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Operation Blue Roof sign-up for Hurricane Milton has been extended for residents of Highlands County. At the request of the State of Florida and FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue to collect Right of Entry (ROE) forms for Operation Blue Roof through Thursday, Nov. 14, extending the original deadline for 25 Florida Continue reading

The penalty phase of the State vs. Joseph Ables continues today. Ables was found guilty Tuesday of the first-degree murder of Highlands County Sheriff Deputy William Gentry Jr. The penalty phase of the trial started Thursday morning and continued into Friday afternoon. Victim impact statements were heard by Judge Angela Cowden and the jury on Continue reading

Highlands County evidently likes early voting – nearly five percent of the County’s eligible voters showed up to cast votes for the November 5th General Election yesterday on the first day of the County’s ten-day early voting window. Three locations will be available until November 2 for voters who want to avoid the crowds on Continue reading

The sentencing phase of the Joseph Ables murder trial begins today. Ables was found guilty of the 2018 murder of Deputy William Gentry Tuesday after less than an hour of jury deliberations. Today, the sides will argue for and against the death penalty for Ables. Judge Angela Cowden is also expected to impose an additional Continue reading

It was a short deliberation – about an hour – but the jury yesterday convicted Joseph Ables of first degree murder in the death of Sheriff’s Deputy William J. Gentry Jr. Gentry was responding to a dispute in Lake Placid in May 2018, when Ables shot and killed him. Ables, who was 69 at the Continue reading

Closing statements will begin this morning in the murder trial of Joseph Ables of Lake Placid. The prosecution in the case rested after lunch yesterday after showing forensic details of the gunshot wounds that killed County Deputy William Gentry in May of 2018, and the pellet that allegedly killed the neighbor’s cat and set off Continue reading

An early Sunday morning crash claimed the life of a pedestrian trying to cross Highway 27 just north of the SFSC campus. Highway Patrol units were dispatched around 2:30am to the corner of Marble Avenue and Highway 27 where a vehicle travelling north by a Kissimmee man struck a male pedestrian evidently trying to cross Continue reading

The Capital Murder case against Joseph Ables saw the State calling Nick Sotherland to the stand as the first witness on Thursday. Southerland, a HCSO deputy at the time of the May 6, 2018 incident, responded to the scene shortly after Ables shot Deputy Sheriff William Gentry Jr. Gentry later passed away from his injuries Continue reading

Operation Blue Roof is now accepting applications for Highlands County Residents affected by Hurricane Milton. The program is providing free temporary tarping while residents work to repair their roof. Applications can be submitted at BLUEROOF.GOV or by calling 888-766-3258. The program is being offered throughout Florida through November 5th and includes 24 counties in total. Continue reading

Tuesday saw the end of a tedious 3 week long jury selection in the State vs. Joseph Ables. Ables is accused of shooting and ultimately causing the death of Highlands County Sheriff’s Deputy William Gentry Jr. in May of 2018. Ables is facing the charges of first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer and felony Continue reading