The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation after a man was fatally hit by a CSX train Tuesday morning, July 15, 2025.
Deputies were dispatched to the railroad tracks south of Norman Lane in Auburndale at approximately 5:32 am.
The victim, identified as 33-year old Steven Dylan Scott of Auburndale, was found deceased with blunt force trauma to his head, torso, and legs.
The investigation determined that the CSX train was traveling east at about 28 mph.
The train’s engineer saw Mr. Scott sitting on the ground, slumped over, with his feet hanging outward over the tracks. The train’s horn was used to warn Mr. Scott of the advancing train, but there was no reaction from him.
Mr. Scott was found to be in possession of a large amount of a crystal-like substances that tested positive for both methamphetamine and fentanyl.
An autopsy was completed by the Medical Examiner’s Office, which showed signs of a possible drug overdose, however the cause and manner of death is pending toxicology results.
Due to the train remaining stopped during the preliminary investigation, Recker Highway was closed near Derby Avenue in Auburndale for approximately three and a half hours.
BARTOW, Fla. (July 14, 2025) – Polk County Public Schools has unveiled new high-tech air traffic control simulators at Bartow Executive Airport, giving local students a unique pathway into aviation careers.
The simulators are part of a new program offered through Traviss Technical College, developed in response to a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers. The advanced technology was created by UFA, a global leader in simulation and speech recognition technologies, and is designed to deliver real-world training in both normal and emergency flight conditions.
“Polk County is one of the few school systems in the country to have similar training equipment used at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),” said David H. Wiggs, director of Traviss Technical College. “Our new program is designed to give students an opportunity to enter a career of critical importance and develop the knowledge necessary to become successful air traffic controllers.”
The program uses competency-based tools that allow students to master specific skills before advancing to the next phase. The simulators also offer a cost-effective and safe way to gain hands-on experience in air traffic control operations.
The timing couldn’t be more important. The FAA recently announced incentives to recruit and retain new air traffic controllers, including $5,000 bonuses for trainees and up to $10,000 for those who take positions at some of the hardest-to-staff facilities in the nation. An estimated 3,000 controllers are currently needed to address the staffing shortfall.
David Wolff, CEO of UFA, praised the initiative. “We are proud to partner with Polk County in providing state-of-the-art training to the next generation of aviation professionals. Polk County will join an elite group of programs that can prepare students to join the field of aviation at a truly critical time.”
With this new program in place, Polk County is set to graduate students ready to enter a high-demand field and play a role in maintaining the safety of U.S. airspace.
Stormwater work is scheduled to start July 14, 2025 from 8 am – 3 pm and July 15, 2025 from 8 am – 3 pm.
The work zone is located at 130 S 5th St, which will result in a closure from Ledwith Avenue to Oak Avenue as there will be a crane onsite. Access to South 5th St for local residents and business owners will be off of Oak Avenue.
An MOT plan is attached for reference.
All motorists use caution when approaching a work zone for public safety. Share this post on your page.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you’re probably aware Disney has been remaking its animated movies into live action. So, it was only inevitable that the House of Mouse would remake its first animated feature: Snow White & The Seven Dwarves.
I’d be lying if I said Snow White was the greatest Disney movie of all time. It’s not. Not by a long shot. Sure, it’s notable for being the first animated feature-length film, but otherwise, the movie is rather simple and bland when compared to other Disney animated features.
But credit where it’s due: as simplistic as the story and characters may be, at least the animated Snow White is memorable with memorable characters and songs. It’s a movie people have watched for nearly 100 years, and no doubt, people will still watch it for many more years to come.
The live-action Snow White, on the other hand, is yet another bland, disposable live-action remake in a pile of the company’s other live-action corporate cash grabs. While people will still watch the animated movie for years to come, most likely no one will remember the live-action film a year from now.
But just how bad is the live-action Snow White? Is it so boring that it’ll make you Sleepy? Or is this movie going to make everyone Grumpy?
We all know the story. There’s a princess named Snow White. The evil queen is jealous of her beauty. So, she tries to have the princess unalived. Snow White escapes into the forest. Finds a cottage with seven dwarfs. The queen disguises herself as an old hag. Gives Snow White a poisoned apple. Snow White falls into a deep sleep. A prince drops by to kiss her. She wakes up. And they all live happily ever after. The end.
The live-action film essentially follows the same plot as the original animated feature. However, like most other live-action remakes, Disney has made several changes to make the film longer and more “developed.”
Let’s get one thing straight: the live-action Snow White is bad. However, contrary to the backlash by this movie isn’t bad because it’s “woke.” This movie wasn’t “ruined” because of “wokeness” or “DEI” or any other empty buzzword. This movie is bad because it’s bad.
But before I tear this movie a new one by explaining why it’s bad, allow me to comment on some of the “good” things about the movie.
First, the lead actress, Rachel Zegler. Contrary to some opinions she is not the “worst” thing about this movie. While her performance as the titular Snow White isn’t perfect, it’s quite evident she’s a talented actress making due with the script she was given. She is a Broadway-trained actress with a background in musical theater, after all. And that’s not a pedigree to sneeze at. The girl clearly has acting chops, and she knows how to carry a tune. Again, while her performance wasn’t perfect, it was still rather decent.
Next, the opening act. The original animated movie simply dropped the audience into the story in media res, only offering a few sentences from a storybook to deliver the backstory. In this remake, Snow White’s backstory is more developed. We’re shown her childhood living in her happy kingdom with her mother and father before the evil queen showed up to ruin everything.
And then there’s the opening number. Several new songs were written for the live-action remake. And out of all of them, “Good Things Grow” is probably the only one I’d consider good. It’s a real jovial, toe-tapping number that sets up how good Snow White’s kingdom was before the Evil Queen took over. In fact, it’s one of the best numbers in the films, and one that I enjoyed.
Sadly, it’s the only good song in the movie. And those were the only few good things about it. Everything else? Not so much.
While Rachel’s performance as Snow White was fair, Gal Gadot’s performance as the Evil Queen, on the other hand, like the Queen herself, proved not to be the fairest in the land. You have to feel sorry for Galdot. While her performance as Wonder Woman was superb, her other performances in other movies show she’s not that great of an actress. And whoever said Gal Gadot could sing was lying.
Oh, yes! Gal Gadot sings. The Evil Queen gets her own villain song. But don’t expect a “Poor Unfortunate Souls” or “Be Prepared.” In fact, her song, “All Is Fair,” sounds exactly like what you would get if you fed all of the other Disney villains songs into AI and asked it to create a new song. It’s that generic and unappealing. And Gadot’s lack of singing ability doesn’t help.
Speaking of musical numbers, all of the other original songs aren’t any better. “Waiting on a Wish” also sounds like what you would get if you fed every Disney “I Want” song into AI and asked to make a similar song. It even sounds eerily similar to Moana’s “How Far I Go” mashed up with Wish’s “This Wish.”
“Princess Problems” is so bland and forgettable I even forgot what it was about other than Snow and her prince bickering. And the “Hand Meets A Hand” musical number is essentially a less enthusiastic version of Tangled’s “I See The Light”, even down to the princess and her love interest singing about how much they’ve come to have feelings for each other, all while surrounded by glowing lights.
And let’s talk about the prince character. Evidently, the movie makers wanted to better develop his character, seeing as how the prince in the original animated film didn’t make much of an appearance, let alone say that many lines. So, the good news is that the prince in this version was given a character.
The bad news is that he was given Flynn Ryder’s character from Tangled. I’m not kidding. The “prince” isn’t even a prince in this version. Instead, he’s the leader of a band of robbers who reside in the woods and steal in the name of the King. (Think Robin Hood and his Merry Men!) He’s a charismatic, sarcastic vagabond who doesn’t see the point in doing anything but stealing, only to be encouraged by the main female character that there’s more to him than being a lowly thief.
In other words, he’s Flynn Ryder from Tangled. He even looks like him sans the goatee!
And you know how the prince in the original movie didn’t have a name? Well, this prince—er, theif!—does. His name is Jonathan. Yes, Jonathan. A name so generic and bland you’ll forget what it was, even after he introduces himself.
But perhaps the worst aspect of the movie is the seven dwarves. Remember how the dwarves in the animated movie had unique designs that revealed their characters and personalities without needing to tell you their names? How you could tell Sneezy looked sneezy? Or Sleepy looked sleepy? Or Grumpy looked grumpy?
Well, in the live-action remake, all of the dwarves are CGI abominations straight from the Uncanny Valley with the most generic-looking character designs. And unlike their animated counterparts, whose designs were so unique you could tell who was who without them telling you their names, these computer-animated atrocities need to introduce themselves via song.
Yes, both “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work” make a comeback in this movie. And in both cases, both performances are needlessly overblown with bombastic orchestrations and additional lyrics to make them more “cinematic” for live-action.
Returning to the dwarves, originally, and allegedly, Disney had planned to cast little people to play them. But Peter Dinklage got all grumpy (pun intended!) on a podcast, so Disney made them all CGI. That’s disappointing. By trying not to appear offensive toward little people, they robbed actual little people of an opportunity to appear in motion pictures. By trying to be “culturally sensitive”, Disney ended up engaging in cultural erasure.
Overall, if you want to watch a live-action Snow White, consider watching Snow White & The Huntsman or Mirror, Mirror. Neither film is perfect, but they’re sure to be more entertaining than watching Disney’s live-action leftovers. Give Snow White as much attention as the other Disney live-action movies deserve. Which is none!
Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 65 people for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol and/or drugs last month.
Among these arrests, 14 were involved in crashes, one had two children with him at the time of his DUI, and seven were determined to be in the United States illegally and now have ICE Holds on them.
These 65 arrests were PCSO arrests only, and does not include arrests in Polk County made by any of the city police departments or the Florida Highway Patrol.
If you see someone who appears to be driving while impaired, please call 9-1-1 immediately.
LAKELAND, Fla. — After receiving multiple citizen complaints, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier reviewed a recent (May 17) free speech confrontation involving conservative commentator Kaitlin Bennett at the Lakeland Downtown Farmers Market and issued a sharply worded letter to Lakeland Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Julie Townsend, concluding that her actions may have violated constitutional protections.
The incident, which was captured on video, shows Townsend confronting Bennett as she conducted political interviews on a public sidewalk. Townsend is heard stating, “I’m just going to disrupt you,” before law enforcement, acting under her direction, issued Bennett a trespass warning.
Uthmeier argues that Townsend’s actions violate both the First Amendment and Article I, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, which protect free political and religious expression in public forums such as streets and sidewalks.
He cited key U.S. Supreme Court decisions including United States v. Grace, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, and Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, which establish that the government cannot suppress speech based on its content or viewpoint. In the letter, Uthmeier described public sidewalks as spaces “historically preserved for expressive activity” and warned that government officials who interfere with such activity may be opening themselves and their agencies up to legal liability.
Florida’s constitution reinforces these protections. Article I, Section 4 states, “Every person may speak, write and publish sentiments on all subjects… No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press.” While limited time, place, and manner restrictions may apply, courts have consistently ruled that content-based restrictions are presumed unconstitutional.
Uthmeier also took issue with a follow-up statement from Townsend, in which she wrote that the market strives to remain “free of politics and religion.” He characterized that position as a form of unlawful viewpoint discrimination, emphasizing that discomfort with a message is not grounds for suppression.
“You have no authority to constitutionally stifle these freedoms, secured by the highest law of the land, simply because you don’t like it,” the letter stated.
The Lakeland Downtown Farmers Market has been a central gathering point for families, shoppers, and vendors in the community for years. Townsend has previously explained that her goal was to maintain a family-friendly environment, not to suppress speech. But Uthmeier’s letter makes clear that public space protections override concerns about the tone or content of lawful expression.
This is not the first time Townsend has faced criticism over constitutional concerns. In 2024, she oversaw the installation of downtown security cameras that included facial recognition technology capable of identifying individuals from a database in real time. The move prompted strong backlash from civil liberties advocates, including the ACLU and ACLU of Florida, who warned the technology posed a serious threat to privacy rights. Following that pressure, the facial recognition features were ultimately disabled.
At this time, there is no indication that the Attorney General plans to pursue legal action. His office does not have direct disciplinary authority over local officials such as Townsend, nor can it enforce policy changes at the municipal level without additional steps. However, if similar incidents continue, the Attorney General could seek legal remedies through the courts or support civil litigation on behalf of affected parties.
Editors Note: As a news journalist I take free speech issues seriously. I believe strongly that free speech should be protected. It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with the speech. If you’re not breaking the law, you should be allowed to exercise it. Our country is founded on that premise in the first amendment. – Carl
Frostproof, FL – Firefighters from Polk County Fire Rescue responded Saturday afternoon to a working residential structure fire near the intersection of Florida Grackle Court and Lumpkin Road in Frostproof (off Hwy 27).
Structure Fire Near The Intresection of Florida Grackle Court & Lumpkin Road
Squad 21 was the first to arrive on scene and confirmed it was an active structure fire. Multiple other units quickly followed, including fire engines, ladder trucks, and medical response teams.
The fire has since been extinguished, but crews remain on scene to monitor for hot spots and begin overhaul operations. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is also on scene assisting.
No official word yet on the cause of the fire or whether any injuries occurred.
The incident was first received at 2:49 PM, according to dispatch data.
Winter Haven, FL — July 11th, 2025 – Behind every permitted project in Winter Haven stands a dedicated team whose work may not always make the headlines—but whose impact is felt citywide: the City’s Building Inspection Team.
Driven by Winter Haven’s mission of enriching lifestyle through exceptional service, this team plays a vital role in keeping the community safe, resilient, and ready for the future. Their purpose is clear: to ensure all construction and renovations meet the standards of the Florida Building Code and, most importantly, protect the well-being of residents.
This commitment is paired with remarkable efficiency. The City provides inspections within one business day, with same-day inspections available for requests submitted by 7:00 a.m. Inspections can be scheduled online through the City’s digital portal with an active building permit, or in person by visiting the Building Division for assistance. Once inspections are completed, results are posted the same day—delivering fast, transparent communication to all parties involved.
These services are available to residents and contractors within Winter Haven City Limits. Whether it’s a water heater replacement, a new roof, or a structural renovation, most residential and commercial upgrades require a permit. Though it may appear to be a formality, the process serves as a vital safeguard for both property owners and the community.
“Permitting is protection,” says Eric Labbe, Director of Economic Opportunity & Community Investment. “It keeps people safe, ensures insurance eligibility, and provides a reliable record of what’s been done to a property.”
This team keeps the focus where it matters most: on safety, service, and supporting the citizens who call Winter Haven home.
“Even if you’re unsure whether your project requires a permit, give us a call,” encourages Kyle Peth, Building Department Assistant.
From the smallest home improvement to major commercial construction, the Building Inspection Team is a steady force behind the scenes—enriching lifestyle through exceptional service, ensuring community safety, and embodying the City’s relentless pursuit of excellence.
Because of the high demand for audition slots after the first day of pre-registration opening, we have decided to make an additional day for FROZEN auditions. They will also begin at 6pm each day instead of 7pm. If you have already signed up for a slot this does not affect your audition time.
A note for parents signing up their kids. This is not a junior production, so the only roles available for young people are Young Anna and Young Elsa.
Pre-Register for an audition by clicking the link below. Remember walk-up auditions are also welcome. FROZEN will be directed and choreographed by Sara Catherine Barnes, with Music Direction by Philip King and Stage Management by Kemp Brinson Auditions will be held July 20th, 21st and 22nd starting at 6pm. Callbacks will be July 23rd at 6pm by invitation only. Individuals of all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds are needed and encouraged to audition. All roles are open. There are no pre-cast roles. Auditionees who are interested in being considered for FROZEN should prepare one-minute of a musical theatre song. Legible sheet music must be provided for the audition pianist. No a cappella or prerecorded accompaniment will be permitted. Additionally, auditionees who are called back will participate in a movement audition and read/sing (if applicable) from the show. Theatre Winter Haven is dedicated to equity, diversity and inclusion in casting. This includes but is not limited to; age, size, gender identity, and race/ethnicity. Please click on the link to pre-register for an audition slot: https://auditionsmanager.com/registration.php?AU=zS2wMp1567
City University (CityU) is now accepting applications for the 2025 class!
This eight-session, behind-the-scenes program gives Winter Haven residents the opportunity to explore the ins and outs of local government. You’ll meet City Leaders, tour facilities, and learn how everything from public safety to budgeting, growth, and city planning happens.
Whether you’re curious, community-minded, or looking to get more involved, CityU is for YOU.
Here’s what to expect:
Explore how and why city decisions are made
Engage directly with City staff and leadership
Tour departments and learn about day-to-day operations
Be part of a growing network of informed citizens
Celebrate your graduation at a City Commission meeting!
8 sessions | Held Tuesday evenings | FREE to attend
