School Expulsions Drop
By MARC VALERO

SEBRING — Disruptions are down, alcohol and threats to board employees are on the decline, and school expulsion recommendations for drugs have been cut nearly in half.

The number of Highlands County public school students who have committed serious offenses resulting in expulsion recommendations has dropped by one-third compared to last year.

The district’s random student drug testing program, which was implemented at the high schools this school year, accounts for a significant part of the decline in expulsion recommendations, school officials said.

At this time last year 20 high school students had been recommended for expulsion because of drug-related incidents. The number this year is five, Student Services Coordinator Rodney Hollinger said.
But, even without counting the drug data, the expulsion recommendations dropped by 27 percent.

Lake Placid High School Principal Ruth Heckman said the newly-introduced Freshman Foundation for ninth-graders has also helped at her school.

Drug testing is obviously a deterrent, Heckman said. “It enables our kids to say no when they have peer pressure.”

But the Freshman Foundation, where a portion of the faculty and staff focus on ninth-graders (at all the high schools), have been a big plus as ninth-graders are usually the biggest offenders, Heckman added.

The foundation’s teachers received extra training for the Capturing Kids Hearts program and the teachers meet weekly to discuss issues, including discipline.

Foundation teachers have more contact with parents, and students have more contact with a guidance counselor, Heckman said. One counselor works solely with the Freshman Foundation.

Districtwide, the actual number of expulsion recommendations dropped from 65 to 43.

Positive Results At Sebring Middle School
A school-wide initiative started about two years ago, Positive Behavioral Support, which rewards
good behavior, has helped improve discipline at Sebring Middle School, according to Assistant Principal Chris Doty.

“Right now our discipline [issues] are also down,” Doty said. But, “This last nine weeks after FCAT [Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test] the kids tend to get a little more excited because they think the school year is almost over.”

Doty believes expanding the random student drug testing to the middle schools is a good idea.

“Kids are going to have access to drugs whether they are at the high school or middle school,” he said. “When we have those deterrents in place it does make a difference.”

The school’s video surveillance system is also a deterrent for a lot of things, Doty said. “They know that there are cameras and that tends to limit some of the behavior.”

Aside from drug testing and surveillance, there’s a bigger element that makes a difference with discipline, Doty believes.

“I think it is the relationship that we have with kids. Those relationships are very, very important for kids to feel connected to their school. If they feel connected then they’re more likely to avoid those behaviors that are unpleasant.”

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Historic Race Cars Heat Up The Track
By BILL RETTEW JR.

SEBRING — The car races this weekend at Sebring International Raceway are a chance to step back and witness the history of sports car racing at more than 150 mph.

Several divisions of historic race cars filled the track all day Friday and will race again today and Sunday.
Historic Sports Car Racing, Ltd. (HSR) is in town as more than 100 cars and drivers are competing in the Sebring Endurance Challenge.

Spectators will be treated to Corvettes, Porsches, Mustangs, Jaguars, Audis, BMWs, Lolas and many others who will navigate the 3.7-mile circuit with 17 turns. And the Sebring LeMans type race track is an authentic venue for historic car racing.

Close observers at the 55-year-old track, and portion of a former airport, will notice the iron rings imbedded in the concrete of the raceway infield that once held down planes.

Or a glance overhead shows a pair of orange globes universally used on low wires near airports to warn pilots. The globes were never removed even though pilots have long since stopped taking off and landed from that
particular runway which is now part of the track or “Ulmann Straight” between curves 16 and 17.

James Cox Motor Sports brought eight cars to Sebring. Each independently owned car of the Cox team is a former street vehicle. All are the same 1973 Porsche 911 model. The cars are nearly identical except for the paint jobs.

Cox said he takes the former streetcars and disassembles the engine, transmission, the interior and much of the vehicle.

The Grand Missions, Mo., company then rebuilds during a seven month time period by installing new brakes, engines, vehicle suspensions and safety cages for owners, which adds more than $100,000 to the value of each car.

Cox said he likes the Porsches because they are easy to work on and are air-cooled.

His firm is charged with transporting cars to race tracks all across the country so that owners can fly in mostly on weekends to race.

The company owner showed off a Rolex watch that was a prize awarded to one of his drivers who then gave it to Cox. The watch was awarded for winning the season-long championship and given by the famous watch making sponsor.

Dan Wright, a Cox driver from Texas, owns a gulf blue colored Porsche and said he chose that year’s model to own and race since that specific year was the “peak” for Porsche and that car won the 1973 Sebring 12 hour race.

Wright said that his heroes when he was in school were the men who won at race tracks in Sebring, Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Daytona.
“It’s the challenge,” said Cox. “This car drives exactly like the old ones. It’s back to the way it used to be.

“If you can drive one of these (a ‘73 Porsche) your driving really improves.” Wright enjoys the camaraderie with the other drivers aged in their 50s and 60s on the Cox team. He won the award last year for most improved driver and finished in the top three for three races in 2006.

“The younger guys want to be the next Mario Andretti, but for the older guys this is as good as it gets.

“We understand mortality a little bit better, but we’re still very competitive.”

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LAKE PLACID - Several homes were evacuated Friday afternoon east of town after wildfire swept close to dwellings.

The fire apparently began south of Rutledge Avenue and headed north to northeast driven by strong wind, according to law enforcement on the scene. The fire then crossed Crossview heading north and Highlands Lake Drive, which is east of Lake Placid on CR 621.

There are no reports of injuries at this time but firefighters are still battling flames. Law enforcement on the scene said the fire is partially contained near Lake Istokpoga.

Another small grass fire damaged a shed northwest of Sebring but was extinguished. No injuries have been reported.

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2nd FHP Shooting Suspect Headed To Georgia
By CHRIS BUTLER

SEBRING — Florida Highway Patrol troopers said he broke the law by fleeing into an orange grove after his friend shot and killed Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile in January.

Quintin Jerome Kinder, 21, is now on his way back to his native state of Georgia to face a violation of probation charge.

Kinder was arrested and charged with illegal trespass of the orange grove around the same time Sebring resident Joshua Lee Altersberger, 19, was arrested and charged with Sottile’s murder. The illegal trespass was a misdemeanor charge.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers said Kinder and Altersberger were riding in the same automobile when Sottile pulled them over.

Assistant State Attorney Stephen Houchin said Thursday that a judge put off Kinder’s sentencing on the trespass charge and ordered him back to Georgia to face the violation of probation charge.

“We will eventually bring him back from Georgia after he’s finished up there,” Houchin said.

Houchin said he was unable to confirm reports of a Decatur County, Ga., squad car in Highlands County transporting Kinder
back to his native state. But Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton confirmed those reports Thursday afternoon.

Kinder’s court-appointed attorney Derek Christian issued a not-guilty plea in court on his client’s behalf last month.

Kinder had been in the Highlands County Jail since January, held separately from both Altersberger and other inmates.

Highlands County court officials last month appointed Christian, a private attorney, for the Georgia suspect.

Houchin said in January that the Highlands County Public Defender’s Office had withdrew itself from representing Kinder. That’s because public defenders are already representing Altersberger.

“There’s an obvious conflict of interest,” Houchin said at the time, adding one suspect may give public defenders information that could incriminate the other.

According to records from Georgia’s Decatur County Jail, Kinder has an extensive criminal background there, including charges of theft, burglary and possession of marijuana, among many others.

Houchin said last month that Kinder isn’t being given immunity in exchange for testifying against Altersberger.

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Two Charged In Alan Jay Burglary
By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — Highlands County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested two Sebring men, charging them in connection with the burglary of two Alan Jay Automotive Network dealerships and the theft of a vehicle and tools.

James Michael Fleming, 21, of 9630 McRoy Road, was released on $6,500 bail Wednesday, on charges of possession of burglary tools with intent to use, criminal mischief damage to property more than $200 but less than $1,000, grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft $10,000 or more but less than $20,000, burglary of a structure and possession of a vehicle with altered identification numbers.

Fleming also had to pay $252 bail on a Clay County warrant on an undisclosed charge.

Eliezer “Ely” Feliciano, 19, of 1618 Koy Drive, remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail on the same charges as Fleming, not including the out of county warrant.

Feliciano was also being held without bond on charges of four counts of violation of probation for two counts of dealing in stolen property, burglary of a conveyance and burglary of a structure.

According to the arrest report, on Feb. 20, the car dealership reported that sometime between 7 p.m. Feb. 19 and 5:30 a.m. Feb. 20, someone cut a hole in a fence at the Chrysler dealership and broke into a trailer.

A Honda TRX 450ER four-wheel all-terrain vehicle valued at $16,000 was stolen along with a tool box valued at $700, a Thor helmet valued at $300 a set of Axis shocks valued at $2,800 were taken.

At 4 p.m. Feb. 22, the ATV was recovered in the area of Wolf Lake Road.

A friend of the victim recognized the ATV being ridden by a male. The machine had been repainted and the vehicle identification number was removed.

The rider was Fleming, who claimed he bought the machine from someone in Lake Wales and that he agreed to pay $4,000, but only gave the person $2,000 in advance. He did not have any receipt, could not describe the person he bought it from, nor could he give an address, the report states.

Shoe prints taken from Fleming matched shoe prints from the Chrysler dealership as well as an Alan Jay Chevrolet dealership, the report stated.

By Feb. 27, Fleming reportedly admitted to the burglary. Further investigative work later linked Feliciano to the burglary.

A search warrant of the McRoy address led to the discovery of numerous items reported stolen from several auto dealerships, according to the report.

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Rural U.S. 27 Access Roads Being Studied

By GARY PINNELL

LAKE PLACID — Wouldn’t it have been nice to have access roads along U.S. 27 in Sebring, Avon Park and Lake Placid?

It’s too late for the urban areas, but rural parts of the corridor are still being developed, so a state transportation consultant is studying how to implement highway access points along U.S. 27, from U.S. 98 to S.R. 70.

Traffic is slowed by intersections, openings in medians, traffic signals and interchanges, said Tom Ross, a senior project manager with CH2M Hill Engineering in Orlando. He spoke Wednesday to the county Long Range Transportation Committee.

If the number of access points to a busy highway are reduced, traffic will move more efficiently and the number of crashes will be reduced, he said.

For instance, if two businesses locate side by side, they may be required to share a common driveway. Several businesses may need an access road in the front or the back of their properties.

Should U-turns be eliminated? No, said Ross. Traffic studies have shown U-turns are safer than left turns.

At every four-way intersection, traffic can come from 18 different directions, Ross demonstrated with a graphic. That includes left turns, right turns, U-turns and no turns from just four lanes.

The state has developed a set of plans that developers and planners can follow, Ross said. The state standards for a class 3 highway are to allow a median opening or traffic signal every half-mile, a directional median opening every quarter-mile, and a driveway every 660 feet, if the speed limit is greater than 45 mph.

Ross’ presentation came just in time, said Lake Placid Town Clerk Arlene Tuck. The town has a long-range transportation committee of its own, and members are studying standards for the developing areas. The committee is hoping to get agreement with the county and state.

“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. CH2M Hill “can do the study, and we don’t have to pay for it.”

A public hearing will be set this summer, and the town of Lake Placid and the Highlands County commissioners will be briefed.

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Sottile Murder Case On Hold Until May
By CHRIS BUTLER

SEBRING — The trial date for the Sebring man charged with the January shooting death of Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile may not be known until at least May. 

Meanwhile, public defenders for Joshua Lee Altersberger, 21, said they want the trial held outside Highlands County because of pre-trial publicity and the number of residents already familiar with both Sottile and the case itself.

They officially submitted a written not-guilty plea before Highlands County 10th Circuit Judge Peter Estrada Wednesday.
Estrada told the court that the Altersberger matter is next scheduled for a May 8 pre-trial conference at 1:30 p.m.

“Judge (Susan) Roberts indicated that would be the date, but it is subject to change,” Estrada told both public defenders and state attorneys Wednesday.

Roberts is currently the only circuit judge hearing first-degree murder cases coming out of Highlands and its surrounding counties.

State attorneys have already said they want someone other than Roberts to preside over Altersberger’s upcoming trial, which they’ve previously said might be as far as two years away.

They let it be known in paperwork filed two weeks ago that they want Roberts removed from first-degree murder cases falling within her jurisdiction.

State attorneys said in documents that Roberts has conducted her court in an “inexcusable” manner. They also said she’s shown insensitivity to other murder victims’ families and stated her opposition to the death penalty on at least one occasion.

Roberts has already denied state attorneys’ recent motion that she disqualify herself from those cases, however. State attorneys subsequently appealed Roberts’ decision with the Second District Court of Appeals.

Tenth Judicial Circuit Spokesman Chip Thulberry said Wednesday the appeals court still has yet to issue a ruling on the matter, but did order Roberts to remove herself from a murder case in Polk County.

“It was their opinion that statements she’s already made in that one case wouldn’t have resulted in a fair trial,” Thulberry said. 

Altersberger has three designated public defenders – Bob Trogolo, Debra Goins and Steve Fisher. Trogolo said Wednesday that he expects he and his colleagues will indeed seek a change of venue for the case so it can be held outside Highlands County.

“It’s too early to tell for certain, but we will seek another area with a size and demographics similar to Highlands County,” Trogolo said.
He said their strategy includes “a vigorous challenge” to FHP’s statement that Altersberger killed Sottile.

“Right now our client is very concerned about his situation. He’s a young man under a tremendous amount of stress,” Trogolo said.

Altersberger is charged with first-degree murder in the death of FHP Sgt. Nicholas Sottile and possession of a firearm after previously being convicted of a juvenile offense.

The first grand jury to assemble in Highlands County in two years formally indicted Altersberger last month.

State attorneys have already said they intend to seek the death penalty against Altersberger.

Trogolo said his team will most likely spend their time between now and May seeking witness lists and lab reports from state attorneys.

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AP Council Approves Water Rate Increase
By MARC VALERO

AVON PARK — Rates for citizens and business owners who use city water are set to increase with the city council approving the first reading of an ordinance adjusting the fees.

The council unanimously voted Monday for a 3 percent increase despite a consulting firm’s recommendation for a smaller increase (2.37 percent).

Long ago the council decided to increase the rates annually by 3 percent, Deputy Mayor George Hall said. “We are going backwards on something we already fought.”

The ordinance implements the increase in capacity fees, tap and connection fees and other miscellaneous fees.

Water tap fees charged by the city for the installation of a water meter within or outside the city will increase 50 percent, according to the ordinance.

The impact fees are replaced with capacity fees. This results in an increase, for a 3/4 x 5/8 inch meter within the city, from $350 to $980. The increase for a 6 inch meter inside the city would be from $650 to $32,650.

There are a couple of reasons the (impact) capacity fees are increasing substantially, City Manger C.B. Shirey said. “We haven’t raised those fees since I’ve been with the city [July 1994] so the fees we have on the books are really out of date and those changes were based on the [water rate] study we commissioned.”

Deposits for water service would increase from $85 to $100 for a single-family residence.

The sewer rates will also increase, according to the ordinance. The monthly residential flat rate is slated to increase from $17 to $24
.
The public hearing and adoption of the utility rate ordinance is scheduled for April 12 with an effective date of May 1.

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Ludlum Turns Himself
In At Jail
By JOE SEELIG

LAKE PLACID — A suspect sought Monday by the Lake Placid Police Department in the theft of an ATM machine from Highlands Independent Bank was actually sitting in the Highlands County Jail on Monday afternoon unbeknownst to police.

Thomas Paul Ludlum, 41, of 25 Washingtonia St., Lake Placid, turned himself in Monday morning at the jail after a warrant for his arrest was issued.

After reading a story in Highlands Today on Tuesday morning that police were looking for Ludlum, an anonymous caller left a voice mail stating that Ludlum had turned himself in at 10 a.m. Monday.

In fact, he was booked into the jail by sheriff’s detention Capt. Bobby J. Green at 12:49 p.m. Monday, according to a sheriff’s central records spokeswoman.

Lake Placid Police Chief Phil Williams said Tuesday that he was not aware of the arrest and said to his knowledge his department had not been notified of the arrest by the sheriff’s office.

He added that he would make his detective in charge of the case, James Fansler, aware. Williams said out of his experience, he asks for notification, but it may not have happened in this instance.

“I must say, every time I have specifically requested that I be notified that someone’s been arrested, they’ve notified me,” Williams said. “I don’t know if (Det. Fansler) asked them to do that.”

The central records spokeswoman said she could not find any note on the warrant that indicated that Lake Placid police had made such a request. The warrant was issued Feb. 22 by the honorable Circuit Judge Peter F. Estrada.

Ludlum is accused along with Jesus Antonio Sanchez, 42, of 1806 Matthew Loop, Clewiston, of participating in the burglary and theft.
Sanchez was arrested Jan. 24 and charged with burglary of a structure, grand theft more than $100,000, grand theft using a vehicle to damage a property and first-degree grand theft.

Sanchez remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $46,000 bail Tuesday.

Police say the two men used a track-hoe from the Walgreens construction site in Lake Placid and ripped the ATM from its housing. They reportedly then took the machine and its vault to a construction site on S.R. 70 where they unsuccessfully tried to open it with a bulldozer for the money inside.

The machine and vault were recovered New Year’s Day from a nearby canal, still intact after witnesses reported it to law enforcement.
Ludlum was being held at the jail in lieu of $100,000 bail Tuesday morning, on charges of unarmed burglary of a structure and first-degree grand theft more than $100,000.

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Groups Battle For Triathlon Rights
By MANDY SHEETS

SEBRING — Although the date for the second annual Heartland Triathlon is set for July 15, organizers are still negotiating who is in charge.

Ridge Trails Association, a county-wide organization for the development of interconnected network trails, started the event but is now reluctantly striking a deal to give rights to the Sebring Chamber of Commerce. Both parties are considering entering an agreement for a five-year buyout, in which RTA would receive 20 percent of the triathlon’s profit for five years and then relinquish all rights to the event to the chamber.

The event was the brainchild of Dan Andrews, who pitched the idea to RTA a few years ago when he was vice president of the organization. Andrews worked with RTA for several years to plan the event and when he was hired as president of the chamber, he leveraged his resources there to recruit more sponsors.

Andrews resigned from the RTA board Jan. 29 but asked to retain his position as chairman of the triathlon.

Merritt O’Brien, president of RTA, said he assumed Andrews meant he would serve in that capacity through RTA, but about a week later he received a letter from Andrews saying the chamber would be running the event.

“We spent two and half years on this, and we put you in charge as an RTA member,” O’Brien said to Andrews at a meeting between the two parties Thursday. “I find serious fault with you usurping this event for the chamber of commerce.”

Andrews said the chamber’s board of directors told him because he committed so much of his time and the chamber’s resources, the chamber should be in charge of the event and should receive a share of the profits.

“The triathlon is a very viable event that the community really embraces,” Andrews said. “But I think the community also feels like it’s the chamber’s event.”

Jack Richie, RTA board member, said RTA didn’t plan the event for the recognition.

“The original reason for the triathlon, besides creating a great community event, was to find a cash flow for RTA so that we could work on our goals to establish trails,” Richie said.

Members of the RTA board said it’s not a large enough organization to single-handedly run the event, which is expected to attract about 500 athletes this year.

“I think we just need to figure out an amount we can agree on and you go your way and we go ours,” O’Brien said to Andrews. “I find fault with being involved by two and a half years in a project and getting shut out by one of our own.”

The agreement, which the chamber board of directors will vote on at its March 6 meeting, will give RTA 20 percent and RTA has no obligation to provide volunteers or help with the event.

“I personally think it’s a reasonable agreement,” Andrews told the RTA board. “It will give you the consistent revenue stream your organization needs to grow. Your organization doesn’t need to be running a triathlon. You need to be promoting the construction of trails.”

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FHP Murder Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
By CHRIS BUTLER

SEBRING — The Sebring man law enforcement officers said shot and killed Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile outside Lake Placid last month has entered a written plea of not guilty.

Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin said public defenders for 19-year-old Joshua Lee Altersberger entered the plea in advance of a scheduled Feb. 28 arraignment. The arraignment is where Altersberger is expected to formally enter his plea in court.

Houchin said the arraignment may not take place now that Altersberger has entered a written plea.

“Whether Altersberger shows up in court really doesn’t matter. It’s just a formality,” he said.

But Houchin said a status conference involving Altersberger may be postponed because of a dispute involving 10th Judicial Circuit state attorneys and Judge Susan Roberts.

Roberts is currently the only circuit judge hearing first-degree murder cases coming out of Highlands and its surrounding counties.

State attorneys want someone other than Roberts to preside over Altersberger’s upcoming trial, which they’ve previously said might be as far as two years away.

Tenth Judicial District spokesman Chip Thulberry said from Bartow Friday that status conferences are held after arraignments to best determine how trial cases are proceeding and a possible trial date.

State attorneys let it be known in paperwork filed last week that they want Roberts removed from first-degree murder cases falling within
her jurisdiction.

They said in the documents that Roberts has conducted her court in an “inexcusable” manner. State attorneys also said she’s shown insensitivity to families of murder victims and stated her opposition to the death penalty in at least one instance.

Roberts denied state attorneys’ recent motion that she disqualify herself from those cases, however. State attorneys subsequently appealed Roberts’ decision with the Second District Court of Appeals.

Thulberry said it’s unlikely the appeals court will issue a ruling between now and Wednesday.

Calls left seeking comment with 10th Judicial Circuit Public Defenders’ Office Spokesman Marion Moorman weren’t returned before press time Friday. 

The first grand jury to assemble in Highlands County in two years formally indicted Altersberger earlier this month. 

State attorneys have already said they intend to seek the death penalty against the suspect.

FHP said Sgt. Sottile was shot and killed after stopping a 2003 Toyota Camry driven by Altersberger on northbound U.S. 27 last month for a traffic violation. According to an FHP report, Altersberger’s passenger, Quintin Jerome Kinder, 21, then fled into a nearby orange grove after the shooting.

Officers found and arrested Altersberger early the next morning.

According to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, Altersberger was arrested two years ago and charged with battery, aggravated assault with a weapon and cocaine possession.

Kinder was charged with trespassing in a cultivated grove after surrendering the next morning. The two suspects have been ordered held without bond and are currently being held separately from each other and other inmates in the Highlands County Jail.

Altersberger is charged with first-degree murder in the death of FHP Sgt. Nicholas Sottile and possession of a firearm after previously being convicted of a juvenile offense.

Anyone convicted of a criminal offense while a juvenile isn’t legally allowed to own a firearm until they are 24 years old.

Houchin has already said Altersberger’s arraignment will most likely be followed by a lengthy discovery process in which defense attorneys will ask for witness lists and lab reports from state attorneys.

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Progress Made In
ATM Theft Investigation
By JOE SEELIG

LAKE PLACID — Lake Placid Police Detective James Fansler said Thursday he is making steady progress in the investigation into the New Year’s Eve theft of an ATM machine from Highlands Independent Bank.

The machine was recovered New Year’s Day, with the money still inside.

A Clewiston man, Jesus Antonio Sanchez, 42, of 1806 Matthew Loop, was arrested Jan. 24, and charged with burglary of a structure or conveyance, grand theft more than $100,000 and committing grand theft using a vehicle to damage a property.

He remained in Highlands County Jail on Thursday in lieu of $31,000 bail. On Feb. 19, a warrant on a new charge of first-degree grand theft was added in-house by the Lake Placid Police. An additional $15,000 bail has been added on the new charge.

Sanchez’s arrest narrowed the focus of the investigation to locating a second suspect.

Witnesses who saw two men at a construction site behaving suspiciously, immediately and independently of each other identified Sanchez as one of the two men they saw that night, from a six-photo lineup, Fansler said.

An anonymous caller reportedly supplied information that led to a subject, whose name is not being released at this time. Through the tip, police located a maroon Ford Ranger pickup truck the police believe may have been used to transport the ATM from the bank to the construction site where the men tried unsuccessfully to open it.

Police were in the process of trying to match the truck’s tire tracks with tracks found at the two crime scenes. However, that truck has since been sold.
Also, a bed-liner is being examined to see if scuffs match marks that could have been made by the ATM.

Fansler said a local man purchased the truck the day the machine was stolen from a family member, and that while he also is from Clewiston, he lives in town and has family ties to Lake Placid.

Fansler said more will be revealed as to this subject’s involvement.

According to his arrest report, Sanchez worked briefly for the Gulf Group, Inc., a construction company doing the work at the site where the ATM was recovered by the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office and Lake Placid Police.

Superintendent, Ken Barry, for the Gulf Group, told investigators that Sanchez would have had access to the job site and the combinations to the locks. A locked combination lock was opened without force to access the construction site.

Barry told police that Sanchez was hired as a heavy equipment operator and had operated an excavator, like the one used at the Walgreens site to steal the ATM, and a bulldozer, like the one used to attempt to open the ATM vault.

He added that Sanchez was good at operating the equipment.

The excavator, owned by BJD Excavation, in Wauchula, was valued at $100,000. The ATM belonging to the bank and it along with its contents were valued at $103,565.

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Lake Placid Woman Mugged, Car Stolen
POLICE LOOKING
FOR ASSAILANT

By JOE SEELIG

LAKE PLACID — Police were searching Thursday for a man who dragged a Lake Placid woman to the ground, demanded her car keys and stole her black 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser outside of Century 21 Compton Realty near Wendy’s restaurant.

The 61-year-old female victim was arriving at about 7 p.m. Wednesday to help clean the realty office, located at 518 U.S. 27 S., when the carjacking took place, said Lake Placid Police Chief Phil Williams on Thursday.

There were some people inside, but they did not see anything.

The attacker was described as white, in his 20s, wearing a light colored shirt, Williams said. He was wearing a red or pink type bandana or hat covering his head.

“There was nothing unusual about the way he spoke,” Williams added.

The PT Cruiser has an unusual paint job, with flame-type painted added to the car’s side panels and the license plate number is G87RAR.

“There was a witness who saw the attack,” Williams said. “He was a truck driver from Georgia. He saw a man dragging a lady toward a black car. He turned loose of the woman and jumped into the car and drove south on U.S. 27.

She was outside of the building almost at the front doorstep, Williams said.

“The witness thought it was a domestic problem and didn’t want to get involved,” he said.

The police department has received calls from people who said they saw a man who had been hanging around the area for several days.

“I’m speculating, but he may have been stalking that area waiting for the right opportunity,” Williams said.

Anyone who may have seen the suspect hang around or who knows someone who was in the area and looking for the means to leave, or may have other information pertaining to this case is asked to call the Lake Placid Police Department at 863-699-3758 or call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477).

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Suspect In Attempted Murder Gives Up
By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — A man sought as a suspect in the attempted second-degree murder of a Sebring man surrendered Monday at the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, Sebring police Cmdr. Steve Carr said Tuesday.
A second man was arrested and charged as an accessory after the fact, he said.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Concepcion Roamon Rockmore, 32, of 1005 Lemon St., Sebring, on charges of attempted second-degree murder while engaged in a certain felony offense and possession of a firearm or concealed weapon by a convicted felon.
Arrested on Sunday was Daz Dwan Hester, 35, of 234 Savannah Circle, Sebring, who was charged with tampering with physical evidence and acting as an accessory after the fact in a life felony.
Police reported two shots were fired at about 2:20 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, when an argument erupted on Lemon Street.
One bullet struck a man, age 23, in the torso, said Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr. A second victim was hit in the foot by a piece of one bullet.
A warrant on a charge of second-degree attempted murder was issued for Rockmore.
There was some gambling going on just prior to the shooting, Carr said.
A witness told police as he approached the scene of where the gambling was taking place, Rockmore became angry because he was losing. The victim reportedly told Rockmore not to be such a “poor loser.” This only angered Rockmore more.
Rockmore left the gambling and walked toward his home. He reportedly returned with a gun and fired once at the ground. The ricochet hit the first victim in the heel.
The report states that Rockmore then pointed his weapon and fired. When the victim fell to the ground, Rockmore told him “I’ll kill you,” the report states.
It was then that Hester reportedly got involved, according to police.
Witnesses told police that Hester was standing close to Rockmore when the shooting took place and that Hester took the gun from Rockmore after the shooting and drove him from the scene.

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Monthly Bike Fest Needs Organizer
By BILL RETTEW JR.

SEBRING — Although out-of-town visitors still show up, they often leave disappointed after finding that the Fourth Saturday Sebring Bike Fest officially fizzled out and needs an organizer.
Marge Davis, of the Sam’ich Place, said that people still ask about the future of the bike fest, which at its peak, attracted hundreds of motorcyclists to the downtown Circle.
Theresa Gutekunst, Davis’ daughter, helped organize the event from the Sam’ich Shop, but has not yet returned to the popular Circle restaurant due to surgery.
Dan Andrews, Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce president/CEO, hopes to re-establish the bike fest as a “viable” downtown event.
“We’re looking for a group of individuals to help organize and facilitate to make it a successful event,” said Andrews on Tuesday. “No group of people is yet willing to put it together.”
Davis said no one had stepped up to volunteer and Gutekunst is unable to do the needed work, but might still help to organize the event at a later date.
“Everybody wants it, but they don’t want to do it,” said Davis. “Every day somebody mentions it, but nobody will start it and keep it going for a while. It’s a lot of work and you don’t do it alone.”
The bike fest suffered from its own success.
Visitors complained that downtown merchants shuttered their doors to bikers – and in turn local businesses complained of lost parking to hundreds of motorcycles – which merchants said prevented regular shoppers from supporting downtown shops.
During a public city council meeting, Mayor George Hensley bemoaned the possibility that Sebring was perceived as a place where hundreds of bikers met to drink beer on the streets.
Andrews still maintained that the bike fest could again become successful. He looked at a similar event in Winter Haven and suggested designating only a portion of the downtown to public alcohol use.
“We hope to get a group together to work with the chamber, work with the city, law enforcement and the merchants for a viable plan,” said Andrews. “The event can serve as a magnet for those who have yet to see the beautiful community that is Sebring – then shop and return – possibly even as future residents.
“It’s valuable exposure for our community,” he added. 

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