WINDERMERE
Observer Serving Southwest Orange County
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 1, NO. 10
FREE
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Puppeteer has hand in faith-filled play.
PAGE 13A
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015
Goodbye, Supraman After battling esophageal cancer, former Dr. Phillips High swimming and water polo star Ian Supra died Nov. 24. He was 20. STORY ON 17A Courtesy of Team Supra
YOUR TOWN STUDENT WINS CONTEST
Gotha Middle School seventh-grader Farrah Diogene was among the winners of Orange County’s recent Week of the Family Essay Contest. Diogene’s essay, on the theme, “My Family Is Strong Because,” focused on the strength she and her family felt following her grandmother’s death. “I cannot really say that my family should be awarded family of the year award,” she wrote. “But what I can say is that we care about each other and that we’ve been through a lot.” Farrah and her three siblings express feelings in writing and similar practices, which has helped them and their mother to emerge fine. “So I guess my family is strong,” she wrote. “We went through a lot but we’re still here.”
Snakes 101
With new developments popping up in Horizon West, residents have been finding displaced snakes in or near their homes. Is there anything to fear? CATHERINE KERR STAFF WRITER HORIZON WEST
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s housing expands into areas that were recently undeveloped
and still border natural areas, many animals are being displaced. Their habitat is disappearing, and as a result, they are more likely to end up in or near our houses. SEE PAGE 4A
Photos by Daniel Dye, floridabackyardsnakes.com
The rough green snake is a common find throughout Florida. Top: The eastern indigo snake is endangered, but some reports indicate it could be making a comeback. Neither snake is venomous. Courtesy photo
Spatial Relations Partners Piper Hood and Cathy Cavins introduced HUB 925 in late October as the newest addition to a growing shared-workspace scene. STEVEN RYZEWSKI SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR DR. PHILLIPS Like many ideas, the
genesis of HUB 925 was rooted in a need that wasn’t being met. When business meetings would bring together MetroWest resiPRSRT STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID WINTER GARDEN, FL PERMIT NO. 81
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dent Piper Hood, who owns a sales performance improvement company called Shop Source LLC, and Dr. Phillips’ Catherine Cavins, who owns Focal Point Construction Services, they often found themselves struggling to find adequate space at places such as Starbucks and Panera Bread. Both women work from home, and their options for meetings could be inconvenient for busi-
ness — especially when reviewing construction plans, which tend to be larger than some of the tables available. Even being sure that a table would be available could be problematic. Cavins began to consider renting office space, but she was also familiar with the idea of co-workSEE HUB PAGE 6A
Steven Ryzewski
Catherine Cavins, left, and Piper Hood are the owners of HUB 925 — a new co-working space in Dr. Phillips.