Local

Kimberly Claridy Walker. (FILE)

Kimberly Claridy Walker. (FILE)

Jax drug boss to remain in custody

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, October 23, 2021
JACKSONVILLE — A Lake City native accused of leading an armed drug trafficking organization will remain in custody until her trial in federal court. Patricia Barksdale, a United States Magistrate Judge, did not grant Jacksonville businesswoman Kimberly Claridy Walker’s request in U.S.

Unemployment rates continue falling across area

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Unemployment rates fell locally for the third straight month in September. According to data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked down slightly in September to 4.9%, a drop of 0.1%.

Protocol saves county from scam

JAMIE WACHTER
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Columbia County taxpayers have recently been the target of a pair of scam attempts. Clerk of Courts Jay Swisher informed the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners of the attempts, one stopped and the other in which the county is looking to recoup some funds, at its meeting Thursday morning.
Holly Frazier discusses the options available at Halpatter Brewing Co.’s tent at the 2019 Gateway City Craft Beer and Wine Festival. (FILE)

Holly Frazier discusses the options available at Halpatter Brewing Co.’s tent at the 2019 Gateway City Craft Beer and Wine Festival. (FILE)

Gateway City Craft Beer and Wine Festival back on tap

TONY BRITT
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Local residents can cap off a lazy fall afternoon by listening to music, visiting food trucks and sampling beer and wine on the shore of Lake DeSoto this weekend. The 2021 Gateway City Craft Beer and Wine Festival will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Lake City at Wilson Park.
County Commissioners Tim Murphy (from left), Rocky Ford and Toby Witt look at a word cloud of residents’ descriptions of Columbia County. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

County Commissioners Tim Murphy (from left), Rocky Ford and Toby Witt look at a word cloud of residents’ descriptions of Columbia County. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

TDC nets feedback on regional park

JAMIE WACHTER
Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Columbia County Regional Park may provide an identity to soccer in the community. The possibility that it could help pickleball grow and flourish was also discussed Thursday morning at a town hall meeting.
Columbia High School students preparing to pull trash from Lake DeSoto last Saturday as part of the Rotary Club of Lake City - Downtown’s Lake DeSoto Lake Clean-Up event. (COURTESY)

Columbia High School students preparing to pull trash from Lake DeSoto last Saturday as part of the Rotary Club of Lake City - Downtown’s Lake DeSoto Lake Clean-Up event. (COURTESY)

Downtown Rotary cleans Lake DeSoto

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Casting for trash, the Rotary Club of Lake City - Downtown reeled in some big ones from Lake DeSoto last weekend.
Ethan Humphries (center), a Branford High School student, uses gloves while getting tips from Eric Crawford, a Clay Electric line supervisor, during Wednesday’s Build My Future event. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Ethan Humphries (center), a Branford High School student, uses gloves while getting tips from Eric Crawford, a Clay Electric line supervisor, during Wednesday’s Build My Future event. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Building something more: Students get hands-on experiences in vocational trades

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
From nail guns to screw drivers, mini-excavators to mobile lifts — tools of the trade in the building and construction industry were on display and placed in the hands of area students for most of the day Wednesday.
Brantley Knight, 11 months, attempts to lift a pumpkin Monday afternoon while his family searched for pumpkins to purchase at the Columbia High School FFA Pumpkin Patch. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Brantley Knight, 11 months, attempts to lift a pumpkin Monday afternoon while his family searched for pumpkins to purchase at the Columbia High School FFA Pumpkin Patch. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Thousands of pumpkins available at FFA patch

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
A patch of property near the intersection of SW Bascom Norris Drive and SW Mary Ethel Lane has sprouted pumpkins. The 2,500 to 3,000 pumpkins are on site as part of the Columbia High FFA Pumpkin Patch Sale, which serves as an annual fundraiser for the program.