More Arrests For Drugs In Clewiston
Two At Tropical Mobile Home Park
Arrested
CLEWISTON, FL. -- Hendry County Sheriff's Narcotic Investigators executed a search warrant at Lot 61 in Tropical Mobile Home Park during the early morning hours Friday July 18.
According to Sheriff Ronnie Lee, Investigators located Cocaine, Drug Paraphernalia, and Prescription Drugs within the residence. Rolando Garcia, age 31, and Kelly Blanset Lee, age 27, were arrested and charged with Possession of Cocaine With Intent to Sell, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Operating a Drug House, Possession of a Controlled Substance Without a Prescription, and Possession of Narcotic Related Materials
Celebration Of Life For Pauline New Born
LABELLE, FL. -- Pauline Elizabeth New Born, age 57 passed away suddenly July 14, 2008. She was born June 20, 1951 in Miami to the late Norwood D. Nelson Jr. and Pauline Elizabeth Nelson.
Survivors include her husband James New Born of LaBelle, daughter Priscilla Ann Pipkin of Kissimmee, mother Pauline Elizabeth Nelson, sister Suzanne Harper of Clewiston, and grandson Peter James Aquina. She was preceded in death by her brother Norwood Nelson III.
A celebration of life by friends and family was held Saturday July 19 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the New Born family residence in LaBelle.
Cremation arrangements by Akin-Davis Funeral Home. Her remains will be intered in Waynesville, Ga. next to her brother "Sonny", her dad "Junior", and her grandmother Polly Parrott.
Gambling An Option For Glades County?
Glades Commissioner Storter's Gambling ViewsMOORE HAVEN, FL. -- Glades County Commissioner Donna Storter Long has this week written a letter in respose to inquiries about bringing in additional Glades county money. Storter wrote to Eric Kopp of Independent News:
"I received your message of yesterday and offer this response: About 10 days ago, John Austin Collier brought me the idea of countywide gambling as a viable revenue option for Glades County in reversing the negative impacts on the economy that is expected by the sale of US Sugar to South Florida Water Management District.
Since gambling is legal, regulated and already exists in Glades County at Brighton, the possibility of obtaining revenue from legalized gambling definitely warrants further discussion.
Governor Crist supports gambling in Florida, and though revenue to the state was down a few years ago, the temporary decline was because the lucrative expansions were under Indian control and not subject to state taxation.
Should we embark on this course, with careful planning and management of the initial revenues, Glades County can restore and recreate the amenities that will make our county the new family vacation destination of the freshwater frontier, with more attractions than just gambling establishments.
Produced without environmental pollution and with little demand on government services and infrastructure, the revenue can be used to enhance services and infrastructure while lowering ad valorem tax millage. That has been the consensus of the many constituents that have been approached by this idea.
I have conferred with Sen. Alexander's staff and Rep. Grimsley's staff and learned the procedure for offering this choice to the people of Glades County. It will take 600,000 signatures to get the initiative on the ballot for Florida voters statewide to decide if they want to amend our constitution to allow Glades County to conduct its own referendum to authorize gambling in Glades County.
That Glades County referendum would require affirmation by 60% of Glades County voters, the PEOPLE would decide if the option merits opportunity.
We have the climate. We have the geography. Maybe this can be a viable opportunity. It certainly should not be ignored, but carefully examined to determine all the positive and all the negative results we could anticipate from this proven moneymaker and give the people of Glades County the facts to make their own decision; is this the direction our County should take?
There is no panacea for the economic woes of Glades County, but, because this is one option that could bring a lot of revenue to Glades County, I feel we should at least explore it. Therefore, I will request that Governor Crist direct his resources to help us in this exploration."
-Donna Storter Long (R), Glades County Commissioner, (863.673.2661- Cell 158*17* 36430-Nextel
Free Hunter Course
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will hold the completion day portion of its free hunter safety course Aug. 9 in Hendry County. Students will learn about current laws, safe gun handling, ethics, firearms, ammunition and marksmanship before taking the final test. The safety course also includes live-firing instruction on a shooting range. The FWC will offer the course 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office Shooting Range.Participants must have successfully completed the online portion of the course. They must print out the final Web report prior to the Aug. 9 class. Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course prior to purchasing a hunting license. Parents or legal guardians must accompany children under age 16 to all classes. To participate in the live-fire exercises, children under 18 must present a parental release form signed by a parent or legal guardian.Space is limited and reservations are required. Participants can make reservations online at MyFWC.com/huntered or by calling 561-625-5122. A statewide schedule of hunter safety classes is also available on that site.
Homeowners In Trouble May Have Help
Seek Free Legal Help Says CommissionerLABELLE, FL. -- Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson encourages homeowners who are threatened with foreclosure or fearful that their lending institution may foreclose on their property to contact the Florida Bar Association to obtain free legal assistance.
According to Florida Legal Services Inc., 77,000 state homeowners are in foreclosure, making Florida second in the nation only to California in the number of homes in that status. And many others are at least 30 days past due on their mortgage payment, which places them at risk of having their loans foreclosed.
Florida Legal Services and the Florida Bar Association have partnered in establishing a toll-free hotline -- 1-866-607-2187 -- that consumers can call to answer a few initial questions about their situation to ensure accurate placement with a free attorney. The attorney will then negotiate with the lender on behalf of the client to keep the home from being foreclosed.
"I applaud Florida Legal Services and the Florida Bar for offering this public service," Bronson said. "Home ownership remains a foundation of our society, leading to the stability of families and contributing significantly to our local, state and national economy, and any effort that helps families keep their homes in this uncertain economy is beneficial."
More than 10,000 Florida attorneys have volunteered their services in the program, according to Florida Legal Services Inc.
Home Buyer Workshop
On Thursday, August 28th, the LaBelle office of Florida
Community Bank will host a Homebuyer Education Workshop. The workshop will be
facilitated by Aida Barnhart, Hendry County SHIP Housing Director. Barnhart
will guide workshop attendees through the process of purchasing a home. Special
guest speakers will include Kristina Kulpa, Hendry County Property Appraiser
and Linda Oswald of Perry Redish Insurance. Pre-registration for this class is
strongly encouraged. You may register by
calling Susan Vaughan at Florida Community Bank at 863-675-1313.
Aerial
Photography
of Hendry, Lee, Charlotte and Glades County
