Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 494
Communications and information about City of Lake Wales activities and services should be easier to find, as a result of the hiring of Marketing and Communications Director Eric Marshall, who started his orientation in mid-December. Marshall, 48, is a graduate of the University of South Florida, where he studied mass communications, multimedia, and communications law. He comes to Lake Wales after a stint at Polk County Parks and Recreation. That was preceded by 13 years in...
A new Tree Advisory Board being created by City Ordinance will create a five-member board that will be charged with a host of tasks assisting the city's Horticulturist Lester Gulledge. "This board will be there simply to help our horticulturist and our horticulture program," said Michael Manning, assistant to the city manager, in presenting the item to the city commission at their workshop. "It was just about one year ago today that we started a horticulture program," Manning...
The re-imagining of downtown Lake Wales and the application of the Connected plan is now inspiring some significant proposed changes to Central Avenue between Scenic Highway and First Street. In keeping with the concepts advanced in the award-winning Lake Wales Connected plan, a new pavement configuration which will add a bike lane to the north side of the street was approved at Tuesday's Community Redevelopment Agency meeting. The board will enter a $35,000 contract with...
Two candidates for mayor and a single commission candidate discussed their visions for the future of Lake Wales Monday evening at a community forum, with broad agreement on most issues, but with a few significant differences emerging in their positions. Curtis Gibson and Tammy James, both pursuing the mayoral post, and James Loydd, seeking the district 4 commission seat, all accepted invitations to the forum, sponsored by Rotary on the Ridge and LakeWalesNews.Net. About 25...
A nearly year-long search to recruit a new superintendent for Lake Wales Charter Schools concluded Tuesday evening, leaving many in the community determined to heal the divisions created during the process. After an effort that at times seemed more like an election campaign than a search and involved seemingly unending political maneuvering, the Board of Trustees settled upon Dr. Wayne V. Rodolfich, who comes to the city from Pascagoula, Miss. As the vote was taken he was...
A portrait of a city undergoing numerous changes was delivered to about 100 community and business leaders Friday at the annual "State of the City" report delivered by outgoing Mayor Gene Fultz in a darkened auditorium at the Vanguard School. It was the first opportunity for him to deliver the speech since 2019 due to the impacts of Covid-19. He will be leaving office this year after nine years as the city's first elected mayor. Citing an aggressive pursuit of improvements...
When Lake Wales gathers April 30 to celebrate the life, legacy and work of Frederick Olmsted Sr. at "Olmsted Day in the Park," local residents will be paying homage to more than just the famed landscape architect whose influence is still very much alive in the city today. By 1929 when Lake Wales civic leaders hired his son Frederick Olmsted Jr. to create a master plan to enhance the city's "Garden City" concept – developed in England 1898 by Ebenezer Howard – Lake Wales and...
The Lake Wales Charter School Board of Trustees is expected to choose a new superintendent of schools Tuesday to run seven local schools and maintain the standard of excellence achieved by former Superintendent Jesse Jackson. Jackson, who built an award-winning program with the help of principals and staff members, resigned in February, leaving the trustees to find a replacement. The fraught selection process continues to generate community concern. A nationwide search for...
A small but vocal group has been a significant influence on the process of selecting a new superintendent for the Lake Wales Charter School system, a simple reading of documents reveals. (See Related Story Here) The Polk County chapter of the Ohio-based County Citizens Defending Freedom has been involved in the process at numerous points and has consistently acted to promote the selection of Andy Oguntola. Two speakers who sought to end the national search in Lake Wales in...
Former City Commissioner Al Goldstein, considered by some to be the favorite in a three-way race to regain his seat, withdrew his filing hours before the City Commission approved the final ballot form in an afternoon meeting Friday. He was one of six candidates who had qualified since noon Monday for the two seats to be decided in the April 5 election. Goldstein was frank and gracious in his comments when reached by telephone, saying that he had no hard feelings, and that he k...
Shaken community confidence in the search for a new superintendent to lead the Lake Wales Charter School system has generated a wave of criticism from educators, community leaders and parents, amid suggestions that the system may see a "mass exodus of quality employees." Following a stunning revelation last week that Lake Wales High School Principal Donna Dunson has retained legal counsel in the face of "harassment," others involved in the school system are questioning the...
The Lake Wales History Museum is "immediately" launching a nationwide search for a new executive director after Jennifer D'hollander announced that will be leaving the organization on March 5. D'hollander recently led the conversion of the museum from a city owned facility to a non-profit organizational structure within a secure City of Lake Wales-Museum partnership. The board of directors of the museum issued a statement praising her "inspiring leadership," and wishing her...
Abandoned signs are apparent in numerous locations in Lake Wales, a problem that City of Lake Wales Development Services staff are planning to address as part of the ongoing review of city codes. Although the signs are not permitted under the present regulations, many have been in place after businesses have been closed for more than a decade, detracting from the appearance of the city, and potentially serving as a disincentive to new investment. Ironically, many of the dereli...
An effort by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to increase the availability of affordable housing through public/private partnerships is producing significant results. The recently-completed Phase Two of the program's participation with the Keystone Challenge Fund added more housing to the historic Northwest Neighborhood. The City partnered with Keystone to build two additional houses on B Street, complementing the adjacent homes that were developed in the...
John Michael Stakowski, died peacefully at his home Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 11:11 pm in Lakewood Ranch, Florida at the age of 81. John was born February 23,1940 to Joseph and Leona(McGuire) Stakowski. He graduated from West High School where he played basketball. He was employed and retired from Chrysler Corporation. Upon retirement, John and Judy moved to Lake Ashton in Lake Wales, FL where he enjoyed golfing daily. John was a loving father and grandfather. He also...
Orie Lee Hostetler, age 82, of Winter Haven, Florida died on February 1, 2022. Orie was born in Orrville, OH. He was the youngest child of Ammon J. and Lena (Weigley) Hostetler. Orie is survived by his wife, Helen (Hartsough) Hostetler and their children: Pamela Burns, Beverly Hatten, Adelia (Michael) Lucatorto, and Daniel (Dawn) Hostetler. His family includes nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, and...
Norma Jean Rattey of Lake Wales passed away Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Norma was born in Lyons, NY on October 17, 1931, to the late George and Mabel Hall. Norma was the proud owner of Al's Place for 30 years, a well-known restaurant in Lake Wales, with her husband of 42 years; Albert Lionel Rattey Jr. Norma tended bar and would always greet her customers with a smiling face while her husband Al was the cook. Norma enjoyed listening to the big band music that her husband...
David Hazlett was born and raised in Northville Michigan, to Beatrice and Percy Hazlett, the sixth of seven children. They were a close family and he spoke lovingly of them often, making sure to keep in touch across the time and distance. David met his future wife Ellen Pearl Stark while attending Northville High School, before enlisting in the US Army. David and Ellen married in Northville and lived the Military life for a few years, moving to Virginia and giving birth to...
Gordon Harold "Pete" Adsit was born in Geneva, PA on February 6, 1932 to William and Catherine Klingensmith Adsit. Pete attended Conneaut Lake High School in PA. He was honorably discharged from the US Army as a telegraph operator. Pete married Mary Spaulding on August 10, 1953. Pete and Mary later moved to Lake Wales, Florida, where Pete began working in a machine shop which he later purchased and added a wrought iron business. He designed and made all the wrought iron...
Patsy Lue Harris, age 100, of Bartow, FL, died Monday, January 17, 2022, at home. She is survived by four daughters: Sally Childs, Lakeland, FL, Betty Harris, Bartow, FL, Josephine Battle, Bartow, FL, Claretha (John) McGill, Bartow, FL; two sons: Walter (Robbie) Harris, Suisun City, CA, John (Zelma) Harris, Bartow, FL; 18 grandchildren, 41 great grandchildren, 41 great great grandchildren, and 5 great great great grandchildren. Viewing will take place at Gause Funeral Home,...
Lake Wales High School Principal Donna Dunson has notified the Lake Wales Charter Schools Board of Trustees that she is retaining an employment attorney to represent her "because of the systemic harassment that has been in play for over a year." The action is further evidence of the polarization that has disrupted the local seven-school system, which has been previously recognized for striking improvements in local schools. Dunson, a popular local school leader who has been a...
Even though the 2022 Olympics are on the other side of the globe, decisions made by governments, sponsors, and media organizations will be seen and felt here in Polk County The Olympics used to be a happy, friendly, celebration of amateur athletics. It was all about the games themselves and the great, human stories behind the athletes. Who can forget the fantastic story behind the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team that was loosely portrayed in the movie, Cool Runnings (1). But for...
One historic downtown hotel has become city property even as city commissioners wrestle with a development proposal on another. City Attorney Chuck Galloway reported to the board at Tuesday night's meeting that the deed to the Seminole Hotel would be recorded today, Wednesday, and that he would soon prepare documents transferring the title again, this time to the Community Redevelopment Agency. The announcements was met with nods from commissioners. The hotel was acquired afte...
The year just completed saw a number of big stories that impacted the Lake Wales community, and we've taken a look back at them through the perspective of the new year. Here's how our staff ranked the biggest stories of 2021. 1) A development surge saw multiple projects brought forward for consideration by the Lake Wales Development Services and the City Commission, including the long-dormant Winter Haven Corporation project which is expected to include more than 6,000 new...
Those who appreciate the unique qualities of the Florida Boom Era architecture that has long identified Lake Wales will be pleased to see that one building in the historic district is gradually returning to its original look. An ambitious project to remove a heavy layer of stucco and rock lath that had turned the building into what one observer called "an ice cube" is progressing under the direction of Dundee contractor John Olsen. Crews have been painstakingly removing the...
