State, Local Crime Rate Down; Violent Crimes up by PHIL ATTINGER STAFF WRITER
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HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN Monday, June 28, 2021 VOL. 102 | NO. 179 | $1.00 YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1919 An Edition Of The Sun Scooters popular; some stolen Andrews: Fail safes help find, recover lost Birds By PHIL ATTINGER There have been some, module that runs and charges had taken apart the electric STAFF WRITER however, who haven’t used them. module on the handle bars, them properly. Andrews said So far, two were recovered, Polk Sheriff’s officials said. SEBRING — The popular a handful of the scooters have from Lorida and Avon Park, Deputies there recovered the Bird Scooter has given people “walked off.” Andrews said. Another was scooter and informed the shopping in Sebring’s down- About seven users took recovered by the Polk County Sebring Police Department, COURTESY GRAPHIC/DAN town area a quicker way to visit vehicles out of Community Sheriff’s Office after Dan which had the original theft FEATHERS shops, using the electric-motor Redevelopment Agency District Feathers, who assists Andrews report. two-wheeled vehicles to get and never returned them. in managing the fleet, tracked The remaining three scooters If you want to take a Bird Scooter them around faster than their “They’re no good outside a missing one to an address ended up on the bottom of outside the downtown area, you can feet can take them. downtown,” Andrews said. off State Road 60, west of Lake Lake Jackson, no longer usable. if you hug the shores of Lake Jackson, “They are a really small That hasn’t stopped some Wales. Any permanently disabled as seen from the Bird mobile app compact scooter, think of a people from trying to make the Officials with the Polk County scooter is a $1,200 loss, which also shows some of the nearest little child’s Razor scooter, but public transit option a personal Sheriff said they found the Andrews said. It’s something clusters of available electric scooters motorized and a little bit more one, he said, even though black Bird Scooter and talked Bird Scooter’s insurance com- to rent. The new scooters have substantial wheels and things the scooters start beeping with a 50-year-old man at the pany will cover, it’s still a loss to helped many get around, although like that,” Fleet Manager Dan loudly once outside the CRA address, who said he’d bought the 75-vehicle fleet that serves some have helped themselves to the Andrews of Legacy Bicycles scooters. district, and will shut down, a it off an unknown man at a said. failsafe feature of the computer convenience store for $50. He SCOOTERS | 2A State, local crime rate down; violent crimes up By PHIL ATTINGER STAFF WRITER SEBRING — Overall crime went down in Florida in 2020, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but violent crime went up. In Highlands County, those results were mixed. While murders went down, rape didn’t go down by much and aggravated assault increased significantly. Burglary and larceny went down, but motor vehicle theft went up significantly, too. Florida saw 1,285 murders last year, an increase of 260, or up 14.7% from 2019, according to the FDLE annual crime report. Of those, 1,025 were committed with a gun, approximately 80% of the PHIL ATTINGER/STAFF total, up 20.2% from 2019. Balloons gather along with guests Saturday at Citrus Terrace Apartments to honor Queenie Roux and her daughter, Queen, who both died in a Burglaries, robberies and larcenies car crash in Atlanta, shortly after moving from Sebring. dropped significantly during the year as many people worked at home or stayed home more often because of the corona- virus pandemic. 2020 had 13,439 rob- Queenie, Queen remembered beries, a drop of 17% from 2019; 51,928 burglaries, down 17.8%; and 291,923 larcenies, down 18.5%. Florida as a state also saw fewer with balloons and hugs reported rapes, from 8,439 in 2019 down to 7,650 in 2020 — a decrease of 9.3%. By PHIL ATTINGER Motor vehicle thefts also dropped slightly. STAFF WRITER Meanwhile, aggravated assaults increased by 9.5%, from 55,333 in 2019 to a total of SEBRING — After more than 100 60,567 last year. people released dozens of balloons Accounting for state population into the sky, in memory of a lost growth, all crime was down 15.7% in mother and child, local leaders urged 2020. others to spread love. Highlands County, with 103,434 people “You have 30 seconds. Tell someone in 2019 and 104,834 people in 2020, saw you love them now. Hug someone a slightly larger drop in the crime index, now,” said Ada McGowan, CEO of FDLE reported. The total numbers of Highlands County Citizens with Voices reported crimes dropped from 2,621 in at Saturday evening’s memorial at 2019 to 2,185 in 2020 — a 16.6% drop. Citrus Terrace Apartments. The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office With that, she and the rest turned saw a 17.7% drop in reported crime for to embrace each other in honor 90,786 people, including those in the city of Queenie Roux, and her 3-year- limits of Avon Park. The Sebring Police old daughter, Queen, who died Wednesday in a car crash in Atlanta, Department saw a 13.7% drop among its PHIL ATTINGER/STAFF 11,208 people, and the Lake Placid Police Georgia. Department saw a huge 39.2% drop Queenie was moving from her home Balloons begin to lift up as people release them in honor of Queenie Roux and her daughter, among its 2,840 people. at Citrus Terrace to a new life for Queen, during a memorial event Saturday evening at Citrus Terrace Apartments in Sebring. herself and her six children. Saturday Inside the Town of Lake Placid, in all Rashael Reed, to give Queenie’s family, the family. categories, seemed to have lower crime evening’s highlight, after a prayer for unity in the community and the friends and community a place to Wednesday’s two-car collision on numbers. However, the crime rate was mourn her passing. Interstate 75 took not only the lives of lower, on average in the Avon Park and world, was a balloon release with all the pink and yellow, and also purple, “I’m going to miss her,” Moses said. Queenie and Queen, but also a baby unincorporated areas, combined, with a As for the temporary memorial Queenie had carried for at least two rate of 1,805.3 per 100,000 people. silver and gold balloons that Queenie and Queen could have wanted. display in front of Queenie’s old months, according to family. Queenie Lake Placid, inside town limits, had apartment, Moses said she was told it had four other children in the car, a rate of 2,746.5, and Sebring had the The memorial was organized by Queenie’s neighbors, Velma Moses and couldn’t stay, but she planned to box highest single-area rate with 4,175.6. up the decorations and gift them to QUEEN | 2A The clearance rate per 100 offenses got better from 42.4 in 2019 and 50.8 in 2020. Sebring had the best clearance rate of 53.4, followed by the Sheriff’s Office at 51.6 and Lake Placid Police at 20.5. Teacher planning time may be extended Murders in Highlands dropped from 11 in 2019 to nine in 2020. Reported rapes By MARC VALERO has been talking with the “We have been continuing Highlands Virtual School. went down from 30 to 29, but aggravated STAFF WRITER teachers union about to work with the union School Board Member assaults went up from 181 to 220 — a extending the school day. At on that language, we are Donna Howerton said the 21.5% increase. Five of the murders took SEBRING — Teachers at one point the district was probably closer at this district was looking at ex- place in unincorporated areas and/or some district schools may looking at extending it a point,” Lethbridge said. tending the day for students Avon Park, three in Sebring city limits and have additional planning whole hour and also extend- Some of that planning, they and teachers, so due to the none inside Lake Placid town limits. time in the upcoming ing the student school day. are proposing, would be for preferences expressed in Eight rapes took place inside Sebring school year as the School As they worked through it, PLC (professional learning the the teacher survey, only and another 21 in the unincorporated Board of Highlands County it took many turns and the community) and individual the teachers will have an areas and/or Avon Park. Meanwhile, 157 and teachers union work on recommendation has shift- planning as well. extended day, which will be of 2020 aggravated assaults took place in finalizing an agreement. ed to extending specifically Superintendent Brenda at the end of the day. either Avon Park or the unincorporated At a recent School teacher planning time by 30 Longshore said the extended Andrew replied, “Yes, that areas, while 53 were in Sebring and 10 Board meeting, Deputy minutes at the elementary planning time would be is what we are looking at.” Superintendent Andrew schools and Avon Park High, at the elementary schools, CRIME | 2A Lethbridge said the district he said. Avon Park High and PLAN | 2A Classifieds ......................B4-6 Sports ............................ B1 Viewpoints ....................... A6 Good morning To Comics ....................... B7-10 TV Listings ....................... A7 Weather .......................... A8 Susan Thuener Lottery ........................... A2 facebook.com/ twitter.com/ Thanks for reading! newssun.com newssun TheNewsSun A2 | HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN | June 28, 2021 www.highlandsnewssun.com 5 THINGS human beings and get rid That Will Make You QUEEN of the anger and hate that FROM PAGE 1A permeates the nation so SMARTER much today.