Boys & Girls Club of Polk County – We offer free after-school programs at 10 locations across the county!
Our services include homework help, tutoring, health & fitness activities, sports, arts, resiliency & drug prevention, mentoring, mental health support, and daily hot meals.
Registration is now open to both current and new members. You will be contacted by the club once your registration has been approved. You must attend a mandatory orientation prior to being able to start. Orientation dates will be posted below.
Please be aware, you will be asked for additional paperwork based on scholarships or program requirements at each site. Paperwork can include: student report cards, birth certificates, income verification.
A warrant suspect Douglas Kidd, 47, of Davenport who is accused of violently stabbing his cousin more than 15 times is back in a Polk County and in jail after fleeing to Virginia. The original incident took place back in April of this year.
According to Davenport police, the stabbing was reported on Greenshank Drive around 1 p.m. Thursday, April 11, 2024.
A woman with several stab wounds was found when officers responded to the scene. The victim, who’d been stabbed 15 times, knocked on a neighbor’s door to get help after the stabbing.
“It’s only a miracle that this lady is alive. She was able to eventually get from the house and go to a neighbor’s house and seek refuge and seek assistance, which is where we found her at,” Chief Steve Parker advised media at the time.
Police said the victim identified the attacker as her cousin, Douglas Kidd — who’d been living with the victim and her husband for about a year.
On Tuesday afternoon, April 16, 2024 the Fugitive Task Force in Norfolk, Virginia located Kidd’s vehicle and conducted a traffic stop, where he was arrested. Norfolk police took Kidd into custody.
“We are thankful for our law enforcement partners in Norfolk, Virginia, who worked diligently to help us take this violent individual off the streets,” Steve Parker, the Chief of Police said.
Kidd has now been extradited back to Polk County to be prosecuted for attempted murder in the 2nd Degree.
At approximately 11:51 AM today, a call came in to Polk County Fire Rescue with regard to a traffic collision at 306 US Highway 60 in Lake Wales.
According to Troy Schultz, Deputy Chief with the Lake Wales Police Department, there was a single vehicle crash at the Dollar General. The vehicle was in the parking lot and the driver momentarily lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle crashed into the building causing damage to the building, the vehicle and a water line that goes to the building. There were no injures.
Dollar General is temporarily closed at this time.
The Auburndale Police Department investigated a traffic crash which occurred today, August 9, 2024, at approximately 0725 hours. The incident involved a vehicle and a pedestrian resulting in serious bodily injury. The crash took place on US Highway 92 West and near the intersection of 2nd Street in Auburndale.
At the time of the incident, a 61-year-old Black female was attempting to cross Highway 92, walking southbound from 2nd Street. As she was entering the median, she was struck by a vehicle crossing the same median and attempting to travel westbound on Highway 92 from Old Winter Haven Road. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and is fully cooperating with traffic investigators.
The pedestrian was transported by medical personnel to Lakeland Regional Medical Health and is currently in critical condition. Efforts to locate and notify the next of kin are ongoing.
An updated news release will be provided as more information becomes available.
President and CEO Terry Forde, and Community Health Services President Dr. Drew Fink, officially began their tenures at Health First today.
And, on a rainy, overcast, and windy morning courtesy of passing Hurricane Debby, both Health First leaders kicked off Day 1 in much the same fashion as all Health First associates – with new associate orientation and e-Learning modules.
Both Forde and Dr. Fink joined dozens of new Health First associates at the company’s Rivercrest Connections Center for the official welcome program – receiving their employee badges, important information about the organization and benefits, and taking plenty of time to get to know their fellow associates.
New First President and CEO Terry Forde attending Health First’s monthly new associate orientation session in Melbourne, FL New Community Health Services President Dr. Drew Fink meets with new Health First associates during today’s new associate orientation event in Melbourne, FL
Health First in April named Forde new president and CEO. He comes to Brevard County and Health First after serving as president and CEO of Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Adventist HealthCare – one of Maryland’s largest employers.
“In Terry we found an experienced and sympathetic leader who shares our passion for patient safety, is committed to providing high reliability, has a proven history of success, and tenacity in building strong, lasting culture,” said Kent Smith, Health First Board of Trustees’ Chair, during Forde’s announcement. “The Space Coast welcomes Terry and looks forward to his guidance to further Health First’s legacy of providing exceptional quality and compassionate care.”
Announced in June as Health First’s new President for Community Health Services, Dr. Fink brings more than two decades of distinguished health care leadership experience, including the last 18 years in various leadership roles with Clearwater, Florida-based BayCare Health System – a system where he started his career as a practicing internist. BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system in the Tampa Bay Region, operating 16 hospitals and more than 160 care locations and 31,000 team members.
“Dr. Fink has dedicated his life and career to providing compassionate care for others as a bedside physician, as well as a steady and proven leader in building a tremendously successful patient-centered organization at BayCare,” said Kent Smith, Health First Board of Trustees’ Chair.
“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Fink join our community, and we look forward to working with him to advance Health First’s mission of providing exceptional care to the Space Coast.”
About Health First
Founded in 1995, Health First is Brevard County’s not-for-profit, community healthcare system. The fully integrated delivery network (IDN) includes health insurance plans, hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, and outpatient and wellness services. As a locally owned, not-for-profit organization, Health First is committed to investing in our community. In 2022, Health First provided more than $220 million in community support. To learn more about Health First and how we’re giving back to our community, please visit HFgivesback.org.
Town of Dundee Celebrating Grand Opening of Johnson Dog Park on Saturday
by James Coulter
Whether they get there on two legs or four, residents of Dundee and the surrounding area are invited to arrive for the grand opening of the city’s public dog park this Saturday.
Johnson Dog Park, located at 800 Edmund Ave., will be hosting its grand opening celebration on Sat., Aug. 10, from 10 AM – 2 PM.
The festivities will include a ribbon cutting to commemorate the official opening of the park to the public, as well as opportunities for residents and their pets to explore the park and its many amenities.
Adoption opportunities will also be provided through Polk County Animal Control. While animals will not be presented on-site, official adoption forms will be made available for potential pet owners.
The new park area includes various amenities for pets and owners alike, from benches and shade trees to dog tunnels, hoops, and a weight station.
Over the past two years, the City of Dundee has received requests from residents to designate a public space as a dog park for local pet owners, explained Tandra Davis, Town Manager.
As the town owned a vacant park area that was not being put to immediate use, the city decided to utilize that space to construct the proposed dog park, Davis said.
“The dog park was an idea given by our stakeholders and residents,” she said. “We had numerous residents who came to town city commission meetings over the last two and a half years request[ing] that we look into having a dog park for their loved ones.”
While dog parks exist in most other cities within Polk County, the Town of Dundee wanted to create something unique to their community and its needs, said John Vice, Public Works Director.
“I am trying to be different from other municipalities in other surrounding areas,” he said. “We wanted to put ours on the map. We did not want it to be what you see going along the road. We wanted this to be different. It is an ideal concept. What can we do to reuse other products to build a dream factor while constructing this park.”
The Town of Dundee has nothing but high expectations for the new park and its grand opening. Residents have been asking for such a facility for a long time, and hopefully, this new public park will meet their needs.
Lita O’Neill, Town Clerk, owes the success of the park’s construction to the support from the Town’s various partners, including the Town of Lake Hamilton, the City of Davenport, Polk County Animal Control, and Odum Contracting.
“We just want to welcome anyone who wants to come out and participate and that they bring their loved ones with them,” said Town Manager Davis.
Winter Haven Police are asking for help identifying the guy in this video. On July 25th, 2024 he decided to help himself to the contents in the back of a work truck on 7th St SW in Winter Haven. If you recognize this suspect, please contact Detective Orphee at 863-209-6895.
If you wish to remain anonymous and be eligible for a CASH reward, you can contact Heartland Crime Stoppers:
Or visit the website www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com and click on “Submit A Tip,”
Or download the free “P3tips” app on your smartphone or tablet. You will always remain anonymous when you send a tip through Crime Stoppers and you are eligible for a cash reward if your information leads to an arrest.
The Ramon Theater will be holding their 17th Annual Gala Event on Saturday, September 21, 2024. The theme this year is “Retro Rewind: Back to the 80s”.
They are looking for performers for the event to help raise funds for the Ramon Theater. As a non-profit organization, they rely upon donations to help support programming throughout the year.
This is where you can come in. They are looking for people willing to perform either by singing, dancing or lip syncing to music that was released in the 1980s. This could be from an 80s movie soundtrack or just any of the great music from the 80s.
If you are the adventurous type and willing to help with the event, contact the theater directly. Attendees at the Gala will be voting with their wallet for the performer they liked the best. The performer that brings in the most donated funds will win “The Bombdiggity” Outstanding Performance Award while the performer that is voted People’s Favorite wins our “Funky Fresh” award.
If you need to come to the theater in advance and rehearse, just let them know and they will work with you to accommodate.
Please contact the Ramon Theater office and let them know how you would like to participate. They are looking for about 6 acts.
A Winter Haven man faces charges of Grand Theft and Scheming to Defraud after being caught on camera stealing money from customers at a local Zaxby’s in Winter Haven.
Clayten Brown, who was arrested July 23, 2024, was stealing money through cash transactions over a period of time. He stole thousands of dollars from customers who paid in cash.
It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by Winter Haven Police Department. 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 your own conclusion.
“PROBABLE CAUSE:
On July 12th, 2024 at approximately 1441 hours patrol officers were dispatched to Zaxby’s located at 797 3rd St. SW Winter Haven, FL 33880 in reference to a Grand Theft.
Contact was made with Vogal who stated that he is the HR Director for Polk Zaxbys, and he was made aware of an employee who was stealing cash from the restaurant. Vogal advised that on July 8th, 2024 the General manager of the Zaxbys location, Merryann Fralick had alerted him of an employee, Clayten Brown who she found stealing by reviewing camera footage. Vogal advised that he came to the store, and was shown the video my Fralick, and Clayten was immediately fired from the company. Vogal advised that when he spoke with Clayten about the incident, Clayten admitted to taking the money on that day, and advised he had done it one other time due to the stress of having a baby on the way with his girlfriend. Vogal advised that he also alerted the owner of the franchise, David Abbott, who then began going through financial transactions from all the locations he owns in Polk County. Vogal began looking at addition video and noticed Clayten had been stealing all cash transactions.
Clayten Brown
It was explained that when ordering at Zaxby’s, the food begins getting made as soon as the order starts being input into the computer system. By the time a customer gets to the drive-through window where payment is due, their food is complete and ready to be handed to the customer. Clayten was taking the cash from customers at the window, and instead of opening the cash register and making change, he was handing back change from his own pocket. Clayten would then void the transaction in the system which actually shows as the order was never placed, which is why the cash drawers were never short any money. Vogal explained that the average employee may void anywhere from $7 to $60 in food items per day, for various reasons. Vogal advised me that Clayten was voiding between $300 and $500 daily-
Merryann Fralick advised that on July 8th, 2024, she had a customer come inside for a refund. Fralick advised that the customer had gone through the drive through, and did not have a receipt for the meal they had purchased. Fralick informed me that it is Zaxby’s policy to only provide a refund when a receipt is provided for the purchase. Fralick advised, she then went to the register which was logged in to by Clayten Brown, and saw that the customer’s order had been completely voided. Fralick advised that when she asked Clayten about the voided order, he advised he did not know how the order got voided. Fralick advised that she then went to the office and began to review video footage. Fralick stated that this is when she saw that Clayten had taken the money from the customer, gave the customer their food, and pocketed the cash payment. Fralick advised you could also see in the video, Clayten select each order item on the screen which is how you void an order. Fralick advised that she believes Clayten had memorized the manager codes which allows you to void orders. Fralick advised that after discovering the theft, she contacted her supervision, and did not inform Clayten that she knew of the theft.
REDACTED, who worked shifts with Clayten advised that she had changed registers with Brown in exchange for $10. REDACTED advised that Clayten offered her $10 to swap from the drive through register to the lobby register one day. REDACTED advised that this was not a normal thing to happen, but that she accepted the $10 and traded registers with Clayten. REDACTED advised that she was unaware of any theft occurring within the store. REDACTED also advised that she knew Clayten slightly, but that they did not hangout outside of work. REDACTED advised she has been working with the company for over a year, and believes she started working there after Clayten.
Fralick and Vogal both have known Clayten for approximately a year and were able to identify him as the person in the video pocketing the cash that was provided from customers.
I was provided video and a PDF of voided transactions from employees.
While reviewing video, Clayten is seen accepting cash from the customer through the drive-through window.
Once Clayten takes the cash, he places it in his pocket and used cash he already has lying on the register or next to the register. On one occasion, Clayten is seen accepting the cash from the customer, removes a dollar bill from the cash provided by the customer, and handed the dollar bill back to the customer, while pocketing the rest of the cash.
While reviewing the PDF of voided transactions I noticed that Clayten was voiding out more transactions than all other employees he was working with. Below are the listed dates, voided transactions and amount of cash taken.
May 30th, 2024: 133 transactions: $346.42
June 3rd, 2024: 167 transactions: $444.50
June 5th, 2024: 133 transactions: $374.83
June 6th, 2024: 201 transactions: $544.47
June 8th, 2024: 170 transactions: $485.39
June 10th, 2024: 161 transactions: 5451.72
June 11th, 2024: 199 transactions: $577.30
June 12th, 2024: 209 transactions: 583.78
June 13th, 2024: 109 transactions: $343.06
June 16th, 2024: 127 transactions: $375.58
June 17th, 2024: 91 transactions: $228.11
June 19th, 2024: 184 transactions: $472.24
June 20th, 2024: 100 transactions: $260.47
June 23rd, 2024: 54 transactions: $154.36
June 24th, 2024: 94 transactions: $295.99
June 25th, 2024: 113 transactions: $311.48
June 27th, 2024: 63 transactions: $216.34
June 30th, 2024: 85 transactions: 5201.45
July 1st, 2024: 95 transactions: 5292.08
July 4th, 2024: 97 transactions: $242.70
July 8th, 2024: 23 transactions: $61.42
Total transactions: 2,6085
Total amount of money stolen: $7,263.66
Vogal advised that per ownership, if Brown had been doing this throughout his entire employment, this could be approximately $30,000 to 40,000 total in theft. Clayten was a part time employee, and he had been hired to work at the store on July 8th, 2023.
I collected recorded statements from all managers that had a code to void transactions. All managers advised they never gave Clayten their codes and Clayten never had permission to use their codes to void out orders without their knowledge.
Clayten was located at his residence located at REDACTED, Winter Haven, FL. Clayten was placed under arrest. While escorting Clayten to the patrol car Clayten spontaneously stated he takes full responsibility for what he did, but won’t take the blame for other people.
Based off all the information above, Clayten Brown is being charged with One (1) count of Grand Theft, and One (1) count of Scheming to Defraud.”
Anthony John Menichino, Jr. passed away August 3, 2024, at AdventHealth Lake Wales.
He was born on January 22, 1946, in Glen Cove, New York, to Anthony J. Menichino, Sr. and Mary Chupka. Anthony was of the Catholic faith and loved Sea World.
Anthony is survived by his wife JoAnn Menichino; mother, Mary Chupka; daughters, Kathleen Enderle and husband Kevin of Bethpage, New York, Donna Alfora and husband Carlos of Bellmore, New York, and JoAnn Newman and husband Jay of Spring Hill, Florida; sons, Anthony J. Menichino, III and wife Jaime of Pleasant Valley, New York, John A. Menichino and wife Dawn of Wantagh, New York, and Toni Marino and husband Adam of Winter Haven, Florida; sisters, Linda Neal and husband Johnny of Levittown, New York, Marilyn Browner and husband Tim of Syosset, New York, and Lorraine Brone and husband Bill of Levittown, New York; and brother, Dennis Menichino and wife Joanne of Wantagh, New York. Anthony also leaves behind 17 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
