Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Celeste Moore Alligood passed away March 31, 2025 in Windermere, Florida. Mimi, as most people affectionately called her, was born on March 21, 1934 to O.M. Moore and Rosa Swain Moore, in Lake Wales, Florida, and was the youngest of two daughters, following Juanita “Nita” Moore (Hicks). Educated in Lake Wales, she graduated from LWHS where some of her activities included: lifeguard at Big Lake Wailes, school plays, class officer, captain of the cheerleaders, softball, co-...
Lake Wales Mayor Jack Hilligoss won an easy reelection victory Tuesday, turning back a challenge from former city commissioner Curtis Gibson in a race that saw record amounts spent, primarily by outside groups. Hilligoss received 1390 votes, or 60.96 percent of the vote, while Gibson took 890 votes, or 39.04 percent. Hilligoss will be sworn in to serve a new three-year term as chair of the five-person commission. Voters also approved a charter amendment that will require...
America's love affair with automobiles comes with consequences, including unwanted highways. The population boom on the Lake Wales Ridge, powered by scores of large residential developments, has proven that worse traffic is always just around the corner. Now a proposal from Florida's Turnpike to build an expressway down the Lake Wales Ridge, connecting the Orlando area with Lake Wales, is generating more controversy. That state agency has grown from a single toll road from...
Art lovers from across central Florida are expected to flock to the shores of Lake Wailes this weekend for the 54th annual Lake Wales Arts Festival, which takes place Saturday and Sunday under the shade of the live oaks. The juried show will feature scores of artists displaying artistic creations in multiple categories. Prize awards and purchase prizes totaling thousands of dollars await the winners chosen by judges. The art will be exhibited from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on both...
Two candidates have qualified for the Lake Wales mayoral election slated for April 1, 2025. Incumbent Mayor Jack Hilligoss will face a challenge from former city commissioner Curtis Gibson. Hilligoss is the pastor of High Point Church in Lake Wales, while Gibson is the manager of the Eagle Ridge Mall. The election will also feature a referendum on future elections that, if approved, will require a run-off vote in the case of multiple-candidate races where no one receives a...
The southern portions of Polk County and much of the Lake Wales Ridge are expected to endure worsening drought conditions over the next month, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Long-term models and forecasts are predicting little to no rain for the area. The warning comes on the heels of a very dry December and limited January rainfall. One brief outburst of rain between January 18 and 22 left between an inch and two inches of rain...
A celebration to mark the anniversary of the official recognition of the Ridge Scenic Highway will include music, refreshments, and a historical presentation highlighting the significance of the designation, which took place 20 years ago. Representatives of the municipalities, organizations, and communities along State Road 17, now known as the Scenic Highway, joined forces with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in 2003 to advocate for the designation of a...
A proposed toll expressway linking Lake Wales to US 17-92 and indirectly to metro Orlando was the subject of a public presentation that brought plenty of critical questions and skepticism from the public but support from major land owners and development interests. The Central Polk Parkway East is proposed to run from SR 60 on the west side of Lake Wales to connect to 17-92. A planned Poinciana Connector segment will link 17-92 directly to I-4. The route is seen as a way to...
The sight of street resurfacing has been welcomed this week in Lake Wales, but nowhere more than at the intersection of Scenic Highway and Park Avenue. The work is the final step in the complete reconstruction of Park Avenue in accordance with the Lake Wales Connected plan to reinvigorate the city's urban core. Crews moved closer to completing the reconstruction of that intersection, which has been closed to traffic for three months. New road surfaces were put down this week...
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that the Lake Wales Fire Department was not involved in fighting this residential fire which took place outside city limits. A raging fire that sent flames leaping dozens of feet into the air and alarmed many area residents destroyed a Lake Wales residence shortly after 5:30 Monday afternoon. The emergency call was received by first responders at 5:28 p.m. and within minutes at least 13 fire rescue and medical team vehicles...
Restaurant choices for Lake Wales area residents continues to increase as four new operations are poised to begin serving in January. Two are well-known national chains while two are locally-owned. The city's sparkling reimagining of the downtown area, known as Lake Wales Connected, is attracting new investment in the form of two new restaurants, both in an extensively-remodeled building just across from the US Post Office. The Thirsty Dragon will open in a matter of weeks at...
January is shaping up to be the coldest month in recent memory for central Florida as several sharp cold fronts lead icy blasts dropping south into the Sunshine State. Temperatures in southeast Polk are expected to dip into the 20's by late next week after a series of drops. Area growers of citrus and vegetable crops are preparing to protect their greenery from the potential freeze. Florida's embattled citrus growers are hoping that the cold weather, approaching just as trees...
Jim Read of Lake Wales passed away Thursday, December 26, 2024 at AdventHealth Lake Wales. He was born December 28, 1945 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to the late Robert and Alyce Read. He moved to Polk County in 1971 and went to work for Disney as a Chef for 15 years. From there he became an instructor of cuisine at Ridge Vocational School in Haines City. He was also a veteran of the United States Navy. He was a member of Saint Ann's Catholic Church in Haines City, the Knights...
The purchase of 4,158 acres of land on the southwest side of Lake Wales by an active land-development company may be a harbinger of yet another major development proposal. The long-discussed 5-R Ranch property could potentially host many thousands of homes along with commercial and industrial uses if purchaser Richland Communities decides the time is ripe to develop the sprawling property south of Lake Wales Airport. Richland purchased the property for a local-record $50...
World-renown master cellist and conductor Diego Carneiro will perform two live concerts in a special one-day appearance in Lake Wales on Sunday, December 15. Carneiro has performed for audiences around the world, including at the London Promenade and the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC. Carneiro has won multiple international prizes and awards including the the Leonardo Smith Duo Competition, Solti Prize, the Barbirolli Award, the Tillett Trust, the Myra Hess Trust, 'Solo...
Weather-exhausted Floridians are casting a weary eye back at the tropics this week as yet another tropical cyclone is expected to threaten the state next week, even as Hurricane Rafael, briefly a Category 3 storm, fizzles in the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center in Miami has identified a new area of disturbed weather south of Cuba that is expected to drift to the west across the Caribbean as it slowly becomes better organized. Forecasters there are currently giving it an 80...
Tropical Storm Rafael, expected to soon reach hurricane strength as it moves toward Jamaica, Cuba, and the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, is expected to hold little threat for central Florida, but could bring welcome rains. The cyclone, which reached tropical storm strength on Monday, could undergo a period of rapid intensification due to its passage over the still superheated waters of the Caribbean. Once it enters the Gulf of Mexico region, however, hostile conditions and...
What do model railroad trains, lawn mowers, rare coins, and collectible art have in common? They will all be offered for sale this Saturday, November 2, along Scenic Highway. Thousands of bargain shoppers are expected to enjoy ideal conditions for browsing among the hundreds of booths that will line the route of the annual 39-mile Yard Sale. The event draws visitors from across the state and beyond to explore the arcane and sublime offerings brought to the sale by vendors...
Ridge-area residents will find a changing weather pattern over the coming week as the tropics become active once again. The western Caribbean's "Central American Gyre" that has already spawned two destructive hurricanes is once again the source of potential trouble. The National Hurricane Center in Miami is tracking a few disturbances already, and models are suggesting that others may follow. A broad circulation, still devoid of significant storms, is being given an 80...
After suffering through the most destructive hurricane season on record, will Florida face yet another bout of severe tropical weather in November? That is the question being considered by forecasters as long-range models are suggesting that scenario. Several models monitored by Lake Wales News as well as meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center and elsewhere are predicting the formation of yet another cyclone to our south. If it reaches tropical storm force winds...
Nature is trying to make up and be nice after a few harrowing weeks of extreme events across central Florida. Autumn is arriving at last, much to the delight of Ridge-area residents fatigued from rounds of hurricane preparation, clean-up, and power outages. Forecasts for the coming week include the first solid wave of cool weather, building upon the welcome break in the heat that followed the passage of Hurricane Milton. Early-morning temperatures are expected to dip into the...
With the annual Pioneer Days festival only days away, the sponsoring Lake Wales History Museum has revealed Richard "Dick" Dane Howell as the 2024 Pioneer of the Year. "Mr. Howell's exceptional dedication to the Lake Wales community and his remarkable achievements truly define him as a pioneer and a worthy recipient of this prestigious award," said museum president Brandon Alvarado in revealing the selection, The honorific of "Pioneer of the Year" has been bestowed upon a...
The latest update from the National Hurricane Center in Miami has raised the stakes for a direct strike upon southeast Polk County and the Lake Wales area. Residents are strongly urged to rush preparations to completion. The 11 a.m. NHC report said that with sustained winds of 155 MPH, Hurricane Milton is continuing to approach Florida. Continued intensification is expected, and Milton should be at Category 5 this afternoon with sustained winds of 160 MPH or more, accompanied...
As predicted here last week, a new tropical cyclone is becoming organized in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to bring heavy rains to Florida and the Lake Wales Ridge this week. The storm is generally developing in line with the super-computer models closely followed by Lake Wales News. Those same models are now predicting the improving organization of the potential cyclone this weekend as it moves eastward toward the Florida peninsula from the western Gulf. The National...
The Lake Wales market area will be losing yet another grocery option in November as the Winn-Dixie store on SR 60 East is closed to be converted to a second Aldi location. The move comes less than a year after the store was completely remodeled and updated with new products. The Lake Wales location is the latest to be converted to Aldi, and employees have been notified that they will be laid off effective November 17. Some of them had only recently been transferred to the...
