Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce is inviting golf enthusiasts and local business owners to get involved in their annual outing. The Chamber will host its 2024 Golf Scramble, on Friday, April 26 and feature raffles and a variety of prizes for the "top winners", according to Lori Beyer, Services & Events Coordinator at the Chamber. The tournament take place at the Lake Wales Country Club and offers area golfers an afternoon day of fellowship and some zany fun. The outing...
The 11th annual "18 Aces to Conquer Cancer" golf outing to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research and patient aid will take place on January 8 at the Country Club of Winter Haven, giving area golfers a chance to compete for huge prizes and do a good deed at the same time. The event is sponsored annually by the Mahalak Auto Group. Proceeds will benefit the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research. The event offers a chance to win a Jeep lease...
Polk State Soccer Head Coach Dee Shivraman and Assistant Coach and Recruiting Director Tawanda Kaseke are taking a community approach as they begin their first year with the Eagles. For the 2023-24 Academic Year, the coaches will host seven different events, some for youngsters and others for adults. The events will be held in collaboration between Polk State's coaches and Winter Haven United Academy, a soccer club with a youth academy and professional development programs....
A new school year means many things: getting used to new schedules, making new friends, and for fans of the defending state championship Lake Wales Highlanders, a new season of football. For players the 2023 football season provides an exciting new opportunity and a fresh start. Players Grady Turner, a defensive lineman and linebacker, wide receiver Carldayle "CJ" Brantley, along with athletic trainer head manager Abagail Ruble spoke with Lake Wales News.net on what they...
The women of the Lake Wales High School softball team were all smiles in Clermont Thursday afternoon after winning the state softball class with 7-2 a victory over Wakulla. The Crawfordville school came into the playoffs with a better overall record, but the Highlanders had played a tougher schedule, and it showed. The Highlanders earned their way to the title game by defeating Lemon Bay by a 5-0 score on Wednesday. The day started well for the Highlanders as shortstop Zamya...
The Lake Wales High School Softball team is angling to bring back a second state championship in a single scholastic year after defeating Lemon Bay (Englewood) 5-0 in a semifinal game played in Clermont. The game was scheduled to start at 11:00 am, but was moved an hour earlier to avoid anticipated heavy rains in the afternoon. The Highlanders will face the winner of the other semifinal game between Key West and Wakulla. The Highlanders are the top seed in the tournament. The...
We know anglers care about big bass, which means they also care about how they handle big bass. Especially in recent years, concerns have been voiced about how anglers handle bass during catch-and-release fishing. This has prompted Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and University of Florida biologists to develop a research project to examine this important issue. The results showed that none of the three tested handling methods caused any permanent...
A $3000 grant has been awarded to a local athletic league that will allow them to continue to provide participation and support for local athletes wishing to participate in their programs. Nearly every parent knows how costly it can be to have children involved in sports. Between the registration, equipment, cost of transportation, meals, and even the time commitment, the price can become prohibitive. No Limits Volleyball in Polk County helps to bring affordable, Christian-bas...
Increased numbers of boats and anglers are expected on Lake Reedy in Frostproof this Saturday, March 25, as the Frostproof Church of God hosts their 12th Annual Bass Tournament. The tournament will benefit the church's youth department. The tournament will run from first safe light until 2:00 pm. Each boat will be allowed a five-fish limit to submit for the weigh-in upon the conclusion of the tournament. No live bait is allowed in this tournament, which requires artificial...
Lake Wales weightlifters won the Olympics-style county title while placing second to Lakeland in the traditional competition. In the Olympic competition, Lake Wales won with 53 points, while Lakeland was second with 48. Ridge Community (30 points), Lake Gibson (27) and Haines City (28) trailed. Individual lifters who played major roles in the team victory for the Highlanders included Sean Major (219) Trent Grotjan (199), Noah Wise (unlimited), Harrison Thrift (129), and...
A team of skydivers from a dozen nations cooperated to build canopy stacks of a 54 and 65 persons at Lake Wales Airport this week while descending from well above 10,000 feet. The 65-person stack was the largest achieved since the current world record of 100 canopies was set in 2007, also at Lake Wales Airport. The huge canopy stack, measuring almost 300 feet tall, was detected by radar from 200 miles away. This week the "Freeze Your Buns Off Boogie" is offering acrobatic...
The Lake Wales Highlanders won their semi-final football game Friday night and will face the Mainland Buccaneers of Daytona Beach in the state Class 3S Championship game, which will be held in a neutral stadium on December 16. Game time, tentatively set for 11:00 am, has yet to be confirmed by the Florida High School Athletic Association. The Lake Wales Highlanders moved to 14-0 after defeating the Columbia High School Tigers by a score of 37-7 under the lights of Legion...
The Lake Wales Highlanders have completed a perfect 15-0 season with a 32-30 win over Daytona Mainland to win their first state championship. After falling behind early by a 10-0 score, the Highlanders battled back to open a 32-23 lead late, before the Daytona Buccaneers scored to pull within two. The Highlanders defense played a major role in the game with three interceptions, including two by Phillip Davis that ended a Buccaneer drives on the Highlanders' one and two yard...
Lake Wales High School's athletics programs continue to find success, as the men's soccer program advanced to the Polk County Champion's League semi-final game with a 3-1 victory over All Saints Friday. The semi-final game will take place Tuesday night at 8:00 in Lakeland. The win over All Saints came on the strength of goals by Luke Weaver, Carson Pike and, and Martin Aguilar. The Highlanders are now 3-2-1 on the season, their wins coming as LW 6-0 Haines City, and LW 2-0...
UPDATE: GAME TIME CHANGED TO 7:00 BY FSHAA See new story in NEWS section The Lake Wales Highlanders captured the Regional Championship and advanced to the final four in the state Class 3S football playoffs Friday night with an exciting 26-9 victory over the Zephyrhills Bulldogs. The undefeated Highlanders will host the semi-final game next Friday against Columbia, winners over Choctawhatchee Friday night. Carlos Mitchell provided much of the excitement for Highlander fans...
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)...
UPDATE: Highlanders Advance. See the story here A Friday night Regional Championship game will be the first hosted at Lake Wales' Legion Field in memory, according to long-time area football fans, and the undefeated and top-seeded Highlanders are hoping for a big turnout of support as they take on the number three seed Zephyrhills Bulldogs. When the two squads met earlier this season the Lake Wales Highlanders won the day with a 33-0 score, but such games have a way of...
The Lake Wales Highlanders took another step forward toward their long-denied state football title Friday night as they defeated the Ocala Vanguard Knights 40-0. The Knights had ended the Highlanders' last two title runs, making the victory particularly sweet. The win advances the top-seeded and undefeated Highlanders to the Regional Championship Game, which will take place Friday evening at Legion Field when they host the number three seed Zephyrhills Bulldogs. Game time is s...
The undefeated and top-seeded Lake Wales High School Highlanders football team has drawn a rematch with the eight-seeded Auburndale Bloodhounds in the first round of the Regional playoffs, state football officials have announced. Due to their seed they will host at least through the Regional games. The Highlanders are 10-0 on the season, and have outscored their opponents 429 to 41 in games that were rarely in doubt after the the first quarter. The Highlanders defeated...
The top-seeded Lake Wales Highlander football team advanced their 2022 playoff hopes Friday night at Legion Field with a decisive 34-10 victory over the eighth-seed Auburndale Bloodhounds, making a small step forward to their season-long goal of a state title that has proved elusive. The Highlanders have advanced as far as the championship game in past seasons, but never brought home the trophy. Their hopes are riding high this year on the strength of their undefeated season,...
After tearing through a schedule that was expected to present challenges, the Lake wales Highlanders take on their district foes, the Liberty High School Chargers, tonight in Kissimmee. At 0-7 on the season the Osceola County team is not expected to present a a serious obstacle. Now ranked in the top slot among in 3-S District 8 teams, and 5th statewide in the re-shuffled state classification system, the Highlanders have been led through their remarkable season by senior...
A pink-tagged bass still swimming around in Lake Walk-in-the-Water is worth thousands of dollars to some lucky angler. A second tagged bass is loose at Tenoroc, while others swim in various Florida waters as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) TrophyCatch program ends another successful season. Catching one of these special bass and successfully submitting it to TrophyCatch will net the lucky angler a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card and $1,000 to...
For the best local fishing action head to Lake Walk-in-the-Water, where bank fishermen are catching limits of bluegill and shell crackers from the Indian Lake canals. Lake levels coming finally up and bass are more active both early and late. Throw a Whopper Plopper in bluegill around any isolated cover. On Lake Kissimmee fishers are still catching shell crackers in the lily pads near Gobbler Ridge, around Lemon Point, and Bird Island, mostly on red worms. Lots of recent rain...
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission want to invite you to just go fish! Here's a great suggestion for that youngster, or even the experienced pro, that will provide hours of fun. Featured Fish: Bluegill Size: This is one of the smallest of our popular game fish. The state record is 2.95 pounds. The Big Catch minimum qualifying sizes are 10" or 1.0 pound (see BigCatchFlorida.com). Appearance: The bluegill is easily identified by the black spot on the gill...
For the best local fishing action head to Lake Walk-in-the-Water, where bluegill and shell crackers may be found in lily pads around the lake. Look for the pads shaking, and drop a red worm on the bottom. There are a few bass roaming the shallows at day break and in the evening. Throw a "horny toad" in the junebug color to any isolated cover on the south end. Due to the extremely low water level, Lake Hatchineha is unsafe for boating and fishing, and it is advised to avoid...
