Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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A proposed toll expressway linking Lake Wales to US 17-92 and indirectly to metro Orlando was the subject of a public presentation that brought plenty of critical questions and skepticism from the public but support from major land owners and development interests. The Central Polk Parkway East is proposed to run from SR 60 on the west side of Lake Wales to connect to 17-92. A planned Poinciana Connector segment will link 17-92 directly to I-4. The route is seen as a way to...
The sight of street resurfacing has been welcomed this week in Lake Wales, but nowhere more than at the intersection of Scenic Highway and Park Avenue. The work is the final step in the complete reconstruction of Park Avenue in accordance with the Lake Wales Connected plan to reinvigorate the city's urban core. Crews moved closer to completing the reconstruction of that intersection, which has been closed to traffic for three months. New road surfaces were put down this week...
Ryan Layton Pickles, 42, of Winter Haven, passed away Wednesday, January 8th in his home. Ryan was born June 17th, 1982, in Lake Wales, to Sammie and Becky Pickles. He was the assistant director for the City of Auburndale in the Parks and recreation department. He loved the Miami Hurricanes, and going to their games. He loved family gatherings and especially enjoyed being around his nieces and nephews. Ryan is survived by his parents, Sammie and Becky Pickles of Lake Wales,...
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that the Lake Wales Fire Department was not involved in fighting this residential fire which took place outside city limits. A raging fire that sent flames leaping dozens of feet into the air and alarmed many area residents destroyed a Lake Wales residence shortly after 5:30 Monday afternoon. The emergency call was received by first responders at 5:28 p.m. and within minutes at least 13 fire rescue and medical team vehicles...
Drivers using city streets around Lake Wales have likely noticed improvements to area streets as a six-year program of resurfacing continues. The aggressive effort to catch up on deferred maintenance began in 2021 and has resulted in miles of smoother new surfaces under the city's Pavement Management Program. Portions of 12 roadways were resurfaced in early November, and the effort will resume today with another eleven segments of roadways in Lake Wales. The streets, selected...
The City of Lake Wales has once again been awarded two prestigious awards by the Government Finance Officers Association, GFOA. City staff received the Distinguished Budget Presentation award for its 2024 fiscal year budget. To receive the award, budget documents must be rated "proficient" in four categories: policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device. The award marks the fifth consecutive win. A certificate of achievement for excellence in...
A new controversy has emerged in association with the BizLinc business incubator in Lake Wales. BizLinc operator Florida Development Corp is being sued by a trio of investors who claim the company owes them more than a quarter-million dollars. According to the lawsuit filed in the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court, the three investors are being denied access to company books and dismissed by FDC officers. The lawsuit says that, after acknowledging the $260,000 cash infusion made...
The new year started with a tragic accident and two motorcyclists were left with serious injuries after crashing their sports bikes at 1 a.m. on New Years Day. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office Traffic Homicide Unit's preliminary investigation, the two men traveling on motorcycles eastbound on Tindle Camp Road northeast of Lake Wales, approaching the intersection with Lake Mabel Loop Road. For unknown reasons the first rider, a 30-year-old Haines City man, lost con...
Jim Read of Lake Wales passed away Thursday, December 26, 2024 at AdventHealth Lake Wales. He was born December 28, 1945 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to the late Robert and Alyce Read. He moved to Polk County in 1971 and went to work for Disney as a Chef for 15 years. From there he became an instructor of cuisine at Ridge Vocational School in Haines City. He was also a veteran of the United States Navy. He was a member of Saint Ann's Catholic Church in Haines City, the Knights...
A five-day-long undercover human trafficking operation which began on October 2, resulted in the arrest of 157 suspects involved in illegal acts related to soliciting prostitutes, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office Vice Unit. Those arrested were allegedly offering to commit prostitution or aiding and abetting prostitutes. Three other suspects were arrested for traveling to sexually batter juveniles. Detectives identified and arrested one suspect for human...
John Harlan DeWinkler, age 82, passed away peacefully at his home Thursday, December 19, 2024. He was born August 21, 1942 in Miami, FL to John & Virginia DeWinkler. John graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering. He was a Professional Engineer and Deputy District Secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation District 1. After retiring from FDOT, John became the Senior Vice President and partner with Wilson-Miller...
A foggy morning is likely to have contributed to the third traffic fatality in a single week in the Lake Wales area after a crash at SR 60 and Boy Scout Road east of the city. Traffic was blocked in four directions following the early Thursday smash-up. According to Polk County Sheriff's Office Traffic Homicide Unit investigators, a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by a 61-year-old Lake Wales resident was travelling southbound on Boy Scout Camp Road. At the intersection if...
Two men were killed Monday after entering SR 60 into the path of a Freightliner tractor-trailer rig at the intersection of West Lake Road just west of the Lake Wales city limits. First responders responded to the crash scene at around 9:38 pm, where they found two men deceased in a white 2002 Chevy 2500 work van operated by Florida Degreasers, a restaurant service company. The preliminary investigation, based on evidence and witness statements, indicated that the Chevy van...
A new bicycle and pedestrian trail will connect the Lake Wailes Trail and the Lake Wales Trailway paths with Bok Tower Gardens as a result of a newly-awarded $282,380 grant. Plans for the development of the new multiuse trail along Tower Boulevard include the construction of a 12-foot-wide surface to connect Lake Wales Park Trail to Bok Tower Gardens. Five park benches, trash receptacles, bike racks and directional signage will complement the trail. Lake Wales was one of four...
The purchase of 4,158 acres of land on the southwest side of Lake Wales by an active land-development company may be a harbinger of yet another major development proposal. The long-discussed 5-R Ranch property could potentially host many thousands of homes along with commercial and industrial uses if purchaser Richland Communities decides the time is ripe to develop the sprawling property south of Lake Wales Airport. Richland purchased the property for a local-record $50...
The City of Lake Wales has earned the designation of Tree City USA, joining a list of more than 160 communities in Florida who have won that designation from the National Arbor Day Foundation. "This is a prestigious honor for our city," city Horticulturist Kevin Polk said. Polk now leads a team of parks employees who are planting and maintaining hundreds of trees and thousands of shrubs across the city. Lake Wales met all criteria to qualify for the designation by operating a...
The long construction project to turn the once-desolate Park Avenue in downtown Lake Wales into an attractive pedestrian magnet is apparently approaching a conclusion. Once completed, the entire length of Park Avenue will be open for two-way traffic for the first time in nearly two years. Traffic on Scenic Highway has been detoured around the construction site since late October. The project timeline suggested a 90-day closure, but that schedule may be surpassed if progress...
The prospect of a transformative high-end development along SR 60 west of Lake Wales advanced with a unanimous vote in favor of the annexation of about 558 acres that will be the site of the proposed Lake Wales Commons at the most recent city commission meeting. Lake Wales Commons could host as many as 3,200 new dwelling units, along with more than a million square feet of light industrial and warehouse space on about 558 acres fronting along SR 60 West, Old Bartow Road, and W...
Polk County's Conservation Lands program is set to finalize a $5.2 million deal that will bring another large tract of land into permanent protection. It will become part of the "Big Green Network" of environmental lands will forever form limits to the potential urbanization of the Lake Wales area. The vision of a Big Green Network emerged as one of the major elements of the Lake Wales Envisioned project to assure that Lake Wales remains a livable area in the face of enormous...
Lake Wales residents Mike and Irene Spotswood produce Cup of Joe Radio show, a nationally- syndicated radio show aimed at veterans with "the healing power of music." The show is intended to ease the symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD, that continues to affect veterans who experienced the stresses and horrors of war. Mike, who is a Marine who did two tours in over the course of 20 months in Vietnam, and Irene, a former nurse, say their two-hour radio show has...
A third fire and EMS station to serve the fast-growing south side of Lake Wales will eventually occupy a prime corner spot following unanimous action by the Lake Wales City Commission. The five-acre future location at the southeast corner of Hunt Bros. Road and Nest Egg Road (South Ninth Street) will be purchased at a cost of $300,000, which Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson said initially gave him some pause, as the appraisal of the site showed a value of $100,000 less. Fire Chief...
The Lake Wales Police Department will soon be stronger and better-prepared for any emergency, thanks to either Drake or Eli, two Belgian Malinois dogs who represent a generous donation from Chad Landry, the owner of Patriot Canine Service of Plant City. Canine units have become an integral part of police work, and the Lake Wales department is no exception, relying upon the highly-trained dogs since 1997 for criminal apprehension, tracking missing persons and suspects,...
The much-anticipated grand opening of Ollies is happening Wednesday morning. Crowds are expected to visit in coming days, shopping and exploring the more than 20 different departments of the discount store. The new store will occupy a former Kash'n'Karry grocery store at 1340 SR 60 East that has remained vacant for more than two decades as the once-thriving center struggled to generate traffic. Ollies is a national chain of more than 500 stores featuring a changing line-up of...
An attractive renovation of the historic Crystal Lake Apartments was unveiled in Lake Wales Tuesday, showcasing a development which will contribute to ongoing efforts to increase residential uses in the city's downtown area. The two-story building at 282 East Park Avenue offers eight fully-remodeled one and two-bedroom apartments. Officers and directors of the Lake Wales Care Center hosted some 100 guests who toured the like-new facility and enjoyed refreshments following the...
Motorists traveling on city streets around Lake Wales will find the going much smoother as work progresses on an aggressive program of improvements being conducted under city contracts. Portions of 12 roadways are presently being resurfaced with either a cape seal or a double-micro slurry of liquid asphalt as part of the city's Pavement Management Program. Both processes are preservation treatments to extend the life of the roadways for several years, creating a smoother...
