Local

GILCHRIST COUNTY ‒ A silver 2018 – 2021 Kia Rio sedan was traveling west on State Road 26, east of Southwest 19^th Circle, on Wednesday, March 15, sometime before 6 a.m. At the same time a female pedestrian was walking east on the north paved shoulder of SR-26.

For unknown reasons the Kia Rio travelled to the north shoulder where it struck the pedestrian. The driver of the Kia Rio fled the scene. The pedestrian, a middle-age white female, was transported to UF Shands Hospital where she later expired.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is seeking any information the public may have about this vehicle. The Kia Rio should be missing the headlight assembly and trim on the right side. To report any information relevant to this incident, call the local Crime Stoppers, FHP Communication Center at 1-800-387-1290 or *FHP.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Steven Michael Braden, 33, was arrested on Monday, March 6, and charged with simple battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after pushing a woman down a flight of stairs and pointing an AR-15 at a man.

At about 7:35 p.m., Braden allegedly got into an argument with the victims at a residence in High Springs over Braden working on a generator. During the argument, Braden allegedly pushed a woman down some stairs and hit her in the face. After a second victim picked up a board, Braden allegedly went inside, picked up an AR-15 and pointed it at the male victim.

Braden has no local criminal history.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $95,000 and Braden has been released from jail.

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NEWBERRY ‒ The Newberry Board of Adjustment has approved an application by The Citadel Family Church, Inc., for a special exception to permit a church in a Residential, Single-Family (RSF-2) zoning district.  This item was also recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Board on March 6. 

The property is located at 145 N.W. 257^th Street, consists of 0.24 +/- acres and was originally used as a Methodist Church.  Most recently, it was used as a Masonic lodge meeting hall.  The 3,348-square-foot building was constructed in 1950 and is a contributing structure for the City’s Historic District. 

The property fronts the westbound segment of the Florida Department of Transportation project for the two-lane, one-way pair split for State Road 26/West Newberry Road. 

Items brought up in discussion included concerns about adequate parking and noise impacting neighboring residents.  Reverend Arraelieus Garrison explained that there are only four families in the congregation and, if attendance increases, he has already spoken with another neighboring church that could accommodate overflow parking.  

He explained that his sermons are not loud, but said he was planning to hold a barbecue on the grounds to introduce the church to the neighbors.  Otherwise, his sermons would be inside the building.  No tent revivals would be held outside, he said.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ On March 14 the High Springs Fire Department invited residents of the High Spring community to join them for a traditional “Push-In Ceremony” to celebrate the purchase of two new fire trucks at the High Springs Fire Department, 18586 N.W. 238^th Street, High Springs. The addition of a heavy rescue unit and a pumper unit represent a major investment protecting citizens in and around High Springs and provides advanced tools for firefighters for the next 20 years.

The Push-In Ceremony can be traced back to its roots in the 1800s, when a fire apparatus was horse-drawn, and firefighters would unhitch horses and push the apparatus back into the station after returning from a call. With the advent of motorized fire apparatus, the need to push apparatus into the station was no longer necessary, but the tradition lives on.

Some 100 people attended the High Springs Push-In Ceremony. High Springs Mayor Gloria James led the invocation and welcomed guests. Other speakers included City Manager Ashley Stathatos and Fire Chief Bruce Gillingham. Commissioner Byran Williams blessed the new trucks and firefighters following the ceremony.

The new equipment includes a Heavy Rescue 29 and a new Engine 29. The new Heavy Rescue 29, a 2023 E-One Cyclone custom chassis rescue, replaces Squad 29, a 2006 Kenworth commercial cab “light rescue” unit, and will respond to calls in and around High Springs, including technical rescues, vehicle accidents, fires, and medical emergencies. Heavy Rescue 29 greatly enhances the available resources as compared to Squad 29 in technical rescue capabilities, including rescues from sinkholes, roofs, trees, and major auto accidents involving large commercial vehicles or farm equipment.

The new Engine 29, a 2023 E-One Cyclone custom chassis pumper, replaces a 2012 Pierce/Kenworth commercial cab pumper. Engine 29 will respond to medical emergencies, vehicle accidents, and fires, as well as other types of emergencies.

While the tab for the two trucks totaled $1.4 million, both vehicles have a 15-to-20-year useful life and will enhance the ability of the fire department to cover a wide variety of emergencies. The replaced vehicles were reaching the end of their useful service life and had fewer of the advanced technical equipment developed in the last 20 years.

The two new fire trucks on display for the Push-In Ceremony offered a stark contrast to an apparatus situated in the back of the engine bay. As if standing vigil, a 1923 fire engine is a reminder of bygone days and is of historic interest as the first motorized vehicle purchased by the City of High Springs.

“Changing the addition from squad program, which is a light rescue technical style vehicle, to a heavy rescue style vehicle helps us enhance our capabilities to responding to semi accidents on the interstate to low- and high-angle calls in the county,” said Gillingham. “[It] allows us to broaden our level of service and helps our ALS [Advanced Live Saving] capability.”

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Each year on the first weekend in March, the High Springs Lions Club opens its doors and helps make dreams come true for local teenage girls by offering free prom gowns, shoes and corsages. The motto at the event is “If it Fits, Its Yours.” The event is successful due to support and sponsorship from the local community. The dresses are donations from people who had their prom, formal affair or wedding party and no longer need the dress, and they offer it to a new generation for them to have their prom dreams come true. Many accessories and services are donated by businesses and individuals.

Serving an increasing number of girls each year, the dresses and accessories are collected throughout the year. Items and funds are donated by people throughout the community through the club’s “Donate a Dress - Support a Dream” team project. Local businesses provide additional services to make it a complete magical experience for the teenagers. Referred to as Fairy Godmothers and Godfathers, they offer such free services as boutonnieres and corsages from flower shops, tailors for alterations, limos and party buses, hair salons for nails, hair and makeup, photographers, DJ /bands, tux rentals and caterers.

The Lions Club also creates a book for the girls for use at special events throughout their lives. “We are trying to create a guide book so they can use it not just for prom but also for their next prom (senior) or wedding as well as a memory book of their event,” said Lions Club member Barb Kowats.

“We gave away 108 dresses over the weekend and still have 815, which will go back in storage for next year to help make the cost of a prom dress not an obstacle to a family being able to afford send their daughter to prom,” said Lions Club member Leslie Flage.

Cinderella’s Closet was founded in 2006 in Lakeside Park, Kentucky, after Erin Peterson overheard a teenager ask a consignment shop clerk if a gown on display could be put on hold while she figured out how to pay for it. The teenager asked her foster mother for the money, but a prom dress was an extra in life, and its price was out of their reach. Seeing her disappointment, Peterson stepped in bought the dress for her. As tears flooded her eyes, said she would look “just like Cinderella.”

In partnership with Immanuel United Methodist Church, Cinderella’s Closet was born. Through donations of new and gently used formal dresses and accessories, the organization was able to “Turn Dresses into Dreams” for juniors and seniors referred to the organization by their schools, community organizations or social care agencies. The program ensures that costs associated with attending prom are not a financial burden on a family by offering the gown shopping experience at no extra cost. But the benefit is more than just a dress, Cinderella's Closet provides an unforgettable experience for these girls to remember for the rest of their lives.

In High Springs, Kelly Dees, who owned All Creations Salon, heard about the idea and began working with the High Springs Lions Club to sponsor a local event in 2010. Dees ran the program and recruited sponsors while the Lions Club provided the location, additional sponsors and staff to hold the event.  

Now the Lion's Club is running the program under the direction of Lion member Shelly Smith Denton, and all the female members of the Lion's Club also participate

Denton says that seeing the girls’ faces shine when they see themselves in a three-way mirror makes it all worth it.

“It’s a great experience to see it—many of these girls couldn’t even go or get a dress if they didn’t come here,” said Denton. “The excitement and joy in their faces makes the event a success.”

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