WOKC Local News – July 29, 2026, 7:40 AM
Transcript
W. O. K. C. News. Local family honored with W. OKC News. I’m Charles Murphy. For over 70 years, members of the Alderman family served as tax collectors. Back in 1990, they dedicated the Alderman building. Earlier this year, Ogachubi County rededicated the building for the Alderman family. It’s now being used by the supervisor of elections and partly by the sheriff’s office. Justin Nelson with Ogachubi County says the county took a lot of time to refurbish the building. Clarence Alderman served from 1917 to 1918. R.H. Alderman served from 1919 to 1931. Bessie Alderman served from 1932 to 1956. And then Ethelyn Alderman served from 1957 to 1988. So you’ve got 70 years that that family has dedicated to this community. The building is now 61 years old. The FBI in Florida is reminding our senior citizens about fraudsters that want to take your money, your hard-earned money. Romance scams, relative bail scams and other scams on the Internet have been plaguing the state. Florida is number two in the nation as far as losses to scams. The FBI had some tips. Special Agent in the Fraud Division Zachariah Baldwin says these guys are pushy and convincing, but you can avoid being scammed. Some working out of fraudulent call centers across the globe poses representatives from legitimate companies such as financial institutions, utility companies or cryptocurrency exchanges. They tell you that there’s some sort of issue with your device or account and offer to fix the problem. Using pressure tactics, they ask for remote access to your computer. Before you know it, they’ve stolen your personal information, money or both. Glades County commissioners approved the Big Lake development in Lakeport to build their own sewer plant. They were unable to come to terms on a deal with Lakeport Water. They approved a study on impact fees. The single family homes could be paying $10,342. Single family homes would pay $4,140 for the schools. County Commission Chair Tim Stanley says this is the goal of impact fees. The whole reason for doing this is to take the impact off of the people that are living here for the new stuff that these people are coming in and putting the burden on the new people. That’s the whole reasoning behind it. Triton brings all these kids in here. Should you have to pay for that new school or should they have to pay for it? That’s what impact fees are about. Osceola County accused of excessive and wasteful spending. Florida CFO Blaise Ingolea made the allegation in St. Cloud. He says he identified over $165 million in unnecessary spending. Ingolea says the county has increased its general fund budget more than 100 percent in the past seven years. He says a budget increase of that magnitude is further proof local governments have not been good stewards of taxpayer dollars. The county commission says Ingolea’s claims lack context and it’s already implemented several initiatives to improve efficiency like a zero based budget approach. I’m Charles Murphy. WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).