construction of some homes in the area. Within this partnership, students get the valuable ex-
perience in their crafts that they need, while Habitat for Humanity saves some costs on its houses, built for low-income families in need. “They’re doing a great job, and they’re doing it for free,” said Rafael Roman, multime-
SEE HABITAT / PAGE 6A
INDEX Calendar.................................2A Crossword............................ 10B
History..................................15A Obituaries.............................15A
Real Estate.........................6-7B Schools..........................12-13A
Sports.....................................1B Weather............................... 10B
Give Thanks…with a Bag of Blessings! Help us keep the Shelves Stocked over the Holidays. Help provide Christmas for the Homeless Men, Women and Children of our Community. 1460 Daniels Road Winter Garden • 407.905.9500 Matthew 25:35-40 www.MatthewsHopeMinistries.org
Vol. 81, No. 47 , Three sections
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