Vol. 109 No. 35 Friday, March 23, 2018 50¢ plus tax Dry weather EULQJVÀUH danger ... Page 2 Sheriff to add 7 school officers By Katrina Elsken six months of fiscal year 2017-18 due to pas- Sheriff Noel Stephen said the state legisla- Two new Okeechobee News sage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High tion is “quite in-depth” and will require a lot of At their March 22 meeting, Okeechobee School Public Safety Act. The commissioners interpretation. subdivisions County commissioners gave the sheriff the did not approve a specific budget amount, “There is a lot of responsibility that has approved green light to hire seven new deputies. pending a workshop with the school board been put on my shoulders as the sheriff of and the city. Currently, the school board and Okeechobee County,” he said. ... Page 7 The sheriff requested a budget amendment up to the amount of $550,911 for seven ad- the county each provide a percentage of the See SROs — Page 5 Sign up for free ditional School Resource Officers (SROs) for funding for SRO program. Ripken baseball clinic ... Page 11 Memory Cane burning questions answered field honors ... Page 20 Lake Levels victims of 14.26 feet child abuse Last Year: 12.80 feet By Katrina Elsken Okeechobee News 6SRQVRUHG%\ Special to the Okeechobee News One hundred and twenty-six children died 211 cards geared to help students in the State of Florida last year from abuse or At the Feb. 27 meeting of the Rotary Club of Okeechobee, the club presented a neglect. 3RJH\·V)DPLO\5HVWDXUDQW Okeechobee County residents will be re- 63DUURWW$YH check for $1,500 to the program for the entire cost of printing student referral cards. The cards were specifically geared to the students of Okeechobee. They minded of that sad statistic next week as 126 contain contact and phone numbers for various services from food and clothing flags are placed in CASTLE’s 2018 Memory Source: South Florida Water needs to suicide hotline numbers, pregnancy services, to tutoring and mentor- Field, which will be installed in the Okeechobee Management District. Depth given ing information. Pictured from left to right: Rotarians Melisa Jahner and Kristy City Park near city hall on State Road 70. The in feet above sea level Crawford, 2-1-1 Community Liaison Michelle Miller, Rotarian and donor Lawrence dedication will be at 5:30 p.m. in the park at Beckett, President Tod Hardacre and Past President Denise Whitehead Hardacre. the intersection of Southeast Third Avenue and Not pictured is Rotarian and donor Reiny Peterson. SR 70. Each year, CASTLE raises a Memory Field of white flags emblazoned with a blue rib- bon for every child who died the previous year in the State of Florida from abuse or neglect. See page 4 for information about The Memory Field travels through Martin, how to contact this newspaper. Sewer project funding falls short Okeechobee, Indian River and St. Lucie coun- By Katrina Elsken $3.5 million in state funding for the project, ties to promote awareness of this ongoing trag- Okeechobee News which was expected to cut the excess phos- edy. phorus and nitrogen loading into water that Okeechobee County officials were disap- In 2017-18, CASTLE is projected to serve 381 flows into Lake Okeechobee. families including 1,445 individuals in the Trea- pointed in their efforts to obtain state funding The state appropriation is $523,000. sure Coast and Okeechobee County through for septic-to-sewer conversion in the Treasure “The appropriation for septic-to-sewer is the Safe Families program, an in-home educa- Island area. The Okeechobee Utility Authority sought See OUA — Page 5 See CASTLE — Page 5 When it comes to major Board Certified • Over 36 Years Experience accidents in Okeechobee, this is NOT MY HoskLaw.com Located on 3rd Street 357-5800 FIRST RODEO. across from the courthouse Civil Trial 2 Okeechobee News March 23, 2018 Putnam warns of heightened wildfire danger Special to the Okeechobee News ing their families and homes for wildfire.” ditions in real time. Prescribed burn prac- TALLAHASSEE — Florida Commissioner There are currently 41 active wildfires titioners can also use the app to plan and of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam and the Flor- throughout Florida. Most of the wildfires submit authorization requests. The app is this year have been caused by escaped yard now available in Apple’s App Store and on ida Forest Service urge Floridians to exercise trash burns. Google Play. caution due to significantly heightened wild- “Many wildfires this year have unfortu- The Florida Forest Service, a division of fire risk throughout the state. While Florida nately been human-caused,” said Florida the Florida Department of Agriculture and has received recent rainfall, drought condi- State Forester Jim Karels. “It’s imperative Consumer Services, manages more than 1 tions throughout the state are expected to that Floridians are cautious with fire to help million acres of state forests and provides continue. The Florida Forest Service has protect Florida’s residents, natural resources forest management assistance on more than battled over 700 wildfires across the state in and wildland firefighters.” 17 million acres of private and community 2018. Visit the Florida Forest Service’s wildfire forests. The Florida Forest Service is also re- “Florida’s wildland firefighters have prov- information webpage to view an interactive sponsible for protecting homes, forestland en time and again that they are prepared to map of current active wildfires, drought and and natural resources from the devastating put their lives on the line to keep Floridians fire danger forecast information, and a list effects of wildfire on more than 26 million safe,” said Commissioner Putnam. “Floridi- of current county burn bans. Floridians can acres. Learn more at FloridaForestService. ans can do their part by keeping preventable also download the Florida Forest Service’s com. Department of Agriculture and Consumer human-caused wildfires at bay and prepar- “FLBurnTools” app to access wildfire con- For more information about the Florida Services, visit FreshFromFlorida.com. National Puppy Day: Lawn care tips for dog owners Special to the Okeechobee News new pet might do to a lawn, Ms. Trenholm grass. It may not be aesthetically appeal- owners often make this time of the year GAINESVILLE — What’s better than says there are a few potential issues to keep ing, but it generally won’t affect the overall is overwatering, Ms. Trenholm said. The watching a new puppy run over a lush, in mind. health of the lawn, she said. recommendation is to apply ½ to ¾ of an “Most problems aren’t going to be too healthy lawn? In most cases, grass will recover from inch of water each time you irrigate. How major, but with traffic issues – if the dog runs frequently you irrigate is going to be based For this year’s National Puppy Day, which traffic damage or dog spot, especially dur- in the same pattern every day – you will get ing the growing season, which for Florida’s on season, the amount of shade and grass is Friday, March 23, a lawn care expert at loss of the turf, and weeds may move in,” warm-season grasses is during the summer species, she said. the University of Florida says both dogs and Ms. Trenholm said. If bald patches pop up months, Ms. Trenholm said. “Lawn care involves the basic practices people can benefit from these grassy spaces. where your pooch likes to roam, consider And with the warm season approaching, of fertilizing, irrigating and mowing correct- “A lawn provides the backdrop to the putting down some pavers in that area, she homeowners can take steps to help their ly. For tips on how to best care for you lawn, urban landscape. It’s a place where people said. lawn stay healthy and make it a place their check out the UF/IFAS Extension publica- and pets can play. And, most importantly, it “Another problem that happens some- new best friend can enjoy. tions on proper lawn care or contact your keeps the dirt in place so your dog doesn’t times is what we call dog spot. This is when One common lawn care mistake home- local UF/IFAS Extension office,” she said. bring it inside the house,” said Laurie Tren- the dog uses the same spot to pee on the holm, professor of environmental horticul- lawn. They are providing it with a big dose ture in UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural of soluble nitrogen, so you can see some in- The Okeechobee Community Choir Sciences. jury to the grass,” Ms. Trenholm said. For those concerned about damage a Dog spot looks like a yellow circle in the Under the Direction of Sandy Perry, Will Present its 19th Annual Easter Cantata Concert, Brush fires still pose a threat Hallelujah! What a Savior! By Matteo Tullio put in place by Florida Forest Service, which Okeechobee News had a supervisor and bulldozer assisting in and Easter Favorites, Concluding with Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, Two brush fires were reported Wednes- the effort, and was extinguished at 6:31 p.m. During Which Audience Participation is Encouraged. day afternoon. Another, smaller fire occurred just north (Highlighted Music Provided) According to reports from Okeechobee of the one that was being attended to in the County Fire Rescue, around 3:55 p.m. on rd th th March 21, firefighters responded to the first Indian Hammock area. All the units still on Friday, March 23 Saturday, March 24 Sunday, March 25 of two reported brush fires in the 32800 scene facilitated it being extinguished as 7pm 7pm 3pm block of U.S.