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ALACHUA COUNTY - Anyone interested in a job with competitive pay, excellent benefits and other perks is encouraged to attend a career fair this week hosted by Alachua County Public Schools. Qualified applicants can be hired on the spot.

The district is looking to fill a wide variety of full- and part-time positions at schools and district offices, including teachers, counselors and social workers, carpenters, plumbers, bus drivers, custodians, food service and after school workers and others. Many of the jobs require no experience and some include paid training.

Potential applicants are welcome to bring resumes, although they are not required. Registration for the fair is also not required.

The Fair is scheduled for Thursday, July 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the school district’s main office at 620 E. University Avenue, Gainesville.

For more information, email Tonya Nunn at nunntm@gm.sbac.edu or call (352) 955-7039.

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NEWBERRY – The City of Newberry is set to move forward with a new wastewater treatment facility plan. On June 15, the City Commission voted unanimously to move ahead with the plan as described by Woodard & Curran Project Manager Justin DeMello and to also send the plan to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

State law and growth management best practices require the City to monitor the capacity of its wastewater system to ensure that the capacity is not exceeded as a result of growth and new development. The wastewater treatment facility is authorized to operate and discharge its effluent into the environment via its Florida Wastewater Operating Permit. Newberry renewed its operating permit in 2021. As a condition of the 2021 wastewater permit renewal, the City is required to comply with higher treatment levels for nutrients and biosolids than the existing facility can accomplish.

Currently, Newberry’s wastewater treatment facility has a capacity of 560 million gallons per day (mgd). Based on an evaluation of anticipated growth rates, the City will need to bring additional wastewater treatment plant capacity online between 2025 and 2030.

Newberry will be working to secure project funding. DeMello said that with Commission approval, his firm will be exploring funding opportunities with USDA, FDEP and various other funding agencies.

He estimated total project costs at 40,897,55 including a new tertiary wastewater treatment facility, construction contingency, engineering and permitting services, construction administration services, and fiscal administration and legal at $849,000.

Florida Statutes provide for loans to local municipalities to finance the construction of wastewater facilities. The Florida Administrative Code requires the authorization by the City Commission to formally adopt a facilities plan outlining necessary wastewater facility improvements to comply with State of Florida funding requirements.

“The Facilities Plan for Clean Water is the basis for future funding to help the City obtain funding to keep citizens costs down,” said deMello. “This is a funding application we are moving forward with tonight.”

Commissioner Tim Marden moved to adopt the resolution and authorize staff to proceed. Commissioner Rick Coleman seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.

In other business, the Commission also unanimously approved sending a loan application to the Florida State Revolving Fund Loan Program for Drinking Water Facilities and authorized staff to initiate development of a planning document/facilities plan with a qualified firm. The cost for the planning process is estimated to be $150,000.

Director of Utilities and Public Works, Jamie Jones said Newberry needs an additional elevated tank for fire flow. He said if the larger of the two existing elevated tanks needed servicing, the smaller tank might not be adequate. The City’s FY 2021-2022 approved budget includes funding for construction of additional water storage facilities.

Because of the low interest loan rates and the opportunities for grant funding, staff recommended utilizing the state’s financing program for the project. The City Commission approved the submission application.

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GAINESVILLE ‒ A LaCrosse man has been arrested and charged with indecent exposure.  John Wesley Mosley, Jr., 28, of LaCrosse, was arrested on Wednesday, June 29, and charged with two counts of indecent exposure after two residents of Lexington Crossing apartments in Gainesville reported a man masturbating in a stairwell.

On the evening of June 28, Gainesville Police Department (GPD) Detective Hall organized a detail of plain vehicles and plain clothes detectives to track a suspected indecent exposure suspect who is likely linked to approximately 15 cases this year.  

According to the GPD, within an hour of starting, the detail spotted and followed the suspected vehicle occupied by John Wesley Mosley.  GPD Detectives believe he is a suspect in a series of indecent exposure incidents in Gainesville since January.

For hours Mosley took the detectives on an erratic drive throughout southwest Gainesville, in and out of multiple student complexes.  Finally, he parked and exited his vehicle in Lexington Crossing.  Several detectives got out on foot to follow him as he lingered in different breezeways by apartment doors.

The GPD stated that at one point, detectives presented themselves as unsuspecting students in an effort to draw Mosley out, however, he did not act.  Finally, as two innocent victims approached their doorway, Mosley exposed himself, got the reaction he was looking for and ran back to his vehicle.

Detectives followed Mosley out of the complex as he sped away from the scene.  Patrol was called in and directed to stop the vehicle.  Shortly afterward, the victims identified Mosley for his act, resulting in Mosley being charged with two felonies due to his prior misdemeanor conviction on the same charge.

Post Miranda, Mosley denied being at Lexington Crossing or exposing himself.

Mosley has a previous conviction of indecent exposure from 2017, resulting in one year of probation.  He is currently facing four counts of indecent exposure in two cases.  He has been released from custody.

As GPD detectives further investigate this case and Mosley’s potential past incidents, GPD asks that anyone with any information about Mosley or more possible incidents to contact Det. Hall at 352-393-7663.

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GAINESVILLE – Alachua County Library District added 100 more WiFi2Go mobile hotspots for check out on Tuesday, July 5 thanks to another donation from the Alachua County Library District Foundation.

The Library District launched the WiFi2Go collection in April 2021 with 100 hotspots funded by a $36,000 donation from the Foundation. Alachua County library cardholders can check out a hotspot for seven days and connect up to five devices to the internet at once with no fees or data limits.

In July of last year, the Foundation’s board members donated another $36,000 to double the WiFi2Go collection.

This June, the Foundation’s board members again donated $36,000 to add 100 hotspots to the WiFi2Go collection, bringing the collection’s total to 300 WiFi2Gos.

These additional 100 hotspots will be WiFi2Go Sizzlers, items that are not holdable and are available on a first-come, first-served basis at each branch.

Alachua County library cardholders can reserve regular (non-Sizzler) hotspots using the online catalog by searching for “WiFi2Go” or by calling any branch. Patrons can return WiFi2Go hotspots to any library branch.

“We are thrilled to expand this important service and grateful for the Foundation’s support,” said Library Director Shaney T. Livingston. “The WiFi2Go program is a huge success, and these additional hotspots will allow us to connect even more patrons with reliable internet access.”

This year, Alachua County Library District is a recipient of the 2022 Wi-Fi At Work Award: Community Connectivity Superheroes for our WiFi2Go program.

The Wi-Fi At Work Awards were created by WifiForward to highlight the good that Wi-Fi does across the country and honor individuals and organizations who use Wi-Fi to bring connectivity to their communities during the pandemic.

In addition to WiFi2Go, the Library District offers computers with Internet access for public use for free at all 12 locations. Free WiFi is also available at all library locations.

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NEWBERRY ‒ Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of stolen goods at a Newberry residence. Upon arrival Deputies found multiple people who either had active warrants or were in possession of drugs. Jared Adam Butler, 33; Wanda Shelly Snelgrove, 50 and Earl Lee Star, Jr., 43 were arrested and booked into the Alachua County Jail on July 4 just after midnight.

Deputies responded to a 911 call from a woman who said that Star and his daughter had items that had been stolen from her, that the items were at their residence in the 27000 block of West Newberry Road, and that they were refusing to give her belongings back. She also told the dispatchers that Star had an active warrant.

When deputies arrived, they encountered a car coming down the driveway, leaving the property, and they stopped it. Snelgrove was reportedly the front seat passenger. Butler, who was seated in the back of the car, had an active warrant and reportedly had methamphetamines on his person.

The drugs that were found led to a search of the car, which reportedly produced pills that tested presumptive positive for fentanyl, within reach of Snelgrove. Post Miranda, Snelgrove reportedly admitted that the pills were hers.

The deputy reported that a man who came out of the residence told him that Star was inside. However, Star allegedly refused commands to come outside and place his hands behind his back. He was eventually tased and taken into custody. Star has been charged with resisting arrest without violence. According to Alachua County records, he is being held without bond.

Butler was wanted on a warrant from Dec. 29, 2021, for violating multiple provisions of his probation for a petit theft charge. He is being held on $10,000 bond on the drug charge and without bail on the probation violation, pending first appearance.

Snelgrove has a pending criminal traffic case for driving without a valid license; she is being held on $5,000 bond on the drug charge.

Star was arrested in June 2021 on a felony drug charge. He pled nolo contendere to the charge, and adjudication was withheld. A warrant for his arrest was issued in March for violating the conditions of his probation by possessing methamphetamines. He is being held without bond pending first appearance.

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ALACHUA ‒ It was a star-spangled extravaganza Monday as live music, food trucks, and kids’ activities set the stage for a dazzling fireworks show. For the 22^nd year, the largest small town fireworks show in America lit up the skies on July 4^th at Legacy Park to a crowd of thousands.

This is the first year since 2019 that featured all the activities that are traditionally scheduled for this well-known event. Along with celebrations nationwide, COVID shut down local get-togethers entirely in 2020. And in 2021, the City of Alachua limited the event to an abbreviated celebration with just the fireworks display and social distancing among the crowd due to the continued threat of COVID.

This year, local officials brought back the event in full form with the help of 14 sponsors that provided funding and services to ensure that the show would go on. The gates opened at 3:30 for families to enjoy an afternoon in the park, including a kids corner with numerous free activities for children and a variety of food trucks and beverages.

Over the course of the evening the crowd filtered in, filling the field by showtime. The 10-piece band, Uncle Morty's Rhythm Cream, provided two long sets of music featuring a variety of popular songs from R&B and Funk and Rock. At one point, Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper joined the band on stage playing guitar for one song.

Despite some concerns for the dark clouds that drifted in near showtime, there was no rain, just nature adding its own fireworks with occasional lightning and thunder in the distance.

The band stopped playing at 9:20 p.m. to allow Antionette Hunt to sing the National Anthem and a tribute song to America as the crowd stood and held up cell phones, creating a cell phone light show filling the dark field with thousands of pinpoints of light.

Event emcee Ben Boukari, Jr., and Alachua City Manager Mike DaRoza spoke briefly, thanking the many event volunteers and sponsors and introducing the fireworks show put on by Kynexplosions Inc.

Boukari also spoke about how the show has become so popular and well known that people come from all over to see it and asked the crowd where they were coming from. In addition to people from the Alachua County area and surrounding counties, people came from Alabama and Georgia and one couple was visiting from Canada.

Promptly at 9:30 p.m., the sky lit up as the fireworks began, building to a climax at 10 p.m. that did not disappoint.

“We celebrate this event every year both for the community and to honor the founding fathers’ creation of our country. It is also dedicated to the men and women who have help preserve and maintain our freedom through their bravery and sacrifice,” said DaRoza. “Because of them, we ae a blessed nation where the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of press are among the countless other freedoms so many of us take for granted every day.”

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