OBITUARY OF CECELIA THERESA CASTRO-HAYE

Cecelia Theresa Castro-Haye, 78, passed away on March 22, 2024, at the Select Specialty Hospital, Orlando, Florida.

Cecelia was born on March 18, 1946, in Kingston, Jamaica. Her life’s journey led her to the United States in the early 1960s, where she embarked on a lifelong mission of care and kindness. Settling in Bronx, New York, she shared her life with her husband, Aston, and her son, Christopher, who later left home to serve his country in the Marines.

Cecelia’s heart overflowed with empathy, guiding her to dedicate her days to the service of the sick. For almost four decades, she worked for Beth Israel Hospital and was unwavering in her commitment to healing and comfort. Patients were not just recipients of her care; they were embraced by her genuine love and concern. When she retired and hung up her scrubs she moved to Kissimmee, Florida, where she quickly found a home at Landmark Baptist Church. She continued to have a great impact on everyone around her, always looking for ways she could be of service, and feeding the homeless was one of her most recent passions.

Beyond her noble profession, Cecelia possessed a gift that added beauty to the lives of those around her. Cecelia possessed a smile that lit up any room and a laugh so infectious it had everyone joining in.

A master of crochet, her nimble fingers wove threads of love into intricate patterns, crafting blankets and christening outfits with meticulous care. Each stitch was a testament to her generosity and the joy she found in creating something special for others.

Her love for family and friends is evident to all who enter her home, adorned with walls that seem to breathe with photographic memories. Each corner tells a story, each frame a cherished moment captured in time. Despite the crowded walls, she always finds space for one more snapshot, ensuring that no memory is left behind. She had a vivid recollection of each photograph and the occasion, which she was always happy to share.

After every family gathering, we can anticipate the arrival of an envelope in the mail containing pictures from the latest celebration. She may not have fully embraced the digital age, preferring the nostalgia of printing photos at the pharmacy and mailing them to us, but her dedication to preserving memories is unwavering.

Her legacy extends far beyond her professional accomplishment, but in the way she lived her life, touching the hearts of all who knew her. She reminds us of the profound impact one person can have on the world simply by sharing their gifts and spreading love.

Though she may have retired from this world, Cecelia’s spirit continues into the hearts of all who were fortunate enough to know her. In every warm embrace, in every handmade treasure, her presence lives on, A beacon of light and love for generations to come.

Cecelia is survived by her devoted husband, Aston Haye, her loving son, Christopher Brown and his wife, Hollyn, cherished grandchildren, Christopher, Harper, and Ashanti. She leaves behind her siblings, Mildred (Joyce), Roy, Fay, and Pamela, along with Pamela’s husband, Derrick, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless others who were fortunate enough to have been touched by her kindness and grace throughout her lifetime.

VISITATION

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Landmark Baptist Church

2020 E Hinson Ave

Haines City, Florida

FUNERAL

12:00 pm

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Landmark Baptist Church

2020 E Hinson Ave

Haines City, Florida

INTERNMENT

1:00 pm

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Forest Hill Cemetery

Grace Ave

Haines City, Florida

OBITUARY OF CLARENCE W. SCHRADER, JR.

Clarence W. (“Skip”) Schrader Jr., born January 6, 1934, passed away on Thursday, March 21,2024. Skip was the son of the late Clarence W. and Anna (Zarske) Schrader, (the only son among 6 full and 2 half-sisters). In 1951, at the age of 17, he began a 22-year career in military service, enlisting in the US Navy. He was a Korean War Veteran, serving on minesweepers there and also as part of Mine Division 85, US Sixth Fleet. While stationed in Davisville RI, in support of the Seabees MCB, he met his first wife, the late Mary Ann (Dutra) Schrader. He finished his career at the Naval Reserve Training Station in Oakland (Pittsburgh), PA, achieving the rank of CPO E-7. Besides naval service, Skip pursued a career in Education, earning his MA in Education in 1982. He taught NJROTC as well as GED classes for enlisted personnel. For twelve years he ran the MWR and Navy Campus College Counseling Service programs at the Newport, RI, Naval Station. His legacy of service exhibited duty, commitment to excellence, a welcoming demeanor and excitement to help others along the path of personal improvement.

Skip’s greatest legacy was as an amazing husband, father and “Poppi” to his many grand and great-grandchildren. He was a devoted husband of 55 years to his first wife, the late Mary Ann (Dutra) Schrader and almost 5 years to the wife of his later years, Phyllis Schrader of Davenport, FL. He was also beloved by his children, Mary F. (Schrader) and James L. Dick of Saunderstown, RI and Joseph C. and Sandra J. (Callanan) Schrader of Lancaster, PA. He will also be immensely missed by his grandchildren Mary R. (Schrader) and Samuel Miller of Lancaster, PA; Joseph M and Ali (Bogardus) Schrader of Johnston, RI; and Alisa C. (Schrader) and Ryan Krause of Lancaster, PA. Finally, he was adored by his great-grandchildren – Levi, Wesley, Hannah and Alicen Miller of Lancaster, PA; Chloe Krause of Lancaster, PA; and Joseph C. Schrader of Johnston, RI. His family will be forever thankful for the time, energy, and love that he gave all of us; teaching us everything from throwing a ball, to riding a bike, to swimming, to commitment and duty to country and most of all to serving and placing our faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Funeral services will be held at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, Haines City, FL, on Wednesday, April 3rd at 11am, followed by a reception at the High Vista Community Center, Davenport, FL, at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to any of the following: 1) The Alzheimer’s Association -Central and Northern Florida Chapter at 14010 Roosevelt Blvd #709, Clearwater, FL 33762; 2) The American Cancer Society at PO Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741; or 3) The Community Christian Church of High Vista, Davenport, FL.

VISITATION

10:00 am – 11:00 am

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Oak Ridge Funeral Care

1001 Grace Ave

Haines City, Florida

FUNERAL SERVICE

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Oak Ridge Funeral Care

1001 Grace Ave

Haines City, Florida

Auburndale Police Department
ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY:

On February 19th, 2024, at approximately 12:50 A.M., a retail theft occurred at the RaceTrac located at 2227 Highway 92 West, Auburndale, FL.

The unknown suspect entered the store and approached the area of the fountain drinks, then he made his way down the candy isle while stuffing snickers bars in his jacket pocket.

The unknown suspect made no attempt to pay for the stolen items.

The suspect is described as a White Male, black hair with a full beard, last seen wearing a white camo jacket, tan shorts, white socks, and black shoes.

If you have any information, please contact Officer Nason at 863-965-5555 or by email to [email protected]

A traffic stop Wednesday morning, March 27, 2024, resulted in the arrest of a paraeducator, and three misdemeanor charges from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

The stop occurred at about 7:47 AM in the westbound lanes of US 92 East, in the vicinity of Saddle Creek Park Road, east of Lakeland, after a PCSO deputy noticed the license plate was obstructed.

After requesting a driver’s license, the deputy was told by the driver that she did not have her license with her. She then provided the deputy with a name and date-of-birth, both of which were found to be false.

The driver was confirmed to be 36-year old Kwanazza Lawrence of Winter Haven, and her driver’s license has been suspended since 2022.

As the deputy was attempting to arrest Ms. Lawrence, she got on the ground and began flailing her arms, resisting efforts to place handcuffs on her. 

“Teachers are role models for children, and they should lead by example, the overwhelming majority of them do all of the time-this one didn’t. They don’t put up with students lying, or throwing temper tantrums in the classroom. Yet that’s exactly how Ms. Lawrence behaved, and that’s just unacceptable.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Kwanazza Lawrence was arrested and taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center where she was charged with: Providing False Identification to Law Enforcement (M1), Resisting without Violence (M1), and Knowingly Driving While License Suspended/Revoked (M2).

Ms. Lawrence informed deputies that she is an Exceptional Student Education paraeducator at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School in Lakeland. Any inquiries regarding her employment should be directed to the Polk County Public Schools. 

City of Winter Haven, Florida

The City of Winter Haven’s Natural Resources Division is hosting a series of kayak ecotours on various lakes in our town. These tours will be short (within 3 hours) but information-packed trips where residents and visitors to our town can get out for a fun morning on the lakes & learn about lake health, wildlife, plant life, and other general lake ecology in the process!

2024 Tour Dates:

April 6th | Lake Howard

June 8th | Lake Daisy

August 10th | Lake Silver

October 5th | Lake Pansy

December 7th | Lake Lulu

There are several options for tickets – The City has a fleet of kayaks that can provide 4 single kayak seats and 6 double-kayak seats (for up to 12 people). However, we also welcome anyone with their own kayak to join us. Choose whichever ticket option suits you.

Tickets are now open for our next Kayak Tour on Lake Howard. Follow the link to sign up today and join us for a fun & fun-fact filled Saturday on the water! https://ow.ly/HRqG50R3b7a

Polk County Sheriff’s Office

The next Polk County Sheriff’s Office Women’s Basic Self Defense* and Personal Safety* class is scheduled for April 6th.

Join our Crime Prevention Unit for a couple of hours to learn some basic moves and information that could help keep you safe in a bad situation.

Our upcoming class is set for Saturday, April 6th at 10:00 a.m. – Noon, at the PCSO Sheriff’s Operation Center, 1891 Jim Keene Blvd near Winter Haven.

These classes are FREE of charge and designed for ladies 13 years and older. Those under 18 will need a parent present to sign a waiver at the start of class.

Each class is approximately one hour long unless more than 30 women attend. For every additional 10-15 females, 15 minutes are added to the time frame.

The class consists of lecture (approximately 15 minutes) and hands-on techniques (approximately 45 minutes). Attendees will demonstrate all of the techniques on a body opponent bag (B.O.B.) which we will supply.

NEXT CLASS:
Saturday, April 6th
PCSO Sheriff’s Operations Center
1891 Jim Keene Blvd, Winter Haven
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

If you wish to attend, please RSVP to
[email protected], and please include your name and phone number.

And check out our calendar
https://www.polksheriff.org/events
and our website
https://www.polksheriff.org/programs-services
for more information! You can also contact the team at
863-298-6677 or [email protected] with any questions.

*Personal Safety: Common sense safety tips are presented on how to avoid being the victim of a crime.

*Women’s Basic Self-Defense: Learn basic safety tips and techniques to enable women to escape less than desirable situations.

Polk County Public Schools News Release

Polk County Public Schools is moving forward with Controlled Open Enrollment (COE) for the 2024-25 school year.

The process of COE gives students throughout Florida an opportunity to attend a school other than their zoned school. During COE, families seeking additional choice options can apply for placement in any school in the state (excluding magnet schools) that has not reached capacity and still has seats available.

PCPS will begin accepting COE applications on Monday, April 1. Applications must be submitted online through Parent Portal. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 26.

Parents of students approved for transfers through COE will be notified by email once the enrollment period ends. For more information, visit polkschoolsfl.com/transfer or contact Pupil Accounting at 863-519-7600 (option 1).

Additional details:

• Applications for COE are selected via lottery system.
• Families with pending applications for magnet schools or career academies can still apply for COE. Accepting any invite (for a magnet school, career academy or COE) will cancel all other pending applications.
• Notifications for COE are tentatively scheduled to go out the first week of May. Families will receive an email, as well as a notification in Parent Portal.
• If your child is accepted to a school via COE, you are responsible for providing their transportation.

City of Auburndale, FL Government

Come by the Auburndale Library to pick up a free pair of solar eclipse glasses to watch the solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024! We will start handing these out on Monday, April 1st.

We have 50 solar eclipse glasses available which we will hand out 2 per family, first come first serve.

Please refer to this information below for solar eclipse information:

“The total solar eclipse will cross North America on Monday, April 8, 2024. Florida is not in the path of totality for the solar eclipse, so residents won’t see the moon completely block the sun. Residents will see a partial eclipse, though. Depending on what part of Florida you’re in, residents should start to see the eclipse beginning about 1:35 p.m. EDT, with the midpoint at 2:55 p.m.

NASA warns viewing any part of the sun with binoculars, a telescope or through a camera lens without a special-purpose solar filter or with your bare eyes without solar viewing glasses can result in severe eye injury.”

Auburndale Police Department
On 3/25/2024, APD responded to a report of a missing/runaway juvenile:

Isaiah Francisco Guzman-Tompkins
Date of Birth: October 18th, 2007.
Hispanic male
Isaiah is 5’11” and approximately 250lbs with black hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen at 225 Adams Street #A, Auburndale, FL.

Isaiah is presumed to be with his cousin Zion Luxamar
Hispanic Male
Date of Birth: April 26th, 2011.
Zion cut off his ankle bracelet on March 25th, 2024.

Isaiah is epileptic and it is unknown if he is taking his seizure medication.

If you have any information, please contact Detective Adair at 863-837-5115 or by email to [email protected]

City of Auburndale, FL Government

TRAFFIC DELAYS NOTICE:

Expect delays tomorrow, Wednesday, March 27th, and Thursday, March 28th, around the following intersections for paving projects:

• Lake Ariana Blvd./CR559
• Edmiston Ct./CR559
• Bolender Rd./CR559
• Harbor Way/CR559
• Owens Cir./CR559
• Colleen Ct./CR559
• Keith Ct./CR559
• Brighton Way/CR559
• Joshua Ct./CR559

Thank you and for any questions please call (863) 965-5511.