Mark Wheeler of Lake Placid has been elected as a southern area vice president at the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference. ...more

June 29, 2009

Male Champion: Doug Morton 35:10 Female Champion: Sarah Brooker 48:22 ...more

March 10, 2009

Mason Smoak's contribution to agriculture and community extended far beyond his hometown of Lake Placid. ...more

February 7, 2009

The National Transportation Safety Board still hasn't concluded the investigation of the June 20 plane crash that killed Mason Smoak and a University of Kentucky professor. ...more

January 2, 2009

Next Tuesday, at Firemen's Field, the public will have a chance to support and learn more about Ag-Venture, a local program that educates students about agriculture, and enjoy a rib-eye steak dinner with home made ice cream. ...more

October 23, 2008

Mason Smoak will be posthumously inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame next year along with three other individuals being recognized for their leadership and dedication to the agriculture industry. ...more

October 4, 2008

VENUS - Nearly a month after a plane crash took the life of a noted black bear researcher, research on South Central Florida's black bear population has been at a near-standstill. ...more

July 15, 2008

The last time I heard from Dr. David Maehr, about three weeks ago, he invited me to go bear-tracking. ...more

July 3, 2008

An overflow crowd jammed the Memorial United Methodist Church Sanctuary last Wednesday to pay respects to Mason Smoak, who died in an airplane crash June 20. There were so many people there that the Lake Placid church had to use its Fellowship Hall to accommodate all of them. According to the Highlands County Sheriff's Office, a 1989 fixed wing, single engine, two-seater Piper Cub was returning to the Placid Lakes Airport and crashed near the south end of the runway. Smoak, who was the pilot of the airplane at the time of crash, and his passenger, Dave Maehr, died at the scene. Smoak and Maehr were conducting aerial surveys of black bears in Highlands County. Maehr was a visiting scientist at Archold Biological Station while on sabbatical from the University of Kentucky. ...more

June 29, 2008

SEBRING — Highlands County is still working on a plan for a north-south route from the Highlands Hammock State Park area to Thunderbird Road, Planner Don Hanna said Wednesday. "We don't have the model updated," Hanna said. "Tindale-Oliver is still working on it. It's supposed to be done in December." ...more

June 25, 2008