Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Editor's Note: We are republishing a past story, remembering the Passion Play during Easter Week. Easter Week always brings fond memories of the three months each winter that the Lake Wales community came together to participate as "extras" to help dramatically depict the last seven days of Jesus Christ on Earth. I don't remember exactly how many years I participated in the Black Hills Passion Play winter productions – so many Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and a...
EASTER I love Easter. It's my favorite holiday. May you enjoy this remembrance from Easter 2004 . . . It was my first Easter without my beloved father. I was in line at Walmart and noticed the plaid shirt of the elderly man in front of me. He also was waiting to check out. His shirt was worn paper thin and showed hand-stitched patches of repair in various areas. My Dad had loved plaid. I wanted so much to treat this stranger to a new shirt. But...how? He was ahead of me and...
A Smithsonian poster exhibit that celebrates the invention accomplishments of both locally and nationally known women is on display through March 31 in lobby of the Polk County Administration Building in Bartow. The exhibit, "Picturing Women Inventors," explores the inventions of 19 highly accomplished American women including astronauts, computer pioneers, businesswomen, athletes, engineers and teenagers. The exhibit will also include content that features the contributions...
Editor's Note: Candidates for City Commission were asked to complete a questionnaire. Their responses are being printed as submitted. Kris T.Y. Fitzgerald Lake Wales City Commission Seat 4 Candidate AGE: 40 OCCUPATION: Senior Administrator at The Vanguard School-Director of Residential Life/License Mental Health Counselor. Qualified Supervisor for LMHCs. YEARS LIVING IN LAKE WALES: Born and raised in Lake Wales. I only moved away for brief periods of time while in the USAF...
Five years ago the Gopher Tortoise Council declared April 10 Gopher Tortoise Day. This day was proclaimed to celebrate all things gopher tortoise, giving one of Florida's most important reptiles a much deserved bask in the sunlight. April 10 is again set aside this year to celebrate and raise awareness for this native tortoise species. How can you get involved? There are plenty of easy ways to get involved in Gopher Tortoise Day! • Ask your local officials to adopt a r...
Editor's Note: Candidates for City Commission were asked to complete a questionnaire. Their responses are being printed as submitted. Al Goldstein Lake Wales City Commission Seat 4 Incumbent OCCUPATION: Retired YEARS LIVING IN LAKE WALES: 8 COMMUNITY SERVICE: Former President of Lake Ashton Republican Club., Former Vice Chairman of Polk Republican Executive Committee EXPERIENCE SERVING ON BOARDS: Lake Wales representative to the PRWC Polk Regional Water Cooperative, Lake Wales...
The Woman's Club of Lake Wales is hosting its 33rd Annual Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on Thursday, March 25. The meals are $10 each and include salad, pasta, garlic bread and dessert. They will be boxed for pickup from 4-6 p.m. at the club house at 275 E. Park Ave. Delivery is available to those purchasing at least 10 meals by calling 863-949-0217....
The 2020 Polk County Toys for Tots Campaign distributed 57,716 toys to 14,761 underprivileged children. In addition to various drop box sites throughout the county, several organizations conducted drives and competed with other organizations in toy drive challenges. The office of State Attorney Brian Haas was the winner of the 2020 Toys for Tots Government Agency Challenge. In addition to the State Attorney's office, the Public Defender's Office, Tax Collector's Office,...
Central Florida's Visitor Information Center (CFVIC) will host an Easter Egg Hunt event on Saturday, April 3. This free event will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., featuring kid-friendly activities, giveaways and egg hunts beginning at the top of each hour (children will be separated into three age groups for each of the four sessions). There will be chances to win LEGOLAND® Florida Resort and Bok Tower Gardens tickets and vendors will be on hand with local goods and t...
The Lake Wales History Museum has been awarded a Community Project Grant of $5,000 from Florida Humanities and $10,000 from the Duke Energy Foundation to create a new Lake Wales African American Archive and Exhibit. The project will include conducting new research, collecting oral histories, and securing new donations to establish the archive. Emmanuel George, a Florida historian, has been hired to conduct intensive research for six-weeks from March 2 to April 15, 2021. His...
The deadline is fast approaching for the 2021 Art of Conservation™ Florida Fish Art Contest, hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). This contest is open to youth in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade from across the globe. The deadline to enter is March 31. Students from Florida can win top honors, international recognition and prizes while learning about fish, fishing and aquatic conservation. The Art of Conservation inspires young p...
I woke up Sunday morning, March 14th at 6 a.m., or was it 7, or 8? Before going to sleep Saturday evening, I changed the time on the clock on my nightstand, "springing it forward" an hour for Daylight Savings Time. I was unaware that it would automatically recognize Daylight Savings and set itself. My phone, I thought would recognize Daylight Savings, and would adjust accordingly, but I wasn't certain. When I woke up at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, my phone displayed 6 (I believed...
Excel Athletics Force All-Star Cheerleading team won the All Out National Championships which took place recently in Orlando, Florida at Shingle Creek Resort. Force, a Minis all-star team consisting of girls ages 6 to 9 years old, competed against 7 teams and were awarded with the National Championship award, rings and a banner to hang in their gym. The competition took place on Saturday and Sunday. Excel Athletics, Inc. is an all-star cheerleading gym located in Winter Haven...
Because of her parents' race, being born at Lake Wales Hospital in 1966 wasn't an option for Dr. Carolyn Pass. Now she's the local hospital's chief of staff. The family practice physician with Optum Care rose through the leadership ranks of Advent Health Lake Wales, formerly Lake Wales Hospital, where she has been on staff for the last 20 years. Pass was one of nine Central Florida community leaders, four from Polk County, honored Feb. 18 by U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, who read...
Bok Tower Gardens carillonneur Geert D'hollander says the music of The King's Singers has inspired him since he was a child. That's why he is especially thrilled that the famed a cappella group awarded his original choral composition their top New Music Prize for 2021. "Winning this competition is an incredible honor as a musician and one of their biggest fans," said D'hollander, a Belgium-American who became Bok carillonneur in 2012. "To me, it's like standing in front of...
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:43, 44) Jesus foretold of His impending death many times times during His earthly ministry. We find this declaration no less than six times in Matthew's Gospel (Matt. 12:40; 16:21; 17:22,23; 20:17-19, 27,28;...
Have you ever thought about what it means to be of service? Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." We have all been born into the arms of men and women who served us - your mother who bore you, your father whose strong hand picked you up when you fell. Even if the only true gift your parents ever gave you was the gift of life, you have so much to be grateful for. Even if at home only your basic needs were met, you...
Editor's Note: Due to expected rain, the opening ceremony has been moved to 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. Artist E.J. Nieves of Ocala will be painting a street mural over the Feb. 19-21 weekend in the city's northwest business district and the community is invited to participate. An opening ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19 for the mural at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and C Street. A food truck will be on hand serving breakfast. In addition to Nieves,...
Darrell Starling already has an ambitious agenda in place following his recent hiring as the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Coordinator. In particular, Starling will work closely with the city[s Northwest neighborhood, one of two areas specifically targeted by the city's ambitious and award-winning "Lake Wales Connected" revitalization plan which also covers the historic downtown business district as well. City leaders expect to break ground on the early...
The Rev. J.J. Pierce was concerned that not enough people, especially those in the black community, were able to access vaccines for COVID-19. So he stepped up and started working with the Polk County Health Department to bring vaccines for about 600 people in Lake Wales. Pierce got the idea from a pastor friend in Winter Haven. So Pierce worked with about 20 churches in the area to identify people age 65 and over and health care workers who needed the vaccines. A schedule...
Lake Wales City Commissioner Curtis Gibson has been chosen as one of 20 participants in the 2021 Central Florida Political Leadership Institute, a regional, nonprofit program sponsored by the Orlando Economic Partnership. The program prepares business minded leaders throughout Central Florida for future leadership opportunities – as political candidates or appointees to government boards or commissions. Since its inception in 2008, 29 PLI graduates have served in public o...
Circumstances in life are hard to navigate through at times. One of the many things to be appreciated about The Bible is that it is practical and instructive in many places, especially in light of what we perceive to be confusing and challenging times. Below are some passages I have found worth reviewing and comforting to regain perspective as we navigate through life. May God grant us more of His wisdom through His Word in 2021. Romans 12:9-19 – Let love be genuine. Abhor w...
The Lake Wales Public Library has received "blessing bundles," courtesy of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., a community conscious, action oriented organization. The Gamma Phi Zeta Chapter of Polk County, through service within the community and the international initiative of Zetas Helping Other People Excel (Z-HOPE), provided 175 blessing bundles to Polk County libraries to include masks, sanitizer, gloves, tissues and wipes. In addition to the Lake Wales Library in Zone 4, the...
The Lake Wales Public Library invites adults 18 years of age and older to participate in the READ Lake Wales 2021 Challenge. Participants must be a library card holder from the Polk County Library Cooperative. The READ Lake Wales 2021 Challenge requires that adults complete 50 books between January 4, 2021 and December 10, 2021. Print, electronic and audio books are all accepted for entries. Participants may request an official READ Lake Wales 2021 reading log from the Lake...
City residents can thank a local restaurant for helping the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce find its 2020 Public Servant of the Year. Lake Wales Fire Chief Joe Jenkins – born and raised in the city and now celebrating 30 years with the department – was honored with the award in late December, for not only his service as chief, but as the city's Emergency Operations Director during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Jenkins said he didn't really know what he wanted to do whe...
