WOKC Local News – October 23, 2026, 7:41 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. The decorations dilemma with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. Okeechobee County is implementing some new policies at county cemeteries. They want to make it easier for mowers and weed eating. One of the issue is permanent benches. They’d like to remove the concrete ones and have granite only. The county hasn’t been able to cover the cost of operation and maintenance at the cemetery and want to increase revenues too. Justin Nelson, their assistant county administrator, suggests a rate increase for grave sites of 30%. County Commissioner Brad Goodbred chimed in on the decoration dilemma, saying people mourn differently. There’s different cultures that do mourn differently. The Spanish culture seems to do a lot of decorations and things like that, and God bless them. County Commission Chair David Hazelleaf questioned fining people for violations at the cemetery. I understand why you have to do it, because you’ve got to mow, weed eat, and all that, but you’re going to get a lot of feedback on that when people’s going to be unhappy, but if you do that and put a fine on them, your telephone’s going to ring a lot more. The county notes some of these fines could be used to pay for maintenance. The annual budget approved by the Coquino Water Management Board of Supervisors, they rehired Howard Sensaboy to take over as superintendent again. Sean Wilcox and board member Alfonso Fanelli says they do not plan to pave streets in Viking, just to add shell rock. So that’s not going to happen probably in my lifetime, thank God, that’s why I moved out here. Right. And if so, if you’re 80 miles an hour on this road, imagine on a paved road. Erica Pinder abstained from the vote to rehire Sensaboy, having some concerns. Wilcox says Sensaboy has a lot of experience in Viking and the job, and all the staff said they would continue to work for him. St. Lucie County is without a fire chief. Jeff Lee is fired as they terminate his contract in a four to three vote before the fire board yesterday. It ended months of disagreement over the firing of three county firemen for hazing recruits. County commissioner Jamie Fowler says the fire board needs to work on their regulations and policies of conduct. In my opinion, we do not have a good process. We have eight pages for bylaws, policies, and procedures that govern this whole entire district. And I’m going to include myself when I say this, as a board, we should be ashamed of ourselves for eight pages of a governing document. Joe Lowry said the punishment for these firemen was too severe. When you do something that everybody else does, and then you’re the one that goes down for it, it hurts pretty bad. So these young ladies, I don’t know them, but I know how their husband feels. The fire board attorney resigned at the last meeting and will leave at the end of the year. An alleged drug trafficker won’t face charges. They were dropped in Okeechobee Circuit Court. Ryan Radmall was stopped in the 10,000 block of Northeast 120th Street attending the music fest on March 20th of this year. They searched his vehicle, the driver and passengers, and located 231 grams of magic mushrooms. They cause alterations in perception, mood, and cognitive processes, which may include euphoria, visual or auditory hallucinations, a distorted sense of time, and profound spiritual experiences. The traffic stop was deemed illegal by prosecutors. Deputies had pulled him over for having something hanging from the rear view mirror. State law says you cannot block your rear view mirror, but you can have things like handicapped placards and passes on those mirrors. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).