WOKC Local News – May 13, 2026, 7:41 AM
Transcript
WOKC News. Okachubi City makes choice. With WOKC News, I’m Charles Murphy. With Gary Ritter retiring, the city council interviewed candidates to replace him yesterday and ranked Denise Whitehead as the top candidate to try and work out a contract. Whitehead said her goal would be to build a strong, productive team and keep the city moving forward. I’m a strong leader. I think that my staff really have a lot of respect for me. I push them, but not beyond what their capabilities are. I like to be a hands-on leader. I like to be able to provide the tools and resources for them to do their job extremely well. And I like to see them shine when they shine, I do. And you all do, more importantly. The Okachubi Trace Project, approved by Okachubi County Commissioners. They rezone to plan unit development, 338 acres off of Southwest 48th Avenue. The property also has frontage on State Road 70 West. County commissioners are worried about some safety and traffic on 70 and would like to see some intersection improvements at Southwest 48th Avenue. The city of Fort Pierce had it with waste management. The city has been complaining about Miami trash delivered by train, but then kept on the railroad near neighborhoods, stinking up the place. City Administrator Richard Chess says they likely will not renew their contract with waste management. I did let them know that we are in a position where we’re not considering going forward. I’ll just be as simple as that. Based on them not being responsive to this whole train trash and truck trash within the city. Commissioner Chris Sadofsky would like to consider other vendors. I don’t know if we’ve shopped this around for better prices or better opportunities. Of course, the county has their zone. It’s just right down the street, rather than going all the way out to Okachubi. And I can tell you at Selbit’s Road, the transfer station, it’s a trash dump. It’s everywhere. It’s up and down Selbit’s Road. They take their trash out to Okachubi landfill currently. A Glades County crash and three people to the hospital, including a five-year-old child. The Florida Highway Patrol says it happened Saturday night, just after 9, 10 p.m. at the intersection of State Road 78 and Lake Drive. A 2011 Chevy truck somehow collided with a 2016 Chevy truck. In addition to the five-year-old girl transported to the hospital, a 59-year-old man and a 35-year-old female. AAA expecting a record number of Floridians to travel for Memorial Day weekend. More in this report. 45 million Americans are planning to get away from Memorial Day weekend, and 39 million will go by car. AAA says those drivers will pay much more at the pump than the 317 a gallon charged on average last year. Orlando is the top destination, with travel spikes expected in Seattle and Vancouver for the kickoff of the annual Alaska cruising season. New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Paris, and Rome are other top destinations for the long weekend. I’m Rory O’Neill. A Highlands County deputy is under arrest after he allegedly drove intoxicated while on duty and was involved in a traffic crash. 52-year-old Lars Kierkegaard allegedly rear-ended another vehicle at the intersection of Sebring Parkway and Kenilworth Boulevard just after 8 a.m. Monday morning. He then fled the scene and was located at the Sebring High School parking lot. The other driver was not injured. I’m Charles Murphy, WOKC News.
Recorded from the WOKC daily newscast (Glades Media).