CYPRESS GARDENS FILES CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

Adventure Parks Group, LLC, the parent company of Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven and Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday after an adverse legal ruling in Bartow related to $17 million in insurance claims from damage that the Cypress Gardens park received from Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne in 2002.

APG owner Kent Buescher was at Cypress Gardens to meet with employees and the media Tuesday. He said that the bankruptcy petition would allow both parks to continue running normally, that no layoffs would occur, and that creditors would be paid. The proceeding allows the company time to present a business plan to the court for approval.

Cypress Gardens has been, according to Buescher, successful to date with a 16 percent increase in attendance over last year and is expected to see 1.3 million visitors by the end of the year.

Here are stories on this week's events, along with background of the insurance battle, from the Lakeland Ledger and the Valdosta Daily Times.