About: Adam WeeksAdam Weeks is a fifth generation Polk County resident. He currently resides in Winter Haven and works in Lake Wales. Adam was born and raised in Winter Haven. He graduated from Winter Haven High School in 1998 and attended the University of South Florida in Tampa from 1998 to 2001. Upon graduation, he got a job in Lake Wales as an IT Professional, with duties ranging from system administration to programming. Adam returned to USF in 2004 and was awarded his Master's Degree in Management Information Systems in 2006, while continuing to work in Lake Wales. Adam does part time web development when he's not at work or out on one of Polk's 522 lakes. His current "pet" project is a site called www.popShuv.com, where he is creating an online community for wakeskaters. Adam has been married for 6 years. He and his wife, a teacher in the Polk County School System, have a 2 year old son. They are members of the First Presbyterian Church in Winter Haven. Adam can also be found blogging on his personal site www.adamweeks.com.
Posts by AdamAuburndale's New PlaygroundPosted by Adam Weeks on May 31, 2008 at 10:15 PM
We had a chance to check out the new playground in Auburndale. I had been by a few months ago while they were re-doing it and never got around to going to see the finished product. All I can say is "WOW!" They did a spectacular job and it looks fantastic.
There are a few more pictures of the park in my photostream. Winter Haven Young Professionals SocialPosted by Adam Weeks on April 16, 2008 at 01:15 PM
The WHYPG meets tomorrow, Thursday the 17th, at Tanners for a networking social event. RSVP today! Don’t miss the first WHYPG networking social event at the Tanner’s Pub’s courtyard. Meet and mingle with area young professionals under the beautiful stars. Enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres from Tanner’s Pub. You also have a chance to win a great door prize. Admission is free for WHYPG members and $10 for guests and non-members. Cash bar. RSVP through the Web site. The WHYPG is affiliated with the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce and operates under the Winter Haven Chamber Foundation. http://winterhavenfl.com/calendars/371-WHYPG-Networking-Social-Event-at-Tanner-s-/details Hometown PrescriptionsPosted by Adam Weeks on February 18, 2008 at 04:10 PM
Growing up I can remember one of my favorite things about going to the doctor was talking to the pharmacist, Dr. Frakes. He was a nice man and pretty much knew everyone that walked into his store. I hadn't experienced his level of service until recently when I went to the Publix pharmacy. Let me interrupt my story first by sharing with you how I got switched to Publix. I had been a Walgreens customer since I went to college and could have my prescriptions filled at any Walgreens from Las Vegas to New York City. This was quite a convenience but came at a cost of customer service. My last straw was when I has my wife's Z-pack antibiotics filled at Walgreens. A Z-pack is a small package of 6 pills that the pharmacy simply needs to stick the label to and hand to you. I was told at 10AM that it would be ready at 12 Noon. Seemed about par for the course. I returned at 1PM, waited in line of 6 cars for 30 minutes, making it 1:30 when I got to the window to be told that it wasn't ready yet. I asked that since I had waited in line for such a long time if they could just grab the medicine for me, no luck. We returned at 6 PM (time spent NOT getting my wife better) to finally pick up the medicine. The next week my son caught what she had and was put on antibiotics as well. This time I went to Publix, who filled it quite quickly and to my surprise FREE! I had heard about the free antibiotics program Publix had started, but never got to experience it. Back to my original story, this weekend I fell to what appeared to be the same bug the rest of the family had. By the time I got out of the First Care center, it was 6:40 and the Publix pharmacy closed at 7. We rushed over to see if they could fill it for us (not being very hopeful, but definitely not wanting to go back to Walgreens). The lady was very friendly and said "of course" and we were on the way home with my meds in less than 5 minutes! WOW, what a difference! Needless to say, we've switched our other prescriptions over to Publix now. Local News FeedsPosted by Adam Weeks on February 12, 2008 at 03:37 PM
If you regularly read news and articles online (you're reading one now) and haven't used RSS feeds yet, why not? Its a very simple way to keep track of your favorite sites, read posts, and stay informed! I use Bloglines as my RSS reader of choice. Some others include Google Reader, My Yahoo, and Newsgator. These are the RSS feeds that are currently in my "Local" folder, if you have any additions or suggestions, please comment: A Visit to the CircusPosted by Adam Weeks on January 6, 2008 at 09:58 PM
This past Saturday, my wife, son and I went to the Lakeland Center to see the Ringling Brothers Circus. My 3-year-old son had a blast and we had a good time watching him. Here are some photos from the event:
Classic Photo NeededPosted by Adam Weeks on December 27, 2007 at 02:14 PM
I'm searching for a classic Winter Haven photo (well, semi-classic) of the old "Barrel-of-Fun" arcade from the Winter Haven mall. I need this for a project I'm working on, so if anyone can help out, please let me know in either the comments or by email [me at adamweeks dot com] Christmas LightsPosted by Adam Weeks on November 28, 2007 at 09:06 AM
Its that time of the season again! When all the mad rush for deals and bargains is over, its nice to go on a relaxing drive and look at all the Christmas lights in the area. Sunday night, my wife, son and I packed in the car and went looking for lights. Even though it is still early in the season, we found some well decorated houses, but were left wanting more. From that, an idea was spawned. I'm starting a custom Google map of the Polk County area Christmas lights. You can visit the map here. I've opened it for collaborators, so anyone can add points, lines, areas, etc. If you need any help getting started, post a comment or shoot me an email and I'll be glad to help. Festival of TreesPosted by Adam Weeks on November 26, 2007 at 09:36 AM
With all of the excitement my three-year-old son had of putting up Christmas decorations , we decided to take him up to the "Festival of Trees" at the Orange Dome. The Festival of Trees was hosted by the Florida Citrus Festival and Polk County Fair along with its Festival of Trees Partner, Ridge Art Association. We really enjoyed all the professionally decorated trees, which unfortunately left ours feeling sub-par. My son's favorite area was the "Crafts and Cookies" where he got to decorate a cookie and make some art. Take a look at my photo album here if you missed it. Lake Wales Hotel ReturnsPosted by Adam Weeks on November 9, 2007 at 08:50 AM
Whenever one looks at downtown Lake Wales, the 11-story Grand Hotel is sure to stand out. While Bok Tower has definitely taken the status of "Lake Wales Icon", the Grand Hotel falls in at a close second. The hotel, built in 1927, has been returned back to the city of Lake Wales after exchanging hands multiple times. Over the years, I've heard of many different plans for the hotel: a retirement facility, upscale condominiums, even demolition, none of which have come to fruition. According to the The Ledger, the city is planning on actively searching for someone to renovate it. The former owner's plans of converting the hotel to a retirement facility had fallen through, and had raked up over $700,000 in code enforcement fines. I'd like to see some condominiums go in and help revitalize downtown Lake Wales, similar to the efforts of downtown Winter Haven. What's your opinion on the Grand Hotel? Should we just tear it down and start over? Winter Haven RecyclingPosted by Adam Weeks on October 29, 2007 at 09:24 AM
The Ledger announces that curbside recycling will begin in Winter Haven Nov 12. Next week, Nov 5, blue recycling bins will be distributed to city residents. My question is, didn't we already do this? When I moved into my house within the city limits, I had a yellow recycle bin, filled it with recycling materials, put it on the curb, and the garbage men threw it away with the trash! Battle of the Former WH Spring TrainersPosted by Adam Weeks on October 16, 2007 at 03:46 PM
Past former Winter Haven spring trainers, the Boston Red Sox, are playing the current "former" Winter Haven spring trainers, the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS game 4 tonight. With the Sox down 2-1 in the series, can they turn it around tonight? Are there any Winter Haven Sox fans left or have they all been converted to the dark side? Haines City Lowes Traffic WoesPosted by Adam Weeks on October 16, 2007 at 08:41 AM
Traveling northbound on highway 27 in Haines City I've witnessed a few close calls and one accident all in one location. The location is directly in front of the new Lowes in Haines City just north of Wal-Mart Supercenter. The situation is the same every time, a semi-truck is pulling out of the Lowes parking lot, turning left to head south on 27. The semi crosses the northbound lanes and stops in the median turn lane waiting for southbound traffic to clear. While he is waiting, his trailer is blocking part of (or in some places completely) the far left northbound lane. The close calls that I’ve seen are when cars following the semis out of Lowes see that the northbound lanes are clear, and they also think that it’s a great idea to pull out into the left turn lane. This totally blocks the left turn opportunities for southbound traffic, and the braking noises are thunderous. The accident occurred when one semi followed another into the turning lane on Hwy 27, and totally blocked all northbound traffic. I'm not a big fan of adding MORE lights to 27, but something needs to be done about this. Is it possible to make it a "no left turn" out of Lowes and make drivers make a U-turn at the next lighted intersection? USF Bulls Ranked 5thPosted by Adam Weeks on October 8, 2007 at 02:56 PM
The South Florida Bulls were bumped up another spot this week with the losses of Wisconsin and USC! What a year of "firsts" for the Bulls! Congratulations guys! This alma mater is very proud! The Bulls tackle UCF Knights in Tampa this Saturday (Oct 13) in what appears to be another sell-out crowd. Anyone have tickets? Hampton Inn Lake WalesPosted by Adam Weeks on September 26, 2007 at 04:39 PM
Here's a quick picture I took of the Hampton Inn and Suites being built on 27 across from Eagle Ridge Mall. I didn't realize that area needed a major motel, I guess so! Yet Another Quiznos?Posted by Adam Weeks on September 26, 2007 at 02:07 PM
Well, it appears that a Quizno's is going to be put into the new shopping center "Towne Center" adjacent to Cypress Gardens. I have nothing against Quizno's (except for one small case of food poisoning that pretty much guarantees my avoidance), but do we really need 3 different locations withing 5 miles? There is another one 2 miles down Cypress Gardens Blvd across from State Farm and yet another in the Eagle Ridge plaza just south of Home Depot on 27. Is there really that much demand for the "Q"? Is the volume at the other CGB location just too much to handle? How about a Panera or a First Watch? Is that too much to ask? Halo 3 Midnight OpeningsPosted by Adam Weeks on September 24, 2007 at 02:00 PM
Now, I'm not one to stay up late for a midnight release of anything, movie, video game, Harry Potter book, etc. But, I know there are a lot of you out there! What looks like one of the biggest video game releases ever, Halo 3 is set to be released tonight at 12:01 A.M. Here are the GameStop/EB Games locations in Polk that will be opening at midnight tonight: Berkeley Square S/C (863) 968-1235 2122 W Highway 92, Suite 2 Auburndale USF Football vs West Virginia This FridayPosted by Adam Weeks on September 24, 2007 at 11:05 AM
Dundee Road Construction?Posted by Adam Weeks on September 20, 2007 at 10:50 AM
Over the past couple of weeks, more and more underground marker flags and spray painted lines have been showing up along Dundee Road. In the section between 10th and 14th street, hundreds of orange, yellow and blue flags have been placed. Its not just along Dundee Road either, they extend back to Lake Otis Drive. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? Is this the famed Dundee Road widening project I've heard about since 1995? Someone please give me some insight! Deadly Amoebas, a Polk County Risk?Posted by Adam Weeks on September 18, 2007 at 03:50 PM
As if you didn't have enough to be weary about swimming in our lakes, alligators, drunk boaters, water moccasins, now we have an unseen danger, amoebas (or is it amoebae? my apologies to my Latin teacher). Since June, three small children have died from amoebic encephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by amoeba that breed in water over 82 degrees. All of these deaths have occurred in our sister county, Orange County. Many recreational boaters and swimmers have been steering clear of the lakes in fear of these amoeba. With the chances of catching the disease being lower than being struck by lightning, is it really necessary to completely restrict all water activities? I know Orange County has put up warning signs around their lakes (link), but has Polk County done anything? Have you seen anything proactive in any of our 522 local lakes? Has this done anything to keep you away from our lakes? Post your responses in the comments. |
About Empirical Polk:
A hyperlocal blog about Imperial Polk County, Florida. It is written by local residents that wish to provide an alternative to traditional media sources. The focus is commentary and open discussion of the issues that face Polk County, FL.
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