Community Scholarships From HRMC

Hendry Regional Medical Center is now accepting Community Scholarship applications through November, 3rd 2017. HRMC Scholarships encourage and promote healthcare as a career choice to interested persons of Hendry County and Glades County. 

The scholarship provides the student financial assistance in order to complete a training program to qualify under Florida Law for licensure in a healthcare field (through a State of Florida college, university or vocational program). 

The value of this scholarship is based on the path and degree pursued. This scholarship carries a WORK commitment clause following graduation. 

To apply call 863-902-3009 or pick up an application at HRMC Human Resources, 524 W. Sagamore Ave., Clewiston.

FEMA Recovery Center Open Until Oct. 9 In LaBelle

A Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) opens Thursday, Oct. 5 and is scheduled to close Oct. 9, in LaBelle to help Florida storm survivors. The DRC is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Monday, Oct. 9.

Disaster Recovery Centers offer in-person support to individuals and small business owners. Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the state, are available to provide assistance to anyone with filling out applications or updating their status. Voluntary organizations are available and offer a variety of services to help survivors recover.

The DRC is at the following address:
LaBelle (Hendry County)
Office of Emergency Management (EOC)
4425 W. State Road 80
LaBelle, FL 33935
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m

As more centers open, survivors may locate one near them at https://www.fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers or by calling FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362, (TTY) 800-462-7585. Helpline numbers are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. DRC information is also available on the FEMA App.

The registration process is the first step in your recovery and requires information such as insurance
policies, and bank information for possible direct transfer of funds. Survivors are encouraged to register before visiting a DRC.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers low-interest federal disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses of all sizes. The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged property.

If you have phone and/or internet access, you may register in one of the following ways:

 Online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
 Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 for voice, 711 and Video Relay Service (VRS). If you
are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585.

Information on the registration process is available in ASL at: fema.gov/medialibrary/assets/videos/111546.

 Help is available in most languages.
 Download the FEMA App and apply.

You may have other needs while visiting a DRC:

 If you require a reasonable accommodation such as American Sign Language interpreting,
Braille, large print, etc., you may call the Helpline number for support at 800-621-3362.
 Language translations are offered through Telephonic Interpretation Services in 200 languages.

Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) crews are canvassing affected areas and are able to register
survivors for FEMA assistance, if needed. Telephonic Interpretation Services are available in many
languages to assist survivors with language needs. When residents require further assistance, the teams may refer them to a DRC.

If you’re already registered, it is not necessary to visit a DRC, but you may still want to go speak with a Recovery Specialist to update your status or find help from the other organizations.

FEMA grants do not have to be repaid. FEMA assistance is nontaxable and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid or other federal benefits.

Survivors should register even if they have insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but underinsured applicants may receive help after their claims have been settled.

The DRC is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Monday, Oct. 9.

FEMA Assistance Update

The following is an updated schedule for FEMA assistance teams in Hendry County:

· Clewiston Library - 120 Osceola, Clewiston, FL 33440; Oct. 4 – 6; 10am – 4pm
· Pioneer Community Center Conference Center - 910 Panama Ave, Clewiston, FL 33440; Oct. 7; 10am – 4pm

This schedule is subject to change. Additional information will be shared as it becomes available.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is set up to assist eligible residents in signing up for Operation Blue Roof from 8am – 6pm at the Clewiston Walmart located at 1005 W. Sugarland Hwy, Clewiston, FL 33440.

For more information on FEMA assistance, please visit www.disasterassistance.gov or call 800-621-3362.

For more information on Operation Blue Roof, please visit www.saj.usace.army.mil/blueroof .

Property Tax Increase Votes Today And Tuesday

LABELLE, FL. -- Final property tax, development district taxes, hospital taxes, and municipal service benefit unit taxes will be voted on by several different government entities tonight and Tuesday.

At 5:01 p.m. Monday, October 2, the Hendry County Hospital Authority will hold a tentative budget hearing at the Convenient Care Center at 350 S. Main St. in LaBelle to determine this year's tax millage rate for the county hospital for all property owners.

At 5:30 p.m. tonight the Port LaBelle Community Development District at 3293 Dellwood Terrace will hold a hearing to increase taxes for Port LaBelle property owners.

On Tuesday, October 3, the Hendry board of commissioners will set the tax millage rate and budget at Clewiston City Hall at 5 p.m., tentatively having proposed to increase the millage to 8.4909 dollars per thousand of assessed property value. The "rollback rate" is the amount to keep the tax income the same as last year and would be 8.2645. The proposed rate is a 2.7 percent increase from last year. The board will take into consideration public comment and other factors to decide how much to raise the taxes or to keep the same.

The county millage rate was 6.5 dollars per thousand from 2007 to 2010 noted Commissioner Darrel Harris at the last meeting. Commissioner Karson Turner dissented from raising taxes this year, while the other four voted to increase.

Included in the vote Tuesday will be the "hidden" taxes, non-ad valorem assessments by county agencies for garbage collection, mosquito control, fire service, recreation facilities, and street lights.

Depending on the property location these additional fixed taxes are proposed to be raised 50 percent from last year for street lighting, to double for mosquito control, to more than doubling, a 117.2 percent increase, for solid waste collection and disposal, the largest tax and increase for most property owners.

The board will again take into consideration public comment and other factors to decide how much to raise the taxes or to keep the same.

Cesar Becerra At Museum October 5

Florida Historian Cesar Becerra Documents Florida's Last Logging Boom at Museum on October 5.

When most of America had switched to chainsaws, the loggers of South Florida were doing things the old fashioned way; cross cut saws, steam powered mills and locomotives and the raw sweat of hardy men . . . inside the last frontier . . . toiling dangerously as they took down the last of the giant Cypress and Virgin Pine Trees in the Southern United States in the Big Cypress/ Everglades Logging Operations the Saturday Evening Post had called the most dangerous job in the country in 1958.

Cesar Becerra is a South Florida historian who focuses most of his time and efforts on the human history of the Everglades. He is the past publisher of a Miami based newsletter "The Everglade Magazine" and portrays several characters in living history presentations, most of which center on the Everglades. He was introduced to LaBelle years ago by his long time friend Waddy Thompson and was fortunate enough to have interviewed such foresters as R. E. "Bob" Byrd, probably remembered by local residents as being an official of Alico, Inc. rather than as a forester who came to the area in the late 1940s when Atlantic Land & Improvement Company decided to move its operations to Hendry County . He will be bringing digital pdf versions of his book and will also have spiral-bound hard copies it available for sale. His last book, "Robert Is Here", focuses on edge of the 'Glades farmer Robert Moehling who used to harvest tomatoes inside the boundaries of Everglades National Park. "Robert Is Here" has become famous to both residents and visitors to "Deep South Miami-Dade" over the years and draws crowds on weekends when it is open.

Cesar Becerra has paddled, poled, hiked and trekked across the 'glades for nearly 20 years and is a veteran hiker of the Appalachian Trail and has walked over 13 consecutive summers from Key West to Phoenix, Arizona. He is also a veteran road warrior and drove to each the 49 North American Continent's United States in his beloved Chevy Malibu station wagon during the calendar year of 1999.

LaBelle Heritage Museum's October 5th Program Meeting will be held in the 1905 Aiken/Rider House in the museum complex at 360 North Bridge Street with the program to begin at 7 o'clock. Visitors are reminded that the Aiken/Rider House is not handicap accessible at the current time but that ADA/OSHA compliant access is planned for our next major project. Limited parking is available at the museum itself, and Rene Curtis Pratt always opens the Curtis Honey Company lot immediately across Bridge Street to those attending museum evening activities.