GAINESVILLEL, FLA. -  As a part of the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department’s 352walls initiative, local artist Turbado Marabou created a mural at the Clarence R. Kelly Community Center & Park, located in East Gainesville's Duval Community. The artwork is on the south wall of the community center's exterior and faces the park's event lawn and playground. 

Turbado Marabou is a talented muralist and storyteller. He uses his art to speak to the African traditions of moving from youth to adulthood in rites of passage ceremonies, and to foster community engagement, exposure, encouragement, health, cultural education and sustainable art forms. Throughout the summer, Turbado, along with community partners, held engagement sessions with youth and seniors to build community and foster community pride.

The Clarence R. Kelly Community Center & Park mural was funded by the City of Gainesville’s Wild Spaces & Public Places program through the Arts in Public Places Trust. The mural cost $5,000.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com 

ALACHUA  COUNTY - Alachua County Public Schools will be using two days in December to make up for the two instructional days lost to Hurricane Idalia.

The two days school will now be in session are Thursday, Dec. 21 and Friday, Dec. 22. Both were designated as ‘flex days’ in the 2023-24 school year approved by the School Board in February.

Flex days are built into the school year calendar in case the district has to make up days lost to severe weather or other emergencies. Alachua County Public Schools has been incorporating flex days into its school year calendars for several years.

Make-up days are necessary to meet state requirements for instructional time.

The use of the Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 flex days as regular school days will still leave two full weeks for the Winter Holiday, which will run from Monday, December 25 through Friday, January 5.

School year calendars are developed by the district in collaboration with the Alachua County Education Association and typically approved in February or March for the following school year.

A notice about the make up days will be sent to families this afternoon through email and phone and through text for those parents/guardians who have opted in to the district’s text messaging system.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

Gainesville, Florida – Santa Fe College will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. for the new Ralph W. Cellon Jr. Institute for Skilled Trades and Advanced Manufacturing. It will be built on SF’s Northwest Campus, 3000 NW 83^rd Street across the street from the SF Gymnasium.

The facility is being named in honor of Ralph W. Cellon, a longtime supporter of the college. Cellon has been a central figure throughout the college’s history. He helped lead the effort to secure the land where the college’s Northwest Campus is located, served as an inaugural trustee on the college’s District Board of Trustees, and has continuously served for 54 years on the Board of the Santa Fe College Foundation.

“Ralph Cellon has been integral to the growth of Santa Fe College since its inception and it is fitting that this new facility be named in his honor,” SF President Paul Broadie II said. “He knows the power of a college education, and the need for highly skilled workers in the trades. As demand continues to grow in these industries, students graduating from our programs will be able to enter their career field knowing that they have been trained utilizing the latest technology and are poised for success.”

When the facility opens, the increased space will enable the college to see a 275% increase in the number of students that can be trained in HVAC and Welding. In addition, the college plans to add a new degree program in Advanced Manufacturing to help address the needs of business and industry within the community.

Construction on the facility is expected to begin next year with a projected opening of Fall 2025.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com