NEWBERRY – As the sun gleamed through the sky and a breeze swept through, residents descended on downtown Newberry for food, shopping, arts and games.

Saturday, Oct. 12 marked the 7th Annual Fall Market Festival and Bar-B-Q- Cook-off, which hosted a variety of activities, from vendors selling crafted wares, to homemade snacks for sale to the namesake barbecue competition.  

This year’s barbecue cook-off was originally meant for five teams, but two teams dropped out at the last minute. Lucy’s BBQ, Dirty Mother Truckers and Fat Mac’s Café were left to engage in culinary battle.

Conney Scott, owner of Lucy’s BBQ, said she was excited to be at the festival for the fifth year. Scott, who last year won the Best Amateur Award, recruited her sons, Samuel Whitehead and Terrance Dexter, to help bring in this year’s award. Scott used her family’s secret recipe, given to her by her grandmother. Winning the cook-off was another way for her to keep her grandmother’s recipe and legacy alive, she said.

As judges were handing out the barbecue awards, some guests at the festival were enjoying other parts of the event.

Paul Buzbee said he was glad his family chose to come. Buzbee, who was on a military tour last year, said he enjoyed seeing his daughter have fun and liked being able to spend time with her. Living just down the street from the festival, he thought it would be small, but fun. It was worth the short walk over, he said.

While Buzbee only had to walk down the street, some people travelled a little farther.

Shannon Lowder, a University of Florida finance major, came out to support some of the small-town vendors.

“It is nice to help local hometown businesses instead of big companies,” Lowder said. “It is your local people you have got to support.”

Meanwhile, Demi Hunt, a UF freshman, came to buy gifts for his mother.

Fifty-four vendors participated in the event, most of them selling arts and crafts.   Some of them were returning from previous years, but a few were new.

Nada Meeks, who ran a face-painting booth, said this was her first time at the festival, but she wants to return.

The Fall Market Festival and Bar-B-Q Cook-off is organized by the Newberry Main Street Organization, whose goal is to promote economic development in downtown Newberry, while preserving the history and culture of the area.

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Shoppers look for deals at the sale. Vendors of all sizes and types were at the event, selling everything from antiques to arts and crafts to children's toys.

HIGH SPRINGS - Hundreds flocked to James Paul Park in High Springs Saturday morning, Oct. 5, to participate in the Chamber of Commerce Fall City-wide Yard Sale. There were vendors, big and small, from all over Alachua County there to try their hand at salesmanship.  

The yard sale has been a fund-raising event for the chamber for over 10 years, as well as an opportunity for shoppers to find some deals. The event started at 9 a.m. and lasted until around noon.

Cheryl Thacker counted this as her fourth or fifth time running a table at the sale. Every year brings something new for her.

“One year, we had some scuba gear to sell and that was popular,” Thacker said. “Odd items and books interest people usually.”

There was no shortage of interesting objects on display at the yard sale this year, said Kelly Douglas, another vendor.

Douglas and her husband made a return to the event after missing the last few years. Their table mostly featured baby items, with some “knickknacks,” as she called them, thrown in. For them, it was a great opportunity to de-clutter their house, she said.

While Douglas looked to offload some of her kid’s old toys, Patti Bird was there to sell old things in general.

“We have a booth in a shop at Webb’s Antique Mall in Lake City,” Bird said. “An event like this is great for showing people what we have and creating some buzz for business.”

Bird and her husband had several small antique tables with them, as well as other furniture up for sale. This was their second year attending the event, one they really try to enjoy, she said.

“Everyone is really friendly coming around, and we always take a couple of laps around throughout the day to see what we can find as well,” Bird said.

While there were some veteran vendors set up once again for the yard sale, some took in the atmosphere Saturday for the first time. Among these was one Bryce Ware, an 8-year-old looking to capitalize on this financial opportunity.

Melissa Ware, Bryce’s mother, oversaw the operation of their table. The yard sale was something her son was incredibly excited about, she said. It was his idea to get the family to come.  

“This is our first time coming out and selling at the yard sale,” Ware said. “My son urged us to, and really is the brains behind the whole thing.”

Bryce was looking to get rid of some of his older toys and such so that he could finance the purchase of a new Nintendo DS videogame.

When Bryce wanted to get the new game, she told him, “You can get it, but you’re going to have to buy it with your own money.”

Bird and Douglas each took their own turn at checking out other people’s booths, but Thacker and Ware weren’t as interested.

“I probably won’t walk around too much,” Ware said.” My husband and son are out looking at things now, but I’m not much of a gatherer.”

Thacker felt the same, but said her husband was the opposite.

“He’s probably been around five times already this morning,” she said.

Kelly Douglas was looking to possibly find some toys and knew the yard sale would be a great chance for her and others as well.

“It’s hard to buy new these days,” she said. “If someone can find something they will use and love, then it’s great. Besides, it is nice to see everyone from the city here and it turned out to be a gorgeous day.”

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Officer Kwandra Zeigler talks to detective Jessie Sandusky in front of the city's breast cancer awareness cruiser. Sandusky unveiled the vehicle this week at a city commission meeting.

ALACHUA – Detective Jesse Sandusky of the Alachua Police Department (APD) had a surprise for the people at the city commission meeting on Monday night.

Sandusky went to the city commission on Monday, Oct. 7 to give a presentation on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He asked everybody gathered in the commission chamber to go outside to the front of City Hall to unveil the APD’s newest sign of support for breast cancer awareness.

Outside the building, a police car rolled off a truck, sporting a black and pink color scheme. On the back, there was the slogan ‘breast cancer awareness.”

Onlookers walked around and took photos, while Commissioner Shirley Brown sat inside the car.

There is a three percent chance that breast cancer will be the cause of a woman’s death, Sandusky said.

“It’s not about driving a cool car around,” Sandusky said, “the main focus is to raise awareness in our community about breast cancer.

The disease affects everybody in the community, he said. People in the APD itself have been affected, either directly or indirectly through friends or family, he added.

Police agencies all over the country, including the Gainesville Police Department, have painted cars pink to raise awareness, which is where he said he got the idea.

“It’s nice to join with other agencies in our county that are promoting the cause,” Sandusky said. “It’s such an important issue. It needs to be brought to everyone’s attention.”

Sandusky hopes the message will be received clearly by the public, and will encourage women to get exams and promote early detection.

He created some designs and had a general idea of what the car would look like, but he was still impressed when he saw it in person.

“When I actually first saw it in person, there was kind of a ‘wow factor,’” he said.

The other employees at the Alachua Police Department were proud when they first saw the car, Sandusky said.

“They’re excited about the message,” he said.

The cost of decorating the car was under $500, Sandusky said. It was done by Showcase Advertising in Starke.

The decals are removable, Sandusky said, so the car could go back to normal whenever the department wants. It will probably remain until the end of the year.

The car isn’t just going to be around for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sandusky said. It will be with the APD for an extended period of time.

Mayor Gib Coerper was at City Hall when the car was unveiled.

Going into the meeting, he only knew that he would have to walk outside to see ‘something cool,’ he said.

“’Wow’ was all I could say when I saw it,” he said.

“I really appreciate the effort the city has put in to progress cancer awareness,” he added. “I think it shows tremendous support for the women and the families that have to go through this.”

Breast cancer isn’t just something that affects Alachua or Gainesville, Mayor Coerper said. It’s a global problem.

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A Zaxby's employee relaxes for a moment after the line dies down at the grand opening. Business would pick up again in the afternoon after school let out.

ALACHUA – Passing traffic on U.S. Highway 441 could see the glint of the gold scissors used to slice through the thick blue ribbon being held in front of a long-awaited Zaxby’s.

A crowd of citizens, city officials and owners of the newly opened Zaxby’s stood behind the blue ribbon grinning from ear-to-ear for a photo for local newspapers and magazines.

On Tuesday Oct. 7, the City of Alachua said hello to their first, and so far, only Zaxby’s restaurant. Located just past the intersection of Interstate 75 and U.S. 441, the restaurant has been anticipated by the Alachua community since the announcement of its opening, according to some who attended the event.

Zaxby’s owner, Brooks Haisten, chose the location so that Alachua and High Springs residents, in addition to interstate travelers would be able to enjoy the restaurant’s menu.

With news that the students from the high schools would be coming to the restaurant after school that day, Haisten said he was nervous about the rush of business within such a short period of time, but was excited to see how it would turn out.

However, Haisten would be the first customer of his establishment, not the students or hungry travelers. After purchasing his meal, he took a moment to enjoy the first of many Zaxby’s chicken sandwiches the restaurant would sell.

Alachua City Commissioner Ben Boukari, Jr., and Mayor Gib Coerper were also among the people at the opening.  

The first purchase is something Haisten has done a few times now. This is not his first restaurant. He bought his first Zaxby’s 11 years ago, and now owns three of the restaurants. He is working on opening a fourth in Crawfordville, just south of Tallahassee.

After Haisten, David Flinchum, president of the Alachua Chamber of Commerce bought a chicken finger plate and sat down to enjoy it in the newly furnished dining room while the Dave Matthews Band played through the speakers.

He said the restaurant will help the local economy.

“It’s going to be a boon,” he said. “It’s definitely something people have been anticipating.”

The new business has added several jobs to the city of Alachua. Haisten chose to hire locally, rather than recruit employees from the nearby cities.

“The team members, cooks and cashiers, with the exception of two of them, they are all hired locally,” he said.

One of those exceptions is manager Steven Schnieders, a seven-year veteran of the Zaxby’s franchise. Schnieders said he is excited to see the reception of Zaxby’s from Alachua residents

“The word around the staff is that everyone in Alachua is excited,” Schnieders said. “I really hope that we can give that great experience.”

With business just starting and the community buzzing about that new fried chicken restaurant, Schnieders is sure that Zaxbys will be a hit for some time.

“I don’t think it’s going to die down anytime soon,” he said.

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