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ALACHUA ‒ Anthony Brandon Williams, 42, was arrested at 11:49 p.m. on Monday, July 10, and has been charged with possession of trafficking quantities of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, two counts of possession of Ecstasy and resisting an officer after Williams allegedly ran from a traffic stop in Alachua.

An Alachua Police Department officer pulled Williams over in the 16500 block of U.S. Highway 441 at about 10:50 p.m. and requested consent to search the car. After Williams denied consent, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy and K-9 team arrived and established probable cause to search the car, at which point Williams allegedly ran away on foot along U.S. Highway 441.

A deputy reportedly chased Williams for about 100 yards before Williams ran into the woods. As units were closing in on Anthony’s location, he was provided announcements that a K9 officer was present and ordered to surrender himself. Williams complied and was taken into custody.

A deputy walked back along Williams’ path and found a balled-up sock in a sandy area that was wet due to recent rains. The ASO deputy reported that the sock was dry and was not covered in debris, so it had been dropped very recently. A search of the sock reportedly produced 55 grams of methamphetamine, broken pills that tested positive for Ecstasy and 0.62 grams of MDPV. A scale and baggies were reportedly found in the car in which Williams had been the sole occupant and registered owner.

Williams has seven felony and seven misdemeanor convictions, mostly related to drugs. He has served three state prison sentences for selling drugs, with his most recent release in 2013. He was arrested for possession of Ecstasy pills in 2020, but the charge was dropped.

Bail was set at a total of $250,000 by Judge Susan Miller-Jones as follows: Trafficking in Amphetamine or Methamphetamine $100,000, Possession of a controlled substance without a prescription (two charges) at $20,000 each, Drug Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Sell $100,000 and Resisting an officer without violence, $10,000.

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GAINESVILLE ‒ This fall, Santa Fe College is opening its new high school, the Academy of Science and Technology, on the college’s Northwest Campus in Gainesville. There are currently a few seats still available to interested students.

The inaugural class of incoming 9^th graders will begin with a standard high school curriculum before moving into college-level courses as early as their sophomore year. Students in the Academy will select one of four college-level tracks.

The school offers two tracks in health sciences and two tracks in information technology. Students who graduate from the Academy will have the opportunity to earn their high school diploma, an Associate in Science degree and at least two industry certifications. Students will also be able to attend the school at no cost to themselves or their families.

“This is an incredible opportunity for Alachua County students,” principal Bill McElroy said. “To be able to get a jump start in these in-demand career fields while still in high school creates opportunities for economic mobility for the student, and supports workforce needs for our entire community.”

The charter school is funded through the Building Florida's Future program aimed at enhancing workforce initiatives across the state.

Students interested in attending the Academy can request an application by emailing academy@sfcollege.edu or by calling 352-395-4444.

Classes begin Thursday, Aug. 10.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Like many other cities in Florida, High Springs, Alachua and Newberry are growing rapidly in population. While some growth can have negative impacts as far as infrastructure needs and government services, some of the upsides includes more businesses and a diversity of stores and restaurants as new people move to the area.

A new addition to the High Springs culinary scene is thanks to a recent transplant, former pizza chef and truck driver from Philadelphia, who goes by his first name of Bruce. He says that although he always enjoyed cooking, time he spent working as a truck driver and travelling the country gave him abundant opportunities to sample various regional foods, many of which he added to his collection of recipes.

Over time, driving the highways and byways of America and sampling different cuisines served to feed his dream of finding the right location for a restaurant, one that would offer a diverse menu of dishes while maintaining the culinary traditions that diners in the northeast are known for.

According to Blue Star Grill head waitress Jessie Harshberger, after considering several locations, Jim settled in High Springs. “He wanted to create a unique restaurant that reflected the diners he grew up with that are open every day with a diverse menu,” said Harshberger. “He took what recipes he came across in his travels as a trucker and then added some southern cuisine once he relocated here.”

Harshberger said when they opened the Blue Star Grill over a month ago, it was just her, Bruce, and one other server. Since then, they have added more staff for quicker service and to handle what Harshberger describes as “the wonderful response we have had in this short time.”

“He named it the Blue Star Grill, and we saw good crowds from the day we opened, especially with all day breakfast,” said Hashberger. “Other local restaurants that are open for breakfast, shut down their breakfast menus around 10:30 to gear up for lunch, which limits late risers or church goers. Our busiest day is Sunday after church lets out.”

In addition to an extensive all day breakfast menu, the Blue Star Grill also serves lunch and dinner items with a six-page menu, and for stay-at-home folks, they offer take-out orders.

The Blue Star Grill is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant is located at 23352 W. U.S. Highway 27, High Springs. Take out orders can be placed at 386-454 1055.

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• The assisted unit must be owner-occupied, the owner’s primary residence, and located in Alachua County and outside the City of Gainesville.
• Property taxes must be paid current on the unit to be assisted.
• Homeowners must be very low or low income, depending on the funding source.
• Each unit, with the exception of emergency repairs, must meet or exceed the minimum housing code.
• Other requirements may need to be met, depending on the funding source.

NEWBERRY ‒ There was a large turnout for the joint City of Newberry Commission meeting with the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on July 10 at the Easton-Newberry Sports Complex, a venue that was selected to accommodate the anticipated overflow of citizens. People filled the seats waiting to express their opinions on the proposed meat processing plant.

But prior to discussion of the topic most people were concerned about, Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe opened a lengthy dialog about roads, specifically CR 337.

Marlowe said the City was willing to provide land as part of the Newberry Environmental Park for property the County wanted to use for a rural waste collection center, meat processing facility and a $250,000 fire training tower. In exchange, Marlowe asked the County to move the schedule up on repairs to CR 337 to the date the Environmental Park would be completed in 2026.

County Commissioner Ken Cornell interjected that anticipated funding from the state had fallen through and suggested the meat processing facility be removed from consideration. He said he wanted to hear from Newberry’s residents and commissioners on the topic.

Throughout the meeting there was a tug of war between Cornell, who wanted to discuss the meat processing facility and other environmental projects, and Marlowe, who seemed primarily interested in hearing that the County would move the repairs for CR 337 up to 2026.

At one point Marlowe opened the floor for citizens to comment on their experience with CR 337 and the need for the road to be made safer. Approximately 18 people addressed both Commissions to explain just how dangerous the roadway was and their concerns about safety.

Alachua County Public Works Director Ramon D. Gavarrete addressed plans to improve roads in Alachua County as part of a planned pavement management plan approved by the County Commission. He said that a traffic study had been requested on CR 337 and it should be available in September. He suggested also that a four-way stop and turn lanes would likely remedy the problem with dangerous curves. He estimated the project cost would likely be $9 million.

County Commissioner Mary Alford moved to bump the timeline up on addressing the first segment of CR 337 and instruct City and County staff to work together on creating a funding and timeline solution to present to the commission.

Cornell proposed a substitute motion, which the commission split into two parts. The first part failed, 3-2, so the commission chose not to continue the vote to the second part. Returning to the original timeline, the commission carried Alford’s motion, 3-2.

County Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler asked about the possibility of the county purchasing the land from Newberry instead of leasing it. Newberry City Manager Mike New said for logistics purposes of providing utilities, it is best for the land to be leased, but he and Marlowe expressed openness to working out an agreement that was long-term and permanent enough to satisfy the County. New also mentioned that the County indicated they wanted to have the same type of arrangement with the City that they had when they purchased the property for IFAS, which was also leased.

By the time the floor was opened up for comments on the meat processing facility, several of the farmers had left the lengthy meeting, which extended past midnight. Approximately 14 people, many of whom identified themselves as vegans, addressed the remaining commissioners to speak against the meat processing facility. One person mentioned an online petition against the facility and another explained that a survey had been done and citizens didn’t know the facility was even being considered.

The facility was referred to as the “slaughterhouse” and “murder facility.” Comments were made about facility workers experiencing PTSD, becoming aggressive because of their job and tending to be more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.

Speaking on behalf of approving the meat processing facility was the General Coordinator for the Agricultural Justice Project, Leah Cohen. She said that big agribusiness continues to thrive while small farms and retailers have gone out of business.

A local rancher said that people will continue to eat meat whether the plant is approved or not. He pointed out that currently the cattle have to be shipped to another location to be slaughtered and then shipped back, which ends up costing the consumer quite a bit more because of the shipping costs and prices other meat processing facilities charge.

As the subject of the meat processing facility was not to be decided at this meeting and the meeting had already run past midnight, the meeting was adjourned.

The topic is on the agenda for a BoCC meeting scheduled for the following day in the County Commission chambers.

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