Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The Polk County Public Schools district is recruiting bus drivers and attendants for the next school year, hoping to prevent the driver shortage that resulted in bus delays at the start of last year. The district operates a fleet of 511 buses traveling about 61,000 miles per day, transporting about 50,000 students to 121 schools, making 9,200 bus stops along 2,700 routes, according to the transportation department's website. That travel totals nearly 11 million miles per...
The Polk County Legislative Delegation earned straight A grades this year from the Florida Chamber of Commerce for being pro-business with their votes. Each year the Florida Chamber develops its Florida Business Agenda to organize and unite Florida employers. The Chamber uses the Agenda to provides state legislators with the clear, unified legislative priorities of employers across the state. Prior to this year's session legislators received Where We Stand, a report detailing...
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...
As Lake Wales area schools are preparing for summer, we are reminded that not all education takes place in the classroom. Here is a story about students participating in experience training programs. Just like every other student at Lake Wales High School, Ellis Allanson boards a bus and heads to Highlander Hill ready to take on his daily assignments. But unlike most who spend their days in classrooms, the cafeteria and media center, Ellis spends most of his day at Sweet...
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,...
James Ros Welborn, 63, of Quincy, Florida, passed away on Monday, May 20 surrounded by family and friends, after a long battle with cancer. Ros was born September 9, 1955, in Lake Wales to Clayton "Poncho" Welborn and Margaret "Peggy" Welborn. He attended Lake Wales High School. Ros was employed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 1983. He worked more than 30 years with the "Game Company" as he loved to call it and retired in 2014. He previously served...
To continue focusing on its mission and to promote brand awareness the Lake Wales Museum and Cultural Center has been renamed the Lake Wales History Museum. The Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday, May 21 approved the name change, recommended by Museum Director Jennifer D'Hollander. "As an established resource in the Lake Wales community, the museum has included many different activities over the years. Today, the museum looks to the future as a focused, vibrant center focused...
As the Class of 2019 at Lake Wales High School counts down to graduation May 24, school officials are still celebrating the stellar accomplishments of the Class of 2018. Despite a nearly 71 percent poverty rate - students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch - Lake Wales High School graduated more than 92 percent of its seniors in 2018 – the third highest rate of all high schools in Polk County. The State of Florida defines graduation rate as the percentage of s...
The Polk County School Board Tuesday May 14 approved enrollment increases for Victory Ridge Academy and Bok Academy North for the 2019-20 school year and to hold the capacity at 1,650 for Lake Wales High School. Bok Academy North got approval to increase enrollment from 200 to 400, so they can roll up their 6th graders and serve grades six and seven for the next school year. Bok North presented a plan to house 200 seventh grade students at First Presbyterian Church in addition to 200 sixth graders at First Baptist Church,...
A 14-year-old McLaughlin Middle School student was arrested early Thursday morning after law enforcement received word that a threat against a teacher at McLaughlin Middle School and Fine Arts Academy was discussed on social media. The Polk County Sheriff's office was alerted to the threat after the student exchanged comments Wednesday afternoon with a friend in the chat portion of Instagram. Officials reported that in text messages the student first talked about a possible...
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...
The Polk County History Center continues its Race and Culture Lecture Series by hosting "An Evening of Jazz and Multicolored Memories" from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18. The evening's festivities will open with a program offered by Bartow's Community Relations Committee (CRC) to commemorate the 154th anniversary of Florida's Emancipation Proclamation, which was first read May 20, 1865, 11 days after the end of the Civil War and two years after the proclamation was issued by...
Lake Wales' busy downtown Alexander Center of Polk State College is again facing possible closure, according to College President Angela Garcia Falconetti. The crisis is due to the failure of the Legislature to include funds for the campus in the general budget. Instead they have once again been listed as a separate line item, tempting a gubernatorial veto of the funds. "It is critical for the College to receive these funds," Falconetti said in a prepared statement. "For many...
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...
Rotary on the Ridge members presented the "Josh the Otter" water safety program May 14 to about 200 kindergartners at Chain of Lakes Elementary School. The school's adult-size fuzzy otter mascot visited kindergartners at Spook Hill Elementary School in Lake Wales May 1 and May 3 to stress the importance of safety around the water. Rotary on the Ridge President Megan Gillis read the book "Josh the Baby Otter" to teach the children some very important water safety concepts. Club...
An adult-size fuzzy otter is visiting kindergartners at Spook Hill Elementary School in Lake Wales May 1 and May 3 to stress the importance of safety around the water. Rotary on the Ridge Vice President-elect Trey Heath read the book "Josh the Baby Otter" to teach the children some very important water safety concepts. Heath reinforced the importance of having a swim buddy, making sure there's an adult present at all times and floating on their backs should they ever end up...
Andy Oguntola, director of the Polk State College J.D. Alexander Center, was presented with the Community Leadership Award at the Thursday, May 9 annual awards gala of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. Past winner Brian Marbutt of Citizens Bank and Trust presented the award and announced to the crowd that Oguntola had recently completed his doctorate in higher education leadership. Oguntola started out by thanking "Jesus Christ, my Lord...
City Manager Ken Fields was named Public Servant of the Year at the May 9 Annual Awards Gala of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. The award was presented by last year's winner, Kathy Bangley, the city's director of planning and development. She said when she won the award she didn't realize she'd be presenting the next one to her boss. She cited his 30 plus years' experience in government and the private sector. "To be a public servant...
The Lake Wales Family Literacy Academy was recognized as the Community Service Organization of the Year at the May 9 Annual Awards Gala of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. Academy Board Member, longtime tutor and volunteer Howard Kay presented the award to founders Deming Cowles and Gail Crum and also praised the volunteers and staff: "They're so selfless, they truly deserve this award. Kay announced that just this week two more adults...
Longtime local attorney Jim Weaver was named Citizen of the Year Thursday, May 9 by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council. Weaver was surrounded by his wife Kay and other family members after being surprised with the award at the end of the annual awards gala held at the Lake Ashton Country Club. In presenting the award, last year's Citizen of the Year Linda Kimbrough cited not only Weaver's extensive community service and leadership but...
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...
Rotary on the Ridge installed a new member Monday, May 6. Professional photographer LaVaughn Williamson was sponsored by John Walldorf. Williamson moved to Indian Lake Estates four years ago from the Atlanta area, where he grew up. He owns Williamson Photography of Lake Wales, a full-service photography business that produces still photography and videos. He also has a remote pilot's license from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly a drone, which he uses for aerial...
Longtime Lake Wales area educator Harold Maready has announced plans to retire after 50 years in education at the end of the 2019-20 school year. Maready has been Head of the Vanguard School since July 2014. "Harold's commitment to Vanguard School and to every child who walked through its doors has inspired us all," said Peter Phillips, chair of the Vanguard Board of Trustees. "In concert with a team of extraordinary educators, Harold has led Vanguard to reach its highest...
People embarking on a travel adventure do research and consult professionals. Janet Farmer says new parents also should be fully prepared for what she calls the adventure of childbirth. "I feel like birth is the trip of a lifetime. It's an epic adventure and it takes preparation," Farmer said. That's why Farmer opened her new "gathering place," Bellies-2-Babies, in the historic downtown Lake Wales arcade, where she'll offer "workshops and doula services to help families...
