Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1 - 20 of 20
I have served with several committees that organize the large events in town like Orange Blossom Revue and I am on the Mardi Gras Committee currently. I can understand why the decision to cancel the Christmas parade was made this far out. Large events like this are VERY expensive to put on and take months of planning. The city passed a ban on permits for public events, and until the State and Federal guidelines change, we won't likely see the city change. Protecting the life a...
The recent kerfuffle in Lake Wales over a secular invocation and the subsequent rush by the commission to craft a policy that would exclude future similar invocations is nothing more or less than history repeating itself. One would have hoped that nearly 250 years of hands-on experience with the religious freedom and the equality guaranteed by our constitution would have brought us to a point where offering an invocation in a public meeting would immediately be met with "Cool....
I found out that this job can be incredibly challenging. It is not part-time as some will say. This job is tough, and it is not for everyone. You can be elected today and gone the next time around. Especially, if you are not up to putting in the work to carry out your duty to the people who elected you. There is no one-sided view on ANYTHING - you need to have an open mind and a drive to search for the answers that you need to effectively make the best decision for the people...
Trump or Biden? Mask or no mask? Open school or eLearning? Open the economy, or public safety? Work or family? Push through and get it done, or pull back and reflect? Make a splash, or keep a low profile? Prove your point, or stay out of it? Conspiracy theories, or Occam's razor? Grace and mercy, or truth? Ephesians 5:19-21, or Ephesians 5:22-24? Cut the grass, or clean the garage? Has the pandemic and less physical interaction with people caused you to think that everything...
Mildred Jones, 91, of Lake Wales, died Aug. 21, 2020 at home under Good Shepherd Hospice Care. She was born Aug. 22, 1928. She was a retired educator. Services are incomplete. Epps Memorial Funeral Home is handling arrangements....
Emma A. Salamanca, 90, of Lake Wales passed away Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at Wedgewood of Winter Haven. She was born April 10, 1930 in Camuy, Puerto Rico to the late Manuel and Maria Lopez. She moved to Lake Wales from Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 2016. Emma was a retired Supervisor of Purchasing for Buchanan Army Base. She was very active in her church and adored her children and grandchildren. Emma was preceded in death by her husband, Patricio Salamanca Perez. Survivors...
Beverly Ann "Grams" Michaud, 88, of Frostproof passed away Thursday, Aug/ 20, 2020 at Advent Health Sebring. She was born August 16, 1932 in Taunton, MA to the late Joseph and Yvone Dufour. She moved to Frostproof from New Hampshire with her husband in 2008. Beverly was a homemaker and attended both Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Lake Wales and Our Lady of Grace in Avon Park. She enjoyed playing tennis and card games, was a very creative and talented artist, and was a giving person. Beverly was preceded in death by one...
With a possible hurricane headed toward Florida, Polk County is offering sandbags to residents wanting to protect their homes from water intrusion. Sandbags will be provided to Polk County residents at all Roads and Drainage maintenance units and another site in Poinciana from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Aug. 22 and 23. A maximum of 10 sandbags will be provided to each vehicle to help prevent water intrusion into the home. Beginning Aug. 22, the following locations...
The city's consultants in an online open house Aug. 20 unveiled a design plan for a Crystal Lake Connector Trail that links downtown to the trail around Lake Wailes. City staff will be showing off designs and answering questions from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 in a storefront at 220 E. Park Ave. About 30 citizens participated in the online open house with city staff and consultants from urban planners Dover-Kohl and design architects S & ME. The consultants are working...
The Lake Wales Public Library, with the assistance of lakewalesnews.net, has revived a tradition that existed in our local weekly newspaper for many years, the publication of a sampling of new books available at our library. The list will be updated weekly. The Lake Wales Public Library continues to offer safe door-side pickup of materials during our current hours of operation. Call the library to request that holds are placed on items for pickup at the Lake Wales Public...
People on both sides of the face mask debate voiced strong opinions to the Lake Wales City Commission Aug. 18, and in the end commissioners in a 3-2 vote imposed a citywide mask mandate. With some exceptions, people in Lake Wales will be expected to wear masks anytime they venture out of their homes unless they can maintain the recommended six-foot social distance. The ordinance applies only to indoor locations. Police will be empowered to give warnings on first offense and...
After hearing a national organization might file a lawsuit, Lake Wales City commissioners Aug. 18 paused their plans to adopt guidelines for invocations before meetings . Commissioners had decided in workshop session a week earlier to appoint Dr. James Moyer as the city's official chaplain and fill in themselves with invocations in his absence. Since 2009, Moyer, a retired minister of higher education and chaplain for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, has been the primary...
The City of Lake Wales is hosting a virtual open house Thursday, Aug. 20 to show off the preliminary site plan for the Crystal Lake Park Connector Trail. The focus of the trail is to connect Lake Wailes Park to Historic Downtown Lake Wales, while capturing the natural beauty of Crystal Lake. The open house from 5:30-6:30 p.m. will include consultants from city planners Dover-Kohl and Associates and SM &E, both of which are working on the city's downtown redevelopment...
During these trying times when businesses are struggling to reinvent themselves to adhere to both Governor decrees and social norms as well as keeping six feet between employees, owners and managers there is indeed a delicate balance that a tight rope walker would even find unnerving. Restaurant owners and managers have adapted. Good Eats is about getting the word out to the public on who is open and providing curbside and online ordering options as well as working with the...
This is the eleventh installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. Nations strive for a positive trade balance, where they sell more products than they buy, thereby receiving increased capital and creating a higher standard of living for their citizens. The same holds true for any economic unit. Let's take Lake Wales downtown for example. It's a...
Lake Wales City Commissioners got good news at their second budget workshop Aug. 12. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic's negative impact on the economy, projected state revenue is about $100,000 higher than originally expected. Budget Director Dorothy Abbott said she is confident that the City can adopt a balanced budget at a slightly lower "rollback" millage, the rate that is expected to generate the same amount of property taxes as this year. The current rate of 6.9339 may be...
William D. “Bill” Ferguson, Jr., 74, of Lake Wales passed away Monday, August 17, 2020 at Advent Health Lake Wales. He was born December 16, 1945 in Boston, MA to the late William and Helen Ferguson. He has been a resident of Lake Wales since 1997, moving from Chicago, IL. Bill was a retired truck driver. He served in the Army and the Air Force during Vietnam as a combat engineer. He was of the Christian faith. Bill was a life member of the VFW in in Woodbridge, VA and of the NRA. He was a very patriotic man, and all abo...
With all 167 precincts, early votes and mail in ballots tallied, Lori Edwards has coasted to another term in office, an indication that voters are pleased with how she is running the Supervisor of Elections office. The unofficial results are Edwards with 79,210 votes (77.67 percent) to Debbie Hannifan garnering 22,778 votes (22.33 percent). Edwards was the biggest winner of the night. This is not to say this race was without controversy, as her opponent unsuccessfully...
Andrew Jackson Beasley, Jr., 74, of Babson Park passed away Sunday, Aug. 16 at Advent Health Lake Wales. He was born December 7, 1945 in Frostproof, Florida to the late Jack and Mary Beasley. He was a retired citrus harvester. Jack is survived by his daughters, Monica Vigna of Lake Wales, and Kimberly Starling of Lake Wales; son, Andrew Jackson Beasley, III of Lake Wales; grandchildren, Taft Vigna, Brittany Simmons, Alex Yearry, Heath Vigna, Savannah Starling, Sheridan Vigna,...
Nancy Jean Walker, 76, of Lake Wales passed away Monday, Aug. 17, 2020 at her residence. She was born June 9, 1944 in Green Bay, WI to the late Walter and Evelyn Fraser. She moved to Lake Wales from Key Largo in 2004. Nancy was a retired writer for The Reporter. She belonged to the Mahjong club, was a member of the hospitality committee, was on the board of the H.O.A., and was a past member and past president of "The Doe's" (the women's group of The Elk Club). Nancy took care...
