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County News 2025
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Sept. 26, 2025 10:50 am | 5 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – The Fort White Town Council met in
special session last Friday, September 19, to discuss
“water operations” – the operation of the Town’s water
plant. Councilmen Bill Koon and Lonnie Harrell called
the special meeting after the Town voted to take back
the operation of the water plant from Columbia County.
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Sept. 7, 2025 8:43 am | 4 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Once again, Fort White is looking
for a Town Clerk. On Thursday evening, the Town Council
met in special session to figure out what it was going
to do upon the resignation of its third clerk in seven
months.
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Sept. 2, 2025 11:59 pm | 12 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – For over a decade, the Florida
Department of Transportation (FDOT) has claimed to be an
economic development driver. What is going on at the
I-75, State Road (SR) 47 interchange makes FDOT's claim
questionable. A complex web of politics is driving a
proposed home for a new Publix supermarket.
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Aug. 22, 2025 11:59 pm | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Thursday evening,
Representative Chuck Brannan visited the
Columbia County 5 with a big check (3ft x
4ft) for $3,050,000. The check represented
Florida legislative appropriations for the
County, a team effort by Representative
Chuck Brannan and Senator Jennifer Bradley.
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August 1, 2025 7:45 am | 6 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The North Florida Water
Utilities Authority (NFWUA) met Wednesday morning. The
Authority, operating without a business plan for over a
year and with an executive director who has no
experience running any kind of utility, trudged forward
into its self-created Never-Never Land.
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July 25, 2025 10:15 am | 5 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Critical Facebook posts had Fort
White Town Councilman Lonnie Harrell unhappy. He
responded with what he called a “Message From Your Fort
White Town Council.” He wanted to set the record
straight. He wanted Council support. On Monday evening,
the Town Council had other ideas.
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July 4, 2025 9:45 am | 3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia and Suwannee Counties
are connected at the hip in more ways than one.
President Trump's Big, Beautiful, budget-busting legacy
will affect those least able to defend themselves – the
country's children.
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June 17, 2025
2:00 pm | 4 min read
COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – Last Thursday, June 12, Dr. Barrett was
awarded a 5-year contract. While humble about
his pay, there appeared to be more to this
year’s contract than met the eye, which had the
College President going from 1-year automatic
renewals contract to an initial 5-year contract
and then 1-year automatic renewals.
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May 28, 2025 8:55 pm | 10 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Tim Murphy’s “Joint Stakeholder
Workshop on Utilities” passed into history Thursday
afternoon (May 22). Various agencies, along with
Columbia and Suwannee Counties and Lake City and Live
Oak, attended for what was billed as ‘a meaningful
opportunity to present updates on major projects,
utility infrastructure, and large capital projects.’
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May 21, 2025 10:55 pm | 2 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 pm,
Columbia County, with the help of Florida Gateway
College, is hosting a multi-county, multi-agency utility
show-and-tell. Attendees have been invited from across
North Central Florida. The purpose of the meeting is to give the invitees "a
meaningful opportunity to present updates on any major
projects or current events impacting the region."
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May 14, 2025 9:25 pm | 4 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Despite the tsunami of town turmoil,
which has resulted in massive resignations, the Town of
Fort White is moving ahead with a celebration of its
designation as a Main Street Community on Thursday, May
15. Fort White is the smallest municipal government in
America to have earned that designation.
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May 9, 2025 8:15 pm | 7 min read
SUWANNEE COUNTY, FL – $150,000 a year plus a $51,000
yearly pension payment (plus) was too much for an
executive director for two Authority board members.
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April 19, 2025 10:45 pm | 7 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The North Florida Water
Utilities Authority chose an executive director
on Thursday morning, April 17, without a word of
discussion.
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April 10, 2025 9:am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Fort White Councilwoman Monica
Merricks looked to smooth waters with the Columbia
County 5. Last Thursday morning (April 3), Ms. Merricks
led an expedition to the County Commission (County 5) to
ask The 5 for help facilitating the Town's previously
approved Phase I sewer project grant of $5.34 million.
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April 5, 2025 10:45 pm | 5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – North Florida Water Utilities
Authority (NFWUA) met this past Wednesday morning to
hear a bunch of presentations and interview the
applicants for the executive director position of the
Authority.
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April 2, 2025 8:10 am | 3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The North Florida Water Utilities
Authority (NFWUA) finally has applicants for the
position of executive director. None of the candidates
meet the listed minimum qualifications.
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March 6, 2025 10:30 am | 7 min read
Fort White, FL – The little Town of Fort White was on
the cusp of great things – then it went sideways.
Sunshine law violations and the threat of a citizen
lawsuit hung in the air as the special March 3, 2025,
Town Council meeting got underway.
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March 3, 2025 12:48 pm | 5 min read
Fort White, FL – Fort White in turmoil: Mayor & Temp
Agency Clerks jettison rule of law to fill vacated
council seat.
In January 2025, the Town of Fort White (“the Town”)
saw the resignation of the Town Clerk, the Deputy Clerk,
the Town Attorney, and City Councilman Janson Florence.
These resignations were not just a coincidence.
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Feb. 12, 2025
9:50 am |
4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Monday’s Lake Shore
Hospital Authority Governor’s Board meeting
was highlighted by appearances of the
County’s Health Dept. Dir. Diana Duque and
Commissioner Rocky Ford, who attended to
promote the County Health Department’s
ability to provide cost-effective primary
care for all in two clinics in Columbia
County.
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Jan. 11, 2025 7:45 pm | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Wednesday’s Columbia County
Legislative Delegation meeting (January 8, 2025) set a
record for attendance. Senator Jennifer Bradley,
Representative Chuck Brannan, College President Larry
Barrett, and most others were surprised by the
standing-room-only attendance as the meeting got
underway in the Florida Gateway College board room.
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January 8, 2025 12:00 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – This morning (Wednesday, Jan.
8), beginning at 9 am, the Columbia County delegation is
meeting in the Florida Gateway College board room.
Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Flemming Island) and
Representative Chuck Brannan (R-Macclenny), Columbia
County’s representatives in Tallahassee, will be in
Administration Building No. 1, 149 SE College Place,
Lake City.
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County News 2024
(scroll down)
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Dec. 16, 2024 7:15 am | 2 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – On the docket in Fort White
tonight is a settlement agreement between the Collective
and the Town of Fort White. If the Town Council agrees
to the terms of the agreement, two years of friction
between the Collective and the Town will go away, and
the Town and the Collective will be on a clean slate.
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Dec. 12, 2024 7:15 am | 5 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – The recent election of George
Jacob Thomas as Mayor of Fort White began with Mr.
Thomas taking an oath to uphold the Constitution, the
laws of Florida, and the Town of Fort White. It didn't
take long for Mayor Thomas to go off the rails.
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Dec. 9, 2024
12:30 pm |
3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The helter-skelter
world of the Lake Shore Hospital Authority
(LSHA or Authority) continues tonight when
the illegally constituted Governor’s Board
comes to order at 5:15 pm. Florida Gateway
College (FGC) may be a late addition to the
agenda.
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December 5, 2024 11:am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – At 10 am today, Tax Collector
Kyle Keen extended the 4% November tax payment discount
to Friday, December 6. Tax Collector Keen told the Observer that while he
previously extended the discount to Tuesday, December 2,
only some people knew about it through social media.
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Nov. 20, 2024 4:05 am | 3 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Last night in Town Hall, George
Jacob Thomas, Fort White’s newly elected mayor was sworn
in, promising to uphold the Constitution, the laws of
Florida, and the Town of Fort White.
.
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October 22, 2024 3:40 am | Op-Ed | 2 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – I am sharing with you why I
believe I am the right choice to be re-elected as Mayor
of Fort White. I grew up in Fort White and it holds a
special place in my heart.
.
.
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October 21, 2024 11:50 am | Op-Ed | 3 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – I’m running for Mayor of the
Town of Fort White, so Fort White has a
government for the people, and by the people. We
all have a voice, and a community is stronger
when our voices are heard, and we come together
for a common purpose.
.
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August 21, 2024
7:55 am | 4 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Since 2022, the Collective
Food Yard and Garden has been a fixture on US 27
in Fort White. It has become a gathering spot
for many to eat and meet. The Fort White Town
Council, individually and collectively, has
supported the Collective. However, the road has
been rocky at times. Monday night in Town Hall,
after a two-hour hearing, the Town and the
Collective agreed to work together to enhance
the business and its footprint in the Town.
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July 20, 2024
11:59 am | 5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Lake Shore Hospital
was on the County 5 docket at its July 18
meeting. The 5 wasn't giving much away in detail
before the meeting. On the agenda was a
five-word explanation: Lake Shore Hospital
Authority update. The agenda item form did not
give much more information: this is a
continuation of discussions at the July 3
meeting.
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July 5, 2024 6:00
pm | 11 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On June 20, 2024, the
Columbia County 5 (“The 5” or the “County
Commission”) had on its docket “update on Rum
Island.” The evening’s presentation was given by
Assistant County Manager Kevin Kirby and was
discussed by The 5.
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June 25, 2024
7:50 pm | 6 min read
ALACHUA, FL – On Friday, June 21, 2024,
CareerSource North Central Florida (CSNCFL) met
with members of the Alachua County Commission to
discuss the progress of the state-mandated
consolidation of the CareerSource workforce
boards of Region 9 (Alachua, Bradford) with
Region 7 (Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Union).
There was some light at the end of the
consolidation tunnel.
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June 23,2024, 2024 5:30 pm | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Lately, the Lake Shore Hospital Authority has
been under scrutiny. Noah Walker, the newly
anointed Lake City Mayor in waiting, has been
dog-whistling behavioral health and mental
illness. He has had some help from his friend
and fellow Rotarian, Shawn Holmgren.
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June 20, 2024
10:30 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On April 26, 2024,
Columbia County held its first Auditor Selection
Committee meeting and then held three others.
The Florida Sunshine Law is clear and specific –
reasonable notice had to be given to advise the
public of these meetings. This is Columbia
County, home of the infamous County 5:
reasonable notice was not given.
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June 19, 2024
8:15 am | 3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – During the Florida
Gateway (FGC) College Budget Work Shop last
Thursday (June 13), long time board member
Suzanne Norris brought up the subject of
scholarships at FGC.
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June 12, 2024
8:10 am | 3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – CareerSource Florida
Crown, a rogue special district under
investigation by FloridaCommerce (the old Dept.
of Commerce), once again cannot perform the
simple task of noticing its public meetings.
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May 15, 2024
1:05 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Columbia County 5
met in emergency session this morning to discuss
the recent severe weather event which left parts
of North Florida wheeling.
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April 12, 2024
3:30 pm | 11 min read
ALACHUA COUNTY, FL – This week, the
CareerSource Florida Crown (Region 7) saga moved
from Columbia County to Alachua County (Region
9). A series of events involving Florida Crown
(financial investigations, a mutiny by the
executive director and his staff, sexual
harassment redefined, and state agencies that
finally said ‘no mas’ and ordered FL Crown to
turn over its finances to District 9 (Alachua)),
put some of the problems of FL Crown in the lap
of CareerSource North Central Florida, aka,
Alachua County.
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April 7, 2024
4:30 pm | 14 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The top management at
CareerSource Florida Crown again demonstrated
its dysfunctionality this past Wednesday when
the organization's IT Director, Ron Jones,
couldn't get its special meeting to kick off on
time.
Attendees from FloridaCommerce, CareerSource
Florida, board members, and members of the
public logged into the meeting. Then, the
Florida Crown IT broke down and couldn’t get the
meeting running.
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March 28, 2024
2:00 pm | 11 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA –
The recent troubles at CareerSource
Florida Crown: bookkeeping issues;
website out of compliance with its
agreement with the state; failure to
properly notice meetings and an illegal
walkout of the executive director along
with the entire administrative staff
would have some Florida Crown defenders
calling them "technical" issues.
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March 12, 2024
2:00 pm | 5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA – The
three-year-long investigation into CareerSource
Florida Crown has culminated in the mass
resignation of Florida Crown's Executive
Director Robert Jones, the Director of Finance
Jeff Geering, the IT/Program Services Director
Ron Jones, and the two other office staff
members.
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March 18, 2024
7:45 am | 5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA – CareerSource FL
Crown Executive Director Robert Jones led FL
Crown staff walkout, shutting down the
administrative functions of the four-county
workforce special district – Columbia, Dixie,
Gilchrist, Union.
As reported earlier, on Monday,
March 11, 2024, the entire administrative staff
followed Executive Director Robert Jones out the
door.
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March 6, 2024
11:30 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA – CareerSource
Florida Crown is under investigation for
financial improprieties going back three
fiscal years: 2020, 2021, and 2022.
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Feb. 25, 2024 6:30 pm |
9 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Fort White, Florida's Gwynn
Farms Subdivision – is over for now – but is it
really over? The developer pulling out could be
a "blessing in disguise," said Fort White Mayor
Ronnie Frazier. “This could be an opportunity to
reset.”
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Feb. 13, 2024
5:10 pm | 9 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County’s good
ole’ boys are legends in North Florida and
beyond. Handicapped accessibility is not only
the law of the land in today's world; it is
about common sense and human decency. Two public
buildings in Columbia County have the same
issue: the Lake Shore Hospital Authority HQ and
the County’s almost $17,850 month leased
sub-headquarters and home of the Supervisor of
Elections, Tourist Development, and Economic
Development.
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Jan. 13, 2024
12:55 pm | 10 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Florida Gateway College
(FGC), the community college of Baker, Columbia,
Dixie, Gilchrist, and Union counties, has been
talking about forming a charter school since
February 2022. This past Thursday's FCG Board
meeting showed that not only has the College
been keeping the public out of the loop, but
Board members were also hazy about what the
College was up to.
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County News 2023
(scroll down)
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Rocky
Ford's 12th hour surprise: ‘If we can
fund the Sheriff to do it, we can too.'
Dec. 23, 2023
7:30 pm | 9 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – In another 12th-hour
surprise, Commissioners Rocky Ford and Tim
Murphy planned to anoint all County employees as
first responders and give them a $1,000 bonus to
have by New Year.
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Dec. 6, 2023
6:30 pm | 2 min read
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Dec. 2, 2023
11:45 pm | 9 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – After half a year of
bad blood between the County 5 and the Town of
Fort White, The 5 did a 180 as Commissioner
Robby Hollingsworth opened the long-awaited
joint meeting between the County and the Town
with a monologue in which he came close to just
asking folks to join hands and sing Kumbaya.
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Nov. 30, 2023
12:05 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Finally, after months of huffing and
puffing, indignation, and finally
threats by the County 5 to end all
interlocal agreements and cooperation
between the County and the Town of Fort
White, the two governments are scheduled
to sit down in Lake City in the same
room at 6 pm Thursday. All the issues
brought up by the County affect the
folks in the South End of the County and
the Town. The County 5 adamantly refused
to meet with the Town in Fort White.
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November 27, 2023
10:10 am | 3 min read |
Part I |
Part II |
Part III
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
The Federally funded FSU-FDOT long-range
Columbia County Transportation study had
its final wrap-up sessions earlier in
the month on November 8. Even though it
was clear that all the interest for the
study was in the County's south end, the
Florida Department of Transportation
would not cancel the second Lake City
meeting, directing folks instead to Fort
White.
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November 24, 2023
9 pm | 9 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – During the November
Lake Shore Hospital Authority (LSHA)
Governor's Board meeting, after a year of
foot dragging by the Authority and, most
recently, Meridian, Meridian’s quality of
care finally became an issue.
.
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November 21, 2023
1:55 pm | 6 min read w/audio clip
FORT WHITE, FL – Last night’s Fort White Town
Council meeting once again had the infamous
County 5 pitted against somebody. This time it
was the Town of Fort White.
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The School District Was
Their Foundation of Self Governance. Now
There Is a Public Mess on Display.
Nov. 19, 2023
6:30 am | 12 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
At times during the November 16 meeting
of the County 5, it was difficult to
tell if the bimonthly meeting of the
governing body of Columbia County was a
campaign rally for Sheriff Hunter or an
official meeting of the County 5 – the
five men who govern Columbia County.
Columbia County is not high on electing
women.
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Nov. 8, 2023
02:00 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
The FSU-FDOT Rural Transportation Team,
following up on its October 26 success
in Fort White, will return to town
tonight, 6:30-8:30 pm, at the Fort White
Community Center. The Team is inviting
everyone to Fort White to contribute
more new ideas and, with the community’s
help, will rank and rate the projects
that have been suggested.
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Nov. 5, 2023
10:00 pm | 10 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The November 3 Columbia
County – Fort White joint meeting kicked off
with Fort White in Commissioner Ronald Williams'
prayers, "Father, we always need your help and
your guidance… We were hoping that the Town
Council of Fort White would be here." They
weren't, and the County knew that the Town
Attorney and Mayor would not be attending the
meeting. It did not make a difference. The
County 5 was marching on.
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Nov. 1, 2023
08:30 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The County Commission
(County 5) will be having a busy day today in
Lake City. At 2 pm, the County 5 and the
County's Tourist Development Council (TDC) are
meeting in the LC Holiday Inn for a “Meet and
Greet.”
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Oct. 26,
2023 05:55 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Federal Government
is financing a Rural Regional Transportation
Plan (RRTP) grant to study transportation issues
in Columbia County. FSU’s graduate community
planning students are
doing the work and heavy lifting for the plan
development. The federal funding is being
funneled through the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT).
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Oct. 22, 2023
09:15 pm | 2 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Florida Gateway College
President Larry Barrett, Ph.D., decided this
afternoon (Sunday) that the College would
neither record nor broadcast the legislative
delegation meeting scheduled for tomorrow
morning at 9:00 am.
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Oct. 21, 2023
6:45 am | 1 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – This Monday, October
23, 9-11 am, the Columbia County Legislative
Delegation will be meeting in the Florida
Gateway College Board Room. This year, the
Delegation is chaired by Sen. Jennifer Bradley,
with Representative Chuck Brannan serving as
vice chair. Legislative delegation meetings are public
meetings that happen before the start of a new
legislative session. This year's legislative
session begins on January 8, 2024, and runs for
60 days.
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Oct. 20, 2023
7:25 pm | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night's
Columbia County 5 (the County
Commission) meeting was going silky
smooth. After the meeting was gaveled to
order, The 5 approved the agenda with
one addition. During the proceedings,
Chairman Rocky Ford recognized those who
wanted to participate, and the speakers
were not interrupted by Commission
members. Then, 45 minutes into the
meeting, Chairman Ford threw The 5's
approved Rules of Procedure out of the
window.
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Oct. 17, 2023
5:15 pm | 2 min read
FORT WHITE, FL –
Last night, the Fort White Town Council,
acting as the Planning & Zoning Board
(P&Z), had only one item on its agenda:
the approval of the preliminary plans of
the Gwynn Farms subdivision. Gwynn Farms
is a 104-unit (117-acre) residential
subdivision being developed by County
Commissioner Rocky Ford.
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Sept. 23, 2023
11:55 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – This past Thursday
evening, the Suwannee River Water Management
District (SRWMD), or at least one member of the
governor’s Board and the District’s PR guy,
showed up at a County Commission meeting to
discuss FEMA flood maps. It would have been nice
if folks knew they were coming and why.
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Sept. 22, 2023
6:40 pm | 2.5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County was hit
hard by Hurricane Idalia. There wasn't a lot of
rain, but the high winds made fast work of
treetops, limbs, and branches. Last Friday,
September 15, FEMA's boots on the ground in the
south end of the County, Robert and Sterling,
after seeing all Idalia's debris, told you
reporter that they were going to recommend
extending the debris pickup deadline.
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September 11, 2023
3:50 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Forward thinking by the
County 5 enabled it to arrange for
FEMA help in the
post-hurricane Idalia cleanup. Follow-up action
by Columbia County management will allow for
Lake City to be included in the FEMA
reimbursement plan. However, there is a caveat.
|
Sept. 5, 2023
2:30 pm | 2 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – It was announced during
a County 5 Emergency Meeting at 10:00 am this
morning that FEMA will be paying for 75% of
Columbia County debris pickup from Hurricane
Idalia. Florida will pick up 12.5%, and the
County will be responsible for the last 12.5%.
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August 23, 2023
2:00 pm | 6 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last Wednesday, August
16, 2023, at 8:30 a.m., County Chairman Rocky
Ford, Chairman of the joint Fort White/Columbia
County Utility Advisory Committee, resigned from
the Committee just after the meeting got
underway and illegally appointed Commissioner
Tim Murphy to fill his seat. Was Commissioner
Ford straight up about the reason for his
resignation? It didn’t look like it.
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August 19, 2023
10:30 pm
FORT WHITE, FL – Thursday evening, Town of
Fort White resident Jacqui Sulek hosted a
community meeting that brought residents
together from all around the municipality and
outskirts of Fort White. The subject: the
continuing saga of Columbia County Commissioner
Rocky Ford’s proposed subdivision which is just
inside the Town’s boundary line.
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August 11, 2023
06:20 am
COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – Florida Gateway College is
offering free childcare services for FGC
students, faculty, and staff beginning
this fall.
|
August 3, 2023
8:35 am | 3 min read
Updated August 4, 2023 10:45 am*
Columbia County, FL – Florida's infamous
Columbia County 5 (County Commission) has on
today's docket approval of free land and
eight years of tax abatements for a company
that has barely started up.
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July 3, 2023 2:10 pm | 5.5
min read
FORT WHITE, FL – The planning of a new
109-unit subdivision in the Town of Fort White
continued on June 29 during a Town workshop held
for that purpose. Folks came from all over to
listen in and testify, packing the Fort White
Town Hall like sardines.
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June 29, 2023
8:15 am | 3 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Tonight at 5 pm, the
Fort White Town Council is meeting to discuss
the planning of a 109-parcel residential
subdivision in the south end of Columbia County.
The Town Council's decision will be setting the
pattern of growth and development in the
County's south end for a long time to come.
Columbia County is testing the home rule power
of the little town.
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May 25, 2023
10:03 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Yesterday morning in
Lake City, a group of representatives of North
Florida counties met for an hour to discuss the
idea of working together to form a regional
utility consortium. North Florida Professional
Services President Greg Bailey thought of and
organized the meeting.
|
May 22, 2023 4:40
pm | 3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On May 17, 2023, the
Columbia County Sherriff’s Office refused to
knock on a door and ask if they could “come in”
into a residence where babies, children, and
adults were at risk. The landlord said, "The
smell was so bad you could cut it with a knife
from 20ft. away, and flies were swarming around
the place."
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May 11, 2023 2:20
pm | 3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Yesterday morning, the
vestige of Columbia County's neutered Industrial
Development Authority (IDA), the now Economic
Development Advisory Board (EDAB), met for
another monthly meeting, which sometimes the
County holds – and sometimes, not.
|
May 6, 2023
1:35 pm | 3 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – HCA's (Hospital
Corporation of America) Lake City Hospital, the
old LCMC, invested $36 mil in expanding its
emergency room. The addition adds 18 new private
emergency room beds.
|
April 24, 2023
8:45 pm | 7 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County
recreation was front and center for
almost 2 hours last Thursday afternoon
at the County 5 (County Commission).
Years of County recreation flying by the
seat of its pants and ignoring waste,
fraud, and abuse floated to the surface
like flotsam and jetsam after a storm.
|
April 21, 2023
06:15 am | 5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On Tuesday
evening, April 18, the Columbia County 5
(the County Commission) and the Lake
City City Council sat down for the first
time in fourteen months to discuss the
Richardson Community Center. Ill
feelings between the County and the City
over the downtown Lake City community
center had been festering for some time.
The local community, about two hundred
strong, attended the joint meeting.
|
April 8, 2023
10:35 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – This past Thursday
morning, April 6, the infamous Columbia
County 5 met to do the County’s
business. Hidden away on the morning’s
consent agenda was a secret attack
against the iconic – in the heart of the
Black Community – Richardson Community
Center (Richardson).
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March 27, 2023
12:59 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Paula Vann, Columbia
County’s Tourist Development Council Director
(TDC), is moving out of County government into
the corporate world. In 2014, Ms. Vann had a
shaky beginning, but her demeanor, good nature,
and education have helped turn Columbia County
into a sports tourism destination for the whole
Southeast.
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March 24, 2023
3:40 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Monday’s City Council meeting
once again had the City pondering its
relationship with Columbia County, this time
about building ‘officialdom’: or, who is going
to inspect construction projects in Lake City.
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March 6, 2023
12:30 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Controversial Lake City
City Manager Paul Dyal appeared before the
County 5 (Commission) last Thursday morning to
do damage control after unilaterally canceling
an interlocal agreement between the City and
County without legal authority.
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Posted
February 28, 2023 6:00 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Chris Doolan has
been a household name in small county
governments for four decades. During the February 23, 2023, North
Central Florida Regional Planning Council
monthly meeting, after the elected and
appointed North Florida officials finished
their taxpayer-funded fried chicken dinners,
Mr. Doolan spoke about legislation affecting
small counties. Everyone listened.
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February 20, 2023 3:55
pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Beginning tomorrow
evening, February 21, and continuing on the
following two evenings, the Suwannee River
Water Management District will be meeting
and inviting the public to discuss updated
flood risk maps for the Santa Fe Watershed.
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Dumbing It
Down – Post Secondary Education – What’s That?
February 13, 2023
08:59 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The infamous Columbia
County 5 (County Commission or "The 5")
demonstrated its lack of regard for higher
education during its last meeting when it
unanimously removed the requirement of a
bachelor’s degree of any kind for the position
of County Economic Development Director.
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Posted Jan. 16,
2023 9:00 am
Originally Posted Jan 17, 2011, in a more
civilized time for LC
LAKE CITY, FL – In 2011, the MLK day
celebrations were a celebration of a life well
lived. Today, Lake City is a City with the
"Scarlet Letter." It has gone backwards in time.
Had the Columbia County/Lake City community
heeded the words of Reverend Joy L. Gallmon,
Reverend J. T. "Billy" Simon, and Dr. King, Lake
City/Columbia County would not be where it is
today.
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January 6, 2022
01:59 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Yesterday morning, the
County 5 reached an all-time new low in agenda
preparation and a new high in ways to disrespect
and mug the public. Richardson Community Center,
a bellwether of the Black community and a
historical marker of Columbia County, fell
victim to the chopping block of the infamous
Columbia County 5.
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Fort White: George Jacob Thomas Sworn In as
Mayor – Encouraging Words and A Steep Learning
Curve Ahead
