Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 333
Lake Wales Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson said he would prefer city commission meetings begin with a moment of silence, but the mayor and other commissioners agreed at their Sept. 2 workshop to go forward with a new invocation policy that appoints an official chaplain and sets up a rotation list of local clergy volunteers when he is not available. Commissioners will consider adopting a resolution formalizing the new policy at their Sept. 9 meeting. The resolution appoints Dr....
Lake Wales Police Officer Travis Worley has filed a grievance through his union representative claiming the discipline he received for using profanity against a citizen – an eight-hour suspension without pay – is "excessive and not appropriate." Union President Nick Marolda with the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association filed a four-page grievance for Worley claiming the suspension violates the police officers' collective bargaining agreement. Marolda said the...
Lake Wales Police Detective Travis Worley is back on active duty after a 10-week suspension with pay. An internal investigation determined he acted unprofessionally by using profanity toward a citizen, but couldn't prove he used racial slurs. His discipline was an eight-hour suspension without pay. The investigation by Lt. Griffin Crosby concluded that "Officer Worley used multiple profane words while in an argument with Deandre Ward. He failed to maintain professional speech...
The city's consultants in an online open house Aug. 20 unveiled a design plan for a Crystal Lake Connector Trail that links downtown to the trail around Lake Wailes. City staff will be showing off designs and answering questions from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 in a storefront at 220 E. Park Ave. About 30 citizens participated in the online open house with city staff and consultants from urban planners Dover-Kohl and design architects S & ME. The consultants are working...
People on both sides of the face mask debate voiced strong opinions to the Lake Wales City Commission Aug. 18, and in the end commissioners in a 3-2 vote imposed a citywide mask mandate. With some exceptions, people in Lake Wales will be expected to wear masks anytime they venture out of their homes unless they can maintain the recommended six-foot social distance. The ordinance applies only to indoor locations. Police will be empowered to give warnings on first offense and...
After hearing a national organization might file a lawsuit, Lake Wales City commissioners Aug. 18 paused their plans to adopt guidelines for invocations before meetings . Commissioners had decided in workshop session a week earlier to appoint Dr. James Moyer as the city's official chaplain and fill in themselves with invocations in his absence. Since 2009, Moyer, a retired minister of higher education and chaplain for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, has been the primary...
Lake Wales City Commissioners got good news at their second budget workshop Aug. 12. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic's negative impact on the economy, projected state revenue is about $100,000 higher than originally expected. Budget Director Dorothy Abbott said she is confident that the City can adopt a balanced budget at a slightly lower "rollback" millage, the rate that is expected to generate the same amount of property taxes as this year. The current rate of 6.9339 may be...
Responding to continued concerns from members of the business community, Lake Wales Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson is proposing a possible modification to the mask mandate ordinance up for final approval at the Aug. 18 city commission meeting. The proposed changes would place the responsibility for compliance on the individual rather than making businesses the enforcers. Financial planner Jimmy Nelson approached Gibson, still concerned about the mandate's impact on businesses, who...
The city's unofficial chaplain, Dr. James Moyer, is likely to become the city's official chaplain Aug. 18, two weeks after a firestorm erupted when the Lake Wales city clerk invited a representative of the Atheist Community of Polk County to give the invocation to open the city commission meeting. Since 2009, Moyer, a retired minister of higher education and chaplain for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, has been the primary person offering invocations at Lake Wales City...
Lake Wales commissioners in a 3-2 split vote Aug. 4 took the first step toward mandating masks in businesses throughout the city. Their ordinance would not take effect until after they vote at a second public hearing Aug. 18. After not obtaining the supermajority four votes needed to pass an emergency ordinance that would mandate masks for 30 days, Mayor Eugene Fultz, Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson and Commissioner Terrye Howell approved the proposal as a regular ordinance. The...
About 30 people stood outside the Lake Wales city administration building praying to God while Sarah Ray of the Atheist Community of Polk County gave the invocation at the city commission meeting Aug. 4. Others filled some of the available seats inside the commission chamber or in the lobby and break room and some people indicated they were praying from home. City commissioners Al Goldstein and Curtis Gibson exited the room during Ray's comments and returned for the Pledge of...
Stephen Cornelius had big plans to grow the Lake Wales High School Highlander Band, and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now starting his second year as director, Cornelius is trying to remain optimistic about the band's future. Cornelius had to cancel marching band camp this summer, but he said marching is still part of the curriculum. Cornelius will be teaching only at Lake Wales High and Janie Howard Wilson Elementary this year, as his recent intern from Warner University,...
Sandy Dent is very worried about her 9-pound chihuahua that got frightened and ran off during to the July 4 fireworks. Valdez has kidney disease and without special food he could get sick and die. The fawn colored dog with a little white fur on his neck, chest and toes was lost from the Nature's Edge Community on Orchid Boulevard in Lake Wales. He was first seen standing by the entrance to Jennings Resort where Watkins Road curves into Canal Road near Cherry Pocket. Then Dent...
The city's proposed emergency face mask mandate doesn't have the four votes needed to pass, but Lake Wales City Commissioners who support it have a backup plan at their Aug. 4 meeting. Once the emergency mandate is voted down, the commission will consider a regular ordinance that needs only three votes, but wouldn't go into effect until after a second reading at their Aug. 18 meeting. Rather than expire in 30 days, the regular ordinance would remain in force until repealed by...
Some Lake Wales city commissioners are not happy with the "special guest" Lake Wales City Clerk Jennifer Nanek announced would be praying at their Tuesday, Aug. 4 meeting. With the link to the commission agenda, Nanek said Sarah Ray with the Atheist Community of Polk County had volunteered to give the invocation. "Who will she be praying to?" asked Commissioner Al Goldstein, who said he plans to set his Bible on the dais and exit the room when Ray speaks. "The word invocation...
The initial unveiling of drawings for the proposed Park Avenue Streetscape in downtown Lake Wales has been postponed three weeks but the public will have multiple opportunities for input. "We are bending and swerving and I think it's actually going to turn out better," said Lake Wales MainStreet Director Karen Thompson. An in-person open house originally scheduled for July 9 was postponed due to concerns about the COVID-19 virus. Thompson said an online session now will be...
Although it would only cost about an extra $8,300 for the year, the Lake Wales City Commission in a split vote decided not to approve a potential 30 percent salary hike for themselves that would have taken effect next May. Mayor Eugene Fultz and Commissioner Al Goldstein advocated for the raises, citing the increased number of meetings and out-of-pocket expenses, but Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson and Commissioners Terrye Howell and Curtis Gibson voted against the raises, citing...
Lake Wales Arts Council Executive Director Andrew Allen supports the philosophy "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Instead of canceling summer arts camp due to COVID-19 concerns, Allen and his staff found a way to move it 100 percent online and to make it free for all. Despite cutting enrollment in half, spending thousands of dollars and countless hours developing plans to keep the children and staff safe, Allen finally realized the increasing numbers testing...
The Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council Board of Directors went on record Friday July 24 calling for the city commission to adopt an emergency resolution to mandate face masks in the city to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. A letter signed by Chamber President Kevin Kieft and Board Chairman Andy Oguntola said face masks should be a "government led issue" and the Chamber board "voted to support and push for a mask mandate in the City of Lake Wales...
Zachary Kirkland was in middle school when he started his own non-profit called Silly Sock Saturdays. Now a rising senior at Lake Wales High School, Zachary continues his mission of making hospital stays more pleasant for children by providing them a gift bag with silly socks, toys, games and other items. "Being able to help those in a hard and stressful situation is the reason for creating the nonprofit and getting to hear the feedback and know that what I do invokes a smile...
EDITOR'S NOTE: The second "rallying point" gathering is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. July 16, weather permitting at Howell Family Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Lake Wales Police Department kicked off its new "rallying point" program Thursday, July 9 – setting up a canopy tent and chairs by the lake and inviting people to stop by for a chat. "We've got no agenda We want to talk about what the community wants to talk about," said Deputy Police Chief Troy Schulze. "...
Lake Wales Interim City Manager James Slaton has hired certified planner Mark Bennett to become the city's new Development Services director. "I'm coming home so to speak," said Bennett, who has been a Lake Wales resident since 1998. In addition to being a certified planner, Bennett is a certified redevelopment specialist with more than 20 years of public and private sector experience. For the last eight years he has served the City of Haines City as Deputy Director of...
For the first time in 20 years, the City of Lake Wales is undertaking a full overhaul of its Comprehensive Plan. The consulting firm S & ME conducted an online public workshop July 8 to get input from city officials and citizens about priorities for developing the city over the next 20 years. Consulting Project Manager Chris Dougherty defined the comprehensive plan as "a document designed to guide the future actions of a city. The comprehensive plan also presents a vision for...
The Lake Wales City Commission, in its role as the Community Redevelopment Agency, will consider at its July 14 meeting offering $150,000 in incentives for two proposed downtown restaurants. James Ellis of Ava Properties in Heathrow is asking for a $100,000 grant - double the amount specified in the city's restaurant incentives program – to help him fund the Corner Café at One Scenic Central, a combination coffee shop and fine dining restaurant. His company purchased the tw...
The Lake Wales City Commission voted Tuesday to encourage people to wear masks or similar face coverings to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Commissioners stopped short of issuing a mandate, but indicated that's something they may consider in the future if voluntary compliance doesn't seem to be working. The resolution adopted during the July 7 commission meeting cites support for Center for Disease Control recommends wearing face coverings, particularly "in public...
