SEBRING — With shoppers usually waiting outside for the doors to open, the Habitat for Humanity Home Supply store is easily the busiest place in downtown Sebring. Although many Habitat for Humanity affiliates have similar stores selling furniture and building materials, most are not as popular or profitable as the one on 137 S. Commerce Ave. "We have one of the most successful home supply stores in the nation," said Jane Breylinger, executive director of Highlands County Habitat for Humanity. Store Manager Chuck Ball said the store had more than $600,000 of sales last year. That's enough not only to cover the administration costs of the nonprofit organization but also to build two houses every year. ...more

February 23, 2008

TAMPA - Amid the international supermodels and voluptuous celebrities who are in the 2008 swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated is Tampa's Milly Figuereo. ...more

February 11, 2008

SEBRING — Two suspects were cooperating with Sebring police investigators Friday in its investigation into 13 burglaries in the downtown Sebring area. The two suspects, Lamar F. Wilcher Jr., 19, of Sebring, and James L. Gardner, 21, of Sebring, were riding around town Friday morning with Sebring police detectives helping to recover some of the stolen merchandise, said Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr. The detectives have obtained confessions from both suspects and were in the process of obtaining arrest warrants, Carr said. ...more

February 2, 2008

County officials on Thursday approved plans for a potential Habitat for Humanity community off U.S. 98 north of Dade City. ...more

January 25, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Nobody would have known from a distance that Habitat for Humanity volunteer John Boyden from Windham, Maine, was working hard in the midday sun with a splint on his thumb. Boyden had earlier pounded his thumb with a hammer and broken the finger nail. He said, with a grin, that the splint was only a precautionary measure, but was needed since he tended to hammer the thumb again and again. Boyden is one of more than two dozen nomadic RVers or CARE-A-Vanners who are visiting Highlands County for two weeks, while building homes with the local Habit for Humanity. ...more

January 9, 2008

LAKE PLACID –– Dave Alden remembers his brother-in-law, Wendell, fondly, although he was only a child when his adopted sister married. It was partly because Wendell's life was a success story but more importantly he always made time for Dave. That mentoring of honesty and setting a good example made a lifetime impact. Born in Vermont, Alden retired in 1989 as a project engineer with Kennicott Copper. He and his wife, Marie, traveled the United States and Alaska for two years before the snowbirds decided to find a warm place in Florida to land. While zigzagging across the state, they discovered Lake Placid and fell in love with this town of murals and caladiums. Dave feels that their secret to being married 48 years –– besides luck –– is that they love each other and have the same goals. Marie was the type who wanted to help people and he was brought up the same way. ...more

December 31, 2007

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate officials say a home is more than the largest financial investment you will make in your lifetime. It's also where you build a life, raise a family, participate in a community and create traditions that last a lifetime. ...more

December 30, 2007

AVON PARK — As a recovering alcoholic, Pastor Bill Breylinger, with Union Congregational Church, knows what it's like to have life restored. Twenty-two years ago, at the age of 37, he felt God gave him back his life. At the time he knew he was dying, and if he didn't tell someone his problem, he wouldn't make it. He then got honest with himself and went through a six-week treatment facility. Breylinger says God and lots of people forgave him and believed in him. "I owe God for the rest of my trip through life." Excited and dedicated, he especially enjoys ministering to hurting people, and his heart is in restoring lives. In 1987 he came to the church as a youth pastor. A year and a half later he became senior pastor. With a part-time secretary and janitor at that time, the church has grown and now has an assistant and associate minister, a music minister, a youth minister and an assistant youth minister. ...more

December 24, 2007

SEBRING — How did Roger Schoenstein, a retired Latin teacher from Colorado Springs, wind up volunteering to build new two houses on Shelton Street in DeSoto City? There's a newsletter that goes out to Habitat volunteers. And there's this group of RVers who picked sunny central Florida. "We're staying at Camp Cloverleaf," said Schoenstein. That's the 4-H facility on Lake Francis, near Lake Placid. Habitat for Humanity builds 22 houses a year in Highlands County. ...more

December 17, 2007

East Pasco Habitat for Humanity is helping the Ishmaku family dedicate a new home erected with the help of hundreds of local women. ...more

December 14, 2007