Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The ambitious, $20 million transformation of the urban center of Lake Wales into a shady and inviting oasis for pedestrian shopping and outdoor dining was launched Thursday evening with a groundbreaking that was both entertaining and inspiring, featuring celebratory remarks and even a "flash mob" dance team that surprised the crowd of more than 100. Hosted by Lake Wales Mainstreet on Park Avenue, the event featured the signing of the actual bond documents that will fund the...
Lake Wales area customers of both Duke Energy and TECO can expect to pay significantly more for their electricity use if proposed rate hikes are approved. Both companies are among a group of Florida utilities seeking rate increases and extra funds for storm recovery expenses from the Florida Public Service Commission. Both companies have reported increased profits. Duke has two separate rate requests pending, including one to recover the company's 2022 fuel costs, as well as...
A Lake Wales zoning ordinance will create "a new district in form...architectural standards...and parking requirements," and give it economic incentive by "permitting and allowing," according to Amy Grove, a planner with Dover Kohl. The "downtown mixed-use" district is at the center of efforts to revitalize the area. Groves' remarks were made at a final public forum on the mapping of a new zone, which drew fewer than two dozen residents to hear a presentation by planners from...
New requirements will be faced by those wishing to speak during the public access portion of Lake Wales City Commission meetings following action taken Tuesday. On a 3-2 vote the commission approved a resolution providing for a registration form to be completed by each speaker prior to the meeting containing their personal information and the purpose and topic of their statement. Commission chambers were filled during the meeting with several forced to watch a television feed...
Stifling Dissent is Not a Solution The essential freedoms that we often take for granted as Americans set us apart from much of the world, where speaking out against a government action or official can bring harsh responses. More than ever, speaking out is needed in Lake Wales. There is no better forum for sharing concerns and ideas about the course of our community than the meetings of the City Commission. Now, under a proposed resolution, Lake Wales citizens may be...
An $18.5 million bond issuance received final approval from the Lake Wales City Commission on Tuesday, completing the funding of the award-winning Lake Wales Connected project. The approval in back-to-back meetings of the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City Commission was the final step necessary for the city's bond counsel firm of Ford and Associates. It is expected that the bonds will be offered on the market almost immediately. Ford and Associates has guaranteed...
Thursday was an exciting day for both students and administrators of Lake Wales' McLaughlin Middle/High School as they broke ground for a new $15 million gymnasium, and welcomed back former student Amar'e Stoudemire to give a keynote address. Stoudemire brought a message of encouragement to students hoping to follow his success as a "student athlete. "Hard work" was the repeated theme he share. Highlighting the need for education as well as athletics, he proudly announced his...
The Lake Wales Highlanders won their semi-final football game Friday night and will face the Mainland Buccaneers of Daytona Beach in the state Class 3S Championship game, which will be held in a neutral stadium on December 16. Game time, tentatively set for 11:00 am, has yet to be confirmed by the Florida High School Athletic Association. The Lake Wales Highlanders moved to 14-0 after defeating the Columbia High School Tigers by a score of 37-7 under the lights of Legion...
A quick end to a lawsuit over title to the Walesbilt Hotel was raised as a possibility during a meeting of the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday. "There is a good chance that the city will once again have title to the hotel, and I think we should notify everybody out there...that there may come a time when that hotel will be on the market," Chairman Robin Gibson told the commissioners. The city has been locked in a legal battle with Walesbilt LLC since...
Former Lake Wales city commissioner Kris Fitzgerald, who was removed from office after being charged with two felonies, has been found not guilty in a jury trial. Fitzgerald was arrested June 3, 2021 after being sworn in to office in May on the two felony charges. She was released from the Polk County Jail after posting $11,000 bond. Polk Sheriff Grady Judd boasted of the arrest at a press conference, claiming that he had taken a dangerous criminal off the street. "Can you...
Music, tens of thousands of lights, and the official arrival of Santa Claus will mark the Lake Wales Christmas Night Parade, sponsored annually by the Kiwanis Club of Lake Wales. The parade, which typically draws several thousand spectators, will step off at 6:00 pm Saturday from a line-up area along Lakeshore Boulevard before heading west along Central Avenue through the downtown area before dispersing at the City Administration Building at Central and Dr. Martin Luther King...
The historic Crystal Lake will Apartments at 282 East Park Avenue are expected to undergo extensive remodeling and exterior refurbishment after their purchase by the Lake Wales Care Center. The 100-year-old building has been vacant for about three years. The purchase price was discounted to $340,000, according to Antonio Spagnolo of Bright Trust Realty, in recognition of some damage caused during the passage of Hurricane Ian in September. Both the purchase price and the...
Lake Wales area students in high school or middle school levels are able to sign up for a one-time special Saturday class that will leave them with surprising facts about our community. Those on a college-bound track will appreciate a "Student Naturalist Certificate of Achievement" that will be awarded upon completion of the three-hour program, according to local educator Kyra Love Harriage, who is leading the curriculum for the classes. The history-making people who founded...
UPDATE: GAME TIME CHANGED TO 7:00 BY FSHAA See new story in NEWS section The Lake Wales Highlanders captured the Regional Championship and advanced to the final four in the state Class 3S football playoffs Friday night with an exciting 26-9 victory over the Zephyrhills Bulldogs. The undefeated Highlanders will host the semi-final game next Friday against Columbia, winners over Choctawhatchee Friday night. Carlos Mitchell provided much of the excitement for Highlander fans...
A pair of proposed apartment developments near Eagle Ridge Mall may add 824 new dwelling units to the city, but in each case developer proposals to reduce required parking created some heartburn for city commissioners. The first and most prominent of the pair is proposed for a site directly behind Shoppes on the Ridge, on the north side of Chalet Suzanne Road and across from Wawa. It would consist of six four-story buildings containing 272 units on a 12.1 acre site. Tentative...
Two new apartment complexes totaling 824 units may bring a burst of new economic activity to the city's booming north side. The Lake Wales City Commission will consider action on the two projects Tuesday after discussing the proposals at their agenda workshop. Hillpointe, the larger of the two projects, is proposed to include 552 units 137 acres lying north of Chalet Suzanne Road and the existing Serenity Luxury Apartments. The construction would take place on the...
A search for closure for the family of Debbie Williams, listed as a "missing person" since 1990, took a major step forward on Tuesday as City of Lake Wales engineering contractor Semco began an investigation of the structural integrity of an aging frame house on Wiltshire Drive. Lake Wales Police were supporting the effort, removing personal belongings from the house to be stored, allowing for the removal of flooring. The current residents of the home are not part of the...
With election season upon us, Lake Wales Little Theatre is presenting a timeless and hilarious comedy that skewers politics and celebrates democracy. The action takes place in the office of the governor of a small state. In the wake of Gov. Larry Paige's ouster for a scandal involving a beauty pageant contestant, the job is thrust on Lt. Gov. Ned Newley. Newley doesn't even want to be governor. He's terrified of public speaking and his poll numbers are impressively bad. To...
Fans of Christian music will have a rare treat as the First Presbyterian Church brings the Ball Brothers to Lake Wales for a single free concert on Wednesday, November 30, beginning at 7:00 pm. The Ball Brothers are a popular Christian entertainment group consisting of two brothers, Andrew and Daniel Ball, along with brother-in-law Chad McCloskey and newcomer Rhett Roberts. According to their website, the group travels world-wide, singing their distinctive brand of Christian...
A spurt of new restaurant development will soon be offering a wider range of choices for Lake Wales residents. The growing list has risen to seven new food and beverage outlets. The first to open is expected to be Locorrito, a new effort from area restaurateurs Matthew Brock and his partner, Dwayne McQuillen. The new "fast-casual" spot will open in late September in a former pizza-outlet location at 218 SR 60 East, next door to Citizen's Bank. The building has been...
WEDNESDAY 5:00 PM UPDATE: NOAA Doppler radar imagery indicates that the eye of Ian has made landfall on the mainland southwest Florida peninsula just south of Punta Gorda near Pirate Harbor. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated to be 145 mph (235 km/h). They are now estimated to be 140 mph. A WeatherSTEM station at the Cape Coral Fire Department recently reported a wind gust of 110 mph (177 km/h). A WeatherFlow station in Grove City on the western side of...
TUESDAY 8:00 PM UPDATE: Hurricane Ian has continued to deepen as it moves toward Florida and model trends continue to shift the track toward the east, bringing the center of circulation over Polk County. Lake Wales is expected to be exposed to winds of up to 100 MPH sustained, with higher gusts. There is also an enhanced chance of tornados in this area. For the latest information on expected impacts to the Lake Wales area, please RETURN TO HOME PAGE The 5:00 Advisory from the...
UPDATE: Hurricane Ian has continued its trek toward Florida, now with 125 MPH winds. Further intensification is expected during the next 24 hours. The storm is now a Category Three, and is projected to reach Category Four status today. For the latest information on expected impacts to the Lake Wales area, please RETURN TO HOME PAGE Projections from the NHC depict that Ian will remain a Major Hurricane as it moves over the west central coast of Florida. Ian is now on a northerl...
As Hurricane Ian threatens Florida and the Lake Wales area, Polk County has announced that thirteen shelters will be opened across the county, None are in Lake Wales. The only designated shelter in the city, located at Spook Hill Elementary, will apparently not be opened despite the demand from those living in several large mobile home communities in southeast Polk. The LakeWalesNews.net had highlighted this continued neglect of the region in a story published at the start of...
Two new restaurants are being developed in the historic districts of Lake Wales, and both are receiving inducements from a special grant program. "Smokin' DJ's" anticipates opening early next year at 122 1st St N, Unit #4. The new restaurant will offer table service and the signature barbecue ribs already popularized locally by the "D on Wheelz" food truck. Co-owner Jennifer Leeks told LakeWalesNews.net that they are tackling the extensive renovations required to convert the...
