An off campus incident this morning caused a lock down at the Sebring High School. According to reports, Highlands County Sheriff’s deputies were assisting Sebring police in the Penny Avenue area, when an aggressive dog apparently attacked a Sherri’s K-9.
The attacking dog subsequently was shot. An SHS resource officer heard the shots and enacted the school’s Active Threat Plan for a time.
Later, a similar incident resulted in a brief lockdown at the Avon Park High School. There was no incident on the either of the schools’ actual campuses.
Highlands County Sheriff’s officials say a man was struck and killed during the pre-dawn hours by a train. Authorities say the victim – described only as a black male in a blue shirt, was struck up the line from the Claridge Road crossing on Highway 17. shortly after 3:00.
They say the northbound CSX freight was more than a mile long and was at speed when they hit the victim. The man apparently had no identification on him when discovered by first responders.
Representatives of NuCor, the Highlands County Economic Development Department and even Highlands County Commissioner Jim Brooks himself showed up at the Avon Park city council meeting last night.
The group was there to help shepherd a $970,000 Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Grant, that would help send municipal water & service service to the county line – where it would be picked up for the NuCOR steel manufacturing facility in southern Polk County.
Business Development Manager Meghan DiGiacomo took the lead, assuaging concerns about job creation requirements and explaining that state officials could backdate paperwork to pay for work already done.
Council members voted to move ahead with the project.