Recreation facilities and executive golf courses will begin re-opening Thursday

Recreation facilities and executive golf courses in The Villages which have been closed due to Hurricane Dorian will begin re-opening Thursday.

Residents are reminded not to enter any facility until it has been cleared and opened. Staff must make certain pool chemicals are at appropriate levels and all safety equipment has been replaced.

In addition, residents will begin to see the following take place over the next several days:

• Wind screens will be replaced on the outdoor court areas. 

• Outdoor furniture will be replaced. 

• Once the potential for strong winds has passed, the gate arms will be replaced. If you approach a gate in which the gate arm has been removed, please use extreme caution and make sure to stop before proceeding. 

• Irrigation will return to normal programming.  

Update on school closings, re-openings

Schools will be back in session on Wednesday in Sumter County. Classes were not held Tuesday due to Hurricane Dorian. Schools will not be in session in Lake County on Wednesday. Marion County has called off school for the entire week.

Lake-Sumter State College will reopen for normal operations on Thursday, Sept. 5. All classes will resume and occur as scheduled on Thursday. Faculty and staff should report to work on their normal schedules.

Following Dorian’s path

Dorian finally started to pull away from the Bahamas on Tuesday and begin to make its way up the east coast of Florida. It had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane but was still packing winds around 110 mph. Residents along the coast were encouraged to monitor alerts and stay informed about the potential for high winds and life-threatening storm surges.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dorian was about 125 miles east of Vero Beach and 125 miles east/southeast of Cape Canaveral. It’s expected to move up the coast and clear the Central Florida area by sometime Wednesday afternoon.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect late Tuesday afternoon for the Lake County portions of The Villages, Leesburg and Mount Dora. Winds were predicted at 25-35 mph, with gusts potentially reaching 45 mph.

Meanwhile, residents in Georgia and the Carolinas continued to ramp up preparations as Dorian headed their way. South Carolina ordered mandatory evacuations along the state’s coastline and officials in North Carolina implored tourists on the Outer Bank Islands to leave soon because potential storm surges could block the only highway out of the area.