Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Balancing improved public access to the natural beauty of Crystal Lake Park with parking needs and traffic circulation and the effect upon views and wildlife drew a small crowd to a special meeting Wednesday evening. The meeting at the Lake Wales Tourist Club in the subject park sought to gain public input. Consultants presented conceptual drawings representing potential alignments and configurations of the proposed trail which will "close the loop" around the small namesake...
Lake Wales neediest families will be a good bit less so thanks to the generosity of the 300 guests who packed the Family Life Center of the First Presbyterian Church Tuesday evening for the annual Empty Bowls auction. Care Center Executive Director Rob Quam told LakeWalesNews.net that the annual "Friendraiser" benefits the multiple food and family-service programs run by the non-profit center. Four live-auction bowls offered to the public were sold for about $10,000. "It's...
Following voter approval of Polk Foever, a new 20-year environmental land tax passed last November, Polk County is reactivating its long-standing citizen's committee that successfully guided a prior 20-year effort. The Board of County Commissioners this week approved the re-creation of the Polk County Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee (CLASAC). As an advisory committee, CLASAC members will review potential Polk County land acquisitions for...
Tragedy struck Friday morning as a McLaughlin Middle School student was killed after being struck by a truck while waiting near a school bus stop in the fog. Lake Wales Police Department reports indicate that Jadin Galindo, 13, was waiting for his school bus in the dark at about 6:15 am when he was struck by a 2013 GMC Sierra truck. According to police reports the alleyway where he was sitting, near the intersection of Miami Street and Dr. JA Wiltshire Avenue, near Florida's N...
Raymond Lee French of Babson Park passed away Thursday, February 2, 2023 at his residence. He was born August 10, 1930 in Kalamazoo, Michigan; he moved to Babson Park from West Palm Beach 18 years ago. Raymond was a retired Air Traffic Controller and a veteran of the United States Army who served in the Korean war and earned the Bronze Star. He was the past director at Audubon Society and a past City Councilman for Hillcrest Heights. He loved model car collecting and...
Representatives of three different first responder organizations were honored at a special luncheon organized by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce. The event, held at the Lake Wales Arts Center on Thursday, is the second such annual recognition event run by the Chamber, and apparently the only one in this part of Florida. The top honorees, Firefighter EMT George Gibson of Polk County Fire & Rescue, (LtoR) Deputy Sheriff Steven Mills of the Polk County Sheriff's Office,...
The Lake Wales History Museum will resume its popular speaker series with a presentation on Florida's past presented by guest speaker and local historian Robert Connors. Connors is the author of several books including "The Florida Saga," a historic novel documenting the long, tortured history of the Sunshine State. The History Museum holds a wealth of information about the Lake Wales area, ranging from pre-Columbian canoes carved by Native Americans from whole trees, to the...
A growing business community in downtown Lake Wales got a bit stronger this week. The official ribbon-cutting for Maggie Mae's Ice Cream Shop attracted a crowd of fans and well-wishers to the late-morning event at 125 East Park Avenue. The shop features 10 flavors of ice cream made to order, mixed and then instantly frozen using liquid nitrogen. The shop is owned by Steve Manwell and his wife,Ali, who also own Melanie's Seafood Restaurant just across the street from the new...
Sharon Van Dyne Lawrence of Frostproof, Florida passed away Monday, January 30, 2023 at The Club at Lake Wales in Lake Wales, Florida. She was born June 27, 1938 in Martins Ferry, Ohio to the late Albert and Rosemary Van Dyne. Sharon was a retired Bookkeeper and Office Manager. She was a member of First Christian Church of Frostproof and was an artist that enjoyed painting. Sharon was proceeded in death by her husband, James Lawrence in June of 2020; sister, Ruthie Johnson;...
A Frostproof woman died after being struck by a pickup truck on US 27 near the Camp Inn Resort early Tuesday morning. The location is north of Frostproof, and about three miles south of Warner University. The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating the fatal crash. Janie Barnett, 43, of Frostproof was transported to a local hospital but died from her injuries shortly after arriving. Evidence and witness statements collected by the Traffic Homicide Unit revealed that Ms....
Mark Bennett, the senior planner for the City of Lake Wales and department head of Development Services has announced his intention to leave his post effective in two weeks. City Manager James Slaton said he was surprised at the decision Bennett revealed late Thursday afternoon. Bennett has led the department since August of 2020, shortly after Slaton assumed his own role. In a statement sent in response to questions from LakeWalesNews.net, Slaton called Bennett "a dedicated p...
