One of my favorite things about Highlands County is that it's a melting pot. We have people here from every corner of the United States as well as many foreign countries. Just go to the mall or the circle in downtown Sebring and watch the parade of people. You'll see old, middle-aged and young, as well as every race and ethnic variety. Or go into any of our many fine restaurants and listen to the people around you. You'll hear accents from Brooklyn to Jamaican and everything in between. It's what gives our county a life all its own. That mix of people also gives us a mix of cultures that enriches our choices in everything from the clothes in our stores, to the foods in our restaurants, the music on our radios, and the art you'll find when you walk the streets of downtown Sebring during the upcoming Arts Festival. I'm not an artist, but I do appreciate art in all its myriad forms. I never cease to marvel at the creativity innate in the human spirit. The universal urge toward artistic expression, in everything from pottery to pastries to photography, is proof that we humans are all cut from the same cloth. ...more

November 4, 2007