WAFC Local News – March 02, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Henry County commissioners encouraged to add security cameras to fight vandalism at the Pioneer Community Association. Fred Mosley gave this recent report. We do lack a lot on our security cameras. We need some from the inside of the building and it is detrimental to the men that come out there to mow their grass. I don’t know why people wanna come out there in ATVs and pickup trucks and sew and do donuts out in the yard. Several residents objected to code violations involving large trucks in Wheeler Estates at recent meetings. Randy Wheeler wants to get these trucks out of his neighborhood. Wheeler subdivision is our home, our home. We will not stand by and see our community overrun with semi trucks, dump trucks, other large commercial vehicles that exceed the number allowed, which is one per acre and a quarter. Constantine Morales says the trucks have ruined a peaceful neighborhood. They don’t respect anybody. They start their trucks behind my neighbor’s house at four o’clock in the morning to warm them up and it’s like the entire neighborhood is rattling. Other residents complained about illegal dumping in Wheeler Estates. County Commissioner Mitchell Wills asked for a dedicated deputy for that neighborhood. There is a deputy assigned now to serve Montura. Palm Beach schools are concerned about dwindling enrollment and state funding. It is just very grim right now. School board member Marsha Andrews says some districts have imposed hiring freezes. She told the school board about the questions she has about funding. But I don’t know how we’re gonna be able to make it through this the way we’ve done in the past. Florida’s expansion of voucher for families who want to enroll their children in private schools is leading to tighter budgets at public schools. The Republican-led Florida legislature two years ago passed a bill that eliminated the income requirement for families to receive these vouchers. Currently, 1.3 million students in the state are attending private schools. Glades County Manager Paul Carlyle explained the recent decision to impose a burn ban. And for the record, I want to make sure that we understand that this does not affect agricultural burns, U.S. forestry burns, or the license or permitted burns issued by the state of Florida, the Division of Forestry. This is strictly for outdoor burning and for recreational burning, other than cooking. Carlyle says rainfall is well below normal and there’s no relief in sight. Chairman Tim Stanley says he thinks Lake Okeechobee could get very low this spring, as low as eight feet, and that’ll cause major navigation problems. Glades commissioners heard from a Mews resident who wants help because of a lack of drainage on his property. Manager Carlyle says they can’t single out people and possibly impact others and need a regional plan. The city of Pahokee is asking the state for $950,000 to help bring a hurricane shelter to the Eddie Lee Rose Gym. They also want a grant to demuck portions of Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Pahokee also has a new director of economic development as Peggy Boulais-Washington returned to the job from the city of Belle Glade. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).