Curtis James Williams of Lake Wales passed away Saturday, November 23, 2024 at AdventHealth Lake Wales.
He was born May 12, 1956 in Turrell, AR to the late John Wesley Clayburn and Geneva Williams; he came to Polk County in 1979 from New York. He was retired from Wal-Mart and of the Christian faith. He loved his family, most of all his grandkids. He enjoyed drawing, driving, fishing, listening to music, watching sports and telling funny stories.
Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Wilma Williams; daughters, Pamela McClendon of Orlando, Taneva Williams of Lake Wales and Krystal Williams of Lake Wales; brothers, Benny Frazier, Frederick Parchman, Roderick Parchman, Braderick Parchman all of South Bend, IN and Albert Veasley of Osceola, AR; and 14 grandchildren.
Releve Sports Medicine Receives 56th AED Donated byCulpepper’s Cardiac Foundation
by James Coulter
Releve Sports Medicine was started seven years ago to help meet the healthcare needs of the Winter Haven community, especially with the treatment of sports injuries.
This local healthcare clinic has become better equipped to meet the immediate needs of patients and non-patients alike now that an automated external defibrillator (AED) has been donated to their facility.
On Wed. Nov 20, Culpepper’s Cardiac Foundation donated its 56th AED to Releve Sports Medicine in Winter Haven. The AED was installed at the clinic’s primary location on Cypress Gardens Boulevard.
Not only will this emergency device be available for any emergencies involving patients and non-patients at or near the clinic, but its portability will also allow it to be used during sideline coverage of sporting events.
“We are so grateful to the Culpepper Cardiac Foundation and Tanner’s Lakeside to have been awarded the AED,” said Dr. Michelle Henne. “Our company and our team have been built on supportive community partnerships like this one. We are blessed to be able to provide this potentially lifesaving intervention if necessary.”
Anne McGrath, Clinical Lead and Athletic Trainer for Polk State College, claimed that the AED will especially be a benefit during their sideline service at sporting events. As such, she was grateful for her organization receiving this donation.
“We are very grateful for the opportunity to receive an AED,” she said. “Our whole plaza would benefit from this AED and is a tool to help keep our community safe. I also work at Polk State College covering sporting events and can use this AED when I am at games to ensure the safety of my athletes, coaches, refs, and spectators.”
This donation was made through the proceeds raised by Tanners’s Lakeside Bingo For a Cause. This donation was the third to be provided thanks in part to the fundraiser.
Kami Rickert, Assistant Manager and Event Coordinator, was impressed by the sheer number of donations made by the organization: “56 AEDs placed in the community is a big task but a necessary endeavor.”
Melanie Brown Culpepper started CCF four years ago following the untimely passing of her late fiancée, Michael Culpepper, who passed away from cardiac arrest.
Not wanting anyone else to suffer a similar fate, Melanie started her organization to show support for local first responders. Since its inception, she has raised proceeds to donate 56 AEDs across Polk County.
CCF will be hosting its annual fundraiser, Saving Lives Matter, on Sat. Nov. 30 at Tanners Lakeside. For more information, visit their Facebook page at: facebook.com/honoringculpepper
Lake Wales locals are getting closer to Bacon Mac & Cheese and Bread Bowls of soup.
Construction is progressing on the Panera Bread restaurant; the site is located at 23720 US Hwy. 27, Lake Wales.
This location is anticipating an opening date on or around January 15, 2025, according to Panera Senior Manager, Adam Ulrich.
The restaurant is planning to employ about 50 at the time of the opening. If you interested in applying: Panera Jobs
“We will have a General Manager in the immediate area that will be doing interviews and hiring for a variety of positions,” says Ulrich. “We have not begun that process yet since we want to be conscious of the training time and the cafés actual opening date. I expect for this to begin within the next two weeks.”
LAKELAND COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CED):
On January 6th, 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), will commence a construction project on the 1-4 at SR 33 Interchange. The estimated date of completion is 2029.
In preparation, FDOT will host a Pre-Construction Information Session for the public to learn about the improvements and construction schedule. We encourage anyone with questions to attend!
Some project improvements include: -Wildlife Crossings – one over I-4, and one under SR 33 Reconstruct the I-4 at SR 33 interchange -Noise walls along SR 33 – one from just west of Wood Circle W to Lake Luther Rd, and one in front of Snow Wood, Cambry, and Spanish Oaks neighborhoods -Completing four-lane widening from Old Combee to North of Tomkow -Trail and sidewalk improvements -Reconstruct the I-4 bridges over SR 33
-Resurface I-4 to the east and west of the interchange And more!
Motorists should anticipate I-4 single lane closures during the overnight hours from 8:30 pm to 6:30 am, and, I-4 double lane closures during the overnight hours from 10:30 pm to 6 am during construction.
Motorists should anticipate SR 33 lane closures during the overnight hours from 7:30 pm to 7 am during construction.
Learn more about this project here: https://bit.ly/1-4atSR33
Learn more about all Lakeland construction projects here: lakelandgov.net/roadprojects
Autumn is passing. Winter is drawing near. The nights are getting longer. And the weather is getting colder. It’s the best time of year to dust off the old slow cooker.
Because nothing warms the soul after a long cold day than a warm meal prepared with a slow cooker. And nothing kicks up the heat another notch than a spicy bowl of curry.
Yes, I do love curry. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with curry recipes with the slow cooker. If you recall, I’ve prepared several recipes before, from Japanese style curry to butter chicken.
This time around, I’ve decided to try my hand at a personal favorite: chickpea curry. Because sometimes the most filling curry are surprisingly vegan.
This recipe calls for the curry to be cooked with water, though you can use broth. I decided to use heavy cream for a creamier batch, though coconut works just as well.
I also decided to kick up the spice levels a few notches with some alterations. For example, I used fire-roasted tomatoes with chilis. I sautéed the onions and garlic with jalapeno infused olive oil. And, of course, I dumped in a small can of diced jalapeños.
The result was a nice and spicy batch of curry that proved quite warming on a cold evening. My batch was slightly soupy, but if anything, it made it easier to sop with garlic naan bread.
***
Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry
(Recipe from Vegan in the Freezer)
Ingredients
16 ounces chickpeas, dried
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cup onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
¼ cup tomato paste
2 cups tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 ½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda – this helps chickpeas to soften when cooking, just ¼ tsp.
3 cups water
Directions
1) The night before place the chickpeas in a 6-to-8-quart slow cooker and cover with water to soak. Do NOT turn it on. In the morning drain and replace the chickpeas in the slow cooker.
2) In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat
3) Add onion and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 5 more minutes.
4) Add the garlic and cook 5 more minutes
5) Scrape into the slow cooker
6) Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir well.
7) Cook on low 8 to 9 hours. Serve with Basmati rice.
The two busiest shopping days of the year are fast approaching: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While these days are thrilling for shoppers eager to snag deals, they are equally exciting for cybercriminals.
Black Friday Shopping Frenzy
According to Chain Store Age, the highest percentage of credit card fraud occurs in November. Criminals exploit these busy shopping days to make purchases using stolen credit cards.
Black Friday holds the record for the most in-person fraudulent credit card purchases. Store associates are often overwhelmed with the influx of shoppers and may not verify credit card information thoroughly, allowing criminals to slip through undetected.
Online Credit Card Fraud
Protect Yourself:
Avoid using debit cards for store or online purchases. Debit cards expose your bank account to risk, as cybercriminals can instantly access your cash. If your debit card is compromised, recovering lost funds can be a lengthy and difficult process.
Use credit cards instead. Federal law limits your liability for unauthorized use, and credit card companies typically cancel compromised cards, issue credits for fraudulent charges, and send replacement cards within days—much easier to manage compared to debit card fraud.
Cyber Monday is another prime time for cybercriminals. They often send phishing emails that appear to be from legitimate retailers. These emails may contain logos, links, and ads that look authentic.
Cyber Monday
Avoid Phishing Scams:
Do not click on links in emails. Instead, open a new web browser and manually type in the retailer’s website to make purchases. This ensures you’re dealing with the actual retailer and not a cybercriminal.
This information aims to help you prepare for a safe holiday shopping season. Stay vigilant and enjoy the festivities. Happy shopping!
About the Author
Kip Kirchberg
Kip Kirchberg is a world class cybersecurity expert with a deep passion for protecting individuals and organizations from Cyber Security threats. As the Founding Partner of Daily Ridge, he has championed the importance of cyber safety in the digital age. Kip’s extensive experience in the field of cybersecurity enables him to provide invaluable insights and practical advice to help readers navigate the complex landscape of online security. Through his articles, Kip aims to educate and empower his audience, ensuring they are well-equipped to safeguard their digital presence. His commitment to cybersecurity and his community has made him a trusted authority in the field.
JC Reviews: Piece By Piece Comes Close to Almost Being a Masterpiece
by James Coulter
I will be honest: I don’t normally watch musical biopics. The last one I watched was Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and I watched it because 1) it was about Weird Al, and 2) it was made in the most Weird Al way possible.
Thing is, as much as I love music, I’m not that wild about the actual musicians who make them. So while I like the songs made by Pharrell Williams (especially “Happy”, which is a real bop), I don’t really care much about the guy himself.
But you know what I do like? LEGOs! I love LEGOs. I used to play with them all the time as a little boy. And you bet your bricks I loved The LEGO Movie. It was one of the best animated movies of the last decade.
So, when I learned that Pharrell Williams was having his biopicdirected as an animated LEGO movie, my interest was immediately piqued. But was the hype worth it? Does this movie take creative liberties with its creative premise? Or does it lack the creative spark worthy of making it a Lego movie?
Piece by Piece tells the life story of musician Pharrell Williams, from his childhood growing up in Virginia Beach, to him winning a school talent show that landed him his first gig at a local record studio, to him creating beats for other popular musicians before eventually becoming a popular musician himself and releasing his signature song, “Happy.”
And that’s pretty much the movie in a nutshell, or rather, in a brick container. It’s essentially your run-of-the-mill documentary about an influential musician, with interviews from him and other figures in his life including family, friends, and fellow musicians.
However, undeniably the movie’s biggest selling point is the choice to film it all as an animated LEGO feature. Piece by Piece was produced by Pure Imagination Studios, which manages to animate the movie with the same charm as Illumination animated the original LEGO movies.
Filming the biopic in LEGOs was certainly a bold and creative choice, especially for a movie about a creative individual like Pharrell. The animation style evidently highlights the artist’s unmistakable creative vision in quite a creative style.
For example, one of the earliest scenes in the film is young Pharrell daydreaming while staring into a fishbowl. Later, he daydreams while listening to music, claiming he can see the color of the music playing from the speaker. The entire sequence captures the young artist’s chromesthesia quite vividly.
I’ll mention a few of my favorite scenes and moments from the movie. The first involves the young artist growing up and attending school. Pharrell explains his school experience wasn’tthe best. He often struggled to pay attention in class, socialize with other students, and do well in his studies. As someone who grew up Autistic, I empathize with his experience.
Another touch I enjoyed was how the movie touched upon his religious experience. Pharrell was inspired by his church and pastor to pursue his career in music. Later in the film, he returns to his pastor to explain the trouble he’s been experiencing in his career, and his pastor offers him words of encouragement.
Perhaps even more interesting was how Pharrell received equal motivation from both his church and from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, emphasizing how much the sacred and the secular played an important role in shaping and influencing him.
Admittedly, if the movie has a flaw, it’s with its marketing. Currently, the movie has not performed well in the box office. Perhaps this is due to the film being unable to decide who, exactly, it is for. On the one hand, the movie is created using LEGO, giving it a kid-friendly vibe. But on the other hand, the film cover the life and career of an artist who, while not unsuitable for children, is certainly more geared towards adults. The result is a film that is to “kiddish” for adults and too “adult” for children.
Overall, if you’re a fan of Pharrell Williams or LEGOs or both, you’ll most likely gain some enjoyment from Piece by Piece. And even if you’re not a fan of either, well, it’s a relatively enjoyable film to watch nonetheless. However, you’re probably better off watching this movie on streaming or as a rental.
JC Reviews: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is the Most Okay-est Christmas Film Ever
Every year, new Christmas movies are released, all aiming to become the next big holiday film alongside such classics as A Christmas Carol, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and Home Alone. This film certainly aspires to be one of them.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is based on the classic novel written by Barbara Robinson in 1972. The film is directed by Dallas Jenkins, the director of The Chosen, and released by the faith-based Kingdom Story Company.
As such, not only does this movie aspire to be the next great Christmas movie, but also the next great faith-based movie. But does The Best Christmas Pageant Ever live up to its name as “the best”? Or did it fail to meet such great expectations?
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows the story of Beth Bradley, a young girl whose mother is tasked with directing their town’s 75th annual Christmas pageant. However, shenanigansensue when who should decide to volunteer for this year’s play than the Herdman siblings.
As Beth so eloquently explains in her opening narration: “The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. They lied. They stole. They smoke cigars. They cuss and take the Lord’s name in vain.”
Will the Herdmans learn how to behave in time for the pageant? Or will their troublemaking antics make it the worst Christmas pageant ever? (Well, you can guess by the movie’s title how it eventually turns out.)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever certainly aspires to be the next great Christmas classic akin to A Christmas Story. It’s based on a classic holiday tale. It’s set in the nostalgic past. It’s filmed in a warm sepia tone. It’s narrated by a character detailing a humorous event from their childhood. It’s tile even has a similar font to that of A Christmas Story. And every shot is filled with as much holiday decor as humanly possible.
The premise is likewise promising enough. And the movie poster with a flaming Christmas tree certainly looks promising. Six siblings who are the worst of the worst volunteering for a local church pageant with the potential of wacky shenanigansensuing. It’s like putting a pack of monkeys into a warehouse of bananas. You know things are not only going to go wrong but spectacularly and entertainingly.
However, for as bad as the Herdmans are built up to be, the worst we see them are in the opening montage of them causing chaos, all of which climaxes with them setting a shed on fire and watching while smoking cigars. Every other scene with them in it, while promising utter chaos, simply has them acting out like most children do.
Admittedly, the whole point of the film is about these children learning to be good by acting in a play about Jesus. Such character development certainly occurs, especially with the oldest sibling Imogen, who aspires to be an actress and sees the church play as an opportunity to do just that.
Also admittedly, this is the movie’s strongest appeal. The message is essentially that no one is “too bad” or “too far gone” to become a better person, and everyone has the opportunity todo just that with a little help from Jesus. In that regard, this Christian movie is certainly better than most other faith-based films like God’s Not Dead, which is less about faith and more about right-wing grievance politics.
Unfortunately, despite showing such promise, the movie essentially falls flat. By no means is the movie “bad”, but it’salso not “great” either. It’s rather bland and mild–or “mid” as the kids these days say. Sure, it has some humorous lines and moments, but nothing that would elicit more than a chuckle.
I compared this movie to A Christmas Story. It certainly aspires to emulate that film. However, what I feel it lacks are any iconic moments that really stand out. When you think of A Christmas Story, you think of Flick getting his tongue frozen to a flagpole, or Ralphie almost getting his eye shot out by his toy gun, or him getting his mouth washed out with soap after saying a curse word.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever doesn’t have any similar iconic moments that stand out. The most is the titular Christmas pageant at the very end, which, no spoilers, while mildlyamusing, is also a bit of a mild letdown. Otherwise, this movie lacks any memorable moments that would make this film, well, memorable.
Overall, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a decent enough movie. By no means is it objectionable, and anyone of any age can watch it and gain some enjoyment. It’s okay, is what I’m saying. But the next best holiday classic it is not. Give it a watch, if you want. Just curb your expectations.
On November 25, 2024, at 6:28 PM, Polk County Fire Rescue was dispatched to 17 Lake Patrick Rd. N. in Babson Park.
PCFR Public Information Officer, Nathaniel Gale, reports, “It was an apartment style building. The fire was in an attached shed. The shed was heavily involved upon arrival.”
Crews arrived on scene at 6:30 PM. Water was first put on the fire at 6:34 PM. It was considered under control at 6:46 PM.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
On November 25, 2024, at approximately 5:06 p.m., Lake Wales Fire Department received a call regarding a vegetation fire at 722 Hibiscus Ave.
At the scene, a witness advised that fire and smoke originated honor near the railroad tracks directly behind the property. The cause of the fire is not known at this time.
First responders advised that the fire was extinguished. There is still smoke in the area of the railroad tracks. There is a law-enforcement presence on nearby roads in that area. Please avoid this area as LWFD work at the scene. No injuries have been reported.
