LOCAL NEWS

VACATION CHECK

If you are planning to go away for vacation, or maybe you live parttime here, you need to make sure your property is being watched. You can request the Winter Haven Police Department do a “Vacation Check.” They don’t just drive by; they get out of the car, walk around the home (to ensure nothing is missed from the roadway), and even check door handles to make sure they are not unlocked. If your yard is fenced, they will not enter unless you state they can on the Vacation Check form. They visually ensure the windows are not broken, and that the doors are not open. Find the form and instructions at mywinterhaven. com/police-department.

SHELTER MAPS

In preparation for hurricane season, which begins on June 1, Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing and Polk County Emergency Management have partnered with Publix Super Markets to produce and distribute the “Polk County Public Shelters” maps for 2022. The map is designed to assist both resident and tourist evacuees in finding shelter during an impending storm. The public shelters maps are available at the Visit Central Florida Welcome Center, located at 101 Adventure Court, Davenport, a half mile south of I-4 on Highway 27, and at Publix Super Markets in Polk County.

SCHOLARSHIP

Sachin Sivakumar from the International Baccalaureate School at Bartow High has won a National Merit Scholarship worth $2,500. Sivakumar was one of 2,500 Merit Scholar designees announced chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. The scholarship winners from each state are those judged to have “the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies,” according to program officials. The scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors based on criteria including their academic records, and contributions to their school and community.

AIR RACE CLASSIC

More than 100 female pilots will take off at the 45th annual Air Race Classic (ARC), the oldest airplane race of its kind. Starting at 8 am on Tuesday, June 21, 47 small airplanes will launch full throttle, 30 seconds apart, down the runway at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Lakeland. They will embark on a 2,500-mile route they must complete by Friday, June 24, in Terre Haute, Indiana. Two teams from Polk County will compete this year. Team #38, The Red Eagles, represents Polk State College with pilots Autumn Richarz and Emma Othmer. The Lady Aces of Team #33 are pilots Richele Floyd (Scholarship Director at the Aerospace Center for Excellence), Kaitlyn Conway, and Jensen Dix (a member of the Lakeland Aero Club).

FORD MUSTANG

Bartow Ford, which recently celebrated its 74th year in business, held its 29th annual Drive for Excellence by honoring 20 Polk County seniors for their academic success on April 23, 2022. Every year, the event offers local students who achieved A’s and B’s the chance to be drawn as a top qualifier for the opportunity to win a new Ford Mustang. Those twenty qualifiers were at Bartow Ford, and each were given the opportunity to draw one of 20 keys from a bucket filled with hand sanitizer – but only one of those keys would actually open the beautiful blue 2022 Mustang. That winning key was chosen by Auburndale resident Maddison Allen, a senior at Auburndale High School who plans to go into the medical field.

FOOD INSECURITY

Summer break is here, and some Loughman Oaks Elementary School students will be facing food insecurity. In the most recent Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), 93% of survey respondents in Polk County reported a need for food assistance compared to 41% before COVID-19. AdventHealth Heart of Florida and AdventHealth Lake Wales team members joined forces to answer the call and donated nearly 4,100 items of food to help 80 students and their families during the summer break. According to the Polk County CHNA, food insecurity ranks in the top four issues the community wants to be addressed.

PERFORMING ARTS

The Betsye Kay Finch Performing Arts Foundation awarded its 3rd annual $2,500 scholarship to Oshea Darrington, singer, dancer, songwriter, actor, and 2022 graduate of Harrison School for the Arts. Oshea’s passion for song and dance was sparked by his musical family. “I always knew I wanted to be a performer. I grew up with music all around me,” says Oshea, whose father, Quentin Darrington, is a Broadway singer/performer. Oshea was honored by more than 40 friends, family, and BKF Performing Arts Foundation members at a May 12th award ceremony at Lakeland’s Hollis Garden. He will head to Decatur, Illinois, this fall to pursue a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre at Millikin University. Helping students “be the best they can be” is what dance teacher Betsye Kay Finch did in her three decades of teaching jazz, ballet, and modern dance at Betsye Kay’s School of Dance in Lakeland.

KEITH URBAN

The Low Payment Kings are giving away a guitar signed by a Grammy-winning country singer, Keith Urban, four tickets to a Keith Urban concert of their choice, and $777 spending money. “We wanted to do something special for our customers during the month of May,” said Ralph Mahalak, the Low Payment King. “We also wanted to make it easy to enter to win this exciting country music package.” The prize package was chosen on May 31st. The giveaway was open to all legal residents 18 years of age or older, and individuals were allowed up to seven entries. The Low Payment Kings are Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, and RAM of Winter Haven, Alfa Romeo Fiat of Winter Haven, Posner Park Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Fiat in Davenport and Lake Wales Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram.