Week of January 8, 2025
Week of January 8, 2025
A raging fire that sent flames leaping dozens of feet into the air and alarmed many area residents destroyed a Lake Wales residence shortly after 5:30 Monday afternoon. The emergency call was received by first responders at 5:28 p.m. and within minutes at least 13 fire rescue and medical team vehicles were rolling to the flaming structure on Ridge manor Drive. Smoke from the inferno was reportedly visible from more than two miles away. Witnesses told Lake Wales News that the...
Lake Wales police have arrested a private school substitute teacher for showing sexually explicit photographs to her elementary students. Park Avenue Private School administrators contacted Lake Wales Police and told them they had terminated substitute teacher Gayle Wessel on November 7, 2024, after students reported that she had shared explicit photos on her phone. Wessel, 60, Wessel of Babson Park, is now facing six counts of showing obscene material to minors and one count...
A fatal crash involving a bicyclist has added to the horrific tally of roadway deaths in southeastern Polk County in recent weeks. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office and Polk County Fire Rescue, a fatal crash occurred between Fort Meade and Bowling Green Wednesday night. Based on evidence and witness statements, traffic homicide detectives determined that a bicyclist was northbound on US 17 at Bill Bryan Road when he was struck from behind by a motorist driving a...
Drivers using city streets around Lake Wales have likely noticed improvements to area streets as a six-year program of resurfacing continues. The aggressive effort to catch up on deferred maintenance began in 2021 and has resulted in miles of smoother new surfaces under the city's Pavement Management Program. Portions of 12 roadways were resurfaced in early November, and the effort will resume today with another eleven segments of roadways in Lake Wales. The streets, selected...
The City of Lake Wales has once again been awarded two prestigious awards by the Government Finance Officers Association, GFOA. City staff received the Distinguished Budget Presentation award for its 2024 fiscal year budget. To receive the award, budget documents must be rated "proficient" in four categories: policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device. The award marks the fifth consecutive win. A certificate of achievement for excellence in...
A new controversy has emerged in association with the BizLinc business incubator in Lake Wales. BizLinc operator Florida Development Corp is being sued by a trio of investors who claim the company owes them more than a quarter-million dollars. According to the lawsuit filed in the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court, the three investors are being denied access to company books and dismissed by FDC officers. The lawsuit says that, after acknowledging the $260,000 cash infusion made...
The new year started with a tragic accident and two motorcyclists were left with serious injuries after crashing their sports bikes at 1 a.m. on New Years Day. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office Traffic Homicide Unit's preliminary investigation, the two men traveling on motorcycles eastbound on Tindle Camp Road northeast of Lake Wales, approaching the intersection with Lake Mabel Loop Road. For unknown reasons the first rider, a 30-year-old Haines City man, lost...
January is shaping up to be the coldest month in recent memory for central Florida as several sharp cold fronts lead icy blasts dropping south into the Sunshine State. Temperatures in southeast Polk are expected to dip into the 20's by late next week after a series of drops. Area growers of citrus and vegetable crops are preparing to protect their greenery from the potential freeze. Florida's embattled citrus growers are hoping that the cold weather, approaching just as trees...
A Sunday evening crash at Sun Ray Homes near Frostproof took the life of a St. Cloud motorcyclist. According to Polk County Sheriff's Traffic Homicide Unit investigators, a 48-year-old Frostproof woman was driving a silver 2017 Nissan Quest van when she attempted to make a left turn onto southbound US 27-98 from Charles Street. She entered directly into the path of a black 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle, which was being driven northbound by 37-year old Kevin Loring. Based...
A five-day-long undercover human trafficking operation which began on October 2, resulted in the arrest of 157 suspects involved in illegal acts related to soliciting prostitutes, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office Vice Unit. Those arrested were allegedly offering to commit prostitution or aiding and abetting prostitutes. Three other suspects were arrested for traveling to sexually batter juveniles. Detectives identified and arrested one suspect for human...
The fourth local traffic fatality in a week took the life of a 24-year-old woman, who died following a head on crash on on Hatchineha Road Saturday evening. The crash happened after she attempted to pass another vehicle. The woman was reported by law enforcement to have been driving a a 4-door green Nissan Sentra on Hatchineha Road just east of Jennings Road at approximately 7:22 p.m. Saturday evening when she entered the eastbound lane into the path of a a white Nissan...
Two men were killed Monday after entering SR 60 into the path of a Freightliner tractor-trailer rig at the intersection of West Lake Road just west of the Lake Wales city limits. First responders responded to the crash scene at around 9:38 pm, where they found two men deceased in a white 2002 Chevy 2500 work van operated by Florida Degreasers, a restaurant service company. The preliminary investigation, based on evidence and witness statements, indicated that the Chevy van...
A Lake Wales teacher is facing three felony charges after a violent assault at a local home. Polk County Sheriff's deputies arrested 51-year-old Thomas Griffin, a middle school teacher at McLaughlin Middle-High School in Lake Wales, charging him with burglary with assault, false imprisonment, and battery by strangulation. According to witnesses, on December 14 Griffin arrived at the residence of a woman with whom he had a prior romantic involvement and began banging on the...
A foggy morning is likely to have contributed to the third traffic fatality in a single week in the Lake Wales area after a crash at SR 60 and Boy Scout Road east of the city. Traffic was blocked in four directions following the early Thursday smash-up. According to Polk County Sheriff's Office Traffic Homicide Unit investigators, a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by a 61-year-old Lake Wales resident was travelling southbound on Boy Scout Camp Road. At the intersection if...
Restaurant choices for Lake Wales area residents continues to increase as four new operations are poised to begin serving in January. Two are well-known national chains while two are locally-owned. The city's sparkling reimagining of the downtown area, known as Lake Wales Connected, is attracting new investment in the form of two new restaurants, both in an extensively-remodeled building just across from the US Post Office. The Thirsty Dragon will open in a matter of weeks at...
"Baby Girl" is a captivating and somewhat erotic thriller which offered an interesting Christmas Day entertainment. Written and directed by Halina Reijn, stars Nicole Kidman and features Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas. Romy, a high-powered CEO played by Nicole Kidman, is seemingly happily married with two children, yet she finds herself unsatisfied with her relationship with her husband, Jacob (Antonio Banderas). This is a bit hard to believe. Romy embarks on an affair...
This is a crime world movie but also a song and dance movie, a really weird combination now showing on Netflix.. This French film is directed by Jacques Audiard and stars Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon and takes place mostly in Mexico. Rita is a prosecutor in Mexico and is frustrated with the legal system because all the criminals seem to get away with it. She is offered an opportunity to help a crime boss fake his death and transition as a woman so she can live her...
As someone unfamiliar with the Wicked Broadway show or its source material, I approached this film with a fresh perspective. While many viewers were drawn to the familiar characters and iconic songs, I watched this not knowing anything. Based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, Wicked offers a prequel to L. Frank Baum's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Directed by Jon M. Chu, the film stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the misunderstood "Wicked Witch of the West," and Ariana...
The popular Lake Wales Jazz Connection returns Saturday evening to the Lake Wales Arts Center for a special tribute concert to two of the greatest figures in jazz history, and tickets are still available. An enchanting tribute to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald will fill the beautiful Arts Center with the sounds of the urbane and supremely talented Lake Wales Jazz Connection, under the expert direction of drummer Paul Gavin. "Let the timeless jazz classics and soulful...
In a move that will open the door to obtaining additional historic preservation program funding, grants, training, and technical assistance, Polk County has been designated a nationally Certified Local Government Program by the United States Department of the Interior. In addition to access to resources for the county, the designation will also be a tool to help Polk County property owners who are seeking historical designations, according to Polk officials. "Polk County's...
AdventHealth Lake Wales has launched a Vertical Bay Program within its Emergency Department, allowing patients faster access to the emergency room. This new program comes as emergency departments nationwide face growing challenges. Through AdventHealth Lake Wales' Vertical Bay Program, beds and rooms are available to the sickest patients who need them the most, and nearly every patient is seen and has their needs addressed quickly and efficiently. Patients who don't require...
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