Grego takes job at state agency

Former Osceola County Schools Superintendent Michael A. Grego has been selected to serve as interim chancellor for K-12 for the Florida Board of Education.

Grego, chosen by outgoing Commissioner Eric Smith, will be replacing current K-12 Chancellor Frances Haithcock, who departed Friday.

Grego resigned from the Osceola County School District suddenly in March after some heated exchanges with the School Board Chairman Cindy Hartig during regular board meetings.

Before coming to Osceola County, Grego had been an assistant superintendent for Hillsborough County schools.

Meetings set on county block grant annual plan

Osceola County has scheduled a number of community meetings to provide input on its proposed 2011-12 Community Development Block Grant Program Annual Action Plan and to discuss additional community needs.

The county receives an annual allocation of funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In accordance with the Housing and Community Development Act, the primary objective of the county’s development grant program is the development of viable urban communities, including decent housing, a suitable living environment and the expansion of economic opportunities for low and moderate income persons.

HUD allocated $1,080,817 to the county for the 2011-12 fiscal year. In order to receive that allocation, the county must submit a spending plan to HUD prior to Aug. 15.

Meeting dates, times and locations are listed below:

• Thursday, June 16, at 6 p.m., Intercession City Civic Center, 1525 Immokalee St., Intercession City.

• Wednesday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m., Robert Guevara Community Center, Buenaventura Lakes, 501 Florida Parkway.

• Thursday, July 7, at 6 p.m., Poinciana Community Center, 397 Marigold Ave., Poinciana.

For more information or special accommodations, contact Jamie Rowland at 407-742-8405 or jboy2@osceola.org.

Lane closures on Boggy Creek Road

As part of the ongoing Boggy Creek Road resurfacing project, construction crews will be closing lanes on the roadway during daytime hours beginning Tuesday and extending through Friday, Aug. 12.

The project has been under way for several weeks with nighttime lane closures. These daytime closures are in place during the summer months, when school is out of session; daytime lane closures will end once school resumes in August.

Signs will be onsite to notify drivers of the work, which will start at 6 a.m. and be completed by 6 p.m. daily.

The project involves the box culvert extension at Jim Branch Creek as well as milling and resurfacing the two-lane road from the Narcoossee and Boggy Creek roads intersection to just south of the Boggy Creek Road and Boggy Creek Road intersection. The project is scheduled to be completed by autumn.

Motorists are urged to use caution when approaching this area, as there will be temporary lane closures, but no road closures, and possibly reduced speed limits in certain areas. Traffic delays can be expected.  Schedules could vary according to weather and equipment-related issues.

For more information, contact the Osceola County Community Outreach/Public Information Office at 407-742-0100.

Lane shifts on Nolte Road

Due to the installation of a storm culvert pipe under Nolte Road by Canoe Creek Road, there will be lane shifts on Nolte Road beginning Monday and extending through Wednesday.

Crews will be working nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the duration of the project.

On Monday, night crews will be working across the eastbound lanes of Nolte Road: westbound Nolte Road traffic at Canoe Creek Road will be single-laned to the outside lane; eastbound traffic will be single-laned and detoured at the median, opening to the westbound inside lane. Traffic at the intersection of Nolte and Canoe Creek roads will have a police officer directing traffic.

On Tuesday night, crews will be working across the westbound lanes: eastbound traffic will be single-laned to the outside lane, westbound traffic will be detoured to the inside eastbound side. The intersection will be controlled by the traffic signals.

Wednesday night is scheduled for paving.

Motorists are urged to use caution when approaching this area, as there will be temporary lane closures, but no road closures, and possibly reduced speed limits in certain areas.  Traffic delays can be expected.  Schedules could vary according to weather and equipment-related issues.

For more information, contact the Osceola County Community Outreach/Public Information Office at 407-742-0100.

Volunteer readers needed

To celebrate not only the longest day of the year but also the first official day of summer, Heart of Florida United Way June 21 is kicking off the first of what it hopes will be an annual Day of Action with the goal of mobilizing communities around education, Lorri Highet, director of the agency’s volunteer resource center, said.

Up to 60 volunteers can sign up for time slots to read to some of the 280 elementary-school aged children enrolled in summer camp at the Boys and Girls Club-Tupperware Branch in Kissimmee, the only site in Osceola County. Other sites are available in surrounding Central Florida counties.  

Volunteers have the opportunity to read books the organization provides at the sites or they can chose to bring a book off the summer reading list posted on the United Way’s website.

The organization hopes to recruit 1 million volunteers to read, mentor or tutor schoolchildren within three years as part of this initiative. Additionally, the organization hopes to cut the number of high school dropouts in half by 2018.

Registration is open for the June 21 event online at www.hfuw.org or by calling Highet at 407-849-2373.