AVON PARK Police Sgt. Marc Wilbur fell unconscious and later died about 9 a.m. Thursday, according to Avon Park Police Cmdr. Mike Rowan. Wilbur, 43, began his shift at about 6 a.m. and was on duty in the Winn-Dixie shopping plaza, accompanied by a police officer trainee, said Rowan on Friday. Wilbur slipped into unconsciousness and the trainee called emergency dispatch. He was transported by Highlands County Emergency Medical Services to Florida Hospital Heartland Division, where he was pronounced dead. ...more

December 27, 2008

After a challenging 2008, Highlands Today asked some government officials their assessments of the budget situation for next year. ...more

December 23, 2008

It takes a lot of planning to hold the Sebring 12 Hours of Bar-B-Que, also known in these parts as the "Pig Fest," and Sebring Police Chief Tom Dettman is scheduled Tuesday to present the city council with road closure requests for the annual Firemen's Inc. Tractor Parade. ...more

December 15, 2008

A person severely injured in a mobile home fire this morning has been identified as a woman in her 60s, and if she lives, she can thank an ambulance crew that arrived before firefighters, Largo fire officials say. ...more

November 26, 2008

When the first signals were transmitted in 1980, the operations center contained the latest technology of that era for amateur radio operators to help residents in the event of an emergency. ...more

November 19, 2008

You're in the car and you've got the radio cranked up insanely loud. Chances are, you're not going to hear that ambulance siren wailing behind you. ...more

November 13, 2008

Hundreds of confidential government documents have turned up in trash bags and garbage bins instead of being shredded as required by law, according to a Pinellas County audit. ...more

November 8, 2008

Hundreds of confidential government documents have turned up in trash bags and garbage bins instead of being shredded as required by law, according to a Pinellas County audit. ...more

November 7, 2008

First responders in Zephyrhills have a new lifesaving tool to help heart attack victims. ...more

November 6, 2008

"A bank robbery in progress at Surefire Bank, 3582 Hilton Lane," crackles the dispatcher's voice on the loud speaker. ...more

November 5, 2008