Coming this April 4 is Auburndale CityFest! This new city event will be a day of fun and festivity at the Lake Myrtle Sports Park. We will have carnival rides, live music, food, and games for everyone to enjoy.

This year, we will be combining our annual Touch-a-Truck with CityFest so you can enjoy a show of utility and service vehicles as a part of the event. Stay tuned as we will release more details about this brand-new event!

On 2/20/20, an unknown white male burglarized a business, Party People Events, located at 906 Magnolia Avenue in Auburndale. The suspect appears to be driving a blue colored, late 1990’s or early 2000’s SUV, possibly a Chevrolet Blazer or GMC Jimmy. If you have any information regarding this burglary, please contact Detective Harry Anderson at 863-837-5151.

STREET CLOSURE ALERT

CSX is planning to make track upgrades that will require the closure of the Main Street Railroad Crossing in Downtown Auburndale on the morning of Friday, February 21 at 5:00 a.m. They are planning to reopen the crossing by 8:00 p.m. on Saturday evening.

Main Street traffic will be detoured to bypass crossings. Congestion and travel delays are expected. Motorists should drive carefully, observes signs redirecting traffic, and add time to trips through Downtown Auburndale.

Auburndale recognizes these repairs are necessary and will make for better driving conditions when completed. Thank you for your patience as we anticipate the completion of these repairs.

Here's a look at the Auburndale Public Library's calendar this month.

On Thursday, February 13, Pikachu's Valentine Carnival will be happening from 5:00pm - 6:30pm. All ages are welcome to come celebrate love & Pokemon with fun games, party snacks, and prizes.

Be sure to mark your calendars for next month's Renaissance Fair! Travel back to the age of knights, kings & queens on Thursday, March 12, from 3pm - 7pm at Bridgers Park, (next to the Public Library).

Please share this phone scam alert - we've seen a couple of news stories lately about a new phone scam that's disturbing, and we want you to be aware so you won't be a victim.

Citizens have reported receiving unsolicited text messages from unfamiliar phone numbers that contain disturbing images depicting mutilated bodies and decapitated heads. If or when the message is replied to, the unknown sender will claim they are members of a Drug Cartel; their purpose is to scare the recipients into paying money out of fear of being targeted for acts of violence. These messages may even include pictures of the recipient’s home, or information about the recipient gleaned from open sources (name, address, family members), such as Google and social media.

This has become a nationally recognized scam and the perpetrators have utilized a vast array of phone numbers that appear to be local, but are in fact owned by Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) companies.

First and foremost NEVER REPLY TO A TEXT FROM SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW. And do NOT click links in text messages unless they were solicited by you while conducting business on the internet.

If you receive a text message like we've described, please notify law enforcement and do not engage in a conversation with the sender.

Here are two news stories from GA and VA about this new scam:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/phone-scam-targets-alexandria-couple/65-e608a19d-4384-4913-b69d-807e907c06c7

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/pictures-of-decapitated-bodies-scam/85-9d283121-b0be-454e-bd76-4e1d82320463

#PCSO #ScamAlert #PhoneScam #DontBeAVictim