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ALACHUA ‒ Albert Odarius Trevell Darling, 35, was arrested on Sept. 29 after allegedly fleeing a traffic stop at high speed through a residential neighborhood in Alachua.

After an Alachua Police Department (APD) officer tried to conduct a traffic stop at about 6:45 p.m. in the 15300 block of Northwest 134^th Terrace, Darling allegedly fled, drivinag “with wanton disregard for the public’s safety.”

APD reports that Darling was passing cars by driving off the road and narrowly missing both cars and private property. The APD officer reported that Darling reached 90 mph in 25 or 30 mph zones in a neighborhood known to have heavy pedestrian foot traffic. Darling was eventually stopped and arrested.

Darling has been charged with fleeing police with disregard for the safety of persons or property. He has seven prior felony convictions and has served two state prison terms, with his most recent release in 2017. Darling is being held on $100,000 bail.

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ALACHUA COUNTY — The secure ballot intake station located in the parking lot of the Supervisor of Elections Office at 515 N. Main Street in Gainesville has been removed.

The Supervisory of Election’s office says this change will not impact the availability of the secure ballot intake station for voters.

A monitored secure ballot intake station will be available at the outer entrance of the Josiah T. Walls Building during the General Election early voting period of Oct. 24 – Nov. 5, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will also be available on Nov. 6 and 7 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Election Day on Nov. 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voters wishing to hand deliver their Vote-By-Mail ballot at the Supervisor of Elections Office can still do so by going to the third floor of the Josiah T. Walls Building during normal business hours, which are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about the secure ballot intake stations and early voting, contact the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office at 352-374-5252 or visit VoteAlachua.gov

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GAINESVILLE ‒ A Newberry firm has placed fifth in the 2022 Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention competition as well as claiming the People’s Choice award: Newberry based Sustainable Landfill Solutions LLC, received an award for its RO BOX – A Modular On-site Landfill Leachate Treatment System, treating dangerous landfill runoff.

Tied for fifth place, along with Sustainable Landfill Solutions, is Polymer Solutions Inc., Atlanta, for its Transient, Self-Immolative Polymers, a plastic that decomposes quickly into recyclable materials.

The winning 2022 Cade Prize went to NEPTUNYA Ocean Power of Boca Raton for developing OCTOPODZ, a technology that unlocks renewable energy.

Octopodz’s new offshore wind turbine design drastically lowers energy costs through reduced weight and a floating design that eliminates the need for a separate foundation substructure. The invention could dramatically increase renewable energy adoption by power companies and other energy consumers.

Other Cade Prize winners are:

Second place: Ambulero, Inc., of Miami for a gene therapy for rare vascular diseases with the potential to prevent limb and digit loss.

Third place: Ilika Geospatial, Orlando, for Earth Observation Indices, transforming raw satellite data into simple metrics to track drought, crop health, and fire risk.

Fourth place: SG Endocrine Research, LLC, Athens, GA, for a nanoparticle for non-surgical spaying and neutering that is intravenously administered to pets.

“We’re inspired by both the high-caliber and record number of submissions this year,” said Richard Miles, Cade Prize Committee Chair, and son-in-law of Dr. Robert Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade, after whom the Cade Prize is named. “We’re looking for the next big invention and are excited to celebrate innovation through the Cade Prize.”

Winners were announced Oct. 6 at an awards ceremony in Gainesville. They will share $67,000 in cash prizes. The two teams that tied for fifth place will each receive $2,000 of in-kind legal services.

The Cade Prize draws innovators from research universities and the private sector with groundbreaking, early-stage ideas before they reach the marketplace. Often, these life-changing ideas take years to materialize and become successful.

Beginning as a Florida competition, the Cade Prize now includes Georgia and Alabama, with plans for further expansion.

The Cade Prize is sponsored by Scott R. MacKenzie, Florida Trend, Modern Luxury, the Community Foundation of North Central Florida, James Moore Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, and Saliwanchik, Lloyd & Eisenschenk. Visit cademuseum.org/cadeprize to learn more.

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NEWBERRY ‒ The UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County Office will be conducting the UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County Farm Tour on Friday, Nov. 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The tour will begin at the UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County Office, 22712 W. Newberry Road, Newberry.

Alachua County has a large agricultural industry ranging from horticulture, beef cattle, nurseries, row crops and more. Participants will visit local nurseries, blueberry farm, cattle ranch, vegetable packing shed, perennial peanut farm and discuss best management practices and cover crops. In addition, there will be topics on Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, 4-H Youth Development and local food preparation.

Participants in the tour learn more about what is growing in Alachua County’s backyard and see what local agriculture is all about.

The tour bus leaves the UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County Office at 8:30 a.m. Participants should arrive by 8:15 a.m. The registration fee is $50, which includes lunch and the bus fee.

Participants must register online at www.eventbrite.com/e/ufifas-extension-alachua-county-farm-tour-tickets-421411512177. Registration will be limited to the first 50 paid registrants. There are no refunds for the registration fee.

For more information about this program, please call 352-955-2402. Visit the Extension Office website for additional programs offered by the Extension Office.

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ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ The Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office has mailed just over 45,000 vote-by-mail ballots for the 2022 General Election to Alachua County voters. The ballots, which went out Oct. 4, were delayed due to Hurricane Ian. Overseas ballots were mailed on Thursday, Sept. 22.

Vote-By-Mail Deadlines

Voters who requested a vote-by-mail ballot should expect to receive their ballot in the next week. Ballots will arrive in envelopes with pink markings. Any voter who has not received their vote-by-mail ballot by Monday, Oct. 17 should contact the Supervisor of Elections Office at 352-374-5252 or by email at votebymail@alachuacounty.us.

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the 2022 General Election is 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. Any registered voter can sign up to vote by mail. Vote-by-mail ballots can be requested online, in person, by phone, fax, mail or email. Until the deadline, vote-by-mail ballot requests will be processed as they are received.

The Supervisor of Elections Office must receive domestic vote-by-mail ballots by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8. Voters who vote by mail are encouraged to mail their completed ballot at least one week before Election Day to give the ballot ample time to arrive at the Supervisor of Elections Office before the deadline. Voters should also verify that their voter information and signature are up to date before they return their ballot if they have moved or their signature has changed.

Vote-By-Mail Directions

When completing and mailing their vote-by-mail ballot, voters are encouraged to completely fill in the oval next to their choice on the ballot — and to not circle or mark an “X” over the oval. If a mistake is made on the ballot, call the Supervisor of Elections Office at 352-374-5252. Be sure to sign the vote-by-mail ballot certificate envelope. Vote-by-mail ballots must be returned in the official envelope provided. Return postage is prepaid.

Any voter who does not sign their vote-by-mail ballot or whose signature on the vote-by-mail ballot certificate does not match the signature in their voter record will be contacted by the Supervisor of Elections Office and provided the opportunity to correct their ballot. Per Florida Statutes, voters have until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10 to complete an affidavit to correct a vote-by-mail ballot that does not have a signature or has a signature that does not match the voter's signature on file.

Voters can deliver completed vote-by-mail ballots to the Supervisor of Elections Office, located in Gainesville at 515 N. Main Street during normal business hours — 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Voters can also use the secure ballot intake station located outside of the office’s main entrance.

The secure ballot intake station will be available at the Supervisor of Elections Office from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 24 through Nov. 7 and on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Secure ballot intake stations will be available at all seven early voting locations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the early voting period, Oct. 24 – Nov. 5.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The High Springs Lions Club has a long history of helping others in need, especially during times of crisis. And this time, in the wake of Hurricane Ian, there is a personal connection as well.

On the early evening of Sept. 28, 2022 southwest Florida was decimated by Category 4 Hurricane Ian. With sustained winds up to 155 mph the storm made landfall near Fort Myers with storm surges of 12 to 18 feet creating a wall of water that that obliterated everything in its path. It also brought massive amounts of rain as it barreled across the state, exiting on the Atlantic side of Florida to continue up the coast creating more damage along the coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas. In the interior of Florida, rainfall across the state was staggering. In just 24 hours, automated rain gauges reported as much as 31.52 inches of rain near the Ponce Inlet community on Florida’s east coast, causing massive flooding.

A deadly combination of storm surge, rainfall and high winds left 2.6 million people without power in the state. The hardest hit areas have been described as resembling “a war zone” with destroyed and flattened buildings, cars and boats tossed from their original locations. Florida faces the grim reality that Hurricane Ian is the deadliest storm in the state since 1935 and ties for the fourth-highest landfall speed on record in Florida.

Ian’s death toll has climbed above 100 as rescue crews go door-to-door to search for survivors and help in recovery. Federal and state relief efforts are moving forward and power has been restored to all but 440,000 customers in Florida, but it will be months and possibly years before these victims can rebuild their lives. Federal and state sources can help rebuild infrastructure, but for many people, simple daily items are not available.

The hardest hit areas were the barrier islands, like Captiva, Sanibel and Pine Island, where the storm surge washed over the islands leaving little standing and destroying bridges that linked them to the mainland. People who did not evacuate were stranded without food, water, power or communications. The only access is by helicopter or boat until the bridges are rebuilt.

Lions Club member Justin Young's mother-in-law, Kimberly Teasdale, lived on Pine Island. Young desperately tried to locate her, hoping for the best. Teasdale was found, but she was stranded on the island along with others. Understanding the dire straits these individuals were in, the Lions Club sprang into action, seeking donations to help those in the area who lost everything. They approached the local Winn Dixie asking to use their parking lot as a central location for community donations. The store agreed and made food donations as well as offering discounted prices for supplies purchased with monetary donations.

Currently, the hurricane victims need food, clothing and hygiene items rather than small sums of money. For days Lions Club members have been loading donations on a large trailer to take south, and with the community’s help, the trailer is almost full. This week their first trip is scheduled to drop supplies in Fort Meyers to be taken by boat to the barrier islands.

“On this initial trip we are concentrating on daily essentials like food, hygiene and toiletry items, medical items and baby needs,” said Lion member Mark Moomaw. “These are people who have lost everything but the clothes on their backs.” Moomaw added that while the government focus is on the major things like rescues and rebuilding, just getting their daily needs met is vital for these people.

“It’s often the small things that people don't think of like pet food or can openers to go with canned food donations. We are using any cash donations to buy the items donators don’t think of,” said Moomaw. “We will continue the efforts and expand it for clothing and other items that aren’t immediately vital, but this trip will be about getting them food, water and daily items.

Moomaw says the Lions Club will continue to make these trips as long as people will donate to help those affected by the hurricane. “The needs are massive, but we are going to do our part to help,” Moomaw said.

Anyone interested in donating to help the victims can drop off donation at any time at the Lions Club located at 26900 W. U.S. Highway 27 in High Springs or call 386-454-4521 for more information.

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