The Polk County Sheriff’s Office & Polk County Fire Rescue is currently on scene of a multiple vehicle crash on Hwy 540 West near the intersection of Brandy Chase in Winter Haven. The accident call came in at 8:26pm.
Currently medical helicopter is landing near the Polk State College Center For Public Safety. Initial information is two major injuries one adult and one pediatric trauma alert. It’s believed the pediatric trauma alert is being airlifted and the adult is being transported by ground.
Details are not currently available, but we will update as information is available
Terry Joe Bailey Sr., 62, passed away on January 22, 2025. A skilled automotive technician, Terry was known for his hard work, dedication, and ability to fix just about anything.
Outside of work, Terry found joy in the simple pleasures of life. He loved spending time fishing, playing poker with friends, and creating lasting memories with those he loved. A loyal friend and a warm presence, Terry’s laughter and kindness touched everyone who knew him.
Terry leaves behind a loving family who meant the world to him: his three children, TJ Bailey (Kristan Bailey), Ashley Bradley (Mike Bradley) and Robert Bailey (Harlie Bailey); five cherished grandchildren, Rio Bailey, Jade Bailey, Alexus Sharpe, Harmoni Futrell and Weston Bailey; Sister, Debbie Bailey; Brother, Mark Bailey (Teresa Bailey), Nieces and nephews Michael Costine, Eric Costine, Marc Bailey, Austin Bailey, Christopher Cochran, Courtney Cochran. His memory will forever be celebrated by his family, friends, and all whose lives he enriched.
A private service will be held to honor his life and legacy. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for acts of kindness in Terry’s memory.
Glenda Eileene Ellis of Frostproof passed away Thursday, January 23, 2025 at her residence.
She was born December 22, 1948 in Atmore, AL to the late Glenn and Thelma Henson; she came here as a child from Alabama. She was retired from Cargill and a member of the Church of God. She was a tribal citizen of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. She enjoyed watching her soap operas, going to casinos and her bowling league.
Glenda was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Gary Henson. Survivors include her daughter, Brenda Pruitt and husband, Gary of Frostproof; sons, Bryan Hutto and wife, Denisha of Fairfield, IL, Stacy Gregg Jr and fiancée, Kendall Townsend of Frostproof, Michael Hutto and wife, Billie of Frostproof and Davis Ellis and wife, Natasha of Frostproof; 18 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild.
Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until the funeral service at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at Frostproof Church of God with Rev. Sam Haag. Interment will follow at Silver Hill Cemetery.
The Polk County Youth Fair, running now through January 31, 2025, is a long-standing event in our area, one that supports students in a broader education beyond reading and math. But how did it get started?
The PCYF offers this history of the Fair on their website and how it came to be:
On October 7, 1944, G. W. (Buck) Mann, Jr., stood talking with a representative of Hon. Nathan Mayo, Commissioner of Agriculture, and on that day the hoping and thinking that had been going on about an agricultural show pavilion in this area of Florida turned into activity which has culminated in the facilities, not yet completed, but which are being used for the first time to stage the Polk County Youth Fair.
Following the October 7th meeting, the Livestock Committee of the Bartow Chamber of Commerce headed by W. H. Stuart, Chairman, met with Mr. Mayo in Winter Haven on November 18, 1944. Mr. Mayo made a proposal in which he asked the committee to help make the project a state, county and city effort in keeping with his state-wide plan for similar areas surrounding such other points as Quincy, Ocala, Orlando and Belle Glade.
The City of Bartow responded, immediately by donating the Pavilion site and a cash contribution to the building fund. The County of Polk heartily endorsed the project and backed it with the financial assistance requested. Individual citizens – cattlemen, merchants, fruit growers and others have likewise contributed generously.
On December 5, 1944, Joe Taylor, hardworking Secretary of the Bartow Chamber of Commerce helped arrange a meeting between the livestock committee and Mr. W. L. Wilson, Director of State Markets, and Col. M. B. Hawkins, Construction Engineer. The title to the Pavilion site is held by the Florida Agricultural Marketing Board of which Mr. Wilson is secretary. On this occasion the building site was approved and Mr. Wilson made the first public announcement regarding this project. He has cooperated fully, and Col. Hawkins has worked many hours on the building plans. As the building has progressed toward completion, E. S. Rydholm, Supervisor of Construction for State Markets has given much assistance.
During the time of the introductory conferences, sketches and blue prints of show pavilions and exhibit buildings from all over the country were being accumulated for study and guidance. On January 11, 1945, the committee met with Mr. L. H. Lewis, Livestock & Field Crops Specialist, Florida State Marketing Bureau. As he was Mr. Mayo’s representative with whom we had our first talk, he has from the beginning worked with us in every way to help make these facilities adequately serve the needs of this area of the State. Mr. Lewis suggested that before drawing any plans he would like for the committee to see the new pavilion then being completed in Valdosta, Georgia. Consequently, on February 21, 1945, twenty-nine enthusiastic citizens went to Valdosta. Practically every man on the trip made a written report and suggestions which were studied by the building committee.
A building and planning committee composed of Buck Mann, Chairman, Sam Clark, C. E. (Tiny) Williams, Paul Hayman, L. G. Carlton and W. H. Stuart, ex-officio member, went to work on plans. A. Alex Hatton, a former Bartow boy now located in Orlando, was engaged as architect. Many sketches were drawn and much time has elapsed since plans were started, but scarcity of materials, priorities, gray market prices, lack of funds and many other obstacles have not been able to diminish enthusiasm or stop the project.
In November 1947, W. H. Stuart took Clay Gardenhire to Tallahassee where the basic contract for the barn and arena were awarded to Gardenhire Brothers. The members of this Bartow firm have manifested the same interest in the project as the building committee and by doing many seemingly impossible things have brought the building to its present stage of completion.
We are not celebrating the completion of the project, but possibly only its beginning, and as Mr. Mayo turns the key to the pavilion over to the people of this area of Florida, may its inaugural use by our young citizens be symbolic of the use and growth of these facilities through the coming years.
We can be thankful for a State, a County, a City and a Citizenship that march forward together.
On January 27th, 2025, James David Shows was charged with one count of possessing a destructive device following the discovery of the drive inside his residence located at 108 Pike Street, Auburndale, FL 33823.
The device was described as a white PVC plastic pipe bomb with end caps and a wick/fuse. The device was found by an animal caregiver who had permission to enter the residence while Shows was incarcerated on unrelated charges. The witness contacted Law Enforcement to report the suspicious device.
Auburndale police responded to the scene at approximately 1339 hours and confirmed the presence of a suspicious device resembling a pipe bomb. The Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosives (BFAE) was immediately contacted and safely removed the device from the residence.
Further analysis by BFAE determined the device to be approximately 2 – 2 1/2 inches in length and containing an unknown powder, as revealed by X-Ray photographs. The Auburndale Police Department (APD) can confirm there is no immediate danger to neighboring residents.
This incident remains an active and open investigation. APD urges anyone with information related to this case to contact our Criminal Investigations Unit at (863) 965-5555.
42-year old Mark Davis Cox of Winter Haven got himself arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday evening, January 22nd.
A little after 8pm, a PCSO deputy was dispatched to a gas station on Dundee Road, in Dundee, due to a man causing a disturbance there. That man was Mr. Cox.
When the deputy arrived, he immediately saw Mr. Cox–he was yelling at an ice machine outside of the store, and hitting it.
We get it, the temperature outside is very cold (especially for Florida standards), but it’s not the ice machine’s fault. Maybe someone left the door on the ice machine open, causing these ridiculous temperatures.
As the deputy approached him, Mark said he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was asked to identify himself, and Mark replied, “You know me!”
The deputy did not know him. However a lot of deputies do know Mark.
Mark smelled of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated; he was belligerent and was scaring customers and employees.
As the deputy attempted to take Mark into custody, he began resisting.
Mark Davis Cox was arrested and taken to the Polk County Jail where he was charged with disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and resisting.
Citizens in Lake Wales reported hearing shots fired in an area near the city of Lake Wales tennis courts this afternoon.
Lake Wales Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Dale Hampton states that at approximately 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, shots were reportedly fired near the area of Scenic Hwy. and Osceola Ave. in Lake Wales.
The preliminary investigation is said to have shown shots being fired at a white vehicle, which, at the time of publication of the story, has not been located.
LWPD has taken two juveniles in custody with regard to the shooting, and a firearm has been recovered. The names of the juveniles will not be released to the public at this time.
Hampton says there is no immediate threat to the public at this time. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information with regard to this incident is encouraged to contact Lake Wales Police Department.
Those with a flair for the stage, a desire to see a community project succeed, and anyone looking to have some fun and make new friends are welcome at the upcoming auditions for Vintage Hitchcock – A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry, the next production of the season for Lake Wales Little Theatre.
Auditions will be held on February 3rd, 4th, 2025, at 7PM each evening, at the theater, located at 411 N. 3rd St., Lake Wales.
The show is scheduled to run March 28 – April 13, 2025.
The production is suggestive of a 1940s radio station. Spies, murder, love, and other trademarks of Alfred Hitchcock come to life in the style of a 1940s radio broadcast of the master of suspense’s earlier films.
With The Lodger, Sabotage and The 39 Steps, Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play is a triple feature, complete with vintage commercials, that recreates a daring train chase, a serial killer’s ominous presence, and a devastating explosion through the magic of live sound effects.
On the evening of January 27, 2025 around 9:00 p.m. Winter Haven Fire Department responded to a 911 call for an accident on Lucerne Park Road in Winter Haven.
We reached out to Jamie Brown, Winter Haven Public Safety Department’s Public Information Officer for details and she advised a juvenile bike rider was crossing the road and rode into the side of a truck pulling a trailer.
There were minor injuries but the juvenile was transported to Winter Haven Health as a precaution.
Since this was a minor event, law enforcement does not have any additional details to provide.
Fay Ellen Barry of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at Scott Lake Health and Rehabilitation in Lakeland.
She was born July 4, 1939, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the late Clarence and Verna Fairchild; she moved to Lake Wales in 2005. Fay was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith.
Fay was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Barry in 2016; daughter, Candy Evans; and grandson, Troy, Jr.
She is survived by her daughters, Cindy Price (Randy), Cathy Noel, and Carra Price (Raymond); sons, Robert Barry, Jr. and Troy Barry (Emma); grandchildren, Rhiannon, Niles, Robert, III, Alena, Michael, Kayla, Jessica, Ellery, Contessa, Jolene, Eddie, Crystal, Randy, Jr., Paul, Brianna and 20 great- grandchildren.
A visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the funeral service at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales.
