Florida State Patrol reports say that the traffic tyups have been cleared after a one-car rollover acident nea the intersection of Highway 27 and Dasher Roads on Lake Placid’s south side this morning. The call came in to County dispatch just past 5:30 this morning and was handed off to the Florida Highway Patrol for investigation. Details haven’t been released yet, but we know it involved a one-car rollover – and we know there were some injuries reported.
The Highlands County Sheriff’s Department is trying something next week that sounds like a page out of a bigger city’s playbook. A gun buy-back event, scheduled three times next week in Avon Park, Sebring and Lake Placid. Ununused guns can be turned into members of the department’s COPS ADAPT program for a $50 Wal Mart Gift Card on a no-questions asked basis.
Highlands County got its preliminary tax rate when the County Commission met this week, and it was tentatively plugged in at a slight increase. Avon Park’s City Council had the same item on their agenda this week, and they voted for no increase in the city tax rate – 30 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. Both units of government publicly post budgeted figures they HOPE are maximums, so the County’s rate may go down. So, for that matter, may Avon Park’s as budgets for 2019-2020 firm up. Meanwhile, the school board says it’ll cost a little under $10 ½ million more to operate the school district than it did last year, but with state aid formula changes, the school district portion of your property taxes will likely go down juts a little next year.
A Downtown Sebring Institution is back – the Childrens Museum of The Highlands returned to its North Ridgewood location this week with a ribbon cutting and a bunch of new exhibits. The building downtown had to be vacated a few years ago when structural damaged rendered it unsafe – but reparable. The Museum was hosted by Lakeshore Mall from mid 2017 until Spring of this year while repairs and renovations were underway. Museum hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; the museum is closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is $7 per person, ages 1 and up, for all day play. Parents must stay with their child.