• About Alachua County Today
  • Advertise
  • News
  • Community Calendar
  • Public Notices
Alachua County Today Alachua County Today

BLPA Web Banner

 PLACE YOUR LEGAL NOTICES HERE

25
Sat, Mar
604 New Articles
  • Home
  • Advertise-Subscribe-About Us
    • About ACT News
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
  • Calendar
    • Calendar
    • Gov't Meetings
  • News
    • Local
    • Obits
    • Sports
  • Public Notices

School Board Discusses Ending Sport-Rezoning Effort

Details
Administrator
Local
23 March 2023
  •  Print 
  • Email

School Board Member Kay Abbitt explains why she wants to “put a stop to the spot rezoning”

BY JENNIFER CABRERA/Alachua Chronicle

GAINESVILLE, Fla. ‒ At the March 21, 2023 Alachua County School Board meeting, Member Kay Abbitt requested that the board “put a stop to the spot rezoning” during the Board Member Requests part of the meeting.

Abbitt said, “I want to request that we do not move forward with spot rezoning and wait and do a comprehensive rezoning next year.” Her first reason was that the vote to rezone elementary schools was for comprehensive rezoning: in fact, the motion at the Feb. 7 meeting was to ask Superintendent Shane Andrew to “immediately address rezoning at the elementary schools for the ’23-’24 school year.”

Abbitt added that spot rezoning would reduce the options for comprehensive rezoning the following year because those schools would be out of the mix; also, she thought the board should focus on bigger problems.

Andrew agreed, recommending that the board “revisit the motion… It is my recommendation, for the record, to not move forward with elementary rezoning by the start of the August 2023 school year” so families will have more than four- or five-months’ notice that they are being moved to a new school. He also said staff needs more time for community input and that Kindergarten Round-up is coming up quickly, on April 27.

Board Attorney David Delaney said it sounded like there was a request for more information, and he recommended getting that information from the superintendent, allowing the board members time to review it, and addressing the issue at a future meeting.

Member Diyonne McGraw asked whether they could take the vote tonight, but Delaney said again that it sounded like board members wanted more information and pointed out that the agenda did not include an item about rescinding the decision to do spot-rezoning. However, the Feb. 7 vote to rezone before the 2023 school year was taken during the Board Member Requests part of that meeting and was not on that agenda.

McGraw pointed out that there is a meeting scheduled for citizen input on March 23, and Chair Tina Certain said that meeting will occur as scheduled.

Member Leanetta McNealy said she understood pulling back but didn’t support it because she thought they had all been on the same page (the vote on Feb. 7 was unanimous, with Sarah Rockwell absent). McNealy said that, based on this evening’s discussion, she didn’t see why people “would take the time to show up at Terwillegar on Thursday evening if it’s pretty sure that we are not going to have the quorum of the vote to move forward… I’m really perplexed and confused… I want to be on record that I don’t agree, at this time, with one more time kicking the can down the road when you know what we need to do.”

Member Sarah Rockwell said she was disappointed because the board should have started talking about rezoning much earlier and also that no plans were presented at the March 8 workshop. She pointed out that moving students from “Old Terwillegar” to the new Terwillegar was presented as a one-year swing school, but if there is no rezoning before fall, they will be in that school for three years. Rockwell said many of the families zoned for that school cannot reach it by bus from their neighborhoods.

Abbitt said it’s “crazy” that the board and staff will have to continue to spend time on the spot re-zoning process when they have so many other things to work on: “It just doesn’t seem logical.”

McGraw said the board never received an explanation for why they were pursuing spot rezoning instead of comprehensive rezoning; that given the number of teachers leaving the district, the board should be prioritizing getting behavior and transportation under control. “I know one thing: you’re gonna lose everybody you have if you don’t get this behavior under control,” McGraw said.

Certain said staff had told her they didn’t have enough time to do comprehensive rezoning before the 2023 school year, and she shared Rockwell’s concerns about the families at Terwillegar. She said she didn’t think the board could do anything about behavior except what they had already done through budget and policies.

Certain said, “Spot rezoning at this time kind of paves the way to help those students out that are there and helps the capacity issues at some schools, it helps with the finances.” She said they would hold Thursday’s workshop and see how it “shakes out.”

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

Add a comment

Undersheriff Joel DeCoursey, Jr. Boosts STEM Education in Waldo

Details
C.M. WALKER
Local
22 March 2023
  •  Print 
  • Email

WALDO - Alachua County Undersheriff Joel DeCoursey, Jr. and the City of Waldo Celebrated Read Across America on Saturday, March 4 at the local library. DeCoursey read “Circle Rolls” and participated in various STEM related activities with youngsters.

#     #     #

Email cwalker@

alachuatoday.com

Add a comment

Riverfest Songwriting Contest

Details
RAY CARSON
Local
22 March 2023
  •  Print 
  • Email

FORT WHITE ‒ The rivers and springs are an integral part of life in North Central Florida. They are the life blood of communities, providing water for plants, wildlife and people. They are also an important part of the economy as Florida leads the southeast in farm income. Tourism brings over 131 million visitors to the state, with an economic impact of $98.8 billion. And North Central Florida brings many tourists to the pristine springs and rivers for camping, kayaking and cave diving.

But periodic droughts, groundwater pumping to satisfy ever increasing residential, agricultural, and industrial water demands, as well as groundwater pollution from urban and agricultural factors impact Florida's spring systems.

Our Santa Fe River (OSFR), is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 as a grassroots educational organization to help raise awareness of the importance of the springs and aquifer. For the past 10 years the organization has sponsored the RiverFest song writing contest as a way to raise awareness of the rivers and fund projects to protect and preserve the rivers and springs. The contest is open to all songwriters, but the songs have to be original compositions about the Santa Fe River. This year there are 20 songwriters entering the contest. The top three songwriters, as chosen by a panel of judges, receive a cash prize.

The event will be held at Rum 138 in Fort White. Originally a canoe and kayak sales and rental business that offered trips down the river, Rum 138 has grown and diversified over the years, adding a stage for concerts, an art gallery, and a cafe. Rum 138 has also become the headquarters of the local Sierra Club and supporter of the OSFR.

The RiverFest event is a series of events to raise money for OSFR to fund programs, river clean ups and other events.

On Saturday March 18, 2023 the OSFR has organized a hike on the newly acquired ACT Little Awesome Springs Preserve along the Santa Fe River with guide Colette Jacono, Ph.D., a botanist and plant ecologist who has specialized in aquatic and wetland plants in Florida for over 20 years.

The following weekend on March 25, Jacono will lead another hike on the Santa Fe River through shady bottomlands protected in conservation under the Suwannee River Water Management District. The hikers will also negotiate a karst landscape, locally renowned for its unique geologic features, alligator nursery, and turkey population. Both hikes start at Rum 138, 2070 S.W. County Road 138 at 8:30 a.m. Shuttles to the hike areas will leave at 9 a.m. and cost a $25 donation to support the OSFR programs. Both hikes are limited to 25 persons. It is suggested to wear boots or hefty shoes, bring water in reusable water bottle, bug spray, and a sun hat.

Also on Saturday, March 25, from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Master Naturalist Lars Anderson will lead a guided springs paddle tour to visit the many and varied springs on the Santa Fe River from the Highway 27 boat ramp to the Hollingsworth Boat Ramp. Donation fee for this trip is $60.

On Sunday, March 26, the Riverfest song contest will be held at Rum 138 from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. with an admission fee of $10. In addition to the song contest, other music will be provided before the show by Voices Rising, a 40-member community chorus, and after the show by the Luis Ortiz Jazz Band.

Other activities include a silent auction featuring over 60 items donated by area artists, businesses, and individuals. A variety of food will be available as well as beverages from local breweries, a pop-up t-shirt printer offering this year’s RiverFest t-shirts for sale, a real live mermaid to take photos with and a 50/50 raffle.

This year’s event is dedicated to the late Rhonda Long who previously served as the Riverfest coordinator. All proceeds from the various events will go toward programs to benefit and preserve the rivers.

#     #    #

Email rcarson@

alachuatoday.com

Add a comment

Musician’s Death Inspires Benefit Concert, Local Musicians Step Up to Aid Family

Details
RAY CARSON
Local
16 March 2023
  •  Print 
  • Email

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Tuck Tucker was a musical artist of passion and talent. He toured for over 10 years playing dobro, electric and acoustic guitar with various bands such as Harmony Grits, Dancing Horse, Red & Murphy, and the nationally known Marshall Tucker Band. While he played a variety of stringed instruments, he was known as a dobro player extraordinaire. His talent graced the recordings and stages of many musicians, not only in Florida, but around the country. He played on over 150 recordings by various artists and released three albums of his own original music.

On March 4, musicians gathered at Rum 38 not only to remember Tucker, who had passed away in 2021, but to also raise money to help the widow he left behind.

James “Tuck” Tucker started his musical career in 1975, when he joined the national touring group Harmony Grits Band. Tucker was hired to replace the departing dobro player. At that time Harmony Grits was an all-acoustic Bluegrass band, but, in 1977 they crossed over to Outlaw country. That change doubled their touring dates and destinations to six days a week. In 1980 a record company approach them about a record deal, but after touring for three years straight with no down time for resting, the rigorous schedule took its toll on the band and they disbanded in January 1980.

Tucker immediately started looking for another band, and when a band he was acquainted with came to perform in his hometown, he grabbed his dobro and went to their show. He asked if he could sit in, and by the end of the evening he had been invited back for the next night. By the end of the second night, the band asked him to join them in Dahlonega, Ga. Tucker went on to perform, travel, and record with this group, Red & Murphy & Co. for the next five years.

It wasn’t long after he married his love, Edwoina, that Red and Murphy moved to Winchester, Va., and Tucker decided to stay in Florida. It was a hard decision for him, but he chose to put his musical career on the back burner to work a traditional day job to support his wife and child in McIntosh, Florida.

For the next 22 years he worked hard to keep his music alive. He played with many different groups such as Endless Highway, The Adobe Brothers, The Driftwoods, and Dale Crider to name a few. He also played on multiple CD projects with local Gainesville bands, as well as recording with the nationally known The Marshall Tucker Band.

Tucker continued to work a day job to support the family during these years, but after his son, Cory, left home Tucker returned to playing music full time, which included a year long stint in Nashville. Tucker found he couldn’t afford to live there and he returned to Florida where he continued to play, becoming a local legend.

On Dec. 23, 2021, Tucker passed away and the music stopped. Still, his musical talent was not forgotten by many musicians he had worked with.

A year later, John and Raven Smith, who had worked with Tucker in Harmony Grits, and were now the main players in Quartermoon, sought to create an annual musical event to honor Tucker and help raise money for his widow, Edwoina. Tucker had performed at Rum 138 several times, and owners Doug and Merrilee Jipson offered their venue for a concert, and the call went out to local musicians to play at the event. Eight groups offered to play for free to help, and the March 4, 2023 the event was held under cloudy skies to an audience that also included many of Tucker's fans.

Mike Boulware, another local music legend, opened the show followed by Barbara and Mike Johnson, Smiley Tunehead, Hannah Harber Winn and In The Moment band, with Quartermoon finishing the night in tribute to their friend and former bandmate. By the end of the night, over $1,000 had been raised for Tucker's family.

“We were really pleased with all the support from the musicians, Rum 138 and the audience that came to honor him,” said John Smith. “It was a day of great music, which we hope to make an annual event, bringing back some of the well-known musicians he worked with nationally and grow it to be a musical celebration.”

#     #     #

Email rcarson@

alachuatoday.com

Add a comment

Youth Robotics Team Advances to State Championship

Details
Administrator
Local
16 March 2023
  •  Print 
  • Email

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ A local youth robotics team is headed to a statewide championship competition. The Swampbots Frogmen Robotics team, a member of the FIRST® LEGO® League, is a youth robotics league supported by the High Springs Parks & Recreation Department. FIRST® LEGO® League introduces youth to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through hands-on learning.

Recently, the Frogmen team, made up of nine boys and girls from the area, competed in the Northeast Florida Regional Championship, placing third overall, out of 40 teams. With the Frogmen’s third-place finish, the team has earned the right to compete in the upcoming Florida State Championship, March 31 and April 1, with the overall winner earning a bid to the World Championship in Houston, Texas.

In addition to their state championship appearance, The Frogmen have also been invited to compete against some of the best teams from around the world at the Long Beach Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., May 12-14. Only 80 teams were invited to participate in this event.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

Add a comment

More Articles ...

  1. Farewell To Retiring Police K-9 Thor
  2. Firefighters Battle House Blaze
  3. Building A Bigger Dream, Deeper Purpose Community Church Expands Its Vision
  4. Controversial Mural Project Moves Forward as High Springs Approves Nine Murals
  5. City of Gainesville Weighs Affordable Housing Options
  6. Gainesville Police Chief Lonnie Scott Swears In 12 New Officers
  7. Newberry Meat Processing Facility Tops Special Meeting Agenda As County Commission Takes Another Look
  8. Gainesville City Commission Approves Crucial Safety Upgrades for East University Avenue
  9. Frozen Foot Race Lives Up to Name as Runners Face Cold Temps
  10. Barbecue And Bacon Festival Draws Large Crowds
Alachua County Today Alachua County Today

Explore

  • About Alachua County Today
  • Advertise
  • News
  • Community Calendar
  • Public Notices