Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Timothy Paul Connors of Lakeland, FL died Thursday, May 23. He was born February 7, 1954 to the late Paul T. and Mary L. Connors. He was a retired lieutenant for the City of Lakeland fire department, a graduate of the Firefighters Academy and a trained Emergency Medical Technician. Tim was a former resident of Lake Wales and a 1972 graduate of Lake Wales High School where he participated in track and football. As an adult he enjoyed golf and participated in numerous leagues an...
A traffic crash with a loaded dump truck took the life of a local woman Tuesday afternoon in an unincorporated area of Lake Wales. Polk deputies and Polk Fire Rescue responded to the emergency call around 2:30 p.m. from the rural intersection of Canal Road and Lake Mabel Loop Road. They found one person deceased at the scene. Minerva Cruz, 79, of Lake Wales, was the driver of a 2011 Silver Toyota Yaris that apparently entered the path of a 2020 Kenworth dump truck loaded with...
William Robert Simpkins, age 76, passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at his home in Bartow, FL after a long courageous battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was born on November 8, 1947, in Millville, NJ to parents Janice and William. He graduated from Vineland High School in 1966 and completed his education at Warner University in Lake Wales, FL where he graduated in 2001 with a bachelor's degree. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserved from 1965-1967. He worked in law enforcem...
Polk County Sheriff's Office detectives have solved and closed a murder investigation that started 52 years ago in unincorporated Eloise. Detectives have identified the victim using advanced forensic genetic genealogy, and uncovered the two suspects responsible for the murder, both of whom are dead. On May 17, 1972, Polk deputies responded to a reported body found in a field just to the south of the canal between Lake Lulu and Lake Ship, and southeast of the US 17 overpass...
The safety of children walking to and from area schools is the subject of an appeal for substitute crossing guards to fill in when demand arises. School Crossing Guard services are funded by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners. The vital program provides adult crossing guards at selected hazardous school crossings to ensure the safety of elementary school children walking to and from school. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, substitute school crossing...
A celebration of life for a beloved community leader was combined with a celebration of new life recently as the staff of McLaughlin Middle/High School joined volunteers from Lake Wales Heritage to mark the dedication of 40 trees planted on the Lake Wales school campus. The trees were a gift from Lake Wales Heritage and its supporters in honor of the late Lee A. (Alex) Wheeler, who served as treasurer for the non-profit organization. Wheeler, who died in 2020, was also a...
Lunch-hour diners and shoppers will find getting around downtown Lake Wales a breeze beginning Monday as the newest city service arrives in town. Described as "fast, frequent, and fun," The Squeeze will offer free transportation around the city's center, ranging between Central and Crystal Avenues between First Street and Market Street. The service will utilize new 8-passenger open-air "golf cart" style vehicles to shuttle guests to and from area businesses. The shuttles will...
The City of Fort Meade Fire Department responded to a residential structure fire today along US 98 east on the outskirts of the city. Although the fire occurred outside of the city, Fort Meade units were the first on the scene, and had put water on the fire and established incident command by the time Polk County Fire Rescue units arrived. "I am really proud of my department. They responded quickly and were able to start battling the fire by the time county units arrived,"...
Lake Wales business incubator CFO Charles Young Jr. was released Friday from Polk County Jail after posting bond on two first-degree felony charges. Young was arrested last Saturday morning at a residence in Lithia in Hillsborough County following an investigation of a complaint filed last year by his business partners. Young was a partner in Florida Development Corp LLC, which entered into a $1.2 million no-recourse contract with the City of Lake Wales in 2022 for the...
An affidavit released by Lake Wales Police and the District State Attorney’s office Monday afternoon contains new details in the case that has resulted in the arrest of Charles Young, CEO of BizLinc, a city-funded business incubator in Lake Wales. Young was arrested on two felony counts by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputies at a Lithia residence on Saturday, to be transferred to Polk to face the charges. Young was a partner in Florida Development Corporation. FDC rec...
Charles Young, the chief financial officer of the BizLinc business incubator in Lake Wales, has been arrested at a residence in Lithia in Hillsborough County on an active Polk County warrant, Lake Wales News has confirmed through multiple sources. Available online information shows that Young has been charged with grand theft of $100,000 or more, and a second count of obtaining property by fraud, grand theft, $50,000. After his arrest on Saturday morning, he was transferred...
Development of new roads and utilities will be behind a lengthy disruption to traffic in an area between Dundee and Lake Wales, according to county officials. Starting Wednesday, May1, installation of a water main for a new subdivision and related road reconstruction will close H.L. Smith Road just north of the Lake Mabel Loop Road intersection for 10 weeks. Traffic will be briefly detoured along Lake Swan Road or Lake Mabel Loop Road to Lake Trask Road to bypass work zone....
Speed and reckless driving were the reported cause of a fatal crash that left a Davenport man dead and Scenic Highway blocked for several hours early Saturday. According to Polk Sheriff's investigators, 50-year-old Edgar Peneloza was driving a black 2005 Toyota Tundra southbound near Hickory Hammock Road in the Lake of the Hills community when his vehicle struck the rear end of a silver 2020 Honda Civic. The driver of the Civic, who was not identified by investigators, lost...
Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: "By failing to prepare, you're preparing to fail." As we approach the beginning of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season (June 1 - November 30), the Florida Governmental Utility Authority (FGUA) urges all Floridian's to heed these words of wisdom. May 5 – 11 is National Hurricane Preparedness Week, an opportunity to focus our collective efforts on the potentially lifesaving benefits of planning and preparation. The threat this year is g...
Mattie Joyner is one Polk County high school senior with a bright future; she will attend Florida Gulf Coast University to study history next fall to become a college professor one day. The gift of organ donation is invaluable for families like the Joyners. Ultimately, her health and success are thanks to a liver transplant she had as a toddler. The Office of the Joe G. Tedder, Tax Collector for Polk County (TCPC), is celebrating stories like Mattie's throughout Donate Life Mo...
AdventHealth has announced that Jewels (Julie) Stark has accepted the role of Chief Nursing Officer at AdventHealth Lake Wales, effective April 21. She will report directly to Royce Brown, President and CEO of AdventHealth Lake Wales. In this role, Stark will be responsible for all nursing services including quality of patient care, treatment and service delivered, staffing, regulatory readiness and financial sustainability. She will also partner with colleges and...
The public is invited to attend a Volunteer Appreciation and Silent Auction Fundraiser for Keep Polk County Beautiful, Inc. and the organization celebrates the past year's environmental and volunteer efforts throughout Polk County. The annual event promises a fun filled night at Leland Young's Barn, a well-known location for private music and celebration events. It will be happening on Saturday, April 20th at 6 p.m. at the Barn, located at 2905 Central Avenue in Alturas....
The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Governing Board declared April Water Conservation Month at its March meeting. April is historically one of the driest months of the year and typically marks the peak demand season for public water suppliers. The District also recently launched the Water 101 campaign to educate new and existing residents as well as communities about how they can help protect local water resources and save water and money. The...
Lake Wales Charter Schools Superintendent Dr. Wayne Rodolfich has spent more than two weeks "working from home" after anonymous grievances were filed, apparently by employees who had worked with him in the school district's home office on Central Avenue in Lake Wales. The charter school's human resources officer, LaQuanda Burroughs, reported to the at a special meeting on March 28 that three different grievances had been filed. After hearing of the grievances, charter school...
Polk Vision has announced that nominations are open for the Polk Visionary Leader of the Year Award, a recognition in honor of community members who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in advancing, and inspiring others to advance, the shared Vision of improving the overall Quality of Life in Polk County through innovation and collaboration. The deadline for submitting nominations is April 15, 2024, and may be emailed to [email protected]. The award, which...
UPDATED The horrifying murder of a second grade teacher has shocked residents of Frostproof and the surrounding area. Elvia Espinoza, who taught second grade at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School in Frostproof, was stabbed to death by her own son after he returned home from college for a family gathering. Espinoza, 46, was attacked after opening the door to her home in the Sun Ray neighborhood her son, 21-year-old Emmanuel Espinoza, who had just arrived after driving from...
The dangerous two-lane stretch of SR 60 east between Indian Lake and Yeehaw Junction claimed three lives Saturday in a high-speed head-on crash. A child strapped into a car-seat was the only survivor of the impact, escaping with only minor injuries, according to officials. The crash took place about 9:30 p.m. just east of the intersection of CR 630. Investigators reported that Hannah Weiser, 22, of Winter Haven, was heading westbound and attempted to pass a slower vehicle....
The vision of a "Big Green Network" of environmental lands flanking Lake Wales to the east and west moved a small step closer to reality this week as Polk County's environmental lands program addressed the possibility of acquiring a large tract of land just northeast of the city. The expanse of lands totaling 1,195 acres spanning Masterpiece Road and partially surrounding the former Masterpiece Gardens tourist attraction belong to corporations or individual members of the...
A new welding program at Roosevelt Academy is allowing students to learn basic and advanced welding techniques, preparing them for immediate careers. Students involved in the program also receive dual enrollment credits that could be used to further their welding training at Ridge Technical College. Seniors planning to take the test this year, including Fred Miller, Joseph Fletcher, McLens Pierre, and Juan Villalpando, will receive certification by the American Welding...
A one-vote margin in a Lake Wales election between incumbent Commissioner Daniel Williams and challenger Brandon Alvarado has cast a bright light upon the processes required in the situation by city ordinance and Florida statutes that Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson called "unbelievably complicated." The three-way race for a new three-year term on the District 2 seat of the city commission ended Tuesday with Williams and Alvarado as the top two vote-getters collecting 939 and 938...
