Local

Voters flocking too early to polls

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Columbia County voters are primed and ready to cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election. How ready? So ready that supervisor of election officials say nearly 1,000 people have come to cast their early voting ballots already.
Sgt. Steven Khachigan is the new public information officer at the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Sgt. Steven Khachigan is the new public information officer at the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Khachigan accepts new role at CCSO

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Law enforcement jobs invariably come with a sense of danger, excitement, drama and adventure. After more than a decade in law enforcement, Sgt.
Brian Forte and his wife, Amanda, look through pumpkins at the Columbia FFA Pumpkin Patch with their children Kaiden (standing) and Railynn. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Brian Forte and his wife, Amanda, look through pumpkins at the Columbia FFA Pumpkin Patch with their children Kaiden (standing) and Railynn. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

FFA patch brimming with pumpkins

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Pumpkins on pallets. Pumpkins on hay bales. Pumpkins on display. Pumpkins everywhere and on sale from the local FFA.
Matt Gaetz, a congressman from Florida’s First District in the panhandle, speaks during Monday’s rally in front of the Trump campaign bus while former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker looks on. More than 150 people attended the campaign stop at the Lake City Plaza. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Matt Gaetz, a congressman from Florida’s First District in the panhandle, speaks during Monday’s rally in front of the Trump campaign bus while former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker looks on. More than 150 people attended the campaign stop at the Lake City Plaza. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Loading up for Trump: Fired-up crowd greets campaign bus on local stop

TONY BRITT
Monday, October 19, 2020
The Lake City Plaza parking lot turned red Monday morning. The plaza was full of President Donald Trump supporters when one of his re-election campaign buses stopped in town for a visit.

City ups park grant request to $800K

TODD WILSON
Monday, October 19, 2020
Proposed improvements at Wilson Park downtown took another step toward reality Monday, as the Lake City Council approved the details of a possible $800,000 grant application.
Chip Parker carries a pole to a trash dumpster, while other volunteers unload a truck, during Saturday’s Clean Lake City event. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Chip Parker carries a pole to a trash dumpster, while other volunteers unload a truck, during Saturday’s Clean Lake City event. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Cleanup event fills dumpsters

TONY BRITT
Monday, October 19, 2020
Not one, not two and not even three dumpsters could contain the clutter collected Saturday. Couches, mattresses, end tables and other household debris were just a few of the numerous items filling two roll-away dumpsters Saturday morning during the inaugural Lake City community cleanup event.

Gwen Lake funding gets council approval

TODD WILSON
Monday, October 19, 2020
Upgrades to the erosion and lake fill problems in the residential area near Gwen Lake saw the Lake City Council approve a $420,000 expenditure for the project during Monday night’s meeting. The City Council approved a resolution to accept a bid from Florida Fill and Grading, Inc.
James Smith (from left), stands with Al Williams, Chuck Denmark, Jordan Thrasher and Derek Smith around the headstone of Thomas C. Strange, a Columbia County resident who was reportedly the first Confederate soldier killed in Florida during the Civil War. The Smiths are descendants of Strange, while Williams, Denmark and Thrasher serve as trustees for the cemetery. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

James Smith (from left), stands with Al Williams, Chuck Denmark, Jordan Thrasher and Derek Smith around the headstone of Thomas C. Strange, a Columbia County resident who was reportedly the first Confederate soldier killed in Florida during the Civil War. The Smiths are descendants of Strange, while Williams, Denmark and Thrasher serve as trustees for the cemetery. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Historic headstone refurbished at Bethel United cemetery

TONY BRITT
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Trustees at the Bethel United Methodist cemetery, Chuck Denmark and Al Williams noticed a problem. A number of the headstones in the cemetery were in a state of disrepair. “Most of them didn’t even have names on them,” Denmark said. “They were from the Civil War era.

County utilizing FACM in manager search

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Columbia County is turning over the reins its national search for a new county manager. At Thursday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, Chairman Toby Witt suggested the board utilize the Florida Association of County Managers to conduct the search.