Local

NEWBERRY ‒ Candidate qualifying for the City of Newberry’s Municipal Election closed on Feb. 24. The election is scheduled for April 12, 2022. Each commissioner serves two-year terms in Newberry with no term limits. All seats are elected at large and are non-partisan.

Commissioners for Groups I, II and III are elected in even years. Incumbents for those seats are Ricky Coleman, Mark Clark and Monty Farnsworth, respectively.

Citizens eligible to vote in City of Newberry elections must be residents and must be registered to vote with the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections. The voter registration book closing date is Monday, March 14, 2022. Residents must be registered to vote by this date.

Residents who are already registered to vote are encouraged to verify and, if needed, update their registration by visiting RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov online or by contacting the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office. For additional voting information, registration or questions, citizens should visit VoteAlachua.com.

On Tuesday, April 12, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. A photo ID, with signature, will be required. All City of Newberry residents may vote on election day at the Municipal Building, 25420 W. Newberry Road, Newberry.

The City of Newberry does not provide early voting in municipal-only elections. However, if a citizen wishes to vote by mail, they may call the City Clerk’s office at 352-472-2161, ext. 7 for additional information.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ A local legend known for his penchant to forego clothing is in need. Ed Watts, also known as Naked Ed, lived on the Santa Fe River for over 35 years. He served as caretaker for a piece of property that surrounds Lily Springs. As most locals know, most of the time, Ed doesn’t wear clothes.

When Ed first found the spring in 1984, it was covered in trash. Watts asked the owner if he could clean it up and swim in it—naked. Watts was called the springs' caretaker and was given a 20-year no-payment lease.

Ed first began staying at Lily Springs in a tent for only a few days week. After about a year he began living there full time, at first in a grass hut he built on the ground, and then in a hut on stilts due to flooding.

Over the years Ed became a local celebrity as people kayaking the river would stop at Lily Springs to see him. He became what he calls “a tourist attraction” due to the numbers of people who canoed the river to visit. Ed does acquiesce to convention when people are around as he wears a loincloth to be polite. Other times he is simply “Naked Ed.”

Even though Ed lives alone, he enjoys talking with visitors. And he does create quite an impression. Even the staff of two governors thought it was wise for the head of state to meet with the naked man during “field visits.” Watts became so well known in area that there was even a beer named after him.

Over the past few years, Naked Ed's health problems, including brittle bone disease, have forced him to spend less time on the river and more at a house on family land in Columbia County on Southwest Brawley Terrace. Tragedy struck on Feb. 1 when his home burned to the ground. Ed was inside with family at the time, but they quickly realized the fire was beyond their control to extinguish. They called the fire department, but it was too late.

Ed lost everything and is now living in a motel. Fiends and community members have set up several charity drives to help get him on his feet and get a new house.

One friend set up a GoFundMe at:https://www.gofundme.com/.../wbhcqe-help-naked-ed-rebuild. So far, over $3,000 has been collected. The Santa Fe Bar has also organized a benefit concert for Naked Ed and is a drop-off location for clothing, household items and monetary donations.

The benefit concert will be held at Rum 138, 2070 S.W. County Road 138, on Saturday, Feb. 26. Music starts at 1 p.m. and will play till 10 p.m., weather permitting. Six local bands or performers are donating their playing time for Naked Ed’s benefit. He needs a shed or tiny home for his property, at a reduced cost or donated. Volunteers to help with clean-up after the fire, as well as electrical and plumbing installation are also needed.

In addition to the music, the event includes food and drinks as well as a donation drive with a suggested $10 entry per person. An art auction of Naked Ed portraits by painter Michèle Karahalios and photographer John Moran will take place at 6 p.m., all to help raise funds for a new roof over his head and replace items lost in the fire so he can continue to live on his family land.

The music schedule is:1 – 2 p.m. DJ Scotti J; 2 – 3 p.m. Quartermoon; 3 – 4:30 p.m. Jim’s Livingroom; 4:30 – 6 p.m. Weeds of Eden; 6 – 6:30 p.m. art auction; 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. In The Moment and 8:30 - 10 p.m. Lionel Jr. the Voodoo Cowboy.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The City of High Springs has added four officers to the police department.  During the Feb. 10 City Commission meeting four new High Springs Police officers were formally sworn in by Sgt. Jason Taylor.

School Resource Officer (SRO) Debra Parker joined the High Springs Police Department in July 2021, after 27 years with the Gainesville Police Department.  Fourteen of those years were spent as SRO at Gainesville schools.  SRO Parker is currently assigned to First Christian Academy.

School Resource Officer Duane Gainey joined the High Springs Police Department in March 2021.  SRO Gainey is presently assigned to High Springs Community School.

School Resource Officer Adrian Lumpkins joined the High Springs Police Department July 2021.  Officer Lumpkins began his law enforcement career in 2002.  He has focused most of his career teaching youth to make better choices.  SRO Lumpkins is assigned to the High Springs Community School.

Patrol Officer Austin Dampier joined the High Springs Police Department in October 2021.  Officer Dampier comes from a law enforcement family, where his father, Freddie Dampier, previously served as Police Chief for the Alachua Police Department.  Officer Dampier has worked in corrections for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Corrections, and he has worked for the Florida Department of Agriculture as a state police officer.

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NEWBERRY ‒ The City of Newberry at the Feb. 15 commission meeting annexed nearly 76 acres of unincorporated Alachua County into the Newberry city limits. Ordinance 2022-01 was approved to annex three contiguous properties, tax parcels numbers 04273-002-000, 04273-002-001 and 04273-002-002, totaling approximately 15.53 acres. Ordinance 2022-02 includes parcel 01840-002-001 and includes approximately 20.02 acres. Ordinance 2022-03 includes two contiguous properties consisting of tax parcels 02597- 000-000 and 02597-001-000 for a total of approximately 40.32 acres.

Commissioners also approved a change in the Future Land Use Map classification from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry Agriculture on approximately 38.2 acres of land previously annexed into the City on Nov. 13, 2017. This action was taken following a legislative public hearing on second reading of Ordinance 2022-05/CPA 21-31. The subject property includes Tax Parcels 04443-000-000 and 04443-001-000, which are located on the south side of Southwest 30^th Avenue and east of Southwest 186^th Street.

Following approval of Ordinance 2022-05/CPA 21-31 on second reading, Commissioners heard Ordinance 2022-12/LDR 21-39 in a quasi-judicial public hearing and approved a zoning change from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry Agricultural on the same two tax parcels.

Ordinance 2022-06/CPA 21-32 was approved to change the Future Land Use Map classification from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry Agriculture on approximately two contiguous parcels totaling approximately 7.38 acres of land, which also had previously been annexed into the City on Nov. 13, 2017. This action was taken following a legislative public hearing on second reading of Ordinance 2022-06/CPA 21-32. The subject property includes Tax Parcels 02587-001-005 and 02587-000-007, which are located on the south side of Southwest 30th Avenue and east of Southwest 298th Street.

Following approval of Ordinance 2022-06/CPA 21-32 on second reading, Commissioners heard Ordinance 2022-13/LDR 21-40 in a quasi-judicial public hearing and approved a zoning change from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry Agricultural on the same two tax parcels.

Ordinance 2022-08/CPA 21-34 was approved to change the future Land Use Map classification from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry Agriculture on one parcel totaling approximately 4.27 acres. The property, which is located on the south side State Road-26/West Newberry Road, west of Southwest 174th Street, was annexed into the City on Nov. 13, 2017. This action was taken following a legislative public hearing on second reading of Ordinance 2022-08/CPA 21-34. The subject property includes Tax Parcel 04370-002-000.

Following approval of Ordinance 2022-08/CPA 21-34 on second reading, Commissioners heard Ordinance 2022-15/LDR21-42 in a quasi-judicial public hearing and approved a zoning change from Alachua County Rural/Agriculture to City of Newberry Agricultural on the same tax parcel.

The next City Commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 28.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Bees are the most vital insect on the planet for plant pollination and the human food supply. Bees pollinate 80 percent of all flowering plants, including approximately 75 percent of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables grown in the United States. The sweet nectar is widely used as a natural sweetener and by many people in treating coughs and sore throats.

Daniel Dorosheff started beekeeping seven years ago. “At first, I got a few chickens for my yard, but found I wanted to expand to other animals. Both my father and grandfather had raised bees, so I already had an interest in it,” he said. “I read everything I could find on beekeeping to improve my chances of success.”

The practical value of bees as pollinators is enormously greater than the value of their honey and wax production. Bees are entirely dependent on flowers for food, which consists of pollen and nectar, which they modify and store as honey. As bees go from flower to flower gathering pollen, a small amount is rubbed from their bodies and deposited on the flowers they visit. The pollen transfer results in cross pollination, and without this process, plants cannot reproduce. A hive of bees will fly over 55,000 miles to make one pound of honey and can create 100 pounds in a year.

“Over the years I built from one hive and now have 27 hives in various locations,” said Dorosheff. “It was basically a hobby and a way to get honey, but it got to the point I had a large stock of honey.”

Dorosheff said, “At the time, my son Spencer was 16 and asking about getting a car. I offered to split the profits in half if he could sell some of the stored honey.” What began as a small operation turned into a booming business. “Like most of his generation, he made use of social media as a marketing tool and we were suddenly flooded with orders,” said Dorosheff. “Before that, we had just been selling to friends, but we now realized it could be a commercial business and founded our LLC as “Thy Will Bee Done.”

While beekeeping has been around for thousands of years, recently there has been growth in home-based small production beekeepers. Several local beekeepers now offer classes for the novice. Dorosheff received inquiries about how to become a beekeeper, and now with help from his son, they offer classes.

The first half of each two-hour class is lecture focusing on equipment, construction of the hives and the behavior of bees. The second half of the class offers hands-on training of handling the bees safely and the racks. Each hive contains between five and 10 racks that bees build their honeycombs on. In the center of each hive are brood racks, which house both honey and eggs. The outer racks contain mainly honey and are the ones they harvest from.

Classes are small with a limit of five students. Dorosheff outfits each person attending in personal protection gear (PPE) consisting of a hat with netting to keep bees off the face. Each person must wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants as well as gloves so all exposed flesh is covered. While bees are only aggressive when threatened, they will protect the hive and attack. Bees communicate through pheromones scent and if one feels threatened, the others will react to that.

The best way to calm bees is with smoke that both covers the pheromones and has a calming effect on the bees, letting the beekeeper make the hive inspection or honey harvest without major problems.

Dorosheff gathers the class around the hives and applies smoke to the bees, allowing him pull a rack to illustrate construction of the hive, how they harvest the honey and to show the queen and the brood nest.

Each student gets a chance to hold the rack as Dorosheff explains the harvesting process. He says that you never take all the honey since it is also the bee’s food source and good beekeeping management keeps the hive healthy.

Although there is no set schedule for a class, Dorosheff expects to have another class in mid-March. Interested people can contact Spencer at spencerdorosheff@gmail.com or on instagram@thy.willbeedone and facebook at thywillbeedone to register for classes.

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ALACHUA ‒ Join the fabulous Dance Alive National Ballet at the incomparable annual fundraiser on Saturday, March 12, 2022, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Legacy Park Multipurpose Center, 15400 Peggy Rd, Alachua.

A fabulous time will be had by all! Featuring the extraordinary ‘Dancing With the Stars’ production, this event has it all. Dining, dancing, a silent auction, and the wonderful Dance Alive dancers join with terrific celebrity stars to put on a dynamite show. 

It is without a doubt the most entertaining event you will attend! Chaired by the charming Susannah Peddie, hosted by the terrific Eric Godet, with sumptuous food provided by Blue Water Bay, stunningly decorated by Unforgettable Events, and entertained by the amazing Gosia and Ali band. Prepare to be transported!

PURCHASE TICKETS AND TABLES AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE ‘STAR’ AT TICKETS AND VOTING.

Proceeds go to Dance Alive National Ballet’s Outreach and Educational Programming.Sponsored by Parris Dance, Unforgettable Events, Publix Super Market Charities, Legacy Park, and the City of Alachua. 

The STARS & their partners in Dancing With the Stars. Who will win the People's Choice Award? It's Up to YOU!

LADY ‘STARS’ and their professional dance partners

Star Bradbury Star and Jose Ramos

Aubrey Hall and Tim Cannon

Emma Luetgert Emma and Fhilipe Teixeira

Valesca Rugbi and Roberto Vega

Anna Olcese Anna and Andre Valladon

Tara Tara and Nathan Fernandes

Kathy Sarantos and Tales Ribeiro

GENTLEMEN ‘STARS’ and their professional dance partners

Wickie Ariet and Beatriz Correa

Adam Boukari Adam and Rosemary Deiorio

Luis Rodriguez Louis and Emilia Leon

Raymond Chobaz and Ashley Brooke Lunn

David Franklin and Carla Amancio

Maury Ivey and Luana Rayssa

Jeffrey Meldon and Jessie Dominguez

Matt Urban and Marilyn Deiorio

Robert de Rochement, Jr. and Rachel Ridley

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