Mascotte Archives - Inside Lake

Cold weather shelter and warming station scheduled to open this week

Astatula, Clermont, Eustis, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Howey-in-the-Hills, Inside Scoop, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Mascotte, Minneola, Montverde, Mount Dora, Tavares, Umatilla, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

EUSTIS, Fla.—A cold weather shelter and warming station are scheduled to open this week in anticipation of colder temperatures, officials with Lake County government announced late Monday morning.

According to the U.S. National Weather Service, lows in Lake County are expected to be between 33 and 38 degrees between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The cold weather shelter is scheduled to be open from 5 p.m. to 7.a.m. Monday through Friday at LifePointe Church, 2551 East Orange Avenue, Eustis; and the Salvation Army will open a warming station from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 2605 South Street, Leesburg. Residents who need transportation to the shelter or the warming station can call Lake County Connection at 352-742-2612 to make arrangements.

*Graphic: U.S. National Weather Service*

To sign up for cold weather text updates from Lake County government, text COLD to 888-777. Faith-based and nonprofit organizations that would like to provide sheltering assistance are asked to call Lake County Emergency Management at 352-343-9420.

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BREAKING NEWS: Santa Claus is coming to town

LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—At press time Christmas Eve, the jolly fellow best known as Santa Claus was last spotted in Lithuania and had delivered more than 3 billion gifts, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD.)

Little boys and girls can track the big guy’s movements online as he makes his way across the world with his trusty reindeer crew, by visiting NORAD Tracks Santa.

NORAD began tracking Santa in 1958 after taking over the duty from the U.S. Air Force.

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Head-on collision kills Leesburg woman Monday

Groveland, Inside Scoop, Leesburg, Mascotte, Unincorporated Lake / By Marilyn M. Aciego

GROVELAND, Fla.—The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that killed a Leesburg woman and seriously injured a Mascotte woman Monday afternoon.

Shortly before 12:15 p.m., a 36-year-old Leesburg woman was driving a 2008 Chevrolet HHR southbound on County Road 33 near Soto Road in unincorporated Groveland when she failed to maintain her lane and hit and 2015 Ford Fusion being driven by a 43-year-old Mascotte woman, head-on, seriously injuring her.

Both drivers were transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where the Leesburg woman succumbed to her injuries. The crash closed County Road 33 for nearly seven hours.

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Bicyclist killed after turning in front of truck on SR 50 Friday night

Inside Scoop, Mascotte / By Marilyn M. Aciego

SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—A bicyclist was killed Friday night after he turned in front of a truck on State Road 50 near Mascotte and Groveland, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m., a 30-year-old man was riding a bicycle on Anderson Street, when he turned into the direct path of a 2021 Chevy Silverado being driven eastbound on State Road 50 by a 67-year-old man of San Antonio, Texas, FHP said.

The man was thrown from the bicycle and pronounced deceased on the scene; the Texas man was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.

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Lake County prepares for Helene

Publisher’s note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla.— Tropical Storm Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday as Hurricane Helene, is expected to bring wind and rain to Lake County and residents should finish storm preparations by Wednesday afternoon. How to get information and sandbags, along with closures are listed below.

Citizens Information line: 352-253-9999

AlertLake Notification System: sign up at https://alertlake.com/ or text ALERTLAKE to 888777

Closures:

Butler Street Boat Ramp, 55400 Butler Street, Astor, 5 a.m. Wednesday

City of Eustis, Thursday

City of Groveland, Thursday

Lake County Board of County Commissioners, Thursday

Lake County Schools, Thursday

Lake-Sumter State College, Thursday

Pearl Street Boat Ramp, 25140 E. Pearl Street, Astor, 5 a.m. Wednesday

Sandbag locations

All locations are self-service, bring your own shovel.

Clermont

(Former public services facility, adjacent to West Park,) 400 12^th St., Clermont, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday

Eustis

Eustis Fire Station 22, 100 West Norton Ave., Eustis, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday

Groveland

Lot next to 310 Crittenden St., Groveland, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday

Leesburg

Susan Street Complex, 940 Susan St., Leesburg, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday

Mascotte

161 Knight St., Mascotte, 8 a.m., to 5 p.m. Wednesday

Mount Dora

Frank Brown Sports Complex, 1245 East Pine Ave., Mount Dora, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting

Unincorporated Lake County

All locations open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, weather permitting

East Lake Sports and Community Complex, 24809 Wallick Rd. Sorrento

North Lake Regional Park. 40730 Roger Giles Rd., Umatilla

Astor Fire Station 10.23023 State Road 40, Astor

Minneola Athletic Complex, 1300 Fosgate Rd. (13930 Education Ave.) Minneola

PEAR Gateway Park (Front Entrance,) 26701 U.S. Highway 27, Leesburg

Four Corners Fire Station 112, 16240 CR 474, Clermont

Hickory Point Recreation Complex, 27315 State Road 19, Tavares

Waste collection

Groveland, Thursday pickup will shift to Friday, Friday pickup will shift to Saturday

Montverde, pickups are canceled Thursday and will resume Monday.

Lake County Office of Solid Waste, Thursday pickup will shift to Friday, Friday pickup will shift to Saturday

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BREAKING NEWS: Lake County Schools closed Thursday

TAVARES, Fla.- Lake County public schools will be closed Thursday due to Tropical Storm Helene, which is expected to be a hurricane when it makes landfall, according to Lake County Schools.

After-school activities on Wednesday are not cancelled and a decision will be made about Friday following Wednesday’s mid-day briefing, LCS said.

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LCSO Master Deputy Bradley Link to be honored with run Wednesday night

TAVARES, Fla.—Lake County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy Bradley Link is scheduled to be honored Wednesday night by a young man who will run his 1,550^th mile in support of fallen first responders.

Zechariah Cartledge founded Running 4 Heroes Inc., a non-profit organization in 2019, to raise funds for fallen first responders. Cartledge is scheduled to run the mile at 8 p.m. Wednesday, at Tavares Middle School, 13032 Lane Park Cutoff Road, Tavares. Attendees are asked to arrive between 7 and 7:30 p.m.

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Lake County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy Bradley Link is escorted by his unit, LCSO’s Agriculture and Marine Unit, Monday morning. Photo courtesy of Paula Sullivan

VIDEO: Hundreds of people line U.S. Highway 27 in support of fallen deputy Monday morning

LEESBURG, Fla.—Hundreds of residents, law enforcement officers and firefighters lined U.S. Highway 27 to pay their respects and show their support for Master Deputy Bradley Link and his coworkers at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Monday morning.

Residents stood in the rain along the 15-mile trek from Leesburg to Minneola, waving flags and saluting Link as he was transported to the funeral home handling his arrangements, bringing tears to the eyes of deputies and residents alike.

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BREAKING NEWS: 911 down in Lake County

Clermont, Eustis, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Howey-in-the-Hills, Inside Scoop, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Mascotte, Minneola, Montverde, Mount Dora, Tavares, Umatilla, Unincorporated Lake / By Staff Report

TAVARES, Fla.—Lake County Public Safety Communications (911) is experiencing intermittent outages due to Hurricane Debby. Residents may not be able to reach dispatchers in an emergency. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call the non-emergency number at 352-343-2101.

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Ham Radio Field Day set for this weekend

Astatula, Clermont, Eustis, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Howey-in-the-Hills, Inside Scoop, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Mascotte, Minneola, Montverde, Mount Dora, Tavares, Umatilla / By Marilyn M. Aciego

TAVARES, Fla.—Each June, more than 40,000 amateur radio operators, known as “hams” set up temporary transmitting stations in public places throughout North America to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill, and service to our communities and nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933 and remains the most popular event in ham radio. The competitive aspect of Field Day is to contact as many other amateur stations as possible between 2 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

The public is invited to attend the event in Tavares this weekend that will showcase mobile command vehicles from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake Amateur Radio Association (LARA.) It will be held at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Training Bureau and Lake Tech Institute of Public Safety Weapons and Driving Range, 13000 Frankies Road, Tavares.

LARA consistently wins top honors each year in Florida and North America. The club was established in 1952 by a local group of radio amateurs and now has a membership of over 150 “Hams.” LARA’s vast radio systems enable worldwide communications, amplifying the club’s impact and reach. For their life-saving work, hams worldwide have received commendations and international praise.

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