WOKC Local News – July 14, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Henry County Commissioners heard from a residence and wants a safer bus stop for children in Harlem. Cynthia Wheeler also complained that the county is wasting taxpayers’ money and has a problem with code enforcement. How much money are you gonna increase the taxes? And I guess we’re gonna get citified, but not give us the tools. You’ll fine us in our yards for trash, but who fines you all for not providing adequate trash receptacles? She also complained about earlier this year having a ban on burning in private yards. Glades County deputies making a pair of drug trafficking arrests. Lieutenant Gary Johnson says he was just leaving the sheriff’s gun range off Route 78 when he saw a vehicle with its flashing lights on. He went to check on the driver when the driver stuck his arm out the window and offered him a marijuana cigarette. Trent Osceola did not have a medical marijuana card. In plain view in the vehicle, deputies say they found a prescription pill bottle with fentanyl, pressed pills of a trafficking amount. Johnson also located a trafficking amount of Xanax. Osceola was facing two felony drug trafficking charges. The second incident was a traffic stop for having one headlight on Canal Street in Moorhaven. Brenda Hernandez of Glades County was a passenger in the vehicle. Deputies say they located a backpack that contained over 17 grams of fentanyl and nearly five grams of methamphetamine. They also found items of drug paraphernalia, scales, bags, and straws. Hernandez was charged with trafficking in fentanyl and possessing methamphetamine. Lawmen band together, the Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies launching Operation Slowdown 2026, a week-long effort to give out speeding tickets to slow people down and make things safer. Dade City is among the police departments taking part. Many people think speeding is only a problem on the interstate. I’m here to tell you that the reality is that speeding happens every day on every road. Pahokee City Commissioners are supporting the Lake Okeechobee Regional Economic Alliance on their efforts to bring a hotel to the Glades. Director Julia DuPloy says this area of the lake really needs a motel. We need these types of places for people to come and stay, places for them to eat, and we want to drive as much business Juan’s working on from east to west as is going from west to east. That’s what we’re trying to do. A 25-year-old Lakeport man is facing charges that include child cruelty, false imprisonment, and battery. For an incident in February, it was domestic in nature. He was arrested on July 7th for the alleged incident on State Road 78 on February 24th. A female was injured and two children were taken to Henry Regional Medical Center for evaluation. During the incident, Chad Chandler allegedly grabbed a knife and made threats. The public and the city of LaBelle asking questions after a sewage spill sent some 450,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Caloosahatchee River from the LaBelle wastewater plant. The incident happened around midnight on July 7th and the flow wasn’t stopped until July 10th around four in the afternoon. A plant operator blamed an aging infrastructure for the release. The city recently got some funding and are in the process of replacing the sewage plant. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).