News Update for 2/1/22

There’s been quite a bit of action around Highlands Regional Medical Center this morning. First, traffic was snarled due to a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 27 and the Sebring Parkway shortly before 6am.

About 10:00 this morning, Sebring firefighters were called out to a structure fire in that area.

Authorities still are trying to determine what started a blaze early yesterday at the Sava-A-Lot grocery store in Sebring. The back of the store in the Towne Square Plaza was fully involved in flames when units arrived at the scene shortly after midnight.
Firefighters were able to knock most of it down, keeping it from spreading into the building or any other parts of the shopping complex. No injuries were reported and no dollar damage estimate has been released – although an outdoor produce freezer was destroyed.

Highlands County School Board members and administrators will begin their annual walk-thru of the district schools today. They should be in pretty good shape. School officials say that since the half-cent sales tax was instituted in 2016, the system has raked in north of $%30 million dollars for all kinds of repairs and equipment.
Among other things, they’ve purchased gates, security cameras, and fencing as well as air conditioning, roof repairs and covered walkways.
The school walk-thrus will run today through Friday.

It has been years since Highlands County has charged an impact fee – however, that may change soon. Commissioners today will discuss laying out $116,000 to hire an impact fee consultant. A recent letter to the board from Duncan Associates and Kimley Horne has offered to update the local impact fees for transportation, schools, parks, libraries, fire rescue, EMS, law enforcement, and correctional facilities.
In other action, the commission will look at updating the Highlands County’s Tourism Administrative position. That means a bump in the pay grade and job description among other things.