WOKC Local News – October 01, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Giving them a better shot with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. Various programs have been implemented in Okeechobee County, including Veterans Court and Mental Health Court, to help jail inmates improve their job and other skills so they don’t keep committing crimes. Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, Terry Burroughs, says there’s little invested as far as dollars, but great gains. They work with a small amount of money in order to get a significant amount of results to keep people from coming in the front of the jail. Chief Deputy Michael Hazelleaf says inmates need structure once they get out of jail, and admits some just can’t kick the habit of drugs and booze easily. It’s not uncommon that they come to jail, they are potentially getting clean from different narcotics or whatever, they live a model life in the jail because they’re institutionalized. They get out, and the next day, they’re back in. President Donald Trump will allow farmers and ranchers to process their own food. He wants to break up a monopoly, he describes, of the four food-processing companies. He says they’re overcharging our farmers and ranchers and ultimately costing consumers at the grocery store. They say they’re a very nasty group, very difficult to deal with, and they cost our farmers a lot of money, and they cost our ranchers a lot of money, and they cost the public a lot of money and grief, and we’re not gonna let it happen any longer. The program would provide grants and loans for ranchers and farmers to build processing plants. A Highlands County firefighter, Kyle Norvis, receives the Medal of Valor. He ran into a burning building near his home in Jupiter. After being woke up by a neighbor, he found an unresponsive woman in the kitchen and rescued her. He went into the home multiple times. He did so without protective gear. Florida lawmen standing against Amendment 3. County commissions are worried they’ll lose revenue. The Florida Association of Counties says Okeechobee, for example, would lose between 20 and 33% of their overall revenue. The Florida Sheriff’s Association has a $10 million advertising campaign. Sheriff Grady Judd doesn’t want voters to be fooled. I have never, ever been at the scene of an emergency, and I’ve been at thousands, where someone said, gosh, I hate to pay this much for this ambulance. Two charges filed against a man from Corpus Christi who was found allegedly intoxicated behind the wheel of a vehicle at the Fort Drum Service Plaza. The Florida Highway Patrol responded to a report of a reckless driver in that area and that a man had been arguing with someone while driving. Jose Vallejo was charged with DUI and resisting arrest. Charles Hill IV of Okeechobee held a $71,000 bond. The Narcotics Task Force says he sold 2 1⁄2 grams of methamphetamine on August 11th to a confidential source. A Venus man allegedly was intoxicated when he allegedly walked down the road carrying a shotgun and pointed it at a motorist. 63-year-old John Berry is charged with aggravated assault with a weapon, carrying a prohibited weapon openly, and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. The motorist fled the location and sheltered in their home until deputies got there. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).