Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1201 - 1225 of 1227
Wow, what a week! People are important in each community. Yes, even in Lake Wales. We honor the Pioneer every year, we elect city commissioners, and there are many other important people who don't hold city positions who affect our daily lives. Although what I am about to write about isn't directly related to the City proper, all of these helped shape me to become the person I am. I now understand the importance of bringing these outside experiences back to my town. For 10...
Like this owlet our new baby, LakeWalesNews.net, is perched to watch our community from a vantage point not from a safe branch on a tree, but on the ground where life and community are happening each and every day. We know it will take time to develop and strengthen our wings. Our sustenance does not come from our mother's timely feedings. It is fed to us by the members-residents, visitors, businesses and organizations-who are concerned that Lake Wales's flight path will be...
There’s simply no substitute for a hometown newspaper – except a hometown news website – and I’m thrilled to learn that we now have one! I literally grew up with the hometown newspaper – two of them, actually. Late every afternoon when I was a kid growing up in Ridge Manor, I looked forward to seeing the paperboy ride by on his bike. The pages were smaller than the big-city papers and after being rolled tight (and rubber-banded even tighter) it could be thrown a long way...
The City of Lake Wales is negotiating with the Lake Wales YMCA to buy its property and building for $636,000. City staff estimates an additional $250,000 will be needed for repairs and renovation of the building. The YMCA, located at 1001 Burns Ave., would continue to manage and operate the child care program, camps, aquatics, youth and sports activities, exercise and wellness programs. Under the proposal currently being negotiated, the property would be leased back from the...
More than 100 civic and business leaders gathered for breakfast at the Vanguard School to hear the annual "State of the City" report delivered by Lake Wales Mayor Eugene Fultz on Wednesday morning, and most were impressed by what they heard. Ranging from a summation of new businesses arriving, including a Lake Wales Medical Center Wound Care facility, plus Aldi's, Wawa, and Love's, to imaginative plans for re-invigorating the downtown area and Crystal Lake Park, the address wa...
Just in time for the Fat Tuesday celebrations happening across Europe and the Americas, a new Carnival club has been conceived for Lake Wales. The "Krewe Renaissance" will be a step back in time to the roots of Lake Wales' 35-year traditions of Mardi Gras. They announced plans to sponsor a black-tie-optional masquerade ball, complete with a dance band, food, and drink, to highlight the 2020 celebrations. "We are conspiring to ramp up the fun for next year!" said a krewe member...
Travelers passing through the Lake Wales area will have an additional reason to pause upon the completion in June of the Love's Travel Stop and Country Store now under construction on U.S. 27 at Hunt Brothers Road. Filling almost 11 acres of former oak forest on the northeast quadrant of the intersection, Love's is designed to offer convenient service for truckers and travelers. It will feature a "trio" of fast food offerings including Subway, Godfather's Pizza, and Chester's...
The American Association of University Women is hosting a forum March 14 featuring the candidates for Lake Wales City Commission. The forum is open to the public and begins at 5:30 p.m. at the James P. Austin Center, 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Lake Wales. Lake Wales voters on April 2 will elect a mayor and one city commissioner and vote on a proposed City Charter change that would extend commission terms from two years to three. The change would go into effect...
Chevon Baccus, executive editor and publisher of LakeWalesNews.net spoke to the members of the GFWC Woman's Club of Lake Wales Thursday, March 7 about the community's new online publication. Baccus told the group that since its soft launch Feb. 13 the online news site has published more than 100 stories and nearly 500 photos. "The site is growing in popularity and readership and we're looking forward to a bright future," Baccus said. The loss of the local newspaper, The Lake...
It still surprises Jennifer D'Hollander when people drop by the Lake Wales Museum for the first time and say they didn't realize it was there. The restored railroad Depot has been offering visitors a glimpse into Central Florida's past for more than 40 years. Museum Director D'Hollander and her staff are working diligently to promote the facility, its exhibits and programs. Their hard work paid off in 2018, when they hosted 6,577 visitors, a 37 percent increase over 2017....
Lillian O. Collins of Babson Park passed away peacefully surrounded by her children on Feb. 25, 2019 at her residence. She was born May 15, 1937 in Wise County, Virginia to the late Willie and Bonnie V. (Bolling) Roberts. She has been a resident of the area since 1973 coming from Texas. Lillian and her husband owned and operated former restaurants including Collins' Family Restaurant, Coppertop Restaurant and the Babson Park Restaurant where she was known for her famous...
For the past 13 years she served as the voice on the phone and the smile at the counter of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Commission. Many Chamber members and most of the people who served as president/chairman during her tenure showed up Feb. 26 to wish Charlotte Kosek a happy retirement. Past CEOs Betty Wojcik and Jim Bell came to recognize her service. Current President/CEO Kevin Kieft said she really would be missed. "There's always the...
In 1975, Florida's Escambia County and the city of Pensacola experienced a pernicious chain of events. A sheriff's deputy killed a young black man at point-blank range. Months of protests against police brutality followed, culminating in the arrest and conviction of the Reverend H. K. Matthews, the leading civil rights organizer in the county. Viewing the events of Escambia County within the context of the broader civil rights movement, Dr. J. Michael Butler demonstrates that...
Traveling by car in Central Florida in 1929 wasn't easy. In the late 1920s, many Florida roads were clay. Yet, thousands of cars full of curious people headed to Lake Wales to see the President of the United States and to see Edward Bok's Bird Sanctuary. On Feb. 1, 1929, President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, now known as Bok Tower Gardens. It was a very rare occasion to see the President in those days. To have the opportunity to...
Got a garden? Want one? So where do I start? (Is that a question or a statement – I'm not sure.) One thing for certain is you have to start where you are. Unless you're planning to move real soon, and then you could plant in containers and take them with you. Or you could dig it all up and move stuff and watch your plants either die or thrive. Or, like most of us do in life, struggle somewhere in between. I know I have and still do. Hi, my name is John and I'm a gardener - N...
The City of Lake Wales is planning to add a new library branch and recreational facility on Chalet Suzanne Road on the northern edge of the city near the Eagle Ridge Mall. The new recreational facility would include playground equipment, picnic tables, a basketball court and bathroom facilities. The new branch would occupy an existing unused garage located on city property where the current northern Lake Wales Fire Department is located. The cost of the project, according to...
Yes, Jessica and Michelle Mathews, there really is a Barney Moore. During a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Barney's Dream Park on Saturday, Feb. 9, two sisters were thrilled to meet the man who inspired the creation of the fully handicap-accessible playground on the shores of Lake Wailes. Their mom, Michelle, says her girls play in the park just about every day but didn't know who he was. The 58-year-old, born with cerebral palsy quad-atonic who has spent most of his l...
It's nearly the fourth Saturday of the month and everyone around these parts knows that means a parade of classic cars will be making their way to the Lake Wales Car Show. January marked the 9th Anniversary for this Lake Wales mainstay that has attracted thousands of awestruck antique car and truck enthusiasts. Oldies music, shiny vehicles of all makes and models and fun times for mixing, spinning yarns and going back in time when roads were one lane and often unpaved. When...
In its efforts to get more voters to the polls this November, the Democrat Party moved its headquarters to a more centrally located place in Polk County. On Feb 2 the local political party had an open house at 1549 E. Combee Road in Lakeland moving from Haines City. "This is wonderful," said Polk state committeewoman Karen Welzel. "This is the beginning of what we'll turn in Polk County." About 100 people attended the opening of the office in Polk and Chair and the Executive...
Lake Wales Mayor Eugene Fultz will present the annual State of the City address at an 8 a.m. breakfast Wednesday, Feb. 27 at the Vanguard School, 22000 U.S. Hwy 27. The annual message is one of the mayor's specific duties as outlined in the City Charter. The event is hosted by the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Commission, which is inviting people to "Come hear about the growth within our community over the past year." In promoting the event, the...
Lake Wales will have at least one new city commissioner in May. Al Goldstein of Lake Ashton became the only candidate for Seat 4 when incumbent Tonya Stewart failed to qualify for re-election. "Wow. I am elated and surprised to have this new journey over and so soon. I am looking forward with enthusiasm and vigor to work for all citizens of Lake Wales and to keep this City moving forward successfully," Goldstein said. The City election is set for April 2, and there will be...
What do you think of when you hear the words "El Salvador"? Crime, gangs, earthquakes, a long war, refugees? But, El Salvador has a surprise, and it is none of the above. It is gourmet food! I am a "country counter" avidly trying to reach my personal goal of visiting 150 countries. I am at 107 currently. But to be truthful, El Salvador was not on the top of my list of countries I wanted to visit. It was not that I did not want to go there, it was just that I had not thought...
The Lake Wales mayor and two city commissioners are seeking re-election. Potential challengers for all three have picked up campaign packets, and the qualifying period ends at noon, Feb. 15. To qualify, candidates must declare for office, name a treasurer, open a bank account, pay a qualifying fee and submit the signatures of 25 registered voters within their respective districts. Mayoral candidates may obtain signatures from registered voters who live anywhere in the City....
Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson recently received a Patriot's Award from the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve Florida Committee. Gibson serves as head wrestling coach for Bartow High School and as a classroom assistant for the Polk County School Board at Chain of Lakes Elementary School. Gibson was nominated by George Sabillion for supporting his service in the U.S. Army Reserve. "The Patriot Award reflects the efforts made to support citizen warriors through...
Wellness is a broad term, but my hope as editor of this section is to provide articles that are informative and practical to our lives. I plan to cover body, mind, and spirit since we need to be healthy in all these areas, at least as much as we can be, to get the most out of life. For instance, the City of Lake Wales web site has a link for adult activities that lists shuffleboard, tennis, pickleball, ultimate Frisbee, and bridge. The library and the YMCA both have yoga...
