seminole chronicle

May 26 - June 1, 2011

Memorial Day | The Seminole Chronicle honors those who have served.

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Community Calendar 2Police Blotter 2Your Community 6Sports 7Lifestyles 10Movies 11Viewpoints 12Classifieds 13Sudoku and Crossword 13

INDEX

ISOLATED T-STORMSHigh: 88° | Low: 71°

Saturday: Isolated thunderstorms.Highs in the upper 80s and lows inthe low 70s. Winds from ESE at 10mph.Sunday: Partly cloudy, chance of athunderstorm. Highs in the upper80s and lows in the low 70s. Windsfrom E at 10 mph.

Weekend

LifestylesPlaying some laxoutside the schoolLocal lacrosse clinic gives younggirls a chance to learn propertechnique.

■ SEE A6

SportsTrinity Prep starthrows down While recovering from a knee injury,Natalie Nehme imparts herknowledge in training.

■ SEE A8

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Friday

By Jessica J. SaggioTHE CHRONICLE

Pension plans are changing for city employ-ees in Winter Springs, and with the changebrings higher employee contribution and newstandards that willaffect the calculationof money distrib-uted upon retire-ment.

In a vote passedby the city commis-sion last week,changes to the city’scurrent pension planwere made when a$450,000 gap infunding was discov-ered by the city’sactuary.

Currently, thecity spends about$2.5 million a year inpension plans,which is a numbertoo high to retainover time, WinterSprings MayorCharles Lacey said.

The changesincluded an increaseof employee contri-bution from 3 per-cent to 5 percent anda reduction of bene-fits, which will gointo effect at thestart of the next fis-cal year in August.

Likewise, newemployees brought into the city will be restrict-ed to a defined contribution pension plan, withthe exception of police officers.

“The primary change that the commissionapproved was to take new employees who comeinto the city, and put them in a defined contribu-

WinterSpringsrevampspensions

By Monique ValdesTHE CHRONICLE

It’s no secret: Onlinedating can be dangerous.

A young local woman,whose name and age wereredacted from policereports, found that outwhen she met up withAaron Daniel Floyd, 22, ofOviedo, for their seconddate on May 14.

Floyd allegedly rapedher in his apartment,according to the policereport. Floyd and theyoung woman metthrough the popular dat-ing website Match.com.

Floyd, aUniversityof CentralF l o r i d aengineer-ing stu-dent, wasc h a r g e dwith sexualbattery and

was being held on a $1,000bond.

The two had beenexchanging emails aftermeeting through the site,and according to thereport, the victim saidsome of them made heruncomfortable becauseFloyd asked her sexuallybased questions.

Changes reduce overtimestandard, pension multiplier

Glass Slipper Cakery provides Oviedo with unique cakes

A local attack makesfor a cautionary tale

■ Please see PENSIONS | A2

By Michelle DendyTHE CHRONICLE

For decades, SeminoleCounty students haveeagerly awaited the two-day field trip to theSeminole CountyEnvironmental StudiesCenter for the coveted“Hydric Hammock investi-gation” — more common-ly known as the Mud Walk.

But with budget cutsthreatening to shut downthe educational center per-manently and more than$120,000 needed by June 10to keep the center running,future students may notget the opportunity toexplore Florida’s habitat.

Local residents of all

ages have taken saving thebeloved Mud Walk intotheir own hands with theSave the Mud Walkfundraising campaign.

“We can’t just let it gowithout a fight,” said PatBurkett, one of thefounders of theEnvironmental StudiesCenter. Burkett worked atthe center for 29 years andretired five years ago, butnow she devotes her timeto saving the center’s pro-grams in the Friends ofSeminole CountyEnvironmental StudiesCenter organization.

The Seminole CountyEnvironmental StudiesCenter, located inLongwood, has been a sta-

ple for science educationsince 1977. The center is aSeminole County PublicSchools facility in SoldiersCreek Park, which is partof Spring HammockNature Preserve.

Seminole students try to save Mud Walk

Online datinghas its dangers

By Laura Newberry THE CHRONICLE

The well-known adage“you first eat with youreyes” is an understatementwhen considering the cus-tom cakes made at GlassSlipper Cakery.

Located conveniently inthe Oviedo Marketplace,Glass Slipper Cakery is asmall, charming store thatspecializes in desserts for alloccasions, and is mostknown for its out-of-the-ordinary cakes made rightin the shop.

“I love the creativity inthis job,” said PrudenceManolov, the owner of GlassSlipper Cakery. “We nevermake the same cake twice,so every week is a new chal-lenge.”

Glass Slipper Cakery’sselection of dessertsincludes delectables such astheir tiramisu cupcakes,cream horns, and made-from-scratch cannolis.Cupcakes are available dailywhile cakes are made toorder, crafted specially forthe needs of each individualcustomer.

One of Manolov’s recentcake creations has made itto her favorites list.

“A girl brought me a pic-ture from a textbook of across-section of a heart toreplicate as a cake. She sub-mitted the final product as a

science fair project,”Manolov said. “Part of mylove of this career is when Ihave a cake to make and it’snot even a cake yet, it’s adrawing on a piece of paper.I can literally make it cometo life.”

Only a few years ago,Manolov was employed as abuyer for two major retail-ers. She decided to take abreak from business to stayhome with her young chil-

■ Please see ONLINE DATING | A4■ Please see MUD WALK | A5

‘The primarychange that thecommissionapproved was totake newemployees whocome into thecity, and putthem in a definedcontributionpension plan.’

Charles Lacey, Winter Springs mayor

THEIR WORDS

Floyd

Michelle Dendy | The ChronicleSAVE THE WALK: Students arefundraising to save the Mud Walk.

cupcakesthem eat

Let

Photos by Laura Newberry | The ChronicleCUPCAKE HEAVEN: Cupcakes on display, top, and cupcakes ready to be iced,above, at the Glass Slipper Cakery in Oviedo.

■ Please see CUPCAKE | A4

A2 | SeminoleChronicle.com | May 26-June 1, 2011

POLICE BLOTTERMichael David Adkinson, 44, of the 1000 block of Laurel Oaks

Court, Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 18 and charged with aggravated assault anddischarging a firearm.

Christopher Thomas Anischko, 23, of the 3700 block ofCollingwood Lane, Oviedo, was booked into the John E. PolkCorrectional Facility on May 19 and charged with driving underthe influence.

Jonathan Gabriel Aquino, 22, of the 100 block of Holiday Lane,Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 19 and charged with possession of marijuana,possession of drug equipment and tampering with evidence.

Wanda Denise Armstrong, 56, of the 1600 block of Bodkin Lane,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 15 and charged with aggravated battery.

Bernard Carroll Barbour II, 22, of the 1900 block of SpringAvenue, Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 22 and charged with driving under the influence.

Brian Louis Baxter, 43, of the 500 block of E. Main Street,Geneva, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 22 and charged with a non-moving traffic violation.

Benjamin Franklin Behnke, 20, of the 4200 block of SpoletoCircle, Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 21 and charged with larceny.

Walter Jier Bermudez, 40, of the 2900 block of Ashford Park,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 20 and charged with driving under the influence and hit andrun.

Ryan Merton Cox, 18, of the 100 block of 3rd Court, Chuluota,was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on May 22and charged with driving under the influence and possession ofalcohol by a person under 21,

Raul Castro Rosa, 41, of the 1000 block of Laurel Oaks Court,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 18 and charged with battery.

Sean Allen Conner, 25, of the 400 block of Lancer Drive, WinterSprings, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 19 and charged with a non-moving traffic violation.

Rayfield Cornelius Daniels, 35, of the 700 block of SherwoodDrive, Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. PolkCorrectional Facility on May 19 and charged with battery.

Erin Ann Gillette, 40, of the 900 block of Gazell Trail, WinterSprings, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 23 and charged with battery.

Patricia M. Hoffman, 45, of the 400 of Boxwood Circle, WinterSprings, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 21 and charged with larceny.

Stephanie Hubsch, 27, of the 100 block of Thunberg Cove,Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 23 and charged with violation of probation.

Joseph Joiner, 43, of the 800 block of S. Lake Jessup Avenue,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 24 and charged with driving under the influence.

Gregory James Lapinne, 24, of the 900 block of Tuskawilla Road,Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 20 and charged with a non-moving trafficviolation.

Kari Ann Lindahl, 21, of the 1900 block of Summer Club Drive,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 20 and charged with intimidation and property damage.

Alex Michael Lindsey, 22, of the 400 block of Citrus Avenue,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 20 and charged with driving under the influence.

Andrea Martha McClung, 24, of the 3700 block of BeacontreePlace, Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 20 and charged with possession of marijuanapossession of drug equipment.

Roger James McCollum, 40, of the 1000 block of Pegel Court,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 19 and charged with aggravated assault, contributing to thedelinquency of a minor, drug possession and possession of drugequipment.

Raymond Patrick McHugh, 47, of the 700 block of Thistle Place,Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 22 and charged with battery.

Robert Michael Mecannic, 32, of the 100 block of E. TradewindsRoad, Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. PolkCorrectional Facility on May 21 and charged with drug possessionand a non-moving traffic violation.

Jennifer Lynn Newbold, 42, of the 2000 block of Squirrel Run,Geneva, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 24 and charged with battery.

Shannon Lee Plesh, 35, of the 1000 block of Chokecherry Drive,Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 20 on an out-of-county warrant.

Luis Antonio Ramirez, 23, of Pam View Court, Winter Springs,was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on May 19and charged with larceny.

Albert Michael Sprouse, 47, of the 600 block of Clearn Court,Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 19 and charged with drug possession, drugtrafficking, possession of drug equipment and tampering withevidence.

John Charles Stuart, 61, of the 7200 block of Winding LakeCircle, Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 20 and charged with larceny.

Kassandra Tasch, 26, of the 700 block of Edgemon Avenue,Winter Springs, was booked into the John E. Polk CorrectionalFacility on May 23 on a Seminole County warrant.

Jason Loren Wilfong, 23, of the 200 block of Cellery Circle,Oviedo, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility onMay 20 and charged with 10 counts of possession of obscenematerial.

tion pension plan,” Laceysaid. “It’s similar to a 401kin the marketplace. When aemployee put a certainamount in, the city matchesthat.”

The changes also calledfor a reduction in the multi-plier used to calculate pen-sions upon retirement.Previously, the city hadused a multiplier of 3, how-ever now that number hasbeen lowered to 2.5.

The multiplier is used inthe equation to determinehow much a personreceives for their pension.For instance, if a cityemployee has contributed30 years of service, those 30years are multiplied by thenew figure of 2.5.

That number is thenmultiplied as a percent bythe average salary that per-son earned. Therefore, if aperson earns an average of$60,000 a year, their pen-sion on the new standardwill be $45,000 comparedwith the $54,000 it would

have been before the multi-plier was reduced.

However, the new stan-dard is not retroactive, sothis change will only affectyears served in the future.

Additionally, a new stan-dard was also applied toovertime hours. The com-mission approved for up to150 hours of overtime thatcan be applied to a pensionplan. Florida law states thatcities can apply up to 300hours of overtime, butLacey said the commissionsettled on 150 despiterequests from city employ-ees.

“We wanted them to dothe maximum up to 300hours,” said Corey Green,former Winter Springsunion president.“Firefighters are common-ly forced to work overtime,and it’s a mandatory over-time issue. I just felt that ifyou’re forced to work it, itshould be pensionable.”

However, Green said heis happy overall with thechanges and thankful thatthe city still has a pensionprogram in place.

“Obviously they had tomake some changesbecause they didn’t feel itwas funded high enough,and they’re not going toraise taxes to do that,” saidGreen, who attended meet-ings with the commissionto discuss proposedchanges. “They’ve madesome moderate changeswhen they could have gonea lot more severe, and I’mgrateful they didn’t.”

As the time approachesto organize the 2011-12 fiscalbudget, Lacey said that thepension program repre-sented such a large portionof the budget that it had tobe addressed before thebudget could even be prop-erly formed. He said thechallenge of altering theprogram was a three-prongproblem. One prong had toaddress employee satisfac-tion, while the two otherprongs had to address long-term and short-term budgetconcerns.

“Our primary goal is tomake the plan affordable sowe can sustain that plan,”Lacey said. “It was very

important for the employ-ees to keep their pensionplans the way they wereand not make them contri-bution only. We had tomake these adjustments orwe wouldn't be able to con-tinue the current pensionplan long-term.”

Green said that some ofthese problems were due toold figures being used thatindicated stronger financialsustainability in the past.He said that since the newactuary was put in place,the city has discovered thatthe figures were not beingcalculated properly, leavingthe budget in a bind. At onepoint, the figures indicatedthat the plan was 77 per-cent funded, which wasdrastically reduced to 59percent funded. However,he also explained the cityhas taken a hard hit in therecession along with therest of the country.

“Its a fairly young plan,”Green said. “We had threeterrible years in the econo-my just recently, so invest-ments bombed out just likeeveryone else’s.”

General Manager ........................................Raymond G. [email protected]

News Editor ........................................................Jessica J. [email protected]

Sports Editor ................................................................Erika [email protected]

Reporters......................Jeff Gardenour, Laura Newberry,Amy KD Tobik

Photographers............................................................Ed Ruping

Advertising Director..........................Adam [email protected]

Copy Editors .................................................. Padrick Brewer, Marisa Ramiccio

Production ................................................. Joseph Mangabat, Mark Thorstenson

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COMMUNITY CALENDAROngoing events

On the “Heard in Central Florida”portal at www.cmfmedia.org, listento two new features recorded at theOviedo-Winter Springs RegionalChamber of Commerce luncheons.First, an update on local economicdevelopment initiatives from OviedoMayor Persampiere, Winter Springsmayor Charles Lacey, former mayorJohn Bush and John Jones of LandDesign Innovations Inc.

Also, don’t miss a special presen-tation on bullying in the publicschools with education experts, theSeminole County Sheriff’s Officeand special guest Jaclyn RaulersonMiss Florida 2010 on her experiencesas a victim of bullying.

Continuing on CMF PublicMedia’s “Central Florida Matters”portal:

— Meet the new SeminoleCounty manager James Hartmann.

-- Learn what happened to theSEMATECH project proposed forWinter Springs.

— Hear lively stories of the earlyhistory of Winter Park reenacted by5 community leaders.

— Listen to Seminole CountySchool Board member TinaCalderone’s comments on the strug-gle to cope with cuts in state fundingfor schools.

Mother’s Hands Teen MotherSupport Group, a support group forteenage mothers who are pregnantor have children, is held on the firstThursday of every month from 6p.m.–7:45 p.m. in the conferenceroom of the East Branch Library, 310Division Street, Oviedo.

Contact Tricia Poole at 407-529-7142 [email protected] formore information.

There is no cost.

The Oviedo City Council regu-larly meets the first and thirdMonday of each month at 6:30 p.m.at City Hall, 400 Alexandria Blvd.The public is encouraged to attend.For more information about theCity Council or other city-spon-sored events, visit www.city-ofoviedo.net.

The City of Winter Springs holdsits regular City Commission meet-ing on the second and fourthMonday of each month beginning at5:15 p.m. The meetings are open tothe public. For more information,visit www.winterspringsfl.org.

The Oviedo Historical Societywill open its doors to the public onthe first Saturday of each month. Ondisplay will be much of Oviedo’s

rich history, including informationand exhibits on the earliest Oviedosettlers and various landmarksthroughout the city.

The Lawton House, located at200 West Broadway, will be openfrom 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more infor-mation, visit www.oviedoohs.com.

The Vine Outreach Thrift Storewill hold a free lunch and grocerygiveaway to those who need it. TheVine is located at 98 W. BroadwayStreet, Oviedo. Lunch will be servedfrom 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on the lastSaturday of each month. For moreinformation, please call 407-971-8135.

Coffee Talk, a group for seniormen and women ages 55 and up,hosts a weekly meeting onTuesdays at 10. Meetings are held atthe Barnie’s Coffee on 1016Lockwood Blvd. #170, Oviedo.Attendance is free and open to thepublic. For more information,please call 407-977-2484.

Host families are needed forexchange students for the 2011-2012school year. Choose a student fromBrazil, Japan, Thailand, China, HongKong, Australia, Germany, Italy,Hungary, Sweden, and more. Actnow to meet school registrationdeadlines.

Contact Betsy at 321-277-7198 orvisit www.afsusa.org.

Happening this week

Saturday, May 28Join the First Baptist Church for

their 9th Annual Greater Oviedo 5KRun on Saturday, May 28, beginningat 7:30 a.m. with the children’s runto follow. The 5K run will benefitthe FBO Sports Outreach program,which provides scholarships forchildren in the area who are inneed.

For more information, please call407-365-3484, ext. 148, [email protected] or visitwww.fbcoviedo.org/5k.

Upcoming Events

Friday, June 3The deadline to participate in or

register as a sponsor or volunteerfor the Special Olympics Bowl-a-Thon 2011 is today.

To participate, volunteers mustraise $20 from sponsorships. Lateregistration lasts though June 10.

Volunteers are needed from 2-5:30 p.m. to assist with registration,food handout, monitoring the lanesand the raffle and handing outprizes.

Sponsorship levels range from

$100-500 and packages include thecompany name on event T-shirts, arecognition certificate or plaque,the opportunity to volunteer at theBowl-a-Thon and more.

For more information, pleasecontact Ranwa Nin El-khoury [email protected] or 407-929-7254 orvisit the website atwww.SpecialOlympicsSeminoleCounty.org.

The UCF Marriage and FamilyResearch Institute is hosting a cou-ples workshop for couples who aremarried with children. The work-shop will cover coping techniquesand communication skills over atwo-day period. The first workshopis from 6-9 p.m. on June 3 and thesecond workshop is from 10 a.m.- 4p.m. Both workshops will be held inthe Teaching Academy on UCF’smain campus. For more informationor to RSVP, please call 407-823-1748or visit www.mfri.ucf.edu.

Saturday, June 11Oviedo Pop Warner is holding

football and cheerleading registra-tion at the Oviedo High SchoolCommons Building. Returning play-ers can register between 8 and 9 a.m.and new players can register from 9-11 a.m. Age groups from age 5 to 15have availability. For more informa-tion, visitwww.oviedopopwarner.org.

Sunday, June 12Special Olympics Seminole

County is hosting the Bowl-a Thon2011 from 3-5 p.m. at AMFAltamonte Lanes, 280 Douglas Ave.There will be two hours of bowling,music, surprise guests, prizes, a cos-tume contest and more. Bowlerswill receive a prize for every strikeas well as a ticket in the raffle draw-ing. This year’s goal is $10,000 forthe athletes.

For more information, pleasecontact Ranwa Nin El-khoury [email protected] or 407-929-7254 orvisit the website atwww.SpecialOlympicsSeminoleCounty.org.

Sunday, June 25-26The Lake Monroe Amateur Radio

Society is hosting its Amateur RadioField Day 2011 at Central Winds Parkfrom 2 p.m. Saturday to 2 p.m.Sunday. The event is free to all and ispart of a nationwide emergencyexercise.

Community leaders and variousscout troops will be visiting. Formore information, please contactNorm Lauterette [email protected].

From PENSIONS | A1

Changes go into effect in August

| A3May 26-June 1, 2011 | SeminoleChronicle.com

By Jessica J.SaggioTHE CHRONICLE

With divorce rates onthe rise throughoutAmerica, it’s no joke thateveryday stress can put awedge between a couple.

Throw a child into themix and a less-than-satisfy-ing paycheck, and you mayfind yourself in an evenmore stressful situation.

Stress can be a deter-mining factor when itcomes to a healthy mar-riage, which is part of thereason why the Universityof Central Florida’sMarriage and FamilyResearch Institute is host-ing a free workshop thataims to teach couples howto have fun and enjoy oneanother despite stress andeveryday pressures.

The event will be heldJune 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.and June 4 from 10 a.m. to 4p.m.

Childcare and a meal

will be provided duringeach workshop.

“Couples are so busyand bogged down withtheir schedules that what’snice about the workshop isits dedicated time for thecouple to work solely ontheir relationship,” saidRyan Carlson, the insti-tute’s associate director.“It’s an opportunity for acouple to put their rela-tionship first. We sacrificeour relationships to meetthe daily demands we haveor for our kids, and theirony is when we sacrificethe quality time we have,we’re actually sacrificingwhat we can offer ourkids.”

The workshop willcover everything fromcommunication to expec-tations, anger manage-ment, effective listeninghabits and conflict resolu-tion.

Two facilitators willlead the event, and couples

will home in on their skillsthrough breakout sessions.While the workshops doaddress various issues,Carlson emphasized that itwill be very different thana typical couples’ counsel-ing session.

“Couples participate inmarriage and relationshipeducation and it is a littlebit different than couplescounseling because it’s

offered in a group setting,”Carlson said. “It’s a skills-based workshop, so cou-ples learn tools and tips toresolve conflict in a healthyway.”

The only qualificationsfor the workshop are thatthe couple must be mar-ried and have at least onechild younger than 18 liv-ing at home or be expect-ing a child.

The workshop is part ofthe Together Project, aUCF study led by associateprofessor Andrew Dairethat targets low to moder-ate income families.

The Together Project isa federally funded programthat targets a demographicthat hasn’t had a lot ofresearch performed on it.

“There’s a lot ofresearch that’s been donewith marriage educationwith middle class, whitecouples, but not a lot ofresearch has been done forcouples who have beenstruggling financially,which in these economictimes is a lot of people,”Carlson said. “We know,based on the research donewith middle-income cou-ples, these programsimprove relationship satis-faction. Couples communi-cate better with each otherand they’re resolving con-flict in better ways.”

Couples who partici-

pate in the workshop areautomatically enrolled inthe Together Project studyand will be asked to meetwith facilitators and fill outquestionnaires before andafter. The couples will alsobe invited back to a rela-tionship booster workshopin August that is also partof the study.

Interested couples canenroll at www.mfri.ucf.eduor call 407-823-1748. Thereis no cap on enrollment.

For individuals or cou-ples who are not marriedor have a non-traditionallifestyle, Carlson said theinstitute offers a “CouplesCafe” on the UCF maincampus every first andfourth Friday of the month,but are not part of theTogether Project study.

“Anybody can attendthe Couples Cafe whetherit’s a gay couple, a legallyseparated couple, a couplewith no kids. Anyone canattend them.”

By Taylor TillmanTHE CHRONICLE

Here’s a refreshing ideagoing against the grain ofthe recent trend of corpo-rate greed and excessthroughout America andthe rest of the world: Awidely known corporationis giving away millions eachyear in grants to the most“refreshing” cause submit-ted around the world.

The Pepsi RefreshProject is currently in itsbeginning stages of votingfor the “most refreshing”idea in the categories of artsand music, communityinvolvement and educa-tion.

Have an idea that needsa grant to make the com-munity better? Or perhaps

a charity that could usesome extra funding?Submit it to Pepsi atwww.refresheverything.com and if it receives enoughvotes from the public, itcould receive a grant ashigh as $50,000.

As organizations scram-ble all over the country tosubmit their ideas, a causeis brewing right here inSeminole County.

My One School Inc., is alocal organization foundedby Besa Kosova in 2008.Before starting My OneSchool, Kosova was heavilyinvolved in the communityaround Orlando.

What spawned her ideafor the cause was seeing theextreme budget cuts madeto teachers’ salaries. Sherealized that teachers were

often spending their ownmoney to provide materialsfor their classrooms, suchas books for the children toread. Meanwhile, unwantedbooks, used books and oldbooks were being thrownaway after use and there aremillions of children andadults in the U.S. that areunable to read or afford abook.

That’s where My OneSchool helps out the illiter-ate. The goals of My OneSchool, according to itswebsite, include “utiliz[ing]books to promote literacyworldwide, identify[ing]with children from helplesscircumstances and con-tribut[ing] to their confi-dence enhancement, sup-port[ing] children in activeschooling by providing

love-filled backpacks, andempower[ing] childrenfrom rural areas across theglobe.”

This year, Kosova sub-mitted a proposal to thePepsi Refresh program toreceive a grant of $25,000for her literacy campaign.

“I thought it would be agreat idea to submit thegrant in order to ease theburden of some costs theteachers face today,”Kosova said.

Currently, My OneSchool is 10 places awayfrom becoming a finalist inthe first round of votingtaking place through May31. My One School is in 25thplace and needs to move upto 15th to receive the$25,000 grant.

If My One School wins

the grant, Kosova’s goal isto provide at least 45 teach-ers with $50 worth of bookseach.

“The grant does allowme to spend about $2,000in advertising, if I do get thegrant,” Kosova said.“However, if I do get theattention it needs from thelocal media, I believe I

won’t spend any money onadvertising and will use thewhole grant for the total of50 teachers.”

Vice President of MyOne School IntesarTerkawi said, “My OneSchool knows the greatneed of teachers to get thebooks, and be able to helptheir students in return.”

Local charity competes for grant

‘Couples are so busy and boggeddown with their schedules thatwhat’s nice about the workshop is it’sdedicated time for the couple to worksolely on their relationship.’

Ryan CarlsonAssociate director,

Central Florida’s Marriage and Family Research Institute

THEIR WORDS

Workshop to address issues of married life


The report said the twostill kept in contact viaemail and text messaginguntil they went on theirfirst two dates.

A representative fromMatch.com released astatement on the incidentsaying, “Match.com is afantastic service, havingchanged the lives of mil-lions of people throughthe relationships and mar-riages it has given rise to,but people have to exer-cise common sense andprudence with peoplethey have just met,whether on an online dat-ing service, through anacquaintance, at a bar orby any other means.”

When it comes toonline dating, that mes-sage is the general consen-sus as far as safety goes.

As online datingbecomes a more popularoutlet to meet people,tragedies can become alltoo common.

But some researchshows it remains a some-what ideal way to start aserious, committed,healthy relationship.

A study of more than11,000 people byMatch.com and researchfirm Chadwick MartinBailey showed that oneout of six marriages in2009 were between peo-ple who met through anonline dating site.

But some experts saythere are ways to combatthe dangers of online dat-ing, if people, especiallyyoung women just enter-ing the dating scene, exer-cise a mixture of commonsense and caution.

Stacey Pearson, execu-tive director of UCF’scounseling center, saidthat sometimes a socialinclination to be nice getsin the way of what is con-sidered common sense.

“I think oftentimes aswomen, in our effort to benice, that we don’t payattention to our sixthsense,” she said.

And paying attention tothat sixth sense can beeasier when meetings are

done in public.Lt. James Clark of the

Seminole County Sheriff’sOffice said some impor-tant precautions for publicintroductions of peoplewho have met online areto meet in a busy, publicplace while using yourown transportation.

“Don’t go to a non-pub-lic place on the first orsecond date,” he said.“Don’t be so trusting ofthe impression you get ofsomeone over the Internetor phone. Make your ownjudgment. Acting on situa-tions that make youuncomfortable will be eas-ier if you’re in public andhave your own form oftransportation.

Both Clark and Pearsonrecommended precau-tions like telling familyand friends where you’regoing and having someonecall you during the date tomake sure things are run-ning smoothly.

Clark says he has oftenfound in sexual assaultcases — regardless of theaccused and accuser met— that the victim didn’ttrust her gut.

“Rape victims usuallyhad that instinct and didn’tact on it. We (SeminoleCounty Sheriff’s Office)would say to people that ifyou have that bad feeling,get out of there,” he said.“It’s really a lot of com-mon sense things thatpeople know, like lockingyour doors at night.People know this, but noteveryone does it.”

One thing Clark stress-es, though, is that it isnever the victim’s fault.

“To be honest, thesethings happen and, unfor-tunately, people will takeadvantage of these servic-es (dating websites),” hesaid. “The victim should-n’t be criminalized. Thatperson (perpetrator)would have found anothervictim somewhere, notjust on Match.com. Thereare bad guys out there, andpeople need to be vigi-lant.”

Doing a little back-ground check on some-one’s criminal history mayhelp, but Clark says there’s

more to it than that.“You can’t always rely

on background checks,” hesaid. “It takes times to real-ly know someone andtrust has to be earnedthrough time.”

Pearson agrees.“I think that common

sense is most important;background checks arestill just a tool,” she said.

Match.com wasn’tavailable for comment on

whether they do their ownbackground checks onusers, but their websitehas tips and suggestionson how to be safe fromscammers and question-able people.

One thing that LauraBravo, a mental healthcounselor who specializesin victims of crime orabuse, said she cannotstress enough is theimportance of taking

things slowly when youmeet someone online.

“It is nearly impossibleto keep up a facade for 6-12months,” she said. “If yougive it time, you’ll see thered flags.”

She finds that for manyyoung women, hours ofchatting online can lead toa false sense of securityleading to women freelygive out information, liketheir address and phone

number, too soon.Bravo said that while

she has seen many successstories of dating websites,she’s also had clients whobecame victims of abusefrom people met online.She said she started seeingthese cases 10 years ago,when chat rooms becamepopular.

“I strongly encouragepeople to withhold thatinfo. Time is key,” she said.

From ONLINE DATING | A1

Experts urge users to be wary, exercise caution

dren, and inadvertently fellinto the world of cakeartistry.

“I really had no back-ground in cakes, but I hada love for art and sculpturewhen I was growing up,”Manolov said. “One daymy mom asked if I’d like totake a cake decoratingclass, and I said ‘Sure,sounds like fun!’ I had twolittle kids at the time so itwas a good way to get outof the house.”

The cake-making mad-ness escalated from there.

“Once I got into thecakes and decided that thiswas what I was going to dowith my life, I started mak-ing cakes for everybody —no matter what party Iwent to, no matter where Iwent, whether they need-ed a cake or not, I wasmaking them,” saidManolov.

Manolov began herbusiness from home andbecame increasingly morewell-known in the area forher custom desserts andkeen eye for artistic detailin all of her creations.

The Glass SlipperCakery opened its store-front in September 2009and has since been wow-ing Oviedo residents withedible art.

Manolov bakes all ofthe Glass Slipper Cakerydesserts in-shop with thehelp of three other cakedecorators.

“They all have pastryarts degrees — they wentto school for this while I’ma self-taught sort of gal.They do most of the bak-ing and a lot of the finish-ing,” Manolov said.

Danielle Walz, whoManolov refers to as her“right-hand man” in thebakery, has been with theGlass Slipper Cakery sinceits opening. APennsylvania native, sheoriginally worked at thebakery for a temporaryinternship, and loved theshop so much that shedecided to stay. Walzmoved to Orlando afterworking only a fewmonths with Manolov.

“We all get along; wehave a friendship — it’s notlike your typical job. Wecan all go to work and havea good time,” Walz said.

Although Walz’ enthu-siasm for the bakery’sfriendly ambience is obvi-ous, her true love is the

product.“A lot of other bakeries

limit themselves -- theycan only do certain things.We can create anything,sculpt anything, designany cake you could everthink of,” Walz said. “Andwe do it for a great price!”

While prices vary, their25-serving buttercreamcakes start at $29.98 — asteal, Walz said, comparedto the non-custom sheetcakes you can buy atPublix or Winn-Dixie.

In addition to the limit-less possibilities of theircake aesthetics, the GlassSlipper Cakery also givestheir customers the oppor-tunity to pick their owncake filling. Cake fillingsinclude raspberry, straw-berry, vanilla bavarian, andtheir most popular, choco-late ganache.

Lisa Vasquez, a recentLe Cordon Bleu graduate,has been with the GlassSlipper Cakery since lastsummer and enjoys theintimate nature of thesmall business.

“Our customers comein needing different things.We have some people thatwant something small andsimple and some peoplethat want crazy things, sowe’re good at making a dif-ferent range of cakes forpeople,” Vasquez said.

According to Manolov,much of their time in thestore is spent brainstorm-ing new ideas for dessertflavors, especially cup-cakes.

“When the seasonschange, we start to think ofchanging flavors,”Manolov said. “It’s alwaysa sort of testing ground —

I come up with these cup-cakes, put them out thereand see if people lovethem.”

And they do. NicoleSchunk, a St. Cloud wed-ding planner, sends all ofher clients to Glass SlipperCakery for their weddingcakes. Her affinity for thebakery began whenSchunk had her own wed-ding cakes made byManolov.

“The people who weregoing to make my cakescalled two weeks beforemy wedding and said theycouldn’t do it. Prudenceended up making them forme no problem — she did-n’t care about the lastminute situation,” Schunksaid.

According to Schunk,Manolov not only madethe cakes on short noticeand delivered them to St.Cloud personally, but alsoexceeded her artisticexpectations for the cakes.

“The only thing that sheknew about my weddingwas that it was vintageinspired. I gave her cre-ative freedom,” Schunksaid. “The cakes were outof this world, I couldn’thave been happier.”

The buzz around thebakery goes beyond localcake enthusiasts. GlassSlipper Cakery was namedin the Top 200 companiesfor 2010 in the “LeadingMoms in Business”Category throughStartupNation.com.

Thousands of votes byhappy customers had to becast in order for the busi-ness to qualify for such anhonor.

Manolov was also

selected to accompany thewinner of Bravo’s TopChef Masters, MarcusSamuelsson, on Buick andGMC’s 2010 DiscoveryTour. Manolov spent aweekend as Orlando’s arti-san representative, speak-ing to the Discovery Tourguests about her business.

Glass Slipper Cakery isfurther making a mark onthe Oviedo communitywith its Cake Academy,located five shops downfrom the main bakery. Atthis location, Prudenceand her team of bakersteach cake decorating topeople of all ages, includ-ing the camp for childrenthat begins in early Juneand will run through theentire summer.

According to the bak-ery’s website, all suppliesare included for the class-es, including hands-ondecorating tools such asfondant and pre-bakedcakes.

“We also have classesthat work around differentschedules, like home-schooled kids and girlscouts,” Manolov said.“They come in to get theirbaking badges!”

According to Manolov,the business has doneincreasingly well since itsopening in the OviedoMarketplace.

Manolov hopes toeventually open morestores in Seminole andOrange counties.

The bakery is openMonday through Saturday,10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For moreinformation on desserts orto place an order for acake, visit www.glassslip-percakery.com.

From CUPCAKE | A1

Owner picked for Buick 2010 tour

Laura Newberry | The ChronicleCUPCAKE MAMA: Owner Prudence Manolov and her cupcakes at the Glass Slipper Cakery in Oviedo.


“First of all, let’s be clearthat the Mud Walk is notjust about getting muddy,”Burkett said. “The programis highly educational andit’s something that the kidsremember for the rest oftheir lives. I know 40-year-olds that talk about theirday at the Mud Walk.”

The programs aredivided up into fifth gradeand first grade. The fifth-grade program consists ofa “wet day” and a “dry day.”On the dry day, studentsuse compasses to find theirway through the woodsand to learn about theplants and animals of theOak-Palmetto Scrub, PineForest and MixedHardwood Hammockhabitats.

Students also learn howthe Native Americans usedthe environment in theirdaily lives and make theirown “wood cookie” medal-lion out of forest materials.

“It’s a really excellenthands-on educationalexperience for them,”Burkett said. “With theprogram we have, it’ssomething that the kidscannot learn in school —they can’t go get it from abook or a video.”

On “wet day,” studentslearn about the geology ofthe area, including the landformations, soil changesand the carbon cycle.Students then hike half amile along Osprey Trail tothe Hydric Hammock —the Mud Walk. They alsolearn about animal speciesin Crow’s Creek.

The first-graders com-plete a one-day introduc-tory program consistingof a nature walk and learnabout Florida’s wildlifeand plant species. Bothprograms allow studentsto visit the NaturalHistory Museum to studysome of Florida’s nativeanimals.

“As for a perspectivefrom a former student thatparticipated in the MudWalk field trips in fourthand fifth grade — thoseones were definitely the

best field trips there were,”said Paige Milch, a LakeBrantley High alumna andfreshman at the Universityof Florida. Milch was origi-nally involved in fundrais-ing for the center’s fundingproblems in 2008. “I’llalways remember trekkingthrough the mud and get-ting to hold the snakes andcritters at the StudiesCenter.”

Milch agrees that thefield trip is not all about themud.

“Of course the mud wasfun, but all the things welearned about nature andthe environment stick withyou,” she said. “I grew upalways being outside andwith nature, but for somany kids in SeminoleCounty, that’s the first timethey are exposed to nature,and that experience makesthem love it.”

The EnvironmentalStudies Center first raninto funding problemsback in 2008 when schoolbudgets were cut. But theSeminole County SchoolBoard and local fundrais-ers were able to keep thecenter open with oneteacher and two part-timeassistants.

“We had to cut back andwe’ve been cutting back foryears,” Burkett said.“When we had the last bigbudget cut two years agowe saw this one comingand we knew it was goingto be a tough year. TheEnvironmental Center hasalways been the ones thatmake do with what we’vegot.”

The center had minimalamenities, such as no airconditioning or comput-ers, until recently.

“The people who workout here have always beenso intent on making surethese kids have these pro-grams,” Burkett said.

The EnvironmentalStudies Center startedcharging students $5 a dayto attend the field trip aftermany years of it being free.

Despite the new fee,more than 10,000 studentsattended the field trips inthe 2009-10 school year,including the two-day

fifth-grade program. The center also used to

have programs for allgrades when they had alarger staff, a larger budgetand fewer schools toattend to, according toBurkett.

Burkett said thefundraisers for Save theMud Walk have variedfrom school competitionsbetween grades, to sellingT-shirts, to selling $2bracelets, to allowing stu-dents to wear hats onFridays.

The EnvironmentalCenter also provides muchmore than the two pro-grams. The staff is avail-able to do on-site presenta-tions at schools.

The Osprey Room isavailable during schoolhours for meetings and isused for the SCPS profes-sional development andthe Super Scientist train-ing.

The Patricia BurkettBuilding and pavilions areopen from 8 a.m. to 3:30p.m. on school days forSeminole County schoolprograms and SoldiersCreek Park is open to thepublic daily from dawn todusk.

“This program is somuch more than just afield trip. TheEnvironmental StudiesCenter provides hands-oninstruction that inspiresstudents and helps themdevelop a true love for sci-ence and discovery,” saidSteve Barnes, president ofSeminole Hub — a mar-keting company that helpsnonprofit organizationsand former director ofSeminole County’s soiland water conservationdistrict. “Dollar for dollar,there isn’t another scienceprogram anywhere in thestate that provides thislevel of interactive learn-ing. It is absolutely criticalthat we save this programfor future generations.”

Donations can be sentto the EnvironmentalStudies Center, 400 E. LakeMary Blvd., Sanford, FL32773. For more informa-tion, visit www.environ-mentalstudiescenter.org.

From MUD WALK | A1

Fees don’t deter visitors

By Jessica J.SaggioTHE CHRONICLE

You’re never fullydressed without a smile,and at Dr. David Lach’soffice in Oviedo, smiles arecontagious.

While a trip to the ortho-dontist may be doomsdayfor a pre-teen terrified ofdental tools and metalwires, it can also be the tripthat changes their lives for-ever, Lach said.

But more often than notmany children acrossSeminole County never getthe chance to experiencethese feelings or orthodon-tic treatment altogether.

With this in mind and aphilanthropic spirit, Lachset out to create a founda-tion that would reach out tostruggling children whoneed orthodontic work.

In doing so, he devel-oped a board of directorsthat would accept applica-tions from needy familiesacross the county whosechildren need orthodonticwork.

The board chose chil-dren to be part of the intro-ductory program that beganin late 2010. The selectionswere made based on finan-cial need, letters of recom-mendation, communityinvolvement and special cir-cumstance.

In the end, the six chil-dren who were chosenwere given a sense of hope,a hope that inspired thename behind the cause: TheSmiles for HopeFoundation.

“What I thought as anorthodontist working in acommunity is that I neededto do something locally,”

Lach said. “Basically, weseek out the individuals inour community that areleast likely to afford treat-ment and we provide treat-ment for them in a very spe-cial way.”

The “special way” Lachtreats his Smiles for Hopepatients is that every eightweeks, the children arepicked up by a limo andbrought to his office, wherethey receive their treatmentaccompanied by a party fea-turing food, a video gametruck and bounce houses.The events are open to allpatients but are hosted tomake the Smiles for Hopechildren feel special, he said.

“We’re influencing chil-dren in their most influen-tial years,” Lach said. “That’swhen their appearancesbecome really important totheir self identity and how

they look is how they'retreated as individuals. Andwhen they look in the mir-ror that’s important as well.We want to sort of level theplaying field for these kids.Give them a real chance andmake them feel special.”

But Lach’s philanthropicheart didn’t originate fromthis program. It’s a trait hehas carried since dentalschool.

During his time at UNCChapel Hill, he started aprogram for students thatallows them to take a trip toMexico to help with anorphanage. Being touchedby the experience, he peti-tioned to make the programpermanent, and since 1987,10 students from the dentalschool have made the tripevery year.

Since then, his spirit hascarried on into the commu-nity and to every person heworks with, said LauraBurk, director of marketingand public relations forLach Orthodontics. She saidon top of being a very funenvironment to work in, it’sa very positive place foremployees and patients.

“He is a genuine philan-thropist,” she said. “He real-ly is. He’s the real deal. He’sa real person who’s kind andgiving.”

As for now, the programonly can treat six children,which would ordinarily costabout $4,000 to $5,000 each.

However, Lach said he ishoping to expand both hisfoundation and facility. Hesaid he hopes in the comingyears to gain more partici-pation from local business-es to help with the partiesand to eventually build astand-alone facility.

For now, he plans ondoubling the number ofchildren treated from six to12 as the resources becomeavailable.

“Our long-term vision isto create a standalone facili-ty that would do nothingbut take care of these chil-

dren on a continual basis,”he said.

However, the foundationis something Lach said hecouldn’t do alone. Areabusinesses have been con-tributing to his efforts as hededicates his time and sup-plies. Businesses such as JeffCiafone’s Game Truck,West Wing Limousine,Giovanni’s Restaurant &Pizzeria, Kiwi FrozenYogurt and Fantastic Samsare just a few that haveaided Lach in his efforts byproviding a service.

He said he hopes to getmore businesses involved astime progresses, but fornow, it’s the importance of asmile that matters most.

Local dentist gives back with service on a smile

Photos courtesy Lach OrthodonticsFIRST CLASS SERVICE: Dr. David Lach works on a patient, top. Above, a Smilesfor Hope patient arrives at Lach’s office in a limo as part of the program.


YOUR COMMUNITY

FOR MORE YOUR COMMUNITY PHOTOS,VISITWWW.FACEBOOK.COM/THESEMINOLECHRONICLE

MR. HISTORIAN: Richard Adicks releases the third edition of his book, whichdetails Oviedo’s history. He put a copy in the recently buried time capsule.

ON THE GO: Geneva Tavern, which hosts a free beer lunch special, is located on State Road 46.CITY BY THE LAKE: Fort Lane Park, which hosts abeautiful view of Lake Harney.

Photos by William Powell | The ChronicleBABE: A miniature pig for sale in Geneva hams it up for the camera.

TIME CAPTURED: Members of the Historical Society pitch in and worktogether to bury the time capsule.

ROCK STARS: A band performs at the Music Fest before the time capsule drop.

OVIEDOFootball

Oviedo will host Seminolein a spring game at 7 p.m.Friday.

The Lions beat Seminole,14-7, in their season openerlast year en route to finishingwith a 9-3 record.

HAGERTYGirls’ tennis

Hagerty finished sixth inthe Class 4A, District 2tournament.

THE MASTER’SACADEMYBoys’ tennis

The Master’s Academyplaced seventh in the Class1A, District 5 tournament.

Girls’ tennisThe Master’s Academy

finished tied for sixth in theClass 1A, District 5tournament.

WINTERSPRINGSFootball

Winter Springs will visitLake Mary for a spring gameat 7 p.m. Friday.

The Bears lost to Lake Mary42-28 in the season finalelast year en route to finishingwith a 5-5 record.

Boys’ tennisWinter Springs finished

fourth in the Class 4A, District2 tournament.

Girls’ tennisWinter Springs placed

seventh in the Class 4A,District 2 tournament.

TRINITY PREPBoys’ tennis

Trinity Prep won the Class1A, District 6 tournament.

The Saints then went on tobeat Daytona Beach FatherLopez 7-0 in a regional first-round match and lost to TheFirst Academy 5-2 in aregional second-roundmatch.

Girls’ tennisTrinity Prep captured the

Class 1A, District 6 title.The Saints then went on to

beat Lake Mary Prep 6-1 in aregional first-round matchand defeated Father Lopez 4-1 in a regional second-roundmatch.

Trinity Prep then finishedtied for third in the statetournament.

LAKE HOWELLBaseball

Lake Howell (23-8) lost toDeltona 8-3 in the Class 6Aregional finals, ending itsseason.

The game twice waspostponed because ofinclement weather.

Boys’ tennisLake Howell finished fifth

in the Class 4A, District 3tournament.

Girls’ tennisLake Howell placed fifth in

the Class 4A, District 3tournament.

THE GENEVASCHOOLBoys’ tennis

The Geneva School finishedfifth in the Class 1A, District 6tournament.

Girls’ tennisThe Geneva School placed

third in the Class 1A, District 6tournament.

— Compiled by Jeff Gardenour

Have a sports eventthat you want to let

everyone knowabout? E-mail it tosports@seminole

chronicle.com or call 407-447-4557

LET US KNOW

KEEPINGSCORE

By Erika EsolaTHE CHRONICLE

Lake Howell 26Lake Brantley 21

Lake Howell scored 20unanswered points in thefourth quarter to secure acome-from-behind springgame victory over LakeBrantley.

It was 21-6 before SilverHawks quarterbackMichael McCoy took overand threw for three touch-downs, leading his team to adramatic victory against thePatriots.

Lake Brantley nearlyscored on the final posses-sion to win the game, butthe Hawks defense did justenough to stop them.

Trinity Prep 28The Villages 21

Trinity Prep’s star run-ning back Ryan Hinkley ranall over the Villages’ defensepaving the way for a 28-21Saints victory over theBuffalo.

Hinkley scored as manytouchdowns as the Villagesdid and ran for 198 yards.Noor Davis, a Stanford com-mit, played in his first gameat the quarterback positionfor the Villages.

Davis, a two-way stand-out who is one of the toplinebackers in the nation,threw for two touchdownsin the losing effort.

The Master’s Academy 14 Life Christian 6;The Master’s Academy 21Cornerstone Academy 0

The Eagles posted two

spring wins at the MastersAcademy Jamboree, as theirdefense held Life Christianand Cornerstone to less than60 yards of total offense.

TMA’s backs provided anice one-two punch, asJames Spencer rushed for 116

Teams shake off rust in spring games

MARTIAL ARTS


“Go for the leg sweep!You could have had itthree times!” “Grab a littlehigher!”

These are commandsNatalie Nehme is used tohearing from her coachwhen she’s in the middleof a judo competition, butthings are different thissummer.

After suffering a devas-tating knee injury, Nehme,a purple belt who hasmedaled in the judo statechampionships and placedin the Junior Olympics, isnow the one giving thecommands.

“For me, it’s easy for meto teach because I knowhow to explain it,” Nehmesaid. “I know what theproblems people are hav-ing because I faced thesame ones as they do. It’seasy for me to explainthings to people, but it’sdifficult sometimes toshow them how to dothings when you’re injuredlike I am.”

Nehme, a 16-year-oldsophomore at Trinity PrepHigh School who letters intrack and golf, has been ajudoka — someone whopractices judo — since shewas 6 years old. She hasbeen training at MetroOrlando Judo Kai, whereshe is now a temporaryteacher, for four yearswith her instructor DougClark.

“Natalie is a very goodjudoka,” Clark said. “She’shad the fortune of trainingwith a lot of talented peo-ple, and she consistentlyplaces in tournaments.She’s medaled in the statechampionships every yearand placed fourth twice inthe Junior Olympics.”

■ Please see JUDO | A8

May 26 - June 1, 2011

Sports

Trinity Prep’sNatalie Nehmeis a judo coachand standout

Top fighter

Photo courtesy Metro Orlando Judo Kai

DOING IT RIGHT: Above,Natalie Nehme chokes anopponent. Right, Nehme

works with students.

Erika Esola | The Chronicle

Ed Ruping | The ChronicleRUNNING HARD: Lake Howell’s senior wide receiver Gianni Martinez works his way past the Lake Brantley defense.

■ Please see SPRING FOOTBALL | A9


While judo isn’t exactlythe most well-known mar-tial art, it was the first tobecome an Olympic sport.Originating in Japan, theobject of judo is to achievean ippon — a point thatwins a match — by eitherthrowing an opponent tothe ground, pinning anopponent, or putting anopponent into a submis-sion hold. Nehme’s spe-cialty is her throws.

“I think groundwork isso boring,” Nehme said. “Imean, I’ll do it if I have to.But I win matches bythrowing people.”

How does a tall, skinnyteenage girl like Nehmethrow opponents (someclose to 100 pounds heav-ier than she is) off theground?

With training. Lots of it.“Every year she goes to

a prestigious judo camp inPennsylvania with some ofthe top judo instructors inthe world, so she has avery good opportunity tosucceed,” Clark said.

It’s been an adjustmentfor Nehme, who is onemonth removed from kneesurgery to repair a tornACL, to not be competing.

She tore her ACL whilesparring with a fellowjudoka at Metro Orlandowho was nearly twice hersize.

“When people see mein my knee brace, they’relike, ‘What happened toyou? Did you hurt it cheer-leading or something?’ ”Nehme joked. “It was theone time I didn’t wear myknee brace, go figure.”

In her full-leg, post-sur-gery knee brace, Nehme ismaking the most of hertime off the mat byinstructing judoka of allages and refereeing at dif-ferent judo tournamentsaround Florida.

“The next step for me isto become a black belt, andin order to do that, you

have to referee and stuff,so I’m getting that out ofthe way now since I’minjured,” Nehme said.“That way, when I’mhealthy, I can focus all ofmy energy on competingso I can move up.”

Nehme expects to beback on the mat trainingby November.

“This year was sup-posed to be my big year forcompetition,” Nehme said.“I was supposed to go tonationals, Pennsylvania,Washington, D.C., theSunshine State Games andthe Junior Olympics. But Iguess [the injury is] kindof good though becausemy knee was always givingme problems so the sur-gery and physical therapywill help me restrengthenit. So now, I’m hoping tocome back stronger thanever.”

While she can’t physi-cally train for her nextjudo competition, instruct-ing has helped Nehmementally prepare. Whenshe’s not busy at physicaltherapy, playing the bass inTrinity Prep’s symphonyor in the Florida YoungArts Orchestra, Nehmemakes the trip multipletimes a week over toMetro Orlando Judo Kai tohelp out.

“She’s tremendouslyhelpful,” Clark said. “Evenwhen she wasn’t injured,Natalie always helped out.She’s very well-rounded,and we’re so fortunate tohave her with our dojo.She’s a very responsibleperson who helps with thekids as well as the adultsand I have complete trustand confidence in her.”

Despite her injury andbusy schedule, Nehme willalways have time for judo.

“That’s what I’m knownfor at school,” Nehme said.“I’m the judo girl. Whenmy friends introduce meto people they say, ‘That’sNatalie, she does judo.’

“I think it’s kind of cool.It’s who I am.”

From JUDO | A7

Despite injury, Natalie Nehme still involved in judo

Photos courtesy Metro Orlando Judo Kai“THE JUDO GIRL”: Above left, Nehme with three-time world champion and Olympic Gold medalist Kose Inoue. Above right, Nehme with her parents at a statetournament. Below right, Nehme practices by throwing her partner in training.

Erika Esola | The ChronicleA PROPER THROW: Natalie Nehme demonstrates to beginning judo students how to perform a throw to achieve an ippon.



Bryan Brown has facedquite a bit of adversity onthe baseball diamond.

First, there were armissues in high school. Then,shortly after he committedto play baseball at theUniversity of CentralFlorida in 2009, theKnights made a coachingchange.

When Brown got tocampus, the new staff hadno idea who he was.

“It kind of sucked in away because I didn’t knowhim (Knights head coachTerry Rooney),” Brownsaid. “He told me when Ifirst got there that I was theonly guy that he hadn’tseen pitch in high school.That stuck in the back ofthe head. But I’m still here,and I’m the only guy leftfrom that class that’s stillhere. Rooney didn’t recruitme, but he has taught me somuch. He knows so muchabout pitching, it’s unreal.”

Brown, a junior at UCF,is an occasional startingpitcher and one of therelief pitchers in thebullpen.

A former standout atWinter Springs HighSchool, Brown has beenthrowing a baseball sincehe could stand up.

“Baseball kind of runs inmy family,” Brown said.“My dad played ball atPrinceton in college andmy grandfather was apitcher. Them and mybrothers got me into it.”

Brown lettered for threeyears at Winter Springs forhead coach Jeff Perez.When he wasn’t pitching,he played first base.

Arguably one of thegreatest pitchers to comeout of Winter Springs high

school, Brown was unde-feated his junior year andthrew three no-hitters hissenior year against teamsin the district.

“He’s a competitor,that’s for sure; that’s one ofthe things that got him towhere he’s at now,” Perezsaid. “He was one of thefew kids in high school thatI have ever coached thatactually knew how to pitch.He’s not out there justthrowing hard, he knowshow to hit his spots andchange speeds and reallymess up a hitter’s timing.We’ve had some talentcome through here, that’s

for sure, but no one hasever touched the three no-hitters. That’s a WinterSprings record.”

It was an adjustment forBrown to transition frombeing the ace in highschool to being a reliever incollege, but Brown hasadjusted well.

“It was difficult for himbecause he was my front-line guy, my starter,” Perezsaid. “And then he went toUCF with a new coach in asituation where coachRooney had never seenhim pitch before. He cer-tainly had to earn hisstripes, but he’s done a

great job. The fact that he’sstill at UCF and getting alot of playing time says alot.”

In his three years atUCF, Brown has improvedevery season.

In 14 appearances thisseason, Brown has posted a2-1 record, a 5.40 ERA andhas only let up one homerun in 103 at-bats.

“Bryan has done a goodjob for us, he’s improved allthree years,” Rooney said.“He’s been a starter, andhe’s been a very goodreliever for us. He com-mands the strike zone withthree pitches and that’s

important.”Part of the reason why

Brown has been able toconsistently improve eachyear is because of his low-key personality, whichBrown says is key to beinga reliever.

Perez, who has been thehead coach at WinterSprings since 2000, saidBrown’s quiet personalitynot only helped him on themound, but also in theclassroom.

“I had him in myAmerican Governmentclass and he was a goodstudent,” Perez said. “He’sa really quiet low-key guy.That really helps him as abaseball player too becausehe can control his emo-tions on the mound.”

The Knights are playingin the Conference USAchampionship tournamentthis week, where Brownwill likely see time as areliever. Pitching in biggames like the C-USAchampionship and stayingcalm in tough situations issomething that Brownthrives on.

“I think being comfort-able here is the mostimportant thing becausebeing here can get a littleoverwhelming,” Brown

said. “I don’t get nervouson the mound in big gameslike a lot of other peopledo, and I love pitching infront of big crowds. It’skey.”

As his junior seasonwraps up, Brown plans onplaying summer leaguebaseball in Virginia in theValley Baseball League forthe Staunton Braves.Previously, Brown hasplayed in the New EnglandCollegiate Baseball Leagueand the Florida CollegiateSummer League.

“I just have to keepthrowing strikes, that’s mygoal,” Brown said.

Brown will look toimprove his game as muchas he can over the summerto become the main reliev-er for the Knights his sen-ior year. If there’s anyonewho knows he can do it, it’sPerez.

“He’s overcome adver-sity. Nobody thought thathe threw hard enough,”Perez said. “Nobodythought he was goodenough to play at UCF. Hehad to deal with a coachingchange his freshman yearand he had to earn hisscholarship. That goes toshow you that persever-ance pays off.”

Former WSHS standout now relieves Knights

yards on nine carries andNick Romero rushed for 48yards and three TDs.

UPCOMING SPRING GAMES

Winter Springs at Lake MaryFriday,7 p.m.

Last time WinterSprings and Lake Marymet, Lake Mary won 42-28.

Seminole at OviedoFriday,7 p.m.

Oviedo and Seminoleboth look to build on theirsuccessful seasons fromlast year into the spring.

The Lions andSeminoles did not playeach other in 2010.

Lyman at HagertyFriday,7 p.m.

Hagerty will play theirfirst game without formerstar quarterback JeffDriskell, who enrolled atFlorida in January.

Hagerty defeatedLyman last season 41-12.

From SPRING FOOTBALL | A7

Lake Howell’s clutch QB McCoy shines

Ed Ruping | The ChronicleTEAM LEADER: Lake Howell’s junior quarterback Michael McCoy threw for three touchdowns in their spring win.

Kathryn Page | Central Florida FutureA SIGH OF RELIEF: After overcoming obstacles, former Winter Springs star and current UCF pitcher Bryan Brown has solidified his role as a reliever in the Knights’ bullpen.

LifestylesMay 26 - June 1, 2011

By Amy KD TobikTHE CHRONICLE

There is a sense of tran-quility as the chirping birdsflutter overhead and butter-flies feed on the soft blueplumbago flowers.

Customers at the gardencenter seem relaxed as theymeander along the paths,studying the large selectionof annuals, perennials,bushes and trees, stoppingat times to smell the roses.

Focal Point GardenCenter and Gift Shop, locat-ed at the intersection of SR46 and CR 426 has beenfilled with all things beauti-ful since it opened threeyears ago.

Business owners Liz and

Mike Crowthers are alsowell-known in the Genevacommunity for their neigh-boring business,Professional Landscape andIrrigation Design &Installation, which theyhave owned for more than20 years.

Inside, Focal PointGarden Center and GiftShop is brimming with giftsfor every occasion, fromgarden gnomes, frogs andwind chimes to jewelry andbaby shower gifts.

The windows are cov-ered with striking stainedglass hangings for sale aswell as decorative birdfeed-ers.

Outside, the retail gar-den center located on 6.5

acres is filled with a healthyselection of flowers likedaisies, azaleas, gardenias,

salvia and roses as well asvarious bushes.

The large fruit, citrus,

magnolia, avocado and tow-ering cypress trees lendbeauty to any landscape.

Shoppers stop for amoment to admire the bub-bling fountains as well asthe decorative glazed bird-baths.

Planting supplies, fromsoil to glazed flower pots,are also available.

Liz said people comefrom all over Central

Florida to see their elabo-rate collection of fabricwind garden spinners forsale.

Designs range fromspinning fabric cats and warplanes to a large John Deeretractor.

Every morning Liz saidshe lines up sample spin-ners along the side of theroad.

“It’s like the early morn-ing Geneva Show,” she saidwith a laugh.

“The spinners are themost popular sellers. Theyare a feel-good kind ofthing; some people tell methey buy them because theylook just like their cat or

Garden center keeps Geneva in full bloom

Ed Ruping | The ChronicleTRACTORS IN THE WIND: A tractor windcatcher in front of Focal PointLandscaping in Geneva.

By Amy KD TobikTHE CHRONICLE

“Like this, you step in and fling that ball, you getmad at that ball …,” said volunteer coach JeffreyTownsend as he carefully repositioned the younggirl’s grip on the lacrosse stick, preparing her toshoot.

The girl readied herself, took a step forward andproudly blasted the ball into the goal.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Townsend shout-ed as everyone cheered.

Lacrosse clinic coach Charles Belmore grins ashe surveys the scene on the Lawton Elementaryfield.

More than 30 girls, grades three through six, aregetting a head start learning the fundamentals oflacrosse thanks to the low-cost program he coordi-nated this month.

Belmore, who has shared an enjoyment for thesport for years with his two lacrosse-playing daugh-ters, Erin and Samantha, noticed there was anabsence of lacrosse training for elementary school-aged children in the Oviedo area.

While strong at the middle-school level withlacrosse clubs and high school teams, there were lit-tle opportunities for children to train early, as theydo in other parts of Florida, he said.

“If you look at girls’ lacrosse in Florida as a whole,our area (Seminole and Orange County) is the sin-gle largest hot bed of girl’s lacrosse in the state,”Belmore said. “The top five girl’s high schoollacrosse teams this year were Vero Beach, WinterSprings, Lake Brantley, Bishop Moore, and Oviedo.Lake Mary, Olympia, Hagerty and a few other areaschools were among the top 20-40 high schools inthe whole state of Florida. That is very impressive.”

“The difference between Vero Beach, WinterSprings and Lake Brantley from Oviedo is they havevery strong club-based feeder teams coming upfrom the third-grade level,” Belmore said. “Oviedodidn’t have a third-grade through sixth-grade teamat the club level, so I wanted to start a new team andprovide high-quality girls lacrosse players so thatthe tradition of outstanding girl’s lacrosse can con-tinue at both Oviedo and Hagerty High schools.”

Inspired to initiate change, Belmore put togethera flyer and advertised his idea.

It was important, he said, to keep the cost of theclinic down to $20 for eight practices and four

games so all kids could get exposure to the sport.Equipment, like sticks and goggles, was bor-

rowed from former players and local high schools.“Once they get to the next level, if they are finan-

cially challenged, the leagues are good at workingon getting scholarships going forward,” Belmoresaid.

Belmore said the response to his simple flyer wasoverwhelming.

“When I decided on the concept, I had hoped toput together a group of 15 girls,” Belmore said. “I got

New clinic develops youth

■ Please see GARDEN | A7

Photos by Ed Ruping | The Chronicle

GRIP IT AND RIP IT: Charlie Belmore instructs a player on the propertechnique for throwing a ball.

■ Please see LACROSSE | A7

145 WEST SR 46, GENEVA

407-349-2200

WWW.FOCALPOINTNURSERY.COM

FOCAL POINTGARDEN CENTERAND GIFT SHOP


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FINANCIAL PLANNING

HOME IMPROVEMENT

a lot of help from HagertyHigh School, CarillonElementary, LawtonElementary — and thenwith word of mouth, itexploded.”

All of a sudden, therewere 34 girls inspired totry lacrosse.

With the help of multi-ple parent volunteers,OHS and Hagerty HighSchool Varsity Lacrosseplayers as well as somemiddle school club play-ers, the young girls arelearning basic lacrossetechniques.

Belmore said it hasbeen very successful hav-ing the older girls on thefield to mentor theyounger ones.

“It is working extreme-ly well because the girlsare listening to them; theyknow they are highschoolers playing at thehigh school level and arerespected,” he said. “Andwhen the high school girlsare just playing with eachother, you can see theirskills as they whip the ballback and forth … the girlsprobably think to them-selves, ‘Wow – I want todo that.’ “

Ed Cox sat on the side-lines watching his 10-year-old daughter, Sarah,discover a new sport.

“[Lacrosse is] a goodsport that mixes a lot ofskills like tennis, baseballand soccer. Sarah has def-initely shown an interestin going further; she

picked it up quicklyenough to keep her inter-ested,” Cox said.

Susan Sepiol said her9-year-old daughterMadison looks forward tocoming to practice twicea week.

“[Madison] loves it;she scored a goal lastweek and was just elated,”Sepiol said. “She hasn’t

really been involved insports yet, but this is defi-nitely something she haspicked up quickly and hasan interest in.

“I think it has been aterrific experience. Thecoach has been fabulousand is really organizedand is keeping it really funwith the rotations. It is agreat way for them to

develop their skills.”Belmore said he hopes

the young girls will leavethe clinic wanting to contin-ue with lacrosse at the cluband eventually high schoollevel.

“We have a strong tradi-tion of high quality girl’slacrosse, and it’s importantto cultivate the growth oflacrosse from area elemen-

tary schools and this clinic isthe first step towards intro-ducing the game to as manygirls as possible,” he said. “Ireally get enjoyment out ofseeing girls who may nothave participated in sportsout there, participating in agame. They’re getting dirtyand they’re having a ball.

“When they leave,they’re like, ‘Aw, it’s over?’ “

From LACROSSE | A6

Camp gives young girls sporting chance

they scare deer,” she said.“I have had people tellme they buy them forshut-ins so they havesomething to look atthrough the window.”

Cheryl Howell, whohas worked with theCrowther family since itopened, said she enjoysassisting the customerswho come in every daylooking for somethingspecial.

“I love working here;one day you’re inside,another outside, andeverything is beautiful,”Cheryl said. “We workhard to keep it fresh.”

Customer RebeccaWilkinson of Chuluotasaid she found the gar-den center very peaceful.

“I live on a lake andam looking for plants topopulate the shoreline; Ihave taken out the torpe-do grass that invaded thelake,” she said. “It’s verypretty here.”

Liz said her goal whenshe opened the businesswas to create a shopfilled with gifts for everyage and every budget.

“People always havefun when they come in,and I am hoping it’ssomething my kids canbe proud of and maybetake it over some day,”Liz said.

Daughter DesireeCrowthers, who alsoworks at the store, saidshe plans to earn adegree in business so shecan run Focal PointGarden Center and GiftShop one day and keep itin the family.

In keeping it a familyaffair, Liz’s brother,David Moons, run thenursery.

Liz said the Crowtherfamily couldn’t imaginerunning their businessanywhere but in theGeneva community theyadore.

“I love being out therewith the plants and flow-ers. You are aroundbeauty and it’s a feel-good kind of thing,” shesaid. “Just like the land-scaping business, this is aplace you can walk awayfeeling good aboutbecause you can see theend result.”

“We’re making hous-es look like homes,”Mike added.

From GARDEN | A6

Owners keep store fresh

Ed Ruping | The Chronicle

THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE: Manfred Cyrcle works with Riley Hazel during asummer lacrosse clinic at the field at Lawton Elementary School.

Ed Ruping | The Chronicle

PROUD OWNERS: Liz and Mike Crowthers pose behind the counter of FocalPoint Garden and Gift Shop, which they own.

Regal Oviedo Marketplace1500 Oviedo Marketplace, 407-977-1107

Regal Waterford Lakes541 N. Alafaya Trail, 407-207-9110

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Kung Fu Panda 2(PG) 12:01am

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(PG-13) 10:35am 1:40 4:45 7:50 10:55DP (Digital Projection) Showtimes11:25am 2:30 5:35 6:30 8:40 9:30

Pirates of the Caribbean:On StrangerTides 3D

(PG-13) 10:10am 11:00am 1:15 2:05 4:20 5:107:25 8:15 10:30

Bridesmaids(R) 10:25am 12:00 1:10 2:45 4:05 5:20 7:108:10 9:55 11:00

Priest(PG-13) 10:55am 12:55 2:55 5:30 8:20 10:20

Priest 3D(PG-13) 10:05am 12:05 2:15 4:30 7:20 9:35

Jumping the Broom(PG-13) 10:45am 1:20 4:15 7:30 10:15

Something Borrowed(PG-13) 10:00am 12:20 2:50 5:25 7:55 10:35

Thor(PG-13) 11:30am 2:10 2:55 5:05 5:40 7:4510:25 11:05Open Captioned Showtimes12:10 8:25

Thor 3D(PG-13) 9:55am 10:40am 12:35 1:35 3:40 4:256:35 7:15 9:20 10:00

Fast Five(PG-13) 9:50am 12:30 1:00 3:35 4:00 6:25 7:059:05 10:10DP (Digital Projection) Showtimes10:20am 1:30 4:35 7:40 10:50

Rio The Movie(G) 10:15am 12:25 2:40 5:15 7:20 9:25

Rio The Movie 3D(G) 10:50am 1:25 3:50

— Listings for Wednesday, May 25

The Hangover Part II (R) 12:01am

Kung Fu Panda 2(PG) 12:01am

Kung Fu Panda 2 3D(PG) 12:01am

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Pirates of the Caribbean:On StrangerTides 3D

(PG-13) 11:25am 1:15 2:30 4:20 5:35 6:40 7:258:40 9:45 10:30

Bridesmaids(R) 12:55 1:30 3:45 4:15 6:50 7:20 9:35 10:10

Priest(PG-13) 11:50am 2:30 5:00 8:10 10:35

Priest 3D(PG-13) 11:20am 2:00 4:30 7:15 10:00

Jumping the Broom(PG-13) 1:20 4:10 7:45 10:45

Something Borrowed(PG-13) 11:35am 2:25 5:25 8:05 10:45

Thor(PG-13) 11:15am 1:05 2:15 4:00 5:05 7:05 8:009:50 10:50

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Rio The Movie 3D(G) 11:30am 1:50 4:10

Soul Surfer(PG) 1:00 3:50 6:45 9:30

Insidious(PG-13) 11:30am 4:55 10:25

Source Code(PG-13) 2:10 7:55

Soul Surfer(PG) 1:00 3:50 6:45 9:30

The Lincoln Lawyer(R) 1:25 4:35 7:20 10:15

May 26 - June 1, 2011

Viewpoints

Nate Beeler | The Washington Examiner

Americans remainclueless about civics

According to the latest survey ofThings Americans Are IgnorantAbout, high-school and middle-schoolstudents don’t know much aboutcivics.

The report, released two weeks ago,comes on the heels of an April poll byCNN and the Opinion Research Corp.that disclosed that most Americans areignorant about the federal budget(median sample answer to the ques-tion of what percentage of the budgetis spent on the Corporation for PublicBroadcasting: 5 percent, or $175 billiona year. Correct answer: about 1/8,000of the budget, or $441 million).

Last year, the Pew Research Centerfor Just About Everything reportedthat most Americans are ignorantabout religion. (Sample result: Fewerthan half the Protestants surveyedknew that Martin Luther had inspiredthe Reformation.) Previous studieshave shown Americans to be equallyignorant about history, geography, civilrights and current affairs.

Nobody should be surprised at thisanymore, except maybe ignorant peo-ple themselves. In his “Jay Walking”segment on The Tonight Show, JayLeno has been dining out on this phe-nomenon for decades, going up to peo-ple on the streets to ask questions like:

Jay: Where do they speak Gaelic?Woman: San Francisco?Jay: Who was the first man on the

moon?Woman: Armstrong.Jay: First name?Woman: Louie.The question is, unless Jay Leno is

standing in front of you with a micro-phone, does it make any differencehow ignorant you are?

Former Supreme Court JusticeSandra Day O’Connor argues that itdoes.

“We have a crisis on our handswhen it comes to civics education,”she said in response to results from thequadrennial National Assessment ofEducational Progress tests showingthat middle- and high-school studentshad lost ground in civics knowledgesince 2006.

“I believe that we are at a criticalpoint in our nation’s history,”O’Connor said. “We face difficult chal-lenges at home and abroad.Meanwhile, divisive rhetoric and a cul-ture of sound bites threaten to drownout rational dialogue and debate. Wecannot afford to continue to neglectthe preparation of future generationsfor active and informed citizenship.”

Since leaving the big bench in 2006,O’Connor has stayed extraordinarilyengaged.

She founded a group called iCivics(icivics.org) that offers civics educa-tion through web-based games. You,too, can argue Brown v. Board ofEducation or become president for aday.

Fifteen years ago, Michael X. Delli

Carpini, who now is dean of theAnnenberg School of Communicationsat the University of Pennsylvania, andScott Keeter, now director of surveyresearch for the aforementioned PewResearch Center for Just AboutEverything, argued that Americansweren’t any less informed than they’dalways been.

In a book called What AmericansKnow About Politics and Why ItMatters, they looked at survey ques-tions going back to 1940. In 1945, only45 percent knew that the governmentregulated radio.

In 1952, only 27 percent could nametwo branches of government. In 1970,only 24 percent could identify the sec-retary of state. In 1988, only 47 percentcould locate England on a map.

Through the years, they concluded,Americans gave the right answers tosuch questions about 40 percent of thetime. Most of the clueless weren’t stu-pid, but merely ignorant.

They weren’t motivated to learn orlacked access to information or educa-tion.

But here we are today, with moreaccess to more information than at anypoint in history, with iPhones in ourpockets with 932,000 times morememory than the 70-pound, 36KApollo Guidance Computer that LouieArmstrong used to land on the moon.And we’re still getting things rightabout 40 percent of time.

You can blame it on the schools.That’s always handy. On these “Howmuch do you know about?” surveys,older people tend to get answers cor-rect more often than younger people.

Some of that may be schools, butmost of it is because the longer youlive, the more you’re invested in socie-ty and the more you pay attention.Who cares about the news when he’s17 years old, particularly if it takesmore than a 140-character tweet toexplain?

We’re more likely to know aboutgossip and show business and sportsthan we are civics and history, but his-tory suggests this is nothing new,either. Bread and circuses were notinvented yesterday, but today there ismore bread being spent to manipulateopinion and far more circuses to dis-tract.

Granted, this is a silly place to makethis argument.

If you’re reading a newspaper or anewspaper website, you’re not theproblem, particularly if you’re all theway down here at the bottom of anopinion column. You’re part of whatthe pollsters call the “informationelite.”

Voting behavior experts say every-body else takes their cues from you.This is a heavy responsibility. Wear itwell.

KEVIN HORRIGANST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

GUEST VIEW

WHAT YOU’RE SAYING ONSeminoleChronicle.com

Oviedo Marketplace to be called Oviedo Mall

Our family has been pleased to seethe updates and changes, including thename change, but we miss the area forkids to run around or play in the foodgarden area. When the weather was toohot or wet, it was great to have a placewhere the kids could let off some ener-gy indoors with friends. For now, thereis little for little people to enjoy, and welook forward to new and free or inex-pensive options at Oviedo Mall. Ibelieve this would bring many morefamilies to the mall. I know our familywould certainly come more often andbe encouraged to buy from the storesand see movies nearby.

KARENOVIEDO

I love having the mall in Oviedo.Sure, it would be nice to have morestores, but it definitely beats driving toAltamonte Springs or Sanford. I thinkpeople in our city need to step up andsupport the businesses in our commu-nity by shopping at local retailers.

CONNIEOVIEDO

I have heard young mothers say thebiggest problem with the mall is thatthere is no playland for little children.Moms used to bring their kids to play,meet other moms for lunch and shop.There is a great maze type playland atAltamont mall. Something like thatwould be good and would bring backthe young moms.

PAT MITCHELL

I always felt that there should be aPenney’s store and I would love to see

Bill’s Elbow Room come back. Most ofthe stores catered to teens and, while Ilove Coach, it will have limited appealin this area. I hope they clean the movietheaters up too. Last time I was there,something with fur ran across my toeswhen I had sandals on.

JESSYOVIEDO

Want the mall to be a success? Wantto attract new retailers? Then you mustbe able to attract customers. BUILD APLAY AREA FOR KIDS!!! The mall wasalways PACKED until they did awaywith the kids’ area. As soon as it wasgone, so were the customers!

CINDY WILSONOVIEDO

Good restaurants would help bringin business as well as the teen storeForever 21, I have two daughters thatwould love that along with theirfriends.

IRENEOVIEDO

Thought Oviedo Marketplace was afarmer’s market the first couple years Ilived here. About time they get thename right! It’s a mall!

SUSANOVIEDO

JHMS students rallybehind influential teacher

It looks like the long tradition ofexcellence and best education doesn’trequire the best teachers to assure it’scontinuation.

DOUG

Another fine example of letting go ofa teacher who cares and who actuallyteaches. Yet they keep the threestooges. Let the man keep his job. Heloves what he does. The kids love him.How many times can you say thatabout a teacher who teaches at thislevel. Go ahead and bring in some snotnosed fresh out of college know noth-ing newbie. We are sure to get ourmonies worth. God save the queen!

INCREDIBLEOVIEDO

Each week the Chronicle hits the streets to find out what’s on your mind. This week, Amy KD Tobik asked … YOUR VIEW

“What do you think are the toughest issues for Seminole County?”Asked in Winter Springs.

“Funding and budget — they are alwayslooking what to cut next; our students areour future and we need to invest inthem.”

— Joy, Oviedo

“Funding — we are ranked 50th in thenation.”

— HuntOviedo

“Money issues — when there isn’tenough money they cut electives.”

— DianaChuluota

“Funding — we aren’t spending enoughper student.”

— KristaOviedo

“Budget is No. 1 because the half-centtax didn’t pass. Orange County doesn’thave these problems because they havea tax.”

— Malinda, Oviedo

If you want to have the Question of the Week asked at your business or event, email us at [email protected].

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Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

By Jack McInturff 5/26/11

(c)2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 5/26/11


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Fill in the grid sothat every row,column and 3x3 boxcontains the digits 1through 9 with norepeats.

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7 9 54 6

7 4 2 67 9 5 4 8

8 3 4 9 14 1 2 9

6 76 9 3

ATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE fromHome. *Medical, *Business,

*Paralegal, *Accounting, *CriminalJustice. Job placement

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Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt of WinterPark, FLis looking for a full-time

assistant manager. Must be avail.on weekends, holidays and night

shifts. Prev. exp. in quick foodservice, managing staff and back

office procedures a plus.Customer service and able todelegate tasks to others. Close

proximity to the Winter ParkVillage and food service managercertificate pref. E-mail resume to

[email protected].

Albert Interior designs. Is lookingfor an Accounting Assistant to join

their team. As the Accounting Assistant, you will be

responsible for all of thereceivables for multiple locations,

backing up payables, somecommissions calculations, and

other general accounting functionsas needed. This is a growingcompany with a culture that is

professional and family-oriented.For immediate and confidentialconsideration for this AccountingAssistant position, please send

your resume directly [email protected]

17 DRIVERS NEEDED! Top 5%Pay! Excellent Benefits New

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Driver-Plenty of miles. Recessionproof freight. $1000 Sign-on for

experienced CO’s and incentivesfor O/O’s. Driver Academy

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CYPRESS TRUCK LINES HomeWeekends! Southeast Regional,

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CDLDrivers -Relocate for Tons ofGreat Paying Texas Frac work!Great company/Paid benefits!

Must have bulk pneumatic trailerexperience. Call today! (800)491-

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Drivers Earn Up to 39¢/mi HOMESEVERALNIGHTS &

WEEKENDS 1 yr OTR Flatbedexp. Call: (800)572-5489 Susan

ext. 227 SUNBELTTRANSPORT,LLC

Tired of Living Paycheck toPaycheck? How I created a

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3B/2Ba; 2 carage; screenedporch; washer/dryer; tiled floors;fenced backyard; pets welcome;

UCF students welcome;$1200/month, $1200 deposit.

Ready now!! Call 407-948-8409

BE YOUR OWN BOSS-STARTTODAY! OWN ARED HOT!DOLLAR, DOLLAR PLUS,

MAILBOX OR DISCOUNTPARTYSTORE FROM $51,900

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Driver-ARRIVING NOW 2012Volvos and Internationals. Plenty

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Beautiful Townhomes indesirable Waterford Lakes.

Minutes from school and [email protected]

$1,150 and up. Includes waterand yard maintenance.

Private pool, tennis, basketballand more !

Short Term and Individualleases available :)

Visit www.ForRentNearUCF.comCall 407-760-0768

CNAs/HHAs experienced. Forsenior home care. Hourly and live-in positions available. Call Mon-Fribetween 9am-pm 407-302-4138.

Beautiful 3/2 custom duplex, 2 mito UCF. 1150 sqft. Appliances incl.Non-smoking, pets ok. $1200/mo

+ Sec Dep. 407-359-5001

3/2.5 Townhouse Less than a milefrom UCF. Brand new appliances.Community pool. Avail. Aug 1st. 3/2/2 House Less than two milesfrom UCF. Wonderful lake view.

Avail. Aug. 1st. Call 954-554-1747

DOLLHOUSE-30 yrs old, handbuilt, large with furniture $200or best offer. Donna 407-739-

2573

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SAWMILLS -Band/Chainsaw -SPRING SALE -Cut lumber any

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Access Reverse Mortgage! Florida-based: Application & closing inyour home. Experience: almost

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BBB Arating. NMLS #4566. (800)-806-7126

PREGNANT? CONSIDERINGADOPTION? Achildless

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NOTICE UNDER FICTITIOUSNAME STATUTE TO WHOM IT

MAYCONCERN: Notice is herebygiven that the undersigned

pursuant to the “Fictitious NameStatute”, Chapter 865.09, Florida

Statutes, will register with theDivision of Corporations,

Department of State, State ofFlorida upon receipt of proof of the

publication of this notice, thefictitious name, to-wit: myFDGunder which (I am) (we are)engaged in business at 1777

Brumley Rd, Chuluota, FL32766.That the (party) (parties)

interested in said businessenterprise is as follows: Faux

Paws LLC, Kristen Fulton, andNorman Fulton.

Notice Under Fictitious Name LawPursuant to Section 865.09,Florida Statutes NOTICE ISHEREBYGIVEN that the

undersigned, desiring to engage inbusiness under the fictitious nameof Smart Cuts Haircuts located at

1375 State Road 436, in thecounty of Seminole in the city of

Casselberry, Florida 32707intends to register the said namewith the Division of Corporations

of the Florida Department of State,Tallaahassee, FLorida. Dated atCasselberry, Florida, this 10 dayof May, 2011 Helion Investments

LLC

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Notice Under Fictitious Name LawPursuant to Section 865.09,Florida Statutes NOTICE ISHEREBYGIVEN that the

undersigned, desiring to engage inbusiness under the fictitious nameof Sports Cuts Haircuts located at

1375 State Road 436, in thecounty of Seminole in the city of

Casselberry, Florida 32707intends to register the said namewith the Division of Corporations

of the Florida Department of State,Tallaahassee, FLorida. Dated atCasselberry, Florida, this 10 dayof May, 2011 Helion Investments

LLC

Medical Management Careersstart here-Get connected online.Attend college on your own time.

Job placement assistance.Computer available. Financial Aid

if qualified. Call (800)481-9409www.CenturaOnline.com

Unplanned Pregnancy? ConsiderAdoption. Living, Medical &Counseling Expenses Paid.

Private & Confidential. Call Atty.Ellen Kaplan 1-877-341-1309 (FL

Bar #0875228)

AIRLINES ARE HIRING -Train forhigh paying Aviation MaintenanceCareer. FAAapproved program.Financial aid if qualified -Housingavailable. CALLAviation Instituteof Maintenance (866)314-3769

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Work from home payroll officerneeded for immediate hire. sendresume to [email protected]

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