News Cast for October 16th:
County talks economic growth
Okeechobee County has competition for the data center with a firm proposing a project in Yeehaw Junction near the turnpike.
Okeechobee supports Indian River State College and the effort to convert the former Okeechobee School for Boys property into a data center.
Commissioners also learned Sutton Rucks recently applied for a $3.6 million grant to expand his ice cream sales business with a distribution center at the dairy on US 98.
Commissioner Terry Burroughs said this would be good for Okeechobee.
It could also lead to new job creation.
The commission also wants to hold a workshop on land development regulations allowing more units per acre east of town and more residential further north along 441.
Highlands County voters could decide in 2026 whether to use tax dollars to conserve land.
259 land owners, mostly in agriculture, signed up for various state programs to conserve land, but there isn’t enough money to go around to conserve all the acreage.
County commissioner Scott Kirouac said voters should get to decide because it is a heavy lift for officials to impose new taxes on people.
He said the county is working with the state to be compensated when agriculture lands are taken off the tax rolls for conservation purposes.
Okeechobee Schools have a zero-tolerance policy for verbal threats against students and schools.
There have been several recent arrests regarding threats on social media including some female students at Yearling Middle School.
Superintendent Dylan Tedders said you simply can’t make threats any longer and the state is taking them very seriously.
Tedders urges parents to be more involved in their child’s life and to always check their internet use, their cell phones and their backpacks before they head to school in the morning.
Hendry County is mourning the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl at a birthday party in Harlem.
Jayhana Johnson was an A student at Clewiston High School who wanted to become a nurse.
Two gang members were targeting rival gang members at the party and sprayed bullets into a crowd of people killing the girl.
15-year-olds Jayden Lawson and Roosevelt Adderly III are charged with second degree murder. Adderly is the first-cousin of the victim.
Hendry county sheriff Steve Whidden said the crime was senseless.
“A beautiful innocent girl lost her life needlessly. I can’t tell you how senseless this is.”
One of the suspects admitted to buying a gun in the ‘hood.’
The sheriff said he would support prosecuting the teens as adults due to the severity of the crime.
They are still investigating to determine who shot the fatal round.