Breaking News: Proposed Resolution 20-037 concerning masks/face coverings has been extended until October 5th, 2020. The measure was won by a 4-3 vote by City of Lakeland commissioners.
Several Scaly Scallywags Social Distance At Seventh Annual Repticon FIRexpo
Several Scaly Scallywags Social Distance At Seventh Annual Repticon FIRexpo
by James Coulter
Despite the threat of COVID-19, countless lizards, snakes, turtles and other reptiles scampered and slithered over to the RP Funding Center in Lakeland last weekend for the seventh annual Repticon FIRexpo.
Several dozen vendors congregated within the convention center with cages filled with various reptiles, ranging from the common turtle or lizard, to the exotic bearded dragon. Other animals such as gerbils, hedgehogs, and even dogs and cats were also showcased. Also offered were reptile-related merchandise from cages to pet food.
To help accommodate the event for these uncertain times, social distancing was enforced and face masks were required for entry into the event. Even with the threat of COVID-19 still looming, the three-day event drew in hundreds of visitors and vendors.
Family Reptiles, a local reptile shop in Lakeland, has been a sponsor of the event for many years. As with last year, they are excited to have the annual reptile show return to their hometown, especially despite the current pandemic.
“We were nervous that things may have been canceled, but due to a lot of safety precautions, we have animals and supplies for reptile lovers of Central Florida, and we are glad to be back,” said owner, Scott Wisneski. “Maybe we don’t have as many vendors or guests. But it is like reopening the community again. It will take time, and we are here to support those who came out.”
Their store, as with many local businesses, has also struggled through the recent months due to the COVID-19 crisis. They are glad that an event such as Repticon FIRexpo was able to be hosted again, and people were able to attend, despite current circumstances, as it is a sign that things are slightly improving.
“I have been locked down myself, so to get back into the shows and public has been good,” he said. “We appreciate everyone’s support and look good supporting the community.”
Pinellas County Reptiles, a vendor from Largo, also attended this weekend’s event. The reptile store attends many events hosted by Repticon every weekend in various cities.
Being able to attend these shows allows them to meet up with fellow reptile enthusiasts and showcase their reptiles, including their ball pythons. They were especially happy to attend the event in Lakeland, even despite current circumstances.
“We just enjoy meeting all the new customers,” said Angie Mellis, owner of Pinellas County Reptiles. “It is decent considering what is going on in the world right now. Sometimes it is slow, it is not quite what it used to be, but it is doing well.”
This year’s event more than met initial expectations, with countless guests and vendors arriving to share their love of reptiles. Summer Westmoreland, Show Manager, loves events such as this for their sense of camaraderie, and she loved how it managed to maintain their community this past weekend.
“Everybody is super happy to come out,” she said. “I love seeing people who have not seen anything in a while. [It’s] pretty hot because once everything calms down, we want to go back to the way things used to be, and we are expecting more growth out of it.”
For more information about Repticon, visit their website at: https://repticon.com/
Lakeland Regional Health PICU Celebrates Grand Opening
Lakeland Regional Health PICU Celebrates Grand Opening
by James Coulter
Pediatric patients will no longer need to be transported to Tampa or Orlando for critical care now that Lakeland Regional Health has expanded its services with its new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
Lakeland Regional Health PICU celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 1 with a virtual ribbon cutting hosted by the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. The 12-bed unit will provide high-quality care and services to pediatric patients under the age of 18 who may need a higher level of medical care in a general pediatric unit.
Such high-quality care will be provided to them through the care and assistance of pediatric board-certified trained physicians and a dedicated nursing team, all of whom have undergone countless hours of training and intense simulation to care for these patients. Each of the 12-bed units offers privacy for patients and their guardians, allowing families an opportunity to interact with the care team members and stay with their children at all times.
“Other aspects of the care team include physical therapy, respiratory therapists, pharmacy, and child life teams who support the families and parents during their hospitalization time,” explained Lori Shea, Assistant Vice President of Women and Children Services.
The new unit shares the same floor as the facility’s regular pediatric unit. Both units are set within the eight-story Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children constructed two years ago and opened in 2018.
“When we opened the pavilion, this was always part of the plan to provide pediatric intensive care unit,” said Shea. “It was always a vision of Lakeland Regional Health and the community to be able to provide a higher level of services to children and the community, so with that, it does entail a lot of planning to ensure we deliver the highest level and quality of care.”
As the only PICU in Polk County, their new unit allows Lakeland Regional machines and monitoring equipment as are normally available within adult ICU designated for our pediatric and adolescent patients. No longer will they be required to be transported to hospitals in other cities. Now they will be able to receive proper care in their community.
“I think our ability at Lakeland Regional Health to serve the community and families at Polk County is really what the mission of this new unit is,” Shea said. “This allows us the ability to serve the community and to keep patients and families local…[and] to go on to support the needs of the children who need a little higher medical care than previously being delivered here in the Lakeland and Polk County community.”
Lakeland Regional Health PICU is located at 1324 Lakeland Hills Blvd, Lakeland, FL 33805. For more information, visit their website at: https://mylrh.org/pavilion/
The Rock Of Winter Haven Rocks Out For Lake Day
The Rock Of Winter Haven Rocks Out For Lake Day
by James Coulter
After several months of being cooped up at home due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, and with the school year having recently started, what better way to enjoy the last moments of summer than splashing in the lake by engaging in tubing, kayaking, and other water activities?
Several dozen children and their families enjoyed Labor Day weekend by participating in Lake Day at The Rock Of Winter Haven. On Saturday and Sunday, attendees were able to go out on the water while being towed on inflatable tubes by several boats. Saturday had a handful of guests attend, while Sunday drew in more attendees.
The Rock Of Winter Haven was planted 20 years ago when Mike Jarrett and his family moved to Winter Haven in 2000. What started as a former barn sitting upon 25 acres of lakeside property has since been converted into a church focused on drawing young people to its scenic shores for both fun and fellowship.
“You get the idea, when you look at our property, [that] we went through a great deal to have a property where we can minister to families, and we work at it very hard,” said Pastor Jarrett.
Though The Rock of Winter Haven is affiliated as Southern Baptist, the church considers itself “non-denominational”, reaching out to believers and non-believers alike with the Gospel of Christ regardless of affiliation.
Young people ranging from children to teenagers and young adults are their main priority. Over the past several weeks this summer, they have hosted a youth outreach each Wednesday with dinner, Bible study, and an evening of lakeside fun until sundown.
Since opening its doors 20 years, the church draws in 150 to 200 people on Sunday morning. Its youth summer camp, Life Camp, a staple for young people every summer, had drawn in more than 2,000 to 3,000 children and teenagers over the past two decades, Pastor Jarrett said.
The key to their success has been their appeal to young people. Turns out that offering children an opportunity to have a fun time with fishing, swimming, kayaking, and tubing, draws in children and their friends as potential congregation members.
“When you are reaching kids and teenagers, you have to capture their imagination,” Pastor Jarrett said. “If you capture their imagination, then you have the opportunity to share inspiration with them.”
Lake Days such as those hosted on Labor Day weekend are especially phenomenal. After all, when children have been cooped up at home due to social distancing during the pandemic, nothing feels more liberating to them than playing on the water before school starts again.
“With a Lake Day like this, we consider it a bridge event,” Pastor Jarrett said. “It’s an opportunity for them to bring their friends, our kids to come, and build a stronger relationship with them and to help them grow in their spiritual maturity, come to Christ for salvation and to help them grow and become the people that God wants them to come.”
On Sat., Sept. 19, The Rock of Winter Haven will be hosting an event with other churched within the Ridge Baptist Association. As with Lake Day on Labor Day weekend, it will be an opportunity for people to enjoy fellowship and fun with barbecue and water activities from kayaking to tubing.
Pastor Jarett hopes that he and his congregation will continue to grow and expand their outreach, as well as attend to the needs of their current members, whether it’s providing them a safe place to worship or congregate, especially following a harrowing pandemic.
“We are trying to provide some safe opportunities for kids and families to be involved in where they can get together safely,” he said. “I think that is great, and we have folks that will be at our church, and we still need opportunities for fellowship and fun, so from that expectation, I am excited about what our church is able to provide.”
Unfiltered Coffee: Come For The Coffee, Stay For The Creativity
Unfiltered Coffee: Come For The Coffee, Stay For The Creativity
by James Coulter
A fern growing out of a saxophone. A deer head wearing a feathered crown. A rhino pulling a cart. These are only a few of the curious sites you can find on both floors of Bartow’s new coffee shop and art venue.
“Eclectic” is the most apropos word to describe Unfiltered Coffee.Connect.Create, the newest “hipster” coffee shop/art studio and gallery that opened in Downtown Bartow. Every nook and cranny contains something new to discover. A trinket here. An antique there. An art piece hanging from the wall. It’s a place where you can visit endlessly and still uncover something new.
Most casual visitors will come for coffee. As typical with most “hipster” coffee shops, their cups of Joe are brewed from beans organically grown and ethically sourced from a local craft roastery, Ethos Roasters in Lakeland. As their website states, their coffee is “committed to product excellence and ethical sourcing and their definition of coffee ‘greatness’ goes well beyond taste and freshness – and extends to the story and impact behind each bean, to their scientific approach to roasting.”
And as with any good coffee shop, there’s always a fresh-baked pastry or well-crafted quiche or breakfast sandwich to wash down with their cup of Joe. Most of their menu items are prepared by local chefs and bakers, so you know that both your drink and your food are prepared by local hands.
However, their coffee shop is only a small part of their two-floor location, consisting of equal parts artisan retail boutique, bookstore, pottery barn, photo and art gallery, artist studio, and event venue. Unfiltered Coffee truly is a place where you come for the coffee, stay for the atmosphere, and come again for the company.
“From our house to yours we intend on providing you a unique experience from the moment you walk through our door,” their website states. “Our mission is to offer a space where you can come as you are, be who you are and create from within.”
Geanie Folder is the proud owner of the coffee shop/art studio hybrid. Originally working at a nursing home, she served as a clothing designer on the side. As with many artists, she was searching for a place to sell her craft and to connect with other local artists.
She decided to kill two birds with one stone by starting the Beatnik Exchange from her family’s farm. The vintage market worked well for some time, but Folder wanted to expand her outreach further with a bigger, better venue. That’s when she was inspired to start Unfiltered with her artist friends.
“I typically surrounded myself with artists and we have a hard time selling our merchandise and getting our names out here,” she said. “When my last child left home, I knew we would start down this road [to opening out new place]…[so] we walked through the universe and went through the doors as they opened.”
She and her friends found a quaint two-floor location in Downtown Bartow along Broadway Avenue and near Main Street. After 22 months of hard work and elbow grease, they transformed it into a unique and chic business that proved to be an amalgamation of every creative art from under the sun, from furniture painting and sewing, to yoga and belly dancing.
Even in the middle of a pandemic, the sheer fact that they not only succeeded in creating their space, but drawing in people to visit it proves how much support they received from their local community.
“Bartow has always met our expectations and beyond,” Folder said. “I could have never ever opened in the middle of a pandemic and been more supportive of our community in Bartow.”
Linda Cassels-Hoffmann, who runs her art boutique Castles In The Air, is one of the many in-house artists who use Unfiltered Coffee to create and sell their art, as well as to host art classes. As a painter for 40 years, she uses her expertise to not only assist the new shop, but she also used it to help decorate the venue.
“We look at a lot of pics and put things together,” she said. “We have a mind that never stops. We don’t sleep. We wake up tired because we dream all night.”
She joined Folder when they first encountered the space that would become Unfiltered. Even as they stepped inside, they knew what they wanted to transform it into, and through their hard work, made it what it is today. Even amidst a pandemic, they were surprised by the progress they made during that time.
“It is a happy place,” she said, explaining how they want people “to see something they haven’t seen every day. This is a wonderful place that is ever-changing, something different here every day.”
Cassie Bock, the proprietor of Silver StoneWorks, is another artist in-house. True to her business’ name, she creates jewelry,mostly from sterling silver. She has been beading jewelry ever since she could remember, and silver-smithing for the past eight years.
As with most of the artists who create in the venue, they receive inspiration for the smallest of places, from flowers to leaves. Every little trinket, every small detail, hidden in the shop is another point of inspiration waiting to manifest itself into the latest creation.
“This is a very inspirational place,” she said. “It is where I get my inspiration myself…I love being with all my friends and being able to be creative. I sell jewelry and people doing classes….[I love] the serenity you feel when you come in here. It is a place to stay and hang out.”
Unfiltered Coffee.Connect.Create is located at 160 S Broadway Ave, Bartow, FL 33830. For more information, call 813-481-1234, or visit their website at: https://www.unfilteredbartow.com
Sheriff Judd To Brief Media On Deadly Shooting In North East Polk County
Sheriff Grady Judd will brief the media at 3:30 pm in reference to a fatal shooting at an apartment complex located at 5100 Kersey Street (just off of Hwy 192 in Davenport).
Further details of the incident have not been released.
Individual Picks up Keys on Lanyard and Leaves Slate Eight Family Billiards
Release by Winter Haven Police Department
Can you identify this subject?
He was at Slate Eight Family Billiards (20 4th St SW) on Aug. 30 when he struck up a conversation with a patron. The other patron had keys to include vehicle and resident keys on a lanyard that were on the small table.
When the patron diverts his attention, the subject picked up the lanyard and places it around his neck. He stays for a few minutes then exits the establishment.
He is described as a Hispanic male approximately 23-25 years old. He’s approximately 5’8″ wearing a Salt Life t-shirt, shorts, white shoes and a baseball cap. He also wore a watch on his right wrist.
Anyone who recognizes him is asked to call Detective Maldonado at 863-837-0946.
Free Mask Distribution City of Bartow
Press Release by George Long, City Manager of Bartow, FL.
Regarding Citywide residential distribution of cloth masks:
These are unprecedented times. Since early March of this year, I have held weekly emergency policy meetings with Bartow senior staff to develop and execute the approach that we’ve taken in response to COVID-19. Protecting the health of all those who live and work in our community and ensuring the continued delivery of essential city services has been the focus of these efforts.
Many of us have experienced interruptions to our normal way of life in 2020, including park closures, the cancellation of our July 4th holiday events, and the expected cancellations of our fall and winter holiday parades. Even with these interruptions, I am proud to say that our City and its people have been remarkably resilient in coping with the pandemic’s everyday challenges. Thanks to your ingenuity and sense of individual responsibility, our community businesses and restaurants have been able to safely reopen and many of us are back at work helping to restore our economy to pre-pandemic levels. With your help and continued responsible efforts, we will meet these challenges and see them through to their end!
In a further effort to help prevent the spread of COVID in our community, the City of Bartow is providing four (4) cloth masks to every residence in the City of Bartow via mail. These cloth masks are for use indoors and outdoors when social distancing cannot be maintained. Recommendations for proper mask use and cleaning will be included with the package.
Together we can limit and potentially stop the spread of this virus in our community. Please note the #WEAREBARTOW hashtag (We Are Bartow) on the masks. Wear them proudly or pass them along to someone in need. Keep an eye out for you package as your masks will arrive shortly.
Thank you for doing your part. WE ARE BARTOW!
George A. Long, City Manager
Woman Arrested and Charged With Failing to Redeliver a Hired Vehicle
Release by Polk County Sheriff’s Office
On Monday, August 31st, a stolen Jeep Cherokee was spotted by deputies on Avenue G NW in the Haven of Winter, and it pulled into the parking lot of Green’s Market.
For those not aware, Green’s Market is located catty-corner from the PCSO Central District Substation. Now, we’re not ones to give people tips on how to get away with a crime, but we would think that if one was committing a crime (such as driving around in a stolen vehicle), one would do it in an area where deputies don’t drive up-and-down the road all throughout the day.
Allison though is a rebel. Common sense be darned.
When deputies got to the Jeep, it was unoccupied but still running.
Deputies went into the store and were directed to the women’s restroom.
All of the deputies on scene were dudes, and none of them wanted to enter the women’s room with their eyes closed, so they convinced the women to come out.
Eventually, it was determined that Allison’s friend was not involved, so she was turned loose.
The Jeep had been rented by Allison and another woman (who wasn’t present) last week and it was never returned.
Allison told the deputies that she decided to keep the Jeep for a few days more. She didn’t bother telling the rental company though, so they reported it stolen.
The reason Allison held on to the Jeep longer? Because she had a court appearance Monday morning….yet she didn’t make an attempt to return the Jeep after court either (she was caught after 5pm).
Allison was arrested despite her strategic argument against going to jail by saying that she didn’t know that the Jeep was stolen.
Allison was transported to the Polk Pokey and charged with Failing to Redeliver a Hired Vehicle.
Individual Steals Over $700 Worth of Liquor From Walmart Liquor Store
Release by Winter Haven Police Department
The subject seen in the video went into the Walmart Liquor Store (355 Cypress Gardens Blvd) and paced around the back of the store obviously watching for any clerks. Ultimately, he goes to the back stock room and proceeds to take $745 worth of Remi Martin liquor. He leaves out of the fire exit and enters the passenger side of a red or purple 4-door sedan with a light colored hood and the driver speeds away. Anyone who knows anything about this case is asked to call Det. Al-Shaair at 863-837-9779. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477). Callers are guaranteed anonymity and could be eligible for a CASH reward.
