Local

Noel Raulerson was one of the first settlers on the banks of Lake DeSoto in Columbia County 200 years ago. (COURTESY)

Noel Raulerson was one of the first settlers on the banks of Lake DeSoto in Columbia County 200 years ago. (COURTESY)

Founders Day promises fun and learning

JAMIE WACHTER
Monday, November 15, 2021
How best to celebrate Columbia County’s bicentennial? When he was imagining the celebration, Christopher Esing, a county historian as well as a history instructor at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, kept coming back to a carnival.
John Cole III, CEO of Saving Our Children, shows off the donated food items that will be given out to local families on Nov. 20. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

John Cole III, CEO of Saving Our Children, shows off the donated food items that will be given out to local families on Nov. 20. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Cole plans to help 100 local families with food baskets for the holidays

TONY BRITT
Friday, November 12, 2021
With Thanksgiving just weeks away and several area families continuing to recover economically from losses due to the covid pandemic, the Kids Feeding Kids Organization plans to help 100 local families with food baskets for the holiday.

Compact agenda awaits city officials

TONY BRITT
Friday, November 12, 2021
The city’s building department has been experiencing an uncharacteristic “slow down” due to several internal vacancies, including a vacancy in its top position of growth development manager.
D’Andre Jefferson (left) and Thomas Williams sort through clothes and other goods Wednesday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

D’Andre Jefferson (left) and Thomas Williams sort through clothes and other goods Wednesday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Lake City teens give back with second annual clothing drive

TONY BRITT
Friday, November 12, 2021
A pair of local men, hoping to make a difference in their community, provided clothing to area residents Wednesday afternoon at Annie Mattox Park.
Connie Jones smiles next to a sign honoring her 40 years working at Lake City Medical Center. (COURTESY)

Connie Jones smiles next to a sign honoring her 40 years working at Lake City Medical Center. (COURTESY)

Jones celebrates 40 years at Lake City Medical Center

NEWS STAFF
Friday, November 12, 2021
For 40 years, Connie Jones has been dedicated to serving the community by providing high quality care to patients at Lake City Medical Center. To celebrate her career as a nurse, the hospital gathered colleagues to recognize the commitment and dedication to patients throughout her years of service.

‘Confused’ man busted for child porn

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Sending a video involving child pornography through social media two months ago landed a “confused” Lake City man in jail this week. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office arrested Rodolfo Perez Baez, 23, on Tuesday following an investigation into the two-minute long video.
The Lake City Reporter’s 2022 Community Information Guide is available now. (Lake City Reporter)

The Lake City Reporter’s 2022 Community Information Guide is available now. (Lake City Reporter)

Reporter’s 2022 Guide is available now

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, November 11, 2021
The Lake City Reporter’s annual Community Information Guide is now available. The magazine hit the streets and land on countertops across Columbia County throughout the past week, the 20th year the Reporter has produced the annual Guide.
Liam Ambrose (from left), 10, U.S. Army veteran Harrison Ambrose and Bailee Ambrose, 7, stand as the Columbia High School band plays the National Anthem during Thursday’s Veterans Day parade in Lake City. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Liam Ambrose (from left), 10, U.S. Army veteran Harrison Ambrose and Bailee Ambrose, 7, stand as the Columbia High School band plays the National Anthem during Thursday’s Veterans Day parade in Lake City. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

‘A veteran is a hero’

JAMIE WACHTER
Thursday, November 11, 2021
LIVE OAK — Veterans carry many different titles. Don Hale, Suwannee County commissioner for District 1, said those titles include father and mother, brother and sister, son and daughter, aunt and uncle, friend, companion.
Brian Sellers, a Marine Corps vet and director of emergency services at LCMC, was wounded in Iraq. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Brian Sellers, a Marine Corps vet and director of emergency services at LCMC, was wounded in Iraq. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Lake City veteran humbled by helping

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Not sure where he was, all Brian Sellers knew was he couldn’t talk and he couldn’t move. Wounded two days prior when a rocket blast in Ramadi, Iraq, sent scrap metal into his neck, shoulder, side and leg on the left side of his body on Oct.