News Cast for September 18th:
South Florida Water Managers received public input in Basinger and Kissimmee for proposed changes to the water levels and flows in the Kissimmee River.
Most of the concerns related to flood protection.
Florida Cattlemen’s Association executive director Jim Handley urged the district to be transparent and meet with ranchers face to face to explain the impacts.
Ranchers are concerned about livestock impacts if their pastures are flooded more.
Wild Florida in Kenansville also had concerns about more water impacting the safari park on Canoe Creek Road.
A remembrance ceremony marked the 96th anniversary of the storm of 1928 that impacted Lake Okeechobee.
Pahokee holds the service each year at the Port Mayaca Cemetery.
They honored the Salvatore and Williams families that had survivors from the storm.
Ethel Williams passed away earlier this year.
Vice Mayor Clara Murvin said the 20 foot storm surge overflowed Lake Okeechobee’s banks and flooded towns
The ceremony also included a performance by the Pahokee Middle High School Drumline.
The Port Mayaca cemetery has a mass grave of about 1600 bodies, most of them black migrant, farm workers who lived in the Glades.
A pauper’s cemetery in West Palm Beach also has a mass grave. The care takers said the city of West Palm Beach wants to pave over the grave as they expand 25th Street.
Martin County’s new Sheriff won’t back off on having a heavy presence at Swamp Fest in Indiantown.
He said five people were shot at the event back in 2000 and they don’t want a repeat.
Residents objected to the village permit process and the amount of deputies.
Budensiek said their primary purpose is to keep people safe.
“There is no reality where we will not be there and take care of business. We learned the hard way on that. We kind of stepped back a few years ago, we listened to the residents, they should be able to have an event, go out and have a good time. But when you have five people shot in one night, that is not going to happen again.”
The Florida fish and wildlife honored the winners of the 10-day python challenge this year.
195 Burmese Pythons were removed from the Everglades this year. Ronald Kiger removed 20 pythons to snag the grand prize of $10,000.
A cop killer is sentenced to death for the second time.
A St. Lucie jury voted 9-3 to impose execution by lethal injection for Eriese Tisdale.
He shot Sgt. Gary Morales after a traffic stop in chase back in 2013.
St. Lucie Sheriff Keith Pearson said he appreciated the jury decision.
“Our deputies put their lives on the line every day. Let this be a message to Tisdale and anyone that wants to harm a deputy. The state of Florida has the death penalty, we have great prosecutors that are going to use it, and our system works.”