Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier thanked Okeechobee deputies and other lawmen for shutting down a large regional drug ring.
Operation Slow N Go uncovered a network of cocaine, fentanyl, pills, marijuana, and methamphetamine ring.
Uthmeier said the six month investigation led to seven arrest warrants, the seizure of six handguns and several automatic rifles, 2,262 grams of narcotics, and at least 500 pills.
Robert Townsend of Okeechobee was among those arrested so far. He faces charges that include methamphetamine trafficking.
Okeechobee city is supportive of the winter wonderful light show coming to downtown Okeechobee parks this month.
The Okeechobee Main Street program, the Altobello Family Trust, the Tourist Development Council, and others combined efforts to pay for the two year program.
City Administrator Gary Ritter said the light show will be magnificent and should be a draw to Okeechobee for visitors.
He defended the cost noting it costs between $10,000 and $30,000 for the city to purchase new Christmas lights. He added that they use staff time to put up the lights in the parks and on street lights each year.
The push to widen state road 60 across the state continues.
The Florida Department of Transportation held a public hearing on the project development and environment study on a 19.3 mile section of route 60 from Yeehaw Junction west to Prairie Lake Road.
The FDOT rejected the no build alternative which means some improvements are coming to the deadly stretch of road.
The plan is to add a third passing lane in that section of road in the summer of 2026.
The estimated price tag is $273 million to widen the highway to four lanes and added sidewalks and a bike bath from 441 east to the Turnpike interchange.
The FDOT said traffic on the road is expected to increase by 140 percent over the next 25 years.
The FDOT said there have been nine fatal crashes on this stretch of road in the past two years.
Alison Santiago was the only public comment at the hearing. She lost her daughter, Alexis Santiago, 19, in a crash in 2023 as she drove to the University of South Florida in Tampa.
“This has to stop my daughter died for no reason at all. The swales are a big issue. When you go off the road, you hit the swale and you flip over and you catch on fire so she had an horrific death. “
She said there are still a lot of students from south Florida that drive this road and it remains very dangerous.
“Losing her forever changed her friends, her family, and this is very important to do, there are many , many deaths on this road, more than you guys mentioned.”
A blast of arctic air will come to Florida this weekend. The National Weather Service predicts temperatures to be 10-15 degrees below normal for this time of year.
A sex offender from Los Angeles, California since 1987 was arrested for the third time in Highlands County on allegations he violated the terms of his probation.
William Gray, 73, pled was found guilty in February and in July of failure to register as required.
Highlands County investigators said Gray failed to report he had registered smart communications accounts in the affidavit for the latest arrest on Oct 31.
An off duty police officer headed home was nearly struck head on by a wrong way driver who was alleged intoxicated on route 70 near Bluefield Road.
St. Lucie County deputies arrested Jake Abbott, 18 of Port St. Lucie on charges of fleeing and attempting to elude police, and DUI.
Abbott was headed east bound in the far west bound lane on November 2, at 1:30 am, the officer stated.
He swerved out of the way and then gave chase with lights and siren. He got into the lawful east bound lanes and placed a spotlight on the speeding vehicle in the wrong lane to alert other motorists.
Abbott eventually stopped in the wrong lanes of travel.
The officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol and his blood alcohol level taken from a test 90 minutes to two hours later was .067.
Abbott said he thought he was driving on route 68 and not 70. He said he didn’t know what was going on and observed the police car coming directly at him.