Latest news with #Leesburg
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
America's 50 Fastest-Growing Retirement Boomtowns
Great minds are retiring alike in 2025. According to a new GOBankingRates study, the populations in 50 U.S. retirement hotspots have increased by 20% or more since 2018. Check Out: Read Next: To find those places, GOBankingRates sourced the latest publicly available U.S. Census Bureau data to analyze cities with at least 7,500 people ages 65-plus and a percentage of the population ages 65-plus that is greater than the national average of 16.84%. Key Findings Leesburg, Florida, and Goodyear, Arizona, take first and second place in our rankings, each with retirement populations that have boomed over 54% since 2018. Twelve Florida cities ranked for their rapid growth, the most of any state: Leesburg (#1), Edgewater (#3), Tavares (#5), Fort Pierce (#7), Clermont (#8), Port Saint Lucie (#18), Winter Springs (#19), Pensacola (#21), Cape Coral (#24), West Palm Beach (#38), Palm Coast (#41) and Ormond Beach (#49). Five surprising non-Florida hotspots, including two Arizona cities, rounded out the top 10. They include Goodyear (#2); Peoria, Arizona (#4); Lacey, Washington (#6); Galveston, Texas (#9); and Vestavia Hills, Alabama (#10). Galveston is the only Texas city to break into the top 50. Keep reading for the full list of America's 50 fastest-growing retirement hotspots. Also see America's most expensive retirement towns. Be Aware: See More: 1. Leesburg, Florida Population 65+ (%): 28.9% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 9.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 54.8% View Next: 2. Goodyear, Arizona Population 65+ (%): 18.1% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.5% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 54.1% 3. Edgewater, Florida Population 65+ (%): 33% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 2.6% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 49% 4. Peoria, Arizona Population 65+ (%): 19.6% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 42.3% 5. Tavares, Florida Population 65+ (%): 38% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 41.6% 6. Lacey, Washington Population 65+ (%): 19% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 8.4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 40% That's Interesting: 7. Fort Pierce, Florida Population 65+ (%): 21.4% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.1% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 38.7% 8. Clermont, Florida Population 65+ (%): 24.7% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.7% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 38.5% 9. Galveston, Texas Population 65+ (%): 20.1% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 38.4% 10. Vestavia Hills, Alabama Population 65+ (%): 19.4% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 9.5% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 37.8% 11. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Population 65+ (%): 23.6% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 9.1% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 37.2% Trending Now: 12. Grove City, Ohio Population 65+ (%): 18.7% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.8% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 35.6% 13. Annapolis, Maryland Population 65+ (%): 19.3% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 33% 14. Rio Rancho, New Mexico Population 65+ (%): 17.2% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 32.9% 15. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Population 65+ (%): 19.9% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 32.1% 16. Longmont, Colorado Population 65+ (%): 17.8% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 32.1% Discover Next: 17. Mesquite, Nevada Population 65+ (%): 45% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.8% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 31.6% 18. Port Saint Lucie, Florida Population 65+ (%): 21.5% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.2% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 29.4% 19. Winter Springs, Florida Population 65+ (%): 20.9% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 2.4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 29.4% 20. New Bern, North Carolina Population 65+ (%): 24.1% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 28.6% 21. Pensacola, Florida Population 65+ (%): 20.9% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 27.5% Find Out: 22. Grand Junction, Colorado Population 65+ (%): 20.5% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 2.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 27.4% 23. Cleveland, Tennessee Population 65+ (%): 17.7% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.6% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 27.3% 24. Cape Coral, Florida Population 65+ (%): 25% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 27% 25. Clifton, New Jersey Population 65+ (%): 18.3% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 26.7% 26. Santa Fe, New Mexico Population 65+ (%): 25.8% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.5% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 25.8% Explore More: 27. Sierra Vista, Arizona Population 65+ (%): 21.6% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 10.8% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 25.5% 28. Saint Peters, Missouri Population 65+ (%): 18.7% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.7% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 25.3% 29. Mount Vernon, New York Population 65+ (%): 18.1% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.7% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 25% 30. Marion, Iowa Population 65+ (%): 18.2% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.5% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 24.8% 31. Petaluma, California Population 65+ (%): 21.3% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 8.3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 24.7% See Next: 32. Hackensack, New Jersey Population 65+ (%): 17.1% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 24.1% 33. Diamond Bar, California Population 65+ (%): 20.2% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 7.1% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 22.8% 34. Elmhurst, Illinois Population 65+ (%): 18.5% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.5% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 22.6% 35. Eugene, Oregon Population 65+ (%): 17.7% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 22.3% 36. Lake Oswego, Oregon Population 65+ (%): 22.9% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 22% For You: 37. Saint Charles, Missouri Population 65+ (%): 18.6% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.6% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 21.3% 38. West Palm Beach, Florida Population 65+ (%): 20.3% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 21.1% 39. Napa, California Population 65+ (%): 19.3% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 21% 40. Niagara Falls, New York Population 65+ (%): 18.8% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.2% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 21% 41. Palm Coast, Florida Population 65+ (%): 29.9% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 21% Read More: 42. Pacifica, California Population 65+ (%): 20.3% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 4.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.9% 43. Billings, Montana Population 65+ (%): 18.4% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.9% 44. Kingman, Arizona Population 65+ (%): 25.1% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 6.7% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.9% 45. Rapid City, South Dakota Population 65+ (%): 20.4% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3.9% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.8% 46. Shoreline, Washington Population 65+ (%): 20% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.6% Check Out: 47. Concord, New Hampshire Population 65+ (%): 18.5% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 3% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.4% 48. Quincy, Massachusetts Population 65+ (%): 17.7% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 6% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.4% 49. Ormond Beach, Florida Population 65+ (%): 33.3% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 6.4% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20.3% 50. Rocky Mount, North Carolina Population 65+ (%): 20.2% 1-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 5.7% 5-Year Population Ages 65+ Increase (%): 20%Editor's note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed. Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed U.S. cities with at least 7,500 people ages 65 and over and with an average percent of the population ages 65 and over greater than the national average of 16.84%. All population data was sourced from the U.S. Census' 5-year American Community Survey from 2018, 2022 and 2023. To qualify for this study, the city had to have higher than national averages in the one-year and five-year percent change in population ages 65 and over. For the final ranking, only the five-year percent change in population was taken into consideration. All data was collected on and is up to date as of July 15, 2025. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard The 5 Car Brands Named the Least Reliable of 2025 5 Cities You Need To Consider If You're Retiring in 2025 This article originally appeared on America's 50 Fastest-Growing Retirement Boomtowns
Fox News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Marilyn Monroe 'could be trouble,' Jackie Kennedy warned JFK: author
It is widely believed that Jackie Kennedy was no stranger to President John F. Kennedy's infidelities. But when it came to Marilyn Monroe, it was different, which is why she allegedly confronted her husband. The claim was made by J. Randy Taraborrelli, who has written a new biography about the 35th president, "JFK: Private, Public Secret." It's a follow-up to his 2023 book on the late first lady, "Jackie: Public, Private, Secret." For his latest book, Taraborrelli drew from hundreds of interviews conducted over 25 years. "Jackie cared [about Monroe]," Taraborrelli told Fox News Digital. "Jackie said to him, 'This one's different. This one could be trouble.' But JFK was the President of the United States. He was dealing with Khrushchev, communism and the potential of an atomic war. . . . I don't think Marilyn Monroe was really on his radar, to be honest, other than having her sing 'Happy Birthday' at Madison Square Garden." Taraborrelli claimed the conversation in question took place before Kennedy's birthday bash on May 19, 1962. Monroe, who had already established herself as a Hollywood sex symbol, gave a breathless rendition of "Happy Birthday" while wearing a nude-hued, skin-tight beaded gown. Jackie was not present at the festivities. Instead, she participated in the Loudoun Hunt Horse Show in Leesburg, Virginia. It was a decision Jackie's mother didn't approve of, the book claimed. "It's selfish," the matriarch told her, as quoted in the book. "Remember who you are. You are the first lady of the United States. She's just an actress." But Jackie's mind was made up. "I think the reason for her concern was because she knew her husband well, and it made sense to her, I think, that he was having an affair with Marilyn," Taraborrelli explained to Fox News Digital. Taraborrelli said Jackie "singled Marilyn out from all the others," feeling that the screen siren "could be a bigger problem." "JFK's response to that, though, was that he told her nothing was going on between him and Marilyn," said Taraborrelli. "But did she believe him? Could she believe him? Why would she believe him?" Tararborrelli continued. "… Why would she take his word for it? Jackie thinks maybe JFK is lying, but she doesn't know." Taraborrelli admitted there's "so much gray" in the story because "everyone knew a different version of events." "What we do know is that Marilyn shows up at Madison Square Garden, she sings 'Happy Birthday' to him. Jackie decides not to attend because she doesn't want to endorse it." For decades, it's been rumored that the president and the movie star had an affair. According to Hollywood lore, it's long been claimed that the pair spent a weekend at Bing Crosby's house in early 1962. For his book, Taraborrelli spoke to Pat Newcomb, who was Monroe's publicist and close friend. She told him that no meeting had ever taken place at Crosby's home. "Pat Newcomb said Marilyn Monroe told everybody all kinds of things, but she never told everybody the same thing," Taraborrelli explained. "She just did not believe that JFK and Marilyn were having an affair. And as I wrote in the book, she doesn't strike me as a person who would lie about it, not at the age of 95. I think that's what happens with people as they get older, and many of my sources for this book were in their 90s and 100s. They have a lot less reason [to lie]. Why protect Marilyn about 65 years after the fact? There's nothing that I got from Pat that made me feel like she was interested in some kind of mythology." "She said, 'Look, I don't even know where Bing Crosby lived,'" Taraborrelli shared. "… You don't think about what your friends were doing 65 years ago. But if your friend was having an affair with John F. Kennedy, the president, I think it's something that you'd remember, right? She's also Marilyn's publicist. She would've been the one to set up Marilyn going to Palm Springs to be with JFK at Bing Crosby's house." WATCH: NEW MARILYN MONROE PHOTOS TAKEN BY CLOSE FRIEND REVEALED IN BOOK Taraborrelli said he had spoken to several sources to learn whether Monroe and Kennedy had ever had a tryst. He concluded that there isn't enough evidence to support that theory. "[Pat] was pretty adamant that … it could have just been a figment of Marilyn's imagination," Taraborrelli claimed. "And here's the thing that people need to understand – Marilyn Monroe was the best narrator of her own life. . . . She often imagined a life for herself that wasn't really true. . . . And I think that's a big part of how all of this has evolved over the years." "When it came to that weekend at Bing Crosby's house, Pat Newcomb didn't know anything about that," Taraborrelli shared. "She said if it had happened, she would've known, because she was her best friend. We also looked at other sources who've told that story over the years, and we were able to debunk them." Taraborrelli does believe that at one point, Monroe called the Kennedy home in Hyannis Port in 1962 before the Madison Square Garden event. It's a claim that was previously shared in his book about Jackie. But he was adamant that despite Jackie's reported worries about the blonde bombshell, "we don't have enough evidence to support that Marilyn and JFK had an affair." According to the book, Louise "Fifi" Fell, a socialite and friend of the Kennedys, hosted a black-tie party at her New York City pad in 1962. It was there, Taraborrelli claimed, that Kennedy met Monroe. "It was a cocktail party, and Peter Lawford [actor and Rat Pack member] invited both Marilyn and JFK," Taraborrelli told Fox News Digital. "Marilyn was very, very late in getting there. JFK almost left without having met her." Six months earlier, Monroe was at a Frank Sinatra concert in Las Vegas. Kennedy's sisters, Jean and Pat, were also present. Lawford then invited Monroe to dinner at the couple's Santa Monica home in honor of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, said Taraborrelli. An excited Monroe allegedly told close friends that it was "a date" with Bobby. It was really a get-together with "at least a dozen others," Taraborrelli pointed out. Monroe died in August 1962 from a barbiturate overdose. She was 36. According to Taraborrelli, Jackie was said to be saddened by the news. "It was tragic and awful," Taraborrelli reflected. "People were just very sad that an overdose ended her life. It was a terrible, terrible thing." While Taraborrelli couldn't verify the rumor surrounding the star, he did make a surprising discovery about Kennedy. "What surprised me were the complexities of his story," Taraborrelli explained. "In this book, I didn't want to defend him … but I think you can understand him better. Towards the end of the book, he takes total accountability on his part when he tells his sister-in-law, 'The way that I treated Jackie was very painful, and by painful, I mean shameful.' That accountability surprised me. He became a man who understood the hurt caused by his actions [in their marriage]. He did everything he could to rectify it before his death." "Jackie and JFK were getting ready to renew their wedding vows," he said. "Her mother even remarked how Jackie was still so in love with JFK. And then he was murdered. It's a terrible story, but it's one of accountability and forgiveness."
Washington Post
20-07-2025
- General
- Washington Post
A nonprofit grew on a beautiful manor, rent-free. The deal is ending.
The Arc of Loudoun, a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities, had an oasis for 16 years, rent-free. Tucked off a neighborhood road in Leesburg, Virginia, the campus complex of clinics and schools offered children, adults and families from throughout the state and beyond the space for walks and views of open fields. The land and a mansion on it had been left in a trust more than 100 years ago by a family of wealthy iron industrialists, who dedicated the property to serve 'children in need.' But the Arc and the landlord, the Margaret Paxton Memorial for Convalescent Children, have spent years in negotiations over a lease to no resolution. Now, the Arc says it plans to downsize on the campus and shutter or move operations from that location. Next month, it will close a behavior clinic that provides therapy for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and a preschool that serves young children. It will move its Ability Fitness Center — specially designed to help people gain mobility, strength and confidence as they deal with strokes, brain injuries, cerebral palsy and other conditions — to another space for 18 months and will then have to find a more permanent home. The fate of the Arc's Aurora School, a private, year-round special education school that draws students from as far as D.C. and West Virginia, remains uncertain. Arc officials said they plan to consolidate the school into fewer buildings on the campus until they can find another place to go, but officials with the trust said the school should not start another academic year there. Mary Lou Leipheimer, a trustee for the Paxton trust since 2022, said the organization has negotiated for four years with the Arc and been in mediation since October, but the two sides can't come to an agreement. In June, the trust pulled out of mediation talks. 'From our perspective, the Arc wants to continue to use the campus without change,' Leipheimer said. 'It wants to use the campus as is, rent-free, without sharing it with other tenants, indefinitely. The trust believes the campus can do more.' She said the trust wants to construct 'new buildings and renovate old ones on the site and lease to multiple tenants and serve a greater number of children in different and complementary ways.' The Arc's move will allow the trustees to make way for a new complex that will include one or two anchor tenants, as well as spots for start-ups, a park, a coffeehouse, a welcome center and an amphitheater. Lisa Max, the chief executive of the Arc, said that she and her board of directors have gone to see about a dozen properties in the area as potential new sites but that most did not meet the zoning requirements for the Arc's special education school and preschool. 'It's not that we don't have money,' said Max, whose group has an $8 million annual budget from grants, donations, fundraising, private-paying clients, medical insurance payments and state funding. 'It's a question of finding space that's suitable for our needs.' The changes will mean job losses for some of the Arc's 101 employees and a disruption or loss of services for many of its roughly 250 clients, children and adults with profound and complex needs. For those who depend on the Arc, news of the coming changes has created nervousness and uncertainty, according to interviews with clients, their families, employees, local officials and local residents. Many have described it as a loss of a sense of community. A grandmother is scared she won't be able to find another preschool for her grandson who has behavioral challenges. A mom frets that her teenage autistic son will have to be home-schooled. A wife knows she will have to drive farther to get her husband to rehabilitation services. 'We're devastated,' said Debbie Wheeler, 69, of Leesburg, whose 4-year-old grandson has attended the Arc's preschool, the Open Door Learning Center, for several years. 'My grandson wasn't using his words and communicating and having tantrums. Here, he's learned so much. He uses his vocabulary, he plays well with others, he shares. We cried when we heard it's closing. We don't have anywhere to go.' The Paxton property, where the Arc has made a home, has a unique history. In 1869, Charles R. Paxton and his wife, Rachel, came to Leesburg and paid $50,000 for roughly 700 acres. As a young man, Paxton had worked as a civil engineer on what was once known as the Erie Railroad. He later moved to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, where he made a fortune in the iron business, according to Rachel Paxton's papers located at the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg. He hired a New York architect to design a 32-room Victorian manor house, and a local builder constructed it. Historians have described the mansion, called Carlheim, as one of the few houses in the area to show a distinctive architectural style after the Civil War — a time when Virginia was in terrible economic shape. Over the years, much of the Paxton property was sold off, but 16 acres and the mansion remained. The Paxtons had one daughter, Margaret, who married Bolivar Christian, a lawyer and lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army, and they had one child, Charles Paxton Christian, who died of diphtheria at age 5. Margaret fell into a deep depression and her marriage ended, according to Stacy Harrison, parish historian at St. James' Episcopal Church in Leesburg, where the Paxtons were members. Margaret died at 50. 'It's kind of a tragic, heartbreaking story,' Harrison said. In her will, Rachel Paxton, who died at 95, left the property in a trust in her daughter's name and called for the house and land to be used for caring for 'convalescent' children. She named a board of trustees to oversee the trust and property. She also created a board of visitors from her church to advise the trustees. In the years that followed, the house served as a place for children recovering from tuberculosis, then an orphanage, then a private child care center. In 2004, when the trustees wanted to demolish the house and other buildings on the property, locals launched a 'Save Paxton' campaign. The Leesburg Town Council voted unanimously to include the Paxton property in the town's historic district. A lawyer for the trust, Jay Chadwick, said the property's county tax assessment shows the land is now worth $3.2 million. In 2008, the Arc entered into an initial 10-year lease with the trust and moved onto the campus. But the relationship between the two frayed over the years. Neither side can talk publicly in detail about the latest offer because the mediation was confidential. Leipheimer said the trustees have 'loved the Arc program' and 'would love to continue to support the program.' They tried to make it work, she said, but 'we're at a stalemate.' The trustees said that when they redevelop the site, they expect the new tenants to pay some rent, although they have not set an exact amount. Rev. Chad Martin, the rector at St. James' Episcopal Church, said he was disheartened to hear that the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. He said he believes the Arc does 'some incredible things for Leesburg and the county.' Kristen C. Umstattd, a Loudoun County supervisor who represents the Leesburg District, said the Arc is 'an absolutely wonderful and essential facility for Leesburg. I can't imagine a better group to meet the requirements of the trust and the desires of the original owner of the land.' On a recent day at the Arc, clients who've come to depend on its services worked with therapists and staff members and talked about how the changes at the Paxton campus would affect their lives. Eighteen-year-old Abhay Mysore experienced a traumatic brain injury three years ago when he was the passenger in the front seat of a car going 85 mph in a parking lot before it crashed into a tree, said his mother, Geetha Krishnamurthy. The driver, her son's friend, was not seriously injured, she said. After seven weeks at a local hospital and 12 weeks at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Mysore was referred to the Arc's fitness center. He and his mother have come twice a week for more than a year, making the 30-minute drive from their home in Chantilly for the opportunity to work with the Arc's specialists. 'He wasn't able to do these stretches before he started coming here,' Krishnamurthy said as she watched her son do exercises. 'He's come a long way, and they've cared so much about helping him. We hate to see them move from here but would drive far to get him help from the Arc.' Mark Soiland, a 59-year-old former master carpenter and builder from Purcellville, was referred to the Arc's fitness center after a large tree branch struck his head while he was working in his yard. The accident caused a traumatic brain injury and neck fracture. Doctors rebuilt half of his skull with titanium, and he had to relearn how to talk, walk and feed himself. 'His physicality was stripped from him, and it was really hard to witness,' said Lisa Soiland, his wife. 'The Arc gave us the next chapter in rehabilitation, and it gave us community so you don't feel like an island when you're going through life's challenges.' 'This place gives you hope, encouragement,' she said. 'It gets me up, gets me motivated to keep going,' her husband said. 'It makes me feel like I can do things again and I can accomplish things.' Nadya Osterling's 16-year-old son, Nico, who has autism, has been a student at the Aurora School for almost five years. He arrived after his private school in Alexandria closed during the pandemic. Since her son has been at the Aurora School, Osterling said, she and her family have seen major improvements in his behavior and demeanor. Teachers and instructors have worked with Nico to help him learn how to communicate using an iPad. Osterling said she's worried she won't be able to find another school in the Washington area that doesn't have a waiting list and can meet her son's needs in time for him to start the fall academic year. She may have to home-school him, which she said would mean he would miss out on the camaraderie of classmates — and lose access to the physical, occupational and other therapies that he now gets at the Arc. 'There's no other school that can meet Nico's needs,' she said. 'It would break my kid to leave there. He would be devastated. He's grown up there. They're like his extended family.' One of Nico's therapists, Keira Anderson, recalled how he 'could barely walk' around the Arc's grassy campus when he came. 'He used to sit in his wheelchair and not interact much,' she said. 'Now he walks everywhere and uses his tablet to tell us what he wants and needs.' He goes on outings with his classmates to local restaurants and grocery stores, she said. 'He laughs, he smiles. He participates and communicates. It's been exciting to watch his progress.' Anderson said Nico and other Aurora students could regress in the skills they've developed if they have to leave the Aurora School and go to other places not as well suited to work with them one-on-one. 'Forty-two kids who need consistency, who need a regular schedule and specialized support are getting ready to have no place to go,' Anderson said. 'It's huge and devastating on each of those students' lives. It breaks my heart.'
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who will hold court? Debate on shuffleboard vs. Forward Paths dominates Leesburg meeting
LEESBURG — Strong words and emotions dominated the public comments portion of the Leesburg City Commission meeting on July 14 as the public use of a downtown Leesburg property occupied by shuffleboard and tennis courts was debated. Leesburg Shuffleboard Club members and other citizens lined up in support of keeping the courts on Second and Palmetto streets. Representatives of the Forward Paths Foundation, a nonprofit that helps youth transitioning out of foster care, recommended that the land be deeded to them, and to relocate the 22-lane courts because of the dire homelessness problem experienced by young adults newly on their own without a place to sleep or family support. The Forward Paths vs. LSC spilled over from the public comment portion of the budget meeting on July 10, when Commissioner/former Mayor Jimmy Burry suggested shortly before adjourning that a quitclaim deed to transfer ownership of the shuffleboard courts land be given to Forward Paths. Testimonies and accusations stir up emotions Commenters at the July 14 Leesburg City Commission meeting shared stories about how the club has helped them after the death of a spouse and regain happiness. They praised the sport's health benefits and pointed out the revenue the city gains from out-of-town visitors. Questions around the actual use of the courts by Leesburg residents and whether they were "locked up" and kept off limits from the public were brought up by Mayor Alan Reisman and Burry. A facilities employee told the board that the courts were not locked, but given an appearance of being locked to keep out loiterers. Burry's wife, Denise, and her son, Jacob Bonynge, lead the nonprofit organization as executive director and president and spoke at the July 14 meeting. Bonynge took the podium and accused the Leesburg Shuffleboard Club members of inflating their membership numbers and crowdsourcing support from people not directly involved with the community. "Not only are there multiple locations for tournaments throughout Lake County, but there are multiple locations that hold tournaments in the city of Leesburg," Bonynge pointed out. Sharon Wild of the Hawthorne Shuffleboard Club clarified that several of the courts are private, and a player just can't just go recreate on any court. "We have 27 or more tournaments a year in the Northern District," Wild explained. "We have to provide water. We have to clean the courts. ... We have to split those expenses. That's why we can't afford to lose the shuffleboard courts at Leesburg." LSC Secretary Carol Helfer took the podium and reported the membership roster as having 73 members from 65, explaining that the visitors had already planned to become members. "The mayor asked about where we lived and how many lived in Leesburg," Helfer pointed out. "I live in The Villages, but I also belong to St. Paul's Catholic Church in Leesburg. I also a volunteer at the hospital here in Leesburg, and my husband parks his plane at the Leesburg airport. We are here in Leesburg all the time. I do more things in Leesburg than I do in The Villages. ... I don't think it matters where your bed is. I think it matters what you support." 'No conflict of interest,' says city attorney A couple of LSC players accused the commission of backroom dealings on the matter. Minner reiterated that he told Burry that the courts' property matter should go before a public hearing first, at the July 10 budget meeting. The topic will have its first reading at the Monday, Aug. 25, meeting of the Leesburg Commission. The city manager defended the commission's transparency and condemned any suggestion that he and Burry tried to "skirt one by the public." Ongoing tension between Minner and Connell added to the drama. Minner compared Burry's solicitations for Forward Paths with Commissioner Connell's recent push to pause annexations. Connell, visibly upset at the meeting, explained to the Daily Commercial that he was offended by the analogy, and he made sure the topic was added to meeting agendas. At the July 10 budget meeting, Forward Paths' Burry initially explained that the organization had set up a functional "tiny home" community in Eustis and was recently nominated for a service award. Forward Paths, she said, has assisted young adults to become certified nursing assistants and serve in other professional capacities in the community. But at the July 14 commission meeting, the executive director accused the Leesburg Shuffleboard Club contingent of "NIMBY," which stands for "Not in My Back Yard," and denounced allegations of a conflict of interest. So did City Attorney Grant Watson, who clarified to all in attendance at the July 14 commission meeting that there is no conflict of interest in considering deeding out the property to Forward Paths because it's a nonprofit and no one on its staff will experience financial gain. Another Forward Paths representative questioned why the club couldn't play elsewhere. "I am sure, as the commission always does, other options and considerations will be discussed and then a final vote will be taken," Minner told the Daily Commercial after the meeting. Former Leesburg Mayor Bill Polk warned the commission at the July 14 meeting not to give land to one nonprofit, that it would create a "flood" of property solicitations from the other hundreds of nonprofits in the area. "Everybody and their brother's going to be here wanting a piece of property," Polk warned. Shuffleboard has a deep history in Leesburg Back in the early 20th century, the courts were located at Venetian Gardens, built as part of FDR's Works Progress Administration, which gave jobs to unemployed Leesburg men during the Great Depression. "The first few shuffleboard courts were in front of the pool, which was given to the city in 1929 by the first Kiwanis Club," said an essay provided by the Leesburg Heritage Museum. Meanwhile, the site at Second Street was a park of sorts where a few small rentals for tourists, who arrived in trailers and were dubbed the "Tin Can Tourists." The courts on Second and Palmetto streets were built in 1971 because the courts at Venetian Gardens were on sandy ground and started to have problems. The city later assigned maintenance of the courts to the most recent incarnation of the Leesburg Shuffleboard Club in 1985 and provided the club with a clubhouse and storage area. Why is Forward Paths set on that one parcel? Denise Burry said at the meeting that she'd been looking for around 10 years, and the Second Street property was ideal for her clients who need access to work and socializing. What about other options, such as empty downtown apartments? The Daily Commercial asked the city if empty apartments could be used by Forward Paths. "Forward Paths' requirements are pretty specific, and they need around 2 acres," Minner told the Daily Commercial. "In the downtown area, it's going to be extremely difficult to string that together. So as far as the city goes, FP has been through our inventory." The city of Leesburg Master Plan gives suggestions for resurfacing the shuffleboard courts and tennis courts. Minner mentioned a potential $1 million "Cadillac plan" of improvements at the July 10 budget meeting, including adding pickleball courts behind the Lakefront TV station. According to the city's master plan, the project should also include a trail connection through the site to the Venetian Gardens Trail at the Woodward/Canal intersection. Rick Tallman of the Leesburg Shuffleboard Club to the commission: "I'd like to remind all of you that you have a vision and a mission statement on your website to be a diverse community energetically working in collaboration to ensure that the city of Leesburg upholds its history, and you've heard about the history of shuffleboard here." This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Leesburg Commission hears Forward Paths vs. Leesburg Shuffleboard Club Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Yahoo
Father of suspect brings son to Leesburg police after fatal shooting
A man was fatally shot Friday evening in Leesburg and while investigators were at the scene the father of the suspect brought his son to the Police Department where he turned himself in. Kameryn A. Pickard, 18, of Mount Dora, was arrested on charges including premeditated murder, according to a news release from the Leesburg Police Department. He remains in the Lake County Jail without bond. Around 7 p.m. police responded to the 1000 block of Tuskegee Street in reference to a person who had been shot, the agency said. Upon arrival, officers and EMS personnel rendered aid to 20-year-old Dontae D. Copeland, of Leesburg, who was subsequently transported to UF Health Leesburg Hospital, the release stated. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital. The agency said detectives and Leesburg Crime Scene investigators arrived at the scene to begin the investigation and process evidence. While they were there Pickard's father brought his son to the Police Department. Detectives conducted an interview with Pickard and subsequently arrested in, the release stated. Detectives are working with the State Attorney's Office to determine appropriate charges. Police said the crime scene remains active as detectives continue seeking witnesses, video surveillance and other evidence. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Police Department at 352-787-2121 or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477). Callers can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward. More information will be released as it becomes available.
