HIGH SPRINGS ‒ High Springs will soon have its own golf course. However, it won't be competing with Turkey Creek or any of Gainesville's large courses because this course is strictly for miniature golf enthusiasts. The course, which will features18 holes, is directly behind the soon-to-open Pink Flamingo Diner. While the course is associated with the diner for its customers to make a family outing instead of just a meal, it also operates as its own recreation center open to everyone. Adults can play all 18 holes for $7.50, with seniors discounted to $6.50 and children at $5.50.

According to the Pink Flamingo's General Manager Mike Smith, the idea for a miniature golf course behind the Diner actually originated with the original owners, who opened Floyd's Diner in 2001. When the building was purchased this year by Dae Jung Kim, it went through major renovations and will reopen as Pink Flamingo Diner.

While the plans for the new restaurant were being discussed with developer Karl Spain, the idea of the miniature golf course resurfaced as a way to provide more than just food at the location and offer a different type of entertainment and recreation to the community.

New Jersey based Harris Miniature Golf Inc. was hired to build the course. The completed course features 18 holes winding through a variety of scenarios. The course is ADA accessible on nine of the holes so that people with disabilities can enjoy it as well. Laid out in a single winding path, the course is surrounded by lush landscaping and features a variety of obstacles from water, rocks and plants to make it more challenging.

Concerns for nearby houses was addressed with a six-foot retaining wall to reduce noise and any stray balls. Local artist Jim Wegman was hired to create murals on the restaurant and add a fantasy element to the course. He repurposed an old propane tank to look like a submarine, and the storage shed behind it is painted with an ocean scene to create a fantasy playground for kids.

A building located on the course will supply balls and golf putters to customers and also offer soft-serve ice creams and smoothies. On the back side the building is a drive-through window that will sell coffee in the morning before the restaurant or golf course opens. Smith said the hours of the drive-through will help keep down any traffic congestion, maintain safety for restaurant and golf course customers and not compete with the restaurant. The coffee drive-through will be open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hours for the golf course will be 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.

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HIGH SPINGS ‒ Christmas is a time for joy and excitement as holiday traditions bring back warm memories as well as anticipation of what is to come. Children are especially excited as they await Christmas morning and the gifts they hope to receive. Christmas is also a time for giving and sharing, and thanks to the High Springs Police Department (HSPD) and its partners, less fortunate children enjoyed a merry Christmas.

Since 2008, HSPD has sponsored Operation Holiday Cheer. HSPD, along with help from the High Springs Fire Department (HSFD) and the City Parks and Recreation Department, have asked for donations of new toys, pajamas and books from the community so they can provide them to children in need. Several local businesses, the Rotary Club and the High Springs Community School have also been involved in the effort.

The school typically notifies the school resource officer of families that could use the help, and HSPD contacts the child's parents to get approval for a delivery and find out if there are other children in the house to add to the list. This also gives the police an opportunity to learn what the children want as they try to match the gifts to the children.

But like everything else in 2020, the pandemic affected how Operation Holiday Cheer would continue. For HSPD, it was never a question of canceling the event, only how to change it to make it safe for everyone.

This year, instead of individuals and organizations donating toys, the police department asked only for cash donations so the officers could purchase the toys themselves to guarantee they were sanitized and properly handled. And parents and children also received gift cards to purchase any items they needed, including food.

Cards were donated by both local and corporate merchants. Locally, Pepperonis, Dollar Tree and Winn-Dixie contributed cards. Other card sponsors included Walmart, Amazon, Old Navy and Gamespot. According to HSPD Chief Antione Sheppard, despite the hard economic times, the community gave more donations than in previous years, providing over $7,000 for the officers to buy gifts.

This year’s event was organized by HSPD Police Officer Jason Taylor and on the morning of Dec. 21, Taylor along with fellow HSPD officers and staff and members of the fire department, sprang into action. They left the police station in police cruiser with lights flashing and the City’s fire truck, going home to home, delivering gifts to 31 children in 12 families.

With COVID precautions in mind, all the officers were masked to provide safe interaction with the families. The group also included two administrative members of the department dressed in colorful inflated costumes representing Santa Claus and a Christmas tree. In addition to spreading holiday cheer, the costumes provided a contact barrier allowing the characters to have closer interaction with the children.

While the pandemic has changed many aspects of life in 2020, traditions continue and people find other ways to safely work around COVID-19. This year has been hard for many families, especially economically, and that makes Operation Holiday Cheer more important than ever to help those in need this holiday season.

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At noon, Tuesday, Jan. 5, in front of the Alachua County Criminal Courthouse, Clovis Watson, Jr. was officially sworn in as the Alachua County Sheriff. Watson joined his fellow Constitutional Officers serving Alachua County at the swearing in ceremony.

Watson previously served as a state representative serving District 20, which covered parts of Alachua and Marion counties. Prior to his eight-year stint as state representative, he was the Alachua City Manager and prior to that he was the City of Alachua Deputy Police Chief.

Watson grew up in the Merrillwood projects in Alachua and graduated from Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe College, Law Enforcement Certification; Santa Fe College, AS, Criminal Justice Technology; University of Alabama, BA, Interdisciplinary Studies, Human Services; Mountain State University, MA, Interdisciplinary Studies, Public Administration; Northcentral University, MBA; Harvard University John F. Kennedy Graduate School of Government Executive Education, Leadership for the 21st Century.

Watson was sworn in by fellow Santa Fe High School graduate the Honorable Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard.

Other constitutional officers sworn in Tuesday include Kim Barton as Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, J.K. “Jess” Irby as the Alachua County clerk of the Court, Brian S. Kramer as the State Attorney for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, Ayesha Solomon as the Alachua County Property appraiser, John Power as the Alachua County Tax Collector, and Stacy A. Scott as the Public Defender for the Eighth Judicial Circuit,

ALACHUA ‒ On the evening of Dec. 3, the Amphitheater at Alachua’s Legacy Park hosted Dance Alive National Ballet's (DANB) production of “The Nutcracker” to an estimated crowd of 700 people. The amphitheater was part of the overall plan to make Legacy Park a central location for recreational and cultural activities.

The Gainesville based professional ballet company has been performing “The Nutcracker” for 54 years with over 200 touring performances and 30 school programs in the United States. Over the past four years it has also become a traditional show in Alachua as well.

Like many entertainment performances, the pandemic has hit the ballet industry hard. Most of DANB's scheduled performances for this winter and spring 2021 have been canceled or postponed due to limitations on venues and crowd size. But “The Nutcracker” is an important part of the company’s history, and some shows that could be performed either outdoors or in larger venues that would allow for audience social distancing remained. One of those was the Alachua performance of “The Nutcracker” as over 30 dancers performed a nearly two-hour show at the outdoor amphitheater under the stars.

In 1966 Mary Ellen Pofahl, a professional dancer and teacher, founded the DANB company and it has continued through the talents and efforts of her daughters, Judy Skinner and Kim Tuttle. The Dance Alive National Ballet has become the premier touring company in the Southeastern United States. It is actually two entities under the direction of the two sisters. Tuttle and Skinner are owners/directors of the Dance Alive National Ballet with Tuttle serving as Artistic Director and Skinner serving as Choreographer-in-Residence.

While “The Nutcracker” was the last performance of the year at the Legacy Park amphitheater, it demonstrated how successful this outdoor stage can be. And Legacy is fulfilling its namesake by providing space and creating an environment of entertainment and culture for the community provided by the City of Alachua, free of charge to those attending.

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