HOMELESS HELP: A Lakeland family is no longer homeless after receiving a Continuum of Care (COC) grant. The Homeless Coalition of Polk County oversees the COC grant and divides the $1.6 million between the Talbot House, the Agency for Community Treatment Services Inc. Tri-County Human Services Inc., and Wilson House.

HEALTH ALERT: After a third case of rabies was found this week, Polk County health officials are extending the rabies alert area into most of Lakeland. “The alert area roughly comprises a rectangle bordered by the Hillsborough County border on the west, West Socrum Loop Road on the north, Berkeley and Thornhill roads on the east and the Polk Parkway on the south.”

BIKELAKELANDERS: Bicyclists Dale Jacobs and Stuart McMartin completed their 600-mile charity bike ride from the Florida-Georgia line to Key West. The pair raised $21,000 for the Wogan S. Badcock unit of the Boys and Girls Club of Lakeland.

LAWLAKELANDER: Retired Florida Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis joined Florida Southern College as its first Eminent Professor of Law and Letters. Lewis was a student athlete at the school in the mid-1960s.

UPDATES: 11-year-old student arrested after flag pledge kerfuffle. | County continues investigation into Capt. James Williams for possibly shooting Snapchat video at second fire.

KINDNESS: To combat bullying, Sleepy Hill Middle School Principal Kathryn Blackburn instituted “Kindness Day” at the school Thursday. The program found a variety of ways for the children to encourage kindness in each other and themselves.

FIRE: Coverage continued of the Lakeland file that claimed the life of Lorretta Pickard. A press conference with County Fire Chief Tony Stravino and Deputy County Manager Joe Halman was held Wednesday. | The Florida Fire Chiefs Association announced they will investigate whether Capt. James Williams properly handled the response to the Nov. 23 fire. | Polk County Fire Rescue released a series of photos from the fire.

SCHOOL BUS: To give Citrus Connection a chance to apply for state grants to serve two schools that serve profoundly disabled students, their board of directors asked Polk County Public Schools to wait until the 2020-2021 school year to eliminate school bus service to a dozen charter school campuses in the county. Citrus Connection Executive Director Tom Phillips also asked that some schools they serve start at a later time in order to utilize existing routes.

DOG SHOW: It’s “the best time you can have without a poop bag,” said Trent Rowe, the coordinator and vendor chair for this weekend’s Strawberry Cluster Dog Show at Lakeland Linder International Airport’s Sun ’n Fun area. Human admission is free, but it cost $5 to park a car. In addition to the usual dog show grooming competition, there will be retrieving, dock diving, hunting, and tests for handling stressful situations. (The dogs, not the handlers.) The show is Feb. 15 – 18, 8 a.m. to late afternoon each day.