Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 667
A strong feeder-band of storms is expected to pass over the Ridge area beginning about 3:45, with possible tornados and very gusty winds accompanied by heavy rains. Those needing to travel are encouraged to wait out the storms which should clear the area in about an hour. The heavy band of rain has already cleared the Bartow and Fort Meade area, where a rotation was detected by Doppler radar. An earlier funnel cloud was seen by multiple witnesses as it passed over Lake Wales,...
Heavy squalls passing through the Lake Wales area early Sunday afternoon generated a funnel cloud that hovered over Lake Wales. If was unconfirmed if it had touched the ground at any point during its south-to-north passage over the city, although there were numerous reports of very strong wind bursts from north of Crooked Lake to the city's north side. The squalls are part of the right flank of Tropical Storm Debby, which is intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane and...
In a move that left the community stunned, the well-known law firm of Family Elder Law halted operations more than a week ago, notifying employees through a text message that they were closing. Founded in 2013 by Lake Wales attorney Jason Penrod, the firm had grown to include three central Florida offices and some two dozen employees who were left wondering about the circumstances, which remain unknown. Penrod remains the sole officer of Family Elder Law P.A. In a statement...
UPDATE: A renewed boil-water order has been lifted for homes in the Country Oaks neighborhood of Lake Wales. Testing has confirmed that no contaminants are present. A boil-water notice reappeared on front doors across the Country Oaks neighborhood on the northeast side of Lake Wales after repeated interruptions in water service. A break in a 10" water line due to contractors serving the area is the reported problem. The notice says 330 customers in the area are affected. The...
Polk State College is hosting its annual school supply giveaway event to provide students and families with support and resources as the new school year begins, including up to 500 backpacks and 1,500 books. Students and families are invited to attend Polk State College's "Ready to Soar" event August 17 at the JD Alexander Center in Lake Wales. The Center is located at 152 East. Central Avenue in Lake Wales. The event is open to the public and intended for students from...
Reverend Dr. G. Craig Williford has been appointed interim president of Warner University in Lake Wales following the departure of Dr. David A. Hoag, who had led the school since May of 2016. Hoag has been retained to serve as the new President of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in Washington D.C. Dr. Williford accepted the Board of Trustee's request to serve as interim president of Warner University effective August 1. Dr. Williford will "ensure...
Yet another large-scale development is being planned for the Lake Wales area, this time on the city's western edge, after the proposal received approvals from the city's Planning and Zoning board Tuesday. 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 West Lake Wales Road North. The sprawling collection of 26...
Although the summer doldrums would predict otherwise, downtown Lake Wales is buzzing over the opening of a popular new coffee shop, one of the newest businesses to open during the ongoing transformation of the area. Latte Lounge offers coffee beans sourced from a small business in Virginia, creating fresh and flavorful handcrafted beverages, along with a changing variety of cookies and pastries in a warm and inviting atmosphere, well stocked with new books by local authors....
Dual-enrollment of Lake Wales Charter School students in STEM courses at Webber International University will result from a a $10,000 Impact Polk grant from the George W. Jenkins Fund within GiveWell Community Foundation. The grant will provide greater access to students pursuing careers as registered nurses or occupational therapy assistants, according to Dr. Nelson Marquez, President/CEO of Webber. STEM refers to concentrations in the areas of science, technology, engineerin...
The closure of SR 17 (Scenic Highway) at Hillcrest Avenue, originally announced as a 30-day project, is expected to continue well after the beginning of the school year, forcing additional traffic onto South 4th Street past McLaughlin Middle-High School. Crews closed Scenic Highway from Grove Avenue to Hillcrest Avenue in June to begin installing new drainage structures. Sidewalks in the area are also detoured. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the...
After a year of interim managers, Fort Meade has at last settled upon a new leader to manage city affairs, and he is arriving just in time to face a "problem" some wouldn't mind dealing with. On a 4-1 vote, city commissioners had offered the role to Edward Walker Dean last month, and his signing of the deal was reported during Tuesday's meeting of the board. His immediate challenge: trying to salvage an unused $5 million grant. Fort Meade was the only Polk County city to...
Cities across the county are seeing significant rises in property tax income, according to the preliminary tax roll published by Polk County Property Appraiser Marsha Faux. Despite the recent surge in home prices and the value of new construction, however, property values in most Ridge-area municipalities have seen only modest increases so far. The valuations have significant impacts on city budgets, since local shares of the taxes are based upon the millage rates set by...
A long-awaited audit of the operations of a business incubator funded by the city of Lake Wales using federal grant funds has turned up several shortcomings but few details, despite a long delay. The audit, which covers only the first year of operations of the incubator, operated Florida Development Corporation, was ordered by the city following the arrest of the former FDC chief financial officer Charles Young on felony fraud charges. Young was accused by his former business...
A long-vacant space in the Orange Grove Shopping Center in Lake Wales will soon be home to a large new Ollie's store amid a burst of new residential development in the area. Ollie's is a discount department store with 521 locations, and more opening this month in other states. There are several locations in central Florida, including one adjacent to the Lakeland Square Mall. Other nearby Ollie's locations include Avon Park and Kissimmee. Ollie's stores feature more than 20 sep...
A happy city staff, as well as grant consultants Lee Hale and Hilary Waers of Hale innovation, were celebrating before, during, and after the city commission workshop Wednesday. In a room decorated with balloons, City Manager James Slaton made the happy announcement that the city had received a grant award of $22.93 million from the US Department of Transportation. The RAISE grant for "Complete Streets" will assure the completion of the Lake Wales Connected plan, a...
The community-developed Lake Wales Envisioned plan continues to receive accolades from organizations both in Florida and around the nation. In the latest announcement about the program, Lake Wales Envisioned has been chosen by the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA FL) for its premier honor, the Award of Excellence. Envisioned also won an award from the Florida Planning & Zoning Association earlier this month. The new award follows closely the...
After a typically-slow start to the Hurricane season, things are beginning to move into an active phase in the tropics, a reminder to all that preparing for storm season should be well underway. NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami is alerting on the development of Hurricane Beryl in the mid-Atlantic, an unusual area for this point in the season. The storm is expected to intensify to become a major hurricane before reaching the southern Windward Islands. Long-range...
With a growing traffic volume and a significant rate of deadly crashes, a stretch of State Road 60 in eastern Polk County that is restricted to two-lanes has been a visible target of transportation planners for years. Now, tangible plans are afoot to correct the dangerous stretch of highway by widening it to four travel lanes. The project was included as a priority in the Transportation Planning Organization for Polk County. The TPO board, consisting of representatives from mu...
The boom in development of new fast-casual restaurants in Lake Wales is continuing unabated, pacing the area's fast-growing residential population. New conceptual applications have been submitted for both a Chipotle Mexican Grille and a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Pre-application meetings have been completed for both, according to city officials. Most of the newly-announced sites are clustered around the Eagle Ridge Mall on US 27 at Chalet Suzanne Road. An announced new Dunkin...
In an emotional moment during a city commission workshop Wednesday afternoon, Lake Wales City Manager James Slaton, in a halting statement, revealed that he has had a change of heart and plans to withdraw his name from contention for jobs in other cities. The moment came in the midst of a celebratory mood marking the announcement of an award of a grant of nearly $23 million to construct the "complete streets" program of the Lake Wales Connected plan. That award, by the US Depa...
A new city effort will see the construction of about a mile of new sidewalk and the planting of scores of new street trees in Lake Wales. The long-neglected Northwest Neighborhood of Lake Wales, subject of a two-year Community Redevelopment Agency effort to improve housing, will soon benefit from an investment in new sidewalks and street trees. Residents will see some disruption as the improvements are made. The project is only the first portion of the two-phase project, City...
With the threat of a "long, expensive, and distracting" lawsuit looming, the Lake Wales Charter School board will have an opportunity to reconsider their June 7 decision to summarily fire Superintendent Dr. Wayne V. Rodolfich "for cause," according to an attorney representing him. The board agreed without objection to place the issue on their July 22 agenda after hearing from attorney Kemp Brinson, who is representing Rodolfich. Brinson, in a special presentation that was the...
Lake Wales City Manager James Slaton finds his relaxation, he recently told Lake Wales News, by fishing, typically on salt water far from the ring of a telephone. It's an understandable outlet. Slaton has demonstrated that he can play just as well on dry land, whatever the game. The job of city manager is undoubtedly one of the more interesting and challenging careers in the modern workforce. Charged with running a government as an appointed, rather than elected, official,...
A team of civic-minded volunteers from Lake Wales Heritage took advantage of the rainier weather this week to work on the organization's ongoing streetscaping project. Monday morning found a team of volunteers planting nine young lemon bottlebrush trees on South 4th Street. The trees were replacements for some lost due to heat stress and drought this spring. "Now that the seasonal monsoon rain season has begun, the time is right," said Heritage volunteer director Preston...
An upbeat message of economic progress was shared with more than 100 area business leaders during a Business After Hours event at the Eagle Ridge Mall Tuesday evening. The event was sponsored by the Lake Wales and Winter Haven Chambers of Commerce. Eagle Ridge Mall General Manager Curtis Gibson told the gathering that the mall "belongs" to the people of the Ridge, from Frostproof to Winter Haven, and touted the expansion of business that has been happening there. When he took...
