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GAINESVILLE – Over 45,000 pounds of peanut butter have now been sent out to local food banks statewide following the 2021 Peanut Butter Challenge, an effort led by the Cooperative Extension offices of UF/IFAS and Florida A&M University (FAMU) in partnership with local organizations.

The annual jar collection began in the Florida Panhandle counties in 2012 as a way to combat food insecurity with a shelf-stable product while also highlighting the peanut’s Florida-grown roots. The effort expanded statewide in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when an estimated one in 10 Floridians faced food insecurity, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Participating offices rely on grassroots community support to collect jars of peanut butter from Oct. 1 until the day before Thanksgiving, after which they’re counted, bragging rights are awarded, and the jars are delivered locally.

By the numbers:

• 45,157 total poundage collected
• 35,109 total jars collected

This year’s Peanut Butter Challenge community collection alone can make over 700,000 peanut butter sandwiches! Fifty-five competitors accepted the 2021 challenge, including FAMU’s first entry and a UF campus collection for the campus food bank, the Alan and Cathy Hitchcock Field & Fork Pantry.

Many of the newcomers seemed to hit their stride, as totals increased 18,000 pounds over the first statewide competition. The top overall community collector of 2021 earned the title in only its second attempt: Levy County amassed 6,954 jars for a whopping 7,120 pounds.

“Our success this year is all thanks to our community, from the local school collections to an incredible donation from the Levy County Farm Bureau, Williston Peanut and Peanut Proud,” said Kristen Brault, who coordinated the UF/IFAS Extension Levy County collection. “We grow and process a lot of peanuts here in Levy County, and it’s rewarding to be able to give these jars right back to food banks, big and small, across our county.”

Madison County brought in an impressive haul, as well, at 6,807 pounds; other top performers include regional champions Jefferson County (Northwest, 2,237 pounds), Hardee County (Southwest, 2,000 pounds), Hernando County (Central, 1,731 pounds) and Indian River County (Southeast, 1,185 pounds).

In addition to engaging local communities, the Peanut Butter Challenge has partnered with the Florida Peanut Producers Association (FPPA) and Florida Peanut Federation (FPF) for years. These organizations, based in the northwest and northeast peanut-producing regions of the state, also contribute pallets of the nutrient-dense spread to the totals distributed to food pantries in those regions. Peanut production contributed $119 million to the state economy in 2019, according to the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service.

“The Peanut Butter Challenge makes such a simple ask – donating a jar of peanut butter – but our communities always respond in a big way,” said Libbie Johnson, UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County agriculture agent and co-organizer of the Challenge since its inception. “It’s exciting to be able to share so much of this nutritious, Florida-grown product with our neighbors who may be struggling. Thank you to everyone who donated a jar to the cause this year.”

County coordinators of the Peanut Butter Challenge also shared some success stories:

• Bay County: A. Gary Walsingham Academy collected 167 jars totaling 231 pounds.
• Calhoun County (collection in featured image, courtesy of Claire Reach): Local peanut farmer and FPPA board member Joe Tillman served as the county’s 2021 Peanut Butter Challenge Ambassador, providing a whole case of peanut butter for the first donation of the season. A large portion of the donations came from a competition within the Calhoun County school system, with all of Carr School and a few classes from Altha Public School engaging in friendly competition that added up to a total of 498 jars for 607 pounds for the county.
• Escambia County: Delivering peanut butter was a community effort, with help from two local farmers and a Master Gardener Volunteer. Representative Michelle Salzman and a local Girl Scout group delivered almost 100 jars to the Extension office. The office also had help from Commissioner Steven Barry and his daughter in kicking off the event.
• FAMU: The peanut butter was distributed to help shelves in the Tallahassee area, the FAMU campus pantry, and to local Title 1 Schools for the backpack program that sends food home with kids who need it.
• Franklin County: Maddison Whitten, a student in the Franklin County High School National Honor Society chapter, chose to lead a service project to contribute to the Peanut Butter Challenge. The school engaged in some friendly competition and collected over 800 jars of peanut butter for 1,004 pounds.
• Gulf County: Commissioner David Rich donated the first jar of the 2021 collection.
• Hernando County: Two brand new elementary school 4-H clubs used one of their first projects to design a marketing campaign to collect peanut butter in their school. They set a first-year goal of 500 jars. Using posters, word of mouth and visiting some local stores, the Pine Grove Cubs and Cloverbuds collected 700 jars of peanut butter totaling 777.75 pounds. In another mini-competition, the county government departments competed for the traveling peanut trophy. Each year, the winning department’s name will be engraved; in 2021, it’s the Hernando County Utilities Department.
• Indian River County: The county not only took in donations from the community at large, but 4-H clubs got involved in a friendly competition as well! A local citrus company donated coupons for ice cream at their farm store to the winning club. One club donated 265 pounds, with the runner-up club receiving 258 pounds. Overall, they raised five times more than last year.
• Jackson County: 4-H’er Blair brought in the first donation of the 2021 competition.
• Jefferson County: The Jefferson County Somerset Charter School donated 925 pounds of peanut butter. Mrs. Barrington’s class donated 386 pounds of peanut butter.
• Lafayette County: A local 4-H’er, whose family also grows peanuts, served as the county’s 2021 Peanut Butter Challenge Ambassador and delivered its first jar.
• Madison County: An impressive 1,450.7 pounds of the collection came from one school with just 300 students.
• Martin County: The county also got one jar of jelly donated. The donor said, “You can’t have peanut butter without jelly,” as they dropped it off.
• Nassau County: County Commissioner Thomas Ford stopped by with the first peanut butter donation.
• Okaloosa County: Sheila Fitzgerald, Okaloosa County deputy administrator, donated the first three jars to its 2021 collection.
• Orange County: A friendly 4-H competition gathered 384 jars for 650 pounds, and then members and staff helped to deliver the jars to three local organizations.
• Polk County: 180 pounds of peanut butter went to the Florida Dream Center.
• UF campus: The Alan and Cathy Hitchcock Field & Fork Pantry was out of peanut butter prior to the competition’s close, but donations were made available when the need arose. Over 250 pounds of the spread went to feed campus community members in need.

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ALACHUA COUNTY – Wesley Glen Addison, 21, Alexandria Mariana Mihelic, 27 and Alan Bruce Manning, 27, have all been arrested in connection with a November theft from ArchAngel Gunsmithing and Outfitters, 25720 W. Newberry Road, Newberry, and a string of other vehicle, firearm and ATM thefts and burglaries that spanned at least four counties.

Addison was arrested on Dec. 15, and at the time, all details of the case were fully redacted in the court records because Manning had not yet been arrested. A number of documents are still fully redacted and the motion requesting that the records be sealed is also fully redacted. The warrant for that arrest lists five counts of grand theft of a firearm and charges for possession of burglary tools, armed burglary and using a vehicle in a burglary.

Additional charges in two more cases were added on Dec. 21. The arrest report in the first case alleges that Addison and Manning stole a car from a house in a neighborhood off Southwest 24^th Avenue on Nov. 23 and then drove that vehicle to attempt to rob an ATM at the Renasant Bank, 4373 W. Newberry Road, Gainesville.

Both suspects were wearing masks in the ATM surveillance video, but they were wearing distinctive clothes that also appeared in social media posts made by the suspects. The GPS of the stolen vehicle showed that it was driven to Addison’s home in Alachua for a brief time, it was then driven around, including making a stop at the Renasant Bank. The vehicle was then abandoned near Manning’s house.

Other burglaries from vehicles in the same neighborhood were reported on that date and surveillance video from houses in the neighborhood shows two white men wearing the same distinctive clothing that is shown on the Renasant Bank video.

The arrest report in the second case alleges that on Nov. 9, Addison and Manning opened two vehicles parked at a home in Micanopy and stole a Ruger 22 firearm, a Gucci purse, cologne, a key fob, a cooler and about $300 in cash. They then walked behind the home and stole a four-wheeler. The total estimated value of the stolen property was about $5,570.

A sworn complaint in a fourth case, added on Jan. 3, adds charges for possession of burglary tools and burglary of an unoccupied structure for the ATM robbery at Renasant Bank. The complaint states that the two suspects were unsuccessful in getting any money from the ATM. License plate readers in the area of the bank noted a second car, a red sedan, near the stolen car at three different locations. That car is owned by someone closely associated with Addison, and Addison was driving it on Aug. 10 in Bradford County when he had contact with law enforcement there.

That sworn complaint also notes that on Nov. 26, Certified Hydraulics in Branford (Suwannee County) was burglarized and a work truck and tools were stolen at that time. That vehicle was equipped with a GPS transponder, and the transponder recorded everywhere the truck went after it was stolen. The stolen truck was driven to the VyStar Credit Union in Lake Butler (Union County), where video showed two male subjects attempting to rob the ATM by first using pry bars and then attempting to break the machine open with a tow rope attached to the truck.

The two subjects wore some of the same distinctive clothes that were caught on the Renasant Bank ATM video and other clothes matched clothing worn in Addison’s social media posts. A tattoo seen on the VyStar video matched a tattoo in Manning’s social media posts. A red sedan similar to the second car observed in Gainesville was also seen in the VyStar video. The arrest report notes, “It is believed that a third occupant was inside of the red sedan acting as a lookout and chase vehicle operator.”

After leaving Lake Butler, the truck proceeded toward Gainesville and then stopped briefly near a church along State Road 121, where discarded tools were reported as having been found by a citizen on Nov. 26. The truck was then tracked to ArchAngel Gunsmithing and Outfitters in Newberry, where video surveillance showed the two subjects pulling the doors off that business with a rope tied to the stolen work truck, while armed with at least one handgun.

Five AR-15-style rifles, valued at more than $8,900, were stolen from ArchAngel. After leaving ArchAngel, the truck was driven to the area of Southwest 85^th Avenue, where it was set on fire and completely destroyed.

On Dec. 7, another vehicle was reported stolen from a home off Northwest 78^th Avenue in Alachua. A license plate reader in Flagler County gave an alert and deputies from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office pursued the vehicle. Four occupants fled after the vehicle was stopped and two black men were arrested. A handgun was found on the floor of the vehicle that matched a gun held by Addison in a social media photograph. A knit cap matching the one seen on the Renasant Bank video was also found in the vehicle.

Search warrants for Addison’s and Manning’s homes found clothing worn during the crimes and, post Miranda, Addison confessed to his role in the ArchAngel burglary and at least one of the vehicle thefts.

Warrants were issued for Manning’s arrest, and Mihelic’s arrest report alleges that both she and Manning knew about the warrants because Manning had spoken with the Sheriff’s office about the warrants.

Manning was arrested on Jan. 7 at Mihelic’s residence. The arrest report notes, “Mihelic was aware of this criminal investigation and pending charges, however she still chose to assist Alan Manning to evade arrest by allowing him to reside with her at her apartment.”

The report further states that Mihelic cooperated with investigators and confessed post-Miranda to acting as the chase vehicle and look-out during the ArchAngel burglary. She also allegedly helped transport the rifles stolen from ArchAngel, which were placed in the trunk of the vehicle she was driving. She allegedly followed Addison and Manning down a dirt road in Newberry, where they moved items from the stolen work trunk to the vehicle she was driving before setting the truck on fire.

Mihelic has been charged with armed burglary, five counts of grand theft of a firearm, using a vehicle to cause damage to a structure and unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure. She is being held on $50,000 bond.

Addison and Manning both have documented criminal histories including burglary, vehicle theft and firearms possession for Manning and drug and property crimes for Addison.

Addison was on probation at the time of the alleged crimes. Addison is being held without bond on the ArchAngel robbery charges and on $400,000 bond on the charges related to the two vehicle thefts. Manning is being held on $155,000 bond on the various cases.

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Gainesville, Florida – Santa Fe College’s Institute of Public Safety will host a special training on human trafficking for law enforcement officers and support staff Thursday, Jan. 20, from noon until 5 p.m. The training, timed to observe January being Human Trafficking Prevention Month, is being provided by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). 

This program introduces current indicators for human trafficking, as well as an overview of federal statutes and applicable state law related to trafficking. It is oriented with case studies, videos and student-centered learning activities, followed by a panel discussion with state, local, and federal law enforcement subject matter experts. Special guests include Assistant United States Attorney, Northern District of Florida Frank Williams, Human Trafficking Coordinator.  

This course is being held locally, in part because of efforts from federal elected officials dedicated to fighting human trafficking in the community and nationally. Florida ranks third in most human trafficking cases, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, behind only California and Texas. To learn more about efforts you can take to increase awareness or learn more about human trafficking in North Central Florida visit the North Central Florida Human Trafficking Task Force Facebook page.  

Although this class is focused on the Florida law enforcement community, all are welcome to attend. There is no cost to attend however space is limited. Please click the link to register for this training. 

In addition to this training, Santa Fe College also recently released a special podcast – Human Trafficking: Global Issue, Local Impact – in which SF professor Richard Tovar talks about the global problem of human trafficking and recalls the early days of founding the non-profit organization Fight Injustice and Global Human Trafficking (FIGHT). The podcast can be accessed at sfcollege.edu/listen. 

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NEWBERRY – Greenfield East Pre-School is a step closer to expansion.  The City of Newberry Board of Adjustment (BOA) unanimously approved Resolution 2022-01 to allow expansion of Greenfield East Pre-School by special exception during a quasi-judicial public hearing.

Newberry planner Wendy Kinser-Maxwell presented the application to the BOA on behalf of applicant Jayme Tate, agent for GPS Newberry East LLC and the property owner.  Tate requested approval of expansion of the existing childcare facility on approximately 1.03 acres of land in Newberry’s Agricultural (A) Zoning District located at 21805 West Newberry Road.  

Greenfield East Pre-School has been operated as a childcare center since 2000, first under previous owners as “A Step Ahead Enrichment Center,” and then under the current ownership as Greenfield Preschool East since 2016.  Plans are to demolish a 460 square foot portion of the existing 2,550 square foot preschool and add approximately 3,600 square foot of new construction, resulting in a new preschool total square footage of 5,750.  The increased size will allow the school to expand its current ability to serve 58 children to 101.

On Jan. 3, the City’s Planning and Zoning Board unanimously voted to recommend approval to the BOA with one condition.  They requested that the applicant provide documentation from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) of compliance with state access requirements such as a traffic study, which may be applicable to the expanded childcare facility.

Kinser-Maxwell explained that a traffic study is not required as the preschool will not meet the FDOT threshold of 500 trips daily for a study to be required.

Existing ingress/egress points will remain the same with primary access on West Newberry Road and secondary access on Northwest 218th Street for emergency and parent parking access.  Greenfield East assists with maintenance of the Northwest 218th Street portion from West Newberry Road south to their access and will continue to do so. 

Tate said the preschool currently has a waitlist of over 100 children between the three Greenfield locations.  She expects the preschool east staff count will grow from 11 to approximately 20.  She also said she was attempting to break ground as soon as possible in order to build out Phase One of the project before Aug. 22, when school starts again.

Mayor Jordan Marlowe expressed concern about approving this application when the City hasn’t yet established requirements for the overlay district.  Planning and Economic Development Director Bryan Thomas and City Manager Mike New pointed out the difference between a special exception and other large-scale projects staff has asked developers to hold off on until the requirements are established.  Thomas said that construction would be on the back of the existing pre-school building and the front of the building would remain as it is.

Planning and Zoning Board Chair Naim Erched addressed the BOA and encouraged approval as a way to boost business growth in Newberry and support an existing business that is doing well in the community.

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• City of Alachua Honors Educator

•  Wilford Will Not Seek Reelection

ALACHUA – Students at W.W. Irby Elementary School will soon benefit from a Catalyst for Change grant.  Mayor Gib Coerper presented Irby Elementary’s Shernee Bellamy with a Certificate of Appreciation for winning the Catalyst for Change grant competition.

The competitive grant program is for teachers and schools to implement projects that increase student engagement and provides opportunities for K-12 students that focus on improving literacy and raising student achievement. 

Bellamy is a second year media specialist at Irby Elementary who has been teaching animation to first grade students.  “The biggest problem has been to be able to get current equipment and technology for the students to be able to create their animation projects,” said Bellamy.  “Now, with this grant money I will have the opportunity to take those stories online, which will allow them to flourish with their own mediums through the lens of Stop Motion Animation.” The grant funds will enable the students to bring their projects to life with current technology.

In what was a surprise to many, Commissioner Robert Wilford announced he will not seek reelection in April.  Reading from a prepared statement, he said it was a hard decision accompanied by reflection, prayer and conversations with his family.  Wilford plans to relocate to St. Augustine where most of his family resides, and where he plans to do volunteer work once they settle into their new location. Wilford closed his remarks by saying he tried to make a difference, and “the end of an era is the start of a new beginning.”

In other business, city staff is currently updating the City of Alachua Comprehensive Plan to reflect recent changes in state law. The amendment to the city’s plan adds a Property Rights Element, as required by changes to the State of Florida Community Planning Act, which became effective July 1, 2021.

The Property Rights Element specifies that the City of Alachua will protect and judicially acknowledged private property rights, will consider private property rights as part of the decision-making process, and that the property owner has the right to physically possess and control his or her interests in the property, including easements, leases and mineral rights.

The property owner also has the right to use, maintain, develop, or improve their property for personal use or for the use of any other person they choose and the right to privacy and exclude others from the property to protect the owner's possessions and property. State law requires the Property Rights Element and the City Commission unanimously passed the amendment.

The Commission approved a request to amend the land use designation on a proposed 160-acre development that is part of the larger 420-acre The Convergence development. The 160-acre land, owned by the University of Florida Foundation, Inc., is adjacent to the Sid Martin Incubator, which is owned by the University of Florida and is focused on providing space for bio and medical technology startup companies. 

The requested land designation changes are for the Cellon Creek development that will be located south of the intersection of Northwest U.S. Highway 441 and Southern Precast Drive and east of Cellon Creek Boulevard. The property is currently undeveloped and is comprised of cleared pasture, and some naturally wooded areas located in the south-central portion of the property and along the south property line. 

The proposed amendment would change the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) designations into a single designation of Corporate Park, which allows for a mixed usage of residential, industry and commercial. Currently the property is divided into Commercial, Community Commercial, High Density Residential and Moderate Density Residential. The Corporate Park designation allows for mixed use throughout the property, paralleling plans for The Convergence.  

Developers are recommending building a secondary road parallel to U.S. Highway 441 to connect it to Progress Park and The Convergence to limit traffic increase on that road due to the expected 1,000 new residential houses from both developments. 

In other business, the Commission considered and approved transmission and tariff agreements between Florida Power & Light (FPL) Company and the City of Alachua.  The agreements provide for the FPL sale and the City’s purchase of power and energy to meet the power supply needs of Alachua Substation No.1. The transaction agreement is to arrange and schedule transmission of purchased power over FPL lines, with the cost absorbed by FPL.

Power purchased by the City also travels over GRU transmission lines to connect to Alachua Substation No. 1.  The agreement with GRU to complete the transmission of FPL power and energy is expected to be completed and presented to the City Commission in February. 

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