Early voter turnout has been light in the Avon Park municipal election. Officials of the Highlands County Supervisor of elections office say they have had 277 mail-in ballots and another 156 early ballots cast – which is a total of 8.74 percent of the city’s 4,956 active registered voters.
Tomorrow will be election day in the City of Charm with both Precincts 1 & 2 open in downtown Avon Park.
Highlands County School officials are stepping up their game on security. Starting tomorrow, bus-riding students will be issued a Zonar card to use as an electronic bus pass.
The card will be used to check-in on the bus at pick up and to check-off the bus at drop[ off. School officials say it’s for the safety and security of students riding the bus.
The card will be used in the event of an emergency. It will track the location and time of students entering or exiting a bus. It also may be used to find bus arrival and departure times from each stop.
Students will be required to carry and use the card.
Volunteers from the Highlands Lakes and West Sebring fire departments had some work yesterday. They were called to the scene of a housefire on East Don Carlos Street off State Road 17 south of Avon Park.
Reportedly, the house was unoccupied at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported and the cause remains under investigation. Damage estimate was set at $30,000.
Three people reportedly were taken to hospitals as the result of a rollover accident this past weekend. That mishap occurred about 8:30 Saturday evening on State Road 619 and County Road 29 down southeast of Lake Placid.
Florida Highway Patrol officials have released no names or other details of the crash.