Local

OUR OPINION: County should exhaust options in manager search

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Columbia County officials teeter on the great precipice of decision, as the group now begins the search for a new county manager. It will be a challenging decision, one that will affect the future of our county for many years into the future. Will the board step up or flounder?
Bill Fish (from left), Tyler Todd and Cody Pridgeon stand atop a monitoring area for the aeration basin tanks at the St. Margarets Wastewater Treatment Facility on Friday morning. The aeration basin tanks will be upgraded as part of a $6.1 million project at the facility. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Bill Fish (from left), Tyler Todd and Cody Pridgeon stand atop a monitoring area for the aeration basin tanks at the St. Margarets Wastewater Treatment Facility on Friday morning. The aeration basin tanks will be upgraded as part of a $6.1 million project at the facility. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Saving St. Margarets: City sewage plant set for $6.1M upgrade to avoid ‘disaster’

TONY BRITT
Saturday, October 3, 2020
With no replacement parts and no backup plan, Lake City officials had no choice. With the St. Margarets wastewater treatment facility aging and in need of repairs, the city has earmarked roughly $6.1 million for a rehabilitation project at the facility that will help avoid “disaster.
Thomas Henry (clockwise from left), Lake City Public Works Department Director; Leroy Marshall, Suwannee River Water Management District Chief Professional Engineer; Tim Beach, Suwannee River Water Management District Environmental Scientist II; and Joe Helfenberger, city manager, talk to Adee Farmer about drainage issues near a canal near Richardson Community Center. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Thomas Henry (clockwise from left), Lake City Public Works Department Director; Leroy Marshall, Suwannee River Water Management District Chief Professional Engineer; Tim Beach, Suwannee River Water Management District Environmental Scientist II; and Joe Helfenberger, city manager, talk to Adee Farmer about drainage issues near a canal near Richardson Community Center. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

City looks to address flooding issues

TONY BRITT
Saturday, October 3, 2020
The city plans to address the flooding and drainage issues that plague certain areas of town.
Dr. Travis Lanaux, DVM, emergency director of the University of Florida’s small animal hospital, talks about the treatment of snake bites in dogs during a presentation to the Rotary Club of Lake City Thursday. Lanaux talked about coral snake bites and strikes from pit vipers, including rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)

Dr. Travis Lanaux, DVM, emergency director of the University of Florida’s small animal hospital, talks about the treatment of snake bites in dogs during a presentation to the Rotary Club of Lake City Thursday. Lanaux talked about coral snake bites and strikes from pit vipers, including rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)

Snake-bite vet talks of dogs in the ER

TODD WILSON
Saturday, October 3, 2020
The adverse effect of a snake bite in some dogs may not show itself for up to 36 hours after the strike, according to a University of Florida veterinary expert who told Rotarians Thursday a variety of stories about treatments and the difference in coral snake bites compared to pit vipers. Dr.
Former State Attorney Jeff Siegmeister, shown speaking to the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners previously, has been accused by federal investigators of defrauding a dead man’s estate for nearly $1 million. (FILE)

Former State Attorney Jeff Siegmeister, shown speaking to the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners previously, has been accused by federal investigators of defrauding a dead man’s estate for nearly $1 million. (FILE)

FBI: Siegmeister swindled $985K

JAMIE WACHTER
Thursday, October 1, 2020
Former State Attorney Jeff Siegmeister may lose his house following a federal investigation into his alleged public corruption found further misdeeds. According to court documents filed Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the U.S.

Kraus named interim county head

TONY BRITT
Thursday, October 1, 2020
County officials named David Kraus as the interim county manager, effective immediately, as they set in motion their plan to search for a new head of county operations.  The search is needed following the unexpected resignation of Ben Scott earlier this week.

Lake City police arrest Va. fugitive from BLM protest

TONY BRITT
Thursday, October 1, 2020
A man accused of driving his vehicle through a crowd of Black Lives Matter demonstrators in Virginia was arrested Wednesday night in Lake City when local police responded to a disturbance call.  Emanual W. Wilder, 20, was arrested on a Virginia warrant Wednesday night.

Cops say: Dishes, fists thrown in fight

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
A Lake City couple was arrested Wednesday morning after taking their plate-and-punch throwing domestic disturbance to the streets.  According to a Lake City Police Department report, around 9:50 a.m.

United Way working to raise funds

TONY BRITT
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
There was no traditional kickoff but the United Way of Suwannee Valley is still looking to score funds. The agency’s normal fundraising campaign kickoff event was canceled in August due to the covid-19 pandemic, but the United Way is still in need of raising funds to help serve the community.

LCPD: Shooting started at apartment

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
A daytime shooting in Lake City Monday afternoon that left two with serious gunshot wounds apparently began as a disagreement at an apartment complex and ended when one of the wounded made his way to a busy intersection on U.S. Highway 90 near Northwest Ridgewood Avenue, police said Tuesday.