WOKC Local News – January 16, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Police allege abuse with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. An Okeechobee man is charged in a multi-state child abuse case. Three minor children allegedly suffered ongoing physical and sexual abuse in Colorado, Oklahoma, California, Minnesota, and other states. Forty-year-old Terry Farmer was arrested in Okeechobee December 2nd after he allegedly pointed a firearm at another man during an argument. Two charges against Farmer include eight counts of sexual battery of a child under 12, lewd and lascivious behavior on a child under 12, child abuse, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Farmer was held at the St. Lucie County Jail with bond at $1.7 million. The Florida Senate Public Affairs Committee reported favorably a tax break for RV parks. Senator Jason Pizzo worried they were getting free from all taxes. The trailer can overhang 20 feet this way and 20 feet this way beyond the pad. I can’t do a special assessment only that which is allowable. So if the maximum allowable is 1,000 square feet and it happens to be 1,500 square feet, you can only tax on the 1,000 square feet. That’s how it reads. Senator Keith Trueneau wants to limit to assessing only the RV space allowable and not the entire lot they are using. Okeechobee County School Board approved a new mission statement, vision statement, and a new tagline. The new mission statement, we provide all students the opportunities, resources, and care to achieve personal success. They have been held up on a logo and will continue to use the existing seal. School board member Melissa Morgan says the logo really doesn’t fit Okeechobee. Get some local input on a logo and then hope that that then meets what we’re kind of wanting to do moving forward with matching the tradition, matching the bringing out a new marketing strategy to attract families, to attract staff, but still maintaining that traditional aspect of who we are, what we represent, and that we’re Okeechobee schools. They hope to get out the new branding by May. They’re giving the consultant a chance to see if they can come up with something new. School board chair Jill Holcomb is optimistic they’ll get something done. We’re not there yet. We’re still working, but we have been working a very long time, a very long time. Many workshops, many meetings, but we’re going to get there. I have every confidence that we will. Two trucks collide on State Road 60 west of Yeehaw Junction at Peavine Road, causing a fatality. As the semi burst into flames upon impact, one of the drivers survived a 48-year-old man from Eagle Lake. The road was closed in both directions for several hours. A Lake Placid man is charged with throwing eggs at the windshields of a passing semi truck. It happens in the passenger area on Northwest 176th Avenue. The semi says he had plenty of egg yolk on his windshield. Anthony Waller was pulled over. He was a passenger in the vehicle. They found two dozen eggs, but six eggs were missing. He was charged with a felony throwing a missile into a vehicle. His bond was $7,500.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).