Florida QB Trask ‘Progressing Along Nicely’
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HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN Tuesday, October 8, 2019 VOL. 100 | NO. 281 | $1.00 YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1919 An Edition Of The Sun Zoning request asks for migrant housing Letters from community topping 50 or more, with few in favor By PHIL ATTINGER than 20 letters on Friday and another 33 proposed site. Riddell said, and the landowners aren’t STAFF WRITER that came in over the weekend. Riddell said the applicants — Jedd asking any higher density than that. Of the original 20 or more, only Garrett and Sage Ashton Gray of Riddell said that land would then SEBRING — A little-known techni- five were in favor, said Dana Riddell, Okeechobee — have asked for a special hold six houses. cality on farm worker housing has a Planner 1 with Highlands County. exception to put migrant housing However, the county code states that landowner filing an application for a Aside from a house set across a shell on a 34.07-acre parcel of land at 100 they need a special exception if the special exception. road from the site, the nearest residents Lake Apthorpe Drive. The code allows laborers in the house also work land That filing has raised a lot of response are in Tropical Harbor Mobile Home for that if those in the house will be away from where the house sits. from nearby residents, based on Park off Lake Clay Drive. An active CSX working on that land. The people to be housed, Riddell said, reports from Highlands County Zoning railroad track runs along the west edge Density allows for one house per Department staff, who counted more of the park, about 750 feet from the five acres, in the land’s current zoning, ZONING | 5A School Board Reaching the Summit to discuss surgery plan By MARC VALERO STAFF WRITER SEBRING — The School Board of Highlands County will discuss health insurance, including a new surgery program, at a 3 p.m. workshop today. SurgeryPlus bundles pric- ing resulting in half the cost, to the district, for a large list of surgeries, like knee replacements, back surgery and hip replacements BIRT and bariatric surgery, said Richard “Bo” Birt, district finance director. COURTESY PHOTO According to SurgeryPlus, it offers From left: Hill-Gustat Middle School Assistant Principal Stacey Hinson, Principal Chris Doty, Hill-Gustat Midde Teacher of the Year Kaneisha surgical procedures that are covered Hamilton and School Related Employee of the Year Jean Exume, with Superintendent Brenda Longshore and Assistant Superintendent of under the State Group Health Insurance Secondary Programs Iris Borghese. Program, but is different from the employee’s health insurance plan because the healthcare services are “bundled” together. For example, rather than paying separately for the surgeon, facility, anes- District names Teacher/ School-Related Employees of the Year thesiologist, and radiologist, SurgeryPlus negotiates one “bundled” rate. By MARC VALERO Birt noted SurgeryPlus has a contract STAFF WRITER with Orlando Health (formerly known as Orlando Regional Medical Center). SEBRING — Nearly all the If a district employee needed a hip school-level teachers and school-re- replacement they would go to Orlando lated employees of the year with The Health, or other location recommended School Board of Highlands County in the SurgeryPlus plan, and it would cost have been named with a bit of them nothing, he said. fanfare and congratulations. “It would be free to the employee and The district office honorees have it would be about half the market price,” yet to be named for the annual Birt said. Summit Awards, which brings The State of Florida has contracted with together all the school-level winners the SurgeryPlus company with 400,000 for the naming of the district teach- employees, he noted. er and school-related employee “It looks like a really good program,” of the year. The 2019-20 event will Birt said. “So basically it is medical be held Jan. 13 at Lake Placid High tourism inside the United States.” School. There will be a travel benefit that will The district will be releasing cover some expenses if they have to stay the full list of honorees soon, but overnight, he said. principals, assistant principals, The district’s Insurance Committee has Superintendent Brenda Longshore COURTESY PHOTO been looking at it for the past year, Birt and other administrators have From left: Sebring Middle School Assistant Principal Angie Spencer, Principal Shawn West, PLAN | 5A SUMMIT | 5A Teacher of the Year Stephanie Scheipsmeier and Superintendent Brenda Longshore. Highlands Lakes FD, a future project Waiting for re-platting, water lines By PHIL ATTINGER metal-skinned steel- The county has hit a work out for the best, STAFF WRITER frame building with two snag, though. since water lines for the bays and an office/meet- Bashoor said when the new NuCor plant north AVON PARK — ing area off the left side, county did a title search of Avon Park will run past Highlands Lakes as seen from the front. on the properties, it was the station. Since it needs Volunteer Fire It also has no “red discovered that both sites a better source of water, it Department, Station 1, zone,” Bashoor said, sit in the middle of a will be good to have that is the first fire station where apparatus, bunker platted right of way. in place first. southbound U.S. 27 mo- gear and equipment stay The original plat for Bashoor said he would torists pass as they enter until decontaminated, the North Highlands like, sometime in the Highlands County. kept separate from Boulevard, currently just future, to have automatic “Tucked into a cor- living quarters to protect two lanes, shows a four- mutual aid agreements ner of the county,” as firefighters’ lungs. lane road with a park in with Avon Park and the described by Highlands Eventually, Bashoor the median. neighboring counties. County Fire Rescue Chief wants a new building The outbound lanes For now, he’s taking PHIL ATTINGER/STAFF Marc Bashoor, it sits a with up to five bays and would go through the other jurisdictions’ sta- half mile from Avon Park full-scale living quarters current station’s driveway. tions into account when Highlands County Fire Rescue Chief Marc Bashoor gestures city limits, a half mile on site for 24-hour paid Until county officials thinking about where towards one of the three bays of Highlands Lakes Fire Depart- from Polk County and shifts. The county owns can straighten out the he’d like to locate or ment, Station 1, which will eventually get replaced with an three quarters of a mile both the land the build- legal matters involved in relocate stations in order upgraded building, as soon as the county can work out prob- from Hardee County. ing is on and an adjacent getting the plat vacated, to give the best maximum lems with the plat. The two parcels intended for the new facility Built in the late 1970s, parcel, which together no new station can be coverage of the county. sit in the middle of a previously set fight of way for the road in it’s like most local will provide enough room built. and out of Highlands Lakes. volunteer stations: a for a better station. Bashoor said it may PROJECT | 5A Classifieds ......................B5-8 Obituaries ........................ A5 Viewpoints ....................... A6 Good morning To Comics ................A7-8, B9-10 Sports ............................ B1 Weather .........................A10 Elmer Jordan Lottery ........................... B2 TV Listings ....................... A9 facebook.com/ twitter.com/ Thanks for reading! newssun.com newssun TheNewsSun A2 | HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN | October 8, 2019 www.highlandsnewssun.com Sebring ranks high for working poor Dunn: ‘Working on that’ By PHIL ATTINGER $16,910 or less would be to do what they can to date at the end of the STAFF WRITER in poverty, as would be a get new businesses [to third quarter of 2020. family of three bringing relocate to Highlands Dunn said some of the SEBRING — A recent in $21,330 or less, or a County] and to grow staff — mostly adminis- report ranks Sebring 11th family of four earning existing business,” tration — have already among 20 American cities $25,750 or less. Dunn said. relocated to Highlands with the highest working The study rates Sebring When asked if some County. poverty rates. as one of America’s of these numbers might To determine the cit- According to a report poorest cities, where have been affected by a ies where having a job by 24/7 Wall St. LLC, a the typical household high retiree base in the does not keep someone Delaware corporation earns $36,374 a year, the county, both DiGiacomo out of poverty, 24/7 Wall that runs a fi nancial news second-lowest median and Dunn said that St. measured the ratio of and opinion company, household income of any could have affected the official poverty rate many full-time workers in U.S. metro area. FILE PHOTO some of the results. in each metropolitan the United States struggle The average workweek In this fi le photo, Jeff Roth, then chairman of the Children’s DiGiacomo said 47.7% area to that area’s pover- to stay out of poverty is 37.8 hours, in the Services Council, serves as facilitator of a Poverty Simulation, an of the county popu- ty rate among full-time, despite the U.S. unem- bottom 30% of the study. exercise to demonstrate to Leadership Highlands members the lation is 55 years and year-round workers ages ployment rate dropping About 5.1% of the challenges faced by families living with poverty. Roth handed older: A large retiree 16 to 64. to 3.6% in April 2019, workforce is unem- out ‘fate cards,’ to impose misfortunes like disease, accidents community that can Nationwide, the lowest it’s been since ployed, and 18.7% of or loss of hours on participants.