Traffic lights were swinging and palm trees bent under sustained 25 mph winds that gusted to 42 mph while rain pounded on area roofs thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, according to Highlands County Emergency Management Director Bill Nichols. ...more

August 19, 2008

An early morning crash Monday at the intersection of U.S. 27 and State Road 64 closed the intersection as police investigated the accident and crews cleaned up a hazardous diesel spill. ...more

August 19, 2008

Police were still investigating Monday the armed robbery early Saturday of the Hilltop Shell gas station and convenience store, located at the intersection of Memorial Drive and East Main Street. ...more

August 19, 2008

Police, along with staff at Duck's Body Shop and Garage, demonstrated Friday a new public safety tool the department recently added in its arsenal called the ResQMe Mini Keychain Auto Escape Tool, by shattering a window on a junk car. ...more

August 16, 2008

The economy. The real-estate bubble. Jobs. Impact fees. Big budgets. A new sheriff's building. The list can go on. ...more

August 11, 2008

Police made their presence felt Wednesday on the Sebring Parkway when officers held laser speed monitoring devices and relayed drivers' speed to nearby units to stop speeders on the Sebring Parkway. ...more

July 31, 2008

Police Det. Dan Burke retrieved three stolen purses from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, recovered recently in a bag on the roadside by a county cleanup crew near the Florida's Natural juice plant in Lake Wales. ...more

July 26, 2008

AVON PARK — Police officers will pay a few courtesy calls on the city's residents and businesses armed with a new tool, courtesy cards. Police Chief Matthew P. Doughney and the Avon Park Police Department will implement a courtesy card program as an effort to increase crime prevention and citizen awareness. The cards will have the officer's name, time the property was checked and the officer's comments. They also provide people with valuable information such as important telephone numbers and how to prevent residential, business and car burglaries . ...more

June 18, 2008

AVON PARK — Graduation night shooting victim Dwight Hankerson, 18, of Sebring, and his shooting suspect, Antwan Leon Jones, 18, of Avon Park, had been friends in the months prior to the shooting, according to Amina Mathis, the victim's mother. "He's been at my house before as a friend of Dwight," Mathis said late Monday. Hankerson used to date Jones' sister, Mathis said. "They broke up or something. I don't know any details," she added. Mathis said she didn't understand the motive behind the alleged shooting. ...more

June 4, 2008

AVON PARK — An 18-year-old Sebring youth remained in Florida Hospital in stable condition Monday, and a shooting suspect was in custody, after a young man was shot Saturday morning in his abdomen. The shooting occurred near the corner of East Hal McRae Boulevard and South Delaney Avenue, in Avon Park, according to police. Dwight Hankerson, 18, of Sebring was shot early Saturday morning about an hour after the Friday night graduation dance ended at the former Hopewell Academy. Antwan L. Jones, 18, of 1025 Marble Ave., Avon Park, was already in police custody Monday afternoon, to be charged with attempted second-degree murder, according to Avon Park Police Cmdr. Michael J. Rowan. ...more

June 2, 2008