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Police: Former Polk County firefighter arrested for Facebook rants

Police: Former Polk County firefighter arrested for Facebook rants

Polk County, FL -- A former Polk County firefighter was arrested Thursday after he made public rants on his Facebook page toward former employees.

According to a release from the county, part-time Polk County Fire Rescue firefighter Christopher Baird was fired on June 8 from his job after it was determined that recent conduct was inconsistent with requirements of a fire service professional.

In May, Baird was removed from the work schedule for personal reasons.  He later tried to reestablish his duty status. It was during this time, he published rants on his public Facebook page.

770 lb. Lakeland grandmother gets free home

Lakeland, Florida - A frustrating struggle for a Lakeland grandmother who was just trying to get medical help has led to a generous offer. An anonymous donor has volunteered to build her and her family a free home that will accommodate her special needs.

51 year old Yvonne Gallimore has endured a lot of heartache the past 17 years. Her family members say she's done so in private until recently.

Gallimore battled a medical condition called lymphedema which is caused by a blockage that allows fluids to build up in the body causing excessive swelling. It's caused her weight to tip the scale at 770 pounds which makes it impossible to get around.

Gallimore cries as she explains, "I don't like that. I don't like not being able to do nothing for my grandchildren and stuff and the only time they see me is lying in the bed."

Polk students to compete at National History Fair

Polk students to compete at National History Fair

A team of students from Bartow International Baccalaureate won a first place award at the State History Fair and are among 66 Florida students qualified to compete at the National History Day program held at the University of Maryland-College Park from June 12 to 16.

The State History Fair was held last month at Tallahassee Community College and the Bartow IB students’ first place history fair project was titled “The Scramble for Africa”.

It won first place in the senior high group website category.  Their website can viewed at http://14065439.nhd.weebly.com/index.html. More than 950 students from 28 counties competed at the state event.  The first place finish qualified the Bartow IB students for the national event.

Deputy trainee charged with robbing ATM

Lakeland, Florida - A bank employee training to become a deputy helped himself to $4,000 from a Wells Fargo ATM he was supposed to restock with cash, the sheriff's office said.

Nicholas David Cabrera, 21, of Plant City was charged with Grand Theft.

The sheriff's office said he was an employee of the Wells Fargo Bank on South Combee in Lakeland, entrusted with keys and codes to restock the automatic teller machine there.

Instead, on April 29th, he allegedly removed about $4,000 and hid the cash in his back pocket.

Detectives say he admitted the theft under questioning. He said he spent the money on personal items and put about $1,000 of it into his savings account.

He was booked into the Polk County jail.

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Florida Step Up for Tourettes!

Florida Step Up for Tourettes!

Lakeland, FL -- Florida STEP UP for TS! Is a family-friendly community educational event to raise donations for TSA (Tourette Syndrome Association National) & TSA-FL Youth Ambassadorship but awareness of Tourette Syndrome in our community.  

Rothman Center doctors will attend to answer any specific questions relating to Tourette Syndrome & treatments. 

Student represents Polk at state capitol

Student represents Polk at state capitol

Bianca Mulaney, a Lakeland resident and junior at Bartow International Baccalaureate, represented Polk County at the state capitol as part of a student organization, Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL).

Mulaney, a state FBLA-PBL vice president, was one of 15 students statewide chosen to visit the capitol earlier this year as a FBLA-PBL state officer.

FBLA-PBL is a student organization with approximately 250,000 students preparing for careers in business and related fields.  The program is intended for middle, high school, and college students to develop vocational and career competencies. FBLA-PBL is one of the leading student business organizations internationally.

Police searching for bearded lady

Lakeland, Florida -- Police in Lakeland are searching for a wanted woman with an unusual physical characteristic: she has facial hair.

Investigators say 61-year-old Gwendolyn Shack has active warrants for dealing in stolen property and trespassing.

Shack is 5'5" in height and wears glasses.  A photograph of her distributed by Lakeland Police shows Shack with a fully grown goattee.

Police ask for anyone who has information on Shack's whereabouts to call Lakeland PD at 863-834-6900 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477.