CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Mayor Gib Coerper shows off the certificate of occupancy. He posed in the jail cell, a remnant of the building's history as a police station.

ALACHUA – Years in the making, the renovation for the Community Welcome Center in Alachua has finally hit a milestone.

The building, situated in downtown Alachua, is now up to code, complete with a certificate of occupancy from the city’s building inspector.

The welcome center, which was formerly a post office and then a police station, has been in the works since around 2006 or 2007, when the Chamber of Commerce began the project.

“We envision it as a place where people who are visiting can stop in and learn about the local community,” said David Flinchum, chamber president, in an earlier interview.

It will serve as a tourist information center and as the main office for the chamber. It will provide information on local businesses, and will also feature displays and exhibits from the Alachua Historical Society.

With help from the community, the chamber expects the welcome center to formally open in mid-January, said Linda Rice Chapman, chamber member.

Sandy Burgess of Precision Metals donated the railing system, Hugh Cain of Allstate will supply some office furniture and Lowe’s of Alachua supplied all the exterior paint.

The building was essentially gutted, Chapman said, as it needed a complete renovation.

Until the welcome center is complete, the Chamber of Commerce will continue to be based out of a small office at Alachua Elementary School.

With a new headquarters on Main Street, the chamber can operate more visibly, said previous chamber president David Pope.

“It gets the chamber out front where it can be seen,” he said.

The biggest issue so far has been funding, current president Flinchum said in a May interview.

The chamber received a grant in 2011 from the county’s Tourist Development Council for $25,000. It got another $25,000 from the Alachua Downtown Redevelopment Trust Board.

When the chamber applied for the next phase of the grant this year for another $25,000 from the council, it lost out to the City of Alachua.

“Right now, we’re broke,” Chapman said.

To raise the money to finish the project, the chamber has two fundraisers on the immediate horizon.

The first is a patronage program. Donators can sign up to be a patron of the museum that will be inside the welcome center. Patrons will be honored with a permanent plaque with their names prominently displayed on the museum walls.

The second fundraiser allows people to purchase spots on the chamber’s calendar, effectively letting them “buy the day,” Chapman said. It would come with a signed proclamation from Mayor Gib Coerper declaring the day in honor of whoever bought the spot. For smaller amounts of money, the plan is to allow citizens to memorialize birthdays, anniversaries and other special personal events.

There’s still a long way to go for the project, said former president Pope, even though the building is finally up to code.

Chapman walked through the building, explaining what kinds of renovations are still in store.

The bathroom tiling still needs to be finished, there are no furnishings or display cases yet and the exterior needs to be painted and landscaped. Security lighting and signage are also part of the plan, if and when the funding allows it, Chapman said.

“The outside is virtually untouched,” she said.

Local architect Paul Stresing donated his time to help, drawing up big plans for the center.

The building is a concentrated effort from the Alachua economic community to move the city forward by bridging tourism, history and business, Chapman said.

“This building is going to have the power to transform Main Street,” she said. “That can only have the effect of making Alachua more prosperous.”

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

A child sits on Santa's lap as the Grinch closes in. The line to get into Theatre Park and see Santa spilled into the streets of downtown Alachua filled with parents and eager children.

ALACHUA – Moonlight glowed over the Christmas tree as the crowd gathered for the celebration.

For over a decade, the City of Alachua has marked the start of the season with their Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. This year, the festivities were held on Friday, Dec. 6 in the lot next to Bev's Burgers in downtown Alachua.

For many of the residents, it is a tradition that brings everyone together.

“I’m so proud to be able to work and live in a city that honors such a tradition,” said City Manager Traci Cain.

Cain and other members of the community gathered around the tree in the hour before the ceremony started at 6 p.m. Children played football in the lot, while residents and city officials gathered and talked with traditional Christmas songs playing in the background courtesy of a local music teacher.

Dustin Adams, music teacher at Alachua Elementary, volunteered to sing and play songs on his keyboard after the last three musical acts had to cancel, said Diana Felver, event planner for the city.

When Felver first moved to Alachua, every business and organization did their own Christmas celebration. The city’s event gives them a chance to all take part in the same ceremony, she said.

“It brings the community together,” she said.

Carolers from the United Methodist Church also lent their talents to the celebration, while costumed characters such as the Grinch made appearances to entertain the children.

“I just like seeing the joy on their faces,” Felver said as she talked about how she likes watching the youths enjoy the evening.

Around 6:15 p.m., City Manager Cain began her speech welcoming the community and introducing the city commissioners and Mayor Gib Coerper to the crowd.

As she spoke, police sirens could be heard in the distance.

Recreation director Hal Brady led the crowd to the tree to begin the countdown. The police sirens grew closer.

When the countdown hit zero, the Christmas tree came to life with lights, as the sirens nearly arrived at the lot.

Police pulled up after clearing the way for a horse-drawn carriage carrying a special guest.

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus arrived to greet the children.

“It was very cold coming through Canada,” Santa said.

The carriage went on its way to Theatre Park where the young event-goers could sit on his lap.

Youngsters waited in line to spend a moment with Santa and tell him what they want for the holiday. As they left, they were awarded a box with a toy in it.

They took their prize with smiles on their faces as they walked, skipped and ran out of the theatre with their parents, talking about what's coming for Christmas this year.

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Santa waves to the crowd as his car moves down Main Street.  About 60 local businesses and organizations had a presence in the parade.

Residents of the Good Life Community gathered around Main Street to see the annual Christmas parade on Saturday, Dec. 14.

As the show started around 2 p.m., floats came rolling in representing this year's theme, “Christmas at the movies.”

City Commissioner Ben Boukari, Jr., Alachua recreation director Hal Brady and resident Gussie Lee announced each float as they drove by, offering commentary and chit-chat as the event went on.

Chamber of Commerce members Linda Chapman and Jim Brandenburg and Alachua Elementary principal Eva Copeland judged each participant who passed by.

“Most took great pains to express the theme of the parade,” Chapman said. “The attention to detail was impressive.”

The Alarion Bank float, featuring the Grinch and Dr. Suess-inspired scenery, won first place in the for-profit category of this year's event. The other winners were Matchmaker Reality and the Marlowe L. Smith Electric Company.

The three judges picked the City of Alachua, the High Springs Art Co-op and Lee's Preschool as the winners of the non-profit category.

“A lot of people put a lot of effort into all this,” said Mayor Gib Coerper. “Everybody is having a great time, and that's what this is all about.”

Mayor Coerper made an appearance near the beginning of the event, riding in a motorcycle side-car and donning a Santa hat, red clothes and sunglasses.      

Other local elected officials made an appearance, including County Commissioner Lee Pinkonson, who walked alongside a black car while waving at the crowd.

While many of the onlookers were current Alachua residents, there was at least one person from outside of town.

Pegg Dodson, from St. Augustine, moved out of the city of Alachua about 10 years ago. Whenever she goes to the annual parades in the spring and winter, she misses the small-town atmosphere, she said.

“It brings back Alachua memories,” she said.

Around 60 local restaurants, shops, non-profit organizations and other businesses participated, showing off colorful and detailed floats.

As the streets were flooded with candy thrown by costumed characters, eager children ran and dived to collect their prizes.

Sherrie Dyal, who lives near LaCrosse, was impressed by the variety of the parade.

“It's certainly colorful,” she said. “For the size of the city, it's a pretty good deal.”

For her, the Alarion float was the winner. Not only because of its recreation of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” but also at least partly because her daughter manages Alarion.

The parade ended around 3 p.m., just in time for it to finish before the rainfall to start. People packed up their chairs and said their goodbyes to friends as they got in their vehicles. The City of High Springs wasn't as lucky, its parade having been rescheduled to next Saturday due to the weather.

Sue Kreft, who lives near Jacksonville, saw the annual event as a good way for people to really learn what the city is about.

"We're getting to know Alachua in a neat way," she said.

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CARL MCKINNEY/Alachua County Today

Students check out the booths from around 30 area businesses. Teachers signed up around 450 pupils to go to the career fair.

ALACHUA - For the students of Santa Fe High School on Thursday, Dec. 5, the gymnasium was filled with possibilities.

For the first time in several years, the school played host to a career fair for its pupils.

Attendees walked around the gymnasium, talking to local employers and exploring potential paths for the future.

“The event is intended to raise awareness for all the options that are out there,” said school counselor Pamela Gonzales, who organized the fair. “This is going to be broadening that knowledge base for them.”

Around 450 students participated in the fair, which started at noon and lasted around two hours. Employers such as Publix, the University of Florida and Alachua's own RTI Surgical had booths set up to let the students know what kind of jobs are available for what education levels, as well as what kind of training they might need.

Ivelisse Munoz of RTI Surgical was handing out pamphlets about some of the entry-level jobs available with the company, some of which do not need a college degree. Around 30 people visited her booth to learn about available positions, such as a tissue processing technician, which only requires a high school diploma or GED.

The ideal employee, Munoz said, is someone who can handle responsibility, is dependable and hardworking and communicates and works well with others.

Several military recruiters from the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy and National Guard were there, showing off careers in engineering, medicine and vehicle repairs, among others.

As students tested out their upper-body strength with the pull-up bars next to the recruiters’ table, senior student Cody Cole walked by. He was interested in learning more about joining the U.S. Marines as an infantryman.

“It’s just what I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. Cole talked to the recruiters and learned about what physical criteria and specialized training he would have to go through for each role.

There were 30 tables in total, including Clay Electric, the VA Medical Center and even a local beekeeper.

Chad Osborne, senior class president, said the career fair was probably the biggest event he’s gone to at the school since he’s been there.

Osborne plans on majoring in political science at the University of Florida. He was surprised at the amount of employment opportunities the university has for students while they are going to school, such as working as a clerk in the labs.

“I didn’t know they offered jobs to you while you were at school,” he said.

While most employers were just at the event to educate prospective employees, some were ready to start hiring.

“Some of these kids might get jobs today,” Gonzales said.

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