Push for lowering DUI limit gets mixed reactions
Saturday, May 18, 2013
- For Jackie Walker, there’s no question whether the blood alcohol content level to determine driving under the influence should be lowered.
Crime decreases in Highlands County
Saturday, May 18, 2013
- Crime overall decreased in Highlands County in 2012, surpassing statewide trends in the same direction, according to statistics released last week by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Fox comes to Circle Park
Friday, May 17, 2013
- It didn’t cost anything for Sebring residents to visit the downtown circle Friday and spend time with some of the city’s most well-known residents, including politicians, business owners and at least one protester.
Sebring Police Department celebrates 100 years
Thursday, May 16, 2013
- SEBRING When Rooter Rush visited the Sebring Police Department decades ago as a teenager it wasn’t his choice back then. He recalled Wednesday he got in trouble for mischief involving sprinklers and minor alcohol law violat...
Boys and Girls Club to move into new building
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
- SEBRING A building downtown at 248 Pomegrante Ave. has housed, a theater, a pet store, an appliance repair business and a mechanic’s shop during past eight decades.
Fox comes to downtown circle
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
- SEBRING If New York City is too far a destination to become part of an audience for a television morning show, Sebring’s downtown circle will provide an alternative Friday.
Highlands County canines to compete in regional event
Monday, May 13, 2013
- This will be a year of firsts for the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office’s Canine Unit.
Police Department to celebrate 100 years
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
- SEBRING – Sebring Police Department will celebrate its first century on Thursday with an open house and a ceremony, events that are open to the public.
Mothers remembered for unselfishness
Friday, May 10, 2013
- As a child growing up with hearing impairment, Nikki Cassel needed someone who would care for her and help her overcome challenges.
Job fair helps vets, others find jobs
Friday, May 10, 2013
- SEBRING From 2007 to 2011, Sean Buck had a steady job serving in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Event remembers fallen officers
Thursday, May 9, 2013
- During all the time he was growing up, Nick Sottile Jr. knew his father, Nicholas G. Sottile, as a law enforcement officer, he recalled.
Local businesses favor on-line sales tax
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
- SEBRING – When some wall paper customers go to Griffin’s Carpet Mart, they look at what’s available and then go and find it online to order, owner John Griffin said.
Man struck by hit-and-run driver dies
Monday, May 6, 2013
- A man who was struck by a vehicle while walking along Desoto City Road last month died Sunday around 6:30 p.m. at a Sebring hospice.
Owner of Sebring biz charged with grand theft
Saturday, May 4, 2013
- The owner of Highland County’s Start-up Business of the Year in 2011 was arrested this week on felony theft charges, but he insists that he has done nothing wrong.
Sebring’s downtown headed in right direction, director says
Friday, May 3, 2013
- SEBRING After hearing a revitalization and redevelopment expert speak, one downtown business owner said she believes a change in focus is needed to improve the city’s central business district.
Man saves 89-year-old woman
Friday, May 3, 2013
- HIGHLANDS COUNTY For Ronnie Hathaway III, it was a normal Wednesday. He was working hard for the family’s excavation business around 3:30 p.m. when heavy rain shut the operation down.
Man arrested on arson charges
Friday, May 3, 2013
- SEBRING When during March and May someone set two vehicles on fire outside a downtown bar, the same Sebring man was seen videotaping the blaze with his cell phone in both instances, arrest reports state.
Volunteers help organizations during Day of Caring
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
- SEBRING Eleanor Robinson probably had more fun things to do Wednesday morning than doing cleaning and scrubbing in a kitchen at the Children’s Home Society, but she was anything but unhappy after working for several hours.
Woman accused of embezzling nearly $1 million from doctor’s office
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
- SEBRING An office manager at a medical practice is accused of stealing nearly $1 million during a four-year period and using some of the money to buy a house and help her son, daughter-in-law and husband, according to an ar...
Walk to raise awareness of suicide as a community concern
Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013
- After Giovanni L. “Gio” Rios, 22, committed suicide on March 25, 2011, his mother received comfort from Debby Larkins, the mother of his best friend.
Local black voter turnout for 2012 followed national trends
Monday, Apr 29, 2013
- In what may have been a key factor in President Obama winning re-election, the increase in black voter turnout, both nationally and in Highlands County, surpassed that of other minorities and white voters, an analysis shows.
United Way gets $1 million donation
Friday, Apr 26, 2013
- Since 2002 when a family set up a trust, United Way of Central Florida knew it would be eventually getting $1 million for programs in Highlands County.
Deputy honored for helping save woman’s life
Thursday, Apr 25, 2013
- When the call went out March 10 that a 67-year-old Sebring-area woman appeared to have stopped breathing, Highlands County Deputy Angelic Sanchez was not far away.
City says water system a far cry from what it used to be
Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013
- AVON PARK When Avon Park City Manager Julian Deleon first saw the city’s water system, its equipment was outdated, corroded and had exposed wires, he recalled Wednesday.
City faces pension funding challenge
Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013
- If Sebring ultimately reduces the number of fire department employees covered by the municipal pension, it will be following a number of cities in Florida that have made changes to deal with skyrocketing benefit costs.
High school grad requirements changed
Monday, Apr 22, 2013
- Some Highlands County residents believe changing the requirements for high school graduation is equivalent to lowering standards. Others think the changes make the system more adaptable to individual needs of students.
Deadline nearing to change appeal flood map changes
Monday, Apr 22, 2013
- Residents of Highlands County have until May 2 to appeal proposed changes in county flood maps if their property was designated in the revised map as part of a flood zone, which could mean they’ll pay thousands of dollars a...
Centennial Park dedication set for Monday
Saturday, Apr 20, 2013
- As Angela Heater walked from the Palms of Sebring Friday, she said, she’s happy about the creation of the nearby Centennial Park in the triangle that motorists see as they enter Ridgewood from Lakeview Drive.
Family seeks closure a year after son’s death
Saturday, Apr 20, 2013
- At the funeral last year for a 7-year-old boy whose life was cut short by a speeding car, his parents, Nick and Mandy Fisher, learned that their son touched more people than they ever imagined.
City takes next step to cleanup polluted site
Friday, Apr 19, 2013
- More than a decade after the Park Street Power Station closed, the city of Sebring is still dealing with issues regarding it.
Sebring man finished marathon 20 minutes before explosions
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013
- When Sebring resident Peter Lewia ran in the Boston Marathon Monday it was a good event for him. The weather was favorable and he felt good.
Fire destroys real estate office
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013
- Within about a day or so after part of the two-story wood building at 122 Commerce Ave. was rented, fire heavily damaged it.
Dispatchers recognized during week
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013
- For Rhonda Brockwell, who said she became a dispatcher/9-1-1 operator 28 years ago to help people, one particular call made it all worthwhile.
Sebring council to decide issues regarding union contract
Saturday, Apr 13, 2013
- It’s likely the Sebring City Council will decide in a special meeting within the next two weeks issues regarding pensions, promotions and discipline that have separated the city’s administration and the firefighters’ union.
Event to support cancer research, honor cancer survivors
Friday, Apr 12, 2013
- SEBRING – For Darte Ahlbrandt and his mother, Doris, supporting Relay for Life has a personal meaning.
Prayer vigil held for man hit by car
Thursday, Apr 11, 2013
- As a DeSoto City man lay in a hospital bed fighting for his life, an estimated 500 people crammed the Sebring’s downtown circle Wednesday to ask God to heal him.
Sexual predator convicted of trying to lure child into vehicle
Thursday, Apr 11, 2013
- A Circuit Court jury on Wednesday convicted a sexual predator of attempting to lure or entice a child into his car in Avon Park last year, and violation of probation, Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin said.
Federal budget cuts result in cutbacks to head start programs
Wednesday, Apr 10, 2013
- LAKE PLACID In a busy classroom on Wednesday, 5-year-old Shamiyak Dobson-Armstrong worked on homework, while Marely Ibarr-Bautista, 4, who sat near Shamiyak, created a drawing for her mother.
Council favors hiring private investigator to probe allegation against city manager
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2013
- AVON PARK – The Avon City Council agreed Monday to hire a private investigator to probe allegations made by a councilman against City Manager Julian Deleon.
Drones may be boon to local economy
Monday, Apr 8, 2013
- When drones make the news, it’s often because the unmanned aerial vehicles killed a terrorist in another country.
Protecting kids is thankless job
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2013
- Over the years, Pam Kiffer, an area child protective investigator supervisor for the Florida Department of Children and Family Services, has dealt with cases where families refused help.
More drivers needed for Meals on Wheels Program
Friday, Apr 5, 2013
- SEBRING At 93-years-old Lester Reinbolt might be someone you would expect at that age to be a client of a program like Meals on Wheels that delivers lunch, typically to senior citizens.
Local mother questions why Facebook banned her from site for 24 hours
Thursday, Apr 4, 2013
- SEBRING At least for the most part, the Facebook page “Mother’s Moments” doesn’t generate a lot of controversy.
City takes step toward possibly changing election date
Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013
- SEBRING Rodger Stamps and Ron Williams, two Sebring residents spending time in the downtown Wednesday, chose not to vote in Sebring’s city election in March.
Man found in car was murdered, police say
Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013
- SEBRING A man whose body was discovered Tuesday morning in a car was murdered, Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr said Wednesday.
Affidavit: Walmart video helped crack vandalism case
Monday, Apr 1, 2013
- Two adults and a juvenile reportedly admitted to authorities they shot out business windows throughout the U.S. 27 corridor in Highlands County and the downtown areas, but gave no reason for the vandalism spree late last mo...
Backpack program will add 2 schools in April
Monday, Apr 1, 2013
- A program that provides students from needy families with backpacks full of food on weekends will be expanded to add another 200 students this month, a Heartland Food Bank official said Friday.
Crappie released into Lake Josephine
Monday, Apr 1, 2013
- Larry Swisher loves to catch black crappie, but catches of the fish in Lake Josephine have been few in recent years.
Vandalism arrests made
Friday, Mar 29, 2013
- Three suspects in a county-wide vandalism spree last weekend were arrested Thursday and will face numerous felony and misdemeanor charges, authorities said.
Astronaut shares experiences with local students
Thursday, Mar 28, 2013
- It’s a subject that may make adults cringe.