The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • B1

COLORSTRIP: SECTIONB SATURDAY LOCAL STATE Inside: Golfer who killed bird says it was accident, B3 So far, 11 of 23 cases in Orange and Orlando remain with no suspect. More at: OrlandoSentinel.com/homicide How many homicides have been solved? Blog Extra She was only 13 when the violence first bruised her. The wave of tribal genocide that swept Burundi in 1972 had claimed a brother. Later, members of her family also were butchered. Two decades later, when President Melchior Ndadaye, a Hutu, elected in first free election, was killed in a coup by Tutsi soldiers, Peace Nihorimbere gathered her children and fled to Switzerland, eventually settling in Canada.

whole country was in said Nihorimbere, 49. have a But a decade and a new life later, she gave up a good job and sold her car for a plane ticket back to Burundi. Again, she says, she really have a choice: God had called her to do her part to bring healing to a land convulsed by genocide and AIDS. Nihorimbere, now regional director for six African countries for Women of Global Action, a Christian network that addresses global social-justice issues, will tell her story Thursday at 7 p.m. at River of Life Church at 8323 W.

Sand Lake Road in Orlando. story is how God called me to come back and rebuild my country and rebuild Africa. Every woman in Africa is the same: They are producers, providers for their families, and in times of war, the victims are women and children. It is a story to Understatement is one of her many gifts. So is forgiveness.

After her death in the later the mass genocide of her fellow Tutsis in 1993, Nihorimbere knew the only way she could move forward was to fall back on her words. mom taught us how to forgive and forget. We learned to know it is an evil spirit running through people that leads them to kill each other. I see myself as Tutsi but as Christian and In those roles, she ministers to women widowed by war and AIDS. She had a little money left over from the car she sold, which she shared time I saw a widow, especially those infected with AIDS without food, rent.

I became broke Hand-ups made more sense. Through programs, widows learn to sew dresses from traditional African fabrics, style hair, and cook with an eye toward entrepreneurship. start with the things they know already so they can run that business in that she says. The group is educating ladies who came out of the genocide in Burundi and Rwanda to become But empty pockets often anchor hope. are praying for that Nihorimbere says.

Money would also help the battle against AIDS, a fight with the U.S. in the late and been slowed by stigma. think that if HIV-positive that it will not allow me to work with people, or when a woman finds out infected afraid to go to her husband or vice versa. We try to break down the stigma. We are helping them, but four workshops a year, not But she is making inroads.

After a workshop, a woman surprised her. said, God for bringing this workshop. Now I can help my had intended to evict the HIV-positive woman to whom she was renting a house. Nearly 15 years after she fled her home, stability has lurched along. think I see a shadow of she says.

pray for For more information about Women of Global Action, visit its Web site: Darryl E. Owens can be reached at or 407-420-5095. COMMENTARY DARRYL OWENS Sentinel Columnist Burundi refugee will tell her story of healing Bob nightmare began the morning his 15-year-old son was killed by a pickup as he waited alone in the dark for a school bus. Thirteen years later, the Leesburg father still cries for his boy, Jonathan. But Eubanks wants to turn his grief into a warning for other parents as daylight saving time rolls around Sunday and many more children return to school in the dark Monday.

just tense up every year when this time comes Eubanks said. early morning is so dangerous. I think they ought to have a light at every bus stop where you have to wait at that time of the Congress moved the start of daylight saving time back three weeks, starting last year, to save energy. After the switch, sunrise Monday is at which means the sun be up when the first bell rings at most Central Florida high schools and many elementary schools. Even before classes start, thousands of high-school students and many ele- mentary-schoolers are waiting for the bus or driving, biking and walking to school in the dark.

The national Parent Teacher Association is lobbying Congress to see how much energy is being saved. The PTA opposed the change be- cause of the danger of child abductions and vehicle accidents involving kids. Car pools are one answer, PTA spokesman James Martinez said. try to encourage our members with ways to be he said. Susan Persis, principal at Indian River Elementary in Edgewater, said the morning news show has been reminding students of the potential danger, and daylight saving time also has been mentioned in its newsletter and in automated telephone calls to parents.

The Volusia County school district has posted safety tips on its Web site. Failure to heed safety warnings has had tragic consequences in the past. Several children have been Daylight saving means safety 1st, schools say Wear reflective clothing and stay away from the roadway before sunup, experts recommend. By SUSAN JACOBSON SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Wear light, bright or reflective clothing. Stand or walk 10 feet from the roadway.

Stay in lighted areas if possible. Be aware of traffic. Walk with a buddy or a parent. Walk your bicycle through intersections. SOURCES: Volusia County school district, Florida Safety Council Stay safe PLEASE SEE He was naked.

In a pond. In the dark. There were alligators. Sound familiar? Ask the two deputy sheriffs who found Adrian Apgar nude early Friday, wading in a Lakeland-area pond. Apgar told the officers he was looking foran alligator.

About 15 months ago, one tried to eat him. He made national news in November 2006 when deputies rescued him from the jaws of a huge alligator in Lake Parker. He was naked when they pulled him from the lake in east Lakeland off U.S. Highway 92. During that attack, deputies engaged in a tug of war with the alligator.

The reptile ripped off much of left arm and bit his back, buttocks and thigh. Apgar spent months recovering from his life-threatening injuries at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. On Friday, Polk CountySheriff Grady Juddsaid his deputies had once again saved life, pos- siblyrescuing him from another alligator attack. About midnight Thursday, a patrol deputy spotted an unoccupied pickup truck parked near a pond at Saddle Creek Park on U.S. Highway 92 between Lakeland and Auburndale.

The deputy checked the tag, and afterward, realizing Apgar owned the truck, called for another deputy familiar with the 2006 attack. MOM ARRESTED JULIE FLETCHER SENTINEL Niurka Ramirezis escorted from Orange County Office headquarters on Friday. Authorities saidRamirez used a pressure washer at a carwash to discipline her child. Story, B3 Once again, gator-attack victim found nude in water By AMY L. EDWARDS SENTINEL STAFF WRITER APGAR PLEASE SEE University of Central Florida fans will have to wait at least another few months to learn whether their football stadium can keep its nickname officials say it will take that long to complete a special engineering study they requested amid concerns that synchronized bouncing by fans could shorten the estimated 50-year life span of Bright House Networks Stadium.

While they have full confidence in the structural integrity of the steel-frame structure, school officials said they want to ensure the longevity of their $54 million investment. is not a safety said Grant UCF spokesman. a maintenance Fans discovered during the inaugural game last fall that they could make the upper stands bounce by jumping up and down in unison. Their cue to start jumping was techno-pop tune by Zombie Nation. Students immediately began calling the stadium and The motion caught school officials off-guard, but inspections UCF still studies bouncing stadium Report into swaying anomaly be finished for several months By LUIS ZARAGOZA SENTINEL STAFF WRITER PLEASE SEE More coverage of the first year, including an interactive map.

OrlandoSentinel.com/onlineextras ONLINE EXTRA pring break is just around the corner, a time when college students traditionally flock to Central Florida to lie in the sun, party and go to theme parks. But two groups of students arrived in Orlando this week with more serious plans in mind. here to do volunteer work. High school students from Manhattan Center for Science Mathematicsand college students from Harding University in Arkansas volunteered in Orlando and Apopka, doing everything from lawn work at a homeless shelter in Zellwood to mentor- ing young children in Orlando. The students personify the surge in volunteerism that has been seen in Florida and across the country.

Never was it more evident than the thousands of students who went to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The 20 or so Harlem students, a SARA A. FAJARDO SENTINEL Samantha Lopez, 16, of the Manhattan Center of Science and Mathematics (left), and Ivey Lane Recreation Supervisor Jennifer Battle watch as their opponents take a shot during a game of pool at the center in Orlando. FOR THE REAL FUN, THEY HELP OTHERS Students from New York and Arkansas choose to do volunteer work as their spring break activity. By GABRIELLE FINLEY SENTINEL STAFF WRITER RICARDO BUXEDA SENTINEL Arthur Willliams, 19 months old, gets a push from Jill Welker, 20, at Anthony House in Mount Dora.

Welker is a college student doing volunteer work. PLEASE SEE Product: OSBS PubDate: 03-08-2008 Zone: FLA Edition: ROP Page: User: rbrunson Time: Color: CMY.