News Cast for December 4th:
School Board administrators get raise
The Okeechobee County School Board approved an eight percent raise for administrators.
Superintendent Dylan Tedders said he felt the raise was deserved.
“Over time our instruction staff raises have gone up way more and at a faster pace than administrators. We want to bridge some of the gap and make them more competitive with other administrative pay in the area.”
Tedders said he expects the incident where a gun was found in a bathroom at Yearling Middle School to end up being a criminal case.
“Its not like we don’t have a clue on how the gun got there. Law enforcement is working on it now and solidifying the story and the time line.”
He said he expects an arrest to be made.
The district lost Lisa Bell, Food Services Director and will seek a replacement.
The board honored retirees Lynn Greeson who worked 30 years for the district, and other retirees Connie Lamb, and Mary Gammil.
Yearling Middle School will receive $86,000 in school recognition funds after they earned a letter grade higher on the annual school evaluations.
The board also approved the purchase of new kitchen equipment for Okeechobee High School at a cost of over $936,000.
The Board also honored longtime WOKC News Director Charles Murphy for his community partnership in covering school board meetings and sporting events for approximately 26 years.
An Okeechobee family was interrupted as they celebrated a family gathering over the Thanksgiving Holiday by an unwanted guest.
No one knew who Eddie Howell, 54, was as he stood in the backyard of the residence in Quail Creek.
Howell allegedly punched the male resident three times after he told him to leave and was in the process of escorting him off the property.
Deputies said Howell also failed to give them proper identification.
Children in the yard claimed Howell had approached them and grabbed the hand of a girl and tried to leave the property with her.
Charges include trespass, assault on law enforcement, battery, and drug possession.
The S-135 boat lock at the J&S Fish Camp will be closed until further notice.
The South Florida Water Management District is conducting repairs on the lock and plan to reopen it as soon as possible.
Martin County Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire in the 10000 block of SW Fox Brown Road and found a carport fully engulfed on Tuesday afternoon.
The report said the fire was near to vehicles, the home and some gas cans.
Firemen quickly attacked the blaze and were able to knock down the flames in a matter of minutes.
Damage was confined to the carport and there were no injuries reported.