SEBRING — Don Bates, the Highlands County commissioner who chaired the special Lake Denton Citizens Advisory Committee, admits there still are unanswered questions about the county's closing of public access to the county's most popular lake. ...more

January 2, 2008

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Fred Everson. ...more

December 30, 2007

SEBRING — Some Highlands County citizens are calling the tentative plan to re-open popular Lake Denton illegal. Others are calling it ridiculous. One who is doing both is Ken Melvin, one of the seven members of the special Lake Denton Citizens Advisory Committee. On Jan. 2, the Highlands County commissioners are scheduled to at least discuss, and possibly vote on, the committee's controversial, four-point recommendation to re-open this closed public lake. "I think it's illegal," Melvin said about the committee's recommendation to severely restrict public access and charge weekend "user's fees" of $25 per day to scuba divers, boaters, fishermen, swimmers and sunbathers. "I'm going to say that to the commissioners on Wednesday," Melvin said. He was sick for several months and missed the last two advisory committee meetings. ...more

December 29, 2007

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Fred Everson. ...more

December 23, 2007

I can't believe so many negative articles on Lake Istokpoga. I have people using my boat ramp every day (today a 26-foot pontoon put in with no problem) and last year too. The water isn't that low. The businesses that rely on fishermen are going to go out of business just from all the bad publicity. Last year all the scare about how the lake was going to go down to maybe 35.5 stopped a lot of fishermen from coming over the summer. We went down to about 37.4 and we are now at 38.6. ...more

December 23, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG A man was carjacked while in the drive-through of a McDonald's restaurant late Monday night, police said. ...more

December 12, 2007

SEBRING –– On March 1, public access should be restored, on a limited basis, to popular Lake Denton. The special seven-member Lake Denton Citizens Advisory Committee voted unanimously Wednesday night to send that recommendation to the Highlands County commissioners. Commissioners appointed the committee in mid-September after voting 3-2 to close public access to this lake –– widely considered one of the best scuba diving lakes in the state –– for up to a year. Problems cited by commissioners in closing the county boat ramp, the only public access to this exceptionally clear, 65-acre lake, included: Potentially dangerous overcrowding by scuba divers, swimmers and boaters; illegal parking that sometimes clogged or blocked road access to lakefront homes; and occasional crude, lewd, rude and rowdy behavior by some lake users. ...more

December 7, 2007

A recently acquired $28,000 Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission grant will help defray some of the Safety Harbor's cost to reconstruct the City Marina boat ramp. ...more

December 1, 2007