Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 1262
A public meeting seeking to respond to public concerns over a proposed plastic pipe manufacturing facility will take place on Wednesday, April 26 at the Lake Wales Arts Center. The meeting will be hosted by Advanced Drainage Systems, or ADS, the company seeking to build on a 97-acre site fronting South 11th Street and Hunt Brothers Road. The meeting will begin at 6:00 pm. Some residents have voiced opposition to the "heavy" industrial use of the property, although it has been...
A special presentation of the draft work completed by a team of architects, ecologists, urban and traffic planners over the course of the charrette week will be shared with the public at a special gathering at the Lake Wales Arts Center Thursday evening. The event will begin at 6:00 pm at 1099 East SR 60 (Hesperides Road) in Lake Wales. The planning effort is part of the city-funded Lake Wales Envisioned effort, designed to gather public input to determine the shape of...
An overflow crowd was present Tuesday night as Lake Wales City Commissioners approved correction of a "scrivener's error" that many had interpreted as a step toward the approval of a controversial pipe factory proposal. The change will allow a staff decision on a zoning change from "Light Industrial" to "Heavy Industrial" without the necessity of a commission-conducted public hearing process and site review. That process would allow commissioners to place special conditions...
Doubts about the future of Lake Wales will be met with inspiration Friday night as a special opening reception for "Charette Week" will take place downtown from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The public is invited. The casual "come-and-go event" will be hosted by the planning team of Dover, Kohl & Partners, who will share information about the busy week of hands-on planning that will shape the city's future through a project called "Lake Wales Envisioned." A charette is a small cart once...
Incumbent Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson easily turned back a challenge from Danielle Pride Gibson for his District 5 seat on the Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday. Michelle Threatt was defeated by Keith Thompson in a relatively close contest for the District 3 seat, which is being vacated by long-time Commissioner Terrye Howell. Thompson garnered 904 votes, or 53.27% of the tally, while Michelle Threatt collected 793, or 47.73% of the 1,698 ballots cast in the District 3 race....
The year-long lawsuit between plaintiffs the City of Lake Wales and defendants Dixie-Walesbilt LLC of Winter Haven has taken a significant turn. The future potential redevelopment of the 11-story hotel, a Lake Wales landmark, hangs in the balance. A ruling issued by Circuit Judge William Sites on Wednesday denied the defendant's motion for summary judgement on each of the five points. The suit filed by the city and the Community Redevelopment Agency alleges that...
An apparent murder-suicide on Lindsey Place in the Highland Pointe subdivision early Monday morning was triggered by an overnight domestic dispute, according to an initial police investigation. According to Lake Wales Police Chief Chris Velasquez, a call to 911 at 4:08 am reporting a domestic disturbance brought a police response that determined that an armed suspect was inside a home. Two young girls, 16 and 14 years old, were able to flee the home as police arrived. Police a...
As lawns wither and trees wilt across the central Florida, weather forecasters are eyeing long-range models showing a significant chance that a rare April tropical or sub-tropical storm could form in the Gulf of Mexico in coming days. According to the Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC), drought conditions over most of the Florida peninsula range from severe to extreme, and most areas are recording the driest start to any year in over a century. So far at the...
A "town hall" community organizing event is planned to take place Monday at the Mary Norma Campbell Resource Center in Highland Park Manor. The 7:00 pm event is the second meeting of the community located southeast of Lake Wales. Concern over the lack of transparency by the city of Lake Wales over rezoning of an industrial site to accommodate proposed plastic pipe factory appears to be one of the catalysts for the revival of the neighborhood association. Both Highland Park...
Marcus Kirby, a former associate pastor at HighPoint Church in Lake Wales, has been ordered to serve 10 years' probation and pay $67,491 in restitution to his former employer, the Lake Wales Care Center, after pleading no contest to bilking two of the center's clients whose financial accounts he was overseeing. Kirby, 41, who also was a trustee on the Lake Wales Charter School Board, faced up to 3½ years in prison had he been convicted at trial, according to state...
A very dry winter in the Lake Wales area that has extended into the spring has led to critically dry conditions and a very high fire risk. Extreme caution is being urged by authorities when handling any sort of open flame or heat source. A recent fire at the River Ranch hunting tract burned over 1,000 acres and destroyed scores of temporary structures. No one was hurt in the fires, but valuable fire-fighting resources were strained in combatting the blaze. Meager rains in...
A packed house greeted a team of planners, traffic engineers and developers Monday afternoon to hear presentations that may help shape the future of Lake Wales. Experts shared the keys to creating a superior community to begin the process of Lake Wales Envisioned. The months-long effort to deal with an anticipated wave of growth was initiated by the City of Lake Wales with the support of a host of co-sponsors. Interested citizens filled the theatre at Bok Tower Gardens for...
Noted Economist Joe Minicozzi will introduce a variety of economic opportunities that are becoming available to residents, property and business owners, and city governments as a result of an approaching wave of growth in the area. Minicozzi, a partner of the Urban3 planning firm, will share the "Dollars and Sense" of good planning as a part of the ongoing Lake Wales Envisioned planning effort. Minicozzi is well-known for his economic insights into the drivers of property...
In a surprise move, the Lake Wales Planning and Zoning Board voted 4-1 Tuesday evening to reject the "correction of a scrivener's error" that would eliminate a step in future zoning decisions. The decision has immediate impact in the impending decision regarding a proposed plastics manufacturing plant. Dozens of residents filled the chambers as the board, unused to crowds, opened the meeting. Chairman Chris Lutton told the group that the controversial plant was not on the...
It was a very unhappy group of Lake Wales City Commissioners who spent more than 45 minutes discussing their generally dismal evaluations of City Attorney Chuck Galloway Wednesday. At their regular workshop meeting the commission discussed the notes they had turned in as part of an annual performance review. Galloway received a total of eight "unsatisfactory" scores from four commissioners who completed their evaluations. Commissioner Daniel Williams had not yet submitted his,...
A fifty-one acre site has been approved for a potential shopping center construction by the Lake Wales City Commission at their Tuesday night meeting, but there are no immediate plans in place to develop the site. A 9.37 acre parcel that had been outside the city limits was annexed Tuesday on first reading and added to the site, most of which had been annexed earlier. The annexation was requested last year by property owners 360 Lake Wales LLC. The group purchased the two...
March 31, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the final withdrawal of US military forces from Vietnam, ending more than a decade of fighting in support of the government of South Vietnam. At its peak in the late 1960's more than 500,000 Americans were serving in-country, and a million others were working in support of the massive effort. Some 282,000 US and allied forces were killed in the fighting, many soldiers of the Army of Vietnam. An estimate by the Department of Defense...
A collision between a work truck and a bicyclist claimed the life of a 90-year-old Lake Wales resident Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Walk-In-the-Water Road and Uncle Joe's Fish Camp Road, southeast of Lake Wales. The crash occurred at about about 12:15 pm. First responders from Polk County Fire Rescue found the victim, 90-year old David Linne of Lake Wales, suffering from serious injuries. He was transported to a local hospital but passed away shortly after...
Travelers on US 27 should be aware that there will be new traffic shifts on US 27 northbound at the construction site at SR 60. Motorists should expect an outside lane closure on northbound US 27 near the intersection, while crews place drainage and pour concrete in the area. On Sunday, April 2, traffic will be shifted onto the new concrete pavement to allow construction of the permanent northbound lanes. Motorists should use caution in the area and watch for workers in the co...
The American Association of University Women Lake Wales Branch is inviting the public to gather with them on Friday, March 31st to conduct an "Unhappy Hour" marking the disparity between wages earned by men and women in the workforce. March 14 is Equal Pay Day 2023, a day that symbolizes the full year and two and a half months of the new year in which women must work to earn what men were paid the previous year. "Since March 31st is the last day of Women’s History Month, a m...
A major effort to develop a master plan to govern the future development of seven parks in the city of Lake Wales is the goal of a new contract Catalyst Design Group. The project was recently approved by the city commission. The planning effort will cover Lake Wailes Park, Kiwanis Park and Crystal Lake Park, which form the core of the city's park system. It will also include the city's soccer complex on Hunt Brothers Road, the Northwest Complex/Frasier Field park, the Little...
City action may at last be pending against a long-derelict eyesore property that confront thousands of travelers each day passing by on Scenic Highway. The former "Five Points" Shell station at the intersection of Scenic, Fourth Street and Polk Avenue has been abandoned for nearly two decades and has been through a number of ownership changes, including two different tax deed sales in 2015 and 2021. The property has been repeatedly battered by hurricanes, and was damaged in...
A Tuesday night crash has claimed the life of a Frostproof woman as she left her place of employment at the popular Coop in Babson Park. 53-year-old Patricia Robarts of Frostproof left the parking lot and turned onto Waverly Road at about 11:30 pm driving a silver 2018 Kia Stinger. According to reports from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, she stopped at the intersection of Waverly and Scenic Hwy North and then began a left turn onto Scenic Highway. For unknown reasons, her...
Saturday, March 25th is the last day registered voters who reside in Lake Wales can submit a request to receive a ballot by mail for the April 4th Municipal Elections. Four candidates are seeking election to new three-year terms on the city commission in the voting. New requests for mail ballots can be made online at PolkElections.gov or by calling the Elections Office at (863) 534-5888. Voted ballots may be returned by mail or dropped off to the Supervisor of Elections, but...
That old tire that always breeds mosquitos, that old sofa with the springs coming out, all the nagging trash that refuses to fit in your trash can should be gone forever this Saturday, April 25. The City of Lake Wales will use their trash contractor to collect the old debris during a city-wide cleanup day. The annual Curbside Cleanup is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 25. Patience is requested as workers from Republic Services collect waste and debris left behind...
