Local

NEWBERRY – On Feb. 29, 2020 a small group of visitors, who braved the chilly and windy morning weather, was treated to a walk through time covering over 160 years. They had come to Dudley Farm Historic State park for a tour of the homestead and surrounding buildings built by the Dudley Family over three generations. Park volunteer Doug Day led the hour-long tour, explaining the family history and the agricultural techniques used over the generations to make the farm an important crossroads in early Florida history.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Dudley State Park is a one-of-a-kind, authentic working Florida farm rather than a re-created farmstead. Staff and volunteers in period clothing perform chores, raise crops and tend to livestock—cracker cows and horses, bronze turkeys and heritage breed chickens.

The 327-acre park has 18 original buildings built between the 1880s and 1930s that still existed, including the restored family farmhouse with original furnishings, kitchen, general store, post office and cane syrup complex. Some of the buildings were not part of the original farm but were relocated in the park to give a more complete picture of what life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

After Florida became a state in 1845, settlers from South Carolina arrived seeking land for cotton production. Philip Benjamin Harvey Dudley and his wife, Mary, were part of that migration, settling in Archer in 1852 and purchasing the land that became Dudley Farm in 1859. Dudley rapidly became a middle-class, agrarian through his ownership of 960 acres with 30 slaves who cleared land and grew cotton. But, he and his family also worked hard to make the farm a success, working dawn to dusk. In a time where everyone worked for a common goal, each of his children had duties depending on their age. The original homesite was a log cabin northwest of the present farmhouse. No remains of the original cabin still exist except for the possible location of a well.

Dudley Sr. served the Confederacy during the Civil War as a captain of the Alachua Rangers 7th Regiment. After the war, he returned home to the challenge of managing a large cotton plantation without enslaved workers. Dudley Sr. and his oldest son turned to grazing cattle, in addition to raising cotton and crops with hired help. Work also began on a road from the farm to Gainesville so cattlemen could drive herds to market. Another road intersected at the farm that connected Newberry, Archer, Jonesville and Gainesville. The old road is still visible today as the main path to the farmhouse. These roads and cattle production put Dudley Farm on the map as an important crossroads and commercial center.

When his father died in 1881, his eldest son, Ben Dudley Jr., built the present farmhouse to accommodate his family that grew to eight girls and four boys. He also added a general store, kitchen, smokehouse, sweet potato storehouse, dairy and canning house, outhouses, corncrib and barn. All were constructed of heart pine from the property. The prosperous farm produced cotton, corn, rice, millet, rye, oats, sugar cane and sweet potatoes. Milk, butter, eggs, turkeys and sausage were taken to Gainesville to be sold.

In the Reconstruction era, when jobs were scarce and poverty high in the decimated south, the farm laborers and tenant farmers were paid only with a "furnish" partly consisting of pork and sugarcane. But, the farm prospered and after Ben's death in 1918 his widow continued to work the farm along with her three sons.

Over the years, most of the siblings moved away to start their own careers and families. One son, Ralph Dudley, stayed and continued to raise cattle, tobacco and vegetable crops until his death in 1967. The youngest of Ben’s 12 children, Myrtle Dudley, was the last to remain on the farm. She managed a small cattle herd and vegetable and flower gardens. As she became older, Myrtle carried out her mother’s wish to keep the farm intact by donating 24 acres to the park service in 1983.In 1986, the state purchased an additional 232 acres to preserve the rural landscape that was part of the original Dudley land. The farm not only contained the buildings, but a wealth of documents and furnishings from the generations of Dudleys. One of the conditions of giving the state the property was that Myrtle would live on the farm until her death in 1996 at the age of 94.

Today, living history interpreters conduct daily farm work including the care of cattle, poultry, crops and building maintenance. Cane grindings take place in the fall as they did when the Dudleys lived here. The park regularly holds events exhibiting aspects of the agrarian life from early Florida. On March 7, the park will hold an event called “Plowing up the Past” to celebrate the 85^th Anniversary of the State Park Services founding with demonstrations of how Florida farmers prepared for plantings. The following Saturday, March 14, will host kids day with activities for children to learn the history as well as a picnic on the property.

The park is located at 18730 West Newberry Road east of Newberry Florida and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday – Sunday. There is a $5 admission per vehicle. For more information, call 352-472-1142.

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LIVE OAK – The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) has submitted its report on the application by Nestle Waters to take 1.5 million gallons a day from Ginnie Springs to sell as bottled water. Staff recommendation is to deny the permit based on incomplete information in several areas supplied by the original permit owner or Nestle.

The original permit, owned by Seven Springs Bottling Company, was originally issued on Sept. 11, 1995 and modified on June 25, 1999 and allowed for a total of 1.5 million gallons a day, but has never exceeded one third of that amount. Nestle plans to pump the full amount allowed by the permit.

According to Katelyn Potter, spokesperson for the SRWMD, the renewal application does not provide specific information about engineering plans to ensure it will be able to accommodate for all of the water it plans to pump.

The permit applicant, Seven Springs, also declined to provide a copy of its contract with Nestle, and instead, provided a memorandum of the contract. This memorandum does not show that the applicant is obligated to provide any or all of the requested allocation to Nestle.

As the highest reported actual use of water in the facility was significantly less than the requested amount, the previous use does not provide evidence of the physical ability to process the new amount requested by Nestle. Although they have stated that the facility is being renovated to handle the increased amount, they have failed to date to provide sufficient evidence that the renovations will create the necessary physical ability.

In addition, Seven Springs has only provided information for the High Springs facility, but has provided no reasonable assurance that the High Springs facility is the only beverage processing facility where the use of the requested allocation will occur.

Based on the incomplete data, SRWMD staff is recommending that the permit be denied. The recommendation will be reviewed by the Suwannee River Water Management District Governing Board at the upcoming March 10 meeting and public hearing. The Board can approve or reject the recommendation at that time.

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GAINESVILLE  — In light of the recent COVID-19 situation, United Way of North Central Florida (UWNCFL) has launched the United We Care Emergency Relief Fund to support our nonprofit Community Impact Partners as they serve affected community members.

As we know many residents of North Central Florida will be affected by various school and business closures. During this constantly changing time, we hope that by providing further support to our Community Impact Partners, they in turn can assist many more community members in need. United We Care funds are designated to help provide assistance with rent, utilities, food, toiletries and gas (as needed).

“Many of our local community members live paycheck-to-paycheck and do not have the ability to save for unforeseen events, such as a global pandemic,” said Mona Gil de Gibaja, UWNCFL President & CEO. “Donations made to this crucial fund will help to keep families housed, fed and stable during this unsteady time.”

Furthermore, UWNCFL has pledged that 100% of the donations to the United We Care fund will go straight to helping local community members in need and no administrative costs will be taken, said Gil de Gibaja.

Community members seeking assistance can dial 2-1-1 or 352-332-4636 to get connected with local resources.

For more information and to donate to UWNCFL’s United We Care Emergency Relief Fund, please visit: www.unitedwayncfl.org/COVID-19.

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MICANOPY – A public hearing regarding a proposed median modification on State Road 25 along U.S. Highway 441 was held Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the town hall building, 706 N.E. Cholokka Boulevard, Micanopy. The event began with an open house from 4 – 5:30 p.m., followed by a public comment period at 5:30 p.m. Approximately 20 attendees had the opportunity to view displays and discuss the proposed changes with project staff and consultants.

Being proposed is the closing of a full median opening along U.S. 441 and upgrading the traffic signals at the intersection of U.S. 441 and County Road 234W. These proposed improvements are part of a larger project that will resurface the pavement of U.S. 441 and make operational and safety improvements between the Alachua County line and State Road 331/Williston Road.

Although the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the median modification, most residents expressed relief at the addition of the traffic signal. Some expressed concern at how dangerous the intersection had become. Residents said they hoped the signal would improve safety at that location. “The proposed modifications are expected to reduce conflicts and enhance safety,” said FDOT’s Derrick Richardson.

Project documents available at the public hearing have also been posted online at www.nflroads.com.

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Around 11 p.m., on Saturday, March 8, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of 7400 SE 225^th Way regarding a noise complaint regarding loud car stereos in the area. Deputies arrived on scene to find a “block party” style celebration occurring with several hundred people in the area. At approximately 12:25 a.m., Deputies reported hearing multiple gunshots and located one adult male with a gunshot wound to the neck, he was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Additional deputies responded to secure the area and eventually the SWAT team responded to assist with securing the crime scene and searching for other wounded victims. No other victims were located on scene, however one juvenile male arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest and is undergoing surgery. There are no identified suspects at this time.

The investigation is ongoing and detectives and crime scene personnel continue to work to analyze evidence and determine what took place.

We are ask that anyone with information they feel may be related to this investigation to contact the Combined Communications Center at 352-955-1818. Callers can also remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest by calling Crime Stoppers at 352-372-STOP (7867).

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NEWBERRY – County Assistant County Manager and Chief of Staff Gina Peebles addressed the Newberry City Commission at the Feb. 24 meeting to provide an update on the progress that has been made at the Alachua County Agriculture & Equestrian Center.

Peebles presented the proposed layout of the facility and said that the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) allocated $13 million to the project at their Feb. 11 meeting, which was more than they had initially planned to allocate. This is in addition to the $3.8 million they paid to purchase the property.

Referring to a map showing the layout of the property, Peebles said the items in blue were required improvements and then she explained the reasons. “Homes were encroaching on the north property line on the outdoor arena space. Also, with the addition of a 50-foot vegetative buffer, that facility needed to be relocated. Our drainage was on an adjacent piece of property so we have to move the drainage onto our site,” she said. “Also required were ADA improvements and site work in addition to the new IFAS Center and Auditorium.”

In addition to the required improvements, Alachua County approved additional items as well. Those improvements include a new restroom building to accommodate a full arena seating capacity. They also include improvements needed to the arena in addition to ADA improvements. “We have some beams that need to be repaired, a new roof will be constructed and some concrete on the outside to assist with erosion will be done,” she said.

The existing pole barn at the current east Gainesville location will be relocated to the current facility. “It was originally purchased with Youth Fair funds so they are going to work with us to relocate that building out here. The Board also really wanted additional landscaping above and beyond what is required by code,” she said.

Peebles also showed a layout of the IFAS facility, which will encompass 7,043 sq. ft. It will include a conference room that seats 15, 10 offices and a lab.

She also reviewed the Auditorium Building, which will encompass 12,498 sq. ft., 4,546 sq. ft. of which will actually be the auditorium itself. The auditorium has a capacity of more than 300 occupants and is divisible into three smaller rooms. There will also be a kitchen a lobby and other needed rooms and facilities.

The cost estimate for the proposed improvements total $10,552,050. The cost estimate for the optional improvements is $3,532,178.

According to the work schedule provided by Peebles, final civil/site work design should be completed by April with a notice to proceed to occur in June. Final construction documents will be ready in July with a notice to proceed for remaining construction elements to be scheduled for October. Civil work, such as ponds and utilities, should be completed by December. Construction of the three buildings will come next and will run into 2021 with a final construction completion time estimated to be December of that year.

The only commission question had to do with the orientation of the buildings. Peebles pointed to the lobbies of both buildings indicating they would be facing each other. At some point county commissioners would like to see some type of covered walkway between the entrances to both buildings, but at this time that has not been budgeted Peebles said.

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