WOKC Local News – April 23, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Good news from deputy with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. Okeechobee Deputy Sheriff Austin Rhodes gave an update on his recovery. He says he will be back at work and be able to return to duty. I appreciate all the fundraisers everybody’s been doing to help out. It will take several months as he’s just begun rehabilitation from shoulder and leg injuries. He wanted to thank Okeechobee for all their support and all the fundraisers and wanted to thank his colleagues at the Sheriff’s Office who have also helped him and his family during this troubling time. My fiance was bringing me to doctors and stuff like that. So it was harder on her taking off work and stuff like that to get me wherever I needed to be. Rhodes was struck and seriously injured as he directed traffic. He was struck by a car at Wolf Road in 441. Farmers and ranchers visited with U.S. Senator Ashley Moody as they look for federal funding to help them recover from the freeze. The drought impacted Okeechobee pastures for months. Many have had to use alternative feeds like a citrus pulp. Jenny Cahoon says they lost 15 to 25% of her citrus trees. Florida produces the food for the fruit and vegetables during the winter time that other states can’t produce. So there is going to be a massive impact in the grocery stores of Florida produce. The Pahokee soap opera continues. This time the interim manager and clerk were having a disagreement with the manager shouting and the clerk shouting and employees marveled. The city considered a suspension would pay for five days for the manager but did not make a final decision. The interim manager, Tammy Bussey, says this was all the clerk’s fault and she shouldn’t be blamed. And her tone was disrespectful, unprofessional, and in my opinion, inappropriate. Clerk Ny’Aline Clark says she’s not the one to blame. As anyone would be, I was taken aback. I don’t disrespect Ms. Bussey and this amongst other things. I’ve been taken disrespect. However, I’ve been accused of being disrespectful. The Glades Electric Cooperative held their annual meeting in Moorhaven this month. They have their annual board of trustees elections tomorrow on April 23rd. They welcome new executive director, Mike Roberge, who took over in January and has 40 years of experience in the industry. They also have added 400 new customers in the past year. Chairman Lee Henderson gave this update on their broadband initiative. This has been a significant undertaking and I am pleased to report that we are nearly completion of the initial build-out, which we expect to finish by the end of June. Currently, nearly 4,000 members are already enjoying the high-speed internet service. This communication network benefits not only the cooperative but also our communities. Water management closed four locks on the northern rim of Lake Okeechobee last night, the lake level at 11.91 feet. I’m Charles Murphy, WKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).