MEJIA NAMED EMPLOYEE OF MONTH
Lake Wales, FL – Maria Mejia, Phlebotomy, was named employee of the month for October at Lake Wales Medical Center. Maria, who has worked for the hospital since 2013, was honored for always going the extra mile. “Maria is super devoted to her patients,” her supervisor said. “She makes all new hires feel welcomed. She is always willing and ready to pick up any shifts that need to be covered. She is very dependable.”
Cops and Kids at Christmas 2018
Have you ever witnessed 47 children gathered with their parents along with a large group of police officers, a life size Oreo Cookie, a life size Chester Cheetah, elves, and Santa Claus? It happened, we were there and it was a lot of fun!
On December 13, 2018, the Lake Wales Police Officer’s Association held their annual Shop with a Cop event at the Lake Wales Wal-Mart. At 6:00pm the gathering took place and while parents signed their children in to participate, the children had their faces painted, ate snacks and had photographs taken with our special guests. Once assigned to specific officers and helpers, the shopping frenzy began! As the children worked their way to the toy department, Wal-Mart employees dressed in Christmas themes greeted them with snacks and drinks along with a big smile.
As the children made it to the toy department, their excitement became obvious. The aisles were full of smiles, laughter and joyful decision making as they selected their treasures. You could not help but notice the same excitement on the faces of the parents, grandparents and yes, even the officers! Each child had a $100.00 spending limit and selected everything from RC Monster Trucks to clothing.
The Shop with a Cop event has created great memories for everyone involved and we hope the positive interaction between the officers and children helped create trusting relationships that will last into their adulthood.
This event is only possible due to the generosity and teamwork of many people and businesses. Those who sponsored the 2018 Lake Wales Police Officer Association Shop with a Cop event were: Wal-Mart and their employees, Frito-Lay, Nabisco, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Goya, Bimbo Bakery, Hershey’s and Patricia Miller. “Thank you to everyone who contributed in any way. What you did to make this Christmas special for these children is proof that love and the miracle of Christmas is still alive.”
From the men and women of the Lake Wales Police Department, “Merry Christmas!”
A Department of Corrections Sergeant from South Florida Among Four Arrested In Fight
Quatisha Farlow (39 years old DOC Sergeant, Miami, FL) was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon after she drove from Miami with other family members and went to the home of her daughter and boyfriend because the family didn’t approve of the relationship.
On 12-20-18 at approximately 7:44 p.m., police responded to the home of 18 year-old Tyrique Laskett and his girlfriend, 18 year-old Ja’raia Farlow (Summit Dr., Winter Haven) after calls were received that a large fight was occurring with baseball bats, guns and knives. Upon arrival, they found Laskett with injuries to his head, face and upper body. The group of suspects had left the scene before authorities arrived, however were located a short distance away in a Publix parking lot and taken into custody without incident.
Excerpts from the affidavits are as follows:
“It was determined that multiple family members of Ja’raia Farlow went to Summit Dr. Winter Haven, Florida at approximately 7:30 p.m. where she was living with her boyfriend, Tyrique Laskett. Among the family members was Quatisha Farlow (mother),Ora Farlow (father), Shanora Farlow (aunt) and Sheirra Spillman (Ora’s girlfriend). It’s known that Ora did not approve of Ja’raia and Tyrique dating and living together which is why the family responded to the residence.
Tyrique stated during a sworn interview that Ora and his girlfriend Sheirra, approached the front door and knocked. Tyrique answered with Ja’raia. Sheirra then struck Tyrique on the left side of his head with a silver baseball bat. Both Sheirra and Ora began grabbing Ja’raia pulling her outside with them against her will. Ora began to physically batter Tyrique all over his body against his will while still pulling at Ja’raia trying to get her into a vehicle.
Shanora got out of the vehicle she arrived in once the physical fight began on the porch and intentionally struck Tyrique on his abdomen against his will along with other members of Ja’raia’s family.
While the fighting was occurring Quatisha (mother) went into her vehicle that had her 12 year old son inside and retrieved a black Glock handgun. She then pointed it at Tyrique against his will along with multiple others putting him in fear.”
The four arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail are:
Quatisha Farlow – one count of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon F.S.S. 784.021(1)(A) F3
Ora Farlow – one count Battery F.S.S. 784.03(1)(A) M1
Shierra Spillman – two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon F.S.S. 784.021(1)(A) F3
(Spillman struck Tyrique during the incident and also attempted to strike
Tyrique’s sister with her vehicle as the sister ran to a neighbor’s home)
Shanora Farlow – one count Battery F.S.S. 784.03(1)(A) M1
Spirit Lake Road Railroad Crossing to Close Thursday for Two Days
Bartow, Fla. — CSX Transportation has scheduled a temporary closure for repairs to its rail crossing at Spirit Lake Road in the Inwood area of Winter Haven starting Thursday morning. Work is anticipated to take two days to complete. The crossing between Recker Highway (State Road 655) and Avenue G NW will be upgraded with new track components and pavement. Traffic congestion and lengthy peak-hour commuting delays are expected. Traffic heading northbound on Spirit Lake Road will detour at Recker Highway, while southbound traffic will detour at Avenue G NW. Motorists are encouraged to drive carefully, consider alternate routes or add more time to trips through this heavily traveled area.
Due to longstanding statutory entitlements, CSX has vested authority to close roadway crossings along their railway lines. CSX has scheduled this closure notwithstanding the opportunity to perform their repairs during the two-week long holiday for nearby public schools. Anyone wanting to report a public road crossing maintenance issue or complaint should call CSX at 800-332-4697. The automated phone menu directs callers to press #3 for road closure information. Polk County recognizes these repairs are necessary and will make for better and safer driving conditions when completed.
Prep 20 m
Cook 8 m
Ready In 6 h 28 m
Lakeland Choral Society Performs Christmas Concert
by James Coulter
Nothing quite stirs the holiday spirit than listening to the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Such a stirring performance of the song was offered during the Lakeland Choral Society’s Christmas Concert on Sunday.
From Handel’s “Messiah” to “Silent Night” and the “12 Days of Christmas”, more than 70 singers from the Lakeland Choral Society graced the stage at First Presbyterian Church of Lakeland to perform live renditions of classic traditional Christmas songs.
Their concert commenced with an opening act by the Florida Southern Children’s Chorus, with 17 elementary school singers performing two songs.
The first song, “Shiru”, was a traditional Hebrew hymn that implored the entire earth to sing praises of glory to God; the second song, “Laudamus Te”, was a Latin song with the simple lyrics: “We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you.”
The Lakeland Choral Society then moved on with their own performance, starting with an acapella rendition of “Silent Night”. Having the song performed with vocals and no accompanying music helped convey the gravity of the song, and honored its preservation over the past 200 years, explained Beth Cummings, Choir Director of the Lakeland Choral Society.
The very next selection was a unique “musilogical” performance of “The 12 Days of Christmas” as composed by Craig Courtney, with each “Day of Christmas” being performed through a different musical genre.
From the Gregorian Chants of 6th Century monastery monks, to the lively patriotic band music of John Phillips Souza, each “day” highlighted a different period and musical genre, with each verse being performed in the style of such historic musical composers such as Brahms, Handel, and Wagner.
“It was quite a big challenge vocally and rhythmically, but a great piece for the audience to hear,” Cummings said.
The performance that evening concluded with selections from the iconic Handel’s “Messiah”, especially the famous “Halleluiah Chorus.”
Even the audience itself was encouraged to take a stand and join in the singing of the selection, with their voices harmonizing with those of the singers on stage.
“It was a good mixture of things we have been working on through the fall and winter seasons, a good variety of music for our audience, and I think the best part of the afternoon was the passion that our singers had sung today,” Cummings said.
The Lakeland Choral Society spent several months preparing for their performance. Since the middle of October, they have been hosting two-hour rehearsals every Monday, with a few extra rehearsals here and there.
The end result was a stunning performance of traditional Christmas music that can only be best appreciated by listening to it live in person at events such as this, Cummings explained.
“So live music, live theater, is a gift that people who are on stage give to the audience, and it cannot be replicated through watching TV or YouTube, because when you are in the audience, you become part of the performance,” she said.
Starting their event that afternoon was a special apperance of the Florida Southern College Children’s Chorus as directed by Deborah Zahner.
More than two dozen children singers, ranging from third to fifth grade, attended to lend their voices in opening for the adult singers that afternoon.
As with the Choral Society, the Children’s Chorus has also been rehearsing their performance for several weeks, having started earlier that fall semester way back in August.
All of the progress they made that semester not only lent itself to a spectacular opening act, but also helped introduce a new generation to choral performance, Zhaner said.
“This is a culmination of a semester’s work,” she said. “We focus on teaching the foundation of music reading and exposing the children to standard academic literature.”
As a music teacher most of her life, Zhaner loves being able to cultivate the talent and voices of young singers, and encourages anyone interested in such performances to consider joining.
“It is nice to be able to introduce chorale literature to an entire generation,” Zahner said. “I would encourage anyone in the community who knows a young singer to have them go to our website and look on the youth portion to send me a message and schedule an audition.”
The Lakeland Choral Society will be hosting a spring concert in April. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.lakelandchoralsociety.org/
Lake Wales, Florida – On 12/04/18, the Lake Wales Police Department was contacted in reference to an armed robbery at a residence on Campbell Avenue. According to reports a home owner was decorating his Christmas tree when he heard a knock at the door. The person at the door was a young man who had been to his home several months ago asking for donations (providing coupon book) for football uniforms. The home owner had provided him a donation at that time. This time the young man asked for water. The home owner stated he didn’t have bottled water so he closed the door and grabbed a cup of water. According to the arrest affidavit when the home owner opened the door, the suspect had a gun pointed at him. The home owner tried to force the door shut, but the suspect overpowered him and forced his way inside the residence. Once he forced his way in the door, the suspect said, “I need all your money, this is loaded.” Once the suspect got the money he fled on foot.
A perimeter was set up and Polk County helicopter was on scene, but the suspect was not apprehended. Officers contacted the Lake Wales High School and spoke with someone in the athletic department. After giving a description of the suspect a photo and name were provided to the police. According to reports the suspect picture was picked out of a photo line up. The suspect was named as Alberto Lee Cooper, DOB: 12/28/1999, of Lake Wales.
Once the suspect was identified, units responded to his residence where he was apprehended. According to reports, post Miranda, Cooper allegedly admitted to the armed robbery. Cooper was charged with Robbery with Firearm/Deadly Weapon and Armed Burglary of a Dwelling.
This is not the first time that Cooper has been arrested. He was arrested on January 2018 for allegedly having sex with a minor (14 year old). In that case the state attorney’s office decided to drop the charges.
Cooper has a court appearance scheduled January 8, 2018 for charge of Robbery with a Firearm.
Lake Wales, Florida – According to the Lake Wales Police Department a Crash occurred Sunday morning at the intersection of N Lakeshore Blvd and N 9th St. A vehicle was traveling on Lakeshore Blvd. The bicyclist was traveling south on N 9th St. The bicyclist failed to yield right of way crashing into the vehicle. The bicyclist was transported to the hospital by EMS for non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the vehicle was not injured.
The bicyclist was at fault for failure to yield right if way.
We currently don’t have an update on the condition of the bicyclist.
UPDATE to traffic crash that occurred early Sunday morning, during which the 17-year-old driver, Kenneth Haney Jr. died – the passenger of the car, 18-year-old Chad Hall, has been declared deceased.
Polk County Sheriffs Office Press Release
Around 4:00 am on Sunday, Dec 16, 2018, Polk County Fire Rescue & PCSO responded to a vehicle versus semi crash at Hwy 37 and SR 640 in Mulberry. Upon their arrival, the driver of a black Honda Civic, 17 year old Kenneth Haney of Bradley, was deceased at the scene and his passenger, 18 year old Chad Hall of Mulberry, was critically injured & transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. The semi-truck driver, 39 year old William Benavidez of Lakeland, was not injured.
Preliminary investigation suggests Kenneth Haney was traveling south on Hwy 37 and failed to stop, and ran into the back of a semi-truck that was stopped at the red light at Hwy 37 and CR 640.
The crash caused massive fontal damage and interior intrusion into the Honda. There were no signs of braking by Haney prior to impacting the semi-truck.
At this time, neither impairment nor speed are thought to be factors in the crash, but the investigation is still ongoing.
Both Haney and Hall were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash and frontal and side airbags deployed.
Haney was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office and an autopsy will be performed.
Hall was taken to LRHMC and underwent emergency surgery for his injuries.
Hwy 37 South was closed for approximately 5 hours and FDOT routed traffic around the crash during the investigation.
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