Local

Pair face attempted murder for shooting near Melrose Park

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Two face attempted murder charges for an October shooting near Melrose Park Elementary School. Demontre Paul Ward, a 19-year-old from Lake City, and a juvenile were arrested Wednesday on four counts of attempted murder for the Oct. 8, 2022, shooting incident.
Law enforcement officers go through their latest updates on Tuesday morning at the mobile command post at the State of Florida Probation & Parole Services office. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Law enforcement officers go through their latest updates on Tuesday morning at the mobile command post at the State of Florida Probation & Parole Services office. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Handcuffed fugitive still on the loose

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Local authorities spent more than three hours conducting a manhunt in Lake City after a handcuffed fugitive ran away from the local probation and parole office on Tuesday morning. The fugitive, Brian Stalnaker, is wanted for violation of probation for original charges of felony battery.
Columbia County Superintendent Lex Carswell (from left), Fort White Elementary Principal Syreeta Jackson-Lee, and school board members Hunter Peeler, Keith Hudson, Dana Brady-Giddens, Narrie Smith, and Cherie Hill take part in the ceremonial groundbreaking at Fort White Elementary Tuesday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County Superintendent Lex Carswell (from left), Fort White Elementary Principal Syreeta Jackson-Lee, and school board members Hunter Peeler, Keith Hudson, Dana Brady-Giddens, Narrie Smith, and Cherie Hill take part in the ceremonial groundbreaking at Fort White Elementary Tuesday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Fort White Elementary breaks ground on addition

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
FORT WHITE — Retirement may not yet be in the cards for one of Fort White’s most iconic buildings through the past few decades.
An excavator is pictured near ‘The Fort’ on the Fort White Elementary School campus on Monday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

An excavator is pictured near ‘The Fort’ on the Fort White Elementary School campus on Monday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Fort White Elementary starting $7M construction project

TONY BRITT
Monday, February 13, 2023
FORT WHITE — It’s out with the old and in with the new at Fort White Elementary School. A $7 million construction project at FWES will move students out of a building that’s more than 100 years old and create additional space for a future kitchen expansion.

Lake Shore sets aside PT building for CARC

NEWS STAFF
Monday, February 13, 2023
The future at the Lake Shore Hospital campus is continuing to take shape, albeit slowly. The Lake Shore Hospital Authority voted at its Monday meeting on two items, one of which has been nearly a year in the making. That item, allowing Lake City-based Advocates for Citizens with Disabilities, Inc.
The 44th annual Olustee Festival is set to kick off Feb. 17 at Wilson Park. Food trucks, craft vendors and live entertainment are slated throughout the weekend. (FILE)

The 44th annual Olustee Festival is set to kick off Feb. 17 at Wilson Park. Food trucks, craft vendors and live entertainment are slated throughout the weekend. (FILE)

44th annual Olustee Festival set to return, feature new attractions

TONY BRITT
Friday, February 10, 2023
A free Friday night concert, arts and craft vendors, unique foods, 5K and fun run as well as a car show are all featured attractions as Columbia County’s largest and oldest annual festival — the Olustee Festival, makes its annual return. The 44th annual Olustee Festival will take place Feb.