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Lillian Eunice Brown, 83, of High Springs, Florida, passed away March 26, 2024. She was born January 16, 1941 in Gainesville, Florida to the late Elery D. and Leta Bedenbaugh Witt.

Lillian was a member of the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church. She had retired from Energizer in Alachua and then from her daycare business. She enjoyed reading, crocheting, gardening, and playing piano.

Lillian is survived by her husband, Sam “S.J.” Brown, her son Jeff Brown (Liz), her daughter Lisa Baldree (Bunky), her grandchildren Travis Brown (Brielle), Morgan Baldree, and Stephen Haefner (Catalina), her great-grandchild Gunnar Brown, her sister Lucy English, and other extended family members.

Funeral services for Lillian will be held 11:00 AM Friday, March 29, 2024, at the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church in High Springs, FL, with Rev. Tim Wimberly officiating. Interment will follow at the Mt. Horeb Cemetery in High Springs. The family will receive friends at the Church one hour prior to the service.

Arrangements have been placed under the care of the Rick Gooding Funeral Home Chiefland Chapel, with locations in Cross City 352-498-5400 and Chiefland 352-493-0050.  Please sign the online guest book at rickgoodingfuneralhomes.com.

GAINESVILLE ‒ Although the Gators recently lost the game to Florida State University (FSU), one Newberry couple was ecstatic when they won a two-year lease on a 2024 Chevy Trax from Davis Gainesville Chevrolet. The couple won the car when Gator infielder Cade Kurland hit a Grand Slam in the fourth inning with the bases loaded.

Davis Chevy, as part of their long-standing relationship with Gators Sports Properties Learfield, promised to give away a new car if the Gators baseball team hit a grand slam in the fourth inning of any home game or any inning during the match-up with the rivals from that school out west.

Fans were invited to sign up to enter the drawing to become the Davis Chevrolet Grand Slam Fan of the Game, and they didn’t need to be present to win. Winner Zack Leggett was working from home when he won. However, his wife, Alex, was in the ballpark.

Davis Chevy, located on North Main Street in Gainesville, undoubtedly is a proud partner of the Florida Gators. This season, they expanded their promotion to include a grand slam in the fourth inning of any Gators home baseball or softball game. With the majority of both seasons still in front of them, they look to see if a second Trax will be awarded to a Gator fan.

Fans can still enter the Fourth Inning Grand Slam contest for the rest of the season at www.floridagators.com/davis.

Davis has been a proud supporter of Gators athletics for years and uses the opportunity to meet and interact with Gator fans.

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ALACHUA ‒ On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the Alachua County Commission held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of the new Alachua County Fire Station #21 located at 16121 N.W. 173^rd Street/CR 235A, in Alachua.

In attendance were members of the Alachua County Commission and staff, Alachua County Fire Rescue, Alachua City Commission and staff as well as members of the Alachua Chamber of Commerce and members of the public. Speakers included Alachua County Manager Michele Lieberman, Fire Chief Harold Theus and County Commission Chair Mary Alford.

Just days prior to the groundbreaking ceremony Lieberman said, “We have planned for the relocation of station 21 for many years, and we are so happy to see it become a reality.”

Station 21 will be the second fire station of the new Alachua County Fire Rescue prototype design, with Station 80 on Southwest 20^th Avenue in Gainesville being the first.

The planned single-story concrete masonry facility features energy-efficient equipment and sustainable design features, with 100 percent backup generated power. There will be three drive-through bays and 10 bunkrooms. The $7 million 11,500-square-foot state-of-the-art building is estimated to last 50-plus years.

At the time of opening, six people will operate out of the station 24 hours a day seven days a week. The station will house an Advanced Life Support Fire Engine, an Advanced Life support Ambulance, a brush truck, a water tanker, and a District Chief.

Liberman said, “The station is designed to house 10 people and as this area continues to grow, strong consideration s needed in adding an aerial apparatus to serve this area.”

Fire Chief Theus estimated a construction period of about 12 months. Once the new facility is operational, the current Fire Station 21 operations will be relocated from 15040 N.W. U.S. Highway 441 across from Alachua Elementary School to the 173^rd Street location. The new Fire Station 21 will provide coverage to the western part of Alachua and the new Fire Station 25, located in Tech City, will provide coverage to the other end of Alachua and the surrounding county area.

“We have recognized the need for a new Station 21 for decades, and it came down to finding a good location for it to go,” said Liberman. “And with the addition of Fire Station 25 in the Tech City area, it makes sense to move to a different location within the city.”

The Lunz Group, from Lakeland, provided architectural and engineering services for the project and the D.E. Scorpio Corporation is the construction management firm “at risk”.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ City of High Springs Finance Director Diane Wilson, in a Dec. 5, 2024, memo to the High Springs Mayor and City Commission, lodged complaints about events that allegedly took place during the 2023 Fiscal Year. Wilson has been on administrative suspension from the City of High Springs for the past three months, and the matter has not been publicly discussed by the City Commission.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources say that Wilson’s suspension was lifted this past week and that her suspension may have been due in part to factors related to the budget process, alleged mistakes in vendor payments and tardiness in submitting requests for reimbursement to governmental agencies.

In Wilson’s December memo, she claimed that High Springs Fire Chief Bruce Gillingham worked for another employer while being paid to work for the City, misused his City vehicle to travel back and forth to Ocala to work at his second job, used City property and staff for a private fundraiser, and asked to use the City’s Tax Exemption Certificate and City credit card for personal use.

Additionally, Wilson charged that Chief Gillingham and Deputy Chief Andy Burkhalter did not properly mark their company vehicles as required by tax code, and because of that, their W-2s will need to be adjusted to show their personal vehicle allowances as additional taxable personal income.

Wilson also claimed the Florida Building Code was violated when the City Hall elevator was used nine different times during a period when it had not passed inspection.

In her memo, Wilson said she was addressing “concerns about potential ethics, city policy and state law violations.” She said all of the issues were reported to former City Manager Ashley Stathatos “over the past 18 months, with several being discussed on multiple occasions.” Wilson noted that it is her fiduciary responsibility to report these concerns along with applicable documentation and that any additional actions will be at the City Commission’s discretion.

In her previous employment with the City of Gainesville, Wilson’s job was eliminated in a city staff reorganization effort led by interim City Manager Cynthia Curry. Curry took over as interim city manager following former City Manager Lee Feldman’s resignation. Upon her termination, Wilson filed a lawsuit against the City of Gainesville claiming gender discrimination by Feldman when he promoted a male employee into a position she believed she should have had.

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HIGH SPRINGS – In an important development for the City of High Springs, the City Commission has named a new city manager. On Thursday, March 14, Jeremy Marshall was unanimously selected to fill the position vacated by former city manager Ashley Stathatos.

Prior to the selection, citizens were given the opportunity to get to know the two finalists for the position at a meet and greet at 4:30 p.m. The Commission then conducted interviews at a Special Commission meeting at 5:30 p.m. with Marshall and Jeff Shoobridge, the two finalists for the position.

During the regular City Commission meeting held at 5:30 p.m., Commissioners voted on the two applicants and chose Marshall.

Marshall has a bachelor’s in business administration and is a candidate for a master’s degree in public administration. He worked as administrator of Valley, Nebraska, in 2022 and served as chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Farmington, New York.

The City and Marshall are currently entering into contract negotiations. Should the City and Marshall be unable to successfully complete a contract, City staff may move to negotiate with second-ranked candidate Shoobridge.

Marshall’s application indicates a $100,000 salary request. The position was advertised at a salary range of $100,000 - $120,000 annually “with generous benefits which include a vehicle allowance, retirement benefits through FRS, health, vision, life, dental, short- and long-term disability insurance.”

A requirement of the position is that the city manager reside within the city limits of High Springs.

Until the contract is finalized and the new city manager is in place, three city staff members will take over the responsibilities of city manager.

Police Chief Antoine Sheppard will manage law enforcement and City Clerk Angela Stone will oversee the city clerk’s office, with spending authority of the city manager and decision-making on employee appointments and dismissals. Public Works Director Thomas Henry will head up the remaining City departments.

Previous City Manager Ashley Stathatos submitted her letter of resignation in November 2023; and officially ended her service to the City at the end of February 2024.

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HIGH SPRINGS – Thirty-four-year-old John Quinn Presnell, Jr. of High Springs was arrested on March 16, and charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer with violence, resisting a K-9 with violence, striking a K-9 and property damage.

At about 12:16 a.m. on Saturday, High Springs Police Department (HSPD) officers responded to a home in High Springs where the caller said her husband, a police officer, was being threatened by their next door neighbor, John Quinn Presnell, Jr. She also reported that Presnell had slashed two tires of her husband’s patrol car and one tire of his personal vehicle. She said that when he was asked to leave, Presnell threatened to kill her husband and then went back to his property.

As two HSPD officers arrived at the home, Presnell allegedly fired a single shot from a rifle. The officers took cover and ordered Presnell to surrender, but he reportedly kept yelling at them.

In response to the officers’ radio call about shots fired, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) Deputies also responded to the property.

Presnell allegedly fled into the nearby woods. Officers believed he may have been armed with a .22 caliber rifle that was stored in a shed that he was seen entering, along with the muzzleloader rifle he had allegedly fired earlier.

Deputies, HSPD officers, and Alachua Police Department officers set a perimeter and gave multiple commands for Presnell to come out of the woods with empty hands.

At approximately 2:17 a.m., Presnell reportedly came out of the woods, holding a closed pocket knife and continuing to ignore commands from deputies. An ACSO K-9 was deployed to apprehend Presnell. The K-9 bit Presnell while apprehending him. Presnell allegedly hit the K-9 multiple times with the closed pocket knife before he was taken into custody by deputies.

Presnell was transported to a local hospital to be medically cleared before being booked into the jail.

Presnell completed a pre-trial diversion agreement for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana in 2013 and was convicted of two counts of possession of drug equipment in 2017. A charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell was dropped in 2017. The previous charges were filed in Columbia County. He was convicted of driving without a valid license in Alachua County in 2016.

Judge Denise Ferrero set bond at $35,000. Four of the charges have a no bond attached.

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