ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ Election results are in for the 2022 General Election in Alachua County. Out of 180,902 eligible voters in Alachua County, 96,081 ballots, or 53.11 percent of the voters, cast ballots.

Countywide, voters approved the Single-Member District referendum 51.44 percent (45,690 votes) to 48.56 percent (43,125 votes). The measure replaces the current at-large election, where all Alachua County voters choose all five commissioners. Under Single-Member Districts, voters will vote for the one candidate who lives in the same district as the voter, rather than voting for all five candidates.

Of the 91,368 votes cast on the question of approving the one-cent Wild Spaces Public Places sales tax initiative, 52.18 percent (47,677 votes) were cast to approve as opposed to 47.82 percent (43,691 votes) cast to disapprove of the tax.

In High Springs, voters cast their ballots for City Commission Seat #3, currently held by incumbent Linda Jones. Of the 2,733 votes cast in this race, newcomer to the High Springs political scene Tristan Grunder won with 1,308 votes, or 47.86 percent of the votes cast, as opposed to Jones, who received 864 votes, or 31.61 percent of the votes. Eyvonne Andrews received 561 votes, or 20.53 percent of the votes cast.

Republican State Senator Keith Perry defeated Democrat challenger Rodney Long to win the District 9 Florida Senate seat with 65.5 percent (135,000) of the vote. Perry returns to the Senate representing Marion County and parts of Alachua and Levy counties.

Republican Chuck Clemons returns for his fourth and final term in the Florida House after representing District 21 for three terms. Clemons defeated Democrat Brandon Peters with 56.1 percent of the vote. Due to redistricting, Clemons will serve his final term in District 22, representing Gilchrist, Levy and part of western Alachua County. Clemons sponsored legislation in the 2022 session that placed the Alachua County Single-Member District referendum on the ballot.

Incumbent Democrat Yvonne Hayes Hinson defeated Hollye Merton with 60 percent of the vote to retain her state House seat. Hinson ran on a platform to increase funding for public schools, advocating for magnet schools, creating career pathways for students and increasing teacher salaries.

Republican Chuck Brannan retains his Florida House of Representatives District 10 seat as he was unchallenged in the Nov. 8 election. Brannan’s district lines were redrawn in the redistricting effort to include a larger area in Alachua County, stretching into the city of Alachua.

Republican Florida State Senator Jennifer Bradley also retains her seat as she was unchallenged as well. She represents Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Union counties and part of Alachua County.

Although the governor’s race in Alachua County showed Democrat Charlie Crist as the winner with 57.12 percent (54,719 votes) as opposed to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis with 42.06 percent (40,289 votes), the overall state votes carried DeSantis back into the Governor’s mansion with 59.4 percent of the votes (4,608,398).

In the race for U.S. Senator, Alachua County voted to elect Val Demings with 57.87 percent (55,359 votes) to Marco Rubio at 40.97 percent (39,190 votes). Once again, state-wide voters upended that with a 57.7 percent of the votes cast for Rubio (4,469,218) who is returning for his third term in the U.S. Senate.

In the race for Congressional District 3, incumbent Congresswoman Kat Cammack retained her seat with 58.23 percent (55,377 votes) in Alachua County. State-wide results show Cammack receiving 62.5 percent of the votes (177,999) to Democrat challenger Danielle Hawk’s 36.3 percent (103,254) and Linda Brooks 1.2 percent (3,405).

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ALACHUA ‒ What has become a 22-year annual event each fall has returned to Alachua. The 1^st United Methodist Church has been selling pumpkins of various sizes and colors during the month October at a field fronting U.S. Highway 441 on the west side of Alachua. But they don't just sell the orange gords from a random pile. The various pumpkins are arranged in artful displays, which also include activity areas that are directed primarily toward children's entertainment. They also have a display set up around a vintage tractor to provide a photo opportunity for visitors. And that includes the couple who brought their rescued dogs for a family photo.

The month-long event has become a tradition for many families to celebrate the Halloween season, returning year after year, often taking advantage of the photo area to document the growth of their families over the year..

The Covid Pandemic almost shut down the event in 2020, but the church felt they could safely do the outdoor event. They scaled back all activities except the pumpkin sale, which helps raise funding for their missionary work. This year, the crowds were back as well as additional activities.

Each year they sell around 20,000 pumpkins ranging from 50 cents to $26 a piece as well as homemade pumpkin bread for $8. Setting up the pumpkin patch and all the displays is a group effort for the church with everyone pitching in on unloading, making displays or manning the pumpkin patch. Twice a week, the youths in the church come out and “roll” each pumpkin so it does not go bad from sitting on the same side.

The pumpkins come from the Navajo tribes in New Mexico, where the climate is ideal for growing large pumpkins. A commercial business working with the tribes imports the pumpkins to various churches and stores. The churches keep 40 percent of the profits and the tribe gets 60 percent.

For the 1^st United Methodist, the money is used to fund mission work to support a program of up to 40 members who go to various low-income areas in the Appalachians every year to help rebuild houses that need major repairs the owner can’t afford. They also use the money to fund a camp for the deaf, mainly children, in the Dominican Republic. The camp is designed to help these deaf children learn life skills to overcome their challenges they may face.

The church sponsors a number of activities at the site including storytelling, bean bag toss, and the photo area. On weekends they offer hay rides pulled by a tractor. During the week they sponsor school groups to come and enjoy the activities.

While the availability is based on the number of pumpkins they have, this year, they had a second delivery on Oct. 17 since they had already depleted their initial supply. The crowds have been steady so they suggest that people not wait until the last minute to buy a pumpkin to support the church's charity projects.

Hours for the Pumpkin Patch are 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. Monday -Friday, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Saturday and 12-8 p.m. on Sunday. The pumpkin patch is located at15710 N.W. U.S. Highway 441 in Alachua.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ With the High Springs municipal election set for Election Day Nov. 8, three candidates are vying for one seat on the High Springs City Commission. Seat 3 is currently held by incumbent Linda Jones, who is seeking her third three-year term as a city commissioner. Jones ran unopposed in two prior elections, but this election cycle she has two opponents vying for the seat she currently holds—Tristan Grunder and Eyvonne Andrews.

On Oct. 25, the GFWC High Springs New Century Woman's Club hosted a public forum for the community to meet the three candidates and to enable voters to hear the candidates and question them about important issues in the Nov. 8 election.

Moderator Vickie Cox introduced each candidate and allowed each a two-minute introduction to talk about their backgrounds and plans for the Commission if elected.

Tristan Grunder is a lifelong resident of High Springs. A decorated law enforcement officer of 15 years, Grunder worked with the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) on the gang and special operations units. In 2015, he transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division, working robberies and homicides. In December 2017, he was selected as Acting Sergeant in the Operations Division. Grunder is also a member of the Negotiation Response Team and is the president of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Eyvonne Andrews is also a lifelong resident of High Springs and is the former President of the Chamber of Commerce. She also worked with the Alachua Sherriff’s Office (ASO) Inmate Trust Fund from 1988-2004.

Incumbent Linda Jones is the former Vice Mayor of High Springs. She was born in DeLand and moved to Gainesville in 1959. Jones attended JJ Finley Elementary, Westwood Junior High and graduated in 1966 from Gainesville High School. Jones and her husband moved to High Springs in 2007. She has worked on the campaigns of four successful commissioners and was on the City Charter review in spring 2016 when she decided to run for City Commission. Jones ran unopposed in the November 2016 and 2019 elections.

Moderator Cox asked each candidate four questions about the issues they felt were important with much of the discussion focused on growth and infrastructure, which is a growing concern with many High Springs residents.

Grunder stressed his deep-rooted involvement in the community and raising his family in High Springs. Grunder wants High Springs to retain its small-town heritage, but he also recognizes the need for responsible growth and funding for additional infrastructure. He plans to work with City staff to create a long-term strategic plan and is aware of the need to keep the public informed on all decision that affect the community. Grunder maintains he will study the details on any decision and will be honest in educating the public on all sides of City decisions. Grunder said that as a family man and police officer, safety for the community is also of vital importance and he will continue advocating for first responders.

Andrews’ main concern involves maintaining and improving infrastructure in the community, especially road repairs and the increasing traffic. Andrews also stated a need for better internet for the entire community with reasonable rates and reliable service. Another concern is to provide more elder care and senior activities.

Jones expressed her desire to win another term to finish many of the issues that are still in progress within the Commission. She discussed her opposition to the Wall Dogs Murals and increasing growth in High Springs as well as her voting record on issues involving growth. While she voted against two large housing projects, Bailey Estates and Tara Meadows, she did vote in favor of Bridlewood and Fair Oaks subdivisions. She supported purchasing the Canoe Outpost and Crockett Springs as well as support for the proposed solar farm. Jones is also advocating for Alachua County Commission single member districts, an issue that will be decided by a voter referendum on Nov. 8.

Each candidate offered a two-minute closing statement and then mingled with audience members.

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ALACHUA ‒ Police officers from both the Alachua and High Springs Police departments converged at the Alachua McDonalds restaurant on Oct. 5. The early morning gathering wasn’t the result of a disturbance, no crime had been committed, and they weren't serving up tickets. They were there to celebrate the annual event known as Coffee with a Cop.

The event is part of a nationwide program that helps police officers interact with the citizens they protect and build better communications with the community. Typical encounters between the police and citizens happen when they are called for assistance or pulled over by a patrol officer. These interactions are often stressful and confrontational, which puts the officers in a situation where he or she is seen as an authority figure, and not as a fellow human being. The idea behind the program is to allow an environment where the public and the police officers can interact over a cup of coffee on a personal level and where the public can ask any questions they may have about the department or policies.

The program was started in 2011 in Hawthorne, California, by the local police department. At the time they were trying to restructure their department to a more community-oriented model where the officers worked within the community, so there was a familiarity between officers and the people they protected. As they considered ways of building community trust, it was suggested that maybe a simple idea like sitting down at a local coffee house could allow officers to interact in a more casual way with the citizens It could also have the benefit of putting a human face on the person behind the badge.

Several years ago, the Alachua McDonalds learned about the program and approached the Alachua Police Department to see if they would be interested in partnering and hosting Coffee with a Cop. The event has happened every year since, except when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021.

The Alachua Police Department revived the annual get together this year. Officers, including High Springs Chief Antione Sheppard, chatted with customers, discussing current issues and learning about each other.

“COVID has disrupted many events, including this one, but we want to bring it back,” said Sheppard. “Positive interaction with our community is important and we want to keep people aware that the police force is there for them.”

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