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More details are emerging about the fire that gutted the Good Neighbor Place Thrift Store last month, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. The suspect, Curtis Laron Rouse, 38, was arrested and charged with first degree arson and unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure. He is currently being held in the Orange County…

The Apopka City Council voted 4-0 to grant staff authority to negotiate an agreement with Lumen Technologies to install a temporary pump station to drain excess water from Border Lake to Blue Lake. Vice Mayor Diane Velazquez was absent from the Thursday, June 4, meeting, but the other four council members voted in favor of…

Staff Reports Z.A.P.T. ELITE, Inc. celebrated its 55th annual Founder’s Day on May 18 with a scholarship award ceremony for 29 local high school students, made possible by ZAPT sponsors. Organized in 1970, Z.A.P.T. has served the Zellwood, Apopka, Plymouth and Tangerine communities in various ways. Accomplishments include giving scholarships to high school students, sponsoring…

By Melissa Byrd Well, we are officially done with the 2024-25 school year and have begun our summer break!   Graduations were wonderful, full of smiling faces and happy tears. I always enjoy graduation season, but this year was even more special as my youngest graduated. It was such a joy to see so many of…

Speaking to an audience of over 1,000 people, Mayor Jerry L. Demings highlighted Orange County’s achievements in areas including the economic impact of tourism, advancement in affordable housing and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to better provide services during his state of the county address on Friday, June 6. Demings spoke to more than…

By Bryan Nelson Impact fees charged by counties and cities is the method for growth (new development) to pay for the new infrastructure needed to support a thriving community.   These impact fees are levied on all new construction, including residential, commercial and industrial to pay for new water, wastewater, reclaimed water, police, fire, recreation and…

By Christine Moore, Orange County District 2 Commissioner Advocacy. I want to share some observations from serving on the Orange County School Board and Orange County Commission to help you elicit better outcomes. This column will focus on advocacy at the local level.  Advocacy at the local level has two distinct areas. One is more…

Do you like to cook your food in the Crock-Pot? I do, from time to time. I am looking at a recipe for “Chicken in a Pot” that I found in a little Crock-Pot handbook. It calls for a whole chicken and some vegetables along with chicken broth and white wine or water. Then set…

Hello Folks, I hope y'all had a great weekend and, hopefully, you did some fishin’. Even though the official date of summer is between June 20th and June 22nd, I always start my summers on June 1st, the same date as Hurricane Season starts. As summer is here (accordin’ to ME, ol’ Jim), now begin the summer…

Hurricanes and tropical storms hit Florida almost every year, often causing extensive damage to homes and landscapes. You can help protect your home or business by making sure your trees and landscape are more hurricane-resistant, so it’s less likely to suffer severe damage during a storm. Each year hurricane season begins on June 1st and…

Ocoee High School announced Thursday the hiring of former Apopka head baseball head coach Bobby Brewer, who stepped down last week after six seasons on the job.   The news came just days after Jeff Rolson's sudden resignation as head football coach, leaving Apopka without leaders for two major sports programs.  "I'm going to miss wearing…

Apopka area schools, Apopka High School and Wekiva High School, held their 2025 graduation ceremonies last week. Apopka High School seniors' graduation ceremony was held at the Kia Center, while Wekiva's graduation ceremony was held at the Addition Financial Arena at UCF. Below is a list of every graduating senior from both Apopka and Wekiva…

Keira Druck, a 13-year-old Apopka native, finished fifth overall in an open-water mile swim at Doc Lucky's Golden Mile in Orlando last week.   Druck collected prize money, a medal and more while continuing to improve as the long course season, her bread and butter, approached.    Druck had a fantastic outing at The Golden Mile, finishing…

The Apopka City Council approved reappointments for three Planning Commission members to three-year terms, but not without discussion about imposing term limits for the board. On the consent agenda on June 4, the City Council voted to reappoint members William Gusler, Wes Dumey and Mary Norwood. All of their current terms are set to expire…

A Winter Garden and Cocoa-based homeless outreach organization proposed the concept of sleeper buses to the city of Apopka as a means of helping people move off the streets and toward a life of independence and self-sustainability. Scott Billue, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Matthew’s Hope, presented the proposal at the June 4 Apopka…

The Apopka Area Chamber of Commerce will present its long-term vision for the future of Apopka’s real estate at the 2025 Real Estate Expo.  Chamber CEO Nick Grounds hopes to increase transparency between the community and the chamber regarding real estate development. He says he would like to raise awareness of Apopka’s rising cost of…

Dream Lake Elementary School is exploring the possibility of implementing an optional school uniform policy for its student body. The decision to explore school uniforms began after an April meeting of Dream Lake’s School Advisory Council (SAC). Following the meeting, a parent survey went out to the community on May 2 and received more than…

Bobby Brewer has told The Apopka Chief he’s stepping down as Apopka’s head baseball coach after six years. The news comes days after Jeff Rolson's sudden resignation as head football coach, leaving Apopka without leaders for two major sports programs. "I'm going to miss wearing that Blue Darter jersey," Brewer said. "I'll miss the boys…

Former Apopka head football coach Jeff Rolson says he resigned on May 30 because the transfer portal has made it impossible to maintain the high standards that propelled Apopka’s program into a perennial powerhouse. Rolson pointed to the departure of 20 players after the spring game as the breaking point that sparked his surprise announcement…

The owner of the defunct Errol Estate golf course has offered to sell the property as is to the city for $6.3 million in cash, a figure based on the owner’s 2020 appraisal that was made public. 5th Hole Investments LLC, headed by the family of Julian (Larry) Klein, enclosed the proposal with a May…

By Marshall Tempest   Reporter    The Apopka Fire Department (AFD) emphatically broke a series tie with the Apopka Police Department (APD) on Saturday, scoring a huge 84-43 win in the in the departments’ third annual charity basketball game.    Mindy Bess, founder and general manager of the Dreams of Joy Foundation, which sponsored the game, said this…

The YMCA of Central Florida and the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida (Homeless Coalition) will provide free swimming lessons to 20 homeless children this summer, according to a statement from the Y.   “June is the start of summer break, making it the perfect time to equip them with lifesaving skills before they spend…

By Jake Vest Job One is remembering about how much 550 words is.   Or should that be “how many 550 words are”? Okay, Job Two would be to remember enough grammar to get by.  The prospect of doing a newspaper column again reminds me of all sorts of jobs that come with the territory…

Battling inclement weather on Saturday morning, the community celebrated the grand reopening of the recently upgraded West Orange Trail Bridge, a local landmark users said are excited to use again following months of closure. On Saturday, May 31, attendees celebrated the reopening of the nearly 20-year-old bridge located at the U.S. 441/Orange Blossom Trail at…

By Bryan Nelson Wyld Oaks, the award-winning Master Plan Development at the intersection of State Road 429 and Kelly Park Road and Golden Gem Road, has been busy recently. The 250+ acre project broke ground in January 2024 and is nearly finished with horizontal infrastructure, including mass grading of the site, master stormwater system, and…