Dairy farmer Woody Larson chalked up another award as he was named the 2026 Florida Farmer of the year at this week’s Florida Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting.
Larson was earlier nominated for the Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame and will be inducted in February at the state fair in Hillsborough County.
A Port St. Lucie police officer had some explaining to do after her patrol car’s window was shot out in Okeechobee.
An incident report from Okeechobee County Sheriff deputies said sergeant white Ford F-150 was parked down range from an Okeechobee shooting range Oct. 29 when it was shot.
The officers were conducting live round rifle qualifications when the rear window was blasted out.
It is believed the damage was unintentional and no one was hurt.
The city of Okeechobee said it is hoping for private donations and fund raising to help pay the costs of some downtown park improvements.
They are starting at Veterans Memorial Park. They plan to develop and entrance on the south side of the park, enhance the memorial itself, and add bronze statues that honor each branch of the military.
Paver bricks will be up for sale to place at the entrance those that contributed to the project.
The city said they plan to place the Vietnam era helicopter on a pedestal at the park once the ground hardens from the summer rains.
“The plan involves themes in all the parks downtown, the butterfly garden, Cattlemen’s Square, Lake Okeechobee, Settler’s Park and Veterans Park,” City Administrator Gary Ritter said, “We will begin to implement as money is available the plan for Veterans Park.”
15 more criminal charges were filed against a Highlands County doctor who earlier was charged with improper touching or battery.
Dr. Jorge Zeldon, 66, has been under investigation for months for alleged improper touching of fellow medical professionals and patients.
In August he was charged with 10 counts of misdemeanor battery. After publicity got out on the case, more people came forth claiming to be victims resulting in 10 new cases.
The charge includes one felony count of battery on a person over 65.
Highlands County deputies said they continue to investigate and expect more victims to come forward.
Floridians who rely on SNAP benefits will stop receiving payments on Saturday if the government shutdown continues.
The Food Banks that serve Okeechobee expect an increased demand for food starting next week.
The Treasure Coast Food Bank said 4,000 homes in Okeechobee receive SNAP benefits.
TCFB is asking for more volunteers, more food donations and cash donations to get the needy through this rough period.
Jessica Gosa said they are concerned as this is normally a very busy time for food banks with the holidays coming up.
“Every dollar that somebody contributes to TCFB equals eight meals. So we are really able to stretch every dollar very far. We are calling on volunteers so we can sort out the food and get food out to our communities quickly.”
She said they will continue to hold food distributions in Okeechobee just make them larger with more product in November.
You can assist TCFB by visiting stophunger.org or calling (772) 489-3034.
A second person was arrested for a charge of aggravated child abuse in a case Oct. 13 where a teenage girl was locked in an animal cage.
A charging affidavit from the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office said Victoria Garcia, 34, was arrested after a domestic incident where the child was suspected to have been with a boy in the neighborhood. The suspect said he smelled cologne when he approached the teen.
She had taken the dog out for a walk but hadn’t returned for 30 minutes when the suspects went looking for her.
The suspect questioned the teen and she replied nothing had happened. She was then locked in the dog cage in the front yard about 50 feet from the home for roughly 10 minutes. Later she was allegedly locked in her room for 11 hours.
Garcia was accused of pushing the child, grabbing her and attempting to punch her, the affidavit stated.
Garcia told deputies that the victim had a habit of running away.