It appears that building and refurbishing in the Sebring – Avon Park metro area is doing well. A new report by Construction Coverage shows that this area has a higher concentration of construction workers than the national average.
While the national average shows construction workers make up 5.4% of the workforce, here in Highlands County, that jumps to 6.7%. The local average is up more than four percent than previous year numbers.
The construction industry employs nearly 1,900 people locally.
Avon Park Community Redevelopment Agency Project Coordinator Shawn Holiday is looking for community input on development in the City of Charm. After being directed to a Master Plan for the city, developed around the year 2000, Holiday said he wanted to hold a "Charette" to freshen up plan.
Citizens are being invited to a May 9th meeting to give their input on such things as the development of pickelball courts, a splash pad at Donaldson Park, beautification and other projects in the city.
As questions have arisen about the appropriateness of some of the books that may be in the libraries of the Highlands County school system, Media Specialist Cheryl Green appeared before the school board to mount a defense of the process that is being conducted to make certain that materials for children are appropriate to their grade and reading levels.
Green said there a wide age range, from four to 22-years-old. Currently, staff has worked through 328 elementary classroom libraries and hoped to have secondary libraries reviewed by the start of the next school year.
She did not indicate how many – if any – books had been removed. She said the process has been ongoing over the last 18-months.