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Ewell Road Lane Closure to Slow Thursday Traffic

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Ewell Road Lane Closure to Slow Thursday Traffic
Ewell Road Lane Closure to Slow Thursday Traffic
 
Bartow, Fla. (June 21, 2017) — Soil borings near the Ewell Road Bridge over Poley Creek will slow traffic during the day tomorrow. Borings were planned to take place last week, but they were postponed due to heavy rains. Workers will close the westbound travel lane on Ewell Road approaching the bridge for about six hours starting around 9:00 a.m. Borings are related to an FDOT bridge replacement project scheduled to start in early 2018. Traffic congestion and traveling delays are expected. Motorists should drive with caution and take extra time with trips through this area. For more details, contact Bill Skelton at (863) 535-2200.

Lakeland Elementary School Teacher Charged With Possession of Cocaine and Giving False Information to Law Enforcement

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Lakeland Elementary School Teacher Charged With Possession of Cocaine and Giving False Information to Law Enforcement

41 year old Stacie Long of Lake Wales was arrested yesterday by Sheriff’s deputies after an investigation involving an altercation with her husband. Stacie Long was the victim in that altercation-her husband 37-year-old Ryan Long of Lake Wales was arrested on multiple counts, including battery by strangulation (domestic violence), aggravated battery with a deadly weapon (vehicle), and burglary w/assault.

Stacie Long allegedly lied to investigators during the battery investigation and deputies later found her to be in possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was additionally charged with maintaining a conveyance (vehicle) for drug use. According to the affidavit, Long admitted to deputies that she had “recently started using cocaine, and will currently test positive for cocaine.”

Stacie Long is a teacher at Jesse Keen Elementary School in Lakeland.

 

 

Man Flees Police After Allegedly Stealing T-Shirts At Lake Wales Dollar General

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Man Flees Police After Allegedly Stealing T-Shirts At Lake Wales Dollar General

Man Flees Police In Lake Wales

Lake Wales, Florida – On Friday, June 16th, Lake Wales Police Officers responded to a retail theft at the Dollar General store (306 Hwy 60 ). Officers were given a description of a black male that was observed taking t-shirts and allegedly leaving without making any attempts to pay for the merchandise.

When officer’s arrived they observed the suspect behind the store. Upon sight of officers the suspect, later identified as Marc Tucker, fled on foot towards Georgetown Apartments. During the foot pursuit Tucker also entered the school grounds of McLaughlin Middle School by jumping several fences. Tucker eventually surrendered to officers and was placed under arrest. Tucker was charged with retail theft, resist w/out violence, and trespassing. Tucker was taken to Polk County Jail.

Tucker has been arrested multiple times in the past and has a felony convicting for aggravated assault.

Its Sea Turtle Nesting Season, Things You Should Know

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Its Sea Turtle Nesting Season, Things You Should Know
No flash photos please

Spring and summer are a busy time of year on our beaches for both people and sea turtles. Sea turtles nest primarily at night. If they see any disturbance – including people — they will leave the beach without nesting or leave before safely covering their eggs with sand. If you see a nesting sea turtle on the beach, please remember to watch from a distance, avoid making loud noises and refrain from using bright cellphones, flash photography and flashlights. This green sea turtle was photographed leaving the beach early in the morning by one of our specially trained Marine Turtle Permit Holders. If you avoid disturbing nesting sea turtles and encourage your friends and family to do the same, it can help these threatened and endangered species successfully lay their eggs before returning to the sea.

If you see someone harassing a sea turtle or disturbing a nest, call our Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922.

Helpful information for beach visitors during sea turtle nesting season: http://bit.ly/29TvxlC

Where to watch sea turtles without disturbing them:http://bit.ly/1fCeTNx

Keep beachfront artificial lighting from harming sea turtle nesting: http://bit.ly/2sAkSlx

Learn about Florida’s five sea turtle species:http://bit.ly/2oJcoVr

Green sea turtle photo by Adrienne McCracken, an FWC marine turtle permit holder with Loggerhead Marinelife Center

FWC law enforcement to participate in Operation Dry Water, national effort against boating under the influence

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FWC law enforcement to participate in Operation Dry Water, national effort against boating under the influence
FWC law enforcement to participate in Operation Dry Water, national effort against boating under the influence
 
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reminds boaters, as the holiday weekend approaches, that boating under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs is dangerous and illegal. During Operation Dry Water June 30-July 2, and extending through the July Fourth holiday, boaters can expect to see more officers on the water.
 
During this annual three-day awareness and enforcement campaign, officers will be educating the public, identifying and deterring operators from boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Law enforcement agencies nationwide will be out June 30-July 2, looking for boaters who choose to boat under the influence, and removing them from the water.
 
“Although the national Operation Dry Water event goes through July 2, FWC law enforcement officers will be extending our efforts through the Independence Day holiday to help everyone have a fun and safe holiday weekend on the water,” said Maj. Robert Rowe, FWC’s Boating and Waterways section leader.
Increased awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence, along with officers focused on identifying impaired operators, aim to drastically reduce the number of accidents and deaths due to impaired boating.
 
“A big part of enjoying Florida’s beautiful waterways is doing so safely and responsibly. It is our job as law enforcement officers to identify and remove impaired boaters from the water so that everyone else can continue to have an enjoyable boating season,” said Rowe. “By participating in Operation Dry Water, the FWC joins thousands of law enforcement officers nationwide to decrease the number of accidents, injuries and deaths that come as a result of boaters who choose to drink and boat.”
In Florida it is illegal to operate a vessel with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 percent or higher. Alcohol use is one of the leading contributing factors in recreational boater deaths. In 2016, July had more reportable accidents (96) and more fatal accidents (eight) than any other month. Last year in Florida, 24 percent of fatal accident victims (16) were related to alcohol or drug use. During the national Operation Dry Water weekend of heightened awareness and high-visibility enforcement, boaters can expect to see an enhanced law enforcement presence and increased messaging about this dangerous and preventable crime.

Cooking on the Ridge: Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers

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Cooking on the Ridge: Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers

Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers

Ingredients

Directions

  • Prep 25 m

  • Cook 20 m

  • Ready In 45 m

  1. Preheat the oven’s broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Spray a broiling rack with cooking spray.
  2. Place pineapple slices on a baking sheet and broil just until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side. Set the pineapple slices aside.
  3. Thoroughly mix ground beef, bread crumbs, water chestnuts, teriyaki sauce, egg, minced ginger, Asian seasoning blend, onion powder, and garlic powder in a bowl; divide in half and form 2 large patties. Place the patties onto the prepared broiling rack.
  4. Broil patties until burgers are browned and no longer pink inside, 5 to 8 minutes per side. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the middle of a burger should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).
  5. Place half the lettuce onto the bottom half of each bun; top with a burger and a slice of pineapple. Place bun tops on sandwiches and serve.

Summer reads for kids from the Grateful American Book Prize

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Summer reads for kids from the Grateful American Book Prize
Summer reads for kids from the Grateful American Book Prize
 
WASHINGTON, DC – Kids learn how to read in school, but they learn the love of it at home, according to education advocate David Bruce Smith.  “In the formative years, it is important that parents and grandparents read to their children.  It teaches them to appreciate a good story.  In later years, take them to the library and let them pick books that have a special appeal for them,” he suggests.
Smith is co-founder of the Grateful American Book Prize, an award-which those who know him-say reflects his love of good reads and-for history.  He partnered with the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Dr. Bruce Cole, to create the Prize.
“In this digital age, fewer and fewer of our children know the historical origins of the United States. Our aim is to show them how a story can “send” them on fascinating, exciting and adventurous journeys whenever they want. The idea is to encourage young people to learn more-with the hope that they will mature into responsible and productive citizens.” says Smith.
The first two books to win the Prize in 2015 and 2016 – Like a River and The Drum of Destiny – did just that, he says.  “And now we are in the midst of a hunt for the 2017 Grateful American Book Prize, which is open for submissions through July 31.”
According to Smith each of those novels was an excellent choice for kids.
When Kathy Cannon Wiechman won for Like a River: A Civil War Novel, Smith said: “it is an exemplar of what the Prize is all about-to encourage authors and publishers to produce fiction and nonfiction that accurately depict the past as a means of engaging young readers in American history.  Like a River is a page-turner about the plights of a pair of teens-on the battlefield–caught up in the conflict between the states.  To call it riveting is a disservice.  The book rouses the emotions of its readers in a way that leaves them wanting to learn more about that critical era in the evolution of the country.  It goes beyond the dry retelling of the Civil War that often puts students to sleep at their desks during history class.”
Chris Stevenson’s The Drum of Destiny is the tale of a boy on his way to join the American Revolution’s Continental Army. The author says “by reading Drum of Destiny, young readers can learn about history without realizing they are learning about history.  Most history textbooks are written with the idea of teaching kids facts they can memorize so they can then take a test.  This method misses the most important aspects of history.  The real life stories, the reasons behind the facts, and the character of our country’s founders are where the real learning is discovered.”
Smith also recommends other books that might have summer appeal for boys and girls:
  • Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz
  • A Buss From Lafayette by Dorothea Jensen
  • I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  • The Revelations of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl
  • Night by Elie Wiesel
  • Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
  • The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
  • Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Man Fleeing Lake Wales Police Tripped Up By His Own Pants

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Man Fleeing Lake Wales Police Tripped Up By His Own Pants
Attrice Brooks

Fleeing suspect tripped up by his own pants

Lake Wales, Florida – According to reports on Sunday, June 18, Lake Wales Police observed a white Chevy Malibu without a tag light driving East on S.R. 60. An officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle at 3rd Street and Domaris Avenue. As the officer was about to exit his patrol car the vehicle fled southbound on 3rd Street. The officer went through the intersection and saw the suspect stop the vehicle a half a block away and fled on foot into the area of the Garden Apartments. The officer pursued on foot and gave the suspect verbal commands to stop and the suspect did not comply continuing to run. The officer gave more verbal commands for him to stop and took out his Taser and advised him he would be tased if he did not stop. The suspect fell while he was running due to his pants falling down in the parking lot of the Garden Apartments where he surrendered on the southwest corner of the complex. After the suspect was apprehended, the officer asked him why he ran from him and the suspect said, “Because I don’t have a license”.

The suspect in this case is Attrice Brooks, 34, and it was confirmed he did not have a driver’s license. Brooks was arrested for no driver’s license and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Polk County Jail.

Polk County Woman Found Guilty Of Killing Her Lover Allegedly To Hide The Affair From Her Husband

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Polk County Woman Found Guilty Of Killing Her Lover Allegedly To Hide The Affair From Her Husband
Facebook Photo By State Attorney’s Office

Bartow, Florida – After about an hour and a half of deliberation, Victoria Collins was found guilty today of the first-degree murder of Gary Greenfield, says the state attorneys office. Jurors also convicted her of tampering with physical evidence and three counts of petty theft. The state attorney’s office would go on to say that Judge Harb sentenced her to life in prison this afternoon.

Victoria Collins, was indicted by the grand jury for First-Degree Murder, Tampering with Evidence, and two counts of Grand Theft in the homicide of 65-year-old Gary Greenfield in December of 2015.

On July 29, 2015 the badly decomposing body of Gary Greenfield was found in an area behind a mobile home he was renting from Collins, on Windsong Drive in Lakeland. According to published reports Collins was married, but had been in love with Greenfield for over 40 years. She and her husband moved to Florida a few years ago and Greenfield, an over the road truck driver, eventually followed. They had continued the affair with Collins renting him a trailer without notifying her husband.

Greenfield had a high dosage of ambien in his system when his body was found, 6 weeks after the last time anyone saw him alive. Collins had a prescription of that ambien. The case may have never been solved if it wasn’t for a weird circumstance that lead PCSO deputies to interview Collins according to an article by Channel 8 news.

“Detectives couldn’t pin the suspect until an unlikely source handed over some vital information.

A Lakeland Ledger reporter, Clifford Parody, left his personal number for Collins. Parody soon received a call from someone using a different name. The caller gave a concocted story, hoping the paper would jump.

“Her hope was the media would run this elaborate story,” Judd said. “They figured out early on that didn’t pass the smell test.”

“The information she gave to The Ledger reporter clearly told us that no one but the murderer and the homicide detectives knew that information,” he added.

Detectives traced the call back to a phone Collins purchased at a Walmart”

Lake Wales 9/10 Minor Softball All Stars Win District 4 Championship

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Lake Wales 9/10 Minor Softball All Stars Win District 4 Championship

Lake Wales 9/10 Minor Softball All Stars completed district play at home this weekend winning District 4 championship and now advance to regional play at sectionals early next month in Lakewood Ranch.

Way to represent Ladies!

 

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