Posted on 09/29/2004 10:29:09 AM PDT by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
LAKE WALES -- On his way to the first presidential debate in Miami, President Bush will stop in storm-battered Lake Wales today. A White House spokesman said the president will arrive at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa this afternoon and travel by helicopter to Lake Wales.
His exact schedule was not released, but reporters and photographers accompanying him were told to be at the base at 1 p.m. for the short flight to Polk County.
The St. Petersburg Times said Bush will take a walking tour of orange groves. Polk County's citrus industry has been devastated by the series of hurricanes.
Gov. Jeb Bush will accompany his brother, according to the governor's office.
Among the other Hurricane Jeanne-related developments Tuesday were:
Polk County schools will be closed until Monday.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew remains in effect in Polk County. There are exceptions for those who must get to jobs or have other legitimate reasons to be out.
Florida Southern College sent its students home until Monday because most dormitories don't have power.
Hundreds of people lined up to receive ice and water at distribution centers around the county.
Lakeland officials said a total of 1,084 city homes and businesses were damaged by Jeanne. There were 123 structures damaged by Frances and 84 by Charley.
But for many people, the single most trying problem remained the lack of electricity.
Extra forces of line workers and tree trimmers entered Polk County on Tuesday to help weary local utility crews restore power knocked out Sunday when Jeanne ripped through the county.
On Tuesday evening, the new crews helped cut the number of customers without power from Hurricane Jeanne to 86,539.
"Things are coming together pretty quickly," said Progress Energy spokesman Steve Rudolph. "These outages won't last as long as Charley." Rudolph delivered a bright outlook for his 13,482 customers without power. "Everybody should be back on by Thursday," he said.
Other utilities weren't as optimistic.
In Lakeland, 30,000 customers remained without power Tuesday night. Lakeland Electric general manager Jim Stanfield said it could be two weeks before every customer in Lakeland has power. "This storm was five to six times worse than Frances and Charley," Stanfield said. "There are more snapped poles, and more poles have blown over."
The outage caused by Hurricane Jeanne was the largest in Lakeland Electric's history. Of the utility's 110,000 customers, 90,000 were without power Sunday morning. The 30,000 still without power Tuesday exceeds the number out two days after hurricanes Frances and Charley -- 11,000 and 2,500, respectively.
Despite the bleak outlook, Stanfield said help is on the way. Lakeland Electric expected 209 extra tree trimmers and 90 line workers to arrive today. For TECO, 38,800 customers remained without power. Ninety extra line workers from Alabama were expected to help restore power today, said Raymond Kazmierski, a TECO spokesman.
With the extra help, Kazmierski said the number should significantly drop in the next two days. Still, he said it should be a week to 10 days before every TECO customer has power.
For Peace River Electric customers, Indian Lake Estates was hit the hardest. Peace River spokesman Brad Kimbro said 4,257 customers were without power Tuesday. He said it would be a week before everyone has power.
"Some of the homes are more difficult now," Kimbro said. "The challenge is big."
For President Bush, post-hurricane visits have become routine. Most of his recent trips to Florida have been to console hurricane victims. He came to Punta Gorda after Hurricane Charley, to Fort Pierce after Frances and to Pensacola after Ivan.
Now it's Lake Wales' turn after Jeanne -- and Charley and Frances.
Not even Polk County Commissioner Paul Senft, Republican national committeeman from Florida, knew details of Bush's Polk visit.
The last time Polk County was visited by a sitting president was the Oct. 31, 1980, campaign appearance at the Lakeland Civic Center by then-President Jimmy Carter. Carter spent 21/2 hours in the city speaking at a rally. The following Tuesday, he was voted out of office, losing Florida and Polk County, both of which had sided with him in 1976.
President Calvin Coolidge came to Lake Wales in 1929 to dedicate the Bok Sanctuary.
After leaving Polk County, President Bush will spend tonight in Miami, where the first debate with Democratic challenger John Kerry will take place Thursday night at the University of Miami.
I was just thinking.... would the dems says since the hurricanes hit these people are disenfranchized (sp) if they lost their voters reg and if they have no power to watch the debates?
I can just imagine Bush tomorrow night.
"Yesterday, I visited some orange groves in Florida..."
He just has to find a way to say the word "orange" tomorrow night given Kerry's current hue. He doesn't even have to pause and give Kerry a side ways glance.
For more than 75 years, Historic Bok Sanctuary’s Olmsted-designed historic landscape gardens have been a place of beauty and inspiration. In the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, concerned people from around the world have contacted us to find out about their beloved Singing Tower, the Gardens and Pinewood Estate. Many have asked how they can offer financial assistance to help restore the beautiful gardens. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to help with Bok’s clean up and restoration efforts, please click here.
One of my all-favorite places for peaceful contemplation is in Lake Wales. Have you been to Bok Tower Gardens?
Still there?
My grandparents were in attendance at the dedication of the Tower in 1929, after they moved there from Illinois. My grandfather was City Clerk of Lake Wales for many years. Back in 1965, our grandparents bought up a small ma-&-pa motel on Alt. 27. They had standing season passes as part of their administrative efforts with the Lake Wales Tourist board. We used to visit, as kids, every summer many, many times.
Yeah, all he needs is that cute little smirk and a twinkle in his eye....we will all get it.
Pictures from same exact vantage point, before and after Hurricane Charley:
Before - - - - - - A giant oak (4 1/2' in diameter) covers the Reflection Pool.
Though I'm guessing the spiders above the reflecting pool didn't fare too well.
Excerpt:
LAKELAND -- Surprising no one, least of all orange growers, the value of last season's Florida citrus crop sank to $746 million, its lowest level in the past 18 seasons, according to the final USDA report on the 2003-04 season released Thursday. The report from the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency, also showed Polk County continued to be the state's largest citrus-producing county.
Polk growers produced 42.2 million boxes of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and other citrus behind Highlands County, ranked second at nearly 35.3 million boxes.
Last season's crop declined in value despite a 16 percent increase in production from the 2002-03 season, which had a revised value of almost $787.4 million.
In 2003-04, however, more fruit did not translate to more money. The $746 million represented a 5.3 percent decline from the 2002-03 crop value.
"I think it's called capitalism," said Irving Wheeler of Wheeler Farms Inc. The business has more than 3,000 acres in Polk and four other counties. "It's what happens when you have an oversupply of oranges and an oversupply of juice."
Most citrus industry officials agreed those two factors, combined with a three-year decline in the sale of orange juice, depressed the farm price for oranges during the 2003-04 season.
The orange crop is by far Florida's largest citrus commodity, and 96 percent of the 2003-04 crop went to juice, about the annual average.
The Sanctuary is now open. Volunteers are need to help clear light debris.
To volunteer (9am - 3pm) call (863) 676-1408.
18 years of age or older
Physically able
Bring gloves and rake
Photo identification required
Last Update September 22, 2004.
Share in your own words for others to enjoy how Historic Bok Sanctuary has been your special place of inspiration. Or you may wish to share words of encouragement as the staff begins a long process of restoring the Gardens as a place of beauty once again.
To share your words of hope, encouragement or inspiration, feel free to post here.
Bok Sanctuary needs volunteers. (See Post #14 above.) Florida's Natural may need help cleaning up their groves. I wish I could be down there to help out, but I'm a mom of 3 teenagers and I can't break away from my own family here to come visit and help out.
Florida ping!
Synchronized to restore power, not an Olympic game, are these electrical workers who traveled from out-of-tate to assist with efforts of restoring power for Lake Waleans after Hurricane Charley whipped through the area on Friday the 13th. (For more stories and photos, please see our Hurricane Charley section on the News page of this website.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.