Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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More than 50 artists will exhibit in the 2021 Lake Wales Arts Festival on the shores of Lake Wailes lake Feb. 20-21. The event is even more special this year as the festival celebrates its 50th anniversary. "We're one of the first art shows back in the whole country, especially in the state of Florida," said Andrew Allen, executive director of the Lake Wales Arts Council. "The quality of art will also go up dramatically since we're not taking as many artists." The free...
After 90 minutes of passionate testimonials from citizens raising concerns about local police, Lake Wales city commissioners voted unanimously to implement a pilot program with eight police worn body cameras. Mayor Eugene Fultz predicted that eventually every officer in the city would be outfitted with a camera. The commissioners approved a five-year commitment for the first eight cameras, which will cost $15,000 per year for the equipment, software, licensing and cloud...
Darrell Starling already has an ambitious agenda in place following his recent hiring as the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Coordinator. In particular, Starling will work closely with the city[s Northwest neighborhood, one of two areas specifically targeted by the city's ambitious and award-winning "Lake Wales Connected" revitalization plan which also covers the historic downtown business district as well. City leaders expect to break ground on the early...
The Rev. J.J. Pierce was concerned that not enough people, especially those in the black community, were able to access vaccines for COVID-19. So he stepped up and started working with the Polk County Health Department to bring vaccines for about 600 people in Lake Wales. Pierce got the idea from a pastor friend in Winter Haven. So Pierce worked with about 20 churches in the area to identify people age 65 and over and health care workers who needed the vaccines. A schedule...
Roaul D. "Sam" Houston, 73, of Lake Wales passed away Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 at Winter Haven Hospital. He was born July 20, 1947 in Lake Wales to the late Florizel and Latrelle Houston and was a lifelong Polk and Hillsborough County resident. Sam was a retired Supply Supervisor for GTE telephone company and attended the First Baptist Church of Lake Wales. He served in the United States Navy on the USS Bigelow. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, was a Tampa Bay fan and Florida...
One Lake Wales police officer has resigned and a second has been placed on administrative station duty pending an investigation into formal complaints against the officers. Christopher Cordero, 37, was arrested during a traffic stop Friday morning Feb. 5, and charged with resisting arrest without violence, threat of death or serious bodily injury of a law enforcement officer and assault on a law enforcement officer. Cordero claims Officers Colt Black and Travis Worley struck...
The Lake Wales Charter School System has initiated a fact-finding investigation to examine allegations that recently reassigned Hillcrest Elementary School Principal Jennifer Barrow harassed and intimidated current and former employees, creating an oppressive work environment. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has agreed to provide investigators to determine the facts surrounding Barrow's leadership and whether she violated the Florida Administrative Code related to ethical and p...
The man who is earning more than $100,000 per year to promote business and economic development for the City of Lake Wales has moved to Lakeland, and a majority of city commissioners are not happy about it. Kevin Kieft in August bought a $290,000 home in Lakeland without notifying his bosses at the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. Previously he had lived in the Lake Wales Country Club community, just east of the city limits. In 2013 the...
Judy Elaine Connelly, 71, of Fort Pierce, formerly of Lake Wales, passed away peacefully Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 at her residence. She was born January 20, 1949 in Dothan, AL to the late Edlow and Emma Alice Bowden. She was a lifelong resident of Lake Wales until four years ago when she and her husband moved to Fort Pierce to be closer to their daughter. She was a strong Christian woman and a member of Christ Church on the Move. During her professional career worked as a...
Nancy J. Nicks, 86, of Lake Wales passed away Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 at Advent Health Lake Wales. She was born May 14, 1934 in Franklin, PA to the late Walter and Mabel Huston; she moved to Lake Wales from her hometown in 1996. Nancy was a nurse for the United States Air Force, and Polk Center in Franklin, Pennsylvania for many years. Following her retirement and move to Florida, Nancy worked as a nurse at the Lake Placid Medical Center. She was a member of the HAKA fitness...
The Lake Wales Public Library has received "blessing bundles," courtesy of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., a community conscious, action oriented organization. The Gamma Phi Zeta Chapter of Polk County, through service within the community and the international initiative of Zetas Helping Other People Excel (Z-HOPE), provided 175 blessing bundles to Polk County libraries to include masks, sanitizer, gloves, tissues and wipes. In addition to the Lake Wales Library in Zone 4, the...
The Lake Wales Public Library invites adults 18 years of age and older to participate in the READ Lake Wales 2021 Challenge. Participants must be a library card holder from the Polk County Library Cooperative. The READ Lake Wales 2021 Challenge requires that adults complete 50 books between January 4, 2021 and December 10, 2021. Print, electronic and audio books are all accepted for entries. Participants may request an official READ Lake Wales 2021 reading log from the Lake...
Citizen Support Services is a group of people from our community who volunteer their time, talent, and financial assistance to support and advocate for needs that exist within Lake Wales, where existing service organizations are not well positioned to support or coordinate. Citizens of Lake Wales, in partnership with leadership from several community service organizations, aim to ensure support and equity is provided to citizens in need. During the month of December, members...
The Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency has approved spending $10,000 to purchase two vacant lots on B Street to help jump start a new affordable housing initiative in that area. The city is expected to partner with Keystone Challenge Fund, a non-profit organization, to build two houses on lots currently owned by the Green and Gold Foundation across the street from the B Street Center. Officials said the homes would have an estimated value of $170,000, with mortgage...
City residents can thank a local restaurant for helping the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce find its 2020 Public Servant of the Year. Lake Wales Fire Chief Joe Jenkins – born and raised in the city and now celebrating 30 years with the department – was honored with the award in late December, for not only his service as chief, but as the city's Emergency Operations Director during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Jenkins said he didn't really know what he wanted to do whe...
Land donations from Orlando Health and the Sanlan RV & Golf Resort will provide a clear path to an extension of the Fort Fraser Trail. The donations, which were approved for acceptance by the Board of County Commissioners Jan. 5, will eventually have a paved path that will be developed jointly by the City of Lakeland, Polk County and the Florida Department of Transportation. The trail will parallel the south side of the Polk County Parkway between U.S. 98 and Lakeland...
(Editor's Note: Lake Wales High School is not included in this report, since it is part of the charter system and not considered a traditional Polk high school. Its graduation rate will be reported separately.) Polk County Public Schools' graduation rate jumped to 86.5 percent last year - a new record high - even as seniors faced unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic. The district's latest graduation rate was a 5.3 percentage point increase from the previous year (81.2...
The Lake Wales Public Library, with the assistance of lakewalesnews.net, has revived a tradition that existed in our local weekly newspaper for many years, the publication of a sampling of new books available at our library. The list will be updated weekly. The Lake Wales Public Library continues to offer safe door-side pickup of materials during our current hours of operation. Call the library to request that holds are placed on items for pickup at the Lake Wales Public...
The next Polk County Sheriff's Office Concealed Weapons Permit Course is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 30. If the morning class fills up, a second class will be offered from 1-5 p.m. This is the class required by the Florida Department of Agriculture as part of an application to obtain a concealed weapons permit. To reserve a seat, call 863-298-6242, during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.) Callers will be given further instruction...
Polk County’s annual Environmental Lands Program calendar, which is dedicated to its volunteers and features natural sites throughout the county, is out and available to the public for free. The calendars can be picked up at the Nature Discovery Center at Circle B Bar Reserve, or at the reception desk in the Communications Division in Bartow. Polk’s volunteers know the ins and outs of what’s going on out in the field. They see and hear things no one else does. And their varie...
With no announced opposition to date, Lake Wales City Commissioner Al Goldstein is pulling in some heavyweight endorsements for his re-election campaign. Goldstein was first elected in April 2019 with no opposition as the only candidate to qualify. Incumbent Tonya Stewart missed the deadline to submit the required 25 voter signatures to get on the ballot. The upcoming April 6 Municipal Election will include seven proposed city Charter amendments, Goldstein's Seat 4 and Seat...
Looking for a new fundraiser to help offset COVID-19 losses, the Rotary on the Ridge is now offering "Otter-grams" for special occasions. The regional after-hours service club had to postpone its Treasure Map fundraiser until 2021, so the club came up with a unique gift idea to make up some of the lost revenue. The club has a human-sized otter costume it uses to make presentations of the Josh the Otter water safety program to area kindergartens and day cares. A costumed club...
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Dec. 23 the appointments of Ashley Bell Barnett, Greg Littleton, Teresa Martinez, and Mark Turner to the Polk State College District Board of Trustees. All members are continuing their service to the Board along with Chair Cindy Hartley Ross and member Dan Dorrell. "Our District Board of Trustees is comprised of dedicated members whose unwavering support of our students and steadfast commitment to providing affordable access to quality...
The Florida Department of Health Polk County's COVID-19 vaccine hotline opened to the public the morning of Jan. 8 and by 1 p.m. all reservations for next week's vaccine event were filled. The phone line, (863) 298-7500, will be staffed for the foreseeable future by employees from both the Florida Department of Health and Polk County Board of County Commissioners from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employees staffing the hotline will continue to register residents...
Rhoda Jean Choate, 66, of Babson Park passed away Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 at Advent Health Lake Wales. She was born January 29, 1954 in Wauchula to the late Mearl and Frances Choate. Rhoda was a homemaker; she loved her nieces and nephews and they loved her. She enjoyed watching television, playing games on her IPad, and she loved to knit. Rhoda is survived by her siblings, Joan Hazel Fairall (William) of Polk City, Mearl Clyde Choate, Jr. of Indian Lake Estates, and Martha...
