Polk County Sheriff’s Office:

”…this guy is still at-large………..and we need to find him.

If you know where we can find him please contact PCSO at 863-298-6200 or Heartland Crime Stoppers Florida www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com.

Nov. 9, 2023
Today’s #WarrantOfTheDay is 26 year old Enrique Martinez, who lives in a homeless camp at 2nd Eloise Terrace in Winter Haven. He’s also been known to live on Valencia Street in Winter Haven.

Martinez murdered an adult Hispanic homeless male last night in the camp and the Sheriff’s Office has issued a warrant for his arrest for first degree murder, possession of a firearm and ammo by a convicted felon, and tampering with evidence.

Martinez is 5’6″ tall, 146 lbs, with brown eyes and black hair. He has a tattoo on his left wrist that says “W7” and one on the left side of his neck that says “Natalia.” His nickname is KiKi.

Martinez has a very lengthy and violent criminal history dating back to 2011, with 13 felonies and 15 misdemeanors. He spent 5 years in state prison for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and battery domestic violence – he was released in November 2022. He was most recently arrested for battery domestic violence and resisting arrest in April 2023, and was released on bond.

If you have information on his whereabouts please call PCSO immediately by dialing 911.

If you wish to remain anonymous and receive a $5,000 CASH REWARD, contact Heartland Crime Stoppers in one of four ways:

**CALL 1-888-400-TIPS (8477)
**DIAL **TIPS from your cell phone
**VISIT the website www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com and click on “Submit A Tip,”
**DOWNLOAD the free “P3tips” app on your smartphone or tablet.

Winter Haven Rings in Holidays with Tree Lighting Ceremony and Winter Wonderland

by James Coulter

The holiday season officially started in Winter Haven with the city’s annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Winter Wonderland celebration, hosted on Thursday and Friday evening.

The holiday festivities kicked off Thursday evening when the city turned on the lights to the Christmas tree in Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven.

Several hundred people flocked to the park that evening and gathered around the fountain to wait in anticipation as the Christmas lights were turned on for the first time this holiday season. The light switch was flipped on at 7 PM to thunderous applause and adoration.

The festivities that evening were hosted by the City of Winter Haven and Main Street Winter Haven with holiday musical sing-alongs by local musician Hunter Smith and even a guest appearance by the Lego Movie’s Emmett and Lucy from LEGOLAND Florida.

Even Gourmet Goodies and Richard’s Fine Coffee joined in the festive celebration by offering free hot cocoa to the first 100 children and hosting holiday cookie decorating.

The holiday celebrations continued the following evening at the same location with the 2nd Annual Winter Haven Winter Wonderland. Guests were able to peruse food vendors, participate in holiday crafts, watch the Disney movie Frozen on a big screen, and even meet Santa Claus himself.

Anita Strang, Main Street Winter Haven Executive Director, loved seeing all of the local children and their families gather together for two nights to celebrate the start of the holiday season.

She owes the success of the tree-lighting ceremony to the overall community spirit. She appreciates how the community canembrace such local events and enjoy the start of Christmas.

“I love it,” “I love seeing everyone with holiday cheer coming out to celebrate the lighting of our city’s tree. Everyone wants to celebrate and come together for the holidays. I am a little partial to the lights. I love seeing the holiday lights. I love seeing the children and the families enjoying them.”

city of winter haven

Get ready to glide into the holiday spirit as an enchanting ice skating rink arrives in Downtown Winter Haven for two unforgettable days on December 2nd and 3rd!

Join us for a magical experience as we transform the heart of the city into a winter wonderland, perfect for family fun, a date night, or a cheerful outing with friends.

Mark your calendars and join The City of Winter Haven & Main Street Winter Haven as we kick off the holiday season in style. Don’t miss out on this limited-time opportunity to skate under the open sky and create cherished memories!

Dec. 2nd from 10am-9pm and Dec. 3rd from 10am-4pm
Skates will be available on site
$15 for 30 min increments (open skating)

Thank you to the Presenting Sponsor:
lCrews Bank & Trust

City of Winter Haven

The City of Winter Haven is excited to host our 2nd Annual Winter Haven Winter Wonderland. Here, families can visit our food vendors, work on holiday crafts, visit with Santa, and view ‘Frozen’ in Central Park. The crafts station and food trucks open at 6pm, and the movie will begin at 6:30pm. Please bring your own blankets and chairs, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

December 1 at 6pm

Central Park

Single Bonus & Double Bonus Cards ARE HERE at Ovation Bistro & Bar!!!
Choose from TWO Bonus Card options this year!

Check out the Ovation website for all the details:

Ovation Bistro & Bar WINTER HAVEN – 7130 Cypress Gardens Blvd
Winter Haven, FL 33884
United States

Ovation Bistro & Bar LAKELAND – 4715 S Florida Ave
Lakeland, FL 33813
United States

Ovation Bistro & Bar DAVENPORT- 42605 Hwy 27 North
Davenport, FL 33837

City of Winter Haven Passes Final Approval of 116-Acre Residential Subdivision

by James Coulter

At their meeting on Monday evening, Winter Haven City Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to approve the final plat of the proposed 116-acre Villamar residential subdivision, which is planned to contain 443 lots for single-family residential properties.

Located east and west of Rialto Road and east of the CSX railroad line, the Villamar Subdivision contains “443 building lots and 16 common lots consisting of stormwater management areas,” and a “total of 80 feet of right-of-way for Rialto Road and Tract K,” according to the city staff memo.

“All water, reuse, and sewer utilities will be owned and maintained by the City, while all drainage conveyances, internal roadways, and street lighting will be maintained by the CDD,” the memo explains. “Rialto Road, and its associated street lighting, will be maintained by the City.”

The overall subdivision will have an estimated taxable value of $110 million and generate approximately $729,843 per year in ad valorem revenues from the city, the memo states.

City Manager T. Michael Stavres mentioned how the subdivision had been planned to be done in two separate phases, but had since been combined into one phase, which will take approximately a year and a half to complete.

Commissioner Brian Yates mentioned how the construction project to widen Thompson Nursery Road will be within the vicinity of the subdivision. He asked if the road rerouting would be affected by it. Stavres replied that the right of way within the plat borders the proposed project.

“The main flow of traffic, once this all gets done, is anticipated to all flow out onto Thompson Nursery Road, and, at this point, back to the northeast until such a time Thompson Nursery Road is extended across the railroad tracks and out to the west toward Rifle Range Road,” he said.

A motion to approve the resolution was made and seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

“Clean It Up to Green It Up” Program for the Eloise and Wahneta Communities planned for December 2, 2023. 

November 6, 2023– Keep Polk County Beautiful, Inc. in partnership with Polk County Board of County Commissioners is bringing their “Clean It Up to Green It Up” Program to the Eloise and Wahneta Communities on Saturday, December 2, 2023.

Residents in these communities are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this program that will consist of a large scale trash pick-up throughout these selected communities only (clean sweep).  This program will provide disposal of items that are NOT generally collected with their residential garbage only such as household construction debris (shingles, drywall, etc.), excessive bulk and yard waste on THIS DAY ONLY.  Absolutely NO tires or hazardous waste will be collected curbside.  All households are asked to participate by placing these items by the curb no later than 6am for this one day event.   Please do not place these items out more than 48 hours prior to the event.  No mixed piles with yard waste will be picked up. 

In addition to the curbside cleanup, Keep Polk County Beautiful, Inc. will be hosting a FREE Tire Recycling Collection Event at Lake Gwyn Park’s Soccer Fields- 423 4^th Street East, Wahneta (Winter Haven) from 8am- noon. Polk County residents may dispose of up to 24 tires per vehicle.   No Semi, Tractor or Off-Road Tires will be accepted.  Legal hauling limits will be strictly enforced. Absolutely NO Commercial or Automotive Businesses will be allowed. This will be strictly enforced. 

Trash & Tire hauling services have been graciously donated by Waste Management.

To find out if your address is within the cleanup area or for additional information, contact Keep Polk County Beautiful, Inc. at (863) 875-8911 or email [email protected] . 

It is a violation of Florida Administrative Code Rules to transport more than 24 Waste Tires over public highways without a permit.  Violation of this rule would constitute a 1st degree criminal misdemeanor and be punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 and/or by 6 months in jail for further information please regarding the handling of waste tires please visit the DEP website http://www.dep.state.fl.us/ .

City of Winter Haven Approves Grant Application for 6-Mile Bike Trail Connecting Auburndale and Lake Alfred to Statewide Trail

by James Coulter

Ever considered cycling your way between Auburndale and Lake Alfred? How about cycling from one end of the state of Florida to the next?

You very well could do that soon now that the cities of Winter Haven, Auburndale, and Lake Alfred are considering applying for a six-mile bike trail connecting two adjacent trails between the two cities, as well as connecting them all to a statewide trail.

At their meeting on Monday evening, Winter Haven City Commissioners voted unanimously to pass a resolution to approve the grant application to the Shared-Use Non-Motorized (SUN) Trail Network for a project to create a six-mile trail connection.

In 2013, the city had passed a resolution, according to a city memo, “in support of a trail connection between Haines City, Lake Alfred and Auburndale…[which] would also connect to Winter Haven via the Chain of Lakes Trail.”

Old Dixie Trail would connect the Winter Haven and Lake Alfred to Auburndale via the Van Fleet Trail. The trail would directly connect to the State Coast to Coast (C2C) Connector, which is a 250-mile trail system that would connect Titusville to St. Petersburg. Currently, the C2C is already 85 percent complete, according to the city memo.

According to the city staff memo, “Winter Haven, along with Polk County, the Polk Transportation Planning Organization and Cities of Auburndale and Lake Alfred are working on a joint grant application for the 6-mile stretch of the Old Dixie Trai.”

City Manager T. Michael Stavres commented on the overall significance of the grant application, which has received approval from three different governing bodies.

“I will say that one of the attractive features of this type of application is when you have three municipalities plus the county plus the TPO who are all endorsing that in partnership,” he said. “I think it gives it a lot of credibility to the grant decision makers.”

Starves mentioned how cycling from one side of the state to the other through a trail connection such as this is feasible, as proffesional cyclist Andy Palmer had already ridden the C2C Connector from one coast to the other.

“This is a big deal,” one commissioner stated. “People like [the city manager] will be able to jump on their bikes and go wherever they want to go. Van Fleet Trail [which this trail connects to] takes you all the way to Clermont. It is pretty cool. If you have the legs, you can do it now without being hit by a car.”

City Commissioner motioned to approve the resolution, and the other city commissioners voted unanimously for the approval.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and our last show until February ‘24!
Bring your family, friends and coworkers to Tanners Lakeside on Friday, December 8th, 7-10pm and celebrate the season with 99 in the Shade!
We’ll be performing some of your favorite Christmas tunes throughout the evening along with our regular repertoire!
See you there, friends!

Holiday ski show on Lake Silver

275 South Lake Silver Dr

4pm

Concessions available 

Bring a lawn chair or blanket, sit back and relax and enjoy the show!