Months before the results of the presidential election were announced Nov. 4, Matthew Anderson made plans to attend the inauguration ceremony for America's 44th president Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. ...more

December 31, 2008

Uh-oh. Alex Valdez was in trouble. He had just been pulled over by Kevin Beckman and Joshua Short in a sheriff's car, lights flashing. Arrayed in crisp uniform and speaking politely and professionally, Beckman put the18-year-old Valdez through a series of field sobriety tests. ...more

October 1, 2008

The tension was evident as Highlands County's students squared off Saturday for school bragging rights. And it had nothing to do with athletics. It was all about brains and our top middle school students did a wonderful job answering questions that many adults wouldn't know. Academic teams from all Highlands County middle schools competed at the Sebring Middle School auditorium in an annual event measuring students' all-around knowledge. Each grade level battled to beat the buzzer and then the day was capped off with a "varsity" contest with each school's top students vying for a title. Sebring's Hill-Gustat won the varsity contest and the sixth-grade contest. Sebring Middle School won top honors in seventh and eighth grade contests. But the points separating all the schools was small, and every school had a strong showing with top students representing from throughout the county. ...more

June 2, 2008