ALACHUA - It appears that voter turnout in Tuesday’s primary election was lower than anticipated locally. As of early Tuesday evening, there also didn’t appear to have been reports of any widespread issues or long lines at the polls. Early voting was held Aug. 5 – Aug. 17, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The General Election will be held Nov. 5, 2024 with Early Voting Oct. 21, 2024 – Nov. 2.
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GAINESVILLE ‒ An Alachua County Grand Jury has handed down three first-degree murder indictments for the 2017 murder of Christin Cassels in Hawthorne.
On April 21, 2017, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a shooting in the area of 78150 SE U.S. Highway 301 in Hawthorne and found the victim, Christin Cassels, suffering from a gunshot wound. Cassels was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.
Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Detectives conducted a lengthy forensic investigation on cellular devices and Google data and identified Keneth Altidor, 42, Blake Carrington Jackson, 28 and Nikenson Perin, 36, as suspects.
On Jan. 17, 2024, Assistant State Attorney Ryan Nagel presented the evidence in the case to the Alachua County Spring Term Grand Jury. Following that, the Grand Jury returned a True Bill indicting the three men for first-degree murder and burglary while armed with a dangerous weapon.
On July 15, 2024, Altidor was arrested with the assistance of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Lauderdale. On July 16, 2024, Jackson was arrested in Hallandale Beach, in Hollywood, Florida, also with the assistance of Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Both Altidor and Jackson were booked into the Alachua County Jail on July 23, 2024. Perin is in federal prison in Seattle, Washington, awaiting extradition back to Alachua County.
Judge Meshon Rawls received the findings from the Grand Jury and ordered Altidor and Jackson to be held without bail.
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NEWBERRY ‒ Units from Newberry Fire Rescue, High Springs Fire Rescue and Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to reports of a multi-unit, multi-floor, residential structure fire in the Country Way development in Newberry.
At 5:41 p.m. on Sunday, July 21, 2024, the dispatch center reported that they received calls that lightning had struck the roof of one of the buildings in the development following an afternoon thunderstorm.
The first unit on scene confirmed a structure fire, with fire and smoke coming from the roof of a three-story building. Multiple fire trucks were called to the scene and an aggressive, interior fire attack was initiated. Because of the combined efforts of all firefighters, the fire was brought under control quickly with all damage being kept to the apartment of origin.
Five families were displaced because of the incident, but no loss of life or injuries were incurred. The fire is under investigation by the County Fire Marshall’s office.
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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Former City of High Springs public works director Thomas Henry has filed a lawsuit against the City. In the lawsuit Henry is claiming he is a whistleblower who brought serious concerns to his supervisor and the commission and these concerns were not remedied.
Henry alleges there were City Charter violations by the mayor and the finance director, causing a hostile work environment, which resulted in his loss of employment.
Of significance of the four counts in the 111-page lawsuit are two whistleblower law violations, sunshine law violations and an allegation of destroying evidence. As this lawsuit was only recently filed, additional information will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
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NEWBERRY ‒ A 70-year-old Bell man died in a single vehicle crash on Monday, July 15, at 5:09 p.m.
The man was driving a white GMC pickup truck traveling westbound on State Road 26 when the truck left the roadway and entered the center grass median.
The pickup truck crossed over the eastbound lanes of SR 26, and collided with a ditch on the south shoulder. The truck then struck a wooden fence in an open field, where it came to a final rest.
The driver was transported to UF Health Shands and later pronounced deceased.
The man was wearing his seat belt when the crash occurred according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.
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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The Aug. 8, 2024, High Springs City Commission meeting took a serious turn when Fire Chief Joseph Peters addressed a growing concern at the City’s fire station. Peters revealed that mold, stemming from condensation on the air conditioning ductwork, was discovered in the ceiling tiles of the bedroom and bunk room areas. The issue is significant, with humidity levels in the building far exceeding normal standards.
“So, at my direction, I had Heritage come in and look at that. He took some readings. As far as humidity, the humidity levels in the building, in the bunk room and the day room area, and the kitchen were well above 80 percent. Normal house and normal building humidity levels should be around 50–60 percent,” explained Peters.
Heritage, a local environmental services company, determined that the situation required the expertise of a mechanical contractor. It was found that the air conditioning system had likely been installed improperly, causing the widespread mold in critical areas of the fire station, including the bedroom, bunk room, and living quarters.
The mold found in the women's restroom was particularly concerning. Peters reported that it was identified as black mold, which is known to be dangerous. The mold's presence was exacerbated by a broken exhaust fan that had never been repaired. “We’ve had to completely block off our women’s restroom. So, we’re down to one restroom,” Peters said.
Peters also said that the mechanical engineer who inspected the facility recommended a complete overhaul of the air conditioning system, particularly in the bedroom, living quarters, and kitchen. The engineer also advised installing additional fans in the restrooms to ensure proper ventilation, as the current setup exhausts air into the attic rather than outside.
Peters presented the Commission with quotes for the necessary work, estimating the cost of the A/C system overhaul at $178,000 and mold remediation at $6,452, not including the cost of replacing any removed materials. “To remediate the mold, we have walls in the bedroom that are soft where the drywall has absorbed so much fluid that they’re now soft. Those will have to be removed,” Peters stated.
“Once they remediate everything, we’ll have to have a construction company come in and replace all of the drywall and replace probably the women’s shower because that’s where the black mold is,” said Peters. “So what you have in front of you is a total of $190,500 which doesn’t include the reconstruction costs.” Peters said his firefighters would do whatever painting and drywall work they could to save money for the City, but the total cost could easily reach or exceed $250,000.
City Manager Marshall inquired whether the staff would need temporary housing while the work was being done. Peters assured that the mold remediation specialist could isolate each room as needed, making relocation unnecessary.
After a discussion that included the possibility of holding the original contractor accountable, Commissioner Grunder proposed a motion to cap the spending at $250,000, with any additional costs requiring further Commission approval. The City Attorney advised that the expense be classified as an emergency purchase under city policy.
The City Attorney said the expense should be considered an emergency purchase, according to policy. Before voting to approve the motion, the mayor reminded everyone that the money would be coming from ARPA funds. The motion to fix the mold at the fire station passed unanimously.
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WALDO ‒ On Friday, July 12, 2024, at approximately 12:35 p.m., a Gainesville man and woman were killed in a traffic crash that occurred at Northeast U.S. Highway 301 and County Road 225.
The minivan the couple were traveling in entered the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 301 from the stop sign at County Road 225 where it was struck in a T-bone fashion by a tractor trailer traveling southbound in the inside lane.
Occupants in the minivan were an 82-year-old man and 80-year-old woman. After Alachua County Fire Rescue and Melrose Fire Rescue were able to extract the minivan driver, both occupants were transported to UF Health Shands where they were pronounced deceased.
The driver of the tractor trailer was a 45-year-old Ocala man who reported no injuries.
All parties were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
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