A major drop in prices for recyclable materials has forced a local scrap yard and the Highlands County Recycling Department to store much of what it takes in. ...more

December 5, 2008

A group of men sold more than 30 stolen vehicles to Bartow Auto Salvage, Polk County deputies say. ...more

August 30, 2008

TAMPA - A group of men sold more than 30 stolen vehicles to Bartow Auto Salvage, Polk County deputies say. ...more

August 29, 2008

A Sebring man was arrested and two teenage boys were in the care of the Department of Juvenile Justice on Wednesday after sheriff's deputies say they removed five vehicle transaxles from a Deer Trail field and tried to sell them. ...more

August 6, 2008

SEBRING — A constant stream of men and women – most driving dinged-up pickups with scarred hands and broken fingernails – drove onto the scales Monday at Jim's Auto Salvage's scrap metal division. They sold car batteries, major appliances, metal poles, air conditioners and even a 240-pound metal garage door. The trucks were carrying mostly junk – items useless to most – but valuable as scrap metal destined for recycling. ...more

May 6, 2008

SEBRING — Copper, the metal used to make pennies, has become a valuable commodity to thieves. Across the country, copper and brass theft has become an epidemic because of the money that can be made off selling the metals to scrap yards. And while copper theft from abandoned buildings, homes and businesses may take place in Highlands County, it hasn't become a trend, according to local authorities. "It's an ongoing problem, and every once in a while you see a rash in cases," said Maj. Mark Schrader, of the Highlands County Sheriff's Office. "I wouldn't say that we have a large number of cases involving it, though." ...more

October 26, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - Friends and acquaintances gathered outside Lee Johns' business remembered him Saturday afternoon as a quiet man who loved old cars, playing pool and shooting darts. ...more

September 16, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - Pasco sheriff's detectives are searching for the killer of a Land O'Lakes mechanic found dead Friday outside the garage where he worked. ...more

September 15, 2007