Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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After a surprisingly quiet August ion the tropics, forecasters are watching several systems as the historic peak of the Atlantic hurricane season arrives. The formation of Tropical Storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico has coastal residents on alert, but that system should leave Florida unscathed as it moves generally northward, potentially impacting Louisiana at hurricane force, For Florida, attention is directed to the distant Atlantic, where a parade of tropical waves and a...
Construction of the first homes on the expansive Hunt Club North development is under way. Teams of masons are laying concrete blocks to raise the walls of the first homes along newly-constructed McKinley Drive in the subdivision on the near south side of Lake Wales. Hunt Club North will include a mixture of 600 townhomes and single family homes east of 11th Street and south of East Lake Plaza. The townhomes are planned for the northern part of the site closest to SR 60,...
A controversial high-density development involving Lake Wales Country Club and Oakwood that was nixed by city planners earlier this year is returning with new designs even as new information emerges about Falgun Dharia, the principal behind the project, who had introduced himself last year as Frank Ghandi. (See our stories below.) The new conceptual site development plan still combines the two golf courses but relies more heavily on single-family home sites. Many residents at...
Winter Haven attorney Jason Penrod, owner of Family Elder Law, was arrested this week on a charge of Grand Theft after confessing to a client that he had stolen from a trust fund. His firm was closed abruptly in July, leaving employees and clientele without explanations for weeks. Penrod subsequently filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court acknowledging the misuse of client living trust funds and requesting the disciplinary revocation of his law license. That matter...
After a long lull that has stymied forecaster's predictions of a hyper-active hurricane season, the tropics are once again heating up. A new disturbance heading westward across the central Atlantic is expected to pass across the Windward Islands and potentially threaten the United States. According to forecasters, the system is presently poorly-organized but has been given a 40% chance to develop into a tropical cyclone by the National Hurricane Center. If it does it would be...
The Circle of Friends, a valued community-service program serving the Lake Wales area, has hit a crisis after expected grants failed to materialize, forcing the sale of a new campus acquired only last year. The nonprofit Circle of Friends, founded in 2002, has relied on grants, sponsors, and donors to invest in the lives of special needs students who have aged out of regular school programs. A Tuesday night board meeting was attended by a group of parents and a wave of...
Lake Wales City officials and residents gathered Friday morning at the intersection of Florida Avenue and F Street in the Northwest Neighborhood to celebrate the upcoming sidewalk and street-tree planting project with a groundbreaking ceremony. The effort is expected to beautify the long-neglected area, coupling with the ongoing Community Redevelopment Agency housing rehabilitation and affordable home construction programs. The groundbreaking followed only hours after a Thursd...
Park Avenue in downtown Lake Wales has become one of the "coolest" places around with the opening of yet another ice cream parlor. The Pink Flamingo is the third location where residents and visitors can grab a frozen treat. The new shop, located within the Arcade at 230 East Park Avenue, is the project of Lynette and Gene Hofferber. The couple are recent arrivals, having moved to the city from Nebraska in the footsteps of their daughter, Brittany Gregg, who fell in love with...
The long-awaited opening on a second stretch of a reconstructed Park Avenue in downtown Lake Wales is a reality after construction crews removed barriers, allowing traffic to flow on the newly-bricked street. Along with the new travel surface comes a lush new landscape of oaks and ornamental plantings and new wider sidewalks designed to accommodate sidewalk dining. Still to come are new streetlights to create the proper evening ambiance. Merchants have struggled during the...
Site work has begun on the site of Belle Lago, an 84-home subdivision on Lake Belle on the south side of Lake Wales. The project is one of several housing projects now underway across the city. The city Lake Wales City Commission approved preliminary plans for the project in July, 2021 after it received the nod from both city planners and the Planning and Zoning Board. The project is immediately south of and adjacent to a portion of the Ridge Manor subdivision, an enclave of...
The Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency board Tuesday rejected a proposal to reconsider higher-density development at a site near Lake Alta Park. Area residents had battled a previous plan for months earlier this year. City Commissioners, sitting in their roles as the CRA board, voted 4-1 against the concept, brought before the board by Chairman Robin Gibson. Gibson made a lengthy pitch to fellow commissioners to draw support but came up empty. The concept plan would...
Family Elder Law owner and attorney Jason Penrod has filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court acknowledging the misuse of client living trust funds and requesting the disciplinary revocation of his law license. The petition, filed by Penrod's attorney Richard Allen Greenberg, states that Penrod admits his violation of the strict rules governing attorney practices, and pledges to "reimburse the Client Security Fund (CSF) for any and all funds CSF has paid or may pay out...
The storm came in a destructive rush, defying predictions, and caught most Polk residents completely off-guard. When it had passed, Hurricane Charley had left a trail of incredible destruction in its wake. It was a Friday, the 13th of August, twenty years ago this week that the first hurricane in 44 years struck southeast Polk. It's a date that many who experienced the storm will never forget. In a matter of about two hours the fast-moving storm damaged virtually every...
As the economy continues to improve in the Lake Wales area, the Orange Grove, a large and long-underused shopping center on SR 60 east at 11th Street, is showing multiple signs of new life as tenants snap up space in the sprawling plaza, once left behind by outward growth. New businesses planned for the center include a Stone Cabin Coffee and Cheesecake restaurant, the fourth location for that family-owned chain, offering elaborately-decorated cheesecakes in a wide variety of...
The serious and too-often deadly violation of passing a stopped school bus is receiving an appropriately-serious response in Polk County, and drivers should be alert and aware. To combat the recurring problem, all Polk County school buses are being equipped with cameras to identify drivers passing buses when the stop-arm is activated. According to the Florida Association of School Administrators, a survey revealed that "98,065 school bus drivers reported that 66,322 vehicles...
A strong feeder-band of storms is expected to pass over the Ridge area beginning about 3:45, with possible tornados and very gusty winds accompanied by heavy rains. Those needing to travel are encouraged to wait out the storms which should clear the area in about an hour. The heavy band of rain has already cleared the Bartow and Fort Meade area, where a rotation was detected by Doppler radar. An earlier funnel cloud was seen by multiple witnesses as it passed over Lake Wales,...
Heavy squalls passing through the Lake Wales area early Sunday afternoon generated a funnel cloud that hovered over Lake Wales. If was unconfirmed if it had touched the ground at any point during its south-to-north passage over the city, although there were numerous reports of very strong wind bursts from north of Crooked Lake to the city's north side. The squalls are part of the right flank of Tropical Storm Debby, which is intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane and...
Heavy rains southeast Polk and the Ridge area may be accompanied by gusty winds on Sunday and Monday as Tropical Storm Debby. currently located near Cuba will affect Florida's weather. The current forecast keeps the center of newly-designated Tropical Storm Debby away from the Tampa Bay area over the Gulf, reaching the coast only in the Big Bend area. The National Hurricane Center in Miami is projecting that the Debby will reach hurricane strength as it passes over the very...
In a move that left the community stunned, the well-known law firm of Family Elder Law halted operations more than a week ago, notifying employees through a text message that they were closing. Founded in 2013 by Lake Wales attorney Jason Penrod, the firm had grown to include three central Florida offices and some two dozen employees who were left wondering about the circumstances, which remain unknown. Penrod remains the sole officer of Family Elder Law P.A. In a statement...
Skyrocketing development pressures are colliding with dwindling supplies of water across Florida. Those same forces are now causing angst for elected officials along the Ridge, who are wrestling with increased costs and possible building moratoriums, even as the collapse of the citrus industry along the Ridge in eastern Polk has caused many former citrus growers to offer their huge tracts of land to developers. The Town of Dundee, which has grown to 6,000 residents in recent...
UPDATE: A renewed boil-water order has been lifted for homes in the Country Oaks neighborhood of Lake Wales. Testing has confirmed that no contaminants are present. A boil-water notice reappeared on front doors across the Country Oaks neighborhood on the northeast side of Lake Wales after repeated interruptions in water service. A break in a 10" water line due to contractors serving the area is the reported problem. The notice says 330 customers in the area are affected. The...
Reverend Dr. G. Craig Williford has been appointed interim president of Warner University in Lake Wales following the departure of Dr. David A. Hoag, who had led the school since May of 2016. Hoag has been retained to serve as the new President of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in Washington D.C. Dr. Williford accepted the Board of Trustee's request to serve as interim president of Warner University effective August 1. Dr. Williford will "ensure...
Yet another large-scale development is being planned for the Lake Wales area, this time on the city's western edge, after the proposal received approvals from the city's Planning and Zoning board Tuesday. Lake Wales Commons could host as many as 3,200 new dwelling units, along with more than a million square feet of light industrial and warehouse space on about 558 acres fronting along SR 60 West, Old Bartow Road, and West Lake Wales Road North. The sprawling collection of 26...
Although the summer doldrums would predict otherwise, downtown Lake Wales is buzzing over the opening of a popular new coffee shop, one of the newest businesses to open during the ongoing transformation of the area. Latte Lounge offers coffee beans sourced from a small business in Virginia, creating fresh and flavorful handcrafted beverages, along with a changing variety of cookies and pastries in a warm and inviting atmosphere, well stocked with new books by local authors....
Dual-enrollment of Lake Wales Charter School students in STEM courses at Webber International University will result from a a $10,000 Impact Polk grant from the George W. Jenkins Fund within GiveWell Community Foundation. The grant will provide greater access to students pursuing careers as registered nurses or occupational therapy assistants, according to Dr. Nelson Marquez, President/CEO of Webber. STEM refers to concentrations in the areas of science, technology, engineerin...
