SEBRING — Bubba Latimer and the Bub-ba-Q team from Jasper, Ga. is the Grand Champion at the 12th Central Florida BBQ Festival. Latimer was ecstatic after his team beat competitors from all over the Southeast in the weekend-long barbecue festival, also called the "Pig Fest." He has been competitively barbecuing for only the past year and a half. He already knew where his prize was going when another competitor suggested mounting his trophy wooden pig statue. ...more

January 14, 2008

SEBRING – Before last weekend, it had been four years since Lynn Topel had taken a bike ride. Topel also loves gardening but there has been no time for that either. However, that will soon change for the executive director of Florida's Heartland Rural Economic Development Initiative (FHREDI). Topel will be leaving her position after four years in leading the organization that covers six counties – Highlands, Okeechobee, Glades, Hendry, DeSoto and Hardee – as well as communities in Palm Beach and Collier counties. In the first two years on the job, 80-hour weeks were the norm for Topel because of the devastating impact from the hurricanes – especially Charley – had on the region. "I can tell you that those weeks were long," she said. "Now it's gotten much better. This past year has been much more normal – 40 to 50-hour weeks. But it also took those two years to create those relationships all through the state that are important to the region." ...more

January 13, 2008

Bubba Latimer and the Bub-ba-Q team from Jasper, Ga. is the Grand Champion at the 12th Central Florida BBQ Festival. ...more

January 12, 2008

"I was 8 years old when this whole thing happened, home with our father in bed asleep, less than a mile from where they hung Uncle Sam," Robie Mortin remembers. "It was New Year's Day, 1923." ...more

January 6, 2008

An issue that apparently has baffled educators in the Heartland is going to be addressed. The high schools in Highlands, Hardee, Okeechobee, Glades, DeSoto and Hendry counties have posted numerous "C" and "D" accountability grades for the past nine years, but few "B" grades and no "A" grades. There is an apparent disparity in the performance of middle school and elementary students compared to high school students, according to the Heartland Educational Consortium. In one recent year, while the elementary and middle schools received primarily "A, B or C" grades, about one-fourth of the high schools received "D" or "F" grades. ...more

January 2, 2008

LAKE PLACID — School superintendents in the six-county Heartland area agree there is a need to review educational practices at the high school level. ...more

January 1, 2008

I can't believe so many negative articles on Lake Istokpoga. I have people using my boat ramp every day (today a 26-foot pontoon put in with no problem) and last year too. The water isn't that low. The businesses that rely on fishermen are going to go out of business just from all the bad publicity. Last year all the scare about how the lake was going to go down to maybe 35.5 stopped a lot of fishermen from coming over the summer. We went down to about 37.4 and we are now at 38.6. ...more

December 23, 2007

In a place where there's few things for children to do, the Children's Museum of the Highlands is special. But the museum is more than just easily accessible to county residents. It's fun, it's educational and it's affordable. Those who've got children in the family have had to have made at least one trip to the museum, and many leave its doors with children who'd rather camp at the museum for life. This popular destination now wants to be bigger and better and needs the community's help to expand. Museum director Linda Crowder, who unveiled plans Wednesday, said the museum is seeking to build a second floor, which will double its space. ...more

December 14, 2007

SEBRING — As Florida goes into its second winter of a drought that is expected to persist as far as official projections can go, growers are complaining that ongoing water restrictions are leaving their plants parched. Highlands County Lakes Manager Clell Ford told Highlands Today that Joe Collins, an engineer with Lykes Bros., complained that Lykes could use any water they could get from Lake Istokpoga for some of the crops it was growing. The South Florida Water Management District had shut off the water permits using the lake's canals since October. ...more

December 14, 2007

SEBRING — When Linda Crowder started the Children's Museum of the Highlands about 17 years ago, she had big plans, but she never knew if they would pan out. Now the museum director has more than exceeded the original dreams, and she is planning to continue upward - literally. The museum, located at 219 N. Ridgewood, has announced plans to build a second floor, doubling its space. The additional 6,000 square feet of space will feature new exhibits, allow current exhibits to expand, provide another classroom for the expansion of the summer Discovery Camp and include additional bathrooms, storage, workrooms and offices. ...more

December 13, 2007