Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Persistence and patience paid off for one dedicated Lake Wales man after a request for a sports field for his children ended up benefiting hundreds of area youngsters who participate in the Lake Wales Soccer Club. Fields, a long-time resident of Lake Wales, recognized that area children wishing to participate in the increasingly popular sport had nowhere they could go. A small program at the YMCA was unable to meet the demand, so he began to speak up. "I went everywhere the...
A multi-million-dollar effort to create a three story building to host start-up businesses will receive the consideration of the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday afternoon. The board will contemplate the annual contribution of $300,000 for three years to help spur the project. The project is proposed to address an "innovation infrastructure deficit," according to documents shared with the CRA board last month. The proposed solution is a "high-tech...
William O. (Bill) Horrell died peacefully in the company of family at Water's Edge in Lake Wales on November 12, 2021. Bill was born August 8, 1922 in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Olney W. and Zola (Eikenberry) Horrell. Bill married his high school sweetheart, Diana (Dee) Abe on January 18, 1945 and they shared life together in Dayton (OH), Clear Lake (IN) and the Lake Wales area until her death in 1994. He was the proud father of his son, Jack E. Horrell, and his daughter,...
In an inspirational tribute to veterans in general and one man in particular, the Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary today hosted a special Veterans' Day observance in honor of "Captain Jack," a 99-years old retired Navy pilot who hunted Japanese submarines in the Pacific Ocean during WW II. The honors came thick and fast for John A. Davenport during the breakfast meeting and included a Special Presidential Citation presented by envoy Mike Rodriguez, representing President Joe...
Remembering those who have served to preserve American democracy against the threats posed by Fascism, Communism, and Totalitarianism is among the sacred duties of American citizens each year on Veterans' Day. To remind us of the difficulties they overcame, the staff of the Lake Wales Public Library has created a Veteran's Day exhibit drawing from the library's local history archives. Documents have been provided from those archive as well as family and fellow City of Lake...
Feel like a rodeo cowgirl or cowboy sometimes? Here's your big chance to get out those rhinestones and boots and sparkle your way across a dance floor. The Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council is inviting the public to attend their annual Awards Gala, Friday, November 19, 2021 at Lake Ashton Country Club Ballroom. The Country-Western themed gala will a judging for best cowboy and cowgirl or western themed outfit. Admission tickets for the 5:30 p...
The multiple proposals for future residential development in the Lake Wales area has many concerned for the future of the city and the potential loss of its "small town" feel. After hearing from numerous citizens about their worries for the future, Commissioner and Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson has felt the need to speak about the issue. "Folks have been telling me they are concerned about the town being overwhelmed by the coming urbanization," Gibson said in a written statement....
With thousands of homes coming off the drawing board and plans to build them at more than a dozen locations around Lake Wales, city planners are attempting to get ahead of the expected traffic impacts with a variety of moves. The latest proposal, which was approved by the City Commission Tuesday, is a study which will propose a "mobility fee," the new buzzword replacing traditional "traffic impact fees." The new fee will apply to each new home built in the city, assuring a poo...
Only months after a May 4 grand opening, the 335-unit Serenity Apartments near Eagle Ridge Mall have hit more than 96% occupancy, and expect to be filled "in a week or two" according to leasing staff on site. "People are coming from all over," said Leslie Adams, leasing consultant for the owners, NM Residential. "We have several new residents who work at the hospital in Sebring. We have people from New York, South Florida, the islands..." People are cominig to Lake Wales for...
If electricity came in flavors, your lights might be smacking their lips when you flip the switch once a major solar power project is completed in Lake Wales. A 600-acre property just north of Dinner Lake stretching beyond Waverly Road into Dundee will soon be the site of a sprawling solar "farm". The project received approval from the Lake Wales Planning and Zoning board Tuesday after project developer TECO Energy made some minor adjustments to the vegetated buffers around th...
The 2021 Pioneer Days celebration of history is itself history, but Lake Wales History Museum Director Jennifer D'hollander is still celebrating. "Oh my gosh yes!" she responded when asked whether she was pleased with the weekend she organized. "I was delighted!" D'hollander cited the bigger-than-ever crowds that poured into town for the annual event. "We had more marketing that ever, true, but then people are just so ready to get back to interacting at events like this." The...
Thanks to a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, Lake Wales Airport will soon receive a new east apron. The City Commission awarded the project contract to low-bidder Ajax Paving, which quoted a price of $831,283.20. The FAA will pay 100% of the cost. The construction project will see a complete reconstruction of the old apron rather than a resurfacing, since an engineering report from the City's consultants, Hoyle Tanner, indicated that the old one was too...
The massive $45 million project to replace the obsolete bridge over US 27 in Lake Wales is continuing apace, but the comings months will see multiple traffic interruptions, the Florida Department of Transportation has confirmed. The bridge will carry State Road 60 over the federal highway. Corine Burgess, Community Outreach manager for the project on behalf of FDOT, has confirmed that construction in the middle of the Central Avenue-US 27 intersection will be disrupted again...
New features and sections added to LakeWalesNews.Net have driven skyrocketing readership since September 1, reaching well over 80,000 page views during the first month, according to statistics captured by Internet analytics. New Day Market Research acquired the online newspaper on that date and has since significantly enhanced the publication's reach and interest. "We are extremely pleased by the community reaction to our added features like the graphic Community Calendar," sa...
The rush to develop housing in Lake Wales shows no sign of abating as new proposals continue to come before the Lake Wales City Commission. Tuesday's agenda saw an approval of an annexation that will pave the way for a 90-acre residential development south of the Eastlake Center, which houses Winn-Dixie and Rural King. The proposed annexation of 62 acres will join them with another 29 already under the same ownership group. If approved for medium density residential...
Wielding spades and smiles, some two dozen volunteers planted 30 young trees along Fourth Street South in Lake Wales Saturday morning, the first of more than 1,000 trees Lake Wales Heritage intends to plant over several years to complete a historic landscape plan. "People don't know much about Olmsted," volunteer Preston Troutman told a group of 15 students from Lake Wales High School. The students, members of the school's Interact Club, had just help complete the first...
Riding on the success of his downtown seafood restaurant, Steve Manwell has big plans to add an ice cream shop just across the street. That idea received a solid boost this week. when the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency board unanimously approved his request for a $50,000 matching grant at Tuesday's meeting. Manwell and his wife, Allie, own and operate Melanie's Seafood Company at 120 East Park, and utilized a prior incentive grant to get that operation started....
Gloria Isabel Apuzzo of Lake Wales passed away Sunday, October 17, 2021 at Celebration Hospital. She was born January 9, 1935 in New York City, New York to the late Joseph and Emanuella Incremona; she moved to Lake Wales from New York 30 years ago. Gloria was a retired accountant for the Board of Education in Newburgh, New York and was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church. She loved to read old novels and watch movies on Turner Classic. She enjoyed going to thrift stores an...
A 30-year extension of the life of the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will guarantee a continuing flow of revenue for community improvements, including street and sidewalk construction, lighting, street trees and more. Community Redevelopment Agency funds are being used to pay for the Lake Wales Connected plan reconstruction and landscaping of Park Avenue and First Street, expected to begin shortly. The CRA is funded by capturing about 90% of the City and...
Lake Wales 45th Annual Pioneer Days festival is expected to draw some 10,000 visitors to Lake Wailes Park over two days later this month, and staff at the Lake Wales History Museum is ready for the big days. "We are so excited for the return of this community event, and we promise to do everything we can to make it safe," D'hollander said. The ever-popular event will see many changes this year, but will include the traditional favorite Heritage education activities including...
With hundreds of new homes slated for construction along the booming Buck Moore Road, Lake Wales City Commissioners have unanimously approved hiring an engineering firm to conduct a traffic study to keep things moving along that corridor. "This is a proactive step to anticipate and mitigate any impacts" from the new subdivisions, City Manager James Slaton said in introducing the proposal at a Commission workshop. "We want to do the corridor study now to have it in place when...
Lake Wales will likely have to tweak the borders of its four voting districts since the 2020 U.S. Census showed the city had grown by about 15 percent in the last decade. The official census count in 2020 was 16,351 residents, up from 14.225 in 2010. In order to redraw voting district lines, a special five-person Census Redistricting Committee will be formed to suggest the new boundaries, which will then have to be formally adopted by the city commission. The city has four...
A lighted football field proposed for Washington Park near US 27 is expected to make a big difference to hundreds of young people involved in two Lake Wales youth football leagues. The new facility is proposed to be built by Polk County Parks and Recreation using Community Development Block Grant funds. CDBG funds are restricted to projects serving underserved neighborhoods and communities. Among users of the new football facility are likely to be the Lake Wales Youth Football...
Edwin K. Rucker, 60 of Lake Wales, died at Advent Health Heart of Florida Hospital in Haines City. Born in Lake Wales. Visitation will be Friday, October 8, 2021, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Epps Chapel. Mask Required at Service and Visitation. Services will be held Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Epps Chapel in Lake Wales.....
Benjamin Harrison "Ben" Norman of Lake Wales passed away Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at Advent Health Lake Wales under the care of Vitas Hospice. He was born October 22, 1938 in Cherry Valley, Arkansas to the late Benjamin and Rudy Norman; he moved to Lake Wales from Cherry Valley, Arkansas in 1958. Ben was a retired welder for Haines City Exchange and was of the Pentecostal faith. He raised orchids and chickens, and enjoyed woodworking, fishing, and watching wrestling on...
