LAKELAND, FL (March 24, 2025) – On Thursday, March 20, 2025, a deceased male was located in a rural area of unincorporated Polk County, just east of where Mr. Keen’s vehicle was found in the 2800 block of County Line Road in Plant City. The male was in a state of decomposition; however, no trauma or injuries were observed. On March 24, 2025, the decedent was positively identified as Howard Keen. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office will be overseeing the death investigation.
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LAKELAND, FL (March 18, 2025) – On March 7, 2025, the Lakeland Police Department received a missing person’s report for Howard Keen, age 58. Mr. Keen left a family member’s residence in Lakeland the morning of February 24, 2025, and was last seen on February 25, 2025, at a residence in the 2800 block of County Line Road in Plant Citywhere he left his vehicle.
Mr. Keen is around 5’9” tall and weighs 150 lbs. He was last seen wearing a blue polo shirt and black shorts. In addition to the Plant City area, he is known to frequent the Saddle Creek Campground on Morgan Combee Road.
If you have any information which can help locate Howard Keen, please contact the Lakeland Police Department at 863-834-6966, Detective Sharrett at 863.834-6964 / [email protected] or Investigative Aide Williams at 863.834.8974/[email protected]
On March 18, 2025, at approximately 11:40 a.m., James Willard Garland of Polk City, Florida, was arrested after allegedly offering to commit a lewd act on an undercover detective at Saddle Creek Park in Polk County. The arrest followed an undercover operation responding to reports of public lewd activity.
Garland allegedly engaged in conversation with the detective and agreed to perform oral sex. When the detective revealed his identity, Garland was taken into custody. He later claimed he had stopped at the park to urinate before visiting a cattle auction. A trespass warning was issued, barring him from all Polk County parks.
WARNING DISTURBING CONTENT
The following is a long exerpt from the Lakeland Police affidavit and specifically Detective Heather Benthal (It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. These facts are up for question and everyone is entitled to question the validity of facts by law enforcement in a court of law. The Daily Ridge does not rewrite these facts as some meanings or interpretations could be in error and change context. We hope readers appreciate being able to read the information and come to their own understanding and conclusions) :
“On March 18th, 2025, at approximately 1140 hours, the defendant, James Willard Garland, did offer to commit a lewd act on undercover detective REDACTED, hereinafter referred to as the UC detective). An undercover operation was conducted in respouse to reports of lewd activity occurring in the public’s plain view in the area of Saddle Creek Park, Polk County, FL. A trespass warning was issued to the defendant for all Polk County parks.
The UC detective stated he was sitting in his vehicle within Saddle Creek Park when the defendant, later identified as James Williard Garland, pulled up in his vehicle. Both the UC detective and the defendant exited their vehicles. The UC detective advised he engaged in conversation with the defendant about the park and the weather. The UC detective asked the defendant what he liked to do, to which the defendant replied that he liked to do a lot of things, such as meet people. The UC detective asked the defendant if he liked to “give or get”, to which the defendant replied that he liked blow jobs. The UC detective asked the defendant if he wanted to “blow” him, referring to oral sex, to which he replied “yes”. The UC detective asked if the defendant would “blow” him after, to which the defendant replied it was dependent on his hygiene. The UC detective identified himself as an undercover detective with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and placed the defendant into custody.
Refer to REDACTED supplemental report for further details.
At approximately 1155 hours, your affiant read the defendant his Miranda rights from an agency issued Miranda warning card. The defendant advised he understood his rights. The defendant advised he stopped by Saddle Creek to urinate before visiting the cattle auction. The defendant stated both he and the UC detective exited their vehicles. The defendant advised he was approached by the UC detective who asked him what he liked to do. The defendant stated he was unable to recall much of the conversation, but recalled that the UC detective asked him “if I give you a blow job, will you give me a blow job?”.
Based on the aforementioned facts, the defendant was arrested for offer/commit/engage in lewdness. The defendant was transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center (SPC) without incident.”
A former Polk County deputy, who had been employed as a trainee and deputy Sheriff for less than 11 months, was arrested by the agency on Thursday, March 20, 2025 after an investigation showed that he had signed a victim’s name to a document in an official report.
21-year old Jake Germak was booked-in to the Polk County Jail and charged with: Forgery (F3), Uttering a False Instrument (F3), Use ID of another Person without Consent (F3), and Public Servant Altering Official Document (F3).
Germak resigned at the time of his arrest; had he not resigned, his employment would have been terminated by the PCSO.
“Public servants must be held to a higher standard, and dishonesty will not be tolerated. Germak’s conduct was unethical and criminal, and we are making sure he will be held responsible.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
Germak investigated a theft complaint on March 17, 2025, but failed to get the victim to sign a document as required.
Later that night, Germak attempted to call and text the victim. In the first text, Germak informed the victim that he needed her to fill out a form that had to be included in the report.
In Germak’s second text to the victim, he told her that he “got it handled.”
On March 18th, when detectives began the follow-up investigation of the theft, they made contact with the victim who mentioned the text messages from Germak. She also said that she spoke with Germak after receiving the texts, and he had mentioned to her that she had signed the documents, which she knew she did not do.
Detectives obtained the document that Germak had turned in with his report, and the victim’s signature did not match her signatures on other official documents.
When PCSO detectives confronted Germak about the discrepancy, he admitted to signing the victim’s name to the document.
Jake Germak was hired by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on April 29, 2024.
Warner Bros. has been doing the Looney Tunes dirty lately. Last year, they shelved the movie Coyote Vs Acme as a tax write-off, even though the movie had been completed. And as of this month, Max has removed all the classic Looney Tunes cartoons from its streaming service.
The Day The Earth Blew Up nearly suffered a similar fate as Coyote vs Acme. Originally, this animated Looney Tunes movie was going to be released on Max and Cartoon Network. However, in 2022, the movie was shelved.
The film, now picked up and distributed through Ketchup Entertainment, has since premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year, and had received a limited theatrical release before expanding wide as of this month.
But was this animated Looney Tunes movie worth retrieving from the ACME vault? Or does it deserve to be thrown into the Warner Water Tower along with the Animaniacs?
The Day The Earth Blew Up stars Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. After a meteor crashes through their roof, the cartoon duo need to get jobs to pay for the repairs or else risk losing their home. However, the meteor contains a mysterious green goop that’s being infused in chewing gum and turning people into mindless zombies. Can the duck and pig work together to stop this bad sci-fi movie premise?
Do you love the Looney Tunes? Do you love retro sci-fi B-movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still or The Blob? Do you just love animated movies in general and wish not every single one was computer animated? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you will love this movie.
The Day The Earth Blew Up is pure Looney Tunes goodness. The movie was animated by the same team that created the New Looney Tunes shorts for Max. The art style and animation perfectly emulates the classic Bob Clampett-style Looney Tunes shorts with all of their squash-and-stretch goodness.
Though, to be honest, sometimes the near-perfect emulation of classic Looney Tunes animation can be a bit of a fault to a tee. It’s rather uncanny to watch a movie with 1940s-style cel animation with references to Starbucks, smart phones, and influencer culture.
The plot is a loving (and biting) homage to sci-fi B movies from the 50s and 60s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Thing. It’s your typical alien invasion/zombie storyline with a very unique and hilarious plot twist at the very end.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the movie is how surprisingly heartwarming it can be. For a movie filled with squash-and-stretch slapstick, there’s plenty of moments that are truly touching. No spoilers, but the movie is about Porky and Daffy learning to support each other in the absence of a father figure. And those moments can tug at your heart.
Honestly, there’s not much else I can say about this movie that isn’t, “if you love classic Looney Tunes, you’ll love this movie.” In a time when 2D animation is sidelined in favor of 3D animation, when the Looney Tunes are threatened with being give the dip by Warner Bros. over tax breaks, we need to support movies like The Day The Earth Blew Up now more than ever.
St. Patrick’s Day was this month. So, what would be more fitting for the Irish holiday than cooking…British food?
Originally, I was going to prepare corned beef and cabbage, but I decided not to since no one else in my family likes corned beef. (Also, someone already posted a Cooking on the Ridge article on the recipe.)
My next plan was to prepare a potato soup, but, honestly, I’ve already written an article covering a similar recipe. So, honestly, how many potato soup recipes does the website need?
So, I decided to forget Irish cuisine and hop on over to the island across from it by cooking a British dish.
I’ve been quite curious about British cuisine because of all the curious names their dishes have. Bubbles and Squeak. Bangers and Mash. Spotted dick. And the dish I’ve decided to make: Toad in the Hole.
Essentially, Toad in the Hole are sausages cooked in a puffy pastry, often served with mashed potatoes and onion gravy.
My attempt at this was certainly a matter of trial and error that leaned more toward error. The pastry was supposed to be fluffy while the one I prepared…eh, not so much.
Maybe next time I’ll test my skills with a simpler dish like Bangers and Mash (sausages with mashed potatoes and peas). For now, this was a good first attempt at British cooking.
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Toad in the Hole (from AllRecipies)
Ingredients
Batter:
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup cold water
Sausages:
¼ cup vegetable oil
4 links pork sausage
Onion gravy:
2 tablespoons butter
1 large red onion, minced
kosher salt to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons onions, spring or scallions (includes tops and bulb), raw
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives, or to taste
Directions
1) Prepare batter: Combine eggs, salt, pepper, cayenne, 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour, and milk in a large bowl; whisk thoroughly until batter is very smooth and no lumps remain. Whisk in water. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
2) Prepare sausages: Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and transfer to a buttered 9×12- or 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour oil from the skillet over the sausages; brush oil with a pastry brush all over the bottom and up the sides of the dish.
3) Start onion gravy: Melt butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt; sauté until soft and starting to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
4) While onion is cooking, pour batter in and around the sausages. Place in the center of a cold oven and turn temperature to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Set oven timer for 30 minutes.
5) While toad in the hole cooks, finish onion gravy: Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth and return to a simmer. Add Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar and simmer until gravy thickens up and reduces, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning.
6) When timer goes off, remove toad in the hole from the oven; it should be browned and puffed. Spoon gravy over the sausages and garnish with green onions and chives.
Lakeland, Florida, is about to get a little sweeter as Bright Ice, a popular handcrafted ice cream shop, is set to open a new location, 1200 Florida Ave S, Lakeland, FL 33803. Known for its small-batch, high-quality ice cream flavors, Bright Ice has been expanding across Florida, with locations in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Venice, and Pinellas Park. Now, they’re bringing their unique flavors to Lakeland—and they’re looking for enthusiastic team members to join them. The location is currently doing pre-hiring now with the anticipation of opening in the very near future. It was projected for January, but delays have it opening either late March or early April.
Expresso Milkshake
Bright Ice is currently hiring for several positions at its Lakeland shop, including Team Leads, Assistant Team Leads, and Team Members. These roles reportedly offer competitive pay, with Team Leads earning between $20 to $22 per hour, while Team Members earn between $15 to $18 per hour. The company website says they pride themselves on fostering a fun, welcoming environment for both employees and customers, making it an exciting opportunity for those passionate about customer service and high-quality food.
Drinks & Ice Cream
As part of the job, team members will be responsible for scooping and serving delicious ice cream, ensuring customers have a memorable experience, and maintaining the shop’s friendly atmosphere. Bright Ice is known for its innovative flavors, and employees will have the chance to introduce Lakeland locals to some of their signature creations.
For those interested in joining the Bright Ice team, applications can be submitted through the company’s website: JOIN THE TEAM. This is a fantastic chance to be part of an expanding business that values creativity, teamwork, and, of course, amazing ice cream.
Pairing: Carmel Banana Ice Cream with Peanut Butter and Honey Ice Cream
A traffic stop turned violent for detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
At around 6:02 pm, the detectives performed a routine traffic stop on a white Ford Ranger pickup truck on Power Line Road, near Snell Creek Road, in Haines City.
The driver and the occupant of the passenger seat were cooperative during the stop, but the middle seat passenger was not.
Detectives noticed the man had pulled a white baggie from his pocket, and attempted to hide it behind him.
As the detectives reached in to remove him from the vehicle, he attempted to bite one of the detectives, elbowed a detective in the face, and kicked another detective multiple times on her legs.
During the struggle, the suspect put the white baggie into his mouth.
Detectives were able to secure the suspect in handcuffs, and found him to be in possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
The suspect was identified as 60-year old Esteban Fernandez Uriostegui from Mexico.
Prior to going to the Polk County Jail, detectives took Fernandez Uriostegui to a local hospital to be checked-out as a precaution due to the baggie of cocaine that he appeared to have swallowed.
Once Fernandez Uriostegui was cleared, he was taken to the Polk County Jail and charged with: Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer (F3, 3-counts), Resisting and Officer with Violence (F3), Tampering with Evidence (F3), Possession of Cocaine (F3), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1).
“This violent suspect is in the United States illegally from Mexico. Because of that, each of his crimes was enhanced by one degree because of his unlawful entry into the U.S.—as a result of a new state law that went into effect last month. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been notified, which means we should be seeing no more criminal behavior (in the U.S., at least) from this particular individual.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
None of the PCSO detectives were injured during the arrest of Esteban Fernandez Uriostegui.
George Foreman, the iconic two-time heavyweight boxing champion, Olympic gold medalist, and beloved entrepreneur, has reportedly passed away today, March 21, 2025, at the age of 76. The news has sent shockwaves through the sports world and beyond, as fans and admirers mourn the loss of a true legend.
Born on January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, Foreman rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most formidable figures in boxing history. Known for his devastating punching power, he claimed the heavyweight title first in 1973 by defeating Joe Frazier and again in 1994 against Michael Moorer, making him the oldest heavyweight champion at age 45. His career highlights include unforgettable bouts like the “Rumble in the Jungle” against Muhammad Ali in 1974, cementing his place in boxing lore.
Beyond the ring, Foreman’s life was marked by resilience and reinvention. After a near-death experience in 1977, he retired from boxing to become a Christian minister, only to return a decade later for a remarkable second act in the sport. Outside of boxing, he became a household name with the George Foreman Grill, a lean, mean fat-reducing machine that sold millions worldwide, showcasing his charisma and business acumen.
Tributes have poured in from across the globe, with many remembering “Big George” not just for his athletic prowess but for his warmth, faith, and larger-than-life personality. While the cause of death has not been officially confirmed, the legacy of George Foreman—both in and out of the ring—will endure as an inspiration to generations. Rest in peace, champ.
If you’re looking for a day filled with live music we have a fantastic lineup of bands and performers across several venues in Central Florida. From lakeside vibes to cozy coffee shops, here’s your guide to the bands playing this Saturday, March 22, 2025.
Tanners Lakeside (Winter Haven, FL)
Kick off your afternoon and evening at Tanners Lakeside with two talented acts:
Saturday
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM: Josh Blevins Wind down the night with Josh Blevins’ captivating performance.
Sunday
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Got UR 6 Band Get ready for an energetic set to start your day by the lake.
Old Man Franks (Winter Haven, FL)
Over at Old Man Franks, enjoy a full day of music with these acts:
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Geri & the Sidekicks A perfect afternoon treat with Geri and her crew.
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Blake Free Stick around for Blake Free’s evening set to keep the good vibes going.
Cherry Pocket (Lake Wales, FL)
Head to Cherry Pocket for a laid-back day of tunes:
6:00 PM: Ryan Joyce Cap off the day with Ryan Joyce’s evening performance.
Mister Chris’ Coffee Depot (Frostproof, FL)
For a mix of morning and evening melodies, Mister Chris’ Coffee Depot has you covered:
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10:00 AM: Dot Reiser Start your day with coffee and Dot Reiser’s morning set.
6:00 PM: Memphis Beat Return later for Memphis Beat to close out your Saturday in style.
Whether you’re in Lake Wales, Frostproof, or stopping by a coffee depot, tomorrow promises a variety of musical experiences for every taste. Grab your friends, pick a spot, and enjoy the live music scene!
Winter Haven, FL – A tragic accident on the night of March 19, 2025, resulted in the death of a bicyclist and left two others with minor injuries.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at approximately 8:53 PM on South County Line Road, just south of Ralston Road. A 23-year-old Winter Haven man was driving a Ford Mustang southbound when he veered off the roadway and struck a 39-year-old Winter Haven man riding a bicycle along the highway shoulder. The impact was severe, and the bicyclist was transported to an area hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
After the initial collision, the Mustang re-entered the roadway and crashed into a Mercedes M Class SUV driven by a 69-year-old Lakeland woman. Both drivers sustained minor injuries and were also taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Steve Gaskins confirmed the incident, and authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.
