HIGH SPRINGS - After a year on hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pioneer Days was in full swing April 17 and 18 with locals in full attendance at the annual celebration. The town of High Springs took a trip back in time to the 1880s when the town was known for its rowdy ways. For more than four decades, the High Springs Chamber of Commerce has hosted the Pioneer Days festival to celebrate the town's colorful past.

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ALACHUA – Alachua Commissioner Shirley Green Brown was narrowly re-elected to Seat 4 during the City of Alachua’s April 13 election. With 455 votes, Brown defeated opponent Gregory E. Pelham who garnered 431 votes, a slim 24-vote win for the incumbent Brown. The narrow margin handed Brown the victory with just 51.4 percent of the vote as compared to Pelham’s 48.6 percent of the votes counted.

Commissioner Gary Hardacre did not seek re-election to Seat 5, leaving the post open to three candidates. Tuesday’s election left no clear winner in that seat since none of the candidates received more than 50 percent of the votes counted. That means two candidates are being sent into a run-off election slated for May 4, 2021.

Jennifer Blalock, Malcolm Vintron Dixon and Gary Kocher fought it out to try to reach the top spot in that race. By the end of a long election night, Blalock and Dixon received 44.1 percent and 29.8 percent respectively of the votes counted. Kocher, meanwhile, received 26.2 percent of the votes counted.

Blalock received 389 votes, Dixon received 263 votes and Kocher received 231 votes in Tuesday’s election.

The City’s election canvassing board voted not to count a handful of ballots after the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections determined that one ballot was cast by a person not registered to vote and another did not meet signature match criteria. A total of 886 votes were counted in Tuesday’s election.

The runoff election for Seat 5 between Jennifer Blalock and Malcolm Vintron Dixon is slated for May 4, 2021. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at each of the city’s three voting precincts, Legacy Park Multipurpose Center, the Cleather Hathcock, Sr. Community Center and the Clubhouse at Turkey Creek.

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HIGH SPRINGS – Get ready for some western style family fun. Every year on the fourth weekend of April, the High Springs Chamber of Commerce hosts the Pioneer Days festival to celebrate the town's colorful past. This year, the 44^th Annual Pioneer Days Festival will be held in downtown historic High Springs on Saturday, April 24, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is held in and around James Paul Park, located behind City Hall in the heart of downtown.

The event is presented by the High Springs Chamber of Commerce. Admission and parking are free. There’s something for everyone this year including Kids Korral with many free activities, and pony rides for a fee, plus a bounce house that will be sanitized regularly throughout the day, face painting and more. Other attractions for the weekend-long event include over 60 crafters, artist and various vendors as well as seven food vendors featuring a wide variety of food and deserts.

High Springs is now known for its peaceful small-town charm with antique and art shops, eateries and recreation areas. People come for the unique nature that surrounds the town with the rivers and springs for swimming, boating and scuba diving. But the town’s beginnings had little to do with recreation.

One of the earliest settlements in the vicinity was established at Crockett Springs, located about three miles east of present-day High Springs. Settlers and ranchers moved into the area during the 1840s, but no town developed in the area before the latter part of the nineteenth century. In 1884, the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad was extended from Live Oak to Gainesville, passing through High Springs. A post office and train station were established in the town, which grew due to the rail lines. In the next few years, High Springs boomed as a result of the development of phosphate mining in the area as well. In 1892, the town was incorporated. During the next year, the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad completed its South Florida Division which connected High Springs with Port Tampa. By the beginning of the twentieth century, High Springs had become an important railroad center.

The railroad and mines brought a lot of workers into the area, along with vices, entertainment and services they required, along with general merchants, an opera house, hotels and boarding houses came the saloons, gambling halls and houses of prostitution. Early High Springs was a wild rough town with a bad reputation. The first sheriff was shot down in the street and a few years later another one was ambushed and wounded.

By the early 20^th century, a large railroad terminal was located in the town. There was a huge roundhouse, machine shops, two large water towers, a two-story hospital and boarding houses that are all gone now. When the phosphate mines declined in the 1920s High Springs lost much of its population and businesses. By the 1960s the railroads had stopped running and High Springs reverted back to an agricultural and recreation based small town. It's a much quieter place than its wild past.

The annual Pioneer Days festival celebrates that rough and rowdy bygone time, while also holding a family friendly event. Free entertainment will include the popular historic cowboy gunfight reenactments from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on both days. The High Springs Museum, located by the police station will also be open for visitors. The historic St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, which is celebrating its 125^th Anniversary this year, will also be open for tours.

There are also live music concerts in James Paul Park featuring four bands on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, April 24, featured performers are Wild Blue Yonder at 10:30 a.m. performing a combination of classic rock songs and originals. At 2 p.m. on Saturday, it’s The Imposters, which include a who’s who of Gainesville’s finest musicians. Some form of the band has existed for 37 years and the current lineup is comprised of Brad Bangstad, keyboard; Ron Thomas, vocals and bass; Don David, vocals and guitar; Mike Boulware, vocals and guitar; Rob Rothschild, drums; and Michael Derry on vocals and guitar. The Imposters will be playing a combination of classic rock and acoustic music from the 1960s -70s.

On Sunday, Sides-Morris Band takes the stage at 10 a.m. featuring a semi-acoustic vocal duo comprised of local favorite Barry Sides and recent Nashville transplant Gary Morse. The duo’s playlist encompasses The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Howlin’ Wolf, Neil Young and Tom Petty, in addition to roots country and Americana.

Bringing the weekend festival to a close, local favorites Fast Lane will play at 1 p.m. with a unique combination of blues, rock & roll, funk, and soul.

For more information visit the Chamber website at www.highsprings.com, or call the chamber at 386-454-3120.

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ALACHUA – It's a historic year for basketball at Santa Fe High School, and the Alachua City Commission just tacked on a notable tribute. The City Commission proclaimed April 12, 2021 as Santa Fe School Raider Boy's Basketball Team Day in recognition of the team’s historic season. The team compiled a 20-6 record, with a #6 ranking in the state and reached the school's first-ever Class 4-A State Championship game.

The level of success attained by this team has never before been reached by a basketball team at Santa Fe High School. Head Coach Elliot Harris, who is also the City's Parks and Recreation Director, praised the team for their hard work, dedication and a “never –quit” attitude that propelled the team to the championship game. He also pointed out that while some prominent schools recruit players, the Santa Fe team is made up of all local boys.

Communications Division

The Commission also announced that each year the second full week of April is "National Public Safety Telecommunications Week," recognizing the dedicated men and women who serve as public safety telecommunicators.

The City of Alachua Police Department has its own telecommunications section, referred to as the Communications Division, which is comprised of six full-time employees and a supervisor. These people are the 911 operators who are the first line of communication between the police and citizens who need help, and they handle all incoming emergency calls to the Alachua Police Department, including 911 transfers from the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, dispatching and monitoring of radio traffic for all officers responding to and initiating calls for service, as well as walk-ins at the station. The Commission recognized their dedication and service as a vital component of public safety services provided to citizens of Alachua.

KFC

Kentucky Fried Chicken may soon be among the dining choices in Alachua. The City has received a site plan application for a proposed development of a quick service KFC restaurant with drive-through facilities. The site plan proposes the construction of a 1,904 square-foot restaurant with drive-through service and associated improvements on a 1.06-acre property that is currently undeveloped and wooded. The plan is currently under review by city staff regarding required tree mitigation.

The plan shows126 regulated trees and four heritage trees are proposed for removal. According to the project’s landscape architect, the majority of the trees proposed for removal are of an undesirable species, present potential long-term safety and maintenance issues, and interfere with the required utilities needed to serve the development. City Land Development Regulations require that new trees be planted to replace removed healthy regulated trees.

The plan would require 222 trees to be planted to mitigate for those proposed for removal. If a developer cannot replace the trees removed at their site, they can petition for an offsite mitigation where the trees would be planted on city property at other sites. The plan proposes to provide a total of 29 replacement trees on-site to partially mitigate for those proposed for removal.

The architect has requested the City consider off-site mitigation for those 193 trees that cannot be accommodated through on-site mitigation due to the location of the proposed buildings, parking, and code-required tree plantings. The developer has estimated the cost for off-site mitigation is $30,602, and that fee must be paid to the City prior to any public hearing related to the proposed site plan.

City’s Economic Development Plans

Assistant City Manager Kamal Latham delivered a presentation entitled “The BEST Business Climate: City of Alachua 5-Year Economic Development Strategy.” BEST is an acronym for Business growth; Equity capital access; Sense of community and Talent development and recruitment.

“The City has outstanding public infrastructure, impressive financial stewardship, top-tier recreational facilities, diverse cultural programming, strong compliance and risk management, sound personnel policies, excellent law enforcement, first-rate planning, and inspired community development,” said Latham. “These attributes make Alachua a well-run city and great place to live, work, and play.” With this foundation, Latham proposes a multi-year economic development strategy that builds upon existing success and helps break new ground for the City to provide more economic opportunities for its residents. The Commission approved the plan unanimously.

Legal Services Renewed

Since 2003, the City of Alachua has contracted with the law firm of Robert A. Rush, P.A. to provide legal services to the City. Pursuant to the agreement, attorney Marian B. Rush has been designated as the City Attorney. Since Oct. 1, 2010, activities of the City Attorney have been billed at a monthly retainer amount of $10,000, totaling $120,000 annually. The City last renegotiated a contract with the firm effective Oct. 1, 2018. At the April 12 meeting, the Commission approved an extension of the contract and an increased monthly retainer of $11,500, the first increase in more than 10 years.

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