Jim Elser has been attending Ribs on the Ridge in Haines City since 2010. He and his barbecue team, Sweet Smoke Q, have been attending it and other barbecue events all throughout Polk County. Such dedication has allowed him to win first place for overall barbecue on Saturday.
Elser owes his success to focus. His best barbecue was his brisket, and he won first place that day also for chicken. He appreciates being able to attend the annual barbecue event and participating alongside other great teams from across the county and even the country.
“The secret to our success, you have to be focused, really focused,” he said. “This event is great, and…for the community, I could not be happier to support it.”
Sweet Smoke Q won first place for overall barbecue at Ribs on the Ridge on Saturday in Lake Eva Park in Haines City. Second place went to Rooster Bulls Boars.
The professional barbecue team has been competing for 11 years. Practice has been the secret to their success over those years. They attend events such as Ribs on the Ridge purely for the sake of competition, said their team leader Bobby King.
“We enjoy competition BBQ,” he said. “It is great with this group of people because this is one of the great groups in the world…It is friendly competition.”
One of the largest barbecue events in Central Florida, according to its website, this Florida Barbecue Association-sanctioned competition, sponsored by Miracle Toyota, brings in backyard and proffesional barbecue teams from across the state and county for a chance to compete for the best chicken, brisket, ribs, pork, and overall barbecue.
Last year, the barbecue event was combined with the city’s Fourth of July event, Thunder on the Ridge. This year, both events are hosted during their respective times. Regardless, this year’s event drew in a sizeable crowd with several dozen barbecue teams competing.
“I enjoy most about ribs are seeing these teams travel from around the state to our beautiful Lake Eva Park, to have a good time and compete with each other, and they come back every single year,” Lindasia Jaynemeyer, Special Events Supervisor.
She attributed the turnout to the overall good weather. Being able to see so many people come out for an annual city tradition is always appreciated, and she has high expectations for the upcoming Chili on the Ridge event hosted by Haines City Rotary.
“People came out,” she said. “They have a great time. They enjoy the music and barbecue and the friendly competition. So, we are very appreciative of all the sponsors and all the attendees they came out today.”
Action and History Unite in “The Commodore and the Powder Monkey”
by James Coulter
The year is 1812. America is once again at war with Britain. Young Charlie Wheeler desperately wants to aid the war effort. There is only one problem: Charlie is a girl and women aren’t allowed in the military.
Wanting to help her country fight the war, Charlie disguises herself as a boy and boards the Commodore’s flagship to serve as a powder monkey, someone who ferries gunpowder from the hold to the cannon crews up top. She finds herself stalked by a vicious predator who knows her secret, loved by a surgeon who doesn’t know her secret, and caught in the white-hot heat of war during the Battle of Plattsburgh.
“The Commodore and the Powder Monkey” is the third installment by Sebring author Mark Barie, in his trilogy on love and war. “War Calls, Love Cries” and “Sister Marguerite and the Captain”, are based on the Civil War and the American War for Independence, respectively.
A retired native of Upstate New York, Barie became interested in writing historical fiction when his wife, an expert genealogist, discovered that he had descendants who fought in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. This revelation, coupled with the free time that comes with retirement, inspired him to combine fiction with history.
He published his debut novel, “War Calls, Love Cries”, in 2018. His first book more than exceeded the author’s expectations. It won national and international recognition. He received a gold medal from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association for Historical Fiction and was designated a Finalist in the prestigious Eric Hoffer book awards.
The biggest challenge in writing his books is editing: “No matter how many times you read it, every time you read it, you find another error,” Barie said.”
The second biggest challenge is the research. His recent book required him to read 30 to 40 books and review several dozen articles about the War of 1812. Even when writing a work of fiction, writing historical fiction requires that the historical details be accurate.
“You do get to make up certain parts but you can’t fool with anything that is a known historical fact. Your sharp-eyed readers will see the mistake and point it out,” said Barie. As a result, Barie claims to have a “love-hate relationship” with each of his novels.
When Barie is researching a book, he always discovers a series of fun facts he never knew about. He has assembled these tidbits into a several presentations and now speaks to military societies and service clubs, throughout Florida and upstate New York. His most recent presentation is titled “Seven Facts About the War of 1812 That Will Amaze You!” Similar presentations on the Warfor Independence and the Civil War are also in the author’s repertoire.
For example, during his presentation on the Civil War, he shares the shocking revelation that Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 was the second time Lincoln was shot at. He had been the target of a failed assassination attempt one year prior in 1864.
“It is fascinating to me that these things happened and most of us never heard about it, before. I am always surprised when I do my research,” said Barie.
One fact that many of his readers and fans find shocking, is the level of violence. One fan approached him after a presentation at the Daughters of the American Revolution and told him how violent his books were. Barie’s response was that our ancestors lived in extremely violent times.
From the War of Independence to the Civil War, countless people died, some from their wounds but even more from sickness and disease. In those times there were no antibiotics or even anesthesia. “Illness, disease, and injuries were rampant, but often deadly, as well,” said Barie.
“I want my readers to understand history and I want them to enjoy my books. But I also want them to understand that large portions of our history were violent and an extremely unpleasant time in which to live. We should be impressed with our ancestors who lived through those difficult times,” Barie concluded.
His next book will be set during the Spanish-American War. It will center on the mysterious explosion which destroyed a United States Battleship, the “Maine”, in the Havana Harbor.
Readers are expected to unfold the history and mystery of that fateful event and discern for themselves who or what may have caused the death of more than 250 sailors.
Looking for a Prom Outfit? Here’s How You Can Get One for Free in Lakeland!
by James Coulter
Can’t wait to go to the prom, yet don’t have enough money to buy your own dress or tux? No problem! If you promise not to get drunk or high, you can get a prom outfit for free from Project Prom.
Located in Lakeland Square Mall on select Saturdays, Project Prom offers a vast array of thousands of dresses and outfits for juniors and seniors to wear to their big night. All they have to do is show their student ID (or proof of residence for home school students) and sign a pledge promising that they will avoid alcohol and drugs.
Project Prom not only provides good-looking clothes for high school students who would otherwise not be able to afford them, but also helps deter substance abuse through their pledges to keep these students drug and alcohol-free during their big night.
Their first official shopping day was hosted last Saturday, and it allowed more than 50 local families to receive their own prom outfits. Angie Ellison, Executive Director of the InnerActAlliance, which hosts the initiative, hopes that this steady influx will increase over the next few weeks as the prom date draws near.
“We are really excited,” she said. “We were a bit nervous because it was a year and a half since we have been able to have a store open because of COVID, we were a little nervous we had lost our audience…[but] we were very encouraged, it was a steady influx of folks all day long.”
Formerly the Drug Prevention Resource Center, InnerActAlliance, according to its website, “is proud to have provided substance abuse prevention to the Hardee, Highlands and Polk County communities…[through] family-oriented awareness events that touch the lives of youth, adults, families, businesses, faith-based organizations, community groups and others in need with an important anti-substance abuse and anti-bullying message.”
Project Prom is an initiative operated through their UthMpactsubsidiary, which, according to their website, “is a youth coalition of teen leaders committed to delivering key substance abuse prevention messages to teens by their peers.”
This is their tenth year operating Project Prom, and their first year in operation since their two-year absence following the start of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They owe their success to the support from their local community, especially with the donation of their many outfits. Currently, they are seeking and requesting donations of large-sized outfits for women and small-sized outfits for men.
“We would like to served 500 kids this year, it will double our normal year,” Ellison said. “Normally, we serve 250, so it is a big goal, but we also know they have not been able to go to prom for many years, so we are hoping that there is a lot of enthusiasm around those events this spring.”
Project Prom will be hosting shopping days on the Saturdays of Feb. 26, Mar. 12, Mar. 26, and Apr. 9 from 10AM – 4PM. The store is located inside Lakeland Square Mall at 3800 US Highway 98 North, Lakeland, FL 33809.
Donations of dresses and suits can be made to the InnerActAlliance office, located at: 621 Florida Ave S, Lakeland, FL 33801. For more information, visit their website at: https://www.inneractalliance.org
At around 6:40 a.m. on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle. The crash occurred on US 92 West at the S.R 570 (Polk Parkway) off-ramp in unincorporated Lakeland. The two vehicles involved were a maroon 1992 Suzuki motorcycle being driven by 24-year-old James Jett of Auburndale, and a gray 2007 Ford Escape being driven by 34-year-old Trevor Donley of Lakeland.
According to the investigation so far, Mr. Jett was driving west on U.S. 92 at a high rate of speed and through congested traffic. At the same time, Mr. Donley attempted to turn onto the S.R. 570 eastbound ramp. As Mr. Donley entered the intersection, Mr. Jett’s motorcycle struck the Escape.
Mr. Jett was ejected from his motorcycle and died at the scene. Mr. Donley was uninjured.
The roadway was closed for approximately 3 hours during the investigation, which is ongoing.
Residents in unincorporated Polk County should soon begin to see improvements in their waste collection service.
Polk County has reached an agreement with its contracted waste hauler FCC to implement an emergency plan for collection services. The county is currently operating under a local state of emergency declared by the Board of County Commissioners due to ongoing missed residential waste collection in unincorporated Polk. According to the Board, the missed collections have caused solid waste to accumulate on roadways which endangers the public health, safety and welfare of Polk residents.
Residents who live in unincorporated areas east of U.S. Highway 17, who are serviced by ADS, will see no changes in their current waste collection schedules.
For residents who live in unincorporated areas west of U.S. Highway 17, who are serviced by FCC, there will be temporary collection changes.
Here are the details of the emergency plan:
Recycling collection will be suspended February 28,2022 through April 1, 2022.
Beginning Monday, Feb. 28, through Friday, April 1, all household waste, bulk waste and recycling should be at the curb by 6 a.m. of your regular garbage collection day. To speed operations, all recycling put at the curb will be collected with regular household waste. Residents may put garbage from over-flowing cans into their recycling bin during this emergency period. This allows FCC to deploy all recycling equipment and staff to support a focused effort to garbage collections.
Bulk waste should be put at the curb on your household garbage collection day. The county will temporarily suspend the 72-hour collection process and focus on collecting bulk waste as part of regular garbage routes until further notice. Residents setting out bulk waste should expect collection on their scheduled garbage collection day. The two bulk items per week policy remains in effect.
Yard waste collection service remains the same; routine lawn and landscape maintenance items should be curbside on your regularly scheduled yard waste collection day.
Recycling collection by FCC will resume on Monday, April 4 on an every-other-week schedule until further notice. Details of that schedule will be communicated to customers prior to April 4, 2022.
“This emergency plan should greatly improve the public health and safety of our residents in many neighborhoods in western Polk County caused by the uncollected solid waste,” said County Manager Bill Beasley. “I’m encouraged by the cooperation that we are receiving from our hauler FCC, and our ability to develop this short-term emergency plan together so that we can resume our regular service schedules as quickly as possible.”
The Polk County emergency plan, which suspends recycling collection service temporarily, has been effective for other local governments across the country that have put service changes in place due to challenges caused by the pandemic.
An elderly man who was stabbed Friday afternoon in a parking lot has died from his injuries and the charges against the stabber have been upgraded.
Christopher Lynn King, 32, of Madison, Fla. is now being charged with felony first-degree murder after the death of 79-year-old stabbing victim, Carlos Manuel Goitia, of Haines City, on Sunday. He is also charged with aggravated battery on a victim 65 or over, armed robbery, grand theft auto, carrying a concealed weapon, fleeing to elude, driving without a valid license, resisting arrest with and without violence, wearing a mask in the commission of a felony and battery on a law enforcement officer. While wearing a ski mask, King stabbed Goitia three times in the stomach at a medical complex parking lot on Patterson Grove Road at about 1:30 p.m. on Friday. King took Goitia’s keys and fled north on U.S. 27 in the victim’s 2003 blue Toyota Matrix.
With collaboration from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle was located shortly after, and the PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuver was utilized to take the vehicle off the roadway on FDC Grove Road. King was quickly apprehended despite his attempt to fight officers and deputies. Goitia was flown to a local hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries and suffered multiple heart attacks resulting from complications of the stabbing. He was pronounced dead just after 1 p.m. on Sunday. King remains in the Polk County Jail.
“We mourn with the victim’s family for this senseless murder,” Chief Jim Elensky said. “We will work to provide the strongest case possible in collaboration with the State Attorney’s Office to prosecute this killer to the fullest extent of the law.”
In the early morning hours of Monday, February 21, Florida Gas Transmission Company (FGT) will test nearly 6 miles of its natural gas pipeline from Kathleen in Polk County to Plant City in Hillsborough County using pressurized water.
FGT pipeline crosses under the following Polk County roadways:
County Road 35A (Kathleen Road)
Youngway Drive
Lewellyn Road
Rushing Road
Shady Oak Drive East
Mossy Oak Drive
Shady Oak Drive West
Flaggers supported by law enforcement will control two-way traffic where required and emergency vehicles will be provided access at all times. The test will take place midnight to 4:00 a.m. Monday morning. If the test does not pass, a second night of testing will be necessary.
This federally mandated testing is a standard industry best-practice using pressurized water to confirm the safety and reliability of the system. The natural gas will be removed from the pipeline, with service maintained on another system; and the integrity of the pipeline will be tested under pressure for a fixed period of time.
For more information about the test, please contact Mr. Terry Coleman at 844-FGT-INFO (844-348-4636)or you can visit the FGT website at https://fgthydrotest.com/home/central-florida/hillsborough-polk/ or by contacting Bill Skelton with the Polk County Roads & Drainage Division at 863-535-2200.
Michael Justin Cerullo, 29 of Lake Wales, Florida passed away unexpectedly on January 28,2022 in Cairo, Ga
Justin was born May 9, 1992, in Bartow, Fl.
Justin is survived by his wife, Meagan Cerullo, sons, Michael, Roman and Daniel Cerullo, Ricky, Liam, and Joquain Mercado.
Daughters, Mia and Bella Mercado.
Justin is also survived by his mother, Patricia Spires (Clayton) Cairo, Ga. Father Christopher Cerullo (Rita) Lake Wales, Fl. Brothers Jason Cerullo, Nashville, Tn. Clayton Spires, Cairo, Ga Otis Sharpe III, Lake Wales, David Slone II, Lake Wales, Fl Sisters, Hannah Spires (and Ty Handley) Cairo, Ga., Tawny Todd, ( JJ) Cairo, Ga, Brandy Thomas, Ft Meade, Fl. Mandy Hall (Jason) Bostwick, Fl. Rebel Worth (Dustin) Lake Wales.
And many aunts, Uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Family will receive friends on Saturday, February 19, 2022 from 10:00 am until service time at 11:00 AM at the Marion Nelson Funeral Home with Rev. David Durham officiating. Interment will be held at the Whidden Cemetery in Lake Wales.SERVICES
Commercial Fire Off Combee Rd In Lakeland (Thank you to M. Brule for use of photo.)
While a commercial structure fire destroyed an East Lakeland warehouse Thursday, Polk County Fire Rescue firefighters contained the blaze and protected the surrounding businesses.
Polk firefighters received a call about the fire at 1704 S. Combee Road in Lakeland about 11:08 a.m. Thursday. Crews arrived at the scene minutes later to find a warehouse owned by Greenstar Panels engulfed in flames. There were no reported injuries.
“We were able to confine the fire to the Greenstar property,” Polk Fire Rescue Chief Robert Weech said. “No one was injured and we were able to protect the surrounding structures and businesses. That’s what our folks are trained to do and they did that well today.”
More than 20 units, which also included units from the City of Auburndale, were at the scene to fight the fire. The fire was brought under control at 12:08 p.m. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Department. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of facts by law enforcement in a court of law. The Daily Ridge does not rewrite these facts as some meanings or interpretations could be in error and change context. We hope readers appreciate being able to read the information and come to their own understanding and conclusions.
On January 19, 2022, a PCSO detective was on Spirit Lake Road in Winter Haven when he observed company vehicles and equipment with out-of-state tags and several men performing what appeared to be possible illegal asphalt work in a convenience store parking lot; he immediately initiated an investigation. That particular detective has years’ worth of experience investigating and charging travelling scam artists who approach homeowners and businesses unsolicited, offering to perform (often unnecessary) asphalt work for cash. Once the victims are coerced into paying the suspects, shoddy work is done and the suspects leave town. When law enforcement gets involved, they discover the suspects are not licensed to work in the state of Florida and don’t carry workman’s compensation insurance.
During the investigation, detectives learned that 36-year-old Raymond Wolk, III of Michigan, claimed to be the owner of “County Asphalt and Trucking, LLC” with a Davenport, Florida address (a UPS Store PO Box), along with 28-year-old Henry Stanley of New Hampshire and 31-year-old David Menjivar of Texas, pressured the convenience store owner to allow them to pave the store’s parking lot. Wolk initially asked for $5000, but convinced the victim to pay $7000 instead. Once the work crew began laying the asphalt, Wolk attempted to coerce the victim to pay another $5000 for more asphalt work. The victim refused. County Asphalt has no permanent presence in Polk County.
Stanley then instructed the victim to write a $7000 check payable to Wolk personally. When the victim questioned this, he was told that Wolk wanted to cash it immediately and did not have a bank account in Florida. Detectives confirmed each of the financial transactions.
Additionally, detectives learned that earlier the same day Menjivar pressured a second victim who owns a business on Spirit Lake Road in Winter Haven, into paying $5,300 to pave a driveway area of the business’ parking lot. The asphalt laid at this location was already deteriorating and crumbling into gravel—no site preparation work was completed, no tack coat or binder course was used, and the asphalt temperature was not kept hot enough for a proper application.
Two additional victims have been identified. The Winter Haven Police Department is investigating those cases.
The suspects could not and did not provide the victims any proper paperwork to include business tax license, proof of workman’s comp insurance, or liability insurance. Detectives contacted the Florida Department of Insurance Fraud and confirmed the suspects do not have any form of insurance in the state of Florida, which is a felony.
Wolk, Stanley, and Menjivar knowingly and intentionally solicited the victims and performed unlicensed inferior work on their business properties, leaving the victims liable for any and all injuries that the suspects could have incurred on their property and/or damage they may have done to the victims’ properties. “County Asphalt and Trucking, LLC” did not, according to the affidavit, “complete any kind of site preparation work or use any form of ‘tack coat’ [or binder course] to adhere the new asphalt to the old pavement thus causing the new asphalt to be able to what is called by licensed professional asphalt companies as ‘slide’ and lead to quickly eroding and deteriorating from daily use of vehicles driving upon it.” Also, according to the affidavit, “The suspects also did not maintain the hot temperature needed to apply this new asphalt to the old asphalt in the victim’s parking lot thus causing ‘unraveling’ which is when the asphalt beings to crumble apart when drive upon by daily vehicle traffic and deteriorate quickly.”
The scammers used a number of different telephone numbers during these transactions, and, according to David Menjivar, those involved with County Asphalt and Trucking reside at various hotels in the Kissimmee area each night and they do not stay in the same location, thus making it extremely difficult for anyone to locate representatives of the asphalt company after work has been completed.
“These traveling scam artists are master manipulators. They prey on trusting people and leave victims with inferior work and holding the liability bag. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Please use local, reliable, licensed and known contractors to perform any work.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
On February 15, 2022, Raymond Wolk was arrested for:
· Scheming to Commit Fraud (F3) (2 counts)
· Fraud (F3) (2 counts)
· Grand Theft (F3) (2 counts)
· Failure to Secure Worker’s Comp Insurance (F3) (2 counts)
He was released after paying an $8000 bond.
Henry Stanley and David Menjivar have Polk County warrants for their arrests, charging them with:
· Scheming to Commit Fraud (F3)
· Fraud (F3)
· Grand Theft (F3)
· Failure to Secure Worker’s Comp Insurance (F3)
Polk County detectives ask that if you believe you’ve been a victim of this particular scam or these suspects to contact local law enforcement. If anyone knows the whereabouts of Menjivar and Stanley, call the Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200 or, if you wish to remain anonymous, or if you would like to receive a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspects, you can contact Heartland Crime Stoppers:
* Or download the free “P3tips” app on your smartphone or tablet.
You will always remain anonymous when you send a tip through Crime Stoppers and you are eligible for a cash reward if your information leads to an arrest.
