Haunted by images of a fatal crash he saw Wednesday night, a Tampa businessman is offering to help pay for the funeral of a young mother he saw lifeless in her car. ...more

February 8, 2008

Haunted by images of a fatal crash he saw Wednesday night, a Tampa businessman is offering to help pay for the funeral of a young mother he saw lifeless in her car. ...more

February 8, 2008

Victoria Rupple's case may be the rare one in which the justice system - not the defendant - receives a second chance to get it right. ...more

February 8, 2008

SEBRING — For about one-fifth of the students in Highlands County, next week is the start of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The FCAT Writing Plus test will be administered to fourth-, eighth- and 10th- graders starting Tuesday. Testing will continue on Wednesday followed by two make-up testing days – Thursday and Friday (Feb. 15). Hill-Gustat Middle School eighth-grader Laura Tenneson is calm and confident about the FCAT. ...more

February 8, 2008

New on the McDonald's menu: a takeaway diploma. The British government is giving the U.S. burger chain, along with a rail company and an airline, the right to award credits toward a high school diploma to employees who complete on-the-job training programs. ...more

January 29, 2008

SEBRING — Healthy Families Florida in Highlands County already has about 25 referrals and is welcoming more. "We are so enthused that the program has been so well received by the community," said Deborah Hadley, program manager for Highlands County. "We have a lot of parents calling asking about it and very excited to start the services." Healthy Families Florida is a nonprofit organization designed to prevent child abuse and neglect before it starts. The program provides voluntary, community-based home visitation services focused on promoting child health and development and positive parent-child interaction. THE PROGRAM EXPANDED INTO HIGHLANDS COUNTY IN FALL 2007 AFTER THE STATE LEGISLATURE ALLOCATED $2.2 MILLION TO THE EXPANSION STATEWIDE. HIGHLANDS COUNTY RECEIVED $296,000 TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM LOCALLY. ...more

January 26, 2008

The percentage of recruits entering the Army with a high school diploma dropped to a new low in 2007, according to a study released Tuesday, and Army officials confirmed that they have lowered their standards to meet recruiting goals in the middle of two ongoing wars. ...more

January 23, 2008

Young adults who drink heavily are more likely than moderate drinkers to have multiple sex partners, studies have shown. Does the number of partners increase with the intensity of drinking? Does having a diagnosed conduct disorder affect that number? ...more

December 30, 2007

A story in today's Highlands Today shows an example of local parents doing an extremely smart thing: investing early in their children's college education. We hope all Floridians find someway to save for such expenses. Andrew and Susan Bible made college funding for their four children a priority. They couldn't sink a lot of cash up front into a plan that locks in tuition rates at Florida public universities for their children, ages 3 through 9, but they could do it in installments. For $200 per month, they are putting money away to help ensure a bright future for their children. And if their children go to colleges or universities outside the state, although the tuition won't be locked in, the money still is available. ...more

December 19, 2007

It must be political correctness or American chauvinism, or maybe it's the drinking water. We just can't seem to get outraged over the dismal outcomes from our K12 school system. ...more

November 24, 2007