Highlands County School Board members, as well as school Superintendent Wally Cox and his staff, have worked hard to find cuts in the district's budget. Diminished revenue puts the squeeze on everyone. A comment tossed out during a recent meeting, however, caught a lot of attention. It was mentioned that perhaps junior varsity sports should be cut. ...more

January 25, 2009

The School Board of Highlands County will vote this week on developing a policy for testing student athletes for anabolic steroids. We endorse this policy but want to see it include all sports and student athletes. The board is following the directions of the Florida High School Athletic Association's mandate from the state to implement this policy. It would require the testing of a percentage of student athletes in grades nine through 12. Only about 1 percent of athletes – boys and girls – participating in football, baseball, softball and weightlifting would be tested. Terry Quarles, athletic director for Sebring High School, supports the policy, but wonders why sports such as wrestling are not included. We agree, and what about golf, tennis, volleyball and any other sanctioned sport? Steroid abuse isn't limited to just three or four sports. ...more

January 20, 2008

The $23 billion water bill that President Bush tried to kill is plump with pork, but it's not the fiscal disaster he claims. More importantly, it funds projects of critical importance to Florida and other parts of the nation. ...more

November 10, 2007

Antioch College board members postponed a decision Saturday on whether to reverse their decision to temporarily close the college, telling about 200 alumni, faculty and students that they'll continue debating for several more days. ...more

October 28, 2007