Lake Wales Police Department is working a traffic crash in the southbound lanes of HWY 27 in front of Eagle Ridge Mall. The crash involves a semi and a motorcycle. The crash is a sideswipe type collision. The motorcyclist was transported for medical treatment of non-life threatening injuries. One Lane of southbound Hwy 27 is blocked until the investigation is completed. Other lanes are open.
WHPD Press Release:
Winter Haven Police have charged Debonaire Antoine McIntosh with First Degree Murder in the shooting death of Cody Hunt yesterday. Debonaire was taken into custody after he was seen running from the area shortly after Hunt collapsed in front of officers.
When Debonaire was interviewed by investigators, he said that he saw officers speaking to people after the first shooting and as he walked away, he ran into Hunt. McIntosh claimed Hunt yelled at him saying, “ARE WE GONNA FIGHT IT OUT? OR SHOOT IT OUT?” At this point, Hunt was behind him.
McIntosh said as he turned around, he saw Hunt’s hands in his pockets, but in the split second he aimed and shot at Hunt multiple times, though he lost count of how many shots were fired. McIntosh said he then ran from the scene, however he was apprehended a short time later and taken into custody.
McIntosh is scheduled for First Appearance at Central County Jail today at 1 p.m.
UPDATE on Shooting: First Victim had non life threatening injuries and is recovering. While working that scene officers heard shots coming from 2nd St and Palmetto by the church. They proceeded to that location and located Cody Hunt who had life threatening injury to his neck and died as a result. One suspect has been arrested.
See video from Winter Haven Police Department below for more information:
UPDATE: Winter Haven Police Department is working another shooting in the same area at this time – Palmetto NW.
Winter Haven Police are currently working a shooting involving one victim with non-life threatening injuries. The incident occurred along Palmetto Ave NW in Winter Haven.
Officers are in the area attempting to locate the suspect.
We will bring you more information as it becomes available.
Josh Blevins Band Plays Good Music For Good Causes
by James Coulter
The Josh Blevins Band has played all over Polk County and even in Highlands County. The band leader loves not only being able to play for countless people across the county, but also being able to get to know them personally. To him, it’s all about the people.
“You meet new people…just different places with different people,” he said. “You play one time, you see them at Walmart, when they recognize you, makes it feel like you should know them because you met them.”
Born to the son of a pastor, Blevins grew up in the church in West Virginia. There he sung gospel and learned how to play instruments such as drums, keyboard, and guitar.
His family moved to Davenport when he was around 18 years old. He had previously met his wife, Dusty, in Ohio and married her. Their relationship would prove to be the stepping stone towards his musical career.
One night, he and his wife visited Cherry Pocket in Lake Wales. It was karaoke night, and his wife asked him to sing a Garth Brooks song for her. Josh was shy and reluctant at first, but he took to the stage and sang “Tomorrow Never Comes.”
“People went crazy,” he said. “They said sing another. So that is where it started for me…You can never forget where you come from.”
He was blushing bright red and staring down at the floor, and yet people cheered for the bashful 19-year-old singing Garth Brooks. That moment, initially embarrassing as it was, helped open him up and inspire him to consider performing for a living.
One week later, he met his first guitarist, Brandon Mewell. The two performed a gig together, and they received a similar response he initially received playing karaoke. The rest, they say, is history.
His bandmates include Bill Masters (lead guitarist), Jeff King (acoustic guitarist), Flor Gonzales (bass player), and Danny Richards (drummer). His most valuable member of the band, of course, is his wife, Dusty, who books all of their shows.
Four years ago, Josh met up with his lead guitarist, Bill Masters. Bill went to see Josh perform one night. Josh asked him to come up on stage and play with him. After playing ten songs together, Josh asked him if he wanted to join his band.
“From the moment I played with him, I really connected, and it’s like we know what each other’s thinking,” he said. “He is easy to play with a group of guys, we all get along really good.”
Like Josh, Bill was raised within a musical background with big inspiration from his father, a country musician. As young as eight years old, Bill was playing alongside his father on stage, and accompanied him many more times until age 15 when his father passed away.
Bill would continue his father’s tradition by performing country music, but soon took a hiatus following the birth of his daughter. He has since revised his musical career by serving as Josh’s lead guitarist.
“We enjoy it,” he said. “We are like a family, a band family. We get along and take care of each other and sit down to play music and have fun.”
For many of his other fellow bandmates, joining the band was as a simple as sitting down with him and playing with him. That was the case for Bill, and it was also true for his acoustic guitarist, Jeff King.
Jeff met Josh as their two daughters were friends with each other. When the two met, Josh picked up a 12-string sitting nearby and started playing it.
“He picked it up and started playing it like there was no tomorrow, and told me if I wanted to learn to play, he will teach me,” Jeff said.
Jeff would take lessons with Josh once a week. He even began helping set up for the band during their gigs. His lessons and stage preparation soon led him to becoming a member. He has been playing with them ever since for the past three years and counting.
At 53 years old, Jeff is the oldest member of the band, yet the other band members have many more years of musical experience than him. Nevertheless, he is an old dog who can learn new tricks, and his fellow bandmates have been more than willing to teach him.
Despite having little to no musical experience, Jeff loves being able to play music with others. When he’s not playing music, he’s listening to others play.
“There is so much good talent in Polk County with different bands, and I love all of them,” he said. “I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. So my weekends [were spent] sitting at home doing nothing. So every weekend I have somewhere we are booked. If we are not playing one weekend, I usually go to listen to another band play. I just enjoy it. It is fun. It is living.”
Josh and his band have performed at venues all over Polk County, and even across the country in Las Vegas, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Some of their favorite venues to play are local resturaunts that are more than willing to feed them before or after a show, whether it’s oysters at Old Man Franks or some of “the best steak in town” at Tanner’s Lakeside.
Their favorite venues, by far, are fundraising events. Whether they’re aiding cancer awareness or helping local veterans, if there is a local cause, they want to help support it with their music.
“We do those for free so we can give back to the community,” Josh said. “It is a large place in our hearts. If there is something we can help you out with, we want to help where it is needed.”
Their favorite venue is Rockin On The River, an annual music concert for Autism Awareness. For the past five years, Josh and his band have performed there, often times with very special guests.
Two years ago, the Autistic son of a band member from Polk County Porch Pickers had the opportunity to take the stage with them and play drums. Another friend of theirs, a 28-year-old with Autism, has been singing alongside them for the past few years.
“It is an awesome show,” he said. “It is impressive because he doesn’t have a microphone, he is on guitar playing and singing louder than I with a microphone. It means the world to him.”
While playing music brings them joy, nothing gives them more joy and makes them feel prouder than being able to perform at an event to help support a good local cause.
“That is how we get paid: with the gratitude, trying to be there for the community,” he said. “We play four to five times a week. We do a lot of shows for people who care. That is what we pride ourselves [in].”
Josh Blevins Band will be performing this month at the following venues:
Sept. 13: Duke’s Brewhouse
Sept. 14: Tanners Lakeside
Sept. 21: Old Man Franks
Sept. 27: The Apple
Sept. 28: Fireside
For more information, visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/joshblevinsband/
A boil water notice is in effect for residents in the area between Mariana Road and Oakland Road.
The City is repairing a broken water main. Due to the length of time for this work and the low water pressure experienced during this repair, we advise that all water used for drinking or cooking be boiled. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient.
This post will be updated when the notice is rescinded.
Voices Of The People Kick Of 8th Season With D2 Concert
by James Coulter
Derek Menchan, Professor of Humanities and Music, when not teaching at Polk State College, loves to perform his music across the country and world. Often he loves to travel to different places and perform for different people.
“I figured rather than take Mohammed to the mountains, we bring the mountains to Mohammed, and I invented this so I could bring my friends here and jam,” he said. “I invented this series to bring musicians together to entertain my home county. That is what brings us here.”
Menchan kicked off the eighth anniversary season of Voices of the People with a small concert in the LTB Atrium of the Lakeland Campus on Saturday.
Titled D Squared, that evening’s performance featured the eclectic blending of genres from jazz to blues, with musical stylings provided by him and a few close friends, including violinist Derek Reeves, guitarist LaRue Nickelson, and Marty Morell on drums.
Entertaining a large gathering of attendees that evening within the atrium of the school building, the four each took turns introducing their own unique musical styles through individual performances before coming together to blend those styles into an even more eclectic blend of styles and genres.
Menchan himself has been praised for his own unique style. Considered an “ubercellist” by Inside Houston Magazine, his style has been described by other publications such as Jazzcorner.com as presenting a “technical precision and sense of honesty [that] is hard to match in the music scene today.”
He recently experienced success in releasing his debut album “The Griot Swings of the Classics”, which rose to #2 on Amazon’s “Hot New Releases” chart, and #4 on its “Contemporary R&B Chart.”
The founding member of Voices Of The People, created voices was for locals to experience world class musicians of color playing some of the world’s finest music, without having to change counties or even states.
Derek Reeves, a music professor at Purdue University who has also traveled and performed extensively, was one of those talented individuals chosen to kick off the music series that evening.
This was his second year performing at the Voice of the People concert series. He had played many times with Menchan, collaborating with him previously for four to five years.
Reeves appreciates the “out-of-the-box” thinking that his friend, Menchan, brings to the table, allowing their performances to be anything but ordinary.
“I just wanted the opportunity to collaborate with my good friends and play some good music,” he said. “He is an outside the box thinker, very musically eclectic, well-versed, and skilled, so he is great and a pleasure to work with.”
This performance was no exception. For a small gathering at a small campus of a large county-wide university, Reeves appreciated the turnout that evening and the reception from the participating guests, both students and locals.
“It went beautifully,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. The audience seemed energized and engaged. It felt good. I had a blast. [I loved] The opportunity to communicate great music with people. There is nothing like the energy of live performance and being able to share art with other people.”
Menchan himself was likewise impressed by the reception and turnout. While the county may not have a large musical scene like Los Angeles or New York, the praise they received that evening proved that there is an audience for their music. This sets his expectations high for upcoming shows.
“I got a lot of love from audience,” he said. “I think they really appreciated it, and we really appreciated them. As long as we feel love from the audience, we feel refreshed, we feel good about what we play.”
For more information about upcoming shows by Voices Of The People, visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Voxpopuliplayers/
Adams Homes Commemorates 41 New Homes In Alamanda At Ribbon Cutting
by James Coulter
Looking for a new place that’s located close to the shopping and dining experiences of South Lakeland? Want to catch a movie at Lakeside Village? Or have a dinner and evening stroll in Downtown Lakeland. Then consider one of the many new homes at Alamanda Homes.
Located off of 540A in South Lakeland, Alamanda Homes is a new community by Adams Homes Lakeland. The neighborhood contains 41 homesites. Each sits on a quarter acre lot, providing plenty of space to live, work, and play.
“So those are nice lots,” said Mark Hyde, Sales Associate for Adams Homes Lakeland. “They come wide enough, deep enough, to accommodate a beautiful pool if you so see fit in the future.”
Of course, the best feature about this new community, as is the best feature of any home, is location, location, location. Situated right off of 540A, Alamada is in the prime location close enough to all of the shopping and dining experiences that South Lakeland is known for.
“Adams Homes has been offering new homes for sale in the Lakeland area, as well as nearby Auburndale, Winter Haven and Haines City area since 2002,” it’s website states. “With floor plans and amenities to fit most every budget, Adams Homes’ offering of communities can accommodate first-time homebuyers, move-up buyers, and retirement buyers.”
Adams Homes Lakeland celebrated the grand opening of this new community with a ribbon cutting ceremony on August 29. Hosted by the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, the luau-themed event allowed participants to take a close look at a model home for themselves.
Hyde had already sold four homes himself that month, and he had high expectations for him and other realtors to sell even more in the immediate future. He especially plans on creating incentives for more realtors to come in and sell these new homes.
“This is a new community in Lakeland,” Hyde said. “If you take a look around, there are a lot of these beautiful homes. A lot of them are move-in ready. With that, we are looking to fill up this place.”
Mayor Bill Mutz commended Adams Homes for opening a new location in such a prestigious spot of South Lakeland. He expressed his eagerness for new residents to move into the community and enjoy what Lakeland has to offer.
“We are grateful for Adams Homes,” he said. We are grateful for continued expansion here, and for the investment in it, and the quality homes that are built for square foot, and the pricing is excellent. We have a need for homes, so we are very, very glad to have the product.”
For more information, call 863-417-1697 or 850-677-8887. Or visit their website at: https://www.adamshomes.com/homes-for-sale-lakeland-fl/
Scaly Creatures Slither To Lakeland For Sixth Annual Repticon FIRExpo
by James Coulter
The good news is that, if you visited Lakeland over the weekend, you had the chance to meet a gecko. The bad news is that the gecko most likely would not have you save 15 percent or more on your car insurance.
Brian Schmitt, Owner of Guardians of the Gecko, showed off his collection of colorful, exotic geckos, as one of the hundreds of vendors at this year’s Florida International Reptile Expo (FIRE) in Lakeland this weekend.
Based in Orlando, Guardians of the Gecko specializes in exotic gecko species from over the world, including crescent and gargoyle geckos. Many of them are from Madagascar.
Schmitt was fascinated by reptiles ever since he was a little kid. When he started college, he started his hobby by owning two leopard geckos. He soon ended up with a few more, as he discovered that the two were a pair, he said.
“Before I knew it, I realized I had a male and female, because the female was laying eggs,” he said. “At that point, I figured what to do with it. Over the years, it has developed into a passion and a job.”
Schmitt has been attending Repticon FIRExpo for the past two years. He loves being able to meet and mingle with other reptile enthusiasts, as well as interacting with people who are interested in owning reptiles themselves.
“Great to talk and connect with other breeders and customers,” he said. “It is an investment in Florida for sure. It’s one of our favorites, and we are sure to come back in the future.”
Nearly 100 vendors from all over the state congregated within the RP Funding Center for a weekend dedicated to their love of all creatures scaly, slithery, and slimy, from snakes and lizards to Komodo dragons and other rare creatures.
Kristine Lynch, Co-Owner of Orlando Chameleons, helped showcase her business’ many colorful chameleons. Many of them are ambilobe chameleons, which are able to change colors depending on their color and mood.
Some chameleons show their brightest and best colors when around a potential mate. Others turn bright and puff up when approached by a rival. Others will turn black when they get upset.
Orlando Chameleons have attended Repticon many times before in Lakeland. They love being able to meet different people, especially those who share their love of reptiles.
“We have been here before,” she said. “It is a good time. It is fun for us to show our babies and love talking to people and getting more involved with the hobby.”
For the past six years, FIRExpo Repticon has been hosting their show in Lakeland. Repticon hosts many similar reptile shows across the country. The one they host in Lakeland is slightly smaller than Tampa and the same size as Orlando, explained Chaz Gavitt, Manager On Duty.
Gavitt has been with Repticon for the past six years. This was his first time overseeing the FIRExpo. He claims that the biggest draw for these events is how they present themselves as family-friendly and kid-friendly, allowing guests of all ages an opportunity to visit.
“It is a good way for them to spend an afternoon together,” he said. “Just seeing all the exotic animals and morphs of reptiles that are available. I think it is a great way to spend the day with other herp[atology] enthusiasts, if nothing else, hanging out and having fun.”
For more information about Repticon, visit their website at: https://repticon.com/
Lakeland First Friday Went To The Dogs With Dog Days Downtown
by James Coulter
Downtown Lakeland went to the dogs, quite literally, during the Dog Days Downtown themed event for last week’s Lakeland First Friday.
The event allowed local residents and visitors an opportunity to roam around Munn Park and Downtown Lakeland with their furry four-legged friends for a free evening of food, vendors, and live musical entertainment.
Visitors and their canine companions could peruse many of the local downtown businesses, which remained open late after hours, or the many other local vendors that set up booths along Kentucky Avenue.
Other fun activities that evening included pet shows and demonstrations in Munn Park, live musical entertainment on almost every street corner, and inflatable games and bounce houses.
Sponsored in part by Audi Lakeland, the event allowed every cent of its proceeds to go directly towards Zelda’s K9 Rescue, a local non-profit animal organization that seeks to pair rescue animals with good foster homes.
Linda Frohmander, an executive assistant for Audi Lakeland, had adopted two dogs from the organization. So it only seemed fitting for her own business to provide their support by sponsoring the event and raising proceeds for K9 Zelda Rescue.
“Every cent we make will go towards Zelda K9,” explained Kenneth Stewart, General Manager. “I felt this was an opportunity to do something different, most people get behind very good charitable events. I just felt that everyone has a dog and can get behind something that is different, that doesn’t get as much publicity as your [other] big charitable events.”
Lakeland First Friday is a monthly event hosted with the goal of drawing in local residents and other visitors to the Downtown Lakeland area for a free family-fun evening to help support local businesses and organizations.
This month’s event more than exceeded expectations by drawing in more than 6,000 to 8,000 attendees and raising more than $5,000 for Zelda’s K9 Rescue, Stewart said.
“I am blown away,” he said. “We want to be known in the area…because we are here to be a part of the community and support businesses in all fashion.”
Zelda’s K9 Rescue was started 12 years ago and named after one of their very first rescue dogs, Zelda. She passed away in 2015, but her legacy remains strong. The organization named after her continues to help take in dogs of all breeds, especially with special and medical needs, explained Jackie Rose, Owner and President.
Most of the proceeds raised that evening will go towards helping meet the medical needs of its rescue animals, with treatments including heartworm prevention, spading and neutering.
“I think they did a really good job organizing everything,” Rose said. “I try to come every year. It is a great way to socialize.”
Many other local animal organizations were in attendance that evening. One such organization was the Polk County Bully Project, which aims to help rehabilitate Bull breeds and provide them with good loving homes.
For a dollar that evening, attendees could “smooch a pooch” to help raise funds and awareness for the project. Not only do they seek to help Bull breeds find good homes, but also help make Polk County a no-kill county by 2025.
Shannon Medina, Co-Founder, was one of the people invited for the event. She and her teammates were impressed by it, especially later that evening when the sun went down and the air-cooled off.
“We can always use community support with fosters for the dogs once we have placement for them to go north for a few weeks,” she said. “It is a big thing that we would love.”
For more information about Zelda K9 Rescue, visit their website at: http://www.zeldask9rescue.com/
Sandra Rae Bennett Prestridge, age 77, passed away Friday August 30, 2019 in Cartersville, Georgia surrounded by her daughters and son. She was born September 16, 1941 in Lakeland, Florida, the daughter of Paul R. Bennett and Hazel Allen Shumacher. She was a graduate of Lakeland High School. A resident of the Huntsville, Alabama […]
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