Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Construction has begun on the long-planned Advanced Drainage System manufacturing plant in Lake Wales. Work preparing the nearly 100-acre site east of South 11th Street is currently employing more than a dozen earth-moving machines, as well as surveyors and other crew. Meanwhile, Duke Energy workers are installing upgraded electrical service along Hunt Brothers Road to the site. The manufacturing building and associated offices could eventually cover 400,000 square feet and...
Timothy Paul Connors of Lakeland, FL died Thursday, May 23. He was born February 7, 1954 to the late Paul T. and Mary L. Connors. He was a retired lieutenant for the City of Lakeland fire department, a graduate of the Firefighters Academy and a trained Emergency Medical Technician. Tim was a former resident of Lake Wales and a 1972 graduate of Lake Wales High School where he participated in track and football. As an adult he enjoyed golf and participated in numerous leagues an...
Dale Patrick Cain (Pat) of Lake Wales passed away Monday, May 20, 2024 at his residence after a short battle with cancer. Pat was a third generation Lake Walean born on October 16, 1947 to the late Lucas and Mary Cain. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology on a football scholarship and later graduated with a major in finance from the University of Florida. Pat was in the financial planning industry for over 29 years following many years as owner and operator of...
A free patriotic concert on Memorial Day weekend will be offered to the public to mark the Memorial Day weekend. The Ridge Brass will offer "many familiar standbys of American music that will stir hearts to renewed love of our great country," said Arts Council spokesperson Carrie Ingley. The Ridge Brass was formerly known as the Lake Wales Brass Ensemble, and is familiar to many music-lovers in the area, having accompanied the Lake Wales Chorale at many past performances. Spon...
William Robert Simpkins, age 76, passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at his home in Bartow, FL after a long courageous battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was born on November 8, 1947, in Millville, NJ to parents Janice and William. He graduated from Vineland High School in 1966 and completed his education at Warner University in Lake Wales, FL where he graduated in 2001 with a bachelor's degree. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserved from 1965-1967. He worked in law enforcem...
Lake Wales City manager James is among a group of five finalists and two alternates that have been winnowed from a long list of candidates being considered for the city manager's job there following a Thursday evening special meeting of the beach town's city commission. The discussion among that city's board focused on the mechanisms that will be employed in interviewing the candidates, some of whom come from distant states and will fly in to inte4rviews. Discussion within...
Failure to yield the right-of-way resulted in a crash with injuries on 4th Street at the edge of the McLaughlin Middle/High School campus recently. The incident happened at approximately 6 p.m. after the school zone had cleared for the day. The incident happened when a vehicle driven by a woman identified by Lake Wales Police as Laken Taylor Upchurch was driving westbound on Grove Avenue in a 2019 Ford Expedition and "slowed" for a stop sign before entering the path of a 2004...
A community "open house" planned for Monday, May 20 will give area residents an opportunity to discuss key economic issues and and perceived opportunities that may help shape the future of Lake Wales. The five-hour "drop in" will be hosted by the Central Florida Regional Planning Council under a contract with the City of Lake Wales. Residents are invited to share their thoughts on the draft Economic Development Strategy and discuss the "identified goals, strategies, and next...
The safety of children walking to and from area schools is the subject of an appeal for substitute crossing guards to fill in when demand arises. School Crossing Guard services are funded by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners. The vital program provides adult crossing guards at selected hazardous school crossings to ensure the safety of elementary school children walking to and from school. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, substitute school crossing...
The City of Lake Wales has been awarded a Communicator Award in the category of Campaigns & Series-Public Service & Activism, Distinction 2024. The award was granted for the "Now You Know" video series featuring numerous city employees in speaking roles. The videos were produced in house to share information about city employees, activities, departments, and goals. According to the statement issued by the company, the Communicator Awards "honors work that transcends...
A celebration of life for a beloved community leader was combined with a celebration of new life recently as the staff of McLaughlin Middle/High School joined volunteers from Lake Wales Heritage to mark the dedication of 40 trees planted on the Lake Wales school campus. The trees were a gift from Lake Wales Heritage and its supporters in honor of the late Lee A. (Alex) Wheeler, who served as treasurer for the non-profit organization. Wheeler, who died in 2020, was also a...
Lunch-hour diners and shoppers will find getting around downtown Lake Wales a breeze beginning Monday as the newest city service arrives in town. Described as "fast, frequent, and fun," The Squeeze will offer free transportation around the city's center, ranging between Central and Crystal Avenues between First Street and Market Street. The service will utilize new 8-passenger open-air "golf cart" style vehicles to shuttle guests to and from area businesses. The shuttles will...
Music lovers of all ages are invited to enjoy not one, but two concerts this Saturday, May 11 at the Lake Wales Arts Center as Classern Quartet, a distinguished ensemble from Orlando, presents two completely different musical programs at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Arts Council staff invites you to "indulge in an afternoon of refined elegance and musical brilliance for a captivating concert that celebrates the timeless allure of classical strings." The first event will feature the harmo...
Martha Ann Lewis, age 61, of Babson Park, FL, died Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at the Forsythe Hospice House in Auburndale, FL. She is survived by her children, Terrance Mosley, Brian Mosley and Jarvis Mosley of Babson Park, FL. Sisters; Christine Barnes and Gladys Tucker of Lake Wales, FL. Brother; Clifford Lewis of Babson Park, FL. Nine grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Visitation with family and friends will take place on Saturday, May 11,...
A brief swearing-in ceremony at the start of Tuesday's city commission meeting saw newly-elected Commissioner Carol Gillespie join the board. Gillespie, joined by her husband Gary Robillard, stood before the audience and repeated the oath as read by City Clerk Jennifer Nanek. Gillespie won seat 4 on the five-person commission by a wide margin over incumbent Danny Krueger. The swearing-in event was met with applause from an enthusiastic group of supporters. Speaking during...
Attorneys representing the City of Lake Wales have filed a motion for final judgement in their two-year pursuit of a lawsuit against Dixie Walesbilt LLC. The motion seeks to dismiss all counts in the suit beyond the two already decided in favor of the city. The two counts already decided by the court concluded that Dixie Walesbilt principal Ray Brown had committed "fraud in the inducement" to trick the city into assigning the title to his firm. The city had granted title to th...
A new Panera Bread restaurant is expected to rise soon on a vacant parcel adjacent to the Aldi grocery on US 27 north in Lake Wales. City officials have revealed that they have conducted a pre-construction meeting with the developer, and construction should begin within weeks. Panera is the latest in a wave of chain restaurants finding sites on the fast-growing corridor near Eagle Ridge Mall. Panera Bread, based in St. Louis, MO, offers a bakery-café style restaurant that...
Scorching temperatures are expected to bake the Ridge area this week before increasing clouds bring growing rain chances to the area early next week. Floridians acclimated to warmth may still be shocked to encounter temperatures rising into the 90s to near 100° this week under sunny skies. Long-range models are showing that relief could come with more cloud cover beginning as soon as Sunday. The baking temperatures are adding to the stress of gardens, lawns, and even trees....
A new Park Avenue is steadily emerging in downtown Lake Wales as work continues on the first phase of a multi-million dollar reimagining of the city's heart. The ongoing work is creating a shady pedestrian oasis in the heart of the city, replete with rows of spreading live oaks, new benches, lighting, wider sidewalks, and brick-paved streets and parking areas. The stretch of Park Avenue between First and Market streets is rapidly nearing completion, offering business owners an...
Healogics, the nation's leading provider of advanced wound care services, has recently honored the AdventHealth Lake Wales Wound Care Center with three prestigious awards, including the President's Circle Award, the Center of Distinction Award, and the Robert A. Warriner III, M.D., Clinical Excellence Award. These recognitions highlight the center's commitment to exceptional patient satisfaction and the best in clinical outcomes. The Center achieved outstanding clinical outcom...
A large group of dedicated students at Lake Wales High School dedicated scores of their free hours and singing talents to three recent performances of "High School Musical." The play drew large audiences to their weekend performances, according to Emily Fournier, who helped direct and produce the play along with co-director Kimberlee Diallo. The two are dedicated educators at the local school. "We have been working on the play since December, meeting three days a week with a...
Former Bok Tower Gardens carillonneur William N. De Turk Jr. passed away on Thursday, March 14 after a fall at his home in Lake Wales. The 78-year-old worked for the National Historic Landmark for 18 years, including seven years as director of Carillon Services. Only the third carillonneur since the opening dedication in 1929, De Turk succeeded Milford Myhre before resigning on Oct. 31, 2011. Myhre was the Singing Tower's second carillonneur who played the bells for 36 years...
Lake Wales business incubator CFO Charles Young Jr. was released Friday from Polk County Jail after posting bond on two first-degree felony charges. Young was arrested last Saturday morning at a residence in Lithia in Hillsborough County following an investigation of a complaint filed last year by his business partners. Young was a partner in Florida Development Corp LLC, which entered into a $1.2 million no-recourse contract with the City of Lake Wales in 2022 for the...
Development of new roads and utilities will be behind a lengthy disruption to traffic in an area between Dundee and Lake Wales, according to county officials. Starting Wednesday, May1, installation of a water main for a new subdivision and related road reconstruction will close H.L. Smith Road just north of the Lake Mabel Loop Road intersection for 10 weeks. Traffic will be briefly detoured along Lake Swan Road or Lake Mabel Loop Road to Lake Trask Road to bypass work zone....
Last fall, the state agency that investigates potentially corrupt Florida politicians urged lawmakers in Tallahassee to strengthen the state's ethics laws. The Florida Commission on Ethics wanted to tighten conflict-of-interest rules. It proposed legal protections for whistleblowers who reveal wrongdoing. It suggested garnishing the salaries of guilty public officials who refuse to pay their fines. Florida lawmakers ignored all three of those ideas. They decided to weaken the...
