Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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A well-attended reception Thursday evening offered the Lake Wales community its first opportunity to meet the four remaining candidates for superintendent of the Lake Wales Charter Schools system. More than 100 interested residents attended, taking the opportunity to become personally acquainted with the finalists. The candidates, including Emilean Clemons, Andy Oguntola, Wayne V. Rodolfich, and Anuj Saran, were introduced one at a time, giving them an essentially private...
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...
Following the collapse of negotiations Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency is proceeding with a lawsuit against the Dixie Walesbilt LLC. That action is expected to filed by Monday. The 96-year-old building has been the subject of an ambitious redevelopment proposal that would bring a luxury hotel chain to the building while redeveloping the adjacent properties. Negotiations have taken place during the past three weeks, but failed to reach an agreement which would...
A multi-faceted project to transform Lake Wales' central districts will officially begin within weeks after the City Commission approved an agreement with Cobb Site Development, Inc. to perform the construction of the city's new Park Avenue Connector Trail with a $1.4 million contract on Tuesday evening. The "Park Avenue Connector Trail" will actually utilize a portion of that right-of-way to connect the popular Lake Wailes Trail to the Library Park Trail segment, via Crystal...
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...
Lake Wales High School's girls' basketball team advanced in their effort to win a state title at home Thursday night as the top seed Highlanders defeated 8th seed Zephyrhills in the Class 5-A District playoffs by a convincing 66-33 score. The Lake Wales squad is now 19-4 overall this season. The Lady Highlanders will face a stiffer challenge at 7:00 on Tuesday, February 15 as they face the Bishop Moore Hornets, who devastated their first-round opponent Tampa Robinson by a 59-1...
A festive February evening and pleasant weather drew hundreds of pedestrians to fill the sidewalks of downtown for the Lake Wales Mainstreet Winedown event. Some two dozen businesses opened their doors to the after-dark social event, offering complementary hors d'oeuvres and beverages to guests who purchased the $20 tickets. Patrons and supporters of Main Street enjoyed a wide range of tasty delights, including shrimp cocktails, pasta dishes, chocolates, a wide variety of...
A unique and colorful specialty shop is holding a grand opening Saturday in the Rhodesbilt Arcade on Stuart Avenue downtown when "Modern Day Tiffanys" opens their doors to the public. Owner Rita Strempack offers a stunning array of the beautiful and traditional favorites. The shop offers chandeliers, table lamps, and dozens of lighting variations. The appropriate location in the well-known arcade building brings the stained-glass collection in close proximity to the many...
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...
A plan to rezone and redevelop the existing Green Gables Inn site to create as many as 225 apartments on the 8.84 acres was reviewed at the City Commission workshop Wednesday. No objections were raised during discussion, and the proposal is expected to be approved at a formal meeting on Tuesday. The proposal changes the current zoning of Limited Commercial-Industrial to high-density residential, allowing up to 25 units per acre. "They're gonna have to go up," said Deputy Mayor...
Abandoned signs are apparent in numerous locations in Lake Wales, a problem that City of Lake Wales Development Services staff are planning to address as part of the ongoing review of city codes. Although the signs are not permitted under the present regulations, many have been in place after businesses have been closed for more than a decade, detracting from the appearance of the city, and potentially serving as a disincentive to new investment. Ironically, many of the dereli...
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...
Lake Wales High School Principal Donna Dunson has notified the Lake Wales Charter Schools Board of Trustees that she is retaining an employment attorney to represent her "because of the systemic harassment that has been in play for over a year." The action is further evidence of the polarization that has disrupted the local seven-school system, which has been previously recognized for striking improvements in local schools. Dunson, a popular local school leader who has been a...
Lake Wales is slated to get its first-ever townhome project this year as the Lake Wales City Commission gave its approval to the preliminary plat for Hunt Club Grove North, a 600-unit subdivision to be built on 130 acres on the southeast side of the city. The entire project is expected to be developed in a single phase, according to City of Lake Wales Development Services staff. All the units will be within easy walking distance of three major shopping centers, a factor that...
A long-awaited proposal to redevelop the prominent former Walesbilt Hotel into a luxury full-service hotel and conference center is still viable, according to representatives of the development team, who pledged to keep working toward an agreement with the city that will assure the success of the project. Citing "progress" but large remaining differences between the parties, the Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday night authorized legal action against Dixie Walesbilt, LLC...
It took only a few months working in the Development Services Division at the City of Lake Wales for Autumn Cochella to realize she had found her passion and a life-long career path. After six years on the job she recently earned a coveted certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners. "This is my hometown," Cochella said. "I get it. The responsibility is more personal because I care on a different level. She stepped into the role in a bigger way recently...
The impending 54-hour closure of US 27 is expected to snarl traffic throughout the city for an entire weekend, but Florida Department of Transportation planners are taking steps to try to mitigate the resultant traffic snarls. Among them are extra police officers posted at key intersections and an extensive web of signage to guide drivers on nearly a dozen different routes. Described by some as "Traffic-geddon," the normally smooth flow of traffic around the Lake Wales area...
Six candidates for superintendent of Lake Wales Charter Schools are still under consideration following the latest meeting of the ten-member search committee, according to consultant Dr. Bill Vogel of the Florida Association of School Boards. The remaining candidates each received expressions of interest from at least five members of the committee, Vogel said, while two of the eight still under consideration were dropped in the continuation of a slow winnowing of the original...
An initiative by Congressman Darren Soto may bring help for a problematic sewer system that may be polluting surface waters. Rep. Soto was involved in the passage of the INVERT Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which he called the "biggest infrastructure investment in America since Eisenhower." Soto described his previous work with the Lakeshore community, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma a few years ago. "We were really worried about how long it might take to get...
Congressman Darren Soto, Mayor Eugene Fultz, Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson and other elected officials were among speakers presenting Monday as Lake Wales marks the national holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A rich program was offered by the Dr, Joseph A Wiltshire Scholarship Foundation to mark the day. The program began with the 10th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Legacy Breakfast. and included a showing of the landmark film "Selma" during the afternoon. The film is based...
The ongoing transition of the Lake Wales area from broad tracts of citrus to new housing projects is taking another leap forward as two prominent citrus families have proposed voluntary annexations totaling some 266 acres. The tracts lie immediately north and south of the present city center. Annexation will make the sites eligible for municipal water and sewer services, allowing development at attractive densities. The largest of the new annexation applications covers about...
An unprecedented closing of US 27 will snarl traffic through Lake Wales in mid-January, routing traffic from the busy corridor along several area streets and highways. The Florida Department of Transportation announced the impending closing, which will allow construction crews to raise the heavy beams for the new bridge being constructed to carry SR 60 over the federal highway. The closing will last an entire weekend from Friday night until early Monday morning. During which...
