Local

Sheriff, others are alone on ballot Fields as qualifying ends

CARL MCKINNEY
Friday, June 12, 2020
Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter and several other candidates for local office are running unopposed, providing them a clear path to electoral victories. The deadline for candidates to qualify for the ballot came and went at noon Friday, setting up a number of races with only one contender.
CHS band director Jay Miller is seen with his trumpet on campus. Miller was selected over countless other music educators as a quarterfinalist in the Grammy Music Educator Award for 2021. It’s a major honor that could net up to $10,000 for the school’s music program should he win. Miller credited his students with the fact that he’s made it this far. (CARL MCKINNEY/Lake City Reporter)

CHS band director Jay Miller is seen with his trumpet on campus. Miller was selected over countless other music educators as a quarterfinalist in the Grammy Music Educator Award for 2021. It’s a major honor that could net up to $10,000 for the school’s music program should he win. Miller credited his students with the fact that he’s made it this far. (CARL MCKINNEY/Lake City Reporter)

CHS band chief gets Grammy kudos

CARL MCKINNEY
Thursday, June 11, 2020
The odds are slim and the competition is fierce. Jay Miller doesn’t think he stands much of a chance. Then again, he’s already overcome long odds just to make it this far.  Only 216 teachers in the entire nation have been selected as quarter finalists for the 2021 Grammy Music Educator Award.
81-year-old man is latest fatality.

81-year-old man is latest fatality.

Jasper reports second covid-19 death

CARL MCKINNEY
Thursday, June 11, 2020
JASPER — An 81-year-old man is the second Hamilton County resident confirmed to have died from covid-19, health officials said.  He was hospitalized at the time of his death, according to the Florida Department of Health in Hamilton County.

County savors $4 million slice of federal aid

CARL MCKINNEY
Thursday, June 11, 2020
A $1.3 billion pot of federal money that’s been sitting in the state’s coffers for more than two months is finally set to be disbursed to cash-strapped rural counties to aid in the recovery from covid-19, and Columbia County could stand to receive millions.
A wreath adorns the signpost for Carl Wilson Road on Wednesday. (WAYNE WHITTEN/Special to Reporter))

A wreath adorns the signpost for Carl Wilson Road on Wednesday. (WAYNE WHITTEN/Special to Reporter))

Limb kills local man on tractor

CARL MCKINNEY
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Just last week, the two long-time friends were catching up with one another. Chatting beside a mailbox, they cracked jokes about old age and the health problems that come with it. Five days later, a freak accident took one of their lives.

Charter Review: ‘Slush fund’ antics CRC target

CARL MCKINNEY
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
A controversial county government spending practice is now under a magnifying glass.  Year-end money is surplus cash left over from the budgeting process, but the way Columbia County uses those funds has been criticized by current and former officials.
Lake Shore Hospital’s tenant, Community Health Systems, wants out of its contract operating the facility. The company said the hospital is not profitable enough, according to the Lake Shore Hospital Authority, a government body with custodianship over the facility. (FILE)

Lake Shore Hospital’s tenant, Community Health Systems, wants out of its contract operating the facility. The company said the hospital is not profitable enough, according to the Lake Shore Hospital Authority, a government body with custodianship over the facility. (FILE)

Terms of divorce coming soon regarding Lake Shore Hospital

CARL MCKINNEY
Monday, June 8, 2020
The healthcare corporation that seeks to untether itself from Lake Shore Hospital is expected to soon propose some divorce terms. Meanwhile, the government body that leases out the hospital is shopping around for new partners.

City Hall, parks are now open

CARL MCKINNEY
Monday, June 8, 2020
Have a city utility bill payment to make? Need to ask a question about a permit application related to your business? It’s now possible again to do those errands face-to-face, after Lake City Hall began reopening more of its facilities on Monday.