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Feb.3/2007 The racing super-cells,rotating thunderstorms that could be seen on weather radar. One of the super-cells, churning from Lady Lake to New Smyrna Beach in an hour, killed at least 19 people. Fortunately it missed most of Lady Lake but destroying a church bordering HWY 466 and HWY 441 less than a mile from Water Oak. We heard little of the storm except drowsily awakened by some strong winds about 3:00 AM. Pictures show some of the devastation that hit many trailer home sites in the tornado's path.

Two weeks of brutal cold - for Florida that is - had temperatures into the teens for twelve straight nights and freezing temperatures for 12 to 14 hours each day for two weeks. Only in the aftermath has the devastation to marine life become apparent. Arctic cold that gripped Florida and the southeastern US did a lot of damage to fish and marine populations. Several hundred sea turtles, stunned and floating because of the sudden temperature drops were rescued, revived and then released after the water warmed. Thousands of dead fish, including snook, tarpon and bonefish could be seen all along the Florida coast. P.S. Records show that this has been the coldest Winter since 1958. First week of January It has been snowing in Florida a little today and the central part of the state has seen some snow flurries and light sleet turning in to rain as the temperatures warmed a little. Parts of Volusia, Orange, Seminole and Lake counties have all seen a little . Mostly sleet. The average mean tem

THE CREATION OF LAKE COUNTY AND NORTH BAY PARALLELS THE COURTHOUSE STRUGGLE (click on picture to enlarge) A midnight boat ride on Lake Harris helped Tavares politicians steal the Courthouse from Leesburg after Lake County was carved from parts of Sumter and Orange. January 27, 1888, election to choose a county seat, the founder of Tavares, political boss Alexander St. Clair-Abrams, blatantly stole the Courthouse from Leesburg. The way Abrams did this was to bring in three hundred temporary Negro railroad workers from Sanford, give them a barbecue, ply them with liquor, and escort them to the polls to cast already marked votes for Tavares. In 1888, W. D. Mendenhall, merchant and postmaster, was determined to keep the county seat in his town of Bloomfield, the temporary seat of government. He made up his mind to go to court. While he was in Deland getting a writ, he was outsmarted by Abrams, who sent his crony H. H. Duncan to Bloomfield by rowboat to take possession of the records and

LADY LAKE'S HITCHHIKING COP In 1961, as a sleepy citrus-growing town of335, Lady Lake didn't have enough in its treasury to pay for a police car. But the town did have a marshal. Retiree Jim Dudley was paid $75 a month to patrol the streets on foot. Time and again, city fathers tried to find money to buy Jim a patrol car, but they always came up short. In spite of that handicap, he managed to catch a surprising number of drivers who ignored the towns forty-mile-an-hour speed law. Standing near the edge of U.S. Highway 441-27, Dudley would see a speeder and yell a command to stop. As a second warning he blew a whistle. If that didn't work, the marshal hitchhiked a ride with some local motorist who happened to be near,and together they pursued the offender. At the start of 1962, Dudley renewed his plea. "What can I do if there isn't a car around I can borrow?" he asked. Councilman W. T. "Bill" Adams told Dudley the town still didn't have enough mon

You must receive permission to do this type of landscaping -- Water Oak owns the land. However you a homeowner are expected to maintain it in accordance with the management. In fact if left neglected management after sending a number of reminders, will undertake a cleanup at your expense. Another big bonus, not having to water this landscaping. Click on picture to increase size. We are all on water meters and although we are restricted to watering once a week, it can amount to an expensive deal over the year. There is also the fear of the sprinkler system malfunctioning and water continues until someone shuts it off. We do have someone checking on our place when we are back in Canada but you can see this could be a major problem. I also installed a home invasion detector. There has been next to “0” crime in our Park. A heavy duty frost fence surrounds the Park, street lighting is provided and with the 24 hr. surveillance crooks move on to easier targets. Lady Lake Police are highly v

Water Oak has somewhere between 900/1000 homeowners. Many are permanent residents but there are the usual “snowbirds” from northern USA States and Canada. This is a picture of our street. Our house is just past the white vehicle on the left in the distance. Roads in Water Oak are all pretty well maintained. No overhead wiring is a plus. Being a gated community visiting people including service vehicles are monitored on a 24 hr. basis entering and leaving the premises. Home owners have programmed clickers to operate the 2 gates for entering and exiting. Most homeowners have their own golf carts – very handy indeed for moving about the park and playing golf. Mail is delivered to a number of lock box sites in the complex so there is no door to door delivery. FedEx delivery trucks are seen at all hours. Click on picture to enlarge. Some golf carts are street legal and it is surprising to see them crossing major intersections. They are not allowed however on the major highways as a means of

Something new - blue lights at intersections. The lights LED's are mounted about 3 feet above the traffic signals and can be seen 360 deg. to help law enforcement. Blue lights are there as a visual sign to police officers on side roads when the traffic signal on crossing roads is "red." From their side long vantage point, even at a long distance, they can see that somebody on a cross road has driven through a red traffic signal. They cannot see the red light because it is facing the two cross ways directions, but they can see the blue light. If they see you drive under a blue light, they know you have committed a traffic infraction. Running a red light in Florida can bring a fine of $188.50.Violators also face three or four points to their driving record, unless they complete a state-approved driver-safety course.

Water Oak Country Club Lady Lake Florida Water Oak Country Club offers an 18 hole championship golf course, driving range and restaurant open seven days a week. The community is meticulously maintained, and provides an incredible environment for 55+ lifestyle living. If you are interested in owning your own home with your own yard in a professionally-managed community providing you with an active Florida lifestyle at a reasonable price this is the place. I must say something about the “The Villages” as it has a huge financial bearing on what happens in Lake County and Lady Lake in general. The Villages Florida The largest age-restricted active adult community in the world. What started as a small neighborhood in 1978 has blossomed into a sprawling community that will eventually be home to an estimated 75,000 households of people aged 55 plus. The Villages Florida spans three counties, three zip codes and over 20,000 acres. The entire c

Most agree that the presence of Water Oak and The Villages has handsomely benefited the town financially since tax revenues have increased significantly, providing more resources for services to local residents. A look at the history of the town's annual tax revenues show an enormous increase in 1977—the year when the new developments began to take off. Currently, the annual tax revenues for Lady Lake exceed $3 million which is an incredible leap from earlier decades when the town's tax revenues rarely exceeded $300. Moreover, The Villages and Water Oak Estates have created jobs and economic growth, contributed to local charities, aided volunteer organizations and assisted youth groups. Leesburg, the largest city in Lake County, also the oldest city is located next to Lady Lake. As of 2005, the population (19,086) recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Lady Lake with a population of over 14,000 is on the northern edge of Lake County. Over 50,000 population is in an eight-mile radius and 30,000 growth anticipated. Boating abounds on Lake Griffin and Lake Harris. Golf courses and recreational facilities are available for all ages. Nearby are community college, medical facilities, museums, theaters. Lake County has a population over 200,000 and includes about 1200 square miles. Tavares is the county seat with county officials, courthouse and tax offices. St.Johns Water Management District manages water usage. Early Lady Lake residents thought they could manage to always keep any and all growth at abeyance. They didn't want to become a real town, much less a city with six traffic lights and long lines of noisy cars. They had a longing to stay small and unchanging. For years, they lived their dream, and the population hardly increased at all. In fact, from 1930 to 1970, the numbers inched upward by only 76 new residents, from 233 to 3