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High Springs Commissioner Howell Named High Springs Hero for Service and Dedication

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01 October 2025
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High Springs Commissioner Robert Chad Howell, center, was honored as the 2025 High Springs Hero during the Sept. 22 City Commission meeting. Joining him for the recognition are, from left, Vice Mayor Andrew Miller, Mayor Tristan Grunder, Commissioner Wayne Bloodsworth Jr. and Commissioner Katherine Weitz. / Photo special to Alachua County Today

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ A local leader known for his military service, law enforcement career, and community involvement was honored during the Sept. 22 High Springs City Commission meeting. Commissioner Robert Chad Howell was recognized as this year’s High Springs Hero, an award highlighting an individual who exemplifies service, dedication, and commitment to the community.

Commissioner Katherine Weitz presented the recognition, reading aloud a proclamation that recounted Howell’s career and community service. The words detailed a life of public commitment that began more than two decades ago and has continued through military, professional, and civic roles.

Military Service and Law Enforcement Career

The proclamation began by noting Howell’s enlistment in the United States Marine Corps in 2001. His five years of service included a deployment to Okinawa, Japan, and two tours in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. According to the proclamation, those years instilled in him a lasting sense of duty and a determination to serve.

After leaving the Marines in 2006, Howell moved to Alachua County in 2010. In 2013, he joined the Alachua Police Department, where he has spent the past 15 years. His career has spanned multiple roles, from patrol officer and school resource officer to detective and field training officer. He currently serves as detective sergeant overseeing the Criminal Investigations Division. The proclamation emphasized that he has approached each role with professionalism and dedication.

In addition to his police work, Howell pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a management focus from Saint Leo University in 2016 while balancing career and family responsibilities.

Community Contributions

The recognition extended beyond Howell’s professional work. Since relocating with his family to High Springs in 2018, he has become active in civic life, serving on the Parks and Recreation Board and participating in the Law Enforcement Family Memorial Crisis Fund. He has also organized charitable fundraisers, including cornhole tournaments, to support local causes.

In 2022, Howell received the Alachua Chamber of Commerce’s Officer of the Year Award, underscoring his impact within the broader community.

Family and Personal Life

The proclamation also highlighted Howell’s personal side, describing him as a devoted husband of 23 years and father of two daughters who attended High Springs Community School and Santa Fe High School. Friends and family members described him as passionate, patient, supportive, and charismatic, while his wife characterized him as selfless and compassionate.

Recognition as High Springs Hero

The proclamation concluded by recognizing Howell’s wide-ranging service and steady commitment to others. Audience members responded with a standing ovation, applauding his years of service to country, community, and family.

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Sweet Success in Waldo

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01 October 2025
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Photo special to Alachua County Today

First Sweet Potato Festival Draws a Crowd

The Waldo Area Historical Society welcomed the community to Waldo City Square on Sept. 13, 2025, for the first-ever Sweet Potato Festival and Car Display. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., families enjoyed sweet potato dishes, admired classic cars, and connected with neighbors in a celebration of local heritage. Along with other numerous groups and vendors, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Motor Unit and Community Services Division joined the festivities, spending time with youth and engaging with residents during a day filled with sunshine, conversation, and hometown pride.

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Downtown Alachua Set For Weekly Farmers Market Revival

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24 September 2025
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Depicted is an artistic rendering of the “Market on Main” as it could appear in the grassy area along Alachua's Main Street. / Rendering by Alachua County Today staff

ALACHUA – Downtown Alachua is set to welcome back a feature that has been missing for years: a weekly farmers market. Beginning Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, the “Market on Main” will open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the grassy area at Skinner Park along Main Street.

The effort is being led by downtown business owner Mandy Bucci in partnership with the Alachua Business League. Organizers are optimistic that the new market will succeed where previous attempts struggled. In the past, the Chamber of Commerce hosted farmers markets – first near its building on Main Street and later at the same grassy lot – but vendor participation and customer turnout dwindled.

This time, the market is designed with the seasons in mind. Fall and winter hours will run Saturday mornings through March, while in April the market will transition to “Summer Nights” on Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m., running through September. In addition to fresh produce, honey, eggs, flowers, baked goods, and handmade items, the market will feature food trucks, live performances, and children’s activities. On launch day, free market tote bags will be given to the first 100 customers.

Momentum for a market in Alachua comes at a time when the long-standing Alachua County Farmers Market in Gainesville faces an uncertain future. That market, located off U.S. Highway 441, has operated for more than 40 years but may soon close or relocate as the County reclaims the site for other purposes. Supporters of the new “Market on Main” hope this shift will encourage Gainesville-area patrons and vendors to discover the convenience and charm of downtown Alachua.

The Skinner Park location is considered a temporary home for the market. City leaders are working on plans for a new bollard system that would allow Main Street, between Northwest 150th Avenue and Northwest 148th Place, to be closed off for events. Once completed, the system would give the farmers market — and other downtown activities — a central spot on Main Street, drawing people directly into the heart of the city.

With community support, organizers believe the market can become more than just a place to shop for fresh goods. They hope it will grow into a weekly gathering spot where families, friends, and visitors experience the best of Alachua’s downtown.

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Fundora Jewelry Brings First Jewelry Store to Alachua

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24 September 2025
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City and business leaders join Hector Fundora, center right, for a ribbon cutting celebrating the opening of Fundora Jewelry in Rolling Oaks Plaza on Sept. 4 in Alachua. The event marked the city’s first jewelry store and included remarks from local officials, music and refreshments./ Photo Special to Alachua County Today

ALACHUA – The city of Alachua marked a new milestone in its business community last week with the opening of its first jewelry store.

Fundora Jewelry celebrated its ribbon cutting on Thursday, Sept. 4,2025, in partnership with the Alachua Chamber of Commerce. The morning event at Rolling Oaks Plaza featured music, refreshments, and remarks from community leaders.

Alachua City Manager Rodolfo Valladares, Chamber President Elliott Welker and Commissioner Dayna Williams attended the ceremony, joining business leaders and residents in welcoming the new addition to the city’s retail landscape. Owner Hector Fundora also addressed the crowd, outlining his vision for the store and the services it provides.

In addition to offering a selection of fine jewelry, Fundora Jewelry specializes in repairs and cleaning, aiming to provide both new purchases and long-term care for treasured pieces.

The store is located at 15202 N.W. 147th Drive in Rolling Oaks Plaza. Following the ribbon cutting, Fundora Jewelry hosted a grand opening on Saturday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to give the public an opportunity to explore its offerings.

The arrival of Fundora Jewelry marks a first for Alachua, which has long relied on jewelers in nearby Gainesville and surrounding communities. Local leaders said the addition reflects the city’s ongoing growth and its ability to attract new businesses that broaden shopping and service options for residents.

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Aging Hathcock Center Gives Way to Bold Vision

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17 September 2025
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The Cleather H. Hathcock, Sr. Community Center in Alachua shows its age as city leaders plan for a replacement. / Alachua County Today Staff Photographer

~Bigger spaces, expanded programs, and a road upgrade on the table~

ALACHUA ‒ The Cleather H. Hathcock, Sr. Community Center has long been a hub for gatherings and events, but the aging building has struggled to keep up with the community’s needs. Burdened by constant maintenance problems and limited space, the facility has reached a stage where city leaders agree renovation alone will not suffice.

Commission Reviews Next-Generation Plans

City of Alachua Commissioners got their most detailed look yet at what the next-generation Cleather H. Hathcock, Sr. Community Center could be, and the early verdict was enthusiastic. Architect Barnett Chenault, President of Monarch Design Group, delivered a brisk but wide-ranging progress report that translated weeks of staff interviews and a well-attended community workshop into space needs, site constraints, access fixes, and first-pass building layouts.

City Manager Rodolfo Valladares framed the process as a deliberate solicitation of commission, staff, and community engagement that will repeat until a full report returns to the board on Oct. 27.

Community Input Guides Priorities

Chenault said more than 1,600 notices went out for the public workshop at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex, where residents moved through visual boards and dot-voted their priorities. Indoors, the most consistent ask was for larger, flexible rooms capable of handling the city’s growing Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and other community events, alongside vocational training space and computer labs.

The workshop feedback also emphasized intergenerational programming that uses daytime for seniors and evenings for youth to stretch the building’s capacity without forcing programs to compete. Outside, residents favored a shaded stage or amphitheater and outdoor fitness areas, with interest in rentable community space for festivals and gatherings.

Practical Upgrades: Parking, Access, ADA

Practical upgrades kept pace with the wish list: more parking, ADA-compliant paths, better landscaping, and attention to stormwater and erosion that have dogged the site. While most people currently arrive by car, Chenault noted a meaningful number walk to the center — another reason to fix sidewalks and improve frontage along Northwest 140th Street.

Before design comes math, and the design team laid out the non-negotiables that will shape the footprint: parking ratios, stormwater area, buffers and setbacks, and a minimum open-space requirement. Using an easy benchmark, Chenault said a 10,000-square-foot program drives roughly 33 parking spaces — and because each stall consumes around 300 square feet once aisles are included, parking alone carves a tall slice out of the site.

Those realities, he said, make access improvements a smart early investment no matter which building plan the Commission prefers. Chief among them: paving Northwest 159th Lane to city standards, keeping existing access points until a final design is set, adding sidewalk links, and increasing the number of ADA spaces. Valladares was unequivocal about the street work: if the city is going to invest in a “beautiful building,” the roads leading to it should be finished to match.

Early Design Options Presented

To translate community input into rooms and square footage, Monarch built a preliminary “space matrix” —a budget of sorts — totaling roughly 10,000 interior square feet: around 6,000 for community/program rooms, 1,300 for administration, and 1,200 for the invisible but essential functions like HVAC, IT, janitorial, and AV.

With that as a guide, Chenault showed two early massing options. A one-story version comes in around 8,400 square feet, organized around a north-south corridor connecting multi-purpose rooms, a catering/warming kitchen, support spaces, and covered porch.

A two-story version pushes offices and vocational rooms upstairs, adding circulation needs (stairs and an elevator) and nudging the total to about 9,200 square feet, but freeing ground area and making future expansion more feasible. Outdoor elements — such as a stage, community garden space, stormwater features, and service enclosures — would be planned in tandem but sit outside those interior totals.

Debate Over One-Story vs. Two-Story Layout

The Commission quickly coalesced around new construction rather than renovating the relocated, aging building on site, which has been described as compromised by termites and in constant need of upkeep. On height, however, the commission was not yet settled, though a two-story approach is being seriously considered.

Calls for a History Room and More Storage

Vice Mayor Shirley Green Brown said she liked parts of both a one- and two-story approach and insisted that the project include a dedicated City history room. Chenault said the history theme surfaced repeatedly in public input and will be woven into the plan.

Commissioner Jennifer Ringersen leaned toward a one-story building to simplify access for seniors and avoid elevator costs, but pressed for more small-group rooms and far more storage — lessons hard-won in other civic projects. She also urged isolating a computer lab away from big-room activities so tutoring isn’t drowned out by bingo or events.

Commissioner Dayna Williams favored a two-story path to bank future growth, reasoning that as Alachua grows the city will want the flexibility to expand programs and administration without starting over. She floated the idea of exploring Community Development Block Grant dollars for related street upgrades. Mayor Walter Welch also voiced support for going vertical.

Recreation and Outdoor Amenities

The board dipped briefly into recreation specifics when Green Brown asked about pickleball. While not highlighted on every workshop board, staff confirmed it appeared among the outdoor-fitness suggestions alongside foursquare and kickball. Chenault said the next round of public engagement will test interest in specific sports more directly. He also clarified that improved paved parking could be paired with some managed overflow on unimproved areas to retain the practical capacity residents are used to during large events.

Balancing Scope, Budget, and Vision

Valladares closed the discussions by cautioning that scope and budget must now be balanced against the community’s “dream big” brief, but said the process is doing exactly what it should: turning a long list of ideas into a buildable, fundable plan the public can recognize as its own.

Next Steps in the Design Process

Monarch will return with refined scenarios that prioritize new construction, present trade-offs between one and two stories with most program rooms on the first floor either way, reserve space for a history gallery, and package baseline site improvements — especially the paving of Northwest 159th Lane — into the recommended path forward. Applause followed as the city manager promised a better iteration next time and, ultimately, a center the whole city and the community can be proud of.

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