Communication Builds Our Community

(17) stories found containing 'lake kissimmee state park'


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 17 of 17

  • Opinion: Protect Florida's State Parks From Their "Protectors"

    News Editorial Board|Updated Aug 22, 2024

    Florida's award-winning state parks are a unique and irreplaceable resource for our state and its tourism economy, a delight for visitors and residents alike. They offer our burgeoning population affordable places to "get away" from urban crowding without an airline ticket. State park usage has grown in recent years, even as the state's population has swelled past 22 million. They have also proven invaluable in efforts to protect and conserve natural resources and...

  • Ollie's Department Store to Open in Lake Wales

    Robert Connors|Updated Jul 3, 2024

    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...

  • Two More Large Tracts of Land Nominated for Preservation Near Lake Wales

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Apr 8, 2024

    The vision of a "Big Green Network" of environmental lands flanking Lake Wales to the east and west moved a small step closer to reality this week as Polk County's environmental lands program addressed the possibility of acquiring a large tract of land just northeast of the city. The expanse of lands totaling 1,195 acres spanning Masterpiece Road and partially surrounding the former Masterpiece Gardens tourist attraction belong to corporations or individual members of the...

  • Bill Redmon is Pioneer of the Year

    Anderson Hanna, Lake Wales History Museum|Updated Oct 23, 2023

    Bill Redmon has been selected as the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Pioneer of the Year for the annual Pioneer Days festival, which will take place at Lake Wailes Park on October 29 and 29. Redmon's extraordinary dedication to his community and his outstanding achievements make him a true pioneer in every sense and led to his selection by the board of the Lake Wales History Museum, sponsors of the long-standing and popular festival. Only 50-year residents of the Lake Wales...

  • Bok North Ag Students Continue "Adventures" in Education

    Seaira Hernandez and Madison ONeal, Bok North Ag Program|Updated Oct 13, 2023

    EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was written by middle school students at Bok North Academy. Students enrolled in the Bok Academy North agriculture program are excited for the opportunities they are being offered this year. Among those are participation in the Future Farmers of America programs. LakeWalesNews.net plans to publish monthly stories written by students of the program. Instructor Jennifer Williams says she is teaching students that agriculture "is much more than just...

  • Bok North Ag Students Excited for Future of Their Program

    Madison O'Neal and Seaira Hernandez, Bok Academy North FFA|Updated Sep 5, 2023

    EDITOR'S NOTE: Students enrolled in the Bok Academy North agriculture program are excited for the opportunities they are being offered this year. Among those are participation in the Future Farmers of America programs. LakeWalesNews.net plans to publish monthly stories written by students of the program. Instructor Jennifer Williams says she is teaching students that agriculture "is much more than just cattle and oranges." Our members are excited about our new year and so are...

  • Construction Project to Address Dangerous SR 60 Intersection

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 15, 2023

    An effort to reduce or eliminate fatal crashes at a dangerous intersection east of Lake Wales will see the Florida Department of Transportation closing crossing traffic in favor of U-turns. The intersection includes Boy Scout road, which runs north of SR 60 and serves Lake Kissimmee State Park and the Lakes Rosalie and Kissimmee areas. South of SR 60, Walk-in-the-Water Road serves a growing number of residents, as well as serving as a connector to CR 630. Traffic on the two...

  • Construction Keeping Area Roads Closed

    News Staff Reports|Updated Feb 22, 2023

    Four separate construction projects are causing lengthy detours for area drivers, according to Bill Skelton, Project Management Liaison for Polk County. Travel delays, some lengthy, can be expected while traffic is detoured to bypass these closures. The newest announced closure is along Lake Wales-Alturas Road North, just west Crews Road, in rural, unincorporated Lake Wales. That road is closing at the railroad crossing on Thursday, February 23 for two to five days to allow...

  • 18th Anniversary of Hurricane Charley Passes Quietly

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Aug 13, 2022

    Saturday, August 13 marked the 18th anniversary of the most destructive hurricane to strike Lake Wales in recent memory, and thankfully the tropics remain quiet so far. Only a weak disturbance drifting westward near Texas is being remarked upon by the National Hurricane Center. The Friday the 13th storm of 2004 was the first of three direct strikes here in only six weeks, an event unprecedented in recorded history. Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne came evenly spaced, three weeks...

  • Lake Wales to Receive $800,000 From Federal Budget to Boost Connected Plan

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 24, 2022

    Converting downtown streets into a shady pedestrian oasis through the Lake Wales Connected plan got a financial boost as the City of Lake Wales has received a Federal grant. Congressman Darren Soto (Dem, Kissimmee) arranged an $800,000 infusion for downtown street rehabilitation in the bi-partisan Infrastructure package approved by the US Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. Those funds will aid in fulfilling the Lake Wales Connected plan, augmenting Community...

  • State Parks Offer Scholarships Through Junior Ranger Program

    Tom Paulson, City Editor|Updated Feb 16, 2022

    If your kids enjoy the outdoors, here's a great way to let them have fun, and perhaps win a college scholarship at the same time. Florida State Parks and the Florida Prepaid College program are partnering to encourage families to get outside and explore Florida's award-winning state parks through the Junior Ranger Program as well as prepare for their little ranger's future with a risk-free college savings plan. As part of the promotion, ten Florida children will receive a...

  • Federal Funds to Aid in Downtown Streetscape

    Robert Connors|Updated Dec 13, 2021

    The process of converting barren downtown streets into a shady pedestrian oasis got a financial boost as the City expects to receive a Federal grant. In a presentation to area citizens via an Internet link from Washington DC Tuesday evening, Congressman Darren Soto mentioned that an $800,000 infusion for downtown street rehabilitation had been included in the recent bi-partisan Infrastructure package approved by the US House. The package is now awaiting Senate approval. Soto gave Mayor Eugene Fultz credit for having brought...

  • Ora "Oz" Caldwell Taken by Covid-19

    News Staff|Updated Oct 4, 2021

    Ora "Oz" Caldwell of Lake Wales passed away September 9th due to complications of Covid-19. Known to many by his nickname of "the Great One," Caldwell was a graduate of West Point and served for many years in the office of the Public Defender in Polk County. He was known to many in the Lake Wales area as a man of generous spirit and manner. "He was an officer and a gentleman," said former Public Defender Marion Moorman. "He was a fantastic lawyer, a true trial lawyer who had...

  • Ora "Oz" Oscar Caldwell, 1937-2021

    Updated Oct 4, 2021

    Ora "Oz" Oscar Caldwell, age 83, of Lake Wales passed away on September 9th, 2021 at 2:20pm at Advent Health in Davenport, Florida from respiratory complications due to Covid 19. Oz was born on October 19, 1937 in Lake Wales Florida. Oz spent his formative years on his father's dairy farm. He would often speak of these times with great fondness of the cowboys and hard lifestyles of the post-Great Depression period in Central Florida that he witnessed firsthand. During this...

  • Protectors of Lake Wales Ridge Honored

    Updated Apr 9, 2019

    The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and partners celebrated the 25th anniversary of the FWC's Ridge Rangers Program on Saturday, April 6, at Lake Kissimmee State Park. The guests of honor were many of the volunteers, visionaries and agencies that have made this program a success, both past and present. "The Lake Wales Ridge is one of Florida's most highly imperiled ecosystems," said Jeff McGrady, FWC Division of Habitat and Species Conservation...

  • Revamped Camp Mack Offers Lots of Fun

    Terri Miller, Staff Writer|Updated Feb 25, 2019

    If you are looking for something fun to do on a Friday or Saturday night in Lake Wales, head out east of town on U.S. Highway 60, take a left on Boy Scout Road then a right on Camp Mack Road. You will drive right to Guy Harvey's Camp Mack's River Resort at 14900 Camp Mack Road, northeast of Lake Wales. The old Liar's Lair bar has been masterfully remodeled into Gator Mack's - a full liquor bar with pool tables, dart boards, and a great jukebox. The smoke-free Gator Mack's...

  • Hundreds of Airboats Take Freedom Ride

    Terri Miller|Updated Feb 25, 2019

    The largest group of airboat enthusiasts in the United States and perhaps the world gathered Saturday, Feb. 16 on Lake Kissimmee east of Lake Wales. Hundreds of airboaters started launching before dawn on that chilly morning, many from Guy Harvey's Outpost Camp Mack River Resort in Lake Wales and all heading to Miles Point on the south side of the lake close to the Kissimmee State Park. At Miles Point, the Kissimmee River Valley Sportsman Association (KRVSA), led by their...