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Saturday, April 26, 2025

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Orlando Woman Charged With DUI With Serious Bodily Injury After Crash Critically Injuring 2 Young Children In Frostproof Crash

32-year-old Ashauntie Cox (DOB 2/15/1991) of Orlando, who caused serious bodily harm to two children in her vehicle while fleeing from two crashes and driving under the influence, was arrested in Polk County on Friday, May 19, 2023, and charged with several felonies.

According to witnesses and information developed during the investigation, the first crash occurred around 8:00 p.m. on US Hwy 27 at the intersection with US Hwy 98 near Frostproof. Cox was driving a blue Kia southbound on Hwy 27 when she struck a grey Chevy Silverado pickup truck and then fled at a high rate of speed. As she continued to recklessly speed south down Hwy 27, weaving in and out of slower moving traffic, she rear-ended a 2016 Honda CRV while trying to pass between that SUV and the vehicle next to it which were both also going southbound. The victim driving the CRV was taken to Sebring Hospital, where he was treated and released with minor injuries.

The collision caused Cox’s vehicle to flip several times, ejecting two Orlando children, ages 5 and 8 years old. Both sustained significant injuries, and they were taken to Tampa General Hospital where they are both in critical condition. A 27-year-old female passenger was also seriously injured along her spinal cord, hip, and back. She remains at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center in stable condition.

When deputies arrived at the scene of the crash, they detected the odor of marijuana and located a bottle of tequila in Cox’s vehicle. Cox was transported to the hospital and interview by deputies. Cox told deputies they were driving from Orlando to Avon Park to celebrate the 5-year-old’s kindergarten graduation. She admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the day, and to having four shots of tequila. Her blood was drawn for further analysis, and she displayed several signs of impairment. 

She was booked into the Polk County Jail and is being charged with:

·        Three counts DUI with serious bodily injury (F3)

·        Two counts negligent child abuse with great bodily harm (F2)

·        Reckless driving (F3)

·        One count DUI with property damage (M1)

·        One count DUI (M2)

Further charges are pending the outcome of the investigation. 

“This woman had no regard for anyone’s life when she got behind the wheel intoxicated and then drove recklessly down a major highway, but what’s worse is the blatant disregard she had for the lives of the innocent children in her car. I expect a successful prosecution to hold her accountable—and let’s hope she loses her driving privileges if she’s released from jail or prison. Please keep these babies and their families in your prayers.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

One Movie Later with J.C.: King of Kings” is a Good Enough Adaptation of the Gospel Story

by James Coulter

 

Mainstream religious films are hard to come by. In recent years, Hollywood has released a few good films like Prince of Egypt, Passion of the Christ, and Noah. Otherwise, most Christian flicks serve a rather niche audience, especially with such controversial films as the God’s Not Dead franchise.

Enter Angel Studios, a faith-based company with the aspiration to push faith-based films and shows into the mainstream. Their most popular and successful property has been The Chosentelevision series. Now, the studio has released its first animated film, King of Kings. But will this animated film about Jesus live up to its royal name? Or, unlike Christ, will it remain dead and buried?

King of Kings begins in Victorian England. Charles Dickens is giving a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol when his performance is interrupted by his rambunctious King Arthur-obsessed son. Charles snaps at him, but quickly relents his harsh reaction. To cheer his son up, Charles shares with him a story that he has been working on: an adaptation of the Gospel story. Through it all, father and son both learn the importance of grace and forgiveness.

King of Kings is a very basic adaptation of the Gospel story, telling the story of Jesus Christ from his birth to his resurrection. If you’re a Christian or are familiar with the Christian story, you pretty much know what to expect.

The only unique aspect about this adaptation is the framing device of Charles Dickens telling the story to his son. Essentially, it allows Charles to serve as the narrator. And sometimes it also involves his son imagining himself in the story.

This telling of the story emphasizes the theme of forgiveness, focusing on Jesus’ teachings forgiveness, as well as him exemplifying the virtue like when he defended a woman from being stoned for adultery. And, of course, there’s the fact that Jesus died to forgive humanity of its sins.

One scene I found particularly enthralling was Baby Jesus and his family fleeing from Herod. Most telling of this story have Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt before Herod orders all newborns to be killed. But in this movie, Herod’s soldiers are literally banging down the doors to the stable. It’s a real tense scene, and how Jesus’ family escapes proves to be quite surprising.

I also loved how Charles would occasionally deviate from the main narrative to share other Bible stories like the first Passover and the Garden of Eden to help explain the main Gospel story. I especially love how the Genesis story is conveyed through classic Gustave Doré illustrations. (Any children’s movie that exposes kids to fine art like Doré is a plus in my book.)

Otherwise, this film is rather unremarkable. The animation is decent, and it manages to tell the story of the Christian Gospel in one-and-a-half hours. But the condensed run time essentially forces the story to focus on hitting every plot point of the Jesus story without really doing anything to flesh out Jesus and the other characters.

Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about: there’s a scene in the movie where Charles names the twelve apostles, all of whom walk across the screen after being introduced. But aside from maybe Peter, none of them are given any real character development in the film, and you’d be forgiven if you forgot which character was supposed to be who. 

It’s ironic this movie mentions King Arthur. Because it reminds me of Excalibur, the 1981 King Arthur movie by John Boorman. That movie also focuses more on telling the barebones story of King Arthur and less on developing its characters, who merely exist to act out the roles they are meant to play in the narrative. The result is a film with plenty of style but no real substance.

Overall, this movie does a basic job recounting the story of Jesus Christ. If you want to use this movie to introduce your children to the Gospel, they’re sure to find it somewhat entertaining.

However, if you want to watch a better adaptation of the Gospel, better movies exist like the 1979 Jesus film or even Passion of the Christ. And, of course, Angel Studios also distributes The Chosen, which, as a television series, has enough time to tell a proper story and develop its characters. As for children, shows like the Superbook cartoon or even Veggietales provide more entertaining and engaging adaptations of Bible stories.

As for this film? I’d recommend watching it once it comes out on DVD and streaming. Otherwise, I’d save your tickets for a better animated film.

Three Car Accident Involving Semi Puts a Vehicle on its Side

Photo credit: Lisa Long Montgomery

At 3:02 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, 2025, a traffic accident reported near 1970 Hwy. 60 in Lake Wales near Hunt Bros. Rd. / Rural King reportedly involving a semi vs. truck.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Hunt Bros. Road that leads into the McDonald’s/Rural King parking lot. Three vehicles were involved in the accident, including a semi, and a tan pick up truck.

Polk County Fire Rescue public information officer Nathaniel Gale advises that one person was transported to the hospital.

In Loving Memory of Janet Louise Weigand, 82, of Lake Wales

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Janet Louise Weigand, 82

Janet Louise Weigand of Lake Wales passed away Friday, April 25, 2025 at The Club at Lake Wales.

She was born June 22, 1942 in Altoona, Pennsylvania to the late William and Geraldine Hallman; she moved to Lake Wales from Pennsylvania 10 years ago. Janet was a retired property manager and was of the Catholic faith. She loved to gamble “the slots” and traveling all over the world. She loved her children and grandchildren dearly and always enjoyed spending time with them.

Janet was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Martin Weigand. She is survived by her daughters, Penny Jo Duttry and husband David of Georgia, Cynthia Renee Dunworth of South Carolina, Theresa Marie Bracken and husband Todd of Pennsylvania, Sharon “Kaye” Malone and husband Shannon of North Carolina; sons, Steven Mease and wife Karla of Lake Wales, James Anthony Mease of Pennsylvania; 13 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.

No services are scheduled at this time. 

In Loving Memory of Teddie Nannett Singletary, 88, of Lake Wales

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Teddie Singletary, 88, passed away peacefully at home on April 24, 2025.

She was born in Maitland, FL on July 16, 1936 to the late Rev. F.W “Ted” and Vicki Brocksmith. She moved to Lake Wales in 1953 where her father became the Pastor for Westside Baptist Church. She started working for Woolfolk and Myers shortly after moving to Lake Wales, then went to work for Clinton Curtis as a legal secretary for over 50 years. She retired from Peterson Myers in 2012. 

Teddie enjoyed FSU football, time with her family, watching her great-grandchildren Brantley and Braylee play sports, shopping, NASCAR and getting her hair and nails done. She was a faithful Baptist woman. 

She is survived by her son Stephen Singletary (Tina), her granddaughter Christy Potochney (Eric), grandchildren, Sven Singletary, Sasha Rayburn, Ayrian Acevedo (Daniel) her sisters Patricia Phillips, Florence Slay (Jerry), her loving in laws and their spouses and 11 great grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Grady Singletary and her son Larry Singletary.  

The family would like to recognize the devoted support shown from Ann Newman for many years. 

A viewing will be held at Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales on Saturday May 3, 2025 at 10am followed by a service at  11am with Rev. Stephen Bolden officiating. 

Rollover Accident Shuts Down Masterpiece Road

Photo: LWD

On Friday, April 25, 2025, at approximately 7:33 PM, a traffic accident was reported at the intersection of Masterpiece Road and Hidden Hammock Rd. in Lake Wales.

PCSO advises that Masterpiece Road is closed in both directions as they work the crash. A vehicle suffered a rollover and ended up in the woods.

Polk County Fire Rescue says that one patient has been transported from the scene.

FWC to Host Series of Virtual Public Meetings on Proposed Changes to Modernize Florida’s Wildlife Trapping Regulations

Photo credit: floridatrapper.org

FWC – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is holding a series of virtual public meetings to collect feedback directly from Florida residents on proposed changes to modernize wildlife trapping regulations. The FWC held meetings with the public and a diverse group of stakeholders in a Technical Assistance Group to develop these proposed changes. The content covered in all meetings is identical, and it is not necessary to attend more than one virtual public meeting.

The meeting dates and times are as follows:

These proposed changes will include new regulations that will more closely align with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ best management practices, which ensure that trapping is more humane, species-specific and efficient. Members of the public can learn more about the proposed changes by going to MyFWC.com/TrappingRules and clicking on the banner that says, “Learn More.”

More information about wildlife trapping’s uses, the FWC’s process for collecting input on these proposed changes, answers to frequently asked questions and links to the virtual meetings can be found at MyFWC.com/TrappingRules. This page will also include a link to the FWC’s public commenting tool, which will go live on May 6.

In Loving Memory of Ruth Ann Callarman, 81, of Lake Wales

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Ruth Ann Callarman of Lake Wales passed away Saturday, April 19, 2025 at George G. Forsythe Hospice House in Auburndale.

She was born August 23, 1943 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma to the late Ray and Willie Franklin; she moved to Lake Wales from Fort Myers in 1997. Ruth Ann was a homemaker and a member of First Christian Church of Babson Park.

She is survived by her husband, Gerald Whipple; daughters, Deanna Thompson of Pompano Beach, Barbara Patterson of North Carolina, Linda PaHopin, Kansas, and Nancy Raimo of Holiday; son, Wayne Callarman of Palm Bay; sister, Rose Webb of California; 11 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

No services are scheduled at this time. Inurnment will be held at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. 

Triple Canopy Suffers Fire Damage Over Multiple Acres

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Multiple units responded this afternoon at 3:34 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2025, to a reported outside fire, located near 16950 Highway 630 E., near Triple Canopy in Lake Wales.

Nathaniel Gale, public information officer at Polk County Fire Rescue, says, “Polk County responded to an outside fire off of County Road 630. It was approximately 10-15 acres with approximately 10 campsites lost” at Triple Canopy. The fire is said to be contained at this time.

No injuries were reported. As of 8:00 p.m., responders are still at the scene.

In Loving Memory of Barbara Frances Goodin

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Barbara Frances Goodin, 58

Barbara Goodin of Ft. Meade passed away Friday, April 18, 2025, at her residence.

Barbara was born on December 27, 1966, in Winter Haven, Florida, to George H. Jolly and Shirley Stango. Barbara worked as a waitress at Mulligans. She often enjoyed playing games on her phone, and she loved her grandbabies and her puppies. 

Barbara is preceded in death by her daughter, Leigha Alexandria. She is survived by her parents, George H. and Shirley Jolly of Ft Meade; Fiancé, Eddie Simmons; sons, Calvin Milton Hulett of Danville, Kentucky, Clayton Alexander Hulett of Danville, Kentucky, And Colton Hulett of Danville, Kentucky; Sister, Angela Lynn Hall and husband Larry of Lake Wales; and grandchildren, Jr., Brook, and Abby.

No services have been scheduled at this time. Condolences can be sent to the family at www.marionnelsonfuneralhome.com.

Lake Wales Charter Schools Names Teachers and Support Persons of the Year

The Lake Wales Charter Schools Foundation held the annual Teacher and Support Staff of the Year Celebration on Monday, April 21, 2025. This award acknowledges the personnel that went above and beyond their respective calls of duty to enrich students lives and education during the 2024-2025 school year.

This year’s winners are as follows:

Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS. Correct spelling of her first name is Lynne.
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS
Image provided by LWCS. Correct spelling of her first name is Lynne.

LWCS Overall Support Person of the Year is Arianne Seidel, Athletic Director at Lake Wales High School.

LWCS Overall Teacher of the Year is Lynn Gramlich, Reading Department Chair at Bok Academy S.