SEBRING — A Sebring man remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $15,250 bond, after sheriff's investigators say he burglarized his aunt's Leisure Lakes home three times by crawling through her doggie door. Michael Wayne Britt, 31, of 2105 U.S. 27 S., Lot 339, was charged with three counts of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and one count of petty theft first offense. According to sheriff's deputy Michael Weed's report, between May 8 and May 26, Britt pushed his 6-foot 150 pound frame through a doggie door in the rear of a home belonging to his aunt in the 900 block of Wildflower Street in Leisure Lakes. ...more

June 12, 2008

SEBRING — When Ave Maria opened last year in Collier County, two large landowners in Highlands County started working on a plan to conserve their land so they could organize the same kind of city, minus the controversies that surround that development. But after a series of fits and starts, the Rural Land Stewardship Area Program appears dead in Highlands County. First, Lykes Bros. dropped out of the program. Now, Atlanticblue has put in a more traditional rezoning request. Susie Bishop, an Atlanticblue spokeswoman, said Atlanticblue got tired of waiting for the state to review the program rules, and was discouraged by what she described as a new leadership in Tallahassee that stripped the program of incentives. ...more

June 8, 2008

Residents of Leisure Lakes had a frightening reminder this past week of what can happen with a brush fire. Nearly 400 acres of land were burned, homes and other structures were threatened. People had to evacuate and resources were expended by several fire departments. Fortunately nobody was injured. Although it was said to be an accident, the fire really never should have started. Apparently a resident was burning yard trash and red-hot material escaped. ...more

February 17, 2008

LAKE PLACID — At approximately 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Highlands County Emergency Management officials and firefighters responded to a structure fire at 942 Peachtree Drive, in Lake Placid's Leisure Lakes subdivision. Ben Henley, of the Highlands County EOC, said that as of Thursday at press time, the fire had been contained. There were no injuries according to Henley. ...more

February 15, 2008

At approximately 12:15 p.m., Highlands County Emergency Management Officials and firefighters were asked to respond to a structure fire at 942 Peachtree Drive, in Lake Placid's Leisure Lakes subdivision. ...more

February 14, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Florida Division of Forestry investigators now know what caused the wildfire in the Leisure Lakes community, but they're not releasing names or addresses yet. ...more

February 14, 2008

LAKE PLACID — As firefighters battled flames Monday and Tuesday, they kept talking about defensible space. That's a minimum 30-foot no-vegetation zone around houses, barns, outbuildings and other possessions. Two hundred feet is more desirable. ...more

February 14, 2008

LAKE PLACID — About 400 acres of brushy, forested land burned Monday and Tuesday, but no houses, no barns, no businesses were damaged. Exactly how does that happen, when hundreds of structures are threatened? ...more

February 14, 2008

Jimmy Branca doesn't know exactly what saved his life: his Chevy truck, a safety device on the powerline up above, or maybe God. ...more

February 13, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Tuesday morning, bright and early, Florida Division of Forestry crews were out with bulldozers, pushing down brush and small trees that could cause future blazes. ...more

February 12, 2008