WAFC Local News – November 12, 2026, 8:06 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Henry County Commissioners approved a rezoning at 26 F Road at State Road 29. The two and a half quarter acre property is currently zoned residential high density. The new zoning change will be high intensity commercial. No plan has been proposed for these new businesses. Lee Health plans to expand their services in LaBelle, Clewiston and Moorhaven. Chief of Staff Michael Natschiff says they received nearly $2 million in grants to improve service. We had applied for $2.4 million. We were granted $1.95 million, which is still an extraordinary amount to be able to do a lot of good with. They’re looking for locations for a MedCare station in Clewiston and Moorhaven. It’s a virtual setting where you speak with a doctor and get prescriptions written or a referral. They also plan to expand the LaBelle clinic with an urgent care center. Lee Health is honored for the opportunity to do a little bit more here in the city of LaBelle and in western Henry County. The City of Belgrade has been finishing up work at Lyons Park this fall. Vice Mayor Robert Reece says the public often doesn’t understand why government works so slowly. They see how quickly they move in the private sector, not understanding that the government cannot move that quickly. Pumby Sheriff David East told commissioners that they plan to enforce the noise ordinance more vigorously. Belgrade City also finalized their budget. It’s a 7.26% property tax hike this year. Mayor Joaquin Almazan questioned the city marina budget. Are we trying to get any grants for that marina? Because that’s our biggest, you know, putting money there all the time. You know, I know with the wood and all of that, but are we working on that? Glades County resident Jessica Leone in public comment blasted the county for approving lakefront estates and acidic jew community. You don’t deserve your seats. She says under federal housing laws, the development is unconstitutional because it does not follow fair housing practices. She says they will take away services for long-term taxpayers and residents. She also questioned taking away cattle pasture and wild Florida in exchange for New Yorkers. The separation of a formal cattle ranch to create a segregated, excluding lakefront estates community of 1,300 homes, each costing approximately $600,000 with welcome signs that are not in English. County Commissioner Hattie Taylor says she was surprised by the opposition to the community. And I’m disappointed in some of our Glades County residents and citizens because what happened to Southern hospitality, giving people a chance? Voters recently approved single-member districts in the November elections. Some residents complained that if 1,300 homes were built near Buckhead Ridge, that community would hold all the political power in Glades County and other communities would suffer. A 30-year-old Clewiston woman, Crystal Valdez, facing charges of grand theft over $10,000 in Lee County. She was working on a property, cutting the grass, securing the property and removing all debris after people had moved out. Unless you remove property, that shouldn’t have been moved. The total value of the stolen property was nearly $15,000. Lee County deputies say they learned that the contract was only to cut the grass, secure the building, complete renterization and there was no permission to take any belongings. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).