LATEST NEWS
National Firefighters Memorial Weekend is coming up, and a Polk paramedic will be honored
A Polk County engineer-paramedic will be among seven Florida firefighters/paramedics honored over the weekend during the National Firefighters Memorial Weekend. Douglas Clemons, 56, an engineer and paramedic with Polk County since 1995, died of heart failure while on duty at a station in Indian Lake Estates in June 2022. He...
Bartow native building new motocross track for Bone Valley's 300-acre expansion
FORT MEADE, Fla. - A popular ATV park for off-roading fanatics and families is expanding by an additional 300 acres. Bone Valley North is located on CR-630 between Fort Meade and Mulberry in Polk County. Jason Baker is one of the premier motocross and supercross track builders in the world...
Could Bartow police be next to wear body cameras? They're among a list of improvements
Bartow could be the next city in Polk County to equip its police officers with body-worn cameras. Among the topics former Bartow Police Chief Andy Ray and City Manager Mike Herr discussed during the chief’s brief time leading the city department was the potential to equip officers with body cameras – possibly within the next 18 months.
Two Polk restaurants closed by inspectors: 1 for roaches, another for construction issues
Two Polk County restaurants were temporarily shut down by inspectors in the two weeks from April 8 to 21, according to state inspection reports. One involved live roaches. The other had construction-related issues during a remodel. Of 39 total inspections during the period, 34 met standards and 12 had perfect...
Frostproof triple-murder case delayed as defendant TJ Wiggins faces federal firearms trial
Since last summer, Tony “T.J.” Wiggins has waived his appearances for court hearings in Bartow on first-degree murder charges in the 2020 Frostproof triple-homicide case. And again at a hearing on Friday in Bartow he was not present. Assistant State Attorney Mark Levine told a judge in the 10th Judicial Circuit that the federal authorities would not transport Wiggins to attend his trial nor any hearings in the Polk County case until after his trial on federal firearms charges was over − possibly by the fall.
Davenport man thrown from truck, killed in second of two consecutive crashes: Deputies
LAKE WALES, Fla. - A 50-year-old Davenport man died at the scene of a deadly crash on Saturday morning, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide Unit say the man identified as Edgar Penaloza was involved in two crashes. The...
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