Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 476 - 500 of 546
After a two-year process, Webber International University has been granted approval to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. The University has begun accepting applications for students to start their pre-nursing coursework beginning in January of 2022. The word of approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Florida Board of Nursing was welcomed by Dr. Carol Daniel, the program's Chief Nursing...
An unusual "annexation agreement" covering 932-acres of citrus groves owned by Sarasota-based Gardinier Florida Citrus and PCGP, LLC will be considered by the City Commission this week, yet another major block of land that is being brought under the control of city planners. The lands in question lie east of Scenic Highway and north of Masterpiece Road at Starr Lake. Most of the property is not being targeted for quick annexation or development, but will eventually be brought...
Persistence and patience paid off for one dedicated Lake Wales man after a request for a sports field for his children ended up benefiting hundreds of area youngsters who participate in the Lake Wales Soccer Club. Fields, a long-time resident of Lake Wales, recognized that area children wishing to participate in the increasingly popular sport had nowhere they could go. A small program at the YMCA was unable to meet the demand, so he began to speak up. "I went everywhere the...
If you like to have fun with paints, and help a good cause, here's an opportunity to do them both at the same time!. Empty Bowls begins this week and will end in February. In an effort to help raise the many thousands of dollars needed to help relieve hunger, the annual paint-a-bowl ceramics project leads to an auction of the various artistically-designed-bowls. The bowls are glazed and fired, and are popular local collectibles. Painting days will be held on December 10 and...
A Lake Wales police Department vehicle was totaled in a night-time crash Tuesday evening after the officer stopped to aid a the driver of a disabled vehicle. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured in the incident, which was captured by an officer-worn body camera. Lake Wales Officer Jacob Raines has stopped to assist a driver who had gotten a car in a ditch along US 27 just south of Chalet Suzanne Road near Eagle Ridge Mall. Police Chief Chris Velasquez noted that Officer...
The search for a new superintendent for the Lake Wales Charter School System has entered its next phase following the close of applications for the position on November 17. Now the search committee will begin the process of winnowing the 25 applicants, representing 11 states, down to a few finalists who will be granted preliminary on-line interviews The field of applicants includes local residents, including several from Polk County. Others on the list have attended local...
The inspiration of hard-working parents who wanted their children to have a better life has led their son to "pay it forward" by leading others to higher callings through Polk State College. Dr. Andy Oguntola is the Director of the college's Lake Wales campus in the JD Alexander Center on Central Avenue downtown. He also serves as Dean of Workforce Development for the multi-campus institution. Under his five-year watch enrollment at the local campus has grown from 600 to...
A crumbling former gasoline station and convenience store that has proven to be a stubborn eyesore may be subject to foreclosure action as City-imposed fines of $500 a day are mounting rapidly and surpassing the value of the property by some estimates. The property is prominently situated at the busy intersection of Scenic Highway and Polk Avenue, Fourth Street also flanks the site at the corner familiarly known as "Five Points." Once a Shell outlet, the business closed long...
A significant investment in rehabilitation for both existing housing and needy residents is likely to result from a successful grant application by the Lake Wales Care Center. That 36-year-old organization has been notified that they will soon receive $1 million in grant funding after emerging as the top non-profit applicant in Polk County under the American Rescue Plan. "My first thought was just 'wow, what an honor,' because there are a lot of good projects and good...
In a tribute to the very concept of restoration, a portion of Florida's Kissimmee River that was once reduced to a single canal carrying contaminated water has been approved for status as a Wild and Scenic River under legislation passed by the US Congress. The river fell victim to a misguided flood control effort by the US Army Corps of Engineers following repeated floods after hurricanes dumped record rains across central Florida. The project turned a 103-mile meandering rive...
A detailed project to restore the original windowed façade to a 100-year-old building is underway as workers begin the meticulous work of chipping away hundreds of square feet of black stucco. The work is expected to reveal much of the original design of the one-time department store. The project is being funded by local attorney Robin Gibson, who also serves as the chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency and purchased the building recently with the intent of completing...
A land use change on 24.66 acres of the site from LDR Low-Density Residential, to MDR Medium-Density Residential will allow for the construction of hundreds of townhomes as part of the new Hunt Club new development. The City Commission approved the change as part of a busy agenda Tuesday that featured several other significant development-related items, part of a wave of growth that has arrived during a nearly nationwide housing shortage. The project, planned for a 234-acre...
Motorists can expect more changes to traffic patterns in coming weeks thanks to the massive bridge-replacement and intersection redesign underway at the US 27/SR 60 crossing. Beginning November 29, 2021, Central Avenue at US 27 will be closed to allow crews to pour concrete in the center of the intersection. The disruption at the intersection will last for approximately two weeks, according to the Floridea Department of Transportation. US 27 will continue to have two open...
As part of a busy agenda, a new subdivision plan was approved by the City Commission Tuesday on Tangelo Street. The site plan required a special exception to allow 50-foot wide lots instead of the 60-foot required by the designated zoning. Under the City's comprehensive plan the site could have been zoned for Medium density development of up to 12 units per acre, allowing as many as 336 homes or apartments on the site. The site plan presented by Sloan Engineering on behalf of...
A multi-million-dollar effort to create a three story building to host start-up businesses will receive the consideration of the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday afternoon. The board will contemplate the annual contribution of $300,000 for three years to help spur the project. The project is proposed to address an "innovation infrastructure deficit," according to documents shared with the CRA board last month. The proposed solution is a "high-tech...
Lake Wales's newest housing subdivision is rapidly being developed on the high ground just west of Lake Wales High School. Scenic Bluffs Phase Two will offer 55 single-family homes on a site facing Old Scenic Highway. In a nod to the extraordinary housing shortage facing much of the nation, prices have risen sharply for new homes, pricing many first-time buyers out of the market. New homes in the development will start at 1400 square feet of living area and be priced...
Imagine a place filled with the tantalizing aromas of fresh breads and flowers, the colors of fancy beadwork and bottles filled with bright liquids, and the sounds of friendly conversation and music. That's the Lake Wales Farmers Market in the downtown MarketPlace, where more than 40 vendors turn out to offer their latest creations, fresh produce, plants, baked goods, soy candles, and other goodies. Held downtown for several years on the second and fourth Saturdays from 9:00...
In an inspirational tribute to veterans in general and one man in particular, the Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary today hosted a special Veterans' Day observance in honor of "Captain Jack," a 99-years old retired Navy pilot who hunted Japanese submarines in the Pacific Ocean during WW II. The honors came thick and fast for John A. Davenport during the breakfast meeting and included a Special Presidential Citation presented by envoy Mike Rodriguez, representing President Joe...
The multiple proposals for future residential development in the Lake Wales area has many concerned for the future of the city and the potential loss of its "small town" feel. After hearing from numerous citizens about their worries for the future, Commissioner and Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson has felt the need to speak about the issue. "Folks have been telling me they are concerned about the town being overwhelmed by the coming urbanization," Gibson said in a written statement....
If electricity came in flavors, your lights might be smacking their lips when you flip the switch once a major solar power project is completed in Lake Wales. A 600-acre property just north of Dinner Lake stretching beyond Waverly Road into Dundee will soon be the site of a sprawling solar "farm". The project received approval from the Lake Wales Planning and Zoning board Tuesday after project developer TECO Energy made some minor adjustments to the vegetated buffers around th...
After a successful preseason tournament outing at Auburndale this week, the Lake Wales High School Boys Soccer teans are ready to start their regular season on Monday when they will host George Jenkins (Lakeland). November 8, 2021 Monday George Jenkins Home 6:30/8pm November 11, 2021 Thursday Freedom (Varsity Only) Away 7:00 PM November 12, 2021 Friday Bartow Away 6:30/8pm November 16, 2021 Tuesday Discovery (PCCL) Home 6:30/8pm November 18, 2021 Thursday McKeel (PCCL) Home 6/...
The 2021 Pioneer Days celebration of history is itself history, but Lake Wales History Museum Director Jennifer D'hollander is still celebrating. "Oh my gosh yes!" she responded when asked whether she was pleased with the weekend she organized. "I was delighted!" D'hollander cited the bigger-than-ever crowds that poured into town for the annual event. "We had more marketing that ever, true, but then people are just so ready to get back to interacting at events like this." The...
"Human trafficking is modern-day slavery." With these words the One More Child organization describes the silently pervasive problem of human trafficking, which involves both adults and children as victims, and groups as diverse as gangs, families and religious organizations as perpetrators. In a six-hour forum sponsored by One More Child, the Lake Wales Care Center, local area pastors, and the Lake Wales Police and Fire Departments, some 80 participants heard expert...
The massive $45 million project to replace the obsolete bridge over US 27 in Lake Wales is continuing apace, but the comings months will see multiple traffic interruptions, the Florida Department of Transportation has confirmed. The bridge will carry State Road 60 over the federal highway. Corine Burgess, Community Outreach manager for the project on behalf of FDOT, has confirmed that construction in the middle of the Central Avenue-US 27 intersection will be disrupted again...
The rush to develop housing in Lake Wales shows no sign of abating as new proposals continue to come before the Lake Wales City Commission. Tuesday's agenda saw an approval of an annexation that will pave the way for a 90-acre residential development south of the Eastlake Center, which houses Winn-Dixie and Rural King. The proposed annexation of 62 acres will join them with another 29 already under the same ownership group. If approved for medium density residential...
