|
|
Posted May 18, 2012 01:55 am
The Columbia County School District aquatic
center.
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night at the County
Commission meeting, 34 year veteran School Board
member Glen Hunter stood in front of the County
Commission to convince them to assume the
District's aquatic center. He came without any
history of usage, maintenance or staff costs and
never mentioned how much it cost to run the
pool. In legendary Columbia County, this is
business as usual.
|
Posted May 16, 2012 08:55 am | updated at 03:24 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Beginning in February, County
Manager Dale Williams, in concert with County
Commissioner Ronald Williams have been
authorizing engineering studies and wheeling and
dealing to lineup funds for a multimillion
dollar road improvement project in Lake City,
which will benefit the privately
Update: At 9:55 am, City Clerk Audrey
Sikes postponed the City/County/LSHA meeting
until further notice. At 3:21 pm it is still
postponed.
run HMA
Hospital leased from the LSHA. The project will
be financed by the residents of Columbia County.
LSHA's Jackson P "Jack" Berry has also been
involved. City Manager Wendell Johnson's
involvement is not clearly understood. ¶ Late
last week, a high-ranking City official told the
Observer that the meeting would have to be held
in the Sunshine, saying, "This is the way the
City operates." ¶ City Manager Wendell Johnson,
apparently not agreeing with this, dumped the
issue in the lap of Lake City's Sunshine Girl,
City Clerk Audrey Sikes.
|
 Posted May 14, 2012 11:58 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Last Thursday, May 10, 2012, the Columbia County Charter
Review Commission met for its first public hearing at
the School Board Administrative Complex auditorium,
which continues to have some of the most pitiful
acoustics in Florida. While many of the commission
members strained to hear the four members of the public
who spoke, it seemed not to make a difference anyway, as
there was no discussion of the speaker's comments or
recommendations.
Photo:
CRC Chairman Koby Adams (left) and Berry
Amendment provocateur, Jackson "Jack" P. Berry
(right), view the PowerPoint presentation. Mr.
Berry is also the Columbia County representative
on the Wellness Council.
|
Posted May 11, 2012 10:20 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night the North
Central Florida Tea Party sponsored a candidate
night for the Sheriff candidates of Columbia and
Suwannee counties. All three candidates for
Columbia County were in attendance, as well as
Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron, whose
opposition did not show up. First-term Columbia
County incumbent, Mark Hunter, was joined on the
stage by challengers Rudolf Davis and Carl
Hodson. (Photo: It was a full house at the Tea
Party event)
|
Posted May 09, 2012 08:40 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Today,
in the federal district court in Jacksonville, another
African American Lake City police officer is filing a
federal law suit (the suit) against the city of Lake
City. This time it is former LCPD Captain Robert Smith,
who was on April 18, 2012, given a "Right To Sue" letter
by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC). Captain Smith wasted no time... Former LCPD
Capt. Smith and the others with federal cases against
Lake City will be judged by a jury of their peers and
during that process, so will the City of Lake City.
|
 Posted May 08, 2012 08:25 am
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Florida's U.S. Senator Bill
Nelson is a cosponsor of the Violence Against
Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), which passed
the Senate by a vote of 68-31 the last week in
April. Every female Republican Senator joined
with the Democrats in the Senate to support the
legislation. Florida U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio,
voted against the bill. FL Rep. Sandy Adams
(photo) is working to roll back protections.
|
 Posted May 07, 2012 07:40 am
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Social Security is going broke
three years earlier than last year's projection,
according to the annual report by the Social Security
Board of Trustees. Some are sounding the alarm bell for
major changes, while others say needed fixes are minor.
"There are many, many ways to bring that
additional...
|
 Click
here to enlarge.
Posted May 04, 2012 05:22 pm
COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – Columbia County never disappoints
when it comes to denying someone their
Constitutional rights. Last night was no
different, when as citizen Jeffery Brown
concluded his 10 minute presentation, Sheriff's
Deputy John Hatcher, uninvited, walked from the
middle of the auditorium and stood a few feet
from him. Mr. Brown had received no warnings,
was not using fighting words and was being
polite. After Mr. Brown had gone 3 minutes over
the time limit, Chairwoman Frisina urged him to
conclude. Mr. Brown, "Yes Ma'am, I'm going to
take fifteen seconds if that's ... (4 comments)
|
 Posted May 1, 2012 02:50 pm
| updated 07:59 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – It has been reported to
the Columbia County Observer that veteran
reporter, Tony Britt of the Lake City Reporter
(LCR), was suspended for three days for alleged
"inaccurate reporting." The Britt controversy
began with an article, Smith gets go–ahead to
sue from EEOC, written by Mr. Britt and
published in the April 29th Sunday edition of
the LCR. The article revolved around the
continuing story of the firing of police Capt
Robert Smith by Lake City. The EEOC is the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (File
photo: Tony Britt at work)
(2
comments)
|
 Posted May 01, 2012 06:45 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Yesterday, April 30, 2012, the Florida Department Of Law
Enforcement (FDLE) announced the 2011 Annual Uniform
Crime Report. According to FDLE, crime is down
throughout Florida. In Columbia County, the picture is
not the rosy picture initially painted by Sheriff Mark
Hunter. The state groups crimes into seven major
categories. Columbia County showed an increase of 15.2%
between 2011 and 2010.
|
Posted April 30, 2012 07:59 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Florida has one of the highest
per-capita electricity usage rates in the
country, with utility bills climbing even higher
during the hot summer months. It's one reason
why Floridians join a majority of Americans in
wanting more renewable energy, according to a
recent survey commissioned by the Civil Society
Institute. It found that a majority of
Republicans, independents and Democrats would
all like Congress to work on an energy policy
that supports renewable energy, protects public
health, and promotes energy independence. (Photo:
abengoabioenergy.com)
|
Posted April
27, 2012 11:50 am
The Columbia County Charter Review Commission
met for its last public session before the
beginning of its public hearings. The
Commission's failure to engage the public; to
allow them to participate in the process in a
meaningful way; or to listen to them with an
open mind paid dividends to Columbia County's
handpicked Charter Review Commission. Nobody
showed up, except one person, Jason Futch. Mr.
Futch is running for County Commissioner.
|
Posted April 26, 2012 07:33 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The familiar sight of green
waterways has some residents and
environmentalists seeing red in Florida... A few
weeks ago, an early "summer slime" outbreak in
the Fort Myers area prompted the Lee County
Health Department to issue a warning for people
to avoid contact with waterways in the county,
just as the beach season is beginning. (Photo:
Courtesy of the Florida Water Coalition)
|
 Posted April 25,
2012 10:15 am
LAKE CITY, FL –
Since the hiring of Lake City, City Manager
Wendell Johnson and Police Chief Argatha
Gilmore, being a member of the Lake City Police
Department command staff has put those on the
top on a roller coaster ride to unemployment,
reductions in rank, resignations and lawsuits.
Yesterday, Captain Robert Smith's number came
up.
|
 Posted April 24, 2012
01:15 am | Op/Ed
A proposed new plan for government control of
television news and perhaps Internet news is now
pending before the Federal Communications Commission. It
would enable the government to suppress opposing points
of view, reduce diversity and chill speech. Requiring
journalists to comply with a central government agency’s
policy on how to report the news and what the news
should be means those journalists would no longer be
free and independent of government. (Photo: Corydon B.
Dunham)
|
Posted April 23, 2012 08:10 am | updated 03:49 pm
SUWANNEE COUNTY, FL – The Suwannee Valley
Transit Authority (SVTA) is up to its old tricks
of playing cat and mouse with its meetings and
locking down information. During the last SVTA
meeting on March 26th, after it was determined
that the Authority's financial spreadsheets were
out of whack, the board voted to have a workshop
tonight to review the SVTA's financial
situation. Chairman of the SVTA, Columbia County
Commissioner, Ronald Williams, gave the order to
make sure the meeting was advertised. It wasn't.
|
 Posted
April 20, 2012 08:15 am | Updated April 24, 2012
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night Columbia County
residents got a reprieve from more restrictive
speech regulation. Columbia County Florida never
disappoints when it comes to devising rules
restricting the rights of its citizens or others
to address the County Commission.
After the meeting,
Assistant County Manager Lisa Roberts explained
it was County Manager Dale Williams who came up
with the new language.... (File Photo: County Manager Dale Williams)
(3
comments)
|
Posted April 19, 2012 08:05 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Tonight's Columbia
County Commission docket is a doozy. Topping
the bill is a little item on the consent agenda
from the County's Utility Committee, the
committee in charge of the Ellisville Utility
Boondoggle. A little piece of land was
overlooked when the County purchased the
derelict sewer plant in Ellisville. The
purported County Engineer, John Colson, sat in
on those meetings and his company, Donald F. Lee
and Associates should have done the surveys. The
appraised value $159 – the offer $5,000. There
is more.
|
 Posted April 18,
2012 10:25 am | Part XIX
TAYLOR COUNTY, FL – For
the past 2 1/2 years the North Florida Broadband
Authority has been in one stage of disarray or another.
Charges of waste, fraud, and abuse, ignored procurement
policies, noncompetitive hiring practices and outrageous
legal fees have been some of the hallmarks of a federal
stimulus project with good intentions turned bad. NFBA
member, Taylor County, has been considering parting ways
with the organization. Last night Taylor County decided
it had seen enough and became the third North Florida
Broadband Authority member to say goodbye. (Photo:
Commissioner Pam Feagle) (1
comment)
|
 Posted April 17, 2012
11:20 am
LAKE CITY, FL –
Kendrick Maeweather, owner of The Hole In The Wall game
room and arcade, appeared before the Lake City, City
Council last night to hear if the Council would lift his
business suspension and allow him to make a living.
After 33 minutes, and after agreeing to everything the
City asked of him, City Manager Wendell Johnson
recommended to a City Council that couldn't or wouldn't
make a decision, that Mr. Maeweather's license remain
suspended. (1 comment)
|
 Posted April
16, 2012 09:20 am
LAKE CITY, FL – The
Maeweather Hole In The Wall Public Hearing continues in
Lake City, City Hall tonight at 7pm. City Manager
Wendell Johnson in his Report To Council for tonight's
meeting said the City, "On January 20, 2012, ...
provided notice of proposed suspension" of Mr.
Maeweather's business. The January 20th letter from the
Lake City Building Department stated the suspension this
way: "I am hereby suspending the Business Tax
Certificate...for your business."
|
 Posted April
11, 2012 08:12 am | Part XVIII
TAYLOR COUNTY,
FL – The North Florida Broadband Authority
suffered another casualty when at 6:10pm last
night, the City of Perry pulled out of the NFBA.
City Manager Bob Brown has been briefing the
City Council for sometime regarding the goings
on at the NFBA. It took the Perry City Council
three minutes to unanimously decide to leave the
NFBA behind. (1
comment)
Photo: City of
Perry Mayor, Emily Weed Ketring listens to City
Manager Bob Brown talk about the NFBA.
|
 Posted April 9, 2012 11:59 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Lake Shore Hospital
Authority's Jackson P "Jack" Berry, the overpaid
past Republican Chieftain whose political
appointment put him at the helm of a job created
just for him, that of General Manager of the
Authority, continues to dig in and not make
agenda material available on the internet before
its monthly board meetings. With the support of
the Authority's Board members, the Authority
continues to be the only municipal corporation
in Columbia County that refuses to make its
agenda information readily available to the
public before its meetings.
|
 Posted April 5, 2012 08:15 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Columbia County and Lake City workers haven't had a
raise in years. Tonight, hidden away in the County
Commission Consent agenda, is a proposed change in the
contract between Donald F. Lee & Associates, Inc. of
Lake City and Columbia County. This contract has been in
effect since 1991. It expired in
1992. Tonight Donald Lee is seeking raises for some its employees,
swapping job titles with another, and creating a new
position... Donald Lee has eliminated the position of Survey
Technician and replaced it with a Senior Technician at
an increase of 44% over the old position.
|
Posted January 28, 2011 011:55 pm | 30 day post |
Special to the Observer
 Lucas
puts his arm around his best friend Juno, a
rescued Belgian Malinoises. A combination of
prayer and persistence led Lucas' dad Chester to
Juno. “I came across a posting about her on a
rescue group’s website,” he says. “I had the
feeling in my gut that I had to go see this
dog.” The whole family made the two-hour trip to
meet Juno, who was being held at an east
Tennessee shelter. “She was emaciated, and was
days away from being euthanized,” Chester says.
“She had been surrendered to the shelter because
her previous owners didn’t understand the
Belgian Malinois.” Click the headline to read
the rest of the story. (Photo: Hembree family)
|
|
|
•
Meeting Calendar •
No need to be confused - Find
links to agendas and where your participation is
welcome.
|
Posted
May 16, 2012 04:05 pm
JACKSONVILLE, FL - Stroke is the fifth leading
cause of death in Florida, according to the
American Heart Association. May is Stroke
Awareness Month, and health advocates are
reminding Floridians about the risks and warning
signs of the potentially deadly condition.
|
|
|
 Two
Men Arrested on Narcotics Charges
Posted May 11, 2012 05:15
pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On Thursday, May 10, 2012, detectives with the
Columbia County Sheriff's Office arrested two
Columbia County men on drug charges. Detectives
seized approximately 247 grams of
|
|
Social Security's Foundation is Strong? Excuse Me
Posted May 10, 2012
| A reader comments
The Social Security
system operates on the model of a classic Ponzi
scheme, with payments from the new suckers going out
the door to satisfy claims of the seasoned suckers.
How long can this continue in an era where
population is declining and incomes and employment
are falling?
|
|
|
Tallahassee, FL (Posted April 26, 2012 06:50 am)
Sexual Assault in the Military
Senator Nelson wrote to Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta about the growing issue of sexual
assault in the military. Senator Nelson urged
the Secretary to take a no-tolerance policy
towards sexual assault.
|
Posted April 24, 2012 01:15 am
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Several new studies have been
released to mark April's Autism Awareness Month,
focusing on prenatal exposures, diet, and
prevalence of the disorder. The CDC reports one
of every 88 Florida children has some form of
autism, and success in school can be difficult,
although an expert who's considered to be the
best-known person with the disorder says it's
possible.
|
 |
Posted April
21, 2012 06:45 am
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Florida ranks number one among
the states when it comes to access to Pre-K, as
surveyed across the country. However, the
Sunshine State is slipping when it comes to
per-student spending, according to a report
released this month by the National Institute
for Early Education Research.
|
Posted
April 18, 2012 09:55 am
TALLAHASSEE, FL - After
44 years of damming up a river for a project that was
never completed, central Florida is one step closer to
removing the dam over the Ocklawaha River. The dam was
built in 1968 as part of a project to construct a
cross-Florida barge canal. The plan was abandoned, but
the dam remained, blocking natural migration of Florida
wildlife. This week the U.S. Forest Service says it will
reconsider the impact of the dam on the river.
|
|
|
|
i |
|
|
It's "Summer Slime Season" in Florida: Campaign asks
Florida to take action
U.S.
Sen Bill Nelson - Update April 26, 2012){kind=link}