Today is Memorial Day, a time we stop to honor the fallen from America’s Armed Services. A number of observances are planned.
At 2:PM, the Veterans Council of Highlands County will hold a ceremony at the Military Sea Services Museum in Sebring. Guest speaker there will be United States Medal of Honor recipient Major General James E. Livingston, USMC, ret.
This evening at 6:00, the Avon Park Breakfast Rotary Club will hold a dedication of this year’s memorial bricks. That will be at Veterans’s Square, on the mile-long mall in Avon Park.
This morning, programs were held at the Lakeview Memorial Gardens, VFW Post 4300 in Sebring and Elks Lodge 2661 in Lake Placid.
One person was injured when two cars came together yesterday afternoon west of Sebring. An SUV and a work truck reportedly collided at the intersection of Jackiln and Hammock roads.
The truck ended up in a deep ditch there. One person was taken to a nearby hospital.
Saturday morning, a car hit a tree off Highway 27 near Harrell Road in the south end of the county. One person was transported from that one. So far, no names or other details have been released in either incident.
Volunteers from Highlands Lakes were called out to brave the heat and battle a brush fire on Mohawk Drive Saturday evening. Reportedly, it was another controlled burn that got out of control.
Quick response apparently kept the blaze to a minimum – keeping out of a neaby wooded area. There is no burn ban currently in effect, but officials are warning folks that conditions here are dry and ripe for brush fires.
The names of the winners of the inaugural Highlands County Sheriff’s Deputy William Gentry Memorial Scholarships have been announced. They are Lauren Ahrens of Avon Park and Nyssa Gunthorp of Sebring. Each will recieve more than $2,200 to help with their higher education.
Ahrens will be attending Florida Gulf Coast University while Gunthorp has been accepted at Santa Fe College. The fund for the scholarship was doubled by local businessman Alan Jay Wildstein – allowing for the dual awards.