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Black Friday is officially in progress. After public pressure a couple years ago prompted most major chains to close on Thanksgiving Day, the rush began early this morning. Wal Mart stores posted their opening times at 5am this morning, Home Depot and Lowe’s stores opened at 6am. Down at Lakeshore Mall, Beall’s website posted a Continue reading

Happy Thanksgiving! That may be a reminder to folks with trash cans out waiting for County pickup … this one of those relatively rare holidays when the County’s contractor does NOT do routes. Thursday schedules this week move to Friday, and Friday moves to Saturday. Your local firefighters remind you to stay safe around hot Continue reading

Just a reminder, if you’d forgotten – today’s your last chance this week to transact any business with the County or local governments. All offices will – of course – be closed tomorrow on Thanksgiving, but most will take Friday off as well to let employees spend time with family – and on Friday, maybe, Continue reading

You may think the rent is too darn high here – but according to a new report from Construction Coverage, rental costs in the Avon Park/Sebring metro area are below the national average. The numbers show the median average rent here is $1,261 dollars – with an average of $1,198 for a two bedroom unit Continue reading

It’s very foggy in parts of Highlands and surrounding counties this morning. Officials caution drivers to leave a bit early for their destiations, slow down and use their low-beam headlights for better visibility until the fog lifts. Usually, the Highlands County commission meets the first and third Tuesday of each month – but not this Continue reading

It’s going to be a packed weekend in Highlands County. First, the Master Gardeners will host their "Let it Grow" Festival at the Highlands County Agri-Civic Center. In addition to hundreds of plants that actually will grow here, there will be arts & crafts vendors, food trucks, a silent auction, raffles and classes. That’ll run Continue reading

When it comes to charitable giving, a new report says that the Sebring/Avon Park area is below the national average. The study by "Upgraded Points" indicates that among small US Metro areas, Highlands is 155th on the list. The local numbers show that some 28-percent of taxpayers report charitable contributions, while the national average is Continue reading

It was a sad ending to a standoff in Venus yesterday when Sonny Ray Holland Sr. was shot and killed. It happend after he exchanged gunfire with a sheriff’s SWAT Team. Highlands and Polk County sheriff’s deputies apparently had tried to talk the 43-year-old Venus man out of the mobile home but they were unsuccessful. Continue reading

Many people look outside to see the rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. Locally, lots of folks keep their eyes to the skies to see military aircraft practicing at the Avon Park Bombing Range. Air Force officials say they’ll be holding exercises all this week at the facility. Sorties will run from early morning until late Continue reading

The bridge by Jaxon’s on Lake June was damaged over the weekend, when the structure was hit by a vehicle. According to reports, the driver may have been on the phone when her auto hit the span. It appears there may have been structural damage to the bridge, but the woman driving the car apparently Continue reading