Local

The Florida Department of Transporation has began a nearly $1 million project to replace the trees at the Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 90 interchange with different varieties. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

The Florida Department of Transporation has began a nearly $1 million project to replace the trees at the Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 90 interchange with different varieties. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

DOT changing out trees at I-75/U.S. 90

TONY BRITT
Friday, June 14, 2024
A new shade of greenery is coming to the Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 90 interchange.

Candidates fined for city miscue

JAMIE WACHTER
Friday, June 14, 2024
A pair of Lake City Council candidates face fines for filing late campaign finance reports through no fault of their own. Another candidate, though, has an issue with his financial filings as well.

Ballots set with no surprises

JAMIE WACHTER
Friday, June 14, 2024
There were no surprises before the election qualifying period ended Friday. All of the candidates, who had previously filed, qualified during the period which began Monday and ended at noon Friday, both for Columbia County and City of Lake City offices.
Vegetation is worn down along the banks due to the excessive use at the park. (COURTESY)

Vegetation is worn down along the banks due to the excessive use at the park. (COURTESY)

County eyeing solutions for Rum Island

TONY BRITT
Friday, June 14, 2024
FORT WHITE — Rum Island Park is going through a variety of vandalism and over population problems as the park’s popularity continues to grow. During the Memorial Day holiday weekend, more than 1,700 people were visiting the park, which only has 35 parking spaces, every day.
Lake City’s Koby Adams, a legislative assistant to Dist. 12 State Rep. Wyman Duggan of Jacksonville, was honored as 2024 Legislative Aide of the Year by the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police during the group’s annual convention this week in Orlando. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)

Lake City’s Koby Adams, a legislative assistant to Dist. 12 State Rep. Wyman Duggan of Jacksonville, was honored as 2024 Legislative Aide of the Year by the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police during the group’s annual convention this week in Orlando. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)

Lake City’s Adams honored for dedication to law enforcement

TODD WILSON
Friday, June 14, 2024
Koby Adams said public service is a major calling in his life and he knew it from the time he was a small child in the back seat of his family’s car, driving past the Tallahassee construction site of Florida’s new Capitol building complex.
Deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office search along County Road 252 on Wednesday night for an armed suspect from a robbery at the Dollar General on SW Main Blvd. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office search along County Road 252 on Wednesday night for an armed suspect from a robbery at the Dollar General on SW Main Blvd. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

CCSO searching for robbery suspect

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
An armed robber made off with a handful of cash during a Wednesday night heist. According to Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Robert Holloway, a black male suspect wearing a red shirt entered the Dollar General at 3118 SW Main Blvd. — across from Columbia High School — around 8 p.m.

$116.5B budget nets $16M locally

JAMIE WACHTER
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
The state’s $116.5 billon budget was signed and approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, but not before he vetoed approximately $950 million worth of projects.
Firefighters sift through debris after a fire consumed an RV camper on State Road 47. (RAY CARPENTER/Special to the Reporter)

Firefighters sift through debris after a fire consumed an RV camper on State Road 47. (RAY CARPENTER/Special to the Reporter)

Fire consumes camper, acre of land

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
An afternoon fire, which started as the result of an unattended controlled burn, consumed a metal shed, recreation camper and an acre of property Wednesday in central Columbia County before multiple Columbia County Fire Rescue units could douse the blaze. The fire occurred at 2409 SW State Road 47.