SEBRING — Is Santa Claus full of hot air? Dozens of bigger-than-life inflatable blow-up Santas and various Christmas displays are popping up in yards all over Highlands County. Erick Kelecseny has $8,000 worth Christmas decorations, including eight blow-ups in his front yard on Duffer Road. There's the compulsory Santa, plus Mickey and Minnie, and even a full band, including shade-wearing musicians, which pumps out funky Christmas carols. "I grew up poor my whole life and now I say I do it for the kids," said Kelecseny, about the holiday displays with fans that quietly hum all night long. "But I really do it for my own enjoyment." Kelecseny said on Thursday night that he enjoys turning off the house lights, sitting in the yard with his daughter, 15-month-old Ericka, to watch the reaction of motorists and pedestrians. ...more

December 22, 2007

A visit from Santa last week lifted the spirits of about 85 seniors at county facilities in Ruskin and Wimauma. ...more

December 22, 2007

The Von Maur department store in December is so full of holiday spirit that one real estate agent took a job wrapping gifts: not for the money but just to be part of the cheery bustle. ...more

December 7, 2007

Sunup to sundown. It's an expression Brooksville city council member Lara Bradburn has used often in recent weeks to describe the holiday events planned for downtown this Saturday. ...more

December 5, 2007

One of the most quoted lines from the current political debates has been Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's quip, in answer to a question about what Jesus would do about the death penalty, that "Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office." ...more

December 5, 2007

The crowd kept getting larger, but that could only be determined by the sounds that grew louder. ...more

November 25, 2007