Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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If you've been keeping an eye on economic trends lately, you may have noticed that Florida has been shining bright on the national and international stage. Our state's profile has skyrocketed thanks to a growing number of companies that are confirming the state's potential and strategic advantage in the aviation and aerospace industries. And Lake Wales is no exception to this success. International flight simulator manufacturer ALSIM recently announced its intentions to open...
When the company was having difficulty finding qualified electricians, their maintenance managers decided to work together to find a solution. Six years later, one of those solutions has been implemented locally and is helping one local teen prepare for his first full-time job at Nucor Steel Florida Inc. in Frostproof, about 20 miles south of Lake Wales. Tommy Massey, maintenance manager at Nucor Steel Florida, said the pool of talent for industrial electricians who could work...
Polk Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards is thrilled that Florida has joined a consortium of states to clean up voter lists to reduce the potential for fraud. "This is something I have been advocating for about five years," said Edwards. By joining the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), Edwards said Florida supervisors now will be able to cross-check their voter rolls against those of other states. The issue is especially important to Florida because of the...
AdventHealth, one of the largest faith-based health systems in the U.S., has finalized an agreement that officially brings Lake Wales Medical Center into the AdventHealth network of care. Effective Sept. 1, the 160-bed Lake Wales Medical Center becomes AdventHealth Lake Wales. At the same time 193-bed Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center will join the health system as AdventHealth Heart of Florida. The purchase agreements also include each respective hospital's related...
In preparation for Hurricane Dorian, Lake Wales Mayor Gene Fultz declared a state of emergency for the city starting at noon Thursday, Aug. 29 and lasting up to seven days. This declaration followed a similar one by Gov. Ron DeSantis covering the entire state of Florida. The order gives City Manager Ken Fields authority to enact emergency management procedures for the city. The city's Emergency Operations Center is expected to open in the main fire department around noon on...
Vincent Harris struggled in high school and took 10 years to earn his bachelor's degree. His own experience makes him even more committed to helping adult students with disabilities find meaningful employment after their nine-month internships at Lake Wales Medical Center. As the Project SEARCH instructor, Harris shared his passion at a gathering Aug. 28 to kick off the program for students with disabilities, ages 18-22. The five students – four from Lake Wales High School a...
The Polk County History Center will host a program at 10 a.m. Aug. 31 about using Ancestry DNA for genealogical research. The workshop will be lead by Drew Smith, an associate librarian at the University of South Florida Tampa Library and the 2016 winner of the Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship, presented by the National Genealogical Society. According to Smith, AncestryDNA continues to add new tools to help with matching other testers, categorizing the matches into...
George O'Neill III has traveled the world, but he still has a heart for small cities like Lake Wales where he grew up and played youth soccer. The 25-year-old University of Florida theater major has created a tool to help local businesses, cities and organizations promote their events and expand their reach. He's holding a pre-launch mixer Aug. 28 to introduce his PROMO app to potential early adopters in Polk County. O'Neill recognizes the frustrations of people who create a...
Cornerstone Hospice is already putting to good use two grants from the GiveWell Community Foundation. Last spring, Cornerstone received a $5,000 Empower Polk grant from the GiveWell Community Foundation to purchase two CADD® pumps to be used to train Cornerstone nurses to assist with the care of patients experiencing pain. The device provides safe and accurate medication delivery. Previously, Cornerstone Hospice would lease the pumps during the training of new nurses....
Michael Sargent is the only member of his family to graduate from college, so he knows a four-year degree is not the only way to build a successful career. He's literally bustling with energy and enthusiasm as he prepares to share engineering principles and high paying career options with students at Lake Wales High School. Sargent will be creating the school's new Applied Engineering Technology Academy, and he's clearly up to the challenge. He was recognized in July by...
The Lake Wales Public Library's Lifelong Learning series continues in September, with a UF/IFAS Extension presentation, Cool Weather Vegetable Gardening. This program, presented by Polk County Master Gardeners, will focus on vegetables that thrive as the heat subsides. It begins at 12 noon, Thursday, September 12. A light lunch will be provided, registration is required. The class size is limited to 20 students. Call 863-678-4004, ext. 221 to register. The LWPL's Lifelong...
With a combined 60 years experience 1st Quality/Ramsgate Insurance mogul Tom Rumfelt and INC Inc. entrepreneur Drew Truitt have teamed up to open Park Avenue Executive Suites to help businesses, organizations and startups grow and thrive in a relatively new concept: office share or coworking facilities. Rumfelt and Truitt are not without their share of adversity. Tom Rumfelt once employed hundreds of insurance agents in the same two buildings that will be home to new,...
Joyce Annette Rushing, 73, of Lake Wales, passed away Monday, August 12, 2019 at her residence. She was born March 8, 1946 in Lake Wales to the late Teener and Josie (Warren) Skinner. She has been a lifelong resident of the area. She was a member of the Golfview Church of God. She spent her time loving and playing with grandchildren and loving her brothers and sisters in church. She is preceded in death by her brother James E. Skinner. She is survived by her daughters Valerie...
Cornerstone Hospice is looking for volunteers who would like to learn how to help others while helping themselves. Cornerstone volunteers may visit patients at home or in a facility to offer friendly conversation and give family members a break to run errands. Volunteers also can help out in the office, walk patients' dogs or honor fellow veterans in Cornerstone's care. Hours are flexible and volunteers can choose the areas they want to work throughout Polk County, including...
The Defenders of Crooked Lake are sounding a health and safety alarm since recent record rains have resulted in overflows of both raw and treated sewage. "Please use caution in the vicinity of standing water in the Crooked Lake Park area. The discharge of wastewater can result in increased concentrations of coliform bacteria and present a risk to human health," said an alert by Defenders President Jim Tully. Tully said the Babson Park area typically receives eight inches of...
You don't have to be the smartest kid in the school to be part of Polk Avenue Elementary School's "Genius Club." Of course, there are plenty of smart youngsters already there – as PAE's improvement to a "B" grade for the 2018-19 school year showed. And they all get a chance to be part of Polk's "genius club" program which completed its first full-year last year, and will be very much part of the 2019-20 school year plan as well. The idea was actually born near the end of t...
Betty J. Martin, 89, of Lake Wales passed away Sunday, August 4, 2019 at her residence. She was born August 12, 1929 in Lake Wales to the late P. L. Tate and Lucile Jones Tate, and has been a lifelong resident of the area. As a graduate of Lake Wales High School Betty was honored as salutatorian. She also graduated with honors from Polk Community College, and attended Florida State University, Tallahassee, and Florida Southern College, Lakeland. In 1950 Betty married Joe T....
Lake Wales City officials are reviewing the 100-plus page draft "Neighborhood Plan for the Core of Lake Wales" in preparation for its official presentation Aug. 13 by urban planners from Dover, Kohl & Partners. "Lake Wales Connected is more than just a plan for improvements to a single street, district or neighborhood; it is a strategy for revitalization of Lake Wales' historic Downtown and one of its most important close-in neighborhoods. Together, the Downtown and Northwest...
A significant agreement was forged in July between Polk State College and Florida Polytechnic University. The arrangement establishes the first academic pathway for students to go from Polk State to the state's only STEM-dedicated institution. This is the type of proactive, forward momentum that advances Polk education and builds our profile as a region with competitive, adaptable graduates and a workforce trained for the latest trends in employment. When companies consider...
As County Manager Jim Freeman prepares to retire, he quietly reflects on his accomplishments - rather, his team's accomplishments; the future of Polk County; and his own plans, post-retirement. Jim Freeman says other people say he will be remembered for guiding the county through the Great Recession of 2008. "It was challenging," Freeman said. "It took a lot of creativity and we had to make a lot of difficult decisions on reductions, expenditures, staffing levels. We got...
ALSIM, one of the world's premier manufacturers of flight simulators, has announced plans to locate a new North American assembly and support facility at the Lake Wales Commerce and Technology Park. The company announced it will be hiring multiple staff for the Lake Wales location, which beginning in September will house technicians and items like spare parts. "Lake Wales is extremely proud to be part of the growing aerospace industry in Polk County," said City Manager Ken Fie...
UPDATE: The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department arrested a 52-year-old Tampa man Tuesday, July 31, on grand theft charges related to the honey heist July 14. Muhammad Abdallah Hmeid was released the next day on a $1,000 bond. He will face charges in Polk County. Lotta Kay and Alden Struthers want to believe that people are basically honest. That's why they continue the long-standing tradition of letting visitors to Struthers Honey on SR 60 East of Lake Wales pay for...
Employees at Lake Wales Medical Center donated three carloads of backpacks and school supplies to help area children go back to school with all the tools they'll need for success. Departments were challenged to use a Dr. Seuss theme to create a display of school supplies donated by employees. Community judges viewed each entry and selected the Laboratory as winner of the contest. Lab employees receive a pizza / ice cream party. The hospital also gave a $100 gift card to an...
Passion, drive, and follow through are items we don't always see today. To find them in one person is even less likely. Now, add strong Christian values, continually advocating for the agriculture mission, and an unflappable desire to educate the next generation of agriculture student, and you have Justin Sharpless. A few months ago, the opportunity arose to sit down and discuss his history with Warner University, his love of agriculture, and his faith. His thoughts are...
When Lake Wales commissioners were asked to envision what would produce a huge city success story by the year 2040, they enthusiastically detailed a bright future. Commissioners and senior staff came up with some big vision headlines for a "Miracle on the Ridge": "Lake Wales Annexes its Way to Prosperity and Success." "Lake Wales Restores Big Lake Wailes as Recreational Paradise." "Grand Hotel Open with Rotating Restaurant on Top." "Lake Wales Becomes Second Largest City in...
