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 HIGH SPRINGS – The High Springs old school building, which has been renovated, continues to operate without an official name. It had earlier been suggested that the building be named after long-time educator, the late Georgann Grady Roberts. During the Thursday, April 11, 2013 High Springs City Commission meeting, city manager Ed Booth revealed that Roberts’ family has withdrawn her name from consideration. Booth said they didn’t give him any direct reasons for the request.

Roberts taught in the old school and served on the High Springs City Commission. Her grandfather donated the land for the school. While a decision to name the school after her was never finalized, it had been a top contender. In light of the situation, Booth said the City is still accepting suggestions for naming the school. He said there is no deadline to do so. Once he receives the names he will gather biographical information on each candidate and present it before commissioners for discussion.

Recently, the old school building won the Renovation and Rehabilitation award from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation for its outstanding recognition in adaptive use. The building has five rooms, a small stage that holds 75 people and hosts a range of events and meetings.

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 L-R: Alan and Janet Alligood hope to raise enough money to allow for upgrades to the Priest Theatre in High Springs. Among their amibtious goals is to convert from 35 mm film projectors to a modern digital projection system.

HIGH SPRINGS – The Priest Theatre in High Springs, located on 15 NW 1^st Street, is reaching out to moviegoers and community members to donate money and help save the theater as it transitions into the digital age.

The independent movie theater along with many others across America is struggling to keep up the transition as the movie industry has made the switch from using 35 mm film projectors to digital projectors. The cost to continue showing movies and upgrade the projectors is about $85,000.

Janet Alligood, daughter of Priest Theatre owners Bobby and Janice Sheffield, has made it her mission along with husband, Alan, to help save the theater. The Alligoods created a “Save the Priest” webpage on Kickstarter.com to help raise funds and awareness.

According to the website, approximately $10,498 has been raised. The digital upgrade will allow movie studios and distributors to save money on producing and shipping movies. The new projectors also increase the quality of screening by increasing the movie’s lighting and clarity.

Alligood said besides working on the webpage she has been working with volunteers to help come up with other ideas to fundraise money which includes applying for grants. She also said the theater will be participating in the 37^th Annual High Springs Pioneer Days celebration selling corn, giving tours of the theater and showing a free screening of western movie “Winchester 73.”

The Priest Theatre, which lies in the High Springs Historic District, was built around 1910 by William Jefferson Priest, who also owned the Ford dealership. Since its construction, the 103-year-old theater has transitioned from hosting traveling vaudeville shows to plays and from silent movies to “talkies.”

In 1986, the Sheffield’s bought the theater because it was near their hardware store and provided them needed access, according to the “Save the Priest” webpage. They decided to keep the theater as is and have restored and operated the theater ever since. In 2011 they put the theater up for sale because they could no longer keep up with cost. However, the theater did not sell. Alligood said she took this as a sign that she needed to get involved and save the theater from closing.

Along with the projector upgrade, donations made to the theater will fund projects to upgrade the digital surround sound system, docking station and server, digital pedestal, electric wiring, a flying silver screen, construction fees, installation and training.

Alligood says she wants to restore the theater’s stage and bring back live shows to the community.

“I want to see that stage,” Janet said. “Neither my generation nor my mother’s generation has seen that stage operate since vaudeville, and I want to see live shows entertain our community and happen again.”

The theater, which still shows movies three times a week, includes an auditorium that seats about 240 people, along with a balcony, sloping floors and a main lobby.

Donations are currently being accepted online at the Kickstarter’s “Save the Priest” webpage from now until June 3 at 7:01 p.m. However, Alligood said they will still be accepting donations at the theater after the deadline.

“I believe that if we bring [the theater] back to its beauty and restore it then it’s going to be something you can’t get anywhere else,” Alligood added.

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ARCHER – In a 4-1 vote, on April 8 the Archer City Commission passed an ordinance changing the City’s municipal elections to the spring.

It was previously held on the second Tuesday of November, the same day as the national and state elections.

Commissioner Fletcher Hope voted against the election change.

Previously, during the Feb. 11 city commission meeting, Mayor Frank Ogborn said that during the last election, because there were so many amendments voters had to read, Archer’s elections got “lost in the shuffle.”

“Voters don’t want to read all that stuff,” Ogborn said at the February commission meeting. “I thought it was a good idea to move it to the spring.”

According to the ordinance, the municipal elections will take place in even years on the second Tuesday of April.

Archer City Manager Al Grieshaber Jr., said there would be no early voting unless the municipality pays for it.

Archer, Alachua and Newberry will have their municipal elections on the same day.

Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter said in February during an interview that she is working with cities to have their municipal elections on the same day in the spring in order to increase public awareness of their municipal voting day. This has been an on-going process for the last eight years.

“[It would] provide voters with another annual election day,” she said in February.

So far, Gainesville, Newberry, Alachua, Hawthorne and the towns of LaCrosse and Micanopy have set their municipal elections during the spring.

Two other municipalities, Waldo and High Springs, still hold their elections in November.

Although the elections are on even years, in an interview Grieshaber said there will be an election in April 2015 in order to replace the November 2014 election.

This will be a one-time odd-year election on the second Tuesday of April, according to the ordinance.

This means that the commission seats of Gabe Green and Ogborn would be extended until the spring of 2015 instead of ending November 2014, Grieshaber said.

A commissioner’s term lasts four years, and the positions of mayor and vice mayor, which will continue to be selected in January, last one year.

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 High Springs Community School students found sponsors and walked laps carrying two gallons water to raise money for a water well in a third world village.

HIGH SPRINGS – High Springs Community School middle grades media specialist Judith Weaver was inspired by a book she read from the Sunshine State Young Authors list. The partly biographical book, “A Long Walk to Water,” brings to light the plight of children in certain Sudanese communities who are unable to attend school because they must spend their days walking for hours to find fresh water to bring back to their families for the basic necessities of life. Recent water conservation issues in our own area due to aquifers not replenishing after rains and river beds drying up bring this dilemma half way across the world from the Sudan right to the front doors of children in the High Springs community.

Weaver approached school’s School Advisory Council (SAC) to ask for multiple copies of the book so that whole classes could read it and make connections between the information in literature and what is happening in their own backyards. The SAC authorized the purchase of three class sets of the novel. Hundreds of the students at the school read the book. In addition to reading the books, students have been informed about the importance of water conservation and its impact for the future in a myriad of ways.

On March 22, 73 kindergarteners, 100 fifth graders, and 176 middle grades students raised $2,200 to build a well in a third world village that needs clean water.  Participants found sponsors who donated money for each lap the students walked.  While the students were walking laps, they also carried two gallons of water to symbolize the plight of children worldwide who must walk as much as four hours each way for water.  Much of this water is not clean and is responsible for death and disease throughout the world. As part of the "Walking for Water" project, students visited up to five environmental experts who lectured on global warming, water scarcity, underground springs in our area, alligators, reptiles and snakes, Sudan, Tanzania, groundwater and filtration systems.

This day culminated a year-long project that included many grades reading "A Long Walk to Water" by Sue Parks, a visit to the Natural History Museum and the Devil's Millhopper sinkhole in Gainesville, which was funded by the Alachua County Public School Foundation, and a focus on water conservation throughout the year. All monies collected were donated to the High Springs Rotary for the Rotary International's ongoing World Water project that seeks to provide a source for clean water for every person in the world.

High Springs Community School has expressed thanks to the teachers, students, volunteers, community members and guest speakers who assisted with and donated money toward this project.  With the funds already collected, and the remaining pledge funds to be turned in, the school hopes to meet the goal of raising $2,400. This would provide for not one, but two wells for small communities, like High Springs, but located where children have “a long walk to water.”

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WALDO – The City of Waldo has been approved to receive a grant from the Suwanee River Water Management District. The monies will be used to replace faulty water meters. The failing meters have been a recurring problem, said Waldo City Manager Kim Worley. The City was awarded $76,836, which will be matched with City funds, bringing the projected total of the upgrades to $153,672.

The grant funds will come out of the water management district’s $1.5 million budget for projects that address or enhance water supplies within the district.

Known as the Local Regional Initiative Valuing Environmental Resources (RIVER) cost-share program, 43 applications were submitted by the December 2012 deadline for the 2013 fiscal year. Out of the 43 districts that applied, only 14 projects were approved, and Waldo was one of the approved projects.

The 14 projects totaled $1,499,903, which will be used for a variety of improvements including increased flood protection, removal of nitrates and reduction of sediments that enter into the Suwanee River.

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Newberry mayoral candidate John Glanzer (right) congratulates opponent Mayor Bill Conrad on his victory Tuesday evening.

NEWBERRY – Newberry’s city election, which was held Tuesday, saw several incumbents returned to municipal office and one sitting commissioner defeated.

The crowd, which had gathered outside the fire station Tuesday evening in anticipation of election results, inched closer and closer to the open bay doors. Inside the polling location a team was calculating which candidate would be the next mayor and group IV commissioner. The 2013 Newberry municipal elections had drawn to a close about 30 minutes earlier.

In the mayoral race, John Glanzer faced off against current mayor Bill Conrad. Commissioner Robert Fillyaw faced challenger Tim Marden and Commissioner Jordan Marlow ran unopposed for reelection to his seat.

After the ballots were counted Bill Conrad had retained his mayoral seat with 520 votes to Glanzer’s 261. In the group IV race, Tim Marden pulled off the victory with 446 votes to incumbent Fillyaw with 331 votes.

Crowd reaction ranged from audible guffaws to “Unbelievable” as hugs were exchanged between families, friends and opponents.

“I think it’s going to be building bridges and getting the commission to work well together,” Mayor Conrad said of his second term.

“And I think the people have sent a message back to the commission that they want the budget balanced.

“They still like the dream, they like the vision, but not at the expense of big debt and overspending. People want strategic planning.

“They are looking for more fiscal responsibility,” said Conrad, who plans to focus on his accountability to the public.

“There is certainly going to be a learning curve,” Marden said with a smile about his new position as group IV commissioner.

“I know that the vote today was for me, but it’s a vote of trust and a vote of confidence that I don’t take lightly.

“I appreciate their patience in advance, and I encourage everyone to stay as engaged as they have been in the last two months,” he said.

John Glanzer, who has given a quarter century of his life to city government service, might consider running again in the future.

“It was depressing to lose,” he said.

“It was said by several people that there wasn’t a bad choice to be made by the citizens as far as between the commissioners and mayoral candidates.”

His biggest concern now is that citizens vehemently participate in community affairs through clear communication and attendance at commission meetings and special workshops.

Glanzer says that part of his decision to run sprang from his concern that past and current mayors “were not doing their very best in working with the commissioners as far as sharing information in an even-handed manner and letting the public know everything and not just part of it.”

By about 8 p.m. all the campaign signs in front of the fire station were taken down and packed away.

About 100 of Conrad’s and Marden’s supporters were off to Triangle Park for a victory party.

“We ate pizza, drank some soft drinks and the kids played in the park. We had a very mellow time,” Conrad said.

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