Students from The Villages Elementary of Lady Lake were honored for their work in Lady Lakes annual Water Conservation Poster Contest during the Town Commission meeting. This year’s theme was “How I can save water for my future?” Participants included students in kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as ESE students, with 18 winners selected by a panel of judges including Lady Lake Commissioners and members of the Town’s Water Conservation Committee.

Left to right – Tracy L Hauserman of Surface Water Professionals, Commissioner Ed Regan, Mayor Ed Freeman, student Rosalina Licari, Mayor Pro Tem Treva Roberts, and Commissioner Amanda McLea.

Left to right – Commissioner Ed Regan, Mayor Ed Freeman, student Freya Rager, Mayor Pro Tem Treva Roberts, and Commissioner Amanda McLea.

The log cabin was the Lady Lake Chamber for years. Actually it was named in history as its Chambers home. The Lady Lake Chamber needed something a little more modern, so they moved into a building that was available in Fruitland Park Florida. The Janet & Leslie are excited. I am also because I always felt that the building was stuffy, smelling and moldy.

I went to their ribbon cutting to take pictures to share with you  and probably a hundred more members showed up., Plenty of parking, they had a food truck, a DJ, snacks, door prizes, I think it will be great, I would like it to be a little further north, but it is a nice building.

I am looking forward to the future of the Chambers Growth. If anyone can do it the ladies go the chamber and the members can!  TomL said that! One last thing join the Chamber call 352-753-6029

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The Lady Lake referral luncheon was a great success. In March it was at the Texas Roadhouse Grill and it was move earlier by one week to avoid conflict with Billy Berg Mac & Cheese event. As you can see by the pictures there was plenty of door prizes. Lot’s of business information and ideas were shared.

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The Villages Charter School is taking agriculture education to the next level with a state-of-the-art hydroponic fodder farm. This innovative facility allows students to experience modern feed production and agricultural technology firsthand.

Integrated into the school’s agriscience and animal science programs, the modular system fosters experiential learning while introducing students to controlled environment agriculture and its importance for resilient food systems.

Designed and manufactured by FarmBox Foods, the fodder farm is part of a larger initiative that includes deploying hydroponic fodder farms and vertical hydroponic farms across four Sumter County Schools.

The Villages Charter School, a K-12 workforce development hub, serves as an economic development tool for The Villages community, educating children whose parents work for The Villages corporation or its partner businesses. Continue reading →

LADY LAKE — The Lady Lake Police Department has charged a man with attempted murder and aggravated battery following a stabbing that occurred Friday evening near Veterans Memorial Park in The Villages.

On March 7, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office notified the Lady Lake Department of a stabbing victim facing life threatening injuries being treated at UF Health Spanish Plaines in Sumter County. He was later airlifted to UF Health Shands in Gainesville where he underwent surgery and survived. Investigators determined the incident occurred in a parking lot near Veterans Memorial Park on Paige Place in Lady Lake (The Villages) at around 8 p.m.

According to investigators, the altercation involved the victim, a 39-year-old male, and the suspect, William Tyler Warren, 42, and reportedly stemmed from a dispute involving a female acquaintance.  Continue reading →

LADY LAKE — The Lady Lake Police Department has made its first arrest using the department’s new license plate reader (LPR) camera system, demonstrating how technology can assist officers in identifying stolen vehicles and apprehending suspects.

On March 10 at around 3:30 p.m., Lady Lake officers were alerted by the department’s Safety LPR system that a stolen vehicle was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 27/441 near Avenida Central. The car had been entered into the National Crime Information Center database as stolen through the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers conducted a search of the area and found the car in the parking lot of Publix on Bichara Boulevard. Sgt. Heather Couch located and arrested the vehicle’s driver, later identified as suspect Stephanie Lynn Barbee, 37.
During the investigation, officers determined Barbee had been in possession of the car for two days. A search of the vehicle uncovered a bag containing a crystal-like substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine and weighed 1.29 grams. Officers also recovered pills later identified as benzodiazepine.  Continue reading →

LADY LAKE – The Lady Lake Police Department, in partnership with American Legion Post #347, are hosting the second annual “Shred it and Forget it,” a free drive-through shredding event to help protect seniors from scams.

The event will take place on Saturday, April 25 from 9 – 11:30 a.m. (or until capacity is met) at Post 347, located at 699 W. Lady Lake Blvd. Residents are invited to drive through with a limit of two banker boxes of documents to be shredded, free of charge. The event is open to all area residents and will be held rain or shine. Last year, approximately 1,000 people attended, successfully shredding 20,000 pounds of documents.

The event is another opportunity offered by the Town in its ongoing efforts to help residents avoid scams and fraud.

“This shredding event gives residents a simple, secure way to dispose of sensitive documents and protect their personal information – especially during tax season,” said Lady Lake Police Chief Steve Hunt.  “Properly shredding old financial records, medical paperwork and other confidential materials helps prevent identity theft and keeps private information out of the wrong hands.”  Continue reading →

The Orange Blossom Lions Club of Lady Lake recently donated $5,500 to fully fund the Lady Lake Library’s 2026 Children’s Summer Reading Program. Their generous support will help inspire thousands of children in the community to keep reading and learning all summer long.

Pictured: (Left) Barbara Crewel, president of the Lions Club of Orange Blossom Gardens/Lady Lake and (right) Aly Herman, Lady Lake Library director.