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Former High Springs resident and business owner Suzie Ann Clark passed away on April 1, 2022, at the age of 82.

After earning a degree in massage therapy, Clark moved to High Springs in 1995 where she opened the Wellness Spa of High Springs.

She was a member of the High Springs Chamber of Commerce, volunteered for the High Springs Historic Society and created items for the Historic Museum to sell to earn money. Clark served on the High Springs Parks and Recreation Board from 2002 – 2021.

She was also a member of the League of Women Voters. Her philosophy was, “If you want to make a change, then you needed to be involved, be educated and vote.”

She joined the GFWC High Springs New Century Woman's Club in October 2001 and served in many positions and as president from 2004 – 2007.

Clark also held sewing sessions with a group of avid seamstresses in her spa facility to create burial outfits from bridal gowns for babies who were born but didn’t survive childbirth or who died very young.

“She was a staunch supporter of first responders, always smiling and embracing High Springs police officers with a hug and ensuring that we were wearing our protective ballistic vests,” said High Springs Police Chief Antoine Sheppard.

Clark was active with senior programs in High Springs and throughout the area. Clark participated in Senior Recreation Center events in Gainesville, where she showed off her humbug bags, quilts and other stitched items. She spearheaded Zumba classes at the High Springs Civic Center that continued for almost two decades (pre-COVID) and continued the program at her spa in later years.

She was also one of the founding members of the High Springs Garden Club and Community Garden.

An early morning telephone call would find Clark on a walk for exercise with friends and to enjoy the morning air and get caught up on what her walking friends were doing. If she wasn’t out taking a walk in town, she would be walking along the beach collecting driftwood. She was also a member of the High Springs Yellow Belly Sliders Bicycle Club.

She was passionate about quilting and adored collecting unusual and interesting materials for her creations. A display of her quilt work is currently at the Historic High Springs Elementary School and Community Center located behind City Hall.

Clark was an active member of the Tri-City Quilters Guild and also loved to make clothes. Each year for Christmas she would make her granddaughters all sorts of clothes including vests, shirts, and sweaters. She also loved to make humbug bags, mug rugs and cross-stitched bookmarks. Clark always said quilting was a stress reliever and described it as “therapeutic.”

She ushered in the Quilt Trail program into High Springs and made sure other quilters knew about the program so they would come and view the quilts on buildings around High Springs.

Clark was a soft touch for any cat or kitten who was hungry or didn’t have a home. For years she would gather up feral cats and have them spayed/neutered. Many of the cats stayed to become her own. She fed many of them outside and accepted some who were tame enough to be house cats into the house.

She was especially fond of and bragged constantly about her grandkids and their accomplishments. She created gifts for them throughout the year and enjoyed sharing stories about how well they were doing in their chosen areas.

In her formative years Clark graduated high school in 1957 from Kenmoore West in Buffalo, New York. From there she went on to graduate in 1961 From Buffalo State Teachers College with a bachelors’ degree in home economics. She eventually returned to school for a degree in recreation and gerontology from Brockport College.

During her college years, Clark married and became a mother to her only child, Monica.

She worked in a variety of jobs including Western New York Child Care and Catholic Family Center at Holy Cross and St. Michaels. Clark was not only a Girl Scout leader, but also, she was a paid Girl Scout who taught women how to be Girl Scout leaders. She was also an inspector of day camps and camps.

A woman of many talents, Clark worked at the Strong Museum constructing exhibits as well as teaching recreation at St John Fisher College for over 20 years.

As if her career and being a mother wasn’t busy enough, in 1969 her farm was the first licensed organic farm in Orleans County. She was also a very talented folk musician, who played a variety of instruments including the Hammer dulcimer, auto harp, mountain dulcimer, and the spoons.

In 1971 Clark started the Turtle Hill Folk Festival in Rush, New York, which just celebrated its 50th year in 2021 and Clark was proud to be in attendance for the 50th year anniversary of this festival. Turtle Hill got its name because it was first held on her farm behind the garage where there was a hill that resembled a turtle.

For over 20 years Clark was a member of the Golden Eagle String Band and during that time the band worked on five records, two videos, one tap, two song books and a CD. The band had a national recording contract with Folkways Records and two of their records are now part of the American History Museum at the Smithsonian Institution.

Clark also loved to garden and composted before composting was popular. Her family acknowledged that she could grow some amazing strawberries. She had a large coy fish pond that made her garden extra special. She was multi-talented and crafty. One of her projects was to make Faberge-style eggs and she also built furniture.

Clark always had a smile on her face and loved to laugh and joke. She used to say, “My 4 F’s keep me going: Family, friends, fabric and felines.”

She will be deeply missed by family and friends.

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TALLAHASSEE – Today, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) named Trinity Brooke Whittington, a fourth-grade English language arts and social studies teacher at Bell Elementary School in Gilchrist County, as a finalist for the 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year award. The announcement came during a surprise visit to Bell Elementary School, with Deputy Chancellor for Educator Quality Dr. Paul Burns imparting the honor. The Florida Teacher of the Year program recognizes excellence in teaching and celebrates outstanding professional educators in schools across the state. The 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year winner will be announced on July 14 in Orlando.  

“Great teachers not only impact their students, but also their schools and their communities,” said Incoming Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “My congratulations to Trinity Brooke Whittington for your selection as one of five finalists for the 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year award.” 

“We are very proud of Trinity Brooke Whittington. She’s an outstanding teacher and excellent role model for our entire community,” said Dr. Jim Surrency Gilchrist County Superintendent. 

“Mrs. Whittington’s classroom is a place of magic, where children are hooked from the moment they enter until the moment they leave. The relationships she develops with students, parents and colleagues are true and binding,” said Suzanne Mathe, principal of Bell Elementary School.  

Trinity Brooke Whittington has lived in the Gilchrist community her entire life. She has served as a fourth-grade English language arts and social studies teacher for the past five years and focuses on creating engaging lessons that affect her students in positive ways. Mrs. Whittington also teaches about service by leading school-wide efforts to provide blankets to the local nursing home, and by starting a library swap program to promote literacy. Her personal academic journey includes earning a bachelor’s degree from Saint Leo University, where she graduated summa cum laude.  

Five finalists were chosen for 2023 Teacher of the Year from nearly 185,000 public school teachers throughout the state. After each school district selects its teacher of the year, a selection committee representing teachers, principals, parents and the business community reviews each district application on the basis of outstanding ability to teach and communicate knowledge of the subject taught, professional development, philosophy of teaching, and outstanding school and community service. The winner will serve for one year as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education.

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WALDO – Three men who authorities say are Mexican nationals have been arrested on drug and weapons charges. Helio Rolando Lopez-Elizalde, 23; Edwin Giovanny Mendoza-Verdugo, 20; and Jorge Mario Velasquezgii, 40, were arrested Wednesday, May 11, in Waldo and charged with possession of trafficking amounts of heroin, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and committing a first-degree felony with a weapon. All three said they were born in Mexico and listed an extended-stay hotel in Gainesville as their address; no driver’s licenses or other U.S. identification cards were listed for any of them.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop at 3:52 p.m. at 16400 N.E. County Road 1475 in Waldo on a black Chevrolet Malibu for multiple tint violations. The deputy reported that the front windshield was tinted all the way down, and the driver’s side window was darker than permitted by law. The deputy reported that Lopez-Elizalde, the driver, said he did not speak any English. Translation services were used to obtain his name.

Velasquezgii, the front seat passenger, spoke a small amount of English and reportedly told the deputy they were from Mexico and working in construction, but they were off work that day. He reportedly said they were heading toward Interstate-75 to go to the hospital, but the deputy noted that they were heading north, in the wrong direction to get to I-75.

After Mendoza-Verdugo got out of the back seat, the deputy noted “multiple nervous indicators” from the passengers, and a K9 team walked around the vehicle, resulting in a positive alert for contraband. All three occupants were pat-searched for weapons and placed in the back seat of a patrol car.

The deputy reported that he conducted a probable-cause search of the vehicle and found a plastic bag with a brown rock-like substance that later tested positive for heroin, which weighed over 250 grams, including packaging. The deputy also found a loaded handgun that was in reach of all the occupants of the vehicle.

When the deputies returned to the patrol vehicle to place the subjects in handcuffs, they found blue pills that were identified as Oxycodone. A further search of the vehicle found another loaded handgun under the driver’s seat.

Post Miranda, all the occupants of the vehicle reportedly denied knowledge of any illegal contraband inside the car.

All three were charged with possession of a trafficking amount of heroin, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and committing a first-degree felony with a weapon. Lopez-Elizalde has an added charge of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and is being held on $275,000 bond. Mendoza-Verdugo is being held on $250,000 bond. Velasquezgii is being held without bail; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) has requested a detainer for him.

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NEWBERRY ‒ On a hot May 6 morning, law enforcement officers from the Santa Fe College Police Department, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police Department, Alachua Police Department, High Springs Police Department and the UF Police Department, gathered at the Jonesville Publix Supermarket parking lot.

They were there not because of a crime, but for their annual charity run called the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) that helps fund the Special Olympics.

They were joined by members of the Alachua County Fire Rescue, Santa Fe High School students, Special Olympics athletes and community volunteers to participate in a 1.2-mile run/walk. All together there were over 40 runners. Each volunteer or law enforcement officers was wearing a purple Special Olympics shirt they had purchased. The shirt sale is one of the main ways the Special Olympics receives their donations. Another group called the Gull Street Rods brought several custom cars to exhibit along the designated route.

There was also a number of special needs residents attending from Tacachale in Gainesville, which is the oldest and largest community for Floridians with developmental disabilities. These residents were there to watch the race and cheer on the runners. Before the run, an Olympian style torch was lit to be carried by runners and special needs athletes.

Accompanied by a police vehicle escort, the Torch Run started at the Steeple Chase Shopping Plaza in Jonesville before heading south on Northwest 140^th Terrace. Runners made their way toward West Newberry Road before ending with a brisk walk retracing the route back to the plaza.

The Special Olympics was the vision of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family that included Rosemary, who had an intellectual disability. The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for people with intellectual disabilities who wish to participate, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness and gain confidence in themselves.

Neither athletes nor parents are charged a fee to participate in the program, and activities exist for those of all ability levels, from the highly functioning to the severely challenged.

Over the years the program has evolved into Special Olympics International — a global movement that today serves over 6 million athletes and Unified partners in 174 countries.

The Torch Run has been held annually since1981 when Wichita, Kansas Police Chief Richard LaMunyon created the Torch Run. With the support of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the event has spread across the country with over 97,000 law enforcement members participating in different Torch Runs.

There were over 188 torch runs held in 2019 in various communities and there are now 92 programs worldwide. Known as Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carry the “Flame of Hope” into Opening Ceremonies of local competitions. They also carry it into Special Olympics State, Provincial, National, Regional and World Games.

The flame symbolizes courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe. The Torch Run has continued to grow over and now includes other fundraising platforms. These platforms include: Plane Pulls, Polar Plunges, Tip-A-Cops, and more. Since the beginning, LETR has raised over $600 million for Special Olympics programs.

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ARCHER – Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to a vehicle crash with fire on State Road 45 in Archer on Thursday, May 12. Engine 82 and Tanker 82 arrived on the scene to find a dump truck that had struck a tree. Engine 82 extinguished a small fire in the engine compartment and also mitigated a diesel fuel leak from the fuel tank.

Additional units that also responded were Engine 81, Rescue 81 and Alachua County Fire Rescue District Chief 8 and Gainesville Fire Rescue’s Hazardous Material Team, who were cancelled enroute after the fuel leak was stopped. The Alachua County Office of Environmental Protection also responded to assess the environmental impact of the fuel spill.

The driver was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.

The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.

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BELL ‒ Rescued horses, riders, family and friends came together on Saturday, April 30 for the first annual Horses Without Humans (HWH) Volunteer Rescue Makeover Challenge. The event was held at the Horses Without Humans facility at 6191 N. U.S. Highway 129 in Bell. Horses without Humans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit equine adoption organization devoted to rehabilitating and retraining unwanted and at-risk equines with the goal of finding them suitable life-long adoptive homes.

More than a hundred members of the community joined the 17 competitors and 19 rescue horses competed in the event. Competitors were chosen from people who had volunteered 40 or more hours at Horses Without Humans. Participants had been training their assigned rescue horses since March 13, doing basic groundwork and introducing the obstacles, to see how much progress they could make.

Every participant in the horse-handling competition was required to maneuver a course that contained 26 obstacles of varying difficulty, including everyday items like a low bridge, water obstacle, mailbox, wind chimes, a jump, and a gate. More challenging obstacles include a teeter-totter, a high bridge, a ball that horses pushed down a chute, backing through poles, climbing up and over a set of three huge tires, doing turns on the hindquarters and forequarters, a slalom around cones, a figure eight around barrels, entering and backing out of a horse trailer, and side-passing over poles.

“Many of the rescue horses we receive have not been handled and are not well trained. The goal of the Makeover was to train the rescue horses, so they are prepared to go into any discipline,” said Yvonne Barteau, founder of Horses Without Humans. “It's all about educating people and developing relationships…building partnerships. Horses cannot become what we want by remaining what they are. Several of these horses needed to learn to trust and work with people, and to learn basic skills. Competitors worked hard on doing basic groundwork and then working on the obstacles. Both the volunteers and the horses showed their many skills and made us proud at the Makeover.”

Thirteen-year-old Chanel Bass and her horse Elsa were the Overall High Point Champions for the day, as well as winners of the Junior Advanced In-Hand class. Overall High Point Reserve Champion Eva Farrell and her rescue horse, Tilly, also won the Senior Advanced In-Hand class, as well as the Reserve Champion award for Best Turnout. The Champion award for Best Turnout was bestowed on “Trooper” Doug Brown, who was dressed as a U.S. Cavalryman in the Spanish-American War of 1898, complete with hat, boots, and bandolier. His rescue horse, Rusty, was adorned with equine garb of that same era.

First place in the Junior Beginner In-Hand class was won by Kylie Kimmel, with second place going to Alana Ange. The Senior Beginner In-Hand class was won by Rebecca Mouras, with second place going to Matt Maiella, third place to Janet Herzberg, fourth place to “Trooper” Doug Brown and fifth place to Johanne Young. First place in the Junior Advanced In-Hand class was won by Chanel Bass, with second place going to Reilee Baker. Eva Farrell won the Senior Advanced In-Hand class, with second place going to Diane Metzel, third place to Diane Quinn and fourth place to Connie Perry.

Judges for the Makeover were Kassie Kuz and Jan Nierzwick, both seasoned dressage riders and competitors themselves. In scoring the competitors, they focused on the contestants’ abilities in several categories, including catching and haltering; groundwork; general interaction; timing of aids; forward motion; willingness to guide/steer; horse’s yields to pressure; handler and horse’s conduct, demeanor, and confidence; the competitor’s ability to build a solid foundation; and performance on the obstacle course.

Barteau encourages people who may be considering buying a horse to consider adopting, sponsoring, or fostering a horse in need. For more information about Horses Without Humans, visit the HWH website at www.horseswithouthumansrescue.org.

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