The Avon Park Christmas Parade will be preceded by a new event organizers hope will become a tradition. Former city councilwoman Shirley Johnson got permission at last night’s city council meeting to decorate the city’s gazebo, then officially light it in a ceremony just before the start of the annual Christmas Parade.
Johnson said it was a collaborative effort of current and former city officials, community leaders and the Highlands County Sheriff’s office. She declined to describe to decorations – saying they would be done at the last minute as a surprise.
In the 1990s. under the Sebring Utilities Commission, residents in the City on the Circle paid some of the highest electric rates in the state and in the nation. A new report from “doxo.com” indicates Sebring customers now have rates below the national average.
The survey shows Sebring customers pay $235 a month for power on average – well below the national average of $316 per month.
In fact, the survey of ten different cost centers ranging from car insurance to mortgage payments shows that the Sebring-Avon Park metro area was 29th out of the 30 communities surveyed.
While social media posts are indicating there has been an uptick in overdoses and drug deaths here in Highlands County, Highlands Sheriff’s officials say investigations into the issue have not yet been completed.
Some citizens allege there have been at least four overdoses that ended in death in the last week and a half.
However, sheriff’s officials say they are awaiting toxicology reports.
Authorities say there are ebbs and flows in drug incidents, and so far, have no evidence that the cases my be related. That being said, if people have information about these drugs and where they are being obtained – the sheriff’s office is interested in that information.
They are asking anybody with information about drug dealers and bad drugs to contact them at 402-7200.