The Polk County Democrat

Please wait....

| Subscribe

| Today's Classifieds

| Place Ad

| Jobs

| Real Estate

| More Classifieds

| Bartow Weather

BARTOW

LAKE WALES

LAKE PLACID

FORT MEADE

FROSTPROOF

The Polk County Democrat Top Stories

News Alerts:

Saturday, March 8, 2014

So you want to be commissioner?

What might it take to be a Bartow City Commissioner is a question Wayne Lewis is well-equipped to answer. One answer is to expect the unexpected, as well as where and when questions might get asked. It is something Lewis became quite familiar with in the six years he will … read more.

LATEST LOCAL NEWS

Brown in the classroom?
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

The L.B. Brown House gaining a spot in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture may already be paying off. On Tuesday, David P. Scott, a master … read more.

STEM sprouts from grant
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

Hundreds of Bartow parents, business representatives and guests went on a treasure hunt Thursday at Bartow Elementary Academy to learn how a $500,000 federal grant was tapped for science, technology, … read more.

Taste of Chamber also a kickoff of PSC classroom of business
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

It was wall-to-wall people and wall-to-wall excitement Thursday, March 6 at A-C-T Environmental and Infrastructure. Not only was there a teaming up with The Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce by … read more.

Former Bartow star transitions from gridiron to service
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

Alex Boston was a multi-sport athlete for Bartow High School and one of Polk County’s most vaunted defensive ends at the turn of the millennium. After blossoming into one of … read more.

More Local News

Sign law hearing set March 17
Wed Mar 5 2014 08:00AM

Because city commissioners met earlier in the day, at 2 p.m., for a special session to review proposed changes to the city’s sign ordinance, it then canceled the regularly scheduled work session that normally precedes the public meeting. The special … read more.

Helping those who can’t help themselves
Wed Mar 5 2014 08:00AM

On Saturday for the ninth time, a group of Bartow firefighters and those close to them will take to the streets to fight what is known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Started by Brian Bennett, … read more.

Jackets just short in championship
Wed Mar 5 2014 08:00AM

Sometimes the better team wins, sometimes not. Sometimes the result of the game has you wondering “what if.” Sometimes you are on the good side of the result, and again, sometimes not. Saturday night the Bartow High School boys basketball … read more.

The ultimate love story
Tue Mar 4 2014 04:48PM

Arno and Myrtle Birdsong undoubtedly always knew what their final words to each other would be. They just probably hadn’t imagined how they would be delivered. After 71 years of marriage — compassionate, caring companions to each other to the … read more.

More than 1,000 viewed the fashionable flowers
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

An estimated 1,000 people viewed the Fashionable Flower Show sponsored by the Bartow Garden Club during the Bloomin’ Arts Festival the first weekend in March. The show title was Pret-a’-Porter, a French fashion term which means Ready to Wear. It … read more.

Congratulations to Student Art Show winners
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

Best of Show: Zhiyong Ye, $2,250 Second Place: Marilyn Vaillancourt, $1,500 Third Place: Patricia Karnes, $1,000 Achievement: Polly Ray Reel, $750 Merit: Susan Oller, Dan Phillips, $500 each Honorable Mention: Stephan Koury, James Marsh, Patrick Bates, Aubrey Leslie, $350 each … read more.

Bloomin’ Bicycle event draws over 150 cyclists
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

Saturday was a picture postcard day as 150-plus cyclists from all over central Florida converged upon Bartow to participate in the Bloomin’ Arts weekend and the Bloomin’ Bicycle event. While bicyclists got to enjoy the seductive fragrance of the orange … read more.

Make the most of ‘your dash’
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

For someone who prides herself on preparedness, much of it honed during her former career as a U.S. Navy pilot, Stacie Rine was blunt in her opening remarks to members and guests at the Tuesday, March 4 Engage luncheon. “I’m … read more.

New locale for monthly yard sale and vintage market
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

Bartow’s monthly Uptown Yard Sale & Vintage Market is moving. Starting Saturday, March 15, the event will be held in the parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Wilson Avenue. Hours will be 8 a.m.-1 p.m., with set-up … read more.

Manning wins the war of the words
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

On Tuesday, 30 Polk county middle school students engaged in a war of words with a Lakeland Highlands Middle School eighth grader coming out on top with ‘sigmoid.’ It was the seventh and round spell-off in the Scripps National Spelling … read more.

Helping foster children is his life
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

When Phil Scarpelli moved to Bushnell, Fla., from New York 25 years ago he knew he wanted to work with foster children. He took a job in a group home with boys who were about 15 years old. They were … read more.

It’s not just the families that influence us
Sat Mar 8 2014 08:00AM

J. Lenora Bresler says it’s not so much what you learned from your parents that make you the person you are. It matters just as much — if not more —what generation you are from. That was what she went … read more.

Page: [1] 2 3

State, National and World News

Ukraine tension muddles US stocks
Sat Mar 8 2014 01:19AM

NEW YORK (AP) — One positive report on the economy was not enough to make investors more confident. The stock market ended mixed Friday after a day of muddled trading. Among the three main U.S. stock indexes, one edged higher, … read more.

Russia sparks patriotic fervor
Sat Mar 8 2014 01:19AM

MOSCOW — Russia was swept up in patriotic fervor Friday in anticipation of bringing Crimea back into its territory, with tens of thousands of people thronging Red Square chanting “Crimea is Russia!” as a parliamentary leader declared the peninsula would … read more.

Kids rescued from surf: ‘Mom tried to kill us’
Sat Mar 8 2014 01:19AM

ORLANDO — After she drove her minivan into the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean, authorities say a pregnant South Carolina woman tried to call off bystanders hustling to rescue her three screaming children from the water that was rushing … read more.

Return to ‘Cosmos’ happens Sunday
Sat Mar 8 2014 01:19AM

When astronomer Carl Sagan’s landmark PBS series “Cosmos” first aired in the fall of 1980, the Voyager 1 spacecraft was flying past Saturn and its moons, sending back astonishing images of worlds never seen up close. Some 33 years later, … read more.

’Tsunami’ of store closings predicted
Sat Mar 8 2014 05:26PM

Hackensack, N.J. (The Record) — The experts who keep track of store openings and closings have been forecasting for more than a decade that the day was coming when American retailers would have to pay for building way too many … read more.

2 years later, Congress poised to undo flood law
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than two years after Congress approved a landmark bill to overhaul the federal flood insurance program, lawmakers are poised to undo many of the changes after homeowners in flood-prone areas complained about sharp increases in premiums. … read more.

Stock and housing gains put US net worth at record
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — A surging stock market and rebounding home prices boosted Americans’ wealth to a record in the final three months of last year, though both trends have slowed so far in 2014. Household net worth jumped nearly $3 … read more.

Conservatives: GOP needs to stand on principle
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Republican leaders implored conservatives to offer a stark contrast to President Barack Obama’s policies and stand firm on principles as a way to win back Senate control in the fall elections and prepare for the … read more.

Environmentalists appeal Florida water ruling
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Environmentalists are appealing a federal judge’s approval of Florida’s water pollution rules. In January, a federal judge in Tallahassee ruled that state and federal authorities could move ahead with an agreement that allows Florida to take … read more.

Skeletons uncovered in mass graves in Somalia
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

HARGEISA, Somalia (AP) — An American volunteer gently brushes away dirt to reveal the bones of a Somali victim buried in a mass grave some 30 years ago. Tens of thousands of skeletons may lie in mass graves here, on … read more.

A Gadhafi son is extradited to Libya
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — One of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, al-Saadi, was extradited on Thursday to Libya from Niger, where he had taken refuge as his father’s regime crumbled in 2011, bringing cheers from Libyans as the government prepares to prosecute … read more.

Mother who drove into ocean of Fla. hospitalized
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A pregnant South Carolina woman who drove a minivan carrying her three young children into the ocean surf off Florida is hospitalized for mental evaluation. A Volusia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said Thursday that Ebony … read more.

Deal to recover sunken gold approved
Thu Mar 6 2014 09:46PM

CINCINNATI (AP) — Deep-sea explorers can now recover the remaining gold from a ship that sank off the South Carolina coast in 1857 and more recently has been embroiled in legal fights involving a fugitive treasure hunter, an Ohio judge … read more.

Bombings, clashes in Iraq kill at least 42
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

BAGHDAD (AP) — Bombings targeting shoppers across central Iraq and clashes near the militant-held city of Fallujah killed at least 42 people Thursday, authorities said. No one claimed responsibility for the string of bombings that began Thursday afternoon, mostly from … read more.

Netanyahu speaks about Iran at Los Angeles museum
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Jewish community leaders on Thursday that he was determined to contain Iran’s nuclear program and protect the state of Israel from Iran. The prime minister spoke at the Museum of … read more.

China takes aim at pollution after years of growth
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

PINGSHAN COUNTY, China (AP) — Huge chunks of concrete and broken machinery are all that is left of a cement plant that once spewed clouds of pollution over China’s most polluted province, Hebei. Demolished in December, the factory was one … read more.

Girl Scouts asked to end partnership with Barbie
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

NEW YORK (AP) — A few weeks after her foray into the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, Barbie is entangled in controversy again, this time over her ties with the Girl Scouts. Two advocacy groups often critical of corporate advertising tactics … read more.

Insurance discrimination bills ready for floor
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A House and Senate committee both approved a bill that would prevent insurance companies from discriminating against gun owners. The bill flew through the Senate Appropriations committee, but did meet some resistance in the House. Some … read more.

Fla. Capitol security rules stop overnight sit-ins
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — New Capitol security rules approved by Gov. Rick Scott and Senate and House leaders will prevent overnight protests like the monthlong sit-in after George Zimmerman’s acquittal on murder charges. The new rules went into place this … read more.

Fla. sues BP over oil spill environmental damage
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

MIAMI (AP) — Florida has joined a multistate lawsuit stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, seeking to hold British oil company BP accountable for damage to the state’s natural resources. The complaint was filed Wednesday in Panama City … read more.

Police: Man urinated on people near UF campus
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Police are searching for a man who has been urinating on people near the University of Florida campus. The Gainesville Sun reports the victims told police they were standing with their backs turned to the man … read more.

Bill would give nurse practitioners more authority
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

MIAMI (AP) — With a massive shortage of primary care physicians across Florida, state lawmakers are pushing a bill to expand the powers of nurse practitioners, allowing them to prescribe controlled substances like painkillers and work without supervision from a … read more.

Judge: Texas man can be tried in childhood crime
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

CONROE, Texas (AP) — In the years that followed the 1998 attack that horribly burned her then-8-year-old son, Colleen Middleton felt fear and frustration over the possibility that the person she believed was responsible would never be taken to trial. … read more.

2 more Texas clinics close amid new abortion law
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The last abortion clinic in the vast, impoverished Rio Grande Valley closed Thursday, along with the sole remaining clinic in the 400-mile stretch between Houston and the Louisiana border, posing a tall obstacle to women seeking … read more.

Hubble Telescope captures shattering asteroid
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the first pictures of a disintegrating asteroid. Asteroid P/2013 R3 was detected in September in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It appeared as a … read more.

Fla. high court: Immigrant can’t get law license
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Immigrants in the country illegally can’t be given a license to practice law, a question that was raised when a man who moved here from Mexico when he was 9 years old sought a license in … read more.

General admits guilt on 3 counts; denies assault
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — In his immaculate blue dress uniform, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair stood ramrod straight before a judge Thursday and pleaded guilty to three charges that could send him to prison for up to 15 years. … read more.

Bill would let Paul run for 2 offices at same time
Fri Mar 7 2014 01:19AM

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul faces a potential quandary as he weighs whether to run for president in 2016 or focus solely on re-election to his Senate seat. Legislation introduced Thursday in his home state would allow … read more.

Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7

AP Video

Bartow Weather

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Publish Your Photos

FEELING
FIT

MY HOME
MARKETPLACE

POLK COUNTY
TIMES

LAKE WALES
MAINSTREET

Feeling Fit is packed full of the latest news and information on health care and wellness/ fitness options.

Find out what is happening in the govenment agencies in Polk County.

Get information on what is happening in downtown Lake Wales and around town.

Sun Subscriber Website Login