Local

Homes added to Parade showcase

NEWS STAFF
Friday, April 14, 2023
The Parade of Homes is picking up steam. The sixth annual premier home-building showcase in North Florida returns April 29-30 as a collaborative effort between the Lake City Reporter and the Columbia County Builders’ Association. The free showcase, which lasts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Grason Montero, 4, allows Rotary Club of Lake City member Margot Maranto to paint his pinkie purple Friday morning at Westside Elementary School as fellow Rotarians Ron Turbeville and Fred Koberlein look on with smiles. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Grason Montero, 4, allows Rotary Club of Lake City member Margot Maranto to paint his pinkie purple Friday morning at Westside Elementary School as fellow Rotarians Ron Turbeville and Fred Koberlein look on with smiles. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Students go ‘Purple Pinky’ to fight polio

TONY BRITT
Friday, April 14, 2023
It wasn’t uncommon to see elementary school children take time to blow on or admire their purple fingertips Friday.

Fort White man killed in single-car crash

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, April 13, 2023
A single-vehicle crash killed one Fort White man Thursday morning. According to a Florida Highway Patrol release, a 36-year-old man from Fort White was in a sedan traveling north on SW Old Wire Road, south of Pathfinder Glen and northeast of Fort White, around 11 a.m.
Meat sits on the smoker at Jack’s Old South, the competitive cooking team led by Myron Mixon, the winningest man in barbecue. Mixon and Jack’s Old South are among the 32 teams competing at this weekend’s Downtown Showdown BBQ Cook-off in downtown Lake City. (COURTESY)

Meat sits on the smoker at Jack’s Old South, the competitive cooking team led by Myron Mixon, the winningest man in barbecue. Mixon and Jack’s Old South are among the 32 teams competing at this weekend’s Downtown Showdown BBQ Cook-off in downtown Lake City. (COURTESY)

Downtown BBQ Fest off to smokin’ start

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Whether they’re world-famous or locally renowned, pit masters from across the nation are set to descend on downtown Lake City this weekend. Lake City will host its first Downtown Showdown BBQ Cook-off on Friday and Saturday downtown at Wilson Park and Darby Pavilion.
Clint Pittman, the interim Tourist Development Council executive director, said he is excited to get started on the 500-acre flatfield facility on the north side of Lake City. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Clint Pittman, the interim Tourist Development Council executive director, said he is excited to get started on the 500-acre flatfield facility on the north side of Lake City. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

TDC eyes progress on flat fields

JAMIE WACHTER
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Paula Vann almost made it. As her final Tourist Development Council meeting as the agency’s executive director wound to a close, the emotions finally hit Vann.
Florida Gateway College’s Esports team concluded the regular season undefeated and will compete at the national tournament this weekend. Front row: Hunter ‘Flash’ Neeley (from left), Colby Thompson and Dallas Hurst. Back row: Andrew Harper (from left), Jesse Campbell and Jared Campbell. Not pictured: James Hickmon. (COURTESY FGC)

Florida Gateway College’s Esports team concluded the regular season undefeated and will compete at the national tournament this weekend. Front row: Hunter ‘Flash’ Neeley (from left), Colby Thompson and Dallas Hurst. Back row: Andrew Harper (from left), Jesse Campbell and Jared Campbell. Not pictured: James Hickmon. (COURTESY FGC)

FGC Esports headed to national tournament

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
The Florida Gateway College Esports team will take an undefeated record into this weekend’s national tournament. The Wolves, playing their fourth season, finished the regular season undefeated in Overwatch 2 and are headed to the national tournament ranked No.
Nicole Bailey (from left), a Fort White High School assistant principal, presents Justin Jenkins, an eighth-grade science teacher, with the school’s inaugural Golden Arrow Award. The award is designed to recognize and honor any staff member that goes above and beyond their traditional job duties. (COURTESY)

Nicole Bailey (from left), a Fort White High School assistant principal, presents Justin Jenkins, an eighth-grade science teacher, with the school’s inaugural Golden Arrow Award. The award is designed to recognize and honor any staff member that goes above and beyond their traditional job duties. (COURTESY)

Jenkins wins inaugural Golden Arrow

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
FORT WHITE — Administrators at Fort White High School have developed a new way to recognize teachers and staff who work and contribute beyond their scope of their job duties. On Tuesday afternoon, school officials presented the inaugural Fort White Golden Arrow Award to Justin Jenkins. “Mr.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a suspicious death after a body was found Tuesday on a road in the Osceola National Forest. (COURTESY)

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a suspicious death after a body was found Tuesday on a road in the Osceola National Forest. (COURTESY)

CCSO: Body found in forest believed to be male

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Detectives with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office believe the human remains found in the Osceola National Forest on Tuesday afternoon are the remains of a ‘possibly light-skinned male,’ authorities announced Wednesday.