Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary Club's plans to plant 200 southern live oaks around Lake Wailes lake hit a snag recently when homeowners along Lakeshore Boulevard South complained that the trees eventually would block their view of the lake. Club member Dick Howell on Aug. 21 updated the city commission about the project, noting the 50 trees planted in the spring of 2018 on the north side of the lake were "thriving nicely." After the second 50 trees were planted in May of 2019...
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...
LakeWalesNews.net Executive Editor and Publisher Chevon Baccus has been accepted for membership in LION Publishers, a national professional organization for publishers of local independent online news sites. According to the organization's membership criteria: "LION Publishers are innovative news leaders in business, technology, communication and storytelling who are creating the future of local journalism. LION Publishers encompass a rich diversity of business models,...
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...
"Electrifying" is how Lake Wales resident Elizabeth "Bet" Tucker described the Orlando rally Tuesday, June 18 to kick off the 2020 re-election campaign of President Donald Trump. It was only 50 miles away but she and friend Teresa Burr from Winter Haven stayed at an Orlando hotel because of the long day planned. They woke up very early Tuesday and were in line at the Amway Center by 7 a.m., a full 13 hours before the president was scheduled to speak. "It was my first rally...
Maria Tovar just achieved two major milestones: she obtained her high school equivalency diploma (GED) and became the 100th person to accomplish that goal with the help of the Lake Wales Family Literacy Academy. Cleaning houses for a living and taking care of her 5- and 8-year-old children kept her so busy that there were times she thought about quitting. She dropped out of Lake Wales High School her junior year and wasn't sure she would ever be able to earn a GED or go to...
U.S. President Donald Trump will be kicking off his 2020 re-election campaign about 50 miles from Lake Wales with a rally June 18 at the 20,000-seat Amway Center in downtown Orlando. The location highlights the importance of Florida and the I-4 corridor to the president's re-election efforts. Trump lost Orlando's home Orange County in 2016, but beat Hillary Clinton 48 to 47 percent statewide to collect all 28 of Florida's electoral votes. Trump won nearly 55 percent of the...
More than 30 volunteers, members and patrons enjoyed a buffet dinner during the Lake Wales Little Theatre's open house and annual meeting at Monday, June 3. In addition to good food and good friends, there was plenty of good news, including a sneak preview of productions planned for Season 42. "We're thrilled to that all our board members except one agreed to remain on the board of directors," reports Leslie Grondin, LWLT president. "I started here 32 years ago as a child and...
City of Lake Wales officials continue to restrict access to the condemned 1929 Seminole Hotel in downtown Lake Wales to the frustration of developer Ray Brown. A code enforcement officer and three police officers met Brown at the site Tuesday, April 30 and threatened him with arrest for trespassing if he entered the hotel building. Brown says he has a contract to purchase the hotel and notarized permission to enter by the current owner. Brown was there Tuesday to meet senior...
A "City in a Garden" with landscaped streets, a redeveloped Grove Manor featuring a mix of housing types, and a new "town square" were among the ideas presented to Lake Wales citizens Friday evening to cap a week of intensive study by the planning firm of Dover Kohl. Most of the 100 in attendance were excited by the possibilities. The week-long effort, sponsored by Lake Wales Mainstreet and funded by local businesses, included gathering ideas and suggestions from the public,...
Stephen Cornelius recognizes that the proud tradition of the Lake Wales Marching Highlanders is still embedded deeply in the community. He understands what he faces as the new band director for Lake Wales High School, and says he's ready for the challenge. Reflecting on his new position, Cornelius wrote: "It was Theodore Roosevelt that said 'far better it is to dare mighty things...even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy...
Community Health Systems, Inc. announced Wednesday, May 22 it plans to sell Lake Wales Medical Center to AdventHealth, a faith-based, not-for-profit health system headquartered in Altamonte Springs. The corporation said the Lake Wales sale will include not only the 160-bed hospital, but also its respective assets, physician clinic operations and outpatient services. In addition to the hospital, Lake Wales Medical Center includes a Wound Healing Center, adult and geriatric...
One hundred thousand tons of coal ash being hauled from Puerto Rico to a Central Florida landfill have resulted in a raging controversy that affects Lake Wales, as a candidate tied to the project seeks to represent the city in the Florida House. The coal-ash controversy led to more than an hour of agitated public comments at a recent County Commission meeting in Osceola County. At that meeting Commissioner Fred Hawkins Jr. found himself the target of much of the ire. Hawkins,...
Developer Ray Brown took his frustration with city staff directly to the Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday May 21 and left the meeting with a commitment to at least discuss how to move forward his plans to restore the historic Seminole Hotel. After some "he said, she said" banter that left commissioners expressing their own frustrations, City Planning and Development Director Kathy Bangley assured the commission "we will do everything to accommodate their team." Vice Mayor Ro...
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...
Lake Wales Charter Schools System Superintendent Dr. Jesse L. Jackson has announced the appointment of Donna Drisdom as the new Principal of Edward W. Bok Academy North. For the past two years Drisdom has served as principal of McLaughlin Middle School Fine Arts Academy in Lake Wales. "I cannot imagine a better outcome for Edward W. Bok Academy North.," Dr. Jackson noted. "I am very much looking forward to having Mrs. Drisdom on board as the principal." Drisdom received her...
The historic Seminole Hotel in Lake Wales is in "good condition and solid enough to restore," according to Architect Darrin Engel, who has more than 30 years' experience in historic building restoration. A senior project manager with REG Architects of West Palm Beach, Engel did a walkthrough assessment April 30 along with his assistant, Brian Lara. "I've been in some very dangerous buildings that do require care but that is not one of them," Engel said. "I was comfortable...
Gayle S. Reeder, 75, died April 27 in Lake Wales. She was born December 10, 1943, in Mebane, Alamance County, NC to Roy Clifton Smith, Sr. and Lottie Corene Blackard Smith. She moved with family to Lake Wales, Florida, in 1959. Gayle graduated from Lake Wales High School in 1962, married Dennis Reeder August 3, 1962. Their son William Luke Reeder was born 1970. She was predeceased by her husband, Dennis Reeder, and parents, Roy C. Smith, Sr. and Lottie Corene Blackard Smith...
New restaurants, coffee shops, micro-breweries and grocery stores planned for the heart of Lake Wales are eligible to take advantage of up to $50,000 from a new CRA grant program to help get them off the ground. The grants are designed to stimulate the development of new food-related businesses in Lake Wales' two Community Redevelopment Districts. They are administered through the City's Community Redevelopment Agency. Targeting a variety of food and beverage businesses, the...
Where Kathy Bangley sees rodent droppings, leaking water and rotten wood, Ray Brown sees a solid, old building with great potential. Where Kathy Bangley sees an old hotel in "horrific" condition, Ray Brown envisions new studio apartments. Where Kathy Bangley sees trash, Ray Brown sees treasure. Kathy Bangley is the pragmatic director of planning and development for the City of Lake Wales. Ray Brown is a visionary historic preservationist and developer. Brown wants to restore t...
Lake Wales police joined officers from Bartow, Haines City and the Polk County Sheriff's Department as part of the Polk County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigation that resulted in 44 arrests, three warrants and the seizure of 50 pounds of methamphetamines with a street value of $1.4 million. The task force also seized $50,000 in U.S. currency and assets along with four firearms. According to the sheriff's department, the suspects were collectively...
A 12-stop walking tour of Lake Wales is included in a free mobile application produced by the Florida Humanities Council. The Florida Stories application can be downloaded at the Apple Store or Google Play. The Lake Wales tour includes stops at the Atlantic Coast Line Depot, the Woman's Club, Lake Wales State Bank, J.T. Rhodes Building, Rhodesbilt Arcade, Post Office, Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, Lake Wales News, Bullard Building, Scenic Theater and Lake Wales City Hall. Each stop...
Do YOU have an interest in the future of Lake Wales? In how our city grows, and the services and lifestyle we will enjoy? Then this is your moment to speak up. (See the outcome of a week of planning by clicking here) More than 100 of your fellow citizens have already shared their ideas and energies by participating in a Monday evening "charrette" at the Austin Community Center, organized by Lake Wales MainStreet and the planning firm of Dover Kohl and Partners. MainStreet...
An "Open Design Studio" is drawing visitation and input from citizens interested in helping plan a bright future for Lake Wales. Part of the "Connecting Lake Wales" effort sponsored by the Lake Wales MainStreet program, the studio workshop is filled with planners, architects, and designers actively working on concepts that will be shared with the public in a special presentation on Friday evening, April 5. The Studio will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on...
Lake Wales City voters have their final opportunity to vote for the mayor and one city commissioner from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2. Voters also are being asked to change the City Charter to increase the mayor's and commissioners' terms from two years to three. Incumbent Mayor Eugene Fultz is being challenged by Bob Wood, who ran unsuccessfully for a city commission seat in 2016. Political newcomer James Tucker is challenging incumbent Commissioner Curtis Gibson for...
