Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Christmas in Lake Wales is a time of giving, blessings, wonders and delights. Lake Wales High School Interact members exemplified the spirit as they stuffed stockings for all 65 residents of the Lake Wales Health Care nursing facility with essentials and personal care items and delivered them to many isolated people, bringing a dose of healing holiday cheer. The Lake Wales Care Center team repaired and refurbished dozens of bicycles and gave them to disadvantaged children,...
J.P. Williamson of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at Good Shepherd Hospice House in Sebring. He was born December 28, 1972 in Fort Lauderdale to the late Michael Williamson and Noel Trent; he moved to Lake Wales from Fort Lauderdale 34 years ago. J.P. was a meter reader for Tampa Electric. He enjoyed football, baseball, golfing, fishing, and spending time at the beach. He was active in the Lake Wales Little League by coaching, umpiring, and was on the Board...
In a long-awaited development, Lake Wales is slated to begin receiving direct fiber-optics residential Internet service beginning in 2022. Fiber optics uses light rather than electrical impulses to transmit data, resulting in much faster speeds and higher data volumes. The new infrastructure is expected to provide an economic boost to the city as more people seek to work from home. A multi-million-dollar investment by Frontier Communications will employ "a small army of...
Construction is expected to start in a matter of weeks on 55 new homes in the second phase of Scenic Bluffs. The City Commission approved the final plat of the subdivision at Tuesday's meeting. The development is being built on a site of approximately 17 acres just west of Lake Wales High School. It follows the completion of the completion of the adjacent Scenic Bluffs Phase One. The last homes are nearing completion there. The project, owned by Clayton Properties Group, Inc....
A brawl that erupted on the campus of Lake Wales High School Wednesday ended with Lake Wales Police putting six students in handcuffs. Two of the students involved were over age 18. One had a concealed weapon in his backpack. All six students have been transported to the appropriate facilities. Police arrested 18-year-olds Courtney Brown and Nicholas Young, both of Winter Haven. A search of Brown's backpack led to the discovery of a loaded Glock 26 handgun. The gun had not bee...
Hundreds of bass fishers, both men and women, are expected to descend on the Lake Wales area this weekend as Camp Mack Resort hosts the Bobby Lane Cup. Some of the top names in national competition will be present for the event, The Guy Harvey resort, located on Lake Kissimmee at 14900 Camp Mack Road will be hosting the 10th annual rendition of the tournament that draws top competitive bass stalkers from across the nation. The tournament will also see a drawing for a new...
The search for a new superintendent for the Lake Wales Charter School System has entered its next phase following the close of applications for the position on November 17. Now the search committee will begin the process of winnowing the 25 applicants, representing 11 states, down to a few finalists who will be granted preliminary on-line interviews The field of applicants includes local residents, including several from Polk County. Others on the list have attended local...
The inspiration of hard-working parents who wanted their children to have a better life has led their son to "pay it forward" by leading others to higher callings through Polk State College. Dr. Andy Oguntola is the Director of the college's Lake Wales campus in the JD Alexander Center on Central Avenue downtown. He also serves as Dean of Workforce Development for the multi-campus institution. Under his five-year watch enrollment at the local campus has grown from 600 to...
After concluding their regular season play with an 8-2 wining record, the Lake Wales Highlanders advance as 6-A District 7 runners-up to the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs, meeting the PSL Jaguars in Port St. Lucie Friday night. Their single loss to Auburndale by a 14-8 score left them with a 3-1 record in District play. The Jaguars finished their season with a 7-2 record, but remained undefeated with a 3-0 record in their Division play, giving them a home-f...
Donald Earle Sheppard, 77, of Lakeland, Florida, passed away Thursday, October 14, 2021, at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 33 years, Ann (Muffet) Sheppard, his brother, David Sheppard, and his parents, Albert John and Jennie Deborah Moore Sheppard, and stepfather Omar “Pops” Williams. Don is survived by his daughters, Teresa Kauf Booth of Woburn, Massachusetts, and Trinity Sheppard Herrera (Julio) of Jacksonville, Florida, his...
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,...
Lake Wales's newest housing subdivision is rapidly being developed on the high ground just west of Lake Wales High School. Scenic Bluffs Phase Two will offer 55 single-family homes on a site facing Old Scenic Highway. In a nod to the extraordinary housing shortage facing much of the nation, prices have risen sharply for new homes, pricing many first-time buyers out of the market. New homes in the development will start at 1400 square feet of living area and be priced...
By now a familiar voice to fans at Friday night football games, one local volunteer has made a highly successful career out of childhood inspiration, and a thread of football tradition runs through it. Local son Kent Lilly has become something of a legend in his own right. Lilly grew up in Lake Wales, and after Lake Wales High School went on to graduate from the University of Florida with a degree in accounting before heading off to law school at Florida State University,...
Are you a student who knows fish? Got some art talent? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission would like to know about it. The FWC is inviting students in all grades from kindergarten through high school to compete in one of four age groups in a state-wide art contest for a chance to win state and national honors and prizes. Since Lake Wales is a center for fishing and large-mouth bass in particular, there's a good chance that a local student may have a better...
The Lake Wales High School Cross Country athletes ran in competition at Central Winds Park in Winter Springs on Saturday, October 30 in the FHSAA 3A District 3 Championship 2021. Three boys and three girls participated, so all had to run as individuals because they did not have five to complete a team. Cristal Gomez, a senior, finished 2nd place overall female with a time of 18:39.02 which is a personal record. She was the 1st place non-team finisher qualifying to run at...
After a successful preseason tournament outing at Auburndale this week, the Lake Wales High School Boys Soccer teans are ready to start their regular season on Monday when they will host George Jenkins (Lakeland). November 8, 2021 Monday George Jenkins Home 6:30/8pm November 11, 2021 Thursday Freedom (Varsity Only) Away 7:00 PM November 12, 2021 Friday Bartow Away 6:30/8pm November 16, 2021 Tuesday Discovery (PCCL) Home 6:30/8pm November 18, 2021 Thursday McKeel (PCCL) Home 6/...
A zany comedic presentation fills the stage at Lake Wales Little Theatre through November 21 as they present "The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens." The farcical production is filled with laugh-generating situations and some one-off show-stopping laugh lines. Pratfalls and a measure of slapstick are thrown in for good measure. The play is the third in a series highlighting the crazed trio of Verdeen cousins who inhabit the fictional town of Sweetgum, Texas, and calls up...
Local dining food choices aren't as limited as you might believe, and they certainly don't have to be boring. That much is evident after a visit to a local restaurant celebrating its first anniversary. Orgen D'nal is an outgrowth of a personal training studio called Kingdom Fitness run by restaurant owner Arthur White in an adjacent building. His customers enjoyed rejuvenating health drinks after workouts, so after three years of operations he conceived of a juice bar, which...
A delicious spaghetti dinner with all the favorite sides is available for an easy take out meal on Thursday this week as the Woman's Club of Lake Wales offers its popular biannual fundraiser from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.. The expert cooks of the club invite you to enjoy a great home-made dinner of spaghetti with a choice of Bolognese or vegetarian Marinara sauce. They come packaged to go at a drive-through, and each meal includes a garden salad, toasted garlic bread and a delicious...
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...
Finding a new superintendent for the Lake Wales Charter School System is a painstaking process, with huge focus on finding the ideal candidate, according to Bill Vogel. Vogel, 72, is himself a former school superintendent who is providing services to the Charter Schools Board of Trustees as a consultant to the Florida School Board Association. "We're very impressed with the commitment of the Board of Trustees to finding the right candidate," he told the LakeWalesNews.Net...
John Warren "Bo" Hutto reached his Heavenly home on Saturday, October 16, 2021. Bo was born in Lake Wales, Florida on April 26, 1971. Bo married his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, Donna Therese Nelson-Hutto as a teenager. In their over 31 years together, they created a beautiful family. Bo's number one passion in life was his family and he loved them deeply and unconditionally. Bo had a true servant's heart and loved helping people, both inside and outside hi...
Ready for some laughs to brighten up your life? Well, Lake Wales Little Theatre is ready for you, offering a three-weekend run of a comedy that seems guaranteed to make you chuckle, or laugh out loud. "The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens" opens Friday, Nov. 5 and offers what Dramatists Play Service describes as a "Southern-fried comedy. The play was written by the trio of authors of the popular "Red Velvet Cake Wars," presented in 2012 at LWLT. Directed by Chevon 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...
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...
