Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Researchers Cori Lausen and Maleen Mund step out of the warm spring sun and into a dimly lit workshop. The only light streams in through the doorway behind them and a few dusty windows. It's been a cool start to the season in the Lower Mainland, but some bats have already emerged from their winter hibernation. A couple dozen are roosting in cozy clusters in the rafters of this old, wood building near Hayward Lake, about 35 miles east of Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada....
Jen Bricker-Bauer knows how it feels to sit on the deck and watch while everyone else has fun playing in the water. Born without legs and abandoned, One would think she was destined for a life of hardship. However, her amazing adoptive family gave her one simple rule, "Never Say Can't." Instead of bemoaning her fate, Bricker-Bauer has become an international aerialist, inspirational speaker and New York Times best-selling author, and the ideal keynote speaker and performer...
What has undoubtedly been the ugliest Lake Wales municipal election campaign in memory is coming to a conclusion on April 1, when voters will have a last chance to help select a mayor who will serve a new three-year term. Incumbent Mayor Jack Hilligoss is being challenged by former city commissioner Curtis Gibson. The campaign has been marked by a series of attacks using both direct mail and text messages funded by a "dark-money" political action committee based in Tampa. The...
A ceremonial ground-breaking for a multi-million dollar water desalination facility east of Lake Wales has marked the next step in a multi-jurisdictional effort to assure adequate water supplies for the future of Polk County. The rapid development taking place across the region has created a looming water crisis, with at least one town, Dundee, forced to declare a building moratorium due to a lack of potable water supply. Led by the Southwest Florida Water Management District...
A proposed toll expressway linking Lake Wales to US 17-92 and indirectly to metro Orlando was the subject of a public presentation that brought plenty of critical questions and skepticism from the public but support from major land owners and development interests. The Central Polk Parkway East is proposed to run from SR 60 on the west side of Lake Wales to connect to 17-92. A planned Poinciana Connector segment will link 17-92 directly to I-4. The route is seen as a way to...
Dr. James Dayle Morgan, a retired dermatologist and dedicated professional, passed away peacefully on January 8, 2025, at WatersEdge Memory Care in Lake Wales, FL, at the age of 88. Born in Perry, Iowa, he dedicated 20 years of exemplary service to the United States Navy before retiring in 1980 with his family and making his home in Lake Wales. Dr. Morgan’s illustrious career in dermatology included owning and operating a private practice from 1980 to 2012, following his s...
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that the Lake Wales Fire Department was not involved in fighting this residential fire which took place outside city limits. A raging fire that sent flames leaping dozens of feet into the air and alarmed many area residents destroyed a Lake Wales residence shortly after 5:30 Monday afternoon. The emergency call was received by first responders at 5:28 p.m. and within minutes at least 13 fire rescue and medical team vehicles...
A foggy morning is likely to have contributed to the third traffic fatality in a single week in the Lake Wales area after a crash at SR 60 and Boy Scout Road east of the city. Traffic was blocked in four directions following the early Thursday smash-up. According to Polk County Sheriff's Office Traffic Homicide Unit investigators, a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by a 61-year-old Lake Wales resident was travelling southbound on Boy Scout Camp Road. At the intersection if...
As an increasingly-serious drought has wilted crops and increased fire dangers across the region, the hope for rain may be atop the holiday wish list for many. It's a hope that may be answered. With little measurable rain across the area since the October 10 passage of Hurricane Milton, much of central Florida, including southeast Polk, is suffering from rainfall deficits and parched vegetation. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) lists central Florida as "abnormally dr...
Frostproof's landmark, and perhaps haunted, Ramon Theatre is in serious trouble, and the volunteers who manage the venerable auditorium are turning to the community for help, pinning high hopes upon the success of a January 18 "Barn Bash." The Ramon is the cultural and entertainment soul of the southeast Polk Community. Built in 1925 at the height of the Great Florida Land Boom, the theatre hosts musical and theatrical performances around the year. The double-blows of...
Polk County's Conservation Lands program is set to finalize a $5.2 million deal that will bring another large tract of land into permanent protection. It will become part of the "Big Green Network" of environmental lands will forever form limits to the potential urbanization of the Lake Wales area. The vision of a Big Green Network emerged as one of the major elements of the Lake Wales Envisioned project to assure that Lake Wales remains a livable area in the face of enormous...
The threat of a new round of stormy tropical weather is rapidly diminishing for central Florida as Tropical Storm Sara is now forecast to move ashore over the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico where it is expected to dissipate. The storm had been predicted for more than a week in forecast models, but the changing conditions in the atmosphere that originally pointed it to Florida have now pushed it farther west. After multiple rounds of hurricanes in what proved to be an active and...
Weather-exhausted Floridians are casting a weary eye back at the tropics this week as yet another tropical cyclone is expected to threaten the state next week, even as Hurricane Rafael, briefly a Category 3 storm, fizzles in the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center in Miami has identified a new area of disturbed weather south of Cuba that is expected to drift to the west across the Caribbean as it slowly becomes better organized. Forecasters there are currently giving it an 80...
After suffering through the most destructive hurricane season on record, will Florida face yet another bout of severe tropical weather in November? That is the question being considered by forecasters as long-range models are suggesting that scenario. Several models monitored by Lake Wales News as well as meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center and elsewhere are predicting the formation of yet another cyclone to our south. If it reaches tropical storm force winds...
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...
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...
Offering a joyful evening that will bring a smile to all who attend, "Stuck on These Islands" is the newest offering of the annual children's production at Lake Wales Little Theatre, opening tonight for a two-weekend run at the intimate theatre at 411 North Third Street.. With a cast of youngsters guaranteed to steal hearts, the play depict a cast of tiny insect who find themselves marooned, requiring them to cooperate in a variety of ways to find their way off their isolated...
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...
UPDATE: New information is available here: https://www.lakewalesnews.net/story/2024/09/18/news/breaking-news-hurricane-helene-expected-to-move-northward-near-florida-this-week/4475.html After a surprisingly quiet several weeks in the midst of the hurricane season, it's time for Floridians to make certain that they are prepared for a storm as the tropics begin to heat up. Forecast models are developing a low over the Caribbean that could become a significant cyclone in the...
A new 30-day closure of West Park Avenue will begin this Monday, September 16 to allow construction crews to enhance the stormwater drainage system and remove and reinstall the brick pavers on Park Avenue between Wetmore Street to First Street, starting Monday, September 16th. The work will include modifying a drainage system design that proved inadequate during heavy rains earlier this year, while also addressing problems with pavers "crawling" out of alignment on the...
The City of Lake Wales is inviting you to learn to explore the underwater world with SCUBA. The entire certification course will be compressed into a single week and include instructions from certified instructors. SCUBA stands for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus," an invention that has enabled humans to explore what had, throughout history, hidden and unavailable. Now Lake Wales Parks and Recreation is offering area residents a chance to engage in the sport....
