Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The Florida Department of Health in Polk County (DOH-Polk) cautions the public of the presence of blue-green algae in Reedy Lake at Frostproof City Pier on June 26, 2025. Water sample testing is underway. Blue-green algae have the potential to produce toxins. Since environmental conditions can change at any time, it is important to exercise caution, even if presence of toxins has not yet been confirmed. Residents and visitors are advised to take the following precautions: Do...
With the title to the historic Walesbilt Hotel firmly in hand, the City of Lake Wales has issued a nationwide invitation to potential redevelopers of the ten-story building. According to a document released by the city, a request for qualifications (RFQ) response by interested parties will allow the city to "evaluate and shortlist developers based on their technical expertise, financial capacity, project experience and recent relevant innovative strategies for adaptive reuse...
An ill-conceived attempt to prevent Polk County Sheriff's deputies from arresting his brother left a West Frostproof man dead and his brother facing sharply-increased charges. According to the Polk County Sheriff's office, Primitivo Garcia, 43, has been charged with 2nd degree felony murder, resisting arrest with violence, resisting arrest without violence, escape, and petit theft, for his role last evening in the death of his brother, Francisco Garcia-Vega. The two brothers...
Rotary on The Ridge, one of three Rotary Clubs active in Lake Wales, enjoyed a patriotic indoor picnic on June 9, hosting members and guests as they celebrated their achievements and installed officers for the coming year. During the event Sara Irvine was installed as the tenth president of the club. Rotary on The Ridge was established in December 2016 and Irvine is a charter member. She has previously served as vice president and has chaired the club’s annual “Salute to Vet...
Toxic Exposure resulting in adverse health conditions among veterans is a major health crisis in our country. Millions of veterans of the US Armed Forces were exposed for decades to harmful chemicals and substances while on duty or just by being stationed at contaminated military sites. Many of these contaminants and occupational hazards are the silent enemy lurking on military bases in the air, soil, landfills, groundwater, and drinking water. Some examples include air...
An investigation into a report of animal cruelty resulted in five arrests by the Polk County Sheriff's office Sunday. Investigators found seven horses abused but alive, but sadly, one already dead when they arrived at the remote location on Poe Road, north of Canal Road in unincorporated Lake Wales. According to a press release, "PCSO received a tip regarding two horses in a field that appeared to be malnourished. The horses were found by deputies in the following conditions:...
The Polk County Parks and Natural Resources Division has received the 2025 Environmental Stewardship Award from the Southwest District of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The award recognizes local governments for their efforts to protect and enhance the region's natural environment. "This recognition is a testament to the hard work, innovation and passion that the Parks and Natural Resources team brings everyday to protect Polk County's water, wildlife and...
Swimming at Frostproof's popular Lake Clinch beach should be a bit safer if area boaters observe a new law requiring them to stay clear of designated zones on three Polk County lakes. Polk County Board of County Commissioners have approved an ordinance repealing and reinstating the Polk County Waterway Protection Code. Concurrently with this ordinance, the board passed a resolution establishing vessel exclusion zones for designated swim areas in certain areas of Frostproof's...
UPDATE: Lake Wales City Commissioners approved the relevant ordinances Tuesday on a 4-1 vote with Commissioner Carol Gillespie dissenting. The ordinances will require a second reading and vote before they become final. A proposal that will permit four million square feet of industrial space and nearly 3,000 new homes will be considered by the Lake Wales City Commission at its regular meeting Tuesday night. The Stoneridge development includes 1,287 acres with frontage of SR 60...
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 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...
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...
