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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ High Springs is known for its natural beauty and its rivers. It is also known for its share of creative artists who are drawn to the area. As home to several art galleries and various craft stores, for a number of years High Springs offered Art Walk, an opportunity for the public to see various artists and crafts makers as they set up outside local shops. Over the last decade, Art Walk has been hosted by various galleries, civic organizations and businesses.

This Saturday, April 16 will be the second Art Walk of 2022 with even more activities and organizations involved. The Art Walk booths will again line the downtown area from 12 to 5 p.m. offering a wide variety of arts and crafts. There will be a host of other activities including a gallery reception for 22 plein air artists and the High Springs Chamber of Commerce Easter Parade and Egg Hunt.

The COVID pandemic in 2020 put a halt to many social activities including the downtown Art Walk, gallery openings and public celebrations. In fall 2021 Art Walk returned, but due to continued health concerns both the crowd and number of artists were smaller. This year on the third Saturday in March Art Walk returned in force as 25 artisans set up along storefronts in the downtown area on Main Street and U.S. Highway 27. Residents and tourists browsed at various booths to view and purchase creations featuring art forms such as painting, woodwork, photography and jewelry.

It was also the rebirth of the Good News Arts gallery that had closed earlier. Owner Jessica Caldas hosted a grand opening combined with Art Walk as one of the featured businesses, complete with a four-piece string band, artist Kim Bossons and an opening show by Brittany M. Watkins.

The Good News Arts Gallery will also feature a book arts class, which will cover all aspects of book making process. This is the beginning of an ongoing Saturday workshop series. Each class is $20 although Caldas says that they encourage folks to reach out if they cannot pay to discuss options. All materials are provided and registration for each class in advance is encouraged. This is one of many projects and educational plans Caldas has for the gallery.

“Good News Arts is a community arts space and gallery that collaborates with artists and community to provide contemporary arts and education that is affordable, accessible, and equitable,” said Caldas. “We are a nonprofit and have shown more than 50 international, regional, and local artists through our exhibitions.”

Caldas says that through sales of artworks, the organization has donated more than $400 to various nonprofits, mutual aid funds, and service organizations. Rather than taking a commission of sales, divesting artist from money earned from their work, artists are encouraged to donate 10 percent of their sales to an organization of their choosing.

Good News Arts also offers classes and workshops, including after school youth arts classes for grades K-8 and a summer arts camp May 6 through July 27. For more information visit goodnewsarts.com or visit the gallery at the Art Walk at 18555 High Springs Main Street.

Tina Corbett of Lanza Gallery and Art Supplies is adding an artist’s reception from 4-7p.m. The Santa Fe Springs Plein Air exhibit features the paintings of 22 artists who spent three days painting landscapes of various local rivers. The exhibit opens at 11 a.m. and closes with the artist’s reception.

The Chamber of Commerce Easter Parade and Egg Hunt kicks off at the High Springs Chamber of Commerce Office/Welcome Center located at 23517 N.W. 185^th Road. At 11 a.m. the parade will proceed to the museum, stopping at stores along the way and return with the Easter Bunny to the Welcome Center for an Easter Egg Hunt from 12:15 to 12:30 p.m. Participating stores may have surprises to fill the baskets, and there will be free hot dogs and lemonade as well. Kids in the parade may wear everyday clothing or an Easter outfit and need to bring an Easter basket. All are welcome to join in the parade and to participate in the Easter Egg Hunt.

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PALATKA, Fla., April 11, 2022 — The St. Johns River Water Management District is conducting a 185-acre prescribed burn Monday on the Hatchet Creek tract of the Newnans Lake Conservation Area. The burn will be located in the northeastern portion of the property. During this time the red loop trail will be closed. The purpose of the burn is to maintain fire-dependent ecosystems and reduce wildland fuel loads.

Prescribed fire is the use of carefully planned fire purposefully set under stringent conditions to manage the fire's effects. Before conducting a burn, the district ensures that wind and other weather conditions are correct for managing the fire and minimizing the impacts of smoke to residents and traffic.

Periodic prescribed fires on district lands enhance the land’s environmental quality and protect its neighbors from destructive wildfires, but not without the possibility of temporary nuisances, such as smoke and ash.

Prescribed fires help prevent wildfires by burning off fuels that naturally build up over time, while also helping to manage the growth of woody shrubs.

In fire-dependent ecosystems, fire is nearly as important as rainfall and sunshine. The benefits of prescribed fire include restoring and maintaining natural communities, reducing chances of destructive wildfires, perpetuating fire-adapted plants and animals, cycling nutrients, managing tree diseases and opening scenic vistas.

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ALACHUA ‒ The City of Alachua will hold its 2022 municipal election on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, to fill Seat 2 on the City Commission. The seat was vacated by incumbent Robert Wilford who is not seeking reelection. Gregory E. Pelham, Sr. will face off against Edward Potts as they vie for a three-year term ending in April 2025.

Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper retains his Mayoral Seat as no one filed to run against him.

Gregory Pelham Sr. is not a newcomer to the election process as he has previously run for office in Alachua. He lost a runoff election bid for mayor in 2019 and lost again to incumbent City Commissioner Shirley Green Brown for Seat 4 in 2021. Pelham has lived in Alachua for 25 years. For the past 12 years, he has been employed at the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office in the juvenile bureau. He’s also a pastor who oversees 18 area churches.

Pelham says that opening lines of communication between the city and residents is most important issue to him. “I want to be that voice for our community,” he said. “It should be a commission where any citizen can come to if there’s a question or a concern.” Pelham is also chairman of the county’s juvenile justice council and has worked with local schools since 1998. “It’s important to hear what they have to say because they are our future,” Pelham said. “It we don’t ... It's going to be more difficult to make the changes in the future that we need to, to keep Alachua beautiful.”

Ed Potts is currently a member of the City of Alachua Planning & Zoning Board. He is a financial advisor for Edward Jones Investments. Potts is the past president of the Alachua Chamber of Commerce and continues to serve as a member of the board of directors. He is also a past president of the Alachua Lions Club and is a member of the Santa Fe Kiwanis Club, supporting community causes in Alachua and High Springs. Potts also serves on the board of directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida, that serves families with children at UF Shands Children's Hospital. He also coaches youth sports in Alachua. In 2015, he was one of the 26 original signers of the Alachua County Education Compact, which transformed education for Alachua County students.

“My commitment to our community is illustrated by years of service. My wife Reagan and I love Alachua. We have a wonderful community that has promise to be even better. As city commissioner, I will be an independent voice to promote a strong quality of life, jobs for families and opportunities for all.”

Polls will be open on Tuesday, April 12, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Legacy Park Multipurpose Center , Cleather Hancock Community Center and the Clubhouse at Turkey Creek

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GAINESVILLE – The Alachua County Property Appraiser’s Office is excited to introduce a free monitoring service to help residents protect their property. The office has developed a new software called Property Watch. Property owners can sign up for this service through the Property Appraiser's website.

All owners who register must provide the following information: a name, a date of birth, a Florida Driver’s License/ID number, a property parcel number, and an active email address. For those who are not aware of their parcel number, this information can also be found on our website.

After this registration process, owners can expect this service to continuously monitor their property. The areas that will be monitored for changes include the owner’s name, the mailing address, any change in exemption or agricultural classification status, and splits and combines to parcels. An automated email will be generated to owners only if changes are made in these areas when processed by the Property Appraiser’s Office.

If the changes have been made by the owner, no additional action is required. If the owner did not initiate these changes they should contact the Property Appraiser’s Office immediately to verify why these changes have taken place.

“This service is intended to empower the taxpayer by providing them the means to monitor the status of their property,” Ayesha Solomon said. “This ultimately protects against fraudulent transactions while also alleviating stress on property owners.”

An owner will continue to receive notifications until they unsubscribe or if they have sold the property they signed up to monitor. This service is not a substitute for a title search. Ownership records are changed based on deeds recorded with the Alachua County Records Division. Although the Property Appraiser’s Office office has no legal authority to determine if a deed is fraudulent, this issue is becoming more common.  If an owner believes fraudulent activity has taken place, they should notify local law enforcement.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The mural controversy in High Springs continues to dominate discussion around the community and at commission meetings. The issue surrounds the proposed Walldogs mural project under the auspices of the Heart of High Springs and an event permit that was granted earlier. At the March 24 meeting Commissioner Katherine Weitz suggested enacting an ordinance regarding the matter.

“I’m hoping that the folks involved with the Heart of High Springs could maybe set their ego aside to listen to what the people in the town are saying because the people are overwhelmingly against a Walldogs festival,” Weitz said. “They’re not necessarily against a mural or two. A lot of people are not against the idea of a mural. But I don’t think they want to have their town taken over by other folks.”

Commissioner Ross Ambrose responded, “We need to be very careful when you start creating legislation or rules that are specifically designed to impede the efforts of citizens within the community. So coming up with a policy and developing that so that the city staff can focus on what’s important and what’s within their realm is important. [I agree] because this has gotten to be a distraction for city government and it’s a private group using private funds in the community…I want to be careful that as a government we’re not designing something to impede a legal entity operated by citizens privately raising money to do work on private property. And I think that’s a very dangerous place for the City to go and be careful of.”

“I’m looking at it from a different perspective,” Commissioner Linda Jones said. “I don’t think a small group of people should be able to come into this city, fill out a permit and do whatever they want in this city. And we, as a Commission, have nothing to do with it. It states that in the application, ‘Commissioner approval not needed’ if they are not asking for money, for in-kind services and alcohol is not being served.’…“I hear that everybody’s got rights and we do, too…Why are you coming in and saying to us, ‘This is what you need and this is what we’re going to do,’ …So we’re trying to make sure that when they come up for the big one in 2023 that they can’t just sail through. We’ve got to have some barrier up there…some say as to what goes up in this city.”

City Attorney Andrea Parker listed aspects of an ordinance that the City could consider. She stressed that the ordinance be legal, defensible and definitely content neutral. “A clear process needs to be identified with time limits and the ordinance cannot make it overly difficult for someone to adhere to it,” she said. She added that regulating art on private property cannot violate people’s first amendment rights.

Resident Alice Brown called into the meeting and said she supported creating a mural ordinance. As part of her comments she suggested an arts council be formed to review public art, an idea that seemed interesting to Commissioners.

The Commission directed the City Attorney to create a mural ordinance for their review.

In response to what City Manager Stathatos described as a number of myths circulating around town regarding the Heart of High Springs and Walldogs issue, the City created an informational area on the City of High Springs website called Truth vs Myth. The idea that seems to have received the most attention is that a ballot item can prevent Wall Dogs from coming to High Springs. According to the City website, special event permits are granted taking into consideration the life, health, safety, and general welfare of High Springs’ citizens and visitors. Special event permits cannot be permitted or denied based on the content of the event. The right to gather and hold events is a protected First Amendment right.

Although the City Attorney explained that people could obtain 10 percent of the voters’ signatures and could place it on the ballot for a vote, it would not be defensible and she would recommend that the City not proceed along those lines.

In other City business, Jones took the mayor to task for not signing a letter that the Commission voted unanimously to send to Tallahassee in support of House Bill CS/HR 493, Single Member Districts. Williams said he didn’t have all the facts on the issue and declined to sign the letter because he didn’t support what the letter said. Ultimately, Commissioners voted 3-2, with Williams and Vice-Mayor Gloria James casting the dissenting votes, to send the letter under Commissioner Jones’ signature.

The Commission authorized Assistant City Manager Bruce Gillingham to negotiate an agreement with Suez for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project. He will report on the total cost and how the City proposes to pay for the project for Commission approval.

A request by the High Springs Chamber of Commerce to waive fees for their use of the Civic Center was approved for one quarter. Meanwhile, the City will review the policy for non-profit organizations to see if they might want to modify the fee structure.

Commissioners unanimously approved the purchase of a new elevator for City Hall at a not-to-exceed amount of $120,000 using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. They also unanimously voted to approve the purchase of cardiac monitors for the High Springs Fire Department, also using ARPA funds.

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