Local racers will start the new decade by putting vehicles on the track starting today. At the Sebring International Raceway the annual Hoosier Racing Sports Car Club of America’s Super Tour begins in earnest.
Practice and qualifying sessions are set to begin this morning. More than 300 cars and drivers are slated in for the annual event.
The New Year’s Bash begins at the Avon Park Mowerplex this afternoon. They’ll have open practice for the lawnmower racers there. The actual racing won’t begin until tomorrow night. NASGRASS officials say they are poised to begin breaking records for participation.
It’s getting into the dry season, and that means brush fires are picking up. Volunteers from the Venus Fire Department were called out yesterday to contain a fire in a field off County Road 721. That charred about a quarter acre.
A tree arching onto some power lines caused a couple of back yards to catch fire off Desoto Road yesterday. Those reportedly were quashed without much property damage.
While Highlands County commissioners debate about a resolution to support the constitutions of the United States and the State of Florida, Commissioners in Okechobee reportedly have voted for a resolution on the Second Amendment. They have become the latest to declare themselves a Second Amendment Sanctuary County. The idea is to assert the right to keep and bear arms.
Highlands County commissioners voted 4-1 against such a resolution, with only Commissioner Arlene Tuck voting for it.
A 50-year-old Lakeland Police motorcycle officer was killed in a crash yesterday morning. Polk County Sheriff’s officials say the officer apparently drove over a raised concrete median and lost control.
Lakeland Police Officer Paul Dunn was taken to a hospital where he later expired.
Dunn had been with the agency since 2013. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and two of his sons are currently serving in the military. Investigators are trying to determine whether another vehicle was involved.
Polk County Sheriff’s Officials yesterday arrested four Lake Region High School students on campus in Eagle Lake, The two male and two female students were charged after a 357 magnum revolver was located.
The investigation began yesterday morning, when a student reported to the School Resource Deputy that a handgun was seen on campus.
The armed suspect, identified as 16-year-old Caleb Allen, pointed the gun at another student, then passed it to someone else. After an hours-long search and review of video surveillance, deputies located the gun in the possession of two female students.
At the time that it was found, the gun was not loaded, although a bullet was located in another male student’s backpack