Word is that prepping Recreation Facilities in Sebring could help better execute Visit Sebring’s sports marketing program. Recently, Jared Lee, the Sebring Budget and Grants Coordinator, submitted a sports facility improvement grant application to the Tourist Development Council. The application listed 6 local facilities that require improvements ranging from better drainage, parking capacity, additional access points and weather protection. The facilities listed as needing improvements include Max Long Complex, the Sebring Municipal Golf Course, the Rotary Park/City Pier “waterfront” area and Veteran’s Beach on Lake Jackson, the Sebring Recreation Club’s shuffleboard courts and the Lee Palmer Horseshoe Courts. The hope is that the improvements will help the venues stay viable for recreation and sports tourism.
A Frostproof pet taxi business owner was recently arrested for 16 counts of animal neglect and cruelty. 65 year old Christine Snelling was arrested Friday after deputies conducted a well-being check at her home on Keen Road. Upon entering her home Polk County deputies found several animals living in squalor and in need of medical attention. Investigators with PCSO’s Animal Cruelty Unit also found multiple rodents in the home. Three pigs and eight dogs were ultimately seized. Snelling reportedly told officers that she didn’t intend to harm the animals but got overwhelmed by their needs.
Two men are facing charges after a Polk County deputy and a police dog were attacked last week. Police say Angel Calduch, Elliot Trinidad, and a four-year-old were found sleeping inside a car at a Davenport gas station last Monday. When law enforcement approached the vehicle, the 26-year-olds allegedly got out and started to fight a deputy. Calduch is accused of biting the deputy and his K-9 Zorak. The suspects were eventually taken into custody, while the Florida Department of Children and Families were contacted for the child. The men are facing charges for drugs and child neglect.
Florida lawmakers are expected to take up a proposal soon that would help more residents prepare their homes for future storms. Governor Ron DeSantis recently introduced his 2025-26 budget request with nearly 600-million dollars set aside for the state’s My Safe Florida Home grant program. The money would cover the 45-thousand people currently on the waiting list, as well as ten-thousand new applicants. The program is designed to help eligible residents harden their homes with the goal of bringing down insurance rates. The Legislature is expected to consider the request during the next session, which begins on March 4th.
A reminder that the planned CSX Transportation track maintenance project started this week and includes several closures of railroad crossings in Highlands County. Each Railroad crossing will be closed anywhere from 2-5 days for maintenance. Work started in the locations of West Pleasant Street, West Main Street and Memorial Drive in Avon Park. A full list of the crossings affected and a map highlighting the location of the crossings can be found at highlandsfl.gov under the departments tab and in the category of ongoing County Road Projects.
One Lakeland woman is behind bars after attempting to evade law enforcement. 38 year old Tareva Thomas led deputies on a high speed chase that spanned through late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. Thomas was spotted by a deputy leaving a gas station parking lot with only one headlight, no front bumper, and then speeding down Memorial Boulevard. When the deputy activated emergency lights, Thomas accelerated, clearly attempting to flee. Eventually the deputy was forced to perform a PIT maneuver which caused Thomas’s vehicle to crash. Thomas was charged with fleeing to elude, DUI, possession of a concealed firearm during the commission of a felony, attaching a tag unassigned, driving while license suspended, resisting law enforcement without violence, and possession of marijuana under 20 grams. She also received citations for possessing more than one driver’s license, possession of a suspended driver’s license, and having no insurance.
A new project could make for an easier ride on I-4. FDOT was set to start adding new lanes overnight along seven-and-a-half miles between US 27 in Polk County and World Drive near Disney Springs. This is part of the Moving I-4 Forward project that’ll widen the road from six lanes to 12 over the next decade. Keith Slater is the project’s director, and he says it’s a first-of-its-kind program that’ll change the way the transportation industry delivers projects. He tells the Orlando Sentinel it’ll allow drivers to spend less time in traffic and more time doing what they love.
A well-known superhero is going to the Daytona 500 in Central Florida. "Captain America" actor Anthony Mackie has been named the grand marshal of The Great American Race as his newest movie gets ready to hit the theaters. Mackie will give the command for drivers to start their engines at the Daytona International Speedway this weekend. Qualifying rounds will begin on Wednesday with the main race taking place on Sunday afternoon. The Daytona 500 has sold out for the last decade, attracting NASCAR fans from every state and more than 40 countries.