Traffic flow shifted on Lakeshore

The city of Kissimmee and Burkhardt Construction have announced that the traffic flow on Lakeshore Boulevard will be shifted to the south side to allow for utility work to be completed. The work began Monday.

For more information, contact Burkhardt Construction at 407-847-3737.

Political forum on tap

The Osceola County Business and Taxpayers Association at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, will sponsor a free and public political forum for the Osceola County School Board district 5, County Commission district 4 and Florida House of Representatives district 79 races.

The forum will be at the Heartcry Chapel, 2244 E. U.S. Highway 192, Kissimmee (in the old Kmart Plaza, just east of Simpson Road).

Ranch Rodeo Friday and Saturday

The return of the 2010 Florida Ranch Rodeo Finals to Kissimmee this weekend brings recognition to the lives and skills of the state’s ranch workers.

From wild cow milking and colt riding to team doctoring and cattle sorting, the activities showcase day-to-day ranch activities from Florida’s agricultural community rather than professional rodeo competition.

Sponsored by the Florida Cattlemen’s Association in conjunction with the Silver Spurs Riding Club, the 2010 Rodeo Finals and free Cowboy Heritage Festival are Friday and Saturday. The events will be at the Silver Spurs Arena, at Osceola Heritage Park, 1875 Silver Spur Lane, between Kissimmee and St. Cloud.

Ranch Rodeo action begins at 7 p.m. Friday, and Saturday, Oct. 2. To further bring attention to Cracker Cowboy heritage, Saturday’s festival from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. features a myriad of activities:  Cracker cow camps and storytelling; cowboy poetry and artwork; saddle, spur and whip-making demonstrations; leather crafts; swamp cabbage cooking; whip-cracking contest and more. A new addition to add flavor to the festival is a beef brisket cook-off. Attendees will have an opportunity to sample the entries and vote on the people’s choice favorite.

Competing rodeo teams are made up of men and women who have generations of ranching experience behind them, and most of whom are raising the next generation of Florida ranchers. Teams, who are competing for “buckles and bragging rights,” qualified for the finals at one of 12 regional events across the state.

Rodeo tickets are $10; free for ages 10 and younger. Admission to the Cowboy Heritage Festival is free for all. For more information, visit www.FloridaCattlemen.org.

Collection days to change

The city of Kissimmee Sanitation Division will be making changes to the collection days for some of its garbage, yard waste and bulk waste routes, effective Monday.

Door hangers explaining which service will be provided on which day will be placed on the doors of the homes that will see changes.

The neighborhoods that will be affected are primarily along the John Young Parkway corridor from The Oaks to the Bermuda Bay subdivisions. For neighborhoods west of John Young Parkway or houses in The Oaks and Estancia, services will be provided on Tuesdays and Fridays. For neighborhoods east of John Young Parkway or houses in the Amberwood subdivision, services will be provided on Mondays and Thursdays.

These changes are being made in an effort to reorganize the routes and better serve residents.

For more information, contact the Sanitation Division at 407-518-2507.

One Month To Live campaign

One Month To Live is a month-long campaign being hosted by Higher Ground Church at 5563 S. Orange Blossom Trail/U.S. Highway 17-92 in Intercession City beginning Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

The campaign aims to bring individuals from all walks of life to consider the question, “What would you do if you only had 30 days to live?” When considering this question, many have responded with a wide host of perceived projections, to include adjustments to life priorities.

“After being brought to a place of contemplating the question, ‘What would you do if you only had 30 days left to live,’ we find ourselves coming face to face with an accompanying question, ‘Why aren’t we doing those things now?’” Don Hand, senior pastor at the church, said.

From the youngest to the oldest, this question provokes varying degrees of consideration as one engages in set aside times of life introspection.

This campaign is open to the public and will be in operation during October, on both Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday nights at 7 p.m.

Higher Ground Church is 4.3 miles west of the Pleasant Hill Road intersection. For more information, go to www.HGConline.org and click on the GPS button on the home page to obtain directions from your location, or call 407-908-1668.

Work on locks is progressing

Work is progressing on the refurbishment of four navigation locks throughout the Kissimmee Basin that allow boaters to travel from the city of Kissimmee to Lake Okeechobee. The locks are expected to reopen by the end of the year.

Built in the early 1960s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this is the first time the locks – managed by the South Florida Water Management District – have undergone a complete renovation. The four navigation locks are S-61, at the south end of Lake Tohopekaliga; S-65, at the south end of Lake Kissimmee; S-65A, at the northern stretches of the Kissimmee River; and S-65D, at the Kissimmee River, approximately 15 miles north of Lake Okeechobee. S-61, the busiest of the four navigation locks, moved 2,700 boats in 2009 alone.

Scheduling the renovation of all four locks at the same time saved taxpayers approximately $480,000 in design and engineering costs, district officials said. The winning bids for all four-lock refurbishments totaled $9.4 million.

Each navigation lock will receive new concrete, paint, utilities and mechanisms to operate the lock doors. The locks allow boats to navigate around water control structures, providing navigation from the Upper Chain of Lakes to Lake Okeechobee. Their purpose is purely navigational and they have no impact on water flow or flood protection.

During the renovation, boaters and outdoor enthusiasts will still be able to access the restored Kissimmee River at various locations, such as the Istokpoga Canal Boat Ramp Area near the border between Highlands and Okeechobee counties, or the S-65C boat ramp near Lorida. Travel is also possible between S-65A and S-65D, which includes about 24 miles of restored river channel and 14 miles of the channelized Kissimmee River.

For more information, contact the district’s Orlando Service Center at 407-858-6100 or its Okeechobee Service Center at 863-462-5260.