More Than 93 Acres Near Old Bartow Lake Wales Road Being Considered for Annexation for Future Development
by James Coulter
More than 93 acres of land, located near Old Bartow Lake Wales Road, is being considered for annexation into the City of Winter Haven to obtain utilities for a future development.
At their recent meeting on Monday evening, Winter Haven city commissioners reviewed the first reading of an ordinance aboutthe proposed annexation of four parcels of land totaling 93.45 acres.
According to the city agenda memo, the land is “generally located approximately 1,218 feet north of Old Bartow Lake Wales Road, east of McClean Road, and approximately 1,333 feet west of Gary Street.”
Furthermore, as the memo states, “the parcel is contiguous to the City to the south, west, and north, and the annexation of this parcel will not create an enclave.”
Gain, Inc. has petitioned that the land be annexed into the city, according to the agenda memo, “for the purpose of obtaining City utilities for the future development of the site.”
The current taxable value of the subject parcel is $11,483. Under the city’s current tax millage rate, when annexed, it is expected to generate approximately $75.67 in annual tax revenue.
The Winter Haven City Commission did not vote on the ordinance that evening, but they will at its second reading at their next meeting on Mon. Jan. 27.
It’s a new year. You know what that means? New year’s resolutions!
This year, my resolution is to cut back on soft drinks and fast food. I’m not going to cut all of that completely out of my diet, but I want to drink less soda and eat less fast food than what I’m currently accustom to.
However, for January, I have decided to go cold turkey on soft drinks and fast food–at least for this month. Otherwise, I’mstrictly eating food prepared at home and drinking nothing but water.
Well, I’m not simply drinking water. I’m drinking detox water made with lemon, cucumber, ginger, and mint. Not only does it taste better than plain water, but it also provides better benefits and nutrients.
Lemons and cucumbers contain water, which help aid in hydration. Ginger and mint can reduce inflammation. Lemon and ginger may boost metabolism. And ginger can help soothe digestion to help reduce bloating and indigestion.
I didn’t tell anyone I had given up soft drinks for water. However, one week after starting my diet, a family member told me that I looked slimmer and less bloated. So, it seems to be doing it’s job.
If you want to start off with a healthier new year, give this detox water. It’s much more refreshing and rejuvenating than carbonated drinks, and best of all, it has no empty calories.
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Lemon Cucumber Mint Ginger Detox Water
3 lemons, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 bunch mint leaves
1. Rinse ingredients and place into a large pitcher. Fill pitcher with water. Stir until well mixed. Add a few squeezes of lemon or lime juice for added flavor.
2. Drink as desired. Refill when pitcher gets near empty. Add lemon juice as desired. Contents should be good for a week in refrigerator.
As January will shortly draw to a close, it’s time to remind the residents of the City of Lake Wales of the upcoming mayoral election, which will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Individuals looking to run as a candidate for this elected position may obtain informational packets beginning January 31, 2025.
Below is a release of election information, recently published on the City of Lake Wales Facebook page. It outlines the dates of importance and other guidelines with regard to the upcoming election:
NOTICE OF COMMISSION ELECTION CITY OF LAKE WALES, FLORIDA NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION FOR THE CITY OF LAKE WALES WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2025 TO ELECT A MAYOR FOR SEAT 1 (AT-LARGE) ON THE CITY COMMISSION.
THE REGULAR ELECTION OF CITY COMMISSION MEMBERS SHALL BE HELD IN THE MANNER PROVIDED IN THE CITY CHARTER AND THE LAKE WALES MUNICIPAL ELECTION CODE. THE PERSON ELECTED FOR SEAT 1 SHALL SERVE A TERM OF THREE (3) YEARS.
QUALIFYING PERIOD The period to qualify for election to Seat 1 begins at 12:00 noon, Monday, February 10, 2025 and ends at 12:00 noon, Friday, February 14, 2025 in the City Clerk’s Office at the City Administration Building, 201 W. Central Ave, Lake Wales. Candidate packets will be available in the City Clerk’s Office beginning 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 31, 2025.
PROCEDURE FOR QUALIFYING QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE Members of the City Commission must be registered voters and a resident of the City of Lake Wales for at least one year preceding their date of election. The Mayor elected to Seat 1 must reside within City limits.
CAMPAIGN FINANCES Any candidate seeking to qualify for election must appoint a campaign treasurer and designate a campaign depository on or before the date obtaining petition signatures. Petition signatures obtained prior to this date will be disqualified. All Forms will be furnished by the City Clerk.
PETITIONS Candidates for election to the City Commission must be nominated by petition. Any registered voter of the district shall be nominated for election by petition designating the commission seat to which they seek election. Each candidate must obtain 25 qualified signatures from registered voters nominating them to the seat. Official petitions are furnished by the City Clerk.
For additional information, please contact City Clerk Jennifer Nanek at 863-678-4182, ext. 1254 or in person at 201 West Central Avenue, Lake Wales, FL 33853.
Edwin Morris Friedlander, 93, of Lake Wales, Florida, passed away peacefully in his home on January 19, 2025. Edwin was born on July 13, 1931, at Lake Wales Hospital to Harry and Celia Friedlander. He graduated from Lake Wales High School in 1948 and the University of Florida in 1952. He enlisted in the US Army upon graduation from UF and went on to serve his county in Korea before returning home to Lake Wales.
Edwin’s lifelong contributions to this community are remarkable and have left an indelible impact. He served on countless boards and volunteered across the county with the Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Lake Wales Hospital, Boy Scouts, where he was an Eagle Scout, and many other organizations. Edwin was also known in the community for his Five and Dime in downtown Lake Wales that was a fixture for decades. He loved visiting with people, both new and old friends. He was a lifelong Florida citrus grower and rancher who worked hard to preserve the way of life and landscape he inherited from his father. Edwin was recognized as the Lake Wales Citizen of the Year and later as Pioneer of the Year for his many accomplishments. Edwin never met a stranger and was known for his kindness, curiosity, and wit. He was an avid Gator fan who was rarely seen not wearing something orange and blue.
Through all Edwin accomplished in his life, he would say it was the relationships that meant the most to him. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Kathy, who faithfully cared for and supported him. Edwin was a proud father of Randy (Julie) of Columbus, OH, Doug (Anne) of Atlanta, GA, Allen of Winter Haven, FL, Carolyn (Bobby) of Lake Wales, FL, and Laurie (Keith) of Alachua, FL. He was preceded in death by a son, Marty. Edwin is also survived by 10 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and countless more whom he considered family.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 22 from 6:00-8:00pm at Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales and a graveside service will be held on Thursday, January 23 at 11:00 am at Oak Hill Burial Park in Lakeland.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his memory to Bok Tower Gardens or the Marfan Foundation.
Edwin will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him. His legacy of service, kindness, and dedication to his community will continue through the many he touched.
Two men were placed behind bars after being arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after allegedly stealing from Lowe’s in both Winter Haven and Auburndale.
Monte Richard and Kadin Richard were arrested for grand theft.
It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of facts by law enforcement in a court of law. Winter Haven Daily 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. A suspect is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
“PROBABLE CAUSE:
On 1/13/25, I was contacted by a Loss Prevention associate with Lowe’s, Jonathan Odum. Odum advised that he was following two retail theft suspects, later identified as Monte Richard and Kadin Richard. Odum stated that he observed them remove items from a Lowes in Winter Haven and followed them to Lowe’s in Auburndale. I was advised by Odum that the tag was N661105 (LA), but when the vehicle entered the parking lot, it had an automated license plate cover to prevent it from being readable. I observed Monte exit the van and enter the store. Odum advised that he was watching him on camera go up and down isles, remove the plastic security case that the products were secured in, and conceal them in a separate section of the store within a shopping cart under a blue air conditioning filter. Soon after, Kadin removed a blue seemingly Lowe’s flatbed cart from the van, placed a bag of soil on it, and pushed it into the store. Odum observed Kadin then attempting to conceal items while Monte was a lookout.
While in contact with Odum, I was advised that Monte was walking out of the main entrance. I observed Monte and detained him. On his belt was a brown satchel that was large enough to conceal a weapon. Inside the satchel was an anti-shoplifting device. Monte was on the phone with Kadin at the time I made contact with him, so Kadin heard me identify myself as Detective Wright with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Kadin then exited the garden center entrance. Sgt. Goodlet identified himself, and Kadin began to run eastbound through the parking lot. A short time later, Kadin stopped running and returned to Sgt. Goodlet. Both subjects were secured in handcufis.
The cart Kadin was pushing into and attempted to push out of the store was modified underneath to conceal stolen merchandise. The underside of the cart contained approximately $2,091.89 worth of merchandise.
During my investigation, I determined that Monte Richard and Kadin Richard did commit grand theft from a retail store. Monte was knowingly in possession of an anti-shoplifting device. Kadin did knowingly resist without violence. Both subjects did unlawfully use a 2-way communication device to commit grand theft.”
As folks who sell firearms, John & Yashera Phillips know how easy it is for an emergency to occur. For that reason, they gladly accepted a donation of an automated external defibrillator (AED) for their store.
On Tuesday evening, Wild Wild West Arms in Dundee received the 57th AED donated by Culpepper’s Cardiac Foundation (CCF). CCF volunteers helped install the AED, while a safety demonstration was also provided.
“We were excited and very pleased to be picked to receive the AED,” John Phillips said. “Being around firearms, and having a large volume of customers, I feel it will add great benefit as a lifesaving tool in our environment.”
Sara Michaels, who previously worked as an assistant manager, had reached out to the CCF to request an AED for the store. Michaels wanted to ensure the safety of staff and customers, as a store employee had previously suffered a heart incident.
“Tragedy knows no time frames,” she said. “Every single business should have one of these devices under their roof. You never know when that moment is going to strike and it’s in YOUR hands to try to save a life.”
Ed Caraway, who had worked in customer service for three years, was the employee who experienced that incident. He suffered a panic attack when his blood sugar dropped low. Fortunately, he survived that incident, and he is thankful an AED has been donated to ensure other people can likewise survive similar emergencies.
“I got nervous and started sweating and believe I didn’t know what was happening,” he explained. “I was lucky it was just my sugar had dropped too low but you never know when it could be a heart attack Melanie you and your team gave a great orientation I enjoyed it.”
Both Michaels and her employers have supported the CCF ever since its inception. They have personally known its founder, Melanie Brown Culpepper, for many years. They have seen her do many good things, even when bad things have happened to her.
Melanie started CCF four years ago following the untimely passing of her late fiancée, Michael Culpepper, who had passed away from cardiac arrest. Not wanting anyone to suffer a similar fate, Melanie started her organization to donate AEDs across Polk County.
“I’ve known Melanie for well over 20 years,” Michaels said. “I’ve seen her take her tragedy of losing Michael, to aid in her healing by helping others through this foundation…Melanie could have just let herself drown in grief of her loss. But she didn’t. She chose to take action and heal in a healthy way by spreading awareness. It’s truly commendable.”
Witnessing the good things Melanie has done throughout her life, regardless of her tragedies, inspired Michaels and reminded her of a quote from podcaster and motivational speaker Brené Brown:
“You may not have signed up for a hero’s journey, but the second you fell down, got your butt kicked, suffered a disappointment, screwed up, or felt your heart break, it started. It doesn’t matter whether we are ready for an emotional adventure—hurt happens. And it happens to every single one of us. Without exception. The only decision we get to make is what role we’ll play in our own lives: Do we want to write the story, or do we want to hand that power over to someone else? Choosing to write our own story means getting uncomfortable; it’s choosing courage over comfort.”
For more information about CCF, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/honoringculpepper
At approximately 3:33 PM, on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, a traffic collision was reported at Highway 60 W. and W. Lake Wales Rd. North in Lake Wales.
There is one vehicle at the scene showing damage, and law-enforcement is present. There is a backup of traffic, headed west on Highway 60, but no lanes are blocked.
Please proceed with caution as you are driving through this area and expect a short delay.
Let’s be honest: was anyone expecting this movie to be good?
Kraven the Hunter is the last in the line of films attempting to create a cinematic universe of Spider-Man characters sans Spider-Man: Venom, Morbius, and Madame Web. And to no one’s surprise, nobody wanted to watch Spider-Man movies without Spider-Man.
Every single one of these movies has been terrible. The only exception is Venom, but only because those movies proved to be so bad they’re hilarious. So, was it any surprise Kraven the Hunter turned out to be a massive flop?
Honestly, the only reason I even watched this stinker was because I had to watch two movies, one of which was Nosferatu. The only other movies playing at the theater were Sonic 3 (which I already reviewed), Gladiator II (which I never saw the first movie), and Mufasa (which I refuse to watch on principle).
So, I knew I was watching this movie under protest. And I knew it was going to be bad. The only question was, “How bad?” Bad enough to make you visit the DVD aisle of a store just so you can find a copy of Madame Web and apologize for being too harsh on it.
Yes, that bad!
Let’s skip pretenses. We know this movie was awful. Let’s just explain why.
Kraven the Hunter follows the story of Sergei, one of two sons of a criminal overlord. During a hunting trip, he is mauled by a lion. His life is saved through a potion given to him by a voodoo priestess. That potion also gives him the strength and agility of a lion. Sergi eventually escapes the clutches of his abusive father and uses his new powers to hunt down poachers. And so he becomes Kraven the Hunter, a hunter who hunts the hunters.
Years later, his brother, Dimitri, is kidnapped, and now Kraven needs to hunt down his captors. However, he will need to evade a super-powered assassin and one of his father’s former colleagues to do so. Will Kraven take down the hunters along with his father and his criminal empire?
Kraven the Hunter does the impossible. It makes Madame Web look good in comparison. Yes, it’s really that bad!
Madame Web was undoubtedly bad, but at least it was bad in interesting ways. At least it had interesting ideas and concepts, even if it failed spectacularly in implementing them.
Madame Web had an interesting concept concerning time travel and manipulation. It didn’t implement that concept very well, but it was interesting nonetheless and could have made for a good movie if done properly.
Sure, Madame Web had bad dialogue, line deliveries, flat characters, and incessant Spider-Man Easter eggs up the wazoo, but at least all of those flaws made the film so bad it’s good. At least Madame Web was bad enough to be unintentionally hilarious. At least it had notable flaws to talk about.
But, folks, what am I supposed to talk about with Kraven the Hunter? This isn’t even a movie that’s so bad it’s good. It’s just so bad it’s boring. There is nothing interesting to talk about, either good or bad.
Stop me if you heard this one before: a person is on the near brink of death until he is saved by magic that gives them superpowers. If that sounds like something that’s been done before, that’s because it is, and Kraven the Hunter does absolutely nothing new or original with it. Kraven is just some guy who’s super strong and agile and who uses his powers to fight criminals…you know, like most other superhero movies!
The only interesting note is with the villains. One is an assassin who can freeze time, which sounds cool, but, like everything else in the movie, this character’s not put to good use. And his defeat in the end feels extremely anti-climatic.
And then there’s the Rhino. No spoilers, but let’s just say that anyone who ever made fun of the Rhino mech suit in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 owes it an apology. Because…my goodness, is this version of the Rhino bad!
The only good part of the movie is the opening act, which is an excellent prison breakout scene. In fact, if you do watch this movie, only watch that part and stop the movie after it’s done. Because the movie won’t get any better after that.
To quote another movie critic, Kraven the Hunter is “less of a structured narrative with a beginning, middle, and end and more like disjointed scenes and action sequences thrown into a blender and spat out the other side. Actions and events have almost nothing in common with their consequences, characters talk at each other like they’re having completely different conversations, the antagonist is one of the weakest and most ludicrous villains I have seen in any movie ever, the acting is atrocious, the effects are laughable, and there’s an almost palatable air of indifference to the entire movie.”
Thus Kraven the Hunter ends the Spider-Man-less Spiderverse, not with a bang, but a whimper.
Noah Brown meets K-9 Sam and WHPD Squad 1 Noah, who claims to be homeless, decided to check out vehicles in the Racetrac parking lot on Lucerne Park Rd at Hwy 27 on Monday. By checking out, we mean opening doors. He found one unlocked and helped himself to a cell phone and wallet. When the victim came out to his vehicle, he saw his things missing and immediately went into the store to see if there was video. Sure enough, the employee saw Brown enter the vehicle and saw the direction he went.
As officers arrived on scene, a perimeter was set by officers while K-9 Sam and handler Officer Crummer along with Officer Flayhart hit the ground running. Sam picked up Brown’s scent and didn’t quit. Running south on Lucerne Park Rd, ducking through businesses, Sam found Brown approximately 20 minutes later hiding in a field. Brown proceeded to try to tell officers he was 16 years old and gave a fake name. Ultimately, he was identified as 19 year-old Noah Jamir Brown.
He was booked into the Polk County Jail for Burglary of Unoccupied Vehicle (which is a third-degree felony by the way), Petit Theft and Giving False Identification to LEO. All items were returned to the victim! Great Job!
Get ready to party like it’s the 40s. The 1840s! Come to Alafia River Rendezvous this weekend in Homeland (near Bartow) and check out how life was like for pioneers in the good old days.
Hosted by the Florida Frontiersmen, the Alafia River Rendezvous is the largest pre-1840 living history encampment in the Southeast U.S.
More than 1,000 historical reenactors, including adults and children, congregate in the Florida Wilderness to set up camp and live the life of pioneers in pre-1840s America.
Come see blacksmiths craft tools and weapons from red-hot, bakers bake homemade bread and other pastries from clay ovens, and woodworks make brooms and other household items from hay and wood.
Greg Fulbright, President of the Florida Frontiersmen, has been attending the Alafia River Rendezvous with his wife for nearly 30 years. Being able to recreate the life of the good old days has been quite the experience.
Every year, the Rendezvous draws in hundreds of children from local schools and scout troops. Greg mentions how many of the children really enjoy being able to experience living history, to the point where they prefer it to other local attractions.
“The kids really love it,” he said. “They write us letters every year saying they’d rather come here than go to Disney World.”
The Alafia River Rendezvous will be hosted on Fri., Jan. 24 and Sat., Jan. 25, 2025 from 9 AM to 3 PM. The event will be hosted at 1000 Old. Ft. Meade Rd. in Homeland, FL, six miles south of Bartow off of Highway 98 & CR 640.
Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for children under 15 and veterans, and free for children under 4. For more information, visit their website at AlafiaRiverRendevous.org
