Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Wow! It's hard to believe our Lake Wales online news site is almost 1-month-old. We did a "soft launch" with little fanfare Feb. 13 so we could load the site with great content before most people even got their first look. Our online readership is growing daily and many more are accessing the highlights on our Facebook page. In the last five days our posts reached more than 2,000 people, and more than half engaged in some way. We're the "new kid on the block," but we're...
The Lake Wales Public Library is hosting summer teen programs. Members of the Lake Wales Community will be appearing as guest presenters from 3-4 p.m. June 10-14 for Adulting 101 classes for teens and young adults (ages 15 to 20) covering topics of sewing, car maintenance, personal financial literacy, landing a job, and eating healthy. The Library is featuring a full day summer teen leadership camp from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 15-19. The camp will help teens examine their...
The Lake Wales Public Library's Adult Summer Reading program proves summer reading programs are not for kids only! Summer of 2019's summer reading theme for all ages is A Universe of Stories. Adult readers are encouraged to pick up a monthly reading log. Complete reading logs in June and July and you're entered into a drawing for prizes, sponsored by the Lake Wales Library Association - Friends of the Library. Adult readers can also pick up our word play, or crossword puzzle...
A "City in a Garden" with landscaped streets, a redeveloped Grove Manor featuring a mix of housing types, and a new "town square" were among the ideas presented to Lake Wales citizens Friday evening to cap a week of intensive study by the planning firm of Dover Kohl. Most of the 100 in attendance were excited by the possibilities. The week-long effort, sponsored by Lake Wales Mainstreet and funded by local businesses, included gathering ideas and suggestions from the public,...
To continue focusing on its mission and to promote brand awareness the Lake Wales Museum and Cultural Center has been renamed the Lake Wales History Museum. The Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday, May 21 approved the name change, recommended by Museum Director Jennifer D'Hollander. "As an established resource in the Lake Wales community, the museum has included many different activities over the years. Today, the museum looks to the future as a focused, vibrant center focused...
Lake Wales City Commissioners Tuesday, May 14 kicked off budget talks for the 2019-20 year by sharing their priorities and opinions with city staff. There was clear consensus that the report from urban planners Dover Kohl, expected in mid-June, will drive spending decisions, particularly use of Community Redevelopment Agency trust funds. Vice Mayor Robin Gibson, who chairs the CRA, said he expects Park Avenue in historic downtown to be the top priority and to set the standard...
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated with information about five other lakes needing invasive plant removal. The City of Lake Wales soon will be paying $26,000 to have invasive weeds removed from two local lakes. Eventually the cost to rehabilitate Lake Weader, Crystal Lake and five more lakes could reach over $1 million, according to city Parks Superintendent Vincent Crawford. City Commissioner Terrye Howell at the April 16 meeting asked for a status on the removal of...
NOTE: This event has been canceled due to expected bad weather. Lake Wales Live will resume the third Friday of each month starting in September. The City of Lake Wales Recreation Department presents music in the park at its third Lake Wales Live! On Friday, April 19. The free event takes place in the park across from the library at 290 Cypress Gardens Lane. The M&M Cloggers will perform at 6 p.m. followed by a musical presentation at 7:30 p.m. by Southerndipity. The event is...
A visit to Lake Wales by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Jack E. Davis brought rich reward to a group of citizens who attended his talk at Lake Wales Library Thursday. Davis spent time answering their personal questions following his presentation. Among other accolades, Davis was awarded a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for his latest work, entitled "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea." "I didn't set out to write an academic book. I like to write books that people want to read,"...
Congratulations to "Team Planktons," winners of the third annual Big Kahuna Paddle Challenge on Saturday April 6 at Webber International University. Team members Jennifer Nanek, Richard Moody, Dan Hurst and Webber students, along with Bill Redmon at the helm, were victorious, but gave the winning prize to their competitor, The Vanguard School of Lake Wales. It's the third year for Nanek, Lake Wales city clerk, to compete in the event. "The secret to success is teamwork,...
Join Dr. Jack E. Davis at the Lake Wales Public Library for his lively long historical view of the Gulf of Mexico, drawn from his 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea. Significant beyond tragic oil spills and hurricanes, the Gulf has historically been one of the world's most bounteous marine environments, supporting human life for millennia. Davis starts from the premise that nature lies at the center of human existence, and takes his...
The third annual Virginia Lassiter Leadership Luncheon will be held at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, April 6 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd Parish Hall, 221 South Fourth Street, Lake Wales. The luncheon will be followed by A Conversation with Leaders of the Lake Wales Arts community: Robin Gibson, Jayne Crews-Linton and Marilyn Newell. Founded in 1972 by a small group of citizens, the Lake Wales Arts Council has led Lake Wales' reputation as community rich in arts and cu...
More than 100 civic and business leaders gathered for breakfast at the Vanguard School to hear the annual "State of the City" report delivered by Lake Wales Mayor Eugene Fultz on Wednesday morning, and most were impressed by what they heard. Ranging from a summation of new businesses arriving, including a Lake Wales Medical Center Wound Care facility, plus Aldi's, Wawa, and Love's, to imaginative plans for re-invigorating the downtown area and Crystal Lake Park, the address wa...
Candidates for Lake Wales mayor and city commission shared common beliefs about the need for more citizen involvement and transparency in city government at a forum Thursday, March 14 sponsored by the Lake Wales Chapter of the American Association of University Women. Only about 25 people came out to the James P. Austin Community Center to listen and ask questions. Incumbent Mayor Eugene Fultz did not attend, but sent some prepared comments. He is on the Board of the Ridge...
When Lake Ashton resident Al Goldstein became the only candidate to qualify for April's District 4 City Commission election, he won automatically, leaving plenty of Lake Wales residents wondering: "Who is Al Goldstein?" In a rambling two-hour conversation, Goldstein revealed much about himself and his strong opinions about several pending issues but left plenty hidden as well. Critical of some proposals before the Commission, Goldstein offered his respect for the positions...
Fans of live theatre will enjoy some spine-tingling chills during March as Lake Wales Little Theatre presents "The Assassin's New Friend." The psychological thriller features a very reluctant "friend" who finds himself dragged into a murder plot by a crazed killer. Faced with a "Hobson's choice," the true-crime writer is pulled deeper as the plot twists and turns. Featuring Jeff Herman as the scheming Kendrick, and Robert Connors as often-horrified writer Brian Hollander, the...
The second Lake Wales Live event drew about 100 people for music, food and lovely evening weather March 15. Sponsored by the City of Lake Wales Parks and Recreation Department, Friday's event featured music by Warner University's Beyond Belief Jazz Ensemble and singer and acoustic guitar player Cory Greenway of Frostproof. Recreation Coordinator Stephanie Edwards said she was pleased with the crowd, which was larger than the group that attended the first Lake Wales Live event...
The City of Lake Wales Recreation Department will hold its second monthly Lake Wales Live event starting at 6 p.m. Friday, March 15. This month's free event will include music by Warner University's Beyond Belief Jazz Ensemble starting at 6 p.m., followed at 7:30 p.m. with music by Cory Greenway. Lake Wales Live is held in the park across from the Lake Wales Public Library at 290 Cypress Gardens Lane. The event will include food for purchase from food trucks and a beer and...
The Lake Wales Public Library's Lifelong Learning series will host Victim Services Specialist, Theresa Adlam at noon Thursday, March 14 as she presents Facts about Identity Theft. Adlam is a Victim Services Program Specialist with the Division of Victim Services and Criminal Justice Programs in the Florida Office of the Attorney General, specializing in the area of Identity Theft. Adlam began her career in the field of criminal justice serving as a county probation officer. Sh...
Auditions will be held Monday and Tuesday, March 18-19, for the Lake Wales Little Theatre June teen production of "Reality Stars: Greek Gods Edition." According to promotional material the play is a hilarious romp that explores the great Greek myths within a reality show framework: "Thirteen gods are put under one roof, but only one can survive to sit upon Mount Olympus." Director Robbie Hartley will be casting "8 guys and 7 girls," ages 12-18. The play is not a musical, but...
The third annual Virginia Lassiter Leadership Luncheon will be held at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, April 6 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd Parish Hall, 221 South Fourth Street, Lake Wales. The luncheon will be followed by A Conversation with Leaders of the Lake Wales Arts community: Robin Gibson, Jayne Crews-Linton and Marilyn Newell. Founded in 1972 by a small group of citizens, the Lake Wales Arts Council has led Lake Wales' reputation as community rich in arts and...
Chevon Baccus, executive editor and publisher of LakeWalesNews.net spoke to the members of the GFWC Woman's Club of Lake Wales Thursday, March 7 about the community's new online publication. Baccus told the group that since its soft launch Feb. 13 the online news site has published more than 100 stories and nearly 500 photos. "The site is growing in popularity and readership and we're looking forward to a bright future," Baccus said. The loss of the local newspaper, The Lake...
It still surprises Jennifer D'Hollander when people drop by the Lake Wales Museum for the first time and say they didn't realize it was there. The restored railroad Depot has been offering visitors a glimpse into Central Florida's past for more than 40 years. Museum Director D'Hollander and her staff are working diligently to promote the facility, its exhibits and programs. Their hard work paid off in 2018, when they hosted 6,577 visitors, a 37 percent increase over 2017....
The Lake Wales Public Library's Lifelong Learning series will provide a three-part series in April, To Your Health! The series will be presented by Ginny Powell, a retired cooperative education professor at Rutgers University who holds two degrees in home economic education. The first in the series is To Your Health! - Eat Smart. This workshop will use the USDA's "My Plate" to help people find out how their favorite foods measure up to healthy, nutritious eating. Participants...
The Lake Wales Public Library will host Add Color to Your Landscape with Flowering Bulbs at noon, Thursday, March 7. This program is part of the library's Lifelong Learning Series sponsored by Florida's Natural Growers Foundation and the Lake Wales Library Association. A horticulture specialist from UF/IFIS Polk County will present information on growing flowering bulbs in your Florida landscape. This presentation is a lunch 'n learn program and is free; registration is...
