News Cast 10/13

News Cast for 10/13:

Ranchers feeling the impacts

42 percent of the cattle herds in Florida were impacted by Hurricane Ian.

Pastures were saturated, trees blown down, fences damaged, and barns damaged.

Jim Handley, Executive Vice President of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association said thankfully there were no human deaths from the storm on ranches.

“The ranchers are still very busy trying to get nutrition to their cattle especially where there is still standing water in the pasture.  We’ve been busy sending out hay and feed to help as many people as we can along with fence and chain saw crews.  The storm hammered us.”

One dairy farm in Mayaca City lost 200 head during the storm.

One local dairy was delayed in their milking by a power outage.

FEMA is sending out disaster survivor assistant teams into Okeechobee neighborhoods hit hard by Hurricane Ian starting today.

They will ask questions of residents about your experience and damage from the storm.

They will also explain to you the many federal programs now available to help them recover.

Aid includes individual assistance, money for lodging and temporary housing, home and personal property repairs, and even vehicle costs.

A large fentanyl operation in Florida.  Over 50 pounds of the drug were seized along with 380 pounds of methamphetamine, 45 guns, $150,000 in suspected drug cash, and smaller amounts of cocaine, oxycodone and heroin.

Hendry County and Highlands County Sheriff Deputies were part of the investigation.

Hendry Sheriff Steve Whidden said this operation was a success.

“The amount in narcotics and the uptick in narcotics we have seen in Hendry County over the past two years is due to an open border.  It needs to stop.  The president needs to get on the stick and stop the open border.  If it is not stopped more people are going to die.”

Attorney General Ashley Moody said small towns can no longer close their eyes to the threat of fentanyl.

“Our small departments are facing challenges.  They are being forced to divert attention to the fentanyl crisis.”

Moody maintains enough fentanyl was seized in the past three months to kill the entire population of Florida.

“Efforts by law enforcement to combat this overwhelming tide of poison is so needed.”

A prison gang known as Sur-13 were running the alleged operation.

24 people have been arrested so far.

One Kissimmee man was still on the loose.

Glades Electric Cooperative was victimized again by a marijuana grow house operation.

An employee noticed a trench had been dug to a barn on a property off County Road 731 in Venus in June and suspected something was up.

Glades County deputies investigated and searched a barn making an arrest of Mario Cabrera after they found 77 marijuana plants and a sophisticated growing system.

Three months later they arrest 42-year-old Eric Cintra Vigoa on multiple felony charges including grand theft and cultivation of marijuana.

The operation allegedly stole over $165,000 worth of power.

St. Lucie County wants businesses and residents on route 68 west to do a better job of maintaining their property.

They have sent code enforcement teams out into rural areas.

Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said they want businesses and residents to do this voluntarily.

“If its community driven, it’s a lot better than having me come out and say we need to do this.  We need to talk with businesses to see if we can clean up this area.”

The federal government announced that social security benefits will increase by a record 8.7 percent next year.