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Saturday, February 28, 2015

SyFy Saturday packed the house

Darth Vader choked and lifted Star Fleet Cmdr. Michael Middel into the air and Marvin the Martian won Klingon Karaoke Saturday on Main Street and Wilson Avenue. By the way, Marvin, played by Hannah Yarborough, and her family of Yarboroughs won the costume contest as they came as The Martian … read more.

LATEST LOCAL NEWS

Shotguns stolen in break-in
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

A break-in occurred at approximately 3 a.m., Monday, Feb. 23 at Bartow Jewelry & Pawn Shop, 425 E. Main St., according to owners Erik and Mychele Jenkins. “The alarm first … read more.

Advice: Increase revenues, make drastic cuts
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

With the Polk County School Board in the financial bind they find themselves in, with a mega-million-dollar needs list and only petty cash coming in, the Board is looking at … read more.

Wounded Warrior banquet nearly sold out
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

If you haven’t got your tickets to Saturday night’s Wounded Warrior Sportsman Fund banquet, you’d better hurry, said organizer Wayne Shelby. “We’re pretty close to sold out,” he said, meaning … read more.

LeRoy: School system needs improvement
Sat Feb 21 2015 08:30AM

While there were some disturbing trends unveiled by Kathryn LeRoy, there were also signs of progress. LeRoy is Polk County Public Schools System Superintendent and she gave her assessment of … read more.

More Local News

Athletic trainers positions questioned
Sat Feb 21 2015 08:30AM

It is still undecided whether Polk County school varsity sports team rosters next year will have athletic trainers added to the staff as the Polk County School Board wrestles with where money would come from to pay for them. Polk … read more.

Union Academy fundraiser exceeds expectations
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

Turnout was high, in fact, higher than anticipated, depending upon who one spoke to, at Union Academy’s Ranch Roundup Dinner and Auction. The event, the school’s first, was held Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Sackett Ranch. The event was sponsored … read more.

Yellow Jackets fall in regional semi-finals
Sat Feb 21 2015 08:30AM

The Bartow High School boys basketball team has been very good over most of the last decade. This year the Jackets were at it again, winning the schools’ 26th district championship in boys basketball over Lakeland 65-51 on Feb. 7. … read more.

All ACEs for students as they earned scholarships
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

It was all aces for students at last week’s ACE Mentor program’s annual banquet where a half dozen students took home the pot, scholarships for $1,000 to $2,500 each. The ACE program: Architecture, Construction and Engineering, is an after-school program … read more.

Architect speaks at presentation at old courthouse
Sat Feb 21 2015 08:30AM

Rowe Architects’ Tom Hammer speaks on preservation of Old Polk County Courthouse Thomas A. Hammer, principle at Rowe Architects Inc., an architectural design firm in Tampa, was invited to give a presentation at the Old Polk County Courthouse on Saturday, … read more.

Sutton places high in ballroom competition
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

Debra Sutton competed last week at the Florida Superstars ballroom competition held at the Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg. On Friday, Feb. 20, she came in second place in the Championship round and fourth place in the Scholarship round in … read more.

Fort Meade seeks reading tutors
Tue Feb 24 2015 03:44PM

Reading tutors are needed in Fort Meade, and those interested will get a chance to become one with training coming up in March. READ Polk is holding a free two part training workshop for volunteers who have a passion for … read more.

Sims — Hancock
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

Announcement is made of the engagement of Elisha Ann Sims, of Bartow, to Michael Allen Hancock, of Bartow. She is the daughter of David and Roxanne Broadwell, of Jacksonville. She is employed with Wells Fargo in Bartow as a personal … read more.

Bloomin’ Arts and bike ride all weekend long
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

On March 7 and 8, the streets of downtown Bartow will be filled with paintings, the History Center will be filled with quilts and the streets will be lined with cars and RVs, as the 44th Annual Frost Van den … read more.

Construction continues
Tue Feb 24 2015 03:42PM

On U.S. 98 from County Road 540A to Winter Lake Road, crews continue grading and placing sod, working on turn lanes, driveways and paving. Expect daytime and nighttime lane closures both north and southbound. Work on this project includes expanding … read more.

Newest sculpture now in place in Fort Blount Park
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

“Balance Point,” the newest, latest sculpture to grace Fort Blount Park was installed Friday, Feb. 20. On hand to monitor its installation and make final touch-ups was its creator, Hanna Jubran. In addition, he is a professor at East Carolina … read more.

FPRA recruits vols to help media at fly-in
Wed Feb 25 2015 08:30AM

For the seventh consecutive year, the Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association is recruiting volunteers for media relations duty at the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In & Expo. The Fly-In is scheduled April 21-26 at Lakeland … read more.

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State, National and World News

Antarctica’s retreating ice may reshape Earth
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

CAPE LEGOUPIL, Antarctica (AP) — From the ground in this extreme northern part of Antarctica, spectacularly white and blinding ice seems to extend forever. What can’t be seen is the battle raging thousands of feet below to reshape Earth. Water … read more.

Stocks slip after weaker growth
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

NEW YORK (AP) — February proved to be a strong month for U.S. stocks, even though it ended in downbeat fashion. Major stock indexes closed lower on Friday, capping a week of subdued trading that still delivered a couple of … read more.

Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON — Bordering on dysfunction, Congress passed a one-week bill late Friday night to avert a partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department, as leaders in both political parties quelled a revolt by House conservatives furious that the measure left … read more.

Leonard Nimoy dies at 83
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

LOS ANGELES — In 1975, Leonard Nimoy published an autobiography with the defiant title, “I Am Not Spock” — an attempt to show the world he had many more facets than the pointy-eared character that had come to define him. … read more.

Kurdish fighters rout ISIS militants from stronghold
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

BEIRUT (AP) — Backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, Kurdish fighters fought their way Friday into a northeastern Syrian town that was a key stronghold of Islamic State militants, only days after the group abducted dozens of Christians in the volatile … read more.

Ukraine forces, rebels withdraw heavy weapons
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

NOVOAMVROSIIVSKE, Ukraine (AP) — The piecemeal pullback of heavy weapons Friday from the line separating government and rebel forces in Ukraine has boosted the prospects for peace, although both sides are warning of their readiness to resume fighting if necessary. … read more.

Attackers in Bangladesh hack to death American blogger
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger known for speaking out against religious extremism was hacked to death as he walked through Bangladesh’s capital with his wife, police said Friday. The attack Thursday night on Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born … read more.

Well-educated ‘Jihadi John’ no surprise to experts
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

PARIS (AP) — The profile of “Jihadi John,” the university-educated Londoner whose masked face is emblematic of the grisly executions by the Islamic State group, is vastly different from that of the marginalized men who carried out terror attacks in … read more.

Economy grew at 2.2 percent in 4Q
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed more sharply in the final three months of the year than previously believed, reflecting weaker business stockpiling and a bigger trade deficit. The slowdown is expected to be temporary. The Commerce Department says … read more.

8 die in house-to-house rampage
Sat Feb 28 2015 01:19AM

TYRONE, Mo. — A man who authorities say may have been unhinged by the death of his ailing mother killed seven people and then took his own life in a house-to-house shooting rampage that wiped out a swath of this … read more.

Susan Rice, Samantha Power to address AIPAC meeting
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a move that may ease — or exacerbate — spiraling tensions with Israel over a potential Iran nuclear deal, the White House has decided against snubbing America’s leading pro-Israel lobby and will send President Barack Obama’s … read more.

Chile government rejects 14 year-old’s plea for euthanasia
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s government on Thursday rejected an ailing 14-year-old girl’s plea to let her “sleep forever.” Cystic fibrosis sufferer Valentina Maureira posted a YouTube video shot from what appeared to be a hospital bed asking President Michelle … read more.

Couple married 67 years dies holding hands
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Floyd and Violet Hartwig’s marriage spanned 67 years, but their love for one another appears timeless. Sensing that the couple was close to death, their children pushed their two hospice beds together and gently placed their … read more.

Minnesota teen pleads guilty to trying to support terrorism
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota teenager who had been stopped at the airport as he was trying to travel to Syria pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Abdullahi Mohamud … read more.

More than 2,000 pedestrians killed in first half of 2014
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (CQ Roll Call) — There were 2,082 pedestrians killed by cars and trucks in the United States in the first half of last year, the Governors Highway Safety Association reported Thursday, which was a 2.8 percent decrease from the … read more.

Victory for Argentine leader: Judge rejects cover-up case
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday firmly dismissed allegations that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez tried to cover-up the involvement of Iranian officials in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center, easing a crisis for her government … read more.

House GOP weighs new approach on Homeland Security
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sounding retreat, House Republicans agreed Thursday to push short-term funding to prevent a partial shutdown at the Homeland Security Department while leaving in place Obama administration immigration policies they have vowed to repeal. “The speaker’s pretty adamant … read more.

Explosions in Nigerian towns in north kill at least 34
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

JOS, Nigeria (AP) — Explosions in Nigeria’s north central city of Jos and the northeastern town of Biu over the past two days have killed at least 34 people, witnesses said Thursday. Residents say at least 15 people were killed … read more.

Pew study: Americans still stressed despite improved economy
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly six years after the Great Recession, a clear majority of American families say they feel unprepared for a financial emergency. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ poll of 7,000 U.S. households finds that 57 percent don’t consider themselves … read more.

Court: State must prove drivers knew they were in a crash
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Drivers in Florida can’t be prosecuted for leaving the scene of an accident unless there is proof they knew they were in a crash. The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously agreed with a lower court’s … read more.

Beaches use mile markers to improve drowning response
Thu Feb 26 2015 09:37PM

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Emergency responders say new mile marker signs on some Panhandle beaches could help save lives. Long stretches of sparsely developed beach from the Alabama line east through Santa Rosa County create problems for emergency crews because … read more.

Universal Orlando follows Disney lead, raises ticket prices
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Another Orlando theme park is raisings its ticket prices. Less than a week after The Walt Disney Co. announced that prices were going up at its parks in California and Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reports that … read more.

Florida legislators under pressure to alter school testing
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — For nearly 2 million Florida public school students, the next few weeks could be a crucial moment in their education. The state is undertaking one of the biggest changes in its classrooms since former Gov. Jeb … read more.

Sen. Nelson asks feds to investigate reform school deaths
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

MARIANNA, Fla. (AP) — Sen. Bill Nelson has asked the Department of Justice to look into the deaths and burials of boys at a now-closed reform school in the Panhandle town of Marianna. In letters sent Tuesday to Attorney General … read more.

Chico’s ramps up rework of its brand as it closes stores
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

FT. MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Chico’s will close dozens of stores this year, accelerate the shuttering of others and cut the work force at its Florida headquarters as it attempts to remake its retail brand. The women’s clothing store narrowed … read more.

Dad accused of killing girl ruled incompetent to stand trial
Thu Feb 26 2015 09:37PM

LARGO, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of throwing his 5-year-old daughter over a Tampa bridge is being sent to a prison mental facility until he’s capable of understanding the first-degree murder charges he’s facing. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Chris Helinger … read more.

More manatee protections enacted at popular Florida spring
Thu Feb 26 2015 09:36PM

HOMOSASSA, Fla. (AP) — Wildlife officials are officially implementing rules to give manatees more space in a Florida spring also popular with swimmers and kayakers. During winter months, hundreds manatees seeking warm water crowd into the Three Sisters Springs in … read more.

Facebook adds new gender option for users: fill in the blank
Fri Feb 27 2015 01:19AM

(AP) — Facebook users who don’t fit any of the 58 gender identity options offered by the social media giant are now being given a rather big 59th option: fill in the blank. “Now, if you do not identify with … read more.

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