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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ High Springs Police Chief J. Antoine Sheppard has been selected to be the new District #17 Director for the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA). District #17 encompasses six counties including Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion and Putnam. District Director is the liaison between FPCA and other police chiefs.

Sheppard has been a member of the Florida Police Chief Association for several years. “As a result, I have briefly met many of Florida's top leaders, such as U.S. Senator Rick Scott and Governor Ron DeSantis,” said Sheppard.

Explaining his new appointment Sheppard said, “My leadership role is geared toward advocating for law enforcement and the public by influencing legislation and policies in Tallahassee. Although my new role will slightly increase my workload, my heart and mind remain in High Springs, where my primary job is protecting and serving our citizens.”

The previous District #17 Director was Santa Fe College Police Chief Ed Book, who relinquished his role after being elected as City Commissioner to the City of Gainesville Commission.

The Florida Police Chiefs Association is the third largest state police chiefs’ association in the United States and is composed of more than 1,000 of the state’s top law enforcement executives and members.

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NEWBERRY ‒ Five 13-year-olds have been charged with misdemeanor battery following a fight after school on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

According to Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Oak View Middle School’s School Resource Deputy (SRD) received word of a potential fight involving multiple students and followed a large group at about 4 p.m. as they went to a nearby business.

He encouraged one of the subjects to go home. As the student turned toward home, the deputy returned to the school to get his patrol car so he could continue to follow the group.

A fight developed off-campus and involved five 13-year-old suspects attacking a 14-year-old victim. The suspects have been charged with misdemeanor battery via sworn complaint.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla., Feb. 1, 2023 — In a new study, scientists with the University of Florida found that a combination of silver nanoparticles and antibiotics was effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Highlights

• For centuries, silver has been known to have antimicrobial properties. New research investigated whether silver nanoparticles could amplify the effects of antibiotics on antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
• The study found that small amounts of silver nanoparticles combined with a low dose of a common antibiotic inhibited the growth of resistant bacteria.
• The scientists hope to use these findings to develop a treatment for some types of antibiotic-resistant infections. 

The researchers hope to turn this discovery into viable treatment for some types of antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic-resistant infections kill more than a million people globally each year.

For centuries, silver has been known to have antimicrobial properties. However, silver nanoparticles — microscopic spheres of silver small enough to operate at the cellular level — represent a new frontier in using the precious metal to fight bacteria.

In this study, the research team tested whether commercially available silver nanoparticles boost the power of antibiotics and enable these drugs to counter the very bacteria that have evolved to withstand them.

“We found that the silver nanoparticles and a common class of broad-spectrum antibiotics called aminoglycosides work together synergistically,” said Daniel Czyż, senior author of the study and an assistant professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science.

“When combined with a small amount of silver nanoparticles, the amount of antibiotic needed to inhibit the bacteria decreased 22-fold, which tells us that the nanoparticles make the drug much more potent,” Czyż explained. “In addition, aminoglycosides can have negative side effects, so using silver nanoparticles could allow for a lower dose of antibiotic, reducing those side effects.”

The findings were both surprising and exciting, said Autumn Dove, first author of the study and a doctoral candidate studying microbiology and cell science in the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

“When I first saw the result, my first thoughts were, ‘Wow, this works!’” said Dove.

Over the last several decades, overuse of antibiotics had led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and a decline in the effectiveness of traditional antibiotic drugs, the researchers said. The study’s findings indicate that silver nanoparticles have the potential to renew the effectiveness of some of these drugs.  

“Let’s say you get a bad burn on your hand, and it gets infected with one of these resistant strains of bacteria,” Dove said. “It’s possible that dressing that burn with a combination of silver nanoparticles and antibiotics could both clear that infection and prevent those resistant bacteria from spreading elsewhere.”

Though antibiotics mainly target bacteria, they can also damage human and animal cells. Using a microscopic worm called C. elegans, the researchers confirmed that the silver nanoparticles did not also make the antibiotic more toxic to non-bacterial cells.

Building off the study’s promising findings, the scientists next plan to seek FDA authorization for clinical trials and work with UF Innovate to patent an antimicrobial product that uses silver nanoparticles.

The silver nanoparticles used in the study were manufactured by the Natural Immunogenics Corporation, which helped fund the study through the UF Industry Partnerships Matching Grant Program. This program pairs UF researchers with Florida-based technology and energy companies to research and develop new products.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. ‒ Nearly 250 students from elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the district will face off in Alachua County Public Schools’ annual robotics competition on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023.  There will be three robotics tournaments running simultaneously.

More than 70 registered teams will demonstrate their skills in developing, building and operating robots to perform specific tasks, all before event judges. There will be team skills contests as well as a Teamwork Challenge in which teams from different schools must work together to earn points.

All teams are vying for a spot in the Central/North Florida State Vex Competitions held in late March, with the chance to possibly compete at the Worlds Competition in May.

The competition is being sponsored by Gas South, whose donation this year help fund the robotics competitions. In addition, the ACPS Robotics Program received a STEM grant from the Education Foundation of Alachua County to help purchase new and replacement equipment and field expansion kits earlier this school year.

The Robotics Competition takes place at Lincoln Middle School, 1001 S.E. 12^th Street, Gainesville. Times are:

Opening Ceremony: 10:00 AM

Lunch: 10:30 – 11:15 AM

Competition: 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM., Gym/Auditorium

Closing ceremony and awards: 4 – 4:30 PM, likely in the Auditorium

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NEWBERRY ‒ The City of Newberry has approved two ordinances that the City Commission says will provide infill construction in the center of town. The two local ordinances were unanimously approved at the Jan. 23, Newberry City Commission meeting.

The first was a zoning change request made by eda consultants, inc. Director of Planning Clay Sweger, acting as agent for Pat M. Post, owner. Sweger requested an amendment to the Official Zoning Atlas of the City’s Land Development Regulations by changing the zoning from Residential (Mixed) Single-Family/Mobile Home (RSF/MH-2) to Planned Residential Development (PRD) on 48.2 +/- acres. The vacant property is located on the east side of Northwest 266^th Street, between Northwest 8^th Lane and Northwest 3^rd Place.

The current zoning requires a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet, which only allows 145 dwelling units. The zoning change to PRD would allow the developer to establish his own lot sizes and setbacks. He is proposing a lot size of 6,600 square feet within the first area, referred to as Area 1 and 5,500 square feet in Area 2. Over one-third of the site is open space and stormwater retention area.

The proposed lot sizes will allow for 30 – 40 homes in Area 1, the northern most area, and 135 – 145 in Area 2. During the first hearing on Dec. 12, Sweger said there was a possibility that 16 tiny homes may be part of the Area 2 lot configuration, but that had not been decided.

Minor modifications to the Preliminary Development Plan were made to incorporate 60-foot rights-of-way throughout the development, which adds a future right-of-way connection to the platted and unimproved Northwest 3^rd Place.

CRA funding will be put into a sidewalks program and this area would be one of the areas considered for improvement, according to City Manager Mike New. Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez said, “This project is expected to improve infrastructure in the CRA district with roadway paving and improvement and the extension of water and sewer to un-served areas.”

The zoning change was unanimously approved on second reading.

A request for preliminary plat approval from Gmuer Engineering, LLC, agent, on behalf of Morlynn Properties, LLC, owner, also received unanimous approval. Morlynn Subdivision is proposed to be constructed on 1.69 +/- acres located at 25749 S.W. 1^st Avenue. This item received substantial discussion from Planning and Zoning Board members when it was heard by that board on Jan. 3.

Two recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Board included a request that the engineer consult with the Alachua County arborist on the existing trees that might hinder the installation of sidewalks and also that foundation surveys are to be conducted.

Christopher Gmuer spoke on behalf of the property owner and said he is waiting for the official report from the arborist but that the trees in question were not Live Oaks (which the Planning and Zoning Board wanted preserved), but instead were Water Oaks.

Although no formal decision was made about the sidewalks, it was implied that the developer would remove the existing trees to make room for sidewalks.

The Morlynn Subdivision property was rezoned from Residential, Single-Family (RSF-2) to Planned Development (PD) on July 11, 2022. This property is wholly or partially located within the Urban Service Area, Community Redevelopment Area, Historic District, Economic Development Opportunity Area and Transportation Enhancement Project Area ‒ an area the City would like to have developed because utilities are already present and the subdivision would provide infill.

The subdivision will contain 15 lots for construction of detached single-family residences. The existing home currently located on proposed Lot 15 will be preserved and incorporated into the Planned Development. Access to the homes will be by a private alley. Maintenance of the “open space” and alley will be controlled by a homeowners’ association. Electric, potable water and sanitary sewer services will be provided by the City. Gmuer said that water retention would be underground and due to the length of the alley, water could be retained for up to two back-to-back hurricanes.

In other business, the City of Newberry annexed four properties on July 11, 2022, and as required by law, the City’s Comprehensive Plan’s (CPA) future land use map must be amended. Alachua County’s land use classification and Newberry’s (less than or equal to one dwelling unit per five acres) for all four properties are identical.

The first application was for 22.75 +/- acres owned by Joshua P. and Tracie A. Blackford. The property is located on the west side of the intersection of Northwest County Road 235 and Northwest 46^th Avenue.

The next application was for 4.35 +/- acres owned by Clifton A. and Shari D. Brown. The property is located on the west side of Northwest 32^nd Avenue.

An application for 20.68 +/- acres owned by Richard Marion Fowler II was also approved. The property is located on the southwest corner of West Newberry Road/State Road 26 and Southwest 266^th Street.

The last application was for 40 +/- acres owned by Martin and Martin (20 acres) and Todd and Lori Martin (20 acres). The property is located on the east side of Northwest 298^th Street (County Line) in the southwest quadrant of Section 19, Township 17 East, Range 9 South.

Once the CPAs were approved, the Commission approved changing the zoning from Alachua County Agricultural to City of Newberry Agriculture.

The Commission also approved soliciting for a company to provide Construction Manager at Risk services for the construction of the changes to City Hall. The Construction Manager at Risk specializes in this type of project construction and reviews plans and orders items for the project in advance to forestall delivery delays of required items. Air conditioners and other large ticket items may take as long as one to one-and-a-half years to obtain given supply chain delays. The cost would for this service is expected to be one percent of construction costs or $60,000 - $70,000.

In other City business, several informational announcements were made. A proclamation calling for a regular election on April 11 for mayor and two city commission seats was read into the record. All three positions will serve two-year terms.

The City of Newberry has received FMEA’s 2022 Restoring Communities Award for assistance provided by Florida’s municipal electric utilities in helping to restore power to communities in emergency situations.

The Florida Department of State has designated Newberry Main Street Organization as the January 2023 Florida Main Street Program of the Month.

A State of the City address will be provided along with a Taste of Newberry event at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 16.

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