Communication Builds Our Community
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I am happy to be a Lake Wales resident and City Commissioner. I was born in Rochester NY, and moved to Lake Wales at the age of 12. I fell in love with Lake Wales less than a year after moving here in 1998. I started going to First Assembly of God, which is Impact now. My mentor was Pastor Shawn Rudy who took me in as his own child. I learned so much and gave a lot of my time back to my community. I never thought about becoming a city commissioner, but I knew Lake Wales needed...
Just four months ago the Lake Wales City Commission leased a 2019 Ford Explorer XLT for the police department. That vehicle apparently wasn't good enough for City Manager Ken Fields. Instead Fields wanted the 2019 Ford Explorer Limited, which comes loaded with luxury, comfort, power and cosmetic features not included in the XLT. It also comes with 60 monthly payments of $773.17 – about $227 more per month than what the XLT costs. The Limited is a really nice vehicle. It comes...
I remember my excitement a few months ago, when I received the call. A mere 16 hours from that call, I was getting to do my First (unlikely my last) paramotoring flight, the purest form of flight for a human! I was SO Excited! I had been trying to do this for two years! Several people made that day possible. It started with Evan Purdy, for planting the seed in my mind two years ago. Next was Terri Awesome Miller for facilitating and inspiring. And, best of all, Bob and Eric...
Betty Hill only jumped once herself, but she brought thousands of skydivers to Lake Wales in the more than two decades she operated the Florida Skydiving Center. Friends, family and aviation sports enthusiasts began mourning her death Dec. 16 after a valiant 19-year battle with cancer. Hill was the brains behind the business and tirelessly promoted skydiving for more than 40 years. Instead of going to college, she and first husband George Kabeller opened their first skydiving...
Lake Wales City Commissioners got their first look Tuesday at a proposed balanced budget for 2019-20 that includes a slight reduction in the property tax rate. Finance Director Dorothy Abbott told commissioners that the city is in good financial shape and staff feels comfortable recommending a millage rate of 6.9339, or approximately $6.93 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. This is considered the "rollback rate" that based upon anticipated growth can be expected to...
Thirteen area residents completed their 9-month program June 6 and became graduates of Leadership Lake Wales Class 23. After enjoying a pasta dinner at the American Legion at Eagle Ridge Mall, the classmates talked about learning many new things about Lake Wales and forming bonds that will last well into the future. The Leadership Lake Wales group held an opening retreat in September and a closing retreat in May and met monthly for a daylong session devoted to a particular top...
ALSIM, one of the world's premier manufacturers of flight simulators, has announced plans to locate a new North American assembly and support facility at the Lake Wales Commerce and Technology Park. The company announced it will be hiring multiple staff for the Lake Wales location, which beginning in September will house technicians and items like spare parts. "Lake Wales is extremely proud to be part of the growing aerospace industry in Polk County," said City Manager Ken Fie...
Lake Wales is well-represented at the world's largest air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin this week as Eric Farewell and his Aviator PPG team take to the skies to show off their paramotor flying skills. Wearing what look like large, round fans on their backs and dangling from parachute canopies, the four-person team again is sharing some of the aerobatic maneuvers that delighted audiences in May at the Sun 'n Fun Air Show in Lakeland. "It's a great honor for us to be invited back,"...
When I met Roberta "Bobbie" Halfacre, director of The Vanguard School Summer Camp program, she explained it is named "Beyond..." because students, faculty, indeed anyone associated with this school for gifted and lifted young people with individual challenges definitely do not think inside the proverbial box. This philosophy starts from the top down and everyone works to make life better for those who need it most. Teaching and learning take on a whole new meaning here, and...
During their second budget workshop July 9 Lake Wales city commissioners asked questions about staff spending priorities while acknowledging they still need much additional information before they are ready to adopt a new budget for the 2019-20 year that begins Oct. 1. City Manager Ken Fields twice tried to reinforce his position that commissioners need to just concern themselves with policy and the city's overall direction and leave spending decisions on how to get there to...
Lake Wales City Commissioners Tuesday, May 14 kicked off budget talks for the 2019-20 year by sharing their priorities and opinions with city staff. There was clear consensus that the report from urban planners Dover Kohl, expected in mid-June, will drive spending decisions, particularly use of Community Redevelopment Agency trust funds. Vice Mayor Robin Gibson, who chairs the CRA, said he expects Park Avenue in historic downtown to be the top priority and to set the standard...
The Lake Wales City Commission changed slightly Tuesday, May 7 with the installation of new City Commissioner Al Goldstein. Goldstein was elected without opposition for a two-year term after Commissioner Tonya Stewart failed to qualify when her collection of signatures fell short. With wife Shirley at his side, Goldstein was installed by state Rep. Melony Bell, who also swore in Mayor Eugene Fultz, who won re-election in April and will serve three more years. Several family...
"The road to progress is always under construction," Lily Tomlin reminded us many years ago, and that is no less true around Lake Wales. Keeping up with the rapid growth of the Lake Wales area will require major changes in how we travel. Several major road construction projects are planned. With them, of course, will come many disruptions. How will they affect you? Let us count the ways. The biggest changes will be along our major highways, US 27 and SR 60. Those projects...
The Lake Wales Airport has a bright future and the potential to attract more tenants and corporate jets, according to an update presented by the city's longtime airport consultant. Wilbur Mathurin, vice president of Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, told Lake Wales City Commissioners at their April 16 meeting that aviation is a huge economic driver in Florida, contributing $175 billion to the economy. Citing a March 2019 report by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Mat...
Richele Floyd got the ride of her life this week in the back seat of a U.S. Navy fighter jet, courtesy of the elite Blue Angels. A pilot herself, the Lake Wales native serves as education director for Sun 'n Fun, which is hosting nearly 200,000 aviation enthusiasts April 2-7 during its 45th Annual Fly-In & Expo at Linder Airport in Lakeland. "Best day of my life," Floyd enthused, relating the one-hour experience that included rising straight up into the air, flying upside...
Of the legion of exhibits, aircraft, and fly-in planes of all shapes, sizes and colors on display at the 45th annual Sun 'n Fun International Fly-IN & Expo (www.flysnf.org) continuing in Lakeland through Sunday Apr. 7 one exhibitor stands out from the crowd: Lakes Wales based Aviator Paramotor (www.aviatorppg.com). Local resident and owner Eric Farewell is riding the current wave of popularity and growth that has spiraled his sport into the stratosphere. Through continuing...
The 45th Annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-in and Expo is winding down with air shows scheduled Saturday afternoon and evening and finishing Sunday afternoon, April 7. In addition to the many fly-bys and aerobatic stunts, the show offers literally thousands of planes and exhibits to view. Areas of the 2,200-acre Linder Airport in Lakeland are sectioned off for various types of aircraft; restored warbirds take up a large swath of land, while other areas feature home-build crafts,...
John "Lites" Leenhouts loves all things aviation and his enthusiasm is contagious. He's getting ready for the biggest week of his year April 2-7 when he welcomes about 200,000 people to the 45th annual SUN 'n FUN International Fly-in and Expo. The retired Naval aviator is finishing his eighth year as president and CEO of the Fly-in and the Aerospace Center for Excellence. His office in Hangar A at the Linder International Airport southwest of Lakeland is filled with photos,...
CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS STORY: An earlier story underreported the total projects to SEMCO, citing $1.1 million, but incorrectly stated all projects were awarded without bids. The City did put out requests for proposals on hurricane-related projects, but only one other company bid on one project, the water plant repairs. SEMCO met the stricter FEMA requirements and was awarded the contracts. For the downtown trail project the City received four proposals. One firm retracted...
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...
For its third exhibit since opening in October 2018, the Gallery at Melange is bringing together two artists who have never met, but have a great deal in common. Both majored in the arts in college, and both have enjoyed long careers as teachers. Both have simultaneously created art for most of their adult lives, and have each chosen a similar approach to blending reality and fantasy with an emphasis on re-imagining and intertwining the flora, fauna and common elements of the...
When Lake Ashton resident Al Goldstein became the only candidate to qualify for April's District 4 City Commission election, he won automatically, leaving plenty of Lake Wales residents wondering: "Who is Al Goldstein?" In a rambling two-hour conversation, Goldstein revealed much about himself and his strong opinions about several pending issues but left plenty hidden as well. Critical of some proposals before the Commission, Goldstein offered his respect for the positions...
"Bring your guns and tell your friends," pronounces Great American Gun Show owner and promoter Robert Chipley, his slogan for his 14-year-old traveling show to be held at the Lake Wales National Guard Armory, 435 Airport Rd., March 16-17. Many vendors from around the state will attend the event to buy, sell and trade new and used firearms at discounted prices. Concealed Weapon (CCW) classes are held twice each day priced at $49 per class. To sign up or for more information on...
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...
Bullish is the still the word - and the outlook - for the U.S. economy, and its net positive trickle-down effects at the state, regional, and local levels can't be ignored. That's the viewpoint from Jeffrey D. Saut, the chief investment strategist for Raymond James Financial, Inc., and the company's managing director of equity research. Saut's talk about the economy - as it stands now and the trend for the near future - was the highlight when friends of the Lake Wales Area...