News Update for 5/31/22
It appears that Sebring has made the bottom 10 in employment. A new report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Sebring is one of just eight small metro areas to experience a decline in employment over the past year.
The study shows employment here went down eight tenths of a percent over the past year and more than three percent over the past two years.
Meanwhile, the national average shows a 4.5-percent increase in employment as people regained their jobs after the coronavirus. Statewide, Florida employment was up nearly six percent over the the past year.
Recyclers can rejoice. Highlands County officials have announced that the Lake Placid drop-off center will be the first recycling center to open its gates here. The facility at the corner of Hickory Avenue and West Royal Palm Street will begin operations tomorrow afternoon at 2pm.
It will be staffed, and open Mondays. Wednesdays and Saturdays. The attendant will be there to answer questions and to assist residents to make certain recyclables are deposited in the appropriate containers.
Collected will be plastics, steel & aluminum cans, cardboard, and paper.
Highlands County commissioners held a workshop this morning to look at how much they want to raise the fire assessment for the upcoming fiscal year. Public Safety Director Larry Stearns made the presentation regarding the number of fire stations, the apparatus in the system and other factors in deciding what they want to charge residents for the service.
Apparently, the monies from a loan taken out to facilitate the county’s fire rescue department have been spent or are promised.
They also heard the results of a study, looking at the compensation rates for county employees.
Four Polk County men reportedly have been involved in a rash of armed robberies, all while pretending to be law enforcement officers.
Their targets – local drug dealers.
Prosecutors say the four-armed robbers – Nathaniel Carr of Lakeland, Reginald Roberts of Lakeland, Chrishawn Butler of Bartow, and Daniel Jackson of Winter Haven – impersonated cops. They used fake police vests, along with blue lights and sirens, and drove around in a black Dodge Durango.
In some cases, agents say the suspects fired their weapons during the robberies
All four face federal robbery charges, conspiracy, brandishing, and discharging a weapon during the commission of a crime.
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