Today is Memorial Day and there are observances slated across Highlands County.
At 2:00 this afternoon, Memorial Day observances will be held at the Military Sea Services Museum on Roseland Avenue in Sebring. It will be a rare appearance by Congressman Scott Franklin, who will give the keynote address there.
This morning an observance was held at Lakeview Memorial Gardens between Sebring and Avon Park. Avon Park Air Force Range Commander Lt Col. Michael Ryan was the keynote speaker there.
At 3:00 this afternoon, there will be a universally-observed moment of silence, to honor the nation’s fallen.
The Alan Jay Automotive Network gave away three automobiles to graduating seniors across Highlands County over the weekend. Grabbing the keys in Avon Park was Briana Abreau-Organo, in Sebring it was Ian Frazier and in Lake Placid it was Rylee Emmanuel.
Generally, these are late model, previously-owned vehicles, but this year, the Sebring winner got a new car.
This is the 25th year for the Wheels for A’s program, where seniors get one entry for each A they earn during their senior year. To date, some 99 cars have been given away in the communities served by the Alan Jay Automotive network.
A Hardee County judge has extended 66-year-old Tracey Nix’s inpatient stay at a mental health treatment facility. Two of Nix’s grandchildren died under her care in less than a year.
In 2021, 16-month-old Ezra Schock drowned. Then last year, 7-month-old Uriel Schock was forgotten in the back seat of Nix’s car.
Nix subsequently was charged with aggravated manslaughter in her granddaughter’s death.
The judge granted a motion to allow Nix to go to a mental health facility outside the county this past April.
A Polk County woman who works for the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is behind bars. Mulberry’s Ashlyn Crews was arrested Friday for charges that include stalking and filing a false police report. Deputies say the 24-year-old reported an elderly man was taking pictures of her three-year-old daughter at a UPS store on Shepherd Road, and Crews say she also found explicit photos of other children on his phone.
She also allegedly posted photos on Facebook of the man’s home, published his name, his wife’s name and where his wife worked.
Investigators, though, say there’s no proof the man broke any laws, and Crews retracted her claims. Crews is due in court today. She’s a telecommunicator at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, but there’s no word on her job status.