News Cast 3/22
News Cast for March 22nd:
Slowing down the boaters
Okeechobee County is pushing for an expanded no wake zone on Taylor Creek.
Owners of the former Taylor Creek Lodge and campground have complained the high speed of boats is eroding the shoreline between the 441 draw bridge and the locks.
It could take time to implement the expanded no wake zone.
Commissioner Brad Goodbread said maybe a manatee zone could slow boaters.
“It may help as some manatees have been spotted in Taylor Creek and the lake maybe that would bring forth more cautious boat operations with a no wake zone and manatee zone.”
The Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation continues to modernize as the tribe continues an aggressive facility improvement plan.
In recent years they have added a veterans affairs building, new housing units, a new health department, a new fire-rescue department, and a new police station.
They are currently working on a gymnasium renovation and improvement of other recreational facilities.
Tribal Council member Larry Howard said they are providing for the tribal members.
“We are catching up with today. We govern ourselves well. We even have our own school year.”
They also plan to open a brand-new casino next year with a 100 room hotel and bowling alley.
Prison reform activists want more information from the Florida Department of Corrections about prison abuse and deaths.
For example Okeechobee Correctional Institution has reported 38 inmate deaths in the past five years.
Many of those are natural, but 12 are deemed accidental, four suicide, four by murder, and three unsolved.
Elizabeth Buchans said no family should have to worry about an inmates safety.
“Every person in prison is being held accountable for the laws they broke and it should be no different for employees of the prison system. Today we demand transparency and accountability.”
A new report found deaths due to drugs and alcohol behind bars have risen by 500 percent since 2009 nationwide.
A Moore Haven man, Dustin Robinson was charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling on Southeast 36th Terrace.
He was picked up on a warrant this past week. He is charged with aggravated assault, criminal mischief, contributing to child delinquency and discharging a firearm. No one was hit as two shots were allegedly fired.
The suspect ran from the scene and police found his shoe that helped identify him.