Highlands County recorded another death from the Covid-19 infection yesterday – state reports now record 11 deaths in the County. The most recent passing was listed by the state as a 67-year old female resident who had known contact with another Covid-19 patient. The current state dashboard numbers are delayed for today, but as of last night our infection count showed 279 total cases since the outbreak began. 17 locals were listed as under care in local hospitals as of last check. All but one care facility in Highlands County show no current residents infected; four show staff having had cases reported and one – Florida Mentor in Avon Park – shows 8 staff and 10 residents contracting the infection.
Just a reminder, if you get trash pickup in the area served by Highlands County’s contract service – those green and yellow cans return to being RECYCLING containers again as of Monday. Curbside recycling returns with next week’s pickup. Plastic bottles, aluminum and steel cans, cardboard and corregated box material is all they’ll take at the outset – the rest needs to go in the blue containers. Contaminated recyclable loads were one of the factors making the system problematic before the shutdown a few months ago and they’re hoping the simpler list will get them cleaner, more usable loads for what little market there IS for recyclables.
A 61-year-old Avon Park man is in the Highlands County Jail facing a charge of attempted murder in connection with a June 21 stabbing outside an Avon Park bar. Eddie Evans was arrested Wednesday. He is being held without bond. Deputies were called to The Joint, a bar on South Delaney Avenue, shortly after 1 a.m. on June 21. When they arrived, they found the victim suffering from stab wounds to his chest and arm. The victim was airlifted to Tampa General, but was discharged the same day and is expected to fully recover.
Just in case you were wondering about what’s going on in Downtown Sebring where the old Bank of America Drive-through units were near the intersection of South Ridgewood and Lakeview … they’re in the process of getting torn down. The property was aquired by the city a while back and is planned for parking spaces. The spot where the teller stations had been will be green space. The job should be done in late summer now, after things got pushed back during the pandemic.
There’s a million old stories about firemen rescuing cats caught up in trees – West Sebring firefighters rescued one caught in a car’s engine compartment Wednesday at Advent Health Sebring. No hook and ladder needed, but it did take a few tools … the critter was stuck behind the skid plate and they had to remove that to get the kitty out and placed in a good home in Sun N Lake. Purrr.