Lake County Sheriff
As the holiday season approaches, residents in our community will be gathering with family and friends to celebrate. Whether you are traveling out of town or hosting holiday festivities at home, the Lady Lake Police Department wants you to be safe. Here is a security checklist to help protect your home and family.
Before you leave town it is important to make sure your home appears occupied. Place timers on your lights and set them to turn on and off at different times. Lock your garage door and disconnect the automatic opener. Most importantly, tell a trusted neighbor that you are going to be away and ask them to dial 911 immediately if they see anyone on your property.
Here are some additional home security tips to keep in mind: Continue reading
November is military family appreciation month. During the month, families with members of the military, past and present, are honored and recognized for their commitment and contributions in support of our military and nation. November 11th is Veteran’s Day. Thank a member of the military for serving this country. It is important to them to hear this appreciation but most of all, it’s respectful.
With the holiday season upon us, it is important to be thankful for the time we have spending with family and friends. There are families that are separated because a member is off serving our country in the military or worse, they have sacrificed their life for our country. In reality, freedom is not free. It is important to reflect that these families have a difficult time coping with their situation. We should be thankful for those who make those sacrifices and also for our families, friends, and the opportunities we have in this country. Continue reading
Halloween is fast approaching, and while children anticipate the annual celebration of fun and fantasy, it’s a good time for the rest of us to think about safety. As part of our ongoing commitment to protect children, all of us at the Lady Lake Police Department will be passing along Halloween safety advice.
Children should be instructed not to eat any treats until they’re back at home and mom or dad has inspected them. Parents should make sure that candy wrappers are sealed. Fruit or homemade items should be thoroughly examined. If in doubt, throw it out.
When little ghosts and goblins take to the streets, the biggest threat they face is motor vehicle traffic – something for parents and drivers to keep in mind.
For motorists, extreme caution is the rule for Halloween night. Expect children to run across the street, coming out of nowhere, oblivious to traffic. Children should be accompanied by adults when trick-or-treating. A responsible grown-up will be the person with a flashlight, leading the way when there’s a need to cross the street. It’s always best to stay close to home and to visit neighbors and friends that you know. Make sure children only approach homes that are well lit. Treats should be handed out at the door so that youngsters don’t have to enter the homes of strangers. Continue reading
This month, students will be returning to school in the tri-county area. Your child’s safety is our number one priority. Please take a few moments to review back-to-school safety with your child.
Walking To School
If your child walks to school, make sure there are sidewalks along the way. If you are not able to walk with your child, remember there is safety in numbers so have your child walk with siblings or other neighborhood children. Being hit by a car is by far the greatest threat to any child walking to school. Make sure your kids stay on the sidewalk and only cross at crosswalks. Remember to remind your children to never, ever stop to talk to strangers on the way to and from school and, most importantly, never to get into any vehicle with a stranger. These could potentially be life threatening situations. Continue reading
The state of Florida has the second highest total number of heat related deaths of children being left unattended in a vehicle. More than half of vehicular heatstroke cases from 1998 to 2018 were because an adult forgot about a child, according to NoHeatstroke.org. Additionally, every year pets suffer and die when their guardians make the mistake of leaving them unattended in a parked vehicle to “run in for just a minute” at the local store. The Lady Lake Police Department is committed to informing and educating parents and pet owners on the dangers of leaving children and pets unattended in a vehicle and taking precautions to help prevent these tragic situations.
Leaving a child or a pet in a hot car even for a short period of time can be dangerous, even if parked in a shade or with the windows cracked. A vehicle’s glass transparency allows for the sun’s rays to heat up the inside essentially creating a vacuum of heat. Within minutes a car that was just being cooled can experience a spike in temperature. On a sunny day, when outside temperatures are 70 degrees the inside temperature of a vehicle can rise to 89 degrees within 10 minutes and 104 degrees within 30 minutes. At 80 degrees outside, the inside temperature of a vehicle can rise to 94 degrees in 10 minutes and soar up to 114 degrees in 30 minutes. Continue reading
Florida loses more children under age five to drowning than any other state. Annually in Florida, enough children to fill three to four preschool classrooms drown and do not live to see their fifth birthday.
It only takes a minute. You look away, you may not hear the splash and your child is nowhere in sight. Drowning – the harsh reality of losing a child in as little as 20 seconds.
Sadly, there are approximately 3500 fatal unintentional (non-boating) drowning deaths a year in the United States. The Lady Lake Police Department is committed to educating parents and caregivers about taking precautions to help end these preventable tragedies.Living in Central Florida, we are surrounded by water. Although children may know how to swim, if left unsupervised, they can drown in less than two inches of water. When participating in outdoor water activities, I encourage you to follow these safety-conscious behaviors: Continue reading
Information furnished by Chief Tempest
Experience has taught us that the best thing to do before a hurricane is prepare, so you can be confident during a storm that you’ve done everything you can to keep your family safe. As your Chief of Police, I want you to know that during a hurricane, the men and women of the Lady Lake Police Department are here to help, but the responsibility of preparation begins with you! As a local law enforcement agency, we work with our local, state, and federal partners to improve our response, cooperation, and communication during hurricanes. Just as we at LLPD plan for unexpected weather emergencies, there is plenty you can do to make yourselves, your families and your homes ready for hurricane season. Don’t wait for a storm to threaten!
First, create a disaster supply kit that will last your family three to seven days. Ask yourself what you would need if you couldn’t get to a grocery store, pharmacy, bank or gas station for several days. Your kit should include a gallon per person per day of water, non-perishable food, a can opener, blankets and pillows, rain gear and sturdy shoes, first aid items, prescription drugs, toiletries, a flashlight and batteries, a battery-operated radio, a fully-charged cell phone as well as a non-cordless phone. Pack any special food, medicines or supplies you might need for an infant, an elderly person or a pet. Make sure you have credit cards and cash on hand and gas in your vehicle. Put all of your important documents such as insurance and medical records, bank account numbers and your social security card in a waterproof container or waterproof plastic bag. You can research more at Continue reading
As the holiday season approaches, many Lady Lake residents will be gathering with family and friends to celebrate. Whether you are traveling out of town or hosting festivities at home, the Lady Lake Police Department wants you to be safe. Here is a security checklist to help protect your home and family.
Before you leave town it is important to make sure your home appears occupied. Place timers on your lights and set them to turn on and off at different times. Lock your garage door and disconnect the automatic opener. Most importantly, tell a trusted neighbor that you are going to be away and ask them to dial 911 immediately if they see anyone on your property.
Here are some additional home security tips to keep in mind:
- Install good locks on all doors and windows and always use them.
- Stop newspaper and mail deliveries, and never hide a spare key outside,
- Give that spare key to a trusted neighbor and provide them with an emergency telephone number where they can reach you.
- Have someone mow your lawn if you’ll be away more than a couple of weeks.
- Turn down your telephone ringer so no one outside can hear repeated rings, and never leave a message on your telephone answering machine stating you are out of town.
- Leave your window blinds as you normally would if you were home.
- Invite your neighbor to park their car in your driveway or have a friend move yours if you left it at home.
- Do not post holiday travel plans on social networking sites.
The term “Multi-modal” is commonly used to describe shared use paths since it accommodates multiple forms of transit.
Multi-modal or Shared Use Paths are paved, off-street travel ways designed to serve nonmotorized travelers. Across our community, golf carts and bicyclists are typically the most common users of shared-use paths. However, shared-use paths are frequently also used by pedestrians, roller skaters, skateboarders, wheelchair users, and users of many other modes except automotive.
Diamonds painted on the road indicate a restricted lane, which means only vehicles meeting certain criteria may use the lane. This is usually further indicated by a sign with the same diamond on it, displayed overhead of the lane or at the side of the road, or painted on the lane, which describes the restriction.
Local government agencies are frequently asked who is allowed to use the Multi-modal paths.
Within the Town of Lady Lake, Avenida Central, Del Mar Drive, Rio Grand Avenue and Chula Vista Avenue all have side lanes with the diamond painted on them. These are designated as PED or pedestrian lanes. It is a common misunderstanding that these lanes are dedicated for golf carts use only. These are considered “Shared Use” lanes since pedestrians, bicycles, and golf carts may utilize them. Continue reading
Lake County and all of Florida are safer today thanks to a new state law that gives law enforcement a valuable tool to prevent gun violence by helping keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who demonstrate an obvious threat to themselves or others.
Florida joined a handful of states earlier this year when it passed the Risk Protection Order Act (RPO), or red flag law, spurred to much-needed action in response to the tragedy in Parkland, Florida. This important law, passed with bipartisan support in the state legislature, allows law enforcement to remove firearms and ammunition from violent or mentally ill individuals while affording citizens their due process.
The process for obtaining an RPO is straightforward and puts the decision to remove guns in the hands of a judge. First, law enforcement files a petition listing the statement, actions or facts which give rise to a reasonable fear of significant dangerous acts by respondent. The petition is heard by a Judge within 24 hours to determine if there is reasonable cause to believe the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to themselves or others in the near future by having in their custody any firearm or ammunition. If granted, the respondent is served with the temporary order, and they must immediately surrender their firearms, ammunition and concealed weapons license pending a final hearing. Continue reading
