Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Babson Park Elementary student Grace Sullins now has the special honor of having her license tag design mounted on the front of Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder's truck. Sullins is this year's special Tax Collector's Choice Award recipient. Sullins won the special recognition in The Kids Tag Art (KTA) program, created by Tedder in Polk County. The Kids Tag Art (KTA) program now spans 15 counties across Florida, inspiring fifth grade student artists to create their own...
A public meeting seeking to respond to public concerns over a proposed plastic pipe manufacturing facility will take place on Wednesday, April 26 at the Lake Wales Arts Center. The meeting will be hosted by Advanced Drainage Systems, or ADS, the company seeking to build on a 97-acre site fronting South 11th Street and Hunt Brothers Road. The meeting will begin at 6:00 pm. Some residents have voiced opposition to the "heavy" industrial use of the property, although it has been...
Jim Lefils, 79, of Babson Park passed away, Thursday, April 20, 2023, at AdventHealth Lake Wales after a short illness. Jim is survived by his wife of 59 years Carolynn "Dede" Watson LeFils. He recently retired from Watson Pharmacy, Frostproof, where he was the co-owner and pharmacist for 50 years. Jim served in the U.S. Air Force and was a graduate of the University of Florida School of Pharmacy. He was a licensed airplane and glider pilot. Jim and Dede were avid travelers,...
A "town hall" community organizing event is planned to take place Monday at the Mary Norma Campbell Resource Center in Highland Park Manor. The 7:00 pm event is the second meeting of the community located southeast of Lake Wales. Concern over the lack of transparency by the city of Lake Wales over rezoning of an industrial site to accommodate proposed plastic pipe factory appears to be one of the catalysts for the revival of the neighborhood association. Both Highland Park...
A surge in readership and community reach is being celebrated as a reflection of the growing awareness and trust of LakeWalesNews.net among residents of the Ridge area. The expansion of readership and advertising is powering an expansion of news coverage as well as the News increases coverage of events in Frostproof, Babson Park, Indian Lake, and surrounding communities through the hiring of new staff and correspondents. In addition to a substantial base of readers who...
A Tuesday night crash has claimed the life of a Frostproof woman as she left her place of employment at the popular Coop in Babson Park. 53-year-old Patricia Robarts of Frostproof left the parking lot and turned onto Waverly Road at about 11:30 pm driving a silver 2018 Kia Stinger. According to reports from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, she stopped at the intersection of Waverly and Scenic Hwy North and then began a left turn onto Scenic Highway. For unknown reasons, her...
Robert Clifton Hannan of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at his residence. He was born January 15, 1932 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana to the late Lyle and Thelma Hannan; he moved to Lake Wales from his hometown in 1963. Robert was a retired teacher for Babson Park Elementary. He was previously a minister at First Christian Church of Lake Wales and Babson Park Christian Church. Robert was proceeded in death by his wife, Betty Jane Hannan in 2015; and daughter, Nancy...
Teaching children to read is one of the most important steps in the life-long project of learning. Getting them started early is critical, many educators believe. Among those who created reading material that draws children into the learning process was the beloved Dr. Seuss. As a way to mark Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2, Lake Wales Charter Schools Superintendent Dr. Wayne Rodolfich, accompanied by Bilingual Specialist Dr. Julio Acevedo and PD Coordinator Stacie Padgett,...
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...
KT's Sunshine Foundation will host the Southern Sunshine BBQ & Music Festival this weekend in Lake Wailes Park, drawing thousands of fans for the fun, and the purpose. The festival was created in memory of "KT," a nursing student who died in a tragic traffic accident, In its short existence, KT's Sunshine Foundation has awarded $22,000 in scholarships to high school seniors interested in pursuing a medical degree, helped 9 families with funeral expenses, and donated $1,000 to...
Stifling Dissent is Not a Solution The essential freedoms that we often take for granted as Americans set us apart from much of the world, where speaking out against a government action or official can bring harsh responses. More than ever, speaking out is needed in Lake Wales. There is no better forum for sharing concerns and ideas about the course of our community than the meetings of the City Commission. Now, under a proposed resolution, Lake Wales citizens may be...
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...
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...
Student athletes from four local elementary schools will meet on the gridiron in an afternoon ideal for family fun. Students from Janie Howard Wilson, Hillcrest, Polk Avenue, and Babson Park elementary schools look forward to the highlight of both the autumn of the school calendars and the spring of their football careers. The annual "Elementary Turkey Bowl" takes place on Tuesday, November 15, beginning at 10:00 am. on the storied grounds of Legion Field in Lake Wales....
Timothy Ulysses Poitras of Babson Park passed away on Thursday, September 15, 2022 at his residence. Timothy was born on July 4, 1959 in Manchester, New Hampshire to the late Ulysses and Harriet Poitras; he moved to Babson Park from Deer Field Beach in 1984. Timothy was a self-employed landlord and was a hard worker. He was a very loving person who had a big heart and helped everyone he could. Timothy was a strong man and a devoted husband. Timothy was preceded in death by...
The steady expansion of city limits is expected to continue at Tuesday's Lake Wales city commission meeting when the board will consider the annexation of 67.73 acres of land south of Lake Bella Road and east of US Highway 27. The property lies at the extreme southern tip of the municipal limits, and will bring those limits into contact with Blue Lake for the first time. Property owners and applicants for the annexation include Rama Food Mart LLC, Mckenna Brothers Inc, Hunt...
Linda Lucille Cope of Babson Park passed away Saturday, August 6, 2022 at The Groves Center. She was born March 1, 1939 in Michigan to the late George and Gertrude Roger; she has been a resident of Babson Park for 40 years, coming from Michigan. She was retired from Jimmy's Restaurant. She loved going to yard sales, shopping and playing bingo. She enjoyed cooking, especially holiday meals. Survivors include her daughter, Debra Butler (Mike) of Frostproof; sons, Gregory Cope...
Nancy M. Booream, age 90, passed away Sunday, May 29, 2022, at her home in Babson Park. Born October 6, 1931, in Asheville, NC, she was daughter of the late Marshall F. Meredith and Dorothy (Nichols) Meredith. Nancy was a homemaker and a longtime member of the A.R.P. Church of Bartow. Along with her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband John R. "Jack" Booream. She is survived by a loving family that includes her children: Janet Booream (Barbie) of Winter Haven,...
Roman T. Hernandez of Lake Wales, Florida passed away on Friday May 27, 2022. He was born in Dilly, Texas on February 9, 1946, to the late Eudelio and Ricarda Hernanadez. He worked as a diesel mechanic and was the owner of Roman's Mobile. He was of Catholic faith and enjoyed working and spending time with his family. Roman is preceded in death by his daughter Angelita, and son Roman Hernandez Jr. He is survived by her wife of 58 years Julia Hernandez; his sons Robert...
Richard G. "Dick" Glasgow, 94, of Babson Park, passed away Thursday May 26, 2022 at Spring Lake Rehabilitation Center In Winter Haven. Born August 19, 1927 in Charlotte, NC, the son of Thomas M. & Lucy Gwathmey Glasgow, he was a resident of Babson Park since 1997. He was an Alumnus of Darlington School of Rome, GA and Davidson College and a member of Kappa Alpha Order. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran serving in WW II and a retired Major of the US Army Transportation Corps Reserve....
James Edward Brinkworth of Babson Park passed away Thursday, March 31, 2022 at Good Shepherd Hospice in Auburndale. He was born March 22, 1936 in Lake Wales to the late Ernest and Mabel Brinkworth. Jim graduated from Lake WaHillcrest Nurseryles High School in 1954 and received an NROTC scholarship to Auburn University where he earned an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering. Following graduation, he went into the Navy as an Officer & then on to work for Boeing. After...
Local Resident J. Lawton Lilly has completed his initial training assignments and has been assigned to the Navy's Seventh Fleet in the Pacific. He shipped out 3/16/22 as a US Navy Sailor to the Yokosuka, Japan Naval base outside of Tokyo. Lilly has been assigned to the USS Howard, a guided-missile Destroyer supporting Carrier Strike Group Five, consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, supported by the guided missile cruisers USS Antietam, USS Chancellorsville and...
In an amazing display of business acumen, a group of Webber International University students recently swept virtually every top honor in District III Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) competitions. The group of 17 Webber International University (Webber) students and their advisor, Associate Professor of Accounting Dr. Joanne Muniz, traveled to UCF/Valencia Downtown Orlando to compete in the event, which featured 30 categories. Collectively the local...
No sooner has work been completed on the railroad that caused the closing of Hunt Brothers Road this week than crews will move south to begin work on the grade crossing at the Golfview Park Road at Bryan Road in Babson Park. Work there will take place on Thursday and Friday. Detour signs will be erected at SR 17 in Babson Park, requiring traffic to bypass the shortcut leading to the east side of Lake Wales. Crews working for Florida Midland Railroad Company, Inc. will require...
In a long-awaited development, Lake Wales is slated to begin receiving direct fiber-optics residential Internet service beginning in 2022. Fiber optics uses light rather than electrical impulses to transmit data, resulting in much faster speeds and higher data volumes. The new infrastructure is expected to provide an economic boost to the city as more people seek to work from home. A multi-million-dollar investment by Frontier Communications will employ "a small army of...
