Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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LakeWalesNews.net recently celebrated our one-year anniversary. During our first year we published more than 1,200 stories and about 1,500 photos. This online news site is still a volunteer venture. The editor, writers and photographers receive no compensation. Most of us consider it a public service and a labor of love. We hope you enjoy LakeWalesNews.net and will continue sharing it with others. For those of you with time on your hands (like, most of you) now is the time to...
In Law School, one of the first things we learn is why our U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights (the first ten Constitutional Amendments ratified in 1791) is critical to the United States. The First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution guarantees Freedom of the Press. This right was so important that it is in the First Amendment! Freedom of the Press is critical to our U.S. way of life; it plays a vital role in informing citizens about public affairs, monitoring the actions...
We are constantly bombarded with pieces of information (verbal and nonverbal) from news reports, children, neighbors, employers, employees, government, churches, parents, marketing companies, and many others. For each of us, how we observe the world around us depends on the quantity and specific providers of the information we choose to consume throughout our waking hours. The specific media platforms which we tune in, people with whom we socialize, and establishments we...
This is the second installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Robin Gibson is a city commissioner and deputy mayor, who chairs the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency.A Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is a proven commodity adopted in 44 states and over 220 areas in Florida. CRAs can be the vehicle for spectacular success or they can be badly abused. Succeeding articles will cover Lake Wales' history of CRA mistakes, lessons learned, and the way we can turn...
This is the fourth installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as deputy mayor and chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. The purpose of this article and the previous article on the Longleaf Business Park is to heed the lessons learned in those projects as the City pursues community redevelopment in the future. Now the Hotel: The City in 2008 acquired title to the Grand Hotel, originally the Dixie...
This is the third installment in the Lake Wales Renaissance series. Lake Wales City Commissioner Robin Gibson serves as deputy mayor and chairman of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. CRA Created. Lake Wales formed its own Community Redevelopment Agency in 1985. The original purpose was to build on the downtown improvements completed in 1973 by capturing the benefits coming from the CRA's unique Tax Increment Financing tool. (The difference between property values befo...
I would like to thank Lake Wales News.Net for allowing me to become a guest columnist. The City Commission, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, has unanimously adopted what is known as the "Dover Kohl Plan." The Plan, entitled "Lake Wales Connected," will serve to redevelop the historic core of our town – by connecting the Town and Bok Tower, building connections between Downtown and the Northwest Neighborhood, and between Lake Wailes and the Downtown. I will be w...
Lake Wales city commissioners are aiming for June 2 to resume having their meetings return to city hall. But that doesn't necessarily mean that every commissioner and city official will be in the meeting chambers on that date. City leaders are investigating making that and future gatherings a "hybrid" meeting, meaning persons can choose to attend in person, or continue to attend on-line from a remote location. All five city commissioners have expressed concern that there has...
City leaders are starting to take at look at plans to reopen Lake Wales facilities including city hall, recreation areas, parks and the library. But before anything is opened, they have made clear that they will follow guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control in deciding on a timeline for such action. City manager Ken Fields said some facilities could start to reopen around May 18, but that for now that date is just a goal, pending additional data regarding rates...
Lake Wales utility customers now have a new on-line way to communicate with the city. Starting Monday, a new "chat" function is live on the Lake Wales website (lakewalesfl.gov), allowing customers to communicate with representatives of the city's utilities department. Customers can report problems, inquire about billing issues, or chat with a customer representative to get answers to any utility questions. "It is similar to an option already prevalent in private sector...
Since Latifa Attala opened City Star Family Restaurant 15 months ago her customers have become like family. To show her appreciation to the Lake Wales community Attala and her staff gave away 1,250 fish and chips dinners Wednesday, April 22. Attala promoted the giveaway on Facebook and originally scheduled drive-through times for customers to pick up 1,000 meals starting at noon at the restaurant on SR 60 just west of Lake Wales. But she said some people showed up an hour...
Since September Raymond had been living in his car. The music education major at Polk State College said he had two blankets for cold nights, but if he didn't remember to tape his car's door gaps on rainy nights the water poured in and woke him. Raymond stayed committed to his studies despite spending most nights in a WalMart parking lot. Two weeks ago he left the ranks of the homeless and moved into the new Lenfestey Scholarship House at the Manse on Avenue Q in Winter...
Although Lake Wales leaders don't know the specifics about local COVID-19 cases, those confirmed to have been sickened by the virus are still being closely monitored. Emergency Operations Director Joe Jenkins, who is also the Lake Wales Fire Chief, said while he is not kept updated on each infected person, officials from the Polk County Department of Health monitor them on an almost daily basis. "The Department of Health has that list. They know who those people are. They...
Attending the annual Easter Sunrise Service has been a tradition for generations; however, this year, viewers will be able to worship in new ways. Bok Tower Gardens has made two viewing options available. First via Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/boktowergardens/ or second, the embedded virtual viewer on the Bok Tower Gardens website at https://boktowergardens.org/join-us-live/. The service is also being recorded and uploaded later to the Bok Tower Gardens YouTube...
Lake Wales Police Chief Chris Velasquez is urging residents to use "common sense" when it comes to adhering to the state's recently imposed "safer at home" mandates. But, city officials warn, enforcement of those guidelines will become more strict if the public ignores them. "We're doing everything we can to educate, and encourage the community to stay at home. It's really just a matter of using good common sense," Velasquez said. "There are statutes that are in effect that...
The City of Lake Wales continues to be under a declared State of Emergency by Mayor Fultz. There is no curfew at this time. As Covid-19 updates for Florida's residents continue daily, many City of Lake Wales staff have begun working from home, while others continue to work within the City of Lake Wales Municipal Administration Building, 201 West Central Avenue and other facilities. The Lake Wales Municipal Administration Building remains closed to residents and customers until...
Lake Wales commissioners will be holding a special "virtual" meeting beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday April 2, in advance of its next regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 8. This will be the first opportunity for commissioners, city officials and the public to try out the virtual meeting set up, serving as a "practice" for future regularly scheduled meetings. Only one official item is on the agenda, a resolution that going forward would continue to authorize virtual...
The Robin Gibson Campaign supports the "strong encouragement" by the Lake Wales city clerk for citizens to vote by mail rather than risk social interaction at the polling places. "Citizens should not lose their right to vote because of concerns about COVID-19," said incumbent Commissioner Robin Gibson in a news release encouraging citizens to vote by mail before the April 7 city election. Gibson said the campaign would like to play a role in facilitating the vote, but...
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Lake Wales continues to function as close to normal as possible, Emergency Operations Director Joe Jenkins said Tuesday night. Jenkins, also the city's fire chief, updated Lake Wales leaders on the latest measures and precautions being taken in light of the national health emergency, including where to go if someone suspects they might be infected. Most city facilities are closed to the public – like the library and history museum – but city...
The City of Lake Wales will close, or restrict, many of its services to the public beginning Tuesday, March 17. Recognizing the diverse populations that city departments serve, the closures are undertaken to protect all ages, most critically, those in high risk categories. The city's staff will continue to work; however entry to the City's Municipal Administration Building, 201 West Central Avenue, will not be available to residents and customers. Phone calls and email...
The largest single development project in Lake Wales history has taken the first small step to becoming a reality. Winter Haven Corporation has revealed plans to develop 1,800 acres of vacant land south of Thompson Nursery Road. The company hopes to master plan all 1,800 acres at once, company officials said. About 600 acres of the property would remain undeveloped, officials added. As such, city commissioners approved a first-reading Feb. 18 of an ordinance that would allow a...
Lake Wales lost a special friend when Jerry Miller passed early in the morning of Feb. 24 after a lengthy battle with cancer. The community and government relations manager with what is now Duke Energy, Miller touched countless lives throughout Central Florida and left a lasting imprint. Faith, family, friends and service were Miller's top priorities. His smile, some might call it an impish grin, lit up a room, and he loved to dance. The 61-year-old Miller fought cancer...
Dorothy Elizabeth (Stanley) Kenney, 92, of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday Feb. 18, 2020 at Bon Secours Manor in St Petersburg. She was born April 28, 1927 to the late Arthur Paul and Margaret Elizabeth (Molter) Stanley in Lake Wales. She was raised on Twin Lakes in Lake Wales where much of her life was influenced by water. She water-skied on barrow slats tied to her feet, learning to swim before she could walk. As a young woman she would ride her bicycle out to the local municipal airport where she took flying lessons and...
U.S. Army Reserve Captain Alexander Vacha will soon be returning to his post as the director of the Winter Haven Airport, but first he has an important engagement to keep with a class of preschool students at the Lake Wales Family YMCA. Dr. Marc Hutek, CEO of the Coalition, said is thrilled to have the special guest coming to read. "We're so glad to be able to have such an outstanding individual take time out to come and read to our children," said Hutek. "Captain Vacha is a...
Audrey J. Davidson, 83, of Winter Haven passed away Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020 at Good Shepherd Hospice in Auburndale. She was born Nov. 13, 1936 in Greene County, PA to the late Orville and Mildred (Gilbert) Bargerstock and she has been a resident of this area for the past 25 years moving here form Windham, OH. She was a homemaker and a member of the Waverly Baptist Church. Audrey was an avid bingo player and loved to watch Fox News. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene A. Davidson in 2010; sister, Shirley Gephart; brot...
