Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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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...
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...
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....
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...
The Lake Wales Highlanders won their semi-final football game Friday night and will face the Mainland Buccaneers of Daytona Beach in the state Class 3S Championship game, which will be held in a neutral stadium on December 16. Game time, tentatively set for 11:00 am, has yet to be confirmed by the Florida High School Athletic Association. The Lake Wales Highlanders moved to 14-0 after defeating the Columbia High School Tigers by a score of 37-7 under the lights of Legion...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Music, tens of thousands of lights, and the official arrival of Santa Claus will mark the Lake Wales Christmas Night Parade, sponsored annually by the Kiwanis Club of Lake Wales. The parade, which typically draws several thousand spectators, will step off at 6:00 pm Saturday from a line-up area along Lakeshore Boulevard before heading west along Central Avenue through the downtown area before dispersing at the City Administration Building at Central and Dr. Martin Luther King...
Almost 10 weeks after Hurricane Ian struck Polk County on September 28, large piles of storm debris remain piled along some Polk County roads. Despite complaints, some residents' frustrations are turning to anger directed at the county. While cities have move promptly to remove the heaps of limbs and branches, Polk County has struggled to maintain service for residents. During the same time frame a break-down in service for even normal household waste resulted in the Polk...
The historic Crystal Lake will Apartments at 282 East Park Avenue are expected to undergo extensive remodeling and exterior refurbishment after their purchase by the Lake Wales Care Center. The 100-year-old building has been vacant for about three years. The purchase price was discounted to $340,000, according to Antonio Spagnolo of Bright Trust Realty, in recognition of some damage caused during the passage of Hurricane Ian in September. Both the purchase price and the...
A long-desired re-do of the aging Grove Manor housing complex north of downtown may be closer to reality if the recent actions of the city commission bear fruit. Commissioners, on a 4-0 vote, approved allotting all of the original funding, once spread over several phases of a reconstruction project, to be assigned to phase two of the 300-unit project. Commissioner Daniel Williams was absent. Housing Authority Executive Director Albert Kirkland Jr. and construction management...
Traditional music, costumed characters, and an "English Pub Feast" are in store for up to 80 guests quick enough to obtain a ticket to the annual "Old-Fashioned Dickens Christmas" at the Lake Wales Woman's Club. The clubhouse is being lavishly decorated for the evening, and community volunteers will don classic "Olde English" period costumes to add to the evening's special atmospheric experiences. The event will begin at 6:00 pm Saturday, December 17. The menu for the dinner w...
The Lake Wales Highlanders defeated Columbia Friday night, and will advance to the state championship game next week. Details of the Highlanders' win can be found in our Sports Section....
Lake Wales High School's athletics programs continue to find success, as the men's soccer program advanced to the Polk County Champion's League semi-final game with a 3-1 victory over All Saints Friday. The semi-final game will take place Tuesday night at 8:00 in Lakeland. The win over All Saints came on the strength of goals by Luke Weaver, Carson Pike and, and Martin Aguilar. The Highlanders are now 3-2-1 on the season, their wins coming as LW 6-0 Haines City, and LW 2-0...
Lake Wales Police and firefighters recovered the body of 31-year-old Christopher Shoemaker from Crystal Lake late Friday morning. Shoemaker, of Greeneville, Tennessee, was last seen by friends on Wednesday night, November 30, swimming in the lake, but they were reportedly uncertain if he had left the lake or experienced a problem while in the water, according to a police statement. Officers and Polk County Deputies searched Lake Wailes and Crystal Lake as well as the...
UPDATE: GAME TIME CHANGED TO 7:00 BY FSHAA See new story in NEWS section The Lake Wales Highlanders captured the Regional Championship and advanced to the final four in the state Class 3S football playoffs Friday night with an exciting 26-9 victory over the Zephyrhills Bulldogs. The undefeated Highlanders will host the semi-final game next Friday against Columbia, winners over Choctawhatchee Friday night. Carlos Mitchell provided much of the excitement for Highlander fans...
UPDATE: Highlanders Advance. See the story here A Friday night Regional Championship game will be the first hosted at Lake Wales' Legion Field in memory, according to long-time area football fans, and the undefeated and top-seeded Highlanders are hoping for a big turnout of support as they take on the number three seed Zephyrhills Bulldogs. When the two squads met earlier this season the Lake Wales Highlanders won the day with a 33-0 score, but such games have a way of...
A pair of proposed apartment developments near Eagle Ridge Mall may add 824 new dwelling units to the city, but in each case developer proposals to reduce required parking created some heartburn for city commissioners. The first and most prominent of the pair is proposed for a site directly behind Shoppes on the Ridge, on the north side of Chalet Suzanne Road and across from Wawa. It would consist of six four-story buildings containing 272 units on a 12.1 acre site. Tentative...
The Lake Wales Highlanders took another step forward toward their long-denied state football title Friday night as they defeated the Ocala Vanguard Knights 40-0. The Knights had ended the Highlanders' last two title runs, making the victory particularly sweet. The win advances the top-seeded and undefeated Highlanders to the Regional Championship Game, which will take place Friday evening at Legion Field when they host the number three seed Zephyrhills Bulldogs. Game time is s...
The City of Lake Wales finished the 2021-2022 fiscal year in better-than-expected financial shape, based upon figures included in a year-end budget amendment approved by city commissioners. The fiscal year ended on September 30, but final balances were not available for a few weeks. City Budget Director Dorothy Abbott presented the documents to the commissioners, explaining that the changes in the numbers reflected the needed final look back at the year concluded. The General...
More than three miles of streets around Lake Wales are in for improved surfaces in coming months, part of the city's multi-year street maintenance program. The largest single project will be the resurfacing of 2,260 feet of Sessoms Avenue from Scenic Highway to Wales Drive. The project will use a process called "cape seal," which will extend the life of existing asphalt band and allow the budget to cover more streets, according to Division Manager Beverly Pennington of the...
