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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The City of Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department and the Wild Spaces & Public Places program invite the public to attend an open house to discuss future improvements at Boulware Springs.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 19, 2023) – United Way of North Central Florida and partner agencies will conduct the 2023 Homeless Point-in-Time Count in Alachua County on Monday, Jan. 23.

The annual count will identify the number of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness throughout Alachua County with results available later this spring.

“The count gives us the ability to identify trends in homelessness within our community which we then use to set performance measures on our collaborative efforts with local service agencies through the homeless Continuum of Care,” said Patrick Dodds, Director of the Continuum of Care.

The 2022 Point-in-Time Count showed a 5 percent reduction in overall homelessness in Alachua County, but a 27 percent decrease in unsheltered homelessness since 2020.

To minimize exposure and transmission of COVID-19, outreach teams will be comprised solely of staff from United Way, partner agencies and community volunteers with lived experiences of homelessness. Other COVID-19 safety measures include the use of personal protective equipment and digital rather than physical surveys. Volunteers with lived experience will be paid $15 an hour for their time.

United Way of North Central Florida has served as the Lead Agency for the FL-508 homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) since 2018. The CoC catchment area includes the counties of Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Putnam.

The 2023 Point-in-Time Count in Alachua County will take place from a centralized staging location at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Gainesville. The count will begin at 6 a.m. and continue until approximately 8 p.m. Counts for the remaining counties will be conducted through Jan. 29, 2023.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Below are the updated City of Gainesville traffic impacts scheduled for January 20-27, 2023. 

otices

NW Fifth Ave.: Northwest Fifth Avenue will be closed from Northwest 14th Terrace to Northwest 15th Street for curb and gutter repairs, sidewalk improvements and repaving from Monday, Jan. 23-Monday, Feb. 2. 

Continuing Notices 

SW Ninth Terrace: Southwest Ninth Terrace will be closed between Southwest First Avenue and University Avenue due to the construction of a new development. Construction is expected to last through August 2023.

 Note: All lane and road closures are subject to change due to unforeseen conditions, such as inclement weather.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Farm Share, Florida’s leading food nonprofit and the state’s largest food bank, is distributing food to food-insecure Floridians in the Gainesville area. Recipients will receive fresh produce and non-perishable canned goods. Distributions are drive-thru only to minimize contact and to help ensure the safety of all parties. Attendees must arrive in a vehicle with a trunk or cargo bed.

With more than 3.9 million families suffering from food insecurity throughout Florida, Farm Share meets the everyday hunger needs of Floridians by working hand-in-hand with local farmers to recover and redistribute produce that would otherwise be thrown away due to aesthetic imperfections. 

Farm Share also distributes food to the community through its network of soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, churches, and senior centers across Florida free of charge. To find a food pantry near you, please visit www.farmshare.org/food-pantries.

Please find more information about this week’s event in your area below.

Event: Farm Share distribution with Project Youthbuild

Date: Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. until supplies last

Location: 635 NW 6th St., Gainesville, Fla. 32601

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. Three veteran teachers with combined experience in education of nearly 60 years have been selected as finalists in the Alachua County Teacher of the Year program. One of them will go on to represent Alachua County Public Schools in the Florida Teacher of the Year program.

Lilliemarie Gore, the elementary school finalist, has been the behavior resource teacher at Sidney Lanier School for nearly two years. Before joining the Lanier faculty, she taught at the Duval Fine Arts Academy and at Williams, Idylwild and Wiles elementary schools. During her career she’s also been a safety patrol sponsor, school advisory council member and a coordinator for the 21^st Century after-school program. She was actually selected as the districtwide Teacher of the Year in 2018.

Gore says she enjoys being able to devote individual attention to students who are struggling and then seeing positive changes in them.

“I want to encourage them, inspire them, and set a good example for them,” she said. “I want them to know that they are amazing, that they can do anything and that they should never give up.”

Middle school finalist Richard Thomas is the dean at Kanapaha Middle School. Before taking on that role, he worked as a 6^th grade math and science teacher at the school and as a teacher at Alachua Elementary. He’s also supported his students and schools as a team leader, robotics coordinator, site tech, safety patrol sponsor and a summer Extended Day Enrichment Program instructor.

Thomas is committed to helping students make progress and letting them know that there are people who support them and believe in them even when they make mistakes.

“I want them know that it’s OK to make mistakes. We all do,” he said. “But we learn from them, we grow from them and they help us to be the best we can be.”

Karen Kearney, this year’s high school finalist, teaches at Buchholz High School, the school from which she graduated. In her 21 years at the school she’s taught anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry and physical science. She’s also participated in a wide variety of additional activities, including as a PTSA member, wellness coordinator, teacher mentor, department chair, assistant wrestling coach and sponsor for several school clubs.

Kearney says she wants her students to become engaged learners for the rest of their lives.

“It sounds like a cliché, but that light bulb moment is wonderful,” she said. “I tell them all the time that hearing ‘Ah, I get this!’ is everything to me. That’s why I teach, it’s music to my ears.”

The three finalists and 36 other nominees from Alachua County Public Schools will be honored at the upcoming Robert W. Hughes Teacher of the Year ceremony, which is named after the former Superintendent of Schools who established the program. The event is organized by The Education Foundation for Alachua County Public Schools, and the presenting sponsors include Cox, Florida Credit Union and SWI Photographers.

Each honoree will receive a $500 cash award and other gifts donated by businesses and individuals in the community.

About 500 people typically attend the event. The name of the overall Teacher of the Year and the district’s representative in the state recognition program will be announced near the end.

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