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These Lakeland Christian School Students Won First Place For Creating This Invention

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These Lakeland Christian School Students Won First Place For Creating This Invention

These Lakeland Christian School Students Won First Place For Creating This Invention

by James Coulter

Getting children to eat their vegetables can be hard, especially if you live in a food desert or a climate where growing and obtaining fresh produce can be even harder.

Middle school students at Lakeland Christian School figured out a creative solution to get other children invested in growing and eating their own produce. Their idea won them first place at the SlingShot Polk 2019 science competition at Crystal Lake Elementary School on Monday evening.

Called “The Bucket Farm Project”, their invention encourages young children to grow their own produce using a miniature garden planted within a set of buckets. These buckets are specially-crafted and developed to provide the best combination of soil, fertilizer, and water to allow their vegetables to grow in any climate, especially that of Florida.

“We observed at our own school that when kids grow their own vegetables, they are more likely to actually eat it,” said Yuexin Quin, one of the three middle school students. “Our bucket farms will teach them it is important to have vegetables in their diet.”

Quin and her two other teammates, Nicole and Mya Rivera, developed the miniature garden prototype using three five-gallon buckets, each of which fit within one another. One bucket serves as a reservoir, holding one gallon of water, which wets the soil using a pantyhose as sort of a wick, explained Nicole.

Each bucket farm comes with a special bar code, which can be scanned to access a website with recipies for the different vegetables that can be grown. Each farm costs approximately $13.25, though the cost can be potentially reduced to $7.25, Nicole said.

These bucket farms are planned to be sold at local farmer’s market. For each bucket farm sold, another will be donated to community gardens and schools, Nicole said.

“We hope to spread our ideas all over the United States, many different places, to give kids the opportunities to grow and eat their own vegetables,” she said.

Their Bucket Farm Project allowed them to win the $1,500 prize for first place at SlingShot Polk, an annual science competition that encourages middle, high, and college students under age 29 to think like entrepreneurs and develop solutions to problems facing their community. Four other teams from four other schools across the county also participated that evening for a chance to share their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Second place went to students from Florida Southern College for their project, “Grade A Fashion”, a retail fashion boutique that allows students to purchase clothing in exchange for credit gained by improving their grades, behavior, and good citizenship.

These boutiques would be set up within low income and underprivileged schools within the county, and allow students to purchase clothes by earning credits through good grades, attendance, and various volunteer opportunities.

Natalija Popovic, one of the students within the team, felt that positive reinforcement was a great motivator to allow children to complete their homework and focus on their studies. Not only would this allow children in low income areas an opportunity to improve their education, but also to obtain nice clothing they otherwise would not be able to receive, she explained.

Their first store is already set to open later this week at Southwest Elementary School in Lakeland on Friday, April 12. Clothing for the store is being donated through partnerships with local churches and laundromats, Popovic said.

“Our expectations are that kids will have…money to shop, and that they will be slowly improving their grades and attendance in order to shop even more,” she said. “We are very grateful because it shows us that other people see the value of this project, as much as we believe in this project.”

Third place went to Florida Polytechnic University students for their project, “SynapCare”, which will provide personal electroencephalogram (EEG) devices that can detect changes in mental health. Their initial prototype will be programed with an algorithm to monitor depression, but other devices may be program to detect other disorders, allowing its users to track their mental health the same way they can track their heartrate using a smart watch.

Fourth place went to McKeel Academy of Technology for their project “Bully No More”, a smart device app that can be used to report incidents of bullying to school officials and access resources for bullying victims. Fifth place went to Bok Academy students for their project, “Tycoon Game”, a video game where players can learn financial literacy by running a virtual business.

SlingShot Polk is a collaboration between the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Central Florida to “identify and solve the biggest problems in Polk County”, according to their website.

While many similar science competitions are focused on giving money to an idea, this competition encourages students throughout the county to become more hands on in their endeavors and actively work on solutions towards solving problems in their county, explained Justin Heacock, Coordinator Entrepreneurship with Florida Polytechnic.

“The exciting thing is that we had a middle school team win, they beat out two college student teams, it is kind of amazing,” he said. “No matter how big the problem, there is always a way to solve it, and it starts with being creative, and what SlingShot has done is to create a pipeline to take that creativity through.”

Central Florida Development Council served as the main sponsor for this year. Sean Mallot, President and CEO, was most impressed by the projects entered in this year, as it showcases the ingenuity of the young people within the county.

“The thing we like to see is that we like students to get involved,” he said. “We would like to see more participation, more schools…and we would like to see more sponsors involved, the bigger the prize dollars as well.”

City Of Auburndale Lets People Touch A Truck At Annual Event

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City Of Auburndale Lets People Touch A Truck At Annual Event

City Of Auburndale Lets People Touch A Truck At Annual Event

by James Coulter

Whenever a fire breaks out in the Florida wilderness, Lee Higgins and his fellow park rangers bring out two main pieces of equipment to fight the flames.

The first is a bulldozer that clears away the debris. The other is the transport that brings out the bulldozer to the scene of the fire.

Another important piece of equipment is the helicopter, which flies high above the burning forest and dispenses buckets of water upon the raging flames below.

When not used to fight fires, the helicopter is also used to scout forests to detect places that would require a prescribed burn. When such a place is found, ping pong balls are dropped from above to mark the location.

All three pieces of equipment, including the helicopter, we showcased during this year’s Touch A Truck event in Auburndale on Saturday morning.

Lee Higgins, forest ranger, brought out all three fire-fighting vehicles to allow guests, especially children, to touch and even climb within.

Higgins especially loves to see the children climb aboard and inside the helicopter to be able to experience firsthand what it’s like to sit within the pilot’s seat.

“We love seeing the amount of people asking questions about what we do and us telling them what we do,” Higgins said.

Their vehicles were several of the dozens of other vehicles displayed at Auburndale City Park during the city’s annual event.

More than two dozen vehicles of all shapes and sizes were showcased, including fire trucks, dump trucks, police cars, and even race cars.

True to the event’s names, guests, especially children, were allowed to get up close, touch, and even climb aboard these vehicles and ask their drivers questions about them.

When not touching vehicles, guests could peruse many of the other activities at the event, including bounce houses, food trucks and vendors, and several booths hosted by local organizations such as Berea Baptist Church and the Rotary Club of Auburndale.

The free event also offered recycling opportunities with two local recycling companies: Urban E Recycling, which recycled electronic equipment and appliances, and Crown Shredding, which offered paper shredding of documents.

The recycling component of the event was added this year to tie in with Spring Cleanup Week, a weeklong event hosted by the city’s public works department to encourage citizens to clean out their garages and properly dispose of their waste.

“We wanted to add in the recycling feel the week before and allow people to come and recycle things that aren’t always easy to recycle,” said Cody McGee, City Recreational Director.

The annual event has been hosted for many years, even long before McGee himself started working for the city nearly a decade ago. Since taking over as director, he has seen the event grow in leaps and bounds, with this year’s event more than exceeding initial expectations.

As the father of a one-year-old son himself, McGee loves being able to provide the children of the city with fun activities for them to engage within, especially when it has an educational component such as providing learning opportunities about the city’s many forms of transportation.

“The trucks are getting bigger and bigger each year,” he said. “I think expectations went above and beyond. We have more vehicles than we ever had, we are seeing more smiling faces, so I think this year is a good year.”

Participating in this year’s event were many local organizations such as the Rotary Club, which was raising money and awareness for its upcoming event: Hole-In-One.

Their event, which will be hosted on July 4, will allow people to purchase golf balls with a chance to see them dropped from a tall vehicle, either a crane or fire truck, and into a golf hole. The person whose golf ball falls into the hole will win $2,000, while the person whose ball lands near the hole will win $1,000.

Eric Pospichal, President Rotary Club of Auburndale, and his fellow Rotarians were selling tickets for the event, as well as raising proceeds through face painting. They even partnered with Pelican’s Snoballs, which donated 20 percent of the proceeds for their cause.

The Rotary Club is hosting the event as a fundraiser to raise money for a butterfly garden to be planted across from the senior center and raise awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease. Both work together in tandem with one another, as butterflies are often used by nursing homes as a symbol of the condition.

As for the Touch-A-Truck event, at least two of their Rotarians brought out their own jeeps to the event to allow people to touch for themselves, as well as to raise awareness for their fundraiser and cause.

“We are doing pretty well,” Posphical said. “I don’t have exact numbers, but we had a good start.”

Retail Theft at Wal-Mart Leads To Multi-Agency Pursuit and Multiple Arrests

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Retail Theft at Wal-Mart Leads To Multi-Agency Pursuit and Multiple Arrests

Retail Theft at Wal-Mart Leads To Multi-Agency Pursuit and Multiple Arrests

On April 4, 2019 at approximately 1:00am, officers with the Lake Wales Police Department responded to 2000 State Road 60 E, in Lake Wales (Wal-Mart) regarding a theft that had just occurred. The witnesses reported multiple individuals had removed several electronics items, valued in excess of $2300.00 from the store. The witness reported the suspects fled the store in a silver or gray sport utility vehicle. A short time later, Officer Edgar Claros observed a silver Toyota 4-runner traveling at a high rate of speed, westbound on Highway 60 near the intersection of 11th St.  Officer Claros attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle but the driver refused to stop and continued westbound at a high rate of speed. Officer Claros was able to obtain the vehicle’s tag number and was advised that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Orlando. The pursuit was terminated at the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and Ernest Smith Blvd in Bartow over safety concerns. The vehicle information was relayed to other agencies.

A short time later, Lake Wales Police was notified the Lake Alfred Police Department and Polk County Sheriff’s Office were in pursuit of the stolen Toyota on interstate 4. Following a short pursuit, the suspect vehicle crashed into vehicle leaving the Wawa convenience store located at 43582 Highway 27 in Davenport. No injuries were reported and members of the Lake Alfred Police Department and Polk County Sheriff’s Office apprehended five of the six occupants of the stolen vehicle. The sixth person fled from the scene but was not located. The Lake Wales Police Department, Criminal Investigations Section, is working to identify this individual.

The five individuals below were charged with the following:

  • De’eddrick Dedontae Noble, 24, 430 Sunset Dr., Orlando Fl.
  • Fleeing to elude, 3rd degree felony
  • Grand Theft in excess of $300.00, 3rd Degree Felony

  • Desire Deshay Oliver, 24, 430 Sunset Dr., Orlando Fl
  • Grand Theft in excess of $300.00, 3rd Degree Felony

  • Timothy Jerome Wiggins, 19, 5145 Emerson Ave. S. St. Petersburg Fl.
  • Grand Theft in excess of $300.00, 3rd Degree Felony

  • Dequan Dajuan Esters, 27, 2007 Mercy Dr., Orlando
  • Grand Theft in excess of $300.00, 3rd Degree Felony

  • Delicia Mazandra Hogan, 24, 308 Lakeland Ave., N. Orlando
  • Grand Theft in excess of $300.00, 3rd Degree Felony

 

Please refer to Polk County Sheriff’s Office, case numbers 19-16579 and 19-16578 and Lake Alfred Police Department case number 19-231 for additional information and charges stemming from their involvement. Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact Detective Whitney Dukes at the Lake Wales Police Department, (863)678-4223 Ext. 269.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local Protesters Join Nationwide Rally To “Release The Report”

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Local Protesters Join Nationwide Rally To “Release The Report”

Local Protesters Join Nationwide Rally To “Release The Report”

by James Coulter

What do they want? The Muller Report. When do they want it? Now. That was the demand of local protesters rallying at Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven on Thursday evening.

Nearly 50 demonstrators congregated at the park to show their solidarity with other protesters in more than 300 rallies nationwide, demanding the public release of the full report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Following a 22-month investigation into the alleged “foreign collusion” by President Donald Trump with the Russian government during the 2016 election, Muller published a more than 400-page report detailing his findings into the investigation last week.

This report, known colloquially as “The Muller Report”, was submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. However, only a four-page summary of Muller’s principle conclusions has been disclosed to Congress by Attorney General William Barr.

According to the summary, Muller’s investigation found no evidence that either Trump or anyone in his campaign “conspired or coordinated with Russia” during the election. Furthermore, the summary states that “while this report does not conclude that the President commited a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Despite this, Trump and his supporters believe that the report does in fact exonerate him of any wrongdoing, while his detractors believe that the full report contains important details being intentionally withheld by Barr to protect Trump of wrongdoing.

While only 36 percent of Americans trust the summary that Trump has been cleared of any alleged wrongdoing, more than 56 percent remain skeptical, with another 75 percent wanting the full report to be made public, according to an NPR poll.

More than 300 rallies were hosted on Thursday evening to voice the public demand for the full release of the report. These rallies drew 300 protesters to New York’s Time Square and 250 to the White House, according to Reuters.

In Polk County, nearly 50 protesters gathered at the park in Downtown Winter Haven to show their solidarity with other protesters nationwide and demand that Barr “Release The Report.”

This local rally was coordinated by Katherine Sutherland, Membership and Precinct Organizing chair for the Polk Democratic Party, with the help of MoveOn, a progressive advocacy group that organized the other rallies nationwide.

“We are here to show the people in our district, in our community, in our country that nobody is above the law,” she said. “We have the backs of the people in Congress, we want to let them know that they can be strong when they are fighting for us, like when they are giving us the Muller Report.”

Like many of the other protesters, Sutherland felt that Barr was intentionally keeping the full report from the public to protect the president who had appointed him.

“It is not okay for Trump to appoint somebody who is obviously politicized, who will try to protect Trump however way he can, and then the Muller Report comes out and we only get a four page summary? That is not okay,” she said.

Bob Doyle, retired circuit judge and former candidate for Florida Senate, was one of the protesters attending the rally that evening. He, too, believed that there were details within the report being purposely withheld from the public. Thus it was up to members of the public to demand that their elected officials release the full report.

“We have to recognize that our expectations are going to be fulfilled over a period of time,” he said. “It will not happen tomorrow or next week, so we have to keep the pressure until it happens. It is up to us to get something done…our part has got to be done tomorrow and the next day and the next day and eventually we will win this thing. We will be able to get the report and read this thing.”

Bill Summer, former criminal defense attorney, and a self-proclaimed “recovering former Republican”, called the entire ordeal with the report and the Presidential administration a “game of wack-a-mole” that required Democrats like himself to maintain their a-game in order to achieve victory.

“They put something up, our side has to be ready to fight it if we are able to fight within that arena,’ he said. “You could not have had Van Gough put up a brand new canvas, take up all his colored pastels, and paint a better picture of a rotten, crooked, no good, Republican son of a pup than William Barr.”

Local Nonprofit Organization Helps Young Girls and Young Women

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Local Nonprofit Organization Helps Young Girls and Young Women

Local Nonprofit Organization Helps Young Girls and Young Women

By Allison Williams

Angels of Destiny Inc. is a local nonprofit that inspires young girls and young women. Dolmecia Fleming is the Founder and President of Angels of Destiny Inc.

“We are a nonprofit organization that seeks to make a positive impact in the lives of families, young girls and young women. Our Mission is to serve as a beacon of Hope in the lives of young girls and young women between the ages of 8-21 through mentoring, building self-esteem, youth empowerment, community involvement, and the development of leadership and key skills for success.”

Fleming and late Angela Hogan founded Angels of Destiny Inc. back in 2014. The organization and what it stands for has been particularly special to both women.

“We both came from a disadvantage background where we have been faced with many hardships, whether that was being homeless, living from place to place or being hungry standing in the line at the salvation army or even being a mother at the age of 15. Angela and I were determined to be that beacon in the lives of young girls to ensure that they would not experience the many hardships that the two of us had to endure.”

In just the few years that Angels of Destiny Inc. has been around, the organization has had the pleasure of helping more than 200 young girls and young women. On top of this, they have helped families with holidays, bills, back-to-school, counseling referrals, food, shelter and even with domestic violence issues.

For those who are interested in learning more or attending an event, Angels of Destiny Inc. has several events and meetings available. At the Auburndale Community Center on the third Monday of each month, the young girls and young women meet from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. This monthly meeting is “Discovering Her Greatness Hour of Empowerment” and is free for anyone to attend.

“We have guest speakers come in and speak to the girls and we also have our ‘Let’s Talk It Out’ sessions during this time. The girls have the chance of opening up and discussing different topics such as identifying inner and outer beauty, bullying, peer pressure, personal issues, academic success, social media concerns, etc.”

Here is a list of upcoming events:

  • Mommy and me Tea and Community Give back: a day for mothers and daughters to get together and laugh and bond over tea. We also go into local women shelters and set up for Mother’s Day. We prepare a meal and gifts for the mothers and kids. (May 2019) We will be at the Salvation Army Women Shelter in Winter Haven on Mother’s Day weekend providing the mothers and kids with a Tea experience.
  • Annual Back to school giveaways: We partner with local hair salons to provide the girls with free back to school hairstyles in exchange for the girls writing an essay. (Topics may vary each year) More info will be available the first week of June.
  • Annual Back to school Jam and sponsorship: Over the last two years we have been able to sponsor over 30 kids with three complete uniforms each, shoes, under garments, hygiene items, and hairstyles for back to school. In 2018 at our back to school jam we were able to give away over 160 back packs filled with school supplies and feed close to 200. More info will be available mid-May on location, date and times.
  • Annual Holiday Drive: We partner with other local organizations to go out and feed the homeless. We choose single mothers or fathers annually for our holiday drive. We will begin announcing this in September.

On top of all the meetings and events Fleming hosts, she has also allotted time to work on a book called Who Will Listen to the Little Girl Cry.

With Angels of Destiny Inc. being a nonprofit (501(c)(3) organization), they are always looking for extra hands, whether is it community partners or sponsors. All donations that the organization receives are tax deductible.

Contact info:

321-304-0472

P.O. Box 728 Auburndale Fl 33823

[email protected]

Angelsofdestiny.org

Fourth Case of Rabies Confirmed in Polk County

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Fourth Case of Rabies Confirmed in Polk County
Fourth Case of Rabies Confirmed in Polk County
PCSO Press Release:
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Section confirmed on Tueday, April 9, 2019, the fourth positive Rabies case in Polk County for the year.
On Saturday, April 6, 2019, PCSO received a call that a dead bat had been located inside a garage at a home on Longleaf Circle in Lakeland. It appeared that no humans or animals were exposed to the bat prior to or after its death, however due to the fact that it was found inside a dwelling, it was sent for rabies testing.
The bat was confirmed positive for rabies on Tuesday, April 9th.
There have been three prior confirmed rabies cases in Polk County so far this year.

UPDATE: Unidentified Pedestrian fatally struck by vehicle Sunday morning

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UPDATE: Unidentified Pedestrian fatally struck by vehicle Sunday morning

The pedestrian who was killed in the vehicle/pedestrian crash early Sunday morning (4/7/19) has been identified as 49-year-old Javier Lopez-Perez of Wahneta.  Below is the original release on the crash.

PCSO Press Release:

Unidentified Pedestrian fatally struck by vehicle Sunday morning

On Sunday, April 7, 2019 at about 2:32 A.M., deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle on Bomber Road at Avenue A West in the Wahneta area of Winter Haven.

The first deputies on scene found an unresponsive man and began life-saving measures on him, but once Polk County Fire Rescue arrived, the man was pronounced deceased.

The victim had no identification on him, and other attempts to identify him up to this point have been unsuccessful.

The vehicle that struck the man was not on scene as the investigation began, but returned a short time later.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as 46-year-old Lynwood Stanton of Drew Court in Bartow. He returned to the scene in a white 2001 Chevrolet Sierra Pick-Up truck, which had damage that was consistent with debris found on scene.

Mr. Lynnwood told deputies that he thought he had struck an animal, and checked for damage once he arrived at home. He said that once he realized the damages weren’t likely caused by an animal, he headed back to the scene.

According to the preliminary investigation, the Chevy Pick-up had been travelling east on Bomber Road when it struck the man in the roadway near Avenue A West. A witness to the crash told investigators that the pedestrian, who was wearing dark clothing, was walking or standing approximately 18 inches into the lane of travel.

Mr. Stanton was evaluated at the scene and showed no signs of impairment. Excessive speed and distracted driving are not suspected, but will be further investigated.

Impairment is suspected on the part of the pedestrian.

Bomber Road was closed for approximately 3 hours during the investigation.

Haines City Commission Seat 1 Recount

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Haines City Commission Seat 1 Recount

Haines City Commission Seat 1 Recount

POLK COUNTY, FL (April 8, 2019) – A recount was held today for the City of Haines City Commission Seat 1 following the April 2 election between Jayne Hall and Don Mason. A machine recount was followed by a manual recount.

Upon completion of the recount procedures, Jayne Hall remains the winner of the race with a final tally of 682 votes for Hall and 680 votes for Don Mason.

For more information visit, PolkElections.com or call the Elections Office at 863-534-5888.

Haines City Police Are Investigating Shooting Death of Furious Shell

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Haines City Police Are Investigating Shooting Death of Furious Shell

Haines City Police Department Press Release:

Provided is a clip from an incident that took place on March 31 about 3:15 p.m. at 1604 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The surveillance clip from Family Discount Supermarket shows part of the altercation that took place between Furious Shell, 26, and Devonta Duga, 25.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/plntzxmk3p4kiot/2019-1242.mp4?dl=0

Shell was fatally shot by Duga in an incident that all current evidence suggests was a case of self-defense. However, the investigation is ongoing and the Haines City Police Department continues to look for witnesses to give an account of what took place that afternoon.

If anyone witnessed the incident or knows of anyone who was there at the time of the altercation or moments leading up to or immediately following it, please contact the Police Department at 863-421-3636. To remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward, contact Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477 (TIPS).

 

Original Release:

The Haines City Police Department is investigating a shooting death that took place before 3:45 p.m. Sunday.

Furious Bernard Shell, 26, was fatally shot following an altercation that took place outside a business at 1604 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Shell was taken to Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries about 4:13 p.m.

The shooter claims self-defense and is cooperating with the investigation, which is ongoing. There is no danger to the public.

 

Polk County Firefight Arrested For Child Pornography Possession

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Polk County Firefight Arrested For Child Pornography Possession

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Press Release

On Monday, April 8, 2019, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 49-year-old Richard Parr of Lake Wales and charged him with 22 counts of Enhanced Possession of Child Pornography (F-2).

The investigation began on March 6, 2019, when detectives received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). An image, first discovered on January 22, 2019 was determined to be apparent child pornography and was forwarded to NCMEC. 21 additional images were subsequently identified and flagged to an IP address associated with Parr’s Lake Wales home.

The images depicted boys and girls between the approximate ages of 5 and 15-years old. The children were displayed in a lewd manner with adults and/or other children.

A search warrant was executed at Parr’s residence on Monday, April 8, 2019. At that time, Parr was arrested, and numerous electronic devices and digital storage devices were taken by detectives. A forensic search of those items will be conducted and additional charges are possible, pending the outcome of that search.

At this point in the investigation, the identities of the children are unknown, as well as where the images originated.

“Make no mistake, those who view, possess, buy, and trade child pornography are complicit in the crime against the child depicted in the images. Some have not gotten the message. People in public trust positions are held to a higher standard and we expect better from them. The person we arrested is in a profession that a lot of kids look up to as a role model. We are going to continue to conduct these kinds of investigations to protect our children from those who trade and download child pornography-the demand for this vile material harms children, and ruins lives.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Richard Parr was a firefighter employed by Polk County Fire Rescue. He immediately resigned at the time of his arrest.

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