WINDERMERE
Observer
Profressional help residents spread Christmas cheer. 1B
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
Serving Southwest Orange County
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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VOLUME 2, NO. 8
Two cousins’ cool creations Cesar and Alex Frota, Windermere residents, have launched a new business, So Fruitty. Page 3A
YOUR TOWN Mayor heads back to class
Restoring hope
Mosque seeks expansion
Windermere resident Lynn Johns is set to go on her second medical missions trip to Jeremie, Haiti, since Hurricane Matthew.
The Islamic Center of Orlando is growing, and it needs more space, starting with the center’s mosque. GABBY BAQUERO STAFF WRITER ORANGE The growth of the Islamic Center of Orlando has sparked a need to expand its facilities. Leaders for the center, located at 11543 Ruby Lake Road, currently are in the process for Orange County approval of a planned expansion. The organization plans to expand its mosque and build a large courtyard, community center, sports complex and charity clinic. Imam Tariq Rasheed, the center’s worship leader, said the construction project is needed because the community has grown, and the mosque has become too small to hold everyone seeking a place to perform their daily religious prayers. “On Fridays, we have about 1,000 people who come to pray,” Rasheed said. “Right now, the issue is that on Fridays, we have roughly 300 people praying under the sun
Gotha Middle teacher Robb Zurek, left, presented Mayor Gary Bruhn with his Honorary Teacher Certificate.
SOUTHWEST
Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn participated in this year’s Great American Teach-In event. The mayor attended Robb Zurek’s seventh-grade civics class at Gotha Middle School, where he spoke about the various levels of government and each of their responsibilities and limitations.
Observer to host Reindeer Run The first Reindeer Run, a 5K benefiting the Observer Media Group’s Reading Reindeer campaign, will take place at 7 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Winter Garden Village, 3251 Daniels Road, Winter Garden. Race-day registration and packet pick-up begins at 6 a.m. Registration costs $30 and can be completed online at trinrun.com. All registered runners are entered into a drawing for an Apple Watch. Sponsors also include Winter Garden Village, Healthy West Orange, Florida Hospital Winter Garden, Rotary Club of Winter Garden and Weber Environmental Services Inc. For more, contact Tony Trotti, (407) 656-2121 or ttrotti@orangeobserver. com.
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SEE MOSQUE PAGE 2A
ARTS & CULTURE FOR MORE INFORMATION Courtesy photo
Despite having nothing, these Haitian orphans often are seen happy and smiling. DANIELLE HENDRIX STAFF WRITER
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WINDERMERE
t costs her thousands of dollars each year to go on medical missions trips to a small, poor village in Haiti, but Windermere resident Lynn Johns has a good reason for doing so: It forever changes people’s perspectives. “Up until I was 50, I’d never
been on a medical missions trip,” she said. “If you show up in Haiti with a Band-Aid, they think you’re a doctor. There’s one doctor for every 35,000 people in Haiti. When we show up in a bus with medical scrubs and bags, they think it’s a top-notch medical team flying in.” According to WorldBank, SEE HOPE PAGE 4A
El Shaddai Ministries International: esmihome.org Emmanuel Children’s Village in Jeremie, Haiti: facebook.com/ EmmanuelOrphanageHaiti Rebati Emmanuel: rebati-emmanuel. com
SoBo Art Gallery hosts paint class for Alzheimer’s patients.
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