Southern Sunshine BBQ & Music Festival Kicked Off Inaugural Year

by James Coulter

Travis Schraperly and Todd Bender watched plenty of YouTube videos to help prepare their barbecue. Normally, they would place fifth place at competitions. So, their team, Sloppy Hogs, winning first place in the backyard division at the inaugural Southern Sunshine BBQ & Music Festival was quite the pleasant surprise.

“It is incredible,” Schraperly said. “We have not cooked a lot these past few years with so little going on. So, to come out after a year feels fantastic.”

Both he and his teammate owe their success and their latest win to the fundamentals of barbecuing. Both of them have spent a long time perfecting their craft, to the point of watching countless on-line videos for pointers.

After winning this year’s inagural event, they can hardly wait to attend next year. “If we get the time off, we will be here,” he said.

Sloppy Hogs won the title of grand champion in the backyard division of the inagural Southern Sunshine BBQ & Music Festival, a KCBS-sanctioned barbecue competition hosted last week in Lake Wales. The grand champion title for the proffesional division went to Teddy Camp BBQ, led by Darren Warth, who had to leave the event early for Iowa before accepting his award.

The Southern Sunshine BBQ & Music Festival was hosted along the scenic shores of Lake Wailes Park in Lake Wales. Several dozen barbecue teams congregated from across the county and even the state for the event to compete in various categories within the backyard and proffesional division.

Aside from the main barbecue competition, the event also showcased various local vendors, food trucks, bounce houses, and silent auctions. Several local bands performed live music on both days of the event, with musical guest appearances by the Outta Hand Band, JD Music Group, M&M Cloggers, Candic Glover, Mickenzie Peisher, Ronny McKinley, and HuboBentley.

The event served as a fundraiser for the KT’s Sunshine Foundation, a local charitable organization that, according to its website, “to help families in need that are going through a tragic event.”

“KT’s Sunshine Foundation was formed after the death of a former Frostproof High School Student was killed by a drunk driver,” its Facebook page stated. “She spread joy throughout her life and the purpose of the foundation is to continue that mission.”

Morgan Grose, a board member for the foundation, was pleasantly surprised by the turnout that weekend. The event allowed her to see many people that she had not seen for a long time, and seeing them come out for such a good cause brought joy to her heart.

“We did this to really attract all sorts of people in the community to come together and celebrate what we are doing here, which is raising money for people who really need our support,” she said.

For the inagural event, the turnout more that exceeded initial expectations, and Grose has high expectations that next year’s event will be bigger, if not better.

“People who are so willing to jump in and help out where they are needed so we are very grateful as a foundation to have the back up and support that we do,” she said. “We owe our success to our community and the grace of God for being here, and to have the support that we do. We would not be here today without the community giving back and supporting us with helping other people.”

Lake Wales, Florida – The Lake Wales Police Department has arrested Ayzia Quintanilla (DOB: 05/31/2000) and charged her with Fraudulent Use Of A Credit Card, Obtain Property By Fraud, & Criminal Use Of Personal Identification. The charges stem from an incident that occurred on January 3rd. That’s when police allege Quintanilla used the stolen credit card number of one of their police officers to buy pizza from the local Papa John’s. Quintanilla was currently on bond for a previous arrest of trafficking in narcotics and other charges.

The following is a long excerpt from the Lake Wales Police Department affidavit (It should be noted that this is an unedited report of facts by the Lake Wales Police Department. 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 1/03/2022, I was informed by Officer Sarah Sittnick, she was a victim of Identity Theft, Fraud, and Obtain Property by Fraudulent Means. Officer Sarah Sittnick stated she got a notification that her Debit Card was used to order a pizza from Papa Johns located at 2006 State Road 60 East, Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida. The total of this transaction was S32.69.

Detective Hartwell travelled to Papa Johns and was informed the pizza and wings ordered with the name Sarah Sittnick and was delivered to 541 W. Central Avenue #223 Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida. This location is a hotel named the Vintage Inn.

Detective Hartwell and I travelled to 541 W. Central Avenue #223, Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida and knocked on the door. Ayzia Quintanilla answered the door at which time Detective Hartwell and I could both clearly see Papa Johns Boxes within the room. Detective Hartwell then asked Quintanilla if she ordered and received a pizza from Papa Johns today. Quintanilla answered “no” but explained she did yesterday. Quintanilla Then picked up a Papa Johns Box from near the door and handed it to Detective Hartwell showing it was an old box. Detective Hartwell then pointed at what seemed to be a new Papa Johns Box in the back of the room that could be seen when the door was answered and asked when she ordered that box. Quintanilla began to stutter and became extremely nervous. Detective Hartwell asked if she would bring the box to him so he could see if it was fresh. Quintanilla walked the Pizza Box to Detective Hartwell and handed it to him. Detective Hartwell inspected the box and on the label it showed the pizza was intended for a Sarah S and was the order that was fraudulently ordered using Officer Sarah Sittnick’s Card. It should be noted this entire interaction was a consensual encounter.

I asked Quintanilla where she worked at which time she answered Dunkin Donuts located at 24195 US-27 N, Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida. It was later learned Officer Sarah Sittnick recently used her card at the Dunkin Donut’s where Quintanilla worked.

I then travelled to Quintanilla work and reviewed the video of the day Officer Sarah Sittnick conducted the transaction, Which was 01/01/2022 at 0855 hours. In the video I observed Officer Sarah Sittnick pull up to the drive through window where Quintanilla checked her out. Officer Sarah Sittnick handed her Debit Card to Quintanilla, while checking her out. Quintanilla appears to use her phone to take a photo of the Debit Card.

Quintanilla willfully and without authorization fraudulently used personal identification information concerning Officer Sarah Sittnick. Quintanilla did so first without obtaining the consent of Officer Sarah Sittnick.
Quintanilla used Officer Sarah Sittnick’s Debit Card to fraudulently obtain food from Papa Johns. Quintanilla engaged in a scheme to defraud. Quintanilla thereby obtained food from Papa Johns using Officer Sarah Sittnick’s Debit Card.
Quintanilla is on pretrial release. There is probable cause to believe, based on this arrest, that the defendant has committed a offense while on pretrial release.

Quintanilla is being charged with fraudulent use of Credit Card, Criminal Use of Personal Identification, and Obtain Property by Fraudulent Means.

US 27 northbound at the SR 60 bridge and US 27 southbound at Central Avenue will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday, January 14, 2022 until 5 a.m. Monday, January 17, 2022.

The Florida Department of Transportation’s contractor will close the road to set beams for the new SR 60 bridge.

Detours will be in place for local traffic and commercial truck traffic. Signage will direct motorists to the detours, which are shown below. Law Enforcement will be on site to assist motorists. Please allow extra travel time and use caution in the construction zones.

Lake Wales High School Sophomore Wins State Swimming Championship

by James Coulter

Mary Leigh Hardman, 16, has been swimming ever since she could first remember. Her mother, an Olympic-calibercompetitive swimmer, inspired her to go for the gold. Now this 16-year-old sophomore from Lake Wales High School has won the state championship for two consecutive years.

Mary Leigh returned home after winning first place at the state swimming championship at the Sail Fish Water Park in Stuart, FL. She had been participating in the championship for the past two years. Her freshmen year, she won both the 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle. This year, she won the 50 by .01 second but lost the 100 by .1 second.

“I had pretty high expectations, and that was that,” she said. “It went pretty well.”

Mary Leigh first learned to swim at age five and has been competing year-round ever since. She was inspired by her mother, Molly Hardman, who won the state championship her senior year in 1988, swam at Clemson University and the University of Florida, and even participated in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic trials.

“She got me interested at a young age,” Mary Leigh said. “Ever since I started swimming, I took it seriously. When you are a kid, you [are not] necessarily taking things very seriously in general. But I see improvement around 11 or 12. At that point, I just really saw a lot of improvement in my swimming.”

Her mother, Molly, owes her success to striking a balance between school and swimming. Mary Leigh works hard at what she does. While she may not appear so in her everyday demeanor, she remains competitive with her nose to the grind; and even when she loses, she remains gracious about her losses and gracious for the success of others, Mary said.

“You will be the most successful happy athlete if you strike the balance and so she does and it is so fun to see her do so well,” Molly said. “She knows how to, when it is important, she knows how to step up onto the block and rise to the occasion. She is a strong competitor. You would never know talking to her, because that is not the demeanor that she lives and it is not her personality, but when she gets on the block, it is all her business.”

Aside from her school’s swim team, she is a club swimmer who attends a separate swim club. Practicing year-round allows her to maintain her athletic prowess, which peaks around springtime and especially around the time of the annual state championship.

She owes her success to her fellow teammates and her school and club coaches. The support and encouragement she receives from them inspires her to keep moving forward and to improve her game. Her school has especially proven supportive in her athletic endeavors.

“I have been working and toiling with my high school team for a few months, trying to work myself up to that season,” she said. ” They are phenomenal. Everyone is supporting me in everything. My high school is very supportive of my accomplishments. Every time I would win something or do well, they would announce it on the announcements. So, I think that is very nice and encouraging of them.”

Her mother has high expectations of her moving forward. Mary Leigh already had surprising success with her competition last year, and that surprise motivated her to keep up her good work in this year’s event and in future endeavors.

“I would say having the experience of her winning her freshman year, and being completely surprised she did that, she had experience going into this year’s state meet and what it takes to win again, so I will attribute it to her work ethic and competitive nature, just really wanting to do her best,” Molly said.

Mary Leigh expects to continue competing in the state swimming championship well through high school. She expects to continue swimming in college, though she remains undecided at this moment what her college plans will be. Until then, she plans on keeping her nose to the water and striving to go for the gold.

“Whatever happens will happen,” she said. “I will try my best and no matter what if I try my hardest then that is the best I can do. I love to win again, but it is always nice to give someone else a chance to see what happens. It would be great to win it again.”

The PCSO Traffic Unit Investigated a Two-Vehicle Crash on Sunday, January 2, 2022 in Unincorporated Lake Wales, Involving One Fatality

Around 4:23 p.m. the ECC received a 911 call about the crash, which occurred on State Road 60 East near Silvio Road. Upon arrival of first responders, 34-year-old Amanda Shryock of Eustis was found deceased inside her blue 2017 Toyota Camry. She was the sole occupant. The other driver, 63-year-old Terrance Reaves, was treated and released from a local hospital. He was also the sole occupant.

According to the evidence and witnesses, Shryock was exiting a driveway from the North Walk-In-Water Creek Park on the north side of SR 60 and attempting to cross both westbound lanes to go into the median between WB and EB when she entered into the path of Reaves’ gray 2016 BMW 740i as he was traveling west. Reaves was unable to avoid striking the Camry.

There did not appear to be any signs of impairment on Reaves’ part, and impairment and excessive speed by Shryock are being investigated. The roadway was closed for approximately three hours during the investigation, which is ongoing.

Sergeant Raebig spotted this guy this morning lookin for the “bear” necessities! Bear seen behind Save-A-Lot in Lake Wales.  

If a Bear Comes into Your Yard

If a bear is in your yard, make sure that 1) you are in a safe area, and 2) the bear has a clear escape route, then 3) SCARE THAT BEAR ! You want to let the bear know it is not welcome in your yard, so from a safe location, scare it away by yelling, banging pots and pans, using an air horn, or anything else that makes a lot of noise. The use of paintballs, bear spray, and sling shots are also allowed under FWC guidelines.  Once the bear leaves, take a look in your yard to ensure there is nothing that might be attracting the bear .  If you see a bear is eating something on your property, take note of what it is and secure it once the bear leaves (Learn how at Living with Bears). See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to get an idea of how to handle a bear in your yard or in the wild. To keep bears away, make sure you follow this advice:

• Secure household garbage in a shed, garage or a wildlife-resistant container (like abear-resistant container or caddy ).
• Put household garbage out on morning of pickup rather than the night before.
• Secure commercial garbage in bear-resistant dumpsters.
• Protect gardens, apiaries, compost and livestock with electric fencing.
• Encourage your homeowners association or local government to institute ordinances on keeping foods that attract wildlife secure.
• Feed pets indoors or bring in dishes after feeding.
• Clean grills and store them in a locked, secure place.
• Remove wildlife feeders or make them bear-resistant .
• Pick ripe fruit from trees and remove fallen fruit from the ground – bears love fruit!
• Screened enclosures ARE NOT SECURE and WILL NOT keep bears out.

You can also purchase or build your own bear or wildlife resistant garbage containers  or caddy . Making these changes around your home and encouraging your neighbors to do the same will discourage bears from associating your community with an easy food source. Remember – if your neighbors don’t become bear smart, too, the bear can tear up their yard…before coming for yours. It is illegal to intentionally place food or garbage out that attracts bears and causes conflicts. Anything that attracts dogs, cats or raccoons will attract bears, too! If you see or suspect that someone is feeding or attracting bears, please call us at our Wildlife Alert Hotline – 888-404-3922 – or contact us online.

Lake Wales, Florida – I don’t personally know Nicholas Plante. I know that he is a friend of ours on facebook, but so are about 4300 other people. The fact that I know about Nicholas specifically is a testament to what this young man has accomplished in the last 8 months. Nicholas and his family came here from New York. He had some difficulty at first as his mother would point out. He was in remedial reading, not caring about anything, from a much smaller middle school than McLaughlin Middle & Fine Art Academy. And a separated family that put extended stress on him.
Nicholas had a talent for art. It helped that Nicholas is an 8th grader at McLaughlin Middle & Fine Art Academy and he had a dedicated mentor. Tim Williams a local businessman stepped up and helped to mentor Nicholas. Tim’s help, a committed family and the ability to express himself through art helped propel Nicholas to greater heights.
Nicholas Plante with his digital photograph which was honored by the Polk Museum of Art.

Nicholas has been recognized with numerous art awards. He was recognized with the Polk County Art Museum Sponsor’s Art Award for his digital macro photograph. He was also awarded a monetary award from Ridge Art Association Young Artists Show. With the assistance of Nick’s mentor, Tim Williams, his artwork was seen by thousands as they passed a Lamar Billboard here in Lake Wales. The art could be seen during the Easter Holiday displayed on a billboard on Hwy 27 across from the mall. According to Lamar Advertising Mr. Williams contacted them showing some of Nick’s art pieces and they chose one for the holidays.

Nicholas would go on to excel in other areas along with art. He would be on the Honor roll, take honors classes, join the Honor Society and become a Lake Wales Scholar. Nick’s mother is extremely proud of him and amazed at how he is able to “keep it all together”.
Nicholas is on a great path to wonderful things in the future. We believe hard work and talent will pay off big in his future. Great Job Nicholas!

The Lake Wales Police Department needs the suspect in these photographs identified. On May 20, 2016, the suspect entered Walgreen’s on SR60 in Lake Wales. She selected items and then attempted to make the purchase using a stolen credit card. When the credit card was declined the suspect left the store. She was wearing a pink tank top, pink shorts, and white flip flops. If you have information on the identity of the suspect, please contact Detective Maultsby at (863) 678-4223 extension 265 or Heartland Crime Stoppers at (800) 226-8477.

Lake Wales Museum & Cultural Center is Open Address: 325 S. Scenic Highway, Lake Wales Florida 33853 Regular Hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9am to 5pm Admission: Free The Lake Wales Museum & Cultural Center and the City of Lake Wales is pleased to announce the reopening of the Lake Wales Museum & Cultural Center this week starting Tuesday, May 31st. The Museum will feature new exhibits beginning with the foundation of Lake Wales in 1911. Exhibits explore the formation of the city, industry, places of interest as well as exploring developments in the 19th century that led to the settlement of the area.

The Museum is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Museum at: 863.676.1759 or follow us on Twitter: @LWDepot_Museum Facebook: Lake Wales Depot Museum and Cultural Center

Lake Wales, Florida – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Section confirmed on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, the first positive Rabies case in Polk County for 2016.

On Sunday, May 29, 2016, a Lake Wales man reported that his four dogs were fighting with a raccoon in the area of 2900 Fast Trot Trail.

The PCSO Animal Control Section responded, impounded the raccoon, and sent its body to the state lab for rabies testing. The raccoon was confirmed positive for rabies by the State Laboratory on Wednesday, June 1st.

The dogs’ owner was notified of the test results and the dogs will be quarantined for 180 days.

Residents are reminded that raccoons are among the mammals considered to be high risk species or “rabies vector species” (RVS). Please do not approach any animal which is acting in an unusual or suspicious manner. If you think you or your pet has had an “exposure,” please contact the PCSO Animal Control Section at 863.499.2600.