WAFC Local News – June 08, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Henry County Commissioner Rowdy Howard says he’d like the county to consider the purchase of the Belhatchie Marina near LaBelle. Looking at Belhatchie Marina as a possible purchase. He says the marina has some value. Belhatchie has some good assets in there. They have buildings that can be leased. They have a large boat ramp and an ordinary boat ramp for pleasure boats. South Bay Mayor Joe Kiles continued to complain about sod trucks beating up and damaging city streets they try to repair. Street repair has been a priority of the current commission. Kiles mentioned Northwest First Street getting damaged by these trucks. He’d like the city to take some steps to keep the trucks off the road. But now since we’re reconstructing our roads in the city of South Bay, I don’t want them coming in the city at all and refer to those sod trucks. Find another route. Clades County Schools will place two referendums on the ballot this year. One will allow them to shift dollars from capital projects to operating expenses. Another would impose a half-cent sales tax for schools to improve technology, security and small capital projects. That is not an increase in taxes whatsoever. That’s school board member Crystal Drake. She explained what the half-cent sales tax will do. That tax we are estimating will increase our revenue by approximately $300,000, which is not a lot of money in today’s economy, but it will help us to make sure that we are providing technical upgrades, enhancing security measures and small capital projects. Drake says it’s hard to budget when you can lose funding from student enrollment. It’s like you’re working at a job and then suddenly you get a pay cut and then you’ve already bought a new car. What are you going to do? Drake says they lost 25 students in the last count this year and it cost the district about $200,000. The referendums will be on the November ballot. A Moorhaven man, 42-year-old Irvie Ponce, is facing charges of drug possession. Clades County deputies found a suspicious vehicle in the middle of the road on Ortona Locks Road. Deputies say the male individual in the driver’s seat was slumped over, attempted several times to turn on the pickup, and said he had been there for days. He said the truck had been disabled. Deputies say they noticed the suspect’s pants were pulled around his ankles and his speech was rapid. Clades County EMS was dispatched to the scene and assessed Ponce for any medical issues, but he refused transport. They found a quantity of methamphetamine in a plastic bag in the vehicle. Bond and the case was set at $5,000. A LaBelle man got caught up in an investigation into racketeering conducted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The gang unit had secured a search warrant and executed the warrant on Lampkin Circle in LaBelle. During the search, they found two hunting rifles in a shed. 48-year-old Lyndall Bush is a convicted felon. He was faced with a charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).