WAFC Local News – October 01, 2026, 8:06 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. The LaBelle City Commission continued until October 8th a final vote on the Wawa convenience store on State Road 80. Selena Parrish is opposed. She says there’s too much traffic there. Yes, I love Wawa too. It is a very nice convenience store, but there is plenty of other land that would be much more convenient for our community for that to go towards. The project would create up to 35 jobs. Hugo Varkas noted the $2.1 million purchase price and millions to be invested in the city limits. There’s a lot of things to think about here because employment options are a big thing. You know, somebody that’s going to bring in 30 to 35 good paying jobs, you know, for some of our young adults, they’re going to come in here and they’re going to develop it for X amount of millions of dollars. You can’t expect somebody to come in there and invest all this money and tell them you don’t want any traffic. Vice Mayor Jackie Radica has been against the store since the beginning. She wants to protect the downtown area. I just came back from a trip in Poland and I saw buildings that were from 1400s that these people worship and preserve and go through and keep it. We don’t have anything here that old, but what we do have, I want to keep. Alan Pickles also is concerned about the location. That’s going to tenfold that intersection that’s already the worst one in town. In Clewiston, Ms. Christine Peterson was awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hendry Huddle Up event. She’s had an extraordinary impact as mayor and in the school system. During her legendary 25-year teaching career, she was noted for dedication to elevate the life trajectory and futures of countless students. Glades County Schools want to rework the contract for school resource officer with Glades County Sheriff David Hartin. They wanted a joint meeting with the city and county commission. Superintendent Dr. Beth Barfield says the two governments need to work together. Somebody has to do the work and someone has to make the decisions. School board member Larry Lucky says he looked into the history of the school resource officer program and is searching for new details. Well then I wonder, should I step back? Should I bow and say thank you and step back or do I continue to look at this under scrutiny? Pahokee approved a budget that includes a 9.7 percent property tax hike. The sheriff announced some command changes. Captain JP Harvey and Lieutenant Jeff Denny will take over command in Belle Glade and Pahokee. Captain Harvey says they’ll keep up the good work. We’re here to really just continue to build on the relationships that we’ve built, to continue to honor the relationships that have come for a long time before us and we’re all excited to be here. An accidental injury reported in the 51,000 block of Highway 27 in Palm Beach County. Palm Beach County Sheriff Deputies say a 64-year-old man at an RV resort fell off a ladder. He told Palm Beach deputies that his left leg was going numb and he could not put any weight on it. A Palm Beach County fire rescue helped the man and he was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital. The victim said he’d been on the roof of the building working on a TV antenna when he fell. Palm Beach deputies were working a robbery that took place in West Avenue A at Northwest 11th Street in Belle Glade. There was no firearm or weapon used. A fire reported at 1597 Reverend Jesse Biggs Boulevard in Pahokee. The fire was confined to the kitchen area. A cause was listed as accidental. The child said he was playing with a lighter in the bathroom and let a toilet paper roll on fire and got scared. There were no injuries and the structure did not suffer any damages. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).