Local

In many ways, Alachua County voters cast predictable ballots favoring democratic candidates and causes, but some races ran in the other direction. 

Baird over Chestnut

Incumbent Alachua County Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut lost her bid for re-election Tuesday, defeated by Susan Baird, the first Republican elected to the County Commission since the 1980s.

With 54 percent of the vote, Baird handily defeated Chestnut, a democrat, who pulled down 46 percent of votes in Tuesday’s election.  In a race that has historically favored democrats, Baird’s win came as a surprise to many.

A tea party candidate who began attending county commission and charter review board meetings months ago, Baird said she sought election to the County Commission in an effort to refocus the County on what she believes its priorities should be.

Democrat Sheriff Sadie Darnell backed Baird in her bid against Chestnut after the County Commission refused to adopt a budget the Sheriff said was necessary to adequately fund her department.

Pinkoson holds on

Incumbent County Commissioner Lee Pinkoson, a democrat, was able to hold onto his seat Tuesday after facing off against challenger Jim Gabriel.  Gabriel, a republican, wasn’t able to swing enough votes in his favor to pull off a win. 

With 56.13 percent of the vote, Pinkoson will retain his seat on the County Commission.  Gabriel garnered 31,422 votes, or 43.87 percent of the votes. 

Having previously served multiple terms as a commissioner in High Springs, Gabriel had some name recognition, but lacked financial resources to mount a fully-loaded campaign. Gabriel raised just $11,454 as compared to Pinkoson’s $88,094.  Unlike Pinkoson, Gabriel did not face primary challengers, which is where much of the incumbent’s resources were spent.

Griffin, Oyenarte take School Board

Voters elected April Griffin with 58.13 percent of the vote over Rick Nesbit who brought in 41.87 percent in Tuesdays runoff race for School Board Member District 1.

Carol Oyenarte, meanwhile, is also being sent to the School Board in District 5 after winning her runoff with 53.52 percent of votes as compared to Jancie Vinson’s 46.48 percent of votes.

Voters limit County’s power in two amendments

Voters gave the thumbs up to a measure that would prevent the County Commission from repealing or amending ordinances enacted by a citizens initiative until after the first year and even then, only with a vote of four out of five commissioners.  That question passed with 57.53 percent of votes.

Passing with 54.89 percent of the votes was another measure which requires that any future charter amendments limiting municipal power must not only be approved by a countywide majority of voters, but also a majority of voters within the affected city or cities.

Voters turn down changes in county structure

With just 33.52 percent of votes cast in favor, a proposed amendment to Alachua County’s charter, which would have replaced the board of county commissioners with a board of charter commissioners, failed.

A follow-up question on the ballot, which would only have been enacted if the board were replaced with charter commissioners, also failed, but only slightly.  When asked if county commission salaries should be set by local ordinance rather than by the state legislature, 49.98 percent of voters approved.  Only 24 more voters were against the question than were in favor of it.  Even if it had been approved, the measure would not have been enacted without the change to a charter commission polled in the previous question.

A proposed amendment to the County charter that would have essentially made constitutional officer races non-partisan also failed.  Under Question 6 on the ballot, voters were asked if they would be in favor of converting positions such as Tax Collector, Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections and Clerk of Court into charter officers, but the measure failed with just 39.44 percent of voters seeking to approve it.  If approved, that amendment would have required candidates seeking election to those seats to do so without any reference to their political party affiliation, rather than running as a democrat, republican or some other party affiliation.

Voters don’t ease guidelines on Citizens Initiatives

A measure that would have reduced the number of electors required to sign a petition to get a citizens initiative on the ballot failed.  The referendum would have reduced the percentage of the electorate need to sign a petition from seven percent down to five percent of voters, making it easier to get a citizen-driven initiative on the ballot.  But voters turned down that reduction with 67.33 percent of ballots cast against it.

Soil and Water goes to Griffin

Bryan Griffin solidly beat Brian Bunch to get a spot on the Alachua Soil and Water Conservation District.  Griffin pulled in 63.51 percent of the 50,650 votes cast in that election while Bunch received 36.49 percent.

Airboat curfew

With 56.18 percent of the votes in Alachua County, an ordinance is slated for adoption to implement a curfew on airboats.  The curfew would prohibit operating the airboats between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. in Alachua County with the exception of those which might be used in an official capacity for law enforcement and rescue efforts.

Voters pick Oelrich, Bembry, Porter, Perry

Former Alachua County Sheriff and current incumbent District 14 State Senator Steve Oelrich, republican, will hold onto his seat after garnering 53.83 percent of the votes in his district.  One-time State House Representative and local businessman Perry McGriff, democrat, challenged Oelrich, but came up short with just 46.17 percent of the votes.

State Representative Debbie Boyd, democrat, lost her bid for re-election after challenger Elizabeth Porter, republican, picked up 53.92 percent of votes in that district.  Boyd had previously been challenged by Porter but narrowly won in that match.  Boyd picked up 40.53 percent of votes in Tuesday’s election while tea party candidate John Ferentinos garnered 5.85 percent of votes in the three-way race.

Leonard Bembry, the democrat incumbent State Representative in District 10 will maintain his seat after picking of 59.47 percent of votes.  He defeated challenger David Feigin, a republican who had 40.53 percent of votes.

In a race with two political newcomers, republican Keith Perry won his bid for election to State Representative District 22.  With 60.69 percent of votes, Perry solidly defeated candidate Jon Paugh, a democrat who pulled in 39.31 percent of votes.

Newberry’s smokin’ fall festival

Fun, food, a farmers market and pony rides were on tap Saturday at Newberry’s Fourth Annual Fall Market Festival in downtown Newberry.  The event featured more than 50 vendors from all over the state.  The highlight of the day was the Newberry Main Street Festival barbecue cook-off.  After hours of preparation, the Hodges family won the “People’s Choice” award, Newberry Commissioner Bill Conrad won “Best Overall,” and Bacon’s BBQ and Catering won the award for “Best Sauce.”

Allison “Gabe” Green, a newcomer to Archer’s political landscape, won his bid for commissioner in the small town of about 1,400 residents.  Green, 70 years old, challenged Laurie Costello, 53, for Seat 5 on the commission

Costello was initially elected to the Archer City Commission in May 2004 after a three-way race in which she tied another candidate and ultimately won in a runoff election weeks later.

Both Green and Costello had been talking up plans for a wastewater system in the City of Archer in hopes that the infrastructure would open doors to more economic development.

In Tuesday’s race, Green defeated Costello, a six-year veteran of the commission.  Green came up with 207 votes as compared to Costello’s 157 votes.

With 364 ballots cast, about 56 percent of Archer’s voters turned out for the election held Tuesday. 

City officials say Green will be sworn into office on Nov. 22.

A contract with Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) dating back to 1988 will likely be extended yet again after Alachua commissioners voted 5-0 Monday night to continue buying its wholesale power from the nearby electric provider.

If approved by the City of Gainesville commission, the most recent changes would mark the third amendment to the long-standing agreement which has apparently returned favorable utility rates for the City of Alachua over the last two years.

The updated agreement extends the contract for 10 years with a five-year opener, which gives either party the option of going back out to market to seek bids.

Public Services Director Mike New said the amendments include fixed costs that will increase 2.5 percent annually after the first year of the new agreement.  But those fixed costs only account for about 20 percent of the total cost of wholesale power.

The largest determining factor in the cost of power is the fuel cost, half of which will be calculated on GRU’s retail fuel charge and the remaining half on the average price of natural gas for the last three days of each month as published by NYMEX then multiplied by GRU’s heat rate for natural gas combustion.  In prior arrangements, the natural gas price component was based on the price of natural gas only on the last day of the month, leading to a higher rate of volatility. 

Both New and consultant William Herrington of WHH Enterprises said the City of Alachua has substantial exposure to the natural gas sector which could lead to volatility and considerable and uncontrollable increases if those rates go up. 

That’s a scenario Herrington seems to think is a foregone conclusion since natural gas has been on an 18-month decline.  He suggested the City consider locking in at least some of its projected natural gas usage over the next few years to avoid a massive increase should supplies tighten.

The City of Alachua has some of the lowest power costs when compared to other cities in Florida.  Over the last year or so, Alachua’s power cost has averaged out to $73.38 per megawatt hour.  Other utilities had costs between $82.37 and $104.78 per megawatt hour. 

Herrington said Alachua’s new agreement won’t bring the lowest rates in the state, but they should remain among the lowest and are competitive, especially considering Alachua’s small size compared to other utilities.  He estimates that Alachua will have an average rate of $71.04 or less per megawatt hour in the next fiscal year under the amendments.

The contract is awaiting approval from the Gainesville City Commission, which is expected to review the matter at a Nov. 18 meeting.  If approved, the agreement would go into effect Jan. 1, 2011.

Streets were packed Saturday night as local businesses passed out candy to all sorts of ghouls, goblins and assorted creatures.  Check out Alachua County Today on Facebook for more photos at http://www.facebook.com/ACTNEWS

It wasn’t exactly lions, tigers and bear, oh my, but it was an evening of superheroes, princesses and witches as thousands of Halloween fun seekers took over Alachua’s downtown area Saturday during the city’s annual Trick-or-Treat on Main Street from 7 – 9 p.m.  

The downtown area’s Scarecrow Row set the stage with costumed scarecrows adorning lampposts along the winding street, greeting visitors along the way. Young and old alike, dressed in their spookiest or most creative costumes, joined in the festivities.  The upbeat crowd moved back and forth along both sides of Main Street, as children trick-or-treated door-to-door in search of sweet treats from local businesses.

Highlights of the evening included the announcement of Scarecrow Row winners, costume contests sponsored by the Alachua Chamber of Commerce and a bike raffle fundraiser conducted by the Alachua Lions Club. 

City of Alachua Recreation Director Hal Brady announced the winners of Scarecrow Row and presented each with a plaque and a monetary award.  Winners were Capital City Banks in first place, Douglas M. Adel, D.D.S., P.A. in second place and Gainesville Family Dentistry in third place.

Wearing his trademark three or four colorful neckties looped around his neck, Brady said, “Downtown Alachua is a great place to be on Halloween.  Trick-or-Treat on Main Street gives everybody somewhere to go to have a good time, and the kids have a ball.”

Costume contestants were divided into age groups, and Alachua Elementary Principal Jim Brandenburg called each of the groups to the stage for viewing by the judges as camera flashes illuminated an assortment of characters.  In the Pre-K category, winners were Brennen and Rilyn Bentley, Graycee Adams, Colton Roberts, Jackson McCallum and Brooklyn Howard.  Winners in the K- 2nd grade division were Riley Applebee, Taj Smith, Coleman Neal, Molly Branham and Gracie Skiner.  Winners in the 3rd – 5th grade division were Jordan Evans, Kayla Tindall, Alexis Greenberg, Amelia MacCallum and Zachary Zewick.  In grades 6-8, winners were Angela Underwood and Arissa Sawyer, Joseph Deen, Grace Divito, Shawna Fissell, Tristan Bass, Nathan Amparo and Montana Parrish.  In the high school through adult category, winners were Paul McKnight, Taylor Wilson, Brock Timmerman, Tracy Silvia and Beth Eddy.

In the Alachua Lions Club drawing for the bicycle, Lions Club member Don James, Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper and Alachua City Commissioner Ben Boukari rolled the mesh cage filled with tickets, mixing and tumbling them under the eyes of a watchful crowd.  After a final twirl, a young costumed trick-or-treater dressed as a glittering blue butterfly reached in the cage and withdrew the winning ticket revealing the big winner as Kris Browning, new owner of the Gator bike.

Trick-or-Treat on Main Street is a longtime annual event sponsored by the Alachua Chamber of Commerce and City of Alachua offering children a safe environment to enjoy Halloween festivities.  It is one of a series of events taking place in downtown Alachua during the fall season, along with the Alachua Harvest Festival sponsored by the Alachua Business League, Shop - Dine - Stroll sponsored by the Alachua Chamber of Commerce and the Alachua Christmas Parade sponsored by the City of Alachua and the Alachua Chamber of Commerce.

The City of High Springs has released police reports detailing the events and accusations that prompted firefighters Kyle Lewis and Michael Steele to resign last week.

The reports tell of vulgar, harassing behavior that allegedly took place behind closed doors at the fire department.

While Lewis, 26, and Steele, 28, said it’s a game fashioned after a scene in a movie they all play, according to others it’s gone too far.

On Oct. 1, the High Springs Police Department (HSPD) responded to a call from Fire Chief Verne Riggall.  A ‘suspicious incident’ report based on the complaint of a third firefighter was filed.  The firefighter, who said he had fallen asleep on the fire station couch, woke up and logged on to his personal laptop to find a new photo on the desktop.

It was a picture of a man’s genitalia being exposed next to his head as he lay asleep on the couch.

At this time, Alachua County Today is withholding the name of the firefighter who filed the complaint leading to the investigation.

Like the two he accused, he has not returned to work since crying foul, Riggall said.

According to city policy and the Florida Firefighters Bill of Rights, he is on administrative leave with pay pending the results of the ongoing administrative investigation by the High Springs Police Department.

When he reported the incident, he named Steele and Lewis as the culprits, and Riggall subsequently placed them both on immediate suspension pending the investigation.

According to HSPD, Steele admitted to being the exhibitionist in the photo, and Lewis said he was the one who took it, but they insisted Steele never actually touched the other man’s head or neck.

After the initial complaint, another firefighter came forward saying he’d been the victim of a similar incident involving Steele and Lewis.

Both of them told police they did not remember what the second accuser was talking about.

On Oct. 4 after lodging the complaint, the firefighter said the alleged incident happened several months ago, and he signed a form indicating “intent not to prosecute.”

Lewis and Steele resigned Oct. 19.

Lewis was a full-time firefighter, and he had worked for the City of High Springs for about three years, Riggall said.

Steele started as a volunteer at the department, and became a part-time employee about three years ago. He is still a full-time employee with Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR).

According to the City of Gainesville human resources office, he was hired there in February 2007.

Despite growing media coverage about the situation, when GFR Deputy Chief Tim Hayes was contacted for comment on the issue, he said he hadn’t heard anything about it.

He said had he known about it sooner, he would already be investigating whether Steele should face any consequences as a City of Gainesville employee.

But Hayes did say it was surprising to hear this about Steele, who he said is nothing like that when he’s on duty at GFR.

“He’s a pretty quiet guy.”

Though the police reports are public record, the full details from the administrative investigation won’t be released until the matter is closed.

Riggall said he anticipates a 30-day window until the investigation should be concluded, but that could change.