In separate incidents, two out-of-town women were arrested in a drug sting operation Saturday at an Avon Park gas station. ...more

July 1, 2008

VENUS — A Venus man and woman remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $151,500 bond each Thursday, after they were arrested in connection with a marijuana grow house operation at their home. Reniel Ramos Pina, 29, and Marta Antonia Barrios, 50, both of 44 Cannon Court, Venus, were booked Wednesday on charges of production of marijuana, possession of marijuana more than 20 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia. ...more

May 8, 2008

VENUS — Along an isolated road near the Highlands-Glades county line, a single-engine plane with Iraqi Air Force insignia was grounded Wednesday afternoon. ...more

February 22, 2008

An airplane labeled Iraqi Air Force made an emergency landing on a rural Central Florida highway - near a town called Venus, no less. ...more

February 22, 2008

VENUS — Along an isolated road near the Highlands-Glades county line, a single-engine plane with Iraqi Air Force insignia was grounded Wednesday afternoon. Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kan., confirmed that the plane, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, is a basic training aircraft intended for sale to the Iraqi Air Force. There were no injuries or damages reported in the emergency landing. ...more

February 21, 2008

VENUS — Highlands County Sheriff's Office deputies are continuing to guard a single-engine airplane with Iraqi air force markings that made an emergency landing here on Wednesday afternoon. ...more

February 21, 2008

SEBRING — Nine homeless men who live in the woods across Kenilworth from Sebring High School have been offered homes in Tampa, said Terri McClelland. ...more

February 8, 2008

SEBRING –– The time for tweaking their lineup and making adjustments is over for the boys basketball coaches in the Heartland. It's tournament time. The second round of the boys Class 4A-District 10 tournament is tonight in Palmetto, and Avon Park and Sebring are both in action. Avon Park, which is the No. 5 seed, faces fourth-seed Hardee at 6 tonight. The Red Devils, who lost to Okeechobee 57-55 on Saturday, have had an up and down season and a win tonight against a talented Wildcat squad would send them into Friday night's semifinals. ...more

February 5, 2008

SEBRING — Three Blue Streaks scored in double figures on Friday night to lead the Sebring boys basketball team to a 73-42 victory over LaBelle in the Streaks' final regular season game. Chris Grubb had 14 points, T.J. Williams had 13 and Sam Robinson added 11 in Sebring's final tune-up before the district tournament, which begins Tuesday at Palmetto. "We didn't play well at first, but we switched some things up and forced some turnovers," said Sebring coach Princeton Harris. "Our biggest thing now is staying humble — we haven't won anything yet." ...more

February 2, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Playing with effort, intensity and determination — something that's been lacking on a consistent basis during the season — the Lake Placid boys basketball team used a balanced attack led by Conlin Veley's team-high 13 points to beat LaBelle 64-49 on Friday night. Veley also pulled down 12 rebounds, while younger brother Kurt Veley scored nine points on three 3-pointers as the Class 3A Green Dragons improved to 9-11 with the non-district win. "It was a good win for us," Conlin Veley said. "When we play with effort and intensity, we're a pretty good team. We need to play hard every minute, because when we let down we lose our tempo and teams make runs on us. ...more

January 27, 2008