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HAWTHORNE/WALDO – The Cities of Hawthorne and Waldo are the recipients of $650,000 and $600,000 respectively, through Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for economic development, commercial and neighborhood revitalization, housing rehabilitation and infrastructure improvements.

The overall grant awarded more than $35 million to 48 Florida communities.

The City of Hawthorne’s $650,000 grant will be used to replace aging components of the City’s master lift station. The City of Waldo’s $600,000 grant will be used to make upgrades to the City’s potable water system, including a new well and pump.

Allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides funding for housing and community development activities.

“DEO is proud to support [Florida’s] mission to support economic resilience and growth by working hand in hand with Florida communities,” said Department of Economic Opportunity Secretary Dane Eagle. Today’s awards will go a long way in Florida communities, and we look forward to the positive impact these projects will make for Florida families.”

Other awards throughout Florida ranged from an average of $600,000 - $750,000, with one exception. Holmes County, located in Florida’s panhandle, was awarded $4,050,000 to rehabilitate or replace homes of 11 low- to moderate-income households and to construct a new 1,000 linear foot roadway access, including signalization, lighting, and turn lanes a quarter mile south of I-10 on the west side of State Road 79.

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ALACHUA ‒ A high-tech holiday celebration might bring to mind visions of smart devices, wireless knickknacks, and Bluetooth-connected gadgets with green and red flashing lasers. But for Mitch Glaeser, founder of San Felasco Tech City, Winterfest brings together all the typical trappings of a seasonal party—in a high-tech setting.

Sunday’s Winterfest marked the second year of the gathering, a relative newcome in area holiday celebrations. But considering that as recently as 2018, developers Mitch Glaeser and Rich Blaser were collaborating on the concept for San Felasco Tech City, it is a celebration destined to become a favorite for the high-tech community where work space for businesses is combined with living space and recreational areas.

The community is designed to reflect the needs of emerging tech industries in the Alachua 441 corridor, where much of the employee base is comprised of a younger tech savvy millennial generation. Demographically, this generation tends to prefer smaller more functional housing and fewer possessions for a more mobile lifestyle. They also prefer locations that put work, housing and recreational facilities in a central setting for less commuting, providing more family time for these younger workers with growing families.

The first phase of the proposed community was built in 2019 and now houses 47 companies in a 126,000 square-foot complex with an additional 88,000 square feet being built in the next year. Currently, the completed space houses only businesses, but housing for employees will be added in 2023.

“Last year we decided to host an event called Winterfest to celebrate the holidays and provide entertainment for the families of our tenants, especially with activities for children,” said Glaeser. “However, it is not an event only for our community but for anybody to bring their children. It was such success last year that we decided to hold it again this year on a larger scale.”

Winterfest is just one of many events held around a central promenade at Tech City. “We want this to be all inclusive for our community of businesses, to offer our tenants a place to gather and bring their families together,” said Glaeser. “Since our opening, we have hosted over 100 events in the promenade. It has also been used for 10 music videos and two movie sets.”

This year’s Winterfest welcomed people as they gathered around the promenade lined with booths offering games, treats and a visit from Santa for the children of the Tech City community and the surrounding area. In addition to the individual booths set up by tenant companies of Tech City, the City of Alachua provided a police car and a fire truck, complete with lights and sirens for the kids to explore. Bounce houses were also set up for the children as well as a food truck for the families.

There was a face painting booth, and free cotton candy, as well as various sweets at different tables. Children decorated cookies with colored icing at another booth. A tractor provided hayrides that circled the complex as well.

Tech City tenant Menadier Engineering stuck with an engineering theme by providing a game for children to design a Christmas tree constructed of green plastic cups. Ben Boukari, of Boukari Realty, emceed the event, providing music and free candy for the youngsters.

For the kids, among all the activities, the big event was a visit with Santa Claus provided by Citron Cleaning. Children were also excited by a visit with a costumed Elsa from the “Frozen” movie that was provided by BrittReneeCreative, a provider of a variety of costumed characters for events.

“We do this event for a chance for the community to get together and interact with their neighboring companies and provide events that provide ‘quality of life’ interaction,” said Glaeser. “San Felasco Tech City is more than just a conglomerate of businesses. It’s a community.”

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ORANGE HEIGHTS ‒ One person has been hospitalized after a run-in with a tree. At approximately 1:45 on Thursday, Dec. 15, Alachua County, Melrose Fire Department, Alachua County Sheriff’s Officers, Florida Highway Patrol and Shands Cair Helicopter responded to a single vehicle crash requiring extraction just south of Orange Heights.

On the southbound side of U.S. Highway 301 an extended cab pickup truck with a single-occupant was located which had struck a tree with the driver’s side of the truck.

Personnel on the scene were able to extract the driver using the “Jaws of Life” after approximately 30 minutes. The driver was listed in serious condition and placed on a long spine back board and moved to awaiting Shands Cair Helicopter for transport to Shands Emergency Department.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Charlett Denise Wilson, 54, was arrested on Saturday, Dec. 17, and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, a third-degree felony.

The director of the Deeper Purpose Community Church preschool contacted the High Springs Police Department on Friday afternoon to report an incident that occurred at the school. The incident was reportedly captured on video, and officers reviewed the video.

The video reportedly showed Wilson picking up a three-year-old child and spinning her around in the air before throwing her down on her mat. Wilson also allegedly hit the child in the face “numerous times” with a long hard plastic object.

Wilson was charged in two battery cases in 2002, but adjudication of guilt was withheld.

The bond amount in this case was set at $25,000 and Wilson bonded out of the jail on Sunday, Dec. 18, according to jail records.

Pastor Adam Joy of Deeper Purpose Community Church said that he had called the parents immediately after verifying on video that the teacher had harmed the child. He also immediately asked the teacher to leave the school. Joy added, “I want to make it abundantly clear, that what took place was absolutely unacceptable, will not be tolerated and what happened to the child should never happen to any child.”

Joy said the teacher has been fired and will never be employed there in the future and that a closed meeting will be held for parents the next day.

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ALACHUA ‒ The Christmas spirit was alive and well in Alachua last Saturday night. The Gainesville based professional ballet company Dance Alive National Ballet (DANB) has been performing the Nutcracker for 56 years with hundreds of touring performances and over 30 school programs in the Continental United States. Over the past five years it has also become a Christmas tradition in Alachua as well.

The Nutcracker is an important part of the dance company’s history, and even in 2020 when many entertainment performances were canceled, the Nutcracker performance went on in Alachua’s new Legacy Park Outdoor Amphitheater where social distancing could be observed.

Last year there was a change of venues due to concerns about possible rain and the performance was moved indoors to the Legacy Park Multipurpose center. Neither the threat of bad weather nor the change of venue deterred an enthusiastic audience. This year, despite low temperatures from a cold front, an estimated 750 to 850 bundled up in coats and blankets, sitting on lawn chairs to watch the Nutcracker as more than 30 dancers performed in the almost two-hour show that is set on Christmas Eve.

Dance Alive is a dance academy and professional dance troupe that has always been the heart and soul of the Pofahl family. In 1966, professional dancer and teacher Mary Ellen Pofahl founded the DANB company and it has continued through the talents and efforts of her daughters, Judy Skinner and Kim Tuttle. Tuttle serves as Artistic Director and Skinner is Choreographer-In-Residence.

Pofahl Studios is the official school of DANB, and the faculty have been selected for their professional knowledge of a particular dance discipline as well as the ability to teach a particular age or ability level. The instructors also take part in performances by the DANB. According to Tuttle, the primary concern of the faculty is the development of each student’s skill and appreciation for the art of dance, teaching respect for their teachers and fellow students, and the development of their own personal self-esteem. Many of the school's students have gone on to professional dance careers throughout the world.

Both Skinner and Tuttle actively teach at the school as well as run the DANB. The Nutcracker performance is one of their best known and attended shows. During December, the company will perform the Nutcracker at a variety of venues, combining music and dance with one of the best-known Christmas stories, while keeping alive a half century tradition.

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alachuatoday.com

HAWTHORNE ‒ A Hawthorne man has been arrested after allegedly shooting at members of a hunting club who were hunting on the property next to his home. Michael Dale Roberson, 44, was arrested Tuesday morning, Dec. 13, and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.

A member of the hunting club contacted a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officer and said that members of the club had been threatened, harassed and shot at by Roberson. Roberson lives with his mother. His father, who was an honorary member of the hunting club, died last year.

The hunting club member reportedly told the officer that in the last week of November, every time the club members hunted in the woods next to Roberson’s residence, Roberson monitored their VHF radio channel in his deceased father’s pickup truck. The member said Roberson has threatened over the radio to kill the hunters and their dogs if they come on or near his property. He also cursed at the hunters over the radio. The member also reported that multiple tree stands have been cut down by a power tool. Roberson reportedly owns a similar power tool.

Roberson has two felony convictions, one in Texas and one in Florida, both for firearm theft and is not permitted to possess firearms.

On the morning of Nov. 27, FWC officers observed Roberson’s residence and the adjacent hunting club property. As the hunting club members started arriving in the morning, an officer saw Roberson walking near the pickup truck, then Roberson reportedly began walking down the driveway toward the road with a pistol in a holster on his hip. As a hunter drove by, the officer heard a shot fired from a handgun from the wood line next to the roadway. He then reported that he heard a woman’s voice from the residence, telling Roberson to stop and come back to the house at which point Roberson walked back to the house.

Multiple club members reportedly told the officer that Roberson is disabled; they speculated that he may be having a mental health crisis. The hunters said they were concerned if Roberson continues to have access to firearms.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $100,000.

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