Residents drafting a master growth plan for Brandon are stymied over what to do about roads and the environment. ...more

June 28, 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

AVON PARK — A Sebring man remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bond Thursday, after he was arrested on a warrant in connection with a joint drug sting conducted by Avon Park and Lake Wales police departments. Michael Lamar Williams, 25, also known as Michael Lamar Small, Michael Williams and Michael Pye, of 1618 Penny Ave., Sebring, (according to Highlands County Sheriff's Booking) or of 171 E. Rainbow St., Avon Park (according to the arrest report), on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a church and sale of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a church. Undercover Lake Wales Police detectives reported that on Feb. 1 they were driving in the 800 block of South Delaney Avenue when they were flagged down by buy $20 worth of "green or tree," a common street-level name for marijuana. ...more

May 29, 2008

AVON PARK — The City Council heard some noise from a resident complaining about people blasting their stereos all over the city, and agreed that the existing noise ordinance wasn't enough to mute them. The council asked City Attorney Gerald Buhr and Police Chief Matthew Doughney to figure a way to increase the penalties for playing loud music, after Charles Devlin said that he could hear them across Lake Tulane most weekends. "Every single night without exceptions you hear loud music," Devlin told the council. ...more

May 28, 2008

AVON PARK - The city council heard some noise from a resident complaining about people blasting their stereos all over the city, and agreed that the existing noise ordinance wasn't enough to mute them. The council asked City Attorney Gerald Buhr and Police Chief Matthew Doughney to figure a way to increase the penalties for playing loud music, after Charles Devlin said that he could hear them across Lake Tulane most weekends. ...more

May 27, 2008

Self-discipline, exercise and teamwork are some of the benefits 10-year Carrollwood resident Heather Holloway sees in baton twirling. ...more

May 19, 2008

LAKE PLACID –– For the first time in many a moon, Lake Placid head coach Dan Coomes has a smile on his face when talking about his baseball squad. "I'm really excited to see how this team is going to perform," said the LP head coach. "We've got a good mixture of youth and experience and for the first time we have depth at every position. We haven't had this kind of depth in a long while." You would think that by the Green Dragons showing in last week's Bill Jarrett Early Bird Tournament — losing 9-2 to Lake Region and 16-0 to cross-county rival Sebring — that they've regressed somehow, but Coomes has a definite method to his madness. "You only get better by playing the high-caliber teams," Coomes said. "We have to learn to close out games and not let our mistakes cost us the game. You can't make mistakes against teams like that because that's all they need to beat you. ...more

February 25, 2008

Chris Douglas-Roberts converted a 3-point play with 6.5 seconds left, giving No. 1 Memphis a 79-78 win against UAB Saturday night and keeping the Tigers perfect. ...more

February 17, 2008

A.D. Vassallo scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and Virginia Tech opened the game with an 18-4 run and didn't let mistake-prone Florida State get within single digits until too late in an 89-80 victory Tuesday night. ...more

January 30, 2008