WAFC Local News – November 18, 2025, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. An ambulance will be at the Pioneer Fire Station more regularly beginning today. Fire Chief Amy Stafford says they don’t have the staff to be full-time yet all the time. She had some interest in becoming paramedics. EMTs are paid $52,000 a year. Dual certified is $62,000. Paramedics start at $61,000. And those that are dual certified, $71,000. For now, they’ll have one shift per day at the Pioneer Station. We’ll have two in Clewiston. We’ll have two in LaBelle. The one in Mews and the one in Pioneer on that shift. The next day when we don’t have that Pioneer unit, then we’ll staff it in LaBelle. I don’t want to have six units one day and then four units another day. So we’re going to keep the level of service where it is. It’s just a matter of where that unit’s going to be. The City of South Bay considering creating a new position of Assistant City Manager. It would focus on media relations, outreach and economic development. This City Manager, Leandre Camel, justifying the position. To advance South Bay’s long-term economic development, strengthen daily operations and position our city as a regional ecotourism destination. The City is planning to apply for funding through the Florida Department of Commerce for ecotourism. The South Florida Water Management District continues to focus on storage around Lake Oogachobee and plan nine underground storage wells. Executive Director Drew Bartlett says the huge C-43 reservoir in our area is some 10,000 acres with water 20 feet deep. I did the math. The ten largest university campuses in Florida you can fit inside this reservoir. It’s that big a footprint. Henry County continues to impose new regulations for things on grave sites and county cemeteries. There was some concern raised about placing flags on graves at certain times of the year. Administrator Jennifer Davis wants to follow the flag regulations that they have at Arlington National Cemetery. What is their policy? And he did that. And he got some of that language out of their policy and inserted it into ours for the American flag and things like that. So we’re making sure that we’re supporting. Some things we’re not allowing, but we want to make sure we allow things like that, for example. Clades County is hiring as they have a number of positions. Assistant County Manager, emergency medical technicians and firefighters, a laborer, a paramedic with firefighter certification, a parks and recreation groundskeeper, a veteran service officer, which is part-time, and paramedics. Moorhaven would like to expand their seawall and help bring more boaters to town with a private marina project. The Granger Group purchased nine acres south of the river. The request is for $1.9 million from the state. They have supported a $375,000 grant for replacing the roof at the Doyle-Conner building. Manager Larry Tibbs also wants money for an automated meter replacement. You give the capability to the resident to be able to do anything they want to with their service. They can turn it on, shut it off, do other kinds of things. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).