Earlier today the Haines City Fire Department and Polk County Fire rescue responded to a reported child pedestrian versus vehicle collision at the intersection of Chandler Drive and US 17/92. A child was hit while exiting the school bus.
Here is the original report along with the initial report from Haines City Police Department: : At approximately 4:16 PM today, units from Haines City Fire Department, and Polk County Fire Rescue, were dispatched to the intersection of Chandler Drive and US 17/92 following reports of a pedestrian versus vehicle collision. A caller had reported that a child, disembarking from a school bus, had been struck by a vehicle.
Upon arrival, emergency responders assessed the scene. Fortunately, there were no major injuries observed. The driver is being looked at now and as a precautionary, the child is being transported to a local hospital at this time.
: Units are on scene of a significant vehicle accident at CHANLER DR & HWY 17 92. There is road blockage causing traffic to back up.
Broster Joe Schroeder Jr. passed away on April 12, 2024. He was born in Stuart, FL on September 1, 1933 and was the only son of the late Broster Joe and Olive Schroeder of North Palm Beach, FL. Joe Married Janice F. Bozeman who he met at Winter Haven High School in 1952. They were married in the Base Chapel at Perrin AFB, TX in 1957. Joe grew up in Clewiston, FL and attended school there through the 11th grade.
The family moved to Winter Haven, FL for work at Bartow AB. Upon completing High School Joe attended the University of Florida for one year then entered the United States Air Force where he became a pilot. He flew Jet Fighters for most of his career. He and Jan had a three-year tour in Germany and a two-year tour in SE Asia. Joe Flew 122 combat missions in Viet Nam. He was awarded five Air Medals and the Distinguished Service Cross. Joe’s last assignment was flying the KC-135 air refueling aircraft.
Joe retired as a Lt. Col on September 1, 1973. After leaving the Air Force, he and Jan lived in Spokane, WA. where he built an accounting business. In 1985 they moved back to Winter Haven and ran the accounting business there until 2015. Joe was an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Winter Haven. Joe and Jan were members of Calvary Baptist Church.
In Loving Memory of Broster Joe Schroeder Jr.
A memorial service is being held on April 28th at 4 pm at Ott-Laughlin Funeral Home in Winter Haven. Joe and Jan will be laid to rest at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.
A hectic scene at Gessler Clinic in Winter Haven today as staff and patients were evacuated for a little more than two hours today.
On 4-17-24 just after noon, the Winter Haven Fire Department responded to Gessler Clinic (635 1st St N, Winter Haven) to reports of smoke and haze inside of the building. The building was evacuated and firefighters searched the entire campus and did not locate any smoke or haze inside of the building. As the building was cleared to have staff and patients return inside, it was discovered that a voicemail was left on a phone in the administration area with the caller claiming to threaten to blow the building up. Immediately, the building was evacuated again.
Winter Haven Police arrived on scene and conducted an initial sweep of the building. A Bomb Detection K-9 from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrived and conducted a thorough search of the building locating nothing suspicious.
The building was turned back over to Gessler Clinic Staff at approximately 2:15 p.m. and they were able to re-enter the building.
Winter Haven Detectives are currently investigating the origin of the call.
QuickBooks is the ideal business accounting software for small to mid-sized business owners. Here are 10 reasons why you should be using QuickBooks.
You save time on bookkeeping and paperwork because many of simple bookkeeping tasks are handled automatically making it easier to run your business.
You can easily generate the reports with the information you need, so you always know where your business stands. You instantly know whether you’re making money and whether your business is healthy.
You save money because QuickBooks is so affordable. You can use it to run a $5 million or a $25 million business for a few hundred bucks. Accounting software is truly one of the great bargains in business.
Your business can grow with QuickBooks. QuickBooks will help you design a business plan to use when trying to secure a small business loan or line of credit or to plan for the future. QuickBooks will create a projected balance sheet, profit and loss statement and statement of cash flows in the format recommended by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
You can customize QuickBooks to work the way you want. QuickBooks is specifically designed to be flexible and adaptable to a wide range of small businesses. To broaden its appeal, QuickBooks has recently added customized accounting packages for contractors, retailers, health care professionals, and non-profit organizations.
You can rest assured knowing that QuickBooks is a stable, reliable and proven product. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses throughout the world have chosen QuickBooks as their accounting software. You can’t go wrong with a software program with such an extensive installed user base.
You save typing time and errors by sharing data between QuickBooks and over 100 business applications. You can even share data with popular programs, such as Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook and ACT.
You will get paid faster with QuickBooks online payments. E-mail an invoice or statement and with QuickBooks Online Billing, your customer can easily pay you with a credit card or bank account transfer. No more waiting for the check in the mail!
You can easily accept credit cards. With QuickBooks Merchant Account Service, you can accept credit cards with ease. QuickBooks Merchant Account Service is the only credit card acceptance service integrated with QuickBooks software, which means you don’t have to enter the same data twice. No additional software or hardware is required. Your customers can use Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.
You can pay your bills and handle your banking online. Setup your current bank account in QuickBooks, and you’re ready to pay your bills without licking envelopes, sticking stamps, or printing paper checks. Just write checks in QuickBooks as you normally would, then click a button and your participating bank does the rest! Pay anyone in the U.S. from your credit card companies to your pizza service. Online banking also lets you download your monthly statement from your participating bank directly into QuickBooks for easier reconciliation.
A car burglary occurred on April 12th at around 1:30 PM, while the vehicle was parked at Simmers Young Park.
An unknown person smashed a car window and stole a purse that had been sitting on the front floorboard.
Later that day, one of the victim’s stolen credit cards was attempted to be used for a purchase at the Dollar General Store on Recker Highway in Winter Haven.
Security video from the store yielded these images that show the suspect who attempted to fraudulently use the stolen credit card.
PCSO detectives are hoping to identify this man.
If you have any information on the identity of this suspect, please contact Detective Quattlebaum at (863)297-1107 or [email protected].
If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Heartland Crime Stoppers in one of four ways:
CALL 1-888-400 TIPS (8477)
DIAL **TIPS from your cell phone
VISIT www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com and click on “Submit A Tip,”
DOWNLOAD the free “P3tips” app on your smartphone or tablet.
This is 26-year old Brian Tynes-Clinch from Nashville, Tennessee.
On April 14th, at about 2:30 AM, in the area of Heron Place and Cypress Gardens Road in Winter Haven, Brian entered a residential garage via a side door…uninvited.
He then attempted to enter the main part of the house, but was stopped in his tracks by the homeowner’s alarm system—a growling dog.
The homeowner was awaked by the dog’s growling, so he got out of bed and checked on the situation. That’s when he saw Brian standing in the laundry room.
The homeowner yelled at Brian to get out, but Brian did not obey, so the homeowner physically pushed Brian out of the house and immediately reported the burglary.
A responding PCSO deputy got their quickly and saw Brian about two blocks away from the crime scene, and ordered Brian to stop. Again, Brian did not obey.
The deputy found Brian hiding behind a wall and took him into custody.
Brian Tynes-Clinch was taken to the Polk Pokey and charged with: Burglary of an Occupied Dwelling, Resisting, and Loitering & Prowling.
On March 1st, 2024, at about 4:20 P.M., a theft occurred at the Family Dollar Store at 220 Magnolia Ave., Auburndale, FL. As the victim entered the store a staff member advised him to leave his backpack by the front door, which he did. After the victim finished shopping and went to get his backpack, he noticed it was missing.
After reviewing video surveillance at the Family Dollar, the unknown suspect was in the store shopping and when he went to leave, he picked up the victim’s backpack and set it outside the front entrance. He then went back into the store to the register area and then exited the store again. While leaving, the unknown suspect grabs the backpack that he had placed outside the front entrance and leaves on foot towards the west side of the store.
The bag was a black Under Armour backpack. Inside the backpack were the following items: pink basketball Puma shoes, grey and purple Nike Air Max, Phantom Men’s cologne, and a grey HP laptop ProBook.
SUSPECT – is described as a White Male with shoulder length curly brown hair, last seen wearing a black long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, black/white tennis shoes, and a red baseball cap with SRIXON on front in white. The suspect also has tattoos on his back.
If you have any information, please contact Officer Maldonado at 863-965-5555 or by email to [email protected]
A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY: WINTER HAVEN PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT EARNS NATIONAL ACCREDITATION
Winter Haven, FL
The City of Winter Haven maintains a strong focus on achieving accreditation throughout various service-line departments. “This designation is not easily obtained, and it demonstrates a staff who is aligned, innovative, and dedicated to delivering exceptional services through best practices,” says T. Michael Stavres, City Manager. “Multiple other departments are actively pursuing additional designations.”
Winter Haven Public Works Department Becomes 1st in the County to Earn Accreditation
The Winter Haven Public Works Department also recently received full accreditation from their governing body, the American Public Works Association (APWA) for the first time. This accreditation formally verifies and recognizes that the agency is in full compliance with the recommended management practices set forth in APWA’s Public Works Management Practices Manual. The purpose of accreditation is to promote excellence in the operation and management of a public works agency, its programs, and its employees.
Open to all governmental agencies with responsibilities for public works functions, initial accreditation from APWA spans a four-year period, during which time semi-annual updates will be required to demonstrate continuing compliance. After that time, there is a re-accreditation process that builds on the original accreditation, encouraging continuous improvement and compliance with newly identified practices.
“For the past several years, the Public Works Department has worked to document and refine its practices, policies, and procedures to ensure that it consistently delivers exceptional service to the City of Winter Haven,” says Brittany Hart, Public Works Director. “This accreditation is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire team. Achieving accreditation underscores the department’s commitment to upholding the highest professionalism, efficiency, and accountability standards. It also serves as a benchmark for future growth and improvement, guiding the department in its ongoing mission to enhance the quality of life for all residents. I am incredibly proud of our team’s accomplishments and am confident that this achievement will propel the department to even greater heights in the years to come as we continue to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of our community.”
APWA’s accreditation process is designed to assist the agency in the continuous improvement of operations and management, and in providing a valid and objective evaluation of agency programs as a service to the public and the profession.
While this is a nationally recognized accreditation program, there are only a handful of accredited public works agencies within the state of Florida. The Winter Haven Public Works Department joins other Florida accredited public works agencies in the cities of Aventura, Coral Springs, Fort Myers, Gainesville, Lakeland, Largo, Miami Beach, North Port, Pinellas Park, Port St. Lucie, Saint Petersburg, and Wellington, as well as several counties.
Mrs. Imelda Muriel Dickerson, 91, a resident of Auburndale passed away Sat. April 6, 2024 at her home with family. Mrs. Dickerson was born Sept. 19, 1932 in Eagle Lake, FL. to William Gasque and Deseree Pearl (Baker) Foster. She was a lifetime Polk Co. resident and member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Auburndale. Imelda was a retired Environmental Specialist in the Citrus Industry. She enjoyed cooking, reading, traveling, entertaining and spending time with her family. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband – Melvin Eugene Dickerson; grandson – Andrew Dickerson; brother – Daniel Foster and 2 sisters – Peggy Mas and Linda Stettler. Imelda is survived by her loving family, 2 sons – Alvin E. (Anita) Dickerson and Melvin Douglas Dickerson (Julie Pearson); daughter – Marlene McSwain; 3 sisters – Archelene Daigle, Martha Vinyard and Rhonda Smiley Mote; 13 grch; 25 gt grch; 2 gt gt grch and many nieces& nephews. Memorial service will be 2pm Sat. May 4th at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 342 Bolender Rd, Auburndale. Arrangements By: Steele’s Family Funeral Services
Mr. Richard Kevin Simo, age 87 a resident of Winter Haven passed away Thursday, April 4, 2024, at Winter Haven Hospital surrounded by family. Mr. Simo was born February 12, 1937, in Eagle Lake, Florida to Peter Joseph and Evelyn (Lowe) Simo. Richard was a lifetime Polk County resident and graduated from Winter Haven High School. He was a United States Air Force Veteran. Richard retired after 35 years of service from USS Agri-Chemicals as a Diesel Mechanic & Drag Line Operator. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time with his family. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandson – Stephen Simo. Richard is survived by his loving family, wife of 66 years – Sybil Simo; 2 sons – Greg (Terri) Simo and Dennis Simo; daughter – Susan (Ben) Newmyer; brother- Michael (Ann) Simo; granddaughter – Tiffany and 3 great grandchildren – Daniel, Destiny & Trevor. A celebration of Richard’s life will be held at a later date. Arrangements By: Steele’s Family Funeral Services.
