L-R: Brianna King and Natalie Kempton, armed with colorful chalk, are transforming a Newberry sidewalk into an imaginative work of art.  The youngsters are participating in the Newberry branch library’s summer reading program, which has a host of activities scheduled through the end of July.

NEWBERRY – Youngsters looking for a cure to the endless days of summer need not look any further than their local public library.  Like other libraries around the county, the Newberry branch of the Alachua County Library District has a full schedule of summertime boredom beaters.

The focus this week of the Newberry library branch has been its third annual Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest, which began Monday, June 18 and wraps up Thursday, June 21.  The library provides the colorful chalk and plenty of sidewalk, said Marian Suggs, library specialist in charge of programing for the children’s summer reading program.

“The children just need to provide the inspiration,” Suggs added.

And the contest has already been a smashing success with nearly two dozen youngsters participating by Wednesday afternoon.

Suggs said she had heard about the idea of a sidewalk chalk activity for summer reading programs.  But she upped the ante by bringing a competitive spirit when she introduced the activity as a contest at the Newberry library three years ago.

Despite seemingly drenching rains in recent weeks, the sidewalk chalk contest has dodged the bullet over the past few days.  Those clear skies have left the youth-inspired art sketched on the sidewalks around the library.

But if the skies should let out another downpour, Suggs says fear not.

“We take pictures of them each day so we can share them with everyone and put them on our blog later this week,” she said.

This year, the winner of the contest will receive a Town of Tioga gift certificate.  Other participants won’t be left out in the cold as Suggs said each participant would receive something.

Ten-year-old Brianna King has been spending much of her summer at the library before she enters fifth grade at Newberry’s Oakview Middle School.  With beauty as her inspiration and the sidewalk as her canvas, King chalked out a masterpiece she calls “A Beautiful Day.”  With large shapes and bright colors, King’s drawing, prominently displayed near the library entrance, features flowers and balloons.

Natalie Kempton, also 10 years old and one of King’s schoolmates, has also been passing some of her time at the library since graduating from Newberry Elementary a few shorts weeks ago.  Kempton found a shady spot along the walkway where she drew cooler visions on her piece of art, which depicts a blue flowing river and tall, tall pine trees.  She also drew a picture of her pet pooch and on another sidewalk segment, the image of one of her new favorite activities ­– Archery.

Although the Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest ends Thursday, the fun isn’t over at the Newberry branch library, where each Monday at 2 p.m. they have “Cool Monday Movies.”  On Thursdays at the same time, they make crafts.  A variety of other activities dot the calendar over the next several weeks.  Suggs said the library would close out the summer reading program with a celebration on Thursday, July 26, which will include cupcake decorating, hula hoops, games and prize drawings for the program’s best readers and participants.

To see a complete calendar of events and the sidewalk photos to be posted later this week, visit www.aclib.us/newberry.

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“It’s a pungent, stinky smell,” Paul Hardy, 74, said. “It will actually make you sick, I think.”

The couple said their daughter who lives in the same neighborhood has also noticed the odors. She had thought something died, Beverly Hardy, 74, said.

They said that sometimes the smell is so bad, that they can’t sit outside. The problem is something that has progressed over time, especially the past couple of months.

“The smell has gotten worse and worse and worse,” Paul Hardy said.

According to the city’s utility director, Blaine Suggs, the foul odor is coming from an effluent storage pond. The pond has been covered in a growth of duckweed, which has caused the pond to become stagnant.

Duckweed is a plant that grows on the surface of the water and causes problems in ponds because it essentially seals the pond from sunlight, preventing oxygenation.

Suggs said that the city’s utilities department is working with William T. Haller of the UF IFAS Aquatic Center to apply a herbicide to kill the duckweed.

It’s important that they are careful with the herbicide, Suggs said in an email, because the effluent will be sprayed onto the hayfield. They need to be sure the herbicide does not damage the grass.

Air diffusers will be installed at the bottom of the pond to help with stagnation and remove the muck from the bottom of the pond. Suggs said that once the diffusers are installed, there may be a noticeable increase in the pungent smell for about a week.

Biological microbes may be introduced to combat the muck accumulation.

If everything goes as planned, there should be a noticeable improvement within the next two weeks and the odors should subside, Suggs said.

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City can still choose to stay with CCC

HIGH SPRINGS – Even though the High Springs Commission has voted to bring emergency dispatch back under local operation, one commissioner has other plans.  Commissioner Scott Jamison announced during Tuesday’s special meeting that he will be placing an item on the upcoming June 28 agenda to rescind the previous decision and discuss staying with the Alachua County Combined Communication Center (CCC).

Despite reservations voiced by several High Springs police officers during a May 15 Town Hall Meeting, the commission approved by a 3-2 vote to bring dispatch back to the city.  During a recent meeting, Jamison expressed doubts about the City’s ability to fund the project safely and thoroughly. He said on Tuesday that he has already asked for the topic to be placed on the next agenda.

“Do I believe the dispatch back in our control is good? Yes, I do,” Jamison said during the May 22 meeting. “But I’m not convinced we can adequately prepare for it, technologically, staff it and assume control or take on the added financial obligations that come with it.”

As of June 19, City Manager Jeri Langman said the City still does not have solid numbers for the cost of operating the dispatch center. On May 15, it was estimated the locally operated dispatch would cost the City an additional $145,486 more a year than staying with the CCC. But that number seems to have increased as new expenses have come to light, such as the cost to update various programs, purchase new equipment and train future employees.

When queried by the commission, High Springs Police Chief Steve Holley has remained confident that if the City operates its own dispatch, the police department will be able to work safely and smoothly. However, Holley did say the dispatch would not be safe if there were only four dispatchers. This prompted the commission to budget for five dispatchers and one supervisor.

On Tuesday, the commission reviewed the letter the City will be sending to the CCC to provide formal notice of separation. Prompted by Vice-Mayor Bob Barnas, Mayor Dean Davis signed the letter, which is slated to be mailed on June 29, depending on the results of the June 28 commission meeting.

Commissioner Linda Gestrin was absent during the discussion, but said during an earlier meeting that the dispatch provides an opportunity for the City to rebuild and make the dispatch the best it can be.

“We have the officers and the community’s safety in mind,” Gestrin said.

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“People are starting to come back out and say we want to rezone, we want to bring a development out of the ground,” said Langman during Thursday’s meeting. “These are types of things where we actually do need someone who has those city planner qualifications.”

Recently hired city engineer John Morrison requested the item be placed on the commission meeting agenda because of the amount of time he spent researching code laws. Officials say there has been an influx of businesses interesting in developing in High Springs, and Morrison estimated he would spend three to four hours on each code-related issue presented to the City.

“What’s happening here is that I’m a civil engineer; I’m not a planner,” Morrison said. “My time is best spent with the engineering issues the City is facing right now, not with the land planning issues.”

Morrison and Langman presented the commission with the possibility of contracting with Laura Dedenbach, formerly a senior planner with Alachua County and the City of Alachua’s Planning and Community Development Director. Dedenback would work for High Springs for a proposed $15,000 a year.

“It’s my understanding when we hired the civil engineer that they were going to be doing the city planning and the city engineering, which is where we were going to save the money,” Commissioner Scott Jamison said. “That’s what I thought the deal was.”

Vice-Mayor Bob Barnas said he thought when the City hired an engineer the candidate would have planning experience. Barnas suggested Langman meet with the City of Hawthorne because they are currently using Alachua County for planning services.

According to Langman, High Springs used to operate under the same arrangement.

“Most people were unhappy with that because it was inconvenient,” Mayor Dean Davis said.

Commissioner Sue Weller voiced concern about the budget, and Commissioner Linda Gestrin said the City needs to look for ways to downsize.

“We need something that fits our city,” Gestrin said.

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