Hello,
Here is a list of our blood drives for the remaining of the school year.
March 21st 9am – 4pm
May 17th 9am – 4pm
July 12th 9am – 4pm
We can also send a short new story for you to run too – to help increase participation and spread more awareness about blood donation. Would this be okay?
Jamie L. Baker
Donor Center Recruiter/Coordinator
Winter Haven Hospital Community Blood Center
460 First Street North, Winter Haven , FL 33881
Phone: (863) 297-1840 Fax: (863) 291-6704
Media Release
City of Winter Haven P.O. Box 2277
451 Third Street NW
Winter Haven, Florida 33883
For Immediate Release
January 17, 2012
Wings of Freedom to Make Stop at
Winter Haven Municipal Airport – Gilbert Field
Winter Haven – The Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour has scheduled a stop at the Winter Haven Municipal Airport – Gilbert Field January 23-25, 2012.
The tour includes a vintage Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Nine O Nine” WWII Heavy Bomber, Consolidated B-24 Liberator “Witchcraft” WWII Heavy Bomber, and North American P-51 Mustang aircraft. The planes will fly into Winter Haven’s Gilbert Field Airport, offering an opportunity for the public to visit, explore, and learn more about these unique and rare treasures of aviation history.
The tour’s B-17 is one of only 10 in flying condition in the United States; and the B-24J and Full Dual Control P-51 Mustang are the sole remaining examples of their type still flying.
Visitors are invited to explore the aircraft inside and out at a cost of $12 for adults and $6 for children under age 12. World War II military veterans can tour the aircraft at no cost. Flights on the vintage aircraft are also available for purchase.
The Wings of Freedom Tour travels the nation in a flying tribute to the flight crews who flew the vintage aircraft, the ground crews who maintained them, the workers who built them, the soldiers, sailors and airmen they helped protect; and the citizens and families that share the freedom they helped preserve. Visit www.collingsfoundation.org<http://www.collingsfoundation.org> for more information about the tour.
The display will be at the Airport’s main ramp, 2073 U.S. 92 West, Winter Haven, from noon January 23 until noon January 25.
For more information about the Winter Haven event, contact Joy Townsend at (863) 291-5600.
Joy Townsend
Records and Communications Services Coordinator, RMLO City of Winter Haven 863-291-5600, ext. 232
Media Release
City of Winter Haven
P.O. Box 2277
451 Third St. NW
Winter Haven, Florida 33883
Fax (863) 291-5623
For Immediate Release Contact Person: Cori Greear
January 13, 2012 Phone and Email: (863) 291-5880
cgreear@mywinterhaven.com
Winter Haven Library celebrates Black History Month
with acclaimed Zora Neale Hurston movie screening
In celebration of February as Black History Month, the Friends of the Winter Haven Public Library invite you to a very special meet and greet and movie screening. Florida filmmaker, producer and writer Kristy Andersen will present her acclaimed biography of Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun, featured on PBS in the American Masters Series, at 5:30 p.m., February 2.
Writer, cultural anthropologist, chronicler of folk roots and ethnic traditions, daughter of a former slave and first graduate of Barnard, Zora Neale Hurston grew up as the mayor’s daughter of Eatonville, Florida. A flamboyant and unpredictable woman, Hurston had great foresight in anticipating the importance of black culture in shaping modern and popular American culture. However, during her lifetime her words and conclusions were often surrounded by controversy.
The films’ writer and producer, Kristy Andersen, who at one time lived in Polk County, will present her film and discuss Hurston’s life, as represented in the film, as well as Hurston’s ties to Winter Haven and the surrounding area.
This program will take place in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Winter Haven Public Library and is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Cori Greear at the Winter Haven Public Library, (863) 291-5880.
Media Release
City of Winter Haven
P.O. Box 2277
451 Third Street NW
Winter Haven, Florida 33883
For Immediate Release
January 6, 2012
Winter Haven – Economic development in Winter Haven will get a jump start in 2012, with the anticipated sale of the first phase of the Chain of Lakes (COL) property. Closure of the sale is expected to take place in January. The initial sale is 4.1 acres, and includes the Orange Dome, which will come down soon after the closing.
Economic growth opportunities are expected to take shape as the Landings Winter Haven, LLC purchases the entire COL property for development as a mixed use of retail, entertainment, lodging and dining.
At build out, the project is estimated to have an annual economic impact of $48.7 million, provide 739 jobs on site, with a payroll of $23.7 million. Another 220 jobs are expected to be created to support business at the Landings.
Strategic planning of recreation facilities, to replace those currently at the site, will be completed by July 10, 2012; and facilities must be vacated by April 2016. Stakeholder meetings that include performing arts and recreation users and providers are planned at 6 p.m., January 17 (performing arts users) and January 18 (recreation users and providers). Both meetings will be at the Chain O’ Lakes Complex, 210 Cypress Gardens Blvd. Public input will also be sought through a survey that will be placed on the City website – www.mywinterhaven.com.
For more information, please contact Joy Townsend at (863) 291-5600.
PSC Honors Students at the Museum of Science and Industry
By Rosemary Reynolds, Staff Writer
On Saturday, December 3, 2011, all Polk State College Honors Program students were invited on a field trip to the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Tampa. Polk State College was just named the 12th fastest growing community college in the nation with more than 10,000 enrollments. The PSC Honors Program is for students with either a high school GPA of 3.5 or higher on a four-point scale, a college GPA of 3.2 or higher, or college entrance exam scores that meet the required limits. Students from both Lakeland and Winter Haven campuses could participate in the field trip and received free admission, including a show in the Saunders Planetarium, access to the new Sky Trail Ropes Course, and a film in the IMAX Dome Theater.
MOSI, the largest science center in the southeast and 5th in the United States, has been providing fun educational experiences in science for people of all ages for 52 years. In 1962, the museum was first established in Sulphur Springs as the Museum of Science and Natural History. The year 1976 brought along enough funds for the museum to construct a new location in Tampa, named its current title, the Museum of Science & Industry. Official opening of the new facility to the public was in 1982, also closing the old location at Sulphur Springs. Plans for renovation at the new Tampa location began in 1988. This three-phase renovation was complete in 2005, highlighting some of the museum’s greatest features, including the expansion to the current 74-acre campus, Florida’s only IMAX Dome Theater, many permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, the Saunders Planetarium, the largest children’s science center in the nation: Kids in Charge!, and a public library. MOSI’s goal is to cause a change in people’s lives by making science real, making it fun, and making it educational for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Upon arriving at MOSI, the Honors Program immediately visited the Kids in Charge! exhibition while waiting for the Saunders Planetarium Show. Kids in Charge! includes 25,000 square feet of exhibition space, focused on children twelve and under (although anyone can participate). The exhibits include the Activate! area (motion and physical activity), the Investigate! area (observation, logic, analysis, and imagination), Kids Create! (team collaboration for building various objects), Fields to Meals (about the food chain, specifically for children 7 and under), and the Astronaut Training Adventure (physical activities on a moon walk and various obstacle courses).
At 9:30, the PSC Honors students entered the Saunders Planetarium for an hour-long show. The Planetarium includes a GOTO Space Simulator Chronos star projection system, which is capable of displaying views of the night sky in the past, present, or future and from any location. The Planetarium has recently been renovated to include a large projection dome and seating arrangements so that any person in the room can view the entire screen. The Planetarium show included videos about all the planets in our solar system, and also a tour of the night sky using the projection system.
After exiting the Saunders Planetarium, students went outside to experience the new Sky Trail Ropes Course. The course features 36 different elements and measures 36 feet high. While using only single secure clip-ons, visitors are able to navigate through the elements, such as bridges, tight wires, swinging ropes, and horizontal ladders. The Ropes Course was just opened at MOSI in Summer of 2011 and welcomes visitors of all ages to participate.
The exhibits included at MOSI are on a variety of topics, and some are only temporary. Permanent interactive exhibits include Kids in Charge!, Disasterville (natural disasters and prevention strategies), the High Wire Bike (the longest in a United States museum, at 98 feet long), the Bio works Butterfly Garden, and The Amazing You (exhibition of the human body). All of these permanent exhibits span over an area of 400,000 square feet and include over 450 hands-on interactive activities.
At the end of the trip, all the Honors students met together to enter the IMAX Dome Theater for the film Rescue. The IMAX was listed as number two on TBO’s list of the best movie theaters, for very good reasons. Not only is the visual impact astounding, with 10,500 square feet of clarity, but it also includes a multi-speaker surround-sound system. The projector in the IMAX theater is the most advanced and powerful ever built and has 125 adapted films available. IMAX truly takes a visitor inside a story, no matter what it may be.
Would you like to become a member of the Honors Program at Polk State College, and have access to field trips like these? To join or find out more about the program, send an email to honors@polk.edu or visit the Honors website.
PSC Honors Program Academic Showcase
By Rosemary Reynolds, Staff Writer
On December 2nd, 2011, the PSC Honors Program Academic Showcase was held for the first time! This event was at the Lakeland campus and was open to all Honors students, faculty, and staff. During the Showcase, thirteen talented students shared their eight presentations and projects. Each was created specifically for an Honors class they were currently enrolled in.
The first presenter was Ki’ana Copeland, sharing a PowerPoint slide show about El Dia de Los Muertos, “Day of the Dead.” This holiday is held in Mexico and celebrates the lives of family and friends who have passed away. Ki’ana mentioned during her presentation that El Dia de Los Muertos is not to mourn for the dead, but to rejoice for the legacy they leave behind.
Next, Caroline Sibley gave a production called What’s Missing, focusing on the Hemispherectomy. A Hemispherectomy is the surgical removal of one hemisphere of a person’s brain. While it might seem like it would do more harm than good, humans experiencing Epilepsy (a brain disorder causing repeated seizures) might be able to have relief from his or her life-threatening symptoms and could lead practically normal lives. Caroline described how the procedure is performed, what the benefits and risks are, and why this surgery is best completed on children rather than adults.
Laura Copps, Julie Smith, Jennifer Snyder, and Lexi Rhoden worked on a video presentation for their original version of Star Wars Hamlet. Involving light sabers instead of swords, their student-created video brought fun into the serious and involved play by William Shakespeare. Produced for their Literacy class, this project included their alternative scenery for the classic Hamlet play.
Bringing up a more serious topic, Jolene Vincent shared a video presentation of the Effects of Cigarette Smoking. Mentioned in the video, there were many facts about the negative impact smoking has on a person, as well as the people they smoke around. For example, if a person is even in the same room with someone smoking a cigarette for two hours, he or she will breathe in as much cigarette smoke as they would have by consuming four cigarettes themselves. Jolene proved that any kind of cigarette smoking (firsthand, secondhand, or unintentional) is extremely harmful to your body and should be avoided.
To help students cope with the everyday stress of college life, Warner Squire introduced a Prezi exhibition on a Proposal for a Polk State Meditation Room. During his proposal, Warner emphasized the key reasons that meditation would help students relax, and also why it could help with their grades and classroom performance. Warner mentioned that the Meditation Room would include a “no talking” rule to ensure that students concentrate on meditation and relaxation.
Because of the disaster involving the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there have been many changes to our national security. Daniel Urena’s presentation highlighted the changes made to our United States military and security features, such as drones. A controversy over these drones has been discussed recently, about whether or not they are violating the other country’s privacy by releasing drones to monitor them without their permission. Daniel explained that the War on Terrorism, to him, is a war with no end. He believes there will always be some kind of terrorism in the world; most wars are fought with clear dividing lines between opponents, but terrorists are becoming extremely hard to find.
Introducing their Case Study for Microbiology, Arielle Ferrell, Jana Bottino, and Joel Chandler showed their PowerPoint Presentation/Video recording. They told the story of a couple who learned that one of them had a deadly illness. The wife was tested for Strep and received a positive result, but there was a much more serious problem going on at the same time. Although their “patient” eventually passed because of the illness, Arielle, Jana, and Joel shared her results from various tests and concluded that she could have been treated.
The final presentation of the day was created by Luciana White for her Wellness class: Playing with the Birdie. In her PowerPoint Presentation, Luciana described a toy called a “birdie” that is the key part of a popular children’s game. The birdie, a small sand-filled base with feathers attached, is hit with the palm of the hand and passed from player to player in a circle. For a demonstration, Luciana called upon four volunteers to play Birdie with her, then showed a video of her Wellness class playing the game with their teacher.
The Honors Program Academic Showcase was a success! While inviting all Honors students to share their class projects, it also allowed fellow students, faculty, and staff to appreciate their work and learn from it.
Pictures:
#1 – Joel Chandler gives a presentation on microbiology.
#2 – Faculty, students, friends and family were on hand for the Honors Program Academic Showcase.
#3 – Luciana White’s presentation included a demonstration of “birdie.”
#4 – Robin Savage, President of the Lakeland Campus Honors Program Advisory Committee, sits with fellow students at the Honors Program Academic Showcase luncheon.
