WAFC Local News – April 21, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. The LaBelle Commission urged the Sheriff’s Office to pick up traffic enforcement on Highway 80. Our recent report showed only 15 traffic stops from the two deputies they’ve contracted for to patrol the city. Sheriff Steve Whitten says they have had nearly 400 traffic stops this year already and have been focused on Highway 80 in and around LaBelle. He says other deputies are doing the traffic stop. These other deputies are patrolling the neighborhoods. I just called the county deputies to the city because they are just slamming people left and right. Your guys that you’re paying for are doing what I think they need to be doing which is protecting residents and making sure nobody’s stealing their stuff. The Glades Electric Cooperative held their annual meeting in Moorhaven this month. They’re holding their annual elections on April 23rd. They welcomed their new executive director Mike Roberge who took over in January. They also have added 400 new customers in the past year. Chairman Lee Henderson says they’re also in good shape financially. Glades Electric Cooperative has a strong financial year, successfully met all of our financial goals. Relatively quiet storm season certainly helped and remain hopeful and prayerful than another mild season in 2026. Mike Roberge says the employees are the heart of the operation. Our employees are a very dedicated team and every day they are working for you the members. Each and every one of our employees contributes to the success of our organization and our organizational success is driven by our passion, collective passion to provide safe, reliable and affordable power for our members. They’re also nearly complete with the initial build out of their high-speed internet project. A special meeting held in the ongoing soap opera that is called the City of Pahokee. This time the manager and clerk get into it and have words showing disrespect of the workplace over public records. Sanquita Cowan Williams spoke on the purpose of having the meeting. We need to address the clerk, our clerk, y’all clerk for being disrespectful. Interim manager Tammy Bussey says the clerk has been disrespectful and must go. Right away comes at me I feel like in an attacking manner, don’t you give him that. Nyleen Clark says Bussey wanted to give out information protected by law. I’m trying to prevent any other further matters from occurring so I said you can’t do it. She tells me no I’m tired of y’all telling me what to do. I’m the manager and I’m like no you can’t and that’s what I started saying no you can’t release the documents. She told me to shut up. Bussey says it’s just lies, all lies. And so I’m not going to sit here and let her say that when it’s not true. We had words they were disrespectful, they were confrontational. I responded in a moment of exasperation which I now acknowledge that the words may not have been the best choice. Councilwoman Isabel McDonald says the entire situation is a joke. I don’t condone any of what has transpired. I detest the fact that I have to be here at three o’clock on a Monday afternoon in between meetings and what have you but um you know let’s not make it look like it’s any one person that’s responsible for this entire incident. A two-year-old was badly burned and taken to St. Mary’s after an accident at home. The mother was boiling water and the stove was broken, the pan on the ground and the two-year-old stepped into the hot water. The building they live in had received code enforcement warnings regarding electrical issues. The incident was on Southwest Third Street in Belle Glade. The investigation was ongoing. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).