Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The popular network of walking and biking trails weaving through Lake Wales is about to grow a great deal better, thanks to grants received by the city. New planned segments include the Ridge Scenic Highway Connector Trail that will connect the western end of the Lake Wales Trailway to the new Park Avenue Trail near Crystal Lake. It will run south along Third Street from a point just west of the Lake Wales Little Theatre, thereby also accessing the Lake Wailes Trail. That link...
A grant application for the "Complete Streets redesign of remaining portions of 1st Street, Central Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue" has been given a high probability of success by a grant consultant working for the City of Lake Wales. The application seeks 100 percent funding for the redesign and reconstruction of most of First Street North, Lincoln Avenue, and single blocks of Central Avenue and A Street. The total project costs included in the application are $22,930,000, which...
A 14-person attempt at formation skydiving in Lake Wales Monday afternoon left two skydivers with life-threatening injuries. Witnesses said that at least one parachute appeared to become tangled and failed to fully open. Two women in the group made hard landings, sustaining injuries that required them to be airlifted to a trauma center. According to witnesses, one skydiver came down at the intersection of North Scenic Highway and Wiltshire Avenue. Witnesses immediately began...
A population boom is expected in Lake Wales in coming months and years as design work or construction is advancing for at least 40 projects within the city limits, in addition to others outside the city. A LakeWalesNews.net calculation shows a total of more than 15,660 new residential units have already met some level of approval by the city commission, with many having already received final plat approval for construction, even as other projects are nearing completion. If the...
A truly unique performance is coming to Frostproof's historic Ramon Theatre in March as the famed musical impersonators Anthony and Eddie Edwards perform their live musical repertoire. Described as "Las Vegas' number one impersonators of all time," the show will be reminiscent of the Variety shows from the 70's & 80's, featuring a rapid-fire series of performances. The Edwards Twins have been recognized by NBC Today, The Boston Globe and USA Today, among others, for their...
The two-and-a-half weeks of the 40th annual Lake Wales Mardi Gras festivities are rapidly approaching their climax as hundreds of "krewe" members prepare for the combined parade on Saturday, February 10. The series of masquerade parties and musical events mark the days of the pre-Lenten "Carnival" season here. Last week's kickoff party, hosted by the Krewe Renaissance, will be followed by the Saturday, Feb. 3 Blacklight Ball sponsored by the Loyal Order of Wild Shiners....
The biggest outburst of fun and frivolity in the region, the Lake Wales Mardi Gras is preparing to offer its 40th year of festivities to residents and visitors from far and wide. The event draws an estimated 20,000 to the two-and-half-weeks of activities. Highlighted by a zany parade and two-day music festival, the celebration also features three masquerade dance parties offering live music, and a special "Mardi Gras Pre-Party" that will celebrate the 40 years of event...
Controversies including the sudden cancellation of a road bond election by the county commission and a charge that someone illegally added a letter to a bill of deed highlighted local news in early February, 1924. The Lake Wales Highlander faithfully reported on those issues and others affecting the fast-growing community of Lake Wales. Meanwhile, the Lake Wales Woman's Club was conducting their second "Plant a Palm Day" tag sale to help beautify the city....
Music and entertainment fans will welcome the news of a sensational series of free Friday night concerts that promise to infuse the community with camaraderie, live music, and entertainment. The series is planned for Orange Avenue in the heart of Downtown Lake Wales. The new Friday Night Live series is a collaboration of the Lake Wales Arts Council with the City of Lake Wales and Lake Wales Main Street. The Arts Council "is delighted to unveil the much-anticipated Lake Wales...
While the ribbon-cutting and dedication of the newly reconstructed portions of Park Avenue and First Street remains in the planning stage, the newly-completed stretches of West Park Avenue and North First Street are now open to two-way traffic. The opening comes concurrent with the closure of the eastern portion of Park Avenue, a situation expected to last most of the year as the pavement is removed, utilities upgraded, and new sidewalks and brick streets are installed. Shoppe...
A murder, a automobile crash on Scenic Highway, and the doings of the Board of Trade were among the topics that made the front page of The Highlander 100 years ago this week. Within the pages of the paper was a broadside explanation of the new rules being proposed to govern the sales of citrus. Those rules eventually led to state laws that required fruit to meet a number of standards. The evolving industry eventually shifted from selling fresh fruit to canned, then to...
The concern of local residents in 1924 was the widening of Scenic Highway, not to four lanes, bu to four rods, enough to allow two motor vehicles to safely pass each other.The project to widen that road, then SR No. 8, required the right-of-way to be at least 66 feet wide the entire way, Since part of the ROW was only 60 feet wide, a local committee was set up to see about obtaining the necessary land to widen the road, which was considered essential for the growth of...
Area residents now have an opportunity to join their friends and neighbors on a "Slow Roll" thanks to the efforts of Care Center employees Dwayne Goldman and Chris Kinson. The duo run one of Lake Wales best kept secrets, the Lake Wales Care Center Bicycle Ministry, hidden inside a cavernous downtown garage at 201 North Scenic Highway at the corner of Orange Avenue. There, stacks of donated bicycles await volunteers eager to clean them up and put them in working order. Lake Wal...
Two new large residential developments moved closer to reality this month as the Lake Wales City Commission voted to advance their plans. Steeple Chase, a Planned Development Project (PDP) received a Special Exception Use Permit and a preliminary subdivision Plat. The project encompasses 250 single-family detached lots and 68 townhome units on about 98 acres of former citrus land along the north and east sides of Ridge Manor. Lying adjacent to Scenic Highway on the west, the p...
A previously-denied development proposal was turned down a second time by a 3-2 vote of the Lake Wales City Commission after the engineers and planners failed to meet the city's criteria of a "superior" residential development. Developers of the project, known simply as "Oak Development," applied for status as a Planned Development Project, or PDP, to allow sharply increased density from the underlying R-1 zoning. The PDP approval would allow the developer to define 64 lots...
A delightful evening filled with colorful holiday décor, music, happiness, and yes, snow, will fill the streets of downtown Lake Wales with families getting themselves deeply into the holiday spirit. The annual "Make It Magical" event, hosted by Lake Wales Main Street and a host of sponsors, has become a holiday tradition for area residents who pour into the downtown streets to share in the festive air. The 9th annual event will happen this Friday night, December 8, along...
The expansive Ridgecrest development took a step forward recently with the approval of a "developer's agreement" by the Lake Wales City Commission that provides for the costs of infrastructure for the 312 acre project. The previously-approved planned-development project includes 1,020 single-family and townhomes located south of Russell Avenue and north of Hunt Brothers Road, between US 27 and SR 17. Included in the design is a new multi-purpose trail that will extend from...
In nothing less than a transformation, the formerly dreary stretch of Park Avenue west of First Street is swiftly becoming an attractive green oasis intended to help draw pedestrian traffic to the heart of Lake Wales. The three-block-long stretch of the street west of Scenic Highway is the heart of the $20 million investment being made by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency to reinvigorate the city's urban core. Conceived as "Lake Wales Connected" by a team of...
Lake Wales voters were facing three election sin a 60-day span 100 years ago, with the first of the separate ballots to decide the burning issue of whether to require the fencing of livestock, thereby ending the "open range" era of life in this part of the state. The decades-long battle between advocates of open range livestock and those who opposed the practice had sometimes led to violence due to incidents including fence-cutting. Those clashes were referred to as "range...
An anniversary worth noting is happening this month, as a local institution marks its 100th birthday. The Babson Park Woman's Club (BPWC) is a designated national historic landmark standing just across the street from Webber University. Established in the fall of 1923, the Babson Park Woman's Club turns 100-years old on November 16, 2023, marking a full century of significant contributions to the community and nation, ranging from local social activities to WWII bandage...
The extension of a local rail line to reach the east coast of Florida was all the talk of Lake Wales residents in November 100 years ago. Many were undoubtedly hoping that the line would be the spur that already extended to Nalaca on the Kissimmee River. That line, which served logging, cattle, and mining interests, passed through Hesperides and Sumica before ending along the river. Today a portion of that former line is the Lake Wales Trailway on the north side of Lake Wailes...
Communities along the entire length of the Ridge Scenic Highway will share in one of the area's most popular annual events this Saturday. The 39-Mile Yard Sale has played an important role in promoting tourism in the Central Florida communities along the Ridge Scenic Highway since 2007. Expected to draw thousands of people, it is known for being an outstanding opportunity to find great deals and interesting treasures, or just as an enjoyable family outing. Shoppers come from a...
A series of free downtown street concerts will enliven evenings downtown over the coming months, thanks to an alliance between the Lake Wales main Street, Lake Wales Arts Council, and the City of Lake Wales. The shows kick-off with the Outta Hand Band on Friday, November 10. "Lake Wales Live" will offer residents good reason to visit the downtown area, and perhaps get a sneak peek at the ongoing transformation of the area as the Lake Wales Connected plan proceeds, according to...
In 1923, 100 years ago this week, the Highlander was celebrating the "paving" of three-foot wide rock shoulders on Scenic Highway from Haines City to Frostproof. That primary road, which extends south to Sebring, will be made even more valuable when the new bridge over the Kissimmee River is completed on the Conners Highway, linking the east and west coasts of the state. Officials from Tampa to West Palm were celebrating the impending completion of the new road. Elsewhere,...
A weeklong sewer extension project in Lake Hamilton will require the closure of a stretch of Lake Hatchineha Road for several days. According to Bill Skelton of the Polk County Roads & Drainage Division, the closure will affect a portion of the road just east of Scenic Highway. The project was previously scheduled to begin on September 26, but has now been rescheduled to start Tuesday morning, October 10, with an expedited reopening no later than Friday afternoon October 13....
