Local

Columbia County is seeking out certified contractors to help out with debris cleanup after Hurricane Helene. (FILE)

Columbia County is seeking out certified contractors to help out with debris cleanup after Hurricane Helene. (FILE)

Contractors need work? County has a cleanup need

TODD WILSON
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
If a contractor with heavy equipment and laborers is looking for steady work for a few weeks, the county has plenty of it, right now.
Construction workers help lower a section of one of the walls of the new Niblack Elementary School into position Monday. The walls are being put into place over the next two weeks. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Construction workers help lower a section of one of the walls of the new Niblack Elementary School into position Monday. The walls are being put into place over the next two weeks. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Niblack’s building blocks: New school takes shape as walls lifted into place

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The new Niblack Elementary School is starting to take shape. Literally. This week, Gilbane Building Company, the construction manager at risk on the project, has begun putting the walls of the two-story school building up on the site off of NE Bascom Norris Drive.
Shawn Holmgren notified the Lake Shore Hospital Authority Monday of his intent to sue if its main hospital building was given to Meridian Behavioral Healthcare. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Shawn Holmgren notified the Lake Shore Hospital Authority Monday of his intent to sue if its main hospital building was given to Meridian Behavioral Healthcare. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

LSHA-Meridian deal brings lawsuit threat

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The Lake Shore Hospital Authority’s ongoing negotiations with Meridian Behavioral Healthcare could result in a lawsuit.
Columbia County crews and contractors are continuing to pick up debris from Hurricane Helene, already gathering as much as from Idalia a year ago. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County crews and contractors are continuing to pick up debris from Hurricane Helene, already gathering as much as from Idalia a year ago. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

County facilities repaired, all efforts now on debris cleanup

TODD WILSON
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The Hurricane Helene cleanup along roadsides in Columbia County continued this week as county crews and contractors attacked brush piles tirelessly two weeks after the region’s worst hurricane on record.
Lake Shore Hospital Authority Trustee Don Kennedy made a motion during Monday’s meeting to do away with public comments made through Zoom in the board’s online meetings. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Lake Shore Hospital Authority Trustee Don Kennedy made a motion during Monday’s meeting to do away with public comments made through Zoom in the board’s online meetings. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

LSHA meetings will continue to be broadcast

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Lake Shore Hospital Authority meetings will still be broadcast live on Zoom. More than four years after beginning the practice during the covid-19 pandemic, the LSHA board discussed whether to continue doing so during its Monday meeting.
Emarie Park (from left), 10, Maggie Breeden, 13, Walker Park, 10 and Chloey Bryant measure pumpkins at the Columbia FFA pumpkin patch. Around 1,600 pumpkins were brought to the patch on Saturday where FFA students are selling them as a fundraiser. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Emarie Park (from left), 10, Maggie Breeden, 13, Walker Park, 10 and Chloey Bryant measure pumpkins at the Columbia FFA pumpkin patch. Around 1,600 pumpkins were brought to the patch on Saturday where FFA students are selling them as a fundraiser. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

FFA students organize pumpkin patch fundraiser

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
When the fall of the year arrives, Columbia County often gets hit with a wave of visitors. These visitors wind up in local schools, houses, churches, stores, parks and other venues. Most of the time they are just big heads and no bodies — only a stem.
Lake City native Lindsey Langston was crowned Miss United States during Tuesday’s Miss United States pageant in Memphis, Tenn. (COURTESY)

Lake City native Lindsey Langston was crowned Miss United States during Tuesday’s Miss United States pageant in Memphis, Tenn. (COURTESY)

SHE’S MISS UNITED STATES: Lake City resident Langston wins pageant honor of a lifetime

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Lindsey Langston knew there was a chance to experience her crowning moment. Heading into Tuesday night’s finals at the Miss United States pageant in Memphis, Tenn., Langston believed the competition was coming down to her and Miss Nevada.
High winds and falling trees caused most of the damage during Hurricane Helene. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

High winds and falling trees caused most of the damage during Hurricane Helene. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Hampton, teams survey Helene’s property damage

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Local and federal officials are hard at work assessing the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Helene. However, the task of putting a monetary value on the wreckage is still underway.
A parcel of property near the intersection of Franklin Street and Marion Avenue could be used as the site of a new city hall. The land was originally donated for that purpose before the LSHA requested it back. (FILE)

A parcel of property near the intersection of Franklin Street and Marion Avenue could be used as the site of a new city hall. The land was originally donated for that purpose before the LSHA requested it back. (FILE)

City eyes LSHA land downtown for new city hall

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Plans for a new Lake City Hall may still involve the Lake Shore Hospital Authority — just not with the large main hospital building. City Manager Don Rosenthal and the City Council plan to pivot to a previous plan and potentially build a new city hall on vacant Authority property downtown.