Local

Akhimie resigns from assistant city manager position

CARL MCKINNEY

Monday, July 27, 2020

The No. 2 appointed official at Lake City Hall has stepped down from his position. Assistant City Manager Vince Akhimie tendered his resignation on July 6. “It was mutual,” said City Manager Joe Helfenberger. “He wanted to do other things, and I wished him well.

City changes funding process for Olustee, community events

CARL MCKINNEY

Monday, July 27, 2020

Community events, including the Olustee Battle Festival in downtown Lake City, will no longer automatically get funding from the city. Event organizers will now have to request money from the City Council, which will allocate money from a single $16,000 pot, said City Manager Joe Helfenberger.

Home invasion attack leads to hospitalization

TONY BRITT

Monday, July 27, 2020

A Lake City man was hospitalized this weekend after he was attacked in his home Saturday night by five unidentified men in a home invasion incident. According to information from the Lake City Police Department, around 8:40 p.m.

A Confederate monument sits in Olustee Park in downtown Lake City. The park is owned by the City of Live Oak, property appraiser records show. (FILE photo)

City owns Olustee Park

CARL MCKINNEY

Friday, July 24, 2020

A historian helping Lake City officials research the background of a controversial Confederate monument downtown says the city, which is facing calls to move the Civil War memorial, doesn’t own the land beneath it. Property appraiser records say otherwise.

Candidate forum has new look

NEWS STAFF

Friday, July 24, 2020

The Lake City Reporter Candidate Forum, set to start a week from Monday, will feature frank talk and a lively exchange of ideas. “It will be candidates’ best shot at connecting directly with voters,” said Lake City Reporter Editor Robert Bridges. “They are excited and so are we.

CYFA not punting on season amid covid-19 pandemic

TONY BRITT

Friday, July 24, 2020

Covid-19 has not caused the Columbia Youth Football Association to punt on its season. Jeff Tyre, CYFA President, said the league’s player and cheerleader registrations will begin in August, and the season will start in a few weeks with new safety protocols in place to deal with the pandemic.

Brenda Brickel, a local registered nurse, holds Teddy Weddy Bear, her eight-pound Pomeranian that woke her Tuesday night when she feel asleep while cooking chicken wings. Brickel credits the dog with saving her life. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Nurse credits pet Pomeranian with saving her life

TONY BRITT

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Through the years, Brenda Brickel and “Teddy Weddy Bear,” her eight-pound Pomeranian, have formed an emotional bond. Teddy Weddy Bear has been by Brickel’s side through happy times and some not-so-good times as she recovered from a life-threatening illness years ago.

Masks on the table for students

CARL MCKINNEY

Thursday, July 23, 2020

A mask mandate is on the table for older Columbia County public school students, but individual school board members dodged questions on whether they’d support such a rule. Brick-and-mortar campuses are expected to reopen when classes start Aug. 13.

REC candidate rally slated for fairgrounds

TONY BRITT

Thursday, July 23, 2020

The Columbia County Republican Party is providing local residents with an opportunity for a free dinner and chance to meet candidates during its only Republican Candidate Rally. The rally will take place Saturday at the Florida Gateway Fairgrounds beginning at 3 p.m. for a candidate meet and greet.

Columbia Correctional Institution went from 574 cases on Wednesday to 973 on Thursday.

Covid-19 case surge continues at Columbia CI

JAMIE WACHTER

Thursday, July 23, 2020

LAKE CITY — Columbia Correctional Institution continues to be a covid-19 hot spot. According to data from the Florida Department of Corrections, nearly 1,000 inmates at the prison had tested positive for the virus as of noon Thursday.