LAKELAND, Fla. – An exciting new partnership between the Office of the Tax Collector for Polk County
(TCPC) and the Orange Osceola Safety Institute (OOSI) will allow more options for people to take a road test in hopes of securing their driver’s license!
“We want to expand the opportunity for people to get a driver’s license without having to schedule a road test appointment very far in advance,” Polk County Tax Collector Joe G. Tedder said. “There’s just such high demand for driver license services in Polk County, like these road tests,” he continued, “that we’re working to not only meet people’s needs, but to exceed their expectations through partnerships like this.”
Polk County’s population growth, particularly in young people, is increasing tremendously! The TCPC experienced a 63% increase in road tests conducted in January 2024 compared to January 2023. A report by the GiveWell Community Foundation and United Way of Central Florida finds Polk the fastest growing county in Florida, and seventh-fastest in the nation; the greatest growth is expected in the 18 and under age group.
This new option for road tests through OOSI in Lakeland offers convenient hours, with walk-in availability from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; additionally, appointments after 5 p.m. may be available at the customer’s request.
“We hope to be an asset to Lakeland and the greater Polk County community. We believe we will be, based on our experience in road testing and our background in careers in motorist services that span decades,” OOSI Owner & Founder Fran Iwanski said.
Appointments are preferred, and are now available at OOSI’s new Lakeland location at 901 E. Memorial Blvd., Unit 977.
TCPC also partners with Atlantic Driving School of Florida, and All Class Drivers.
Recently, I purchased a handheld game console. It came pre-loaded with 5,000 classic video games. One of them was Pokémon FireRed for the Game Boy Advance. I never played that game, but I did play the original Pokémon Red for the Game Boy. Playing a remake of a classic game on a Gameboy-shaped device certainly brought back childhood memories. As of this writing, I’ve already beaten the first two gyms.
Why am I talking about some random video game and not Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom? Well, quite frankly, it was because I was more entertained by that game when I whipped it out in the theater and began playing it halfway through the movie. It was really that boring.
Really? What is there to say about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom? It’s the very last movie in the cinematic disaster that is the DCEU. With this being the very last movie in that now-dead franchise before James Gunn takes the shock pad from Zack Snyder and hopefully revitalizes it, what incentive is there to watch or review this movie?
To be fair, the original Aquaman was a surprise blockbuster hit when it first premiered five years ago. The fact that it received a sequel certainly proves that. And Jason Momoa managed to breathe new life into a superhero character that had recently been dismissed as a joke by comic book fans. Overall, he gave a pretty good performance to a pretty good movie.
But will this film be the saving grace for this sinking ship that is the DCEU? Well, I think you know the answer to that. It’s a definite, “No”!
The movie’s plot is both too simple and complicated. What do I mean by that? Well, simply put, the story is about Aquaman assuming his rightful reign as King of Atlantis, but the kingdom is attacked by Black Manta, so Aquaman needs help from his brother to help thwart the villain.
Sounds simple, right? Well, it is, but it’s the particulars that make the plot complicated. In fact, the best way I can describe the plot is if the script was written as a Mad Libs with the blanks filled in using a random word generator:
“Aquaman needs to stop the villain, who has AN EVIL TRIDENT that he found in AN ANCIENT CITY FROZEN UNDER ANTARCTICA powered by THE GHOST OF AN EVIL KING. He has to find HIS BROTHER in A DESERT PRISON so they can find A JABBA THE HUT-GANGSTER that will tell them that the villain is hiding at A PREHISTORIC ISLAND before he can take THE BLOOD OF HIS NEWBORN. And the whole story is a metaphor for CLIMATE CHANGE.”
Look! Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad the DCEU decided to shift its focus away from the dark, gritty, and “edgelord” vision of Zack Snyder and more towards a colorful campiness akin to Gold and Silver Age comics. That’s the reason why I loved movies like Shazam, Aquaman, and both Wonder Woman films (yes, even Wonder Woman 1984!). I like how these movies manifest pure pulp-fiction stream-of-consciousness writing often emblematic in older comics, all with a
straight-forward approach of “yeah, these are goofy plots and stories, but we’re going to roll with them anyway because they’re cool!” I just wish this movie managed to do all that well.
The action scenes and special effects are decent enough, but at this point, they feel like keys being jingled in front of a baby. If anything, it feels more like the toddler has become self-aware of the trick and now has grown bored of it. Maybe it’s superhero fatigue. Perhaps it’s a lack of interest in the now-dead DCEU. In the end, the dazzling effects and action simply failed to dazzle me.
Otherwise, it feels as though the movie is borrowing elements from more interesting movies. It had grand cinematic settings, especially with the prehistoric island and underwater scenes, but they feel like they’re copying from Avatar. It has the main conflict from Black Panther with the Atlanteans debating whether or not to seek assistance from the surface world or remain secret, but that conflict is treated as a hasty afterthought.
Then there are the attempts by the film to be more “lighthearted” with goofy scenes akin to Deadpool or Guardians of the Galaxy. Personally, I liked the opening monologue where Aquaman details his new life as King of Atlantis while balancing it with his role as a new father (which is all told by him playing with action figures with his infant son). Unfortunately, every other attempt at comedy falls flat and comes across as tone-deaf and cringe. Dishonorable mention goes to the scene where Aquaman makes his brother eat a cockroach. (No, context does not make that better!)
Overall, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was a movie DOA, a lifeless film in a dying franchise. It’s the last beep on the DCEU’s heart monitor before it inevitably flatlines. The Snyderverse is dead. Long live James Gunn.
Who has the authority to set the rental rates for the meeting room in the Lake Wales Public Library? One would assume it would be the library director. However, until now, that authority went to the city commission.
At their recent meeting on Tuesday evening, Lake Wales City Commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance that granted the library director the authority to set the rental rates for the Schoenoff Meeting Room at the Lake Wales Public Library.
Previously, the rental rates were determined using a table under Chapter 18, Section 1 of the Lake Wales Code of Ordinances. The previous rates were $60 for the first hour and $18 for each additional hour, excluding library-sponsored events and events by non-profit organizations.
However, as the city memo for the ordinance explained, the city staff “has found that the current room reservation rates for the Schoenoff Meeting Room at the Lake Wales Public Library are currently too high. Staff proposed a reduction in the rate.”
During a previous work session, the City Commission members determined that the authority for setting rental and reservation rates for the meeting room should go toward the library and not the City Commission.
Furthermore, the ordinance would permit “the schedule of fees established by this section [to] be adjusted annually to reflect an increase based on June’s annual CPI or two and one-half (2.5%) percent, whichever is greater, without further need for Commission action.”
City Commissioner Robin Gibson expressed his initial surprise that the city library was not responsible for setting the rental rates of its own meeting room.
“I want to make sure they have the opportunity to make full use of the facility,” he said. “What struck me is that they left that up to the city commission in the past, and they [the commission] never used it. So, it speaks of the wisdom of us. And it is obvious that it should be in their [the library’s] hands, and market forces will utilize the property.”
City Commissioner made a motion and a second to pass the ordinance, and the motion passed with a unanimous vote.
To learn more about the Lake Wales Public Library and the availability of its meeting room for events, visit their website at: https://www.cityoflakewales.com/976/Library
Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested a high school teacher in Lakeland on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, after an investigation revealed that he had twice sexually battered a 17-year old student from the school where he taught and coached soccer.
26-year old Richard Alcalde of Lakeland was transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center and charged with: Sexual Battery by Custodian (F1), Sexual Offense on Student by Authority Figure (F2), and Unlawful Use of 2-Way Communication Device (F3).
PCSO detectives confirmed that Alcalde was employed as a teacher and a boys’ soccer coach at Star Athletes Academy at 3151 Hardin Combee Road in Lakeland, and was hired there in August of 2023. School officials told detectives that Alcalde’s employment is terminated.
“Richard Alcalde should never step foot in a classroom ever again. Simply put—he preyed on this student and took advantage of her. He even tried to justify it by telling her that it was normal in his culture for a man his age to have a relationship with someone so young. Well that doesn’t fly, and now he’s going to experience jail culture.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
The PCSO investigation began on Tuesday after the victim’s mother discovered flirtatious text messages between her daughter and Alcalde the night before.
The victim’s mother told detectives that she went to get her daughter at the Dollar General store at 637 US 17/92 West in Haines City after speaking to her daughter on the phone and noticed her daughter sounded intoxicated. While checking the girl’s phone, she found the text messages.
According to the victim, Alcalde gave her an alcoholic beverage at the school, then drove her to a gas station and got her another alcoholic beverage. He then drove to the Dollar General store where he sexually battered the girl.
While speaking to detectives, Alcalde admitted to sexually battering the girl twice at the Dollar General store but denied providing her with alcohol.
Vinton Davis loved all things New Orleans. He loved the music. He loved the culture. And he especially loved the food. He loved it so much that he owned and operated his own Cajun restaurant in Downtown Lake Wales.
In fact, so infatuated he was with the culture that he requested that his family host a New Orleans-style funeral procession once he passed away. When he died in 1984, his family was unable to host such a procession, but they did the next best thing and hosted a parade in his honor.
That parade evolved into the Lake Wales Mardi Gras celebration, which has been hosted in Lake Wales for more than 40 years. Within the first year, thousands of people attended. Even to this day, the event remains one of the largest Mardi Gras celebrations in Central Florida.
His daughter, Nancy Bernhardt Estes, was the founder of Lake Wales Mardi Gras, as well as the krewes the Krewe of Aphrodite and The Wham Bams. She also started the charitable gift-giving arm, which donates the money left over each year from the event and krewes back to the Lake Wales community.
The estimated amount of the annual donations from the Mardi Gras charitable arm has been more than a quarter of a million dollars. Proceeds have gone toward local charities, including the Lake Wales Hospital, which was able to purchase its first mammogram machines due to the generous donations, Nancy claimed.
Nancy remembers her father as an eccentric character. When he was young, he ran away from his overtly strict mother to join the circus. Eventually, he became a cook and gained enough culinary experience to start his restaurant, first in New York, and then in Lake Wales, FL where he started his family.
“My father was very eccentric,” she said. “He loved anything and everything about New Orleans…[When he was working for the circus], they came to New Orleans, and he decided to run away from the circus and stay in New Orleans washing dishes, bussing tables, and from then on, as he grew older, he learned a lot from the chefs from the kitchens, and that is pretty much how he learned to love food and jazz and all that.”
Lake Wales Mardi Gras will be hosted Fri. Feb. 9 and Sat. Feb. 10 in Lake Wailes Park in Lake Wales. The parade will be hosted in Downtown Lake Wales on Saturday at 3 PM. For more information, visit their website at: lakewalesmardigras.com
Nancy recently sat down with us for an interview on the Chattin on the Ridge podcast. Listen to her tell her wild tales of her father in our latest episode on Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chattinontheridge/episodes/Ep–21-Lake-Wales-Mardi-Gras-wNancy-Bernhardt-Estes-e2fd8c9
SEBRING — A high-speed pursuit into Hardee County Tuesday morning ended after Highlands County Sheriff’s Office deputies rammed the vehicle, causing it to crash.
The vehicle, a 2021 Dodge Charger, has been linked to a Monday afternoon shooting that is being investigated by the Sebring Police Department. It was spotted this morning around 9 a.m. and fled from deputies in the area of Sparta Road and State Road 66 in Sebring.
The vehicle, which was being driven by 27-year-old Jaqwan Salvalas Hall of Avon Park, headed west on SR 66 and traveled into Hardee County. In the area of SR 66 and Skipper Road, the vehicle spun out and ended up heading back the way it had come. At that point, the Charger rammed a Highlands County Sheriff’s Office patrol SUV head on.
The deputy that was hit suffered what appear to be minor injuries and was transported to a Highlands County hospital for treatment.
The Charger continued to flee from law enforcement. For a time, it headed back east toward Highlands County before turning around and going west again, weaving in and out of traffic. Due to the reckless driving and high speeds of the suspect vehicle creating an unreasonable risk of harm to the other drivers, the decision was made to utilize a PIT maneuver to force the Charger off the road.
The Charger left the road on the southern shoulder and rolled over, coming to rest on its wheels approximately a mile west of Skipper Road. Hall and the two other people in the car — 24-year-old Giovanni Alexis Quinones, and 25-year-old Jawueeon Trazion-Antoine Culbreth — were taken into custody. Hall and Quinones were taken to the hospital in Hardee County to be treated for their injuries. Hall is facing numerous charges related to the pursuit.
Golf is fun. Food is fun. So, what happens when you combine the best of both worlds? You get VISTEBall, the annual fundraiser for Volunteers in Service to the Elderly (VISTE).
For the past 19 years, this unique indoor event has allowed people to tee up and test their golf skills through various golf-themed games. Whether it is trying to make the perfect strike, or playing through a miniature golf course, VISTEBall offers all the fun of golf—indoors!
Several hundred people attended this year’s event, which was hosted at the Sun n Fun Expo in Lakeland on Saturday evening. Attendees were able to participate in golf-themed games as well as sample food and drinks, place bets on silent and live auctions, and enjoy a dinner prepared by local eateries.
VISTE is a local non-profit organization that serves at-risk seniors. According to its website: “VISTE provides essential services for over 4,100 seniors, including transportation (primarily to medical appointments), hot meals, supplemental groceries, ramps, and more. Over 1,000 community volunteers assist with almost all programs, helping to reduce social isolation among clients, many of whom live alone.”
Steve Bissonnette, VISTE President, appreciates this year’s turnout, which he called a “phenomenal crowd” and owes to the overall good weather. This year opened up the venue more with a shift in format, but overall the planning and organization of the event went smoothly, he said.
“The turnout has been fantastic this year,” he said. “I love the turnout, the people. Everybody is having a great time. People are having fun. They are enjoying themselves, and it is for a great cause.”
With the event being hosted for nearly 20 years, Bissonnette owes its success to the community. Without dedicated attendees, there would be no VISTEBall.
“People will make this on their calendar a year in advance looking forward to the next event,” she said. “We are just grateful to the community for supporting an organization like VISTE. There is no other organization like it on the planet. We are only here because the community cares.”
The Polk County fire rescue and Polk county sheriffs office is currently on scene of an accident near Walk-in Water Road and SR 60 in East Lake Wales. According to reports the crash occurred around 3:25pm.
It appears a blue in color vehicle was headed Westbound and went through the median hitting a Polk County Government truck.
It appears that the driver of both vehicles only suffered minor injuries.
Vehicles are slowly going around the crash, but we don’t know how long drivers will be allowed to go around as Law Enforcement is now on scene. We will update as soon as we know it is opened back up.
On Saturday, February 3, 2024, at approximately 6:33 a.m., officers responded to a traffic crash involving a blue Chevrolet pickup truck and a black Suzuki motorcycle in the 3900 block of New Tampa Highway. Just before the crash, the Chevrolet was traveling westbound on New Tampa Highway and the Suzuki was traveling eastbound on New Tampa Highway. The Chevrolet attempted to pass a cement mixer in front of him traveling the same direction and pulled into the eastbound lane as the Suzuki was approaching. The motorcycle then impacted the front of the Chevrolet, causing the operator to separate from the bike. The Chevrolet continued into the grassy area on the south side of the roadway where it rolled over.
The Lakeland Police Department Patrol Units, Polk County Fire Rescue, and the Lakeland Fire Department all arrived on the scene to begin life-saving measures. The motorcyclist was pronounced deceased by medical personnel at the scene. The driver of the Chevrolet was transported to Lakeland Regional Health with minor injuries.
The roadway was shut down for approximately four hours to process the scene for the ongoing investigation. Limited visibility due to fog in the area appeared to be a factor.
Anyone with information regarding the crash is asked to contact Traffic Crash Investigator Officer Travis Payne at [email protected].
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is working a traffic crash that occurred this morning on State Road 37 south of Mulberry. No fatality at this point, but there is a serious injury. Traffic is closed on 37 South of 640. It is being diverted at Maine Avenue and Jamison Road. Drivers are asked to avoid the area if possible.
