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Victory Ridge Academy Receives Grant from Florida’s Natural Growers Foundation

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Victory Ridge Academy Receives Grant from Florida’s Natural Growers Foundation

Victory Ridge Academy Receives Grant from Florida’s Natural Growers Foundation

    

Lake Wales, Florida – On October 23, 2018, Victory Ridge Academy was awarded funding from the Florida’s Natural Growers Foundation. All funding received from the Foundation will go toward VRA’s School Wide Behavior Management System, which utilizes a positive approach and aids in providing clear expectations and consistent consequences that help students to become more productive in their learning environment.

Victory Ridge Academy recognizes the importance of establishing the social culture and behavioral supports needed for all children to achieve both social and academic success. Through this program our mission is to provide a high level of quality student behavioral support so that educators will be able to maintain effective classroom environments with minimal distractions.

Both staff and students at Victory Ridge Academy would like to thank the Florida’s Natural Growers Foundation for their generous donation and continued support over the years.

Victory Ridge Academy is a Title 1, 501 (c) (3) non-profit public charter school that exclusively serves children and adolescents with special needs. Victory Ridge Academy is based on the belief of the administration, staff and Board of Trustees that early intervention is crucial to helping children and young adults with special needs to cultivate healthy lifestyles and grow into well-adjusted persons. It is the school’s belief that students need a safe, positive and nurturing learning environment to develop communication skills, social skills, academic and technical skills in order to build their self-confidence and become productive members of society.

For more information about Victory Ridge Academy, please visit the Academy’s website at www.victoryridge.org

First Frostproof Fall Street Dance Draws Hundreds

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First Frostproof Fall Street Dance Draws Hundreds

First Frostproof Fall Street Dance Draws Hundreds

by James Coulter

More than one hundred Frostproof residents strapped on their dancing shoes and danced the night away during the inaugural on Frostproof Fall Street Dance on Saturday evening.

Local residents and out-of-town visitors had the chance to enjoy a boot-scooting boogie out within the crisp fall air and underneath the ornate hanging street lights along East Wall Street.

While the event started around sunset at 6 p.m., the real festivities were kicked into high gear by 8 p.m. with live music performed by Cory Greenway and the Outta Hand Band.

When not burning away calories and working up an appetite dancing in the streets, guests could fill up on food served by local vendors and food trucks, including Watcha Got Cookin, Vintage Donuts, Just Ribs, and Cuppa Joe on the Go.

Ron and Sue Campbell, owners of Vintage Donuts, had previously visited the city during past events such as last year’s Christmas parade.

Having been invited to this inaugural street dance, they jumped at the opportunity to visit the quaint small town once again and serve their famous old-fashioned donuts.

When asked what they were anticipating most that evening, Sue replied that they were expecting, “great things and to have fun and bring you all great donuts.”

Jon Collette, owner of Gyros for Heroes, was also contacted to attend the event, and was also anticipating a great crowd willing to enjoy his great food, especially since it supports a great cause.

More than 10 percent of his proceeds go towards the Wounded Warriors Project. As a retired veteran for more than 42 years, he had always wanted to start a business to help his fellow veterans.

Having been in business for several years, the loyalty of his customers have been the key to his overall success.

“I was getting tired of mowing grass, [and] I wanted to do something different,” he said.

This was not the first time that the town of Frostproof danced underneath the night sky lit up with hanging street lights.

Earlier in September, the town celebrated it Centennial Celebration, which concluded with an outdoor street party along East Wall Street in front of the historic Ramon Theater.

Street lights had been strung up over the street for the special occasion, and have remained hanging there ever since.

With the outdoor street party proving especially popular among locals, many residents started asking when another event like that would be hosted, which helped inspire this event as a result, explained Leslie Brewer, a city council member, and one of the event organizers.

“After the Centennial, and the turnout from that, we wanted to utilize the lights and keep it going, to keep the spirit alive,” she said. “The people enjoyed the street dance, they were asking when they wanted to have it again.”

Within the very first hour of the evening, more than one hundred guests flocked the street to either dance or lounge about along the sidewalk and enjoy the music.

“It is a great turnout,” Brewer said. “We have a lot of people here early on even with the wind. It is going just as expected.”

Austin Gravely, a city council member and the main organizer for the event, loved the sense of community that evening, and felt it was a great opportunity to help give back and provide something entertaining for the city residents.

 

While he more than believes that improvements can be made for future events, with expectations of potentially making such an event a quarterly one, he felt that the event that evening was great enough as it was.

“It seems to be pretty picture perfect,” he said. “Can’t really get much better than this.”

Small, Diversified Farming Operation in Polk County

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Small, Diversified Farming Operation in Polk County

Small, Diversified Farming Operation in Polk County

By Allison Williams

Photos provided by Daniel Weisgarber

Sustainability is a huge part of Daniel Weisgarber’s life. Weisgarber is the Director of Operations for Radiant Farms, a local farm in Southeastern Polk County close to Frostproof. Growing up in Florida, Weisgarber has always had a love for the outdoors and paid close attention to environmental issues.

“For several years before starting the farm I had much interest in the sustainable agriculture movement,” Weisgarber said. “I started a garden at my house and read everything that I could get my hands on pertaining to organic farming and sustainable lifestyles. Finally in 2014 after a bit of research and saving, I found a piece of land and got to work!”

The farm sits on roughly six acres and the Weisgarber uses organic methods to grow.

“We grow vegetables and raise pastured poultry products including heritage breed turkeys, chickens and eggs,” Weisgarber said. “Animals raised on pasture have superior health, as well as superior flavor and nutritional value compared to conventionally raised animals.”

Instead of using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, the farm uses compost as a fertilizer as well as soil amendment.

Weisgarber finds what he does very rewarding.

“I have always loved the outdoors and wanted a rewarding job that allowed me to be creative and work with nature,” Weisgarber said. “Being able to work outdoors, solve problems creatively, and working with animals are all huge pluses.”

It’s an added bonus that he is able to eat what he refers to as the “freshest, healthiest food available.”

Also, who doesn’t love animals?

Radiant Farms offers organic pet treats called Wally’s Chicken Chews. These are dehydrated chicken feet and chicken necks.

“The chicken pieces come from chickens that we have processed on our farm,” Weisgarber said. “The birds were raised here, on pasture so they are high quality.”

These treats are so popular with the community that they struggle to keep them in stock.

“They are sold at our booth at the Farmers Market as well as at The Groom Room Of Dundee,” Weisgarber said. “We are hoping in the future to add other natural pet treats to our selection.”

Since opening, the farm has grown tremendously.

“We are constantly working on new projects and trying new items and methods to see what works the best for us,” Weisgarber said. “We originally started with about 2,500 square feet of planting space our first year, and have more than tripled that by this time. We have also added chickens, heritage breed turkeys and a few pigs.”

Weisgarber continues to work hard and also come up with new ideas to improve his farm. Hopes for the future include adding a hydroponic garden and aquaponics system.

“I feel that our strong commitment to quality, and our principals will help us to be successful in the future,” he said.

Show your support of the local community by visiting the farm at 8934 Rhoden Loop Road S in Fort Meade or stopping by the Lake Wales Downtown Farmers Market. This market takes place the second and fourth Saturday of every month.

To contact Radiant Farms:

Weisgarber is very open about the practices his farm uses to grow.

“I believe that folks should have a connection to the food that they eat, or at least the ability to actually see where and how it is produced,” he said. “We have an open door policy here and do not charge for tours. If you would like to come see the farm please do! Just contact us to arrange a time and we will be more than happy to show you around and answer any questions that you may have.”

Little New Orleans & Oysters Bar Winter Haven

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Little New Orleans & Oysters Bar Winter Haven

Little New Orleans & Oysters Bar Winter Haven

by James Coulter

If you’re looking for good old-fashioned Cajun cooking, you have two choices: either drive more than 600 miles to New Orleans, or drive only a few miles to Winter Haven’s newest restaurant.

Little New Orleans & Oysters Bar is the place to visit for anyone looking to have the “good times roll” with a little “south in their mouth”, as their mouths are sure to water over the diverse selection of seafood.

Whether you prefer crabs, crawfish, shrimp, or oysters, you’ll be sure to get an extra kick from your seafood, with most everything cooked and prepared Louisiana-style with Creole seasoning.

Eat a bowl of shrimp or crawfish the way the Cajuns love it by ripping off the heads and sucking out the succulent juices, enhanced and marinated with spices and seasoning.

Celebrate Mardi Gras anytime on your plate with good old-fashioned New Orleans dishes ranging from gumbo, jambalaya, or po-boy sandwiches.

Not a fan of Louisiana cooking? No problem, son! You can prepare your taste buds up with a simple chicken and rice or some crab legs, corn, and potatoes.

Once you get used to the cooking, you can start working your way up with some authentic meals, whether you’d prefer gumbo or fresh shrimp and oysters.

“People here eat a lot of seafood, but when it comes to the seasoning, we serve the Louisiana New Orleans style, [so] it is totally different,” explained co-owner Johnny Nguyen.

Originally from Vietnam, his family moved to New Orleans in 1979 as refugees following the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

Living in their new home in New Orleans, he and his family learned to appreciate the local food, especially with the Cajun-style cooking with the Creole seasoning.

Later, they moved to Orlando where his family shared this style of cooking by opening a restaurant that served Po Boy sandwiches and other Cajun meals.

They even owned their own fishing boat which they would frequently take out to go harvesting for oysters and shrimp.

Johnny had since opened five resturaunts in Orlando, and with his parents now living in Winter Haven, he wanted to open up a new place in their new hometown.

“The restaurant is my passion,” he said. “I want to cater the Cajun food and fresh oyster bar to the people. I want to see the people enjoy crab legs and the official jambalaya, gumbo, all the fried fish made southern-style.”

Having owned and operated several resturants over in the Orlando area, his style of cooking had already attracted several fans, both locals and even several tourists.

One Yelp reviewer expressed his love for the Orlando eatery and its seafood selection, including the oysters, shrimp, and craw daddies.

“If there’s any place that brings joy to my heart, it is this place,” he wrote. “I enjoy eating good food and getting good friendly service with a smile. I got all of the above here.”

So much he loved the food that he and his partner even plan on sharing their most special moments there.

“My lover and I love it here,” he continued. “We would like to hold our nuptial here. We would love to have our first born here. I hope they do weddings and baby showers.”

Since opening in their new location in Winter Haven, the restaurant has already received rave reviews from locals who are awe-struck by the New Orleans-style food and service.

“We stopped by this new place for lunch today,” One Facebook reviewer wrote. “Friendly folks, good service, and wonderful gumbo and po-boys! We’ll definitely be back.”

Johnny selected their location at the corner of Cypress Grove Plaza in between Just Move Gym and Dollar General, which had previously served as the former location for Island Bar and Grill.

“I think it is a great location,” he said. “It is a good hangout place for the locals. We have the liquor bar and live entertainment to entertain people on the weekend.”

He hopes that business will continue to boom, especially with local families. While the place offers a full liquor bar, he assures that his eatery is a family place where every customer of every age can enjoy Cajun cuisine.

“We really want to bring our art to Winter Haven,” he said. “I think it is a very nice place, a very beautiful place…We have already fallen in love with the people.”

Little New Orleans is located at 5654 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven, FL 33884. For more information, visit their website at: https://www.neworleanswinterhaven.com/, or visit their: https://www.facebook.com/littleneworleanwinterhaven/

Mother Charged with DUI and Five Counts of Child Neglect After Crashing Her Car With Her Small Children Unrestrained

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Mother Charged with DUI and Five Counts of Child Neglect After Crashing Her Car With Her Small Children Unrestrained

A Winter Haven mother is behind bars charged with DUI and five counts of Negligent Child Abuse after she was involved in a traffic crash with her young children in the car – unrestrained.

On 11-4-18 at approximately 6:11 p.m., officers responded to a traffic crash at 6th St NW and Ave. L NW in Winter Haven. Twenty-eight year-old Shawana Jones, (DOB 2-14-90) was driving one of three vehicles involved in the crash. She told officers that traffic in front of her suddenly stopped and she couldn’t stop in time.

When officers started interviewing Jones, they noticed the smell of alcohol and performed field sobriety tests, which she failed. When the breathalyzer test was conducted, she blew a .177, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

Officers also inquired why four of the five young children, ranging in age of four months to five years old were unrestrained in the vehicle. She told officers that she was working with a local shelter to obtain child restraint devices; however she had only obtained one. All five children were taken by ambulance to Winter Haven Hospital with minor injuries. Jones was not injured and did not require medical treatment.

When the children were medically cleared, they were all turned over to the Department of Children and Families since no legal guardian could be located at the time. Jones was booked into the Polk County Jail on Driving Under the Influence (M1) and five counts of Negligent Child Abuse (F2). She was also issued six traffic citations to include four for the children not being properly restrained, careless driving and failure to provide proof of registration.

“There is absolutely no excuse for someone, especially a mother, to put the lives of children in danger like Jones did,” said Public Safety Director Charlie Bird. “It’s bad enough when someone chooses to drive under the influence, but involving five very small children and not having proper restraints is inexcusable. We are grateful that the children only received minor injuries and nobody else was hurt.”

36 Yr Old Wahneta Man Struck & Killed Sunday Night

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36 Yr Old Wahneta Man Struck & Killed Sunday Night

On Sunday, November 5, 2018, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to Rifle Range Road near 5th Street East in Wahneta (Winter Haven) after a pedestrian was struck by a pick-up truck.

The call was received at about 6:09 P.M.

36-year-old Salvador Manuel, of Wahneta, was struck by a white 1997 Toyota pick-up truck driven by 71-year-old Vincent Stevens, of Bartow.

Manuel was transported to Bartow Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

According to the preliminary investigation, Stevens had been travelling north on Rifle Range Road when he struck Manuel, who was walking in the roadway. Stevens told investigators that it was dark outside, and he did not see Manuel on the road.

The accident remains under investigation.

21 Yr Old Lake Wales Man Seriously Injured Saturday In Accident At SR 60 & Buckmoore

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21 Yr Old Lake Wales Man Seriously Injured Saturday In Accident At SR 60 & Buckmoore

Lake Wales Police Department Press Release

On November 3, 2018 at approximately 4:15 P.M., two vehicles collided in the intersection of State Road 60 and Buck Moore Rd.

Kathryn F Henderson, 45 of Lake Wales, was west-bound on State Road 60 driving a gray Dodge pick-up truck. Miss Henderson was in the inside lane as she approached the intersection at Buck Moore Road.

Ryan McLeod-Fehringer, 21 Of Lake Wales, was east-bound on State Road 60 driving a black Nissan Altima. Ryan was in the left turn lane as he approached the intersection to make the turn to go north on Buck Moore Rd.

Ryan continued through the intersection to make his turn and drove directly into the path of Henderson’s pick-up resulting in a collision. This caused the pick-up to spin completely around facing east in the north crosswalk; and for the Nissan to come to rest against the power poles on the northwest corner facing westbound.

The collision caused minor injuries to Henderson who was transported to Lake Wales Hospital.

Ryan McLeod-Fehringer sustained more serious injuries and was transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. His status is stable, but serious condition.

Roadway was blocked for two hours while scene was cleared and processed, but is back open at this time.

Lake Eva Fall Festival Draws In Thousands

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Lake Eva Fall Festival Draws In Thousands

Lake Eva Fall Festival Draws In Thousands

by James Coulter

Thousands of children and their guardians flocked to Lake Eva Park in Haines City for a free night of fun and games during the city’s annual fall festival.

The Lake Eva Fall Festival drew in more than eight thousand attendees for a night of pre-Halloween festivities with games, bounce houses, and other activities, according to Rev. David Myers of Northridge Church.

Throughout the park that evening were more than a dozen bounce houses, inflatable obstacle courses, and other inflatable activities allowing children the opportunity to bounce about in a safe enviroment.

When not busy bouncing, children could choose from dozens of carnival games, from catch the fish to ring toss, allowing them the opportunity to win free candy days before Halloween.

Parked along the path lining the shore of Lake Eva were several food trucks and vendors from local eateries where children and their parents could purchase something to eat.

Aside from the food and drinks served within these food trucks, everything else at the festival that evening was free of charge.

Northridge Church has been hosting a similar event at their church for the past 15 years, and had been helping the city host this event for the past five years.

Rev. Myers considers this event a great opportunity for his congregation to help give back to the community, and through doing so, sharing their faith in Christ.

“It is a great opportunity for us as a church family to be able to connect with our community, and that is really what we do what we do,” he said.

The turnout for this year’s event especially exceeded expectations, with most estimates tallying up the attendance to more than eight thousand guests.

This level of success this year, as well as within the past five years, has mostly been due to the church’s commitment to offering a night of free fun that benefits the community while helping them to express their religious faith.

“That is what we hope that they will take away,” Rev. Myers said. “That they understand that there is a church that cares. We have provided this free of charge for them because we want them to know that we care and we want to help them in their spiritual journey if they have that need.”

Helping assist with the event that evening were several local organizations, all of which set up booths at the event to help share their services to the community.

The One Way Center, a local non-profit faith-based organization that assists families in need, has been attending the event for the past four years to help promote their crisis and mentoring programs.

When asked what keeps them coming back time and again each and every year, Executive Director LeAnn Pierce simply replied, “Because we love Jesus.”

“We want to meet people, talk with people, let them know what we do,” she said.

Rev. Sarah Burton of Church of The Nazarene attended the event for the first time ever to share her church’s 12-step-program, Celebrate Recovery.

With this being her first time, this event managed to exceed her initial expectations, with many potential clients receiving information about their services.

“We plan on coming out again,” she said. “We just want to spread the news that in Christ there is freedom from any affliction, and we want to give children some candy.”

How Quickly Life can Change

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How Quickly Life can Change

How Quickly Life can Change

By Allison Williams

Photos provided by Christine Clark

“Sometimes things are thrown in your path that completely change your life in an instant.”

This was the case for Christine and Jason Clark on October 7. They received a phone call no parent would ever want to hear; their son was on the way to Celebration Hospital.

Brenden Clark was driving down I4 when suddenly, according to a witness, he started slowing down, weaving in the lane, then cutting across all lanes of traffic into the grassy median. When the witness pulled over to see what was going on, he found Brenden inside his car seizing.

Brenden was transported to the hospital, where he underwent several tests, including a CT scan, chest x-ray and EKGs (electrocardiogram). The doctors informed the Clark family that they found out why Brenden was seizing. He was then sent to Florida Hospital South for the neuro team to take over.

“I heard the words the doc stated but I couldn’t wrap my head around it,” Christine said. “I asked him to repeat it again and he did – very patiently – and then showed us the spot on his brain that they were concerned with.”

Brenden had a tumor on his brain and was going to require surgery to remove the mass.

The surgery took place on October 11. The surgeon could not conclude if the tumor was cancer or not, so the next stop was sending it off to a pathologist for further review.

The waiting game continued. Brenden was released from the hospital on October 14, as his family still waited for the results.

The call finally came on October 17. Brenden’s tumor was benign. It is a pilocytic astrocytoma. The good news is there are worse tumors out there that he doesn’t have, but the bad news is the surgeon requested a second surgery to remove any remaining tumor cells.

Brenden went in for surgery once again on October 23 and all went well.

Christine reflected on all that her family went through:

“The past 19 days have been filled with fear from the first call, relief that he wasn’t injured, thankful a stranger cared enough to pull over and stay with him until help arrived, shock from the moment of diagnosis, sadness for what changes may arise for his future, grateful I have another day with him, fear of watching your child roll into surgery on his brain, relief that he made it out and it was removed successfully, frustrated that we were told he may have to go back to surgery because…it wasn’t all removed, anxious to tell your kid he can’t drive for 6 months, proud to watch your kid find and share the happiness in life regardless of the situation, nervously waiting for results from pathology to come back, impatiently waiting for what seemed like days for pathology to come back, joyful to hear the tumor is grade 1 AND benign, sad to watch my kiddo struggle with the thought of going back for surgery, worried when the surgeon reminds you this surgery is more intense and invasive than the last bringing the risks higher than the previous surgery, thankful to have so many family, church family and friends praying for Bren and all of us during this time, blessed to know that even during all these emotions and uncertainty God continued to give us peace that everything was going to be fine. My heart and mind are TIRED!!”

Christine closed out her story wondering who the gracious person who stopped to help her son is.

“We really want to thank whomever it is and encourage others to help when they see things like this!

 

Two Teens Injured In Single-Vehicle Crash in Poinciana

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Two Teens Injured In Single-Vehicle Crash in Poinciana

Two Teens Injured In Single-Vehicle Crash in Poinciana

On Thursday, November 1, 2018, at 5:08 A.M., the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to a single-vehicle crash on Marigold Avenue at Sheldrake Road in Poinciana, and found both occupants of the 2002 Acura sedan were injured.

 The driver was identified as 19-year-old Ashsean Bingham of 4780 NW 24th Ct., Lauderdale Lakes, and his passenger was 18-year-old Yamile Salcedo of 1615 Redfin Drive, Kissimmee.

 According to the preliminary investigation, Bingham’s Acura was traveling south on Marigold Avenue when it went off of the right side of the road and down an embankment.  The car then went airborne over a canal and struck an oak tree.

 Bingham was ejected from the car after impact with the tree. Salcedo remained entrapped, and required extrication. Both were flown to Osceola Regional Medical Center as trauma alerts.

 Bingham suffered blunt force trauma to the body and head, and is in critical condition.

 Salcedo is in good condition after suffering a broken wrist, bruises, and abrasions.

The accident remains under investigation.

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