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ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ The deadline for prospective candidates for partisan offices to change party affiliation for the 2022 election cycle is June 12, 2021.

Prior to the enactment of Senate Bill 90, only candidates who wished to qualify with a political party needed to affirm that they had not been registered with another party in the 365 days before candidate qualifying begins. Now, all candidates for partisan office — even those without a party affiliation — must have maintained their party affiliation, or non-affiliation, for the 365-day period.

The new law prohibits a person from seeking to qualify for office as a candidate with no party affiliation if he or she has been a registered member of any political party within the 365 days preceding the beginning of the qualifying period, and requires a person seeking nomination as a candidate of a political party to have been a member of the party for the 365 days preceding the beginning of the qualifying period.

Upon qualifying, all candidates for partisan office must sign an oath attesting they have maintained their registration status with respect to party affiliation.

Candidate qualifying for federal, state and local offices begins June 13, 2022.

Voters may change their party affiliation by turning in a Florida Voter Registration Application or using the online voter registrations system at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov.

For more information, contact the Supervisor of Elections at 352-374-5252.

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WALDO ‒ Cool cars, poodle skirts, doo-wop singers and more brought Waldo-area residents outside on Saturday, May 22, to enjoy the fine weather and frivolity. All this fun was scheduled for a good reason – to earn money to improve the old Waldo school auditorium.

The event took place at Waldo City Hall Square, 14450 N.E. 148^th Avenue. The day began with back-to-back T-ball games at the Square and moved on to a large car show. Car owners brought their prized cars in from all over North Florida for this show. Approximately 179 cars showed up from as far away as Crystal River, DeLand, Jacksonville and Palatka, as well as from within Alachua County.

Car show entries ranged from antique and classic up to current day. Vehicle categories ranged from 1990 and older, 1991 and newer and top divisions for each manufacturer were also judged. In total, 68 awards were given out at this show, which included Best of Show and People’s Choice Awards. Women who dressed in poodle skirts and other 50s hot rod-era dress also competed for trophies. Another fun competition was for the oldest person in attendance, who happened to be 85 years old. Exact birthdates came into play in this category as three people were in competition for the oldest of the 85-year-olds.

Show organizer Mark Wyant of Gainesville Street Rod Club said there were about 27 active members who put this show together, which took about three months to organize. “I have put on about 50 shows all total and this one was one of the best so far,” said Wyant. “The venue was perfect. The day was breezy and sunny. We had food vendors, live doo-wop singers, a disk jockey and the people came out to support the event,” he said.

And support the event they did. After expenses the group presented the City of Waldo with a check for $4,000 toward their auditorium project.

Waldo City Manager Kim Worley said she would have been delighted if the City had received a check for $400. “This was more than we could have hoped for,” she said after receiving the check.

Vendors included Waldo’s B&R Crafters and the Waldo Area Recreation Department’s concession stand. Food vendors included Sweet Dreams Ice Cream (in a fire truck). Cowboys BBQ was also in attendance with their food truck to help feed hungry visitors. Items for sale included car parts, unique signs and other arts and crafts items.

The Waldo Area Historical Museum was also open for those out-of-town visitors who wanted to learn a little about Waldo’s history.

Music was provided throughout the event by a DJ and live music was featured by a Doo-Wop band called Kitch’N Sync.

“The most important thing about this event was that everyone had fun, from babies to 85-year-olds,” said Worley. “We hope to have more events like this on our grounds to bring our citizens together and entice others to find Waldo and learn about our great city.”

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L-R: State Representative Chuck Clemons, Alachua Assistant City Manager Kamal Lathem and Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Secretary Dane Eagle discuss future opportunities for the Alachua biotech community.

ALACHUA – Alachua’s thriving biotech community is on a mission to increase its presence on the national and global stage. Biotech leaders and community partners welcomed Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Secretary Dane Eagle on Wednesday, June 2 at the Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technology. Eagle was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to lead the State’s economic development agency in 2020.

Joining in a roundtable discussion of strategies to nurture the local biotech environment was Santa Fe College President Paul Broadie, State Representative and Santa Fe College VP for Office of Advancement Chuck Clemons, Alachua Chamber of Commerce President Mitch Glaeser and Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Eric Godet.

Over 30 individuals representing the local biotech community participated in the strategy session including a number of CEOs, UF Innovate/Sid Martin Bio’s Karl Lapan, Elliottt Welker, and Merrie Shaw as well as Alachua City Manager Adam Boukari and Alachua Assistant City Manager Kamal Latham. The meeting was also available virtually and several biotech leaders including President and CEO of BioFlorida Nancy Bryan and AGTC CEO Sue Washer joined online.

Discussion centered on the factors that make a biotech community grow and thrive. Participants pointed out that important attributes include an available workforce, proximity to higher learning, startup friendly environments, access to venture capital and a quality lifestyle.

There was general agreement by participants that the State of Florida could encourage growth in the biotech industry by supporting measures that boost angel, venture capital, and other funding for biotech and biomed companies as well as offering incentives tailored to the biotech industry in order to be competitive with other states such as Massachusetts, California and North Carolina. Another area identified that the State could assist with is funding for building and site development to support construction of new facilities, or reuse or expand existing facilities.

Locally, the City of Alachua is launching the Alachua Biotech Partnership, a public-private partnership to help grow existing companies and expand the area’s biotech ecosystem. It was suggested that DEO become a member of the partnership. Clemons suggested starting a biotech caucus to further discussion and strengthen the biotech sector.

Eagle offered several suggestions regarding possible funding opportunities through the Department of Economic Opportunity and advised that some measures mentioned would require legislative action. It is expected that Eagle will return to the area in the near future to tour local facilities.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Poe Springs Park is open again. And tubing, kayaking and barbecuing were just a few ways people spent their Memorial Day weekend at the park’s reopening. The park has endured a series of openings and closings over the past several years to accommodate various improvements and repairs to the facilities.

Poe is the largest spring in Alachua County and pumps 45 million gallons of water daily, offering swimming in the spring area, hiking along the trails, kayak and canoe launches and buildings for events.

A popular weekend recreation area, the property includes a playground, volleyball courts, sports fields and nature trails and includes pavilions and picnic shelters with bar-b-que grills. There is also a lodge building for event rentals, such as parties, family gatherings and small weddings.

Poe Springs has been a popular recreation area for almost 70 years. Poe was privately owned until 1985 when the initial 75 acres was purchased with a federal grant from the land and water conservation fund. Additional acreage was provided by Suwanee River Water Management District (SRWMD) and additional grant funds in the 1980s and in 1991, Alachua County opened the park to the public.

Alachua County shut the park in December 2011 for a construction project that included a new retaining wall and steps in the spring-fed swimming area, new landscaping and new roofs and air-conditioning units on the buildings and pavilions.

It reopened again on July 4, 2013 for four days a week with no admission charge under a barebones arrangement between the County and the City of High Springs. It closed again in 2017 due to damage from Hurricane Irma and opened again in May 2018 after repairs were made but on a shorter weekend only schedule of Friday to Sunday.

Then came the COVID 19 pandemic and the park closed again under state quarantine in March 2020 only to open again three months later. The springs portion of the park closed yet again three months later in September 2020 for renovations, but the boat ramp remained open. Although renovations were anticipated to be finished by January 2021, delays kept the park closed until this Memorial Day weekend.

Alachua County Open Spaces Manager Jason Maurer said he is glad to see the park reopened, especially as a recreation area for children. “We did a lot of inhouse projects, some concrete work, cleaning the building, and upgrading some of the facilities.”

Maurer also said improvements include fresh sand in the volleyball courts, new ADA compliant sidewalks and a heightened eight-foot-wide pathway leading to Poe Springs.

“We still have more improvements to make including a new boat ramp and improved nature paths,” said Maurer, “but the park is now improved to provide a better time for every one with more facilities available.”

According to Maurer, the new boardwalk at Poe Springs Park has been raised to avoid flood damage and he is expecting more finishing touches to be added including the completion of a second alternate boardwalk to the spring head. “We'll be adding educational signs and a historical marker of Hurricane Irma levels," Maurer said.

The park will now be open seven days a week 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. While the park had been free in the past, to help cover the cost of maintenance and increased staffing due to the seven-day schedule, now there is an entry fee of $6 per vehicle and $1 for visitors walking or biking.

The county has also added the services of Anderson's Outdoor Adventures (AOA), which not only rents kayaks, canoes and tubes, but will drop off and pick up boaters at various locations. AOA is the outfitter and food concessions contractor with other local springs including Manatee, Hart, Blue and Fanning Springs as well as the Santa Fe River Park. The company also has plans to bring in more food and concessions in the near future.

Pick-up and drop-off services for tube and watercraft will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily to and from the Highway 27 bridge. The trip itself is two to three hours floating from the drop off to the boat ramp at Poe Springs. There is a $9 rental fee for tubes that visitors can use to float in the springs or float down the river to the boat ramp and repeat that trip as many times as desired. Rental services for tubes and watercraft is open from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Maurer said the park is still under Covid distancing regulations and is limited to 120 parking spaces at any time. “We had full capacity of 300 to 400 people all three days of the Memorial Day weekend. It was great to see everyone, especially the children, enjoying this unique park.”

Money for the boardwalk and other repairs was split, with $280,665 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as hurricane compensation and $284,152 from the county’s Wild Spaces and Public Places tax.

The park is located at 28800 N.W. 182^nd Avenue, High Springs on State Highway 236, which is also known as Poe Springs Road. For more information, contact the Alachua County Parks and Conservation Land Office at 352-264-6868 or parks@alachuacounty.us.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The High Springs City Commission recognized two individuals at the May 27 City Commission meeting. Mayor Gloria James congratulated Commissioner Ross Ambrose, who was honored with a 2021 Home Rule Hero Award by the Florida League of Cities. James said Ambrose worked tirelessly to promote local voices making local choices to protect the Home Rule powers of Florida's municipalities.

James also recognized High Springs Police Chief Antoine Sheppard who recently received a Masters of Criminal Justice Degree from St. Leo University. The City held a reception in his honor on Monday to celebrate the achievement, which Sheppard said took a lot of late nights of studying to complete.

High Springs is about half way through their strategic planning effort according to Tom Kohler of GAI Consultants, the firm working with the City on a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Plan update. Kohler anticipates presenting the plan to the Commission by the end of July or the beginning of August and then to the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners in September.

In other business, a City ordinance is under consideration that has some residents concerned. Although the ordinance was continued to the July 22 meeting, a resident of Bailey Estates subdivision said she had “77 petitions” from residents asking that the City deny the measure. The ordinance seeks to amend the City’s zoning map by changing the zoning district from Residential-1A (R-1A) to Residential-3 (R-3) on 89.69 +/- acres east of Bailey Estates. The applicant is J.H. Londono, agent for SAFECA, Ltd.

The Bailey Estate resident claimed there were problems with the development but she was not specific about the types of problems experienced in the subdivision. City Manager Ashley Stathatos responded later to a question by Commissioner Linda Jones referencing Homeowner’s Association funds and residents of the subdivision. Stathatos said she would attempt to get the parties together with the developer to see if they could work out an amicable solution.

A preliminary plat was unanimously approved for Crockett Springs following a comment by Stathatos that the plat met all City requirements and was approved by the Planning and Zoning Committee.

A fee waiver request was made by Nancy Levin for a lot split at 18743 N.W. 243^rd Street. Levin said her $500 fee waiver request was based on the property owner’s financial hardship. Currently, there is no language in City codes for a fee waiver in this situation and Commissioners expressed concern that waiving it for one person would mean others would expect the same.

Commissioner Scott Jamison suggested an alternative solution to the issue. Since the lot split was required so that the property owner could sell part of the property, he suggested that the owner defer fee payment until such time as the property she is splitting is sold. This action was approved by the Commission.

Recreation Director Damon Messina announced that a job fair has been scheduled for June 22 at the High Springs Civic Center. The hours are 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Messina also reported that the recreation department is teaming up with Good News Arts for an art focused summer recreation program. “This is a summer arts camp for youth (K to 12),” he said. Children will work directly with artists as they create different types of art projects each week.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Like many small towns, High Springs has a monument honoring local citizens who gave their lives in wartime. Located just west of City Hall on U.S. Highway 27, the monument lists the name of the ones who never returned from World Wars I and II as well as one reserved for as Vietnam vets. World War II hit High Springs hard as 14 young men did not come home out of a town population of 2,000.

For many Americans, Memorial Day is a three-day weekend to travel, enjoy the outdoors or party. The original meaning of the holiday may be acknowledged, but oftentimes little is done to honor it during their weekend plans. For others, the true meaning of Memorial Day carries a more somber quality as a time to remember those who served and did not return, as well as those who came back but have since passed.

Over the years, those monuments in High Springs became part of the town's landscape, seen by many, with few paying heed to meaning or purpose. Four years ago, vandals destroyed one of the benches that flanked the stone memorial. The U.S. Military Vets motorcycle club stepped forward to fix the bench and clean up the site. The group is part of a national organization with over 100 chapters throughout the country.

The clubs are entirely comprised of honorably discharged veterans from one of the five military branches and who also are motorcycle riders. They are a nonprofit group that also offers support and funding to veteran related groups and charities. Their goal is to honor and keep the memory alive for all who served, especially those that paid the supreme price of their lives.

This year, on Memorial Day the bikers showed up at the memorial, joined by the High Springs Lions Club for their annual tribute to those who did not return by laying wreaths and planting small flags in tribute for each of the 17 names on the monument. While this has been an annual event, it was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but the supporters were anxious to get back to the ceremony and honor the fallen.

They were joined by a few citizens including Ervin Hiney, 88, and his wife Shirley of Alachua. “I enlisted at age 18 and served in the United States Air Force for 20 years. Most of my career I flew fighter planes as well as the B-52 bomber in Vietnam,” said Hinley. “I flew fighters in during the Korean War. We just wanted to come honor fellow servicemen that gave their lives for their country.”

At 9 a.m., veteran and vice president of the U.S. Military Vets Spike Mueller rang a bell and announced the Unknown Soldier. A club member solemnly placed a flag in the ground on the monument's edge. One by one, Mueller spoke the names on the monument and a member of the vet’s club or Lions Club placed a flag in their honor. After all names had been read, a final salute and moment of silence was given.

“We are all veterans who served, and in many cases lost friends and comrades in war,” said Mueller. “We never forget them and want to make sure they are honored and remembered.”

The monument is inscribed with the message "In honor of those who served in time of war, A mighty mother turns in tears, the pages of her battle years, lamenting all her fallen sons."

For Lion's Club member Leslie Flage, the ceremony held a personal importance. Her Great Uncle Robert McDonnell was one of the names on the stone. Flage never met her great uncle, but grew up hearing stories and saw the sadness in his family's eyes.

McDonnell was a local high school valedictorian who split his free time between his girlfriend and camping on the rivers and was popular in town. When World War II came, he and three brothers all joined up. All lived through the war except Robert.

Just a month before the end of the war in Europe, Robert’s P-51 fighter was shot down over Holland. Originally buried in Holland, his family had him returned to his hometown to be buried in the High Springs cemetery.

And at that cemetery on Memorial Day, John Marshall was cleaning his son, John Isbell's, gravesite, which has a Marine flag flying above the grave. Marshall served in the Navy and both his sons were Marines in Desert Storm. Although Isbell died after his tour, his father routinely maintains the grave and felt that Memorial Day was an important day to come. “I like to keep the site tidy to honor John and his service to the country,” said Marshall.

At Alachua’s City Hall is a military memorial surrounded by a pathway of bricks, each inscribed with a veteran's name and time of service. Some are names of veterans still living and some are veterans who passed later in life, but 48 are of Alachua County residents killed in Vietnam and nine are from Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of those who died in Afghanistan is Staff Sargent John Rieners. On the day before Valentine’s Day 2010, Rieners and three other soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle.

When a soldier deploys to a combat zone, his mother becomes a member of the Blue Star Club signifying they have a son or daughter in harm’s way. John’s mother, Ronna Jackson, was a proud member of that club, but at his death she joined the club no mother wants, becoming a gold star mother, signifying she lost a family member in action.

While the loss of her son was devastating, Jackson found a cause and a way to keep part of her son alive in memory. Jackson put her energy into organizations to help other deployed soldiers. Jackson works tirelessly with various veterans’ organizations including The Military Support Group of Alachua County (MSGFAC). The group sends monthly care packages to deployed soldiers to provide items they can’t find in the field to make their lives a little easier and remind them of home.

This past Saturday the MSGFAC met at Evergreen Cemetery to place 1,000 flags on veteran’s graves, then to Publix to distribute 'Poppy's for the Fallen” with the local American Legion Auxiliary ladies. These tributes are to remind people what this day is about.

“We owe our freedom in America to these heroes that are willing to risk their lives to defend people they do not even know, but are fellow Americans. Our current troops are all volunteers, who give up their civilian life to serve their country. What we do is a small way to say thank you, said Jackson. “They are all heroes and all that I do is in the name of my son, to honor his memory and help the other soldiers who still serve.”

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