Winter Haven Public Safety Department – Can you identify this guy?? He burglarized an apartment and not only taking the victim’s firearm and cash, he took the victim’s French Bulldog named Stormii. On 7-8-24 at approximately 7:10 p.m., the male suspect arrived at the Winter Lake Apartments on Ave. O SW in a silver Toyota Corolla and walks to the back of one of the buildings. He tears the screen and forced the sliding window open and crawls inside. He is in for a short time and is seen leaving with the dog in his arms. He also took the victim’s firearm and cash. Anyone who recognizes this man or knows anything about the case is asked to call Detective Riva at 863-837-9312.
Our police officers, in collaboration with the Auburndale Fire Department, will participate in training that simulates responding to an active shooter threat. Our firearms instructors are leading our teams to learn and improve various tactics such as escorting medical personnel, point of wounding care for casualties, and extrication of casualties to a higher level of medical care. This training will be conducted at Auburndale High School.
This training is imperative for any situation where our officers need to neutralize a threat and firefighters need to respond quickly to provide lifesaving first aid.
All firearms featured have been set up to use non-lethal practice rounds.
He started his career studying law in law school, then helping draft laws as a legislative aide. Now Chad Davis wants to create laws by running for the State House of Representatives.
As someone who interned with think tanks then worked as a legislative aide for a local senator, he is intimately familiar with public policy and the legislative process, thus making him the most qualified to pass laws as a state representative.
“I am the only experienced person in this race in the legislative process,” he said. “I know what the job entails. I have done it from the inside. I understand how the process works and what mistakes to avoid….[If elected] I will be ready to work from day one.”
A fourth generation Winter Haven resident, Davis grew up in a family dedicated to serving the public and their community. His father was a judge for 32 years and the mayor of Winter Haven in 1978. His parents were involved in their local community and church, and Davis very much wanted to follow in their footsteps.
“I was inspired to help my community become better and grow,” he said. “My inspiration was to consider something in public service, having grown up in that environment.”
Initially, Davis attended seminary to become a Catholic priest. However, after studying philosophy, he decided to attend law school and earn his master’s degree in public policy. After working a couple summer internships for government and advocacy organizations in Washington D.C., he desired to seek a career outside the Beltway.
As someone with a law degree, former senator Kelli Stargel saw potential in hiring him as an aide with experience in law. So, he worked alongside her during her eight years as senator. His experience allowed him to learn the legislative process inside and out, providing him valuable experience very few new lawmakers have.
“During those eight years, I learned the legislative process well,” he said. “I learned the budget process very well, which is a complicated thing to figure out. With the District 48 seat now open, the timing is right for me to use my experience to serve our community.”
As a devout Catholic, he holds the deep conviction that all people are created in the image of God and thus possess individual dignity and worth. He also considers the family unit to be the building block of society. As such, he values limited government and family values.
If elected to his position, he expects to address issues as they arise. However, he is keenly interested in helping homeowners access affordable insurance and alleviate their financial burdens. After all, if the family is the building block of society, then owning a home is imperative for that family unit to thrive.
As someone who has worked extensively in Tallahassee, Davis would bring with him the necessary skills to collaborate and form relationships with lawmakers on all levels, thus helping expediate the legislative process.
“I expect it to be very collaborative going in as a freshman member,” he said. “The most important thing for me is to contribute as part of a team. By being prepared to work with my fellow Polk County legislative delegation, I think we will be very effective and successful.”
You know how old this movie makes me feel? The original Despicable Me film was released in 2010—one year after I graduated college. This franchise has been around for 14 years with four movies and two spin-off films starring its titular Minion characters.
Let me repeat that last part: the Despicable Me franchise has been around for 14 years. If you were a young kid when the first movie premiered, chances are you’re either starting college or preparing to graduate from it. And the first movie came out one year after I finished college. These movies are old enough to be nostalgic. That makes me feel older!
I say all that because, well, sometimes I wonder if I’m too old to watch or review these types of movies. Despicable Me. Trolls. Paw Patrol. All of these films are evidently made for very young children, not adults like myself. Clearly, I am not the target demographic.
So, sometimes I wonder if deriding these movies as “bad” is just me being a “grumpy old man” who isn’t “hip” with what “kids these days” are into. (Do young people still use words like “hip”? Or is that lingo considered “cringe”? Dang, I’m old!) In other words, do I not like these movies because they’re genuinely bad? Or is it because they weren’t made for me? Honestly, sometimes I feel the answer is the latter.
Sure, I can criticize how these movies have very simple formulaic plots with predictable story beats and trite overused tropes. But, then again, the only reason I can recognize that these plots and tropes are played out is because I’m old enough to have seen them play out in countless movies before. For me, it may be the same old same old, but for the very young children these films are marketed to, it’s probably their first time watching them.
As a young kid, I forced my parents to watch plenty of cheesy kids’ films, either by dragging them to the theaters or making them watch them on VHS on repeat. I’m old enough to have watched the Power Rangers and Pokémon movies…in theaters! I enjoyed watching them, but my folks probably didn’t. And annoyed me when they rolled their eyes at it. They thought those movies were stupid. And I resented them for that because I thought they were peak cinema. (Admittedly, I still think Pokémon: The First Movie was great!)
So, who am I to dismiss movies like Despicable Me 4? Wouldn’t that make me an “out of touch” adult? Clearly, children love the franchise enough for it to have spawned six movies. And the new movie recently broke box office records. After all, it was the highest-grossing film on 4th of July weekend, and both it and Inside Out 2 are the highest-grossing movies of the year. Of the year! Again, who am I to judge that?
And again, the Despicable Me franchise is old enough to be nostalgic. The young kids who watched the first movie are now old enough to graduate high school or even college. Just two years ago, when the second Minions movie premiered, there was a viral trend where groups of teenagers would watch the movie in theaters dressed in their fanciest clothes (and also throw bananas at the movie screen). I don’t know if these kids were doing all that “for the lulz” or if
they had a sincere love for these films to consider them “peak cinema.” Honestly, it would not surprise me if it was genuinely the latter.
So, no. I didn’t care for Despicable Me 4. And I say this as someone who loved the first movie and thought the second movie was pretty good. But even if I don’t like this movie, I genuinely don’t know if I can deride it as bad. It’s not made for me. And chances are, the only people who are watching this movie are the children who love the series or the people who grew up with it and have genuine nostalgic memories of it. It’s for them, not for me. So, I hope they enjoy it.
I write all that to say: I didn’t care for Despicable Me 4 and have nothing else to say about it.
I didn’t care for Despicable Me 4, and I have nothing else to say about it.
While many people are aware of the many species of wildlife one might encounter in our area, how would you feel about this guy walking past your door?
Chris Cornelius, a Lake Wales resident, shared this video last night on social media, and it is shared here with permission:
Provided by Chris Cornelius
His post with the video stated, “Had a visitor just now walk right across my sidewalk in my front yard about 6 feet from my front door.”
It appears to be a well-developed bear making its rounds in the Walk-in-Water area.
It’s not the first bear Cornelius has seen.
“We had another one a little smaller show up a couple of months ago,” Cornelius said. “This one showed up last night right before 8:30. My neighbor called me to let me know it was coming, and I snuck outside to watch. He ended up running off, but my doorbell camera caught the video.”
He estimates the size of the bear at 200 to 300 pounds.
“There’s lots of wildlife here,” Cornelius said. “ I’ve had 32 turkeys in my yard before. It’s a cool place to live. I love it out here.”
Ricardo Diaz, Jr. of Lake Wales passed away Friday, July 12, 2024, at Advent Health Lake Wales.
He was born on February 11, 1977, in Brooklyn, New York to Elba Muriel and the late Ricardo Diaz, Sr. Ricardo was a Service Technician and loved to cook and fish. He also loved classic cars, his children, and his grandchildren.
Ricardo is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Arroyo; daughter, Shanelle Muniz of Connecticut; sons, Reinaldo Muniz of Lake Wales, Ricardo Diaz II of Lake Wales, Ryan Diaz of New York, Raven Diaz of Lake Wales, Ramsey Diaz of Lake Wales, And Riley Diaz of Lake Wales; sisters Amarie Rodriguez of New York, Cimarie Muriel of New York, And Briana Loperena of New York; and brother Jaime Diaz of New York. Ricardo also leaves behind six grandchildren.
This morning, July 15, 2024 just before 10 am, a call came in for a traffic collision on Winter Lake Road in Lakeland. Six units were assigned to the scene:
– BC003
– EN028
– EN039
– MD034
– MD234
– MR039
Very few details have been officially released regarding the crash; however after talking to Polk County Fire Rescue and Polk County Sheriff’s Office, they were able to confirm patients transported, but no significant injuries occurred despite the severity of vehicle damage at the scene of the crash.
After Polk County Fire Rescue arrived on scene, they confirmed three patients were transported from the scene.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office stated that the crash was cleared just before 12:30 pm. Since there were no significant injuries, Traffic Unit was not summoned.
City of Winter Haven – Our After School Program registration will open up July 22nd, 2024, 7am – 11am!
This year’s After School Program will operate out of Rotary Park. We will pick up from Garner Elementary, Brigham Academy, Jewett Middle Academy Magnet, and Jewett School of the Arts.
For more information and registration: https://ow.ly/QHh150SyXPi
Lake Wales Police Department is participating in the 2024 Operation Southern Slow Down.
Beginning July 15, 2024, state and local law enforcement agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee will join forces for a week long high visibility enforcement and awareness campaign to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by getting motorists to obey speed limits on roadways from local to interstate highways.
This initiative is called “Operation Southern Slow Down” and will run from July 15 through July 20, 2024. Please slow down and drive safely.
Mark your calendar for our Inaugural Back to School Giveaway, Saturday August 3 from 10 am – 1 pm at Christ Community Church on Overlook Dr. All kinds of fun activities and a free hotdog combo meal. Haircuts, hygiene bags, school supplies and much more. (School-age child must be present for the giveaways)
