WOKC Local News – August 28, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. An update on the lead with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. The Okeechobee Utility Authority reassuring their customers that their infrastructure is fine after testing of water found some lead problems, but most of it is in private plumbing that was built before 1989. This OUA Executive Director, Greg Kennedy. Rest assured, Okeechobee Utility Authority’s drinking water infrastructure has not been compromised. We are continuing to monitor the situation and provide follow-up testing as needed and requested by customers. If you want to have your water tested, you can call the OUA at 763-9460, 763-9460. This week, the Okeechobee School District also urged parents to let their children come to school with a bottle of water. Okeechobee County Commissioners honoring the Treasure Coast Food Bank September is Hunger Awareness Action Month. They have food distributions twice a month in Okeechobee, in Coquina, and at the AgCivic Center. A $44 increase coming in assessments for solid waste in Highlands County. It’ll be $280 per residence. Some residents were opposed to the increase and complained about the new service. Carla Quillo says this increase will hurt a lot of people. Many of whom are retirees, myself included, and residents living on fixed incomes. A trial beginning today for James Thompson of Leesburg. He allegedly was one of those protesters who attended county commission meetings last year, disrupting the meetings. He objected to a man being ejected from a county commission meeting and allegedly battered a deputy in the process. Unemployment went up slightly in Okeechobee, but went down in Florida during July. Okeechobee had 891 collect benefits in July compared to 873 in June. Around the region, Highlands County at 6.8%, Martin County, 5%, and Indian River, 5.6%. The state added about 4,500 jobs over the month. Senator Aaron Grawal continues to fight against abortion. Massachusetts progressives and Democrats celebrating a bill that allows the abortion of a baby for any reason right up to the day it is born. Grawal thinks this Massachusetts law is just the beginning. You would allow the dismemberment of a child, the killing of a child, when they could otherwise live outside the womb. I just think it makes me very concerned for what’s next. Among arrests, 20-year-old Isaias Neftali Yaz Santizo of Indiantown is facing charges of interfering with the first responder on duty and resisting arrest. It followed a crash on Canter Highway in Indiantown at Southwest Mary Drive. The defendant was not involved in the traffic crash, but showed up during the investigation and constantly came close to deputies, interjecting himself into the investigation. He was instructed to leave the area, but refused. The suspect stated his cousin was a passenger in one of the vehicles and did not speak English, but there was a translator present at the scene anyway. The HALO law gives first responders a 25-foot buffer from interference from public members. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).