Times& WEST ORANGE
Observer WEST ORANGE COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER FOR 109 YEARS
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 4, 2014
FREE
WINTER GARDEN, FLORIDA
INSIDE
EXCLUSIVE
WWII veteran recalls action at Iwo Jima. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
+ Shirts feature hometown pride Art Dees, right, was in downtown Winter Garden last week and picked up a new T-shirt at Tri & Run of West Orange. The shirts are the creation of Will Blaine and Andy Crabtree, who recently started AB Newton & Company to promote Winter Garden through clothing and other merchandise. Dees is the grandson of Arthur Bullard Newton, the first mayor of Winter Garden and the company’s namesake. With him are his grandchildren, Amy Rice and Bobby Rice.
Cosplayers invade Winter Garden. PAGE 9A
economics by Steven Ryzewski | Sports Editor
Tiger Woods tourney should be boon for area businesses WINDERMERE — A field consisting of 18 of the best golfers in the world will take to the links at Isleworth Golf & Country Club this weekend. And, no matter who wins the event, West Orange County and Central Florida
figure to be winners, also. The Hero World Challenge begins Thursday and will run through Sunday at the famous golf club located just outside the Windermere city limits. The event is an annual tournament put on by the
Tiger Woods Foundation. This is the first year that Hero MotoCorp, a motorcycle maker from India, has served as the title sponsor. Woods headlines a field that also includes familiar names like Henrik Stenson,
NEW DIGS
by Amy Quesinberry Rhode Community Editor
Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler, among others. Those golfers are ranked fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th in the world, respectively.
SEE TOURNEY / PAGE 8A
STITCH KING by Michael Eng | Executive Editor
Amy Quesinberry Rhode
Just beyond the front visitors center is the research center and staff office. Here, program director Jim Crescitelli and archivist Lynne Sylvester work in the new space.
Historic group begins major move
November was a month of change at Oakland Nature Preserve. Longtime staff member Shane Overstreet left the preserve to do field research with the St. Johns River Water Management District. The preserve welcomes Taylor Clark as its new environmental educator/interpreter and Savannah Mulvey as education and outreach specialist.
Staff and volunteers at the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation moved the organization’s collection of historic photos and documents into its new home. Lucas Isasi created his first wedding dress when he was just 11 years old.
Courtesy photo
Fashion
+ W.G. couple celebrates 45 years Frank and Linda Dillon, of Winter Garden, celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary Nov. 28. Frank is retired from United Rentals, and Linda is retired from Johnson & Co. They both enjoy playing golf and are members of West Orange Country Club.
FORWARD Windermere resident Lucas Isasi, 13, was chosen to be a contestant on Lifetime’s “Project Runway: Threads.” His episode airs Thursday, Dec. 4.
I
WINDERMERE — For his first assignment as a contestant on Lifetime’s series, “Project Runway: Threads,” Lucas Isasi, 13, was tasked with designing a dress that best symbolized himself. He went to work immediately, using fire as an inspiration, and designed a piece burning
WO This week’s winner is
Deborah Shultz.
Dr. Phillips falls to Manatee in playoff loss. PAGE 1B
The Hero World Challenge will bring 18 of the world’s best golfers to West Orange County from Thursday through Sunday — and thousands of spectators.
+ ONP welcomes new staff members
See the photo on PAGE 10B.
SPORTS
with yellows, oranges and reds. “Fire calms me,” he says. “Like, when you have to deal with bullies or something. Fire — it’s calming.” Similarly, Lucas’ passion for fashion has never burned more brightly than it has this year. In
SEE LUCAS / PAGE 6A
WINTER GARDEN — After being kept for years in a metal warehouse built a century ago, the pieces of Winter Garden’s past are now securely stored in a climate-controlled facility in the heart of downtown. The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation’s $1.1 million History Research and Education Center project is nearing completion, and staff and volunteers have been carefully packing and unpacking decades worth of historic photographs, documents and objects for the transition. The WGHF secured the land for the new facility in 2011, began a capital campaign the next year and broke ground on the 5,224-square-foot building last fall. The foundation received two Orange County Cultural Facilities grants totaling half a million dollars, and the rest of the funds were raised through pledges, monetary donations and in-kind donations. “This is a result of a 2011 Conservation Assessment
SEE MOVE / PAGE 8A
INDEX Calendar.................................2A Crossword............................ 10B
History..................................16A Obituaries.............................17A
Real Estate.........................6-7B Schools..........................14-15A
Sports.....................................1B Weather............................... 10B
How does Santa find you when you don’t have a Home? He finds you at Matthew’s Hope Matthew’s Hope fosters the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the Homeless men, women, and children of our West Orange community by meeting basic needs, developing skills, and restoring dignity and independence.Would you please prayerfully consider including a Tax Deductible Gift to Matthew’s Hope in your Year End Giving. 13640 W. Colonial Drive • Winter Garden
www.MatthewsHopeMinistries.org 407.905.9500
Vol. 81, No. 48 , Three sections
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