Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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County Manager Bill Beasley has accepted the resignation of Hezedean A. Smith, DM, effective Monday, September 30, 2024. Smith’s resignation follows release of a report commissioned by the Board of County Commissioners that reviewed management of the Fire Rescue Division (PCFR). “After meeting twice with Fire Chief Smith and Deputy County Manager Joe Halman, I have placed Chief Hezedean Smith on two weeks of Administrative Leave, which will precede his resignation,” said...
After a surprisingly quiet August ion the tropics, forecasters are watching several systems as the historic peak of the Atlantic hurricane season arrives. The formation of Tropical Storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico has coastal residents on alert, but that system should leave Florida unscathed as it moves generally northward, potentially impacting Louisiana at hurricane force, For Florida, attention is directed to the distant Atlantic, where a parade of tropical waves and a...
A controversial high-density development involving Lake Wales Country Club and Oakwood that was nixed by city planners earlier this year is returning with new designs even as new information emerges about Falgun Dharia, the principal behind the project, who had introduced himself last year as Frank Ghandi. (See our stories below.) The new conceptual site development plan still combines the two golf courses but relies more heavily on single-family home sites. Many residents at...
Winter Haven attorney Jason Penrod, owner of Family Elder Law, was arrested this week on a charge of Grand Theft after confessing to a client that he had stolen from a trust fund. His firm was closed abruptly in July, leaving employees and clientele without explanations for weeks. Penrod subsequently filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court acknowledging the misuse of client living trust funds and requesting the disciplinary revocation of his law license. That matter...
The "ReStore" operated by Habitat for Humanity in Dundee is going to be a bit busier. Habitat for Humanity of East Polk County is consolidating a second store they have operated at 3550 Recker Highway in Winter Haven into the single Dundee location. The move will combine their inventory and resources into the existing store at 27985 US 27, which will allow the group to extend the store's hours of operation beginning October 1st. The new operating schedule will be Monday...
Several area construction projects continue to affect traffic circulation in southern and eastern Polk County. A four-block stretch of State Road 17 (Scenic Highway) remains closed in Lake Wales at Hillcrest Avenue, forcing traffic from the state road onto the city's 4th Street in front of McLaughlin Middle-High School adding to school-hour traffic and congestion there. The project, begun in June, was announced as a 30-day effort to correct drainage Issues adjacent to Lake...
Business owners in Polk County have until Tuesday, October 1, 2024, to renew their annual Business Tax Receipt (BTR) before becoming delinquent and owing late fees. Anyone with a business located in or operating in Polk County must renew by paying a county local business tax each year, to continue to have the privilege of doing business in the county. Tax Collector Joe G. Tedder hopes business owners can save money by avoiding any late fees. In October, there will be a fee of...
Lake Wales will soon become the first community in Polk County to raise a "peace pole" in recognition of the International Day of Peace on September 21. The public is invited to a ceremony that will take place in the city's Memorial Garden in front of city hall on that Saturday morning, beginning at 10 a.m. The City of Lake Wales is joining local Rotary clubs in Polk, Hillsborough, Hardee and Highlands Counties in the international project, funding ten of the art-covered...
Water Management Districts Participate in Joint Public Workshop on Ranking Water Bodies The Southwest Florida Water Management District, St. Johns River Water Management District and South Florida Water Management District have scheduled a virtual joint public meeting at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, to solicit stakeholder input on each district's annual update of their priority list and schedule for the establishment of minimum flows and water levels as well as water reservations....
Donald R. Shattler, age 80, passed away on August 28, 2024, at Winter Haven Hospital from complications due to cancer. Don will be remembered for his profound love of family, youthful joy for life, and kindness to all. He was born on January 20, 1944, in St. Petersburg, FL and lived in Lake Wales, FL from 1973 until 2022 when he moved to Bartow. He met his dearest love, Etta Grubbs, at Steak 'N Shake in 1962, and they were married the following year. They enjoyed almost 61...
One man is hospitalized with a gunshot would and a second is under arrest and charged with attempted first degree murder after a shooting which took place late Thursday night. Lake Wales Police officers responded to an 11:14 p.m. report of a dangerous shooting and found the victim, an adult male, laying in the alleyway with a gunshot wound to his chest. Officers rendered aid and the victim was airlifted to a trauma center where he is currently in critical condition, according...
Robert Lee Johnson of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at his residence. He was born April 25, 1968 in Lake Wales; he has been a lifelong resident of the area. Robert was an Asset Management Specialist for Polk County for 16 years and worked for the City of Lake Wales in the water department for 17 years. He was an avid bowler and loved Star Trek. He was a big fan of the Miami Dolphins. Robert was preceded in death by his father, George Johnson; daughter, Amber...
Florida's award-winning state parks are a unique and irreplaceable resource for our state and its tourism economy, a delight for visitors and residents alike. They offer our burgeoning population affordable places to "get away" from urban crowding without an airline ticket. State park usage has grown in recent years, even as the state's population has swelled past 22 million. They have also proven invaluable in efforts to protect and conserve natural resources and...
Teachers and other school-based professionals that work directly with students at a Lake Wales Charter School or Polk County Public School in Lake Wales are eligible to receive one of ten $250 grants that will be awarded by the Lake Wales Junior Woman's Club. Grants for Great Ideas is a competitive grant, and applications have been sent to all eligible school principals and assistant principals for the first grant cycle of this school year. A volunteer committee of key communi...
Robert A. Bell, age 88, of Fort Meade passed away Friday, August 16, 2024. He was born May 9, 1936 in Fort Meade, FL to Adrian & Katherine Bell. He graduated from Fort Meade High School. Robert went to the University of Florida where he played in the Gator Marching Band. He then joined the US Army. Robert was the Owner/Operator of Bell Typewriter Sales & Service in Fort Meade, he was honored to provide typewriter repair services for all schools in Polk, Hardee, Highlands,...
The storm came in a destructive rush, defying predictions, and caught most Polk residents completely off-guard. When it had passed, Hurricane Charley had left a trail of incredible destruction in its wake. It was a Friday, the 13th of August, twenty years ago this week that the first hurricane in 44 years struck southeast Polk. It's a date that many who experienced the storm will never forget. In a matter of about two hours the fast-moving storm damaged virtually every...
As the economy continues to improve in the Lake Wales area, the Orange Grove, a large and long-underused shopping center on SR 60 east at 11th Street, is showing multiple signs of new life as tenants snap up space in the sprawling plaza, once left behind by outward growth. New businesses planned for the center include a Stone Cabin Coffee and Cheesecake restaurant, the fourth location for that family-owned chain, offering elaborately-decorated cheesecakes in a wide variety of...
A new road closure will require long detours for yet more motorists in eastern Polk County, while other projects extend well beyond their announced completions. Drainage upgrades will close Timberlane Road just south of the intersection with Canal Road northeast of Lake Wales beginning Thursday, August 8. The work is scheduled to take two weeks. The cross drains beneath the roadway leading to Lake Pierce are being replaced ahead of a county project to resurface Timberlane...
The Ridge area and southeastern Polk generally escaped damage during the passage of Hurricane Debby to the west of the peninsula, but the tropics remain active, with yet another disturbance following in the path of the recent storm. Unlike areas along the coast that saw serious flooding from both heavy rains and storm surge, the local area generally avoided problems with high water. Rainfall totals across the area generally fell in the six-to-eight inch category during the pas...
The serious and too-often deadly violation of passing a stopped school bus is receiving an appropriately-serious response in Polk County, and drivers should be alert and aware. To combat the recurring problem, all Polk County school buses are being equipped with cameras to identify drivers passing buses when the stop-arm is activated. According to the Florida Association of School Administrators, a survey revealed that "98,065 school bus drivers reported that 66,322 vehicles...
A list of more than 100 residents and businesses are eligible to claim funds now held by Polk County, according to Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller Stacy M. Butterfield, Each of the checks listed is worth $100 or more. The list of individuals with unclaimed checks issued during court-related activities is published annually. Funds must be claimed by September 1 or be forfeited to the county. "We hope to inform people so we can return these funds to their rightful...
Heavy rains southeast Polk and the Ridge area may be accompanied by gusty winds on Sunday and Monday as Tropical Storm Debby. currently located near Cuba will affect Florida's weather. The current forecast keeps the center of newly-designated Tropical Storm Debby away from the Tampa Bay area over the Gulf, reaching the coast only in the Big Bend area. The National Hurricane Center in Miami is projecting that the Debby will reach hurricane strength as it passes over the very...
Highway 60 was blocked west of Lake Wales for about five hours Friday night after a vehicle crossed the median and was struck by an oncoming truck. A Lake Placid woman lost her life in the tragedy. According to investigators from the Polk County Sheriff's office, at about 8:19 p.m., 32-year old Nakeyma Williams of Lake Placid was driving a 2011 Toyota Camry westbound when she apparently lost control of her vehicle, which slid into the eastbound lanes where it was struck...
Skyrocketing development pressures are colliding with dwindling supplies of water across Florida. Those same forces are now causing angst for elected officials along the Ridge, who are wrestling with increased costs and possible building moratoriums, even as the collapse of the citrus industry along the Ridge in eastern Polk has caused many former citrus growers to offer their huge tracts of land to developers. The Town of Dundee, which has grown to 6,000 residents in recent...
Avoiding the likelihood of an expensive lawsuit, the trustees of the Lake Wales Charter School have accepted a settlement of issues connected to their abrupt June 7 termination of the system's former superintendent. Dr. Wayne V. Rodolfich had served just under two years at the head of the seven-school system when he was cited for one or more "grievances" filed by employees. Details of the accusations have not been made public but based upon statements made by both Rodolfich...
