Got some old meds around the house? They may look like small potatoes but it’s NOT good for the environment to just flush or wash ‘em down the drain. Local police and sheriff’s departments are participating in National Drug Take Back Day tomorrow. Old prescription meds can be dropped off at the Lake Placid Police Department, a special Sebring Police collection point at Highlands Regional, or at both Sheriff Department locations downtown on Eucalyptus Street or in Avon Park. No questions asked – collection hours are from 10-2.
Speaking of Hazardous junk, there’s also a County Hazardous waste collection event on Skipper Road south of Sebring. Paints, varnishes and other chemicals, as well as old electronic gear are being taken in. Follow the signs off 27 onto Skipper Road south of Sebring.
Looks like a few fewer of us are working lately – Career Source Heartland released the unemployment figures for the area this week and says the four-county unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% in September. The region includes Highlands, Hardee, Okeechobee and Glades County. That 4.2% number is up from last September’s 3.6% rate and a bit above the state’s 3.0% unemployment. Okeechobee County’s the hot spot in the area for jobs, reporting 3.5% unemployment, and Highlands the hardest-hit in the region, where we came in with a 4.7% jobless rate.
Halloween weekend begins in earnest tonight with a couple events in Downtown Sebring – Sebring’s Downtown Fall-o-Ween Trick or Treat event is this evening – munchies, fun and games for the little ones, and the Pumpkin Prince and Princess contests, on the Circle. And the Chamber of Commerce has haunted up the Circle Theatre with a Haunted Maze tonight, tomorrow and again on Tuesday evenings. Official Trick or Treating, by the way, is set for Saturday night in Sebring and Avon Park. Lake Placid urges their goblins to head for the Lake Placid Halloween Block Party downtown of Tuesday Night for treats and events there on the Day itself.
Avon Park’s latest car dealership opens its new facility this afternoon. Huston Chevrolet has a new showroom and dealership location on Highway 27 just south of Avon Park. The official ribbon cutting is this evening with prizes, music, catered food and tours of the new facility. The dealership’s sister facility, Huston Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep and RAM, has a Car Show and Trunk or Treat celebration tomorrow beginning at 10am.
Last week the Sebring Historical Society had their inaugural Pioneer Daze. A similar event is being staged in Lake Wales. The event is in Lake Wailes Park tomorrow and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It’s a FREE, 2-day heritage celebration for the whole family.