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GAINESVILLEL, FLA. -  As a part of the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department’s 352walls initiative, local artist Turbado Marabou created a mural at the Clarence R. Kelly Community Center & Park, located in East Gainesville's Duval Community. The artwork is on the south wall of the community center's exterior and faces the park's event lawn and playground. 

Turbado Marabou is a talented muralist and storyteller. He uses his art to speak to the African traditions of moving from youth to adulthood in rites of passage ceremonies, and to foster community engagement, exposure, encouragement, health, cultural education and sustainable art forms. Throughout the summer, Turbado, along with community partners, held engagement sessions with youth and seniors to build community and foster community pride.

The Clarence R. Kelly Community Center & Park mural was funded by the City of Gainesville’s Wild Spaces & Public Places program through the Arts in Public Places Trust. The mural cost $5,000.

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Gainesville, Florida – Santa Fe College will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. for the new Ralph W. Cellon Jr. Institute for Skilled Trades and Advanced Manufacturing. It will be built on SF’s Northwest Campus, 3000 NW 83^rd Street across the street from the SF Gymnasium.

The facility is being named in honor of Ralph W. Cellon, a longtime supporter of the college. Cellon has been a central figure throughout the college’s history. He helped lead the effort to secure the land where the college’s Northwest Campus is located, served as an inaugural trustee on the college’s District Board of Trustees, and has continuously served for 54 years on the Board of the Santa Fe College Foundation.

“Ralph Cellon has been integral to the growth of Santa Fe College since its inception and it is fitting that this new facility be named in his honor,” SF President Paul Broadie II said. “He knows the power of a college education, and the need for highly skilled workers in the trades. As demand continues to grow in these industries, students graduating from our programs will be able to enter their career field knowing that they have been trained utilizing the latest technology and are poised for success.”

When the facility opens, the increased space will enable the college to see a 275% increase in the number of students that can be trained in HVAC and Welding. In addition, the college plans to add a new degree program in Advanced Manufacturing to help address the needs of business and industry within the community.

Construction on the facility is expected to begin next year with a projected opening of Fall 2025.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ It may be BBQ like you’ve never had before and its coming to High Springs. Bobby and Crystal Gay have been involved with competition Bar-B-Q for a long time and have placed or won many contests including across the Southeast, from the Big Pig Jig in Georgia to the Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam in Florida. They were also featured on the Food Network's BBQ USA show.

Burnt out in the corporate world and eager to find a business to match their passion for BBQ, inspiration struck during a lunch break when Crystal Gay called her husband and suggested they should open their own barbecue business.

In November 2022 Bobby and Crystal purchased a three-acre plot with a 3,100-sq-ft building in High Springs on Highway 441 near Bev's Burgers toward Alachua. Naming their business Sweet Meats BBQ, the couple set out to share their expertise with the public and provide a high-quality butcher shop.

Crystal says they were surprised to find there were no butcher shops or BBQ supply stores in the area, and although they live in Gainesville, property values were too high to buy property there.

“We didn’t want to rent in case a landlord changed the rent or ownership since we wanted to establish a permanent business where we had control and the ability to expand,” said Crystal. “So, we looked at other locations in the area.” Crystal says they both fell in love with High Springs and its small-town feel.

Coming from a small town in Georgia, Bobby is a firm believer that BBQ is a great way to bring people together. “We wanted to keep a family feel to our shop” he said. “Our business will be more than just a butcher shop, we will be a barbecue supply store, smoker manufacturing company with a variety of smokers, including one with a built-in sound system for backyard parties and catering company.

Sweet Meats BBQ will also be offering BBQ cooking classes from some of the most renowned experts in competition class styles and has been approved by the City of High Springs to build a pole barn to hold cook-outs, events and concerts as well.

“We want to be a destination point for everything BBQ for the community and a place to gather as well,” said Bobby. “We plan to expand our services over the next year to include whole hog cooking on a brick pit doing old-school style.”

While the store will focus on the full-service butcher portion of the business, Bobby and Gay want to make it a community gathering spot as well with events, concerts and, of course, food and cookouts.

The butcher shop will offer a wide variety of high-quality competition and commercial meats, including pork, beef, ribs, chicken, lamb and Wagyu beef.

“We will offer better quality custom cut meats at a lower price than supermarkets,” said Bobby. “We want people to be able to customize their order in any way they want.”

Sweet Meats will also offer cooked meats and BBQ for takeout and a catering service for delivery. The classes will offer lessons on BBQ cooking and education on cooking styles and what meats are best for each style. Bobby says they want to help customers increase their skill level of grilling no matter where they start out.

Sweet Meats is planning a grand opening on Friday, Sept. 1 from noon to 5 p.m. Regular store hours will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. More information and takeout or catering can be done by phone at 352-474-3040.

“We want to make this site a one stop location for all things BBQ and provide a place for the community to gather and have a good time,” said Bobby. “BBQ is an American tradition that brings family and friends together.”

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ALACHUA  COUNTY - Alachua County Public Schools will be using two days in December to make up for the two instructional days lost to Hurricane Idalia.

The two days school will now be in session are Thursday, Dec. 21 and Friday, Dec. 22. Both were designated as ‘flex days’ in the 2023-24 school year approved by the School Board in February.

Flex days are built into the school year calendar in case the district has to make up days lost to severe weather or other emergencies. Alachua County Public Schools has been incorporating flex days into its school year calendars for several years.

Make-up days are necessary to meet state requirements for instructional time.

The use of the Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 flex days as regular school days will still leave two full weeks for the Winter Holiday, which will run from Monday, December 25 through Friday, January 5.

School year calendars are developed by the district in collaboration with the Alachua County Education Association and typically approved in February or March for the following school year.

A notice about the make up days will be sent to families this afternoon through email and phone and through text for those parents/guardians who have opted in to the district’s text messaging system.

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By JENNIFER CABRERA/Alachua Chronicle

GAINESVILLE ‒ Eric Levon West, 35, of Archer, was arrested on Friday, Aug. 25, and charged with two counts of human trafficking of a minor, two counts of traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual contact, two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and possession of marijuana with intent to sell after allegedly picking up two 16-year-old girls and giving them marijuana in exchange for sex.

On Feb. 11, 2023, West was driving behind an RTS bus when he saw the two girls get off and offered to give them marijuana. One of the girls gave West her phone number so he could contact them when he had the marijuana. West allegedly contacted the girl later and arranged to meet both girls to provide the marijuana. The girls said they got into his truck when he arrived and one of the girls said she heard him say he was “gonna want something” in exchange for the marijuana. Both girls told Gainesville Police Department officers that they told him they were 16 years old.

West reportedly drove the girls to a gas station on Tower Road and bought the girls some chips and soda. He then drove to the parking lot of the Home Depot on Northwest 4^th Boulevard, where he moved one of the seats in the truck to make more room in the back seat. He reportedly got into the back seat with both girls.

The victims told officers that West took off his shoes, pants and underwear, and one of the victims performed oral sex on him. Then West allegedly told the other victim it was her “turn” and had intercourse with her.

The victims said that before leaving the parking lot, West told them he would take them to a hotel the next time. He allegedly gave each girl “a nominal amount” of marijuana and took them back to the area where he had picked them up.

The victims were able to provide a description of the man and the truck, and officers used the phone number that he had given to one of the victims to identify the man as West. West is also the registered owner of a truck matching the description provided by the victims.

Cell phone records reportedly show communications between West and one of the victims on Feb. 11 and location information from West’s phone reportedly shows him in the area where the victims were picked up, at the gas station, in the Home Depot parking lot and back to the area where the victims were dropped off.

Detectives reportedly made contact with West on Aug. 24 and 25 on the victim’s phone, pretending to be the girl. During the exchange, West allegedly asked the victim about her friend and said he had some good marijuana for them and had a “spot on 20^th [Ave] where we can go” after the victim asked if they were going to have sex in the truck “again” or go to a hotel. In response to a question about what else he would give the victims in addition to marijuana, West allegedly replied, “$.” West reportedly agreed to meet the victims at a gas station on Southwest 20^th Avenue at 6 p.m. on Aug. 25.

West allegedly texted the victim several times to let her know he was on his way. The victim asked him to pick up a Sprite for her.

West was arrested as he came out of the gas station. A search of his truck reportedly produced a Sprite that had just been purchased at the gas station, two unused condoms and 20 grams of marijuana.

Post Miranda, West reportedly said he first saw the girls when they got off a bus and he exchanged numbers with one of them. He reportedly confessed to picking up both girls, taking them to the gas station near Home Depot and buying chips and sodas for them. He reportedly admitted to moving the seat to make more room in the back seat but said he just smoked marijuana and talked to the girls and did not have sex with them.

West reportedly told officers that he does not use condoms when he has intercourse with his wife and could not explain why he had two condoms with him after texting one victim that he wanted “both of y’all”; he reportedly said he was just referring to hanging out with the victims.

West has a felony conviction for child neglect and seven misdemeanor convictions, including a hit and run and marijuana possession.

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