WAFC Local News – March 31, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. The Clewison City Commission discussed setbacks for sheds after a permit was denied a local resident. The city charges $500 for these permits. Chris Cooper says he’s patient and tries to explain the reasons when a permit is denied. He heads the building department. He says the applicant had a bad reaction upon the denial. Not wanting to come in and cuss at my employees and then storm out the door. He didn’t ask to talk to me. He came in and cussed at Leslie and then stormed out the door. The applicant wanted the shed five feet from the property line. The city regulation is seven and a half feet. Some cities are as far away as 10 feet. City Attorney Kaylee Tuck suggested pre-application meetings with residents so that city officials could answer questions and give further guidance on these permits. Clades County Sheriff David Harton announcing a huge drug bust in Moorhaven. The DEA, Henry County’s finest and Okeechobee contributed to the investigation. Clarence Hunter Jr. and Darren Hallback are facing charges of drug trafficking. The operation seized 816 grams of cocaine, 372 grams of fentanyl, 2 grams of heroin, 16.9 grams of hydrocodone, and some oxycodone and Xanax. Lieutenant Gary Johnson says $15,140 in U.S. currency was also located. Moorhaven Council Member Roshandra Crosky wants to kick mosquito control out of City Hall. She’d like them to hold board meetings somewhere else. I’d like to make a request for the mosquito control to conduct their meetings and do their books outside the City Hall. I don’t think it should be inside the City Hall. She didn’t explain her request but the city does provide some clerical and billing services for mosquito control. The employee assigned is reimbursed by the district. Mayor Clay Browning had this opinion on relocating mosquito control. So it’s not just as easy as let’s kick them out. There’s a little bit more to it than that. I see your point, Sean. It’s tying up some city time that doesn’t need to be tied up. City Attorney Steve Ramooney says it is legitimate to allow them to continue to use City Hall. The City of Pahokee, looking at the hiring process for City Manager, Commissioner James Scott, questioned why there were applicants allowed after the deadline. They had three applicants including the interim but then a fourth application appeared. The city says the application was submitted on time but they had an email failure. Because if we said we was done taking applicants, we should have been done. Scott says the situation makes the city look bad again. It’s not a big deal to me. It’s just don’t look professional. Okay. That’s what I’m saying. But then it don’t look fair. Fair to who? A 37-year-old Henry County man is accused of felony littering on some private property. Henry County Sheriff Deputies say it was a vacant lot. Deputies say they actually saw the man dump the litter in the vacant lot. The suspect, Alexander Figueroa Rios, says the dump truck got stuck in the dirt. He claimed his boss had gotten permission to dump on the property. There was over 500 pounds of trash dumped on the site with several piles of construction material. The investigation into that incident continues. A 31-year-old Clewiston man, Damian Pate, is facing charges of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and misdemeanor battery. Sheriff Deputies say a female had visible welts on her forehead. She said the suspect had fled the scene in a black and white dirt bike. Deputies say the pair apparently was being evicted by their landlord. The victim says that the suspect threw a trash can that hit her in the forehead. They found four mini shotgun shells and a black shotgun sleeve in the living room of the home. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).