Cleveland Heights Back on Course

Posted on March 4, 2011 by bwmerritt

For anyone who grew up in the Lakeland area and who plays golf, Cleveland Heights Golf Club likely has a special place in your golfing memory.

Many of us “cut our teeth” playing on the 27-hole layout, learning the game through the Junior Citrus program or playing with our dads. Cleveland Heights was never the nicest course in town or anywhere close to the condition of Grasslands and Lone Palm, for instance, but it was always in above average condition and was a really nice place to play.

But about a year ago, things really started to go downhill. During the course’s signature event, the 4-Ball, it was in especially rough condition. Many of the greens had dead spots, fairways were sparse, and it was simply no longer a fun place to play. Continue reading →

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Rep. Dennis Ross Making Good on Budget Promises

Posted on March 3, 2011 by bwmerritt

You can’t say Rep. Dennis Ross of Lakeland isn’t trying in his first few weeks on the job in D.C.

Ross introduced his first piece of legislation this week, a bill he calls the Zero Based Budget Act. He laid out the arguments for the bill in an editorial in The Ledger over the weekend. Continue reading →

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Haines City’s Robin Wagman Will Be Missed

Posted on March 3, 2011 by bwmerritt

I woke up to some very sad news Tuesday morning, as I’m sure many other Polk County residents did.

Longtime Haines City volleyball coach Robin Wagman passed away Sunday after a long battle with cancer. The Ledger’s Lisa Coffey did an incredible job paying tribute to Robin in her story that ran in Tuesday’s paper, putting in perspective what she meant to her family, the Haines City community, and her players in the volleyball program.

I was fortunate to interact with Robin quite a bit over the past few years, and it was clear early on why she had been so successful in volleyball (four district titles). She was intense and passionate about her program, her players, and about winning. She pushed her players hard, and she vigorously fought for them to get the recognition that they deserved. Continue reading →

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Does Recruiting Take Place in Polk County Prep Sports?

Posted on February 24, 2011 by bwmerritt

Recruiting is an enormous part of covering high school sports.

Everyone wants to know where the star local quarterback is going to play in college, and National Signing Day gets massive coverage every year. Few days were as busy for me at The Ledger as that day.

There’s also another kind of recruiting that doesn’t get as much coverage but is always on the minds of fans, and it is being debated again with the recent transfer of George Jenkins quarterback Jadrian Clark and some of his teammates to Lakeland.

Recruiting of athletes between high schools is always a hot topic, in Polk County, around the state of Florida and around the country. But is recruiting really going on in Polk County, or do athletes simply transfer because of theirs’ and their families’ desires apart from any conversations with coaches or boosters. Continue reading →

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Some Polk County School Board Members Still Getting It Wrong

Posted on February 23, 2011 by bwmerritt

Kudos to the four School Board officials who voted Tuesday night to start over the process of naming a new Mulberry elementary school after former Superintendent Gail McKinzie.

The story has played out quite a bit, and I already gave my thoughts on the school name a couple of weeks ago.

But even though the Board decided to go back to the drawing board, some of the comments from Board members included in The Ledger’s story baffled me. Continue reading →

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Watch a Future Olympian Run This Spring in Polk County

Posted on February 23, 2011 by bwmerritt

There are certainly some things I miss about being the Prep Sports Editor at The Ledger, and one of them is not being able to cover what should be an incredible story this spring.

If you follow track and field at all, you know that the fastest high school girl in the country resides in Lake Wales. Octavious Freeman, who will be a senior this year, already owns the state record in the 100 meters and is on pace to break the national record by a high school girl this season. Continue reading →

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Gov. Rick Scott’s High Speed Rail Decision Understandable But Wrong

Posted on February 17, 2011 by bwmerritt

Gov. Rick Scott’s decision Wednesday to block the high speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando was a surprise to me.

Maybe I’m just naive, but I figured he would hear enough persuasive arguments about the long-term benefits of high speed rail from proponents such as state Sen. Paula Dockery that he would take the federal government’s $2.4 billion and move forward with the project.

But Scott was swayed by the other side, the side that got him elected. This is why his decision is understandable. There is a huge anti-spending sentiment in the country right now, and rightfully so considering our precarious debt situation.That sentiment carried Scott into Tallahassee. Continue reading →

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Polk Commission Wastes Time on Name Issue

Posted on February 15, 2011 by bwmerritt

So County Commissioner Bob English isn’t a fan of the Polk County Planning Commission having the word “Commission” in its title.

According to him, it “belittles” the status of the County Commission (from The Ledger).

From my standpoint, wasting tax money to discuss something as trivial as a name change does more to belittle the Commission than the name sharing in the first place. Continue reading →

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Husbands Love Your Wives; Wives Respect Your Husbands

Posted on February 12, 2011 by bwmerritt

So, I’m finally getting to a faith topic on my blog after a few weeks, and it stems from an awesome experience my wife and I had the past two days at our church, First Presbyterian in Lakeland.

The church was hosting a video marriage conference called Love & Respect, a program put together by Emerson Eggerichs, a former pastor, and his wife Sarah. They also have a book out by the same title. Continue reading →

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For Hazel Sellers, Hindsight Is 20/20

Posted on February 10, 2011 by bwmerritt

The Mulberry community finally had its say Tuesday night about what a new elementary school in the city should be named.

The Polk County School Board voted months ago to name the new school after outgoing Superintendent Gail McKinzie, who held the job for six years but otherwise has no history with the area, especially with Mulberry. Citizens, rightly, were upset that they were not asked to give input and didn’t want to name the school after McKinzie.

Board member Hazel Sellers, whose district includes Mulberry, finally realized it was time to sit down with the community and give them their say. She then said at Tuesday’s meeting that the board was wrong in the first place. Continue reading →

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