** FYI the game against John Carroll has been rescheduled for Monday, September 8th.
An Okeechobee man was held on $200,000 bond facing two counts of methamphetamine trafficking.
The Okeechobee Narcotics Task Force said Alfred Moore on two occasions, on May 5 and May 8, sold nearly 28 grams of methamphetamine for a price of $275.
The arrest affidavit said the alleged sales took place under surveillance at a storage business north of Okeechobee.
In one of the incidents Moore allegedly hid the drugs in a box of nails.
State Senator Erin Grall said she tried to stay out of the budget debates in the legislature this year.
She called it a rare public debate between the house speaker Daniel Perez and the governor Ron DeSantis.
“At any given time, you have to work with your house partners and with the governor. That fight was between them and I try to maintain the ability to work with all the parties up there.”
Grall had special sessions and extra time in Tallahassee this year, and for much of it was in physical distress after she suffered a serious leg injury.
Grall said the super majority of the leadership in the legislature has strong republican principals.
“Sometimes how we get to the final produce can be in dispute. We work through that, and we just try to tune out all the noise, continue to do the work, eventually we get there, it just took a little longer than usual.”
Grall also supports the department of government efficiency effort in Florida as they visit local governments and try to review the books and find waste and inefficiency.
“I would hate it to see it be a press release or press conference after press conference without any true changes. I believe the voters deserve the change and they expect it.”
She predicts the effort will be fruitful and will save taxpayers money.
“I think he will find something probably in every community. Sometimes we should view this as a healthy exercise. Sometimes it takes outside eyes to say what were your thought processes here and what is going on?”
Osceola County welcomed an improved playground in Kenansville in August. They announced the upgrades were complete last week.
The Parks and recreation maintenance crews did much of the work.
The Kenansville Community Center and Park next to the fire station on Canoe Creek Road also includes open space, a pavilion, grill, meeting space, restrooms and the playground.
Osceola County Sheriff Chris Blackmon said initial returns of an agency audit found no irregularities in the spending of the prior administration.
Blackmon said he wanted to make sure the budget funds are spent responsibly and legally.
He noted after the arrest of Marcos Lopez, the prior sheriff, residents rightfully had questions about how the agency was run and if money was being spent appropriately.
He said a full audit is likely to be done in the next 60 days and he plans to be fully transparent with the results.
IT has taken time and time is money. I owe it to the taxpayers and residents of Osceola County to give them an honest and straightforward answer. I have asked for an in-depth review of several accounts and purchases to make sure everything that was done before I took over is on the up and up.”
Blackmon said he believes staff morale has improved and claimed many employees had been working scared under the previous sheriff.
Lopez was removed from office for allegedly having a stake in illegal gaming operations in the county.
Dawson Cantu took home the All-around cowboy title at the Pete Clemons Memorial Labor Day rodeo in Okeechobee this past weekend.
Isaac Ingram won the bareback riding, Cody Green the steer wrestling, while Cantu teamed with Sam Morgan to win the team roping. Connor Brumley won the saddle bronc riding, Stetson Aldridge the tie-down roping, Kristin Hanchey barrel racing, and Trent Ferreir the bull riding.
The total payoff this year was $27,363.