WOKC Local News – January 30, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Cattle Drive progressing with WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. The cold temperatures as low as 29 last night isn’t stopping over 600 head of cattle and nearly 300 people a part of the Great Florida Cattle Drive this week. They’ll have a Heritage Festival this Saturday at the Okeechobee Cattlemen’s Arena to celebrate our cattle industry. Travis Brown, the trail boss, says they’ll have a full day of events in the arena. And we’re going to have lots of vendors coming, different food stuff, vendors selling things that they make. We’ll have some local artists coming and showing off their artwork for sale as well. They plan to bring the cattle in from Hilliard Road Saturday morning so there will be some 441 traffic impacts. Emanuel University takes the day one lead of the Bassmaster College Series on Lake Okeechobee. Peyton Dunn and Luke McGuffin had 20 pounds and 9 ounces. Dunn says the conditions were pretty tough and they know they’ll face a lot of competition over the next few days. Well to be honest I really don’t know how to feel about tomorrow. It was the last minute audible, there was no boats around because most of them were coming back to weigh in. So anything could happen tomorrow. 219 teams are competing in the tournament out of Okeechobee this week. In Okeechobee, 34-year-old Tyler Watford is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injury in Highlands County. It happened at 9 mile grade and 70. A passenger in the other vehicle was hospitalized. Martin County Commissioners getting an update from the Corps of Engineers. They are raising some concerns about levels in the lake. Major Corey Bell says they won’t be doing some wetland restorations they had planned in Paradise Run. SERP is about storage and then when we can at least quality, quantity and timing of those releases into the Everglades to keep that ecosystem balanced. But we are terminating that portion of the wetlands project and you can see it’s highlighted in green there, that’s the Paradise Run section. UTVs on roadways in Florida could be regulated if a bill comes into law. It would require a driver’s license or learner’s permit with a licensed driver aboard. It would require helmets to be worn by all occupants. Could not travel on interstates of four-lane highways and only two-lane roads with a speed limit of less than 55. Former Sheriff Ben Johnson says these UTVs need to be regulated. They really scare me. I felt like I was in a casket sitting up. In the courts, Evan Xavier is appealing his five murder convictions for the Sebring SunTrust bank massacre. He filed in the 2nd District Court of Appeals claiming his Miranda rights were violated and that the trial should have been moved out of Highlands County due to high feelings. A low temperature of 29 recorded in Okeechobee last night. We’ll get a little warmer tonight before the cold returns on Saturday and Sunday. We’re expecting lows in the 20s both Saturday and Sunday night. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).