Week of July 9, 2025
Week of July 9, 2025
A new three-year collective bargaining agreement between the Polk County Professional Firefighters I.A.F.F., Local 3531 and the Polk County Board of County Commissioners will allow for "significant improvements to employee compensation and scheduling," according to a statement released by the BoCC. In addition to providing fire-response and "advanced life support transport" to all residents unincorporated Polk County, the department provides fire suppression, rescue services...
City Commissioner Keith Thompson issued a strident call for building owners to join the city's efforts to incentivize new businesses in downtown Lake Wales. "We've got 22 vacancies in downtown Lake Wales," Thompson pointed out. "There's no reason we can't fill those up, if we will get creative together. It's also going to have to be on the building owner's part" through lease deals, he said. "I don't see that kind of thing happening right now, and that's what I'm asking our...
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect a reduced request from FDC for $750,000 to continue their operations of BizLINC rather than the $900,000 first discussed.) A request for an additional grant of $750,000 to extend a controversial contract with Florida Development Corporation has been met with a renewed demand for action on previous agreements with the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency. An agenda item to be discussed at Tuesday's CRA meeting will...
The Florida Department of Health in Polk County (DOH-Polk) cautions the public of the presence of blue-green algae in Reedy Lake at Frostproof City Pier on June 26, 2025. Water sample testing is underway. Blue-green algae have the potential to produce toxins. Since environmental conditions can change at any time, it is important to exercise caution, even if presence of toxins has not yet been confirmed. Residents and visitors are advised to take the following precautions: Do...
The cost of dumping trash and yard waste at the county's only public landfill will rise this year and every year for the next five years following a vote by the Polk County Commission. The new charges will affect solid waste disposal fees at the North Central Landfill, effective Oct.1, 2025. The increase in "tipping fees" follows on the heels of significant increases in the fees assessed for curbside collection in Polk County. The cost of dumping at the landfill will increase...
Polk County residents who wish to address the Board of County Commissioners during board meetings will now have several opportunities to do so, thanks to changes recently enacted by the BoCC. Residents who wish to comment on a listed agenda item will be called during the "Public Comments Concerning Agenda Items" portion of the meeting, while those wishing to speak on a scheduled public hearing item will be invited to do so immediately following the presentation of that item,...
UPDATE: The Lake Wales Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to deny the requested changes to the approved plans for both Iron Mountain and Steeple Chase. Barely a year after winning approval for two large residential developments hailed for adhering in part to the vaunted Lake Wales Envisioned plan, both projects are being brought back to the Lake Wales Planning and Zoning Board at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to attempt to remove the planned rear-access neighborhood designs....
An appearance in Lake Wales by US Congressman Scott Franklin at the Lake Wales Arts Center Thursday brought out an audience of attentive Chamber of Commerce members and guests, as well as more than two dozen others who waved signs and flags outside in protest. Franklin, a former Lakeland city commissioner, is a Republican representing Florida’s 18th district, which includes most of Polk County and several counties to the south. He serves on several Congressional committees,...
With the title to the historic Walesbilt Hotel firmly in hand, the City of Lake Wales has issued a nationwide invitation to potential redevelopers of the ten-story building. According to a document released by the city, a request for qualifications (RFQ) response by interested parties will allow the city to "evaluate and shortlist developers based on their technical expertise, financial capacity, project experience and recent relevant innovative strategies for adaptive reuse...
The public is invited to participate in a virtual forum beginning at noon this Friday, June 20, to help shape a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) that will guide the expenditure of transportation funds for the next 25 years. The event is hosted by the Polk Transportation Planning Organization (TPO). The LRTP provides a plan to address the future transportation needs of the county, in accordance with federal requirements and to account for the ever-changing transportation...
Lake Wales' reputation as "A City in a Garden" got a big boost Friday as the newest park in the city's system was dedicated with a new name. Known by residents as "linear park," "library park," "railroad park," and even "James' Park" in recognition of City Manager James Slaton's support of the extensive landscaping project, the attractive spot has been officially named "Oakley Park" in honor of the couple that helped make it a reality. Honorees Lynn and Tommy Oakley were...
Lake Wales' second Aldi grocery store opened with a rush of customers this week, joining a the recently opened Hutson's Grocery and Ollie's Discount department store as the newest businesses on the city's growing east side. The slow-motion whirl of grocery retailers in the area has perplexed shoppers for years, as the history shows. The Aldi store occupies a portion of the former Winn Dixie at 1860 State Road 60 East. A portion of the former store was separated as is...
Boaters and hikers will be affected by a planned three-month closure of the S65-A boat lock and a portion of the Florida National Scenic Trail near the boat lock on the Kissimmee River beginning on Monday, July 14 for a maintenance project. The lock and trail segments are located some 20 miles south of SR 60, east of Lake Wales. The closure was announced by the South Florida Water Management District and affects the Florida National Scenic Trail access points located west of...
Childhood vaccination rates have markedly declined across the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new Johns Hopkins University study that shows that Polk is among the 78% of more than 2,000 counties reporting drops. The average immunization rate has fallen to 91% — below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity. While existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data has historically shown broadly declining measles-mumps-rubella vaccination...
Keep getting texts about unpaid tolls? Here's what to know about the new E-ZPass scam According to Robokiller, Americans received 19.2 billion spam and scam texts in April 2025 alone — that comes out to about 63 spam texts for every person. There’s only one group of people who don’t think that’s too much, and they’re called scammers. Enter their latest racket, the E-ZPass scam, a toll scam that first rose to popularity in the spring this year. Because E-ZPass is so...
Long-time city residents who have made "extraordinary, long-term contributions to the Lake Wales community" are eligible to be honored as "Pioneer of the Year" during the upcoming Pioneer Days festival. The annual Pioneer of the Year Award recognizes a resident who has played an instrumental role in shaping the cultural, civic, and historical landscape of Lake Wales. The Lake Wales History Museum awards the honor each year, a tradition begun almost 50 years ago. "As the Lake...
With prostate cancer rates on the rise across the country, health experts are emphasizing how critical it can be for men to get screened to catch any potential cases as early as possible. The CDC says prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1 in 8 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during the life with the number of prostate cancer cases...
Working in 95-degree heat on a Tuesday afternoon, one Lake Wales woman demonstrated her commitment to making the world "a bit better or more beautiful." La Casa resident Carol Sundheim was spotted working alone with hand tools to clean up the prominent roundabout at the intersection of Scenic Highway and Hunt Brothers Road at the southern end of the city. Asked why she had undertaken the project, she had a simple and civic-minded response: "It's Lake Wales! I mean, come on! I...
Polk's emergency responders are getting a new tool that may help save lives in the future. Several Polk County Fire Rescue (PCFR) Battalion Chiefs will begin carrying whole blood on their trucks and have the ability to administer blood transfusions to patients in the field. Blood for the effort will be supplied by OneBlood, which operates a mobile blood-donation bus across Polk County. Polk County Fire Rescue will maintain a ready supply of blood through coordinated exchanges...
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