The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is inviting the community to an exciting Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday, April 10, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The egg hunt will officially begin at 6:30 p.m., with plenty of eggs hidden throughout the area. This family-friendly event will take place at the Northwest Substation, located at 1045 Wedgewood Estates Blvd in Lakeland, FL.
Bring your basket and join in the fun as children and families search for eggs filled with surprises. The event is free, and eggs will be available while supplies last. It’s a great opportunity for the community to gather, enjoy the holiday spirit, and make lasting memories. Don’t miss out on this festive occasion hosted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office—mark your calendars and come early for a chance to hunt for Easter eggs!
Between inventory issues and interest rates, buying a vehicle can be quite an ordeal, making it an investment worth protecting.
Today’s vehicles require less maintenance than ever before. You can go longer between oil changes and many tires are rated for longer travel. However, keeping up with regular maintenance remains part of your vehicle’s upkeep.
Whether you’ve purchased a new vehicle or you’re aiming to keep a car or truck you already own in good working condition, these tips can help you maintain its peak performance and appearance.
Car Wash: At least once a month, make a point of washing your car to remove built up grime. Not only is the dirt unsightly, but the mess can also damage your paint job and even the frame. Remember what love bugs can do.
Covered Parking: When possible, use a garage or other form of covered parking. You’ll protect your paint job from harsh UV rays, and you’ll also limit exposure to bird droppings and other potentially corrosive or damaging elements in the environment, like dust and pollen.
Windshield Wipers: Visibility is one of the most important aspects of safety when you’re driving, and windshield wiper blades play an essential role. Squeaking, streaking and failing to clear precipitation are all signs your blades need to be replaced. Check wipers regularly and plan on replacing them at least every 6-12 months.
Battery: You may not think much about your battery as long as your engine is turning over and your vehicle is running smoothly. However, even a car in good condition can have battery damage. At least once a year, check for signs of battery acid. If you detect the white powdery substance around your battery terminals, disconnect the cables (negative first) and apply a mixture of baking soda and water with a wire brush. Rinse with water and dry before replacing the cables.
Air Filter: The air filter doesn’t just affect the air quality in the cabin of your vehicle. A dirty filter can also cause engine strain because it hinders proper air flow. Over time, you may even notice a decline in gas mileage and acceleration performance. Many factors affect how often you need to replace your filter, but a quick visual inspection should give you a clear idea. Your owner’s manual will help you determine how to access the filter; it’s easier than people often assume.
When in doubt, get it checked out! Visit www.lowpaymentkings.com and find a service center near you.
~ If it takes your hands off the wheel, your eyes off the road or your mind off driving, it’s a distraction. ~
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.– The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), its division of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), and its public safety partners remind drivers to stay distraction-free while behind the wheel. April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and both drivers and passengers alike have a duty to refrain from engaging in or fostering distraction.
The act of driving requires keen concentration as drivers must constantly be in tune with factors such as their speed, surroundings, other drivers, roadway conditions and more. Throw distractions into the mix such as texting or talking on the phone, and this act becomes harder to do safely. Preliminary data for 2024 shows that in Florida, nearly 300 people died and over 2,200 people suffered serious bodily injuries due to a distracted driver.
A distraction is anything that takes your hands off the wheel, your eyes off the road, or your mind off the act of driving. While you may not think you are a distracted driver because you do not engage in more well-known distractions such as texting, you may be engaging in other distractions that put you, your passengers and others on the roadway at risk. This might include, but is not limited to, listening to loud music, eating, engaging with passengers or adjusting your vehicle’s entertainment or navigation system.
Just like the driver, passengers have a duty and responsibility to cultivate a safe driving environment. As a passenger, refrain from distracting behaviors such as, but not limited to, playing music loudly, shouting or talking loudly or unnecessarily directing the driver’s attention to objects or events taking place outside the vehicle.
If the driver is engaging in distraction, you as a passenger have the right to speak up and inform them their actions are dangerous. To remedy, offer to send a text, help with navigation or make needed in-vehicle adjustments for them.
Every day, Florida’s law enforcement officers, first responders, service workers, citizens and visitors find themselves along the side of the roadway. Whether they are doing their job, providing or receiving assistance, or attending to a personal need, it is the duty of all other motorists to obey the Florida Move Over Law and move over a lane or slow down if moving over is not possible.
If you are driving distracted, it is difficult for you to perceive if something happening ahead of you along the roadway requires moving over, slowing down or coming to a stop. Eliminate distraction so you can protect those who protect you.
“When you engage in a distraction while behind the wheel, even briefly, you put your life and others’ on the roadway in danger,” said FLHSMV Executive Director Dave Kerner.“No matter how important a text, call or other distraction may be, it can wait. Your primary focus should be ensuring you and your passengers arrive to your destination safely.”
“Steering clear from distractions while driving prevents tragedies,” said FHP Colonel Gary Howze II. “It is your duty and responsibility to stay alert and operate your vehicle in a vigilant manner each time you drive. Distractions can wait, but the safety of you and those around you cannot.”
Drivers who receive one of the above citations due to distracted driving can incur points on their driver license, fines and court fees or worse. Don’t let your decision to drive distracted be the reason someone does not arrive alive.
“We all play a role in creating safer roadways and that starts with the choice to make responsible driving decisions, such as putting away distractions, while behind the wheel,” said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. “Small actions can lead to major strides in achieving our goal of eliminating serious injuries and fatalities across Florida’s roadways.”
“Distracted Driving is anything that takes your attention away from safe driving. Florida’s sheriffs are committed to enforcing distracted driving laws to protect the public. We ask you to take steps to eliminate distractions that could lead to crashes. As President of the Florida Sheriffs Association, I fully support the ‘Put It Down’ campaign by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles,” stated Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, President of the Florida Sheriffs Association.
“This Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) urges drivers to be “hands free” by connecting their devices to Bluetooth in their vehicles and concentrating on the road,” saidFPCA President Charlie Vazquez, Chief of Police Tampa International Airport “No call or text, no alert from your social media accounts, is worth your life. Please make the roads safer for everyone by choosing to focus fully on driving.”
Next time you get behind the wheel, remember the importance of driving distraction-free. For more information on distracted driving, visit FLHSMV’s distracted driving webpage.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is actively searching for a suspect involved in a road rage shooting incident that occurred on Interstate 4 in Hillsborough County. The shooting took place west of Interstate 275, as a 34-year-old St. Petersburg man was driving westbound in a Honda CR-V.
According to authorities, the driver noticed a group of motorcyclists operating erratically along with another unidentified vehicle. Concerned by the behavior, the driver began filming the motorcyclists with his cell phone. As he did so, one of the motorcyclists, who was riding adjacent to the Honda, pulled out a handgun and fired several shots directly at the vehicle.
Multiple rounds struck the Honda, but fortunately, the driver was not injured in the incident. The suspected shooter has been described as a white male of medium build. He was seen wearing a jacket bearing the emblem of the “Outlaws MC,” a well-known motorcycle club.
The Florida Highway Patrol is urging anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who has any information about the suspect’s identity or whereabouts to come forward. Tips can be submitted by calling *FHP (*347) or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at **TIPS.
“This was an incredibly dangerous situation that could have resulted in serious harm or worse,” said Sergeant Steve Gaskins, Public Affairs Officer for FHP. “We’re asking for the public’s help in identifying this individual so we can hold him accountable.”
Marie Avitabile of Auburndale, Florida passed away peacefully on March 29, 2025 at the age of 77, surrounded by family and friends.
Marie was preceded in death by Rich Avitabile, her loving husband of 52 years, and her parents John and Margaret Fantucchio. She is survived by her daughter Gina Avitabile, son and daughter-in-law, Dan & Jackie Avitabile, grandchildren, Ryan, Mason and Joey, brother and sister-in-law John & Luanne Fantucchio, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Jim & Meg Avitabile.
Originally from Quincy, Massachusetts, Marie was a loving homemaker, devoted to her family. As her children grew older, she decided to follow a career path in sales. Through her success, she was recognized as a top producer and achieved multiple annual incentive trips to destinations around the world. This helped fuel her passion for travel.
In 2001, she and her husband moved to Florida to be closer to their family. They retired to Golden Gate Park where they quickly became pillars of the community. Marie was the director of the theater club where she enjoyed dance, costume design, choreography and producing shows for the community. In addition, she loved cooking and entertaining guests, as well as cruising, playing cards, and singing karaoke. She loved watching The Game Show Network, The Food Network & The Hallmark Channel. More than anything else in the world, she loved being with her family and friends. Marie was an outgoing, passionate and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. She will be missed by all that knew and loved her.
Barbara Sue Ellis passed away peacefully on March 23, 2025 after an extended battle with cancer. She was born on September 5, 1938 in Ft. Meade, Florida and was a lifelong resident of Polk County. She graduated from Lakeland High School class of 1956. She then attended Georgia Southern College and finished her BA degree while attending Florida Southern College. She then obtained her Masters Degree from the University of South Florida in 1981. She spent her entire career with Polk County Schools, first at as a teacher throughout several Junior and Senior High Schools within the District and then completed her career as a financial aid counselor for Ridge Vocational Technical School.
She was an avid collector of Barbie dolls and attended the Barbie Doll convention for 34 consecutive years. Upon retirement she spent her summers at her mountain cabin in Andrews, NC.
Sue is survived by her two sons, Greg (Susan) Ellis and Bobby (Corky) Ellis, two grandsons, Mitchell and Mason Ellis, and two great-grandchildren, Norah and Peyton Ellis and numerous cousins.
Because she wanted her body donated to science, a Celebration of Life service will be held at Lone Palm Golf Club, 800 Lone Palm Dr, Lakeland, FL 33815 on Wednesday April 16 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Please visit www.steelesfamilyfuneralservices.com to share your memories with the family. In lieu of flowers feel free to make a donation to any charity of your choice in her name. We would like to give a special thanks to her caregivers at Astoria Senior Living and for hospice services provided by Vitas Healthcare.
An easy recipe that can serve your family or a crowd is a perfect solution for any cookbook. Look no further than this Easy Enchilada Casserole, an ideal fit for family dinners or hosting a group when served as a dip.
Photo screenshot from Lake Wales Gardens website of one of the buildings in the complex
A structural collapse was reported to Polk County Fire Rescue around 11:32 a.m. on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 504 4th St. S. in Lake Wales. This address is in the Lake Wales Gardens apartment complex, which encompasses several buildings with multiple units.
Lake Wales Police Department Lt. Ed Palmer says that the ceiling in one of the lower apartments collapsed, which will displace the residents in that unit. The main roof of the building did not collapse. The cause of the collapse is not known at this time.
Management at the Lake Wales Gardens apartments is aware of the situation and maintenance is working to repair the damage. 
At approximately 10:49 AM on Saturday, April 5, 2025, a traffic collision was reported on Masterpiece Road at the intersection of Timberlane Rd. in Lake Wales.
They said to be two vehicles involved, one appearing to be a gray SUV.
Masterpiece Road is currently closed in both directions at Timberlane Road as first responders are blocking the roadway while working the crash.
Please find an alternate route. This story will be updated.
UPDATE 11:23 a.m.: Polk County Fire Rescue reports that no injuries required transport. The roadway is now said to be reopened.
To honor its legacy as a “City in a Garden”, the City of Lake Wales released a proclamation observing a national holiday in honor of trees and other natural flora.
At their meeting on Wed. Apr. 2, 2025, Lake Wales Mayor Jack Hilligoss offered an official proclamation recognizing Apr. 2 as Arbor Day, in which he encouraged residents “to celebrate Arbor Day and to support efforts to protect our trees and woodlands.”
Founded on April 10, 1872, Arbor Day is a national holiday established by J. Sterling Morton, a Nebraska state legislator and newspaper publisher who, according to the Arbor Day Foundation, “had an enthusiasm for trees and advocated strongly for individuals and civic groups to plant them.”
The first official holiday in 1872, as the official proclamation explained, “was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska.” In 2023, the Arbor Day Foundation reportedly planted and distributed more than 1.7 million trees.
The city’s proclamation recognized the benefits that treesprovide to the environment and communities such as Lake Wales:
“Trees can be a solution to combating climate change by reducing the erosion of our precious topsoil by wind and water, cutting heating and cooling costs, and…trees in our city increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of business areas, and beautify our community.”
“Trees — wherever they are planted — are a source of joy and spiritual renewal,” Mayor Hilligoss wrote. “I urge all citizens to plant trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations.”
By officially recognizing Arbor Day, Lake Wales shows its commitment to the local environment as envisioned by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who helped design the city and the adjoining Bok Tower Gardens as a “City in a Garden.”
