Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 101
Lake Wales Assistant City Manager Kathy Bangley is asking city commissioners to eliminate the citizen-staffed Code Enforcement Board and Board of Appeals and turn their duties over to a special magistrate. The change would require two public hearings to change city ordinances related to the boards. The first public hearing will be at the Jan. 7 commission meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. in the city municipal building. The current ordinance calls for a Code Enforcement Board...
Rebecca Jean Donadio, 41, of Frostproof passed away Wednesday, Dec.18, 2019 at Advent Health in Sebring. She was born March 31, 1978 in Lake Wales to the late Lawrence T. and Rosemary (Creem) Donadio. She has been a lifelong resident of the area. She was a word processor for State Farm. Rebecca was a former member of a Computer Club, President of Sunray Homes Association and she wrote their newsletter and was a flag majorette in high school. She is survived by her son Ryan...
Kenneth Wade Lanier, 67 of Frostproof passed away Friday, Dec. 13, 2019 at Advent Health Highlands. He was born May 4, 1952 in Frostproof. He has been a lifelong resident of the area. He was a guard for Avon Park Correction. He is preceded in death by his father Ray Virgil Lanier. He is survived by his mother Marjorie B. Lanier of Frostproof, sons Matthew Lanier of MD, Jonathon Lanier of MD, sisters Ollie Clemons of Lake Wales, Margie Herndon of Winter Haven, brother Curtis Lanier of Frostproof, and 2 grandchildren. Family...
Dorothy J. "Dot" Johnson, 94, of Frostproof passed away Monday, Nov. 4, 2019 at the Groves Center. She was born January 12, 1925 in Eynon, Pennsylvania to the late Ambrose and Mary (Borse) Bajkowsky. She has been a resident of the area since 1977 coming from Hollywood, Florida. She was a Homemaker and a member of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Dot was a member of the Woman's Club, she enjoyed sewing, crafts, make floral arrangements, fishing and traveling. She is preceded...
Terri Lee Buchanan, 54, of Lake Wales passed away Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 at her residence. She was born April 27, 1965 in Lexington, KY to the late Robert C. and Betty R. (Pennington) Smith. She has been a resident of the area for 27 years coming from Richmond, VA. She was a homemaker and member of Truth Tabernacle Church in Lake Wales. She was the church Secretary. She loved animals, doodling, cooking for her family, family times and her grandbabies. She is preceded in death...
Wanda M. Edwards, 68, of Lake Wales passed away Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 at Lakeland Hospice House. She was born November 16, 1950 in Lake Wales to the late Harry M. and Josephine (Cox) McCart. She was a lifelong resident of the area and of the Baptist faith. She is preceded in death by her husband Gerald “Buddy” Edwards. She is survived by her daughter Rhonda M. Ducker of Lake Wales, sons Robert Heath Ducker of PA, Joseph M. Ducker of Frostproof, sisters Patricia A. Hawkins (Terry) of Reno, NV, Janet L. Ferguson of Com...
Cidell Joan Bullwinkel, 89, of Lake Wales passed away Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 at Grace Healthcare. She was born January 23, 1930 in Jeffersonville, OH to the late Clyde and Maude L. (Thompson) Stockwell. She has been a resident of the area since 2002 coming from Ohio. She was a secretary for the American Red Cross and of the Lutheran faith. She was previously an active member and secretary at Zion Lutheran Church in Ohio, loved music and dancing especially the waltz and...
20, Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President, prohibition had gone into effect, the United States Congress approves the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, World War I ends, The Florida Keys Hurricane killed 600, and Polly Stephens was born in Sumner, GA on September 18, 1919. Polly recently turned 100 and her family and friends celebrated at a Lake Wales restaurant. 100 years, 10 decades - however you want to slice it - that is a long time. Businesses, as rare as they...
Charles William McCullough, 72, of Frostproof passed away Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 at his residence. He was born July 3, 1947 in Brunswick, GA to the late Horace G. and Louise (Kersey) McCullough. He has been a lifelong resident of the area. He was a truck driver. He was a member of the National Guard, Moose Lodge, American Legion, and he loved to fish and spend time with his grandkids. He is preceded in death by his brother, Jackson McCullough. He is survived by his lifelong companion Linda Sanland, daughters Joyce...
Born Peter Stepanovs in Latvia, he ultimately immigrated to California after surviving through the trials of WWII Germany and by the grace of sponsorship from the Catholic Church; Peter Wayland found his home in South Florida. On September 9, 2019 Peter passed at his residence in Lake Wales. He came here from Miami/Key Largo area in 1983 with his family. He was a retired Department of Agriculture employee and a veteran of Vietnam, serving in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper. He...
When the company was having difficulty finding qualified electricians, their maintenance managers decided to work together to find a solution. Six years later, one of those solutions has been implemented locally and is helping one local teen prepare for his first full-time job at Nucor Steel Florida Inc. in Frostproof, about 20 miles south of Lake Wales. Tommy Massey, maintenance manager at Nucor Steel Florida, said the pool of talent for industrial electricians who could work...
The Triple Canopy Ranch concert venue 20 miles east of Lake Wales will take on new life in 2020 as a resort with over 1,000 sites for manufactured homes and RVs and a full range of resort style amenities. The developers say the Resort at Canopy Oaks should be built out with a grand entrance on CR 630 within a year and ready for its first full season in the fall of 2020. "It's going to be a big, big project – a multiyear deal," said Tristan Farrell, president of the Resort a...
Overcoming significant challenges of language and poverty, the Lake Wales Charter Schools maintained or improved their 2019 school grades released July 11 by the Florida Department of Education. "We are very, very proud of their improvement and success, of the work that's being done," said charter schools Superintendent Jesse Jackson. "What we have done over the years is try to build a system for success. . . create a structure. Personalities come and go, but we're building a...
Jose Adan Medina, 59, of Frostproof passed away Sunday, July 28 at his residence. He was born August 2, 1959 in Ucareo Michoacan, Mexico. He has been a resident of the area for 37 years coming from Texas. He was a machine operator for Boral and was of the Catholic faith. He is preceded in death by his mother Bibiana Pasinclo. Survivors include his wife of 39 years Beatriz Medina, daughters Marivel Medina Ochoa of Minneola, FL, Juanita Medina Garcia of Lake Wales, FL, sons...
Hot, hot, hot. That's what experts are calling the Polk County real-estate market, where inventory of existing houses remains low and homebuilders are busy. Various reports rank the local real-estate market in the Top 5 among major metropolitan areas, continuing a trend that started in 2018. Realtor.com places the Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in this case is Polk County) as the No. 1 hottest market in the country, followed by Grand Rapids, Mi...
Kathy M. Barber, 78, of Lake Wales passed away Thursday, May 30, 2019 at her residence. She was born June 26, 1940 in Michigan to the late William H. and Sarah J. (Lindsey) Rowston. She has been a resident of the area since 1967 coming from Pontiac, Michigan. She was an administrative assistant for Florida's Natural and of the Presbyterian faith. She loved to make jewelry, sing, play the organ and was an animal lover. She is survived by her daughter Teresa Bruce and husband...
About 100 business and community leaders, elected officials and educators gathered Thursday morning, May 16, to rally support for continued funding of the Lake Wales J.D. Alexander Center of Polk State College. Rather than include $2.5 million for the Lake Wales campus in its regular budget, the Florida Legislature placed it as a separate line item, making it subject to a potential veto by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Polk State President Angela Garcia Falconetti reminded the crowd that...
Marty Griffin, 66, of Babson Park passed away Wednesday, May 8 at his residence. He was born October 31, 1952 in Adel, GA to the late Carson and Sally F. (Greene) Griffin. He has been a resident of the area for seven years coming from Georgia. He attended elementary and high School in Frostproof. He was employed as a boat loader and was of the Baptist faith. Marty liked wrestling, video games, motorcycling and fishing. He loved the Lord and his Momma, and he would always check on everyone by phone every day. He is survived...
The Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council at its annual awards gala May 9 presented two local companies with Carl F. Durso Excellence in Business Awards. The small business winner was Capo Security and the larger business award went to Grow Healthy. Durso was a longtime Lake Wales supporter and Chamber executive director. Criteria for the award includes length of time in the community, number of employees, growth or expansion of the business...
Rosemary Creem Donadio, 77, of Frostproof passed away Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at her residence. She was born December 21, 1941 in New Haven, Connecticut, to the late Charles and Marion (Crawford) Creem. She has been a resident of the area since 1972, coming from Clinton, Connecticut and was an insurance biller for Florida Hospital. Survivors include her daughters, Sandra Avirett and her husband Joseph of Lake Wales, Vicki Baerhold and her husband Michael of Frostproof, Becky Donadio of Frostproof, son, Keith Donadio and...
Congratulations to "Team Planktons," winners of the third annual Big Kahuna Paddle Challenge on Saturday April 6 at Webber International University. Team members Jennifer Nanek, Richard Moody, Dan Hurst and Webber students, along with Bill Redmon at the helm, were victorious, but gave the winning prize to their competitor, The Vanguard School of Lake Wales. It's the third year for Nanek, Lake Wales city clerk, to compete in the event. "The secret to success is teamwork,...
Good food and fun are drawing crowds into the popular Crooked Bass Grill and Tavern, but there's also a fascinating bit of Babson Park history behind the success. Featuring a large and diverse menu and a full bar, the Crooked Bass is already a familiar dinner-time destination for folks in Babson Park and Frostproof, but as its reputation grows, people are making the drive from Lake Wales, Avon Park, Winter Haven, Haines City, and surrounding towns. The project of Tammy and...
Kathy L. Pressley of Lake Wales passed away Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 at Lake Wales Medical Center. She was born Oct. 19, 1952 in Niagara Falls, NY to the late Harley and Imogene (Frye) Griffith. She has been a resident of the area since 1989 coming from Niagara Falls. She was a lab technician for Citrosuco. Survivors include her husband of 28 years, Vernon Pressley; daughter Nicole Keinath and husband Kristopher of Winter Haven; sons Steve Jones and wife Holly of Davenport,...
Tom Freeman turned 93 years old on October 19, 2018. Who is Tom Freeman? Well, he's kind of a legend around here - a Lake Wales treasure. He's somewhat of a renaissance man: an artist, poet, farmer, educator, businessman, war hero, golfer, historian, fisherman, storyteller, wildlife expert and activist. His life is an inspiration to many, and his art is a fabulous and important legacy. As are many, I am honored to know Mr. Freeman, and I am grateful for the privilege of...
Another dream came true for Barney Moore four years ago when he was able to go swimming for the first time in 30 years. After fellow Lake Wales resident Bill Redmon and Redmon's Kings Trail Church of Frostproof raised $2,000 to purchase a Mobi Chair fully equipped to roll from the beach at Lake Aurora Christian Camp into the water, Moore was floating across the lake, his face glowing as the sun came out of the clouds and the rain stopped long enough for a second swim. "Let me...
