Local

• Mini Grants ($1,000 each): Johanna Weiss, Corey Cheval, Music GNV, and Y-Not Theatre
• Matching Grant ($1,500 each): the City of High Springs and the City of Newberry

ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ A key element of Alachua County Public Schools’ ongoing fight against the spread of COVID-19 is being deployed in local schools this week.

Beginning Monday and continuing through Friday, 1700 air purifiers are being delivered to classrooms across the district. The AERAMax Pro 4 units are designed specifically for classroom spaces. They circulate the air three to five times each hour and remove 99.97 percent of airborne particulates. That includes COVID and other airborne pathogens and allergens, including dust and pollen, flu and mold spores and even trap odors.

“These units are an important part of our overall effort to keep students, staff and visitors safe and healthy,” said Superintendent Dr. Carlee Simon. “They will have long-lasting benefits even beyond the COVID pandemic.”

The filters don’t require any special installation; rather they are floor standing machines that just need to be plugged in. All schools are expected to receive their filters by the end of this week.

The district is also exploring other air purifying solutions for larger areas in schools, such as cafeterias and media centers.

The district is spending about $2.8 million on the purifiers and an additional two years’ worth of carbon and HEPA filters for the units. The funding is coming from federal dollars provided to schools to help address COVID issues.

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GAINESVILLE — Close your work emails, set aside your textbooks, hire a sitter—the Cade Museum’s Cade After Dark 21+ is a night just for grownups who need a break from adulting.  

The after-hours event premieres Oct. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m., and recurs the third Friday of the month (Nov. 19, Dec. 17) for the remainder of 2021. 

At Cade After Dark, adults can channel their inner child and have at the museum, getting their hands sticky with gooey slime and testing their strength and endurance in the museum’s Sweat Solution exhibit while learning about Dr. Bob Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade -- a Renaissance man who never outgrew his joy of discovery.  

In Toys & Games, the Cade’s fall theme, big kids can revel in the nostalgia of board games, playthings and Gen X-era video games. Explore inventions related to play from PlayDoh to Lincoln Logs to Nintendo, play an intense game of Jenga, experiment like a mad scientist, and learn fun facts like why Pacman was revolutionary and that Pokémon was inspired by bug catching. 

Activities will occupy each space of the museum during Cade After Dark. At the cash bar, guests can redeem one free drink ticket with the price of admission ($10 per person) and additional drinks will be available for purchase. Educational, humorous tours and electrifying demonstrations add to the fun. Guests can nosh on appetizers and work off the extra carbs by climbing a “mountain” to arrive at the Petty Family Gallery. Once there, visitors can relive old days of Nintendo marathons by learning the stories behind popular video games like Legend of Zelda. 

Local sponsors include nearby First Magnitude and Goldie’s in Depot Park. First Magnitude beer will be served at the cash bar and Goldie’s will provide coupons to visitors with reserved tickets to get dinner before the event.  

Says Cade Museum President & Executive Director Stephanie Bailes, “Our hope with Cade After Dark is that we can regain some of that childlike sense of wonder and discovery we lose in our everyday routines. We are never too old to have our minds blown by an explosive science experiment or see what we think of as cut-and-dried concepts from a new perspective—how much do you weigh in chickens? How tall are you in pennies? You’ll find out at Cade After Dark.”  

Cade After Dark 21+ takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, Nov. 19, and Dec. 17 (third Fridays of the month for the remainder of 2021). Adults 21 and older only will be admitted. Admission is $10 per person and includes a drink ticket. Learn more at cademuseum.org. Registration links below: 

Oct. 15:  https://bit.ly/Oct15AfterDark,  

Nov. 19: https://bit.ly/Nov19AfterDark  

Dec. 17: https://bit.ly/Dec17AfterDark  

About the Cade Museum 

The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention, a museum in Gainesville, Florida is committed to transforming communities by inspiring and equipping future inventors, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. Since opening in 2018, more than 100,000 visitors have experienced the Cade’s unique hands-on programming for children designed to spark imagination and inspire creativity. The Cade’s programs also help to build bridges to the innovation economy for those without access, low-income families, underserved communities, and those needing assistance to access education and start on the career paths available to them to fulfill their dreams. To learn more about the Cade Museum’s mission, visit cademuseum.org. Located at 811 S Main Street, Gainesville, Florida. Hours of operation: Thursday-Friday, noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 10 a.m - 5 p.m. 

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ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ The Alachua County Area Association of Pharmacists, the Florida Pharmacy Association, and the American Pharmacists Association have designated October 2021 as American Pharmacists Month in recognition of the contribution that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians provide for the health of our society.

The proclamation for this year’s American Pharmacists Month reads as follows.

Whereas … pharmacists are the most accessible health care providers delivering critical services to patients and contributing to the health and well-being of all people; and

Whereas … pharmacists are best positioned to be the health care professionals to help ensure patients are adherent to their medications, provide patient care that ensures optimal medication therapy outcomes; and serve as providers during public health emergencies and every day.

Whereas … as front-line providers throughout the healthcare system and community during the COVID-19 pandemic pharmacists and pharmacy personnel have ensured the public is cared for, even at the risk of exposure.

Whereas … with a community pharmacy located within five miles of nearly all Americans and pharmacy’s other access points to the public, pharmacists and pharmacy personnel are making an impact in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in U.S. communities through testing, treatment, and vaccination efforts.

Whereas … pharmacists are ideally suited to work collaboratively with other health care providers and help patients overcome illness and live healthier lives through chronic disease management and the fully effective use of their medicines. 

Whereas … today, there are over 300,000 licensed pharmacists providing care and serving as patient advocates for ensuring access to the best and safest therapy to the patients they serve.

Whereas … the American Pharmacists Association, the Alachua County Association of Pharmacists, and the Florida Pharmacy Association, have declared October 2021 as American Pharmacists Month.

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GAINESVILLE ‒ Local residents can get a free COVID vaccination and a $25 gift card at a clinic scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 26, from noon to 4 p.m. Participants can walk up or drive through to get their vaccinations at the clinic, which will be held at Oak Tree Early Learning Academy at 1414 N.E. 23^rd Avenue in Gainesville.

No registration is needed, but a photo ID is required to receive a vaccination.

Free COVID rapid testing will also be available at the clinic.

Alachua County School Board Vice-Chair Tina Certain is spearheading the event. “We are strongly encouraging our citizens to get the vaccine to protect themselves and their families,” she said.

The University of Florida College of Medicine’s Mobile Outreach Clinic will administer doses of the Pfizer vaccine to people 12 and older in cooperation with the Alachua County Health Department. Precyse Coding Solutions will provide the rapid COVID-19 tests.

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NEWBERRY ‒ The work of a local student is changing the lives of families more than 7,000 miles away.

Craig “Tre’” Smith, a sixth-grader at Oak View Middle School, recently raised more than $1,500 in two weeks for Ekisinga Ministries, an organization which strives to bring clean water to every person in Uganda.

Tre’ was inspired after a reading class led by his teacher, Lori Barber, in which she previewed the book “A Long Walk to Water.” The book is based on a true story in which a Sudanese ‘Lost Boy’ returns home and installs deep-water wells in remote villages in dire need of clean water. (Lost Boys are children who were orphaned or displaced by civil war in southern Sudan in the 1980s.)

That evening, Tre’ sat at the dinner table with his family and talked of his hope of helping African countries with their clean water supply.

Tre’s mom, Deanna Smith, saw how passionate Tre’ was about this opportunity and wanted to help.

“Tre' started talking to us about this and very passionately stated that we needed to go buy as many filtered straws as possible and send them to Africa,” Smith said. “My husband, Craig, and I dug a little deeper with him. He was heartbroken to know that children would drink dirty water because they were thirsty, then get sick. He wanted to buy all the filters and send a care package.”

After a night of discussion and research, Tre’ and his family thought it would be more fitting to find an organization on the ground in Africa to send money to so they could obtain more supplies for clean water.

Smith then reached out to the mother of one of Tre’s former classmates who is heavily involved with Uganda and Ugandans in need. From there, Smith was put in touch with Ekisinga Ministries, which provided details of how donations would be spent.

At $1,000, medi-drops are given to villagers who have to travel to obtain any water. In these, a silver ion bar is placed in buckets of water and in eight hours, the water becomes clean for drinking.

At $1,500, a water kiosk can be set up in the middle of a city or neighborhood. One side of the kiosk would have unfiltered water for laundry and bathing while the other side contains clean drinking water. A kiosk can fill a five-gallon jug in about a minute and helps around 300-350 people with sustainability for several years.

Following conversations with Ekisinga Ministries, Tre’ set a goal of raising $2,500 in hopes of helping 100 families.

One night after that conversation at the dinner table, Smith posted a flyer on social media looking for donations to Tre’s cause. Less than 72 hours later, the Smith family had already raised $1,000 and sent the funds to Ekisinga Ministries.

That money funded 40 medi-drops and canisters, which benefitted about 200 people in Uganda.

The other $1,500 donation will go toward a water kiosk for a neighborhood in Uganda.

As of Monday, less than two weeks from the start of Tre’s fundraiser, the Smiths have raised $1,615 of the $2,500 goal.

Barber, Tre’s reading teacher, was overwhelmed when she heard about the fundraiser.

“I was overwhelmed with love and happiness,” Barber said. “I am so proud of Tre’.”

As Tre’s fundraiser continues, Smith has been accepting donations via cash or Venmo.

Anyone who would like to donate directly to Tre’s cause can do so through Venmo to his mother’s account (@DeannaSmith4616). She has sent all cash and Venmo donations to Ekisinga Ministries.

People can also donate directly to Ekisinga Ministries and note “Tre’ Smith” in the comment section below the donation amount at Ekisinga’s donation page.

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