Central Park Art Festival March 18-19
Presented by Ridge Art Association and Victor Smith Law Group – The 45th Year for this event will be March 18 & 19, 2023 from 10:00am to 4:00pm each day in Downtown Winter Haven. Come enjoy the Art, Great Food and Entertainment!!
Show us your St. Patrick’s Day spirit this year with our amazing lakeside party! Enjoy live music and food and drink specials to help you celebrate!
Corn beef and cabbage available 4pm to 9pm at the Tiki!
City of Winter Haven
The Winter Haven Recreational & Cultural Center (801 MLK BLVD NE) is hosting a Youth Golf Program from 1 pm to 3 pm on Saturday, March 18th, 2023. Registration is free! Youth ages 6 – 18 will learn character development as well as the history & basic knowledge of the game.
City of Winter Haven Approves Several Resolutions for Water Project Funding
by James Coulter
Winter Haven residents can expect cleaner, more plentiful water now that the City Commission unanimously approved several resolutions concerning funding for various city water and stormwater projects.
During their meeting on Monday evening, Winter Haven city commissioners unanimously approved several resolutions, each of which involves allocating funding towards several projects involving the city’s water and stormwater systems.
These resolutions include:
• Increasing the total Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan from $9,914,390 to $13,624,440, in lieu of the Guaranty Agreement, with the city being a member of the Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC).
• Providing $910,000 in partial funding from the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for the design, permitting, and construction “of the Alternate Water Supply (AWS) transmission main to provide reclaimed (reuse) water”, which includes “approximately 1.26 miles of 24” reclaimed transmission main on County Road 653 and Eloise Loop Road and 0.94 miles of 6” reclaimed transmission, from the intersection of CR653 and Cunningham Road.”
• Authorizing a grant agreement from FDEP for $250,000 in funding towards “the pre-design study, design and permitting phase of Sapphire Necklace Creation project, located in east Winter Haven along the Peace Creek Drainage Canal.”
• Authorizing another FDEP grant agreement for $1,500,000 in funding “to decommission 111 existing, aging septic tanks near Lake Hartridge and connect them to the City’s sewer/wastewater collection system.”
• Approving funding from yet another FDEP grant agreement for $198,041 to design and permit the Water Resource Center, which “will provide an educational space for those of all ages to learn of the challenges, opportunities and connections water has to everything we do on a daily basis.”
• Accepting a $450,000 grant from the Heartland Headwaters Protection Act through the Polk Regional Water Cooperative to create stormwater improvements “from a 550-acre watershed that discharges into Lake Howard.”
Each resolution received a motion, a second, and a unanimous vote from City Commissioners for their approval.
One resident, who lives near Lake Howard, inquired if the City had budgeted for these items, and if they have, if a contingency plan might be necessary.
Winter Haven City Manager T. Michael Stavres replied that the City tries to [divvy] up as much funding as they can through grant opportunities when considering projects of this nature. For example, for one of the projects, the city had secured a grant of $2 million from PepsiCo for rehydration within the site.
“We are also pursuing other grant opportunities from other means that will offset some of the long-term [costs], but in term of budgeting, it is to be done in phases and based upon what grant dollars we have come in,” he explained. “In comparison of those anticipated costs down the road for future water [projects] and in anticipation of expenses today, if we can offset some of those major expenses for future water [projects] by investing less today, that is the anticipated approach.”
Crawlin on the Chain Crawls Back to Keep Chain of Lakes Clean
by James Coulter
Many residents along the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes have seen the occasional alligator. Last Saturday, they and many visitors had the opportunity to eat gators to keep gators in their clean and beautiful waters.
Crawlin on the Chain was hosted once again at Tanners Lakeside last Saturday to raise proceeds for Project Eagle, the local Earth Day clean-up effort to clean the waters and shores of the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes.
Attendees were able to eat actual grilled gator, as well as other barbecue samplings. They could also place bets on 50/50 raffles and silent auctions, allow their children to bounce around in bounce houses, and listen to live musical performances by local bands like Spankin Sadie and Ninety Nine in the Shade.
Proceeds from the event not only went to Project Eagle, but also to Culpepper’s Cardiac Foundation, a local non-profit organization dedicated to supporting local first responders through scholarships and providing AEDs throughout the community.
Melanie Brown Culpepper, the founder of Culpepper’s Cardiac Foundation, has been supporting the annual fundraiser ever since its inception. Aside from supporting most local events, she appreciates efforts to keep the ecosystem of her local community clean and beautiful.
“The Chain is very important in our community,” she said. “We are about cleaning this Chain up. By all of up helping together, we can keep the pollution out…and cleaning all these lakes, that is what it is all about.”
Karen Millette has been on the board of Keep Winter Haven Clean and Beautiful, the local non-profit that hosts Project Eagle. She appreciated the overall turnout for this year’s event, as it shows how much the local community wants to keep their local lakes clean and beautiful.
“I live on the Chain,” she said. “This is my place. This is what makes Winter Haven great. So we are cleaning up not only the Chain of Lakes, but the watershed that supports the Chain of Lakes. That is what we clean up each year…We want to raise awareness to everyone of what we are doing to clean up the Chain of Lakes and to make sure the watershed that feeds it iscleaned up as well. I think it is a beautiful day. And it is a wonderful event where everyone is coming out to support it.”
Brandy Cauley works at Tanners Lakeside. She appreciates fundraisers like this, as they help support her local community. She especially appreciates the efforts of Melanie and company, who host most of their events at that venue.
“It is an amazing turnout,” she said. “I think it is amazing that we clean up our lakes and make them look good and for the people to keep on the water and have a good time in the summer. I think it is a good thing for our community. It is an amazing turnout. I think Melanie is amazing. She has done an excellent job for all of us.”
Winter Haven Fire Department
Saving lives including critters!
This morning (3/9/23) around 4:09 a.m., WHFD crews responded to a condo fire on 9th St SE in Winter Haven. Arriving within minutes, crews found the fire originating from the kitchen.
A quick knockdown of the fire kept the adjacent units safe without the fire spreading. The residents will be displaced for a time, but the unit is not destroyed.
And the best news of all – no injuries reported to citizens or firefighters. And… 2 cats and a guinea pig were rescued!!
Great Job!!
Winter Haven Police
Celebrating Women’s History Month with the women of the Winter Haven Police Department!
(l-r) Detective Moore, CSO Rivera, Detective Ragusa, CSI Manager Quintana, Detective Wile and Detective Lozado. Great group with a passion for our City!
Polk County Government Florida
Polk County is always looking for some awesome volunteers to help within our organizations and communities.
Want to get involved?
Visit polk-county.net/volunteer-polk and click the “Apply Now” button.
* 10th Annual WHPD 5k – 3/11/23*
The #whpd5k is right around the corner. Here are the FAQ:
If you are a VIRTUAL registration with a MAILED packet, that registration type will be shut off on Sunday, March 5. Packets will be mailed on Tuesday, March 7.
Please check back to this post for additional updates.
Thanks for supporting the WHPD5k, Special Olympics Florida, and the SOFL athletes! We all appreciate you!
Thanks to our Title Sponsors Tucker Paving, Inc., Everett Whitehead & Son, Inc., Kelley Automotive Group Winter Haven, Southern Atlantic Law Group, and The Bird Family!
Inaugural Pardi Gras Boat Parade Let The Good Times Roll
by James Coulter
If two is company and three is a crowd, then an entire crowd let the good times roll at the inaugural Pardi Gras Boat Parade at Tanners Lakeside.
On Sunday, three decorated boats set sail from Tanners Lakeside and made their way along the Chain of Lakes for this inaugural parade.
Most of the boats were modestly decorated with the Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold, and green. One boat went above and beyond by decorating itself as a pirate ship with a crossbones sail and even a pirate crew.
Gordon Payne and his family were invited to participate with their pirate-themed boat. Since he had some pirate costumes, he had his children dressed as scurvy scallywags.
“It is pretty cool,” Payne said. “It is exciting. [I] just want kids to have a good time.”
Lena Johnson and her crew, meanwhile, decorated their pontoon boat with Mardi Gras-colored foil streamers. Not only did they participate in the boat parade, but they also participated in a birthday party later that afternoon.
“It is an honor and a privilege, and it is hot,” she said of participating in the overall event that afternoon. “We are happy to be here. The weather is beautiful. It was a fun event and a little underwhelming but that is okay, it will be fun. We like to help out, and being out on a pontoon boat is nothing but fun.”
The three participating vessels started at Tanners Lakeside earlier that afternoon and set sail around 3 p.m. They traveled along Lake Howard before sailing through Lake May and Shipp. Their route took them past Tanner’s Lakeside, Twisted Prop, Caribbean Bay, and Old Man Franks, where judges were stationed to choose the winning vessel.
Philip Van Winkle, event coordinator with Central Florida Boat Rentals, was inspired to start an event similar to the annual Christmas Boat Parade, which travels a similar boat route in December.
While the overall turnout did not quite meet expectations, nevertheless, the event experienced a “humble beginning” with high expectations that more attendees will turn out next year.
“We are real excited for the potential to grow into another major event for the city of Winter Haven,” he said. “We have our humble beginnings with just three boats…Next year should be bigger because there was limited notice given out this year. This was put together over the last month, so not a lot of advertising and promotion. It is a nice humble start for the first annual Paradi Gras boat parade.”
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