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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Mayor Gib Coerper shows off the certificate of occupancy. He posed in the jail cell, a remnant of the building's history as a police station.

ALACHUA – Years in the making, the renovation for the Community Welcome Center in Alachua has finally hit a milestone.

The building, situated in downtown Alachua, is now up to code, complete with a certificate of occupancy from the city’s building inspector.

The welcome center, which was formerly a post office and then a police station, has been in the works since around 2006 or 2007, when the Chamber of Commerce began the project.

“We envision it as a place where people who are visiting can stop in and learn about the local community,” said David Flinchum, chamber president, in an earlier interview.

It will serve as a tourist information center and as the main office for the chamber. It will provide information on local businesses, and will also feature displays and exhibits from the Alachua Historical Society.

With help from the community, the chamber expects the welcome center to formally open in mid-January, said Linda Rice Chapman, chamber member.

Sandy Burgess of Precision Metals donated the railing system, Hugh Cain of Allstate will supply some office furniture and Lowe’s of Alachua supplied all the exterior paint.

The building was essentially gutted, Chapman said, as it needed a complete renovation.

Until the welcome center is complete, the Chamber of Commerce will continue to be based out of a small office at Alachua Elementary School.

With a new headquarters on Main Street, the chamber can operate more visibly, said previous chamber president David Pope.

“It gets the chamber out front where it can be seen,” he said.

The biggest issue so far has been funding, current president Flinchum said in a May interview.

The chamber received a grant in 2011 from the county’s Tourist Development Council for $25,000. It got another $25,000 from the Alachua Downtown Redevelopment Trust Board.

When the chamber applied for the next phase of the grant this year for another $25,000 from the council, it lost out to the City of Alachua.

“Right now, we’re broke,” Chapman said.

To raise the money to finish the project, the chamber has two fundraisers on the immediate horizon.

The first is a patronage program. Donators can sign up to be a patron of the museum that will be inside the welcome center. Patrons will be honored with a permanent plaque with their names prominently displayed on the museum walls.

The second fundraiser allows people to purchase spots on the chamber’s calendar, effectively letting them “buy the day,” Chapman said. It would come with a signed proclamation from Mayor Gib Coerper declaring the day in honor of whoever bought the spot. For smaller amounts of money, the plan is to allow citizens to memorialize birthdays, anniversaries and other special personal events.

There’s still a long way to go for the project, said former president Pope, even though the building is finally up to code.

Chapman walked through the building, explaining what kinds of renovations are still in store.

The bathroom tiling still needs to be finished, there are no furnishings or display cases yet and the exterior needs to be painted and landscaped. Security lighting and signage are also part of the plan, if and when the funding allows it, Chapman said.

“The outside is virtually untouched,” she said.

Local architect Paul Stresing donated his time to help, drawing up big plans for the center.

The building is a concentrated effort from the Alachua economic community to move the city forward by bridging tourism, history and business, Chapman said.

“This building is going to have the power to transform Main Street,” she said. “That can only have the effect of making Alachua more prosperous.”

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NEWBERRY – The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) is investigating Newberry Fire Chief David Rodriguez for possible misuse of city funds, a criminal offense in which he could be charged with fraud, grand theft and inappropriate actions by a public servant, according to ACSO public information officer Todd Kelly.

The City of Newberry released a statement that the city’s fire chief, David Rodriguez, was placed on indefinite administrative leave without pay.

Rodriguez was not available for comment.

City Manager Keith Ashby said his initial concern about the invoice in question was triggered by a request for payment to a different vendor than is usually used by the city. After paying the vendor, he started to check further into the invoice and found some things that concerned him, he said.

“I contacted our city attorney, who advised me to contact the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office,” Ashby said.

“Essentially, the allegation is that the fire chief, who is also in charge of code enforcement, did services at his son’s house in High Springs in the amount of $2,800, and then had the tree service paid by the city as if it was a code enforcement work,” ACSO’s Kelly said.

Because this type of work would normally be under the authority of the codes enforcement officer, it did not initially raise any red flags, he said.

Deputy Robbie Parker of the ACSO is assigned to the case and forwarded information from his investigation to the State Attorney’s Office for review, Kelly said. As of Monday morning, Dec. 23, no charges have been filed against Rodriguez, he said.

Ashby explained why Rodriguez's suspension was without pay.

“When I see evidence that the city might be out some money, I like to make sure we are not out more money,” he said. “My job is to protect the city, and that’s what I am doing.”

If the investigation shows that Rodriguez did nothing wrong, the city will pay him back for the time he was on suspension.

Rodriguez, who joined the city as a part-time fire fighter in 1991, worked his way up through the ranks and has been fire chief for around 15 years. In his position, he supervises 16 employees.

The city’s news release also stated that Lt. Ben Buckner has been appointed as the interim fire chief, and said that the city hopes to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

In a special commission meeting held on Thursday, Dec. 19, commissioners authorized auditor Ronald Whitesides of Purvis Gray & Co., the city’s new auditors, to conduct an investigation into any invoice issued by Rodriguez in an amount of $1,000 or more for the past year in an attempt to see if the flagged invoice is the only one in which funds may have been misappropriated.

Whitesides will present a letter of agreement to the city commission on Monday, Jan.13 to finalize their agreement. Cost for the auditor’s invoice was set to not exceed $15,000.

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Santa waves to the crowd as his car moves down Main Street.  About 60 local businesses and organizations had a presence in the parade.

Residents of the Good Life Community gathered around Main Street to see the annual Christmas parade on Saturday, Dec. 14.

As the show started around 2 p.m., floats came rolling in representing this year's theme, “Christmas at the movies.”

City Commissioner Ben Boukari, Jr., Alachua recreation director Hal Brady and resident Gussie Lee announced each float as they drove by, offering commentary and chit-chat as the event went on.

Chamber of Commerce members Linda Chapman and Jim Brandenburg and Alachua Elementary principal Eva Copeland judged each participant who passed by.

“Most took great pains to express the theme of the parade,” Chapman said. “The attention to detail was impressive.”

The Alarion Bank float, featuring the Grinch and Dr. Suess-inspired scenery, won first place in the for-profit category of this year's event. The other winners were Matchmaker Reality and the Marlowe L. Smith Electric Company.

The three judges picked the City of Alachua, the High Springs Art Co-op and Lee's Preschool as the winners of the non-profit category.

“A lot of people put a lot of effort into all this,” said Mayor Gib Coerper. “Everybody is having a great time, and that's what this is all about.”

Mayor Coerper made an appearance near the beginning of the event, riding in a motorcycle side-car and donning a Santa hat, red clothes and sunglasses.      

Other local elected officials made an appearance, including County Commissioner Lee Pinkonson, who walked alongside a black car while waving at the crowd.

While many of the onlookers were current Alachua residents, there was at least one person from outside of town.

Pegg Dodson, from St. Augustine, moved out of the city of Alachua about 10 years ago. Whenever she goes to the annual parades in the spring and winter, she misses the small-town atmosphere, she said.

“It brings back Alachua memories,” she said.

Around 60 local restaurants, shops, non-profit organizations and other businesses participated, showing off colorful and detailed floats.

As the streets were flooded with candy thrown by costumed characters, eager children ran and dived to collect their prizes.

Sherrie Dyal, who lives near LaCrosse, was impressed by the variety of the parade.

“It's certainly colorful,” she said. “For the size of the city, it's a pretty good deal.”

For her, the Alarion float was the winner. Not only because of its recreation of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” but also at least partly because her daughter manages Alarion.

The parade ended around 3 p.m., just in time for it to finish before the rainfall to start. People packed up their chairs and said their goodbyes to friends as they got in their vehicles. The City of High Springs wasn't as lucky, its parade having been rescheduled to next Saturday due to the weather.

Sue Kreft, who lives near Jacksonville, saw the annual event as a good way for people to really learn what the city is about.

"We're getting to know Alachua in a neat way," she said.

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HIGH SPRINGS – The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) arrested a High Springs man over what it said was a gang-related shooting in an east Gainesville apartment complex.

Buddy Jabre Lee Fleming, 19, of High Springs, turned himself in after a warrant was issued the day after a man was shot in the leg at the Forest Green apartment complex on NE 15th Street in Gainesville on Dec.11.

Fleming fired two shots from a handgun, according to police reports. One round hit the victim in the leg, causing a non-fatal gunshot wound, and the other round hit the window of an occupied apartment, but caused no injuries.

While Fleming denies any involvement in the shooting, GPD detectives said they have multiple witnesses who place him at the scene.

Fleming also posted on his Facebook page that he intended to shoot the victim between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the day of the incident. The shooting took place at 6:02 p.m., according to police records.

Witnesses at the scene said they saw Fleming and two other men flee to the northwest corner of the apartment complex and enter a dark Ford Mustang just before leaving the scene.

Fleming, who also faces a charge of drug possession, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and firing or throwing a missile into a dwelling, according to Alachua County jail records.

“Our investigation has revealed that this was an incident of gang-related violence,” said GPD spokesman Ben Tobias. “We are thrilled that no innocent bystanders were hurt or killed in this act of senseless violence.”

Fleming made first appearance in court on Dec. 12 and remains in the Alachua County Jail as of Tuesday, Dec. 17. His bond was set at $100,000, with $75,000 for attempted murder and $25,000 for firing a weapon. No court date has been set, according to court records.

Police also arrested Trevis Avante Strawder, 19, Gainesville, believed to be Fleming’s associate, after witnesses also placed him at the scene of the shooting. Strawder was an inmate at the work release center off NE 39th Avenue and was arrested for escaping.

A third man who witnesses say was with Strawder and Fleming during the shooting also fled the scene and has not been located.

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ALACHUA – Tables of students with their noses pressed into books at the Santa Fe High School Media Center witnessed Dollar General give the school a Christmas gift.

“I was thinking they were giving us $500 or $1,000, so that’s what I was anticipating,” said principal Elizabeth LeClear.

The gift turned out to be $40,000.

“I couldn’t even speak,” LeClear said.

On Wednesday Dec. 18, Dollar General distribution center director, Alain Arrendell, went to Santa Fe High School and held a presentation looking at the importance of literature and reading.

At the end of the presentation, the school was awarded with a black and yellow box containing a check for $40,000 to go toward literature. The goal, he said, was to create a “reading revolution.”

Right now, the school has not discussed what books will be bought with the money, said Santa Fe High School principal LeClear. However, the staff plans to get together after the holidays and determine the use of the money.

LeClear said she hopes a portion of the money will go to expanding the nonfiction literature section in the media center and purchase technology like iPads and Nook tablets.

Any program or use that promotes literacy is acceptable, Arrendell said.

The amount of money donated to the school took LeClear by surprise.

Dollar General has supported Santa Fe High School in more than just its literacy program, but also has helped sponsor teams and worked with the teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week.

Media specialist Georgeana Moore said that while Dollar General has been supportive of the high school throughout the years, she never expected the school to be awarded so much money.

“It just knocked our socks off,” she said.

Dollar General chose Santa Fe High School because of its proximity to Dollar General stores in Alachua. Arrendell said it also had to do with the number of parents of students at the school that work at the stores.

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ALACHUA – Television makes their job look easy, but for forensic investigators, finding the right evidence isn’t always elementary.

A film crew went to the CSI Academy in Alachua last November to make a documentary about the influence the character of Sherlock Holmes had on the field of forensic science.

“How Sherlock Changed the World” is a new two-hour documentary that premiered Tuesday, Dec. 17 on PBS. The film shows how investigators protect crime scenes from contamination and search for evidence invisible to the naked eye, and how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books changed the way people think about solving crime.  

“Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s contributions to forensic science through Sherlock Holmes are pretty well established,” said Tony Falsetti, dean of the CSI Academy. “It’s always a good reference point for the students.”

The books got people thinking about ways to link suspects to a crime other than witness testimony, details such as fingerprints, blood patterns and even looking at the soil composition on someone’s clothes, he said.

At least one development in forensic science was predicted by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In the first book, “A Study in Scarlet,” Holmes develops a test to determine if a stain is actually blood, or if it is some other substance. Forensic investigator Karen Smith said that influenced scientists to develop such a test within several years of the book being published.

The documentary was filmed partly in Alachua County due to the academy’s size and space available to recreate scenarios, Falsetti said.

“The one thing we have here is a tremendous hands-on approach,” he said. “All of our training is scenario-based.”

Smith, who was an instructor at the CSI academy, was the catalyst who brought the film producers and the Alachua institution together.

When she saw a flyer from the film crew advertising the search for a good location, she reached out to Robert Rush, CEO of the academy, to ask him if he would be willing to let them use the facility.

Rush was thrilled at the opportunity, Smith said.

“Overall, it was a win-win for everybody,” she said. “The facility, bar none, was perfect for filming this documentary.”

For the film, Smith recreated the crime scene of a murder that took place in Jacksonville in 2005 to showcase her investigative techniques.

After the fatal stabbing of Linda Volum, her team inadvertently discovered a bloody toe print linking Donald Banks to the crime. Banks was sentenced to death in 2008 and is currently on death row.

“Sherlock used a lot of deductive reasoning, taking pieces and making a whole out of it,” Smith said. “That’s what we do at crime scenes.”

The film is a good chance to clear up misconceptions about forensic science, she said.

“Sometimes, you’re not going to get the evidence you want,” Smith said. Fingerprints aren’t always on the weapon and DNA isn’t always easily found on the scene of the crime, she said.

“There’s not always a smoking gun,” she said.

By educating the public through documentaries like this, society will have better-educated juries who will make more informed decisions, Smith said.

Though the film premiered on Tuesday, Dec. 17 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., Smith got an advance copy on DVD.

“It was really fun to watch and the Victorian recreations are really well done,” she said.

“Any time we can bring education to the general public about what we do, I think that’s a really good thing,” Smith said.

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