ALACHUA – The Alachua County Task Force of Recreation (ACTFOR) recently wrapped up its fall season. The City of Alachua and the Alachua Youth Soccer Organization hosted this year’s Fall Soccer Tournament at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex.  The tournament brought hundreds of participants and their families from all over Alachua County. The tournament was deemed a huge success, due in part to John Salbert, President of the Alachua Youth Soccer Organization, and his dedicated volunteers.

Alachua Girls Youth Volleyball and Alachua Little Jaguar Flag Football expressed their appreciation to all coaches and volunteers, which included Dee Edwards, Gretchen Baker, Lekeesha and Lisa Jenkins, Ed Riess, Chad Scott, Glenn Bryan, Earl Findley, Justin Beck, David Sutton and Hal Brady for their commitment, patience and hard work.

The tournament was enhanced through the support of area business sponsors, which included the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, Integrity Title, T.C.R Construction, McDonald's of Alachua and Gator Domino's. Their generous contribution and support to the local teams was appreciated by everyone associated with the tournament.  But most important, credit is due to all players who participated and represented the organization with great sportsmanship and an amazing work ethic.

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ALACHUA – Motorists traveling through Alachua on U.S. Highway 441 may have noticed a change in speed limits near Progress Corporate Park.

Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently ordered reduced speeds in the area as a result of a study the agency conducted. The changes come after what FDOT termed an “in-house request” to conduct a safety study of the U.S. 441 corridor in Alachua. The department determined that congestion in the area surrounding Progress Corporate Park, the Santa Fe College Perry Center and nearby State of Florida office park warranted adjustments in speed limits.

The 45 mile per hour speed limit zone was pushed eastward by about two-tenths of a mile, taking that zone to the edge of the County Road 2054 overpass. But likely more noticeable to motorists will be the extended 55 mile per hour zone, which was increased eastward to nearly a mile long. Under the new speed limit arraignment, the 65 mile per hour speed limit does not occur until the Calvary Baptist Church area.

Former Alachua Mayor Jean Calderwood had long been a proponent of speed limit reductions in that area of the U.S. 441 corridor. In previous years, Calderwood repeatedly requested that FDOT review the area and consider speed reductions due to a growing number of motorists entering and leaving the highway there.

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GAINESVILLE – The three suspected West Nile virus cases discovered in Alachua County have been declared negative.

Paul Myers, Alachua County Health Department administrator, said one of the victims had symptoms consistent with West Nile.

“The confirmatory blood test indicated that one of the three individuals had been infected with the West Nile virus sometime in the past,” Myers said. “We just don’t know exactly when.”

The men had attempted to donate blood when the antibodies for West Nile were the discovered. Each of the men had been exposed to extensive time outside. One of the men had been infected with West Nile sometime in the past.

Alachua County is still under the Mosquito Born Illness advisory that took effect on Sept. 27, 2012.

West Nile symptoms include sudden onset of headache, fever, stiff neck. Symptoms can appear from 2 to 14 days from the first time of exposure.

The illness first appeared in Sentinel chickens. Myers mentioned at least one horse being infected with West Nile. Alachua County had one confirmed case of West Nile in 2003.

Myers said it is been a particularly bad year for West Nile virus.

“It goes back to the winter of 2011-2012. It was a very mild winter, the mosquito die off was not complete,” he said. “Tropical storm Debby came through and created overwhelming numbers of breeding places for mosquitos.”

Even with the cooler weather, Myers still urges residents to protect themselves

“It’s imminent that I will be lifting the Mosquito Borne Illness Advisory in consultation with the state health office,” he said.

Myers still recommends residents drain any standing water, wear long sleeves and check that window screens are in good repair to ensure protection from mosquitoes.

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ALACHUA – It is likely that super sleuth Sherlock Holmes would have been amazed by modern crime scene forensics. And what better location is there than Alachua’s CSI Academy of Florida to showcase mock crime scenes for a film about Holmes. A London-based production company plans to feature the facility in a documentary. The CSI Academy, which is located in the Phoenix Industrial Park at 12787 U.S. Highway 441in Alachua, equips students with the tools necessary to enter into the field of crime scene investigation and to create more jobs within this field.

The film, produced by Love Productions, will focus on how Sherlock Holmes changed the world of modern crime-scene investigating.

The company filmed mock crime scenes and other footage at the 28,000-square-foot facility Wednesday and Thursday. The documentary will be released sometime in 2013.

Debbie Mongiardo, a member of the CSI Academy’s management team, said they expect a lot of exposure from the documentary.

“It’s definitely an opportunity for us,” she said. “It’s a big deal. It’s exciting.”

She said an employee from the production company contacted one of the academy’s instructors and asked about filming.

Mongiardo said the facility, which opened in September, has received inquiries from all over the country.

The academy offers a one-week basic course, primarily for law enforcement officers, and a 300-hour, seven-week course for anyone who is interested in a career in crime scene investigation.

The classes available include crime scene photography, ballistics, death investigations, blood evidence, fingerprint collection techniques, ballistics, sex crime investigation and more.

The programs are designed to prepare students to competently process crime scenes.

According to Department of Labor Statistics, CSI jobs are expected to grow by 19 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Competition for jobs will be strong because of substantial interest in forensic science.

Mongiardo said the seven-week course is $11,150, and that includes meals, textbooks and latent print kits. The academy sets up indoor and outdoor mock crime scenes to provide realistic training for students.

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, detectives and criminal investigators earn an average annual salary of about $58,000, or about $28 per hour. A beginning crime scene investigation salary ranges between $34,000 and $45,000. A crime scene investigator salary can approach $100,000 with solid experience.

Additional information about the CSI Academy is available at http://www.csiacademyflorida.com.

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