WOKC Local News – November 04, 2026, 7:41 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. The sun comes out with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. Some encouraging as we respond to the flooding on Sunday. Some areas still see rain in the street and we’ve had a number of homes damaged and some businesses. Highway 78 was closed as they put in better pumps. They’re trying to move 25,000 gallons of water per minute. Damage assessments are ongoing as teams are going out. Cleanup supplies are being brought in along with sandbags and more sand. If you have septic or wells, be careful with your drinking water, and they’re recommending you drink bottled water. Okeechobee County government offices are open today. Okeechobee City offices are open. Okeechobee County schools remain closed. Mayor Dowling Watford says it wasn’t the drainage that caused this flooding, but the amount of rain. I wish we could have done something to prevent it, but I want to assure you that the city and the county and our partners have done everything we can to minimize the flooding. The problem is we just had too much rain in a short amount of time. We had somewhere nine to 10 inches in six to eight hours, and our systems just cannot handle that. Police Chief Donald Hagan says they had to close some streets literally because of rubberneckers going down roads they don’t live on, causing damage to homes and property. These homes, the water is so high up that just your truck driving through there, because it’s a lot of big four-wheel drive trucks, that they know they can access areas. But if you don’t live in that neighborhood, stay out of the neighborhood, because you pushing away could inundate somebody’s home that is right there at the brink. Schools in Martin, St. Lucie, and Highlands are also closed today. They had flooding in most of those areas, too, and some roads remain unpassable in St. Lucie. Today is Election Day. Okeechobee voters have until 7 p.m. to cast ballots. Over 5,800 early voted this year. On the ballot are United States Senator, a representative in Congress for District 9, Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture, and the State House, District 83. Okeechobee voters will also help decide Amendment 3, which would increase your homestead exemption. Glades County voters also will help select the statewide offices. They have a voter question on single-member county commission districts, helping the school board be more flexible in where they can spend, and a non-binding question on whether taxpayers there want to pay for an assessment for fire and EMS. A Lareda man facing charges of preventing or hindering a firefighter or paramedics. They were investigating a single-vehicle accident in the 17,000 block of Northwest 176th Avenue. Deputies say it appeared that Boyd had been drinking. Boyd allegedly prevented the ambulance from leaving with his children. They were being treated for injuries and taken to Rollerson Hospital. The Okeechobee State Attorney has no prossed methamphetamine trafficking charges against Jason Gillis of Okeechobee. It stemmed from an August 19th, 2025 operation by the Okeechobee Narcotics Task Force. They allegedly were able to purchase $350 worth of methamphetamine from Gillis at a home at 1104 Southwest 3rd Street. There was video and audio of the alleged transaction, but again, those charges have been dropped. I’m Charles Murphy, WKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).