LABELLE, FLORIDA -- For the month of December, there were 11 homes
sold in the LaBelle area for an average price of $147,545. About
half the homes were in the Port LaBelle subdivision.
1) $205,000 on 7th Ave
2) $139,000 on El Rio Grande Dr
3) $138,000 on Fraser Ave
4) $188,000 on Gramercy Rd
5) $199,000 on Keystone Cir
6) $180,000 on Rainbow Cir
7) $85,000 on Rainbow Cir
8) $94,000 on School Cir
9) $30,000 on Sherwood Cir (lot)
10) $155,000 on E Palomar Cir
11) $210,000 on S Balsam Cir
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Army Pvt. Marnelia R. Grijalba Parra has
graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army
mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and
received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military
weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony,
marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading,
field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic
first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.
She is the daughter of Jose R. and stepdaughter of Sonia E. Grijalba
of Old Muse Road, La Belle, Fl. Grijalba Parra is a 2006 graduate of
Moore Haven High School, Fl.
CLEWISTON, FLORIDA (December 21, 2006) -- CREW, a non-profit
organization in Clewiston has been busy this month making sure as
many people as possible have a good Christmas. Due to some private
individuals who live in Cape Coral, CREW was able to make the wishes
come true for 86 children in Hendry and Glades counties. Staff and
Board members with kids from the Baptist Church spent the day
Thursday before Christmas delivering gifts that had been handpicked
for these specific kids.
Volunteers from East Lake United Methodist came and worked on
replacing drywall in damaged homes in Moore Haven on December
2. First Presbyterian Church came and hung drywall, cabinets, and
doors in Clewiston on December 16.
CREW staff says the New Year will see volunteers coming every week
beginning January 6 until some time in March, and they are still
scheduling for anyone who would like to help work. Donors have
generously provided for the materials and costs of the repairs they
are still making due to Hurricane Wilma, and there are still some 350
families needing to recover from Hurricane Wilma, and a handful from
Tropical Storm Ernesto and from local fires.
A committee meets every month and finds local agencies and other
donors and volunteers to help meet the unmet needs of these
families. So far CREW has been able to help, or find others to help
over 300 families. CREW also helping low income residents strengthen
their homes against future storms and disasters, through the
statewide My Safe Florida program. For information contact Trish
Adams at (863) 983-2390.
Special Master Dan Stevens, for the Hendry Value Adjustment Board, continued hearings Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning on petitioner CHL Holdings, Inc. and CHL Home Builders, Inc. try at reducing tax assessments values on their extensive holdings of vacant lots in the remote dozen square mile Banyan Village subdivision east of LaBelle and also those owned in Units 1 through 9, just east of LaBelle. Stevens found that CHL has overcome the presumption of correctness that county tax appraisers are given under Florida law. Tax Appraiser Kristina Kulpa's office says the lots are worth $26,500 in Banyan Village and about $34,000 in the other closer-to-town units. CHL's owner Charles Svirk says he's today paying not more than $5000 to buy lots in Banyan Village, but maybe they are worth $6000 to $8000. Stevens is now giving CHL the apportunity to prove the lots are worth less than the tax appraiser says.
(Photo: left, appraiser's attorney Jay Wood; right, county appraiser chief Cliff Wood)
Some Embarrassing Letters
Charles Svirk, Jr. as 100% stockholder of the two real estate companies testified Wednesday that he had letters sent out to all 2005 buyers of the four Banyan Village Port LaBelle Units10 through 13 a few months ago asking if those buyers knew that building homes on their lots is illegal at this time. The letter also asked if the vacant lot owners knew when water would be available giving choices to check on the letter survey. 13% said they didn't know water was not available, 10% said they thought water would be installed in 2005, 39% said in 2006, and 30% didn't know. The Svirk letter, written by former company attorney Mark Lapp, now attorney for Hendry county, and the letter signed by Svirk also suggested that because Svirk's company planned to fight the higher property assessments, Banyan Village property owners property taxes would be lowered if his "legal actions" were successful.
But Special Master Stevens became visibly upset by the letter, pointing out that the letter was untrue, and that no property owner's taxes would be lowered, because Svirk's petitions would have no effect on any other lot owner. Stevens also pointed out that the survey asking lot buyer's knowledge of water lines in the subdivision was misleading at best. Stevens said that none of the answer choices given on Svirk's survey were correct answers. Water is not expected to be available in Banyon Village until 2007 or 2008 said Stevens, but the questions in the survey presumed water availability in 2005 and 2006. Stevens told Svirk that the letter was flawed in that it was promising things that were not true. County tax appraisal staff said they had received lot owners' phone calls asking when their "new" lower tax bill would be coming, because they thought CHL was handling their cases with the Value Adjustment Board, only to be told that's not going to happen.
Banyan Village was platted about 1972 and has laid vacant for 35 years because no water or sewer lines have been installed even though money has been available for years. Water lines were first promised by the county back in 2002, and then again in 2005. The county went to bids in June 2006 for the work. Svirk's companies have for many years sent out postcards to all Port LaBelle lot owners offering to buy lots, and if contacted sellers were offered as low as $100 per lot. CHL got thousands of responses from owner's tired of waiting for the land to be developable but still owed property taxes year after year. Svirk also bought hundreds of tax certificates from the county when taxes were not paid on the vacant lots, and eventually had the lots sold for taxes at public auction and ended up as the eventual buyer of significant numbers of Port LaBelle lots over the years.
CHL Overcomes Presumption of Correctness
After ten hours of testimony this week, Special Master Stevens announced CHL and Svirk had overcome the "presumption of correctness" that Hendry Tax Appraiser Kristina Kulpa's staff have by law in setting values for these Port LaBelle lots. Stevens found that 51 acres of commercial land in Banyan Village was highly overvalued by the county appraisal and set the new number at $15,000 per acre. For all the Banyan Village residential lots, Stevens found that the tax appraiser failed to include in their calculations hundreds of sales.
The tax appraisers left out "group" sales where one deed contained many lots sold or bought by one owner, and left out many purchases by CHL itself, a major purchaser of lots. Of the 500 lots sold in the Village in 2005, the appraiser only used 144 in calculation of the assessed value. Stevens said that the group sales "most closely approximate the situation" of all the lots. "How much, I'm not sure," he said. Stevens additionally found that during the last six months of 2005 there was a downward trend in prices that the tax appraiser did not considered, and presumably he was inferring that they should have. The tax assessment value is mandated by law to be the property value as of January 1st of each year. Stevens also indicated the uncertainty of the available date of water lines completions would effect lot value.
Stevens said he may give consideration to CHL for a possible downward adjustment in their tax assessment value because they were not legally able to sell lots in Banyan Village in 2005. CHL is not registered with the Florida Department of Land Sales to be enabled to sell lots that do not have utility infrastructure like water lines. Registration with the state to sell such undeveloped lots is required of anyone selling 25 or more lots a year. Speaking for the tax appraiser's office, east coast attorney Jay Wood, objected to Steven's premise and said he would provide the Special Master with law cases why this type of deduction is not proper. The law allows a deduction if a government prevents a use or sale of land, but in this case it would seem CHL is only prevented from selling because they chose not to register with the State for this type of undeveloped land sales.
Decision Likely In January
In order to determine a new tax appraisal value, Stevens gave CHL and the appraiser's staff 10 days to exchange their sales data with what they considered relevant sales in the last six months of 2005, and then both were given until January 12 to send Stevens their critiques of the data and a written argument as to their opinion of correct value. Stevens said he would then adjust downward by 15% the numbers that he determines to be the correct price in order to account for "cost" of selling by a land owner. This deduction is standard by the tax appraiser to determine the tax assessed value, i.e. the tax appraised value is about 15% less than the median sales price in the neighborhood to be.
Stevens ruled also that he was not going to hear petitions filed late. The Florida Statutes mandate filing deadlines for petitions to the Value Adjustment Board, but this year because of over 1,000 petitions being filed, mainly by CHL, the Clerk of Court decided to publicize and allow late filings. Stevens said he would allow CHL's late petitions for good cause as they had been originally timely filed but were returned to them by the Clerk's office for minor filing errors, at which time they were corrected and re-filed.
A final decision by Special Master Stevens on any changes to CHL's Port LaBelle property valuations won't be made until after January 15. Then his recommendation will be forwarded to the Value Adjustment Board, composed of two county commissioners and a school board member, who will make the final decision at a public meeting on all petitions Stevens has heard during the last two weeks of hearings.
LABELLE, FLORIDA (Dec. 13, 2006) -- Port LaBelle's major property
owner battled it out with the Hendry County Tax Appraiser this
morning at the Hendry courthouse. Charles F. Svirk, Jr., the
principal and owner of CHL Holdings, Inc. and CHL Home Builders, Inc.
is attempting, in two scheduled days of hearings to reduce the tax
appraisal values on the thousand plus parcels of Hendry county real
estate his two companies own. Svirk, the only shareholder in the two
land and home building companies, is easily spending tens of
thousands of dollars in attorney fees and real estate appraisals to
convince Special Master Dan Stevens that the Hendry tax appraisal
office wildly overvalued his properties, and thus increased the
property taxes due this year by as much as three times what they were
last year.
Svirk brought in a Sarasota attorney, a local real estate appraiser,
and several witnesses to help convince Attorney Stevens that the tax
appraiser made errors in her valuations of Port LaBelle lots this
year, and a mistake on Svirk's personal home on the Caloosahatchee
River. Deputy Tax Appraiser Cliff Wood, represented by attorney Jay
Wood, apparently agreed somewhat with Svirk's home valuation and they
agreed to reduce the home value from $340,000 down to $124,000
without hearing. But Svirk and Wood disagreed on the land value of
the two acre river front parcel, and after one and one-half hours of
evidence, Special Master Stevens said that the land portion should be
valued at $720,000 up from Svirk's claim that it should be worth
$669,000, but less that the tax office's value of $800,000. Svirk
said he bought the property for $250,000 four years ago. Svirk lives
in New Hampshire.
During the afternoon session Stevens will hear a continuation of
evidence on Port LaBelle Banyan Village lot valuation where Svirk's
company owns about 1300 lots. CHL claims that most of the buyers in
2005 did not realize that home building would be illegal because
there is no water lines there. Svirk claims that buyers were ill
informed and were paying tens of thousands of dollars for lots that
were unbuildable. He claims that he only paid an average of about
$6700 for his lots in 2005. Svirk said he was not able to sell any
lots in Banyon Village, however, because the Florida Division of Land
Sales prevent developers or land owners owning more than 25 lots,
like his company, from selling lots to the public where no water is available.
Gambling Profits Help Tribe Make $965 Million Deal
CLEWISTON, FLORIDA -- The gambling operator Seminole Tribe of
Florida, with tribal reservations in both Hendry and Glades county,
have signed a contract to purchase the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant and
casino chain from a British gambling company.
The Rank Group says it is selling its 124 cafes, six hotels and two
casinos after an auction conducted by Merrill Lynch. Rank had posted
$70 million in profits last year on the properties. The Seminole
tribe bought the assets for $965 million, subject to Rank stockholder
approval in March.
The Tribe already operates two Hard Rock hotels in Tampa and
Hollywood, Fla, and have had many run ins with Florida officials
since 1979 when they opened the first tribal gambling operation in
the U.S., bingo games in Hollywood, Fla. The Tribe has attempted to
install full Las Vegas style gambling at their casinos for many
years, with officials objecting.
The Internal Revenue Service has also been targeting the tribe and
has been involved in litigation over the use of tax-free bonds used
by the Seminoles to build casinos.
$415 million in tax-free bonds were used for its casinos, which the
IRS said was illegal. Last year the tribe said it would issue $730
million in new bonds to pay off the original bonds and pay down other debt.
3,300 Seminole tribe members live around Florida.
CLEWISTON, FLORIDA -- Sheriff Ronnie Lee said one adult and one
juvenile were arrested on December 4, 2006, and charged for their
involvement in the burglary of three homes, and the vandalizing of
four homes and vehicles all located in the Clewiston area. Robby Alan
Reyes, age 18 of 1145 Sherwood Avenue Clewiston, Florida was charged
with three counts of Burglary, two counts of Grand Theft, one Felony
Criminal Mischief and two counts of Misdemeanor Criminal Mischief. A
16-year-old juvenile of Clewiston, Florida was charged with one count
of Burglary and one count of Felony Criminal Mischief. According to
Sheriff's Investigator Tiffany Arnold, the vandalized properties
included spray painted obscenities and gang-like graffiti, including
several obscenities and slanderous phrases which, in gang
terminology, means to murder or kill.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- For the month of November, there were only eight
real esate properties sold in the LaBelle area for an average price
of $175,000. All but two were sales in Port LaBelle. Port LaBelle
home builders now have an excess of inventory with little being
sold. One builder in desperation has resorted to placing plastic
signs and "open house" banners illegally on street corners and on
trees throughout Port LaBelle.
1) $150,000 on Albany Road
2) $229,000 on Buttercup Circle (new home)
3) $185,000 on Fraser Avenue (city of LaBelle)
4) $188,000 on Rainbow Circle
5) $184,000 on NE Beechwood Circle
6) $165,000 on S Edgewater Circle
7) $189,000 on S Edgewater Circle
8) $110,000 on S Main Street (city of LaBelle)
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Army National Guard Pvt. Leonard B. Carey has
graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army
mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and
received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military
weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony,
marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading,
field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic
first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises. He is the son
of Sonya Telfort of Orange St., La Belle, Fl. Carey is a 2006
graduate of La Belle High School.
Public Comments Cause Corp of Engineers To Reconsider
Clewiston, Florida -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Jacksonville District is revising its draft Environmental Impact
Statement that supports the Lake Okeechobee Water Control Plan.
The original process drafted by the Corps anticipated adoption of a
new regulation schedule in January 2007. However, new
information and comments gathered during the public comment
period have resulted in changes that warrant development of a second
draft of the EIS.
This draft will be made available for
public review in March 2007. Based on this schedule, is
anticipated that implementation of the new regulation schedule will
begin in July 2007. A second public review and comment period
will begin in March and will be open for 45 days. The original
process drafted by the Corps anticipated adoption of a new
regulation schedule in January 2007. Following a
series of public meetings last September, Jacksonville District
Commander Col. Paul Grosskruger asked the interagency study team revisit the proposed draft regulation schedule and fine-tune
it to minimize impacts on the coastal estuaries.
"Public involvement is a very important part of our process, and we are listening to the public's concerns. In our
desire to deliver the overall most effective plan possible, we're
taking the additional time needed to address those concerns. The
public wants to see more water moving south. Of course, that's
what we all want to see, and what the Everglades restoration
program will ultimately provide," said Pete Milam, project
manager. "In the meantime,& we're moving water south,
though we are constrained by the amount of water can move
until water storage and treatment components start coming on line."
As Everglades projects come to
fruition, the Corps will use them to route more water
south. In the interim, the proposed plan provides for
higher level of safety to lake communities and improves Lake
Okeechobee environmental conditions by managing the lake at lower
elevations. Once the proposed regulation schedule is implemented
next summer, water managers will immediately begin developing a
new schedule that will take into account Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan projects, inclunding Acceler8 project
components. This schedule is planned for early 2010
implementation.
For further information on the Lake Okeechobee Regulation
Schedule Study and Environmental Impact Statement, visit
the Jacksonville District web site at href="http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/">
http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/</ or call Susan Jackson, the Corporate Communication Office at 904-232-1953.
Belle Glade Man Graduates From Basic Training
BELLE GLADE, FLORIDA -- Air Force Airman Christopher D. Mendoza has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations.
In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force. He is the son of Ramon Mendoza and Ronie Posey of S.E. Fourth St., Belle Glade, Fl. Mendoza is a 2006 graduate of Glade Central Community High School, Belle Glade.
BELLE GLADE, FLORIDA -- Army Pvt. Tiffany D. Summerall has graduated
from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During
the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission,
history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received
instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons,
chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching,
rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field
tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid,
foot marches, and field training exercises.
She is the daughter of Diane Gary of S.W. Avenue C, Belle Glade,
Fla., and niece of Elaine Howard of Colleraine Ave., Tavares,
Fl. Summerall is a 2004 graduate of Glade Central Community High
School, Belle Glade.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Hendry County Agricultural Agent Gene McAvoy has
sent a letter to area farmers warning that Glades Crop Care has
reported a confirmed finding of late blight on tomatos in the
Immokalee area. The infection is in a fairly large planting which
has multiple infections widely scattered throughout the
field. Numerous infected plants are present with symptoms ranging
from single lesions to several hotspots throughout the field where
plants display multiple late blight lesions. McAvoy says the disease
can easily devastate a tomato or potato field within a few weeks if
it is not properly controlled.
Since the disease can spread so rapidly, growers are being warned to
scout their fields thoroughly each day, especially when cool and wet
conditions conducive to disease development prevails. Since late
blight symptoms may be confused with symptoms of other diseases,
McAvoy gave farmers several diagnostic pointers to help growers
distinguish between the late blight and other diseases.
Numerous fungicide products are registered for late blight
control. Protectants, as the name implies, protect foliage from
infection by spores. Protectant chemicals must be well distributed
over the leaf surface and must be applied before spores land on
leaves. They are ineffective against established infections.
In Florida, it has been observed that seldom does a widespread late
blight epidemic occur on tomatoes in the Manatee-Ruskin area unless
the disease was present in the Immokalee area and/or Dade
County. Since late blight has been confirmed on tomato in Immokalee,
growers in other areas are being advised to adhere to a preventative
spray program. Growers are advised to be aware of the presence of the
disease in SW Florida and should be alert for the appearance of
symptoms in their fields as well as be sure to apply protective
fungicides to help prevent possible infections. No other disease
will find an unprotected field as rapidly as late blight.
Special Consumer Report by Don Browne
LABELLE, FLORIDA - I've used the AOL services almost from the beginning, when dial-up internet service was the only choice back in the 1980s. For example, I've posted all our Southwest Florida Online and Sunday Morning News pages using AOL for over ten years. But that's all I used them for. I have several other internet providers for email and browsing online.
The AOL services had been the butt of many jokes for decades, and probably deservedly so. The customer service was awful, the online interface was clunky and hard to navigate, and on and on.
But in recent months, AOL has been taking a 180 degree turn and now has their act together. AOL has become a totally free service for anyone now. And the scope of information they provide is overwhelmingly good. AOL found that they were losing customers by the millions with their previous subscription plans that were actually more expensive than all other internet providers. Now, they've reversed course and are giving away all their online service including free e-mail names, free radio and music stations online, and more than ample news and information pages, all freely accessible to all.
Their are still some glitches...
Last month, I found my monthly bill had been overcharged about $30. I didn't look forward to making that dreaded phone call to "customer service" at AOL. After what seemed like and eternity of waiting and pushing button one, button two, ad nauseum, finally got to a live person, who had that now all too familiar southeast Asian accent but an American name "Fred", who claimed I had overused my allowed minutes last month. After much argument, Fred allowed me a full credit for the extra charges. Ok, so all's well.
Well, not exactly. This month I received a letter saying I had cancelled my subscription account and now had one of the new free accounts. This was mysterious as I had not cancelled my account.
So back to the phone to figure out what was going on. After more buttom pushing, finally got to the live person (this time without any foreign accent)and they tell me that they don't exactly know how my account got cancelled and into the free account. When questioned further, they could not answer fully what I was giving up in taking on the free account. It seemed like I was to receive the same service as before but.. I could no longer call for assistance or use AOL's service to log onto the internet. That was OK since I had several other internet service providers all along anyway. Because AOL customer service has been awful, I'm not going to miss it.
A Thumbs UP
So, the bottom line....I give AOL's new free services a big thumbs up. I've only mentioned the tip of the iceberg as far as what they now offer for free. Take a look at all of their now free services by going to Free AOL and try the music service for some great choices in AOL's 200 radio stations and XM's Radio's 20 more...all for free.
CLEWISTON, FLORIDA - The Seacoast National Bank has named Letitia
"Tishy" Swagler as the new branch manager for its branch located on
Berner Road in Clewiston. Mrs. Swagler has a banking background of
mortgage lending and banking compliance at the Yardville National
Bank in Hamilton Square, New Jersey. Mrs. Swagler is married to John
F. Swangler.
BELLE GLADE, FLORIDA -- Stetson University, in Deland, Florida, owns
extensive art collection by Modernist painter Oscar Bluemner
(1867-1938) and soon will have a permanent gallery on the Stetson
campus thanks to the generosity of longtime Stetson trustee and
alumna Dolly Hand and her husband, Homer Hand.
The Hands are donating a $1 million lead gift for an art center to be
built between Sampson Hall, home of the university's Art Department,
and the duPont-Ball Library on campus. The university is applying for
grants to raise additional funding needed for construction of the new facility.
The Hands live in Belle Glade, where they own and operate Hand
Enterprises, the management company for their land holdings. They are
active in civic affairs in the Belle Glade/Okeechobee area, and both
are former members of the Palm Beach Community College Board of
Trustees. They have received numerous awards, including the Champion
of Higher Independent Education in Florida (CHIEF) Award from the
Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida in 1996.
Dolly Hand is a 1949 graduate of Stetson's College of Law, which was
located on the DeLand campus until the mid-1950s and is now based in
St. Petersburg. She was the only woman in her class and, at age 20,
was the youngest student ever to complete the law program. Mrs. Hand
has served on the Stetson University Board of Trustees since 1994.
The couple provided permanent funding for the Homer and Dolly Hand
Award for Excellence in Faculty Research, which is given annually to
recognize Stetson faculty members involved in significant research.
They also give to Stetson for student scholarships each year.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Governor Jeb Bush this week named Mel Karau to
the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. Karau, 73 is retired
and lives in the Fort Danaud area of Hendry county. He replaces
Janice Groves and begins his term November 6, ending Octover 1, 2009.
Others appointed by the Governor are: Frank Weikel, 75, of Punta
Gorda, retired, reappointed for a term beginning November 6, 2006 and
ending October 1, 2009; Rory Dubin, 41, of Sarasota, commercial
realtor, Waterford Real Estate Services, Inc., succeeding Alan Maio,
appointed for a term beginning November 6, 2006 and ending October 1,
2009. All appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- When Pedro Quiroz was offered a ride home for $5.00 he didn’t realize that he would become the victim of an armed robbery. In a report by Sheriff Ronnie Lee Mr. Quiroz was walking home along SR 29 north of the bridge when he noticed a small green car that he thought belonged to a friend of his, he waved and the car stopped. Mr. Quiroz noticed it was not his friend but, the Hispanic female driver asked him if he wanted a ride. When he replied yes, the driver told him she would drive him home for $5.00.
When Mr. Quiroz entered the car he noticed 2 other passengers one of which he knew as Victor and the other passenger was a white male. As the car neared Thigpen Rd. the driver stopped and the white male pulled Mr. Quiroz from the vehicle. Once outside the car the man known as Victor pointed a small semi-automatic handgun at him and then hit him in the head with a beer bottle and knocked him to the ground. While on the ground one of the men went through his pockets and stole his wallet and $250.00 cash.
The subsequent investigation by the Hendry County Sheriff's Criminal Investigations division has led to the arrest of; Maria Kelly Delacruz age 26 of 2020 Wellington Ave. Alva, Florida and Wayne Bubba Oconner age 32 of LaBelle, Florida. Both Delacruz and Oconner were charged with; Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery With A Deadly Weapon, Robbery With A Weapon, and Robbery. They were booked into the Hendry County Jail with bond set at $75,000.00 each.
The third suspect Victor Roa age 29 of 783 Martin Luther King Blvd in LaBelle was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, Kidnapping and Robbery with a weapon. Roa was booked in the Hendry County Jail with bond set at $100,000.00.
The new meters will send electronic digital radio signals to a meter reader's receiving device to automatically record the water useage. Installed with lithuim batteries that supposedly will last for a decade or more, the new meters allow a Port LaBelle Utility System employee to merely drive by each home to automatically record the water use each month.
There's no offical word whether Port LaBelle customers will end up paying more for their water because of the added cost of the new meters, but residents have for years complained about their historically high water and sewer rates in Port LaBelle. Years ago, the county purchased the water company from the original Port LaBelle developer with promises of lower rates. However, customer costs have only gone up over the years.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- While official election results are pending the Hendry Supervisor of Elections' certification, in one of two Hendry county general election seats for the Port LaBelle Community Development District, Margaret Rose Pass apparently lost her bid for a board seat to Scott Wegscheid. Wegscheid is a long-time member of the district's board.
Pass, who co-owns a home in the Port LaBelle Ranchettes on Birchwood Parkway in Glades county, is the long-time Director of Building and Zoning in Coral Gables, Florida. Or at least was the director until a scandal broke in mid-September. She was suspended from her duties after the arrest of her administrative assistant on charges of corruption and fraud in the wealthy exclusive city-suburb of Miami.
Her assistant, Jorge Reyes was arrested in connection with allegations of time-sheet scams, fraud, and drug related charges according to news reports from Miami. The suspension of Pass followed an anonymous letter that accused both Pass and Reyes of a list of possible felony charges and alleged nepotism from both in the 80-person Coral Gables building and zoning department.
Nothwithstanding her current problems in Miami, Pass, who doesn't keep her feelings hidden, at a recent Glades county commission meeting argued that the Glades county manager should be fired after his past criminal conviction came to light. According to a news report. Pass told the county commissioners, "I'd like to see him fired, and if you don't, I'm going to check in to each and every one of you."
A second Port LaBelle Community Development District seat was won by Suzanne Gee of the Port LaBelle Ranchettes. Gee won over J. Michael Jordan, a longtime member of the Development District board.
Hendry voters picked Bill Nelson (D) for the U.S. Senate along with the rest of Florida. but chose the former Republican candidate Mark Foley for the 16th Congressional District, disagreeing with the remainder of the district from Stuart to Charlotte County. who elected Tim Mahoney (D) who resides in the rural community of Venus in Highland County.
Hendry citizens voted Republican for all the remaining candidates, and said "yes" to all the state amendment issues, and approved all District and Supreme Court Judges. Of the total votes cast in this General Election, about 1000 or 20% were made by "early" votes before election day.
MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA -- The winner of the Glades County Commission
seat is Donna Storter Long. Long took 51% of the vote over Democratic
candidate Alvin Ward. The final count was Long 1189 votes to Ward's
1159 votes in the 13 Glades county precincts. The commission seat is
for Glades County's 2nd District.
MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA -- On election day, with only a few remaining hours to go, Glades county commission candidates are hoping to get the attention of those voters who have not cast their votes yet. At the Muse Community Center in western Glades county, hundreds of signs for the two Glades County Commission candidates as well as signs for state and federal offices were posted on the grounds of the voting place as well as on the public right of way just outside the Community Center's fence.
Voters will be choosing seat holders of 18 offices up for election today in Glades county, and as well for six proposed state law amendments on the 2006 ballot. Republican Donna Storter Long and Democrat Alvin Ward, the only local politicians looking for votes today, are running for Glades County Commission for District 2.
Alvin Ward's supporters, the Glades Democratic Party, placed a large canopy festooned with balloons outside the fence of the community center on public right of way with dozens of Democrat candidate signs. Workers, when asked about the legality of placing political signs on public property say that's the way its always done in Glades county and no one enforces any sign laws here.
And inside the gate, on the county-owned grounds of the Muse Community Association where voters strolled in and out of the polling place all day, Donna Storter Long's signs were prominently displayed in great numbers near the front entrance to the polling place. Storter-Long had been asked earlier in the campaign about complaints about her signs and opponent Ward's illegally placed political signs scattered on roadways throughout the county. Long said she had instructed her workers to not place them on public land of rights-of-way. But in the exuberance of campaigning, workers apparently didn't heed the instruction, as signs are found all over the county on public land, most usually at the corners of busy intersections and along the fronts of schools and other public places. Long said because her signs inside the grounds at the Muse Community Center were on county property they were allowed there.
Notwithstandig that a Glades county commissioner is a Florida constitutional officer sworn to uphold all the laws of Florida while being paid $24,756 yearly, both Glades commission candidates apparently don't intend to uphold "all" the laws in Florida if a few hundred political signs get in the way.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Democratic Candidate for Congress, Tim Mahoney, and former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham visit LaBelle Friday, November 3 to meet voters and tour water quality projects in Hendry and Glades County.
Tim Mahoney is running for the seat formerly held by Republican Mark Foley. The Republican candidate also seeking to represent Florida's 16th Congressional district is Joe Negron. After the traditional pie and coffee stop at Flora & Ella's Restaurant, Mahoney and Graham will tour the LaBelle Nature Park, just north of the restaurant and adjacent to the historic Hendry House. The park is the site of a planned Caloosahatchee River oxbow restoration and natural resources education center. The pie and coffee reception at Flora & Ella's Restaurant on Hwy 80 in LaBelle is open to the public.
The LaBelle Nature Park is managed by the City of LaBelle and supported by groups including Rotary International, Kiwanis International, the Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association- Riverwatch, Boy Scouts, and the LaBelle-Hendry Recreation Board. LaBelle Mayor and Riverwatch member, Randy Bengston, a strong advocate for the park project, will provide a tour of the park. Bill Maddox, Hendry County Commissioner, and Ron Zimmerly, Hendry County director for special projects, will explain plans for the proposed oxbow restoration.
After a discussion of the park and oxbow projects, Riverwatch members will take the opportunity to raise some of the larger issues of regional water management and water quality with the candidate. The 16th district includes several major water bodies - the Caloosahatchee River, Fisheating Creek, Lake Okeechobee, Kissimmee River, and St. Lucie River. Of primary mportance to Riverwatch is developing a proper south Florida water management system and leadership that will protect Lake Okeechobee, rivers, wetlands, coastal estuaries, and marine shorelines.
CLEWISTON, FLORIDA -- Federal Emergency Management officials
announced this week that over concerns about the safety of Lake
Okeechobee's aging earth dike and what would happen should it fail, a
high tech survey will be taken before next summer to calculate flood
zones surrounding the nations second largest freshwater lake.
Official say that seven emergency planners will develop strategies to
deal with any future emergency caused by a failing dike. Gov. Jeb
Bush had asked for help after state-hired engineers called the
Herbert Hoover Dike a ``grave and imminent danger.''
New laser based aerial mapping, using a technique known as Light
Detection and Ranging or LiDar, will survey the lake area and enable
mappers to draw elevation maps of the lands surrounding the giant
lake, accurate to about 1 foot, and enable survey crews to finish
much quicker with more accurate results than older land based survey
crews could do.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Air Force Airman Gilberto M. Rodriguez has
graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base,
San Antonio, Texas. During the six weeks of training, the airman
studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and
courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received
physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and
special training in human relations.
In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward
an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
He is the son of Mary Martinez, and grandson of Susie Martinez, both
of S. Bridge St., LaBelle, Fl. The airman is a 2005 graduate of
LaBelle High School.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Following an investigation by the Criminal
Investigations Division of the Hendry County Sheriff's Office, the
18th Hendry County Grow House was put out of business. The house at
7050 Tide Circle in Port LaBelle is owned by residents of Dade County
and had new sophisticated marijuana growing equipment
installed, with privacy blinds tightly covering all windows. Sheriff Ronnie Lee advised that marijuana valued in
excess of $50,000.00 was seized along the equipment. Sheriff Lee also
stated that the investigation is continuing with arrests pending.
According to the Property Appraiser's records the new home was
purchased last month by Daniel L. Costa and Ania Costa of Miami Springs, who
are not married, for $173,000. The entire purchase price was financed
by a mortgage with nothing down, according to court records. The
house was one of the least expensive new homes in Port LaBelle. The
home is located less than a mile from the LaBelle Middle School, with
few other houses built yet on the street, leaving it fairly private. The Costas, while not identified as suspects by the Sheriff's office at this time, own a six-month old corporation in Hialeah called Quality Health Care Providers, Inc.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- From October 10 to October 17 there were 8 homes
sold in the LaBelle area for an average price of $182,500. More homes
were sold other than the usual in Port LaBelle this week. Details for
local homes sold:
1) $300,000 on Bee Branch Lakes Drive, west of LaBelle
2) $160,000 on Bishop Circle
3) $112,000 on Clipper Court in Country Oaks
4) $159,000 on Hardee Street in LaBelle
5) $195,000 on Hardee Street in LaBelle
6) $147,000 on East Sunflower Circle
7) $235,000 on North Oak Street in LaBelle
8) $152,000 on South Edgewater Circle
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- The Indian Hills Community Association will meet
at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 25 at the Volunteer Fire Department at
3890 Indian Hills Road, SW to hear representatives from Florida Power
and Light on the proposed Glades Power Plant Project. Senior Manager
Rachel Scott, and External Affairs Manager, Grover Whidden will be
presenting a power point presentation on the proposed FP&L Glades
County Power Plant Project.
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- From October 3 to October 10, there were 6 homes
sold in the LaBelle area for an average price of $193,333 a decrease
from recent weeks. Those sales included the following:
1) $225,000 on Cherry Lane
2) $200,000 on Dania Circle
3) $155,000 on Martin Street
4) $240,000 on Penny Circle (new construction)
5) $185,000 on School Circle in Port LaBelle
6) $155,000 on North Edgewater Circle in Port LaBelle
LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Local law enforcement agencies are investigating
a local drug ring after an alleged marijuana drug house was raided
earlier this week. Details are being withheld as an investigation
continues by several agencies. Agents raided a local home and sources
say other arrests may be pending. The raided home has been sealed as
evidence and the electric lines to the house cut off.
Drug enforcement agencies note that a typical "grow house" sometimes
can be easily spotted as illegal activities are underway, by signs
of unusual activity at the home, "residents" with out-of-area
vehicle tags, and window and yards protected by privacy screens.
Power companies also note unusually high amount of electric being
consumed at such drug growing homes for the special lighting and
irrigation equipment needed in a sealed window and doored house.
CLEWISTON, FLORIDA -- C.R.E.W., Inc. has been awarded a $208,000
grant by the State of Florida's Department of Financial Services to
administer the My Safe Florida Home hurricane mitigation program
designed to help fortify low-income Hendry and Glades County homes.
The Volunteer Florida Foundation, which manages the Florida Hurricane
Relief Fund and the My Safe Florida Home program for low-income
homeowners, chose C.R.E.W., Inc to provide hurricane mitigation
grants to homeowners who earn no more than 80 percent of the Annual
Median Income. In Hendry and Glades counties, 80% of the AMI for a
family of four is $31,000. Homes to receive mitigation services must
be site-built, single-family homes with insurance coverage under
$500,000 and have a homestead exemption.
C.R.E.W., Inc seeks to serve 100 homeowners, who will receive free
home inspections to determine what improvements can be made to
strengthen their homes against hurricanes. Following the inspections,
homeowners will receive assistance to make recommended improvements.
As part of this non-profit initiative, C.R.E.W., Inc will leverage
donations of labor through volunteers, contractor services, cash and
building materials.
Homeowners who qualify can receive funds to complete mitigation
upgrades such as: improving the strength of roof deck attachments,
creating a secondary water barrier to prevent water intrusion,
improving the survivability of roof covering, bracing gable-ended
roof framing, reinforcing roof-to-wall connections, upgrading
exterior wall openings, such as hurricane shutters, and upgrading
exterior doors, such as garage doors.
To apply for the program in (Hendry or Glades Counties), call (863-983-2390).
