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...
Starting Thursday April 9 the Lake Wales Charter School bus drivers will start delivering meals to 18 locations along five routes. Meals will be available to children 18 and under regardless of where the student attends school. Social distancing of at least six feet is mandatory for neighborhood pickup locations. If able, masks and gloves are highly recommended for the safety of all. Children need to be present to receive the meals. Meals will be delivered Monday through...
The Polk County School Board will be distributing school breakfast and lunch at 46 drive-through locations from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 17-20. The only Lake Wales site is McLaughlin Middle School at 800 S. 4th St. The school board said since the feeding sites will be closed for spring break March 23-27 they will give out extra food on March 19-20. Children under age 18 may pick up a meal at any location; they do not have to attend that school. The students must be in the car...
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 stakes are high, but the leaders are optimistic. Unless McLaughlin Middle & Fine Art Academy raises its state grade this year the school faces the possibility of being closed, turned charter or run by a private company. Co-Principals Sharon Chipman and Debra Wright-Hudson are reaching out to the greater Lake Wales community to share their goals for improvement and to ask for help. The school on Nov. 5 hosted its first Community Assessment Team meeting of the year, sharing...
McLaughlin Middle & Fine Arts Academy is looking for volunteers to serve on a Community Assessment Team to help the school access local resources to improve student achievement. The public is invited to attend the first team meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5 at McLaughlin, located at 800 S. 4th St. in Lake Wales. The Florida Department of Education requires its designated "turnaround schools" to form the teams. Community Assessment Teams are comprised of parents, educators, lo...
McLaughlin Middle and Fine Arts Academy in Lake Wales is looking for community leaders to participate in the 2019 Great American Teach In Wednesday, Nov 6. The annual event provides local leaders with the opportunity to share their career, hobbies, experiences and civic involvement with McLaughlin students. The Teach-in is coordinated by the pubic relations department of the Polk County Public Schools and is celebrated in conjunction with American Education Week. Presenters ca...
It's a new school year at McLaughlin Middle & Fine Arts Academy - and it's also shaping up to be a year like no other. From the school's administrative structure to team-building activities for staff members, from strategies designed to cultivate students' school pride to an outpouring of support from the community, it's clear that positive change is taking place at McLaughlin. "It's a new era," said Principal Sharon Chipman. "We're building a team, a culture, and the...
Lake Wales will soon have another member of the Wright family heading up a local school. Debra Wright-Hudson has been tapped to serve as principal of McLaughlin Middle School and Fine Arts Academy in Lake Wales effective June 17. Wright-Hudson's father, Dr. Clint Wright was the first superintendent of Lake Wales Charter Schools from 2004 until his death in 2007. Her mother, also named Debra, served as the area's representative on the Polk County School Board. Her sister,...
Overcoming significant challenges of language and poverty, the Lake Wales Charter Schools maintained or improved their 2019 school grades released July 11 by the Florida Department of Education. "We are very, very proud of their improvement and success, of the work that's being done," said charter schools Superintendent Jesse Jackson. "What we have done over the years is try to build a system for success. . . create a structure. Personalities come and go, but we're building a...
New Bok North Academy Principal Donna Drisdom learned at an early age, from two teachers at Mulberry High School, a philosophy that continues to serve her well even today. "It's looking at the smaller things to understand the larger things is how they would put it," meaning, look deeper than the surface to find the root cause, Drisdom said of the influential instructors, Carolyn Williams and Kathy Langford. "I just kind of took that with me." Drisdom was named to her Lake...
James R. "Jim" Bryan was born April 11,1938 in Sebring to Edith and Earl Bryan. He died May 25, 2019. Brothers E. Kenneth and Bruce Bryan are both deceased. He was raised in several cities in Florida, spending his junior and senior years of high school in Auburndale where he played sports. He graduated in 1956 and received a scholarship to play football at Florida State University. A coach Hugh (Bones) Taylor recruited him to play pro football for the New York Titans. Jim rece...
The Polk County School Board Tuesday May 14 approved enrollment increases for Victory Ridge Academy and Bok Academy North for the 2019-20 school year and to hold the capacity at 1,650 for Lake Wales High School. Bok Academy North got approval to increase enrollment from 200 to 400, so they can roll up their 6th graders and serve grades six and seven for the next school year. Bok North presented a plan to house 200 seventh grade students at First Presbyterian Church in addition to 200 sixth graders at First Baptist Church,...
A 14-year-old McLaughlin Middle School student was arrested early Thursday morning after law enforcement received word that a threat against a teacher at McLaughlin Middle School and Fine Arts Academy was discussed on social media. The Polk County Sheriff's office was alerted to the threat after the student exchanged comments Wednesday afternoon with a friend in the chat portion of Instagram. Officials reported that in text messages the student first talked about a possible...
Lake Wales Charter Schools System Superintendent Dr. Jesse L. Jackson has announced the appointment of Donna Drisdom as the new Principal of Edward W. Bok Academy North. For the past two years Drisdom has served as principal of McLaughlin Middle School Fine Arts Academy in Lake Wales. "I cannot imagine a better outcome for Edward W. Bok Academy North.," Dr. Jackson noted. "I am very much looking forward to having Mrs. Drisdom on board as the principal." Drisdom received her...
Andy Oguntola, director of the Polk State College J.D. Alexander Center, was presented with the Community Leadership Award at the Thursday, May 9 annual awards gala of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. Past winner Brian Marbutt of Citizens Bank and Trust presented the award and announced to the crowd that Oguntola had recently completed his doctorate in higher education leadership. Oguntola started out by thanking "Jesus Christ, my Lord...
Three individuals, two businesses and one service organization will be honored Thursday, May 7 at the annual fundraising gala hosted by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. The event theme is "Feeling Groovy," and many attendees are expected to dress in costumes from the 1970s. The event is scheduled from 6-9 p.m. in the Lake Ashton Banquet Hall. Tickets are $75 for individuals and $1,000 for a table of 8. Other sponsorship levels are...
Lake Wales Police detectives arrested a 19-year-old Frostproof man Friday, April 26 after they say he arrived at a location believing he was there to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex. After being alerted by a McLaughlin Middle School administrator, who saw a 13-year-old student with an adult male several blocks from school that morning, police talked to the girl and learned she had been communicating with the man on social media for about a year. She also told police the man ha...
Max Edward Linton, a longtime Lake Wales resident, Korean War Veteran, beloved Central Florida educator, husband and father died Friday, April 19. He was 83. Max was born November 25, 1935, in Buffalo, NY, to Burdette and Dawn Linton. He graduated in 1953 from Lafayette High School (Home of the Fighting Violets), where he was known as "Happy." From his earliest days, Max was industrious – always holding a myriad of jobs, which included at different times delivering ice and i...
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...
Polk County School District officials unveiled a plan this week to offer high school students a Lake Wales option by adding grades 9-12 to the current McLaughlin Middle School. McLaughlin would increase its fine arts programs and add a high-tech academy if the proposal is approved by the School Board. Board Chairman Lynn Wilson expressed his immediate and strong opposition to the idea, but the other six Board members seemed at least open to the possibility. School Board...
