Local

Columbia County Fire Rescue employee Olivia Ward renders aid to a rescued puppy Tuesday. (COURTESY CCFR)

Columbia County Fire Rescue employee Olivia Ward renders aid to a rescued puppy Tuesday. (COURTESY CCFR)

Puppies saved from burning building

TONY BRITT
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Columbia County Fire Rescue firefighters were able to save the lives of three puppies that were trapped in a home during a structure fire on Tuesday afternoon. The fire occurred around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday at a residence on Smith Road.
Skylar Beichner’s ladybug-shaped pillow project benefitting the Guardian ad Litem program has her on the doorstep of becoming Columbia County’s first female Eagle Scout. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Skylar Beichner’s ladybug-shaped pillow project benefitting the Guardian ad Litem program has her on the doorstep of becoming Columbia County’s first female Eagle Scout. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Sewing up Eagle Scout: Pillow project has Beichner on verge of history

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
A Columbia County teen has an Eagle Scout rank all but sewn up. When Skylar Beichner walked into the local Guardian ad Litem office Monday morning with bags of pillows for children in foster care, she was only a few minor steps away from reaching her historic goal.

Woman charged for threats with plate

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Authorities say after striking an elderly victim Tuesday, a Lake City woman turned her attention — and a broken plate — on deputies. Responding to a NW Kobie Ray residence around 1 p.m.
ACV Health cuts the ribbon to launch its rebrand Aug. 25 at Advent Christian VIllage’s Copeland Medical Center along with Suwannee County Chamber of Commerce and county officials. (COURTESY)

ACV Health cuts the ribbon to launch its rebrand Aug. 25 at Advent Christian VIllage’s Copeland Medical Center along with Suwannee County Chamber of Commerce and county officials. (COURTESY)

Services rebranded as ACV Health

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
DOWLING PARK — There’s a new name but the same convenient, compassionate healthcare services provided at Advent Christian Village. ACV has announced many of its healthcare services have been rebranded as ACV Health, an outreach of the village.

LCPD conducting DUI checkpoints

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Law enforcement officers will be on the lookout for impaired drivers this weekend. Looking to reduce the impact of impairment-related accidents, the Lake City Police Department is leading a multi-agency DUI checkpoint program Saturday at six locations across the city.
Toby Witt voiced his opposition to raising the county’s fire assessment fee during Tuesday’s special County Commission meeting. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Toby Witt voiced his opposition to raising the county’s fire assessment fee during Tuesday’s special County Commission meeting. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Balanced county budget ready for hearings

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Columbia County’s budget is ready for its public presentation. At a special meeting Tuesday morning, the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners offered no alterations to the county’s budget heading into its Sept. 8 preliminary budget hearing.

Lake City drug dealer sentenced to 5 years

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
A Lake City man is facing five years in federal prison for dealing crack cocaine and possessing a firearm. Edrick D. Jackson, a 28-year-old, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday.

Pedestrian safety ordinance to take effect

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Lake City Police Department officers will be cracking down on pedestrian and motorist interactions on local roads. The Lake City Council passed an ordinance in April as a result of a traffic safety study outlining the hazards pedestrians face when they interact with vehicles.
A downed crosswalk pole sits on the sidewalk near the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Lake City Avenue Monday afternoon after a single-vehicle crash took it down Sunday morning. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

A downed crosswalk pole sits on the sidewalk near the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Lake City Avenue Monday afternoon after a single-vehicle crash took it down Sunday morning. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Youth basketball coach killed in crash

TONY BRITT
Monday, August 29, 2022
A Sunday morning crash has the Columbia County basketball community in mourning. Javontae Foster, a 27-year-old youth basketball coach and assistant at Lake City Middle School, was killed in a single-vehicle accident Sunday morning on the western side of Lake City.
Elizabeth Davis (from left), 16, and Wren Wilkerson, 13, 4H Four Paws members get baking tips and help from Candice Green as the teens work on creating animal treats for dogs on Saturday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Elizabeth Davis (from left), 16, and Wren Wilkerson, 13, 4H Four Paws members get baking tips and help from Candice Green as the teens work on creating animal treats for dogs on Saturday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

4H Four Paws barking up the right tree

TONY BRITT
Monday, August 29, 2022
The smell of baked treats wafted through the air in the Columbia County Extension Service Office on Saturday morning as close to a dozen volunteers and children used cookie cutters to cut shapes into the dough. There were angel shapes, heart shapes and of all things, paw shapes.