by Beth Kassab | Jan 27, 2026 | News, Police and Public Safety, Uncategorized
Police Release Image of Possible Suspect in Winter Park Church Fire
Police asked the public for information in the case of a person who cut down a banner with a rainbow flag on the lawn of First Congregational Church of Winter Park and set it on fire near the church doors
Jan. 27, 2026
By Beth Kassab
The Winter Park Police Department on Tuesday released an image captured from surveillance video that shows a possible suspect in the fire set at First Congregational Church of Winter Park that targeted a banner that said “Everyone is welcome here” over a sky blue background with a rainbow flag.
The photo appeared to show a man on a sidewalk in dark clothing wearing a hat and possibly a face mask. The man is also wearing dark shoes with white soles. It wasn’t clear from the information released by the police department where the image was captured or when.
An image released by police shows a potential suspect in the church fire that burned a welcome banner.
The department did not address why it waited a week since the fire that left a pile of ash and minor damage on the eastern double doors of the church to solicit help from the public in identifying a suspect.
“All avenues of investigation are being followed to identify the suspect and determine if the crime committed had a biased-based motive,” a release from the department stated.
Florida statutes call for tougher penalties on misdemeanors and felonies if there is evidence the defendant acted out of hate or prejudice based on the “race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status or advanced age of the victim.”
A pile of ash and smoke and heat damage can be seen at the church doors after the banner was set on fire. (Photos courtesy of First Congregational Church of Winter Park)
On Sunday, Senior Minister Shawn Garvey delivered an emotional sermon with a number of notable community members in the pews to show solidarity with the church such as Anna Eskamani, who represents Winter Park in the Florida House, former Mayor Steve Leary, who recently ran for Orange County commissioner, and a number of officials from Rollins College and the Mayflower, a senior community.
Garvey read a statement from Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings that said, in part, “though they destroyed the sign, they can never destroy what’s in your heart.”
Garvey told the congregation that, a times, the church’s long history of social justice work and Christian teachings are principles that “sometimes bring the heat, literally.”
“Bring it …,” he said. “…. If the building disappears, we’ll meet somewhere else. Who cares? They won’t break us.”
Garvey said the church’s newly installed surveillance cameras captured the suspect “making a beeline” toward the welcome banner just before midnight on Jan. 20. The church is widely known for its acceptance and support of the LGBTQ community often represented by the rainbow flag on the banner.
The video shows the person cutting down the banner and bringing it to the church doors before setting it on fire.
The banner stood on the lawn of First Congregational Church of Winter Park since about Easter until it was cut down and set on fire last week.
A police report released Tuesday says an unidentified witness called police about 11:50 p.m. after smelling smoke and seeing the fire while walking to the Alfond Inn, which is just across Interlachen Avenue from the church.
The fire was quickly extinguished and city Fire Marshal Jim Santoro and Det. Daniel Fritz from the state Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosives arrived to investigate.
Santoro told the Voice that the state bureau along with Winter Park Police would take the lead in the investigation. He said the fire appeared intentionally set, though it wasn’t immediately clear what was used to start the fire.
He said such cases are unusual in Winter Park.
“This is not very common,” Santoro said. “We probably only get something like this every couple or three years and I’ve never seen one exactly like this and I’ve been with the department 36 years.”
The police report listed potential charges of attempted arson, petty theft and damage to church property.
Police are asking anyone who has any information about the incident to contact Winter Park Det. R. Budde at 407-599-3658 or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS(8477).
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
To comment or read comments from others, click here →
by Beth Kassab | Jan 24, 2026 | News, Police and Public Safety, Uncategorized
Winter Park Church's 'Everyone is Welcome' Banner Cut Down and Set on Fire in Apparent Hate Crime
The incident at First Congregational Church of Winter Park happened earlier this week and appeared to target the church’s welcoming stance toward LGBTQ rights
Jan. 24, 2026
By Beth Kassab
A potential hate crime is under investigation after a banner in front of First Congregational Church of Winter Park with the words “Everyone is welcome here” on a sky blue background and a rainbow flag was cut down by an unidentified man with a knife, placed at the sanctuary door and lit on fire.
The incident happened just before midnight on Tuesday and was caught on security camera footage, said Senior Minister Shawn Garvey, who said he was grateful that a passerby noticed the flames just a few minutes later and called Winter Park Fire Rescue.
A pile of ash remained in front of the doors to the church after the banner fire was extinguished by Winter Park Fire Rescue. (Photos courtesy of First Congregational Church of Winter Park)
“The Fire Department was right there and put it out quickly,” he said. “It could have been worse … at that time of day nobody was on property.”
A pile of ash was left in front of the smoke-stained and heat-damaged white double-doors of the sanctuary. The empty frame that held the banner still stood on the church’s lawn along Interlachen Avenue.
Winter Park Police are investigating, he said, what appeared to be a hate crime against the church’s open and supportive message toward LGBTQ members and the larger community. Winter Park Police could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.
The church first added the banner to its lawn around Easter of last year.
“Regrettably in the history of our church, dealing with expressions of hate like that are nothing new,” Garvey said.
The Ku Klux Klan burned a cross on the lawn of the church’s former parsonage (across the street from where the Alfond Inn stands today) in the early 1950’s in response to a sermon that made a case for desegregation in Florida. The church was founded 1884 by New England abolitionists as part of the United Church of Christ, and its members founded Rollins College. It served as a gathering spot for Rollins President Hamilton Holt and Civil Rights leaders like Harry T. Moore and Mary McLeod Bethune to rally against segregation.
More recently, Garvey said, the church saw 50 people line its sidewalk during worship about eight years ago to protest the church because members supported the right to abortion and other reproductive rights. And in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, he said he received angry phone calls about a sign at the church that expressed solidarity with those impacted by Floyd’s death.
An empty frames stands in front of the church from where the “Everyone is welcome here” banner was cut down.
Garvey said the church’s social justice history is an important part of its fabric.
“Even though it’s sometimes scary and upsetting we still feel called to follow that history,” he said of the congregation that has about 350 members. “The gospel of Jesus speaks strongly to being a voice for the voiceless.”
The church’s web site states that “all of the baptized ‘belong body and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ No matter who – no matter what – no matter where we are on life’s journey – notwithstanding race, gender, sexual orientation, class or creed – we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith.”
More than 140 years into the church’s history, he said, some core challenges remain the same.
“As far as we’ve come and all the work we do, hate is just hate and insecurity is insecurity,” he said.
The video footage captured Tuesday by new security cameras the church installed just weeks before does not show a clear image of the face of the man who cut the banner, which had stood on the church lawn since Easter, and lit the fire. He was wearing a black baseball cap.
He appeared to approach the church on foot from the north and walked directly toward the banner. When a car passed by, he appeared to briefly pretend to be on his phone, before continuing toward the banner where he cut it with a knife and then approached the sanctuary doors to light the fire, Garvey said.
At Sunday’s service, Garvey plans to address the incident and share a number of supportive messages, including one from Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, he’s received in recent days.
He said people are expressing heartbreak and anger over what happened. But also pride at the church’s presence in the community.
During times like this, Garvey said, the church can “often feel like an island, but we’re not.”
The membership will take up a discussion to determine how or if the “Everyone is welcome here” banner is replaced.
“In our years together since I came to be with you, we’ve gone through a lot,” he told the congregation in an email on Friday. “Through all of it, we have remained strong and grown stronger in our faith and in our commitment to one another. This week is yet another thread of the ongoing tapestry of what we truly are as this church and always have been throughout our history here in Winter Park. We will continue to be the inclusive, loving presence of God as we know it through Jesus and not allow events like this week to deter or frighten us.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
To comment or read comments from others, click here →
by Beth Kassab | Jan 21, 2026 | Uncategorized
Homeowners Continue Fight in Court Against Virginia Heights Neighbor Over Private Park
At stake, is the use of a shared lakefront lot some residents use to launch kayaks or picnic. The homeowners next to the park want to limit when and how the land is used.
Jan. 21, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
A neighborhood squabble over a private Lake Virginia park is escalating in court.
Eric and Diane Holm and Brian and Caryn Albertson sued their Virginia Heights neighbor Stephanie Guss over “filthy” kayaks and other complaints about the lakefront neighborhood park that sits between their homes.
The lawsuit was filed in April, but Guss was not served until just before Thanksgiving after Orange Circuit Court Judge Lisa Munyon ordered the lawsuit would be dismissed if the Holms and Albertsons didn’t take action.
A woman and child walk to the private neighborhood park. The access point may appear to be on private property, but there’s a walkway to the shared lot deeded to Virginia Heights residents.
Since then, neighbors have quietly raised more than $10,000 to help with Guss’ legal bills.
So far, no court hearings have been set on the legal fight in one of Winter Park’s oldest neighborhoods where the park has been a beloved site for community gatherings.
At stake, is how much access neighbors have to the land platted 100 years ago to give residents who don’t own lake lots a spot to launch kayaks, hold picnics or otherwise enjoy views of Lake Virginia, part of Winter Park’s picturesque chain of lakes.
Several neighbors supporting Guss declined to comment for this story because they said they feared they would be sued next.
“Their suit is in essence, only a thinly veiled attempt at asserting a view right over the park — a right they do not possess. The choice of the Holms and Albertsons to pursue litigation over cooperation has devastated the Virginia Heights community,” they wrote in an unsigned letter to the Winter Park Voice. “The result is a culture of fear and intimidation in a once neighborly community.”
But the Holms and Albertsons, who also declined to be interviewed, said in a written statement their lawsuit’s goal “is to get clear, workable guidance that everyone can follow in 2026—so deeded homeowners can enjoy the park while the adjacent homes can maintain reasonable privacy and security.”
Kayaks are stored on a rack in the private park on Lake Virginia.
The two families said they want better signs to keep the public out of the park and daylight park hours only. They also would like all boats and personal storage out so “the park isn’t treated as a storage area and so rules are consistent and transparent for everyone.”
“We consider ourselves respectful neighbors, and we’re asking for the same respect in return — especially given the park’s immediate proximity to two backyards,” the two families said in a statement.
Holm, a major Republican donor who has hosted Vice President J.D. Vance for lunch at his home and a philanthropist who operates multiple Golden Corral, Peach Valley Cafe and Jersey Mike’s Subs locations, bought his property in 2008 for $3.1 million. Albertson paid $3.1 million for his property in 2020 and built his house in 2024.
But the neighbors argued they held a community meeting in September and agreed to make several improvements. They said they were blindsided when Guss was served with the lawsuit two months later.
“Virginia Heights has responded not with anger, but with resolve,” the neighbors said in the unsigned statement. “We remain open to good-faith discussions about park management, safety protocols, and maintenance responsibilities. … But dialogue requires mutual respect and a genuine willingness to work together, not ultimatums backed by legal threats.”
“We believe shared spaces should be managed for the benefit of all, not redesigned to favor two households.”
Neighbors gathered last year at the park with homes belonging to Brian Albertson and Eric Holm in the background.
In the April lawsuit, the Holms and Albertsons said neighborhood residents left about 30 kayaks, lifejackets and oars to take up space in the storage racks at the park.
“Many of the kayaks in and around the Racks are filthy, showing no signs of use within the last year or more and are covered in dust, dirt, and mildew,” the lawsuit said.
The Holms and Albertsons also said bushes had been planted at the park “for the sole purpose of interfering with Plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their properties,” the lawsuit said, adding they also saw someone doing drugs in the park.
The neighbors downplayed the Holms’ and Albertsons’ allegations raised in the April lawsuit.
“The ironies are striking: claims of safety concerns that have never been reported to police; demands to remove ‘filthy’ kayaks that families use regularly; assertions that trees planted to protect shoreline ecology are ‘obstructions’; suggestions that a gate and limited hours would somehow improve community access,” they wrote in their letter.
Guss, who was named in the litigation because she helped with the boat rack inquiries, also declined to be interviewed for this story.
“Plaintiffs believe that Defendant has co-conspirators that are yet-to-be-identified members of the community,” the April lawsuit said.
The Holms and Albertsons also unsuccessfully sued Guss in 2024 to find out the kayak owners’ names.
Both sides in the neighborhood fight also believe a 1971 court order could help their case. The court judgement ordered the former owners of the properties now occupied by Holm and Albertson to take down wire fencing and landscaping they put in the park after they were challenged by Virginia Heights residents.
“It’s more than 50 years old, and people in the neighborhood interpret it differently,” Holm said in an email. “The only way to get clarity—and to make sure everyone is working from the same rules—is to obtain an updated, definitive order from the court.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
To comment or read comments from others, click here →
by Beth Kassab | Jan 15, 2026 | Uncategorized
DePugh Nursing Center Sold for $5.4 Million
The money will go to the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation to fund other local needs
Jan. 15, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Zane Williams paid $5.4 million for the Gardens at DePugh Nursing Center and the dollars will go to the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation to fund charitable causes.
Rick Baldwin, who served as chairman of DePugh’s board of directors, said the nursing center association will be dissolved and the money from the sale will help support other local needs through the foundation.
Baldwin, who also serves as a trustee at the Morse Genius Foundation, did not confirm the sale price, which was listed on records for the Orange County Property Appraiser.
The new owner of the 1.7 acre property at 550 W. Morse Blvd is listed as Z 17, LLC, a company registered to Williams at the address of Z Properties.
Williams, who last week announced plans for a mixed-use development on the site, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the sale and how the proceeds will be used.
Baldwin said the Morse Genius Foundation supported the DePugh center over the years and he felt comfortable that it would also responsibly use the proceeds from the sale to fund other needs.
“Our mission was to take care of the less fortunate,” Baldwin said of DePugh, noting that mission aligns with the foundation’s history of giving.
According to its website, the foundation has also supported arts groups such as the local ballet and opera along with Rollins College, the University of Central Florida’s nursing college and social services groups such as the Boys and Girls Club, Grace Medical Home and others, including the Welbourne Nursery and Preschool in Winter Park and Winter Park Day Nursery.
The new development at the DePugh site will bring further change for the historically Black neighborhood west of Park Avenue that dates back to the city’s founding. The area has undergone significant gentrification over the past 25 years with the redevelopment of Hannibal Square and a number of larger homes replacing small, single-story houses.
The DePugh center opened in 1956 as the first state-approved nursing home where aging Black residents could seek care during segregation. The center was named for Mary Lee DePugh, who moved to Winter Park in 1937 to work for a white family she knew from the Chicago area and began advocating to provide health care to those in need as part of her work with the Ideal Woman’s Club, which she founded on the west side of the city. She died before the center opened.
Baldwin said he remains saddened by DePugh’s closure last year.
“I hate it that the nursing home had to close but you can pick up the paper every day and see what’s happening to Medicaid,” he said.
Medicaid didn’t even cover half of a day’s care for residents by the time the center closed, he said.
“It just wasn’t sustainable the way they cut all those reimbursements,” he said. “We tried for years. It’s heartbreaking, but I know it’s happening all over the country, it’s not just here.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
To comment or read comments from others, click here →
by Beth Kassab | Jan 15, 2026 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Schools
Have Complaints about Electric Scooters and Bikes? Meeting Scheduled for Next Month
Plus Blue Bamboo’s leader offered a short update on the group’s financial status in the wake of multiple changes at the organization operating at the city’s old library
Jan. 15, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Residents who have questions or concerns about safety related to electric bikes and scooters, which have soared in popularity in recent years, are invited to attend a community meeting at Winter Park Community Center on Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
The meeting comes in the wake of a rising number of accidents and concerns surrounding the motorized devices that are increasingly common in and around school campuses.
Commissioner Craig Russell, who is also a teacher and coach at Winter Park High School, has taken the lead on the topic with a series of safety videos aimed at students and parents and, now, plans for a larger community discussion.
Russell said at Wednesday’s City Commission session that the meeting in February will be about sharing the facts and providing any available updates on the Legislative session, where a proposal (HB 243 and SB 382) is being debated that would put more regulations on e-bikes and scooters and their often young drivers.
“I just want to continue with our public safety effort,” Russell said. “It’s not going to be me telling parents what to do. It’s an informational session.”
The Voice reported last month that Orange County School Board members tossed around potential new regulations such as requiring licenses, training and speed limits at a meeting in November.
Since 2017, electric scooter injuries in the U.S. have surged by 400%, with Florida being a top state in emergency room visits for such injuries, staff told board members, citing data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. These accidents have more than doubled since 2023 for children under 15.
Update on Blue Bamboo
Commissioners heard an update on Wednesday from Jeff Flowers, who is leading the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts project that is leasing the city’s old library building.
The group’s founder Chris Cortez died last month after a short illness with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
Flowers, a chemist and arts philanthropist who served two stints on the Maitland City Council, noted the challenges the group has faced with the loss of Cortez and difficulty finding tenants for the second and third floors of the building. He said there have been three “very serious” sublease prospects, but no deals yet.
“We are in serious discussions now with another,” he said. “It’s not there yet, but it looks good.”
He said the Blue Bamboo tallied 8,300 people attending shows over the past six months and $180,000 in ticket sales. He said revenue totaled about $340,000 including concession sales and donations.
The Blue Bamboo is required to pay the city $132,000 a year in rent for the building, an amount scheduled to rise to $276,000 next year, according to the lease agreement.
The group has access to a $900,000 grant from Orange County for additional work on the building, but is required to raise matching funds and was counting on help in the form of fundraising and rent from Central Florida Vocal Arts before that group walked away from the deal in August when it was not satisfied by the terms of the sublease offered by Blue Bamboo.
Flowers has loaned Blue Bamboo more than $1 million so far to retrofit the first floor of the building into a performance space and other work.
“The message is look, the Blue Bamboo is here to stay,” Flowers told the commission. “We’ve surmounted every barrier thrown at us.”
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio thanked Flowers for appearing at the meeting and quickly moved on to the next topic after no other commissioners offered any comments or asked any questions.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
CORRECTION: The original version of this story included the wrong location and time for the meeting on e-bikes and scooters. The meeting will be held at Winter Park Community Center at 5:30 p.m.
To comment or read comments from others, click here →
Recent Comments