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2020-11-17 News Article• November 25, 2020 Lake Okeechobee News - merger c: iehobos News, Clewiston News, Glades County Democrat, and TIMM 9 NOV' I'1, 3O ao CC M-tj Fitt OHS graduate speaks to school board on diversity By Richard Marion Lake Okeechobee News OKEECHOBEE — A graduate of Okeechobee High School, Marcus Dingers, returned to Okeechobee to address school board members at the Nov. 17 meeting. Marcus made the decision to address the board after a proclamation of LGBT history month was pulled from the October meeting agenda. Before being pulled, the original procla- mation read that "the Okeechobee County School Board appreciates and recognizes the importance of LGBT History Month as an effective means of educating and calling to action the citizens of Okeechobee Coun- ty to work together to promote equal pro- tection of a11 Okeechobee County students and gender identity or gender expression." The week before the Oct. 13 meeting, a few social media users denounced the proclamation and speculated that this meant children in kindergarten were going to be taught about being gay while others claimed this was an example of what they called a "demonic agenda" being shoved down their throats. Marcus, who was a member of the Gay - Straight Alliance during his time at OHS, expressed his disappointment to the board that an inclusive proclamation could be mischaracterized as something it was not. "I reiterated the fact that we (the public) were not pushing for a curriculum when it came to inclusivity within the schools," ex- plained Marcus. "Rather, we were pushing for awareness and understanding of these 7, regardless of sexual orientation, inclusive groups." LGBT History Month was first started in 1994 by a Missouri high school teacher named Rodney Wilson. Although not in- cluded as part of the original proclamation, every year LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 different figures from history. A few of this year's icons included Anne McClain, former NASA astro- naut and U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who served as flight engineer for Expeditions 58/59 to the International Space Station, and Deborah Batts, a federal judge who presided over prominent cases involving political corruption, terrorism and criminal justice. "1 felt it was important to voice mine and the public's feelings at this month's meeting," said Marcus. "Discussion and awareness is the key, and even having the conversation we were having was a step in the right direction." At the Nov. 17 meeting, the Okeechobee County School Board proclaimed Novem- ber as Global Diversity Awareness Month. The text of the proclamation read, "the school board of Okeechobee County, Florida, accepts and welcomes people of diverse backgrounds and believes that a diverse population leads to a more vibrant community, which contributes greatly to our schools, neighborhood and culture." For Marcus, it was a welcome step in the right direction. "I was very pleased," said Marcus of the proclamation. "Personally 1 believe Okeechobee as a whole wasn't quite prepared for an LGBTQ proclamation. This was an awesome alternative to broaden the spectrum on inclusive groups." conomic Development Corp. asks Okeechobee City Council for $40,000 back By Cathy Womble Lake Okeechobee News OKEECHOBEE — The $40,000 the city council had budgeted to use for economic growth in the city was back on the agenda again this week. According to City Administrator Marcos Montes de Oca, back in September when Frank Irby of the Okeechobee County Economic Development Corporation told the city council the EDC was doing well enough on its own this year and would like to see the council use the money for downtown park improvements instead, he was not actually speaking on behalf of the full board but onty of the executive commit- tee. When the full board heard of his offer to the city council, members did not agree and requested the funding be reinstated. "It was kind of a misspeak on his be- half," said Montes de Oca. Although the money was never officially moved in the budget, there was enough discussion during several meetings about it going to the parks instead that Montes de Oca felt it was a good idea to bring it back before council. The money is still budgeted to go to the Economic Development Corp., sand that is where the money will go now. other business, Mayor Dowling Wat- City seeks residents for Pension Board of Trustees OKEECHOBEE — The city is seeking interested city residents to serve on the General Employees' Pension Board of Trustees. For more information, contact Lane Gamiotea at 863-763-9814. Okeechobee City hall to close for Thanksgiving holiday OKEECHOBEE — City hall offices will be closedron Thursday and Friday, Nov. 26 and 27, in observance of Thanksgiving. Offices will reopen on Monday, Nov. 30, at 8 a.m. Visit, www.cityofokeechobee.com for 24/7 \access. ford Jr. proclaimed the week of Nov. 18-25 as Farm City Week Robin Brock was presented with a 20-year longevity service award. "Robin literally does everything and then fills the gaps," said Montes de Oca. A maintenance agreement was ap- proved for the installation of a traffic signal at North Ninth Street and U.S. 941. Win hot spots will soon be installed in Flagler and Centennial parks. The purpose is to help area children who do not have a way to connect to do schoolwork Finally, the city council will be changing the format for the minutes of their meet- ings. Rather than the extensive minutes they have been keeping for many years, they will be keeping minimal minutes, called "action minutes," as required by Roberts Rules of Order. Audio recordings will still be available upon request, but are kept onty for three years. Agendas and exhibits are available online. This will give the city clerks more time for other activi- ties, said Councilman Bobby Keefe. Mayor Watford was against the decision. "Maybe I'm old-fashioned," he said. "It's just nice to have that backup. 1 like paper. I don't like to read things on the computer." Hendry County government offices closed for holiday Special to the Lake Okeechobee News LABELLE — Hendry County govern- ment offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27, for the Thanksgiv- ing holiday. County offices will resume regular busi- ness hours on Monday, Nov. 30. The LaBelle and Clewiston transfer stations will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26, for the Thanksgiving holiday. The transfer stations will be open for regular business hours during the remain- der of the week. There will be no waste or recycling pick-up on Thursday, Nov. 26. Services will be delayed one day for the remainder of the week. Special to the Lake Okeechobee News OKEECHOBEE — Robin Brock was presented with a 20-year longevity service award at the Nov. 17 meeting of the Okeechobee City Council. Left to right are City Administrator Marcos Montes de Oca, Robin Brock and Mayor Dowling Watford. TTENTION: FARMERS & RANCHERS Now In Stock Your Winter Supplement Feeds for Cattle Sitga.Lik Liquid Feed i rott;i,a Blocks, Energy Blocks ., ; G ,• a Cattle Cubes Suga-.fir 4�,n.- Walpole Feed 763-6905 r,LowvN RAIN & Supply Co. Hwy. 98 N. Okeechob.e Lake Okeechobee News - merger of Okeechobee News, Clewiston News, Glades and The Sun December 9, 2020 Nov. 17, k90 �_C- (Aiv►tAk File Okeechobee City Councilman -elect Cale resigns By Cathy Womble Lake Okeechobee News OKEECHOBEE — Amidst controversy and gossip and before presiding over even one meeting as an official Okeechobee City Council member, Russ Cale has resigned his seat on the council as of Monday, Nov 30. During the council's meeting on Nov. 16, a local citizen stood before the council and told them his son had taken his own life and that he believed the councilman who would soon be taking office was respon- sible. He begged the council not to allow `\Hendry Co Special to the Lake Okeechobee News CLEWISTON —The Hendry County Legislative Delegation will meet on Friday, Dec. 11, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Clewiston City Hall Commission Chambers, 115 W. Ventura Ave., Clewiston. Presenters will include: • City of Clewiston — Randy Martin, city manager; • City Of LaBelle — Mayor Dave Lyons, Finance Director Ron Zimmerly; . him to take that seat in January. Although the council expressed great sympathy for the family, they concluded they had no legal means to keep him from taking his seat, but some pledged to urge him to resign on his own. Just before noon on Monday, he did. Russ Cale and Monica Clark ran for city council unopposed and were therefore both elected. Clark will begin her second four-year term on Jan. 4, 2021, after her investiture. Cale's resignation was unconditionally accepted at the council meeting on Dec. 1. According to City Clerk Lane Gamiotea, the city will have to conduct a special election to fill the seat. In January, they will start out with only four council members and continue that way until the special election. The election will have to be coordinated through the supervisor of elections office, and will take a minimum of 90 days once they begin the process. The matter is complicated by the changeover in the supervisor of elections office, she explained. That office may want to postpone it until the new supervisor is in office. Everything is up in the air, she con- tinued. Either way, the very earliest a vote could take place would probably be March 2021, she said. Another complication might be finding people willing to run. In the fall election, there were only two people who ran for the two available seats. In order to qualify to run for city council, you must be a city resident, must be a reg- istered voter, must be at least 18 years old, must file papers and pay the qualifying fee of $159 by the end of the qualifying period, which has not yet been determined. unty Legislative Delegation to meet` • Hendry County Board of County Com- missioners; • Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Im- provement District, Local Bill — Mike Cook and Dave Ramba; • Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, Second District — Ita Neymotin, CEO; • Hendry County School District — Su- perintendent Michael Swindle; • Heartland Education Consortium — John Varady: • Florida Gulf Coast University —Jenni- fer Goen, director of government relations; • Florida SouthWestern College — Jef- fery Allbritten, president; • Lee Health — Michael Nachef, director of government relations; • Central Florida Behavioral Network —Alan Davidson, chief clinical officer, and Linda McKinnon; • Healthy Start Coalition — Susan Beau- vois, executive director; • Lions Free Eye Clinic, Inc — Valerie Bostic, interim executive director; • Florida Coalition for Spoken Language Options—Yadira Lorenzo, CEO, Children's Garden of LaBelle; • Children's Network—Nadereh Salim, CEO; and • Habitat for Humanity of Lee & Hendry Counties — Paul Martin, Koller Land Part- ners, LLC. Belle Glade advertising again for Gove site developers By Chris Felker Lake Okeechobee News BELLE GLADE — The Belle Glade City commission acted in a special meeting Monday, Nov. 30, to advertise a new op- portunity for developers to propose how to redevelop the old Gove Elementary School property. The 10-acre property was given the city by the Palm Beach County School Board to be used for affordable housing. Mayor Steve Wilson opened the discus- sion, after the four commissioners attend- ing (one by telephone) disposed of some routine budget -juggling amendments for both the recently closed fiscal year 2020 and the new fiscal year 2021, which began Oct. 1. (Commissioner Michael C. Martin was absent.) They also unanimously passed a reso- lution to enter into the Florida Department of Transportation's Small County Outreach Program, or SCOP, which will provide for the resurfacing of 17 roadways within the city with FDOT financing. All the commissioners had the opportu- nity to meet with the city manager to revisit the RFP (request for proposals), and thank you all so much for your due diligence on that. To the audience, we heard you loud and clear. A lot of the things you shared with us make a lot of sense," Mayor Wilson said. He was referring to a long discussion during the commission's Oct. 28 special meeting, when they rejected the only pro- posal put forth by a developer the city had received but heard strong opinions from residents nearby and from some developer representatives who said the previous RFP was too restrictive. He asked City Manager Lomax Harrelle what was different in the revised Request for Proposals No. 04-2020, which is the re -bidding for the former Gove Elementary School property development project. "Well, we changed the ranking" pro- cedure, Harrelle said. "We're encouraging the people that make a submittal that it be a single-family and town home mix, with ownership, not rental. It'll be out for 45 days this time instead of 30 days, and we hope to have more submissions for consid- eration this fime than we did last time." Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the RFP. Road resurfacing project The commissioners also adopted a resolution relating to Florida Department of Transportation funding to repave various roadways in the city. City Manager Harrelle presented the report prepared by Finance Director Larry Tibbs to commissioners. According to his report and the state -funded grant agreement submitted by Steven C. Braun, FDOT's director of trans- portation development, these roads are to be resurfaced: • Northeast 18th Street from South Termini to Airport Road; • Northeast 22nd Street; • Northeast 23rd Street from South Termini to Airport Road; • Northeast 26th Street; • Northeast 28th Street; • Northeast 31s1 Street; • Northeast 32nd Street from South Termini to Airport Road; • Northeast Avenue 1 from West Termini to Northeast First Street; • Northeast Avenue G from West Termi- ni to Northeast First Street; • Hillsboro Street from West Canal Street to Northwest Avenue L; • Northwest Avenue F from Northwest 14th Street to Northwest 16th Street; • Northwest Ave F Place from Northwest 14th Street to Northwest 16th Street; • Northwest Avenue G from Northwest 14th Street to Northwest 16th Street; • Northwest Ninth Street from West Canal Street North to Hillsboro Street; • Southwest Fifth Street from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard West to West Avenue A; • Southwest 15th Drive Southwest Ave- nue H to North Termini; and • Southwest Oth Street from Southwest Avenue J to Southwest Avenue 1. The estimated cost, the agreement says, is $720,720, and it calls for construction to be complete on these projects by Dec. 31, 2022. "The Roadway Resurfacing Project will consist of construction (resurfacing) and construction engineering, and inspec- tion (CEp services for the 17 locations." Okeechobee Airport to close runway 05/23 Dec. 7-11 Special to the lake Okeechobee News between Dec. 7 and Dec. 11, 2020. County and the Airport Community with a to check before flying for any changes. OKEECHOBEE — In preparation for an This wi0 allow geotechnical crews to safe new runway to serve for decades to For questions or concerns regarding upcoming runway rehabilitation project at gather data to rehabilitate the runway for come. this upcoming closure or the rehabilitation the Okeechobee County Airport, runway much needed improvement. This is one of Aviators: please observe all NOTAMs project, contact Airport Manager Andrew 05/23 will be closed during daylight hours many steps needed to provide Okeechobee issued in regards to this closure and be sure McBean at 863-467-5505.