WOKC Local News – June 11, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Schools facing cuts with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. Superintendent Dylan Tedder says the district could lose positions in the new school year. I think it totaled up to maybe 26 positions, but not all of these positions are full. Student enrollment down 300 in recent years by 50 this year. He says the district is in better financial shape than others its size. Over a thousand children have died in the U.S. from heat stroke after being left or locked in vehicles in the past 30 years. Okeechobee County Fire Rescue, teaming with the Healthy Start Coalition, encouraging parents to keep an eye on their children and never leave them unattended in a vehicle. Jessica Palmer with Okeechobee County Fire Rescue says some don’t wait for help. If it happens, they break out windows. And call us immediately. I mean, if you’re scared of breaking a window and having a child injured in the process, I mean, we do it, we know how to do it safely. You know, we, Fire Rescue, we work well together on making sure to get a child or even a pet out safely. Dawn Lawrence with the Healthy Start Coalition says it’s so hot out there, even summer strolls with a baby can be dangerous. Any sort of a blanket over a infant carrier, that is, heat gets trapped in there. So even if you’re out at the park, you don’t want to have that blanket over that baby. You can overheat very quickly. She says there are a lot of people that leave a child in the car and try and run into a convenience store or shop to get something and then can forget about them. She also advises to leave your diaper bag in the backseat so you always check the backseat. The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program protecting three ranches around Okeechobee County. One of them is the Prescott Ranch, a cow-calf operation between Okeechobee and Bassinger. John Paul Fradies with the Department of Agriculture explains that easement. LFW Farms in Okeechobee County protecting approximately 1,014 acres of working ranch land for 6.6 million. The property provides water recharge to the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee and is enrolled in the FDAC’s Best Management Practices and is located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Dixie Ranch West would have two easements for 14.2 million, protecting close to 3,000 acres. Seyfried Farm and Ranch in Highlands County would protect nearly 1,200 acres at easement 5.3 million. A homeless person in Martin County urges the commission to create a campground so he can sleep. Justin DeCaw says it’s tough to find a place where you can sleep legally as a homeless person. Need to designate a camping area or something to alleviate this emergency in which I have to commit a crime to sustain my biological body. An Indian town woman, 52-year-old Nalita Reyes-Carasquillo, is accused of stealing from the state for up to four years from public assistance programs run by the Department of Children and Families. They allege between April of 2020 and April of 2024, she received over $20,000 by knowingly giving false statements, misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).