Local

The Florida Gateway Fairgrounds were aglow last year by the midway at the Florida Gateway Fair, which will return next month. The fair, with additional safety measures in place, is scheduled for Oct. 30 through Nov. 7. (RAY CARPENTER PHOTOGRAPHY FILE)

The Florida Gateway Fairgrounds were aglow last year by the midway at the Florida Gateway Fair, which will return next month. The fair, with additional safety measures in place, is scheduled for Oct. 30 through Nov. 7. (RAY CARPENTER PHOTOGRAPHY FILE)

Florida Gateway Fair still on as scheduled

TONY BRITT
Monday, September 28, 2020
The Florida Gateway Fair’s bright lights, music and livestock sale aren’t going anywhere. The 66th annual Florida Gateway Fair returns to Lake City next month with a new set of shows. The fair, which is hosted by Columbia County Resources, is slated for Oct. 30-Nov.

Daytime shooting in city sends pair to trauma units

TONY BRITT
Monday, September 28, 2020
Two people were shot in broad daylight Monday afternoon at a busy Lake City intersection when an attempted robbery went wrong, authorities say. The suspect remains at large following the 4 p.m. incident, which occurred near the intersection of West U.S.

Police identify woman found

TONY BRITT
Monday, September 28, 2020
The dead woman found under the Main Boulevard overpass Friday in Lake City was confirmed to be a 62-year-old Lake City resident. The body of Mary Frances Schroeder, 62, of Lake City, was identified by the Medical Examiners Office in Jacksonville, according to the Lake City Police Department.
The Current Topics Club in 1906. Members included, from left, Mrs. J.L. Wells, Dadie Young (later Mrs. J.C. Sheffield), Janie Brown (first president, later Mrs. Burr L. Bixler), Mrs. F.A. Crowder, Mrs. J.C. Sheffield (1st), Mrs. W.H. Anthony, Ethel Warren (later Mrs. Herbert L. King), Mrs. James Wesley Stephens, May Vinzant (later G.J. Perkins) and Alice Appleyard (later Mrs. J.O. Clarkson). (COURTESY)

The Current Topics Club in 1906. Members included, from left, Mrs. J.L. Wells, Dadie Young (later Mrs. J.C. Sheffield), Janie Brown (first president, later Mrs. Burr L. Bixler), Mrs. F.A. Crowder, Mrs. J.C. Sheffield (1st), Mrs. W.H. Anthony, Ethel Warren (later Mrs. Herbert L. King), Mrs. James Wesley Stephens, May Vinzant (later G.J. Perkins) and Alice Appleyard (later Mrs. J.O. Clarkson). (COURTESY)

Political pioneers: More than 900 local women registered to vote in 1920

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, September 26, 2020
In 1920 following the passage of the 19th Amendment, voter registration opened to women in Lake City and Columbia County on Sept. 10 and remained open through Oct. 22. During that time, 916 women registered to vote representing 26 communities with 14 white and 12 African American precincts.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s crime scene technicians helped process the scene on Northwest Railroad Street where a black female body was found Friday morning. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s crime scene technicians helped process the scene on Northwest Railroad Street where a black female body was found Friday morning. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Dead body found

TONY BRITT
Saturday, September 26, 2020
A “suspicious death” is being investigated by police after a black woman’s body was found underneath an overpass in north Lake City Friday morning. Lake City Police Department officials said the body was found around 9:30 a.m. Friday on Northwest Railroad Street.

City to discuss grant’s matching funds

TODD WILSON
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Lake City Council will consider several items relating to its proposed Community Development Block Grant application when it meets in special session at 6 p.m. Monday. Council has an agenda with four items addressing the grant application.

Cheating at casino nets jail, not jackpot

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Finding a broken lock on a gambling machine at a local casino, a Lake City man thought he had hit the jackpot. Instead, he is facing grand theft and fraud charges. According to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the Vegas One 777 casino on South U.S.
A large crowd of festival-goers milled around Wilson Park at this past year’s Olustee Battle Festival. Lake City’s largest and oldest festival, though, was canceled for February due to health concerns from covid-19. (FILE)

A large crowd of festival-goers milled around Wilson Park at this past year’s Olustee Battle Festival. Lake City’s largest and oldest festival, though, was canceled for February due to health concerns from covid-19. (FILE)

Olustee surrenders: No downtown festival in Lake City in February

TONY BRITT
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Lake City’s largest and oldest festival, the Olustee Battle Festival, has been canceled for February 2021 because of health concerns associated with the ongoing pandemic, organizers said.