Local

GAINESVILLE ‒ Alachua County Public Schools has announced that due to the ongoing shortage of bus drivers and the negative impact on bus schedules and school attendance, the district is making changes to its bus transportation system. The School District says the changes are necessary to significantly reduce late and non-arriving buses, increase on-time arrivals and departures, and use public funds more effectively.

Under the new system, ‘courtesy’ bus routes and magnet and school choice programs stops will be revamped. The “courtesy” bus routes for all students except those attending the highest needs elementary schools will be eliminated beginning Jan. 8.

“Courtesy” buses are those provided to students who live within two miles of their zoned school and are not ESE (Exceptional Student Education) students. Currently, courtesy routes require 16 buses at an annual cost of about $1.8 million, for which the district receives no reimbursement from the state. About 1200 students in the district currently receive courtesy busing.

Instead of courtesy busing, the district will offer parents the opportunity to request transportation if their student’s walk to school meets the state’s legal definition of a ‘hazardous walking condition.’ More information on the application process will be provided to the parents of courtesy riders in the near future.

The district will also be revamping the current system for transporting more than 1,600 students who attend magnet and other choice programs not located at their zoned school. The current ‘hub’ stops at which buses stop to pick up those students will be updated to increase efficiency and reduce the number of buses needed to transport magnet/choice students. Currently the district runs 26 magnet/choice buses at a cost of about $1.8 million.

The revised magnet/choice changes will also take effect Jan. 8 for magnet/choice students.

The School District says that the conservative estimate of the money saved by making these changes is between $750,000 and $1.4 million per year, not including the cost of drivers. The district does not plan to eliminate bus driver positions. Instead, the district’s driver shortage will be significantly reduced, which means there should be enough drivers to fill routes that don’t currently have a permanent driver and fill in for absent drivers.

The district is looking at other possible strategies to improve the efficiency of its transportation system, including the recruitment and retention of drivers. School start times may also be adjusted in future years to reduce delays and to comply with a new state law on start times.

The district’s chief of operations Maria Eunice and Transportation Director Dr. Dontarrius Rowls will be presenting the changes to the transportation system at a School Board workshop on Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. This will be an informational item only, as the School Board does not vote on bus route changes.

A district spokesperson says that information about these changes was sent to the families of bus riders Tuesday afternoon, with more details specific to magnet, choice and courtesy riders to follow in the near future.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Four High Springs Firefighters have deployed to Dixie County as part of Engine Strike Team (EST) 1301.

EST 1301 includes crews from Clay County Fire Rescue, High Springs Fire Department, Putnam County Fire Rescue and Palatka Fire Department.

EST 1301 departed for Dixie County Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, and will be deployed for 10 days running fire and emergency medical calls for service in support of local fire departments in Dixie County.

High Springs' Engine 29 crew is led by Captain Kevin Pearson. Also, part of the deployment team are Lieutenant Gene Findley, Firefighter/Paramedic Mike Rivers, and Firefighter/EMT Clinton Drake.

This is the fourth deployment of High Springs resources in a year. Past deployments include a single resource Public Information Officer to Eastern Kentucky in August 2022, an Engine Strike Team to North Fort Myers in September 2022, and a single resource Engine Strike Team leader to Fort Myers Beach in October 2022.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ Hurricane Idalia was predicted to make landfall early Wednesday morning on Aug. 30 as a Category 3 hurricane with winds over 125 mph and 4 to 7 inches of rainfall. Early predictions had the storm as a direct hit on Cedar Key and then roaring over Alachua and Columbia counties as it traveled up the east coast. This would have made it the strongest storm to hit Alachua County in 100 years.

Just before making landfall, the massive hurricane shifted shortly before coming ashore, taking a curve to the northwest. The National Hurricane Center’s updated models on Tuesday showed only a part of Alachua County inside Idalia’s cone, and the 5 p.m. update shifted the cone even further north and west, keeping all of Alachua County and neighboring Gilchrist County outside the path.

While that was good news for Alachua County, it was bad news for Florida’s Big Bend area, especially Keaton Beach, located along Florida's Gulf Coast, 75 miles from Tallahassee.

Coastal towns along Florida's Big Bend, from Cedar Key northwest to Horseshoe Beach and Steinhatchee took the brunt of the storm with surges up to seven feet, flooding communities, destroying the landscape and demolishing buildings with winds up to 125 mph.

Inland, towns including Perry and nearby Live Oak suffered extensive damage from the wind as well. Over half a million residents lost power throughout the area that consisted of mainly rural communities, with no major population centers, which helped to keep structural damage and injuries down.

While not taking a direct hit, Alachua County still experienced damage from winds, which toppled trees, downed power lines and caused some structural damage, but it was much less than expected.

Alachua County issued its first ever mandatory evacuation order for mobile and manufactured homes, but the highest gusts of winds in the county were less than expected at around 55 mph, which were still high enough to cause damage and power outages throughout the area.

Public schools, the University of Florida and Santa Fe College were closed in anticipation of the oncoming storm. Schools reopened and resumed normal hours/operations on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023.

It took several days to restore all power in Alachua County as the power companies worked in the hardest hit areas first. Outages were widespread throughout northwest Florida with utility crews working 24 hours a day to restore power. Columbia, Alachua and Suwannee counties were lower on the list than some others that suffered more extensive damage.

Outages were reported in Duval, Flagler, Lake, Volusia, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Putnam and Union counties. In Alachua County, the Public Works Department cleared 70 fallen trees that blocked roadways. With damage lighter than expected, the County was also able to provide public works and medical assistance to the surrounding harder hit counties.

Early reports claimed Hurricane Idalia was responsible for two deaths, a 59-year-old Gainesville man and a 40-year-old Spring Hill man. Both were killed Wednesday when they lost control of their vehicles while driving during the storm, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Alachua County was spared from the catastrophic damage other areas suffered as Idalia was a devasting Category 3 hurricane that caused flooding, power outages and structural damage to northwest Florida and up into Georgia and the Carolinas.

#     #     #

Email rcarson@

alachuatoday.com

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Sept. 12, 2023) – City of Gainesville leaders invite all neighbors to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the reopening of Forest Park in Southwest Gainesville.  The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to noon.  Forect Park is located at 4501 S.W. 20th Avenue.

The park has been closed for renovations since February.  The municipal park features new turf for its three full-sized soccer fields, as well as for an additional 2/3-sized soccer field for younger players and senior athletes.  There are two sand volleyball courts each with adjustable nets for competition-quality play and two basketball courts also striped for six pickleball courts.  There are both small- and large-dog park areas with new amenities.  And there is outdoor lighting for evening play, eight player benches, 30 new bleachers, 13 shade structures and perimeter fencing.

 Additional improvements have been made to the parking lots, two recreational pavilions, field drainage and irrigation.

 Construction costs for the project totaled $3.6 million funded through the Wild Spaces Public Places surtax and a $200,000 Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program matching grant.

In case of severe weather, the event will be rescheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

Staff report/Alachua Chronical

GAINESVILLE – Jose A. Coronel, 45, was arrested late Thursday night, Aug. 31, 2023, and charged with six drug-related felonies, two drug-related misdemeanors, money laundering, and using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony after a man died of an overdose after allegedly purchasing drugs from Coronel.

Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a medical emergency at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night; the patient died, and deputies found evidence of drug use. The death is being investigated as a potential overdose. The victim’s parents reportedly gave consent to search his phone, where deputies found messages between the victim and Coronel from two days before his death about buying “a pack.” Previous messages between the two reportedly discussed weights, quality, and prices.

Deputies matched the phone number to Coronel and used the victim’s phone to arrange a narcotics deal. When Coronel came outside to meet them, he was taken into custody. A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a small bag with residue that tested positive for methamphetamine.

A search warrant was issued and reportedly produced 18.8 grams of marijuana, 29.2 grams of methamphetamine, 8 alprazolam pills, 8 amphetamine pills, $1,600 in cash, a scale, baggies, glass pipes, and straws.

Coronel’s home is located 880 feet from Metcalfe Elementary School.

Coronel has been charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession and possession with intent to sell of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, money laundering, maintaining a drug dwelling, possession of amphetamines with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and possession of alprazolam with intent to sell. Additional charges may be added later.

Coronel has traffic citations in Alachua County going back to 2006 but no local criminal history.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com