Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The Polk County Sheriff's Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating a fatal crash that took place early Saturday directly in front of the Babson Park station of the county's fire rescue department. Paramedics from the station responded immediately after the impact but were unable to save the life of the Fort Myers man who was driving a 2018 Harley Davidson motorcycle. Kenneth Ellefson, 53, was reportedly not wearing a helmet when his motorcycle collided head-on with a 1999 Mazda...
Two people who broke into a home on on Fast Trot Trail, allegedly to "escape" during Hurricane Milton, were arrested and charged with burglary and criminal mischief in additional to other charges. The Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested the two suspects on Thursday, October 10, for burglarizing the vacant home in the aftermath of the storm. Deputies responded to a 9:40 a.m., call about a residential burglary in progress and found the rear door pried open. The two suspects we...
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has announced the opening of Operation Blue Roof, which will provide and install a tarp on roofs damaged during the passage of Hurricane Milton. Operation Blue Roof is a program offered by FEMA through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to eligible homeowners and landlords. It provides a temporary covering of blue plastic sheeting to help reduce further damage to property until permanent repairs can be made. The blue plastic sheeting...
A two-vehicle crash on SR 60 East took the life of a Lake Wales man early Tuesday evening. Duane Matthew Kolaski, 74, of Lake Wales was driving a black 2017 BMW X7 SUV eastbound near Story Road when, for unknown reasons, his vehicle "drifted" across the median, according to Polk County Sheriff's office investigators. Kolaski's vehicle then entered the westbound lanes into the path of a black 2021 Dodge 3500 pickup truck. The truck was driven by 45-year old Maksim Zakharov of...
With the annual Pioneer Days festival only days away, the sponsoring Lake Wales History Museum has revealed Richard "Dick" Dane Howell as the 2024 Pioneer of the Year. "Mr. Howell's exceptional dedication to the Lake Wales community and his remarkable achievements truly define him as a pioneer and a worthy recipient of this prestigious award," said museum president Brandon Alvarado in revealing the selection, The honorific of "Pioneer of the Year" has been bestowed upon a...
In a heart-wrenching incident, a 10-year-old passenger was crushed to death by a 2,700-pound off-road vehicle after it rolled over during a turn on Thursday. The incident happened shortly after the passage of Hurricane Milton. The vehicle, a 2022 Polaris Ranger, was being driven by a 15-year-old. A group of other children were also aboard as passengers. All were ejected when the vehicle flipped. No driver's license is required to drive an off-road vehicle. They also lack many...
Friday dawned as another day without power for thousands of residents of southeast Polk after the area after Hurricane Milton raked the area with 100 mile-per-hour winds and heavy rainfall before dawn Thursday. Shattered or uprooted trees, some punching holes in roofs, along with damage to signs, sheds, utilities and fences were visible across the area. Flooded roads and intersections delayed responses to the disaster, a common scene as hurricanes increase in both frequency...
The latest update from the National Hurricane Center in Miami has raised the stakes for a direct strike upon southeast Polk County and the Lake Wales area. Residents are strongly urged to rush preparations to completion. The 11 a.m. NHC report said that with sustained winds of 155 MPH, Hurricane Milton is continuing to approach Florida. Continued intensification is expected, and Milton should be at Category 5 this afternoon with sustained winds of 160 MPH or more, accompanied...
The latest computer model runs have placed Polk County directly in the crosshairs of a potential major hurricane. Residents may wish to begin preparation for a storm. The Nat According to the 11 a.m. statement from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the area of disturbed weather in the western Gulf of Mexico is now a tropical depression, and will begin intensifying as it moves slowly northeastward over the next 24 to 36 hours before accelerating toward Florida. Arrival...
A slight south-eastward movement of Tropical Storm Milton could offer a small ray of hope for southeastern Polk County as the storm approaches the west coast of Florida later this week. The worst impacts of the storm are expected locally on Wednesday. The 11 a.m. statement from the National Hurricane Center in Miami noted that the center of the intensifying cyclone has been moving slowly to the east-southeast, a trend that has moved the needle on the multiple computer models...
As predicted here last week, a new tropical cyclone is becoming organized in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to bring heavy rains to Florida and the Lake Wales Ridge this week. The storm is generally developing in line with the super-computer models closely followed by Lake Wales News. Those same models are now predicting the improving organization of the potential cyclone this weekend as it moves eastward toward the Florida peninsula from the western Gulf. The National...
Myrtice Young, Canter Brown Jr. and Jim Stafford are among a group of well-known Polk County residents being inducted into Polk's Hall of Fame. Myrtice Young | Museum Director | Lake Wales A Polk County resident for 74 years, Myrtice Young has been the Preservation Manager at the Polk History Center for nearly 14 years. Young was born in Blakley, Ga., but grew up in Lake Wales after her family moved to Florida. From the beginning of her career as Historical Preservation...
Polk County Utility customers will see an increase in their cost of water and sewer bills starting today. Water and wastewater rates have been increased by 6% beginning Oct. 1. According to county spokesperson Jeff Foley, "the surcharge assessed on water usage and reclaimed water usage also will increase, as will connection fees. The increases are necessary to allow the county to meet its current and future water demands." The increase is the first that Polk County Utilities...
As the nation takes account of the staggering loss of life and damage caused by Hurricane Helene, hurricane forecasters and Florida emergency managers are already casting a wary eye toward the Caribbean, where the active Central American Gyre (CAG) is in the process of generating another potential mega-storm. Florida's west coast took the worst of Helene, leaving the interior largely free of damage. Severe storm-surge that caused millions in damages to beach towns, while Polk...
Lake Hatchineha Road was closed for approximately five hours early Wednesday after a fatal crash on Lake Hatchineha Road. Polk County Fire Rescue and sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the crash at 12:26 a.m. The preliminary investigation by the PCSO's Traffic Homicide investigators determined that Douglas Fairel, Jr. of Haines City was driving a 2021 Cadillac Escalade westbound on Lake Hatchineha Road when his vehicle crossed over the center line and collided head-on with...
Polk County and the Ridge will escape the worst effects of Hurricane Helene, but area residents should still be prepared for a blow, according to specific forecasts. Heavy rains and winds gusting to near hurricane force are also possible as the storm passes to the west. Helene, currently entering the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, is expected to charge north and northeastward as it rapidly intensifies to become a major hurricane, reaching Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale,...
County residents have a final chance to recycle their scrap aluminum and steel beverage and food containers this week before the service ends and fees rise sharply under a new county waste-hauling contract. Those receiving services through city contracts are unaffected by the change. Despite the reduction in services, the new collection and disposal fee for county residents rose almost $120 this year, with more increases baked in. Last year's assessment of $144.50 became...
Florida residents are urged to be alert and prepared as Hurricane Helene is likely to form rapidly and bring the threats of high winds and flooding to Florida this week. National Hurricane Center forecasters are suggesting a 90 percent chance of a cyclone growing from an area of disturbed weather over the Caribbean by Tuesday. That system is then expected to move northward through the eastern Gulf of Mexico, where rapid intensification is possible. The NHC has been predicting...
Careless and inattentive driving resulted in a complex crash that left ten injured Sunday evening in Lake Wales. The four-vehicle pile-up happened in two different crashes after a vehicle crossed the center line of Alturas-Babson Park Cutoff (ABC) Road, south of Lake Wales and approximately one mile west of US 27. The crash began when a 2010 Dodge Ram reportedly crossed the centerline of the two-lane road and struck a 2019 Ford F-150 pickup and a 2013 Ford Explorer at about...
Offering live theatre in southeastern Polk County remains a challenge for volunteers who operate Lake Wales Little Theatre, according to a representative of the organization. The company is the only live theatre in the immediate area and is now in its 48th year of operation. Like many arts organizations, the non-profit, all-volunteer theatre company struggles to maintain its intimate auditorium while also paying for the other aspects of the five-a-year shows it produces. With...
According to officials of the Polk County Road and Drainage Division, Canal Road in Lake Wales will be closed beginning today, Thursday September 19 from Porter Road to Black Road. The closure is one of several that has impacted motorists across Polk County in recent weeks and months. The stretch of road is being reconstructed through a process called "full-depth reclamation" that restores the roadbed to a like-new condition, after which it will be finished with a new asphalt...
Polk County Schools are undergoing a crisis as the system reports receiving an overwhelming wave of threats against schools and individuals in the first four weeks of the new school year. The school system reported that in 28 days they have conducted 140 threat assessments. Twenty-four individuals were arrested on second-degree felony charges for written threats to kill, a rate of nearly one per day of school. Polk School Superintendent Polk County School Superintendent Fred...
Citrus Connection, in partnership with the Polk TPO, is conducting a public survey to better define the transportation needs of the community. The survey is requesting comments from everyone, including daily commuters, occasional riders, or those who have never used public transportation. The goal of the survey is to help improve public transportation services to better meet the needs of our communities. Citrus Connection provides the local circulator bus service in Lake...
UPDATE: The Media Relations Department of the Polk County School System has released a letter from McLaughlin Principal Diameshia H. Williams addressing a decision by "the administration" to remove the Exceptional Student Education Farm from the school campus. The entire text of the letter is reprinted below. A valued program that allows special needs students to participate with others in an agricultural program at a Lake Wales school is reportedly being terminated, to the...
Thousands of copies of a political tract containing what many would consider virulent anti-American propaganda have been delivered to the offices of the Lake Wales Charter Schools to potentially be distributed to students. Some 45,000 of the "patriotic" pamphlets were printed, intended for delivery to schools, according to information shared on a Facebook post by the City of Lake Wales. Among the materials they contain is an "essay" that paints a highly-dystopian picture of...
