LAKE PLACID — Nobody would have known from a distance that Habitat for Humanity volunteer John Boyden from Windham, Maine, was working hard in the midday sun with a splint on his thumb. Boyden had earlier pounded his thumb with a hammer and broken the finger nail. He said, with a grin, that the splint was only a precautionary measure, but was needed since he tended to hammer the thumb again and again. Boyden is one of more than two dozen nomadic RVers or CARE-A-Vanners who are visiting Highlands County for two weeks, while building homes with the local Habit for Humanity. ...more

January 9, 2008

A program designed to help low-income residents in Balm and Wimauma become more self-sufficient has hit a bump in the road. ...more

January 5, 2008

Sherrie Banasik of Avon Park smiled broadly as she loaded food in her car outside a pantry on Wednesday. The gift of several boxes of food that staffers helped her carry to the car was due to the benevolence of the Avon Park Church Service Center, Inc., in association with the Ministerial Association of Avon Park. Banasik said her two grandchildren – 3 years and 8 months old – would especially enjoy the fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by the pantry. The grandmother said the gift of food, including pies and other baked goods, would likely hold the family over until she received her monthly allotment of $90 in food stamps. ...more

September 30, 2007