Bartow, Fla. (August 5, 2024) — The Circle B Bar Reserve will be closed to the public beginning at dusk today due to flooding. The location will be closed until further notice.
Currently, at the Circle B Bar Reserve, two parking lots, a portion of the driveway and some of the trails are under water. Flooding is expected to worsen in the next couple of days.
Environmental lands such as the Circle B Bar Reserve are intended to protect water, wildlife and wilderness, and to provide recreational opportunities to Polk County’s residents. These lands provide many benefits to the community, including flood protection. Following Hurricane Debby, Circle B Bar Reserve is providing flood protection by holding a large amount of water on the landscape.
The Circle B Bar Reserve will remain closed as it stores flood waters and helps prevent additional damage to private property and critical assets. It will reopen when it is safe to do so.
For a location map and additional information on Polk County Environmental Land sites, check the county’s website at www.polknature.com.
Bartow, Fla. (August 6, 2024) — Polk County has closed the Lake Hancock Boat ramp until further notice. The boat ramp, off US Highway 98, is closed due to high water flows upstream and in Polk County due to Tropical Storm/Hurricane Debby.
Is there any type of cuisine more flavorful than Indian food? Actually, let me rephrase that sentence: there is no cuisine more flavorful than Indian food.
At this point, that statement isn’t even an opinion. It’s a fact. And science has proven it! Several scientific studies have been conducted to figure out what makes Indian food taste so good.
One such study, conducted in 2015, analyzed 2,500 Indian recipes. Its findings revealed that the unique, complex flavor of Indian food derives from the “flavor overlap” of its various ingredients.
As The Repository reports, Indian cuisine opts to offer: “the most variety of ingredients with as little overlapping flavor as possible…Every spice and ingredient has a purpose and they all work together in harmony to produce the taste of the dish.”
Trust me when I tell you: you have not experienced real flavor unless you’ve tried Indian food; and once you taste it for yourself, you’ll wonder how you managed to make it through life for so long without ever trying it, because everything else is bland and tasteless in comparison.
For more than a decade, I’ve been preparing Indian food at home, mostly curries like Chicken Tikka Masala. I’ve also eaten authentic Indian food at eateries like Curry Mango in Lakeland. Whether prepared at home or in a restaurant, nothing quite compares to how Indian cuisine combines sugar and spice and everything nice.
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Lately, not only have I been craving Indian food, but also wanted to experiment with preparing meals in my slow cooker. Because is there a kitchen appliance more convenient than a slow cooker?
Again, let me rephrase that sentence: there is no kitchen appliance more convenient than a slow cooker. Seriously, all you do is prepare and pre-cook your ingredients, dump them all into the slow cooker, and then set it and forget it for the rest of the day until dinner rolls around, and by then you’ll have your meal cooked and warmed and ready.
I never had Butter Chicken before. I’ve heard it’s good, so I wanted to taste it for myself. I decided to prepare it in a slow cooker. And for this particular recipe, I actually ended up combining two different recipes for the sake of convenience.
Yes, you heard right: this recipe is actually two separate recipes combined into one. I simply wasn’t able to find a recipe that appealed to me, either because it had too many ingredients or the prep work was too complicated. So, I took two recipes, chose the parts I liked most, and cobbled them together into a single recipe that permitted a minimal amount of ingredients and effort.
How did it turn out? Pretty good. The chicken and sauce tasted very flavorful, with the right blend of sweetness and spiciness expected from Indian cuisine. Seriously, I’ve yet to eat “bad” Indian food, and I don’t ever expect to do so.
The only “flaw” was that the overall dish was slightly more “clumpy.” Perhaps next time I’ll add slightly more coconut milk to make it smoother and silkier. Either way, it tasted great paired with the instant rice I prepared for it.
Overall, if you’ve never had Indian food before, I highly suggest trying this recipe. You’ll only have to buy a few ingredients, pre-cook the chicken and onions, then combine everything and let the slow cooker do the rest of the work. You won’t regret it!
The following recipe combines two recipes from AllRecipies.com:
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 large skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
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1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon garam masala (or cumin)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 (14 ounces) can coconut milk (or 2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream)
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt salt to taste
Directions
1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Heat butter and vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in chicken, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in tomato paste, curry powder, chili powder, and garam masala (or cumin) until no lumps of tomato paste remain.
4. Pour mixture into a slow cooker; stir in coconut milk (or half-and-half or heavy cream) and yogurt. Season with salt.
5. Cook on High for 4 to 6 hours (or on Low for
6 to 8 hours) until chicken is tender and sauce has reduced to desired consistency.
Per the City of Lake Wales, the following information pertains to a schedule change in trash collection this week due to the recent storm:
Republic Services has informed the City of Lake Wales of the delay in trash collection. Due to the storm, Monday, August 5 scheduled collection will continue on Tuesday, August 6. The following scheduled days of the week, will be pushed back by one day.
Tuesday, August 6 collection will take place on Wednesday, August 7.
Wednesday, August 7 collection will take place on Thursday, August 8.
Thursday, August 8 collection will take place on Friday, August 9.
Friday, August 9 collection will take place on Saturday, August 10.
Polk County Government Florida – The Circle B Bar Reserve will be closed to the public beginning at dusk today (August 5) due to flooding. The location will be closed until further notice.
Currently, at the Circle B Bar Reserve, two parking lots, a portion of the driveway and some of the trails are under water. Flooding is expected to worsen in the next couple of days.
Environmental lands such as the Circle B Bar Reserve are intended to protect water, wildlife and wilderness, and to provide recreational opportunities to Polk County’s residents. These lands provide many benefits to the community, including flood protection. Following Hurricane Debby, Circle B Bar Reserve is providing flood protection by holding a large amount of water on the landscape.
The Circle B Bar Reserve will remain closed as it stores flood waters and helps prevent additional damage to private property and critical assets. It will reopen when it is safe to do so.
For a location map and additional information on Polk County Environmental Land sites, check the county’s website at www.polknature.com.
Linda Lou Wilcox, age 75 entered into rest on Sunday, July 21, 2024. Linda was born on September 21, 1948 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and moved to Florida with her family from Jeanette, Pennsylvania in 1960.
Linda spent over 35 years working in data input for State Farm. She attended First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Winter Haven.
Linda is survived by her sister Becky Reeves of Winter Haven, FL, brother Randall Stauffer of Marietta, SC, niece Holly Schlundt of San Antonio, TX, and nephews Alex Stauffer of Greenville, SC, Richie Forsyth, Ryan Forsyth, and Jason Forsyth, all of San Antonio, TX. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Ferne Stauffer and her husband, Wayne L. Wilcox.
Come out Tuesday, August 6th, from 6 pm – 8 pm and celebrate National Night Out at the Frostproof Fire Department, 47 N. Lake Reedy Blvd., Frostproof.
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnership and neighborhood camaraderie. The Frostproof Area Chamber of Commerce is putting it’s own spin on the event to make it a First Responders-community partnership and neighborhood camaraderie event. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the Frostproof Fire Department will be participating this year!
Also in attendance: • One-Stop Public Services – Children •Identification Card – Community Public Safety Services • Good for the Soul Food Truck • Funky Pops Ice Cream Truck • Frostproof Dawgs Youth Football & cheer • Frostproof Volunteer Firefighters, Ladies Auxiliary • Kids’ games, emergency vehicle tours, and much more fun!
The event is free for all to attend; food trucks will be available for your dining pleasure. They accept cash, debit and credit cards, apple pay and ca$happ.
With the recent cyber attack on the State Vital Statistics, please take this as a reminder that these valuable documents should be secured in a safe place at all times.
When a birth certificate, social security card, death certificate or any vital document is issued, make copies to keep filed away and place the originals in a safe and secure location. Should you need these documents, you have them readily available instead of needing to count on getting a copy from the Department of Vital Statistics.
The recent cyber attack halted all access to documents and caused untold problems for those who need them. (And we must remind everyone, do not carry these valuable documents around unless you need for one specific reason and then put them back in safe keeping.)
Citizens in the northwest neighborhood are scheduled to have access to new sidewalks with new landscape and street trees on select streets. Join the City of Lake Wales on August 22 at 6 p.m. at the B Street Community Center, located at 230 B St., to learn about the project. Citizens will get the chance to ask questions and hear from City staff and project consultants.
Construction plans include rehabilitating preexisting sidewalks. New sidewalks will be added along established streets without sidewalks. The improvements will help improve pedestrian safety. It’s action step number 11 in the City’s Lake Wales Connected Plan.
Designated streets: Alabama Street, Booker Avenue, Dr. J.A. Wiltshire Avenue, E Street, F Street, Florida Avenue, G Street, Harding Avenue, Jewel Street, W. Jackson Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, Pearl Street and Washington Avenue.
Note: Citizens who live on the designated streets will be contacted by City staff and crews prior to construction.
Deadpool is my favorite Marvel movie franchise outside of the official Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). I love the bloody violence. I love the raunchy comedy. And I love the main character. He’s cocky. He’s irreverent. And he takes a sledgehammer to the fourth wall with glee.
Six years have passed since his last big screen romp. And a lot has changed since then. 20th Century Fox was bought by Disney. Its name was changed to 20th Century Studios. And its Marvel properties are all now being rebooted and folded into the MCU.
Ever since the Disney-Fox merger, fans have been on edge wondering and worrying about Deadpool’s future. Would Disney pull the plug on his franchise now that the X-Men movies have ended with plans to be rebooted into the MCU? Will the Merc with the Mouth have his mouth washed out to better sanitize his image for the family-friendly House of Mouse? Or is this the end of Deadpool as we know him?
Fortunately, the answers to all those questions were revealed two years ago following the announcement of Deadpool and Wolverine. Yes, not only would Ryan Reynolds be returning to play his most famous role, but he would also be bringing Hugh Jackman out of retirement to play another fan-favorite character alongside him.
So, now that Deadpool and Wolverine has finally been released in theaters, does the movie really live up to the hype? Was this the team-up that fans always dreamed it would be? Or would it become a cinematic nightmare whose memory needs to be repressed along with the other time Deadpool and Wolverine shared screen time together? (We don’t talk about X-Men Origins: Wolverine!)
Deadpool and Wolverine takes six years after Deadpool 2. Since then, Wade Wilson has retired his crimson suit and now works a humble job as a car salesman. All that soon changes after he’s summoned by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), who makes him an offer that almost sounds too good to be true.
The good news is that TVA official, Paradox, wants to allow Wade to resume his role as Deadpool alongside the Avengers on Earth 6-16 (where the MCU films take place). The bad news is that Wade’s universe is slated for destruction. The reason is that the “anchor being” (the main character the universe centers around) in Deadpool’s universe, Wolverine from the X-Men, passed away (in Logan).
Not wanting to see his family and friends wiped out of existence, Deadpool sets out to find a Wolverine from another universe to assume the role of a replacement “anchor being.” But will he succeed in his new mission? Or is this truly the end for the Corpse on the Loose?
You want to know if this movie is good? The first five minutes has Deadpool digging up Wolverine’s grave and using his adamantium skeleton to fight off a squadron of TVA agents—all to the tune of NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye!” If that scene doesn’t entertain you, then this movie isn’t for you. In fact, what are you even doing watching a Deadpool movie?
Yes, even after six long years, Ryan Reynolds still brings with him the same chaotic and irreverent energy he utilized in his first performance as the Merc with the Mouth in 2016. And not only does Hugh Jackman still kill it as Wolverine, both literally and figuratively, but also serves as a great foil for Deadpool, both in comedy and action.
The story itself provides the same level of fourth-wall-breaking meta-humor one would expect from a Deadpool film, if not more so post-Disney-Fox merger. The movie involves Deadpool faced with the choice of either joining the Avengers in their universe or saving his universe and his loved ones within it from annihilation.
Yes, quite evidently, Deadpool and Wolverine grapples with the fact that the film franchise famous for its potty-mouthed anti-hero protagonist is now under new management by the squeaky-clean, family-friendly Walt Disney Corporation. The film is quite literally about Deadpool trying to save his film franchise—er, I mean his “universe”—from being canceled—er, I mean “destroyed.”
So, if you’re a fan who’s been worried about the future of Deadpool and his movies, and how the franchise will fare under its new owners, whether that entails ending the series, rebooting it, or incorporating it into the overall corporate juggernaut that is the MCU—well, trust me when I say this movie won’t leave you disappointed with the answers.
And as with most other Marvel movies, there are cameos aplenty. Of course, there’s the very character who shares the movie’s title with the titular Deadpool, Wolverine—and sporting his iconic yellow suit, no less! But there’s also plenty of surprise cameos throughout the film as well. (No spoilers, but if you were a fan of Fox’s previous attempts at superhero movies, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by the cameos in this movie!)
Overall, while Deadpool and Wolverine may not be as great as the very first movie (though I would argue that it’s better than the second), it still has the same gory action and irreverent humor fans have come to love from these movies. And seeing Hugh Jackman be able to reprise his role as Wolverine and star alongside a close friend of his for a proper film team-up is certainly worth the price of admission.
