Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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I have served with several committees that organize the large events in town like Orange Blossom Revue and I am on the Mardi Gras Committee currently. I can understand why the decision to cancel the Christmas parade was made this far out. Large events like this are VERY expensive to put on and take months of planning. The city passed a ban on permits for public events, and until the State and Federal guidelines change, we won't likely see the city change. Protecting the life a...
We are elected to make tough decisions for the citizens of our community and the betterment of our city. I have always been a stand alone official, where I do not have anyone controlling me on the way I vote. I like to say I speak to everyone in our community and beyond to help me make the best decision. In this position you will not make everyone happy, but you must ultimately feel good about the decision you made because people will hold you accountable for your vote. The...
Hello my name is Curtis Gibson, I am a Lake Wales city commissioner in district 19, seat 2. I never thought about getting into politics. In fact, I used to say I am not a politician. The fact of the matter is I am. When I jumped into this arena it was in 2015 when I ran for mayor of Lake Wales. I was terrified and didn't know what the outcome was going to be. I had so many people from both sides wanting to know who pushed me to run against the mayor and I simply told them I...
The recent kerfuffle in Lake Wales over a secular invocation and the subsequent rush by the commission to craft a policy that would exclude future similar invocations is nothing more or less than history repeating itself. One would have hoped that nearly 250 years of hands-on experience with the religious freedom and the equality guaranteed by our constitution would have brought us to a point where offering an invocation in a public meeting would immediately be met with "Cool....
Think of 25 people you know. One of them is likely atheist. And probably afraid of you finding out. We know that there are even nonbelievers working in governments and sitting on Boards or holding other elected positions who feel their nonreligious identities must remain hidden because they are made to feel as second class by things like discriminatory invocation practices and some of the public response we saw this week in Lake Wales, FL. A few weeks ago, I was approached by...
Theologian John Wesley is attributed with once saying that "Christ came to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable." After witnessing the actions of several local "Christian" leaders, I believe Rev. Wesley's words proved, unfortunately, to be true of those "comfortable" religious leaders that felt compelled to speak out during the Lake Wales City Commissioners meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Controversy had been generated after a person, personally identified as...
I found out that this job can be incredibly challenging. It is not part-time as some will say. This job is tough, and it is not for everyone. You can be elected today and gone the next time around. Especially, if you are not up to putting in the work to carry out your duty to the people who elected you. There is no one-sided view on ANYTHING - you need to have an open mind and a drive to search for the answers that you need to effectively make the best decision for the people...
Do you have a busy life with many responsibilities? Are you feeling frustrated, tired, and beaten down by the "new normal" of COVID-19, work (or unemployment), kids' eLearning, personal health issues, a relative in ill-heath, talk of hurricanes, rhetoric in the 2020 political season, the media, social media, adolescents, a broken down vehicle, etc, etc, etc? Ponder this advice someone reminded me (a busy person, a recovering legalist, and someone who likes math) of recently....
Trump or Biden? Mask or no mask? Open school or eLearning? Open the economy, or public safety? Work or family? Push through and get it done, or pull back and reflect? Make a splash, or keep a low profile? Prove your point, or stay out of it? Conspiracy theories, or Occam's razor? Grace and mercy, or truth? Ephesians 5:19-21, or Ephesians 5:22-24? Cut the grass, or clean the garage? Has the pandemic and less physical interaction with people caused you to think that everything...
Are we reading words that genuinely challenge our current thinking? Do we read books, blogs, posts, and news feeds that only tend to be in line with our world experiences? Are we drawn to read organized printed thoughts (which are likely edited for maximum impact) that really only infuriate us to the point of more solidly reaffirming our preconceived world view? We are blessed to have the ability to actually read and comprehend meaning in printed symbols. There is so much...
Lake Wales City Commissioner Al Goldstein has been tapped to chair the Florida League of Cities Land Use and Economic Development Committee. FLC President Tony Ortiz, an Orlando city commissioner, appointed Goldstein, who also is currently serving on the league's Federal Action Strike Team, which visits Washington, DC to discuss legislative issues at the national level. Ortiz said Goldstein will be responsible for working with other committee members to discuss the many...
Rotary on the Ridge has been recognized with a 2019-2020 Water Safety Advocacy Award by the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation. The regional after hours service club kicked off its water safety initiative in the spring of 2019 using the foundation's Josh the Baby Otter program materials. The club presented the water safety program to more than 500 children at Chain of Lakes and Spook Hill elementary schools and at day care centers in Dundee and Lake Wales. Planned 2020...
The pandemic forced some changes, but First Baptist Church of Lake Wales went forward with a modified Back 2 School Bash on Saturday, Aug. 22. Children's Ministry Director Candice McKeon said each year around this time the church is polishing the final details for the church's Back to School Bash. Normally there are bounce houses, water slides, shaved ice and of course, food. Each year an estimated 50 families attend to celebrate the start of a new school year. Unfortunately,...
The Lake Wales Public Library, with the assistance of lakewalesnews.net, has revived a tradition that existed in our local weekly newspaper for many years, the publication of a sampling of new books available at our library. The list will be updated weekly. The Lake Wales Public Library continues to offer safe door-side pickup of materials during our current hours of operation. Call the library to request that holds are placed on items for pickup at the Lake Wales Public...
The Lake Wales Public Library, with the assistance of lakewalesnews.net, has revived a tradition that existed in our local weekly newspaper for many years, the publication of a sampling of new books available at our library. The list will be updated weekly. The Lake Wales Public Library continues to offer safe door-side pickup of materials during our current hours of operation. Call the library to request that holds are placed on items for pickup at the Lake Wales Public...
The Lake Wales Public Library, with the assistance of lakewalesnews.net, has revived a tradition that existed in our local weekly newspaper for many years, the publication of a sampling of new books available at our library. The list will be updated weekly. The Lake Wales Public Library continues to offer safe door-side pickup of materials during our current hours of operation. Call the library to request that holds are placed on items for pickup at the Lake Wales Public...
The Lake Wales Public Library, with the assistance of lakewalesnews.net, has revived a tradition that existed in our local weekly newspaper for many years, the publication of a sampling of new books available at our library. The list will be updated weekly. The Lake Wales Public Library continues to offer safe door-side pickup of materials during our current hours of operation. Call the library to request that holds are placed on items for pickup at the Lake Wales Public...
The Democratic National Convention starts Aug. 17, and Polk County Democrats will be revving up enthusiasm with three "Ridin' with Biden" caravans the day before the convention kicks off in Milwaukee. On Sunday, Aug. 16, the caravans will start at 2 p.m. at three Polk locations. One will start in Lakeland, one in Poinciana, and one in Winter Haven. One hundred cars or more are expected to hit the road in Polk. They'll join thousands of cars around Florida that will be...
Sandy Dent is very worried about her 9-pound chihuahua that got frightened and ran off during to the July 4 fireworks. Valdez has kidney disease and without special food he could get sick and die. The fawn colored dog with a little white fur on his neck, chest and toes was lost from the Nature's Edge Community on Orchid Boulevard in Lake Wales. He was first seen standing by the entrance to Jennings Resort where Watkins Road curves into Canal Road near Cherry Pocket. Then Dent...
The Lake Wales Public Library, with the assistance of lakewalesnews.net, has revived a tradition that existed in our local weekly newspaper for many years, the publication of a sampling of new books available at our library. The list will be updated weekly. The Lake Wales Public Library continues to offer safe door-side pickup of materials during our current hours of operation. Call the library to request that holds are placed on items for pickup at the Lake Wales Public...
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, founded January 16, 1920, began as an idea conceived by five coeds at Howard University in Washington D.C.: Arizona Cleaver Stemons, Pearl Anna Neal, Myrtle Tyler Faithful, Viola Tyler Goings and Fannie Pettie Watts. These five women, also known as our Five Pearls, dared to depart from the traditional coalitions for black women and sought to establish a new organization predicated on the precepts of Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood and...
Lake Wales Arts Council Executive Director Andrew Allen supports the philosophy "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Instead of canceling summer arts camp due to COVID-19 concerns, Allen and his staff found a way to move it 100 percent online and to make it free for all. Despite cutting enrollment in half, spending thousands of dollars and countless hours developing plans to keep the children and staff safe, Allen finally realized the increasing numbers testing...
Efforts to beautify and green Lake Wales streets got another boost Saturday as community volunteers led by the Lake Wales Woman's Club prepared three street "triangles" along Lakeshore Boulevard for new floral plantings. "I'm totally stoked!" said Bonnie Poller, who is chair of the Environment Committee of the Woman's Club, which is spearheading the project. "Neighbors came out to help." More than a dozen volunteers participated. "This was only Phase one," Poller added....
Zachary Kirkland was in middle school when he started his own non-profit called Silly Sock Saturdays. Now a rising senior at Lake Wales High School, Zachary continues his mission of making hospital stays more pleasant for children by providing them a gift bag with silly socks, toys, games and other items. "Being able to help those in a hard and stressful situation is the reason for creating the nonprofit and getting to hear the feedback and know that what I do invokes a smile...
A group of Lake Wales police officers were treated to a free tasty lunch and desserts on Friday by a group of homeowners from Lake Ashton, who wanted to show their appreciation for the peace-keeping efforts of the department. "The Loop" is a five-block neighborhood of the sprawling development on the north side of Lake Wales, and home of a casual organization that organizes community events three times a month. Calling itself the Looplanders, the neighborhood group has been...
