Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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With deep sadness and enduring love, we announce the passing of Jon and Wanda Hoaglin. Jon was born on September 8, 1936 in Hillsboro, Iowa. He passed away on April 21, 2025 in Lake Wales, Florida. Wanda was born on March 25, 1941 in Lakeland, Florida. She passed away on March 2, 2025 in Lake Wales, Florida. Jon and Wanda were devoted educators, beloved parents and grandparents, and lifelong partners. Their journey through life was marked by shared purpose, deep compassion,...
Three rail crossings on the west side of Lake Wales will be closed for repairs to the grades, although CSX has predicted that each closing will last only 24 hours. Scheduled crossing closures include Old Ice House Road, North Lake Wales Alturas Road, and Alturas Babson Park Cut-off Road. All three crossings serve the main CSX line, which carries both passenger and freight traffic. Old Ice House Road is scheduled to close at the rail crossing south of Morrel Avenue at 7 a.m....
AdventHealth Lake Wales has been awarded an "A" Hospital Safety Grade by The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit upholding the standard of excellence in patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. The Leapfrog Group assigns an "A," "B," "C," "D" or "F" grade to general hospitals nationwide based on over 30 performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them. "It's a...
A daring daylight robbery of an 11-year-old child participating in a school fundraiser resulted in the arrest of a Davenport man who is now facing multiple charges. According to Lake Wales Police, the child was selling chocolate on a downtown street and proudly revealed to the robber that he had collected $107 in donations for his school. The man, later identified as 18-year-old Isaiyah Cabrera of Davenport, "snatched an envelope containing the money and fled the scene on an...
A motorcyclist was killed Tuesday evening, April 29, 2025, in a two-vehicle crash near Lake Wales. Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office and members of Polk County Fire Rescue were dispatched to the crash on Mammoth Grove Road near Stokes Road at about 9:53 pm. When first responders arrived, they determined that 38-year old Justin Casey Weyburn of Lake Wales was deceased. Weyburn had been the operator of a black 2017 Harley Davidson motorcycle. The other person involv...
A new hotel and a possible new manufacturing and distribution facility are among anticipated developments at Longleaf Business Park, located on US 27 two miles south of SR 60 in Lake Wales. Maryland-based Sunset Hotel Group recently completed the purchase of a two-acre parcel at the park from the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency for $197,600. Officials with SHG told Lake Wales News.net that they are deeply engaged in due diligence negotiations with several hotel...
Teddie Singletary, 88, passed away peacefully at home on April 24, 2025. She was born in Maitland, FL on July 16, 1936 to the late Rev. F.W "Ted" and Vicki Brocksmith. She moved to Lake Wales in 1953 where her father became the Pastor for Westside Baptist Church. She started working for Woolfolk and Myers shortly after moving to Lake Wales, then went to work for Clinton Curtis as a legal secretary for over 50 years. She retired from Peterson Myers in 2012. Teddie enjoyed FSU f...
AdventHealth Lake Wales Wound Care Center has been honored with three prestigious awards by Healogics, the nation's leading provider of advanced wound care services, highlighting the center's commitment to exceptional patient satisfaction and the best in clinical outcomes. AdventHealth Lake Wales Wound Care Center recently received the President's Circle Award, the Center of Distinction Award, and the Robert A. Warriner III, M.D., Clinical Excellence Award. The Center achieved...
With a minimum of discussion, the Lake Wales City Commission this week unanimously approved a Special Exception Use Permit to allow a multi-family Planned Development Project for the redevelopment of the aging 120-unit Grove Manor public housing project. "We've been working on this a long time," said Mayor Jack Hilligoss as he called for a vote. The long-awaited project is the first phase of a multi-phased Master Plan which will take place on 24.74 acres of land that...
Lake Wales Police have arrested 20-year-old Delbert Todd of Lake Wales and charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder following a shooting that took place near the intersection of 3rd Street and Polk Avenue at approximately 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. Upon arrival at the scene, officers discovered an individual who had sustained a non-life-threatening injury as a result of the incident. Investigators identified Todd as the suspect in the shooting. Todd was located and taken into...
Famed University of Florida basketball player, Walter Clayton Jr. is scheduled to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Albert Kirkland Gymnasium in Lake Wales on Friday, April 18 at 5:15 p.m. A small motorcade will begin at the corner of Kissimmee Avenue and 4th Street at 5 p.m. and travel to the gymnasium. Citizens are encouraged to line the streets and follow the motorcade. "It is exciting to see a hometown hero return to the gym he played in for years," Stephanie Lutton,...
AdventHealth Lake Wales and AdventHealth Heart of Florida in Davenport have earned national recognition for their efforts to increase organ, eye and tissue donor registrations across the state of Florida through the DoNation Campaign. According to LifeLink of Florida, ten lives were saved by organ donors at the two hospitals in 2024. The organization said AdventHealth Heart of Florida had three donors who saved five lives and AdventHealth Lake Wales had two donors save five...
Jen Bricker-Bauer knows how it feels to sit on the deck and watch while everyone else has fun playing in the water. Born without legs and abandoned, One would think she was destined for a life of hardship. However, her amazing adoptive family gave her one simple rule, "Never Say Can't." Instead of bemoaning her fate, Bricker-Bauer has become an international aerialist, inspirational speaker and New York Times best-selling author, and the ideal keynote speaker and performer...
A three-day event is expected to draw more than 700 people to Lake Wales on April 25-27th as the city hosts the USA Weightlifting Florida State Championship. The event is sponsored by USA Weightlifting, which promotes the sport nationwide. The event will be held at Lake Wales High School and will feature more than 500 athletes competing in an Olympic-style weightlifting competition. "This event will stimulate our local economy," said City Manager James Slaton. "Tourism...
With the approval of a deal with Walesbilt Hotel owner Raymond Brown, the Lake Wales City Commission has cleared the way for the private redevelopment of the landmark building. The acceptance of the lawsuit settlement by the five-person commission, which also sits as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency board, ends a three-year battle over the building. The settlement brings the building back under city control more than a decade after it was given to Brown's Dixie...
Lake Wales received a wave of television coverage this week as area broadcasters sent teams to cover the big economic news of the settlement between Dixie Walesbilt LLC and the City of Lake Wales that will return ownership of the landmark hotel to the City after more than a decade. Interviews with City Manager James Slaton and Community Redevelopment Agency Chairman Robin Gibson were conducted Tuesday in front of the 10-story structure by four different Tampa Bay area...
Celeste Moore Alligood passed away March 31, 2025 in Windermere, Florida. Mimi, as most people affectionately called her, was born on March 21, 1934 to O.M. Moore and Rosa Swain Moore, in Lake Wales, Florida, and was the youngest of two daughters, following Juanita “Nita” Moore (Hicks). Educated in Lake Wales, she graduated from LWHS where some of her activities included: lifeguard at Big Lake Wailes, school plays, class officer, captain of the cheerleaders, softball, co-...
Donald Gene Harvard of Lake Wales passed away Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at George C. Forsythe Hospice House in Auburndale. He was born January 1, 1935 in Winter Haven to the late Burl and Lyda Harvard; he has been a lifelong resident of the area. In his early years, Donald worked with his father at Burl Harvard's Builders. He was the owner of Harvard's Groceries in the early 70's and was a refrigeration technician for Florida's Natural before retiring after 40 years. Donald...
Duane (Dewey) Westerburg, age 85, of Frostproof, Fl and Bemus Point, N.Y. went to be with his Lord and Savior on April 2, 2025. A native of Jamestown N.Y, he was born January 15,1940. He was the son of the late Emil and Jessie Custer Westerburg. He was a 1958 graduate of Jamestown High School and was employed by Pepsi Cola Bottling Plant for 27 years. In earlier years he had worked for Crescent Tool Company for 18 years. He was a member of the Christian Missionary Alliance chu...
The City of Lake Wales negotiation team has apparently approved a settlement agreement with Dixie Walesbilt LLC that will result in the return of the landmark Walesbilt Hotel to the City. The City Commission and CRA agendas Tuesday evening include the agreement which should end a two-year legal battle and set the stage for renovation of the 98-year-old hotel. The agreement attached to the meeting notices has already been executed by Dixie Walesbilt owner Ray Brown and City...
There's still time for lovers of spine-tingling thrillers to enjoy a recreation of the spooky genius that made Alfred Hitchcock the most popular director of his era. The opportunity is presented by the Lake Wales Little Theatre, which is offering a final weekend of their production of Vintage Hitchcock. "Spies, murder, love, and other trademarks of Alfred Hitchcock come to life in the style of a 1940s radio broadcast" in the three remaining shows. The "Master of Suspense" was...
The future redevelopment of the Walesbilt Hotel and the ongoing Lake Wales Connected effort would be placed at serious risk if the Florida Legislature adopts a pair of bills currently being considered. Florida House Bill 991 and Senate Bill 1242 would put severe restrictions on Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) in Florida, effectively stopping their efforts to address declining neighborhoods. “This is serious,” said Lake Wales CRA chairman Robin Gibson. “It is incon...
Mindy Dougherty of Lake Wales passed away Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Good Shepherd Hospice in Auburndale. Mindy was born May 4, 1958, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Alvin Gross and Myra Ludwig. Mindy was a retired CNA, and a member of Winter Haven Worship Center. She loved and supported the Special Olympics and played for the team herself. Mindy loved Clearwater Beach and deep-sea fishing, as well as her Yuengling and Peach Schnapps. Mindy is preceded in death by her...
Two families were left homeless Thursday evening after fire gutted their duplex unit on West Seminole Avenue in Lake Wales. The apartments are part of the Grove Manor public housing complex, which is scheduled for demolition over the coming three years. Lake Wales firefighters and Polk County EMS units responded to a call shortly after 6 p.m. to find one unit heavily involved in the fire, which spread rapidly into the roof structure, Heavy smoke also caused additional damage...
Shirley Mae Hare, 91, of Lake Wales, Florida passed away on February 1, 2025. She was a sparkling and shining light in the lives of so many people. With her brilliant spirit, radiant smile, and compassionate heart, she seamlessly blended her roles as a homemaker and nurturing parent with a career as a preschool teacher and children's caregiver. She was that special star for her family and friends, her students, the young children she cared for and everyone who had the chance...
