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Columbia County saw a boom in housing sale prices while also seeing sales themselves dip a bit in 2022. (FILE)

Columbia County saw a boom in housing sale prices while also seeing sales themselves dip a bit in 2022. (FILE)

Prices climb, sales dip in 2022 housing report

NEWS STAFF
Monday, January 23, 2023
A mixed year of local housing markets came to a close recently. According to the Yearly Market Detail 2022 report released by Florida Realtors, home sales in Columbia County dipped by 13.7%, down to 674 total sales from 781 in 2021.
Ann Bormalini (right) reads ‘10 Little Fish’ to pre-kindergarten students at the My Little Red Schoolhouse Daycare on Friday morning. Rotarians visited several local public schools and private early childhood centers Friday as part of Rotary Readers. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Ann Bormalini (right) reads ‘10 Little Fish’ to pre-kindergarten students at the My Little Red Schoolhouse Daycare on Friday morning. Rotarians visited several local public schools and private early childhood centers Friday as part of Rotary Readers. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Rotary Club spends time reading to pre-K students

TONY BRITT
Friday, January 20, 2023
Several Rotary Club of Lake City members took to local schools and preschools Friday morning, each armed with a copy of the same book.
Columbia County Commissioner Tim Murphy speaks during Thursday’s BOCC meeting. He said the county is done operating at Richardson Community Center. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County Commissioner Tim Murphy speaks during Thursday’s BOCC meeting. He said the county is done operating at Richardson Community Center. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

County: ‘We gone’ from Richardson Community Center

JAMIE WACHTER
Friday, January 20, 2023
The message couldn’t have been more clear. At the end of Thursday’s Columbia County Board of County Commissioners meeting, District X Commissioner Tim Murphy had a statement for anybody confused about the county’s status on Richardson Community Center.

Norris’ pro bono work nets honor

TONY BRITT
Friday, January 20, 2023
One local attorney has no objections after being recognized for his efforts in the community. Guy Norris, the managing shareholder and president of Norris & Norris, P.A.
Circuit Judge Fred Koberlein Jr. (right) is sworn in Thursday by his father, Senior Judge Fred Koberlein Sr. (left), as retired County Judge Tom Coleman holds the Bible during an investiture ceremony at the Columbia County Courthouse. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Circuit Judge Fred Koberlein Jr. (right) is sworn in Thursday by his father, Senior Judge Fred Koberlein Sr. (left), as retired County Judge Tom Coleman holds the Bible during an investiture ceremony at the Columbia County Courthouse. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Koberlein takes the oath

TONY BRITT
Thursday, January 19, 2023
The Third Judicial Circuit welcomed its newest circuit judge Thursday afternoon when Fred L. Koberlein Jr. was sworn in during an investiture ceremony at the Columbia County Courthouse. More than 70 people, including many of Koberlein’s family members, friends and colleagues, attended the ceremony.
A brush fire spread across 44 acres southeast of Lake City on Thursday afternoon before it was contained. (COURTESY)

A brush fire spread across 44 acres southeast of Lake City on Thursday afternoon before it was contained. (COURTESY)

Brush fire evacuates homes

TONY BRITT
Thursday, January 19, 2023
A brush fire on the southeast side of Lake City consumed more than 40 acres Thursday afternoon before it was contained by rangers from the Florida Forest Service District Office.
Columbia County BOCC Chair Rocky Ford said he agreed with Sheriff Mark Hunter in that the sheriff's office shouldn't be burdened with operating animal control services at Thursday's BOCC meeting. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County BOCC Chair Rocky Ford said he agreed with Sheriff Mark Hunter in that the sheriff's office shouldn't be burdened with operating animal control services at Thursday's BOCC meeting. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Columbia County to control animal control

JAMIE WACHTER
Thursday, January 19, 2023
While the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is free from handling animal control, it will still likely be under county control moving forward.
Tyler Goff (back from left), Bess Goff and Chelsea Culver pose with Olivia Medeiros, the Lake City Culver’s location’s first customer, along with the first dollar spent at the restaurant. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Tyler Goff (back from left), Bess Goff and Chelsea Culver pose with Olivia Medeiros, the Lake City Culver’s location’s first customer, along with the first dollar spent at the restaurant. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Dollar spent, dollar earned: First Culver’s customer gets her just desserts from franchise

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
For 8-year-old Olivia Medeiros, the wait was irresistible. The night before Lake City’s first Culver’s restaurant opened, she begged her parents to camp out the night in anticipation of being the first one through the door. “She wanted to spend the night,” Travis Medeiros, Olivia’s father, said.

Sheriff: I’m out on animal control

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Columbia County officials are headed back to the drawing board for handling animal control. Sheriff Mark Hunter sent a letter Jan. 12 to Rocky Ford, County Commission chairman, indicating the CCSO was not interested in providing the services.

SVEC, Duke giving away trees for Florida Arbor Day

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
A pair of electrical companies are giving trees away to customers in honor of Florida Arbor Day. Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative is giving tulip poplar trees to members Saturday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.