Local

Christmas Dream Machine founder and director Meally Jenkins opens up boxes of giant bows as part of her preparations for this year’s event at 1445 SW Main Boulevard. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Christmas Dream Machine founder and director Meally Jenkins opens up boxes of giant bows as part of her preparations for this year’s event at 1445 SW Main Boulevard. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

A holly jolly dream machine

TONY BRITT
Monday, November 1, 2021
A large pair of red Christmas wreaths hanging days before Halloween may seem strange to some people, but to many local residents it’s a visual indicator that the Christmas Dream Machine is prepping for the holiday season.
Members of the Lake City Council listen to a speaker at the podium during Monday's meeting. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Members of the Lake City Council listen to a speaker at the podium during Monday's meeting. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

No seat for Coker either

TONY BRITT
Monday, November 1, 2021
The Lake City Council is down to its final strike. Twice, the council has held special meetings to appoint a District 14 representative, only to back out when it came time to swear the candidate in. Guess what? Another special city council meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m.

Jax man arrested for hitting jukebox

NEWS STAFF
Monday, November 1, 2021
Hitting on the jukebox at the Longbranch Saloon didn’t pay off for a Jacksonville man. After drinking at the bar on S. Marion Avenue on Friday night, 27-year-old Jared Kampmeyer wanted to hear a song around 2 a.m. Saturday, he told officers according to a Lake City Police Department report.
A photograph shows the homestead of William W. Marcum/Markham and Reithy Roberts, the daughter of Florida pioneer Zachariah Roberts. A recreation of the homestead will be featured at the Founders Day celebration. (COURTESY)

A photograph shows the homestead of William W. Marcum/Markham and Reithy Roberts, the daughter of Florida pioneer Zachariah Roberts. A recreation of the homestead will be featured at the Founders Day celebration. (COURTESY)

Marcums recreating pioneering homestead

NEWS STAFF
Monday, November 1, 2021
As part of the Founders Day Festivities, the celebration will feature a history carnival sponsored by 20 different civic, business, and familial organizations that will each sponsor a booth representing a decade from 1820 through 2020.

Bicentennial Founders Day set for Nov. 20

NEWS STAFF
Monday, November 1, 2021
Lake City and Columbia County is turning 200 and the community is invited to the party. In the fall of 1821, Noel Raulerson built a cabin on Lake DeSoto becoming the first American to move into the area. Raulerson would be followed soon afterwards by Mr. Henry Edwards (1823), John D.
Befaithful Coker, addressing the Lake City Council in a previous meeting, is scheduled to be sworn in as the council’s newest member Monday. (FILE)

Befaithful Coker, addressing the Lake City Council in a previous meeting, is scheduled to be sworn in as the council’s newest member Monday. (FILE)

Coker wants to ‘stabilize’ city’s base

NEWS STAFF
Friday, October 29, 2021
The Lake City Council’s vacant seat will be filled Monday. Probably. For the second time in two weeks, the council has appointed a candidate to serve out the District 14 seat term until the 2022 election. A lawsuit filed before Stephen A. Douglas could be sworn in on Oct.

Accreditation team seeks public input on LCPD

NEWS STAFF
Friday, October 29, 2021
The Lake City Police Department’s policies and procedures will be examined next month. As part of the accreditation process that a team of assessors from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation will perform, public comment is welcomed.
There were just 29 new covid-19 cases in Columbia County this week and just 24 in Suwannee County.

There were just 29 new covid-19 cases in Columbia County this week and just 24 in Suwannee County.

Covid-19 cases continue to fall in Columbia & Suwannee counties

NEWS STAFF
Friday, October 29, 2021
After raging a couple months ago, the spread of covid-19 has slowed considerably in Columbia County. In the latest data released Friday by the Florida Department of Health, there were just 29 new covid cases in the county over the past week, a rate of 40.7 per 100,000 population.