2021-04-06 News Article16 L.2k@ Ok@QChOI'1Q@ P:@WS - merger oi Okeechobee News, Clewiston News, Glades Counfi� Democeat, ancl Tha Sun A�YII 14, 2821
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Lalce Okeechobee News
WEST PALM EEACFI — Lalce Olceechobee
is finally bacic in Fhe ec:ological ernelope,
Lawrence Glenn Water Resources Divi-
sion Direc[or [old the South Fforida Water
Management District (SFVJMD) Governing
6oard a[ ttie April 9 meetiug.
With the lalce at 14.19 feet, the wading
birds are having a good year on the big
lalce, he said.
Researchers have counted SO Evergfades
Snail Kite rests on the lalce, nvo at the
Lakeside Ranch Stormwater Treatment
Area (STA), 37 in the C-94 STA and 2S on
Lalce Hicpoc:hee. These account for 76%0(
all I:nown snail kites nests in thc state, he
explained.
Glenn said aGout 3,700 birds are forag-
ing in five areas around the lake.
He said lhere is a spattering of algae
bloom po[ential on the westem side of
the marsh, but winds have prevented algal
blooms from forming in Ihe center o( the
lake.
Glerin said they use chlorophyll Ipvels to
ideniify areas with algal blooms. These lev-
els do nol indica[e what type of algae or cy-
anobacteria (also a�lled blue y�reen algae)
are presenL Both algae anA cyanobacleria
are part of the lal<e's na[ural ecosystem.
According to ihe U.S. Geological Service,
about 25°w oE Ehe cpecies of cyanobacteria
aze capable of producing toxins, howevcr
cyanobacteria that can produce toxins do
not always do so.
Glenn said areas wilh 20-40 rnicrograms
per liler chlorophyll are considered fo have
"blooms." He said azers vrith blooms are
tested to find out wha[ kind of algae ancV
or cyanobacteria are present and whether
or not toxins are presenl Two areas with
Microcystis were found in the pasl month,
but lhe toxin levels were below Ihe detect-
able IeveL (The Wodd Health Organization
considers microc�stin levels above 1 mi-
crogram per liter W be unsafe [o drinl< and
Icvels above 8 micrograms per fitzr to be
unsafe fo� human recreatinn contaci, such
as swimming.)
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Lalce Olceechobee News
OKEECHOI3EE — hlorida Depanmenf
of Transportation �PDOT) officials broughl
good news tu the Olceechobee Counry
Commission's Aprif 8 meeting. Following
meetings witli count}� o(ficials, FDOT has
rxonsidered rheir plan to narrow tr�fic
lanes when rhe� rzsurface State Roari 70 E.
The FDi.-!T project will resurface SR 70
From Northeast Fourth Avenue to North-
sast 17th Avenue, with some drainage and
sidewallc work incfuded.
"Onc o( the main topics of ca2ccrn was
lane width," said Michael Johnson of FDO'P
The original design called for narmwing
the lanes of traffic from 12 (eet to I 1 feet.
➢ue io the concerns raised by the county
officials, the lanes will remain 12 feet wide,
he s�id.
FDOT wifl also leave ihe median cuts i❑
plac= �or access Yo side roads. The original
plzn would have blocl:ed leii Wrn acccss at
13ih S[reet and ; 5rl-i Slreet.
A.t Yhe request u( ihe commission, FDOT
wili alsu add a�esignated lefi turr. light on
S[i 70 at ihe Post Office.
The counry commission also requested
a trailic light ai Northea5[ 16th Strcel. John-
son s�id FDOT did 'o traffic count at ihaf
intersection and it did nut wan�auP a lighi.
He said lhey might consider adding a traffic
lighl there at some time in the future.
"Thanlc you for sitting down with us
and get[ing our opinion and really talcing ii
to heart," said Commissioner Brad Good-
bread. '9t's greaf news for OI<ecchoLec."
Commissioner Kelty Owens said she
looks forward to keeping the lines of
communication open and building on [he
county's rela[ionship with FDOT.
"Thank you for listening ?o our needs,"
said Commissioner David Ha�ellief.
The commissioners did noie [hey are still
not happy abnu[ lhe roundabout currently
und?r cons4ruction on U.S. 441 S.E.
"We're oot trying tc be ¢ifbcul[ at alf,"
said Commission Chair Terry Burroughs.
"We7e just geiUng a lot of feedbacic." He
asked F'DOT ufficial, tu find ou[ if thc con-
iractors For Plie roundabout are workh�g the
hours they agreed to.
"Our ¢oal fo�� our department is !o Iceep
�he open lines oi communicaGon," said
FDOT �epresentaiive L.K_ �iadem.
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Special to the Lalce Okeechohee News
. MOOR.E HAVIiN —As COVID-19 con-
linues W impacP the nation and our rural
communiPies, it's more importaul now
than ever to 1) l-e infurn ied abou[ local
resources and know how io navigate the
ti�alth system and 2) manage our chronic
�onditions to stay healthy and safe.
���1�� �i����C��
Lalce Ol:eechobee Rur�l Health Networks
(LORHIV i is of(e�inq two free workshoF�s for
rwal residents azo�.�nd Lalce Okeecliubee. Nar-
ticipants enjoy Phe worlcsl�iops anci appreciate
the u�FormaU<�n shared. Many parU� ipards
have shareci wifh LURFW how the irforma-
6�n from lhe lasi veorlcshop has helF�d them.
• Chmnic DiSease Sel1-Management
Worlcshop (Gweelc series; virtual usualty lasis
about 90 minures)
Iliesclays, April 20, 27 Gum 6 fo 7:30 p.m.
April Z0, 27 arid May 9, I 1, 13, 25
kegister at tittps://bit.ty/3fsF6YE
• Your Health Matters —A Health Li[eracy
Worlshou (3 w?elc senes; each session is 90
minutas)
Wednesdays, May 5, 12, 19 from 10 to
I 1:30 2.m. _
Register at: htfps://biLly/3rGflc5z
For information or if would lilce to
a�ganize your own private group for
eitl-�er oi these workshops (or a Diabetes
Self-Management) please call, 772-G34
nssz.
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Lake Olceechobee News
OKEECHOBE£— During iis ApN 6
meeting, Ihe coimcil talked abuut revamp-
ing the way it Aoes superviso� evaluations.
Councitrnan EtoCby Keefe said he is realty
big on evaluations, a�id (eels it is important
ro have appropriate evaluations. He said
il is especially important af a supervisory
� level. "If shouldn't be the same as whaYs
used for non-supervisory staff," he said.
For example, he said he recentty received
an evaluation form for Police Chief Dob
Petersoq and it is th2 same one used Por
the people superw,ed by David AJlen in the
public worlc� departme�rt.
Keefe said he famd a 3G0 Cvaluation
and would lilce to implemen� Vhat. Ci'ry
Attomey John Fumero said ;C.O Evzluatioos
. altow people in suE e� visory �sition, to
be rfJiewed by the yeuple IP�ey supzrvise,
by ¢heir colleagues and hy a maAi�ar.
"!n my firm, everyone is givc;n an ammal
periormancc revizw. F.rrycn2, wh2tlier
__ above or below the person, can previde
-, �
commenPs on thaP persori s supervisory or
management slulls. Yuu get a compilation
of coiuments. There are no names attached
to them." They get comments lilce, "He is
very goncl at communication" or "I wish he
vdould pmvide better direction." These eval-
uaeions are nol normaliy tied ro financial
decisions but a!e rnore a tnol ro help you
become a better scpervisor.
The council �uked City Ciedc Lane
Gamioten to fook into �etting lhis type of
evaluation for the city. She and Fumero wilf
also check into the legality of tfiis type o(
eval�alion as it pertains fo public records.
In other business, Jennifer Tewksbury
of the Economic Council of OlceechoGee
announced an upcoming event. The
Ecottumic Council ic parcnering vaith the
Florida i�hainber ot Con:ur�erce anu the
S�uart/Iblartin Clian�oer [ahos[ a poliiicai
leeAe�,siiip institute_ 9'tiis wiil take place on
M�y 4-E a.nG is;niendeu to inspire and mo-
'tivaie lueal people whu mz.y be mnsidering
a n:n Por �tfice or arc cu� renfl�r in a��� efecied
office or w appointed positiori within the
Qovern��nent. The course witi �ive lhe Var-
ticipanLs a working Icnowledge ot local and
statewide issues. "We need to malce sure
our future leaders are iniorr.ied," shc said.
"This is a s�rvice our council is proud to
offer our community free of charge."
The Olceechubee City Council discussed
a landscape incentive program and suspen-
sion of building department mmmercial ir
rigalion fees of $84.00 unlil Augusl 31, 7021.
The intention is to impro��e the appe;�rance
of [he city. City Administer Marcos Montes
de Oca said his hands are somewhat tied.
Ne can't go out and spend thousand:: of
dollars on plants for people, but they can
help by tcmporarily eliminating the (ees
that go alon� with landscaping.
The council discnssed some changes
to lhe code enforcement process. Some of
the chanaes would inrlude allowing �:he
magisirate some authoriiv to reduce ines
a�d the city attorney to institute foredosure
proceedi�tgs.
The 2020 audiPed finzricials were ;iG-
proved Accorc?ing tu Debbie Goode irom
ihe accounti�g 5nr i;azr, P.iggs and hig�am,
the city d Olceechobee is Enancially u�und.
T'hc city agreed on a settlement oF z
lien in the Forer_losure case on a home on
Southwest Fifth Avenue. The case is in
:ourt and once in court, it has to be settled.
The setUement is v�ith the new uwner, not
with lhe person who originalty received the
lien.
The council approved a 30-day e�ctem
sion for the Taybr Creek SE 8th Avenue
Stormwater Conveyance Project.
Fumero gave an update on the fire
services conUact and said there are five fire-
fighters who may not have their paramedic
certification by the deadline. There are only
three positions available for non-paramed-
ics, so i( they do not have [heir certifica5on,
some of ihem could possihly noV have a
position.
Handicap par!dng spots wiil soon be
added or Parl; Srr�et.
The �i'ry public worls depa!tmenY hzs
been hard at worlc cleaning out the ditches
in the southv✓es; secti m, anci :`�omeowners
in tl�ial area a�e very pleaseu vvith tlze prog-
ress said Councilmember Monica Clark.. J
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