Free Republic

GLADES COUNTY, Fla. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will suspend water releases from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries starting Monday morning. "As we look at operations in the system, we believe we can pause discharges for a short time to get additional input from staff on available options for moving water," said Col. Jason Kirk, Jacksonville District Commander. "We have implemented higher stages in the canal along the Tamiami Trail and we have implemented deviations to generate flexibility in operations at the southern end of the system to move additional water south. We want...

CNN)When John Haygood, a 10-year-old boy with autism, was arrested last week at a school in Florida, he kept repeating that he didn't know what was happening, as seen in shaky cellphone video taken by his mother. "I don't know what's going on. I don't understand," he cried out. In the video, his hands are cuffed as two officers escort him to the back seat of a police car. His mother, Luanne Haygood, followed behind them while recording the incident on her phone. In the video, John appears distraught, and yells some profanities. Luanne is heard in the video speaking...

XF500’s Sugarland Rally to protest the Army Corps of Engineers releasing freshwater from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie Estuary began at noon today at Sugarland Park in Clewiston. The event, set to finish at 3 p.m., wrapped up a bit early as storm clouds brought rain to the area....

A Burmese python, that measured more than 17-feet, was captured and destroyed in Okeechobee County on Thursday. The male snake weighed 207 pounds and measured 26 inches in diameter. The reptile did not have a microchip, which is required for it to be a pet. "The capture of this large python shows us how well these snakes can thrive in the wild and create a dangerous situation after illegal release or escape," said commission chairman Rodney Barreto. "It also illustrates why the FWC is partnering with other agencies to implement python control measures in South Florida. We will continue to...

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — In a deal that environmental groups said would be the largest ecological restoration in the country’s history, a plan for the state to buy the nation’s largest producer of cane sugar was announced Tuesday by the governor and officials of U.S. Sugar Corporation. The intention is to restore the Everglades by restoring the water flow from Lake Okeechobee, in the heart of the state, south to Florida Bay. That flow had been interrupted by commercial farming and the Everglades have suffered as a result. Under term of the tentative deal, U.S. Sugar would continue farming and processing...

Calling a judge's decision Friday to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance to meet at her high school a "relief," club president Yasmin Gonzalez said she wants the group to have its meeting on campus next week. "It's a big step forward. We had to meet out of school, and we have a lot of members, but a lot can't make it out of school," Gonzalez said. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore granted a preliminary injunction Friday that allows Gonzalez and the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School — which Gonzalez tried to start at the school in September — to...

Lake Okeechobee approaching historic low WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 10 (UPI) -- Lake Okeechobee, the source of water for the Florida Everglades, is at its lowest April level since measurements have been made. If the drought in South Florida continues, water managers expect the lake level to drop below 8.97 feet, the all-time low recorded in May 2001, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. On Monday, the lake was at 10.09 feet, the Army Corps of Engineers said. Okeechobee gathers the waters from the Kissimmee River Basin in central Florida and spills them into the River of Grass, the wide,...

An Okeechobee High School senior and the club she helped form to promote tolerance of lesbians and gay men has sued the school principal and the Okeechobee County School Board, claiming they wrongfully prohibited the club from meeting on school grounds. Yasmin Gonzalez, 17, who is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, argues that the school's failure to recognize the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School and allow it to meet at the school violates the federal Equal Access Act. According to her complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Miami, the federal law mandates that if...

A controversial $500 gift certificate designated to help teachers buy school supplies was turned down by the school district, but has now been accepted by the teachers’ union. The offer, from Rich Dickerson and Glenn Curtis, known as the Love Doctors on WZZR Real Radio 94.3-FM of Port St. Lucie, was presented not long ago to Assistant Superintendent of Schools Lee Dixon. He refused the offer, citing what he called the “very inappropriate content” of the radio show. He said the language used was “beyond questionable” and he compared the Love Doctors to shock jock Howard Stern. The assistant superintendent...

Archaeologists unearth 1,700 year-old canal system near Lake Okeechobee By Rhonda Miller sun-sentinel.com Posted June 6 2002, 6:17 PM EDT ORTONA – Archaeologists on Thursday said they have uncovered a sophisticated 1,700 year-old canal system and a huge pond dug by ancient Indians near this tiny town, located west of Lake Okeechobee. The canal site is so important that it could rival the discovery four years ago of the mysterious Miami Circle ruins near downtown Miami, one expert said. Ortona, population 500, is located on Route 78 and is 13 miles west of Moore Haven. The town is sited just...