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GAINESVILLE – A Newberry woman was arrested Monday after authorities say she fraudulently opened a credit card in her elderly aunt’s name and used it to pay for a cosmetic surgery and other personal expenses, leaving more than $7,000 in unpaid debt.

Chartel T. Cara Parker, 35, is charged with exploitation of an elderly person, identity theft of a person over 60, and fraudulent use of a credit card, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation began in October 2024 when an Alachua County detective received a report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. A relative with power of attorney for the 74-year-old victim had reported receiving calls from debt collectors about an outstanding balance on a credit card the family had not known existed.

According to the arrest report, the card was issued in the victim’s name in 2019, with Parker listed as a secondary cardholder. The relative, who had handled the victim’s financial affairs since 2018 due to the victim’s dementia and Alzheimer’s diagnosis, told investigators she first became aware of the card in 2022 after receiving a credit alert.

Detectives said six unauthorized transactions were made in 2020, including $5,500 to a doctor in Miami for a “tummy tuck,” $1,800 for post-surgical care, $160 to a plastic surgery practice in Atlanta, $550 for an eye exam and glasses in Gainesville, and $600 to a health and laser center also in Gainesville.

Only $432 in payments were made toward the card, according to the sheriff’s office. The remaining $7,200 debt was sold to a collection agency, which listed the debt solely under the victim’s name. The unpaid balance significantly damaged the victim’s credit score, authorities said.

A sworn complaint was filed against Parker in February 2025, and a warrant for her arrest was issued by Judge James Colaw the following month with bail set at $85,000. Parker was arrested Monday. She has no prior criminal history.

Bail was set at $45,000 by Judge Kristine Van Vorst.

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NEWBERRY ‒ A 63-year-old Newberry woman was killed Monday morning after another vehicle turned into her path, causing a collision that sent her car off the road and into a tree, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred around 7:33 a.m. on April 7, 2025, at the intersection of State Road 121 and Southwest 137^th Avenue, south of Newberry. The woman was driving a sedan southbound on SR 121 when a sport utility vehicle, driven by a 77-year-old Archer woman, attempted to turn left onto the highway from 137^th Avenue and struck the sedan.

The impact forced the Newberry woman’s vehicle off the road, where it crashed into a tree. She was wearing a seatbelt at the time and was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

The SUV’s driver and a 52-year-old male passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries. A 45-year-old female passenger in the SUV was not injured. All three occupants of the SUV are Archer residents, and all were wearing seatbelts.

The Florida Highway Patrol’s Traffic Homicide Investigation Unit is continuing to investigate the crash. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and Alachua County Fire Rescue also responded to the scene.

The names of those involved have not yet been released, pending notification of next of kin.

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WALDO – For the second time in a decade, Waldo has been left without a local school following the abrupt closure of Constellation Charter School of Gainesville.

On Thursday, May 1, 2025, the Alachua County School Board voted at a special meeting to immediately terminate the school’s charter, citing “serious concerns about the safety of students, staff, and visitors on campus,” as well as multiple violations of state law and the school’s charter agreement.

Though the school district had previously notified Constellation of potential closure due to financial concerns, district officials stated that the decision to shut down the school was based solely on safety and leadership issues unrelated to finances.

Under Florida Statute 1002.33(8)(c), a charter school sponsor may immediately revoke a school’s charter if there is “an immediate and serious danger to the health, safety or welfare of the school’s students,” and that danger is likely to continue without immediate action.

Constellation Charter School was located in the historic Waldo Community School building, which had previously housed Waldo Community School before its closure in 2015.

The news has sparked frustration and concern among local leaders.

Waldo City Manager Kim Worley called the board’s decision deeply damaging to the community. “This decision will significantly damage Waldo’s reputation. Even if another school is brought in, how can the community trust that it will remain open and not be closed abruptly again?” she said.

Worley reflected on the city’s educational history, citing the closure of Waldo Community School a decade ago. “In May 2015, the Alachua County School Board voted unanimously to close Waldo Community School, citing low enrollment and financial considerations,” she said. “This decision led to approximately 200 students being rezoned to Shell Elementary School in Hawthorne, requiring the students to be bused out of their hometown.”

“Following the closure, Waldo remained without a local school for several years,” Worley continued. “In 2023, the Constellation Charter School of Gainesville opened in the historic Waldo Community School building, offering education to students from first through seventh grade, with plans to expand to eighth grade.

“However, now, in May 2025, the school board closed the charter school due to significant safety and leadership failures, including neglected threat management procedures and delayed responses to safety threats. This sequence of events has left Waldo without a local school once again, raising concerns about the community’s ability to sustain educational institutions and the long-term impact on residents,” said Worley.

Notification from the school board to the families of all students via email, phone, text and hard copy letters state that the students will need to transfer to another school immediately or make other educational arrangements. According to the district, the transfer process into other Alachua County public schools has been streamlined to reduce disruption and assist families in finding immediate alternatives.

As of this school year, 89 students were enrolled at Constellation. Of those, 80 students had not previously attended a traditional Alachua County public school, having transferred from other charter schools, private schools, home education settings, or from outside the county. Only nine had previously attended a traditional public school in Alachua County.

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GAINESVILLE – Two 23-year-old women from Newberry were arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly attacking a woman and a 74-year-old man outside a home in Gainesville.

Christine Annmarie Babione and Cindy Rachell Discua were taken into custody at approximately 2:43 a.m. on March 26, 2025, according to the Gainesville Police Department (GPD).

A GPD officer reported that the incident began in the 3900 block of Northeast 1^st Terrace, where the female victim was entering her vehicle when the two women approached her. Babione allegedly slapped the victim on the neck, and a physical altercation ensued between all three women.

The female victim retreated to her residence, but Babione and Discua allegedly entered her vehicle and sat inside. When the victim returned and told them to leave, they allegedly refused and began assaulting her again, with the altercation starting inside the vehicle and continuing outside.

The confrontation escalated until the male victim exited the vehicle to intervene. He told police he placed Discua in a headlock in an attempt to separate the group, at which point Discua allegedly bit him in the chest. While he was restraining her, Babione reportedly punched him in the face.

The female victim then reportedly grabbed a cooking pan and struck both Babione and Discua, prompting them to retreat. The officer noted the male victim had a visible bite mark on his chest.

Post-Miranda, Discua reportedly told officers she and Babione had been drinking in downtown Gainesville before Babione suggested visiting a friend’s house. She said a physical altercation began immediately upon arriving at the residence. Discua initially denied involvement in the fight but later admitted she and Babione had both participated, though she denied being the aggressor.

Discua also reportedly said she knew the victims but was unable to provide their names or address. She stated the female victim had agreed to give her a ride. According to the report, both women appeared intoxicated and gave contradictory statements.

The victims told police they did not know Babione or Discua and had been inside their home before the incident.

During a search incident to arrest, officers reportedly found about 5.1 grams of marijuana in Discua’s purse, which was located in the female victim’s vehicle.

Babione was charged with burglary with battery and battery on a person over 65. She has no prior criminal convictions. Although the State Attorney’s Office filed notice of its intent to seek a hearing to hold her without bail until trial, Judge Mark Moseley ordered her released on her own recognizance.

Discua was charged with burglary with battery, battery on a person over 65, and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. She also has no criminal convictions. Judge Moseley released her on her own recognizance under the same conditions.

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Brian Murphy, 3002 Surveying president, teaches Scouts how to replicate a boundary survey using the Total Station with a data collector./ Photo by SUZETTE COOK/SFFGS /Special to Alachua County Today

ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ Eleven-year-old James Hutchison of Levy County didn’t waste any time putting his math skills to work during a recent surveying workshop for Scouts, hosted by the University of Florida’s School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences (SFFGS). And Scout Leader Hope Hutchison was not surprised that her son, Scout James Hutchison, got an early start working on his Surveying Merit Badge.

“He loves math and angles,” she said. And on April 12, along with 17 other Scouts from throughout Florida, James got to use math during hands-on lessons in surveying and mapping from top experts in the field.

Even before the event hosted by SFFGS new Geomatics Extension program got started, James volunteered to help Noble Haile, owner of Noble Precision Technologies, set up data collecting orbs for a lesson in 3-D scanning.

Haile along with Brian Murphy, president of 3002 Surveying, Eric Orndorff, market leader for Geospatial WGI, Nicholas DiGruttolo, survey manager for Pickett and Associates, and Marco Krieger, licensed surveyor for TRC Companies spent their Saturday in the woods at UF/IFAS Austin Cary Forest Campus off Waldo Road.

Each mentor brought the latest equipment they use in the field and Scouts rotated between five stations where they learned mapping and drafting, surveying history and careers, leveling, creating boundaries, and 3-D laser scanning.

At the end of the day, the paperwork for the Surveying Merit Badge for all 18 Scouts was signed by Orndorff, an Eagle Scout himself who later went on to become a Scout Master with Troop 432 in Gainesville and then became a merit badge counselor.

“I do credit Scouting,” Orndorff said about his career choice. “It sparked an interest.”

SFFGS Assistant Director for Geomatics Extension Katie Britt said that’s exactly why the event was held. Britt coordinates the only geomatics extension program in Florida and in the U.S., a position that SFFGS launched to not only spark interest in geomatics for youth but to help adults obtain the required certification to enter the high-demand career in Florida and beyond.

“We were excited to have 18 youth participate in the event and complete the surveying merit badge,” said Britt. “This badge provides a great overview of surveying. There are so many career opportunities in a wide variety of surveying applications in Florida, and it’s a career that many people aren’t even aware of until later in life.”

The goal of hosting this event was to introduce more youth to surveying as a career and find some future surveyors, she added. “We hope to be able to expand this event next year to include relevant badges for younger ages and include the whole of SFFGS. There are a ton of badges that our faculty and staff are experts in, and we’d love to introduce youth to what the whole school has to offer.”

SFFGS Associate Professor and Extension Coordinator Michael Andreu, Ph.D. said that is what Britt’s new role is aiming to accomplish.

“We are excited that this new extension program will engage youth in learning about job opportunities that they can pursue to support Florida’s economy,” he said.

Each of the topics relayed in the workshop resonated with the Scouts. Paisley Adkins,13, is a North Marion County seventh grader and a Scout with Troop 9563 from Anthony. She said most enjoyed the boundaries workshop with Murphy.

Carson Orndorff, 14, from Gainesville said, “Drafting was really cool and running out the scale map was pretty fun.”

Roy Sanbury, 16, from Troop 563 out of Ocala said that tracking was his favorite lesson. “Learning how to get the precise motions in and how expensive having these measurements done is fascinating,” he said. His goal is to be a firefighter, but he said that surveying knowledge would help in that career. “It could have to do with surveying,” he said. “You have to know the places you go to.”

Britt gives credit for the successful workshop to the experts who volunteered to help.

And it was Murphy’s initial suggestion to hold the workshop to increase recipients of the Surveying Merit Badge. He is a geomatics graduate of SFFGS as are DiGruttolo, Orndorff, and Krieger.

Terrell T. “Red” Baker, director of SFFGS looks forward to organizing similar opportunities in the months and years to come.

“We are grateful to our alumni and staff that came out on a weekend to support this important opportunity for local scouts,” he said. “Scouts not only earned merit badges to demonstrate their competency in surveying, but they got the chance to learn about the newest technologies and career opportunities in the surveying and mapping profession.

Scout James Hutchison agrees that he has discovered his calling. At the end of the day, he summed up his experience, “My dream job would probably be a surveyor,” he said.

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