A feature of every Central Florida Matters is a 3-minute commentary presented by a voice that matters on an issue that voice believes matters.

The voice you’ll hear is that of Judy Duda, chair of the board of trustees of Carroll McKenney Public Media, commenting on the “issues and voices that matter to her.

Central Florida Matters encourages you to post your own reaction to this commentary. Visit the “commentary” segment on-line at cmfmedia.org.

Should you wish to be considered for a future commentary segment on Central Florida Matters, please click on the “contact” link to send us an email which should include adequate information for us to understand your issue and to offer contact information to include your name, email address and a daytime telephone number.

Pictures

Transcript

Duda Commentary Transcript

School Days

Feature length – 3:32
Late August and early September, in cities across Central Florida, we hear the happy voices and sounds of kids and teachers returning to school after summer break.

The sound of these young voices and attendant clamor were recorded with permission at Lawton Elementary School in Oviedo and at Oviedo High School.

Voices range from those in the cafeteria to the car line. From the crossing guard at a busy intersection to the slamming of book lockers in the hallway. And from a football scrimmage to the practice of a marching band.

Listen. Can you identify each of them?

Constitution Day 2009

Feature length – 4:45
September 17, 1787… two hundred twenty-two years ago a document was signed containing a fifty-two words preamble to a remarkable 4,400 word document known simply as the Constitution of the United States.

It created the present government of the United States by establishing the three branches of the government, which are the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial branch. It also contains the Bill of Rights and other amendments which establish the basic rights of all American citizens.

The day this edition of Central Florida Matters was posted on-line is called “Constitution Day” – September 17, marking the anniversary of the day the constitution was signed by 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Two hundred twenty two year later, we went to the Oviedo Shopping Center in search of Voices on the Street to hear the preamble spoken by our neighbors…and we gave each voice a bit of a civics test while we were there.

Additional Feature Information

• Lawton Elementary School Website
• Oviedo High School Website
• Constitution Day 2009

“Voices on the Street” is a recurring sound montage on Central Florida Matters. If you know of a community location or an aural theme illustrative of your neighborhood, or a time of year, or a particular subject, the sounds of which evoke a place in time, let us know. Click on the “contact” link and advise us with an email.

The Seminole County Historical Commission added another historical marker to Seminole County on August 22, 2009. It was the first marker to be placed in Winter Springs which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. But before Winter Springs the town of Wagner served as a crossroad for settlers and farmers and farm workers. Tuscawilla Road grew from an Indian trail to a main road built on an abandoned railroad bed. Produce was shift first by shallow draft boats on Lake Jesup and then by the railroad with a depot in Wagner. Farm workers planted and harvested on the large farms owned by Chase and Co.

Walter Hendrix, age 69, remembers growing up playing in the fields while his mother and aunt joined the farm crews from Sanford and Oviedo working the crops.

Many people in the area still remember the infamous “Dead Man’s Curve” on the old S. R 434/419. That road was laid on top of the original brick road from Sanford to Oviedo. When the modern road was built, some of the old bricks were used for erosion control in the ditches beside the road going into Oviedo.

Our thanks to commission members Cecil Tucker, John Bistline, Ed L’Heureux and Carolyn Bistline for their memories of the area. Special thanks also to Walter Hendrix for sharing the story of his boyhood in Wagner.

While no evidence can be seen at the site, if you MapQuest the town of Wagner, Florida (see link below) its correct location and directions are listed.

Pictures & Extended interviews

Walter Hendrix Extended interview (29:10) Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Additional Feature Information

• Seminole County Historical Markers
• City of Winter Springs
• Wagner Dedication News Release
• Museum of Seminole County History Website
• MapQuest location of Wagner, Florida

The election season is upon us — or at least so in the Seminole County cities of Longwood and Oviedo. They are the only cities to step out with candidates to elect for city office on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Here on Central Florida Matters, we’re making plans to speak with each candidate in the weeks to come. Yet, before we present the candidates and their platforms to you, we’re thinking it’s time to first be sure we become smart voters prior to casting our vote at the polls.

We start this process now… in a recurring feature we’re going to call “Voting Smart.”

Thomas G. Walters is a 61 year old retired US Air Force colonel, having served 28 year in officer positions, most recently as Vice Commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord Air Force base in Tacoma, Washington.

Former Mayor Tom Walters’ 6year term of service gave him and his city council members a fairly unprecedented period of success, growth and prosperity. Walters served as mayor in the 4th largest city out of 7 cities in Seminole County. With a population in 2007 of 32,000 residents, Walters’ timing could not have been better in leaving office just before evidence was being encountered of a challenging economic recession looming over the county and the cities. His 6 year term in office lent itself well to many of our questions kicking off our “voting smart” series.

In what you’ll hear in a wide-ranging interview covering media, ethics and the Sunshine Law to name just a few, we first ask former mayor Walters to set the scene for what candidates and voters face on this road to “voting smart.”

Pictures & Extended interviews

Former Oviedo Mayor Tom Walters (red shirt) and Stephen McKenney Steck Extended interview (56:10) Friday, September 4, 2009

Additional Feature Information

• City of Oviedo
• City of Longwood
• Seminole County, Fl., Supervisor of Elections
• Florida League of Cities
• Tri-County League of Cities
• Seminole County League of Women Voters
• State of Florida Sunshine Law

One way people in Seminole County are coping with the recession is to turn to the food pantry to help put food on the table. Whether jobless or homeless or just not able to stretch the paycheck to cover the bills, people come to the Sonshine Food Pantry.
The problem is statewide. The Florida Association of Food Banks supplies 72 million pounds of food to more than 3000 food pantries like Sonshine each year. Second Harvest is a food bank that supplies food distributed by the Sonshine food pantry to the individual families. The local food pantries also collect donations from schools and churches. It is a combined regional/local effort.

The Hope Foundation of Oviedo operates the Sonshine Food Pantry. The foundation was the inspiration of KrissyTodd. The pantry is currently located at the Sonshine Thrift store at 149 East Broadway but will soon be moving to a new home at the Village of Hope. The pantry is open from 11am to 2pm Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. As Susan Leive says “We don’t turn anyone away.”

Susan Leive and Christine Wright coordinate the collection and distribution of the food at the pantry. Volunteers collect donations, stock shelves and accompany the clients as they select the food best suited to their family’s needs and tastes. The foundation has a storage facility for donations of goods which are taken to the pantry when needed to fill the shelves.

Pictures from the Interviews

Additional feature information

• The Hope Foundation
• The Florida Association of Food Banks
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida