News Update for 7/26/23

While county health officials continue to warn residents about the plethora of mosquitos this year, Avon Park officials say they won’t be doing any spraying in the City of Charm.
Avon Park City Manager Mark Schrader told the council that in order to apply the spray, staff members would have to go through a licensure program. Even so, workers indicated they were uneasy about the job.
Schrader said his research found that spraying is expensive and provides minimal results, with an equal amount of praise and complaints from citizens.
Instead, Schrader recommended that residents take measures to eliminate breeding grounds and protect themselves against the biting insects.

Highlands County teachers will be back in the classroom next week, getting ready for the 2023-24 academic year. Highlands County Schools Director of Human Resources Carla Ball told school board members there still are 76 vacant spots in the educational roster.
Ball says that’s about half the vacancies announced at the end of the last school year. She also told the board there were a half dozen more teachers in the system and 20 long term sobs have been hired to fill the gap.
Another local recruiting event for educators will be held August 6th.