Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Attracting wildlife to our yards by planning and planting for their needs is simple and satisfying. If we supply adequate food, water and shelter, we can increase the number and variety of species that visit our properties, improving our chances of observing them more closely while providing the habitat they need to survive. The Lake Wales Ridge is home to scores of "endemic" species that exist nowhere else on earth. Because almost all of Florida was submerged as recently as t...
Hopes for a District 6A-7 championship faded Friday night for the Lake Wales Highlanders football squad lost a defensive battle, falling to the undefeated Auburndale Bloodhounds by a 14-8 score at Legion Field. Auburndale is now in control of the district race, sitting comfortably atop the standings at 3-0. The Highlanders fall to 1-1, with two important games remaining. The local team still has hopes of a playoff berth in the Region based upon final standings and scores...
Ready for some laughs to brighten up your life? Well, Lake Wales Little Theatre is ready for you, offering a three-weekend run of a comedy that seems guaranteed to make you chuckle, or laugh out loud. "The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens" opens Friday, Nov. 5 and offers what Dramatists Play Service describes as a "Southern-fried comedy. The play was written by the trio of authors of the popular "Red Velvet Cake Wars," presented in 2012 at LWLT. Directed by Chevon and...
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Service is inviting you to join them on Thursday, October 14 for their virtual MarineQuest 2021 event. This is a live on-line event that will include a number of nature-oriented features that begin at 9:00 am. Tune in even earlier, at 8:40 am for field videos of sandhill crane banding, searching for skunks and weasels with Cowboy, the scat-sniffing dog, pulling nets with their fisheries monitoring team in Tampa Bay, and much more! Viewers will...
Ora "Oz" Caldwell of Lake Wales passed away September 9th due to complications of Covid-19. Known to many by his nickname of "the Great One," Caldwell was a graduate of West Point and served for many years in the office of the Public Defender in Polk County. He was known to many in the Lake Wales area as a man of generous spirit and manner. "He was an officer and a gentleman," said former Public Defender Marion Moorman. "He was a fantastic lawyer, a true trial lawyer who had...
Lake Wales electric car enthusiasts shared their stories of success with interested visitors at a special car show Saturday at the MarketPlace in Lake Wales. An all-electric Mustang Mach-E seemed to be the hit auto, based upon the reaction of visitors. "The best thing about these cars is that there's nothing to maintain," said one visitor to the show,. "They don't even need an oil change, because they don't use oil, so there's no oil pump, no spark plugs, no fuel filter or inj...
Editor's Note: Florida public schools seem to be purposefully forgotten by state leaders, leaving teachers scrambling to work miracles with scarcely a loaf or fish in sight. This story from Florida Phoenix highlights the problem. Florida is now one of only two states in the nation that has not submitted a plan to the U.S. Department of Education for providing billions in federal dollars to help public schools during the pandemic. Overall, 48 states and Washington D.C. have...
Fans of live theatre will enjoy some spine-tingling chills during March as Lake Wales Little Theatre presents "The Assassin's New Friend." The psychological thriller features a very reluctant "friend" who finds himself dragged into a murder plot by a crazed killer. Faced with a "Hobson's choice," the true-crime writer is pulled deeper as the plot twists and turns. Featuring Jeff Herman as the scheming Kendrick, and Robert Connors as often-horrified writer Brian Hollander, the...
Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson made his first visit to Washington, DC this week. But serving on the Community and Economic Development Committee for the National League of Cities left him virtually no time to see the sights. Instead over five days he attended various workshops for City officials and met with members of Congress to advocate for issues important to Lake Wales. "They were very receptive to hearing about our local needs," Gibson said. "We talked about...
Auditions will be held Monday and Tuesday, March 18-19, for the Lake Wales Little Theatre June teen production of "Reality Stars: Greek Gods Edition." According to promotional material the play is a hilarious romp that explores the great Greek myths within a reality show framework: "Thirteen gods are put under one roof, but only one can survive to sit upon Mount Olympus." Director Robbie Hartley will be casting "8 guys and 7 girls," ages 12-18. The play is not a musical, but...
The American Association of University Women is hosting a forum March 14 featuring the candidates for Lake Wales City Commission. The forum is open to the public and begins at 5:30 p.m. at the James P. Austin Center, 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Lake Wales. Lake Wales voters on April 2 will elect a mayor and one city commissioner and vote on a proposed City Charter change that would extend commission terms from two years to three. The change would go into effect...
For Debbie Paschal, Shirley Woodward and Betty Harper it's like an annual reunion, coming back to Lake Aurora Christian Camp where they spent time in the summer of 1947, the camp's inaugural year. The three ladies from Miami, Port Charlotte and Orlando gathered March 7 with about 200 other seniors from about 25 churches for the annual "Young at Heart Day." "They are from supporting churches so they come back every year – they are just longtime camp friends," said Phyllis B...
After more than 40 years of color and creativity, big changes are afoot for the 2019 version of the Lake Wales Mardi Gras. A burst of street art that couldn't be contained, the Lake Wales Mardi Gras popped into existence in 1984, and has been entertaining residents and visitors ever since. Hosted by more than a dozen private "krewes" and coordinated by a five-person committee, the 2019 events will take place on March 1 and 2, and include music, entertainment, and food, and...
Jennifer Ardolino says the goal of her art is to "make people happy." It's definitely hard not to smile when viewing her tropical scenes or colorful abstracts. Ardolino is a regular in the art show circuit, exhibiting at the finest Florida shows and some festivals outside Florida. A significant body of her work is on display through March 14 at the Art Gallery at Melange, 250 E. Park Ave. in historic downtown Lake Wales. Melange is offering a number of abstract originals,...
The Polk Training Center in Lake Alfred will hold its annual Spring Plant and Yard Sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23. All plants will be on sale. The Center carries a large assortment of Florida friendly plants: perennials, landscape shrubs, flowering shrubs, succulents, palms, crape myrtle trees, herbs & vegetables and more. The event also includes free hot dogs and raffling off some plants. The Center also will be holding a yard sale with recycled treasures...
Rotary on the Ridge has installed William Heath III as a new member. "Trey" is a REALTOR ® with Century 21 At Your Service Realty in Lake Wales. Trey's wife, Michelle, mother, Sara, and in-laws Ruthie and Ken Welch attended the installation service Jan. 28. "Trey obviously has a servant's heart," said sponsor Chevon Baccus, co-founder of the regional service club. "I am honored to sponsor him to become a Rotarian so he can put his energy and commitment to work serving our...
Lake Wales Mayor Eugene Fultz will present the annual State of the City address at an 8 a.m. breakfast Wednesday, Feb. 27 at the Vanguard School, 22000 U.S. Hwy 27. The annual message is one of the mayor's specific duties as outlined in the City Charter. The event is hosted by the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Commission, which is inviting people to "Come hear about the growth within our community over the past year." In promoting the event, the...
The Lake Wales mayor and two city commissioners are seeking re-election. Potential challengers for all three have picked up campaign packets, and the qualifying period ends at noon, Feb. 15. To qualify, candidates must declare for office, name a treasurer, open a bank account, pay a qualifying fee and submit the signatures of 25 registered voters within their respective districts. Mayoral candidates may obtain signatures from registered voters who live anywhere in the City....
Chevon and Mike Baccus recently celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary. They were married Feb. 12, 1983, at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Melbourne, FL. Mike is a retired elementary school teacher and Chevon serves as executive editor and publisher of LakeWalesNews.net, an online news site published by the Baccus Center for Engaged Communications and Leadership. Chevon was born in Ohio and moved to Lake Wales at the age of 5. She is a 1973 graduate of Lake Wales...
Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson recently received a Patriot's Award from the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve Florida Committee. Gibson serves as head wrestling coach for Bartow High School and as a classroom assistant for the Polk County School Board at Chain of Lakes Elementary School. Gibson was nominated by George Sabillion for supporting his service in the U.S. Army Reserve. "The Patriot Award reflects the efforts made to support citizen warriors through...
