News Update for 7/2/25
Local families are invited to help “Stuff the Bus” for the upcoming school year. The Robert C. Saffold Sr. Foundation is hosting a Back-To-School Supply Drive every Saturday in July from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lakeshore Mall in Sebring. Donors can drop off essential school supplies like pencils, paper, backpacks, calculators, and more. All donations will support local elementary, middle, and high school students. A special giveaway day will be held on August 2nd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring free food, drinks, games, vendors, and fun for the whole community. For more information about supplies needed please call 863-812-0845.
A Polk County teen is in jail after allegedly threatening to shoot up a McDonald’s over a messed-up order. Deputies say 18-year-old Dayton Schaffer made three calls to a north Lakeland McDonald’s late Sunday night, threatening gun violence because his five-dollar meal deal was wrong. Schaffer told deputies it was just a joke, but the Polk County Sheriff’s Office says they “didn’t get the punchline.” He’s now charged with filing a false report involving a firearm and misuse of a communication device—both felonies under Florida law.
South Florida State College plans to allow beer and wine at select performances at the Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts. At a recent Board of Trustees meeting, officials discussed creating a new procedure, separate from the current no-alcohol policy, to permit alcohol sales at certain events. The college president already has limited authority to approve alcohol at some functions, but not student events. The new rule, Procedure 10.71, will clarify when alcohol can be served. Final approval is expected soon.
Florida is home to what the governor calls the most secure illegal alien detainee processing and deportation center in the country. Governor Ron DeSantis made that claim last night on Fox News while discussing Alligator Alcatraz. He says detainees will be able to have their hearings at the Everglades facility, and the nearby runway can be used for quick deportation flights out of the country. DeSantis also says a similar facility may be built in Northeast Florida at Camp Blanding. He’s calling on other Republican governors to build similar facilities in their states.