If you use Memorial Drive to go back and forth between Avon Park and Sebring, a traffic note – don’t. Road work begins today on the Avon Park leg of Memorial Drive. The road will be closed for three or four days, weather permitting. Heading north, you’ll be routed down College Drive over to 27. Continue reading

The Highlands County Master Gardener Volunteers, in partnership with UF/IFAS, will host an educational class titled “Making Tea From Your Garden” on Saturday, June 21st, at the Jack Stroup Civic Center in Sebring. The program will provide participants with practical guidance on preparing herbal teas using homegrown ingredients. Attendees can also expect demonstrations, seasonal infusion Continue reading

A Lake Placid man is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly attacking a 79-year-old neighbor and then resisting arrest. Deputies say 35-year-old William Kip Newby assaulted the elderly victim during a dispute over a dog, punching him and kicking him after he fell. When officers attempted to arrest him, Newby, appearing intoxicated, fought back—grabbing a Continue reading

Highlands County Schools could see 63.5 positions cut in next year’s budget, including 33 from school-level staff, under the superintendent’s second draft plan for 2025-26. Superintendent Brenda Longshore says the district aims to reduce spending by $6 million, despite uncertainty over state funding. Sebring High would lose five teachers, while Woodlawn Elementary gains four due Continue reading

Sebring’s municipal golf course lease may be back on the City Council agenda June 17 or in July, as talks continue with the Harder Hall redevelopment team. A revised agreement could include a five-year lease and tie progress to securing a certificate of occupancy for the historic hotel. City officials stress that golf course staff Continue reading

Five young defendants, including 19-year-old Jyermarkis Jenkins, are set to be arraigned June 9 for the first-degree murder and robbery of 21-year-old Elijah Joredell Daley at a Lake Placid motel. Prosecutors say the group lured Daley into an armed robbery that ended in his fatal shooting. One suspect, Latrivius Johnson, is believed to have pulled Continue reading

A tragic crash Tuesday night claimed the life of a 36-year-old Ft. Meade woman. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the woman was driving aggressively on Highway 640—speeding, passing in a no-passing zone, and running a flashing red signal—when she collided head-on with a semi-truck near Watson Road. The woman was pronounced dead at Continue reading