Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 454
A pair of public hearings are planned to allow area residents to learn more and speak about the proposed Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC). The hearings will address a planned Southeast Wellfield & Water Supply Facility project proposed near Lake Wales. The project would draw water from the "sub-Floridan" aquifer to supply cities across Polk County using a new network of huge pipelines. The project has anticipated costs that could approach or exceed a billion dollars...
"Growth" is a word that means opportunity for some and strikes fear in the hearts of others. It has been the driver of both the economic health and the environmental destruction that has reshaped Florida for more than a century. Rising prosperity has too often been accompanied by traffic congestion, water shortages, urban sprawl, and overcrowding, crushing the quality of life in some parts of the state. While growth has been largely focused on other places, it's now arrived...
Several innovative designs presented for possible development of a site south of Southgate Shopping Center led the Lake Wales City Commission to approve the rezoning of a 6.5 acre parcel to allow higher density development. The change from LDR, or low density to MDR, or medium density, will allow up to 42 residential units in a variety of housing types in the various scenarios. The change would allow up to 12 units p[er acre rather than the five units common in subdivisions....
Advanced Drainage Systems has proposed the plant, which would be located on property adjacent to the former Hunt Brothers citrus packing plant. It would occupy a nearly 100-acre site just to the east of South 11th Street and north of Hunt Brothers Road. According to published reports, Advanced Drainage Systems is the largest maker of high-density polyethylene pipe in the United States, and is headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio. The most recent available data indicates that in 201...
Obsolete and dilapidated housing within the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment District has been targeted by a housing improvement program, and as a result, many seniors living in the northwest neighborhood of Lake Wales have received free home improvements. The program is separate from a CRA cooperative project which is developing new affordable housing in the same neighborhood, in partnership with SouthState Bank and Keystone, a Lakeland-based non-profit housing developer....
Following voter approval of Polk Foever, a new 20-year environmental land tax passed last November, Polk County is reactivating its long-standing citizen's committee that successfully guided a prior 20-year effort. The Board of County Commissioners this week approved the re-creation of the Polk County Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee (CLASAC). As an advisory committee, CLASAC members will review potential Polk County land acquisitions for...
Many people celebrate the promise and new beginnings of the New Year by making resolutions-often focused on health goals like losing weight, eating healthier, and working out. Getting healthy through small actions-baby steps-can be a sustainable way to make changes for a healthy new year. Feeling and seeing a small positive change can encourage you to make more changes. Consider the following baby steps to help make 2023 your best year yet: •Sleep. Sleep is a neces...
Lake Wales area customers of both Duke Energy and TECO can expect to pay significantly more for their electricity use if proposed rate hikes are approved. Both companies are among a group of Florida utilities seeking rate increases and extra funds for storm recovery expenses from the Florida Public Service Commission. Both companies have reported increased profits. Duke has two separate rate requests pending, including one to recover the company's 2022 fuel costs, as well as...
Polk County Utilities (PCU) will host a Crooked Lake Park neighborhood community meeting to discuss the future of the wastewater collection and treatment system that serves that area on Monday, January 30, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. The county will present an overview of the proposed improvements and preliminary construction schedule for the wastewater facility. The meeting will be held at the South Lake Wales Church of God, 210 President's Drive in Lake Wales. In March 2021, the State...
A population of non-native aggressive, air-breathing fish known as the goldline snakehead (Channa aurolineata) was documented for the first time in the Gulf Coast region, according to a recent study. The fish were discovered in a freshwater pond in Manatee County, Florida, about 250-km from the only other known population of this species in the United States, which has existed in Broward County, Florida, since about 2000. Native to Asia, snakeheads have been introduced to the...
Hurricane Ian is estimated to have caused more than $60 billion in private insured losses in Florida, effectively making it the second-largest disaster loss event on record, according to the industry trade group Insurance Information Institute. While Lake Wales residents dodged a bullet when it came to the severity of the late 2022 hurricane, many throughout Polk County still felt the impact. From how Ian has shed a light on hurricane preparation to what Lake Wales residents...
(NAPSI)-The ball, the confetti and the 2022 wall calendars have all come down, and our attention turns to the annual tradition of making New Year's resolutions. This can include health goals, such as deciding to have 2023 be the year to finally quit tobacco successfully. Most adult smokers in our state tried to do so at least once in the past year, reports the Florida Department of Health. Quitting for good may take several attempts. With the resolution to quit, every year...
The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is reminding residents who irrigate their lawns to "Skip a Week" or more of watering during the cooler months of January and February. According to research by the University of Florida, grass doesn't need to be watered as often during the cooler months. One-half to three-quarters of an inch of water every 10–14 days is sufficient. In fact, if your lawn has received any significant rainfall, then you can turn off y...
A new ordinance governing water use and plumbing fixtures will soon be in place in Lake Wales in hopes of reducing future demand on municipal water supplies. Representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) were in attendance at a recent meeting of the Lake Wales Planning and Zoning Board to provide information on the Florida Water Star Certification process and criteria. After approval by the P&Z board the ordinance was advanced to the city...
Lake Wales Police and firefighters recovered the body of 31-year-old Christopher Shoemaker from Crystal Lake late Friday morning. Shoemaker, of Greeneville, Tennessee, was last seen by friends on Wednesday night, November 30, swimming in the lake, but they were reportedly uncertain if he had left the lake or experienced a problem while in the water, according to a police statement. Officers and Polk County Deputies searched Lake Wailes and Crystal Lake as well as the...
Anglers: Compete in new trophy bass fishing competition, Battle of the Lakes! The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) invites you to participate in the Battle of the Lakes trophy bass fishing competition to determine which lake is crowned the best trophy bass fishery in Florida. The FWC's Florida Trophy Bass Project is pitting two popular fishing destinations against each other: Orange Lake versus Fellsmere Water Management Area (also known as Headwaters)...
"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin" is the song Harriett Griffin Harris would sing to all of her campers every early morning for 30 years. On November 17, 2022 at 5:29 am, Harriett's dawn began with a light, brighter than the sun, and in the arms of her Savior, Jesus Christ. She was accompanied with the singing of her family in her home surrounding her until her glorious, beautiful morning. There's all of us, and then there's Harriett. There's no one quite like Harriett with 2Ts....
The City of Lake Wales has been cited as a significant cultural landscape in the 2022 Landslide report issued by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF). According to the national organization, the city's origins and Olmsted patrimony place it among the cultural treasures recognized in the annual report. The report, which was distributed to national media this week, salutes the work of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who "completed a comprehensive plan for...Lake Wales,...
Despite the arrival of dry autumn-like weather, unseasonable warmth has left the door open for possible tropical storm development, and forecasters are now keeping an eye on the potential for a rainy, windy spell for the state of Florida. For several days long-range weather models have been depicting a new low forming over the northeastern Caribbean and south-west Atlantic before drifting over the Bahamas and approaching the east coast of Florida. That path alone would make...
An exhibition of art inspired by nature is happening now at the Lake Wales Arts Center. The exhibit highlights the successes of the 1994 referendum with hopes of motivating the public to go out and enjoy our public lands and to encourage them to vote yes for the new referendum. Polk Forever, a non-partisan Political Committee formed to bring back conservation funding for Polk County, is hosting the exhibit at the Arts Center. The group sees water protection and land...
Individuals in Polk County can apply for FEMA Individual Assistance for home repairs, lost and damaged property, food assistance, and more. according to a statement issued by the office of Congressman Darren Soto, who represents the Lake Wales area. Soto recently welcomed FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell "to assess damages and thank our first responders for their continued rescue and recovery efforts," he said. Soto expressed gratitude "for our first responders, who have...
Several Polk County Environmental Lands sites have reopened to the public following Hurricane Ian, including Crooked Lake Prairie, Crooked Lake Sandhill, Gator Creek Reserve, Hickory Lake Scrub, Lakeland Highlands Scrub, Sherwood L. Stokes Preserve and SUMICA. While these sites are open, visitors are advised to use caution and follow the posted trail closures. Sections of trails may be under water and portions of trails may be closed, due to excessive downed trees and debris....
Unwilling to relax and call it a season, some Florida residents are keeping a close eye on the tropics as some models show a continuing parade of tropical waves moving off Africa and marching across the Atlantic. Unusually warm water temperatures across the basin are continuing to sustain the potential for development. The Lake Wales area has enjoyed delightful fall-like weather in the aftermath of the passage of Hurricane Ian, which brought up to two feet of rain and high...
WEDNESDAY 5:00 PM UPDATE: NOAA Doppler radar imagery indicates that the eye of Ian has made landfall on the mainland southwest Florida peninsula just south of Punta Gorda near Pirate Harbor. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated to be 145 mph (235 km/h). They are now estimated to be 140 mph. A WeatherSTEM station at the Cape Coral Fire Department recently reported a wind gust of 110 mph (177 km/h). A WeatherFlow station in Grove City on the western side of...
TUESDAY 8:00 PM UPDATE: Hurricane Ian has continued to deepen as it moves toward Florida and model trends continue to shift the track toward the east, bringing the center of circulation over Polk County. Lake Wales is expected to be exposed to winds of up to 100 MPH sustained, with higher gusts. There is also an enhanced chance of tornados in this area. For the latest information on expected impacts to the Lake Wales area, please RETURN TO HOME PAGE The 5:00 Advisory from the...
