A call to establish a committee in Highlands County to help direct the spending of federal funds in the ESSER program has been pushed back. Better known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, the federal relief monies have been distributed to schools to deal with problems created by last year’s Coronavirus situation.
Instead of establishing a committee, Highlands County Superintendent of Schools Brenda Longshore told the school board that she is in touch with former teachers of the year, school-related employees of the year as well as the district school advisory committee and the student council, who could offer such advice.
A Lake Wales man and a police K9 officer are dead following an incident yesterday in The Crown Jewel of the Ridge. Lake Wales police say officers were called early yesterday morning to a Seminole Avenue address. where a woman said she was assaulted and had her house shot up.
During the investigation, they went in search of 57-year-old Earnest Borders. He later was found in a wooded area just off Martin Luther King Blvd near the railroad tracks.
"K9 Max" was deployed to subdue the man, who reportedly opened fire. Max was killed in the volley. Borders subsequently was killed when officers returned fire.
The incident remains under investigation.
A number of residents came before the Sebring city council at their meeting to take the city’s community re-development agency to task and to address the problem of cultural rot in the City on the Circle.
Council members were accused of being supportive of such behavior, causing surprise from Council President Tom Dettman
Another speaker waived complaint forms from the commission on ethics, charging of misuse of taxpayer funds. At issue there was a plan to turn over a CRA-owned building to a private developer.
Council members let the remarks pass without comment.
Highlands County Sheriff’s officials are reminding residents that they no longer can wander out in the wild and pick Palmetto berries. A permit for such harvesting now is necessary.
While the berries are a key part of the diet of the Florida black bear, they also are a popular natural remedy for prostate issues.
Under state statute, it is a misdemeanor to harvest the berries without a permit — even on your own land. Additional information is available from the Florida Department of Agriculture.