Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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"Bloody Murder" isn't normally anything to laugh about, but when interpreted by a cast of characters in the current production at Lake Wales Little Theatre you'll find yourself doing just that. From its generic roots as a set-piece "murder in an English mansion" circa 1930's drama, the play quickly sweeps the audience into something quite different. The action takes place in the elegant home of Lady Somerset, played by Jessica Jimenez, who has invited the group together to...
A new Tree Advisory Board being created by City Ordinance will create a five-member board that will be charged with a host of tasks assisting the city's Horticulturist Lester Gulledge. "This board will be there simply to help our horticulturist and our horticulture program," said Michael Manning, assistant to the city manager, in presenting the item to the city commission at their workshop. "It was just about one year ago today that we started a horticulture program," Manning...
Some 100 guests and supporters of the Lake Wales Main Street gathered Monday morning for a 90-minute session and left filled with not only lunch but inspiration. City planner Ed McMahon visited Lake Wales from his home in Maryland to tout the assets and potential of the city, which is facing unprecedented growth. McMahon is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC. "People in small towns don't like change," McMahon told the assembly, including...
Converting downtown streets into a shady pedestrian oasis through the Lake Wales Connected plan got a financial boost as the City of Lake Wales has received a Federal grant. Congressman Darren Soto (Dem, Kissimmee) arranged an $800,000 infusion for downtown street rehabilitation in the bi-partisan Infrastructure package approved by the US Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. Those funds will aid in fulfilling the Lake Wales Connected plan, augmenting Community...
More than 70 guests gathered Monday evening at the Lake Wales Woman's Club to hear all five candidates for election to two city posts discuss issues and answer questions. Speaking from the stage all five candidates received polite applause following most of their answers, but there were also moments of division. All five candidates were asked the same questions. Mayoral candidates Curtis Gibson, Jack Hilligoss and Tammy James generally agreed on most issues, including that...
A special event this Tuesday, March 22 will honor three area "Women Who Made History." The event will be hosted by the Lake Wales chapter of the American Association of University Women. "Women Who Made History on the Ridge" will honor Johanna Buscher-Shedler, Kathe Galloway, and Ethel Austin, (posthumously) will be feted for their work. Charlene Bennett, speaking on behalf of the AAUW, invited area residents to "join us in learning about the contributions, challenges, and...
Local Resident J. Lawton Lilly has completed his initial training assignments and has been assigned to the Navy's Seventh Fleet in the Pacific. He shipped out 3/16/22 as a US Navy Sailor to the Yokosuka, Japan Naval base outside of Tokyo. Lilly has been assigned to the USS Howard, a guided-missile Destroyer supporting Carrier Strike Group Five, consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, supported by the guided missile cruisers USS Antietam, USS Chancellorsville and...
Several new large-scale residential developments took shape in presentations heard by the Lake Wales City Commission during their Wednesday workshop, at which only three commissioners were present. The poor attendance at two meetings this week prompted complaints from Mayor Eugene Fultz. The rapid growth of Lake Wales in the face of multiple large-scale development projects has concerned many citizens as judged by questions submitted at recent elections forums. The latest...
Central Avenue will be closed at the intersection on the west side of US 27 for approximately three weeks beginning Monday, March 21, 2022. . This closure will allow crews to construct concrete pavement in the western portion of the intersection. This is the segment at the entrance to Huston Cadillac GMC and Beef O'Brady's. US 27 will continue to have two lanes of traffic northbound and southbound. Movement in and out of Central Avenue west of US 27 will be closed. Movement...
Lake Walk-in-the-Water has been revealed to contain a tagged bass, one of several Florida lakes to have received a trophy bass bearing a special pink tag. The tag and documentation will earn one lucky fisherman an entry into a state-wide contest sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Lake George, Newnans Lake, and Lake Talquin also host one of the tagged fish, with two other lakes to be revealed later in the contest, which runs through...
Lovers of beauty and the arts expect a breezy and beautiful weekend for the Lake Wales Arts Festival which opens Saturday morning March 12 in Lake Wailes Park for a two-day show. Presented by the Lake Wales Arts Council, the 51-year-old show attracts artists from across the region and nation. Up to 100 artists are expected to display their works while competing for more than $22,000 in awards, including two Judge's Choice awards for "Exceptional Works" and five Awards of...
The re-imagining of downtown Lake Wales and the application of the Connected plan is now inspiring some significant proposed changes to Central Avenue between Scenic Highway and First Street. In keeping with the concepts advanced in the award-winning Lake Wales Connected plan, a new pavement configuration which will add a bike lane to the north side of the street was approved at Tuesday's Community Redevelopment Agency meeting. The board will enter a $35,000 contract with...
As a pair of contested city elections move toward a climactic vote on April 5 citizens will have another opportunity to see and hear the five vying for the two open seats. A forum will take place Monday afternoon, March 14, beginning at 5:00, a time chosen by organizers to allow working people to stop in before heading home, according to Juanita Zwaryczuk, co-president of the sponsoring American Association of University Women. The cosponsoring GFWC Lake Wales Women's Club...
A new agreement being struck between the City of Lake Wales may result in fairer bills for sewer service. The plan comes after complaints from area residents after the county took over the operations of the sewer system in 2001, and the city purchased the water system. Those purchases came about after the original operator fell into default and was unable to operate the system, which had caused a spill of raw sewage into Crooked Lake, which is rated as Outstanding Florida...
A nearly year-long search to recruit a new superintendent for Lake Wales Charter Schools concluded Tuesday evening, leaving many in the community determined to heal the divisions created during the process. After an effort that at times seemed more like an election campaign than a search and involved seemingly unending political maneuvering, the Board of Trustees settled upon Dr. Wayne V. Rodolfich, who comes to the city from Pascagoula, Miss. As the vote was taken he was...
When LakeWalesNews.Net recently ran a series of stories about a local education controversy, our stories in the topic were read more than 20,000 times. As a result, our staff received angry phone calls and emails from local elected officials whose goals and methods were being exposed to broad public scrutiny. That's an example of the power of the press, be it news received on a printed page, or, increasingly, found on the screen of a personal device. Many times the threat of...
A portrait of a city undergoing numerous changes was delivered to about 100 community and business leaders Friday at the annual "State of the City" report delivered by outgoing Mayor Gene Fultz in a darkened auditorium at the Vanguard School. It was the first opportunity for him to deliver the speech since 2019 due to the impacts of Covid-19. He will be leaving office this year after nine years as the city's first elected mayor. Citing an aggressive pursuit of improvements...
A nationally-syndicated and web-streamed radio show aimed at veterans originates in a Lake Wales for most of the year. Local residents Mike and Irene Spotswood record the "Cup of Joe Radio" show, often with Mike's service dog Truman at their feet. Mike, a Marine who did two tours in Vietnam over the course of 19 months, and Irene, a former nurse say their two-hour radio show is "80% music, 20% information." Their mission statement is "The healing power of music." Their show...
The Lake Wales Charter School Board of Trustees is expected to choose a new superintendent of schools Tuesday to run seven local schools and maintain the standard of excellence achieved by former Superintendent Jesse Jackson. Jackson, who built an award-winning program with the help of principals and staff members, resigned in February, leaving the trustees to find a replacement. The fraught selection process continues to generate community concern. A nationwide search for...
A small but vocal group has been a significant influence on the process of selecting a new superintendent for the Lake Wales Charter School system, a simple reading of documents reveals. (See Related Story Here) The Polk County chapter of the Ohio-based County Citizens Defending Freedom has been involved in the process at numerous points and has consistently acted to promote the selection of Andy Oguntola. Two speakers who sought to end the national search in Lake Wales in...
Former City Commissioner Al Goldstein, considered by some to be the favorite in a three-way race to regain his seat, withdrew his filing hours before the City Commission approved the final ballot form in an afternoon meeting Friday. He was one of six candidates who had qualified since noon Monday for the two seats to be decided in the April 5 election. Goldstein was frank and gracious in his comments when reached by telephone, saying that he had no hard feelings, and that he k...
Shaken community confidence in the search for a new superintendent to lead the Lake Wales Charter School system has generated a wave of criticism from educators, community leaders and parents, amid suggestions that the system may see a "mass exodus of quality employees." Following a stunning revelation last week that Lake Wales High School Principal Donna Dunson has retained legal counsel in the face of "harassment," others involved in the school system are questioning the...
The Lake Wales History Museum is "immediately" launching a nationwide search for a new executive director after Jennifer D'hollander announced that will be leaving the organization on March 5. D'hollander recently led the conversion of the museum from a city owned facility to a non-profit organizational structure within a secure City of Lake Wales-Museum partnership. The board of directors of the museum issued a statement praising her "inspiring leadership," and wishing her...
The fate of the storied Walesbilt Hotel has been placed in the hands of the courts after the City of Lake Wales and the Community Redevelopment Agency filed a twelve-count lawsuit in Circuit Court. The lawsuit effectively deters any immediate work to rehabilitate the structure, which has been the focus of interest by a team of developers working with current owner Ray Brown. The lawsuit alleges that Brown, through his corporation Dixie Walesbilt LLC, defrauded the City and...
Lake Wales area residents are being offered a hands-on habitat restoration activity which will see the planting of 5,000 young Long Leaf pines at the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest. The effort is being sponsored by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Division and their Ridge Rangers volunteer program. The purpose is to reintroduce native Long Leaf pines, in an effort to restore native and globally threatened habitats of the Lake Wales Ridge. Mature Longleaf pines provide essential...
