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PCSO deputies arrest Osceola County Corrections Deputy

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PCSO deputies arrest Osceola County Corrections Deputy

PCSO deputies arrest Osceola County Corrections Deputy

On Tuesday, May 2, 2017, deputies arrested 27-year-old Joseph Hicks of Lakeland, who works for the Osceola County Corrections Department, for one count battery on a law enforcement officer (F3), and one count resisting officer without violence (M1).

According to the affidavit, around 7:30 p.m., deputies responded to Duff Field at Hunt Fountain Park (2020 Duff Road, Lakeland) in reference to a drunk and disorderly person. When deputies arrived, they witnessed Hicks acting belligerently towards the players, coaches, and other parents while he was attending his daughter’s soccer practice.

Hicks was had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and he displayed the usual signs of intoxication with slurred speech and unsteadiness, and had been asked to leave the park several times. Mr. Hicks’ wife, Rebecca Hicks, was present and begged her husband to get in her vehicle so that they could leave. While deputies were trying to calm him down, Hicks displayed his corrections badge from Osceola County Department of Corrections. Mr. Hicks was told by deputies several times that he needed to calm down and leave.

Hicks ultimately tried to approach one of the deputies in an aggressive manner. He was verbally warned not to touch the deputy; Hicks did not comply with the deputy’s command-Hicks grabbed the arm of one of the deputies and was taken into custody and handcuffed.

While Mr. Hicks was in custody he continued yelling at deputies and was uncooperative.

“Mr. Hicks’ behavior was embarrassing. He was publicly drunk, disrespectful of others, including the deputies who were just trying to get him to leave, belligerent, and he ruined what should have been a fun and healthy family experience for others. Mr. Hicks will be trespassed from this park to prevent this from happening in the future.” Grady Judd, Sheriff

Hicks was taken into custody on the aforementioned charges, and booked into the Polk County Jail being held on no bond until a first appearance hearing this afternoon.

Any questions regarding Hicks’ employment should be directed to Osceola County Corrections Office.

 

 

PCSO Traffic Unit is Investing a Single-Vehicle Crash with Fatality from Last Night

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PCSO Traffic Unit is Investing a Single-Vehicle Crash with Fatality from Last Night

PCSO Traffic Unit is investigating a single-vehicle crash that occurred late last evening and resulted in one fatality, in Davenport.

Preliminary information so far is as follows:

Around 11:10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, a 2015 grey Toyota Corolla that was heading southbound on US Hwy 27 near Legacy Park Blvd in Davenport, for unknown reasons left the roadway and flipped, landing on its roof on the grassy shoulder, and on top of one of the vehicle occupants who was ejected while it rolled.

That occupant, 26-year-old Vanessa Miller of Kissimmee (female), died at the scene.

The other occupant, 22-year-old Luigi Grieco of Kissimmee (male), was airlifted to LRHMC with significant injuries, but is expected to recover.

The roadway in that area was shut down for several hours during the investigation.

The investigation is ongoing.

 

This update sponsored by:

Success Has Always Been in The Cards For Theresa Pickard

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Success Has Always Been in The Cards For Theresa Pickard

Success has always been in the cards for Theresa Pickard.

As the owner of Pyramid Fasteners in Bartow, Theresa’s rise to the top of the company seemed to be a part of her predetermined destiny.

As a young girl in high school, Theresa joined the fledgling company in 1979, two years after it was started by a husband and wife ownership team. The company provided all kinds of bolts, nuts and threaded fasteners to almost any industry you could name.

As one of four employees, Theresa would keep track of inventory, handle the mail and take orders over the phone as her part-time job in high school.

She continued working at the company while also attending college. When she wasn’t studying, she was expanding her knowledge of fasteners and distribution and taking on more and more responsibility at work. When graduation came, the owners asked her to stay on and run Pyramid Fasteners.

Years passed and in 1988 with a growing staff of 8, the couple who started Pyramid Fasteners decided to sell and quickly found a buyer named Bill Diehl from Michigan. Bill wanted to relocate to Florida and needed something to keep busy until retirement.  Bill agreed to buy Pyramid Fasteners on one condition; that Theresa would stay and run the business. If she agreed and stayed with the company, Bill would eventually sell the company to her when he retired.

A decade later Theresa Pickard took over the helm of Pyramid Fasteners, guiding it forward in production and distribution to become the award-winning company it is today. Last year, Pyramid was recognized for their excellent service by the Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce with the 2016 Business and Industry Champions Cup Award for Business to Business  (B2B) Business of the Year.

The Champions Cup awards recognizes and honors businesses/organizations that have championed exemplary best practices and have had a positive influence on the economic well being of the Bartow area business community.

Through the years, Pyramid has grown to 15 employees with over 3500 items in inventory housed in a 20,000 square foot warehouse in Bartow. They deliver 95% of their orders on their own trucks, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Need it now???

You can normally pick it up yourself in less than an hour of placing your order.

They have our own machine shop in house to make custom studs, sag rods and special threaded fasteners so that Pyramid can offer exactly what their customers need.

“We treat our customers the way we want to be treated, like family” says Theresa

“I have a great group of people working here with me, two of them have been here over 20 years, and several over 10 years. My children grew up here; I would weigh them on the bolt scale when they were little”.

So what does the future hold for Theresa and Pyramid Fasteners??

“ My retirement plan is a long one” says Theresa “ Three years ago I started selling 48% of the company to my son, Brandon (24%) and (my) god-son Travis Skipper (24%)”.

Both currently work at Pyramid and are proudly pushing the family business towards even greater success.

And the tradition continues!

 

Webber Warriors 1st and 2nd at ITC Bowling Championships

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Webber Warriors 1st and 2nd at ITC Bowling Championships

Webber Warriors 1st and 2nd at ITC Bowling Championships

Amid Historic Events

The Webber International University Men’s and Women’s Bowling Teams took 1st and 2nd place, respectively, at the United States Bowling Congress InterCollegiate Team Championships on April 22nd in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Warriors are not new to winning national bowling championships. On April 2nd the Warrior men’s bowling team took top honors at the NAIA Team Championships in Lexington, Kentucky.  At that event, WIU Coach Randy Stoughton was named NAIA Coach of the Year.

In 2012, both the women’s and men’s bowling teams won the Intercollegiate Team Championships which has only been done 3 times in college bowling history.

This year the Warriors almost repeated that 2012 feat with the men taking first place and women going all 5 games of a best of 3 out of 5 game final match to come in second place just missing another dual national championship for the Warriors.  The women’s team struggled at the beginning of the tournament and at one point they were in last place out of the 16 top teams that attended the event but they fought their way back to a qualifying position of  7th and then they went undefeated in match play to earn a berth on the TV finals for the ITC National Championship against McKendree University.

The Warrior men got off to a great start qualifying in first position to win the honor as the top qualifying team and then they went on to face McKendree University in the finals and defeated them for the ITC National Championship which gave them two  National Championship titles in a little over two weeks!

In addition to the outstanding team performances, senior Taylor Bulthuis captured 2nd place honors in the InterCollegiate Women’s Singles event and Freshman and NAIA Rookie of the Year Caitlyn Johnson was named to the All-Tournament Team.

An underlying competitive story was also brewing at the ITC championships this year with Webber International University and McKendree University both dominating the National TV finals for the first time in collegiate bowling history.  Some observers also claimed that a bit of poetic justice was at work involving the Webber and McKendree teams.  In the 2016 ITC event the McKendree men blocked Webber from making the TV finals and the Webber women did the same to the McKendree women’s team.  In that event, the McKendree men and Webber women won the National title.  This year roles were reversed and the Warrior men and the McKendree women took 1st place honors.  There is no doubt that these two schools have begun a bowling rivalry that will continue to make collegiate bowling history.

BoCC seeking residents to serve on Northeast Polk County Roadway Advisory Committee

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BoCC seeking residents to serve on Northeast Polk County Roadway Advisory Committee
BoCC seeking residents to serve on
Northeast Polk County Roadway Advisory Committee
 
Bartow, Fla. (May 2, 2017) — Polk County is seeking an interested resident to fill a single vacancy serving in an advisory capacity as part of the Northeast Polk County Roadway Advisory Committee.
 
The purpose of the citizen/staff committee is to review transportation and/or roadway issues within the general northeast section of Polk County then provide project advisory recommendations to the BoCC. The Committee consists of nine members, six of which are appointed by the Board. Committee members serve three year terms, and may be re-appointed for an additional term.
 
The Board will select an individual who has regular civic or business involvement in the northeast section of Polk County.  
 
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Northeast Polk County Roadway Advisory Committee, please email a letter of interest and a resume of qualifications to [email protected] by close of business on Wednesday, May 31, 2017.
 

Winter Haven Police Need Help Identifying Suspects Using Stolen Debit Card

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Winter Haven Police Need Help Identifying Suspects Using Stolen Debit Card

Help Identify Suspects Using Stolen Debit Card

Winter Haven Police would like the public’s assistance in identifying the three suspects pictured below.

These three utilized a debit card at Walmart on April 25, 2017  purchasing high-dollar gift cards and a laptop. The victim told detectives that she is still in possession of the debit card, but bank transactions confirm the purchases. Investigators are looking into how her bank information was obtained by the suspects.

The suspects were driving a black Audi sedan also pictured below.

Anyone with information on the identities of any of these men is asked to call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477). Callers can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a CASH reward.

Cooking on The Ridge: Meatball Nirvana

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Cooking on The Ridge: Meatball Nirvana

Cooking on The Ridge: Meatball Nirvana

Ingredients

1 pound extra lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 small onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot®), or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

  • Prep  20 m

  • Cook  20 m

  • Ready In  40 m

  1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  2. Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

UPDATE: Deadly Motorcycle Accident from April 29th in Auburndale

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UPDATE: Deadly Motorcycle Accident from April 29th in Auburndale
On the evening of April 29th, the PCSO Emergency Communications Center (ECC) received a 911 regarding a vehicle versus motorcycle crash on Keystone Road, Auburndale. Bystanders on scene were conducting CPR on the motorcycle driver at that time. Fire and Medic Units arrived on scene and determined the motorcycle driver had life threatening injuries. He was transported to Lakeland Regional Health as a trauma alert. The vehicle occupants were not injured and remained on scene.
 
Keystone Road is a two lane road that travels through citrus groves and some residential areas. It has a 30 mph speed limit and intermittent lighting.  
Physical evidence and witnesses indicate that a 2012 Green and Black Kawasaki sport motorcycle being operated by Torres, was eastbound on Keystone Road at a high rate of speed. The bike was travelling very fast and speeding eastbound on Keystone Road, while a 2013 Red Lincoln MKX was attempting to make a turn from westbound Keystone Road onto southbound Kimberle Court. The Lincoln driver stated the motorcycle came out of nowhere and struck his vehicle in the right front tire area. Torres was ejected from the motorcycle and came to rest on the asphalt.
Torres was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
 
Torres was unable to be identified for a significant amount of time. It then took a significant amount of time for deputies to locate and notify next of kin. It was also learned that the motorcycle was reported stolen on 02/18/2017, to the Bartow Police, with no suspect information.
The tag attached to the motorcycle did not belong on it. The driver had a suspended license. Upon arriving at the hospital, a baggie of methamphetamine was located in Torres’ pocket.
 
Excessive speed was definitely a factor on the part of Torres. Impairment may be a factor also. Keystone Road was closed for approximately 4 hours during the investigation. The autopsy revealed that he suffered a broken neck, lacerated liver, and other internal injuries. Cause of death is listed a blunt force trauma, pending toxicology.
 
Further investigation has revealed that Torres was involved in another motorcycle crash in November 2016. He was charged with DWLSR (Habitual) as a result of that crash. He also suffered a broken neck and was in a HALO device until a short time ago.   
 

Lake Wales Man Dies After Boat Capsized in Lake Annie in Dundee

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Lake Wales Man Dies After Boat Capsized in Lake Annie in Dundee

 

Revised:

Just before 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, 2017, PCSO Deputies responded to a capsized boat on Lake Annie at the boat ramp located at 2955 Campbell Rd, Dundee.  Upon arrival the Dundee Fire Department was actively trying to pull the victim, Tommy Tucker from the lake.  Tucker was eventually removed from the lake and transported to Winter Haven Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, April 30, 2017.

Investigation revealed Tucker, his wife Karen Tucker, son in-law Eddie First, and daughter Jeanette Horne-First had been fishing on Lake Annie since approximately 1600 hours.  The group returned to the boat ramp at approximately 1945 hours to load the boat (1985 17-foot Wellcraft).  Tucker let the son in-law and daughter off the boat to get the truck and trailer while he and his wife waited.  While Tucker was attempting to load the boat on the trailer the boat took on water and started to sink.  Tucker gave his wife a life vest and she exited the boat.  The boat then capsized throwing Tucker in the water.  Tucker attempted to swim to shore but the current carried him into the weeds west of the ramp.  Eddie First attempted to swim out and help Tucker but could not reach him before Tucker disappeared under the water.   First then contacted 911 to request help.

The autopsy is complete; cause of death – drowning

Water-Skiers Hold Record-Breaking Challenge on Chain of Lakes

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Water-Skiers Hold Record-Breaking Challenge on Chain of Lakes

Last week was a big week for record-breaking in Winter Haven. The event was held April 19-23 with over 300 participants gathered at the Chain of Lakes to attempt the breaking or setting of water-skiing world records for the National Show Ski Association, the United States Hydrofoil Association and Guinness World Records.

This was their second run at the record books.

During their first attempt in 2015, skiers from as far away as Australia and Germany took to the Chain of Lakes to set 26 records in the sport.

After taking the year off in 2016, participants from all over the world gathered again last week to attempt to break over 40 records, 11 of which will qualify for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records.

During my visit on Saturday, skiers were gathered on the shores of Lake Ariana at the Ariana Beach Yacht Club to attempt the Ballet Record for Most Ballet Water-Skiers Pulled by One Boat.

Fifty ladies lined up side-by-side along the pier behind the Ariana Beach Yacht Club as assistants helped line the pull ropes up that were attached to a speedboat with three Mercury 300xs engines.

The boat pulled forward until the lines were stretched out and then with a roar of the engines, fifty water-skiers sailed off the pier onto the water about five feet below. Only two skiers fell during the attempt.

When the skiers returned to the pier, there was excitement as they learned they had broken the record with 48 skiers. The previous record was 40.

 

“Were looking forward to getting all the records certified although it will take many months for that to happen.  We won’t have all of the certifications done until December but that’s the way the system works” says Team Captain Eric Gran.

Event organizer Geno Yauchler was on the water breaking records as well.

“One of the records I was personally the only one in the record for was the most inverts or rolls on a hydrofoil” ….”I did 30 rolls in one minute”.
The event was a success with 36 total records broken (pending certification) that included 23 National Show Ski Association records, 7 United States Hydrofoil Association records and 6 Guinness World Records.

Here is a list of the attempts that were included in the event:

Jump Records

Regulation Jump |

  1. Most 2 ski Flips off a water ski ramp
  2. Most 1 ski Flips off a water ski ramp
  3. Most 1 Ski Gainers in 1 min
  4. Most 1 Ski Flips in 1 min
  5. Most 2 ski front flips in 1 min
  6. Most 2 ski Gainers in 1 min

Unlimited 50’ Jump |

  1. Most 2 ski helicopter spins off a water ski ramp
  2. Most 2 ski front flips off of a water ski ramp
  3. Most 2 ski gainers off a water ski ramp
  4. Most water skiers off a jump
  5. Most 1 ski front flips off a water ski ramp
  6. Most 1 ski gainers off a water ski ramp
  7. Most 1 ski helicopter spins off a water ski ramp
  8. Largest Water Ski Ramp built

Ballet Record

  1. Most ballet water-skiers pulled by one boat.

Barefoot Records

  1. Most barefoot water-skiers towed behind a single boat (weight limit 175 lbs per footer)
  2. Most barefooters doing a front deep behind one boat
  3. Most 2 ski Jump out starts
  4. Most back step off barefoot waterskiers
  5. Most barefoot water ski tumble turns one min.
  6. Most barefoot water ski tumble turns in 30 seconds
  7. Most back deeps

Shoe Ski

  1. Most shoe skiers behind one boat completing a 360 hand turn

Strap Doubles and Trios Records

  1. Largest number of strap doubles couples
  2. Largest number of trios sets
  3. Most torch flips in a strap doubles line

Hydrofoil Records

  1. Tallest sit down hydrofoil
  2. Most combo flips in a row on a sit down hydrofoil
  3. Most hydrofoil mobes in a row on a sit down hydrofoil
  4. Most hydrofoil inverts @ 1 time behind 1 boat
  5. Most hydrofoil riders towed behind a boat
  6. Most hydrofoil rolls in 1 minute
  7. Most hydrofoil front flips in 1 minute
  8. Most hydrofoil front flips @ 1 time behind 1 boat
  9. Most hydrofoil mobes @ 1 time behind 1 boat

Swivel Records

  1. Most girls in a swivel line (must do two different skills).
  2. Most girls behind one boat to do a 360 at the same time.
  3. Most girls behind one boat to do a 720 at the same time.
  4. Most girls behind one boat to do a 1080 at the same time.
  5. Most 720s in a minute.

Adaptive Skiing Record

  1. Most adaptive water-skiers pulled at one time

Wakeboard

  1. Most Wakeboard inverts in 1 minute
  2. Wakeboarding behind the longest rope

Event

  1. Most water ski world records at one event
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