A tragic crash in Sumter County on Thursday morning left one man dead following a nearly head-on collision on State Road 471.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occurred around 8:25 a.m. on October 30, 2025. A 32-year-old man from Lakeland was driving a Nissan Rogue northbound on SR-471 when he attempted to pass other vehicles. During the maneuver, his vehicle entered the southbound lane and collided almost head-on with a Volkswagen sedan driven by a 42-year-old man from Palm Harbor.
The driver of the Volkswagen suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Nissan sustained minor injuries.
The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Between fun costumes and tasty treats, Halloween is one of the most anticipated nights of the year for many children.
However, these precautions can be taken – by kids and parents alike – to help ensure an enjoyable, fun-filled time.
Pick Proper Costumes
Before Halloween, choose a costume that doesn’t pose safety risks. Look for costumes, wigs and accessories that are flame-resistant and flexible.
Ideally, costumes will be bright and reflective. If not, add reflective tape to costumes or bags and provide glow sticks or flash lights. Make sure shoes fit properly and costumes are not too long to help prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flames. Also consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives to masks, which can obscure vision.
Prep Your Home for Visitors
To ensure you’re ready for trick-or-treaters, remove tripping hazards from your yard and porch, including hoses, bikes and other toys, and clear wet leaves, snow or other debris from the sidewalk. Make it known you’re home by turning on your porch light; test it early and replace burnt out bulbs, if necessary, to ensure visibility. Also consider substitutes for sweets, which may contain ingredients some trick-or-treaters are allergic to, opting instead for more inclusive options such as stickers, coloring books, pencils, rubber insects or colored chalk.
Trick-or-Treat with Care
Regardless of the age of your children, some extra precautions should be taken before they go out in search of treats. Remind children to avoid trick-or-treating alone; walk in groups or with a trusted adult. If older children are going with a group of friends, plan and review an acceptable route and agree on a specific time for them to return home.
Tell them to only visit homes with illuminated porch lights and always use direct paths, crossing the street at corners using sidewalks crosswalks.
Watch for Walkers
The risk for children being hit by cars is higher on Halloween than on any other day of the year, according to Safe Kids Worldwide. To help minimize that risk, slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods – especially between the hours of 5-10 p.m. when most children are typically trick-or-treating – as excited kids may move in unpredictable ways. Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and curbs, and minimize distractions such as cell phones as much as possible.
Inspect Candy
Though tampering is rare, a responsible adult should closely examine all treats and discard spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items once children return home. Teach your child to politely decline homemade items such as cupcakes, brownies and popcorn balls, and always read ingredient labels as many popular candies contain common allergens like peanuts, milk, eggs, soy or wheat.
Now get out there, be safe, and have a Happy Halloween!
The City of Auburndale invites residents and visitors to celebrate the season at Fall Fest 2025 on Saturday, November 1, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM in Downtown Park. This beloved community event offers a full day of autumn fun for all ages, featuring a craft show, petting zoo, kid rides, and live music throughout the park.
Families can stroll through rows of local vendors offering handmade crafts, seasonal décor, and unique gifts while enjoying delicious food and entertainment in the heart of downtown. Children will love meeting friendly farm animals and enjoying rides and games designed just for them.
Fall Fest is one of Auburndale’s favorite traditions, bringing together the community to celebrate the sights, sounds, and flavors of fall. Gather your family, invite your friends, and enjoy a day of small-town charm and festive fun at this year’s Fall Fest!
Lola Aileen Crump Smith, 98, of St. Cloud, FL, passed away peacefully in her sleep on October 20, 2025, at Bridgeport Assisted Living Facility in Belle Isle, FL. She was born on October 25, 1926, in La Fayette, Georgia, to J.P. and Rosa Lee (Barron) Crump. Lola was a devoted homemaker, mother, and a faithful member of Shamrock Baptist Church in Haines City, FL.
Lola loved drinking coffee, reading, working on jigsaw and crossword puzzles, gardening, growing flowers, and baking sweets. She especially loved red roses and singing gospel music. Lola was loved by everyone who knew her—outgoing, sociable, and friendly, she had a special fondness for children and was known for always having a smile on her face.
She is preceded in death by her parents, J.P. and Rosa; her beloved husband of 51 years, Horace W. Smith; and her half- sister, Virginia Crump. Lola is survived by her children, Garry L. (Mary Carolyn) Smith, Gerald S. “Steve” (Cathie H.) Smith, Rebecca S. (William) Lassiter, and Michelle P. (Amir Jazayeri) Smith; fifteen grandchildren, twenty-eight great-grandchildren, and thirty-seven great-great-grandchildren.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, October 30, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Oak Ridge Funeral Care in Haines City. Following the visitation, a graveside service will take place at 11:00 a.m. at Evergreen Cemetery in Davenport.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Dementia Society of America or the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation to honor Lola C. Smith.
Work has begun on Buckeye Loop Road to install a new 12-inch water line, improving system reliability and overall water quality for residents and businesses in the area. The project will also help loop the existing system, creating a more efficient flow of water. Construction is anticipated to be completed by Spring 2026, with periodic lane closures and traffic control in place as needed.
Costumes and candy may be mainstays of Halloween, but decorating is a fun way to set the mood and add a little extra excitement leading up to the holiday.
These spooktacular ideas can help dial up the drama and delight for all ages.
Pumpkins aplenty: A traditional glowing jack-o’-lantern may be one of Halloween’s most recognized icons, but pumpkins can be used in plenty of other fun ways. You can dress them up with glitter and ribbon for a more elegant look or group a series of pumpkins in varied shapes and colors for a seasonal centerpiece. You can even give a pumpkin a coat of chalkboard paint and count down the days until Halloween.
Creepy kids’ crafts: Get little ghosts and goblins into the Halloween spirit with hand-made decorations that make your seasonal decor equal parts sweet and spooky. Fold a black piece of construction paper down the middle and trace a child’s hand and wrist, with the wrist extending over the folded edge. Cut along the traced line, leaving the fold intact, and when you unfold the paper, you’ll have a bat to decorate. Add eyes and attach string to the top of the wings to hang and display.
Gross and ghoulish: Some of the best Halloween displays have something in common: attention to detail. Get creative with your props and decorations to incorporate some unexpected attention-grabbers like brains in a jar. Place bunches of cauliflower in a clear glass container and cover with water died red.
Spooky serving: If you’re entertaining for Halloween, incorporate spooky decor with your food and drinks to keep the theme going throughout the party. Use cauldrons as serving bowls and skeleton hands as serving spoons. Add plenty of cobwebs and other spooky accents to the table, and search for easy recipes that fit your theme. One fun idea for kids is baking sugar cookies in fun Halloween shapes and serving them with a selection of food-safe syringes pre-filleo with colored frosting.
Ghostly greetings: All the tricks and treats indoors make for plenty of good spirit, but don’t forget to set the scene outside, too. Dressing up your front door lets visitors know they’re in for a real treat. A haunted graveyard scene or a spooky spider den with lots of critters dangling from fake cobwebs are sure to show all who dare to enter that a howling good time lies ahead.
Saturday, November 22 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Lake Elbert Boat Ramp (Corner of Lake Elbert Drive & 9th St NE)
Join the City of Winter Haven and community partners as we celebrate the official opening of the Lake Elbert Trail! This exciting new amenity offers residents and visitors a safe, scenic path to walk, run, or bike while enjoying one of Winter Haven’s most picturesque lakes.
The morning will begin with a brief ceremony and ribbon cutting, followed by a ceremonial “First Walk” around the trail. We invite everyone to bring comfortable shoes—or bikes—and be among the first to experience this beautiful new addition to our community’s growing trail network.
Come out and celebrate progress, connection, and the beauty of Winter Haven’s Chain of Lakes!
Get ready for a week(end) full of spooky fun, candy, and community celebrations! Here’s what’s happening around Polk County from Wednesday through the weekend:
Wednesday, October 29
• Labor Solutions (Winter Haven) Trick or Treat Event from 3–5 p.m.
• Key Club Trunk or Treat at Winter Haven High School (north parking lot) from 6–8 p.m.
Thursday, October 30 & Friday, October 31
• The Wicked Tales of Lake Ashton Haunted House at Lake Ashton Clubhouse – times vary.
Thursday, October 30
• 81st Bartow Community Halloween Parade & Carnival starting at 4 p.m.
• WHPD Trick or Treat Event at 125 N Lake Silver Dr., NW from 4–6 p.m.
Friday, October 31
• Trunks, Trolleys & Treats at Cypresswood Golf & Country Club, 5–8 p.m.
• Trick or Treat at Lake Alfred Central Park, 5:30–8 p.m.
• Trunk or Treat at Tom Fellows Community Center, Davenport, 6–9 p.m.
• Halloween Community Party at GWC Women’s Club of Lakeland, 4–6 p.m.
• O’Reilly Auto Parts Trunk or Treat in Frostproof, 6–8 p.m.
• Bike Night at Tanners Lakeside, 6–10 p.m.
• Dyer Lake Wales Trunk or Treat, 5–8 p.m.
Saturday, November 1
• Harvest Festi-Fall at East Central Park in Dundee from 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Bring your costumes, friends, and Halloween spirit for a week full of treats and community fun!
Welcome, World Travelers! Zootopia: Better Zoogether! Opening Nov. 7 in Disney’s Animal Kingdom by James Coulter
Get ready to experience the fur-tastic world of Disney’s Zootopia with the all-new 4D show “Zootopia: Better Zoogether!” coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Fri. Nov. 7.
The show will feature characters from the Zootopia film franchise as they gear up to celebrate Zoogether Day, a time when the citizens of Zootopia, predator and prey alike, celebrate diversity and togetherness.
As Disney Parks Blog reports: “Zoogether Day, a celebration of unity amongst the diverse biomes across the city, will be recognized with special performances such as ice-skating spectaculars from the heart of Tundratown! Synchronized swimming direct from Marsh Market! Tiny mouse drone shows soaring over Little Rodentia! And of course, a musical finale by superstar Gazelle – all of which we’ll see from the livestream watch party.”
The 4D show will utilize special “Carrot Vision” glasses that will allow guests to see various Zootopia characters pop out of the screen, along with other special effects.
However, one character who will be making a live in-person appearance will be Officer Benjamin Clawhauser, Gazelle’s number one fan and off-duty ZPD officer. The character will be depicted as an all-new Audio-Animatronics figure inside the theater.
“Zootopia: Better Zoogether!” will be hosted in the Tree of Life Theater, previously home to “It’s Tough to Be a Bug!” (based on Pixar’s 1998 “A Bug’s Life”), which recently ended its 27-year run.
This attraction follows in the footsteps of other Zootopia-themed attractions in Disney Parks worldwide, including the Zootopia-themed land that opened in 2023 at Shanghai Disneyland.
Aside from appearing in the new show, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde will also appear as character meet and greets at Discovery Island near the Tree of Life at the Zoogether Day Gathering Spot. Both characters will be wearing new clothes from their new movie, Zootopia 2, coming to theaters Wed. Nov. 26.
Even more Zootopia fun will be had at the Discovery Trading Company, which will be selling Zootopia merchandise starting on the “Zoogether Together” opening day of Fri. Nov. 7.
October is National Community Planning Month — a time to celebrate the people and partnerships shaping Winter Haven with care.
As shared by Planning Manager Sean Byers, “Winter Haven’s planning tradition dates back to the 1890s. Thoughtful planning helps us honor our community’s values while preparing for the future.”
We’re grateful for our Planning Division and everyone who works to keep Winter Haven a connected and welcoming place.
