published: Friday, December 11, 2009

Remember When

Ann Dupee

Correspondent

20 Years Ago - 1989

-- Hardee's restaurant celebrated its grand opening August 19. Mayor Ozell Hardy said, "It's a great day for Groveland."

-- Groveland's 20-year veteran Police Chief Thomas R. Merrill is the South Lake Press Citizen of the Month for August.

-- Mr. Jim Gant is the new principal at Groveland Elementary School and Mr. Dennis Reid is Minneola Elementary School's new principal.

-- What used to be the Libby Citrus headquarters on Libby Road, west of U.S. 27, will be the new sales site of Tripp Equipment Company, formerly of Orlando. The 2.57 acres were rezoned by County Commissioners from Agricultural to Heavy Industrial or Planned Industrial. The parcel is part of 250 plus acres owned by Tripp. An estimated 20 to 25 people will be employed. Clerbrook Vacation Resort is adjacent to the Tripp site.

-- Petitioner Robert Seidle was given approval to rezone eight acres from Rural Residential to Planned Commercial with conditions The site is approximately two miles south of SR 50 on the west side of US. 27. Staff and P&Z recommended denial, however the County Commissioners felt commercial growth is going in that general direction.

-- Petitioner Highland Grove Partnership was given approval to rezone 44 acres from Agricultural to Rural Residential in the Montverde area at the end of Thoroughbred Lane off Fosgate Road. The approval is based on primary access coming from Fosgate Road rather than Thoroughbred Lane, which was not constructed as a collector road.

-- Mandatory water restrictions have been placed on land in the jurisdiction of the St. Johns Water Management District. Since February of 1989 the District has experienced a cumulative rainfall deficit of approximately 7.3 inches. Individuals with odd numbered addresses may water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday while residents with even numbered addresses or no addresses are permitted to water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. No lawn watering will be allowed on Friday. Hours permitted are between 4 and 8 a.m.

-- It was my pleasure, as Editor/co-owner of the South Lake Press, to hire young people part-time that were communications majors in college.

In 1989 we had Rachel Lantz, daughter of Mrs. George Bolton Jr. and a sophomore at Wake Forrest, and Beth Jehreis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Jahreis, a sophomore at University of Miami.

The girls were particularly cute one day when they walked in wearing the same dresses, both purchased in the Orlando area. Past interns were Kim Rester (Sams) and the late Karen Konsler.

-- There are 10 new teachers at Clermont Elementary School: Christine Davidson, Leu Anne Copeland, Georgette Miller, Laura Cavender, Diane Bell, Gayle Farnsworth, Sandra Divine, Maude White, Elizabeth Larkin and Kathy Sanders.

-- New at Clermont High School are Earle Williams, Judy Borders, Gary Trotter, Desmond Duncan Jr. and Jim Dandridge, assistant principal.

-- Speaking at the Clermont Kiwanis Club, State Senator Richard Langley laid the blame for the recent legislative problems in Tallahassee at the feet of the Democratically- controlled House.

A number of very important pieces of legislation passed the Senate, only to die in House committees. The Senator feels the Democrats are doing everything they can to scuttle Governor Bob Martinez' programs in an effort to prevent his reelection. (He was not reelected.)

The Senator feels the state must do much more for the educational budget. New student enrollment alone is going to require many new classrooms, as well as many new teachers.

Education revenues, largely dependent on taxes on the public utilities and which are cyclical, have recently been considerably lower than expected, precipitating a crisis, and revenues from the state lotteries are small compared to the total education needs.

-- Editorial. "It appears that once again public opinion expressed by the electorate to their elected officials has made a difference.

"Sometime during 1984-85 a citrus grower wanted to annex his property into Clermont in order to construct a large mobile home park in the area that is north of Citrus Tower Boulevard and east of U.S. 27. Clermont citizens let their elected Council members know they did not want this park. The ordinance that would have led to annexation was not even introduced.

On the matter of the Federal prison, public opinion has again prevailed and it appears the prison will not be coming to Lake County. Commissioner Mike Bakich had been leaning towards the prison but changed his mind.

One of his reasons was that the so called proponents of the prison were not vocal and active with letters, phone calls and petitions as were the opponents of the prison.

-- It was a mystery to me back in 1986 when Lake County voters opted to keep electing their school superintendent (whom I happen to think ought to be an appointed, qualified administrator) while they gave up the right to elect four out of five of both their County Commission and School Board members.

At one point after the 1986 vote, the Commission voted 3-2 TO readdress the issue, but then by another 3-2 vote, they voted NOT to readdress the issue. But now, particularly in view of the prison issue when many people have felt they would have no vote and therefore no control, there is talk of readdressing the issue.