The Avon Park Lakes community continues with their wildlife encounters. Earlier this month it was bears on the move, this past weekend it was alligators.
According to reports, a gator chased a couple of residents "out of their shoes," as they stood at the northwest corner of Lake Olivia. The people were shaken but uninjured in the encounter.
Neighbors say the gator may have been fed, and lost its fear of humans. A trapper has been requested to see if they can remove the nuisance reptile.
A Bowling Green woman was killed in a weekend traffic crash in Hardee County involving an Avon Park man. According to reports, the woman was driving a Sport Utility Vehicle on East County Line Road, when she went left of center, and was hit head on by the oncoming car.
The woman was taken to Lakeland Regional Hospital and pronounced dead. The Avon Park man sustained only minor injuries. Florida Highway Patrol reports indicate both drivers were buckled up.
There were no serious injuries, but there were some tense moments, when a driver lost control of their motorhome and crashed onto a mobile home in the Buttonwood Bay community. A 40-gallon propane tank reportedly was ruptured in the mishap. The leak required the evacuation of several nearby homes while that situation was remedied.
According to reports, Nia Campbell, the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education, has resigned her job with the Highlands County school system.
Campbell was responsible for secondary curriculum, overseeing secondary principals and assistant principals as well as curriculum specialists, Highlands Virtual School, Highlands Career Institute, Career and Technical Education and Assessment and Accountability.
No reason was given for her departure.