Press Release

Lakeland, Fla., (July 31, 2024) – The Greater Lakeland Advisory Board of Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS) proudly hosted the Community Appreciation and Recognition Social on July 30, 2024. This special event celebrated the dedication and contributions of outstanding individuals and organizations that have significantly impacted the lives of children and families in the community.

During the event, six distinguished awards were presented:

2024 Advocate of the Year: Dawn Chapman, a long-time CHS Greater Lakeland Advisory Board Member and Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee, was honored as the Advocate of the Year. She is a tireless advocate for children and families and recently spent time with CHS front-line staff to express appreciation for their efforts.

2024 Community Partners: Heartland for Children was recognized as the Community Partner for their responsiveness and collaboration in supporting local CHS initiatives and fostering positive relationships with law enforcement ensuring better outcomes for youth. The Florida Network for Children’s Advocacy Centers was also celebrated for their outstanding support of CHS’ Children’s Advocacy Center Team in Bartow and their steadfast efforts advocating for additional funding to support critical work on behalf of children and families in Greater Lakeland and statewide.

2024 Legislative Champion: Senator Colleen Burton was named the Legislative Champion for 2024. As a long-standing child advocate, Sen. Burton has championed improvements in the lives of Florida’s citizens. She was recognized for her leadership in health care reform during the past Legislative Session and her ongoing support of CHS and the Community Partnership Schools™ model.

2024 Community Supporter: Fresh Kitchen was celebrated for their contributions to local CHS initiatives, including making CHS a beneficiary of their annual fundraiser.

2024 Community Supporter: The “Friends”, comprising of four volunteers: Courtney Wentworth, Kayla Plouffe, Samantha Judd and Liz Plemons were recognized for their support of local CHS events including the CHS Charity Pickleball Tournament, the Back-to-School donation drive, and the annual holiday drive for children and families.

“We are incredibly thankful for the dedication and passion of our award recipients,” said Dr. Amy Bratten, Board Chair and Provost for Polk State College. “Their commitment to advocating for and supporting children and families in our community is truly inspiring. Each of them plays a vital role in creating brighter futures, and we are honored to recognize their outstanding contributions.”

The Community Appreciation and Recognition Social was graciously hosted by Boring Business Systems which is celebrating 100 years of serving the greater Tampa Bay area’s business needs — from IT solutions to copy and print services. 

Immediately following the Social, the CHS Greater Lakeland Advisory Board held their advisory meeting and welcomed new governance including Chair Clint Rhoton and Vice Chair Nate Pearson. They will each serve a 2-year term. 

For more information about Children’s Home Society of Florida, please visit chsfl.org.

About Children’s Home Society of Florida
On the front lines since 1902, Children’s Home Society of Florida is the oldest and largest statewide organization devoted to helping children and families. Children’s Home Society of Florida serves more than 50,000 children and family members throughout the state each year. More: www.chsfl.org.

On Saturday morning (July 27th) Deputy Lofton and Deputy Sookhoo began an investigation of a stolen bicycle in the area of Timbercreek Loop and Saddle Creek Road in Lakeland.

The bicycle was a girl’s light purple Huffy, and it had been stolen from the victim’s front porch.

During the investigation, deputies found a neighbor whose security camera captured the theft occurring at around 11pm the night before.

One of the deputies looked at the video and recognized the suspect as 35-year old James Calhoun. They showed the video to two other deputies who also recognized the suspect as James Calhoun.

Deputies soon located James Calhoun and showed him the video. James denied it was him in the video, but James was in possession of the girl’s light purple Huffy bicycle. The bike had freshly painted yellow handlebars. James said he painted them because he liked the colors of the Los Angels Lakers.

James denied stealing the bicycle. He claimed he traded his old bike for the girl’s bike earlier in the day with “some random person.”

James was arrested and charged with burglary and theft.

The bicycle was returned to the victim, who we’ve been told celebrated her 12th birthday that very same day.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office conducted an undercover operation at Saddle Creek Park and Gator Creek Preserve in response to complaints of lewd activity.

On July 25, 2024, at approximately 9:25 AM, a PCSO undercover detective was approached by 67-year-old Pablo Coronado at Saddle Creek Park in Lakeland. After a brief conversation, Coronado made unsolicited physical contact and expressed willingness to engage in sexual acts. The detective arrested Coronado without incident.

“This is a family park, a place where parents bring their children to make pleasant memories. They don’t want their children witnessing behavior like this. That’s why we do these undercover operations at various parks across the county. We want our community to be a safe place for parents to raise their children.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Upon his arrest, Coronado expressed remorse and admitted to going to the park to commit lewd acts. He was issued a 10-year trespass warning for all Polk County Parks.

Coronado was charged with offering/agreeing to commit a lewd act (M2) and simple battery (M1) and was transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center without incident.