Orange County commissioners areexpected to approve an agreement thisweek for a new BeachLine Expresswayinterchange, marking another step forwardin opening up development of Innovation

Way and considerably improving thehighway network of East Orlando.

After years of negotiations betweenOrange County, the Orlando-OrangeCounty Expressway Authority andInternational Corporate Park (ICP), allsides have tentatively agreed to share thecost of an interchange where the extensionof Alafaya Trail/Avalon Park Boulevard,

to be known as Innovation Way, meetsState Road 528.

The interchange will grant greateraccess to the BeachLine Expressway,allowing motorists from the Alafaya Trailcorridor an alternate, southerly route, to gowest to the airport and theme parks or eastto the beaches.

“This is a much-needed project,” said

Jim Harrison, director of growthmanagement for Orange County.

“It will make such a phenomenaldifference to the traffic on Alafaya Trail.A significant amount of traffic will nowbe able to go south on Alafaya, ratherthan north. It will have a hugepositive benefit.”

Offering guidance for pregnant teensand young families in need of support,BETA Center has been making a name foritself as the go to place for parental Q&Asince its services first launched in 1976.With advice on tap — everything fromhow to bond with baby to how to enrichearly-learning experiences — it seemed anatural progression when BETA staffershad the idea to compile some of theirinsights into book form.

Originally printed in 1998, “BuildingBaby’s Brain Power,” was recentlyredesigned and re-released as an easy-to-follow paperback flip book.

Filled with fun facts that explain how

connections are forged between braincells, and interspersed with kid-friendlypictures of colorful cartoon babies, thebook provides readers with brain-stimulat-ing activities to correspond with all 365days of baby’s first year.

“We know that the connectionsbetween brain cells, called synapses, areactivated and increased when you play andinteract with your child,” explainedNoreen Lantry, registered nurse, co-authorof the book, and longtime member ofBETA’s staff.

“We also know that the number ofthese synapses is dependent on the typeand number of experiences a child has.”

Focusing on stimulation of the fivesenses — hearing, vision, smell, taste and

Galloping across the rustic terrain andrambling rivers of Wisconsin’s outlandcountryside, David Ottersen was raised rid-ing horses. So in tune with the gracefulbeasts, in fact, he often forfeited use of hissaddle, preferring to ride bareback instead.

It was a peaceful existence, the likes ofwhich the country-boy-at heart could neverquite let go. So when life’s course led himto marry animal-lover Lisa Hall, an equine-enthusiast herself, and the opportunitycame along for the two to operate a horseboarding and training facility of their veryown, they just couldn’t say ‘neigh’.

“What happened is, after we had oursecond child (Cameron, 18 months), Lisahad left the workplace — she used to ownher own commercial and residential clean-ing company, so we were kind of lookingfor a new business that she could do,”explained Ottersen, recounting the pizzaparlor idea and other none-too-inspiringbusiness concepts that he and his bride offive years contemplated before learningabout Painted Oaks Academy.

A realtor/mortgage broker himself,Ottersen was just going through propertylistings one day when he came across aprivate listing for the equestrian center

located at 15100 Lake Pickett Road. Hegrabbed his keys, took a drive over to the10-acre site and was immediately takenwith it. After calling his wife to come sur-vey the outlay of pastures and stables forherself, the pair decided on the spot tomake an offer to buy.

“Everything was just so pristine andclean. And when Lisa saw those horses, wejust fell in love with it,” said Ottersen.

The fact that the Little Econ Riverflows behind the property, making it apreservation area, was also a big sellingpoint. That as well as the facility’s closeproximity to the various horse-riding trailsscattered throughout the Geneva, Oviedoand Christmas areas.

For Hall, who had grown increasinglyfond of horses over the course of theircourtship — during weekend getawaystogether the two would often go riding ontrails or along the beach— her equineinterest had already spurred her to receiveprofessional equestrian training viaa Certified Horsemanship Associationaccredited program. As a result, the newbusiness venture allowed her an opportuni-ty to put her skills to work.

Now, operating the scenic facility sinceApril, Hall spends her days managing tasksthat range from receiving feed to monitoring

Beauty, variety found in‘A World of Dance, B6

Weightlifters overcomepersonal adversity, B1

March 8-14, 2006 Orlando’s Largest Community Newspaper www.eosun.com FREE

Index Section A:

Community Interest: Pages A1-A7

Living Well: Pages A8-A11

SAVE! Valuable Coupons Inside!

Sports: Pages B1-B4

Out & About: Pages B5-B7

Clubs & Organizations: B8

Index Section C:

Home & Business: Pages C1-C10

Business Card Directory: Page C11

Classifieds: Page C10

Education: Pages B9-B10

Religious Directory: Page B11

Index Section B:

Cortney KowalisynSTAFF WRITER

Cortney KowalisynSTAFF WRITER

PLEASE SEE BETA CENTER, PAGE A8

Gary RobertsSTAFF WRITER

PLEASE SEE PAINTED OAKS, PAGE A5

PLEASE SEE INTERCHANGE, PAGE A2

Horsing around permittedLaid-back lessons in family fun

the ‘mane’ goal at Painted Oaks Academy

Spending their days caring for horses like Molly, a mild-natured, white Appaloosa, Lisa Hall

(pictured) and David Ottersen, the husband-and-wife duo behind Painted Oaks Academy,

enjoy the back-to-nature relaxation of their new routines.

New book helps boost ‘Baby’s Brain Power’

Performing exercises from the book “Building Baby’s Brain Power,” young mothers at BETA

Center learn to bond with their babies while improving their ability to learn new things.

Innovation Way/BeachLine interchange in passing lane County likely to approve key connection this week

the health of the horses to teachingbeginner riding lessons.

Ottersen, meanwhile, splits his timebetween continuing his real estate deal-ings, balancing his new company’sfinances and working to spruce up thePainted Oaks property.

One of his early projects involvedtransforming an old hay house into a bunkhouse/game room where his sons,Cameron and David, 4, can often be foundplaying. Complete with a kitchen andbathroom, the multipurpose shelter alsoprovides a spot where guests to thefacility can come to sit and take a load off,perhaps while a family member isreceiving their lesson.

Horse-loving helpers like 21-year-oldSara Sexton are also a fixture at PaintedOaks. Working there part time sinceSeptember, her responsibilities includedistributing feed to the horses andmending downed fence boards wheneveran overzealous leap accidentally kicksone down.

“I’ve been riding basically sincebefore I was born. My mom was ridinghorses even when she was pregnant withme,” said Sexton, who explained thateven though the work involved withtaking care of horses seems never-ending,she still loves doing it.

“Horses are like magnets; people justenjoy being around them. We always havevolunteers who come around to help usout, but more than anything they just likehugging them and feeding themcarrots,” said Ottersen. “I have fun justtalking to them and walking around withthem.”

With 20 horses on site, 13 of whichare boarded, meaning their owners pay afee to have their horse housed, fed andgenerally taken care of, and another seventhat are owned by Ottersen and Hall,Painted Oaks prides itself on being hometo a diverse array of gentle, rider-friendlyhorses that are ideal for giving lessons.

With each exhibiting unique person-alities and temperaments, some of themore quirky of the horses, like 5-year-oldSparkey the Wonder Pony, for example,seem to be favorites among many ofthe children who visit Painted Oaks toreceive lessons.

“We use him when we do the ponyparties too,” said Hall, explaining thatduring children’s parties, the approxi-mately five-foot-tall, copper-coloredpony is suited up with a small-scalesaddle to allow for youngsters to enjoy aguided ride.

Sparkey’s cooperation is alsoemployed during summer camps, whenchildren are invited to stamp their handsin non-toxic paint and place handprints

and other Indian war paint-typecharacters on the pony’s back.

“Summer camp here is awesome; thekids just love it. We put a little pinata upand we do the eggs and spoon races, pinthe tail on the horsey … Everyone just hasa wonderful time. We also have anall-day Christmas camp two weeks out ofthe year, while the kids are out of school,”said Ottersen.

While the facility does offerstructured instruction in the English styleof riding — a team of certified instructorsare available to work with beginnerthrough advanced levels — the focus ismore on families and having fun than thanabout imparting strict formadherence.

Considering Ottersen’s rugged ridingbackground, where the heels-down,posture-back English form and thesophisticated terms of equestrianvernacular were never enforced, hisprime goal is to help others savor thesimple joys of the horse/rider bond.

“People and horses go together reallywell; they just have a natural bond. We

focus on that. We’re a reallyfamily-oriented type of place,”said Ottersen.

Looking ahead to future goals,Painted Oaks has plans to turn the proper-ty’s main house, which is currently zonedresidential and serves as the family’sdomicile, into an office and equestriantraining center. They are also in talks tobegin offering therapeutic riding sessionsfor battered women, kids with drugproblems and corporate groups interestedin doing team-building activities.

“Being here, where it’s breezy andshady and relaxing, it’s just a little pieceof heaven,” said Ottersen.

To learn more about PaintedOaks Academy, visitwww.paintedoaksacademy.com.

March 8-14, 2006 � East Orlando Sun www.eosun.com A5

COMMUNITY INTEREST

GET OUR FAMOUS CORNED BEEF. FOR NOT A LOT OF CABBAGE.

St. Patrick’s DayEat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we turn back into a Jewish Deli.

O’W W W . T O O J A Y S . C O M

Join us March 17th for our traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner accompanied by tossed garden salad or our famous

Murphy’s Chowder for only $10.95

Waterford Lakes Town Center 715 N. Alafaya Trail 407 249-9475

Some horses are boarded, meaning theirowners pay a fee to have their horse housed,fed and generally taken care of.

Painted Oaks AcademyCONTINUED FROM A1

The laureates recognized by Junior Achievement at their annual banquet are John F. Lown-

des, Donald K. Strube, Sr., Joe E. Wiginton and Clarence Otis, Jr.

JA inducts community leadersinto Business Hall of FameJunior Achievement (JA) of Central

Florida recently inducted three area busi-ness leaders into its 2005 Mid-FloridaBusiness Hall of Fame.

The annual Hall of Fame banquet rec-ognizes the achievements of prominentbusiness people who have made extraordi-nary leadership contributions to theCentral Florida community. Close to1,100 people attended the banquet, whichwas held at the Rosen Centre Hotel, andraised just over $244,000 for JA of CentralFlorida’s programs.

The laureates recognized during the28th annual event included: John F.Lowndes, Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster,Kantor & Reed, P.A.; Donald K. Strube,Sr., Color Wheel Paints and Coatings; and

Joe E. Wiginton, Wiginton FireSprinklers, Inc.

In addition, Clarence Otis, Jr., CEOof Darden Restaurants, received the 2005Spirit of Achievement award – an awardpresented annually to an exceptionalCentral Florida business and civic leaderwho is making a difference in the commu-nity.

In order to be considered for induc-tion into the Mid-Florida Business Hall ofFame, laureates must have reached nor-mal retirement age and exemplify leader-ship in the business world through endur-ing contributions to the success of privateenterprise as well as improving products,efficiencies and human relations of busi-ness.

Community Connectionshosts neighborhood workshop

Neighborhood organizations musthave a solid foundation to be successful. Isyour organization operating as efficientlyand effectively as it can?

To assist local groups in this quest, theCommunity Connections Workshop Seriespresents “Foundations for EffectiveNeighborhood Organizations,” from 10a.m.-noon Saturday, April 8, at the OrangeCounty Regional History Center, 65 EastCentral Blvd.

Come learn the basics of parliamen-tary procedures, organizational bylaws,effective organization meeting practices,effective meeting minute recording, andorganizational goals.

To register for this workshop, pleasecall Orange County Neighborhood

Services at 407-836-5606 or register online at:http://www.orangecountyfl.net/cms/DEPT/CEsrvcs/neighbor/programs/CommunityCon.

Community Connections Workshopsare free. Parking at library garage onCentral Blvd is also free with validationstamp. Refreshments are compliments ofthe city of Orlando.

Bring the rest of the family to theHistory Center; while you attend thisworkshop they can enjoy “Florida’sHighwaymen: Legendary Landscapes.”

For more information about theHistory Center programs or current activi-ties, call 407-836-6751, or visithttp://www.thehistorycenter.org/.