Sweetwater Wekiva Springs Magazine is a bi-monthly lifestyle magazine for Sweetwater, Wekiva Springs, Longwood, and Altamonte Springs communities in central Florida. 12,500 copies are mailed to the upper-most income families in the Sweetwater / Wekiva Springs area and an additional 1,000 are distributed by local hotels, Realtors and professional offices. Bring your advertising message to this sought after market in Sweetwater Wekiva Springs Magazine!

Great turnout this morning for the SunRail groundbreaking in Altamonte Springs. The Sentinel estimated the crowd at about 500. I’ll let them tell you about the event – click that link to read the article – and I’ll show you some photos.

Altamonte Mayor Pat Bates was there (that’s her in the pic up there with State Sen. David Simmons and Altamonte City Commissioner Gardner Hussey) along with County Commission Chair Brenda Carey, Commissioner Carlton Henley (that’s him at the microphone -- scroll down a littie), Longwood Mayor Joe Durso, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.

Congressional reps and political opposites John Mica and Corrine Brown not only worked on the rail project together for years, they sat next to each other and shared speaking duties. That photo and many others will be on our website soon, so check ’em out! And by the way, check out our virtual magazine too!

Here Comes the Train

Don't miss the ground-breaking ceremony for SunRail this Friday -- a major milestone in the long and winding track SunRail has traveled so far.

It'll be a while (2014, by state DOT's estimates) before we can buy tickets to ride, even on the first segment of the project, but we can see shovels go into the ground this week. Some 200 people have already RSVP'd , per DOT Public Info Officer Steve Olson.

A who's who of regional dignitaries will also be there, including Altamonte Springs city officials, Carlton Henley and others from the Seminole County Commission, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, U.S. Reps. John Mica Corrinne Brown, Florida Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad and officials from counties along the route from Volusia to Osceola.

Here are the basics:

• When: 10 a.m.
• Where: Future home of the Altamonte Springs SunRail station, corner of State Road 436 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard
  
• RSVP: 407-487-4035

Check out the invitation/image for additional details, including driving directions, or view it here on SunRail's website.

Adam Stratton’s family turned tragedy into an opportunity to help others.

Stratton, a Apopka High School standout (honor society, Disney “Dreamer and Doer,” athlete, Bible School teacher) and freshman at Florida State, was killed in a car crash in May 2005. He was only 19.

His family and friends formed the Adam Stratton Memorial Scholarship Foundation in his honor to help other Apopka students. Among its fundraisers is a party – 2011’s was called Rockin’ on the River, at Wekiva Island. The foundation also holds a chili cook-off, a golf tournament and a 5K run. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $100,000 to deserving students and organizations and aims to be Apopka’s largest scholarship program.

That’s organizers Tammy Eagle, Donna Stratton, Paula Armstrong, Claudia Shellhammer and Becki Lewis up top with a poster of Adam at the Rockin’ party in December.

In other photos, Belinda Stratton (married to Adam’s brother) works the entry desk and party-goers enjoy the festivities.

I have been a good dog. I like kids and I don’t chew the furniture (much...). Please find me a new home for the holidays.

That wish came true for at least 10 dogs (and one kitty) on Saturday at the Seminole Animal Services Home for the Holidays event.

That’s lucky Ellie in the photo up top with her new owner Shereen Heriba, on the right, with her friend Mary Niemi.

The number of adoptions made Saturday a very good day at the shelter, organizers said.

Wow, where did the time go? Just yesterday, it seems, our friends at Keep Seminole Beautiful were planning a river cleanup, its 30^th of 2011. That was (ahem) three weeks ago.

Volunteers, who started showing up at Wekiva Island 9 a.m., pulled more than 50 pounds of soda cans, plastic bottles and other trash from the Wekiva River. A-1 Assets, which recycles and remarkets electronics and similar scrap, also did a radio show from the event. Jackson Hewitt brought computers and other e-waste to be recycled, which they donated in KSB’s name.

You can see additional photos and read more about this event – and, more importantly – future happenings in the calendar section of the KSB website....