The City of Sebring has chosen the right way to impose its proposed fire assessments. Make groups of property owners pay proportionally to the fire calls they make, and don't exempt anyone. After the City of Avon Park's harrowing experience to make groups –– initially exempted –– pay their share of the assessment, Sebring has decided that exempting anyone, and later asking for their money, is a bad idea. That's a good policy in making taxation as fair as possible. Fires do not discriminate, be it a church building, a government office or a home, or a vacant lot. And there's no reason why some property owners should be discriminated against when paying this proposed assessment. ...more

May 12, 2008

AVON PARK — Satisfying that drought-thirsty lawn on the wrong days of the week or any time Saturday or Sunday could lead to an expensive civil citation of $100 or more, at least in Avon Park. Avon Park Police officer Jose Molina sprinkled 19 properties Sunday and Monday with citations, including a home on West Pleasant Street that received a $200 fine as a repeat offender. The rest were cited for $100 each. A business and a church were among those ticketed. ...more

May 5, 2008

etailer will be opening its Avon Park store later than originally expected, while the much anticipated opening of Olive Garden in Sebring might be a bit sooner than scheduled. The Wal-Mart store and Olive Garden are among several businesses in Highlands County that will be opening or relocating in 2008. Although it was originally believed that Wal–Mart would open early next year, the store is now scheduled to open during the summer, according to Michelle Azel, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart. ...more

December 30, 2007

AVON PARK — Memorial Elementary School is scheduled to open for classes in August, but first the school district has to resolve water/sewer service issues for the school. The School Board of Highlands County and the city of Avon Park are at a stalemate over water reclamation piping. Avon Park wants the school district to pay about $180,000 for the installation of more than 9,000 feet of "purple pipe" to transport reclaimed water. It is quite possible the school district would spend that money not knowing when the reclaimed water would be available to the school site, according to a letter the school board approved Tuesday to send to the city of Avon Park. It is likely to be three to five years before any reclaimed water is available for irrigation use at the school. "The school board is being asked to completely fund the master infrastructure required for this area," the letter states. ...more

November 24, 2007

AVON PARK –– Some people dream of sailing off into the sunset upon retirement, but only a few actually try it. Bill Stephenson spent 40 years in Vermont with his own agency as a manufacturer's representative selling agricultural and industrial machinery. His wife Mildred, affectionately known as Midge, had been his office manager. Upon retirement in 1995, they set sail. While on the Intracoastal, they lost an engine in Cocoa Beach. Some friends owned property at Lily Lake in Frostproof and invited them to stay there while their boat was being repaired that summer. "During that hiatus, we agreed that our age was beyond our ability to sail and then we got involved with the Union Congregation Church," Stephenson said. ...more

November 5, 2007