Best states to retire?
Friday, May 17, 2013
- SEBRING Bankrate.com has gathered a gaggle of statistics on the best states in America to retire. Its decision?
Depression can be lethal CDC: suicide rates exceed motor vehicle deaths
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
- SEBRING Sue keeps a terrible secret from her children, from her co-workers, even from a psychologist she saw once.
Highlands hospitals to lose Medicaid funding
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
- Local hospitals can expect to lose hundreds of thousands of federal health care dollars next year.
Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis, HIV, AIDS…
Monday, May 13, 2013
- Highlands County reported 31 HIV cases from 2009-11. That’s 10.5 per 100,000. If there’s good news in that report, it’s that the Florida rate is 27.7.
Work until you drop
Saturday, May 11, 2013
- SEBRING Retirement could be worse for Wes Linscott. He retired at 60 after 24 years as a police dispatcher and 911 operator in Maine.
County releases cell phone audit
Friday, May 10, 2013
- A cell phone audit of Highlands County employees revealed that some are still making extensive personal calls, an unknown employee, and a retired employee whose cell phone showed activity, even though it was turned in
WE WANT TO KNOW: Should Florida rank 19th on retirement places?
Thursday, May 9, 2013
- Are our beaches not as white anymore? Are our days not as warm and sunny?
Sales tax trends back to pre-boom times
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
- SEBRING Officially, America’s Great Recession of 2008 only lasted a year.
Commissioners forgive code enforcement liens
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
- SEBRING Commissioners forgave more than $80,000 in liens against three property owners after they pleaded extenuating circumstances at Tuesday’s meeting.
Guardsmen in Qatar now
Monday, May 6, 2013
- National Guardsmen who left Sebring in February for Camp Shelby have reached foreign military bases for their nine-month deployment, Master Sgt. Tom Kielbasa said Friday.
Window breakers have June court date
Saturday, May 4, 2013
- SEBRING Two men charged in the March window-shooting spree were set for pre-trial conferences: Cody Scott Dayfert on June 19, Michael William Brown on June 20.
Competency hearing ordered for lawyer
Thursday, May 2, 2013
- SEBRING A competency hearing has been set for John Sanders Haile, the Lake Placid attorney and accountant who is accused of defrauding a widow’s family out of her legacy.
Does BMI measure fitness?
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
- SEBRING Firefighters should be fit, Sebring’s chief and Highlands County’s training officer agreed, but measuring body mass index isn’t the way to ascertain that.
The future of terrorism
Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013
- When the World Trade Centers were attacked 12 years ago, Americans wondered whether terrorist acts would become as commonplace here as in Israel.
WE WANT TO KNOW Do you expect occasional terrorism acts?
Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013
- SEBRING When the World Trade Centers were attacked 12 years ago, Americans wondered whether terrorist acts would become commonplace like Israel.
WE WANT TO KNOW Is BMI 25 too fat to fight a fire?
Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013
- SEBRING The House rejected an amendment by Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, setting a maximum body mass index of 25 for firefighters.
SNL supervisors calling for a new fire department
Sunday, Apr 28, 2013
- When Sun n’ Lake residents dial 911 in October, a different fire department will answer, the board of supervisors decided Friday.
TDC wants bed tax hiked
Saturday, Apr 27, 2013
- Tourist Development Council members will ask the Highlands County commissioners next month to raise the bed tax from 2 percent to 3 percent.
Five honored at Law Day ceremony
Thursday, Apr 25, 2013
- Officially, it’s Law Day in Highlands County, but it was also awards and recognition day for Linda Nagel, Don Applequist, Kelly Carpenter, Andrew Jackson and David Langford.
County forgives thousands in federal home loans
Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013
- SEBRING Sixteen people were given free second mortgages or home repairs under the terms of programs administrated by the Highlands County Housing Department.
Getting Floridians back to work
Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013
- The Great Recession officially ended in June 2009, but it’s been an unusual four-year recovery with consumer spending, housing and construction inexplicably dragging bottom ever since.
Pigman scores unanimous victory on abortion bill
Friday, Apr 19, 2013
- SEBRING For Cary Pigman, it was a triple victory. Not only did he pass a bill as a freshman Florida legislator, it was an abortion bill. And it passed unanimously.
Plea bargains unlikely for Rodriguez, Felipe
Thursday, Apr 18, 2013
- SEBRING Unlike two other defendants in the murder case of Aaron Doty, Jonathan Rodriguez and Kenneth Felipe didn’t plea bargain with the prosecutors on Thursday. Pretrial conferences for both accused killers were continued ...
Commission chair questions loan forgiveness
Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013
- County commission Chairman Jack Richie said Wednesday he was unaware that Highlands County had arranged loans in 2006 with 16 people that would be forgiven within seven years.
Two Doty defendants in court Wednesday
Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013
- Two defendants in the Aaron Doty murder case were in court Wednesday. One will probably accept a plea deal soon, said Assistant State Attorney Pete Barone.
Commissioners favor relaxed landscape regs
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013
- SEBRING Should an automobile or portable shed dealer, or a rental business be required to plant rows of trees and shrubs that hide its outdoor inventory?
Engineers to discuss widening U.S. 98
Sunday, Apr 14, 2013
- It likely won’t happen for another two decades, but Florida Department of Transportation officials have set a public meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the need to 4-lane U.S. 98.
Avon Park man sentenced in bizarre horse theft
Friday, Apr 12, 2013
- SEBRING A man arrested in Avon Park last year for butchering an Arkansas rodeo horse has been convicted in the revenge scandal, along with a Southern Arkansas University barrel racer and her mother.
Locals: Illegals should be on citizenship path
Wednesday, Apr 10, 2013
- SEBRING A majority of Americans think illegal aliens should have a path to citizenship, a Pew survey found, and all six Sebring citizens interviewed on Wednesday morning agreed.
Legislature, county working feral cat laws
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2013
- SEBRING Both the state and Highlands County are designing laws to reduce Florida’s feral feline population.
Sun ‘n Lake tables abolishing fire department
Friday, Apr 5, 2013
- Sun N’ Lake supervisors on Friday tabled an agenda item that would have dissolved their fire department and replaced paid firefighters with volunteers.
Major League Fishing begins airing
Thursday, Apr 4, 2013
- SEBRING Back in October, Major League Fishing anglers moved from the Western New York hills to film at Lake Istokpoga as the 2013 GEICO Challenge Cup began.
Some citrus trees dropping up to 45% of fruit
Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013
- SEBRING How bad is this year’s citrus crop?
Jeff Carlson’s trial off; more depositions allowed
Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013
- Jeff Carlson’s trial has been continued again.
County rejects recycling, Parkway pulled
Tuesday, Apr 2, 2013
- SEBRING Highlands County residents won’t see curbside recycling for several months, at least.
County hires new assistant administrator
Tuesday, Apr 2, 2013
- SEBRING Randal Vosburg was hired Tuesday as the new Highlands County assistant administrator.
What the heck is 4G? It's geek for 'fast.'
Friday, Mar 29, 2013
- SEBRING Kenneth Cribb's job regularly takes him from Avon Park to Venus.
Two former WWII POWs meet in Sebring
Friday, Mar 29, 2013
- The last time they saw each other was 68 years ago. At ages 22 and 23, they had just been liberated from a Japanese prisoner of war camp, where they’d been placed for 15 weeks after being shot down over Tokyo.
A new spirit of détente at Animal Control
Thursday, Mar 28, 2013
- SEBRING At Highlands County Animal Control, there aren’t just 96 new dog bowls and an indoor cat house, there’s a new attitude.
Swamp Hammock is in business, sort of
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013
- SEBRING In a Solomon decision Tuesday, county commissioners gave both sides half of what they wanted, but neither may be satisfied.
WE WANT TO KNOW Do you have 4G?
Tuesday, Mar 26, 2013
- A few years ago, the telephone companies touted third-generation phones. Now, AT&T is introducing 4G LTE.
Those great apes are our neighbors
Monday, Mar 25, 2013
- WAUCHULA Saturday was a chance to see the apes, talk to the volunteers and get those curious questions answered.
Hebert, Rodriguez plead guilty
Monday, Mar 25, 2013
- SEBRING In return for their testimonies, Nicole Hebert pleaded nolo contendre Monday for her part in the murder of Aaron Doty, and Adrianna Rodriguez pleaded guilty.
Why is juvenile crime declining?
Monday, Mar 25, 2013
- Juvenile crime has declined 28 percent in Highlands County during the past four years. The question is why.
Vets must fight VA for benefits
Saturday, Mar 23, 2013
- SEBRING Eldridge Butler wears a black WWII-Korean cap.