Local

Registration books close Monday for general election

TONY BRITT
Friday, October 4, 2024
The general election is just a few weeks away and the Columbia County Supervisor of Elections office will close the voter registration books next week for people who want to cast ballots in the election. The book closing deadline for the upcoming election is 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct.
Southern Columbia County residents stand in line to get supplies, including shovels, rakes, tarps, buckets and cleaning supplies, from the American Red Cross in Fort White on Thursday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Southern Columbia County residents stand in line to get supplies, including shovels, rakes, tarps, buckets and cleaning supplies, from the American Red Cross in Fort White on Thursday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Red Cross provides cleanup supplies

TONY BRITT
Friday, October 4, 2024
FORT WHITE — For the past week, the American Red Cross has been providing invaluable services in Southern Columbia County to people who are working to recover from Hurricane Helene’s impact.

One student hurt when bus hit

NEWS STAFF
Friday, October 4, 2024
A Columbia County School District student suffered minor injuries when the school bus they were riding on Thursday afternoon was hit by a pickup truck.

LDS Church members set to help in Helene cleanup efforts

NEWS STAFF
Friday, October 4, 2024
A local branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will begin its work today in helping victims of Hurricane Helene. Members of the Church will be helping in cleanup efforts in 12 communities throughout the southeast, according to a release.
Comfort stations, which include showers, restrooms and laundry, will soon be left just in Fort White as power restoration nears completion in Columbia County following Hurricane Helene. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Comfort stations, which include showers, restrooms and laundry, will soon be left just in Fort White as power restoration nears completion in Columbia County following Hurricane Helene. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Shelters closed, comfort stations winding down

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, October 3, 2024
The final emergency shelters in Columbia County after Hurricane Helene closed Wednesday night. Supply distributions are also completed and comfort stations will be relegated to just Fort White after today.
A contractor uses a mechanical lift to remove debris from the buckets of his truck on Tuesday afternoon at Columbia County Public Works. There are five double trucks that are going around the county collecting the organic debris that’s on county right-of-way. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

A contractor uses a mechanical lift to remove debris from the buckets of his truck on Tuesday afternoon at Columbia County Public Works. There are five double trucks that are going around the county collecting the organic debris that’s on county right-of-way. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Cleaning up the county: Roadside debris pickup underway

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
As Columbia County continues to recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, there is a concerted effort to remove all the organic waste — limbs, branches, trees and other debris from county roadsides.
A couple of large logs rest on a pile of debris near a home on SW Oleander Street on Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane Helene lefts various types of organic debris in its wake. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

A couple of large logs rest on a pile of debris near a home on SW Oleander Street on Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane Helene lefts various types of organic debris in its wake. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Tree trimmers’ piles jam county’s good will

TODD WILSON
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Columbia County Commissioners will discuss an updated ordinance Thursday morning that potentially will display stronger, more specific penalties for contractors who cut down trees for profit during storm situations and leave large piles of debris curbside expecting county workers to clean it up on...
Those impacted by Hurricane Helene can seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has a Disaster Recovery Center open at the old Lake City Reporter building. (FILE)

Those impacted by Hurricane Helene can seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has a Disaster Recovery Center open at the old Lake City Reporter building. (FILE)

Federal assistance declared for Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
The wait for potential federal assistance in recovering from Hurricane Helene is over. Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton, Gilchrist and Leon counties were declared eligible for individual assistance from FEMA on Tuesday night.
Columbia County Fire Chief Jeff Crawford (from left), Columbia County Sheriff’s Office employee Hope Crawford and Assistant Fire Chief Lance Hill discuss the rescue of Ken Stapleton, 66, of Fort White, who was pinned in his truck after a tree fell on it during the height of Hurricane Helene early Friday morning. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County Fire Chief Jeff Crawford (from left), Columbia County Sheriff’s Office employee Hope Crawford and Assistant Fire Chief Lance Hill discuss the rescue of Ken Stapleton, 66, of Fort White, who was pinned in his truck after a tree fell on it during the height of Hurricane Helene early Friday morning. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia chief, firefighters braved 100 mph winds to save trapped man

TODD WILSON
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
The only thing louder than the howling winds of an encroaching Category 4 hurricane eyewall was the rescue tone coming from radio dispatch into the Columbia County Fire Rescue station in Columbia City Thursday night. At 11:42 p.m.