Local

The Rotary Club of Lake City’s annual Christmas parade will ride through downtown Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. (FILE)

The Rotary Club of Lake City’s annual Christmas parade will ride through downtown Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. (FILE)

Rotary excited about Christmas parade

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Christmas-themed music, people dressed as Santa Claus and his helpers and a bunch of lighted floats will usher in the local Christmas season this year during the Lake City Christmas parade. The parade, which is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec.
Columbia County Clerk of Court Jay Swisher (center) watches as U.S. Imaging’s Felicia Valdez scans one of the county’s bound historical records in the records vault at the Columbia County Courthouse Thursday. U.S. Imaging’s Brandon Valdez looks on. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County Clerk of Court Jay Swisher (center) watches as U.S. Imaging’s Felicia Valdez scans one of the county’s bound historical records in the records vault at the Columbia County Courthouse Thursday. U.S. Imaging’s Brandon Valdez looks on. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Saving the county’s history: Official records being digitized

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Some of Columbia County’s oldest records — as well as all of the others — are getting new life. Four U.S.
Sheriff Mark Hunter emphatically makes a point during his comments to the County Commission on Thursday night after his request to be placed on the meeting agenda was denied. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Sheriff Mark Hunter emphatically makes a point during his comments to the County Commission on Thursday night after his request to be placed on the meeting agenda was denied. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

BOCC, Sheriff resume duel on raises

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Saturday, November 18, 2023
The ongoing feud between the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Board of County Commissioners took another turn after the board denied Sheriff Mark Hunter a spot on its Thursday agenda.

Cops: LC man sexually battered minor

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, November 18, 2023
A Lake City man is behind bars after authorities say he sexually battered a minor. According to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office report, Howard Demarcus Miller, 30, was arrested Thursday after a months-long, multi-agency investigation.
A group of Cambridge Prep Academy students (far left) and Columbia High SGA students add food items to boxes on Thursday morning during the Catholic Charities Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway. More than 559 local families benefited during the effort. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

A group of Cambridge Prep Academy students (far left) and Columbia High SGA students add food items to boxes on Thursday morning during the Catholic Charities Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway. More than 559 local families benefited during the effort. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Catholic Charities feeds nearly 600 families

TONY BRITT
Saturday, November 18, 2023
From fluffing plastic bags, unboxing items, and moving boxes of canned goods to bagging boxes of food staples, grabbing fruit and forming conveyor belts to get all the items moved, the Catholic Charities office reached a new level of activity on Thursday.
John ‘Lit’ Cole, the president of Kids Feeding Kids, holds one of the turkeys that the organization plans to give to families in need today. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

John ‘Lit’ Cole, the president of Kids Feeding Kids, holds one of the turkeys that the organization plans to give to families in need today. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Kids Feeding Kids providing 100 turkeys for Thanksgiving

TONY BRITT
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Several local families will have a Thanksgiving meal thanks to the generosity of area youngsters that participate in the Kids Feeding Kids program. The Kids Feeding Kids program plans to provide up to 100 turkeys and other collective food items to area residents today for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Florida Gateway College Marketing Director Rob Chapman adjusts a television screen in the Levy Performing Arts Center, which is being renovated. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Florida Gateway College Marketing Director Rob Chapman adjusts a television screen in the Levy Performing Arts Center, which is being renovated. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Levy PAC undergoes facelift

TONY BRITT
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Florida Gateway College’s Alfonso Levy Performing Arts has received the first stage of a long-awaited facelift with interior renovations.
Sean Dietrich, who performed at the Levy Performing Arts Center at Florida Gateway College in 2019, will be back for another show as part of the college’s Campus Vibes: Arts & Music Showcase series next spring. (FILE)

Sean Dietrich, who performed at the Levy Performing Arts Center at Florida Gateway College in 2019, will be back for another show as part of the college’s Campus Vibes: Arts & Music Showcase series next spring. (FILE)

Campus Vibes bringing entertainment back to FGC

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, November 18, 2023
The curtain is about to be lifted on a revived entertainment series at Florida Gateway College. Seven years after the FGC Entertainment Series’ swan song, the college will be launching FGC Campus Vibes: Arts & Music Showcase next spring.
Westside Elementary’s Marjorie Pollock was named the Columbia County School District’s Teacher of the Year on Wednesday night. Pollock received her award from School Board Chair Dana Brady-Giddens (left) and Superintendent Lex Carswell. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Westside Elementary’s Marjorie Pollock was named the Columbia County School District’s Teacher of the Year on Wednesday night. Pollock received her award from School Board Chair Dana Brady-Giddens (left) and Superintendent Lex Carswell. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Pollock, Wyche, Paphides, Jackson-Lee take honors at Teacher of the Year ceremony

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
After 30 years in the teaching profession, Marjorie Pollock has learned a thing or two about academics. However, there is one thing the fifth-grade language arts and social studies teacher said has made a difference in leading Westside Elementary students since 2001. Attitude.