Communication Builds Our Community

Articles from the December 20, 2023 edition


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  • Steeple Chase, Iron Mountain Residential Developments Advance With Approvals

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 3, 2024

    Two new large residential developments moved closer to reality this month as the Lake Wales City Commission voted to advance their plans. Steeple Chase, a Planned Development Project (PDP) received a Special Exception Use Permit and a preliminary subdivision Plat. The project encompasses 250 single-family detached lots and 68 townhome units on about 98 acres of former citrus land along the north and east sides of Ridge Manor. Lying adjacent to Scenic Highway on the west, the p...

  • Days Are Numbered for Grove Manor Public Housing Project as Federal Tax Credits Granted

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 3, 2024

    Hopes for the compete removal and replacement of the aging Grove Manor public housing complex in Lake Wales took a major step toward reality with the recent awarding of federal income tax credits worth over $21 million that will fund the project. The announcement from City manager James Slaton brought joy to city commissioners and residents attending the weekly city commission meeting. Commissioners had agreed more than a year ago to contribute a million dollars from the...

  • Heritage Volunteers Landscape McLaughlin Campus in Driving Rain

    News Staff Reports|Updated Jan 3, 2024

    Lake Wales got a good bit greener last Saturday, not only because of welcome rains, but due to the efforts of a team of volunteers from Lake Wales Heritage who braved the damp to landscape the campus of McLaughlin Middle/High School. In a six-hour effort the group planted more than 40 trees on school grounds. "It was a day of bonding for the volunteers, a really rainy day" for the thoroughly saturated group of volunteers, said Heritage Vice President Ron Poller. "It was an...

  • Hundreds of Animals in Home Lead to Elder and Animal Neglect Charges in Horrifying Frostproof Case

    News Staff Reports|Updated Dec 22, 2023

    A horrifying discovery by a sheriff's deputy led to the arrest of a Frostproof woman Thursday morning on charges of felony animal cruelty, animal neglect, and elder neglect. A 75-year old woman was removed from the Fazzini Drive mobile home after air monitors proved a hazardous level of ammonia in the home due to animal urine, as well as feces on the floors and walls. Lisa Lacharite, 48, of Frostproof was booked into the Polk County Jail charged with five counts of animal...

  • Lake Wales Continues to Draw National Attention for Envisioned Planning

    Robert Connors|Updated Dec 22, 2023

    Lake Wales has once again been featured in a major publication citing the pioneering planning work contained in Lake Wales Envisioned. That document, funded by the city of Lake Wales, is a comprehensive road map to a future that promises less impact from growth and a more habitable city. An article that in the online magazine Public Square says that "Lake Wales, Florida, has adopted a plan that puts active mobility at the heart of day-to-day life." Entitled "Planning a City...

  • December 19, 1923 Highlander

    News Research Staff|Updated Dec 20, 2023

    December of 1923 saw plenty of changes happening in the growing town of Lake Wales, then with a population of perhaps 2,000. A bit of a land-rush had been initiated weeks before when the "Knee Deep" club laid claim to an island in Crooked Lake. The group hoped to build a clubhouse on the land. New claims were filed that month on two other islands located in Lake Easy. The state "School Land Selecting Agent" responded by ordering the islands surveyed, thus removing them from...

  • Passion for Health Care Led Local Physician to Create Shield Medical Group Clinic

    News Staff Report|Updated Dec 19, 2023

    A passion for helping people overcome health challenges and a will to reach as many in need as possible has led Dr. Kulmeet Kundlas to fulfilling his dreams in Lake Wales, even as he provides funds to educate the next generation of doctors. His work has also led him to fall in love with the community. Dr. Kundlas, a board-certified physician, operates the Shield Medical Group, a general medical practice on US 27. He came to Lake Wales directly from his residency at Cornell...

  • "Wish" a Tribute to Prior Disney Animated Films

    Jennifer Nanek, News Film Critic|Updated Dec 19, 2023

    This is not the best Disney movie ever. Not even close. Frozen it is not. However I enjoyed it very much. This movie seems to be a tribute to 100 years of Disney. One of the characters is 100 years old. The movie is filled with nods to other popular Disney movies. While "Wish" might not be an instant Disney classic, it offers a charming exploration of the power of wishes, both granted and ungranted. I especially loved how the film emphasized that the journey toward your...