News Update for 7/31//23

If you’re looking for an electrician locally, it may be a while. A new study by Construction Coverage shows that the Sebring/Avon Park metro area is in the bottom 10 when it comes to the concentration of the skilled construction workers.
Highlands county has roughly one electrician for each 1,000 households here. That compares to nearly five per thousand nationally. More than 350 metro areas were ranked for the survey which used data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau to determine the rakings.

Today is the last day of July, and educators now are looking forward to the first day of school for the 2023-24 academic year. Teachers are headed back into the classrooms today to get things in readiness for the commencement of school – that will be August 10th.
This year, the first day of school will be on a Thursday.
Teacher orientation was held last week, with some 100 educators in attendance. At last report, there still are dozens of vacancies in the classrooms, with many being filled by long term substitute teachers.

A couple Desoto County residents were injured over the weekend in a Hardee County traffic crash. Florida Highway Patrol reports indicate a car driven by a 41-year-old Arcadia man failed to negotiate a curve on County Road 663. The vehicle went off the road and overturned.
He was critically injured and his 30-year-old female passenger was seriously injured. Both reportedly were buckled up at the time of the crash.

One person was injured in a Polk County shooting. It happened yesterday in Winter Haven at a Dollar General on Highway 17.
Police say an ex-boyfriend and a new boyfriend were arguing when at least one shot was fired. The new boyfriend was hurt and arrested for an outstanding warrant. The ex-boyfriend was also arrested.