Local

A conestoga wagon wood carving by Charles Kime, who will be offering woodcarving classes at the Gateway Art Gallery, beginning in February. (COURTESY)

A conestoga wagon wood carving by Charles Kime, who will be offering woodcarving classes at the Gateway Art Gallery, beginning in February. (COURTESY)

Gallery adding new classes in new year

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Staff report A new year is bringing new adult art classes to the Gateway Art Gallery in downtown Lake City. The public arm of the Art League of North Florida, the Gallery will host a pair of new classes in the next months.
Children on the New Dayspring Missionary Baptist Church float hold flags representing various nations during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade on Jan. 20, 2020. (FILE)

Children on the New Dayspring Missionary Baptist Church float hold flags representing various nations during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade on Jan. 20, 2020. (FILE)

MLK parade canceled

TONY BRITT
Monday, January 3, 2022
For the second consecutive year, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Grand Parade has been canceled due to health concerns stemming from the covid pandemic.

Interlocal keeps building projects progressing

TONY BRITT
Monday, January 3, 2022
Lake City’s growth development department, which is utilizing aid from Columbia County building inspection officials, saw an uptick in business as 2021 came to an end. “Basically, this past month, month and a half, a lot of people have been applying for permits because they know come Jan.

Jones named Lake City’s Arbor Day honoree

NEWS STAFF
Monday, January 3, 2022
The president of the Florida Forestry Association is set to be Lake City’s Florida Arbor Day honoree. The city has announced Carlton Jones as its 2022 Arbor Day honoree with a reception set in his honor for Friday, Jan. 13, from 11 a.m. to noon.

FHP seeks witness of cyclist fatality

NEWS STAFF
Monday, January 3, 2022
Investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol are seeking help in a fatality late last year. The FHP is seeking witnesses to the collision between a black 2021 Kia Forte and a black man riding a black Schwinn bicycle on Dec. 27 around 6:49 p.m. The collision occurred on U.S.
Telford Spring, shown here, will be sold to the Suwannee River Water Management District. (COURTESY)

Telford Spring, shown here, will be sold to the Suwannee River Water Management District. (COURTESY)

Local springs acquired for conservation

NEWS STAFF
Monday, January 3, 2022
A pair of local springs — one in Columbia County and one in Suwannee County — were purchased by the Alachua Conservation Trust late last year for conservation purposes.
Former State Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit Jeff Siegmeister addresses a Board of County Commissioners meeting in August 2017. Siegmeister was arrested on Feb. 26 in Arizona on a range of charges. (FILE)

Former State Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit Jeff Siegmeister addresses a Board of County Commissioners meeting in August 2017. Siegmeister was arrested on Feb. 26 in Arizona on a range of charges. (FILE)

YEAR IN REVIEW: Siegmeister’s indictment headlines top stories of 2021

JAMIE WACHTER
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Following the pandemic-riddled 2020, 2021 began with optimism that the worst was behind. However, 2021 was a year of continued loss for Columbia County and Lake City. As well as a year of major arrests, gunfire, departures and destruction. Here are the top stories of the past year.