News Cast January 13th:
Martin County fire rescue responded to a house fire on Sept. 10 along Conners Highway in Indiantown.
Firemen said the house was not occupied.
Conners Highway (441) was completely closed for a time as firemen battled the blaze.
There were no reported injuries.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is leaning toward appointing Attorney General Ashley Moody to the US Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio.
The Washington Post reported DeSantis preference Sunday.
President-Elect Trump has nominated Rubio to be Secretary of State. The Post reports DeSantis has not made a decision, though. If he does choose Moody, the Post says may replace her as attorney general with his chief of staff, James Uthmeier.
The Rivers Coalition has never and never will support any releases from Lake Okeechobee, whether it benefits the Lake or not. Releases out the Port Mayaca lock started Dec. 7 and has continued since.
There has been no report of any toxic algae blooms this winter as the Corps draws down the lake.
They want to lower the lake by four feet for enough time for submerged vegetation to regrow.
Dr. Paul Gray of the Audubon Society said the bass population in the lake has been in decline since 2018.
Major Cory Bell of the US Army Corps of Engineers said they do not have a hard date to stop the releases but noted the releases will continue until May 1. He said if there a toxic algae bloom reported the Corps could stop further releases.
Opponents said they question whether the lake will get low enough to benefit the submerged vegetation.
Jackie Thurlough Lippisch, a former SFWMD Governing Board member, said the governor has refused to appoint her successor because he doesn’t want the Treasure Coast to be represented on the board.
Okeechobee County Sheriff Noel Stephen said his last term in office will focus on keeping his deputies and staff well trained. He said he wants them ready and equipped to start taking over the department as veteran employees retire.
Stephen said it is important to grow your own employees because they know and love Okeechobee and how it operates.
Stephen took the oath of office for his last term from County Judge Bill Wallace last Thursday.
Highlands County Commissioners proclaimed January as Fire Fighters Cancer Awareness Month.
The effort is to reduce the number of firemen who die from cancer.
67 percent of the firemen whose names appear on the Fire Fighters Memorial Wall died from cancer.
Deputy Fire Chief Dustin Fitch spoke on the effort to clean up apparatus, equipment and protective clothing worn by firemen to reduce carbon and other contaminants known to cause cancer.
Fitch said when he began in the fire service there was little to no attention or focus paid to cleaning and sanitizing the gear worn and used by firemen.
An Okeechobee man was charged with eight counts of child pornography possession.
Ronald Walsh was held on $240,000 bond.
Walsh became the subject of an investigation on November 21 after a cyber tip was made through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The arrest affidavit said the sheriff’s department conducted a search warrant at a residence on SE 9th Avenue and collected evidence related to these charges.