Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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After a long lull that has stymied forecaster's predictions of a hyper-active hurricane season, the tropics are once again heating up. A new disturbance heading westward across the central Atlantic is expected to pass across the Windward Islands and potentially threaten the United States. According to forecasters, the system is presently poorly-organized but has been given a 40% chance to develop into a tropical cyclone by the National Hurricane Center. If it does it would be...
The Circle of Friends, a valued community-service program serving the Lake Wales area, has hit a crisis after expected grants failed to materialize, forcing the sale of a new campus acquired only last year. The nonprofit Circle of Friends, founded in 2002, has relied on grants, sponsors, and donors to invest in the lives of special needs students who have aged out of regular school programs. A Tuesday night board meeting was attended by a group of parents and a wave of...
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...
A Lake Wales mother was arrested after leaving her three-year-old child unattended in a vehicle while she kept an appointment at the Central Florida Health Care clinic on Thursday morning. Jykerria Allen of Lake Wales was told by clinic staff that she couldn't' keep the child with her during her appointment. She told staff she would have a relative retrieve the child, but allegedly simply left the child alone in the vehicle. A witness reportedly heard the child crying and...
Lake Wales City officials and residents gathered Friday morning at the intersection of Florida Avenue and F Street in the Northwest Neighborhood to celebrate the upcoming sidewalk and street-tree planting project with a groundbreaking ceremony. The effort is expected to beautify the long-neglected area, coupling with the ongoing Community Redevelopment Agency housing rehabilitation and affordable home construction programs. The groundbreaking followed only hours after a Thursd...
A new high-tech three-dimensional laser scanner is promising to speed traffic investigations being conducted by the Lake Wales Police Department, assuring quicker re-openings of intersections and crash sites after incidents. The new $63,969.42 laser scanner will be used to help investigate major crime scenes and traffic crashes resulting in serious bodily injury or death, enabling one officer to map out millions of geographic measurement points in under an hour, rather than...
A bit of color and history will soon be added to the skyline of Lake Wales as new graphic murals designed to reflect the city's heritage gradually replace block lettering on all four city water towers. City Utility Operations Manager Holly Britt, who is overseeing the project, says improving the water towers will better "show the character of our city." The water tower adjacent to the Eagle Ridge Mall has already been painted with artwork recognizing the Lake Wales High...
The long-awaited opening on a second stretch of a reconstructed Park Avenue in downtown Lake Wales is a reality after construction crews removed barriers, allowing traffic to flow on the newly-bricked street. Along with the new travel surface comes a lush new landscape of oaks and ornamental plantings and new wider sidewalks designed to accommodate sidewalk dining. Still to come are new streetlights to create the proper evening ambiance. Merchants have struggled during the...
Site work has begun on the site of Belle Lago, an 84-home subdivision on Lake Belle on the south side of Lake Wales. The project is one of several housing projects now underway across the city. The city Lake Wales City Commission approved preliminary plans for the project in July, 2021 after it received the nod from both city planners and the Planning and Zoning Board. The project is immediately south of and adjacent to a portion of the Ridge Manor subdivision, an enclave of...
A nimble move from the City of Lake Wales has brought a contract to purchase the newly-vacant offices of Family Elder Law on East Tillman Avenue to host additional space for the over-crowded Lake Wales Police Department. City Manager James Slaton brought the purchase of the 5,500 square-foot structure before the City Commission at Wednesday's workshop as a signed contract. The $775,000 purchase price, Slaton said, was well below the $870,000 appraised value of the building,...
The Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency board Tuesday rejected a proposal to reconsider higher-density development at a site near Lake Alta Park. Area residents had battled a previous plan for months earlier this year. City Commissioners, sitting in their roles as the CRA board, voted 4-1 against the concept, brought before the board by Chairman Robin Gibson. Gibson made a lengthy pitch to fellow commissioners to draw support but came up empty. The concept plan would...
Family Elder Law owner and attorney Jason Penrod has 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. The petition, filed by Penrod's attorney Richard Allen Greenberg, states that Penrod admits his violation of the strict rules governing attorney practices, and pledges to "reimburse the Client Security Fund (CSF) for any and all funds CSF has paid or may pay out...
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...
A long-awaited effort to add sidewalks and street trees throughout the Northwest Neighborhood is set to begin in coming weeks, and city officials want to make certain that residents of the area are prepared for what's to come. Most of the streets in the area will see some impact during construction. An August 22 public meeting at the B Street Community Center will give residents an overview of the project and a chance to ask questions. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m....
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...
A strong feeder-band of storms is expected to pass over the Ridge area beginning about 3:45, with possible tornados and very gusty winds accompanied by heavy rains. Those needing to travel are encouraged to wait out the storms which should clear the area in about an hour. The heavy band of rain has already cleared the Bartow and Fort Meade area, where a rotation was detected by Doppler radar. An earlier funnel cloud was seen by multiple witnesses as it passed over Lake Wales,...
Heavy squalls passing through the Lake Wales area early Sunday afternoon generated a funnel cloud that hovered over Lake Wales. If was unconfirmed if it had touched the ground at any point during its south-to-north passage over the city, although there were numerous reports of very strong wind bursts from north of Crooked Lake to the city's north side. The squalls are part of the right flank of Tropical Storm Debby, which is intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane and...
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...
In a move that left the community stunned, the well-known law firm of Family Elder Law halted operations more than a week ago, notifying employees through a text message that they were closing. Founded in 2013 by Lake Wales attorney Jason Penrod, the firm had grown to include three central Florida offices and some two dozen employees who were left wondering about the circumstances, which remain unknown. Penrod remains the sole officer of Family Elder Law P.A. In a statement...
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...
After a lull of several weeks without even a tropical depression, let alone a named storm, the Atlantic Hurricane Season is heating up again. August and September form the heart of the storm season, which peaks around September 10, according to historical records. Forecasters and computer models have alerted to the possible formation of a new cyclone this week in the vicinity of the Antilles. If the storm forms there, it is likely to track in the general direction of the...
Yet another large-scale development is being planned for the Lake Wales area, this time on the city's western edge, after the proposal received approvals from the city's Planning and Zoning board Tuesday. Lake Wales Commons could host as many as 3,200 new dwelling units, along with more than a million square feet of light industrial and warehouse space on about 558 acres fronting along SR 60 West, Old Bartow Road, and West Lake Wales Road North. The sprawling collection of 26...
An apparent tornado spawned by a line of strong thunderstorms touched down in the Alturas area Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. Luckily the funnel struck in a rural, agricultural area and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Witnesses traveling along the Alturas-Babson Park Cutoff Road, often referred to locally as "ABC" road, saw the funnel moving through the sky, and photos show it stirring up a cloud of condensation and debris at ground level. The funnel appeared...
