WOKC Local News – March 25, 2026, 7:41 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Rural program fails with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. According to the Florida Department of Revenue, 29 of the state’s 67 counties are considered fiscally constrained, including Okeechobee. That means they don’t generate enough local revenue to fund critical infrastructure. The Senate president’s rural renaissance package was meant to address this, but Ben Allbritton’s proposals failed to get through the House again. He did get through the Senate unanimously. Allbritton was asked by the press if he’s frustrated, but he says hope springs eternal. If this was August the 1st, I’d say, yeah, that’s a problem. There’s still plenty of time to get to July 1st. Last year, the budget was less than it was the previous year. There’s a lot of great investments in that budget. Did it take a little more time? Sure it did. And I believe that we’re going to do the same thing this time. No, sir, I do not believe voters should be upset that the timeline has been at least traditionally altered. If funding $218 million would have had programs for roads, affordable housing, and health care. Kevin Blackman will find out his fate next Monday. The registered sex offender is charged with 21 counts of violating his registration requirements. The sheriff’s office says he advertised as a taxi driver on Facebook and willingly showed up to pick up a 14-year-old girl who actually was a police detective. He also violated for having unregistered social media and for trespass warnings at four local businesses. Probation officer Melissa Spencer says she encouraged Blackman to do things, but he would not follow conditions. He started to be sneaky, lazy, and that’s when things started to not work for him. Detective Ryan Ammons says Blackman violated a ban of being around kids unsupervised. He says it’s difficult to work with the sex offender caseload in Okeechobee. So with having 134 sex offenders in the county, it’s hard to deep dive into each one of them. A new slaughterhouse and meat processing facility on its way perhaps to Highlands County next to the Avon Park bombing range. The Highlands County Planning Board recommended approval of a rezoning to industrial. The applicant wants to expand local livestock processing capabilities. Jean Shaughnessy is a nearby resident and she says the retirement community has some concerns. Noise, odor, and especially traffic. We just don’t want to see a monster come into the neighborhood. Certainly, people need to earn an income, but please don’t turn our neighborhood into a nightmare. The applicant, Luke Dickens, says this will be good for Highlands County, but other rural counties. We’re committed to building something that reflects well on Highlands County, something that aligns with the values of responsible agriculture, supports our local ranching community, and something that allows to keep our land in production. A traffic stop in the 5600 block of 441 North sends an Okeechobee woman to the county jail. Andrea Hatfield allegedly threw an item out the window. Deputies found it and it had methamphetamine and fentanyl. A domestic and March 1st between two women that are married in Okeechobee resulted in battery, resisting arrest, and child abuse charges. The state attorney, though, after his two-week review, has filed just a charge of resisting arrest without violence against Angelina Juarez.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).