HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Almost every kid dreams of being a treasure hunter at some time in their childhood. Hollywood fosters that dream with movies such as Indiana Jones and National Treasure that portray treasure hunters as larger than life characters on dangerous missions that result in successful quests to find fabled treasure. In real life, few of us will ever realize that dream or find any treasure.

But for Shawn Cowles, treasure hunting and adventure in faraway lands is a lifelong career. On April 21, he shared his adventures through a lecture at the High Springs Museum to a packed crowd. On as table next to him he displayed the tools of his trade and examples of the treasures he has found including a large black mass of silver coins found in the most famous treasure find in modern times.

He worked for the Mel Fisher organization on Florida’s 1622 fleet shipwrecks, Atocha and Santa Margarita, where he helped recover $420 million worth of gold, silver and jewels. As an independent consultant and diver, Cowles has been involved with prominent land find and shipwreck projects in North America, South America, and the Pacific Ocean. Some, like Guam’s Nuestra Senora del Pilar, were in waters up to 350 feet deep, using mixed gas and closed-circuit technology. He has been searching for treasure since the age of 21.

His passion for treasure hunting began as a child when he and his father were renovating their ancestral home and Cowles found a 300-year-old coin from 1798. From then on treasure hunting became his passion and career. After college he tried his hand in the music industry, eventually winding up in Key West, Florida. He was also a trained diver and ended up joining Fisher's expedition on one of the biggest treasure finds in history.

Over the years, Cowles also worked as a consultant on several treasure expeditions and became a consultant for Discovery Channels Treasure Quest show for two seasons searching for a possible treasure in the Bolivian mountains at Sacambaya. The legend is that Jesuit Priests buried a vast amount of treasure somewhere in the valley that is estimated to be worth $2 billion.

Cowles’ knowledge led him to become the featured star of the show in the 3^rd season in 2019. “The environment in the Bolivian Mountains is pretty extreme and remote, so the crew had to travel light while still having the necessary tools to identify any possible locations,” said Cowles. Although they used five tools, the main tool was a metal detector that could identify metal deposits underground.

“We also used lightweight Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to look for caverns or empty spaces that could be vaults,” said Cowles. “Any metals we found were then checked with an alloy tester to see the composition of the metal.”

The expedition was stationed at Sacambaya a for six months and made significant finds, but not the motherlode—yet. Season 4 has been put on hold due to the COVID pandemic, but Cowles believes they are close to finding the fabled treasure.

Although treasure hunting is a career, adventure and travel are a way of life for Cowles and his wife, Adele Williams. Originally from Australia, Williams is a motorbike enthusiast whose quest for adventure and travel matches that of her husband and they have traveled extensively including several cross-country trips on their motor bikes. After season 3 ended, they took their dirt bikes on a grand adventure traveling from Key West to Bolivia.

“I figured that this would put us down in Bolivia prior to season 4 and give is a chance to travel, interact with local people along the way and hear their history and legends,” said Cowles. “We are both very interested in hearing people’s stories and culture.”

By the time they reached Bolivia, the pandemic had put the whole world in quarantine and they were stuck in Bolivia for 40 days. They wound up leaving their motorbikes there and flying back to the United States. With their Key West house rented, they hit the road in an RV and traveled America. As they returned to Florida at the end of their trip, they stopped in High Springs.

“We instantly fell in love with this area,” sad Cowles. They were attracted to the friendly people with a small-town attitude of community and the beautiful landscape. “Adele is also into horses so we wound up deciding to stay and buy a farm that also had room to expand to a B&B, said Cowles. The couple still plans to travel, but High Springs has become their home. “I may be a treasure hunter, but this area is a treasure in itself,” Cowles said.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ A proposed solar farm in High Springs has raised the ire of some residents. CHW Professional Consultants Executive Vice President and Principal Planner Gerry Dedenbach provided an update on the project to the City Commission at the April 14 meeting. Dorothy Pernu representing Duke Energy was also present.

Dedenbach says the City Commission could expect to receive applications for Land Use and Zoning changes within a month or so. He said that in the next week or so he expected to submit the development plan application to the City. The plan includes all of the specifics about the overall site. If the plan is approved, Dedenbach hopes to have it finalized this June, which means construction could begin in mid-summer this year.

Commissioner Katherine Weitz read two emails from people who were unable to attend the meeting, but asked that their comments be read into the record. The first was from Jennifer and Stephen Davis whose property abuts the property under consideration for the solar array. They noted concerns that the solar panels would damage the ground, reduce the property values of the homes near it and raise the temperature.

Weitz read a second letter by Christina and George Tatum who raised concerns that their property backs up to the City’s wastewater treatment plant and noted medical issues within their family. They said their well was contaminated by e-coli and that two family members had serious folic acid deficiency. They were concerned about the wildlife that would be displaced by this construction and would end up in yards and on the roads.

The Tatums also said that trees were being burned on the property under consideration and they had to buy air purifiers for their home and that their son wasn’t able to stay in his room because of the smoke.

It was noted that because the construction and any smoke arising from the property was not generated by Duke Energy, it was difficult to see how Duke could be responsible for the poor air quality.

Commissioner Ross Ambrose pointed out that a solar array does not leak and that they are not routinely washed so damage to the water supply and wells would be unlikely to occur.

Weitz maintained her contention that Duke and other power agencies have pushed for legislation that would eliminate property owners’ ability to net meter or sell excess power back to the power companies after 2023. She pointed to other legislative actions that also increase dependence on power agencies.

She suggested that Duke place their solar array on any one of four closed landfills in Alachua County rather than on land near homeowners.

Ambrose referenced Duke’s right to place their solar array on the property based on the City’s Comprehensive Plan. He also said he is withholding judgment until he sees the site plan. “We need to hear what they have to say and hold them accountable.”

Ambrose said the solar plant would increase the City’s tax base. “We don’t have to pave more roads. We don’t have to provide infrastructure. We don’t have to increase fire protection. And we will be removing a dairy farm from a sensitive recharge area and preserving that recharge area for at least 35 years.”

Resident Stacy Gay addressed the Commission to say he didn’t think the solar farm was a problem. “It’s not Chernobyl. We need to look farther down the road.”

“They have not submitted their site plan yet,” said City Manager Ashley Stathatos. “We review those very carefully.”

City Attorney Andrea Parker said that Florida Statutes allow solar farms to be permitted by right on Agricultural zoned properties. “However,” she said, “the City can specify buffering and other items.”

In other City business, a site plan for Simed Medical Office, 23741 West U.S. 27 across the street from City Hall was unanimously approved.

A 50/50 match was approved for a Department of Environmental Protection grant totaling $822,000. The City’s match amount of $422,000 was approved using impact fees and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fees. The grant will phase out 22 septic tanks east of the force main that runs down CR 236. A lift station will also be part of that project, which will serve other homes as well.

Assistant City Manager Bruce Gillingham said, “Once this phase is complete, there will be another phase to this project probably next year.”

Stathatos said a facility plan will be on the next agenda. “We will be looking at impact fees, which will likely have to increase to pay for more projects.” Currently, the City has $561,000 in impact fees, which will be reduced by the matching grant funds.

In other City business, the Commission unanimously approved the purchase of a rescue water craft for use by High Springs Fire Department personnel for water rescue. “Since we have owned the Canoe Outpost, we have been called out five times to help rescue people on the water,” said Gillingham. “We already have 90 percent of the equipment we would need for these types of rescues.” A certified boat captain is a member of the fire department and personnel can work under his supervision. The price of the boat is $35,467 and is being purchased from Tailwinds, a High Springs company.

The Commission approved the $155,294 purchase of a brush truck for the High Springs Fire Department. The existing 1997 brush truck has been out of service for 18 months. The City has located a new four-door 2022 Dodge Ram 5500 4X4 chassis purchased by the Federal Forestry Department that was not picked up.

The Commission is renaming part of U.S. 27 from U.S. Highway 441 to High Springs Main Street as 186th Place for E-9 1 1 purposes. Commissioners agreed that having numbers makes it easier for people to locate the addresses.

The next City Commission meeting is scheduled for April 28.

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ALACHUA ‒ After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid Pandemic, the Relay For Life Cancer event has returned to Alachua. This year the venue was moved to the new Legacy Park Amphitheater but the dedication of the volunteers and supporters remained unchanged. Despite the hiatus, the event and support of the community came back even larger than before.

Relay for Life is a team fund raising event featuring team members walking around a track. Each event is four to 24 hours in length and each team has a member on the track at all times to signify that cancer never sleeps.

In Alachua, 21 teams and nine sponsors fielded teams and made additional donations or had items for sale including the City of Alachua, Waste Pro, Campus USA, UF Health, Cisco, Santa Fe Kiwanis Club and Santa Fe High School. The school's FFA brought a pig, that based on donations, was to be kissed by a city official.

The concept behind the event is that no one has to fight cancer alone and that the community supports and celebrates the accomplishment and struggles of cancer survivors and caregivers. Many of the runners are survivors or people memorializing loved ones who died of cancer. Every year, Relay events are organized, staffed and coordinated by volunteers in thousands of communities and 27 countries to remember those who have succumbed to the disease, honor the survivors of all cancers, and raise money to help the American Cancer Society make a global impact on disease.

One in three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer. Even if the cancer is defeated or put into remission, the specter of the disease remains, as does the fear it could return. In 2021, there were 1.9 million new cancer cases diagnosed and 608,570 cancer deaths in the United States. That equates to over 1,600 deaths a day.

Although each community puts individual touches to their Relay For Life Event, there is a general format they follow. Each team and sponsors set up a fund-raising tent where people can make donations and sponsor a runner. Some teams also offer items for sale like baked goods, food, stuffed animals or even offer a service people.

After the opening ceremony, the relays begin in a specific order with the first one featuring the cancer survivors walking, The second one features their spouses and caregivers. This year, the third walking team was comprised of police, first responders and military members, several of whom were survivors as well. After that, the teams take to the course as well as the general public.

This year prior to the walk, there was a tribute to Robin True, who had been heavily involved in the previous Relay For Life events. True was a victim of Ovarian Cancer and had fought it for six years until she passed in 2021. Before the first walk, her extended family, friends and supporters gathered before the stage to accept an award from Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper as True’s son played the harmonica in tribute to his mother's life.

The event is always held when the sun sets and darkness falls, representing the darkness of the disease. Bringing honor and remembrance as well as hope, luminaries glow in dedication to cancer victims and survivors. Each luminary carries the name of a survivor or someone who has died of cancer as well as information about that person.

Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society's signature fundraising event that represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated. Alachua’s Relay for Life at Legacy Park was organized to remember those lost to cancer, celebrate cancer survivorship and to raise money for medical research and programs conducted by the American Cancer Society.

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ALACHUA ‒ The Easter Bunny made appearances in both High Springs and Alachua over the weekend as children took to grassy fields to find colorful eggs on Saturday, April 16.

In Alachua, the City's Recreation and Culture Department hosted an Easter Egg hunt at the Legacy Park at 10 a.m. Over 220 families filled the Legacy Park Multipurpose Center to have a photo taken with the Easter Bunny and form lines to be taken to four different fields where the plastic eggs were hidden.

“We decided based on past experience to divide it by age groups so that the little kids could have their own area and not get overrun by older kids,” said the City’s Recreation Department Event Coordinator Kimberly Vermillion. “We wanted everyone to have an equal chance.” Groups were divided by age groups of 1-3; 4-6; 7-8 and 9 and up.

“We had over 1,400 eggs that the staff had put either a piece of individually wrapped candy or a ticket inside,” said Vermillion. There were 200 tickets, which entitled the lucky children who found those eggs to a large Easter basket or stuffed animal donated by Dollar General. Vermillion added that Pro Tae KwonDo also provided tickets in eggs as well.

While the planning stage and egg stuffing had taken the staff weeks to organize, the event was over in under 20 minutes after the kids were assembled and rushed out to the fields to pick up every egg.

“We were really pleased with how smoothly the event went and we received a lot of positive comments from the parents,” said Vermillion. “We weren't sure how many would attend due to COVID, which shut us down in 2019 and 2020, but the participation was bigger than expected and nothing was left over after the event.”

An hour later it was High Springs’ turn with an event organized by the Chamber of Commerce. The downtown area along Main Street had several activities going on the same day including the High Springs Art Walk and the first Easter parade and Easter egg hunt in more than 15 years.

Children brought their Easter baskets to go “trick or treating” as the downtown stores on Main Street handed out sweet treats. The chamber led groups of children from the chamber office, located at 23517 N.W. 185^th Road, next to the Farmers Market Pavilion, over to the museum to meet the Easter Bunny and parade back through downtown to the chamber office for an Easter Egg hunt.

“We had to divide them into several groups for the parade due to the high turnout,” said Chamber President Sharon Decker. “We had tried to get an idea of how many were coming by asking for pre-registration so we would know how much eggs and candy to buy.” The chamber purchased over 1,000 eggs, the 1^st Baptist Church donated stuffed animals and the pre-registration numbered 41 families.

But the event turned out to be even more popular and drew over 200 families. “This was a good start on what will be an annual event, but I think we might have to plan bigger next year,” said Decker. She added that next year the chamber is going to require pre-sign-up only so they can have a better idea of how much to buy and make sure that everyone, especially the younger kids, get plenty of candy or prizes.

“The businesses on Main Street were great at helping out and distributing their own treats as well” Decker said.” It was a great success and we look forward to making it an annual event.”

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