News Update for 12/16/24
AT&T and The Ridge Area Arc has teamed up to provide a nationwide program that brings digital skills training to people with disabilities and their families in Highlands County. The Ridge was recently awarded the AT&T Digital Literacy Grant, which will help to provide critical resources for job applications, fostering social connections, and enhanced learning. The goal of the program is to create safe and accessible training that can accommodate various learning styles. As part of the program, in-person and online training workshops will be administered to anyone who would like to participate including individuals with disabilities, consumers, and staff. For more information on this free learning opportunity, call 863-452-1295.
The Sentencing phase for convicted mass murderer, Zephen Xaver is expected to conclude today in a Highlands County courtroom. Xaver pled guilty to murdering 5 women in a Sebring SunTrust bank branch January 23rd, 2019. On Friday, The defense requested that Judge Angela Cowden sentence Xaver to a life sentence without the possibility of parole despite a majority jury recommendation of 9-3 for the death penalty on June 26th of this year. The required Spencer hearing for Xaver concluded earlier this month, which allowed the defense to present any mitigating factors to the court in an effort to save Xaver from the death penalty. Judge Cowden is expected to sentence Xaver at 1:00pm today.
A sixth city in Polk County is planning to take extra steps to protect students on their way to and from school. Lake Wales commissioners agreed to install speed-detection cameras in at least four school zones last month. Officials also approved an ordinance that gives the city authority to deploy red-light cameras at specific intersections throughout the area. City Clerk Jennifer Nanek gave an update yesterday, telling The Ledger that the process has barely gotten off the ground since November’s vote. While discussions continue, the Polk County school district has already installed cameras on its buses to prevent drivers from illegally passing the vehicles while they are stopped.
An upcoming meeting could lead to land in Central Florida being protected from development. Governor Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet will meet Tuesday to discuss several conservation measures. Those measures include paying almost 24 million dollars for a conservation easement on four thousand acres in Osceola County. DeSantis and Cabinet members will also consider buying over 13-hundred acres in Volusia County near New Smyrna Beach for over 18 million dollars. News Service of Florida reports statewide, DeSantis and the Cabinet will consider buying almost 87-thousand acres in fifteen counties to prevent the land from being developed.
A deputy is dead after he was shot in Charlotte County. It happened yesterday afternoon after a traffic stop in Charlotte Harbor. The sheriff’s office says Andrew Mostyn pulled out a rifle and shot Deputy Corporal Elio Diaz. Diaz was taken to the hospital where he passed away. Deputies found Mostyn near a Popeye’s, and they say when the 24-year-old grabbed a rifle, he was shot in the head. Mostyn was taken to the hospital where he passed away. Sheriff Bill Prummell says Diaz was a good family man, a really great cop, and he’s going be missed.
Some Polk County residents are trying to persuade Legoland theme park to reverse course on plans to discontinue the historic water ski show. Daniel Conrod saw water skiing as a kid, when the park was still called Cypress Gardens. He later skied in competition. Conrod and about 15-hundred other people have signed a change-dot-org petition to renew the ski shows at Legoland, which have been performed on Lake Eloise going back to the 1940s.
A Central Florida police officer won’t face charges over a February car chase that ended in a shooting. An Orange County grand jury cleared the officer on Friday. The officer, whose identity is not being released, chased an adult suspect and his 16-year-old son after they fled a Walmart parking lot in a pickup truck. After the pickup had crashed into a patrol car and drove into oncoming traffic, the vehicle stopped near Ohio Avenue. When the 16-year-old got out of the pickup, the officer thought he was armed and shot him. The State Attorney’s Office said in a news release the teen has made a full recovery. The driver, 49-year-old Gregorio Mendoza Moreno, is facing multiple charges, including aggravated battery. Moreno also allegedly stole close to 200-dollars in merchandise, which prompted the chase.
The United States military is paving the way for new weapons systems following a recent launch from Florida’s Space Coast. The U.S. Department of Defense says a hypersonic missile was flight-tested from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday. This marked the second test of the year for the technology, but the first live-fire event. The projectile is able to travel at least five times the speed of sound. The Army says it will use the missile on board Navy ships, supporting the branches’ land and sea tactics.