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ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ Thinking of adopting a pet? Now is a great time to add a furry friend to your household. Effective immediately, all adoption fees are being waived until the Alachua County animal shelter can reach a manageable capacity. Pet adopters must be 18 or older and show identification with proof of current address. All adoptable cats and dogs are vaccinated, microchipped and sterilized before going home. The shelter located at 3400 N.E. 53rd Avenue, Gainesville is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., excluding holidays.

Not quite ready to adopt, but would like to help? Volunteer opportunities include dog walker, cat cuddler, dog wrangler, animal photographer, dog play group attendant, transporting animals, enrichment facilitator, adoption counselor, off-site adoption event assistant, foster parenting and facilitating doggy day outings.

Also, fostering opportunities with a one-month minimum commitment are available. Food and medical treatment will be provided to all fosters.

In recent months, intakes have exceeded outcomes (adoptions, transfers and owner reclaims). A recent case in Micanopy resulted in the confiscation of 23 additional animals. Springtime has brought with it the usual overabundance of kittens and puppies. All of this has contributed to overcrowding at the shelter, with upwards of 50 dogs above what the current shelter was designed to hold. The County, like other businesses, has been affected by the nationwide staffing shortage. These circumstances are not unique to Alachua County.

To volunteer, fill out the online registration form located at alachuacounty.seamlessdocs.com/f/VolunteerPacket. Once you submit the form, you will be sent a zoom link to the mandatory zoom orientation. Currently, an orientation is scheduled for Saturday, June 25, 2022, at 9:30 a.m.

“We are so grateful for the help from our volunteers and other animal care agencies,” said Alachua County Animal Resources and Care (AR&C) Acting Director Nikki Healy. “My hope is that folks will use this new streamlined volunteer application to join us in caring for the animals in our severely overcrowded shelter.”

“There is an overabundance of animals in our southern shelters,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of the BISSELL Pet Foundation, in a recent article. “Shelters that have not euthanized for space in years are now having to make those painful choices,” Bissell continued.

To help address the serious nature of the situation, the Alachua County Commission will conduct a Special Meeting to discuss the current animal overcrowding at the shelter on Tuesday, June 28, at 5 p.m. at the Alachua County Administration Building at 12 S.E. 1^st Street, Gainesville.

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ALACHUA COUNTY - With high temperatures on the rise this weekend, Alachua County Fire Rescue would like to remind everyone to remain safe from the heat. Follow these tips to stay cool this summer. 

Prevent illnesses that arise from the heat by taking breaks from the sun. The sun is at its strongest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so limit your exposure to the sun during these times. Apply sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher when in the sun. Wear loose, light-colored clothing when outdoors. Consider wearing a hat with a brim and sunglasses with a high UV rating. The sun can cause burns or more harmful effects such as skin cancer without proper protection.

Be sure to stay hydrated by drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day. Water consumption should be doubled if spending lots of time outdoors. Another way to stay healthy and hydrated is by eating fruits and vegetables. For example, tomatoes have lycopene that can protect your skin from sunburns, and munching on watermelons can help you stay hydrated.

Residents should make sure their pets are safe and comfortable, too. Apply pet-friendly sunscreen for cats and dogs. If walking your dog in the middle of the day, consider purchasing protective footwear for your dog’s paws. Additionally, never leave anyone or pets unattended in the car. Check the back seat for passengers each time you step out of your vehicle. Even if you make a quick stop for a few minutes, be sure that no one stays in the car.

Click here to get more information about heat safety for pets.

Follow these tips to stay cool, but also be aware of the warning signs of heat exhaustion and heat strokes in an emergency. Find more tips here on how to stay cool and safe this summer.

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WALDO ‒ On June 25, during national American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Ham Radio Field Day, the public is invited to see the debut of the newly-created Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the City of Waldo. The Gainesville Amateur Radio Society (GARS) has joined forces with Waldo City management to establish a room at Waldo City Square to serve residents with emergency communications, even when cell phones and the internet are non-functioning.

All over North America, Field Day simulates these conditions, emergency communications are practiced and the public is invited to come and talk on the radios.

Waldo City Manager Kim Worley welcomed the offer from GARS to do the labor and planning of the room and to set up the radios that will be used to gather and share information to help local officials assist citizens during a crisis.

“We have two Council members who are Amateur Radio operators. During Hurricane Irma, people set up here informally to relay messages, but now we will have an established EOC. The major storms in South Florida showed governments that when cell towers and the internet are down, important information is scarce,” said Worley.

The furniture for the room was drawn from surplus and the radios are made available by GARS, “The Waldo EOC is being created through a collaboration of GARS volunteers and the City of Waldo,” said Club Vice-President and Waldo Council Member Shannon Boal. “GARS members hope this EOC relationship can exemplify the spirit that drives volunteer fire departments to help the community.”

Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio's science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

ARRL Field Day starts at 2 p.m. at the Waldo City Square, 14450 N.E. 148^th Avenue and runs for 24 hours. Adults and youth are invited to come by on Saturday afternoon to join the Club’s activities. For more information, go online to GARS.club.

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ALACHUA ‒ Several groups came together on June 3 to host “Wear Orange” events in communities including Gainesville and Alachua to elevate gun violence prevention efforts in a nationwide campaign. The “Wear Orange” event originated in 2015 to honor Hadiya Pendleton who was shot and killed on her 18th birthday in Chicago.

At 3:30 p.m., Alachua residents gathered at Westside Church of God in Christ to march to Maude Lewis Park, with an escort from the Zion Soldierz RC motorcycle club, to honor four local victims of gun violence, including one who was killed in the park. Organizers say they want lawmakers to hear their message that voters want changes to gun laws to help curb the violence and needless deaths from gun violence.

After the Awareness Walk to the park, the event featured speakers, food, giveaways, live entertainment, and a number of vendors from supportive organizations offering local services and education. Most of the organizations present were focused on mental health, education and job services. Organizations represented were CDS Family and Behavioral Health Services, Mending Pathways Counseling, Meridian Health and Santa Fe College with an emphasis on offering alternatives to violence and crime.

More than 110 Americans are shot and killed every day, as well as the hundreds more who are wounded. In 2020, the most recent year for which complete data is available, 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S., according to the CDC. Most of the deaths are from murder and suicide, but in a uniquely American trend, mass shootings (three or more victims) have grown exponentially in the past two decades. Mass shootings often occur in easy targets like schools, churches, concerts and supermarkets. In this year alone, mass shootings have killed 256 people and injured 1,010 just through the end of May.

While the mass shootings dominate the news for the senseless slaughter of multiple innocent victims, they are only part of the toll. Gun murders have climbed sharply in recent years. The 19,384-gun murders that took place in 2020 were the most since at least 1968, exceeding the previous peak of 18,253 recorded by the CDC in 1993. The 2020 total represented a 34 percent increase from the year before, a 49 percent increase over five years and a 75 percent increase over 10 years. The number of gun suicides has also risen in recent years – climbing 10 percent over five years and 25 percent over 10 years, and is near its highest point on record. The 24,292-gun suicides that took place in 2020 were the most in any year except 2018, when there were 24,432.

The problem is complex and has a number of reasons and factors contributing to the rapid rise in the past decade. Some of the rise can be tied to COVID-19 and its effect on stress and mental health as 2020 and 2021 were two of the deadliest years on record for gun violence. Another factor is the number of firearms and the ease of attaining them. There are about 393 million firearms in the United States with a large uptick in gun purchases during the pandemic as Americans bought 18.9 million guns in 2021, the second highest annual total on record.

The current patchwork of state laws makes it easy for individuals to traffic firearms from states with weaker gun laws. Many guns used in criminal activity are imported from states with looser gun laws, background checks, mental health evaluations, waiting periods or age restriction on purchase of semi-automatic weapons.

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WALDO ‒ While enroute to a separate incident, Alachua County Fire Rescue Engine 40, which is based in Waldo, noticed a sudden, large column of black smoke rising just north of their location on U.S. Highway 301.

Engine 40 arrived at approximately 4:15 p.m. to find a two-vehicle T-bone style collision at the intersection of U.S. Highway 301 and Northeast County Road 225, just south of the Alachua/Bradford County Line.

Engine 40 simultaneously deployed a hose line as one of the vehicles was fully engulfed in flames, and also treated two patients with serious injuries. Both Patients were transported to the local trauma center. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.

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GAINESVILLE ‒ Jason Thomas Hamm, 29, was arrested on Friday, June 10, after formal charges were filed against him for driving under the influence with serious bodily injury.

According to the warrant affidavit, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a crash on Sept. 18, 2021, at 2:30 a.m. on State Road 20, west of County Road 234.

The deputy reported that Hamm’s vehicle had been traveling the wrong way in the eastbound lanes and struck another vehicle head-on, causing disabling damage to both vehicles. Hamm reportedly stated spontaneously to both deputies and paramedics that he had been drinking at a midtown bar.

The woman in the other car sustained extensive injuries. A Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) investigator reported that she was intubated when he arrived at the hospital. He wrote that hospital staff told him she had multiple broken bones and faced a long road to recovery.

The FHP investigator first made contact with Hamm at the hospital about eight hours after the accident, at which point he reportedly showed no signs of impairment. The investigator filed a sworn complaint on March 14, 2022, charging Hamm with DUI, DUI with property damage and DUI with serious bodily injury. Formal charges were filed on May 23, and an arrest warrant was issued. Hamm was arrested on June 10 and is being held on $75,000 bond.

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