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The entrance to the Supervisor of Elections office in Lake City shows a roadside packed with campaign signs on the first day of early voting. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

The entrance to the Supervisor of Elections office in Lake City shows a roadside packed with campaign signs on the first day of early voting. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Early votes trickle in during first week

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Nearly one week into early voting in Columbia County, votes are starting to trickle into the Supervisor of Elections’ office. According to the SoE’s website as of 8 p.m. Thursday, 2,975 voters have cast ballots so far in the August primary election, good for about a 7.85% turnout.
Baye Ballew, an instructor at Saint Leo University’s Lake City Education Center, has been named associate chair of Saint Leo’s Undergraduate Elementary Education Department. (COURTESY)

Baye Ballew, an instructor at Saint Leo University’s Lake City Education Center, has been named associate chair of Saint Leo’s Undergraduate Elementary Education Department. (COURTESY)

Ballew earns promotion at Saint Leo

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Baye Ballew, a Lake City Education Center instructor, has earned a promotion at Saint Leo University. Saint Leo recently named Ballew the associate chair of the Undergraduate Elementary Education Department.
Vincent Tugman takes a selfie with Gwendolyn Tugman as she begins school as a Summers Elementary School kindergartener on Wednesday morning. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Vincent Tugman takes a selfie with Gwendolyn Tugman as she begins school as a Summers Elementary School kindergartener on Wednesday morning. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

School's in session: County kids head back to school on ‘unbelievably good’ first day

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
All the new shoes, new bookbags, fresh haircuts and other school supplies collected over the past few weeks were on display Wednesday morning when classes began in the Columbia County School District.
Firearms and drug paraphernalia are laid out after being confiscated from a trio of teens Tuesday. (COURTESY CCSO)

Firearms and drug paraphernalia are laid out after being confiscated from a trio of teens Tuesday. (COURTESY CCSO)

Teen burglars bring firearm to CHS

JAMIE WACHTER
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
FORT WHITE — Teens involved in a string of vehicle burglaries as well as bringing a firearm onto the Columbia High School campus were arrested Tuesday. A traffic stop around 3:15 p.m.
Florida Gateway students turn their tassels, becoming FGC graduates during the college’s summer graduation ceremony Tuesday evening. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Florida Gateway students turn their tassels, becoming FGC graduates during the college’s summer graduation ceremony Tuesday evening. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

FGC holds inaugural summer graduation ceremony for 80

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Florida Gateway College graduation ceremonies don’t traditionally have annoying gnats or afternoon  summer showers. In fact the school had never had a summer commencement ceremony before.
The front end of the new Lake City Fire station, Station 2, is still being worked on by construction crews. LCFD officials hope the station will be complete ahead of schedule. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

The front end of the new Lake City Fire station, Station 2, is still being worked on by construction crews. LCFD officials hope the station will be complete ahead of schedule. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

LCFD may unwrap new station early

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
The Lake City Fire Department is hoping for an early Christmas present. Construction on the department’s Station 2, which began in early April, is ahead of schedule as construction crews look to have the station opened in early January.
A photo from the scene of a crash on NW Bascom Norris Drive Tuesday afternoon show the damage to the Toyota 4-Runner and the Highlander. (COURTESY)

A photo from the scene of a crash on NW Bascom Norris Drive Tuesday afternoon show the damage to the Toyota 4-Runner and the Highlander. (COURTESY)

Nobody hurt in two-vehicle crash near Lowe’s

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Nobody was injured in a lunch-hour accident Tuesday near the Lowe’s exit.

Road rage incidents drive LC man all the way to jail

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
A Lake City man is in custody after several attempts at breaking into a vehicle on the road failed. Felix Marquise Smith, 28, was the instigator in a series of road rage incidents that eventually led to his arrest Friday night, according to a Lake City Police report.