Communication Builds Our Community

Articles from the December 14, 2022 edition


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  • Commissioner Fitzgerald Expected to Be Reinstated by Governor DeSantis

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 30, 2022

    A written appeal for re-instatement has been sent to Governor Ron DeSantis by former Lake Wales City Commissioner Kris Fitzgerald, who was found not guilty in October of charges lodged against her only weeks after her election in April 2021. Fitzgerald faced a weapons charge after confronting a young relative who was accused of a sexual assault on her daughter. Her acquittal in an October jury trial came more than a year after her arrest. Florida Statutes 112.51.6 allows the...

  • Lake Wales Wins State Title in Heart-stopping Finish

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 29, 2022

    The Lake Wales Highlanders have completed a perfect 15-0 season with a 32-30 win over Daytona Mainland to win their first state championship. After falling behind early by a 10-0 score, the Highlanders battled back to open a 32-23 lead late, before the Daytona Buccaneers scored to pull within two. The Highlanders defense played a major role in the game with three interceptions, including two by Phillip Davis that ended a Buccaneer drives on the Highlanders' one and two yard...

  • Video Highlights: Lake Wales Kiwanis Christmas Parade Drew Thousands

    News Staff|Updated Dec 26, 2022

    An estimated crowd of approximately 5,000 showed up in downtown Lake Wales Saturday to watch or participate in the annual Kiwanis Christmas Parade. Here are some video highlights of the festive event....

  • NBA Great Amar'e Stoudemire Guest at McLaughlin Gym Groundbreaking

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 21, 2022

    Thursday was an exciting day for both students and administrators of Lake Wales' McLaughlin Middle/High School as they broke ground for a new $15 million gymnasium, and welcomed back former student Amar'e Stoudemire to give a keynote address. Stoudemire brought a message of encouragement to students hoping to follow his success as a "student athlete. "Hard work" was the repeated theme he share. Highlighting the need for education as well as athletics, he proudly announced his...

  • US 27 Southbound Lanes to Open Wednesday

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 19, 2022

    The construction of a "Single Point Urban Interchange" at the intersection of US 27 and SR 60 continues with another change in the traffic pattern, this time one that may east navigation for area motorists. According to a statement issued by the Florida Department of Transportation, traffic traveling on US 27 southbound will be shifted to the newly constructed lanes beginning Wednesday. The change is a welcome improvement for drivers who have been navigating through a maze of...

  • Carol Loretta Pirich, 1939-2022

    Updated Dec 19, 2022

    Carol Loretta Pirich of Babson Park passed away Thursday, December 15, 2022 at her residence. She was born December 25, 1939 in Astoria, New York to the late John Cohn and Jean Kilroy; she moved to Babson Park from Astoria, New York in 1969. Carol was a retired bookkeeper and a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church. She was devoted to her family. Her family envisions her drinking a scotch on the rocks in Heaven. Carol was proceeded in death by her husband, Michael Pirich in...

  • Amar'e Stoudemire Arrested in Miami Only Two Days After Lake Wales Visit

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 18, 2022

    Former Lake Wales resident and NBA great Amar'e Stoudemire was arrested in Miami Saturday, only two days after speaking to students and faculty at McLaughlin Middle/High school in Lake Wales. Stoudemire is alleged to have entered the room of his teenage daughter and punched her after believing that she had been disrespectful to her grandmother. His unidentified daughter was reportedly left with a bloody nose. According to a police report, one of the responding officers "observ...

  • Lake Wales Highlanders Top Daytona Mainland to Win Championship

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 17, 2022

    The Lake Wales Highlanders have completed a perfect 15-0 season with a 32-30 win over Daytona Mainland to win their first state championship. After falling behind early by a 10-0 score, the Highlanders battled back to open a 32-23 lead late, before the Daytona Buccaneers scored to pull within two. The Highlanders defense played a major role in the game with three interceptions, including two by Phillip Davis that ended a Buccaneer drives on the Highlanders' one and two yard...

  • Frigid Blast Expected to Precede Christmas

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 16, 2022

    It's time to dig out the Christmas sweaters, as sharply colder weather is forecast for the week ahead of the Holidays. After a chilly dip on Sunday and Monday, bracketed by good chances for rain, the Lake Wales area is expected to feel the first wintry blast of the season on December 23rd at temperatures drop into the mid-30s for overnight lows, while daytime highs remain in the 50s. Although there is no prediction of frost or freezing temperatures at this time, the jet...

  • Walesbilt Lawsuit Conclusion Chances Raised by City Commissioner

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 15, 2022

    A quick end to a lawsuit over title to the Walesbilt Hotel was raised as a possibility during a meeting of the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday. "There is a good chance that the city will once again have title to the hotel, and I think we should notify everybody out there...that there may come a time when that hotel will be on the market," Chairman Robin Gibson told the commissioners. The city has been locked in a legal battle with Walesbilt LLC since...

  • Roundabout Construction Road Closure Extended For Additional Month

    Special to the News|Updated Dec 15, 2022

    A month long extension of a road closure has been added to a roundabout project under construction at the intersection of Old Bartow Lake Wales Road and Rattlesnake Road (County Road 653) in Lake Wales. The construction project, which began in September, has required closure previously. The road will close again at the intersection for one month starting Monday morning, December 19. Local access will be maintained to the point of closure, but no traffic will be permitted to...

  • Televised Highlanders Championship Game or Take the Fan Bus

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 15, 2022

    As the Lake Wales Highlanders take on Daytona Beach Mainland in the Class 3S Football Championship, fans have some options for viewing the game, which will be live-streamed on the internet. Those wishing to attend in person also have the opportunity to reserve a seat on a chartered bus. The 14-0 Highlanders will face the Mainland Buccaneers in a 1:00 pm start on Friday, December 16. The game is being held in the neutral grounds of DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, which seat...

  • Rose Marie Wyrosdick, 1955-2022

    Updated Dec 14, 2022

    Rose Marie Wyrosdick of Lake Wales passed away Saturday, December 10, 2022 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. She was born August 11, 1955 in Clarksdale, Mississippi to the late Samuel and Dolores Alainz; she moved to Lake Wales from Bowling Green in 1975. Rose was a homemaker by her love to gather, host, and cook for the people she loved and cared for. Everyone was welcome in her home no questions asked. Rose was a strong, inspirational, welcoming, and family oriented...

  • Rural Entrepreneurs Face Greater Economic Challenges

    Special to the News, NAPSI|Updated Dec 13, 2022

    Rural small businesses face greater challenges to economic recovery and are less optimistic about the future compared to their non-rural counterparts, according to new survey data from SCORE, mentors to America's small businesses. SCORE's Fall 2022 Megaphone of Main Street: The Small Business Rural/Urban Divide surveyed more than 3,000 entrepreneurs and found that while more than 75% of small businesses surveyed have returned to pre-pandemic levels or better, more than half...

  • Eusebio Irwin Salud, 1971-2022

    Updated Dec 12, 2022

    Irwin Salud, of Lake Wales passed away Saturday, December 10, 2022 at Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor. He was born August 7, 1971 in Hartford, Connecticut; he moved to Lake Wales from Connecticut in 1974. Irwin worked for Publix and was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Born in Connecticut, Irwin and his family made Lake Wales, Florida their home in 1974. He attended Hillcrest Elementary and was a proud Babson Park Gnat. He graduated from The Roosevelt...

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