Local

Chris Greene, the chairman of Lake City’s utility advisory committee, discussed a joint committee with county representation at the county meeting Thursday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Chris Greene, the chairman of Lake City’s utility advisory committee, discussed a joint committee with county representation at the county meeting Thursday. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

County joins joint utility group

TONY BRITT
Thursday, January 21, 2021
City and county officials have been working together for months on projects that called for expanded utility services with hopes of spurring economic development.

County selects Kraus

TONY BRITT
Thursday, January 21, 2021
County officials have set the path to have David Kraus remove the ‘interim’ tag from his job title and  become the next county manager.

Hill faces ethics complaint over lease

JAMIE WACHTER
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Whether it was a violation of his position on the Lake City Council or an innocent misunderstanding, Jake Hill is facing an ethics complaint. Ron Williams II addressed the council with his concerns about the proposed leasing of the Girls Club properties at its meeting Tuesday night.

County to consider utility group proposal

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
For nearly a month, city and county officials have been mulling the merits of forming a joint city-county utility committee. The discussion is expected to continue today during the 5:30 p.m.
Brenda Lacy, left, receives a vaccination Tuesday from Kristen Tuten, a nurse consultant, at the Rehabilitation Center of Lake City. More than 75 patients and staff of the facility received the second dose of the vaccination Tuesday including Lacy, the Rehab Center’s administrator. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Brenda Lacy, left, receives a vaccination Tuesday from Kristen Tuten, a nurse consultant, at the Rehabilitation Center of Lake City. More than 75 patients and staff of the facility received the second dose of the vaccination Tuesday including Lacy, the Rehab Center’s administrator. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Rehab Center receives vaccines

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
January is proving to be the start of the vaccination season for several local residents. With doses of covid-19 vaccines arriving in the county, several groups of local residents are getting inoculated in an attempt to ward off the deadly virus.
Winners from the Gateway Art Gallery members’ art show are, in front, Laura Hunter-Null (from left), Vicki D. Shanks, Brenda Kennedy; in back, Jim Riley, David Campione, Herb Ellis and Carol Cieslik. (COURTESY)

Winners from the Gateway Art Gallery members’ art show are, in front, Laura Hunter-Null (from left), Vicki D. Shanks, Brenda Kennedy; in back, Jim Riley, David Campione, Herb Ellis and Carol Cieslik. (COURTESY)

Art League exhibition winners announced

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
The 50-year-old Art League of North Florida is currently holding a member artist exhibition and competition at the Gateway Art Gallery in downtown historic Lake City. Winners were announced this week in four categories: painting, drawing, photography and sculpture.
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, a Fort White resident, wears a collection of used plastic bottled water containers as she addressed the legislative delegation Tuesday in the Columbia County School Board Administrative Complex Auditorium. Malwitz-Jipson said she wore the bottles to show legislators an example of waste, noting the water bottles will pollute the environment for years. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, a Fort White resident, wears a collection of used plastic bottled water containers as she addressed the legislative delegation Tuesday in the Columbia County School Board Administrative Complex Auditorium. Malwitz-Jipson said she wore the bottles to show legislators an example of waste, noting the water bottles will pollute the environment for years. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Water world: Malwitz-Jipson dons bottles to present to state legislators

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Decked out in a one-of-a-kind vest, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson wasn’t bottled up when addressing the Columbia County legislative delegation. The final speaker at Tuesday’s hearing at the Columbia School Board Administrative Complex Auditorium, Malwitz-Jipson garnered plenty of attention.
Sen. Jennifer Bradley opened the Suwannee County legislative delegation hearing by warning of $2 billion-plus in state budget cuts. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Sen. Jennifer Bradley opened the Suwannee County legislative delegation hearing by warning of $2 billion-plus in state budget cuts. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Budget concerns tackled at SuwCo hearing

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
LIVE OAK — The tone for Tuesday morning’s Suwannee County legislative delegation hearing was set early. In her opening remarks at the Suwannee County Coliseum, Sen.

Lollipop lease a sticky situation

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
The city’s potential lease agreement with Lollipop Child Care, or the George & Warren Foundation, has turned into a sticky situation. Most of the discussion in a nearly three-hour meeting Tuesday night centered around the city’s proposed leasing of the Girls Club buildings.
Sara Carter, stands on the steps of the Columbia County Courthouse on Friday afternoon. Carter, 42, has been serving as the Columbia County Court judge for roughly two weeks. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Sara Carter, stands on the steps of the Columbia County Courthouse on Friday afternoon. Carter, 42, has been serving as the Columbia County Court judge for roughly two weeks. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Courting history: Carter settling in as county’s first female judge

TONY BRITT
Monday, January 18, 2021
After close to two decades of working with clients as an attorney, Sara Carter wondered what life would look like from the other side of the bench.