TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) announced that, as of Friday, February 6th, all driver license knowledge and skills examinations would start being administered exclusively in English. This change applies to all driver license classifications, including exams administered orally.
Previously, knowledge exams for most non-commercial driver license classifications were offered in multiple languages, while Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) and Commercial Driver License (CDL) knowledge exams were only available in English and Spanish. Under the updated policy, all driver license knowledge and skills testing will be conducted in English.
To implement this change, FLHSMV has updated its driver license testing system statewide. Language translation services will no longer be permitted for knowledge or skills examinations, and any printed exams in languages other than English will be removed for use.
FLHSMV remains committed to ensuring safe roadways for all Floridians and visitors by promoting clear communication, understanding of traffic laws, and responsible driving behavior.
A Davenport woman was killed late Friday night in a single-vehicle crash in Osceola County, according to information released by Lieutenant Tara Crescenzi, Public Affairs Officer for the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred at approximately 11:53 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, on Osceola Polk Line Road east of Heritage Pass.
Davenport women killed in fiery Osceola Polk Line Road Crash
According to FHP, the woman was driving a 2017 Ford Fusion westbound on Osceola Polk Line Road at a high rate of speed when she lost control of the vehicle. The car ran off the roadway to the left and struck a tree.
Troopers said the impact caused the vehicle to become fully engulfed in flames.
The driver was pronounced deceased at the scene. FHP confirmed that next of kin has been notified.
Investigators noted that seatbelt usage was unknown at the time of the report. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The incident is being investigated by FHP Troop D, with homicide investigators assisting. The crash remains under investigation.
A Routine of Feeding Neighboring Horses Ends in Tragedy On Feb. 5, 2026 at approximately 1:54 p.m., a 9-1-1 call was received by the Winter Haven Police Department regarding what appeared to be a person in the middle of a field next to the Lucerne Lakeside Mobile Home Park on Lucerne Park Rd. When officers arrived, they could see a body lying in the field with two horses nearby. Officers gained entry into the field by jumping the fence and located an elderly female unresponsive on the ground. The female had visible injuries to her face and torso. Life saving measures were started and Winter Haven Fire and Polk County EMS personnel took over and transported the female to the hospital. She was later pronounced deceased. An autopsy was conducted and initial findings show that she perished from blunt-force trauma to her body with the injuries consistent to being trampled by a large animal, such as a horse. Winter Haven investigators spoke to residents in the neighboring mobile home park and learned that one of their residents frequently fed the horses. Ultimately it was determined who the victim was and her next of kin, who lives out of state, was notified. Investigators found no foul play and this has been classified as a terrible tragic incident. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of this beloved women who cared so much to interact and feed these horses,” said Police Chief Vance Monroe. “This was a terribly tragic accident and we will pray for those she has left behind.” Investigators located the owner of the horses who responded to the scene and cooperated with the investigation.
A 55 Year Old Man is Behind Bars After Stabbing A Man Following A Disturbance On Feb. 5, 2026 at approximately 10:56 a.m., Winter Haven Police responded to the call of a stabbing located at a residence on Lucerne Loop Rd. in Winter Haven. When officers arrived, they found the 38 year-old male victim with a stab wound to the upper left side of his chest. Officers immediately began life-saving measures until paramedics from Winter Haven Fire arrived. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his non-life-threatening injuries. While care was being given to the victim, additional officers immediately began interviewing everyone who was in the area in an attempt to gain information on the suspect. Officers were able to identify and locate 55 year-old Adrian Renard Abrams and took him into custody without incident. Investigators took custody of Abrams and started the investigation into the incident. Abrams recounted the disturbance for investigators stating that he had been sleeping and the victim entered the room and started to tackle and punch him in the face and head. Abrams stated that he had to defend himself after being attacked, so he retrieved the knife and stabbed the victim. Abrams was further questioned as to how and from where he retrieved the knife. He indicated that after the initial attack, the victim left the residence to walk outside and Abrams followed to the kitchen to get a knife. After retrieving a five-inch kitchen knife, Abrams continued outside, located the victim approximately 20 feet away and told the victim, “I’m gonna stab you.” Once making the statement, Abrams stabbed the victim in the chest. Investigators concluded that the actions of Abrams was willful and deliberate after the initial altercation had concluded and the pair were in separate locations. Based on the statements and evidence gathered during the investigations, Abrams was charged with one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (F2). Abrams was transported to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Processing Facility. “Our officers and detectives were able to quickly take control of the scene and ascertain a possible suspect,” said Police Chief Vance Monroe. “Their diligence and dedication resulted in the swift arrest of this suspect who could have let cooler heads prevail, but chose otherwise.”
Car Dealership Planned for Cypress Gardens Boulevard and US Highway 27 by James Coulter
A new auto dealership and accessory service department may soon be arriving on US27, south of Cypress Gardens Boulevard.
At their recent meeting on Mon. Jan. 26, the Winter Haven City Commission reviewed the first reading of an ordinance rezoning a portion of a parcel located near the intersection of Cypress Gardens and US Highway 27.
The ordinance would rezone the subject property from Planned Unit Development (PD) zoning district to Commercial- Highway (C-3) and Conservation (CN) zoning districts. These designations are “compatible with the property’s location along an arterial highway corridor,” wrote Heather Reuter, Senior Planner.
The subject property, which consists of approximately 26.64 acres, represents one of the last large undeveloped parcels on the corridor. The site is being considered for a new auto dealership and accessory shop.
“Although the exact size of the proposed automotive dealership has not been determined, the dealership is expected to generate significantly less demand on water, wastewater, and transportation infrastructure than the currently permitted multi-family residential use,” wrote Reuter.
If constructed, the new dealership will be one of several other dealerships located within that vicinity, including Dyer Chevrolet and Kia in Lake Wales, Honda and Hill Nissan in Winter Haven, and Miracle Toyota in Haines City.
No vote was given on the ordinance, as it was the first reading. The ordinance will be voted on at the next City Commission meeting scheduled for Mon. Feb. 9 at 6 PM at Winter Haven City Hall.
On February 6, future president Ronald Reagan is born in Tampico, Illinois.
As the 40th president of the United States, the former movie star was called the “Great Communicator” for his ability to get through to ordinary Americans and give them hope and optimism for their own future and that of their country. Despite his lifelong opposition to “big” government, he was credited with restoring faith in the U.S. government and the presidency after a long era of disillusionment in the wake of Nixon, Vietnam and economic hardship under Carter. But before his years of Hollywood stardom, and long before Washington, Ronald Reagan was born in a small town in northwestern Illinois.
Though his family was poor, Reagan later remembered his as an idyllic childhood. After playing football in high school and college (at Eureka College), he graduated during the Great Depression with few job prospects. He soon began working in radio in Iowa, broadcasting for football and other sports. While on a spring training trip with the Chicago Cubs in Los Angeles, Reagan got in touch with a former colleague at WHO in Des Moines, who connected him with a Hollywood agent, and in 1937 Warner Brothers offered Reagan a seven-year contract starting at $200 per week. His first role was far from a stretch: He played a radio reporter in the 1937 B-movie Love Is on the Air, and the Hollywood Reporter called him “a natural.”
After a few years as what he later called “the Errol Flynn of the B pictures,” Reagan won the role he would become known for, the football player George Gipp of Notre Dame University in Knute Rockne – All-American. The film told the story of the legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne (played by Pat O’Brien), who died in a plane crash in 1931. Gipp was the walk-on who became Rockne’s star player and died of a throat infection two weeks after his final game.
In addition to making more than 50 films, Reagan became heavily involved in the Screen Actors Guild during his years in Hollywood, serving six terms as its president and leading the union through some of the most volatile years in the movie industry. In 1947, when accusations of Communism were running rampant in Hollywood, Reagan testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to name names of suspected Communist sympathizers (although an FBI file later revealed that he had in fact named people in secret). Around this same time, Reagan’s personal life was in turmoil: His wife, the actress Jane Wyman, divorced him in 1948; his increasing involvement in the Screen Actors Guild was reportedly mentioned as a factor in the divorce. Reagan married Nancy Davis, also an actress, in 1952; they had two children, Patricia and Ronald. (Reagan and Wyman also had a daughter, Maureen, and adopted a son, Michael.) Nancy Reagan would become her husband’s closest confidante and adviser during his future political career.
In the early 1950s, Reagan became familiar to a much wider audience when he began hosting the television program General Electric Theater; he also traveled the country giving speeches as the GE company spokesman. Though he was a registered Democrat during his years in Hollywood, he changed his political affiliation to Republican in 1962. Two years later, Reagan made his grand entrance on the political stage with a much-publicized speech at a fundraiser for Barry Goldwater, that year’s Republican presidential candidate. In Kings Row (1941), Reagan had played a small-town hero whose legs are amputated. He considered it his finest film and took a line from it—”Where’s the rest of me?”—for the title of his first autobiography, published in 1965, before his run for governor of California. The following year, Reagan defeated the incumbent governor of California, Pat Brown, by close to a million votes, taking the next step on the road to the White House.
After two terms as governor of California, he made a bid for the Republican presidential ticket in 1976, losing to President Gerald Ford. In 1980, he gained the nomination and beat out embattled Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter to become president, ushering in a new era of conservatism in American politics.
At 69, Reagan was at the time the oldest man in history to take office as U.S. president. His career in Hollywood, thought to be a weakness at the beginning of his life in politics, turned out to be arguably one of his biggest assets. As president, he projected optimism and weathered setbacks with such success that he became known as the “Teflon president.” His foreign policy legacy, tarnished after the Iran-Contra affair, was redeemed in the eyes of many by the end of the Cold War and the opening of relations with the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. The long-term success of his sweeping tax cuts and “Reaganomics” may have been debatable, but he managed to maintain his popularity throughout, leaving the White House in the hands of his loyal vice president, George H.W. Bush, in 1988 and maintaining a high approval rating. Six years later, Reagan made the sobering announcement that he had Alzheimer’s disease, which would end his public career. He died on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93.
Carole H. Doughty, 79, passed away peacefully in Winter Haven, Florida, on January 20, 2026. She was a beloved mother, sister, daughter, and friend whose personable and loving nature touched the lives of all who knew her.
Born in Millinocket, Maine, on September 28, 1946, to Ruth and Walter Hamilton, Carole spent her later years in Florida. Although she was small in stature, she was a warrior who lived her life with fierce devotion to her family and demonstrated tremendous strength and resilience as a 28-year cancer survivor. She enjoyed playing cards and watching football and basketball, but she was happiest when she was surrounded by the love and laughter of her family and friends.
She was predeceased by her husband and love of her life, Jeff Doughty, Sr., with whom she shared a bucket list adventure traveling throughout the country in their RV, culminating in Alaska. She was also predeceased by her sister, Linda Hamilton Diaz, and her brother, Wally Hamilton.
She is survived and greatly missed by her daughter and son-in-law Christine and Randy Lee of Winter Haven, Florida; son and daughter-in-law Steven Todd and Leane Cyr of Brewer, Maine; stepchildren David Miller, Jeff Doughty, Jr., and Melissa Doughty; grandchildren Sydney and Will Conrad of Kennesaw, Georgia; Anna and Alex Price of Winter Haven, Florida; and Landon Cyr of Bangor, Maine; step-grandchildren Daniel, Katlyn, and Kristen; great grandchildren Alaina, Adeline, Hudson, and Isla; and step-great grandchildren Conner and Carter.
She also treasured many special nieces, nephews, cousins, and their families, who will continue to honor her memory.
Carole Doughty’s legacy of love and strength will live on in the hearts of all who knew her.
A joint celebration of her life and that of her recently passed brother, Wally Hamilton, will be held in Maine this summer.
Looking for live music in Winter Haven this week? From lakeside stages to cozy cocktail lounges, local venues are keeping the rhythm going with a packed lineup of performers. Here’s where you can catch live music around town over the next week.
Sage Cocktail Lounge hosts Sage Sessions every Tuesday evening, featuring live music in an intimate lounge setting.
See the venue’s flyer for weekly artist details.
Smoke on the Water
Friday, Feb. 6 Joey Foley Trio performs at Smoke on the Water, pairing live music with lakeside views and dining.
Want Your Music Featured?
If you’re a musician and would like Winter Haven Daily to highlight your upcoming shows around Winter Haven, email your schedule to [email protected]. Please put in headline: LIVE MUSIC
A Community Development District (CDD) originally spanning more than 583 acres is set to be reduced by just over 51 acres as Winter Haven city officials review an ordinance to contract its boundaries—a move driven by changes in development plans rather than residential expansion.
At their meeting on Monday, Jan. 26, the Winter Haven City Commission held a first reading of an ordinance that would reduce the boundaries of the VillaMar Community Development District.
Established on Nov. 26, 2018, the VillaMar CDD is located north and south of Cunningham Road, west of Lake Cunningham, and south of Grassy Lake. The district currently encompasses 583.79 acres and includes seven platted phases totaling 2,002 residential lots.
The area proposed for removal consists of approximately 51.62 acres located north and south of Thompson Nursery Road and southeast of Grassy Lake. This portion of land was originally planned as Phase 8 of the VillaMar Subdivision. If approved, the change would reduce the total size of the CDD to 532.17 acres.
According to City of Winter Haven Director of Public Affairs and Communication Katrina Hill, the proposed contraction is the result of a shift in development strategy. She explained that the developer is choosing to construct fewer homes within the district and has recently changed the land use designation of the removed area from residential to commercial.
The revised plan would allow for supporting commercial development, such as a small retail store or gas station, rather than additional housing. As a result, the acreage is no longer needed within the residential-focused Community Development District.
Hill noted that viewing the CDD contraction alongside broader discussions of population growth and housing demand can appear contradictory. From a planning perspective, she said, the underlying story is the decision to scale back the size of the CDD and reduce residential buildout.
The change, she added, may reflect shifting market conditions and a potential softening in demand for new housing in the area, prompting developers to adjust plans accordingly.
VillaMar remains a large master-planned community in southeast Winter Haven, developed by D.R. Horton, Highland Homes, and Ryan Homes, with a mix of residential neighborhoods and amenities.
No vote was taken on the ordinance, as it was presented for first reading only. City Commissioners are scheduled to consider final approval at their next meeting on Monday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m. at Winter Haven City Hall.
33-year old Joseph Andrew Olavarria had an active Hillsborough County warrant for: Solicitation to Commit Human Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Activity Victim less than 18, Use of Computer Services or Devices to Solicit Certain illegal Acts, and Transmission of Harmful Material to a Minor.
Early Thursday morning, February 5th, Polk County deputies were notified about the warrant and went out to locate Olavarria in the Oakwood Knoll neighborhood in the Medulla area of Lakeland.
At around 1:30 am, deputies arrived at the residence and found Olavarria in the garage; he was quickly arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office without incident.
The mere presence of a PCSO K9 may have convinced Olavarria to cooperate with deputies.
Joseph Andrew Olavarria was taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center on his warrant.
