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Ian

Ian

Hurricane Ian: County will have sandbags available Tuesday

NEWS STAFF
Monday, September 26, 2022
As Columbia County emergency officials monitor Hurricane Ian, storm prep and emergency response efforts are underway. To help prepare for the storm and any impacts it may have on Columbia County residents, the county will distribute sandbags, starting Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
LCPD

LCPD

Jacksonville man shot, killed Saturday morning

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, September 24, 2022
Two people were shot and a Jacksonville man was killed in northern Lake City early Saturday morning. According to the Lake City Police Department, officers conducting a traffic stop around 1 a.m. Saturday heard gunfire a few blocks away and responded. When they arrived to 877 N.
Billy Dekle stands with a Piper Aztec plane in the late 1970s when he began flying trips to Central and South America to bring marijuana to Florida as part of a smuggling operation, which he has written about in ‘Flying High with Gringo Billy.’ (COURTESY)

Billy Dekle stands with a Piper Aztec plane in the late 1970s when he began flying trips to Central and South America to bring marijuana to Florida as part of a smuggling operation, which he has written about in ‘Flying High with Gringo Billy.’ (COURTESY)

Flying high with Gringo Billy, the ‘good bandito’

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, September 24, 2022
There are no such things as crashes in Billy Dekle’s experience. Any plane ride he can walk away from is simply a happy landing.

Council claims raise was worthy

TONY BRITT
Saturday, September 24, 2022
With its approval of the budget Monday, the Lake City Council gave itself a raise. During Monday’s meeting, resident Jerry Leszkiewicz wasn’t a fan of the pay increase coming the council’s way, starting Oct. 1.
Mickey Garrett (right), a Pathways Academy instructor and Columbia Teachers Association negotiator, speaks to a group of educators Thursday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Mickey Garrett (right), a Pathways Academy instructor and Columbia Teachers Association negotiator, speaks to a group of educators Thursday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Teachers organize, ask for salary increases

TONY BRITT
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Last week a collection of Columbia County veteran teachers went to the school meeting requesting a respectable salary increase to deal with inflation.

Downtown chase ends on foot

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, September 22, 2022
A high-speed pursuit quickly became an armed foot chase through downtown Lake City Thursday afternoon. Yunisnay Diaz, 31, was arrested Thursday after authorities said he led a brief high-speed chase on U.S.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has cleared the scene near the Baker County line where skeletal remains were found. (COURTESY CCSO)

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has cleared the scene near the Baker County line where skeletal remains were found. (COURTESY CCSO)

Scene remains cleared, but not the mystery

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, September 22, 2022
An investigation into human skeletal remains found in a wooded area near the Baker County line is still ongoing and could take some time to complete. Sgt.
Puzzle Pieces of North Florida representatives Tabatha Feagle (from left), Kathryn Harper and Terri Prescott stand with Jay Miller, Columbia High School band director, after presenting the band with a $5,000 check on Thursday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Puzzle Pieces of North Florida representatives Tabatha Feagle (from left), Kathryn Harper and Terri Prescott stand with Jay Miller, Columbia High School band director, after presenting the band with a $5,000 check on Thursday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

CHS band donation pieced together

TONY BRITT
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Representatives from Puzzle Pieces of North Florida presented a check for $5,000 to the Columbia High School Band on Thursday afternoon to help the band in its efforts to purchase new drums and other equipment of the percussion section.
County Manager David Kraus updated the Board of County Commissioners on the state of the North Florida Mega Industrial Park project at the board’s meeting Tuesday. (FILE)

County Manager David Kraus updated the Board of County Commissioners on the state of the North Florida Mega Industrial Park project at the board’s meeting Tuesday. (FILE)

County: $8M sewage plant funding ‘hole’

JAMIE WACHTER
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
The cost of wastewater at the North Florida Mega Industrial Park continues to go up. At Tuesday’s Columbia County Commission meeting, County Manager David Kraus informed the board that the construction manager at risk on the wastewater treatment plant — Wharton-Smith, Inc.