Planning for Jobs and Growth by Marvin G
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50 CENTS 112TH YEAR • SATURDAY EDITION AUGUST 20, 2011 The monthly Journal of Osceola County Business is in this issue. See page B-1. OOSCEOLASCEOLA NNEWSEWS-G-GAZETTEAZETTE www.aroundosceola.com • www.holaosceola.com Police news Arrest in Planning for jobs and growth By Marvin G. Cortner The city would like serves multiple counties in Central Osceola County to see vacant build- Florida, is close to announcing that it 21-year-old Editor A new hospice center, a tequila dis- ings on Orange Blos- will open a site in Kissimmee, Ortiz are in the formative and talking stage, som Trail develop tillery and another technical college said, adding that the new facility rep- others are almost ready to be into an “educational homicide could all be in Kissimmee’s future, resents a $3 million investment and announced, Ortiz said. corridor,” Ortiz said, 40 new jobs. And as far as the small according to Belinda Ortiz, economic Universidad Politécnica de Puerto adding that the development director for the city. scale tequila distillery goes, Ortiz said By Fallan Patterson Rico, a college with a campus in Win- recently-opened Flori- it would involve a “$1.2 million Ortiz on Monday updated the Staff Writer ter Park now and one that will soon da Technical College Ortiz investment in the community” with a Using DNA evidence to Osceola County Commission on the open in east Orange County, is con- campus in Osceola Square Mall and a retail storefront with tequila tastings make their case, Osceola city’s efforts to promote economic sidering opening a site in Kissimmee growing Valencia College are already and distillery tours as part of the busi- County Sheriff’s Office detec- development and create jobs. Some within a couple of years to offer archi- providing a push in that direction. tives Thursday morning of the projects on the city’s horizon tectural classes, Ortiz said. Cornerstone Hospice, which See County, page A-5 arrested Johnny Lee Hilton who was living in the same Kissimmee community – School news Good Samaritan Village – where he is believed to have killed 79-year-old Bertha Hemminghaus on Oct. 8, Flood map questions 1989. No more Hilton, 52, was charged with murder, burgla- ry to an occu- pied dwelling, room at sexual battery and aggravated battery on an elderly person. Westside He was set to appear in court Hilton Friday at 1 p.m. By Fallan Patterson Hilton was arrested at a Staff Writer west Osceola County con- Osceola County School District struction site where he was staff is creatively distributing stu- helping build a motel on dents to ease overcrowding at Kyngs Heath and Hart Street some schools in the face of district in Kissimmee, Twis Lizasuain, economic woes postponing the Sheriff’s Office spokes- building of new schools. woman, said. Nearly 300 students were His residence, at 1663 trimmed from Westside K-8 Calvin Circle School’s enrollment this year after in the Luther- district officials sent letters home to an-run retire- students living outside Osceola ment commu- County in the Four Corners area, nity, is a six- telling them they no longer could minute walk attend the 3-year-old school. from where “When Westside opened, there Hemminghaus was available capacity to allow out- was murdered of-district students to attend,” dis- inside her Hemming- Osceola County government, in conjunction with the trict spokeswoman Dana Schafer home at 4192 haus said, adding Westside’s capacity Federal Emergency Management Agency, is in the was exceeded by 18 percent last Cambridge Ave. process of adopting new flood plain maps. County, Hilton was escorted from year. “The increase in student state and federal officials conducted a public meeting enrollment required the district to the Sheriff’s Office after ques- Tuesday at the County Administration Building to tioning by detectives to a wait- add portables and force co-teach ing cruiser Thursday after- give property owners a chance to ask questions classrooms, both of which are not noon wearing a white nylon about the new maps and the potential impact of any ideal learning environments.” suit and grey shoe covers; his changes on their property. Above, FEMA agents Portables are costly in terms of clothing was confiscated by assist property owners in looking up their parcels on both installation and rent, as much investigators for DNA analy- color-coded maps. Of the approximately 11,000 as $300,000 for the portable and sis, Sheriff Bob Hansell said. properties affected by the new preliminary flood haz- its installation and an additional Hilton repeatedly answered ard update, not all were for the worse. At left, Michael $8,500 in rent per portable per year, according to documents from “no comment” to questions Amato, left, a resident of Chisholm Estates near Lake from the media. the May 31 Osceola County Runnymede, found out that his property is no longer School Board workshop. He was booked into the considered to be in a flood-prone area, which may Osceola County Jail on no “In this time of poor economy, we result in lower property insurance rates. can’t afford to place portables for bond. News-Gazette Photos/Andrew Sullivan Hemminghaus had (out-of-district) students,” Schafer returned home from playing said, adding that out-of-district stu- cards with her three sisters dents are approved on an annual Oct. 7, 1989, and witnesses basis, depending on the space avail- at the time saw her enter her Market was Johnnie Rife’s lifework able. “For the upcoming school year, residence at about 11:30 we are anticipating even more butcher cuts of meat for cus- growth, which the school’s infrastruc- p.m., according to the Sher- By Fallan Patterson Submitted photo iff’s Office website. tomers in the days when peo- ture will not sustain.” Staff Writer Johnnie Rife Orange, Lake and Polk county stu- Unable to contact her by Johnnie Rife, who opened ple would bring in their own bought a dents, some of whom live in apart- phone the following day, rela- his small neighborhood gro- cow from the pasture or a store in St. ments close enough to see Westside tives found Hemminghaus, a cery store with just $7.50 to deer from a recent hunt. Cloud in School, which is south of U.S. High- 5-foot-2-inch, 120-pound his name, died Aug. 6 at his Once, Kenny Rife grandmother, dead in her 1962. He watched as his father impaled way 192 just east of U.S. Highway Kissimmee home after a 27, will now have to ride buses for as home the day before her 80th bout with dementia and would name his right hand on a meat birthday. Hemminghaus was that business hook while swinging a side of long as an hour to attend schools in Alzheimer’s; he was 84. their own counties. raped and died from blunt As the owner of Rife’s Rife’s Market beef onto the hook. Unper- turbed, Rife poured alcohol “That’s why we were so appealing force trauma. Market in St. Cloud since and make it and salt on the wound and to these families. They could see our Burglary was the motive, 1962, Rife dedicated his life one of his after a quick stop at the doc- school and we could see their com- Hansell said. to providing quality food at main interests tor, who only gave Rife an munity,” Rhonda Blake, district com- When the murder reasonable prices to Osceola the rest of his adhesive bandage because puter mapping/boundary planning occurred, just four days after County families, frequently life. Rife died the wound was already taken specialist, said. his 31st birthday, Hilton lived around the clock in the early Aug. 6. care of properly, Rife was To thin the student body further, at within walking distance of days of the business. back on the job. least 141 letters went out to families Hemminghaus’ home but had “I’ve seen many a morn- said. “He always wanted to ceries if a customer was “You couldn’t tell him he living near the closest geographic bor- no affiliation with Good ing when my dad would be in business for himself.” unable to afford food for his couldn’t do something,” der to either Pleasant Hill Elementary Samaritan Village and did not come home (from work), eat A generous man, Johnnie or her family, his son said. Kenny Rife said. “There was of Horizon Middle schools, asking know her, Lizasuain said. breakfast, shower and go Rife was known to personally Rife was proud of his meat See Police news, page A-2 back to work,” Kenny Rife fill a “buggy” up with gro- case, choosing to personally See Rife, page A-3 See Westside K-8, page A-3 Inside Community Lifestyles Sports Classifieds........... D-1 For the latest Peter Covino All-County Business.............. B-1 Community ......... C-4 activities, reviews “Fright girls flag Legals.................. D-3 classes and Night,” a remake football Lifestyles ............. C-1 events, of the 1985 vam- team Opinion................ A-4 see ... selected. Local news .......... A-5 pire cult classic. Sports................... A-7 Page C-4 Page C-1 Page A-7 Page A2, NEWS-GAZETTE • Online All The Time • www.aroundosceola.com • Saturday, August 20, 2011 Operation nets 11 unlicensed contractors By Fallan Patterson any (consumer) complaints. It “Most (of them) are handy- was more to educate the home- men but were advertising them- Staff Writer A week-long sting operation owners out there.” selves as electricians, which conducted by the St. Cloud The operation was conduct- requires a state license,” Police Department in partner- ed to “protect consumers from Roberts said.