LAKE PLACID — Everybody dreams. Many dream of running their own business, while others dream of owning their own home. Sometimes those two wishes conflict. Five years ago, Joanne and Paul Heinsohn moved into Highlands Park Estates and sought peace and quiet. During the past two years, Joanne Heinsohn has called the Highlands County Code Enforcement Office eight to 10 times with complaints that a truck trailer is parked in the neighborhood. In February, that neighbor received a warning citation from the county for parking a truck trailer in a residential area, and was given seven days to comply. ...more

December 15, 2007

Recently there appeared several articles about the privately owned sewage plant off Thunderbird Road, serving a small subdivision in this area. Let me share facts and thoughts about this debacle. The present owner appears to be David Plank, who inherited this facility from his now deceased father, Seth Plank, about six years ago. The elder Mr. Plank subdivided and platted this area mostly consisting of Sunbird Circle, about 50 to 60 lots zoned for mobile home single- and double-wide units. Understand, as a developer a business was created to make a profit on the sale of lots. Part of the plan was to provide a treatment plant to serve this development. A cheap, substandard plant was built with a planned obsolesces to be 20-25 years. ...more

December 6, 2007

SEBRING — Assessments of more than $5,000 on customers of the Thunderbird Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant may not be necessary to solve the long-standing problems at the plant. In an effort to eliminate, or at least minimize, the potential assessments, Highlands County commissioners agreed Tuesday to talks on a possible new solution. Next week, county officials will meet with representatives of Highlands Utilities, which runs a wastewater treatment plant serving 1,250 customers, including Lakeshore Mall and many businesses along U.S. 27. There will be one topic: arranging for the Highlands Utilities wastewater plant to treat the sewage from the nearby Thunderbird Hills plant, which has been operating without an operating permit from the state Department of Environmental Services for six years. ...more

December 5, 2007

The Highlands Art League would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support and contributions. An event as large as the festival would not be possible without community support, and we appreciate all our community does for us. Our title sponsor this year was Mid Florida Credit Union. Our Friday night activities were underwritten by the city of Sebring CRA with Golden Palms Catering Company providing all the food for the weekend activities at the Yellow House. We have been able to count on them for their support for the past four years. The Florida Mentor, Dr. and Mrs. Pigman, and Happy Owl teamed together to be our Community Street Sponsors. Progress Energy came back and sponsored Children's Street this year. Crutchfield and Sons joined them to provide for the Children's Fest Tent. The children were able to make small crafts for free, thanks to them. ...more

November 24, 2007

SEBRING — A traffic signal will be added to the intersection of Scenic Highway and Sebring Parkway within six months. Sebring City Council approved at Tuesday's meeting spending $75,000 for the $150,000 project. Ramon Gavarrete, county engineer, said the county has been considering a signal at the intersection since the Parkway opened in 2002. Traffic is now at a high enough capacity that a signal is warranted, Gavarrete said. ...more

November 22, 2007

My husband and I are school bus drivers for the Sebring School District. We have been fortunate enough to have driven the Sebring Marching Band to several competitions throughout the state in the past two years, the most recent being last Saturday at Bradenton. We must say that it was a pleasure to have accompanied such a wonderful and talented group of young adults. They are fine ambassadors for the city of Sebring. The band director, Colorado Paniagua, is to be commended for the band's success. Getting to the state semifinals is no easy task as the competition is fierce. Her dedication and hard work is apparent. She seems to bring the best out of her students. I would also like to commend the band volunteers who work tirelessly for the students by providing meals and other support on these trips. They are admirable and deserve a big thank you from the community for their hard work. ...more

November 20, 2007

SEBRING — Downtown merchants are asked daily for their restrooms, but soon visitors to the Circle will have another place to go. ...more

October 25, 2007

SEBRING — Riders are revving up their motorcycles for this weekend's Run to the Heartland. Lora Todd, marketing director for Run to the Heartland, said she estimates the attendance will be about 60,000 for the three-day event, hosted by Heartland Riders Association. This year the event is the official Southeast Regional Convention for the American Motorcyclist Association, which generates a lot of additional traffic, Todd said. ...more

October 4, 2007