WAFC Local News – July 16, 2026, 8:06 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Henry County Commissioners continued until July 28th an application to consider 58 new homes on one acre lots at 3785 Fort Denode Road. The rezoning would be from general agriculture to planned unit development. The project is called Casa Biscayne. The main concern from neighbors was drainage, traffic, and the improvements needed for Murray Road. Mitchell Wills says he’s not really sure of the drainage plan. You need drainage here. The road’s only going to be as good as what you put it on. We all know that water stands are off the top now. Kate English says it’s a real tight plan for the 114 acres there. This is as low a density, I think, as you can get and still have an economically viable project. Palm Beach deputies have identified the three people that died in Belle Glade in that crash on Gator Boulevard. They are 48-year-old Joel Roa, the driver of the 2006 Chevy Silverado, 10-year-old Joel Rodriguez, and 5-year-old Jacob Rodriguez. The vehicle was traveling eastbound in the 1200 block when for some reason it lost control and entered into a canal overturning onto its roof. Glades County Schools recently hired Nicole Murray to take over as chief financial officer. Superintendent Dr. Beth Barfield says they continue to have a very small tax base. She said she wanted to reassure folks about their financial condition. We need to continue the message that we’re good. Barfield says they’ll have to consider budget cuts during the budget this summer. Board Chair Jean Prowant says she welcomes the state help in this financial situation. We obviously have struggled over the last few years and if they have any insight or guidance for us that’s going to help put us on the right track, come on. A LaBelle woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a hit-and-run involving a pedestrian that died in Lehigh Acres in February of last year. Hope Burkle was arrested on June 27th of last year. She entered a no-contest plea to leaving the scene and vehicular homicide. She served 274 days in jail. She’ll also serve three years on probation and perform 120 hours of community service. She loses her license for 10 years. The Florida Highway Patrol says she was going between 84 and 85 miles an hour in a 45 mile per hour zone before the crash in the area of County Road 884 near Hanna Avenue. They also had evidence that she had purchased alcohol that evening and consumed alcohol. The operator of the locks around Lake Okeechobee has an insurance problem. Nick Mancino told the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board he’s been unable to work out the issues with administration. So I tried to explain that to the district and they just don’t want to cooperate and help me pay the bills. This marine insurance is like 30 times more than the regular commercial insurance but the commercial insurance won’t cover the public if they get injured in a boat lot and that’s my dilemma. He points out the need to resolve this by the end of October. And I asked for mediation and I’ve been denied mediation over two times already. My insurance, my marine insurance expires October 18th. After that I won’t be able to afford it anymore because of the budget increase and the minimum wage I won’t have enough money to pay my bills and operate the boat lots. Gil Smart told the governing board that they haven’t done a very good job helping the Caloosahatchee River this summer. And now for months the Caloosahatchee can’t get enough when it does need it. The Everglades and Florida Bay desperately need more fresh clean water even as the vast sugar fields south of the lake have gotten all they need. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).