There was a lot going on in The Villages this week. Veteran’s Day activities filled the town’s squares and sports fields, and typical of a Florida winter, the temperatures still allowed for plenty of outside activities.
Jeff Harper, The Villages resident who won last year’s pro-am title at The Children’s Miracle Network Classic, came out on top again this year at the Walt Disney World Resort defending his win.
The golf tournament is traditionally the last stop of the season on the PGA tour. The charity event that raises money for the national Children’s Miracle Network, a group dedicated to raising funds for children’s hospitals.
In other news, Gov. Charlie Crist appointed The Villages resident, Richard Cole, to the Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation. This is Cole’s second appointment. Cole was originally tapped for the position in 2005 by then governor, Jeb Bush. The foundation helps people with disabilities find work.
The appointment follows Cole’s long career working with the disabled. Cole has held state appointments in Pennsylvania, and in Florida, Cole served as vice-chairman of the Sumter County chapter of Outdoors Without Limits. The nonprofit organization educates people with disabilities about outdoor activities and offers them a chance to participate.
It seemed like business as usual in The Villages –sports and public service (often combined), but even in paradise, a little rain must fall. We caught rain bands from Hurricane Ida as it formed in the Gulf and we endured the dregs of the downgraded storm as it veered across the state. Hopefully, Ida will be the last storm of the year, as Hurricane Season ends November 30.
Also marring The Villages’ idyllic face this week, Villager Denise Textor, allegedly shot her husband, trigging a 4-plus-hour stand off with Sumter County law enforcement. Her husband, Dennis Textor was shot twice in the upper body. He escaped from his home through a bathroom window and was transported to an area hospital. The cause of the shooting is unclear, however published reports quote Denise Textor as saying her husband was always “on her case.” The 50-year-old Bloomington Place resident was charged with attempted first-degree murder of husband.
