Regional

Volunteer Jennifer Petit puts fresh blueberry pancake batter on the griddle during the blueberry pancake breakfast at last year’s Wellborn Blueberry Festival. (FILE)

Volunteer Jennifer Petit puts fresh blueberry pancake batter on the griddle during the blueberry pancake breakfast at last year’s Wellborn Blueberry Festival. (FILE)

Blueberry festival ready for picking

JAMIE WACHTER
Monday, May 30, 2022
WELLBORN — This small town in eastern Suwannee County will be painted red, white and blue-berry next weekend. For the 28th time, the Wellborn Blueberry Festival will descend on Andrews Square, 1340 8th Avenue in Wellborn, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Gen. Chauncey featured at Memorial Day ceremony

NEWS STAFF
Friday, May 27, 2022
LIVE OAK — A Suwannee County native and retired general will be the guest speaker at Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony in Live Oak. Brigadier General Paul “Trey” Chauncey III will speak during the ceremony, set to begin at 11 a.m. in the Veterans Memorial section of the Live Oak Cemetery.
RTC students were inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society. (COURTESY)

RTC students were inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society. (COURTESY)

RiverOak honors graduates, award winners

NEWS STAFF
Friday, May 27, 2022
LIVE OAK — Nearly 200 students were honored by RiverOak Technical College during its graduation and awards ceremony. The ceremony, held May 19, honored 186 graduates, program completes, industry certification and award recipients.
Lynne Hutchins, of Live Oak, sets up her Suwannee Song Designs booth at Stephen Foster Park for this weekend’s 70th annual Florida Folk Festival. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Lynne Hutchins, of Live Oak, sets up her Suwannee Song Designs booth at Stephen Foster Park for this weekend’s 70th annual Florida Folk Festival. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Folk Festival comes back

TONY BRITT
Thursday, May 26, 2022
WHITE SPRINGS — Tents, sun canopies, water stations, stages and portable chairs are all pretty uncommon items on the grounds at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. But Thursday afternoon there was at least one of those items in every direction as far as the eye could see.

Camper flips on interstate; nobody injured

NEWS STAFF
Thursday, May 26, 2022
JASPER — Nobody was injured when a camper overturned on Interstate 75 in the early morning hours Thursday. According to a Florida Highway Patrol release, a pickup was pulling a camper north on I-75 around 1:30 a.m. Thursday when the camper began swaying from side to side.

Suspect killed after shooting at deputy

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
JASPER — A suspect was killed in a shootout with a Hamilton County deputy after fleeing into the woods Wednesday. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is investigating the incident, a deputy attempted a traffic stop around 1 p.m. on U.S.
Volunteers with the ‘Crosses for Our Community’ project installed more than 330 crosses and flags along South Ohio Avenue on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday to honor veterans. (COURTESY)

Volunteers with the ‘Crosses for Our Community’ project installed more than 330 crosses and flags along South Ohio Avenue on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday to honor veterans. (COURTESY)

Live Oak adds ‘Crosses for Our Community’

JAMIE WACHTER
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
LIVE OAK — The drive through Live Oak has a new look this week. Leading into Memorial Day, for the first time, more than 330 crosses and flags greet motorists as they drive on South Ohio Avenue (U.S. Highway 129) through town.
A mechanical failure sparked a fire early Wednesday morning at the Ash Grove South cement plant near Branford. Nobody was injured. (COURTESY)

A mechanical failure sparked a fire early Wednesday morning at the Ash Grove South cement plant near Branford. Nobody was injured. (COURTESY)

Fire doused at cement plant

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
BRANFORD — An overnight fire knocked out a machine, but not the operation, at a cement plant in southern Suwannee County. Firefighters from Suwannee County Fire Rescue responded to the Ash Grove South’s Branford plant around 4 a.m.