Guest Speaker takes the stage at Living Word Church

By Andy Concepcion

ORLANDO, Fla. — Preacher, Jimmy Rodriguez, visited the local Assemblies of God, Living Word Church, to be a guest speaker for part two of the “I Am History” series Wednesday, July 14.

Since the day LWC opened its doors back on May 1, 1990, they have had numerous guest speakers from locals to others from other countries. The young Jimmy Rodriguez happens to be a special guest to the Church and has quite a bit of history with it.

“It’s always a pleasure to speak to ya’ll,” Rodriguez said. “It’s glad to be back. I haven’t been on this stage since my embarrassing marriage proposal to my wife.”

The “I Am History” is a series where regular and guest speakers discuss what it means to be a true man of God based on scripture from the Bible. Rodriguez discussed the markings of a true man of God.

“A man or woman who can take a slap in the face and not retaliate back with violence or cussing up a storm is a Godly person,” Rodriguez stated. “Us Boricuas got some work to do then, don’t we?”

Shelley Lopez, a regular at LWC, thought Rodriguez did a great job keeping her entertained.

“I’ve seen some pretty great guest speakers here before,” Lopez said. “None of them can make me laugh like Jimmy can.”

Tyler Krick, a first time guest to the church, praised Rodriguez for his message and commended his humor also.

“I don’t normally enjoy church period,” Krick said. “This guy is different. He somehow manages to use humor yet not let it take away from the main point of the service which I think is cool.”

For more information on LWC and up and coming church events, visit www.ipvorlando.com or contact at:

653 Wetherbee Rd.

Orlando, FL 32824

407-851-6464

American Novelist visits students at Valencia Community College

By Andy Concepcion

ORLANDO, Fla. — Accomplished Chick Lit writer, Kristin Harmel, visited Valencia’s west campus to speak to students about her books which was followed by a “Q and A” session, July 6.

While Harmel spoke of her Journalism experience, she explained that the competitive nature of it pushed her towards writing books.

“Trying to be the best stressed me out,” said Harmel. “Being away from that kind of stuff gives me the freedom to work the way I want.”

Since her first book, “How to Sleep with a Movie Star”, was released in 2006, she has had four of her other stories published. During the “Q and A” she answered questions about how she develops her characters and gave her opinion on writer’s block.

“I usually take three to four weeks to develop a character,” said Harmel. “I don’t believe in writers block if you have an outline”.

Going more into detail about her character development, Harmel admitted that she had put two real life people into one of her novels.

“Two guys who cheated on me made a brief appearance in one of my stories,” said Harmel. “It’s stupid to cheat on an author,” she said jokingly.

Out of all four of her novels, Harmel says that “The Art of French Kissing” is her personal favorite. She said the main character’s story was inspired by her personal life while living in Paris.

“The summer at Paris changed me,” Harmel said. “A lot of what she went through in the story is what I went through”.

For more information on Kristin Harmel and her books, visit www.kristinharmel.com.

Fun with Paranormal Activity in Downtown Kissimmee

By Andy Concepcion

KISSIMMEE, Fla. —For nearly four years, the tour guides of the Kissimmee Ghost Tours have been leading guests into the spiritual realm of its historic downtown region. Tour guide and 30 year resident of Kissimmee, Bill Spinola, lead our group of 12 people to numerous locations within the downtown district on a muggy Thursday night, June 10.

Throughout the tour, Spinola encourages guests to take many photos. He explains that red or blue spots and streaks that he refers to as “orbs” within the photos, are actually ghosts.

“The red orbs are usually thought to be women, while the blue orbs are men,” Spinola explained. “If you have two orbs within a picture and one is larger than the other, the larger of the two is a ghost who was closer to the camera.”

Spinola went on to say that specific locations had more ghost than others. He even said some locations had the same particular ghost that haunted the same places.

“The Grissom Funeral home is where the ghost of a young girl plays with a set of swings on the playground,” said Spinola. “’The Hanging Tree’ is where numerous ghosts gather since they were convicted criminals who were hung in front of the old court house.”

Other than the haunted sites, Spinola also stopped and pointed out numerous shops and attractions within the downtown area and talked about its history.

“I’m thankful for getting to hear about something other than ghosts,” said Fred Kwok, a guest from Winter Park. “Stopping at a gift shop or for a bite to eat really takes the edge off.”

Karen Snow, a thrill seeking local from Kissimmee, is a regular guest of the tour.

“I love taking pictures of paranormal activity,” said Karen. “The history and the unexplainable nature of it, just makes it a fun hobby.”

For more information on the Kissimmee Ghost Tours, visit www.hauntedkissimmee.com or contact at:

421 Broadway

Kissimmee, FL 34741

321-251-5204

Central Florida Zoo and Bo. Gardens Celebrate the Birth of three Nearly Extinct Animals


By Andy Concepcion

SANFORD, Fla. —The members of the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens celebrated the newest additions to their Species Survival program during a “Party for the Planet” event. Joe Montisano, a staff member of the Central Florida Zoological Society, presented 3 infant Red Ruffed Lemurs Saturday, May 15th.

In front of a mixed crowd of adults and children, Montisano began the presentation by allowing the guest to see the three recently born Red Ruffed Lemurs next to their mother. After an educational lecture, Montisano discussed the importance of their birth, conservation and breeding.

“These endangered animals deserved a proper welcome to our growing family of preserved species,” said Montisano. “We hope to work with other zoos to avoid inbreeding. With a high chance of future extinction, we have to help these little guys breed as best we can.”

Ironically, the three lemurs were born during mating season, which is beneficial to their survival.

“It’s convenient that the mother gave birth during mating season” said Chad Reid, a spectator of the lecture. “I guess her natural time clock was right on time.”

Another spectator who had seen the lecture praised their current place of captivity.

“The longer they’re held captive, the longer they live,” said Sharon Dailey. “I think they’ll get all the help they need here to rebuild their numbers.”

For more information on the newly born Red Ruffed Lemurs, visit www.centralfloridazoo.org or
contact at:

3755 NW Hwy 17-92

Sanford, FL 32771

407-323-4450